We flew into New York on Thursday, October 30th. This gave us a couple of days before the race to adjust to the time zone, relax, and get prepared for raceday.
I think my mood could be described as 'subdued'. I felt quiet, calm, and deep in thought. Part of me wondered "What the heck am I doing here!? I have no business being here!" I had never run a half marathon before, never mind a full marathon. My time won't be anything to brag about and I'll be lucky if I even finish this thing. At some point, though, my mind started shifting to thinking "This is an incredible event, in an incredible city with my family and friends - I am going to stop analyzing and enjoy this event!!"
Friday flies by - a quick stop at the Expo to pick up our bib, time chip and t-shirt and now it's Saturday and time for a warm up jog around and through Central Park with the group.
The butterflies start to kick in a bit on that run, but they calmed down pretty quickly. My right Achilles was not good - it was aching quite a bit, so I cut the run short. I figured that if I was going to hurt it - it might as well be during the big race!
Back to the hotel for a shower and then a meet up with my dad. I have an amazing family - my dad and my sister flew in for the event to support me. Having them there was so incredible - more about that later.
My wife Suzanne and I and my father decided to hire a car to drive the course I was going to run the next day. We thought this might be fun to get a lay of the land, check out the elevation, the neighbourhoods - and also scope out a great spot for us to spot each other during the race. With a couple million spectators - it could be difficult to just bump into each other without a plan.
I enjoyed that trip because not only did it get me off my feet for a couple of hours - I was able to spend some good time with my dad.
Here is a shot of the starting bridge - the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge -
And a little video -
It was lunch time so we stopped for a big lunch at a diner that the driver recommended. At first we were skeptical - but the lunch was amazing!
Back to the hotel for a little nap and then a nice dinner out with the crew.
I think the waiters were a little miffed - not much wine being poured the night before a marathon!
Back to the hotel again for the final sleep before the big day. This isn't a normal sleep, though - it's a very short sleep because we have to get up at 3 AM! to catch our bus at 4:30 AM from the New York Public Library. 3 AM is 7 and a half hours before the race! Oh well - let's do it!
I like hard boiled eggs in the morning - so I ordered a couple before bed so I could take them with me, along with some bread to make a couple of peanut butter sandwhiches.
Bed time, lights out..
3 AM comes way too early.
I had brought old tear-away pants, sweatshirts, gloves, earmuff's - just in case it was cold. The days and nights before Sunday were quite mild so I thought that may be I didn't need to bring it all on the bus and before the race. Suzanne reminded me that it's easy to get rid of it - but not easy to get if you don't bring it. So, I packed it all - including the big pillow and blanket that she picked up for me the night before. Out the door with my two bags full of 'stuff' - iPod, fuel belt, pillow, blanket, gloves, ear muffs, body glide, nipple covers, Advil, Aleve, eggs, bottled water, sanwhiches, gels, banana, yogurt - you get the idea.
We get outside to go to the subway to take us to the library and it's FREEZING - we can see our breath. A bit of confusion as to which direction we are going and we're on the subway, to the library, and quickly shuffled onto a bus.
With no traffic on the roads at 4:30 AM - we get to the starting line by about 5:00 AM. My starting wave is at 10:20 AM - 5 hours and 20 minutes of waiting!? Yikes.
At this point - I realize how smart I was to bring all of my warm gear! (Thanks Suzanne!) Before I left Vancouver - I stopped by the dollar store for some throw-away gloves and earmuffs (Thanks Isabelle!)- and I picked up some spares just in case.. I offered my spare gloves and earmuffs to people who didn't have any - and they were gone in a flash.
The key to being in uncomfortable situations is being with good people. Whether that's a dark alley in the wrong place at the wrong time or in the middle of a freezing cold field in New York 5 hours before a Marathon - the people you surround yourself with make all the difference.
I mean - how can you get frustrated when you have people like this around? -
We got to know each other very well in this field - if you don't know someone very well, there's nothing like spooning for body heat to accelerate the friendship..
Yes, that's a shirt on Kyle's legs - it was survival of the fittest in arguably one of the most uncomfortable elements I have been in - ever. You just couldn't get warm - the wind was piercing and all you could think about was the energy you were wasting before an important waste. However - we made light of it and laughed a lot.
The sun started coming up and it was getting warmer. YES!
Soon (4 hours later) it was time for breakfast and everyone was eating, hydrating, stretching, etc.
Then it was time to make our way to the starting line - a walk of a mile or so -
Again, I was fully committed to take everything in during this day and enjoy every moment. It was truly one of the first times I said "It's the journey, not the destination.." I spend a lot of time trying to get to the end, the destination, the result - and perhaps don't enjoy each step as much as I could. Today was going to be different!
The crowd was moving faster now - we were starting! Here we go!!
You start on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and it's a very long bridge and the scenery is amazing.
The wind up there is blowing hard and it takes awhile to warm up.
Mile 2 comes along and we're 7.6% of the way there! Only 92.4% left to go..
I was running this race for my mother who passed away from cancer last year and I found myself getting emotional on a number of ocassions throughout the race. I made this bib with my name on it and "Running for Mom" on it - and it was amazing how many people called out my name "Go Graham!" "Looking good, Graham!" And some of them also said "Way to go Graham, Running for Mom!" It was always energizing hearing that.
There were dozens and dozens of sightings of people running for different reasons - their mother, father, daughter, son, friends, and so on.
These thoughts and sightings along with the incredible energy from the crowd kept you focused and in the race.
76 years old - and he's in front of me! -
Around mile 10, still in Brooklyn, I run into Kim and Kay - another jolt of energy -
Mile 14 and we're in Queens and getting near the dreaded Queensboro bridge -
I started thinking that I am just over halfway. I am in a lot of pain, but stopping is not an option. My dad said he was going to shoot to meet me at the end of the Queensboro bridge, so I kept thinking of him while I was running. The Queensboro bridge is absolutely brutal. You've only got about 10 miles to go - but the bridge is a slow, steady, grueling uphill battle. There were 2 heart attacks on the Queensboro bridge during the race and I am happy to hear that both gentlemen were allright afterwards - thanks to the First Aid stations throghout the course.
I'm getting close to the top of this bridge and really, really looking forward to the hill down. Will I see my dad?
HELL YEAH! I spot him, run towards him, give him a big hug and we share an emotional moment together. I still tear up a bit looking at this photo - you can see that he is so relieved to see me and that I saw him -
Only 10 more miles to go!
If these guys can walk / run in full fire gear - then I can do it -
I spot Isabelle and Dragana! Awesome - Isabelle is so inspiring to run with and she keeps you motived. Dragana was on many of the training runs and is always cheery and smiling. I was going to try to run with them for awhile -
The crowd is probably a bit smaller than it was for the people who finished ahead of us - but they are still out in full force and their energy was transferred right to me.
Larry the Litehouse! I saw him at the starting line and wondered if he was going to run the whole race like this - and he did!
The 35K mark - seeing that sign made me realize that we were only '7 KM' away - less than a Vancouver Sun Run! It also made me realize that this is now the farthest I have ever run. I had never gone past 30K in my training.
And my body FELT IT! Quitting definitely was looking more and more attractive. We trained by running for 10 minutes and walking for 1 minute. It felt sooooooo good to walk for that 1 minute. I was determined, though, I wasn't going to stop - I was going to keep going. I would deal with the repurcussions at the finish line - not on the sideline.
With signs like this - how could you even consider stopping!?
I knew my sister and my wife would be somewhere in Central Park and I definitely didn't want to get caught walking when they first spotted me! :-) So, on I ran. You think that once you're in Central Park - it's a quick finish. Not so! The last part was definitely the hardest.
Hey - there's Niki and her her friend Louise! They jump onto the course and start running with me! More energy! That was awesome. I could barely speak by this point - I was completely drained and they were the perfect anecdote.
Here's my sister running beside me once she got kicked off the course -
Keep on running...keep on running...
Mile 25 - almost there!
I found the last 400 yards to be the hardest part of this race. You're done. Out of water, out of fuel, knees, feet, Achilles, hamstrings, back, arms, shoulders - they are all DONE. I think "400 yards.." that's 4 football fields... That's a long way! Keep going.
Hey - there's Suzanne! With Melissa videotaping -
A quick kiss and I have to keep going.
And the finish line is in sight! Here is the hardest (and slowest) 37 second run I have ever done -
If you crank the volume up on that video around the 28 second mark - you can start to hear my sighs of relief, accomplishment, pride and grattitude.
Immediately after the finish line, you are ushered away and told to 'keep moving' - when it's really the last thing you want to do! You want to just drop down and sleep. However, the line moves quickly - you are presented with a medal and a bag containing Gatorade and water and some munchies.
Now it was time to try to meet up with the family. My cell phone is dead so I ask a stranger if I could borrow her phone - no problem - I reach my dad and Suzanne and I am about 5 blocks away from them.. So I start walking back to meet up with them for congratulatory hugs. We also bumped into Isabelle and Dragana -
Now we're walking back to the hotel and Suzanne and Niki stop off at Whole Foods to pick up some post race fuel for me. Dad and I walk back to the hotel together.
When I get back, I get a call from Isabelle who congratulates me again and asks me if I want her to stretch me out. Absolutely!
And, then, it's time to bask in the glory of completing a goal that was set, trained for and accomplished! -
I'd like to thank everyone who supported me throughout the training and running of the marathon. I had so many encouraging comments along the way, it was incredible. People were calling and texting right up to the day of the race, throughout the race and after it.
My wife, Suzanne, put up with 'early to bed on Saturday night's' so I could get up and run the next morning. I left every wedding early this summer so I could get up and run. I missed a bunch of work for Chiro, Massage, Orthodics, etc. Thanks to Innovative Fitness for encouraging me to give this a shot. Thanks to my dad and my sister for coming to New York to support me. Thanks to all of the people who donated money to the B.C. Children's Hospital to 'sponsor' me for this run - we raised over $7,800! A special thanks to Isabelle for her training tips / running tips and support. And for all the treats along those Sunday runs! And to anyone else who I've forgotten to mention!
Lastly - here's a complete video of the experience, set to music -
Here's a high quality version of the above video with the original music -
2008 ING New York City Marathon from Graham Robins on Vimeo.
As I have said before, there are really only 3 things in life that are important, and they are - in order -
a) Health
b) Family
c) Friends
For me, this event involved all 3 - how perfect is that!?
Question - Will I do another marathon? We'll see...
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