Apparently, this race was doomed from the start.
Lindsey belongs the New York Road Runners, which puts on a series of races throughout the year. They have a 9 + 1 program; Runners who completed the program are eligible for a guaranteed entry to the TCS New York City Marathon. She completed the program and was officially entered this year. This would be her first full marathon (she has run 19 half marathons) and asked us to come up and support her. I had tickets to the Gators game that same weekend, so we probably weren’t going to make the trip. Then I got to thinking…I haven’t run a full marathon in about eight years…It might be kind of cool to run one last full with Lindsey in NYC. This way, coming up to New York as a runner instead of an "athletic supporter" would be worth missing a trip to Gainesville. I entered the lottery, and of course did not get in. My last resort was to ask Renee if she could contact New Balance (the sponsor of the race) to get me an entry. As I waited to get a response, I pondered if I really wanted to put in the training necessary to do 26.2 miles. I stopped running full marathons to concentrate more on half marathons...no other real reason. I never really thought about one more full, but this would be a great finale. I eventually got the invitation to enter the race, and the training began.
Lindsey set up a training schedule for us, which would involve running distances that she had never run before, and I had not run since 2015. To top it off, the training would be taking place during the hottest time of the year in South Florida. My 17 previous marathons took place in either January or February, so the training usually began around October. I was literally waking up at 2:30am to do these long weekend runs, and the temperature was already 80° (I won’t even go into the humidity). The training was brutal. I questioned whether I was in over my head or how much I really wanted to do this. Lindsey came home for Rosh Hashanah, and we went out for a 16-mile run.
This was the beginning of the end.
During this run, my knee was in a great deal of pain. I never run in pain, but guess who won the pony. I have arthritis in my left knee, which is why I wear the brace. I got to the 12-mile mark, and Lindsey insisted that I go home. The knee felt better a couple of days later, but I would get additional rest. I was going up to see the Gators play Tennessee that next weekend and would resume training after that. WRONG!!! For the first time, I got COVID…then I got rebound COVID. That essentially knocked me out of the race. Full disclosure, I was more relieved than disappointed and was at peace with just going up to root Lindsey on. Even if I wanted to resume my training, a night in the emergency room for high blood pressure (over 200) was the final nail in the coffin (no pun intended).
At this point, I’m tagging in my celebrity blogger Lindsey to give her reflections on the race and the race weekend:
One of the ways you can get into the NYC Marathon, and how I got in, is through the 9+1 Program through the New York Road Runners. You run nine of the races and volunteer at one of the races the organization puts on in the calendar year, and then you have guaranteed entry to the marathon the following year. In 2020, I had run 3 races, registered for 6 more, and registered to volunteer by the time COVID hit in March. As everything got canceled, I had three options: get my money back for the races I registered for, have the registrations roll over, or let the NYRR keep my money and use the registrations as part of my 9+1 (which is what I did). Once they decided the marathon would be back on in 2021, they reached out to me (and probably the handful of others in the same boat) saying the marathon participation would be limited that year so we were allowed to rank the next three years we wanted to defer our entry to. I picked 2023 at the time because that was the farthest away.
In February of this year, I officially signed up to finally run the marathon I was 2 years overdue to run. I mapped out my training schedule, following Hal Higdon's Novice 1 schedule for the long runs on the weekend and added in 2 short runs during the week. Training started the first week in July which coincided with my busy time at work. For the first month, I would wake up early, run three miles, shower, and log onto work, and then work non-stop until about 7:30 at night. By the time the 13.1 run came in the last week of August, I decided to drop my two short runs to one (to not put too much strain on my body). I switched up my long runs by being in different states (Florida and Washington), running Park Avenue for Summer Streets, running the NYRR races that coincided with the mileage I needed (which ultimately lead me to my 9+1 so I can run in 2024 if I so desire), saved the 15+ mile runs for the flat West Side Highway in NYC, and powered through the Central Park hills for the 12 miles or less runs. By the time I hit the taper, I was feeling good. All my long runs had gone mostly smooth, and I was trusting in all the training and fueling I was putting in.
After 4 months of training, Marathon weekend finally came after weeks of anxiety and lack of sleep. The first day of the expo started on Thursday and I decided to head over to the Javits Center by myself to grab my bib and goodies. Funny enough, the Javits Center is where I got my first round of COVID vaccines. I had heard some of the merch sells out quickly and I was dying to get the jacket. I grabbed my bib, race shirt, and bought a jacket, hat (and one for my dad), and magnet. My parents flew in on Friday and I decided to take the day off to try and sleep in and do some laundry. I met up with them around lunchtime; we grabbed some bagels, and then headed back over to Javits so my dad could grab his bib and shirt. He bought a quarter-zip, and I got a short-sleeve shirt. We watched videos of the race route, found our names on the wall of runners, and grabbed some free swag. We headed out and then got some dinner at one of our favorite Mexican spots, and then waited for Rachel to get in. Rachel got in around 9pm and then the band was back together again.
We slept in on Saturday and met up with Alex for brunch. We went back to the hotel to watch the Gator game, and once they lost in overtime, we headed over to my apartment to do more lounging and dinner. I have a ritual of eating the same meal the night before my long runs; since it was working for me, I asked my family if they’d be okay with that as well. We ate, I prepped my outfit and everything I would need for the start and the race and said farewell to my family while I attempted to get some sleep.
I was up at 4:30am on Sunday. Luckily, I got about six hours of sleep thanks to daylight savings and was out the door by 5am. I had scheduled a Lyft the night before to drop me off at the Midtown Bus I was taking at 5:30am (thanks, dad). I had heard from a few sources that the Midtown bus was the way to go, rather than taking the ferry to Staten Island and then getting on another bus to the start. The Lyft driver made it about halfway before he turned onto a street that was blocked by an empty ambulance. He sat there for about three minutes just hanging out as if he had no cares in the world. I decided to get out and walk there. Once I got to the 42nd Street Library, the line to get onto the bus was "Disney World" long. It took about 30-minutes to get onto the bus and I made a few friends in line. I got onto the bus and was chatting with the woman next to me and realized we were going the wrong way. The woman sitting in the front seat was navigating the bus driver to Staten Island and she was from Chicago! After many concerned passengers came up to the front to make sure we indeed headed to Staten Island, we finally were on the right path.
We got to the start village a little before 8am and I headed into my color-coded starting area. I had brought a foil blanket to sit on. I was wearing some throw-away sweats, and had a sudoku book to kill time. I ate my breakfast bar, used the bathroom for good measure, and then my wave was open. Once I got into my corral and it suddenly became very real… I was about to run a marathon. They brought us to the start, sang the national anthem, fired off the cannon, and then Frank Sinatra sang us off with New York, New York.
Depending on what color you were, it determined on where on the Verrazano Bridge you ran; I was luckily on the top, but unluckily running with the incline. The view on the bridge and seeing all those people around you was surreal. Even though I knew no one else would be walking, I stopped at mile one and then two to take a quick walk break since that was how I had trained. I wanted to make sure I didn’t feel pressured to keep running and burn out quickly. We made it into Brooklyn and borough number two with The Beastie Boys playing us in. Those first few miles in Brooklyn are not that exciting as you run along 4th Avenue until you get to about mile 6.5 when all the fans really show up. I was reading all the signs which was a great distraction and really felt as if each mile was going by quickly (I was not running fast so it was not in fact going by that quickly). I got excited as we got to mile 7 knowing my parents, sister, and Alex would be by mile 8 and my heart started pounding with excitement. One of my plans was to make sure I stopped for a minute to say hello to my family (as a break from running, because they came all the way out to support me…this was the least I could do). When I spotted them at mile 8, I was feeling great. The area they were standing in had a huge crowd and so much excitement. After a minute of chatting, I took off knowing I would see them later.
For the next few miles in Brooklyn, the crowds and signs continued. I saw some friends and some amazing signs as I chugged along. Then… I got to mile 12 and I started to feel fatigued. I got to the halfway point and I thought to myself, how the fuck am I going to make it through another 13.1?! I took some Advil and ate some candy corn as we got to the Pulaski Bridge and willed myself to get more energy as we made it into borough number three. Queens was a blur - it’s short, lacking energy, and boring. The sign I saw once we got off the bridge summed it up perfectly… “Welcome to Queens, now get out!”
Finally, we made it to the Queensboro bridge, and I decided to walk the uphill. I knew once I came off the bridge, I’d be seeing friends and family. I wanted to conserve some energy and make sure I looked (and felt) strong when I saw them. Sure, maybe I could have shaved a few minutes off my time if I ran, but this was 100% the right move for me. I ran the downhill and made it into borough number four…Manhattan. As I got off the bridge the energy was electric and just what I needed. I knew I’d see some friends, my family, and my friend Danica with a Diet Snapple. I immediately heard my name being screamed by my friend Jimmy, then saw my friend Britney another 10 blocks up. My family, now joined by my cousins Charlie and Ren, and my friend Karli, were now in position in their Sandhouse Running Club shirts, hats, buttons and posters. I stopped again to chat, we took some pictures, and then I was back off and ready to grab my Snapple. Of course, I missed the one person who had something for me, but I was going to have another chance later on. I saw familiar faces both running and cheering, including Katie Couric who was cheering on the sidelines for her daughter. First Avenue is LONG and slowly loses the fans and momentum the higher up you go, but then it was time for borough number five… the Bronx. Now, I had heard the Bronx BRINGS IT since they know miles 20-21 is when many runners hit the wall, but the only energy in the Bronx was my friend Grace who screamed at the top of her lungs for me as we got off the bridge. Besides Grace, the Bronx was just like Queens… short, lacking energy, and boring. I took more Advil and candy corn, hoping for another boost of energy. We finally made it back into Manhattan after crossing the last bridge around mile 21. As we ran down 5th Avenue, I saw more familiar faces of people I see on Tik Tok but was absolutely losing steam. By the time I made it to the Sandhouse Running Club right before getting into the park at mile 24, I was almost crawling. But I told my family there was a great chance of me finishing under 6 hours which had been my goal, and they said, “well get the fuck out of here and go finish.” So, I did. As I made it into Central Park, I missed Danica again with my Snapple.
Now, I run Central Park all the time and I know every hill and crevice. But one of the coolest things about running it during the Marathon was that I wasn’t even paying attention to that because fans were lining both sides of the course. So many people really struggle here, but I loved it. I was scanning faces and signs and then at one point I thought to myself, “I don’t even know where in the park I am!” You exit the park with 1 mile to go, so I took a quick walk break, ate some more candy corn for good measure, and went for it. As we ran back into the park with about 800 meters to go, it started to feel so surreal. I got verklempt as I saw the finish line and thought to myself, “you’re about to finish this marathon.” And that I did… I crossed the finish line 6 minutes ahead of my goal.
Okay…So I just finished the marathon at 26.53 miles according to my Garmin but it was far from over. I still needed to get a bag full of post-run fuel, an orange hooded fleece blanket (that according to Ren, made us all look like we were in The Handmaid’s Tale,) and most importantly…my medal. Now it was time to make the long-ass trek out of the park for another 10 blocks. I finally met up with my family after what seemed like another mile; we celebrated, took some pictures, and then I said, “how are we getting home?!” The thought of taking the subway was just not in the cards for me, so we walked ANOTHER 20 blocks to take the bus. We stopped at my apartment to rest, shower and evaluate the damage to my body (a few blisters, some chafing, 1 black toenail… and a partridge in a pear tree). We walked a few blocks to get some pizza and sangria, and then it was time to head home and go to bed. I took a fat melatonin and slept for 10 hours.
The moment I finished the marathon, I questioned whether I’d do this again and immediately the answer was no. As time has gone by, the answer has absolutely changed to yes. All in all, this was a (mostly) positive experience: I had no pain other than general fatigue, I overall just had a good day, and the hard work and 4 months of training paid off.
Questions I got after the marathon:
Best sign: Around mile 22 I saw a sign that said “are you feeling it now Mr. Krabs”
Any regrets: I shouldn’t have worn long sleeves
Did you stop to use the bathroom: No
Any training you’d do differently: Strength train (I did none)
Did you walk at all or run straight through: I walked at every water station and whenever I needed to
Did you eat anything while you were running: Honey Stinger gummies, salt tablets, a few bites of a Larabar, and candy corn
Would I do it again: Yes, but maybe I’ll take next year off?
When’s you next race: Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving and then the Miami Half Marathon in January
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