One of my great joys right now is the incredible group of women that I have the privilege of running with three days a week. As you know from reading my post on achieving my goal of running my first ever 1/2 marathon, I would not have been able to have done it without them. I feel like our friendships have grown stronger and we have formed a great bond by pounding the pavement mile after mile in Central Park.
So, it truly was an honor to watch my friends achieve their personal 1/2 marathon goal on April 15th in the women’s only MORE race in Central Park. Psychologically this is an extremely hard race as it encompasses two full loops of Central Park. Crossing the start line and continuing on for a second loop is mentally hard especially when you know that you have to face all of those challenging hills one more time. I did not envy them this course. It is a tough one. And on this day the weather was very warm and humid for April. The sun was beating down and this was not the weather we had trained in.
Jessica and I positioned ourselves on Harlem Hill at the point where you think you are almost up the hill but still have the last little gruelling bit to climb. It is an ugly fight to the top. Trust me, I curse at this point every, single, time. Jess and I waited with our noise makers and our sign for our running partners.
Oh ya, we do!!!
It was truly inspiring to watch a women’s only race and to see the determination and commitment as thousands of women conquered the Harlem Hill. But, it really was one of the best feelings when we saw our amazing running partners looking like the incredible and strong women that they are kicking some butt as we screamed and cheered them on, twice. I couldn’t help but get all choked up. We had all come such a long way, together.
After we watched our last friend reach the top of the hill Jessica and I exited the park and hopped in a cab, heading down towards the finish line. We couldn’t wait to see our running crew and congratulate them. What a feeling! What an accomplishment! We all stuck with it, we encouraged each other when we needed it, we laughed and cried and cursed. WE ARE ROCKSTARS!!!
I just want to say a BIG Congratulations to my amazing running friends. You continue to inspire me everyday with your dedication,energy and strength. Seriously, LOVE you all.
And we are still running… I can’t wait to see where our sneakers take us next!!
Congratulations, my amazing running friends!!
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It's Always An Adventure 