This morning when my alarm went off this morning at 8:15 I was more than a little disoriented.  Why did I set an alarm for a Saturday morning after Friday’s 17 mile long run and a fun Friday night filled with Fashion Night Out festivities and dinner with my in-laws at Park Avenue Autumn?

Oh yes, I was running the NYRR Fitness Mind Body Spirit 4 miler with Rebecca. My eyes were heavy, the cold bed was screaming my name, and Bo’s late night had resulted in a less than stellar rest. But then I saw the bright sun and blue sky through my small bedroom window. The fall temperatures have graced NYC for at least this weekend and that alone is reason to run!

I quickly assesed my pain, threw on my running clothes, and texted Rebecca since we were trying to head uptown together. Fail. After a few unanswered calls and texts I assumed her festivities meant a late night and decided to head uptown on my own. I thought of today’s run as a way to loosen up my tight muscles, similar to last week’s 5k.

Central Park was alive with with women of all shapes and sizes gearing up for the race.

I quickly checked in, grabbed my swag bag, and took advantage of the porta potty suprlus.

Why is it that NYRR has SO many bathrooms for small races and never enough for large races? I really hope the marathon has plenty! 🙂

After using the bathroom my muscles were starting to scream and the realization that I was about to run 4 miles after yesterday’s long run set in. Just as I headed towards the start I saw a familiar face, Sara! Sara had a NYC blog previously and we’ve connected during a few different blogger events and MANY google chat conversations. However, it’s been ages since we’ve seen each other. She had left a sweet comment on my post yesterday letting me know it provided her needed inspiration for her solo 17  mile run. Luckily, we decided that I’d accompany her for miles 11-15 via the race. I was excited to have a friend and catch up with her!

We lined up in the corrals ready for a fun race. The race didn’t sell out so the crowds weren’t horrible which was a refreshing change.

At 10am the race started and we actually crossed the starting line at 10:01!  We both started our Garmins but comitted to having fun and keeping a steady pace versus trying to race. Her legs were hurting after her 10 miles and my IT band wasn’t very happy.

We had a blast! We talked about her upcoming wedding, living in NYC, our finance men, and marathon training while heading through the winding Central Park path. The course was different than most as it didn’t loop back until 102nd street. This meant we had a few added hills.

 We even ran into Melissa who was running this as one of her NYRR 9+1 qualifiers!

I was surprised how strong our pace was considering the elements. My 4 mile PR is a 9:54 and until the final mile we were keeping a 9:45 pace. Unfortunately, the last mile was when we both started hurting and decided to take it easy versus straining ourselves since Sara had two more miles after the race and I was about to rack up 21 miles in 24 hours which is definitely a record.  We made the final curve together and ran through at 39:48, under 40:00 which was my personal goal. We were both pleased as we’d never stopped to walk, conquered a few tough hills, and kept a steady conversation. More importantly, we’d helped each other get through our runs. Sometimes, we need help from our friends to finish a tough run, long or short.

Do you enjoy running or working out with friends?

Sara took off to finish her two miles before an afternoon of wedding planning while I meandered through the park aimlessly reflecting on the past two days of running and checking out the Fitness Magazine area. I was disappointed by the booths but managed to find a familiar smile!

I love seeing familiar faces in NYC! It makes it seem like a smaller city! I haven’t seen Karla since BlogHer!

I was happy to be done but I don’t think this smile is going anywhere soon!

 

I still can’t get over that in a 24 hour period my legs carried me 22 miles!! (I ended up running a mile home after the race before giving in and getting a cab..what was I thinking??)

Sweaty happiness!

I’m celebrating this mileage with college football, a cold beer, and relaxing until tomorrow’s yoga session! 🙂