What kind of self-respecting magazine writer would I be if I didn't include a service sidebar? Thus, my tips for the ING New York City marathon:
1. Take the ferry. It's super easy and leaves much later than the bus, so you don't have to sit in the cold for hours. Speaking of, it's chillier on Staten Island, so wear lots of warm layers -- and don't shed them all before you head to the coral. They keep you in there for about half an hour, so bring a hoodie, towel, or heat sheet to toss at the last minute. Also, head to your coral ASAP -- the lines were so long that a bunch of people got shut out and had to start later.
2. Eat two breakfasts. This advice comes from Glenna, who reminded me that the later start time meant I'd be running through lunch. I never, ever skip meals, so I knew I'd be hungry if I didn't fuel up. So I drank a big fruit-and-spinach smoothie and coffee when I woke up, and then ate most of a bagel with peanut butter and some Goldfish crackers before the start. During the race, I fueled with two packs of ShotBlock, a bag of Swedish fish, and part of a banana, plus water every two miles. Seemed to do the trick, and I wasn't famished or headache-y after the race.
3. Read the pre-race pamphlet. And take note of the starting village map and what time the baggage and corals close. The village is humongous, and, although it's really well marked, it's easy to get overwhelmed or lost. I assumed there was only one bag check, but there's one for each color. Also, it's a 5- to 10-minute walk from your wait zone to the corals, so keep that in mind.
4. Find out exactly where your friends are stationed. The crowds are insanely thick, so spotting someone is tough, even when you know what corner they'll be on. I missed a lot of my friends, except for the main cheering squad at Gibson!
5. Trim all the so-so songs from your playlist. I had mine set to shuffle, and of course it hit one of my medium-paced training songs right as I was dying at mile 26. At that point, I really needed something ridiculous to lift me up.
6. Wear items you can ditch. At first, I was reticent to rock arm warmers because, honestly, they're extremely run-nerdy. But I'm glad I wore them and my throw-away gloves, because I fluctuated between hot and cold at different portions of the course, and when the sun came out.
7. Meet your family somewhere besides the park. Because I didn't pay attention to the baggage options, I had to do bag-check, so I just checked my subway card and keys and headed home right after the race. I'm so glad that I didn't arrange to meet anyone, because there wasn't any cell reception and the last thing I wanted to do in my delirium was figure out where to go. It was nice just to pop on the subway and head home. Funny aside: At the top of the stairs at L transfer, I made eye contact with another runner and we just groaned helplessly and then cracked up. It was such an only-in-New-York moment.
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