NYRR Al Gordon Brooklyn 4 Miler Race Recap

Wearing: Sparkly Soul headband, Lululemon Pace Perfect Sports Bra, Lululemon Run Swiftly Top, Brooks Cascadia Thermal Vest, Brooks Greenlight Tight

It was a wonderful morning to run the NYRR Al Gordon Brooklyn 4 mile race! My first NYRR race since giving birth to Katie, I was wearing a giddy smile all morning.

Since the race started at 8 AM in Prospect Park, just a 10 minute bike ride or cab ride from our apartment, I didn’t have to wake up early. In fact, I rolled over at 6:45, waking up naturally after nine amazing hours of sleep. Upon checking my phone, I saw that it was 40 degrees and sunny outside.  Since the weather forecast originally called for chilly and rainy, this was a welcome surprise.  I quickly got dressed, sipped a cup of coffee and ate my typical pre-race breakfast of toast and peanut butter before waking Katie up at 7:05. After a few minutes of cuddles, I grabbed my race bib and headed out the door.

Unfortunately, Zoe was running late so suggested that I focus on meeting Mary since she most likely wouldn’t make it from the Upper West Side to Prospect Park before the race started.  Since I cuddled with Katie longer than planned, I hopped in a cab instead of biking to Prospect Park. Luckily, there was no traffic and less than 10 minutes later I was at the entrance of Prospect Park and merging into the crowds of people heading to the start.

The race was sold out which meant that Prospect Park was packed! Luckily, Mary and I were able to quick find each other and then enjoyed a leisurely ten minute walk to the start area. We found our place in the corrals and spent the next few minutes before the race started chatting, stretching and reviewing our plan for the race.

Since I refuse to stress myself out with pace goals, we ensured that our goals weren’t about time.

1. Have fun together.
2. Run the entire race.
3. Negative split the race versus going out too fast.

Like I said, we kept it very simple to ensure that neither of us were stressed about the race.  The race started at 8 and just five minutes later we crossed the starting line.  I had the goofiest grin on my face as I realized in that moment how much I’ve missed running with good friends, sunshine and energetic race atmospheres.

I knew that if I wanted to run the entire race and negative split, then it would be key for Mary and I to pace ourselves and not go out too fast. Luckily, the course, which was a bit more than one full loop of Prospect Park, included some big hills in that first mile which naturally kept our pace slower.

Luckily, since we started pretty far back in the corrals, we were faster than most people around us and were able to maintain a 10:14 pace as we climbed the steepest hill in Prospect Park without having to swerve and dash in between people too much. Once that first hill was finished, we knew that the next three miles would be filled with rolling hills but nothing nearly as steep as the first one. We enjoyed puppy watching as the park was FILLED with dogs, catching up and enjoying the Spring like morning weather.   I was thankful for the multiple water stops as I could easily grab a cup of water and take a few sips after mile 1 and 3, just enough to keep me hydrated through the race.

Less than 40 minutes later we made the turn back onto Center Drive which meant we had a quarter mile left in the race. Mary insisted that we pick up our pace as we were almost done and she knew I had something left in my tank. I wasn’t sure but finally, as soon as I saw the finish line, I high tailed it towards the finish, throwing down a 7:10 pace that last tenth of a mile!

Splits:

• Mile 1 10:14
• Mile 2 9:45
• Mile 3 9:26
• Mile 4 9:18

Total: 39:39 for 4.1 miles and 9:37/mile pace (Official results from NYRR are 4 miles – 39:25 for avg pace of 9:52

Once we crossed the finish line we grabbed water and apples to enjoy while we waited for Zoe and said hello to some local runner friends like Reggie who always gives the best post race high fives and hugs to everyone he knows!

Luckily, just a few minutes later Zoe found us and we were able to hang out for a few minutes before she headed off to finish a few more miles and Mary and I headed towards Grand Army Plaza to meander through the Farmer’s Market before I headed home to Katie and Bo.

While I’m not signed up for another race until the Queens 10k in June, I definitely have my eye on a few more Prospect Park races including the NYC Runs Prospect Park 5k or 10k in April.