At the end of a run, you can often only hear the sound of your own heartbeat.

It is really the best time to get a sense of what kind of pace you were on, what kind of shape your body is in, how long it will take you to recover and, therefore, how willing you are to do it again.

I saw many marathoners
last week either run, walk or stumble across a finish line . . . not just my two friends whom I followed all across the City.

And then there was the Yankees, who gave this fan quite a thrill in their run for a fourth World Series in a row. Despite being down by two games in the best of seven series, they not only tied it, but they also went ahead by a game after three last or late inning thrillers.

I’ll never forget.

Nevertheless, the team that seemed unbeatable was beaten by another group of men just as determined to finish on top.

Even in defeat as a fan, I admired the resilience of the Arizona Diamondbacks who certainly could have given up after their demoralizing losses in New York. Like my friends who ran 26.2 miles through the five boroughs, the Dbacks understood the difference between a sprint and a marathon and chose to pace themselves past the inclination to quit.

Similar finishes took place in politics this week. I saw several finishes after long tedious campaigns that were the indicators of how the race was run, won or lost.

I saw Helen Marshall elected to become the 18th Borough President of Queens county . . . the first African American ever in that role.

In the beginning of her race so many months ago, like many others, it was a field cluttered with heir apparents to Claire Shulman’s throne. Her future was put in doubt after her vigorous fight to overturn term limits, but despite the flak, she stuck to her guns and endured. The endorsement of her predecessor certainly didn’t hurt, but in the end, only she could run the race and finish victorious.

In the same night there would be other examples of just what can happen in a long race if you do or don’t pace yourself.

Despite having virtually no support — or only token support — more than a year ago, a billionaire businessman is elected to be mayor of this town, beating a veteran politician who at this time last year was practically crowned as a sure successor.

Mike Bloomberg did spend $61 million, but I believe he really only won the mayoral election in the last 72 hours before the poles closed. He kept running despite being told he would lose and lose big.

He pushed forward and didn’t waver.

He didn’t lower himself to smearing or stereotyping, a tactic that may have been the real stumbling block for his opponent Mark Green. The Public Advocate used a burst of energy in the run-off that gave him victory then, but alienated enough democrats to cost him a margin of safety in the end. It was a stumble . . .a cramped muscle that would nag him all the way to defeat.

Any marathon runner will tell you that when the going gets tough, the crowd around you can be a big boost. Bloomberg had that crowd and Green did not.

But in this case, the crowd — the voters and the Democratic Party — now have to deal with the results of the finish.

Angry voters have put at the helm, an inexperienced politician who now has the task of leading this City out of the post-Sept. 11 era. He has to find revenue without raising taxes, jobs, while businesses suffer billions in loss, and strength during a time of fear and war.

As for the Democratic Party in the City . . . I don’t believe it really exists anymore.

There are too many factions with side agendas who can’t see winning for losing. The right leg wants to go quickly while the left wants to go slow.

No harmony, no rhythm, and thus no pace to finish a race. That is why a Republican will run this town again for the next four years