2011 New York Marathon

After 4 years of trying, I was finally accepted via the lottery and I can truly say this event lived up to all my expectations.  I originally heard about the NY marathon from Robert S. while I was training for my first El Paso Marathon in 2008.   Beginning that year, I dutifully placed my name in the lottery ($10 fee) and was rejected 3 times in a row.  The fourth time, I had an automatic acceptance as was the rule at the time.  (I hear this may change).   I will now relate my experience with this marathon for those who may want to participate in the future.
I left early Friday AM for New York, flying into Newark airport.  I took the train into lower Manhattan where I was staying.  I purposely found a hotel there because it was less expensive than mid-town Manhattan and it was close to the Staten Island Ferry which was my transport to the starting point.  Saturday morning went to the expo at the convention center and picked up my packet.  The expo had many exhibitors and was a cool place to hang out for a while.  I then met for brunch some fellow El Pasoans and made new friends most of whom were also racing the marathon.   Afternoon spent visiting my cousin in Queens, had late lunch/early dinner and then went to hotel to rest.

RACE DAY

Pre-race
Woke up around 0500 AM, had coffee and energy bar with banana for breakfast.  Walked 3 blocks to the Staten Island Ferry station and boarded the ferry for the trip to the starting line.  My Wave did not start until 1010 AM but my assigned time for the ferry was 0715.  During the ride, I got to meet some fellow runners and go to take in some of the beauty of the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty.    Once in Staten Island, several buses were taking runners to Fort Wadsworth where the start village was.  There, I turned in my clear plastic baggage which contained the clothes I would change into after the race.  Later, I met up with several of the El Paso contingent. The wave 2 corral closed at 0940 and so I was ready at this time.  I had worn an old T-shirt and hospital scrubs which I ditched on this large pile of clothes everyone was "donating".  Shortly after the corral closed, they herded us (we felt like sheep) to the starting point.  They played "America the Beautiful" and before I knew it, the gun went off.  It took a while before I made it to the starting point walking with all the crowd.  Listening to Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York", I crossed to timing mat and the race was on.

The Marathon  26.2 miles    4:15:44
As soon as you start the race, the initial portion is on the Verrazano-Narrows bridge which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn. The views are truly spectacular from this vantage point, and off course, its a slight incline. 

My plan was to follow a run/walk strategy, as popularized by Jeff Gallaway. My goal pace was slightly under 9 min/mile to finish in just under 4 hours.  I would walk every mile marker until mile 18-20 and then run the rest of the way.  I aimed to achieve a negative split of the marathon if all went according to plan.  I was stoked and feeling good, but I walked for less than one tenth of a mile after the first mile marker.  Had to be careful to get off to the side to keep from getting run over.  After the bridge we entered Brooklyn and ran up 4th avenue.  During this portion and subsequently, the crowds were electric.  They cheered, rang bells, and played music all along both sides of this divided highway.    They also held up some pretty funny signs which I will make reference throughout the course.   For example in Brooklyn, "Welcome to Brooklyn... Now Get Out! and "You have been training for this longer than Kim Kardashian was married!" 
After the 10K split, I was feeling pretty good, had a Gu at 45 min and drank Gatorade in the aide stations but then I felt like I needed to make a Porto-Portie stop.  I didn't want to stand in line or do like many people and stop on the side of the road, so I instead made the mistake of diminishing my fluid intake.  At this point, I got hot enough that I was pouring water over my cap which made me a little cold when we were under the shade.  All the while, we passed several quaint neighborhoods like Clinton Hill, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint.   As we exited Brooklyn we reached the 13.1 mile mark and I was pleased to have finished in a little less than 2 hours.  Since this included the walk breaks, I should be ok for the under 4 hour finish.  Next was the second of many bridges, the Pulaski bridge connecting Brooklyn and Queens.  In Queens we only ran for about 2 miles before reaching the Queensboro bridge (mile 15-16).  Here, there were no crowds and it was a steep incline for about 3/4 mile followed by a  fast descent which probably did some damage.  As we exited the bridge the crowds were enormous as we entered Manhattan and First Avenue.   Here were more signs like "You have great stamina, call me at 212-xxx-xxxx" and more political signs like "you are the 1%".    I was able to find a stall with no line at mile 16 and decided to make mile 18 my last walk break.  At that point , I felt pretty good and thought I could run the rest of the way. We passed through Harlem where the crowds were thinner, but the music was very lively and had a definite Latin flavor.    However, as we arrived at the Willis avenue bridge (mile 19.5) connecting Manhattan and the Bronx, the incline really took it out of me.  It seemed like a lot of people were walking up the bridge but I managed to keep running at a good pace.  We wandered for a bit through the Bronx and a sign that made me laugh said: "Keep running, this is a bad neighborhood!"  Next, at mile 21 came the Madison Ave. bridge bringing us back to Manhattan.  That bridge was tough and I started to cramp up on the way up, not a good sign.  I walked for a bit to stretch my legs as I arrived to the highest point of the bridge, I also had a Gu while walking.  On the descent I was able to get some energy back. We started running up 5 th avenue and I saw a sign for 135th street, which made me realize just how far we still had to go.  At this point, I was gratified by the sign that read "No more bridges!".  As we made our way downtown on 5th avenue, I really started to cramp as the road began to take a gentle incline.  My pace had diminished significantly and I realized my 4 hour goal was history as I had to take more walk breaks.  At mile 24 we entered Central Park where the crowds were really inspiring me to push as hard as I could.  Unfortunately, although there were no more bridges, there were several small hills to contend with before finally reaching the finish line. I got to the end, and I was exhausted!

Post-race
After finishing the crowd of athletes was overwhelming, we were instructed to keep walking as first we got our finisher medals.  Up the way, they had more people lining up to have their picture taken and then we were given the food bags.  At this point, all I wanted to do was sit down and drink/eat.  I sat on a brick on the side and these ladies came to me speaking in French telling me I had to get up and keep moving.  I thought I was delirious but then realized that it was because I was wearing my Ironman France cap, they assumed I was from France.  Then we had to keep walking for what seemed like a mile to get to the UPS trucks which had our post race dry clothes. I managed to put these on an headed for the nearest subway back to the hotel.  By the way, the subways are free to runners on this day.

Post-Script
Looking back on the day, I can say it is truly a special opportunity to be running with 47 thousand people from all over the world and millions of spectators cheering you along the way.  The race is well organized and the city could not have been more welcoming.  For my race performance, what I would have done differently is to drink more liquids and taken the salt tablets I had from Nice which I did not even take on this trip.  I was hotter than previous races on this day and the lack of clouds made it hotter. Nonetheless, I have improved from my first Marathon in 2008 which took me 5:35 to complete.  Now as we come upon the off season, I am setting my sights on the Quadrathlon  in Feb 2012. (more about here http://www.mttaylorquad.org/  and here http://elpasotriathlete.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html  ) 

Elephant Man Olympic Triathlon 2011

Well I just couldn't stay away!  I had every intention of focusing on my running for the next two months but the allure of the Elephant Man drew me back.   I had done this event twice before, in 2008 it was my first open water swim and in 2009, I again participated and enjoyed the experience very much.  After the Eagle in the Sun, I decided to sign up and started training in earnest for the longer distance event.
The race takes place at the Elephant Butte lake in Truth or Consequences, NM which is about 110 miles north of West El Paso.   It consists of a 1 mile Swim followed by a 26.5 mile Bike, and a 6 mile Run.   More info can be obtained at http://www.elephantmantriathlon.com/ It is a very challenging course but seems to have gotten better every year in terms of organization and the level of competition is very high.  Here, I will describe the race as I experienced it with the hope of passing on some insights to those who may consider doing it in the future.

I left El Paso on Sat. around noon with the idea of setting up a campsite next to the lake.  I have gone camping with the kids every year I have done the race and it adds to the fun for them and me.  Also, this is the second year they had a kids triathlon and so I needed to get them registered for that event on Sat. afternoon. I will not go into the kids event on this blog, suffice it to say that it was well organized and all my 3 children had a blast. 
Had a fitful night in the tent as usual and got up at 0500 to eat breakfast and head over to transition.  I arrived at 0600 and the crowds were gathering for the anticipated 0700 start of the Long Distance (1.2mile Swim, 56 mile Bike and 13.1 mile run) event which is the first time they have ever done it here.   Had my helmet inspected as I went into the transition area. I set up transition close to the exit and went to get my timing chip and body marking.   We received word that the water temperature was 74 and so it would be Wet Suit legal (anything under 78 by USAT rule).  Met some friends in transition and then went back to the beach to put my wet suit on for a little warm up and watched the long distance course take off.  We had swim caps of different colors and these designated the wave that we would be in.  I was in the second wave (0815) with the over 40 men, the Clydesdales, and the relay team swimmers. 

The Swim     1 mile    41:01
I started in the middle of the pack and  got hit a couple of times as expected along the starting point.  The lake level has been very low due to the drought and the course was a big rectangle this year.  In previous years it was a big triangle which made for easier sight lines.  We headed straight out and then made a right towards buoy on the far right side of the lake and then several left turns to complete the rectangle before coming back on what they called the chute.  I had trouble sighting along the long part of the rectangle and towards the end got a cramp in my calf which caused me to slow down.  I passed a few people in the earlier wave with different colored caps.  I reached the beach but was disappointed by me time in the water, I had hoped to swim a little faster.  My first time here in 2008 I had swam the distance in 55:31(202 out of 204 swimmers)  and in 2009 42:12. 

T1   3:41
For those of you who have not been to the lake of late, the water level is supper low.  This meant we had to run up a hill with rocks, barefoot to get to the bikes.  Shortly out were some wet suit strippers which was a nice addition to the event.  I had to walk part way up as my heart rate was around 150 out of the water and I could not run.  The rest was smooth to the bike mount line. 

The Bike   26.5 miles   1:25:21   Avg. Speed 17.5 mph
As I have done this race before, I knew to expect a difficult bike course.  Once out of transition there is a steep hill to get out of the State Park.  I put my bike in the easiest gears and tried to go up steady.  After you leave the park the roads are flat for a few miles then there are some fast downhills where I reached a peak speed of 37 mph.  Then followed some canyons where there are 2 tough hills. At mile 10 got some water and filled by aero bottle and at mile 11 started the biggest hill which has a 10% grade and then it flattens out followed by a longer 4-5% grade until mile 17.  From that point forward it is pretty close to all down hill with a bit of tail wind. At mile 20, we passed the turnoff for the long course and by the time I was there, I was passed by the lead group of guys that had started the swim at 0700, on their way back after nearly completing  their 56 miles, very humbling.  I got my second water bottle at mile 20 and had some energy beans for nutrition. The last few yards are straight downhill, but you have to slow down because the dismount line is at the very bottom of the hill.

T2  1:00
I was in a good spot next to the run and bike exit so I was helped to speed my transition.  Got my shoes on and cap on and took a bottle of Gatorade with me on the start of the run.

The Run  6.2 miles    54:12    8:45 min/mile
The course takes off along a dirt road towards the spill way of the lake.  There is an initial downhill and then flattens with some rolling hills.  After the half mile mark there was this killer hill that was 15% grade and I just had to walk it as did most people around me.  Then we reached the spill way and we run towards the dam, again through rolling hills and then cross the dam which is a really cool view on both sides.  The turnaround point is at the end of a short climb where I had a gu and some water.  I tried to keep a steady pace but the hills and the increasing heat took their toll.  The last mile was again through the dirt trail which seemed to give less traction on the return.  I arrived to the finish and the kids ran with me for the last eighth of a mile, which is uphill.

Overall, my time was 3:05:15 which represents a big improvement for me at this distance.  My first time in 2008 was 3:44:00 and in 2009, I had improved to 3:24:17.   My place in my age group was 12/17 which is a reflection of the level of the competition with the winner in the age group finishing in 2:18:11.

I highly recommend this race to anyone looking to move to the next level from the sprint distances and events in the swimming pool.  The volunteers were terrific and the race director, Cory,  does a very good job.