Apologies for waiting til this morning to send my comments but yesterday was a travel day other than an awesome breakfast at a place called Comfort Dinner on E45th. and after the race, it was a very slow walk back to the hotel and then on to an incredible steak dinner at The Capital Grill on E42nd. Sunday was truly an amazing experience. I froze my ass off on Staten Island from 5:15 am till my start at 10:20. The temp was hovering around 40 degrees F till the sun came out when gradually it warmed up to 48F but the 15 mph wind going across the Verazano Narrows Bridge was noticable.....met some wonderful folks from Wales, Chicago, NY, California and Atlanta.....the neighbourhoods, the incredible people who lined the entire route - "You're in the Bronx now Baby!"; people hanging from their windows, on top of buildings, giving constant support was mind boggling - got me emotional a couple of times out there. I felt great until mile 12 as I was on pace for around 4:25 but my left quad clammed up on me and as a result, my knee felt like it was frozen. I had to constantly stretch it out and thus lost 20 minutes or so but at least with that approach I knew that I could finish. Other than my leg, I felt terrific the entire way. Coming into Central Park (Damn is it ever big when you are running from Harlem!) was incredible too....rounding along 59th and up the west side to the finish. I ran without stopping for the final six miles - somehow doing so got my mind off of my knee - it had already fallen off anyway - the people of New York are terrific. They make this run a truly enjoyable one. People walking by me as MJ and I returned to our hotel after the race continually congratulating everyone who they saw who had taken part and proudly displayed their medal. Today, it is back to "normal with my three black running toes and very stiff shins as a reminder of an experience that I will replay inn my mind many times. Liz Robbins, a NY Times sports reporter has written a book, "No Race Like Any Other" that I have started - it allows me to relive the entire experience.......now I gotta come up with my next running goal: Chicago? Hawaii? Berlin? Paris?........then again, I sure like those Boston marathon jackets.....can I?
Hey Chris, This video's for you. Mike
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
NYC Marathon, been there, done that. A Guest Blog from Chris.
Apologies for waiting til this morning to send my comments but yesterday was a travel day other than an awesome breakfast at a place called Comfort Dinner on E45th. and after the race, it was a very slow walk back to the hotel and then on to an incredible steak dinner at The Capital Grill on E42nd. Sunday was truly an amazing experience. I froze my ass off on Staten Island from 5:15 am till my start at 10:20. The temp was hovering around 40 degrees F till the sun came out when gradually it warmed up to 48F but the 15 mph wind going across the Verazano Narrows Bridge was noticable.....met some wonderful folks from Wales, Chicago, NY, California and Atlanta.....the neighbourhoods, the incredible people who lined the entire route - "You're in the Bronx now Baby!"; people hanging from their windows, on top of buildings, giving constant support was mind boggling - got me emotional a couple of times out there. I felt great until mile 12 as I was on pace for around 4:25 but my left quad clammed up on me and as a result, my knee felt like it was frozen. I had to constantly stretch it out and thus lost 20 minutes or so but at least with that approach I knew that I could finish. Other than my leg, I felt terrific the entire way. Coming into Central Park (Damn is it ever big when you are running from Harlem!) was incredible too....rounding along 59th and up the west side to the finish. I ran without stopping for the final six miles - somehow doing so got my mind off of my knee - it had already fallen off anyway - the people of New York are terrific. They make this run a truly enjoyable one. People walking by me as MJ and I returned to our hotel after the race continually congratulating everyone who they saw who had taken part and proudly displayed their medal. Today, it is back to "normal with my three black running toes and very stiff shins as a reminder of an experience that I will replay inn my mind many times. Liz Robbins, a NY Times sports reporter has written a book, "No Race Like Any Other" that I have started - it allows me to relive the entire experience.......now I gotta come up with my next running goal: Chicago? Hawaii? Berlin? Paris?........then again, I sure like those Boston marathon jackets.....can I?
Hey Chris, This video's for you. Mike
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2 comments:
Way to go Chris! Aside from the steak dinner I'm completely envious! I will run this race one day, mark my words. As for qualifying for Boston I'm afraid it's not in my realm of possibility. My Q time for Boston? 3:35! My current pb is 4:10 so I'm a long way off. Suppose I can always buy myself in the back door, but I don't think I'll be qualifying anytime soon. Cheers, hope to see you soon Chris. Mike
Sounds like an awesome experience. I hope to be there one day. Great job!
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