![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
2005 New York City Marathon - Race Report
Short Version: I did it! Finished with a chip time of 4:42 on a warm and humid day.
The rest is really long behind the lj-cuts. I'm pretty happy. I can imagine trying to do this again some day (though not soon).
Champion Chip timing device; picture from NYCM website
Getting to the Start - Woke around 5:00am and paced the apartment munching on a bagel and trying to think of what else I might be forgetting while my boyfriend, Michael, gave me a pep talk and tried to calm my nerves. He walked me to the subway stop. Given that the marathon was all that I had been thinking about, I had sort of assumed that the only people I would see in the streets at that hour would be other marathoners. But surprisingly, there were plenty of other folks out there, seemingly still wrapping up their previous night's activities. Once underground, I spotted 2 other runners and latched onto the nearest one who was originally from Japan but now lived in NYC. Good pick since he darted off one train and onto another at one of the stops along the way since he said it would be faster than just staying on the one we were on. He had been so nervous about the race that he said he hardly slept the previous night. I had had trouble falling asleep but think I had still squeezed in about 5-5.5 hours of sleep. Making our way to the subway's exit, we spotted more runners up ahead but when we emerged above ground in front of the New York Public Library, it was wall-to-wall runners everywhere you looked, everyone carrying a clear plastic bag holding clothes and things to be reclaimed at the end of the race. A fleet of at least 15 buses was lined up along the sidewalks for at least 3 blocks. Warm on the bus and I nod off for an hour. We're on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge when I wake up. Traffic must've been a bear because we creep along very slowly, making the bridge seem to go on forever. When we finally arrive at around 7:20am, a whole bunch of volunteers are lined up and cheering and clapping, making us feel special and important even before we've started running. One of the volunteers was clapping and cheering, "Alright, alright, al-RIGHT! You are HERE! NO turning back now -- let's DO this thing!" I like people who can cheer with rhythm.
Picture of bus and napping runners from NYCM website
Waiting for the race to start - The whole thing is a marvel of organization with setting up so many volunteers to help out at that hour and keeping the lines at the expo, bus loading, and staging areas flowing smoothly. I headed straight for a short line at a porta-potty that only had about 10 people waiting. Chatted with a woman from Cleveland who had finished a marathon in 3:40 but still didn't feel fast. Breakfast offered bagels (of course), water, tea, coffee, yogurt smoothies, and powerbars. Appeared to be plenty of food for all though I didn't feel very hungry. I ate another bagel anyhow hoping to be adequately fueled.
I found a seat next to a group of women from New Zealand who planned to walk it and were stuffing provisions into their waist packs. When they left, two women from Italy sat down. Next to us, a small group of runners from France relaxed on yoga mats spread out in the grass. The loudspeakers ran a loop of announcements in different languages...English, then Spanish, then Japanese, and so on. I munched on my bagel listening to the accents and other languages wash over me.
I was chilly waiting for the race to start. Still in the low-to-mid 50s at that point. All around you could see runners napping, chatting, meditating, and stretching. I watched runners of all shapes and sizes. So many athletic calf muscles, visibly flexing as they milled around. Strong women with toned muscles. Big overweight people who you'd never guess would be a marathoner. Wiry runners with every muscle defined and easily seen. Lots of regular looking folk. Went over to the Brightroom area where you could get your picture taken pre-race. Went over to the medical tent and found they had lots of jars of Vaseline available with tongue depressors to use as scoops. Smeared some Vaseline on to avoid chafing and then also rubbed some into my shins and calves though I'm not sure what that was supposed to accomplish. I saw some others rubbing Vaseline into their legs so I just followed suit thinking at the least it might make them feel warmer. Lines for the porta-potties were much longer the second time around. There ought to be an Express Lane for people who just need to pee. Watched as others emerged from the porta-potties with their noses wrinkled, holding their breath. Talked with one runner who was from the US but now living in Norway. He said to combat the smell of stinky urinals, they handed out cigarettes which masked the smells well. "Sounds like a plan that works," I said. "Yeah," he replied. "It works a little too well though. Now I find I have trouble taking care of my business without having a smoke first." Left my clear plastic bag with the UPS trucks to pick it up again later at the end of the race.
picture from NYCM website
The Start of the Race - Staten Island - I don't remember hearing any announcements but I went over to the starting corrals areas with 20 minutes to go. Sat on the sidewalk as more and more people jammed into the street and tossed extra clothes over the fences to be collected later as donations to homeless shelters. Half-empty bottles of water littered the sidewalks and grass. And then the crowd headed forward. I could hear someone making announcments welcoming everyone to the NYC Marathon. Someone else sang the Star-Spangled Banner and I cried a little thinking I was really about to start running my first marathon. A cannon boom echoed and the crowd shuffled forward. I had been warned several times to not let the excitement fool me into starting out too fast. No worries on that front since the pack was so tight and I had no interest in using any energy trying to weave my way up to a clearer position so I could start running. The other nice thing about that was the steepness of the ascent onto the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was blocked from view by the 37,000+ other runners. And barely jogging faster than I could walk meant the steepness didn't seem as intimidating either. Fog still shrouded the bridge and I could barely see the top of the bridge above me. I saw the fireboats spouting off red, white, and blue water. I didn't feel the bridge shaking and I didn't see the Statue of Liberty. Maybe I was on the wrong side of the bridge for that (I was on the top level on the left side) or maybe it was just too foggy. Unfortunately it stayed pretty crowded the whole way. I liked having that company but I didn't speed up as much as I would've liked in several parts.
Picture of cheering kids from NYCM website
Brooklyn - Just as the reviews I read had said, the fans were out in force to cheer us on. I was thrilled to see them clapping, shaking tambourines, waving signs, and hitting those inflatable noisemaker sticks together. Their enthusiasm was infectious and I found myself high-fiving any outstretched palms, especially the kids who were too tired to hold their arms up anymore and had their parents propping their arms up waiting for high-fives. In retrospect, I think I would hold off on this next time since that did involve a fair bit of bending down to high-five a lot of them and I probably should've conserved the energy. Up on one fire escape, one guy was jumping up and down and banging away on a cowbell with a drumstick yelling "Go! Go! Go! Go!" There were all kinds of bands throughout the course from school bands to rock bands to one church's small orchestra to jazz combos. At one point, the electric guitar of one band ripped into the opening bars of that Eye of the Tiger song from Rocky and a cheer went up from among the runners. Passed into a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood. There were still people cheering but there were also people who would just pause briefly and watch the runners go by before going about their day. Saw a few Tylenol billboards that made me laugh. "It's the .2 that really gets to you." and another one that said "Don't Stop. You'll never get a taxi out here." I kept worrying that my chip would fall off my shoe and I wouldn't get an official time so I kept glancing down at my foot every so often.
Queens - More cheering. Excited to see Pulaski Bridge coming up since that meant the halfway mark was near. I had been trying to pick up the pace a little to get caught up to the 4:30 pacers but I still hadn't spotted them though I did see several other people wearing 4:00, 4:15, and 4:30 signs on their backs. So far I still felt good. The bottoms of my feet were already sore but nothing was cramping. Around mile 14 I ate one of my gels. I feared hitting the Wall at Mile 20 and really wanted to postpone that for as long as I could. By mile 15, I decided to take the Tylenol I had in my pocket. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to rip the stupid packet open. I struggled with it briefly then shoved it back into my pocket. I had hit the Queensborough Bridge and found lots of people had slowed to a walk. My feet were sore and I joined them in half walking and half jogging. I spotted 3 of the 4:30 pacers and checked the pace band I was wearing and felt a little thrill of joy that a 4:30 marathon was still in reach. I jogged slowly trying to keep the balloons of the pacers in sight. But that bridge is long and dampened my spirits considerably and I kept slowing to a walk. My boyfriend Michael called to say he had gotten a spot by the curb in mile 18 so that gave me something to look forward to.
Photo of runners going up First Ave taken by Michael
Manhattan, first time - Hooray for the crowds to pick my spirits back up. Especially since this long stretch up First Ave seemed to be entirely uphill from miles 16 to 20. Oddly, the bridges that I had feared didn't seem to be too much of a problem as far as their hilliness. But I did notice the incline of First Ave. Thanks to the orderly numbering of the streets, it was easy to track my progress as I got closer to the Bronx and more importantly, closer to seeing my boyfriend. I wondered how I would pick him out of the crowd but then remembered that even though the temperature had risen to the low 70s, he would probably still wear his black leather coat. Sure enough, there he was, snapping away with the camera. I had lured myself to keep running with the thought of a rest when I saw him so he got short clips of me bending over, panting and trying to stretch my hamstrings. We hugged then walked together for a block or two, enjoying the excitement before I had to keep running. By then, the 4:30 pacers had disappeared from sight. Went through the Spongebob station where they handed out sponges soaked in water. Sure enough, sponging off my face and legs felt really refreshing. My face was so salty with sweat. I wanted to hang onto the sponge but didn't want to carry it the rest of the way either so I tossed my sponge to the ground reluctantly. They also handed out more powergels around mile 18 so I grabbed another one and ate it around mile 20.
The Bronx - Only one mile here. Short but lined with enthusiastic crowds. By this time I am sick and tired of running over bridges. My feet hurt. I can't decide if my feet would feel better if I shed the second pair of socks or not. I stopped at a medical station hoping to get one of them to open the stupid tylenol packet but they don't notice me right away and suddenly I ripped the foil open so I grabbed a cup of water, gulped down the pills and kept going. Accepted candy from strangers. The official handbooks had instructed us not to accept any unoffical food because you never know if it's safe but I wasn't about to pass up hard candy at that point. I saw the next bridge and realized I had lost count of how many bridges we had taken. Thrilled when a volunteer confirmed this was the last bridge. I ran across it back into Manhattan and then braced myself for the deflation that would come with hitting the wall.
Photo of man with sign from NYCM website
Another call on the cell phone and Michael lets me know he's at mile 23. Again I stumbled along trying to get to his street. This time I didn't stay very long. I had needed to pee almost as soon as the race started but hadn't wanted to wait in a line to use a portapotty and didn't want to miss my goal time by any more than I had to. While I was running, the urge to pee subsided somewhat but whenever I paused to rest or stretch, that urge to pee got stronger so I continued to run instead. The crowds on Fifth Ave were going nuts with cheering. I was trying to let the crowds carry me and I did feel heartened whenever I heard anyone cheering for me by name but I was still cautious. I had given up on hitting the 4:30 goal but still was bracing myself for hitting the Wall.
But when mile 24 came along, I figured maybe I was getting off relatively lucky and wouldn't have anything stopping me. A few moments later I spotted a runner strapped to a gurney with a breathing mask over his mouth. Turned into Central Park. The ups and downs weren't really noticed since I had slowed down to a slow though steady jog. I kept telling myself I was going to turn on some speed for my final mile, then maybe just the final half mile...but no burst happened. I just kept chugging along. Still lots of cheering spectators. Some other friends had mentioned coming to watch and I kept thinking I heard them or saw them in the crowd. Finally I spotted the finish line and picked up the pace.
photo of me walking away and rejoining the rest of the runners taken by Michael
Hooray! I won! I won!
Want to see some more pictures? Go to this post.
The rest is really long behind the lj-cuts. I'm pretty happy. I can imagine trying to do this again some day (though not soon).
Champion Chip timing device; picture from NYCM website
Getting to the Start - Woke around 5:00am and paced the apartment munching on a bagel and trying to think of what else I might be forgetting while my boyfriend, Michael, gave me a pep talk and tried to calm my nerves. He walked me to the subway stop. Given that the marathon was all that I had been thinking about, I had sort of assumed that the only people I would see in the streets at that hour would be other marathoners. But surprisingly, there were plenty of other folks out there, seemingly still wrapping up their previous night's activities. Once underground, I spotted 2 other runners and latched onto the nearest one who was originally from Japan but now lived in NYC. Good pick since he darted off one train and onto another at one of the stops along the way since he said it would be faster than just staying on the one we were on. He had been so nervous about the race that he said he hardly slept the previous night. I had had trouble falling asleep but think I had still squeezed in about 5-5.5 hours of sleep. Making our way to the subway's exit, we spotted more runners up ahead but when we emerged above ground in front of the New York Public Library, it was wall-to-wall runners everywhere you looked, everyone carrying a clear plastic bag holding clothes and things to be reclaimed at the end of the race. A fleet of at least 15 buses was lined up along the sidewalks for at least 3 blocks. Warm on the bus and I nod off for an hour. We're on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge when I wake up. Traffic must've been a bear because we creep along very slowly, making the bridge seem to go on forever. When we finally arrive at around 7:20am, a whole bunch of volunteers are lined up and cheering and clapping, making us feel special and important even before we've started running. One of the volunteers was clapping and cheering, "Alright, alright, al-RIGHT! You are HERE! NO turning back now -- let's DO this thing!" I like people who can cheer with rhythm.
Picture of bus and napping runners from NYCM website
Waiting for the race to start - The whole thing is a marvel of organization with setting up so many volunteers to help out at that hour and keeping the lines at the expo, bus loading, and staging areas flowing smoothly. I headed straight for a short line at a porta-potty that only had about 10 people waiting. Chatted with a woman from Cleveland who had finished a marathon in 3:40 but still didn't feel fast. Breakfast offered bagels (of course), water, tea, coffee, yogurt smoothies, and powerbars. Appeared to be plenty of food for all though I didn't feel very hungry. I ate another bagel anyhow hoping to be adequately fueled.
I found a seat next to a group of women from New Zealand who planned to walk it and were stuffing provisions into their waist packs. When they left, two women from Italy sat down. Next to us, a small group of runners from France relaxed on yoga mats spread out in the grass. The loudspeakers ran a loop of announcements in different languages...English, then Spanish, then Japanese, and so on. I munched on my bagel listening to the accents and other languages wash over me.
I was chilly waiting for the race to start. Still in the low-to-mid 50s at that point. All around you could see runners napping, chatting, meditating, and stretching. I watched runners of all shapes and sizes. So many athletic calf muscles, visibly flexing as they milled around. Strong women with toned muscles. Big overweight people who you'd never guess would be a marathoner. Wiry runners with every muscle defined and easily seen. Lots of regular looking folk. Went over to the Brightroom area where you could get your picture taken pre-race. Went over to the medical tent and found they had lots of jars of Vaseline available with tongue depressors to use as scoops. Smeared some Vaseline on to avoid chafing and then also rubbed some into my shins and calves though I'm not sure what that was supposed to accomplish. I saw some others rubbing Vaseline into their legs so I just followed suit thinking at the least it might make them feel warmer. Lines for the porta-potties were much longer the second time around. There ought to be an Express Lane for people who just need to pee. Watched as others emerged from the porta-potties with their noses wrinkled, holding their breath. Talked with one runner who was from the US but now living in Norway. He said to combat the smell of stinky urinals, they handed out cigarettes which masked the smells well. "Sounds like a plan that works," I said. "Yeah," he replied. "It works a little too well though. Now I find I have trouble taking care of my business without having a smoke first." Left my clear plastic bag with the UPS trucks to pick it up again later at the end of the race.
picture from NYCM website
The Start of the Race - Staten Island - I don't remember hearing any announcements but I went over to the starting corrals areas with 20 minutes to go. Sat on the sidewalk as more and more people jammed into the street and tossed extra clothes over the fences to be collected later as donations to homeless shelters. Half-empty bottles of water littered the sidewalks and grass. And then the crowd headed forward. I could hear someone making announcments welcoming everyone to the NYC Marathon. Someone else sang the Star-Spangled Banner and I cried a little thinking I was really about to start running my first marathon. A cannon boom echoed and the crowd shuffled forward. I had been warned several times to not let the excitement fool me into starting out too fast. No worries on that front since the pack was so tight and I had no interest in using any energy trying to weave my way up to a clearer position so I could start running. The other nice thing about that was the steepness of the ascent onto the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was blocked from view by the 37,000+ other runners. And barely jogging faster than I could walk meant the steepness didn't seem as intimidating either. Fog still shrouded the bridge and I could barely see the top of the bridge above me. I saw the fireboats spouting off red, white, and blue water. I didn't feel the bridge shaking and I didn't see the Statue of Liberty. Maybe I was on the wrong side of the bridge for that (I was on the top level on the left side) or maybe it was just too foggy. Unfortunately it stayed pretty crowded the whole way. I liked having that company but I didn't speed up as much as I would've liked in several parts.
Picture of cheering kids from NYCM website
Brooklyn - Just as the reviews I read had said, the fans were out in force to cheer us on. I was thrilled to see them clapping, shaking tambourines, waving signs, and hitting those inflatable noisemaker sticks together. Their enthusiasm was infectious and I found myself high-fiving any outstretched palms, especially the kids who were too tired to hold their arms up anymore and had their parents propping their arms up waiting for high-fives. In retrospect, I think I would hold off on this next time since that did involve a fair bit of bending down to high-five a lot of them and I probably should've conserved the energy. Up on one fire escape, one guy was jumping up and down and banging away on a cowbell with a drumstick yelling "Go! Go! Go! Go!" There were all kinds of bands throughout the course from school bands to rock bands to one church's small orchestra to jazz combos. At one point, the electric guitar of one band ripped into the opening bars of that Eye of the Tiger song from Rocky and a cheer went up from among the runners. Passed into a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood. There were still people cheering but there were also people who would just pause briefly and watch the runners go by before going about their day. Saw a few Tylenol billboards that made me laugh. "It's the .2 that really gets to you." and another one that said "Don't Stop. You'll never get a taxi out here." I kept worrying that my chip would fall off my shoe and I wouldn't get an official time so I kept glancing down at my foot every so often.
Queens - More cheering. Excited to see Pulaski Bridge coming up since that meant the halfway mark was near. I had been trying to pick up the pace a little to get caught up to the 4:30 pacers but I still hadn't spotted them though I did see several other people wearing 4:00, 4:15, and 4:30 signs on their backs. So far I still felt good. The bottoms of my feet were already sore but nothing was cramping. Around mile 14 I ate one of my gels. I feared hitting the Wall at Mile 20 and really wanted to postpone that for as long as I could. By mile 15, I decided to take the Tylenol I had in my pocket. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to rip the stupid packet open. I struggled with it briefly then shoved it back into my pocket. I had hit the Queensborough Bridge and found lots of people had slowed to a walk. My feet were sore and I joined them in half walking and half jogging. I spotted 3 of the 4:30 pacers and checked the pace band I was wearing and felt a little thrill of joy that a 4:30 marathon was still in reach. I jogged slowly trying to keep the balloons of the pacers in sight. But that bridge is long and dampened my spirits considerably and I kept slowing to a walk. My boyfriend Michael called to say he had gotten a spot by the curb in mile 18 so that gave me something to look forward to.
Photo of runners going up First Ave taken by Michael
Manhattan, first time - Hooray for the crowds to pick my spirits back up. Especially since this long stretch up First Ave seemed to be entirely uphill from miles 16 to 20. Oddly, the bridges that I had feared didn't seem to be too much of a problem as far as their hilliness. But I did notice the incline of First Ave. Thanks to the orderly numbering of the streets, it was easy to track my progress as I got closer to the Bronx and more importantly, closer to seeing my boyfriend. I wondered how I would pick him out of the crowd but then remembered that even though the temperature had risen to the low 70s, he would probably still wear his black leather coat. Sure enough, there he was, snapping away with the camera. I had lured myself to keep running with the thought of a rest when I saw him so he got short clips of me bending over, panting and trying to stretch my hamstrings. We hugged then walked together for a block or two, enjoying the excitement before I had to keep running. By then, the 4:30 pacers had disappeared from sight. Went through the Spongebob station where they handed out sponges soaked in water. Sure enough, sponging off my face and legs felt really refreshing. My face was so salty with sweat. I wanted to hang onto the sponge but didn't want to carry it the rest of the way either so I tossed my sponge to the ground reluctantly. They also handed out more powergels around mile 18 so I grabbed another one and ate it around mile 20.
The Bronx - Only one mile here. Short but lined with enthusiastic crowds. By this time I am sick and tired of running over bridges. My feet hurt. I can't decide if my feet would feel better if I shed the second pair of socks or not. I stopped at a medical station hoping to get one of them to open the stupid tylenol packet but they don't notice me right away and suddenly I ripped the foil open so I grabbed a cup of water, gulped down the pills and kept going. Accepted candy from strangers. The official handbooks had instructed us not to accept any unoffical food because you never know if it's safe but I wasn't about to pass up hard candy at that point. I saw the next bridge and realized I had lost count of how many bridges we had taken. Thrilled when a volunteer confirmed this was the last bridge. I ran across it back into Manhattan and then braced myself for the deflation that would come with hitting the wall.
Photo of man with sign from NYCM website
Another call on the cell phone and Michael lets me know he's at mile 23. Again I stumbled along trying to get to his street. This time I didn't stay very long. I had needed to pee almost as soon as the race started but hadn't wanted to wait in a line to use a portapotty and didn't want to miss my goal time by any more than I had to. While I was running, the urge to pee subsided somewhat but whenever I paused to rest or stretch, that urge to pee got stronger so I continued to run instead. The crowds on Fifth Ave were going nuts with cheering. I was trying to let the crowds carry me and I did feel heartened whenever I heard anyone cheering for me by name but I was still cautious. I had given up on hitting the 4:30 goal but still was bracing myself for hitting the Wall.
But when mile 24 came along, I figured maybe I was getting off relatively lucky and wouldn't have anything stopping me. A few moments later I spotted a runner strapped to a gurney with a breathing mask over his mouth. Turned into Central Park. The ups and downs weren't really noticed since I had slowed down to a slow though steady jog. I kept telling myself I was going to turn on some speed for my final mile, then maybe just the final half mile...but no burst happened. I just kept chugging along. Still lots of cheering spectators. Some other friends had mentioned coming to watch and I kept thinking I heard them or saw them in the crowd. Finally I spotted the finish line and picked up the pace.
photo of me walking away and rejoining the rest of the runners taken by Michael
Hooray! I won! I won!
Want to see some more pictures? Go to this post.