The weather was bad...lots of rain. I was surprised though that the rain didn't bother me at all. But the puddles were awful. I could not believe how big and deep they were. The first time I encountered one, I tried to run around it but then I was running in slippery mud. So I decided it was safer to run through the puddles.
Other than that, the other negative I had was the first aid people
at mile 6. Early on I realized
I forgot to put vaseline on my inner thighs. So I stopped at the mile 6
first aid and asked for
vaseline. They gave me that deer-in-the-headlights look. I wasted at
least a minute running in
place while they hunted around and finally found some moisturizer
(which did no good). Much
later, at about mile 20, a very nice spectator was holding a stick with
vaseline for the runners. She gave that to me and that helped.
Along the way, the race photographer caught this picture of
me. I don't know which part of the race this was at.
Despite the weather and aid station problem, it was a good race. The course was better than it was two years ago. Like two years before, there were few people on the course. But the race ends with us going through a tunnel and then into the crowded, noisy streets of Bethesda, Maryland. That was great. The crowds cheered wildly. I ran extra hard then. It was only about 1/10 of a mile to the finish and I zoomed through it. My wife and kids were at the finish and my wife took these pictures of me finishing and then walking with my space blanket.
Other Runners
I did ask any NYC Marathon participants to send me their thoughts and
memories. I got
the following response from Gretchen.
Andy,
Sorry you missed the race this year. I thought I'd copy to you the report I sent my friends on the day after the marathon...
After finishing the marathon just after 3 pm yesterday, I got on the subway, made my way to a friend's for a bath and a meal, and flew home! Well, there was a little more to it than that..
The first half of the race was super exciting and will stand out as one of the highlights of my life. My legs felt great, I felt energetic, and the crowds in Brooklyn were amazing. The shirt I wore had my name stitched across my chest, each letter cut out by a supportive friend here in England, so I heard shouts of 'Go Gretchen' which was worth a lot. I slapped lots of hands, waved and smiled and generally had a great time. I couldn't believe it was so much fun!
My husband and his parents met me at mile 7 with a sign bearing my name and then again at mile 15. At around mile 17 or 18 things began to get really tough. I had the first doubts that I could actually run the whole thing without walking. That was also the point at which I was supposed to find a couple of friends in the crowd, but we never connected. Then at mile 20, my brother and some of his church members met me in the Bronx which really revved me up for awhile. I stopped to hug each of them and it brought the smile back to me face. Unfortunately after I turned the corner, I had a huge stretch of uphill in front of me that seemed to go on for miles. All along I had been doing 8:45 miles, but now I was up to 9 minute miles and longer. I was still going for my 4 hour time, but now I was hurting so much I thought I'd have to walk. The mental test came between mile 22 - 24 when the finish was still far enough away to be real. At mile 25 I was fine, since I knew I only had 1.2 miles to go. When I crossed the line I had to force a smile on my face (for the photo) but it was a huge relief to be done. One thing that surprised me was how spiritually dead I felt at the end. I thought I'd have quite an emotional reaction having trained so much for this and finally achieving it, but the fact is I didn't have it in me!
After the finish line, you have to walk a ways to get your clothes and meet your family, and on the way I got quite sick. I stopped at the medical tent where they said I had over-hydrated and they gave me salt to eat. I'm not really certain that was the problem, since I was sick after two of my long training runs and hadn't drunk much water at all. After I stopped being sick, each minute that passed I felt better and better. Now my legs hurt and I'm tired, but I DID IT!!!!!!!!! Would I do it again? Ask me next week!
Go on, celebrate with me. Click on http://doody36.home.attbi.com/liberty.htm
Yours,
Gretchen