Now that I’ve gone over the pre-race festivities, the
question is “How did the race actually go?”
My main goal for the race coming into the week was 2
fold. First, I wanted to GoPro the
entire race and get footage to show what it’s like to run the NYC Marathon from
an actual runner’s point of view. I had
a GoPro attached to a chest harness and ran the entire race taking a time lapse
video. I’m still in the process of
editing the footage, so that should be up in a bit. The second goal was to enjoy the race and run
it for fun, yet still go under 3:10.
Why 3:10? That’s my Boston
Marathon qualification time. I know I am
not going to run Boston again for some time, but it’s still nice to say I
BQ’d. Easy enough since I have been
running all my runs significantly faster and running a 7:14 minute pace was
something I knew I could achieve.
So once they loaded us in the starting area, I started
talking to some folks and met someone who wanted to do the exact same time as
me, and since he ran 3:12 last year, we decided to run together for a
while. Right there was both a good move
and bad move by me. I loved the idea of
running with someone since it would keep me in check since I’m notorious for
going out too fast, but I never run with anyone else so I knew this might
backfire. However, once we got on the
bridge, things seemed to work out. The
fact that there were 40 mph winds pushing us from one side of the Verrazano
Narrows Bridge wasn’t helping, but only made me feel like I was going to get
pushed over into the water. They say the
first mile on the NYC Marathon is the hardest since it’s all uphill. I’d agree and the winds added to it. Once we got on the descent and started
getting into Brooklyn, we started getting into our rythmn. By the looks of our first few miles, we were
right on pace. About 10 seconds too slow
after mile 4, so I was so happy. I
wanted to stay loose and not tax my legs so I had enough in the tank at the end.
One thing I noticed during the entire race was just how
quiet the spectators were. You always
hear how great and loud NYC is and everyone says Brooklyn is an 8 mile long
party. I can say, this didn’t happen
today. I know it was windy and cold,
but that usually doesn’t stop the masses from coming out and cheering. There was definitely a disappointment with
the crowd.
As the miles ticked by, I started to realize that my
strategy of running with someone was not a good one. The guy I was with seemed a little slower
than me, and during every water stop, he physically stopped to get water then
sped up. I know how to grab a cup and
drink on the go so it was a fluid motion for me. But I saw myself waiting for him after every
water stop. Not a good idea. Also, hills don’t bother me so going up them
I stay the course and cruise down the hills.
He decided to significantly slow down up the hills, but then fly down
them. I didn’t like his move but we were
on pace for most of the race so it wasn’t so bad.
At around mile 10-11, I noticed he just wasn’t staying with
me as much and stupid me slowed down to stay with him. I felt great and thought it was just some
small rolling hills that got him. At
mile 12.5, I couldn’t take it anymore, we were just at the halfway mark and he
dropped back. I felt great, went up the
Pulaski Bridge to the Half mark and never saw him again. Now it was my race. I knew how to control it. I looked at my half split and I was 1:36. One minute slower than goal pace but I was
fine with it since that’s about where I wanted to be. No worries.
Half the race to make up that minute.
As I took the turn up to the Queensborough Bridge I enjoyed
the silenced of no spectators knowing 1st Ave in NYC was going to be
the explosion I wanted and needed. I
kept passing people and killed the bridge while telling myself to be prepared
and hold back on 1st and not to get carried away from the downhill
and the fans. Once that turn was made, 1st
Ave came and went and the most disappointed I felt of the day was here. In my opinion it was dead. Runners were only
on the left side of the road and there were no spectators on the right. So weird.
I knew I was going to see Leo at mile 17, so I went to the side where he
was and saw his BIG, and I mean BIG sign.
I saw him 4 blocks before he saw me.
Look here at his sign
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| No way to miss Leo like this |
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| Riley bracing the cold to come watch me |
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| My family is on the right, though hard to see |
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| A pic of me from where I met my family |
After this, it was only 8 miles to go and I felt great. I knew I had about 2 more miles of headwind and then the wind would be helping for the final 5 miles. I still felt good and knew I had the race in the bag. At about mile 20, I looked at my watch and thought I was going too slow. The wind didn’t bother me the entire race (that I noticed at all), but I saw my mile times slipping but not because I felt bad, just the wind. I tried to pick it up but it was too heavy. So when the wind didn’t stop at mile 22 I knew I really didn’t have a shot at my 3:10 goal since I didn’t think I could knock off that much time in only a few miles.
So 5th Ave came and I conquered it and now it was
time to entire Central Park. Home
turf. It’s weird. I kept going past people. I didn’t think
there were that many in front of me, but I felt strong and kept going. Once in the Park it was just going for 2
miles and then a quick exit out of the park and right back in. Coming back into Central Park was great, but
as I was running I had this big pit of disappointment. Not because I knew I was going to fall short
of my goal, but this race just didn’t have the excitement I thought it would.
Crossing the finish line was a bit anti-climatic. But a finish time of 3:15:40. With 40 mph winds, it was actually a good
race. I later spoke with a bunch of
different runners and they all said the same thing. Their times were somewhere between 5-8
minutes lower than normal because of the wind.
So can’t really complain about that.
Looking back, the wind was not the issue. I didn’t run a smart race for myself and strategically
limited myself by running with someone else that I didn’t know, and also not
taking advantage of the 1st Ave downhill and crowds. But, the race is in the books and I’m happy
with how everything went down. I’m glad
I raced NYC one more time, but will probably not be doing it again for a
while.
Well, race season is over and now it’s time to enjoy cupcake
season.
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| I ran with this guy a lot during the race. Sometimes I got "too much of a view" |
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