TCS New York City Marathon 2016

Off to New York City I went in November 2016. The planning for this trip started back in January of 2016 with my husband wanting to go to New York City in the fall to Celebrate our 14 year Wedding Anniversary. We didn’t have a date set yet for our trip when I was presented with the opportunity to run the TCS New York Marathon for the charity organization, Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. So we made it a combo Anniversary/Marathon trip! 10 days to explore and have fun in New York City (without the 4 kids might I add!) Once plans were set, the training began. Since I first started running in the Fall of 2015 I have slowly been running more and more as well as adding in cross training, weights and yoga to compliment my running training. Before I started marathon training my longest run was 13.1 miles so I was curious to see how I would handle 20 mile training runs. At first it was hard…very hard! What carried me through was the motivation running for such an amazing organization and supporting the Maasai. On those long runs I would visualize running with the Maasai and my Team Maasai members and that carried me through those hard days and hard runs. I couldn’t give up! I couldn’t stop! I had to keep training and running so that I could make the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, my team members, my friends, my family and myself proud. Those long hard runs slowly became easier and easier and a few weeks before leaving for New York I ran my last 22 mile training run and it was easy!! I can’t believe I just said that…it was EASY! Just one year early I had taken up running and it felt like torture, fast forward a year later and here I was running 22 mile training runs…AMAZING! Even though I did not train with Team Maasai, I felt them all with me through the 6 months of marathon training. They helped me reach a goal I never thought I could do…run a marathon…The TCS New York Marathon!

Arriving in New York

On November 1^st we left for New York bright and early in the morning. We were so excited! As we took off I remember thinking, “Goodbye California, when I come home I will be a marathon finisher!” We landed in New York in the afternoon and took a taxi into Manhattan. With the 3 hour time change we were still ready to go. We walked and explored until about 1am (which would be 10pm California time) and then headed back to the hotel for bed. The next day, November 2^nd, we went for a morning 10K run exploring Manhattan before heading off sightseeing for the rest of the day. It was so cool seeing all of the TCS New York City Marathon signs and billboards all over the city. My excitement was building, that was going to be me in a couple days running New York! 

Maasai Run

On Thursday, November 3^rd we had our Team Maasai Training run in the morning through Central Park. We meet at Tavern on the Green which was the location of the finish line for the marathon. It was surreal seeing the official finish line. It was so big and fancy. Marathon workers were still setting things up but it was still incredible to see. Lots of runners were all around taking pictures and lots of groups from all over the world were doing training runs and taking group pictures at the finish line too. It was exciting to see everyone so excited! The energy was unlike any race I had felt before. You could just the feel the happiness radiating from the runners. In just a couple days we were all going to cross that finish line, a huge accomplishment! I was trying to soak in all the goodness and positive energy! As I was standing there waiting for my team members to arrive I saw the Maasai walking up. I stood there in amazement! Real Maasai from Kenya! I tried not to stand there with my mouth open but this moment was so surreal for me that it almost felt like a dream. Soon most of our team was there and we started our training run. We ran about a 4.5 mile loop around Central Park. It was just an out of body experience running with the Maasai. As we were running I just kept thinking “this is so amazing! I, me, I am running with the Maasai”. I swear it was the easiest training run I have ever done! I was bouncing on clouds the whole time while running side by side with the Maasai and my team through Central Park, a once in a lifetime experience! When we finished our training run I was sweating like crazy (I always sweat a lot when I run) but the Maasai had hardly broken a sweat! We took a couple group pictures at the finish line and then we all headed into the Marathon Pavilion where our microscopic names were on this huge wall! No joke, 50,000+ people’s names on this wall! We looked for some names and then headed off for a group lunch at the Shake Shack. While we were eating lunch we made plans to meet up later in the day to go as a group to the Expo to pick up our race packets. After lunch we all went our separate ways and later in the day met up at the Maasai’s hotel. We walked as a group to the Expo and it was so cool because the Maasai were in their traditional red outfits. When we reached the Expo we got our packets and took more group pictures. I also met a few more team members who showed up at the Expo and it was exciting that most of our team members were now here! After a bit we all said goodbye went our separate ways to explore the Expo. The Expo was HUGE!!! My husband and I spent over an hour there exploring, I didn’t want to leave but we had more sightseeing to do in the evening so we left. While exploring NY that night I was so thankful for my experience that day with the Maasai and the team. Wonderful, amazing people! I felt so proud to be supporting their organization!

Maasai Lunch/Yoga Night

Friday November 4^th we had our Team Maasai lunch. My husband and I were one of the first people to arrive so we found a spot and sat down. It wasn’t long after we arrived that everyone started showing up. Pretty much everyone from Team Maasai was there as well as lots of people from the Maasai Organization. Once everyone was there I was again taken back…I was in a room full of amazing people, me, I was sitting with them all. Lunch was great and I got to chat with everyone from my Team Maasai. Even Lee Pace, my Maasai team member from The Guardians of the Galaxy and The Hobbit movies, sat at our table across from my husband and that was beyond AWESOME!  As we were all talking, in walked Edward Norton, who is the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust Board President. Edward Norton sat at my table right across from me…I talked with Edward Norton…Edward Norton!! He was telling us about the Maasai people and also told us about his first New York Marathon experience when he ran a few years back. The best, and funniest part, was when he was describing the end of the marathon, the last mile to the finish, how runners were dropping like flies and he described it as a scene from Saving Private Ryan. It was absolutely incredible to have 2 amazing and talented actors who I admire and look up to sitting at my table across from me, Lee Pace and Edward Norton…once in a lifetime experience! After lunch we took some group pictures and I was so incredible proud to be a part of this team to support the Maasai. The energy with everyone was absolutely amazing. I was definitely getting super excited to run the marathon in just 2 days!!

Also, on the 4^th in the evening we had our Team Maasai yoga night. My husband and I were out sightseeing when we got a text from the Maasai Organizer that the time for the group yoga session was moved to an earlier time than scheduled. We rushed back to our hotel and quickly grabbed our stuff and headed over to the yoga studio. But it was Friday night, in New York, and the subway was packed with people and the streets were filled so we didn’t make it in time for yoga as the session had already started. So we just waited in the lobby and when the session was over everyone got changed and we had our social night there at the yoga studio. Lots of friends of the Maasai Organization were there for support and we had some food and drinks as well. I also received my Team Maasai race packet/gift. I got a team shirt and a Traditional Maasai Warrior red wrap. At that moment it really hit me hard, the marathon was just about a day away. My excitement was turning to nervousness. I had trained hard and felt ready but I still had some fears about running 26.2 miles. This was going to be the longest and biggest race of my life. But I knew I could do it, I had to dig deep, but I was ready. Team Maasai was ready to take to the streets of New York! We were coming!!

 

The day before the race

In the blink of an eye it was the day before the Marathon, November 5^th. I remember waking up early and staring at the ceiling. “This time tomorrow I will be waiting to run. This is it, just 1 day away! OMG”. For most of the day on Saturday while we were touring New York I was on and off nervous/excited/nervous/excited. We didn’t walk around too much as I didn’t want to wear myself out but we still did a good amount of sightseeing. In the late afternoon we went to an early dinner. I got my traditional night before race day meal of pasta and bread, carbo-loading! Something simple which I knew would not upset my stomach and would digest well at night. After dinner we headed back to our hotel. I got my race clothes, throw away clothes and all my race fuel ready. Nerves were really starting to hit me then. In less than 12 hours I would be heading off to run the marathon. 6 months of hard training. 6 months of dedication. 6 months of endless support from my family and friends. 6 months of support from my fellow bike trail runners who were all excited for me. 6 months of dragging my kids out for endless runs. 6 months of visualizing this race running with Team Maasai. This was it, the time was here. Race day was here. It was all or nothing. I was ready. I was SO READY to go!! And off to bed I went.

 

Race Day

Pre-Race

November 6^th, Race Day! I set my phone alarm for 4am but I actually woke up 10 minutes early. As soon as my eyes opened my stomach was tied in knots from both excitement and nerves. I got up, got dressed and headed off to the Hotel where the Maasai were staying. We were all meeting up there to go together to the marathon start. I walked to Grand Central Station Subway by myself but once I arrived at the subway I saw lots of marathon runners. I buddied up with another runner for safety and within a few stops I had reached the Maasai’s hotel. Most of our Team Maasai was there but others we were meeting at the start. When the Maasai came down they had on warrior face paint and it was incredible to see them ready to race. A few other team members put on the warrior face paint but I didn’t want any because I sweat so much when I run that it would look like a bloody massacre all over my face, clothes and body. I would freak people out at the finish line; HA…it would look like I would be covered in blood, so no face paint for me. We took more team group pictures and off we went into the dark morning to the subway heading to the Staten Island Ferry. When we arrived at the Ferry terminal it was like an army of marathon ants. Runners everywhere ready to go. It was exciting to be with so many people from all over the world. We got on the 5:45am Staten Island Ferry. The Ferry ride took about 30 minutes and we even saw a runner dressed as Gumby come out of the bathroom! The Maasai gave us a “what the?” look…it was funny; I couldn’t help but laugh out loud!! Once we reached Staten Island we got off the ferry and headed to the buses that were going to take us to the start. The buses were lined up as far as the eye could see. It was like a steady chain of buses, it was incredible to watch the organization of such a BIG race! On the bus ride the sun started coming up and lit up the sky a bright beautiful orange. It was amazing and gorgeous, I got the chills! As we approached the bus drop off I was so excited! The marathon was here! Once off the bus everyone had to go through a security check and we were only allowed to carry our clear see-through race bags. After the check point we walked a short bit and met up with more of our Team Maasai. Lee Pace and Will Turner were waiting for us. Our whole team was finally there together! We only talked for a short bit, took pictures and then we said our good-byes. The New York Marathon is such a big marathon with 50,000+ people, so to spread out the people there are 3 color corrals and within those there are different start times. So some of my team Maasai was in the Orange Corral, some were in the Green Corral and some were in the Blue Corral.  That was why we split up based on our color corrals. I was very sad to say goodbye to the Maasai group and the rest of the team because I knew this was going to be the last time I was going to see them. I didn’t want it to end but I was ready to race and make my team PROUD!! I was in the Blue Corral with Lee Pace and Will Turner. The 3 of us walked up to our Blue Corral area and it was crowded full of runners from all over the USA and World. We walked a bit checking out the area and then found a spot to sit and relax. We had 2 hours before the race to hang out. We talked, ate bagels and people watched. Sitting there it was incredible to watch the steady stream of people walking in. The energy and excitement was incredible! I was trying to take it all in. This was not some small local race with a few hundred people…this was a BIG FREAKING race with over 50,000 people. I was nervous but not as nervous as I thought. Hanging with Lee and Will before the race calmed my nerves and I was able to relax and enjoy it. I am thankful I got those 2 hours with them and it made my 1^st marathon very special. Before I knew it, it was time for Lee and Will to head off for their Wave 2 start. Sadly time always goes way too fast when you don’t want something to end or people to leave. We stood there, the 3 of us, waiting at the entrance to gate D and the knots in my stomach came back. I didn’t want them to leave. They were the last of my Team Maasai I would see. Their wave 2 opened, we said our good byes and off they went. That was it, the last of my Team Maasai, they were all gone. It was so hard to say good bye when I knew I would not see anyone again. I choked back tears…I hate good-byes. But I took a deep breath and I walked off and found a sunny warm spot to sit down by myself. I felt a rush of emotion, happiness, excitement, nervousness, sadness. I was ready to run and was anxious to start. I made one last restroom stop and then got myself ready. Soon wave 4 was open and everyone crowded in. I took off all my warm outer layers of “throw away clothes” except my jacket. I wanted to wear my jacket for the first few miles to warm up then toss it. Once it was Wave 4’s start they slowly started moving us down to the official starting line. Once at the start line they sang the nation anthem and then the countdown began. I was so excited I let out a scream as did many other people. Cheering erupted from the crowd of runners and then the start gun went off. We slowly jogged forward and soon I saw the official starting line. It was surreal! A moment I won’t EVER FORGET! I remember thinking, “Here we go Angela! FLY! Spread those wings and run, run, run! 26 miles!! Let’s do this”. And off I went!

Race

As I crossed the official start I was on cloud nine. It was incredible. I headed up the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and the view was amazing. It was a perfect sunny day and looking across the Bay to the Manhattan skyline was breathtaking. I found a comfortable spot and in the crowd and ran. I kept reminding myself, “take it slow, don’t go out fast, get comfortable, breath-easy, and relax”. After crossing the bridge I was at about mile 2 and was getting hot so I took my “throw away” jacket off and tossed it to the side. I was now wearing my complete race outfit with my race bib, name tag and my “Team Maasai” sign on my back.

Beginning at mile 3 I started stopping at the water stations. I usually never get water on a race because usually I run shorter races…but this was a FULL MARATHON…26 miles…I needed to drink water! I read on blogs that if you squeeze the top of the cup to make a spout you can drink it easier while running. Yup, that didn’t work so well. The first cup I drank spilled all over me and about only 5% got in my mouth. I was laughing, it was a mess. Tried it again at mile 4 and same thing happened. So squeezing the top of the cup was not working! After my second water explosion, I decided at mile 4 to just walk fast through my water stops and grab 2 WATER CUPS each time. That way if one cup spilled I had a second as back up. It was still very messy and I spilled it all over myself, but at least I was getting a good amount of water in my mouth. I drank water about every 3 miles starting at mile 4. And the trick I found was at the water stations to go straight down the middle avoiding all the slippery cups and grab water from the second to last water volunteer. That way I could walk quick, drink and toss my cups avoiding crowding.

Also about mile 3-4 I started taking my Shot Bloks energy chews. I took 1 Shot Blok chew every odd mile (so 3,5,7,9, etc.) When I practiced at home running on the trail with my fuel I had put the Shot Bloks in a zip lock baggie and cut off the zip lock part and stored the bags in my bra for easy access. At home this worked but at the NY Marathon it was more difficult because my Team Maasai shirt had a higher neckline. So trying to reach down my shirt every couple miles for fuel was bugging me so I decided to just carry the bag I was using in my hand while running and toss it when empty. Then I would grab a new bag out of my bra and hold it in my hand.  Once I got my system down I was able to hold my steady race pace.

From miles 2-8 I felt like I was bouncing on clouds and it was the best feeling to feel so great! I was thinking about how just one year prior, running 8 miles was so hard and exhausting…now I was flying at mile 8 through downtown Brooklyn like no big deal. Miles 8-9 in Brooklyn was narrow and crowded. I wanted to keep my steady pace so I had to do lots of dodging around people even though I knew it would eat up more of my energy. What I found worked was I stayed to the side, like in the bike lane, and was able to pass lots of people on the outside and not get bunched up in the middle.

Once I passed about mile 9 the race course widened and I was able to avoid the crowds. From miles 10-15 I was heading into Queens. I still felt great!! I remember seeing a spectator holding a sign that said “13.1 you are half way, don’t stop!” I felt a rush of emotion come over me, my eyes teared up. I remembered running my first half marathon through San Francisco back in April of 2016…just 7 months earlier, DYING…it was SO HARD! I remembered thinking in San Francisco “no way in hell will I ever do a FULL MARATHON, JUST NO”! Fast forward 7 months and here I was running the New York Marathon! I had made it half way feeling just awesome. I felt so proud! I had come so far and worked so hard to get to this point. I took that energy and kept running and running and running, still on cloud 9! As I reached mile 15 I was approaching the Queensboro Bridge heading into Manhattan. The bridge was so quiet. No spectators aloud so it was just a crowd of runners. I took my headphones out for a while and listened to just the footsteps of everyone. Lots of people were starting to walk so I found my comfortable outside spot and cruised on by. As I came off the Queensboro Bridge at mile 16 it was still quiet. Then the race course took us down and looped us around through a tunnel. That is when the wall of sound hit like a tide wave. The spectators were back and screaming their heads off in the tunnel. It was unlike anything I have ever heard. The energy was surreal. I got emotional again and let out a scream and fist pumped the air. It was amazing!!

Once out of the tunnel I put my headphones back in and focused on the long stretch down First Avenue heading towards the Bronx. First Avenue looked never ending, just a long crowd of people as far as I could see. I still felt good and got comfortable and before I knew it I was passing mile 19 and just ahead of me was the Bronx. As I crossed into the Bronx at mile 20 I was feeling good but I felt like I was slowing down. I wasn’t “hitting the wall” thankfully but it was getting harder to pick my feet up. I kept positive and this where I started talking to myself to keep my energy up. “You can do it Angela!” “You ARE doing it Angela” “Go, Go, GO, Don’t stop!” Running through the Bronx was a quick and I was heading back into Manhattan at about mile 21.

When I crossed back into Manhattan for the final 5 miles I started getting cold. I had been spilling water all over me at the water stations as well as soaked from sweat. So back in Manhattan with the tall buildings making lots of shade I started stiffening up. I was getting cold, VERY COLD. It felt like I was being put into a freezer. It was getting hard to lift my legs as they felt numb. Plus, this is the part where my mental game started going downhill. I tried so hard to keep positive but running is very much as much mental as it is physical. Thoughts started popping in like “Your team is Gone! Everyone from Team Maasai is gone! Give up!” I really was hoping up until that point to catch up to someone, anyone from Team Maasai…but deep down I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I tried to tell myself “You never know who is around the next corner. Keep going. Keep going!” But I was having a difficult time staying positive. As I approached mile 23 at Central Park the crowd of spectators carried me through. My legs were completely numb and I was freezing cold and was getting emotional. Miles 23-26 were the hardest mentally. I kept chanting “Go, Go, Go, Go, Go” It was also getting crowded again, so I found a spot on the outside right next to the crowd so that their yelling energy would help me. I remember a lady, bless her…she yelled at me so loud I could hear it through my headphones! She must have seen me getting emotional and making an ugly face because she screamed “GO ANGELA, YOU MADE IT! GET THOSE LEGS UP! DON’T YOU STOP GIRL! GO!!!” She definitely got me moving and put a huge smile on my face. She was exactly what I needed at the moment and she lifted me up when I was crashing! Thank you lady, whoever you were!

Next I knew I was approaching mile 25, the home stretch!! This is where I lost it and emotions overcame me and I started crying! And this is also where my energy skyrocketed!! Even through my tears I was smiling so big my face hurt. The feeling was unlike anything I have ever felt…the rush was incredible! I started thinking about EVERYONE!! My family, my kids, my friends, my Warrior group, my gym buddies, my trail friends back at home, everyone who had cheered me, supported me and believed in me along my Marathon journey…and of course I thought about my Team Maasai and wanted to make them all proud. That last mile I ran with my heart. Never did I think in my wildest dreams I would be running a Marathon, EVER, let alone the New York Marathon with the incredible Maasai Organization! It was beyond a dream come true. Tears streamed down my face, the crowd cheered louder and it felt like an out of body experience, like I was floating. All those early morning training runs, all those hours in the gym strength training, all those days swimming laps in the pool, all those long bike rides, all those hard training days, all those training runs dragging my 4 kids along, all those weekends spent training…it had all come down to this!! I was going to accomplish something harder and bigger than I ever thought I could do. As I crossed the mile 26 marker, this was it! I could see the finish line and I took my headphones out and ran on in to the finish with my hands up and tears rolling down my face. I DID IT!! I ran 26.2 miles!! I was now a New York Marathon Finisher!! 

Post-Race

As I crossed the finish line I almost couldn’t stop. My legs were on automatic. But once I came to a stop the tears flew out my eyes like a tsunami, not exaggerating! I was completely overcome with emotion. I could hardly see, everything was blurry I was crying so hard. I tried to wipe my tears and tried to take some pictures because I wanted to remember this moment. Within seconds I was approached by a volunteer who put my medal around my neck and gave me one hell of an amazing hug. Sweet lady, she grabbed by sweaty face, wiped my tears and looked me in the eyes and said “Honey, you did it, you are amazing, CONGRATS!” and she hugged me again. I looked down at my medal and my eyes were still blurry so I just held it tight in my hand. I knew the Marathon Photo workers were going to take my picture so I wiped my tears so I could see again. After I got my medal I was wrapped in a thermal heat blanket, which, honestly, really didn’t help me much. I was shaking like a leaf. Funny thing is, when I saw the Marathon Photo person I took off the heat blanket and posed all normal, HA! So it looked like I was fine in the pictures but in reality I was a frozen Popsicle shaking like a maniac. Another marathon finish line volunteer saw me shaking pretty bad and she gave me a second heat blanket and wrapped my lower body too. So once I was wrapped up like a sardine, they directed me down the long walk out of Central Park. I had a special wrist band to get a race Poncho which meant my walk would be longer. Also at the finish line they had lots of Medical Spotters who were on the look-out for anyone struggling or looked like they needed medical attention. Well, I stood out like a sore thumb obviously! I was wrapped in 2 heat blankets, looked like a Chipotle burrito, shaking like I was having seizures and walking about as slow as a snail! It was a no brainer to come over to me. The medical spotter asked me “are you okay, do you need help?” I told her I was fine BUT FREEZING TO DEATH. I was in no pain, nothing hurt, I was just beyond cold! After being covered in all my spilled water and sweat, I was literally soaking wet, my clothes were like I had just jumped into a pool. I asked her if they do massages and could warm me up. She took me up to the medical tent. It was SO WARM INSIDE!! I was instantly hit with a heat wave of warm air and it felt SO GOOD!! What I really needed was a hot tub but they didn’t provide that! They laid me down on a cot, asked me a million medial questions and then brought me lots of treats, food and Gatorade. I was like “fill my bag up!” Then they covered me in a warm blanket and started stretching my legs. It FELT AMAZING!!! But I wasn’t a medical emergency so after a quick stretch and rub down they sent me back out into the Arctic cold. I snail pace walked my, what seemed like, a mile walk to my poncho pick-up station. I tried to get in the middle of the crowd of people so their heat would keep me warm. I seriously HATE, HATE, HATE being cold, did I mention that? When I finally reached the Poncho station I was so cold I couldn’t move. Seriously, the wind could have blown me over and I would be stuck on the ground frozen stiff…I am not even joking! The lady next to me looked at me shaking and yelled for my Poncho. She wrapped me up and I started to warm up a bit. Then I got a text from my husband and he was just one block up. I told him I was too cold to move much so he came over and met me at the Poncho exit. He gave me a big hug and it felt good to be back in the comfort of his arms. I started crying again and showed him my medal. He was so proud of me! Then he told me he saw me twice running by and that he saw most of my Team Maasai too and that he had videos and pictures of everyone to show me. I started crying more. I missed my team. I missed everyone so much! I wondered how they did. I wondered how they felt. I was SO PROUD OF MY TEAM MAASAI!! My tears were unstoppable. You would think after running 26.2 miles I would have run out of tears…but, nope, still crying! That was it, it was over. Months of training and build up to the big day…and it was all over. My husband guided me to the subway so we could get back to our hotel. I started down the first subway step and stopped. I looked at him and said “I can’t go down the stairs my legs are going to give out”. I started laughing. What was I going to do? Another marathon runner, obviously more experienced, said “turn around and go down backwards and you will be fine”. So I walked backwards down the subway stairs. I was wrapped in so many layers I almost couldn’t bend my legs enough to even walk down backwards, but I made it down to the subway! It was so warm and cozy down there (and crowded) that we just stood in the corner so I could warm up and move more. Once on the subway train the other riders made room for me to sit, which was nice but once I sat, I literally couldn’t get up. My husband had to help me up. When we reached our Grand Central Station stop the stairs were ridiculous. I think it took me longer to walk the stairs than actually run the marathon, HA! Once we reached ground level and I was walking straight I was fine, but those stairs, good god those stairs killed me! On our way to the hotel we stopped and got take-out pizza. I practically ordered an entire large pizza and my husband got a few slices. I had just burned like 4,000 calories but surprisingly I wasn’t starving. My body was probably still in “what the hell did you do to me” mode, but I honestly felt fine. Back at the hotel I finished pretty much the whole large pizza except for 1 slice. I have NEVER eaten that much pizza before. I thought for sure I was going to puke later that night but never did. After dinner I took a boiling HOT shower and it felt WONDERFUL!!  While in the hot shower I was finally loosening up and did leg stretches. Then after I was all clean my sweet husband gave my legs, butt and hips a good massage rub down. I was still on a running high so it was hard to unwind but we put a movie on and before I knew it I was asleep. What an amazing day. A day I will never EVER FORGET. A day that will forever hold a special place in my heart. Dreams do come true!!

The day after the race

I woke up Monday about normal time and just stayed in bed looking up at the ceiling. It almost felt like my marathon was a dream, that it wasn’t real, that it didn’t happen. But as soon as I moved my whole body was stiff…so…nope…marathon was NOT a DREAM…it definitely happened! It took me a few minutes to actually get out of bed and when I did I sat on the side to make sure I could stand. It took me a couple tries to actually stand as my legs were like Jell-O and couldn’t hold my weight. Once I got on my feet I hobbled to the bathroom. Then trying to sit on the toilet was hilarious. I practically fell in when my legs gave out. After that fiasco I went back to bed for a bit while my husband slept. We both got up and started our day about 8am. It took me a while to get dressed and my husband had to help me get my pants on. But once on my feet, as long as I was walking straight, I was fine. A bit sore but mostly stiff. Thankfully no pain anywhere which was GOOD! That means all my training worked and I survived my first marathon. We headed for breakfast and then to Central Park to walk around. You might think that after running 26.2 miles that I should rest and sit, right? WRONG. To help with recovery you need to keep moving and getting the blood flowing to the muscles. So walking as much as I could handle is what we did. Walking wasn’t so much the problem as going up and down stairs and inclines/declines. My husband had to help so I wouldn’t fall but I felt fine and it actually felt GREAT walking. It was when I stopped walking or sat down that I would stiffen back up. So we walked all over Central Park to sightsee all the spots we missed. It was so fun because there were so many marathon runners out walking too and many of them with their medals. Lots of Congrats going around!! After spending most of the day in Central Park and surround areas we headed back to the hotel and I texted a few of my Team Maasai teammates to see if they wanted to go for a celebratory ice cream treat. Most everyone was busy but my team mate Ian Coleman was available and met up with us for ice cream. We went to this awesome place called Black Tap and they have insane crazy over the top ice cream milkshake sundaes. Of course at Black Tap they had a table for us on the lower level which meant STAIRS! Ian and I looked at each other, laughed and slowly walked backwards down the stairs. It was actually nice to know he was sore/stiff too…I didn’t feel like I was the only one. Ian ordered some type of chocolate ice cream sundae and I ordered the cotton candy ice cream sundae. I brought my medal so Ian and I took pics with our medal and ice creams. We did a short toast/cheers and then dug into our treats! I ate all of mine except for some of the hard candy on the outside. IT WAS SO YUMMY!!! Definitely recommend Black Tap if you are ever in New York…totally worth it!! After our treat we walked around a bit window shopping and then stopped for some evening coffee/tea. Then it was time to say good-bye to Ian, which was again hard. This whole trip and marathon exceeded my expectations and was such a dream come true. I just didn’t want it to end! Once back at the hotel I did lots of stretching and foam rolling and then headed to bed.

We had 1 more day to sightsee and then it was homeward bound we went. It was a hard plane ride home. I couldn’t wait to get home and see my kids and show them my medal…I missed them SO MUCH!!! But at the same time I was beyond sad to leave New York and that the Marathon was over. It was just an amazing trip and experience to have and one which I knew was going to be a “once in a lifetime experience”. It was amazing to have run the New York Marathon for such an incredible Organization and with such an awesome Team Maasai! The people I met, the experiences I had…absolutely priceless! Hands down this whole trip will forever hold a special place in my heart and memories. It is still hard to not tear up from happiness and joy when I talk about it but as time goes by it’s getting easier. I know this Marathon was the most incredible way to start my Marathon running journey. The TCS New York City Marathon will forever be my very 1^st Marathon, the race that started it all!

Thank You

So many to thank for this experience! I would like to start with a huge thank you to my husband for helping to make this trip a reality. His love and support while I was training was amazing and without him this trip and the marathon would not have been possible. Also my 4 kids, who supported me, ran with me on long training runs and cheered me on! Their support meant so much to me. I also want to thank the amazing Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust for welcoming me onto their team with open arms. From the moment we met in New York, the Maasai were kind and generous. I was so very proud to run for such an incredible organization! Also, thank you to my amazing Team Maasai. Parashi, John and David from the Maasai Warriors, Mark Somen, Luca Belpietro, Ian Coleman, Lee Pace, Will Turner and Jing. I am so proud of what we all accomplished and I am thankful to have experienced the amazing New York Marathon with each and every one from Team Maasai! And last but definitely not least, thank you to everyone who supported me, who donated, who cheered me on, who texted me, who messaged me, who called me, I felt the love far and near and it meant a lot to me, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! 

What an incredible 1^st marathon! The start of it all…the first of many marathons to come. Can’t wait to see what the future holds!