HOLY SHIT...

"Proof" that...

I DID IT!

So, yesterday morning I went for a run through the five Burroughs of NYC with 50,000+ of my closest friends...or I ran the NYC Marathon!  It has been an interesting time processing the weekend and the race.  This experience was nothing like I have ever experienced before.  There are two parts to it, which I will try to explain the best I can.

First I will explain the race itself, as that is the easiest to articulate in words.  I was in wave 1, corral A.  That meant I was the first group after the elites and local pro's.  I was in the first 50-100 people ON the starting line.  Once the cannon fired, yes they fire a damn cannon, we were off on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island.  The elites were a little ways back from us on the right hand lane of the bridge.  That was so amazing to watch them run by so close to me.  Once we crossed the bridge we were in Brooklyn for about 11 miles...almost all straight on one road.  After the 13 mile mark I was feeling pretty good still.  We crossed at 1:30 and the idea of doing another sub 3 hour marathon started to enter my mind for the first time.  I had not set a real time goal with my training setbacks.  Now ideas crept into my mind that were not good to be having at ONLY the half way point.  So what does a level-headed individual do in a situation like this?  He maintains a steady pace.  Too bad I am not one of those level-headed individuals.  Picking up the pace to keep the 3 hour pace group behind me seemed like a better idea.  As a matter of fact I threw a couple faster miles in there to drop them back and out of sight.  Then the Queensboro Bridge is at about mile 15 and the winds (up to 40 mile/hr gusts) were right in our faces.  This is also where the pace group had gained on me so I pushed a little more to get back the ground I had lost.  Fortunately for me, or unfortunately, a pacer maintains a steady pace so I knew I was pulling away.  That damn bridge will remain in my memory as the toughest run I have ever done.  The rest of the race is a blur until around mile 22.  This is where my erratic pace, due to being partially injured and not trained to attempt a sub 3 marathon in ridiculous conditions, caught up with me.  The pace group was at my side and my legs said no more.  I had hit the wall for the first time ever.  I decided it was not worth killing myself over the next four miles.  I let them go and a huge weight was lifted from me.  I took some extra fluids and greeted central park with a clear head.  Too bad my legs were not on board with finishing though.  Central park was so amazingly painful, but I kept trucking along and was able to finish with a VERY respectable 3:02:08.  My 2nd fastest marathon and another BQ.  I had finished the NYC Marathon in some of the worse conditions since the 70's.  I had also placed 824th out of 50,564 people (the largest ever!).  You do the math...I'll take it!  A sign I saw during the marathon puts some things into perspective.  It read, "26.2 miles because 26.3 would be just crazy!"  Running, no racing 26.2 miles seems normal to me.  Going any further just seems nuts...not one step further at all!  This marathon was easily the hardest one I have ran out of the four.  I experienced a level of pain that I not so sure I want to go through again.  If it weren't for crowds along the course, I know for sure that I would not have come through as well as I did.  Having that many people cheering you on personally (I had my name written on my shirt) is an experience I cannot begin to explain the impact of.  Next time, yes I am planning on doing another, will be different.  When that will be is unknown at this point in time.  For now I plan to do a short run tomorrow to help my legs heal and a few more days after that.  The running part was easy to reflect on.  The rest, well...

The other part of this experience was running for the Christopher Reeve Foundation.  This organization is amazing and needs to be more in the news for what they have done, are doing, and will be doing.  When I first decided to run the NYC Marathon, the decision was to do with for a charity.  There are so many to choose from, and I wanted it to mean something.  I found some with donations levels at between $2000-$2500.  If I just wanted to run the marathon I could have gone that route to make it easier.  I am sure those are great organizations, but I wanted something that meant more to me.  When I found Team Reeve, it struck me immediately.  Two years ago I herniated three discs in my neck and shoulders.  Luckily it was not that bad and I was able to rehab/recover from it.  Team Reeve was about raising awareness and money for SCI (spinal cord injuries) and research.  I found out that this year four people were able to gain bladder, bowel, and sexual functions as well as standing on their own and even taking steps.  This was from using a device that was over 40 years old.  The very funds that I was able to raise are going towards a new study that 36 people will be a part of.  This research now has the ability to take huge leaps towards finding out more about SCI's.  I was able to meet some amazing people that make up Team Reeve and the Christopher Reeve Foundation.  It is a truly amazing experience to do something that has such an impact now and in the future.  It is so difficult to put into words what this experience has done to me.  I doubt that the actual level of emotions I felt could be put to words.  Between emails and face-to-face stories from people living with SCI's, or loved ones doing so, I have become a weeping and snotty nosed mess.  My life has truly been touched by some really amazing people, both directly and indirectly.

So for now, and as always, see you out there...