Monday, November 7, 2011

NYC Marathon Recap

Well I didn't reach my hard trained goal of a 3:30-3:40 marathon.  In fact I was far from it.  Everyone has their day and yesterday unfortunately was not mine.  I finished at 4:06:37, my slowest marathon yet not counting the marathon I ran/walked one.  What happened?  I think it was a blend of different things that did not let me do my best.  Here is the breakdown....

This was me headed out at 4:30 so I could make it on the 5:45 Staten Island Ferry.  Even though I got an extra hour with daylight savings I was still tired and did not sleep well.  I think I finally feel asleep around 11 and woke up once at 3:30 and then again at 4 to get up.  After the ferry we took a nice and warm comfy bus to the village.  It was even at that point I was thinking how nice it would be to stay on the bus.  I was not looking forward to running.


Went with the black nails that made me happy whenever I looked at them!

I arrived at my village when the sun was barely coming up.  I would say around 6:15-6:30 It was chilly and I am so glad that I bought throw away clothes at good will to keep me warm.  They were also giving out hot chocolate, tea, coffee etc.  Dunkin Donuts gave out hats so everyone sitting around had on an orange and pink hat on which was pretty funny.  Then I began to wait..... and wait, during this time I kept thinking this will all be over soon.  Not very uplifting I know but to be honest from the beginning  I was dreading running this thing.




This was on the ferry ride over.

When I left at 4:30 I ate a piece of Peanut Butter toast and then at 8:50 I ate 4 graham crackers.  Hardly drank any water and did drink a big scoop of caffeine.  Mistake!   Finally made my way to the start at 9:15 and at 10:10 the gun went off!  I was feeling pretty good the first 4 miles expect I was so thirsty and my mouth was so so dry.  I knew then this was going to be a tough run.  I was staying around my 8:00 pace.  And at mile 7 a sever side ache set in and I think it was due to dehydration.  I had some friends that would be cheering me on around mile 11 so already early in the race I was thinking just make it to them and see what happens after that.

Saw my friends, that really helped but as I ran past my street I so desperately just wanted to go home. I really didn't know how I was going to make it to the finish.  At mile 12 I stopped to walk, drink water and eat my shot blocks.  I was trying to eat them every 4 miles.  It was at mile 12 that I began to feel dizzy.   From 12 on I was feeling super light headed and concentrated on not falling over.  I would run then walk, run then walk.  At mile 17 I saw snowflake sparkles, but I knew I had to finish.  I was at a 8:45 pace.  Mile 21-24 was super hard.  It was down 5th avenue but I really felt like I was running up.  It was at a slope up the entire 3 miles.  Finally into the park and just past 24, I stopped eating shot blocks at 20.  I couldn't think about eating anything else because I felt so out of it.  

After mile marker 24 a guy was giving out salt, without thinking I grabbed it and took it down not realizing that I would not have water for an entire mile.  During that mile I wanted to throw up!  I was really feeling sick at this point.  Finally mile 25 and I drank water!  I was at a 9:22 pace and my last mile was at 9:25.  

I was so happy that it was OVER!!  I really can't believe that I finished.  I really really wanted to quit.  Not to mention that it was super crowed the entire race and after you cross the finish line you are shoulder to shoulder with finishers waiting to get their medal, then through the photo line and then the blanket and finally the food bag about 200 meters later.  All I could think about was getting some water.  I was so thirsty.  The worst part was that you had to walk what felt like another mile to pick up my bag and get out of the park.  I felt like I was being herded like a cow.  It was awful!


Finally I met up with Scott and we went and got some food!!  I am not going to lie, when I saw him I broke down in tears.  All of that hard work felt worthless.  Those hard track workouts and tempo runs.  My training was brutal so I could have a great race but when my race was worse I felt like a failure.  I am not sure why things happen the way they do but in the end I am just happy that I finished.  I guess this means I will have to run another one to reach my goals.  

 



After I ate we headed home so I could just hang out with Ivan on the couch.  I am taking that entire week off and maybe two before I put my running shoes on again.  And the next time I go I am NOT taking my watch!  I have decided after this race I am going back to the days when I ran without a watch.  I felt like a better and stronger runner when I was not looking down at my pace every mile.  Those were my best runs and I want to get back to that.


PS I failed to mention that my feet started hurting around mile 9 and were throbbing the last 10 miles.  I am NOT wearing CEP socks again for a race!  The bottoms of my feet right under my pinkie toes are killing me and I lost another toe nail which means on my right foot I have two toes with no nails!  YUCK!

Cheers everyone I finished!  Here is to another and BETTER race!!

XX
Sarah

29 comments:

  1. Sorry that you didn't make your time goal, but with all that went on you should be so proud that you finished! Congrats on another completed marathon!!!

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  2. Wow it sucks to miss your training time goal, but it sucks worse that you had an AWFUL race. I think taking a week or two off is a fabulous idea. Congrats on finishing and on to the next adventure!

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  3. I am sorry that you did not meet your goal but Congrats on your finish!

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  4. You rock for sticking it out! Congrats on another marathon finish!

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  5. Great job finishing! You just never know when a run is going to awesome and when it's going to suck. You're a rockstar for not giving up!

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  6. Congrats for getting through it! You're right- not every race is going to go as planned. It sounds like things weren't going your way right from the night before but hey, you ran the NYC marathon! I hope to be lucky enough to run it someday! Be proud ofI yourself for not quitting and for overcoming all of your mental and physical challenges. Oh and I'm with you on the watch thing! Sometimes it makes me so crazy and obsessive that it actually makes me perform worse!

    Way to go girl! I'm proud of you. Take it easy for the next few weeks.

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  7. :( sorry that your race was so bad BUT your breakfast after looks delicious and your cute little puppy is the best :) you definitely deserve a week or two off and i kind of agree that running while watching splits and such may be more of a hindrance then a good thing... here's to still rockin 26.2 and a better race next time!

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  8. Sorry you got so sick!! I'm so proud of you though!! You still ran a great time and ran one of the greatest marathons there is to run!!

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  9. Sorry that you had a bad race but you still finished in a great time that a lot of people cannot!! You are definitely a trooper for finishing despite the horrible problems you were experiencing. There is always a next time so rest and relax and you can redeem yourself the next time around!! Congratulations on finishing another marathon!

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  10. Congrats on the marathon, even though you didn't reach your goal, your still did great!!

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  11. Congrats you made it to the finish line. You did awesome. Their is alway another marathon.

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  12. I'm really sorry this was such a lousy race for you, but you persevered and wrote a great honest race report. Enjoy that rest! This experience will make you stronger!

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  13. Oh Sarah I have totally been there and can relate to this race 100%. Congrats on finishing and I agree with taking time off and running for you. Running just to run and learning to enjoy it again.

    Still another marathon in the books and you should be very proud.

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  14. I am so sorry it wasn't the race you were hoping it to be. :( I think you have a good attitude about where to go from here. On the positive side, those nails looked awesome!

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  15. Sorry that the race didn't go as well, like you said it seems like a collection of things that didn't go well. Getting up for the race and feeling like you don't want to run is not a good sign.

    Like everyone said above, be proud that you did the race despite everything else, and next marathon I bet it will go better.

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  16. Congrats. A marathon is a huge accomplishment. You did amazing.

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  17. Found your blog randomly from a Google search. Excellent work despite your finishing time! Long distance running challenges us in many ways...

    My husband ran the NYC marathon too and is desperate to get his hands on one of those DD hats (there IS a story involved as to why this is important :)). Any ideas??

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  18. Good job for finishing! I could totally relate to how you felt about this race because it was similar to my Boston marathon this past April. I wrote about it on my blog under The Boston Rundown if you want to read it.

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  19. i'm sorry you didn't make your time goal, but girl you still kicked big time butt! and i love the nails!

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  20. Sorry you didn't make your goal but there are several people that wouldn't have finished and you did. Congratulations!

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  21. Congratulations on crossing the finish line! Even though you wanted to quit you kept going, and that is far more precious than a time goal.
    Leave the watch behind and just run to the beat of your heart. You are a champion in my eyes.

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  22. Dude, I'm so bummed that you had such a miserable race. This is seriously my favorite race ever. You should definitely give it another try. Congrats on the finish!

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  23. I think you are amazing and I am jealous of your super cool job/life in a super cool city. I'd say I am jealous of your Ryan Gosling look a like of a husband, but for obvious reasons that would be weird. Anyhow, congratulations on your tenacity and still finishing in a fantastic time! Rocking your training runs is an accomplishment on its own!! ps, when does the Edelweiss running collection come out?

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  24. Sarah--I am so sorry to hear that it was not the race you hoped for...but I really think it is incredible and speaks to how strong you are to overcome everything and push through to the finish line! great work! and i do hope you will run another...and dominate :) love that last pic of you and the pup!

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  25. Oh Sarah, Your post broke my heart (I have still been keeping up with you and your sisters even though I quit my blog!). Your race doesn't define you or your running. You are amazing and I'm proud of you for finishing! Congrats on another finish and I love the idea of going back to running without a watch. Do it for the love, joy and endorphins :)
    Maia

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  26. Congrats to you for toughing it and finishing in (still) a time that makes me enviable! You're a rock star :)

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  27. I just found your blog and I think you are amazing! Really interesting opinion @ running without your watch. I was going to get one as I am beginning training for my first marathon. Maybe I will wait a bit. Oh, and also LOVE that you blog with your sisters!

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  28. I'm really sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your race. Sometimes it's just not our day. I hope you can take pride in running tough and still finishing in an amazing time. You are so fast and I know you will have some fantastic races in your future!

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