My first post - and my longest run to date.

This is my first attempt at a blog - so you will have to bare with me. Anyway, I got started on running again about 2 months ago - inspired by my running partner Danny who ran his first marathon last year. So - we had been running shorter runs - see his blog for most of those runs - and then we decided to run in the New Haven Road Race, which was a fun run through New Haven where the people are great. I met a bunch of Danny's blogger friends who are all really cool and really inspired me to take my running to the next level.

Danny and our other running partner Sara decided they were going to train for a half marathon, I think in Philly - but alas, I didn't think I would be ready - and since I am in my 4th year of medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and will be playing doctor that month wasn't realistic for me. So after some web searching I found the perfect answer - the Las Vegas Half Marathon - 13.1 grueling miles - enough to grind my knees and menisci into dust. What an awesome excuse to go to Vegas for the weekend.

And so began our training - it's been really hard for me to run the last couple of weeks - as I am doing an elective at NYU Medical Center in Gynecologic Oncology - meaning specializing in cancers of the female pelvis and working crazy hours - really rewarding but hard work. But have managed to get a couple additional runs each week in on the treadmill besides my longer Sunday run.

So today - I proposed a loop of Central Park - 6 miles - longer than any of us had done in a long time, longest for me and Sara - not nearly Danny's longest :). And today I found out that I am halfway to being a real runner! Thanks to my chafing t-shirt I had 2...not 1...but 2! blooody nipples! Woohoo! I have arrived. No runner's toenail yet - but hopefully soon. My left knee has been bothering me a lot - I am sure that I will post many posts about it - not fun going up and down stairs - but it held up well throughout most of the run. I really got into it towared the end and kicked up the pace in the last mile or so - I felt really good at the end - just in time to finish. I finished in about 64 minutes - just over a 10minute/mile pace - I had been doing about 8:40 on the treadmill, but I think that the last mile for me was much faster. I think I need to get my speed up a little bit - my supreme goal is 2 hours for the half marathon which is a 9:10 pace, we will see.

After a long winded breakfast in the city - we went back to the Bronx...home sweet home...for some well deserved rest. Here's to long runs!

Thanks Danny and Sara for making it an amazing morning - back to the hospital bright and early tomorrow morning. Hopefully at least another 10 miles this week. Time to consider buying a second pair of sneakers.

Cheers!