6.Races in December 2023

NYC Runs Cocoa Classic 5K (Prospect Park): December 2, 2023

The race started at 9am so  as I walked out of the F train, it was bright. To be honest, I was a bit wary this morning on how I'd do given my recent achy left shin...  While the end result was somewhat decent, this was Prospect Park, my home turf, the park that I'd run my best on practice runs. Though I did PR in Governor's Island... Anyway, the ground was slightly wet, the crowds seem smaller (must be most runners were in CP running the Ted Corbitt 15K), and I gave it all I've got. I had a snafu after Mile 1, so I saw my untied shoelace on my left sneaker and I didn't want to trip or feel anxious the rest of the race, so I found the next water break to tie my sneaker. After that short stoppage, I felt like I lost a bit of momentum, but approaching mile 3, I gained it back and kept running. Normally I'd speed up on the last 0.1 mile but today, I was exhausted. Some days I feel great after a race, today, not so much, but I did "OK." 

Note on medals: I overheard people talking about medals. To me, ANY medal is cool to receive no matter how tacky it looks. The more color it has, the better, LOL. 

NYRR Frosty 5K (Prospect Park): December 9, 2023

It was one of those days when the F train did not run near where I live so I had to take the N train and then transfer to the G or F train to Prospect Park. The G train came and I immediately saw Karen, a member of Team Osprey. When we entered the park, it was foggy! Like we entered a dream. We made our way to the Nethermead and Karen picked up her bib. I met Ruth, another Osprey who was volunteering. Then Karen and I headed towards the corrals and we ran into Piera and her husband. I've met Piera at the Ultramarathon loops around Central Park in 2022.  Then when we all split up and started to line up at our corrals, I saw Frosty the Snowman, then two women came up to me and said they're a part of Team Osprey. It was Julie and Aunt Alison! I was confused at first, but then it dawned on me that I had the Osprey hat on and then we took a group photo with Mr. Frosty. It's pretty cool that everyone on the team is so friendly towards one another. As a new bird, I find that endearing. Then it was race time. Overall, I started out OK. I felt a lot of people passing me, but my focus was on the upcoming hill and trying to pace myself before I tire myself out. Knowing that the hill is over when I saw the sign and the GAP, I knew it was all downhill from there and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. I was even able to speed up my pace towards the finish despite having the sun in my face. When I crossed the finish line, I breathed a sigh of relief.