Ran the Urban Environmental Challenge 10K in Van Cortland Park up in the Bronx today. Was nice to get together with some PPTCers & the hubs on an extremely beautiful, sunny Sunday morning.

Course was identical to last year...trails full of rocks, leaves & the every-so-often patch of mud. Started off too fast, as usual, but fought my way to finishing third overall female. My legs definitely felt yesterday's run, but in general I felt strong & stable. Even bettered my time last year by about one minute.

There is something so grounding about running trails, just feels natural & reminds me of growing up with nature surrounding me. Part of me feels like I retired a piece of myself when I left that life & moved to NYC, something that came out today for a moment.

H ran well, first overall female. She is something else, so relaxed & pleasant yet with such a fighting spirit. The hubs did great, looked beat up & happy. And B came out to cheer us on, which was a treat since I miss running with him.

Distance: 10K, finishing in 50:48 (remember this is a trail race full of hills)
State of Mind: My face feels burnt, my legs feel dead & my mind feels like fighting the natural calmness that comes over me when I physically beat myself up