Better Than the Alternative Tuesdays: Fast Friends

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s a short week for most of you because of the holiday so the weekend is almost here for most of you. Woohoo!

Tuesdays are normally such a ho-hum day of the week except for when they are Better Than the Alternative Tuesdays here at Run Stronger Every Day! BTAT were born out of the necessity to kick myself every once in a while and be reminded why it’s better to be here versus the alternative.

Amen, sister.

I was long running last Friday and had the pleasure of meeting up with a fellow runner whom I’d met over Twitter. GB is a native New Yorker, newbie runner, and all-around fitness connoisseur.

Basically, he’s the Kevin Bacon of the NYC fitness scene. He knows someone at almost every studio and is the lynchpin in the web of boutique fitness. Oh, and he’s one of the most genuinely generous, sweet guys I’ve ever met.

GB, gettin his 5K on. Whatta guy.

We trekked about 5 miles down the West Side Highway together in the ridiculous humidity and chatted the whole way. GB is a phenomenal guy with a big heart. We were Fast Friends right away. He also hand-delivered a very special accessory for me.

My new workout jewelry.

This little band is for another Fast Friend of mine, Ali. I crashed Ali’s date and fan-girled her at 16 Handles two years ago. We continued to run into each other out and about town doing fitness stuff and in the park running. We were Fast Friends who bonded over our love of all things sweaty and sweet AND having a super-sexy disease.

Yo, buddy. #SweatingForAli

And of course there’s Birdie who was a Fast Friend and is a very FAST Friend. She’s my School Wife. And smart. And generous. And seriously an awesome runner. And inspired me to lose the shirt on a blistering hot run the other day.

Gotta wear the shades whilst running nekkid. I feel less awkward that way…don’t know why.

These Fast Friends, and so many more,make it easy to join groups, open up, and feel at home in this big “bad” city.

They make walking into a fitness class or group run feel like walking into my version of Cheers. No one thinks I’m a freak or gross because of what I have or what I’ve been through or how very, very much I sweat (my apologies to everyone at Refine Method for that one).

That tiny spot is the color my shirt was pre-13 miles. No, it wasn’t raining.

There is no such thing as TMI with Fast Friends cuz they get you right away.

Here’s to the people who are your friends right off the bat, the Fast Friends. You guys are so awesome and so supportive and so welcoming right off the bat. Thanks for being your badass selves. You guys make today way Better Than the Alternative.

Who makes your Tuesday BTAT?

Now go out and run.