NYC Race Report / SLIMBO / First Time (Read 597 times)

This is long ... let's be honest ... we are all just wasting time to avoid work ... so this is my contribution to making your day go faster! Let me start by saying that I ran NYC on a charity exemption for the Achilles Track Club [more specifically The Achilles FREEDOM TEAM of Wounded Veterans which introduces recently wounded soldiers from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to running. See http://achillestrackclub.org/freedom_team/ We raised $7,500 through the generous donations of friends and family. The Achilles Track Club does wonderful work for disabled runners and I would encourage anyone to check them out. They always need volunteers to act as “guides” for disabled runners in races throughout the country. As for me … Nov. 2007 – I was sitting on the couch with my DW exactly a year ago drinking coffee after a late night watching the NYC Marathon on TV. I have partied on 1st Ave as a younger man and watch runners go by thinking “these people have to be out of their minds.” My wife turned to me and told me that I should run the NYC Marathon next year. Her request went unanswered. She is, however, quite a bit brighter than yours truly and likely fully understood that a seed had been planted … it just needed time to gestate. Jan 1. 2008 – at a New Years party, my friend and neighbor Joe C. tells me that they are looking for a 4th runner for their NJ Marathon relay team May 4th, 2008. [His wife was running the ½.] Like me, Joe was not the picture of health. Also like me, promises made after midnight on New Years are rarely kept. Some time past and Joe called me to make sure that I was “still in.” Apparently I had agreed to the 8 mile leg. Around mid-March we started running a couple of miles in the AM. I found an on-line training schedule and ran for 4-weeks scheduled workouts 16 / 17 / 18/ 19 mile weeks. I can’t recall the split exactly, but sufficed to say, I did better than I thought possible. More importantly though was that I ran on a marathon route with “marathoners” … pace groups … old folks and young folks … people running with a purpose and fans cheering. I stayed for a long time that day and watched runners cross the finish line … hmmmm … I think the roots were taking hold. My wife suggested I should sign up for the Philadelphia Distance run [1/2 marathon] in Sept. … which I did. Summer 2008 – The Spring Lake 5 was a month away … so I decided to just keep running. I ran the Spring Lake 5 [significantly faster than 2007 when, again, I ran it as a “bet” … it’s the Sat of Memorial Day weekend … 10k runners and the largest 5 miler in the country. It’s a big party with Bloody Mary’s afterwards at the Parker House.] This year I was much more prepared. My buddy Gerard [finished 5 marathons over the past 3-years … who I run with regularly now, but had never run with before] suggested we pace each other. Huh? Whatever dude – I just don’t want to puke. I ended up finishing about 8 seconds behind him. Ran an 8k a month later … even faster. This whole time, I am thinking about the NYC Marathon. I am past the lottery date. On 07/14/08, I officially got into the NYC Marathon via Achilles. That’s 16 weeks of training. I reached out to Reno Stirrat and Franc Karpo to help me develop a training plan. Which they did … hills / fartleg / turning the legs over / long slow runs. I ran alone all Summer and did most of my long runs on Sat. AM’s on Rte 35 between Lavallette and Bay Head, NJ. [It’s dead straight / flat and hot.] As soon as the sun rises you cook. I had so many crappy long runs … I remember looking down at my shoes and seeing the sweat squeezed out on every step. Toes are bleeding / nipples bleeding / chafing like a champ – this sucks! Thank god for the IPOD. Fall 2008 – School starts and the kids are back on a regular schedule. I start running regularly in the early AM with Dan / Gerard / Jim. No more IPOD … weather is getting cooler … long runs are getting easier. A whole lot of laughs and the miles just pass by uneventfully. Minor injuries … knee problems [new shoes / PT / cortisone shot – nothing works but stretching. I cut out the hills and the speed work. Philly ½ marathon – I killed it. Beat my target time with the last 2 miles as the fastest miles – left it on the course – puking at the finish line – like being back in HS. The following week I ran the 18 mile tune up in Central Park … not so good. Probably not recovered from Philly, but this is not a good sign. Had a final 19 mile run with Dan – went flawlessly. I am ready for NYC. Wind down the miles and get ready for 11/01/08. Marathon Day – Jimmy drives me down to the Izod Center to catch the bus to Ft. Wadsworth. I am the last guy on this particular bus. Now realize that I am 6’5” and probably the tallest guy on this bus. They jam me into the last seat above the wheel well so that my knees are scrunched up. Sat that way for an hour. Arrive at the start. Blue village / Wave two. Now I heard people say that it’s a free for all at other NYC starts. I have nothing to compare it to; however, things were very organized. Plenty of bathrooms [5 minute lines at best.] UPS trucks were well marked to drop off your post race clothes, etc. It’s now around 7am … the wind is blowing pretty good from the NE. I pick a grassy spot on a knoll and just settle in. A guy named Doug from Florida sits down next to me. It’s his 2nd or 3rd NYC Marathon and he has done a couple of others. He shows me pixs of his 2 month old girl. I tell him about my 2 girls. We both laugh saying how much we thought we wanted sons … and, now how being the father of daughter’s changes your whole life. He wants another daughter just like I did. Time passes slowly toward the 10 am start ... I don't mind the cold -- but it is cold. Some lady just turned a recycling box on it's side and crawled in. [A crafty wierd group these marathoners]. I notice at this point that my Garmin is “on” … I mean it’s tracking right now. I check the battery status and it’s at 55%. It's supposed to power down but it's "stuck." [NOTE TO SELF -- read owners manual.] I know right then that it will never have enough juice for the whole race. Before you know it, it’s 9:30. I lube up like the Tin Man and head to the corral. I am a little bit late so I am at the back of the Blue Wave. We walk forward slowly. I ditch my pants and sweatshirt. But I am keeping my hat and gloves. I have my Hair Club head band tucked into my waistband [I have worn it at every race since the NJ Marathon] … down the steps and I see all of these buses “why are we going into a parking lot” … what’s going on here. I nice women from Boston starts talking to me – distracting me from the anxiety… “This is my 10th NYC … I ran Hartford as a training run” – I’m thinking -- she’s no joke. Good luck and she is gone. Then I look to my left and see the Verrazano. Holy Cr*p. A cannon fires and race starts. As I make the left turn around the last bus Bruce Springsteen is blaring “BORN TO RUN” … cliché sure … amazing – absolutely. The shuffle becomes a walk; becomes a jog; becomes a run as I cross the start. Now we are heading over the bridge. 1 mile up [looks like I am 22 minutes off the gun time] and 1 mile down. The whole way people have their cameras out and they are stopping to take pictures of each other … what a party. As for me – I am running alone again -- surrounded by 40,000 other people – but alone again. McMillan says that I can do a 3:51 based on my ½ marathon time. People have told me to add 10 minutes to that for NYC. Maybe 4 hours is achievable. So that’s my target … keep your pace around 9 minute miles. Checking the Garmin around mile 3 … 9:04 average. Doing fine. By mile 4 the “low battery” is permanently affixed across the dial. [Technical sidebar – why didn’t some knucklead at Garmin make this an occasionally flashing note? Don’t they realize that you cannot read your elapsed time with that message?] Don’t get pissed … just deal with it. My pace was dead on consistent through the first ½ of the race. I saw a 4:00 pacer in front of me so I hung with her for a couple of miles and we seemed to be on the same pace … when the watch craps out I will run on her heels. I literally crossed the 13.1 mile mark at 2:00:00 hours – right on time. The crowds / bands are rocking the whole first ½ of the race. I had an IPOD but never turned it on. I ditch my hat and put on the HAIR CLUB head band – let’s get it on! Someplace between mile 14 and 15 I look down at the watch and it is blank. Where’s that pacer? I find her on the Queensboro Bridge. I ask her if she is on time. She tells me she lost her group and she thinks she is still on pace -- not too chatty -- i thought pacers were chatty. [You are a pacer right? Oh well … I think I am on my own again.] Down into Manhattan you enter onto 59th street. The noise is unreal. I am supposed to meet the DW on the NW corner of 61st. I have been thinking for a mile that I will give her my watch. I start up first ave … where is she … there she is … big kiss and an I love you … grab a gel and off again. Forgot to give her the dead watch ... which I will instictively look at another 50 times before the finish line. [I down my 3rd gel.] I am fired up now out in the middle of First Ave. I guess I got a bit excited b/c I apparently ran mile 16-17 in 8 minutes – but I didn’t have a watch so who knew. Manahattan is a blur. Sometime around mile 17 I start noticing people walking – looking pained. My feet [arches] are starting to hurt and my hips are aching. It’s not insane yet … I just am making a mental note. “Charlie” is walking on the side of the road and I hear a chant … Charlie – Charlie – Charlie – Charlie … Charlie starts running again and there is a huge roar. [Note to self – glad my name is not Charlie.] Past mile 19 [this is pretty much the longest I run ever … 3 training runs around this distance] so this is uncharted waters… I know that I am slowing down but I don’t feel really bad. We cross the Willis Ave Bridge … steel deck but they have carpet across it – feels weird but I keep going. There is a bagpiper on the bridge – how cool is that? Now everyone I know told me that mile 20 in the Bronx sucks – there is nobody around and it’s deadly quiet. That’s the wall right? I knew that I needed to be around the 3 hour mark at mile 20 to make it to 4 hours. I am 5 minutes off pace – 4 hours in unachievable. It could not have been further from the truth. You make a left turn and head down hill. On my right there is a Japanese Taiko Drummers … seems like there are a whole lot of people. At the bottom of the hill there is a big TV screen … I wonder if this is on real TV. Robin Hood cheering zone … couple of more turns than back into Manhattan. When you enter Harlem you run around a beautiful park called Marcus Garvey Park … great brownstones … reminds me of Philly. Right turn / left turn / right turn onto 5th ave. Mile 22. Look straight ahead and there is a sea of runners headed down 5th ave. The problem is they are all above me b/c they are running up hill. This is the worst hill … unexpected in its lenth… dear lord how can I make it up this hill that seems to go on forever. I really want to stop now … everything is starting to hurt – I mean really hurt – I can’t fake myself out anymore. OK – here’s the deal … walk through the water stops – that’s it … so I walk through mile 22 … maybe 15 seconds then back to the shuffle. I have slowed down and we are going uphill … where is mile 23? Walk through that waterstop … this time the legs won’t start … at that tree you run … I mean that tree … if the light turns green you start … or red. Then a guy holding a huge flag passes me – it’s a flag for some obscure country. OK – I am not getting beaten by the man with the flag. I start running [but I must have burned 3 minutes -- gone forever -- 3 whole minutes.] I pass Flag Boy … crest the hill and into the park … I have been here before for the 18 mile Tune Up – in fact I walked this stretch when I crashed on the 3rd loop. But today I am going the opposite direction – down hill … down hill … down hill … past the mountain line statue. I am so happy now – I am getting choked up. I am thinking about my kids and my wife --- god I love my wife. How did she trick me into doing this? Has it been a whole year? Right turn onto Central Park South … and then the signs start … ½ mile to go … back into the park … I am going up hill now and passing people who are walking … I can’t feel my legs. “TIMMY” – I look to my right and there are Gerard and Danny and their kids … my hands are above my head and I am pumping my arms … “TIM” I look again and I see Brian M. … keep running … where’s Michelle? I am looking into the Grandstands and then I see her … I am moving but it feels like slow motion. I am 100 yards from the finish line and staring at my wife – I am full of emotion – love / commitment / pride / success / futures … she snaps a picture while I run and finally I turn away and look toward the finish. I cross the line looking up with a huge smile on my face. I don’t even recall the time but I figure it must be around a 4:08 … I find out later that it was a 4:11:09. Anything under 4:15 and I told myself to be proud. Today was a great day and the past year has been a great year. I feel blessed to have a great family and group of friends and am thankful to the RA Community who gave me great advice and encouragement --- as only runners can do. Anything I would do different next time? I need to get the weekly mileage up to 50-60 mpw which can be achieved by adding days to my schedule. Run slower longer. Constant learning. What’s next? Well, my 40th birthday is in 2 weeks and my present to myself if a surfing trip to Punta Mita. Then, in the Spring, it’s Connemarra on March 22, 2009 See www.connemarathon.com Gerard / Jimmy / Danny and myself … and it will be Danny’s first. He’s going to love it! Some pixs of the SLIMBO AT THE FINISH WHERE'S SLIMBO? TRYING TO ESCAPE CENTRAL PARK DW and ME ... YUP -- I AM A HUGE BUCKEYE FAN! Former Columbus resident!

Congrats! Good job on your first, dude! Can you please revise and add more details MTA: ", dude"

Awesome report Slimbo and Congrats to you!!!

Outstanding report, I loved it. I hope to be there next year.

DAWG -- i realized over the past month while stalking race reports and comparing my training to others that I needed more miles. In fact I remember you telling me after my first post that I need more slow miles. It took some time for that message to stick. I've known that for the past month that I didn't have enough ... but the ones I had were quality. More miles will come more consistently going forward. I feel great still although I am itching to run again. Maybe a couple miles later this week.

Great race report. Well done.

Good job and great race report (& photos)!

Congrats! Awesome way to get your first marathon under your belt!