I’m so pumped. Like WAY pumped. In fact, I need to get less pumped because its 9pm and the race is in 12 hours.

After all the training and the knee-freak-out and the desperate medical treatment; after the packing and traveling and time zone differences; after the press conferences and media appearances and technical meetings…its finally here.

THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON BABY!

47,000 people will wake up with me at 5am tomorrow and cram some oatmeal into their fluttering stomachs. We’ll triple check that we have everything we need before boarding buses to Staten Island. We’ll convince ourselves we are standing on a hot beach in Mexico to stop the full body shivering from the low 40’s temps until we finally get on with the bloody thing.

Other than that, I have no idea what will happen. I’ve received some great advice from you guys so I feel much more prepared than most first timers, but my own marathon experience awaits.

Am I nervous? It comes in waves. My right hand is twitching while I write this, so yeah, this would be one of those waves. I try to acknowledge it and then let it pass through me. Mostly I’m excited because I feel I have nothing to lose. Its an adventure–a new experience, and I’m starting to appreciate how valuable new experiences are.

For 9 weeks I’ve trained like a marathoner (at least for me) and I’ve already achieved what I set out to do when I signed up for this thing. This race itself is the reward.

If you want to stay updated on the race tomorrow you can watch it live on Universal Sports. There is a tape delayed highlight show on NBC from 2-4pm Eastern. Jesse will be tweeting updates throughout the race as well (which is your best bet if you are my family or friends who don’t like running and only want to know how I’m doing).

The more I think about it, the more my right hand twitches and my heart races, so in the name of settling down to sleep I’ll finish this post with a photographic story of my New York Marathon Experience so far, and tomorrow I’ll give you the post-race breakdown. Just know that no matter what happens, I’ll be happy with it because I’ll do my best out there. Thanks a million for all the supportive comments this week you guys. You’ve really lifted me up for the challenge.

Press Conference

At the press conference, I had seven times as many people asking me questions as you'd find at a track meet (yes there are exactly seven people at the table; easy math). Turns out the media likes marathons.

 

 

the finish line

Scoping out the finish line, where I was approached by the one and only Jere Longman about a story for the NY Times and nearly peed my pants.

random running day

Very excited to find out my knee is behaving after treatment from Jon Murray at home and a stop to see John Ball in Phoenix.

Lots of grubbin. Nobody loves food more than Jesse.

Nike Town Talk

This is me at Nike Town attempting to give marathon advice to other runners when I've never done one. They went easy on me.

Most creative food award: hanging pizzas

At the gorgeous NYRR fundraiser dinner on Thursday, the highlight for me (other than meeting the amazing Tegla Leroupe) was witnessing pizza hanging from hooks.

West Side Y Team

Hanging out with Meggie's Running Club at the West Side YMCA.

Running in Central Park

Went for a run on Friday in Central Park and it was so beautiful I pushed some newlyweds out of the shot and asked their photographer for a photo.

Me and Megan at the Runner's World Party

Hanging out with Megan and lots of really great people at the pre-race Runner's World Party. Must say that was the best-dressed group of people who work in the running industry I've ever seen. And here I am in the same red dress from the hanging pizza NYRR function the night before. Nice.

Lots of Water Bottles

Went to a water bottle filling/decorating party with the other pros. Mine are covered in Picky Bar stickers and Believe I Am stickers of course, and I'll pick one up every 5k from "Table 8 Position 2" amid a bunch of other bottles.