Health and Wellness Expo: I arrived in NYC Saturday morning, got my butt to the Health and Wellness Expo, and grabbed my bib. Since I got to the expo kind of late in the day, I didn't have as much time to explore. The expo was super overwhelming , but my friend told me to embrace it all. So I did. I quickly went to see all the vendors, tried their samples, and even scored this fancy schmancy jacket at 50% off the original price.

Getting to the marathon start line was a marathon in itself. I left my hotel at 7 am and got on the metro to arrive at the Staten Island Ferry WhiteHall Terminal. I then ferried over to Staten Island where I waited to get onto a shuttle that then took me to the start corrals. I got to my corral just in time for my wave to be released at 11 am. Whoo! If that wasn't good timing, I don't know what was. In all honesty, getting to the marathon wasn't too bad. Yes, it did take a few hours to get there, but I was surrounded by fellow runners and everyone was so friendly. :) I met a few other solo runners and we just chit chatted about nerves, training, and our overall experience with running. Before I knew it, it was race time!

The Race:
I don't know what it was (maybe it was the music, the weather, the other runners, or just the overall energy of the race), but I knew from the start line that it was going to be a great race. The DJ was blasting Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York," at the start line and I just soaked it all in.

We first started off on the The Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which is about a 2 mile long stretch. The bridge gives you an amazing view of the city and I'll admit, I slowed down a bit on the bridge so I could just take in more of the scenery. (I also didn't want to burn out too quickly since I had 26 miles to go). After the bridge, we immediately entered Brooklyn, which was full of energy. (Thank goodness, too because 12 miles of this race was in Brooklyn). The fans lined the streets of Brooklyn to cheer us on with signs and high fives. It was definitely an amazing feeling to have people root for me even though they didn't know me. I high fived so many children, I lost count and I don't think I've ever smiled so much during a race, let alone a 26.2 mile race.

After Brooklyn, we entered Williamsburg, which has a huge Hasidic Jewish community. Many of them were headed to work and so I saw a few of them dart across the streets in order to get there. I also got a few stares here and there since they're not used to athletic wear. There were less spectators at this point, but I was still having a blast running around and looking at all the differences of each neighborhood. Next bridge up was the Pulaski Bridge, which took us into Queens. It also has a great view of the city. Queensborough Bridge, which was the third bridge we crossed was probably the hardest bridge. It's in between mile 15 and 16 and is all uphill. Many of the runners walked up this bridge and I saw a lot of people stop to stretch their calves. I even saw a guy being tended to by a medic. Luckily, I trained for hills and was prepared for this. I just leaned towards the ground and pumped my arms and within 10 minutes, I was off that bridge and in Manhattan, where more crowds of people were waiting. Running up 1st Ave was pretty tiring (miles 16 - 19), but the crowds pulled through for me. Their cheers got me through Manhattan, into the Bronx, and back into Manhattan again. Once I got to Central Park at mile 23, I knew I had it in the bag. My boyfriend was waiting for me at mile 25 and my brother was at mile 26. I knew I had to get to them. Plus, Central Park is amazing. As a Californian, I don't get to see the leaves change color so Central Park was such an amazing place to run through. Crossing that finish line and being handed that medal felt amazing. I would definitely run the race again in a heartbeat.

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