5 boroughs and me

i don't think i've been this excited for something since i awoke to find my sea princess bike with lurkey from rainbow brite on the handlebars Christmas morning back in the 80's.   

a thought crossed my mind a long while back that i wanted to run 26.2 miles.  a marathon.  but like most things i set out to accomplish i have to be different. i choose the challenge over the constant.  cruelty over convenience.  i like it that way, it keeps life interesting and keeps me from getting caught up in the ease of it.
so i decided on the mecca of all marathons (yes better than boston, in my humble opinion)  it was a marathon that was close to home, it was a marathon that was in that city.  yes THAT CITY.

new york! new york! - staten island. brooklyn. bronx. queens. manhattan.  

i knew that this was not easy task to take on.  there was the physical part of running 26.2 miles alone. but this was more than a marathon, this was an event. an event that i  had to do. it was my home.  i've always felt this strange bond with new york even though i'm pretty sure i wouldn't know what letter of the alphabet line runs from any part, of any corner, to any borough.  but i love it.   in addition,  i would need to qualify or make it through this lottery of sorts.  so i dreamed, i kept dreaming, and i kept on keeping on.  while i waited i ran Los Angeles and San Diego, i did an ironman, i ran what seems like a million 10k's always still hoping, still dreaming, that one day I too, could run through central park as a new york city marathon runner. 

this video pretty much sums it up (thanks suzie for sharing)  and thank you New York for allowing me to become a part of you on sunday, even if its only for 26.2.
NYC Marathon Alex Baldwin prorez from Marc Beroza on Vimeo.