Marathon Morning

I was in a hostel approximately at 6th Ave and 38th St. This is a LOUD street to be on. And my room faced the street. (At least I was on the 5th floor -- top floor of the building.) There were large groups of people screaming and/or cheering and various times until midnight, maybe later. There was a little bit of loud activity in the hallways (but not as much as on the streets). Somehow I managed to get to sleep fairly readily, even if not terribly deeply. (My sleep the night before a marathon is never overly restful.)

And then I got my wake-up call. At 3am.

Recall yesterday's post. I set up a wake-up call for 4am. Yep. The end of Daylight Savings Time. The hostel's computer system doesn't automatically update, so it woke me up an hour early. Sigh.

While I was able to take advantage of the early wakeup and even take a little bit of a nap before the actual 4am alarm on my phone went off, it was still mildly aggravating.

Finally, after doing all my pre-race prep, I head downstairs with my blanket to wear, my start village bag filled with my race materials, and my bag with everything else to leave at the front desk -- I checked out then since I wouldn't be getting back to the hostel until after noon and I was not permitted a late check-out.

And, boy, was it ever cold outside. Here's what the forecast for the morning was set to be. Gorgeous for running, but dreadful while waiting around in advance on Staten Island.

It was a short walk to get to the southern end of the NY Public Library, where the buses were lined up. I was prevented from boarding the nearby bus. Instead, anyone approaching that area was told to cross the street and walk up to 42nd Street. At which point we were directed to cross to 6th Avenue (where I had come from originally!). And then crossing to the south side of the avenue, our bibs were checked and we were directed back towards 5th Avenue where the buses were lined up. Turn right and proceed down to the nearest available bus. The crossing of the pedestrian foot traffic was initially confusing, but it was clear what they were doing and why. While we were on the early side of this whole dance (working our way towards boarding the 5:45am buses), it would getting increasingly busy the later in the morning it became.

While the official program advised it would take 90 minutes to go from NYPL to Ft. Wadsworth, the trip only took us 45 minutes. So, while we enjoyed the warmth of the bus for that time, we had an extra 45 minutes out in the frigid cold on Staten Island.

When we arrived at 6:30am, security was really very easy. Only a few random people were pulled out of the crowd flowing into the starting villages for spot checks. The rest of us kept moving along. And despite some of the prohibited items, some obviously prohibited items made it in, not least of which was an inflatable pool float (to be used as a mattress).

There were a decent bit of amenities available (bagels, Dunkin' beanies (and coffee - which I don't drink), and water) in each of the villages. Having eaten my bagel and drunk a little water, I found a patch of grass to sit down on and draw my blanket around me. Eventually even deciding to lay down and cover myself with the blanket. That worked pretty well.

Once 8am came around, I decided to kick off my final prep. Use the portapotty, do a little bit of stretching, and put on the rest of my gear. (I carry Clif Shot Bloks and a couple of Nathan bottles inside a belt.) Off to the now-open corrals. It's getting real!

8:45am arrives and the corrals are closed. One last pit stop, and shortly thereafter they have the corrals proceed onto the bridge. Woohoo! It's been 17 years since the last time I was here. Let's get 'er done!