The New York City Marathon 2013 - as told by Andrew Goodnow
Marathon morning began at 4:45 with the prompt hitting of the snooze button and even prompter realization that I should probably get my ass up. Instead I split the difference and stayed in bed and put my legs up against the wall until 5 am when it was time to take a shower. A very hot one as to loosen up all of those running muscles. The muscles which up to that morning weren't really used for a lot of running.
In perhaps the only bit of true preparation I did in this marathon process I had all of my clothing, nutrition, and accessories (nipple protectors, hand warmers, head/ear band) laid out. Getting dressed was relatively easy and I am proud to say that I did not forget anything. Ate a cliff bar and had a gatorade for breakfast.
So as a side note I put lettering on my shirt with my name on the front "Goodnow" and "Read - My Sober Year" on the back (that is the title of the book I wrote.) I figured that would be a great self promotion type of deal.
My transportation was provided by FDNY so it was convenient to get a police escort to the start line. We had our own little village to hang out in. It was great. We had tents, port o potties with NO LINE, and they provided coffee, gatorade, etc.Very thankful for that. It was a class operation.
Another side note - I will not get graphic here but I had significant stomach issues all morning long. It was terrible. Not sure if it was nerves or what, but nothing good was going on.
I got to the starting village after getting patted down by the police. My GU energy gel packet set of the metal detector. Grabbed another cup of gatorade and went to my pen, I mean corral. Though, it really was more of a pen with port o potties. At this point I am eating my first item of nutrition my GU Chomps. Basically gummy bears with energy, and vitamins. I then stripped off any clothing I would not be needing for the race and put them in the bin to donate to the poor.
My other race day strategy was to use the port-o-potty as much as possible. I did not want there to be one extra drop of urine in me. 1) Didn't want to carry the weight 2) Didn't want to stop to pee 3) I was nervous and had to pee a lot. There is an outside chance I broke the "Most trips to a portable toilet in 2 hours Guinness Book of Records" I should look into that. I could be etched in the history books.
The race started; New York, New York played on the speakers. It was anti-climactic really. Just like the start of any other race. I expected more. I guess if you are an elite runner they put on a show, but for the guy who paid $227 TWICE.....who cares about him?
So I ran.....and honestly....I was disappointed. My strategy was sound. Run the first mile in 11 minutes (uphill) the second in 9 minutes (downhill) and kept a 10 minute mile pace until mile 20 (where the wheels didn't just come off, the engine began to fail) There were a few spots where the crowd was amazing - I'm looking at you Clinton Hill, but Manhattan was all people looking for one specific person, not cheering the crowd. The Bronx was brutal. 5th Ave is actually the largest hill in NYC. I mean that....it is the worst part of the race by far. There was nobody to cheer for you near the finish because of those fuckwad terrorists in Boston. I crossed the finish line, pumped my fist, took my medal, my blanket, my food bag (which I ate all of in about 11 minutes) I looked for my expected transportation with some dude from Scotland who was running with the same group and we couldn't find it. I had to walk for a couple miles to get to the hotel. My legs weren't what one would call FRESH at that point. I felt like I was cattle being corraled. I got cold. It sucked. I made it to the hotel. I looked at my phone. 11 messages.
At mile 20 I finally had to walk. I had nothing left. Still a 10K to go on I was on fumes. I began to cramp. Right above my knee. It was the oddest feeling. I would get to an aid station and drinking two sugar filled cups of Gatorade and the cramping would immediately go away. A half mile later. Boom. It was back.
Some highlights for me:
Seeing people I knew along the way.
A girl from work ran with me for a quarter mile. Which I really didn't want her to do because I felt like I had to act like I was in control and had it together when all I really wanted to do was sit on the curb on 1st Ave, have a good cry, and then go to a bar and have a few beers.
I mentioned that I had the title of my book on the back of my shirt. My Sober Year. It was hysterical how many people who passed me patted me on the back, gave me a thumbs up, had words of encouragement, "Stay strong brother." "Everyday is a challenge" "Congratulations on your sobriety". Which was very nice of all of them, but clearly my marketing tactic did not quite resonate the way I wanted it to. (seeing how I am writing this almost 6 months from when the race occurred I can say that I sold 5 books that day.....not terrible) I got a kick out of people congratulating me on my sobriety when my main focus was finishing the race so I could drink beer and eat buffalo chicken nachos.
Finishing. Not many people can run a marathon at my weight with the extreme minimal of training I put into it. I barely ran the month before the race (much like the other marathon I ran) and NYC is a tough course.
Lots of port-o-potties
Passing mile 18 where my co-workers were and looking good. Many of them thought I would
a) Die before mile 18
b)Look horrible
c)Be walking
d)Would have said, "screw this" and went to a bar on 1st ave.
Getting to the bar after the marathon and eating buffalo chicken nachos and drinking beer....for free.....because I had just run a marathon.
Things I didn't like;
Paying over $450 to run a race
Crowds were massive, but not involved
The end of the race. Must be a faster way to get people out of that park
The wind in our face for 20 miles. It was rough.
Chafing
Hills. Bridges. Bridges that act as hills. Those are no joke. You don't realize it until you are running up those bridges but they are steep and windy. The wind just crushes your will and your spirit.
The amount I swore while running. It really wasn't a pleasant experience. I thought the crowds would help carry me, but nope.
It was 6 months ago. I'm glad I can say I ran the NYC Marathon (In 4:31) and I can say that I will not run that race again (unless there are crazy circumstances like buffalo chicken nachos will go away if I don't).
Marathon morning began at 4:45 with the prompt hitting of the snooze button and even prompter realization that I should probably get my ass up. Instead I split the difference and stayed in bed and put my legs up against the wall until 5 am when it was time to take a shower. A very hot one as to loosen up all of those running muscles. The muscles which up to that morning weren't really used for a lot of running.
In perhaps the only bit of true preparation I did in this marathon process I had all of my clothing, nutrition, and accessories (nipple protectors, hand warmers, head/ear band) laid out. Getting dressed was relatively easy and I am proud to say that I did not forget anything. Ate a cliff bar and had a gatorade for breakfast.
So as a side note I put lettering on my shirt with my name on the front "Goodnow" and "Read - My Sober Year" on the back (that is the title of the book I wrote.) I figured that would be a great self promotion type of deal.
My transportation was provided by FDNY so it was convenient to get a police escort to the start line. We had our own little village to hang out in. It was great. We had tents, port o potties with NO LINE, and they provided coffee, gatorade, etc.Very thankful for that. It was a class operation.
Another side note - I will not get graphic here but I had significant stomach issues all morning long. It was terrible. Not sure if it was nerves or what, but nothing good was going on.
I got to the starting village after getting patted down by the police. My GU energy gel packet set of the metal detector. Grabbed another cup of gatorade and went to my pen, I mean corral. Though, it really was more of a pen with port o potties. At this point I am eating my first item of nutrition my GU Chomps. Basically gummy bears with energy, and vitamins. I then stripped off any clothing I would not be needing for the race and put them in the bin to donate to the poor.
My other race day strategy was to use the port-o-potty as much as possible. I did not want there to be one extra drop of urine in me. 1) Didn't want to carry the weight 2) Didn't want to stop to pee 3) I was nervous and had to pee a lot. There is an outside chance I broke the "Most trips to a portable toilet in 2 hours Guinness Book of Records" I should look into that. I could be etched in the history books.
The race started; New York, New York played on the speakers. It was anti-climactic really. Just like the start of any other race. I expected more. I guess if you are an elite runner they put on a show, but for the guy who paid $227 TWICE.....who cares about him?
So I ran.....and honestly....I was disappointed. My strategy was sound. Run the first mile in 11 minutes (uphill) the second in 9 minutes (downhill) and kept a 10 minute mile pace until mile 20 (where the wheels didn't just come off, the engine began to fail) There were a few spots where the crowd was amazing - I'm looking at you Clinton Hill, but Manhattan was all people looking for one specific person, not cheering the crowd. The Bronx was brutal. 5th Ave is actually the largest hill in NYC. I mean that....it is the worst part of the race by far. There was nobody to cheer for you near the finish because of those fuckwad terrorists in Boston. I crossed the finish line, pumped my fist, took my medal, my blanket, my food bag (which I ate all of in about 11 minutes) I looked for my expected transportation with some dude from Scotland who was running with the same group and we couldn't find it. I had to walk for a couple miles to get to the hotel. My legs weren't what one would call FRESH at that point. I felt like I was cattle being corraled. I got cold. It sucked. I made it to the hotel. I looked at my phone. 11 messages.
At mile 20 I finally had to walk. I had nothing left. Still a 10K to go on I was on fumes. I began to cramp. Right above my knee. It was the oddest feeling. I would get to an aid station and drinking two sugar filled cups of Gatorade and the cramping would immediately go away. A half mile later. Boom. It was back.
Some highlights for me:
Seeing people I knew along the way.
A girl from work ran with me for a quarter mile. Which I really didn't want her to do because I felt like I had to act like I was in control and had it together when all I really wanted to do was sit on the curb on 1st Ave, have a good cry, and then go to a bar and have a few beers.
I mentioned that I had the title of my book on the back of my shirt. My Sober Year. It was hysterical how many people who passed me patted me on the back, gave me a thumbs up, had words of encouragement, "Stay strong brother." "Everyday is a challenge" "Congratulations on your sobriety". Which was very nice of all of them, but clearly my marketing tactic did not quite resonate the way I wanted it to. (seeing how I am writing this almost 6 months from when the race occurred I can say that I sold 5 books that day.....not terrible) I got a kick out of people congratulating me on my sobriety when my main focus was finishing the race so I could drink beer and eat buffalo chicken nachos.
Finishing. Not many people can run a marathon at my weight with the extreme minimal of training I put into it. I barely ran the month before the race (much like the other marathon I ran) and NYC is a tough course.
Lots of port-o-potties
Passing mile 18 where my co-workers were and looking good. Many of them thought I would
a) Die before mile 18
b)Look horrible
c)Be walking
d)Would have said, "screw this" and went to a bar on 1st ave.
Getting to the bar after the marathon and eating buffalo chicken nachos and drinking beer....for free.....because I had just run a marathon.
Things I didn't like;
Paying over $450 to run a race
Crowds were massive, but not involved
The end of the race. Must be a faster way to get people out of that park
The wind in our face for 20 miles. It was rough.
Chafing
Hills. Bridges. Bridges that act as hills. Those are no joke. You don't realize it until you are running up those bridges but they are steep and windy. The wind just crushes your will and your spirit.
The amount I swore while running. It really wasn't a pleasant experience. I thought the crowds would help carry me, but nope.
It was 6 months ago. I'm glad I can say I ran the NYC Marathon (In 4:31) and I can say that I will not run that race again (unless there are crazy circumstances like buffalo chicken nachos will go away if I don't).
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