Queens Half Marathon 2009

So I was out with my friend @aristorat this past Thursday to check out the Double Windsor, a new bar that opened up in our neighborhood.  We were just hanging out and having a few rounds of beer when we ran into a neighbor of @aristorat’s and her friend.  C and J both lived near us and were also runners.  We got to talking and to make a long story short, I talked J into running the Queens Half Marathon with me.  This pretty much sealed the deal for me as to whether I would run it or not, because up until this point I wasn’t sure I was going to go.

Come Friday morning however, J sent me an email saying how she woke up feeling kind of sick and that she thought it would be better if she skipped the race.  Not wanting to lose a running companion for the race, I replied that there was no changing minds in the light of day and that I was going to get her race number and T-Shirt regardless and was going to be outside her house and 5:30am Sunday morning, so she better get it in her mind that she was running the race.

With that information she decided to do the race, but vowed to hold me personally responsible should she wind up in the hospital with pneumonia.  I decided to take that risk as I thought the chances were pretty small so I got her race packet and picked her up this morning for the race.  Her friend C came with us to cheer us on.

We went out in a nice comfortable pace, around 9:45’s per mile.  The original place was to run slower than that, but we were both comfortable where we were.  I haven’t done the Queens Half in several years and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was no longer a two loop course.  I had many turns and rolling hills and went through several very nice neighborhoods.

It was disconcerting to see how much fitness I’ve lost since the VT100.  My heart rate averaged 86% of my max over the course of the entire race and I only ran a 10 minute mile pace.  I need to seriously get back into my training if I am going to get ready for the NYC Marathon and JFK 50 miler.  Really though, I just need to start running regularly again.  Hopefully the Queens Half is the start.  J belongs to a hashing club and told me about a hash run tomorrow night.  I might just show up for it and combine my love of running with drinking beer.  Yes, that sounds like a plan. 

See J’s take on the race here.