Ing NYC: Less than 1 day: Remember me in Your Prayers Please.



All I asked from Andy was "Please, I just want to back to the hotel room by 8pm.
If you really believe that is ALL I asked than you are gullible.

There was one thing that Andy really wanted to do....
Run through Central Park. There was no arguing from me. It was an amazing experience. The sun was shining with temperature was in the 60's. When we arrived to the park it appeared like we were not the only people with this on their agenda for the day. There were hundreds of runners, walkers and bikers. Central park in November was alive with magnificent orange, red and golden colored trees. Chestnut trees were everywhere. The park is about 3 miles long.  There are paths on the outskirts of the park and then there are more paths cut into the center of the park. The center of the park has more trails. The trails were my favorite. Each turn weaved in the trees we came upon something more brilliant than we could have imagined. Waterfalls, bridges, massive stones and creeks decorated the park. This was a far cry from the smells and noises of the city just blocks away.

Scavenger Hunt goodies.

There was one more thing that I really wanted to do...
I love adventures. I really don't care if I get lost. It doesn't bother me to talk to people I do not know and I love being in new places.
Andy on the other hand can go for the adventure portion of the package but the rest of it makes Andy  turn inside out. If Andy had to talk to someone he does not know he would rather cut off his tongue first. Andy is the master at navigating. He does not like to get lost and is very skilled with a map. This does not mean he doesn't get lost. But what it does mean is that if he does get lost he is no longer having fun.
So the idea o presented to Andy sounded like a nightmare. But then the idea he tagged me on sounded equally as bad therefore we found ourselves both stepping out of our box in compromise.

My Presentation: Ing was doing a scavenger hunt throughout the city. They had stations set up in all 5 borough's where I will be running tomorrow. At each location you received a branded gift after you Facebook or tweeted "orangemoney" and "nycm". It sounded like an easiest enough task....
Andys Presentation: We take "CITYBIKES" the city.

My problem with Andy's idea was I am terrible on a bike. I am very uncoordinated and a klutz. Not to mention you were driving on the road with the crazies in the city. We had no helmets to protect us from the taxis, ambulance's, pedestrians, cars and in my case, me!

It was a win win. One the bikes we went with a postcard piece of paper giving directions to all the stops we had to make.

As I wobbled on my bike with taxis just feet alongside of me I felt my heart rate sky rocket past the fear level.

We probably road  bikes about 10 miles. It was probably not the smartest idea but it was unintentional and really so much fun!
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Well Tomorrow is RACE DAY.
Please keep me in prayer. I know I did too much today. I will be thinking of Devon at mile 15. He just turned 15 and his mom asked me to pray for him at 15.
I have given mile 18 to my nephew who joined the Marines this year. I am so proud of him. I continue to pray for perseverance and strength for him.
And mile 21. That goes to Ariel. Her love for me was always unconditional. This is the rarest forms of love. The strongest forms of love. This is the kind of love that I am running for.

I have 26.2 miles of running tomorrow. Please keep me in prayer. For safety, for strength, for perseverance.

Thank you,
Anita