NYCM2002 - Cheryl Link

Race Report

New York City Marathon

Sunday, November 3, 2002

Hi All! Lots has been written about this year's marathon and the encounters surrounding it. Let me just say thank you to all the NYC Penguins that put together drinks, dinners, cruises, or just helped out with suggestions for things to do. Milt and I thouroughly enjoyed your city and your company this weekend. We're already trying to figure out just how quickly we can get back for a visit. My marathon was quite a bit different than the race that I ran last year. I was a bit burnt out from distance running and just not feeling like I wanted to put myself thru another marathon. But, I didn't want to miss the encounter, so I figured that I may as well run, too. I had some high hopes for the marathon, figuring that I could do a 4:30 on a good day, 4:45 on an avg day and break 5 hrs regardless. I had also had a very good run at the Towpath Marathon just 3 weeks ago. I had a hard time holding myself back to 10.5 min miles and walked 5 miles at the end, but still ended up with a 5:16. I headed out to the bridge with Julia and MaryD, we had all decided that we'd start out together. The bridge was much more crowded this year. Congestion, pushing, pulling, etc. Once the race started, I was across the starting line in 2 mins. Once over the bridge and into Brooklyn, the crowds were overwhelming. The noise was so deafening, that I think I had a bit of a mental meltdown. I really dislike crowds and the roar of this group was a bit much for me. By mile 3, my stomach was bothering me and I knew that I needed to find a port-a-pot (TMI, sorry). By mile 5, I had hit the port-a-pot and was feeling better, but the crowds of spectators and runners was a bit much for me. I was way off of my 4:30 goal pace and starting to get irritated. I saw Milt, Joe, & Lisa around the 8 mile mark. I can't remember what I even said to them, but I realized that today was not my day by this point. I was running an avg of 11 min miles and it was really feeling like work. During this time, I was still running with MaryD and she wasn't having a very good run either. We were both commisserating together. We pretty much held onto the same pace thru the halfway point. Hit the half marathon mark at 2:33 and figured that I wouldn't even be seeing a 5 hr marathon today. Continued on with Mary and picked up Daniel somewhere in all of this. I saw Milt again somewhere in here, and ranted about how I didn't want to be out there. I knew that I was not mentally up for a marathon before this and why did I do it, yada, yada. I told him I would finish it, regardless. I was feeling fine physically thru all of this. Mary and Daniel decided that they wanted to walk the 59th St Bridge. I stuck with them, but my spirits were steadily deteriorating. About halfway across the bridge, some girl came running between myself and Daniel. She's pushing on my arm saying excuse me. I was so tired of being pushed around by this point, I lost my cool with her. We had an exchange of words and Daniel commented on how I was deep in the Bite Me Zone. It was at that moment that I decided that I needed to get out on my own and work out this attitude problem of mine. I told Mary and Daniel that I needed to find my "Zen mode" and that I'd see them at the end. I started running across the bridge and began picking off the runners. As I picked off the runners, my mood seemed to improve. Also, by running solo, I was not getting jostled around like I had when I tried to stick with the group. The crowd on 1st Ave picked me up as well. The noise was deafening, but the spectators were kept behind barriers, not spilling into the street. The 1st water stop on 1st Ave was playing Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell at full blast and that gave me the momentum I needed. My pace picked up, my mood picked up, and my mental attitude picked up as well. I enjoyed my trip up 1st Ave every bit as much as I did last year. As I hit the bridge heading into the Bronx, I saw a big group of PINK in front of me. It was Harriet's Hot Flashes again. Deja Vu! I passed this group on this very bridge last year. Said hello to everyone and was off. I passed the 20 mile mark at 3:55:45 and decided that I actually had a chance of breaking 5 hours. If I could maintain my focus for the next 6.2 miles, I could break the 5 hr barrier and redeem my bad start. "Five Hours" became my mantra. Everytime I felt like slowing or walking, I repeated that to myself. I couldn't believe how easy the running felt as I made my way thru the Bronx, Harlem, and finally back to Central Park. The time actually seemed to fly by and before I knew it, I was turning at Columbus Circle for the finish line. Next it was the 300 yrds to go, 200 yrds to go, etc and I was done. A check of my watch showed 4:59:33! Yep, I'd done it!!! I walked what seemed like 5 miles to get my bag and head to the meeting area. I hadn't seen Milt since the 14 mile mark, so I wasn't sure if he would be there. As I was walking the last few feet down Central Park West, Lisa Whipps came running up with a hug. It felt so good to be done and to be seeing friendly faces. Milt was right with her, and soon Scott found us as well. We tried to stick around for the others to start coming in. I knew there were a few that were running really close to me, but the cold temps got to me the minute that I stopped running. We needed to head back to the hotel for a hot shower and hot coffee. I've really learned a great deal from this marathon. Running is very much a mental thing for me. I probably would have been better off running on my own from the start. It is much easier for me to zone out that way. While I envy hearing how much fun people had running with others, that's just not the type of runner that I am. I am disappointed with how my race started, but extremely proud of the way that I was able to turn things around. I felt great at the end and have had very little soreness all week. I do think that after 1 year of marathon training, I am ready for a break from distances and will probably concentrate on shorter races for a while. As for the NY Marathon, Milt has a guaranteed entry for next year, so imagine that I'll be sending my name into the lottery. ;-) It is a wonderful marathon, and I just wish that I would have relaxed a bit to enjoy the first 15 miles a little more. Cher in Oh - who still doesn't have an ORN, but has a PORN for tonight.Click here to return to 2002 NYCM Race Reports