The NYC Marathon – More than a Walk in the Park

Our third day in NYC, we were finally doing the thing for which we travelled!. Nope, it wasn’t Hamilton on Broadway (though that WAS really fun.) It was the NYC Marathon – which is far more than a walk in the Park! Join us for a fun day in the boroughs with the 2022 NYC Race Report. This is the race where you take a ferry, to take a bus, to run 26.2 miles!

The Wakeup

Wake up time on race day was 5 am. I actually slept pretty well the night before. Even though we were out late the night before to see Hamilton, I still managed 6 hours of shut eye. Thankfully we got to set the clocks back an hour thanks to Daylight Savings Time. Or was it Regular Time coming back? Either way, it was an extra hour’s sleep!

I bought a dozen chocolate chip mini muffins to eat for breakfast before the race. When I woke up, I had a couple along with some water with LMNT in it. In anticipation of the warm weather, I had been drinking water and LMNT on Friday and Saturday as well. I had great success with it when running Peachtree in July which was as hot as the Devil’s armpit. So I was confident it would help. Especially since it was only going to be as hot as the Devil’s belly button that day.

First the Ferry

I left the hotel at 5:30 am for the walk to Whitehall Terminal for the 6 am ferry. Jill wanted to walk over with me. But since she wasn’t feeling the best, I encouraged her to climb back into bed. She did so, without hesitation.

When I arrived I was able to walk right on and grab a seat for the short ride to Staten Island. The ferry actually set off at 5:45 so I’m glad I was early. I enjoyed a couple more of my mini muffins on the way over.

And then the Buses

Once I arrived on the other side I had a short walk to the queues for the bus leg of the journey to Fort Wadsworth. I was able to snag a seat on the third volley of busses. I was fortunate I managed to grab a seat on one of the nicer coaches instead of the school busses.

The ride seemed to take longer than I remembered from running it back in 2019. There seemed to be some delays as we neared Fort Wadsworth so we ended up sitting on the bus for a while. I ate two more mini muffins whilst waiting.

At Athlete’s Village

When I finally got off the bus at the Athlete’s Village it was almost 7:30. This gave me about an hour to kill until it was time to enter the start corrals. I managed to snag a cup of coffee to go with my last few mini muffins and found a place to sit and wait. I also made sure to grab one of the Dunkin caps since I didn’t get one in 2019.

At 8:30 I found my way to the green corrals and loaded into corral E. It’s nice that there are porta loos in the start corrals so there is no mad scramble to make one last pit stop. With all the water I was drinking pre -race this was definitely appreciated.

The Plan(s)

I had two possible goals for the race. My A goal was to go under 3:14 and get guaranteed entry into the race for 2023. Since I had run a 3:14:03 on Sept. 11 on a much easier course, I felt it was a stretch to achieve but I do like a challenge so I was ok with that.

My B goal was to run under 4 hours, focusing on enjoying the crowds and taking in all the course has to offer. As I was standing there it was obvious that it was going to be a warm one. There was no cloud cover and the sun was definitely beating down on us already. I decided that the B goal was probably the wise decision so that became the plan for the day.

And We’re Off!

One of the things I love most about the start is that they fire the cannon and play “New York, New York” with each and every group that takes off. Even though I knew it was coming, I was startled when the cannon fired for the first time when it sent off the men’s professional wheelchair division at 8 am.

At 9:10 am the cannon fired and our wave was off. Most runners prefer to be on the upper level of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge because of the view. But I was happy to be on the lower level. There is less of an incline on the initial climb and two miles in the shade worked for me.

I dialed into a pace just under 8 minutes per mile from the start. I figured I could hit the halfway point in 1:45 and then slow down to a 10-11 minute pace for the second half to come in around 4 hours.

No Sleep ’til Brooklyn

Running thru Brooklyn the crowds were large and loud. I found myself a sweaty mess by mile two and was glad that I chose to not run any faster. I made a point to drink water at every opportunity so as to stay properly hydrated and planned to take a Maurten gel every four miles.

Took a gel at 4, 8, and 12 miles. I wasn’t really checking my watch except to see where my heart rate was. It hit 160 bpm pretty quickly. I adjusted how fast I was running to keep it from rising much more than that. Hit the halfway point in 1:43:26. I felt pretty good overall and figured I would just gradually slow down as the race went on and knew I had plenty of cushion to come in under 4 hours.

The Quiet Before Manhattan

Running across the Queensboro Bridge things get very quiet. There are no spectators on the bridge so all one hears is the footfalls of the runners and the heavy breathing that comes with that climb. The downhill portion brings us past mile 16 heading into Manhattan and the crowds can be heard on 1st Avenue well before leaving the bridge.

As I looped around onto 1st Avenue the crowds made Brooklyn seem quiet. I took a gel at this point and it didn’t sit well with me. Fueling in marathons has never been easy for me and with the heat and humidity I wasn’t surprised when this happened. I may have thrown up a time or two (or three) but I felt ok otherwise so I just kept moving forward.

There were more people walking along the course than I had ever seen this early on in a marathon. This reaffirmed my decision to run a conservative pace and I have no doubt I would have been walking as well had I attempted my A goal.

On the long run up 1st Avenue I ran as close as I could to the spectators to soak up all their energy. I managed to high five a bunch of kids along the way which always bring a smile to my face. I didn’t take any more gels from here on out but did continue to drink water at every aid station as well as a sip of Gatorade from here on out.

Heading to the Bronx

Crossing the Willis Bridge at mile 20 took me from Manhattan into the Bronx. The crowds were a little smaller but the energy was high and it didn’t suck nearly as much as I thought it did in 2019.

And We’re Baaack

Crossing back in to Manhattan on the Madison Avenue Bridge during mile 22, the skies suddenly turned darker. It was nice to not be in direct sunlight for the first time during the race. I was hoping for some rain to cool things off but got nothing more than a few drops. I knew at this point, with only four miles to go I was going to come in well under four hours.

It wasn’t comfortable but I also wasn’t dying so I knew I could maintain the pace I was running for this last stretch of the race. The run up 5th Avenue before entering Central Park is a grind as it is uphill and 23 plus miles into the race.

Entering Central Park, I was anticipating seeing Jill at mile 24. I ran close to the right side keeping my eyes peeled looking for her. I never did see her and found out after the race that she was in the left side. (DOH!)

The rolling hills in Central Park were quite fun and I enjoyed passing a ton of people during this stretch. Even though I wasn’t “racing” it’s always a boost when I’m able to overtake people this late in a marathon. One final turn off of W 59th Street back into Central Park and it was just a short jaunt to the finish line.

I managed to cross in 3:35:00. I didn’t feel great but I’ve definitely felt much worse at the end of previous marathons. All together I’m happy with the way I executed my race plan and although my competitive side wishes I could have run faster, I think I made smart decisions and am pleased with the final result.

And Now Beer

Post race race I made the long walk to get my poncho (definitely not needed this year) and then out of Central Park to find Jill at the Amsterdam Ale House. Jill found us a couple of seats at the bar and we were unfortunate enough to be able to watch the Lions. As if I hadn’t suffered enough already. Fortunately I didn’t pass out this year and enjoyed a couple of beers and some food before hopping on the subway and heading back to our downtown hotel.

Ahhh Shower…

Managed to grab a shower and laid down for a bit to watch the replay of the professionals running the race earlier in the day. Looked like they had about as much fun as I did and suffered some as well.

And Then More Rehydrating

We always like to make it to Fraunces Tavern when in NYC and this trip was no different. Our friend Brad joined us for dinner as we waited for his wife Becky to finish at her charity event after also completing the marathon. Dinner was great and there was a nice Irish band performing whilst we ate.

After dinner we made our way over to the Broadstone Bar and Kitchen for a couple more drinks. Becky and her friend Missy finally joined us for one last cocktail and dessert before calling it a day. I’m sure glad it was a very short walk back to the hotel!!

Thanks for hanging with our day three shenanigans. Stay tuned for day 4 with the highlights walking tour and the rooftop bar! If you’re not a subscriber, consider joining us for free. You’ll get the inside scoop before anyone else as well as content saved for ONLY YOU!!