It Lived Up to the Hype

Late last year I saw an ad on Facebook.  The ad was to enter the lottery to gain entry in to the New York City Marathon.  I had already decided at that time that I would probably not run another marathon.  Half Marathons provide a challenge, they're strenuous, but I enjoy them.  At that point I had three marathons, none of which I can say I enjoyed.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm glad that I ran them, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment.  But in every single one that I ran this thought entered my mind...."What was I thinking?"  So last year, when I entered the lottery for the New York Marathon, I was thinking that the odds of getting in were pretty slim.  (And they are...less than 1 in 4 get chosen).  But this is one of those marathons that everyone who runs wants to run.  It's one of the big ones.  For me, it's one of the two major marathons in the world.  There's Boston, and there's New York.

In February or March I had figured that the drawing had already happened.  Having not heard anything, I assumed that I was one of the 75% who didn't make it in.  Then it happened.  A notice on my phone that my credit card had been charged.  I was at work at the time, so I immediately thought someone was trying to make a fraudulent charge on my card.  Then I saw who had charged my card...none other than the New York Road Runners Club.  Later that day I got the official email letting me know that I'd been selected to run.

Not a day has gone by since then that I didn't think about what it would be like to run that race.  I've watched this race on TV in past.  Friends who have run this race have told me how great it is.  Now I was actually going to run one of the top marathons in the world.  I would be crossing the bridges with professional athletes, running the five boroughs, entering Central Park, making that turn, and heading for the finish line that I had seen on ESPN on more than a few occasions.

At that point, things started to work out pretty well for me.  In my line of work, trying to schedule time off so far in advance is not necessarily an easy thing.  I went ahead and submitted the requests, but knew it would be September or October before I knew for sure if those requests could be approved.  But as it turned it out, luck was on my side.  Throughout the new couple of months, several of my co-workers were looking to get time off themselves.  So I was able to work out some trades.  Those trades made it possible for me to take the entire week of the marathon off, and an additional day off to recover the following week.  All without having to use any of leave time.

I traveled to New York with my best friend.  On the way there we stopped by the Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania.  It was a moving experience and one I won't soon forget.  We made it to our destination in time to stop and grab dinner while watching game #7 of the World Series.  We had planned to go over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island the next morning, but with the long drive and late end to the game, decided just to sleep in.  Our first day in New York we headed to Times Square and Rockefeller Center.  We went to the Top of the Rock, which I would recommend over the Empire State Building.  The view of fantastic, the wait is not nearly as long, and from the Top of the Rock, you get a great view of The Empire State Building, which you don't get from the top of the Empire State Building.  We then headed over to the convention center for the runner's expo.  Thursday evening we got back in to the city for The Lion King.  I had managed to get front row tickets, right on the aisle.  The show was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone going to New York.

On Friday we headed downtown and started our day at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  We took a guided tour of the Memorial - well worth it.  To hear the stories of the memorial and the stories of some of the people who died in the terrorist attacks in both 2001 and 1993 at the World Trade Center was very touching and humbling.  One fact, if you ever make it there.  A white rose inserted in to the name of a victim around one of the two reflecting pools, means that person would have been celebrating a birthday on that day.  There are white roses on those walls all 365 days of the year.  We then went in to the museum.  As big as the museum is, it is very crowded.  One could spend hours in that building and still not see everything.  As we watched school children on tours in the museum, we both remarked about how even the high school kids there are too young to remember the events that seem like yesterday to some of us.

Friday evening we took a boat tour around Manhattan to see the City lit up at night.  A-MAZ-ING!  New York is such a beautiful City at night.  The boat also swung very close to the Statue of Liberty.  Being that close to the statue, with it lit up like it was, made up for missing it the day before.

Saturday was a rest day, and Carey flew back to Ohio.  On Sunday morning I woke up early to catch the bus for the starting area of the marathon.  Even though my corral didn't start until 11:00am, I had to catch the shuttle at 5:00am.  By 6:00am I was at the start area, found a tree to lean against and napped as best I could.  Fortunately, friends who have run the race before let me know what to expect, so I was prepared.  I had some light snacks, dressed in warm clothes that I could shed prior to the race and was prepared to be in the starting village for a few hours.

The start area was very organized, especially considering the fact that they had 50,000 runners to get through. But the time finally came when the cannon fired and I was on the course.  Starting in Staten Island, runners immediately cross the Verazono Narrows bridge in to Brooklyn.  The view of Manhattan from the bridge is awe inspiring.  Then you hit Brooklyn.  More than half of the race is in Brooklyn, and for the entire stretch the streets are lined with people cheering the runners .  The Police Officers from the NYPD and FDNY firefighters are in to it as well.  We then crossed in to Queens, and the crowds there were just as awesome.  We were only in Queens for a couple of miles, but one sign I saw a spectator holding made me laugh "Welcome to Queens. Get Out".  After crossing the Queens Borough bridge in to Manhattan, we headed north in to the Bronx.  Although we were only in the Bronx for about a mile and a half, this year, running there held a little extra meaning.  Just a couple of days before the marathon an NYPD officer working in the Bronx was shot and killed by a domestic violence suspect.  Another officer was also shot in that incident.  But the crowds were still there cheering.  The officers were still there doing their jobs, as well as cheering on the runners.  This was the spot in the race where I literally slipped on a banana peel that was on the road.  I didn't fall down, but the irony made me laugh.  We then crossed back in to Manhattan for the final part of the race, movin' on up, through the east side.  Again, the crowd support never ended.  It was amazing.  I was near the back of the final group of runners, and still people were lining the streets.  The second coolest part of the race though, was running through Central Park.  At this point, you know you're almost done.  But this is the point I recognized most from watching this race on TV.  Especially  the last few turns.  I had never been on this course before, but I had seen it.  Crowds were still there, hours after the pros had finished, there were still crowds cheering and giving high fives to the runners.

I've always told people that the crowd support in Columbus is the best I've seen.  That's no longer the case.  New Yorkers come out for the race.  New Yorkers stay out for the race.  It was well worth it!  I'll never run another marathon again.....maybe.

States 29 & 30

As I have said far too often in my last few blogs...It's been a while.

I just returned home earlier today from a long weekend and a couple of more runs.  Those who have followed my blog, or have listened to me ramble on about running, know that I have a goal of running a race in all 50 states.

This past weekend I set out for Hartford, CT.  This was my first trip to any of the New England States and was set to be State #29 and my 5th new state for 2016.

I really thought that a highlight of this trip would be the fall foliage in CT.  As the plane came in on the approach to Hartford I noticed two things.  One thing I noticed was that there was a lot of trees...I mean A LOT of trees.  But I also noticed that most of those trees were still covered in green leaves.  Very few had even started to change color.  I noticed the same on my drive from the airport in to Hartford on Thursday morning.

I got in to Hartford early enough to get to the runners expo just as it was opening.  I got my bib, my t-shirt and all the other race day SWAG and checked out some of the booths.  Afterwards I walked a little bit around downtown Hartford, then headed over to the hotel.

On Friday I took advantage of the weather and did a bit of site-seeing.  Being a bit of a fan of American History, visiting the homes of Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain) and Harriet Beecher Stowe was interesting.  I made it out to the Connecticut Fire Academy and the New England Air Museum as well.

I was a little nervous for the race on Saturday.  The fact that I'd spent the day before a half marathon on my feet walking around so much, as well as the fact that I ate like crap on Friday, had me wondering how I'd do running 13.1 miles on Saturday morning.  However, maybe I've found the secret to a good run....the race went fine, better than I expected for sure.  No matter where I ran in Hartford, the people were out cheering on the runners.  Weather it was a firehouse, a resident, or even a Valvoline Instant Oil Change, everyone came out.  Having that kind of crowd support always makes the runs more fun.

Prior to running on Saturday I met Jackie.  Jackie was from MA and, like me, had set a goal of running a race in all 50 states.  UNLIKE me, she plans to run a marathon in all 50 states.  As we talked over breakfast about the race she jokingly mentioned that there was a Half Marathon in Rhode Island on Sunday, only an hour or so away.  Well, after the race on Saturday I did a quick Google search and did find a 5K race the next day in Providence.  So...I registered.  On Sunday morning I woke up and drove the 90 minutes to Providence and ran in a very wet, rainy 5K race.  The course was very nice, circling a park and zoo.  Had it not been raining the whole time, I'm sure it would have been nicer.

But even better than adding an unexpected new state to my list, was the drive back to Hartford.  I drove back through a lot of wooded state roads.  There I was able to admire all that fall foliage I had been hoping to see all weekend.  That is the most enjoyable part, for me, of running in the fall.  Seeing the trees change to the reds, oranges and yellows.  It's like running routes I've run hundreds of times, but never run before in my life.

So now I'm back in Columbus.  Tomorrow I head back to work.  This week I prepare for my longest run of the year as I tackle the 26.2 miles around Columbus on Sunday.  All of this to prepare for the ultimate 2016 race.  The New York Marathon in November!!

Sad Week

It's been quite a while since I posted to this blog.  But I had some things I wanted to get off my chest and this was the best way I felt I could do that.  Anyone who knows me can probably tell by the title what this blog post is about, and if it is going to bother you to read about it, please don't.

A little over 18 years ago I was hired on as a communications technician (aka dispatcher) with the city of Dublin, Ohio.  (A few years ago we became the Northwest Regional Emergency Communications Center)  It didn't take me very long to realize that this was a career I was going to love, but also a career that would come with a lot of stress.

I think anyone in my profession who truly knows the job knows that our number one goal whenever we come in to work is to see to it that the men and women who are put in our care...the men and women who go out every day and risk their lives to keep the rest of us safe...go home to their families safely at the end of their shift.  We accomplished that goal every day that I came to work, and even on my days off, for over 18 years.

Sadly, on May 19, the day turned out differently.  We didn't meet our goal.  One of our guys, Officer Sean Johnson #637 of the Hilliard Police Dept. did not go home to his family that evening.  It was an accident that took our officer's life that day.  No one is to blame.  But that doesn't make the loss any easier.  I've known departments and people who have dealt with Line of Duty Deaths, and like many things in life, there was part of me that was thankful it wasn't one of our guys.  But this time it was.

Beginning very early in the process I began seeing many different reactions in myself and from the people around me.  Some of those reactions gave me a deeper respect for people I work with, as I watched how they stepped up and did what needed to be done to start dealing with something we knew would be difficult.  Some of those reactions surprised me, while other reactions were what I would have expected.

Another role that I have in the public safety arena is as a member of the Mid-Ohio Critical Incident Stress Management team.  When asked, we work with agencies whose responders, dispatchers, and employees have had to deal with a critical incident.  As a member of this team, I was asked to respond to help out.  This was a little unique, as I was responding to help people deal with a critical incident in which I was also part of.  But there were a lot of unique factors in this situation, and responding as a member of this team was the way I felt I could help best.  To anyone of my HPD or NRECC family who may read this...I hope that my presence there helped, or at the very least, has not hurt your ability to move through this incident.

When our people have experienced a critical incident, one of the things we tell them might help to work through it is to write down their thoughts.  Journal (or blog).  And that's part of why I'm posting this.  But a bigger reason for posting this is to thank some of those people who did step up over this past week.  I won't name any names, but I think if you see this you will know who I'm talking about.

At many departments, each year, the officers fill out a form that outlines their wishes should they ever be injured or killed.  One of the questions on the form asks if there is a specific person on the department that they want making the notification to family.  In this case their was.  Sean had asked for one of his friends and fellow officers to make that notification.  That officer became the person responsible for being with Sean's family throughout this time.  One of my co-workers and fellow dispatchers, in turn, spent a lot of time handling the household chores for that officer, so he could be with Sean's family.

Other dispatchers covered extra time in the communications center so that those who wanted to attend calling hours or the funeral could attend.

Others covered extra time in the communications center so that I could be out of the communications center working with the Mid-Ohio CISM team.

Others worked went to the Hilliard Police Dept. to cover for their Records Dept. staff, allowing them the time they needed to grieve, attend calling hours and the funeral.

Others covered extra time in the communications center so that those shifts in the Records Dept. could be covered.

Many did this without complaint.  Some made it a point to let the supervisors know they were available for extra coverage.

One of my fellow dispatchers and friend became my sounding board.  The person I was able to vent to when I needed.  She spent one particular morning getting her phone blown up with my "venting".

I'm told that five other dispatch centers also offered to help cover for us during this time, and to those agencies I also say thank you!

For everyone, please know that there has been a fund set up to help out the family of officer Johnson. If you can contribute, even a little, please do.

To all of my HPD and NRECC family, the grieving doesn't necessarily stop when the funeral is over.  We know this.  It will take some time to find our new normal.  But we will.  We will learn from this tragedy.  We will go to bed every night praying we never have to deal with it again. We will honor Sean and his life and his impact on those around him.