Note: Non-real estate related post follows.
A few months ago, I posted a plea for running partners to help me train for ING’s Hartford Half Marathon. My wish was granted and I met some very nice ladies that I’ve trained with over the past few weeks.
Well, today was the big day. The weather was perfect and I was ready to go. And to make it an even better event, several of our grad school friends (Katherine, Becca, and Marlene) and Kyle’s sister (Allison) came to visit us and run in the race. Yay!
While it was early in the morning (6:45am), great skill and teamwork got us through the long lines for packet pickup at the XL Center quite quickly. Additionally, some stealth tactics got us into the speed line for t-shirt pickup and a hidden bathroom with essentially no waiting. I’m keeping those secret…
We headed out to the start line at Bushnell Park, joining the thousands of other runners. Off we went and jog, jog, jog- we all finished the race. Actually, out of the collective 17 half marathons that the 5 of us previously ran (Kyle does not run), we each finished with a personal best. I finished in 2:00:16. If only I had not eaten that extra Oreo last night, I could have finished in under 2 hours.
Quotes and Observations from Our Out-of-Town Friends…
Allison (Washington, D.C.)- “I love the sun! I liked the course and enjoyed the volume of people running. I wished the mile marker signs were a little larger and there weren’t so many turns at the end.” and “The support staff that carried our crap (Kyle) was much appreciated.”
Katherine (Chapel Hill, NC)- “What I particularly enjoy about the Hartford Half Marathon, other than great company, is the big steaming Starbucks I reward myself with at the end, which was really an inspiration at Mile 11.” and “People bring a lot of really cute puppy dogs to the park to participate in the festivities.”
Marlene (Boston, MA)- “I enjoyed the live bands – they helped motivate me throughout the run. The Riverfront part of the race was picturesque.” and “I appreciated the High Fives in Parkville.” and “Next time I will bring a cell phone and money, as my friends abandoned me after the race.” NOTE [from Amy]: There was a bit of miscommunication about where to meet up after the race that resulted in Marlene being lost for about 1.5 hours at Bushnell Park. She was eventually found and returned to her weekend hosts.
Rebecca (New York City)- “My favorite part of the race was the home stretch when I convinced at least 100 people to cheer for me. Thanks Hartford!”
CONGRATULATIONS Amy!!!!!!