Getting my fourth star was a heck of an adventure at the NYC Marathon!
I am grateful for getting in by the ballot for first time this year (after nearly a decade of failed attempts)! The odds were better due to return to pre-covid levels, doubling the field size at 50K as compared to a year ago. I'm guessing the ballot odds improved from 2% to 10%. 2021 was also the 50th anniversary, which compounded the interest. Jen made it her mission to complete the 50th last year for the bling, and it was a recon visit for me to support/cheer for her last year.
It was neat that one of Jen and my favourite elite runners Keira D'Amato achieved her 4th Star for this year's race as well. We met her briefly for a fanboy/girl photo and chat at our last marathon adventures in Richmond, VA.
Prior Week Lead-in
If I have learned anything from my 11-multisport races earlier this year, the pre-week logistics will be important for marathon prep.
Sleep. Rest. Hydration. Carbo-load. Salt-load. Hopefully top up on them check-check-check-check-and-check.
I flew in to meet Jen in Boston Tuesday night. I needed a day to recover from the air travel from Vancouver and then linked up the local Tracksmith team for a Wednesday night track workout. This was when news broke out that we would be receiving record November humidity conditions for race weekend (24C and 60-80% humidity). Secretly thinking to myself, I actually preferred this as I am highly familiar with these conditions for the latter part of my summer races.
The Tracksmith workout was 3 sets of (300m@3k pace + 100m active recovery) with about 3 minutes static recovery between sets. I modified the 3km to 5km pace. For me anything under 5k pace IS my 5k pace, 3:30-3:45 per km. It felt comfortable for marathon taper.
The next day's plan was to then make the 4-hr charter bus ride down to New York after Jen's work day was completed. On the way to the bus stop, Jen wanted to stop again at the Tracksmith store but this time to pick up a 3-inch run shorts for me. I tried them on and told Jen that I was definitely gonna break the never-try-anything-new on race day rule. It felt so great, the fabric just hugs you.
T-minus up to less than 1-2-days from the marathon, I made sure to keep sipping tiny amounts of electrolytes and hydration for body to absorb the nutrition.
Race Strategy Tips
Jen told me about the Shalane Flanagan pro-trick of carrying a small disposable water bottle to casually sip between 0-3 miles since we spend about 25 minutes in the holding pen with no aid. For humid conditions, this was especially key for staying hydrated.
Mile 12/18 (KM19/28) were the SiS jels stations. Fortunately for me I packed the same ones on my race bib belt. (5 with me and maybe pickup two at each jels station).
Hills were sprinkled all over the course. Jen says not to worry about looking for splits on the watch. The 5km splits gut-check is a better increment. The mile 1 was the biggest hill climb and descent but was no big deal. This was a good warmup to the race.
Jen says 25km (mile 15.5) was the beast of the race where the business part of the race begins. She said that her old coach told her if you can get to the top of Queensboro (it's about 2x Vancouver's Burrard bridge) feeling good, you'll have an excellent race for rest of the way.
Oh, but Jen warns me that there are still hills along route. Don't over do it on the down from Queensboro and wait two more km before using 1st Ave crowds to carry you with forward momentum.
The long gradual forgotten hill of the 5 is at 37km (mile 23). This is a long grind at the back end, which will be soul crushing despite its gentle grade on paper.
Race Morning Lead-in
3:50am wakeup time.
4:33am the train arrives in Brooklyn to get to Manhattan for the mid-town bus ride. Jen was kind to walk me to the station and direct me onto the right train! Sometimes the race brain just need some reassurance. :)
5:20am arrived at 5th and 42nd by walking 20minutes as warmup. I was about 20minutes late from my bus time.
5:40am lines were zig-zaging and made it onto one of the many buses.
6:50am arrived at Staten Island. I see why we need to get here so early as the bottom deck of the Verrazano bridge on left hand side will need to be cleared from motor traffic. This is where eventually my green route takes me for first few miles.
8:45am wave 1 pen closes (I barely managed to sneak in before closing time - rookie mistake).
9:10am start time for me. I think this is one of the more organized starting pens from my experiences at majors. There are three coloured routes to lead-in together (blue/orange/green). Each colour has A/B/C/D/E/F corrals that is heavily gated. There are also 5 waves each starting 35minutes apart. I was in Green wave 1 corral B.
All in all, despite long morning lead-up and race nerves, it was very smooth for a rookie like me to get to the start given the masses.
The Marathon
Oh right the marathon part. Now just having fun and executing the race.
The day-light saving time helped with logistics but it didn't help with the temperature. The sun was on full blast.
Just coming off the Mile 1 Verrazano bridge and many shirts were fully drenched in sweat. Lucky for me in the Green wave, we ran under cover on the bottom deck and were sheltered from the wind and sun. We also had the 3:00 hour pace bunny just slightly ahead in the A corral. I don't think the other blue and orange had a 3:00 bunny (maybe a 3:05 one?).
My game plan was to keep the pace bunny in sight. There were many runners so loosing the bunny wasn't a concern as I had many to run with.
At mile 3 to 8 we run into Brooklyn with the three colours merging. I caught the bunny and stayed on the left hand side to avoid the crowds. Sure enough, I heard many cheers for Casey (Neistat), later realizing he's a famous American YouTuber.
Mile 8 was within proximity to where we were staying and I couldn't find Jen. I noticed the crowds in Brooklyn were three rows deep (much denser than compared to last year's event). Jen said she saw me!
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| 🛫💓👍🐎🙌 |
Mile 8/KM13 was a little bottleneck as the three routes merged. I lost sight of the pace bunny and didn't want to burn matches to keep up. At this point, I still felt like a rockstar and keep the HR below 159bmp (my max is 178bpm). The crowds were amazing and constantly cheering "Go Canada!" Every so often paper graffiti will light up the run course. I was saving my matches for km25/37.
Mile 13/KM21, I caught a struggling teammate from FsRC and I encouraged him to try latching onto my legs.
Halfway point, I hit the timing mat at 1:29:54. I still felt strong at this point. HR still below 159bmp.
Mile 14-15/KM23-24 I got a nice surprise in Queens! Our good friends Brendan and Lawrence made a trip from Ottawa to cheer us on! We caught up later briefly after the race.
Mile 15.5/KM25 The BE(A)ST part of the race aka Queensboro Bridge! I held strong and reeled as many runners gracefully as I can without killing the legs and working the lungs. My HR peaked at 172bpm at this point of the race. Body was kicked into overdrive to keep the core cool. Luckily this bridge was also covered and we ran on the bottom deck.
Mile 16/ KM26 was the descent from the beast which smashed my hips flexor. My pacing started to unfortunately slow down from 4:15 to 4:30-45. My HR still kept strong at 165bpm. I still felt in control from the waist upwards.
Mile 17/KM27 Back onto Manhattan 1st Ave and I remembered Jen's wise words of letting the crowds carry you along. I can hear the super shoes vibrating and doing its thing. My RC Elite v2 were kicking in now at full force. Rule #5 time! Legs need to HTFU!
Mile 22/KM37 the last grind on 5th Ave held no mercy. I saw at least two puking on course. Many walkers along the blue line that I had to dodge. The crowds were thinning. Carnage everywhere. I think I was one of the few still chugging along despite going a 5-7min positive split forecast, I was still moving upstream.
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| Coming into Central Park - home stretch |
Mile 25-26/KM40-42 I was checking my watch to see how much further I needed to go. This was where Jen caught a glimpse of my form. Slowly the calves were getting tight. And the quads were getting tighter with every step. I was locked into survival mode now (steady as I go, goal was to not stop running) as I lit my final matches of the race. I knew if I stop, the legs will lock up. Luckily the HR was still pumping strong at 165bpm. No more matches left in my gearbox.
800m/400m/200m to go signs. Each one brutal and agonizing. I was thinking I needed Jen's shoulder to cry on at the finish.
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| 800/400/200m to go! |
Finish ALAS! I ran up to 1m to go and then walked across, not anticipating I needed to run anystep further. But one of the finish catchers volunteer immediately ran up to me and told me "Congratulations...but you got to go!". He carried me off the view of the finish so I didn't block anymore photos.
Funny on our Zwift virtual cycling team on thursdays, we do team time trials. Basically 4 of the up to 8 members need to finish and the team time is taken from the 4th finisher. One of our respected vets always says "no disrespect, but we gotta go" as a hint that the 4-man train needs to severe ties to the weaker links team members. I had a chuckle that I had to run more distance despite crossing the finish already.
There was a timing mat for exiting and that took me almost 20 minutes to walk off site. Jen greeted me at the finish intersection.
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| Marathons are Hard! Glad to get⭐⭐⭐⭐! |
I always forget how hard a marathon is.
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| My interpretation of NYC elevation profile |
Finished 3:07:24/ 33rd Canadian / 1058th place (top 2.2% of finishers)
Post Race Thoughts
Super happy about my race execution and placing! This was one of my best. A faster time will need to come another day. :) Got to respect the distance (and enjoying the post race recovery). Kudos to all the NYC finishers!
Thanks for reading!
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