bk half marathon PRs

we did it !!! 

we completed the brooklyn half marathon and both pr'd for the course! the bk half has got to be my least favorite race ever, and i think the dislike is heightened by the commercialization of the event as well. these days when the word "brooklyn" is attached, suddenly there is a hipster or low-key edgy-cool vibe associated with it, and suddenly the world wants in. over 26,000 people ran the 13.1 miles today.

but back to it being my least favorite race - it's partly because (i) it's one of the earlier races in the season so by the time it's here, i haven't gotten in more than a 5-8 mile runs in, making the back half of the race that much more painful (ii) the back half of the race is already painful, as it's a 6 mile straight-away down ocean parkway all the way to the finish at coney island.

a relatively flat straight-away should be easier technically than the rolling hills of prospect park during the first half of the race, but it is difficult for the mentally weak, which is why i am always suckered into stopping to walk or use the bathroom multiple times. this time, kev and i ran the first 7-8 miles together, probably me pushing it a little too much in the park, but hey that's my favorite part.

when we got to the straight-away, he left me in the dust and i was out to fend for myself on the vast, open ocean parkway. i tried to use my friend's advice and look at peoples' outfits or count lampposts, but it wasn't helping me. over the years, i had mentally created a six mile monster out of ocean parkway and the best way for me to countdown was counting the streets as they went up from ave h through ave z. during mile 12, i made a quick pitstop at the local honeybucket, and then it started to drizzle! slowly the drizzle turned into a downpour, which i think most people felt refreshed by and used to propel themselves into the finish on the coney island boardwalk.

1:42:11 and 1:43:52 were our official race times! my second sub 1:45 half marathon now! :) next goal: 1:40 !!!

trying out my new neighborhood favorite, trestle on tenth! we pass this place every time we run to the west side highway, but tried it for the first time this afternoon with jess and ben. the menu has a lot of typical american brunch offerings using familiar ingredients such as eggs, bacon, etc, but the chef is originally from switzerland so there is are many notable swiss dishes as well. ben had the green market omelet, jess had the swiss bacon-onion potato hash ("bure rosti"), kev had the three herring plate, and i had the special, baked eggs with ramps, warm yukon gold potatoes, and herbs. we also shared their chicken liver pate which was plentiful and deliiicious. so glad we got to try it with my sis and ben for the first time, and can't wait to come back to this spot again! (and try rocket pig next door - i have a plan for this :D!!!!)

we rested our tired legs for the rest of the day :)