On Sunday I ran my first race of the year, the NYRR Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon, in Central Park in NYC. The race was two loops around the park. I am not a big fan of races that loop because I always see the winner run pass me as I hit mile 6 or 7 and that irritates me to no end!! It's a little disheartening to see that because you know you still have more miles to run before you can finish.

The day before the race, we got a few inches of snow but nothing too crazy. I was happy to see that the park was in good condition and the course looked dry (no ice or snow). Also it was a balmy 35 degrees which was great and much better than the temperature for the race last year, which was 19 degrees (yikes)! The course itself was....well it wasn't good or bad. Central Park is known for their hills. To me the course had many rolling inclines and one or two substantial hills.

Once I saw the mile 13 marker I kicked it into high gear because I was really tired and in pain and I just wanted the race to be over. After crossing the finish line I pretty much inhaled a bagel in 2 minutes - I was starving!

What did I learn from this race? I REALLY need to incorporate more hills into my training runs. The inclines/hills got the best of me and it really frustrated me when I was out on the course. I have another half marathon on that same course at the end of February and I'm really hoping I can improve my time. Also my quads were completely tore up for 2 days straight after the race and I had a slight ankle injury so I think I also need to incorporate more strength training to build up those muscles. I'll be making some changes to my current training/gym schedule.