My Sunday Runday

 Today was awesome.  So awesome I feel like writing about it.  After skipping my runs earlier in the week due to that silly head cold, I was more than ready to get in some mileage this morning.

Before I write about my stellar run, let me quickly say how proud I am of my dad!  This morning he ran the Heads Up Half Marathon in Concord, NH...finishing in 2:04:45! Way to go Dad! Looks like I'm going to have to pick up my pace to stay with him during the Staten Island Half next month! 

And now, back to me. :)

My alarm went off at 6:45am and I spent a few minutes trying to convince Rocky to spoon with me.  He wasn't having it, so I got up and had oatmeal with peanut butter and a big glass of water. I strapped on my fuel belt and Asics and headed out.  

The weather was absolutely perfect: mid-60s and sunny.

To get 12 miles in, my plan was to run down to Queensboro plaza, over the bridge, add 1.5 miles in Central Park and turn around and run back.  

I'm not exactly sure what's going on with the QB Bridge construction, but half of the bike path is torn up and with the storms this weekend, it was a puddly (not a word...) mess.  I quickly decided to scrap my original run plan.  

I knew I could easily add 6ish miles in Central Park and hop on the subway back to Astoria.  As soon as I crossed over 5th Ave, I got excited about my new plan.  I've run a few races in CP but rarely get over there for training.  

In a city where everyone is always in a big stinkin hurry, it's really nice to slow down and take in the beautiful sights and sounds of Central Park.  So I did.

I ran infamous Cat Hill.

And around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.  Twice.  Smiling the whole way. I really got distracted by the beauty of this city and it was awesome.

When I finally snapped out of my happy place, I finished the last few miles on the Bridle Path. 12 miles at 10:16 pace.  Other than a tight quad and achy hip, I felt great on this run.  

After my run, it was time for weekly grocery shopping.  And football.  And of course an afternoon nap!

Finally, after some studying and more football, I cracked a Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.  It's the perfect taste-of-fall beer and is a great ending to my awesome day!

Race Recap: NYRR Back to Football Run

News flash: It's football season!

Okay, fine. It's still preseason until Wednesday, but it's basically football season.  

And for the first time, NYRR teamed up with the NFL for the Back to Football Run in Central Park.  The race started at 7:30pm, which was a little late for my liking...but not too bad for a 4 mile race.

I was pretty excited to combine my love for running with my love for football & the NY Giants!  And I'm always on board to plan an awesome race "outfit".  Hence:

I have to say the best part of this super fun race was getting to meet some fabulous blog/twitter friends!  I've been following Kristin's blog for awhile now, but for some reason or another we've never been able to meet!  Last night the stars aligned and it happened.  Clearly, we hit it off right away...

Hope it's okay I'm borrowing this pic, Kristin! :)

Despite her poor taste in football teams, she's awesome and I'm so glad she shares my enthusiasm for serious race costumes and sparkles.  Oh, and she brought cookies to fuel with. Amazing.

So...the race.  My quads were feeling tight and I was kind of just running for the fun of this race, so I didn't have a goal pace or finish time in mind.  Kristin was on the same page, so we just ran, talked and eavesdropped on a certain couple arguing/inspiring each other behind us.  

The course was one loop starting and ending on the 72nd street transverse, which includes a few nice rolling hills.  These are probably highlighted below in orange/red where I was slowing down.  There were some awesome spectators/volunteers cheering on all the different NFL teams represented.  As always, NYRR had plenty of water/Gatorade available and one thing I haven't seen before at a finish line: PLUMS! Yum!

My official race time was 40:16 (10:04 pace).  Sounds good to me...can't ask for more on a fun run with great people who were all celebrating the start of football season!

Other fabulous ladies I met at the NYRR Back to Football Run? Stephanie and Beth! If you don't already follow these girls, get on it.  I really do love how running brings together so many unique and amazing people.  

Overall, the NYRR Back to Football Run made for a great Thursday night!  

Monday Motivation

I don't know about you, but I've been totally wrapped up in the Olympics this past week.  It's incredibly inspiring to watch these athletes who have worked SO hard finally get to compete and make their dreams come true.  I can't get enough of the running, swimming and gymnastics events in particular.  They're definitely motivating me to get off my butt and get my workouts in! 

I do agree with everyone that NBC is cutting the coverage with WAY too many commercials, which can get really frustrating because I might miss something awesome! However, some of these commercials are amazing and motivating in and of themselves.  The VISA commercials narrated by Morgan Freeman literally give me chills.  And this one from Nike Running:

That kid is no Olympic athlete...but he is out there moving.  I love it.  So when you find yourself lacking motivation...turn on the Olympics! Or check out some of these commercials. And then get your butt in gear!

Tell me: what motivates you? Which Olympic events are you loving?! 

Monday Motivation

Life After the Half Marathon

So I haven't written a post in a really long time.  I even skipped my Thankful Thursday post last week (oops!).  I've been caught up in my internship and haven't had much to say as I'm not really running a lot either (oops again!).  I think I've run a total of 13 miles since running my 13 miles on half marathon day! That's terrible, I know.  But I kind of gave into the fact that I don't HAVE to run a certain amount of miles each week.  And even though I wanted to run, I found myself focusing more on doing work or enjoying time with friends than worrying about getting miles in.  So this has been my life after training...

NOT good.  I need to get back into the swing of things.  I'm doing the Run for the Wild 5k run at the end of the month, followed by the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in May...

But most recently, a dear friend "gifted" me his registration to the Rugged Maniac in June.  I am STOKED for that.  I was planning on signing up anyway, but now I'm already in and can't wait! I think it's the perfect "race" to focus myself now.  I really want to work more on my overall fitness and this should be a fun way to do so.  Last year, Dad and I did the Run Amuck race and we LOVED it.  It was such a blast and definitely a physical challenge!

Run Amuckers!

Since my goals this month include hitting the gym more often, I should definitely be on target for training for this kick ass event! Mud pits, rope climbing, etc...Interested in joining us yet?

I've read a lot lately about runners getting burned out during training.  And what's worse is that they sometimes start to lose sight of why they run in the first place.  For me, it's because it's fun.  It's a release.  And of course, because it's a great way to stay healthy!  Running "fun" races is a great way to take a step back from the rigorous training and repetition to really enjoy yourself! 

So this is my plan for my "life after half-marathon".   Ya know, at least until I sign up for my next half! ;)

Half the Distance, Twice the Fun?

So I'm 4 weeks into my 12-week training plan for the 13.1 Queens Half Marathon.  I purposefully picked a beginner plan which started out with less mileage than I was used to running, and I have tweaked it along the way.  

I'm happy to announce that I am comfortably sore and tired, but injury-free (knock-on-wood).    I'm attributing this to the oh-so-important rest days and my cross-training.  I've forced myself to work in yoga (yuck) and spinning to my routine, which gives my body a break from running and strengthens muscles that will ultimately help me be a better runner.  I'll admit the yoga has been really good for my super tight hip flexors, so I'll keep it up! This week we tried the Yoga to the People studio in Brooklyn.  It's a great space and the class was very challenging.  I've been running 3-4 days a week for a total of 13-15 miles each week.  The plan is to slowly increase mileage each week, keeping up the cross-training and rest days. 


I'm also running the M-M-Manhattan Hot Chocolate 10K next weekend, which I'm super excited about.  Running followed by hot chocolate...? What could be better than that?


I'll continue to update as my training progresses and I'll definitely be giving a review of the 10K this weekend! :)


Happy Running and Happy Week y'all!

Monday Motivation: Do Work!

Source: Pinterest

Yo Teach!

Last night I took a spinning class at NYSC (I have a 1-month membership, thanks to LivingSocial).  It was the WORST group fitness class I've ever taken in my life.  And it started me thinking about motivation.  People go to group classes to get a good work out (obvi), but mostly to feed off others and be motivated by the instructor.  

So what happens when the instructor stinks?


A 45-minute class seems like a lifetime.  The energy was non-existent.  We still cycled for 45 minutes.  We still did jumps and hills and recovery.  My legs are sore today.  But this is only because I became my own inner spinning instructor.  I had to repeat inspirational mantras to myself.  I was silently keeping track of the seconds for each repeat.  I pushed myself to increase the resistance or pedal faster.  


When I really wanted to SCREAM out:


"Yo Teach! See that thing next to you with handlebars & two wheels? It's your bike: Get on it!  And when you tell me I'm "almost there", tell me how much time is left.  Tell me what the next sequence will be.  When you say we're doing something for 45 seconds, please acknowledge when that 45 seconds has ended, so we can come back down.  Stop fussing with the music, which by the way SUCKS.  Definitely stop gently patting the sweat from your nose in the mirror, because you haven't DONE anything to earn that sweat.  Certainly not compared to those of us actually ON the bike, sweating like a beasts, soaking up our 2nd towel!"


Thankfully, this instructor only teaches once a week.  I now know what night I will not be taking spinning class.  [Hint for anyone interested in Astoria: TUESDAY @ 7:30pm]

With all that being said, I'm a firm believer that no one can motivate you to do something if you don't want it for yourself.  You have to push yourself toward the things you want in life, whether they're fitness-related or not.  

Monday Motivation

Motivation Monday

Ugh. Monday. 

I'm 2 1/2 months into my internship now and I'm busier than ever.  I "work" full-time and then have a ton of assignments to do when I get home @ night and on weekends.  I've forced myself to stay on track with running by signing up for races and penciling (ok, highlightering) a training schedule into my dayplanner.  As the days get shorter, it's definitely hard to stay motivated to run.  Which is why I'm so glad I have twitter, and that I follow so many inspiring and motivational people! It seems like every other tweet in my timeline is a fellow runner sharing their running stories & tips.  Someone shared this the other day, and as I find myself complaining about how busy I am, it hit home.  So I figured I'd share:



That's a true story..

 On that note...I'm going to head out for a quick run.  Bye! :)

Going for my Goals: November

It's a few days into November and the kickoff to the holiday season, where it's so easy to fall off track from your health and fitness routine.  So many of the bloggers I follow have been posting their monthly goals, so I am inspired to follow suit.  It's so important to set goals and hold ourselves accountable in order to be successful!  I set goals for myself all the time, but have never written them down to be sure I achieve them before.  So here goes:

1.  Get back to strength training.  I may not be able to afford a gym membership right now, but I have awesome adjustable dumbbells that haven't been touched since I moved almost 3 months ago.

2.  Create a new running playlist.  My iPod always gives me a much needed boost, but it's time to switch up my tracks!

3.  Be sure to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night! This will tough since I now have to be up at 4:30am to get out to my internship by 6!

4.  Continue to focus on positive people & things in life! Be thankful everyday.  (Lately if I'm struggling to get through a workout, I take a step back and remember that I am lucky to be able to do it, when so many others can't.)



 5.   STRETCH more. And maybe finally buy myself a foam roller!?

6.  Beat my time from last year's Turkey Trot! I'm not a competitive or fast runner, and this is a fairly hilly course, so I'd just like to be faster than last year's 47:48 (9:34 pace).


That should be more than enough for me to work on this month! In December, I will reflect on my achievements and set new exciting goals going forward! :)