Divas on the Run!

On Sunday morning, I ran the Divas Half Marathon in Eisenhower Park, Long Island. It turned out to be a pretty cold morning, barely 50 degrees, so there were a lot of Divas, myself included, huddling up with groups of friends, warming up along the sidewalks leading up to the startline, or staying in their warm cars until very close to race time. Despite the cold (what a quick transition from summer to fall running!), the course was a good one, mostly flat, that stretched through Eisenhower Park, as well as some of the surrounding roads in the town of Uniondale.

The 5K set off first. There were 310 finishers crossing the finish line smiling. The Half Marathon started next, with just over 2,800 finishers (including 2 - yes 2 - men). As always, I was running to support Girls on the Run SoleMates. The Divas Half Marathon allowed entrants to personalize their race bib with their name or personal message. In honor of my participation with Girls on the Run, I had my race bib proclaim that I am a "Diva on the Run"!

Before Sunday, my Personal Record (PR) for the half marathon had been 1:59:41. I set that PR in August at the Madison Mini Marathon in Madison, Wisconsin, which you might have read about here. My goal Sunday morning had been to achieve a PR around the 1:57 mark. When I started out, the first mile felt okay, but I didn't have that "yeah, this is my day!" feeling. Staying optimistic, I pushed myself through miles 4 and 5, which felt difficult because we were running into a strong, cold headwind. After that, my nerves about hitting a PR fell away. I felt great - and confident that I could do it. And boy, did I! I crossed the finish line in 1:51:42, dropping 8 minutes off my previous PR. You can bet I celebrated like a Diva at the post-race party! Special thanks to my Diva friend Shari Klarfeld, who ran 1:37:34 and quickly exited the finish area to wait along the last stretch of course to cheer me through the finish. Seeing Shari and her husband, Guy, cheering for me through the finish area gave me a little boost of energy to kick in across the finish line feeling strong.

At the finish line, Shari and I of course had to show off our Diva accessories - a "bling medal" with faux diamond and a Diva tiara (we passed on the feather boas that were also on offer)...