Part 9-Success in New York

The race was similar in crowd attendance on the sides of the road to the London marathon, but Americans are of course so much more vocal and noisy than the typical reserved Brit spectator. It was also election time, with mostly pro-Obama banners lining the streets.

I would say that on (almost) every corner there was a band of some kind playing, with a resident crowd having a massive party egging on the runners. The atmosphere was just incredible. The guides ran in formation around me warning me of dangers ahead like holes, slippery surfaces, or unexpected objects. In addition, they constantly inquired as to how I was feeling, and always offered me drinks and whatever else was available at the many aid stations. They were incredibly energetic and were whooping and shouting and jumping around the whole 42.2 km. Jeremy was an American who owned a franchise running store called Fleet Feet in Cincinnati was a really good guy, very genuine and at the same time very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about running (I think he said he had done Comrades a few times with his wife or something). Peter was a South African diplomat who had been living in the states for a few years with his family, and was also a genuinely good guy and a bloody strong runner –he had just finished a 55 MILER the weekend before and was going to run a 100km race two weeks hence. The other guy was a Chinese-American guy who was ill and pulled out at halfway. Peter was the guy who would keep us going at the required pace with his Garmin Forerunner GPS watch (just like mine back home). He would constantly monitor our pace and say if we were going too fast or too slow to break 5 hours. Along the way we passed some of the guys from our group and stopped for a photo, at the time I wasn’t sure we really could afford the time, but I didn’t really mind that much, I had to stop to say hi to Dennis (the old man I was sharing a bed with and also the head of Achilles SA) who was acting as a guide to Keki and Shiny Things. They took nine hours to finish the race, but they finished.

I ran surprisingly well, considering my (lack of) training. I was feeling fine for most of the way up until around 30km or so (usual story for a marathon I guess). At that point I wanted to pick it up a little but my guides had other ideas and we stuck to our plan for a sub-5 finish. It turned out to be for the best, as I started fading badly anyway. The funny thing was that the only thing that really hurt were my joints. My legs felt (relatively) fine. I realized that while the Bio sessions did excellently to strengthen my legs and core for the run, there could be no substitute for running to get your joints used to the pounding. The value of my hours spent in Bio sessions were starting to show now, deep into the marathon.

My body was holding together fine, but the joints were just not used to the duration of work required of them. As a result I was hobbling quite badly (I fitted in well with the other runners!). As we approached the finish line (about 500 metres from it) we stopped for another photo with Peter’s family who had been trying to see us the whole time on the road by driving to different points in the race.

After that we started moving those last metres towards the finish. Crossing the line I was relieved that it was over and happy that we at least ran under 5 hours (4:57). Peter and the Garmin had paced us to perfection. The finish was great because as we were Achilles runners we got special treatment, and were able to get out of the finishing area in next to no time. I went straight back to the hotel and slept.

I reflected on the fact that had it not been for all the stops along the way, we might have run 15 or even 20 minutes faster; Its funny, in the past this would have bothered me massively, this time it was not even an issue for me. I was just so happy to be there and to be part of something great. This was certainly a big departure from how I used to be (really focused on the performance aspect, maybe sometimes forgetting about the fun factor).

The next few days in NYC were spent seeing some of the classic sights which we did not see before, going to the top of the Empire State Building was obviously a highlight –an amazing view of the City and surrounds from up there.

The day after the run I was in Macy’s doing some last minute bargain hunting when [Girfriend] called. It was actually so nice to chat to her (it usually is, we always seem to get on OK). She was very proud of what I had done and let it be known which was very nice. It was difficult to talk to her when I was in such a happy and content state of mind; I still had (and always will have) very strong feelings for her. Its funny how general happiness and a feeling of contentment can alter the decisions you make and the way you act towards others. There was a part of me that really just wanted to forget about all the crap and try to re-connect with [Girfriend]. I tried to stay in control and managed (I think) to not be a complete insensitive bastard, while maintaining some sense of decorum.

Before I left for NYC I had written [Puppy class girl] a letter basically asking how she felt about ‘us’. We had been broken up for about a month and I was missing her and wondering if I had been too hasty in breaking it off. My running routes take me past her house and in that month that we were apart I saw her once or twice on the road (she walked a lot at the time) and we would chat briefly. Shortly before NYC we had had dinner at Primi Piatti in Sanridge (it is a hole, FYI) and it was quite enjoyable, we chatted well and had a ‘friendly’ dinner without any long-winded discussions of relationships and ‘us’. The simple reality was that the two of us connected on numerous levels. Intellectually we both enjoyed a good ‘devil’s advocate’–type discussion, personality-wise we both are logical and practical to a large extent, and intimately we connected in an intense and familiar way (despite not knowing each other for that long).

In my letter I had mentioned these things and before I left she had sent me an SMS basically saying that she was willing to give it another go. I received the message upon arrival in NYC. I was quite excited, but also nervous –this was not the usual thing for [Puppy class girl]- and I hoped it was not a mistake. Throughout my time in NYC she and I kept in contact via SMS, and even chatted briefly on the phone. I was quite excited (and again, nervous) to get back and see her and chat to her to see where ‘we’ were.

Arriving back in Johannesburg was (as usual), great. I love home and being home with my family and familiar surroundings. John had been missing me and I him (more I think!). I always seem to miss my family life immensely, particularly my Mom and sister Kayleigh. Seeing them again is always SUCH an amazing feeling. I managed to get gifts for most, but not all at home, I really enjoy getting people gifts for some reason.