A Run Where 3 Miles Felt Like an Eternity

You know a few days ago when I was gushing about how easy my eight miler was and how I was sure I'd have an equally sucky run sometime in the near future? Well I was of course right! Today's run was just that. Three miles of pure torture.

THREE miles! That's all. Did I mention a marathon is 23.2 miles MORE than that? I'm screwed. I was in hell. My legs felt like lead. Sweat was pouring into my eyes and I couldn't breathe. My garmin wouldn't "locate a satalite" and then when it finally did it told me my pace ranged from 5 minute miles to 35 minute miles. Now I know my pace varies quite a bit with my walk/run method, but it generally doesn't vary THAT much.

And the worst part of it? I just wanted it to be over as quickly as possible so I could hang out with Petey. Of course, since I wanted it to be over quickly it actually meant it would take me a whole heck of a lot longer than I thought it should have because that's just the way things go.

Oh well. It was miserable but I completed it. And Petey was still there when I got home, and ready to try and lick all of the sweat off my legs. Dogs have a weird idea of what constitutes something that "tastes good."

Hopefully my long run this weekend (9.5 miles, eeeeek) won't be quite as miserable. But even if it is, I'll make it, because well, I've committed and I'm not giving up until I cross that finish line on November 6th.

Welcome to the family Petey!

I interrupt my regularly boring training posts to introduce our newest family member - Pete!!

This past weekend was a whirlwind, a completely awesome whirlwind. We've been in process to adopt a puppy for about a month now and in the middle of the night on Friday (about 1:30am) he finally joined our family. Here is the photo on petfinder that started it all:

We found the posting for "Tigger" about a month ago, here is what it said:

~~~~THIS PUPPY IS LOCATED IN A RESCUE IN ARKANSAS BUT CAN BE ADOPTED OUT OF STATE TO AN APPROVED HOME AT THE ADOPTERS EXPENSE~~~~~~ THIS GUY COME INTO THE RESCUE WITH OTHER SIBBLINGS IN JUST HORRIBLE CONDITION.THEY HAD PARASITES SO BAD WE DIDNT KNOW IF THEY WOULD LIVE OR NOT.ON TOP OF THAT THEY HAD HAIR MISSING OVER HALF THERE LITTLE BODIES.THEY ARE NOW FREE OF THE PARASITES AND GETTING THERE HAIR BACK.YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW ANY OF THEM WERE EVEN SLOWED DOWN A BIT WITH ANYTHING.THEY LOVE TO PLAY AND EAT JUST LIKE ANY TYPICAL LITTLE PUPPY.IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADOPT ONE PLEASE CONTACT US AND WE WILL SEND YOU AN APPLICATION TO FILL OUT.THESE BABIES ARE ALMOST 3 MONTHS OLD NOW

That was all it took. We filled out an application and a bunch of phone calls, a bit of money and one very long plane ride later and Tigger is ours! We re-named him Pete and could not be more thrilled to have him in our family.

He has had a traumatic first few months of life and we plan to remedy that by giving him as much love as he can stand. Its a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

We knew we had a fantastic little guy on our hands when after 12+ hours of being stuck in a crate (he had all kinds of flight trouble getting here, thanks a lot Newark airport) and not knowing who the heck we were, his first instinct was to try and lick Jeff through the crate. That's pretty much all it took, we were both in love, he had stolen both of our hearts and continues to do so more and more each day.

The first night he snuggled right up to both of us and fell asleep after his long day of travel. It was the sweetest thing in the world. It's been a little hard to watch how scared he his of his new surroundings (going from rural Arkansas to Hoboken, NJ can't be easy for the little guy) but we know it's just an adjustment phase. Pretty soon he'll feel right at home here, even with all of the commotion.

We're still getting to know each other and just enjoying our time. Here is a picture of him today, happy and secure in his new home:

We love you Petey!

Week 6 of Marathon Training

So this past week was a big one for me in training for the NYC marathon for two reasons. One is that I was away from home and I've just never really been good at working out when I'm on vacation. Two is that I had an 8 miler on the schedule and I was afraid because that was the longest I'd gone in the past before my injury got too much for me to handle and I had to stop running.

I'm very happy to report that I kept up with my training 100% and even my cross training while I was away and that I was able to do my 8 mile run completely PAIN FREE! It was honestly amazing. I felt incredible the entire time I was running. I ran the entire thing on a trail in Indy that is just perfect for running, easy on the body and interesting enough that you don't get bored. It was a little extra interesting on this particular day because there was a huge rain storm that morning and I had to do my best to dodge puddles the entire time which just kept things interesting. It was by far the best long run I've ever had.

Here are the stats from the 8 miles:

8 miles

1:38:18 total time

12:23 min/mile

151 avg HR

847 calories burned

On this run I just basically listened to my body and took it easy. I probably could have gone a bit faster, but from everything I've read I need to focus on taking my long runs as slow as I can to keep from getting injured. So that's what I did and it felt great. I know that every long won't feel this great, but that's ok, because I know that I have great runs in me...

Sweet Home Indiana

8 days in Indiana = awesome

I haven't spent that much time in my home state since I lived there in college. Every trip home has always been limited by vacation time and obligations and has always felt way too rushed. This trip was the exact opposite. I made a few plans as possible and was able to spend a lot of time with some of my most favorite people in the world.

My time was split between my family - mom, Jack (stepdad), John (brother) and the rest of the crew (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) and my bestest friend Katie and her family. Heaven.

Did I mention that there was no internet or cable at Katie's house? Double heaven. I felt truly disconnected and it was wonderful.

The week was full of long talks, good food, lots of running, chasing a baby (ahem, toddler) around and lots of hugs. All in all, it was amazing. I of course wish Jeff could have been there with me because it would have been even more amazing, but alas, that just wasn't possible.

But, even though the week was amazing, at IT WAS, it's great to be home. I suppose that's how you know you really have it good, if after even the best trip away you still love being home the most.

95 Days of Summer - Day 21

Time is flying!!

I cannot believe today is the end of week 3 of my summer of freedom. I am loving every single second of it. I have never felt so happy and calm. Even my shoulders that have always been tense have decided to get with the program and are no longer tense AT ALL. It's unreal. I feel like a completely different person and I LOVE IT.

The main question I have now is, how the heck do I hold onto this feeling? I mean, I can't be a stay at home girlfriend (and doggie mama as of tomorrow!) forever no matter how happy it makes me. So how do I stay this happy, fantastic, calm version of myself when I have to go back to real life? I don't know, but I will tell you I am going to try like hell to figure it out.

I'll be back later today with a post about my trip to Indiana (so much fun!) and how my marathon training is going (not too shabby.)

xoxo

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday was my happy hour with my co-workers. It was the end of an era. And end of seeing the same people every day for the past 4 and a half years of my life. It was lovely. All of the people I loved from work and none of the stress. It felt amazing.

The reality is really starting to set in that one chapter of my life is over and the next one will soon be beginning. Change isn't always easy, but it is generally good. I'm somewhat nervous about starting all over again at a new company and re-learning everything, but I that's only normal right?

But enough about that. I promised myself that this summer I'd focus more on relaxing and enjoying my time and less on the new challenges that await me this fall. So onto that...

Yesterday was a lazy day besides the happy hour. I think it actually hit 100 degrees here in the city and well, I'm not exactly the biggest fan of hot weather so I hung out inside and it was lovely. Truly lovely. I still can't believe I have this much time on my hands just to relax. I can't ever remember being this happy and stress free. I love it.

95 Days of Summer - Days 5 and 6

One thing that has really surprised me about my time off is just how fast the days go by. I thought I'd be bored at home (and am sure some days I will be) but these first few days have just flown by. I haven't done anything monumental each day and yet before I know it it's 8 or 9 and I have no idea how it happened.

I haven't really set a schedule for myself other than to keep up with my marathon training, cross train on non-running days and try to do one productive thing a day. Oh and take a walk every day. Sidebar - taking walks the last few days in the evenings has been SO amazing. I am just in complete awe of the fact that I actually live here. Yes, ok, I've lived here for 4.5 years, but the last 3 of that have been lost to school and work so I am really completely appreciating the awesomeness that is around me and it's fantastic.

Today is a "get two productive things day" because I didn't get a dang thing done yesterday. I have already cleaned the kitchen and am trying to convince myself to tackle the laundry in our room. Thrilling I know. Ha.

I've gone swimming twice since joining the gym on Monday and man is that an adventure. Swimming is hard, but I love it. I am sure my form sucks and I know I'm a slow as a turtle (just like my running!) but I love it. It wears me out and I don't get bored like I do on the elliptical machine or the treadmill.

Tomorrow is another running day and unfortunately I think I'm actually going to set my alarm to get up early enough to run as the high is predicted to be 98 tomorrow. Ack. I'll get back to my regularly scheduled sleeping till I wake up in the morning schedule on Friday (probably the single most best thing about having the summer off.)

95 Days of Summer - Day 4

I have 95 days off before I start my new job, so hence the 95 Days of Summer Title. I thought it might be interesting to try and chronicle as many of my days as I can along with my training schedule. Who knows if I'll ever get another opportunity to have time off like this so it'll be nice to write about it to help remember it.

Today I joined a local gym for the summer to have a place to do all of my cross training while I'm off this summer. I'm pretty excited about it because this particular gym has a lap pool (a rarity around here) so I can start swimming. I love to swim, but man I forgot how hard it is. I also forgot how important it is to have a swimsuit that fits and is for actual swimming (not just laying out) when you are swimming laps. Wearing a takini that was too big for me was an interesting experience today. Must buy goggles and a real swim suit or two since I'm planning on keeping this up.

Not sure what the rest of the day holds but am planning to take it pretty easy. Might take a walk later this evening to enjoy some of the weather and do some shopping. I still can't believe I'm lucky enough to be able to have this kind of time to myself. It all feels very surreal.

Sisterly Fun

My little sister came to visit me this weekend to celebrate the end of an era for me - both quitting my job and graduating from NYU. It was amazing. I simply love having her in town. I always beg her to stay and not return to her life in Houston, but as of yet I've never been able to convince her to stay. But I'll keep trying. Someday I'll be successful! (a girl can dream right?!?)

We had such a fantastic time. The weather was beautiful, the company even better and the relaxation was the best. I already feel the stress and anxiety of the past three years melting away. It's the best feeling in the world.

But, she left this morning and it's definitely put a damper in my mood. I miss her already and she left 30 minutes ago...

Anyway, onto happier things! I completed my longest run of this training cycle this weekend on Saturday. Here are the stats:

6 miles

1:13:17

12:12 average pace

152 average HR

679 calories burned

It was a decent run. I had wanted to keep my pace below 12 minutes/mile, but I have to remind myself that I'm starting from scratch and really shouldn't be worried about "speed" (I use the term speed here lightly as none of my miles are ever anything anyone would call speedy!) I should really just be concerned about my distance. I'm just going to keep reminding myself of that.

Today is my first real day off of work without any visitors in town. My first order of business is to go join a local gym for the summer so I can cross train and swim (this gym has a pool!) Super exciting!

I Love Central Park

I finally ran in Central Park this past weekend due in large part to some much needed motivation from my friend Amy. I've been wanting to run in the park for a long time, but it always seemed like such a hassle to walk 3/4 of a mile to the path, take the path, walk a mile uptown (or catch another subway) just to get to the park to start running, AND then to have to do all of that again after running. Didn't ever really seem worth it. Or at least it didn't seem worth it until I was meeting a dear friend for a run, and then I put on my big girl pants and we went for a run in Central Park and I LOVED it.

I don't have my garmin with me (and I can't figure out how to access my stats online) but I know I did 4.5 miles at a little more than a 12 minute mile pace. Pretty slow, but it was noon and 85 degrees outside, so I was more than ok with it.

I see a lot more runs in Central Park in my future - especially if I have the extra motivation of a friend to run with!