NYCM00 Race Report - Miles 0 to 8

STATEN ISLAND AND BROOKLYN:

Miles 0-8

We were in the Green Start, which put us on the left side of the bridge, lower level. I warned Ross about running too close to the left edge and getting caught in the “yellow rain” that comes from the runners on the upper deck. It was windy! We were running almost immediately after crossing the start line, but the blustery wind was already making an impact. We hit the mile 1 mark in 10:40 so the pack was moving pretty well. Crested the top of the bridge and headed down into Brooklyn.

As soon as we hit the streets of Brooklyn I knew we were in trouble. Not for pace because we passed mile 2 in 9:00 and mile 3 in 9:52. The problem was that around mile 3 we were supposed to pass our Scream Teamers who had taken the R train to 89^th street to meet us. BUT the Green Start route doesn’t turn back to 4^th Avenue (where they were waiting) until past 76^th street. So…we were doing great, but I sent a text page to my son Greg that read “Get back on the subway and meet us at mile 8!” I was carrying an interactive pager that could send email and Greg had a pager that could receive those text pages. It’s a high tech world.

Ross (black shirt, white sleeves and gloves), smiling and looking strong. Of course it is just mile 3!

Soon enough we were on 4^th avenue and were absorbing the energy of Brooklyn. What an event this borough makes the marathon! All nationalities, all ages, all kinds of people – ALL cheering for us. You have to be careful or you can wear yourself out exchanging high fives. If your name is on your shirt, you will hear it called – and this is no exaggeration - THOUSANDS of times. We saw all kinds of characters. One guy had an electric guitar and a little amplifier on his belt and was actually playing as he ran. Another had a bright pink boa around his neck, running right near Kermit the Frog.

I would run in the center of the street, then drift us over to the curb to “feed” off the energy of the spectators. Then back into the middle of the pack to concentrate on the run instead of the people. Running next to the curb was like “in-flight refueling”.

Ross at mile 6, 4th Avenue, Brooklyn

Mile 4 took 9:38, mile 5 was 10:49, mile 6 was 9:09, and mile 7 was 9:24. We were running 9/1s with an extra few seconds here and there as we handled fluid control. By the time we hit the point where all three starts merge we were in a good rhythm. Mile 8 passed by in 10:47 – we had to go over to the Blue/Red side of the course to look for our Scream Teamers then make our way back to the Green course to stay official. No sign of Greg and company. We would find out later they had subway problems and got there two minutes after we passed the mile marker.

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