NYC Marathon Race Report

NYC Marathon was AWESOME. I loved every second of it, but I cannot express the relief I felt when I hit the 26 mile marker and saw the finish line ahead of me. A thousand thoughts ran through my head during the last .2 mile, it was a thrill.

Wake up call was 4:30am, in cab by 5:15 and on the bus ride over to Staten Island at 5:30. It was 6 by the time we got there and we had 4 hours to wait till start. It was cold. People were either in sleeping bags, curled up in trash bags or walking around with layers of clothing on. Jen and I grabbed ourselves two cups of hot water/coffee and a bagel and headed to a (non-heated) tent and made ourselves comfortable.

3 hours later, we started to prepare. Walking to the start, the cannon went off for the first wave. I got chills up my body as I looked over and saw the runners take over the Verrazano Bridge. 20 mins later, as we jogged to the start, I looked at Jen with the “OMG, this is it” look and we were off.

Jen and I hit the half marathon mark at 1:49 (8:22 pace). Awesome – on pace for a 3:40!

Not long after though, at mile 15 while crossing the Queensboro Bridge, we realized we could no longer keep an 8:22 pace. An aggressive goal, but a goal at that. Ok, time to adjust to our B goal time of sub 4. That was that. Keep on running…

The crowds were amazing – the noise was amazing. You could hear the cheering halfway over the Queensboro Bridge – WOOH, what a rush! An indescribable experience.

Mile 22 was a killer for me due to a cramp in my side. I told Jen to keep going as I slowed to a walk to stretch the cramp out for two minutes. I hydrated myself and started a slow jog. Within 5 minutes I was good to go. I knew from there on out, it was just getting myself to the finish line.

My favorite part of the race was the last mile. Nothing beats the feeling of running the last mile. I smiled the whole way.

I came in at 3:55:38, Jen at 3:53:47 and Joey at 5 hrs exact. Awesome job, Jen for improving her marathon time by 37 minutes and great job, Joey for completing a marathon while pushing 200+ lbs up all the hills. Thanks to everyone who came out to support! You all are great and helped push me through my first marathon and made it an awesome experience.

(Pictures: Jen and I at mile 18 – water bottle my dad has on the right of the first picture was like gold to me!)