A Year in the Making

I started running last year after my friend, Amy, came up with the idea of participating in the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run in NYC. The day finally came this past weekend. I went with my very good friends April, Joanna, Nicole, Seleta, Amy, and little Addy.

We decided to drive down. I reluctantly volunteered to be the one to drive into the city. It was a little scary, but luckily I had Seleta there to navigate and tell me how to be a "NYC driver". It wasn't long before I caught on that if pedestrians are crossing against the light, then they aren't really people and I'm allowed to plow through. Seleta left a wonderful comment on April's site: "according to my NY Book it states 'Driving in Manhattan is not for the timid, clueless, or otherwise emotionally fragile.' I guess you all saw my true colors come out."

About an hour after getting there, we were casually walking down the street to grab dinner when we ran into Matt Dillon. Mhm. Matt Dillon. For more on the driving and Matt Dillon saga, see April's post.



We rented out an apartment right on Central Park. We visited Times Square the first night, hit Chinatown the next day, and finally the race came on Sunday. It was incredible. Seleta, April, and Addy cheered us on from the sidelines. At the starting line, we had members of the Coast Guard in front of us, an Army company dressed in full fatigues WITH their packs on behind us, and firemen from all over everywhere else. In total, there were 15,000 runners. It was incredibly moving to hear the Star Spangled Banner sung just before the race began.

The run went through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and let me tell you, it was hot! And crowded! Oh my gosh was it hot and crowded! And when you finally came out of the tunnel, you were greeted by not only fresh air, but firemen lining both sides of the street holding American flags and pictures of all the firemen who died on September 11th. It was a once in a lifetime experience of which I was so honored to be a part.

http://wcbstv.com/local/tunnel.to.towers.2.827550.html

Aside from all of that, the girls I went with were fantastic. It would have been a great weekend even without Matt Dillon. Thanks girls! And thanks to The Man for watching the Boy while I was gone.