NYC MARATHON RECAP!!!

I don’t even know where to start with the recap of this race.  Either I am still on cloud nine and high on endorphins or I am so exhausted from going to bed at 2:30 this morning and waking up at 4 to make my morning flight that I am at a loss for words, either way I will probably start tearing up and telling the strangers next to me about my experience @ the NYCM as I type this.

First up…..I had a hilarious/fun/optimistic/excited runner buddy CARRIE (soon to be Bradshaw…awesome right?) to ride the bus with and hang out with the entire morning which made time fly and made my smiling muscles quite fatigued.

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We got on the 5:30 a.m. bus and never had to wait in line or skip a beat as we were transported to the race.  We arived and got our fill of bagels, gatorade and hot chocolate.  We were also given sweet Dunkin’ Donuts beanies  and the longest we waited for a porta-potty was five minutes.

I was so worried about being cold while waiting 3.5 hours for the race to start but my three layers and hot cocoa kept me warm.  Plus, it was a warm morning for the beginning of November especially considering that it snowed in NYC last weekend!

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For once I wasn’t the only person taking 5,000 pictures a minute.  I also wasn’t the only person talking obsessively about all things running but I may have been the only one that went back for more and more bagels, I couldn’t get enough and plain bagels are my new go to pre-race meal.

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I thought this couple was the cutest thing in the world.

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As soon as I went into my corral I found SkinnyRunner and Miles.  It was a November Day miracle that I found them so quickly. This was both Mile’s and SR’s second NYCM and so I quizzed them about the course.

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Below is the starting line. We crossed about two minutes after the clock started.  The National Anthem was sung, the energy was incredibly high and I could not stop thinking about how everything works out.  Even though I missed Boston due to stress fractures and wondered it I would ever run a marathon without pain again (just a little dramatic)….. I was there.  Happy, healthy and in the best city in the world:)

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The three of us started together and I thought for sure that SR would just zoom off because she is incredible (remember how she ran a marathon the day before?).  The race started with an incline up the bridge for the first mile.  It was nice to be packed in so tight with everyone to prevent going out too fast and not burning out after .75 of a mile.  Miles was off once we reached the top of the bridge because he is speedy and because SR and I were probably a little embarassing to be around as we were joking around and taking way too many pictures.

For every marathon and even some half marathons I always feel nauseated for the first 10k.  Guess what, yestereday….NOTHING, I felt perfect……why?  1.  Plain bagels (no pb anymore, my stomach doesn’t like it before a race) are my new miracle race food.  2. No pressure.  My own anxiety about races makes me sick and for yesterday’s race I placed zero pressure on myself.

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The bridges were my favorite (minus the whole heart rate skyrocketing on the uphill) because the views were incredible.  It kind of looks like the buildings are fake in this picture.

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The crowds were the best and look at this sweet sign…..it made my life!  Yes, those are swedish fish on the poster board!
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Miles 1-21 went by so fast.  This was the first time I didn’t listen to music during anything longer than 10 miles and it was awesome because I had this girl to talk to the whole time and all of the amazing runners and crowds around me to keep me going.   I also loved the end of each bridge where there were ridiculous amounts of people cheering us on.  THANK YOU SPECTATORS….you made the race.

Best way to tour a city…running, hello?!?

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I think another reason I felt good for the majority of this race (the end is bound to be hard no matter how well you are doing) is because of fueling.  I started taking shot blocks at mile 7 and took them often without letting myself get to the point where I was low on glycogen.  Plus, we had gatorade and water at most of the aid stations (which felt like they were every mile).

The temps were perfect and the shade from the buildings and slight breeze felt amazing.

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Not gonna lie….Central Park was tough.  The rolling hills were not being friendly to my tired legs but I just kept thinking, this is NOT supposed to feel comfortable.  SR stayed with me even though my pace slowed down and she was a great encouragement and stayed with me and helped me to finish strong(ish).  I am sure your read her recap already but do not believe her when she said they were small rollers in Central Park;)  They felt like a 33% incline to me.

(I was too tired to take a lot of pictures towards the end of the race and so the below is not Central Park)

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We finished in 3:36:30 and I couldn’t be more thrilled.  My legs are tired today but not sore. My feet are sore but that is probably because I spent the rest of the day walking the city.  Did you think I was going to waste a second of my time in NYC by relaxing….. or showering for that matter?

Isn’t it just beautiful? I haven’t taken it off yet and will be wearing it until I get next year’s medal (come on, under my shirt….I am not that big of a bragger weirdo).

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Those legs of mine have not seen the sun in approximately 2.3 months until yesterday.

NEW YORK CITY was my absolute favorite race ever.  I have zero complaints and I hope to do this race every year possible and have already started my New York piggy bank so that I can get out there next year too.

2 Goals accomplished:

1.  Negative splits (running the second half of the distance at the same speed or even slightly faster than the first half).  I have never ran a marathon with negative splits and SR and I did yesterday….1:48 for each half.  Pacing myself correctly is something I really want to bring to the table in my future racing.

2.  Staying positive and not comparing myrself to last year’s times.  I didn’t waste any of my precious time on this course worrying about what I used to run and took my time soaking in every second. Plus, how can you not stay positive with a running partner and people screaming your name all around you (I will always be putting my name on my shirt for races ((and maybe even real life clothes)) from now on)?

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Have you ever ran New York?  Is it on your wish list?  Did you watch it?  Did you track people?

Have you ever done two races in one weekend?  Do you think you ever will?

Do you ever put your name on your race shirts?

Favorite bagel shop or bagel flavor?

-Cinnamon raisin with walnut/raisin/cinnamon cream cheese.  Anyone want to send me some NY bagels?  I will send you swedish fish.

PS don’t think you escaped the rest of the trip highlights because of my lack of internet…stay tuned, there is a lot more to come.

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209 comments

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CONGRATS! I was out of town for the marathon this year :-( Saddest news EVER. But i’m so glad you enjoyed the race and wish that I could have seen you. You’ve definitely made me want to run in this race as soon as possible. Way to come back from an injury!

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WOW! So so so proud of you for running an amazing marathon with a drastically shortened training cycle. A testament to your running ability!!!

NYC looked like an amazing race and I can’t imagine the energy and excitement surrounding the event!

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Oh, Janae, my friend! I am so freakin’ proud of you! I have tears in my eyes reading this post. I thought of you on Sunday – truly! I watched the start and kept my eyes peeled for you, just in case! I didn’t see you, but I was screaming for you anyway. (No, Michael does not think I am a weirdo creeper or anything like that, he gets it). We were late for church because I had to “watch Janae start the Marathon.” Haha! Best thing to be late to church for, right?!

Congrats on a great race! :) I would LOVE to run NYC someday, but I don’t know if I will ever get there – I’ve got some work to do before that happens! Someday, though, maybe I will see you there!

Awesome job, my friend. Just plain awesome. :)

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YAY! I am so proud of you ….I loved both yours and SR’s recaps awesome. I wish I could run a race /w you one day …..maybe I’ll be as fast as the HRG ;)

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Beautiful, I love it, you inspire me, you totally do – True story :-) xx

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Congratulations!!! Looks like a great time! My husband and I want to race NYC Marathon one of these years. :)

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thank you for that sweet nostril shot, really really sweet of you.

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congratulations! that is a great time given the photos and talking especially! nice going :)

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Congratulations on your marathon Janae! You did awesome!!! I’m so happy for you! Way to overcome your injury!

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Congrats on a great race, Janae!!!! You did FANTASTIC!

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I’m SO glad you had the BEST race after coming back from an injury. That’s got to feel amazing. Congratulations! You deserve it.
Did you read that next year they are thinking of splitting it up into 2 days? Instead of 43,000 on one day, they want to do 50,000 on two days. I like that! It ups my chances of getting in. :-)

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Hiii Lady!! I love this picture of us in the “blue” village! I miss you already and can’t wait to see you in Vegas!
You and SR are fricken fantastic…I am so impressed (but not that surprised) at how awesome y’all did on Sunday. You guys are my heros! I’m starting to have post-NYC Marathon-depression…we need to start a support group asap, please.

Hope you’re having an awesome day at school…I made it back to H-town in one piece last night, and I woke up this morning ready to sign up for NYC 2012!
Can’t wait to read all your recaps from NYC. Love you so much! I’m going to send you some pics that my mom took of us before the race and on our way to catch the bus at 5AM. xoxx

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Congratulations on your finish.
Running NYCM has always been my goal since I started running in ’03. I haven’t tried to enter yet because I’ve been weary about the whole lottery thing. Did you have an easy time getting into the race?

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You really need to do it!!! I qualified for the race and so it was easy to enter! Good luck and keep me updated!

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A little late to the party and just catching up but I wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS!! I am glad you had such a great race and even though I can no longer eat bagels (celiac) East Coast bagels (NY in particular) are the best in the world!

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Congratulations, Janae! I loved reading your recap and it is SOOO awesome seeing you run again! I can’t wait to see you run more marathons. I am not a runner, but I have to say it was so inspirational and really there are just no words for the feeling that I got from reading all of the bloggers’ recaps. It made it seem like we were there; you could just feel the excitement and felt proud of them! :)

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So happy for you!

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Congrats on the race!! It sounds like it was so much fun! I watched the coverage on tv but have never run it- after watching, though, I’ve decided I definitely will!

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CONGRATS again on your race- amazing time!!!!
I love that you & SR ran together the whole time- 2 of my favorite runners side by side :)

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Ah Janae! Just got around to reading this recap–congrats! Looks like a perfect race. I’m slightly..no scratch that, entirely envious of all the people who get to do ING NYC. Someday, before I die, I will run this race. I have yet to hear one bad thing about it. Hope you’re still wearing that shiny perrrty medal ;-)

<3

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Good job! My dad said the New York Marathon was the most exciting thing he has ever done and he has run Boston 3 times. Sounds like it was amazing!

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Hey Gorgeous! I’m so glad you totally rocked it at NYCM! Paul and I watched it-it was so exciting. I was just so happy to know that you were in there somewhere tearing it up! You are such an inspiration. It’s good to know you are running again and not sitting on a padded seat on a bike for hours at a time. You are a runner and there is nothing more fitting than you running an awesome time at a marathon. Love ya!

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Yes, I know I’m late to the game, but I wanted to tell you what an amazing experience! I’m so happy for you. Really, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you are back to doing what you love. Your positive attitude through this year has been an inspiration to me. You are my hero in so many ways. And New York is something you’ll always treasure and never forget. And it’s so cool to remember that this is just the beginning for you! There’s going to be so many cool marathons after this one and who knows what else! The sky’s the limit for you! Love ya, girl!

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Congrats! I ran NYC last week as well. It was a beautiful day to run. It was my 3rd NYC the race looses some of its glamor each year that you do it. (Just my opinion) Maybe I’m bitter that a killer camp invaded my left calve at 15 and I had to run 11 miles in pain (the first time this ever happened- maybe I’m lucky).

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Eleven miles in pain?!?!? Oh my goodness that does not sound fun!!!! Congrats to you for another nycm!

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Congrats on a fantastic race! I ran NYC this year as well, and have to say it was the most amazing experience, and yes, Central Park was tough!

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HEY KRISTINE!! Do you think you will do NYC again? What is your next race?

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Hi Janae:) I would absolutely do NYC again. Would be fun to run with a charity next time round! Next race – a fun 10km cross country race. Probably won’t do a marathon next year – but will apply for Boston 2013.

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I want to do Boston 2013 too! Let me know how your 10k goes!!!

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Wow. NYC looks like so much fun. I have so many questions. I hope yu can answer just a few.

How do I avaoid beingthe couple all wrapped up in teh bags.

I am doing this race all alone. I will be with 40K plus runners and I will be there running alone.

I have heard of waring huts, coffee, etc. I do I get in one of those things?

Any direction would be awesoem..

Congrats on a great race….

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HEY BRYSON. I am so so excited that you will be running the NYCM, you will love it. It was my favorite race ever. It was cold before the race but just wear a lot of layers that you can take off and donate right before you start running. I never saw any heated tents but they did have all the coffee and hot chocolate you need to stay warm. They also gave out free head beanies which was nice. My best advice is to wear lots of layers that you don’t mind leaving at the starting line. GOOD LUCK!! You will love being around so many runners…the adrenaline is awesome!

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AHH!! re-reading this post DAILY. It was soooo great to meet you this year at the marathon, even though the poster I made you sorta fell apart :). Running the NYCM this November and SOOO excited! I wish you were running again this year and re-fueling at crumbs :) Hopefully you will return to NYC soon with Spikey :)!!!

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