Race Report: Race to Deliver (4M)

This morning was the Race to Deliver a four mile NYRR race held every year the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This was the 19th year of the race which is the biggest fundraiser for God’s Love We Deliver, an amazing organization that provides meals to people who are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves due to illness.

A couple years ago Grace and I had the opportunity to volunteer in their kitchen to help prepare food (we wrapped a ton of bagels and peeled a ton of carrots) which was both really fun and fulfilling. Knowing you’re doing something that will allow someone to have a good, nutritious meal, who likely wouldn’t otherwise, is really fantastic. We’re hoping to volunteer again soon.

This past month has been exceptionally tough on the organization as not only has it been continuing to serve it’s usual customers, but the facility lost power due to the hurricane and still managed to also provide thousands of meals to people who were displaced by the storm. Simply astonishing.

So, I usually run this race as I like to think of it as an early Turkey Trot and it’s a great organization to support. As I mentioned before I was a little nervous about the race, but turns out I didn’t have any reason to be. Woody decided to come wake up early and head uptown with me. When we got to the park he peeled off and started his run around the outer loop for 6 miles and I went to pick-up my bib. It was definitely cold waiting around at the start – only around 38’ at the start and it didn’t warm up much by the end (it is only a 4 mile race, after all!).

The race starts and ends on the 72nd transverse, crossing the 102 transverse. Of course, where I was in the lineup I crossed the start line more than 4minutes after the gun went off. There were a lot of people running. Over 8000 actually! The start was incredibly congested and I was basically shuffling along till we hit the east drive and turned north. My legs felt great and my breathing wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be! I definitely took the first mile slow – the crowds helped. Cat Hill was pretty easy, which is always a relief!

I was going along easily with no troubles, enjoying the bits of conversations people were having around me (lots of talk of the cancelled marathon and other marathons being raced) and thinking about the holiday ahead and marveling at the fact that it appeared no trees fell on the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As we got closer to the 102 transverse the crowd closed in a bit as we were preparing for the turn. I was paying attention to the people in front of me when all of a sudden my left ankle started to crumble. I quickly recovered and only stumbled, thankfully I didn’t fall and cause a huge collision, but immediately the outside of my left foot hurt. Bad. Well great! I’m finally having a great run and I go ahead and injure myself again! I was NOT going to let this slow me down or end my race. I turned the curve hoping it would work itself out and the pain was just an instant reaction that wasn’t going to stay. I turned my thoughts to other things – like the fact that half the road on the transverse was taken up by what seemed to be 20foot high piles of mulch that was producing steam – and kept going. We hit a few more hills on the west side of the park heading south but I knew once we got up the last hill it’d be smooth sailing.

I really didn’t notice my foot much and it didn’t change my gait so I kept going. I think I slowed down a little but not to bad. My second mile had been much faster than the first, even with the stumble, so I was feeling okay about my time. I wasn’t going fast or anything like that, but I was feeling good which is what I was going for.  As I turned back onto the 72nd st transverse I started looking out for Woody then I heard him call my name! I was close to the edge so I waved as I went by. Always great to see a friendly face to help spur you on to the finish line! I picked up my pace, passed a few people and crossed the finish line feeling strong! Official time: 37:28

I got some water and an apple, thanked a few volunteers (they were the ones standing in the cold waiting around all morning!) and then found Woody. I wasn’t limping but I was starting to notice that my foot wasn’t feeling right if I moved it just so. I told him what happened and of course, he was concerned. He had a great run too and was happy that I felt pretty good even with the incident.

After grabbing my bag from baggage we headed over to the First Aid tent and I picked up a bag of ice. Definitely the first time I’ve visited to the First Aid tent (surprisingly). We had plans to have breakfast at one of our old favorite brunch spots on the UES – Neil’s – a typical New York diner so we headed over. I sat there with ice on my foot as I ate. Super cute. At least my pancakes and the coffee were delicious! Perfect warm-up after being out in the cold!

Overall I loved the race, had a great time and am (pretty) happy with how it went! Of course, looking at the swollen bruise on the side of my foot right now, it could have been better, but if that hadn’t happened this would have been a perfect race to finish off the year with!

• Do you like running in the cold or prefer the warmer months?
• Are you planning to run a Turkey Trot?
• Any Thanksgiving running traditions in your family?

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Today’s workout -

4 mile race