A Reluctant Race

I had no plans to race a half-marathon for the remainder of 2012.  That changed over breakfast on my birthday.  Lauren and I were at our favorite neighborhood breakfast spot enjoying baked oatmeal when I got a text from Urban Athletic's Team Manager Herbie.  "Can you do Grete's?" He asked.  Grete's is a half marathon that is comprised of two-plus loops of Central Park.  That means two times the Harlem Hills.  I was hoping he would never ask.  "Only if you absolutely need me to score points for the team," I responded after a little bit of whining into my bowl.  "We do." He wrote back.

My expectations for a fast time are low.  My expectations for a fun time are relatively high.  I told Herbie that I haven't been training for a long race.  I've been focusing on the 5K and planned to test my legs in a cross country race at Van Cortlandt Park on the same day.  I had already registered so I'll just consider it a donation to the  Road Runners.  On top of that, I have just completed a week of working overnights couple with half-a-week of a sinus infection.  These are not ideal pre-race conditions.  That said, Grete's is an NYRR event so it should be a big field with my choice of runners to run with.  It doesn't start until 10:30 in the morning which is late enough to sleep in and early enough to still get brunch after the race.  And there is of course, the reason I am running.  It's a team event so a decent finish time should score us some points.  It's been far too long since I've been of any help to UA.  Also, the race shirts are bad ass!

Is this a pre-emptive strike of excuses?  I guess you could say that.  But, I am not entering the race with the goal of breaking my PR.  I just want to be in the standings.  I know I am not in the best shape right now, but there is no excuse not to be a factor tomorrow morning.  If I'm not, I'll blame Friday night's shrimp vindaloo, the warmer-than-fall weather and whatever else I can think of...