..........We Salute You

The photo is outside MSG after todays 5th Avenue Mile,ironic that there,s a photo taken of me in the same spot 18 years ago b4 the New York Marathon,my love affair w/ New York never dies,a point I,ll make lyrically at the end of this entry.
I arrived at 80th St and 5th Ave at 9.40am some 80 mins b4 race time,conditions were typically idelic for late September in New York City 76 degrees and sunny,after picking up my race #,chip and t shirt I had my brief Blair Waldorf moment on the steps of The Met{if you don,t watch "Gossip Girl"you won,t get that reference,sorry}b4 stretching and doing a mile warm up.
GP and I had planned to meet at the start b4 the race but when he didn,t show up I didn,t panic I was focused on my race,we,d meet up post race.
I learnt a vital lesson at Nationals about relaxing b4 the 1,500m final,I was too uptight b4 the 800m final so today was about being focused but loose,how loose?when I saw my friend Lorraine doing her warm up I said to her"of all the road races,in all the cities,in all the world,you,ve got to run in mine"Lorraine,s been injured most of this season this was the first time I,d seen her since Mid Atlantic C,ships on May 31st.
Upon reaching the start and getting a good place just behind the line I was joined by Conor O Driscoll and Neil Fitzgerald,I turned to them and said"three Irishmen in New York City,what are the chances of that???"
When the gun went off I quickly got into my stride and was surprized how soon I got a clear run,one advantage of doing this race three years in a row is I know the course like the back of my hand,I,ve learnt to stay on the right hand side of 5th Aveune rather than weave from left to right.
GP and I had originally planned to for me to go through 400m in 65 seconds and 68 seconds for the second quarter,2.13 at the half,based on my last three repeat workouts I felt a 64/67-2.11 split was possible so imagine my surprize when I saw 64 at 400m and 2.08 at 800m,back to back 64 second splits.
I,d already gotten clear of the field and was now on a mission,I always believed I could win the race and I also believed I could go sub 4.20,w/ a 2.08 800m split I was on pace for that,there would be no let up.
As I closed the gap on the pace car to the point where it had to speed up to get from in front of me{I swear I,m not making this up!!}I could hear one of GP,s quotes"don,t leave inferior competition in the race"I used the downhill to full effect begining to pick up my pace b4 the crest of the hill,3.11 at 1,200m a 63 second split,this was way faster than I had thought it would be.
I was well clear of the field and I could see the finish line,unlike last year I saw the 1,500m mark,3.56....whoa!!!,I told myself on the walk to the start today there,d be no"living the moment a la Nationals"right through the line today,I was going to brake 4.20 and how..........4.12,after braking the tape I allowed myself a banshee like howl of delight b4 getting to my knees to kiss the ground and then offering up thanks to God for the victory and pr/club record.
The first person to greet me post race was GP "Charlie Dibble in da house!!!"how fitting,Dibble and Top Cat together in New York City!!!
It meant a lot "Dib"came up for the race period but also that he passed up a major Chelski game live on tv for me,it speaks volumes of our coach/athlete relationship/friendship,it,s always good to know who your friends are and that they,ll go to bat for you.
Following my 4 mile cool down I met up w/ GP and his son Luke down by the finish,I looked up to my left to see Bernard Legat heading upto the start,I rushed over to shake his hand and wish him luck,he thanked me,wow,add Bernard Legat to Jeremy Wariner of the top flight athletes I,ve met this year,and in a show of utter class dispite being on his way to the start Bernard took time to pose for a photo w/ GP,s son Luke,I,d heard great things about Bernard Legat from people who,d met him and today he showed that all those things were true.
Following his narrow finish line defeat to Nick Willis Bernard jogged 80 meters from the finish to wave to the crowd,he stopped right infront of where GP,Luke and I were,I got on the on of the line as he shook hands w/ fans and shook the great mans hand and hugged him"you,ll get him next time I said""I hope so" he replied as he smiled that great great smile of his.
While the race was done my day in Manhatten wasn,t after a trip to FAO Schwartz w/ Luke we hit Central Park where GP and questioned how my official finish time was called 4.17,the official finishline photo should show the clock above the finish line at 4.12,sure 4.17 ain,t shabby,it,s a pr and I believe an age group course record.
We talked about Worlds and how,ll we,ll make that happen,if means sponsership and fundraisers,we also talked about the upcoming xc season and indoor season as prep for next season.
This was the first time we,d seen each other since MAC C,ships on June 21st three months ago and it allowed us a chance to have a man to man heart to heart,what we discussed is not for public knowledge,what I will say is long b4 he was my coach GP was my friend,I hope he,ll continue to be both for several years to come.
Home by 7.30pm,some 14 hours and 15 mins after I,d left this morning,a 14 hour round trip for just over 4 mins work but today was more than just about my race,to quote "the poet of New York Lou Reed""oh what a perfect day,I,m glad I spent it w/ you"God willing next year my mother Eileen will be here to see me go for a third 5th Avenue Mile crown.
Riding back to Philly on the 5.57pm R7 from Trenton I watched the sun go down and made the metaphorical link to the sun setting on my outdoor season,I know that,s deep for a black hearted born again savage celtic pagan such as I but when you listen to as much Coldplay as me it,s inevitable that Chris Martin's "Soul of a poet"lyrics rub off on you.
Of my 7 1,500m/mile races this summer I won 6,I said at the time of my second place finish at Monmouth at the NJ C,ships if I,d have begun my kick at 200m that day I may,ve caught the winner,but hey 6/7 ain,t too shabby.
Sept 17th is 6 months post/pre St Patrick,s Day so we,ll leave it to an Irishman Bono to have the last word,on the ride upto Manhatten today I dug out my New York Marathon 2003 mix tape{I used to make mix tapes for all my marathons so the New York Marathon tape seemed ideal listening material today},the lead off track is"New York" by U2
"Gonna put the women and children first,cos you,ve got an unquenchable thirst for New York"