RACE REPORT: Queens Half-Marathon Grand Prix

Date: 9/20/2009 7:00 AM
Type: Race
Course: NYRR: Queens Half-Marathon
Distance: 13.1 miles
Duration: 1:45:41
Pace: 8:05 / mile
Equipment: Brooks Infiniti 2 (Copper/Silver/Bl)
Weight: 158 lb
Misc: Quality: 7/10, Effort: 7/10
Field Placement: 1055 / 5106 (20.7%)
Age group: 40 – 44
Group Placement: 144 / 405 (35.6%)
Gender Placement: 917 / 2870 (32%)
Weather: 65° F, Sunny
Statistics: Calories: 1565VO2 Max: 42.3


Marker....................Time.....Total Time Pace Avg HR Max HR Notes
Mile 01.....................8:05.69............... 8:05.69 ..........best 6:53
Mile 02....................7:29.96.............. 15:35.65 ..........best 6:28
Mile 03................... 7:32.29.............. 23:07.94 ..........best 6:17
Mile 04....................7:37.94.............. 30:45.88 ..........best 6:23
Mile 05....................7:35.79.............. 38:21.67 ...........best 6:34
Mile 06....................7:41.97.............. 46:03.64 ...........best 6:45
Mile 07....................7:53.33.............. 53:56.97 ...........best 6:52
Mile 08.....................7:42.9 ............1:01:39.87 ...........best 6:42
Mile 09....................8:07.2............. 1:09:47.07 ...........best 7:11
Mile 10....................7:51.91............ 1:17:38.98 ...........best 6:58
Mile 11....................8:57.61............. 1:26:36.59 ..........best 7:29
Mile 12....................8:23.39.............1:34:59.98 ......... best 7:27
Mile 13....................8:16.84.............1:43:16.82 ..........best 6:48
Mile 13+ 0.23 Mi...2:25.33 ............1:45:42.15 .........best 6:20 pace 7:24


On April 13, 1986, I did my first half-marathon ever. It was this race. I did it in 1:51:13. I was 20 years old, and I was already losing my interest in running. I had these horrible Nike sneakers (should have never abandoned my Brooks from the year before), and I weighed about 130 pounds. 19 years later, I did this race again. I weighed 167 pounds, and had not run in almost two months thanks to a fractured tibia. I was almost 40 then. I ran it once more in 2006 and redeemed myself with a time of 1:48:08. I clearly remembered not being able to do this race in three years for one work related reason or another, and I knew I was long overdue.

Parking in Queens is a difficult event. With the race starting at 7am sharp, I had to make sure Karen and I were both ready to leave by no later than 6am. To top it off we also had to get our running numbers too. Leg wise, my scabs were gone, but my scarring is permanent (unfortunately). I will probably wear that Ride To Montauk badge for all of my remaining years.
Speaking of scabs, and other blood-things related, I chose to wear all red. I was fixated with “going to war” with Queens. As you can see, I was feeling good. My calf was not demonstrating that much pain.

Karen had said this was a flat course. No offense, but I think she must have been smoking something. I thought that there were hills. Then again, the course has changed since I last ran it back in 2006, so who knew right?

The start of the race along the water on Poppenhausen was uneventful. Until the first quarter-mile, and then we had a hill. And then another hill. And another. And another.
Hill. Hill. Hill. Curve, then Hill.

What a tough race this was! Clearly more difficult the NYC Half. What joker thought of this course anyway? We kept going up from one hill to another, and with all the rights and lefts, you hardly knew what was coming until it was nearly too late. Fortunately, the weather was cool and not humid.

I tried the best that I could, but clearly the hills did not have eyes. They had knives. Also, nothing better than running up and down when nursing the trail end of a calf injury, right? Ugh.
I started off very strong, only posting one out of the first ten miles in over 8 minutes. I clearly thought I had a chance at obtaining my first sub-8 half for the year, and my fourth ever. But the hills killed me, and I totally collapsed in Mile 11 and Mile 12. I still managed a nice finish at the end, and as usual, but not enough, and finished it in 1:45:41, or a pace of 8:03. All in all, I still came in the top 20%, so despite my last 5K collapse, I had a lot to be hopeful for in the quest to revive my fountain of youth and prove that older is better.