My mom arrived in town around 6pm on Saturday night and she, my brother Jonathan and I headed to Pepolino, a cute Italian restaurant in my neighborhood. Since I really don't love pasta or carbs, I reserve visits to Pepolino for pre-race meals. My mom and I had the most delicious butternut squash ravioli, and I made sure to eat several large pieces of bread. My mom and Jonathan walked me home and then headed to Jonathan's apartment in Brooklyn, with instructions that they, along with my dad, would cheering for me at mile 8 in Brooklyn, mile 17 in Manhattan, and then around mile 25 in Central Park. I was a bundle of nerves, so I turned my clock back one hour (yay daylight savings!) popped an Ambien and put myself to sleep around 8pm.
It felt like 6am came way too fast. I got dressed, toasted my bagel, and headed out to catch a cab. It was a short ride to South Ferry, and before I knew it I was filing into the ferry station with hundreds of other runners bundled in throwaway sweats toting clear plastic bags.
It was a little bit hectic, but once I was on a ferry, it was awesome. I have lived in NYC for over 2 years and have never been on the Staten Island Ferry before. The views were amazing! I was right out on deck with the foreigners, taking pictures:
I met a girl on the ferry named Meghan, and we became fast friends. Meghan was by herself, too - she had planned on meeting a friend but couldn't find her, and neither of them packed a cell phone. Meghan and I took the bus from the ferry to the start together, and I was so happy to have met her. We split a Luna bar, drank some water, and talked out our pre-race jitters while we waited for the second wave to be called to our corrals.
Fort Wadsworth, the starting area, was crazy. It was freezing, windy, and packed with people, and it was pretty confusing to figure out where to go. They made us get in our starting corrals almost an hour before the starting time, and that just made me more nervous. Meghan and I separated at that point, as she was starting on the lower deck of the Verrazano and I was starting on the top. I stood with a funny New Zealand man who kept me entertained for our hour wait, and then before I knew it, it was time to start.
The start of the race over the Verrazano Bridge was awesome. I had been nervous because it's a mile incline and a mile decline, but it was amazing. The views of the city, the excitement in the air, the helicopters overhead - those two miles passed in no time. And then we shot out into Brooklyn and were hit with a wave of cheers. There were SO many people cheering. It was absolutely crazy. I thought the numbers would dwindle at some point, but they didn't. I looked for my doorman Jose, who had said he'd be around Mile 3, but the Green Corral was on one side of the street and we were on the other, and it was hard to see fans standing on the other side of the street. I looked for my co-worker Tracie at Mile 6 but didn't see her either. And I looked for my family at Mile 8, but again, no luck. It was just craziness. So many runners, so many cheering fans, so many cultures as we passed from one neighborhood in Brooklyn to the next. I kept holding myself back from going too fast, because I knew there was a long way to go, but it was hard to do with so many cheering people urging me on. Right after the half marathon point, we crossed the Pulaski Bridge into Queens. It was a bit of a hill, but manageable. I had some PowerGel Chews, drank some water (I stopped at every water stop, which they had at every mile point), and kept going. We were only in Queens for about 2 miles, which felt so short after spending so long in Brooklyn. Before I knew it, I was facing my biggest marathon fear: the Queensboro Bridge. Mile 15-16 is spent on that bridge - a steep half mile uphill and then a half mile downhill. I stopped to walk for a minute on the bridge, but mostly ran the uphill. There were a lot of other people walking, and so I didn't feel so bad. The downhill half ended up being worse. My hamstring, which had been feeling a little sore up to that point, really started to hurt as I pounded the pavement on the downhill stretch of the bridge. I panicked as I felt the familiar twinges of pain, but I kept going. We wound off the bridge, made some turns, and were hit with a wall of cheers. First Avenue in Manhattan!!! This is the part of the race I was looking forward to the most. All thoughts of my hurt leg were forgotten. I pulled my headphones out of my ears and enjoyed the cheers. Since I'd put my name on my shirt, there were lots of personalized cheers for me, and I loved it. I heard "SNUG!" and looked over to see Carrie, right around Mile 16. I was so excited - finally, someone I know! I kept going, and soon after I heard "LAUR!" and saw my dad, mom, and brother. Then I saw Moffatt, Devon, Nora, Hilary, Katie and Matt. I couldn't believe it! I was so happy to see my friends and family and was really having a blast. I rode that high up the slow incline of First Avenue, but as we got further and further up First, there were less and less cheers. I started to feel pretty tired around Miles 18-19, but I had some more chews, drank some more water, and kept going. We crossed the Willis Ave bridge into the Bronx, and once again, the crowds were there to carry us along. The Bronx flew by - it was mostly a series of turns one direction and then the next, and we were soon crossing the last bridge, the Madison Ave bridge, into Manhattan. Now, I did not realize this, but Fifth Avenue is an incline. It was HORRIBLE! So exhausting, especially after already running 21 miles. I walked a bit, made sure to drink enough water and Gatorade, and then picked up again. I had come this far, I had to make it to the finish! I found Amal around Mile 22, and seeing her (along with the amazing "SNUG" necklace she'd fashioned out of cardboard) was just what I needed. I kept telling myself "you're almost done! keep going!!!" and soon I could see Central Park ahead of me. I remember thinking that if I didn't tell my legs to keep moving, they'd stop. I was really ready for the race to end, but luckily, the end was near. As I entered Central Park I told myself "this is YOUR park! you've run this a hundred times! KEEP GOING!" and adopted my spin instructor Gregg's mantra of "push push push go go go." I saw Moffatt, Devon, Katie and Matt again, and was thrilled. We exited Central Park at 59th Street, looped around, re-entered at Columbus Circle, and in no time at all, I saw the finish. I almost cried I was so happy. I was going to be a marathoner!
Once we crossed the finish, the infamous death march began. I'd heard stories of how terrible it is leaving Central Park after the marathon, but I couldn't really imagine until I was doing it. We got our mylar capes, medals and bags of food, and then slowly shuffled along for over half an hour before we were allowed to exit. I saw one guy collapse and have to be seen by the medics, and many others looked awful. I munched on some pretzels, sipped on the Gatorade recovery drink that I was given, and kept moving. I felt pretty good, all things considered.
I got my bag at the UPS truck and practically ran out of the park to meet my family at the Museum of Natural History. It was so great to see them! My mom, dad and brother had raced around the city trying to cheer for me, and made it to miles 8, 17 and 24. I only noticed them at Mile 17, but my mom said I looked really focused at Mile 24. My mom gave me orange flowers (ING NYC Marathon colors!) and we headed to dinner (lunch? it was only about 2:30pm) at a french brasserie on the Upper West Side. I was NOT hungry. I sipped on some onion soup, nibbled a croissant and had a cup of coffee. We took the subway to Port Authority, dropped off my parents, and then dropped off my brother Jonathan at West 4th St so he could transfer trains. As I walked home from the subway, I felt some soreness in my legs, but nothing too terrible. A hot shower felt great that night, and then a nice and early bedtime.
All in all, it was an amazing day, one I won't soon forget. I can't believe that I am a marathoner now. I really appreciate all the support from my family and friends as I raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and trained for this race.
Now the million dollar question: would I do it again? And you know what? I actually think the answer is yes!
