The closer the marathon got, the more excited I started to get. I decided I wasn’t going to stress myself out before the race, so I made a rule banning all negative thoughts from my brain. Instead, I filled it with more and more excitement than my brain has ever seen.

The morning of the race we were scheduled to take the 5:30 am Staten Island Ferry, so we set our alarms for 4am! Our friends Carl and Becca drove us down in our car which was a complete life saver. We got there so quickly and it was nice to know that nothing really could go wrong from then on.

So we took the ferry, took the shuttles (above picture), and arrived at the waiting areas. It was huge! I’ve just never been a part of something so big. People everywhere! And Jake and I were in the first wave, so we weren’t even there for the most busy time. We were so freezing before. It was in the 30s and windy. Everyone brings extra clothes that they don’t care about ditching, then a church group comes through and collects it all to be donated. I love that! Because you should have seen how much there was.  Just in the first wave, I saw piles taller than me stacked with bath robes, puffy coats, hoodies and beanies.

Unfortunately, I was in the Green corral, and they start on the lower level of the Verrazano bridge. When you watch it on tv it’s all from the top level and it is just a sea of runners. The Mayor speaks, the news is up there, and those of us below couldn’t hear any of it because there were big speakers blasting instructions for the next wave. I was a little disappointed to miss out on all the fun stuff going on up there. Luckily I was able to hear and feel the start cannon, and then I didn’t feel left out anymore.

Starting on that bridge was brutal!  My feet were numb and down on the lower level was like a wind tunnel. It was so cold and so windy. So so windy. I’m pretty sure I got wind burn on my lips just from the first two miles of the race. All the bridges are uphill, but that one didn’t bother me much of course since it was in the beginning. And also probably because my whole body was numb.

As soon as we were done with the bridge, and got into Brooklyn, the crowds were unbelievable. It was basically people shoulder to shoulder the whole way, cheering their little pants off. Jake and I agreed the crowds were the best in Brooklyn. I basically smiled non-stop for the first 10 miles. There were high school bands, gospel choirs, hipsters cheering and people holding signs that said “Brooklyn loves runners!”. I kept telling myself “They’re doing this for you, Reagan! Keep going! They’re cheering for you!”.

So, usually I start to lose my steam in a marathon around mile 22, but this time, due to my lack of training I was starting to feel bad around mile 12. I was so worried, I wasn’t even half way done yet! I was like “don’t think about  the pain, you’re having fun, you’re having fun, you’re having fun”. But at about mile 15, I decided I was going to drop out because it was just too painful and I just wasn’t ready. I was so bummed. I tried justifying it to myself, and I thought about how maybe not that many people would judge me if I told them how poorly my training had gone for the last 5 weeks. I knew I was going to see my cheering crowd at mile 17, and then I would just stay with them until Jake finished.

Then, I stopped to pee at mile 16. Too much inf”? After I peed, I stretched my legs a little bit, and started to run across the Queensboro bridge. I felt so much better after stretching, and then I got excited that I was running into my 4th borough! The bridge was long, and the uphill was hard, but the view of the city was beautiful, and I got emotional thinking about how awesome it was to run across such a busy bridge without cars on it. I saw a runner from France standing near the ledge to take a picture of himself with the city behind him. I saw a person dressed as wonder woman run by. I saw some guys run by who were dribbling basketballs the entire marathon. I got re-inspired to run the whole race! ‘I’m going to finish this thing! I’m going to!’ my brain said.

So, I gave myself permission to stop and stretch every time I needed to. It made a huge difference and I was amazed that my stride wasn’t really all that different to how it usually is. I generally have huge amounts of muscle cramps in my hips and legs all the way down to my toes during a marathon resulting in my feet hardly coming off of the ground, but I wasn’t feeling that! Just very sore and tired/stiff muscles.

As you can imagine, the next few miles in Manhattan were bananas. Thick, thick crowds and I saw one of my neighbors! I stopped to stretch a few times and kept on going into the Bronx. Only one mile of the race is in the Bronx, so coming back into Manhattan at mile 22 was so exciting. I was totally chanting encouraging words to myself, which was embarrassing…but let’s get real, I didn’t even care. So I said “you’re doing it, almost done. and here is where it gets really silly, I chanted “Power! Strength!” in my head. It is amazing what a good attitude does. I am officially over being negative. Forever.

By mile 21 my wind burned lips were KILLING! Luckily, the crowd thought of everything, and a few people had tubs of vaseline that I just dipped my whole hand in and rubbed over the whole lower half of my face like a buffoon. Instant relief. Other people in the crowd had brought bananas, pretzels, paper towels and they even prepared orange wedges!

My friends (SarahJane, Becca and Brittney) weren’t able to get to mile 17, so when I saw them at 23, I was dying to see them! I was so happy even though I didn’t look it. I basically threw them my hoodie and gloves and went back on my way. Then I saw my friend Laura. Then I saw my friend Rachel, and she had all of her friends going nuts for me! I only had 2 miles left!!!!

I started to get really emotional the last two miles. I was so unprepared and the pain was so intense. I had worked so hard to get into the NYC marathon and trained so long, and after having to really talk myself into finishing it, I was so happy I did. I couldn’t help that I had tears streaming down my face. I thought about Piper Jane and Jake, I thought about my friends running and not running, and even thought about my sweet clients that were so encouraging for me to run even though I didn’t feel ready. When I entered in through the south end of the park, my legs were stiff and my feet were blistered, but I had just run the NYC marathon! All 5 boroughs of New York City! I was so proud. Beaming. And crying. But beaming.

There are millions of people post finish and shuffling everyone through is kind of a circus. There were rows and rows of UPS trucks that had our bags, and after that we were all assigned to leave through one of three park exits. We decided before the race that we would meet at 81st and Columbus afterwards, since that was far enough away from all the action, but in the middle of the three chutes. When I finally got there and I didn’t see my family, I started to cry. It was so crazy! I was like A) Stop it with the crying, Reags….and B) You look like a little lost puppy, Reags. When I finally saw all my loved ones, we hugged and hugged.

Like this..

I don’t even know how to end this post. This was such an incredible experience and it is everything that people say it is. The hills are really that hilly, the crows are really that amazing, the course is really that breathtaking. Hopefully next year when I run it, I’ll keep myself healthy in the weeks leading up!

Here is an awesome picture of Jake running. He is awesome. I love his bones.

And in Breinholt tradition, after we finished the race (usually we are just cheering!), we came home and watched the whole thing on DVR. Jake and I have been coming down from our marathon high today. I still just feel smiley and happy about yesterday. My legs are pretty stiff and sore today, but I don’t have monster feet like the last marathon (where both of my big toe nails fell OFF!), and that is all that matters. And also, I have now run 3 marathons!

Here are the tips that Gary Null gave me before the race. (I’m going to keep asking him stuff every time I see him..)
1. I asked Gary what I should eat the night before the race. Gary said “NO SALAD!” because it’s too much fiber in your belly. He said “Organic pasta with red sauce and a small bowl of your favorite soup”. My sister in law, Sarah Jane, and I made potato and leek soup. It was perfect. (ps I forgot to ask what the soup actually does for you, but I would assume maybe it’s the salt in it?)
2. What should I eat the morning of the race? Gary said “Nothing. Make a protein shake with two bananas”. I ended up doing a scoop of protein powder, two bananas and almond milk blended in my Magic bullet. It was actually quite tasty!
3. I said “Gary, I get terrible leg cramps during marathons, what helps?” Take magnesium the night before.

These tips were incredibly helpful. And I was happy that I already had all of the things I needed for his suggestions.

PS I’m very proud of myself for finishing such a challenging race, but I’m not really proud of my time and wont be posting it. Of course you can look it up if you want on the marathon results page.