...And Big Victories

Ladies and gentlemen,

This morning I ran 14 miles for Grandpa. For you math majors, that means I am more than halfway to marathon distance. OH. MY. GOD.

We ran the upper 5 mile loop of the park (with the dreaded Harlem Hill), then we ran the lower 5 mile loop, and then we did the middle 4 mile loop to finish it off. That means we ran Cat Hill 3 times, and I must say we kicked that hill's ass from here to Sunday. We started off in our pace groups, and we ran the first 5 together, but then Audrey and I split off and did our own thing for the remaining 9. Some days you feel like running with the group, and some days you just need to break off and run what feels good.

Once again, Nicole sent me an amazing quote that totally applies to the Team in Training experience. "Do not underestimate the intimacy of running, and the people with whom you share your miles." You talk about all kinds of things on these long runs - from nutrition, to training, to gu vs. shot blocks vs. beans, to fuel belts, to sports bras, to body glide, to what kind of underwear to wear (and believe me, that's a tricky one!) - but a lot of the time it's not just running related. You really get to know people on the runs, and you share a lot of intimate thoughts. I don't know if it's the endorphins, or if we just have a general understanding of one another because of this shared experience, or what it is exactly, but I inherently trust these people, and they trust me. It's the most non-intimidating environment I've ever been in. It's such a nice outlet for a lot of crap that's on your mind! You build these significant relationships over the miles and it just feels nice.

Anyway, Audrey and I talked for 2 and a half hours today during our and it was great! She ran the NYC half last year, so her previous longest run was 13.1. Every week I celebrate covering my longest distance ever, so I know that feeling well. We ran those last few seconds up to the steps at Bethesda Fountain and celebrated with a big hug and a few discrete tears. 14 miles is such a huge accomplishment for me, and to share it with someone was very cool.

I keep talking about how important the team aspect of this is, and I think everyone needs a team behind them at some point. One of the very important teams I consider myself apart of is Team Erin. Erin is a friend of Nicole's from North Carolina, who I was introduced to a few years ago during a very rowdy weekend in Beantown. Erin is a recent thyroid cancer survivor, and if I do say so myself, she kicked the shit out of that cancer. She is one of my very important personal honorees, so I want to shout out a huge THANK YOU to Erin for being such an inspiration!!!

Erin at her finest