Ouch! Okay, my pride is hurt a bit over the slow pace, but boosted by completion. I was almost out of commission on the 13th mile and yes, you bastard, it was my knee. Perhaps I'd better start from the beginning.
The day was great for spectators and mediocre for runners. I've found that the ideal running temperature is in the low 50's. Starting in the cold sucks, but is quite enjoyable after the third mile or so. Tülay and I started the day at 6am and watched the early morning news showing all the runners stretching out. PBDS'ers told us that we didn't really want to be there early since you just wait so we took the last bus out of lower Manhattan at 7. They were already closing down the roads and only runners' busses were allowed across the Verrazano Bridge into Staten Island.
Once across we disembarked and loaded up on our free food...there is a lot of free stuff for runners. We did get the token free shirt, but it sucked. Probably because ING wanted us to buy their cool ones at the Expo which I did. A quick breakfast, some good stretching, bag checking into UPS trucks and some time gazing about at the myriad of runners and we were being called to the starting line. I can't emphasize how exciting the start of the race is, you feel like a superstar. Helicopters are circling the bridge and boats are below. The media is everywhere reporting and interviewing and you are charging up the bridge with thousands of other runners after the blast of a cannon.
Of course, once on the bridge, like many other first-timers, we stopped again and again for photographs (hopefully, I'll have them all up here tonight). Immortalization complete we settled in for the longest run of our lives. We carried a mental map of our friends and began our search for them in Brooklyn. On our run, we found everybody we looked for except for poor Richard who is one for four in marathoner sighting.
The first half of the race went on schedule and not unlike our previous half-marathons we'd ran this year. I encountered my first and only problem at the midpoint before the Queensborough Bridge. I mentioned to Tülay that we should stop and stretch a bit before the second leg, so we pulled over to the curb and stretched for a minute. I stood back up, took two steps and almost fell over from pain. Stabbing pains on my right knee. So bad that I didn't even think I could walk, much less finish the marathon.
Tülay, the consummate marine, would leave no man behind. She helped me start walking and I loosened up enough to continue a slow jog and then a moderate pace. With slow jogs balanced with a lot of walking we finished the rest of the distance. At the 23 mile point, I pushed Tülay ahead and she made great time to log in 15 minutes before me. I'm glad she did since the cutoff time to get her name in the paper was five hours and forty-five minutes. She made the cut.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience! Thanks to everyone for supplying us and cheering us on! I may have gained weight on the run. =)