The NYC Marathon

Pre-Race

Well on the second post, I am already off schedule! Our house has been hit with fever/throwing up/coughing virus that has knocked us all on our butts. I have recovered for the most part and am watching Sesame Street with a sick toddler while writing this.

Secondly, I was hoping for 20 of you to read this little thing… 73 of you checked it out in the first week alone! Thanks for being here and hoping that some of you will want to support Crimestoppers and I next April!

Anywho… onto our scheduled programing 😊

The NYC Marathon… I have wanted to do one marathon and call it a day since wayyy back in 2014 when I ran my first 10k. I decided if I was going to run that far, it had to be somewhere cool (both the vibe and literally.. like weather.. and not San Antonio) I had heard the Rock and Roll in SA wasn’t great. The half marathoners break off from the marathoners and its lonely and out in the middle of nowhere with no fans. No thanks. I wanted NYC.

I ran it in Nov of 2023 after getting a spot on the charity team for the Nov 2020 race. Covid cancelled those plans and I was able to defer my entry. Knowing that I wanted to have a kid soon, I pushed the race out as far as I could and chose the latest option. 2023 it was. Having a baby in Dec of 2021, studying for the bar and taking it in July 2022… I hadn’t started to get back in shape until October of 2022. I didn’t plan well or think in advance, and Nov 2023 came up fast and I still wasn’t where I wanted to be fitness wise. I did a lot of things wrong.

1.       I did all of my “training” in a calorie deficit. I was in a 500 calorie deficit throughout and it wasn’t the smartest idea. Not having enough fuel in the tank probably didn’t help my runs.

2.       I didn’t stick to my training plan and I was behind quickly. My longest run in my training before the marathon was 11.5 miles two weeks before. I almost made the call to back out. The only reason I didn’t was because I wouldn’t get in the marathon again.

Two big mistakes… but honestly it just affected my time. I had a blast. It was one of the best experiences of my life. After the run, I went back to my unlces apartment and wrote a summary on my notes app. The bold is the original note.. the rest is commentary

Miles 1-6: I didn’t realize I was even running

1: the bridge was incredible. Like incredible, incredible. Running down the middle of a highway that is a bridge, over looking the water, on a perfect and sunny NY November day… stunning

2: my right AirPod died… yeah… I had my airpods in my pouch but the Bluetooth was on so they were connected to my phone and they quickly died.

6: my left AirPod died… im actually glad they did. At first, I thought I was done. But listening to the crowd and the pack of runners really made the experience

8: the energy.. best mile by far… the entire neighborhood was out with noise makers, boom boxes, everything you could think of. The vibe was insane

9-10: hard. Silent. Ran through an orthodox Jewish community that didn’t care we were running.. ok the airpods would have been nice here. But it was oddly cool to hear the stomp of feet

13.2: things get dark. The marker was on the hill getting on the bridge… hahah things got very very dark. I was tired at this point and the 13.2 marker was up a hill and I was wiped out getting there and couldn’t believe that I had to do allll that I did, all over again

15: took a .1mi walking break up the hill… This was my first walk. 15-16 was really hard because we were on a bridge so there weren’t any people cheering. I also had never ever run this far in my entire life.

15-16: hard. The bridge was silent. All I heard was the pounding of feet

18: I’m starting to not want to do this anymore… The crowds are back and Im not feeling it anymore. I want it to end and then start doing the math of 26-18 and am not happy

20: wondering why I did this… This was the worst point for me mentally. I have run 20 miles but there are 6 to go, which sounds really long in my head. Im thinking this was really stupid and I had some doubts about making it

22-23: the longest mile for the entire thing. It’s an incline and I’m losing the will to live. At this point, Im bargaining with myself. Like make it to that pole up there. Or I can walk some but only if I make it to the next water station. It was bad.

23: willing to pay money for the pain to end… finally out of the straight away by the park so its getting better but I still want it to end.

24: going downhill and my mental health is improving … running downhill was the saving grace here. It felt like floating haha. The park had a good energy and its easier to bargain with yourself to keep going when its all downhill

25: omg I may actually finish this… I knew I was close just from the vibe and watching the marathon a couple of years before. I cant feel my legs but I keep going

25.9: made it to the stage, everyone is vibing, you don’t feel anything any more… There is no feeling at all. You are just running as fast as you can for .25 miles

26.2: pure elation. Idk how to describe it beyond that. Nothing hurts and you are so relieved/proud/excited. Greatest feeling

Walking out of Central park – torture. So much pain. No end in sight. Horrible.

Everyone says after running one marathon you want to do another. I came back to SA, I googled marathons haha. I ran in the beginning of Nov and found out I was pregnant in the end of December… so I didn’t have a chance to sign up for a next one!

Why am I running London? What’s the goal for the run? What are my overall running goals? Stay tuned! More on that, Crimestoppers, running races, and more in the upcoming posts. Thanks for being here and thanks for the support! Remember if you would like to contribute to my charity fundraising, there will be more information coming soon on how to do so!

Post-Race

You can see how exhausted I was… and how happy. Also my lips… they were pure salt