I drove into the city on Friday. I DROVE into the CITY myself. Between that and running the marathon, I'd say I accomplished a lot this weekend!
Our hotel was beautiful. We were mid-town on the east side at The Benjamin. I stayed there for work once and loved it. When I was looking at hotels for the marathon they were all ridiculously expensive so I decided to do it up right and go with a hotel that I knew I'd like. It was a good choice.
After I checked in I went right to the expo to pick up my number. I posted this picture before but I like it so I'm posting it again.
My husband met me at the hotel (he was coming in from Penn Station) and we both got there about the same time. We had a nice early dinner but about 2 hours later I was STARVING so we ordered a pizza. Pre-race nerves? The insatiable appetite of a marathoner? Who knows. I just know that it was heaven to have a piece of meatball and onion pizza that night.
The next day I slept in which was good. They say that it doesn't matter much about the amount of sleep you get the night before the marathon (because, really, who sleeps well?) but the sleep you get 2 days before. I felt like I was well rested when I finally got up on Saturday. When we left the hotel to go to the NSAL rally, my arch rival, my marathon nemesis -- JARED THE SUBWAY GUY -- was in the lobby of the hotel! He probably wanted a nice, quiet hotel where people wouldn't bother him before the race. Little did he know his mortal enemy was sleeping under the same roof. HAHA!
We went to the rally which was kind of a dud. I'm thrilled that Team Animal League isn't the machine that organizations like Team in Training are, but it's kind of the opposite end of the spectrum. Honestly, if there was just a Facebook page for the team I would have felt so much more connected. I asked them when I went to the get-together over the summer to set up one but they didn't seem interested. So no one really talked to each other at the rally because we hadn't really been connected throughout the process. The good news was that the team raised over $150,000 for the charity! It sounded like they were going to put a big down payment on a new mobile medical unit which will save thousands of animals over the lifetime of its use. That's awesome! They had a mobile adoption unit outside and there was the sweetest beagle mix who was shaking and terrified when the bus opened up. I spent some time with her and tried to calm her down but the longer I spent with her I had a feeling that I was not going to be able to walk away and I didn't know what to do about it. A couple came in the bus and started talking to her and she responded with a tail wag so I knew she'd be okay. She was way too sweet not to be adopted soon.
After the rally I went back to the hotel and my friend Julie was there. We all went for a walk and got some lunch at a noodle house. I had pan-fried noodles with chicken and and it was so good. We hung out in the hotel together afterwards and my nerves started to kick in. I was buzzing around the suite getting my stuff organized for the next day. Around 9 I realized that I never got around to buying stick on letters for my NSAL tank for my name. My husband suggested surgical tape and was going to go to CVS to get some but I decided I wanted to go too to get some fresh air. Good thing I did, because look who I ran into in the lobby.
HAHAHAHAHA! I look evil and he looks like he's sensing it. More on him later...
We got the tape, I played arts and crafts for awhile and put my name on my shirt, and around 11 I decided to try to go to sleep. I knew I'd have an extra hour (YES!) so I wasn't too stressed about being tired the next day.
I got up before my alarm went off and I was surprisingly calm. No dry heaves. No stomach ache. I got dressed, said goodbye to Julie, and my husband walked me to the lobby. Here's me, I definitely have that "just woke up" look but I do look pretty calm.
The concierge had said it would be easy enough to take the subway to Whitehall station but I decided that morning to take a cab to the ferry. I'm sure I could have figured out the subway but I didn't really feel like that was the morning to get adventurous. I got a cab right away and it was a fast ride with no traffic to the ferry station so I feel like I made the right choice.
Here's about where my nerves kicked in.
I've never been on the Staten Island ferry, never even been to Staten Island. And suddenly I was part of the huge sea of runners being herded onto the loading dock. People were really friendly though, I talked with a few people, all of whom also were doing their first marathon. I've been in race starts where everyone takes themselves WAY too seriously. This was not that kind of crowd at all.
I think it was exciting for everyone -- NYC residents and those in the US for the first time -- to see the Statue of Liberty on the way to Staten Island. Most people were there by themselves and everyone was really nice about helping each other get pictures with Lady Liberty in the background. Some nice guy from Italy took mine for me.
When we got off the ferry there were at least 20 buses lined up. It was incredibly well organized. I sat next to a woman from Seattle, also a first-timer, and we chatted on the way to the start village calming each other down. The start villages were a shining example of fantastic planning. Seriously. Considering there were 45,000 people -- a small CITY -- waiting to start, you would never know it. I wanted a picture of myself in front of the banners lining the path to the villages. A nice guy from Norway took mine for me after I offered to take his.
They had tons of food available -- bagels, Dunkin Donuts coffee (stayed away from that), PowerBar, Poland Spring, Gatorade, and fruit but I didn't eat anything. I didn't want to risk upsetting my stomach. Unlike me, people were so calm -- reading magazines, SLEEPING (can you imagine?!), but we were all mostly just trying to keep warm. It was freezing but I was so happy it was cold and not sticky hot like I had trained in all summer. I wish I had taken more pictures of the village, it was pretty amazing. There were helicopters swarming overheard, Coast Guard, NYPD, and news crews. As if I didn't already feel like I was part of something huge that sealed the deal! I thought of that iconic aerial view of the runners going across the Verrazano and I realized I would soon be a part of that.
I admit, I jumped waves. I heard from a couple of sources that they weren't strict on that so I thought I'd try to get in the 10:10 start. I was already in the crowd being herded toward the exit when I saw they were checking bibs for wave start. But I was in the middle of a bunch of people and everyone's number was covered because we were all wearing throw-away layers so I just kind of snuck in. I got through the gate and with that I was in line to start the NYC marathon. I didn't even realize what was happening, I just know that one of the volunteers was holding a sign that said "STOP" ahead of me and after awhile she turned it around to say "WALK" and we did. Slowly. While we were walking we heard the canons for the 9:40 start and we all started cheering. It was really happening!
It took a long time to get to the approach of the bridge and even when we were close it still seemed like it wasn't real. But at 10:10 right on the dot the canons sounded again and about 2 minutes later I hit the mat for the start of the NYC marathon! I guess it's good luck to jump up and touch the Start banner but I wasn't tall enough and I didn't feel like jumping and spraining my ankle, so I didn't. They had Frank Sinatra's, "New York, New York" playing on the speakers and everyone was so happy. I should have taken a picture closer to the top of the bridge but I wanted to put my phone away and settle into running. Going across that bridge was as cool as I thought it would be. I thought I'd be very emotional starting out but I was just so damned happy. I was smiling the whole time.
It turns out my husband's friend who is NYPD was on the bridge but I didn't know that at the time. I saw cops and if I'd known to look for him I would have been able to find him. He tried to look for me but that was pretty much impossible.
The descent of the bridge was heavenly, a mile of downhill. I knew I wouldn't be seeing much downhill in the race so I enjoyed what I could get. And with that we were in Brooklyn.
The crowd support started in Brooklyn and never let up the entire time. It was AMAZING. Anyone I know who has done NYC says 2 things in this order: the crowds were amazing and the bridges were tough. Both are absolutely true but the crowds made every inch of incline worth it. I will probably never experience that kind of rush again in my lifetime and I wish I had taken pictures of the millions (2.5 they say) people lining the streets. But even pictures would never truly capture how it felt to have people calling out my name, slapping my hand, and cheering for me. Every time someone yelled out my name I beamed. I was so glad we put my name on my shirt. There were a few key times in the race when someone would yell my name and it really kept me going. I'll never forget a girl looking me in the eye around mile 24 and saying "Go, Kelly. You got this, girl." It makes me teary just thinking about that. If I run another marathon, I'm definitely putting my name on my shirt. The people who take the time to stand out there and encourage runners are awesome. I hope they know how many of us they kept going that day.
Brooklyn was a lot of fun with the different neighborhoods. It was long, it's almost half the race. I was looking forward to seeing the Bishop Laughlin band, they play the "Rocky" theme over and over and over as the runners pass by. They didn't disappoint!
We went over a bridge where the halfway mark was and then we were in Queens. I didn't know I had ANOTHER potential crowd support there, my husband's cousin, but of course I didn't see her because that was my luck and she didn't see me because there were a million people. She was cheering me and 3 of her friends on and had a sign with our names on it. I feel so bad I didn't see her but she said she saw one of her coworkers so I'm glad her efforts were rewarded. Again, the people who cheer us on are amazing. It's a long day for them but it is so appreciated.
We were only in Queens a short time and then it was over the Queensborough Bridge. And what I think was my wall. A lot of people struggled with that bridge. Al Roker said it was his worst mile, one of the elites not only dropped out after coming off the Queensborough, he RETIRED. As I was driving in on the FDR I saw the sign for the Queensborough and I thought "Wow, that' a lot bigger than I expected. I seriously have to run over that thing?" The Verrazano seemed like cake compared to that one. Probably because the Verrazano is the start and the Queensborough is miles 15-16 so I was at that mid-run slump already. The only time I was truly miserable during the race was on that bridge.
The payoff for the bridge is that it dumps onto 1st Avenue and that's probably the best part of the race. It was PACKED. I could never stand in a crowd that thick for the day so kudos to the people who did. I remember "Where the Streets Have No Name" played on my iPod and it was a magical, dream-like experience. Even though I was still suffering from the effects of the Queensborough as I was running down the middle of 1st Avenue with thousands of other runners and thousands more lining the streets I thought "Who gets to do this?! This is unreal!!" I hope I can hold onto that experience and remember that feeling for a long time. "Amazing" does not begin to describe it.
After that it was into Harlem and I was bummed because the gospel choir was taking a break when I went by. I really would have loved to hear them. And by mile 19, I could have used something uplifting.
Then it was into the Bronx for a hot second (okay, a mile). Right around the corner past mile 20 there was a woman holding up a great sign with 2 brick walls that folded together (like the back of a Mad magazine) with a sign in the middle that said "You're through the wall." That was very clever and I thanked her for the awesome sign. There was a group of people holding a giant sign that said "F*** (but they spelled it out) the pain" and I thought "Yeah, that's pretty much what it's going to be about from that point on." Then it was back into Manhattan and over the 5th bridge but by that point I swear I don't remember anything about the last one. I've looked at pictures of the bridges I went over but it's all a blank after the damned Queensborough. I guess I was traumatized! ;)
By that point I was having some pretty bad calf spasms. I had never experienced that before in training and it hit me hard. It didn't help that I kept having to shorten my stride or stop short because there were a lot of people getting loopy by that point and if they were on the right side of the road and saw someone holding a flag from their country on the left side they'd cut straight across everyone to go slap hands. It happened a lot at the end and every time I had to stop short my calf would scream. I started making deals with my body by that point because I knew if it kept happening it was not only going to totally ruin the last 6 miles, it could have jeopardized my finish. I had some margarita Shot Blocks with me that have sodium in them (get it, salted margarita?) and I chewed on 2 of those. I think that helped because it only happened a few times more after that.
I called my husband at mile 20 to tell him to start heading over to the park but they were already on their way. Miles 21-23 were tough because it was a lot of uphill but I was pretty determined to gut it out and finish the strongest I could. I called my husband again at mile 23 and he said they were right at the 25 mile mark and knowing I was 2 miles away from seeing him and Julie gave me such a boost. At that point the course was on Central Park and the crowds were amazing. I heard my name a lot and it kept me going.
I slowed down heading into mile 25 to make sure I could see my husband and he could see me but I couldn't find them. Right after the mile marker we went into our last water station so I couldn't even walk back if I wanted to. I called Julie to see where they were and got no answer and I was so disappointed. For me AND for them since they had been standing out there forever. But I knew I had to finish, whether I saw them or not. As I rounded a corner the sun mercifully was out of my eyes for the first time in a few miles and I saw Bill! I screamed his name and he saw me and I floated over to kiss him. I'm sure I cut some people off because I wasn't even thinking so I forgive all the calf killers who got caught up in the excitement of the crowd. I should have stopped for 2 freaking seconds so Julie could get a picture and I could get a picture of them but I didn't. I was so close to finishing that I wasn't thinking straight.
After that I was off with less than a mile to go and, yes, it was a long mile, but my legs seemed to understand the significance of it and I just kept going and going and going. There was a sharp turn and I could see the "300 yards to go" sign, then the 200, then the 100, then I saw the finish line.
For weeks I planned out my finish line pose (make fun if you will, everyone who is honest about it will admit they do too) but I have no idea what stupid thing my arms ended up doing as I crossed the finish line. I can't wait to see those pictures, I'm sure I look ridiculous but I don't even care. I crossed the finish line and as soon as I stopped running the tears welled up and I had my moment. It was really more like a few seconds because a volunteer patted me on the shoulder and congratulated me and I felt better. Then I got my medal. I saw someone almost walk by the medal volunteers and one of them yelled "Hey, don't you want your medal?" Can you imagine?! But that's how spaced out you are at the end.
After that, it wasn't entirely triumphant. All the runners are dumped onto a path shoulder to shoulder, even more packed than the start, and you just shuffle along for 10 blocks waiting to exit the park (not my picture but it's the exact same view I had).
It was brutal. I felt kind of sick and grabbed the first thing out of the food sack they handed us and fortunately it was pretzels. I sucked on the salt and that seemed to help me feel better. I saw a lot of people laying on the side of the path getting medical attention. It's just not a great feeling to go from running for almost 5 hours to a standstill. The medical personnel was great though, there were a ton of them (probably because they knew there'd be a lot of woozy, queasy people) working with the downed runners and mixed into the crowd asking us all if we were okay.
I picked up my bag from the UPS truck and FINALLY got out of the park. Getting through that crowd was miserable and I thought of the long walk ahead of me back to the hotel and it wasn't a great time in my head. I found a pedi-cab a few blocks later and snagged it. I had heard they are the worst price gougers and if I had thought ahead I would have yelled out to another miserable runner to see if they wanted to share. The ride back to my hotel -- 50 bucks. FIFTY! From around 75th to 50th But you know what? I don't care. I would have paid double if I had to.
Julie and Bill were back at the hotel and I walked in feeling like a superstar. Julie got this picture of me rocking out my mylar. Of course I want a serious picture of "Kelly as Runner" but this totally is more who I am. A nerd.
And here's a picture of my medal. Truthfully, the Hartford Half medal is snazzier but it's the prestige of having a New York City Marathon badge that makes up for the understated look.
Bill had picked me up a sandwich and it was the best sandwich I had ever eaten. I can't tell you what it was or what it tasted like, I just know I inhaled it. I was so happy to see them and be basking in the post-marathon glow with two people I love very much. Bill gave me a gorgeous bracelet and earrings, which was very sweet of him.
I took a shower and I never knew a hot shower could feel so good. After that, Bill had to leave thanks to the wisdom of LIRR testing out their tracks and limiting service on marathon weekend. I was bummed that we couldn't hang out more but I wanted him to make sure he got back to LI and the 6:52 was the last train out of the city.
Julie recapped the day for me -- I passed Al Roker (didn't know it), passed Robin Quivers (didn't know it), and we figured out that I passed Edison Pena, the Chilean miner. I had come up to a motorcycle with a camera guy mounted on the back and I wondered who they were there for. I looked over and I *thought* it could have been him but at the NYRR press conference, his bib said his name on it. This guy had a numbered bib so I didn't think it was him. Turns out it was. The man ran an amazing marathon. He was definitely the "story" of 2010 and it was cool that I got to see him.
We tried to get my official finish time but the site was overloaded for hours. I really wanted to see how I stacked up against my nemesis, Jared. At 6:45 we went for massages (ahhh) and then we went out for an awesome dinner at a Mexican place. Julie treated me (thanks, darling!) and it was heaven to sit there with a margarita (a real one, not a carb supplement) and some freshly made guacamole.
When we got back we were able to get the official results: 4:47:31! Because the course is actually longer than 26.2 my running app had me at a 10:45 mile but my official time was a 10:58 mile. That is pretty much what my marathon goal was so I was thrilled. THRILLED! Even better, I beat Jared's time by almost a half hour. I know it's so stupid but you have to have something to push you along, right? It was all in good fun.
The next day I saw Jared in the lobby and I congratulated him. He saw I was wearing my jacket and congratulated me too. I said something about "Hey, we're still walking!" and he laughed. When I was going back to my room I was in the elevator with his mom and wife and they were so nice, they complimented my purse, my jacket, and we talked about how glad we were that the SLEET coming down was not the day before. So I guess I've buried the hatchet with my foe.
I picked up the NY Times for the special marathon section. They publish your name if you complete the marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes or less. That's the official word but they seem to be extending it little by little each year to include more runners. Imagine how psyched I was that they extended the cutoff to -- guess what -- 4:47 this year! I made the NY Times!!! By 29 seconds!
And that's the story. I wasn't very sore the next day. I would get stiff if I sat for too long and I'd walk like Fred Sanford for a little when I would get up but once I got going I was fine.
I feel like I could keep talking about this for weeks but I realize the clock has just about run out on people wanting to hear about it. I can't say that I blame them, haha!. I know I could never have made it to the start line, nevermind the finish, without the love and support of my family and friends. They deserve a lot of credit and I won't ever forget the encouragement and reassurance they gave me. Together, we raised $2636 for a charity that means so much to me and, with their strength, I transformed from a dreamer to a NYC Marathon Finisher.
Oh Kelly!! I am so proud of you!! And I laughed so hard at your picture of Jared. You are amazing! I knew you would finish it. And do fantastic!! And I clapped when I saw you beat him. Which I knew you would. Congrats again, girl!! You ARE a rockstar!!
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