| Every year, the New York City Marathon is the | | | | covers were especially dangerous; I slipped a few |
| largest marathon in the world. So many people want | | | | times but managed to keep my feet. The wind |
| to run the race that there is a lottery that excludes | | | | began to pick up a little as we came back to Central |
| over half of the applications 5 or 6 months before | | | | Park, and I tried getting John to focus on my |
| the first runner even crosses the starting line! | | | | shoulder blades and to draft off of me. |
| The race travels through the 5 boroughs of New | | | | Mile 23: 6:43 / 2:30:58 |
| York City. It can make a huge difference to know | | | | John was really struggling by the time that we got to |
| what to expect in a marathon, so I'd like to share | | | | Central Park. I told him that I would keep the pace |
| some of my experiences from the race to help you | | | | up until mile 24 and that then I was going to take off |
| on your way. Your experiences will be unique and | | | | and finish my race, and he said that he would |
| your own, but this should help you discover the race | | | | definitely finish and to go when I wanted. I started |
| and know what to look for. | | | | dropping his name to the crowd so that they could |
| Here are my experiences in the last third of the | | | | cheer for him by name, and that helped out a bit. |
| marathon, taking us from Manhattan into the Bronx | | | | Mile 24: 6:36 / 2:37:34 |
| and back again. | | | | I stopped dropping my pace back to wait for John, |
| Mile 18: 6:25 / 1:58:02 | | | | but kept up the pace that we had been running. He |
| I started to notice that John was faltering around | | | | kept his eye on me and was able to key off of me |
| mile 18, even though he was not yet ready to admit | | | | for the rest of this mile. Once I hit 24, though, I |
| it. I grabbed a second gel packet from the aid station | | | | dropped a few hammers. I tried offering John $20 if |
| since I thought he might need it in a few miles. I told | | | | he outsprinted me, but he was gone shortly |
| John to look up and that if we kept up this pace, we | | | | thereafter. |
| would pass about 2000 of the people in front of us. I | | | | Mile 25: 6:17 / 2:43:51 |
| think that that estimate wound up being pretty | | | | I started passing people left and right, even more so |
| accurate. | | | | than we had since we got back into Manhattan. I felt |
| Mile 19: 6:25 / 2:04:27 | | | | great. I was able to see the man in the yellow singlet |
| There was a band of kids that were about 8 or 9 | | | | that we had been chasing all race up ahead, but he |
| years old just before we got to the Bronx. I don't | | | | looked pretty strong and I was only able to reel him |
| know if they were really playing or if they were just | | | | in very slowly. |
| pretending to with music blaring, but it sounded good | | | | Mile 26: 6:06 / 2:49:57 |
| and they were having a lot of fun rocking out! | | | | I wanted to run under 6 minutes for my final mile; I |
| Mile 20: 6:32 / 2:11:00 | | | | may have done it in the actual last mile but I forgot |
| We left Manhattan and crossed into the Bronx. The | | | | to look at my watch when I passed the 1 mile to go |
| bridge into the Bronx was an easier slope than any | | | | sign. I just missed running sub-6 for mile 26. The race |
| of the previous bridges, but the footing was a little | | | | day coverage mentioned that there was a hill |
| bit off on the way over it. I did not really care for | | | | somewhere in here, but I did not even notice it. I |
| the bridge because I was worried that I might turn | | | | was just powering through to the finish line. |
| an ankle. | | | | Mile 26.2: 1:21 / 2:51:18 |
| Mile 21: 6:39 / 2:17:40 | | | | The last mad dash in. I passed another half dozen or |
| John's family caught up to us (barely) in the Bronx. | | | | 10 people, but I couldn't catch the yellow singlet and I |
| They got off the train and managed to get to the | | | | got outsprinted by another guy from about 200 |
| course just as we were passing. We also saw a man | | | | meters out. Everybody else seemed like they were |
| laying in the road with some cops standing over him; | | | | standing still, though. The crowd noise was fantastic! I |
| I think that he did not properly prepare for his race. I | | | | stood around chatting with volunteers for 3 or 4 |
| can only assume that he did not finish. | | | | minutes until John finished, and we began traveling to |
| Mile 22: 6:34 / 2:24:14 | | | | the far end of Central Park to get our drop bags. |
| The water stations were frequent and large | | | | Lance Armstrong came in about 4 minutes after |
| throughout the entire marathon; the biggest problem | | | | John, which was 8 or 9 minutes faster than we had |
| was that the road would get slippery with all of the | | | | thought he would run based on what we saw in the |
| spilled water and Gatorade and from the cups littering | | | | 6th mile. |
| the road immediately after the aid stations. Manhole | | | | |