You may remember me from such races as the Boston Marathon, the Indy Mini or even Ironman Louisville, but for some reason...I STOPPED blogging about my journey!
WHAT WAS I THINKING!?!?!?!?
I have a great story to tell, and more importantly, this serves as a journal of my experiences so that when I wake up in my 80s and can't remember my name, I can read all about this guy that looks alot like me! Will we still have the internet when I'm 80?
So my last post was in May 2016 after I completed the Indy Mini. That was a really good day.
I spent the rest of the summer preparing for the NYC marathon...YES, THE NYC MARATHON! (Why did I not blog about this?) So I'm blogging now so that others who enjoy reading recaps might come across this and enjoy the insight!
In late September I ran the half at the Mill Race in Columbus, IN. My 21st half marathon went down in just under 2:30 on a fairly flat course. It was a perfect set up for NYC.
Molly and I flew to NYC a couple days early and got a great hotel just south of Times Square. We took in all the sights and sounds of Manhattan for a couple straight days. Time Square, Wicked the Musical, and plenty of people watching.
The expo was at the convention center which was very close to our hotel, so we walked over and enjoyed the experience. Nothing was cheap, but had to have the swag, so we spent some money there!
As we rolled up to the starting village, I got really excited thinking about the day ahead.
A massive area in the shadows of the Verrazano-Narrows bridge. Areas are separated based on your start time. People everywhere. Free coffee, juice, bagels, bananas. Plenty of room to spread out and sleep, rest or be social. Very cool experience.
Once it was go time and we made our walk to the start line, I got pretty nervous thinking about the long day yet to come (It was already 11 a.m. before I started)
National Anthem on the foot of the bridge with 15,000 of my new friends!
Once the race started, I just worked hard to find my rhythm. I remember the first mile was super slow as we climbed the bridge, and the second mile was super fast as we made our way back down.
Running through all the boroughs was a real eye opener. All the different neighborhoods are so unique and different.
I really ran pretty well through the first half. Brooklyn was a great area to run through. Tons of people and high energy.
Once I hit the bridge into Manhattan I had to walk quite a bit. Especially up the long incline. It was also eerily quiet on the bridge. No spectators and very lonely while struggling. But on the other side, I was lucky to get to see Molly and my cousin who came out to cheer me on.
Heading North all the way to Harlem the crowds are really thick! But by mile 20 I was in survival mode! And I'm not just talking about the man who saw me walking and ran off of his porch to the edge of the road and yelled at me, "you don't want to be walking in this neighborhood!" Suddenly, I was able to run again!
Once I turned that corner and headed South again, I was excited to run into Central Park. The park was a lot hillier than what I expected, but did not disappoint. It is beautiful! At mile 25, I even got to see Molly again who was doing a Facebook live video broadcast. Had to perk up for the camera on the way to Columbus Circle.
Once inside the park it was getting quite dark quite fast and by the time I finished it was only the spot lights that provided any back light for my finisher photos.
5:54:51 may have been my slowest marathon, but the experience was unlike any other!
It was a long slow dark walk back to the hotel! Even with the help of the subway
Once back to the hotel and post shower, it was ALL SMILES!!!
A month later I ran a local 5k in 33 and some change, and then took almost 6 months off!
I started an easy routine again late in the spring 2017, and am now in week 9 of a 16 week training plan getting ready for the Las Vegas RnR in November for my 22nd half marathon.
Don't worry! I will be blogging a recap of it for sure!
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