I went all-in on the training and pushed myself harder than I ever had before. My mileage reached previously unseen levels and I was fully consumed by running. I ran in the morning, went to work, and ran in the evening. Day in, Day out. The grind was nonstop.
A goal came into focus about 3-4 weeks before the race. I wanted to break 2:50. It was ambitious and would mean a huge leap from my current PR (2:58). It excited me because it was a number that was once unfathomable.
Race week rolled around, and I was ready to rock. But the anticipation grew to very high levels and it was a challenge to deal with. I love marathon week/weekend in New York, but there's just so much going on. All the events, speakers, shakeouts, parties... they're great, but they cause a huge build up of hype. It got to a point where the marathon occupied 99% of my thoughts. By race day I was very ready to race and relieve the mounting pressure. My buddy Dan stayed with me for the weekend. He did a phenomenal job of helping me stay composed and confident.
On race morning I connected with fellow Upper West Siders, Kim and Ulla. At the Midtown bus we randomly ran into Jorge! The commute to the start line felt like it took forever. But once I arrived at Fort Wadsworth it was all good. I saw all the usual suspects in the Local Competitive corral. We shared some laughs, and tried to ease the tension in the final minutes before the gun went off.
The race started and I committed to not charging up the Verrazano Bridge, and not storming down it either. Once we were off the bridge I tried to settle into a rhythm. My stomach felt a little tight in the first couple miles. This has happened to me in other marathons and it can often last for most of the race. But this time my stomach eased up at mile 3 or 4. It had never relaxed this early in the race, and I took that as a good sign.
The race plan was to stick to 6:25 pace for the first 15-16 miles. But I did not do a very good job. Most of the miles in the first half were closer to 6:15 pace. I was just feeling so great and I saw so many friends along the way. The Brooklyn Track Club cheer station at mile 8 was EPIC!! Drew handed me a bottle of Maurten just as I saw the squad. I started jumping up and down and I spilled the bottle all over myself. I was now a sticky mess, but I didn't care. I was ripping!
I hit the half in 1:23:56 as I made my way up the Pulaski Bridge. Still feeling great. It was at this point where I started to feel confident that things were going to end well.
I had started running the race with a lot of friends and training partners from Local Competitive. But by the half most of them had dropped back. Except Ruoxi. He was still around and he was still feeling good. We were now in this together.
As we approached the Queensboro Bridge I took the same approach as the Verrazano. I eased my way up the bridge by backing off the pace and going by effort. And I allowed everyone else to bomb down it. But once we got onto 1st Avenue, things got LIT AF!!! The energy on 1st Ave was amazing. I saw everyone and I was feeling great. The roar of the crowd was deafening. Every 30 seconds I was hearing my name from friends. I was plowing down 1st Ave at 6:08 pace with a huge smile on my face. This was undoubtedly one of the best moments of my running career. I was en route to a massive PR, in the best city in the world, surrounded by the best people in the world.
I entered the Bronx around mile 20 and now I was starting to work. I still felt great, but this was the first time I really noticed an elevated effort level. But I kept charging on, and waving to the people I recognized. I was soaking in the moment.
But at mile 21/22 something scary happened. I developed a severe stomach cramp. My right abdominal muscle locked up. My legs still felt great, but my stomach was experiencing intense pain. I spent the next 3 miles working through it. I took deep breaths, pressed firmly on it, and chugged as much Gatorade as possible. But it was scary, I felt like the cramp was gonna shut me down, and all that work I'd done in the previous 20 miles would be wiped out. I was panicking. Ruoxi passed me and all I could say was, "I'm in rough shape". He provided some encouragement.
At mile 23 I started the climb up 5th Avenue. This is undoubtedly the most dreadful part of the race. It's not a steep ascent, but the climb lasts for over a mile and it's 23 miles into the race!! Somehow, miraculously, the stomach cramp went away! I was thrilled. I couldn't believe it!
I charged up 5th Ave as best I could, and when I entered the park I felt incredible! I was working hard, but I had a level of strength and energy that I'd never felt at mile 24. I was full of first pumps, and smiles, and waves to everyone. It was a celebration, I knew I had it.
I burst through the park with my head in the clouds. I couldn't believe this was happening. All the work, the endless miles, the non-stop grinding... this was where it paid off. Here I was at mile 25, doing 6:15 pace!
I briefly exited the park to continue along 59th street. When I got back into the park I had 800m to go and I dropped down to 5:45 pace. And with 400m to go I turned it into an all out sprint! I crossed the finish line, threw my fists in the air, and shed a few tears. 2:48:55
A minute later Ruoxi crossed the finish line and we had a nice moment. I'm so grateful to have had him by my side throughout the race, and it helped immensely. I later connected with Perry and Young, and stumbled home to my apartment, exhausted and thrilled.
I'm still processing the significance of this one. I'm a bit in shock. I spent a very long time struggling with my running, and a very long time dreaming about reaching this level. I always knew I could get here. I always believed that I had the ability. I just needed to be patient and continue putting in the work.
The work. That's what this cycle was all about. It was my motto for months as I pushed myself to the extreme... "do the work". And the results will follow.
I have so many people to thank for this one. I've never been so moved by the support of a crowd. Seeing familiar faces on the course fueled me with fire. I was floating. Thank you to all my friends and teammates who came out to cheer and support. I can't tell you how much it means to me.
To my Moonshot and BKTC people. Training alongside you this year is the biggest reasons for this breakthrough. This result was a team effort. This wasn't just my win, it was OUR win. It's a directly reflection of our leadership's effectiveness, and a testament to what can be accomplished through a unified team. I'm so excited about what's to come in 2020.
