NYC Marathon & 6 Hour Run

This past Sunday, November 6, 2011, I ran the NYC Marathon.  I entered through their guaranteed entry by having run a qualifying time and didn't have to go through the lottery.  I arrived in New York the Wednesday before the marathon to attend some business meetings.
I went for a 7 mile run in Central Park that Thursday.  While I was running I was passed by someone going at a rapid pace.  I thought it was Ryan Hall but wasn't sure because he went by so fast.  A little later he was coming toward me and verified it was Ryan.
Race day, I took a cab to the Staten Island Ferry.  The  village was well stocked and the weather being nice was a plus.  Time to start, I had decided I would just try to enjoy the race and finish under 4 hours.  We start, and I'm holding right at a 9 minute pace.  At about mile 3 this guy is passing me and then cuts in front of me, causing me to stumble.  I didn't fall but hurt my knee catching myself.  The guy says "I'm sorry, but I need to run with my friend."  I pulled over to the side and tried to run, but was limping badly.  I thought about quitting, but decided to keep running and see if things improved.  As I ran my knee did feel a little better, but I was still favoring my other leg.  I got back on pace and tried to keep it up, but as I hit mile 20, I started feeling the old wall approaching.  I walked some, but as I hit mile 23 I was able to mostly run at pace.  I finished in 4:10 and then had a long walk to the hotel.
While I think this is a great marathon, the negative experience of being tripped probably set me up to be in a bad mood about it.  Right now it's 3 days latter, and my knee is much better but still hurt.  I don't think I tore anything, just really sore and inflamed.  My current mindset is that I don't want to run this one again, but time will tell.
Two weeks before I ran in a race called "24 the hard way."  This is the third year for the race, and I've run it all 3 years.  First year, 24 hours, last year 12 hours, and this year 6.  I had hoped to hit at least 35 miles.  I started out on pace, but the day warmed up and I began to slow down.  Since this was not a goal race, and I knew I was running the NYC Marathon in two weeks, I decided not to try and push things.  I finished with a total of 31 miles, and in second place.