I assume my alarm went off at 5am as scheduled but I sure didn't wake up for it. I woke up closer to 6:00 and Rick was already up and waiting for our trip to the Today Show. He had been doing some research of his own and found out that you don't actually have to be there that early unless there's a famous guest appearing on the show.
Since we had more time than we thought and were leaving the condo later than planned, Liz decided to join us and we started our walk to Rockefeller Plaza a little after 6:30.
When we got to the taping area, I was surprised by how small the fenced off section of the plaza is. I guess because they usually only show small chunks of the area at a time on tv, I imagined it being bigger. The security guards almost didn't let us in with our "Road Runner" sign but we were eventually allowed to pass. I don't know if they were worried about the plastic sign or the stick.
(Outside the Today Show studios.)
We settled on a spot at the corner of the fencing that allowed us to get close to the barrier and we could still see Ann and Al in the studio through the windows to our right.
(Everyone wanted to be on t.v.)
(Liz waiting outside the Today Show.)
It was a pretty cold morning but our plan was to hang out a while and see if we could get our Team Gomer shirt on t.v. We Love the Two Gomers podcast and one of the Gomers, Anthony, has talked about recording the Today Show every day. We thought the Gomers would get a kick out of seeing their name on national television.
(Waiting like good Gomer fans.)
We waited patiently while the show went through it's first hour but they kept setting up the cameras in other parts of the plaza. Rick walked around for a while and waited with us but he eventually made his way back to the warm condo while we stayed just a little longer.
Unfortunately, this is the week that Matt Lauer is travelling for 'Where in the World is Matt Lauer' so we weren't able to meet him today. The crew passed out little foam-core Matt Lauer's on sticks for the crowd to hold. Liz got one so we were able to take Little Matt home with us.
Eventually, Ann and Al came out on the plaza for a segment. Of course, the crowd went crazy when they came outside.
(Ann and Al live on the plaza.)
(Al working the crowd.)
(Some fellow Cardinals fans at the Today Show!)
During the commercial break, Al Roker walked around saying hello to people in the crowd and Liz got to shake his hand when she met him!
(Liz met Al Roker!)
(For the Gomers!)
After the next segment, Ann Curry made the rounds. She was super nice and took time to chat with people. We both got to shake her hand and when she saw my marathon medal, she congratulated me on the race. She also commented on how cold my hand was and thanked us for standing out in the cold to see the show.
(Liz met Ann Curry!)
(It only looks like her mouth was stuck like that...
she was fine.)
she was fine.)
We still hadn't been on t.v. so we decided to stay just a little longer and then we were going to go warm up. At the same time, the people in front of us left and we were able to get right up to the fence. If we were going to get our Gomers shirt on t.v., we were in the right place to do it.
(Front row!)
Al, Ann, and Natalie Morales came out to tape another segment and not long after that, we had our chance. When the show went to a commercial break, the camera man walked right along the fence toward us and right by us! We were only on for a second, but we accomplished our mission! I immediately sent Anthony a text telling him to watch the Today show and what segment to look for.
A couple of friends sent me texts within the hour saying they saw me on the Today Show! The problem was, people only mentioned seeing me. No one mentioned Liz. We started to think we had waited out in the cold that whole time and then, at the moment of truth, I held the Gomers' shirt in front of Liz's face and she didn't make it on t.v.
Luckily, Anthony (Gomer 1) sent out a request to the Gomer Nation asking people to take a picture of the Gomer shirt on the Today Show. A fan in Hawaii snapped a photo of the shirt and it proved that half of Liz's face made it on t.v. and I didn't completely cover her up!
(Weeee did it!)
By the time we were finished becoming famous at the Today Show, Mom and Rick were ready to do some final sight-seeing and came to meet us at Rockefeller Plaza. We had a hot drink at the Starbucks on the lower level near the skating rink and made plans to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
We walked through the lower level of Rockefeller Plaza and got on the subway yet again to get to Brooklyn.
(A significant amount of the weekend was spent underground.)
The Brookly Bridge is amazing and offers a great view of Manhattan as you walk back onto the island. They were doing some work on part of the bridge but there was a lane for pedestrians and a lane for bikes. We merged into the flow of people walking the bridge and enjoyed the view.
(Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.)
(On the Brooklyn Bridge with the Statue of Liberty in the background.)
The Brooklyn Bridge was awesome and our trip was winding down but we had a little time left before we had to leave for the airport so we made one more stop before returning to the condo. Our last stop in the city was FAO Schwarz!
The store didn't look that big when we walked into the lobby but it just kep going. I Love toys! We had a lot of fun looking around and Liz even caved to my peer pressure and put on a Captain America mask.
(Liz doesn't make a very good Captain America.)
There were a lot of cool toys but the Lego sculptures were easily my favorite!
(Hmm... Which is better?)
I didn't realize they actually had a giant piano like in 'Big'!!! It took a lot of will power to resist the urge to ditch my shoes and dance on it.
(Chopsticks, anyone?)
There was a deli across the street from FAO Schwarz so we stopped for a quick lunch and then walked back to the condo to load up our luggage and head to the airport. On the walk home, we passed a building with two fountains that looked like dandelions. Very cool!
After five days of incredible big-city adventures, it was time to go home. A cab picked us up at the condo and took us back to the airport. Our cabbie thought he was in the middle of some kind of race and might have been playing a game to see how close he could get to every car he saw. I was so tired from the long week, I dozed off a couple of times but Mom rode the whole way in white-knuckled fear.
Our flight was delayed an hour so we settled in at the gate and waited for the plane to arrive. When it was time to board, they congratulated all of the marathon finishers over the loud speaker.
I preferred flying into the city with a daytime view, but it was cool to leave with a view of the city at night.
A short flight later, we were setting foot back on St. Louis soil. Rick went to get the car while Mom, Liz, Matt Lauer, and I grabbed our luggage.
The ING New York City Marathon weekend is over. I don't think we could have packed more fun into 5 days and I can't imagine a more incredible marathon weekend. That being said... it's good to be home!!!
Monday
Goal For The Day: Tour New York and Go Home.
Distance: 0.00 Miles.
Notes: Four words: New York was awesome!!!
Daily Miles: 0.00 Miles.
Blog Totals:
Run: 573.62 Miles.
Bike: 144.45 Miles.
Swim: 13,450+ meters.
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