My first NYC Marathon experience was phenomenal! I'm warning anyone who is reading this that it is a very detailed report. I got to the start on the team bus. Rodney walked me to the bus and we got there about 6:15am. I picked up breakfast (a yogurt, fruit and granola parfait) on the walk and a Starbuck's coffee. The bus left for Staten Island around 6:45. After that I really have so sense of time throughout the day – it was a blur, the day went really fast.
Staten Island – One of the things I have to comment on first is the amazing job that is done putting this event on. There were close to 40,000 runners and it was a smooth operation as far as I was concerned. In Staten Island we are organized into groups based on our bib color; mine was blue. I went to area, hung out a little while, put in my contacts and handed over my bag of stuff that I brought for after the race (clothes, etc). Then it was time to wait – which went very fast. I sat for a while, trying to preserve my legs, I had a power bar, took a little walk, and sat some more. Before I knew it we were lining up to head to the start of the race. I was very excited. Before I knew it, I crossed the mat and I was running across the Verrazano Bridge. There was no delay; I was able to start running right from the beginning. It was so exciting to run across the bridge. I believe it is the biggest hill in the race, but I really didn't notice the hill at all (not much of a surprise there).
Brooklyn - Once we got across the bridge, we entered Brooklyn and there were the famous NY spectators! The spectators were all I've heard about and more – they were fantastic! There were also 120 bands along the route. The bands were really amazing and helped to keep the mood up. It was like a 26.2 mile block party. I realized early on I needed to try and check my time, I was afraid of burning myself out too early in the race. It was really hard to slow down with all the enthusiasm around. My first group of supporters (Rodney, Nancy and Rick) was at the 3 mile mark. It was so exciting to see them. I had to stop and give everyone a hug. By the time I was closing in on mile 8, I realized that I hadn't heard from Rodney and I wasn't sure where I was going to see him next. When I looked at my phone, I saw that I had a lot of missed calls. When I got in touch with Rodney I found out that they were at mile 6 and we missed each other. So, I was on my own until the next group, which would be around mile 14. My name was on the front of my shirt, so I had lots of encouragement along the way. It was great to hear everyone yelling, "Mary", "Go Mary, you can do it" and other variations of the same theme. The support from the spectators was beyond anything I could imagine. There were water/Gatorade stations every mile. I had some Gatorade (mixed with water) early in the race, but I stopped around mile 10 as I thought it was making me a little queasy. I did Gu gels about every 5 miles.
Queens – We left Brooklyn and headed into Queens. It was exactly like everyone said; there were fewer spectators in Queens. Luckily for me, I had a group of my neighbors waiting for me at mile 14. It was super to see them there! I gave everyone a hug (do you see a theme developing) and got a banana. I think that banana came at just the right time. I was still feeling strong and continued running through Queens. We came to the 59th street Bridge and we were on our own. There are no spectators on the bridge. It is quite and everyone seems focused on the effort. It is a long stretch at that point to have so much quiet. Before too long, we are over the bridge and into Manhattan!
Manhattan – Wow, what a rush coming into Manhattan after the quiet of the bridge. It was fantastic. I knew I had a lot of people to see in Manhattan, so I was really excited. I was my first group (friends from my support group) at 66th street. Here is a picture of the back of the shirt everyone wore, the shirt I wore had the same saying on the back:
It was great to see them; they really understand how important this run was to me! Of course, I stopped to hug everyone. Then it was off to see my next group at 71st street. At this point I'm at around mile 16 or 17. I was really feeling good. My cheeks, from all the smiling, were the only thing that really bothered me. Actually, I did take some Tylenol during the run because my hips were hurting. I think the Tylenol really helped because I wasn't focusing on any pains.
Some of the runners dressed in costumes, here is a picture of "bugs" running:
Waiting at 71st street was Rodney, Nancy, Rick, Nancy's friend Nancy and Dr. Sterry. They thought I was still looking fresh at that point; and I was still feeling pretty good then. Here is a picture at this point in the race:
I left them (after more hugs) and headed off to the 90s to see some more people. Things were still pretty good at this point. I saw my Aunt and two cousins and then about ten feet down from them were my parents and another cousin. They didn't even know that they were that close to each other, that is how crowded it was! My Mother had tears in her eyes. She said it was from the cold, but I think it was because she was excited to see me! I found my brother a couple of blocks down from the rest of the family. I missed seeing some people in this stretch of road, it was so crowded it was really hard to spot people and it was just about impossible for a spectator to spot a runner. I continued up First Avenue and it was getting a little bit hard, especially as First Avenue is a small incline and I wasn't sure where I would see somebody again. I didn't have too long to wait until I saw Maribeth and Pedro. After that I was on my own until the Bronx.
Bronx – My longest training run was 20 miles, and after you cross the bridge into the Bronx you cross the 20 mile mark. Everything was such a blur that I didn't really have a lot of time to focus on the new mile markers I was reaching. I saw my friend Sarah in the Bronx and she had another banana for me. In hindsight I realized having the bananas was a little risky as I never did that in a training run. Luckily for me they did not cause any problems; in fact, as I mentioned I believe they helped me quite a bit. The Bronx was great, I heard the spectators weren't that great in the Bronx, but I didn't find that to be the case. I was nervous about getting to this point in the race because of the infamous wall. So far, so good; I kept on running.
Manhattan (again) – We crossed over the bridge and entered Manhattan again. At the end of the bridge was my friend Mary. I got a big hug and headed on down Fifth Avenue. I was definitely getting tired at this point, but I was still feeling good and I was at mile 21. I kept on going, and a couple of walk breaks worked their way into the routine. Fifth Avenue is a slight incline, and I felt it at this point in the race. I had a few more people to see before heading into the Park at 90th Street. I saw my friend Sejal at 112th Street and Maribeth and Pedro. I knew my coach, Mindy would be at mile 23.1 and my brother was around 91st. I headed on down Fifth Avenue and as the miles ticked by I knew I was going to finish. I saw Mindy and then I saw James and I headed into Central Park. I was in very familiar territory now as I've done lots of running in Central Park. The spectators in Central Park were absolutely fantastic! I started to put my head down and they started yelling "Go Mary", "You've got it now" etc. Nobody would let you quit at that point; so I perked right back up. We exited Central Park and ran across Central Park South. I was within a mile of the finish at this point. I decided to do a fast walk on Central Park South and save myself for a strong finish! I did it; I ran up the hill to Tavern on the Green and crossed the finish line with my arms in the air.
I was fortunate that the weather was good; I had wonderful friends and family supporting me and I didn't suffer from cramps, etc. Everything lined up perfectly for me!
I am amazed at my transformation over the last three years. Not only did I run the NYC marathon, but I wasn't even that sore after the race. I don't think the full impact has hit me yet!
