Battle of Brooklyn

I've never fancied myself much of a runner but have surprisingly been getting into it this year. During the cold months (when I could muster enough willpower to make it to the YMCA), I got started on the treadmill at the gym. Since it's been warm, I put my gym membership on hold and have been running outside. It's so much more interesting than staring at a screen at the gym. I get to learn my neighborhood and explore other areas of Brooklyn. There are so many interesting things to see! Whenever I can peel myself out of bed early, I try to go for a run in the morning. One of my favorite routes is around Fort Greene park. There is no leash enforcement for dogs between 9pm and 9am, so I get to see all the pups frolic about. It makes my day!

Anyway, I have a friend, Majo, who is training for the NYC Marathon in November. She is always trying to get people into running and got myself and a few of our friends to run a 5k in March. I didn't die then, so I thought I would continue to give the whole running thing a try. Earlier in the summer, Majo sent out a notice for a race in Prospect Park called the Battle of Brooklyn (Kurt fondly calls his neighborhood Battle Hill after this Revolutionary War event). The park has a loop which is about 3.3 miles around. 3 laps equals 10 miles. You could either run the whole thing (like Majo and several of her other hardcore running friends) or organize a 3 person relay team. I am no shape to run 10 miles, so I teamed up with a couple of Majo's friends, Lizz and Tina, for the race this past weekend. Majo suggested we call our team Majo's Angels. It was perfect since she was the one to bring us together in the first place! She even made us cute graphics to pin on our shirts for the race.

I was a pretty rainy day but wasn't so miserable because it kept us cool. Lizz ran the first leg, then me, and Tina finished strong for us. We weren't breaking any speed records but it was still a fun day.

Our cheering section complete with cowbells and enthusiasm. They were troopers to sit out in the rain for a couple hours early on a Sunday morning. Thanks Jenn, Kristin, and Kurt for your support!

Kurt rode his bike alongside me for the final stretch of my lap. It only encouraged me to run faster to escape his taunts and obnoxious cowbell. Thanks.

Look at Majo go! I can't wait to cheer her on in November! I'm so excited to watch the marathon this year because the route goes directly in front of my apartment. The marathon is such a fun New York experience. The locals really get into it and the city is full of excitement. I'm in awe of all the runners.

Majo's Angels post race, all sweaty and rained on. We clocked a time of 1 hour 44 minutes. Sadly, the race was sort of disorganized, so we didn't get our individual lap times.

Post-race. Way to go ladies!