WHITEWATER RUNNING
This week I’d achieved another personal best, this time at the largest half marathon in the country. Unfortunately it was the wrong personal best.
5 AM, SATURDAY
This year the 2016 Brooklyn Half Marathon sold out in a record 52 minutes! The iconic 13.1 mile course took runners from the Brooklyn Museum, through Prospect Park, to the Coney Island boardwalk. It was my 4th half marathon.
Long before the break of dawn, me and over 27,000 runners assembled near the Brooklyn Museum. I sat down on one of the few available park benches and passed the time exchanging war stories with my fellow runners. Two hours later it was time to warm-up and join the slow crawl toward the starting gate. Thousands of marathon runners began to hoot and holler as we started picking up speed. Our cheers echoed off the buildings as we raced across the starting line and through the heart of Brooklyn! The excitement was contagious. Without a second thought I pushed aside my carefully planned 8:45 pace and raced along with the maddening crowd. I was running an irrational 8:00 pace! It felt like my body was whitewater rafting as I accelerated over the rolling hills of Prospect pulled downstream by the passion and fury surrounding me.
Rounding the bend toward the park, my GPS watch chimed, “congratulations, a new 5K record!”
Excited by the news of a personal best I dashed toward the infamous Battle Pass Hill still at my accelerated pace. I was making a classic running mistake. Starting out too fast can have heartbreaking results. Blame it on adrenaline or maybe it was the excitement, the reason doesn’t really matter. Regrettably I was about to compound my mistake with my next decision at mile 4.
THE TAKING OF BATTLE PASS HILL
On the other side of Battle Pass Hill were 6 sweet miles of super-flat Ocean Parkway. All week-long, leading up to the race, I told myself the second half of this race was a breeze. All I needed to do was get over the hill.
I first ran up a mile-long incline leading up to the actual hill. After the lengthy prelude, Battle Pass Hill begins. A steep, 3/4 mile long, winding road. Around every twist and turn the hill just kept on going… up and up and up! And I just kept on running, running, running. When I finally got to the top I was shocked how quickly I tackled the hill. Another record broken! Another pat on the back.
It was now time to check off a few items on my to-do list. Battle Pass Hill now behind me. Mile 6 behind me. I glanced at my GPS watch. Making great time. Check. Check. Check. Cruising along I was savoring my small victories when suddenly — UGH!
A painful side stitch, impossible to shake off, pressed against my right lung. Even more concerning, I suddenly felt exhausted. And I still had 7 miles left to run. More than half the race was still in front of me. My swift start and over-the-top hill attack had taken its toll. This was a serious situation. It doesn’t matter how fabulously flat the remaining 7 miles are, when you have trouble getting oxygen to your muscles even fabulously flat miles are close to impossible to run.
“Quit,” I told myself. “Before you give yourself a heart attack.”
“Don’t be silly,” I argued back. “I can make it. Look at the watch, I am still running a respectable 9 minute mile. And with the extra minutes already in the bank I can still cross the finish line under 2 hours. It’s only pain, I raced with pain before.”
I ran my first half marathon, all 13.1 miles, with swollen feet. Today’s pain was worse. I experienced heat exhaustion during my second half marathon. Today’s pain was worse.
I didn’t stop running.
THE LONG, LONG, LONG HOMESTRETCH
Ocean Parkway appeared endless.
Amazingly, even with my breathing compromised I ran the next 3 miles at a steady 9:00 pace! My body refused to give up. At mile 10 the pain was almost unbearable. My feet felt heavy. My muscles weren’t getting enough oxygen. My pace now lingered around 9:40. I was having a difficult time keeping a steady rhythm when suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw something coming right at me!
A Chinese delivery man pushing his bicycle was attempting to cut across the marathon. And we were both about to collide! I quickly shouted, “WAIT!”
The delivery man’s head popped up like a deer in headlights. Foolishly, instead of stopping, he sped up and tried to outrun me. A ridiculous idea. You don’t need to take a Physics class to know it was impossible to cross successfully in front of me, I was inches away. BAM!
My body slammed into the center of the bike. Down we both fell. I was now lying on top of the bicycle. Quickly I jumped up. Nothing felt broken. The delivery man tried to apologize, but there was no time for small talk, I already lost 30 seconds! I shoved the man out of my way and started running again.
After the accident I was unable to build up any real speed again. I was now ready to concede defeat. My forthcoming victory will not be about time anymore, it will be all about finishing. Friends and family were still waiting to cheer me on at the finish line. I was going to be a few minutes late.
At mile 12, Ocean Parkway was still as daunting as before but now I can smell the sea and surf ahead of me. One mile to go I gave myself a pep talk. I thought, “if I can smell the beach than I can run to the beach.” Digging deep within I found enough inner strength to keeping going.
“To hell with the pain,” I said. “I can smell the ocean!”
Exiting the parkway, I ran. Around the Coney Island Cyclone, I ran. Up the ramp onto the boardwalk, I ran while high-fiving friends along the way. I looked up and saw the finish line only a few yards away. I thought, it’s never too late to race… I did a mad dash across the finish line.
I finished just 4 minutes over 2 hours. Disappointed? Yes… and no, considering after blowing up my engine around mile 6, I felt proud that I was only 4 minutes shy of my goal. And I learned a lesson I will never forget. If long distance running was easy, I wouldn’t love it so much.
I grabbed my finishing metal and gave it a big kiss. Then my friends joined me for a victory lap around Coney Island Amusement Park. We ate a few Nathan’s hotdogs, we played some arcade games and rode the historic Coney Island Cyclone. Well, my friends rode the roller coaster, I didn’t. I decided I didn’t need to beat up my body twice in one morning.
I placed 13,915 out of 27,410 total finishers.
I placed 191 out of 384 total finishers in my gender/age group.
My next half marathon is October 8th.
My brand new motto: start slow, finish strong.
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