Detailed Marathon recap - THE FINALE - Miles 22-26.2

Alright, I know this took forever so now I have to make it worth it ;-)

So where were we? Oh, Mile 22 of the New York City Marathon, heading down 5th Avenue. Mile 22 is about right where we come back into Manhattan. It really is the homestretch because we're back in the grid of streets where you know exactly how far you have to go at any point (20 blocks is a mile in Manhattan so it's pretty easy to figure out). Our Team In Training coach, Christine (who was 7 months PREGNANT) was at about mile 22.5 and she ran with me for 100 yards or so. She told me, "don't think about the pain, just focus on getting to Central Park." Which was just what I needed to hear. It reminded me of my unlikely mantra during the 20 mile run, "Pain is inevitable, Suffering is optional." So even though I was really feeling the pounding in my feet, knees, head, you name it, I decided at that point I was running the rest of this race (as in NOT walking at all) no matter what! Wahoo!

So I'm running down 5th Avenue and there were many fun things to see. First, there are some really cute apartments in the 120s and 5th avenue. It's like the fancy part of Harlem, I guess. Then, at 105th Street and 5th avenue is where Taylor and I are getting married next year (I just paused to give them a quick call, way to keep me on task, blog). So it was nice to pause for a second to think about that. Then at 95th St. my parents and Taylor's parents were standing there to cheer me on. I stopped to hug them again. :) Actually, this time, when I hugged my mom I looked and saw a woman taking a picture of me, which I found weird since I didn't know her. Apparently after I kept running she told my mom that she was from Runner's World (the magazine) and would be featuring a little story about me on their web site. She asked for my name and stuff and my mom told them that I was running for Team In Training. Well I kept looking on the web site for the week after the race hoping to see my moment of fame and this is what I found... I'm famous, and so is my mom's hand ;-)

After I saw them, we made the turn into Central Park and had less than 3 miles to go! The reason Central Park is such a big deal in the Marathon is that it's basically where we did all of our training. We (all the NYC-based marathoners) do most of our training in Central Park so we know it like the back of our hands. Which is something I learned from this marathon. Knowing what you have up ahead on the course is CRUCIAL in a marathon.

Inside Central Park the crowds were really thick and there were SO MANY people cheering for Team In Training, which was awesome. I was feeling pretty good, too. I knew that I was off of my 4 hour stretch goal, but that was ok. If I kept to 10 minute miles I was going to be around 4:08, which I was fine with. I have to admit, though, at this point in the race, knowing that my family wouldn't be there to see me at the finish line (It's too crowded, the only way you get to is if you buy $75/tickets and stake out a spot the whole race, but I would prefer to have them throughout the course), I was really wishing that I had a running buddy to cross the finish line with.

So with about a mile left, the course exits the park and turns to run on 59th Street along the south of Central Park. The crowds are REALLY thick, and I was actually feeling pretty good. I Looked up and up ahead I saw a PURPLE SINGLET!!! It was one of my teammates! I was so excited, I cannot even tell you. And on top of that, it was my mentor buddy, Glen, whom I'd run with all season. He was supposed to be about 10 minutes ahead of me, but I was gaining on him quickly (he'd started out a little fast and was now paying for it.). Now, to understand this next part, I have to tell a brief story from the Pasta Party the night before the race.

At the Pasta Party, all of our coaches and training captains get up and give us their one piece of parting advice before the race. One of our training captains, Elle, had the best advice I'd heard. She said, "Get a PB." What's a PB you ask? A Pace Booty. That's right, pick a runner up ahead who's keeping a good pace for you and whose booty you don't mind staring at for some amount of time, and GO AFTER IT. She said this works particularly well at the end. Well...I don't have much of an affinity for Glen's booty (no offence to Glen, it's just that we're both otherwise spoken for), but as I approached him I made a confession "You've been my pace booty for about the last 50 yards, let's finish this!" So I hung with Glen through the last 3/4 of a mile and I am SO HAPPY that we got to finish the race together!

We turned left into Columbus Circle with just .3 miles left and I'm practically jumping around, more excited to be crossing the finish line with a friend than anything else. Running can be such a solo activity, it's so much fun to share the accomplishment with teammates. That's why I love Team In Training. As we neared the finish line, the roar of the crowds got louder and louder. And I know that many people were inspired to see our TNT jersey's go by. I looked up and saw the finish line and didn't feel a twinge of pain until we crossed it. I had a really strong urge to grab Glen's hand and hold it up like in all the photos you see, but I resisted :) I think he's very glad I did. Here's a series of photos:

FINISH LINE PHOTO :)

We crossed the finish line and began what is called the "Penguin Death March." Basically we just hobbled, unable to really walk (too crowded) or stretch (we had to keep moving) for about .5 miles up to to the place where we were able to get our bags. It took about 30 minutes before we were able to leave the park, another reason why I'm glad I found Glen, we got to spend some time talking about the race!

Once I was out of the park, I met my parents and Taylor's parents to celebrate with a MARGARITA! :) What a great race!!!