Too many people in such a little place...

Today was a great day in NYC. The weather was perfect, mid-60's and sunny. Many, including my friend Tom and I were out for an early morning run in a short sleeve t-shirt and shorts. About 40,000 others were starting a long day in Staten Island before ending up in Central Park after covering 26-miles and 385 yards. Tom's wife, Sheila and my good friend Dr. Weber were two of those who went on this great journey today.
I met Tom at 10AM this morning at his hotel for a beautiful run around the reservoir in Central Park. We relaxed, chatted and enjoyed the scenery. ;-) After our jaunt and a bit of freshening up at his hotel, we watched Paula Radcliffe win the women's division of the marathon on the tele. She won by 4 seconds! It was an inspirational sight. Wow! Kudos to her for working so hard and never quitting.
Tom and I went out to a local Starbucks to use my computer to check up on Sheila and the train schedule for his return trip to MA later in the day. We had a snack and enjoyed a few laughs.



After our snack, we traveled through the park, over a packed bridge and to a great viewing spot to watch the race. We were at the top of a hill at mile 25 of the course. It was a great spot to watch competitors pass by, and to cheer them on to success. We did see one guy get carried off in a stretcher. Not my idea of a "fun" day. We saw many people dressed in the colors of their home nation as well as others dressed in very strange costumes. I thought Halloween was last weekend?

Mile 25 of the 2004 ING NYC Marathon



Throughout the day my mother was calling me with pacing updates for Sheila as well as my friend Dr. Weber. I am Dr. Weber's endurance coach. (check out http://www.performancetrainingsystems.com) Mostly for triathlons, but endurance sports in general. He is a stellar athlete and was looking in control at mile 25 when he passed us. Tom got a picture of him, so I will update this post when I get it.

Here is Dr. Weber with the blue hat!



The picture I took turned out to be someone's leg! I need help!
Sheila was about 15 minutes behind Dr. Weber and looked as if she was not having as much fun as other runners. It was a hot day and she challenged herself on the course. I think she still looked good at mile 25, what do you think?



After Sheila went through, Tom and I joined the other lemmings in an attempt to get out of Central Park. Along the way Tom and I had a great idea! We thought that this endurance-sport stuff was so popular and that we needed to try something new. We ran into this guy and were intruiged by this new sport. I am not sure I have the coordination for this sort of thing...



I guess we will just stick to endurance sports for now. :-)

Our trip out of the park was insane, but we eventually got to the bridge that crossed a stream of finished runners and led us to salvation. (Central Park West and 72nd Street) This picture is a view from the top of the bridge as I was crossing. It was a continuous river-like flow of athletes in mylar blankets after they had finished. I believe this bridge is within 200m after the finish of the event. I thought it was a pretty neat shot.



Outside of the park we met up with Dr. Weber (who ran an impressive and steady 4:00:49 for the marathon) and did not appear to be tired at all! Very impressive!



After a long and somewhat stressful wait of over an hour, Sheila finally appeared from the crowd. She was very tired and explained that she had stomach issues during the run. I think she looked pretty good to me!



We gathered her stuff, she showered and sent off Tom to the train before heading to dinner with me. We went to one of my favorite eating places in the city, Cafe Taci. The lasagne here is so good, and very filling. We took a cab (thank goodness!) because we were sick and tired of walking, and Sheila just ran a marathon or something...

Sheila and me after a long day



Once dinner was over, I sent her on her merry and tired way back to the hotel for a deserved night's rest. I came back to school and am ready for some quality sleep as well. That's it for this weekend. It was a great time, especially visiting with some great friends in my life and having beautiful weather too! I have an Applied Physiology Lab Exam tomorrow and then Gross Anatomy written AND practical exams on Wednesday. The fun never stops! Off to studying and maybe some sleep tonight...

See you next post!