Marathon morning I woke up. My first thought was god I hope my clock set itself forward. Luckily it did. I got up and started piling layers on. I was surprised how quickly I got ready. I headed out the door earlier. It was cold, but not too bad. Good thing I left early, because getting downtown took forever!!!! I tweeted Hoda that I was running the marathon hoping to get a shout out, and I did!! My phone started exploding!!!!!! Wow! I felt like a celebrity!!
We made it to the ferry. And it was already packed with runners.
While I was waiting for the ferry I got a throbbing headache. I didn't feel like myself. I realized then, I forgot my meds. Crap! These meds are pretty important and I have taken everyday for the last 10 years.
I decided there was nothing I could do. I got on the ferry and enjoyed the ride over. Once we got off the ferry it got cold. I mean freezing. And the wind! Holy cow!!! Brrr...
I headed over to my start village and bundled up. I found sitting on the ground contained more body heat than walking around.
After waiting for what seemed like forever and nibbling on some more skittles. It was finally our turn to approach the starting line. I started talking to the people around me, we all were questioning our sanity. Why did we sign up for this?
As we approached the starting line Frank Sinatra's "New York" started to play. That was pretty cool! Then we were heading over the Verrazano bridge. I originally wanted to be on the top but with horrible winds I was completely content with being below. I did hear stories of men peeing over the bridge, but my biggest fear was not being blown away. It was windy! From the start my knees and legs felt tight. Between the tightness and feeling off (not having taken my meds) I knew it was going to be a long day! I noticed my watch was also completely off. Oy! On the bridge a woman and I were pretty much frog hopping. She came up to me and we started chatting. We ended up running the first 3 miles together. It was fun chatting but she seemed to only want to talk about zombies.... Not my cup of tea. We went our separate ways.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BgLCZQHWasE
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JtNSgs6v_Wc
The crowds were crazy! Seriously. Besides the bridges there were people cheering us the whole way through. I loved seeing the kids putting their hands out for high fives. I made sure to run over to the side and give them some high fives and a smile. I remember watching the Boston marathon as a kid and hoping runners would give me a high five.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fPEACerRDPc
My knee and now hip were still bugging me, I tried to remember Julia's advice "whatever hurts or whatever your thinking just realize it'll go away in 5 minutes and you'll be on to something else!" Well she was right. It was my knee, then my hip, then my other knee.
The next few miles were a blur. All I kept thinking was how many miles left. At the 10K I laughed that there were only 20 miles left. Ha!
At mile 9 I Facetimed with Janelle. It was great to see a familiar face! She kept saying, your running a marathon. I told her this was painful!!! My phone died and then she was gone! I turned my charger on and focused on getting to the half way point. At mile 11, I decided to stop at the med tent to get motrin. They told me to take a seat but like a stubborn runner I said "if I sit I won't get up". I took the Tylenol and went on my way.
I wasn't sure which borough we were going through. Stupid me, obviously when we went over a bridge it was a new borough. At the half way point I checked my predicted finish time- 6:18!!!! Crap I was planning on sub 6. I know I'm not supposed to have a time goal for my first marathon, but to be honest I just wanted to finish under 6. I didn't want to run for 6 hours!!! I quickly changed my mindset and focused on finishing. Who gives a crap how long it takes. I also let myself take longer walk breaks. I texted Evelyn to let her know that I was going much slower then expected.
At 13.1 miles something changed. It was a new race. I could see Manhattan and was getting excited to see my dad at mile 16. Some good music came on and the miles started flying by. Before I knew it I was on the Queensborough bridge. I could see my apartment!!! Oy I wanted to hop off and go in. I came off the bridge and looked for my dad. There he was!!! I was soooo happy! He has never been there for my race, so seeing him was so exciting. He gave me a hug and some orange slices. He gave me such a boost of energy. I started flying down first avenue!! I felt great. We entered the Bronx which I knew meant we were much closer to running down 5th avenue and turning into Central Park and ultimately closer to the finish. I also knew at this point I was going to finish. I knew I was going to be a marathoner! I was loving it at this point. When I saw the 20 mile marker I got even more excited!!! Uncharted territory. I was feeling strong and great. I was expecting to feel like shit the last 6 miles. I loved them! No wall hit. I looked at my expected time. It now read sub 6!!! What 20 minutes cut off?!? Nice!!
On 5th avenue I was expecting to see Evelyn, however I ended up missing her because of speeding up. I just kept running.
Once we entered Central Park, I knew the rest of the course. I have run it so many times before. I knew those hills. I knew we were close to the end :)
On Central Park south I was looking for Amanda, Timur and the little ones. I didn't see them. My dad later told me he saw me running at this point and while everyone else looked like they were dying I looked like I could run another 20 miles. He said I was flying.
As we approached the finish line, the tears started. Did I really just run 26.2 miles. And just like that I crossed the finish line and was a marathoner. All that time and effort was worth it for that feeling. After any race you feel like you are on top of the world.... But a marathon I am on top of the universe! Ps. I didn't even look at my watch or stop it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vOq-YP8xnko
They placed my medal over my head and congratulated me. The volunteers along this race were remarkable. Also that medal wasn't going to be coming off my neck for a long time.
I started walking to get my poncho. I was freezing! Just keep walking and walking and walking. Holy crap! I did over 63,000 steps that day. Finally we came out of the park and they swaddled us in ponchos. That poncho was warm!!!
Amanda, Timur and little ones called apologizing they hadn't seen me, but wanted to meet up. We ended up meeting up and exchanging some big hugs. They brought me to my dad and Alex (another old student of my fathers who used to babysit me). My dad was standing there with flowers and a big hug. I told him ages ago (when I ran my first half marathon) that all I want is someone to greet me at the finish line with flowers. And there he was!!! I started crying some more. We made our way to dinner which was exactly what I wanted! This dinner was something I really wanted to happen but never got around to planning. A meal to celebrate a belated graduation party, welcome to NYC and holy crap I ran a marathon. It was the cherry to top of that incredible day.
I am so grateful and blessed for all the people who reached out to me via Facebook, Twitter, email and text message. Because of them I found the strength in myself to finish the marathon.
One thing they say about running a marathon that I strongly believe is that after running a marathon you feel like you can do anything! So true!
..........they are also exhausting for everyone involved!
No comments:
Post a Comment