NYC Nike Half-Marathon

Hat's off to both the New York Road Runners and Nike on one of the best races I have ever been part of. As most of you know I was lucky enough to be one of the almost ten thousand people who finished the NYC Half-Marathon this past Sunday, 3,495th overall with a personal best of 1:54 with those of you scoring at home.

I figured that this many people running I was due for a day of frustration and unorganization, but boy was I wrong. The race was completely organized from the the very beginning all the way to the end, with plenty of water stations and bathrooms available throughout the race. It really was the best experience of my brief running career and I just can't say enough good things about it.

As for the course it consisted started on the east side and consisted of one full loop around Central Parks outer loop which is just around six miles plus another mile to make it a total of about seven miles in the park. The next part of the route was leaving Central Park and running down Seventh Ave, which was closed off for the race with a ton of spectators on both sides. It was during this part that I really got a taste of what running the marathon must be all about. As I made my urn onto Seventh and heard all the people cheering I couldn't help but get goosebumps all over my body, especially that tingly feeling you get in your head. I knew that from this moment on it was going to be smooth sailing. The course followed seventh ave all the way down to Time's Square, which was another awesome moment. I mean think about how many times are you going to have the ability to run through Time's Square without any cars honking and really just soak it all in, it really was an incredible experience. I kind of felt like Tom Cruise in the Beginning of Vanilla Sky! As I mad my way to Forty Second street I made a right turn and headed for the West Side Highway and the mile Ten marker. I should also know that all along the route there was different bands playing all kinds of music from rock to salsa, a little bit for everybody. The West Side Highway was smooth and flat and I really felt in cruise control at this point, I think there may have been a cruise ship in and sun was just starting to rise and made for a beautiful setting. I was able to finish the last three miles pretty strong and was greeted at the finish line with a commemorative medal and a kiss from the wife, even though she bitched I was all sweaty and smelly.

This was my fourth half of this year, but known of the other really compared to it in terms of atmosphere. I must say it really was a rewarding experience and I was particularly proud of myself, especially since I had told to wife I was determined to beat two hours and I was not only able to but also beat my previous best time by more than three minutes. It really makes me feel like all my training for the Marathon is starting to pay off and I am really gaining confidence heading towards November!

On a personal note I also want to thank Danielle as well as my in-laws and Nathaniel for coming in to cheer me on that end, as well as everybody at the party and all asked how I did and seemed really happy for me, it really felt good to know that people did care and were rooting for me. By the way here is pic for you CD.

Also don't forget that, I know I am starting to sound like a whore here, but the whole point of me running the marathon is to raise money for cancer patients. Thanks again to everybody who has already helped out, for those who haven't all you have to do is go here and type in Maver in the upper right hand corner and follow the instructions. Plus don't be afraid to e-mail our friends since I don't have everybody's e-mail I could use some help. Thanks again and I can't wait to see everybody in November!