New York Marathon Pre-Race Recap Part 1

There have been a small handful of running experiences that I consider to be life changing and this weekend is one of them.

Think about that for a minute…LIFE CHANGING…at 35, (36 on the 6th), it takes a lot to say that and mean it.

If you’ve been keeping up on Instagram, this will all feel like repeating but that’s ok because the adventures are worth reliving MULTIPLE times.  This marathon journey actually started way back at the end of August, that’s when I got the call and was asked to participate.  Since then, five of us have been documenting our journey.  You can see all the webisodes on the Asics site.

This weekend we all met up in New York for what promised to be an amazing weekend and I don’t want to give it all away but it did not disappoint.

Getting in Thursday night we started off with a meet up, drinks and dinner with the Asics crew.  Getting to spend sometime with the other four bloggers who you know…Ginger Runner, Runner Unleashed, Sharp Endurance and Running, Loving, Living.

What I didn’t expect was to see Ryan FREAKING Hall and Sarah Hall walk in and sit down.  It was unreal.  I might have giggled like a school girl just a little.  We had an absolute blast Thursday night and I could tell this group was special.

Friday morning was Shakeout Run and breakfast with Coach Kastor, his wife Deana, Ryan Hall and a handful of other amazing runners.  If I tell you I was star struck it would be an understatement.  I just looked around the room and couldn’t believe I was actually there.  The run was beautiful and brisk through Central Park with a quick stop at the finish line just to see what we would be in for.  The rest of the run was full of inspiration, advice and stories.  So much good stuff.  I need to relive the entire run and when I get a chance, I’ll break out some of the best pieces of advice.

After the run, we had breakfast and listened to more inspiring words from the elites.  I almost spilled my coffee just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and yes, that’s Deana and her adorable 4 year old.  It’s so reassuring to see these people that we look up  have the same parenting struggles.  We had a long conversation about it.  LOVE HER!  We also go our hands on the new Sony B Trainer.  I can’t wait to try them out and share that experience.  When they told me I could swim in them, I think I hugged him.

Then it was on to the expo which, again, didn’t disappoint.  We picked up our numbers, recorded some footage for Five to the Finish and then did some shopping.  This expo was pretty great and the Asics product line was uh-mazing!  I wanted all the gear!  I did manage to duck into the Sparkly Soul booth and get my hands on a few new bands, as well as a couple other key race essentials like my Honey Stingers.  We were there around noon on Friday and it was busy but there was no delay getting our numbers.

After the Friday activities, Scott and I spent sometime wandering around, seeing some sites like Time Square, Rockerfeller Center and of course, the Lego Store.

Friday’s events didn’t end there but you’re gonna have to wait till the next post.  There is so much to this weekend.  Seriously…stick around!  In the meantime, send Asics some love by sharing this post and if you ran and want to get your hands on some of the gear you’ve seen me wear or you saw around town, you can get it on the Asics site still.  Get it before it’s gone! Shop now!

Did you run?  Were you in town?