NYC Marathon Race Report

The few days before the marathon I was retardedly nervous. Well maybe not retardedly but i was worried about everything.

Went to bed around 1145 on Saturday night knowing it was really 1045. Woke up at 6 and was out the door by 630. Scarfed down an egg white sammy at the deli and Nicole picked me up in a cab, which we took down to the ferry. It was really windy when we got there but I had enough layers to melt anything so I was actually sweaty. We caught a 7:50 ferry (dont ask) but didnt get to the staging area untli 9. There was a lot of congestion overall. The one thing that stuck with me was that the port a pottys and the buses which took us from the ferry to the staging area were from all over- CT, NJ, NY. Was very interesting and caught my eye.

I hated the crowds but loved the energy. Sitting on NY avenue (we were assigned 2 different corrals so decided to spend the time not in the corrals) on my sleeping bag and trash bags, we started w the gu, the rearranging of the belt (for me) and the no rub stuff on the toes. At arond 9:40 they closed wave 2 corral (well I guess maybe a bit later) and we saw the first of the runners take off, what a scene for everyoen to stop and cheer them on- the looming Verrazzano in the left background... I dropped off my bag witht he race truck after a teary eyed goodbye to nicole. I couldnt believe i was going to do this on my own.

I was Orange, Wave #3 Corral C but didn't get anywhere near C. We were jammed in like sausages. The one good thing about this jamming was that I hit up the porta potty about 2 min before I crossed the start which was a god send. i didn't stop once during the race, I can't believe it!!! I certainly thought I would have to given that I took a gatorade and a water almost every single mile. I ironically ran with my water bottle until mile 21- this was supposed to be through mile 3 only to prevent my ear from going out. The bottle was actually a godsend bc my ear did go out (on mile 14) so I did end up needing it.

Highlights:
-I rocked the beginning
-I had a blast
-Every picture taken has me with a smile
-I dont hurt 48 hrs later
-I met some cool people
-I tried my strategy, failed but didnt freak out
-I saw my bf and friends in multiple places and that all worked out
-I finished strong (10 min miles) and really believe you can do anything
-Everyone screamed YOU CAN DO THIS JEN- was amazing!! !
- My shirt came out awesome

Lowlights:
-My ear blowing out quite a bit, mile 8, mile 14, mile 19
-Feeling like bumpkiss at the end, and not remembering (now looking back) miles 24-26.2 in any sort of detail, i was so in the zone!!
-The after finish line mess.

What else... I learned I am pretty good now at eating, drinking and salting. I couldnt believe that miles 1-8 went so quickly- mainly 1-6. Miles 1 and 2 on the Qboro wre pretty terrible. I ran WAY too fast and really was freezing. I had ditched my fleece and my pants but did have a long sleeve, arm warmers and tank on. I did have a fleece hat on but still, was soooo windy and cold. m1 was 10.27 m2 was 10.14

m3 10.46- 5k was 33:38 which was right on pace for me... 10:50 pace... I started running with some guy from colorado, wish I knew how he finished... it was his first race...

m4 11.17- Enjoyed the sights, thought I might have to pee but didnt. Tried to slow it down a bit but obviously can only run 10:45 or 11:15 nothing in between.

m5 10.42- Started my lookout for Brandt- didn't recognize the neighborhood so was really scanning crowds, sights etc. Was quite overcast still so I remember thinking it was cool that we were divided by a divider and that people were dancing and having a blast as spectators already.

m6 10.47- 10k time was 1:07:22 which is pretty great for me.... I remember thinking wow this was a fast 10k (meaning time felt fast). I ran for a little while with a daughter (5th marathon) and dad (first marathon) who were cop counting. They were at 100 when I left them.... moving on....

m7 10.39- I knew I was going to see Matt and Felix so I think I unknowingly sped up... Was flat and fast here and the crowds were so awesome.

m8 11.11- i believe its uphill here and i almost blew my ear out (my ear has this issue where my sinuses get swollen and then i get a blocked eardrum- not fun while running. I know I walked a bit here... hence the slower mile I'd imagine.

m9 11.37- see above. I think clinton hill was where all the townhouses were- was awesome, walked through the water stop... knew i needed to pick it up.

m10 11.02 williamsburg. loads of name calling, someone had donuts, loads of 'hipsters and champagne. right on pace.

m11 12.09- slow mile. no idea.

m12 11.24- greenpoint. no idea.
m13 11.21- remember hitting the half marathon marker at 2:26:12 which is pretty standard for me...

m14 11.43- saw my mom. walkd a bit, talked a bit... ear blew out AGAIN.

m15 12.57- queensboro. came around the corner and thought 'hot damn thats a hill' chkd out the pedestrian side and noted that the grade was completely different. sneaky sneaky- so much for practice! my ear was shitty at this point so i decided to walk the hill and clear out the ear, paid off big time.

m16 12.16- walked a bit of this mile, also walked the water stop. was amazed that first ave wasnt quite a roar.... or perhaps just a dull one... i did wave my hands a few time and people picked it up a bit. its amazing to have people cheer for you. i loved it. Saw matt and felix right at mile 17 and stopped for a second.

m17 11.12- pretty great pace given the timing and the hills.

m18 11.35- trying to pick it up but couldnt.

m19 11.11 saw rina here, felt awesome. thought i could pick it up a bit more heading into the bronx. had my ipod on.

m20 11.45- this mile sucked. the ground was uneven, walked through the water stop. i didnt like the bronx at all.

m21 11.43- saw matt and felix. starting to get tired.

m22 11.24- trying to keep on pace but couldnt hold on... this mile is 122st through 103 street... knew the hill would kill me.

m23 11.39- kept my head down, couldnt move the legs any faster. threw fuel belt at mom at 23.5. was REALLY cold.

m24 12.07- ha! laughable. effort level was 150% stopped for walk for a bit.

m25 12.06- i knew this mile would suck. couldnt hack it. walked a bit.

m26. 11.27- knew i had to pick up my legs to finish in under 5 hrs... the mental struggle was quite intense.

m0.2 2.07- ran my ass off. knew i had seconds to spare and this was no laughing matter.

I need to write a race report. But here are my splits etc.
WHAT A GREAT RACE!

clock time 0:33:38 1:07:22 1:42:14 2:18:08 2:56:03 3:31:33 4:07:29 4:44:34 4:59:46
clock splits 0:33:38 0:33:44 0:34:52 0:35:54 0:37:55 0:35:30 0:35:56 0:37:05 0:15:12
km 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 42.2
pace 0:10:50 0:10:51 0:11:13 0:11:33 0:12:12 0:11:26 0:11:34 0:11:56 0:11:07
miles 3.1 6.2 9.3 12.4 15.5 18.6 21.7 24.9 26.2

today

tuesday. 5 days left. forecast is OK (yay!) and no rain (for now!)
feeling a lot less nervous than yesterday but not 100% sure on why.

slept really well last night so perhaps that is part of it.

tonight: 3 m run and an hour of yoga.

not sure what the rest of the week will hold. plan to run the last 2 miles of the race fri and maybe the expo thurs? i'll get up early thurs am to run 3 miles at MP?

we shall see!

getting excited!

the last month

the last month was tough. we traveled from sept 30-oct 11 and i was sick from the 29th until right about now. not feeling 100% but feeling way better than i did even last week so i need to focus on that i suppose.

running was going great until the trip. ironically the trip wouldve been fine for running and working out except that whole sickness thing ;)

i cant believe the marathon is this weekend. i feel like i havent done enough, havent practiced enough, didnt get fast enough, wont feel enough ok to do what i need to do.

reality is im not nervous about the 26 miles. im nervous about the time. I really want to run a 4:45 . Thats 10:45 pace which really just isnt plausible. I think I'll end up just under 5 and be disapointed. So I guess I need to decide what is more important? Last night I ran 5 at 10 pace and was fine. But 5x5 is not even a marathon yet, and can I keep up that pace? for that long?

My lungs havent fully recovered which isnt helping the situation but I'm wondering how much is pyscho sematic. I am thinking some of it might be. It's like I want to preface things that I might fail, that I might suck, so that if I do it will be OK. I need to set myself up for success and be happy when I do reach it.

4:45 here I come. I will rest. I will hydrate. I have trained. I will do well, right?!!?

Where have I been?

where have i been? yikes! havent blogged since the 8th!!?
Well on the 9th (wed) I ran 3.27 m at a 12:33 pace. YIKES. :) i did 4 1000s with walks in between.

I had to take doctor mandated time off that wkd so I ran 6.5 miles that week! RUUUU ROOOOOW.
the wk of the 14-20th I ran 25 miles as such:
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: Tempo 15 min (total 3.59m)
Wednesday: 15.56m (10:37 pace)
Thursday: off
Friday: 3 m at 10:30 pace

We spent Fri- SUn in philadelphia for a wedding. I had a blast :)

Last night I ran 10m at 10:37 pace. Was great. Am pretty proud of me.

Tonight- 1000s repeats. Gross. I am getting tired of them.

Long Runs

Well long runs seem to take over the days preceeding and postceding (is that a word) their arrival...

On saturday I ran 20 miles. On the reservoir in Bricktown NJ. Was a very nice reservoir... I wouldnt suggest running more than 8 miles though... 20 was a bit much and I attracted a lot of attention from the locals. Most people walk around the reservoir so I'm sure my sweaty red faced panting self was quite a sight. I left gatorade and gels and water under a bench and no one touched it, oh I love the burbs. I did 12 rotations of 1.6m-- well actually I did 11 roations of 1.6 (17.6 miles) then 1.25 miles then 1.25 again.. so 20.1 :) My longest run of the season. This week I need to kick it up a notch in terms of runs so I need to focus and rest and be running centric. Ironically I don't feel like I am not running centric but I know I need to concentrate and focus and sleep and be well, you know?

Hmm what else. I'm just in high 20s in terms of mileage... For NJ i was all over the place in terms of milegage and working out because of my knee... my knee is holding up but is not spectacular... need to keep it up!!! 7 more weeks!!! equiv of march in NJ time!!!

60 days

there are 60 days give or take until nyc. gulp.
last night i attempted a tempo run and failed. i ran about 10 min to warm up (1130-1119 pace) and then started my tempo. i made it about 6 min and my shins were not ok.. so i switched to hills... 4 min at 4 incline (is that even a hill?) and then 2 min recovery (flat) all at 1119 pace..... rinse and repeat 3x. then i did a few min at tempo, then a short cool down.

then an hour of yoga.

since when did 2 hrs of working out a day become normal? i slept not so great so im a tad tired today but thats ok.

tonight, 30 min jog and then gym for legs.
thurs: dustbowl (can they spice it up? its getting old?!)
fri: recovery run or rest, idk
sat: 5 mile recovery run or rest, idk
sun: 20 miles. gulp.