New York. Experience of a lifetime. However getting there was not the easiest experience. Let's step back another year where I trained as hard as I could with a good friend as a coach to obtain a sub 1:30 half. I did it on my first try at Scotiabank Half Marathon in May 2013 which qualified me for NYCM. That was my ticket. I applied, was accepted, and immediately booked my hotel. $1000 in already, I was committed to running my first marathon.
I used the same coach that had gotten me success at my half the year prior. He set my schedule and I would try and follow it to the best of my ability. The marathon was a new beast for me and I discovered early on, when Saturday morning sleep ins and pancakes were soon replaced with getting up early to beat the heat for my three hour run that ensued, I didn't love the marathon training. The reality of it is it consumes your life and leaves you pretty exhausted for anything else. But I was committed. Early on I set a race goal of 3:10 and quickly became married to, obsessed even, with that goal.
I hurt my knee at a half marathon race in Vancouver that year just months before the big day. I'm not going to get into that race because that deserves its own throwback Thursday. But the knee became a persistent issue right up until race day. I couldn't even walk on it for a week and then eagerly jumped back into my training. I tried a knee wrap, icing, heat, rolling. I finally buckled down and went for acupuncture (needles are my worst nightmare) and this seemed to help the most.
My boyfriend, now husband, jumped at the chance to come along. It was only fitting considering he helped me through countless long training days whether it be planning out my route for me, or even tagging along for his longest runs ever, up to 30km one day. He became as dedicated to me running this race as I was and the support was amazing, like he is.
The race day neared and about two weeks before it my nerves were out of control. Could I even run a marathon? Is my goal too lofty? What if I die? Yes, I can be a little dramatic at times. I became obsessed with the weather and it would influence my mood. 14 day weather forecast says blustery winds. Hmmmm didn't like the sound of that.
A couple days before NY my boyfriends 6 year old daughter is sitting at the table and blurts out, "Melissa, my daddy LOVVVVES you!" Which was sweet...and random...or was it?
Turns out, not so random. She had gone ring shopping with her dad. Friday before the race in New York my boyfriend proposes. The nerves I was feeling and the anxiety about how I would do on this race suddenly were not the most important thing to me anymore. There would be other marathons to run, but there would not be any other men to marry. This one was it!
We spent Saturday answering texts and emails from excited family and friends back home and riding the tour bus around NY to save my legs. Weather was turning and those 14 day forecast winds were becoming a reality.
I wake up at some crazy hour the next day to catch the 5am bus that shuttles us to Staten Island where the race begins. My good friend was also running so we met and rode together. Not a lot of talking ensued and once we arrive we were quickly separated due to us running in different heats. The security to get in is worth mentioning. Airport style security with helicopters hovering above you and police officers wandering around all the corals. If 50,000 other runners wasn't intimidating enough.
The wind at this point was at 40kph and it was freezing and we had to wait until 9:50am for our heat. I was in the first heat thankfully (based off predicted finish from my qualifying time) so my wait wasn't as long as some can be. I had purchased an over priced NYCM wind breaker at the expo because I wasn't prepared for weather like this so I wore it along with some old grubby clothes to donate to charity at the start line. Even when I removed the old grubby clothes I discovered that I was way more heavily dressed than those around me with my long sleeved shirt underneath my windbreaker and long pants. But it was November in NY and I was cold.
Well I soon regretted that! Talk about amateur move. By km 8 I was so roasted I was frantic to get rid of this jacket. I spent a km with my handheld water bottle in my mouth while I unpin my bib number on my jacket. Finally get my jacket off, tie it around my waist to pin my number to the shirt underneath. I see someone on the sideline and throw her my jacket and say, "You look my size, take my jacket!" And away I go.
The winds were intense. According to the reports afterward we were experiencing north winds of up to 65 kph. Did I mention we ran north for over 30k? By the halfway mark I knew I wasn't going to get 3:10 in these conditions and quickly resorted to plan B: sub 3:20.
Km 32 came and went, the one every other marathoner tells you is the worst but I felt "ok". And then km 37 hit me like a brick wall. I saw a water station, stopped, drank an entire bottle of water, got some encouragement from a volunteer and off I went. This was now a 5km race. I could do 5km.
At km 40 I see my fiancé's smiling face at the marker in Central Park where he got the picture below. It's still one of my favourite running shots! That was enough to push me through the last 2k and at a decent pace even! I finished in 3:13:52 which is damn good given the weather we experienced. And 10th Canadian female!
The walk to meeting up with my fiancé was the toughest. It's over 2k but because of security you can't meet them until after. We met at a local Starbucks nearby which we had thankfully prearranged. My fiancé didn't recognize me because I looked like a hobo in my Poncho they had given me to stay warm. And I didn't look so well either. Back to the hotel we went and two baths later I was good to go. We met my friend and bar hopped some speak easy bars around the city! What a blast.
I was able to run 5 days later, not that it's recommended. I was a little disappointed I'd missed my Plan A of 3:10 until I realized that even the pros were 6 minutes slower than their previous years times. Six minutes to them is like 10 to me. Hmmmm....do I have a 3:03 in me? ;)
I may do another marathon one day but it really isn't my glass of red wine. If I do, it will definitely be another destination race on a flat course, with hopefully no wind! But how do you match NYCM? I don't think you do. I think you just realize how lucky you were to be apart of such an amazing experience!
Still high off my experience I got a random linked in message from the girl I had given my jacket to. I had also left her my ID and $30 USD in one of the pockets and it was on its way back to me! What a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
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