Yesterday we woke up at 4:45am in order to make an 8:40 flight back to New York City. Having some time to breathe and relax was important to us this weekend as was making it down to Georgia to see some of my closest college friends.
We were back in New York by 11:30 and were greeted by the best gift ever- no taxi line!
By 3pm we were on the rooftop of our friends Tribeca apartment building enjoying beers, laughs, delicious food, and sunshine!
We contributed to the afternoon by bringing Emily’s delicious soba noodle salad, chips, salsa, and two summer beers!
The views from their rooftop were amazing especially as the sun started to set and the clouds cooled off the afternoon heat.
As the afternoon heat turned into a cool, clear evening we enjoyed burgers and more beers while enjoying the night scene.
An evening of beers and homemade cocktails made waking up to meet my friend Genna for my first hot flow yoga class at Prana Power Yoga. I’m going to do a separate post which will get more into the differences between a regular yoga class, but let’s just say that it was an hour filled with sweat and faster flow than I’m accustomed to these days. The studio is located right above Union Square and offers an average of six classes per day ranging from 6:30 in the morning to 8 at night!
After class we met Bo in Union Square for some Farmer’s Market shopping. It’s been ages since we’ve had a stocked fridge complete with produce and fresh cheese!
After stocking the fridge Bo and I headed out for a run along the East River to soak up the day’s beautiful sunshine and blue sky.
The heat and sun cut our run down to a 5k versus the original four miles we’d planned. Regardless, I’m still proud of us pushing through the heat and of myself for squeezing in two great workouts on this one Memorial Day Monday.
Our afternoon and evening plans include relaxing with a movie at home and a healthy homemade dinner complete with marinated lemon and garlic chicken, zucchini carpaccio, Caprese salad, and nice cold Pinot Grigio.
Until tomorrow, make sure to check out these two great workout opportunities!
1. Today kicks off Runner’s WorldSummer Running Streak. I’m super excited about giving this opportunity a chance! All you have to do is run at least one mile per day, every day, starting today Memorial Day (Monday, 5/28) and ending on Independence Day (Wednesday, 7/4). That’s 38 consecutive days of running. It’ll be tough but I feel like I can always squeeze in at least a mile!
2. On June 9th I’m going to be busting out a sandy and sunny workout with the amazing Jackie Warner thanks to Well+Good NYC and Evian! Want to join? Luckily they are giving away 6 VIP passes! Enter here to win!
What a whirlwind 24 hours! Due to our busy travel schedule during May and June, we have done our best to reasonably cut costs whenever possible. One of the easiest ways is flying to weddings Saturday morning versus Friday night when we’re not part of the wedding party.
Less stress during the week.
No issues with missing work.
Cheaper flights.
Only one night at a hotel versus two.
This weekend we had the great joy of celebrating one of the last sorority weddings from my group of close Delta Gamma sorority sisters. Born and raised in Gray, Georgia we had no doubt that Chrissie’s wedding would be the perfect mix of South Georgia chic complete with a beautiful country setting and plenty of country music.
The setting, Plantation Farm, couldn’t have been more perfect complete with a chandelier laden barn, horse farm in the backdrop, rustic fences, and beautiful wide open spaces.
The only downside to the entire wedding celebration was the heat that greeted the guests for the ceremony. At 6:05 when the gorgeous bride was ushered down the aisle by her father, it was an oppressive 95 degrees!
That combined with barely any breeze or cloud cover made it quite the sweat fest. In fact, we were all glistening by the end of the ceremony. The bride on the other hand, was radiant in a gorgeous, form fitting lace gown.
Some people knew how to keep cool in the heat better than others.
After saying “I do” the party moved to a cocktail hour while the bridal party took pictures against the rustic setting. This gave us plenty of time for pictures and some cool beer while we enjoyed passed chicken salad and freshly fried sweet potato fries!
Can you tell I’m a bit obsessed with Isabelle? She was definitely one of the highlights of last night’s wedding, especially since she was a trooper and lasted five hours without one tantrum!
Our next stop was the gorgeous barn, where the buffet dinner was located, which was decorated with beautiful hydrangeas, white lights and chandeliers!
Due to the heat, I was craving fruit and salad more than anything else which is clear from my food choices. While I heard the twice baked potatoes were amazing that just seemed entirely too hot.
Don’t worry, the picture taking and glistening continued as the evening’s dance party started. The joke of the evening, even when sweat stains started to show on our light summer frocks, was that we are good Southern ladies who glisten, not sweat. I think the picture below, even after some minor editing, shows that we were certainly glistening! Where’s some pressed powder or blotting sheets when you need it?
Before long it was time to surround the bride and groom as they cut their cake. I love watching couples cut the cake as it shows a lot about their personalities. While these aren’t the best pictures I love the emotions and love that radiate from both Chrissie and John! It was impossible not to squeeze Bo’s hand as we watched another couple celebrate the night. The entire night was filled with love whether between friends, married couples, or that which radiated for Isabelle, our little passed party favor all night long!
Weddings have become our reunions over the years and we’ve been blessed to celebrate one every year since graduation. Luckily we still have a few more ladies to celebrate in the coming years but until then it’s time to start planning more beach vacations!
Thank you Chrissie and John for a wonderful country chic wedding celebration!
I forgot to mention how much I loved running into a cheering squad as I sprinted toward the finish. Both vans were on the sidelines with glow rings, dancing and screaming as I ran past them towards the transition point. There is no greater feeling than being surrounded by support like that. In fact, I think I’m going to do my best to build this into my marathon experience this year. Since some of my friends like Melissa and Theodora aren’t running NYC this year maybe I can give them some sparkly rings and find them along the course similar to NYC 2010.
I finished my first leg around 8pm which meant we had approximately six hours until Tina had to start running again. Our first priority was dinner then we’d starting thinking about sleep. Based on suggestions we received from our camera man and other running teams, we stopped in a small restaurant which I ran by earlier, Carbone’s.
Oh how I wish we’d walked in and turned around the other direction. If you ever do Reach the Beach or spend time in Hopkinton, don’t stop here.
By the time we sat down the restaurant was virtually empty which led us to believe that service and food would come very quickly.
Unfortunately, nothing went well during this experience. The running and fresh air we’d enjoyed all meant that we were each exhausted. In fact I think we each almost face planted into our menu at least once while we waited. Next the delirium started to set in. Random bouts of laughter ensued as we reviewed the menu and realized that there was very little “running fuel” on the menu. Elizabeth, Anne, Theodora, and I thought we were being safe by ordering the spaghetti and red sauce. I knew I needed some protein so I ordered the meatballs as well, hoping they would be delicious.
While we waited I sipped on some delicious chocolate milk which in hindsight was the only good decision I made at Carbone’s.
When our food finally arrived we realized that the portion sizes were huge AND the pasta was in a puddle of grease. I barely made a dent in my meal before stopping and deciding I’d rather have another banana and half a bagel later if I was hungry. This food just wasn’t going down well and it wasn’t worth it.
Oh sigh. Looking at this meal now almost a week later, my stomach still pains me. Needless to say, everyone in our van except Theodora dealt with twelve hours of stomach issues after this lovely meal. Which leads me to thank Reach the Beach for their wonderful and numerous porta potties. Every transition area either had a school whose bathrooms we could use or at least four porta potties which were always stocked with toilet paper. We would have been in a bad place without these! At one point or another each of us doubted our ability to run our second or third legs due to stomach pains but luckily we each made it through.
After dinner we headed to the transition area where we would meet Sarah, the last runner in Van 2. Our driver, Monica, headed outside with her sleeping bag which allowed Theodora to move into the front seat for a few hours of shuteye. This meant that I had an entire row to myself which was absolute bliss. My friends and family know that I can sleep anywhere and this was no exception. I lied down and slept for a good 3 hours, not budging once until the alarms started going off telling us it was time to head over to kick off Van 2’s second legs.
IT WAS FREEZING! None of us exited the van expecting the frigid temperatures. Therefore, we took our large blankets with us as we cheered Tina on in the pitch black. Due to the darkness we agreed as a van to follow each runner closely, meeting them four to five times along the course to ensure their safety. Luckily we had all the required safety gear (reflective vests, head lamps, awesome NB hats with lights, and blinking lights) to make sure cars saw the runners but it was still VERY dark along the route especially for Tina and Monica’s legs which were in a more rural suburban area. This is when our van really came together. Each of us was willing to sacrifice sleep to cheer them on in the darkness, motivate them during the tough parts and don a banana suit to bring them some happiness when the darkness was taking over their emotions. (photos courtesy of Tina & Anne)
These legs seemed to fly by because we were following the runners so closely therefore giving us very little down time. As Elizabeth headed out for her second leg I knew it was time to don my safety gear and start refueling again since I had very left inside me (TMI?).
The dozen bagels I brought from NYC came in handy more than one time during the relay. They were easy to cut and have with some peanut butter for quick fuel and didn’t go stale.
I referred to the map one last time to see what to expect and realized that my leg was shorter than I expected and through a state park which I expected to be gorgeous! I was so excited to not only get to run during sunset but also sunrise.
Leg 24 (QUIET ZONE): Borderland State Park to Oliver Ames High School: 3.61 miles: easy [map]
Anne’s hand off to me was perfect this time and I quickly started up a trail path which led into the woods. (photos courtesy of Anne)
I wish I carried my camera for this leg as the trail was beautiful. It went by two large ponds just as the sun was peaking above them and I even saw deer and a few birds along the way. This was my first experience running on a trail and I really enjoyed it. Maybe I’ll give the Bridle Path another try up at Central Park.
I wore capris and compression sleeves for this leg as it was still quite cool outside and I knew the compression would help my tight legs. Unfortunately sitting in tight areas isn’t good for legs, hip flexors or my lower back. This run was the perfect leg to shake everything out and just enjoy. I kept a great pace (9:44) and was sad that it was only 3.6 miles as I would have enjoyed at least another mile on the path before handing off to Gretchen who would get Van 1 started on their FINAL LEG!
In case you can’t wait any longer for the rest or to see us in video footage, feel free to check out the first episode of our Reach the Beach video which was part of our partnership with Reach the Beach and New Balance. Made by pixelwiremedia.com / rtbrelay.com, it’s pretty hilarious.
