It’s been a few days and my quads are starting to feel a bit more normal.
I’m finally ready to talk about my 14th marathon and 8th time running from Staten Island to Central Park.
If you read this space, you know that I’ve had a tough running year. It would be really easy for me to blame it on my son (who turned one the day before the race this year), but if I were to be rigorously honest, I would admit that I just had a hard time balancing life and time this year.
That said, I did have a pretty bad run.As you can probably guess, I didn’t have the best race of my life. Now, that’s not to say that I didn’t have a great day, I mean, it’s the NYC Marathon, even at your worst, it’s pretty difficult to NOT enjoy the day. As someone posted on Facebook, it’s like pizza, even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty damn good.
So here’s how it went down.
The week leading up to the race was pretty typical for me in terms of eating, running, sleeping, hydrating, etc. I pretty much subscribe to the “Nothing New on Race Week” philosophy. The one difference was, I worked the Expo on Thursday in order to get my +1 and guaranteed entry to the 2016 race.
On Saturday, I ran the Dash to the Finish Line 5K (I love this race, running through the City streets and crossing the finish line) celebrated my son’s birthday with family and got a great night’s sleep.
Sunday at around 5AM, I met up with my buddy Rob (who was running NYC for the first time to make up for missing it in 2012 due to Sandy) and John and got to the Ferry early.
When the gun went off and we set out at a moderate pace. Knowing that I only trained for 12 weeks, and the year that I had, I wasn’t planning on a PR. My goal this year was to finish and feel good.We hung out at Fort Wadsworth, met up with some other friends and made our way to the corrals with plenty of time to relax and get our heads together.
Rob, John and I set out at 15-20 seconds faster than we were planning. Being in the first wave surrounded by fast runners and the cheering crowds, it was REALLY difficult to take my own advice and SLOW THE F DOWN!
By mile five, we started walking through water stations which helped cut our pace down, but by the time we hit the next one, we were right back at the faster pace.
By mile 10, I was starting to get a little too far into my own head. I was still running with Rob (John had disappeared in the crowds in front of us and weirdly kept showing up behind us) and my hips started complaining. And this was my downfall.
At the base of the 59th Street Bridge, I told Rob to go on, that I was stiffening up and I didn’t want to hold him back. With a bit of a confused look on his face, he pulled away and left me to my own race.I started thinking about the pain and how I wasn’t going to be able to sustain running for another 16 miles. So by the time we hit the 13.1 mark, I was so far into my head, I’m surprised I still had the will power to continue.
And it wasn’t pretty. I struggled up First Avenue, into the Bronx and down 5th. I saw my wife and baby at mile 19 and my parents at mile 22. Seeing all of them gave me the much needed psychic boost I needed to go on, but it was still an awful struggle.
By the time I made it into the Park I was crushed. My goal time, that was really only known by me, was long past. I have never been so happy to see a finish line in my life.
Along the way, I kept thinking, “Maybe I’m not a marathoner anymore? Maybe I’m too old? Maybe I’m meant for 13.1s moving forward? Maybe I’m supposed to be on the sidelines of NY cheering?”
I bumped into my friend Alysia on 74th Street after securing our ponchos from the Poncho Angels and she said she had the same thoughts. It was at that moment that I realized what happened.
I ran the race I trained for. I don’t mean, I trained for the NYC Marathon and I ran it. I mean, I got out of the race the training that I put in.
Did I train for 18 weeks? No, I trained for 12.
Did I do speed work? No, none.
Did I do 3 20 milers? No, I did one.
Was I consistent every week and stick to the plan laid out for me by the coaches? Not. Even. Close.
So, what does this tell me? It tells me I’m a marathoner that needs to get my mojo back. I know it’s there, I know I can find it, and if I can cross the finish line this year as unprepared as I was, I am mentally tough enough to do the right training and run this race again (and again, and again, ad infinitum)And despite my lack of effort, I still crossed the finish line (and not as far off my goal time as I would have thought after I sat down and thought about it rationally).
I’ll be back in 2016 NYC. And respectfully, I plan to show you who’s boss.
Keep an eye out over the next few days for my 2015 TCS NYC Marathon video.
My recap is pretty similar. I questioned whether to remain a marathoner or drop to shorter distances. I think I need a break from it all. I got the race I trained for too. Although my mind and the humidity probably had a little to do with it but mostly training wasn't a priority this cycle as life and injury got in the way. Thanks for your recap and 16 is a fresh opportunity for ya.
Oh and the pizza analogy is spot on!!
Great post.
"I ran the race I trained for." Perfectly stated – and so hard for a runner to swallow when we want to kid ourselves that we can outrace our training. Regardless of what your personal goal was, congrats on another NYC marathon finish, Eric!
Great review and the video is an amazing recap! Hope to read how you train for your PR next year!
Great recap – love your honesty. And I can completely identify with two things here: losing and regaining marathon mojo (I'm hanging onto the mojo for dear life for another week until the Philly Marathon, then I'm giving up the marathon for 2016), and having a tough running year with a baby at home. The first year of my son's life was the toughest year of mine, both in running and in everything else.
Congrats on a great race, despite the difficulties, and I look forward to seeing you come back and kick ass next year.