From Brooklyn to Central Park.... with love!

That's right! Today, we had a group training session (GTS), where we ran from Brooklyn Bridge (yes, we met at the Shake Shack) all the way up and through Manhattan to Central Park/Columbus Circle.  We paired off, and I ran with my running buddy, Marilyn for the duration of that 6mile run.  It's nice running with Marilyn as she runs about my pace (I might be slightly faster, but we'll see on race day!).

Running through Times Square on a Saturday morning at 9/9:30am is NOT my idea of fun, and yet, I got a thrill out of sprinting through the streets, whizzing by confused tourists.  "People work out in Times Square?" I think was the comment I heard.  The response, "Yeah.... wait! I know her! That's Sarah!"  I love a small world.  I ran into the girlfriend of a coworker who had done the triathlon with me.  I however was so set on getting out of Times Square as soon as possible, that I told her I sent her a message on Facebook, and off we ran!  It probably took us a little over 1:20 to do the route, but there was a ton of traffic, pedestrians, and there's definitely a steep incline getting over the bridge and when headed uptown.

After the run, we united with the Manhattan GTS group and went to "Connection to the Cause", where we heard a cancer survivor talk about his experience with Team In Training, how it's impacted his life, and how it is an awesome organization.  Every time I hear someone tell their story, I'm always in tears.  This story really hit home with me, because he started talking about actual numbers, like the maximum lifetime deductible on his insurance, and the price of the $125 pill that he has to take every single day of the rest of his life, so $125 x 30days x 12months x Xyears when X is the rest of your life.  How can anyone afford medicine if that's what going to keep them alive to be with their family and watch their daughter grow up?

I hope you'll consider donating to Team In Training and to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I have met so many cancer survivors and families of cancer patients, that it's unreal.  We're all impacted, and we're all capable of helping, regardless of who we are, where we come from, how much money we make, and how long we're going to live.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/berhm10k13/sarahthomas

Sandy will probably hit us tomorrow or the next day.  Lots of nervousness all around, but tonight, we celebrate Halloween.

PS -- Does anyone read me?  I'd love to know your thoughts, or if you have any questions.  I'll probably keep rambling anyway, but knowing that someone is out there would be nice. (insert Julia/Julia quote here...)