State Number 41 - Buffalo Marathon

State Number 41 – Buffalo Marathon

Buffalo, NY

27 May 2018

 

Sticking to any long-term goal can be a challenging assignment, especially when one of them is to run a marathon race in all fifty states.  If one lacks focus and drive, the frenzied pace of the early years may eventually stall as other life commitments take precedence.  For a left-coaster like me, it never helps when your remaining states lie in the heart of the Midwest or the smaller states of the east coast and New England.  Traveling to these states can take hours of planning, if you want to make efficient use of your time.

The goal of my quest is still very much alive and I fully intend on getting to that ultimate finish line.  I may be still running, but I’m not in any kind of perennial marathon shape.  I’d be lying if I have never thought about changing gears by hopping on a bicycle sometime.  I find that biking is fun in a way that running rarely is – easy, or at least much easier.  When you’re used to long runs, it’s literally a breeze to bike for an hour, or even twenty miles.  Just like running though, if you bike long enough, you’ll eventually meet thresholds that test your heart, legs, and lungs.  But I’m staying focused and I will continue running towards that proverbial goal line.

I anticipate reaching the end of my 50-states goal towards the end of 2019.  At one point, I thought I could complete my pursuit by 2018, but cramming too many marathons into each of the preceding years was way too much for my old body to handle without affecting my structural and skeletal integrity.  Then the goal became 2019, hoping any side quests won’t change the nature of my final homestretch.  At the moment, there’s some debate about which state will bear the honor of being State No. 50, even though I’m very, very close.  In times like these, I can always use a good motivator, and I know just where to find it – in a map, of course.

Original plat of Buffalo

Call it “motivational cartography” if you will.  I’m a map guy and I love maps.  From the basic road map; to FEMA’s flood hazard maps using GIS platforms; to USGS quadrangle maps; or even ancient record plats.  In my profession, I use them on a daily basis.  Sometimes I’m amazed I chose engineering as a career over geography, but at least the two professions can be characterized as overlapping Venn Diagrams in many ways.

Readers of this space may know that after every new state I complete, I occasionally include a color-coded map at the end of my writing with a shiny new addition.  It’s usually a pretty rudimentary map grabbed from a semi running-specific web site for Fifty Staters.  I find that there aren’t many web sites devoted to crafting color-coded maps used to track progress.  Now, with RaceRaves, fashioning an attractive map is at one’s fingertips.

Its functionality, interface, and its dedication to the running community now make it one of my go-to running sites.  However, their latest map creation addition to the user experience is, for a conformist runner like myself, their best so far.

From my perspective, the RaceRaves web site makes a pretty damn good map emphasizing anyone’s running adventures and for those on a 50-states quest has a colorful and easy-to-use map to track their progress.

Now, I have a great source of motivational cartography showing me the meagre real estate I have left to conquer my monumental quest.  As of this writing, using the new map creator tool, my most recent 50-states map takes on the following rendering (omitting the countless half marathons run in California and one in Hawai’i):

 

My wife and I embarked on our New York Memorial Day weekend excursion with yet another dreaded red-eye Spirit Airlines flight from LAX to Cleveland (CLE).  Regarding the comfort department, the utilitarian airline makes no guarantees as to the coziness and well-being of its passengers.  Sleeping upright in non-reclining seats takes a talented individual or someone who can turn out like a light.  I’m not one of them.

Feeling a bit sleepy-eyed, we arrived at CLE around 0630 EDT, caught a shuttle bus to the rental car facility, seated ourselves in a new Nissan Altima (with an added bonus – new car smell), drove off the lot and found our way to I-90, skirting along Lake Erie’s lakeshore for a scenic three-hour drive to Buffalo. 

Warm, humid tropical weather greeted us as we arrived in Buffalo.  The warm temperatures had me a little apprehensive, but there was nothing in my power to prevent that.  All I could do was to prepare myself for an impending miserable Sunday.

We arrived at our hotel shortly before 1000 EDT.  Bordering on a slight case of overtiredness, we sauntered over to the expo hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center for packet pick-up and concomitant race swag just a few blocks from the hotel.  The fifty or so exhibitors and purveyors of merchandise filled the second floor’s main exhibit hall offering running accoutrements, entry fee discounts and enticements to some other marathon event, apparel, accessories, free samples, massage chairs and various thingamajigs. 

As usual, in an effort to minimize unnecessary carry-on bag volume, we have a tendency to shy away from purchasing anything at expos, but rather browse and try free samples as if we were in a Costco store.  After that, it’s generally a B-line to the exit doors.

However, this year, the expo featured a small line-up of speakers, compared to previous years.  Unfortunately, due to extreme weariness, low energy and exhaustion from our cross-country travel, basically on the threshold of dozing off in my chair, we could only muster enough energy to sit through the first speaker, Melissa Kahn, who spoke about her expedition from obesity to competing in a triathlon in Nepal’s Himalayan Mountains, of all places. 

I wanted to stay and listen to Fitz Koehler speak about strength training for runners and how to improve one’s pace, but we were in dire need of a nap, so we left after Melissa’s presentation.  Fitz is also a prominent finish line announcer and I looked forward to her announcing my name as I approached the finish line.  The marathon race directors wrapped up the day with a Q&A session.

Smokehouse burger

Following an interesting excursion for an unchained pre-marathon meal consisting of a smokehouse burger and a pasta side at My Tomato Pie in nearby Amherst, it was time to hit the sack for a well-earned rest.

During the week, I received emails and text alert messages informing runners of the likelihood of hot and humid weather and to be mindful of heat hazards and to stay hydrated throughout the race.  The weather forecasters predicted higher than average temperatures for the marathon with a slight chance of thunderstorms late afternoon.  The thunderstorms failed to materialize, which was a good thing.  The last thing I wanted was the marathon to be canceled due to lightning or black flag conditions.

Marathon Sunday in downtown Buffalo turned out to be a rather warm and balmy morning with mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.  Visual clues in the clouds voiced threats of rain and possible thunderstorms.  Even though I live in a warm and arid part of the country, I dread running in the heat, especially humidity, but I’m going to give it my best shot and learn from Colorado – start out easy with an untroublesome pace group. 

The recent Colorado Marathon afforded me an opportunity to run aggressively, but it turned out to be something resembling an epic letdown.  It was downhill and supposed to be cool so aspirations for a potential PR were in the offing, but it was not to be.  My “aggressive” running served me well to a certain extent, only to bonk in the end.  Going out too fast should never be an option for me anymore.  

I huddled in the mass of runners with the 4:30 pace group led by two pacers, Cindy and Matt.  If, for some chance, I drop out of their group, there are other groups spaced ten minutes apart up to five hours.  Cindy paced the half marathon (2:15) while Matt set the pace the full, but ultimately ended up passing the torch to another pacer near the half split.

Race announcer Fitz

Almost 4900 runners, and perhaps just as many spectators, flooded the streets of downtown Buffalo.  All around me, fidgety runners prepared for the annual running of this marathon, shaking sleepy legs, stretching and taking deep cleansing breaths to enhance their circulatory systems with oxygenated blood.  Catchy rock music echoed throughout Niagara Square and the deep bass thuds had this peculiar motivational effect on me as I set out for yet another 26.2-mile adventure throughout parts of a city completely unknown to me.  Fitz energized the crowd with her motivational messages and her inspiring oratorical verbose. 

Somehow, for the first time in many races, I felt nervous for some reason – probably because of the heat and the prospect of a finish time in excess of five hours.  My objective is to log a decent time with a pre-determined pace group.  Logging a good time is something I hadn’t done since the Louisiana Marathon and every marathon I’ve done since then had either been classified as a training run or part of a tough weekend double. 



Big Brother is watching!

Alas, the time has come – the singing of our National Anthem.  High above Delaware Avenue, Old Glory gently wavered in the slight morning breeze suspended by two aerial ladders courtesy of the Buffalo Fire Department (BFD).

The first half:  (10:07, 10:09, 10:01, 10:24, 10:33, 10:08, 10:12, 10:21, 10:19, 10:15, 10:28, 10:30, 11:47)

Dazzling start

At 0630, the feverish runners crowding Niagara Square were given the green light as we shot out of the starting gates in a northerly direction up Delaware Avenue under the fanfare of an unexpected pyrotechnics display.  Sparks of red, white and blue grabbed everyone’s attention with oohs and aahs.  The sound of Queen’s We Are The Champions resounded out of stereo speakers serving one purpose, rousing the excitement of everyone crossing the starting line.

The marathon begins and ends in Niagara Square, considered to be the central hub of Buffalo and the influence of Washington, D.C. is readily apparent in its design – a signature feature of Joseph Ellicott’s radial street patterns.  The McKinley Monument, a 96-foot tall marble obelisk pointing skyward between four sleeping lions and turtles at its base, marks the center of the city with Buffalo’s major streets converging upon it.  Surrounded by a large circular fountain, the obelisk stands out despite many surrounding buildings surpassing it in height, an awesome structure that defines Buffalo’s early history.  In the background stands the awe inspiring city hall building, a 30-plus story Art Deco structure, housing an observation deck where one can view the city from a bird’s perspective.

City Hall behind obelisk

Right from the start, I could feel the warmth and sultriness of the air penetrating my soul paralleling the feeling I had at the Donna Marathon in Jacksonville, sans sore legs.  The first miles of my marathons are usually tackled at an easy comfortable pace – but today, I wanted to be out for something more, but the ambient conditions warned me to hold back forcing myself to heed the advice I learned from Donna.  I told myself, “It’s going to hurt and it’s going to be unpleasant, but I just have to plod my way to the finish.”

There are a host of websites that aim to predict your potential marathon finishing times based on your shorter and, typically, faster run times.  For too long my projected times had sneered at me, taunting me with what I believed were hopelessly fast times.  Typically, I run a five-mile course in under 45 minutes.  From these prediction websites, I should run a marathon around 3:50, which is bordering on the absurd.  

I have my excuses for falling short of this lofty time – but maybe I’m built for shorter distances and my tall stature needs more calories.  I don’t do enough fast long runs.  Almost all of these are some variety of “I can’t.”  Maybe on a cool cloudy day I’d give it a shot, but on this warm sultry day, I wasn’t even going to try – I surely didn’t want to poop out in the earlier stages of the run.  I pinned my hopes on a pace group leading the way to a half-way decent time.  I have to admit, someday I’d like to prove myself wrong as well as proving some meaningless prediction algorithm right.

At the start, the course proceeded up Delaware Avenue with a slight incline.  The pacers led their group of runners at a slightly faster pace than the requisite 10:18 per mile.  I felt the effects of the gradual gradient in my increased running effort.  Within a half mile, sweat immediately began to pour off my face as if I had dunked my head into a bucket of water.

At Marathon Mile 2, runners veered left onto Chapin Parkway, a beautiful historic district lined with early twentieth century Queen Anne, Colonial and Tudor Revival homes fronting a tree-lined 200-foot wide median parkway encompassing numerous mature elm trees and cast iron decorative luminaires and granitic curbs.

At the Parkway’s terminus, runners rounded the traffic circle at the historic Soldier’s Place to the Lincoln Parkway only to turn back around at the 5 km mark of the course.  Thence, it was back through the Parkways retracing our steps to Marathon Mile 4 before making a right turn onto Linwood Avenue in the direction of the starting line and the 10 km split.

The clouds began to break enough permitting the sun to peak through momentarily along the tree-lined segment of Linwood Avenue.  My trepidations began to grow as the temperatures (air and body) steadily crept upward, as did the dew point.  I accepted the fact a brutal day awaited me.   

Realizing the pace leaders marched their group out a little too fast, the pacers relaxed their strides during Marathon Miles 4 and 5.  My sweat levels remained constant, and at each aid station, I drank about 4-6 ounces of water and/or electrolyte fluids, so I wasn’t all concerned about developing hyponatremia.  Besides, I carried with me a bottle of GLUKOSE energy drink for times I need a quick pick-me-up.

The next two miles led runners through an unshaded section of residential Buffalo crossing I-190 to the Buffalo Yacht Club.  Here, runners advanced along Amvets Drive through LaSalle Park along the Lake Erie waterfront to the Erie Basin Marina to Marathon Mile 10.  By the time I hit the 15 km split, I accepted that I needed to roll down the window and toss out my race plan, hoping no one would see me littering the marina grounds.

At this point in the race, the heat and humidity began to take its toll on my body and my fatigue level began to rise geometrically.  My legs told me they were done, and somehow, I was okay with that.  My legs did some good strong work over the last few months and if they wanted to take a day off, then I was going to roll with it.

BFD fire boat

I rolled past Marathon Mile 10 onto Erie Street for a quick out-and-back on a narrow man-made breakwater peninsula towards and around the Erie Basin Marina Observation Deck.  In front of the observation deck, a BFD fire boat floating in the lake water proudly displayed multiple streams of water shooting out from the onboard nozzles.

Leaving the marina area, runners dashed past the Buffalo Naval Park with views of the battleships moored at the docks and by the KeyBank Center, home to the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, winding around some downtown streets to the half marathon finish in front of the convention center.

As I inched closer to the half marathon split, I really struggled and felt awful.  I lacked any kind of motivation or energy.  I was hot and sweating profusely.  I was no longer able to keep up with the 4:30 pace group and I was fraught with a huge mix of emotions.  For the sake of my health, should I call it a day?  Should I carry on and gut it out to the end?  Unlike any other marathon I’ve run, I seriously considered a marathon DNF, but collecting a half marathon medal just didn’t sit well with me.

I had to make a snap decision – make a right turn onto Pearl Street for the second half or stay to the left of the barrier leading to the finish line.  That finish line looked enticing, but I was in it for the long haul!  I’ve come this far and did not want to come back to New York again.  There was more of Buffalo I wanted to see, so I stayed to the right of the barriers and turned onto Pearl Street, crossing the half split in a time of 2:17:43.  With the event’s six hour cutoff, I had well over three hours to complete the second half.  So, I pressed on.

The second half:  (12:06, 13:23, 11:06, 10:38, 12:36, 13:12, 12:47, 15:27, 14:06, 13:04, 14:12, 16:32, 12:51, 10:48 projected pace [final 0.43 mi])

One of many murals along Hertel Avenue

The second half began with nowhere near the enthusiasm I had at the start of the first half.  Not long after calling it a day, I took two acetaminophen/caffeine tablets shortly after the first half split to take the edge off my surprisingly few aches and pains.  Besides, the caffeine usually provides an extra boost that lasts for a couple of miles.

The next three miles consisted of a straight course with a slight uphill ascent to the grounds of the Forest Lawn Cemetery.  Given my mile splits, it was evident I took it slow – until the caffeine took effect as I entered Delaware Park.  It was like a second wind, I was feeling as if I was running strong throughout the park grounds.

We exited Delaware Park at Marathon Mile 18 and looped back through some residential neighborhoods.  The kind residents in the area took the liberty to spray water onto the runners who wanted it, either with misters, sprinklers or simply using their thumb over the hose outlet.  I relished every “spray station” available and it felt great – for a few seconds anyway.  Just if someone could’ve dragged their hose and followed me to the finish line.

Around Marathon Mile 20.5, runners re-entered Delaware Park near the zoological gardens.  My pace seemed consistent with each mile stopping to walk at each aid station dumping water over my head or lapping down two to four cups of water and Gatorade, while consuming some energy gels every so often.  When ice was available, I would fill up my cap and place it over my head for a long-lasting cooling effect.

Marathon Mile 24

Runners once again crossed paths with the Soldier’s Place roundabout, but headed in the direction of Colonial Circle to the 40 km split on Delaware Avenue a few blocks past Symphony Circle.  I thought, “Just two short kilometers to go!  I can do it, pain or no pain.”

Just past Marathon Mile 25, I came upon a group of people under an EZ-up tent handing out Dixie cups of beer.  One guy kept chanting, “It starts with a ‘B’ and ends with an ‘R’.  What do you want?  BEER!”  He proceeded to hand me a half-full cup, which I couldn’t refuse, and drank it.  The cold wonderful tasting beverage was just what I needed, giving me the additional fuel I needed to round out the final mile of this monster.

The eternal mile felt like it went on forever – similar to the Maine Marathon.  I couldn’t think of anything other than how badly I was hurting.  I thought of a guy I saw a few times on the race course with a shirt that read, “Where the f**k is the finish line?”  I have never felt that way as strongly as I felt at that moment.

My Garmin beeped as Marathon Mile 26 passed, but my watch was about 0.2 mile short of the actual mile markers, so I had less than a half-mile left as I entered Niagara Square.

First, it was around the large traffic circle surrounding the McKinley Monument, then down a demoralizing short out-and-back section with a course marshal informing runners they had 300 yards to go.  “Less than a lap around the track.  Relax.  Finish with a smile.  Repeat.” I told myself as I kept plugging along.

I stepped up my pace, smiling to hide the pain and discomfort and attempted to appear strong as I rounded the final corner into the finish line chute on Franklin Street crossing under the gantry in a time of 5:11:47.

 

RACE STATS:

Distance: Marathon (26.2 mi) – my Garmin clocked it at 26.43 mi

Date: May 27, 2018

Bib No.: 75

Weather at start: 66°F, cloudy, muggy, light southwesterly breeze

Gun time: 5:13:54

Chip time: 5:11:47

Average cadence: 151 steps per minute

Average pace: 11:48 per mile

Overall rank: 908 of 1112

Gender rank: 529 of 654

Division rank: 43 of 52

Elevation: 384 ft gain / 390 ft loss

Half split: 2:17:43 (10:30 pace)

Average finish time: 4:28:19

Standard deviation: 0:49:50

Age graded score: 45.27%

Age graded time: 4:31:31

Garmin splits: 10:07, 10:09, 10:01, 10:24, 10:33, 10:08, 10:12, 10:21, 10:19, 10:15, 10:28, 10:30, 11:47, 12:06, 13:23, 11:06, 10:38, 12:36, 13:12, 12:47, 15:27, 14:06, 13:04, 14:12, 16:32, 12:51, 10:48 projected pace [final 0.43 mi]

I hunched over for a moment to gather my thoughts and to thank the Lord for giving me the strength to complete my mission as medical personnel descended upon me to check on my health status.  It gave me a good feeling knowing those kind professionals were there to assist anyone in need.  I was fine, but needed to wait for my legs to stop screaming and for my brain to start working again.

At the finish

I proceeded slowly up the finish area to receive my well-regarded and hard earned medal and a bottle of cold water.  There were even some Buffalo Bills players handing out medals.  I suppose they were the “lesser known players” since I had no clue as to who they were.  Perhaps because I am not a Bills follower, nor really a fan of the NFL, for that matter.

There wasn’t one dry spot on me as moisture continued to drip from my shirt and the hem of my shorts as I methodically made my way to the second floor of the convention center to join the after-party festivities and to meet up with my wife who saw me finish on the jumbo Tron.  The only escalator was locked in the down position, so, I had to unpleasantly walk up a flight of stairs to the second floor.  I was, and looked like, a mess as I set out to sample some pizza that has already assumed room temperature, cookies, pretzels, apples, bananas, and chocolate milk.  After enduring over five hours of total misery, I was happy to be away from the outdoor elements and into an air conditioned environment.

After 26.2 miles, I always find it tough to get moving once again after sitting idle, but we mustered up enough energy to slowly hobble ourselves back to our hotel.

No Standing?  What are you going to do about it?

We showered and took a refreshing break before loading our aching bodies into our car for a visit to Niagara Falls.  We couldn’t pass up on the opportunity since we were in Buffalo.  Who knows, it’s unlikely I’ll ever get another chance. 

We unfortunately forgot our passports, so a walk over into Canada was out of the plan, but viewing the falls from the US side was still amazing. 

At the time, I wondered if Niagara Falls was worth the hassle.  Finding a parking place near the state park in total gridlock was enough to piss-off the good humor man.  My patience wore thin and after an hour, we lucked out and found a spot on a not so nearby street.  It wasn’t in a bad location, but after running a marathon, together with the heat, we found it uncomfortable to walk to the viewing areas.

As I walked around the state park area, I looked for barrel vendors, but didn’t seem to find any.

Eluding and avoiding the huge crowds cramming the pathways throughout the state park while finding ways to view the falls was annoying, but I believe it was worth the effort. The fog-like mist of the falls provided cool and refreshing reprieves from the blazing heat.

While viewing the falls, my first thought was picturing those who have tumbled into the abyss in a barrel or some other contraption.  Seeing enormity and power of the water spilling over the ever-changing precipice, easily dissuaded me from doing some stunt like that.

On our way back to the hotel to wrap up an active day, we pointed ourselves to one of Buffalo’s Deep South Taco restaurants for a taste of some Tex-Mex cuisine.  My spicy one-pound chorizo burrito hit the spot.  Three and seven pound burritos were also on the menu, but I can’t imagine hammering down a seven pound burrito.

We slept in the next morning before our long drive back to Cleveland for our flight back to LAX.  We arrived home safe and sound and ready for our next challenge at Kentucky’s Hatfield & McCoy Marathon.

LIKES / WHAT WORKED:

• Great course throughout the city of Buffalo and surrounding cities.  Somewhat flat course with occasional uphill gradients.  What goes up must come down.
• Very well organized event from the expo to the cooling buses along the course.
• Volunteer support and residents using their hoses to spray runners with cold water.
• Medical support along the course and at the finish line.
• Air conditioned luxury buses parked at various locations along the course allowing runners an opportunity to cool themselves if they so desired.
• Thank you to the medical professionals that were concerned about my well-being – even though I felt as if I didn’t need any support.
• Hats off to the great spectators displaying their support!
• Mostly shady course.
• Easy parking, even though we walked from the hotel to the start/finish line.
• Nice long-sleeve quarter zip shirts, personalized bibs, and a finisher’s keepsake key chain and bottle opener.
• Pyrotechnics at the start and the patriotic theme of the event.
• The indoor after party with plenty of air conditioning, pizza, drinks, beer, chocolate milk, bananas, apples, cookies, bagels, pretzels and water.  And, a jumbo Tron to view runners crossing the finish line.
• The race organizers not cancelling the marathon due to heat indexes and black flag warnings.
• The patriotism on display during Memorial Day weekend.
• FINISHING!!

DISLIKES / WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

• The heat and the humidity.  I know, those are some elements that cannot be controlled.
• Hot and exposed for a good deal of the course.
• Long straight stretches of road and repeating those stretches two or three times.  I like turns onto various streets with diverse scenery.
• Street pavement conditions – broken pavement, potholes, alligator cracking, abrupt edges, etc.
• Only one escalator in the convention center’s stairwell.  Either that one escalator goes up or it goes down.  After a marathon, negotiating a flight of stairs can be a daunting task for some individuals.  Why not two escalators?
• The out-and-back segment at Marathon Mile 26 off the traffic circle on the south end of the McKinley Monument.  I know it’s an inconsequential part of the course, but I didn’t like it.

Final thoughts:

The Buffalo Marathon advertises the following on their website: “Flat and fast with one of the highest Boston qualifying percentages in the country.”  I had really hoped to finish Buffalo on an exciting note, once again it was just not the day.  While I may never (and probably will never) know what it feels like to have the “BQ” credentials after my name, I can see why they advertise this.  To my knowledge, I do not recall a major hill during the course.  There were slight inclines here and there, with one significant hill in and around Delaware Park, but the slight inclines that started the course, were the slight inclines going the opposite direction during the middle and also end of the course.  So there were times on the course where the slope helped you pick up speed and make up for lost time.  But when you’re tired and worn out beyond belief, I found that the slight downhill gradients don’t do much for me.

Would I recommend this marathon to others?  Yes, I would, but prepare yourself for any kind of weather.  It can be unpredictable.

I know for sure, I’m not a hot-weather runner.  My performances verify that fact.  Even though I didn’t return home with the time I had hoped for, I can still pat myself of the back for gutting it out during a difficult marathon (at least for me) and for a job well done.

Onward and upward!