RunDisney Race Recap — Go Kelly Eli

This is bound to be a long one folks, so grab your favorite carbs and buckle in:

The 2017 NYC Marathon

I suppose the place to start is the night before the race. I had been invited by my friend Sami, who is a fellow member of the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team, to stay with her the night before the race, as we were heading into Manhattan together on race morning. After a bunch of self-debate, I decided to stay with her as it would reduce my race morning stress. Plus, these days I keep hearing that the “good night sleep” you really need before a race is two days out anyway.

The pre-race dinner that Sami put together

This meant that on Saturday I had to make sure I had everything that I would need for race day packed up and ready to go – from fueling needs to spare ponytails. The hardest part of this was deciding what to wear, as the weather predictions had been somewhat varied leading up to race day. I narrowed my choices down to two options: both would use the NYPD running club shirt I had picked up at the expo, and then either my CW-X compression tights or my new balance 2 in 1 shorts would be paired with the tank. Both pant options had their own pros and cons – in the shorts I felt freer when running, but risked chafing if it rained too hard. In the CW-X tights I had extra support built in, but would feel closed in if it got too warm. How I dressed for previous marathons did not help much, as I had worn the tights for the first and the shorts for the second, and both had worked well for me. Each outfit option was paired with a pair of PRO compression socks (knee highs for the shorts or no shows for the leggings), my SPI belt, and a hat that I regularly run in. In addition to my outfits I packed a race morning breakfast, some water bottles, my throw away layers (an old pair of pajamas), running gloves and a headband just in case the weather took a turn for the worst. I also assembled sandwich bags of extra fueling (some Gu and some sport beans) and gave one to Dad and one to Dennis in case something went wrong with the fuel I was carrying on race day.

Dennis had agreed to drive me to Sami’s house when he got out of work Saturday, so we headed out around 6:30. Of course, 15 minutes into the drive I realized I had left my headphones on the charger at home and we needed to turn around to grab them. After the near tragedy of heading into the race sans headphones, we were finally on the road and he was able to drop me off at Sami’s for the night.

Sami is seriously the best host ever, and I could not ask for a better teammate. She had prepared an awesome carb filled dinner for us, and our teammate Talia joined us as well to chow down. They both have more experience with the NYC marathon than I do, so it was nice to get some race day advice and have my nerves calmed by two runners that had run the race before. Sami made an awesome, dinner spread with everything from pretzel bread and chicken to sweet potatoes and steak. And of course, lots of water.

After dinner I pulled out the outfits that I had packed and laid them out for the next morning. I pinned my bib to my tank top, and felt that I was as ready as I could be. This was real, the NYC marathon, after all these months, was one sleep away. I settled into the cot Sami had set up for me, and headed to sleep.

I managed to sleep better than I expected to, but even with the time change giving us a bonus hour of sleep 3:30 AM came too soon. After checking out the race day weather, I decided to go with the outfit consisting of shorts and compression socks with my tank top. I started picking at my bagel with peanut butter, not really sure how I should be fueling for a race that was still 7 hours away.

At 4:15 AM Mike and Denise, two more members of the tri team, arrived to pick us up. Denise was running the marathon too, and her husband Mike had agreed to drive us all to the subway in Queens. We had little idea of where exactly we were going, so Sami got the address from one of her friends that was meeting us there. After a little bit of confusion which included Sami sticking her head out of a window to “get her bearings,” a road that split confusingly in three directions, and a handful of shared laughs, we arrived at the subway around 5 AM to find the rest of the group that we were meeting.

We collected our stuff and headed underground. I had a metro card that was borrowed from a friend, and had the bad luck of it refusing to scan! Luckily, Denise had extra credit on her metro card and saved me, letting me into the subway. We waited for about a minute before the subway rolled in, and the settled down for the ride. We all chatted, lots of nervous energy between us.

It was still dark out when the subway rolled into Manhattan, and we gathered our things and shuffled out. When we surfaced again there were plenty of runners about. We had about a mile to walk to get to John Jay college, where we would board the NYPD running club busses and head to Staten Island. It was a bit damp out during the walk, and in retrospect I probably should have brought a second pair of shoes to do all of my traveling in. When we got to John Jay we deposited all of our stuff in the lobby, and I headed to the bathroom line so I would have the chance to use a non porter-potty.

We had about a half hour wait at John Jay before they started boarding the buses. They were NYPD buses, and they lined the block when we stepped outside. We hopped onto one and began our journey along the waterfront of Manhattan to Staten Island. The buses all had their lights on, and it was awesome to see the line of lights ahead of us with every turn. Soon enough we crossed the bridge onto Staten Island, and got our first glance of the start village. The NYPD busses took us to a baseball field that had a tent set up, with the heat on and a breakfast spread out and waiting for us. Our little group set up a blanket city in the corner of the tent, and I grabbed a cinnamon bun and nibbled on that. When we got to Staten Island it was around 7:30 AM, so we still had plenty of time to kill. We hung out and relaxed for a few hours, the bag bus eventually collected our stuff, and as 9:30 rolled around we started our migration towards the main start village.

We had to go through security to get into the village, where they checked our start area bags (they had to be the designated clear bags) and scanned us with medal detectors. It was amazing the number of people that were mulling about. My assigned start time was 10:40 am with wave three, in corral A of the blue section. So that I could start with Sami I decided to move into the orange start area of that same wave, which just like the blue group would run over the top deck of the Verrazano Bridge at the start of the race. The start village is divided by the color group that you start with (blue, orange or green) so we all headed into the orange area and found an empty bit of sidewalk to hang out on until it was time for wave 3 to move into the start corrals. I made my final pre-race preparations, moving everything that I would be taking with me into my SPI belt and putting on some sunscreen.

Pre-race jitters were in full force at this point. Four months of preparation to get here. It was while we were waiting that it started to drizzle a little, a weather condition that would persist for the whole race. Once we heard the start of wave two, which was noted with fireworks, we started to make our way towards the start corrals. We headed into our corral, which was already packed with people and I started removing my throw away layer. As they collapsed the start corrals and we moved towards the start line itself I broke out my pre-race Gu and ate that as we moved along.

We passed by some NYPD officers as we moved up, and I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted one of my Dad’s old partners! It was a good feeling to see a familiar face pre-race, and we of course took a photo to send to Dad.

The national anthem was sung, the announcers wished us all luck, and “New York, New York” began playing through the speakers. And just like that, I crossed the start line and the NYC Marathon had begun. I started the race with Sami and her friend Allison, and we would spend the first 7 miles of the course running together. All of the miles kind of melted together as I travelled through the five boroughs by foot, so forgive me as some parts of the race description below are less than specific.

As you may know, the course starts on the Verrazano Bridge. We got to start the race on the upper level, and were immediately heading uphill. It was fairly quiet on the bridge aside from the odd chatter of runners here and there. I was surprised by how many people were stopping to climb up on the median dividers and grab a selfie with the bridge in the background. The sky was overcast, and looking out from the bridge there was fog out over the water. It was still drizzly, but not really “raining” at this point in the race. We took it easy for the first mile, and picked up a few seconds during the second mile when the course shifted to being downhill. Once we got off the bridge I got to experience the beginning of all of the NYC Marathon spectators, as the streets were lined with people cheering and holding signs, and so many kids with their hands out for high-fives from passing runners. The first seven miles breezed by, in a sea of cheering crowds, aid stations, and assorted chatter. I was ready to pick up my pace a little, so Sami encouraged me to run on, and we parted ways.

Mentally, I broke the race down into where I knew I would find my people after this point. Merrick bicycles tri team would be at miles 8, 18, and 23. Dad, Grandpa and Kasey would be just passed Pulaski Bridge around mile 13. Mom, Dennis and Rachel would be right after the Queensboro Bridge at the beginning of First Avenue, right around mile 16. Remembering that I would get to see some of gave me a great push as I ran. Know that if you were one of my people out there, or even one of my virtual people who texted, snapchatted, or followed my journey through the NYC marathon app, your encouragement meant so much to me!

Cheering from afar: My cousin Jen made me this cheer card of her Dog, Lucy!

Spotted first was the tri team, along the street and full of energy as they cheered and held up signs, their cheering squad complete with a megaphone and monkey costumes – these guys went all out and it was so fun to see them. Their signs and massive numbers made them easy to spot, and after running by them I put my headphones in for the first time to get me through to mile 13, where I would see some of my family. The energy of the city was alive, and there were crowds everywhere but the bridges. I saw some of my favorite signs of the race along mile 11, where people went full force with “Stranger Things” references.

My basic fuel plan was a Gu before the race and then every 4-5 miles, depending on how I was feeling. I also had sport beans with me to use as a little pick-me-up as necessary. Early in the race I was cramping a little so I took my first on the run Gu at mile 4. Around mile 10 I failed at putting my sport beans back into my belt, and they plummeted onto the NYC streets. I texted Dad so that he was ready to pass me my back up bag of beans when I ran by.

When I got to the Pulaski Bridge I was super excited to get to see my family. Once I was in queens they were easy to spot, with Kasey and Dad both sporting signs that they had made for me, which was amazing. I was so happy to see them that I almost ran away without my beans, but they called me back to grab them just in time.

The weather continued to be very wet as I ran, although it never really rained. Just a constant drizzle that left puddles on the ground. I was glad that I had a running hat on to keep the water out of my face. Regardless of the weather, the crowds continued to be nonstop. As I headed over the Queensboro Bridge, it was the first moment of real silence that I had experienced for the whole race, the only noise being runner’s footsteps. But as the edge of the bridge approached, the spectators lining First Avenue could be heard long before they were seen! Even before I was off the bridge I paused my music so I could really take it all in, and right after turning onto first I could see Mom and her sign, cheering with Dennis and Rach, tucked into the crowds. Even two weeks post-race I tear up a little thinking about each moment that I got to see someone that came out to see me run this race, it just means the world to me. It felt like all of NYC was lining First Avenue after that bridge, it was just crazy.

The next spot I had to look for spectators was between mile markers 18 and 19, and I was still feeling good. As I headed there, texts came in from Mom and Dad that they would be in central park when I got there, just before mile 25. I read them on my Garmin and made a mental note to look for them. When I got to mile 18 I paused my music so that I could look out for the team, but I hit mile 19 without finding any of them. It was really disappointing to have missed them, and I had a more emotional response than I expected to not finding them. But I powered on, knowing that there were still plenty of miles to get through and more of my people ahead.

Around mile 20 I started having issues with my IT band, which had largely been cooperative throughout this training cycle, even though I had issues with it when I was training for the Long Island Marathon this past May and during that race. I had hoped that I would sneak through NY without any issues, since my long runs had all gone well, but my luck ran out around mile 20. It was bearable, just a slight annoyance at this point.

Early in the race, and I’m talking flashback to the first mile as we climbed the uphill of the Verrazano Bridge, we overhead a guy telling his friend that yes, this uphill was hard but it was the hardest hill of the race and would just get easier from there! Sami chimed in, asking if it was his first time running NY – it was not. She then promptly called him a liar, stating that the hill at mile 22 was worlds worse than the uphill of the bridge. I laughed at the statement and we ran onward, trying not to worry too much about what was ahead of us.

As I approached mile 22 I started to think of this hill, and knowing that it was coming I decided to stop and use the bathroom as I ran by a porter potty with no line, that way I would not be tempted to stop as the uphill got hard. I also had been warned that the finish line area took a long time to exit, so I didn’t want to be rushing through there to get to a bathroom.

After stopping for a minute, my IT band felt much better and I was able to pick up the pace a little. But soon after, my asthma started acting up and would continue to do so for the rest of the race. Thankfully I had my inhaler with me, but it caused me to slow my pace down by 1-2 minutes per mile which was beyond frustrating - because I knew that I was capable of a better pace. It didn’t help when the incline started at the end of mile 22, and continued for what felt like forever. I reminded myself that I would see some of the tri team during mile 23, and they did not disappoint. The team had spread out throughout the mile, which was awesome because I got to find people over and over again. First I saw Tara and her daughter with Talia, and jumped in for a hug because I could not contain my excitement when I saw them. Tara ran many of my long runs with me last winter when I was training for the Disney marathon, and Talia is a constant source of inspiration for me with her dedication to the sport and her speed! Next I saw a cluster of people covered in Team gear, and at the end of the mile, right as I was getting into my own head as I struggled with breathing, I heard Allison and Jeanine shouting and from up on a tall curb, and it was just the pick me up I needed!

I headed into mile 24 knowing I would see Mom right before mile 25, and was excited to find them next, even though at this point every stride forward was a struggle full of frustration and feeling like I had failed because my breathing was just so off. I was still running, I was still in this race, but it was harder than any run I had done before as a made my way through central park, and inched closer to that finish line. I found Mom cheering with Dennis and Rachel right before mile 25, and was so happy to see them. I practically collapsed onto Dennis with a hug, and before starting to run again I asked where Dad was – I had assumed they would all be together from what I had read on my watch earlier, but Mom thought he was either a mile earlier or a mile later than them, she was not sure. Sadly, I later learned that Dad and Kasey were right before mile 24, and I had somehow missed them. When the texts had come in from Mom and Dad earlier, I thought that they were together and misread Dads.

I didn’t realize that I had missed them at the time, so I kept looking for them as I ran through mile 25 of the race to no avail. When I passed through the final group of cheering spectators out on 5th avenue and hadn’t found them before I headed back into central park for the final stretch, I realized that I must have missed them which was upsetting. But there was less than a mile between me and the finish line at that point. Breathing was still an issue, but I was still running. I was questioning why I run marathons, I was questioning how I ever found running fun, I was questioning if I could even really finish this race, despite the fact that there was less than a mile left. It was, without a doubt, the hardest mile I have ever run. I felt really disappointed in myself, even though asthma is something that is totally out of my control, like I had done something wrong or messed up in some way. Honestly, two weeks post-race I am still dealing with feeling like this, even though I have mostly come to terms with it. This feeling is part of why it took me so long to write this post. It took a few days post-race to emotionally recover from the race, before I could really even think about the race without feeling upset.

I re-entered central park, and there were screens up reminding us that the finish line was just around the corner. Then I could see the grand stand seating, full of spectators. And just like that, the finish line was in view. I laid down everything that I had left as I ran towards it. As I ran by the last area of finish line seating I heard Mike, who had dropped me off at the subway early that morning, calling my name and cheering for me and it helped me with that last push. I crossed the finish line, and it was done. The NYC Marathon. I had finished the NYC Marathon. It had taken me 4 hours and 37 minutes, but it was done. Slower than Long Island, faster than Disney, more emotionally draining than either, and I had done it. I wanted to burst into tears as soon as I was over that line, but I could hardly breathe as it was. I focused on the shuffle forward. Inhale, exhale, deep breaths. A volunteer put a medal on me. I took a photo – I look happy, or maybe relieved? Someone handed me a Mylar blanket. I was warm but I knew that would pass since all of my clothing was soaked through, so I accepted it, and another volunteer taped it closed for me. Was I really finished? Was this happening? I kept moving forward, and someone spotted the NYPD running club shirt I was wearing, and directed me out of the main stream of traffic and to a side tent. A cadet was there to get me around the corner and to the NYPD tent. He asked if I was ok, and I nodded my head. If I spoke, hysterical tears would have erupted. Breathing was still all I could handle. Inhale, exhale, deep breaths. He asked if I needed to lean on him, but I was ok. I was moving forward, towards the tent. They gave me a poncho – possibly the worlds coziest, fleece lined poncho, and a recovery bag. Dad was calling, I found a bench and sat down at last. He asked where I was. I didn’t really know. I sent him a photo of where I was, and told him to use find my friends. My brain was reeling, that was all I could handle. Inhale, exhale, deep breaths.

After a few minutes of just sitting still on the bench I started to feel better. I took some Gatorade out of the recovery bag and started sipping it. My breathing started to return to normal. I took a minute to take it all in. It was still drizzling, the sky was overcast. I remembered that I needed to claim the bag that I checked with the NYPD running club, so I walked back to the tent to find out where I needed to go for that. They pointed me towards a group of runners loading into the back of a little cart, which drove us a few blocks over to where the vans were shuttling people over to John Jay, where some people were going to the NYPD running club after party. I sat down on a pillar on the corner and waited for Dad and Kasey to get there – I had called them to let them know I was moving from my previous location. Unfortunately, no one in the shuttle area knew where the finish line bags were, but luckily I ran into Denise who was heading to John Jay. She was able to ask someone there and let me know where to find the bus full of bags, which wound up being about a block away. By the time we found out where the bags were all of my people had found me at the finish line – Dad, Kasey, Mom, Dennis and Rachel. After grabbing my bag from the bus we headed towards the subway, which took us to Penn station, and then boarded the train which took us home to Long Island. I tried to eat some pretzels from the recovery bag, but my stomach was unhappy with me as we rode the train home, as sometimes happens to me after long runs. I was able to change out of my running clothes and into an outfit that Den had lugged into the city for me, which was nice and dry. Of course, I kept the NYRR poncho on because, as previously mentioned, it’s basically my new favorite accessory.

Post race photo of Dennis, me and Rachel

When I got home I showered to thaw myself out, and managed to eat a little bit of pasta before passing out. I would pay for not eating enough with a diminished mental capacity and general exhaustion for the following two days. Of course, I suppose that could also be attributed to running a marathon.

Overall, running the NYC marathon was an amazing experience, and I plan to run it again. The crowds were like no other that I have ever experienced, even if at times they made me feel like there was a lot of pressure on me. The changing views of the city and running over the bridges was a unique course, and I loved seeing so much of New York City in one day. The aid stations, like all aid stations I have experienced at New York Road Runner races, were great, with water and Gatorade clearly marked and always available.

I could not have asked for a better training cycle leading up to this race. I got all of my long runs in, hit the track at least once weekly, and managed to avoid any major injuries or illnesses. I think this great training cycle is the reason I feel a little disappointed in my results. I am proud that I finished, I am thankful for the experience, and I am humbled by this course, which was truly challenging. I just have to remind myself that my asthma is out of my control, and there was nothing that I could have done to avoid the breathing issues that I encountered. I was as prepared as I could be, running with my inhaler as I always do. While I have some lingering feelings of failure, the further I get from race day the more I feel like I learned a lot during this race, and the challenges I faced help me to grow both as a runner and as a person. They prepared me for the races and obstacles ahead of me.

So what is next?

I can’t say that I have another marathon on my schedule that I plan on running. I am technically signed up for Rock ‘n Roll D.C. in March of 2018, but as of now I am planning to run the half instead of the full, as I just don’t feel ready to commit to another training cycle for a full marathon. That will come in time I am sure, but after 3 marathons in 2017, I need a break before I dive in and give myself to this distance again.

Short term, I want to focus on improving my speed for shorter races – I haven’t raced a half marathon since November of 2016, and I would love to see what I can do now that I have a few fulls under my belt.

Long term? Well, I may or may not have entered the lottery for the 2018 Chicago marathon.

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The 2017 NYC Marathon