NYC Marathon 2008- Very much Fun.

Mile 21 - 10:23
Mile 22/23 - 10:43 (3rd Gu I think)

Back into Manhattan and onto 5th Avenue. It's funny, during my training run on the end of the course, I figured climbing back up 5th with the park in the distance would be the hardest part of my day. Little did I know, it would turn out to the best! I picked up the pace, which became amazingly simple as soon as I got out of my own head. I felt completely comfortable and probably could have picked it up more, but I figured at this point, I just wanted to enjoy the rest of my day. I even started to pass people. I cheered greetings to the South Africans I passed in Zulu and Xhosa, and realized that THIS was what the day was about.

In my pity party, I had not taken a Gu, so I took a Gu around Mile 22 I think. I had started to drink Gatorade during my walks, so I was worried how it may react with the Gu, as I usually stay away from the sweet drinks on my long runs, but it turned out fine.

Around this time as well, the 4:15 pace group passed me. I briefly considered trying to hang with them until the end, trying to make up the minutes spent chatting it up and feeling sorry for myself on 1st. But I reminded myself that not only did I NOT have a time goal, I had told myself before the race started, that if I wasn't going to break 4 hours, there was no difference between a 4:03, a 4:14 or a 4:20. If 4 hours wasn't in the cards, then I was going to enjoy my day, stop on 1st, visit with my friends, and soak it all up. Ok, so fine, maybe that IS having a time goal, but it's sort of having one, without having one, right??

At 110th, I knew I was only 1 mile from the park. I knew I was going to see my friends again, and I knew I was going to make it. This picture, between miles 23 and 24 and one of my new favorites, sums up how I was feeling at that moment (thanks to Bob for his amazing pictures, as always!).

Mile 24 - 10:41

Mile 25 - 10:12

Mile 26 - 10:14

I knew once I was in the park I was going to be fine. My crazy friends were hours into their Mimosas, hanging out behind the MET, and I am not sure if they have ever been so happy to see me. I am also not sure if they had the tambourines out when I saw them on 1st, but they were not to be missed in the Park!! I think they were a little insulted I didn't stop, but I was on a mission.

I was a bit worried about the downhill at Cat Hill and how my hip would take it, but at that point, I actually don't think I could feel my legs at all. I was running on pure emotion and adrenaline. Running under the mile 25 banner was the most amazing feeling ever (although it did come with the always present smell of horse sh!t at that corner in Central Park. You think they could do something about that on Marathon weekend, no?)


I missed seeing my best friend from college on Central Park South, and resisted the urge to speed up at the end. There was no need at this point- I wanted to take it all in (however, looking at my splits, I guess I DID speed up). I knew there was a final little climb to the finish, but best of all my friends who had seats in the finish area spotted me and yelled like crazy and I saw them! I knew they had VIP seats, but didn't think I was going to be able to see them.

My non-human friend who just finished KONA a few weeks ago, and is insane, also ran NYC (and a 10 minute PR, crazy lady) and was able to make it back to the finish area to cheer me across the finish. It meant so much to see her.

I honestly don't remember much about crossing the line, just a complete rush of emotion and the incredible urge to sob. Not out of happiness or sadness, just out of pure emotion. I resisted, as I figured that may have been quite embarrassing, and then focused my attention on the new task at hand: How to get from the finish area to beer as quickly as possible.:

Mission accomplished.

Pics around mile 19.

Able to put together some pretty convincing smiles and waves at about mile 19.5

And this is my friend telling me there are 6 miles left, at Mile 18.  Pure joy before I realize her mistake.

NYC Marathon 2008- Not so Fun

Mile 11/12 - 19:09 (9:35 pace, 2nd Gu)

Mile 13 - 9:43

Mile 14 - 10:19

Mile 15 - 10:59 Queensboro Bridge

This is where the melt down began, and became complete.  I am racking my brain to remember, but I have no idea what happened between miles 12 and 13.  I was still feeling fine physically.  I was actually excited- at 20k, I knew I was right on pace for a 1:57/1:58ish half and was elated at how little effort it had taken.  However, something happened between 20 and 21k.

I just don't remember WHAT.

My hip hurt, but it has been hurting all day. I just got a similar feeling to my last half marathon- I just wanted to stop.  Then I got down on myself for wanting to stop.  Then I started thinking about excuses for stopping.  Then I got more angry with myself.  And my pace began to slow.

I made a deal with myself around mile 14.  I would run to my friends, who were planning on cheering at mile 15, right before the turn onto the Queensboro Bridge.  I would let myself stop and chat with them, stretch a bit and regroup before the bridge.  It was a great deal.  Until I didn't see them.  Apparently, they saw me, but I didn't see them, and I think this is where the mental breakdown was  just about complete and took over my body.  I knew the rest of my friends were waiting between miles 18-19, but that seemed to be an eternity away.

The Queensboro Bridge was the longest, loneliest and most painful mile of my life (wow, that sounds dramatic, but I've only been running for 4 years, so I think it's actually possible).  The climb seemed to go on forever, it was so quiet and I began to talk myself into quitting.  I told myself I would run until I saw my friends at 78th Street, then I would stop.  I looked forward to the crest of the bridge so I could use the downhill as a little break.  Yea, right.  The downhill of the Queensboro Bridge hurt my hip more than anything all day, and I had to settle for a hobble/ walk down the bridge into Manhattan.  I was totally out of it.  This was supposed to be the best part of the day, making the turn into Manhattan and running up First Ave.  And all I wanted to do was stop.  So I did....

Mile 16 - 11:07

Mile 17 - 11:04 

Mile 18 - 11:31

Mile 19 - 11:42

Mile 20 - 11:30

...At the Medical Tent located right after the Bridge, on 59th street I think.  I asked for Tylenol (I had a friend waiting with Tylenol at Mile 19.  In retrospect, I should have carried my own and taken it right when the breakdown started, if not before).  The medic gave me ONE Tylenol.  Said I could only have one.  I responded 

"How do I quit this thing?"

He informed me that there were buses right at 60th that would transport me to the finish.  I told him, no, I wanted to quit around 80th street, were there buses there?  He laughed and sent me on my way.

I knew I had 1 mile to my friends.  At 78th Street I didn't see them.  There was a water stop, porta potties, but no friends.  I didn't need water, I didn't need to go to the bathroom- I needed to see my friends, and they weren't there.  I almost totally lost it.  One group of friends were between 79th and 80th- They screamed my name and I have never been so relieved.  I could now quit.  Ha.

Not so much.  I couldn't even look at them without tears welling up (as they do now).  I was so disappointed in myself (which is CRAZY bc I at this point I really hadn't even slowed down that much!  so amazing how mental this as well, looking back).  They reminded me of the hard work I had put  in,  and that it was supposed to hurt.  They said I was doing so well (ha b/c the athlete alert was delayed and they were still getting my sub 9 splits, bless their hearts!) 

Another group of friends were about a half block north.  This is my friend who I went down to MCM last weekend with.  I cried more.  She offered me a mimosa.  I declined.  They all looked SO happy to see me and SO excited for me, and all I felt was that I was disappointing them.  And there was a barrier between the sidewalk and the street, and I couldn't get out.  So I kept on running.

More friends at 92nd.  I stopped and chatted.  This was around Mile 18.  One friend shouted "You've only got 6 left!"  This made me think for a moment I could still get under 4 hours.  Then I wanted to kill her.  She apologized later, even though I had forgotten :)

More friends around 100th.  I stopped and walked at this point and took two more Tylenol.  At this point I think I finally realized I was going to finish.   

At Mile 20, you cross the Willis Ave Bridge (or something like that), and are in the Bronx for about a mile.  On the end of the bridge, while I was still busy feeling sorry for myself and not focusing on running, I tripped and almost face planted.  I scared the shit out of myself and caught my fall with my bad leg.  This FREAKED me out and I had to stop and take a few deep breaths.  I was worried I may have hurt my leg.  But this almost seemed to snap me out of my funk, as well.  

I realized "What the hell am I doing?!"   I was missing it.  All this time, all this training, and I was MISSING IT.  For the next mile I talked myself into running the rest of the miles, only walking at water stops.  I found a comfortable pace, with no need to push it at this point, and focused on finishing mile 20, getting back into Manhattan and into Central Park.

NYC Marathon 2008- Fun.

(I start to write 1 post, but it's way too long, and since my race is easily divided into three distinct parts, they will be: Fun, Not so Fun, Very much Fun)

You can get the short version in the previous posts.  It wasn't pretty.  But it was [mostly] fun, and I finished with a smile, so goal accomplished.  Am so so glad NYC was my first marathon, the support of the city and all  of my friends was amazing and I feel so blessed.  As I hobble around my apartment today, the emails and messages are icing on the cake (I don't like cherries).

Long Version:

My confidence was admittedly shaken going into race day.  My 20 mile run didn't go as planned (ie I ran too fast), and the three weeks that followed were tough, mentally and physically.  I fell and bruised my back/ass pretty hard and think it really inflamed my hip, which had been doing so, so well in the last weeks of higher training.  About 5 days before the race I tried to get rid of the negativity, finally had a comfortable run, and was ready as I could be.  I was confident in the training I had put in.

I also fought off the desire to set specific time goals for my first marathon.  From the beginning, I tried to keep the goals simple: Have fun, finish healthy and with a smile on my face.  Of course in the back of my mind there were specific goals, but I tried to keep them away.  

I had a little bit of a freak out when I found out at the expo that the 3:50 pace group would be starting in my corral.  I decided to use this to my advantage and try to stay BEHIND them and away from them to keep from going out too fast.  Unfortunately I never even saw the pace group.  The only pace group I saw was the 4:15 group run by at mile 23.5.

Race Morning

Was able to get a good night sleep, including an extra hour b/c of setting the clocks back the night before.  Only had one dream (nightmare?) about running up the side of a mountain.  Woke up at 5am and hopped in the shower to wake up and warm up.  I had two Go Lean Kashi waffles, a greek yogurt and water for breakfast.

Logistically, the NYC Marathon is interesting.  As it is a point to point race, through all 5 boroughs, you start in Staten Island.  Which means transporting close to 40,000 people to Staten Island before 9Am.  I had been assigned the 7:00am ferry to Staten Island, where buses were provided to get runners to the staging area near the start line.  In addition to the simple transportation logistics, this year was the first year NYC had 'wave' starts, with about 13,000 people starting every 20 minutes.  They hoped this would ease congestion at the start, where the course merged, and at the finish.

I left my apartment at 6am and got a cab to South Ferry. I arrived just as the 6:30am ferry was leaving, and decided to take this ferry.  The ferry was buzzing with excitement, and I tried to zone out and not think too much, as my stomach was in knots.  I took a few pictures of the sunrise over the Verrazano Bridge, this is thethe first 2 miles of the course

Once arriving in Staten Island, I decided to stay in the ferry building for a while, to avoid having to wait in the cold for 3 hours (my start was at 10am).  Luckily, I ran into a friend at this point and we spent the next 2 hours chillaxing- first in the Ferry Terminal, then huddled in trashbags and blankets after we had to check our baggage.  I ate a plain bagel while waiting, probably around 7:30/8am.

Of course I don't know what it was like before, but the wave starts seemed to work great.  I think the first wave started a few minutes late, but I headed over to my corral once they called wave 2 and spent maybe 20-30 minutes until we were off almost exactly at 10am.  I had 1 Gu while waiting in the corrals.  Not as bad as I expected.  We walked from the staging area to the start, turned a corner, and the bridge was in front of us!!  I started to get choked up- there was so much emotion and excitement in the air!  The weather was perfect- I ended up running in shorts and a sleeveless top and was comfortable the entire time, and wore gloves for about 10 miles.

Mile 1 - 9:19

Mile 2 - 8:14

Once the cannon sounded, it probably took less than 30 seconds to cross the timing mats, and right away I was able to setting into a comfortable pace.  It was not nearly as crowded as I expected.  The first mile of the course is actually the longest climb, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn.  The view was amazing, and my body was feeling great.  My hip was definitely bothering me, but not to the point that it was altering my stride so I didn't worry.  Everything I had read said not to freak out over the first two mile splits, and to average them and move on from there.  

Mile 3 - 8:33

Mile 4 - 8:50

Mile 5 - 8:48

Mile 6 - 9:04 (first Gu)

This part of the course is up 4th Ave in Brooklyn.  The crowds were amazing, I felt great, BUT KNEW I needed to slow down.  You can see in my splits I was trying to slow down.  I would have loved to be running right at 9 minute miles, I just couldn't seem to find it.  I took my first Gu at mile 6.  I tried to assess how I felt, and I felt great.  My hip was nagging, and I had been feeling a side stitch since the start, but my heart rate was totally controlled and the pace was effortless.  

Mile 7 - 8:55

Mile 8 - 9:06

Mile 9 - 9:40 (course merged- bit of a bottleneck)

Mile 10 - 9:04

These miles were my favorite part of the day.  The crowds in this section of Brooklyn were AMAZING.    The three 'color' starts merge at Mile 9, and at the same time the course narrows a bit, so there was a bit of a bottleneck.  But it didn't matter, the crowd was AMAZING.  People were standing 10 deep, up the stairs of the brownstones, and rocking out with live bands.  At one point, I swear an entire block was dancing in unison!  It was amazing.  I missed my friend who was taking pictures around 9/10, and was a bit bummed.  I also didn't see Josh, but thanks for all your well wishes and support!!  I knew I had more friendly faces waiting at 15, so I tried to look forward to this.

In retrospect, at this point, I was really starting to want to see a friendly face.  I still felt fine physically, but I hadn't seen anyone I knew since I left my friend in the staging area around 9am.  I thought I would see some familiar faces on the course, but I was beginning to feel a bit lonely.  This is where 'Fun' ended and 'Not so Fun' began....

Love it.

Official Time

5K Time

10K Time

15K Time

20K Time

1/2 Mar. Time

25K Time

30K Time

35K Time

40K Time

Pace/ Mile

4:22:05

0:27:06

0:54:46

1:23:30

1:52:57

1:59:37

2:25:56

3:01:31

3:35:36

4:08:06

0:10:00

Probably close to the ugliest way to get exactly a 10 min/mile pace :)  Very proud.

I was happy, comfortable and having fun through 20k, would have gone through half in about 1:57 to give me a bit of a cushion to get under 4, and I honestly can't figure out what happened right at 20k.  I just lost it mentally.  

I probably spent at least 5 minutes on First Ave talking with friends, as the convinced to me keep going.   

Gathered myself around 30-35k and was able to enjoy the last hour and finish strong and with a smile.

After I digest, will write a more detailed report of the day.  It's hard to be SO SO HAPPY and a bit disappointed at the same time.  Just trying to wrap my head around and understand what happened.

Quickly.

Because I smell and really need to shower. Then go back to the bar.

It was fun. More fun than not fun, so fun wins. The first hour and 50 minutes were great. The last hour was fun, too.

Not sure what happened between 13-20. I guess my wall came a little earlier than most people? I am proud to say that even though there was lots of walking, some crying, I didn't quit, as I had planned. I even asked the med tent at mile 15 "How do I quit this thing?" He gave me ONE Tylenol and told me to keep going....yea buddy, that's really gonna help :)

My hip hurt the entire way. The downhills KILLED it.

Am elated to have finished, sorta bummed that I cracked mentally and took that it took me so long to get it back together, especially bc I was in the worst of it on 1st, where I should have had the most fun. But hey, it was my first try, right?


More later, when we can laugh together at my splits, with color commentary, of course!