Happy Veteran’s Day tomorrow and thank you for your service to this country and others.
So I ran the NYC marathon last weekend.
A friend of mine has a daughter who is going through a rough time. She textured me a screenshot of a text her daughter sent her which said:
“If you ever need your faith restored in humanity, go watch the NYC marathon.”
“Why?” texted her mother back.
“Strangers supporting strangers! Runners write their names on their shirts and the entire pathway is lined with people yelling your name.”
And then this:
“I cried it was really crazy to see.”
So how did a 4” piece of duct tape save my life?
Exactly that.
We were pretty sure it was going to be cold in the morning- and indeed it was 42 degrees at 6am when we arrived at Staten Island.
We had picked out matching outfits, but had gone back and forth on the top.
Long sleeves? Tank top with arm sleeves? Just a tank?
In the end, we layered the tank under the long sleeved shirt.
Thank goodness!
I embroidered our names riding on the train to NYC on the long sleeve shirts, but by the time we were ready to get running at 10:20, it was close to 60ish degrees and sunny.
I didn’t embroider our names on the tank tops as it was a 2 hour project that I didn’t find time for.
We knew that a fun part of the race was random spectators yelling your name, but how to get our names on the tank quickly?
Enter the silver tape and Sharpie.
I had no idea how important that little piece of duct tape became.
I wrote in my Instagram post that I love how NYC pronounces my name:
“GO LAAW-RAH! YOU GOT THIS, GIRL!”
Over and over and over and over and over and over.
It was as though the crowd came out to cheer just for me!
It was ELECTRIFYING. It was ENERGIZING. It was so FUN. It made my smile LIGHT UP!
If my head was down, less cheers.
Head up, smile and wave to the crowd: electricity.
I was channeling the penguins in Madagascar, “Smile and wave, boys, smile and wave.”
That’s your first race tip: put your name on your shirt/jacket/sweatshirt/hat/arm/forehead.
Anywhere!
It will pay dividends!
Here’s to balance, strength, and unbelievable-name-on-my-shirt happiness, and Happy Veteran’s Day,
🙂 Laura
