DAY 4 USA 5th November 2011

After about three hours of sleep, I am ready for the 5km Dash, get into the foyer and meet several other runners from the group that are just as crazy as I am as some are actually running the marathon tomorrow as well. We walk up to the start line and agree to meet at the “Le Pain Quotidien” a great little French patisserie in Central park (allegedly, there is one back home in Surry Hills) try it out Sydney Siders the coffee is amazing. The first thing I learn is the 5 km dash is actually 5.98 kms and I am hoping they are not intending to add 20% to the marathon…I run it in good time and pretty happy with fitness so here is hoping to run a good time at the marathon…I would be chuffed with 3:30 but I really would like the 3:15 mark… After the race I meet Kate Offer (WA) & Mike Edyejones (Sydney) to add to my compatriot lists of fellow runners. Really great company and at the café we meet three ladies who are inspirational and we discuss the marathon and the triumphs of finishing it…I am grateful as I truly now believe I can do the time and definitely finish it. After brunch we decide to head to “Laughing Man” a coffee shop run by Hugh Jackman as part of his affiliation with a charity: Then from there it was shopping at Macys and wow what a place…spent a small country’s GDP but the stuff was cheap…Cheaper anyway. Lesson of he day was don’t stay in a cheap ass place as a friend who is over here found out the hard way when she was robbed. The legend of Bagger Vance was on tele and that was another inspiration as its by far one of my favourite all time movies. It was a Will Smith Marathon and not sure exactly what bugged me the most that night but I did not sleep that well (at most just under two hours and regretting that I did not stick to my ritual of having a big night before a race day…Lesson to remember although the alcohol hypes me it also relaxes me… A bad night sleep leading to the big day