happy2008

That's Ms. Black Belt to you

nyc marathon

so, i never completely recapped my NYC marathon experience. Luckily, I had jotted down my thoughts on the Monday night after the marathon. Instead of trying to make sense of them now - here they are for your reading pleasure! you can also check out pics by clicking here: nycmarathon07

getting to train: kieran walked me there at 5:30 am - drunk man made me drunk just by asking me a question - waited 20 + mins for train - waited for lindsay at staten island ferry term - good free trip for NYC

start line: cold. cold. cold. - dressed by kieran's uncle tommy - old tennis clothes :-) - tried to sleep, but had to pee (and other things) over and over again!) - disrobed and we were off - heard a cannon - and slowly moved along the road

verazano narrows (sp?) bridge - first and biggest hill on course. nice, but lots of clothes everywhere - for about a mile - shed my gloves early

brooklyn was awesome. maybe because it was early, but there were a billion people out. we went up 4th ave foreeeeeeeeeeeeeever! we ran for 5 minutes, walked for 3. fun - or NOT! - lindsay, claudia and i stayed together for about 17 miles - lindsay felt faint around mile 7? - and ditched fuel belt - if you find it in brooklyn, send it to her in ca.

felt good walking fast - someone told us that we were leaving brooklyn, yet we didn't - forever! it was nice, but they lied.

went through williamsburg in brooklyn - a hasidic jewish community. girls just looked at us, yet one group cheered on the side. one girl slapped my hand so hard, it still hurts.

finally got to queens at mile 14? went over some bridge where an elderly russian woman was singing (in russian.) very funny.

got on queensboro bridge. very dark, eerie and lonely. the bridges were very lonely actually - no one on the sides of the road

turned into manhattan (mile 16) and found kieran waiting for me there. i was looking good and I think the expression on his face was amazed - saw lindsay's mom, philip, rocky & lackshman just a few feet down.

got a bit of a surge - although the crowds were thin. the drunk frat boys in the upper 80's really helped us get through them. no beer though :-(

made our way to harlem, where people were still out and cheering. :-) went over willlis bridge (?) into the Bronx. made a left turn and we were done with that borough!

turned back into manhattan down 5th ave. it's funny how you go from harlem where the people are just excited to give their free concerts to the upper east side with furry dogs and furrier coats. i think they were returning from afternoon tea by the time I scooted by.

the park could not come any sooner. pretty. very pretty. it was starting to get dusky - very nice. lindsay's mom met us at mile 23.5 and walked us in. kieran found us around mile 25.5 just appeared from the bushes. mile 26 was loooooooooong! longest one out there for sure!

we turned onto central park south and it's deceiving. don't kick it into high gear here (the 2nd place lady had done that and that is why she was #2!) wait until you turn the corner at columbus circle - which we did. that last 400 meteres (one lap around a track) took forever. but it was done. we held hands and cried (just like they say you will in the TNT video!)

not my hardest, but my most fun. will do it again - and will train! kieran and i took a pedi-cab ride to the pig and the whistle bar on 3rd ave & 55th street, drank guinness, ate small burgers and got a round of applause. some guy asked me how I did and I showed him my medal and told him the truth - I won!

still sore on monday night.

Iheartny

I finished - the same day I started!

more info (and pictures!) to come when I return home on Saturday. in the meantime, here are 3 truths I realized as I walked 26.2 miles in NYC:

• The best way to do a marathon is with someone alongside you the whole time. Thanks Lindsay for suffering. . .I mean moving!. . .along with me the entire time!
• I really do love NY. The people are my kind of folks - crazy!
• And, my last truth - If I would have trained - I would have won. Or, at least beat Lance. ;-)

Thanks again for everyone's support and well wishes.

heart, monica

Monica HEARTS NY

I am ready for the New York Marathon.

Not because I have trained and trained for it (because I didn't!)
And not because I don't have a choice to move it back 6 months.
Or even, not because I told too many people about me doing it and I can't back down now.

I'm ready because I have exercised the most important muscle in my body this year - my heart.

So far, 2007 has given my heart some major, shall we say, training. In January, my Tae Kwon Do teacher had a massive stroke - and is still in the hospital today.
In April, my dear friend, Brenda, lost her 2 year battle with leukemia.

My heart has been beaten, kicked and broken this year. And yet, it still beats strong. It beats for those that don't have the choice to run, walk or move a marathon. When I return to TKD, I know my teacher would have made me show off my medal from the marathon. If Brenda was alive, she would be in NY, getting ready to kick my ass on Sunday. I want to repeat 2006 so that I can share this moment with both of them.

I know that this heart has trained and is ready for NY. No doubts about it. I Heart NY will take on a new meaning for me from this day forward. :-)

My heart and I would like THANK YOU for all of your well wishes and good luck! We promise to have a good time, not drink too much :-) and of course, finish strong and with a smile on our face.

But Monica, when will you actually run?

this weekend, I saw a good cycling buddy, bikinmike, at the alumni ride. He mentioned that he reads my blog from time to time and wondered if I ever got any running in amidst all of the drinking I have been doing. . .!

Well. . um. . yeah. . .right. . . that running thing. . .I guess here is a list of my 'running' over the past few months:

• I've run my mouth more than once at TNT events
• I've run around town looking for the perfect thanksgiving table decorations
• I've run into old friends
  
• I've run after Murphy & Shannon as they chased the ball
• I even (almost!) ran out of gas once!

Needless to say, I totally have been running ;-)

5 days to go. . .better start running (& screaming!)

still pooped

nike is over. thank you jesus! all went well. but I am still pooped and can't believe that I am supposed to move (no longer run. . . ) the NY marathon in 12 days. It will happen. I just have to keep saying that to myself :-)

On a nike related note - check out the blog of one of our super cool honorees, Amy Bartlett. She spoke at the pasta party and is dope! http://www.ichoosehope.com