TCS 2021 New York City Marathon

I did it! I competed the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon. 11.07.2021. 

I slept really well the night before the marathon. It helped that it was daylight saving time and I got to sleep an extra hour. I was scheduled to take the Staten Island Ferry at 8am so I woke up around 6am. This gave me time to get dressed and do some light foam rolling to make sure everything was nice and loose before the race. Alison and I also went looking for breakfast. We didn't have much luck. The financial district was hard on weekends before Covid and now it is even more difficult to find something to eat. We did find a Starbucks that was open near our hotel where I picked up a breakfast sandwich (although I should have had two). 

Alison and I walked over to the Staten Island Ferry at 7:50am. The biggest reason we chose this hotel is because it is right across the street from the ferry, which is so convenient on race day. Alison bid me farewell as I prepared to board the 8am ferry. The ferry was packed full of runners. After the ferry they loaded us onto buses to drive us to the start village. It was a surprisingly long bus ride. I arrived at the start village ~10am. This gave me just over 2 hours until my start time. 

On the Staten Island Ferry

My first order of business was sustenance. I found a booth where they were giving out bagels and I got some water. With food and water out of the way, I wanted to get off my feet. I found an area covered with hay and laid down on a garbage sack I brought. I am sure I looked funny wearing the clothes I bought from Deseret Industries laying on a garbage bag dozing on some straw, but I didn't care. I wanted to be fresh for the race. 

While I was waiting for my start time Alison was exploring the city

I finished dozing ~11am. When I looked down I found I was covered in crickets. I brushed them aside and went to find more water. I drank more water and used the restrooms while I waited for my corral to open. A few minutes before my corral opened I threw my hat and top layer of pants into a goodwill bin. Since it is cold I wore multiple layers of clothes to the start line with the intention of donating them before I started the race. I was assigned to corral A of the green section of wave 5. That meant I had a noon start time. I entered the corral around 11:25am. In the corral I used the restroom one last time (they kept announcing urinating on the bridge would lead to disqualification) and threw my coat into a goodwill bin. 

At 11:45am they walked us out on the Verrazzano bridge. We listened to a stunning rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. Then the MC said the words we were all waiting for - "on your mark, get set, GO!" a cannon blast sounded and we were off. As we started to run they blasted the Theme from New York, New York it was a pretty magical moment. One of my favorite New Yorkers, Suzy Waldman, posted on Instagram the morning race, "All first timers: You will never love NYC more than you'll love it today!!! Take it all in...GOOD LUCK!" Only a few minutes into the race and I could already see that this was true. I love NYC! Running across the Verrazano bridge with the Manhattan skyline stretching out into the distance was incredible - these types of moments were the reason I wanted to run this marathon. 

Lining up at the start line

This marathon course is not easy. The race starts with the most difficult section - a mile climb up the Verrazano bridge. This is the steepest incline of the race. It doesn't feel like the most difficult section because you still feel fresh. It is important not to go out too fast because it is easy to do and you will pay for it later. I kept reminding myself to moderate my pace - this becomes even more important for mile 2 - when you are heading down the Verrazano bridge. It would be so easy to push too hard on this relatively easy section and burn out early. I did well at sticking to my race plan. There were a few times early on in the race that I had to remind myself this is a really long race and I need to slow down and pace myself.

Across the Verrazano, the race enters its second borough - Brooklyn. When you enter Brooklyn you begin to encounter the many thousands of New Yorkers who come out to cheer on the racers. They have a lot of pride in their borough. So many people had signs welcoming us to Brooklyn and/or would yell out greetings. The further I went the more people I saw. As I turned onto 4th avenue the sound was incredible. This long drag was lined with cheering crowds as far as the eye could see. This is one of the things that makes the New York marathon so amazing - the energy of the crowd is unbelievable and except for a few sections, mainly the bridges, there is a steady crowd of people. Their energy and cheers helped carry me when I was tired and wanted to quit. There were a few times I wanted to stop running and walk for a bit in Brooklyn, but I didn't because the crowd was so inspiring. 

While I was running Alison was race chasing with Jake, Meg, and Blake. She is my #1 fan. She is also a champion cheerer. She would yell and scream for all of the runners and she would go extra crazy when she saw me. I loved it. The first time I saw them was between mile 3 and 4. I was feeling good and strong. I was so happy to see them cheering. Once I ran past they left and headed to their next spot.

A great group of race chasers

My knee started to hurt around mile 5. It was inevitable. I was glad I made it that far before it started to hurt. It would hurt throughout the rest of the race. I would run through the pain. The level of pain would fluctuate and it never got bad enough that I considered quitting. Thank goodness for that. 

There are many things that make the New York City Marathon special. New York is typically the biggest marathon in the world, this year the field size was 30k, but in a normal year it is 50k+. That sounds like a lot of participants and it is, but even more impressive are the number of spectators. Thousands of New Yorkers were out cheering us on, holding signs, blasting music, and providing words of encouragement. These random strangers were motivated to come out and encourage us to keep running. I keep saying this because I wouldn't believe it if  I didn't experience it myself, but the energy is so powerful. There are very few moments in the race where there is not a crowd of cheering spectators, mostly along the bridges, and even then when you finish a section that is devoid of spectators you will hear the roar of the crowd up ahead. It starts as a slow roar and becomes deafening as you reach the crowd. It felt like New York adopted me into their family for the day. The cheering was exhilarating. 

I loved the moments I saw my people out there cheering for me. I ran by them again around mile 8. This time I slowed enough to give Jake a, more aggressive than I realized, fist-bump. I probably should have stopped and chatted for a minute, but I was feeling strong and wasn't ready to break up my rhythm. 

A couple of miles later, I hit my first difficult section. It was right around mile 10 where I was running through Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The first part of Williamsburg is the Jewish Orthodox Satmar community. There were almost no spectators in this area. Most of the Jewish people who were out and about looked mildly annoyed the marathon ran through their community. I saw a few of them complaining to police officers about the difficulty of crossing the road. The lack of spectators drained my energy and this was the first time I took a real break in the race and walked to catch my breath. 

I also began to have an uncomfortable issue around mile 10. My nipples started to hurt. The temperatures were cold, which is great for running, but I found as a result my shirt was chaffing my nipples. I had read this could happen, but despite the warnings I wasn't prepared. I slathered some body glide on them in the morning and it seemed to be wearing off before I was even halfway through the race. I quickly realized this issue could become much worse and I may end up having bloody nipples by the end of the race. Fortunately for me, I noticed a man outside a medical tent with some Vaseline. I grabbed a glob from him and slathered it all over my nipples. That solved my problem and I avoided bloody nipples.

Before long I was crossing the Pulaski Bridge from Brooklyn into Queens. Just before I reached the bridge there were lots of people with signs - " You beat Brooklyn!" "Onto Queens!". I loved the pride everyone had in their individual borough. The Pulaski Bridge marks the halfway point of the race. Bridges are one of the more brutal parts of the race because the first half of each bridge is always uphill. I wanted to walk up the Pulaski bridge, but I also could see the 13 and 13.2 mile markers in the distance. I slowly jogged up the hill. I ran across the 13.2 mile marker line. I was thrilled to be 50% done. Now I just needed to do that one more time. I have never been so happy to be in Queens in my life. I loved the cheers of "Welcome to Queens!!!". 

Queens ends with one of the most difficult sections of the race - the Queensboro bridge. This uphill on this bridge isn't as intense as the Verrazano, but having already run 15 miles it looks more daunting. It is a long uphill stretch and lots of people, including me were walking. This mile long stretch across the bridge felt like one of the longest sections of the race. But as I was running down the far side of the bridge I began to hear the deafening cheers of the crowd on 1st Avenue. Turning the corner and seeing the exuberant crowd gave me an immediate jolt of energy. Going from the slog and silence of the bridge to the energy and excitement of 1st Avenue was one of the most memorable moments of the race. 

The race continues up 1st Avenue. I knew Alison and the crew were planning to set up somewhere along the route. I was thinking I might stop and talk to them for a minute. However, it turned out to be really hard to get across the street so they set up on the other side of the road than where I was expecting. They screamed and cheered like crazy and just caught my attention before I ran by. Right around this area I also passed by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which is the organization I raised money for through Fred's team. I am so grateful I could raise money for cancer curing research and that it gave me the opportunity to participate in this race. 

On the lookout for me

Strategizing

I really hit a wall around mile 16-17. I was tired. My knee hurt. My legs were sore. My shoulders were tense. I began to focus on just getting to the next mile marker. I couldn't think further than that. At some moments I was simply putting one foot in front of the other. I began to filter out the crowd and focus on willing myself to continue to run. 

I was beat

At this point I thought a lot about my grandma Pat. It has been 25 years this month since she lost her battle to cancer. I miss her so much. I was running this race in her honor. Before the race Alison surprised me with a custom made running bib. It has a picture of my grandma Pat and showed that I was running to honor her. I loved it. As I ran I thought about her final days. I know she must have been in a lot of pain. It would have easy to be sad, scared, and resentful, but I don't remember her being any of those things. I remember her being happy and delightful, even as she was dying. She wanted me to know how much she loved me right to the end. I found myself getting choked up. That was a problem because then I couldn't breath and I needed to breath. I let the tears fall and reminded myself to breathe and finish the race. I knew that would make her proud. 

I have mentioned the crowd, but one special thing about this race is the various ways strangers come out to support the runners. I didn't eat enough real food before the race. I was getting real tired of gels and goos and gatorade. It is going to be a long time before I drink gatorade again. Luckily for me there were kind strangers passing out bananas, oranges, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches along the course. They weren't volunteers, they were just random people trying to do something nice. I so appreciated it. I don't know if I could have finished the race without their kindness. 

I was still feeling drained as I entered the last borough - the Bronx. This portion the course is notoriously difficult. At this point you are right around 20 miles. There are two bridges you have to cross within just a few miles and sometimes the crowds here aren't as big or as loud (although today they were very loud). There was a big part of me that wanted to stop running for a while and walk. Then I saw the 5:15 pacers running past me and I joined their group. Throughout the race there were pacers, their job was to run a consistent pace so that if you stayed with them you would know when you would finish the race. These pacers aimed to finish in 5 hours and 15 minutes. They had a decent group around them, but the more the merrier. I really liked one of the pacers - she was from the UK and was really funny and inspirational. She was always saying things to buoy the spirits of the group. When we passed the 20 mile marker she yelled out "we only have a 10k left and we run 10ks on Wednesdays - we can do this!" That was invigorating. 

Another great cheering section

I ran with the pacer group for 4-5 miles and kept a good pace. Eventually I was feeling gassed and my heart rate was spiking. I knew I needed to walk a bit to let my heart rate come back down. At this point I was back in Manhattan on the home stretch. I was about halfway between mile 22 and 23. I decided to walk until I mile 23, at which point I planned to make a push and run for the last 3.2 miles. 

By this point both of my knees were really hurting. My legs were tired and I would have loved to sit down and take a nap for a few hours. I walked for about half a mile and then I reached mile 23. I dug deep and began to run. I made a final push for the last 3.2 miles. I just kept telling myself 3.2 miles is nothing. 3.2 miles is an easy run.  

These last 3.2 miles are through Central Park. This section of the race is also challenging because it is quite hilly. There are a lot of ups and downs. I walked a little, but I mostly ran those last 3.2 miles. Even though I hurt all over I felt really good knowing I would finish. If I had to crawl across that finish line I knew I would make it. And I did and not only I did I finish I ran across that finish line.

This is a terrible picture of me, but it captures how I was feeling. I was exhausted and giving everything I had at this point in the race. 

Because of daylight saving it got dark before I finished running. The upside to this is that there was a beautiful sunset as I ran through central park. I am so glad Meg took snapped these pictures of the sunset. 

Alison, Blake, and Debbie were there cheering for me when I crossed the finished line. I waved to them as I passed. I ran across the finish line. I felt elated and exhausted. I could hardly believe it was real. I finished the New York City Marathon! What an unbelievable experience. I cried some tears of joy after I crossed the finish line. 

Post-finish selfie

Once you cross the finish line, you still have to walk out of the park. It takes 15-20 minutes to get out of the runner only area. As you walk out they give you some stuff. First, I got my medal. It felt really heavy around my neck and I kind of wanted to take it off immediately, but I was also very proud of my medal. Next, they gave me a bag of goodies. I immediately ate the apple and a nut/seed bar. I knew I needed calories and real food. Finally, they wrapped me in a big blue fleece pancho. After that much exertion it is hard to regulate your body temperature. The pancho kept me nice and warm. There were photographers all around and I took a few pictures. I saw some photographers taking pictures of runners in front of some back drops. I noticed they would have the runners take off their ponchos and set down their goodie bags. This felt like too much effort. I just kept walking. I neared 72 and Columbus Avenue, where I would meet up with my family, and I called Alison. She was still making her way out of the park, but she told me Jake and Meg were waiting for me. As soon as she said that I saw Jake. We found a barrier where I could sit down and recover while we waited for Alison. I told them all about the race while we were waiting. Alison showed up and we embraced. I was so thrilled to see her! I couldn't have done this race without her support. She is incredible. We sat and talked while we waited for Blake and Debbie. I knew I needed to eat (I actually didn't feel hungry) so we went searching for food. Everything in this area was crazy so we decided to head downtown toward Times square. We ended up at Ray's Pizza. It wasn't particularly good pizza, but at this point I didn't care. I just needed food and this was food. We sat and talked for a long while before Alison and I headed downtown to our hotel. Back at the hotel I took a much needed shower and did some foam rolling. Then Alison and I talked for hours before I was finally able to fall asleep. I had a lot of caffeine in my system from all the gels/goos I ate during the race. I was also hyped up on adrenaline. I couldn't believe I had done. I finished the New York City Marathon. I am a finisher. 

I knew the New York City Marathon would be an incredible experience. I could not have fathomed just how incredible it would be. I loved running through all 5 boroughs. I loved the pride New Yorkers have in their city. I could not believe how excited they were to welcome runners back to their city after being ravaged by the pandemic. Unless you are a runner, I don't think you can understand how powerful the roar of the crowd is, or how motivational it feels. I felt like a rock star for 26.2 miles. Complete strangers made me feel supported, cared for, and loved. The course is challenging, the bridges were especially difficult, but they came with beautiful views and moments of quiet contemplation. The difficulty is part of what makes the experience meaningful. One thing that I loved about the New York City Marathon is that it wasn't full of elite runners. There were people from all walks of life who woke up this morning to run in the greatest race in the world. I was one of them.

I did it.