Today was such a fun day of running!
Thanks to a great running buddy for whom I’m so thankful, I ran 9.5 miles without blinking an eye.
A little known fact is that I have signed up for the Ted Corbitt Classic 15K for 3 years in a row but today was the first time I’ve actually run it! With the busy holidays upon us, I always decide to go out with friends a bit too late on a Friday night instead of waking up early for a 15k in Central Park.
Meghan met me in Gramercy this morning around 7:30 before heading up to the park together on the subway. As we saw more and more people hop on the subway in full winter running gear, I started to get worried.
You said it wasn’t that cold Meghan. Are we going to freeze?
I think I said this every few minutes on the subway as we’d both decided to just wear running crops, spi belts, and technical t-shirt for this race. We forgot to bring any type of fuel and we didn’t remember our gloves either. Can you tell this race was a bit relaxed?
But, during the next hour and thirty five minutes we talked, laughed, and ran together enjoying every minute. We didn’t focus on time at all. Instead we just took in the gorgeous weather, the adorably puppies running throughout the park, and got to know each other better. After years of running with music and thinking that talking would make me slower, instead I’ve found that talking can make longer distances seem manageable and 10x more fun! Not every running achievement has to be about time. Sometimes it can be mental.
After months of training for time and reaching some of my reach goals, it was great just to relax and run a distance that used to intimidate me. Maybe it’s that I love being in long distance running shape. Maybe it’s that I love that even after not running more than 4 miles this week, I was still able to run and talk the whole time. Who knows what it was today but it made me even more thankful for my body’s ability to run.
I agree: It was a GORGEOUS day for a race. My only complaint was the lack of Gatorade on the race course, since 9.3 miles is a bit long without a sugar boost. Fortunately, the giant plate of post-race pancakes I inhaled quickly solved THAT problem. Glad you enjoyed yourself Saturday as much as I did!
Anne I wish I’d seen you out there! I agree that there could have been Gatorade. Oh well! 🙂
Those are my favorite kind of runs. So glad you guys had a good time. When your goal is just to run it, it can be a nice mental break from marathon training.
It was definitely a nice mental break from training, you’re right Jen! We’ll have to run together soon!
There seems to be a great variety of distance races available around NYC, hopefully London will catch up soon!! Looks nice and sunny for your race!