Lady in Green

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE IS THE BEST & MOST ADDICTING FEELING IN THE WORLD!

Last Sunday was my last race of the season (for now). And because it was my last race, I pushed as hard as I could for the entire race and ended up having my best time of the season! On race morning while leaving my car, my Garmin strap broke and I had no watch which turned out to be pretty awesome (I highly recommend racing without any timing device!). It was great to not look at it, not wonder if I could go faster or be angry at myself for being so slow. I had no choice but to just race so I did it and vowed to have a great time doing it. Danskin is an all women's race which is AWESOME - no men, everyone is polite, kind and encouraging. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold just a slight rain. The water was calm and turned out to be such a great swim. The bike was very, very windy as the entire course ran along the ocean. However, at the turn around the wind was less intense. The whole bike course was flat and so beautiful to see the ocean for the entire ride. Once on the run, I found a woman in front of me - The Lady in the Green Shirt. I never saw her bib #, never got her name, never even saw her face but she saved me. I've often heard people talk about having someone to pace them but I've never been able to find someone that runs as slow as I do. Once I saw her running, I vowed to stay with her for the whole 5K and I did just that. I told her that I was going to follow her and she said, "I don't run fast but I will not walk". It's the most I've ever run at one time, I walked once to grab some water but otherwise ran the entire 5K. I wish so much I had seen her number or at least asked her name so I could properly thank her for all she did for me. My run pace was 10:32 and for me that is simply phenomenal and I could not be more proud! On top of having a great and most important, FUN, race - all 3 of my kids were there for the first time. They've never seen me race and I was so excited that they got to see this race (and not The NYC Tri when I couldn't see anything but black spots at the end!). I made the boys come on to the run course with me to cross the finish line but some crabby race employee made them get off. Thankfully my personal photographer, Nate, captured some shots before they were tossed of the course!

I crossed the finish line with a huge smile (as seen above) and great pride. The 2011 season has had ups and downs but ended on an amazing note. If anyone from the Danskin race is reading this and knows who the Lady in Green is (she was also wearing a white LBI 13.1 hat) - please send her my email so I can personally thank her!

My precious Charlotte cheering on her mom wearing my very own GOTribal visor! I love that she gets to watch women reach for the stars!

WARNING: This might piss you off

Yes this post may piss you off, be against what you believe and you may not like me anymore but since it's my blog there is no editor and no one to tell me I can't write what I want. So here it goes: I HATE 9/11. Not in the way everyone hates it - I really hate it, I hate the news coverage, I hate the saying of the names, the service at each site, the moments of silence, the bumper stickers tell me "Never Forget" (how the hell can I forget bc you keep reminding me). I hate that People magazine has a whole feature on it - aren't they supposed to keep me up to date on Kim & Khloe (on a side note - who the hell are those 2 and why are they even in People Magazine?)? I personally - again this is my blog so I get to say what I want - want to move on, keep going, celebrate life and stop crying. Last year I had the greatest idea, I left the country. Kevin and I went to Paris & Dublin for the first 2 weeks of September. It was awesome! No TVs, well no TV we could understand, we were knee deep in Cafe au Lait and croissants to worry about the news. No one was talking about it, again we didn't understand so we didn't know if they were. It was a beautiful, lovely day just another day on vacation in Paris.

This year I've decided to race on the 2nd Sunday in September. I have no tears left, I can no longer be devastatedly sad. Eric, Kenny and all 3000 others would never want anyone to sit around crying about them for 10 years. Everyone has their own story but my story is about a group of young people that were full of life and excitement and would want me to continue to also be full of life and excitement - so I am doing just that. I'll be in Sandy Hook, NJ next Sunday racing a race like any other race. I'm also racing to help young adults that LIVE with Cancer. I need to focus on the living and the good in the world. I will race in honor of my very dear friends that have survived cancer and are still here to enjoy life: Jennifer Falkenstern, Dianne Kennedy & Andy Rapuano. I'm sure the anniversary of 9/11 will be brought up everywhere - ribbons, bibs, the National Athem will be fancy I'm sure. But I'm going to race and keep Eric & Kenny in my thoughts the whole time - thoughts of them mocking me for not running faster or looking better in my kit and both laughing their asses off the entire time. I am done crying. I want to think of them and smile and laugh - that's all they would ever want. That's what I would want.

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