The final one!

Hi Folks
This one might be a bit longer as it is the last one in this 12 months journey!
Friday we explored downtown Manhatten, Wall Street, the Museum of the Native American Indian and Ground Zero. This was finished off by a lovely dinner in Little Italy.Yesterday we tried to do things here in NY that did not invole too much walking as I did not want to stand at the start line with sore legs :-)
We found this crazy toystore where we sorted presents for the kids, had a very little walk in Central Park - which is georgeous - and used the subway a lot to get places. After a little Nana-nap in the afternoon, we decided to go up the Empire State building. Big queues and twice 22Dollars worth of tickets we managed to get up there in time to see the incredible view and wait for sunset!
And then the big ONE: I was very nervous and did not get much sleep last night. We had to get up at 5am, get our gear together and catch a bus at 6am to Staten Island, where the start is. Then the long waiting began. I was amazed at the logistics with the masses of people (around 46 000). There were three starting villages where we had to wait for 4 hours for our start. For the start we were put in corrals and then the whole thing began...
The first part over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was a teaming mass of people. The sight was quite unbelievable. I thought that along the way the crowd would thin but it never happened so running was actually quite hard as you had to weave around people all the time. As soon as we got off the bridge the noise of spectators and music started and it too never finished untill the end. Bands were playing along the side of the roads, people were screaming random names of runners, it was mayhem. I felt really good for the first 16 Miles then stared to feel a bit sore in my legs and knees. Brooklyn was never ending and so was Queens. I felt as if I was freeze-frozen in a mass of running people but not really getting anywhere. Back on Manhatten Island and then on to Harlem and the Bronx, where I thought the music was the best! The final 6 miles were hard as Central Park just wouldn't come near. But I managed to run it all with gritted teeth (although just tired not injured as such) and just walked at the drink stations so I wouldn't get the water down the wrong pipe. The worst was after the finish, I was so happy I cried and almost chocked up with it. We had to walk about another 2 kilometers in a shuffling caterpillar of people to get to our bags before they let us out on the streets. It had gotten cold again and it took me forever to make my way back to the hotel.
And that's it really! A huge journey has come to an end and I have proven that even a "fat" chick can run a Marathon!!!
So long folks
ciao
pia

New York, New York

Hi folks
Finally in New York! Sooo exciting and terrifying at the same time. We arrived late last night after a reasonably good flight and a very long time in a shuttle from the airport. We were the last drop off and so got a city bus tour at the same time :-)
Today went to the Marathon Expo to register and get our bib numbers and timing chips. One word: amazing! So many exhibitors and cool running gear for sale. Waiting in long lines to register - first time of feeling really scared and a bit like a fraud. A pretend runner amongst runners??? Thats what it felt like for a while, especially as everyone seems to ask you what time you are expecting to do. And mine is definitely at the tail end of the spectrum :-)
Already put a lot of weight on the credit card - bought myself some Vibram 5 fingers! Wanted them for a while and they had a sale. Whats a girl to do? The city is definitely abuzz with the approaching Marathon.
Blogging again soon.

ciao
pia