PR State of Mind! (NYC Marathon Recap)

Just seven days ago at this very hour I was hobbling up and down the subway platforms and streets of NYC, tired, sore and still trying to absorb the whirlwind of the 26.2 miles my feet had covered that day. I can't believe it's over. Sixteen months of careful planning, visualizing, and training, is over in a blur of water stops, cheering crowds, and grueling inclines. As much as I tried to be present in the moment and appreciate each step, each mile, each building, bridge, and face along the way it still is somewhat of a crazy jumble of disjointed moments and memories. But I am officially a NYC Marathon finisher and part of a unique tribe of people from all over the world who climbed those hills and bridges and covered the same 26 miles of New York streets on November 3, 2019. Such a crazy special thing to be a part of! My face is just one of over 53,000 that crossed that finish line a week ago, my name just a tiny print among thousands in the New York times or on the runner's wall at the Javitz Center. But we all had a story, we all had a journey, we all had a dream to be there that day and to cross that epic finish line and that is something I am still in awe of.

I am so grateful to have made it to the finish line with no mishaps, injuries, travel issues, illnesses, or anything that could have derailed having a perfect NYC Marathon experience. From the time I left Dallas early Friday morning, everything went according to carefully laid plans. My run crew and I arrived on Friday and spent our first afternoon in the concrete jungle at the marathon expo. One thing that impressed me throughout the weekend is how well-organized and how smoothly the entire NYC Marathon production is run. The expo was effortless. Picking up bib and shirt was quick and easy. I will say that the New Balance section of the expo was very crowded but the checkout process was fast. We enjoyed perusing the various vendors and taking advantage of the freebies that we found to frequently come our way throughout the weekend. We even had the opportunity to take a photo with Paula Radcliffe, the British female marathoner who had held the world record for the marathon for the past 15 years until recently being replaced by Kosgei at Chicago. We had originally planned to attend the marathon opening ceremony and parade at Central Park but due to the late hour and logistics when we left the expo, we opted to go straight to our pasta dinner reservation instead.

Saturday we attended some really cool events such as the Nike shakeout run (Eliud Kipchoge was there!) and a session presented by Meb and Generation UCAN (more free stuff at both!). We also did a little more NYC gear shopping and took advantage of some coupons in our virtual goodie bag. I spent a little more time on my feet than I intended to on Saturday but still got into the hotel about 5:30pm to start getting my things laid out and thoughts together. My pre-race meal was a chicken over rice bowl from one of the Halal food street vendors....my favorite NYC meal! My main dilemma was trying to figure out if I wanted to wear the tank top we had made for the race with arm sleeves or a long sleeve shirt. The weather forecast indicated low-to-mid 40s at the time I'd be making my way to the start and a high of only 51 or 52 even though sunny. I finally went with my gut and decided to wear the long sleeve shirt and the next day I was glad I did even if my outfit wasn't as cute and coordinated as I had originally planned!

Race morning was perfect. Clear, crisp, and ideal for running. As I made my way to the Staten Island Ferry just as the sun came up, I felt strangely calm. Everything was going so smoothly. The temps were just a little cold but not unbearably so. I was glad that I arrived at the ferry when I did as I could see that it would only be growing more chaotic and crowded with each passing minute. But I was able to get on the next ferry without too much crowding or pushing. I enjoyed seeing the views of the Statue of Liberty on one side and then the Verrazano Bridge on the other as the ferry glided across the still waters with the early morning sun climbing into the sky. Getting on to a bus after we disembarked the ferry was another place that I could see would have the potential for getting crazier later in the morning but my fairly early arrival made that not too much of an issue. I was surprised of how long of a bus ride it was from the ferry to the start village (not terribly long but longer than i had imagined it would be) but I had a nice chat with a fellow Texan runner from Austin who had run the race before and shared a few insights with me. I had also expected more security clearance but that was not an issue at all either. Again, the whole process was running like a well-oiled machine. Once I arrived in the start village, I was able to snag one of the coveted Dunkin Donuts hats before they ran out and I was glad for the extra warmth it provided. After a bathroom stop and grabbing some water, I found a curb to sit down on and wait. I brought a couple of heat sheets; one to sit on and one to wrap around me. I had about an hour or perhaps a little more to wait but it went by very quickly. I had another chat with a runner from England who also had run the race before and watched a few minutes of the elite women start on the large screen above me as I sipped on my Generation UCAN and nibbled on a Clif bar and water. Finally about 30 minutes before my corral was to close, I realized I should probably go to the bathroom one more time as the start village was getting more crowded and I could see lines getting longer. I almost waited too long. The line was indeed longer than I thought and I started to get nervous. It was finally my turn less than 10 minutes before my corral was to close. After I came out of the bathroom, I realized I didn't know exactly where the corrals were and they were announcing that the corrals were going to close in 5 minutes. I started running over toward where I thought the corrals were and realized there was a whole big field between me and where I was supposed to be. I was almost sprinting toward the "B" entrance just as they announced the corrals were now closed. The man at the entrance saw me coming and allowed me to squeeze by just as he was moving the barricade over the entrance.

From that point things started happening very quickly. There were volunteers collecting the throwaway clothing and I knew I needed to remove layers there as they would not be collecting clothes from the bridge. I also needed to take all my gels out of my clear start village bag and put them in my pockets and Flip Belt. I did this quickly as my corral was already starting to walk toward the bridge to start. After all of the waiting and careful preparation, I suddenly felt a bit rushed and unprepared. After only a few minutes of standing on the bridge the cannons boomed and the whole mass of people I was in was moving forward. I was almost startled when I realized I was actually at the starting mat and it was time to start my watch. To the tune of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York, we were off! I took the first few steps and had a fleeting thought that I wouldn't be standing still again for at least the next almost four hours. I was in the orange start which runs on the left side of the bridge but I found myself near the center closely following the blue line painted on the pavement. I kind of wanted to move over to the far left side thinking I would get a better view of the Manhattan skyline but a quick glance told me that it looked really small and faraway anyway. A helicopter flew along right over and beside us adding to the excitement. The first mile of the race is a pretty steep incline going up and over the Verrazano Bridge but I really didn't feel it at all since I was fresh, full of adrenaline, and just getting warmed up. From there we went downhill and into Brooklyn and already there were plenty of crowds cheering us along. I was feeling really good for the first several miles and was right on target with my 3:45 pace band mile splits. There were water stops every mile starting at about mile 2 or 3 and that somehow made the miles fly by. All I had to do was focus on getting to the next water stop. At around mile 8, our course converged with the blue and green course and it got very crowded and bottlenecked for a mile or so which slowed me down some but overall I was feeling good. I was taking Maurten gels every 4 miles and alternating between water and Gatorade at almost every mile. There were some rolling hills and inclines throughout Brooklyn but nothing that really seemed too tough.....until we got to the half. My time was 1:54 at the half which was pretty much on target for a 3:48 or 3:49 finish which I would have been ecstatic with. But then....we hit our second bridge to go into Queens. I found myself really huffing and puffing on it even though it wasn't a terribly long incline. However, that was nothing compared to the bridge that was to come in just a couple of miles. Around mile 15 we headed up the infamous Queensboro Bridge. This is where I really began to slip on my pace. I can't really tell how much I slowed down here because Garmin, Strava, and the race tracker splits all showed something different but bottom line...I slowed down quite a bit. The incline was just so long with no relief. After that...it seemed I was having a harder time getting back into a good-feeling pace. Also, I thought that I was out of Maurten gels. I had brought 6 in my start village bag (3 regular and 3 with caffeine) and planned to take them at 4, 8. 12, 16, 20, and 22. But in my rush getting into the corral and walking up to the start, I had stuffed them in my side pockets and thrown away the bag (and apparently in my Flipbelt but I didn't remember that). Well after mile 12, I reached into my pocket and realized I only had one left and it wasn't even the caffeine one I wanted to take at mile 20 or 22. I decided I would have to take some of the Honeystinger gels that were offered on the course and save my last regular Marten for my last push. I hadn't practiced this in training but my stomach is usually pretty tough so I decided I'd rather risk doing that than hitting the wall from lack of fuel. Come to find out at the end of the race, I actually did have two Maurten gels left in my Flipbelt, including one with caffeine. I couldn't help but wonder if that would have given me just a little pep those last six miles but I'll never know now!

I had heard so much about how loud and crazy the crowd would be running into Manhattan but I must admit I might have been a little disappointed here. Yes there were lots of crowds but it wasn't as loud as it had been hyped up to be in my opinion. However, there was a nice long straight stretch there running up First Avenue and I tried to get my pace back below 9 minutes. But there were still two more bridges ahead and some tough inclines the last 3-4 miles. I hardly remember anything about the Bronx or Harlem. This is the part of the race where I was really struggling to hold a decent pace. For me, it wasn't a struggle to finish; it was a struggle to finish strong. Somewhere around where we were heading toward 5th Avenue, a 3:50 pace group leader passed me. I latched on and tried to stay with him. I think that was around mile 22 because I remember thinking I only had to hold on for four miles. I was able to hang a little ways but then we started to climb 5th Avenue and I just couldn't stay with him. This was probably the second hardest part, or maybe the hardest part of the race. It was just another long gradual incline that felt endless on my increasingly tired and cramping legs. All I could think about is how nice it would be if I didn't care about my time and could just allow myself to slow down. But the competitive side of me just wouldn't allow that luxury. I already knew that my 3:45-3:50 goal had slipped out of reach and I was probably getting dangerously close to not even finishing faster than Chicago at all. That was too disappointing to even consider especially after feeling so good the first 3/4 of the race. I vaguely remember entering into Central Park but it just seemed like my legs were moving like molasses. The crowds were occasionally cheering me on by name and I would try to smile but all I could focus on was trying to not let my pace slip too much more. As much as I wanted to pick up my pace the last mile and sprint in like I've been able to in many half-marathons, I just couldn't seem to get my legs to move any faster. Finally the finish line was in sight and I crossed over with relief knowing I could finally stop. I stopped my watch and saw that it was just over 3:55 which was my time in Chicago but I really didn't think about it too much. I began the slow crawl forward in the mass of finishers...first to claim my medal, then to get a heat sheet wrapped around me and then to continue the slow and painful journey forward to the bag of snacks/drinks and finally to the poncho pick-up. All of that was probably almost another mile beyond the finish line. I eventually got my phone out and turned it on and was greeted with congratulatory messages from my mom, aunt, brother and other friends who had been tracking which made me smile almost as much as if they had been there in person waiting for me. Once I finally made it out of the poncho line and toward the runner exits, I saw a bench to sit down on for a moment. That's when I finally checked the runner tracking and saw that my official time was actually just under 3:55 at 3:54:56. Somehow squeaking in under the 3:55 made it seem better although in all actuality it was only a 45 second PR.

I had mixed feelings about the result. On one hand I couldn't help but be disappointed since I really thought a 3:45-3:50 was within my capabilities and I had hoped for more of a substantial PR and to be closer to my BQ goal. Then again I had to remind myself the course was the hardest marathon course I've run (out of the three I've done) and I did get a late start on training, very minimal hill training, and probably not quite the weekly mileage/volume I needed to be able to be really strong the last six miles. Overall, I felt okay about the result although still just a little twinge of frustration that I didn't keep my pace below 9 minutes for the last 6 miles.

Still...the fact that I was able to complete another marathon injury free, below 4 hours, in my favorite city in such an incredible, iconic event gave me plenty to celebrate! I also felt so grateful that I have running friends to share these moments, goals, experiences, and peak life memories with. I still can't believe I got to actually run the New York City Marathon and be among that elite tribe of runners who have experienced its magic! I am so grateful....grateful to have the health, the ability, the limbs, the lungs. Grateful to have the financial means to travel and participate. Grateful that I had the opportunity to gain entry through the Virtual program. Grateful to have running friends that share this passion and joy and journey. Grateful to have something to work toward, to progress in, to dream big dreams about! All of it just makes me feel so glad to have discovered this passion of running and feel so thankful for all it has added to my life. I can't wait to see what epic experience is next!