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.