As I sit here writing this from my hotel room, just a stone throw away from the Boston Marathon course, the night before the 128th most prestigious marathon in the world - I can't help but feel...well, lucky.
Early in the year, I accepted my invitation to the run the NYC Marathon again this November 2024. This entry was earned from all the races and volunteering I did last year in 2023.
I've also been tackling my 9+1 status this year in a much more aggressive and expedient manner than years past. By mid-May after the Brooklyn Half, I will already have 6 races completed. My next race in NYC will not be until the Staten Island Half in October. A pretty long "break" in the summer months. In some ways, it feels good to be ahead of the game. But at the same time, some of the winter races (which were new for me) were not as enjoyable as I would have liked. They involved extremely early morning treks into the city - usually in the dark and very cold.
I did enjoy the Manhattan 10k in February though because a friend kindly had my bib and hot coffee waiting for me near Central Park. Later in the month at the Al Gordon 4-Miler in Brooklyn, I unexpectedly ran into someone I know from my running club, the Milltown Runners, and we chatted the whole way into the city and back.
In March, Rob joined me for his first time to run one of my favorites in upper Manhattan - the Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K. It's a beautiful course - uphill through the heights, with a beautiful view at the top through Fort Tryon, and then a sweeping downhill back to the Armory on 168th Street. This is not an easy 5K course. But somehow...I got lucky! I set a new PR for my 5K at 27:58, beating my previous record of 28:37 from the 2021 Abbott Dash. I can't believe after all I have been through, I can still shave time off a race. And quite honestly, and maybe even arrogantly, it feels like this is only the beginning for me.
In early April, I ran the Run As One JP Morgan 4-Miler in Central Park with two other women from the Milltown Runners. Again, it was such a game-changer not to be alone in my crazy pursuits. Being around likeminded people who enjoyed talking about running as much as I did was refreshing. I haven't run this particular race since 2019 when I was pregnant with Gio (44:37) in the pouring rain with Fred and Kara (still one of my favorite photos ever taken with our grumpy faces!) This time - I ran an outstanding 8:50 pace with a finish of 36:25. Amazing. Lucky.
Just last weekend, my daughter and I ran a 5K together sponsored by our local YMCA. It was cold and windy out by the water, but Pietra persevered! I had to do a lot of verbal encouraging along the way, especially explaining to her that we can do so much more than our minds allow us to believe. For those have seen the movie Luca, I borrowed "Silenzio Bruno!" as our race mantra. As much as that was for little legs, I think she liked the taste of accomplishment at the end. I have no doubt that I will be running a lot more side-by-side with my daughter in the near future. I'm so lucky to be her Mom.
But the luck continues - wait there's more! I have earned entry into the Brooklyn Half on May 18, the biggest Half Marathon in the United States. They let a small amount of runners into this race every year via lottery entry to help diversify the running course. We (I) threw Rob's name into the hat...and he got it! He was pretty mad at first, but I think he's excited to see what he can do. The thing is, Rob has natural talent. Given how hard I work, it's both exhilarating and infuriating at the same time. He's going to crush this course and set an amazing first Half finish time. My prediction is 01:50.
This is ALSO my year to make Brooklyn my stand-out performance. It's not going to be the marathon, I'm being realistic. That goal is much more realistic (more to come on that later). My goal is get my Half time from the current PR of 2:12:18 - much closer to the 2 hour mark. I have enough Half experiences under my belt at this point where this totally feasible. It's going to come down to a few things.
I need to run between a 9:00-9:30 pace ✔️
I already proved that I can do this for 9 miles at Ted Corbitt in December, for 3 miles in Washington Heights in March, and for 4 miles Run as One in April. But can I hold it for 13 miles in Brooklyn this May?
Remaining injury free until May ✔️
My hip-leg IT band thingy started acting up again recently. But I took action quickly. Rested. Treatment. And seemed to be through the worst of it. I have to be really careful as it's always looming around the corner ready to show itself.
Pray for good weather ✔️
This will be my third go at Brooklyn and the weather has notoriously been extreme. During my infamous 2022 attempt when I got seriously hurt, it was 90 degrees (a runner died!) Last year in 2023, it was down-pouring buckets of rain.
And most obviously - ramping up my long runs these next few weeks ✔️
Since I've maintained a healthy base all winter, this has not been challenging physically. Finding time is a different story. But I confidently know what to do in order to ramp up to 13 miles.
My marathon ambitions this year are much more humble and simple. I'd like to hit the finish time I was supposed to hit last year. I should have run a sub 5 hour marathon. I trained to run a sub 5 hour marathon. Repeat after me - "I am not going to run the first 13 miles too fast this year! I'm going to watch my pace. I'm not going to slow down in the second half because I burned up all my energy too quickly." In other words, my goal for the 2024 NYC Marathon is to slow the fuck down...in order to finish faster.
But just in case this wasn't enough PRs, goals, and luck for 2024 yet...I did something crazy. Like really bad guys. The NYC Marathon also lets a small sliver of lottery entries onto the course. This year had a record breaking 165,000 applicants worldwide and they only accepted a fraction - 6,000 people. Somehow...Rob's name made it into the lottery. Somehow, the son of a bitch got this one too!
Here's the best part: this year, the 2024 NYC Marathon happens to fall on our wedding anniversary - November 3rd.
We should play the lotto or something right?
So while I'm manifesting this year to be the year of PRs for me personally, I also managed to build meaningful new relationships through Milltown. My kids are taking an interest in running with me. And I gained a new running spouse - by brute force. I'm already beaming with pride of what I know he can accomplish (with my forceful push).
I'm looking forward to cheering my friend Kristen tomorrow in the city that shaped me, the city the represents the first time I left home, the city that will always be a giant piece of my heart (and the reason I say "wicked"). I am so proud of her accomplishments as a runner, an athlete, as badass woman, and most importantly - as human being who worked really hard. I am so blessed to have her in my life and her spirit inspires me daily.
As I sit here in bed, almost midnight - with the Boston Marathon course right outside my window, I have to admit there's small sparkle in my eye. A tiny flame igniting in my heart. And this feeling that I can't shake - perhaps one day, Boston might be calling me as well.
