Planning and Running My First Marathon, the 2014 New Jersey Marathon

No, there's no way I'll be running a marathon!

I can still remember saying that to my friend Bob after watching him run the New York City Marathon in 2010. It was my genuine sentiment at the time, I really didn't envision myself running a full marathon, nor did I really want to.

Fast forward a few years and by the end of fall, 2013, I had run a few half marathons and I decided that I would attempt a full marathon the next year. I had just completed running a half marathon in Atlantic City and the atmosphere of running near the New Jersey shoreline was invigorating.

So, where will I be running a marathon?

Now that I had decided to try a full marathon, I began to research potential events.  As I have written about in previous posts, as far as race events go, there are many more small local races (5k being the most popular) followed by some 10k races and then as you increase in distance, fewer half marathons and even fewer full marathons.  The race seasons -- especially in the northeastern US -- are spring and fall. With these facts at hand, I selected the NJ Marathon in April of 2014 to be my first full marathon.

Born to run!

Being born and raised in New Jersey made it extra appealing to run the NJ Marathon -- especially as my first attempt.  The race is run in Monmouth County with a picturesque finish on the boardwalk in Long Branch.  I will describe more about the race itself later in this blog but suffice to say, Bruce's presence is clear at the starting line. And the Monmouth County venue would become uniquely relevant to some life events that unfolded as race day approached -- more on that later.

Training

As I did my research and spoke with other experienced runners, I came to learn that it is mandatory to identify and commit to a marathon training program. I had already done this with the half marathon races that I had run so I was already familiar with the rigors of adhering to the training plan and I was familiar with how my body felt and responded to the training.  What I also came to quickly learn is that for full marathon training, it is not recommended or advised to ever run beyond 18 or 20 miles as the longest training run. So as a first time marathoner, this would mean that the day of the race would be the first time that I was to run the full 26.2 miles. Seasoned runners know all about this, for first-timers, it's interesting news!

I selected a 20-week training program with 4 runs per week, where every Sunday was set as the weekly "long run". In general, the plan increases total weekly mileage and Sunday long mileage on a week-over-week basis. I opted for a popular training approach whereby I would have several "step-back" weeks programmed into the schedule. These weeks allow for body recovery and preparation for each subsequent increase in mileage.  This plan assumed that before I started, I was routinely running long runs of 6 miles and an average of 20-25 miles per week. You can see the "taper period" in the last 3 weeks of the plan. This is instrumental to marathon training but also drives runners crazy!

Seems funny...

but very real!

As I have written about in previous posts, a spring marathon calls for training to begin in the winter months. With an April 27th race date, I began my training program shortly after the New Year in January but I hedged a bit with my full commitment.  I waited until late February to assess how the training was proceeding before I registered. The NJ Marathon is not always a sold-out event so I submitted my registration on February 23rd to secure my position.  Was I really going to do this?

Life events

Here is an interesting runner-geek thing I learned while preparing for this race. Since marathon training lasts so long (4+ months), we runners begin a life cadence around the cycle of training for races. As events in life occur, I find that I store them in my memory according to the respective race plan that I was training for.

The first of these interesting life events to occur while I was training for the NJ Marathon was when I received confirmation to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC that same year. That race is held in October, is one of the largest in the world (25,000 plus runners), sells out every year and entry is via lottery. The lottery applications are in March and I was fortunate to get lottery acceptance on my very first attempt.  Haha, now it appeared that I wasn't just running one marathon in 2014, I would be running two.

The second and third life events during my training plan were much more profound for our entire family.  On March 16th my wife's mom passed after a number of years of illness. Even though she was ill, as we always say, we are never fully prepared for the loss of a loved one and this was a sad event for our family.

And then the third life event. On March 19th, while our family was grieving my mother in law's passing, our nephew tragically lost his life at age 23. Needless to say, we all went through all kinds of emotions and struggles during this time.   Our family and friends held close together to support each other -- especially my wife's brother, his wife and their daughter -- who lost their only son and brother.

Race dedication

My nephew's uniform jersey number

This ties back to the venue for the NJ Marathon in Monmouth County which is where our nephew grew up. He was the most joyful person to be around, vibrant and personable, sensitive and caring.  He was a standout athlete and played his High School sports in Freehold Borough, NJ which is just a stone's throw away from the starting point of the race at Monmouth Race Track.

My race-day shirt to honor my nephew

With his family's approval, I dedicate my run in my nephew's name and I affiliated with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County as the benefactor. My nephew's great grandfather had been the founder of a Boys Clubs chapter in my home town in northern NJ and I felt it appropriate to tie-back to that cause.  It was a modest effort but through my friends and supporters, with only 1 month remaining until race day, we raised $1,000 in his name.

The Race 

Since this was to be my first marathon event, I followed recommendations and decided to stay in a hotel nearby the starting area for the night before. I would need to attend the venue at Monmouth Race Track on Friday to retrieve my race packet and then find an early dinner to relax for the night.  I set my alarm for 05:15 in order to dress and eat (nutrition is key before a marathon) before heading over to the venue at 06:30 for the 08:00 race start.

The race organizers do a great job with coordinating the arrival of runners, parking lot logistics, bathrooms and other amenities.  I had heard so many stories from other runners about the challenges on race day but I was impressed by the organization and their handling of the event.

It is a race track after all...

Monmouth Park

It's only fitting that the start of the race is "The Call To Post", the bugle sound we are all familiar with when we watch the Kentucky Derby on TV every year. But wait, not to be outdone, the bugle call is followed directly by "Born To Run" played VERY LOUDLY over the speakers throughout the track. I told you that Bruce's presence would be felt, especially since he was born and raised in this area.

Race recap

Local streets in Ocean Port

This race course can be easily described in three sections. First of all, we were blessed with beautiful morning weather -- upper 40's and sunshine. Having run a few very large half marathons (Rutgers Unite and Atlantic City), I was familiar with the hype and excitement at the Start so I was able to contain the adrenalin rush and resist the urge to start too fast.  I maintained my pace for the first section of the race. The course begins out very flat as we leave the confines of the Monmouth Race Track.  We traverse lots of local suburban streets where families line up outside their homes as they would if a parade were passing by. This takes us through the first 8 miles in the towns of Ocean Port and Monmouth Beach and into the northern parts of Long Branch.

The Great Auditorium, Ocean Grove NJ.

The second section of the course takes us in a southerly direction through Long Branch and on past Monmouth University.  In one of my last training runs, I had visited this area and run much of this section of the course. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately as the prevailing off-shore breezes would prove), the boardwalk along this section of the New Jersey shoreline was still not yet rebuilt after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy the previous year. From Long Branch down to Asbury Park we run on Ocean Avenue which is a few blocks inland from the shore line and therefore not as picturesque.

We make our way around and across Deal Lake and Wesley Lake into Ocean Grove where we pass directly in front of the Great Auditorium to head down the Ocean Pathway to our turnaround point. At this point, we are at mile 19 and I knew this was the furthest I had run during my training program.  I was feeling considerably sore and just before we went back across Wesley Lake, I turned my ankle in some irregular pavement around a construction area.  Not a good thing as I entered the final 10K (6.2 miles) of the race.

I felt like this guy!

The last section of the race was tough. Not only was I beyond the furthest distance I had trained, we were headed up a mostly steady incline through mile 24. At Brighton Avenue, we turn due east for a few blocks, directly into a headwind. I actually tucked in behind another pair of runners to draft behind them for a few blocks.

My actual finish time

Finally we turned back to he north as we picked up the Long Branch boardwalk.  Things got very picturesque here at mile 25 as we headed for the final 1.2 miles.  For the past few miles there were very few -- if any -- spectators along the roads to cheer moral support. Along the Long Branch boardwalk this began to change and the final 3/4 of a mile was packed with screaming fans.  Along the boardwalk always makes for a great finishing area for races as fans line the interior of the boardwalk and the beach forms the opposing side. I knew that my wife, my son and my younger daughter would be there to see the finish so I had my eyes peeled to see where they were. A few other friends had told me they may be there and I actually heard them call out my name first and then up ahead I saw my family. Since this was my first full marathon and there wasn't an opportunity for them to see me anywhere else along the course, they were curious/concerned with what condition I would be in. So was I, come to think of it!!

Finished!

My finish time was a modest 4 hours, 47 minutes. I was delighted to have successfully finished the race but also a bit frustrated that I had lost a lot of my pace on those final miles after I turned my ankle in Asbury Park. It was a treat that my family was there to congratulate me and my son did the honors of driving my car all the way home.  I had some cramping symptoms in my legs, I was generally dehydrated -- evidenced by the dry white salt that was caked on my face -- and my GI tract was a bit jumpy from the nutrition gels that I had eaten during the race.  But overall, I held up pretty well and by the time we got home, I had a strong urge for a juicy burger and a beer which we all went out for as soon as I took a long needed shower.

All in all, it was a great accomplishment and my first of what may become multiple more marathon challenges. More about that in other blog posts!

In Loving Memory
Gerry M. Plescia
10/8/90-3/19/14