Nurse on the Run

This marks my first spectator report, and let me tell you…the New York City Marathon is a GREAT race to start!  While I was sad that I wasn’t out there running, I had a blast cheering for everyone.  Trust me, I’m a huge running nerd so it was soooo exciting to watch everyone out there running.  I love it!

Let’s rewind to Saturday!  Saturday was full of meeting lots of internet running buddies, as the Twitter/Daily Mile Brunch was on Saturday morning.  Both familiar faces and new twitter buddies were made over a delicious brunch, with a menu just for us:

I had the Greek omelette!

Pretty cool,  huh?  I wonder if the restaurant people thought we were weird.    It was also funny to see so many people take out their phones/cameras and snap pictures of the menu and each other.  We’re a funny bunch!  It was definitely a good time spent swapping running stories and meeting new friends.  I never would have met any of them if it wasn’t for twitter/the internet running world, so I’m grateful for technology.

After I filled myself up with a yummy omelet, I went for a run through Central Park to check out the sites of the marathon one more time.  Since it was mid-afternoon, fewer people were out running, but there were TONS of people near the finish line snapping pictures.  A bit harder to dodge them, but I had a good run overall.  Still feeling the energy in the air!

Saturday, November 6
8.26 miles in 1:00:56, avg pace of 7:23

Saturday night?  Another blogger meet-up!  Yasi was in town for her FIRST MARATHON, so naturally we had to meet up!  We first met for yoga in Princeton about a year ago, but despite attempts to meet up for froyo in Princeton…it never happened.  So we met up for froyo in NYC so we could discuss life and I could pass on my marathoning tips.  We headed to 16 Handles in the East Village, which was delicious and highly recommended.  We chatted about all things running and then parted way early so she could get a good night’s sleep before her first marathon!  (Which she rocked in 4:02!!)

Saturday night was low key, as I watched my DVR’d version of the Fred Lebow movie, “Run for Your Life.”  It was definitely awesome to get some background on the NYC marathon and Fred Lebow, and it got me extra excited to spectate on Sunday!  I’ll definitely be watching it again before I run NYC next year. 

MARATHON SUNDAY

You’re probably thinking…get on with it already!!  So here we are, marathon Sunday!  I got to sleep in a bit later than everyone who had to board the ferries/buses to Staten Island!  After (probably too) much debate between heading to the finish line or going out to mile 14 with Speedy Sasquatch, I decided that mile 14 would be fabulous to catch people and provide a little mid-race cheer.  Plus, mile 14 was in Queens, and I’d never actually been there on purpose, so mile 14 it was.  We also met up with Robin, who ended up being my cheer buddy for the day!

  Water stop on 1st Ave, half a block from my apartment!

  Queens, just before mile 14!

Queens banner!

We hung out just before mile 14 and waited for the elites to show up!  I kept checking twitter, and posts were saying that the women were moving “slow” (yeah, that’s my “slow” pace too), but they eventually got to us and we could cheer for ten seconds before playing the waiting game for the elite men.

Motor(cycle)cade.

  Elite women!!

Next up came the elite men, who were also going “slow,” per reports.  I guess 5:30 is slow for them, but it’s faster than I’ve ever ran a mile, sooooo take that for what you will.

Elite men!

Little did we know that this was one of the last miles that Haile would be running, as he dropped out (and then announced his retirement from running!) about two miles later.  Crazy.  We’ll see if he’s done for good…

After the elite men rolled through, it was time for the real fun to begin!  While I definitely enjoyed seeing the elites fly by (because you only see them for about fifteen seconds!), it was sooooo much fun to cheer for everyone when the masses started coming through!  I apparently know tons of fast people, as the first guy I knew came through around 1:20-ish (yikes!) and then they just kept rolling through.  Some of them yelled at me because I didn’t see them (I always spot my parents before they spot me, so that makes sense), but I saw Lam, Josh, David, Eissa, and Elyssa.  (Sorry if I’m forgetting anyone!) Actually, I think they all spotted me first…oops!  They were all super far in front of the thousands of people behind them, which made it easier to see them…and they were rocking!

We were on the look out for Sharon, as Robin was supposed to run with her for ten miles, but we never ended up finding her!  Spectator fail…runner tracker didn’t help either, as it lied to us multiple times and/or gave us late splits.  However, Robin and I are superb cheerers otherwise, as we were often in sync and just started yelling all the names we saw on the front of people’s shirts.  Seriously runners, put your name on your shirt!!  I had soooo much fun yelling for everyone, and I loved when runners give a nod, smile, wink, wave, “thanks!” or anything to acknowledge the cheers.  (I usually try to do this when people cheer for me.)  Some high fives were given, and everyone was looking awesome as they came through mile 14.

Here they come!!

It’s getting crowded in here!

It’s really funny when the runners point you out…I was checking my phone, and a man ran by and said, “Now there’s a Boston runner!!”  I was wearing my Boston jacket…so that was quite funny.  Also, when the 3:40 pace group ran by, I screamed, “You’re going to Boston!!”  Only 12 miles to hang on…they had it!  (Okay, easier said than done.)

Definitely loved yelling for people (especially Waldo and Mario!), but after wayyyyy too long, we realized we had probably missed Sharon and decided to head over to Manhattan.  Our spectating plan left a bit to be desired, but we took the E back to Manhattan then had a little run of our own up Fifth Avenue, stopping at mile 23, where we stationed ourselves to start yelling again.  The man next to us got really into cheering too, which was funny. 

Mile 23…look alive!

I know that feeling all too well…

It was fun to see some of the same races from mile 14, but they certainly looked a little more tired at this point!  People were walking, others were fighting up the incline that is Fifth Avenue.  It was great to be able to yell things like “You got this!!” and “You’re looking AWESOME!” (but never “You’re almost there!”…I hate when people yell that.).  My voice was hurting a bit, but nothing compared to running 26.2 miles, so no complaints from me.

Our next stop (we had no clue what we were doing…) was a little walk through Central Park, where we spotted runners inside the park:

Goooo runners!

That was pretty much the anticlimactic end to our spectating adventure.  We ended up over by the finish area, where runners had their medals and space blankets attempting to find their stuff and families/friends.  Definitely had the post-marathon walk going on. 

Overall, I had an AMAZING time cheering for everyone, and soooooo many people ran crazy good times, and I’m so proud of all of you.  Many goals were met (from PRs to “have fun!” to completing a FIRST marathon), and it was great to be out there supporting everyone.  That being said, I can’t wait to run next year!

When my patients at work spike fevers, we don’t usually worry too much since in the beginning days following a burn, the metabolic reaction of the body naturally causes an increase in body temperature.  I, however, am not a burn victim, but I do have a fever.

MARATHON FEVER.

Today was filled with activities related to the NYC Marathon, and I’m not going to lie…I really wish I was running!  There’s so much energy in this city, especially when you hang out in Central Park and the expo.  Definitely jealous of those people who get to toe the line and run the five boroughs on Sunday, but I’ll get my chance next year.  This time around, I’ll be screaming my butt off for 45,000 of my closest friends!

Taking full advantage of my day off (gotta love working three days per week!), I went for a run in Central Park to check out the finish line in daylight and to squeeze in a run, of course.  I passed soooo many runners who looked like they were in town for the marathon…or maybe I just think everyone here is running except me.  It was a cool and cloudy day, but a great day for a run and for snapping pictures of the sights.  I did the full loop in Central Park, stopping to capture some of the marathon bliss to share with you in different parts of the country!

Marathon route on the east side of the park.

You know you love that “Mile 26” sign…I know I do!

Gotta be a great sight to see!

You can’t really get close to the finish line…but there it is!!

I got a few funny looks from people when I took out my camera to take pictures during my run, but I like to think that they were smiling because they had the marathon joy!  It’s really fun to see all the work that is going into the marathon…it gets me really excited.

My run was pretty good too, although my fastest mile was definitely right after I ran through the marathon finish line…must have been inspired!

Friday, November 5
8.05 miles in 1:01:13, avg pace of 7:36

After my run, I got all showered up and headed over to the expo…even though I’m not running, I’m still a giant running nerd and wanted to check everything out.  Big expo with lots of running stuff?  Count me in!  After a little subway trip, I ended up here:

Where the world comes to run!

And then I was welcomed in many different languages. 

Like a total running geek, I roamed the entire expo, stopping to chat at different booths.  Highlights for me included the Garmin booth, where the man recommended getting a foot pod to combat the tall buildings in the city.  This would also require getting a new Garmin, as my old, old 205 isn’t compatible with the foot pods.  I’ll contemplate that before I drop all the money for better accuracy…

My next stop was at the National Marathon booth, where I inquired about the course…I might want to run another marathon before I do Big Sur in May, and DC isn’t too far so I could squeeze it in in March.  I have other options on the list (New Orleans…Shamrock), but it’s definitely a marathon to think about.  (High on the list because my new marathon running, long lost sister Lauren is probably running it!)  The guys at the booth seemed excited about it (obviously…), so we’ll see.

All the running vendors had their own lines of NYC marathon gear, but since I’m not running it this year, I definitely didn’t want to buy anything that says “NYC Marathon 2010” on it.  However, lots of other cute shirts were around, and I’m an NYC runner now, so I figured I could buy some shirts to reflect that.    Can’t go to the expo and not buy anything!  Check out my loot:

You can’t miss me in this hot pink shirt!  I do <3 to run, that’s no lie!

NYC I RUN THESE STREETS.  Oh so true.

When I first got to the expo, I had feared that I missed seeing Dathan Ritzenhein, but as I was wandering around, I spotted his name on the ING speaker list…for 5pm!  Luckily it was about 4:35pm at this point, so I had perfect timing.    Once I had this realization, I (almost literally) ran into Sarah Stanley, so it was great to see her!  I missed her talk earlier in the day, but you can’t beat running into inspiring runners at the expo.  She’s not running this weekend, but she’s spreading her inspiration for others to catch!

After parting ways with Sarah, I grabbed a spot in the ING viewing area next to a couple running friends, Ben and Josh, both who ran Chicago and are running NYC on Sunday.  (Again, very jealous.)  We watched the marathon course preview video while waiting for Dathan to show up, and soon enough, he was ready to talk to us!  He spoke about his training, how he’s been working on changing his form, how Americans compare to the speedy Africans, barefoot running (hot topic…), and general running talk.  I love elite marathoners for how down to Earth they all seem to be.  As the moderator for the talk said, running is one of the easiest sports for elite athletes to relate to us not-so-elite participants.  We all go through pain at mile 22…it just takes some of us a bit longer to get there! 

In other news, Dathan is not leaving his wife for me.  They apparently met in the sixth grade…guess I won’t be a home wrecker.

  Dathan!!

So excited to meet him!

You know which name I’ll be yelling on Sunday.    GOOD LUCK to everyone running on Sunday…I’ll definitely be yelling for you if I see you, but know that I’m cheering for you even if I don’t see you.  I can’t wait for race reports and to hear all about it!