2011 nyc marathon: race report

the 2011 edition of the nyc marathon was my 10th straight finish. i would normally add, "on my way to 15," which is no longer appropriate. while the nyc marathon remains my favorite race at any distance, the urge to ante up and run it every year has cooled off following the nyrr announcement that it would no longer recognize the runners w/15 or more finishers with guaranteed entries.

in an attempt to soften the blow of that disgraceful decision, it won't take effect until 2015. so, adding insult to injury, assuming i run it for the next 4 year, that would leave me with an underwhelming 14 completions - not good enough. as a practitioner of that dying art of "if you can't say anything good, don't bother talking...," i find myself at odds with my own views.

i can't say anything good about what i perceive as the incredibly myopic and self-serving behavior of the nyrr. and for anyone who cares about my view, i think it sucks! that's putting the most positive spin on it that i can (under the circumstances) muster. maybe sanity will return and the nyrr will rescind what i see as a insulting slap in the face to it's most loyal runners. maybe - but i aint holding my breath.

so, with that uncharacteristic negative rant out of the way, i can talk about the race - which began, as most of my nyc marathon have - with a drive to white plains high school.  that morning, there was an extra bus (4 instead of the usual 3).  andy, owner of the westchester road runner store that organizes the bus rides down to staten island, told me that he had a surge of interest in the last week - enough to book an additional bus!  i sat on the last bus w/emmy, susan, and noonie.  hiro and yuki were on one of the other buses.

in what can only be described as a monumental traffic jam, we would all find ourselves exiting the buses more than a half mile from the drop off points.  the stand still traffic an on access road adjacent to the staten island parkway snared dozens of similar buses - and there were plenty of other runners who joined us on the unplanned walk to enter the staging grounds.  it was well after 8 when we disembarked and, since we were in different villages, we soon went our own separate ways.

after a beeline to the baggage bus, i went straight my corral (the last one in wave one), reaching it with barely 5 minutes to spare before it was closed.  despite all the stress of that awkward commute, i managed to get an unoccupied porta-john without a wait!  talk about a reversal of fortune!  then, once the ropes were dropped and we moved forward to the bridge, i found myself with 30 seconds of crossing the starting mats when the cannon went off at the start.

in a way, the stressful start didn't impact my plans.  since i hadn't gotten in much training this cycle - low mileage as a result of a string of business trips - i had a goal to finish in under 4 hours.  i also took my camera with me - something i haven't done at a marathon in years.  i was very glad for the camera.  but i could have skipped the fanny pack, which i wore in case i tired of carrying the camera in my hands.  some of my favorites were on the bridge, and as we crossed into brooklyn.  especially the hand-written sign, "yo, welcome to brooklyn!" that greeted us coming off the bridge :D

the only sad moment of the day came passing the spot my mom typically spectated from.  she couldn't make the race this year - which was only the second time in 2 years!  not a bad track record.  i love running down 4th avenue - it's always a huge rush for this brooklyn boy.  i didn't see any familiar faces on the course - a stark contrast from years past when i always managed to run a few miles with friends here and there. but at the halfway point, i did see todd, catherine and marshall ulrich cheering from the sidelines!  that was a great positive boost of energy!

my half marathon split, 1:46:43, was way too fast given my conditioning.  there was no likelihood whatsoever that i'd come close to a 3:30 finish.  maybe 3:45, but even that was a stretch.  i had been running consist 7 and 8 minute miles until that point.  thereafter, they would become 9 minute miles - until the end of first avenue.  once i crossed the willis avenue bridge and reached mile 20, my pace dropped down to 10 minute miles.  i was still moving forward, albeit at a decidedly slower pace.

the highlight - if you will - of the second half (aside from crossing the finish) was checking out the couple who had gotten married at mile 22 - at marcus garvey park.  it was fun watching the crowds wish them well - and it gave me another boost of energy.  still the trip down 5th avenue, to central park, was the toughest stretch of the day.  once we entered the park, there were just over two miles left to go - and the park itself is always good for positive energy!

i finished in 3:55:38, an 8:59 pace.  it was my slowest nyc marathon finish - but i was still a happy camper.  just after the medals, i ran into the first familiar face of the day, bette, who had finished just behind me.  then it was on to reclaim my bag - which, in first, was located outside the park on the south side of the american museum of natural history!  from there, on to the trrc after party - and some fantastic rehydration with captain lawrence pumpkin ale and smoked porter!  all in all, it was a fantastic day!

here are my race photos.
here are my post-race, party photos.

taconic road runners' post-nyc marathon party :D

in a slight twist, taconic's post-marathon party was moved to a different location this year - closer to the park (columbus and 83rd) and an apartment with a balcony! as always, it was a great way to wind down from the 26.2 miles - especially w/some captian lawrence pumpkin ale and smoked porter to rehydrate with.

here are a few photos of runners unwinding :D

2011 nyc marathon: race photos and results

my 10th nyc marathon is in the books! at 3:55, it was probably the slowest of the bunch - but it came in under my 4 hour target so i was very pleased!

despite the fantastic running we had, the day didn't start off auspiciously. our bus, along with the other private buses, were stopped in stand still traffic along the access road to the staten island expressway - with the bridge clearly in sight. we left the bus more than a half mile from the drop-off point - and barely got to the starting corrals before they officially closed (w/5 minutes to spare for me) :O

after all that pre-race stress, the race itself was relatively relaxing - ha! i took my camera along w/me and took some great pictures.  afterwards, the taconic road runners put on a great post-marathon party :D

i'll post a race report in a day or two. here are the official results from the nyrr.

here are the rest of my photos, posted on facebook.

2011 halloween marathon (5k): race photos and results

after the 5k twice around the parade ground), i realized that i had now run all the holiday marathon distances, 5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathon (although not in that order). it was a fantastic day to be outside - and we shared van cortandt park with a high school cross country meet that added to the sense of runners "all over the place."

i actually came in second place, with a 22:07 - it had more to do with the small field than any inherent speed :O  tomorrow is the nyc marathon, so i didn't want to push my luck with the 10k, or longer distances. 

maybe it was the rescheduled date (moved from the snow packed last weekend) or most of the regulars were resting up for tomorrow's marathon - but the field was noticeably smaller than past holiday marathons.

smaller size or not, it wasn't any less enjoyable!  i'll add a link to the results once they're posted.

"marathon boy" premiere on hbo: movie review

i watched the premiere of marathon boy on hbo last night and must say i was viscerally repulsed by the entire saga. i'm into just about anything connected with running - people, places, races.  i'll dig into anything on this subject; and do it with glee. but to witness a real life hobbsian choice - a life as a beggar in an indian slum, or the grueling regime of a long distance runner foisted upon a 3 year old boy was truly upsetting business.  in reality, budhia had no choice at all.

because of the family's extreme poverty, budhia was sold by his mother to a traveling salesman for 800 rupee (roughly $16).  it was quickly revealed to be an abusive situation.  enter biranchi das, a judo instructor and orphanage director, who paid back the salesman and took budhia into his care (with the approval of budhia's mother).  but budhia was no angel himself, fully equipped with a raw, foul mouth out of which spouted expletives!  it was, in fact, a result of his foul mouthn that his talent for running became apparent.

as a punishment for cursing, biranchi had budhia run circles around the courtyard.  he expected budhia to stop at some point, from just plain exhaustion.  when he returned to the orphanage hours later, budhia was still at it, still running loops of the courtyard - no worse for the wear.  that apocryphal beginning set the stage for his "training" and a series of half marathon, leading to full marathons and, ultimately, his collapse at a 40 mile ultramarathon.

the documentary then intertwines two parallel story lines - budhia's actual running and races coupled with the growing notoriety his feats engender and the efforts of the the local child services agency to stop what it perceives as his exploitation (for better or worse) at the hands of biranchi.  the filmmaker takes strictly hands off approach to moralizing - one way or the other.  there is no effort to show this story through western eyes.  biranchi has many supporters in his battle against the bureaucrats of child services!

this come to a head when he is formally charged with child abuse.  by this time budhia is now 5 years old and has run many, many race miles.  there followed one dramatic scene where the authorities, after having already prohibited him from entering any more races, physically restrained budhia from a 300 mile walk!  the story quickly spins out on a tangent when, shockingly, biranchi is murdered - which had no connection to budhia and running! by that point budhia had been returned to his mother - and eventually became a ward of the state (which would, in turn, enroll him in a prestigious academy).

the dilemma, if it can be described as such because leaving the slums, abject poverty, and a life spent begging for existence - is no choice when weighed against any alternative.  biranchi, regardless of the training he put budhia through and the races he was made to run - saved him from the horrors he faced in his very real life (including redeeming him from someone who had already purchased him!).  was budhia exploited - maybe so.  but that alternative was preferable.

it's a very unsettling and disturbing story.  running ultimately was the hook that pulled budhia out of the darkest abyss - but it's not really a story about running.

2011 nyc marathon expo at the javits center

the nyc marathon expo was packed, more than usual, this afternoon! maybe it's a reflection to the increased field, over 47,000 runners expected to line up on staten island sunday morning? i tooled around the expo with michael, emmmy, and lucimar for most of the time. but aside from the socializing, it was an exhausting afternoon :O

november 2011 race schedule

i got home yesterday afternoon (a half day sooner), after a change in flight plans necessitated by air france flight crews who staged a 5 day strike! ironically, i flew home on delta, an air france partner. enough said about that experience...

as for the races on deck for november... up first is the nyc marathon. it will be my 10th straight one. i love the event, and it's my favorite race at any distance. but my love for the nyrr has taken a serious hit in the wake of its arbitrary decision to severely cut back guaranteed entries. that rant will, gratefully, be put off to a future post :O

the following weekend i'm looking forward to the "after the leaves have fallen" 20k - a race i've had on my to do list for years, but could never enter because of conflicts. even now it conflict w/the "beachfront bushwack" - another fantastic race!

then, a new race (although it was run years ago as the achilles track club marathon) - the brooklyn marathon!! a marathon to call its own is certainly something brooklyn needs - to complement its already fantastic half :D while the inaugural race takes place completely within prospect park, future editions will hopefully find their way onto the streets of brooklyn.

for thanksgiving day itself, it's always a tough call.  the mid-hudson 25k is more in line with creating the proper calorie deficit for a turkey dinner.  but the gateway gobbler, and a challenging 6 mile course, is only 20 minutes away.  right now i'm opting for the 25k, but circmstances (like the weather) could keep me closer to home.

the last weekend of the month brings a volunteer switch.  for the last few years i've volunteered at the bedford turkey trot.  this year emmy is directing a 5k run for the greenwich alliance for education.  so i'll volunteer at that race this year.  while not technically a race, the next day todd will reprise his completion run on its anniversary.  that should be some excellent trail running in harriman state park :D

here's how it looks so far:

11/6 - nyc marathon
11/13 - after the leaves have fallen 20k
11/20 - brooklyn marathon
11/24 - mhrrc turkey trot, 25k
11/26 - greenwich alliance for education, 5k [volunteer]
11/27 - 2nd annual thanksgiving weekend trail run
as always, if you're at any of them, say hello!