Race Recap: Battle of Brooklyn 10M

Battle of Brooklyn 10M
August 17, 2014

A couple of weeks ago, I venture to Brooklyn to run the Battle of Brooklyn 10M.  I did this race last year and really enjoyed it.

The race took place in Prospect Park and started at 8am.  It's not too early of a start but when you have to factor in an hour long subway ride, it is!  Fortunately, the subway was pretty empty so I was able to get a seat and I had brought a magazine so the time passed quickly.

I had picked up my number before hand so when I got there, I was able to go right to bag watch and head to the start.  Based on my time on the subway, I didn't have much time to kill, only a few minutes. I dropped my bag in bag watch and headed to the start.

This is a small race, maybe 300 people?  I'm not very good at estimating so that number could be off.  The race started promptly at 8 am and off we went.

The course starts on the downhill in Prospect Park so my first mile was fast.  I remembered that from last year, but still had trouble pulling back.  The loop in Prospect Park is about 3.33 miles around, so the race is 3 full loops of the park.  There is a pretty lengthy hill on 1/2 of the park and the other half is a downhill.  I didn't mind the hill until the 3rd time around.  By then, I was ready for the hill to be over.

The race was crowded when it started, but thinned out pretty quickly as everyone settled into their pace.  Jack Rabbit had 2 water stations (with port-o-potty's) on the course with water and 1 section in the middle of the hill with water guns.  It wasn't too hot out, but the water still felt nice.

The weather was pretty strange race morning.  It was cool out and overcast at the beginning.  Then it misted for about 4 miles.  And then at about mile 8ish, the sun came out and it started to warm up.

I wasn't racing this one, just using it as a long run, but I was pretty pleased with how I felt during the race and with my pace.  Feeling ready for Disneyland!

The race was sponsored by Shake Shack and they had custard at the finish line.  There was a short line (that moved quickly) and I got my sugar fix... at 10am.  Man, I love ice cream.  It was delicious and a great treat the finish line.

Results
Official: 10.0 mi, 1:35:30, 9:33 pace
Garmin: 10.05 mi, 1:35:31, 9:30 pace

Custard... yum.

Training recap week of 8/11 (Dumbo Double Dare Week 3)

This week was a lot of running - felt great though!  Last week of back to back long runs and I felt really strong on Day 2.  I didn't do as much PiYo this week, only 2 days.  I've been trying to run 5 days and do PiYo 6 days and I've come to the realization that that was just too much.  The PiYo workouts are short but intense.  I think it's been draining me more than I realized, so I've decided to only do it on cross training days and short run days.  It's really great core work so I want to keep it up, just scaled back a bit.

Sunday's run was at the Battle of Brooklyn 10M.  I did this run last year and really enjoyed it, so was happy to go back again.  It was a good time again!

Monday
Scheduled: PiYo Hardcore on the Floor
Actual: PiYo Hardcore on the Floor

Tuesday
Scheduled: 4 miles easy
Actual: 4.08 mi, 38:50, 9:31 pace

Wednesday
Scheduled: 6 miles easy
Actual: 6.03 mi, 58:57, 9:46 pace

Thursday
Scheduled: 4 miles easy
Actual: 4.00 mi, 39:57, 9:56 pace + PiYo Define: Lower Body

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Saturday
Scheduled: 8 miles easy
Actual: 10.00 mi, 1:40:14, 10:02 pace

It was another weekend of Summer Streets  (the last weekend!) and I was feeling good so I did a couple of extra miles.  I am sure it's a lot of work (and expensive for the City) but I wish they could do Summer Streets more often - they are such a nice break from the park.

Sunday
Scheduled: Battle of Brooklyn 10M
Actual: 10.05 mi, 1:35:31, 9:30 pace

Total miles: 34.17

Total August miles: 73.47

Miles until goal (1,250): 412.41

Race Recap: Battle of Brooklyn 10M

This past weekend I ran the Battle of Brooklyn 10M (I talked about it previously here).  It is run by Jack Rabbit (a local running store here in NYC).

Packet pickup took place on Friday at the Jack Rabbit store in Union Square.  Worked perfectly for me because I needed to pick up some gu's as well so good to kill 2 birds with 1 trip.  I got my awesome swag - a nicely branded water bottle.  Supposedly it's spill proof which makes me excited.

The race was taking place in Prospect Park in Brooklyn and started at 8am.  So it was an early morning for me, needing to leave my apartment around 6:15 am.  I took the subway there and at that time of day, it took just over an hour.  Once we got to the staging here, everything was pretty simple.  They had a small section for baggage and a help table if you had any questions.

Molly was busy getting all the last minute things done, but I was able to say hi briefly.  After that I checked my baggage and got ready for the race.

The entire race was 3 loops of Prospect Park and the field was pretty small.  I have to say, I am really loving small races lately.  I like big ones too, but there is something about small races that just feels nice.

Anyway, after some announcements and the National Anthem, we got started.  It started on a downhill which was nice but did make my first mile a little faster then I wanted.  I was doing this as my long run, so was aiming for a 9:29 pace.  There is a pretty significant (and long) hill in Prospect Park, so that helped control the pace as well.  They had 2 water stations throughout the loop and the spacing worked well (for me at least) with when I needed water.

They also had a surprise for us on the course - the British Army came to visit!  They did announce before the race to keep our eyes out for them, they were armed but not dangerous.  They were holding fort in the middle of the big hill which was a nice break!  The volunteers stationed there had British flags (looked like print outs from the computer not actual flags) pinned to their shirts and water guns.  They kept yelling "God save the King'.  It wasn't a crazy hot day, but the water still was a nice refresher.

I tried to take the race one loop at a time and focus on my paces for that loop.  Overall, my paces were a little faster then I wanted, but I felt strong during the race so I am pleased with my time.  I really enjoyed this race.  I loved the small size and it was a nice change of pace from my regular runs.

Time
Official: 10 miles, 1:34:01, 9:24 pace
Garmin: 10.09 miles, 1:34:01, 9:19 pace

Splits

Battle of Brooklyn 10M!

Changing up today's post by sharing an upcoming race in Brooklyn.  Would be great for those who didn't get into the NYRR Long Training run before it was full or just looking for a change of scenery.  For me, it's going to be my last long run before Dumbo!

(side note - I am not getting anything for sharing this race.  A friend of mine is organizing it and I am just trying to help spread the event and details).

So...about this race.  It's being put on by Jack Rabbit Sports and is the Battle of Brooklyn 10 Miler.  It takes place on August 18th in Prospect Park.

The race commemorates the largest battle of the Revolutionary War, which was fought on the soil of Brooklyn 237 years ago (who knew?  Seriously, I had no idea!).

If you don't want to run the whole 10 miles, they also have a 3 person relay option.

The first 1,000 people to register get a fancy Avex water bottle! I have drawers of race shirts, so I like the idea of something different. The Avex bottle features:

• A pop up spout that you can open with one hand
• Completely sealed when closed, so you don't need to keep it upright (I am pretty excited about this as I constantly have water in my bag and not having to worry about it spilling!)
• Completely dishwasher safe (as I am my own dishwasher, this is not important to me, but I am sure it is to others)

Plus, bag watch will be open from 6:30am - 11:30am for those in marathon training who need to add on some miles (or are slower runners).

As I said, a friend of mine works for Jack Rabbit (and is putting the race together) and she provide a coupon code for those interested in running the race. Use code J25EB to get $5 off your registration.

Maybe I'll see you there!