Back in the New York Groove

The day has arrived. Alison and I flew to NYC so I could run in the NYC marathon. 

We left on Friday afternoon. Getting to the airport was a little more hectic than usual. A work issue popped up right before we left so Alison was making phone calls and sending emails all the way to the airport. We also forgot Tex’s leash so we had to turn around and grab it (we boarded Tex since all of Alison’s family was also in New York.) We left our house in plenty of time so even though it was hectic we made it to the airport with time to spare. 

The flight to NYC was uneventful and we arrived just after midnight. Since it was late we took a cab to our hotel. NYC is truly the city that never sleeps - we ran into traffic on our way to our hotel. We also caught beautiful glimpses of Manhattan lit up. We have missed that view - We love NYC! We arrived at our hotel around 1am and immediately went to bed. 

We slept in a little bit the next morning, but we couldn’t sleep too late because we had to head to the TCS New York City Marathon Expo to pick up my race number. We took the 1 train to Times Square where we picked up the 7 train to Hudson Yards. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a NYC deli before heading into the expo. 

Back in NYC!

The expo was held at the Javits Convention center. Before entering we provided our proof of Covid vaccination. They limited the expo to runners and one guest this year to allow for extra spacing. NYC takes Covid seriously, which we appreciate. We picked up my number and the official race shirt. Then we explored the expo. There were quite a few backdrops/photo spots and Alison wanted me to get a picture at all of them. Of course I indulged her. We also made sure we found the Fred’s team booth. They congratulated me on my fundraising, wished me luck on the race, and also gave Alison a bag full of cheering supplies. 

Javits Center

We also stopped by the KT tape booth. I injured me knee a few weeks ago during one of my training runs. They had professionals there helping people apply tape for the race. Alison and I thought this was a great idea  - Alison was going to help me tape my knee on race day, but we could have these people help me instead. The only problem was a was wearing jeans. There was no way I could roll the leg up high enough for them to properly tape my knee. I wanted my knee taped so I dropped my pants and let them tape my knee. Other people were doing that too, so it was no big deal. I was just happy to have my knee taped. 

This knee injury was a big challenge. I injured it on a training run that was supposed to be 18 miles - I called it quits on that one after 16 miles because I was worried I would make the injury worse. That afternoon my knee hurt so bad I could barely walk. I had to buy a knee brace to be able to walk. I threw a study on my injury and based on my symptoms I was pretty sure I had Iliotibial Band Syndrome, also known as runners knee. I immediately changed my training plan. I had to prioritize the health of my knee for the race over everything. I took about a week off of running, but I was able to do some indoor cycling workouts because they didn’t hurt my knee. After a week, I was worried because my knee still hurt and wasn’t getting better. As I got a little further out from the injury I began to test my knee. I would run on it until it felt pain and then I would finish my workout on a stationary bike. I could never get very far in these runs. It was frustrating. I was supposed to get up to a 21 mile run in training but because of my knee injury my longest training run was 16 miles (twice), although I did some pretty long cycling workouts while I was injured. 

I was terrified my knee was stop me completing the marathon. I knew it was going to hurt, but I worried I would tear something or the pain would become so intense I would have to stop. I had nightmares the whole week leading up to the marathon that I would have to drop out before the end. It was not a great feeling. I did everything I could to not let the stress and worry get to me. I committed to giving it my best effort and I was praying I would be able to finish. 

So I was grateful to have my knee taped up. That provided a little piece of mind. I knew it should help, but still expected my knee would be a problem during the race and I would just have to run through the pain.  

When we were done at the expo we explored the Hudson Yard area. We have never come out to this part of NYC before. I was particularly interested in seeing one New York City landmark in this area - the vessel. This striking building comprised of 154 intricately interconnecting flights of stairs -- almost 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings - is quite unique.

We also found a spot where some people were taking instant Polaroid pictures of the Marathon runners. We had them take one of us and wrote my reason for running and taped it on a board full of pictures of many other runners. 

When we were done in Hudson Yard we caught the subway back to Times Square. We had matinee tickets to Come From Away. One of our goals Saturday was for me to stay off my feet and we figured a good way to do that would be to see a show. 

We absolutely loved Come From Away. First of all it was great to be at a Broadway show. When we showed our vaccine cards and tickets to get into the theater the usher greeted us with an enthusiastic welcome back to Broadway! It was exciting. You could feel their excitement to be back. The musical was fantastic. It is a 9/11 story. It takes place in the town of Gander, Canada. Gander is a town of a few thousand people. On 9/11 a number of planes bound for the US were diverted and landed in Gander. Thousands of passengers were stranded there for days.  This musical tells the story of 9/11 through their personal experiences. Throughout the show I thought a lot about how this global event had a personal impact on most everyone’s lives. I reflected on my personal experiences that day. There were moments during the show I got choked up. It is a powerful show. 

After the show we took the subway downtown to our hotel. We dropped off our stuff from the expo and grabbed a coat for Alison. The weather is actually pretty good for New York in November, it was 40s and 50s, but that can feel fairly cold with the humidity. 

We had just enough time to stop at our hotel and jump back on the subway and head to the World Trade Center. We were meeting Alison’s family at the One World Trade Center. The rest or her family arrived on Thursday/Friday and had been hanging around New York, but this was the first time we all got together. It was great to be together. 

We had reservations for the observation deck at 4pm. We headed up. I like the One World Trade Center observation deck. The elevator is covered in screens and shows New York being built over the years as it takes you to the 102nd floor. The observation deck itself is all indoors with floor to ceiling windows and provides 360 degree views of the city. We spent some time enjoying the views. 

When we were done we walked up the street to dinner at Da Claudio’s. It is an Italian place in downtown New York. I wanted to go there so I could eat a carb heavy dinner before the race. Dinner was great and we were really appreciative they could accommodate a group of 11. 

After dinner we decided to get dessert. We were thinking cheesecake, but it turned out that was easier said than done. A lot in New York has bounced back after the worst of the pandemic, but a lot has also changed. One of the biggest changes is that a lot of delis and other stores have closed or they have reduced hours. It could make finding a place to eat difficult. We tried to find something for dessert for a while and then decided to take the subway uptown to get one of our favorite desserts - Milkbar. It didn’t disappoint. 

Inside the Oculus

After dessert we headed back to the hotel so I could try to get some sleep before the big race.