5119th place

/ in the starting corral /

if you told me 10 years ago that i was going to be running a race... in manhattan... with my husband... in 36-degree weather (!!), i definitely would have laughed at you! in fact, i recently saw a list of my goals from nearly 10 years ago and there was no mention of a desire to tick running of any sort off of my life's to do list. but i guess we all make new goals and new lists and new aspirations and this was part of mine!

/ my number and tee shirt /

it has been a challenge to get back into the running since we moved back, so i signed up for the washington heights salsa, blues, and shamrocks 5k in order to stay motivated! unfortunately the weather has been so cold and snowy that i didn't get out to run nearly as often as i should have so i really thought i was going to struggle through this race. the course started out on a hill, which i took really slowly partially because i was afraid of getting tired too soon and partially because there were soooo many people! as good as the subsequent downhill was, i knew there was a big uphill right in the middle of the race. but the musicians stationed along the course and my personal cheering party (aka reuben) kept pushing me along and i felt like i was really in my zone by that point. one more uphill and it was all downwards from there until the finish line. i felt like i still had plenty of energy heading down the hill so i pushed up the speed and ran - really ran! - toward the finish line! official time was 34:55 (or 5,119th out of 6,220) but the true accomplishment for me was actually running the whole thing.

and perhaps it's the endorphins still talking, but i was looking at some further races for later in the year because... why not? queens 10k in june? staten island half marathon in october?? maybe i'll sleep on it first....


Comments

Unknown said…
I'm just happy that you find some enjoyment and reward in it! 5K, 10K, 21K...wherever you decide to stop is fine. Just keep it fun, mix in some challenge, and keep on smiling.

Also, would you care to share those 10-years-old goals? That could make for a rather funny post...

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