Fitness Magazine Mind Body & Spirit Games

King of the Castle ran the NYC Marathon in '09 with his brother.  Up until that point, I thought that running was the most ridiculous sport ever.  Three months later, I bought some running shoes and hit the streets.  I enjoyed it, surprisingly enough.  I felt free.  I felt like I could run from anything bothering me...if only for 30 minutes, or so.  King of the Castle talked me into signing up for a NYRR (New York Road Runners) membership and I ran my first race on April 3, 2010.  It was the Scotland Run, a 10k in Central Park.  Yes...THE Central Park.  The one in New York City.  I did OK.  I ran it in 1 hour, 14 minutes and 2 seconds.  I was hooked.  I loved running with the crowd.  I loved the excitement and energy.  I signed up for another 10k and ran that a month later, knocking 4 minutes off my time.

Since then, I've run 12 races.  Two of those races were half marathons.  I ran the NYC Half in March of this year, with some good friends of mine.  I also ran the Queens Half-Marathon in July.  My favorite race is the Fitness Magazine Mind, Body & Spirit Games in Central Park.  It's a fun health festival for the entire family.  The men run a 4 mile race first, followed by the women running the same distance.  Then the kids get to run their races.  This was the second year we ran this race as a family and we'll continue with the tradition.

I was excited about my race.  Since I've been running a lot more (and since the weather was PERFECT for running...55 degrees), I could feel a PR on the horizon.  I found my way to the pink bin...the second to last bin.  I determined this was the last time I run in the pink bin.  I deserve to run in the light blue bin.  Motivation #1.  I immediately spotted a redhead girl in the light blue bin wearing a University of Oregon T-shirt.  Those who know me well, know that I am a huge fan of Oregon football.  Redhead Duck Fan became my new imaginary BFF.  I was determined to catch her by the end of the race so I could say Hi.  Motivation #2.  

I won't bore you with the details of the race.  But...I did PR with a time of 40 minutes and 53 seconds.  This was about 100 seconds faster than my last race.  I came in 1,761st place...out of 2,570.  Nothing to blog about...except that I ran my personal best.  Yay!  And, I did pass Redhead Duck Fan and said "Hi" to her at the end of the race.  I'd better be in the light blue bin at the next race.

The festival was done well.  Lots of free goodies and live music.  A Pilates instructor lead us in warm-ups before the races.  Some Biggest Loser people were rumored to be there.  I personally didn't see any of them, not that I'd recognize them if I did.  Some NFL players were around to pass out medals to the kids.  The kids got really fantastic swag bags filled with jump ropes, Nerf footballs, water bottles, T-shirts and even a Rubik's cube.  I haven't seen one of those since the 80's.

The kids had a terrific time during their races.  Miss Personality and her daddy lined up with the other 3-year-old girls.  After talking about this race for weeks, she suddenly changed her mind and didn't want to run.  That attitude lasted until the other girls took off and she quickly changed her mind...again.  She does that often.

Miss Personality, #370
Miss Personality LOVES her medal!
Mr. Smarty Pants was in a more serious group of athletes...the 7-9 year old boys.  They were so excited about running they took off before the official "Go" signal was given.  He ran his heart out and still had a smile on his face as he crossed the finish line.


Still Smiling!

Miss Mini Boss was the tiniest girl in her 10-12 year old division.  But, she's bleeds determination.  She isn't intimidated by anybody.  She's #1051.





It was a great day.  Miss Mini Boss said, "I don't care that I didn't get first place.  I tried my hardest and I got a medal.  I also got to spend a fun day in New York City with my family."  That about sums it up!





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