Chills and Goosebumps.

In a million years, I would never picture myself placing first in a race. I know this for a fact because I am not built to run. Running is sport you ask yourself.. "Why do I do this to myself?" I know it is not a fun sport and you can do a lot of damage, but there is something about it that makes you feel great after you finish. I think that it is a sense of accomplishment. Maybe it is because I am not built like a runner and I am trying to accomplish something that I feel is a challenge? Whatever the case may be, it is addictive and I love it!

As time goes on, the 5k runs feel like they are shorter in shorter, but in actuality, I am improving my endurance by running faster and faster. At the Norton High School Run, I placed first in my age division (19-29) and had a time of 32:56. I was able to take off two whole minutes off my average 5k time and now my average pace per mile is 10:50. Even though it is a best record for me, hearing my name announced as the first place women's 19-29 age division was very exciting. At the end of the race, I walked over to a teacher who I had in high school and talked with her. We talked about how I improved my time and it was a nice race that was planned to raise money for the high school. I told her how I started running races and would love to run the Providence, Rock and Roll Half Marathon. She said that ever since high school, I always had to "go big or go home." Everything I took part in would have to be big. I had to agree with her. Any production or event I was in charge of, had to be big. I always wanted to leave a taste in peoples mouth about my accomplishments or events.

So now what? Do I continue to run 5ks? Yes and no. I used to only do 5ks, but now I am stepping it up and running 5 miles and 10ks. Last week, I ran the 5 mile Boston Run to Remember for the Boston Police Department. There were over 9,000 runners. Standing in front of the Seaport Hotel and Convention Center, there was a sense of togetherness that was shared with all the runners. Everyone was pumped and excited for this run. As always, I get in the back to I can see what the whole crowd of runners look like. When the horn went off and the front began to take off and the back was slowly jogging, I took a picture of the Boston Skyline with all 9,000 runners. Throughout the run, people were standing and watching and cheering us on. I felt like I was running the Boston Marathon because everyone was so excited! I ran from Boston, through Cambridge and ended up back in Boston. As I turned the corner to the last third of a mile, everyone was cheering me on. It was such a great feeling and my urge to sprint kicked in. I bolted and sprinted to the finish line. I remember some gentleman yelling, "Keep it up! You are almost there!! Run! You got this!!!" Hearing him yell those words of encouragement, made me push harder and harder.

View from back as the Boston Run to Remember. Love seeing the view of Boston