FINISHED!

The elite women! (Photo taken by L.Fung)

I FINISHED! It may not have been with these unbelievably fast women, but still, I finished and it was all that I expected. And more. But first of all….

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who supported me by contributing to TEAM CONTINUUM!! With your donations, I was able to raise $2,800. I know many cancer patients and their families will benefit from your donations. Additionally, you generosity was part of more than $30.4 million that was raised on behalf of the NYC marathon as a whole. So thank you again!  

(Although I was just shy of reaching the $2,950 that I committed to raise, I still have through the month of November to continue fundraising. It’s not too late to still be awesome and help me reach my fundraising goal!)

Now what you’ve all been waiting for (please, just humor me and pretend you’re interested): my marathon story.

Subway to shuttle, shuttle to ferry, ferry to shuttle, shuttle to start. That’s how it began….

 I have to admit, race morning I was more nervous about making it to the starting line than I was about the actual race. Second to being nervous about getting there in time, I was nervous about freezing while I waited for the start. Runners are scheduled to get to the marathon village extremely early and then you have to wait and wait and wait in the New York November cold until your wave starts. From past stories I heard, this is always the worst part of the entire race. Luckily, transportation was smooth sailing (thank you MTA for pulling through for me) and in additional to my many layers of clothing the sun was shining so I only shivered slightly. The day was off to a good start!

 I really needed that good start because the week and a half leading up to the marathon was a nightmare for me! It all began when I got back from a run and had the worst back pain ever (minus the time I broke my back). I ended up having to get an MRI and the results said I had a bulging disc and a tear in L5-S1. My PCP immediately told me I couldn’t run, but also sent me to a spine specialist. It took a few days to get into the specialist so in the meantime there were lots and lots of tears shed. I was devastated thinking I might not be able to run the marathon. Luckily, when I finally saw the specialist he had good news for me: the problem wasn’t as severe as it sounded (nothing some PT couldn’t help) and I could run (if I was willing to endure the pain). Hooray! The marathon was back on! That was the best news I’d heard my entire life. (Please don’t make fun that that’s the best news I’ve ever had; I can’t help that my life is pathetic.)  Anyway, that gave me three days to pull my nervous-wreck self together and get refocused and excited about the race.

After that drama, the race went so well. I really don’t know how to even describe the actual race. It was amazing! Incredible! Spectacular! Emotional! Painful! Because there are so many runners the race starts in three separate waves. I somehow got stuck in the third wave and my friends were in the first and second. This made the wait time a little lonely, but once the race began, I felt anything but lonely. The start could not have been more exciting and beautiful. There was so much energy in the air crossing the Verrazano Bridge from Staten Island into Brooklyn, not to mention the most spectacular view. (Here is a little glimpse of what the beginning looks like).

After getting off the bridge we ran the next 12 miles through Brooklyn. The Brooklyn crowd was incredibly impressive. They definitely win the prize for best cheering section. At one point I tried listening to my iPod, but the crowd was so loud I couldn’t hear my music so I decided to ditch the music and just soak up the crowd. Those first 13 miles I felt so great, and they seriously flew by.

I was still feeling pretty good at mile 15 when I reached the Queensborough Bridge, however, that bridge seemed to go on forever. It was a killer! The only thing that got me through it was knowing I’d be in Manhattan once I reached the other side and there would be a huge crowd waiting for me. And there was. People were packed shoulder to should along 1^st Avenue for the entire four miles up to the Bronx. It was just the energy I needed to get me through the next few miles. Although, at mile 18 I hit a wall and that really bummed me out. I had been doing so well keeping up my pace so I could reach my 4 hour goal. I really wanted to stop and walk but I forced myself to keep running by setting small goals for myself. First it was just to make it to mile 20, and then to make it the one mile through the Bronx, and then to make it into the park. I’m telling you, it’s all about small goals. They definitely work.

By miles 23 I really needed some extra motivation. When my friend Reagan and I were training together we would shout out motivational words when we started running out of energy, or sometimes just because it was fun to yell. Power! Strength! Skinny! (We stole this idea from one of our running heroes, Kara Goucher). So, I resorted to yelling to myself, “You are strong! You are strong! You are strong!” Cheesy, I know, but I like to believe it helped.

When I entered Central Park my legs were starting to cramp and my back was getting sore. I was hurting, but so ecstatic to be so close to finishing. Before I knew it I was at mile 26 and the crowd was cheering like crazy (just for me, I’m sure). But at that moment my legs became bricks. They were so heavy, I could barely move them. I was trying hard to let the screaming crowd and the Chariots of Fire-type music that was blaring motivate me, but it was really difficult. But then things got better! They started playing a U2 song. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE U2 fan. Bono and the boys were singing to me (yes, just to me). They made me want to sprint to the end, and really I tried to, but my legs were literally shaking and I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I started smiling and singing along though and the next thing I knew I was high-fiving a man in front of the finish line and stepping over into the finished zone. It was over! I had finished and it couldn’t have been a more perfect ending!

I was so happy to be done, and although I didn’t meet my 4 hour goal, I still set a PR of 4:07:39, which I was still pleased with. Honestly, the hardest part of the entire race was the very end when we had to walk what felt like a million miles from the finish line to the baggage trucks. You have to walk with the masses; there is no other way out. I was wet and freezing and the crowd could not possibly have moved any slower. It was pure torture. My legs and back killed. All I wanted was to get my bag and find my friends. By the time I got my bag though my friends who had started in the earlier waves were already gone - you can’t blame them for not sticking around in the cold. So, I was alone and that was kind of sad for me because I really just wanted to hug someone. But that’s okay. I was just happy to have finally been able to run NYC. It really was an unbelievable experience and I can't thank family and friends enough. It was awesome to have so much support, to be running and knowing that so many people were cheering me on even if they weren't physically there. Thank you! I can’t wait to run it again next year. 

    Finished!