I took a red-eye flight with United out of LAX. I used my miles for a free round trip flight. I was able to find a parking spot really close to the bus depot. I had to check a couple times to make sure that I wasn't parked in a reserved spot. It was a pretty full flight and I had an aisle seat. I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to get much sleep, so I might as well have the ability to use the lavatory without having to wake somebody up. During the flight, I was finally able to watch the Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was an okay movie. I still prefer the comic books of yesteryear. Afterwards, I started to fade in and out of sleep.
Saturday 10/31
The plane was on time arriving in Newark. I had reserved a seat on an Amtrak train for a few hours later in case my flight would be delayed. So I spent the next hour or so just wasting time in the terminal. I looked for a place to get breakfast, but nothing looked appealing. I was in the mood for some McDonald's and one was nowhere to be found! I ended up playing with my iPad and drinking my new favorite brand of lemonade.
My favorite lemonade brand
When the time got closer to catch my train, I made my way to the AirTrain which I took to get to the Newark Liberty Airport Train Station. The Amtrak ticket that I printed out did not open the gate to enter for the train platform. I had to get the guy in the booth to open it for me. I took a Northeast Regional Amtrak train to the Penn Station in Manhattan. Apparently most people take one of the New Jersey Transit trains which turns out to be a bit cheaper. From Penn Station, I hoofed it over to the expo at the Javits Center.
Taking the Amtrak
Now this was a world class marathon expo! It was very well organized with a lot to see and buy. I liked the design of the signs. The previous race signs when I had last run this marathon were very plain and had only right angles. They were a bit more artsy and colorful this year.
Expo at Javits Center
Bib pick-up
The 5 boroughs
Hoping to reach the finish line on Sunday
After picking up my race shirt, I went through the official merchandise area to see if there was anything that I wanted to buy. Earlier in the week, I had bought a pair of arm sleeves online just in case they would run out. It was the last day of the expo and it was a zoo. Some items, like jackets, were 35% off. One of these days I will need to get here a day or two earlier so I don't have to lug my bag around with me. It was quite difficult to maneuver through the crowds, but it did help me save money as I just wanted to get out of there instead of shopping for more marathon gear.
T-shirts
Before heading out I saw that they were taking the Runner's World magazine cover photos, so I got in line. The photos usually turn out pretty nice and they make good profile pictures for Facebook. I was emailed a digital photo and was also given a good old fashion hard copy.
Runner's World Booth
After I was done with the expo, I walked over to the 34 St Hudson Yards subway station to catch the 7 line and head towards my hotel in Brooklyn. I got off at Hoyt St Station and walked a short block over to the Aloft Hotel. It was still a bit early to check in, but they were able to get me into a room on the 20th floor as soon as the room was ready. It was a nice modern hotel and a good change of pace from the dilapidated hotels that you can get in most of Manhattan for about twice the price.
Aloft
As I was getting settled into my room, I received a courtesy call from the front desk to make sure that my room was in satisfactory condition. It was. After taking a shower, I walked over to two8two Bar & Burger at the corner of Smith St and Atlantic Ave to eat dinner. I got a table near the back and started things off with a Founders oatmeal stout nitro beer. I ordered their pub burger and added a side of fries. I guess I could've or should've eaten more, but I've been trying to eat just enough in an attempt to get down to a more ideal running weight. On the way back to my hotel, I stopped at the Duane Reade at the corner of Fulton St and Smith St to pick up some Powerade and coconut water.
Founders oatmeal stout nitro
Pub Burger with a side of fries
After getting back to my room, I went through my race packet and the few things that I picked up at the expo. I also laid out my gear for tomorrow before I got too tired. I fell asleep while watching TV. I always get super wiped out whenever I take a red-eye flight. Thank goodness we gained an hour with the end of daylight savings!
Expo stuff
Mr Flat Runner
Sunday 11/1
I've run this marathon two other times and each time I've taken the Staten Island Ferry to the starting area. Although it would appear that I had picked or was assigned the 5:30 am ferry, I planned to ride the ferry over with one of my Marathon Maniac friends. We planned to meet up at about 6 am at the Whitehall Terminal, so I took the short subway ride over from the Jay St MetroTech station just a few blocks from my hotel. The terminal was absolutely buzzing with hordes of anxious runners. This year they had dogs for security screening. After taking the escalator up to the boarding level, we were instructed to lower our bags so that one of the dogs could sniff our bags. We ended up boarding the 6:30 am ferry.
Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal
Ready to board the ferry
The ferry ride seemed a lot shorter this year. We went outside to take pictures and soon we had arrived at Staten Island where we got off to board a bus for the starting area at Fort Wadsworth. Fortunately we were on one of the luxury tour buses instead of a city bus.
Bye bye Manhattan!
I should take a cruise
Good morning Lady Liberty!
My friend and I first went to the Orange village where we picked up some water, a bagel, and one of those Dunkin' Donuts knit caps. I kind of wish that I had picked up one of those in the previous two years. I just never had a place to stash it. This time I just stuffed it into my shorts pocket that I normally use to store a GU or Shot Bloks. We sat around near the charity tent to wait and wait and wait.
Welcome to the starting village
After a few phone calls, I eventually was able to find my ½ Taiwanese friend, Dr Spandex, for our obligatory pre-race photo with our throwaway clothes. It wasn't that cold at the start this year, so I only brought my Lake Tahoe Marathon pullover jacket that I've never worn until today. It was a medium size, but was more like a large.
My friend and I finally met up with a couple of other friends in the blue village and we hung out just outside of our starting corral. Even though one of us was assigned the orange village, we were able to all start in the same blue village. We were told that the colors were used mostly for the gear check. Once the corrals were opened we went inside and waited by one of the clothing donation bins. Then when it was almost time for our wave to start, we started walking towards the starting line.
Almost time to run the NYC Marathon!
We were sent off with the singing of God Bless America, a shot from the howitzer, and Frank Sinatra's New York, New York! Let me tell you, there's nothing quite like running across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. However this year I was not able to charge over the bridge along with everybody else with the same pent up energy, but I was glad that my feet felt well enough to allow me to run. I kept things comfortable and was planning to get to the halfway point at about 2:15. For the first 7 miles or so I pretty much ran with a Swedish girl. Then my energy level took a nosedive. No amount of GU's was going to allow me to recover. I think I didn't eat enough for dinner and breakfast. My legs were done just as I was getting close to mile 13.
5k: 27:47
10k: 56:15
15k: 1:27:25
20k: 2:02:01
13.1: 2:10:55
Then before I even had gotten to the Queensboro Bridge, my legs started to cramp up. I had to walk most of that bridge. I stopped at one of the openings along with other folks to take a picture. This second half was turning into a long walking tour.
Queensboro Bridge
I walked a lot going up 1st Ave. As usual, the energy from the crowds was insane, but I could barely jog. It was a long way up to the Bronx. I saw a couple of my New Yorker friends as we were running through the Bronx and heading down 5th Ave.
Coke, fries, and a burger... wait, what? Naked cheerleaders next mile?! Free beer and sex at the finish?! lol :D
After turning right at Columbus Circle, I knew that the finish line was coming up. I was fortunate to spot Captain Ron waiting on the right side of the course. During the final .2 miles or so, I spotted a Marathon Maniac (#3430) and ran with her to the finish line. It turned out that I had pushed her to a sub 5 hr. I just wanted somebody to help drag me to the finish line.
Finish!
25k: 2:48:05
30k: 3:31:01
35k: 4:19:30
40k: 5:06:45
26.2: 5:26:45
Click here for my Garmin data.
After collecting my finisher's medal and taking a finisher photo, I walked with Marathon Maniac Kim from the finish line all the way to the family reunion area. She was from Tennessee. I must have talked her ear off. Sometimes I'm a bit chatty after a race and other times I'm ready to pass out. We picked up a plastic drawstring bag with recovery food and drinks. Then we got a mylar blanket before walking to the exit where we had to push our way to the volunteers handing out the much coveted warm fleece-lined ponchos.
I spotted Captain Ron near the letter N. We waited there for Nancy. I walked with them back to their hotel where Captain Ron and I went to the bar to get a couple of beers. I noticed Joan Benoit Samuelson just sitting there with a bunch of people. I asked if she ran this morning. She didn't. She asked how my race went and how long it took me. I said horrible and that it took me almost 5:30 to finish. Still she congratulated me and said that that was a great time, to be out there and finishing a marathon.
Guinness x2
On the subway ride back to the hotel, I talked to "Lydia", a coach for the American Cancer Society charity group. We had a good conversation about anything and everything. It's pretty cool to connect with complete strangers over a silly thing like running the biggest marathon in the world!
Got my poncho and my medal
After getting cleaned up and relaxing a bit in my room, I finally dragged myself across the street to eat dinner at the Brooklyn Brewhouse. I just didn't feel like walking anywhere further. I got a table and started off with a bottle of the Brooklyn Oktoberfest. For my meal, I ordered their Guinness Burger with a mixed green salad. The burger was tasty, but it was a bit on the smaller side. I could've eaten 3 of those!
Brooklyn Oktoberfest
Guinness Burger
Monday 11/2
I checked out of my hotel and took the subway up to Columbus Circle. However as with most of my visits to NYC, I would take an express train, doze off, and miss my stop causing me to end up in Harlem. I got on a train heading the other direction and finally got off at Columbus Circle. I wanted to check out the finisher's gear, but the more that I walked, the more I didn't want to go any further. I should plan to stay longer next time, so I don't have to walk around with my bags. I believe you also had to go through security to go inside. The more I thought about it, the more I thought to myself that it was just too much of a hassle. So I turned around, got back on the subway and headed into midtown to get lunch. I stopped at Go! Go! Curry! to eat my post marathon recovery meal.
Grand Slam!
After lunch, I thought about walking over to the Empire State Building, but I was pretty tired. So instead I headed over to the Penn Station to wait for my train back to Newark International Airport. I took a Keystone Amtrak train this time. As the train approaches the platform, the big board will be updated and they will announce over the PA which platform you need to go to catch your train. There's no time to dilly-dally as they have a schedule to keep. People will rush down to the platform. Once on the train, the conductor will go down the aisle to check tickets. When he sees my ticket, he reminded me when to get off as the train continues on to Harrisburg.
Taking the Airtrain to the airport was kind of a pain. People pushing to get ahead of you and we all had to pack into one of those tiny pods. Getting through TSA was somewhat interesting. The lady directing people was definitely obnoxious and ornery. She couldn't tell people nicely that there was no separate line for TSA pre-check. She definitely had a stick up her butt. Today they were checking everybody with a dog. None of us had to remove our liquids or take off our shoes. Everything was a lot better once I had gotten through the TSA checkpoint and went to the gate to wait for my plane.
As our plane pushed off from the gate, we were delayed on the tarmac. Our pilot told us our takeoff was on hold because Marine One had dropped off President Obama at Newark Airport so he could board Air Force One. It was a pretty cool sight to see all of that from our plane. We waited and waited until eventually they had us take off first.
While I was fortunate to have the middle seat next to me empty, I could not sleep during the entire flight. My legs just felt achy the entire time. I ended up watching Ant Man, an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and a bunch of episodes from The Big Bang Theory. I was so relieved to finally get off of the plane. After getting back to my car, I drove over to the old ramen shop to get a nice hot bowl of ramen for dinner.
Aka Ramen, edamame, and beer
