I ran the NYRR Oakley New York Mini 10K race in Central Park. I knew the weather would be pretty bad so I didn't have any high expectations about this race, but I was surprised at how hard this race was for me today. But first, the good stuff!

NYRR is one of the most organized race organizations. For this race, they provided a few perks as well such as a post-race festival - featuring a photo booth, Oakley product displays and demos, raffles, and an eyewear-cleaning station where those who get their glasses cleaned will receive $20 gift cards valid at Oakley stores - Pretty cool! I arrived to Central Park a little after 7am and as always, bib and t-shirt pickup was a breeze.

I saw a lot of runners taking advantage of the photos inside the Oakley tent but I decided to pass.

Before I knew it it was time to line up for the race. I just kind of assumed the race was going to be one full loop on Central Park - nope! (I really guess I should have read the race route instead of just assuming). We ran in the street for about 1.5 miles. It was kind of strange and I didn't really like it to be honest. I would rather the whole race be in the park.

Central Park has hills, but I've done a few races there so I know what to expect. During the last 10K I ran in Central Park in April, I ran the whole thing without stopping for walk breaks - powered up all the hills, etc. Today? Not even close. The wheels pretty much came off around mile 3. I've heard of runners "bonking" or hitting the wall" but never experienced that until today. I'm not sure how I feel about bonking at mile 3 during a 6.2 mile race, but yes it happened, and yes it sucked...hard. My pace was actually pretty good during the first half of the race and I ran up the really big hill but after that everything started going wrong.

I was so HOT. The race report says it was 77 degrees with 56% humidity but I really think it felt worse than that. I had sweat in places one should NEVER have sweat (I'll let everyone just use their imagination on that). Also I forgot my handana, so I was just a wet, sweaty mess.

This race was so crowded! I hear people say this about NYRR races all the time but I never really agreed. It just seemed like it was hard to get into a rhythm or get any space because there were so many runners.

Some positives about the race:

Really, really, really well organized! Tons of volunteers. Its always nice to see happy volunteers that smile and cheer you on as well!
Sprinklers. I don't know who thought of this, but I love you. I think there were 3 or 4 sprinklers on the course and I fully enjoyed all of them.
Water Stations. I was using my Nathan handheld so I didn't need to stop for water, but I did see stations at every mile.
Bling, Bling. The medal is really nice and I think it's great to get a medal for a 10k race since that's rare.
All women race. I really like all women races and love the empowerment feel of running with thousands of women
Spectators. As always, awesome spectators with really funny signs. There were also a group of guys cheering while wearing tutus. Thank you :)