New York City Marathon Recap
I’m trying to be more timely with my race recaps and I’m off to a good start (at least I’m writing this the week after the race, so maybe I can actually publish it within 7 days of the race)?!? This marathon was amazing. I had a five weeks between Wineglass Marathon and NYC- something I’ve never done before! Thankfully I had a coach that guided my training and recovery between the races because I definitely would’ve done the transition differently (and probably gotten injured). I wanted to get to NYC 1. Not injured or burnt-out & 2. Run the race having the most fun.
I’m happy to report that I was successful with both! I’m going to break this recap up a bit, since I think it’s important to note what I did between races and how I approached race weekend.
The weeks between Wineglass and NYC looked like:
Lots of foam rolling
Recovery shoes- oofos and I were best friends
Epsom salt baths - especially after long runs.
Three long runs- 12, 15, 17. My coach gave me a range for each week and I chose what felt good on the day. I didn’t care about paces, used candy instead of gels (that made it fun!), and chose hilly routes to get me prepared for the hills in New York.
Recovery smoothies and eating enough calories to help me recover well.
I also pushed my fundraising for Every Mother Counts in the weeks leading-up and hit my fundraising goal the week before the race.
The days before NYC :
I did the 3-day carb load from Featherstone Nutrition. This time around it felt easier to get in all the carbs than Wineglass. I think the cooler weather helped, not having to chase around the girls quite so much, and taking in more water with all the extra carbs.
We took a bus to the city and it was super nice. 5 hour trip that felt like luxury compared to having to drive somewhere.
We stayed at the Hilton Midtown (host hotel) and I booked it through the NYC MARATHON travel agency- which was a great location. It was also pretty cool to see Steph Bruce and Keira D’mato in the lobby! It was close to the race morning bus pickup and within 0.7 miles of the finish line.
I traveled there with my Mom and we knew this would be a trip of a lifetime, so we definitely approached it as that.
On Friday (day we arrived), we checked into our room at 3 and then got a Lyft to the Ali on the Run live show. We got there right at the start time, but got to still see the show while standing!
We walked over to the expo from the live show and wow, was it BIG! It wasn’t crazy-busy at 5pm (thankfully) and I never felt overwhelmed (except when we were shopping in the official gear- that was pretty busy). The checkout lines flowed nicely and bib pickup was a breeze!
I got a few pieces of gear that I had been looking at online, but would honestly recommend just getting things that you really want in the online store. That way you know you’ll get the color/size you’re looking for.
We booked reservations for Friday night dinner at Tavola on 9th Avenue. It was less than a half mile walk from the expo and easy (kinda) to navigate there. I think I took us on a few wrong turns, so we walked a bit more! I had the Cacio è Pepe and it was probably one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had since traveling abroad to Italy. Highly recommend if you’re going to be in NYC for the marathon!
We took an Uber back to the hotel after dinner and got into bed by 10pm.
Saturday
We had the Every Mother Counts shakeout run on Saturday morning at 9:30 and then they were doing a brunch. I brought a bag of Dave’s Killer Plain bagels with me along with bananas and Justin’s to-go honey peanut butter, so I had that as my ‘first breakfast’ before the run. I also had one Gatorade that morning and sipped on water throughout the day (I knew it was going to be warmer on raceday, so wanted to increase my electrolytes). We took an Uber to the shakeout run after I tried to navigate us to the subway and failed because the Dash to the Finish 5k apparently happens right in front of our hotel! I wish I would’ve known because I definitely would’ve cheered!
I had some coffee and banana with PB & honey after the 25 minute shakeout run. We ran around Chelsea Pier and ran around an 11:40min/mi pace- it was perfect. It was also so cool to see the Verazzano Bridge in the distance and know that we’ll be running over that the next day!
I loved meeting other fellow runners and those who had similar interests as me! I think this was a highlight of the trip- especially since we were all passionate about women’s health.
We took an Uber back to the hotel and quickly got changed, had another bagel with butter for lunch, bag of pretzels, and headed out to see Hamilton. It was close enough so we walked .
Hamilton was incredible (my first Broadway show!) and you better believe that I brought snacks and extra water with me to consume during intermission.
We did a pickup order at Serafina on Broadway and headed back to the room to relax for the evening. I had the same dish as the night before and it was good!
I got all of my things ready to go for the morning and scheduled an Uber to pick me up from the hotel at 6am to bring me to the 6:45 ferry. Thankfully the weather looked warm enough where I wouldn’t really need many layers! I was in bed by 9pm for a 5:15am wake-up (thank you for the extra hour of sleep daylight savings!).
Raceday!
I wanted the whole NYC marathon experience so I opted for the ferry (logistically the buses would’ve been easier, but I wanted to see it all!). I luckily got the last time slot for my wave to take the ferry 9:45 start time and 6:45am was the latest ferry). It was a bit nerve wracking when I saw all the traffic trying to drop people off at the ferry (probably should’ve left the hotel at 5:45), but I got onto my ferry on-time and secured a seat. I maybe waited 5 minutes before being able to load for the next ferry. The sunrise and view was incredible.
The ferry took about 30 minutes, then we got off and walked about 5 minutes to the buses. I loved meeting fellow runners on this trip! I had some great conversations. The bus lines were long, but I think we only had to wait maybe 10 minutes until we got on one. Then the bus ride to the starting village was another 30 minutes. The walk and going through security took another 10-15minutes. So it took just about 90 minutes from getting on the ferry to getting to the start village. I found a portapotty right away (with no line!) and was able to FaceTime the girls (who we’re watching the race on TV).
Thinking of getting to the start village again gives me chills! It was so exciting. I couldn’t believe I was actually there. I did my first breakfast at 5:45am (bagel, PB, banana & Gatorade) and then 4 graham crackers at 7:45am while on the bus (and sipped on more Gatorade).
I secured my Dunkin hat and tucked it into my handheld water bottle pocket.
I hung out in the pink village for a while- stretching, people watching, and drinking some coffee. I then thought I had to shed my layers m, so I dropped them in a bag - this was too early. I could’ve waited until I got to just before my blue corral. Thankfully it was warm enough that I didn’t need them. I just had my throw away mittens that I kept. I hopped into another porta potty (no lines AGAIN!) and snapped a photo of the police with their horses. This was so cool!
All of the volunteers were super helpful! I had trouble finding the blue village initially, but I found it eventually and started making my way to my corral at 9am (corral opened at 9:05). I was one of the first people into our corral and hopped into one more porta potty (again- no lines!). I think it helped to get in there before the masses.
I took a Maurten gel at 9:30 and soon enough it was time to start making our way to the start! The volunteers along each corral that we passed were cheering and it almost made me cry- I was so excited!
The line before the start moved at a pretty good pace, but I was also in the last corral so I think this played into me feeling like I had no room to move from mile 8 onward. The first few miles were surreal. I loved coming off the bridge and seeing a sign that said ‘welcome to Brooklyn’. It was like an immediate party!
I had no pace goals in mind, but knew that probably sub 4 was doable. I also knew that I wanted to have so much fun and take in my nutrition (Maurten gels) every 3 miles- I was successful with both!
The first 4 miles were awesome, then the other corral joins with the blue and it got more crowded. I definitely felt like there was less space to move, but it wasn’t too bad.
Around mile 8, the course comes together and this is really where I felt stuck in a pace. I couldn’t go faster if I tried (unless I really wanted to weave around people, which I honestly didn’t feel like it was worth the energy and I thought that it would eventually spread out- it never really did). I just decided that whatever people around me was running was fine for the moment and to just soak in the crowds.
The crowds from miles 8-13 (except the small section through the Jewish community) were just wild. My ears hurt from how incredibly loud everyone was. I think the nice weather had people out cheering even more. We hit the second bridge around mile 13 (it felt like a small bump compared to the hills that I run on at home) and then I knew the Queensboro bridge was going to be tough at miles 15-16. This is one of the few times I felt that I could run the pace that felt the most comfortable (8:30ish). I also didn’t think it was as bad as everyone says- it went by fast for me!
Coming into the Bronx was like a huge party. I loved seeing how these communities showcased their individuality along the course. I made sure to dump water on me at the later aid stations m, since it started to get warmer. First Avenue was wild with how far into the distance we could see. It was also just the slightest incline most of the time- nothing terrible if you’re in a good mood!
Fifth Avenue was so exciting and also congested. I never felt like I could get into a good rhythm from this point until the end, but honestly I was just really happy to be there and I didn’t want to stop running! I definitely could’ve tried to juggle around others at this point, but it was challenging. I definitely didn’t expect to be in this tight of runners basically the entire race.
Most epic race ever. My mom got a grandstand ticket (she would recommend doing that!), so she got a good video of me coming into the finishers shoot. It was surreal to be coming into the parade of flags that I saw on TV every year. The walk from the finish line to get out was pretty rough. My legs had to keep moving or else they tried to seize up and there was just so many people that it was hard to not go at a hobbling pace.
The most challenging part was reuniting with my mom after the finish. We were going to meet at the family reunion section, but she was basically stuck at Columbus Circle. I ended up meeting her there, but it was challenging. I changed out of my sneakers into my oofos and drank my CorePower that she had with her. We did the 0.7 mile walk back to the hotel.
I was feeling pretty good after the race, so we walked to Rockefeller Center to get dinner at Bill’s Burgers (the best food post-marathon I’ve ever had) - highly recommend their s’mores milkshake and cheese fries! Then, we decided to see Chicago. It was close enough to walk to and I still felt good (I did also apparently walk almost 37 miles that day, so thank you raceday adrenaline!)
Marathon Monday:
I was up early and starving, so we walked to breakfast at a cute little diner (can’t remember the name!). Then, we headed to the Peloton Studios for our class with Christine! This was so much fun and it’s amazing that my mom and I both got into the live class (she was originally on the waitlist). We were logged in 30 minutes prior to the 12pm new class drop (4 weeks out I think). It wasn’t ideal that this was the day after the race, but I took it easy and I also think it helped me flush out my legs!
We also visited Levain bakery in the afternoon, tried to get a few things at the finish line expo (it was honestly too crazy in there), thought about getting my medal engraved (the line would’ve taken us hours!), and then we had lunch at The Tavern on the Green. We also visited the 9/11 memorial.
I will be dreaming about these cookies for awhile!!
On Tuesday we grabbed some bagels and did a little shopping before taking our bus back on the afternoon.
This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! I loved every second and missed my girls like crazy.
