Living like a rock star

I just booked my hotel, sweet jeebus, a 3-night stay is about the cost of my mortgage. But, when I go all out, I go all out. I'm staying at that fahhhhhbulous hotel I mentioned in a suite. This is the place to be: triple paned windows for noise insulation, my choice of something like 8 different pillows (buckwheat, magnetic therapy, water-filled, etc). I could have booked a cheaper room elsewhere but it really wouldn't have been significantly cheaper, everything I found -- even on Expedia -- was in the $400s. So for the extra money I know I'm staying in an amazing hotel that will be quiet and is mid-town so hopefully it won't be excruciatingly difficult to get back to it after the race. My friend is still checking with her contacts to see if she can get me in on someone else's room block at a cheaper rate and I have up until 24 hours before to cancel so I'm not worried if something better comes along. I'm just relieved that I have a place to stay. And maybe I'll even get a massage at the hotel after. Oh yeah, I'm all about doing this VIP style!

Since it's a suite, there's a separate living room with a pull-out couch and I can get a cot for an extra $30. I would LOVE some of my friends to come down on Sunday and see me finish and if they want to stay Sunday night we can all go out to dinner and drive back together the next day. But that's asking them to take a day off. If my friends can't do it, maybe my parents will. The logistics of getting my dad around the city is difficult though. I think the whole day would be too much for him which makes me sad since I know he'd love to be there. And I would love for him to see me do this. The reality is that it's just not very feasible. I don't even think they have handicapped accommodations at the finish line. Swear to God -- if you want your family to have a seat in the bleachers at the finish line, it's $75 each! Plus a $20 shipping fee! I have to ask my uncles and aunt who did NYC if they set it up so spectators can't even get to the finish line unless they have a paid bleacher seat. Disney was like that and it pissed me off. The finish line is in a parking lot outside of Epcot (which is soooooo anticlimactic after running through Epcot) and you can only get there if you've paid to be on "Mickey's Cheer Squad." Ridiculous. I have months to figure out the logistics but at least I know I have a place to sleep other than the Port Authority.

Better than a Law & Order marathon

I just watched this:

and I cried the whole last half hour. Watching those kids dig in and achieve something so amazing was heartbreaking and so very motivating. They had challenges during their training that most people don't -- like not having a place to live and having a metal plate removed from their leg. Even without having the odds stacked against me, I know I'm going to be on a rollercoaster of emotions during my own training. I remember my first half-marathon and I was teary the first half mile because I was so overwhelmed. I was listening to The Call's "Let the Day Begin" and I saw a sea of people ahead of me moving in unison and realized that I was a part of something beautiful and beyond anything I ever thought possible a few months prior.

I had a nice solid run this morning. Yesterday wasn't such a great outing so having a good run today was reassuring. I have to remember that there are just those days where you don't have it and yesterday was definitely one of those days. But what I didn't have yesterday, I had today. I was strong and focused. I have just a few weeks left until "official" training kicks in so the stronger I can be going into it, the better.

Sleeping in Grand Central

Is probably what I'm going to end up doing. I'm having a really tough time getting a room in a decent hotel for the weekend. I know of a great one -- very quiet -- in fact they have a sleep concierge. I totally need that! I stayed there years ago for a meeting and I swore I'd go back. I'm realistic in my budget, I assumed $400/night, my friend the logistics planner came back with $414. She's on the job and I know she'll do everything she can but I am definitely a little worried. I have 2 weeks before training officially kicks in. I would love to get this squared away before I throw myself into the training.

This week has been just about maintenance running and finishing up my 3-month strength program. I have one week left of that then I'll have to decide that to move onto next. I might do a short rotation of a different strength program but I think I'll return to the STS program in a couple of weeks. I really enjoyed it.

It's official!

Today I received my super secret code from NSAL and got my official entry into the 2010 NYC Marathon!!!

I should be writing in all caps how excited I am -- and I am, believe me -- but I've known I was accepted for a few weeks now. I cried when I got that email because I was so happy. But now it's time to get down to business. Since I'm making this blog about everything marathon related, the good and the bad, I guess this next bit will be quite the opposite of shouting my good news from the roof -- it's going to be a mini-rant about how freaking expensive this whole thing is. It was $11 just to apply for the marathon, a fee which is NOT credited towards your entry fee. FYI, last year they got 100,000 applications at $11 a pop. That's not too shabby. Today I paid $185 for my official entry. I've already given NSAL $100 good faith deposit toward my charity contribution. The charity bit was my own doing, however. I did not have to take this on in order to run NYC, but I might also have to wait another 3 years to make the official lottery so it was an expense I was willing to make as a trade-off for getting to do it this year.

Anyway, so far I'm in $299 and I haven't even started training yet. I will probably spend about $800 (if I'm lucky) for a hotel room for 2 nights. Plus another $100 in gas, parking, and tolls. Plus another $200 or so for meals. Plus at least $200 in NYC Marathon logo crap I'll have to have when I go to the expo to pick up my number. And, of course, I'll want something like this after the event to memorialize my accomplishment. I've seen these companies at every race expo I've ever been to and have always said if I ever did a full marathon that I'd get one. So that's another $150 or so. There will be race photos I'll want (hopefully, although I think race photographers secretly despise runners because I only get a decent shot once out of every 10 races I do) and those are usually 25 bucks each. I'm pretty sure NYC charges you another 11 bucks or something like that so your family can track you online or they can get a text message with your splits so they know where the hell you are in a crowd of 40,000 people. You'd think that was an unnecessary expense but if I'm asking someone to stand in Central Park for a couple of hours to see me finish, I'm sure the both of us would be pretty pissed if they missed me and I missed them. And then, of course, if I fail to raise the $2500 promised to NSAL, they'll just add the remaining $2400 to my credit card but I won't let that happen so I'm not figuring that in. So all told, this race -- run on foot -- without the need for any particularly special equipment or gear, one of the simplest exercises around, will end up costing about $2,000, which works out to be $73.36 a mile. Now this is where I'm supposed to hear Morgan Freeman voicing over the picture of a beaming me crossing the finish line saying, "Cost of being a NYC Marathon Finisher: Priceless" but that's not quite the truth. I mean, I've been told it's the experience of a lifetime and lord knows I've blown more than that in a year at the casino (no, I don't have a problem) but yeah, look before you leap.

That all said, I really am thrilled to be doing this. I wanted something big this year to work for and NYC is about as big as it gets. Bring it on!