Race Recap: Sweaty Rainbows
7/1/2019
The week leading up to the NYRR Front Runners LGBTQ Pride 5 Mile race started to feel like I was getting into the groove of race preparation. The night before, I laid out my cosmic capri leggings (pockets! Squat proof! Still fits me!), the cute race tank top with the rainbow stitching and bib pre-attached, the good socks, anti-friction blister tape, sneakers, visor, sunscreen, sunglasses, Nuun, and headphones. If I completely missed all 5 of my alarms, at least I’d be able to rush out there easily. Of course, I woke up a few minutes before my first alarm so I had no trouble with that at all.
I woke up the morning of June 29, 2019 and already felt hot even with the air conditioning on full blast in my bedroom. I left my apartment around 6:30, and just walking I could feel how my race time and bodily conditions would take a hit. It was sticky humid out, and was supposed to go up to 90 degrees before an afternoon thunderstorm. NYRR had even sent a SMS message to say not to expect to hit any PRs due to the heat stroke potential. I had to remind myself of that as well, just because I get competitive in race conditions. I hung out by the water cooler to hydrate before the race. Whatever the outcome, I did not want to be taken away by an ambulance.
It was an exciting start because the organizers were attempting to break a Guinness Book of World Record for having the largest number of people participate in a LGBTQ charity run. I, along with the other people standing next to me in Corral E, would have been whooping along to the cheers, but it was so damn hot that it felt like too much effort to talk to other people around me this time. When more participants ducked under the tape to get into the Corral, you just hoped that no one would touch you or brush up accidentally since everyone had as much condensation on themselves as a cold beer can on a hot day. There were less people in rainbow costumes because of the heat. One old guy standing next to me wasn’t wearing a shirt, but his bib was attached to his pierced nipples. Ouch...what about chafing? I was equally intrigued and grossed out by this clever bib placement.
The buzzer went off and it felt like forever before Corral E was to start. I just wanted some form of artificial wind and whatever shade the trees of Central Park would offer me. The course started on the east side of the park, making the sunrise heat even more brutal. In the first mile I felt like I paced myself pretty well and passed runners as needed. It seemed like there were water stops almost every mile, so I just sipped my own water bottle as I passed the stations so that I didn’t get backed up by everyone abruptly stopping to grab cups. That, and I remembered how bad I was at drinking out of the paper cups while in motion.
After the third mile I really felt overheated despite hydrating. I already ran up the difficult Harlem Hill and I thought we were at the end of it, but when I saw there was more incline I slowed down to a speed walk. I was mad that I had to do that since so far in my relatively new race career I haven’t had to walk, but I needed a few seconds of recovery and then I was good.
About 75% of my run was powered by nasal breathing, but there were points in the race where at least psychologically I felt better getting a few big breaths in. I just had to do what I had to do. I took water from the last station, and I walked for a few seconds before the last mile for a quick recovery as well.
There were a bunch of small curves where you couldn’t quite see where people were running, so when I finally saw the finish line ahead, I booked it and dodged runners left and right to finish off strong.
I was soaked as if I jumped into the ocean with my clothes on. I don’t normally like ice pops, but I was happy to take a free one just to cool off. Apples and rainbow bagels were also handed out post-race. We didn’t have finisher medals, but I was ok with that considering how I wanted to take clothes off of me, not put more stuff on. I could not wait to shower after I got home from brunch.
I was surprised by my time. I still managed to get a split time of 8:08, even though I walked part of the way. This reminded me that taking a quick break is sometimes needed in order to get to your goals; sometimes one consistent pace works, other times sprint intervals can get the job done. And although it was a rough one, I’m now officially a Guinness World Record holder, so how many people get to claim that?
My next race I participated in was the Brooklyn R-U-N 5k in Prospect Park, which I hoped would be a little less sweaty and much faster splits than the Hot Chocolate 15k a few months before. If the summer was going to be this hot, I’d also happily accept more rainbow popsicles.
