My Running Buddy.

Okay so how did this start?  More appropriately.. who will I blame for my upcoming year of pain & tears but ultimately thank & be totally grateful for on October 9, 2011?  My friend and running buddy, Catie.  I met Catie in modern dance class my junior year at Marist (I was the worst dancer in the class and she was the best).  We clicked and became housemates our senior year.  She's super funny, outgoing and weird.  We like to do awesome things together like plan unusually themed parties, steal things and play pranks on others.  In other words, my maturity level drops 98% when we're together.

I had originally planned to run the Music City 1/2 Marathon and had chatted about it with Catie one afternoon.  She had already signed up to run the Portland Marathon (she lives in Yonkers now but is originally from Oregon) and we talked about becoming training buddies.  You know... to swap stories, advice, and just be there when training gets tough.  But what's the sense of being training buddies but ultimately run two completely different races (and lengths for that matter)?  So somehow the crazy girl convinced me to add 13.1 additional miles to my already exhausting journey and run the full marathon with her.

I'm super excited for the road ahead.  Especially since I finally get to visit the West Coast.  Nashville is the farthest West I've ever been.  I might love Portland too much and never come back.  It's a risk I'm willing to take.

{Lets pretend this is us making a pact to run a marathon together one day}

{Catie and me on a good day}