selected for NYC Marathon

Since I started running about 5 years ago, the idea of running in the NYC Marathon has always been in the back of my mind as the ultimate running experience. I think it was a combination of the city being so exciting, Central Park being so beautiful, and Jay Z pumping me up with his song Empire State of Mind.

I never thought I would actually have a chance to run it though. I knew I was way off in terms of automatically qualifying with my times. I also knew I didn't want to beg money from my friends, albeit the charities are a good cause. Lastly, the lottery was a long shot. On top of that I am what some might call cheap. The thought of paying a $200 entry fee, $500 for a plane ticket and however much a hotel room would cost for 3-4 nights really made me cringe. It was due to those factors that I never seriously thought about trying to get into the marathon.

As my wife and I were driving one day we got onto the topic of things we have always wanted to do. I don't think I had ever brought up the NYC Marathon with her before, but I just said in passing it has always been a dream of mine. She encouraged me to go for it, which really surprised me because the training is such a time commitment. She said that since we were going to start to try to have a baby soon something like this would just get harder as the years go by.

Even with my wife's encouragement to apply I still had to get past the lottery process. I knew the odds were about 15% that I would get selected, but I had my fingers crossed. As the selection day came I was checking my laptop at work as the numbers scrolled by. It seemed like forever, but finally as I was able to put in my number it said I had been selected! It was so great to walk next door to my wife's classroom (yes, we teach in classes next door to each other) and let her know I got selected. She gave me a big hug which felt great. Even though I hadn't really done anything yet, I still felt so proud at that moment.

Fast forward a few months and the training has begun! My goal is to stay on top of the training and also on top of this blog which will chronicle my experiences and life in getting ready for the race in November. Thanks for reading.