Hi there! Thanks for swinging by... Here you'll find my personal trials and tribulations as I attempt my first endurance run: the 2009 NIKE NYC Half Marathon on August 16th, 2009.
If you know me at all, you'll know that I'm not that spectacular of an athlete and my history with sports & althetlics has been fleeting at best. I played softball as a child until the point whereby I missed a pop fly and the ball landed on my head, breaking my favorite blue plastic headband. Though not physically harmed, my ego was shot and I quickly turned my wandering attention to a modern & jazz dance class for a brief spell. Quite honestly I don't remember if I ever stuck with it long enough to appear in a recital (Mom?) but it for sure did NOT leave a lasting impressing on my coordination skills. I never played a sport in high school and while I worked at the rec center in college, I didn't spend much time inside the facility outside of my work shifts.
Having moved to the New York City area post-college though one naturally starts moving around more. WALKING is the preferred method of travel and Rec Sports are a after-work social affair. Runners, bikers, skaters are EVERYWHERE with a multitude of terrains to trek across - from the hills of Central Park to the flat beautifully landscaped running paths in Battery Park City. At some point, everybody turns to running and I too have found myself running along side the river, the skyline as my backdrop.
I've flirted with this running thing for the past year or two, busting through a few 5Ks here and there, but never really sticking with the sport, banishing my sneaks to the back of the closet as the mild runner-friendly seasons melt into the sweltering summer or freeze into the blustery cold winter. That all changed a week ago when I witnessed a friend run 5 hours in the pouring rain at the Long Branch, NJ marathon. Her perseverence, dedication, and unyielding determination sparked something inside me inspiring me to take my own flirtations to the next level.
So I have decided to run a half-marathon, 13.1 miles, 2+ hours, in the middle of the aforementioned sweltering summer. Needless to say, this is a big commitment for me - quite possibly the biggest in all of my twenty-five years - and I'm excited for, yet acutely humbled by, the physical and mental challenges the next 3 months will bring. I couldn't do this alone; thankfully three of my dear friends are joining me in this crazy adventure and we're all approaching this challenge in our own unique ways.
As a result, I'm taking advantage of my run to support those who are working to cure blood cancers: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Through the LLS's Team in Training program, I'm running in memory of my grandmother, Doreen Embry, who lost her battle with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma when I was 10. Her untimely, unfair death at far too young age robbed both her and me of multiple milestones we should have shared together as a family. Help me to honor her and the others who have lost their lives to blood cancers by making a donation to my donation page, hosted by the LLS here
Thanks for coming along for the ride and I hope to see you at the finish line!
xoxo,
SR
No comments:
Post a Comment