This was my comeback attempt since last year I had to leave at mile 18 due to illness. This year was much better and I finished with only a minor interruption at mile 23.
The weather was perfect. 50's with a light misting rain most of the time and overcast the rest of the time. There was a strong wind on the bridge but that was to be expected. I was at my best and was excited to give it a go. Everything was really smooth until around mile 22 when I realized I might PR and was feeling fairly good. With only 4 miles to go I felt good enough to stop paying attention to my hear rate monitor and just push it a little more than normal. Bad mistake. ALWAYS STICK TO THE PLAN.
By the time I realized I was pushing it too hard for too long I needed to throw up. It was right at mile 23 and right in front of a med tent. I had nothing in me to throw up so it was just heaving and being light headed. It would have probably only been a 2-3 minute stop had it happened anywhere else, but being right in front of a med tent they had to process me. Now granted every time I said I was good to go they would offer me something like salt or gatorade or ice and each time I obliged and I did feel markedly better than had I not taken it, but all in all, sitting on the cot for as long as I did, I lost my mojo and tempo. When I started back running I knew I wasn't even close to breaking 4 hours so I just plodded along feeling a bit zapped. The kick from throwing up had run out and I was a bit drained.
As I crossed the finish I was feeling fine and the short walk to the medal and water shoot I was feeling good. Now it was estimated to take about 30-40 minutes to walk out from the finish to the park exit, but I had a train to catch. It was 2pm and I had a 3pm train. I think I had the fastest exit time of 10 minutes. I got my food bag and poncho (nice poncho) and caught a subway to go to a hotel some friends had near by for a quick shower and then a taxi to Penn Station. I made it to my train with 5 minutes to spare...however, the train was late.
From the train I went to my friend Noah's wedding and got there just as everyone was saying their goodbyes. I gave him my medal.