I was born 19 years after Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. Even though I didn’t get the chance to watch his and Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 moonwalk live, they both made a great impression on me as a kid.
If you asked me as a child who my hero was, it was Neil. My love of space ran deep and naturally, I idolized the astronauts that were brave enough to go to the moon.
So here’s to Neil Armstrong, a hero of mine who will always be more famous and special than any stupid modern-day celebrity.
In July, I ran my first 5K. For a girl who usually walked 80 percent of the miles I had to run in junior high school P.E., running roughly three and half miles was/is a big deal. I also set a goal for myself to run a 5K this year and I was so happy that I accomplished it.
My time was somewhere around 35-40 minutes. I meant to time myself, but didn’t bother and had too much fun just running the race.
The Color Run is a unique 5K: At certain intervals along the race path, volunteers hurl colored cornstarch powder at you. By the end of the race, you’re covered in a rainbow of powder and it’s awesome. This year it was at Candlestick Park in the southeastern part of San Francisco. The weather was cold and foggy, but that made running so much easier. My lovely boyfriend woke up with me at 6am on a Saturday to come cheer me on and was waiting at the finish line.
It’s been almost a month since I ran this race, but I wanted to share my experience anyway. Enjoy:
Before: I’m peppy and excited.
After: Exhausted, but triumphant from finishing my first race.
Have you ever run a race? Tell me about it in the comments.
It is not lost on me that last October I was just starting to get my writing career off the ground and now I am a reporter with Wired.com. It’s barely been one year since I received my Bachelor’s Degree.
To me, that’s crazy and amazing all at the same time. It’s not my intention to gloat, I’m just immensely proud of how far I’ve come. And to my lovely high school English teach Mrs. Probst, thank you for your inspiring words that led me down the path to becoming a writer. I wouldn’t be here without her.
What a huge difference nine months make, but I still have so much to learn.
It’s the eve of my 24th birthday.
I spent the night hanging out with my always-fun co-workers; I’m about to embark on an awesome new journey (more to come on that later); I have wonderful, loving friends; I met LeVar Burton today at work; the San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros 10 to 0; and SFGiants pitcher Matt Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in MLB history.
Life is great.
I’m on a quote kick lately. This song came up on my iPod this morning and it felt very appropriate.
It’s just a nice reminder that I came to San Francisco to do amazing things. And that I came to succeed, not fail.
I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise
To fly…
–Nikki Minaj and Rihanna
Sarah Mitroff 