Dear Friends,
Hi! I just wanted to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to all for another wonderful year in AREC. This club is very special to me, not only because of the common love we share for running but because of the friendships that are developed from our shared experiences. The kind of support we offer each other is unlike no other. This is continually evident to me as we offer our concern when one is injured or when we ask each other about upcoming or past races and how it went.
I ran the ING New York City Marathon on November 6th and although I did not finish as well as I had hoped, (too much sight-seeing in the days prior and not enough of staying hydrated, getting rest, etc, etc.!) I was able to be a part of one of the greatest marathons around. It was truly an exhilarating experience on so many levels. Everything was surreal. From the expo, where I got to meet Paul Tergat (men's world record holder and winner of the NYC marathon) to chatting with Dean Karnazes (ultra-marathoner). Traveling through the city and taking in the sights and sounds of the Big Apple to race day where you will experience the most well-organized race around considering there were just under 37,000 participants. (While waiting for 3 hours until the start, listening to all of the foreign languages around me, I even ran into fellow AREC runner, Katy Thomas! That was a great treat!) Finally the race itself, where the streets are lined with New Yorkers cheering you on (yes, 26.2 miles worth of crowds!) to the physical and mental battles of finishing a grueling marathon, with unusually warm weather conditions, 5 boroughs and 5 bridges later…it was the race and experience of a lifetime!
Thank you to all who gave their support during my training: Bob, Bernard, Roberta, Emmett, Colleen, Rich and so many others! Thank you to Roberta who tried to meet up with me after the race--you're the best! Thanks to Brian C. who tracked my results online and being the fast runner that he is, said to me when I returned, "You ran a negative split!" to which I replied, "Really? But it was still slow!" And then he said something that just blew me away, Yeah, but I've never run a negative split in a marathon!" (As I'm thinking, yeah, but who cares when you run as fast as you do!) Still, that's the kind "of support I was talking about earlier. That’s the kind of talk that makes me feel like a runner, even though I’m slower! As I always tell my students, it’s not about winning or how fast you are, it’s about trying you’re best and always finishing.
And speaking of my students, I wanted to share a photo of a couple of my students and I at the LA Cancer Challenge back on October 30th. We ran to support Heather and the Hirshberg Foundation! My kids and I had a great time and one student even came in 5th in her division and won a medal. But of course, the most important part of it all (besides brunch afterwards at Marie Callender’s), was finishing the race and having a good time doing it!
As for next month’s “A Running Experience with…” column, I will instead have my 2nd Annual New Year Running Resolutions! Please let me know what your 2006 Running Resolution is at the next Wednesday run or via e-mail at tam_premsrirath@yahoo.com or you can call me at 310-435-1507! Please let me know by Dec. 30th so that I can submit the article to Emmett ontime! Thank you for your continued support! Go AREC!
Love, Tam