The Nomadic Newells: Half-Marathon in New York City- Check!

Back in January, I needed a new goal to keep me on track. After the last half-marathon I ran back in October, I said that it had been fun but I wouldn't be doing that again anytime soon. I suppose distance races must be like child birth (for me, anyway). The difficulty fades away over time and you get suckered into having a repeat performance. I signed up for the MORE/Fitness Women's Half Marathon, mainly because it was the only one that fit into our pre-moving schedule. I joined a training group on Saturday mornings, which was the best thing I could have done. They pushed me to run faster and further than I would have on my own. Yesterday was the big day...and with all of the stress of the move and house hunt, I ended up with a cold. Most of the race, I was able to run with one of my training buddies. The course was two complete loops of Central Park, which was amazing! Until, of course, I got to Harlem Hill for the second time. That's when the cold got the better of me. With 3.5 miles to go, I had to stop and walk several times. I actually wasn't even sure I was going to finish. But I did! And I even met my goal- to beat my previous time of 2:18:30- by one minute. Had I not been sick and taken walk breaks, I think I would have finished in about 2:12, but oh well. I'm so glad it's over, and it was an awesome experience. And looking at the official numbers made me feel better-I was at the 47% for my age group, which is great. Even better, I was the 3753rd to finish, which means there were about 4000 people behind me. I'm definitely never going to win any races, but beating my own time is good enough for me!