Hi Friends!
"BACK IN THE DAY" © stevenn beck
Re: "NYC Marathon Madness"
Back in 1993 I trained for the NYC Marathon. Yeah, really.
I really had no business trying to do this...I wasn't particularly fast. (Uhhh. Actually my running has been described - by people who love me - as looking like "a truck stuck in the mud".) However I was able to "run" fairly long distances - so I said, "What the hell - it would be pretty cool to do it" - the excitement and drama of the day appealed to me...and so one Sunday there I was, wandering with a friend into Central Park to apply to run in the 1993 NYC Marathon. Now my fiend was long and lean and built for speed. In fact he could do the Marathon in a very competitive time without even putting in the required training - just lace up, hit the road, take off. I have short legs and was certainly not built for speed (I always claimed that I was a "lover" - not a "runner" LOL)
But - excited about the prospect of participating, running with thousands of similarly-minded individuals, flying over the Verrazano bridge, etc., I dutifully began preparing for the race, getting out almost every evening after work, slowly building up my stamina, increasing the miles, making steady progress (I thought) toward the ultimate goal. It wasn't always easy getting out; my daughter was only two, she couldn't understand why her dad went out for hours almost every evening - and I often felt guilty that I wasn't spending as much with her as I could (rationalizing the thought by thinking this would be a one-time occurrence - lasting just a few months - and - when my daughter grew to understand - she would be proud of my accomplishment.) Still - it wasn't easy….but some reason….this had come very important to me….I'd recently turned 40, maybe that was it?
The weeks flew by. I felt really good as I piled up the miles - not so good when I looked at my watch. Finally two things happened that ultimately led to the end of this particular dream:
- The Staten Island "half-marathon"…I wasn't officially entered but I ran alongside the runners. The first half-mile or so I kept up. Then I started dropping further and further behind the leaders. People started zipping by me…young, old, thin, heavy, positively decrepit - didn't matter. There was a very old man - his long, grey curly hair blowing behind him in the wind - who positively flew by, then turned back for a second, concerned, asking me if I was "OK"... (You see - despite all of my many weeks of arduous training - by mile eight I was evidently"huffing' and puffing".) I assured him I was fine, he took off again - in a cloud of dust - and presumably finished hours ahead of me. I did finish the race however. And did not finish last. There was a woman pushing a large stroller with three babies - I think I beat her. Not by much - maybe a few seconds! - but at least I wasn't dead last…
- I set out the Saturday before the race to run from mid-mainland Queens out to Far Rockaway- and back. Maybe about 20 miles or so. Now I have been describing my running in a self-desprecating manner….but I WAS able to run fairly long distances and - much to my happiness - I WAS able to do the 20 miles. It felt great - I had a real feeling of accomplishment - yessss! - and felt that I would able to finish the race (even if NYC opened the streets to automobiles well before I actually came across the finish line. or - to put it another way - EVEN if I needed a POLICE ESCORT to get me past the Central Park muggers after dark (since the crowds would have departed long before I showed up!) Anyway...20 miles- not too shabby, right? How many people can run 20 miles? The next morning I could not walk. EVERYTHING hurt. Badly. Knees, ankles, toes. Especially my toes…I'd evidently caused enough damage to be worried about the possibility of incurring a bad infection….and that afternoon my podiatrist grounded me for a month. By week's end I was able to hobble around…but I would have to miss the race….
So…on the morning of the NYC Marathon I accompanied my friend to the starting line at the foot of the bridge, wished him well - and walked/hobbled back in resigned silence to watch the start of the race. The Mayor gave the signal, the runners took off…a big cheer...and I was left with a feeling of great sadness. Until - that is - I arrived home, kicked off my sandals, sat back on my couch with a cool drink - and watched the race on TV. It turned out to be one of the warmest NYC Marathons in history to that point….sunny, little breeze - and almost 80 degrees. The NY Times reported that at least 55 runners were hospitalized, many from hyperthermia (the opposite of hypothermia) and hundreds more practically collapsed on their way to the finish line. Severe dizziness. Cramping. Mental disorientation….the works. The internal temperatures of some runners was recorded as high as 108 degrees…I felt really badly for all of them...
But - as for myself - it all worked out…..damn, ya gotta love it when a plan comes together...
And to everyone who is participating in today's race - or who ever has - I raise my glass with heartfelt admiration - but without a trace of jealousy - and say "BEST OF LUCK!" (But - better YOU than ME…)
Bye for now - be safe!
Stevenn
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