NYC Half Marathon: Racing for the joy

Last fall I registered for the NYC Half marathon as a time qualifier. This race has been on my bucket list for years, but the registration window is so narrow that I usually miss it and I don't think about my spring half marathon so far in advance. 

Plans changed when I decided to run the One City Marathon. After all, it wouldn't make sense to race a half marathon just two weeks after a marathon. But then, plans changed again when my friend Laura told me that she would be driving up to NYC alone to run it. I figured I could come along for the ride and run it myself as an easy run. Greg would be out of town for a work event anyway so it was a win-win all around. 

Backing up 18 years, I sort of ran this race in 2007. I say "sort of" because I did not finish and the 2007 race bears no resemblance to the 2025 event. I barely remember running the 2007 event, but thanks to my blog, I do have a record of it! One of my favorite all-time race shirts is from the 2007 race. And yes, I wear it even though I DNF'ed the race. It is a Nike shirt with a flattering fit and is a combination of dry-fit and normal t-shirt material. I wear it as an everyday t-shirt and it's so comfy. Plus, now it's super retro! As for why I DNF'ed, I thought I had a stress fracture in my foot so I made a compromise with myself that I would only run until we got to Times Square and then I would stop so as to not injure my foot further. Oh, the logic that I used back in the day!

In 2007, the race was held in August. It was relatively new so there was no lottery and anyone could register. The course started in Central Park, ran around the park for 10K and then finished downtown. Now the race is a March event and starts in Brooklyn, ending in Central Park. Entry is primarily done through lottery and charities, but there are some qualifier spots reserved. My 1:29:50 half marathon time was good enough for me to gain entry for my age group.

Saturday
Laura and I left my house around 6:15 and the ride went smoothly. It was really fun to have such a long time to chat and we talked about everything under the sun!

Our first stop was Brooklyn to check out the Bandit store and the Tracksmith store. Tracksmith had launched their first racing shoe, the Elliot Racer, the day before so we had the opportunity to try those on. In fact, they aren't even released on the website yet - you can only get them in store. But instead of taking advantage of the exclusive opportunity to be among the first to own them, neither of us could justify the hefty price tag of $280. (I think that was the price - it was around that). I am on on the hunt for a new racing shoe, but I think that shoe could be the Brooks Hyperion PB Elite. If not, then I will definitely try the Elliott Racer. The shoe was really soft and had a nice pop to it. With a 7.5mm drop, it was mostly Achilles-friendly, too.

Then we made our way into Manhattan, found parking near the expo, and got our bibs. The expo was well organized and we got through it fairly quickly. 

After that, Laura drove me to my uncle's apartment on the upper east side and she proceeded to her friend's apartment where she would be staying. I got settled into my uncle's place and then we went out to dinner. I hadn't seen my uncle since my last trip to NYC in 2019 so it was really good to catch up with him. The food in NYC is so wonderful. I had homemade pasta with chicken. Delicious! Then it was off to sleep.

Before the Race
Getting to the start was an adventure. According to the race instructions, runners in my wave needed to clear security by 6:45am. My plan was to get there at 6:15 so I would have 30 minutes to get through security. That should have been more than enough time. Working backwards from 6:15, it would take about 30 minutes to get from the upper east side to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. I planned for 45 minutes because I knew there would be road closures. 

I was fully dressed and ready to go by 5:30 when my car service showed up. I know it sounds super fancy to take a car service, but it was about the same price as an Uber: $80 to go 8 miles. Plus tip. 

The race instructions had provided an exact location for runner drop off and that is the location I gave to the car service. As we approached it, all the roads kept being closed off so the driver couldn't get to that spot. We drove around for 20 minutes trying to get to the drop off point. I had my phone with me, and my Google Maps kept saying we were 1.8 miles away. That was definitely run-able, but if I could get closer, that would be better. 

Finally, at 6:20, I told him to just let me out of the car. Google Maps was saying 1.8 miles and I figured I could run there in 20 minutes and get to security with 5 minutes to spare. Provided that I didn't get lost.

I got out of the car and there I was, all alone in Brooklyn in the dark, with only my phone to guide me to the start. I immediately came across two runners who were running towards the start as well. They said they knew how to get there so I followed them. Well, 3-4 minutes later and I found myself at the security checkpoint for the start line! Wow! What great luck. Apparently I got dropped off in an ideal location, and Google Maps was giving me the driving directions which avoided the blocked off roads. Phew.

I had plenty of time! What a huge relief. 

The security was pretty intense and unlike anything I'd ever experienced at a race, including Chicago and Boston. I was thankful for it, though. I had to remove my Garmin, take all of my food out of my clothes, and I still had to be individually searched. I didn't mind because I had plenty of time and I knew they were just doing their job. My car driver said he would never participate in a large event like this in NYC because he was afraid that someone would set off a bomb or something. That didn't give me the warm fuzzies about running over a bridge with 20,000 runners, but I quickly put that thought out of my mind.

After security, I waited for about 15 minutes for the corrals to open. Once they did, there was a mad dash for the porta potty lines. While waiting for the race to start, I was "recognized" by a few people who follow me on Instagram. I love meeting other runners because there is instantly so much to talk about. She even offered to take a video of me that I could post to my Instagram! 

I almost never run with my phone (I use an Apple Watch for long runs in case I need to call Greg) but I wanted to have it with me for safety reasons. It also gave me access to my credit cards, would connect me with Laura post-race, and I would be able to take some photos before and after. Without Greg as a spectator, I had to be my own photographer!

I wore a Brooks Sports bra that had a pocket for the phone in the back of it. I had worn this bra before with the phone and it was comfortable. That's also where I stashed my Maurten gel as well as three 10-dollar bills in case I needed cash. The only challenge was that it was hard to get the phone to go into its back pocket.

I wore the New Balance Super Comp Trainer V1. These shoes are not meant for racing-- they are meant for long runs. They do have a carbon fiber plate, but they are bulky and are considered "super trainers". I wore them because that's the pair I would have worn if I had been doing an easy 13 miles, and bonus: they were green to match my St. Patrick's day theme.

With 10 minutes to go, I had my caffeinated UCAN gel (mocha flavor) and removed my outer layers.

It was 55 degrees and completely overcast, which meant it was cold just standing around. Winds were 10-12 mph. The dew point was around 51-52 which made things humid. The road was wet because there was an occasional light mist. It was also quite foggy. A sticky, humid, foggy, overcast, grey ugly day! At least it wasn't raining. I give this weather a 5 out of 10 on my personal race weather scale. Could have been worse, but definitely could have been better.

Strategy and Goals
I had not run much at all since my marathon two weeks prior. My right hamstring and calf were tight and irritated, so I went to physical therapy to get that worked out. My longest run since the marathon had been 4.3 miles, so I was a bit unsure of how things would go. If I had been recovering as normal without this half marathon, I think I would have run about 8-9 miles as my long run, not 13.

My plan was to simply run this as an easy run. However, I knew I would get caught up in the excitement of the race, so I figured I would run it on the faster end of my easy range, so somewhere around 8:00/mile. But I would mostly just run by feel and focus on my surroundings and soaking up the experience. My main goal was simply to finish without over-taxing my body too much, while having an absolute blast.

I didn't study the elevation profile too much - but I knew to expect hills, and lots of them.

Miles 1-4

I was in Wave 1, corral B, which was based on my qualifying time of 1:29. I fully expected everyone to blaze past me, but that didn't really happen. This isn't to say that I started fast, but that it was quite crowded so everyone was running around an 8:00 pace for the first mile. 

The first mile was an out-and-back with a hairpin turn. It was cool to see the lead pack on the other side of the course. The second mile was a pretty massive hill through Prospect Park. I was feeling really good because it was only mile 2, so I probably ran that hill faster than I should have. I didn't carry my own water bottle so I made sure to stop at the water stations and drink. With the humidity I knew that hydration would be really important, even at my easy pace.

It was hard not to get carried away in mile 3. The elevation loss there was 121 feet so I flew down it at a pace of 7:53. And then I maintained that pace for mile 4. 

Mile 1: 8:09
Mile 2: 8:07
Mile 3: 7:53
Mile 4: 7:51

Miles 5-8
Next up: the Brooklyn Bridge! This was the first year that the course went over the Brooklyn Bridge and it's pretty cool to say I ran over it. There wasn't much of a view due to the high walls and also the fog, but
it was certainly a cool experience. I figured this would be a good time to take out my phone and record a video. Typically taking photos is a big no-no for me in races. I don't run with my phone and I rely on Greg to capture the photos and the videos. But I did record a video for about 10 seconds. The real challenge was getting the phone to go back into its pocket. I tried and tired and tried, and no luck. There was even a finger loop to help with placement, but I couldn't get it to go in.

Finally someone from behind helped me. He must have seen my massive struggle and was so nice to slip the phone right into place. That was so nice of him. I might have never gotten it back in! 

I did this all while running up a massive hill (or should I say, bridge) and the elevation gain in mile 5 was 106 feet. WOW. Mile 6 felt amazing as we ran down 106 feet. 

On the other side of the bridge we ran along the river and there surprisingly wasn't much crowd support. I was excited to get to midtown and it felt like miles 7 and 8 just went on and on with little variation in scenery. 

Mile 5: 8:23
Mile 6: 7:50
Mile 7: 7:54
Mile 8: 7:55

Love this pic- too bad about my head!

Miles 9-12
So far I was still feeling good. I was making sure to drink water at the water stations and I took my Maurten gel at the 8 mile mark. They were handing out Maurten gels shortly after that point, so I took one and stashed it in my sports bra. I'm not one to turn away a free Maurten gel. I was on track to average a pace of around 8:00 which was what I expected, but I didn't care too much about my pace-- I was literally just "rolling" with it. 

I was surprised when someone touched me from behind and then I realized it was Laura! She started further back in the corrals and I knew she would pass me because she would be running at race pace. It was a huge pick-me-up to see her. I briefly contemplated trying to stick with her, but that's when I realized my legs weren't up for that. They were starting to feel sore and achy. 

By mile 10 I realized that my legs were not happy with my decision to run this hilly course so soon after a marathon. I knew I'd be able to make it to the finish, but it wasn't going to be comfortable. 

Now that we were in Manhattan and in the middle of the city the crowd support really picked up. I fed off of the energy of the supporters and it was cool to have people cheering for me by name. My name was not on my bib, so they must have been people from Instagram. I think I was "recognized" at least 10 times during the race and multiple times at the start and finish! My favorite comment was when told me "wow, you're actually a real person!" Yes, I am real!

Times Square was so cool. I loved all the lights. What a thrill to run through it!

After mile marker 10 I knew there would be a right turn onto 7th avenue and then my uncle would be waiting for me around 48th Street. As I approached, I slowed down and looked and looked, but I didn't see him. Finally I heard someone call out my name and I found him on the left side. He thought he would be on my right but with the way the cab driver had to go, he ended up being on my left. I almost ran right by without even seeing him. 

I stopped for over a minute to get a photo with him and have a brief chat. It was a welcome stop with how my legs were feeling. He had made friends with the spectators next to him and they took a photo of us together, and also put my phone back in its pocket- which I was clearly incapable of doing. Seeing my uncle come out to support me was definitely the highlight of the race! 

I felt rejuvenated after my stop and was seemingly able to run faster. But that was short lived because there would be some challenging hills in the last mile.

Mile 9: 8:26
Mile 10: 8:37
Mile 11: 8:21
Mile 12: 10:12 (uncle stop!)

Mile 13- Finish
I looked down at my watch and I figured I could run under 1:50 if I picked up the pace and ran around 8:00 or just under for the final stretch. That shouldn't be too hard, right? WRONG. I am so glad this was a half marathon and not a 14-miler because I was truly starting to lose my ability to run. Whenever I run in Central Park for training the hills feel totally manageable. But whenever I race there the hills feel like mountains. My legs were toast and I was starting to feel the impact of the humidity because I was getting tired. 

My watch beeped 8:23 for mile 13, which was surprising because it felt much slower. There was a sign that said "400m" and I thought to myself, "that's just one lap of the track, super easy!" But that's when I felt like my legs were worthless appendages and totally dead. My pace for the last 0.31 according to my Garmin was 8:56. That's really all I had left! So maybe in a sense I did "race" it if that's all I had to give at the very end. It was so hard just to move at that point.

Needless to say I did not get my sub 1:50, but I didn't care. I was mostly just using that as a motivator to get to the finish line. My official time was 1:50:53.

As I finished, I was recognized by another Instagram runner. I was happy she was there because it was fun to walk though the long finish line chute with someone else. Like me, she had run a marathon two weeks prior. And like me, she said her legs were not happy later in the race. It was about a 10-minute walk to get out of the park and the conversation made it go by much quicker.

After the Race
I called Laura and we met up in the Starbucks just outside the finish line chute. It was jam packed so we walked a few blocks to a place that was less crowded. She had set a PR and I was so happy for her! I decided it was best not to linger for too long because I didn't want to get cold. I hadn't checked a bag so I only had my shorts, sports bra, and the heat sheet they gave us. 

I used Google Maps to find my way back to uncle's apartment. It was about 1.5 miles away and I figured I could walk that. The app guided me through Central Park and almost everyone I passed congratulated me. (These weren't people who recognized me from Instagram --  just general NYC people who saw me with a medal). That made it a really fun walk. 

The idea that I took a car from my uncle's apartment all the way to Brooklyn and then ran back was definitely cool. Plus, at $100 a ride, running back was definitely the best financial option!

I made it back to my uncle's place where he had a protein shake waiting for me. We had authentic NY bagels for lunch and I bought even more to take home and freeze. After that I flew home (Laura was staying an extra day) and was back at my house just in time to Door Dash myself dinner. I was exhausted but happy to have had such a wonderful experience.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was a fun weekend in so many ways. It was great to spend time with Laura and my uncle and to meet so many other runners. Running over the Brooklyn Bridge was iconic, Times Square was incredible and Central Park was challenging but still fun. I am glad I can cross this race off of my bucket list, and that I focused on savoring the experience. 

This was good validation that I did, in fact, run that marathon very hard. If I recover too quickly from a marathon it makes me second-guess if I gave it my all. I plan to take two days off running - maybe three, to ensure that my legs are ready to go again. Boston is up next, so I want to be careful to not overdo it before then. 

NYC Marathon: Love in the Big Apple

My husband Greg and I ran the NYC marathon yesterday.

Background
A year ago, Greg and I watched the NYC marathon streaming live on the computer. I told him how next year I wanted us to run that race together. At that point, however, Greg hadn't even run a half marathon so the idea of a full marathon seemed daunting to him. A few months later, we discussed the idea more seriously and although he wanted to run NYC, he was opposed to the fact that NYRR (the race organizers) charged $10 just to enter the lottery, so they were making about half a million dollars from people who didn't run the race. So I entered us both into the lottery with my credit card, without his knowledge. The next time the topic of a full marathon came up, I let him know that I entered us both in.

Lottery results were announced-- Greg got into the marathon and I did not. I wanted to run the race with him, so my only option was to pick a charity and raise money. I chose the Central Park Conservancy because it related to the marathon and because my dad's side of the family is from Manhattan. I often visited the park as a child. It wasn't easy, but I eventually raised the $3000 needed to meet my commitment.

Our Training

After my last failed BQ attempt, I decided to take a break from that goal and focus on training for NYC with Greg. However, I still ended up averaging 50-55 miles per week, with a peak of 58. Greg averaged about 45. We did most of our runs together, early in the morning before work. He followed the training plan to the letter, and the only time when we both slacked off was around our wedding and honeymoon in mid August.We didn't know what his goal should be. He'd never run a marathon before so we had no baseline. But as the training cycle progressed, Greg got faster and faster. He knocked out a 1:42 half marathon and a 1:14:00 Ten-Miler. Based on the various running calculators, these times indicated that he could run a 3:30-3:35 if he was well trained. Given that his training has been strong and that he'd run quite a few 18+ milers (including a 21-miler), we thought that 3:40 would be very realistic for him. I might have even encouraged him to shoot for faster if the course were flat. I ran a 3:51 back in 2008 after having averaged about 35 miles per week and only one 20-miler. Greg was definitely in better shape than I was back then!

As the race day got closer, I started to think that maybe I wouldn't be able to keep up with Greg. A 8:25 pace would be easy for him, and maybe I would break down, preventing him from running his best race. He thought the opposite. We both agreed that we didn't want to hold each other back, so we said that if one of us was struggling, the other one could go ahead and we'd meet up at the end. However, neither of us thought this would happen because we both thought that we were capable of a 3:40 based on training and recent race times.

The Expo
My uncle lives in Manhattan so we were fortunate enough to be able to stay with him. We flew into NYC on Saturday morning, made our way to his apartment and then to the Expo. As expected, there were no XS shirts left, nor were there and Smalls. This aggravated me to no end. I paid $185 for this race and they couldn't even guarantee me a shirt that fit! NYRR knows well in advance how many runners there will be and what sizes, so why can't they order the shirts accordingly and only give people the size they requested when registering? How hard can it be!? The NYRR representative told me that I should have gotten there on Thursday or Friday. I think that's ridiculous and I shouldn't have to miss a day of work to get my shirt size.

So I decided I would purchase a shirt that said "NYC Marathon," like I did when this happened to me at Shamrock. But no luck. All of the Smalls and XS's were sold out. Thankfully my Uncle found an XS shirt buried in a rack of mediums. And my friend George told me that the Nike booth had shirts that said NYC marathon, even though they were the official clothing sponsor. And then George proceeded to buy me the Nike shirt as a birthday present while I was off looking for Greg and my Uncle. Thanks George!!!!

Greg and I went to the "Niketown" store afterwards and got pace bands for our wrists that reflected the course's elevation profile. We figured we'd use this to pace ourselves for the uphills and downhills. The problem with the pace bands was that the font was so tiny and we had a hard time reading it while running. We agreed that I would set the pace and Greg would follow, since he has a tendency to get carried away and go too quickly. Ironically, when looking at our splits, he crossed the timing mats 1 second ahead of me each time for the first half of the race.

That evening, I put my D-Tag on my shoe, and was so excited to see that the D-Tag clip said "zebra" on it. So randomly wonderful!

Pre-Race
The race started at 9:40 on Sunday, and yet Greg and I were assigned to a 5:45am ferry to take us to Staten Island. We took a car service from my uncle's apartment to the ferry, got on the ferry, and then got on a bus that drove us to the starting area. I can't believe what a process it was just to get to the start! When we got to the start village, we had about three hours to kill. This late start disrupted my typical race morning ritual. I had to eat more food than I otherwise would, and was hoping my stomach wouldn't rebel.

The good thing about the starting villages and the corrals are that they had plenty of porta potties (very short lines), water, coffee, and other amenities like Vasaline and handwarmers. Dunkin Donuts was even giving away hats. It was about 38 degrees so we were all very cold. I had several layers of clothing but my feet kept going numb.

The corrals opened at 8:20 and closed at 8:55 so you didn't have much time to get there. Greg and I were among the first in the corral. I was assigned to a different corral but I was allowed to join him in his corral because his bib number was higher. Unfortunately, that meant running underneath the bridge for the first two miles instead of above it. (There are three different starting areas: two above the bridge and one below).

Eventually they moved us toward the starting area where we waited about 30 minutes to start. There was a huge screen that was showing the elite men being interviewed, which helped to pass the time. This is where I shed most of my extra layers, except the arm warmers.

Miles 1-2: Staten Island and Verazzano-Narrows Bridge
This was actually my least favorite part of the race. We were running under the bridge so our Garmin didn't get an accurate signal. It's always difficult to determine how fast you are going when you first start a marathon so we just tried to keep pace with the runners around us. Wind was whipping

at us sideways, making it feel like it was in the upper 20's and there was no sun to warm us. I really think running on top of the bridge would have been much more pleasant. The worst part about it was that both of my feet were numb. Completely numb. My ankles started to feel very strained because they were trying to do the stabilizing work that my feet couldn't do. I was worried that I would injure my ankle and have to drop out early. Thankfully I got my feet back after two miles when we got off the bridge. I didn't realize it was a two-mile bridge!

Miles 3-7: Brooklyn
Once off the bridge, I hit the lap button on my Garmin to re-align it with the mile markers and get an accurate pace and ditched my arm warmers. These miles went by quickly. It was a lot to take in-- people were cheering everywhere and the course was packed. It was tough trying to run with Greg because people would elbow their way in between us, and whenever we wanted to pass someone, there were two of us who had to make our way through. Greg later told me that he couldn't hear a word I was saying because the crowd was cheering so loudly.

Miles 8-13: Brooklyn
At around mile 9, I ditched the water bottle I had been carrying. I brought my own bottle because it was easier to drink from than the cups. In the areas where it was sunny, I actually started to feel hot and sluggish, despite it being 45 degrees. At mile 10, I started to assess how I was feeling. It didn't feel as easy as it did when I ran my best marathon back in March of 2008. This worried me a little. It didn't feel hard, but I could also tell I was exerting some effort. I kept checking in with Greg and he was feeling about the same. There were a few times when I had to slow us down or make us go slower than what the pace band said because I wanted to do the uphills conservatively.

Miles 14-16: Queens and the Queensboro Bridge
The halfway point was on the bridge over to Queens. I once again assessed how I was feeling and I felt better than I had felt in New Jersey (when I bonked at mile 18). I took this as a good sign. I had been warned that the Queensboro bridge is one of the toughest parts of the course. When we got onto it, our Garmins lost signal again, so we just decided to take it very easy up the hill. At first, I was thankful to be in the shade. I couldn't believe that I was actually started to feel overheated in only 45 degrees. That sun was strong, though. That bridge seemed to go on forever. I remembered that there was a long bridge at mile 16 of the Richmond marathon and that felt easy to me. The fact that this felt so much harder set off warning bells in my head. I kept saying to Greg "we love this" over and over again. The more I said it, the easier it was to deal with mentally. It was such a long bridge-- almost an

entire mile of complete uphill. Once we hit the downhill, I though things would get a lot easier, but instead my quads just felt murdered. I wanted to go quickly down the hill to make up for the lost time, and we did. However, my quads paid the price for it.

Miles 17-19: Manhattan (First Avenue)
Several people had warned us not to go too quickly up first avenue due to the excitement of being in Manhattan. By this point, I had stopped looking at the Garmin and just focused on running strong. I think we were running in the 8:35-8:40 range at this point, which was slower than our 8:25 first half. We looked for my uncle on 64th street, where he said he would be, but we didn't spot him. Every so often, I noticed that Greg was dropping behind and I'd have to slow down. At around mile 19 he told me he was really struggling and that I should push forward. I was feeling good, and we had talked about this happening and where we'd meet afterwards so I (being on auto-pilot at this point) decided to keep running strong because I felt relatively good for mile 19.

Miles 19-21: The Bronx
Now that I was on my own, I started to think about the finish time that I was on track for. I thought I could set a PR, but I knew that a 3:40 BQ was out of the question. And then I just started to feel guilty for leaving Greg. I reminded myself that this marathon was supposed to be about him and me supporting him. And here I was, being selfish and running ahead. It started eating away at me so badly and all I could think about was him crossing that finish line alone, without me there by his side. After about a mile and a half, all I could think about was how much I wanted to be with Greg and how badly I felt for leaving him to fend for himself.

So I stopped and turned around, and watched all the runners go by. And I immediately felt guilty for stopping. I felt like a wimp. Half of me was berating myself for stopping and wasting time and the other half of me was berating myself for having separating from Greg to begin with. About a minute passed and there was no Greg. I didn't think he could have fallen that far behind me after just 15 minutes or so. I started to worry that maybe I missed him and would have to keep running again to catch him. But soon I heard my name being called-- he actually saw me before I saw him. I was so grateful that he called out for me, because I might have missed him otherwise. There were just so many runners!!!

Once I was back with him, I was so relieved and extremely thankful that I came to my senses.

Miles 22-24: Manhattan
This was the hardest part of the race. Greg wanted to run/walk, so I did that with him. But once I started walking, I started to realize how much my legs hurt. And then it really hurt to try and run. We walked a great deal during these two miles. I started to get chest cramps, which I had never experienced during a race before.

He told me that I shouldn't have felt guilty for running ahead, and that we talked about it beforehand. But he also said he didn't think he would hurt as much as he did, so he was glad I came back for him. I was so glad I stopped and waited for him. During those miles, I was just so happy to be there for him and to have him by my side-- and that was all that really mattered. I'd already had plenty of marathons to run my own race, and I would have plenty more in the future. This marathon was something that we were supposed to do together, as a team.

Miles 25-Finish (Central Park)
As we entered Central Park, there was a huge sign that said "The Central Park Conservancy Welcomes you to Central Park." And I had an enormous amount of pride for raising all that money for them. Central Park is such a wonderful place and I was happy that I was able to contribute to the well-being of the park. Greg and I decided we would just "get it done" and run to the finish line. I actually felt much better while I was running than when I was walking. The hard part was that wewere running uncomfortably slowly. I wanted to speed up, but every time I did, I noticed the Greg was falling behind. I think that going at this pace really did a number on my legs because they are extremely sore today. (My fastest, best marathons have left me the least sore, and my slowest, poorest-run races have left me the most sore. Probably from being out on the course longer).

As we approached the finish line, we held hands and smiled for the camera. It was a wonderful moment for both of us! Our finish time was 4:08:32. This was my 11th marathon finish and my 6th fastest (or 5th slowest, depending on how you look at it). Even though I might have been able to PR, a few minutes off of my marathon time wouldn't be worth the guilt I would have felt for leaving Greg. And it wouldn't have been as satisfying as helping the man I love get through a tough spot.

Post-Race
Greg and I really hated how NYRR set up the finish line chute The race brochure said that it takes runners an average of 45-60 minutes to exit the park. They basically keep moving you down the road (very slowly) for over a mile until you are free to sit down and have your own space. The baggage check trucks are all lined up, starting with truck 60, and we had to walk all the way down to truck 17, and there was a line when we got there. It started to get cold again and I was shivering and my fingers were going numb. I was very thankful to get our bag with my warm clothes inside it. The food was very unappetizing. There was a Power Bar recovery bar, which Greg and I both ate too quickly and then felt nauseous, a pack of hard pretzels and an apple. I wanted something warm and comforting!!!

Once we exited the park, we really didn't want to walk all the way back to the east side where my uncle lives, and there were no cabs or buses that were going that way. We found someone riding a bike that had a two-passenger seat attached with a blanket so we took that back to the east side and down to 64th. Finally, nearly two hours after having finished, we were back at my uncle's apartment.

Final Thoughts
I'm glad that I had the NYC Marathon experience, but I am not anxious to do it again. It's a very tough course, and the 4 hours it takes to get to the race and then wait for the race to start was annoying. I didn't like how the finish line chute was so long, and at times, the crowd support was too overwhelming. Although it's nice to have people cheering for you, when there are 2 million people cheering for you throughout the entire race, it starts to lose its impact. I think I just wanted some peace and quiet towards the end. I prefer smaller races when you have some time to yourself and there aren't tons of runners everywhere and the crowd support isn't overwhelming. What I love about Richmond and Shamrock is that crowd support comes in bursts and you're very thankful for it at those times. All the spectators with their cheering was sort of exhausting to me. But that's just my personal take on it.

Greg is happy just to have finished, but we both agree that we would have done better if we had gone out more conservatively. We underestimated how challenging the course would be. I feel some guilt about advising him to shoot for a 3:40, but he agrees that he, too, thought it was a realistic goal

given his training and other race performances. At least now he has a baseline for his next marathon-- Sharmock in March.

I think it's going to be a long recovery for me because my legs are pretty beat up, and my ankle feels inflamed from being overworked when my feet were numb. I don't really care what time I could have got, had I kept going. I have nothing to prove to myself and I got much more satisfaction from finishing with Greg.

Regarding the fundraising, there were 56 people running for the Central Park Conservancy. We raised a collective $166,609 for the charity. I just got an email (addressed to all 56 of us) that contained this: "Elizabeth Goldman Clor involved the greatest number of unique donors in her effort – 46 family members, friends, colleagues, and other loved ones made a contribution in support of her pledge." Wow! So even though there were other people who raised more money than I did, they had fewer donors, who donated larger amounts. I rallied the support of everyone I knew to reach my $3000 goal. Heck-- I don't even live in New York city and I got the most donations! :-) I will be receiving a signed copy of “Seeing Central Park – The Official Guide to the World’s Most Famous Urban Park,” by Sara Cedar Miller for the person who got the most donations. Thank you to all my readers who helped me reach my fundraising goal!

Overall, a wonderful, unforgettable experience!