Baby steps!

Today was the first group run that I was able to attend. It was a great feeling, sprinting across Columbus Circle to join the swarm of people gathered by the main fountain at the entrance of Central Park. It is moments like this that I need to take more time to stop and take in. I am lucky. I have a blessed life, and I live a pretty awesome New York City life. We gathered in the dimming light of a great New York City sunset, with temperatures in the 70s. We completely missed winter, and the weather was beautiful.

Two years ago when I did the triathlon, there was a man named Ken who I used to see at several workouts, and on more than one occasion, spoke about his reason for doing the NYC Triathlon. His daughter was diagnosed with Hodgkin's, and as a family, they competed in the NYC tri, many tri's ago. I don't even know how many triathlons Ken has done at this point, but both he and his daughter are an inspiration. Today, Ken's daughter spoke during the mission moment. She'll be finishing college this year, and promised to come train with us once she was out of school. She called the triathlon a family event. I think its fantastic.

It is really beginning to feel like that for me. My own little NYC family of people of all shapes, sizes, colors, personalities, backgrounds, etc. We all have our stories, and we are all in the triathlon together. While TNT is a great way to get into shape for an event, it really is a whole lot more, and the fundraising is just one part, but  a major part of it. We are all blessed with the lives we lead, and for most of us, we are disease free, still experiencing life for all its worth, and have the flexibility to do anything. I'm happy to say that I have personally donated to the cause of LLS, and know that I really am a part of saving lives.

Today, we ran about 30minutes at a slow jog, before stopped in the open parking lot behind what once was the most fantastic location of a NYU semi-formal I went to (Tavern on the Green).  Again, more surrealness.  We did a half hour of lunges, squats, and baby running steps. (Literally, we ran in place, barely taking our feet of the ground, for a good 10 minutes.)  Then we did the same motion, edging forward across the parking lot, looking like a bunch of crazies moving in slow motion horizontally, and yet our feet moving at incredibly fast paces. We focused on relearning what its like to run and our foot placement, and really focused on those small details.  This time around, I'm really going to try to be the best I can be.  No cutting corners, no partying like a mad woman on a Saturday night and thereby nullifying all the hardwork I would have done that morning.  I'm in it, 2012, and I'm going to really invest in myself here.  It might take baby steps, and relearning everything I ever thought was right, but I'm really excited about what I can do.

Fun metrics of the day:

• Third day straight of working out for more than 30minutes (not sure when I last did this - 2010?)
• 1 day till my parents get here, and 3 days till my brother gets here, and...
• 3 days till I leave for Peru, with my entire immediate family & one lucky cousin!
• Fundraising is at 5% (I get an alumni discount on how much I have to raise, so I'm getting to that $2650 goal!)