It was an excellent morning for a run: sunny and in the upper 40s.
I was aiming for the high side of completing in the 3:00-3:30 hour range, but ended up on the low side, finishing at 3:25:02. It extends my streak of BQ marathon times to 8 in a row, so no complaints.
I was in the 2nd corral from the front, where the 3:00-3:20 runners were supposed to start. The first corrall had the elite runners, and was very sparsely populated. As a result, once they opened up the corrals I was very close to the starting line.
A pair of V-22 Ospreys would occasionally fly over the crowd. What an ungainly looking aircraft., though still impressive.
In Marine Corps fashion, the starting gun is a 155mm howitzer. When it was fired, I was startled by not only the booming sound but also the paper shards streaming down onto my hair as a result of the blast. With that, the marathon began.
I was careful to avoid my classic mistake; going out too fast. My legs did feel a little sluggish, so going slow came naturally. I was hoping they would loosen up as the miles wore on. Through the initial set of hills I couldn't find any kick that would let me accelerate, or even take advantage of the downhills very aggressively.
I aimed to sustain a better than 7:30 minute pace, but found that too became a losing struggle. The 3:10 pacers passed me at around the half way point on Haines Point, and I realized that my stomach felt bloated and uncomfortable. At first I thought this might be due to the very large, carb heavy breakfast. Later, it occurred to me that the Powerade sports drink, which I'd been downing every couple of miles, wasn't something I was used to: it was way too sugary. My sports drink of choice these days was Gatorade G2, something much lower in sugar.
Accepting that I wasn't going to attain my more ambitious goals, I focused on maintaining pace and staying strong. Crossing over the 14th Street bridge at Mile 20, you could see the increase in the number of runners sidelined or walking. I remember myself hitting the wall at that point several times over the years. There was a lone spectator in the middle of the road dressed as a prophet, slowly banging a drum, holding a sign that read, "The End is Near." I thought that premature, but a pleasant thought anyway. It felt good to be able to keep plowing forward, even if impaired.
As I was heading towards the loop into Crystal City, around Mile 22, the 3:20 pacers passed me by. At this point I became concerned that I might not be able to attain the lowest bar of my goals: to make 7:30 and a BQ time. I managed to pick up my pace but could not keep up with them.
Coming out of Crystal City, I felt strong enough to finish. Getting to Mile 25 and seeing the incredible density of crowds and cheers gave a boost. I wanted to run faster, but didn't feel like there was any gas left. I passed the Mile 26 marker and did not notice. Shortly thereafter, as I was climbing the hill, I saw a glimpse of the Finish line and accelerated. I sprinted up the hill, passing almost everyone in front of me. The crowd was roaring. That felt good: finishing fast and strong.
NYC Marathon Personal Statistics
========================================
age: 47
chip time: 3:25:02
overall: 941/21,009
sex place: 822/12,708
45-49 div place: 82/567
pace: 7:50
half: 1:36:07
mile elev pace net pace ---- ---------- ----- -------- (each * counts as 50 feet in elevation) m0 . - m1 .* 7:18-
m2 .** 7:18- 7:18
m3 .*** 7:10 7:15 m4 .** 6:55 7:10 m5 .* 7:19 7:12 m6 .* 7:02 7:11
m7 .** 7:26- 7:13 m8 .*** 7:26- 7:14
m9 .* 7:19 7:15 m10 . 7:26 7:16
m11 . 7:24 7:17 m12 . 7:26 7:18 m13 . 7:39 7:19 m14 . 7:45 7:21
m15 . 7:50 7:23 m16 . 7:51 7:25 m17 . 8:31- 7:28 m18 . 8:31- 7:32 m19 . 8:26 7:35 m20 . 8:43 7:39 m21 . 8:39 7:41 m22 . 8:50 7:45 m23 . 8:14 7:46 m24 . 8:06 7:47 m25 .* 8:29 7:48
m26 . 8:17~ 7:49
end .** 1:40~ 7:50 3:25:05
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