post marathon coutdown 0 days 12 h 08 m 55 s

So here we are and I do mean “we”. I’ve yet to join Facebook, I don’t Tweet and this was my first blog and therefore only experience into the cyber world. I have heard from a few people so I know that my musing have found some ports and are not floating infinitely out through the ether. I’ve also heard from some folks that I’ve not been in touch with for some time, which was really nice. I’ve received some questions regarding how to donate to Abilis so I feel certain that my efforts have born some fruit in that regard. Whatever the results (and I’m sure we’ll hear from Abilis later in the week) I’m glad that we have gone on this adventure. This is where the “we” comes in. I’ve run this marathon twice before. It was always a personal challenge that required dedication and focus. At its completion I had a sense of accomplishment. I would not in any way suggest that the accomplishment felt hollow. But this time around has felt so very different knowing that I wasn’t alone. Knowing that we were in this together and that our efforts were on behalf of those with autism, Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities that Abilis gives it support to. Knowing that we’re all a little more aware of those who have to make a marathon effort every day, should at the end of the marathon make us all feel a bit better.
If you’re in NY and plan to come out and cheer I’ll give you some information that may help to find me. If you don’t want to get off the couch, or as with Dan, his family and son Joe whose wheelchair made returning to Brooklyn too cumbersome, I’m told you can follow my progress online. You may not be able to access this before race time.
Here are some details. I’ll be wearing a very bright blue shirt and black shorts. My number is 25491. I’ll be starting in the second wave at 10:10 a.m. If you go to

http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/course.htm

you will find a map of the course with mile markers and an Arrival Time Chart. I hope to finish somewhere between 3 hours 50 minutes and 3 hours 59 minutes. That would be somewhere between an 8 minute 46 second and an 8 minute 57 second pace. Add that to the mile you’re standing at and give or take 10 minutes. (I don’t how long it will take me from the 10:10 start to actually cross the starting line.)

If you know you’ll be on a particular corner, shoot me an email and I’ll try to look for you. Otherwise here’s where I’ll be along the route. On Fourth Avenue I believe I will be routed into the lanes on the left side of the medium. For the remainder of Brooklyn and Queens I will be on the right side. Into Manhattan and up First Avenue I’ll be on the left, down Fifth Avenue the right and into the park to the finish I’m sure I’ll just be concentrating on the reaching the finish line.