Monique Maddy's ING New York City Marathon Journal

Other Entries: November 5, 2003 October 29, 2003 October 22, 2003 October 15, 2003

Monique Maddy (Photo courtesy of Monique Maddy, click on each to enlarge)

Monique Maddy, 41, ran the ING New York City Marathon on November 2 and attempted to attain the sub-2:48 U.S. Olympic Trials "B" qualifying standard. Originally from Liberia, West Africa, Monique holds a bachelor of science degree in international politics and economics from Georgetown University, a master's degree in economics and development studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. She is an entrepreneur and in 1993 founded Adesemi Communications International, which financed, built, and operated low-cost wireless telecommunications services in developing and emerging market countries. She recently completed her autobiography: "Learning to Love Africa: My Journey from Africa to Harvard Business School and Back", to be released by Harper Collins Publishers in February 2004, and is currently pursuing two new business ventures. With a marathon personal best of 2:48:38, Monique's preparations for the ING New York City Marathon included a training stint at the High Altitude Training Center owned and operated by Lornah Kiplagat in Iten, Kenya.

In the first installment of her training journal, Monique outlined her unorthdox development as an "accidental" runner. Installment #2 recounted her discovery of the High Altitude Training Center, and in #3 she chronicled her stay there. This installment covers her experience in New York on November 2.

Entry #4, November 5, 2003: The Battlefield

Monique Maddy enters Central Park in the 24th mile of the ING New York City Marathon.

Maddy runs along Central Park South in the 26th mile.

Mobilization

I returned to Boston from Eldoret on Saturday, October 18, two weeks prior to the ING New York City Marathon. Pieter had advised me that to maximize the performance benefits of my high altitude training, I had to come back to sea level either two weeks or two days before the race. He strongly advised me to take the former option, which I did.

The day after I arrived I did a very intense workout on my treadmill, wanting simply to see what it would feel like after all this time away. It seemed as though I was using different muscles than those that I had developed in Iten. When I awoke the next day I could hardly walk, much less run. I panicked. To have gone all the way to Kenya for two months and endured the rigors of training there, only to return to Boston and undo all the good in one day was ludicrous and unacceptable. I immediately called upon one of the numerous discoveries I had made while in Kenya: deep tissue massage. With the benefit of daily massages I was able to stick to my training schedule, which Pieter modified slightly to better allow my body to adapt to the dramatic change in altitude and to recuperate from the stress I had placed on my legs that first day.

After about a week, the biggest difference that I noticed in my performance was how my endurance had improved. Even after the most strenuous speed workouts I wasn't tired. However, my legs continued to fail me and my lingering concern was that despite the intense massage sessions, I wouldn't recover on time for November 2. I also had to travel on business twice during the two-week period after my return, so recovery was very incremental.

In addition to the massage therapy I received constant positive reinforcement from the folks from the HATC, including Lornah and Pieter, both of whom were now in New Mexico, where Lornah was preparing for the marathon. In sending me his revised schedule Pieter wrote the following:

"Please try to take it easy. Business will still be there after the 2nd of November. You did a lot of hard work and invested a lot of time in this training so take care that you follow this also in the last two weeks. If you want to call me I am reachable on the cell phone most parts of the day. All the best and you will make it, no doubt about that.   Pieter"

M-Day

To my immense surprise, when I woke up on Sunday, November 2, I felt pain free for the first time in two weeks. I was excited and raring to go. Just as the elite field was being escorted to the starting line I was accosted by Kevin Nealon, who was with an NBC-TV crew and wanted to interview me. We spoke for about two minutes and I don't even remember what I said because we were mere seconds from the start. I had to abandon Kevin, his microphone, and a string of additional questions at the ready as I bounded for the starting line. The surprise intervention had distracted me and helped calm my nerves.

As the gun was fired, we bolted, accompanied by the rich, velvety voice of Old Blue Eyes as "I Love New York" belted from the speakers. From that moment my focus was exclusively on Sara Wells, the U.S. marathon champion and our pacemaker for sub-2:48. After about half a mile, I forgot Limo's advice to go out boldly, not conservatively, fast, not measured. As I slowed down and let Sara and the rest of the pace group go, I thought to myself, "I can always make it up later."

After about 10 miles the elite field had spaced out substantially, and there was nobody within sight for me to target. My goal therefore became simply to maintain my pace, no matter what. To keep myself going I thought of my Kenyan training partner, Pius, and his mantra, "You must resist."

My entry onto First Avenue at mile 16 was nothing short of dramatic. As I turned the corner coming off of the Queensboro Bridge, I was running completely alone, yet I was greeted by hundreds of thousands of spectators whose applause lifted me well above cloud nine. I was both buoyed and humbled by their overwhelming exuberance and enthusiasm. "Go USA! Go USA!" they screamed over and over again. As if on a prolonged victory lap, I smiled, saluted, and waved repeatedly at the crowds on both sides of the street, in appreciation and acknowledgement of their support, which only made them scream all the louder. With heightened emotion, I realized that my native continent, Africa, had prepared me for the race, and now my new home, America, was making sure that I finished the job.

There are few highs in my life that compare to the energy and emotion I felt as I made my way into Central Park. I literally sprinted to the finish line. It was only after crossing it that I felt a tinge of regret. The runners around me could barely walk, and I felt that I could go another five miles. Did that mean that I had not given it my all, the Kenyan way? It probably did, but I asked myself, is two months in Kenya really a sufficient amount of time to build the kind of confidence and nerves of steel that the Kenyans take years to develop?

I finished the race in 2:58:51, far slower than the 2:48 needed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trials, and slower yet than the 2:38:00 that the HATC people had predicted I would do. That difference is no doubt the mental component that the Kenyans have. It will take several more marathons and a few more sojourns in Kenya for me to get there. Later in the day I thought of Limo, the masters runner who, like many other Kenyan runners over 40, is still capable of running sub-2:15 marathons. It was reassuring to know that there is still plenty of time for me to improve.

Besides the incredible experience of living and training in Kenya for two months, I found myself with a few tangible goodies on M-Day. I was the 38th female finisher, the 14th U.S. female finisher, and I placed third in the masters division, for which I was awarded a trophy and a cash prize of $150.

It was the first time that I had won cash for running a marathon. So in some sense I had accomplished my goal. At today's gold price of about $400 per ounce, $150 is enough to get me a little less than half an ounce of the precious metal. So Eldoret had led me to marathon gold after all. And in them mines lies gold aplenty, yearning to be unearthed!