You know in movies when the lead character walks away from a massive explosion in slow motion? That's sort of what it feels like to watch your story go viral. My name is Kelly, and I'm the one who brought you #HottGuysOfTheNYCHalf. It all started when my friend took the photos that I live Instagram-ed during the race and created a Buzzfeed Community article. Four hours later, I had completed my first phone interview with Good Morning America. So how did I manage to run a half marathon and post to Instagram at the same time? Here's a play-by-play of what actually happened that cold NYC Half day.
Thirty minutes before my alarm, I woke to a stomach full of butterflies. I went about my race day rituals, trying to ignore my anxieties about how I would perform. The NYC Half was my fifth half marathon, but I wasn't always an avid runner. I actually just started running Thanksgiving Day 2012. At that time, I had just been rejected by the guy I was dating, and I was feeling depressed and restless. The gym was closed so I got up to go for a run, but I didn't even get to the end of my street when, out of breath, I had to walk. (So I suppose I really should say I went for a walk.) But my best friend Irene encouraged me to stick with it, and two months later I ran my first half marathon (albeit undertrained and chafing in places I didn't even know existed). It was the most incredible thing I've ever done and I was hooked—which brings us to the NYC Half.
Thanks to the Polar Vortex and the amount of snow that was dumped on Manhattan this winter, I hadn't trained as much as I had hoped. I spent most of my training with my arch nemesis the treadmill so I rarely ran over four miles. But despite the nerves and butterflies, I was giddy with excitement. I ate breakfast, got dressed, put on some sunscreen and my trusty waterproof Covergirl mascara and took the subway to Central Park.
MORE: What's a Runner’s High, Exactly?
Ready, Set...Smile!
The sun was just beginning to rise over Manhattan's skyline and thousands of spandex-clad runners sporting trash bags and foil blankets huddled tightly together to keep warm. I was doing a pre-race dance (to Beyoncé) to keep warm and trying to calm my nerves when all of the sudden I noticed a handsome runner standing behind me. If there's one thing you can count on at a race, there will be handsome men of all shapes and sizes running. Single and ready to mingle? Pick up running! I went to take a very creepy selfie with said hottie to text to my sister when I thought, "What if I find a different hot guy and take a selfie for every mile of the race?" Thoroughly amused, I snapped my first selfie, quickly captioned it "ladies and gents, I present to you #hottguysofthenychalf," posted it to Instagram and off I went.
Once my hands and feet defrosted I began 'hottie hunting'. We hit mile one quicker than I anticipated and I tried to adjust my pace when a tall handsome gentleman passed me on my right. I sped up to get in front of him and positioned myself to grab the picture. Trying to run, take a selfie, find a filter, come up with a caption and stay out of people's way is NOT easy! It's like juggling fire. [Disclaimer: I have never juggled fire. This is an assumption.]
Catching a selfie with a hottie in Times Square was impossible. I couldn't handle the excitement that had come over me as I experienced Times Square without having to fend off the vendors asking me "if I like comedy" or having to dodge the awkward Elmo and Cookie Monsters. Unfortunately, I ended up with blurry photo after blurry photo. I cut my losses, posted a blurry hottie photo, and ran towards the West Side Highway—and toward a man wearing the shortest pair of running shorts ever worn in 30-degree weather. Instagramming him was obviously a no brainer. A few miles later, I approached a man whose locks were flowing in the breeze like a Disney prince—snap!
As we passed The Freedom Tower I set my sights on my twelfth hottie, an overwhelmingly handsome blonde man sporting an Equinox gym tee. I sprinted after him into The Battery Park Underpass, but I couldn't catch him! Every time I got in front of him, he'd sprint past me; now that I think about it, maybe he was onto my selfie game. I lost track of how far into the 12th mile I was and wanted to make sure I had enough energy to power through the finish. Luckily, there was another Instagram-worthy hottie to my right.
MORE: 6 Surprising Ways to Prepare for a Race
The #Winning Strategy
Suddenly I realized that I had been so entertained and preoccupied with chasing hot guys, I didn't even have to time think about being cold or tired. I typically have a hard time breaking my stride when I run a race, so having the welcome distraction of finding a hot guy to take a selfie with every mile actually made me unintentionally run intervals! If there is one thing I am willing to sprint for, it's a handsome gentleman. And maybe a cupcake. Now if only I could get hot guys to run with cupcakes...
Then, in the blink of an eye, I crossed the finish line and it was all over. Catching my breath, I looked around to get my final selfie. The heavens must have opened up to me as I found two hotties (for the price of one) for a photo finish. I collected my foil blanket, medal, swag bag, and personal bag and followed the throng of runners into the Concrete Jungle. The NYC Half was the most fun race I have ever run. I laughed the entire way and I ended up running it in two hours, one minute, and one second: my second best half marathon time to date.
Are my 'hottie hunting' days over? Absolutely not! The Brooklyn Half is right around the corner and I have my sights set on breaking two hours; so there will be plenty of training, selfies, and hopefully, hotties! You can follow me at @KellyKKRoberts or keep up with me as I run New York on my new blog www.RunSelfieRepeat.com.
MORE: If You're Thinking of Running a Marathon This Year...
Powered by WPeMatico
No comments:
Post a Comment