I have a lot to say about race day, so let’s start at the beginning, 3:30am when my alarm went off. Early, right? My friend Brittany and I had been selected to be a part of the VIP ABC7 Fan Zone. We were told we’d get a bus ride to the race start (leaving from midtown at 5am), a heated tent, coffee and breakfast. Even though it was early, this sounded like an awesome deal. Heated tent? I’m in!
So as I was saying, 3:30am I started to get ready. I was half asleep and so out of it that I didn’t even notice these amazing flowers from MM for about 10 minutes. Then I saw them, along with a really sweet note, perfect way to start race day!
Here’s my morning selfie:
Lots of wrist action: sports watch, marathon bracelet and pacing chart:
It was still many many hours until I’d start running so I drank some coffee but held off on eating. At 4:30 am I was out the door, picked Brittany on the way and headed to the bus. Once we entered Staten Island it was still pretty early so there weren’t a TON of people yet, but crowds and buses were steadily making their way over.
Immediately we went to our “VIP” section to warm up and get coffee. Only, they were letting everyone in the non-heated, non-lit tent and there was no coffee in sight. After huddling in the tent for about an hour we were taken to the a spot behind the morning broadcasters to hold up our signs and cheer. Wait, THIS was my VIP experience? No way. How could I expend energy standing, jumping up and down and yelling when I’m waiting to run 26.2 miles?? We made the most out of it, cheered for the cameras for about 40 mins then headed back into the tent.
While in the super crowded tent I ate my PowerBar and a banana, steadily drank a lot of water and continued to wait. Finally at about 9am we headed over to our corral, where we got coffee along the way, hit up the bathroom a few times and lined up to start the race (which would happen at 10:05). Gradually I removed my extra layers (sweat pants, sweat shirt, hat) as I inched closer to the start.
Lots of bathroom opps:
Clothing discarded along the way to the start:
Eager legs ready to go!
And finally after 5 hours of waiting around, it was time to run! We started on the Verrazano bridge which had beautiful views, and while some people stopped to take pictures, I was focused on running and not stopping for the next 4 hours.
After the bridge we entered Brooklyn and WOAH, I can’t believe how much I loved it there. The crowds were beyond amazing. Since I had my name on my shirt everyone was yelling out “GO AMANDA” and it felt amazing to have all these strangers rooting for me. I stuck to one side of the road, right by the crowds so I got tons of cheers.
My first cheerers came just before Mile 8, MM and Shira were standing by cheering their faces off. Shira handed me a sport water bottle (since I tend to under-drink in races) and I handed her my arm warmers since by this point I was fine in my shorts and t-shirt. The next round of cheerers was a group of my coworkers stationed at mile 13, again, cheering like crazy. I loved having strangers cheer my name but seeing the energy of familiar faces out there for ME was unreal.
I was still feeling good at this point, keeping pace for my goal of finishing in under 4 hours. Somewhere around the half marathon mark Brittany and I split up. My split for the first half was 1:58, looking good!
After Brooklyn we had a short trip through Queens then over the 59th street bridge. For me, this was one of the hardest parts of the run. The bridge is a steady incline and there is no one cheering. It’s mile 15 and it felt like it was taking forever, but I was excited to finally enter Manhattan.
As you near the end of the bridge you can hear the Manhattan crowds cheering and I couldn’t wait to get there. Finally, I was on first avenue where I knew many more of my friends and family would be out cheering. Along first there were tons of people cheering which gave me a much needed burst of energy. A group of my friends were in the 80s and then the 90s. The signs and the cheers were AMAZING (I have the best friends in the world, if you weren’t aware). I mean look at these signs!
(Top half for me, bottom half for my friend Michele, courtesy of Caryn & Michael)
In the upper 90s my friend Sara snuck by security and joined me for a few miles. We had discussed this in advance, if I needed it and she wanted to, she would join in for the Bronx portion of the run. For 5 miles Sara ran with me. She knew I was now slightly behind my 4 hour pace and asked if I wanted her to push me. My response was: NOOO. At that point I felt ok but I was listening to my body and whatever pace I was doing was the best it was going to get.
Still on first ave, at around mile 19 I saw my parents which was awesome. The cheered and even chased after me for a bit, so amazing. They are always coming in for my races and cheering me on, it’s pretty incredible.
Here I am, giving them a wave:
The Bronx was just ok. There were still people cheering but the energy took a big dip. I’d heard a lot about “The Wall” and was terrified of hitting it. I assumed if it was going to happen it would be around Mile 20 so I was apprehensive about pushing myself. I never really hit a wall but I felt those miles more than I had felt the first 20.
After the Bronx we were onto Fifth avenue were I had more people cheering for me and Sara left my side. From that point on, it was just me until the finish line. The last 3 miles were the hardest by far. I had been running for so long and just wanted to be done. I never really had that “this is horrible, why am i doing this” feeling but I was just ready to hit the finish line. A tough part of the race is you go into Central Park, then out of Central Park, then back into Central Park to finish. It’s a major tease. In the last 3 miles I had serious blistering happening on my feet, causing me to run with a bit of a limp. I knew I wasn’t going to hit my sub-4 hour goal but at this point I’d come close and I was happy enough with close.
After 4 hours, 7 minutes and 59 seconds, victory was mine! I crossed that finish line which I’ll admit was a bit anti-climactic. Security was tight around the finish so my family/friends weren’t there, it was just me, waiting for my medal and foil wrap to keep warm. As soon as I stopped running my legs felt like they weighed a million pounds. The race ended at 67th street but we couldn’t exit the park until 77, those 10 blocks of slowly shuffling along were really painful, all I wanted was my couch.
Upon exiting the park we were given really awesome ponchos to keep us warm (picture coming later) and then MM met me on the corner so we could walk the final block home together. I’m very fortunate to live within a few blocks of the finish line. Waiting at home was the marathon jacket I’d wanted (thanks MM!) plus family and friends to celebrate with!
WHAT A DAY! Overall it was an amazing experience. It was so cool to see what I was capable of since prior to the race my max mileage was 20. I truly appreciate all my family and friends who came out to cheer me on, plus all the strangers who kept me going. The energy in NYC is hard to describe, it went well beyond my expectations.
As for another marathon in my future, I’ll say maybe. I’m glad I’ve done New York and while I think I’ll probably do another marathon, I’m in no rush. For now, I’ll just bask in the glory of the 2013 Marathon!
