Ok, I give up on the official photos. I ordered the download, and I don't what's taking so long. You can view them here.
Now, let's get started. Overall, on a scale of 1 - 10, I'd give Marathon Day a 22! SO FUN! SO EXCITING! SO INSPIRING! Here is a little video documentation of it all:
Of course you'll want to watch the whole video, but in case want to skip around a little, you'll find me at 1:22, 1:55, and 3:44 (you'll also see me running my mouth in the background while someone else is being interviewed at 3:35).
Together, we raised over $8,200 for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (slightly short of my goal, but with this economy, what can ya do?)! Amazing. I knew whatever happened on race day, I'd be wearing my Team Reeve shirt with my head held high and my heart full of gratitude for all your help and encouragement.
The running part was pretty much the icing on the cake - and faster than I expected! I had been using a pace band for 4:14, but I threw it out at mile 20, turned it up, and finished in 4:06. An 8 minute PR!!! My first ever marathon PR (aside from my first ever marathon). The only downside is that the course is so fun and so filled with energy that the thought did cross my mind to slow down and make it all last longer. And I would like to point out that Brooklyn is, by far, the best borough. Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene was so full of energy and love, it brought me to tears!
There were so many other moments and such that I want to write about, but I'm having trouble organizing it all. So here is a random list:
- My mom came to see me run! She was an excellent cheerer, especially on 4th Ave. I sent her to mile 25.5 on Central Park South too, but she was kickin back on some bleachers when I ran by. Hehe.
- Someone came up to me on 4th Ave, and told me he was running for his friend who is quadriplegic. We wished each other luck. I hope that guy had a good race!
- Christina G., Cathy, Luis and I met up with Margaret at the start. It was really freakin cold. I was also really freakin good to see Margaret (who moved to Minneapolis recently).
- Christina G. and I did a little minute loosen up run the day before the race. We also took pre-race portraits with Sister (I haven't seen them yet though!!)
- Speaking of Christina G. - you should read her blog post. Much more organized and detailed!
- Robert also has a good race recap!
- Running over the lower level of the Verrazano isn't as scenic as the upper level, but it's ok. I had my turn for the upper level last year.
- Luis had a tough race - major knee difficulty. I tried to convince him that a couple advil will not kill him!
- I beat Luis by 2 minutes. Not that we keep track of such things.
- I was stuck behind a guy dressed like Borat in a nasty banana thong for about 5 miles. His whole butt was showing, and it was not a good look.
- Deb, Jinny, and Melka totally surprised me and jumped in and carried me through some of the toughest parts of the course. Those guys rock!
- The ladies of Team Awesome make awesome cheerleaders!
- I got my goody bag this year (last year I walked right past it)! The Powerbar recovery bar hit the spot.
- I spilled Gatorade all over my shirt and the iron-on's ran. Not cute.
I'm not done marathoning. It's just too fun. And my legs still work and my dad's still don't. There is still work to be done. Marine Corps Marathon 2009, perhaps?
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