brrr ooos (Boroughs)

We were running all five boroughs and we were in the largest of them all, Brooklyn. We could look straight up fourth avenue and see where BAM is located far ahead. My sights were set on seeing our first spectators at the moment though and we knew right where they would be standing. The crowd at that point was three deep, we spied them, my smile widened and they stood look like deer in headlights. J-R handed his jacket to Cara and I followed suit with mine and we continued on as I imagined them packing up camp and heading to the next stop where we would see them in Manhattan. The next person we were looking to see was Gretch at around mile 11 and while we were still in Brooklyn. We turned around BAM off of 4th ave. and into Ft. Greene where the street was more tree-lined. As I was running I could have sworn I heard my named called and turned to look, it was my friend Alison and a really nice surprise in an unexpected place that lifted my spirits even further. A bit up the road J-R pointed out an old school which had been turned into a Goodwill of sorts, hmm, must check out sometime. There was a school band playing in front of it and then there was the runner we passed dressed like Borat. "He is going to chafe really bad!" I heard someone comment, J-R pulled out his camera phone and snagged a shot of him. We ran through Bed-Stuy passing an area with many Hasidics (it is the multicultural bent of NY and the whole race that makes it great) and I started to look for Gretch. "We aren't to the hipster area yet," J-R commented. "You'll know when we cross that line and then we can start looking out for her at N. 8th." Normally I don't need to use a bathroom on runs, but I'd felt like I needed to go from the start and knew I should pay heed and J-R needed to go as well so at this point we looked for the port-o-lets. The line was three deep, J-R ran behind and went and I made the decision to wait and hope there was less of a line at others. Not long after we saw Gretch and she allowed herself to get swept up in the stream of runners. We talked for a bit about runners she had seen and if she was cold and where we were running. Shortly after we crossed the bridge into Queens, and the old MOMA location before moving back to Manhattan and then it was up the 59th street bridge. There are normally no spectators on this part of the route and you just hear the quiet footfalls. I was feeling really good here and actually kind of like the sound of the silent footfalls like a group of butterflies around a bunch of flowers flapping their wings gently. The next part was one of my favorites as we would exit the bridge from a roundabout to a crowd of cheers as we entered Manhattan.

Tea Time

We made our way up in the tea line, which was LONG due to the cold, and were three away from the oh so lovely warm liquid being served when we stopped moving. We waited another ten minutes still nothing. Some people will remember me talking about tambourine man back when I lived in NY and would do the five borough half marathons. Tambourine man was always to be seen there. He is a slight fellow with a long white beard and always wears a head band, but of course what gives him his name is the tambourine that he carries and taps on his thigh the whole time he runs. I had just been asking J-R about him and if he still sees him, when I looked over while waiting in the tea line and who is it, but tambourine man! Like a sign, I knew this was going to be a good race. He was dressed in his usual garb, was tapping the tambourine like a horse nudging the gate at a start to a race, and he had two American flags tucked into the head band he was wearing so they stuck up above his head. I nudged J-R, "look" I said and smiled. The tea line still had not moved so we went over to the coffee and discovered no line at all. I was set now, the warmth did a world of good, so we drank up, I took off my stockings and we prepared to go to the start. We were part of the second wave so we still needed to be corralled as they call it. J-R and I had different corral colors, but wanting to run together we had to sneak by again and we expertly slithered through to the starting area in the green group. As we waited in a sea of people I heard a horn go off. "Was that for our group" I question. "I think so." Was J-R's reply. We didn't move at all. I finally took off my pea coat and placed it along with the tide of other things making the starting line look like the east river it was so full of our discards. When we stepped across the starting mat it seemed uneventful, but nice to have J-R with me. "Here we go, let the roller coaster ride begin." I squealed. The run across the Verrazzano was COLD, windy, and beautiful all at the same time. You can look across and see the Manhattan skyline and ships in the forefront, including a tugboat spewing water for us. The amount of people is amazing and we moved like a Chinese dragon in a parade making our way into Brooklyn. Once we hit Brooklyn that is where the spectators began. My bottom was still numb from the cold, but after exiting the bridge the wind had died down which helped a lot. J-R and I chatted and talked about our pace which seemed right on target. It takes long-distance runners a bit to warm up and feel like they are in a groove, we felt our groove at about mile four.

The waiting game

Nov. 2, 2008, the New York marathon. My cousin and I woke up at 4:30 AM to get ourselves dressed and out the door in time to catch the bus to Staten Island. I don't think either of us really fully fell asleep, but that is usual for me before a race. I laid out my clothes and number the night before so I didn't have to do much thinking in the morning so, I got dressed and was ready to head out. We walked over to the bagel shop (have to in NY). The bagels were fresh from the oven and steaming, slathered with PB and we were ready nutritionally. We saw two other runners at the shop and a few other computer users (who knows what people were doing there at five in the morning on a Sunday but I guess some people are more morning people than I am). J-R and I marched up to Prospect Park and walked along it heading to 15th. It was a cold morning and I was glad I had a jacket and cut my stockings to wear on my legs. We saw a bus at 10th street and were told our bus was at 15th so that was reassuring that another track team knew of our bus. We made it to the 15th street circle and no bus was in sight, no runner was in sight for that matter either. We stood in the middle and did all we could do-waited. Eventually someone got out of a car and strolled over to us. "Are you here for the bus to the marathon" he asked. It was the organizer. I felt like our running clothes and standing around made it obvious, but figured you have to have an opener. "Yep" we replied. "Are you running this year?" I asked. "I've run the past twenty years." he said. "but my mother passed away this year and I'll probably just support this year and run a portion with some other runners." I felt bad for asking. "Well the bus should be here soon." he said. "I hope it shows up, I tried to double-check yesterday and nobody answered." Not long after the organizer pointed down the street, "ah here it comes." What was coming toward us was a school bus. Perfect, the experience already started. We climbed aboard and waited for more runners to arrive. After we were loaded, we headed off to the Verrazano bridge and Staten Island. We saw a huge line of cars waiting to enter the bridge, but our driver was excellent and knew a route that cut off a lot of the waiting and we slipped right in, which was good, because the coffee had kicked in at this point.
We hopped off the bus and were hit with a cold wind. It was a little before 7 AM and our start time was 10 AM, it was going to be a long wait! They were checking numbers as we walked in, but somehow I got by with my number still in my pocket. I saw a line of Port-o-lets with no lines and we made a bee line there. Afterward it was all about staying warm before the race and there were a couple of tents setup, like the gospel tents at Jazz Fest. We found a spot and sat down. It was as warm as we could be as we stared enviously at others in their sleeping bags. "Mental note" J-R said, "next time cheap sleeping bag and plastic to sit on." The two brits around me were talkative asking about our government and I was happy to share, kill time, and take my mind away from the race. We still had a good chunk of time to kill. The guy next to me was outfitted. He had a waterproof mat he was lying on, was tucked in a sleeping bag with stocking cap, two pairs of thick wool socks, and a bag filled with food. He was focused. In front of him was the "polar" opposite. This runner was squatting with tiny running shorts on and bare legs filled with goose pimples, and a thin sweater on top. Someone eventually gave him a plastic bag. After sitting this way for a good while J-R and I both needed to stretch our legs. We made another port-o-let stop and then decided to check out the other waiting areas and get a cup of tea or coffee. to be continued....

Finished!!!

3 hrs 48 minutes : )