You Better Run, Better Run

This morning I ran the Pittsburgh Great Race. It was an exhilarating experience that prompted some realizations: ANYTHING is possible and Pittsburgh is a WONDERFUL city.

When I turned 25 (last summer!) I made a five year plan, which included a number of personal and professional goals, one being to run a marathon by the age of 30. Later on I broke those larger goals down into smaller more manageable goals - run a 5K, run a 10K, run a half marathon and then finally run a marathon. Well, I'm not a runner...I've had knee pain in the past from my tennis days that I thought meant no distance running. This summer after running with my good friend Amy Newland (one of the of the fastest runners in high school), she encouraged me to try the Great Race, a 10K. We signed up and I began training. Much to my surprise, I found that I liked running and was able to run distances! Speed is not my priority right now - finishing and running the entire race are the most important to me. So, this morning I began the Great Race with trepidation but soon realized I was having fun and enjoying every minute of the run! I'm back on track with the five year plan now, and plan to train and run a half marathon next. I believe I am capable of doing it and if I am mentally prepared, ANYTHING is possible.

OK, now here comes the big shocker...write this down friends...I discovered today that Pittsburgh really is a WONDERFUL city. I'm shocking myself just admitting that statement. We all know that I love NYC, Cleveland, DC, Annapolis and pretty much any other city but I do not love Pittsburgh. However, today I realized when running the Great Race that I should be grateful to live in such a culturally diverse, supporting and all-around beautiful city. First, I loved running through the interesting city neighborhoods, which remind me of some of the DC suburbs that I have walked through during the Avon Walk. Also, one of the things that I came to love about the breast cancer walk was the show of community support in DC. Well, that was true today in Pittsburgh as well, and the Great Race isn't even a fundraiser. People lined the streets in Squirrel Hill and Oakland to cheer on the runners, bands from all of the colleges played and small children waved and held their hands out for high fives. And then the most amazing part of the run was coming down Fifth Avenue onto the Boulevard of the Allies and BAM - what a skyline to run towards!! It was thrilling!

Well, that's my two cents about the Great Race! I'm a little sore but excited that I was able to run a 10K and how much fun I had doing it.