After the expo, I officially had the marathon yippies running through my blood. Jen and I wanted to go for a run and we figured that taking the subway 5 miles away and running back would be the best way to do so. We opted to go north since we enjoy running though Central Park. I'm shocked that Jen let me get away with the "let's just get on a subway and see what happens" plan. Love her :) We immediately went the wrong way, but realized it pretty quickly when we ended up running to a river, not a park. Oops. We turned around and were on our way. Again. We ran down through the park, around the Jackie O reservoir (my favorite!), and through the last few miles of the course. We continued down Park Ave., and then things got real serious. LUNCH. (Side note. I am from NY. Jen is from Bethlehem, which is an hour outside NY. We are used to exceptional pizza and bagels. Enter Ohio, where they have neither of these things. They think they have good pizza, but they do not. Not even a little bit. Ohio pizza is sort of like you put some ketchup on a Matza cracker, throw some cheese on and pop it in the broiler. It's not good. Don't even get me started on bagels.) We saw a pizza shop close to the hotel, and stopped there on the way back from running. 2 slices and a soda for 5 bucks? Yes. Twice, actually. We went back to the room to eat, shower, and relax before dinner. Speaking of dinner... The pre-marathon-pig-out-a-thon dinner is a must. Therefore, careful time and attention goes into choosing the "just right" restaurant. I landed on Serendipity, which is famous for their deserts. (If you're surprised at this point, you haven't been paying attention.) I figured, sure, I could go for some fresh fruit and veggies, some complex/simple carbs that would metabolize seamlessly into energy tomorrow... Or FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE. I mean, come on people. Not even a choice. We took the train uptown and wandered right past Dylan's Candy Bar, put our name on a list, and then back to the candy. Dylan's was epic. 3 floors full of every novelty you could imagine, complete with happy people insisting you try their fudge flavor. *Sigh* (Note- small child birthday party detracts slightly from this experience. Plan carefully.) Back to Serendipity. I hate to say this, because it feels like sacrilege... it wasn't great. The wait was long, the tables were wobbly, crowded, and poorly placed, and the food was mediocre and over priced. Ah well, it was an experience. Now on to bed! I guess it's time to stop playing tourist in my birthplace and run a marathon! Because that's why I'm here :) Sometimes I get caught up in the whole experience that it feels like an afterthought? Silly, I know. They say this event is a marathon, just to get to the marathon... The alarm went off at 5AM, which was WAY too early for ANY day, in my humble opinion. I felt really bad because Jen was stuck in this tiny 8x10 hotel room with me, and had zero obligation to have anything to do with 5AM. I tried my best to have all my stuff ready in the bathroom so I wouldn't be noisy, but I possess the grace of a clumsy elephant. Sorry Jen! My plan was to be out of the room by 5:50ish, walk down the block to the bagel place, get a cup of tea and a bagel, and be on the 4 train by 6:05. I met a few lovely runners along the way, also confused about where to transfer to the yellow train. We got it figured out eventually, and all made it to Whitehall Terminal in time to catch our ferries. My particular boarding time was 7:15, but in 2013 the ferry was, hands down, the most chaotic experience of the day. It made herding cats look easy. I was glad I got there a few minutes early, because it was the same story. I was looking around, and I eyed people set to run in the first wave... I would in NO WAY have the balls to take such a late ferry!! Agida, just thinking about it... oyy. The ferry ride itself was lovely. If you've never had the opportunity, consider doing it once. The views of the Financial District, the bridges, and Lady Liberty are unparalleled. Anyway... We landed on Staten Island around 7:45, and then proceed to get stuck. Like, sardines-in-a-can stuck. The mass was just not moving out of the SI ferry terminal. *Feeling even better that I left early* Eventually, we got out. I think the holdup came from the more organized bus lines. Everyone was funneled into an amusement park style repeated S-curve type thingie, so it just made it slow to get out of the building. NBD. Once that was accomplished, we boarded the buses to Fort Wadsworth, our final destination. Well, the final destination to start the journey to our final destination... I met some really lovely people on the buses. A prosecutor from Manhattan who really likes Brooklyn, a Texas belle who was into trail running, and a middle school teacher, much like myself. The ride itself is only 15 minutes, but then we got stuck for the second time. The buses enter a lollipop-style road of sorts, and the plan is to disembark at the security gates. Seems simple enough, yes? Our bus had stopped in what looked like an endless line of buses. I was not concerned, because EARLY, but the Wave 1 runners were starting to freak out, because their corrals were going to close. The bus drivers decided the runners were more of a pain to deal with than the police, so they all let the runners off the buses in the middle of the island. We all did eventually make it to security, where the cause of the stuck buses was pretty apparent- they couldn't get through because of frantic runners! It was a chicken-egg situation, really. We moved through security and into the start villages, where we eventually found our green corral home. I would like to say it was an awesome experience, but it wasn't. We were pretty early in the grand scheme of things, and everything was out and disorganized. The volunteers had all the Dunkin hats, leaving none for the runners, There was no hot water for any tea or coffee, and nobody could be bothered to get off their cell phones to fix the problems. (I love volunteering for races. I realize how important it is to help races run smoothly. But if you're going to volunteer, please be attentive and don't deplete runner resources for yourselves. Especially for such an expensive race.) We made it to a grassy spot and laid out on blankets, making final preparations for the day. I found Vicci a few minutes later, and she was headed for her corral shortly thereafter. I had another 20 minutes to wait for my corral to open, and all I can say is, thank goodness for wonderful weather! I feel like I was there in just enough time to get ready, get calm, and get to my corral. All in all, it took 4 hours and 50 minutes to get from the hotel to the start cannon, which was, in fact, considerably longer than it took me to run the actual marathon. So I guess those folks were right!
(This might be a good time to mention that I had a small wager on this race. One I secretly knew I would never win, but hey- I'm competitive. I'm training to run a 100 miler in December, and the biggest flaw in my training has been my ability to slow down. Or not slow down. You get my idea. I worked it out that I might need to implement a 16 min run/4 min walk type of thing to hit a reasonable pace to survive 100 miles. I worked that out to be about a 5 hour marathon. Enter bet. If I could come in OVER that time, Jen had to buy dinner. Under, and it was on me. I'll let you guess how this worked out.)
QUEENS We enter Queens at the halfway mark, 13.1. On a bridge, of course. I hit this in 2:15, which did not bode well for my bet! I did what any rational person would do- I got on FaceBook. Really, what's a bigger time suck? Right. I hadn't really been paying attention to my watch as far as pace goes, only to note when time mandated I walked- anything ending on :56, :16, :36 meant I had 4 minutes to walk. My legs were tired by design, so I didn't mind it. I wish we spent more time here, I don't really feel like I ever got a feel for the "flavor" of Queens, so to speak. I think most of us are thinking of what lies ahead during this short stretch- the Queensboro bridge and the 1st Ave. wall of noise. The mile or two before those things is reflective, thinking about where you've run today, and what lies ahead. There's not a lot of time to process it before the bridge summons. Statistically, it's not as long or hard as the Verrazano, but I think that's bullpoops. I mean, I know it's not, cuz math, but anyone who's been at mile 15 of a marathon knows where I'm at. Your legs are starting to fight back, you're tired mentally, and you know you still have a long, long way to go. The Queensboro is a behemoth, beckoning you... it promises you Manhattan if you can just keep your resolve for the next 20 minutes... eerily quiet, all the hooting and hollering has ceased. All you hear is the shuffling of one foot in front of the other, trying to just get over the apex. And then you do, into the loudest wall you've ever encountered.
MANHATTAN (Part 2) Coming back into Manhattan is so bittersweet. It's a (relatively) quick 10k to the finish line, we made it to the final borough! BUT- it's not an easy 10k, and that is known. The first stop is Harlem. In my mind, this is a top 3 cheer area. The people here are wild! They have obviously made this their day, cheering on others though their part of town. The champions have come and gone, and now it's just us- the every(wo)man. HECK YEAH THEY CHEER!! We've worked hard! Thanks, Harlem. At this point, we make the right turn onto 5th. It's the last road we will run on before Central Park... and the finish. The crowds here are 5 people deep; raucous, inebriated cheering is the only thing on their agendas. It's a hell of a way to finish a race. 5th Ave rolls up and down, each tiny hill feeling just a bit steeper than the last. The descending street signs tick off, and I wonder how many more we will see before entering the park? 109th, the north border, comes and goes. Somewhere around 86th, we finally enter, arguably, the most famous park in the world. The math starts running through my head. At this point, I know I'm buying dinner. I wonder how fast I can run this final 5k? I look down, and I'm pleased to see I'm still ticking off 9s pretty effortlessly. (They should have been no faster than 10s- oops. Now I see the flaw in my spectacular pacing plan.) I decide to just enjoy the ride down to 59th, the southern edge of the park. It's less than a mile from here, and people's emotions are beginning to show. Down 59th to Columbus Circle, and a quick right turn later... the finish arch is in sight. It's been a beautiful day. AFTERMATH I have to marvel at the logistical nightmare this marathon must be to put on. Major congratulations to the NYRRs and the city of NY for making this happen. That being said, the mile long hike up and out of Central Park is a little brutal. It's amazing how hard it is to walk for a bunch of people who just ran for 4 hours straight! They do a nice job of getting runners medals, heat sheets, and food bags. Which are delicious because they are not gatorade. As I wander along, I start to consider how I'm getting back to the hotel. Some people might have already had this information, but then there's me. Thankfully, I had my phone on airplane mode most of the day, so I had a bit of battery life remaining! (Hey, I knew I needed to go go south and east. I would've figured it out eventually! Yay subways!) I got in touch with Jen and she met me on the way back, and filled me in on the adventures she had today. I love her a lot. She's always my biggest cheerleader, no matter how many of these things I do. Everyone should have a Jen. After a quick shower, we walked over to Penelope's, where we ate after the last NYC marathon. The food and drinks are exceptional, prices reasonable, and it's a little, under-the-radar type place. After I ate way too much, we walked back over to the hotel, packed up, and called it a night. I will be sad to leave :( HEROES I am compelled to take a moment to recognize all the charity and fundraising groups that take part in this race. I was so inspired by them, to see the passion they had for each individual cause, from Fred's Team here in NYC, to a Cancer support network in Australia. There were hashtags all over the place, each representing someone's "most important thing." Someday, I'd like to run for MS. It's a cause that strikes my family in a number of ways, and it's important enough to me that I should get over myself and just make the commitment. But one group in particular really impacted me- Achilles International. These athletes and their partners are mind blowing. Some blind, tethered to guides, others missing limbs and surrounded for safety. It really puts into perspective the ideas of hard work and suffering. And the guides have the biggest hearts, working with these athletes to achieve greatness. I must do something like this one day. I made sure to greet each of these athletes by name as we passed, and I think I had tears in my eyes for each. I've just never been so inspired. DETAILS
Time up: 5AM Time out of the hotel: 5:50AM Wave start: 10:40AM Finish: 4:37:xx Nutrition: AM; Bagel with CC, Tea. AM Snack: banana and tea. Race fuel: one package of orange Skratch chews, three pouches of PowerBar Simple Fruit (one caffeinated), gatorade and water about every mile. Post Race: Gatorade Recovery Protein Shake. Shirt: Exceptional! Cost: Well... $255 for the race + 3 nights in a hotel + food + gas + tolls + shopping = kind of a lot. But totally priceless!
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