I GAVE IT MY BEST SHOT

I GAVE IT MY BEST SHOT!

Mike Hudick

Congrats to all of you VCTC members who participated in the ING NYC Marathon on Sunday, November 7^th---to those of you who ran from Staten Island to Central Park and to those of you who cheered the runners on at mile 20 in the Bronx! It was such a beautiful dayãand each of you must have felt great to be a part of this historic event.

I also played my little part in Sundayπs ING---running a little and cheering a little! Hereπs my story.

Coming off of some heavy training during the summer, I ran 1:26:24 at the Cerrone Providence Half Marathon in Providence, R.I. on Sunday, September 26^th, taking 3^rd place in my age group 55-59, behind Bill Rodgers, who took 2^nd place in a time of 1:23:38! My wife Pat and my son Bret cheered me on at mile 6 ½ and at the finish line.

One week later I injured my right hamstring doing mile repeats on the Cresskill High School Track and hardly ran for about two weeks! However, I was able to get in an LSD run of 22 miles in the Bronx and on City Island at slightly over 10 minutes a mile two weeks before the marathon---followed by 15 miles at 9 minutes a mile one week later.

Based upon a track workout on the Tuesday before the race of 3 x 1 mile at 6:25 pace, I decided to ≥toe≤ the line at Sundayπs ING! I felt ≥young at heart≤ and ready to give ING NYC my best shot! My strategy was to start out slower than usual to be on the safe side and try to pick up the pace in the latter part of the race, if I felt good and was able to do so. Would try to follow the advice a friend gave me during the last 15 mile run about listening to your body.

My brother Jim was not running this year because of a torn labrum in the hip (for which he has scheduled arthroscopic surgery). Therefore, he drove me to the Continental Airlines arena in the Meadowlands on the morning of the race. It was a beautiful ≥blue sky≤ morning and Jim would later drive into NYC to cheer me on at First Avenue and in Central Park! At Fort Wadsworth I ran into my good friend, fellow VCTC runner Lanny Levit! We wished each other well as I made my way to the elite Green start monitored by Gary Meltzer. Thanks to VCTC public relations man, Arnie Gore, who puts Jimπs and my name in for this elite NYRRC start every year, I found myself three feet from the starting mat on the Verrazano Bridge!

Based upon my position, there was no way I could start the race at a nine minute pace! I got swept away with the excitement and went through the first uphill mile in 7:25! During the second downhill mile off the bridge, my hamstring tightened up and went into knots! Stopped running a little after that and ran into another good friend, Ivan Mills, who was passing buy! He stopped and offered to run with me for a few miles at a slower pace. However, I realized that this was not my ≥hour≤. I thanked him as he once again accelerated so gracefully---like a cheetah on the plains of Africa!

I informed my family by cell phone that I had dropped out of ING NYC and then walked up to Fourth Avenue and hopped on the subway for the ≥long≤ ride back to Manhattan! Everyone on the subway wished me well (some even wished they could run a marathon)! Upon seeing ≥daylight≤ again, I found myself on 57^th Street and Seventh Avenue! Walked up to 59^th Street, crossed the race route, and decided to wait for the lead runners to come buy! Since I still had my race number on, spectators were asking me if I had already finished! I smiled, told them my story, and then cheered with them shoulder to shoulder as we all had the privilege of seeing Paula Radcliffe battle it out ≥shoulder to shoulder≤ with Susan Chepkemei---both of them on their way to victory!

Walked into the park to a point just before mile 26 and saw the men finish---Hendrik Ramaala of South Africa and the USAπs Meb Keflezighi in that order ≥gliding≤ along in perfect harmony!

Minutes after that, I received a lot of cheers as I picked up my bag from the UPS bus---no other runners were there! Tried to explain that I dropped out at mile two. They would not listen and kept cheering!

Today, surrounded by runners, spectators, and volunteers alike, I experienced a different perspective of the ING NYC Marathon!

God willing, Jim and I will be back once again next year to give ING NYC our best shot! Hopefully, we will glide along shoulder to shoulder in perfect harmony for all to see---even at mile 20, receiving the cheers of VCTC!