NYC Marathon Pics

Oh, the agony!

NYC Marathon Thoughts...

When you see thousands of people cheering you on, handing out all sorts of goodies (thank goodness for those orange slices) and telling you that you will make it, you are reminded of how the bond of humanity connects us at a far deeper level and how it bring us all together in good and in bad times. I realized then how proud I was to be a New Yorker and so blessed to be living in one of the greatest cities in the world.

My friend Raj's girlfriend, Nadia, like me, ran her first marathon yesterday and said this about it. She took the words right out of my mouth. It was incredible. The last time I felt this kind of citywide sense of unity, of brotherhood and sisterhood was, sadly, just after September 11. But this was obviously different, a joyous celebration of life and achievement.

Coming off the Verrazano bridge running fourth ave and hearing and seeing all the people cheering for us almost brought tears to my eyes. The unconditional support for our utterly quixotic endeavor moved me. Virtually every neighborhood we went through had people out on the streets, rich, middle class, poor, all races and ethnic groups, lifelong New Yorkers to transplanted hipsters to recent foreign immigrants. From reggateon rappers in Spanish Harlem to the Bishop Loughlin Marching Band to merengue blasting in Sunset Park we ran through a pageant of New York City, even though we were the ones on parade.

I was so proud to be a New Yorker, reminded how much I love this city, but also sadly realized how much work has to be done to continue to fight to keep this city a place where the vitality I saw and experienced along the route can always exist, where people can afford to live, go to school, work and sustain themselves.

My Performance
I guess I'll start with the positives:

• I finished (!)
• I experienced severe cramping at various points from mile 19 and had to stop several times to walk and stretch it out. I seriously thought I would have to stop the race all together the cramping was so bad. But I worked out the cramps, got a second wind at mile 20 and ran most of the rest of it and ran a strong finish for the last 1.2 miles

OK, now to the heart of it:
I was shooting for a time of 4:30 (my best half is a 1:56, granted at Staten Island, which is flat compared to the NYC course, but I thought it was still a realistic target) and ended up clocking in at 5:00:39. I can't believe I didn't even break five hours, which I'm embarrassed by. I analyzed where and how my body broke down and despite a scientifically calculated training schedule tailored to my pace, it didn't include any hill training which is what killed me in the end. The Pulaski Bridge at mile 13 and the Queensboro bridge at miles 14 to 16 took everything out of my legs and led to my calves cramping at mile 19. I'm mad, but now I know what to differently for my training next year. I'm swear, I'm going to rock the sucker out next year...

The highlights
Mile 1-2: The Verrazano bridge. It was breathtaking to see the bridge tower over us on what was a beautiful clear sunny day with music blasting and the Queensboro bridge in the distance knowing that was where we were headed.

Mile 3: The rush of humanity into the cheering crowds on fourth avenue, I almost cried.

Mile 4-6: Sunset Park. The smell of Mexican food, I really wanted to stop and grab some food....sopes?

Miles 6-10: Just trying to hold back at a solid 10:30/mile pace. Holding down my adrenaline, breathing steadily. Favorite part here was the Bishop Loughlin Marching Band set up in front of the school playing the theme of "Rocky."

Miles 10-13 Uh-oh, finally starting to feel some achiness, I had been hoping I cold stave off serious pain until mile 18 or so...

Mile 13 to 14 The Pulaski Bridge, or what I like to now call the "widow maker". The ramp onto the bridge was steep and I wasn't ready for anything like that. Hill workouts in Harlem in Central park didn't cut it. I'm training on bridges next year I swear to fucking...

Miles 14 to 15: The best moment of the race for me. I saw my father on Vernon Blvd, he had a big grin on his face when he saw me and I stopped and shook his hand. He said my mom was on her way, but I couldn't wait so I kept going and he wished me luck while I ran off. I felt bad missing my mom, but then I saw her around the corner and ran up to her and she gave me a hug and kiss. Everyone running with me started clapping and she wished me luck when I got back in the pack.

Miles 15 to 16: The Queensboro bridge, or the "widow maker part II". Whatever structural integrity my calves had left after the Pulaski Bridge was killed here, especially on the sharp downhill ramp coming off the bridge (ow, ow, ow, ow, ow...)

Miles 16 to 19 Basically, I was in a daze while I struggled to keep my feet under me on first ave. This is supposed to be the most exciting part of the race, but all I remember was seeing a lot of fogginess and hearing a lot of noise on the sides. Oh, I think I was trying to run also. One of my friends from Wagner saw me around 90th and yelled my name. I don't even know how I heard her. Two of my best friends saw me at mile 19 and yelled my name just as I hit my wall.

Mile 19: Severe cramping, walk, run, stretch, repeat. At the top of the Willis Ave Bridge (fucking bridges) I stopped and did some thorough stretching and gentle flexing/extension of my calves which finally worked.

Mile 20: My legs finally recovered, I'm running gingerly, but I feel good, I've got a second wind. Any chance of making 4:30 is now out the window, but finishing under five hours is well within reach so I run confidently through the South Bronx. Not being so concerned with my time now, I relax, high five a bunch of kids and pump my arms and wave at the crowds. Basically, I start having some fun.

Mile 21: My boss yells my name and jumps out and runs with me a couple of blocks. I've been alone the entire 21 miles so far (I ran half the bridge with Raj, but that was about it) and it was a great boost to have someone out there with me, even for just two blocks.

Mile 22 to 24 Holy fucking shit, why did they put this incline at the end of the race?? 119th and 5th ave south to 90th and 5th Ave. Walking it, you'd never think of it as a hill, but at the end of a marathon it's a miserable, slow, painful climb...

Mile 24: My legs give out, I can't feel them I can't run, I'm walking and it hurts too much to walk. People are yelling 'you can do it!' and I want to lie down and die and/or yell back 'leave me alone, I can't do it!!!'.

Mile 25: I have to figure something out, I can't walk, I can't run. I pull over to the side and say 'fuck my time, I'll be damned if I'm walking across the finish line' and take a good 5-10 minutes and stretch my calves, quads, gluts and hamstrings. Once I've got my blood circulating again (and after I've refused medical attention three times) I hop back on the course and my legs feel great, I'm kicking myself for not having stopped sooner to stretch out again (walking hadn't felt any better than running anyway), but I take off for the last 1.2 miles.

Mile 26: Columbus Circle: I see my friends Gloria and Anil who shout my name out, I'd been running well the last mile, but seeing them and knowing I was at the finish gave me the final kick I needed and I took off passing a bunch of people at the tail end:



Pulling into Central Park: The other moment I almost cried. After all the pain and wondering if I was going to even finish, after having to humbly alter my target goals mid race, I realized I was going to finish the damn thing, and I was going to finish strong, and I was doing it at the intersection where I had been doing all of my long runs dutifully every Sunday preparing for this moment.

26.2 miles: The finish, I threw my arms up and crossed the finish line.

And the worst part? Having to walk another mile to get out of the damn park :)

Congratulations to every single person who trained and entered this race. I just read Siddhartha, and for all of us, it's about the journey.

Stupid Trivia
I own the rather dubious distinction of being the youngest AND the slowest 'Yoon' in the entire 2007 NYC Marathon:
But at least I was the fastest 'Jason' who ran slower than five hours (chew on that one):
Glenna, my friend, training guru and sometime training partner, and I ran bizarrely similar splits for good chunks of the race despite being not even seeing each other the entire race
And lastly, I was mostly pissed that I wasn't going to be listed in today's hard copy New York Times because they typically only list runners who finish under five hours. But I assume because they had to fill the last page they actually went all the way up to 5:04 so I still back doored my way into today's paper! WooHoo!

My New Training Log
I'm now on a mission to eat as much junk food as I can and undo all of my training. For lunch today, I had General Tso's chicken and pork fried rice from the ghetto Chinese spot near work on Gerard Ave and 161st. Dinner was fried chicken wings and french fries. Tomorrow I'm hitting the fried fish joint on 161st for lunch (see a pattern?).

Later this week, I'm hitting the chuchifritos spot across from Casa Latina (after I treat myself to a new CD) for some mofongo with gravy and pasteles. I'll also hit Mannas before they go out of business (I read in the Daily News their building is getting bought out). And yes, I will get the fried rice there.

It's a lot of work, but I think I can do it...

Marathon Training (last one!)

Ryan Shay (r) at the 2002 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championship

I'll start this by offering my condolences to the friends and family of Ryan Shay who died this morning while running the Olympic Marathon Trials in Central Park. I woke up early to watch the Olympic Marathon trials in Central Park to get some inspiration for tomorrow's NYC Marathon. I'm always awed watching the mechanics and focus of the elite runners. I got to the race at about 9:30 and cheered for the runners before heading over to Javits Center to pick up my registration for tomorrow. I didn't find out until later that afternoon what had happened. I'm not sure how I feel about it, I'm not worried for myself running tomorrow, it's a freak incident that you can't dwell on, especially if you've been taking care of yourself. I think it's the fact that he died literally in the thick of pursuing his dream while probably at, or near, the peak of his ability as a runner. On one hand, for a competitive athlete, it may be the ultimate way to go out, but on the other hand I can't help but think of all the lost potential and what could have been for him.

Rest in peace Ryan, we'll all be thinking of you while we're running tomorrow.

Now, the final two work outs of the workout schedule I started way back in August. Looking back at my original schedule, I am really proud of having stuck to it. I've done every work out on the schedule plus countless dance classes and I know I am prepared for tomorrow.

November 1, 2007
Tempo run
1 mile warm up 86th St and Lexington Ave to 103rd and 5th Ave

3.2 miles (I ran it in 27:13)
From 103 and 5 to the finish of the NYC Marathon at Tavern on the Green

Half mile cool down
Total mileage
4.5 miles

Comments:
It was really exciting to run in the park and see the fencing out in the final mile, the bleachers and the finish line at Tavern on the Green. The finish is going to be tough, hopefully adrenaline will pull me through.

November 2, 2007
2-mile easy run