The highest point of the New York City Marathon is around Mile 1 at the crux of the Verrazano Bridge’s span. We were staging for about 3 hours in Staten Island and had to abandon our jackets, pants and other stuff that we wore to keep us warm.
10:10am-The foot of the Verrazano Bridge
The cannon goes off. Go Lance Armstrong!!
10:15am-The foot of the Verrazano Bridge, we finally get through the start line. We run uphill, a long steady climb. About a 10:35 minute mile.
Miles 2-7 Brooklyn rocks!
We plow through Brooklyn from Bay Ridge (my old town), Sunset Park, Red Hook and Carroll Gardens. Tons of people are lining the streets, I high 5 about 100 kids. A talk to a 10 year old girl with a “Run like Reyes” sign. A kid gives me a lollipop, much better than gu or powergel. Linda accuses me of hamming it up. (I was.)
11:25am Mile 8: Looking for Slander
As we cruse through Carroll Gardens and Park Slope we look for Sarah. She is nowhere to be found. Good news for us and bad news for anyone we told to look for us, we are about 20-30 minutes ahead of our expected times, we thought we would take at least 15 minutes to get to the start line as well as run slower miles. All of us are very strong.
12:20pm 13.1 Miles (1/2 way point) The Pulaski Bridge 2hours 4 minutes
As we leave Brooklyn and enter Queens I shout “LET’S GO METS!!!” And Linda and some other Queens natives chant some Mets in 2007 cheers.
12:50pm: The span of the Queensborough Bridge Mile 16
Ug, the first major uphill challenge in a while. Bridges suck. As we get to the center of the span of the lower deck after about a mile climb, we enter a section in complete darkness. I ask Kathleen and Linda if I blacked out. We get behind some crazy Brazilians who start singing Ole! Ole! Ole! Someone also starts a “if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!” chant. We descend into Manhattan into the legendary crowds up first avenue.
Miles 16-19 1st Avenue
We are all still strong, Kathleen and Linda run into the Tank who is not doing that well and tell him to look for me since I fall a little behind at this point. I don’t see the Tank until 8pm at the bar. As I pass 30km (18.6 miles), Lance Armstrong finishes. He said it was the hardest race he ever did, even said “I don’t know how you do it!” He bonked, he is Human!!!
1:30pm Mile 20, The Willis Avenue Bridge 3:20 pace
Bridges suck. I try to tell myself that this is the next to last one. Linda and Kathleen pull ahead for good and I am on my own so I break out the MP3 player and crank up the tunes. My legs start to get tired. I feel great but start to slow down. I notice that by mile 21 I am now doing 10 minute miles. The Bronx gets jiped, only about a mile in the Bronx.
1:52pm Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan Mile 22
Back to Manhattan and holy crap only about 4 miles to go! The legs are now screaming in pain and the bottoms of the feet hurt. I am just looking forward to E 90th Street and the entrance to Central Park, my home turf.
Mile 25, Central Park 4 hours 14 minutes (4:09 pace)
As I pass under Mile 25, I am almost in tears of joy and pain. I find out later that Kathleen and Linda and just crossing the finish line, rock on!!!
The 1 Mile to Go Sign!
Woo hoo! We leave the park to run on E. 59th Street back to the park.
Mile 26, reenter the park.
Only .2 of a mile to go. This honestly is the longest .2 of a mile in my life. I see the finish!! I pick up the speed and thrown my hands in fists in the air and scream as the crowd roars. The clock says 4:26 and change, so my official time will be about 4:20.
The Aftermath.
You have to walk through the finish and get water, your bad check (UPS shipped them from Staten Island) and then reunions. We get medals and space blankets. It took about an hour, everyone is in pain and walking very slow. I barely can walk at this point. Luckily 37,000 people can’t walk either. Due to all the road being closed I have to walk home. Lot so of folks give me congratz.
8pm, The Mad Hatter Pub
After the best burger and beer of my life, Steve and the Tank are reunited. Steve says he is retired from running and will do tennis and yoga now. The Tank says he will slow down.
Posted By Steve, in marathon pain.