TeamULTRA
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While scrolling through my instagram feed in early June, I happened to see a sponsored (i.e., sponsored by Instagram) post titled Plog Your Way Into The 2019 TCS New York City Marathon. Although I didn’t know the term plogging until a couple years ago (i.e., until doing it with my friends in Keweenaw Running Group once or twice a year), it was something I had been doing for many years … well before I got into running. I turned in my entry and to be completely honest, I didn’t think anything would come out of it.
As my good fortune would have it, I happened to be one of the 95 chosen to be a part of TeamULTRA 3.0 to run the 2019 New York City Marathon! Truth be told, I thought the email notification about the award/reward notification was spam and had deleted it. I was/am glad that deleting a message in Gmail only puts in the Trash and doesn’t purge. I was/am even gladder (if it’s even a word?) I could retrieve the deleted message back to the Inbox and not miss out on this wonderful opportunity.
Change of plans
I had stayed true to the prescribed schedule for week #01 of a 15-week training cycle starting from early July culminating in Chicago in mid-October. I had rationed the week #02 miles do well in 2019 Run The Keweenaw – A Festival of Trails but had suffered a mild sprain/hyper-extension of the left ankle. The pain had re-surfaced over the final few miles of 2019 Canal Run Half Marathon at the end of week #03. I am eternally grateful for a family of friends visit the Yoop from the UK in week #04. If not for the blessing of their good company with good food and outings, I would have very likely trained through the pain and the potential injury resulting therefrom would have likely wrecked the longer term training.
On the other hand, in only two weeks of interactions, the TeamULTRA folks organizing and coordinating various aspects of the Big Apple trip had been super kind and very efficient. With a seemingly endless list of amenities they provided making me feel like an elite athlete, I figured the least I could do was to honor them with dedicated training and my best performance to date on race day. Taking the healed ankle into account, I designed a 14-week plan … re-starting my training in late July ending in New York City with TeamULTRA organizers, teammates and their families.
Training cycle
|
Notation:
Easy (E) |
Long (L) |
Race (R) |
Speed (S) |
Tempo (T)
Distance in miles and time in h:mm:ss |
|||||||||
| Wk |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Week | Cycle |
| 01 |
07/29 E 6.00 10.25 1:29:32 |
07/30 S 2.00 6.52 1:29:50 |
07/31 E 6.00 10.38 2:24:31 |
08/01 T 3.00 6.30 1:26:53 |
08/02 E 6.00 10.04 2:56:27 |
08/03 L 12.00 13.16 2:05:27 |
08/04 Rest - - |
35.00
56.65 11:52:40 |
35.00
56.65 11:52:40 |
| 02 |
08/05 E 6.00 11.35 1:45:11 |
08/06 S 2.00 6.40 1:27:59 |
08/07 E 6.00 10.34 1:37:54 |
08/08 T 4.00 8.03 1:09:28 |
08/09 E 6.00 3.15 1:59:55 |
08/10 L 13.00 13.10 1:38:06 |
08/11 Rest 7.16 1:11:56 |
37.00
59.53 10:50:29 |
72.00
116.18 22:43:09 |
|
W02D06 (08/10) was the 2019 Paavo Nurmi Half Marathon in Hurley, WI. |
|||||||||
| 03 |
08/12 E 6.00 11.46 1:53:28 |
08/13 S 3.00 7.41 1:33:49 |
08/14 E 6.00 10.14 2:06:07 |
08/15 T 5.00 9.10 1:48:23 |
08/16 E 6.00 10.03 2:37:23 |
08/17 L 15.00 15.62 2:12:21 |
08/18 Rest - - |
41.00
63.76 12:11:31 |
113.00
179.94 34:54:40 |
| 04 |
08/19 E 6.00 7.59 1:27:33 |
08/20 S 2.00 5.04 0:45:14 |
08/21 E 6.00 6.89 1:23:19 |
08/22 T 4.00 5.24 1:00:44 |
08/23 E 6.00 10.10 2:59:59 |
08/24 L 11.00 13.64 2:39:38 |
08/25 Rest 7.19 1:16:14 |
35.00
55.69 11:32:41 |
148.00
235.63 46:27:21 |
| Wk |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Week | Cycle |
| 05 |
08/26 E 6.00 - - |
08/27 S 3.00 6.31 1:02:11 |
08/28 E 6.00 10.57 2:16:46 |
08/29 T 5.00 13.32 3:13:49 |
08/30 E 6.00 3.37 0:31:56 |
08/31 L 17.00 18.12 2:22:22 |
09/01 Rest 12.64 1:56:58 |
43.00
64.33 11:24:02 |
191.00
299.96 57:51:23 |
|
W05D06 (08/31) was the 2019 Marquette Half Marathon in Marquette, MI. |
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| 06 |
09/02 E 6.00 5.47 1:03:48 |
09/03 S 4.00 - 0:30:00 |
09/04 E 6.00 - 1:30:00 |
09/05 T 6.00 - - |
09/06 E 6.00 2.58 0:22:51 |
09/07 L 18.00 9.37 1:11:04 |
09/08 Rest - - |
46.00
17.42 4:37:43 |
237.00
317.38 62:29:06 |
|
W06D06 (09/07) was the 2019 Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon in Grand Rapids, MI (DNF). |
|||||||||
| 07 |
09/09 E 6.00 12.66 1:49:07 |
09/10 S 3.00 6.46 0:58:04 |
09/11 E 6.00 8.42 3:31:39 |
09/12 T 6.00 - - |
09/13 E 6.00 - - |
09/14 L 20.00 16.60 2:08:06 |
09/15 Rest 5.01 0:52:55 |
47.00
49.15 9:19:51 |
284.00
366.53 71:48:57 |
|
W07D06 (09/14) was the 2019 Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon in Geneva, IL (DNF). |
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| 08 |
09/16 E 6.00 - 1:30:00 |
09/17 S 4.00 6.64 1:14:56 |
09/18 E 6.00 8.40 1:16:49 |
09/19 T 5.00 - - |
09/20 E 6.00 - - |
09/21 L 13.00 20.21 2:55:00 |
09/22 Rest 6.27 1:08:32 |
40.00
41.52 8:05:17 |
324.00
408.05 79:54:14 |
| Wk |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Week | Cycle |
| 09 |
09/23 E 6.00 6.26 1:05:59 |
09/24 S 4.00 7.05 0:59:21 |
09/25 E 6.00 10.03 2:01:25 |
09/26 T 7.00 7.14 3:12:10 |
09/27 E 6.00 - - |
09/28 L 20.00 16.11 2:03:07 |
09/29 Rest 5.45 0:55:45 |
49.00
52.04 10:17:47 |
373.00
460.09 90:12:01 |
|
W09D06 (09/28) was the 2019 Bridges & Bluffs Half Marathon in Ironwood, MI. |
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| 10 |
09/30 E 5.00 - - |
10/01 S 2.00 - - |
10/02 E 5.00 5.52 0:48:37 |
10/03 T 4.00 - - |
10/04 E 5.00 6.28 2:00:42 |
10/05 L 10.00 10.01 1:56:07 |
10/06 Rest 12.03 1:44:39 |
31.00
33.84 6:30:05 |
404.00
493.93 96:42:06 |
| 11 |
10/07 E 4.00 3.21 0:33:33 |
10/08 S 2.00 - - |
10/09 E 4.00 7.02 1:33:41 |
10/10 Rest - 2:00:00 |
10/11 E 3.00 3.12 0:30:45 |
10/12 R 26.22 26.31 3:29:27 |
10/13 Rest - - |
39.22
39.66 8:07:26 |
443.22
533.59 104:49:32 |
|
W11D06 (10/12) was the 2019 WhistleStop Marathon in Ashland, WI. |
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| 12 |
10/14 E 3.00 5.03 1:23:43 |
10/15 E 4.00 5.01 0:52:14 |
10/16 E 5.00 4.12 1:08:04 |
10/17 E 6.00 6.25 1:04:19 |
10/18 E 8.00 8.37 2:18:44 |
10/19 L 13.00 10.13 2:50:48 |
10/20 Rest 12.97 2:20:55 |
39.00
51.88 11:58:47 |
482.22
585.47 116:48:19 |
| Wk |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Week | Cycle |
| 13 |
10/21 E 5.00 - - |
10/22 S 1.50 5.04 0:48:13 |
10/23 E 5.00 6.06 1:01:48 |
10/24 T 2.00 5.30 0:48:43 |
10/25 E 5.00 - 2:30:00 |
10/26 L 10.00 6.37 0:50:12 |
10/27 Rest 7.05 1:15:28 |
28.50
29.82 7:14:24 |
510.72
615.29 124:02:43 |
| 14 |
10/28 E 3.00 3.24 0:33:05 |
10/29 E 3.00 3.25 0:59:40 |
10/30 E 3.00 3.27 3:02:05 |
10/31 Rest - - |
11/01 Rest - - |
11/02 E 3.00 3.30 0:39:18 |
11/03 R 26.22 26.22 3:38:18 |
38.22
39.28 8:52:26 |
548.94
654.57 132:55:09 |
Training eye candies
Vitals (sleep, resting heart rate and weight) are/were measured every day shortly after waking up. If a measurement wasn't taken on a given day (say, due to laziness), then the recorded value from the previous day is used for computing the 7-day moving average.
Race weekend
Thursday
Though I made a packing list and had been putting the items on the list away for a couple days, I didn’t necessarily pack anything until Thursday noon. After completing packing and grabbing a bit of leftovers at home for lunch, I left Houghton around 1:30 pm. An uneventful drive with a couple of pitstops took me to Green Bay by 4:30 pm local time. Liz Robbins’ A Race Like No Other kept me good company during the drive. Good ole friends, Katie and Kelley, were able to free up their schedule on short notice to meet me for dinner. The venue, HuHot Mongolian Grill, was a no brainer. She had taken me there years ago, and it has remained a favorite in spite of exploring and expanding culinary frontiers in Green Bay. The food and the experience did not disappoint, and the company made it all better! HuHot had even added Zoodles (i.e., spiralized zucchini) as an unprocessed alternative to traditional noodles! A quick stop in Run Away Shoes for a chat before calling it a night before 9 pm in the cozy comforts of Hotel J.
Friday
The very reason I booked my flight out of Green Bay was to avoid any potential delays. In an ironic turn of events, the flight out of Houghton/Hancock took off on time while the mine out of Green Bay was delayed by an hour. But the TSA, flight crew and fellow passengers made the Green Bay-Chicago flight go by like a blink of an eye. Taking a lesson out of Meb’s book, 26 Marathons, I decided to not check any of my luggage, and kept everything I needed for race day in my backpack with me at all times. Though the original 2-hour layover in Chicago was cut short to about 45 minutes, the Chicago-NYC flight wasn’t boarding on time. There were a group of NYC-bound runners (one of them wore The jacket) willing to chat making the time go by easily. In spite of all this, the flight crew even got us to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) several minutes ahead of schedule as Liz Robbins’ A Race Like No Other kept me good company during much of the flight.
Waiting in the said Grand Stand for nearly an hour for the ceremony to start was well worth it: I got to sit in the very front row, next to a lovely and supportive family, across from a very vociferous Kiwi contingent and not too far from the never difficult to miss group from Brazil! I was expecting each country’s athletes/runners to make up the parade but turned out it was the citizens of New York City who showed up to show off their country pride. The cutest one of them all was a 80+ year young lone representative from a battle-/conflict-torn country carrying the groceries (likely for dinner that night) in both hands accompanied by a flag-bearer!
As the hour-long Opening Ceremony was drawing to a close, I headed out of the Park with walkways lit up mostly by a spectacular display of fireworks. Getting to meet many of the Boston Buddies (BBs) that I have only known by name or their Facebook profile (e.g., Edgecombe, David, Irena, Kati, Mike, Tim, Tom, Vince, …) at The Three Monkeys as well as emptying two (yeah, TWO) customized bowls (Broadway Bowl: brown rice, black beans, roasted corn, tomato, cauliflower, cilantro, red onions, chili cumin, lime vinaigrette with avocado and quinoa; Quinoa Bowl: quinoa, bell pepper, jalapeño, red onions, tomato, roasted corn, black beans, avocado, cilantro and mango curry sauce) while chugging down (and often double-fisting) pints upon pints of neat Lake Superior Vodka made for a lovely evening.
It felt rather surreal to have returned to this region – that I once was local to – as a new (because 10 years have passed) and improved (because running and nordic skiing have brought me in touch with so many lovely people over the past 4-5 years) version of myself. In less than 12 hours of being in the city, I had already heard of or seen the likes of Amby, Bill, Deena, Eliud, Frank, Joan, Kathrine, Meb, Paula, Shalane and more. There were even confirmed rumors that some of my nordic skiing heroes – Caitlin Gregg, Brian Gregg and Kikkan Randall – would be blazing the five boroughs as well! The collective energy surrounding this event was quite unmistakeable and I was feeling a little giddy being a starstruck fanboy! Being the night before the night before and that, in turn, being my last best chance to get a full night of sleep, I was back at the casa and called it a night well before 10 pm … excitedly looking forward to the pre-race day experience.
Saturday
When I woke up early on Saturday morning, first thought was to take a train out to Jamaica and gain some self-transcendence. But it being the day before, there were plenty of shakeout runs to pick from and I decided to run solo down Broadway and up on 7th Avenue. Garmin expectedly had difficulty keeping up with satellites in the concrete jungle. So, I went from a distance-based run to a time-based one and completed the shakeout run around 8:15 am – more than 24-hours before the scheduled start of my wave. A quick shower and an Uber ride later, I found myself at the expo to pick my race packet. Thanks to TeamULTRA folks working their magic, NYRR extended a VIP status and the result was a breezy fast time through the expo.
After some more photos (thanks to another BB, Edgecombe and her friend, Tom), I headed down to Grand Central Station to meet a good ole friend, Jess, who graciously spent a few hours (and helped me pick out a pair of shades) showing me around the city I hadn’t explored before! Shortly after 4 pm, I got a bite of reliable food in a mom-and-pop diner not too far from the Penn Station, and arrived at the TeamULTRA dinner with fellow teammates around 6 pm. It was so cool to meet many of them in person and it felt like I had known them all along. One of our teammates happened to be Dean Karnazes! He too was kind enough to spend meaningful time and make me feel like I had known him all my life!!
Shortly afterwards, I headed back to the home base and set up the race day gear. Knowing that the subway rat had seen its shadow which meant good weather for the marathon, I peacefully called it a night around 9:15 pm.
Race day
. . . . . . . . . . . .
And the final moment before the race everywhere is the same, and it is magical. The music, the anthems, the speeches, the cheers, and the chatter all cease, and at last the runners are silent. For runners compulsively in motion, it is a unique moment of stillness. For 5 or 10 seconds everyone in that vast crowd looks silently inward and forward. All feel the premonitory glow, the flicker of readiness, like dry wood about to flare into a flame. Then the gun is fired. And the marathon begins.
Getting through the security screening and into the village was a breeze … given the number of runners in the event! It was close to 8:15 am and I found a few square feet of unoccupied area to meditate. An unknown but fellow runner (I am rather ashamed I didn’t ask for his name or note down his bib number) graciously offered 2-sided sticky tapes that could securely attach the bib to my singlet without needing any pins. And it worked like a charm! As I was getting done with that task, an announcement came over the public announcement system that it was time for wave #1 runners to get into the respective corrals.
I recall spending about half my time in the corral chatting with previously unknown folks. The other half was spent quietly meditating, contemplating a conservative start per recommendations from Stephen, Ray, Laura, Natalie, David, Dr. Robinson (in his Podium Runner article) and fellow runners as well as imagining one final time as to where I should be after mile #20, how I should feel when I enter the Central Park and such. The overall collection of my feelings in the moments leading up to the start – the way I felt them and the way I wish I could write about them – are immaculately articulated in Chapter #1: The Prelude To A Race of 26.2: Marathon Stories by Kathrine Switzer and Dr. Roger Robinson.
While inside the tent, I had heard the cannon go off and Frank Sinatra singing Start Spreading The News to send Des Linden, Queen Mary, Sarah Hall and rest of the elite/pro women off. It was only a few minutes before the start of my own wave that I realized, thanks to fellow teammate Lauren, that elite/pro men were just a couple hundred feet ahead on the upper deck! Just as I looked up, there were parachuters coming down with colorful smokes and waving the American flag. I recall hearing a few words from Michael Capiraso (the president and CEO of NYRR) and Jim Heim (the race director), and the cannon went off again. Frank Sinatra started singing Start Spreading The News yet again as wave #1 runners – including pro/elite men of the likes of Abdi Abdirahman, Jared Ward, Geoffrey Kamworor, Lelisa Desisa – took off ascending the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
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Goal vs Reality
Goal: 26.22 mi in 3:29:28 (7:59 min/mi) Reality: 26.31 mi in 3:38:19.0 (8:17 min/mi) |
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| # |
Lap Distance mi |
Lap Pace min/mile |
Lap Elevation feet |
Total Distance mi |
Total Time h:mm:ss |
Total Elevation feet |
Total Pace min/mile |
Projected Finish Time h:mm:ss |
Differential Goal Time h:mm:ss |
| 01 | 1.00 | 9:36 | 141↑ 23↓ | 1.00 | 0:09:36 | 141↑ 23↓ | 9:36 | 4:11:42 | 0:42:14 |
| 02 | 1.00 | 7:25 | 0↑ 177↓ | 2.00 | 0:17:02 | 141↑ 200↓ | 8:30 | 3:42:52 | 0:13:24 |
| 03 | 1.00 | 8:06 | 39↑ 13↓ | 3.00 | 0:25:08 | 180↑ 213↓ | 8:22 | 3:39:22 | 0:09:54 |
| 04 | 1.00 | 7:55 | 23↑ 20↓ | 4.00 | 0:33:04 | 203↑ 233↓ | 8:16 | 3:36:45 | 0:07:17 |
| 05 | 1.00 | 7:49 | 13↑ 33↓ | 5.00 | 0:40:53 | 216↑ 266↓ | 8:10 | 3:34:07 | 0:04:39 |
| 06 | 1.00 | 7:40 | 20↑ 49↓ | 6.00 | 0:48:34 | 236↑ 315↓ | 8:05 | 3:31:57 | 0:02:29 |
| 07 | 1.00 | 9:01 | 23↑ 36↓ | 7.00 | 0:57:35 | 259↑ 351↓ | 8:13 | 3:35:26 | 0:05:58 |
| 08 | 1.00 | 7:49 | 30↑ 3↓ | 8.00 | 1:05:24 | 289↑ 354↓ | 8:10 | 3:34:07 | 0:04:39 |
| 09 | 1.00 | 8:01 | 59↑ 33↓ | 9.00 | 1:13:25 | 348↑ 387↓ | 8:09 | 3:33:41 | 0:04:13 |
| 10 | 1.00 | 7:37 | 7↑ 52↓ | 10.00 | 1:21:03 | 355↑ 439↓ | 8:06 | 3:32:22 | 0:02:54 |
| 11 | 1.00 | 7:58 | 43↑ 7↓ | 11.00 | 1:29:01 | 398↑ 446↓ | 8:05 | 3:31:57 | 0:02:29 |
| 12 | 1.00 | 7:49 | 13↑ 49↓ | 12.00 | 1:36:51 | 411↑ 495↓ | 8:04 | 3:31:30 | 0:02:02 |
| 13 | 1.00 | 7:54 | 30↑ 23↓ | 13.00 | 1:44:45 | 441↑ 518↓ | 8:03 | 3:31:04 | 0:01:36 |
| 14 | 1.00 | 8:00 | 46↑ 49↓ | 14.00 | 1:52:45 | 487↑ 567↓ | 8:03 | 3:31:04 | 0:01:36 |
| 15 | 1.00 | 8:28 | 69↑ 7↓ | 15.00 | 2:01:13 | 556↑ 574↓ | 8:04 | 3:31:30 | 0:02:02 |
| 16 | 1.00 | 8:40 | 82↑ 66↓ | 16.00 | 2:09:53 | 638↑ 640↓ | 8:07 | 3:32:49 | 0:03:21 |
| 17 | 1.00 | 7:52 | 20↑ 66↓ | 17.00 | 2:17:46 | 658↑ 706↓ | 8:06 | 3:32:22 | 0:02:54 |
| 18 | 1.00 | 7:43 | 30↑ 52↓ | 18.00 | 2:25:30 | 688↑ 758↓ | 8:05 | 3:31:57 | 0:02:29 |
| 19 | 1.00 | 7:52 | 3↑ 0↓ | 19.00 | 2:33:22 | 691↑ 758↓ | 8:04 | 3:31:30 | 0:02:02 |
| 20 | 1.00 | 8:24 | 46↑ 16↓ | 20.00 | 2:41:46 | 737↑ 774↓ | 8:05 | 3:31:57 | 0:02:29 |
| 21 | 1.00 | 8:19 | 26↑ 39↓ | 21.00 | 2:50:06 | 763↑ 813↓ | 8:06 | 3:32:22 | 0:02:54 |
| 22 | 1.00 | 8:21 | 10↑ 20↓ | 22.00 | 2:58:27 | 773↑ 833↓ | 8:06 | 3:32:22 | 0:02:54 |
| 23 | 1.00 | 9:06 | 20↑ 13↓ | 23.00 | 3:07:33 | 793↑ 846↓ | 8:09 | 3:33:41 | 0:04:13 |
| 24 | 1.00 | 9:40 | 85↑ 7↓ | 24.00 | 3:17:13 | 878↑ 853↓ | 8:13 | 3:35:26 | 0:05:58 |
| 25 | 1.00 | 9:22 | 33↑ 66↓ | 25.00 | 3:26:35 | 911↑ 919↓ | 8:15 | 3:36:19 | 0:06:51 |
| 26 | 1.00 | 9:03 | 39↑ 30↓ | 26.00 | 3:35:38 | 950↑ 949↓ | 8:17 | 3:37:11 | 0:07:43 |
| 27 | 0.31 | 8:48 | 13↑ 3↓ | 26.31 | 3:38:22 | 963↑ 952↓ | 8:17 | 3:37:11 | 0:07:43 |
| The final cumulative time, 3:38:22, may not match the official time (3:38:19.0) owing to rounding errors. Starting my watch a few seconds before the start and stopping it a few seconds after crossing the finish line can be an additional reason for this discrepancy. The overall distance, 26.31 mi, may not match the designated (or certified) event distance (26.22 mi) owing to idiosyncrasies associated with GPS data collection OR my inability to take the tangents OR the aforementioned early start/late stop reasons, and in some rare cases, incorrectly measured (or advertised) courses or DNFs. As a result, the cumulative pace and the projected finish time might not match the official values as well. | |||||||||
Remembering more lessons, I offered all the respect that every bridge commanded, up and down, and picked up the pace a little whenever the course permitted. Off the very few things I do remember from the run were dozens of spectators offering paper towels and napkins (to wipe our face or blow the nose) and fresh fruits. One other thing I do remember, only because it nearly ended my run as well as that of few others around me, was a spectator trying to cross the road with their bike in Brooklyn. Other than these and briefly looking for a dear friend on the Queens side of the Queensboro Bridge, the race was a blur …. at least until I completed mile #20.
Starting around the halfway point, I had been using only one in every three aid-stations to gain a few seconds and it worked. Two goals Ray had suggested I go after were to keep the final 10 km under 50 minutes and not have any mile splits slower than 9:59 min/mile. I had completed mile #20 a few ticks shy of 2:42 and accomplishing both those goals would have potentially earned me a new PR. Miles #21 and #22 weren’t that bad – the sign from one of the spectators, Last Damn Bridge, made me chuckle a bit.
But the onset of cramps in hamstrings area in both legs coupled with the longish ascents of 5th Avenue and Central Park slowed me down noticeably. With one of the two goals, final 10 km under 50 minutes, out of reach, my focus shifted to achieving the second one. Fearing I might not be able to run if I stopped to stretch or walked, I attempted a few 6-8/8-10 seconds surges (similar to what I had done in WhistleStop Marathon over the same-ish miles) and butt kicks to engage different muscles. With about 0.50 miles left in the race, the cramps disappeared!
As I made the final right turn into Central Park near Columbus Circle, I felt fresh and like I was making a stronger push. Channeling my inner Shalane Flanagan but keeping those magical words to myself, I crossed the finish line at 3:38:18 (official result here). It was good enough for 8195/53508 overall, 6525/30794 in gender, 1132/4858 in AG and 20/379 by country of origin. I gave Jim Heim, the race director who just happened to be on the other side of finish line, a sweaty hug and bartered my finisher medal for lot many more sweaty hugs and high fives with volunteers – not one of them flinched or shied away!
Thanks again to TeamULTRA’s magic and NYRR treating me like an elite athlete, there was a bag of goodies waiting for me in the VIP/sub-elite tent. The long walk back to the hotel was frequently punctuated with stops to thank the volunteers, law enforcement officers and congratulate fellow runners. It required a long walk through blocked off streets to get to the home base. It was such an amazing experience to see everyone’s smiley face, even if they were grimacing in pain, and for a NYPD cop to stop the traffic (they had green light) to let the runners cross the road!
Finding the TeamULTRA after-party pad took some effort but it got me moving, albeit slowly. After packing some nutrition down and chatting with fellow teammates, I went uptown to meet Drs. Poonamallee and Curran at their residence. It was kind of them to have me over on short notice and catch up! Getting to walk/move around for nearly 6 miles after completing the run was a good blessing and I believe it helped fight off soreness/stiffness in the muscles. All I do recall is falling asleep shortly after returning to the hotel!
| Goals (in order of importance) and their status | ||
| 01 | Conservative start and even effort | Yes |
| 02 | Keep the final 10 km under 0:50:00 | No |
| 03 | Keep all splits faster than 9:59 min/mile | Yes |
| 04 | Finish below 3:29:27 (minimum: 7:59 min/mile, 7.52 mph) and earn a PR | No |
| 05 | Finish below 3:40:05 (minimum: 8:24 min/mile, 7.14 mph) and earn a World Marathon Majors PR | Yes |
Back to the Yoop
I woke up earlier than expected but fairly well-rested. With coffee in my hand and the medal around my neck, I walked to the finish area once more to get my medal engraved. The NYRR store opened at 7 am, I got there at with few minutes to spare and the line was already pretty long. Chatting with a fellow runner from Atlanta made the waiting time go by faster than expected and the engraving had a very quick turnaround. Given that it was the Monday after the world’s biggest marathon and expecting the airport to be crowded more than usual, I checked out and got to LGA around 9:45 am. The post-race party, I felt like, never ended. There were plenty with race jackets and/or medals, and everyone who did (or didn’t) run – TSA and airport staff included – was congratulating everyone who ran the day before!
The security screening was a breeze and the next 75 minutes or so before boarding the flight were spent in the lovely company of a kind couple from Cleveland, OH. The flight to Chicago, IL, was on time and went by uneventful. The one from Chicago, IL, to Green Bay, WI, was delayed by 80 minutes but was back on schedule after only a few minutes. Chatting up nearly the entire flight with an entrepreneur (originally from Green Bay but now calls NYC area home) made the puddle jumper a smooth experience as well. Due to unforeseen technical difficulties, I ended up staying the night in Green Bay and driving back to Houghton on Tuesday morning – sore but smooth and uneventful.
Overall, to say that being a part of this event was a transformative experience and the one that I won’t forget is an understatement. To think that picking up trash as I hiked/ran to keep our trails clean and writing race reports down primarily to improve my English … would transpire over the years to make me a part of the world’s biggest marathon seems like the stuff of fairy tales. And I have the kind fairies at TeamULTRA to be grateful for this one for the books weekend! Off to about two weeks of downtime and detraining before moving on to the next training cycle.
Thanks be to
the rejections and opportunities life has brought my way, event folks (organizers, sponsors, volunteers, timers, law enforcement officials, photographers, fellow participants and spectators) and my family of good friends, mentors and coaches in and outside of my community for all the unexpected, undeserved and unrewarded acts of kindness and constant encouragement as well as offerings of constructive criticism to improve myself as a human and an athlete. I am eternally grateful to all those who let me train with them, who shared their meals and experiences with me, who helped keep me in good health, who helped me stay the course, and who cheered me on from home or along the course.
Great to finally meet you! Can’t wait to see you again!
Pleasure was mine, Vince :)
Great read! Good to know what plogging is
Come and plog with us (Keweenaw Running Group) in the Spring. It’s a very yucky but equally satisfying experience :)