Race Recap: 2019 NYC Marathon!!

I’ve been mulling over in my head these last few days exactly what I wanted to write about my NYC Marathon experience, and where exactly I wanted to store these thoughts of mine. It’s been a hot minute since I posted anything to my blog—since my last marathon to be exact—but this avenue felt more right, compared to a lengthy Instagram post. I have a lot of thoughts & I’ll try to be concise, but I make no promises, ha!

If I think back to 5 years ago when I ran my first marathon, I would have called you a LIAR if you told me that: A) In 2019 I would run the NYC Marathon, B) I would run a 3:31, C) That 3:31 would not be a PR, D) I was trained & prepared to run a sub-3:20, E) I am elated with said 3:31, & F) NYC would not be my favorite marathon. But indeed, all of those things are TRUE! While I have so many good things to say about November 3rd, let’s knock out some of the “bad” things that happened first… they’re pretty much all related to shitty timing.

But first, a blast from the past. Back in 2010 when infertility was rocking my world, I learned how to LISTEN to my body. Once I got pregnant the following year and then had the babies, I really then began LEARNING my body. Call it motherhood. Call it wisdom. Whatever you call it, I discovered then that my body was finally functioning as it should… I finally began ovulating every month, & in essence, the pregnancy “fixed” my body (I do not believe that I efficiently ovulated prior to my successful IVF cycle). Since that time, I know my cycles like the back of my hand. You’re probably wondering what in the world this has to do with running. Well for me, everything. I urge you to understand your body (for all the woman out there!) & go pick up a book like “ROAR” to help you relate your cycles to running & physical activity as we age. So back to the Big Apple…

Leading up to the race, I had figured out that timing of my period would be very close to race day. Sure, periods are a taboo subject to talk about, but why? They don’t have to be. Aside from the “ick” aspects of them, for me personally (as I am sure for many women out there) it is so much more—I get night sweats the night before which affects my sleep, I have back aches/pains, I feel much warmer, my HR is higher, I intensely crave sweets, & my normally rock-solid stomach is sometimes tenuous. Of course your period is relevant to running when I put it that way, right?! (Clearly this post isn’t for any guy readers that I may have, lol!) Well timing sure got me this time… all those symptoms can be checked off as having occurred on November 3rd this year, the exact day I was running my 7th marathon. My “friend” arrived mid-race. “Oh, great”, I thought (at least I had “prepared” for this & there was no social disgraces happening, hehe!). I probably could have been okay if it were just a period. But no, the intense back aches rolled in & honestly, I just couldn’t handle it & run 7:35 pace at the same time. Around that time, the congested course put me in a really crabby mental state. A PR day quickly became an unrealistic expectation.

So what do you do… pack it all in OR adjust? Well first, try to keep pushing forward. #keepshowingup But when that fails, definitely the latter!

All of this, I felt/knew by the 10K mark. I told myself to just get to my 2nd gel at mile 9 and maybe things would improve. I wasn’t “dying”, but I also wasn’t feeling like I could follow the 3:20 race plan either. So… time to adjust & focus on ENJOYING the fact that I was running the freakin’ NYC Marathon! Forget time. Quit fighting the crowds. Just run for the fun of it & ignore the watch. Just after mile 9.5, I called my coach. I didn’t want him to worry that something was wrong with me as each 5K split popped up—I simply wasn’t having an “on” day. Shame an “off” day comes on one of your biggest running days of the year, but that’s life & you have to roll with the punches. After getting off the phone with James, I turned on my music for the first time during the race, hoping to zone out for a bit to get my mind right with some tunes inspiration. It helped for sure (along with the amazing crowd support all along the course!).

After the 10th mile, I don’t believe I looked at a single mile split. I ran the next 16+ miles by feel. James had established a speed “limit” of 7:30, but since I knew I wasn’t going below it, I would just run by feel. I had zero goals or expectations at this point (well, except for staying ahead of the massive 3:30 pace group…. because whenever I was near them, it was soooooo congested!).

It’s funny though—the biggest worry I had going into the race became one of the things I enjoyed most: the bridges. I felt super strong on all 5 bridges. I passed so many folks, cheering them on as I went. My legs loved the varied terrain. The flat-landers hill training had paid off!

Before I list all of the things I enjoyed about the NYC Marathon, here are a few of my issues (I say them not to complain, but to inform anyone who may attempt to run this race as a PR one day): 1) the road itself is full of potholes & you constantly need to watch your footing, 2) numerous (too many IMO) water stops caused for probably 1-2 minutes of lost time needing to slow down & either avoid the cups in the road/get a cup to drink/stay upright on your feet, 3) for a big city the roads seemed narrow for much of the course, 4) poor logistics (again, IMO) for corral size/course congestion (I’ve run Tokyo & Chicago… NYC needs to take notes from those other big city races that never felt crowded like this!), and 5) I know they prepare you for this, but the buses take so very long to get to Staten Island (which made my breakfast that I eat, Picky Oats oatmeal which needs hot water, late… I ate about 60 min. before the race vs. my normal 90 min… & by then, nerves set in & I wasn’t really hungry).

But… there was also so much good about the NYC Marathon. I mean, hello, you’re running through the 5 boroughs of NEW YORK CITY! Despite all that went down this past Sunday & knowing I don’t wish to run this race again, I still adore NYC & will happily visit at every opportunity given!!! There is still magic in NYC… just maybe not in this race, ha! So here’s the good stuff: 1) the spectators are amazing & their cheers are infectious, 2) the course terrain itself I really liked—some turns, concrete jungle, bridges, Central Park—all of it, 3) each mile has an easy to see marker so you know where you’re at every few minutes (good for spectating too—less guess work!), 4) you get to see some amazing views along the way, and 5) at the end, the volunteers were perfection—they put my mylar wrap on, then taped it, then later at the fleece-lined poncho station, they put that on too—top notch volunteers!

So what were some of my favorite & least favorite parts!?

• Favorite Sight: (tie between) 1) Reaching the peak of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge with all of NYC visible below, 2) Coming off of the Queensboro Bridge feeling so very strong, 3) Weaving through Central Park (taking the tangents) looking for Scott & passing so many people
• Least Favorite Part: Full mile steady incline on 5th Ave before you turn into Central Park… ouch!
• Slowest Mile: 8:37 (24th)
• Fastest Mile: 7:43 (7th)
• Favorite Bridge: Queensboro Bridge

And now the numbers (which we all know I love to geek out on, ha!):

• Official Time: 3:31:11 (8:04/mile)

• 1st Half: 1:44:47 (7:59/mile)

• 2nd Half: 1:46:24 (8:06/mile)

• Positive Split: 1:37

As I try to pull together some final thoughts here, I can’t help but to be grateful for where my running adventures have taken me (physically, mentally, & emotionally). I have the most supportive people by my side & I am SO THANKFUL for you all! It is crazy to imagine that 4 years ago, this was the pace that I ran for my half marathon PR… and now it has become my “bad day” marathon race pace. I don’t take that for granted for one second. I was not raised to be an athlete. I was forced to sit out of gym class because I could not perform in the skirt that my religion felt was necessary to be a “proper lady”. I was not permitted to attend swim week in 4th grade because the boys could not see me, as a girl, in an un-modest swimsuit. I had to lie (sorry Mom!) about the length of the field hockey skirt in high school and about the co-ed-ness of the swim team. And then in 2009, I became a runner. It did not come naturally to me & I have had to work damn hard to get to where I am today. But it is important to me, so I sacrifice at times & I make it a priority… for days like this, when your bad day turns into “just run easy” & STILL equates to a solid BQ performance & your 2nd fastest 26.2. BQ was not my goal, but it is a nice benchmark to meet. I don’t have all the answers & I am no better than the next average Joe runner; but, I do know that consistency pays off & I can’t imagine a life without running in it.

Thanks for listen to me ramble! XOXO