Eye of the Tiger

Oil on board
12x12 with gold floater frame. Wired and ready to hang.
 
My race bib was #F4579.  I pinned it on at 4am and got in the car and headed for the Verrazano bridge.  My sister-in-law sat in the back seat with me trying to help calm my nerves.
It was marathon day, and the first time I would travel through all 5 boroughs of New York City on foot.
We had run a lot of 5k races and started to increase our weekly miles. A friend advised us to use the book, How to Train for a Marathon in Sixteen Weeks.
We trained in the hot Pennsylvania summer heat.  Some days were brutal.  We ran without music (imagine that!) or water bottles.  I remember Mike on one of his long Sunday runs, stopped to drink out of someone’s garden hose.
There were some days I didn’t know if it would really be possible to run 26.2 miles.
We trained hard! 
Dedication, a pair of sneakers, and the pavement.  
“It’s the eye of the tiger
It’s the thrill of the fight”
Race day we wore bright yellow t-shirts that had giant smiley faces on the front, and the words, “Cheer for me it’s my first time”.  And on the back, “keep it going”.
That shirt was MAGIC!  I can honestly say, I never felt like I was running until I hit mile 10.  People constantly yelled, “keep it going first timer!!”  Many runners would pass and thank me for giving them the motivated not to stop.
What a day!  I felt unstoppable!  New York City felt like my best friend: warm, friendly and loving.
Music reference:  Eye of the Tiger, by Survivor