RACE REPORT - Lauren Clark, trapeze4me@aol.com  

Fri nite 11/1/02:

Hi everyone,

I am too tired to post a long report (do I hear cheering??). I spent the

morning sightseeing and navigated the subway and streets of NYC all by

myself. I took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty - something I have

always wanted to see. Since 9/11 you can't go up into the statue, but can go

to the island and walk around. On the ferry were many people from around the

world, and also a group of 8th graders on a school trip from Columbus, Ohio.

Small world. After the Statute, I went to see Ground Zero. There is a

fence around the area so it is difficult to see very much. All the tourists

visiting the site are very quiet and subdued. So was I.

At 1 pm I met up with several penguins who were getting facials at a fancy

place that Debbie Sullivan knew about. I got a massage instead although it

wasn't the sports-type massage that I have had before - it was still

relaxing. The people who had the facials liked them and all looked years

younger. :-)

We walked back to the hotel where I got to meet my hero Ron Horton and his

friend Mike. They were on their way to the expo. I then met up with Karen,

Mary D, Carlene, and Kathryn Lye who I finally got to meet. :-) We went out

for a drink before the dinner encounter and I had a great time.

The big event of the day was dinner at Carmines, arranged by Debbie Sullivan.

Deb, thanks so much for putting this together. It was very well organized

and the food was excellent. I got to meet Marjorie and Dave from Utah, Mike

Weber from the NYCE list, and J'net, who I have heard about for so long. It

is nice to put faces with names. I sat near Daniel Wellner and Ron and Mike.

I had a wonderful time. I wanted to stay longer, but soon it was time to

leave for Broadway, since Scott, Lisa and I had tickets for Phantom of the

Opera. Times Square sure is crowded on Friday night! We had great seats and

although I had seen the show when it came to Columbus, I loved seeing it

again. We sat next to a family from Brazil and the dad is running in the

marathon. I told him I would look for him at the friendship run (a run in

Central Park for runners from other countries tomorrow morning).

It was a very very busy day but a lot of fun. I wish I had more time to see

more and visit more with the penguins. I am so tired already, I can't

believe I am running 26.2 miles on Sunday. I must be nuts. :-)

Lauren in NYC

RACE REPORT:

New York City Marathon

November 3, 2002

NYCM was my 3rd marathon. I met my goal of breaking 5:30 at Towpath 3 weeks

before, so my goal at NYCM was to enjoy the experience. It would be nice to

break 5:30 again but I was open to what the day would bring. I was excited

that Ron Horton was going to run with me, as well as his friend Mike (2 of

the nicest guys in the world) and also new penguins Carol from San Francisco

and Sue.

After a 4 hour wait in the cold at Fort Wadsworth, Ron led us to the start.

I heard the boom of the cannon and we were off, along with 32,000 others. We

began the 1 mile uphill climb on the bridge. Below us the fireboats were

spraying red, white and blue water. The sun hit the spray just right so

there was a rainbow and it was a beautiful sight with the skyline in the

background. Carol and I had fun teasing and joking with Ron and I knew this

would be a fun day.

The crowd support was unbelievable. People lined the road with flags, signs,

and noisemakers and all of them were cheering. My name (on my shirt) was

called over and over: "Yo Lauren! Lauren, you're looking good! You can do

it Lauren!" I smiled and waved. I high fived as many people as I could

reach. It was like one huge party and we were the guests of honor.

We ran a 9/1 pattern (Mike and Sue dropped behind using 6/1s) and our pace

was 12 minute miles, yet I felt out of breath. I was used to running alone

because no one else in my running group used walk breaks. Talking with Ron

and Carol and the frenzy of the crowds and the huge number of runners around

me was causing sensory overload. I put on my earphones and worked on slowing

my breathing. I could still hear the cheering, but the music helped lessen

the impact.

Ron told me to walk ahead while he stopped with Carol to deal with a blister

and then they would catch back up to me. While walking I saw an opportunity

for some privacy so I ran off the course to deal with anti-hydration. I

returned to the course and walked another minute, but Ron and Carol did not

appear. I figured they had passed me so I began running again. Cher and

MaryD came by and they were looking and feeling good. They said they had not

seen Ron anywhere behind me. [Ron was actually still behind me. They had

apparently missed seeing him when he was off the course with Carol.]

For the next several miles I purposely went a bit faster - 11:45 pace in

order to catch up to Ron and Carol. Sometime before Mile 10 I came across

scream teamers Carlene, Kathryn Lye, and Myra. I got hugs which was a huge

energy boost. They had not seen Ron. Hmmm, now I was confused. Ron is very

tall and hard to miss with his pink hat. I told them if Ron came by to tell

him how far ahead I was and not to worry about me. [They saw him 2 minutes

later and gave him the message.]

Since I didn't know if Ron was ahead or behind me, I decided to run my own

race and quit stressing over finding him and Carol. I took one earphone out

and I could hear the crowds and interact when I wanted to or I could run

closer to the middle of the road and zone out when I felt overwhelmed. This

worked well and I felt good. My pace was right at 12 minute miles. I saw

Carlene and Kathryn again and asked them to tell Ron I was fine if they saw

him. I also saw Lisa Whipps and Milt Link and told them I was doing well but

I had lost Ron. I was still feeling good as I got to Mile 15 and the

Queensboro Bridge. This bridge goes uphill forever. I was expending a lot

of energy threading my way around the others who were mostly walking so I

walked until I reached the top. I began running again and felt a tap on my

shoulder and there was David G. from Canada. We ran together into the huge

crowd of spectators in Manhattan. I was thinking I had found a good running

buddy for the rest of the race. However, at the next water stop I lost him.

I walked an extra minute but he didn't reappear. I felt cold when I walked,

so I began running again.

My pace dropped to 12:30 per mile. The bridge had been hard but I still felt

ok. The crowds were still cheering enthusiastically, but I concentrated on

moving forward instead of interacting with them. Somewhere between Mile 18

and 19 I came across Daniel and MaryD. I ran with them for a while and I had

visions of the three of us crossing the finish line together. Unfortunately,

I couldn't keep up with their pace. Later, I saw them at a water stop as I

passed by and I assumed they would catch up to me soon after, but I didn't

see them again during the race. I seem to have a habit of losing people.

Having lost Mike, Sue, Ron, Carol, David, MaryD, and Daniel, I continued on

alone. One of the bridges (either Willis Ave at Mile 20 or Madison Avenue

at Mile 21) has long sections of metal grating that had been covered with red

carpet to make it easier to run on. My feet were the only part of me that

hurt and running over that surface was hard. A cold breeze was blowing, the

sun had disappeared, and my teeth began to chatter. During the next couple

of miles my pace dropped to around 12:50 as I switched to 5/1s.

I was disappointed that even though I had trained well, had not gone out too

fast, and kept hydrated, I was once again running on empty at Mile 22. I

kept drinking my Gatorade and eating glucose tablets. At Mile 23, I came

across Harriet and Karen who were Achilles Guides and we had a brief chat. I

wanted to talk with them longer, but I was feeling kind of funny and decided

to continue on. I saw Lisa Whipps again, but only asked her for salt (she

didn't have any) before I ran on. Mile 24 was my slowest: 13:42. I felt

disconnected. My brain would think of things it wanted me to do such as,

"There is a group of firemen over there. I would like to get my picture

taken with them." But my body refused to make the move to the side of the

road and do it. I worried that it might be hyponatremia, but that seemed

unlikely since I had been careful to drink Gatorade and take E-load capsules.

I didn't think I was dehydrated since I had "un-hydrated" at Mile 16. But I

knew something wasn't right. I was just cold and tired. In Central Park I

completely ignored the cheering crowds except for Kecia and her friend Jim

who I waved to.

At mile 25 I realized I had a chance to PR if I could run an 11 minute mile.

Of course there is no way that was going to happen, but I gave it my best

shot (12:29 - my fastest since Mile 17). I was happy knowing I was going to

break 5:30. As I entered Central Park the second time it was almost dark and

everything had a dream-like quality. I turned off my music so I could

interact with the crowd for the last half mile. I ran and waved a little as

they called my name. In the fading light the whole thing seemed surreal.

There were signs announcing ½ mile to go, 300 yards, 200 yard, 100 yards.

The finish line came into view. I remembered to look up for the finish line

photo and smiled. I crossed the finish line. It was very different from my

other 2 marathons. I felt very distant from the moment.

I knew about the long walk ahead from previous reports so I kept walking

forward. After a while a man handed me a medal, which I put around my neck.

I continued forward and a space blanket was put around my shoulders. I

followed the sea of silver and orange blanket-clad bodies moving ahead in the

dark. Someone gave me a bottle of water and a bagel. I felt very cold.

Now that I was no longer running my teeth were chattering constantly. After

what seemed like forever, I came to the UPS trucks and retrieved my bag. I

couldn't work out how to get my pants and coat on, so I held the bag and

continued to move forward.

I was wishing someone would rescue me and take me somewhere warm, when

someone did. A medical volunteer approached me and said, "I think you need

some help. Why don't you come with me.": I said, "I'm ok, but I am cold."

He put his arm around me and walked me to the medical tent. I wanted him to

know that I was ok, and I tried to talk coherently. I said, "I got cold on

the bridge with the red carpet, but I don't know which bridge that was." I

realize now that probably sounded crazy to him.

The medical tent was WARM. I sat in a chair with a warm blanket around me.

The tent was full of runners sitting in chairs with blankets and next to me

were a few stretchers with runners in worse shape. I shivered and my teeth

chattered for quite a while, even when my body felt warm and began to sweat

from heat of the tent. I asked for salt which they gave me and I drank more

of my gatorade to wash it down. Soon I felt good enough to retrieve my warm

clothes from my bag. They gave me the ok to leave, and I began the long walk

out of Central Park. Once outside the tent I began to shiver again but I

didn't feel so spacey. After a lot of searching I found chip removal. Along

the way another medical person asked if I needed help, but I convinced them

that I was fine. I found the subway and finally made it back to the hotel.

After a very hot shower, some salty snacks, and a diet coke, I felt good

enough to join the penguins for a celebratory dinner, which was lots of fun.

This race was the hardest of the 3 marathons I have done. My training got me

through the race and I felt good most of the time. I am happy with breaking

5:30. Overall the experience was good, but I feel cheated that I didn't have

the fantastic time so many others have reported at New York. Perhaps if I

hadn't lost Ron Horton I would have enjoyed myself more, but I don't think I

would have done well staying out in the cold very much longer. I had run 2

other races in similar weather (Mardi Gras Half and Canada Rock n Roll Half)

and wore the same clothes that had worked for those races. It didn't work

for this one.

I am glad I got to experience the New York City Marathon. It was a difficult

race for me, but I finished in spite of the difficulties. I am still wearing

the medal.

Lauren Clark

Columbus, Ohio

Here is the link to the elevation map.

http://www.runnersworld.com/events/nycm02/course_evelation.html

I feel much better about how I did now that I've seen this.

Lauren

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