A few weekends ago was the NYC Marathon and my new apartment is right on the marathon route. We had front row seats as thousands of runners, who had been training all year, flew and sometimes walked by. We even got to see the elite runners pass. It’s hard not to get caught up in the energy of marathon day. Thousands of people line the streets cheering on strangers. Bands set up along the course playing music and giving support to both runners and spectators. There was a band right on my corner before the runners turned north onto Bedford and continued their journey through Williamsburg and Greenpoint.
Last year was my first time experiencing the excitement of marathon day. My sister’s fiancé ran it and we cheered him on. This year, a girl I’m dating ran it and I cheered her on as she passed my apartment at mile nine. It’s inspiring. Throughout the day you see people from every walk of life running: old people, young people, blind people, people with one leg, people with no legs, people in heels! (I didn’t actuallly see the guy in heels run, but heard about it after)
Since running cross country in high school, I’ve been a casual runner. It’s been a way for me to stay fit and keep a clear head. If I go too long without running (like when I got shoulder surgery, or the second time I had shoulder surgery) I feel mentally congested. I don’t run far, usually only around 3 miles and I haven’t participated in a race since cross country. Actually, in college, I ran the once popular Tough Mudder (I don’t know what happened to them), which was a 10-12 mile run with obstacles. That was the furthest I’ve run, and that was 13 years ago.
Before a few weeks ago, I hadn’t been running as much as I had wanted to. I felt fantastic over the summer, running five miles on the beach on some Saturdays or Sundays, but since then I have fallen out of a running routine and more into a gym routine. When I was commuting to work from my parents’ house, I didn’t run during the week because it was too much. Now, my new apartment in Bed Stuy is only a 23-minute walk away from work and there is a Y right around the block.
On the marathon Sunday, mid-race, I felt like I needed to run after watching so many go by. I went to the Y and ran five miles on the treadmill. I felt pretty good during the run, but later that day and days later my calves were incredibly sore and tight. I always hated running on a treadmill and I don’t think I’ll get on one again, or maybe I was in worse running shape than I thought.
On the following Thursday, I ran about 3.25 miles and I felt really sore post-run and not that great during it. Now, I plan to get back into it and push myself running-wise like I have never done before because I’ve decided I’m going to run the NYC marathon in November.
Update
From when I first started this post, I had just started getting back into running. Now, almost four weeks later, I’ve maintained a consistent running schedule and ran a new max distance of 8.3 miles last Saturday. Running over the Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge was amazing and if you had asked me a month ago, I never would have thought that I would have been able to do it.
I’ve also officially signed up for the NYCruns half marathon at the end of April, so at the very least, I’ll be running a half marathon.
We’ll see if my body can hold up for a full marathon.
You can do anything you put your mind to, you always do. I’m very happy your trying this, if your not enjoying it you’ll stop. I’m very proud of you for trying!! LOVE YA, see you thursday.