My final time was 5:47, not very fast but I reached my goal of finishing. I was on track for ca. 5 hours during the first half of the run, but then I could feel the legs stiffening up and my pace getting slower. The Queensborough Bridge (uphill) and 1st Avenue (mostly uphill) were slow, Bronx was OK but when I hit 5th Avenue at Mile 20-21 I felt some indications of cramp in the legs and made sure to just run slow and safe from there on, all the thinking on making a good time went out the window and I was too tired to even think of finishing times.
During the run, I had a Swedish flag on my chest - so many people cheered me on as "Go Sweden!" - what a wonderful city to run a marathon in.
And once home in Munich again, Monica threw a surprise party for me in the evening, friends came over and I could tell my story again and again - each time re-living it myself and remembering the people, the weather, the music bands, the finishing line !
