Good morning!!!

In preparation for the half marathon tomorrow, I drank tons of water yesterday, ate quite healthy while ensuring that I replaced some of my calories that normally are from protein into carbs, stretched, and even passed on the chips and guac we normally get at Papatzul. In addition, I slept 10 hours though it wasn’t the best sleep i’ve ever had. Bo has had a long week at work and his roommate actually got laid off this week during their company’s last round of cuts. Therefore, when his roommates and some other work friends wanted to go to a birthday party I understood why Bo wanted to join them. He left at 11:30 when I crawled in bed. I slept comfortably and soundly until 4:45am. The group decided to bring the party back here until 6:15 which meant that for an hour I was experimenting with noise blocking devices (thinking good thoughts, putting a towel under the door to block noise, putting a pillow on my head, you name it) but nothing really worked. Luckily they decided to all go their separate ways or off to bed at 6:15 which allowed me to sleep for 3 more hours. This is just another reason why I can’t wait to move to our new apartment together where there will only be 2 occupants versus 4!

Spring has finally arrived in NYC and I couldn’t be more excited! This morning it was finally sunny, warm, and fresh outside. When I went to buy a banana for my morning oatmeal everyone was sporting flipflops, sundresses, and bright tops! The excitement that a fresh renewal has arrived to burn off the winter gloom is definitely contagious. I couldn’t help but have a hop in my step as I walked the two short blocks or keep myself from coming home and opening all the blinds while I did some cleaning.

Speaking of this wonderful weather, i’m getting very excited for tomorrow’s MORE/FITNESS MAGAZINE Half Marathon. I’m so thankful Melissa and I made the correct decision and each went to the Expo yesterday. My friend just texted me telling me that there is a line three blocks long right now to get in! Yesterday, the Expo was a bit dissapointing but had one definite highlight. It was held in the Altman Building which is a perfect location as it’s pretty central and a nice size space. But, where were all the samples?! There were no amazing bar companies, sports drinks, etc. The only samples vendors were giving out were from Eucedrin and Silk. Oh well, I guess i’ve been spoiled by the Philadelphia events. In addition the bag they gave us was quite heavy due to a FITNESS magazine and MORE magazine. I was surprised to see that they are going to have pacers for both the half marathon and the marathon. I’ve never used a pacer before and had planned to “use” Melissa as my pacer tomorrow but it could be great motivation. My goal is to better than my last half marathon in Charlotte. I think this is a good comparison as it was very hilly as well. According to Athlinks, my time was 2:27. That is the slowest i’ve ever run a half but I was coming off injury and poor training. My previous times are as follows:  Philadelphia 9/07 (flat) 2:07, Charlotte 12/07 (hills) 2:12, Philadelphia 9/08 (flat) 2:21, Philadelphia 11/09 (flat) 2:19, Charlotte 12/08 (hills) 2:27. As you can see I was on a very strict training plan last year when I ran my first half marathon and it made a huge diffference.

I was about to leave the expo, dissapointed and sad that i’d missed Melissa when I saw a sign that said “MORE EXPO DOWNSTAIRS”. I quickly dashed downstairs to see what I could find. To my great excitement, I saw a sign for Gracie’s Gear. I’ve heard a lot about her products through blog giveaways and definitely wanted to buy a tank and find out more about what differentiates her products. A nice woman saw me looking at all the products and asked if I needed help. She quickly helped me understand the differences and explain their different products. But, even more exciting, she asked me to wait a minute because the adorable, pregnant blonde next to me who was deep in conversation with a reporter was in fact, Gracie! Gracie spent 20 minutes with me discussing how her company started, her products, and her passion for helping others improve their running times and experience through Heart Rate training. In fact, this week she is going to do a guest post and discuss the different benefits and how to start your own HR training program to help with your next race. I asked her if she’d be willing to do a discount code for the site and instead she loved my idea of wearing one of her tanks for my race on Sunday and then reviewing it! In addition, I think I will be receiving an extra one next week to give to one lucky reader!! I have tons of pictures but unfortunately my camera is being stupid!

When Bo and I got home last night after a wonderful but late dinner at our favorite, Papatzul, we were met my a huge box from Dustin at Wildwood! He was so kind to send us 3 packages of hummus (Original Light, Spicy Cayenne, and Indian Spice) and then three packages of their tempeh. I would love any suggestions you all have for using Tempeh as i’ve never tried it before! We will definitely be trying the next few days and reviewing them. Bo and I were like kids in a candy store when we received the package as they are our first official samples! I am hopefully going to work with Dustin to setup a discount code so you all can try their amazing products as well!