New York 26.2: A Recap

Two marathons in three weeks! Chicago and New York. Numbers 8 and 9. I can finally take a sigh of relief and give my body a rest. And perhaps chill with all the crying too. Yikes. As I lay here in bed with sore legs and a full heart, I think I can actually say that I am proud of myself. This is quite different than the feelings I was having three weeks ago after the Chicago marathon when I was a big ball of disappointment. Sure, I ran this race slower than Chicago, but I wasn't running this race for me and wasn't concerned about getting a PR. I was running this race for a fantastic cause (Team IBDKids), wanted to enjoy the ride, and really just wanted to finish it (in under five hours). And that I did with a time of 4:42:50. I'll take it because once again, it wasn't an easy road to the finish line and I am just so happy to be healthy enough to make it there once again.

Three weeks ago when I crossed the finish line in Chicago, I was met with straight up disappointment. Since then, it had been hard for me to get my head back in the game for New York. I tried and tried to get excited for this race, but I just couldn't focus on it. I had used all my excitement up for Chicago and it let me down. This in turn, put me in a bit of a funk. The only thing that kept me going was the fact I was doing NYC for charity. I kept reminding myself that I was running for all the kids with IBD who hopefully will one day be healthy enough to do what I am doing. That was all the motivation I needed.

After Chicago, I took off running Monday through Thursday. I relaxed, slept a little later, and actually rested my body a bit. On Friday I ran a short two-miler to get my legs moving again, took a SoulCycle class on Saturday and resumed with my long runs on Sunday with a 10-miler. My legs weren't sore anymore, but they were a little tired and heavy. And my foot, damn, my foot hurt.  Where did this come from? My left foot, which I broke three years ago hasn't bothered me in almost that long. (And I've run three marathons in that time.) However, I had a terrible pain in it reminiscent of the tendinitis I developed after breaking it three years ago. I immediately made an appointment with my Podiatrist so I could get a cortisone shot to get me through the next three weeks. The last time I saw him was three years ago for the same exact treatment on that foot. If the shot could get me through this race, I would be able to rest it a bit more afterwards and hopefully all would be well. I took another four days off after the shot and then returned Saturday for a short run and then Sunday for my last long run at 8 miles.

All week long leading up to the marathon I had obviously been stalking the weather for race day. It wasn't looking good. Cold and wind. Ugh. I was really fine with the cold, but the wind could go fuck itself. I didn't want to deal with that. But I kept reminding myself it was out of my control and everyone would be in the same boat. I had a terribly busy week at work and tried to just get into marathon mode as best as I could. I actually think this was the most relaxed I have ever been before a race because I didn't feel pressure on myself for once. I also was kind of mentally checked out and in denial I was running 26.2 again. This scared me so much. Everyone knows a marathon is a physical fete, but the mental component is almost equally important and I needed to get in it. I was just hoping once I started, it would all fall into place.

Getting to the start of the race is always tricky. Because the race starts in Staten Island, there a few options in getting there. Basically you can get there by bus or by ferry. This year I took the ferry so I could sleep a little later. Team IBDKids had a team bus this year but they were leaving at 6:00 and with a 10:30 start time, I did not want to sit around Fort Wadsworth too long before the race. That's where my nerves and anxiety gets the best of me so I try to avoid that if possible. I didn't even sleep until my alarm and took my time in the morning before heading out to the train. When I got down there, the wait was twenty minutes. I knew that I had the time to wait, but I didn't have the patience. I walked back upstairs and as I was doing so three other people with marathon gear were heading down. I told them about the wait and the four of us decided to split a cab to the ferry terminal. Success! We all bonded and hung out together on the ferry which was nice. At Fort Wadsworth, I quickly met up with a friend to say hello and wish her luck and then went to my waiting area. Because of the cold and wind (40 mph!!) , I had sweatpants over my crops, and a sweatshirt AND jacket on. It was all going to be donated so I didn't have a problem letting it go before the race and it was much needed for the waiting time.

Usually a super organized affair at start time, there was a little bit of an issue this time around. Organizers had all the wave 3 and 4 people lined up together and no one made the announcement to let the wave 3 (10:30) people up front. At like 10:20 when we were still waiting, someone told us we had missed it! Everyone was so mad because we had just been standing there waiting for instructions and tried to make our way in. When our guys finally let us try and get in, it was too late. We had all missed our 10:30 start and had to wait to the final 10:55 wave. I was pissed! And was not alone. I had spent time timing out the course for friends along the way and now it would be off. I sent out a mass text to let most of them know and hopefully the others were tracking me and would see I didn't start on time. I actually kept my calm and ended up being right at the front of wave 4. When the cannon sounded again we were off. I was running another freaking marathon. It was just another long run, right? Or at least that's what I kept telling myself.

The Verrazano is the first of the five bridges we run and the one with the worst incline. Because of the excitement and adrenaline, you usually don't feel it, but that wind was brutal. NYRR even took down the mile markers because of the wind. My stupid Garmin did not seem to be accurate from the start so I decided to take it with a grain of salt to avoid any issues like in Chicago. After all, this race wasn't for time anyway, but I still wanted an idea of it. I knew I'd see my best friend right after the bridge around mile 3 so that was getting me through it. As soon as I saw her and her husband, in typical me fashion, I burst into tears. We ran towards each other to hug and I continued through Brooklyn. Almost half the race is here and the crowds on 4th Avenue do not disappoint. It's like one really long block party. Seriously amazing. I knew I had friends coming up so was looking forward to seeing them at mile 6 and 7. I saw them both which made me so happy and kept me going. This whole race from the beginning was struggle for my legs. I could tell from the get go that they were tired. These were not fresh legs like in Chicago. It was obvious this was going to be a "one step in front of the other" race and that I would have to remain positive and believe in myself. I am no quitter so that finish line would be crossed.

In Brooklyn, every time my legs felt they couldn't carry me longer, I'd hit a downhill. It was like it was waiting for me. Soon enough I was heading into Queens where I was excited to see two more friends. They were exactly where they'd said they'd be and I so excited to see them. They even snapped some great pics of me running. Will I ever take a cute race/running pic? Doubtful. But still fun to see. My legs were really starting to tire at this point and the 59th Street Bridge was coming. Heading toward the bridge, the cramping began in my quads. In Chicago, the terrible cramping didn't start until mile 23 and now it was starting waaay earlier. This was troublesome. I had to walk a little on the bridge which I was okay with because I wanted to be great for my run up First Ave. This is my favorite stretch of the entire race and I had a ton of friends out there and one waiting to hop in with me. The crowds on First Ave helped out a lot to get me going again. I saw one of my best friends along the way and ran up to her sobbing in her arms. Like a full on sob. I think I needed to get it out. And then I kept going. Cause that's what I do. I power on. I saw a few more friends (Thank you all soooo much. You have no idea what a boost this gives me!) and at 104th my right quad went into full spasm. You could see the muscle through my crops this time. It was bad! Worse than Chicago. The pain was horrendous. I stopped, stretched, and then started walking it off. I picked it up at 108th because I knew I'd see my friend at 110th and she'd hop in with me. Right when I hit 110th, there she was, banana in hand, me crying. Typical. I walked off some more cramps, now in my left groin and right quad, cried a bit more, and then we started running. Having her next to me helped keep me going. The spasms kept coming and going throughout the Bronx but I kept pushing through. I had to. There was no other option. I was talking to myself with positive mantras, she was giving me pep talks, and I just kept moving the best I could. It was slow and painful but I kept at it. When we hit the Madison Avenue Bridge back into Manhattan, I started balling again. At this point, I really wanted my mom. I was in pain and I missed her and wanted her. This was the first NYC marathon where she wasn't here with me and I needed her. I cried for a solid two minutes but kept going. At mile 21 I knew I could do this. It was going to be painful and hard, but it was happening. My friend hopped out at 125th and I was on my own to finish this bad boy. I was grateful to have had her for two miles but this was now my race to finish. I went down Fifth Ave, passed Mount Sinai where the IBDKids director was out cheering. I had to walk on and off a bit to ease the cramping. Although it had started much earlier in the race, except for my first quad one, none of them were as bad as in Chicago.

Once I hit Central Park, I knew the end (and a big downhill) was near. I started to pick up the pace a bit the best I could. The crowds were incredible. Have I mentioned that already? I did keep looking at my watch and knew that even if my Garmin was off by ten minutes I would make it under five hours so if I had to walk, I'd be okay. On Central Park South, I had to walk a little more but knew I was running back into Central Park and across that finish line. As I was entering the park, I actually didn't cry!! I think I was so surprised I had done this. There was actually never any doubt in my mind I would cross that finish line, but it was just a huge sense of relief and pure happiness I did it way under five hours with strong winds and heavy legs. When I crossed, I called my parents immediately, cried again (duh), and finally took a giant deep breath. It was all over. Two marathons within three weeks of each other. It was time to finally relax, physically and mentally.

So many people think that running these marathons gets easier. Let me tell you, each time around it seems to get harder and harder for me. I don't know if its me getting older, me putting too much pressure on myself or something else, but let me tell you, it never gets any easier. This is a marathon and its fucking hard. I trained 21 weeks for these races and the process is as hard as the main event. I can honestly say that I feel accomplished and happy with these results. And in all this, I was able to raise over $1700 for TeamIBD Kids in just about six weeks. (It's not too late to donate either if you want!) Thanks to everyone that donated!! It really was appreciated.

As much as I complained the last couple of weeks of hunger, exhaustion, weight gain, breakouts, and a lovely little facial stress rash, it was all worth it. To be able to push my body to its limits and challenge myself time and time again is something that I really do enjoy. It's just part of my nature. Now, what race should I take on in 2015? Chicago? New York? Both again? Hmmmm....