OMG I did it!

On Sunday, August 16th, I completed one of my many goals for 2009…. I ran the NYC Half Marathon! It was a hot (and I mean HOT) day in NYC as I walked into Central Park at 5:30 a.m. I was amazed at how many runners were up and ready to get this race started. I felt the energy and I loved it! Blondie and I found our TFK group and we began to talk about how excited we were and how funny it was to see the whole city sleeping, but as soon as you enter Central Park, 10,000 runners are up and ready to run 13.1 miles.

As our team gathered to do our stretching I kept telling myself "take it easy in the park, Harlem can kill you", I didn’t want to go too fast in the park because the hills are tough and it was so hot. I needed to make sure that I didn’t over-do it within the first 7 miles. As we headed to our corrals I went right to the front. Again, my pacing buddy Melissa was not there….she was partying it up in Canada while I ran 13.1 miles ;). As I waited, I was calm. Wearing my TFK jersey I felt so proud and ready to do this. I knew the course. I had run it a thousand times before, so I knew that I had it in the bag. The only thing I was worried about was the heat, but I knew if I kept myself cool I would be good to go.

Once the gun went off it was about 9:28 before I even crossed the starting line, but once I did it was on! As I ran I took it all in…. the park, the people and most importantly... me. I had to make sure that I paid attention to my body. Miles 1 through 4 were great! The only thing that sucked was that at the fluid stations there was no water!! Yes, you read right... they didn’t have enough water out so people had to stand around and wait to get the water poured. At mile 6 I took my other GU (GU is an energy gel that provides exercise fuel). As soon as I took it I felt great! I poured more water on me than I actually drank because I needed to stay cool and hydrated, and my plan worked because throughout the whole run I never felt too tired. As I ran out of the park and down 7th avenue, I was amazed at the sight I saw. People out at 8:00 a.m. in the morning cheering us on. I saw a huge group of kids from Team for Kids, and as they yelled and cheered, it made me keep going. On 54th and 7th I saw my dear friend Michelle, and seeing her made a world of difference. She even had a poster for me! As soon as I saw her I said to myself "YOU OWN THIS!!!" I turned down 42nd street and I could see the West Side Hwy. Part of me wanted to stop. My legs were so heavy and my body….well, I think I left my body in the park. As I tried to slow down I heard "Madrigal what's up?" I turned around and it was Vanessa. As soon as I saw her I knew I had to keep going, and I did. I ran with her for awhile, but she didn’t feel well. But can I say that she was so awesome--she had a stomach bug from her travels to Ecuador and lets just say had to make a total of 6 unexpected stops to either the port of potty's or medical and she still killed the race so I must say "GO VANESSA GO!"

As I passed Chelsea Piers I knew I didn’t have much to go and I was hoping to make it in my predicted time of 2 hours and 30 minutes. Once I saw the 12 mile marker I knew I was so close. 1.1 mile to go! I pushed it... I pushed it hard. All the people cheering made such a difference. I got closer and closer to the finish line and the people kept getting louder and louder and before I crossed the finish line I heard "GO JACKIE GO" I turned and it was Cristina, I was so happy to see her and especially there. I pushed it a little harder and crossed the finish line at 2:30:28, and I was so excited about my time. At brunch I later found out that my actual time was 2:21:00 I beat my time by 9 minutes WOOHOO!! That totally made my day!

The rest of the day was great. A bunch of the mini Sherks' aka TKF'ers went to brunch with Blondie's dad and my friend Cristina. It was great to celebrate our accomplishment and we also celebrated Dimitri's birthday. All in all, Sunday was great and now I cannot wait for November 1st…bring it on New York, bring it on!!






MM