The three worst letters in the English alphabet are D, N and F.
If you’re not an athlete, this means nothing to you.
If you are, well, then you know what I’m talking about.
The Three Worst Letters
Did Not Finish is a phrase that I never thought would ever pertain to me. But it now does.
If I were to be completely honest with myself (and with you), I would have to admit that I had no business being at the start line for the TCS NYC Marathon yesterday.
The Back Story
I ran Chicago last month and about halfway through my hip started hurting and I couldn’t figure out why. But I muscled through and finished. It turns out I was favoring my knee which was radiating up to my hip. And after my hip started feeling better, the real pain set in. So, I made a doctor’s appointment as soon as I got home.
It’s the same knee I had surgery on last January for a meniscus tear and I was CONVINCED it had happened again. But, as it turns out, I had inflamed tendons under my patella because of overuse. Well, I had just run a marathon for which I had done the bare minimum of training, so it made sense to me. So I got a cortisone shot and went back to training for the NYC Marathon.
And then, it acted up again with just a week to go before the race. So back to the doc I went, convinced that I needed an MRI because I had done some damage to my knee.
And once again, my doctor talked me off the ledge and told me (after a thorough exam and an X-ray) that I had inflamed tendons under my patella because of overuse. The cortisone shot he gave me was basically rendered useless because I ran 15 miles just days after getting it (with permission from my doc, I might add). He told me it was too soon to get another shot, but I could come in a few days before the race and “top off” but I should take it easy until then. And that it would be fine, if I was feeling well, to run the marathon. It was all up to how I felt. And I should rest as much as possible until race day.
So I did what he said, I took it easy, did some knee strengthening exercises and went to see him last Thursday. All was going great, I got the shot, volunteered at the Expo on Friday (and met a ton of people that came over to say hi!), hung around after my volunteer shift to walk the Expo with Jenny, a great friend I met while running Hood to Coast in 2014.
Race Day
And then went home and basically relaxed until Sunday at 4AM when my alarm went off.
I was feeling good. I was feeling relaxed, but again, in the interest of full transparency there was a voice in the back of my head that was whispering “you probably shouldn’t run today,” but, I ignored it.
So I get dressed and took the train to the ferry to the bus and arrived at the Athlete village at Fort Wadsworth.
And all the time, the voice it getting a little louder. But, again, I kept ignoring it.
So I eat, and I try to relax and when my allotted time comes, I enter the corral and make my way to the start.And then the cannon booms and we start across the bridge.
And when I step my first step into Brooklyn a pain shoots up from me knee to, what feels like the top of my head and I need to stop.
I caught my breath and tried to run and couldn’t. So two miles into the 2018 TCS NYC Marathon, my race was over.
I limped to the subway and went home.
Went back to the doc this morning and had a reality check. Basically, I’m going to do now, what I should have done from the start. I’m going to go to PT for six weeks, strengthen my knee and come back stronger than ever.
Huge shout out to all the folks who reached out to see if I was okay when I didn’t show up in the tracking. I was floored with the messages I got from all of you, the texts, Tweets, DMs, posts and phone calls have been overwhelming and I am feeling the love.
Stay tuned to this space to follow along with my rehab, I plan to come back stronger than ever and PR the marathon next year. You heard it here first.
No pressure.
No worries, good man! At one time or another we’ve been there. My moment was my first attempt at the marathon, young and dumb. Figured I could muscle through on youth and 2-3 hour runs (no concept as to how far I was running). 23 miles in … and out, waving down the bus picking up the fallen. I didn’t appreciate the level of respect that had to be given to the marathon. I sure do now! I think though I learned just as much from that day as I have in all the years of running and racing. I’ve been running since junior high school; my DNF was 17 years ago and I am stronger today than I ever was. I remember my DNF. Remember it well. And the lessons from that day keep me running just as much as everything else I’ve learned in all the successes I have had in this sport! Get healthy and you’ll be back better than EVER. No doubt there.
Jeeez, I;m so glad that apart from the knee, you’re fine! I got real worried when I saw you dropped out so soon in the race and imagined the worst. Thank you, vivid imagination! I have been checking this place and insta for an update every hour! pfff, I’m relieved that it’s “only” your knee, how awful that sounds. Good luck on your PT the upcoming weeks! I can’t wait to see you out there again, running and finishing this time 😉 You’ll be stronger, I don’t doubt it for one minute
Hey Man,
You were such a big part of my first marathon experience! I tuned to all your vids and posts twice and sometimes 3 times to make sure I had it all down. When I suggested them to friends that were running, they’d often respond with, “yes, I’m already there Bro!”
Get better and I know you’ll be back stronger. We need you to see us through the next race should we be fortunate to get in.
Peace
Sorry to hear the news Eric. I can only imagine your disappointment. I wanted to send my sincere thanks for all of the material you’ve posted. I ran my first NYC marathon this past weekend and found your videos to be incredibly helpful! They were all spot on and made the experience less daunting. Thank you so much! I know you’ll come back stronger next year.
Hi Eric,
I came back to your website to post a thank you comment. 2018 NYC was my first marathon! Your website and videos were instrumental in keeping my nerves down and excitement high. So sorry to hear about your injury. I was almost in the same boat, albeit without a marathon a month earlier. I also had meniscus surgery a few years back. After one of my first long training runs I was having terrible knee pain in the other knee. Turned out to be a pulled hamstring causing pain at the fibular head. 8 PT visits and I ran the marathon with no knee pain. I had two months to fix that problem . You just didn’t have enough time.
Here was my personal experience on the transportation options: I took the midtown library bus. It could not have been easier. It was a 5 minute walk from my hotel. The ride took 40 minutes and was relaxing. HOWEVER my time was 7:00 AM and I arrived to the bus line at 7:05 AM and they literally made us RUN to the buses (which there were none of for about 10 minutes). My wife said there was only about 100 people after me (she watched from across the street to make sure i made it). So if people are taking a later bus make sure you get there a little early if you don’t want that additional stress.
What a day. Thanks for your website and videos. Good Luck with your recovery!
Brian
Hi Eric,
I’m sorry to see it was a DNF, I saw there was no Strava upload and was worried.
It sounds like you have a good recovery plan, you just need to stick to it as religiously as you would stick to a training plan or it’s just not going to work.
Thank you for everything you did to help me, it was my first marathon and your videos really made the day much more manageable and there were no nasty surprises!
Look after yourself!
Tom
Your write up is well worth reading. Thank you.
Hey, I wish private replies were possible because I’m only trying to be helpful in a gentle, tactful way.
It’s not, “Jenny and I at the Expo”.
Try, “Jenny and me at the Expo”.
Easy method is to check which works.
“I at the Expo” or “Me at the Expo”.
Best wishes,
Johnny