Today was a whirlwind of a day! I got up at 5:50 am and headed out the door by 6:30 to get on a train at 7:30 to get into NYC before 9:00am! Craziness! I started off my day with a Click Espresso Protein drink during my car ride.
I had to get into the city before 9:00 am because I had to take a train the Aileen’s house, drop off my bag, change and then be out the door in order to meet Aileen at mile 8 of the NYC Marathon! I wore my skirt goddess running skirt, my Gracie’s gear sports bra, my Road ID, my Zensah running sleeves, my new Headsweats hat and my Garmin.
I met Aileen at Mile 8 in Brooklyn. I was a rouge marathon bandit! One minute I was cheering on everyone passing me by, and then the next I was in the middle of the pack!
Aileen wanted me to bring her some Gu and Gatorade and pace her throughout part of the race. I was so excited that I got to share part of Aileen’s first marathon experience with her!
I was pretty much Aileen’s entertainment! I was chit chatting with her, snapping some pictures, pointing out fun stuff along the way, I even offered to sing for her! I met up with Aileen early in her journey, but I wanted to help keep her mind of the mileage and on the awesomeness that was surrounding her!
She was running in the NYC Marathon! She is a rock star!
Me all smiles a few miles in!
I tried to get a picture of the two of us while keeping pace. Taking pictures while running is hard! Ha!
Aileen wanted me to help keep her in the 9:30-9:45 pace world. So that was my job, and I think I did pretty well! I still think its silly that Aileen wanted me to pace her when I have never run a marathon! She is a much more seasoned runner than I am. I have learned lots of what I know about running from her!
I ran with Aileen for about 6.5 miles. We completed that in about 55 minutes. The time literally flew by! There was so much going on around us! So many runners, so many people cheering everyone on, it was truly incredible.
We even crossed a bridge together.
And then before we knew it, Aileen had already run half of the race!
I loved this billboard! Ha!
Aileen with the city in the background! Great picture!
Aileen is a MACHINE!
Before I knew it, it was time for me to peace out. We heard they were being strict about people going over the bridge into Manhattan, so I had to pull off to the side. I so wanted to keep going with Aileen and help keep the focus and the pace, but she did amazing without me!
I was so proud of Aileen for completing and doing awesome in her race! She is such an inspiration to me, and she played a big part in getting me started on running in the first place.
I was also proud of myself today. I felt really really strong during the 6.5 miles I paced Aileen. I think part of it had to do with the fact that I wasn’t running for me, I was running for her. I wasn’t going to let Aileen down in any way shape or form, so maybe that was a big reason for my strength. Or maybe its just the mileage I have been logging and that my conditioning is coming together.
Either way today was amazing. I am so glad I got to be apart of the 6.2 (+.3) miles of the NYC Marathon. I am proud of my friend, I am proud of myself, and today even left me toying with the idea of running a marathon myself. We shall see. We shall see.
Stay tuned for another giveaway tomorrow morning!