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!