Everyone begins their year with some sort of “resolution” and this year I wanted to successfully run a half marathon; a daunting task for someone like myself, who doesn’t have the super skinny runner’s build, and typically likes to stick to the weight-room and an occasional weekend soccer game in the park. After the many training miles, blisters, and mental preparation to keep myself going, I successfully finished my first half marathon with a sub 1:50:00  time.  Now, for you as the reader, it’s easy to make the excuse “oh I have X knee injury, or X problem keeping me from reaching this goal” — you can overcome this barrier, like I did. In the past I have suffered from hip issues, specifically sciatica, which in the end made me focus more in the gym, especially following high school.

As of now, I weigh 182 lbs and hit the weights about three times more than I go running — and let’s be honest, that is not exactly a successful formula for running. Even so, after some healthy smack talk from my dad and my good friend Christian, who also just finished his first half marathon to celebrate recovering from an ACL surgery, they had me motivated to beat the both of them.

From the start, my dad was a valuable source for tips on how I should train and what to expect come race day. The biggest thing he and Christian both said was that no matter what my best training time was going to be, comparatively I would run better on race day, no matter what! Whether or not there was a mixture of proper rest, a lot of adrenaline, and great execution of my training plan, they were right — I managed close to 4 minutes better than my best time previously. If I am being honest my biggest barrier to finishing was training myself mentally and physically to be able to run 13.1 miles. And not only that but to do it in a time comparable to my father and Christian (spoiler, I beat them both).

Generally on race day, for all you prospective runners, understand that if your start time is at 7 you will have to be awake around 3 am. Because the longer the competition, the earlier the start time tends to be, which is to protect you from running in the heat — any of you ever try running in 90+ degree weather? This includes driving to the bus pickup location, riding the bus to the start line, and then “patiently” waiting for the race to begin. Now the night before the race, I felt such a pressing mix of anxiety and excitement, that I didn’t really sleep more than 3 hours total because my mind basically told Mr. Sandman to jog on. After tossing and turning some more, I finally decided to get up and get my bowels going with a nice tall cuppa joe — the anxiety and excitement alone gave me enough issues to deal with, I wasn’t going to let having to poop mid-race ruin my time.   

Once on the bus, everything became very surreal. I could feel an energy from everyone else on the bus fueling the that sensation. This only increased as we sat and waited as the bus filled completely and began the drive at which point a flash of panic hit me like a suckerpunch. I began wondering how capable I was, questioning my training, how much is this rain going to affect me? A nervous chatter began on the bus as multiple people began talking about their feelings about this being their first race — just hearing others confirm their fears helped to quell mine. By the time the bus hit the canyon everyone was dialed in and ready to push each other to and through the finish line. Our feelings of excitement only grew and as our bus pulled up to the start line everyone began cheering, I mean everyone was hyped up — I don’t know about the rest of the people on the bus but I felt like a damn superhero!

As time ticked closer and closer to the race start, my adrenaline was pumping.  At 1 minute to start, time truly slowed down for me. I could feel each individual drop of rain hitting my arms, I could hear the gravel crunch under crowd of shifting feet. Now when I say you could feel the anticipation amongst the crowd of runners, this was a physical sensation. Similar to the saying: when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object — something’s gotta give. With 30 seconds to start I noticed the announcers  had begun playing “The Eye of the Tiger” — I will rise up to the challenge of my rivals! 15 seconds left me slightly stunned as the chant of the countdown pierced through the music. At 10 seconds I felt the crowd rhythmically pulsating forward and back wistfully waiting for the starter gun. With 5 seconds left it felt as if time slowed almost to a stop, all the energy and sound around me was muffled. I remember looking at the clock and seeing the fractions of a second ticking away. 3 seconds left. I felt like someone turned the volume back on to my life — honestly it was an explosion of sound. 2 seconds. Glancing around, seeing the determination in everyone else, I knew it was time. 1 second.. This was it, time is up, no more bullshit. I am committed. And I will give this everything I’ve got. Let’s go baby.  

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The city is broken up into five boroughs, including: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Manhattan is the epicenter of it all, and is the most visiting of the boroughs. The question is, where does one begin when exploring the city? Well, tourist traps have become destinations for a reason, so if it’s your first time in the city, go ahead and take a quick stroll through Times Square, make the trip up the Empire State Building, and roam around through Little Italy and Chinatown, but don’t get stuck too long in these areas. There is far more to this city than the tourist traps, and most of the great gems can be found down quieter streets.

Yes, admire and marvel at the awe-inspiring skyscrapers that tower above the city, but if you’re looking to experience the city more as the locals would, head further into some of the neighborhoods of Manhattan that are spread throughout the city. Within minutes from the financial district, you will feel far removed from the hustle and bustle, and discover hip neighborhoods like Soho, Tribeca, East Village, and a bustling but refreshing side of the city in Greenwich Village.

With literally thousands of food options, it’s best to branch away from the main tourist attractions. Try some of the small hole-in-the-wall establishments that are dotted throughout the city to find some of the best slices of pizza in the country, and look for places that are just a couple of blocks away from the main drag. Here are just a few local joints we would reocmmend not missing while in town.

• Bagel Bistro Diner & Gril
• Blue
• Egger’s Ice Cream Parlor
• Marina Cafe
• 120 Bay Cafe

The city is enormous, and although you can spend hour upon hour exploring the city on foot, it’s best to get around by using the extensive subway system. The underground will whip your from Penn Station to Grand Central Station, and out to the surrounding boroughs within minutes. Everyone from labor workers to executives ride the subway, so it can get very crowded, so keep your items close, but sit back and enjoy some of the best people watching on the planet.

Exploring New York City via the subway was a great way to see as much as possible in 24 hours.

A video posted by FactoryTwoFour (@factorytwofour) on Nov 9, 2015 at 8:31am PST

With so much to see in do in New York City, it’s almost certain that you will never have enough time to explore this incredible place. There’s dozens of museums worthy of a visit, thousands of restaurants and cafes, dozens of impressive tourist attractions, and millions of people to watch. One tip is to spread out your activities and try not to do too much in one day; pace yourself, otherwise you will exhaust yourself during your stay. Move at your own pace, and soak up The Big Apple.

The post Take Stroll Through New York City appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.