Tonight I took a break from my endless work to-do list and stepped away from my desk for some quality time in Central Park. While the running community in New York City seems so small since one often starts seeing the same faces, it never ceases to amaze me. Just a few days ago Abby Bales teamed up with the amazing movement Pavement Runner started to organize a #BostonStrongNYC. This Central Park based run for Boston a week after the 117th Boston Marathon tragedy was just one of the many runs taking place across the country tonight. (picture source)

I ran from my office to Tavern on the Green in Central Park before meeting up with more running friends than I could imagine seeing in one place. For 15 minutes I literally felt as if I was hugging and saying hello to many of my favorite running friends!

We were blessed tonight with perfect running weather even if it seems a bit cool for late April. I was able to wear my favorite Lululemon crop pants (get your own see-through pair here) and long sleeve t-shirt which was perfect since it’s the only blue running gear I own. While it isn’t Boston blue it was close enough tonight! As you can see above, I was even able to reconnect with my awesome Philadelphia Marathon support crew (Kristin, Beth, and Nadia) who I haven’t seen, all in once place, in ages!

Around 6:30 Abby led the group in a moment of silence after a brief introduction thanking everyone for showing up and supporting those affected by last week’s events. There were people watching bags for runners between 6:30 and 7:30 which was a nice touch for the many people coming directly from work. In addition, they quickly sold through many of the I run for Boston t-shirts they were selling for $20 to support The One Fund charity.  (image source)

The group took off running South from Tavern on the Green and people were encouraged to run their own pace and own distance though there were two primary groups completing either 6.2 miles or 3.2 mile loops in the park.

It’s been ages since I’ve hung out with Gia due to our busy schedules so I was thrilled when she offered to run with me and Melissa Z. Our small group spent the entire run talking about Miami, sunshine, careers, and upcoming travel which was a great way to keep my mind off of our pace. I saw a group in front of familiar runners in front of us around the mile point and decided I wanted to make it my goal to speed up enough to catch them. When we did we added Meggie Smith to our group and talked about her awesome blog posts about becoming an OB/GYN doctor.

When I finally turned off from the group I asked Gia if she’d finally share our pace with me since she’d kept it from me while we ran so my mental blocks wouldn’t keep me from achieving a pace she knew possible.

“Sure, you just beat your 5k PR by running a sub 8:45 for 3.2 miles. Good job!”

I think I almost started jumping up and down when I heard that considering that Bo and I are running a 5k in Cincinnati on Saturday with our friends Amy and Ryan. It is amazing when both the soul and body feel strong and content.

Thank you to everyone who made tonight an amazing way to kick off the week while also honoring Boston and supporting the #runforboston movement.