So, it’s the eve of my 40th birthday and I finally feel like I have a moment to reflect and recap what I’ve been calling the greatest race I have ever run, the San Francisco Marathon. First off, when I say “the eve of”, I mean my birthday is literally in 12 minutes. This means at some point during me typing this, the clock will strike midnight, and I will be 40. I don’t have any big party plans or anything like that. No wild Vegas-like night for me, no sir. Instead I am going to treat it like any other day and just do what I’d normally do on a Thursday. Nowadays that means going out to Pelham Bay Park with my wife and some others for a run and workout. I’ll be quite happy spending my time with the people who have been bringing me the most joy. So what about the race made it the best race I have ever done? That has to be the question that’s burning in your minds right now. Well, ever since I decided that I would be traveling to different cities to run my marathons, the race experience spans beyond the course limits. The city and the race are often so entwined that it is difficult to comment on one without commenting on the other. And if you have read my other recaps, you know that I talk about more than just what happens between the start and the finish. This will be no different. If you haven’t read my previous posts - STOP!! Go read them first, then come back to this. You don’t have to read them all but you should read my 1st two entries and then also the Miami recap and the Pittsburgh recap. THEN, you should come back and continue reading this one.
When I planned to fly west to do my 3rd marathon there was no doubt in my mind that my wife, who was with me for my other 2, would be making the trip as well. The fact that she was not coming this time made me feel like no matter how great an experience I had, it would be somehow marred by her absence. I tried not to let myself get into a funk about it though. I said to myself, it’s San Francisco, it’s not really a big deal. I’d go, run, return. It was not going to be an epic adventure, or so I thought. Even though I have never been, I didn’t have the same curiosity about the place as I had for Pittsburgh in the days leading up to that race. Probably because San Francisco is a much more popular destination and so I’ve seen many images and heard stories about it over the years. Pittsburgh I knew nothing about, while San Francisco felt oddly familiar. I didn’t fly directly to SF from NY because I had family in Los Angeles that wanted to come and support me and they were going to be driving there. I figured since I had the time off, why not go a day early and do the road trip with them. I was sure it would be fun and I’d also get to spend more time with them that way. So I get into LA Friday morning, spend the day hanging with family, and that evening experienced the first of many priceless moments. Since I was not going to be staying out west for my birthday, my family had a surprise birthday dinner for me. The dinner itself wasn’t a surprise, but the cake they brought out after and the singing of “Happy Birthday” was. I thank my nephew Sean Christopher for letting me borrow his “4” candle. Shamefully it had to be an early night for us, as there were several miles to be covered the next day.
Packed into two separate cars we had: my sister, mom, nephew, and niece......and brother, cousin (who i hadn't seen in decades), nephew, and myself. Del was definitely going to be missed, but I was by no means short on support. We pretty much set out with the hopes of making it to SF in one straight shot, but who are we kidding. No way are you going to have that many people traveling for that amount of time and not have to make a stop or two. I would still have to say we did ok on time and we got to SF mid afternoon and made our way directly to the race expo. Hey look, I’m finally talking about the race. In case you didn’t heed my advice and read my other recaps, I had forewarned that this would be about the race with lots of bonus materials sprinkled in. The expo for this marathon was on the smaller scale. Not a whole lot of vendors and exhibits but I felt it had what it needed to have. Gu, KT Tape + application, and most importantly my bib! I grabbed the Gu first because I felt it was the thing I’d most likely forget and also because it was one of the first tables. Then I got my race packet and tee shirt and then lastly went and joined the line for a taping. As in Pittsburgh, I end up in front of a newish runner doing the half marathon that was in awe of my signing up for the full. I may be running my 3rd marathon but I am never going to diminish the grandeur of the event by ever considering it “just a marathon”. So rather than be all, “Yah it’s my 3rd - I’m a pro blah blah blah blah”. I acted just as shocked and nervous as she did. And I am not an oscar nominee, some of it was acting for sure but deep down inside I was in awe of myself and equally nervous knowing the next morning I was going to be running 26.2 miles, again.
Time flies when you are having fun and I knew I had to eat and get to bed early so I could get up early for the rituals. I was in the mood for pasta, what else? Joining us for dinner was a longtime family friend who just happened to be in town on business. We could catch up at dinner, for now it was food food food on my mind. The bellhop told me about a place that was walking distance from our hotel called Uncle Vito’s, so we headed there to cap off what was a solid 3 days of carb loading for me. I left that place stuffed. But even so, the only thing on my mind was more food. Not for a midnight snack, but for breakfast. I go inside this liquor store/deli and found the bread section. Standing there eyeing the last pack of bagels was a running couple. How did I know they were runners you ask? He had water bottles under his arms and a bunch of bananas and she was reading the back of a peanut butter jar, they were runners for sure. I politely asked them if they wanted the last of the bagels and they said that I could have it. I don’t know if they were being nice, or afraid, but I wasn’t going to psychoanalyze the situation. I was going to be taking those bagels. I offered them half of the pack but they declined. I got my bagels, bananas, and water - sound familiar - then went back to the hotel to crash.
I never get a good night’s sleep before a big race and this night was no exception. My alarm was set for 3:30 and I was up at 2:45 making my banana peanut butter sandwich. Everyone has their go-to meal/s for the morning of a race, that’s mine. I don”t see myself departing from it anytime soon. It agrees! Need I say more? Didn’t think so. Of course being the social media junkie that I can be sometimes, I’m posting everything. I noticed that one of the people that I had been following on Instagram was staying at the same hotel and was also up posting pictures of breakfast. Runners, you gotta love us. I suggested we meet for coffee but then retracted that because coffee and I don’t agree. Not before a race. Instead we agree to walk over to the start together and skip the coffee. I was antsy and so I was dressed and ready to go long before getting confirmation that my IG pal and her beaux were ready. I decided to wait in the lobby and as I’m going down in the elevator, the doors opened and in walks my IG pal with her boyfriend and their dogs. It’s funny because that was the first time I met them and I wasn’t expected to see them yet. I say, “Aren’t you @ieastsleepfood?” And she responds, “Yes! You’re @jomak_ny, right?” A year ago this would have been an odd occurrence, but nowadays meeting people in person that I have only known from Instagram is commonplace. It was a good thing I met them because I ended up borrowing an arm sleeve for my phone from them. Why did need to? Well you see, someone forgot their race bag back in Los Angeles. What was in it? Oh, just my sneakers, KT Tape, chaffing spray, body glide, spiebelt, and extra Gu. You know, EVERYTHING. I realized it the day before and panicked. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten the most important thing. I was wearing my sneakers that I ran Miami in, so I had to make the decision then and there to run SF in them, though I had trained in something else. You have to be able to roll with the punches when you decide to be a runner, and roll I did. My brother told me he’d like to see me off at the start but made it no secret that he’d be returning to the room to go back to sleep. The 05:30 start is inhumane and so I am gratefully for everyone that came out to support us runners that morning. That includes my sister who was going to be taking the supporter shuttle to various checkpoints to cheer me on. I have to say this race had some pretty neat amenities.
So at long last my brother, my sister, Will and Tina (the IG folks), and I headed out from the hotel to the start corrals. I was getting texts from my friend, and fellow IG runner, Jerlyn. Once I had cemented SF as my the 3rd marathon I somehow convinced Jerlyn to sign up for it too. I don’t think it was that hard of a sell. This is also the 2nd time I was supposed to meet her in a corral and was running late. Ruth, my sister, broke off from the pack to find her shuttle bus and the rest of us got to the corral for wave 3 just after the gun - or horn - went off. Some of us had to make last minute potty stops and thats where I lost track of Will and Tina. But you lose some, gain some. And in the potty line Jerlyn and I met Andrew. We started talking because he saw my Pittsburgh Marathon shirt and wondered if I was from there. I’ve been running the marathons in the race shirt of the previous marathon and it has always sparked a convo because someone from the city would ask if I lived there also. It’s funny the things we runners use as ice breakers. At the expo I saw a guy wearing the Miami Marathon shirt and I just said, “It was brutal” and he immediately knew what I meant and we struck up a conversation. Back in our corral, Jerlyn, Andrew and I were talking about race strategies and goal times. We did this as we were walking up to the start line. Since we weren’t there for the send off of the wave, the runners had thinned out and so as we walked to the line it felt like it was just us. Behind me I could see wave 4 with the barricades still holding them back. The were jostling about like bulls in a rodeo shoot. Up ahead was the tail end of the wave 3 runners. I can only imagine in my head that we looked like that scene in every action movie where the heroes are walking in slow motion off into the sunset, or away from an explosion.
The plan was to take things slow and enjoy the sights. In other words we weren’t going to be running it for time. But, we did want to come under 4 hours. The early parts of the race was a tell tale sign that this was going to be a fun adventure. You have to pick the right running partners especially when you plan on spending the next 4 hours with them. We lucked out with Andrew, he was a great guy and was so laid back and had a such a cool demeanor that he complimented Jerlyn and I perfectly. I was joking around a lot, I never do that! Not during a marathon. But this was different. We weren’t running slow by any means, but we were running relaxed. I saw a sideline supporter holding up a sign that said “Go Chris” and as I passed by I said, “He’s coming!! He’s right back there somewhere” That got a few laughs from those within earshot. Then I saw theses three girls running in tutus and I said, “You guys are too too cute!!”. Corny, I know. The funny part is when one of the girls and I simultaneously played stings on our air drums and vocalized the “ba-dum-pish!!” That, got us chuckling. It was like that for a while until we got to the first hill. Oh you know it was only a matter of time before the focus shifted to the hills. Driving through downtown to the expo and then back over to our hotel, all I could think of was why were there so many hills. I’ve never seen another city built the way this city is built. It’s almost like they sought out the steepest slopes and said, “Yes this is the perfect spot!” They were no joke I’m telling you. But we were spared the insanely steep roads as they were not a part of the course. Instead we had long, slow, steady ascents and descents. That first few heading to the Golden Gate Bridge really tested us. Could we be as jovial and jolly transversing these hills as we were when we were skipping along singing happy tunes on the flats? The answer is yes, and no. We’d comment on how much we hated hills, Jerlyn mostly, I actually like them, but we were noticeably less chatty going up them. We saved the chatter, jokes, and sometimes smiles for when we got to the crests. I still haven’t had anyone explain to me why the Golden Gate Bridge is always drenched in fog. It’s not just the movies and post cards, the bridge was always foggy. I joked that we were leaving “human home” and heading to “Caesar home” as we ran across it. This was the out and back part of the course and we got an opportunity so see some of the faster runners zooming past us on the opposite side. I also made a mental note to look out for Will and Tina.
Anyone that knows me knows that I have this peculiar fascination with all things German. It’s no surprise then that I sparked up a conversation, in German of course, with a gentleman I saw donning the colors. Quickly I exhausted my vocabulary and had to bid him auf wiedersehen. Jerlyn and Andrew didn't run too far ahead while I butchered his native tongue, so I caught up easily. In fact the three of us stuck tight through most of the first half of the race. If anyone of us would slow to talk, or get fuel, the rest would slow and wait. We were in this together; and Jerlyn and I both having run all our marathons (5 in total) at a sub 4 were going to be pushing Andrew to his first sub 4. We got back from the bridge and were heading through the Presido where we had our 2nd most challenging incline. What it lacked in length it made for in steepness. And you know what goes up must come down and that’s the part that takes a toll. You could be a master descender, as Jerlyn is, but the beating your quads take going downhill is enough to make a grown man cry. We sucked it up and got through that section in one piece. But it was clear the mood was changing. We’d smile and laugh and joke, but nowhere as often as before. Also each small rolling hill would put more and more distance between the 3 of us. They were desperately trying to break up our happy trio but we determined not to let them. After the Presido, but before the Golden Gate Park, was the first spectator zone where my sister was waiting. She had gotten off the bus at the first area which was mile 3 but when she checked her watch and did the calculation she realized there was no use waiting since we already passed and were quite a ways ahead. She was there at mile 12 though, and I was so happy to see her. She gave me a well needed boost and reaffirmation that I was in the middle of doing something amazing. She cheered the 3 of us on and I yelled back to tell her get on the bus. The next stop for them was mile 22 and I knew I’d need her.
We were at the half way point and we joked about wanting to go to the left and finish with the half marathoners, cliche now. What wasn’t funny was that the three us had been holding it in for I don’t know how long. I suppose no one wanted to be the one to say, “Let’s stop”, but when it was said there was a resounding, “YES!!” No need to get into the gory details, but let’s say we all did what we had to do and continued on. Since we were pacing ourselves, we felt pretty good still and decided it was time to pick up the pace. Looking back at the splits, we ran our fastest mile after that pit stop. Guess the extra weight was holding us back. The park had several rolling hills and they were beginning to annoy. The complaining stopped though. I remember ascending one hill and teh three us were dead silent. I asked, “You hear that?” Then followed with, “That’s the sound of acceptance.” No use cursing the terrain. Save that energy to get over the hump and keep going. It was in the park that I noticed Andrew was having a little trouble keeping pace with Jerlyn and I. It had to be somewhere around mile 18 or 19 that or trio was down to a duo. There were no goodbyes. No ‘nice to have met you’. Andrew was visibly hurting and just faded out of our sight slowly. Before that moment when I’d turn to ask how he was doing, he’d grimace and say, “It hurts, but I’m hanging in”. The last time I turned to check on him, he wasn’t there. That was when the reality set in. It’s these miles, 18 - 26, that we reap the fruits of our training and conditioning. Not saying Andrew didn’t train, or wasn’t fit, but maybe he needed to take it slower than the pace we were pushing. Jerlyn preaches, “Trust the Training”, and it was time to do that. It meant that if we had run a smart race to that point, and had put in the effort to train properly, not only could we get past the next few miles, but we could do it at a faster pace. We hit mile 19 and got Gu. Another of the amenities I liked, is that they provided actual Gu on the course. What I didn’t understand was why they gave us Gu a mile and a half away from the nearest water station. Sure we could have studied the course map and memorize this fact, but it made no sense to have Gu without water since you are suppose to take it with water and most marathoners don’t carry their own during the course of a race. The tragedy is that Jerlyn sucked hers down before realizing this. I still held on to mine. From mile 19.5 to mile 21 Jerlyn had the sour face on. She was not a happy camper at all. Gu is hard enough to take with water. Imagine taking it without water. No, imagine taking it 19.5 miles into a race and running for another 1.5 miles before you can fully wash it down and start to have it work for you. Jerlyn hasn’t admitted this, but I think that Gu incident came back to haunt her.
There were a few more rolling hills to conquer around mile 22. That’s where my sister was and boy did we need her. I wasn’t in the best shape but I was going up the hills as best I could, Jerlyn would fall behind just slightly. I waited for her at the top and encouraged her to go down fast since that was her strength. She did, but “fast” got slower and slower. It was our quads. They were on fire. My face was not hiding the misery either. I took my shirt off and put my head down and tried to continue to push our pace, or keep it constant. At that check point my sister caught us on video. We didn’t look pretty but we were still able to smile and put on the appearance of being in good spirits. And it’s not that we weren’t. We were doing great, but we were obviously feeling the effects of the brutality of the marathon distance. The course finally flattened out after mile 22 and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Jerlyn and I continued to push to keep up the pace. It wasn’t until the final mile or mile and half that Jerlyn told me to go on. I didn’t want to. We had gone through this whole thing together, and that’s how we’d end. But it wasn’t doing her any good to have me drop back and push her to go faster. There’s that moment that you realize you ‘re not helping, you’re hurting. For the last time in the final stretch to home, Jerlyn said “Go”, and I did. I saw a guy up ahead in an orange shirt that had passed me in the early goings and I was determined to beat him to the finish. I looked back and saw that Jerlyn was right on my heels so I felt confident she’d finish strong. I gave it one last kick over the final half mile. He must have seen me over his shoulder because he sped up too. That was to his detriment, he burnt out and I passed him and went through the finish hands raised. I turn around and Jerlyn is tearing through the finish, just 15 seconds off my time. We embraced and gave each other high fives. I asked about Andrew, if she knew where he was, and she didn’t. Later in our post race analysis we’d find out he did indeed finish, but unfortunately he didn’t do the sub 4 he wanted to. Will and Tina also finished. I actually saw Will on the Golden Gate Bridge. I had seen someone in a Brooklyn Half t-shirt and yelled out, “Brooklyn!!!!” It’s we NYers do. They didn’t hear me, but someone yelled back, “Joe!!!”. I look over, and it’s Will. I don’t know if Tina was with him at that point but it’s such a coincidence that he was there at the very spot where the Brooklyn Half guy was.
I know I will be back to tackle the hills of San Francisco again in the not too distant future. I thank Jerlyn for coming and sharing in the experience. I thank my family for all their love and support. They truly are a blessing. It felt weird not hear Del’s cheers or see her smiling face at the finish line. But I wouldn’t give up the experience for anything. Miami was cool, Pittsburgh was even better, San Francisco was the best so far. I will not even allow myself to try and compare what it would have been like without the company and support that I had. I ran the best marathon of my life and in doing so I have finally conquered the wall. Marathon 3 is in the books and now my sights are set on the marathon that got this whole crazy journey started, the New York City Marathon. For now I rest, tomorrow (figuratively) I train. Happy birthday me!!
