DAY 5 USA 6th November 2011 (ING NYC Marathon Day)

The 4:30 start is tiring with little sleep… The fact that I found a dirty sock in my linen was even a bigger disappointment. The argument with the travel agent over email regarding the BS with the Qantas Tickets rubbish and no wonder I am wired to the max… Team photos – Check Gels and crap – Check Coach running late – Check Get to the start line – Check Talking to a Mr. Munro (Josh & Chris dad- small world people) – Check Missing the Wave 1 start because the schmucks decide to close the Corals early because they let partners run in the same wave and filled the quota early… - Check (arrrgh) Falling asleep at the beginning of the start and body cooling down by the 45 minute delay – Check Still focused on finish line – Check Two things I discover now… Not happy with IPhone battery life as I can’t get it to last the whole way. Secondly, My runner app is not accurate by comparison to the official times… The race started well…I was well on track…at the 10 mile mark the crowed that had me going and buzzing are dwindling a bit thin and fatigue of the lack of sleep is setting in…I pop a few gels and it keeps me going…I am still determined…The half way mark gets there and I am still on track for a PB. Then the Brooklyn bridge and the 16 mile mark…Not only am I hitting the wall, I am over zealous coming down the bridge into a cheering squad, I pulled a hamstring and as I haven’t done one of those before, the pain is sharp and persistent… I am no novice to injuries so I know I just need to walk it off…however, four miles later and I am really sore…really, really sore, and as we enter the Bronx, again I am motivated by the cheering crowds and attempt to break into a jog again and now I am in more pain with less than 10 steps as the groin muscle is pinched…I am almost contemplating giving up now as I can’t begin to imagine finishing this race. All that’s on my mind is the sponsors, the charity and how far I have travelled to get that finish medal…no matter what…I had promised Kate the day before that I would finish and would return to walk with her if that’s what it will take for her to finish…I know she will finish regardless but somehow, that spurs me on to continue…I also attempted to get to a medical unit for assistance as I needed a stretch but they were too busy so I continued…Figured I will see our cheering squad and get them to assist. I must have hit the wall pretty hard at some stage as I just stopped and was very disoriented…It was the spectators mighty cheers that brings you back to life…well and truly…at the 22nd mile I am dragging my feet and this dude just says, “its 4 miles and you are done, I know you will finish this, you want to”. I knew then I will finish it, although I kept looking for the cheering squad from Aus, I am grateful I have not seen them or them me as I was exhausted and had I stopped I would probably found it extremely hard to finish the race. I kept going and finished with a flurry running the last mile and getting there in under 5:00 hrs in fact official time is 04:56:46…Well, I finished and grabbed my medal and straight into a wheel chair with back spasms and 2 hours later with amazing help from Physio, I can just walk again. The end line was not sufficient to the brains trust of the organisers and we end up walking a further ¼ mile to collect our bags and now the Hotel that was supposed to be in an advantage to being close to he end line is 22 blocks away from the end line…mental note if you are running the marathon stay close to 77th street or as close as possible and finish early if you can…Luckily the tricycle boys at a very preposterous fee get you back eventually. I swear I would never do another marathon… I also learn that my five-fingers were why my hamstring and groin went as it was pressure on a nerve in my back had caused that…Back to Asics that’s for sure for a full marathon… In the evening we had a little get together at the Strand Hotel miles away but it was nice sharing in the triumphs and tribulations of other race participants… It’s over and I have my medal so proudly. Even though my time disappointed me…But, I had learnt that you can’t turn back time but I achieved the objective of finishing. One thought about running for a charity or having something that you are running for beyond just the run, I kept thinking of my boys and other children, teenagers and adults that the Kids Helpline assist… My thoughts were if by finishing the race I have committed my personal goal to get the funds to the charity and if that saves one single life…then it was worth all the pain. It is often we forget to say it but if there is one thing to take out of this whether its our children, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and family…just say these words as they are often forgotten but “everyone matters and everyone is loved and we need to say these often as reminders” I hope that you all truly follow that simple request and ensure that no one is left behind or neglected…Those simple words will lift any person from despair to hope. Every race no matter how tough has an end line and at the end everyone gets a medal and it’s the same one whether you finished in less than 3 hours or more than 6 hours we are all alike in our triumph.