Cedric, a friend of Stacy's joined us for the run (he was WAY ahead of me the entire time) - he mapped out our route for us ... Crescent Street to the 59th Street bridge, over the bridge and back home again is 5 miles, so it seemed perfect. Well, let me tell you ... it is SUPER STEEP going from the Queens side to the Manhattan side!!! It took everything in me to get up that hill. I lost sight of Stacy about halfway across ... I kept trying to catch up to her, but it seemed impossible. We reunited at the base of the bridge for the return trip ... for a few minutes at least! Again, I lost her about mid-span. I didn't let it get to me ... I kept on going. When the voice from the app said my time and distance was 4 miles 44 minutes, I was super shocked ... I realized that I could actually finish this run in under 60 minutes!!! Stacy was allowing me 1 hour and 20 minutes to finish ... I was so happy that I smashed that time!!! When I got off the bridge and onto Crescent Street, I still couldn't see Stacy ... I knew she was way ahead of me, but then I did see her - at 39th avenue. I told her it wasn't 5 miles yet, and she said "I know, I finished and came back" ... That right there is why I didn't want to do this run alone; that moment made getting up at 4am worth it for me; I think Stacy was pretty happy about it too, even though she ran almost an extra mile so she could finish with me ... but then again, that's what makes her so awesome ... she GOES THE EXTRA MILE!!!!! She ran the last half mile WITH ME ... she was there with that huge encouraging smile and a double high five when I put my arms up in the air and said "I DID IT!! I finished 5 miles"!!!!
June 28th is turning out to be a good date for me. Last year, I made Stacy get up early on her 2nd day of summer vacation to accompany me to the hospital for my scans, and I received good news. This year on the same date, Stacy again got up early (super early this year) again to run 5 miles with me. I didn't want to run my first 5 miles without her there, and since she couldn't go with me after work, she asked if I wanted to go before work! While it was EXTREMELY early, it was well worth it, because I finished the 5 miles in UNDER AN HOUR!!!! 55:43 to be exact!!! I am still shocked and thrilled at my time! My first mile was also my fastest time yet ... 9:14!!!
Cedric, a friend of Stacy's joined us for the run (he was WAY ahead of me the entire time) - he mapped out our route for us ... Crescent Street to the 59th Street bridge, over the bridge and back home again is 5 miles, so it seemed perfect. Well, let me tell you ... it is SUPER STEEP going from the Queens side to the Manhattan side!!! It took everything in me to get up that hill. I lost sight of Stacy about halfway across ... I kept trying to catch up to her, but it seemed impossible. We reunited at the base of the bridge for the return trip ... for a few minutes at least! Again, I lost her about mid-span. I didn't let it get to me ... I kept on going. When the voice from the app said my time and distance was 4 miles 44 minutes, I was super shocked ... I realized that I could actually finish this run in under 60 minutes!!! Stacy was allowing me 1 hour and 20 minutes to finish ... I was so happy that I smashed that time!!! When I got off the bridge and onto Crescent Street, I still couldn't see Stacy ... I knew she was way ahead of me, but then I did see her - at 39th avenue. I told her it wasn't 5 miles yet, and she said "I know, I finished and came back" ... That right there is why I didn't want to do this run alone; that moment made getting up at 4am worth it for me; I think Stacy was pretty happy about it too, even though she ran almost an extra mile so she could finish with me ... but then again, that's what makes her so awesome ... she GOES THE EXTRA MILE!!!!! She ran the last half mile WITH ME ... she was there with that huge encouraging smile and a double high five when I put my arms up in the air and said "I DID IT!! I finished 5 miles"!!!!
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Run number 2 is in the books ... Slightly slower than run # 1 but it's okay - I finished and that's all that matters!!! The huge hill at the end of the run didn't help, but I made it - no stopping, just pushing through knowing the end was near.
After we finished the run, Stacy said "I know this sucks, but it will get easier every time" ... I sure hope so!!! I know I've said it before, but I am saying it again ... Stacy is AWESOME - she is meeting me at 5:00AM on Friday to run 5 miles before I go to work. That will be the longest run for me and I want Stacy to be there when I finish. As corny as it sounds, knowing she will be waiting there to "congratulate" me at the end is what will keep me going. So, I have 89 days till I RUN in my first half marathon ... in Maui!!! Coincidentally, the date of the marathon just happens to be on Stacy's birthday ... I think it's "a sign", and I am a HUGE believer in signs!!! Stacy created a training schedule for me ... and WE started today. I think it's beyond awesome that she is running WITH me ... maybe because Stacy knows me very well by now, and she knows I will push myself if she is running with me, or maybe just because she likes to run. Whatever the reason, I'm happy ... running with someone makes it a lot more fun. Today was the first run of the training routine - 3 miles around the streets of Maspeth/Middle Village (I think). I told Stacy she couldn't go too far ahead of me this time since I don't know the area very well!!! It wasn't a problem tho - I stayed pretty close to her for the majority of the run. The hills at the end were tough, but I stuck with it, and I finished - in fact, Stacy's GPS reached the 3 mile mark a few seconds before mine, and I kept going past her to finish my 3 miles! We were trying to go faster than each previous mile, but you could tell how tired I was at the end ... my second mile was the fastest and the last was my slowest. This weekend is a blur ... a running blur. A few weeks ago, Stacy asked me if I wanted to do a 4 mile run on June 2nd in Forest Park with her; so I said yes and signed up. Then last week, a co-worker asked me if I wanted to sign up for a 5K run that my company was participating in on June 1st. Again, I said yes ... not realizing at the moment that these runs are on back to back days. Too late to back out of either, I told myself to suck it up and do the best I can. On Friday, I asked Stacy what she had in mind for my workout, since I'd be running 7 miles over the next 2 mornings ... her answer: "Running!!!" ... when I replied saying I'd be crippled tomorrow and Sunday, she quickly replied with "you're a runner now" ... those words alone made me feel like I could do it, so Friday night we ran 3 miles around the neighborhood. So, my three days of running began; 3 miles Friday night in the streets of Sunnyside, Saturday morning was a 5K in Central Park and this morning was the 4 miles around Forest Park.
The run on Saturday was two times around the park, which meant you went past the finish line once, then the second time was when it counted. I had my headphones on the entire run. When I got to the finish line the first time, everyone on the sidelines was cheering for their respective runners, so I didn't hear mom screaming my name ... but what I did hear was the distinct whistle from my dad ... so as soon as I heard it, my head snapped to the sound and I saw my parents standing there! I was so happy. When I came across the finish line the time it counted (approximating my time at 40:00) ... I made sure to stay close to the left side where they were, and went right to them and gave them a huge hug. My mom had tears in her eyes ... I did too. I was so happy to be finished, but I was thrilled to see them waiting to greet me at the finish line. I was a ball of nerves before the run this morning ... I knew Stacy and her friends would all finish before me, and I hated the idea that they would have to wait for me, and I just hoped it wouldn't be too long for them. This race was also a loop, so we started and finished on the track (Victory Field) ... when I made the final turn onto the track, I saw Stacy standing there (her brother was there too, but I didn't notice him till the end ... sorry Chris), and when she saw me, she was so happy she screamed something, but I just kept going. For some reason, my legs thought they could sprint the last 100 meters, in the sun, around the track to the finish line. Well, that lasted about 50 meters ... I slowed down so I wouldn't crawl across the finish line!!! And when I did cross that finish line (53:05), I was greeted immediately by an ecstatic Stacy who yelled "YOU DID IT!!! YOU FINISHED!!!" and then gave me a huge hug ... then poured water on my head!!! LOL!!! Less than a year ago, when I started working with Stacy, I couldn't SPEED WALK one time around the track without getting shin splints, or stopping, or crying ... or doing all three, and look at me now ... running/walking 10 miles in THREE DAYS!!!!! I am so beyond proud of myself, and I have to thank everyone for their awesome, amazing support and encouragement!!! Most of all, I have to thank Stacy for all she's done (and still doing) for me, but most of all, for sticking with me, believing in me and not giving up on me. |
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