Thursday Night

And last night at the Van Cortlandt 5k XC summer series, I initially wanted to race for the pure pleasure of it - but I had @firstrun's words in mind while being chased by lions (really felt like an antelope out there!) "Be a piece of meat, be a robot - don't think! Go out there and be an athlete!" And it takes some guts to block out your brain AND heart and let your body do the work. After stopping and walking for 3x and being pretty fucked up and disappointed (emotionally and physically) - I gave myself another try, picked up the pace going downhill and at the last stretch chased the meat in front of me. When crossing the finish line, I just wanted to give in and cry - but there was something bigger than me: everyone gave each other high-fives and we all connected because we all went through the same grass fields, hills, pains and doubts. In this moment the community was everything!
Thanks @jmashia17 @quitatheroadrunner and @harlemrun for the good energy after the race! And at the end of the day - I did give it my best.