For some reason, it feels like it was all a crazy dream or something that happened years and years ago in a wonderful carboloading fantasyland.

Somebody pinch me.

Boop!

No Saturday morning alarm clock? Sleeping in til 10am? Oh me likey.

I like you running clothes, but I think I like my fluffy green robe better. We can still be friends though.

I took a week off from running, but have already slapped Hal Higdon’s Marathon Recovery Schedule on the refrigerator to get back into the groove of things.

Boy do I wish there was a way to rewind and freeze this moment all over again:

I have no idea who the lady in red was, but apparently we are a human chain. 

The days following the race, I wasn’t prepared for two things:

1. Penguin legs
2. People’s reactions

My legs hurt so ridiculously bad afterwards. I kind of hobbled around like a wobbly penguin for 4 days straight before my legs started to feel normal again.

Weeee! My legs are stiff as boards here, but I’m smiling like a rock star!

Note to self: Don’t take subway stairs for granted ever again.

People’s reaction to my time also threw me majorly off guard.

“Well, I ran it in 5:29:12.”

:::Insert painful grimace here and, “Well at least you finished, right?”:::

Awww man. I knew they all had good intentions, but their reaction was kind of a Debbie Downer.

5:29:12 was definitely on the slower side of the spectrum, but I kept my legs moving the entire time and never gave up.

Happy Mile 18! Painful Mile 23. “I need my inhaler.” GASP.

Every time I almost beat myself up about my time, I just remember how far I’ve come. Like those hot summer days when 3 miles were tough. And I’ll only get better! A sub-5 marathon is totally going to happen my friends. When? Down the road for sure.

A few months ago, Susan told me that the days following the 2010 NYC Marathon, Central Park was completely empty— all of the runners had disappeared! I wonder if it’s like that now.. hmm I will have to go investigate.

—

To get out of the city for a bit, a few friends and I hopped on the train to Coney Island Saturday afternoon.

Tebowing,

Tarzan calls,

And the most ungraceful cartwheels ever all went down. Naturally.

Strolling outside in the chilly ocean breeze, it felt like we were carefree little girls again.

Oh yes.

This is the good life.

—

Marathon morning, I actually slept insanely well. That whole extra hour from Daylight Savings was such a nice luxury! Thank you running gods. I’m a fan.

I took a shower the night before, so all I had to do was scarf down 2 pieces of bread with peanut butter, a banana and wrap up my feet.

Necessary precautions. You’re welcome, Band-Aid Industry.

The night before, I had pasta, chips ‘n salsa and Fig Newtons. A true feast of champions I tell you.

My family was so amazing taking pictures and getting me out the door. Thank you so much for that!

Yay pictures.

GO Airlink NYC was my official sponsor and ended up donating over $3,000 towards my Team LIVESTRONG fundraising goal. How awesome is that?!

In total, we raised $3,900 that went directly towards cancer research.

I was so excited to run in honor of my Grandma and wrote both her name and “26.2” on my Livestrong bracelet right before heading out the door.

On the way to the Staten Island Ferry, I took a cab downtown to pick up Khristian, a good college friend and my teammate.

We may have convinced ourselves to sign up together over a giant bowl of fancy sangria with cucumbers and grapes in it. What can ya do.

The ferry was packed and we both looked at each other like, “Oh wow, apparently this is really happening…LOLZ!”

Walking onto the ferry, someone said, “Is it just me, or is the ferry captain extremely hott?” Yup, he was a hottie.

I was pretty antsy the entire ferry ride.

In Staten Island, we waited in line to board a bus that took us over to the Starting Village.

Khristian and I were basically delirious and burst out laughing at the dumbest things the entire trip. Definitely took my mind off of the pre-race jitters.

After hopping off the bus, we went straight towards the porta-potties and then had to split up because he was in the earlier Wave. Sadsies.

I went over to the Orange Area, found my UPS truck and checked in my ginormous bag.

Last UPS truck aka I must be slow.

After stalking the Runner’s World Marathon Forum for about three months, this is what they recommended to bring:

• 2-3 giant sweatshirts
• 2 trash bags to sit on in case the ground was wet
• Toilet paper in case the porta-potties ran out (they didn’t)
• Whole Wheat Flat Wrap with peanut butter and an apple for pre-race fuel
• Extra socks and undergarments for after the race
• Throwaway gloves and a wooly hat

I didn’t need or use 80% of that stuff, but I’m a total cold weather wimp, so I guess it’s better to be safe than freezing my butt off.

I had about 1 hour until we entered the corral, so I sat in the sun, picked out all of the cereal from a trail mix bag, stretched and used the bathroom about 5 times.

That throwaway jacket was buy one get one free from a thrift store. I miss it already.

The gun shot went off for the Green Wave and runners instantly started pouring across the bridge.

See that?! Runners!

Knowing that I was going to be in their exact same spot in about thirty minutes was the scariest feeling in the world.

15 minutes later, we finally entered the Orange Corral and I mingled with a few runners—a Brooklyn Dad running his first marathon and a lady from Texas who had lost 150 pounds and was running her third marathon! Wowza. Talk about inspirational.

I told them about my secret plan to hunt down Mario Lopez which sadly didn’t happen, but it was thought that counts, right?

All of the sudden, we heard our shot gun go off and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” began blasting from the speakers.

The absolute best feeling in the world.

It was our time to shine!

We inched until the Start Line and then finally began running our way across the Verrazano Bridge.

Hey look, we are running!

I knew I didn’t want to burn out early, so I stayed at a pace I felt comfortable with.

I didn’t have a Garmin, so I just trusted my body would figure out a steady pace on its own. And it did!

The view of Manhattan from the bridge was incredible and everyone around me was so giddy! A ton of people pulled over to take pictures in front of the skyline in the distance, but I kept truckin’ along.

Brooklyn was amazing. The crowds, live bands and funny signs kept me entertained the entire time.

My favorite was, “Toenails For Sale.”

I’ll take two!

Definitely my favorite borough in the entire race.

In the first 6 miles or so, a ton of guys veered over to the side of the path to go to the bathroom alongside the street.

The porta-pottie lines were ridiculous, but luckily I didn’t have to go.

At Mile 6, 11 and 16, I took Gu and started to dilute Gatorade with water at Mile 6 as well. Mile 21 I ate Fruit Punch Sport Beans and Mile 23 had 1 Fig Newton that my family handed me.

Nothing quite like a sign that says 20 miles to go.

Think I will have nightmares about that one.

The Half Marathon mark was on the first bridge exiting Brooklyn, and right away I thought, Oh crap. I’m only halfway done with this thing? Bah.

I think my time was around 2:33 at this point.

Queens was quick and easy which I liked.

They played some awesome songs around one bend and I sang along and made up an America’s Got Talent-worthy hand dance to pep me up.

The Queensboro Bridge at Mile 15 was pretty awful.  There were a lot of walkers by this point and I had to do a lot of dodging.

Some girl started singing, “This is the bridge that never ends….” which cracked me up.

My family was waiting at Mile 18 and I texted them that I was running late (oh puns).

Texting while running over a bridge? An interesting experience.

I was really looking forward to First Avenue because a “Wall of Sound” was supposed to hit you from the cheers at the bottom of the bridge.

Sadly, that never happened.

The crowds just stared at everyone blankly and the people who did cheer said, “Go Shawn!” instead of “Go Shan!”

Oh it was so bad. I cranked my music up because there was no way I was going to make it 60 blocks without it.

When I finally spotted my family in the distance at Mile 18, I was SO happy and felt a giant boost of energy. Words can not describe how good it feels to finally lock eyes with your spectators!

“Am I done yet?”

Next up was the Bronx.

The crowds had thinned out big time by this point and I was ready to finally knock out the fifth borough.

It was weird, but literally everyone around me walked this bridge.

I jogged up to the top and then pulled over to use one puff of my inhaler and stretch out my legs.

At Mile 20, volunteers blasted Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” which gave me major goosebumps.

In my head I thought, “You can do this! Only six miles to go. That’s like what—one loop around Central Park? You’ve done that hundreds of times.”

Totally doable.

—-

Around Mile 22, I completely hit the wall. How do people run these things for fun? This is tortureeee.

I got pretty delusional at this point and honestly don’t remember running through about 10 blocks.

I tried to stay positive and then got a text from my Dad who was tracking me online in Florida that said, “Almost there Shan. Hang tough you are amazing.”

His text perked me up and carried me to Mile 23 where my family was waiting on Fifth Avenue.

Yay family!

I started hyperventilating and wheezing when I saw them again. GAH! I wish I could get that under control.

Notice that I have one glove on. I am weird.

About a minute later, I calmed down and told them I’d meet them at the most northern column of the Natural History Museum.

Literally one block after that, I felt someone pull on my shoulder and say, “SHANNON!!!!”

It was Ashley! She said, “Come on, we are doing this! We are finishing together!”

Ashley said she had a horrible shin splint and we walked a water station together at Mile 24. I knew I had to keep my legs moving though, so I jogged the rest of the way.

Rounding the bend near The Plaza, I heard my friend Lindsay and her boyfriend screaming “GO SHANNON!” and it was just what I needed to finish.

With Ashley at my side, we ran as fast as we could towards the finish line.

(photo via Ashley)

The last .2 miles were definitely the hardest part.

I remember gritting my teeth and just giving it everything I had.

Hand in hand, Ashley and I threw our arms up and crossed the finish line together with a final time of 5:29:12.

We did it!

Boy did it feel good to be done.

I honestly never imagined how hard or painful running a marathon would be and I was just so glad it was over with.

Ashley looked pretty pale, so I told her I thought she should go to a medical tent. She gave me Bo, her husband’s number and I called him to tell him where she was and to come meet her asap.

After 30 minutes of inching out of the park, I hobbled over to the Natural History Museum freezing and called my mom.

Oh man I can’t even describe to you the pain I was in afterwards.

Totally worth it though!

My family helped dress me in the middle of the street which was a very New Yorky moment.

Since all the streets were shut down, we had to take the subway, a bus and then a taxi to get home.

Pure torture, but definitely a funny memory.

I can’t believe I actually did it!

My post-marathon meal was going to be pizza, but then I got a random craving for chicken fajitas.

Extra Guac please!

Now this is more like it.

–

Would I ever do it again?

If you asked me right after the race, I would’ve told you OMG NEVER AGAIN. (Ashley heard a lot of this from me LOL)

If you asked me today… totally.

Muwahaha.

Last night after work, I took the bus over to the Javitz Center for the ING New York City Marathon Expo.

Scenes from the Expo:

The bib pickup process was extremely quick and organized. Thank you so much to the volunteers!

I met up with Amelia and we walked around looking for free samples.

Free Gatorade and Powerbars FTW.

We are obviously in.

So excited!

I walked out with three new shirts — 2 long sleeved and 1 short sleeved.

Marathon Playlist:

My marathon goal time is 5 hours, but I made the playlist 5.5 hours just case. It’s tons of Top 40 songs and Remixes–  basically stuff that should be on a Jersey Shore episode.

Snooki approved.

How To Track Me During The Marathon:

Time to do a double-decker bus tour with the family!

And then sleep. Lots of sleep.

PS – Check out this great article about Theodora and I training for the marathon in NYC.

Good luck to everyone running!

26.2 or bust.

You kind of freaked me out there.

I went for a 6 miler last Sunday after the storm and well…

Running in 39 degree weather? Not so pleasant.

But on a positive note, it’s supposed to be 20 degrees warmer on race day!

Shanny no likey 39 degree weather.

5 more days.

Walking home I spotted this:

And my personal favorite:

Yikes.

–

I didn’t have a debit card for 5 days, so I literally had no money the entire weekend.

Thankfully though, I had my fluffy green robe, Netflix, Cheerios, Eggo Waffles and Greek Yogurt to get me by.

Ah yes, taper life is the good life.

For my fellow Netflix lovers, 2 marathon movies are available on instant streaming:

• Spirit of the Marathon: Get ready to cry your eyes out in this one. I get way too emotional when it comes to this stuff.
• Saint Ralph: Seriously one of the weirdest movies I’ve ever seen. Kind of inspiring, but a 14 year old attempting to win the Boston Marathon? So random.

On the toe-front, the infection and blister have both gone down, but it looks like the nail is going to fall off any day now. RIP Mr. Toe Nail. I thought we were friends!

I didn’t run on it for 6 days because I really didn’t want to risk anything on race day.

It’s really weird, but apparently I lost 3ish pounds during those days of not running. I have worked so hard to build those muscles and I really hope they aren’t going away anytime soon. I need them to get me across the finish line!

Does that usually happen during Taper Time? Kind of freaks me out.

My Marathon Weight:

My Marathon Weight has been pretty interesting to follow over the past 26 weeks.

Last Winter was the first real winter I’ve ever experienced in my life.

Oh lookee there. Snow!

I had just moved from Florida, was starting a new job, getting adjusted to city life and enjoying all of the perks that came along with the city that never sleeps.

• Want to get $4 frozen margaritas from Blockheads tonight? Yes!
• Want to get McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets for lunch? Always.
• Want to go to happy hour after work? Sure why not.
• Want to get some beer at the Stumble Inn? You had me at beer.

Obviously the last thing I wanted to do was come home from work and go out for a run in the freezing cold. Fast forward a couple months later and bam! An extra 15 pounds. Heyyyy that’s not cool. I’m almost 5’10, so the weight didn’t look like a lot, but I definitely couldn’t fit into any of my college clothes which was all I had brought up from Florida.

Major fail.

During Marathon training, I turned that laziness completely around. I ran 4 days a week, walked home on some rest days and ate pretty healthily.

For breakfast, I made either toast, waffles, cereal or oatmeal at work. Lunch was the hot bar and salad from the deli downstairs and dinner was usually something like cube steak or homemade pizza wraps.

Days that I was scheduled to run 5-8 miles after work, I’d always have a sandwich for lunch.

Carbs = fuel. They’re SO important during training and you have to find the right balance for you. Too much can sit like a brick in your stomach and too little won’t give you enough energy to complete your run.

I cut out beer completely and only drank probably about 5 times the entire training session.

Yup, I was pretty strict on myself. I’ve slipped up with training in the past (signed up for the Disney World Half Marathon ’11 and wasn’t motivated enough to train for it) and didn’t want it to happen again. I wanted to do it this time.

I want to run a marathon.

(Fun Fact: The day of the marathon will be my 1 Year NYC Anniversary. I did it, Mom!)

In August though, I was pretty depressed. Money was extremely tight and I had been training like a crazy person for a good 3 months. I wasn’t balancing the work and play part very well which a lot of experienced runners are reasonably good at.

That’s when the trip to Atlantic City came along.

GTL?

It felt so good to take a mental vacay away from it all and finally have some real “non-exercise” fun.

Seeing Pauly D was pretty cool too.

In the beginning of marathon training, I lost 10 pounds pretty gradually and then during the final 2 months the weight plateaued. During taper (which is still going on), I lost those random 3 pounds which still boggles my mind.

It’s funny because my monthly Self Magazine came in the mail the other day and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the cover:

That headline would have totally suckered me in before I began this crazy adventure.

Burn 500 calories? Sign me up!

After training? Oy. Not anymore.

Yeah, the article might have a few semi-achievable tips in it, but it’s not broadcasted in a healthy way.

If you want to make a change in your life, you have to make the time and find something you love to do.

Push yourself, create short term goals, figure out what time of the day you like to exercise and always focus on the bigger picture.

That’s the key to balancing work (your real job + exercise) with play– and hey, if a few pounds come off along the way, that’s cool too.

It doesn’t have to be marathon training or even running at all. It can be biking, hiking, walking around the neighborhood or even doing an open water swim at the beach.

You can do it. All it takes is a little leap of faith.

“Some people run to get in shape… we get in shape to run.”

Love that quote.

Post-marathon training, I feel like a totally different person inside and out.

My legs are SO much stronger now and I know they’re going to take me across the finish line strong in just 5 more days.

I’ve finally found my balance.

Apparently this marathon thing is really happening…

I will spare you the graphic image, but if you really want to, imagine a bruised black toe with a blister underneath the toenail and an ingrown toenail.

All. At. Once.

GAH.

I’ve been freaking out. I know this all a part of running, it makes me tough and yadda yadda, but why does this have to happen now?!

Online, I stumbled upon this article:.

If there is a blister under the toenail, you may see the toenail raised and it may be swollen and painful. It is best to try to ignore this for 24 hours and see if it goes down by itself. If it is still raised and painful after a day, then you may want to drain the fluid. If the edge of the swollen area is near the edge of the nail, sterilize a needle, sanitize the area, and try to pierce the blister with the needle. Press to drain it, apply alcohol and/or antibiotic cream.

OMG.

I literally cannot think about this or I will pass out.

—-

Saturday, I had this awesome plan to run to New Jersey.

At the beginning of marathon training, I had this “Long Run Bucket List” planned out in my head. I figured hey, if I’m going to be running for a good 2-4 hours, why not do a little sightseeing?

I covered pretty much all of them!

• Central Park
• East River
• West Side Highway
• Battery Park
• Brooklyn
• Queens
• The Bronx

The last two on my list were New Jersey and Times Square.

Times Square, you might be this weekend. Yes, I want to be one of those crazy people running through Times Square like I have a fire lit up under my you know what.

All for the tiny thrills, right?

The plan was to run 13 miles Saturday morning, but sadly, it only turned out to be 7.

It actually all worked out for the best though!

I started off in Central Park, got bored after 2 miles and then ran over towards Riverside Park.

I swear I am ADD when it comes to running paths.

Along the way, I stopped at a 7-Eleven for a bottled water because I knew there probably wouldn’t be any water fountains uptown.

Heading north, the crisp weather, pretty Fall leaves and deep blue Hudson River kept me in a relaxing, steady trit-trot.

Scenes from the run:

Ulysses S. Grant’s Tomb on 122nd Street

Stairs to get down towards the water path near Dinosaur Bar-B-Que at 125th street.

(I followed 2 runners because I had no idea where I was going. This happens far too often.)

Pretty Hudson River.

Running path on the left. Biking path on the right.

And my new favorite spot to get away from it all— the river banks of the George Washington Bridge!

Let’s keep this spot our little secret.

Directly under the bridge, there is even the cutest Little Red Lighthouse. Seriously, that is what it’s called.

I was so tempted to just sit there and chillax the rest of the afternoon.

After this lovey dovey moment, I got pretty lost.

For like an hour.

I asked about 10 different people how to get to the top of the bridge and no one knew. In fact, they all looked at me like I was nuts.

I walked between a busy intersection (don’t do that), ended up on some train tracks (also bad) and made about 3 circles before finally following some super nice bikers in the right direction.

Directions: Go up the hilly paved path right past the Little Red Lighthouse, turn left and go over the covered foot bridge, turn right, and then take your first left on 181st Street, walk east and turn right on Fort Washington Ave, right on 178th and then follow the bike path signs west to this narrow windy passageway:

And then you’re on the bridge!

When I finally made it on top, that’s where it all went downhill. Literally and figuratively.

I started cramping and felt SO nauseous. The bridge was a mile long and I thought I was going to be sick the entire time.

When I finally reached the end, I turned left, walked a block and entered Fort Lee Historic Park.

The night before the run, I looked this place up on Yelp.

Honestly the fort was pretty lame, but the bathroom, water fountain and views were nice!

Yay.

I still felt nauseous, so I sat on a bench for a while, called my mom, tweeted for someone to come pick me up in their car (I was serious about that people lol) and enjoyed the view.

And boom goes the dynamite.

About an hour later, I slowly walked back over the bridge and then hopped on the Downtown A Train at 175th Street.

I spy a marathon ad!

Overall, a crappy run with purdy views.

I skipped an 8 miler on Wednesday because of the rainy weather, so I just substituted this run for that run and did my long run the next morning.

On Sunday, I felt so much better! I busted out 12 miles – two loops in the park – at a 10:40 avg pace and felt SO happy about it.

What’s the prettiest place you’ve ever explored by foot? Any tips for preventing blisters?