the best letter of recommendation i have ever read.
(via fuckyeahtheboss)
The success brought me an audience. It also separated me from all the things I had been trying to make my connections to my whole life. And it frightened me because I understood that what I had of value was at my core, and that core was rooted into the place I’d grown up, the people I’d known, the experiences I’d had. If I move away from those things into a sphere of just — freedom of pure license to go about your life as you so desire… without connections — that’s where a lot of the people I admired had drifted away from, the essential things that made them great. And more than rich, and more than famous and more than happy, I wanted to be great.”
— Bruce Springsteen
my favorite song in the world. what’s yours?
Only the strong survive.

I am going to be posting more because the weather’s nice and I am having a lot more adventures lately.
So, I completed my fifth marathon yesterday at the Jersey Shore. I can’t really say why I do these things, other than an inherent passion I have for setting goals and achieving them. This race was MUCH different than the other races I’ve run for a number of reasons. First, it was a relay marathon so the vast majority of runners were in teams of five. I ran in the “Ironwoman” division which means my team had one person - me!
The course spanned 26.2 miles between Seaside Heights and Asbury Park. I was particularly excited to end the race in AP, given the obvious ties to my favorite person ever, one Mr. Bruce Springsteen.

^This is the bar Bruce and Co. used to jam at back in the day. So awesome!
Unlike other races I’ve run, the course wasn’t just on roads. Much of this race was on the boardwalk — similar to the Atlantic City race I ran in November — and there were even parts that went across bridges, athletic fields and gravel roads. There were also no mile markers, which was VERY different than I am used to. I had a lot of steam left at the end so I wish I hadn’t been so conservative in the last 3 miles. That aside, it felt awesome crossing the finish at 3:26:40 with Blue Oyster Cult blasting in my iPod. I ended up picking up first in the Ironwoman division which scored me a pretty sweet duffle bag, sweatshirt and trophy.
As a gift to myself I bought some new AF1s to kick around in. I’m already obsessed with them!