Post by dudesky1000 on Dec 19, 2014 18:01:30 GMT -5
TCS New York City Marathon 2014 Race Report
Here we go! The long and boring race report I've been meaning to post forever.
In a year, as a runner, you log many miles. You spend a lot of hours mindlessly running. If you are like me, and you train with a specific START and FINISH point for all of your runs, then all of those hours, all of those miles, the adrenaline, the kicking, the panting, and profuse sweating can all be strung by one common thread:
The finish line. Where all of the senses reach their peak. It's the greatest climax you ever experience.
Every run that I have ever enjoyed has been bookended by this action--as I can finally see the goal-post ahead of me, I sprint toward it with all of my might, slam the physical post itself, and let off a bit of steam through a fist pump, a battle cry or simply "YES". It is my overly dramatic way of boosting my spirits. It doesn't matter if it was a good run, a crappy run, or nothing special. It can be an easy effort run, or a really hard workout (those usually have especially intense finishes). The important thing is that I finished something and that I feel positive coming away from it as I go back to my life. I believe there's something powerful in raw expression. I'm not the most loud-spoken or social person in the world, so it's a way for me to give my howl to the moon.
Having said all of that, when you start to participate in races, and you begin to train specifically for them with goals in mind, you begin to visualize yourself crossing actual finish lines, and the excitement of those images can serve as a motivator. When the race is on, and you're struggling, that's when those images carry you to the end.
Now, when you begin to anticipate the final race of the year, and when you begin to think of it as the final finish line of a Year of Improvement--that's when things can get pretty exciting. Overwhelming, even. Luckily, I didn't really have to luxury to think much about this year's marathon in advance because of my film. I had to limit my visit to the Expo, one of the greatest attractions for runners year-round, to just an hour, and almost wasn't able to make it to my pre-race dinner because of last-minute equipment insurance problems. I actually was slightly convinced that I wasn't going to able to shoot my film at all. By the time I got to the marathon, I was a bit subdued. And by the time I got on set of my film, I was a vegetable.
Once I remembered that I was running a marathon in two days though, I wanted it so badly. I was in one of the most despairing periods in recent history, and told myself that even if my film completely fell apart, at least I had the marathon--at least I was going to have that finish line moment where I could feel good about something! I went to a few thrift stores the day before, in the pouring rain, to correct my first mistake from last year. Last year, I sat in the below-freezing cold in nothing but a tank-top and my shorts...not realizing that we'd be waiting hours for the race to start outside. I bought myself layers and layers and more sweet, sweet LAYERS!! I made sure that I got a full night of sleep...my first in about a month. No pigging out at the pre-race dinner, either! And a smart breakfast to start my morning--a bagel, and a couple of little cups of hot chocolate to have something warm running through my system.
Race day conditions were very windy and moderately cold. I definitely felt more prepared than last year for the cold but MAN, the wind was almost painful against our faces. We even got an e-mail alert in the middle of the night (which was scary for those of us who went through the 2012 Hurricane Sandy cancellation) saying that they were taking down most of the signage for safety reasons. Thankfully, like last year, I was in the first wave, so I didn't have to wait as long as thousands of other pour souls, but even for us in the first group, it took a very long time for us to actually be queued up to the start line. This is another time when visualizing the finish line can help.
STATEN ISLAND (MILE 1)
The start of the race was actually pretty funny. It was SO windy on the Verrazano Bridge that people were literally running in every direction--people bumped into each other, hats flew off into the Hudson River, and some guy even yelled at me because my scarf was supposedly whipping him in the face. I saw a couple of people almost trip over their own legs because of the wind. The entire first mile of the race is on this bridge, so this actually went on for quite a while. Once we got off though, it was a little more manageable. In addition to the uphill slope of the bridge, it was a pretty slow start for everyone. My first split was 8:47, which was actually a good time for me to start with in hindsight, but with a 3:30 goal in mind, I was raring to go when I came into Brooklyn.
BROOKLYN (MILES 2-13)
Brooklyn is loooooooong, and really diverse. There's a lot of Jewish, Hispanic, African, even Asian communities in the borough and it's pretty remarkable just how much the crowds change from neighborhood to neighborhood. Everything that I've ever said about how cool it is that people come out and support the runners applies here. The Brooklynites come out in full force, and that's a good thing-- it's half of the dang race! For the first time in a couple of months, I felt really good about things. I was able to let my mind off of my film for a little bit and I was really just happy to be there. I even ran into a few of my good buddies at Team Continuum! They were going for a 3:30 time like me, but they were going a bit faster, so I let them go ahead. But then I ran into Alex.
Alex, who trains with Team Continuum regularly during the summer, is what some would call a "fast ***********". He's a stalky guy, a little taller than me, very jock-like. He's hit sub-3 hours in the marathon, races Iron Man triathlons, and goes to university. He's the dude who shows up to a group run from class, not even really dressed appropriately, and kicks off a string of sub-7 minute miles like it's his off-day.
I was very surprised when Alex came from behind me. We were about 5 or so miles in, and I thought he would be WAY ahead at this point. He told me that he was feeling very sore and that he decided he was just running for fun, with no goal in mind. Of course, his for fun pace was pretty much my serious pace, and when I told him that I was aiming for sub-3:30, he was surprised. He thought I would be going for faster (I've challenged myself to keep up with him in group runs, but obviously these are much shorter races and I can sometimes appear deceptively calm when running at high-effort). I was a little worried to continue running with him, because I didn't want to burn out like last year, but I figured that the company would help the time pass. And it did. I hovered around 7:50 and 8:00 for my pace, and finally, around mile 10, Alex wished me good luck and stopped to stretch (he must have really not been feeling too good).
So far, so good.
QUEENS (MILES 14-16)
This is where things gets dicey for a lot of runners. The crowds thin out, the first wave of burn-outs begin to happen, and the most intimidating part of the race is here: the Queensboro Bridge. The Queensboro Bridge is essentially a seemingly endless, silent uphill battle. There are no crowds on the bridge, and there are no speakers or live bands playing music. The soundtrack here is a sea of breathing, panting, coughing, hacking, wheezing, and people who begin to flat-out talk to themselves. Up until now, the marathon feels like a celebration of our training--this is the first it actually feels like a test. And a serious one. Last year, I began to really feel tired here. I had a little too much fun and had burned too much of my energy stores. I didn't have the endurance.
Following the spirit of the Year of Improvement, I did feel a little better on it this time around. Last year, I was really caught by surprise and had burned myself earlier on by going too fast. This time, however, I knew what to expect, and I think that helped me remember to dial things back a little before getting there. It would be after the bridge that I planned to make my attack toward my goal.
MANHATTAN PART 1 (MILES 17-19)
The greatest thing about the Queensboro Bridge is what's on the other end: 1st Avenue in Manhattan--ask any elite world marathoner, and they'll tell you that the spectacle of the erupting crowds and music on 1st Avenue is the most thrilling part of any marathon anywhere. It's the perfect boost of encouragement to revive those who are just beginning to suffer badly, and a danger to those who are trying to pace themselves for the long haul. Next to the finish line, it's my favorite moment in racing. I'd say, it's about as close as you can get to living like a rockstar for 20 minutes. And just like a rockstar, after those 20 minutes of fame, it's all downhill (not literally).
As I said, I planned on beginning my surge toward my sub-3:30 goal here. Well, after the high of the Midtown crowds wore off, I didn't have much surge left. The numbers say it all: Mile 18 was 7:55. Mile 19, on the other hand, was 8:42. My pace was slipping, my legs were beginning to ache, and my hopes of meeting my sub-3:30 goal were painfully disintegrating. I was also approaching the Bronx, where last year my legs froze up in cramps that forced me to stop completely. And the finish was still far, far away. It seemed like a repeat of last year was inevitable.
BRONX (MILE 20)
...But the cramps never came. My legs were definitely suffering badly, but I managed to keep going. I scarcely remember this mile, other than the feeling that I wanted to keep going without stopping, to at least improve on last year's time, but I wasn't really focused on the numbers. At this point, the mind kind of shuts off. I was still having a blast out there--just in a painfully dying on the inside kind of way.
MANHATTAN PART 2 (MILES 21-26.2)
There's nothing quite like the last few miles of a marathon to give you a fresh perspective on both the frailty and strength of the human body.
Remember what I said about visualizing yourself crossing the finish line at the top of this post? Here's an exception to the rule: No matter how hard you try, no matter how strong your imagination or willpower is, there is a point where your brain and your body lose touch with one another. If you come into the back end of a marathon underprepared, there is only one thing that will get you across the finish line: your legs. Every bit of mental energy is spent on getting through each remaining mile and each remaining minute, on a mile-by-mile and minute-by-minute basis. You'll discover some bizarre, frustrating and even dangerous effects that the toll of a marathon can take on your body: you may find that you can no longer calculate your pace or projected finishing time, or that your perception of space becomes warped. You may not even feel tired, but for some reason, you just can't get your legs to continue to move. I find myself reaching for cups of water and gatorade at every aid station even though I don't feel dehydrated at all.
At Mile 23, I finally threw my scarf into the crowds, and I ran past my family in front of Mt. Sinai Hospital. By this time, I was in 9:00+ pace territory, and despite my best attempts to hide my struggling, my brother sensed that I could use some support. He ran the entire 23rd Mile alongside me, from outside of the course barriers, and followed me into Central Park. I used pretty much everything I had left in the tank just to keep up with him!
From this point onward, I vaguely remember a few things: one, the sun finally broke out and it became really warm. Two, there was a guy named Super Dave who was running near me, and I remember hearing a lot of people yelling "SUPER DAVEEEE!!" but maybe even that was just in my imagination. Third, a friend of mine ran onto the course to pat me on the back, but I actually can't remember who it was, even today. I was getting a lot of love from the crowd. And finally, I noticed that time did finally expire on my 3:30 goal as I reached Mile 25.2... just a mile short. Just like how my film was going to fall through, just a week short of preparation.
But I wasn't going to be deterred. The crowds at Colombus Circle brought me back to life, and with just less than a mile left, I could finally begin to see it. I could see the finish line in my head. And the crowds were exploding. When you've run for over three and a half hours, and you know that even at this pace, you'll actually be finished with this bloody thing in less than 5 minutes, something clicks. I realized that I was about to finish a marathon, and remembered that this is something I should feel good about. And I don't mean to be morbid, but I also remembered that I've suffered in far more serious ways, from a disease that I was actively fighting against by running this race. I rediscovered my fighting spirit, and noticed that it wasn't too late to try to finish in under 3:40, which would still be a great 10-minute improvement for me. There was still time to set things right! There was still time to fight! I put everything I had into those last meters.
How did I feel when I finally crossed the finish line?
Why not visit the NYC Marathon 2015 website and find out!
www.tcsnycmarathon.org/plan-your-race/getting-in
Let's just say, I must have been literally the happiest finisher that day.
Bib Number: 11132
Official Finishing Time: 3:38:54 (8:21/mile)
6466th Place out of 50,530 Finishers
2013 NYC Marathon Time: 3:49:59 (8:47/mile)
Improvement: -11:05
Overall, now that time has passed, I am very happy with this race. Even though I didn't make an arbitrary time goal that I set at the beginning of 2014, I stayed true to the theme of my year of running, and felt like I "bit Crohn's back" in my own way. I managed to continue running all throughout, even at an occasional jogging pace, and although I do still think I was undertrained for the pace I was attempting, and I went out too fast (again), I'm left inspired rather than discouraged. After all, this was an effort worth celebrating! I think it's really hilarious that NYRR decided to use my picture for many things--including the blast congratulatory e-mail sent to all runners on the morning after the race. I guess in some way, I'm immortalized!
Things in life did take a dramatic turn for the better immediately following this race. I jumped back into pre-production for my film with a new sense of determination and I did shoot as I had planned, with unexpected success! The film is nearly finished and almost ready to share with the world--it's just in the test-screening phase now!
Look out for an overall assessment of the year in the OP, and until then, happy holidays from your resident runner!