I'm leaving for Asia tomorrow!

Well hello there! That's right, the countdown on the right will probably self-destruct sometime soon because my visit to see Taylor in Indonesia starts TOMORROW!!! I seriously doubt I'm going to be able to blog while I'm there (more because Taylor will mock me mercilessly if I try to use any of our precious online time blogging than because of lack of internet access....), but I promise to give a good recap when I get back, complete with photos. Before I go though, I thought I'd give you an idea of what I plan to be up to.

I'll be overseas for a total of about 3 weeks. Here's the breakdown:

I leave tomorrow at 12:30pm from Detroit on Northwest. My first leg is 13 hours and lands in Tokyo at about 3:30pm local time (that includes the 14 hours time difference). Then, I have a 2 hour layover in Tokyo before I fly to Singapore. That flight is about 8 hours and lands in Singapore at 12:35am local time on January 1 (35 minutes after they ring in the New Year in Singapore). If you're sitting in the U.S., think of be and Taylor being reunited after 5 months at 11:30am on Wednesday (2 days from now!!!!!!)! I can't wait!

So, after a very exciting reunion (my fiance has requested it not be tearful, but I cannot make any promises!), we're heading to a hotel called the Far East Hotel: Chiang Village. It's just a few miles from the airport in Singapore. Taylor will have arrived and checked in already, so we should be able to just head to our room for a nice shower (I'll be feeling pretty icky after 24 hours traveling!). We decided we should try to celebrate the New Year a little, so we're going to go out somewhere at like 2am just to hang out for a couple hours :)

On Thursday (January 1), we're going to get up and check out of the hotel and find our way to the bus station to get a bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. See, we wanted to go somewhere else in Asia, and KL (as they call it) is only about a 5 hour bus ride. We have a hotel reserved for the nights of Jan 1 and Jan 2 in KL and then we're planning on staying in Malaysia 2 more nights, though we haven't decided if we want to stay in KL or go somewhere else. I have some recommendations from friends and I'm going to call another friend who lived there for a year today to see what they think we should do!

On January 5, we're heading back to Singapore where we'll stay for 2 nights with our friend Wayne from Vanderbilt. We don't have too much planned for these two days but I know we'll find PLENTY to do in Singapore.

After we finish our visits to Singapore and Malaysia, we'll head to Indonesia for the rest of the trip. We will arrive in Surabaya, Indonesia on January 7th and spend a week in and around Taylor's home in the mountains outside Indonesia. I think we have plans to climb a volcano and go to some hindu temples. Should be fun! Plus, I'll get to see where Taylor has been living for the past 5 months!

The last week, I think we will be splitting our time between Taylor's village, Bali, and a quick trip to Jakarta for a gathering Taylor has to attend.

Well, folks, you won't be hearing from me for a while, but never fear, I will return with plenty of stories!!

Happy New Year,
Carissa

Merry Christmas!

Hello there! It's CHRISTMAS!! I just wanted to post a Merry Christmas blog to all my friends and family who read this. I am still home in Ohio celebrating with family. It feels like I've celebrated Christmas about 8 times this year because we have so many family and friends!

The past week has been pretty fun. Last Friday we had a Christmas party with my parents' small group from church. I went along and participated in some lively conversation and the white elephant gift exchange. It was a good time.

Last weekend I can honestly say I don't remember a single thing I did! Oops! This week was fun though. On Monday I went up to Ann Arbor with my little sister to stay the night and hang out with her on Tuesday. Monday night, I dropped her off at class and proceeded to sit in traffic for about 2 hours trying to get to her apartment. Ann Arbor Michigan has THE WORST traffic ever! It didn't help that it was snowing and there was too much traffic to clear the roads, but STILL.

I picked Taryn up from work at 10pm and we watched some friends before we went to bed. On Tuesday we got up and took our time before we headed out to do some shopping. I was in search of some shoes for my trip to Indonesia. I needed a pair of black closed-toe flats and then a pair of flip-flops. Well, I didn't have too much trouble with the flats, but seeing as it was snowing buckets on Tuesday, I had a bit of a tough time finding a store that was carrying flip flops (don't they realize that people go on Vacation!) . Luckily, I remembered a fantastic web site called www.endless.com. It's a shoe and handbag store that offers free, overnight shipping on everything if you order by 5:15pm PST. So...on Tuesday night at 8pm, I ordered a pair of Havaiana sandals and they arrived Wednesday by 5pm. Pretty amazing and it only cost me $20! They're really nice flip flops, i swear :)

Yesterday (Wednesday), we went to my Aunt Shari and Uncle Jeff's house to see all the Lucyks (except the ones who live in Whyoming). We had a great time and I got some fun gifts. I got wine glasses for when Taylor and I have a place and two bottles of my favorite red wine from Northern Michigan. I also got a jewelry box, which is nice since I've been using a tupperware to organize my jewelry since high school!

So here I sit after Christmas morning celebrating with family :) I will be posting this weekend with a sneak preview of my trip to Indonesia! I can't wait to go. I leave on Tuesday so don't worry, you'll hear all about our plans before I leave!

Adventures perhaps not so exciting....

So my friend Eric has reminded me that I have a blog! You know, NYC was so random and interesting that I never really lacked for things to update. Now that I'm back in Ohio (on sabbatical, in hibernation, whatever you want to call it), I find that I am less exciting on my own than I thought! But, I think it's only fair that I post upon request and also that I make a vow to post at least twice a week from now on. Does that work?

So, as I mentioned in the title, Adventures in Ohio was the overwhelming winner in my very successful voting (sarcasm intended, I think I got like 10 votes!) endeavor. So here goes!

I arrived home last Tuesday (has it REALLY been 9 days?). My grandma picked me up at the airport and we went to lunch at Applebees. My "you're not in Kansas anymore" moment (New York City being Kansas in this analogy) happened as soon as we walked through the door and I was hit by a wave of cigarette smoke. Yes, that's right, in Michigan they still ask you "smoking or non?" when you arrive at a restaurant....ugh. Thankfully the great state of Ohio has banned smoking in restaurants (and that's about the only thing I like more about Ohio than Michigan, but I won't get in to that ;-). Anyway, I headed home right after lunch with grams and got to my house at around 3:30pm.

I have made a commitment to go to the gym every day in the three weeks between when I got home and when I go visit Taylor. So I hit the gym right away when I got home and ran 5 miles. Not bad, right? My mom and I went out to dinner that night at P.F. Changs and just relaxed.

A lot of the other days since I got home are sort of a blur of going to the gym (I've missed a couple days due to a cold and a stomach virus one day!), showering at about 4pm, and eating dinner with my family.

Highlights include:

• I picked up my wedding dress last Thursday!
• My mom and I gave blood at the Red Cross (0-, so popular right now)
• I went with my mom to an ornament exchange with my mom. Think 30 or so midwestern middle-aged women, CHRISTMAS SWEATERS that light up, play music, and jingle (no, not as a joke, for real), sexual innuendo in amounts you would expect at an 8th grade boys' get-together, and some really tasty snacks. It was a good time.
  
• We had Christmas with my Grandpa and Grandma Hooper and I got some sweet gifts including a medal plaque from the NYC Marathon! Isn't it cool?!
  

• 
• Headed up to Dearborn, MI (it's basically like New Delhi, MI, tons of Indians) for the Shinske family Christmas, which is basically my dad's mom and all her siblings and their kids and grandkids and greatgrandkids (those are the ones I'll be having one day....). There's about 100 people there and about 20 kids. This year, no one volunteered to be Santa so - being the resourceful midwesterners that we are - we hired one off Craigslist! Nice.
• Went to my OTHER grandparents church for their annual Christmas play. My grandpa has been raving about it for years and I've never been home soon enough to see it (Dec. 14 was the last show), so I really wanted to go. It was pretty amazing, but not surprising considering it's a church of 30,000 people!
• Oops, I may or may not have burnt my butt by going tanning apparently for the first time without underwear....
• Some drama with the boy which has subsequently made me even more desperate to go visit him. I leave in 12 days and even though I love Christmas and don't want it to be over, I'm DESPERATE for Dec. 30 to get here.
• Today I found out that the job I had before I left NYC which now has me working from home (oops, forgot to mention that....I'm doing that too about 25 hours a week) wants me to stick around after I get back from Indonesia. That's pretty exciting!

Alright, Eric (and my 3 or 4 other loyal readers), I hope that this is a worthy update!

Time for a new theme!

I started this illustrious blog back in July 2006 on MySpace (does MySpace even exist anymore?). It was a simpler time then; my rent was $800 a month, the economy was booming, Taylor was in this hemisphere...but that's neither here nor there. The point is, my blog has gone through some iterations....and now I'm at a crossroads.

The original purpose of this blog was to share my "exciting" life in New York City with my vastly dispersed friends and family (of which I think 2 actually read this regularly :). Now that I am moving home to Ohio in 2 weeks for at least 6 months, I need to figure out what to do with my blog! I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to bore you with all sorts of info...but I'm not sure if anyone really cares :) So...please take .4 seconds to vote on the right about what topic you'd like me to focus on in my "new" and "improved" blog!

I'll be honest, the easiest but also most annoying would be to blog about the wedding we're planning. But I am aware that not everyone wants to read about my wedding at length (see my favorite e-card). So, I took a stab at some other ideas. The last choice is basically just a catch-all for my random ramblings. Please let me know what you think. If you have an idea that isn't on here, leave a comment!

Detailed Marathon recap - THE FINALE - Miles 22-26.2

Alright, I know this took forever so now I have to make it worth it ;-)

So where were we? Oh, Mile 22 of the New York City Marathon, heading down 5th Avenue. Mile 22 is about right where we come back into Manhattan. It really is the homestretch because we're back in the grid of streets where you know exactly how far you have to go at any point (20 blocks is a mile in Manhattan so it's pretty easy to figure out). Our Team In Training coach, Christine (who was 7 months PREGNANT) was at about mile 22.5 and she ran with me for 100 yards or so. She told me, "don't think about the pain, just focus on getting to Central Park." Which was just what I needed to hear. It reminded me of my unlikely mantra during the 20 mile run, "Pain is inevitable, Suffering is optional." So even though I was really feeling the pounding in my feet, knees, head, you name it, I decided at that point I was running the rest of this race (as in NOT walking at all) no matter what! Wahoo!

So I'm running down 5th Avenue and there were many fun things to see. First, there are some really cute apartments in the 120s and 5th avenue. It's like the fancy part of Harlem, I guess. Then, at 105th Street and 5th avenue is where Taylor and I are getting married next year (I just paused to give them a quick call, way to keep me on task, blog). So it was nice to pause for a second to think about that. Then at 95th St. my parents and Taylor's parents were standing there to cheer me on. I stopped to hug them again. :) Actually, this time, when I hugged my mom I looked and saw a woman taking a picture of me, which I found weird since I didn't know her. Apparently after I kept running she told my mom that she was from Runner's World (the magazine) and would be featuring a little story about me on their web site. She asked for my name and stuff and my mom told them that I was running for Team In Training. Well I kept looking on the web site for the week after the race hoping to see my moment of fame and this is what I found... I'm famous, and so is my mom's hand ;-)

After I saw them, we made the turn into Central Park and had less than 3 miles to go! The reason Central Park is such a big deal in the Marathon is that it's basically where we did all of our training. We (all the NYC-based marathoners) do most of our training in Central Park so we know it like the back of our hands. Which is something I learned from this marathon. Knowing what you have up ahead on the course is CRUCIAL in a marathon.

Inside Central Park the crowds were really thick and there were SO MANY people cheering for Team In Training, which was awesome. I was feeling pretty good, too. I knew that I was off of my 4 hour stretch goal, but that was ok. If I kept to 10 minute miles I was going to be around 4:08, which I was fine with. I have to admit, though, at this point in the race, knowing that my family wouldn't be there to see me at the finish line (It's too crowded, the only way you get to is if you buy $75/tickets and stake out a spot the whole race, but I would prefer to have them throughout the course), I was really wishing that I had a running buddy to cross the finish line with.

So with about a mile left, the course exits the park and turns to run on 59th Street along the south of Central Park. The crowds are REALLY thick, and I was actually feeling pretty good. I Looked up and up ahead I saw a PURPLE SINGLET!!! It was one of my teammates! I was so excited, I cannot even tell you. And on top of that, it was my mentor buddy, Glen, whom I'd run with all season. He was supposed to be about 10 minutes ahead of me, but I was gaining on him quickly (he'd started out a little fast and was now paying for it.). Now, to understand this next part, I have to tell a brief story from the Pasta Party the night before the race.

At the Pasta Party, all of our coaches and training captains get up and give us their one piece of parting advice before the race. One of our training captains, Elle, had the best advice I'd heard. She said, "Get a PB." What's a PB you ask? A Pace Booty. That's right, pick a runner up ahead who's keeping a good pace for you and whose booty you don't mind staring at for some amount of time, and GO AFTER IT. She said this works particularly well at the end. Well...I don't have much of an affinity for Glen's booty (no offence to Glen, it's just that we're both otherwise spoken for), but as I approached him I made a confession "You've been my pace booty for about the last 50 yards, let's finish this!" So I hung with Glen through the last 3/4 of a mile and I am SO HAPPY that we got to finish the race together!

We turned left into Columbus Circle with just .3 miles left and I'm practically jumping around, more excited to be crossing the finish line with a friend than anything else. Running can be such a solo activity, it's so much fun to share the accomplishment with teammates. That's why I love Team In Training. As we neared the finish line, the roar of the crowds got louder and louder. And I know that many people were inspired to see our TNT jersey's go by. I looked up and saw the finish line and didn't feel a twinge of pain until we crossed it. I had a really strong urge to grab Glen's hand and hold it up like in all the photos you see, but I resisted :) I think he's very glad I did. Here's a series of photos:

FINISH LINE PHOTO :)

We crossed the finish line and began what is called the "Penguin Death March." Basically we just hobbled, unable to really walk (too crowded) or stretch (we had to keep moving) for about .5 miles up to to the place where we were able to get our bags. It took about 30 minutes before we were able to leave the park, another reason why I'm glad I found Glen, we got to spend some time talking about the race!

Once I was out of the park, I met my parents and Taylor's parents to celebrate with a MARGARITA! :) What a great race!!!

Detailed Marathon recap, before I forget! (Part 4 - Miles 16-22)

Well, most people know that Mile 20 of a marathon is the so-called "wall" where even the most prepared runner starts to feel the slight twinge of having run 20 miles. Or the throbbing, pulsing, miserable reality of it. Take your pick.

Anyway, dear blog reader, I hope that this post won't feel like a wall because I was actually lucky enough not to really feel it while I was running. I just wanted to put that out there, you might start dragging.

So I've mentioned that the New York City Marathon is famous for the huge crowds that line the course. Well, the most famous moment of the marathon (besides the finish of course!) is the Queensboro bridge, which connects Queens to Manhattan and is at mile 15-16 of the course. Essentially, it's about .6 miles UP followed by .6 miles DOWN. Most people will tell you that the UP is the hard part. I disagree. Due to my IT band issues in my knees, running downhill is the most painful thing for me, and this was the steepest descent of the whole course. So, at about mile 16.2 I was freaking out a little because it was the first time I was in a lot of pain and I knew I had 10 miles left to run!

But the Queensboro bridge entrance into Manhattan is not just famous for being the so-called "heartbreak hill" of the New York City Marathon. It is also famous because at this point is where you come upon the screaming, booming, 16-people deep crowds that line the race in Manhattan. And I am not even kidding you, I am getting goosebumps right now just typing it! As runners come off the Queensboro bridge (throbbing knees or not, haha), they greeted by hundreds of thousands of people cheering. We turn and run up First Avenue and I'm not even kidding, it's the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for about 3 miles.

For me, First Avenue was a wonderful, difficult, emotional rollercoaster. Coming off of the bridge I was PETRIFIED that I would not be able to keep running because my knees were hurting so bad. Luckily, though, most of First Avenue is a slight incline, which was good for me.

The plan was to see my parents and Taylor's parents at 78th Street on the left side of the course. At about 77th Street, I hear someone screaming my name from the right side of the course and look over to see Taylor's parents! I waved to them and then started looking for my parents on the left. It turned out that 78th was too crowded so they were standing at 80th street. I stopped again to hug each of them and, being the logistics-oriented person that I am, made sure to tell them exactly where Taylor's parents were so that they could meet up with them.

So that was about mile 17.5. After that, the real battle began. I knew I had about 6 more miles before I would see my family again, the crowds thin as you go up the street, and I was starting to feel tired (imagine that!). So when I crossed the Queensboro bridge, I was still keeping a low-nine minute per mile pace. As I started to feel the pain on the way down the bridge, and especially as I was to distracted by all the crowds to really pay attention to my time, I really started to slow down and run more based on how I was feeling than on my aggressive time goal (4 hours). So, starting at about mile 18, I kept about a 10-minutes per mile pace for pretty much the rest of the race. And I was happy with that. Being more conservative with my pace really made the last part of the race bearable, which is really all one can ask for at the end of a marathon!

So miles 18 - 22 took me up into the Bronx which I'd like to say right now is NOT as bad as the say. People are always saying that there aren't many people cheering in the Bronx. Well, those must be the people who don't go to the Bronx to cheer because from where i was standing (running), there were tons of people and it was great! I think because I was smart and slowed my pace, I felt really good, even through the doldrums of miles 18 - 22. Which set me up for a great time the rest of the race!

Next.

Detailed Marathon recap, before I forget! (Part 3 - Miles 9-15)

This is going to be the "boring" part of my recap. Miles 9 - 15 of the marathon stand out for one reason: they were boring.

Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the crowds out cheering for us on this stretch of the course, but really, it was the least interesting part of the course, all building up to entering Manhattan at mile 16.

Miles 9-11 were tough because it was the first time that my knees started to hurt a little bit. It's also the time when I realized I probably wasn't going to be able to make 4 hours. At mile 10, we were supposed to increase our average pace to 9 min. per mile. This means the "windows" now became 8:50 - 9:10 per mile. Remember, I was supposed to stay within this window, but not stay on either side of 9:00 for more than 2 miles in a row. Well, unfortunately, I just could not get my pace under 9 minutes no matter how hard I tried, so I hovered closer to 9:10-9:15 for the next five miles. It was a bummer, but I wanted to be careful rather than forcing myself to speed up and pay for it later.

There was one exciting part of this portion of the race. While I didn't enjoy it very much, I'm sure you will find humor (or craziness) in the fact that I came upon a man (and blessedly eventually passed him) wearing this. IN THE MARATHON! Crazy.

Next!

Detailed Marathon recap, before I forget! (Part 2 - Miles 0 - 8)

Alright, finally, I'm taking the time to recap the marathon for you in full. Enjoy!

The New York City Marathon is unusual in that it starts at 10am. Most races start much earlier (I ran a half marathon in February that started at 6!), but I guess they realize that New Yorkers won't get themselves out of bed that early to cheer. And the New York City Marathon is known for it's enthusiastic crowds (over 2 million people are said to line the streets for the race, and after running it, I believe them, but we'll get to that!).

Even though the race starts at 10, we still had to be to the Team In Training bus by 6am in order to beat the traffic to the start (if everyone left later everyone could leave later, but what do I know?). So we arrived at the start "village" - and it really does feel like one, more like a town with 38,000 spandex-clad residents! - at 7am with three hours to shiver in the cold until the marathon. And let me tell you, it was FREEZING and windy! Everyone had warned me about spending so much time in the cold so I was prepared. I had on my race gear plus a "heat tech" shirt, fleece pants, and one of those throwaway paperish jackets that they sell at the expo. It was like $10 and windproof so well worth it! At the start line we all basically huddled together in a sunny spot and fretted about whether or not we were correctly adhering to our pre-race rituals which include anything from eating to hydrating to peeing at regular intervals or taping joints (what, is that too much information?).

At about 9:15am I had to take my bag of things I wanted to have at the finish over to the UPS trucks that would transport them while I was running. One thing I'm SO glad I took with me was my UGG boots! I wore them at the start and they kept my feet and calves nice and toasty :)

Some of my mentees and I at the start line (that's my warm shirt that I pulled up so you could see the TNT gear!)

Now, I still had 45 minutes before we start running (and longer until I felt even the least be "warm), so I didn't put my warm clothing in my bag. I kept it all on and shed it at the start of the race. Which I'm ok with because they actually collect all that clothing and give it to shelters. See, doing a good deed AND running :)

Ok, so I think we're finally at the start. Woo hoo! So 10am rolls around and I am in a corral waiting for the start of the New York City Marathon. I decided to run by myself for this race because I knew my knees could act up at any moment and I didn't want to feel like I was slowing someone down or, conversely, I didn't want to be slowed down by them if I happened to be having a better day. So being at the start line alone was REALLY scary! Everyone around me seemed to be talking to someone, thereby having something to distract them from being scared s*&^less about the 26.2 miles they were about to run. Instead that's just what I was, scared to death! When the cannon went off and we finally started moving, though, I felt better. As we turned a corner and the Verrazano a girl behind me grabbed her husband (boyfriend, whomever) and was like "Oh my Gosh honey, we're about to do the marathon!!" Her excitement was contagious and paired with "Born to Run" by Bruce playing out the loudspeaker I burst into tears. Seriously. I spent the first tenth of a mile running up the Verrazano Narrows Bridge crying like a baby. But that quickly wore off and the first mile of the marathon went by in a blink.

So my stretch goal for the marathon was to complete it in 4 hours. This meant that my goal for the first 10 miles was to run 9:00 - 9:20 miles, never keeping too close to 9:00 or 9:20 for more than 2 miles in a row. Well, there wasn't a marker for the first mile, so I had to wait until the second mile. My time at mile 2 (the base of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge) was 18:19, right on pace, nice.

Miles 2-8 went by in a blur, but I managed to keep right on pace (maybe a little fast). I got confused at one point because we were divided into different groups who had run a slightly different route after the bridge, so my group was about 200 yards "behind" the other groups. At one point, I pressed my split (to see how fast I had run the previous mile) and it said 8:36! Which is NOT good, it's never a bad thing to run way faster than you want to because you always end up paying for it later. Luckily, I realized that I actually had about 30 more seconds to run until my mile marker, which meant I was actually right on (about 9:06).

At mile 8 was the first time I saw my parents. They were so cute out there cheering. My mom devised a scheme whereby she just held up the TNT sign she had gotten the night before and I watched for it on the left side of the course. I was so excited to see them at mile 8 that I gave them each a hug before moving on :) Here's a picture of me running up to them:

Next.

Link to some photos!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2127938&l=7c58e&id=4700966

The New York City Marathon (Part 1 - Thank-you e-mail)

Hello! Here's the thank-you e-mail I sent to all my donors. I apologize if you already got this! I'll post a full race recap soon :)

Well, this past Sunday I crossed the finish line of the acclaimed ING NYC Marathon!

The course was no joke- FULL of up hills and down hills- but I completed all 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 7 minutes!! I joined over 40,000 other participants from around the country in completing the race (enthusiastic photo attached).

Any marathoner will tell you that all you want to do after a race is tell people all about it. Unfortunately, people who have never run a marathon don't really care much to hear every gritty detail, so I will spare you. However, there is one inspirational story that I simply MUST share.

Last week, while researching potential major gift donors for the non-profit at which I was temping, I came across an executive at a major company who had a beautiful daughter named Melissa. Melissa had down syndrome and lost a battle with Leukemia on April 7 of this year. I was touched by Melissa's story and – seeing as my job was to find out as much information as possible about this person – I found the home address of her family. On a whim, I wrote them a letter much like this one telling them what I was doing for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and telling them that I would be running the marathon in Melissa's honor as well. Well, Saturday night, just 12 hours before the start of the New York City marathon I checked my e-mail to find a $1,000 donation from Melissa's generous parents. Talk about a touching moment. Not only was this donation completely unexpected and supremely generous, it also took me WAY beyond my personal fundraising goal. That's Melissa's photo on my back in the attached photo. You wouldn't believe all the people who came up behind me during the race and said she was inspiring them to keep going. Learn more about Melissa at www.riggio.net

Of course, the search for a cure for cancer of all types still isn't over. I know so many of you have been affected by this disease. If you haven't had a chance to donate yet, please consider making even just a $5 donation to help our team reach out final goal. Your money will go directly to The Society's mission- to better the lives of cancer patients and their families and find a CURE to not only blood cancers, but ALL cancers. Please don't wait. Make a donation today. http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyc08/VandySanctus

If you've already donated, please know how much your money is appreciated. But don't take my word for it. Hear it from someone who has benefited directly from your generosity- my teammate, marathon finisher AND leukemia survivor Dani Frisch:

"I didn't have any choice other than to receive chemo and radiation. On the other hand, I have a choice, everyday, to run and raise more life saving funds for others battling blood cancers. I am proud to say I am striving for more everyday, and so happy you have made the choice to help others as well."

Thanks again for your support (and I promise I'm not going to do this again ;-)

E-mail I sent to my Mentees on Monday

Thought you, loyal blog reader, might find this interesting:

Dear Diary,

Marathon day is coming up quickly! I can't wait for Sunday, but there's so much to do before then.I am stretching so much that people at work look at me funny. I feel a little achy and my 4 mile EZ run yesterday was anything but. My left knee, which has been hurting all season, was fine, but now my right one hurts! I know what that means, ice and REST this week (along with the aforementioned stretching).

It's ridiculous how much water I drink lately. I always have a bottle of water handy and I'm constantly refilling it at the water cooler. The more I drink, the better it tastes and the more I start to crave it. Even though the weather has cooled down lately, it could get pretty hot on marathon day...I might sweat more that usual it's crucial that I hydrate now. I'm also putting extra salt on all my food so my body can retain as much water as possible.

I also stopped by Times Square to get some throwaway hat/gloves/long-sleeve-T for before the race. It's important not to waste calories trying to stay warm at 6 AM. And I found the perfect throwaway track pants ($12.99 at Filenes) and shirt ($10.50 at Uniqlo, they swear it's "heat tech"). I plan on wearing all this until the start so I can take them off and throw them away. We sit around in Staten Island for 3+ hours before the race starts.

Send Off is this Tuesday (October 28). It's mandatory because there is a lot of important info and good advice. 7pm at University Settlement at 184 Eldridge Street between Rivington and Delancy. I'm going to make sure to collect $5 from each of my mentees so we can thank our coaches!Oh and don't even get me started Don't forget about nutrition and hydration! The course preview tells me a bit about what to expect. Water and Lemon-lime Gatorade Endurance Formula will be available at official fluid stations every mile beginning at mile 3. That sounds ok to me, but I might also consider bring my fuel belt because you know what they say, "Nothing new on race day!." That would also give me a place to store my nutrition! At this point, I won't try anything new…I'm just staying with what I've been doing for all my long runs. Anything that won't fit in my fuel belt/pockets, I will safety pin right onto my clothes. Now I just need to find time to run to GNC and pick up those vanilla powergels!

I've told my friends about Athlete Tracker so they can see where I am throughout the race! They only notify via e-mail but most cell phone companies have a way that you can convert cell phone numbers to e-mail addresses and get texts. For instance Verizon is Ten Digit Phone Number (##########)@vtext.com. Mom and Dad are all hooked up!

You should see me pathetically dropping hints about the marathon to anyone that will listen! You know, just so they know how important I am this week (and how important I will be next week too! I think everyone in a 3 block radius of my work and apartment is fully aware, so that's good :)

Finally, I gotta remember to LOOK UP, LOOK AROUND AND SMILE during my race. We are doing an incredible thing. Every mile, we should be reminding ourselves to stay in the moment and be proud and excited. And, it's relaxing.I'm so proud of all my friends, teammates and mentees who are running this race (or who have trained so hard for almost 6 months only to be plagued by injury!!!).

Send them my best wishes, Diary!
Carissa

P.S. I hope my mentees will call me if they need anything! (thanks, Eric)

Daily updates?! So not my style!

But then again, neither is the spandex I'll be wearing on race day and we all know that will be happening so I say screw it!

T minus 3 days and you better believe I'm chugging water out of this Ethos bottle from Starbucks like it's my job (I'm sure you all don't need me to ask the obligaroty rhetorical question: "why don't they just send the WATER to the children instead of having us buy the perfectly good water for $2.50 and sending a "portion"? I think it's because they're building water infrastructure, but still...it's kinda funny).

Tonight, I plan to go to the marathon Expo which is where I'll get my race number, timing chip, goody bag and (most likely) an unnecessary amount of race-related purchases. I know I won't be able to help myself so you better believe I'll be buying some ING NYC Marathon paraphenalia as well as some running gear. Good times and don't worry, I'll make sure to model it for you :)

Here's my race registration card. It's got all my vitals. I'm so excited!

So that's it. I'm Wave 2 Orange, runner number 29058!

Bring it on!

Less than 4 days!!!!!!

Last night was "send-off" for the New York City Marathon, which is where our coaches and the Team In Training staff get us together to give us all of our goodies for the marathon. Let me tell you, I was the giddiest I've been in a LONG time just thinking about how soon the marathon is!!!

We got our singlets (the pretty purple tank I'm wearing on my TNT fundraising page). Don't know what that looks like? Then you should check it out and donate while you're there!!

Now, it's time to HYDRATE, STRETCH, CARBO-LOAD and REST in anticipation of 26.2 miles and 2 million spectators through the 5 NYC boroughs of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx. I'm having some issues in my knees which I'm really hoping don't creep up on race day, but other than that, I'm READY!

Tonight, I'm making a big plate of pasta with bolognese sauce and ground turkey. Mom, aren't you proud? :)

Well, I gotta get home but please leave me a note of encouragement for this Sunday!

Say Hello

to ING New York City Marathon runner #29058!

Yay!! That's right, I am running the NYC Marathon and it's official now, I have a race number and everything. I will begin the race at 10am on November 2, 2008!

A great fall weekend

This past weekend really was all that Fall should be in New York (and beyond). As you probably know, the New York City Marathon is less than 2 weeks away (AHHAHAHAHAHAHH!), so we had our last long-ish run on Saturday. We ran the last 10 miles of the actual marathon course (a wonderful benefit of living in the same city in which you will be running). My IT band in my left knee has been acting up during all my long runs. This run was no different. My only saving grace was that my knee did not get any worse after about mile 4. So the pain stayed the same and it was bearable.

After the run, I did one of my FAVORITE things. I put on my UGGs, walked to Starbucks, and had a coffee :) Good times. Then, I went home to shower and get ready to go watch the Vanderbilt football game! We played Georgia, who is a fairly highly ranked team and lost decidedly. But it was still fun to watch part of the game at a bar with a couple of friends (who I just randomly ran into there).

About halfway through the game, I had to go to my friend Amanda's Bridal Tea at Alice's Teacup. It's this sickeningly cute little place on the Upper East Side where you can choose from about 100 different kinds of tea and then we ordered the "Mad Hatter" service which also included some yummy sandwiches and pastries. It was a blast. Here's a picture of all of us at the place:

On Sunday, I had an equally wonderful day. I went to an apple orchard in New York State (that's what we call anything in NY that isn't "the City") with a few friends! We took a train to the tiny town of Croton Falls and then walked to the apply orchard. It was a little harder than it sounds to walk the 2 miles becuase we basically had to walk on the side of some country highways, but we made it there and had a blast using our pole (and some expert "pole control" on my part, if I do say so myself) to get apples from the trees. We also sampled the apple cider donuts and pumpkin cheesecake, purchased some delicious farm-fresh spreads, and enjoyed the beautiful fall colors! Here are a few photos:

A house in the country that we patronizingly referred to as "precious"

All of us with our pole :)

Getting serious about apple-picking!

BEAUTIFUL!

I hope you enjoy :)

My new job

So, as many of you know, I lost my job last month (a month ago today actually). Well, I have been lucky enough to have a decent temp job for the last 3 weeks at a great organization. I just have to show you the type of work I'm doing. My manager doesn't type much, so she gives me handwritten sheets and asks me to make them into PowerPoints. Here's one such sample of handwriting:

:) Good times deciphering that!

I'm going to ASIA!!!

Well hello friends. So I know the New York City Marathon is looming over me like...well, like a 26.2 mile jog on a beautiful fall day in NYC. But I have chosen to cast my vision beyond New York to my next big adventure (that's right, the fun never ends with me!).

So...as you probably know (but people seem to be fond of forgetting, ahem BECCA and NANCY! :), Taylor is in Indonesia for 10 months teaching English. He's having a great time and I hope to keep you updated on his adventures once the marathon is over (since he has done a SUBPAR job of updating the blog I made for him: http://www.indonesiasmith.blogspot.com/, I wrote that post from e-mails he wrote me).

But the biggest news today is that I bought my ticket to go visit him!! I leave on December 30 at 12:30pm and actually get to Singapore at 12:30am on New Years Day. As in I'll be in flight during the new year (in Asia). But it was a great deal on a flight that costs about $5,000 more a week later, so I jumped on it!

It's actually very poetic. Dec. 30 will mark 5 months since Taylor left to go to Indonesia. Today is October 15, which is exactly the halfway point between July 30 and December 30 (halfway through the third month or 75 days, notice the countdown on the right!). And I am so excited that we will literally start off the year that we get married together in Indonesia! We still haven't ironed out the details. I'll be landing in Singapore and then either taking a flight from there to Surabaya or Bali or Taylor will meet me in Singapore and we will spend a couple of days together in Singapore before heading back to Indonesia.

Regardless, I am SO excited that the countdown can begin and I am actually going to visit him! Until now it's just been a massive amount of money that I knew I had to spend but now it's a real thing!

Yay.

4 weeks until the marathon!

I'm training for a MARATHON?! Did you forget? Because I almost did...well, until I had to run 18, 19, and 20 miles in each of the past three weeks. That jogged my mind (pun intended) a bit.

So I thought I owed you a little updated on my training for the New York City marathon. Like I said, I have done my three longest runs the past few weeks so I thought I'd give you the low-down on these ridiculously long runs :)

The 18 Miler
Our coach basically told us that in order to feel comfortable about the marathon, we should try to do 3 runs of MORE than 17 miles including a "good" 20-miler. I'll tell you what that means in a minute, but this 18 mile run was the first of my three. Now, I'm used to doing long runs with fellow Team In Training folks, but since I was home two weeks ago, I didn't have much choice but to do it alone.

As you might imagine, it takes a lot of water and food (well, goo, to be exact) to run for 3+ hour straight. So, the night before my run, my Dad and I went out in the car and placed water bottles every 4 miles along my route. I decided on an out-and-back from our house in Perrysburg to the Toledo Zoo, so I hid water in the bushes at 2, 4, 6 and 8 miles (which became 4, 8, 12, and 16 with the out and back) along the route so that I could pick one up every 40 minutes during my run and carry it with me. I also carried three PowerGels with me. They're these yummy (sarcastic) little packets of vanilla-flavored goo that give you cabs for your run.

So the run was really good, actually. It was a beautiful day and the weather was cool, the route tree-lined and my attitude surprisingly good. Unfortunately, my IT band in my left knee and my right hip both started hurting at about 12 miles. I slowed down a bit, though and was able to make it home in time for church. I got a lot of confidence from this run because I realized I could run through pain even by myself!

The 19 Miler
So last week I had to run 19 miles after I came back from my trip home. I wanted to do the run on Sunday (I got back Saturday night), but I didn't have the aforementioned goos and so I decided to wait until Monday and bought the requisite goo on Sunday.

I planned for this run to be a little more exciting than an out and back just to keep it interesting. So, what I ended up doing was running a 6-mile loop of Central Park and then I left the park and ran to first avenue which actually put me at about Mile 16 of the New York City Marathon course. I ran the last 10 miles of the marathon course which was REALLY cool except for the fact that, unlike marathon day, I had to navigate vehicular and pedestrian traffic all the way when I was outside the park. Nonetheless, it was really cool to run into the Bronx and all the way down 5th Avenue just like I will on race day. My knee was acting up again and I felt worse at the end of this than I did yesterday (but again, I'll get to that). I was in a lot of pain all over by the end of this run. I think I was also just sick of running alone!

THE 20 Miler!
WHICH brings us to yesterday's mammoth 20-mile run. Team In Training has a tradition of doing the 20 miler at a magical place called "The Trails." The trails is a long running path between two creeks in New Jersey. It is completely flat, gravel (which is much more gentle on your legs than the pavement of the city) and surrounded by some really pretty scenery (I know, you're surprised that it's in New Jersey!).

We had to rent a car to drive to the trails, which was an adventure of itself. Basically I ended up renting a car and driving 4 other people out there. I had to pick the car up after work on Friday and find a place to park it overnight. Then when we got to the car at 6:45 on Saturday morning there was INEXPLICABLY a bunch of fish guts smeared all over the back window and the top of the trunk of the car. I have no idea how it got there, but it was absolutely disgusting...that's New York for you.

We arrived at the trails at about 8am and began our run at 8:30 or so. I was worried all along about my knee acting up, especially since this route, too, is an out and back. That means that I could get up to 10 miles from the car and if something goes wrong, I'm in trouble!

Well, this run went by really fast I have to say. The entire way out there, I kept up with a few people who were going a little faster than I typically go (I usually do 10 minute miles, they were doing 9:30 or so). At about mile 8 I took a spill and actually heard a crack in my right ankle. I kept running and luckily it didn't get any worse. It's a little swollen and sore now, but somehow I managed to run another 12 miles on it so I can't complain.

At the 10-mile mark where we turned around, I decided to let my companions go ahead of me and slowed down to give my increasingly painful knee and possible hurt ankle a little break. I think that favoring my right ankle was exacerbating the problem in my left knee. I was a mess!

So I did almost the entire 10-mile return trip by myself on some really aching joints! I slowed down quite a bit for a couple of miles and then stopped for some water at about mile 12. Now, there's something you should know about IT band issues (the problem in my left knee). Once your IT band starts hurting while running, stopping for any length of time seems to just make it worse, so I had to make it snappy when I stopped for water, lest my knee get worse. At mile 6, I stopped to have my second goo of the run. I stopped for probably 30 seconds but when I tried to start running again, it was absolutely excruciating! I could barely walk let alone run after I had just been running 30 seconds earlier! It was insane. However I am so proud to say that I did NOT give up. I started running REALLY slowly and somehow within a couple of miles I was feeling almost no pain. It was probably the single best display of willpower I have displayed in all the time I have been doing distance running.

In fact, by about mile 17 I was actually speeding up my pace because I was feeling better and just wanted the run to be over with. It was amazing. By the time I got back I felt probably 80% physically and about 150% psychologically! I am SO confident that I can finish that marathon, even if I have to endure some pain to do it. Oh and that's what I meant when I said a "good" 20 mile run. Our coach says that if we have a 20 mile run where we finish feeling confident about the marathon, we should not do another long run until the race. However, if we finished feeling like crap, we have to do it again next week. I'm SO GLAD I finished feeling good!

Next weekend, I'm going to Orlando with some friends and we're going to run a 10K race on Sunday (a walk in the park!). I can't wait!

Thanks for reading this far! Time for bed!!

Coming to you from the Midwest!

Hello friends! Again, I owe an apology for the delay. It has been quite an eventful time since my last post. I lost my job, came home for a week (I have been here since last Friday, I leave tomorrow), got a new phone (because my other one DIED, so I correspondingly lost all my phone numbers), and ordered my wedding dress (let me know if you want me to e-mail you a photo)!

I also ran my longest run so far this season: 18 miles! Since I was home last weekend I had to do the run all by myself which I was a little nervous about. It's just hard to keep oneself motivated and going for 3 hours running. But God definitely gave me strength and I had planned a pretty good route and it went really well! The route basically went from our house to the Toledo Zoo all along a fairly scenic road. The night before, my dad and I went out and left water bottles every four miles along the path so that I could have water without having to carry it all on my person. It was great and all the water bottles were still there in the morning.

I also got a haircut and color this week from my mom (she's so kind and always does my hair when I'm home!). It's a little darker with some brown and blonde in it and then we cut it to about shoulder length. I like it!

So I'm heading back to New York tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to get some temporary work to get me through until I move back home in December. I will definitely keep you posted on that.

And here, for your enjoyment, is a great picture that my fiance just sent me. It's him in a full Muslim outfit that was given to him by his students in Indonesia:

Mid September Post

Hey there! I'm so sorry for the lack of posts of late! I have no excuse really. However, I did want to give a quick update :) First of all, Taylor and I have FINALLY set the date:

October 24, 2009!!!

That's right, mark your calendars folks! :) I'm very excited for this and even though it's more than a year away I'm sure it's the right timing. Taylor will get back at the middle of June so we'll have time for our last minute plans and some "get-to-know-you-again" time before the wedding.

I've also been dress shopping and am having a great time. I've narrowed it down pretty far and I'll gladly e-mail you pictures, just send me an e-mail (carissa.lucyk@gmail.com).

I spent this past weekend in Atlanta and Chattanooga for a friend's wedding and had a good time with friends! It was nice to get out of the city for the first time since the weekend Taylor left. Friends at Becca's wedding: Me, Mel, Kim, Helen, Michelle :)

For the next three weekends, I'll be running REALLY long on Saturdays (18-20 miles) and then being a vegetable on Sundays....should be interesting. I'll let you know how that goes!

Well, I must get to work. Blessings!

A warm start to the fall...

Wow, just last week I was reveling in the cool crisp autumn air and this week we're right back at 90 degrees in the city! Phew! Summer is making a comeback, and I'm not sure I like it. I am totally ready for those nice cool autumn mornings and comfortable afternoons. Well for now I guess I'll enjoy things like having a friend randomly call me to get ice cream (well, Pinkberry actually, you should check it out, it rocks!), which is bound to stop very soon.

So remember that race I was telling you about, the Human Race? We had a lot of fun with that title let me tell you. And seeing 10,000 people in the same shirt was pretty sweet too. The race basically took place on an island, so getting 10,000 people on and off the island was no small feat. They managed to do it, but not without some delays. One of my friends was still in Manhattan waiting for a bus at the time the race was supposed to start. They started it about 30 minutes late, but it was fine because it gave a chance for the sun to go down a bit before we started running. The course was basically two loops so since it was so crowded and we were running pretty slow, the lead runner passed us when we were at about 1.5 miles (it was a 6.2 mile race). Then, at about mile 3 (mile 6 or so for the really fast people!), we came to a foot bridge where traffic came to a HALT. That's right, EVERYONE, even the super fast people who were going for great times, had to stop and maneuver in traffic across this bridge, it was crazy! Some people were PRETTY upset (not us, we were in no hurry!).

So other than that the race was good and we had a great time. After the race, there was a concert by the All American Rejects and then we took a ferry back to Manhattan, which was like a little nighttime cruise in and of itself. All in all a good night!

Yesterday was Labor day, so I started the day with my fantasy football draft and then headed out to the park on the river for some food and cards with friends. We went kayaking in the Hudson too, which was pretty fun! Then I grabbed a beer with those friends and hopped downtown to meet some other friends for drinks and to watch the Vitamin Water commercial...I mean the season premier of Gossip Girl, silly me!

See, I can keep busy without Taylor :) Talk to you all soon!

August is over!?

Wow! I can't believe August is already over! It's been over a month since Taylor left (10% of the way there, not that anyone's counting!), and I'm doing pretty well!

The past week has been pretty good for me. Marathon training is definitely in high gear seeing as the race is just 2 months from Tuesday, I can't believe it!! I've started judging all periods of time by thinking about what was happening that long ago, and 2 months ago, I was in DC celebrating the 4th of July with friends. That seems like yesterday!

Training is going pretty well though. Yesterday was "just" a 10 mile run and it's a good thing because my hip started hurting in the last half of the run and still hurts a bit. I'm a little worried, so I think I'll switch to cross-training after the race I'm registered for today. It should be pretty cool, I'm running this race called the Human Race 10K. It's sponsored by Starbucks and Nike and taking place today in cities all over the world. The New York one takes place on an island in the East River and is followed by an All American Rejects concert. I'm kind of a closet emo/punk fan so it should be fun!

In wedding news, Taylor and I are working on setting a date and I'll definitely let you know as soon as I do! It's very exciting! I'm doing wedding dress shopping for the first time next Sunday! I got an appointment at the Kleinfeld monthly sample sale where you can get dresses for up to 70% off so a couple of friends are going with me to check that out :) I'm thinking I might just get an idea of what I like, but it'll be fun either way!

Alright, gotta go grab brunch with a friend. I will try to post again within a couple days!

Good question, Aunt Sheryl :-)

That subject was for Aunt Sheryl and Ben (do you still even read my blog, Benji?). Anyway!! What I bought was invitations. I was hesitant to mention it because basically I bought the kind you pre-print that are really cheap, but whatever, it happens, I don't have much money! Besides, I don't think THAT many people read the blog. Not to mention I'm going to spruce them up, so don't you worry, by the time it hits your mailbox it'll be looking pretty good.

Anyway, just a quick update, I had a great night watching the movie The French Connection it was fun! I love NYC in the early fall, it's beautiful. Well I will write more soon!

Strange things I've seen hanging around people's necks.

So it's been a while since I've just blogged about the strangeness that is New York. In the past couple days, I've come across a couple of strange pieces of jewelry that I think you may find interesting. Unfortunately, I don't know that either of them was an actual necklace that you can buy in a store, so I doubt i can find a photo, but I'll describe them.

1. I saw the first necklace on a 20-something girl walking around the financial district. It was a chain with a picture of a heart, like an actual heart, not a pretty heart-shaped heart around their neck. It was black and grey, not red, and about 2 inches across.
2. The second necklace was today in Queens, it was a kid around 17 years old. He had a huge plastic alligator hanging around his neck. I mean, it was crazy, I had to look closer to make sure it wasn't real....

New York never ceases to surprise me!

Also in wedding news, I made my first purchase today!

Is anyone else inexplicably emotional watching the olympics?

It's true! I'm watching the gymnastics competition after just watching Michael Phelps win his 10th gold medal and I cannot stop choking up! Every time the teammates hug or a coach hugs a teammate, a teammate hugs another teammate, a parent hugs a kid (don't EVEN get me started on that). And just now (I swear to you), I held up my left hand like it was me on the screen as I was watching a replay of a landing in the uneven bars.

Aside from making me a blubbering mess, though, the Olympics are really inspiring me. I mean, these people have worked their whole lives for as little as 12 seconds of the Olympics (in the case of, for instance, Bridget Sloan, whose only appearance at the Olympics was a single Vault!). It makes the work I am doing training for this marathon seem like virtually nothing!

Well, tomorrow night my good friend Laura is coming into town to visit me and I'm so excited! I haven't seen Laura in a couple years because she is in Med School in New Orleans and I've been in New York. We'll have lots of catching up to do!

Well, thank you for reading. I'm going to go watch the last leg of the 4X200 relay (and probably cry....) :)

15 mile run!!

Today was our longest training run to date! It was an exciting one, definitely worth writing about! To start out, here's the map:
So the map is a little small, but if you take a look, you can see that we started on the west side of Manhattan, at 72nd St, actually. We ran down the west side (on the left of the map) for about 5 miles. The west side is very flat and it was a beautiful, sunny and relatively cool day, so it was really nice.

At the bottom of Manhattan (where you see the 5 and 7 on the map), we cut across the city and ran across the Brooklyn Bridge! It was my first time running across the bridge and it was AMAZING!! Not to mention we got to run through the city hall area of New York which is quite an experience.

On our way off of the Brooklyn bridge, we got lost a little bit in Chinatown which actually ended up bring really cool because I haven't mentioned yet that we had about 15 20-something women with fuel belts and looking very intense. Chinatown didn't know what hit it! Luckily, we were able to find out way back to the running path where we ran back up the east side of Manhattan (miles 8 through 10.5). The wind picked up a bit and it was nice and cool.

My FAVORITE part of the run (and this is surprising because the Brooklyn Bridge was pretty awesome) happened when we turned right off of the East side path and and took 23rd Street to Park Avenue (at mile marker 11). The awesome thing about this part of the run was that the mayor has closed off Park Avenue in a program called Summer Streets. Basically, Park Avenue is closed from 9am - 1pm for the next three Saturdays and it was AWESOME! There were so many runners, bikers and families all over the place, it was just awesome.

Here's the elevation chart, just in case anyone cares:


And now here I sit at home after the run. I made myself a DELICIOUS avocado and cheese omelet and I am watching "Say Yes to the Dress" I can't believe this show, everyone's dress budget is like $5,000!!! Ah!! You only wear it for 6 hours! I cannot IMAGINE spending that much on a dress.

I'm not going to do too much wedding talk now. There's plenty of time for that later. Suffice to say I am VERY excited!

Fun weekend

So last weekend, I went home for my friend Amber's wedding in Toledo. It was a great weekend and a beautiful wedding. Here are a couple photos:


We took some creative photos at Starbucks and McDonalds. Here's my favorite:


BEAUTIFUL!

Oh, and did I tell you we took pseudo engagement photos?! Here's my favorite:

I love the look on our faces :)

So things are going well since Taylor left. We've gotten to video chat on Skype a couple of times and they even gave Taylor a cell phone which I can actually call for free from work (we have global long distance or whatever)! The number is nice and long: 9 011 62 81220372576 but it works! (try it!).

Well, I must get to bed (running bright and early), but please feel free to leave me a comment!

Hangin' in there

Hello, readers! Well, as some of you know, Taylor left for Indonesia last week (on July 30), and so far it seems like he's having a great time! I'm badgering him to make a blog, and I'll be sure to share the link as soon as it goes public, but for now, I can only update that he's having a great time visiting the city where his father was born, Bandung, where he will be in training for the next 3 weeks.

Also, I know many of you are wondering about the wedding. We haven't set an exact date, but the wedding is going to be in October of 2009 in New York City! Get excited, that's just 14 short months away and I couldn't be happier. I will be getting to work on all the planning, so stay tuned as the blog morphs from Marathon to Wedding (but not too cheesy, I PROMISE, in the coming months! Ok, well I must get to bed because I have a dentist appointment early tomorrow. I'm hoping (but not expecting) no cavities. I also have practice tomorrow after work. Busy day. More to come!

Well hello there!

If you are here because you got my e-mail, WELCOME! I haven't been so great at keeping this up to date because my fiance is leaving the country for 10 months on Wendesday!

Luckily, I have marathon training and wedding planning to keep me busy while he's gone! I'll also look forward to a nice long visit to Indonesia (and Bali!) this winter :)

For now, though, I'm concentrating on training and fundraising for the New York City Marathon.
By way of recap, I started this whole thing back in December of 2006 when I started training for the Country Music Marathon. As part of that experience, I raised $5,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Now, I'm back again as a mentor and helping 13 others through their Team In Training experience. It's been a great training season so far. We joke that we're "Brining Sweaty Back" because of all the 90 degree runs we've had to endure! I'm looking forward to it cooling down a little so we can enjoy the training!

Yesterday, we did the iconic "George Washington Bridge Run." It was VERY hard, but also very fun. We start out on the Manhattan side of the George Washington Bridge and run across the bridge (it's about a mile) and then run along the Hudson River in New Jersey for quite a while. The path along the river in New Jersey is VERY hilly. We did 14 miles yesterday and it was HARD!!!

Well, I hope you will donate to my fundraising for either the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or Back on my Feet. Please take a moment to read about both of these great causes and consider donating!

Sorry!

Hey there. So sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Basically it's the busiest time of the year at work and Taylor is leaving right in the middle of it so when i'm not chained to the desk, I'm with him. Whew! I promise to give an update on:

Running (oh, I'm supposed to be RUNNING in the middle of all this!?)
Taylor's trip to Indonesia (hopefully he'll do a blog that I can link you too, wouldn't that be fun?)
Wedding plans (what we know so far)
My 25th Birthday (it's on Monday people!)

As SOON as I can!!! It might be after July 30, I'm warning you so please don't give up on me! I will have A LOT more time on my hands once Taylor is gone and the summer new analyst programs at work are over! Thanks for your patience.

Smoked up, got engaged, did some running

Well, two of the three are true, and one of them sort of is.

The past week has been pretty exciting so sorry I haven't been blogging. Pardon the length of this post.

Well last weekend was a big weekend. Started off with an 11 mile run in central park and then Taylor and I hopped in the car and headed down to the Jersey Shore for a Brad Paisley concert. We got down there early in the afternoon and checked into our hotel before heading out for dinner and to the concert. It was SO good. Jewel opened the concert and she was pretty good. Brad was amazing including a huge digital screen behind the band that they used to do some pretty cool stuff. One song they even did a guitar hero/rock band bit. It was pretty cool.

Anyway, poor Taylor had strep throat, but when we left the concert, he still said he wanted to go for a walk on the beach (but he was careful to make sure we stopped by the hotel room first. Sneaky... Anyway, we took a walk on the beach and it was there that he got down on one knee and proposed!!! It was so romantic and everything I've always dreamed it would be! :)

Here are a couple of photos of the ring:


And here's the happy couple. I swear Taylor wasn't as terrified as he looks :)

:)

I think we're going to get married next fall, so be on the lookout!

So yeah this past week was a fun time showing off my ring and hanging out with Taylor. Then, he headed to Vegas for a bachelor and I spent Friday and Saturday being a nomad. On Friday, I took a bus down to DC to see my friend Candace. Her apartment has an AMAZING view of the Mall in DC and we watched the fireworks despite some rainy weather from the comfort of Candace and Henry's living room. Here are some photos:

The view from their deck:

With fireworks:And the aforementioned "smoking up" was more like a hookah, but it was my first time.

Evidence:

I took the bus back from DC early on Saturday and got back to New York at around 2:30pm. I jumped on a train right away and went out to Long Island to see a friend who used to work with me. She has a a two-year-old son whom I had never met, so I took advantage of a free weekend to go see them.

Another former co-worker came to the house and offered to drive me to the city. She dropped me off in Chinatown and I continued my nomadic adventure to my friend Megan "Bunchy"s apartment. We had a couple of drinks and then she and some friends headed out to a hookah bar (I decided that after my whole life not smoking, twice in 2 days was too many) and I went to dinner with her boyfriend. Then, I FINALLY headed home last night at about 10pm.

This morning I got up and went for a 12 mile run because I hadn't run on Saturday. It wasn't bad, but 2 hours later I'm thinking I should take a shower :)

Summer Drags on!

Hello my faithful readers!! A special shout-out to my mentor captain Eric who reads my blog despite how boring it is. I need to do a better job of writing with my reader in mind, so feel free to leave feedback!

Well, I've realized that I'm probably not going to be doing as much running as I should until Taylor leaves, then at that point I hope I'll be running quite a bit! This week, I ran on Monday with my friend Erica who trained for my first marathon with me. I was feeling pretty weak the whole run and decided to take the day off on Tuesday. Of course, I couldn't sit home on Tuesday and do nothing, so I joined my roommate Kiernan for the Philharmonic in the Park. It was a beautiful night, and we sat out in Central Park listening to the New York Philharmonic which was followed by fireworks!

You know, now that I think about it, I had a pretty glamorous New York Summer week! After the philharmonic on Tuesday, I went out for margaritas at Dos Caminos with Taylor and my friends followed by a bottle of wine on our friend Dan's rooftop on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, one of my co-workers hosted a a party on the rooftop of his building. It was a beautiful night, and after the party I went home to join Taylor who was celebrating with his fellow teachers the end of their two years with Teach For America.

Well, it was a glamorous week until today when I stayed at work until 6pm, got a manicure pedicure, walked home and have been here ever since watching Dateline and Law and Order. I know, I'm exciting. Well, we're supposed to run 10-12 miles tomorrow and I haven't run over 7.5 during training, so I figure I need to do everything right before this practice!

Well, this weekend Taylor and I are going down to the Jersey Shore to see a Brad Paisley concert. It should be fun. We're staying at the Empress Hotel so it should be fun! I'll let you know :)

By the way, THANK YOU to all my donors!! Fundraising is going very well!

Training away....

Hello there, blog readers!! I'm still alive! I wish I was a little better about blogging. I'm sorry!!! Regardless, things are going really well with training. This week was great! I ran 5 miles at practice on Tuesday with the team. We did alternating effort levels for 5 miles, which was definitely challenging. Then, on Friday, I met up with my old roommate Susie and ran more than 6.25 miles before work! I was proud, because I didn't even realize I was running that far, but it went really well. Well, except for the fact that I was REALLY tired for the rest of the day on Friday and sick, sick, sick Friday night! Luckily, I was much better by Saturday.

We didn't have practice on Saturday this week (because we were running a race on Sunday), but Taylor and I had a great time. We went to the World Financial Winter Garden atrium to watch a dance competition that some of the students from his school were in. Then, we watched the Holland vs. Russia game in the Euro Cup (I know, I'm the best girlfriend ever!) and then we just walked around the city a little. It was a beautiful day!

Anyway, so as for today's race. We ran the Hope and Possibility 5 Miler. The race was to benefit Team Achilles which is a team for athletes who are disabled in some way. It was a great race and very inspiring to see folks with all sorts of disabilities out there running. It wasn't my best race, but I'm happy to say that I think i'm learning to run in the heat! Hopefully that will continue to get better because the hardest thing so far this season has been running in 90+ degrees!

Oh, and I bought Taylor an Amazon Kindle as an early birthday present for his time in Indonesia so we've been spending the afternoon getting that set up. Good times! Keep in touch, friends!

Coming to you live from CRAZYland!!

Hey there donors, loyal fans, friends! I type this on my blackberry in Central Park where I have stopped after my measley 8-mile run this morning to see my Team in Training coach run part of his 57 miles today. No, that is not a typo, he is really running 57 miles today as he trains for a 100 mile race on July 19. AND he's doing it the hardest way possible, 41 laps around the northernmost loop in Central Park which includes a hill known widely as Great Hill. It is the biggest hill in the park, and I thought I was hardcore last year when I ran it 3 times during my 18 mile run while training for my first marathon. Yeah, I guess not!! So here we sit, waiting for him to breeze by us at the conclusion of his 29th lap!! He has been running since 5:30am and should be done in the next 1-2 hours. I know, it's a whole other level of nuts!!


On another note, my pathetically short run today went ok. We ran on the west side running path, which is nice and flat but has no shade whatsoever, making for a slightly painful run. It was fun though and I got to hang out with some of my mentees. I even finally took a picture. (COMING SOON). Here we are, starting from top left and going clockwise: Eddie, Chris, Tim, Sabrina, me, Lauren and Rosa.

Looking good guys!!

New York: hottest city in the world

I know, I know, you wouldn't think NYC would be the hottest place on the planet, but I SWEAR it is!! Or maybe my opinion is swayed by the fact that only my 80 square feet of living space they call a bedroom is the only place in the city where I don't feel like I'm about to implode!! I tell you, with all the pavement and non-central-air-conditioned buildings, the 95 degree highs of the past few days in New York City have felt more like 90,000 degrees! Oh but don't you worry, that didn't stop Team In Training from having practice!

So tonight, after work, I rushed up to Central Park for some cross-training fun in 93 degrees! We started the evening off with a 12-minute run around Central Park, followed by squats, lunges, and other painful activities. Then, we went for another 12-minute run, which was followed by the plank, the side-plank, and some "kick your butt" jumps meant to develop the strength of our stride. Then we ran another12 minutes before stretching and calling it a night!

It was a good, HOT time.

Well, I know I have been promising pictures for some time, so I am about to indulge you in some. I apologize for the delay!!

Tracy and I at her Bachelorette Party!



Jess, Me, and Michelle at the reception!
Enjoy! More to come!!

Keeping BUSY!!!

Well hello there. I am sorry I have been MIA. It seems like every free moment has been taken up this past week! Between packing to move (my things moved apartments on Saturday while I was in Nashville at a wedding), unpacking after the move, Team In Training and work, I have been go go go for 8 days! Anyway, here are some updates and I PROMISE some photos very very soon!

Trip to Nashville - So this past weekend I went to Nashville for my friend Tracy's wedding. It was a beaufitul affair, beautiful weather, and a generally beautiful time! I had a lot of fun being back in my old stomping ground and seeing some old friends! We went out with the bridesmaids on Thursday night and had a blast! I forgot how much I miss live country music!!!

Running in the heat - I ran the 3-mile loop of campus twice while I was in Nashville. Considering that it hit 90 degrees both days, it was good preparation for running in the heat as I train this summer for my marathon!

Moving in - While I was in Nashville, Taylor was kind enough to supervise the movers who moved all my stuff to my new apartment. Now, I'm in the middle of getting my apartment all set up and will post pictures as soon as I'm unpacked!

Alright, I must post this since it has taken me about 4 hours to write!

This lifestyle is good for my diet...

Well hello there, blog friends, how in the world are you?

I am....tired. Dang! I think I mentioned, but just in case I didn't, I'm MOVING and standing up in a wedding in Nashville this Saturday. Meaning I need to be in two places at once...or very prepared. I'm choosing the prepared option since the other one would likely not work for me. So I have been spending every spare minute at my apartment packing! I hired movers whom Taylor will be supervising on Saturday morning while I get ready for the wedding. So yeah, after we got back from our fun trip to Philly yesterday, I packed until 12:30am, got up, went to work, left work, went to practice (more on that later), and came home to shower and keep packing. Hopefully I'll be in bed by a little after midnight so I can get up, go to work early so I can leave early to come back and finish packing! Whew!

So anyway, back to what you really want to hear about: the PAIN of practice! Well, today was another almost-rainy Tuesday (last week was almost rainy in that it stopped right before practice, but I wasn't there, I was running 7:56 miles downtown!). So as I got out of the subway today at 72nd Street, it is POURING rain. Some random participant saw my Team In Training vest and goes, "We don't run in this do we?" The answer is YES, we DO. But I was most concerned about what to do with my bag of work clothes and electronics that I had brought. Luckily, TNT has bag watch so you can bring stuff with you, but not in the rain. Then I remembered that there's a covered area near where we were meeting so all was not lost. I actually ran in to one of my mentees at the entrance to the park. Lauren looked slightly freaked out at the prospect of running in the rain. I realized, though, that it was actually very bright and would probably clear up. Which it did, minutes later and it became a nice night for a run.

Whew, and what a run it was! Our run consisted of 3 miles of effort (not speed) intervals. We had to run 6 lampposts (about .3 miles) at about 80-85% capacity followed by about .15 miles at a recovery pace. Whew! It was NOT easy. I was hurting, but not until the very end when we returned to our bag did I really start to sweat profusely (it was nasty) and get light-headed when I bent over to stretch. Luckily, we did what any sensible people would do, drug our sweaty selves to the nearest bar for a quick recovery drink. Whew!

Ok, my new goal is to have some pictures to post. I'm sorry I keep forgetting! I promise to take some next week at practice.

Well, I will be out of town this weekend at my friend's wedding in Nashville, so I won't have much to report about practice, though I do plan to do an old favorite run while I'm in Nashville. Should be a good time. And now I sign-off like the late Dr. Bob Cooke of Family radio:

Until I meet you again by way of blog, walk with the King today and be a blessing!