The First 16 Miles

Countdown to the Start, November 4, 2007: 6 days 16h 23m 12s

Sunday, Nov 4

High: 55 °F RealFeel®: 50 °F

Clouds to start, then sunshine returns

Ran the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff this morning. I planned to pace my friend PL, but he forgot his cell phone, so we didn't find each other at the start.

I got to the start line late, as I was trying to reach PL before checking my cell phone, and the starting area was packed. Rather than start completely at the back, I went around the side to an appropriate spot for my pace. There were a lot of people doing this, and before the race started, the staff just pulled the gates aside, widening the starting area and letting us all in.

Of course it was a slow start, which was good because it helped me control the urge to run the race aggressively. With the marathon a week out, I really didn't need to push it today.

At around the halfway point, I ran into PL -- what a miracle! We ran together the rest of the way. We met Flyer GW along the way, who was also trying to be disciplined and keep his pace in check. The three of us ran together for a while until it was time for PL's finishing kick. (He bagged himself a nice PR, by the way).

It's a two mile run to and from my house and the race, so I'm counting it as 9 miles for today, bringing my 2nd taper week to 26 miles. It's a little light, but I my body was telling me I needed the rest.

The next event for the day was driving the first 16 miles of the marathon course. My friend TH was incredibly generous with his time, giving me the grand tour. He has run twice, but will sit it out this year. He showed my all around the starting area in Fort Wadsworth, and then took the wheel for the drive from over the Verrazano bridge, through amazingly diverse neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens, and back into Manhattan via the Queensborough bridge (pictured on the left). I ran the last 10 miles of the course last weekend, so there was no need to drive on.

It was a real kick to do this drive. TH had lots of war stories to put it all in context. The most impressive thing though, was the distance. Almost all of the races I've run have been loops, more or less finishing where they started. These 16 miles were a straight shot through one neighborhood after another making the distance seem longer. It was.... intimidating.

I can't wait!