Success

What a wonderful race - my official time was 5:21 which I understand was better than Katie Holmes and a personal best for me- I also ran the entire race without stopping - no walking - no breaks 26.2 miles straight

I would like to thank everyone who donated and all my sponsors - your support was wonderful and greatly appreciated

I also want to thank my family - can't tell you what it meant to me to see you during the race

I have also decided to keep my blog going and use it as tool to help others with diabetes take better care of themselves - although I have never considered myself a patient advocate there are issues that need to be addressed - I am particularly interested in improving patient education for people with diabetes and their families

Finally I have decided to run more marathons and keep raising money for diabetes research - hopefully I will inspire others to join me and we can become a force for diabetes

In the next few days I will be posting some pictures from the run - until then Thanks to all your support is appreciated

Fast forward 24 hours and it will all be over expected for the post race carb load. No matter how many marathons I have run it always amazes me that all the hard work comes to a head.

As everyone knows tomorrow is not just a special day for me it's a truly special day for Debbie and I as we will be celebrating our 23 wedding anniversary.

For Sam and Dan it will be there 22nd birthday.

It's difficult to express in words how important my family is and what they done to help me reach my goal. Special thanks has to go to my amazing wife who has put up with me for 23 years. Deb has never doubted me and has been behind me every step of the way. I know there will come a point during the race when I will need some extra inspiration and my thoughts will turn to Deb and I will have no problem finding what I need.

I also want to thank all my sponsors and everyone who has donated. You have restored my faith in the true goodness of people.

Well that's it and the next time you hear from me it will all over - thanks to everyone

The Countdown Begins

The city is vibrant with runners and the anticipation is building. Picked up my number this afternoon and had a great dinner with Dex4 one of my many sponsors. Ran (excuse the pun) into several first timers tonight and being the veteran I felt like the wise sage dispensing advice to the newbies. It brought back great memories of my first marathon and the joy I felt crossing that finish line.

Tomorrow is stay off your feet day and do as little as possible - plan on spending the majority of the day watching college football with my son at the ESPN zone in Times Square while my wife and daughter will hit the New York shopping scene.

Will hit the hotel room early, try and fail to get a good nights rest - maybe this marathon will be different but I doubt it - it really doesn't matter as you get so hyped up by race day that you feel like leaping the Empire State Building

The Countdown Begins

Almost counting the hours

Well the work is now done and all systems are go. I think it really hit me today when I printed out the boarding passes for our flight tomorrow (technology is great when it works). You realize race day is close but as the day approaches you start to realize that months of hard work are about to be put to the ultimate test.

Here are some things I hope to accomplish on Sunday:

1. Finish- Although I have run three marathon the primary goal is to cross that finish line.
2. Personal Best Time - Not being an elite athlete with no chance of a medal - setting a personal best becomes a great goal - shooting for 5 hours or under.
3. Run 26.2 Straight - I know if I can get to mile 18/19 with no walking I will push all the way to the finish line without stopping - I have trained for this type of race - lets see if it works
4. Kiss my wife and hug my kids - without them there is no way I could do this - this is truly a team effort

Next time you hear from me I'll be in the Big Apple