#nycmarathon2015

 The 2015 NYC TCS Marathon was mine.

A more wonderful experience could not have been imagined.

First and foremost, a big thank you to everyone who donated to my fundraising page for Artworks for Youth. My goal was $2,620 and I ended up raising almost $3000! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making that effort such a huge success! 

The Week Leading Up to the Big Day...

The Monday before the marathon, October 26th, I got a cortisone shot in my right knee. Desperate times called for desperate measures. My doctor had told me that I couldn’t do further damage to my IT band by running on it so if this could at least remove some of the pain then...why not!? The only thing is that it’s not a guarantee. Sometimes they work for IT issues and sometimes they don’t. It could relieve 50% of the pain or 80%. All I knew was I needed a miracle and I needed it in 6 days. My knee was sore at the injection site for a solid three days. Finally, on Thursday I was able to run 4 miles pain-free. While this wasn’t a promise, it at least made me cautiously optimistic for the big day.

If nothing else - this pic made my week: 

thank you, Emily (and Xander), for the smile!

The Expo:

Picking up my bib on Friday was an emotional experience. I finally felt like I was a  part of something great. Something grand. Something big. This was real and I was in it.

So many emotions...

I got my bib and t-shirt and (obviously) bought some marathon gear. It wasn’t without fear, however. I was worried that I would buy these awesome NYC 2015 Marathon items and then never get to wear them with pride. What if I didn’t finish? What if I have to walk the whole thing? What if my knee gives out and this turns into a nightmare? Do I deserve this bib and entry? I so wanted to be excited, and I was a little, but I was more filled with fear and nerves. I was undertrained and injured. This is not how one wants to go into her first marathon experience. Still, I kept moving towards that starting line...

The Expo: I was a drama major so I can still act happy and excited when I’m nervous as hell.

Halloween

Having the marathon on November 1st means that the night before is Halloween. Since I moved to NY I’ve been trying to get my parents to come into the city for the big night of tricks and treats. My mother loves everything to do with Halloween and I knew experiencing the event in Brooklyn would not disappoint. 

My parents came in that Saturday afternoon and helped Ben and me prepare for Marathon Sunday. Finally at around 5 we met up with my favorite kiddos (Bets and Lila) and did a little trick or treating around the neighborhood. It was the PERFECT way to spend the last night before the marathon. All thoughts and fears were quickly diverted to visions of goblins, animals, princesses, food (yes, I saw someone who was dressed as a broccoli stalk and a dog dressed as a banana), and all other creatures under the sun. It was quite the extravaganza and Ben, my parents and I roamed the streets of Brooklyn with our mouths agape and our eyes wide.  

After a fun Halloween outing it was time for a pasta dinner from Fragole - my go-to pre-race carbo-load haunt, and then an early bedtime. (Thank you Advil-PM for keeping me asleep)

November 1st, 2015

5:30am:

Alarm goes off. Time for Alieve, oatmeal, water and coffee. I had set everything out the night before so I was just going through the motions at this point. As I got dressed the butterflies in my stomach were having a field day! Ben got up to give me hugs and well wishes before my departure. (He also straightened my bib of course). Thankfully my downstairs neighbor was also running so we walked to the subway and took the ferry to the start together. Her company was such a treat, but I also knew that I would always have loved ones close to my heart: 

Mimi, Evan, and Jean Ann Dull were close to my heart the entire day

The Ferry:

The ferry terminal was a mob scene. We actually missed our 7:15am ferry because it was so crowded they couldn’t accommodate everyone. We almost missed the next one, but we were scrappy and weaseled our way through the crowds. This was a surreal experience. Part of it was just a daze. It was early, we weren’t at the start yet, and there were still hours to pass before we had to think about running. But at the same time, the fear was creeping back. I still had no idea if this shot was going to help my knee. I felt like I had so many people involved in this day - what if I let them all down? 

After the ferry we had to take a long bus ride to the start. All I know about this part is I had to pee so badly I really couldn’t think about anything else... so there’s that.

Runners Village:

I was happy to finally see what this ‘village’ was all about. Unfortunately, it was here that I had to say goodbye to my neighbor as she was in the orange group and I was green. 

I was alone. 

I made my way to the green waiting area and needed some water. (I had finished my water bottle on the ferry, hence the bus fiasco.) I went over to the Poland Spring tent and...it was empty. NO WATER. HUH!? My whole plan was to refill my bottle so I had water for the first three miles of the run and wouldn’t have to stop at the first station. I was told that the first station was a mob scene and I wouldn’t want to stop and now there was no water and the race was ruined and I was going to fail and ... my mind started running a marathon of worry all on its own. I then saw the first aid tent and went over and asked if they had water. While at first they were hesitant, one of the workers said:

Worker: “Tell me you need water - that you’ll be very sick without it.”

Me: “??”

Worker: **with a wink** Tell me you’ll be sick...

Me: “Um, I’ll be sick?”

Worker: “Oh in that case, here you go!” And with that he handed me a mini water bottle. DAY SAVED.

The Start:

After filing into my corral and hearing the elite runners go off with a bang (literally) and Frank Sinatra singing New York, New York through the speakers, it was time to line up at the start.

The Start

OH MY GOSH - IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? At this point I stopped thinking about my knee for a hot second. The adrenaline had started to take over and the excitement was ever present. The 2015 TCS NYC Marathon had officially started and I was going to run. I hadn’t made it this far to only make it this far.

 10:17am:

The cannon for my wave exploded at 10:15am and I crossed the stat at 10:17. Unfortunately, I was slated to run under the Verazanno Bridge. I had heard horror stories about people getting peed on under there, but I didn’t see any flowing liquid from the top level (but just to be safe, I ran in the middle - far from the edge where this mysterious pee could potentially lurk). While the bridge is a slight incline, it’s also the beginning of the race so it’s hardly noticeable. That being said, I made sure to keep my pace extra slow. Not only was I undertrained, I didn’t know if this knee would hold out or not so I figured the slower I went the easier it would be on the joint. I tried to keep a pace between 10:30 and 11 minutes even though I had trained at 9 to 9:20 min/mile. 

Miles 1 - 4

I’ve got this. The bridge was easy and exciting. Obviously I got a little teary-eyed at the start and was pumped for this LONG adventure ahead of me. After finally getting over the bridge the first group of spectators started to line the course. “GO Anna!” I looked to see which of my friends had made it all the way down here and then I remembered I had taped my name across my shirt for this very purpose (my goodness was I glad I did too! This ended up meaning the world to me as the race went on. Never underestimate the kindness of strangers). 

Entering Brooklyn was awesome. The second borough (and longest portion of the run) had arrived! 

Mile 5

Oh. No.

My Knee. 

21.2 miles left and I’m in intense pain. 

I stopped on the side of the course and just did any stretch I could think of. The pain was surging through my knee and I knew that if this continued this would be a long, excruciating day. 

Gradually (thankfully) the pain lessened. It didn’t go away, but I could hobble onward. I at least knew that I would start seeing family and friends in a little over a mile - focusing on that got me through.

Mile 6.5

Tory and Andrew! My South Africa trip co-chaperones! I was so pumped to see them. They were the first people I knew along the course and I was thrilled to see their smiling faces. It was because of this trip that I was fundraising for Artworks For Youth in the first place!

Sheila, Adam, Ally and Abby! (and Sabrina across the street!) Packer represent! What an awesome crew. Hugs, cheers, smiles and encouragement abound. I felt awesome and totally forgot about my knee. 

Mile 7

Cecil! My best friend! What more could a girl want!? She was wearing bright red and was a beacon of encouragement and energy. She is such an inspiration to me and seeing her made me run stronger. 

Kenny, Jo, Bets and Lila! My trick-or-treating crew! I love this family so much. These little ladies are simply angels on earth. Getting to see them gave me wings. 

I crossed to the west side of the street with the anticipation of seeing my family and friends at mile 8. 

Mile 8

Ben! Mom! Dad! Emily! Emma! Kate! Matt! Miles! My crew was here and made my day! I remember so clearly seeing Emily at this point two years ago. It felt great to be on the other side, finally seeing what she saw and experienced along the course. 

Thanks Kate for this shot at mile 8!

This was a high of the run but, upon leaving, turned into a low. After stopping to chat, my knee seized again. I limped away (hopefully out of sight of my family and friends) and went through the stretches that I did earlier. I discovered that if  I ran through the pain I could ignore it a bit and keep going. The fear of having to walk, however, was very real.

Mile 8.5

“Anna! Anna! Anna!”I had seen everyone I anticipated seeing so I assumed this was a kind stranger chanting my name but when they didn’t stop after I had passed I took a moment to pinpoint where exactly this chant was coming from. It was one of my students from the South Africa trip and her lovely family! If that wasn’t an inspiration to keep going I don’t know what was. 

At this point I realized it was a good 8 miles before I would see anyone I knew again. I was entering Fort Greene when BOOM Nitya and Coy! Honestly, that couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Nitya had been training for the marathon but ultimately had to postpone her entry due to injuries. She was, however, able to run with me for a bit which was awesome. She too had suffered from IT band issues so it was comforting to see her. She then gave me the best piece of advice possible “Well, if you stop now it’s still going to hurt so you might as well keep going, get it done, and run through the pain.” Honestly, that one sentence changed my entire outlook for the rest of the race. 

Miles 9 - 15:

The pain in my knee would ebb and flow. I had to stop quite a few times to stretch and fight off tears and fears. At one point, there was a lull in the cheers from spectators and almost a moment of silence. I was listening to music quietly to keep my pace/distract me/because that’s what I did during training and nothing new on race day and all of the sudden John Lennon’s Imagine started to play. It was such a perfect moment to hear his words. It allowed me the opportunity to recognize how lucky I was. I was lucky to be participating in such an event. I may be injured, but I’m healthy. I have a loving family and wonderful friends. It really was a powerful, introspective moment. One that I hope to remember for a lifetime. 

The fans along the course are really what makes this such an incredible experience. I can’t count how many times someone would cheer my name and really mean it. While I had miles to go before I would see anyone I knew, I had a whole city of supporters and their encouragement seriously helped. Even if I only had enough energy to mouth the words ‘thank you’ I hope they knew how much I appreciated their kindness. 

Mile 16 - The infamous Queensboro Bridge:

I had heard about this. I had dreaded this. Everyone told me this is the moment of the race where you are alone with your thoughts. The spectators go away and the intensity and pain are there to take the empty space. Thank you everyone for making me terrified of this bridge. My expectations were WAY WORSE than the reality and it wasn’t so bad. I mean, it wasn’t my favorite part of the race, but it was nowhere near as awful as I had anticipated. High Five!

Mile 16 - MANHATTAN!

So we get off the Queensboro Bridge and everyone tells you about that wall of sound that you’re going to encounter. I mean, if you want to feel like a flipping celebrity or member of The Beatles, run the NYC marathon. This was awesome. Not only did the spectators show up for race day, the blue skies did too. As soon as I entered Manhattan (borough 4 of the 5) the clouds parted and the blue skies said hello. First Avenue was awesome. 

1st Ave - running and taking photos are not my forte

It was also at this moment that I realized that the pain in my knee was manageable. As long as I didn’t stop to let the muscles relax the pain could be kept down. It wasn’t completely gone, but it wasn’t going to prevent me from running this race. Hope had finally made an appearance. This game has changed.

Mile 17.5

“Hey Buckethead! Hey Buckethead! Hey Anna!” KIERAN! One of my nearest and dearest who now lives in SF happened to be in town for the weekend and there he was! I hadn’t seen him in months and how he saw me amongst all of the runners beats me but seeing he wonderful face made my day. (He should have known, however, I wasn’t going to respond to ‘Buckethead’.)

Mile 18

MOM! DAD! BEN! EMILY! My family! I had learned from last time not to stop. I waved hello shouted ‘i love you!’ and kept going (apparently I looked pale as a ghost at this point and had my mom worrying about me for the next 6 miles until I saw them again in Central Park. Sorry mama!)

Miles 19 - 22

The one good thing about being injured is that I focused more on my injury than the mileage. Each mile was “another mile down and my knee is ok” as opposed to “another mile down and I have X miles left”. I was able to be more thankful about what my body had accomplished as opposed to dreading what was coming. It felt like a test and so far I knew the answers. In my training I had only gone up to 20 miles (and that’s the run that injured me so it wasn’t even a great training experience) but I never had the moment of worry about if I could handle the distance - it was all about the knee. Bright side! Woot!

Boogie Down Bronx! Hello 5th borough!

At mile 21 I noticed my legs were getting really tired and I felt a little light headed. I threw some ‘gu’ into the mix and hoped for the best. They were also handing out bananas but as I hadn’t trained with those I didn’t have one. I did, however, watch out for the wet banana peels that were now littering the course. Not the best idea. My mind is still haunted by the poor runner who slipped right next to me. I do hope he was able to finish the race...

At mile 22 we’ve left the Bronx (yahoo no more bridges) and I am in the process of wondering when to expect the dreaded ‘5th Avenue Climb’ when sweet Cecil screams my name and gives me that much-needed boost. Her timing is seriously impeccable. How she has always been there for me just when I needed her is amazing. 

Miles 22 - 24

My mind is completely consumed with dread. The final hurdle is upon me: 5th Avenue. Like the Queensboro Bridge, everyone has told me that this mile of climb is hard. While it’s not steep it is an incline after you’ve been running 22 flipping miles. Binayak (the husband of my neighbor who is running) shouts my name at mile 22.5! BOOST! Then, just as I start uphill there is Buckethead (Kieran) to my left cheering me on. How my friends managed to be in the right spot at the right time and see me in the crowd and scream my name loud enough for me to hear them is honestly a miracle. They changed this experience so significantly and made it such a wonderful and memorable day. For that I am eternally grateful. 

Mile 24

This is a spot I had been waiting for all along. This is the last place I’m going to see friends and family. Again, I remember seeing Emily at this point. I also remember seeing all of the other runners at this spot and some were seriously struggling. At this point people are beat up. Walking, bleeding, hurting, struggling. How I was still running is beyond me BUT I was. Ben! Mom! Dad! Emily! Lynn! Claire! Matt! MY CREW! Thank you thank you thank you. Ben came and ran with me for a bit (his fresh legs were ready to take off - I had to hold him back and bring him down to my slow -but steady- pace). I was going to finish this race and I wasn’t going to walk. At this point I had no doubt in my mind and having him by my side in this moment was the final boost that I needed. I love him. A quick kiss and I was on my own once more. This time, however, it was ok. This was my race. 

My awesome crew tracking my arrival at Mile 24

Miles 25 - 26:

Running under the mile 25 sign was awesome. Running along Central Park South was not. I mean, it was cool because it was filled with people, but I was ready to be done. Ben told me about the time he ran the NYC marathon and his friend had to start walking on CPS. This was my biggest fear. So close but still the finish felt so far.

Mile 26 - 26.2:

Rounding back into the park was AWESOME. Here we go. I can dig deep, run with my heart, and finish this beast. I had run the flipping NYC Marathon! This was something I had never anticipated for myself. Something I never actually thought possible and now the end was in reach. I saw the finish line, I dug deep and I. DID. IT!

The Finish:

It’s almost anticlimactic. You cross a line on the street and your legs can finally stop. The pain takes over, your muscles freeze up and (for me at least) the tears start flowing. I felt like my face was like a rainbow: tears everywhere but a huge smile across my face. Sun and Rain all on one totally confused and aching body. Having that finisher medal placed around my neck was such a glorious moment. It was mine. I earned it. I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud. 

We had to walk for what felt like FOREVER to get out of the park. They gave us goodie bags filled with food and drinks, but I was too nauseous to really eat anything. Thankfully I didn’t check a bag and was able to receive a post race poncho and leave the park “early” (77th or something like that). And THE BEST PART was that Emily lived nearby and my friends and family were at her place waiting for me. So, walking like a flipping zombie, I made my way over to her apt to find my loved ones and finally sit down. 

Making my parents proud is the BEST. Having them there meant the world to me. I love them. I am so lucky.

Two NYC Marathon FINISHERS right here! I love him so.

The End:

Emily welcomed us all into her home, gave me a place to sit, a towel and warm shower, and a glass of champagne (not exactly in that order). My friends and family were all under one roof and all of my stress and worry were gone. My legs were immobile, I felt nauseous, and I was losing a toenail, but I had done it. 

This truly was the best day ever. 

Dare I say I’m tempted to do this again.......? :)