The way the marathon start works is that all the NYC police and firemen who are running form a human chain at the front to allow the elite runners an unimpeded start. Well, yours truly got to be a member of the FDNY for the day. Through my daughter I know a NYC firefighter. He ran last year and arranged for me to run on the FDNY marathon team. It was first class all the way. We left on a special bus from the Mayflower Hotel and sped to Staten Island with flashers blinking and sirens screaming. They gave us bagels and other treats as well as a pep talk replete with firefighter analogies. The big goal was to beat the NYPD, which the fireman have done for 15 straight years. We arrived at Ft. Wadsworth and were ushered into a special tent. This was great because it had been rainng continuously and the whole area was muddy. We had our own port-a-johns, though not enough. About 40 minutes before the start we were led to the starting line - the actual starting line - to prepare for the invasion of the hordes of runners in the blue starting area. These are the fastest male runners. After about 15 minutes we linked arms and geared up to hold back the masses. With about ten minutes until the start, the elite runners appeared and did their warmups and strides. They lined up about 15 yds in front of me. Mayor Giuliani set off the cannon and bedlam ensued. All these 2:20 or better runners or wannabees shot out like they were in the cannon. I was buffetted for several minutes as people crashed through my shoulders going up the bridge.
My plan was to start very slow and work back up to a 10 min/mi pace. Nope. When poeple are zipping by at 5-6min pace, you tend to go faster than planned, if only in self defense. I kept consciously trying to slow down and thought that I had succeeded. The first mile split appeared at 8:30 and that was all uphill on the Verazzano Narrows bridge. Not good. I made a greater effort to slow up. the second mile split passed in 8:00, but this was all downhill. Still, not good. Finally, once I got into Brooklyn, I was able to gradually get back to pace by mile 5. I then set about looking for a comfort station. Finally found one at mile 8, and afterwards I was back on the original pace. I ran pretty consistently, if not comfortably thorugh mile 18. Oh, it was in the low 60's with 100humidity and occasional rain during this time. Certainly not ideal conditions. Nonetheless, the spectators were out in force. Fourth avenue in Brooklyn and First Avenue in Manhattan were packed 5-10 people deep on both sides. My only real disappointment was crossing the Queensboro (59th St.) bridge. I had had expectations that Simon and Garfunkel's 59th Street Bridge song would be playing, but alas, nothing. And that bridge is LONG. First avenue was cool. I saw my daughter and her boy friend at 73rd St., and some other friends at 93rd St. By mile 18, my left foot, site of the miserable plantar fasciitis that I have been fighting for the past two months, was sending out major pain signals. I must have altered my stride because my whole leg started rebelling. Rather than wait until I couldn't move I started to walk for 3-4 min every 10. That gave enough relief so that I could finish without crawling. I went through the half in about 2:09 and finished in 4:59. The heavens let go in the Bronx, and water was streeaming through the streets with 6-8 inch deep puddles at many locations. The final miles through Central Park were demanding. The hills are not huge but they sure seemed that way. And they never seemed to go down.
After the finish line chute, I was ushered off to the side (that FDNY singlet and hat worked wonders) given my medal, blanket and water and directed back to the Mayflower to the firefighter's suite where my bag was waiting. My daughter was also waiting at the finsh line so we walked off into the rain together. I left my medal on for the rest of the day, and every place I went in New York, the people made a big fuss over me. New York sometimes gets a pretty bad rap, but for that day it was the biggest running city in the world.
So, that's the story of my most exciting run. It was a once in a lifetime exprience, and one that I will treasure always. I go to the podiatrist and the physical therapist today to see how much damage I did and get their recommendation for the next few weeks. Thanks for all the words of encouragement. And, Charlie, I said hello to your old neighborhood. About 10,000 people answered back!