My friend Cathy, who lives on Staten Island, generously allowed me
to spend the night on the island. This allowed me to get up at six o'clock
instead of three. As a lover of sleep and being cozy in bed, I owe Cathy big
time. She was also able to drop me off right near the start village. Score!
As I joined up with my team I was greeted by a rousing,
"Mary!", very reminiscent of Cheers. I then received hugs from
fellow teammates, it made me feel welcome. While waiting for our respective
waves to start lining up, we hung out and shared supplies--making sure everyone
was set. As folks left for their waves we all offered words of encouragement
and hugs.
Before my wave opened I went to do a last minute
porta potty run with a team mate, Toni. While on line there was two very loud
noises which caused me to jump. Toni explained that the noise was just the
cannon going off to signify the start of wave one. I knew they set off a cannon
at the start, but I didn't realize they did it before the start of every wave,
good to know! Now I won't look like an idiot when it goes off for my wave. Whoo
hoo!
The opening chords of New York, New York by Sinatra come
over the loudspeaker as I began to run on the Verrazano Bridge. It was very
emotional and I began to tear-up (this would become a trend throughout the
day). The view of the city was beautiful from the upper roadway.
The spectators were AMAZING! Some were running into CVS/Duane
Reade stores and coming out with water and paper towels that they were handing
out all over the place. Some folks were also giving out candy or pretzels. They
never stopped cheering: for friends, family and even complete strangers. A lot
of runners (including team Alz) run with their names on their shirts/singlets.
When a spectator sees a name they call it out and cheer you on. I think I flew through
parts of Brooklyn and First Avenue because of this. However, every now and then
it would get to be a bit much, so I would move more to the center of the
course, where it was harder to see my name. When I needed a boost I would move
to the outside. Someone even blessed me as I went by.
I was very proud of how I navigated the first few fluid stops
along the course. I was able to grab water or Gatorade and drink without having
to stop or break stride. One would think I was a veteran at this stuff. I pinched
the top of the cup and took small sips, as directed by Coach Brian and for the
most part it worked. However, there were a few instances of where I was able to
not only miss my mouth, but get the beverage up my nose instead. I think I have
found a new power source! Move over gels and GU.
As usual I had to pick someone to beat for the race. This time I
chose a woman in a pink dress with small black polka dots who was running in
flip flops. Sorry lady, I just can’t let you get ahead of me. I was happy when
I passed her. After the race I saw a picture of her and sometime around mile 18
she had switched the flip flops to her hands and she was running barefoot. Somethings I just don't understand.
After wiping my nose for a third time on my shirt (I tried to have
one sleeve for wiping sweat off my face and the other sleeve for snot (hey, you
do what you have to do) ) a light bulb went off and I realized why some of the
spectators were handing out tissues and paper towels. Soon after, these folks
became my good friends and I would hunt for them along the route.
At mile 18, I was apparently struck blind for a short time. The
Alzheimer’s Association had a fan zone located at 110th and First Avenue and
Scott was going to be there around two o'clock to hand me a snack. The
association was also going to be taking photos as we ran by. When I approached,
I noticed the camera right away and struck a pose! However, even though I
looked directly right at Scott, who was holding out my food, I didn't see him
and I just ran passed him. Whoops! Thank goodness he loves me.
My teammate Gene had mentioned to me once during a practice that
there are porta potties under the 59th Street bridge on First Avenue and there is usually
no line. As fate would have it, I needed to test out this theory. It was on the
weird side to hear folks cheering as I was indisposed. I had to laugh though
when someone started chanting "Go Mary Go!" It had to be for another
Mary, but I was laughing and that was keeping me from performing. Do'h!
At one point I decided to use the porta potty like a phone booth a
la Superman. I was wearing a long sleeve base layer under my team singlet. That
was fine for when we started, but now it was way too hot. I decided to take it
off and run the rest of the race in the singlet. When I came out I was like
Super runner!! It did make a difference running without that layer, the only
drawback is I tossed a shirt I love. I told Scott, it will definitely need to
be replaced.
For the last 400m or so I couldn't feel my legs anymore, however I
was sprinting and moving forward, so I took it to me all was good, the cheers
from the crowds drove me on to the finish line. I couldn't believe it was so
close! In an homage to Coach Brian, I decided that I wanted to do something
special as I crossed the line. As soon as I hit the time strip, I jumped in the
air while doing a fist pump. Of course, I did it right in front of the camera
man as well! Now I just need to find a copy of the photo. I keep checking, but
I haven't seen it posted yet.
My first thought when I crossed the line was, "Where's my
medal?". That is until one of the volunteers wrapped a heat blanket around
my shoulders and put it in place with a piece of tape. Suddenly, I was in a
cocoon of warmth, ahhh. I began to move forward in the queue of runners, then I
noticed volunteers giving out medals and I was like, "Oh yeah, we get
medals for this." As I continued along I was given a post-race poncho,
which I am in love with! It is fleece lined! I'm going to use this while
watching tv and drinking wine!
Walking down Central Park West with all the other runners, I was
struck by how much we all looked like the Walking Dead. The ponchos don't have
arm holes and with folks slowly, stumbling around it appeared that the zombies
had taken over. Next to me, a gentleman was filming the scene on his phone, so
I made a comment about the overall look. He replied that all that was missing
was us dragging our feet and gnashing our teeth. I mentioned that he and I
could start it and see how many others join in. He laughed along with me.
Walking into Steelcase for the after party hosted by the
association was wonderful. I took the elevator up to the seventh floor and was
greeted by several team mates congratulating and hugging me. I turned around
and there was my husband coming down the stairs to give me a hug and a kiss. My teammate Derek
was also coming down the stairs and told me to stay there because he wanted to
hug me. Aww!!
When I appeared in the main room (after going up a flight of
stairs) it was like Cheers all over again! Folks were coming up and
congratulating me, hugging and asking questions. You could definitely feel the
love (or it could be the adrenaline), but let’s call it love. Later, when Scott
and I were leaving, he was trying to help me down the stairs (my knees were
very stiff), however he was doing it by holding my elbow which really made me
think of an old lady. So I pulled my arm away and told him I would get down on
my own. I may have gray hair (hidden most of the time by Clariol), but I’m not
old yet!
A day or two after the marathon I received an email with a link to
photos of me from the race. In most, I look damn good! It looks like I really
know what I'm doing. You could almost say I appear to be a true runner. Go me!
Since this is my first marathon and I don't look like a crazy person, I may
decided to purchase some. Time to check the running budget! (Whoever thought I
would have money earmarked for running? Definitely not me). I think I owe Coach
Ali and Coach Brian for the good photos, since they gently guided (aka made fun
of) us into as close to perfect form as possible.
