Meb and Tarpy

Time: 74:44
Distance: 12.00 miles
Pace: 6:14
Map

What a great morning! Meb Keflezghi became the first American to win the NYC Marathon in 27 years. Great race and the move he made with two miles to run was truly inspirational.

Meagan and I got up early to watch the marathon and then realized that the races didn't start until after 9 am. That gave me some time to figure out how to connect the computer to the tv so we could watch with a bigger screen and better sound. I overcame my frustration and conquered Mr. Technology with several minutes to spare. We invited over Jenna, Tanya and Sean to watch the race unfold like the running geeks that we are.

The living room became my running HQ for the duration of the race. Meagan's mini-computer was hooked up to the big screen playing the live universalsports.com feed of the race. On my MacBook I had multiple tabs open so that I could soak up as much info about the race as possible. I watched the men's only feed in one tab, chatted with Owen about the race in another, and tracked multiple competitors in another. I was also texting Mike DeCoste with updates because he wasn't getting any from the NYC Marathon website.

My interest was split between the lead pack and Pat Tarpy. I loved watching how the runners up front eyed each other constantly as they waited to make moves. Tarpy could only be tracked online and seeing his splits was really exciting. Before the race he hinted at running alongside Brian Sell who always seems to run even and smart. According the the splits, Tarpy decided to do just that as both went through half-way at the same time.

The excitement increased as several Americans maintained contact in the front while Tarpy hung tough through miles 18, 19 and 20. Owen and I chose horses at mile five of the race which meant he was cheering for Ryan Hall and James Kwambai. I settled on Meb to as the top US finisher and Robert Cheruiyot to win the race. I had little true confidence in my picks but both looked very relaxed running out of the lead early on. I believe their experience with the course and their bodies brought them to finish 1-2 at the end of the day. It was a great race heading into Central Park and one that brought a lot of energy to our living room.

Owen and I assumed Tarpy would be finishing around 2:14 or 2:15 according to his 35k split of 1:51:xx. We waited, and waited, and waited for the tracker page to update. Nothing. Maybe there was a glitch or there was too much traffic on the site. Tarpy had to be near the finish but the live feed on universalsports.com was failing us now. Probably around the 2:17 or 2:18 finishing time mark, Owen forwarded me a message from his friend Elliot who I assume was watching live at the race: "just saw Tarpy walking then he started running again." Nooo. I was upset/disappointed/sad that the marathon had taken another one. I don't mean to ridicule Tarpy when I post his splits because I know he reads this blog. I was emotionally invested in the splits because I could see the development of an a brilliant run. Here they are:

Half Marathon Split - 66:44
Second Half Split - 73:59

Split from mile 14 to 15 - 5:10
Split from mile 15 to 16 - 5:12
Split from mile 16 to 17 - 4:59
Split from mile 17 to 18 - 5:04
Split from mile 18 to 19 - 5:08
Split from mile 19 to 20 - 5:26
Split from mile 20 to 21 - 5:34
Last 7.2k of the race - 28:47 (~6:05/mile* pace) *includes walking

I got one of the best texts I've ever received from Tarpy after the race. I had just returned from my 12 miler with Sean Brosnan out at McAlpine. He writes:
"Tough day for this guy, thought 2:14 was happening. Back first to go, then hips, then feet, then heart. If you want applause in a marathon take a walk break and then start running again. Crowd loves it. Also I passed one of the elite women at 25 and she then out kicked me. Not my finest moment."

Tarpy ran 2:20:43 in his marathon debut on a tough course in NYC. He finished as the 13th overall American in the race. There aren't too many people who can say they ran 2:20 after taking three 30 second walk breaks in the last 5k.

Having the technology to follow a race so closely today was great fun. The efforts today brought many highs and lows to our living room. Even though I was hours away from the live action it felt like I was experiencing the race first hand. Meb's performance will always be remembered. Tarpy's performance will be too.

Oh, it was also Meagan's birthday today. She is now in her late 20s which is nearly 30.