If you’re lucky, the great thing about living and working out with your best friend is that they can constantly serve as your exercise buddy and/or motivator. Bo and I took yesterday off from a formal workout since we had a greuling 8 mile run in Central Park on Saturday. Today I assumed i’d do 3 miles on the treadmill and some abs but Bo had a different idea.

B: “Are you ready to go for a run? I thought we’d do the bridge and central park.”
A: “That’s far and hard! I figured i’d do an easy 3 today. I think the gym is open.”
B: “If we’re really going to make a change we have to start now. We need to run outside more so we’re not surprised during our races.”

Good call! So I quickly bundled up and headed out the door with my new playlist already blasting. Our plan was to run from our apartment down to the Queensborough Bridge, over the bridge, down 61st street until we hit the park, then a mile and half along the east side of the park which would also include Cat Hill. To be honest, when we left the apartment I assumed that I wouldn’t finish. Our chosen path was filled with one HUGE hill (Queensborough Bridge) and then the hills in the park. I figured that somewhere along the way i’d get tired and turn back. That’s the great thing about having a workout partner. You can’t stop running if someone is 100 feet in front of you turning their head around every 1/4 mile to make sure you’re still there. This run was tough- no questions asked. But, I quickly started a mantra and focused on my breathing. The only bad part about the run was the fact that I was wearing WAY too much clothing. I didn’t realize how warm it was especially in the sun. But, at the end I sweat it through, sang a bit too loud, and smiled in delight when I realized that my 5 miles were done and that i’d actually kept a faster pace than normal- 9:47ish.

I hope you had a great day today regardless of whether you were able to relax and enjoy the holiday or were working hard all day!