Dathan Ritzenhein: NYC Half-Marathon & On to Beijing
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 11)
Posted July 30th, 2008 at 2:17 PM by Dathan Ritzenhein
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Dathan Ritzenhein
Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein! Check back every other Tuesday for Ritz’s latest entry at http://dathanritzenhein.thefinalsprint.com as he prepares to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics!
If our travel to New York City was any indication of how the race was going to go, it was not looking good. It was an epic battle to get to New York, but we finally made it.
Early Wednesday morning my wife, daughter and I boarded the plane with the intentions of landing in the city early evening that day. But good ol’ Mother Nature was not having anything of the sort. Our flight out of Denver was delayed from the get go, which was no big deal, however after 2 ½ hours in flight our captain announced that there were storms on the east coast and we will be circling in a holding pattern until the storm clears. Well, long story short, we ran out of fuel, had to land in Pittsburgh, the pilots reached their maximum amount of flying hours, and the next thing we know we are staying the night in Pennsylvania. Our plane was not the only one to land in Pittsburgh, so they made arrangements for everyone to be rebooked in the morning. After a few more hours of being delayed we finally made it to NY, 36 hours later.
For the amount of travel I do, I am generally lucky and rarely get delayed or transferred, but I figured it had to happen eventually, so now I feel that I am able to store some of that bad karma away for the future. Fortunately, the race was not until Sunday morning, so I had a few days to recover.
I always love racing in New York City. The half marathon was my first and only race tune up for Beijing. Going into the half, I felt strong and confident. I was hoping the weather conditions would be similar to those that we will be experiencing in China, but part of me wanted it to be good weather so that I could run a fast time. It was definitely good that is was warm and humid though because it gave me a lot of confidence that I will be able to handle to weather in Beijing. The field of athletes was strong, but I was hoping more of the Olympic marathon runners would have taken part.
The race itself was a great experience. We were out so fast, which probably hurt our time quite a bit but I told myself that I was just going to get in and race. I didn’t want to stick to a specific pace because I wanted to brush up on my racing skills and really test myself. The leaders ended up getting away from me on the 6th mile. Anyone who has raced in Central Park knows that it is not an easy course so when they ran that uphill mile in 4:25 my marathon legs would just not go for it. I hung on strong though and got a huge second wind around mile 10. I actually was closing on the leaders the last few miles and I think I had a faster last 5k. The most important thing for me was that I finished very strong and felt that I that I was not in the tank. I tried to practice as much as possible taking drinks, pouring water on myself, and using the sponge stations because those are things I will need to be very good at in Beijing in order to conserve energy, but it is much harder to do at half marathon pace as opposed to marathon pace.
All in all, I was satisfied with my race. I felt that I was able to gather what I needed from this half and transfer it towards my final arrangements for Beijing. Two days later now, I feel that I recovered well off the race and can get back into training. I have a couple more big weeks of training ahead of me. I know from the race that my engine is good, all I need to do is put in a few good workouts to build my fuel storage and I will be ready to go. I will probably use a pretty short taper because at this point I am still getting so much benefit from every workout that I do.
I have been hearing positive things about the China’s preparations for the air quality for the games. I have been told that they have already halted all construction zones within a large perimeter of the games, and the driving rules have proven to also have a positive effect on the city’s pollution problem.
Now, I have only one week left at home and then I am off to the Opening Ceremonies. I am lucky to have my mom and her husband, along with my father, Kalin and Addy coming to support me. Although I will not be able to see them much, as they have rules regarding visitors into the Olympic Village, I am extremely grateful that they are joining me in China. Having support from family and friends makes it all worthwhile. Still I am going to be sad that I won’t see my wife and daughter for that long, but it will all be worth it after the race.
So the next time you hear from me will be from China …
- Dathan
To comment on this entry and to send feedback & questions to Ritz, please click here.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the New York Road Runners
Related Stories:
- Dathan Ritzenhein: Next Stop … Beijing Olympic Marathon
(Elite Athlete Blog Entry 12) - Dathan Ritzenhein: Looking to Avenge the ‘04 Olympic Trials
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 9) - Dathan Ritzenhein: Responding to Your Questions & My Olympic Training
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 8) - Dathan Ritzenhein: Keeping That Competitive Edge
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3) - Dathan Ritzenhein: Putting Things Into Perspective
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2)
Tags: 10k, Beijing, Dathan Ritzenhein, dathan ritzenhein blog, elite athlete blog, elite athlete blog series, kalin ritzenhein, marathon, New York City, NYC Half Marathon, olympic marathon, olympics, ritz blog, the final sprint elite athlete blog series, thefinalsprint.com elite athlete blog series, track and field
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July 30th, 2008 at 2:34 pmDathan, best of luck, we will all be sending you our positive energy in watching the marathon. Hopefully you will be able to write something from China because I guess they are limiting what athletes send out from their blogs. Mara Yamauchi from Great Britain mentioned something about it on her website. But you are ready to roll, we have a great team and our athletes are always prepared for touch conditions as evidenced by Deena and Meb’s performances in Athens. Take care.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:19 pmDathan,
Awesome job Sunday morning! I was in the crowd about 100 feet from the Finish, at it was truly an amazing experience to see you race to the finish, pumping your fist with #1… It makes me so proud that the USA has runner’s like you, Ryan Hall, Josh Cox, etc. that really know what this sport is all about, and that it is not just about personal goal. After the race when you had the US flag over your shoulders and were talking to your family and the media, I couldn’t help but think how well represented the USA will be in Beijing. I cannot wait to see the Marathon on the 23rd! It is guys like you who really make a mediocre marathoner like me believe that I can achieve greatness. Thank you, and best of luck to you and your teammates over the next few weeks!
Cheers!
August 1st, 2008 at 12:21 pmDathan,
My high school cross country season is just around the corner. What adivice to you have for youngsters like me battling for a varsity spot?
Good Luck in Beijing !!!
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:46 pmDathan,
I never really got to tell you waht an Honor it was to run with you in High School. Oddly enough I have a picture of the two of us running side by side at my last home track meet. It sits in a frame on an end table I pass by once or twice a day in sort of a “I knew him when….” fashion. I know that everyone of us that ran with you is there with you in spirit, although none of us could provide the type of competition you have faced since high school. From all of us that unfortunatley reside on the injured list, a sincere Congratulations, Good Luck and God Bless!
-ZimZam, Grand Haven High School,
August 12th, 2008 at 2:16 pmClass of 2000
Dathan,
August 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pmWhen they finally put the camera on you during the final minutes of the race it brought back memories of a little freshman kid pushing with everything he had to try and catch Jason Hartman in I believe was a Regional CC race in Grand Rapids. Unlike many, it has been very difficult staying up with your progress beyond High School since I to travel alot. My travel also allowas me to run all over the globe, but mostly keeps me in North America. I’ve met your Father Jerry once( I believe that is his name)at another high school CC Regional. Neil blakeslee introduced me. I was also present at your first National High School cross country race where you finished 8th. I helped my wife write an article for the local Rockford newspaper when I returned from Florida. I remember that you finished with one shoe. Very good effort in China. I had the feeling that you would be the first American to finish after seeing your determination over the years. Good luck and keep healthy.