« October 2003 |
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Nov 2:
3:50:24 finish in the ING NYC Marathon!
--3:50:24 net beats my 2001 net time of 3:53:47! I feel good about that, but I do wish I had beat it by a little more, at least somewhere in the 3:40's. I do know what the difference was in my doing better--I didn't do enough longer (20+-mile) runs in my training. A friend of mine, Jessica Ecklund, was neck and neck pacewise with me for a while, yet ended up finishing about 7 minutes before me, I assume because she was keeping on target with the NYRR training schedule, doing all the longer runs, which kept up her endurance late in the game when I was in new running territory. I did beat P. Diddy, whom I passed early in the race in Brooklyn, and he ended up with a not-bad net about 8 minutes after me. I kept a good early pace, even running for a while a 7:30-mile which surprised me, and I felt stronger overall than my 2001 run. This year, I finished with a lot of joy and not that much pain compared to 2001, when my leg pain was the most excrutiating thing I've probably ever felt. The temperature for today's race was never a factor for me, as it was a comfortable 61 degrees with no noticeable humidity (that is, I don't know what it was), which was great and meant it was around the temperature in 2001. I walked about 4 times, at water stations, but instead of having my first walk around mile 6 as in 2001, this year, I didn't walk until mile 19! I pretty much figured out (finally) how to drink from a cup without stopping running--I pinched the center of the cup, rather than an edge, keeping the water from sloshing out of the cup and into my nose--essentially, I'd suck the water or Gatorade out of the cup then. No one showed up at the Reunion Area to meet me at the race :(, but I did get to talk on the phone to my girlfriend Aimée and my parents after I finished, which is what mattered most.
The experience of a marathon is an amazing event--in particular, the NYC marathon. I'm amazed by all the happy-to-be-there volunteers who turn out, plus the crowd who is excited, encouraging, and giving despite a horde of sweaty, tired people they don't know just running by. And people from all over the world show, to run through all 5 of NYC's boroughs. This year was a great time. I'm not sure when I'll do my next marathon, but I can't imagine I'll never do one again. It's a frightening experience, but one that is so rewarding, with memories to last a lifetime.
Here are my final stats for the 2003 ING NYC Marathon:
Nov 1: REST... --Instead of running today, I'm resting fully. Tomorrow morning's the big event. It's very hard to believe I'll be doing it tomorrow, putting my body through hell. My buddy, James Ecklund, a fellow actor who was in it this year, just came down with a 104-degree temperature and the flu, just 2 days before the event, and is out. Would you believe?? I'm seeing from Weatherbug that the temperature for tomorrow is now forecast to be in the upper 60's, with 5-10mph winds. Does that mean the winds will be blowing right at me the whole race? I don't know, I never really understood wind direction. This week, I've kinda loaded up on carbs with big pasta bowls for dinner, but I'm skipping the Ronzoni Pasta Party tonight because I think it wreaked havoc on my bowels race-day morning. I hopefully today will get lots of liquids inside me, only the pee them out before the race in the morning chill and pre-race nerves. My body looks pretty good, if not as muscular as in 2001--I hope it still can take on this race and these hills. Some parts I'm wondering about are a) my energy after 6 miles into the race, b) how I'll fair on the Pulaski Bridge into Queens (halfway point), c) will I be dead climbing the 59th St. Bridge, when I was pretty severely lapped in 2001?, d) will I have my concentration when running on the east side of Manhattan, which is hypnotizing with the amount of people and which is when my serotonin levels are high, making it hard to concentrate, e) O, the Power Gel station at mile 18 when I'm starved, and the cold sponges to follow!, f) how will P. Diddy fair in Harlem and The Bronx?, g) how much of a crawl will I be doing as I go up the aggravating low-grade incline along 5th Ave. into Central Park (which lasts forever), h) when I hit the service entrance at Central Park near 59th St., will I be racing at a faster pace than in 2001 (probably the biggest question), and i) how much pain will I feel upon completion. My co-worker, Jono Kranz, is working the finish line and I need to remember to look for him--I may be delirious by that point though, moaning from leg pain. AHH! This is one killer thing to do to one's body. Hopefully someone will be there at the Reunion Area to see me ... I wonder what it will feel like if no one's there. Probably excrutiatingly sad ... dontwanttothinkaboutthat. I should treat myself to dinner that night after the race, should I complete it ... What will my legs be like the next morning? And will I ever attempt a marathon again in my life? My guess would be yes.