NYC Marathon Canceled…what’s next?

(Disclaimer, obviously the nature of the damage and devastation along the east coast is way more important than a running race. I feel terribly for all those affected by the storm and its aftermath. These posts are just my feelings as a marathoner tied to the whole mess.)

As many of you have heard, the Mayor of NYC and the NYRR finally came to their senses and canceled the NYC Marathon.  The decision came way late (announced Friday afternoon around 5:00 PM EDT), after many athletes had already boarded their planes and were on their way or were already in NYC.

I was actually one of the lucky ones; I received the news about an hour before I was to board my flight.  I was able to cancel my flight and hotel and was not out any money. 

But WOW, what an emotional week for everyone involved.  I am just a recreational runner and this week was a mini roller coaster of decisions and emotions; I cannot even imagine what the city of NYC, race officials, and the pro runners went through.  Here is what was going through my mind throughout the week:

• Monday and Tuesday- (watching every detail relating to the storm, devastation, etc.) There is NO way this marathon will be held, when will they announce the cancellation?  I feel so bad for the east coast, I cannot imagine traveling there and getting mixed up in this mess!  But what about all these months of training and preparing to run, and all the money I have tied up in this?  I guess I will just wait and see….
• Wednesday- Continue to wait, but mentally not where I should be the week before a marathon. Reports say that the marathon will be held, but still with uncertainty. Trying to keep focus with the assumption that I will run a marathon on Sunday and continue to take care of myself during taper week.  On the side, I am looking up other fall marathons to run just in case…
• Thursday- The Mayor and NYRR are assuring everyone that the marathon will be held.  They are telling runners to come to NYC to economically help the city by spending money on travel and tourism.  Alright, they are telling me its on and to come to NYC.  They know the situation better than I do, I will keep my plans and travel to NYC.  I now am mentally back into running this race and I am getting EXCITED to run; the weather will be great, fewer entrants with many choosing to defer, my legs feel great and I am ready to PR!
• Friday morning/early afternoon- My flight is not canceled and I ready to run, in fact, I am PUMPED about the race!  I can’t wait to get to NYC.

But I knew the decision to hold the race was controversial and I was hearing many reports of New Yorkers being FURIOUS over the decision to hold the race.  Runners were already feeling attacked for the race being held and we had no control over the situation; I even had a random New Yorker respond to a tweet making me feel unwelcome and a little uneasy about my choice to head to NYC.

About an hour before I was set to board my plane to head to NYC, I heard the news.  Jeff and I just got through security when his phone rang; it was him mom who was watching the news and saw the announcement that the NYC Marathon was canceled.  We didn’t even make it to our gate, we turned around, headed to the Southwest check-in and canceled our flight.  We then called our hotel and were able to cancel that as well.  All in all, we were VERY lucky (my friend was not as lucky, she heard of the cancellation on the way from the airport to her hotel in NYC… even more disappointing for her).

Jeff and I headed straight to a few breweries to get my mind off things.  The best cure for a canceled marathon is beer, honey whiskey, fried chicken, and mashed potatoes. 

Over the wonderful spread before us, Jeff and I started discussing my options…. and his options for running another marathon to qualify for Boston.  Glued to our smart phones, we scoured the internet for a marathon to run in the next few weeks.  We decided on…

We don’t know a lot about the race, except that it is small, in the middle of the desert, and it runs through 3 states (Utah, Arizona, and Nevada).  We plan on making a mini road trip and driving to Nevada, staying in Mesquite the night before the race, and then heading to Las Vegas Saturday night after the race.  Why not?

The course looks interesting; it is downhill the first half and rolling hills the second half.  It is point to point so there are very few turns.  There is a huge potential for windy conditions, but you can’t control weather!  Who knows if it is PR or BQ friendly, but we went for it either way. 

Now I have two weeks to keep up my fitness (have a good week of training this week and a nice taper next week) and stay injury-free.  I’m looking forward to this small race in the middle of nowhere.  You have to make positives out of every situation…

Like being able to keep the amazing throw-away hoodie/robe that I was planning on wearing to the NYC start.  Its the coziest thrift store find yet, and is super flattering!

I’m Running NYC…

My flight is on as scheduled and I will arrive in NYC tonight!  My hotel has power and transportation options are getting better by the hour. 

The NYC marathon will be held and I will be running it. 

I know there are a lot of opinions for and against holding the marathon Sunday…and I see both sides.  I honestly would have totally understood if it would have been cancelled, but as long as it isn’t, I will be towing the start line. 

My bib # is 10472 if you want to follow me online. 

The Show (or marathon) MUST go ON!

The ING New York City Marathon will be held as scheduled this Sunday despite the “controversy” surrounding it.  Lots of articles about it HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

There are still a TON of unanswered questions, specifically relating to the logistics of getting to the start and any course modifications.  But the show MUST go ON!  The marathon MUST be RUN (according to the Mayor and the NYRR)!

With that being said, as long as I can get to New York City, I will be running on Sunday. 

As of today (Thursday afternoon), my flight is not cancelled.  But things could very well change tomorrow.  I fly into LaGuardia and that was the airport hit the worst and is just opening up today for a few flights.  Even if my flight isn’t cancelled, it will be overbooked or delayed at the very least. 

Here is where I stand:

• Ideally, I will get on my 4:50 PM Friday flight as planned.  Go to my hotel in Brooklyn late Friday night, sleep in Saturday, go to the expo to get my race stuff and other important into, and head back to the hotel for dinner and sleep before the race.  Based on the transportation tie-ups, there will be little time for anything else Saturday.
• If I get bumped from my Friday flight, I will fly out first thing Saturday morning, head straight to the expo, then to my hotel for the night.
• But if my airline can’t get me out until after noon Saturday, I will most likely just cancel the trip altogether.
• I don’t want to arrive in NYC late Saturday, rush to get to the expo before it closes and then to my hotel late for little sleep.  Too many unknowns with transportation and other travel logistics (not to mention, when would I eat?!?).

Even if I can make it to NYC, I still have questions concerning the race itself:

• Will there be course modifications?  Will it make the race harder, easier, or no change?
• How will I get to the start?  Will the start still be the same?
• Will Jeff be able to navigate the city to be able to see me run?  Will he be able to make it to the finish to meet me there?
• Will I be able to run my best race based on all of these unknowns?
• Will New Yorkers be disgruntled that the race was held and harass the runners?  Actually, I hope this is the case because it will make me run faster ;)

More waiting, more unknowns for me personally.  Who knows if I will be running a marathon on Sunday….

And if you were wondering, I have a backup plan if I don’t run a marathon Sunday.  I have put in so much time for training, I don’t want it to go to waste!  I already have a trip planned to run a half marathon in Las Vegas on Dec. 2, I will just switch and run the full marathon there (assuming it is not already full).

NYC Marathon Week

After several months of training, I am in taper mode leading up to the NYC Marathon on Sunday November 4.  I am more prepared than I ever have been and my legs are ready to run 26.2 miles at the fastest pace they have ever ran for that distance.  I am confident that if the weather is on my side, that I will be able to run a personal best on Sunday (my previous PR is a 3:17).

Unfortunately…the weather this week is not on my side.  I don’t know if anyone has heard the news, but a big storm blew through the east coast and is causing some issues in NYC…  

Millions are without power and NYC is essentially shut down.  The transportation systems that keep NYC moving are not able to function.  No one can get into NYC, no one can get out, and no one can get around the city. 

How the heck will they hold this marathon in 5 days? 

The NYC marathon officials are staying positive and released the following statement on Tuesday:

“We’re assessing today with the city what the damage was and the ability to recover as quickly as possible.  The New York Road Runners is moving ahead with everything we can do to be on the way to putting on a great marathon on Sunday.”

The article in which I pulled this statement discusses in detail the marathon itself, the expo, transportation in and around NYC, and flight travel to NYC.  There are so many unknowns at this time, there are so many questions that need to be answered.

Will my flight to NYC be cancelled on Friday, will I even be able to make it to NYC by Saturday?? If my flight makes it, how will I get from the airport to my hotel?  Will my hotel even have power and water by Friday? Will they be able to host the expo? Where will I eat, will restaurants even be open? How will I get to the start line if public transportation is down? Will they be able to clear the course of debris?  Will they be able to get enough (clean) water for the aid stations? Will they be able to guarantee safety of the runners if hospitals are shut down and ambulances are tied up for hurricane relief? 

WILL I BE RUNNING A MARATHON IN NYC ON SUNDAY??!?!?

Honestly, NYC’s focus needs to be on it’s residents and on getting the city back in order. The last thing that NYC needs is to worry about 40,000+ high maintenance runners taking over their city. Plus, it wouldn’t be smart to hold a race of this size in a time like this (unless things dramatically change in the next few days).

In my opinion, I don’t think that the NYC marathon will be happening this Sunday, or at least for me anyway (I see little chances of me being able to travel to NYC on Friday, have a hotel room waiting for me and being able to navigate the city and make it to the start line).  

With that being said, what they heck are marathon officials going to do??

Entrants paid $255 to run this race, not to mention the cost of flights, hotels, and other travel incidentals.  If they allow deferrals, will they make everyone pay another $255 (or more??) to run next year?  That would essentially be a $510 marathon, just for the entrance fee(s) alone.  That would be effing ridiculous and scandalous if you ask me.  I sure as heck will be asking for, at the very least, a discounted entry into the 2013 NYC marathon.

Nobody is to blame and there is nothing that can be done but wait; wait for updates and then make an informed decision. 

Exceeding Expectations

This past weekend Jeff and I were in St Louis.  We went to a Cardinals game…
…Met the newest family member who arrived just in time for our visit… …And did a jump photo at the St Louis Arch…
But the focus of the weekend was for Jeff to run the St Louis Rock and Roll Marathon!
Coming into marathon week, Jeff decided that he would shoot for running a 7:15 pace or run a 3:10 marathon.  Based on his training and how he performed in the Denver RnR Half Marathon in September (1:30:33), I was confident that he would achieve this goal. 

He had discussed trying to run a Boston Qualifying (BQ) time (under 3:05:00), but was unsure if he could do it and didn’t want to add unnecessary pressure to make that his goal.  Honestly, I thought it was a stretch for him to run a 7:03 pace for 26.2 miles and was glad he had made this decision.  I didn’t voice my doubt in a BQ time, but I was glad he was being practical. 

The night before the race I overhead Jeff talking with his older brother Chris. They discussed Jeff’s training and Chris felt like Jeff was conditioned to run a BQ time.  Chris encouraged Jeff to play things by ear the next morning, but to start out at a 7:00 minute pace and to try to maintain this fast pace (or faster if he felt good) for as long as he could (and this is advice coming from someone who has qualified for and ran the Boston Marathon 3 times, with a personal best of 3:00:06).   

Chris is an extremely positive and confident person and began to give Jeff a pep talk; I witnessed Jeff’s face light up and saw an added confidence that I had not seen in a while.  I knew Jeff wanted this, he wanted to run a 3:05 and to qualify for Boston.  I began to believe in Jeff as well and felt like such a Negative Nancy for not believing in him before!!!! 

The morning of the race Jeff was positive, confident, and felt great.  He was giddy with excitement and could not wait to get to the start to begin his 26.2 mile journey.  The weather was perfect, in the 50s and sunny, and Jeff was in his hometown.  Jeff would definitely get a PR (he previous PR was 3:19) and HOPEFULLY a BQ time.
I planned to wait at Mile 1 (near the hotel) to cheer for him, run to mile 5 to catch him again, and then wait for him at mile 16 where I would jump in and run the last 10 miles with him.  I would carry a water bottle with electrolytes, GU, and my cell phone.  We decided that I would maintain a 7:00 min pace so he could just follow me and not concentrate on a time or pace.  I would also give him water/GU/electrolytes when he needed it.  Jeff’s parents, Bob and Marcia, were also on the course riding their bikes to cheer him on in as many locations as possible. 

Mile 1-5 I saw Jeff cruising along with a HUGE smile on his face, ahead of the 3:00 pace group.  Obviously he felt good and was going with a faster pace (about a 6:45 pace).  I called Bob and told him Jeff had ran by and they waited for Jeff at mile 3.  Jeff ran by and Bob and Marcia rode their bikes along side him for the next few miles.

Mile 5- I ran ahead to Mile 5 and waited a few minutes before the runners began to run by.  The 3:00 pace group passed and Jeff was a few minutes behind him, right on pace.  Again, he was cruising along with a smile and said he felt great.  Miles 5-15.5- I ran to Mile 16 where I waited for Jeff.  In the meantime, Jeff’s parents saw him several more times and rode next to him for portions of the race.  Bob called me periodically to give me updates and said Jeff was looking strong and was maintaining a 7:00 pace.  Things were going very well!  I was actually getting nervous that I could not keep up with Jeff and did a few strides along the course to get my legs ready to move fast.

Mile 15.5- I spotted Jeff and hopped onto the course.  Jeff still had a smile on his face and immediately said, “I feel great! I can do this, I think I can maintain this pace!!!”  Alright, let’s do this!!! 

I ran beside Jeff or slightly ahead of him and offered him water/GU whenever he wanted.  I would sprint ahead and get more water and would lead him to run the most efficient route.  I would warn him of a hill and remind him to use down hills to his advantage.  I was having an absolute blast! 

Jeff began picking off people and probably passed 10 men from when I jumped in.  We started seeing people struggling, but Jeff remained strong and on pace.  At Mile 18 Jeff got a side stitch which remained for a few miles.  I gave him more water and reminded him to tighten his core and try to concentrate on something else.  Gradually the side cramp went away and he could concentrate on finishing strong.
Around Mile 23 there were several up hills and Jeff began to slow.  Another gentleman was running with us at this point and starting pulling ahead.  I stayed with the man who was running around a 7:05 pace and both of us were yelling at Jeff to keep up with us.  I could tell Jeff was ready to finish.  He wasn’t struggling, but dropped to a 7:20-7:30 pace. 

At mile 25 Jeff looked at his watch and exclaimed, "I TOTALLY have this!” Apparently he had calculated that he was going to make it under 3:05.  He then demanded that I call his brother Chris.  So I dialed up Chris and put him on speaker and ran beside Jeff the last mile with Chris and I yelling out encouragement.  With the finish line in sight, Jeff’s legs kept slowing but he pushed on.  I got off course with 1/4 mile left and sprinted up the sidewalk towards the finish.  I thought he had done it, I was sure he had snuck under 3:05 to qualify for Boston.

I jumped over the fence to join Jeff just past the finish line and gave him a huge hug.  No hug back, instead I hear a string of expletives as he thrusts his watch in my face.  It read 26.53 miles and a total time of 3:05:06.  $hit.  I told him to not be disappointed yet and to wait for the official chip time.  We walked out of the finish area and Jeff started to feel better, I mean he just shaved 15 minutes off his PR!!!!
Then I got a call from Chris who checked the official results.  “3:05:04.  He didn’t get it.”  Somehow Jeff had energy left and throws his water bottle against a building, “THIS IS BULL$HIT! The course had to have been long or the time is off!! 4 SECONDS?!?!”  I felt so terrible for him; I can only imagine what he was feeling and what was going through his mind. 

Regardless of being 4 seconds shy of a BQ time, he ran phenomenally.  He felt great and enjoyed running in St Louis on a beautiful day.  He exceeded his expectations. I am so proud of Jeff and how far he has come!  Especially considering he gave up running for over a year and just started getting back into it this January. 

Oh and he is already scouring the internet for a marathon to run in the next few weeks.  His legs feel great and he wants to try to run another marathon while he still is in great shape…… he WILL get a BQ time the next time he runs a marathon.

Leonard Family jumps around Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park

This past weekend we had VISITORS!  Lara’s parents and brother flew in Thursday night and Jeff’s parents flew in Friday from St Louis (Lara’s dad and Jeff’s dad are brothers). 

The weekend started off on a positive note; the Cardinals beat the Braves to earn the Wild Card spot in the playoffs.  Yet again, baseball season continues for St Louis fans…..joy joy happy happy.

We booked a rental up in Estes Park, CO for the weekend.  Then rental house came equipped with this yard ornament:

That was the best rack I’ve seen in years.

Saturday we drove from Estes Park to Lake Granby.  The route took us through Rocky Mountain National Park.

The drive was gorgeous and we got to see some great views from the car.

We got out of the car here and there to soak in the views and to document our stop at the Continental Divide.

The highlight(s) of the day have to be our jump photos.  We could not pass up the perfect back drop to perform jump photos and managed to get every family member to join in on the fun.  I don’t think we have laughed so hard in a while.  Here are the best jump photos from each family member:

We have perfected the following jump photo poses from left to right: “The Wrangler,” “The Classic,” (right facing) “The Mario Brother,” (both left and right facing) “The Frogger,” “The Cheerleader,” “The Classic,” (left facing) and "The Frassic” (combination Classic and Frogger). 

We had so much fun with this, it’s now a Leonard family obsession (or at least I am more obsessed with jump photos)!  Seriously, these jump photos are getting out of control.   But I don’t care, it is so much fun and you come away with hilariously awesome photos.  No more posed photos for me, BORING!

We jumped on the Continental Divide (on the Atlantic Side)!

Then we jumped above the tree line (we love the Frogger jump)!

 

We had a great weekend with the family in the mountains.  In addition to jumping around a lot, we ate some delicious donuts (not just donuts, that was just my favorite part of eating this weekend) and did some much needed relaxing.  Hopefully the family comes back soon!

Yet another successful weekend in Colorado!

Dog Shaming

Have you seen that website where dog owners post photos of their dogs with notes of the bad things they did?  Its called www.Dog-Shaming.com Check it out for a dose of laughter.

I have caught a few Dog-Shaming-Worthy photos that I have taken over the years and thought I would share my version.