Sunday Nov 1st was an amazing day. Not only was I going to run my very first New York City Marathon, but my mom was here to watch me, it was Santa's Birthday and I was going to honor both of them on this special day.
Saturday was great. I went to have lunch with Bianca and my mom and then, to my surprise, Lissy flew in from Tampa to see me run. The NYC Marathon was Santa's event and she used to sit right out in front of her apartment on Bedford Avenue in BK and cheer on the runners. She passed away three years ago and Lissy asked me if I would write on my leg for her and of course I said Yes! On my right leg I wrote Happy BDAY SANTA RIP on my left leg I had I <3 MOMMY.
I went to sleep at around 9:30 p.m. on Halloween, which is not too bad since I am not a fan of Halloween. I was up again by 2:00 a.m. I was so excited I could not sleep! Of course I forced myself to go back to sleep. I set my alarm up for 4:15 because I wanted to make sure that I had enough time to apply the right amount of Body Glide to my body because on race day there is never too much Body Glide. Blondie and I ate our bananas and we were on the road. It was fun getting on the train at 5:00 a.m. ready to run the NYC Marathon when people were also getting on the train still in their costumes ready to go home and hit the sack. We got off at Times Square and then we saw them, the first group of runners heading downtown to catch the ferry. That was one major reason I signed up with Team For Kids - we had police escorted buses that took us to Staten Island, and that in itself was worth it all. As we all were excited about the run we were also so excited to be able to share this experience with one another. When we each joined the team we might have known one or two people max but now we have become real friends. There was a moment when I looked around the bus, and was so overwhelmed with emotions that I started to tear up. The bus trip was fun and as we hit the bridge we saw an Achilles Walker starting her marathon journey (she finished on Monday morning around 11:00 a.m.) Once we all settled in our little location we saw each of us go off in waves, we hugged our departing teammates and wished them the best of luck. When it came down to my wave, the third wave, I was ready. It was the normal crew and we got extra lucky because Coach B got to run with us. The NYC Marathon is truly the most amazing run ever. It exceeded any expectations I had and it was great seeing all my friends and family along the course with posters and cheering me on. I did it. I completed my marathon and I am officially hooked!
I have said it before... I never thought that I would get so much out of this experience. If anything I thought, ok I might meet new people, but nothing to the level it has become. I am so thankful for my TFK peeps! They are truly the most amazing people I have ever meet and I love them dearly. The weekend was a huge success! My mom came into town, Lissy and Tyriek surprised me, my friends came out in the boat loads to cheer me on and I completed my first marathon!!
I really would go into deep detail about the race…but let's be honest, I cant possibly describe what I felt during the run. It was………unbelievable, amazing, breath taking and so on! So, here is a list of my top moments.
1. At the start line they played Frank Sinatra's New York New York. I am not going to lie I teared up..EMOTIONAL.
2. I love Brooklyn!! Seeing my mom, friends and sorority sisters on Bedford Avenue, on Santa's Birthday…PRICELESS
3. Looking out to the front and seeing so many people with the same goal…WE WERE RUNNING THE CITY!!
4. 59th Street Bridge..a little hard but..see below
5. 1st Avenue was what I expected…BREATHTAKING.
6. Seeing my fellow teammates on the road…AMAZING.
7. The Bronx - we hit mile 20..Hit a wall? What wall?! My exact words at mile 20 were "We are doing the dam thing"!
8. Harlem welcomed me with open arms and so did Coach Asteria and Coach Sid.
9. Hearing all of New York City chant, yell and scream my name…indescribable!
10. Running into the park with only 3 miles to go…I already felt like I had accomplished my goal.
11. Seeing mile 26…tears!
12. Crossing the start and finish line with Melissa was the most amazing thing ever!!!
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