The 2008 NYC Marathon – Recap of a 5 Borough Tour

Background

If I had to make a list of life goals, running the New York City marathon (or any marathon, for that matter), would *not* be on it. To be honest, I've never really thought of myself as an athlete at all. I've always enjoyed taking long walks, and I like hiking, but sports have never been a big draw.

So how did I wind up running a marathon? It was a slippery slope. 5 1/2 years ago I started to get regular exercise, and going to a gym. 2 1/2 years ago I ran outside for the first time without getting completely out of breath, thanks to a couple of friends suggesting I try running with a heart monitor. Two years ago I ran my first half-marathon, and was completely hooked on distance running.

But a marathon? There's a big difference between running 13.1 miles and running 26.2 miles. I still wasn't sure. Then, as I approached my 40th birthday, it occurred to me that running my first marathon would be a great way to celebrate turning 40: a way to shake off the blues and say, "life is exciting and filled with possibilities."


Training

But there were still those 13.1 extra miles. On my own, I find it easy to go out on a Saturday and run between 8 and 11 miles (yes, I know that's strange), but I knew I'd need help if I was going to build up to marathon level. I decided to sign up with Team in Training.

Team in Training (aka "TNT") is a fundraising branch of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They've raised hundreds of millions of dollars for research into blood cancers (which helps research into all cancers), and they also provide money for services for people fighting blood cancers, such as counseling, co-payments, and taxis from the hospital after chemotherapy. I was proud to help raise money, and the cause became even more meaningful when I found out that my father's childhood friend Bob had recently been diagnosed with lymphoma.

Training was... challenging. It lasted about half a year. Hill repeats, improving my running form, speed workouts, and other things that if you don't know about them, you're probably happier. There were times when I felt like nothing could stop me, and there were times when I felt as weak as a kitten.

At this point I need to give a special shout-out to my head coaches Michael and Lisa, who gave tons of helpful advice and support, including the fact that everybody has horrible runs from time to time, and you can still do a marathon even if your planned 15 mile run becomes an 8 mile jog followed by a 2 mile limp.

Also, a shout-out to assistant coach Luis who, after I pushed myself through a 15 mile run in truly awful humidity, chuckled and gave me the following encouraging words:

"You're crazy!"

He was absolutely right. But I needed to prove to myself that I had the mental toughness to keep moving even when conditions were terrible and I just wanted to stop.


The Cast of Characters

Here are some more people I'd like to mention:

• Maureen: my girlfriend. Supportive, affectionate, a little worried at points about my health, and very excited on race day. She had to move to a new apartment two days before the race (which, as far as I'm concerned, was her own marathon), so we were both busy and under a lot of pressure in the two weeks leading up to the race. It is *very* nice to have that period of time behind us.

• Cathy: my TNT mentor, who always had tremendous amounts of cheer, encouragement, medical advice, and faith that every one of her mentees could cross the finish line.

• Jean: my running partner. A couple of months into training there was a 5K run where we found ourselves going at the same pace. We've run together ever since, and gabbed a lot, so I got to share my excitement at meeting Maureen, and she got to tell me all about her fiancee, Jim. Late in the season we failed to find each other at the start of a half-marathon, and we still somehow ran 13.1 miles within 6 seconds of each others' time.

• My family: thrilled about my running a marathon, and out there on race day to cheer me on.


Race Day

All week long I paid obsessive attention to the weather. Would it be cold? Hot? Rainy? Snowing? As it turned out, it was perfect running weather: coolish, but clear. The crowds would be out to cheer, and we wouldn't get overheated.

I got about 6 hours of sleep (which isn't bad, considering nerves), and woke up to the DJ on the radio saying, "blah blah blah blah, and if you're running the marathon today, good luck!" That put a smile on my face: I've never gotten anything vaguely like a shout-out on the radio before.

I'd laid out my clothing the night before, and even packed everything that I was going to take with me. I'd even pinned my race number on my racing singlet. The less I had to think in the morning, the better.

Up out of bed. Apply "Body Glide" (to prevent chafing). Rub on sunscreen (4+ hours in the sun is 4+ hours in the sun, regardless of temperature). Put on layers. Get a little to eat. Grab bag. Go.

One key piece of running advice that I've come to really appreciate is, "nothing new on race day". Don't try new clothing or sneakers. Don't eat anything that you've never eaten before. Stick to what you know works.

I'd experimented with a lot of different breakfast foods during training and found that a bowl of Kashi "Autumn Wheat" cereal with a bit of milk worked best. The only tricky thing was that the race started at 10 (which felt like 11, because we rolled back the clocks that night), and I needed to eat a couple of hours before running. This meant dragging cereal and milk out to the race. I used a couple of plastic cups to hold the cereal, and brought a rinsed-out Pom Wonderful container to hold the milk.

The subway took forever to arrive. Okay, technically it took 15 minutes, but it felt like forever. I got out at the Whitehall station, across the street from the ferry, and started to jog towards it. A woman with an official t-shirt said, "Don't run! Don't run! They've got extra ferries today!" in a tone of voice that suggested she'd been saying that to a lot of semi-panicked marathoners.


Staten Island – The Start

So there I was on Staten Island, sitting with my running partner Jean, and munching a bowl of cereal while 39,000 nervous people milled around us. That's when I got a final supportive text message from Maureen (ending with "good luck! you're amazing!"), which made me feel... well... amazing.

After I munched down my last bit of cereal, Jean suggested that we find the press tent. Jean is a member of the press, and was able to get us into it, which was especially great because it was heated!

For the most part, the beginning of the race was really well organized. The logistics of getting 39,000 people together, taken care of (water and port-a-potties), and across a start line can't be easy. We had a difficult time finding the trucks to store our bags, and the press tent was almost as hidden as the Grail ("What is your quest?" "I seek the Press Tent."), but in general we found where we needed to be, and there was plenty of water.

I'm afraid I don't have much to say about Staten Island itself, because you start the race by leaving it. ("And good riddance to you," would be an understandable reaction from the Staten Islanders.)

My former colleague Gillian ran NYC last year and said that it took her about 40 minutes to get to the start line. This year they divided the starts into 3 parts (9:40, 10:00, and 10:20), and I have to say, it really worked. I would guess it took us 5 minutes to walk to the start, and we were pretty far back. The line kept moving smoothly.

A note for those among you who believe in the importance of Making the World a Better Place: the organizers of the NYC marathon realize that the runners need to dress warmly before the race, and need to discard the extra layers before they start. They collect the extra clothing and donate it to those in need.

(A note to those who are less high-minded: the NYC marathon starts with 39,000 relatively fit people stripping.)

The first two miles of the race are on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which is a really huge suspension bridge. The views are amazing when going over it by foot. It's also pretty steep, but we took it slowly and steadily, and it went really well. Manhattan and Brooklyn stretched out to our left. The Atlantic Ocean stretched out to our right.

Two women ahead of us were talking on their cell phones as they ran, which was either impressive or ridiculous.

All of us seemed in a good mood.

The wind was cool, the sky was clear, and we had about 2 million people ahead waiting to cheer us on. It was time to get started.


Brooklyn – The Best Crowds

Coming down off the bridge and entering Brooklyn was really exciting. I grew up as a Manhattanite, but converted to Brooklyn-ism six years back (after a lot of soul-searching), and like all converts I feel the need to show how much I belong.

Ah, Brooklyn! Pride of poets and artists! How beautiful thy brownstones! How green thy parks! Truly, thou art a glowing tapestry of vibrant cultures.

Consider, for example, the blend of people cheering on the sidelines in Bay Ridge. This is a neighborhood that has been traditionally Italian-American, and now has a good number of Middle-Eastern and North Africans, and some miscellaneous middle-class folks who got priced out of other neighborhoods. A few runners ahead of us were wearing "Italia" running gear, which got the following responses, in order:

"Italia! Italiaaaaaa!!"

"Italia!!! Forza Italia!!!"

"Go Italy."

And I'd almost bet that only the last of those 3 had Italian ancestry. (I speak as someone who, in cheering for past marathoners has called out, variously, "Viva Mexico!", "Brasil!", "Sverige!" and other places that a Nice Jewish Boy like me doesn't really know from.)

Brooklyn was great. The people were enthusiastic as you could ask for. I got to run up to Maureen and kiss her, which was incredibly fun. (She later admitted that it surprised the heck out of her: "Aaah! Why is he running at me?!?") Jean got to do the same with Jim. Introductions were made all around.

The *best* crowd support was in Fort Greene, on Lafayette Avenue. They were going NUTS! Jean asked, wonderingly, "where *are* we?" (My sardonic reaction, quickly suppressed, was, "we are in the New York City Marathon." She had a better one when we got to Queens.)

Bands were playing. People were screaming and jumping up and down. It was like a rock concert, and we were the stars.

Both Jean and I had our names on our shirts. This was 80% wonderful because people kept cheering for us specifically ("Yay Robert!" "Go Jean!") and 20% confusing, because we almost never knew if the person screaming our names actually knew us.

At one water stop I grabbed a cup of water from a volunteer, drank it down, and kept going. Another volunteer, at the end of the line called out, "Robert! Get some water!" I muttered something like, "already got some," and kept going. He yelled, "Come on, Robert, get some water! Robert! Robert!!! Come on, Robert! Roooooberrrrrrrrt!" like a soul in torment. I had a panicky moment thinking he was going to run after me and harangue me for the next 5 miles.

Jean got the best shout-out of the course, though. A guy hanging from a lamp post calling out, "Go Jean! Jean!!! I believe in you!"

Speaking of odd experiences, I think there were a couple of places where people had set up tables with bake sales. I'm pretty sure I saw a sign saying "$1" next to a plate of something cake-like.

Now, I have a lot of respect for the entrepreneurial spirit, and I understand that 3,900 hungry people were going to be passing by, but I'd like to point out that [A] those people are passing by at a pretty good clip, and don't want to stop; and [B] most of them aren't carrying money.

We continued on into Clinton Hill, and then into the Chasidic section of Williamsburg. Very religious Jews who, honestly, seemed to not pay much attention to what was going on. Enh, another crazy goyish thing. What can you do?

After that we made it further north into the Hipster section of Williamsburg, where a good number of people were cheering; while others couldn't figure out how to cheer in a slightly disdainful cooler-than-thou manner, and just gave up and stared quietly.

From there we turned into Greenpoint, which is one of my favorite sections of the city because it has stores that only have signs in Polish, which I can't read at all. It's that message of, "We know who our customers are, and you aren't one of them, so go somewhere else" that totally draws me in.

Up to here things were pretty smooth. Just your standard half-marathon: nothing to talk about, really. Up ahead we'd have to make more of an effort.


Queens – Hitting Our Stride in the Middle

The stretch of the marathon in Queens is pretty short, but it makes up for it by being (for the most part) deeply uninteresting.

Initially the crowd was pretty good, which was what we needed at the midpoint. After that it got a bit sparse in Long Island City.

I was expecting to see my sister shortly after the bridge, and mentioned that to Jean. She said that would be a good time to stretch. I said that, no no, my sister wouldn't expect us to stop, so it was perfectly fine. Jean explained that, no no, she'd like to stretch, regardless. Oh!

This is the advantage of running with a person who has taught yoga. My lower back had been hurting for the last 5 miles or so, but it hadn't even occurred to me to stop and stretch. So we kept an eye out for my sister. And ran. And looked. And ran.

After something like a mile I said, "Hmm. I just don't see her. Well, let's go a few more blocks."

Jean, to point out that we were only half-way through the marathon, said, in a dry tone that I hope to equal some day, "Yes... let's go a few more blocks."

Ha!

So we looked for a few more blocks, then pulled over and stretched a bunch, and my back felt a lot better afterwards.

Then my sister caught us as the Queensboro Bridge was getting noticeably closer. Elizabeth is now almost 7 months pregnant, but was a runner long before I was, and actually jogged along with us cheering "Yay Robert!" really loudly. This was a really big high point of the marathon.

The dreaded Queensboro Bridge was... well, not as dreadful as I'd feared. Again, I really have to hand it to TNT and my coaches: they had us do two runs where we ran over the Queensboro Bridge and back – as well as doing a lot of hill training – and this was definitely something I could handle.

A few things about the bridge:

• As coach Michael told us in advance, it was the quietest part of the course. All of a sudden there was nobody cheering, and the sound of thousands of foot falls.

• There were these strange blue placards with numbers on them ("1", "2", etc.) which I thought were maybe tenths of a mile, but somebody told me later were probably marked where the support teams of the elite runners had to set up tables to hand out specially formulated drinks to the front-runners.

• There was a guy down on the ground, with people clustered around him. I later read in the NYTimes that he survived, but that he had indeed had a heart attack.

Incidentally, the Queensboro Bridge is the bridge that Simon and Garfunkel sing about in "The 59th Street Bridge Song":

Slow down, you move too fast
You've got to make the morning last

Good advice for anybody running over it.

We wound down off the bridge, and onto 59th Street between 1st and 2nd, and into the neighborhood where I grew up: the Upper East Side.


Manhattan, Part 1 – Coming Home

This was actually surprisingly emotional for me. As we got to 66th street I found myself thinking, "Home!" and getting teary-eyed. Seeing my parents a few blocks later cheering and holding up a sign was even more wonderful.

Further up the road I finally started to notice that I was in a marathon. Either that, or the miles were just longer than the miles at the beginning. Honestly, I could swear that each of the early miles was about 3 blocks long; whereas it took – I'm just estimating – 197 blocks for the "18 Mile" marker to come up.

This was also when we came across our first TNT support: Tif, who's one of the training captains. He asked us how we were doing, and if we needed anything like salt. I actually felt like I could use some salt, and used a salt tablet that he gave me. Jean said she was fine. She, like most people, is able to drink Gatorade while running. I, unfortunately, find that it upsets my stomach while I'm exercising. No problem at other times, but it works against me when I need it most.

Somewhere above 100th street we pulled over to stretch again. The awkward thing about pulling over is that it gives people a really good chance to see your name, so as you pull over to stop, someone inevitably says something supportive like, "Go Robert! Don't stop! You can do it!"

We got to the Willis Avenue Bridge, which I and my siblings used to find incredibly amusing to drive over when we were kids, because it has a metal grate and would make our voices vibrate. Lots of giggling. During the marathon, they lay carpet over it, so you don't feel the grating too jarring underfoot, and presumably so that there's something soft to land on when you unintentionally slam into one of the runners who have suddenly, and with absolutely no warning, stopped to walk.

This wraps up mile 20, and brings us into the Bronx.


The Bronx – The Most Welcoming Borough

"Welcome to the Bronx."

"Welcome to the Bronx."

"Hey, you're in the Bronx now. Welcome"

"Welcome to the Bronx."

There's only about a mile of the route that's in the Bronx. And it seemed like every 15 feet had someone welcoming you to the Bronx. It was actually really nice. I felt like I was going to be taken into someone's living room and offered some food. I was looking forward to putting up my feet, and hoped they didn't mind if their ottoman got a little sweat on it.

The water stations seemed somehow more hospitable than in other boroughs.

Both my brother and sister live in the Bronx with their families, and everybody had come out to cheer. My little 4-year-old niece got so excited that she ran along with us for a bit, and was picked up by my sister, who then tripped. Oops. And yet my niece giggled throughout the entire thing. It was really cute.

I felt like I was flagging a bit at this point, but my siblings tell me that I looked completely fine, and that most of the people around me were sagging. Again: training really helps.

We crossed the Madison Avenue Bridge at mile 21. That meant 5.2 miles to go, which felt definitely do-able, if not easy. This was Manhattan, and the final stretch of the race.


Manhattan, Part 2 – It's All Uphill from Here

The interesting thing about the NYC marathon is that for the last several miles miles you feel as if you're heading uphill most of the time. And there's a simple explanation for that feeling: for most of the last several miles you actually *are* heading uphill most of the time.

This is the time when it's good to have friends who are runners. In my case, first Jinny and then Melka, both of whom I'd run with last year when training for a half-marathon, jumped in. They were both really kind and supportive. They asked if we needed them to run ahead and get water or gatorade. They complimented us. They told us there wasn't much left to go. And they kept us company. I felt a lot stronger from the moment that Jinny first jumped in.

Across from Marcus Garvey Park, which we had to circle around, there was a church with 3 nuns standing out ringing hand bells. Strangely, I felt like crossing myself. Yes, I'm Jewish, but I was really touched by the gesture of supporting us that way.

5th Avenue was pretty difficult. Uphill, and at a time when you really want to be going downhill. But we made it.

At about 110th street I found myself thinking, "Today, I am an athlete. No matter what I've been, Today I Am An Athlete." It was a surprising thing to think, and very powerful. It became my mantra for several blocks, and also brought tears to my eyes.

Coach Lisa ran with me for a bit before we entered the park at 90th street, and was nicely supportive, although I was too tired at that point to respond normally. She told me later that I responded to everything with "good to know". "You're almost at the park." "Good to know." "Only 2 miles left." "Good to know."

I'm actually surprised I was that coherent: I remember my replies being more like incoherent grunts.

24 miles down, 2.2 more to go.

There were a few guys ahead of us with their names on the backs of their shirts, and the words "111 corridas and 1 marathon." (A corrida is a bullfight.) I'm pretty sure they were unrelated to the two gents I saw a mile and a half later who were wearing, respectively, bull horns and a matador hat. Although I don't really know.

The last couple of miles were hard. The crowd support was great, but I was really tired. I actually asked Jean if we could walk through the water station at mile 25 because I needed to collect myself. Then we were off and running again, to finish out the race.

We exited the park at the southeast corner, and took a right turn onto 59th Street. The crowds were incredibly thick here. I think there was a lot of noise, but to be honest I was mostly just focussed on the goal of finishing. And trying to keep up with Jean, who was finding all the holes in the crowd of runners, while people kept stepping in front of me. Looking back on it, I think it's pretty impressive that we were pulling ahead of lots of people at that point, although at the time I was just irritated at having to circle around people and accelerate to catch up to Jean.

Three long blocks and we were at Columbus Circle, and turning right to enter Central park for the last leg of the marathon.

Which, this being the New York City marathon, was uphill.

But it didn't matter. Much. There were crowds, and cheering, and huge signs saying "500" (meters), "400", "300", (count with me) "200", "100" and then the big finish.

We had made it.


The End

26.2 miles. 5 boroughs. Dozens of bands, millions of spectators, incredible energy. And now we had crossed the finish line and joined the ranks of marathon finishers.

We stumbled forward, got mylar blankets, and collected goodie bags with food in them. Jean was able to eat. My stomach was in turmoil and I just wanted to get to my checked bag so I could get my phone and call Maureen.

We stopped off to get our official pictures taken. (I hope I don't look too dorky with my arms raised.) And then we stepped into the slowest moving line you can imagine. The crowd inched forward. Then stopped. Then inched forward again.

After an eternity (and a lot of grousing on my part), the line thinned out, and we found that our legs wouldn't carry us faster than that inching pace anyway.

I got my bag, called Maureen and my parents, and we made it out of the park. Jim found us first, and apologized to me for not kissing me like he did Jean. (The handshake was quite enough, really.) Maureen found us, and had chocolate milk for me, which is a great recovery drink.

Jean and Jim headed off to go to a spa. Maureen and I went to the bus to go to my parents' place. The race was over.


Post-Race Thoughts

What an amazing experience. I definitely recommend it, or any marathon with good crowd support, to anybody. It isn't easy to train for something like this, but it's worth it. And if you're in your late 30's, please don't tell yourself, "I've got to run a marathon *before* I turn 40." I intentionally waited until I turned 40. There are people who do this at all ages.

I have some advice for those who'd consider running a marathon, and for those who'd consider going and cheering (which is also fun, and also important):

For Those Considering Running:

* You can do it. I trained with people who'd never run more than a couple of miles, and they were able to build up to a marathon. It's a gradual process.

* Get some coaching. There are better and worse ways to do things. I learned a *lot* from my coaches about good running form, how to handle hills, and a host of other useful things. I'm really glad I signed up with Team in Training.

* Don't be discouraged if a run goes badly. I had 2 long runs that went horribly. I'm talking about having to stop waaaay before I wanted to, and having to walk to somewhere where I could stop. Everybody has off days. The next run usually goes much better.

* If you can, try to find a person or two who naturally runs at the same pace as you do. I met some really nice people who ran either noticeably faster or noticeably slower than I do. When you're out running for a couple of hours, that can make things really difficult.


For Those Considering Cheering:

* Even if you're going out to see one person in particular, please cheer everybody. They're all doing something really hard, and need your support.

* If someone has their name on their shirt, call it out! Or if they've got a country, it's probably the one they're from, so that's a good thing to call out too.

* Supportive cheers are great: "looking good!" "Way to go!" "You've got this!" Haranguing people is less good: "Go faster!" "Don't slow down!"

* If you don't like crowds, there are plenty of places in any marathon that don't have 'em, and where the runners will really appreciate your cheering. Right now, Long Island City in Queens is definitely like that for NYC.


Anyway, thanks for reading all this. I had a lot of fun running the race. I'll definitely go back to doing half-marathons, and might do another full one, but I'm not sure. Still, it was a great experience.

Asst, please

I recently signed up with Team in Training, so that I can

1. Raise money for a good cause
2. Get actual coaching while training for the New York Marathon
3. Have people to run with during long runs

I trained with TNT last year for the New York Half, and had a good time. I met a lot of good people, including Dawn and Luis (and probably lots of other people whose blogs I don't know about yet).

Recently I got the running schedules for May, and I'd just like to say that if I ever appear somewhere as an "assistant" something-or-other, I truly, deeply, and with all my heart, hope that they abbreviate it "asst."

All I'm saying is that it would be very easy for someone to misinterpret the title "Ass. Coach".

Although it would make for a really great business card.



Edit: I just realized that the other type of coach on the schedule is "Head Coach." There are also some other parts listed, but I can't make heads or tails of them.

Half marathon #10

This weekend was the Brooklyn Half. I'd been looking forward to it for awhile. I'm hoping to run half marathons in all 5 boroughs this year, and I live in Brooklyn, so it was especially important to me.

I'm gonna divide this post into a few sections, figuring that the folks who ran Brooklyn don't need to hear about seeded corrals. :-)

Sections are:

• Stats
• Getting There
  
• The Race
• Random Thoughts
• You Call This a Finish Line?
  

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Stats

Brooklyn Half, May 3rd, 2008

Chip: 1:58:08
Pace/mile: 9:01

For me, that's really good. 2nd best time. I'm pretty sure the splits were very even, but I'm afraid I don't pay as close attention to this as a lot of people. It just seemed like every time I got to a mile marker, exactly 9 minutes had gone by.

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Getting There

The nice thing about getting to Coney Island for me is that it's waaaaay easier than getting to Central Park. All I have to do is take the Q train, which arrived shortly after I got to the station. And then. went. very. slowly. I ignored this for most of the ride, but towards the end there I think a lot of us were feeling a wee bit nervous. But we got there with time to spare.

It's actually fun getting on a subway on race day, when half of the people are wearing race bibs. There was a guy who was struggling with his chip, so I helped him out. A little over a year and a half ago I ran my first half (and first ever road race), and was lucky to run into a friend who could help me. It's really simple to attach them when you know how, but it's nervewracking when you don't.

Anyway, NYRR is starting to use seeded corrals. Starting. All of our race bibs had colors on them (mine was a dainty sky blue), and we were supposed to line up in the section that matched our color. That kind of worked. Speaking as a life-long liberal, this is one situation where I think we could use some fascism. Still, I felt like I had to dodge around fewer people than usual, so it's a step in the right direction.

I was positioned perfectly: there were nice warm bodies around me (on a slightly cool day), and I couldn't really hear what they were saying over the loudspeakers. Hopefully I can do that again in the future.

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The Race

We started by running down the boardwalk, reaching a turn-around point, and running back along the boardwalk. The first race I've ever done where you have to watch out for sand as you run.

Two Team-in-Training coaches – Ramon and Steve – were out there cheering for people. By the time we were looping back they'd gotten a bit silly. Ramon, who is – and I mean this in the nicest possible way – completely insane, was yelling out the following helpful advice: "Keep running forward! Keep running forward! Keep going until you get to the point that says 'Finish Line'". Gee, thanks Ramon!

Most of the race is along Ocean Parkway, which is moderately flat, lined with trees, and... this is just my opinion... really boring Still, there was a nice feeling of camaraderie in my speed group, so it was nice. One woman slipped between me and another gent, and said, "'scuse me guys". Being a gentleman, I said, "have a nice run!" which got a smile.

I also got to chat for a bit with a nice woman who said she hadn't run in awhile, but had run most of the boroughs in previous years. Her introductory comment was a heart-felt, wordless exclamation along the lines of "phew!" and then chuckling when I turned around at that. (I also saw her again at mile 9 or so and said a friendly "still here!" but she seemed a bit out of breath, so I stopped talking.)

My friend M was hanging from a lamppost probably somewhere around Avenue T, yelling out encouragement and advice, and I got to high-five her as I ran by.

At mile 9 things stopped being boring because we entered Prospect Park. Then they became difficult. Prospect Park is nicely hilly, which is great if you're out for a 45 minute jog and feel like working on hills for a bit, but is less enjoyable if you've just done 9 miles and still have 4 to go.

So we ran up... and up... and up more; then down, then up, then down... then down more, then up, then down, then up, and then a final bit of up to get to the finish line.

My mother was nice enough to come out from Manhattan to cheer for me. She meant to catch me at mile 10, but somehow we missed each other. Still, she made it to the finish line and was able to cheer for me as I approached it.

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Random Thoughts

It's so cute when little kids hold up their hands for high-fives as runners go by.

I feel sorry for people in cars who get stuck at an intersection with 8,000 people running by at different paces. Especially in Noo Yawk, where patience is not our strong suit.

Cloudy days are really nice for us bald guys. Yeah, yeah, I've heard that some high percentage of ultra-violet gets through clouds, but it's still easier to run without a hat.

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You Call This a Finish Line?

The end of the race had some nice points and some frustrations. I'll write about the frustrations first.

The New York Road Runners are in general really great at organizing a road race. I think they're amazing, and that we're lucky to have them. I'm sure it's really difficult organizing an event for thousands of runners, but they get water, port-o-potties, etc., etc.

The one area that could use some work is the end of the race. This tends to get really crowded and frustrating. In particular:

1. It would be great if we didn't have to walk in a single line after finishing the race. It would be great if we could spread out in several directions each of which had some food, some places to get water, and places to get our chips clipped. Instead, we're all funneled into this long thin area, waiting in long, confusing lines, and generally grumpy.
   
2. We're hungry. We just want to get a bagel and an apple and go stretch. There were two people at the bagel table who were yelling at people to get in line on one side, and to not approach the table from the other side. Now, first of all, I'd like to say that I'm a very rules-bound person, and I did as they told me: I went to the other side, and waited in line, as directed. The second thing I'd like to say is that it doesn't matter. Really: they were focusing on the wrong thing. The important thing after a race is to give bagels to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. I wish they'd let people approach the tables from both directions, get a bagel, and leave. Really, that's all that's important.
   

On a more positive note, once I actually got my bagel, I got to stretch for a bit, and ran into my friend J who was volunteering. So I got to gab for a bit, and see a friendly face afterwards.

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It's definitely a fun run, and I was happy with my time. I'd do it again. Hopefully next time they'll let us get bagels faster.

Akes and Paynes

I've reached that point again. The point that I always reach a few days before a half marathon. The point where I notice every little twinge in my legs.

Of course, the mature, sensible runner will recognize these twinges as a normal part of every day life, and just get on with things. Why worry about anything? It's perfectly normal for different parts of your body to give off little signals.

Hence my reaction....

Ohmygahd, my legs are falling apart! My knees are killing me, and I'm only walking uphill! Is that a hint of strain in my thigh? Must be IT Band Syndrome! Will I have to stop running? Get surgery? Need a leg brace?

... Really, it gets a bit out of hand.

This time I think I'm handling it pretty well. I'm only worried about my right hip, and only panicked about my knees briefly this morning, and I doubt anybody on the street even noticed. Of course, I've got a few days to go until the Brooklyn Half, so there's still a chance to build some real momentum.

The least helpful article I ever read said that it's imperative to run relaxed; that if you aren't relaxed, you can really injure your knees. This leads to a little voice in my head that say, "Relax, dammit! If you don't relax NOW you'll injure yourself SEVERELY, and will screw up your body for the rest of your LIFE! So RELAX IMMEDIATELY you fool!"

This doesn't help.

Despite all of this, I'm really looking forward to the Brooklyn Half. I hear it's really fun, and I live close to the Q train in Brooklyn, so I'm already most of the way there. What's a little case of nerves?

Qualifying for NY, Part 2: long distances

(Edited on July 6th, 2008: I just found out that the "ING NYC Marathon Tune-Up" is also a qualifier, and was 18 miles last year. I'm editing this post to update the distances.)

Following up on my last post, the next logical question is, "what's the longest distance I could run to qualify?"

This is a bit trickier, because it depends on your gender. (Please take a moment to check this.) There are a couple of long qualifier races that only women are allowed to run. So, if you're a woman who enjoys running, achievement, distance, and (presumably) pain, you could run

[1] 26.2 miles More Magazine Marathon – Women only
[2] 26.2 miles NY Marathon (which is also a qualifier)
[3] 18.0 miles ING NYC Marathon Tune-Up
[4] 13.1 miles Manhattan half 1/2
[5] 13.1 miles Bronx half 1/2
[6] 13.1 miles Brooklyn half 1/2
[7] 13.1 miles Queens half 1/2
[8] 13.1 miles Staten Island half 1/2
[9] 13.1 miles New York 1/2 Marathon

for a total of 149 miles. "Weaker sex" my a__.

If you're one of us Y-Chromosome types, you have to get by with shorter mileage. Here's what it looks like:

[1] 26.2 NY Marathon (which is also a qualifier)
[2] 18.0 miles ING NYC Marathon Tune-Up
[3] 13.1 Manhattan 1/2
[4] 13.1 Bronx 1/2
[5] 13.1 Brooklyn 1/2
[6] 13.1 Queens 1/2
[7] 13.1 Staten Island 1/2
[8] 13.1 New York 1/2 Marathon
[9] 13.1 Grete's Great Gallop

Which is a total of 135.9 miles. With a bunch of women on the sidelines calling you a wimp.

Mind you, I'm not sure that Grete's Great Gallop is happening this year. The NYRR website lists the Norwegian Festival (which in the past has had Grete's), but they don't list the half marathon.

If Grete's doesn't happen, you'd have to do a shorter race. The next one down for men is the 15K (9.3 mile) NYRR Hot Chocolate 15K. This brings us down even further to a mere 132.1 miles. I mean, really, why bother?

Qualifying for NY, Part 1: short distances

This November I'm going to run my first marathon: New York City. I was born and raised here in New York, so I'm pretty excited about it.

There are a number of ways to get into the New York Marathon. One of them (the way I did it) is to run 9 "qualifying races" with the New York Road Runners. This sounds pretty impressive, but there are a lot of races that count as qualifiers, and they vary in distance.

Recently, I started to wonder what the shortest amount of distance is that a person can run, and still qualify for New York. Here's are some races:

[1] 1 mile Fifth Avenue Mile
[2] 3.1 miles Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks
[3] 3.1 miles Amer. Heart Assoc. Wall St. Run
[4] 4.0 miles NYRR Gridiron Classic
[5] 4.0 miles NYRR Al Gordon Snowflake
[6] 4.0 miles Run as One, TGL Classic
[7] 4.0 miles NY Colon Cancer Challenge
[8] 4.0 miles Run as One
[9] 4.0 miles Run for the Parks

(I think there are also various other 4 mile races.)

So that's 31.2 miles, which is only 5 miles more than a single marathon. Not that much distance.

Lincoln Tunnel

The Lincoln Tunnel is one of two tunnels that connects Manhattan with the great (and often maligned) state of New Jersey.

According to The Encyclopedia of New York City, it took more than 2 decades to build the tunnel. It has a main central tube, and two smaller tubes to the north and south.

This morning, I ran through the southern one.

The event is called The Lincoln Tunnel Challenge and is a fundraiser for New Jersey's Special Olympics. They clean out the tube the night before, and keep air constantly circulating. So it's easier to breath than you'd expect if you know the tunnel. And you probably get through more quickly than when you're in a car. :-)

As an event, it could use some better planning. I'm sure the organizers have their hands full, but... It would really help if

1. There were more frequent shuttle buses to/from NYC.
2. The walkers started 15 minutes behind the runners (or at least further back). We runners had to constantly dodge the walkers, which couldn't have been fun for them either.
   
3. The location of the baggage area was clearer.
4. There were any sort of clear instructions on where to get the bus back to NYC.
   

Despite that, I had a really good time. I ran into a friend of mine from work and her husband. She's suffering from back problems and had to walk rather than run, which is a shame because it's always fun to run with a friend.

It's a 5k race. You start by running away from New Jersey, are really excited to arrive in New York; then you finally find yourself back in New Jersey.

Hmm. I've known some people who'd describe their life's story like that.

The contours of the course are really simple: you start by running downhill for the first 1/4, then you run uphill to make it to Manhattan. On the way back you do the same: start downhill, and end going uphill.

A number of people stopped midway, to get their picture taken in the tunnel at the point that marks "New Jersey" on one side, and "New York" on the other. I wish I'd brought a camera and done the same, even if I accidentally almost bowled over one person who stopped to take a picture.

Half marathon #9

Last weekend's race:

Capital City half marathon (Columbus, OH), April 18, 2008

Clock: 2:00:22
Chip: 1:59:04
Pace/mile: 9:05

My second best time ever. On the other hand, the Thunder Road 1/2 in Charlotte was my 3rd best time, and was much, much hillier, so that was probably more of an achievement.

The temperature was great – in the 50s – but it was windy as heck. It was a big loop, and yet it felt as if the wind was against us more than half of the time.

The course was great. It went through some of the more interesting parts of Columbus: past shops and coffee houses, into the historic German Village section. Very cool.

It was also a pretty flat course. Central Ohio is pretty flat (although not as flat as Northern Ohio), so it was pretty easy going.

Very enjoyable.

Half marathons #1-8

I was about to post about my 9th half-marathon, and realized that there's no information here about the first 8. So let me do a quick recap:

#1: Staten Island, October 15, 2006

Clock: 2:19:45
Chip: 2:14:58
Pace/mile: 10:18

(Note: "Clock" time is the official start of the race. "Chip" time is the amount of time from when a runner passes the start line until he/she passes the finish line. In races with thousands of people, it can take awhile to get to the start line.)

#2: Manhattan, January 21, 2007

Clock: 2:13:03
Chip: 2:05:19
Pace/mile: 9:33

#3: NYC Half Marathon, August 5, 2007

Clock: 2:11:12
Chip: 2:05:43
Pace/mile: 9:35


#4: Grete's Great Gallop, October 6, 2007

Clock: 2:09:15
Chip: 2:06:53
Pace/mile: 9:41


#5: Staten Island, October 14, 2007

Clock: 1:55:57
Chip: 1:54:18
Pace/mile: 8:43


#6: Thunder Road (Charlotte, NC), December 8, 2007

Clock: 2:00:59
Chip: 1:59:59
Pace/mile: 9:09


#7: Manhattan, January 27, 2008

Clock: 2:07:50
Chip: 2:04:12
Pace/mile: 9:28


#8: Bronx, February 10, 2008

Clock: 2:03:20
Chip: 2:01:05
Pace/mile: 9:14

Wishing Well

Last Friday I was saying goodnight to my friend Brian, who was about to run a marathon in a couple of days. As he was walking off, I realized that I wanted to say something encouraging about the race, but didn't have a good phrase on hand.

• "Good luck" – Hopefully the race won't involve any luck.
• "Have a good race" – Not bad. Sounds like what you say when someone's going on a picnic, but not bad.
• "Break a leg" – Um, no.

I'm really not sure what to say to someone, or what I want to hear, before a long race. I feel like we runners could use something short and pithy like "break a leg," but I can't think of anything.

• "Show 'em how it's done!"
• "Go long!"
• "What are you, nuts?"

These all have their points, but... not quite.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Fight the Power

I've seen a number of articles recently about under-represented groups in running. There are really cool articles about African-Americans in running, people who run with prosthetics, and legally blind people like David Patterson, the new Governor of New York State.

There are also articles about non-skinny runners, slow runners, and other people who don't fit the standard image that we all picture when we think "runner".

All of that's good, but I'd like to bring up another under-represented and (I would argue) oppressed group within the running community. I feel very strongly about this, because I'm one of them.

I'm talking about Runners Who Are Not Morning People.

Seriously, what's the deal with all of these peppy early morning runners? Oh, sure, they like to bitch and moan about their schedules, but it's clearly just bragging. "Man, it was tough waking up at 4:30 so that I could eat a full breakfast, do my taxes, and read the rest of War and Peace before hitting the road at six."

Six? Six?!? The best thing I'd like to say about six in the morning is that it was still 4 hours before I woke up.

Six. Give me a break.

Many of you reading this (... he writes, as if it's more than 2 people ...) may fit into that morning-runner category. Let me try to make this a little clearer. Here's what you think you're saying:

"I love going jogging in the morning when the air is brisk, and you can feel a certain crispness in the breeze. I love it when the roads are empty, and the clear light is filtering through the quiet, slowly waking world."

Here's what a person like me hears:

"I am completely insane. I hear voices and they tell me what to do. At any moment I may take out an ax and attack you. Coo-coo! Coo-coo! I'm a little teapot, short and stout... Wait! I'm receiving an important message from the Planet Zirqon!"

Unfortunately, the running world is dominated by morning people. They set the times for road races ("Let's make it at 7 am, so that everyone can really enjoy themselves! Hold on a sec... I'm receiving another message from Zirqon."), and there's nothing that the rest of us can do about it.

Why does this happen? My personal suspicion is that they have their planning meetings in the early morning too. I'm picturing a meeting of 4 chirpy, happy morning people sitting around a table at 5:30 in the morning, having already decided on the calendar, as the first non-morning person drags him or herself in in a desperate bid to stave off the inevitable. ("Gosh, Sally, it's a shame you weren't here earlier when we figured out the entire year's schedule. But now that you're here, let's go running!")

This week's long run

Introduction

Okay, this post got a lot longer than I'd intended, so I'm going to break it up with big bold headers, so that anybody who reads it (yes, all both of you....) can skip the parts that don't interest them.

Every weekend I try to do a long run, usually between 8 and 11 miles depending on weather, mood, time constraints, etc.

On Saturday, Spring went streaking through NYC, which was both exciting and frustrating. ("Ha ha, you like this guys? The warm weather? The soft breeze? Well enjoy it, suckers, because a glimpse is all you get!") I celebrated the warm weather with one of my favorite runs.

The Run

Distance: 10.75 miles
End points: Prospect Heights (Brooklyn) to Coney Island (Twilight Zone)
Auditory accompaniment:

• NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!"
• PBS's Washington Week Podcast with Gwen Ifill (marry me, Gwen!)
• Leonard Lopate
• John Gorka's "Pure John Gorka" album

Neighborhoods visited:

• Prospect Heights
• Prospect Park South
• Ditmas Park
• Midwood
• Homecrest
• Brighton Beach
  

There are two good ways to run from Prospect Park to Coney Island. The easiest way is to get onto Ocean Parkway, which is a long, straight street that has long, tree-lined, pedestrian-friendly strips along it. I like running along these if I'm running with people who I want to talk with for 2 hours straight.

If I'm running on my own, I prefer to run through neighborhoods so I can look at houses and gawk at people. Here's how I get from Prospect Park to Coney Island:

1. Exit the park in the Southwest corner, at "Park Circle", across from the Parade Grounds. If you've been running the loop counter-clockwise (like everybody else in the park), this is the first exit you get to after you see the lake on your left.
2. Cross Parkside Avenue, and run through that odd stretch of road with ballfields on your left and the backs of Parks Department buildings on your right. Basically, this is a block-long parking lot.
3. After a block. you'll get to Caton Ave. Zig a little to the left, so you can cross it onto Stratford, the first of many England-themed streets you'll come across in this area.
4. Run along Stratford until you get to Beverly Road. Or possibly Beverley Road. The road can't decide how to spell its own name, and it changes depending on where you are. Anyway, turn left on Beverl(e)y, and run 3 blocks to Rugby.
5. Turn right on Rugby and run along this for a long way. At some point you will find that, without intending to, you are are on 14th street. Little did you know that the "Runner's High" also involves hallucinations.
6. Run along 14th. Run more along 14th. Curse the name of the stupid blogger who sent you on this route.
   
7. When you get to Avenue U, turn right. There, that wasn't so bad, was it?
8. Run along Avenue U until you get to Ocean Parkway. Please note: Avenue U is commercial, which means there are shops and people to gawk at, but it can be crowded. If it is, try running along Avenue V instead.
   
9. Turn left on Ocean Parkway. Follow it to the sea.
   

That entire run is about 6 miles. To add extra mileage, either run to Park Circle in Prospect Park and/or run along the boardwalk when you get to Coney Island.

Why I Love This Run

I love running to Coney Island, because I get to do my post-run stretch on the boardwalk, watching the waves. And then I can take the subway home.

And Coney Island is a real trip. First of all, there's all the history and entertainments: the Cyclone roller coaster, Astroland amusement park (which everybody says is going to be destroyed soon), the parachute jump, the aquarium, etc. That, combined with the beach, brings out a great combination of families, people on dates, people strutting, and folks who are just plain bored and looking for distractions.

One guy with a strong Noo Yawk accent, who arrived at the boardwalk just as I was slowing down and walking a bit, looked around and said, "man, it's f___in' great here!"

Amen, brother, amen!

Also it's next to Brighton Beach, which is largely populated by Russian Jews from Odessa. So there are all these wonderful looking, stoic elderly people sitting around on the boardwalk at any time. I also like the sound of Russian, and you hear quite a bit of it.

I'm feeling ready for the 1/2 marathon in Columbus next weekend.

Aging (dis)Gracefully

The New York Road Runners have this fun little quirk when it comes to age groups. Here are some age groups:

12-19
20-29
30-39
40-44

Notice anything? The first few span 8 or 10 years each, while the last only spans 5 years. I'm new to running – started when I was 38 – and all of a sudden I was in this age category where I was being compared to people 8 years younger than me.

It was, in a word, depressing. I'd get to the end of a race, feeling pretty good about myself, and have a few hours of euphoria before the results were posted.

Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not that competitive. I mostly run to get some good exercise and enjoy time outdoors. I run to finish a race, not to break records.

Still... I like to check my pace afterwards, and see how I did compared to other runs I've done. Basically, to see if I'm getting better or worse. And while I look at the NYRR results, there's a little column that says "Age Place", which describes where you were in your age-and-gender category.

This was always depressing. 800-and-something. 900-and-something. Even 1000 from time to time. Ugh.

A couple of weeks ago I turned 40. And now I'm one of the Young Turks in my age group, and it's a smaller group. Today my age place was 130.

I'm not any faster, but the numbers look a lot kinder. I think I'm going to like being 40.

Today's Race

Today I ran in the Scotland Run 10K. Some details:

Distance: 10K (6.2 miles)
Location: Central Park, NYC. A full loop, clockwise, plus a smidgen.
Time: 55:13
Pace: 8:54 per mile. Pretty normal for me.
Highlight: Chatting with a lovely, tall (yum!), probably too-young woman before running.
Frustration: Not getting contact info for said lovely, tall woman. Couldn't find her after the race. (She was faster than me, which is also very attractive.)
Other highlight: "french toast" bagels at the end.
Entertainment: Scottish bands, including one called the "Red Hot Chili *Pipers*". Really.

Ran into some friends from Team in Training after the race, and rode the subway back to Brooklyn with two of them. We agreed that one of the best things about doing a road race in the morning is that you feel completely justified being a sloth for the rest of the day.

And so I was.

Just Between You and Me

Okay, so the first thing we've got to establish is that it's not an addiction. Really. It isn't. Stop looking at me that way.

Look, I can stop any time I want. I just choose to keep running.

Remember: I only started a year and a half ago. That Staten Island Half was my first half marathon. Heck, it was my first road race ever. And, yeah, I ran my eighth in February, and have lined up my ninth and tenth, but hey, I had some time on my hands. It's nothing special.

The ninth one? Oh, it's in a couple of weeks. I'm flying out to Columbus, Ohio, for the weekend. That's a perfectly natural thing to do: to fly somewhere so I can run another half. Lots of people do it. And I'm only paying a few hundred dollars to do that, all told. And... and... I'll get to visit Columbus, which is a really cool place, I think.

You're looking at me that way again.

Did I mention they'll have t-shirts? Totally makes it worth it.

Okay, okay I'll admit that not everybody thinks that running 13.1 miles (21.1 km) is a normal thing to do, but it's really fun. You get to see lots of neighborhoods, and you get this great sense of accomplishment, and... and... you get t-shirts. Really cool ones.

So I'm glad we've had this little chat. 'cause I know you've been worried about me, and you don't have to. Because I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go running for a bit.