I made a promise to myself this weekend: no more running marathons untrained. I finished the NYC marathon for the second time, but it wasn’t pretty. With all of life’s events, including two weeks of being sick, I was trained for about ten miles and ran a solid ten miles. The last sixteen were terrible. There were people walking faster than I was running. I got passed by old people, people in costumes, and even people limping. It was brutal. I finished and that’s always good, but I committed to myself that, going forward, finishing will never be enough. It’s time to do more than finish. It’s time to perform.

Overall though, it was a wonderful trip. I saw productions of Les Miserables and If/Then and pretended not to be a 40-year-old woman as I stood at the stage door waiting for autographs and pictures with the stars. Here are two of my favorites:

With James Snyder

With Anthony Rapp

I also thoroughly enjoyed the restaurants, especially Ellen’s Stardust Diner, which boasts singing waitstaff. It’s awesome to watching someone belt out Broadway show tunes even while picking up empty plates or serving another round of drinks.

Also spectacular in its own way was the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The museum required much more time than we had. It appears small at the entrance, but what you realize once you enter the building is that the museum spans the underground beneath the memorials. We went Monday morning around 10:30, and at that time, they were selling tickets to enter the museum at 1:00 p.m. The lines were that long. Since we were flying out that afternoon, we had less than two hours to explore the space. We could have spent a full day there. Between the memorials about the people who died, the explanations of the structural remains of the original buildings, the photographs and news reports from the day of, the personal items located in and around Ground Zero, gifts and memorials offered by people all over the city, country and the world, and the various movies beings screened about the day of events and the rebuilding of the site, there was far too much to see and learn. We walked slowly and quietly through what we could, but I’d definitely like to go back the next time I’m in New York. I’m sorry that museum has reason to exist, but I do think it makes every effort to honor the people involved. I hope the people closest to the events of that day feel that way.

All in all, the weekend was an enormous success and a much-needed time away from work, obligations, and the expectations of others. I came home last night ready to tackle the days and months ahead, ready to train with a new determination, and ready to plan the coming year. In the days and weeks ahead, I’ll solidify my 2015 race schedule, my list of goals for the coming year, and my plan for making it all happen, and I’ll start chipping away at each item on the list with every bit of resolve that I can muster. It’s that time for me now.