Well, after my resolution of July 12 or so, I ran for about a week and ended up not getting back into it. A trip to drop off Daughter at camp, a weekend at the beach, a couple of work obligations and VOOOM, "NY Wolve's Get Fit Summer 2010!" was off. I really struggle with motivation sometimes, and, well, I just couldn't sustain it.
Ironically, though, the plan is back on. I have more or less decided NY Marathon is out for this year. I will defer until next year. And that decision has allowed me to take a longer view about weight loss and getting back into shape. No more gun to my head to be ready to run 26.2 on November 7. Instead, I can diet, build a base, work on form and not over doing it and take the long view. Yes, it will be difficult not to be there on November 7. But sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor.
One thing that really, really made me miss running and want to be back in shape was returning to Asheville, NC. My daughter goes to camp outside of Asheville, and we have gone down there the last three years for drop off. Asheville is a beautiful town, and a really funky vibe also; sort of like Austin, TX. At any rate last year, I was in good shape and training for the NY marathon. I ran 18.4 miles at a 8:28 pace. (I wrote more about Asheville and my run here.) Returning to Asheville, I could no more have run 18 miles than jump over the moon. And I missed that feeling. I missed that feeling of "Hey, I could really do something here. I can run these hills." I missed the feeling of confidence and accomplishment that I had last year.
So all of that means...back on track for Austin 2011. First goal, for next 3 months is lose weight and build up the base. I can make to go/no-go decision on Austin in October after a couple of months are under my belt. But I feel good about it. It gives me time and a longer horizon to view things.
By the way, Running Times had an excellent piece on why people fixate on marathons. I strongly recommend it, and many of the things the author said -- positive and negative -- could not be more true in my case. A marathon mentally captures you, both with excitement and dread, and has a tendency to become a preoccupation through which all other decisions -- workout, eating, sleeping, etc., are viewed. I can't find a link to it, but heartily recommend it for anyone contemplating running a marathon.
In closing my on again/off again training is not unusual for me. Nor are my crazy weight swings unusual (unhealthy yes, unusual, no). But this time, this time, I am going to make it work. I can feel it.
Showing posts with label ny marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ny marathon. Show all posts
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
NY Marathon Help
I have a request for others who are entered in MY Marathon. In sum, I have a guaranteed entry because I ran in 9 club races and volunteered in one. The NYRR website says that people with guaranteed entry will receive an email with application instructions in January 2010.
I never received that email. The website says if you don't receive the email, apply with everyone else and send an email. I did that. And I sent 5 increasingly desperate email over 5 weeks. No reply. Finally, I received an email that said, literally, "You are accepted." On the marathon website, my application status says "Marathon registration status: accepted." But, does that mean my application is accepted and I am in the lottery? Or, am I "Accepted" and in the marathon? I emailed NYRR again, and got an equally succinct answer: "You are in." Ok, I am breathing easier. I have received no email confirmation from anyone confirming my acceptance.
But still. I am nervous, honestly, given the brevity of the answers and the many, many times I have to ask. And I paid the higher non-NYRR entry fee. I have asked several times (7 actually) about having that $45 cost difference applied to an extension of my NYRR membership for another year. No response.
So for all hopeful NY marathoners out there, what is your marathon application status? For others with a guaranteed entry... what is your status? Has anyone received a confirming email saying "Congratulations!" or anything like that?
I never received that email. The website says if you don't receive the email, apply with everyone else and send an email. I did that. And I sent 5 increasingly desperate email over 5 weeks. No reply. Finally, I received an email that said, literally, "You are accepted." On the marathon website, my application status says "Marathon registration status: accepted." But, does that mean my application is accepted and I am in the lottery? Or, am I "Accepted" and in the marathon? I emailed NYRR again, and got an equally succinct answer: "You are in." Ok, I am breathing easier. I have received no email confirmation from anyone confirming my acceptance.
But still. I am nervous, honestly, given the brevity of the answers and the many, many times I have to ask. And I paid the higher non-NYRR entry fee. I have asked several times (7 actually) about having that $45 cost difference applied to an extension of my NYRR membership for another year. No response.
So for all hopeful NY marathoners out there, what is your marathon application status? For others with a guaranteed entry... what is your status? Has anyone received a confirming email saying "Congratulations!" or anything like that?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Post Marathon Thoughts
1. A great experience. While I wish I did better, I am happy with my result. Really. I have pictures from my March race that motivated this fitness kick. Compare that to a picture from the marathon. Wow, what a difference seven months can make.
2. Injury report -- Four, count 'em, four dead toenails, and two nasty blood blisters under two of them. And a huge blister on the side of the big toe on my right foot. The second toe on my right foot is now only moderately disgusting; after the race it was unbelievably gross. Before the race, that toe already had toenail issues (it was purple and dead, with a new nail growing underneath). I trimmed the nail the night before, and thought this could turn out badly. Race day produced an enormous blister on the end of the toe, a blood blister under the new nail, and just all around grossness. But, remarkably, it didn't hurt too badly. And now it is just a black toe with a seriously messed up toenail that I suspect will fall off any day.
3. Mentally, it was a struggle. This last month was one of the longest work months for me in years. (Lawyers work in billable hours; I billed more hours last month than I have in almost ten years. And that is a lot.) In fact, I worked the the entire Saturday before the race on Sunday. I was supposed to fly out on Sunday night --marathon day -- for a trial that started Tuesday. I flew out at 6 a.m. on Monday (day after the race) instead. That is just hard to focus and be tough on race day. I also couldn't risk just crushing myself in the race -- I had a big work week in front of me. So, that inability to mentally focus on the race was a factor. As was...
4. Lack of Training -- I didn't train enough in September and October. Hey, that's life, work, etc. Hard to be too mad about that.
5. FIRST. The FIRST training program did not get a clear shot with me. As my life got busy in September and October, my workouts became fewer and fewer. In reality, I hardly ran 3 times a week, much less run 3 times a week and do the 2 cross training workouts FIRST called for. So, in reality, I kind of ended up doing the Runners World "busy man" workout. That schedule was three hard workouts a week, and other runs or workouts were gravy. That was the best I could do, so that became my plan by default.
6. Garmin Running with my Garmin was both a blessing and a curse. Watching the data, I knew my heart rate was too high early in the race and thus probably unsustainable over 26.2. And, as it turned out, I couldn't sustain it. But was that because mentally I knew my Garmy had me running too fast and hitting a wall? Or, did I simply hit that physical limitation as reflected by my Garmin? In other words, did I go out too fast? Or did the Garmin create a self-fulfilling prophecy? I am undecided. And the virtual race partner went crazy on mile 24 and really threw me out of sorts. Initially, it tracks your projected finish time versus a "virtual steady state training partner", and shows how far ahead or behind you are of that racer. Late in the race, the ahead/behind had huge swings. I had it set on 8:00 miles. Thus, if I ran an 8:30 mile, I thought I would be 30 seconds behind. But my pace guy was going crazy. On a walk break, it would show me like 20 minutes behind. I would say to myself "holy sh-t, I better get going!" And then when I was running I would be only 8 minutes behind. It should just track the gap, as I didn't have the distance programmed in. I am guessing that the algorithm goes a little crazy after 20ish miles. All in all, would I run with Garmy again? Yes. But with a huge grain of salt.
I haven't decided on a future running goal yet. My A-1 goal is not to lose fitness and gain a bunch of weight this holiday season. Maybe a late March or early April marathon. For now I have to work the NYRR 60K (that's right -- 36.6 miles) on Nov. 21, and run a 4 miler on Nov. 22. And then I am in NY marathon in 2010. And I will be there, faster, stronger, fitter.
2. Injury report -- Four, count 'em, four dead toenails, and two nasty blood blisters under two of them. And a huge blister on the side of the big toe on my right foot. The second toe on my right foot is now only moderately disgusting; after the race it was unbelievably gross. Before the race, that toe already had toenail issues (it was purple and dead, with a new nail growing underneath). I trimmed the nail the night before, and thought this could turn out badly. Race day produced an enormous blister on the end of the toe, a blood blister under the new nail, and just all around grossness. But, remarkably, it didn't hurt too badly. And now it is just a black toe with a seriously messed up toenail that I suspect will fall off any day.
3. Mentally, it was a struggle. This last month was one of the longest work months for me in years. (Lawyers work in billable hours; I billed more hours last month than I have in almost ten years. And that is a lot.) In fact, I worked the the entire Saturday before the race on Sunday. I was supposed to fly out on Sunday night --marathon day -- for a trial that started Tuesday. I flew out at 6 a.m. on Monday (day after the race) instead. That is just hard to focus and be tough on race day. I also couldn't risk just crushing myself in the race -- I had a big work week in front of me. So, that inability to mentally focus on the race was a factor. As was...
4. Lack of Training -- I didn't train enough in September and October. Hey, that's life, work, etc. Hard to be too mad about that.
5. FIRST. The FIRST training program did not get a clear shot with me. As my life got busy in September and October, my workouts became fewer and fewer. In reality, I hardly ran 3 times a week, much less run 3 times a week and do the 2 cross training workouts FIRST called for. So, in reality, I kind of ended up doing the Runners World "busy man" workout. That schedule was three hard workouts a week, and other runs or workouts were gravy. That was the best I could do, so that became my plan by default.
6. Garmin Running with my Garmin was both a blessing and a curse. Watching the data, I knew my heart rate was too high early in the race and thus probably unsustainable over 26.2. And, as it turned out, I couldn't sustain it. But was that because mentally I knew my Garmy had me running too fast and hitting a wall? Or, did I simply hit that physical limitation as reflected by my Garmin? In other words, did I go out too fast? Or did the Garmin create a self-fulfilling prophecy? I am undecided. And the virtual race partner went crazy on mile 24 and really threw me out of sorts. Initially, it tracks your projected finish time versus a "virtual steady state training partner", and shows how far ahead or behind you are of that racer. Late in the race, the ahead/behind had huge swings. I had it set on 8:00 miles. Thus, if I ran an 8:30 mile, I thought I would be 30 seconds behind. But my pace guy was going crazy. On a walk break, it would show me like 20 minutes behind. I would say to myself "holy sh-t, I better get going!" And then when I was running I would be only 8 minutes behind. It should just track the gap, as I didn't have the distance programmed in. I am guessing that the algorithm goes a little crazy after 20ish miles. All in all, would I run with Garmy again? Yes. But with a huge grain of salt.
I haven't decided on a future running goal yet. My A-1 goal is not to lose fitness and gain a bunch of weight this holiday season. Maybe a late March or early April marathon. For now I have to work the NYRR 60K (that's right -- 36.6 miles) on Nov. 21, and run a 4 miler on Nov. 22. And then I am in NY marathon in 2010. And I will be there, faster, stronger, fitter.
Friday, November 6, 2009
NY Marathon Race Report, Part 2
Picking up from last report, the first seven or eight miles were great. Smooth. Fast. Easy. (I reprinted my splits below for posterity). No lingering aches or developing issues.
But I was concerned about my always creeping up heart rate. And I was over pace. My Garmin race buddy had me over 2 minutes ahead of him (My Garmin has a virtual race partner, who runs at a constant pace. You can then see if you are ahead or behind him. More on this later.)
And running in Queens produced one memory that will stick with me a long time – I saw an Achilles runner with no legs. Achilles runners are the special needs or handicapped runners. Some are blind, some are physically handicapped, but all the epitome of effort. At about mile 12, I saw a relatively young kid with no legs, running with crutches and a large prosthetic spring- like leg attached under his waist. No legs. I thought to myself “Wow – did I really just see someone on crutches, no legs, racing through the marathon? “ That is some good fire.
Anyway, after I passed the half way point, I knew it was going to be a long ride home. My dreams of Boston Qualifying were long gone; my miles were averaging around 7:45, and my half time was 1:43. But now I was focused on the 3:30 goal. I was on time for that, and just don’t get over excited –it is still a long 13 miles to glory. And I was getting freaked out about my heart rate, by now consistently in the high 160’s – averaging 90% of max.
But now we are coming to my favorite part – the 59th St Bridge and First Avenue. The trip up the bridge seemed to be longer than I remembered and more uphill also. But what goes up must come down, so I am ok with it. And my wife and daughter are at mile 17.5. But I am not feeling so good.
Turning off the bridge onto First Avenue was everything I had remembered. People cheering everywhere and wow -- what a sight looking down First Avenue. Brings chills thinking about it. Here is a YouTube video of First Ave filmed by someone in an apartment overlooking the street.
Another of my favorite parts is running by Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital on 68th St and seeing the children from the cancer ward cheering you on. Fred’s Team is a charity that runs to raise money for cancer care, and this is their cheering station. It is so inspiring to see the nurses and patients out there clapping and enjoying the day.
My right hamstring started to tighten up. And I was a little dehydrated. The marathon has water stops at every mile. My hydration plan was plan was to alternate the miles water, Gatorade and skip. So I would drink two out of every three miles. It wasn’t an overly warm day and I wasn’t sweating that much really.
At First and 80th, hooking up with the family was great. My 9 year old was jumping up and down saying “Daddy don’t stop! Keep going! Don’t stop!” I wanted to stop right there and take a nap. My hammy hurt, I was peaking in HR in the mid 170’s –over 95%, which is darn near impossible to maintain. I took a piece of bread for fuel and went on. The bread was a really bad idea – it sucked all moisture out of my mouth. Had to get an extra cup of water for that.
Up First Avenue to the Willis Avenue bridge, at 124th. Made it about halfway up the bridge and took my first walk break just at the mile 20 mark. I wasn’t going to make sub 3:30 and had lots of cushion to make 3:30 something -- I figured I could run 9 minute miles over the next 6.2 and easily hit my goal.
After a walk break, I ran some, walked some. Right hamstring was really, really tight and it hurt badly. I felt like I wasn’t moving my leg at all, just swinging it with my hip. For about 20 seconds I thought of quitting, but I wasn’t going to do that. Miles went by slower and slower, and I wanted to save some energy for the Fifth Avenue stretch and Central Park (which starts at Mile 23 or so). And the miles just kept getting longer. Thankfully my heart rate was under control and would slow when I took a walk break (if your HR doesn’t decrease with a decrease in effort, it is a major concern.)
I met the family again in Central Park at Mile 24. I actually felt OK at this point and it is all downhill from there. Crowds were just awesome, and the fellow runners were just chewing up the pavement. I was looking forward to the end, but this was a blast.
Resolving to stay strong and run out the finish, I made the turn out of the park at mile 25 and onto Central Park South. Great crowds again, and a nice 8:30 minute mile would put me in at around 3:38 or so. My Garmin racing buddy was going crazy. I would be behind by 8 minutes, and then 15 the next. So I couldn’t really figure out my “cushion” for a 3:3x time, but the clocks on the course were all over.
Then, about 1/3rd of the mile from home, I had an enormous cramp in my left hammy. AHHHHHH! I had to pull up and hop off the course. It wasn’t so bad that I collapsed (as happened to a guy about 10 yards ahead of me), but it rendered me immobile. I stopped, stretched, rubbed it, hobbled some, and about that time a Dutch runner named Martin (it was written on his jersey), stopped and said “Come on we are almost there. You can make it.” And then he was gone. Hardly Knute Rockne-esque, but he was right, and I started again, slowly at first and then back in stride. After about 100 yards from the finish, I saw Martin and gave him a thumbs up and said thanks. But I knew that the cramp had just cost me the 3:3x.
Jogged across the line, feeling glad it was over, sorry that the last 6 miles were such a trudge, but also pleased with the world and everyone in it. I had just finished the New York marathon and set a PR.
After the Finish Line
After the finish line, they hand you a mylar blanket wrap and your medal. And then you have to walk down this road trying to find your truck with your bag from the start. Medical people are everywhere, like every 20 yards. I honestly felt nauseous. And my gut was in a huge knot, feeling terrible. I felt neither of those things in the course, but at the end I felt dizzy and faint and just sick. But I kept walking. If I sat down, I knew it wasn’t going to get any better and I would be in real trouble. I ate the energy bar in my finisher bag. And drank Gatorade. Slowly started feeling better. I remember thinking, “I am never doing that again.” A half marathon is so much easier and manageable.
After I got my bag and headed out to meet the family, I was already thinking about next year. How I was going to train, what I was going to do differently. And vowing to myself, “I’ll be back.”
Distance Split time Avg. HR Time
1.00 9:17 150 (81%) 0:09:17
2.00 6:35 153 (82%) 0:15:53
3.00 7:34 165 (89%) 0:23:27
4.00 7:48 165 (89%) 0:31:16
5.00 7:42 164 (88%) 0:38:59
6.00 7:32 165 (88%) 0:46:31
7.00 7:36 167 (90%) 0:54:08
8.00 7:48 167 (90%) 1:01:56
9.00 7:44 168 (90%) 1:09:41
10.00 7:35 166 (89%) 1:17:16
11.00 7:45 169 (91%) 1:25:01
12.00 7:45 169 (91%) 1:32:47
13.00 7:46 171 (92%) 1:40:33
14.00 7:50 172 (93%) 1:48:23
15.00 7:54 174 (93%) 1:56:17
16.00 8:10 177 (95%) 2:04:28
17.00 7:28 174 (94%) 2:11:56
18.00 8:15 169 (91%) 2:20:12
19.00 7:53 172 (93%) 2:28:05
20.00 8:54 173 (93%) 2:37:00
21.00 8:57 168 (90%) 2:45:57
22.00 10:03 163 (87%) 2:56:01
23.00 9:07 165 (89%) 3:05:08
24.00 10:50 159 (85%) 3:15:59
25.00 9:27 164 (88%) 3:25:27
26.00 9:06 166 (89%) 3:34:33
26.81 6:38 172 (92%) 3:41:12
But I was concerned about my always creeping up heart rate. And I was over pace. My Garmin race buddy had me over 2 minutes ahead of him (My Garmin has a virtual race partner, who runs at a constant pace. You can then see if you are ahead or behind him. More on this later.)
And running in Queens produced one memory that will stick with me a long time – I saw an Achilles runner with no legs. Achilles runners are the special needs or handicapped runners. Some are blind, some are physically handicapped, but all the epitome of effort. At about mile 12, I saw a relatively young kid with no legs, running with crutches and a large prosthetic spring- like leg attached under his waist. No legs. I thought to myself “Wow – did I really just see someone on crutches, no legs, racing through the marathon? “ That is some good fire.
Anyway, after I passed the half way point, I knew it was going to be a long ride home. My dreams of Boston Qualifying were long gone; my miles were averaging around 7:45, and my half time was 1:43. But now I was focused on the 3:30 goal. I was on time for that, and just don’t get over excited –it is still a long 13 miles to glory. And I was getting freaked out about my heart rate, by now consistently in the high 160’s – averaging 90% of max.
But now we are coming to my favorite part – the 59th St Bridge and First Avenue. The trip up the bridge seemed to be longer than I remembered and more uphill also. But what goes up must come down, so I am ok with it. And my wife and daughter are at mile 17.5. But I am not feeling so good.
Turning off the bridge onto First Avenue was everything I had remembered. People cheering everywhere and wow -- what a sight looking down First Avenue. Brings chills thinking about it. Here is a YouTube video of First Ave filmed by someone in an apartment overlooking the street.
Another of my favorite parts is running by Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital on 68th St and seeing the children from the cancer ward cheering you on. Fred’s Team is a charity that runs to raise money for cancer care, and this is their cheering station. It is so inspiring to see the nurses and patients out there clapping and enjoying the day.
My right hamstring started to tighten up. And I was a little dehydrated. The marathon has water stops at every mile. My hydration plan was plan was to alternate the miles water, Gatorade and skip. So I would drink two out of every three miles. It wasn’t an overly warm day and I wasn’t sweating that much really.
At First and 80th, hooking up with the family was great. My 9 year old was jumping up and down saying “Daddy don’t stop! Keep going! Don’t stop!” I wanted to stop right there and take a nap. My hammy hurt, I was peaking in HR in the mid 170’s –over 95%, which is darn near impossible to maintain. I took a piece of bread for fuel and went on. The bread was a really bad idea – it sucked all moisture out of my mouth. Had to get an extra cup of water for that.
Up First Avenue to the Willis Avenue bridge, at 124th. Made it about halfway up the bridge and took my first walk break just at the mile 20 mark. I wasn’t going to make sub 3:30 and had lots of cushion to make 3:30 something -- I figured I could run 9 minute miles over the next 6.2 and easily hit my goal.
After a walk break, I ran some, walked some. Right hamstring was really, really tight and it hurt badly. I felt like I wasn’t moving my leg at all, just swinging it with my hip. For about 20 seconds I thought of quitting, but I wasn’t going to do that. Miles went by slower and slower, and I wanted to save some energy for the Fifth Avenue stretch and Central Park (which starts at Mile 23 or so). And the miles just kept getting longer. Thankfully my heart rate was under control and would slow when I took a walk break (if your HR doesn’t decrease with a decrease in effort, it is a major concern.)
I met the family again in Central Park at Mile 24. I actually felt OK at this point and it is all downhill from there. Crowds were just awesome, and the fellow runners were just chewing up the pavement. I was looking forward to the end, but this was a blast.
Resolving to stay strong and run out the finish, I made the turn out of the park at mile 25 and onto Central Park South. Great crowds again, and a nice 8:30 minute mile would put me in at around 3:38 or so. My Garmin racing buddy was going crazy. I would be behind by 8 minutes, and then 15 the next. So I couldn’t really figure out my “cushion” for a 3:3x time, but the clocks on the course were all over.
Then, about 1/3rd of the mile from home, I had an enormous cramp in my left hammy. AHHHHHH! I had to pull up and hop off the course. It wasn’t so bad that I collapsed (as happened to a guy about 10 yards ahead of me), but it rendered me immobile. I stopped, stretched, rubbed it, hobbled some, and about that time a Dutch runner named Martin (it was written on his jersey), stopped and said “Come on we are almost there. You can make it.” And then he was gone. Hardly Knute Rockne-esque, but he was right, and I started again, slowly at first and then back in stride. After about 100 yards from the finish, I saw Martin and gave him a thumbs up and said thanks. But I knew that the cramp had just cost me the 3:3x.
Jogged across the line, feeling glad it was over, sorry that the last 6 miles were such a trudge, but also pleased with the world and everyone in it. I had just finished the New York marathon and set a PR.
After the Finish Line
After the finish line, they hand you a mylar blanket wrap and your medal. And then you have to walk down this road trying to find your truck with your bag from the start. Medical people are everywhere, like every 20 yards. I honestly felt nauseous. And my gut was in a huge knot, feeling terrible. I felt neither of those things in the course, but at the end I felt dizzy and faint and just sick. But I kept walking. If I sat down, I knew it wasn’t going to get any better and I would be in real trouble. I ate the energy bar in my finisher bag. And drank Gatorade. Slowly started feeling better. I remember thinking, “I am never doing that again.” A half marathon is so much easier and manageable.
After I got my bag and headed out to meet the family, I was already thinking about next year. How I was going to train, what I was going to do differently. And vowing to myself, “I’ll be back.”
Distance Split time Avg. HR Time
1.00 9:17 150 (81%) 0:09:17
2.00 6:35 153 (82%) 0:15:53
3.00 7:34 165 (89%) 0:23:27
4.00 7:48 165 (89%) 0:31:16
5.00 7:42 164 (88%) 0:38:59
6.00 7:32 165 (88%) 0:46:31
7.00 7:36 167 (90%) 0:54:08
8.00 7:48 167 (90%) 1:01:56
9.00 7:44 168 (90%) 1:09:41
10.00 7:35 166 (89%) 1:17:16
11.00 7:45 169 (91%) 1:25:01
12.00 7:45 169 (91%) 1:32:47
13.00 7:46 171 (92%) 1:40:33
14.00 7:50 172 (93%) 1:48:23
15.00 7:54 174 (93%) 1:56:17
16.00 8:10 177 (95%) 2:04:28
17.00 7:28 174 (94%) 2:11:56
18.00 8:15 169 (91%) 2:20:12
19.00 7:53 172 (93%) 2:28:05
20.00 8:54 173 (93%) 2:37:00
21.00 8:57 168 (90%) 2:45:57
22.00 10:03 163 (87%) 2:56:01
23.00 9:07 165 (89%) 3:05:08
24.00 10:50 159 (85%) 3:15:59
25.00 9:27 164 (88%) 3:25:27
26.00 9:06 166 (89%) 3:34:33
26.81 6:38 172 (92%) 3:41:12
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
NY Marathon Race Report, Part I
The day started off ominously. I had a 5:30 wake up alarm, but at 5 am, Mrs Wolve rolled over and said "Oh my God, its 6 am, and you've misssed your ride!" It was like a bad movie, or at least a Seinfeld episode. I jumped up about 10 feet in the air, and was already getting dressed. And then I realized my wife had forgotten about daylight savings time. I had not. So I wasn't late -- I was now actually up 30 minutes early.
And I opened the window, and... raining. Not hard, but rain -- not drizzle. A quick peek at the weather radar on my laptop showed rained all over the area, with no break until 10 am. That is not so bad -- the race was supposed to start at 9:45. But that did mean sitting in the rain waiting for the race start, for about 3 hours. The race start village is all outdoors on a coast guard training area under the Verrazano Bridge that goes from Staten Island to Brooklyn. It is like a college -- buildings, parking lots and open space. Lots of open space. 3 hours in the rain. Sitting in the mud. OK, whatever. Its been raining here all summer, so not that big of a deal. I just put on rain gear, and got in my ride.
Pleasant surprise number one: it stopped raining on the way! Sweet. And not much traffic. Got there about 7, which was quick. So, it was a great morning really. I mean I am at the marathon start, sun is out, and the big show is about to begin.
The start village is like a United Nations camp. There are so many foreigners running the marathon, and they travel in packs. And wear all kinds of gear showing their national pride. A group of Peruvians were sitting next to me. Lots of Dutch, Germans, Italians, Poles and Mexicans. A great melting pot. Except many of those cultures don't understand lines. So the concept of lining up for a toilet is inapplicable. Dunkin Donuts had free coffee, and it was a madhouse. They were passing out free hats, and people were literally getting crushed trying to get one. It wasn't even cold -- people just wanted the freebie. (I'll post a picture when I can.)
As I was waiting for my last bathroom break, the announcement came: First wave to the corrals. The race has three waves that go out in 20 minute waves. I was in the first wave, which was for the fastest runners. I was way in the back of the wave, and kind of got in a rush to get to the corral. The corrals are separate starting divisions within the waves. Each corral was about 500 people. I wanted to run with the 3:30 pace group, but they were starting in the corral ahead of me. No big deal, except I would have to catch them in first mile or so. Again, not a big deal, but I had to get to my corral to be in the front. So I hustled to the bag drop, dropped my bag, and went to line up. I had forgotten to eat my banana and last energy bar, so all I had in me was an energy bar at 6 am. Also not so good.
And then I waited in the corral. And waited. And went to the bathroom again. And waited. And got cold. My heart rate was in the 60s, which I was pleased about. Time to line up and get close. Could barely hear national anthem and then BANG, and we're off. I crossed the line about 1 minute after the gun went off. WooHooo...Yeah!
First mile is just a zoo. Very crowded..and it is uphill, up the Verrazano bridge. In fact, it has the high point of the course on it, at mile 1. As someone said, its all down hill from there. First mile was about 10:20. That was real slow, but understandable. Fell in with the 3:30 pace group, and was feeling good. To make 3:30, we needed to run 8 minute miles. So a 10:20 first mile meant we now had 2 minutes 20 seconds to make up over the next 25 miles.
And I looked backover the bridge to Manhattan, and Wow what a view! Just spectacular. I also saw the flag flying on Ft Wadsworth (the starting village). And it was stiff pointing right at the bridge. Whitecaps on the river. Uh-oh. All that rain was followed by a strong breeze out of the NNE. And we are about to run 21 miles...NNE. 21 miles into the wind before we turn around and head for home. Not a crushing gale wind, but a strong breeze. That isn't good.
A quick pit stop on the side of the bridge in mile 2 (coming downhill), and still ran a 6:50 mile 2. Now off the bridge and running on the bridge access roads really. A huge crush of people, and I am running close to the curb; to dodge a walker, I step onto the grass off the road and run about 10 feet on the grass. And promptly step into a mud puddle. Oh dammit, my foot wet, sock wet, shoe wet and dirty. Dammit, that is just inconvenient, but I'll live. Lucky I didn't twist my ankle or anything. Heart rate is a little high, but by about mile 3 or so we (the pace group) are on pace.
And I am feeling great. The first seven miles go by so quickly and so smoothly, I am just in awe. The race is 25% over and I feel like I haven't broken a sweat. Remarkably smooth. Miles 3-7 all went around 7:30. I had left the 3:30 pace group because I had found some space, fell into a good rhythm and just let it flow.
I started thinking,... maybe BQ... maybe this will be a golden day. Still worried about heart rate, which was already around 85% or so which isn't so good. I kept saying to myself, slow down.. give up pace...save it..keep heart rate down...don't go out too fast..pace, pace, pace.
But hey, I felt great. I was running the NY marathon, and I thought, what the hell, enjoy the ride.
And I opened the window, and... raining. Not hard, but rain -- not drizzle. A quick peek at the weather radar on my laptop showed rained all over the area, with no break until 10 am. That is not so bad -- the race was supposed to start at 9:45. But that did mean sitting in the rain waiting for the race start, for about 3 hours. The race start village is all outdoors on a coast guard training area under the Verrazano Bridge that goes from Staten Island to Brooklyn. It is like a college -- buildings, parking lots and open space. Lots of open space. 3 hours in the rain. Sitting in the mud. OK, whatever. Its been raining here all summer, so not that big of a deal. I just put on rain gear, and got in my ride.
Pleasant surprise number one: it stopped raining on the way! Sweet. And not much traffic. Got there about 7, which was quick. So, it was a great morning really. I mean I am at the marathon start, sun is out, and the big show is about to begin.
The start village is like a United Nations camp. There are so many foreigners running the marathon, and they travel in packs. And wear all kinds of gear showing their national pride. A group of Peruvians were sitting next to me. Lots of Dutch, Germans, Italians, Poles and Mexicans. A great melting pot. Except many of those cultures don't understand lines. So the concept of lining up for a toilet is inapplicable. Dunkin Donuts had free coffee, and it was a madhouse. They were passing out free hats, and people were literally getting crushed trying to get one. It wasn't even cold -- people just wanted the freebie. (I'll post a picture when I can.)
As I was waiting for my last bathroom break, the announcement came: First wave to the corrals. The race has three waves that go out in 20 minute waves. I was in the first wave, which was for the fastest runners. I was way in the back of the wave, and kind of got in a rush to get to the corral. The corrals are separate starting divisions within the waves. Each corral was about 500 people. I wanted to run with the 3:30 pace group, but they were starting in the corral ahead of me. No big deal, except I would have to catch them in first mile or so. Again, not a big deal, but I had to get to my corral to be in the front. So I hustled to the bag drop, dropped my bag, and went to line up. I had forgotten to eat my banana and last energy bar, so all I had in me was an energy bar at 6 am. Also not so good.
And then I waited in the corral. And waited. And went to the bathroom again. And waited. And got cold. My heart rate was in the 60s, which I was pleased about. Time to line up and get close. Could barely hear national anthem and then BANG, and we're off. I crossed the line about 1 minute after the gun went off. WooHooo...Yeah!
First mile is just a zoo. Very crowded..and it is uphill, up the Verrazano bridge. In fact, it has the high point of the course on it, at mile 1. As someone said, its all down hill from there. First mile was about 10:20. That was real slow, but understandable. Fell in with the 3:30 pace group, and was feeling good. To make 3:30, we needed to run 8 minute miles. So a 10:20 first mile meant we now had 2 minutes 20 seconds to make up over the next 25 miles.
And I looked backover the bridge to Manhattan, and Wow what a view! Just spectacular. I also saw the flag flying on Ft Wadsworth (the starting village). And it was stiff pointing right at the bridge. Whitecaps on the river. Uh-oh. All that rain was followed by a strong breeze out of the NNE. And we are about to run 21 miles...NNE. 21 miles into the wind before we turn around and head for home. Not a crushing gale wind, but a strong breeze. That isn't good.
A quick pit stop on the side of the bridge in mile 2 (coming downhill), and still ran a 6:50 mile 2. Now off the bridge and running on the bridge access roads really. A huge crush of people, and I am running close to the curb; to dodge a walker, I step onto the grass off the road and run about 10 feet on the grass. And promptly step into a mud puddle. Oh dammit, my foot wet, sock wet, shoe wet and dirty. Dammit, that is just inconvenient, but I'll live. Lucky I didn't twist my ankle or anything. Heart rate is a little high, but by about mile 3 or so we (the pace group) are on pace.
And I am feeling great. The first seven miles go by so quickly and so smoothly, I am just in awe. The race is 25% over and I feel like I haven't broken a sweat. Remarkably smooth. Miles 3-7 all went around 7:30. I had left the 3:30 pace group because I had found some space, fell into a good rhythm and just let it flow.
I started thinking,... maybe BQ... maybe this will be a golden day. Still worried about heart rate, which was already around 85% or so which isn't so good. I kept saying to myself, slow down.. give up pace...save it..keep heart rate down...don't go out too fast..pace, pace, pace.
But hey, I felt great. I was running the NY marathon, and I thought, what the hell, enjoy the ride.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
3:42
That is official the result:3:42:08. First half in 1:43; second in 1:59 (ouch!). Still all in all, I have a smile ear to ear.
Of course I am disappointed wasn't a 3:30 something, but it was a great race and great experience. Race report later.
Thanks to everyone for messages of support and interest, it really, really means a lot.
Of course I am disappointed wasn't a 3:30 something, but it was a great race and great experience. Race report later.
Thanks to everyone for messages of support and interest, it really, really means a lot.
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