Guys!!! If you haven’t been to Icahn Stadium, you have to check it out! I always love it there. I had been there a few times for the Adidas Grand Prix, or the Tuesday Night Series, or other events. For example, I was there the week before for the Strava Mile (and was ready to get there again). That track is just so nice! Being that is not in the city, it’s never super crowded and it just looks brand new. But it’s really a couple of miles away or just a few minutes away on the train+bus. You can find out more about Icahn here.

There was a huge track meet last Thursday and if you signed up for the Road 5K, you got entry to the meet too so why not sign up? I made the decision the day before so I wasn’t really on race mode (I had done a lot of miles that week including 5x1000s two days before!) but #everythingisaworkout right? So, I just jumped in and signed up the day before!

I run to the stadium (under 2 miles from the Upper East Side) through the 103th St Footbridge. Randall’s Island is quite nice to run on. November Project has a workout there once a month and I always love it. Juan just walked there so I saw him on the way and we met up at the stadium, as well as EVERYBODY else.

The stadium was bopping! Really. Sometimes when I show at these races I feel like I am 16 going dancing: I get ready and I look forward to it, and I show up and everyone is there and it’s so fun and we’re all sweaty and a mess and we have fun and we’re all yelling and giggling, and then we go home exhausted and so happy. Ah, to be 16 again. I just rather show up at a race these days than the club.

There was not a lot of picture taking because Juan went out to cheer and took my stuff (bye phone!) but here is one that Helen took!

Soon, we all lined up in the track. There were no corrals but Alison and I got in there and waited for the fun gun. There was about 310 meters in the track and then we were out in the Island. The course was great. I think it was the first 5K I run in this city that was flat. It was a bit out right on the island’s edge, some on the bike road, some on some sort of briddle path with stones (which my flats didn’t like). Then I saw Juan cheering and taking pictures!

At the end, we make a turn into the track and run the last stretch to the clock there. That is always fun. And fast!

I paced it pretty well like a tempo, even effort, controlled breathing and nothing crazy. I finished in 22:22. My splits were so insanely even… 7:14, 7:13, 7:15 and the last bit at 6:35 pace. Talk about control and pacing!!!!!

Soon after, we all headed for the stands to catch all the action! When we took this picture, it seems like we were missing something.

I spotted Allyson Felix right on the track and Alison and I took a selfie with her in the back and she played. For the 100000 time, I suck at selfies, so don’t judge. Am I aging myself?

But she’s too cool, way cool, so this happened!

Then I am just walking and I stop. I saw someone who looked a lot like Nick Symmonds, on our side of the stadium (where the people are watching, not where Allyson was, on the track), in socks, talking to someone down on the track but what would Nick Symmonds be doing up here? Is it really him? and why is no one bothering him for pictures as I want to do? Am I hallucinating? Is it really really Nick? Could it be? Hello… he turns around, it’s HIM. Oh, I have really nothing to say actually. Luckily there’s Instagram, and I follow him there, so I feel like I know him and could totally ask him things. We chatted for a few seconds (he is always SO nice) and then got a picture and then EVERYONE around us picked up on the fact that OMG THAT IS NICK SYMMONDS OMG OMG. So I just went back to hug Juan and tell him all about it…!

So, we stayed the whole night. Yes, Ms Elizabeth that goes to sleep at 8 pm stays up until 11 pm for special circumstances. At the end of each event some of the track stars would throw up to the crowd their team shirt… Juan just caught Stephanie Garcia’s shirt, which was also almost his size. Not as lucky as spotting Nick but there’s that!

I am not gonna lie, I was bit distracted watching Nick drink ALL night, with Allyson Felix and Bernard Lagat.

It was so much fun. As much I as can’t even try the hurdles and steeplechase, they are SOOO exciting to watch. Of course the 800s are usually the most exciting.

For the men’s 800 we all actually lined the track. Is that a thing? It was pretty cool… What a night.

Juan and I walked home.