From Finish Line to Finish Line - My Journey to Complete the NYC Marathon

I did it!!! I successfully completed the NYC Marathon with a time of 4 hours and 24 minutes and raised over $3000 for Grassroot Soccer.  It was one of the most painful and most incredible experiences of my life.  When I look back, the whole journey from choosing to run the marathon to crossing the finish line was simply incredible.

It started a year ago, a day after I completed the Delhi Half Marathon. I was so lit up by the experience that I wrote my friend Ethan Zohn and told him that I wanted to join the Grassroot Soccer NYC Marathon team for 2011. He said "Yes" and, at the time, I had no clue what was ahead of me.

About 6 months before the marathon I decided to start preparing.  As my typical optimistic self, I was sure that I would train properly and be completely ready to go before the marathon. Boy was I wrong. I had a conference call with my good friend in Mexico, Jose 'Pepe' Galvan, who runs Ultra Marathons. He shared a training schedule with me and some tips and sent me on my way.

The next day I woke up at 6am and started running through the streets of Delhi and it was both disgusting and entertaining at the same time.  Disgusting because there was trash all over the road, a thick layer of smog, 6am heat that was unbearable, puddles everywhere and people staring at me with confused looks on their faces. Entertaining because while I was running I got to watch women in full saris carrying bricks on their heads, families of warthogs chasing each other around, cows and buffaloes just moseying and the odd donkey, monkey and even camel on my running path. I mean who gets to see that on his morning run!!

Anyway, the training started well with me completing a few miles each day per the schedule. Then life showed up. During the 6 months of training I was travelling around the world for work for about 3 months of the time and definitely too jet-lagged and excuse-ridden to train. Then I spent 17 days in Dharamsala at a spiritual retreat and couldn't find a single flat terrain to run on. Then in September I got really sick and lost 15 pounds and could barely get out of bed, let alone do the 20 milers that were on my schedule. Then came October which was the busiest professional month of my life.  

Needless to say somewhere around mid-October I started freaking out after realizing that the marathon was only a few weeks away and the longest I had run over the past 6 months was 7 miles!!! So I got to work. I started running every morning with the promise to myself that I would be able to run 15 miles before I left for New York so I could then just walk the final 11 miles when I actually ran the marathon.  One week before the marathon I completed 15 miles around Delhi and felt comfortable that at least I will finish the marathon...even if it takes me 6 hours.

3 days later I flew to New York. I got off the plane after 16 hours in the air and did something I've never done before; I hugged my friend and host for the week Stephanie, dropped off my bags, put on my running shoes and ran around Prospect Park in Brooklyn twice (=7 miles).  I was slightly sore and confused but was happy that I did something that my legs were feeling strong. Plus during the 7 years I lived in Brooklyn the most I could manage to run around Prospect Park was once so there was a personal achievement tucked in there somewhere. 

The next morning I woke up and ran 3 miles and decided that was it. Wherever I was physically and mentally at that moment on Friday morning was how I was going to go into the marathon.  The day before the marathon I got a nice massage and ate a massive plate of pasta.  On Sunday morning I woke up at 6:30am, nervously ate some power bars and then took off to Staten Island to join the other 45,000 runners at the starting line. The whole process to get from Park Slope, Brooklyn to the starting gate took 3 nerve-racking, lonely hours and involved walking, a subway, a ferry, a bus and more walking. Probably not the best thing to do just before running 26 miles.

Right before the start, we were all huddled together just under the Verrazano Bridge trying to smile while listening to some inspirational speaker and then "America the Beautiful" and "New York, New York." It was actually all very surreal.  Next thing I know we are off exactly at my start time which was 10:10am.  The first mile sucks. Alone with my thoughts up and down on the Verrazano Bridge.  It's at that point, I already started questioning if I could go 4 miles let alone 26.

But once I completed the Verrazano and got into Bay Ridge, Brooklyn everything transforms.  Swarms of drunken, happy New Yorkers are there to greet you with signs, hi-fives, oranges, tissue, gummy bears, pretzels, and even tubs of Vaseline. It's like a 26 mile party where I am the guest of honor:)
My tiredness, resignation and fear gave way to energy, hi-fives and smiles. It helped that I knew I would see my friend Stephanie in Park Slope on mile 8 which I ended up doing.  All of this carried me for the first 19 miles.  People said this would happen, but I didn't believe it until it actually did. Knowing that I've just run 4 miles more than I've ever run in my life is an amazing feeling, however that was quickly washed away with knowing that I have another 7 miles to go.

The hardest part is on miles 22 and 23 in the Bronx. I literally wanted to break down crying because my knees and muscles were so sore.  I tried walking but realized walking hurt just as much as running so I might as well keep running. This hell continued until about 85th street in Manhattan when I entered Central Park and realize that I only have about 2.5 miles to go.  From there I let the energy of the people and the vision of me crossing the finish line, taking a shower and eating a massive burger carry me forward the rest of the way until I crossed mile 26.2!

After the glory of receiving my medal and knowing that I finished faster than I ever thought possible, the rest was somewhat anti-climactic. I told my friends not to wait at the finish line because I thought it would take me 6 hours so I was all alone with just my relief and aching body to keep me company. I was cold, shaking, hungry and only had my metro card and $4 in my running shorts pocket. I hobbled 10 blocks to Columbus Circle and took the subway to Park Slope. I kept my medal on the whole time and actually loved the smiles and looks I received on the subway. I felt like a hero in some way.

I got off the subway in Brooklyn and limped my way to my new favorite Bagel shop. I was so hungry that I ordered $8 worth of food hoping that my medal would get me a 50% discount. It worked. The worker looked at the total, looked at my $4, looked at my medal and then said, "Go ahead brother, you deserve it." At that moment I decided that I would wear my medal for the rest of the time I was in New York to see what else I could get.

I took my bagel sandwich and chips, crawled up the four flights of stairs to get to Steph and Alex' place, opened the door and was greeted by my 2 best friends and their 6 week old baby girl. It was the best feeling ever. The second best feeling was getting a call from my parents in California and having them tell me they were tracking me online for the entire 26.2 miles and that they were jumping for joy in my childhood home. After speaking with them, I took a long shower and ate my bagel sandwich with a massive smile on my face. I knew that nobody could ever take this feeling of pure accomplishment away from me. Just wished that someone would take away the insane pain that had taken over my body...