New York City Marathon

I will try not to make this super long but there is so much to say about this iconic race. If you don't want to read what happened prior to the race, feel free to skip down to Race Morning.

When I first found out I got into the marathon, I was excited but already stressed about the logistics of it. Huge city, expensive, how to get around, etc.

Being the person that I am, I wait until the last minutes with things and then usually just wing it, which creates more stress. However, things usually just end up working out. And that is what happened for NYC. 

Thankfully Darlene(myfirst5k blog) was able to get a double occupancy room and was nice enough to let me stay. We both were doing this race solo, so it worked out.  I was able to take the train from New Jersey right to Penn Station and the hotel was three blocks away.

After meeting up, we went straight to the expo, which was super close to hotel as well. Of course it was mad house so we didn't stay too long. Darlene had tickets to see Meb speak along with a meet and greet that afternoon.  He is a Ucan ambassador  so we each got a goodie box of their products. I haven't heard much about this, but after hearing Meb speak about it, I'm anxious to try it.

Afterwards, we went back to the expo to do some shopping and figure out the bus transportation for the following morning. We then found a nice Italian restaurant on the way back for dinner and split a pizza and some pasta.  

*Race Morning*

4am still came too early even with the extra hour of sleep. I put my outfit on, grabbed a cup of a coffee, and I was out the door. Luckily where I had to get the bus wasn't too far from our hotel either. I had a 530 van. It took about an hour to get to where they dropped us off. 

After going through security we found our villages to hang out in until our waves started.  There was alot of time waiting around here. Luckily we had a nice day and I stayed quite warm with my robe I bought for $2.50 at the thrift store. They had dunkin donuts coffee and bagels while we waited. They were even giving out these cool beanie hats with the New York marathon logo on them( which I didn't want to toss so wore the hat the the race).



 They also had therapy dogs to pet which was fun. 

Earlier the porta potty line wasn't too long, but of course the closer to the time  the waves started the longer it was. They said the waves only opened a half hour before your start, so I had plenty of time to wait before heading into my wave. 

I heard an announcement that wave one was about to close and I thought well it's just now half hour. So unfortunately I had to get in the back of the first wave which was fine because it's all chipped time anyways.  As soon as I entered, I heard another announcement that wave one was closed. There were plenty of porta potties in the waves, something I wish I would have known. They made another announcement that we had to discard all our throwaways before we got to the bridge. After tossing them we continued walking towards the bridge and the New York song began to play and soon we were off.

I even asked someone did we start? He replied yep. I remember listening to Meb the night before saying to be pretty conservative in the beginning of the race and don't get caught up in the crowds too much or you will pay for it later. So I thought I would listen to his advise. 

I was feeling good the first 7 miles and I ran into someone that used to be in our running group in Virginia Beach.  I recognized him because he had a shirt on and he was with team hoyte (which is when runners push disabled persons in a stroller). He is a strong runner that is a 3:05 marathoner but he was pushing a 250 lb teenager. He is definitely a beast! It was nice running with him for a few miles. We split up after approaching another hill, and I was back running conservative. I kept thinking I hope I feel this good towards the end so I can give it a kick. 

This marathon I decided to run without my music, which I never do. But after my hiccup in Chicago with my aftershokz, I thought why not. Plus, I heard the crowds were insane and would get you through the miles, and they surely did not disappoint.  I loved high fiving the kids along the way and hearing everyone cheering. 

The hardest part for me was between 14-16 miles. We were going over the bridge and it was so quiet. I even made that comment out loud and someone said just wait until we get to the bottom. Well he was right, and the crowds were there cheering away along with the bands playing music so loud you probably wouldn't have been able to hear your own music if you had it.

We were nearing 20 miles by this point, and up another bridge and I kept thinking 10k left, I wish there was only a 5k left. Finally we made it into Central Park with only a few miles left. Again, I remember Meb saying here is the time to take it all in and enjoy the last few miles of it and if your feeling good go for it. This is what I was hoping for. I ran the whole race pretty conservative in hopes to give it that kick in the end.  What kick? Unfortunately I didn't have anything left in the tank. I was feeling ok, but not enough to speed up. I should have just went out from the start like I usually do. After reaching 26 miles, that point two miles seemed to take forever! Finally I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face, mostly because I was happy it was over but also proud of my accomplishment! You have to have that great race day finishing photo right? Even if everything is hurting at the end.


After crossing the finish line there was a pretty significant walk to the exit. I received my awesome medal and goodie bag and at this point runners were sitting down. I thought heck usually at other races they are so adamant about keep moving along, but I didn't hear that one time. Maybe because they knew how much of a walk it really was?

After taking a few minutes to sit down, I continued to walk another mile down the road(it felt like it anyway) got my poncho and exited. I grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and really wanted to wait for Darlene to finish since it was her first marathon, but I just couldn't hang on any longer  so I walked a few blocks to get to an Uber, which wasn't the easiest on Marathon day.  After spending about an hour in the Uber through traffic and picking others up and dropping them off my driver dropped me off at the wrong hotel.  Which was not his fault because I typed in the wrong address. Who knew that there were two of the same hotels fairly close by. It was only 10 blocks away so I thought I would try walking it. After a few blocks, I said no way and called for another Uber.


When I finally got back to the hotel I showered and relaxed as I waited for Darlene. Later that evening we went to dinner at a local steak house then came back to the hotel bar and celebrated with some drinks.

The following morning we walked up the vessel. Darlene thought it was a good idea after the marathon (silly lady). Surprisingly I didn't feel too bad. Usually the day after a marathon I don't want to do a darn thing, especially walking up and down hundreds of stairs. That's how I knew I didn't push myself to my limit during the marathon or I would have been more sore than I was. Afterwards we met up with another blogger, Cari (traveling Cari) for lunch then I took the train back home.

Overall the weekend was a great experience! I was able to mark off another world major marathon finish. And logistically it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I will say for the biggest marathon in the world it was very well organized. 

Would I ever run it again? Never say never, but as of right now I am content with not running it again. It was a great day for a marathon with perfect race conditions, so I wouldn't want to jinx myself coming back. The one downfall of the race was just all that waiting around beforehand.  Luckily the weather was much better than previous years so it wasn't too bad. After finishing all the U.S World Marathon Majors(all this year), do I go for all 6?

Have you ever ran NYC marathon or have a desire to? -L




30 comments:

  1. I'd love to do this race someday! I know what you mean about being too conservative at the beginning, then regretting it later when you can't kick it in to finish. I usually start off too fast, though, and that's not ideal either LOL Having great weather is such a bonus to the day! Congrats ;-)

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  2. Congrats Lacey! I'm pretty amazed that you ran this just 3 weeks after Chicago. You are incredible. I hope you're going to take some time off now!

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    1. Thanks Wendy! Yes I am. Enjoying a girl's weekend in Nashville for my bday.

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  3. I have to say I'm a little jealous of just how nice your weather was, but glad at the same time, if that makes any sense. It's really nice that you & Darlene were able to hook up & keep each other company.

    That is the problem with huge races -- all that waiting! And the logistics! It's so funny how if you're in Manhattan, you pretty much can't even tell there's a huge marathon going on.

    Congrats on ticking off another World Major Marathon. I smell a quest for all of them (especially considering your job).

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    1. Thanks Judy. It was so nice meeting up with Darlene while I was there.

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  4. Such an awesome race recap! I enjoy tracking both of you last week and did a happy dance after each of your crossed the finish line.

    I totally agree with you about miles 14-16 - that's really the hardest part because you go from so much crowd energy to nothing, which can be weird. But yes, once you get off that bridge, it's just a wall of loud cheering and energy and it's great!

    Congratulations on your marathon finish!

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    1. Thanks Kim! The crowds are insane at NYC. I am glad I didn't use my music.

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  5. Huge congrats Lacey! You have been crushing it lately. I've never done a race in NYC

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    1. This was my first one. A good first I suppose. Thanks Deborah!

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  6. How did I miss that this was your first NYC. Sounds like you had a blast! You know my answer to your question - count me in for #21 ;) What's next? Rest?

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    1. I think rest sounds like a good idea after back to back marathons! I'm sure you are looking forward to some rest as well.

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  7. Congratulations on your successful NYC Marathon! Sounds like you had a great time and you even got your picture taken with Meb. And Darlene! I have never done NYC, but I have done Berlin. I would say go for it! :)

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    1. I'm beginning to think I should shoot for all 6 major. We will see.

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  8. What a fun weekend. Glad to spend my first marathon with you. Maybe we'll do another race together again someday.

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    1. Yes. It was a great time! Hopefully our paths will meet up again in the future.

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  9. Congrats Lacey on a great race. I had no idea you had not run NYC before. It definitely is a challenging course and being conservative at the beginning is really important. My first mile was my slowest of the entire race and those bridges, especially Queensboro are very tough.(that one is at mile 15) Crowds were amazing and even better than when I ran the race in 2015. I'm now done running NYC, but loved every minute.

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    1. Thanks Pam! And congrats to you as well. I am very happy I ran it and to mark another major off but I have no desire to run it again.

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  10. Congratulations! NYC is definitely on my bucket list of marathons I want to do. Good for you for running without headphones! I think the logistics of the race would stress me out too.

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    1. I don't think I would have been able to hear my headphones anyways if I wanted. Especially if I were wearing those aftershoks. For being such a big race they are so organized so logistically it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

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  11. Sounds like it was a fun weekend and I can't believe you ran another marathon right after Chicago - you are one strong woman!!

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  12. Congrats Lacey! You've been a marathon machine lately! I ran NYCM back in 2014 and loved it. Taking the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty on our way to the start was one of my favorite memories. Sounds like you went the bus route.

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    1. Yes. I wasn't sure which to take. But I thought the hus may be easier because it was only one stop! Plus it was close to our hotel.

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  13. At least you did it if you never do it again.
    Good call on calling the Uber - I cant imagine all the walkin AFTER those 26.2 miles!!!!
    I love they had therapy dogs there too... I would be like, race canceled, I'll stay here :)
    Had to laugh you bought a robe to keep warm before - smart!

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    1. I got do many compliments on that. It was definitely worth the $2.50. Poor Darken walked all the way back when she was done. From like 82nd to 35th...way too long!

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  14. Awesome job. Congrats! This is a race I'd love to do, if I ever decide to work back up to try another full marathon. It's not something I'm so sure if I want to do thought, haha. But it does sound awesome.

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    1. It was an amazing experience. If you are ever going to do another one, this is the one I'd suggest!

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  15. Really enjoyed your review! Congrats! I ran NY in 2016 and I have no desire to do it again either. The logistics of it was just a bit stressful and I thought the race course was hard (I many or many not have been undertrained at the time). I would definitely go for the World Majors!!

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    1. Thanks Cathy! Race logistics can be so stressful at big races, but it was well organized!

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