We arrived in New York late on Friday and spent Saturday walking to the runners' registration centre and taking in a number of shops en route. Probably not the most sensible option to cover 5 miles on foot the day before a marathon, but when it's over 2 dollars to the pound, what else are you going to do?With an out of kilter body clock and the anticipation of the run being the next morning, the last night's sleep was never going to be a good one. An hour after falling asleep I woke up completely confused thinking I'd overslept and missed the whole thing and cursing my two alarms for not working. Fortunately, the support unit was there to calm me down and inform me that it was only 10:30pm and that I'd got a few hours more to go yet. Phew...
After a restless night, I eventually gave up on trying to sleep at 4:30am. I'd prepared all my kit the night before, including some instant porridge and I was downstairs filling up on coffee not long after. It was pitch black and freezing cold when I stepped out of the hotel and started to walk down to the public library to pick up the transit bus to the start.
We got our first taste of the atmosphere at the bus stop and it never really disappeared from that point. The journey took us across to Brooklyn, over the Verrazano Bridge and onto Staten Island, where the race would start from, albeit, in 4 hours time.Those 4 hours don't pass very quickly. There's food and coffee on offer, but there's only so many plain bagels you can eat and cups of coffee you want to drink before running 26 miles. I eventually made it over the start at about 10:30, by which time the sun was out and spirits were high. I'll be honest, I felt pretty tired, but psyched up for the race.
The first stretch is an uphill climb over the Verazanno Bridge. I set off at a steady pace and took in the amazing views over the bay. The bridge drops you down into Brooklyn, the first of the five boroughs the run takes in. Brooklyn was bustling with supporters 3-5 deep most of the way, interspersed with bands, DJs and cops. I kept a steady 4 hour pace through this section but I could still feel my thighs starting to lock up. By around mile 10, the legs were pretty heavy making the regular hills, the course throws at you, that much more punishing. The course then skips through Queens aiming for the Queensborough Bridge at mile 15. This bridge was the first of many mental barriers to overcome in the rest of the race.
You travel along the lower deck of the bridge and it's dark and it just climbs and climbs. There are no crowds to spur you on and the brief elation of reaching the half-way point has gone and you can only think about the 10 miles you've still got to run. I knew that my lone supporter would be in Manhattan, around the 17 mile mark, so I tried to focus on this. Sure enough, seeing a familiar face (well my wife in fact!) in the crowd gave me a lift and I ran on until I reached the 19 mile mark, where I started to walk.I'd been determined, throughout my training, not to walk. I'd been told I probably would, which made me more determined. I'd been told I shouldn't worry about walking as most people do a bit of walking. Still, I was hoping I wouldn't have to. But I had to, I felt physically and mentally drained. I didn't stop running completely and I got myself into a routine of running for about 9 minutes and then walking for 2 and getting through the miles like that. all the time keeping one eye on finishing within my original target time of 4 hours 30. Mental arithmetic isn't easy when you've just run 20 odd miles, but the calculations kept me occupied and served to distract me, momentarily, from the pain in my right foot which had given me a limp.
At about mile 20, the route takes you across for a brief visit into the Bronx. I was still run/walking at this point and almost psychologically beaten. I don't know whether this was the "wall" that is so often talked about, but I was finding it increasingly difficult to stick to my routine and was regularly breaking into a walk. A mile before heading back across to Manhattan, we turned a corner and found ourselves in front of a big brass band blasting out the theme from Rocky. Now I now it must sound cheesy, but this was one of the most uplifting moments of the run, I was pulled up from a very low point and got myself back into a jog. I kept this up for a good mile and then back to my walk/run combo.
Mile 22/23 is a long steady climb up 5th Ave into Central Park. The hill doesn't seem to end, but the sight of the park and knowing that the finish is within reach, keeps you going. I was struggling, but not as badly as some others, I'd found a 2nd wind, did I say 2nd? I think I must have meant 15th... The supporters were out in force in the park, 5-7 deep all egging you on to get tot he finish. I'd passed the 1/2 mile mark and could see a gantry over the road. I turned on a last ditch effort at a sprint and put all pain to the back of my mind. The gantry turned out to mark 200yds to go! Oops. My wife was just at the side and I had all the momentum I needed to carry myself over the line.
I can't remember ever doing anything so physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting in my life. You can't take it all in at the end, you want to jump up and down but you can't, all you are capable of is feeling sick and almost crying and all you want to do is sit down. This, I'm told, is a bad move, everyone is actively encouraged to walk for another 20 minutes. 20 minutes!!! I've just run a marathon mate! Give me a break. Well, there was no option, we had to queue, in a standing and shuffling way, to get our bags, for about half an hour. That was like torture.I finally met up with my wife and told her that if I should ever mention a desire to do another marathon, to remind me of how I felt at that point and what we'd all just put ourselves through. No way was I going to do another one of those! Well, that thought lasted until the morning after. The elation kicked in, the feeling of nausea had gone, the pain, well that was still there, but easing. So, why not then, it wasn't all that bad was it?
