This morning my dad, my sister and I did our last run before the New York marathon, that will take place in 2 days (start Sunday morning at 9:40 AM). We all flew in on Wednesday night, Grace and I from China, my dad and sister from Europe.

Yesterday we started the day by getting our start number at the marathon fair, we decided to go there the moment it opened to beat the crowds. Probably a good idea, we only had to wait 20 minutes or so, it went very quickly. Then I spent a couple of hours working in my hotel room and in the afternoon we did some shopping together on 5th Avenue. We had a nice dinner in the Meatpacking District before going to bed early. Although I am so used to jet lags that it does not really bother me anymore, the 12 hour time difference between the NY and Shanghai is still a hard one during the night of the first day.

This morning I got up at 3 AM to work, so at least I would have some overlap with China. And at 7 AM my dad, my sister and I went for a run. We met at the Apple Store at 5h Avenue (that was renovated and will be reopened again, they were in the process of finalizing everything), and from there we ran up 5th until the Guggenheim, where we entered Central Park.

That’s also the point where the marathon enters, so we ran the last 4.2 km from there to the finish line. We were not the only ones, it was much more busy than usual. Every now and then groups of up to 100 runners passed by, all checking out the final stretch of Sunday’s big run.

The finish stretch was already completely finished, including the grand stands for the public. Standing there I realized I would be running there in 2 days, very cool! So far I am more focused on work and my mind was not really with the run yet, but after seeing the final stretch and the finish line I realize that the main reason I am here is for the run. I am looking forward to it and I feel ready for the race!