Gifts for someone that has everything?!

I've had the chance to test and review two great products recently and I wanted to share my thoughts with you.  Maybe a holiday present for someone that has everything?!

The first product is the Runner's World Cookbook. I've been pretty bad about cooking recently, but I have made a few recipes from this cookbook and they've all been great! My FAVORITE is the Minestrone Soup! I've actually made this several times already, passed the recipe on to a friend and keep meaning to send it to my mom. It's simple, tastes great and is healthy!

The cookbook is very easy to use, with all recipes all having "tabs" at the top that tell you at quick glance if they're gluten free, vegetarian, good for recovery, etc. If you're looking for a certain type of recipe, or something that will be great to eat after long runs, this book makes it really easy to find the perfect recipe.

The Table of Contents breaks down the various types of meals and even includes breakfast & smoothies! Things have been insane recently, but I'm looking forward to using this book more and trying out more recipes in the next few months as I start marathon training!

The second product that I've had a chance to try out is the Sony Walkman MP3 player. I don't swim, but if I did, this would be even cooler because it's WATERPROOF! Remember that, triathletes!!

I have always used my iPod Shuffle for running so was skeptical about wanting to try another item. Until I looked it up online. Look how simple it is!

Excuse my hair....

  

Once I figured out what I was doing, it was really easy to load music onto this device.

My favorite things about it are:

1. No cords to deal with on the run

2. Easy to use

3. You can bend it so it fits your head ears well

4. It comes with several different size ear pieces so you can choose the one that fits you best

5. Perfect for solo speedwork, tempo runs or just an easy day

Things to think about before purchasing this:

1. When I run races (or if I run on the streets at night), I usually just use one headphone, but that's not possible with this item

2. It doesn't fit comfortably under headbands or hats during the colder months

While I won't be able to use this MP3 player for races, running with friends or in the winter months, I do look forward to being able to use it in the Spring for solo marathon training days!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?!

Disclaimer: I was given the Runner's World Cookbook and Sony Walkman MP3 player to test and review. All opinions are my own.

Vote for me to run the BOSTON MARATHON!!!

I have a favor to ask! From now until November 10, you can vote for me to run the Boston Marathon through PowerBar's Strong Together Campaign. I qualified for the Boston Marathon back at the Philadelphia Marathon in November 2012 (can't believe it was a year ago already!) but as we all know, the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon changed everything. Everyone wants to be there to run in 2014, including me. In Philly I ran 3:33:29. Unfortunately, the 2014 Boston Marathon filled up with a qualifying time (in my age group) of 3:33:22. I missed running by 7 seconds. My goal at Philly was to qualify AND run Boston. Not qualify and not be able to run it, so this is where I need your help!

You can vote for me once a day (until November 10) to send me to Boston. The top 10 people with the most votes will be considered finalists. From those 10, judges will select 4 people to be the grand prize winners and gain entry into the Boston Marathon. Help me become one of the 10 finalists!!

Unfortunately, PowerBar hasn't made voting very user friendly, so here are some tips to make it easier:

1) Click this link https://www.facebook.com/PowerBar?sk=app_183837888454522&app_data=18&ref=ts

My name (Abby F) should appear. You have to "like" the PowerBar page before you can vote. If you're directed right to my profile, "like" the page (top right), a voting button will come up and you're all set. THANK YOU! (You may also have to confirm that you're releasing some information to PowerBar, which I know is weird and unnecessary but I think should be fine in this case) Edited to reflect new information: It sounds as if (for the first time you vote) you have to login, agree to give PowerBar some info, reload the original page, press login again and then vote. Sorry it is such a hassle! Really wish they would have made this process easier for EVERYONE! 

2)IF MY NAME DOES NOT APPEAR when you click the link above, you should see a screen like the one below. Click "View Gallery", then you can search for "Abby" (you don't need to enter city or state). Note: you must have a Facebook account and be logged in

After you search for "Abby" my picture and the word "DETERMINATION" should appear (like below)

Once you have "liked" the PowerBar page (top right corner), the "VOTE" button will appear (as shown below)

Click it, and you're all done! At least until tomorrow :) (You may also have to confirm that you're releasing some information to PowerBar, which I know is weird and unnecessary but I think should be fine in this case)

I honestly hate asking people to do stuff like this but would absolutely LOVE to run Boston in April. I promise to shut up after November 10! And thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking a minute (or 2, since the system is funky!) to vote for me!!!

I'm the worst "blogger" ever!

Can I even call myself a blogger anymore? Probably not, but that's okay. I've been busy designing hundreds of wedding invitations that will never get used, spending COUNTLESS hours on Pinterest and playing Candy Crush. Just ignore that last bit of info.

Here I am three weeks post-Wineglass Half and I haven't written a recap. But I have booked a wedding venue, a date and florist! That counts, right?! Wineglass Half recap is likely NEVER to come so here's the quick version:

- awesome girls trip!
- minus the 7 hour car ride to Corning, NY
- HOLY HUMIDITY. 94%
- I hit my initial goal for this race (sub 1:40- I ran 1:39:25)
- I was upset I didn't run faster. If it hadn't been as humid I think I could have run 1:37-1:38.
- I felt great during the race, despite not being able to take a deep breath because the air was SATURATED
- HOLY HUMIDITY
- my dad followed along on his bike for most of the way and it was super cute.
- I ran my first half without a shirt on, and I'm super glad I did because did I mention, HOLY HUMIDITY???
- sitting in the car for 4 hours after a race without stretching much is a bad idea. And I'm still recovering from that bad idea.
- Corning, NY is a super cute town. I was born near there and I know that town was NOT cute back in the 80s so it was fun to see.
- I would not call this race downhill. It was flat, at best. There were actually more little hills than I was expecting.
- I want to run this race again. Soon. Maybe next year

Picture recap since my recap above pretty much sucked.

So now that we have that out of the way (kind of)....     

Ever since I found out that I didn't get into Boston, I've been trying to find a Spring marathon that excites me and is at least somewhat convenient. I went through REALLY ridiculous thoughts (yesterday) like: 

-go to DC Friday

-run marathon Saturday

-catch train back to NYC 1.5 hours after I (hopefully) finish

-go to a wedding at 4:30pm 

-dance all night. 

Um. I didn't even bother mentioning that one to Anthony. I also thought:

-fly from Baltimore (where I'll be) to Phoenix Friday

-run marathon Saturday

-fly back to Baltimore by Sunday afternoon to hear Anthony perform. 

That sounds awful too. All of the fun sounding Spring marathons are at times that don't work for me. Or at a time that would only add stress to an already tough 26.2. I want to be able to enjoy the marathon AND post marathon!

Last summer, Anthony, my mom, her boyfriend and I went to Ottawa.  It's only 1.5 hours from my mom's house (in the middle of nowhere), and in June, it was really chilly. After falling in love with the city, I immediately looked up Ottawa races. I mentioned the marathon/half to Anthony back in June, put it on my list of things to-do and EVEN put "Ottawa Marathon if no Boston??" But when it came to searching for a Spring marathon that I WANTED to run, I disregarded Ottawa because FindMyMarathon.com says to add a ton of time for weather. It's certainly possible that the weather will suck in late May. But if it's like last year, it's also certainly possible that the weather will be perfect. And yes, I'll probably be converting kilometers to miles the whole time, but I like math.

The Ottawa Marathon has me excited again. My mom, her boyfriend and Anthony are all available to come cheer (or run, Anthony?!) and we can make a weekend out of it. I won't be rushed trying to get to/from the race.  Part of my goal in finding a race was also something that wouldn't cost a ton, since we're also planning our wedding! We can drive to Ottawa so we don't have to pay for flights and it's Memorial Day weekend so I don't have to take off of work. And, another bonus- it's flat! 

If I'm going to spend 3-4 months training for something, it BETTER be something I'm excited about. And since it's not Boston in 2014 for me, it's OTTAWA, May 25, 2014!

OTTAWA MARATHON, HERE I COME!........right after I renew my passport!

Who else wants in on the Ottawa Marathon?! JOIN ME!!! Have you run the Ottawa Marathon? Thoughts?

Body Mechanics Massage Review!

OHMYGOSH! How is tomorrow already October?! So many great things have happened in my family in the last 10 days. Here's how it all went down:

September 20- my sister's birthday
September 23- my twin nieces were born!
September 24- went to Philly to meet nieces and celebrated my sister and brother-in-law's wedding anniversary
September 26- my nieces were named- Josephine and Vivian!
September 27- I got engaged (on a run!)! Oh, and it was my 30th birthday!

First picture as engaged couple!

Celebrating my birthday and our engagement!

So, all that to say that I'm a BIT behind on things! Oh, and I'm racing Wineglass Half on Sunday, so have to get ready for that. It's been crazy busy, but amazing!

I started this post over a week ago and feel badly that I'm just getting around to finishing it. I hope it finally makes it up on my blog today!

I recently had the chance to go check out the newly opened Body Mechanics Orthopedic Massage.

From their website:

What is Body Mechanics?

Do you want more out of your treatment than a 'spa' massage can offer in a beautiful space? Body Mechanics Orthopedic Massage New York is a luxury boutique  massage clinic  in Midtown, New York specializing in:

• Relaxation 
• Sports massage
• Prenatal Massage
• TMJ  

Body Mechanics Massage New York is a client-centered experience,   We tailor our treatments to you, rather than fit you into our treatment style. We combine a spa atmosphere with advanced manual therapy for physical problem solving.

Honestly, I didn't look into them too much once I was contacted about a complimentary treatment, I just said yes! So going in, I didn't really know what to expect. I didn't spend enough time on the website to see how awesome the space looks but here are a few pictures that I took. There are also more/better pictures on their website!

The lobby and check-in/waiting area

This is one of the rooms where massages are given. 

This is where I had my massage!

There are three massage rooms (only two are pictured above) and they are all super clean and decorated really nicely. Basically, I'd like my apartment to look like this! 

Not only does the space look great, but Beret, the owner, so was nice and interested in learning about me and my running before starting the massage. She asked me some questions, we talked about previous injuries, what my training is like now and if I was currently having any issues. You could tell that she knew what she was talking about and that I'd be in good hands! 

Everyone loves massages, but you know how sometimes you get someone that doesn't really know their stuff, or is too weak, or just doesn't quite do what you're looking for? This was the BEST MASSAGE I'VE EVER HAD! Beret gave me my massage and it was incredible! It definitely wasn't as painful as a sports massage, but I didn't have to ask her to use more pressure either. It was a perfect balance between relaxing and effective. 

So if you have a big race coming up, want to relax, or need something worked out of your body, I 100% recommend Body Mechanics! It's conveniently located near Grand Central and your body will thank you!

Follow Body Mechanics on twitter at @BodyMechanicsNY

Visit the Body Mechanics website

Disclaimer: I was offered a complimentary one-hour treatment. I was not required to write a few and all opinions are my own.

Philly Rock 'n' Roll Half Race Recap!

Last Sunday, I ran the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. This was my second year running this race, and I loved it just as much this year as last year, if not more! The mid-September date has provided awesome weather the past two years and the course is great -  a few miles downtown and then the rest is along the river.

This was my first half marathon since I ran this race last year! The past year went like this for me:

2012:
September - Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and a bunch of other races
October- trained for Philadelphia Marathon
November- ran Philadelphia Marathon!
December- sort of injured- IT band issues
2013:
January- started training for Spring halves
February- training/got injured
March- injured- 2 miles logged
April- injured- 1.5 miles logged
May- yay! I can finally run again! SLOWLY got back into it and tried not to freak out about leg
June- first race back! Leg feels great! Went to Hawaii, hardly ran this month!
July- started training for Fall halves
August- raced a 5k
September- Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and a bunch of other races

When I started training again in July, after allowing myself 2 months of easy running after injury, my coaches had their work cut out for them. At that time, a 9 minute mile felt really hard for me and I hadn't run more than a 10k since February. I had almost zero base built up. About the only thing that I had going for me was that I was excited and ready to work. But I (and they) also knew that I had to do that really careful to avoid another injury. July consisted of a few faster miles, but was mostly just easy running while building mileage. It really wasn't until August that I started doing any tempo runs or speedwork. After weeks of having crap runs, I finally started to feel like myself again and got in a few 10+ mile runs before this race.

My boyfriend, Anthony, and I were both running this race. He had to work until 5pm on Saturday, so I went down to Philly before him to get our bibs at the expo. I also met up with these Oiselle teammates!

Jill, me, Amanda and Ashley!

After the expo, I went back to the hotel to relax and took a quick nap before going to my sister's for dinner. She's about to have twin girls(!!!) so we ordered in a bunch of Italian and cheesecake. Anthony met us there for dinner then drove me back to the hotel, and we were in bed by 10pm. My kind of night! I set the alarm for 6:45am and went to sleep, so you can imagine our surprise when the hotel alarm clock went off very loudly at 5am!! Thanks to whomever stayed in that room before us and didn't turn it off. After that, I tossed and turned until our real alarm went off at 6:45am.

Anthony and I have started a few other half marathons together, but have never run the entire race with each other. I wasn't sure what we were going to do for this race either- we were prepared to run it together or separate mid-race if one person wanted to push. By Saturday, I had solidified my race plan, with the help of my coaches. I was planning to start off around PR pace (7:55) and then pick it up if I was feeling good. To be honest, and I think he'd say the same thing, I wasn't sure that Anthony had trained enough to run a PR with me. Going into this race, Anthony's half PR was 1:43:06 and mine was 1:43:23. I was torn- I wanted to run a strong race and PR, but I also wanted to run the race with Anthony, since I was the one that made him signed him up for it.

We got to the start around 7:45am and it was 50 degrees- perfect running weather! We tried to stay warm until 8am when the race started. In typical Philadelphia fashion, I messed up my Garmin before we even crossed the starting line. I did the same thing at the marathon- what is wrong with me?! So, I was trying to keep us on pace to run a PR, but my watch was off. I don't think I took that 15 seconds into account enough while we were running.

Our first 5k was 8:05 pace, which was slower than I planned on. But after that, we started to push it a bit more. We talked on and off the whole time, checked in with each other, ate some Honey Stingers, drank some water, and before we knew it, we only had a few miles left! I almost never run with anyone else and I gotta say, it did make the miles go by really quickly!

I don't know how Anthony does it, but on little training, he stuck with me the whole race! He even told me afterwards that he felt like he had some left in the tank. Maybe we should have run faster!

I will say that this was the longest half marathon I've run, in distance. For the record, I am NOT saying the course was long (I hate it when people pretend that's the reason that their time wasn't as fast). I'm saying, I (we) SUCK at running tangents! Anthony's Garmin said 13.27 at the end. Um, well that's annoying, because if we had run the tangents, our time would have been significantly faster. Oh well, hopefully I can do this better at Wineglass!

I guess the long and short of it is, we PR'd in overrunning the course, but still PR'd the half! I'm almost positive this is the first half I've negative split and it definitely felt like the easiest half I've run. I remember during the Brooklyn Half in 2012 (where my PR before this race was from) that I wanted to DIE starting around mile 9, so I'm glad I never felt horrible during this race! And I never even got sore, which was a nice surprise, since I usually can't walk down stairs the day after a half....  Thanks to Derek and Allison for making this possible!!

All in all, an awesome morning! I hope I (we?) can do this race again next year!

Next up, the 5th Ave Mile tomorrow morning and Wineglass Half two weeks from tomorrow!


Tell me: HOW DO YOU RUN TANGENTS SUCCESSFULLY?!?!?!  What's your favorite half marathon?

Running Update and Race Recap

Wow. I've been so horrible about blogging recently! To be honest, part of the reason is that I'm afraid to jinx my training. The last time I wrote about how great training was going, I wound up with a stress fracture only a few weeks later. So, instead of jinxing myself, I just haven't been writing. But, I have been running & training!

It took me a LONG time to feel like I could run well again after my stress fracture. I started back up in May but spent several weeks dealing with the mental aspect of running again after having a cracked tibia. I was EXTRA cautious and paranoid about EVERYTHING and it took me a month to make it up to 5 miles. After that first month, I started to relax a bit, but still kept my mileage very low and didn't add in any speedwork until August. I started working with my coaches again in July and they came up with a very conservative plan for me that I felt comfortable with and with their help, FINALLY feel like I'm almost back to where I was before injury.

For the last few weeks, I've really been questioning how in/out of shape I am, so this past Wednesday, I ran the last 5k of the Al Goldstein Summer Speed Series to find out. I ran this race back in June as my first race post injury so couldn't wait to see how far I had come since then. I went back and forth about how to run this race- with a watch, without a watch, with tape over my watch, etc and ended up wearing my watch (so I would have splits afterwards) but I put tape over it so I could run by feel. I'm proud of myself for actually keeping the tape on the whole time and not peeking (although I almost asked a guy I was running next to what pace we were running!) but it turns out that I'm not sure I like running "naked"! I honestly think that I would have pushed harder at certain points if I had known my pace. I'm glad I tried it out once, and this was a good race to do it, but I can't say that I'll be doing it again anytime soon. It didn't result in an instant PR, like it seems to for many, and had me questioning if I was giving it enough effort in the middle of the race, which probably means I wasn't!

My splits were:
7:12
6:50 (first sub 7 mile in I-don't-know-how-long!)
7:06
6:28 (for 0.1)

Total time: 21:43 (7:00 pace)

I was secretly sort of hoping to run 6:59 pace for this race and am pretty sure I would have made that happen if my watch hadn't been covered. But, I'm still happy with only being 12 seconds off my 5k after only a month with speedwork! I ended up being the 5th female and 2nd in my age group. Should have stuck around for my mini medal, but I didn't think there was a chance that I was anywhere near placing!

Up next is the NYRR Autism 4 mile race on September 7, but I'll run that as a tempo portion of a long run, then Philly Rock 'n' Roll Half in a little over 2 weeks. I'm still not exactly sure what I'm going to do with this race. I'm not going to all-out race it, but I think I would like to run it comfortably hard to see where I stand for the Wineglass Half in October (goal race). I'm really excited for Wineglass weekend- it's going to be an awesome girls trip and 4 people I'm coaching are running/racing it as well! I may be more excited to see how they do than how I do!.....

Oh! And I'm also running the 5th Ave Mile. Last year I BOMBED on pacing myself in this race. When I first looked down at my Garmin, it said 4:xx. Um no, I cannot sustain that pace for a mile, so this year I'm hoping I can run it smarter and PR!

Random picture that does not belong in this post but needed a picture
to spruce it up! Nicole's dog Molly, Allison, Beth and me. Photo credit: Nicole

Do you race with or without a watch? Have you set a PR without a watch? What races are you running this Fall? What's your goal race?

Summer Happenings and Coaching!

Woof. I've been so bad about blogging recently! I'm going to blame it on summer and all the travel that comes with it. I've been in three locations that don't even have internet/cell service this summer, so that's my excuse!

This summer has been filled with great trips, lots of heat, summer running and friends/family! I can't complain, except for the fact that it's almost the end of July already! Since this is a running blog, I'll skip all the vacation stuff and go right to running!:

This past weekend, I spent all day Saturday and Sunday learning more about running than I knew was possible. I took the RRCA course to become an official running coach! This is something that I've wanted to do for a while, but it's so freaking hard to get into one of these courses! They're either located across the country from you, or are full by the time you can hit "register." I was so excited when I saw that one of these courses was coming to NYC that I registered immediately and finally got in!

The course was great! The instructor, Randy Accetta, kept us laughing for 18 hours while also teaching us so much. This course refreshed my memory on many things, introduced new ideas and information to me and got me even more excited about coaching! I've been unofficially coaching a handful of people for the last few months and am excited that I'm only two steps away from being an officially certified running coach (I still have to take and pass the course test and take a First Aid/CPR course)!

I'm still working on developing a coaching page on this blog, but if you're feeling lost while running in the summer heat, still don't have a training plan for a race that's coming up in only a few weeks or want to add some structure to your summer running, let me know! I'd love to help you reach your goals, whatever they may be!

Type A Running Coach right here!
Let me do the thinking for you so all you have to do is run!

Mini 10k Recap. Aka 2nd Race of the Week! Bad idea!

After being injured and out of running for so long, I knew I needed to get some shorter races on the books. It just so happened that the first 2 races were within three days of each other. I didn't really think anything of it, until Friday- the day before the NYRR Oakley Mini 10k. When I signed up for these races, I wasn't planning to race either one. But then I sort of ended up racing both of them. Not all out, but close to it for my current post-injury running level.

I began questioning my sanity (and intelligence) on Friday. I woke up feeling old and creaky, with a knot in my right calf muscle. My right leg (the one that had the stress fracture) felt off- it didn't hurt at all, I could just tell that the muscles/tendons/everything around the bone were adjusting to running faster again. Or at least that's my non-medical assessment of what was going on! It's also something that I've been feeling for the last few weeks, which the doctor says is normal. But sends me into unjustified paranoia.

I sent Beth about 2930478293 crazy text messages on Friday, about how my leg might fall off, what if I re-injured it, etc. Thanks for amusing me and responding :) One of my messages to her also said that if it hurt at all on Saturday, I was prepared to DNF (did not finish, mom!). Running the Mini 10k was NOT worth re-injuring myself. Since my leg just felt funny, but didn't hurt, I decided I would start the race, and stop immediately if it hurt at all.

Since everything was feeling tight Friday, I decided it was time for some yoga for the first time in months. A 10k is not a long race (but it was going to be my longest distance since February) so I probably should have just rested on Friday, but of course didn't. I also had an engagement party to go to Friday night and wore heels. And drank. These do not make for an easy race morning! So when my alarm went off Saturday morning, after tossing and turning all night long, all I wanted to do was turn over for a few more hours of sleep. I finally got myself out of bed, forced myself to eat something and headed down to Columbus Circle to take this Oiselle Team photo!

Thank you Amanda and Lisa for looking more awake than me!
And thanks for the picture, Lisa!

The race started at 8am. This was the least crowded NYRR race I've ever run so  I got into my corral just a few minutes before the start and was ready to go! After some speakers, we were off!

From the first few steps, I knew it was going to be a long race. My legs and body were tired and it took me several miles (maybe 6!) to get into it mentally. It also got really humid super fast. And, the HILLS! I haven't run a Central Park loop in months and have only run the Harlem Hills once since February, and at a much slower pace. I took the hills way too fast and crashed and burned a bit on the flat part (the last 3 miles).

Around mile 2, I saw Jen cheering- thanks for being out there and for the picture below! Also, thanks to Jess for cheering around mile 4!

Photo credit: Jen

I absolutely positive split this race. Whoops. But at the end of the day, all I really care about is that my leg felt great the whole time!

Splits:
Mile 1: 7:43
Mile 2: 7:37
Mile 3: 7:26
Mile 4: 7:54 (aka this is where I wanted to quit)
Mile 5: 7:44
Mile 6: 7:47
0.2: 6:58 pace

Official time: 48:15

While this was my second slowest 10k ever (my slowest is 48:16!) it has actually given me a lot of confidence for Fall racing. I'm really happy that I was able to run this time after only five (very low mileage) weeks of running post-injury, after another race just a few days before, and when my longest run in months had only been 4.8 miles. This gives me hope that twice the distance and 10 seconds faster per mile, on a flat or downhill course, might be possible in the Fall! Aka sub 1:40 half marathon. Dream big!

Post Race with Robin, Lisa, Amanda and me!
Photo from Lisa's phone. Not sure who took it!

Next up, Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half in September!

Did you run the Oakley Mini 10k this year? What the heck is the name of it now?! What did you think of it? When's your next race?

I ran a race!!!

Yesterday, I ran a race! I RAN A RACE! It's been SO long since I've been able to say that! It was so much fun so I'm glad that I have another on Saturday!

After taking 8+ weeks off of running due to a stress fracture, I've been lucky enough to be pain free for about 5 weeks. But, my mileage has still been low, and many of my miles have been slower than I'm used to, so I didn't know what to expect at the 5k yesterday.

I got home from work early so had time to take a little nap before heading to Brooklyn. I woke up before my alarm went off, which never happens, and was suddenly REALLY nervous! What if my leg hurt and I couldn't finish? What if I crashed and burned? What if I totally forgot how to race? I was really excited, but also really nervous!

Beth texted me my bib number for the Oakley Mini 10k just before I got on the subway- 320! I've never had a three digit bib number for a NYRR race and have never been in the blue corral before. It got me really excited and reminded me that I do know how to race, even if I haven't been able to do it recently.

On the subway, I decided that I would wear my Garmin, but would only look at it for distance, and maybe mile splits. I wanted to run by feel- comfortably hard, but not all out racing, since I haven't done any tempo runs/speedwork since February and wasn't sure how my leg would feel with much faster paces.

Once I got off the subway at Grand Army Plaza, I ran a little over a mile to registration, and saw Steph and Carla. We chatted until it was time to walk over to the starting line. The race series is so small (although a lot bigger this year than last!) and laid back- I love it! (It's also only $5 per race, for anyone interested that hasn't done it before!)

The director made some announcements and then we were off! The first mile has the only big hill in Prospect Park. I was running a comfortable pace and knew that the hardest part was over once I made it to the top.

Mile 1: 7:32

I was feeling really good and was just so happy to be running a race again! The end of mile 2 ended at the bottom of a big downhill, so I picked up some speed there.

Mile 2: 7:14

Around mile 2.25, I started to feel a little tired but at mile 2.5, something changed and I was ready to pick it up and pass some people! I passed two or three girls at the end, and finished feeling really strong!

Mile 3: 7:26
Last 0.1: 6:33

I haven't seen a 6 on my watch in SO long! I was so happy when I saw this after I finished! Total time: 22:50. This isn't a PR, but actually is much faster than I was expecting/hoping for yesterday! I wanted a few things for the race yesterday: 1) for my leg to feel good 2) to feel strong 3) to run a smart race. I feel like I accomplished all of these things so I'm really happy. I can't wait to toe the line for twice the distance on Saturday! Nevermind that I haven't run more than 4.8 miles since February....Details, details!! :)

I'm going to miss the Al Goldstein Speed Series race in 2 weeks since I'll be in Hawaii(!) but will definitely be back for more later this summer, and hopefully feeling stronger and faster!

Left to right: Meggie, me, Laura, Jocelyn, Steph,
Carla and Jeremy

Oiselle, Picky Bars and Nuun NYC Fun Run!

Chances are that you're going to run on Saturday, June 1, so why not do it with all your friends, three awesome companies and the chance to try samples and win prizes?! No thought required- just get your FREE ticket (below) and show up with running shoes!

WHO: EVERYONE IS INVITED! You don't have to wear Oiselle (yet!), drink Nuun (yet!) or eat Picky Bars (yet!) but fair warning- there's a very high chance that you'll want to after this event! Men, women, friends of friends, significant others...EVERYONE is invited! All paces welcome! 

WHAT: A fun run that Jocelyn and Meggie have organized with Oiselle, Nuun and Picky Bars. Options for 4 and 8 mile runs.

WHERE: The run will leave from the Greatist Headquarters located at 18 W 27th St, 8th Floor

WHEN: Saturday, June 1 at 8:30am

WHY: Because these are the three best up-and-coming companies for looking awesome (Oiselle!) with great nutrition (Picky Bars!) and staying well hydrated (Nuun!). A runner's dream!

HOW: Get your FREE tickets here

Any questions: Ask me and I'll try to answer, or contact the brains behind the operation: email Jocelyn at Enthusiasticrunner@gmail.com or Tweet her at @jcbonn or Meggie at @MBSthinks. 

Thanks to Jocelyn & Meggie for organizing and Oiselle, Picky Bars & Nuun for being awesome and providing samples and prizes!

Please spread the word and see you all there!

RUNNING and what I've been up to

Yikes, it's been a LONG time! While I was sidelined from my stress fracture, I had no motivation to write to let everyone know that I STILL wasn't running. But after 8 weeks of absolutely no running (plus 2 before that of basically no running) I'm BACK TO RUNNING!!!! IT'S THE BEST! I'm still keeping my mileage very low and am only running every other day, but I look forward to my next run for 48 hours and smile the whole way. I'm so happy to be back at it!

Here's a summary of what my last few months have looked like:

• Cheer for NYC Half

Pre NYC Half brunch. Left to right: Meggie, Allison, Steph, me, Jocelyn.
Photo credit: Allison's husband (I think)

NYC Half Men's lead pack at mile 7

• Go to DC with Beth, Steph, Kim and Jen for a girl's weekend. Cheer for Cherry Blossom 10M. Have brunch with a bunch of Oiselle girls! 

After the Cherry Blossom Expo in DC. Left to right: Jen, me, Steph,
Beth and Kim

The White House. But if you didn't know that, we should probably talk.
Or, maybe we shouldn't.

Runners on the left, cheerer on the right!

Awesome Oiselle teammates post brunch in DC after everyone race
the Cherry Blossom 10 mile!

• Fly to Eugene. Meet awesome people. Cheer for Eugene Marathon. Drink beer. 

Somewhere over Utah

Large portion of the Oiselle team at the Eugene Marathon expo!

Best cheer squad ever! Photo credit: Oiselle Facebook Page

SO. MUCH. FUN. Photo credit: Oiselle Facebook Page

Oiselle team at Ninkasi after party! Photo credit: Derek Delancey

• RUN a mile!!!!! Best mile ever! Smile the whole time!
• Cheer for the NJ Half Marathon and run part of it with Beth while she scored a kick ass PR! 

Beth and me after she killed her half marathon! 5 minute PR!
Photo credit: Beth's brother

Oiselle Birds. Left to right: Me, Meggie, Jocelyn. Photo credit: Leticia

• Attend FitBlogNYC through Fitness Magazine! Listen to great speakers, hang out with awesome friends and do yoga outside in the sun. Thank you to Fitness Magazine for a great day and for all of the amazing goodies! 

• RUN!!!!
• Buy lots of Oiselle so I have new comeback clothes! Winonas, Rogas, Mesh tanks!

Oiselle display at NY Running Company

• Go to lots of spin & Pedal NYC TRX classes. Attempt to get stronger to stay injury free.
• Do the Dirty Dozen and try to get a strong core
• Sign up for all the races
• Go to runner happy hour. Drink too much.

So many great runner friends that I've met over the past year!

• Join the Honey Stinger Hive!

First Honey Stinger order as a Hive member! So excited!

• Attempt Refine again and realize that I'm really out of shape and it's a horrible idea to do it hungover. 
• Walk a lot
• RUN!!!!! THE MOST AMAZING RUN EVER!!!!! Yes that's dramatic, no I'm not exaggerating!

Now you're up to date so let's get back to the running talk in the next post!

What's your next race? How have you stayed sane during injuries?