Day 1:
After I met Taylor at the LaGuardia airport, we took a taxi to the hotel. The morning rush hour traffic was so terrible that it took us 45 minutes to go 5 miles. By the time we made it through the tunnel bridge from Queens to Manhattan, the GPS was estimating it to take 18 minutes to go 0.9 miles. We decided to ditch the taxi and walk the rest of the way to the hotel. Dare I say we walked faster than the taxi.
Upon arriving at the Renaissance at New York Midtown hotel, they had trouble locating our reservation because I reserved our room through a travel agency through the marathon website. Once they found our reservation, I think they felt bad because they let us check in five hours early. Our room was on the 22nd floor with a cool view of the city. The hotel is only a block away from the Madison Square Garden.
The Expo was first on our long list of things to do, so we grabbed a bite to eat, bought our unlimited 7 day metro card, and took a bus to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The Expo was HUGE! I picked up my race bib and race shirt, and then we explored the Expo. I bought a tank, beanie, visor, coffee cup, and glass with the race logo. We tasted different energy bars and protein shakes. Taylor even made a sign that said "TEAM LAUREN" and a customized bib that said "RUN LAUREN RUN!" We walked down every aisle and took advantage of photo ops. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to drop off everything. However, we realized we forgot to pick up Taylor's grandstand seating ticket, so we made our way back to the Expo to pick up her ticket. Shoutout to Taylor for being cool about my forgetfulness!
Once we had her grandstand seating ticket, we made our way to our first subway ride. We took the 7 train from the convention center to Grand Central! Grand Central Terminal looked just like it does in the movies! From Grand Central we walked to the New York Public Library. The library was really neat. I loved the architecture. Taylor even looked up her last name in the Genealogy room!
Our next stop, Ellen's Stardust Diner! On the way through Bryant Park we came across a Carrousel and I just had to go it! Taylor was a good sport and humored me. I rode a cat on Le Carrousel in Manhattan! At the diner, waiters and waitresses sing while they serve as they await their big break on Broadway. This was a really cool experience because they sang two of our songs "For Good" and "Let it Go"! We called it a night after dinner and headed to the hotel to get some sleep for our second day in the city.
Day 2:
Our first stop was the Marathon Pavilion near the finish line. We practiced taking the exact subway line Taylor was going to take on race day. The finish line stood in its full glory awaiting thousands of runners. It was surreal to see the finish line that I trained so hard for. I didn't cry, but I was still overwhelmed.
On our way to The New York City Fire Museum, we enjoyed Starbucks. It had a touching 9/11 exhibit. My favorite part were the fire engines from the late 1800's to early 1900's where they changed from being horse drawn to motorized. Also, the history of how the Dalmatian became the fire mascot was interesting. Dalmatians became the popular breed with fire departments because they used them to keep critters away from the horse drawn fire carriage. They were long winded and worked well with the horses, but they were smart enough to realize they could hop on the motorized engine once the horses were no longer necessary.
We finished the NYC Fire Museum just in time for lunch at Black Tap. They serve out of this world shakes and burgers. I got the Salty and Sweet shake that was peanut butter with pretzel bits and a delicious display of candies, whipped cream and drizzled chocolate. It was AMAZING!
After lunch, we headed to Wall Street. Wall Street found its way on my bucket list while I was a finance major at UCF. Although it's not for the public, it was still neat to see. We had a photo op with the Charging Bull of Wall Street where we rubbed its balls for good luck, and then we walked by the New York Stock Exchange. Security was really tight around the NYSE. The public isn't even allowed on that side of the street.
The Staten Island Ferry was only a few blocks South. We walked there just in time for the 2:30PM. It's a free 30 minute ride each way from Manhattan and Staten Island. The view from the ferry was picture perfect. I got great photos of lady liberty and Manhattan's skyline with the One World Trade Center.
Once we were back in Manhattan, we took the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge. There is something about bridges that fascinate me. The Brooklyn Bridge is on my list of top three bridges I've visited along with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and the Golden Gate Bridge. Although we didn't walk all the way across the bridge, it was still cool to see up close in person. After the bridge, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Broadway.
On the way to see Wicked, we found an Irish Pub and grabbed a drink and some food before the show. I had my first Irish coffee (whiskey and coffee)! I am so in love with coffee and it rocked my world. I dressed as Elphie with black over the knee boots, black dress, black jacket, and green leg warmers to pull the witch look together. The show was phenomenal with powerful vocals, a talented cast, and Broadway style performances! It was so special to share the experience with Taylor! The story line and main characters closely resemble our own story and the friendship we share. When Glinda and Elphaba sang "For Good", it was the cherry on top of the experience. "For Good" is our song and while I was nearly moved to tears, a reflex fought back the emotion and I just soaked up the meaning and promise of every word. "Who can say if I've been changed for the better? / I do believe I have been changed for the better/ And because I knew you / I have been changed for good." Taylor was a champ the whole trip! Even when I was moody no matter how well I tried to control the taper madness and prerace jitters, she was right there along for the ride snapping me out of my funk and bringing me back to reality. There's no doubt she makes me better and I love her for it!
Day 3:
We explored Central Park and it was absolutely beautiful! The leaves were changing color and it made it a picture perfect walk in the park. We saw the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain and the Loeb Boathouse. Even the hotdogs we ate in Central Park were supremely better than a normal hotdog. Central Park is where Taylor seemed most at home with the trees and lakes and without the stink of the city.
From Central Park, we went and rode the Roosevelt Island Tram. It's like a sky ride that takes you to and from Roosevelt Island and Manhattan along the Queensboro Bridge. We used our unlimited 7 day metro card for the round trip. The tram offered awesome views of the city! It was great for sightseeing. After the tram ride, we enjoyed NY pizza at Patsy's Pizzeria. Seriously, the best pizza I've ever had!
We quickly walked through Rockefeller Center and took a photo with the gorgeous St. Patrick's Cathedral before heading to the Love Structure for a picture. The Love Structure was a lot smaller than I anticipated it was going to be. Afterwards, we went to the hotel where I took a three hour nap.
When I woke up from my nap, we went to Barilla Restaurant - Bryant Park and got lasagna to go for my pre-race pasta dinner.
I'll blog about race day in another post. We walked over a marathon while exploring the city during the three days leading up to the race. Between the walking and the stairs to get to and from the subway, Taylor was sore and swollen. I was a little sore myself, but I like to think that my marathon training prepared me for exploring the city as well. Although there's no doubt it made race day a little more difficult, I don't regret it. Our days were packed with activities and I think we made the most of our time in the city!
