Fort Wadsworth
It was sooooo cold and windy at Fort Wadsworth. Everyone was
huddled and shivering. I waivered back and forth about wearing my brown hooded jacket.
I had told my sister Janet and her friend Ira that I wouldn't wear it but I was so cold.
I finally decided to wear it.
I think it was a good decision although that meant I had nothing dry to change into afterwards
(except a dry T shirt). Fortunately, Janet and Ira brought along a jacket to lend me for which
I am very grateful.
The Race
So the race started. It took me 1.5 minutes to get to the start. The
Verazzano was very windy and cold but after that it was only bad in spots. Occasionally the
wind would gust in your face but it was only a problem if I was trying to drink water at the
time.
I only had to stop once, at the end of the Verazzano, to pee.
I didn't see Janet and Ira this time. The problem was that I was wearing the jacket and they weren't looking for that. I tried to wave wildly as I passed 86th St but all I got was waves back from the strangers who must have thought I was another goofy runner.
Best costume was the Steve Martin look-alike running in a suit carrying a briefcase.
The end of the Queensborough bridge was not as good as previous years; I think the cold weather took its toll on that group's size and enthusiasm.
I took a lot of oranges and bananas along the way that people were offering; so much that I had occasional stiches. Besides the powerbar before the race, I took along something like Goo which Ira gave me and took it at mile 20. At the very least, it tasted good.
Anyway, despite my efforts, the best I could get my pace down to was about 8:15. It's very hard to set a fast pace in the marathon because there's so much jockeying going on early on. The water stops slow you down also. But I was going at a good pace. The crowds were terrific.
At about 18 miles, I stopped paying attention to the per-mile time and just paid attention to finishing. I guess I was hitting the wall bacause I was feeling a lot of doubts about why I do this and why don't I just quit. But I pressed on. I crossed mile 20 at about 2:52 and realized that if I just coasted I would break 4 hours (as I noticed recently, if I set a fast pace, then even my coasting is at a good pace). That was reassuring. Then at mile 21, my time was about 3:01 and I realize that if I just coasted I would get my personal best (which was 3:56). That felt even better. I knew breaking 3:45 was not realistic anymore. So my final time was 3:48. I was very happy. I whopped it up at the finish line.
I didn't have that terrible pain in my legs afterwards. I walked for a while then found a place to sit and eat my apple for a few minutes. That felt great and I was glad no one bugged me to get up and move.
I got to the family area and was looking for Janet. A woman started talking to me and she said she was looking for a runner. I said it's hard to find people at the 'S'; you could be standing right next to them and not see them. Just then, I looked up and saw Janet and Ira. They gave me their jacket and I changed my T shirt and jacket (I had already changed my pants at the baggage bus). We then went off.
Their friends Doreen & Michael were supposed to come too but they weren't sure where. We went for Italian food and Janet left them a message. I called home and left a message too. Later, they found us.
So that was it. Another NY Marathon (my 6th). I was very happy to beat my previous best by 8 minutes. I wish it hadn't been so cold and that I didn't have to wear that jacket. I need to get a prettier jacket for these kind of circumstances.
Here is the finish line picture from the 1995 marathon.