KINGS AND QUEENS TAKE ON THE QUEENS HALF – JULY 30, 2011

Jessica R

Fear may be the best motivator for anything in life. When asked to write a review of the Queens Half Marathon, it made me realize how much more at ease I feel running a race versus actually writing something that my friends and teammates would read.

This goes down as my first (and only) PUBLIC posting in the relentlessjess’ RACING MADNESS blog….

Despite Shirt Drama,
I'm a Fan!

The 2010 Queens Half was marked and remembered by these words – hot, miserable, and suffering. With the recent heat wave in NYC, anyone who suffered through the 2010 race was keenly aware of the extended forecast and the hopes that 2011 would be a year of redemption on the winding Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s new course for the 2011 Queens Half.

THE START

My recap will begin differently than most due to the fact that I live in North Jersey and had the luxury of being driven in by my boyfriend, Chris B, who was racing Queens as his first NYRR Half Marathon. Being the (almost) painfully early person that I am, we left NJ at 4:45am and were in the parking lot by 5:45am – pretty perfect in my book!!

I (and probably everyone else racing) went into race morning hoping that the overnight rain would cool temps and cause the humidity to lift. It seemed to have helped a bit and although it was clear skies and a sunny 79 degrees, it didn’t feel that bad when we got there.

I did my normal warm-up and lined up in the corral (again, painfully early). No matter how many races I do, the corrals still feel like the calm before the storm about to hit my body. As they filled, the heat suddenly seemed to change. It was no longer a warm-but-comfortable day to me – it now felt sweltering. Dave K. joined me and we spent the waiting time talking about heat, injuries, past races and goals.

I am always boasting and bragging about the excellence of the NYRR races going off on time, and the fact that we weren’t off and running at 7am came as a big surprise. For however many races I’ve done here, this was a first! No blame pointed at the NYRR, this 15-minute delay led to nervous energy building at the start.

That energy then turned into wagers about finishing times and I agreed to Dave K's dare to pay either $50 or $100 if I met my PR goal or his predicted time for me – who knew that the price of PR’s just went up?! Needless to say, I did not reach either goal (Blogmaster's Note: Jess came pretty darn close to getting her goals -- finishing in a speedy 1:35:57 (7:20/mi) while placing first for the Flyers and 8th in the 30-34 age group! --  and she would've made her goals if the weather wasn't hellish, plus I'm still suspicious in thinking she may have slowed down near the finish so as not to have to pay up! :) and therefore, without a PR, I walked away with my money to put towards running shoes, clothes or race entry fees.

THE RACE…


Runners Enjoying the Cool Mist
Surrounding the Unisphere

As we went off on the new Queens course, the very first turn included running around the Unisphere. The sun hadn’t been beating down on us for too long yet, but starting the race with a nice, continuous mist was definitely an added bonus. If only we could keep circling back to that mist every other mile to keep cool…


Smiling Jess
Circles the Globe

 Running along the outer edge of the park for the first few miles gave us the opportunity to see the mud and puddles that everyone on Facebook had been ranting about. In that section, we had to do a little grass running to bypass the muddy mess – it could have been far worse and the NYRR did an amazing job keeping it manageable. Check out my globe pic…even with muddy legs and shoes, I’m still smiling!

I’m usually not a fan of out-and-back course sections, but a memorable portion in Queens came between the 5-6 mile marks. With the sun in full force, the turnaround served as a great distraction and it is always an energizing thing to see your teammates out there and get the encouragement-boosting shout outs!  Thanks Flyers Laura G, Lloyd H and others who cheered us on!!

From that turning point, the miles end up running together. The strong head wind around mile 8 and 11 (I think?) were painful and challenging sections that I could do without. Towards the final miles, the goal became getting to each misting station and trying to take it in as long as possible.

THE FINISH

The final mile is always my favorite part of the race but even more so in Queens. Cruising (or is it grueling??)through the final mile with the Unisphere out in front of us definitely propelled me to push just a little harder and pick up the pace.  There were many fast Flyer finishers (congrats, Siggy T and Robin T, on your PRs!), and we all can be proud for finishing (and for anyone who may not have finished, then proud for getting out there and giving it a shot).  Because, unfortunately, the three words that characterized the 2010 race also shined through in 2011 – hot, miserable, and suffering!

With plums in hand, several Flyers (and Chris) joined in on some post-race photo fun before we went on to enjoy the beautiful summer day.


Above Left: Dave K, Jess R, Mike F
Above Right: Vicky T, Debbie P, Brenda M
Bottom Left: Former Flyer from Francais Anne L with Lloyd H
Bottom Right: Jess R with her Doting Chris B

Overall, I felt the slight course changes were great. Losing the College Point Boulevard section was the right choice and I hope they continue with this for the future. To make it an even greater course and event, we need to find a way to get this switched to February or March!

"Life is a positive-sum game. Everyone from the gold medalist to the last finisher can rejoice in a personal victory." –George Sheehan

Jessica R.