Joe’s 2008 ING NYC Marathon Adventure
On Sunday, November 2nd, Laura and I completed the 2008 ING NYC Marathon in 4 hours and 35 minutes. I know that the time is nothing to brag about, but the experience is nothing short of amazing! We started the day by waking up at 4:30am to catch our 6am ferry to Staten Island, where the race would begin. Once at the start, the racers were divided into 3 groups (orange, blue, and green), each of which had different start areas that merge together a few miles into the race. While waiting for the starting gun we were forced to stand and wait in the frigid November weather with nothing more than the clothes on our backs and the warm coffee provided by the sponsors.
Once the gun finally sounded, racers started to strip off their heavy sweaters and sweat pants to reveal their lightweight racing gear. (The stripped clothes that were discarded to the edges of the raceway were later picked up and donated by the race volunteers.) In order to stay warm as long as possible, we waited until just before the starting mats to discard/donate our layers. As we started across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (from Staten Island to Brooklyn) the incredible energy from the runners, and speakers blasting Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road, made us forget about our numb hands and feet, and focus on the adventure we had set out to complete.
The run through Brooklyn and Queens (miles 2-15) was filled with band after band playing upbeat tunes, including one band that played the Rocky theme song, over and over. The people watching the race were unbelievably cheerful (throughout every borough), and treated every runner like they were completing something historic. They gave high fives, bananas, water, sports drinks, candy, and inspirational yells.
Once we hit mile 15 and the 59th street bridge, (which led us over the East River into Manhattan), the sounds of the crowd faded and were overtaken by the sound of muffled footsteps. At the middle of the bridge we stopped for some stretching and a quick leg drain (which requires you to lie on your back with your legs stretching towards the sky). It’s called a leg drain because gravity transports (drains) the stale blood in your legs back to the heart, to be re-circulated and filtered. After our quick break we were ready for the remaining 10 miles. Back on our feet and nearing the end of the bridge, the soothing sound of footsteps changed into the intense applauding of the 1st Avenue crowd.
The 4-mile stretch from 1st and 59th street, all the way to the Bronx, is considered one of the best places to view the race, and is also the time when a runner’s body starts to disagree with his/her plans to finish the race. Luckily we were greeted by friends and family holding signs and snapping pictures, which made it easy to ignore our joints and muscles for the time being. All that changed when we hit mile 20, and the Bronx.
The Bronx was the quietest part of the whole race, and every runner could feel the drop in energy; but fortunately it’s short lived (only 1-mile). When we returned to Manhattan the crowd blasted the song YMCA, and all of the runners were singing and participating in the hand gestures. (It feels like one last hurrah before the lower body decides that it’s had enough, and starts to fill with immovable lead.) For most runners, that is the point when the mind starts to take over and run the race, but if the mind is weak, they will end up walking. I know this because it was not easy (or fun) having my legs filled with lead, while having to dodge hundreds of people who had lost the battle with their minds, and decided to walk.
From the point that we hit the top of central park (110th) to about 59th St, our run was mostly a blur. As a runner, your gaze moves from the cheering crowd to what is immediately in front of you, and your mind changes from happy go lucky to “Game Time”. Once we saw the 25th mile marker and hit the roaring crowd of 59th St, we knew the end was near, and started to feel the adrenaline flowing. It’s an unreal rush! The pain started to fade, and it felt like there was a strong wind at our backs. Before we knew it, we could see the finish line, and were sprinting past everyone as if we’d just started the race!
Everything felt great, and then we stopped; 4.5 hours of constant running followed by a prompt stop, and no space to move. There were runners with legs cramping and stomachs upset. We were corralled (along with thousands of other runners) into a half hour baggage/goodie line. Due to the build up of lactic acid, our legs felt like there was surging electricity pulsing with every second that we weren’t walking. In an effort to relieve the pain we would walk in place and massage our muscles, but all our bodies really needed was time to recover.
After finally getting our baggage, and flashy silver heat capes (to keep us warm), we met friends and family on Central Park West for some hugs and pictures. Most people say that right after the marathon you tell yourself that you’ll never do that again, but I couldn’t stop thinking that if I was able to run 26.2 miles, what else was I capable of?
I guess time will tell…
Joe Bauer
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