{"id":321,"date":"2016-11-11T15:30:43","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T15:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racereportblog.com\/?p=321"},"modified":"2025-02-25T20:53:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T20:53:08","slug":"321","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racereportblog.com\/?p=321","title":{"rendered":"NYC Marathon — November 6, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Race Report:\u00a0 NYC Marathon, 11\/6\/16<\/p>\n

\"img_0759\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Every race, I have three goals:\u00a0 to have fun, to avoid injury and (of course) to be faster. \u00a0In this race, I managed to accomplish the first two \u2013 a vast improvement over last year, the first time I did this race.<\/p>\n

Executed terrific logistics in getting there.\u00a0 My friends Dietmar Serbee (from Cologne, Germany, now running buddy in Hastings on Hudson) and Juan Berton Moreno (from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who traveled 12 hours for this race, and stayed with me for a few days!) joined me at an Airbnb in Staten Island on Saturday night to avoid the crazy shlep and wait at the Verrazano Bridge.<\/p>\n

\"img_0760\"<\/a>
Dietmar Serbee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"img_0761\"
Juan Berton Moreno<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"img_0762\"
M’Lady Liberty — blissfully ignorant about what’s about to hit her after the Presidential Election in three days….<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My goal was to break 3:30 at 8:00 min\/mile or less in order to qualify for Boston for my age group.\u00a0 That’s feasible, based on the 3:31 I had done at the New Jersey (flat, flat) Marathon in 2014.\u00a0\u00a0 Also, I wanted revenge for my 4:13 NYC Marathon last year, when I hadn’t trained enough for this race (after recovering from a big season of triathlons).\u00a0 Though assigned to corral D, I joined Corral F to be with the pacer for a 3:30 race \u2013 not to follow the pacer, but to start with a less yahoo crowd.<\/p>\n

BOOM!\u00a0 A Howitzer starts the race!<\/p>\n

I did the first four miles, pretty much as planned, staying in heart rate zone 1, but slipping into zone 2 (141-151 beats per minute) and then tried to stay there for the rest of the race. I focused, staying in the middle of the road (yes, Coach Debi, there WAS a blue line painted to show the most efficient tangents, and it felt like something friendly I could depend on), running pretty strong, but I started tanking after mile 12.<\/p>\n

\"nyc-marathon-course-map\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve tried to figure out what went wrong, that I slowed down so much so quickly.\u00a0 Debi thinks that I think too much, but I think she’s wrong.\u00a0 (“No, Doctor, I’m not in denial!”).\u00a0\u00a0 I wasn’t getting despondent as my time dropped from 8:00 minute miles to 8:12 to 8:20…\u00a0 rather, 8:38 and slower was resulting from feeling early fatigue.\u00a0 And I grew to accept early on that this was not going to be a PR.\u00a0 So, I think I was too focused on heart rate instead of form. \u00a0Getting into the stride I developed this season, and firing off my legs in a straight line at the end of each step, takes more effort.\u00a0 But attempting to minimize that effort, I wore myself out by firing up my hamstrings and adductors instead of engaging the much heartier glutes.<\/p>\n

If I’ve figured out how to make the next race better, I’ll be totally satisfied with this race.\u00a0 Because Brooklyn was amazing \u2013 shouting out to drummer Art Lillard, with whom I had played 20 years ago; passing a gospel choir sounding so much better than the Very Loud Rock Bands (turns out, it was the church of Karen Hemmings, our admin assistant); marveling at the silence of the Hasidic blocks in Williamsburg (no one there to watch, let alone cheer, such immodestly dressed runners; it’s another world, man\u2026).<\/p>\n

Starting at mile 14, I started walking every water stop (instead of every other).\u00a0 And then I started walking between water stops, including up the infamous Queensboro Bridge.<\/p>\n

But the roar of Manhattan was, as everyone says, huge and uplifting.\u00a0 And I realized: there’s no shame in walking.\u00a0 In fact, there’s no shame AT ALL.\u00a0 This really is MY race.\u00a0 Not qualifying for Boston hardly equates to failure.\u00a0 I’m running the NYC Marathon; what a blessing that I can run; what an amazing, huge event this; look at all these people! Total strangers shouting out “PRIMO!\u00a0 Vamos, Primo!” (Because I’ve ironed \u201cPrimo\u201d onto my shirt in honor of cousin Rob, who is my inspiration to compete and has to defer running marathons),<\/p>\n

\"01f6e78a18a4a847d4c5fc05682dbbd8f11aacf476\"<\/a><\/p>\n

and THERE’S RACHEL, my wife, she found me around 90th and 1st Avenue, I had told her that if things are going well I wouldn’t slow down to hug her, but I stop and she starts to say “You’re doing gr…” stops herself and says “You’re going to be OK”, and I agree with her, and keep on slogging (still staying upright, popping EAA’s and chewable saltstick tabs now and then, but just not able or willing to PUSH THROUGH and get faster).<\/p>\n

And Ken Fuirst (high school acquaintance, renewed friend through the gym) is THERE at mile 19.5, just as promised, just like last year, and he joins me while I’m jogging \/ walking\u00a0 and tells me “don’t worry about making that PR”, me: “oh, that’s gone out the window a while ago”, Ken:\u00a0 “you’ve accomplished a lot” because we\u2019ve talked about other races, and then laughs at “we’re getting older!”, me:\u00a0 “I’m gonna walk, but I’ll be OK,” and I am so moved at his generosity and affirmation.\u00a0 And more strangers saying “You look great!” (“You’re lying, but thank you!”), and biking\/commuter friend Sean Sheely is handing out water at Mile 22, big smile and encouraging, and Dietmar (who started in Wave 2, 25 minutes after I started) pats me on the back \u00a0and passes me (he’s terrific and smiling and gets a 6-minute PR), and one woman, I think in upper Manhattan, big and light brown hair and sunglasses, I can’t remember anything but the sun shining onto her and her huge smile and shout out and that’s for ME, that’s for ALL of us, this is amazing.\u00a0 So many people, a million spectators for 50,000 runners, 200 folks cheering for every athlete, simply tremendous.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m walking a lot, but when I get to downhills (like the Willis Avenue Bridge, and after entering Central Park) I run (come on, it\u2019s downhill!) and I don\u2019t want to be that guy who threw up so I\u2019m walking again, but I do the math and realize with a little more effort I can do better than last year, and I owe it to these huge crowds in the final 0.2 miles to push harder, and I cross the line with a 2-minute course PR.<\/p>\n

4:11:36. \u00a0\u00a040 minutes slower than my best marathon.<\/p>\n

Plan B had been to take a Metro card in the bottom of my shoe (which I did), save my legs by quitting halfway, and run the Philadelphia Marathon in two weeks. And I had actually researched:\u00a0 registration for Phillie was open until 11\/11\/16.\u00a0 But even though I had nothing to prove \u2013 I mean, I know I can run this distance! — I never really wanted to quit, just for the sake of a better result. I can\u2019t say the crowd gave me more courage and more speed, but I can say the crowd made me so very grateful to be at such an amazing event.\u00a0 And in this awful, fractious and frightening post-election world, enjoying the unity and hope and the affirmation was a blessing.<\/p>\n

Hey, I just finished a marathon.<\/p>\n

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Race Report:\u00a0 NYC Marathon, 11\/6\/16 Every race, I have three goals:\u00a0 to have fun, to avoid injury and (of course) to be faster. \u00a0In this race, I managed to accomplish the first two \u2013 a vast improvement over last year, the first time I did this race. Executed terrific logistics in getting there.\u00a0 My friends […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2016-races"],"yoast_head":"\nNYC Marathon - November 6, 2016 - Race Report Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/racereportblog.com\/?p=321\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NYC Marathon - November 6, 2016 - Race Report Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Race Report:\u00a0 NYC Marathon, 11\/6\/16 Every race, I have three goals:\u00a0 to have fun, to avoid injury and (of course) to be faster. \u00a0In this race, I managed to accomplish the first two \u2013 a vast improvement over last year, the first time I did this race. 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