Let’s Do This Again Next Weekend

Can every weekend be just like this one?  I’ve already told Bo that I’m ready to repeat this weekend again anytime!

A great 12 mile run to kick of marathon training!

Celebrating Laura’s birthday over beers in the middle of the afternoon!

Toasting and celebrating the official arrival of Meg to the city now that she and her roommates have signed their lease. IMG_3391

Sharing our love of omelets  with some of our dear friends over brunch at our home Sunday morning. 

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Loving every second of Newsies!

From the amazing dance skills which Ali could tell you about all day, the catchy tunes, the use of different media types, the moving set, and the catchy tunes that left Meg and I tapping our toes all evening.

Enjoying a Sunday night dinner that Bo brought back from the sea after a Saturday spent scuba diving off the coast of New York! These were the best mussels ever, not only because Bo brought them back himself but also because they were perfectly briny and the white wine sauce had the perfect balance of cream and vegetables!

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And, just because I wanted to end the weekend on a high point, I forgot my swimsuit at home on the bed even though Bo and I had great plans of swimming at Columbus Circle together. Luckily, the silver lining was that this allowed me to watch the sun shine through the trees as I enjoyed four humid miles in Central Park.

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Yes, if the weekend has to end then I’m okay ending it with the sun smiling down on me as I take in the gorgeous area that I call home.

How was your weekend?

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A Long, Cold Run in Central Park

What a whirlwind week it’s been! Last night I was able to get on the earlier flight back to New York from Las Vegas but still didn’t get home until 2am. Unfortunately, Marc, my co-worker, and I learned an important lesson last night. If you land in New York City after 11pm at anytime the taxi stand manager said that cabs only arrive every five to ten minutes. Therefore, we waited in the cold for over an hour.

After crawling into bed around 2:30, I slept like a rock until almost 1pm. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck, not refreshed at all. I guess that’s what happens after being crammed in a middle seat of a six hour flight.

I ate brunch while relaxing with Bo, catching up on our weeks. I knew that the only thing on my agenda today was to do a seven miler in Central Park. Therefore my brunch was toast, peanut butter, and a banana paired with a G Series Fit.

002 003 After checking the weather report a few times, hoping that it would miraculously go from 22 degrees to 43 degrees in the hour before my run. Unfortunately that didn’t happen so I bundled up and got stoked to log the miles.

010 Okay, maybe excited isn’t the right word to use. I was apprehensive of how my body would react to running seven miles after running three days in a row, traveling across the United States, and feeling very dehydrated. image

I ran up Lexington Avenue and then cut over to Central Park so that I could ensure that my miles included hills. The half marathon I’m training for has a number of large hills which means that I can’t be fully prepared unless I spend each long run in the park.

Luckily, I enjoyed this run more than I expected because it was my first chance to enjoy Central Park during the winter outside of a race. It was serene, quieter than normal, and the barren trees gave the entire park an eerie feel.

These flags, in front of The Plaza Hotel, show just how windy it was ruing the entire run.

011 012I waved goodbye to the statues and headed into Central Park with a goal of keeping 10:00 pace during these middle miles after my two slower warm-up miles towards the park. 014 015 016019 020 021Right before my first round of hills I had two Honey Stingers which I absolutely loved! I’ve never tried these before but am in love. The pink lemonade flavor wasn’t too sour or sweet and they didn’t irritate my stomach.

022024 Instead of doing one round of Cat Hill and Harlem Hills I switched my run up today and did Cat Hill once and Harlem Hills in both direction due to turning around at 110th and 7th Avenue. Through the cold wind and freezing temperatures, along with a few fun snow flurries, I kept my pace at 9:58 until my final mile where my legs were showing their exhaustion. Instead of pushing them too hard I did my last mile at 10:03.

These are the runs that make me a stronger runner. By doing my best to run each long training run in the park, my legs will slowly but surely become adjusted to the hills and I’ll be able to power up them, as Gia requests, versus dreading them.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to enjoy a long bath with a shake and some bath salts.

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Don’t forget to enter the Friday the 13th Gaiam giveaway!

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A Nighttime Run in Central Park

Tonight I had the most amazing evening with the lovely and speedy Gia! My new running coach met me in Central Park after a long day of work for a diagnostic run.

I ran a mile from the office to meet her and was thrilled with the crisp, cool weather. I wasn’t sure how to dress for the weather and unsure of how much the temperature would drop. Luckily my crop pants, marathon finisher shirt, and marathon jacket was perfect!

The city was glistening with evening and holiday lights of white, red, and green!

003 (640x478) 004 (640x478)Once I met up with Gia the learning started immediately! Did you know that every lamp post in Central Park is labeled to help runners find their way? For example, this lamp post is on the West side of the city at 59th and 7th Avenue. Pretty cool eh?

005 (478x640)We spent the next 4.3 miles catching up, rehashing my marathon experience, talking about blogs, and enjoying the evening. This was my first true night time run in Central Park and I’m please to report that we both felt very safe! There were other runners, dog walkers, and a Central Park safety patrol in the park as well.

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We started our run with a 1 mile warm-up and then did some interval work for the remaining 2.5 miles before doing a 3/4 mile cool down. It was an amazing fete that I was able to keep up a conversation during our run as our average pace ended up being 9:44 which is not normally my “conversational pace.”

I’ll be sharing more about our training and my goals in the coming week as Gia is putting together my National Half Marathon training program this weekend! While Marc was a great first coach and served the purpose during the marathon, I’m really looking forward to working with someone whom I know personally, has run many half and full marathons, is located in New York City, and has now run along side me!

008 (640x478) 009 (640x478) I am hoping that I can make a week night run a regular part of my training routine as this really helped calm me down after a long and stressful day. Now that I’m home I feel very relaxed and ready for bed!

I’m off to spend a few minutes stretching and foam rolling! Good night!

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