Success in NYC!!!!!!

This past Sunday I successfully completed the NYC Marathon. More importantly, with your support and generosity we successfully raised over $4,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. This is something we can all feel good about.


The day started with a 4:15 am wake-up call to make sure there was plenty of time to make a 5:45 am ferry to Staten Island. After a ferry and a bus ride we arrived at the outdoor staging area. The race didn't start until 10:10 am for my wave, so it was a long cold wait.

The wait was well worth it to say the least -- the race starts off with a run across the Verrazano Bridge that leads you into Brooklyn -- what an amazing view/experience. The marathon goes through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and ends in Central Park. There were at least a million people lining the course cheering you on.

Despite hitting the wall earlier than anticipated (mile 18) I was still able to finish the race in 4 hours and 21 minutes. What got me through the last 8 miles was thinking about the 92 names listed on the back of my shirt (picture below).

The day ended with a LIVESTRONG celebration at a BBQ restaurant where everyone was proudly wearing their marathon medal, walking slowly and were proudly wearing yellow.

In my mind the best way to wrap this blog post up is to say thank you to each of you for your support and generosity. There are no words to describe how thankful I am.

As well, I want to thank my pregnant wife for running all over NYC with my daughter to cheer me on. The two of you mean the world to me and couldn't have done this without you!

As of this morning we've raised over $2,200 for LAF in less than a week. Needless to say I'm truly moved by everyone's generosity and support -- it means the world to me.

As for my training -- yesterday I completed my longest run in the training program (20 miles). As you can see from the graph below I was maintaining a solid pace up until the last 2 miles. The humorous thing is that the last stretch was along a parade route and a number of kids commented to their parents -- "is that guy ok?". :)



On a more serious note, last night I received the unfortunate news that one of my father's colleagues (and family friend) was diagnosed with cancer. He is in my thoughts and prayers -- if anyone can overcome adversity it's him.

Only 25 days until the NYC Marathon and combined my team of LIVESTRONG runners (300 in total) has raised over $502,000.

In preparation for my longest run in the training program, I stopped off at REI last night and bought enough PowerBar Gels to keep even an elephant energized. After Sunday's long run (20 miles) the best part of marathon training begins—the taper.

Thank you to everyone for their generosity and support.



This past weekend I stair stepped down my long run mileage to 14 miles (the week before I ramped up to 18 miles).

START SPREADING THE NEWS

Happy New Year to everyone! To be honest I thought I was going to sit idle for a few years with marathons. Life is what happens when you make plans. In 2009 3 people I think highly of were diagnosed with cancer (colleague, colleague's wife and a close family friend) and have truly shown what it means to have courage and a passion for life.

With my wife and daughter's blessing...the least I could do was was lace up my sneakers and raise some money to take this ugly disease head on. The NYC Marathon is 11 months away, but felt it was blog worthy. :)

Looking forward to a great 2010, celebrating my friends last treatments and hearing each of their victory speeches.