After many years of wanting to run the New York City Marathon, I am finally able to cross it off my bucket list of running adventures. On Friday, November 4th, I flew up to New York City to participate in the 2016 running of the marathon. While this would be the 46th running of the race having been founded by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta in 1970. This year would be the 40th running since "Lebow and 2,090 entrants took the New York City Marathon to the streets of the five boroughs in a moving celebration of sport and diversity." Bill Rodgers won the race that year (1976) and the race has been run this way ever since and is one of the reasons I have always wanted to run it.
When I finally got to New York City and my hotel from the Newark, I got hold of my friend Jason who was also running the marathon. We decided to go and grab dinner at John's Pizza in the theater district. It was a nice way to ease into the weekend. I was feeling really anxious about the race. Jason kept telling me that it would be a great experience and I should just try to not think about it. I knew he was right. I knew I had trained hard and was ready. I think I was just putting too much pressure on myself to run a great race.
After dinner, we agreed to meet up early the next morning to walk over to the Javits Center where the marathon expo was being held. We met at 10:00 am and headed over to the Javits. I have to say that it was one of the easiest check in processes I have experienced in the 9 marathons I have participated in. I had my bib and shirt within 10 minutes. This allowed us to walk around the expo and look at all of the running gear and various marathons trying to entice runners to come and run. Before leaving, we had to check in with Fred's Team where we picked up our information packs and my wristband for the starting line village tent.
We decided to head back to our respective hotels and drop off the things we picked up at the expo. We wanted to try and see a Broadway show matinee to allow us to stay off our feet. As we walked back through the theater district, we ducked into a couple of the theaters to see what tickets we could get and stay under $100. We finally picked up tickets to see "The Humans" which I knew had won the Tony Award for Best Play this year. So I was pretty excited to have a chance to see it. We then planned to meet at Juniors for lunch as it was right next door to the theater.
We had a great lunch at Juniors and then went to the theater. The play was fantastic. I would highly recommend it to anyone. When the show ended, we headed back to our hotels to get as much rest as you can before a major race. We were going to meet at the Fred's Team headquarters hotel at the Crown Plaza Times Square at 4:45 a.m. The buses to the starting line area would be leaving at 6:00 a.m. after our team picture. We figured we could grab a bagel and banana before we had to get on the buses.
If you are a runner, you know that you or your friends have all had trouble falling asleep before an important race. Why does is seem that just when you most need a full night’s rest, you spend the night, tossing and turning. That is exactly what happened to me. I was worried that my alarm would not go off and that my wake-up call wouldn't come on time. It was daylight savings time and this was the night we had to "fall back". I had a very restless night. I know that a sleepless night before the marathon wouldn't have a serious negative effect on my performance. But when the alarm did go off, I was not well rested.
I showered and got into my racing outfit. I had bought a $10 set of sweatpants and sweatshirt to keep me warm while I waited for my start time. I double checked everything and headed out the door to meet Jason. It took me about 15 minutes to walk from my hotel to the Crown Plaza. The city was very quiet. It was a little chilly but it looked like we would have a perfect day for running.
I arrived at the hotel and went up to the ballroom where I would see the rest of my Fred's Teammates. They had markers so we could decorate our team shirts. I put my name on the front of my shirts and "2016". Then I headed over to the food area to get a bagel and banana. Then I headed in to the tables to sit and relax while waiting to be called for the team photo and Jason to arrive. Jason showed up a few minutes after I sat down. We chatted about how little sleep we had got the night before. Finally they called us out to head over to Times Square to have the team photo. There were about 900 people on the team so you can imagine how long it took to get the photos done. Once we were finished, Jason and I headed over to the buses. We pulled out of Times Square right at 6:00 a.m. as planned.
It took almost 2 hours to get over to the starting line village in Staten Island. When we finally arrived, it took forever for the bus to make its way to where they could drop us off. Jason was getting nervous because his start time was 9:40 a.m. and he was not going to be able to get in his normal pre-race routine. We jumped off the bus and made our way into the starting area. It was a literal sea of people. It took me a little while to find the Fred's Team tent. Once I did, I went in and found a place to lay down to get some rest as I waited for my call to head over to the corrals.
I was slotted in Wave 2, Green Corral E. The Fred's Team people finally called us at around 10:15 to start walking over to the corrals to get ready for our 10:40 a.m. start time. I walked over to the corrals and waited to get into my corral. They let us in after checking our bibs. We were pretty packed into the corral. The nice thing was that they had portolets at the edge of the corrals so that the runners could make their last minute pit stops. Finally at about 10:30 they let us walk up onto the ramp up to the Verrazano Bridge. After the National Anthem, the cannon fired and we were finally off.
My corral had the lower level of the Verazzano Bridge. The bridge is a little longer than a mile. Despite being on the lower level, I had a beautiful clear view of the skyline of Lower Manhattan. The wind was pretty strong even below. It was really hard to get up to speed as the crowd was really large. I just did my best to run in a straight line and avoided zig zagging through my fellow runners. When I reached the end of the first mile it had taken me 14 minutes. There was still a chance to reach my stretch goal of a sub-4 hour marathon. But it was going to be hard with the number of runners around me.
I did my best to try and stay at a steady 9:30 pace. I couldn't get going faster as so many of the other runners were weaving in and out. I even saw one guy face plant next to me because he was accidentally tripped by another runner. I decided then and there to not worry about pace. Instead I wanted to focus on not falling and hope that it would ease up as the race progressed. When I reached the 5K mark in Bay Ridge (Brooklyn), I was at 29:29 (9:31 pace). Not bad. I felt like I could hold this pace the rest of the race. I decided to just enjoy the race and see where I was at the 20K mark and then I would know whether or not a sub-4 was in the cards.
The next 5K was absolutely wonderful. The Brooklyn crowds were out and lining both sides of 4th Ave. 3 and 4 deep. They really made you feel like a rock star. It was a fairly flat road and the runners were finally starting to spread out. But it was still hard for me to drop my pace closer to 9:00. So I just soaked in the atmosphere and enjoyed the cool air and sunshine as I ran. I reached the 10K mark in 1:00:16 (9:43 pace). I was feeling really good.
The next 2 miles were still on 4th Ave. But at Flatbush Ave. near the Barclay Center, we turned to the left so we could turn onto Lafayette Ave. in the Clinton Hill portion of Brooklyn. The crowds along the route were even bigger here. Soon I started to see Hasidic Jews along the route paying us runners no attention. I was running through Bedford/Stuvesant on the way to Williamsburg. The 15K mark was right as we turned into Bedford/Stuvesant. I had made it in 1:29:31 (9:38 pace).
On we ran. Up through South Williamsburg and into Williamsburg. The 20K mark was in Greenpoint. The crowds were still loud and raucous as we pushed on. I was not paying attention to my watch at all. I was really enjoying the energy that the crowds were providing. I was enjoying the sites along the route. Most of my visits to the Boroughs were to look at real estate for Staples at the time. So it was really nice to see the neighborhoods from a pedestrian level. I reached the 20K marker in 2:00:02 (9:41 pace). At this point, I pretty well knew my sub-4 goal was not achievable. I wasn't upset or even disappointed. I was running well and feeling great. I reset my mind to beating my second best marathon (4:25:03) and pushed on.
The half way point (13.1 miles) came just as we crossed out of Brooklyn and into Queens. It is in Long Island City. As I crossed the timing mat, I looked down at my watch. I was at 2:06:47 (9:40 pace). I was actually feeling really good. I am sure this is because my tempo runs during training were typically at an 8:40 per mile pace. I kept running knowing that if I could stay at this pace, I would have one of my best marathons ever. A feeling of strength and joy washed over me.
As a side note. Whenever I tell friends about my marathons, they invariably ask me what the time was for the winner of the race. My stock answer to ground them in my "speed" and time is that when I am at the half way mark, the winner is usually finishing. If you look up this year's winner (Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, Eritrea), you will see that he crossed the finish line in 2:07:51 (4:53 pace). Yep, he was breaking the tape as I passed the half way point. I never thought about who was winning for even a second during the race. I was focused on running my best race.
I was really looking forward to running across the 59th Street bridge and into Manhattan. The 59th St. Bridge is also known as the Queensboro Bridge. We came up onto it and ran on the lower level of the bridge. We were approaching the 25K mark and I was feeling groovy. If you don't know, Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song called "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)". I actually sang a little of it to myself as I was crossing over the bridge.
Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.
As we came off the bridge and into Manhattan, I thought my IPod's battery had died. I couldn't hear it any longer. All I could hear was the wall of sound as we came down and turned onto 1st Ave. It wasn't until I was about a tenth of a mile up 1st Ave. that I started to hear my music again. Wow! Talk about some crowd support. I had reached the 25K mark at 2:30:54 (9:44 pace).
The next 4 miles were straight up 1st Ave. The avenue is very wide allowing us to really spread out. I was trying to lock into a 9:30 per mile pace. 1st Avenue is uphill although at a very slight incline. But it is relentlessly uphill. I was able to stay on track logging miles 16-19 in 9:23; 9:30; 9:22 and 9:16. I hit the 30K mark at 3:00:04 (9:41 pace). I was mentally preparing for the last two bridges into and out of The Bronx and looking forward to the downhill run to Central Park.
I crossed over the Willis Ave. bridge into The Bronx. The crowds were still out but not as big as the rest of the race. Miles 20 and 21 run through The Bronx. Then we headed into Harlem by crossing over the Madison Ave. Bridge onto 138th before turning onto 5th Ave. I was excited as I realized that even if I ran a 10 minute pace the rest of the way, I would have my second best marathon performance. I crossed the 35K mark at 3:30:02 (9:41 pace). I had 4.5 miles to go and I was still feeling strong.
Unfortunately, I was dead wrong about 5th Ave. When I reached 116th St., 5th Ave. started uphill. I was mentally unprepared for this hill. Plus I couldn't remember where we turned into Central Park. It started to get to me. Mile 23 and 24 were in 10:08 and 10:40. I was letting this mental mistake affect my performance. I looked at my watch and knew that if I could just pull it together, I would still reach my goal. I grabbed at Gatorade at the next station and pulled myself together. I was physically feeling good. Now I just had to get my head back in the race.
I pushed myself along trying to pick up the pace. Mile 24 is at 86th St. and where I finally turned into the park. I drank in the noise and encouragement from the crowd. I made it to the 40K mark at 4:02:22 (9:46 pace). I started to pick up my pace despite starting to feel the effects of the wind and the cold. My legs were responding but not as well as I wanted. I clocked mile 25 in 9:53. I dug even deeper and clocked mile 26 in 9:48. I could see the finish line and pushed myself across the finish line at a final pace over those 2/10 of a mile of 9:24.
I looked at the clock and it read 4 hours 19 minutes. I was ecstatic. I had run my second best marathon time ever. I started to tear up a bit as I walked through the finish line area and collected my medal. I had such a great race. I crossed the finish line in 4:15:57 a 9:46 per mile pace. I had bested my second best time by 9 minutes. I was so happy and proud to have been a part of Fred's Team. I had carried the memory of all of my friends and family who lost their battle with cancer the entire way and know that they were there with me urging me on. I know they were smiling with me as I received my medal and headed over to the Fred's Team recovery tent.
51,388 runners finished the race which I believe is the record for most marathon finishers in history. To understand how big this is the Boston Marathon had 26,606 finishers in April. I finished in 19,171st place in the top 40% of all runners. Not bad for a 55 year old guy.
As I sat there in the Fred's Team tent my thoughts turned to how grateful I am to have such a large network of generous family and friends who freely gave donations to support my fundraising efforts on behalf of Fred's Team. The money the team raised goes directly to Memorial Sloan Kettering, which not only improves cancer research and care at MSK, but also helps spark progress at centers worldwide that look to MSK to set the standard of achievement and pace of innovation. It is also the primary source of support for the Aubrey Fund, which funds ongoing research on childhood cancers, including leukemia, neuroblastoma, brain tumors and certain forms of sarcoma. Because of the generosity of so many people, this year we have raised $5,017,217 and I personally raised $50,027 which was the 5th highest amount out of over 900 Fred's Team members.
The first question some of my friends asked was when would I run my next marathon. This experience was so great that I am a little reluctant to run another one. I always felt that it was better for an athlete to go out on a high note. If I never run another marathon, I can truly say that I ended my marathon career at a high water mark. Who knows what the future holds. No matter what, I know that I will keep running. It is a huge part of who I am. For now, I am just going to run some easy miles with no particular goal race in mind. I am going to run in a way that makes me the happiest. I won't be thinking of my time or pace. Instead I will be out there running for nothing but the sheer joy of it.
Oct. 31 – 6.20 miles (57:02, 9:12 pace)
Nov. 1 – 5.20 miles (46:17, 8:54 pace)
Nov. 3 – 6.20 miles (55:06, 8:53 pace) - Tempo Run
Nov. 4 – 6.20 miles (53:09, 8:34 pace)
Nov. 6 – 26.20 miles (4:15:57, 9:46 pace) - 2016 New York City Marathon
Nov. 9 – 3.10 miles (29:56, 9:39 pace)
Nov. 10 – 3.20 miles (30:26, 9:29 pace)
Nov. 11 – 5.10 miles (47:15, 9:16 pace)
Nov. 12 – 6.20 miles (53:58, 8:42 pace)
Nov. 13 – 6.20 miles (57:14, 9:14 pace)
Total Miles: 62.4 miles
2016 Total Miles: 1,870.8 miles
When I ran the New York City Marathon, I had mentally prepared for the race. I studied the course map. I knew where all the bridges were along the route which are basically man made hills. I knew that when we came off the 59th Street bridge at mile 16 that the next 4 miles up 1st Avenue would be a gradual uphill climb. I was both physically and mentally prepared for these hills. In fact they seemed easy. Where I made a mental error was that I had in my mind that when I reached 5th Avenue at mile 22, I would have 4 miles downhill or flat the rest of the way. I admit that as 5th Avenue started to climb up hill, I definitely started to give into those pangs of self-doubt and discomfort.
It is at this point in the marathon (miles 21-26) that we marathoners start to lose our mental focus. Knowing this, I try to do is step outside of my body. I let my mind totally take over and focus only on my surroundings. In a major race like New York City this is easy. There is so much going on around you. As I was ticking off the miles, I began to really see the spectators cheering us on. I heard them call my name urging me on. I read as many of their signs as I could. I started to encourage the other runners around me. And I drank in the fall colors as I ran into and through Central Park. When I did this, the pain and discomfort disappeared. I just felt the true joy of running.
