New Jersey Marathon
Yesterday I ran my first marathon for run2buildschools and Nepal. I ran it with a heavy heart with the recent earthquake events. I decided to run with a different shirt that I “designed” to show my support and love for the entire country. I was so humbled by the spectators’ reaction to my shirt. I got lots of hugs and tremendous support from them. Many people shouted “We are with Nepal”, “Nepal is strong”! It was really beautiful, I felt the LOVE!
I had a new PR. Last year I ran my first marathon (NYC Marathon) and my time was 5 hours and 7 minutes. Yesterday I shaved off 30 minutes of my time!!! My final time was 4 hours 37 minutes.
Here are bunch of pictures to show you what kind of day was yesterday. It was beautiful. Enjoy!
I was so sad to read the news about Nepal. I went to Target, got a new shirt, came home and did this. These are the names of my donors. Inside the heart are the names of my dear friends from Nepal. Maya lives in NY now and I am going to have dinner with her family tomorrow night. I cant’ wait! ❤
My dear friend and wonderful designer, Susana Monaco, designed run2buildschools tights for me! I love them. I’m so excited for our sportswear line to come out soon. ALL proceeds will go to run2buildschools and buildOn.
This was my number!
Around mile 11, I saw Coach Sid (taking the picture), Coach Asteria (on the right) and Lauren with her adorable daughter. It was the perfect time and moment to see them. It brought so much joy to my heart and it pumped me up with so much energy. I left crying, got very emotional.
I love this picture!!! My friend Nancy took it. This is right before I finished. After I crossed the line I cried again. Haha, I don’t know what’s wrong with me…I cry so easily these days. But it felt quite amazing when I crossed that line. I thought of Nepal, Maya and Shirish. ❤
I was so happy when I finished!
Pretty medal!
I decided to give my medal to Maya who is going to Nepal in July. Maya is from Nepal. I just wanted to show my support to her country. I did donate to Red Cross (please see how you can help Nepal) but I wanted to make it a bit more special and really show Maya how much her country means to me. First stop from the marathon was at Maya’s job in Brooklyn, right by my house. It was so emotional when we saw each other. We just hugged and kissed, couldn’t say a word to each other.
Maya and I! I love these pictures. Maya is soooo CUTE!!! ❤
This is at the store where I do my grocery shopping. With my dear friends Phoo (right next to me) and Maya. Phoo is from Myanmar, I will go one day and visit her country.
For lunch Nancy and I decided to go for sushi and beer 🙂 We went across the street from where I live since I could barely walk at this point. Sushi was great but cold pint was heaven!
Nancy and I! ❤
Good times!
Haha, this is me waiting for the check in the restaurant. After beer and lots of food I just wanted to sleep! Love that Nancy captured this moment. I was so tired.
Once I got home, I took this little pumpkin for a walk. I was so happy to get home and see Chubby! ❤ He is my friends’ adorable dog that I am babysitting now.
Selfie Time!!! I love Chubby Pie so much! ❤
And then finally my ice bath!!! I always take ice bath after long runs. They really help me recover much faster. I’m going to take one more tonight!
I want to take this moment and thank my wonderful donors! I want you to know that I could NEVER fulfill my dreams without your support and encouragement. It truly means the world to me. I found this cute drawing from an amazing artist. I love it. It’s exactly how I feel. Together we can be so much stronger and can do wonderful things in the World! I love you all. ❤
