Front Runners Pride Run 5M

Friday morning, Wylee, our very cute puppy-child (He's actually 8, but we call him puppy) got super sick and I spent most of the day freaking out about it. He was diagnosed with a serious ear infection that really messed up his equilibrium which caused him to wobble when he walked and fall down a lot. Do you know much fun it is carrying a scared 60pd dog up and down stairs or in a cab to go to a vet by yourself? Spoiler alert: It's not (although he is good sitting in a car, for the record). It was a long day to say the least and after all that, looking at 5AM wakeup calls all weekend was not as exciting as I thought it might be. Progress report: he's doing much better, thank goodness! 

But moving on to the race- can someone please explain why races in June start at 9AM?! It's too late and it's too hot. That seems like a winter race start, not summer. Luckily, we had some overcast this year, but it was still pretty brutal. I did, however, forget most of the frustrations thanks to multiple sprinklers being on the course and the famous popsicle at the end made up for a lot of it. 

I love that this race course is unique, almost as much as I hate it. It starts of at the 102 Transverse (where the race day festivities are set up) and you go counterclockwise through the top and middle loop of Central Park. This means Harlem Hill is in your 1st mile and Cat Hill is in your 2nd to last. That's just plain cruel, in my opinion. 

I was excited to run into Gabby at the start, Megan at the finish and a couple of TNTers on the course. It's always nice to see familiar faces and catch up. I had been spoiled, then on my own for a couple of races. Even though I can be a fan of the huge NYRR anonymity, it really makes a difference to see people you know. 

Sadly, I didn't experience any of the exciting energy I was expecting to see, especially after the SCOTUS decision earlier this week. But I'm also a slow runner, and I didn't get a chance to participate in any of the post- race fun, so maybe I missed it, which totally bums me out. I did talk with a runner who had run the race the past 4 years and he also noticed it was a lot more subdued than years past. Maybe they were all holding out for the parade. I did notice there were a lot more people dressed up, though. Last year, I wore my gold sparkle skirt and felt very alone, this year, I would've been more comfortable! 

I'm hoping next year I can get to the after party at Boxer's. I also say every year I'm going to join Front Runners (funny story, when I first started running I thought that meant they were only really fast runners) so hopefully this is the year for that, but more on that later. 

My absolute favorite part of the morning was being greeted by the smell of bacon when I got home. I wasn't expecting breakfast! It was the greatest surprise ever :) I'm a lucky lucky girl.

Did you do anything special for pride?