The first 24 minutes of 2018 were spent doing what I love most…RUNNING! To be even more specific, I spent the first 24 minutes of the new year racing through Central Park in New York City in sub-zero degree wind chills. Considering the fact that I’m the girl that’s always freezing, simply being outside on New Years Eve in NYC was a stretch for me. Now throw in the fact that I was attempting to move my body as quickly as possible, and I was definitely out of my element. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t change the way I rang in the new year in any way.
At 11:15 pm on December 31st, 2017, after taking a shot of Fireball (yes, that’s right, I TOOK A SHOT OF FIREBALL), my brother and I set out on our warm-up run towards Central Park. Dressed in 2 layers of socks, 2 layers of tights, 2 long-sleeve shirts, 3 jackets, gloves, hand-warmers, a hat, and a face mask, I was as ready as I would ever be. As frigid as it was, I couldn’t help but smile as I looked over at my brother running next to me. Yes, we were slightly insane- but insane in the absolute best sense of the word.
Fast forward through a couple miles, some drills and strides, and it was time to get on the start line of the NYRR 2018 Midnight Run. As I was standing a few feet back from the line, I looked up and saw a few of the elites, including Molly Seidel (who ended up first female overall) and the adrenaline and excitement began to pump through my veins. It was almost time…
The countdown to the start of 2018 coincided with the countdown of the race. You could hear music blaring and people chanting down the seconds; 5-4-3-2-1 and we were off! As soon as we started, fireworks lit up the night sky. It was the coolest start of any race I have ever run. For the first few minutes I couldn’t even feel myself running; I was simply being propelled forward by the energy and exuberance of my surroundings. With lights illuminating the midnight sky and runners all around me, I was filled with pure joy (and also pure numbness due to the -5 degree wind chill factor). 🙂
Approaching mile one, it was clear that the four elite females were in their own race and I would be battling for fifth. We came through the mile almost 20 seconds slower than I expected, but considering the elements, I just told myself to focus on the race itself and forget about the splits. For the next couple miles, it was just me and the ponytail of the girl in front of me. Her coach/friend was running with her and I would randomly hear him yell snippets of words that were definitely not English (after the race I googled her and it turns out Russian was the language of choice). The girl was throwing surges left and right, but we came through mile 3 neck and neck. I decided to make a break for it and pushed up the incoming hill; but she wouldn’t be broken. On that final mile, I kept telling myself to push harder, but my body didn’t seem to want to respond. I ended up 6th female overall, with the Russian beating me by a little less than 5 seconds. At the end of the day, while I wanted to be top 5, placing 6th, under conditions that I have never even come close to running in, isn’t anything to complain about.
About 30 seconds after I crossed the line, I heard “ADRIANA!”. It was my boyfriend who had been STANDING outside in the sub-zero temperatures for the past 30 minutes waiting for my brother and I to finish. If I thought I was cold, he was utterly frozen. Now that’s what I call love 🙂
After a slow mile trot cool down, we found our people and headed home. Around 3am, after showering and getting some food, I was finally able to let the past few hours sink in. That race was hands down one of the craziest (and COLDEST) things I have ever done, but it was also one of the most memorable. Would I do it again? That is still tbd, but one thing is for certain- if 2018 resembles anything like those first few minutes, it will be a year worth remembering. Cheers to the New Year- may it be filled with moments where we are so overcome with joy and happiness that we are brought to our knees…because our dreams have become reality.
