Race Report: ING New York City Marathon 2010

E and his awesome handmade sign!

This past weekend was one of the most memorable weekends ever because I got to experience intense versions of the best things in life - love (wedding), running (marathon), and friends (cheer squad!).  On Saturday, I witnessed one of my good friends from college marry one of the nicest guys in the world.  The cutest part of the wedding was when the groom was so awestruck staring at the bride that he forgot to say "I do" and had to be prompted.  The wedding was small, intimate, classy, and relaxed all at the same time.  Congratulations L & M!  Have a great time in Hawaii!

Though I had to run the 41st ING New York City Marathon (my second time running NYC!) the next day, I would not have missed the wedding for the world.  There are marathons every weekend but I'll only get to witness my friends getting married once and that's way more special than achieving any sort of PR.  I think that the lucky wedding risotto and the delicious yellow cake with jasmine chocolate cream was the absolute best pre-marathon fuel.  Thanks to the end of DST, I got an extra hour of sleep after a night of celebration too!

I had luckily gone to the expo on Thursday so I had everything ready to go.  There weren't that many good deals at the expo this year, but I still enjoyed wandering the aisles and trying lots of random foods.  Thankfully, I had a few days to get random foods out of my system.  My shopaholic tendencies still caused me to emerge from the expo about $100 poorer but with some cool headphones, a box of espresso GUs, and an absolutely hokey Power Balance bracelet.  I have no idea why I bought the last item, the logic is retarded.  A hologram that helps regulate your body's electricity?  WTF?  A hologram?!?!  Anyway, I'm wearing it every damn day until it breaks to remind me of my own gullibility and stupidity.

 

Me at the expo.  Number 26-484.  My lucky number is 4!

I also packed my bag and pinned my race number on my singlet before going to bed.  I think I got at least 5 hours of fitful rest (all my dreams that night were about running) before I woke up at 5am to start getting ready.  I got my Dunkin' Donuts coffee, caught a cab to South Ferry, and made it onto the 6:30am ferry to Staten Island.  I hung out in the warmth of the ferry terminal for about an hour before taking the shuttle buses to the start.  It was freezing there but I was too excited and nervous to care.  I had worn my brother's old down jacket and it was basically like a cozy sleeping bag.  I didn't take it off until I got to my corral and had to donate it.  If you run the NYC marathon, definitely bring some old but very warm clothing to the start because you'll be out in the cold for a significant amount of time.  Volunteers collect it to donate to charity.

I hung out in the covered tents until the minute before the corrals closed.  I squeezed into my corral (Blue 26, Wave 2) right before they closed the gates.  I actually ended up starting with people in corral 28 because I was held up in the line for the porta potties.  The start was slow and though I tried to refrain from weaving around people too much, I just couldn't help running a little extra just to get around people who seemed to be walking.  I also really wanted to warm up as it was freezing!

Despite what seemed to be frigid temperatures (38 degrees at the start), the sun was out, the sky was blue, and the air was crisp - so it actually turned out to be an awesome day for running.  Yes, I do say this in hindsight because I PR'ed.  I tried to enjoy the views as I crossed the Verrazano Bridge but I was so preoccupied with trying to stay tucked in with other (taller) runners so I wouldn't be as cold that I didn't see anything.  However, the early miles went by very quickly.  I had put my name on my shirt and I felt like a rockstar in Brooklyn as I heard "Go Sonia!" from all around me.  Smiling and thanking people helped me peel off the miles one by one.  My only complaint about Brooklyn was that the course felt too narrow at some parts and I had to slow down to avoid crashing into other runners.  Before I knew it, I was on the Pulaski Bridge and into Queens!  Unfortunately, I don't remember anything about Queens except that I hit my halfway point at exactly 1:50:05 according to my watch.

I noticed my energy dropping precipitously a little after mile 13, but I decided to try to stick with my pace for as long as I could.  This lasted until the Queensboro Bridge around mile 15.  I remember a lot about crossing the Queensboro, and it seemed almost surreal.  There was no support on the bridge, and all I could hear were other runners pounding along besides me.  I occasionally heard snippets of what I assume to be motivational words in Italian, Spanish, and Finnish (I'm guessing based on the flags on runners' jerseys) as the international runners tended to move in packs.  Some runners stopped on the bridge to climb over the railing and take pictures of Manhattan or to stretch.  I didn't try to pass people that much on the bridge, but I did notice that some people slowed their paces considerably on what seemed to be a very long incline.  My Garmin also lost signal at this point so I was gauging myself entirely on effort level rather than pace.

I took advantage of the steep decline off the bridge and bounded into the roar of the crowds in Manhattan.  I knew this stretch of First Avenue very well and it was nice to know exactly what was coming on each block.  I ticked off the blocks until 76th and 1st (exactly mile 17) where I knew my friends were waiting for me!  When I saw them, I almost cried because I was so happy.  E and D had made signs for me and they were awesome!  R had gotten me balloons!  A, DJ, and C were there too!  Everyone had woken up early to come cheer for me in the cold!  How awesome is that?

 So excited to see my cheering squad!
Photo courtesy of E

Re-energized from meeting my friends and cheerleaders, I continued to power down First Avenue.  I heard T screaming at me at 86th Street and Patricia yelling my name somewhere in the 80s.  Thank you girls!  After that point, the crowd seemed to thin a tiny bit as I made my way into upper Manhattan and onto the Willis Avenue Bridge and into the Bronx.  I reached mile 20 and this is where the sights were no longer enough to distract me from my fatigue.  I had tried to fuel as smartly as I could, with an espresso GU every 5 miles and a few sips of Gatorade or water every mile or two (I didn't sweat much since it was cold), but I definitely started feeling pretty tired!

The rest of the race was a blur.  One of my few memories from mile 20+ was passing Ethan Zohn and telling him that he was doing an awesome job.  He smiled at me and said thanks.  I swooned a tiny bit inside because he is hot, brave, and has beaten cancer to run a goddamn marathon.  I think that I must have also passed the Chilean miner at some point earlier too but I didn't notice when.  Anyway, I knew that I had to run a 50 minute or so 10K in order to BQ and I wanted to try my hardest.  I decided to take no water stops from mile 21 onwards and to push the pace as much as I could.  I somehow told my legs to keep churning over the Madison Avenue Bridge and into Harlem then onto Fifth Avenue.  Around mile 23, I remember feeling myself fade very noticeably and I had to kind of shake myself to keep my eyes from closing for too long.  At this point, the crowds that were screaming my name could not elicit more than a tired victory sign from me.  No smile.  Sorry!

Notice the people stretching and walking in the background.  I swear I'm not that leisurely!

Photo courtesy of Richard Chung

I remember running into Central Park and down the east side that I've run so many times before.  Let me tell you, Central Park on a regular day is completely different from Central Park on marathon day.  The crowds, three to five people deep on each side, all screaming for the runners, were enough to keep me moving.  At mile 24, I pretty much knew that there was no way that I was going to BQ, but I knew that I was going to try for the sweetest PR possible.  J (another Whippet) caught up to me around mile 24.5 and pushed me towards the finish.  I basically trailed his orange top to the finish line.

My finish time?  3:41:28 (8:28 pace, splits: 1:50:03 / 1:51:25).  I beat my previous PR by almost 8 minutes and I had run almost even splits!  I missed BQ'ing by 29 seconds but I actually don't mind that much.  I had set out to run my very hardest and I pushed myself as hard as I could.  There is no way that I could have asked for a better race.  Besides, with Boston 2011 full already, I have almost a whole year to qualify for Boston 2012.

After J and I crossed the finish line, MsRitz collided into us from behind.  She had run a 3:42 (a new PR for her) with a fractured arm and ribs!  All three of us were all so excited with our new PRs and telling our race stories that it made the one mile shuffle towards the baggage trucks way more enjoyable.  I collected my bag from my corral, exited the park, and made my way over to brunch at Josie's where my cheer crew were waiting for me!  I ate a good healthy meal (THAT WAS NOT PASTA) with seven of my best friends, who all listened to me blabber about a sport that they could care less about.  Thanks guys!  Afterward, we headed over to Levain's for the sweetest, gooiest, and largest warm chocolate chip cookies ever.  I followed this with Buttercup's delicious red velvet cupcake, thanks to F.

I went home, showered, slipped on my calf compression sleeves, and spent a great deal of time on Facebook, looking at other people's posts and pictures about the marathon.  Kino had run the entire race as Old Spice Man in a stuffed muscle shirt with a backwards pony clipped to his ass.  Debbie had very happily PR'ed as well!  She missed BQ'ing by a bit too, so now I have someone to chase that elusive BQ with at Poconos next year.  Some of the people I know had just finished their very first marathons, and it was so nice just reading their status updates.

My sample size is limited, but I think that it would be hard to find a marathon that can beat NY.  The crowd support, the sights, the sounds, are all amazing.  I'm more sore today than I have ever been after a race, but it was so worth it!  As much as I love NYC, I am extremely tempted to skip out on the race next year so I can be one of the awesome people who cheer!  We'll see.

Congratulations to all those that participated in the marathon this year and thanks to all the volunteers!  And an even bigger thank you to my awesome cheer squad (you know who you are)!  Also, a very special thanks to E for flying out from the other side of the country to come to the wedding and watch me run the marathon!

 
Victory!

Final stats:
3:41:28 (8:28 pace)
7921 / 44923 overall
1278 / 16109 females
265 / 2635 age group

Links: Garmin   Results   Race Site