Empire State of Mind: Day Three

Out of bed. Take a shower. Get dressed. Pack yo’ shit. It’s marathon time!

When I got to the ferry station, there were a million runners, prostitutes, and other

ne’erdowells who were out partying the night before who didn’t make

it back to the island until the wee hours of the night. I learned that some runners are incapable of making small talk that doesn’t have to do with running and showing off in a way that make their conversati

on seem natural. There isn’t a term for it, I don’t think, but it’s something along the lines of this: “Oh I’m so slow, I only can run a 5K in 15 minutes!” You know they are begging for accolades. And I hate them!

The ferry ride was so much fun or the 5:30 am equivalent to fun. I got to see the Statue of Liberty at sunrise and it was funny to see the drunks in their half-assed Halloween costumes trying their best to not acknowledge that they are surrounded by people who are goal-oriented. There were buses waiting for us when we got to Staten Island. They took us to the Runners Village. Then we walked some more. They checked our bags and numbers so non-runners were kept out and so were the bombs.

The ground was wet and there was nothing to do for three hours, so I curled up into a ball along the fence and tried to sleep with limited success. They had food there, but I brought food because you never know, and I figured it’s better to be prepared. I think they had bagels and bananas. I mean it’s nice and all, but I’d rather just bring my own. I also failed at finding one of the numerous celebrities. My mission was to find Tara from the Biggest Loser and get my picture taken with her.

Sometime later I hear the speakers saying that all people in the first wave need to make their way to their corrals. So I made it back to the trucks to drop off my clear plastic bag provided by the the good people at the NYC Marathon. I attached my number to it and gave it to the fine volunteers. God bless them. I still had on some clothes that I was going to ditch, along with some food. The actual start was still an hour away. There were port-o-potties in the corals, but most people would just pee out of the chain link fence. It was kind of funny and kind of gross since I was sitting near where they started to pee. Then all too soon, they announced that we would begin to make our ways toward the start line. I still had to pee, so I went to the chain link fence while people passed me. Fifteen seconds later I joined them and walked to the start. Along the way I also took time to retie my shoes and strip off the sweats I bought on the cheap from TJ Maxx and Old Navy.

We were surrounded by buses when we came to a standstill in front of the Verazanno Bridge. They played “New York, New York” by Frankie S, which got me hyped. Words from the announcer. Some guy two people down peed right in the middle of everyone at the start. I felt phantom splash back. I was horrified and amused. Star spangled banner. Mayor Bloomberg. Bang! Away we go!

I don’t know how it happened, but in front of me there were a ton of people who were running slower, much slower than I. The good people at the New York Road Runners Club or whoever need to straighten that out because the corral system had some major issues. There were people in front of me who looked like they would run it in about 4:30:xx. Maybe they passed me while I peed? I think it was a glitch in the system.

I ran the first mile in 7:30. It was all uphill. I kind of regret peeing in the coral, because I think it would be really gratifying peeing off the side of the Verazanno-Narrows bridge. Ladies, that is the best part about being a guy. I know you don’t understand, but do your best. It’s really great to pee off of large structures. While running I turned my gaze upward much of the time because the bridge itself is really majestic and I won’t be running on it again. At the end of the second mile, I noticed that I ran it in 6:00. Whoops. Too fast, but I needed to make up time. I still had my makeshift arm warmers (tube socks) on with gloves. I think I took them off by mile 3.

The first six miles or so I was running way too fast. I had planned to run the first 10-13 at a pace of 6:40 and then the next eight at 6:50 and the remaining 8 or so at 7:00. I think I ran the first six (minus the first mile) at 6:30 or 6:20. I tried to slow down but I couldn’t. It’s New York! Those Brooklynites were just as loud as the stereotypes suggested. I even heard a cop say “fuggetaboutit.” Bands played. An orange haired lady of a certain age screamed her guts out.

Then reality sort of set in at around mile 8, and I was maybe a bit off pace. And I didn’t really feel as though I was running at my best... I don’t think I tapered enough. I kept running. I had this annoying voice telling me that it was OK if I quit, or if I slowed down. My strategy was just to tell him to shut up. I told him to shut up a lot during that run.

The rest of Brooklyn was blur. I was excited for Williamsburg because I heard the hips

ters live there. I wanted to shout, “Come on hipsters, you can cheer louder than that!” But I needed to conserve my energy because I was fading. There were a lot more rolling hills than I expected. (More on that later.) I peed in the port-o-potty. I took water at every water station during the race, which were about one mile apart. I ate Gu at every five miles or so. Also at Williamsburg there are more Hasidic Jews than I’ve ever seen before.

We entered Manhattan on some bridge that signaled the marathon was half over. I think I had a 1:28:30 pace, which is more or less where I wanted to be. If I could only hold on. Spoiler alert: I couldn’t. My first downfall was the Queensboro Bridge, which is death if you’re not familiar with the bridge. It’s a mile uphill and it’s difficult to make up for it on the downhill, even though there are a million of people cheering for you when you exit the bridge. As my friend, Dan, pointed out, there is a race description that warns of hills. I didn’t really think there were going to be a big deal though.

I don’t really remember a lot about Queens. (Same with the Bronx.) It’s kind of depressing there. God bless the spectators who came out to cheer. They were in the shade as those wonderful people in Manhattan who came out to cheer. They really shamed me into running as fast as I possibly could and to never give up.

I remember running in in Harlem due to a fantastic gospel choir in front of a church. It was probably one of the most interesting parts of the race because even though it’s been cleaned up, I don’t find myself wanting to go to Harlem for any reason. So I’m glad I had a chance to enjoy it.

The last five miles were really, really rough. I think I stopped at every water stati

on for ten seconds or so just to rest and regroup. At around mile 22, I decided that sub 3 was out, so I decided that I would just run it as fast as I can and be happy with the results. I chose to give the rest of what was left, and to enjoy myself. Central Park in the fall is wonderful. The thousands of people cheering everyone are amazing. Combined, it is an experience I will never forget. I know I looked like a hot mess coming down to 26 miles, then 26 and 100 meters, then 26 and 200 meters, etc.

My official time was 3:03:00. I’m satisfied with that. I don’t think I ever really merited a sub 3 marathon. If I had a good race, I could’ve done it. If there weren’t as many hills or people, I could’ve done it. The point is that I earned a 3:03:00, and I shaved 5+ minutes off of my old PR, so I’m not going to bemoan my accomplishment.

The walk toget my bags from the bag depot was literally a mile. I was not happy to walk that far, not because I thought the bags should be closer, but because I thought my legs were going to give out on me. There was really no reason that the bags should’ve been that far away. Moving on.

I got a burger with Cody, and hopped on the bus back to Washington, DC. The young lady behind me ran the marathon in 2:58:xx. I congratulated her, but secretly I thought that time should’ve been mine, mine, mine.

Empire State of Mind: Day Two

I woke up and went on a slow and steady 1.5 mile run. I should’ve went to ground zero, but I’m a bad American and I totally forgot about it and ran to the Brooklyn Bridge instead.

I decided to view the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side, across from Central Park. The building itself was spectacular and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Kandinsky wing is sort of built in a spiral shape with the center being open; the higher you go, the later his work you will find yourself. I really wish I had more time there because it was so fascinating and inspiring. I could’ve spent all day there... or until I became too hungry to think about art.

Which I did and I ate at a cafe called somethign something. I had a beat panini with corn, and if you think that sounds disgusting, then you are way off base because I loved it and I hate beats. (I wanted to try something new.) I walked d

own the street and either hailed my first cab, or an old woman hailed one for me, but I can’t be sure.

From there I went to see “South Pacific” on Broadway. If you don’t know, it was written by the stellar combination of Rodger and Hammerstein and tells the love story between a French plantation owner and a horribly-racist-but-spunky nurse from Arkansas who sings real pretty. It was beautiful and entertaining, even if the heroine is sort of an awful person. I really recommend it. I went to get a Starbucks because I felt sick, and I thought I could heal myself with green tea. A Burmese man sat next to me and we made small talk. Who says New Yorkers aren’t friendly?

I wanted to find a place to eat, but after traveling all the way uptown, I went back downtown for find this amazing place that was called Otto Enoteca Pizzaria, and it was crowded with costumed Manhattanites. The village was insane because it was Halloween weekend. Oh, if only I liked Halloween and I could drink! The scene on the subway was a madhouse.It was comparable to DC on fourth of July. I couldn’t move, and I was pissed. I met really nice people at the restaurant because I was wearing that Nike NYC Marathon t-shirt. I’ve learned to advertise myself and people will generally be nice to you. So I met another three nice New Yorkers and another group who was also running the Marathon.

I didn’t get back to the room until a lot later than I would’ve liked due to the amount of people on the street, and I may have gotten lost. I’d be too excited to sleep anyway.

Empire State of Mind: Day One

I arrived by bus at NYC from Washington, DC. The total trip was a little over four hours. I slept most of the way. I took the subway to get to my hotel at the Wall Street Inn. The rooms were nice, and most importantly it was close to the ferries where I’d be departing to Staten Island.

From there I went to the Expo. I brought the wrong documentation to pick up my packet. Apparently they didn’t want to know that I was accepted to run the NYC Marathon, they

wanted to know my race number. Well shoot. They should know better than to trust me with reading details. It wasn’t a problem, as I had to wait in another line. Issue Resolved.

The Expo was sufficient, but a little underwhelming. It wasn’t huge like DC, Boston, or even Philadelphia. I wanted something a little bit more like Boston (re: more booths), minus the horrible overcrowding. There were a lot of foreign people, which made it fun and international. I wanted to buy everything there, but I settled on an Asics NYC Marathon singlet and a Nike t-shirt.

Then I went over to my buddy’s apartment. Cody is in graduate studies at Columbia because he’s smart and wants to do something important with his life. We went to get dinner, and I started with the sweet potato soup because it’s a super food. He later showed me around the campus and didn’t know the significance of the majority of statues.

Later that night I saw “I Love New York” because “Paris, Je T’aime” was phenomenal. I was sorely disappointed. As one gentleman in the theaters declared, it was “rubbish.”

The Perils of Running a Race on a Civil War Battlefield

Last weekend I thought it would be a good idea to run in the Freedom Run, billed as "a run of health and heritage," which took place in Shepardstown, WV. It was the week of the Army Ten Miler in Washington, DC. If you're familiar with my previous blog that I deleted, you will know that the Army 10 Miler has only ended in tears, and I haven't even run the race yet.

I needed a race to run that was a 10K or over, but the only gig in town was that darned Army Ten Miler. I found an inviting alternative in the aforementioned Freedom Run. The course included a tour of a Civil War battlefield and other historical markers, so I decided it was a perfect fit for my history-loving self. The picture above of President Abraham Lincoln was famously taken at the battlefields, and I imagined running on the same fields where he once stood.

I did my best to get to bed early the night before, but I was doing laundry and probably just making myself nervous by procrastinating to fold it. I did manage, however, to put most of my clothes and food out the night before, although I did forget to wash the shirt I planned on wearing, so that cost me an extra hour of sleep. I had to wear that shirt for no particular reason. I had it in my mind and my mind was made up.

The next morning I woke up and showered just in case there were people taking pictures at the race. I arrived in Shepardstown and had a tough time finding a good place to park because the signs weren't that helpful, and if there were any at all then I didn't see them.

Registration and bag drop off were fairly straightforward and well organized. I did my business the best I could at the port-o-potties before lining up at the start. The Freedom Run also comprised of a full Marathon, a 5K, a 10K, a children's run of some sort as well as the Half Marathon that I ran. As I lined up with the runners, I could've sworn that it started at 9am, but a 10K runner thankfully reminded me that the 10K starts at 9:00 and the half marathon begins at 9:05. That would've ruined my day.

As I lined up in toward the front, I tried to jump around and get myself moving. Usually my first mile is the slowest so I don't line up at the very front, plus I like passing people and I despise getting passed. Slow and steady wins the race, says the tortoise. I also have this thing that I do to myself in the first few miles that is really self defeating. I tell myself that I can quit at any time and that I can just walk back to the start line and go home. "It's OK, you can give up. No one will know or care!" Try as I might not to think about it, those negative thoughts always creep up on me.

The first five or so miles are fine. We mostly run through the town and everything is on a slight upgrade. But then at the fifth mile we enter the battlefields of Antietam and it is very beautiful. It reminds me of Gettysburg. What I didn't count on was the battlefield being so hilly. For about five miles or so, the course was nothing but rolling hills -- and I don't even think they are rolling because it's pretty much up and down the entire time. There is nothing gradual about it.

Even this chart seems misleading because it only captures the gradation every half mile, so it misses a lot, and those hills were plentiful. The marathon runners came at us from the opposite direction and god bless 'em because they had to run up those hills at mile 18 or something ridiculous like that. More than a few were walking and I don't blame them at all. I was passed by this guy and who I think was his wife on one of those hills and I felt pretty crappy about that. It's not nice to get passed, especially while on a hill. I returned the favor to some guy on the hill of death (not the actual name), leaving Antietam. Previously at the start line, he claimed he would run a 6:10 pace, but walking up the hill, he clearly wasn't going to make that.

The next few miles are mostly in the shade and downhill. I see a few more marathoners walking this portion and I feel badly for them because it's only going to get worse. Well I'm going along with about three miles to go, and I hear footsteps behind me, but I keep going. Then with about a mile to go, there is this bridge you have to run up to, and it's really steep and you come to the street and I had no idea which way to go. I started running the wrong way until a pedestrian told me I was running the wrong way. A minute later the first guy passed me. I wasn't happy about that. With the finish in sight, I saw as another guy passed me. I was even less happy so I passed him back! And with a sprint to the finish, he beat me by a few seconds. I was mad at myself for allowing that, but I shook his hand because he deserved it.

I ran a 1:25:37 (6:33 minutes per mile), which was only 26 seconds away from my goal time. I attributed it to the heat and the hills. I was going to go to the award ceremony, but I didn't think I was going to get anything, and what's more, I didn't feel that I deserved anything for letting those two guys pass me at the end. (I later found out that I did get 3rd in my age group.) So instead I went to the booths and enjoyed the city of Shepardstown, which is really lovely. I ate at the Stone Soup Bistro and if you ever have the opportunity, eat there! It's great food at very reasonable prices.

Overall I would recommend the race to others who are looking for a tough course. I wouldn't expect to PR there, but I did really like the course and those who directed the race. I believe it was the inaugural run. Great job. There are a few improvements I would like to make:

1) More signs to tell people where to park.

2) More people at the turns to direct people where to run. Even though the finish line wasn't that far from where I went the wrong direction, my brain was fried and I was seriously confused.

3) Warn people of the hills. I'm just sayin'.

4) As always, more port-o-potties.

5) Are there pictures?

The end.

Epilogue: Here I am getting passed at the end.

8 Weeks and Miles to Go

I had a pretty good week in terms of running. I ran about 45 miles this week including speed work and a tempo workout. In addition, I ran a 10K with a time of 38:52, which is the fastest time that I have ever run a 10K by about a minute and half. My PR was around a year ago. I consulted McMillan's Running Predictor and I should run the Marathon in 3:02:45.

The South Fairfax Credit Union 10K took place in Lorton, VA and is about 15 miles outside of DC. I prefer the smaller races because it gives me less anxiety. I feel that with less people I can pick people off easier and focus on that aspect. I ran pretty even splits, possibly even negative splits. Focusing on one person is more doable than worrying about a million other people. Plus I have more of a change of placing in my age group. So I get benefits that way as well.

In terms of mental health, I had kind of a depressing week. During the week, I focus on work and errands. Then on the weekend I'm at loose ends because I have all this time. So much time and I get overwhelmed with how to fill it, so I just end up watching The Office on Netflix. I have a million little things to do, but nothing really concrete. Running provides such structure and I really take out only what I put in to it. Most importantly, it makes me happy. It's more than just the "runner's high." It's a sense of accomplishment.

Another week done!

10 Weeks and Miles to Go

I registered myself for the New York City marathon believing that I would be rejected. That didn't happen because on November 1, 2009 I will be running it along with 40,000 other individuals. In doing so, I decided to create a goal for myself -- to run 26.2 miles in 2:59:59 or less. It's the next progression in my running. I've trained very hard to get where I am. I've ran three marathons so far, including Boston. I've never been a fast runner at short distances, but I can run far. I've always enjoyed pushing myself past what I thought I was able. It helps me work out many issues in my mind; creative, stress, problem-solving etc.

I would like to explore how the brain is affected by exercise and more specifically the relationship between the mind and running. Running has provided a myriad of benefits for me concerning the mind. I believe that running unlocks my creative unconscious. I've had some of my better thoughts while running. I can't remember most of them, but I remember breaking some sort of creative boundary while running.

Now I mostly run to relieve stress, and have some sort of short term goals that I can achieve.

I would like to use this blog as way to chronicle how the brain and the body work together in the sport of running.