Fifth Avenue Mile

So the other week, a friend of mine asked me if I'd cover her in a race she had signed up for. She had to go to a wedding and didn't want to miss the race completely: One way to get in to the NYC Marathon is to run a certain amount of races via the Road Runners club in NYC, and if she missed this one, she'd have to make it up in another race . . .

Anyway, she was one of my inspirations for becoming a runner, and she's been very good to me, so I figured I'd do it. Why not? It was only a 1 mile run, AND, I'd be registered in her age category, which was the womens' 40 - 49 category. I figured that since I was 30, and since I've been training for Chicago, I would KICK ASS. I thought that women in my start corral would look at me and ask, "wow, what's your secret for looking so young?" and I'd get the opportunity to promote vegetarianism. But no one asked me and no one looked at me funny, AND no one ate my dust. These women were FAST. Check out how awesome they are:





Being the youngest one there (my little secret), I felt pretty competitive, and when the gun went off, I couldn't help but TAKE OFF, but I forgot to pace myself and by the time I reached the 3/4 marker, I was completely out of breath and regretting that I let my ego get the best of me (once again). Note to self: steady pace wins the race. Even though I was out of steam, I still finished strong. My time was 7:20. I'm not sure if that's good or average, but it was sort of a reality check. . . just because I was younger didn't mean I was automatically fitter. Nonethless, it was fun, and brought back memories of the Presidential Physical Fitness Tests back in the day at St. Phillip Elementary School . . .

Anyway, the Chicago Marathon is in NINE days. It's time to taper, eat a lot, rest up, and get excited. AND RAISE MONEY FOR MY CHARITY (ahem ahem, hint hint). . .

My dad is in Greece right now with my mom and some friends. They'll be checking out Marathon--the actual PLACE--soon, too.

xoxo,
Mira