If we are looking at signs, I do believe the night prior to the race really did its best to provide me with a neon, blinking, bar-window sign telling me to go home. I happen to be an optimist, so sometimes (read: always) I ignore those not so positive cues. I rented a cottage on site, and actually thought I might get murdered. It was just one of those ridiculous feelings. I was by myself for a few hours before my friends came down, and really got the creepies! Self, put on your big girl pants, and ignore the creepies. You are being silly. Okay then, let's unpack. Oh wait, let's not do that without tripping and falling over every stinking curb/rock/step/water spout in existence. Oyy. It's cool, I probably didn't need any of those things to feel good tomorrow. NBD. I am a hot mess. Eventually others arrived, and I felt much less like I was going to get murdered or impaled by a rock. (There was a porch light. Who knew.)
That trench reached up out of the leaves and grabbed a hold of the outside of my foot. My ankle turned in an all-too-familiar way, and that was the beginning of the end. I went flying out in front of me, and the first thing my eyes landed on was a log laying across the trail. Seemed like a good thing to aim for? I reached my hands out (I know I know BAD IDEA) for the log, made contact, and went down hard. Initially, my body collapsed in a very forced push-up motion, which my arms couldn't really support. My right hand slipped and twisted on itself, and then all was still. I got up, assessed my body, and realized that while my ankle was sore, the worst of the fall impacted my hand. This is now the SECOND RACE IN A ROW where I have injured my HAND while RUNNING. (There was an NYC incident involving a port-o-potty and an iron gate. Long story.) I need my own hashtag. Something along the lines of #whathehell, #whoevendoesthat, etc. After I assessed myself, I kept moving. The thoughts I should have had a week ago were now surfacing. I probably should not have chosen a trail 50 to cap off my 90 mile week of running. This was supposed to be the hardest week of my training, My legs are tired. My body is tired. My brain is foggy. I probably should have opted for a nice flat bike trail where I wouldn't be nearly as likely to roll/fall/impale myself with things. In hindsight, running this race with an angry peroneal tendon at the end of a peak week might have actually been irresponsible on my part.
really forced me to examine the risk/reward of EVERY decision, which I think has been good for me as a person overall. I can't say it's a real comfortable position for me to be in, but perhaps it's what I was meant to learn this cycle. Introspection and bruised ankles aside, the run was a good time. And I only got lost once! The volunteers and RD were on point. They were READY an hour before the actual start, which was really nice for those of us who opted to take off early. If you've ever chosen to take an early start, you know that this is an anomaly. You're typically on notice that you're on your own until the regular start peeps can be expected at respective aid stations. The first aid station we came to was at 3.5ish miles, and the gentleman there even volunteered to take things back to the start/finish for us. The markings were good. I typically like a heavily marked course, because I lose focus like nobody's business. I didn't have that reassurance here, but I DID have a map literally pinned to me and markings at every potential "get lost" point. Speaking of getting lost... I only got lost one time! That's a really strong showing for me. In fact, I chose the GPS watch I wear mostly because of the "track back" feature it offers- that's how often I get lost on trails. I don't mind, It's an adventure! I got un-lost at the second aid station, which was unmanned as expected. There was a giant bag of Peanut M&Ms, water, and Tang. Not a bad station. The course detoured a bit due to controlled fires, but I met some nice dudes from Akron on the road and they showed me where the trail I missed was. Thanks new friends! The volunteer at the 1st/3rd aid station was super nice and he told me the other group just started. I was looking forward to seeing some of my running buddies on this out-and-back section, and heckling them appropriately. As I neared the end, I was a little sad that I was done here for the day. I knew it was the right decision, but these choices just weigh so heavily. I informed the volunteer that I was a DNF because I thought I might have a problem with my hand. The RD was really nice and went over to her first-aid kit and asked if I needed ice. I was bummed but it was nice to feel so cared about :) I hung out for a few minutes and checked in with some buddies, then took off for Columbus. I could smell the chili on the fire, I'm certain the folks who stuck around enjoyed some quality time and good food! Time to head home and finish this 50! The details:
Location: Lake Hope/Zaleski State Park Entrants: Maybe 60? I'm guessing from the bib numbers. It felt like a nice, small field. Cost: 60 bucks, any distance! No swag option offered as well for less. Swag: Hoodie and big coffee mug. Nutrition: Since I blew it really badly during last week's 50k, I tried harder this week :) I alternated PowerBar fruit squeezes and Honey Stinger GF waffles, every 2 miles. I chugged a full pack of Skratch emergency hydration (lemon lime, didn't taste awful) at the end of the loop (18ish miles). For the remainder, I ate the fruit squeezes, waffles, and my sister's Thanksgiving potato disaster cheese cups every 3 miles, Skratch again after 15 miles. Thumb update: Still hurts! I think I might just be old. Plus my job necessitates I use it a lot, so no rest! Ankle update: I think it's just a POS. It hurts, goes back and forth between behind the ankle bump and the front of ankle. I'm trying to formulate a plan to get through the next 4 weeks rested, but prepared.
0 Comments
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! Saturday brought the beginning of my "marathon" training schedule. I don't mean that I am training for a marathon, but rather have runs amounting to a marathon or more pretty much every weekend from here until the new year. TRUST ME, running sweet races in beautiful places is so much better than running solo for hours on end. Although sometimes necessary, it's generally boring as hell. I digress :) Run With Scissors is one of the best around. The RD, Roy, hangs out in a death costume smoking a cigar, occasionally yelling "Go!" to begin the costume parade around Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The proceeds go to Run to Share, a great organization that funds philanthropies. The Halloween race attire did NOT disappoint- both Donald Trump and Jesus showed up for the half marathon. The volunteers are all seasoned ultra vets, and know just exactly what participants want and need to keep spirits and legs strong. Except grilled cheese, but that's a whole different blog ;) This run came about a while ago, when my friend Beth asked me if I'd consider running half with her. She was attempting a pretty big distance PR (double marathon-woot!) and understandably wanted some company. The plan was, she would run with our friend Mike for the first marathon, and then pick me up at the aid station for marathon number 2. There was not an exact time cutoff, but the finish area closes at dark so she needed to be in by then. I got in touch with Roy, got permission to start a bit later than that other marathoners, and was pretty excited about it! Beth and I actually finished the half marathon together the year prior, so it was clearly meant to be. Race day morning.. always crazy fun. The drive to Cleveland from Columbus is a few highway hours, and I hit it just right for one of the most brilliant sunrises I've ever seen. I was hoping to myself that Beth and Mike were seeing it too! They started at 4AM, so it was dark then. Really dark. I arrived close to 9AM, expecting Beth and Mike to arrive around 10:30. Beth thought she could do the first loop in 6.5 hours, and then that would leave her 8ish more hours of daylight for the second. When I arrived, the half marathoners were just beginning. I walked into the shelter to grab my packet, and to my surprise, it had already been picked up! I wasn't any of the folks I was with so... oops? No big deal, I just needed a new number and I was on my way. Funny boys they were, I was gifted 69. Roy told me to turn it around if I didn't like it, so I did. Hah. Hugh got me into the timing system, Mark eased my worries about my upcoming 100, and right on schedule, Beth and Mike showed up! Off we go. Sort of. The first mile or two, I got filled in on how the first loop was and how Beth and Mike were doing. I could tell very quickly on my own that we would not be together for long. Beth was running like she just started. I was thinking to myself, "Holy crap! I was thinking I'd have some time to warm up, have a nice little jog to the Pine Hollow AS..." Um, no. Girl had a MISSION. The first few miles of the course were downhill, which can be telling as far as how a distance runner is doing. In all reality, it's the downhills that'll get you. Anyone can climb a hill slowly, but coming down is a whole different skill set. The impact is quite jarring on one's quads and knees. I saw Mike start to float back, and I thought maybe he just needed some reset time. I hollered back every mile or so, and he was still there. At the mile 4ish aid station, I knew he needed to back off, and that's the last I saw of him :( I was REALLY hoping we'd all stay together for the duration, I guess you never know wishes the running gods will grant. After the Pine Hollow AS, we had some really nice rolling terrain. Nothing too technical, all covered with gorgeous yellow leaves of fall, and trees to match. words can't do it justice. That got us to the Covered Bridge AS, about 10ish miles in. We had a 5 mile loop ahead that was the most challenging part of the course. Lucky for us, Beth's stomach began to implode and we needed to stop for a brief break. Nothing a good poop and 3 minute rest won't do for a runner! Soon we were heading back out to the beginning, on the long stretch back to Pine Hollow. Beth was running amazingly well. This is where the mental game begins. She had been running for almost 10 hours here, 40 solid miles. You really have to remember NOW how much you want this, how much the pain doesn't matter, all while pretending that you don't know that you still have 10 miles to run. It is mind control at its best. She was a trooper, I never would have expected anything less. I let her lead because she was still running quite a bit, and her spirits seemed high. We also were in absolutely zero danger of missing the dark cutoff, so really, there were no worries. After getting stopped by a train and four dozen horses, we made our way back to Pine Hollow.
|