Battered & Bloodied: Steve's Throwback to BROOKLYN HALF-MARATHON 2008

STEVE KAIRYS 2017

Prologue

Less than two miles into the 2008 Brooklyn Half-Marathon, my race hung by a hairbreadth. I found myself prone on the Coney Island boardwalk, having incurred multiple injuries. Would I have to drop out of a race for the first time in over 170 starts?

Not if I had anything to say about it.

Battered and bloodied, I tried to get up…

Mile 0: History Lesson

In 2008, The Brooklyn Half was not this major party with more than 25K runners, finishing at Coney Island. It was a smaller race (5,839 finishers) that, for the final time, started there, and challenged runners by concluding in hilly Prospect Park. 🏔

(Map from usatf.org.)

Mile 1: Want a Hot Dog?

On this cloudy, cool morning, the race began on the boardwalk, with the ocean to my left.🌊 My goal: under-10:00/mi. I passed the shuttered eateries (such as Nathan’s). Thanks to a restroom stop, my split was 10:33.

Mile 2: SPLAT!

Shortly after the turnaround, I stumbled, and apprehension swelled as the boardwalk rose up to meet me. I connected five body parts with the boardwalk: knees, hands, and what I thought was a bone on the left side of my chest.

I stood, tried to run…and I could! Still, I had emerged from this tumble with significant damage. While not bleeding, both knees were scraped: the right, barely; the left, however, sported an ugly red blotch. My hands briefly felt a bit sore, but inspecting them showed no damage. Of greater concern, however, might have been my chest or ribs. Now and then, I’d feel a twinge.

I defiantly stated to one of the concerned runners that after putting in two 10-milers, I wasn’t going to let a little tumble stop me. I was going to run competitively as if I had never fallen. I think this incident increased my determination. 

Split: 10:06, Net: 20:40, Deficit  0:40

Mile 3: Goodbye, Boardwalk

Around mile 2.8, the race mercifully left the boardwalk and descended onto city streets. Soon, we took a right onto Surf Avenue and before long, I hit the Mile 3 marker in an estimated time of 9:50.

Miles 4 - 9; Ocean Parkway to Prospect Park

The race proceeded north on almost-flat Ocean Parkway. Now and then, I’d draw on the company of my fellow runners with whom I would share my story about how lucky I was to still be in this race.

I settled into a nice rhythm, most of my miles under-10:00, and took the lead on my goal pace by Mile 5. While I wanted to accumulate a time cushion before the dreaded Mile 11 hill in Prospect Park, I needed to save something. The race was going by pretty quickly, a testament to the good day I was enjoying. What injuries? Adrenaline and determination were getting me through the half-marathon.

Eventually, I ran up an exit ramp and soon entered the park near Mile 9 with a comfortable lead.

Net: 1:28:41, Lead: 1:19

Mile 10: Gobble, Gobble

Now, around a 10:19 pace would attain my goal. I soon would pass landmarks I recognized from the Turkey Trot; however, my planned post-race dinner was steak. I gained another 10 seconds by Mile 10, body still feeling good.

Split: 9:50, Net: 1:38:31, Lead: 1:29

Mile 11: That Looming Hill

Shortly thereafter, on East Drive, the hill appeared. The slope is significant and lengthy. I met the challenge head-on. Finally, on West Drive, I would reach Mile 11. Relieved, I checked my watch.

I had conquered The Hill in 9:44 for Mile Eleven. About nine miles earlier, I could’ve taken a DNF. Now, I stood just 2.1 miles from a triumphant finish.

Split: 9:44, Net: 1:48:15, Lead: 1:45

Miles 12 - 13.1 – Hanging On

My injuries were still holding up. At Mile 12, I lead by 1:49. I could taste it.

I was tiring though, and challenged by the long, gradual uphill on Wellhouse/Hill Drive. I had defeated that big hill, but now, the course walloped me with the back end of a one-two punch. I refused to give in, looking, looking, looking for the end of this road. Would that intersection ever appear?

Mercifully, it did, and I returned to East Drive. Shortly thereafter, I made the final turn, onto Center Drive. Somewhere along this road came one more short, slight uphill. Finally, I spotted the Mile 13 marker, hitting it in 10:00. I still led by 1:49. My battered body had nothing left for a finishing sprint, but I had fully earned the right not to kick. I would cross that Finish Line, and secure my first competitive triumph in over ten months.

I had started adversity in the race, turning a fall that could have ruined my race into victory. 

Split   1:01;  Net:  2:09:11 (Pace: 9:52/mi)

Miles 14 - 15: Celebration! Celebration!

Now, my body could allow itself to feel beaten up. My left knee started hurting, all I needed when I had to climb the steps of the baggage bus.🚌

Still, I reveled in my achievement and enjoyed the generous post-race team brunch hosted by New York Flyer couple Sara and Gary Heard, including a bagel, meatballs, and quiche.🥯 As my rib injury pained me when I coughed, I remarked that I hoped that no one would tell me any jokes so that I did not have to laugh. The fabric of my post-race sweatpants rubbed uncomfortably against  my knee. After the gathering, fellow Flyer Ed Altman saved me from a taxing subway ride home by driving me back to Manhattan. Thank you, Ed! I’ve met so many wonderful people through the Flyers.

By evening, it hurt to get in and out of bed. It didn’t matter. Especially during my celebration dinner. Nothing like steak and plentiful wine🍷🍷🍷to ease the pain after one of my proudest races.

-Steve Kairys

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FOTY: STEVE K

Steve K

What does Beethoven’s Sixth (Pastoral) Symphony, a work composed early in the nineteenth century, have in common with our sport of running and with the New York Flyers? Inquiring Flyers want to know, and I promise to provide you with some answers by the time you have finished reading this blog entry.  For now though, let’s go back in time to some recent events in the twenty-first century…

*     *    *

When I found out that I had been nominated for the Flyer of the Year Award, I felt flattered and stunned. To that end, I send a warm think you to the 2014 Executive Board (Alan, Linda, Pei, Cassandra, and Louie) for my nomination. Now, I feel supremely honored to have been voted Flyer of the Year, and I would like to thank you for your support in choosing me for an award that, prior to my nomination, had not even been on my radar. I felt warmed by your cheers and congratulations at the Gala. Walking up to the podium, while hearing the uplifting strains of the last movement of the Pastoral Symphony was an emotional moment for me, and I consider this award to be my proudest moment as a runner.

I would like to congratulate my fellow Flyer of the Year nominees: Stephanie T, James C, and Douglas R. You all contributed significantly to the club in 2014, and any one of you would have been a worthy recipient of this award. In addition, I must recognize my FOTY predecessor, Scott C. Scott, you are missed (along with your lovely wife Elle), and your role in spearheading the first Laurie Harris race will never be forgotten.

To my SpeedPass coaches, Brian Rosetti and Joe Yates: SpeedPass has played a big role in my recent progress in races, and I owe a big thanks to you guys as well.

Over my sixteen years as a runner, I have made some rather, er, dubious decisions. For example, during my first year of racing, I thought it would be a good idea to try to break 8:00/mile in a 10K for the first time ever…on a sunny, hot and humid summer morning. On the other hand, one of the best decisions I have ever made was to join the Flyers eleven years ago. In appreciating the acknowledgment of my involvement with the club, I’ll say that it’s easy to want to contribute when I have such wonderful and supportive teammates.

Our just-completed 25^th Anniversary year was a tremendous year for our club. I still feel so fiercely proud to be a Flyer when I recall that cold November morning on Roosevelt Island, when we held the second annual Laurie Harris Hope and Dreams 5K. To me, this race speaks of the wonderful spirit and warmth of our club, that dispelled the morning chill, and of Laurie’s grace and courage in facing her disease. The bib you see below, that I displayed at the Gala, is from Laurie’s race, and hangs on my wall along with my other race numbers. As fate, perhaps, placed it at a corner of my wall, I will sometimes reach out and touch it, in tribute to Laurie, as I walk past it.

No matter how I have fared in races, whether I have nailed a challenging goal, or ran through the race at a leisurely pace, I have always appreciated being made to feel a part of this team, and the same holds true when I have been injured. Back in 2009, a horrible fall down a flight of stairs landed me in the hospital with multiple injuries. When I received two Get Well cards with so many of your signatures, I felt touched, and your kindness during that time warms my heart to this day.

*     *    *

Now, what of my promised revelation about the association between Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and our sport? For those not familiar with this masterpiece, completed over 200 years ago, its five movements depict various scenes in the country. The fourth movement is a powerful portrayal of a thunderstorm; the fifth, the beginning of which you heard at the Gala when I received my award, represents the grateful and happy feelings after the storm, and is one of my all-time favorite Classical works.

As I think about it, this music contains multiple connections to running and the Flyers.  While I originally chose this piece for its personal significance – it’s a part of me – I did not realize these links, both general and specific, until the Gala and its aftermath.

First, just as this symphony is timeless, and has endured for centuries, isn’t our sport timeless? Long before sports such as baseball and basketball were invented, weren’t our forebears running, either for recreation…or survival?

In addition, haven’t so many of us, either over a course of a year (when overcoming injury), or during a race (when fighting through a rough patch), weathered, and persevered through our own personal storms and emerged into sunlight, having defeated adversity? Finally, as that last movement can be viewed as an anthem of hope, aren’t the Flyers about hope, in more ways than one?

For those who would like to listen to this symphony, in particular the last two movements, I invite you to check out this link from YouTube by clicking HERE.

The fourth (storm) movement starts at 27:27.

The body of the fifth (joyful) movement begins at 31:33.

In closing, I want to wish all of you the best in attaining your running (or beyond-running) goals this year, whether they are setting a PR, completing a distance for the first time, finishing a triathlon, returning from injury, or simply being out there  running and enjoying this wonderful sport that has brought us all together.

GO FLYERS!

-Steve K

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NY Flyer Profile -- Steve K

Steve K

Runners, as a breed, look ahead, not behind, especially when in a race (unless of course you count the erstwhile NYRR Backwards Mile). There is always the next mile marker, the top of the hill you are climbing, and the Finish Line. For me, that philosophy was never truer than after one of the shortest, but sweetest walks of my entire life, an out-and-back, between one end of a hospital room and the other.

Six days earlier, on February. 17, 2009, I had somehow fallen down a flight of stairs at a bar. (For those asking, no, I wasn't drunk; I simply was not looking where I was going.) I incurred various injuries, including one to my pelvis that, at first, made it impossible for me to walk, even with assistance...and that issue was actually minor compared to the damage I had done to my right elbow and shoulder, necessitating two surgeries.

So, on this particular Monday, I surprised myself, when, with the aid of my therapist, and a walker, I somehow managed to walk a bit, which, to me, felt like somewhat of a miracle. Filled with emotion, I scratched out a page in my journal about my little triumph, closing by writing:

"I will remember this day as I run my first race back."

There I was, my body broken, but I was looking ahead. I knew I had a very long, and likely arduous road to recovery, but, for me, it was natural to think ahead to returning to the races....whenever that might be.

Thinking of such times reminds me how much running is a part of me, and my love for the sport extends far beyond the numerous races I've run, whether non-competitively, or against a time goal. Some of my most enjoyable runs have been just runs. Late last year, when starting my offseason, I took a short, slow, 2.1-mile run along the woodland trails of Mohonk Mountain House. I climbed a gradual hill, eventually taking me up over 100 feet. My reward for my efforts was beholding the beautiful sight of the distant Catskill Mountains, followed by a dramatic view of the lake far below me. I returned to the inn feeling so happy and relaxed, and rewarded myself with a tuna salad sandwich for lunch. It was one of my best runs of a year that had included four half marathons.

2011 Awards Party -
Frequent Flyer Award

Being a member of the Flyers has enhanced my running, and my life, for 10 years. I count people I have met through the Flyers as some of my best friends. I will never forget how my teammates supported me during my recovery from my accident, and eventual return to running. There have been the group runs, speedwork, etc, but it's much more than that. I've enjoyed numerous social events, including the recent Flyers Annual Awards Gala, as well as often being a Flyers pace-leader in the twice-yearly NYRR Long Training Runs. In addition, I'm proud to say that I have volunteered at the Flyers' PowerGel station at the last nine NYC Marathons.

Now, don't take this personally, but it is my hope this year, that I will not be able to fulfill my customary position because I hope to be running by the station during my first-ever marathon. Even this early in the year, I find myself afflicted with a serious case of NYC Marathon fever, and have often been visualizing my splits for what I hope will be the race of my dreams. Should all go well, I can only imagine how it will feel to run into Central Park during Mile 24...

                                                       

                NYC Marathon Mile 24

I was never much of an athlete when in school. I did have my "one shining moment" scoring something like 20 points in a 3-on-3 basketball game in Phys. Ed, but I was hardly athletic. I can't say for sure what exactly sparked my interest in running outdoors, well into adulthood, in 1998; however, once I started, I was hooked. For a while, I was content to run one or two miles, usually along the esplanade in Carl Shurz Park, but, in 2000, I heard about a race that, as a longtime Mets fan, I could not pass up: the NYRR Run to Home Plate, a 5K that would finish on the playing field at good old Shea Stadium. I would complete this race (unofficially) in 29:17, beating my goal of under-30:00, giving me one my most memorable moments at the Mets' former home.

Little did I realize at the time that I was embarking on a career that has now seen me cross the Finish Line more than 300 times. I fell in love with competing against myself, and the clock, and, in my younger days, enjoyed the thrill of striving for, and maybe even attaining a PR. Early on, as I extended my longest race distance ever from 5 miles to 10K; from 7 miles to 15K and then to the Half-Marathon, I found that, when trained properly, I had the endurance to perform well in these long distance races. I also discovered that I possessed some element of speed, and, raced a mile in 6:32.5 at a track meet, the NYRR Thursday Night at the Races at Van Cortlandt Park on July 3, 2003. That was the good news...the bad news was that I finished last!

I have had good races, bad races, and ones for the blooper reel. I've missed goals by a little (once falling 13 seconds short of a PR in my final race of 2002, the Holiday 4-mile Run), and resoundingly, including the 2007 NYC Half. Thankfully, enjoying a belated birthday dinner that night, which included some vino and banana flambé, that helped soothe my disappointment!

As to my version of the Football Follies...one fine summer morning in 2012, in a 5K, in Riverside Park, I missed the turnaround point, and ended up adding maybe 3/4 mile, giving me a blazing time of 21:59 for "Mile Two." It's a good thing I was not taking this race seriously! Speaking of which, while I love to race, I run many races without a serious goal. Along those lines, I have even been known to go for a run without timing it at all.

2014: Running Just to Run
Along Bridle Path During Joe Klienerman 10K

Now, if I were making a compilation for ESPN'sSportsCenter of my top 10 races, which would be #1? I'll actually nominate not my best performance athletically, but my most thrilling finish: the 2006 Joe Kleinerman 10K, my next-to-last race of the season. In order to achieve my season-long competitive goal, I needed to attain my goal in this race, and then return six days later and do the same in the season finale, the Hot Chocolate 10-miler.

Racing against a goal of under 9:00/mi, I started poorly, and while I gained back some time, found myself maybe 1:06 behind with 1.2 miles to go. My race was in serious trouble, and I felt that my season, even after all the great races I had enjoyed that year, was hanging in the balance.

So, I went for it, and my legs responded. I was, to pardon the pun, flying. When I hit Mile Six (around East 100th Street), I checked my watch, and found that somehow, I had nailed an 8:00 split, and just like that vaulted to within a mere 7 seconds off pace.

Seeing how close I was galvanized me, and I felt perhaps the biggest rush of adrenaline that I've ever experienced in a race. I surged into my finishing kick, throwing caution to the winds. Nothing was going to stop me now. By the time I made the final turn, I knew I had it. Caught up in the moment, I actually yelled out, "Do you believe in miracles...YES!!!"  Exuberant, I crossed the Finish Line in a time of 55:30, 8:57/mi, achieving my goal after all had seemed lost.

I will never be able to win a race, set a world record (unless it's for napping after a race), or qualify for the Olympics. Thinking back to that incredible morning, however, I can't imagine that the rush I experienced is much different from that of our elite athletes. I am grateful that organizations such as NYRR, NYCRUNS, et al, give all of us the opportunity to compete at whatever level matches our capabilities. I still think back to that race, including when I'm on a run, and pass through the homestretch of that 10K.

Fifth Avenue Mile 2011

For the record, in less dramatic fashion, I would nail my goal in the 10-mile season finale (finishing in 9:06/mi), but that race would not have meant as much without my comeback six days earlier. I would celebrate the culmination of this great season with steak at Hacienda de Argentina, making all my efforts even more worthwhile.

Now, what of my first race back from my 2009 tumble down the stairs? It would take me almost a year to actually return to the starting line. It was the 2010 Gridiron 4-miler, and while my time was modest, well over 11:00/mi, nothing was going to wipe the smile off my face.

As I ran on that glorious February morning, I did indeed think back to that first walk in the hospital, and savored the return to the sport that I love.

-Steve K.

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