Dave, don't enter the 60k!! Your hip is healed. Why do you need to run 60 miles of races in just a few weeks??
Don't roll the dice...

I have a running friend that runs the Knickerbocker nearly every year. He says it relaxes him. It's 6 loops of Central Park.

But the 3 loops of the Tune Up, makes him angry. Go figure.

Taking that hill six times? It must be good for the soul.

I've actually done the Knickerbocker 3 or 4 times before. It's 9 loops of Central Park, but it's more the center most loop (the 4 mile loop) so it cuts out Harlem Hill and the hills in the lower tip. Still, it's a bit monotonous.

I might just show up a do a handful of loops if any friends are running it an they need some support.

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Empire Tri Coach
Team Gatorade Endurance
USATF Coach | NYRR Distance Pacer
Dad of twins

well, that makes sense. The little loop of the Knickerbocker cuts out that big hill. No wonder the Tune Up gets him angry.

2014 NYC Marathon was my first marathon. I am not yet sure what to make of the experience. The whole start village experience and associated debris fields in the corrals and on the bridge were mindblowing. THE WIND! An emergency blanket that was flying through the air in the first quarter mile took down a woman running to my left. The energy you get from the crowds in Brooklyn was awesome. The incline and relative quite of the Queensboro bridge was a mental challenge. On first avenue and particularly on fifth I had to remind myself to take in the atmosphere because at that point my focus was just on moving forward. The walking after the finish was torture. I road my bike in Central Park Tuesday morning hoping to loosen up my legs (did not work as they are still sore) and it was fun being the slowest thing on two wheels (I might have passed a guy on a citibike).

I suffered the last 7+ miles. I expected that since my training was less than optimal (I had maybe 4 30+ mile weeks, all coming before the end of June). Part of me thinks never again, but another part of me thinks I missed a Boston qualifier by less than 4 minutes under those circumstances, so maybe I should take another crack just for closure. Maybe a much smaller race? Would I miss the "experience"?

Interestingly, right after finishing I was talking to a German dude who told me he ran a marathon in DC the prior weekend (he had a PR in that marathon) and then beat that time in NYC the following weekend! With those conditions, nuts. He had to catch a flight home that evening (I don't think I would have had the ability to make it through all the lines and standing). I told him to wear both medals and hope for an upgrade.

After the race, I had pretty much decided that NYC was a one and done. I enjoyed it, but sitting around shivering before the race for longer than I actually ran, really sticks out to me. With all the wind and trying to hold a fast pace, I missed a lot of the "experience". With the easier qualifying times I know I can get in again without having to do the lottery or charity stuff. So now I'm thinking maybe in a few years, but I'd plan to run a full minute per mile slower than I could so I can just look around and enjoy.

Funny - that was pretty much my resolution too. Unless I can get in through a vendor/sponsor, I am not coming back. A nice medal to have, but the logistics of the race and the unpredictability of the weather... not an easy sell with me now.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Agreed. This wasn't my first marathon (but first NYC), and I also think the mile walk (for the no baggage option) was excessive. And to make things worse, you have to take the entire bag of crap food/drinks (about 3 pounds of stuff) with you until the exit. No place to stretch, no medic tent, nothing until you get dumped out onto the street. And even then, you can't meet people at the 72nd street subway because the police blocked it off from spectators.

There's got to be a better way to setup the finish area.

2:47, lol

http://web2.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/83130.1.095023047899141146

For what it's worth, the walk is a lot shorter than it used to be. Still super long. They've tried (they say) to make it shorter but with so many people there's just no other option (apparently). There is a med tent at the finish as you're doing that long walk. I have been in it before and I remember seeing it as I walked by since someone collapsed next to me and was being carried into it.

I've grown accustom to the sitting forever on SI. I've always been with friends so I enjoy that (this and last year I had a special "pacers tent" so that was a huge upgrade, though this year we had no heater due to the winds and they had to take the tent walls down). The long walk pretty much sucks, but after 9 of them, I didn't think anything of it.

I just registered for the Brooklyn Marathon. Weeeee more racing! (Nov 16).

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~~~~~~~~~
Empire Tri Coach
Team Gatorade Endurance
USATF Coach | NYRR Distance Pacer
Dad of twins

The wait at the fort wasn't that bad for me. I stayed at a Staten Island hotel and took a 6:45 shuttle to the start (I think we actually headed out a little after 7). We didn't get to the fort until 8 and I was in the corrals by 9. I had brought an old blanket and a rolled-up carpet remnant, but we were on pavement in the Orange village by the UPS trucks the entire time, so I never used them. I didn't put on my hat and gloves until we headed to the corrals.

The walk after the race was pretty brutal at first, but it got better with time. I had baggage, so had to go all of the way up to 85th. It was nice and sunny when I got out of the park and just hunkered down in the sunshine and changed into my warm clothes. I met up with family over on Amsterdam and 83rd for food and then took the subway back to Penn Station to catch a train back to Long Island.

I was dreading the logistics, then the cold and wind, but it was only the wind that really had an effect on my race.