Back from Buffalo

Get out your pom-poms. I'm proud to report that in the past week I accomplished the following:

1. Completed my first Team in Training session, which entailed running for 40 minutes without iTunes. Considering how much I depend on my "Boom Boom Pow" to take me through the miles, this was indeed quite a feat. I was so nervous about running music-free when I first heard that iPods and headphones were banned during training that I asked the ladies I in my pacing group if they had any interest in singing to me. (Probably not the best way to make new friends.)

2. I ran my second 5k in 27:56, beating my first 5k time of 28:15.

3. I ran my second 5k in 27:56 after a night of no sleep, too much wine, and an incredible evening in Buffalo, NY, with my "Gumdrop" girlfriends. We all got together for the first memorial 5k Run for Row, in memory of Matt Row, the husband of our friend Andrea, who was tragically widowed last fall. She has two adorable children. (If you want to read her story, click here to read her blog.)

It was both heartbreaking and joyful for all of us to get together, having traveled from all over the country--hence the lack of sleep and excess of wine. The exhaustion and inebriation caught up with me around the time when I crossed the finish line (I can't thank my friends enough for NOT tagging the race photos of me on Facebook; grabbing at my lower back and scowling, I truly look like I'm on the verge of puking) so it was a really nice surprise to find out I made good time.

I was also really proud of my friends. Most of them hadn't run much prior to this race and worked so hard to transform themselves from walkers to runners, and they all surpassed their goals for themselves: running when they said they thought they'd have to walk most of it; walking when they said they'd probably just cheer us on from the sidelines.

Sometimes you just rise to the occasion. Even when you've had a carafe or two of Cabernet.

But in the future, I think I'll stick to water the night before a race.