I've been quietly registering for races for the 2008 Season this fall. I say quietly because my coach didn't want me to focus on next season until I had completed the NYC Marathon a few weeks ago. But registrations for popular races I was interested in doing opened before then and I had to jump in before they were sold out.
So as of now, this is what my 2008 season looks like, subject to change of course. Those in bold are races i've already registered for. The others I haven't cleared with my coach yet.
April 6 - More Half-Marathon in New York
May 4 - Broad Street Run (10-miler) in Philadelphia
May 18 - Columbia Triathlon (Olympic) in Maryland
June 8 - Cheasapeake Bay 1-Mile Swim in Maryland
June 22 - Philadelphia Triathlon (Olympic)
July 6 - Philadelphia Women's Triathlon (Sprint)
July 20 - New York City Triathlon (Olympic)
August 3 - SheROX Triathlon (Sprint) in Philadelphia
August 17 - Timberman 70.3 Aqua-Bike in New Hampshire
September 7 - Diamondman Triathlon (Sprint) in Delaware
September 21 - Philadelphia Distance Run (Half-Marathon)
September 28 - Cape Henlopen Triathlon (Sprint) in Delaware
As you can see, i've already committed to the big ones, and they're all roughly a month apart. So we'll see what my coach says about the others. As of right now, i'm injury free - which is HUGE! I spent an entire year training and competing while trying to rehab and manage my injury. But as my coach reminds me, and I know deep down, i'm not in the clear. I could continue to develop overuse running injuries. Alot of it stems from how I used my body as a dancer and the ramifications of all the pounding and use my ankles went through those 20 or so years. The flip side is, my dance background is aiding in my ability to be a fairly decent swimmer. I've been swimming for less than a year but I make noticable improvements almost every time I get in the water now. Notice that I haven't added a marathon to this list. I'm taking a break from marathons in 2008.
I have many goals for the future in regards to my athletic endeavors. I do want to complete an ironman one day. I do want to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I do want to compete in the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 4.4 mile challenge. But these things aren't happening in 2008.
What I do want to happen in 2008 is:
1. Drop 20 pounds and get back into top form (i've gotten quite heavy during this injury year - it's time to shed these pounds for good!)
2. Stay injury free and get stronger!
3. Drastically improve on my Olympic triathlon times (i've only done 2 so far and both were over 3 hours long. I should easily be able to break the 3 hour mark - the majority of doing this is mentally preparing myself for these races)
4. Prepare myself to tackle full half-ironmans in 2009 (hence starting with the Aqua-bike portion this year at Timberman)
I had a 2 week off-season (after the NYC Marathon) before my coach started putting more workouts on my schedule for base training for next season. That started last week. Unfortunately, this base training hasn't gottten off the ground just yet as i've been sick for well over a week now. It's very frustrating...so the off-season has actually been extended to a month now. I'm optimistic that i'll be able to get back to it next week.
I'm very excited to focus on next year. I've bumped of my level of training with my coach so I can participate in more structured group workouts each week and get a few personal workouts (in addition to other added benefits). I still feel so incredibly fortunate to have him. Even if other aspects of my life aren't exactly where i'd like them to be at this point, training and competing is something that truly makes me happy. And the people that i've met through the sport, whether it be the other athletes at my multi-sport center, my wonderful teammates, triathletes i'm getting to know in cyberland over myspace, or other competitors at the races themselves, makes this whole venture that much more fulfilling.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Tell me your life story
Am I the only one who runs into these types of situations? I'll be sitting or standing quietly in a public place - like a subway car or an elevator or the locker room - and some random stranger will decide to share his or her life story with me. No, I didn't ask them for it. I didn't even make eye contact with them. I'm normally engrossed in some other activity, like reading a magazine or getting dressed. Yet, for some reason, these people think that I (and ONLY me - not the other people in our general vicinity) wants to know all about the surgery they're going to have, or the family problems their facing.
Perfect example - just this morning, I was sitting in the waiting room of my OB/GYN's office when an elderly woman came into the room having just finished her appointment. She looks at me and asks if it's still raining outside. My answer was simple - No. Clearly, that "No" really meant "Why don't you tell me your life story old lady?" So she proceeds to let me know how she chose the lighter jacket because it was getting warmer outside and she didn't want to have to carry all her rain gear to the appointment, it would have been a hassle, so she chanced it wearing this particular jacket. I just smiled and nodded - and was thinking that would be that.
Then she proceeded to tell me she only comes to this office once a year and gets everything done in that one appointment. I responded saying I wish I could only come once a year.....Big Mistake Nicole! That opened up a long-winded, one-sided discussion. The woman had 3 children in 33 months and wouldn't change it for the world. Her one son, who is 52, worked in sales, but because of nepotism in the workplace, he decided later in life he wanted to be a math teacher and coached football, baseball and soccer. Of course, had she been asked when her son graduated college what he should do with his life, she would have encouraged him to be a teacher. But he didn't ask so she wasn't going to say anything. She wished she had because he could have gotten a job in a suburban school instead of in the inner city.
Two of her children and their families came home from Thanksgiving, so she had 10 people for dinner. They all wanted to see grand-dad, who is suffering from Alzheimers. She's heartbroken - they've been married for 57 years and he took care of her through 4 surgeries so she wasn't about to put him in a home. At least at home he won't leave, and he always takes her hand when he leaves the house. And about that 57 years, her granddaughter from California can't understand why her father left her mother (it was unclear to me who her child was - the father or the mother - because she had 2 boys and 1 girl).
I'm sure there is more that i'm forgetting at this point...I just smiled and nodded. I literally did not say one word. And I was trapped. I was waiting for my appointment - there was nowhere to escape to. Fortunately, I only had to wait for about 5 minutes (yes, she told me all this in a short 5 minutes) and our one-sided conversation had to end. It's not that she's not a nice lady - she was quite pleasant, and obviously a bit on the lonely side and wanted someone to talk to (or have listen to her). But i'm not exaggerating when I say this happens to me almost on a weekly basis. Last week it was the Asian woman in the locker room at my gym who sang me a song about "Swimming After Thanksgiving" (she was very amused at her ability to rhyme) since she saw I had just come in from the pool. She was going to Brigantine, NJ to see her son for the Holiday.
Ok, I can certainly open up to people too - and I do, especially when getting to know someone. But that's the difference, it's someone i'm wanting to get to know - not some random stranger that i'll probably never see again. Hmmm...I supposse I can see the benefit in divulging personal information to a stranger like that now. It could be therapeutic in some ways I guess. Still, I don't know why i'm that stranger they choose. It's like I have "Tell my your life story" stamped across my forehead.
Perfect example - just this morning, I was sitting in the waiting room of my OB/GYN's office when an elderly woman came into the room having just finished her appointment. She looks at me and asks if it's still raining outside. My answer was simple - No. Clearly, that "No" really meant "Why don't you tell me your life story old lady?" So she proceeds to let me know how she chose the lighter jacket because it was getting warmer outside and she didn't want to have to carry all her rain gear to the appointment, it would have been a hassle, so she chanced it wearing this particular jacket. I just smiled and nodded - and was thinking that would be that.
Then she proceeded to tell me she only comes to this office once a year and gets everything done in that one appointment. I responded saying I wish I could only come once a year.....Big Mistake Nicole! That opened up a long-winded, one-sided discussion. The woman had 3 children in 33 months and wouldn't change it for the world. Her one son, who is 52, worked in sales, but because of nepotism in the workplace, he decided later in life he wanted to be a math teacher and coached football, baseball and soccer. Of course, had she been asked when her son graduated college what he should do with his life, she would have encouraged him to be a teacher. But he didn't ask so she wasn't going to say anything. She wished she had because he could have gotten a job in a suburban school instead of in the inner city.
Two of her children and their families came home from Thanksgiving, so she had 10 people for dinner. They all wanted to see grand-dad, who is suffering from Alzheimers. She's heartbroken - they've been married for 57 years and he took care of her through 4 surgeries so she wasn't about to put him in a home. At least at home he won't leave, and he always takes her hand when he leaves the house. And about that 57 years, her granddaughter from California can't understand why her father left her mother (it was unclear to me who her child was - the father or the mother - because she had 2 boys and 1 girl).
I'm sure there is more that i'm forgetting at this point...I just smiled and nodded. I literally did not say one word. And I was trapped. I was waiting for my appointment - there was nowhere to escape to. Fortunately, I only had to wait for about 5 minutes (yes, she told me all this in a short 5 minutes) and our one-sided conversation had to end. It's not that she's not a nice lady - she was quite pleasant, and obviously a bit on the lonely side and wanted someone to talk to (or have listen to her). But i'm not exaggerating when I say this happens to me almost on a weekly basis. Last week it was the Asian woman in the locker room at my gym who sang me a song about "Swimming After Thanksgiving" (she was very amused at her ability to rhyme) since she saw I had just come in from the pool. She was going to Brigantine, NJ to see her son for the Holiday.
Ok, I can certainly open up to people too - and I do, especially when getting to know someone. But that's the difference, it's someone i'm wanting to get to know - not some random stranger that i'll probably never see again. Hmmm...I supposse I can see the benefit in divulging personal information to a stranger like that now. It could be therapeutic in some ways I guess. Still, I don't know why i'm that stranger they choose. It's like I have "Tell my your life story" stamped across my forehead.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Philadelphia Marathon - one year later
We had an opening night at our theatre the night before the Philadelphia Marathon. So I didn't get to bed until 11:30 pm. I still could have gotten 5.5 hours of sleep - enough to get through the day on Sunday - but that didn't happen. It was one of those nights that I just kept staring at the clock. Midnight, 1 am, 2 am - I think I got about 2.5 hours of sleep Saturday night. But still, when my alarm went off at 5 am, I jumped right out of bed, feeling wide awake. I knew I eventually was going to crash - it was just a matter of when.
I washed up, grabbed my bag full of goodies and first aide for the runners, the signs I had made, bundled up and made my way to the train station. The train got into Market East train station at 7 am which was the time the marathon was scheduled to start. My first stop was going to be just past mile 5 on Chestnut St. and 6th St., right by Independence Hall. In that six block walk the winds picked up and swirled some of the drizzle around, making it feel even colder than the temperature actually was.
Center City - Mile 5:
I arrived at the corner to see two volunteers who looked like high school students with a clipboard and about 5 cones not set up yet. Traffic was still going down both Chestnut and 6th streets, No police cars in site to close down the roads. I was confused - did they change the course? Did I miss something? After all, it was after 7 am - the race should be underway and being just past mile 5, those Kenyans leading the race could have been there in 25 minutes. Then, I saw a bunch of cop cars with flashing lights coming down Sixth Street (the wrong way on a one way street with traffic still on it) in front of the lead wheelchair marathoner. The volunteers moved the cones to block off any more traffic from coming onto sixth street and the cops cleared the traffic from Chestnut.
Minutes after three wheelchair competitors rolled by was the lead pack of men - about 7 of them. Yes, they were all Kenyans as suspected with the excpetion of one guy - don't know where he was from but he was white. They all glided along the streets like gazelles - it's amazing how fast they were. At this point I had bumped into a guy on a bike who was waiting for the lead women. I was as well as a member of my triathlon team was a woman in contention for an Olympic trial spot. Turns out this guy was the owner of one of the sponsors of my triathlon team and we were both waiting for Abby to run by. So we chatted for a bit - then we saw Abby run by - looking strong - one of the first women on the course.
He went on his way and I waited. At this point, PJ had met up with me as well as Dina and Karen - both from my running group. Now there were throngs of runners turning the corner - there were so many people for me to look out for but it was impossible to pick people out in this crowd. Fortunately, one person I was waiting for, Mike, saw me and screamed my name. Then, a few minutes later, a group of Phillyfitters (my running group) we were waiting for came by. At this point, it was about 8:30 am and the four of us walked a few blocks to PJ's car to make our way to the 9 mile mark.
Fairmount Park: Miles 9 - 12
After navigating road closures and parking in the hood, we made it to mile 9 just in the nick of time to catch Jenna and the other phillyfitters. While the runners ran up a hill and did a big loop in fairmount park by Memorial Hall to come back down along West River Drive on the way to the halfway point, we only had to walk about 50 yards to the 12 mile mark along the river. Not many spectators were at this spot, so we decided it was time to step it up. All the signs came out, noise makers, my cup with twizzlers for the runners, and lots of shouting. At this point, my Tri teammate Mare met up with us to join in the spectating.
After Jenna and crew ran by us at mile 12, we split up - PJ, Dina and Karen went back to his car to move it again closer to the finish line. Mare and I decided to walk along the route - up the river to the art museum which was the half-way point as well as the finish. We got to the finish line just as the clock was nearing the 3 hour mark. It was great seeing these runners on top of their game, achieving their goal of finishing a sub 3 hour marathon - a fete I couldn't imagine. Then we continued on, going down Kelly Drive which was the out and back for miles 14 - 26 for the marathoners.
Kelly Drive: Miles 14-18 going out and Miles 22-26 coming back
Mare and I ran into one of our Triathlon teammates who ran the half-marathon and had set a PR. As we continued on she ran into another person from her running club and hung with her as I continued to walk down the course. I had promised Jenna I would run her in, just as she had run me in the previous year. At this point, I was catching runners who were in the last miles, trying to get a sub-4 hour time. Alot of them looked to be in pain. After passing mile 25, there were very little spectators on the course. So as I continued to walk, I started shouting to the runners again. It was odd to be outside on the drive, next to the river with hundreds of runners yet the only thing to be heard was my voice. I decided to pull out the "Say No to Chafing" sign I had created (which Jenna and crew made for last year's marathon) and I filled up my cup of twizzlers. I caught the eye of most runners with the sign, seeing lots of smiles and chuckles and was constantly refilling my twizzlers cup - it was a big hit with the runners. At mile 24.5, PJ and Beth (who had just come in from Atlantic City) met up with me and continued walking down with me for a bit.
At this point I had gotten a text from Jenna saying she was at mile 18 and was now running alone so as far down as I could meet her would be appreciated. PJ and Beth wanted to turn around and start walking back to the finish so they could be there when Jenna came in, so I gave them my coat, bag, and jeans and got ready to head further down along the course to find Jenna. Just as I started running down, a cop car came onto the course heading out, which signaled to me that the gentleman in front of the car was the last runner in the marathon. I decided I was going to try and run with him until I met up with Jenna.
So I met Ed. Ed was 61 years old. This was his first marathon. When he was 50, he wanted to run one but got very busy. When he turned 60, he decided it was time to put this thought into action. We talked about training, proper recovery time, proper nutrition. I gave him encouragement heading into Manayunk. He was a little concerned about the hills in Manayunk but I assured him the roughest climbs were behind him at that point. We ran together for about a mile or so when I ran into Jenna heading back. This was just past the 22 mile mark for her and just after the 17 mile mark for Ed. I gave Ed a big hug and told him he was doing great and he was going to finish his first marathon.
Jenna was running faster than Ed, obviously, so as I turned around, I had to pick up the pace a bit. I don't know how Jenna felt about it, but it seemed like these last 4 miles flew by. We just chatted the whole time. She was running a steady pace - passing quite a few people. If she was in pain she wasn't letting it show. Just before we got to mile 26, we ran into PJ and Beth. That put a big smile on Jenna's face. Another reason to smile was that she was going to reach one of her goals - to beat Katie Holmes time from the NYC marathon 2 weeks ago. So with only a few hundred meters to go, I pulled out to run behing the gates as Jenna quickly picked up her pace, sprinting to the finish in the chute. She looked good and strong and she nailed it! She set a PR by over 25 minutes! I was so proud of her. It was a smart race for her and she accomplished something huge. Abby, my triathlon teammate, also achieved her goal and qualified to run in the women's olympic qualifying marathon in Boston in April! She finished in 2:45 I believe (she needed a sub 2:47 performance). I think she did even better than Lance did in New York!
It was a cold day - remained in the low 40s with a nippy wind and rain. I ended up walking a total of 12 miles that day and ran about 5 miles. I had slept for 2.5 hours and had only eaten a slimfast bar. I may not have run the marathon, but I was wiped out by the time I got home at around 2 pm. I really enjoyed spectating, connecting with the runners, making them laugh, helping them get through it. I'm also glad that i'm taking a break from doing marathons in 2008 to focus more on triathlons. Not that triathlons can't be rough on your body - but the two marathons i've done were just too painful for my liking. I know i'll get back out there and finish another 26.2 - but that will have to wait until 2009.
If you ever have the opportunity to go and spectate at a race - do so, even if you don't know anybody running it. And when you go, don't be a passive spectator. The runners feel and can feed off your energy, and especially in those later miles, they need that. I know that is the only way I got through that awful climb at mile 23 up 5th Ave in New York - it was the spectators keeping me in it. The No Chafing sign and twizzlers are going to be a permanent fixture at the Philadelphia Marathon for now on along West River and Kelly Drive. So if you want to come out to Philly next year to run - look for the No Chafing girl on the sidelines!
I washed up, grabbed my bag full of goodies and first aide for the runners, the signs I had made, bundled up and made my way to the train station. The train got into Market East train station at 7 am which was the time the marathon was scheduled to start. My first stop was going to be just past mile 5 on Chestnut St. and 6th St., right by Independence Hall. In that six block walk the winds picked up and swirled some of the drizzle around, making it feel even colder than the temperature actually was.
Center City - Mile 5:
I arrived at the corner to see two volunteers who looked like high school students with a clipboard and about 5 cones not set up yet. Traffic was still going down both Chestnut and 6th streets, No police cars in site to close down the roads. I was confused - did they change the course? Did I miss something? After all, it was after 7 am - the race should be underway and being just past mile 5, those Kenyans leading the race could have been there in 25 minutes. Then, I saw a bunch of cop cars with flashing lights coming down Sixth Street (the wrong way on a one way street with traffic still on it) in front of the lead wheelchair marathoner. The volunteers moved the cones to block off any more traffic from coming onto sixth street and the cops cleared the traffic from Chestnut.
Minutes after three wheelchair competitors rolled by was the lead pack of men - about 7 of them. Yes, they were all Kenyans as suspected with the excpetion of one guy - don't know where he was from but he was white. They all glided along the streets like gazelles - it's amazing how fast they were. At this point I had bumped into a guy on a bike who was waiting for the lead women. I was as well as a member of my triathlon team was a woman in contention for an Olympic trial spot. Turns out this guy was the owner of one of the sponsors of my triathlon team and we were both waiting for Abby to run by. So we chatted for a bit - then we saw Abby run by - looking strong - one of the first women on the course.
He went on his way and I waited. At this point, PJ had met up with me as well as Dina and Karen - both from my running group. Now there were throngs of runners turning the corner - there were so many people for me to look out for but it was impossible to pick people out in this crowd. Fortunately, one person I was waiting for, Mike, saw me and screamed my name. Then, a few minutes later, a group of Phillyfitters (my running group) we were waiting for came by. At this point, it was about 8:30 am and the four of us walked a few blocks to PJ's car to make our way to the 9 mile mark.
Fairmount Park: Miles 9 - 12
After navigating road closures and parking in the hood, we made it to mile 9 just in the nick of time to catch Jenna and the other phillyfitters. While the runners ran up a hill and did a big loop in fairmount park by Memorial Hall to come back down along West River Drive on the way to the halfway point, we only had to walk about 50 yards to the 12 mile mark along the river. Not many spectators were at this spot, so we decided it was time to step it up. All the signs came out, noise makers, my cup with twizzlers for the runners, and lots of shouting. At this point, my Tri teammate Mare met up with us to join in the spectating.
After Jenna and crew ran by us at mile 12, we split up - PJ, Dina and Karen went back to his car to move it again closer to the finish line. Mare and I decided to walk along the route - up the river to the art museum which was the half-way point as well as the finish. We got to the finish line just as the clock was nearing the 3 hour mark. It was great seeing these runners on top of their game, achieving their goal of finishing a sub 3 hour marathon - a fete I couldn't imagine. Then we continued on, going down Kelly Drive which was the out and back for miles 14 - 26 for the marathoners.
Kelly Drive: Miles 14-18 going out and Miles 22-26 coming back
Mare and I ran into one of our Triathlon teammates who ran the half-marathon and had set a PR. As we continued on she ran into another person from her running club and hung with her as I continued to walk down the course. I had promised Jenna I would run her in, just as she had run me in the previous year. At this point, I was catching runners who were in the last miles, trying to get a sub-4 hour time. Alot of them looked to be in pain. After passing mile 25, there were very little spectators on the course. So as I continued to walk, I started shouting to the runners again. It was odd to be outside on the drive, next to the river with hundreds of runners yet the only thing to be heard was my voice. I decided to pull out the "Say No to Chafing" sign I had created (which Jenna and crew made for last year's marathon) and I filled up my cup of twizzlers. I caught the eye of most runners with the sign, seeing lots of smiles and chuckles and was constantly refilling my twizzlers cup - it was a big hit with the runners. At mile 24.5, PJ and Beth (who had just come in from Atlantic City) met up with me and continued walking down with me for a bit.
At this point I had gotten a text from Jenna saying she was at mile 18 and was now running alone so as far down as I could meet her would be appreciated. PJ and Beth wanted to turn around and start walking back to the finish so they could be there when Jenna came in, so I gave them my coat, bag, and jeans and got ready to head further down along the course to find Jenna. Just as I started running down, a cop car came onto the course heading out, which signaled to me that the gentleman in front of the car was the last runner in the marathon. I decided I was going to try and run with him until I met up with Jenna.
So I met Ed. Ed was 61 years old. This was his first marathon. When he was 50, he wanted to run one but got very busy. When he turned 60, he decided it was time to put this thought into action. We talked about training, proper recovery time, proper nutrition. I gave him encouragement heading into Manayunk. He was a little concerned about the hills in Manayunk but I assured him the roughest climbs were behind him at that point. We ran together for about a mile or so when I ran into Jenna heading back. This was just past the 22 mile mark for her and just after the 17 mile mark for Ed. I gave Ed a big hug and told him he was doing great and he was going to finish his first marathon.
Jenna was running faster than Ed, obviously, so as I turned around, I had to pick up the pace a bit. I don't know how Jenna felt about it, but it seemed like these last 4 miles flew by. We just chatted the whole time. She was running a steady pace - passing quite a few people. If she was in pain she wasn't letting it show. Just before we got to mile 26, we ran into PJ and Beth. That put a big smile on Jenna's face. Another reason to smile was that she was going to reach one of her goals - to beat Katie Holmes time from the NYC marathon 2 weeks ago. So with only a few hundred meters to go, I pulled out to run behing the gates as Jenna quickly picked up her pace, sprinting to the finish in the chute. She looked good and strong and she nailed it! She set a PR by over 25 minutes! I was so proud of her. It was a smart race for her and she accomplished something huge. Abby, my triathlon teammate, also achieved her goal and qualified to run in the women's olympic qualifying marathon in Boston in April! She finished in 2:45 I believe (she needed a sub 2:47 performance). I think she did even better than Lance did in New York!
It was a cold day - remained in the low 40s with a nippy wind and rain. I ended up walking a total of 12 miles that day and ran about 5 miles. I had slept for 2.5 hours and had only eaten a slimfast bar. I may not have run the marathon, but I was wiped out by the time I got home at around 2 pm. I really enjoyed spectating, connecting with the runners, making them laugh, helping them get through it. I'm also glad that i'm taking a break from doing marathons in 2008 to focus more on triathlons. Not that triathlons can't be rough on your body - but the two marathons i've done were just too painful for my liking. I know i'll get back out there and finish another 26.2 - but that will have to wait until 2009.
If you ever have the opportunity to go and spectate at a race - do so, even if you don't know anybody running it. And when you go, don't be a passive spectator. The runners feel and can feed off your energy, and especially in those later miles, they need that. I know that is the only way I got through that awful climb at mile 23 up 5th Ave in New York - it was the spectators keeping me in it. The No Chafing sign and twizzlers are going to be a permanent fixture at the Philadelphia Marathon for now on along West River and Kelly Drive. So if you want to come out to Philly next year to run - look for the No Chafing girl on the sidelines!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Keep on Keeping on
Rudy is one of my all-time favorite movies. I suppose growing up as a Philadelphia Sports fan, i'm used to rooting for the underdog. More importantly, why I love this movie so much, it reminds me to keep on keeping on - never give up. When you have a dream - go for it, at all costs. You have to believe in it, even if no one else does. I have to remind myself of this, almost daily, when i'm faced with different obstacles to my dreams. We only live once, so why not make it be the life we want it to be, instead of letting society dictate to us what it should be. More so than society, I find it's myself that holds me back the most - it can be scary to pursue your dreams. Alot of times, it's easier to be comfortable or complacent, not take that risk. I guess you have to ask how important is this dream for you? For me, it's pretty damn important...so I have to take those risks. I just need to remind myself that it will be worth it to do so.
I have to admit, i've been somewhat in a funk since the marathon last weekend. I'm not happy with the outcome. I'm happy I showed up, i'm happy my coach got me there healthy, i'm happy i'm still healthy and that I finished. But I didn't leave it all out there. I don't feel I pushed or tried hard enough. One (of many) of my goals is to qualify and run the Boston Marathon. It seems like a tall order with my recent performance in NY. It may not happy next year or the year after that...but someday, it will happen. I just have to keep on keeping on until it does.
I have to admit, i've been somewhat in a funk since the marathon last weekend. I'm not happy with the outcome. I'm happy I showed up, i'm happy my coach got me there healthy, i'm happy i'm still healthy and that I finished. But I didn't leave it all out there. I don't feel I pushed or tried hard enough. One (of many) of my goals is to qualify and run the Boston Marathon. It seems like a tall order with my recent performance in NY. It may not happy next year or the year after that...but someday, it will happen. I just have to keep on keeping on until it does.
Monday, November 05, 2007
NYC Marathon
This is how I feel at this moment:
I wasn't nervous at all the day before the race. I was just really excited and thankful to be able to do this thing considering the long road i'd had to recovery after my injury last year.
Pre-Marathon
Joe woke me up at 5:55 am and by 6:30 we were off to the Staten Island Ferry. Joe was running this marathon as part of a charity group, Team For Kids, so I got to meet a few of them. Another runner, Matt, from the team was doing this is his first marathon - this was also Joe's first marathon. I was happy for them and almost jealous because you only get one first! We got off the Ferry and this is where Joe and I had to depart because he had a team bus to take him to another start wave than I was in. It was about a 15 minute drive to Fort Wadsworth park in Staten Island where the different corrals were set up. During this ride, I got a glimpse of the Verrazano Bridge, which was the start of the race, and this was the first time I had a shot of nerves go through my body.
It was just after 8 am at this point - the official start of the race was at 10:10 am so I had quite a bit of time to kill. They had different tents set up with food, drink, etc, but it was within that 2 hour window of the start when anything I would eat at that point would sit like a rock in my stomach and bother my run, so I just drank my water and sat down in a sunny spot in the field to watch all the other runners mill about. I met two women from Germany sitting next me. The Philly marathon is great, a decent size race. But this race is enormous - 37,000 runners with a truly diverse international field. All the race announcements were made in several languages over the loudspeaker at the start. It made me realize that I was part of something really big here.
Just after 9 am I decided to go find the UPS trucks where we'd be checking our bags. I walked into a mob scene. The trucks were parked in a gated parking lot with only about 10 feet of space for the 37,000 runners to walk in and out. As I got closer to the front of the entrance, I started to get nervous - alot of time was passing by, getting closer to when we needed to line up to head to the start. I also have a fear of getting crushed to death - when i'm a crowd with nowhere to go and people are pushing you every which way, I have a panic attack. Another runner took notice and offered to drop off my bag for me. I was so grateful to her but also felt a little guilty that she'd have problems getting to the start in time because she was dropping off my bag.
So I lined up within the F5000 - F5999 corral. The fastest 9000 women based on actual and predicted finish times got special F bibs and were staged at the front of the orange wave - it was stated that any men lining up in these corrals would be disqualified from the race but it wasn't really enforced. I was hoping I could finish the marathon in 4:30 - just over a 10 MM. It seemed achievable - I think I was overly ambitious and had put 4:15 down as my finish time a few months ago. My main goals this time around was to finish, uninjured, and to take it all in. I spoke with a woman from Irvine California while walking to the start - her telling me about the LA marathon and me sharing information about the Philadelphia Marathon. This was enough to distract me from getting too anxious and nervous about what we were about to do.
Marathon - The First Half
The starting cannon was shot and Frank Sinatra's New York, New York was played over the sound system. I couldn't help but smile and had a silly grin on my face for a quite some time. As we started to head over the Verrazano bridge into Brooklyn, the view of lower Manhattan was spectacular, so I couldn't resist stopping on the side of the road to take a picture. About 1.5 miles over the bridge we entered into Brooklyn and the crowds waiting to greet us.
All weekend long I had received so many amusing and encouraging text messages from my friends and they were still coming during this race, which was awesome. I knew the first of my friends spectating I would come across were in Park Slope, about 7 miles into the race. I really enjoyed these early miles - with the exception of a slow first mile (because of the crowd crossing the start, going slightly uphill on the bridge, and stopping to take pictures), I was running a comfortable sub-10MM pace, quick enough but what I believed would have been easy enough to sustain for the first half. The crowd was great - Lots of people shouting my name since I had written it on my shirt again. I ran all the way to the left side of the street so I could high 5 a bunch of the spectators.
When we got closer to Park Slope - the crowds started to grow and get louder. I knew the corner that Joe and Tina would be waiting at and I spotted them before they spotted me. So I stopped for hugs, pictures, and to refuel. It was awesome to see them. PJ had texted me to say he was around mile 8 so I continued on and found him in the crowd. I gave him a quick hug and ran by, knowing i'd see him later on in the course. Once we got into Williamsburg around mile 10, this was one of the quietest stretches on the course, the Hassidic Jewish neighborhood. The ones who were out there weren't much into cheering -they were more interested in trying to cross the street. A little further along getting more into downtown Williamsburg the crowds started to thicken again and I tried to find another friend I knew was cheering there, but couldn't find her.
When I got to the half-marathon mark, my splits had slowed a bit - I started realizing I was running closer to 10:30 MM. I attributed this to the elevation of the course - according to the elevation map, it didn't appear to be very hilly - but I found that there was hardly a stretch that was flat - quite a few of these inclines were very visible by the naked eye and would last for anywhere for a 1/2 mile to a mile. I am not a good climber, running or biking - hills are my nemisis. Around the half marathon mark, we were going over our 2 of 5 bridges into Queens.
Marathon Miles 13 - 20
The crowds were strong in Queens as well, but we were only there for less than 2 miles. Then, right before my eyes, there it was. The dreaded mile 15 at Queensborough bridge. This was the steepest bridge and it felt like the incline just kept going and going. It's the first time I had to slow to a walk - it's when my body really started to feel the impact of all this running. I pulled out my phone and started reading some of the texts my friends were sending me - it was huge for me to have those at that point. When I finally reached the crest of the bridge, I started running down, knowing that we were going to come out to huge crowds on first avenue and I was going to see PJ again and one of my triathlon teammates around mile 16.
I found PJ and handed off my a pack from my fuel belt - I didn't want to feel weighed down. Three blocks later I found my T3 triathlon teammate Aliza who had some choc-blocs and water waiting for me. It was my excuse to take a break from running, even though I knew stopping at this point in the race was going to wreak havoc on my muscles. So, after taking too long of a break, I continued on up 1st Ave. As I neared mile 17 I noticed looking ahead I could see a sea of runners for quite some distance heading up and up and up. I never realized how hilly New York City actually was.
Still, I kept chugging along - my pace slowing down to 11 MM as I climbed First Avenue over miles 18 and 19. The crowds started to dissipate as we entered East Harlem and reached the Willis Ave. Bridge that connected East Harlem to the South Bronx.
The dreaded last 10K
It was short but steep enough to make me slow to a walk again as I started the trek into the Bronx. I moved to the right side of the bridge to start to literally hobble along - my body was shot at this point. Every step sent achey pain traveling all over my body. I was tired. And of top of it, I think I had too much to drink as I started to feel a side stitch.
Halfway across the bridge, I passed a group of Scottisch bag pipers and drummer, marching to the beat behind a disabled athlete from Achilles Track Club and his guide. I don't know what it was, but witnessing this scene, I was overcome with so much emotion I broke down into tears. To see the heart of this disable person - the hope he had and the support of the others in the group - it was such a beautiful moment. This happened just as I hit the 20 mile mark on the bridge and it's what I needed to get myself going again.
We would only be in the Bronx for about 2 miles, and although the crowds weren't necessarily as large as they were in park slope, brooklyn or First Avenue in manhattan, they had alot of energy that got me through. Close to mile 22, we crossed over the Madison Street bridge, which is a flat bridge (thank god!) into Harlem again. Initially, the crowds were sparse, but as we headed closer to Central Park and 5th Ave, they grew larger and louder.
Miles 23 and 24 were the greatest test of my character and strength during this race. 5th Avenue was the largest and longest climb we would face in this marathon. I wanted to stop and walk. I wanted to give up. But the crowds - god the crowds were so amazing. Every five feet, someone would shout my name "Go Nicole!" "Looking Good Nicole!" "This is your race Nicole!" "You can do it Nicole!". They screamed with such fervor and every time I heard someone, I looked over and made eye contact with them, giving a thumbs up smiling with tears streaming down my face. It was slow going - very slow - 11:30 MM pace now. My body was so worn and in pain, yet it was in autopilot. I never did stop.
Entering Central Park and heading south towards the finish, more crowds, more screaming my name, more tears. Around mile 25, I heard another runner come up beside me and call my name - it was Joe! He was looking strong. For a moment, I tried to keep step with him, but he was clearly feeling better than I was - so I told him to go home and finish strong. Shortly thereafter, on 59th St., with less than a mile to go, I found PJ again. I had been waiting to see him for several miles - knowing he was there towards the end also kept me going...I don't know how I got so lucky to have such and incredible friend like him that would wake up early on a Sunday to drive to New York, roam all over a city that he wasn't too familiar with, only to watch me run by for a few seconds at a time, then drive me home. Jenna is equally amazing and would have been there if she wasn't sick - and i'm pretty sure Beth would have been there too had she not been on vacation in New Orleans.
A rush surged over me as I took that final turn into Central Park from Columbus Circle and saw that final sign that stated "200 meters to go!". I felt like I picked up my step when I saw that sign and could see the finish line ahead of me - but who knows. I really had no control over my body. I threw my arms up in the air as I crossed the finish line. It was such an amazing feeling to have completed this course which clearly had it's way with me. As I got my medal and my foil to keep me warm and started waddling toward the baggage trucks with the other finishers, I was overwhelmed with emotion one more time, and just stood there crying. I was elated, I was in pain, and I realized, I don't want to do this again for quite some time. I'm proud of having accomplished this, but in struggling to finish in 4:53 yet being able to finish a half-marathon in 2 hours or less, i'm realizing that i'm just not that great a distance runner. Some people have it - the Philly and New York City Marathon showed me that I have to work much harder for it. And someday I will, but now, my focus is on my upcoming sophomore year of triathlon.
I wasn't nervous at all the day before the race. I was just really excited and thankful to be able to do this thing considering the long road i'd had to recovery after my injury last year.
Pre-Marathon
Joe woke me up at 5:55 am and by 6:30 we were off to the Staten Island Ferry. Joe was running this marathon as part of a charity group, Team For Kids, so I got to meet a few of them. Another runner, Matt, from the team was doing this is his first marathon - this was also Joe's first marathon. I was happy for them and almost jealous because you only get one first! We got off the Ferry and this is where Joe and I had to depart because he had a team bus to take him to another start wave than I was in. It was about a 15 minute drive to Fort Wadsworth park in Staten Island where the different corrals were set up. During this ride, I got a glimpse of the Verrazano Bridge, which was the start of the race, and this was the first time I had a shot of nerves go through my body.
It was just after 8 am at this point - the official start of the race was at 10:10 am so I had quite a bit of time to kill. They had different tents set up with food, drink, etc, but it was within that 2 hour window of the start when anything I would eat at that point would sit like a rock in my stomach and bother my run, so I just drank my water and sat down in a sunny spot in the field to watch all the other runners mill about. I met two women from Germany sitting next me. The Philly marathon is great, a decent size race. But this race is enormous - 37,000 runners with a truly diverse international field. All the race announcements were made in several languages over the loudspeaker at the start. It made me realize that I was part of something really big here.
Just after 9 am I decided to go find the UPS trucks where we'd be checking our bags. I walked into a mob scene. The trucks were parked in a gated parking lot with only about 10 feet of space for the 37,000 runners to walk in and out. As I got closer to the front of the entrance, I started to get nervous - alot of time was passing by, getting closer to when we needed to line up to head to the start. I also have a fear of getting crushed to death - when i'm a crowd with nowhere to go and people are pushing you every which way, I have a panic attack. Another runner took notice and offered to drop off my bag for me. I was so grateful to her but also felt a little guilty that she'd have problems getting to the start in time because she was dropping off my bag.
So I lined up within the F5000 - F5999 corral. The fastest 9000 women based on actual and predicted finish times got special F bibs and were staged at the front of the orange wave - it was stated that any men lining up in these corrals would be disqualified from the race but it wasn't really enforced. I was hoping I could finish the marathon in 4:30 - just over a 10 MM. It seemed achievable - I think I was overly ambitious and had put 4:15 down as my finish time a few months ago. My main goals this time around was to finish, uninjured, and to take it all in. I spoke with a woman from Irvine California while walking to the start - her telling me about the LA marathon and me sharing information about the Philadelphia Marathon. This was enough to distract me from getting too anxious and nervous about what we were about to do.
Marathon - The First Half
The starting cannon was shot and Frank Sinatra's New York, New York was played over the sound system. I couldn't help but smile and had a silly grin on my face for a quite some time. As we started to head over the Verrazano bridge into Brooklyn, the view of lower Manhattan was spectacular, so I couldn't resist stopping on the side of the road to take a picture. About 1.5 miles over the bridge we entered into Brooklyn and the crowds waiting to greet us.
All weekend long I had received so many amusing and encouraging text messages from my friends and they were still coming during this race, which was awesome. I knew the first of my friends spectating I would come across were in Park Slope, about 7 miles into the race. I really enjoyed these early miles - with the exception of a slow first mile (because of the crowd crossing the start, going slightly uphill on the bridge, and stopping to take pictures), I was running a comfortable sub-10MM pace, quick enough but what I believed would have been easy enough to sustain for the first half. The crowd was great - Lots of people shouting my name since I had written it on my shirt again. I ran all the way to the left side of the street so I could high 5 a bunch of the spectators.
When we got closer to Park Slope - the crowds started to grow and get louder. I knew the corner that Joe and Tina would be waiting at and I spotted them before they spotted me. So I stopped for hugs, pictures, and to refuel. It was awesome to see them. PJ had texted me to say he was around mile 8 so I continued on and found him in the crowd. I gave him a quick hug and ran by, knowing i'd see him later on in the course. Once we got into Williamsburg around mile 10, this was one of the quietest stretches on the course, the Hassidic Jewish neighborhood. The ones who were out there weren't much into cheering -they were more interested in trying to cross the street. A little further along getting more into downtown Williamsburg the crowds started to thicken again and I tried to find another friend I knew was cheering there, but couldn't find her.
When I got to the half-marathon mark, my splits had slowed a bit - I started realizing I was running closer to 10:30 MM. I attributed this to the elevation of the course - according to the elevation map, it didn't appear to be very hilly - but I found that there was hardly a stretch that was flat - quite a few of these inclines were very visible by the naked eye and would last for anywhere for a 1/2 mile to a mile. I am not a good climber, running or biking - hills are my nemisis. Around the half marathon mark, we were going over our 2 of 5 bridges into Queens.
Marathon Miles 13 - 20
The crowds were strong in Queens as well, but we were only there for less than 2 miles. Then, right before my eyes, there it was. The dreaded mile 15 at Queensborough bridge. This was the steepest bridge and it felt like the incline just kept going and going. It's the first time I had to slow to a walk - it's when my body really started to feel the impact of all this running. I pulled out my phone and started reading some of the texts my friends were sending me - it was huge for me to have those at that point. When I finally reached the crest of the bridge, I started running down, knowing that we were going to come out to huge crowds on first avenue and I was going to see PJ again and one of my triathlon teammates around mile 16.
I found PJ and handed off my a pack from my fuel belt - I didn't want to feel weighed down. Three blocks later I found my T3 triathlon teammate Aliza who had some choc-blocs and water waiting for me. It was my excuse to take a break from running, even though I knew stopping at this point in the race was going to wreak havoc on my muscles. So, after taking too long of a break, I continued on up 1st Ave. As I neared mile 17 I noticed looking ahead I could see a sea of runners for quite some distance heading up and up and up. I never realized how hilly New York City actually was.
Still, I kept chugging along - my pace slowing down to 11 MM as I climbed First Avenue over miles 18 and 19. The crowds started to dissipate as we entered East Harlem and reached the Willis Ave. Bridge that connected East Harlem to the South Bronx.
The dreaded last 10K
It was short but steep enough to make me slow to a walk again as I started the trek into the Bronx. I moved to the right side of the bridge to start to literally hobble along - my body was shot at this point. Every step sent achey pain traveling all over my body. I was tired. And of top of it, I think I had too much to drink as I started to feel a side stitch.
Halfway across the bridge, I passed a group of Scottisch bag pipers and drummer, marching to the beat behind a disabled athlete from Achilles Track Club and his guide. I don't know what it was, but witnessing this scene, I was overcome with so much emotion I broke down into tears. To see the heart of this disable person - the hope he had and the support of the others in the group - it was such a beautiful moment. This happened just as I hit the 20 mile mark on the bridge and it's what I needed to get myself going again.
We would only be in the Bronx for about 2 miles, and although the crowds weren't necessarily as large as they were in park slope, brooklyn or First Avenue in manhattan, they had alot of energy that got me through. Close to mile 22, we crossed over the Madison Street bridge, which is a flat bridge (thank god!) into Harlem again. Initially, the crowds were sparse, but as we headed closer to Central Park and 5th Ave, they grew larger and louder.
Miles 23 and 24 were the greatest test of my character and strength during this race. 5th Avenue was the largest and longest climb we would face in this marathon. I wanted to stop and walk. I wanted to give up. But the crowds - god the crowds were so amazing. Every five feet, someone would shout my name "Go Nicole!" "Looking Good Nicole!" "This is your race Nicole!" "You can do it Nicole!". They screamed with such fervor and every time I heard someone, I looked over and made eye contact with them, giving a thumbs up smiling with tears streaming down my face. It was slow going - very slow - 11:30 MM pace now. My body was so worn and in pain, yet it was in autopilot. I never did stop.
Entering Central Park and heading south towards the finish, more crowds, more screaming my name, more tears. Around mile 25, I heard another runner come up beside me and call my name - it was Joe! He was looking strong. For a moment, I tried to keep step with him, but he was clearly feeling better than I was - so I told him to go home and finish strong. Shortly thereafter, on 59th St., with less than a mile to go, I found PJ again. I had been waiting to see him for several miles - knowing he was there towards the end also kept me going...I don't know how I got so lucky to have such and incredible friend like him that would wake up early on a Sunday to drive to New York, roam all over a city that he wasn't too familiar with, only to watch me run by for a few seconds at a time, then drive me home. Jenna is equally amazing and would have been there if she wasn't sick - and i'm pretty sure Beth would have been there too had she not been on vacation in New Orleans.
A rush surged over me as I took that final turn into Central Park from Columbus Circle and saw that final sign that stated "200 meters to go!". I felt like I picked up my step when I saw that sign and could see the finish line ahead of me - but who knows. I really had no control over my body. I threw my arms up in the air as I crossed the finish line. It was such an amazing feeling to have completed this course which clearly had it's way with me. As I got my medal and my foil to keep me warm and started waddling toward the baggage trucks with the other finishers, I was overwhelmed with emotion one more time, and just stood there crying. I was elated, I was in pain, and I realized, I don't want to do this again for quite some time. I'm proud of having accomplished this, but in struggling to finish in 4:53 yet being able to finish a half-marathon in 2 hours or less, i'm realizing that i'm just not that great a distance runner. Some people have it - the Philly and New York City Marathon showed me that I have to work much harder for it. And someday I will, but now, my focus is on my upcoming sophomore year of triathlon.
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