Every year, on this Thanksgiving Day, I always wake up with
some reflection on what I went through and what I envision for the year ahead.
For me, this holiday feels more like New Years than the actual New Year’s Day. And
of course, my reflection these last several years involves running. I can’t
reflect on my year and running without addressing the TCS New York City
Marathon. For me, this race has always been more than just training, making it
to the finish line, or making it to the starting line healthy. It has always
been about the coming together of people from all walks of life celebrating.
What exactly are they celebrating? That answer comes from the individuals
themselves. For me, it is celebrating another year of successes and failures
that contributes to the trajectory of my growth. Runners from every race, young
and old, from every parts of the globe, running through the city I was
born.
It’s not the easiest marathon course. I realized that after
running a BQ in Chicago. In fact, I appreciated the complexities of this course
more after running it a third time, and after 10 marathons. The training that I had leading up to the TCS
New York City marathon, was certainly not the correct one for me to perform at
my best. Although I did get some insight on how to best train myself for a
marathon, it does help to have a good understanding of the course before going
in. That includes looking at elevation
charts, where the twists and turns were, and adequate preparation for race day
nutrition: before, during, and after.
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| Nutrition: For the best carb-load, see Jed at Bar Toto in Brooklyn! They make a delicious Pappardelle al Pesto! |
That last point became very apparent for my 11th marathon;
I bought some bagels the night to carry with me during my trip to Staten Island
the next morning. What is normally a 45-minute trip from where I live to the
Staten Island side of the Ferry turned into 2 hours and add another hour to
make it to the Start Village due to traffic! The bagels were stale so I threw
them away. I consumed only had the banana and Muscle Milk I had with me that morning.
Cutting it close to making the first
wave, I was still able to go through my usual pre-race routine of emptying out
(with my breakfast usually not fully digested yet, but this time not much of a
breakfast) and get motivated with familiar faces I see at the start.
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| Start line motivation with Central Park Track Club (CPTC) |
The Training:
Just 4 weeks after my Chicago BQ, it was clear I was not
recovered and I knew it. The membership to my spa was expired and I wasn’t
ready to spend the 6-month membership dues yet. So my massage regimen was
limited to a discounted 90-minute massage with a new massage therapist the
night before that I bought with a one-time payment. She still did a great job
but it was clear she was unfamiliar with how to deal with my previous hamstring
issues I had told her about. She chose to focus on previously ignored muscle
groups (my quads and my neck) since they had tightness that I never really
addressed with my previous massage therapist. I was accustomed to trigger point
therapy that went directly for my knots both from every day activity and
marathon training. Loosening up these areas was certainly painful (the feel
good massage pain of course) but I don’t think it did me much good for the
marathon.
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| Always appreciate words of wisdom from these experienced marathoners, Delgado and Roland! |
Two weeks of recovery running after Chicago as the soreness
slowly went away day by day. By the third week I was doing the rack workouts
with Central Park Track Club (CPTC) and the 6 mile Thursday night tempo. Both
workouts, for the most part, were completed at pre-Chicago training paces with
some struggle towards the end. I knew NYC wasn’t going to be pretty but at
least I could finish with a respectable time. I did what I had to do in Chicago
and the burden of qualifying for Boston was finally lifted. This was my victory
lap. Just go and have fun.
The Race:
I started the race, basically, at the same pace and even
faster for the first half of the marathon. On this third time around, I was
familiar with the relatively flat portion along 4th Avenue in
Brooklyn that had me pacing at 6:40 minute per mile up till I hit Flatbush
Avenue. I was running it as if I was still in Chicago: same rhythm, and
impressively, only a little bit more energy from the crowd. That tells you a
lot about how great the Chicago crowds were.
“What are your shooting for?” the runner next to me asked with a
European accent.
I knew I was going to fast. I had no real goal and I knew I
wasn’t full recovered. “I’m just having fun… no real goals.” I replied. And
then he sped off on a solid 6:30 pace. I was still holding my pace conscious
that I would have a tough time later in the race. But why not! Why not test my
body to the limit and see when the eventual struggle would happen.
Cheers from various friends, neighbors, former and current
teammates as well as the many strangers yelling my name as they read my name
bib, kept me motivated.
“Great job, David, you are keeping a good pace. Just keep
running up this hill and maintain.” Said one of the pacers as we ran along the
inclines and declines of Bedford Avenue.
“Thank you!” my robotic reply I was accustomed to yelling
every time I heard someone read my name bib. But as the pacer passed me, “Justin,
what’s up man!” I met him at the North Avenue Mile back in June and seen him regularly
at CPTC track workouts along the East River. He had the 3 hour pace group
rhythmically following him as he spoke motivating chants and encouraging words
through various parts of the course.
They slowly slipped away as my pace would seesaw between
6:50 and 7:00 min/mile. “Great job, David. You’re on pace to break 3 hours!”
yelled Sean from North Brooklyn Runners (NBR) as I snatched the Gatorade from his hand
at Mile 12. That one stuck! “Yes. I am going too fast. But I feel good and if I
can only hold this pace.” I thought to myself.
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| Hunger pains to starvation by Mile 18 |
That thought was challenged when I hit the Ed Koch
Queensboro/59th Street Bridge. I can feel the energy burn throughout
my body as I worked hard to maintain that pace on the incline. The 3:05 group
came and went but not without Omar, who I met at the Long Island marathon back
in 2015, saying to me, “You have to listen to your body, Dave. It’s one thing to
stay with the pace group but if your body is telling you to take it easy, you
can’t risk the injuries!” He was right as I slipped to 7:30 min/mile. But I still had something in me as I exited
the bridge and locked into form on the First Avenue straightaway.
By then I was spent. My body was going through rhythmic
motion with my mind losing complete control. I managed to get the pace back to
7:15 min/mile but I was running on fumes. The bridge took whatever nutritional
energy I had and the carb reserves completely out of my system. I was running purely
on muscular reflexes from months of training. The collapse was inevitable! But
when would it happen? My stomach was growling in agony as I could feel my pace further dropping. As I continued up First Avenue, the Gatorade, water, and gels
I was taking was not enough. I NEEDED
FOOD!
The collapse was soon to come. I can see a man distributing
orange slices as I passed mile 18. My mind, completely ignoring what my body
was doing, focused on him. As I struggled to reach for the man to grab some
oranges, 29-time New York City marathon legend and fellow CPTC teammate, Alan
Ruben, tapped me on the boom-boom and at that instant I came to a complete
stop. The feelings of both validation and failure rushed through my body as I
walked up to the man for 3 orange slices.
The Collapse:
It was over. I had pulled the plug on the race in the
interest of self-preservation. The marathon wasn’t over though, I still had 8
more miles and I wanted the medal. Walking would take too long. And as it turns
out, the oranges made the hunger pains worse. The low pH from the oranges
combined with my bubbling stomach acids only activated my chronic reflux
disease into higher than normal levels to add to my starvation. I resolved to
apply the walk-run method I learned from my friend Jerry back in my first
marathon in New Jersey, 6 and a half
years ago.
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| Relentless push through Willis Avenue Bridge with nothing in the tank. |
“C’MON DAVID!! KEEP IT MOVING!! YOU GOT THIS!! NO WALKING!!
KEEP PUSHING!” That person didn’t sound like she was reading my name bib. Man
she had power in her voice. I looked up and it was another CPTC teammate,
Cynthia, posted at the Willis Avenue Bridge, probably going hoarse cheering for
people she knew. “Damn, maybe I should stop walking!” I thought to myself as I
was perplexed by how loud her cheers were.
Lucky for me, as I entered the Bronx, just around the corner
was an older lady with a lovely display of cookies, pretzels,
potato chips and coconut water near mile 20.
“Please, I’m starving. I have to stop and eat!” as I ran to
the table.
“Sure. Do what you need to do,” she replied.
I sat there and watched teammate after teammate, runner after runner, pass me as I
was munching down on food. Some of my familiars were shouting for me to keep going. But I shook my head, “NO!” as I continued to fill my stomach. After about 10 minutes,
“Thank you so much for the food. I didn’t eat a good enough breakfast and I ran
Chicago just 4 weeks ago. My body didn’t fully recover.”
“No problem.” She was surprised at how much I ate, as she went to
refill her bowls with an awkward look n her face. “I’ve done that too in my day: running both Chicago and New
York within the same month. I know how you feel.”
“Thank you,” as I regained my rhythm and ran off. Slow and
steady, feeling refreshed and realizing that this marathon was going by fast.
Mile 21 already and it was anything but boring.
The Community:
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| Christian celebrates a marathon PR! |
I've seen more recognizable faces and interactions with
strangers than I ever have. High five for Kaitlin, high-five Alice, shook the
hand of the little guy that gave me a water bottle in Harlem. And excitement as I noticed
more cookies just past mile 23!
“David, what are you doing? Don’t eat cookies! You need to
go! Finish strong!” I looked at Judith like she wasn’t making any sense.
Clearly my brain felt that eating chocolate covered graham cookies was more
important than finishing the race. I ate a couple, and grabbed a handful for my
trip down Fifth Avenue.
A flurry of high-fives from CPTC as I entered Engineer’s
Gate, I was feeling good. And no hamstring issues for what looked like the 2nd
marathon in a row. Or so it seemed.
After my routine water and Gatorade sips at the mile 25 water stop, a spectator
crossing the road interrupted my rhythm. We clutch each other to prevent us
from both tripping as my weak hamstring locked up for yet another marathon. Another complete and painful stop. I stretch
and shake my leg as the claps began when I proceeded to regain my run that
carried me to the finish.
My medal was secured! My time was respectable! A picture
with Christian and a hug from Amy and this race was over! I just wanted to move
on and get myself mentally ready for the Virgin Money London Marathon in April 2017.
I couldn’t be disappointed because I had expected this to happen. However, I was
pleased with seeing so many more recognizable faces along the course. If anything, this race proved to me that I am
definitely more connected with the NYC runner community, than ever before.
There wasn’t a moment on the course where I didn’t hear my name and was able to
distinguish from strangers reading my name bib to familiar voices from people I
knew. From Felipe’s cheers in Long Island City, the CPTC and NBR friends at
various spots along the course, to the interactions with friends and strangers
that ran with me. Not to mention the endless high-fives from the kids in all
five boroughs. I can’t express enough how enjoyable it is to run the largest
marathon in the world in another record-breaking year. It made my 3 hours 35
minutes and 52 seconds of running feel much faster. That alone was certainly enough for me to be thankful for!
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