March 20, 2008

Struggling with the Brooklyn Half Marathon change

When I first heard the news that the Brooklyn Half Marathon was being postponed until May 3, it didn’t affect me. In fact, it was actually even better for me, because my mom had wanted to come watch the race but couldn’t come on April 26th (the original date) because she’s going on vacation to Florida. I may even go join her now that I’m freed up.

Then, just yesterday, I got asked to judge a case competition up at Cornell. I knew I was going to be asked to do this, but had no idea what the date would be: Thursday, May 1. Hearing that it was May, I went to check out the calendar and discovered that not only is it two days before the Brooklyn Half, but it is in fact the night before Slope Day.

For those of you who weren’t fortunate enough to attend Cornell or have a friend who attended, let me bring you up to speed. Slope Day is officially the last day of classes. However, it is tradition that no one goes to class on Slope Day, so most professors recognize this and cancel class. But don’t think that Slope Day is a day to sleep in… oh no. It is a day to get up at 8 AM and take shots in the shower. It is a day where the first question is whether you are going to have beer or champagne for breakfast.

In case you are thinking that my friends and I are alcoholics, let me show you the official (read: Wikipedia) definition of Slope Day:
“Slope Day is an annual day of celebration held at Cornell University during the last day of regular undergraduate classes. It usually falls on the first Friday of May and the official site of Slope Day is the Libe Slope, on the university campus. Though Slope Day has gone through many phases, in recent years focus has shifted to live music and catered food and beverages on the Slope. Slope Day is notorious for the heavy drinking many students participate in before, during, and after scheduled events.”
See, it’s not just me.

Anyway, now that I’m a big girl and in the real world, I don’t do this “start drinking at 9 AM and drink till 5 PM thing.” (Instead, I do the in-office drinking starting at 3 PM that goes on till 2 AM… see, big lifestyle change). I wasn’t planning on going up for Slope Day, but if my company is sending me up the day before, how can I not go?

But… if I am attempting to PR in the Brooklyn Half Marathon… drinking a lot the night before a race has served me well in the past, but I think that’s been more coincidence than any actual correlation. In addition, there is the whole matter of travel. The race is at 9 AM on Saturday, and there are no flights that get in before 9 AM, so I would have to leave Friday on the 6:30 flight. But I’m a little concerned about that one. Slope Day is a day to get wasted. There have been Slope Days where I’ve barely known my own name, so I don’t know if I trust myself to get to the airport on time. In addition, I’m not sure how drunk you have to be before they don’t let you on the plane, but that’s always a possibility.

I definitely don’t want to skip the Brooklyn Half. I had decided that I wanted to do all five races in the NYRR Grand Prix series, and I intend to stick to that. At the same time, there is no way I’m skipping Slope Day if I’m going to be up there anyway. I’ll plan to take the 6:30 flight, and if worst comes to worst, I can rent a car and drive up early (like, leaving at 3 AM) on Saturday morning. I just need to make sure I am sober by 3 AM in order to drive.

So I guess the upshot is: get ready for another hungover race report!

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6 thoughts on “Struggling with the Brooklyn Half Marathon change”

  1. That is quite an interesting dilemma you have. I guess either way you go, there’s no getting around running at least a little wasted. I originally signed for the Brooklyn Half too, but now that they moved the date, I can’t run it anymore because I’ll be running the Long Branch Half in Jersey instead. Sucks. Would’ve loved to see this speedy semi-drunk girl tear it up on the road in person!

  2. Yeah, hard choice there for ya. I don’t have that ability to drink the night before a big race anymore (see, I’m old now). I used to do the drinking all night then get up for runs with the bomb disposal unit I worked for. Oh well! Interested to seeing how it turns out for you!

  3. Love love love your blog! I am currently a senior college athlete- about to start the real world with a 9-5 and I’m wondering how you got into running and find the time! Also- I see you allot yourself calories for alcohol- how many total cals do you shoot for a day?? Thanks so much 🙂

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