Ashley Worobec: Set a goal, chase a dream, keep at it day after day…… and here I am, only 2 weeks away from the NYC Marathon!

sportsgold 100x100By Ashley Worobec

October 23rd, 2019

BURLINGTON, ON

 

My taper is in full effect and I’m enjoying the decrease in mileage.

Oct 20th run

My run last Sunday.

My longest run this week was 21km (I rounded up to 21.1km to make it an “official” half marathon distance), and it’s amazing to me that it actually felt like no problem. Just a few short months ago, a 21km run was quite daunting, and now here I am over the hump of marathon training, and 21km feels like a relatively easy effort.

It’s just incredible how our bodies can adapt to the demands placed on them, and how a challenge like this can be achieved with hard work and consistency. That’s what I hope people are gleaning from these training reports – that anything is possible! Set a goal, chase a dream, keep at it day after day…… and here I am, only 2 weeks away from the NYC Marathon!

I’ve been excitedly looking into the logistics of the actual race day, and you may find this part interesting. As you can imagine, it’s a challenge for race organizers to get more than 52,000 runners to Staten Island to the starting line! A few months ago, athletes were required to choose their race day transportation, the choice being a ferry or a bus. I chose the midtown Manhattan bus pickup, simply because the pickup location was closer to my hotel and it seemed like a warmer option, as I’m always cold and who knows what New York in November will bring weather-wise.

I’ve been assigned to a 6am bus pickup, and according to the website, the ride to Staten Island could take upwards of 90 minutes, depending on traffic. I am thankful that November 3rd happens to be the day after the Fall-back time change, so my 6:00am pickup will actually feel more like 7am. Once we arrive on Staten Island, we are separated into three Athlete’s Village areas – blue, orange, and green (I’m blue). At that point, we wait.

I am in the first wave of athletes, as I met the marathon’s time standard qualification rather than taking my chances in the general population lottery, so my start time is 9:40am. There are 4 waves; 9:40, 10:10, 10:40, and 11:10am; each wave will consist of roughly 13,000 runners.

post race poncho

Prized piece of post race loot. Proudly worn by marathoners.

We have also been asked to choose between a bag-check option and a post-race poncho, of which I chose the latter. This means that whatever I take with me to Staten Island will need to be left behind or carried on my person during the marathon; I will be wearing warm clothes over my running gear that will go into the charitable donation bins provided (these clothes are known in running circles as “throw-aways”), and anything I’ll want to eat during my wait will need to be brought with me as well.

There is food provided in the athlete’s village, but with a nervous pre-marathon stomach, I don’t want to leave anything to chance and I’ll be bringing some foods that I’m familiar with and know that my body can handle before a run. In exchange for this no-bag-check inconvenience, when I get to the finish line I will get the post-race poncho that is legendary in the marathoning world. Apparently this poncho is full-length and fleece-lined, and will be exactly what I’ll need to keep myself warm on the 2-mile walk from the finish line in Central Park back to my hotel room.

leader board

The app that tracks Ashley’s progress.

The NYC Marathon app- my data is live on there now. There is an option for people to track my progress on race day- the app will send alerts as I move along the race course. This “athlete tracking” is also what my husband will use to hopefully catch a few glimpses of me at various points along the race, as he navigates the NYC subway system.

hat

Something to keep her hair out of her face while running.

The hat photo I’ve included here is simply because I’m starting to plan what I’ll wear during the race (weather-dependent of course), and I always, always, always wear a hat – it keeps my hair out of my face and the sweat out of my eyes. I’m really hoping November 3rd isn’t too cold and that I’ll be able to get away with this hat rather than a toque!

White habs toqueEditor’s note:  We are thinking about trying to convince Ashley to wear a toque – which we will donate.  A nice white toque with a Montreal Canadiens crest on it.  Do you think she will wear it?

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