My pie-in-the-sky goal was 1:45, a more realistic goal was 1:47. I met that goal and was 1st in my age group :)

Perfect weather for this event - moslty sunny and low 50s. And the winds were not as strong as predicted (15 - 20 mph!). I tried to line up near the 1:50 pacer in my wave/corral, thinking she would keep my in check for the first several miles. But I could not get very close and did not see her until a 180° turnaround just before mile 2. She was maybe 1:00 ahead, but I continued to be patient and finally caught her around mile 4, just before hitting the Manhattan Bridge. Of course, she passed me there, but on the downhill, I passed her and stayed in front from there on.

I felt pretty good throughout the entire race other than on the hills, but none were as steep as the one in the Shamrock Run. Aid stations slowed me down a bit. Trying to get a drink without splashing most of it out of the cup is never easy. And, yes, I do grab the cup and then squeeze the top shut. And navigating among the others also getting drinks is never simple. 

The finish is in Central Park and there were a few hills there, so another bit of a slow down. However, I finished with a time of 1:47:40 and my 5K/10K/15K splits were all at 8:12 (WOW!). Unfortunaltey, I slowed down to 8:17 from 15K to 20K, but picked it up again just a bit over the last 0.62 (8:14).

Really happy with the time and the fact I finished 1st of 113 in my age group (this time 2nd place was just about 2:00 behind). I was also 1244 of 11,444 total women, 4720 out of 22,330 total finishers.

On top of a good race, I also spent the time in NYC with my daughter who lives there. Overall, a win-win :)