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A Hilly New York City Training Run

This morning we were going to be running our first race in Vermont, the Maple Leaf Half Marathon.

Unfortunately due to adult priorities like work, we had to change our plans last minute and stay in town this weekend.

dont make me adult

Instead of running a half marathon through the lush mountains of Vermont, we ran 11 miles yesterday morning in honor of 9/11. We used bridges to simulate hills and ran through both Brooklyn and Manhattan to switch things up a bit.

Our morning started at the way too early hour of 4:15 when our alarms went off, signaling that it was time to get dressed and chug some coffee before heading out the door. Luckily we both bounced right out of bed thanks to the previous night’s 9:45 bed time.

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You know what makes delicious long run fuel? Homemade banana bread muffins with a smear of almond butter.

By 4:45 we were out the door, keeping a 9:45 pace as we headed towards our first bridge of the morning: the Brooklyn Bridge. We carried a handheld water bottle and one pack of Honey Stinger chews with us to fuel our run. Our goal for the run was to maintain a steady pace, include some hills and test fueling methods.

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Running over the Brooklyn Bridge while New York City was still engulfed in darkness and a dense haze was very ominous until we hit the midway point on the bridge and saw the American flag waving in the darkness. Tears came to our eyes as took a moment to appreciate all the city has provided to us and gave quiet thanks to those people who lost their lives on September 11th.

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After exiting the Brooklyn Bridge we headed north on the East River Path towards the Williamsburg Bridge. The path was empty except for a few people heading home from bars and a few cyclists. We headed back over towards Brooklyn via the Williamsburg Bridge which is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world at 1.4 miles. I forgot how wide the path is on this bridge versus the other ones in NYC – what a treat!

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Once we arrived back in Brooklyn we ran through Williamsburg, BedStuy, Crown Heights, Park Slope, Gowanus and back to Carroll Gardens. The gentle incline never seemed to end and as each mile passed my legs screamed just a bit louder.

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We were able to talk during the entire run while maintaining a pace around the 9:40 range until the final two miles which were downhill, allowing us to flush out the legs and keep a sub 9 minute pace!

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This was a weekday personal distance record for Bo, as historically he would have rolled over and gone back to sleep, saying he’d do the longer distance on the weekend. Instead, he was able to experience the Friday morning runner’s high as he walked through the office at 8am, explaining to people that he’d already finished his long run.

Some people think we’re crazy to wake up this early but at the end of the day, it allows us to train for a half marathon without impacting our social plans. We both love being able to squeeze in social workout dates on the weekend without worrying about our run. This morning I’m taking a Bar Method class with a girlfriend while he can go on a long ride.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

 

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Labor Day Weekend

This Labor Day weekend we stayed local, but had the chance to still squeeze in lots of final Summer moments.

The fun started on Friday evening with our friend Ranald’s birthday celebration. He and his girlfriend Sandra recently moved from Geneva to Boston and decided that heading down to NYC for the night was the perfect way to celebrate his birthday. We were happy to host them for the night, making great use of our new spare bedroom, as well as put together an evening itinerary proper for a birthday. We started with drinks at the Wyeth for sunset views of the city, dinner at the Dutch and then after dinner drinks at The Lobby Bar at the Bowery Hotel and dancing at the downstairs portion of Acme.

In preparation for the evening, I switched out my pastels for something a bit more appropriate: a black and white outfit complete with a leather skirt.

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Bagel sandwiches and iced coffee were requisite Saturday morning before saying farewell to Ranald and Sandra and continuing work on the house. This weekend’s projects included taking the final load of donations to Goodwill, cutting down the last of our cardboard boxes for donations, finishing the guest bedroom, and building another Ikea Pax which is now our linen closet.

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Saturday night Bo and I took it easy switching clubs for the couch and fancy restaurants for our grill and kitchen. A few glasses of wine, cheese plate and grilled sword fish dinner were the perfect pairing for a night on the couch.

 

 

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Sunday I had the opportunity to enjoy a relaxing day while Bo went on a long ride on Palisades Park with his friend Scott. The day included a run and free yoga at Cobble Hill Lululemon, baking chocolate chip banana bread muffins, a sports massage, and afternoon of reading in the back yard.

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That night we ended up introducing Scott to Carroll Gardens by way of a miniature pub crawl and dinner at one of our favorite spots, Prime Meats. The weather was perfect for an evening of outdoor drinking and dining, complete with white lights and a mix of craft cocktails and the final Summer brews.

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By the time Monday rolled around, Bo and I were both ready to return to our regular schedule. We eased back into the week with an easy shakeout run along the water, an afternoon matinee viewing of Trainwreck and a grilled Summer meal including honey lime marinated shrimp and char-grilled corn on the cob.

 

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Even though Summer was a wonderful blur, I’m ready to light my first pumpkin spice candle, add a few more dashes of pumpkin pie spice to my morning yogurt and find my way back into jeans and tall boots. Hopefully this weekend’s half marathon in Vermont will be our first cold weather run. As of now the morning temperatures are supposed to be 50 degrees – perfect for racing 13.1 miles of undulating hills!

 

 

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It’s Okay

Often times, many of us fill our personal calendar with far too many commitments. Whether it is an early morning workout class when we know our body needs sleep or a happy hour when we know our body has had more than enough wine. We feel the need to say yes to everything unless we have other plans.

In fact, at least once a week during our daily chats, my mom will recommend that I slow down.

Don’t you think you and Bo need a weekend with no plans?

Don’t you need an evening just to relax?

Do you really need to go to that event?

I often roll my eyes telling my mom that I’m just wired differently and love being around and with people, nurturing relationships and trying new things. Since moving back to New York City, I’ve immersed myself in the blogging and fitness community, a void I felt when living abroad.

just say no

But sometimes, even the most energized people need to take a pause and listen to our minds and bodies. 

Yesterday I found myself stressed and worried about the number of commitments I had on my calendar. After snoozing through my alarm three times, clearly a sign that my body needed sleep, I had the following on my calendar:

Don’t get me wrong; I am thankful to live in NYC and have so many opportunities and have a wonderful and supportive fitness community. But, the thought of rushing from Brooklyn at 5:30pm to head to Central Park and deal with the lines, warm temperatures and craziness of a large event such as the Lole White Yoga Party just wasn’t appealing. The runner happy hour sounded fun and would be a great chance to catch up with a lot of running buddies, but it unfortunately was also starting around 5:30.  While throwing together a quick lunch yesterday, I found myself stressing out while texting with Kristine and Bo. As luck would have it, they both advised me to analyze my commitments.

Do what will make you happiest.

It’s all about attitude. If you won’t be excited at any of the events then don’t do it. It’s worse to be partially present than not present at all.

Since I wasn’t going to leave any one person alone at either event, I wasn’t stressed about bailing at the last minute. My friends going to the yoga event would have each other and the 10,000 other yogis while the runners at happy hour would have plenty of other people with whom to enjoy the cold beers and lovely evening.

I took a few minutes to send emails to a few different people explaining that I was investing in me and doing what I felt my mind and body needed: a workout and a quiet, healthy outdoor dinner with Zoe.

Bar Method

bareburger

Even though the pictures from both events look wonderful, this morning I woke up smiling and feeling renewed. There was no sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) or regret.

say no stress free

It’s okay to say no sometimes. It’s okay to bail when you know it’s the best decision. It’s okay to take time just for yourself and do what you know will make your mind and body happy.

Your turn: Am I the only one who feels this way or do you fight with the need to say yes to everything? What are your tips? 

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