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!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
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 :)
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 :)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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!
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!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
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!
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!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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!!
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!!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
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!
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!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
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!
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!
Friday, May 23, 2008
11 mentees!
I can hardly believe it, right now I have 11 mentees for the New York City Marathon. I'm going to see if I can name them all: Rosa, Lauren, Chris, Tim, Kirsten, Mandi, Sav, Sue, Sara, Rebecca, and Liz. Whew!! That was in no particular order by the way, but I'm proud I was able to do it. These eleven amazing people are doing what I did a year ago, training and fundraising for their first (or in a couple of cases second, third, or even forth!) marathon! I am so honored to be their mentor and will try to introduce you to each of them throughout the season. They are pretty cool!
So it's Memorial Day weekend (ie, the official kick-off of "get-the-heck-out-of-Manhattan" season). It's supposed to be a BEAUTIFUL weekend, and I'm excited to kick it off tomorrow with a run in Central Park! Then, I think Taylor and I are going to check out the Cloisters and just enjoy the weather. Should be a great, relaxing day. I also have to keep working on packing because I'm moving next Saturday!!! Well...I should correct that, Taylor is moving me on Saturday because I will be in Nashville at my friend Tracy's wedding. Taylor will be here supervising the movers we hired to take all my stuff across town to me new neighborhood, the Upper East Side...yeah I know, I can't believe it either! I am excited though because I'm moving in with my friend Kiernan and it should be a blast. Well, I must get some sleep but I'll update you after my run tomorrow!
So it's Memorial Day weekend (ie, the official kick-off of "get-the-heck-out-of-Manhattan" season). It's supposed to be a BEAUTIFUL weekend, and I'm excited to kick it off tomorrow with a run in Central Park! Then, I think Taylor and I are going to check out the Cloisters and just enjoy the weather. Should be a great, relaxing day. I also have to keep working on packing because I'm moving next Saturday!!! Well...I should correct that, Taylor is moving me on Saturday because I will be in Nashville at my friend Tracy's wedding. Taylor will be here supervising the movers we hired to take all my stuff across town to me new neighborhood, the Upper East Side...yeah I know, I can't believe it either! I am excited though because I'm moving in with my friend Kiernan and it should be a blast. Well, I must get some sleep but I'll update you after my run tomorrow!
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