NYRR Team Championships 2016 Recap

I ran the NYRR Team Championships race on Saturday.

The short: It was very hot, it was very humid, and I did not run my best, most well-executed race. I feel meh about it. I’m not necessarily disappointed, but I do wish I’d had a stronger showing for my team.

Zoom zoom!
Zoom zoom!

The long? Here’s the long.

Last year, I ran this race mid-pre-wedding-Crohn’s flare. I showed up at the race ready to cheer from the sidelines, and ended up being so amped by the energy that I got a bib at the last minute and joined my team for some fun on the run. The race was a victory for me because my stomach held up and I didn’t have to make bathroom stops.

Team Champs is a great race because it’s exclusive to runners who are part of a New York Road Runners-sanctioned team. I run with November Project, so that includes me! It’s all very rah-rah-team-spirit, and the fields are separated by men and women. It’s a 5-mile race, and this year the women got to race first. (It alternates each year; they also moved the start up by an hour this year because of the heat, so the women started at 7:30 AM and the men went off at 8:30.)

This race is fast and is stacked with competitive athletes. And if you win, you get team bragging rights! YOU CAN’T PUT A PRICE ON THAT!

Team November Project!
Team November Project!

Let’s get to Race Day.

Actually first, let’s talk about The Night Before. Also known as “The Night I Had Sushi For Dinner.” Sushi is fine. Sushi is great. I love sushi and eat it often. But you know what sushi isn’t? Sushi isn’t Outback Steakhouse.

So I didn’t have my usual pre-race meal. Is that why I didn’t have my best race ever? Probably.

Guess what else happened the day before Race Day? My left headphone broke. The little gummy earbud part came off and I couldn’t find replacement headphones that fit inside my annoyingly small ears. (#tbt to when I used to wear Sony headband-style headphones. I loved those.)

Race Day: I woke up at 5 AM and tried to eat some breakfast, but couldn’t get more than three bites down because it was early and I wasn’t hungry. So I suited up, used the bathroom no fewer than six times, and ordered my Uber.

Then my Uber got super lost and I had to wait a while for it to find me. When my Uber finally arrived, I got in, and Ellie looked on with great sadness as we drove away. It broke my heart. Is racing real worth this kind of heartbreak, I wondered?

She was thrilled to be awake at 5 AM, I'm sure.
She was thrilled to be awake at 5 AM, I’m sure.

I got out on the west side of the park and jogged 2.2 miles to the start. I very quickly noticed how immediately I had started to sweat. It was steamy, even at 6:30 AM. We were gearing up for a scorcher.

I got to the start, picked up my bib, pinned it on, and then something weird happened: I didn’t have to use the bathroom. I always have to use the bathroom before a race. And in life in general! But I didn’t have the urge, so I tried, but didn’t have to go. (Details I probably didn’t need to share…)

This is my amazing friend (and race twinsie) Sarah, who just raced Ironman Lake Placid with her husband. Power couple.
This is my amazing friend (and race twinsie) Sarah, who just raced Ironman Lake Placid with her husband. Power couple.

The November Project ladies started to gather near the start, and co-leader Jeanie led us in a group bounce and pep talk. I moved into my corral, covered up my Garmin, listened to the National Anthem, and plugged in my single headphone.

Ideally, I would have liked to run faster than an 8-minute pace, and close to a 7:45 or faster pace. I didn’t plan for that — I just planned to run hard and hang on.

Ready to rock. And run.
Ready to rock. And run.

In reality, I went out fast and then got less fast.

POSITIVE SPLITS FOR POSITIVE PEOPLE.
POSITIVE SPLITS FOR POSITIVE PEOPLE.

The first mile started out fun and full of adrenaline and excitement. I wasn’t watching my pace, but it felt fast, and I realized I was breathing heavy before the first mile even ticked off. So I tried to reel it in a bit.

TOO EXCITED coming out of the gate.
TOO EXCITED coming out of the gate.

I really reeled it in going up Harlem Hill, which came within the first mile. The hill slowed me down, but I was running by effort, so I just kept moving forward. The second mile included the Three Sisters — those rolling hills on the west side of the park that aren’t bad, but aren’t great — and by the third mile I knew I wasn’t running well and wasn’t getting faster.

Mostly dying, hence only the one jazz hand.
Mostly dying, hence only the one jazz hand.

Then the fourth mile came along. This is when the sea of runners behind me became the sea of runners in front of me. I was hot, but I started to get chills, which didn’t seem good. I was a little dizzy, and wasn’t having great success using my peripheral vision. I just felt kind of out of it, probably on account of the heat and not drinking enough water.

As I climbed Cat Hill, I felt like I wasn’t really moving. My friend and teammate, Lucy, came up behind me, and seemed to breeze right past me. I would’ve loved to stick with her and finish the race together, but she looked strong and I looked like Mufasa in the middle of the wildebeest stampede. (May he rest.)

Hello from the pain cave.
Hello from the pain cave.

So Lucy came and went, and I kept trudging up the hill, all the while cursing the weekly Cat Hill repeats I’ve been doing for clearly not being helpful enough. At the top of the hill, I regrouped, and was able to at least keep Lucy in my sights.

I picked up my pace for the final mile, even though I wanted to die or at least take a quick break to check the Ellie Cam (yes, we have a camera at home so we can watch Ellie when we’re not there; no I don’t think I’m a “helicopter parent”).

The November Project cheer squad — as in the entire male contingent of our team — was stationed a few hundred meters south of the finish line, so I was able to kick into one last gear and pass another runner right in front of them. That felt good. I crossed the finish line just behind Lucy, but not close enough that I risked vomiting onto her.

This is Michaela, our fastest NP female. She works for Brian! She's wearing a bag of ice on her head! (And, thanks in big part to Michaela and the rest of the NP speedies, our women's team finished first in our division!)
This is Michaela, our fastest NP female. She works for Brian! She’s wearing a bag of ice on her head! (And, thanks in big part to Michaela and the rest of the NP speedies, our women’s team finished first in our division!)

I didn’t vomit, but I did immediately feel sick and hot. I think everyone did. But I was happy to have a little kick left at the finish, and even though I didn’t PR (I was about a minute slower than my PR), it was still good to push through and work my mental game a little. My official finish time was 39:37 (a 7:56 pace).

Attempting to pick it up for the cheer station.
Attempting to pick it up for the cheer station.

Plus, it was a super fun day. After walking around with a bag of ice on my head for a while, I cheered so aggressively for the men’s race that, four days later, I still don’t have my voice back.

When your friend is the race announcer and lets you have some fun...
When your friend is the race announcer and lets you have some fun…

I love this race because I love being part of a team. Racing with November Project makes me want to be faster, push harder, and never quit. (Well that’s cheesy!) When I have the NP logo on my shirt, I’m representing something much bigger than myself, and I want to represent it well.

NP women!
NP women!

If you’ve ever thought about joining a running team, either for training or racing purposes, I urge you to give it a shot. November Project is a wonderful (free!) option, but there are so many different teams for different paces and personalities. (NP welcomes runners of all shapes, sizes, paces, and ages — so long as you’re willing to show up and put in the work, we want to have you!) Racing with a team has totally revitalized and improved how I approach my training and my racing.

My people [heart emoji].
My people [heart emoji].
We can talk about that another time.

Congratulations to all of the NYRR Team Championship runners, and thanks to all of the teams for such amazing support and cheering! (The Dashing Whippets, Prospect Park Track Club, and Front Runners, in particular, were all particularly loud this year! Love that.)

A very sweaty, probably smelly group of runners.
A very sweaty, probably smelly group of runners.

DO YOU RUN WITH A TEAM? I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT! Has it improved your running? Talk it out.

Ali

Ali

6 Responses

  1. Congratulations!! A sub-8 minute pace is killer, if you ask me.

    And you make running in a team look so much fun. I think I might have to find one of my own (I am usually a solo-runner).

  2. 1. It has been really rough weather for running lately and man, you rock and while you may have been feeling ‘meh’ (has that word been added to the dictionary yet?) You look so strong.
    2. Ellie is amazing. Obviously. She is getting taller!
    3. I had many happy miles on the Weehawken track and the breeze in the morning along with the fab views is the best. I still run there sometimes even though we moved to the burbs of Maplewood 🙂
    4. If you ever want to run with a great group of women nearby, the Hoboken elysienettes are so supportive and fun and I spent much of my last 7 years running with them. I’m a fellow Crohnie and they were always happy to make a pit stop with me 🙂
    5. Sony still makes over the head earphones circa 1988 and I Def stock up when i find them and still rock them!!

  3. This is something I need to work on! I wish I had an NP local to me, the spirit just seems like something I could get down with. I have a local running club but don’t think they have many runners at my slow pace, which is discouraging.

  4. Sorry to hear your sharing! I get used to having the same race. Wishing you will try anymore. Good succeed! Running needs many training and workouts. Let’s perform these ones when you free! ^^

  5. I could have written this recap myself… Hot hot hot, felt like crap, couldn’t move up Cat Hill, didn’t PR and passed out for the first time ever after a race. Yeah, not a fun day. But we need to take one for the team, don’t we? So done with summer racing though! Where’s fall?!?

  6. I don’t run with a team, per say but I do run with a local running store here in Pittsburgh. The group changed my life & they’re some of the best people I’ve ever met! For the first time this year, I am a pace mentor for our fall training season. It’s great

    Sorry to hear you had a bad race – it does seem when everything else goes wrong, that you don’t have a great race either.. ah, the running life!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

listen to the podcast

about ali

I’m the creator of the Ali on the Run blog and the host of the Ali on the Run Show podcast. I’m also a freelance writer and editor, a race announcer, a runner and marathoner, a mom, and a huge fan of Peanut M&Ms, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (way better than the first one!), and reliving my glory days as a competition dancer in the early 2000s. I’m really happy you’re here.
  • Post Date

related posts

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.