The ING New York City Marathon...for Lulu....part 1

I know you are dying to hear about my experiences with the New York Marathon. And don't worry, I'm going to dish them out, but with so much to share, I'm breaking this weekend into 2 parts…..

I'm not even sure where to start on this one! I had been looking forward to my weekend in NY for months. I normally go to my races alone, spend as little time possible traveling, running and returning back. Time to sight see? That's what I do during my marathon run. But with NY being only a few hours away from home, and as marathon #44 of the year, I felt like this would be a wonderful get-away weekend for me and my husband. So for the first time since I started this journey back in January, we packed up the kids for grandma's house, and took the bus from DC to NY.

 Ready to rock out in NY!

We live 4-5 hours from NYC and yet I had never been there before. Jeremy spent part of his childhood in NY, so this wasn't new to him. With typical Friday traffic, the ride was longer than planned, and by the time we arrived it was evening. First on the list was getting to the expo. We took the free shuttle down to the expo and I was somewhat surprised at how small it was. I've been to several larger expos this year, for much smaller races.

That being said, there was still plenty of stuff to look at, taste, try and buy! Bib pick up was organized by your color group (green, orange or blue), including a separate area for international runners.

 Bib in hand with the race course map

 A little 26.2 focus

We continued into the official merchandise area, sponsored by Asics. They had jackets and shirts, tanks, shorts, tights, vests, hats, gloves, etc. You name it, they had it. And it wouldn't be Asics without shoes! I love Asics! Every marathon, every mile I've run this year, has been in Asics. Their stock included a NYC Marathon limited edition shoe (Gel Kayano) that was embellished with the ING New York City Marathon logo. Now that was something I had never seen before!

If you know me, you know I walk expos, but normally don't buy anything. Every now and then I will pick up a pair socks or a decal and that's about it. The only memento I have from my races this year was a hat I bought at the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll marathon.  I looked at all the merchandise in the Asics booth. I wanted to get a little something from this race, as it is, after all, New York! Jeremy looked at me and said, "how many times are you going to run this race for the first time? Go ahead and buy what you want, and don't worry about the cost." There are days when I'm so thankful that I have a husband that doesn't look at price tags! On the flip side, there are days when I cringe after hearing he went shopping at Target or Costco alone! None the less, today, I was eternally grateful to hear him say that! Had I gone alone, I wouldn't have bought anything pricey, but being given the green light was the extra little nudge I needed to get a really nice jacket and hat. It was also the start of the mound of debt that would incur from our getaway!

Jacket!

There was plenty of other good stuff to be had at the various booths. All the big name companies were there, and decked out with NYC marathon gear. They all wanted a piece of the pie, or apple if you will! We tried PowerBar energy bites (which we both thought were excellent by the way), and Gatorade samples.

And then we came across the Asics video booth. You wrote out your reason for running NYC on a poster and then they video taped you breaking through it, shredding your poster for the camera. The videos were being played on a billboard In Time Square! I thought that was pretty cool, although I guess I shouldn't have worn my boots, I was too tall too tall for the camera!

My poster read: Marathon #44 for orphans - 52beginnings.com

We headed back to the hotel and it was time to get ready to go again. I had been invited to the Runner's World VIP Party which was being held at a club near Times Square. I had no idea what to expect when I got there, but wow, when they throw a party, they throw a party! With a huge psychedelic color changing chandelier overhead, and a little cove on the second floor for the DJ to spin tunes, it was the perfect setting. The layout allowed for plenty of open space, and tables/chairs comfortablly tucked along the walls. There was a fantastic dinner buffet and open bar, and some darn awesome people! I got to meet several members of the Runner's World staff, including David Willey, Editor in Chief, and of course Chief Running Officer, Bart Yasso, and his lovely wife, Laura were there.

 

Obviously I didn't take this picture! Photo from the website:

now you can see what it really looked like!

I  met more people than I can list, but of them all, I was beyond excited to see Ryan Hall, who holds the American Record for the half marathon with a time of 59 minutes, 43 seconds. Just writing that gives me chills! I can't even fathom being able to run that fast!  I caught him just as he was about to leave the party, and though just a brief intro, I was trilled! I have a great deal of admiration of him, not only because of his great running ability, but also his passionate desire to follow Jesus Christ. In 2009, Ryan, and his wife Sara, started the Hall Steps Foundation, with a mission to take small steps toward ending world poverty.

 Ryan Hall

I also got to meet one of the fastest men on earth, Olympic athlete, Tyson Gay who holds the American Record for 100 meters with a time of 9.69 seconds. Now that is seriously flying!!

 With Tyson Gay

I met author Matt Long, who's book The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete, was just released in October. Hint, hint, Santa, I think it will fit in my stocking!  And lucky me, I got to meet the lady behind it all, Mary Wittenberg, Race Director of the ING New York City Marathon and President/CEO of the New York Road Runners.

It was an absolute pleasure getting to meet so many amazing and talented people. Even though most of my pictures turned out awful, (it was rather dark), that night meant more to me than going to a Broadway play or shopping in Times Square. I had been so busy enjoying the conversation and taking in the whole atmosphere, that I really didn't focus on taking a lot of pictures! Oh well! The experience made for an extremely fantastic memory of New York!

 View from our hotel room

Saturday I slept in. There was no alarm set. No children to worry about. And I could care less what time the clock read when I finally pulled myself from the sheets. It's been ages and ages since I could really just sleep like that. With the dark curtains, not even the sun could tempt me to move. And after the cost of the hotel room, I felt like I needed to get every penny out of it anyway!

Jeremy and I had talked about what we'd do on our day in NY. We'd thought about going to see the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. But in the end, neither of us really felt like doing a tour. We would up going to Times Square, milling around, looking at all the sights and taking pictures. We had lunch from one of the many street vendors, and with the chill temps, having a hot dog (or chicken kabob in my case) with an over sized soft pretzel, really hit the spot.

 Times Square

My reason to run NY video being played in Times Square!

Later on we went to Central Park and walked around. The fall colors were beautiful, and such a contrast from the city behind us. I saw barriers already in place, in preparation for the race, and I started thinking about the run ahead. We crossed paths with several runners who apparently wanted to test out a run there or map out what parts of the park they would cover in the morning. More than anything it was nice to get just get away from the city and crowds for a bit.

Truthfully, the only picture we got together on our trip!

Eventually the afternoon faded into evening, and we made our way to an Italian restaurant that had been recommended by several friends that live in the area. I expected it to be packed, but when we got in the door and asked what the wait time was, the host behind the counter explained that they were no longer taking a list, as the wait time was 2 1/2 hours! I couldn't get over that! We walked past several other restaurants, all that looked equally packed. Now it was getting really cold, and even with my jacket and gloves, I felt like an iceberg. We finally found a little sports bar. Sounds like a good pre-race dinner right? Yeah, probably wouldn't top most people's list as the place to go, but we were able to get a table right away, and that that point I was tired, and cold enough to eat just about anything. I'm not overly sentimental about pasta anyway, so a little change of pace was nice. We got to watch the college games, and have burgers (I opted for Turkey). The food wasn't half bad, nor greasy, which was a big plus!
 
Then it was back to the hotel to get everything in order for race morning. By now I was seriously tired. We had walked everywhere. We didn't once take a cab or the subway. And while New York may be a walking city, I felt like I got my share and then some for the day. I guess I can call it my pre-race warm up right?

No matter, lights out, early morning, and another 26.2 to be run. But being New York, this would be a marathon like no other marathon I had ever run. And going to bed that night, I had just no idea what I was about to partake in. You can read to stories, and see the pictures, but the experience was far more than I would have imagined. And I have a pretty darn good imagination…

Part 2 of my weekend (with all the goods on the NYC Marathon) will be posted in a day or two.