Phew.

What a weekend! From Friday to Sunday I was busy! Ryan and I accomplished a lot for our upcoming move. We got a bed, sofa, love seat, chair and ottoman. phew. And we still have a lot to do. 

Sunday was the More Magazine half marathon. It was a great day for a race. Sunny, in the 50s – perfect. I did not race this race. I made this my last long run before the Eugene Marathon. I added on two miles at the end to run a total of 15 miles. I finished the half in 1:47:32 – a 8:13 pace. I felt great the whole time, my confidence for the marathon has definitely increased.

And then of course, I had to celebrate my race 🙂 16 Handles frozen yogurt.

This week I’m going to take it easy and run Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Nothing crazy, just some quality runs. Throw in a Pure Barre class or two and I’m good.

I can’t believe Eugene is so soon!

It’s almost here!!!

Another whirlwind weekend… 

Friday night frozen yogurt

Saturday morning 10 miler

Saturday night baking and dinner with Ryan – Oh, and I went Christmas shopping… It was pretty crowded everywhere I went. I do not recommend Bloomingdales at this time of year.

Sunday afternoon cookie swap

I’m mostly packed for my trip home to Oregon – I leave Wednesday morning. Now all I have to do is get through two days of work, get a run or two in and be on my merry way.

I hope you all had a great weekend – full of holiday fun!

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I made peanut butter reindeer cookies for the cookie swap. What’s your favorite type of cookie???

Anyone else traveling for the holidays???

Things that make me happy

I don’t really have anything new to report. I went to Total Body Conditioning Class on Wednesday – LOVED IT. Tonight I’m going to run and get frozen yogurt and tomorrow I’ll be running 10 miles… and baking cookies. Other than that. nothing. Sooo here are some things that are making me smile.

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1. I’ll be in OREGON in less than a week!!! Thank the lord. Sometimes I really can’t stand New York. This morning I saw a car accident and then some old man driving almost hit me.

2.  I’m making these cookies tomorrow for a cookie swap I’m going to on Sunday. Link here.

3. It’s not freezing cold here in New York. Yesterday it was about 40 degrees. Which means there will be no flight delays because of snow! Yipee!!!

4. The web site Pinterest. I love it. Such great ideas. Recipes, quotes/motivation (see below), style. everything. 

5. It’s Friday! YES! 

Birthday Weekend

My birthday weekend was awesome!

The Runners World Event was so cool! Bart Yasso, Amby Burfoot, Dean Karnazes, Mary Wittenberg and many more famous runners were there! I was in heaven! Oh, and the food was amazing. One word – SUSHI.

Then it was Saturday. Blogger meet-up at 16 Handles! It was so much fun and Janae was super cute and nice! I think I convinced her to run the Red Rock half with me 🙂

After spending hours talking about running, life and food it was time for my birthday dinner with Ryan. We went to Motorino for pizza. It’s my all time favorite! So good. We ordered the spicy pepperoni pizza and the special for the night, pizza with prosciutto. Both were amazing.

Even though we were super full, we (just me) had to get ice cream. We went to Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. They make the best, most unique cones ever. Vanilla ice cream with dulce de leche, dipped in chocolate with bits of pretzel. Yes please.

Oh, and then this happened. When we got back to Ryan’s apartment all my friends were there! Ryan had thrown me a surprise birthday party!!! It was so fun and I had no idea!

And the Best Boyfriend Award goes to…

And then it was Sunday, Marathon day and my birthday! We woke up and headed to First Avenue. Around mile 17. It was so much fun to be in the crowd cheering. There was even a TV set up to watch the finish line!

I tried looking for HungryRunnerGirl and SkinnyRunner but never saw them running…

I cannot wait to run New York next year!

But I did get to celebrate with them on their awesome accomplishment at Crumbs after the race!!! Both are so nice and funny!

And then. This morning. I came into work and saw this:

Meb signed a copy of our magazine for me!!!!!!! I never got to meet him but now I have a signed copy from him!!!! That was the best way to end my birthday weekend. Hands down.

I have never seen so much spandex in my life

I have never seen so much spandex in my life. It’s Friday and it’s two days before the New York City Marathon. I work on Central Park South. Right by the finish line. Thousands of runners are in the area. In spandex. Some should not be… BUT. Because they are so excited about being in New York AND running 26.2 miles it makes me excited and  proud of my accomplishment a month ago.

I haven’t been running a lot lately… I have taken some spin classes but I think I just needed some time to relax and have a social life. I think the marathon on Sunday will give me a boost again and I’ll be back super excited for the Red Rock half marathon in March. I’ve also been battling a sore throat this week that I’ve decided is not allowed. My birthday is this Sunday, yes, they are honoring me by having the NY Marathon on my birthday. 🙂 Anyways, I’ve been going to bed at 8:30pm every night, drinking tons of water and pumping my body with vitamins. And you know what??? Today I’m feeling so much better! Birthday weekend here I come! 

Tonight Ryan and I are going to the Runner’s World VIP party for the marathon!!! A great way to start the weekend! I wonder if any elite runners will be there!?

One more thing – There’s a blogger meet up this Saturday at 16 Handles, my favorite frozen yogurt place!!! It’s at the 82nd and 2nd location at 1pm. I’m going. You should go. You’ll get to meet HungryRunnerGirl and some other bloggers/ NYMarathoners !

Waiting on fall

My legs were still pretty sore this morning so I hit the elliptical for 45 minutes. No over training here!

I’m hoping to run a solid 5-6 miles tomorrow and then eight on Sunday. This tapering thing is kinda strange. No double-digit runs? Until the marathon??? Whatttt??? Exciting but scary all at the same time!

What else is going on?? Well, I’m still waiting for fall to arrive here in New York. All I want to do is order a Pumpkin Spice latte and walk around in the crisp, cool fall air. Is that too much to ask!?

It’s still humid. And I still walked to work this morning! Surprising. And guess what? I’m a more relaxed person. I’ve already been to the gym and walked almost two miles. All before 9am! That is pretty awesome!

Tonight I’m having a date night with Ryan (and Bailey the puppy). That’s exciting! Dog park, dinner and a movie. I couldn’t ask for anything better! (frozen yogurt trip???) 

This week is speeding by and soon I’ll be waking up the morning of the marathon! Craziness!

Anyone else change something small in their lives and seeing great things happening??

Oregon Friends Visit!

 

This weekend was crazy busy and I’m tired! My two friends from Oregon, Tracy and Tom came to New York to visit and we all had a blast!

Friday night a bunch of us went out to sushi – my fav – and then went out afterwards. The food is amazing. If you’re ever in NYC go to KUMO on the lower east side.

We ate and drank and were very merry. It was great to merge my Oregon life with my New York life. It rarely happens.

It was tough to get up and out of bed on Saturday but we did and went to the Dave Matthews Concert on Randall’s Island.

It was really fun, but standing on concrete for three hours is not so fun… I’m glad I went but prefer indoor concerts with seats 🙂

Sunday night Tracy, Tom and I went out to dinner and then went to 16 Handles for dessert. – Of course they loved it!

I ran Friday morning… I was planning on running 20 miles on Sunday but my body was dead from all the fun times. It also could be the change in the weather. It’s definitely feeling like fall! Last day to enter my giveaway!!!

 

Friendsters

Last night the girls I lived with Senior year of college got together for dinner. 

Kristen, my running buddy from Nashville came to visit so it was a great excuse for all of us to see each other! We had dinner at Rare in Chelsea. The food was good and the roof top bar was even better!

Me and Kristen

I’m so excited for her to come to Oregon in October. I can’t wait to show her all my favorite places! Oh, and run the Portland Marathon! 

After dinner and the rooftop bar we all went our separate ways… Kristen and I headed to 16 Handles for some late night frozen yogurt.

The pistachio flavor is AMAZING.

I hope you all have a great weekend! Apparently this hurricane that is going to hit the East Coast is no joke. So my 20 miler is probably going to get pushed back until next week. At least now I know there is no possibility of my legs being tired or burnout!