Got my ticket

Today’s run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

I love the idea of running adventures, but nowadays I rarely venture more than a few miles from my house for a run. This is mostly due to time constraints and schedules. I’m fortunate that I live in an area that offers numerous nearby options, especially for trail running. But over the 5+ years since I’ve become a serious runner, I’ve only run two races outside of Long Island (NYC and Cape Cod, MA).

Last year was not my best in terms of racing. I only ran eight competitive events and I wasn’t particularly competitive in most of them. Unlike the prior two years, I didn’t run a half marathon, just three 5Ks, three 10Ks and a 4 mile race. Looking back, I wonder if the half marathon base training I missed last year correlated to my mediocre race times throughout the rest of 2013.

Well that won’t be an issue this year because I have registered for the NYRR Brooklyn Half. This is new ground for me and I’m really excited to participate. I tried to get into this race the first time I was ready to run a half, but I was locked out. Subsequent to that, I’ve run the uninspiring Long Island Half a couple of times. Runner’s World called the LI Marathon & Half a “Golden Oldie” that has aged well. I now have to question everything I read in that magazine.

The things that excite me about the Brooklyn Half:

1. It’s in Brooklyn.
2. I get to run past the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Grand Army Plaza.
3. I’ll finally get to run in Prospect Park.
4. Five miles of the race is a straightaway down Ocean Parkway through the heart of Brooklyn.
5. It finishes on the Coney Island boardwalk.

Both my Runsketeer buddies are running this race along with 20,000+ others. This will be the biggest race I’ve ever run and my first NYRR event. I’m also excited that I’ll have motivation to do those 10+ mile runs on weekend mornings at Bethpage to prepare for the distance. The race is in May so that training will start before spring.