NYC Marathon weekend part two: milestones.

Striking a Superman pose with my space blanket and medal.

In my last post, I told the story of my NYC Marathon Eve 5-mile race. In the post before that, I gave a quick rundown of the marathon itself. Now, I offer a little more about the marathon and about what happened afterward.

I was fortunate enough to spend Saturday night with two veteran NYC runners: Lara and Jen. Lara was running on Sunday and Jen was spectating. So, Saturday night, Jen helped Andrew map out his spectator route. Then, Sunday morning, Lara helped me find my way to the start. I was grateful for the help, because it was a bit complicated: subway to Staten Island ferry, the ferry to a (packed) bus, and then the bus to the race start. Even the start itself was intimidating: with 47,000 runners to organize, it was massive and crowded.

Despite the big crowd, I managed to check my baggage, grab some breakfast, and meet up with my friend Kim.

Kim and I. The sun was intense!

A few minutes before we entered the corrals, I grabbed a second bagel. I was nervous about getting hungry during the race (this can be a major problem for me), but I was also just stress-eating at that point. I wonder if bagel #2 was the culprit in the intesinal distress I experienced later.

As I mentioned in my first race post, I made a last-minute decision to move back two start corrals in order to start with Kim. I thought it would help me avoid going out too fast, I wanted to support Kim in her first marathon, and, most importantly, I just wanted to share the experience with someone. I am so glad I did! The start was both exciting and surreal. Kim and I just kept looking at each other and saying "I can't believe this is happening." It would not have been the same on my own.

Kim and I separated after mile 2, just as we entered Brooklyn. During the third mile, the race turned onto 4th Avenue and I got my first taste of the amazing NYC crowds. They were like nothing I have experienced in any other race: huge crowds of people (3 and 4 deep in places) lining both sides of the streets, screaming and waving signs. Amazing. Plenty of people noticed my shirt and yelled "Dinner Church!" at me, to which I eagerly responded "St. Lydia's! Right here in Brooklyn!"

It was in Brooklyn that my stomach trouble started. Its hard to describe what was going on without giving too much information, so I'll just say that I developed a very painful cramp somewhere below my stomach. The longer I ran, the worse it got. As much as I did not want to lose the time, I realized that I had to make a bathroom stop to try to ease the pain and to prevent anything worse from happening. (When you run marathons, you hear plenty of horror stories about what happens when you try to run through stomach issues!)

After passing long restroom lines for several miles, I finally gave up on finding a shorter line and made my first stop in mile 7. I naively thought this might be my only stop. Instead, my mile 7 stop was the first of 7 stops. I lost count during the race itself, but based on my GPS data, I think I stopped in miles 7, 9, 12, 15, 20, and 22. My goal for the race was a sub 5-hour finish, which would have required a pace of just under 11:30/mile. Based on the GPS data, I ran at that pace or below- when I was runnning. Once you factor in the stops, though, my pace drops down to 12:38/mile. Oh well. At least I know I can run a marathon at my goal pace, even if I didn't get credit for it this time.

The good news is that neither the pain nor the frustration of needing so many stops kept me from enjoying the race. The crowd support continued to be amazing for the entire 26.2 miles. Also, this was my first race where I had friends meeting me at multiple points along the course. When things got harder, I pushed myself by thinking "I'll see Andrew and Matt in 40 blocks... 35 blocks... 30 blocks..."

My YDS friend Matt, who met me twice in Manhattan.

The other good news is that the intestinal distress I suffered during this race was the only distress I suffered during this race. Normally, when I race over about 10 miles, I struggle with pain my left hip and stiffness in my right knee. These were the pains that did me in during MCM 2010. For some reason, my usual pains decided not to accompany me to NYC. Maybe it was the frequent stops. Maybe it was the crowd support. Maybe it was the Advil I took at mile 16. Whatever it was, I was grateful! Starting around mile 13, I greeted every mile marker amazed at how strong I was feeling. I can honestly say that this was not the hardest race I ran this year- both the Baltimore Half and the Metric Marathon felt harder.

Sprinting across the finish line was a milestone in several ways. I had finished my second marathon and knocked almost 40 minutes off my previous time (from 6:10:03 to 5:31:05). More importantly, I really felt like a marathoner this time. I was truly unprepared for my first marathon and finished it feeling like some kind of imposter. When I crossed the NYC finish line, having run the entire race and still feeling strong, I proved to myself that I really can do this. I'm actually excited for the next one!

After the finish and the mayhem of exiting Central Park, I ate a quick meal with Andrew and Matt before heading over to St. Lydia's. I arrived a bit late, but just in time to witness a St. Lydia's milestone: their first baptism! The baptismal candidate was none other than my YDS classmate and Emily's partner in ministry, Rachel. I felt so privileged to witness this event, and even more to hear the testimony Rachel offered over dinner. You can (and should!) read it for yourself here. I was only with the St. Lydia's congregation for a couple of hours, but even that brief visit affirmed why I dedicated my marathon to them. They are building something truly special together and they deserve to know that people believe in them and support them- even runners from several states away!

When I left St. Lydia's, I rode the subway for a few stops with a member of the congregation, who shared  her excitement about the baptism.  She said "This feels really important. It just makes St. Lydia's feel more..."
"Official?," I suggested. She agreed. Having their first baptism felt like a big step in the growth of St. Lydia's as a church. After she left the train, I thought about how St. Lydia's celebrated their milestone as a church on the same day I celebrated mine as a runner. I can't think of better people to celebrate with!

Everyone at St. Lydia's signed my shirt!