1/2 Marathon - Brooklyn Rock'n'Roll Style

Unlike my first 1/2 Marathon, I did not feel prepared for this one.

Like my first 1/2 Marathon, it was, ultimately, a great experience, and I learned a lot about myself.

In both cases, I was also glad to have a group that I was running with. I was (by far) the slowest in our group this time, but they still waited for me after they were done (one person for over an hour) so we were able to take a great group photo together:

Now, when I say I was SLOW, I mean I was back and forth with the 3 hour mark pacer for quite some time at the beginning. So, when I caught up with and played leap frog with the 2:45 pacer, I was feeling pretty good. Especially since that was the time I predicted for myself when I signed up for the race - given my previous race times and my lack of preparation time.

To be fair, in addition to not having been in running shape, and not having much prep time, I was also one of the last people to start the race. In part because of my time prediction, but also because there was a serious line for the bathroom (aka not nearly enough porta-potties for the thousands of people running the race) and I didn't want to have to try and find one along the course. I think it was the right choice to make, but it did lead to a later start (and explains why my time based on my shoe tag was better than 2:45 :)

The course was interesting - starting by the Brooklyn Museum was fun - it's a beautiful structure, and it looks cool in the dark:

Towards the beginning, there were two long stretches that went down roads and then had you circle around and run back the opposite way. The scenery for those parts was not as nice as once we finally got into Prospect Park. It made me grateful that we finished in the park. And, to be honest, the doubling back made me feel very accomplished, when I would see that there were still so many people behind me - and that my distance from the tail car was growing over the 2+ hours.

All that to say - I'm glad I did it and if/when I do it again, I'll give myself more prep time!