It's been a while! Things have been very busy with work, training and in general. I've been feeling great for the most part and have been pretty good about staying on track with my runs, especially when the weather is warmer than 15 degrees. This weekend was pretty tough with the wind on the Charles, but it always holds true that the most adverse runs are the most rewarding. Finishing 17 miles in a little under 3 hours was discouraging, but the amount of times we dodged ice, snow and the like really tacked on time.
I started to post last week when I was in DC:
Yesterday, today and tomorrow I'm in DC for work and visiting with the Jumpstart DC staff! It's so great to see the staff in other areas of the country to be able to put a face to a voice (or email). The staff here are so wonderful and very committed to Jumpstart and it's connection to children in need in DC. I'm going to be sad to leave them because they are all so wonderful. Tomorrow I will be recruiting at Georgetown at their career fair and then hop on a plane back to Boston, just in time for Saturday's long run. This morning I took advantage of the weather here (it's almost 60 degrees today!) and ran around the mall. It was incredible to have the monuments as the backdrop for my morning run - I could definitely get used to that.
All went well on the trip to DC and it was actually 70 on Friday - it felt so good to just walk outside, even with no specific destination. But now I'm back and it snowed again a bit yesterday and it's slated to snow again this weekend. Someone, who has run the marathon before, sent me a great article about training in Boston this winter. Though I'm not in the picture (thank god), this is the same path I run every Saturday for my long runs in Newton on the actual marathon course. Take a read: Marathon hopefuls try to stay the course. Thanks so much Erin!
I'm so close to my goal and STILL haven't had an event yet. Soon though! I'll keep you posted!
Have a great week everyone!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
nothing to say.
It is not usual that I sit down, wanting to blog, but then nothing comes to mind. I feel like I'm reliving writers block in college all over again. This relates to hitting a wall in running; wanting to run or train but can't get worked up or convinced to go. Usually I overcome this quickly, but there has been two times during training thus far that I just can't muster the physical or mental engery to go out and run. I've learned that this isn't such a bad thing for me though because I've ended up get things done that I've been stressed about or have on my mind to get done.
Moving forward, I have been thinking about what I can do if any of these days happen again. Our team coach told us that if we ever decide to do cross training instead, we should double the amount of time we would have spent running. My favorite cross training is days include 30-45 minutes of strength training and 30-45 minutes on the elliptical. If I substitute a run for crossing training in the future, I might find myself in the gym for longer than that, but probably will never go for more than 2 hours at one time.
The weather certinaly hasn't made training easy either. I want to blame lack of motivation at times because of the weather, but honestly feel like it's a cop out. Everyone in Boston is going through the same weather and same hardships - come marathon day I hope that the snow is gone, as well as the puddles! Yesterday I ran home for the first time in a while since it's dark when I leave work. I managed to step in snow up to my mid-calf and then decided that I need to make better choices when choosing a path or route. I am anticipating, though, that there will be many articles saying this is the toughest winter to train for the marathon since 1996 (that says something!).
The wind is whipping outside my window right now and all I'm thinking is "is it spring yet?"
Have a great week!
Moving forward, I have been thinking about what I can do if any of these days happen again. Our team coach told us that if we ever decide to do cross training instead, we should double the amount of time we would have spent running. My favorite cross training is days include 30-45 minutes of strength training and 30-45 minutes on the elliptical. If I substitute a run for crossing training in the future, I might find myself in the gym for longer than that, but probably will never go for more than 2 hours at one time.
The weather certinaly hasn't made training easy either. I want to blame lack of motivation at times because of the weather, but honestly feel like it's a cop out. Everyone in Boston is going through the same weather and same hardships - come marathon day I hope that the snow is gone, as well as the puddles! Yesterday I ran home for the first time in a while since it's dark when I leave work. I managed to step in snow up to my mid-calf and then decided that I need to make better choices when choosing a path or route. I am anticipating, though, that there will be many articles saying this is the toughest winter to train for the marathon since 1996 (that says something!).
The wind is whipping outside my window right now and all I'm thinking is "is it spring yet?"
Have a great week!
Monday, January 31, 2011
going with the flow.
Happy Monday! So I intended to post a few days ago with pictures of all of my favorite winter running equipment. I still intend to do that, however, unfortunately the past few days have been a bit interesting and I now no longer have a computer because our apartment was broken into. While I am angered and disappointed that someone went to the lengths of breaking into my home and stealing my stuff, as well as my roommates, there's really not much else to do but to go on (and have a glass of wine). So the cold weather gear post will have to wait, but it looks like we're getting more snow here so I think it will still be timely when I do post.
Saturday we went for a 14 mile run - the farthest I've ever run! And surprisingly enough, I felt great. Right about at mile 12 I was a little lethargic, but I picked up the pace and felt fine. The incredible thing is I wasn't sore the next day and I also had no achilles pain during or after the run. I drank my usual chocolate soy milk (so amazing) and did a fair amount of stretching afterward, as well as ate some pineapple. Things seem back to normal so keep your fingers crossed for me!
A good friend (thanks Paige!) sent me information about a webcast of a live Harvard discussion that happened last week and I was able to listen to it as it was broadcast. Harvard has created a group on campus called "Harvard on the Move" and for the kickoff they invited author of Born to Run, Christopher McDougall; Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology and department chair of Human Evolutionary Biology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard; and John J. Ratey, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. They spoke about how the human body was built to run and run for long distances. Here's the link, if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/harvard#p/a/u/0/HxHhUhIXwHs
If you haven't read Born to Run, I would recommend it. It's not the best piece of literary work, however, it's non-fiction and has many interesting anecdotes about running and the people who run some of the longest races in the world. It's definitely entertaining if nothing else. Another great running book is one I recently finished, Once a Runner. This is more of a focus on short distances (one-mile and two-mile) but is an interesting fiction account of what it was like as a running in the 70's. I've always been fascinated by Prefontaine and this book definitely captured his spirit in it. I also recently watched two running movies: Saint Ralph and Without Limits (about Prefontaine). Can you see a theme?
Hope everyone has a great week - I failed to wake up on time this morning so I'll be running 4 miles tonight. I think it's supposed to be 17 degrees.
Have a good one!
Saturday we went for a 14 mile run - the farthest I've ever run! And surprisingly enough, I felt great. Right about at mile 12 I was a little lethargic, but I picked up the pace and felt fine. The incredible thing is I wasn't sore the next day and I also had no achilles pain during or after the run. I drank my usual chocolate soy milk (so amazing) and did a fair amount of stretching afterward, as well as ate some pineapple. Things seem back to normal so keep your fingers crossed for me!
A good friend (thanks Paige!) sent me information about a webcast of a live Harvard discussion that happened last week and I was able to listen to it as it was broadcast. Harvard has created a group on campus called "Harvard on the Move" and for the kickoff they invited author of Born to Run, Christopher McDougall; Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology and department chair of Human Evolutionary Biology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard; and John J. Ratey, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. They spoke about how the human body was built to run and run for long distances. Here's the link, if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/harvard#p/a/u/0/HxHhUhIXwHs
If you haven't read Born to Run, I would recommend it. It's not the best piece of literary work, however, it's non-fiction and has many interesting anecdotes about running and the people who run some of the longest races in the world. It's definitely entertaining if nothing else. Another great running book is one I recently finished, Once a Runner. This is more of a focus on short distances (one-mile and two-mile) but is an interesting fiction account of what it was like as a running in the 70's. I've always been fascinated by Prefontaine and this book definitely captured his spirit in it. I also recently watched two running movies: Saint Ralph and Without Limits (about Prefontaine). Can you see a theme?
Hope everyone has a great week - I failed to wake up on time this morning so I'll be running 4 miles tonight. I think it's supposed to be 17 degrees.
Have a good one!
Monday, January 24, 2011
25 and counting.
This weekend I turned 25 and can't believe how time has flown. I joked with someone on Saturday that I swore by 25 I'd be married and have kids, however, I was 13 the last time I thought that was actually realistic.
On Saturday we had out team run and it was definitely cold, but I am getting used to cold weather running. I think I'll be in a bit of shock when it starts warming up, but that's still 2 months out. We ran 13 miles in the hills of Newton and I think this was the first time that I've run Heartbreak Hill fatigued. I've been having some Achilles soreness on my right leg, but nothing terribly painful as of yet - I unfortunately think this is a product of insufficient stretching and dodging ice on my Thursday run (Lauren and I had literally the worst run of our lives that morning). Saturday was also a bit icy, but not nearly as bad and I had a secret weapon (thanks to Lena!) to help me. I will post about this "secret weapon" and my favorite cold weather gear later this week.
Back to my soreness, coach Rick gave me some great advice to work through this hopefully short-term problem. First, he told me to stay away from anti-inflammatory drugs (I had taken some 30 minutes before talking to him, haha). He's absolutely right though in his advice because drugs mask the pain, which could then cause me to further injure myself. He saif that pineapple and papaya are actually natural anti-inflammatories - can't argue with that! Second, he told me to take it easy on my runs and avoid hills. I couldn't do that Saturday, but will definitely do so during the week. Finally, I should be very regimented post run. Light stretching and ice (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off for an hour or so). This should be done immediately after running. This definitely brings me back to my days of softball and the many injuries I had to nurse. I'll keep you updated on how this goes.
So this week, aside from a WONDERFUL birthday with great friends, was especially exciting because thanks to my donors I've reached my minimum fundraising goal! Thank you so much for your support everyone! I still have a bit to go, but I'm not going to stop until marathon day hits so I hope to surpass my goal :)
I took the day off today to rest, relax and rejuvenate - although it's about 2 degrees outside right now so I'm currently hibernating. I have a massage later today (thanks Kasi!) that couldn't come at a better time because that 13 miles kicked my ass.
Have a great Monday!
On Saturday we had out team run and it was definitely cold, but I am getting used to cold weather running. I think I'll be in a bit of shock when it starts warming up, but that's still 2 months out. We ran 13 miles in the hills of Newton and I think this was the first time that I've run Heartbreak Hill fatigued. I've been having some Achilles soreness on my right leg, but nothing terribly painful as of yet - I unfortunately think this is a product of insufficient stretching and dodging ice on my Thursday run (Lauren and I had literally the worst run of our lives that morning). Saturday was also a bit icy, but not nearly as bad and I had a secret weapon (thanks to Lena!) to help me. I will post about this "secret weapon" and my favorite cold weather gear later this week.
Back to my soreness, coach Rick gave me some great advice to work through this hopefully short-term problem. First, he told me to stay away from anti-inflammatory drugs (I had taken some 30 minutes before talking to him, haha). He's absolutely right though in his advice because drugs mask the pain, which could then cause me to further injure myself. He saif that pineapple and papaya are actually natural anti-inflammatories - can't argue with that! Second, he told me to take it easy on my runs and avoid hills. I couldn't do that Saturday, but will definitely do so during the week. Finally, I should be very regimented post run. Light stretching and ice (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off for an hour or so). This should be done immediately after running. This definitely brings me back to my days of softball and the many injuries I had to nurse. I'll keep you updated on how this goes.
So this week, aside from a WONDERFUL birthday with great friends, was especially exciting because thanks to my donors I've reached my minimum fundraising goal! Thank you so much for your support everyone! I still have a bit to go, but I'm not going to stop until marathon day hits so I hope to surpass my goal :)
I took the day off today to rest, relax and rejuvenate - although it's about 2 degrees outside right now so I'm currently hibernating. I have a massage later today (thanks Kasi!) that couldn't come at a better time because that 13 miles kicked my ass.
Have a great Monday!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
why i'm running.
Today was a bit different than the normal long run Saturday's. Our coach was out of town, running a marathon in Phoenix, so instead we had a team meeting. I was really looking forward to seeing everyone on the team since this is the first time (since out initial meeting) that we were together and not going out for a run, which usually includes many others from the various teams in the coalition. We were able to share our fundraising strategies and successes and check in on our training.
Also a part of the meeting was talking about Jumpstart and the program, for those that it's new to. As we were talking I started thinking about the reasons I'm running and why I so badly wanted to be a part of the team. I'd like to share a few thoughts on that topic.
Going to a Jumpstart session is absolutely one of my favorite things to do as a Jumpstart employee. I am beyond impressed by the corps members and how passionate and thoughtful they are - it's really incredible to watch. When I went out to a session last spring, I saw something that almost put me in tears. It was a corps members birthday and, without remembering she had done so, she mentioned that it was coming up to the child she works with a few weeks back. At the end of the session, the child's mother came to pick her daughter up and was holding a large gift bag. She spoke little English and walked over to the corps member and handed it to her saying "happy birthday". It was clear that the corps member was totally caught off guard and the little girl just sat the smiling as she saw her mentor pull out a huge teddy bear.
That story always sticks out in my mind when I think about Jumpstart and the impact it has not only on the preschoolers but also the corps members and the families of the children in Jumpstart. The program builds a sense of community and every one is working toward the same goals - the desire to see every child succeed in school and life.
So when I think about why I'm running, I think about this story and how I can contribute as someone who can't make a direct difference in the classroom. I also think about my own goals and how when I look back on this experience, I can say that I can do just about anything I set my mind to. I've always wanted to run a marathon and admittedly I thought that it really would never come to fruition, that it was more of a passing thought, that I would have on my list of to do's forever. I'm learning a lot about myself through this experience - how I'm blessed to have so many wonderful and supportive people around me, how far I can test my mind and body, and how to be disciplined and dedicated. I'm running because I can only hope I'm going to help make positive changes for others; I can certainly tell it's making positive changes in me.
Today's 12 mile run was a bit dicey with the snow, but all in all it went well. Thanks to Lauren who ran the second half of it with me! I'm looking forward to this three day weekend since I have a lot to catch up on and can't wait for tomorrows rest day :)
Have a great weekend!
Also a part of the meeting was talking about Jumpstart and the program, for those that it's new to. As we were talking I started thinking about the reasons I'm running and why I so badly wanted to be a part of the team. I'd like to share a few thoughts on that topic.
Going to a Jumpstart session is absolutely one of my favorite things to do as a Jumpstart employee. I am beyond impressed by the corps members and how passionate and thoughtful they are - it's really incredible to watch. When I went out to a session last spring, I saw something that almost put me in tears. It was a corps members birthday and, without remembering she had done so, she mentioned that it was coming up to the child she works with a few weeks back. At the end of the session, the child's mother came to pick her daughter up and was holding a large gift bag. She spoke little English and walked over to the corps member and handed it to her saying "happy birthday". It was clear that the corps member was totally caught off guard and the little girl just sat the smiling as she saw her mentor pull out a huge teddy bear.
That story always sticks out in my mind when I think about Jumpstart and the impact it has not only on the preschoolers but also the corps members and the families of the children in Jumpstart. The program builds a sense of community and every one is working toward the same goals - the desire to see every child succeed in school and life.
So when I think about why I'm running, I think about this story and how I can contribute as someone who can't make a direct difference in the classroom. I also think about my own goals and how when I look back on this experience, I can say that I can do just about anything I set my mind to. I've always wanted to run a marathon and admittedly I thought that it really would never come to fruition, that it was more of a passing thought, that I would have on my list of to do's forever. I'm learning a lot about myself through this experience - how I'm blessed to have so many wonderful and supportive people around me, how far I can test my mind and body, and how to be disciplined and dedicated. I'm running because I can only hope I'm going to help make positive changes for others; I can certainly tell it's making positive changes in me.
Today's 12 mile run was a bit dicey with the snow, but all in all it went well. Thanks to Lauren who ran the second half of it with me! I'm looking forward to this three day weekend since I have a lot to catch up on and can't wait for tomorrows rest day :)
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
snow day!
Now it really feels like winter. Our long run on Saturday was in the snow and it was snowing - it was actually quite beautiful! We did ten miles and it was great to have Lauren and Jen to run with because it's so much more motivating when you have someone running along side you. I felt good for a majority of the run, but the last hill we ran was tough and my legs were not happy. Aside form the general tired feeling though I didn't feel fatigued really once I got home.
This week I'm focusing on running in the morning. Monday I ran 3 miles and yesterday (Tuesday) I ran 5 miles, both in the AM. It feels good to have it done before even going to work. The downside is that I feel hungry all day, but I know that just means my body needs some fuel. One thing I always have on hand are nutrition bars in case I'm out and about and really need food, but it's not necessarily a meal time. My favors are Larabars, Luna bars and Mojo bars (Luna and Mojo are both Clif products). Larabars are especially good because they are all natural and usually only include dried fruit, nuts and some spices or small amounts of juice concentrate. My favorite one was discontinued, but I love the cherry pie, apple pie and Ginger snap flavors. I actually just bought 10 today because they were on sale! At some point I'm going to attempt to make a version at home, but for now I'll stick with buying them.
Today's snow storm has been way more severe than I expected, but still, businesses are open and things seem to be carrying on (such a change from WA). I'm going to a yoga class tonight for my cross training - only my second class ever (I'm definitely still learning).
Looking forward to the upcoming 3 day weekend! Enjoy the snow!
This week I'm focusing on running in the morning. Monday I ran 3 miles and yesterday (Tuesday) I ran 5 miles, both in the AM. It feels good to have it done before even going to work. The downside is that I feel hungry all day, but I know that just means my body needs some fuel. One thing I always have on hand are nutrition bars in case I'm out and about and really need food, but it's not necessarily a meal time. My favors are Larabars, Luna bars and Mojo bars (Luna and Mojo are both Clif products). Larabars are especially good because they are all natural and usually only include dried fruit, nuts and some spices or small amounts of juice concentrate. My favorite one was discontinued, but I love the cherry pie, apple pie and Ginger snap flavors. I actually just bought 10 today because they were on sale! At some point I'm going to attempt to make a version at home, but for now I'll stick with buying them.
Today's snow storm has been way more severe than I expected, but still, businesses are open and things seem to be carrying on (such a change from WA). I'm going to a yoga class tonight for my cross training - only my second class ever (I'm definitely still learning).
Looking forward to the upcoming 3 day weekend! Enjoy the snow!
Friday, January 7, 2011
thanks boston.
I always manage to jam pack my schedule and had to get a little creative to fit in my run yesterday. I'm still having trouble getting up in the morning to run before work. Anyone have some good sleeping through the night tips? I had rehearsal last night for my a cappella group (Funkin A') so I decided to run home from work and used google pedometer to map out a 5 mile route. Admittedly it was a bit screwy and I had to write street names on my hand to remember where I was going, but it worked out well.
Running from my office, which is in Boston, to my apartment, in Cambridge, means I have to cross a bridge somewhere. I decided to cross the Harvard Bridge (Mass Ave Bridge), though usually it's the most windy. Right when I hit the middle of the bridge I was at a point to walk for a minute. I took that entire minute to really take everything in - the city is so pretty at night and it was amazing to look at both the Boston and Cambridge side. The river was frozen in many areas and I walked backwards a bit to really take everything in.
I've spent 2 1/2 years now living in Boston/Cambridge and though I knock it sometimes (ok - a lot; it's no Pacific Northwest), I do have to say it's been a pretty great 2 1/2 years. All of my friends, Jumpstart, Funkin' A and the many other great things I've been involved in here have been wonderful.
So what I really want to say is: thank you, Boston, for letting me call you home.
Tonight my a cappella group is opening for one of our members' improv comedy troupes (Kitsch In Sync). We're looking for a soprano if you know of anyone who'd be interested!
Tomorrow's group run: 10 miles. Looking forward to running with Lauren, Mark and Jen, and all of the other coalition runners!
Running from my office, which is in Boston, to my apartment, in Cambridge, means I have to cross a bridge somewhere. I decided to cross the Harvard Bridge (Mass Ave Bridge), though usually it's the most windy. Right when I hit the middle of the bridge I was at a point to walk for a minute. I took that entire minute to really take everything in - the city is so pretty at night and it was amazing to look at both the Boston and Cambridge side. The river was frozen in many areas and I walked backwards a bit to really take everything in.
I've spent 2 1/2 years now living in Boston/Cambridge and though I knock it sometimes (ok - a lot; it's no Pacific Northwest), I do have to say it's been a pretty great 2 1/2 years. All of my friends, Jumpstart, Funkin' A and the many other great things I've been involved in here have been wonderful.
So what I really want to say is: thank you, Boston, for letting me call you home.
Tonight my a cappella group is opening for one of our members' improv comedy troupes (Kitsch In Sync). We're looking for a soprano if you know of anyone who'd be interested!
Tomorrow's group run: 10 miles. Looking forward to running with Lauren, Mark and Jen, and all of the other coalition runners!
Monday, January 3, 2011
running and recovery.
Now is the time to play some catch up from the break. I admittedly skipped one run during the 2 week hiatus from the team running, which makes me a little uneasy, but I'm learning to let it go. Rick, our coach, is right in that sticking to a schedule is great but following it exactly can be detrimental to training.
Yesterday I went on an 8 mile run with Ryan and it was so helpful to have him for the first 5 miles. I intended to get up early to run this morning, but first day back to work didn't work out so well and I slept until 8AM. I'm realizing that running in the morning really increases my energy throughout the day so I need to make a conscious effort to get up and run. This week will be a bit tough since I'm off a day and won't have a day off until Friday. I ran 3 miles on the tredmill and felt okay, but not great. Tomorrow I'll run (hopefully) in the morning - 4 miles.
I've been trying to focus on recovery from runs more and eating the correct foods post workout. Drinking chocolate milk (or chocolate soy milk) is apparently the best recovery from a hard workout because it has the best proportion of fat, carbs and protein to help your muscles rebuild themselves. I also eat peanut butter on whole wheat toast after runs if I won't have chocolate milk available. It's important to have a good balance of fats, protein and carbs.
So I know it's been a long time coming, but I am finally going to share the peanut butter recipe that I got off of one of my favorite food blogs: the edible perspective. After getting the food processor, I haven't spent any money on peanut butter and don't intend to do so from hear on out. While there are many different ways to make it, I liked this recipe the best out of the ones I've seen.
Yesterday I went on an 8 mile run with Ryan and it was so helpful to have him for the first 5 miles. I intended to get up early to run this morning, but first day back to work didn't work out so well and I slept until 8AM. I'm realizing that running in the morning really increases my energy throughout the day so I need to make a conscious effort to get up and run. This week will be a bit tough since I'm off a day and won't have a day off until Friday. I ran 3 miles on the tredmill and felt okay, but not great. Tomorrow I'll run (hopefully) in the morning - 4 miles.
I've been trying to focus on recovery from runs more and eating the correct foods post workout. Drinking chocolate milk (or chocolate soy milk) is apparently the best recovery from a hard workout because it has the best proportion of fat, carbs and protein to help your muscles rebuild themselves. I also eat peanut butter on whole wheat toast after runs if I won't have chocolate milk available. It's important to have a good balance of fats, protein and carbs.
So I know it's been a long time coming, but I am finally going to share the peanut butter recipe that I got off of one of my favorite food blogs: the edible perspective. After getting the food processor, I haven't spent any money on peanut butter and don't intend to do so from hear on out. While there are many different ways to make it, I liked this recipe the best out of the ones I've seen.
Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter
- 1.5 c dry roasted, unsalted organic peanuts
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2t maple syrup
- 1/4 c chopped raisins
- Process nuts until it becomes buttery and smooth. About 5-10min. Scrape the bowl as necessary.
- Add in cinnamon, coconut oil, salt, and maple syrup.
- Process again, until it is creamy and spreadable. About another 3-5min. Scrape as necessary.
- Fold in mix-ins of choice. Store in an airtight container.
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| 11 cup food processor - amazing appliance! |
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| After peanut butter had been processed, added coconut oil, maple syrup, salt and cinnamon |
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| Finished product! |
Thanks to Ashley for this great recipe!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
it's been a while!
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season. I'm sad to see it go since that means we'll have to take down our Christmas tree soon. Boo. We worked so hard on it and it was just the perfect size. Believe it or not, we fit it on top of Candice's (my roommate) mini cooper - the guys that we bought it from got a laugh out of that.
I'm going to give a little recap of the holidays and then tomorrow I will post with much more related to training, nutrition, etc.
I had such a wonderful christmas day and christmas eve filled with old friends and new ones. Thanks to the wonderful Naylor family who invited me to house - it was so much fun at their neighbors on on christmas eve (I've decided I would like to host a friends party like this in the future!). On christmas day, I think Brooke's dog, Fenway, received more presents than anyone, haha. But in all seriousness, it was an amazing day with some pretty stellar people. Thanks to Dave, Gail, Brooke, Cheryl and Fenway!
My brother came later on christmas day up from Brooklyn and he spent some time in Boston for the first time in a while. We endured the first blizzard of the season (which was actually pretty awesome), watched some football (real football) and just hung out. It was so good to see him. We tried to build a snowman, but that didn't work out all that well, so we built a "snow cone" instead. This was definitely my idea and I'm taking all of the credit because it was such a lame idea :)
For new years, some friends invited us up to a house in New Hampshire - it was a very welcomed trip out of the city. The house is on a gorgeous farm and close to Sunapee. I really wanted to snowboard, but I'm in fear of hurting myself before the marathon. However, we decided to snowshoe which was tons of fun and a great workout! We were out for about 2 hours or so and even forged through an untouched hiking trail. Thanks Sarf for doing most of the work! I'm thinking that owning a pair of snowshoes would be a great idea so we'll see if another opportunity presents itself to go this winter. Here are some pictures from our trek:
I'm going to give a little recap of the holidays and then tomorrow I will post with much more related to training, nutrition, etc.
I had such a wonderful christmas day and christmas eve filled with old friends and new ones. Thanks to the wonderful Naylor family who invited me to house - it was so much fun at their neighbors on on christmas eve (I've decided I would like to host a friends party like this in the future!). On christmas day, I think Brooke's dog, Fenway, received more presents than anyone, haha. But in all seriousness, it was an amazing day with some pretty stellar people. Thanks to Dave, Gail, Brooke, Cheryl and Fenway!
My brother came later on christmas day up from Brooklyn and he spent some time in Boston for the first time in a while. We endured the first blizzard of the season (which was actually pretty awesome), watched some football (real football) and just hung out. It was so good to see him. We tried to build a snowman, but that didn't work out all that well, so we built a "snow cone" instead. This was definitely my idea and I'm taking all of the credit because it was such a lame idea :)
For new years, some friends invited us up to a house in New Hampshire - it was a very welcomed trip out of the city. The house is on a gorgeous farm and close to Sunapee. I really wanted to snowboard, but I'm in fear of hurting myself before the marathon. However, we decided to snowshoe which was tons of fun and a great workout! We were out for about 2 hours or so and even forged through an untouched hiking trail. Thanks Sarf for doing most of the work! I'm thinking that owning a pair of snowshoes would be a great idea so we'll see if another opportunity presents itself to go this winter. Here are some pictures from our trek:
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| Me, Kelsey, Sarf (snowshoe model) and Ryan |
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| Creating our own trail! |
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| Me and Ryan - taking a short rest. |
Just a quick few notes and like I said, I'll be back on track this week.
- I felt GREAT on both of my long runs this week. I did what Rick suggested (run 9 minutes, walk 1 minute). It's amazing how much longer I can run and how much better I feel doing that.
- I also didn't feel so great from holiday food and drink - though I'm not going to make a resolution list, I'm definitely going to be much stricter from now until the marathon on what I eat and drink.
- THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who helped me reach my first fundraising goal of $1500! There are so many of you that have gone above and beyond to support Jumpstart and me; though I will be sending you all personal thank you's, I just couldn't finish this post without say thanks and I appreciate every donation!
Back to work tomorrow - 3 miles in the morning!
Goodnight everyone!
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