Race Report

The New York City Marathon was absolutely incredible. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have participated in such an unbelievable race. There were over 43,000 people who ran "with me" and everyone was so excited to be there.

Here's a run down of the weekend:
Friday we got on the road about 4. We were in contact with my Mom most of the ride, because my dad's football team was playing at that exact time for the sectional title. His team won, which made the car ride even better. We stopped once to feed Bella and use the bathroom, and made it to my Aunt Nan's a little after 9. We ate some awesome Jersey/New York style pizza, and caught up with Aunt Nan, Uncle Andrew and Sara. It was great to see them.

Saturday morning after coffee and bagels, we took the train into the city to pick up my race packet. Sara navigated us right to the Javits Center and I got my packet. At that point I knew this was really happening! I wasn't too nervous, and enjoyed looking at a few things at the expo. It was an absolute zoo. We didn't stay for too long, since I didn't want to be on my feet for hours and hours, and we had to catch a certain train back to Jersey, so we grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to Aunt Nan's. At that point, my Mom was there, and we spent the rest of the day watching college football, eating and relaxing. It was just what I needed- a great stress free evening. I headed to bed about 9, which was technically 8, but I was ok that.

Sunday I got up at 4:45 and had coffee and a bagel. We left for the Meadowlands to catch my shuttle around 5:30. I got on the shuttle around 6:15 and got to Staten Island about 7:30. Now remember, my start time was 10:40! It was COLD at the start. It was barely 40 degrees, but I had on lots of disposable clothing, so it wasn't too bad. I found my friend Gina at about 9:00, and we spent the rest of the time together. It was great to have someone to talk to, and hang with. She helped keep me calm, and I felt better not being by myself. I joined her in her start corral, and once we were close to the start we hugged good bye and wished each other luck- I knew she would kick butt. She was on track to break 4 hours when a cramp slowed her up at mile 24. She ended up finishing with a time of 4:03, which is pretty darn outstanding if you ask me. So, Gina....great job! You must be so proud! You did awesome!

I told myself I would take in everything I could while running, but I didn't realize how tough it would be to watch where I was going and take in the sights- did I mention there were 43,0000 runners?! I got an amazing view of the city while running over the Verranzo-Narrows Bridge, and approached mile 1 at a pretty slow pace, but I was ok with that.
I remember passing the mile 2 marker and seeing this kid cheering and he yelled out- "only 24 miles to go...you can do it!" It made me laugh, and it made the whole thing very real. Kind of like, ummm yeah, I still have A LONG way to go! The fans were great. There were people everywhere, lining the streets, sitting on their porches, holding signs- it was pretty neat.
I made it past the 5K mark, and knew that my family would be waiting at mile 8, so I kept trucking along, feeling really good, but still not breaking out into too much speed, since I hadn't even done 8 yet. (oh wait...I don't ever have speed, but speed for me, if you know what I mean!) :) I had no idea what side of the street they would be on, so I ran in the middle of the street, and saw my Aunt Nan first. I called out to her, but she couldn't hear me, and I was getting sad that they would miss me, but then I looked up, and bam, there was Kristi, running with me stride for stride. It was awesome! I almost got choked up at that point. Sara joined us and snapped several pictures. It was such a boost to see them and talk to them. I knew I had a long way to go to try to see them again. After that point, I set small goals for myself. I looked forward to the 10 mile mark, then once I passed that I was excited to see the half-marathon mark, which I got to at 2:20. I was obviously freaking out in my head a bit, because I never lost touch with that 5 hour goal, but I figured if I continued to feel as good as I did at that point, I'd be fine. I was expecting to see my family again at mile 16, right after I got off the 59th Street bridge. This was a rough point. Mile 15, getting over the bridge was miserable. I needed to see someone I knew at that point, because it felt like that entire bridge was up hill, and I was beat. I found them, which was practically a miracle, because the spectators were 7 or 8 deep at that point. They were barricaded from getting to the course, but I saw them, and they saw me. Only 2 miles until I would see Jeff. I was still maintaining my pace, but it was getting tougher. I knew Jeff and his college buddies, one of whom was Gina's husband would be at the corner of 89th and 1st on the right side. I spotted Jeff, and gave him a high-five. Jim (Gina's husband) ran with me for a while with his video camera. It was just what I needed. I was excited to get to 20, and a bit anxious about what it would feel like after 20. Just like the start of the race, the spectators were still out in full force, which made things so much easier. I didn't feel like I wanted them to shut up and stop telling me I could do it. I liked it, and I liked hearing it. Don't get me wrong, I was hurting, but I never thought that I wouldn't be able to do it. After I got through 20 I took it literally one mile at a time. Once I hit mile 22 I was pretty confident I could do it in under 5 hours. The worst part of 22 to 26.2 for me was mile 24 to 25. It took FOREVER. I didn't think I would ever see the mile 25 sign. All I wanted at that point was to see that stupid mile marker. The feeling of a little over a mile to go once I saw that sign was exciting. I knew I would be able to do it. The next sign I saw after the 25 mile marker was 800 yards to go. All I could think of was running around a silly track. There were all these people around me telling each other they just had to do two laps on a track- ugh, 2 laps- that felt like a long way! :) I spotted the finish line, and although I felt like I was sprinting, I know I wasn't, but that's ok! I felt like all those people in the stands were cheering just for me, even though there were 50 other people finishing at the same time as me....I didn't care, to me, they were all cheering for me. I semi raised my arms, then immediately put my hand on my head and an old man who was a volunteer looked me in the eye and told me I had done it, and I was outstanding. I gave that man a half high-five, and half hug, I was impressed with finishing, and probably the most proud of myself I've ever been. The finishers chute was long and slow moving, which was ok, but I just wanted to get out and find my family. After I got out of Central Park I saw my Mom almost immediately, and really lost it at that point. The tears started flowing, but I think they were mostly tears of joy, and only a little bit from pain!
Overall, it was probably the most exhilarating thing I've ever done. It was physically and mentally challenging and it was just plain awesome. I still can't believe I got into the race via the lottery- I guess it was just meant to be. I can honestly say I loved every minute of it, and knew the pain would all be worth it.
We arrived back in Winchester about 11:15 last night, and I got up and went to school today. I think it was good to move around, but I am very sore. Everything hurts. I expected it, but it's still no fun!
I appreciate my family so much. They were there for everything. From the moment I found out I got in, though all the training, all my bad moods from training, right down to the race. I couldn't ask for more. Jeff and Kristi have been taking good care of me since we got back, and I am secretly hoping it lasts at least one more day, because I think day 2 can be even worse! :)
Thanks for reading this far- and thanks for your support. I knew I had so many people rooting for me, near and far, and I appreciate it.
Here are way too many pictures from the weekend.
Got my race number!
On the train back to NJ
Pre-race breakfast.
Kristi made everyone shirts to wear at the race!
The elite women
Kristi, Sara and Monica waiting for the elite men
Elite men- mile 8, 39 minutes...WOW!
Back of the shirts
So excited to see Kristi & Sara

Jeff at mile 18
So happy/emotional

Done!