I'll be traveling to New York City this weekend for the New York City Marathon, a race I've been thinking about since April of 2012, when I learned that I had "won" the lottery entry. Back then, I couldn't believe my luck. I knew that the NYC Marathon field was huge with 47,000 runners, but I also knew that over 100,000 people put their names in the lottery each year. Most people I've talked to about the lottery since have said that it usually takes 3 tries to get accepted to the NYC Marathon.

I didn't think I was special because I got in on the first try, but I did see the race as a chance of a lifetime. And I saw it as my opportunity to qualify for the Boston Marathon. How cool would it be, I'd thought, to qualify for the world's oldest annual and arguably most prestigious marathon at the world's largest marathon?

Training for New York in 2012 was rough, to say the least. The heat and humidity of the summer months in Boston made running frequently a challenge. I knew what to expect from the weather; I had trained for and completed a fall marathon the year before, but I also had a significant amount of base training from a triathlon I'd done in August of 2011 to carry me through that marathon. In 2012, I only had running because, though I had completed another triathlon, I wasn't diligent enough with the training and struggled through most of the race. Still, on some level, I guess I felt ready for New York in 2012. I had logged most of my schedule long runs with a few other runs in between.

Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast a week before the marathon. The days that followed were a stressful back and forth--weighing options, gathering facts, determining how bad it might be in New York City, checking the New York City Marathon's Facebook updates incessantly, considering how selfish I might be if I still made the trip to New York anyway. In the end, after an emotional breakdown in the server station at the restaurant I work at, I decided to pack my bags and go to New York. Amtrak had resumed service by the start of the weekend, though lower Manhattan, my hotel included, was still without power.

I had been in New York City for maybe 5 hours when I heard, from my roommate back in Boston, that the marathon had been canceled. I was aware of what the community response had been, that the city was still recovering and unable and unwilling to host over 40,000 runners in a race through a city desperately needing resources. I knew my roommate wasn't lying, but I didn't believe her, didn't want to. I was at Whitehall Terminal in lower Manhattan when I heard the news. I had wanted to see where I would go to take the shuttle to the start. The entire area was desolate, like something out of a zombie movie where buildings streets are left barren and filled with debris and garbage. We clearly didn't belong there.

What a day for sports in Boston this past Sunday! Early in the day, Lelisa Desisa, winner of the 2013 Boston Marathon set a new course record of 1:00:34 at the Boston Athletic Association’s annual half marathon. Similarly, Kim Smith won the women’s field with a time of 1:09:14, also a record. The Patriots defeated the Saints in the final seconds of the game when Kenbrell Thompkins caught the winning touchdown-pass from the one and only Tom Brady. Then, the Red Sox came back from a 4-run deficit in the 8th inning of Game 2 of the ALCS at Fenway Park. Yours truly caught the end of the Pat’s game from the Budweiser Deck at Fenway Park. That’s right, I was at Game 2. I saw Big Papi’s grand slam. But, my view from the Bud Deck prevented me from seeing Torii Hunter topple into the bullpen. You don’t feel sorry for me, I know. The bottom of the 9th had Jarrod Saltalamacchia getting a base hit that brought Jonny Gomes sprinting for home and tying up the series.

Sunday was epic. I don’t think I’ve ever given or received so many high five’s in one day, which begs the question, does one give, or receive, a high five? Does the answer depend on who initiates the high-five? Philosophical considerations aside, I received my first high five somewhere between miles 2 and 3 of the Boston Athletic Association Half Marathon.

I’ve been spending a significant amount of time thinking about my diaphragm. Strange? Probably. Still, it’s my new target muscle, the one I’m trying to bulk up.

The diaphragm aids in breathing, a fact we all likely learned in an elementary science class. And we probably all know where our diaphragm is located, but how does it move? And how can we develop it? Unlike the muscles we’re used to working, we can’t strap a 10 pound weight to our mid sections and complete a series of reps. But, breathing is both voluntary and involuntary, as Budd Coates points out in his book, Running on Air. As Coates writes, our brain takes care of breathing for us, but we can control it, and thus, can make breathing a “tool.”

When you inhale, your lungs fill with air, and several muscles help them to do that. Which ones depends on the type of breather you are. Most people use some combination of their intercostal, or chest, muscles to breath. These muscles contract to fill your lungs with air and then relax when you exhale. Your ribcage expands out as the intercostals also contract to pull the ribcage up and out. If you breathe with your diaphragm, as you should, your diaphragm contracts and pushes down on your stomach to make more room in your chest cavity.  The difference between using your diaphragm or your chest muscles is that you can draw in more oxygen when you use your diaphragm. When running then, breathing more efficiently makes sense. And, because it’s a larger muscle, your diaphragm won’t tire as quickly as your chest muscles. The diaphragm is made for endurance.