The Marathon: 26.2 in New York City

Well, it's all over. The New York City Marathon. All 26.2 miles of it. And every moment of it was incredible in its own way. Those hours of anticipation in the chilly Staten Island morning; the thrill of the start; the exhilaration of the crowds cheering; the thousands and thousands of cups littering the streets after every water station; the changing face of the city and its people as we passed from neighborhood to neighborhood; the painful uphills when I wanted to walk, but didn't; the even more painful final miles when I wanted to cry, but didn't; finding that last burst of speed in me to pick up the pace at Mile 25 and sprint to the finish. What a range of emotions I went through during the 5 hours and 44 minutes I was out there on the course! Most overwhelming of all was the feeling of joy and gratitude I felt every time we saw our friends and family out on the course cheering us on, and every time I thought of the many people who told me they would be cheering from afar. Truly, it made the whole experience. THANK YOU!

My running buddy Amy was my mainstay through our 5 months of training and every step of those 26.2 miles. I would not have made it halfway without her.

Below are a few photos from the day, mostly courtesy of Ashkon, my #1 fan. Ramin also made us feel like professional athletes, by running alongside us at Mile 8 with his massive Canon lens and capturing these shots. Now I have pictures to go with the memories.

Before the start, with the Verazano Bridge in the background:

Still feeling good at Mile 8 on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn:

Cups littering the road after a water stop:


Our surprise and excitement at finding friends and family waiting for us at Mile 15 in Queens:



Our cheering section! Who could help but be inspired?


















Going for a strong finish after Mile 25:

Meltdown

Oh my goodness. The New York City Marathon is TOMORROW! I may not have mentioned it on my blog previously, but I am supposed to be running that marathon. Did I mention it's TOMORROW?? 24 hours from now I will be at about Mile 10. I'm having a bit of a meltdown. No photos. Nothing more to share. Just that.

Disco Bowling

For anyone who was under the impression that bowling on the Nintendo Wii might improve one's skills in the actual game, let me assure you that it is not so. Last Friday night I went out bowling for the first time in about eight years. I figured all that Wii bowling would finally get me past the 100 score mark; after all, my little Mii has an average of...okay, I don't remember, but it's definitely respectable. Apparently those skills don't translate. Still, fun times were had by all and there was just a teeny bit of disco dancing under the strobe lights too.

Autumn Leaves

This is the continuation of my "Fall" series, begun a couple of weekends ago. I had been hoping for a while to get some pictures of the leaves changing, but New York City sadly does not offer as many opportunities (or as many trees) for that as I would like. Fortunately I got my fix in Connecticut this past weekend. We went to New Haven to see a talk, visit a friend, and take a little break from the city. The vibrant fall colors were an unanticipated bonus, and I was absolutely thrilled to get out there with my camera--so much so that as I was walking home with friends, I fell so far behind that at one point I got up from crouching on the ground (taking pictures of fallen leaves) and realized I had lost my companions!


Fear not, I found them, and we passed the afternoon in cozy conversation after coming in from the crisp (and slightly wet) weather outside.


By the way friends, thank you for the outpouring of sympathy and support about my lost shoes. You'll be happy to know that the story did not end where I left off. I returned to the cobbler's the following week with a Negotiator (my husband), whose calm and collected tactics in the face of extreme duress finally got me a minute behind the counter to search for the shoes myself. Naturally I found them in about 30 seconds, bearing a *different* tag number from the one I had been given. Big surprise. No apologies from the shop-owner for yelling at me and accusing me of trying to steal shoes, however. Another big surprise.

My Brother is Famous!

Breaking News: My very own brother is a world-renowned documentary filmmaker! How do I know he is world-renowned? Because today an interview with him about his recent film on the situation of the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal was featured on the opening page of the website for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees--a site that gets hundreds of thousands of visitors a day, and that I have visited myself on numerous prior occasions. He has been in the South Asian press before, but this is Global Exposure. How thrilling! The Oscars are coming up in March--does somebody want to give The Academy a heads up about this bright new talent?