This was a good week for me.
Thursday I ACTUALLY got up early and ran before work. I hate running early. I always find eating before a run difficult. You can’t eat too much right before or else your stomach does weird flips. But you can’t eat nothing or else you might pass out. (Plus I’m just cranky when I don’t eat. My friend Michelle calls this the “food monster”, which I think is a totally accurate description.) So needless to say this was a MAJOR achievement for me. Sure I only did about 2.5 miles, I felt like I was going to DIE, and I was sore and walking funny the rest of the day, but it’s still an achievement. I rewarded myself with a GIANT cookie that afternoon.
This weekend, some friends and I had a girls’ night at a hotel in midtown. We watched “Bridesmaids,” drank wine, and chatted until almost 3am. Then a miracle happened. I AGAIN got up for a morning run. I figured this was a good way to get some new scenery on my run. I went down 40th Street to the Hudson River, and ran along the river. It would have been lovely, except that it wasn’t. It was drizzly and humid. I almost took my shirt off about a dozen times, but I’m not one of THOSE runners. I feel like THOSE runners are always saying to the world “I look so perfect I don’t even NEED a shirt.” I love my body, but it’s certainly not perfect and when you run, no matter who you are, things tend to jiggle and move. So I suffered in silence and kept the shirt on. You’re welcome, NYC. I rewarded this suffering with a chocolate muffin.
I also came to a conclusion this week. I need to run a half marathon this summer. Sure I said I was going to take the summer off, but I miss it. I like running because it’s simple. You have a goal. You do the required work. You cross the finish line. You get a medal. Life isn’t usually so simple. So let this be my official announcement. I’m going to run the Queens Half Marathon on July 30th. That’s even my mom’s birthday, so I’ll run because she’s awesome and she always works so hard. This time, I’ll do all the work and she can get the medal :)
PS- I came to a second conclusion this week. I need to run with some sort of picture taking device so I can show you all the awesome things I see, like the pretty red bird in the park, or people wearing silly clothes. But since you deserve something to look at, I found this. This is me crossing the finish line at my first half marathon. Don’t I look happy?
Yep, I’m totally doing this again.
Saturday was my birthday and how did I celebrate? By getting up early and going for a run of course! I’ve missed all my American Cancer Society DetermiNation buddies, so I figured there was no better way to hang out with them than to join them for an informal run. They’re all training for the Brooklyn half, and were running 10 to 12 miles (which I’m nowhere ready to do) so the plan was just to run as much as I could. Easy enough. Maybe it was because it was my birthday, or maybe because my 5K felt really good, I was hoping I could go out there and do a super awesome 5 miles without breaking a sweat. Not so. Central Park did not care that it was my birthday. It started out fine, but I forgot how hilly that park is. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY HILLS?!? I did about 3.5 miles, got about halfway up Harlem Hill, and stopped. Curse you, Harlem Hill! You’re supposed to be nice to me on my birthday!
The run itself was a little brutal brutal, but it was nice to have company. I forgot how much I really enjoy running with other people. I love to have someone to talk to and (when it gets really tough) to have someone to keep pushing you forward. I miss my running buddies. I think I’ll be joining them again soon. Just maybe not on Harlem Hill.
On another note, one of the things I enjoy most about running is being able to eat pretty much whatever you want. You just have to run (or yoga) it off. It’s the perfect arrangement! This weekend I had a plethora of birthday drinks, followed by two wonderfully greasy slices of pizza on Saturday and a glorious and indulgent dinner at AquaGrill on Sunday. Sound like enough? Well it wasn’t. I decided to let the birthday gluttony continue with a giant cheeseburger, cheese fries and milkshake from Shake Shack for lunch.
So…who wants to go for a run?
I heard this story on the news and I was in awe. This woman is running 30 miles a day EVERYDAY across the country. Ok, so she takes every 9th day off, but I ran 26.2 miles once, for just one day, then went home and DIDN'T MOVE for as long as possible. I certainly did not feel like getting up the next day to do it all over again. And she's doing it to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of America.
Zoe Romano, props to you.
My first race of 2011 was a success! Sure, it was a little disorganized. They had only 2 people to check in HUNDREDS of runners and the race started 10 minutes early, but it was still a TON of fun! And I got to run with my friend, MiMi, which I had never done before. I told myself I wanted to run about a 10-minute mile, which seemed like a lofty goal considering I haven’t REALLY been running, but I finished this 5k just about on target in 32:06. And I didn’t even feel like I wanted to die! All around, a pretty good run. You wanna know the best part? I got to go to the zoo! I know I’m a grown up, but it’s still fun to watch a monkey scratch himself, or see the sea lions at feeding time. And all the free swag wasn’t bad either.
One downside: I told myself I would take some time off of running, but this was REALLY fun. There’s always something exciting about the start of a race and the sense of satisfaction when you realize you’ve finished alive can’t be beat. I think I have what we like to call “Race Fever.” I have a fever and the only prescription is MORE RUNNING. So I think I’ve decided I would take more of a “working vacation” from running. I will still be running, I’ll probably even run several (small) races, but I’m going to try to keep it fun- which basically means I’ll do any amount of running that doesn’t require regular ice baths.
So I think next up is the Front Runner’s Gay Pride run in June because, let’s face it, the gays can make anything fun! Then we’ll go from there. Who knows, maybe I’ll do a half marathon?
And because no post is complete without some stunning artwork, here's a happy penguin! He's happy because we ran to help save him.
Running Lisa is back from Barcelona and let me tell you, I sure had a lot of adventures! Unfortunately none of them were running adventures. There was eating, drinking, walking, sightseeing, yoga, bicycling, even hiking, but no running. I wanted to run, but wasn’t quite sure where I could find a place without hoards of people. Every time I got somewhere that looked like a perfect spot to go for a jog, I never had my tennis shoes. So I just silently cheered on any runners I saw in the parks. I’m sure they could tell and found it very helpful.
I’m sure you want to hear about all of my adventures, but that would take up too much time. Let me just say that Barcelona is an amazing city with great food, a relaxed lifestyle and tons of stuff to see and do. It’s like someone took New York City, sprinkled in some Ancient Rome, and put it on a nice beach. The architecture is beautiful and unique. The people were very friendly. I had so much fun. I’ve included a few pictures here (yes, REAL pictures) that sum up my whole trip.
The tippy top of Monsterrat. I highly recommend making the trek.
Chickpeas with sauteed spinach and pancetta, salad with Iberian ham and goat's cheese, pan con tomate, and chorizo. Yes, I single-handedly ate this ALL.
I rented a bike and just followed the people in front of me. When the trail ended, they made their own trail. The Spanish are bad ass.
Sadly, the vacation is over and it’s back to reality and reality is I have to run a race this Saturday! I’m doing the Bronx Zoo Run for Wild and I feel so unprepared. It’s only a 5k, so I’m hoping the fact that I haven’t run more than a mile and a half in 6 months will be ok. It’s just a fun run, so there’s no pressure. I’m sure I’ll have exciting stories to tell from that one!
Well, I’m SUPPOSED to be training for my first official race of the year at the end of April. Sure, it’s only about 3 miles, but when you haven’t run in months, that requires some training. But no. I’m sick. So no running. We had one of the most amazing days we’ve had all year, and I was stuck inside with a fever. How lame is that?
You know what else I’m supposed to be doing? Raising money for penguins. Yes, seriously. Penguins. The race is the Bronx Zoo Run For the Wild and every year they pick a wildlife conservation project. This year, they’re raising money to find out why some baby penguins are losing their feathers, leaving them bald, very cold, and not at all adorable. Plus if I raise $30, I get a super awesome free t-shirt! You should donate a couple bucks if you can.
Click Here to Donate
Finally, boys and girls, I’m going on a well-deserved and long-awaited real vacation next week. A friend and I are heading off to Barcelona, where I’m planning on sampling every pork dish I can get my hands on. I’m told those Barceloneses love their piggies. (It’ll be hog wild!) And if I’m feeling extra crazy, I might even go for a run in the city (ie get really really lost in a city where I don’t really speak the language). Sounds like a super fun adventure to me!
Monday truly was a wonderful day. It was forecast to rain all day, but it turned out to be sunny and warm and glorious. I figured today was the day. I broke out the running shoes. Put on my new running shirt, my favorite running pants, and my new socks. I strapped on my watch and iPod holder, and I was ready to go. I literally felt like a kid on Christmas.
I stepped outside, put one foot in front of the other and lo and behold, I was running! It was wonderful to be outside again after my long winter hibernation. But I seemed to forget how hard running really is. I was SO SLOW, sweating and panting, but I had a huge smile on my face every second. It seemed impossible that I ever ran 26 consecutive miles. I finished my run in about 20 minutes and I was SO SORE. But oddly enough, I love every second of it.
I also really liked the stick figures, so here's another...
