New York Running

Cupcake Wars

2012-01-24T07:36:00.000-08:00

Everyone and anyone that knows me, knows I am obsessed with cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes are so simple and easy, and so delicious at the same time. I do a pretty good job about keeping myself a good distance from cupcakes at all times. Unfortunately yesterday I had myself a mini cupcake war.

There was a birthday at work which resulted in an insane amount of cupcakes. There were easily enough cupcakes for everyone in the office to have at least 5. The other downside was they all were in my office. Not even that, but they all were directly in front of my desk. It was painful! I felt like I was on a Biggest Loser episode when they have a food challenge and everyone has all their favorite foods in front of them.....and then try not to eat them. It was rough. I give myself credit that from 8:30-11 I sat with them in front of me and didn't eat a single one. Around 11:04 it all fell apart.

Totally caved. 100%. In my defense, when they do these challenges on Biggest Loser, the food goes away after a few minutes or you get a prize for eating something. The cupcakes did not go away and I did not get a prize. I was the clear loser in the cupcake war.

Other then my cupcake meltdown, I have been trying hard to stay on track with my eating. I know a big part of my work for the 1/2 marathon is eating healthier. I also did a 2.5 mile run this morning. It was supposed to be 4, but between tired legs and crammed time for work, it turned into 2.5. I feel good though about getting back on track and ready for the 1/2! Only 53 days till the race!!!!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Things I learned on a snowy day

2012-01-22T06:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first real snow NY has gotten this season, well unless you count the weird storm on Halloween. From this snow storm I learned many things...

1. My car is not built for snow, at all. My brakes don't like it and don't understand how to work in it.

2. It can cost $132 to send something from NY to Colorado over night...true story

3. People at Planet Fitness will still judge and look at you like you're insane because you drove to the gym while it was snowing.

4. The grocery store is just as busy after a snow storm as it is the day before a snow storm.

5. Dunkin donuts coffee can make my day 100% better.

6. I no longer am a fan of snow.

Luckily it's not snowing today so I'm pretty happy. I joined Planet Fitness yesterday and went with the no contract plan. I got a free shirt (sweet!) and a place to run when it's snowy/cold. I'm pretty excited about it and think this will work out best for me. I'm already back on track with my training plan. I ran 5 miles yesterday, slow, but still I got it done.

I also bought a new yoga mat the other day :) It's from lululemon, of course. So much better for at home pilates! It also will be nice for my morning stretching. I am slowly getting better at the stretching, again slowly being the key word.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend! Happy Sunday!

The last pieces of the DC plan

2012-01-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

You all may have noticed a lack of running in my weekend recap. I am one of those people that hates cold. I mean full on hatred of it. So far the winter hadn't been bad at all. 40 degrees? Sure I'll go run! 10 degrees? Sure I'll go sit on the couch in sweatpants! I knew the cold was going to be a problem with my half marathon training. Luckily, I've been able to run outside for a while now without issue. This last weekend though was a problem for me. It was freezing out, and some ice as well. I don't deal well with ice either.

I told myself I would just power through the winter months and be fine. After this past weekend though I can tell that wont happen. I know myself well enough that if running outside in the cold is my only option, no running will get done. I decided instead of continuing to be in denial and saying I'll run even if it's freezing, I'd join a gym. I know this is a simple answer for most people, however it took me a little while to actually decide I wanted to do this. For starters, I don't want to pay basically anything to go to the gym. This is for multiple reasons, the main one being I'm poor. Another problem is I only want to go for a few months when it is cold out. When March or April comes and it is warmer out, I will have no need for the gym anymore. This clearly means I don't want a contract for a gym. And lastly, I have the tendency to split my weekends between Westchester and Long Island. Some weekends I will be in one place, some weekends another. It would be nice if I could workout in a gym in both places.

I know, I seem a little needy, ok... a lot needy. I did find a gym that fits almost all of my ridiculous needs though. Planet Fitness works perfectly for me. It is all of maybe 10 minutes from me and I have two plan options. One plan is $10 a month (win!), no contract (win), but I can only use it in one location. The other plan is $20 a month (still a win), contract for a year(fail), but I can use it anywhere I want and bring a guest whenever I want (double win!). I haven't decided which exact plan I will choose, but Saturday morning I am signing up for one of them.

Currently I'm leaning toward the $10, no contract membership. It seems to make the most sense for me now. On weekends, it doesn't really matter where I am cause I can wait to go later in the day when it is a little warmer. Weekdays, I'll almost always be in Westchester. I need to be sure I can get up early in the morning and go to the gym to run at least two days a week. Then once it starts to get warmer out I will be able to stop the membership and run outside again!

So there it is, the rest of my plan for DC! I am in Massachusetts for the day today, work related, but back to New York tonight!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Weekend fun!

2012-01-17T05:57:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty low key weekend, which I love! Friday night I was at a wrestling match on Long Island. This was my first wrestling match and I sat pretty horrified the entire time. Every other second I thought someone was going to snap their neck. Horrifying. Saturday morning I was up pretty early, aka 6:45. Downsides to your boyfriend having work on Saturday mornings are waking up insanely early, upsides are getting to see amazing sunrises!

Saturday night I went out in Brooklyn for a friends birthday. Good time overall, but it was freezing walking around! I had a delicious margarita, a good time with friends, and the Patriots won, so in the end I was pretty happy.

Sunday I was supposed to run 5 miles. Then I found out it was all of 10 degrees outside and I chose against it. To say I don't enjoy the cold at all is an understatement. Instead I spent the day watching football and making stuffed peppers! I found a quick and easy recipe for stuffed peppers a few weeks ago and have wanted to make them since then.

Pretty easy to make. Start with cutting off the stems.

Clean out the seeds, this was Paul's job

Ready to be filled!

Cook onions and peppers

Add sausage and brown rice.

Stuff peppers with filling. Put in the oven and cook at 375 for 30 mins.

Take out of oven and put some mozzarella cheese on top then back in the oven for 15 mins.

And done!

They turned out very good, and a huge bonus is I made enough to have for dinners 3 nights this week! I'm pretty good about being able to eat the same meal multiple nights in a row, so this will be perfect for me. I pop them in the microwave for 3 mins and am ready to go!

The rest of the weekend was more relaxing time. I watched Chic Runner's (a great running blogger) wedding on WE Sunday night. It was a great episode and fun to watch! I also saw Beauty and the Beast, I know you're all jealous about that! I will say I was probably worse than the kids in the theater though with the amount of times I had to get up to go the bathroom. We also rented Horrible Bosses and Friends with Benefits, both I thought were hysterical. You will notice the lack of running in this weekend recap and overly high amount of laziness. No worries, more info on that to come tomorrow!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Slow and steady...

2012-01-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

That is a pretty good description of how 1/2 marathon training is going. I liked my plan, mostly because it had the amount of running in I needed while fitting with my life/work schedule. Unfortunately in the always changing world, my schedule did shift a little this week. I realized this could easily happen and have chosen to stand by the training plan best I can, but change it when needed. At the end of the week as long as I get all my schedule runs/workouts in, it doesn't really matter which day I do them.

I started doing pilates again this week, as it was part of my resolutions for the year. Instead of taking a class, I was able to easily do it at home after work. I of course loved it, and forgot just how much of a workout it can be. The inspiration board is really helping every day. When I get home from work and am tired, instead of changing into pj's, I see the board and quickly change into workout clothes. That was exactly what I was hoping for out of that board. My stretching every morning resolution is slowly coming along as well. The mornings I have time...aka drag my ass out of bed sooner... I stretch for about 15 minutes.

Lots of fun plans for the weekend, including running of course. I love having a long weekend as well, extra bonus day to run and relax. :) I am off for a run now. I tried to wait as long as I could for it to warm up before I headed out!

Happy Saturday everyone! Enjoy the weekend!

DC training plan!

2012-01-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

It's finally time to reveal the training plan!

I'm aware it's small, if you click on it that should fix issues! I think this will work for me. I gradually increase my long runs on Saturday, which will be a good long run day for me. I mix in my days off based on my personal/work schedule, and when I think I will need it from running. I will be doing my at home pilates and at home strength training two days a week as well. As always, you all will get updates of how it is going along the way!

Today is one of my lucky work from home days, so I will be finishing up my work and heading out for a run. I also will become an actual New York resident this afternoon at the DMV! Updates tomorrow :)

Happy Tuesday!

Inspiration Board

2012-01-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

Ok so I'm aware I was supposed to be posting the new training plan yesterday, but I have good reason that I did not! I was busy making my inspiration board! I got the idea from an awesome blogger Gina, who just had a baby so congrats to her!

The idea of the board is to give you some inspiration for any of your resolutions for the year. I thought it was a great idea and definitely wanted to make one for myself. Paul and I went out to staples today and grabbed a whole bunch of stuff to make the boards. Paul decided to do one a little different, but more on that later.

I went through magazines and pictures that depicted my resolutions and goals for the year. It took a little bit of work, but I'm proud of the result!

Yay! Inspiration!

So little description. Right in the middle is 13.1 and the Rock n Roll DC picture. This will be big for me this year, as I'm hoping it will be my best 1/2 marathon yet. Around it are pictures about running, beach, healthy food, saving money, a picture of Chicago, Home sweet home for a new place, someone stretching/pilates move so that I remember to do both, awesome abs for being healthy, and a nice beach bum. I have yet to figure out where in my room this will go, but some place I can see when I get up in the morning.

Our boards!

Paul's board is one side for goals and another side for accomplishments. It was a great idea and came out really well. Once he accomplishes one of his goals, he'll move it to the other side of the board!

Other than that, I didn't do too much else this weekend. I always love a weekend of just running errands and relaxing. Updated training plan to come tomorrow, and it will actually happen this time haha.

Happy Monday everyone!

65!

2012-01-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

65! That is in fact the temperature outside right now, on January 7! I'm sitting outside as I type this post because it is just that nice out.

Proof!

This was such a treat today, and a huge difference from my freezing Tuesday and Wednesday! I took full advantage of the weather and went for a run this afternoon. Lately I have been running around the nice flat track, and needed to get myself a little out of my comfort zone. Running near the house with some hills was different for me, but what I needed. I did 2 miles at a 10:22 pace, which I was pretty happy with. I got to wear my lulu crops and a light lulu long sleeve shirt that I usually wear under another two layers. I could of easily gone out in shorts and a short sleeve shirt, but it was January so I still was a little worried it could suddenly get freezing.

After the run I went out back for a little workout. I had big hopes to do the 100 workout today.

It was pretty rough, and I didn't even do the whole thing. I did the 100 jumping jacks, and then jumped down to do the 50 crunches, 40 squats, 30 leg lifts, and 20 more jumping jacks. I decided the 2 miles before this would cover my 10 min run. During the workout it was pretty eye opening as to just how much I need to work out my core. With my new training plan for the DC half marathon, along with my 4 days of running a week I will also add in 1 day of Pilates and another day of strength training.

I have an actual plan that starts tomorrow until race day that I will post tomorrow, once it's all colored and pretty obviously! Hope you all enjoy the rest of your Saturday! If you all are lucky like me to have a gorgeous day today, go take advantage of it!

A series of unfortunate events

2012-01-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday guys! Sorry I've been so MIA for the week. I do have (slightly) good reason for it. After getting ready to start the New Year off right, a series of unfortunate events happened on Tuesday morning. First I had to go back to work. Ok this isn't really unfortunate, or a rare event, but keep in mind I've had a week and a half off. It was a week and a half of sleeping in late...waking up with the dog at 7 am and falling back asleep for 3 hours... A week of not stressing about anything work related either. My 7 am wake up call on Tuesday morning, without being able to go back to sleep for 3 hours, was unfortunate.

Event number two happened immediately after I woke up Tuesday morning. I had a stinging feeling (yes that is my best description) right under my left eye. For those of you that have read the "ridiculous details of Amy's life also known as About Amy," you are aware I have a fear of all things related to eyes. I was a little nervous, but brushed it off that it would go away. (Sneak peak of what's to come...it didn't go away.) I slowly got ready and forgot to stretch. Unfortunate event number 3. I knew at some point I would break my "resolution" and was not crazy to think I would actually go a whole year stretching every morning. Unfortunate event number 4 occurred when I stepped out side. It was actually winter out, at around 15 degrees. I had been so spoiled by 40 degree and 50 degree weather up until then and froze when I went out.

I went on with my unfortunate Tuesday, my eye did in fact get worse, and no running occurred for Tuesday. The week happened to go on like this. The eye thing is annoying, but almost gone. I'm mostly just happy that I don't have to have anything drained and etc. Nobody needs to put anything near my eye! I had no days to go into work late this week, it was a 4 day work week after all, so no running happened. I will be running tomorrow and Sunday to get myself back in the mode.

I have an updated training plan coming tomorrow, oh that would be training for the Rock n Roll DC 1/2 Marathon that I officially am registered for!

Hope you all enjoy your Friday!

2012!

2012-01-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! I hope you all enjoyed a nice NYE. My night was full of Chinese food, Champagne, and Fireworks, an awesome NYE in my opinion. While 2011 was a great year (new job, new state, traveling, running, triathlons and etc.), there is always room for changes in the new year. I made a few resolutions for 2012, both running related and life related. The key was to have some resolutions and goals to make me push myself, but also not to be so lofty and general that I would not follow through.

1. Run a race for every Holiday

-I know this seems a little random, but I think it would be fun!

2. Run 2 possibly 3 Half-Marathons

- I already have 2 planned to do (DC and Chicago), so hopefully I will follow through and maybe even add one in Rhode Island.

3. Stretch every morning

- This has been something I've needed to do for years! I am not flexible at all, and I know it would help improve my running and any other work outs. I know I may not do this every day, but I figure if I get into some sort of pattern it will help my flexibility. I already stretched this morning so I'm still on track so far!

4. Run at least 10 miles every week

- Hopefully when I am training for races, this will clearly be higher. During the time I am not in training though, I at least will be running 2 miles/5 days a week.

5. Run 5k at 9:00-9:30 pace

-While my larger goals work with distance, I think this goal will help with my speed not only for a 5k. If I am capable of keeping that pace for 5k's, I know eventually I will be able to keep it up for longer races.

6. Run 10k in under an hour

- If other resolution for the 5k goal pace works, this goal should work as well.

7. Take Pilates Class

- I L.O.V.E. pilates! I say every year that I want to take more classes, and I haven't yet. This year I really hope I will be able to take classes more often. Not only do I enjoy it, but it is a great work out and helps with my flexibility.

I also have a weight loss goal, which for now I am keeping too myself. It isn't a crazy out of control one that will never happen though. Hopefully if I follow through with all the above resolutions, the weight loss won't be a problem at all. My other resolutions for life are get an apartment, cook more (or learn how to, same difference), and most others about saving money.

Day one of the new year is done and so far I am off too a good start with stretching and a nice run in awesome weather for January!

Hope you all had a great Sunday and a good start to the new year!

New Years Eve!

2011-12-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

A nice bonus about my birthday being so close to New Year's Eve is that there is no need for another "year in review" recap, because only two weeks have passed! I hope you all enjoy the night and have a Happy New Year!!!! Here is to 2012 being everything you can hope for!

I.Am.Sore

2011-12-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

We all know the feeling. The too sore to reach for the remote, too sore to get up and get a glass of water. So sore that you feel both out of shape and amazing at the same time. Yup that is going on right now. I do have the week off and have been trying my best to keep up my work outs while I have free time. I mean if the majority of the time I spend complaining that I can't run because I have no time, I should do double time to make up for it when I have off right? Ok well that's probably true but that doesn't mean I'm actually going that hard this week.

I have been trying to run here and there, as well as taking the dog for a walk when I can, this was not what made me so sore though. Paul and I found a new work out on pinterest...yes I am obsessed with that site. So the work out we did was

Ouch! It looks so easy, and pain free. It is not at all. I did it two days in a row and can barely move certain areas. For example my stomach, I don't know the last time I did crunches and they killed me. My arms also have not been worked out in so long, so yeah those hurt. It became painfully obvious that I need to do more than running, so I will hopefully be keeping up with this. Another one we found that I probably will try was

I will keep you all updated on just how this is going, and my soreness levels haha. Hope you are all enjoying your last Friday of 2011!

Boston Weekend

2011-12-26T21:06:00.000-08:00

Boston/Christmas weekend was great! The night before I left I was doing some baking. Usually I'm not a big fan of putting any effort into making anything in the kitchen, but I wanted peppermint bark. I used Ghiradelli white and milk chocolate as well as 40 mini candy canes to make it.

It turned out pretty delicious if I do say so myself. I also attempted to make Santa Hat Cupcakes. We won't discuss my first few batches of cupcake that didn't work for various reasons...most reasons I will however point out were not really my fault. Eventually the cupcakes were finished as well and turned out pretty great.

Got a little help on these from the mom and brother at home!

I got home midday on Christmas Eve and went to one of my favorite places in Danvers. Supremes! Best chicken fingers and french fries ever! :) If you ever find yourself in Danvers, MA...go find it.

After that I had a little last minute Christmas shopping to do. Every year we do a Yankee Swap on Christmas Eve with the whole family. My mom, brother, and myself hadn't bought anything for the swap though, which resulted in me running out to target about 2 hours before the festivities. With my $20 limit a piece, along with it being Christmas eve, and Target, I think I did pretty well. I also purchased 3 things that I would enjoy if I pulled them.

Yoga mat!

Iced tea maker! Love!

Drinker shaker and glasses

Then it was off to Christmas Eve with the family. The night was full of delicious food and good times with the family.

My (newly married) cousin and I...I know we don't look related at all!

I ended up pulling the drink shaker and glasses, but ended up trading them for the iced tea maker! I already had a drink shaker and love iced tea, so this was an obvious answer.

Christmas Day was filled with present opening in the morning! I received many things but the following were my favorite:

Nike + from my brother

Kate Spade iPhone case! It says "Have Courage" inside. In love with it! Also from the brother

Lulu Running tank top from my mom!

Long Sleeve Lulu top from my mom! Love the color too :)

Another long sleeve Lulu top from my mom!

I also got some great stocking items, scarf/mittens from JCrew, and a book from my favorite author! Yes I was spoiled :)

My mom made my brother and I pancakes (chocolate chip for me), before getting ready and heading over to my grandfathers house for the afternoon/night. More good times and good food with the family.

Monday was filled with running errands around town, and the mall (horrible decision), followed by dinner with my bff Carolyn! Bertuccis (aka one of my favorite restaurants) was slammed, so the food took forever to get which was actually nice cause it gave her and I extra time to catch up!

Tuesday morning I was up bright and early to head back to NY. Dunk's pit stop, as well as cashing in some scratch tickets ($65 thank you very much!), then I was on my way. I was so happy to go back to Boston and see the family and friends that I miss so much, but I actually missed NY a little. I know craziness, this place is starting to grow on me? Is that possible?

Hope you all had a great Wednesday! I'm enjoying my week off from work, and will update you on my new work outs tomorrow!

The hardest step for a runner.

2011-12-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

This was 100% true today. I was tired, cranky, cold, and had eaten crap for the past 48 hours. I had 0 interest in going running. I convinced myself I wouldn't and was happy with that. Then I kept thinking, hmm maybe I should go running. I thought it over and over again until finally I got off my ass, put on my ninja cold weather gear (see below) and went out for a run.

Yes I do make awkward faces in pictures.

It was cold, and long (not really but it felt it), and I wanted to stop multiple times during it. I finished though, while coughing up a lung. It was not my best run by any means, but some days it counts to just step out the front door. That's what I did for me today and I'm very happy with that.

Hope you all had a nice Holiday! My Christmas weekend post will be up tomorrow! :)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Night time running

2011-12-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

Last night, after a nice day of Christmas shopping and getting my car washed (finally!), I went for a night run! I have been asking (or bugging) Paul a lot recently to go out for a walk one night to see all the Christmas lights around his neighborhood. Apparently his area of Long Island is a little over the top with the decorations. Going for a run was the perfect solution, we both got our runs in and I got to see my decorations! It also was the perfect night to go out because it was still around 45 degrees out.

A couple of tips for night time running:

Wear something bright so cars can see you. I had on black pants and a black underarmour shirt on, but threw on my lululemon purple zip up to stay warm and to make sure any cars could see me.
Run on the sidewalk if you can. I was lucky enough to be able to stay on the side walk for my whole run. It makes you feel that much safer when running in the dark, and the drivers are less pissed at you.
Bring your phone. I run with my phone anyways because it's how I listen to my music. At night though, it's nice to have in case anything happens you can easily call for help and etc.
Run with someone else. While Paul and I run different paces, we ran the same loop near his house so I knew he was near me for most of the run. I knew he would lap me a few times, but liked the thought that if either of us didn't see the other for a few laps we would know something was wrong. It's nice to have that extra feeling of safety.
Run at Christmas time! It is so much more fun when you can go running and look at all the lights.

Here are some of the places I took pictures of on my run.

Love!

Sorry for the blur, I was running!

A little intense

They had the lights professionally done...

Same house, professionally done...

I hate these things!

Cute little Christmas trees :)

Love!!!

I'm super picky about my Christmas lights. I dislike ridiculous plastic Santa's and etc on the lawn. I dislike when people don't put up lights. I HATE when people put of little plastic blow up things or when they put out something non-Christmas related and throw a Santa hat on it. I also dislike anything that flashes intensely. I don't need a seizure while driving. I love all white lights. I like whenever people put effort into decorating in general though. Crazy lights are better than not decorating at all.

I may attempt a run after work today depending on how late I leave work. That way I can see some of the lights around my house.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Baby its cold outside

2011-12-19T07:33:00.000-08:00

How was everyones weekend? My birthday weekend was great. I got to have a nice relaxin Saturday (this happens never) and went for a nice run without any form of timing or tracking device which was a great feeling. Then it was off to The Nutcracker!

I went to see The Nutcracker all the time when I was little and in Chicago, then last year my brother and I took my mom to see it in Boston! I had never seen it before in NY and it was fantastic! I love little Christmas traditions like going to see The Nutcracker. Very successful birthday night.

Sunday was another relaxing day. I wimped out when Paul said "lets go running," and responded with "but baby it's cold outside!" I mean really though, it was about 15 degrees outside and he was running 4 miles more than I was. This would result in me sitting outside in the freezing cold for a little while after I finished running. I instead decided to stay inside all nice and warm. We watched a movie for the afternoon (Four Christmases, very funny!) before dinner at Chipotle with his family for my birthday! This was followed by a very delicious Carvel cake!

I managed to get the day off today (yay!) for a mini shopping day. The plan is to finish up everything I need for my Christmas shopping, and not buy too many things for myself! Then off for a run this afternoon to run off all the cake and cupcakes from the weekend! Plus it isn't as cold out today so I won't wimp out!

Happy Monday everyone!!

Happy Birthday to me!

2011-12-17T06:30:00.000-08:00

I'm a pretty big fan of my birthday, not that I usually do anything too over the top. As long as I have a cupcake at some point, I usually consider it a successful birthday.

23 was a big year for me, although most of them lately have seemed like big years for me. I may or may not have had to go back through my facebook timeline to remember everything about this year for me as well...no judgement. So here are the highlights of my birthday year!

First was Christmas!

Which was immediately followed by VEGAS!

New York New York Hotel we stayed in!

Love this quote!

February meant many Hockey games and also seeing one of my best friends!

This is also around the time I started training for the 1/2 marathon!

I cut 6 1/2 inches off my hair, yes this was one of the most exciting parts of March

I also got my new iPhone! Again yes this is one of the more exciting parts of my life...don't laugh its true.

Beginning of May I visited my brother in Arizona!

Then I ran the 1/2 marathon that there are no pictures with proof I was there. I promise though, I suffered through a miserable 13.1 miles. There is proof of a record online, just no pictures thankfully.

I spent most of June in the above location. Well actually I spent the most of June at work or traveling in the car, but when I had a free second I spent it here.

July was the big moving month!! Yay! After that July was a little crazy!

My brother and I surprised my mom at Cape Cod for her birthday!

I went on multiple job interviews and etc. That was well, not fun at all.

Then I went to a wedding with Paul, and managed to get myself a job. I know craziness!

August was filled with more race craziness and starting the new job. Oh and then a hurricane happened.

First Triathlon complete!

Awesome medal right?!

Yankee Stadium 5k!

I was back in MA too for a long weekend to see my Dad and Step mom!

September was a little slower...a little. I started to get into work and start of travel season. I did manage to do a triathlon, sort of.

October is almost a complete blur. I traveled 24/7 for work, including the weekends. For the Saturday's I was not working I was watching one of Paul's many races. This did mean I got to go to one of my favorite places, Rhode Island!

Rock n Roll 10k in Brooklyn!

Newport, RI!

The 1/2 marathon medal was awesome.

This was right around the time I got myself back in gear and started running again! Yay!

November finished up a crazy travel season with work, followed up by an Open House for the College. I volunteered at the NYC Marathon in Nov as well!

Then of course the wedding!!

Yay they're married!

Of course this was followed by Thanksgiving in Rhode Island, some more work, and some more running!

As you all know the birthday year ended with a trip into the city to see the Christmas decorations!

So that was my last year in a nutshell! The birthday plans are to have a nice choc chip pancake breakfast with some starbucks, I know not healthy but whatever it's my birthday and I'll eat fattening pancakes if I want to! Then of course go for a run to not actually feel bad about the pancake breakfast. Tonight is The Nutcracker with Paul!

So here is to myself on my 24th birthday, wishing myself all the happiness of last year and so much more :)

Running breakthrough

2011-12-13T06:45:00.000-08:00

So I've been rather vague, purposely so, about just how bad or good my running has been lately. It's because how embarrassed I am about how bad I've gotten. I think it is helpful though to tell people about it for multiple reasons. Reason 1 being, well there are only so many things on this blog I can talk about and this one is important to running, thus here we are. Reason 2 there are only so many times I can say "awful run" or "great run" without people thinking "how far did she run? 10 miles?"...and no, none of my runs have been 10 miles lately. Last reason is because I think a lot of people struggle with not being able to run at the same level they use to after taking some time off. If any of you have proof some how that I in fact am the only one who could fall this far back in running, please don't share as it may just depress me.

Moving on to the facts of it all. Yes, in the past I did 2 half marathons as well as 2 (kind of) triathlons, go me! While I was never lightening speed "cough cough...I was slow as hell...cough cough" I was able to chug through the miles for the races. When I recently started running again, after work travel ended, I found myself struggling to run a mile. I was never good at the mental game in running. Some people are able to say "only a few more minutes", and then keep running and say to themselves 20 minutes later "only a few more minutes." I am not one of these people. When I am tired and done with running, I am just tired and will be done with running.

I decided the best way to get my but in gear was to prepare for a race (DC half marathon anyone?) and to have a plan. I went with an app I had on my iPhone, the Couch 2 5k. I figured I had managed to get myself far enough back that starting with this training plan might really help me. I slowly started to get through the days, instead of only doing 3 runs a week for a certain level, I would do one run at a certain level and if I felt good, move up to the next level for the next day. I steadily did this every day until I got to a harder level that I needed more than a day to work at. Then I started following the plan one day at a time for each level. The biggest help was that it would have me mix in running with short times to walk, then have me run again. I really found it helpful knowing I had that little time to catch my breath in between runs.

Recently my running has really improved. I've been following along with the app for the most part, example (running 7 mins, walking 1 min, running 4 mins, walking 1 min and etc.), but from time to time I would try and last an extra minute or two in a running section to push myself. I finally got myself up to the level in the app I had been dreading, running 20 minutes straight. No stopping at all. This was a huge fear of mine, and also something I use to be able to easily do. I got in my head 100%, and when I went out to run on Thursday was dying 5 minutes into my run. Long story very short, the run got cut short and I didn't accomplish my goal.I went home sad and upset that I was never going to get through this little mile mark and have the big running breakthrough I needed.

This past Saturday I decided I would go back a day in my training plan. It required me to Run 9 mins, walk 2 mins, Run 9 mins. I had done it before and knew it was no problem. I started running and was feeling great! I finished my 9 mins and thought, well I'm not tired why not run the walking part (note to all, I never actually think things like this usually or follow through with them). I ran through the walk part and kept on running. Once I hit 20 minutes I almost jumped up and down, and I definitely did a mini fist pump. I kept going though because I knew I had a good pace going and was just under 2 miles. In the end I ran 25 minutes straight and did 2.48 miles. I could not have been more excited! This was hands down the longest I had run without stopping in many, many months.

I almost wasn't going to write this post because I found it very embarrassing to admit to anyone, other than Paul who was with me for this, that my biggest running accomplishment that week was running for 25 minutes straight. Then I realized that it made no sense to hide it. Yes I have gone far back in my running ability, but I'm pulling ahead and had a huge running breakthrough that I needed. I finally feel more comfortable now thinking about going out and running. I need to remember that I can and have done all this before, and just need to not get in my head about it too much.

I am sorry this was so long, but come on! Huge breakthrough! Happy Tuesday everyone!

Birthday week

2011-12-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

How was everyone's weekend?! Friday kicked off my early birthday week celebration! Paul and I went to the mall after work to look at a couple things. This turned into Amy's birthday present time, which was a mini shopping spree at lululemon! Best birthday present ever :) I was totally spoiled and loved it! I got a new pair of pants, a long sleeve top, and a zip up. All of these I'm 100% obsessed with and would love to wear them all 24/7...not kidding, I asked if I could wear them to a Christmas party I was going to, Paul advised against it haha. After my mini shopping spree, we headed to Friday's for my birthday dinner! So delicious.

Saturday was a running day for me. Huge accomplishment for running on Saturday that I'll post about tomorrow. After that Paul and I headed into the city for part 2 of my birthday present! Every year I try and get into the city to see the decorations, tree, and etc. It was a great time, even though it was freezing. It was also Santacon this Saturday so the city was nuts. For those of you unfamiliar with Santacon, a couple thousand people walk around the city in a pub crawl dressed as Santa. It's pretty hysterical to say the least.

The Tree!

Yay! Perfect Christmas card picture if I were to send out Christmas cards

This is also the first official picture of me with the brown hair on here! Yay! Here's another for you.

This was followed by some great chinese food and coldstone so delicious! Then it was early to bed for me because I had work the next morning and was exhausted!

The weekend ended with a Christmas party at my aunt and uncles house that was a lot of fun. I also got a surprise Christmas present before the party from Paul! I know I was so spoiled all weekend. :) New digital camera for me!

It's awesome and I'm obsessed already!

Hope everyone else had a nice weekend, and I promise more running posts tomorrow!

Happy Monday everyone!

K-Swiss BOGO

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Now that you know just about everything about my running wardrobe, on to the more important business of shoes! I run in K-Swiss and I LOVE them.

Current Shoes (Keahou II's)

I tried K-Swiss over the summer after I heard from a few people that they were a good choice for running. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked these shoes and how I never once had any problems with them. I went with the Keahou II's from the start because while they were still nice running shoes, they weren't as expensive as a few of the other K-Swiss options. I got them at Dick's Sporting Good store too, and with coupons, ended up only paying about $80 for them.

As I mentioned on Tuesday, K-Swiss had a buy one get one deal for their shoes..AMAZING! I got two pairs, one were another pair of Keahou II's because I liked them so much, another was a new type I wanted to try, K-Ona's.

New Keahou II's

New K-Ona's

For the two pairs of shoes I paid $110, with free shipping! That is $55 per pair, INSANE for running shoes. I am so excited for them! I decided to try the K-Ona's first to see if I love them as much as the Keahou II's. I have run in them twice so far, and while I am still breaking them in, I think they are going to be great! There is also a pair (California's) that I have heard great things and plan to try next!

They are so bright I love it!

You can't totally see them, but new shoes!

If you are in the process of looking for new running shoes, I highly suggest you check out K-Swiss....and no they didn't give me anything for doing this post, I just love K-Swiss!

Finally Friday! I will be spending it seeing the Christmas decorations around NYC, working, and at a Christmas party. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Under Armour Love

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Now that you all know about my obsession with LuLuLemon, I figured I would give you a little insight to the rest of my running wardrobe. As much as it pains me to admit this, I am not some ridiculously rich person that can afford to only purchase Lulu clothes. Because of this fact, I do have to buy a few other products. My go to choice other than LuLu is typically Under Armour.

I recently purchased a few new Under Armour tops, for cold weather running specifically. Please ignore the lack of makeup or the ridiculous hair in the following pictures.

One color I usually am not caught dead in is pink. For whatever reason I am not really a pink girl, maybe I wore it too much as a child or something, but I own just about nothing that is pink. I can no longer make that statement however since I bought this incredibly bright pink long sleeve waffle top. Originally I was going with black, but after realizing most of my bottoms are black (and as much as I love looking like a ninja while running), I wanted a little color.

This picture does not do the brightness of this top any justice. You can probably see me coming from about a mile away when I run in this top. I saw it in the store first in black, my usual go to color, and fell in love. The material is so soft and warm that I knew I would love running in it. I also am obsessed with the fact that the neck can go up high enough to cover my nose. I have run in it a few times and am always sweating to death by the end, which I'm happy about because on freezing cold days I know it will really keep me warm.

Another purchase, also Under Armour, was the basic long sleeve top they have. I bought two, one crew neck and one mock turtleneck.

Hard to tell in the light but this is coral

Paul got bored of me writing this and wanted to join in for picture time, I know we're ridiculous

The main question was will I like the turtleneck or crew neck better. I've run in both so far and have found the mock turtleneck to be a little longer on me (and we all know my obsession with long tops) so I may have found a winner in that area. As an added bonus both tops were $10 off making them both only $35. I am aware $35 is still a lot to pay for something you sweat in, but they are much cheaper than any of my lulu tops and I know will keep me warm. Yes I am justifying here but whatever.

I bought a nice new Under Armour headband to keep my ears warm too when I run outside now. I hate wearing hat's because of my ponytail, and my ears are really the only thing that get cold anyways. Also all these pictures were taken pre-hair dying so that's why it looks the same (and ridiculous).

Happy Thursday Everyone!

All I want for Christmas is lululemon!

2011-12-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

December brings not only Christmas season for me but also birthday season! Of course being a Christmas baby can have downsides, but also has tons of upsides. One is that all stores are out fulling promoting different items as the "perfect present" which I get to take advantage of for both Christmas and Birthday! The top of my list this year is anything from lululemon!

Side note...I could almost make 4 or 5 posts about my love for lululemon. I'm sure you all would stop reading my blog however, so I will limit it to just one. Be prepared though, this is a long one :)

The first time I ever stepped foot in a lululemon was in California, during spring break my senior year of college. I was walking by and saw a running jacket in this amazing teal color that I absolutely loved. I had no idea what store it was, and ran in the store to check it out. I tried on the jacket and LOVED it. I looked at Carolyn and said "I'm buying this now." Carolyn, not as new to lulu as I was, held up the price tag for me to see. I was shocked! How could it cost so much for a jacket?! Yet I still wanted it so badly. I texted the name of the store to myself so that I could look it up online later... yes I wasn't the brightest and was under the impression it was just a California store.

Now, not even 2 years later, I could not be more in love with lululemon and go into the store all the time in the mall. I will admit I have become some what of a lulu snob when it comes to running clothes. I'll try on other pants and think, why buy these when I can pay a little more and look 100 times better, while feeling 100 times more comfortable. I live in my lulu Run:Full Tilt Crop's, picture below, (and by live in them I really mean that, I'm wearing them as I type).

Here are a couple items from lulu that are on the top of my wish list this Birthday/Christmas! (hint hint family and bf!!)

The Cool Racerback in extra long is the ONLY tank top I have found that I love. (I'm wearing the non-extra long version in the picture of me above, but it still is awesome). It is so long, and I can never find anything that long. I would run in only this top if given the option. By summer I'm hoping to have at least 5 or 6 so that I do only run in this. I never have to pull my pants up or top further down when I am wearing this. Having to mess with your clothes while running is seriously distracting and uncomfortable. This tank top has been perfect and owning another one is absolute top of my wish list this year.

Run Swiftly Tech Long Sleeve. Aka the softest most comfortable top you could ever wear. I was dancing around in the dressing room with this top on. I also am a sucker for the thumb holes in shirt sleeves. It also is super warm, but not overly thick and bulky which makes it perfect for layering. Did I mention how long it is on me too?

The Run Turn Around Long Sleeve. It has thumb holes and a secret hidden pocket. Do I need to say more about why I love this top? I will anyways. Like the shirt above it, this top is also super soft and perfect layering. I love the pocket because I can hide my key or iphone in it. It also is really cute and again really long on me , so yeah I'm in love.

The Stride Jacket, the big birthday present wish of the year. There are too many things about this jacket that I love to even go into all the details. The fact that when you zipper it up, the neck goes up past your chin is amazing. The fact that it has a hood is a bonus, and the zipper (as ridiculous as this sounds) is the easiest thing I have ever zipped in my life. It again is super annoying when you are running and pulling on zippers to go up and down when they won't go. Not a problem at all with this jacket! Deep pockets, thumb holes, extra length, and comfortable fabric are all included in this jacket! Ok I'll stop gushing over a jacket.

Another pair of crops and long pants are on the list as well for me. If I spent anymore time on the website or in the store I can promise this list would be even longer.

So that is my ridiculous obsession of lululemon. Everyone told me that once I bought a single item from there I would be hooked, and they were right. I usually hate to admit when other people are right, but this time I have no shame in admitting my love for all my lulu clothes. Ok I will really stop gushing this time over clothes.

Oh and yes I am aware that all these pictures are either black or gray, I swear I like colors too.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

You never regret going for a run

2011-12-05T20:15:00.001-08:00

I got home from work yesterday to find the best surprise ever!

On "cyber Monday" K-Swiss had an awesome deal of buy one pair of shoes and get the other pair free!!! Can I stress the word FREE a little more! I already run in K-Swiss shoes and was looking to get a new pair so this deal was perfect! My first run in them will be tomorrow morning and I can't wait.

I plan to change my running schedule a little to not only work with my distance, but also my speed. Three runs a week I want to work on running in general and distance, and then once weekly a run to work on speed. Hopefully this will help with my running over all. It is great for weight loss..(which is awesome in general)...but even better because Paul and I decided to start biggest loser again. Last time we did this, well I stopped and he lost 40 pounds. We haven't decided on a final prize for the winner yet, so let me know if you have ideas! It runs from now until right before the DC race in March.

Running has actually been going well for me lately...I know shocker right? Nobody is more surprised than I am. I was a little worried as the weather got colder if I would still be able to improve my running. The key I have found right now is that my schedule works perfectly for me. My two mornings during a week, (my jobs awesome and lets me go in late), I automatically get up early for a run. Then Saturday and Sunday I run as well. I can't say I'm always thrilled to get out there and run, but I am getting better about this. I'm lucky to have the bf to help me with this...by help me I mean continue to bug me and nag until I get off my ass and put my sneakers on, but still it gets me moving.

I found a quote the other day that I could not relate to more. This girl has an awesome blog and posted something along the lines of "You never regret going for a run" which is 100% true. I have not once gone out running and thought after, "Damn, shouldn't of done that!" It always is "So happy I got out there and ran!" On the days that I don't totally feel like running, and the bf isn't there too push me, I need to remind myself of that to get myself moving.

Happy Tuesday! ...but really it's only Tuesday?

December Updates!

2011-12-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

Happy December everyone! One of my favorite months: snow, Christmas, my birthday...how could I not? Anyways here are some updates!

1. No detox.
----> I have a serious issue with not eating all day and not being able to have coffee. I can't give up both for a day. Long story short, insane migraine while still at work at 7pm with pizza around me, I failed. I did realize though I was being silly. While it is a good way for some people to get back into healthy eating, I think I should have learned from my past fails with it that maybe it's not for me. Here is too getting back into healthy eating by just eating healthy!

2. No Jingle Bell.
---> I know I'm just all about the fails lately! But for real, I didn't want to fail on this one, and my running is slowly picking back up! I think if I jumped into this race and didn't do awesome I'd feel more discouraged than excited.

3. New website obsession.
---> www.pinterest.com ...if you don't love it the second you get there, search puppy and you will. And no I'm not cool enough to have an invite yet, still waiting.

4. My life.
---> On the above awesome website, I found a picture that perfectly describes my life.

5. My hair is a different color.
---> I know I mentioned this before and have yet to post a pic, but that's coming soon.

6. Running Plan.
---> Excel sheet is in the works of my new running plan (Will post when complete!). My idea to run two mornings a week (when I go to work late) and two runs on the weekend has been going well so far. My running is slowly improving, it helps when I have views like this while running!

7. I want to wear this some day.

Yes I would totally become a trainer some day if I could.

8. I think I'm out of updates.

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your weekend :)

Victoria Secret Fashion Show

2011-11-29T13:19:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of "My 7 days of Misery" is, well, its all done. Long and complicated story (short story is I failed, and should know better than to not eat anything all day and go running). I will update you all on this tomorrow. Quickly moving off that topic on to more exciting things.

I have no shame in saying how excited I am for the Victoria Secret Fashion Show tonight! I watch every year in awe of just how much fun the show is and how in shape the girls are. I'm sure I can get loads of crap for promoting this, because it does also promote a lot of unhealthy habits to girls everywhere.

I think for some people it is a nice idea to think "wow people actually look like that, that's awesome." It is when people think "I need to look like that and do everything I can to make this happen" that it becomes a problem. Most people have no idea what these super models do before shows to get ready and get in shape. While I am sure they eat completely differently, and probably cut out all sweets, carbs, etc. the amount of working out they do to prepare is over the top. I give them all the credit in the world for looking as good as they do the night of the fashion show.

I also like the show for the reason of no airbrushing. Everyone knows every picture taken of anyone is photoshopped, airbrushed, and so on. You name it, they have it done to them in the picture. In the show there is no airbrushing or photoshopping. This is what the models really look like, and they all look pretty incredible and in shape if you ask me. I think there is nothing wrong with giving credit to them for all the work they do. The problem is when people take it to the extreme to attempt to look like these women.

Moral of the story, I am so excited to go home tonight and watch the VS Fashion show, after Biggest Loser of course! Happy Tuesday all!

7 days of misery

2011-11-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

My long weekend was great! Hope everyone got to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving as well! I had a nice relaxing day at home Wednesday, followed by two days in Rhode Island with the family for Thanksgiving. Friday night was dinner with Paul and friends. Saturday and Sunday were a nice bonus to have to catch up on everything and nothing at the same time. There also may have been some hair dying going on Sunday night as well :) Pictures to post asap.

A nice run this morning was just what I needed to get my week started. I couldn't believe how nice out it was when I got out and am so happy I dragged my ass out of bed for it. It was absolutely the best run I've had in a long time which makes me excited to think I'm getting back into the swing of things!

This morning also starts another, less exciting, week in my life. With my travel season, and just life being life, I had started eating incredibly unhealthy. Then add the wedding and Thanksgiving, and my food choices are out of control. Whenever I feel this way I know what I need to do to get back on track, it is what I nicely refer to as "My 7 Days of Misery."

Basically, this is a 7 day detox, to get me to stop eating crap and get back on track with healthy eating. The idea is if I can cut out everything I eat for the most part for 7 days, when I start eating like a normal person again, it will be much easier to eat healthy. I have planned this several times. You can read about past detox's here. The two times I've done this I have only gotten to day 4. I have high hopes this time to at least get to day 5.

The basic idea goes like this:

Day 1: No solid food, only liquids, such as tea (unsweetened), no dairy, and more than likely no coffee
Day 2: Add in fruit
Day 3: Add in raw vegetables
Day 4: Add cooked vegetables and rice
Day 5: Add beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds
Day 6: Add whole grains and live yogurt
Day 7: Add fish

I know from experience, day 1 is the worst. Day 1 is especially horrible if unprepared. I, smartly, went to the store yesterday and got extra tea to make for Day 1. The only down side is I am working late today, which means we usually order food. I know I am going to struggle when I smell pizza and can't have any. The plus side is, after work I can go home and have some plain broth and then early to bed.

Again the main goal is to get to Day 5. I just need to stay prepared and focused on how much I need to get back into healthy eating, as well as getting all the crap I eat out of my system.

I'll keep you posted during the week on the 7 days of misery! Happy Monday!!

Turkey Time

2011-11-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I get to spend it back in New England, in Rhode Island specifically!

I strongly believe Thanksgiving is a day to eat what you would like, as long as you do some sort of activity before or after. I hope you enjoy a fantastic Thanksgiving Day!:)

Wedding Weekend!

2011-11-21T19:56:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was my cousin Sam's wedding. Putting it out there right now, no running got done for me this weekend haha. We got back late on Friday night, leaving late and traffic, but still managed to meet up with Carolyn (who I have missed so much!) and her bf Dan for a couple hours.

The attempt was to run at the hotel on Saturday morning, but unfortunately I didn't do my research and there was no athletic center at the hotel we stayed at Friday night. Long story, but we stayed at two different hotels on Friday night and Saturday night. Paul and I checked out of the first hotel Saturday morning and went to see my mom and my brother. We luckily got an early check in at the wedding hotel and checked in with plenty of time for met to get ready while Paul ran on the treadmill.

Sam and Jamie asked me to do the reading at their wedding, which I was excited about and kind of went with the theory of "no worries, I got this." While I was getting ready I decided I would attempt to memorize my reading, so that I wouldn't awkwardly read directly out of the Bible the whole time. I repeated it about 50 times out loud, which Paul nicely sat and listened to while giving advice. Finally it was wedding time! Sam looked beautiful and the whole wedding party looked great as well. Finally it was time for my reading and of course everything I memorized went out of my head. Luckily the Bible was in front of me so I could read along with what I had remembered.

Look it's me reading! Haha

Then almost as soon as it started, the wedding was done and they were married!

Then it was reception time! The location of the reception was connected to our hotel which was perfect! It was also only 2 minutes (if that) from the Church.

First Dance!

Ton's of dancing and good time's had by all!

Paul & I

After the wedding we all headed back to the hotel and continued with the after party. Eventually we went to bed after a night full of drinking, dancing, and lots of laughs. We had breakfast the next morning with everyone, food was delicious too which was a huge bonus. After a Starbucks run, and stopping back at my mom's house, Paul and I headed back to NY.

As happy as I am now in NY, it is always nice to go home to Boston to see friends and family! Bonus, I get to go to Rhode Island on Thursday for Thanksgiving! Double dose of New England for me this week :)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Work.Work.Work

2011-11-17T19:08:00.001-08:00

As usual I've allowed my life to be taken over by work again. It is application season at work, which means I'm reading essays, transcripts, etc. all day long. Luckily, because of the change in work schedule I have been able to fit running into my schedule 2 days a week and then on Saturday and Sunday. Yay for getting back into the groove!

Yesterday was a day I was able to go into worker later so I decided I would try and do some constant running, no stopping to walk. I got a mile and thought I would die. It is so painful to see how slow I've become just from taking a a little over a month off from running. I knew it would be tough slowly getting back into it, I just didn't know how tough.

I went out again this morning, and it wasn't all that much better. Unfortunately the cold always hits me hard at the beginning. It was about 35 degrees when I went out, which isn't actually that cold compared to the upcoming winter months, but I always cough more when it first starts to get colder. Luckily I was able to stay warm with my awesome lululemon pants (no worries a whole separate post about my love for lulu) and my obnoxiously bright pink pullover from underarmour.

I am slowly going along though and know that getting out 4 times a week, no matter slow, fast, walking, getting out there is half the battle.

In more exciting news, this afternoon I will be heading back to Boston for the weekend! My cousin is getting married on Saturday! Wohoo! Should be a fun weekend and I can't wait to get back there for a little while.

Happy Friday everyone! Have a great weekend :)

The Runner's Diet

2011-11-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, when I decided I need to get my life back on track, I found myself in Barnes & Noble. Paul was looking for a guide on training for a marathon, and I was looking for anything to help me. I stumbled on The Runner's Diet, a book that is from Runner's World magazine.

I picked it up and began reading a few pages in it. The author discussed how this book is mostly for people who use to consider themselves runners, and for one reason or another stopped running and got out of shape. That's me! I immediately decided to purchase this book and have been thrilled with this purchase ever since.

I went home and started reading right away. I flew through the chapters because they were all one's I could easily relate to. It gives great tips and advice about what to eat and what not to eat, when to eat and when not to eat. It also gives some fantastic advice about getting back into running. The key is start slow and don't get down on yourself. Just because you use to be able to run 5 miles straight everyday at a 9 min/mile pace, does not mean you will be able to suddenly do that again. In fact, if you attempt to do that, you will immediately become discouraged that you can't and be more likely to stop trying.

Another key is to make your workout schedule realistic. Saying I will wake up every day at 6 am to run before work is nice, but completely unrealistic. I may do this one day and then never do it again. Instead you need to really look at your schedule, what you want to do for work outs, and make a reasonable schedule that you can stick to. This has been my new task that I've been working on recently. I will post my new training schedule soon, but the key to it is that it works around my schedule perfectly. I never have the excuse of "I'm too tired," or "It's too dark," or "It's too much," to keep me from getting out there and doing my runs.

For me the hardest part so far has been to not get down on myself during the runs. I may be out there doing 3 miles or so 4 days a week, but I am still getting back into it, so my running involves walking as well. I hate this, in my mind I should be able to go out and run. I know this isn't realistic though, and that by running the way I have planned out (with the help of my running book) I will get back into running in no time.

Thank you too Runner's World and the fantastic author of The Runner's Diet, for helping me get my running life back!

NYC MARATHON!!!!

2011-11-08T13:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the NYC Marathon. So. Much. Fun!!! As I mentioned before, I was interested in volunteering for a race. Settling on the NYC marathon happened when I found out some famous people, Apolo Ohno, Jennie Finch, and other reality tv stars, would be running. (I only ended up seeing Apolo Ohno as he went flying by me, and a couple of reality stars, but thats ok). I received an email saying to arrive around 8:30 and to stay until around 4. I was excited for the whole thing and to see what people look like when they hit mile 25.

Paul and I woke up around 6 am to get ready to go. By 6:30 we were at Dunkin Donuts and then were off to the train station. Finally we got into the city (trains, subway, walking etc.) and made our way over to mile 25. We showed up earlier than scheduled but jumped right in to help out. Moving gatorades, mixing gatorade, and setting up cups. Paul and I took one table near the front to set everything up.

Tada! Finished product. There is something like 450 cups staked, and filled with gatorade. We then had to move all that gatorade cups around so that the G logo is in front. I started out the morning pouring, refilling, and stacking the cups.

The wheelchair racers started coming around 10 am, quickly followed by the first females and the first males. Paul was pretty excited because the first male (pictured below) took his cup of gatorade. He didn't take anyone else's after this at our stop, so basically his last bit of fuel before the finish came from Paul.

To say Paul was excited is an understatement. He also got loads of applause from all the other volunteers. Not that he needed the ego boost or anything... Haha

Around noon, when most of the runners started coming, one of the girls in front of the table told me she was too tired and hungry and needed me to take her space. I filled in for her and started handing out the cups. From that point on there was really no stopping in the flow of runners. Slowly all the other volunteers started leaving. By 4pm Paul and I were the only volunteers left at our table. This was technically the time to leave but I found it really hard to. Watching all these people that have been working their ass's off all morning to get to this point, I couldn't just leave. Plus, this would be around the time I would probably come in if I ran the marathon. These were my people, no way I could leave!

Finally around 5, when Paul and I were both about to fall over from being so sore, and just about all the volunteers had left, we decided to leave. The number of runners coming in had significantly dwindled, and while I still felt bad, I knew I couldn't stay all night.

I had an amazing time out there seeing some of the runners and learned so much! First of all, way more work goes into every race than I ever imagined. Also saying things to volunteers like "thank you!" or "thanks for coming out, we really appreciate you volunteering" can absolutely make someones day. I like to think I thank everyone when they hand me water, but I will be sure to now for all of my races. I would say the day was a huge success, even though I was exhausted at the end of it! Huge congrats to all the racers, you guys were amazing and even though about 99% of you are strangers ( I did actually see 2 people I knew!) I am very proud of you all for what you accomplished!

Weekend Fun!

2011-11-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Paul and I will spend the day volunteering at the NYC Marathon! I've never been to the NYC marathon before (only the Boston one) so I am excited to go in general. I had wanted to volunteer at a race this year and figured what better race to help out at than this one. We selected mile 25 to hand out water and gatorade at. I had wanted a stop after mile 13, mostly because I've seen what happens to runners up to mile 13, I never know what they look like after that.

Paul had said he wanted to make some signs to hold up, so the past few days we've been looking for some. We found a couple that we thought we might copy...

In the end we realized no signs would work. It isn't exactly easy to hold up a funny sign while also holding out water to runners.

Even without the funny signs I can't wait for the race. There are a few famous people running (a couple of reality tv show stars, as well as Apolo Ohno, Jennie Finch, and Mario Lopez) so I'm excited to see them too!

Happy Marathon Weekend! See you at the Finish!

How the Rock 'N Roll DC came to be

2011-11-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

So you may or may not be curious about how this new race came to be. It first started when Paul told me he signed up for the Rock 'N Roll DC, via his blog post. I knew he was interested in doing it, but was still shocked when I found out he had officially signed up for it. We decided a trip to DC would be our Christmas presents to each other. We did this last year in Vegas, hopefully this trip will not also cost us both thousands of dollars. Paul has never been to DC, and I am always up for a trip. So it was set, he would run the marathon and I would cheer on the sidelines.

The marathon wouldn't of been my first race of Paul's I was standing on the sidelines for. A few weeks ago there was a half marathon that I had originally planned on doing in Newport, RI. This was my first half marathon that I ran 2 years ago. I had originally planned it as a redemption run, but I realized with my lack of training it wasn't going to happen. I decided to not go through with the race and instead go watch.

Amazing view!

It was a gorgeous weekend in Rhode Island!

I was so jealous of the amazing weather Paul had for the race and the medal he received!

Way cooler than the medal I got for this race!

Overall, I'm a huge fan of the Amica Half Marathon and Marathon. It was sad having to sit on the side for this race, and know I will be back next year for my actual redemption race.

After that race Paul had signed up for a Rock 'n Roll 10k in Brooklyn. Of course it was another gorgeous day, with another awesome course, and a fantastic medal! A race I will also be doing next year!

I hadn't realized until after these two races just how much I disliked standing on the sidelines. It was a lot of fun to see the other side of the race, but I was jealous the entire time of all the racers. After watching the 10k I knew I wouldn't be happy sitting through the entire 26.2 miles watching the race. While I don't want to run a marathon, cause come on now I'm no where near ready for that, I would enjoy doing the half.

So that is how the Rock 'n Roll USA in DC came to be. I'm excited, scared, and some more excited for it. I know it's tough to train for a race in the spring, mostly because you have to train for it in the winter, but I think I have a good plan for it. Training plan to come! Happy Friday everyone, finally the weekend :)

Holy Crap it’s November!

2011-11-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

How did November 1 already come and go? Also, how did a snow storm come and go? Craziness! Now that you are all nicely up to date on my past races, let me talk about my current running (or non-running) life.

Travel season is finishing up…finally. I have about a week left of travel and this time next week my travel season will be DONE. Yay! Don’t get me wrong, travel season was fun, but having no time to run and eating crap 24/7 is not what I need in my life right now. I decided the best way for me to get back into my usual way of running life was to sign myself up for a race. I of course decided starting small would be better and have selected a Jingle Bell 5k Run! I’ve done a Jingle Bell Run before in Connecticut during college that was entertaining (if you take out the first half of it being directly up hill). So December 3 will be my entry back into the race world!

My job is actually going to start to benefit my training schedule which I’m really excited about. Two days a week I have to stay late to call potential applicants, which means I don’t need to be at work till noon. A perfect way for me to get two runs in a week before I go to work! This leaves me to figure out either two other runs during the week before or after work, or run on Saturday and Sunday. I more than likely will lean towards the running on Saturday and Sunday and my two late work days a week, cause really who wants to wake up early to run during the week or run after work. Long story short, this will all start next week after travel season ends and should absolutely help my intense training plan.

Now an intense training plan is not really required for a 5k. However, it is required for a half-marathon. If you’re sensing a big announcement coming on you would be correct. I am officially running the Rock 'n Roll USA Half Marathon in DC on March 17, 2012! Yay! Lots more to come tomorrow on how this all came to be and my plans for this race.

Happy Thursday! Almost the weekend! :)

Tri, Tri again...

2011-11-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

I had slightly high hopes for my second triathlon. I figured it couldn't really be worse than the first one. Sadly, I was incorrect.

This time around I got a wetsuit because the race was at the end of September. I figured this would help with the colder water and Paul said it might help with my anxiety when I first got in the water.

Wetsuit up!

Basically we drove all around Long Island until we found a place that sold wetsuits. This was the first one I tried on and it's teal down the side, aka I love it. It helped get me a little more excited about the whole thing, which was nice since I was mostly just nervous before. As I mentioned recently, I had basically been consumed with work and had very little time to run, bike, or swim. The wetsuit made me feel just that little bit better about the whole thing.

Race morning came and Paul and I drove over to the site. Tons of volunteers were out helping which was nice to see. We got everything set up, put on our wetsuits, and went into the water. I will admit, I first got in the water to swim around and was nervous. Nobody was splashing around me yet, but I still couldn't see and hated that. I relaxed a little and was ready to go. To be honest, I don't remember which wave I was but i was definitely somewhere in the middle. I did my usual, find someone that looks slower than me and line up next to them, routine and started to walk with my group into the water. About a half a second before I got into the water my heart was pounding so intensely I thought I either was about to have a heart attack or was going to pass out, or both. I managed to stick with a pack of women this time around me who were my pace, and randomly yelling words of encouragement to each other. While I still was not thrilled with my lack of seeing in front of me, or the intense amounts of salt I tasted in my moth, I did enjoy this swim more than my first tri. I also was a whole 10 minutes faster on this swim, and again didn't drown! It's the little things in life. :)

Me coming out of the water!

Then it was time for the bike. I knew the course, it was also a lot shorter than the last tri's bike course. About 5 miles shorter. I was excited to get going and was happy with how much faster I was so far this time around.

Transition 1...The only transition for me for this day haha

I went out on the bike and was going along well. It was a nice course and I was moving pretty fast. I figured if I could be faster on this bike ride, I would be so excited going into the run that I may be faster. Things were all going well until around mile 5.

This was the towns first time doing this triathlon, and many people driving around in the town apparently felt uninformed and displeased with the amount of roads closed off for it. The bike course wasn't completely closed to cars and I could hear a car coming up behind me. I knew they weren't happy about the race and also knew that some times cars like to see just how close they can get to the bikers without running them over as a fun game. I decided moving over further to the side of the road would be a good idea. I moved over and didn't notice the pothole that had been in front of me. My back tire hit it, causing my tire to pop, and me to lose my balance. Yes, you are correct. This resulted in me falling off the bike, which hit the chain off the bike. The whole thing was a disaster. Some very nice bikers in the race stopped to make sure I was fine but didn't have anything for me to change my tire. I also was not aware of how to change my back tire. I know, I was very unprepared for this whole thing. A cop went by me at one point and told me "Listen, I'll be honest, you have over 5 miles left to go. You can walk it and then run 3 miles, or you can put your bike on my car and I'll drive you to the finish." I liked his logic, was totally over the race, and did not want to walk 5 miles to then run 3. So yes I quit. You can all start your lectures about how quitting is the worst thing to do. I know.

The other down side to this was I had to wait for the last biker to finish before the cop could leave that area and drive me back up. Unfortunately, Paul's parents were also there, and were waiting at the finish for me along with Paul (who had finished already). They then began to get nervous seeing the race crew bringing in the cones, signaling all bikers were in and out on the run. I'm pretty sure they thought I was dead. If you're keeping count, this is now two triathlons we're people thought I may have died during the race. The cop drove me to almost the race area and then I walked my bike a couple hundred feet past the finish and went and met up with everyone.

Basically, the race was miserable. I was not happy, not prepared, and not a finisher. That was about the worst it could get. Paul on the other hand, did a great job and had a new PR. As usual, he kicked my ass. So that is the story of my second triathlon (also probably my last one for a little while), and my last race of the fall. My big lesson was to be more prepared before I decide to just up and do a triathlon with very little training, and also get everything I need to change a bike tire!

On an embarrassing side note..a week later I got an email from the race company that basically said "Dear Athlete, We noticed that you did not finish the event and want to make sure that you're okay. Please email us and let us know." FAIL!

TriRock...My First Tri!

2011-10-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

So this post is long over due, and to many people will be very entertaining. Now keep in mind I am writing this almost 3 months after the fact, so looking back now I have a much nicer memory of the whole event. I also have no memory of specific stats, because well even I don't have that great of a memory.

The morning started out very nice, the upsides to getting up at 5 am, after not sleeping at all the night before, is definitely the view you get when you wake up.

We drove to the site, got set up and were ready to go. I had no wetsuit which I figured was fine because the water was warm. Paul and I walked in the water for a little while, it was a lake so nothing too exciting. Paul went out further than I did and told me how nice it was cause you could still stand pretty far out there. I started in the second wave and felt oddly calm about the whole thing. I was comfortable with my swim and my bike and figured I would just hang in there for the run. The gun went off and we all ran into the water. This is when the entire race fell apart...

I should mention that the only swim training I did for this was in a pool, with nobody else around me, where I could see in front of me the whole time. The second I put my head in the water and tried to start swimming I completely panicked. I couldn't swim, I couldn't do anything. I remembered Paul saying he could stand pretty far out so I tried to stand and breathe for a second, huge mistake. I couldn't touch the bottom at all which completely freaked me out. At that point my main focus was do not drown! Looking back I believe it was the combination of not being able to see and the splashing going on around me that got me nervous. I couldn't even put my head back down in the water to continue swimming full strokes. I have never been scared of water in my life, I always have loved swimming, so I didn't know where this fear came from. I apparently was not the only nervous one however, as one girl pulled out her inhaler in the middle of the swim and another one asked the lifeguard to come take her in. I did the side stroke for the first 1/2 of the swim. All the guys that started after me went way past me. I kept pace with one girl directly in front of me and made sure not to let her out of my reach. Finally I rounded the corner and only had the second half left. I had calmed myself down and was able to swim like a normal person the second half. I don't remember exactly my time but I do know that my last two goals were to finish the swim in under 30 minutes, which I did, and to not drown, which I also made sure not to do!

One would think after the swim course I had the bike couldn't be any worse. That person would be in correct. The bike was 15 miles and I was ready for it. I was confident about my biking skills for the first 5 miles. We were going down a HUGE hill, that had signs on it saying things like "caution steep road slow down". I realized at one point, these signs are for cars, I'm on a bike with no protection if I hurt myself coming down one of these hills. Paul's pace for the bike was around 51 mph, and mine was probably around 47 mph. I did nothing but look straight ahead for fear that if I made any sudden moves I would go flying off the bike and cause serious injury to myself. As I was flying down the huge hill I noticed people coming up the hill on the other side, and they were all walking. These were the people in the front of the pack and they were walking their bike up the hill. That did not make me feel any better about my ability to get up the hill. I finally got to the bottom and had to make a complete 180 degree turn. Going from 47 mph to making that drastic of a turn without warning is incredibly dangerous and I am again shocked I did not injure myself here by falling off. I made it up the huge scary hill (walking most of it with everyone else) and made it to the run. Overall the bike part was not fun...at all. I again don't remember my exact time but it was absolutely longer than an hour and 5 minutes, so I again made my goal d of not falling off the bike and making it to the run.

The run was actually the nicest part of the whole thing. I know after all my worries with the run that was the only nice part. It was a straight out and back, the only thing was it was a trail run. This was fine, even though I had no idea it was coming. On my way back in from the 5k a baby deer went sprinting directly in front of me. I didn't have enough time to take out my phone to get a picture or anything but it is still one of the coolest things I have ever seen running. Right after that an incredibly in shape man went running by me mentioning how cool that was, he had bike trouble and walked his bike the whole way which was why he was with me at that point even though he was so in shape. I was incredibly impressed with this guy an seriously considered asking for a piggy-back-ride back to the finish line, but he sprinted past me before I could. Then finally I rounded the finish and it was done!

Paul was anxiously waiting for me at the finish, pretty sure that I had died somewhere on the course. I was not last, thankfully, but was pretty close. It was my first triathlon though and I was quite proud of myself. Little did I know I would have a triathlon that ended even worse than that (you have to come back for another post about that one)! I got my medal, had some water, and headed back to my house with Paul. The medal is awesome and I love the shirt!

I know, how cool are we with matching shirts haha. So that is the story of my first triathlon. Complete panic on the swim, insane hill on the bike, and a deer running with me for the run. Always something interesting at these races and the fun part is you never know what you will expect!

What happened to New York Running?

2011-10-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well your observations are correct. The New York Runner has basically fallen off the face of the earth….and directly into her new job! I mentioned after my Yankee 5k post that I had happily accepted a new job; I was hoping to update everyone before this on the job itself and running life in general. Sadly I haven't even been able to report about my first triathlon (which trust me was quite interesting and entertaining for any one that was not me). So where have I been since August? Oh that would be working at the new job 24/7. Here is some quick info on how the job came to be.

Back in May I informed my boss that July 1st I would be moving to New York with the hope of working as an admissions counselor at a college. After that I searched and searched for a job. May and June came and went and I started to panic. I had worked and networked with so many great people in search of a job, but nothing was happening. Nevertheless, I continued with my moving plans and packed up and headed out to New York (as you all know). July dragged on and my money dwindled down. I started to get discouraged about the prospect of any job. The last weekend in July I went to a wedding with my boyfriend, who was one of the groomsmen. We, along with a few of his friends, all drove to upstate New York for the weekend wedding. A friend of ours was also a groomsman and had a date coming for the wedding the next morning. The guys had to be at the wedding earlier for pictures and our friend asked if I could drive his date over to the wedding when I left later. I thought not a problem, I had never met this girl in my life but I consider myself a social person and typically am capable of getting along with just about anyone (the car ride was also only 5 minutes). We made the usual small talk in the car and got to the topic of jobs. She mentioned she just left a job in New York and had moved to Vermont. I asked what the job was she left, and was speechless when she said she had been an admissions counselor at a college. I quickly asked for all details, the main one’s being are they hiring and will they pay me?! After we got home from the wedding weekend I sent in my resume for the job. I received a call that night for an interview the next day, and by the end of the week I had managed to land myself a job as an admissions counselor at a college, aka the job I had been searching for since May. I’ve been told I am the luckiest person in the world, and to never give job advice to anyone because nobody is as lucky as I was to find a job in less than a month when out of work.
So that is how the job came to be. The downside to the job is that I jumped right into travel season. I was excited to go at it with full force, and unfortunately that meant everything else in my life stopped. This included running, eating healthy, blogging, and etc. Travel season is coming to an end and I am ready to have my normal life back. Last night I had a realization that for an organized and usually balanced person, my life was completely unbalanced and disorganized which I hate! This then led to many tears and a complete freak out (thank you to my boyfriend for just sitting listening to me panic for over an hour). It is time to get back on track with my life, running wise and eating wise. I have learned without the balance of these things in my life, it leads me to panic, stress, and typically disaster. So you can look forward to many new posts from me and updates on some things I have been doing in the past few months!

Triathlon Weekend

2011-08-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday I will be partaking in my first triathlon! TriRock New York !! It is a sprint triathlon, .5 mile swim, 15 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. I'm feeling ok as of now, but wish I was a little more confident going into the race. I am doing another triathlon the end of September, so mostly I'm looking at this race as my practice for that one.

I have many goals for each of these stages and a few over all goals for this race.

For the swim: .5 Miles
First of all, I've decided not to get a wetsuit, mostly because they cost an insane amount that I don't want to spend just to swim a few times. The water will more than likely be cold, my hope is that it's just not freezing and I think I will be ok. I also have never really swam in the ocean, so yeah that should be interesting.
Goal A: Finish in 15-20 mins
Goal B: 20-25 mins
Goal C: Under 30 mins
Goal D: Don't drown!

For the bike: 15 Miles
Oddly enough, the bike is what I feel most comfortable with at the moment. When I first started biking more I was nervous and uncomfortable all the time. Then I bought myself a pair of bike shorts, got a little more use to left turns, and started to get faster. I'm hoping my bike will be the best of all my events on Saturday.
Goal A: Under an Hour
Goal B: 1 Hour
Goal C: 1 Hour 5 mins
Goal D: Don't fall off the bike and make it to the run.

For the run: 3.1 Miles
I feel like at this point I'll more than likely be exhausted and in no mood to run 3 miles. I also don't get to listen to music, so I admit I'm not looking forward to this part of the race at all. However, I'll suck it up and do it because really there is no choice haha.
Goal A: 30 Mins
Goal B: 35 Mins
Goal C: 40 Mins
Goal D: 45 Mins/ Don't pass out

Overall Goals for the Triathlon
Goal A: 1 Hour 50 Mins
Goal B: 2 Hours
Goal C: 2 Hours 10 Mins
Goal D: Finish...in any amount of time

So there it is, all my goals for Saturday. I am nervous, but optimistic that all will go well! Friday night Paul and I are going into the city to pick up our race packets and get dinner. Early to bed Friday night and up early for the drive Saturday morning!

Fingers crossed! :)

Yankee Stadium 5k Run

2011-08-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I, along with Paul and his brother, and about 4,000 other people, ran through Yankee Stadium. Being a Red Sox fan I wasn't sure how much I'd actually enjoy this run. I did not wear a Red Sox shirt cause I didn't feel like getting in fights with people while running, and my boyfriend said he would basically disown me if I wore one. I did however find this man who was wearing a Red Sox shirt, and I followed him all the way to the stadium.

Woohoo!! Red Sox!!!

We got to the stadium and waited outside in the ridiculous heat to go in and stand and wait again. I get really antsy before races usually and just want them to start. I saw two of my friends finish right before we started and was so excited they stayed until the end so I could see them! They were also nice enough to take a ton of pictures of us during the race.

Paul and I waiting to go in before the race!

Before it started some guy with a megaphone gave us what was possibly the most confusing instructions of my life. We had to go left and if it was our first loop stay right, there was something about really sharp turns in certain places, stairs, more lefts if first loop or stay to the right and etc... He finished it up with saying the course was well marked so I forgot everything he said before that point. We ran two laps around the first level and then some how went through tunnels to get downstairs to where the players usually hang out and come out on to the field from. Then we got to run two laps around the warning track, which I will admit was pretty cool.

They put a camera on the field while you were running, and when you ran by you were on the jumbo tron which was awesome. You can't totally tell but Paul and I are on it in the corner in this picture!

Paul, Justin, and I at home plate!

Inside the stadium!

Paul and Justin

Boo Yankees! hahaa

More inside the stadium!

I should not take pictures while running, but I wanted one haha

After our two laps around the warning track we ran inside and it was time for the stairs. The stairs wouldn't have been that bad if we didn't have to do them all twice. We went up I can't even remember how many stairs to the upper levels of the stadium and ran around there. Then we ran down some tunnel all the way down to the first level and back up all the stairs again to the upper levels. Finally we ran down to the first floor and finished!

Yayy!! All done! We got our medals, bags, and t-shirts and went outside to see Beckie and Parker!

So glad we got to see them!

Yay!!

All done with our medals!

The medal! My favorite part of races haha

I will say I had a great time at Yankee Stadium, which was NOT expected at all. I also found out while running in there that they have a Johnny Rockets inside. I told Paul we could go back for a game as long as I sat somewhere near Johnny Rockets :) The stadium was very nice and the whole race was organized well in my opinion. I was worried at the beginning listening to the directions, but they had signs along the course telling you which way to go and plenty of water stops, which was great in the heat!

Overall successful 5k and I will definitely run again next year! I'll post more pictures from the day when they show up on the 5k website. Now back to finishing up training for the triathlon this weekend!!!

Oh and on a side note...I accepted a new job and will talk all about it after I start, but I am very excited about it :)

Races and Beaches

2011-07-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was in Cape Cod with my brother surprising my mom for her birthday! Months of planning went into this as we tried our best to quietly book a hotel room and tell other people who were going without telling anyone who would tell my mom. I drove back to MA Thursday and ran around doing errands, breaking into my old condo since I had no keys, and going out to dinner with my bff who I missed very much, Carolyn! Then finally at around 11pm I got to the airport to pick up my brother flying in from Arizona. Friday morning we drove down to the Cape and surprised my mom right on the beach!

We've been going to this beach for years, and my family use to have a house down the street so everyone knows the area well. We use to take pictures just like the one below every year to send them out as Christmas cards.

We were only there Friday-Sunday but had a great time with family hanging around and relaxing on the beach! Ignore that my brother is about 100 times tanner than I am in this picture, he lives in Arizona so he's basically permanently changed skin color while down there.

After a long day of traveling I was back in NY on Sunday night and time to get serious about training. There is the Yankee stadium 5k next weekend that I'm mostly looking forward to. Seeing the stadium will be fun even though I strongly dislike the Yankees (I'm trying to figure out how inappropriate it would be to wear a red sox tshirt while running). I am dreading running the stairs at the stadium, which I've heard is the worst part.

The weekend after that I have a sprint triathlon that I was signed up for a couple of days ago haha. We'll see how this one goes. It's sooner than I planned to do one, I'm signed up for one at the end of September, but it can't be so bad right? I feel comfortable with swimming, although I'm not sure how comfortable it will be with hundreds of people around me. I know I can get through the water though and onto the bike fine. Once I'm done with the bike is when I'm worried. My running has just been ok lately, and I'm not sure how much it will improve with me swimming a half a mile and biking 16 miles before.

I have 2 and a half weeks left of training. Hopefully in that time my running will start to come back to me and I can feel more confident about this race. Running and swimming is on the training agenda for the day!

Happy Wednesday everyone, half way to the weekend!

Seriously Slacking Already?

2011-07-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

I know I am fully slacking on this blog already. In fairness I did move to another state, but still no more slacking on my part. Here is a quick update about what has been going on lately.

I'm officially moved into New York. I moved during 4th of July weekend, which everyone said was nuts. I packed up early in the morning and headed out. My room is officially a guest room again in MA!

The room when it was my room!

Moving Process, disaster area

Guest room!!This room was never really my room anyways so I'm not sad about it. Moving for me isn't usually emotional. I love change and have the tendency to move my room around a few times a year.

Finally I got to New York and got to spend my first weekend with this cutie!!

Bella! So adorable, except when she eats all my food haha, but in reality shes pretty cute then too!

She's a newfoundland...aka shes huge!!

Ah! So cute!

I got to watch a couple of sets of fireworks for the 4th which I was so excited about because I love fireworks! We were sitting on the water and got to see them from the yacht club next door, across the water in long island, and then some from the city.

Happy 4th of July!!

After the first weekend it got to serious job searching. It's a slow work in progress, but going alright so far. I'll leave it at that haha. In the middle of my job hunt, I did get to see my brother in the city. He was on vacation from work in Arizona, and met me in the city. We walked over to Chelsea Piers and sat on the water at the Frying Pan! Awesome view!

Such a great day, and love that I can get into NYC so easily now.

I've been in training for triathlons, 5k's, and 1/2 marathons. More of an update on that tomorrow and about my weekend at the Cape to surprise my mom for her birthday!

Thanks for checking in, and I promise no more slacking!

Weekend Fun

2011-06-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this weekend is already such a blur. As I'm trying to think of everything I did I know I'm going to leave something out. It was my last official weekend living here and unfortunately it rained most of the weekend, or else I would of spent every second by the pool.

Friday was a day off from work. Every summer they do "summer Fridays," which basically just means nobody is on campus and the weeks get really long without everyone around, so we have Friday off. I still ended up going in Friday morning but had things to do so it was fine. After that I ran errands and got lots of Starbucks because I got gift card :)

Ahh..Love <3

Saturday was a day of shopping with my mom in a town near by. I had a gift card to a running store around there so I bought two running zip-ups for colder weather that I love!!! There weren't any shirts that I liked that I could wear in the summer. The running tank-tops never seem to be long enough on me so I'm always searching for longer ones, usually coming up empty handed. Lululemon, which I love but is not even close to being in my budget, has the best long running tops. I had looked up stores around where we were going and was surprised to find that lululemon was there! I was so excited only to get there and find out the store was closed. Fail. Still a fun day though. That night I went to one of my favorite dinner places on the beach.

Lime Rickeys!

Love the beach!!!

Sunday morning it was sunny for a few hours so I got ready and went over to my pool!

I stayed as long as I possibly could, (which was long enough to enjoy my favorite lobster roll lunch!) until the clouds completely took over and I went back inside. I spent the rest of the day finishing my book that I started that morning at the pool, James Patterson book that I loved!

Overall successful last weekend home. I have done zero packing haha and very little running thanks to the lack of sun. This week I plan to do lots of both before I leave on Friday!

Happy Monday!!

Races!

2011-06-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

The past 3 or 4 days have been full of moving. Over the weekend 1/2 of my room was moved out and into storage so that the room can really be a guest room/office. I cleaned a ton of my crap out of storage too that I've been holding onto forever for no reason. Then today was moving day at work! Not too exciting for me I just got a new desk, which I'm only keeping for the next 2 weeks that I will be there. Still exciting to see everyone else moving.

On to the races! For the most part, when I'm training for a race I keep on track of my workouts more than if I'm not. The first race is the Yankee 5k run for cancer research. Now I am less than thrilled that this is a run through Yankee Stadium, and would clearly rather it be at Fenway, but oh well. I think running through any baseball stadium will be fun, minus the stairs that I'm told I have to run up at some point. It's August 7th and you have to raise at least $60 to participate on top of paying $40. Seems a little much but I'm all paid for and have all my money raised so I'm ready to go.

Race number 2 is a triathlon (my first) on Sept 25 on Long Island. Swim .5 miles, Bike 9 miles, Run 3.1 miles. Doesn't seem too complicated but we'll see haha. My worry currently is I need to find a place to swim. I know I can do the distance for the swim but I want to get in the water and get use to it. The bike and run I'm not worried about, only worried putting them together and adding a swim.

The final race...which also may be my worst idea ever...is Oct 13 and it is another 1/2 Marathon. This is the same race that I did 2 years ago (which I can't believe was 2 years ago) in Newport, Rhode Island. My idea behind adding this race, besides wanting to do it, is that I'm already training for races so why not just keep on training. We'll see how well my logic works out for me in the end.

So those are my races. I have my training plan all set up and color coordinated, which I will post at some point soon. After looking at all this I think I should stop writing and go run.

A Year In Review

2011-06-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

So the last time I posted on my old blog was right after graduation. I figured I'd catch up everyone on what I've been doing this past year.

Post graduation I moved home. The first weekend home I went to a Sox game with Carolyn!!

About a week later I got two jobs, one waitressing and the other working in the finance department of a high school near me. My "summer" job while I was looking for another job turned into a permanent position. It's been an interesting year there but has been great overall. I spent most of my summer either working one of the two jobs, driving to or from New York, or sitting right here...

The end of the summer I got my brand new car! If you saw my old one you know just how exciting this was for me haha.

Fall came along with a Red Sox/Yankee's double header and my temporary brown hair...

(Yes my fall was that boring that this was the highlight of it).

The brown hair was gone on Christmas Eve right after going to see The Nutcracker with my mom and brother!

Christmas Day I was off to VEGAS!!!!!

New York, New York Hotel

Soo much fun!!

I got to spend some quality time with my bff for her birthday in February!!!

I went to more hockey games in a two month span than I had ever in my life ( I also became a fan of hockey haha). Somewhere around here I did a 5k. Everything is starting to all blur together now.

I was in Arizona visiting my brother in May!

Had a great time, and no I cannot tell you why it says this picture was taken in January of 2010.

Then the next weekend I did the half-marathon. It rained...again...seems like every time I run one of these things it pours. Because of the rain I have zero pictures, I didn't want to risk my iphone in the rain and the website has some picture issues.

I got to see one of my other bffs for memorial day!! Sadly no pictures of this either. For now I'm finishing up work and getting ready to pack and move. I'm moving a ton of crap in my room this weekend to turn it back into an actual "guest room" and not "Amy's room" haha. I can't believe I move so soon!

So that was my year since my last post, a lot of up's and down's, but always a good time when looking back.

Updates soon on my race plans coming up, I have 3 that I'm getting ready for :o

Happy Friday!!!!!!! :)

A background story for you

2011-06-17T06:04:00.000-07:00

I started writing a blog over a year and a half ago. It went well for a while and I loved it. Then I graduated college, life changed, running slowed way down, and blogging completely came to a hault. No complaints on why I was so busy (working, traveling etc.), but I did miss the blogging and the running. I started running more last January training for a half- marathon. I realized I had missed blogging after my runs, and because I was getting back into my training again I thought maybe I should get back into my posting.

Every time I went to sit down and write a new post on the old blog something came up, or I got lazy, and nothing ever came from it. The half-marathon came and went (15 minutes faster than my first one, still pretty painful) and I had done zero posts. I then started planning more races and decided this time I actually was going to start up my blogging at the start of my training for my races.

The completely new blog came from the fact that I' m moving (ahhh 16 days!) to New York. So between my training and running around getting things done, life has become a little crazy. I'm pretty excited about it all and decided new start in a new state also could mean brand new blog!

I hope you enjoy reading all about my training and figuring out life and running routes in a new state!