I was already not feeling great about running this morning and the nine-mile bike ride to get to the race probably wrecked me even more. I was doing fine until mile seven and couldn’t draw my second wind. I guess it blew off somewhere with the cherry blossoms. After adding a couple walks and water aid station stops, I still mustered the strength to finish strong. I stretched before I left the race site, but I also took a horrible headache home with me. I began to ride the bike miles home, but the pounding headache was just too much. I caught the subway back uptown instead. Possibly caused by the cherry blossom pollen which may have also affected my race. It’s never happened before, but there’s no guarantee that the first time awaits you. Ugh!

This is my favorite CUCB medal to date! Clean design and not wildly decorated. While I had a rough race, I’m glad that we had a great weather day for it. This race was also my official kickoff to get back to cycling for my crosstraining. My legs were complaining all the way downtown to the race. Time to start more dedicated training towards my first 2019 marathon in Big Sky Country.

Next race: back to the Big Apple in a couple weeks for my first ever double race weekend: the Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k and the UAE Healthy Kidney 10k. Kill me now!