[Fredslist] My Marathon Story

[ed at bienstockprivatejeweller.com]

Sunday Morning Nov. 4th 3:00 am - awake even before the alarm goes off
Hunt & check my preparations - shower, & go over my checklist again. Thank Scott Boom & Jeff Kamberg (in my mind) for their tips on how to prepare & what to bring.
4:00 am - My brother Israel comes to pick me up for the drive into the Crowne Plaza Holiday Inn for the Fred's Team pre-marathon breakfast. Very smooth & fast drive in:)
4:45 am - Arrive for breakfast. Still have to stretch & prepare my mind. Look for quiet space & calm my mind after stretching as per Dr. Dan Schaefer's suggestions; Will the subconscious to assist. 
5:30 am - Locate Scott & Jeff as they enter the dining area.
6:00 am - All Fred's Team exits for group picture & bus boarding. I stick close to Jeff - my coach, guide & mentor in this endeavor
6:30 am - On the bus & moving. We have a police motorcade escorting us - incredible! What an amazingly beautiful day, the spirits are definitely assisting. Breathtaking sunrise w/ views to match.
7:30 am - Arrival in Staten Island. Sit & wait in the cool weather for 3 hours - thank heavens the sun is out in full force.
Running for Fred's Team most definitely has its advantages - Most runners had to get on the SI ferry after an arduous crowded commute. Sometimes good deeds do get rewarded!
10:00 - All line-up in the corral & wait for our cue to go!
10:45 - We're really being let out! The race has begun for the Green Start runners.
Miles 1 to 5 - I try to keep my pace slow, but the runners surrounding me set a deceptively fast pace - I find this out post race when I read Fred's blow by blow encapsulation. I feel terrific. The cheering crowds of New Yorkers get thicker & thicker. I pass landmarks I've stored in my memory in the pre-marathon course drive I'd done a week earlier - my sister Cheri generously agreed to chauffeur me. This was sound advice from Dr. Dan Schaefer - It really grounded my mind, thereby avoiding "unknown course anxiety".
Miles 5 to 11 - Brooklyn is Beautiful! Incredible churches & landmark buildings. I use the time compression technique
taught to me by Dr. Dan Schaefer. Incredible bands of every description play every type of music along the way. I can't believe how easy & pleasant the run is! New Yorkers are so supportive - non stop cheering from the sidelines
The wide 4th Ave. turns into Lafayette & then Bedford - the streets narrow while the greenery grows evermore dense - a visceral smörgåsbord. 
Miles 11 to 12 - I look out for my brother, niece, & sister-in-law. No sightings. They don't spot me either.
Miles 12 to 15 - Here's where it really gets interesting - the ethnic enclaves. Whereas earlier in the run there were large areas prominently Italian, or Hispanic it was a hodgepodge - no specific concentration. As I continue to wind up through Brooklyn, the run takes me through Bed-Stuy where there is a distinct Caribbean presence - some folks are even grilling on the sides of the street; Soca & Calypso are in the air. In what seems the blink of an eye, the neighborhood suddenly turns Chasidic Jewish as we stat into Williamsburg; I blink again & am surrounded by hipsters in North Williamsburg. A few more turns & I'm over the Pulaski Bridge (mile 13) the halfway mark. I'm going strong & feel wonderful.
Miles 15 to 16 - More wonderful music by assorted bands as I approach the 59th St. Bridge. The last I hear is a dead-on accurate cover of Iron Maiden's "Run to the Hills" no easy feat, & hilariously appropriate as I embark on the last major incline (hill) of the marathon. The bridge really isn't tough at all; but it is eerily dark as it is shrouded much of the way for ongoing construction. Once my eyes adjust from full daylight, the darkness has a cool calming effect.
Note to Helen Anderson: I feel your support in spirit as you said you'd be watching from your vantage point, but I truly couldn't spot you from down on the running course (apologies).
Miles 16 to 18 - Leaving the Bridge, I remember that at the pre-marathon breakfast Fred's Team runners were advised that we should bear right toward mile 17 for Memorial Sloan-Kettering's station w/ the kids, as it is very easy to miss the mark. I start over to the right but realize there's a ways to go. Soon I pass the station see the kids, & get my picture taken as I run. The bridge hasn't had any adverse effect on my running.
Miles 18 to 22 - As I approach 90th St. I look out for Barbara Schwartz & Boober her dog - no luck. Barbara doesn't see me either. Then suddenly I begin to hit the wall - my feet REALLY hurt, & I have some cramping in the thighs.
I resolve that a bit of walking after each water station & I'll be fine, but I can't override my body's complaints & the walking becomes a sort of mind game  - I'll walk so many blocks & at the next milestone I start to run no matter what. This is working, but it is agonizingly slow. I try to utilize the mind control techniques in my arsenal but no use;  I simply can't return to a consistent run & it's messing with my head. Why am I doing this marathon I think? Luckily I am able to pretty quickly block out that negative impulse & realize there's only one way I'm getting to the finish line - on my own two legs. Still the intermittent walking followed by a predetermined (in my mind) run pattern persists all through the Bronx - the Bronx's crowds really showed the Boogie-Down flavor to the fullest (excepting the bagpipe station just past midpoint of the Willis Ave. Bridge). This plan of walking, then running seems to be working - but I'm not happy about it. Over the 138th St. Bridge & the downhill on the bridge feels great. Back into Manhattan. Slowly I get to Marcus Garvey Park & I know I'm almost there. The running is starting to get easier again & the cheering crowds get denser as the finish approaches. As I pass the Conservatory (110th St) of Central Park, I resolve that soon I'll return to a full-on run. I see I'm about to turn off 5th Ave & into the park & that's all the impetus I need - something about the greenery is so restorative!
Miles 23 to 26.2 (finish line) - I'm running non-stop again & elated about it! As I run I hear a woman's voice coaching & cheering anyone willing to listen, through the pain & agony. I notice who it is, that she's a pace runner carrying a staff with about 6 purple balloons tied to the top. I stick close by & it's REALLY helping. She seems like an angelic apparition come out of no where & she's saying all the right things to anyone willing to listen. She notices that she's really helping me & that I'm taking all she says to heart. She takes me under her wing & whispers key phrases, learned wisdom & predictions for just how the finish is going to be - into my ear. Thank goodness for that angel - she got me through the tough going with grace & aplomb; by mile 25 she had me running at a very respectable pace once again & she complemented me on my reserve of strength. I wind around Columbus Circle & break out past the angel as I spot the 26 mile marker. (If I had only met that angel @ mile 18) The last 2/10 mile is marked in yards  - as I approach the last marker I effortlessly break into a full sprint: just as the angel predicted. It was as much to end the agony as it was sheer adrenaline & excitement. I finish & don't really process the full extent of what I've been through for two more days.