When I arrived at the ArtQuest Center at SteelStacks in
Bethlehem, PA, the heat and humidity was first and foremost on my mind. My last
marathon in Miami was not so great because of heat and it felt like another marathon
disaster was on its way. Lucky for me, a large thunderstorm rolled in that
night and cooled the area down by morning. Conditions at the Lehigh Valley
Hospital in Bethlehem, PA could not be any better. Cool, brisk 60 degree
morning with clear skies for a downhill course. Downhill course: that is where
the deception is. Rather they advertised a net downhill course that was also a
fast course. Indeed it was fast, but had plenty of bumps and trails in between.
So let’s start from the beginning.
The stars were aligning for what was meant to be a great
running day. I made sure I was well nourished and empty prior to the race so
that I would not have any bowel issues as in previous marathons. The timing of
all that I needed to complete, including travel, parking, and baggage check was
spot on. My body was feeling great. KT Tape applied the night before to areas
that gave me problems in the past: calves and knees. I did think about my
hamstring but I figured, salts would do the trick, so this time I was packing
the tablets in some tissues.
Race began at 7:10 A.M. and I was hitting my 7:10 mile per
minute pace right away. My philosophy is that I just had to maintain that
through the whole race, no need to go any faster, and in areas where I went
slower, I would make up for it later on with faster paces. First 5 miles saw
some steep hills, both incline and decline, so the paces did vary, but once we
hit the wooded trails it was a smooth straight shot, slight decline that had me
running at 6:45 minutes per mile. It was an effortless run that gave me a
cushion for my qualifying ambitions.
Mile 13 is where things became sketchy. I lost my balance
for a couple of seconds looking back at the runners behind me. “Always look
forward,” an experienced marathoner once told me. That was the beginning of the
end for me. Recovering my under 7 pace became extremely difficult and the salts
I had in my pockets turned to dust. I had to rely on my gels for salts now,
which was less effective. Mile 14 through 20 was a slight incline through
another straightaway wooded trail. The salt tablets would have enabled me to
regain my under 7 pace for sure. Instead my feet felt like they were dragging
as my pace fluctuated between 7 and 7:30.
Then came mile 20. A steep hill that caught all of us off
guard showed up as we left the trails. My legs started to severely decline
climbing that thing. For me, mile 20 is always the moment of truth: do I run
harder or do I take it easy forgetting about any time goals I have. I chose the
former. I still had a nice cushion reaching that point at 2:23. A 47 minute 10K
was certainly in the cards for my lungs. I would soon learn my legs had a
different plan.
Now throughout the course, I was greeted by cheers from
various spectators and special ones from North Brooklyn Runners (NBR), who
drove up to cheer for teammates that were running. It was a great motivator
indeed. Mile 5, 12, 20, and 23 was greeted with encouraging words from these
selfless teammates. After the hill at mile 20, I was caught by one of the
faster runners in NBR and there he proceeded to pitch the Monday Night Owls run
to me. He encouraged me to push hard and work on using the training taught
during that run. I admitted I never been to one. (It starts at 9 PM, and I get
up at 4:30 AM in the next morning to make it to work). Anyway, he ran with me
for about half a mile and I told him to go because my pace was starting to fall
off. He actually argued against and tried to stay a little longer. When I
started fading to 8 minutes per mile, he had to do what he had to do. I still
appreciate his willingness to tough it out with me.
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| Random shot of SteelStacks that have nothing to do with this story. |
As he left I thought, “ all I need is to pause a little at
the next water station since I still had a nice cushion. The water station
didn’t come until mile 23, and just before I hit the water station, the left
hamstring forced me to stop completely in my tracks. I limped to the station
and loaded up on Gatorade and bathed in water. The pain started to subside but
I knew then my Boston ambitions were over. I was not going to risk permanently
damaging anything so I was just going to walk the rest of the way. Some of the
runners passing me yelled, “C’mon Brooklyn, a 5K is all that’s left… a 5K is
meant to hurt so you got this.” I did have it. 25 minutes stood between my
qualifying finish and me at that point. But the hamstring pain was too great. So I
continued to walk. Not long after more NBR cheer squad yelled at me to push. I
yelled back, “My hamstring, my hamstring.” It was excruciating pain but their
cheers motivated me to push. They came all this way, I didn’t want to let them
down by not leaving it all out there on the course.
An 8:30 minute per mile resulted and I still had a shot if
the pain would just stay away. But steep hills at mile 24 had an effect on my psyche
and I said, “No way!” Walk up the hills
I did. It wasn’t just 1 or 2 hills. But a collection of rolling steep hills,
maybe about 5 or 6 with twists and turns, designed to throw people off their
pace as they approached the finish. So those last 2 miles resulted in a 10:30
average pace.
The last hill at mile 26, I could see the crowd in sight. I
figured I would put one final effort for the cameras. But my hamstring
disagreed. People yelled, “David” (reading my bib) and “Brooklyn” (reading my
back) as I struggled to the finish. Disillusioned, I came to a screeching halt
about 200 feet from the finish as my left hamstring gave out again. It was that
point the crowd cheered louder. The announcer shouted my name and where I was
from, so I limped forward and crossed the finish line. The energy of the crowd
carried me through. My leg stiffened and I couldn’t walk. A nurse met me after
someone put a medal around my neck and took me straight into the medical tent.
All it took was a 5-minute massage on the hamstring to have me walking again.
So what were my takeaways from this, my greatest marathon
experience: an experience that was a combination of success and failure,
readiness and surprises, self-determination and reliance on others.
11. My hamstring has become a serious problem. My
training regimen now must incorporate proper strength and recovery training
that includes regular massage therapy.
22. Marathon running may be based on a runner’s
individual effort, but it takes a team to keep you motivated and consistent
with your progress. I have to thank the energy from the crowds and the North
Brooklyn Runners for giving me that added push and motivation at various points
during the race.
33. It’s clear to me that the process of improving
and running those miles is more important to me than reaching the goals.
A couple of days prior to the race, my thoughts were on what
would happen if I did qualify for Boston. It felt like the joy came from the
pursuit as I put in all those miles during training and races. However, today’s
race gave the clarity I needed to know that this wasn’t the case. The joy comes
from the journey itself. As you run those 26.2 miles, you can encounter
anything: Long straightaways, trails, puddles, rain, heat, and humidity. How do
you respond? What are your body’s limitations? Are they limitations or are they
areas where you can work to improve next time? What adjustments can you make?
3:22:23 was a marathon personal best for me. It certainly
didn’t feel like a great success when I crossed the finish, but it’s a
testament to the progress I’ve made throughout this journey. Now is not the
time to end it.
