In mid-summer, I downloaded a couple of Frank Sinatra songs. You know, like that little diddy "New York, New York"........ Yeah, I would listen to this every once in a while when I was struggling with motivation. Knowing that this would be played as soon as the cannon went of to start the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. Turns out, this was one of many disappointments on the day......but more on that later.
Race day arrives and to this point, things had gone as planned and expected. I knew there were going to be some challenges with this race, but until I got started with the day, I didn't realize how big these challenges would become. I knew the day before that it was going to be colder than the conditions for which I had packed. On Saturday I picked up a hat, gloves and sweats that I would throw away as the race started. At midnight prior to race day I received an email from NYRR stating that they were unable to put up most of the tents at the start line because of the winds. 25-30 mph sustained winds with gusts of 40-45 mph. Seriously???
With any point to point race, the logistics become complicated. For a race that has more than 50,000 runners, the logistics are near impossible. I absolutely applaud NYRR and the city of New York for their organization. That said, when I went to pick my transportation option to the start line, I didn't know my start time. Nor did anyone else that I'm aware of. I would think that these options would correspond with start times. I was scheduled to be on a 6 a.m. bus from the New York Public Library (14 blocks from my hotel) to the very exposed Staten Island start line for a race that I wouldn't start until 9:40 a.m. This process completely messes with routine. I'm accustomed to waking up, eating, and being an hour from racing. Not on this day. It would be more than 3.5 hours until the cannon fired and we were off.
Even though I got an email stating that most of the tenting would not be up because of the winds, I was not expecting what I walked into upon arriving at Staten Island. My bus arrived at 7 a.m. and I make sure that I'm the last person off the bus, trying to stay inside for as long as I can. What is this??? Wide open, completely exposed fields. The promoters of Bonnaroo should look into hosting events here! GEEZ!!! Are you kidding me?? It's 39 degrees and winds between 25 and 45 mph. I find a spot near the bottom of a hill along a street. I sit down on the curb and turn my back to the wind as best I can and hunker down. I do this for as long as I can before lining up for a porta-potty. And then repeat this process for 2 hours. Finally my coral opens and luckily there are porta-potties in the coral. I see Kevin and Courtney and we immediately start discussing the approach to the day. Kevin's first question is whether or not I've changed my approach to the day. Nope. I came to race and until he mentioned it, I hadn't even thought about it. All this time we are standing still with no room to move about and get loose. This is literally going to be a cold start to the race.
Closing in on start time, we being to move forward, we discard sweats and are down to the gear we'll start the race in. I lose Kevin and Courtney but look for them as we stand at the start while ESPN takes over and the elites are introduced. The elites are on the right side of the bridge, I'm on the left, and for a few moments, we are side by side. The National Anthem is sang and the canon fires and what do I hear but Sinatra..........WHAT? WAIT!! Are you shittin' me?? That ain't Sinatra!!! And the day only goes down hill from here.........
I knew mile one would be slow because it was the climb to the top of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. I also knew the second mile would be fast because it was down the other side. The wind crossing the bridge was only a sign of things to come. No one could run a straight line with the winds crossing the bridge. Oh, and the wheel-chair portion of the race was changed because of the winds. They started at mile three of the course so as to not have to cross this bridge. 7:13 - 6:29. Ok, I'm sitting good. I start to rid myself of clothing as I'm warming up nicely. My Dunkin' Donut beanie, gone. (Dang it! I wanted to keep that one!) One layer of gloves, gone. Mile 3 I rid myself of the long sleeve tee. I'm down to my racing gear now. I check my watch as each mile passes. I'm in good shape but I'm fighting. 6 miles feel like 10. 12 feel like a full marathon. At the halfway point, I'm at almost 1:30 flat and I start to fall apart. There is no reason for this other than the logistics and the ongoing battle with the wind. I know that I've trained my butt off for this. I walk for 20 seconds and try to mentally check back in. Hell, I just broke my half-marathon PR by more than a full minute. I'm in better shape than I think and just need to keep fighting.
At mile 15 we reach the Queensboro Bridge, this leads to 1st Avenue. The bridge is like walking through a dessert alone in the middle of summer. No one is talking. Heads are down. The wind is blowing so hard all you can hear is the ripple of everyone's bib almost being ripped off their shirts. Finally to the top and you start to hear the roar of 1st Avenue. Mile 16, I get there and I'm exhausted. Why is it that every time we turn a different direction, the wind is always in my face??? How is that possible?? The crowd is good but based on expectations, this is small because of the weather. They help for sure but I've been fighting for 25 miles already...oh, wait, it's only mile 16.
I get farther down 1st Avenue and start thinking about quitting. I've fallen off the pace to go sub-3 hours. "Why am I even doing this? If I quit now, I can run another race in December or January with very little time off. Wait, I can't quit!" First, I have no money on me for a cab and I'm 10 miles from my hotel and second, I've just bought several items with the race logo on it that I'll never be able to wear if I quit.
See, I believe that you don't wear the gear until you've 'earned' it. And by earned it, I mean finishing the race or get injured trying. I decide at this point to back off completely and just finish. My 'race' is over at mile 17. I slow down dramatically. I walk through water stops and stop taking my gels. As I get farther along, I get more disgusted and frustrated with the day.
Finally, we are into Central Park. I know we're getting close. The crowd really starts to pick up and it is incredibly encouraging. I've got nothing left in the tank, but I can see how this is supportive for others. And yes, the wind is still in my face! Finally, the finish line. 3:21:06, 21:07 off my goal race. I walk several hundred feet before being given a heat sheet. By this time I'm already cold. Sort of defeated the purpose of the heat sheet. Now I've got a half mile walk just to get out of the park. It's cold and the wind is still blowing in my face. Finally I get to the ponchos that I would have expected a half mile ago. And lastly, the long walk back to my hotel.
There are big lessons to be learned about this day. First, I have to figure out how to manage my nutrition when I've got to be on a bus 3 hours prior to the start of the race. Second, how do I alter my race strategy last minute, execute that strategy, and feel good about it? Or do I? Do I continue to stick with my 'Go For It' mentality regardless of the conditions? It's worked for me to this point, but there is surely something that I can learn from this. Lastly, how do I learn to run in a hard head-wind? I pride myself on running outside every day regardless of the conditions. I tell people that I do it so that I'm prepared for whatever race day throws at me. Well........I wasn't prepared for this. How does anyone prepare for this? Anyone have a wind tunnel in their garage or in their backyard???
And to close, I say good-bye to the New York City Marathon. Someday, I'd like a shot at this race when the conditions are set for racing. I like this course and I think it sets up well for me even though this isn't a 'world-record' setting course. Not that I'm going to be setting any world records. Someday New York, someday.....You may have won this battle, but look out, I may just come back for another shot at you!
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