Posted 1 year ago

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For Us, The Battle of Brooklyn Was a Battle to Keep Running On Sunday morning, Jackrabbit Sports organized its first race, a 10-mile course that consisted of running around Prospect Park three times. True to form, Rachel had signed up in advance, and I had waited until the last minute—though the line for last-minute registration was actually shorter than the other lines and I got my number and chip first. Ha ha! Once we got started, we were both suffering a bit. It was early, and we had both had crazy weeks. We took a train down to D.C. on Friday afternoon to perform musical improv as special guests of the delightful iMusical at the Washington Improv Theater. I got to play a food-obsessed fire chief, and Rachel, a pyromaniac twenty-something looking for love. We stayed out drinking on Friday night, had a quick breakfast at Eastern Market with our friends from the cast, then took a train back to New York. I headed straight into the office on Saturday afternoon and didn’t get back home until 11pm. This meant I had about six hours sleep prior to the race, and my nutrition for the past couple days consisted of: Friday evening, about 7 pm: Turkey and Swiss crepe, coffee Friday evening, about 11:30 pm: Nachos, key lime pie, many beers Saturday morning, about 10:30 am: Blueberry pancakes, coffee Saturday afternoon, about 4 pm: Big Mac meal Saturday night, about 11:30 pm: leftover piece of pizza Not ideal. For the first two laps of the park, I felt tired and whiny. Even though it was overcast and drizzly, it was still hot and humid enough that sweat was gushing out of every pore. And then there was the repetition: I ALREADY DID THIS HILL. NOW I HAVE TO DO IT TWO MORE TIMES? By the third lap, though, I was feeling a little better. Coach Kara ran alongside me and we chatted about stuff other than running, and maybe the caffeine from my first ever “goo” was kicking in (we usually stick to the jellybeans), so by the last mile, I had enough reserve energy in the tank to pick up the pace for a strong finish. I did the ten miles in 1:45:59, at a pace of 10:36 per mile, and Rachel did 1:59:33 at an 11:58 pace. As usual, the Team in Training crew was tremendously supportive, cheering everyone on as they finished. I would especially like to thank Coach Kara for her support and my fellow BTK Band member Jenna Brister, who works for Jackrabbit and who cheered me on at every lap. On a scarier note… even though I’ve raised over $2,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I still have over $2,500 to go before October. Yikes! Won’t you consider donating? If everyone I knew contributed even $10 or $20, we could meet that goal in no time and you would be helping to fund research to combat these blood cancers, and giving comfort and support to those who need it most. We’re the ones running hundreds of miles… all you have to do is give up a couple of minutes and the cost of a couple of six-packs. End of plea. Thanks for your support!

For Us, The Battle of Brooklyn Was a Battle to Keep Running

On Sunday morning, Jackrabbit Sports organized its first race, a 10-mile course that consisted of running around Prospect Park three times. True to form, Rachel had signed up in advance, and I had waited until the last minute—though the line for last-minute registration was actually shorter than the other lines and I got my number and chip first. Ha ha!

Once we got started, we were both suffering a bit. It was early, and we had both had crazy weeks. We took a train down to D.C. on Friday afternoon to perform musical improv as special guests of the delightful iMusical at the Washington Improv Theater. I got to play a food-obsessed fire chief, and Rachel, a pyromaniac twenty-something looking for love. We stayed out drinking on Friday night, had a quick breakfast at Eastern Market with our friends from the cast, then took a train back to New York. I headed straight into the office on Saturday afternoon and didn’t get back home until 11pm. This meant I had about six hours sleep prior to the race, and my nutrition for the past couple days consisted of:

  • Friday evening, about 7 pm: Turkey and Swiss crepe, coffee
  • Friday evening, about 11:30 pm: Nachos, key lime pie, many beers
  • Saturday morning, about 10:30 am: Blueberry pancakes, coffee
  • Saturday afternoon, about 4 pm: Big Mac meal
  • Saturday night, about 11:30 pm: leftover piece of pizza

Not ideal. For the first two laps of the park, I felt tired and whiny. Even though it was overcast and drizzly, it was still hot and humid enough that sweat was gushing out of every pore. And then there was the repetition: I ALREADY DID THIS HILL. NOW I HAVE TO DO IT TWO MORE TIMES?

By the third lap, though, I was feeling a little better. Coach Kara ran alongside me and we chatted about stuff other than running, and maybe the caffeine from my first ever “goo” was kicking in (we usually stick to the jellybeans), so by the last mile, I had enough reserve energy in the tank to pick up the pace for a strong finish. I did the ten miles in 1:45:59, at a pace of 10:36 per mile, and Rachel did 1:59:33 at an 11:58 pace.

As usual, the Team in Training crew was tremendously supportive, cheering everyone on as they finished. I would especially like to thank Coach Kara for her support and my fellow BTK Band member Jenna Brister, who works for Jackrabbit and who cheered me on at every lap.

On a scarier note… even though I’ve raised over $2,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I still have over $2,500 to go before October. Yikes! Won’t you consider donating? If everyone I knew contributed even $10 or $20, we could meet that goal in no time and you would be helping to fund research to combat these blood cancers, and giving comfort and support to those who need it most. We’re the ones running hundreds of miles… all you have to do is give up a couple of minutes and the cost of a couple of six-packs. End of plea. Thanks for your support!

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