Friends – rachel & the city

July 30, 2015July 30, 2015

Maine Escape 2015

mainehike

Earlier this month, Travis, Kenneth, and I took our first ever trip to Maine to visit with family and friends. We stayed in the tiny island town of Stonington, Maine, as guests of our awesome friends, the Billings. The lobster fishing town has about 1,000 residents, a beautiful view of the sea, and a cute main street.

mainhouse

maine1

This was our first road trip with Kenneth and he did quite well on the drives. We stopped in Boston on our way up and back from Maine and got to check out a few sights, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Blackbird Doughnuts, and Fenway Stadium.

mainemountain

maine2

This was my very first time in Maine and I was blown away by the beauty of the stone and sea and sky. Even though I wouldn’t describe myself as an ocean person (I was born in the landlocked midwest!) I really enjoyed being on the water and seeing all of the sea life, like seals, jellyfish, lobsters, and seagulls.

mainlighthouse

mainebuoys

We had a great week of kayaking (my first time — I loved it!), boating to a small, uninhabited island to hike and picnic, visiting Cadillac Mountain and Bar Harbor, shopping in town in Stonington, and my favorite: eating the local lobster and clams.

mainekayak

mainelobsterdinner

mainelobster

Ken achieved a lot of milestones on this, his first road trip: he sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time, he rode in a grocery store cart for the first time, he road in his first boat and touched the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, and he attended his third baseball game at Fenway Stadium.

mainkenocean

bostonfenway

Traveling with a baby is more difficult than not — I was quite sleep deprived all week from sharing a bed with Ken and waking to feed him more often than usual — but it is still a lot of fun and worth the effort. I think Ken enjoyed spending time with family and friends. We plan to keep dragging him along on many more adventures!

See all of my photos from the trip in my #MaineEscape2015 Flickr album.

September 25, 2014September 25, 2014

Reach the Beach 2014

Travis and I completed our third Reach the Beach relay event earlier this month. My running role was much shorter and slower this year, but Travis and I still had a fantastic weekend Reaching the Beach with 28 of our fun and wacky Brooklyn running friends. How amazing is it to find a group of people who can spend 30+ hours in mini vans together without sleep or showers, run 600+ miles, eat mostly just pretzels and MnMs, and come out the other end smiling more than ever?!

This year our Warriors group consisted of three teams of 10 people each. Our van of five was me, Travis, Amanda, Larry, and Nate. It was Nate’s first time at RTB and I hope we helped make it a fun experience for him. I had an awesome time with our van mates! It was really a no stress, smooth, and even EASY weekend. Amazing.

Since we were van 2, we spent the first portion of the event cheering for our team mates who ran the first five legs. We started the race earlier in the day this year than in the past, so when it was our turn to run, it was still light out! Nice. We ran, drove, cheered, handed off the baton (slap bracelet) at the transitions, and basically just got it done.

I had originally been assigned to run 18 miles during the event, but since I had experienced a difficult four-mile race the week before, I was nervous about my ability to do it… at least to do it in any type of time that wouldn’t completely sink our team. Thankfully, Larry switched legs with me and I got to run 13 miles of much easier terrain. Whew. That was a big relief. I had been worried that Travis may need to run some of my legs for me… but sadly, he had an injured calf and actually couldn’t do his third leg. Joel ended up running it and totaled more than 30 miles for the weekend! Crazy.

I was the last runner in our van to go. My first leg happened to be the same first leg course that I’ve run for the past two years. I am glad that I got to run it again because it was fun to see the terrain while it was still light out. It was VERY hilly and it ended on a grass hill heading up to a farm. I was slow, but still felt really good about running most of it (walking only the big hills). And the best part was that my ENTIRE TEAM was at the farm waiting for me to finish and cheering me on. Definitely an inspiring experience… even if I felt a little embarrassed. It felt like I was running HARD, but on video I’m sort of doing a pregnancy waddle. Oh well, everyone was super supportive.

We rested a little, ate some dinner at a cute and welcoming church, and then ran our next set of legs. It is already hard to remember the details, but my second and third legs went pretty smoothly. I even ran the third one (just a 5k) a tiny bit faster! In between we grabbed some sleep at a transition area. I think I slept for a full two hours on the back seat of the van. I didn’t think it would really help much, but I woke up refreshed. Wow!

Overall, I think this may have been my smoothest and easiest year at RTB, which is totally crazy since I didn’t even know if I was going to do it. I thought that being pregnant would make me really uncomfortable, but I actually felt fine the entire time. BabyJ loved the music in the van and he seemed to sleep when I was running. Thankfully, my team was understanding of my slow speed and need for low mileage… I think that made all the difference. I wasn’t as stressed about being FAST this time around. I felt comfortable watching my breathing and heart rate during the runs and not over-exerting myself. I also worked hard on eating healthy snacks and staying hydrated in between the runs. And I used a LOT of porta potties!

It was another really fun weekend of running south through the mountains of New Hampshire, riding in vans, listening to music, and getting to know our friends a little better. I know that I probably won’t get to do the event again for quite a while, so I am glad that I decided to participate this year despite being pregnant. It felt empowering to complete the event, but even more so, it felt really incredible to have a team that welcomed me, accepted, and encouraged me as a pregnant runner and team mate.

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Check out all of my photos from the event HERE.

Blast from the past:

Reach the Beach 2013 // Reach the Beach 2012

July 16, 2014July 16, 2014

a wedding in Los Angeles

A week ago, Travis and I were in Los Angeles for our friends, Matt & Emily’s, wedding. It was a fabulous event and fun trip!

The wedding was basically perfect. It was held at a very cool event space in downtown LA. Our friend Larry was the officiant and the ceremony was short and sweet. The reception was lots of fun, with dancing, and good food, and a photo booth. We had a great time, and even more importantly, I think Emily & Matt had a wonderful night. It was so nice to share their big day with them.

In addition to the wedding, the weekend happened to be OUR 11th wedding anniversary. Travis and I celebrated by going to dinner at Baco Mercat, a trendy, new, hipster restaurant in downtown LA. The “baco” sandwiches were awesome. We also managed to sample the LA version of the cronut, “Churro Crullants,” at Semi Sweet Bakery near our hotel. And of course, we had a meal at In and Out Burger!

We earned our In and Out burgers by going for a very hot, very hilly run in Griffith Park. I had a great time exploring the trails with Larry and Alexis, but our run was sort of a half-hike/half-run. It was tough terrain!!

Since we haven’t been in LA for a while, Travis wanted to take the opportunity to stop by the house he lived in when he was born. We took a few good photos and he FaceTimed with his dad. Then, we spent the rest of the Fourth of July with Travis’ Aunt Carol, Uncle John, and Uncle Glenn. We had a great time eating good food and visiting. In the evening we attended Matt & Emily’s rehearsal dinner.

LA_beach

The day of the wedding, we managed to fit in a trip to Santa Monica Beach and a walk down the Venice Beach boardwalk. We probably over-did it for the day and got too much sun, but it was fun to swim in the ocean a bit and see the famous tourist attractions.

In a last minute decision, Travis and I made the somewhat silly decision to spend the final day of our trip at DisneyLand. It wasn’t part of our original plan, but we just couldn’t resist the temptation. It’s been 15 years since our very first Disney visit together during our high school senior year spring break! Wow. We rode all of our favorite rides (like the teacups seen below), ate churros, recreated our traditional photos, and splurged on dinner at the Blue Bayou Restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Yes, we are huge dorks, but Disneyland is always a fun time. And, who knows when we will be in LA next!!

Check out all of the photos from our trip in my Flickr Album.

February 26, 2014March 10, 2016

new orleans 2014

I was really looking forward to our trip to New Orleans earlier this month. I had so much fun visiting the “Big Easy” with my brother Seth in 2012, I was eager to go back. The history, culture, and food in New Orleans is so unique and exciting… but the trip didn’t quite live up to my high expectations.

The bummer stuff:

We really had a perfectly fine trip, but there were some things that brought the experience down a bit…

We had a few good sunny days, but mostly we had a lot of foggy, overcast weather.
I’ll give more details below, but my Half Marathon was really tough! I had wanted to run hard for this race since it was my official winter Team in Training event, but I couldn’t get my pace up and I felt sluggish the whole time. I was also inexplicably REALLY sore after the race.
I rolled my ankle pretty badly while walking around the day after the race. It is still a little swollen.
Our trip was longer than planned, March 30th to February 5th — a full week!! Our flight home was cancelled on Tuesday and so we ended up staying an extra day. But then the flight was delayed multiple times on Wednesday, which basically wasted the whole day. I tried to enjoy the extra time, but I was very ready to be home!
We didn’t take any tours or go to any museums. I love the history of New Orleans and didn’t feel as immersed in it this trip.

So, nothing too terrible happened… I got to spend a lot of quality time with Travis and hang out with many of our good friends. Plus, we WERE there to run a race with Team in Training, so that was the main focus. Here is my overview of the race…

New Orleans Rock N Roll Half Marathon:

Rock N Roll races are large, well-organized events and New Orleans was no different. (I’ve run the Rock N Roll marathon in San Diego twice.) The race started near Lafayette Square near our hotel in the Central Business district.

The temperature in the 50s was perfect, but it was extremely foggy!! It might have been the foggiest race I’ve run, even more so than the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco when we couldn’t see the Golden Gate Bridge! The air felt a little thick and humid, and it was hard to see the lovely scenery as we ran through the mansions of the Garden District and the streets of the French Quarter. You couldn’t even see the cathedral across Jackson Square! It was intense.

I woke up cranky, but I tried to feel confident for the first three miles. I thought maybe my sluggish legs would shake themselves out, but it didn’t happen. The course was completely flat, but I still struggled through the whole race. I ran alone the entire time and sprinted the end only because I wanted to be done. It was overcast and cold by the time the race ended, but we received two medals — a beaded one for the race and an extra one for doing it with a charity organization — and my 20th official Half Marathon was completed!

The finish area was in City Park. It was a little muddy and crowded, but they gave out lots of great food (including chocolate milk) and the Team in Training tent was stocked with goodies. I met Travis (he PRd!) and lots of my friends (Hi, Brian! Hi, Jess!) on the sidelines and we waited to cheer in our full marathoners. Travis and I waited until our friend Nate finished (with a PR!) and then headed back to our hotel.

I was exhausted after the race and must not have been good about replacing my electrolytes. I was too wiped out to enjoy our team victory party or to watch the Super Bowl with the team, but Travis and I did manage to go out to dinner at Sylvain’s which revived me a bit.

Second only to our fun friends and awesome Brooklyn team, the food was the best part of the trip!!

Restaurants:

New Orleans food is heavy and rich — lots of fried food, seafood, and meat — but it is delicious. I would recommend all of these restaurants we tried…

Cafe Du Monde – The classic breakfast place for beignets and coffee. Open 24 hours!! I really like their coffee. A lot. Get the frozen cafe au lait.

Cochon – My favorite! Lots of meat. We ate a fabulous dinner with friends at the “sit down” restaurant and ordered just about everything. (I loved the fried alligator!) Then, Travis and I also got amazing sandwiches for lunch one day at the Cochon Butcher next door. I ordered the muffuletta, which was nearly as good as the original from Central Grocery…

Central Grocery – Grab a giant muffuletta sandwich and Zapp’s chips to go at this French Quarter store front and eat them in Jackson Square or on the water front. It is the best sandwich I have ever eaten. Seriously. I dream about it.

Sylvain’s – Sort of fancy “new southern.” I had a tiny quail. It was delicious.

Elizabeth’s – A New Orleans MUST with a relaxed, slightly hipster atmosphere. Go for brunch. Get the best bloody mary ever and the praline bacon.

Court of the Two Sisters – We went for the all you-can-eat Jazz Brunch. It was plenty good with tons of options, but a little pricey and very touristy.

Acme Oyster House – Fresh oysters, charbroiled oysters, fried oysters – I tried them all! And Travis said this was his favorite po’boy of the trip. You almost always have to wait in line for a table at the French Quarter location, but it is fun and worth it.

Mother’s – Classic southern comfort food. You might have to wait in line, but the tables turn over really fast in this large, totally casual, 80-year-old restaurant. Get a po’boy with “debris” or the jambalaya or the baked ham.

Magasin Cafe – There is a very large Vietnamese population in New Orleans, so there are many restaurant options for delicious pho, and banh mi, and spring rolls. Travis and I chose Magasin on the suggestion of a friend and we loved it. It’s a great spot to eat after walking around the mansions of the Garden District and the shops on Magazine Street.

Sucre – My favorite New Orleans bakery with my favorite King Cake. (FYI: You can get the cakes delivered anywhere in the US!) Travis loved it and we visited Sucre three times during the trip! Wow.

Other fun New Orleans stuff:

Food really was the highlight of the trip, but we managed to fit in some other fun stuff. Riding the street car from the French Quarter over to the Garden District was fun and easy. Once there, we walked around checking out the pretty mansions and the fascinating cemeteries. Of course, strolling through the French Quarter is a MUST. We walked down Bourbon Street and I stopped in Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo. (Travis thought it was a little too spooky.) I think a photo op in Jackson Square is a requirement of every Nola trip, and a stroll through the french market near the river front is great for souvenir hunting. The Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone is a fun evening stop. I had a milk punch — pretty tasty! We had the opportunity to visit with our friend Amanda’s cousin at his beautiful home near Lake Pontchartrain one evening, which was delightful. I would definitely recommend getting out of the city center if possible and talking with some locals. It is amazing to hear how the city has come back after Hurricane Katrina.

Overall, it was a good trip and I’d totally recommend visiting New Orleans to anyone. But just like anywhere else, things could not go as planned, so it is helpful to stay flexible… and maybe not have TOO high of expectations. I think that was my major downfall this trip. Maybe some day I’ll go back and JUST visit every museum in the city!

Check out all 100+ photos from New Orleans on Flickr.

January 26, 2014January 26, 2014

bermuda 2014

It is snowing and nineteen degrees in Brooklyn today and I am really missing Bermuda! Turquoise water + pink sand + sun = a welcome combination in the middle of a NY winter.

Travis and I took our second trip to Bermuda last weekend. We took our first trip to the Atlantic Ocean island last year to run the Bermuda Triangle Challenge, and we returned for the same reason… and because it is such an easy trip!

Bermuda is just a two-hour flight from NYC. Since it is the off-season, plane tickets are cheap and we split a hotel room with two other friends. So, overall, a relatively inexpensive and quick island adventure!

We stayed at the Fairmont Southampton hotel again. The hotel is across the bay from the main city of Hamilton, but it is right near the most spectacular beach on the island, Horseshoe Bay. (Rated the #8 beach in the world!) It also happened to be the team hotel for our New York City Team in Training Chapter.

Travis and I are a mentor and social captain for our Brooklyn TNT group and even though the New Orleans Rock N Roll Half Marathon next weekend is our official winter season event, we couldn’t pass up going to Bermuda with the Team, too. It was a much smaller TNT group than last year, but we still had a wonderful time.

We got in late on Thursday night, ordered room service, and hung out with our BK roommates and friends. (Hi Joel, Amanda, Roshan, and Jon!) Friday was overcast, but we still made it to the beach. We checked out the private cove, saw the parrot fish, climbed some rocks, and checked out the beach cave. It was too cold for swimming, but we waded in the water a bit.

Then, we headed into town for the first event of the Triangle Challenge, the Front Street Mile! I ran the mile slightly faster than last year, with a finish time of 8:35. Not too speedy, but I haven’t been doing any speed training this season, so it serves me right. After, we hung around and watched all of the mile races, from the kids to the elites. It was a fun and exciting parade atmosphere in Hamilton, with everyone out on Front Street to spectate.

Saturday we got up early for the 10k. It was raining. Boo. I was cranky. I was worried about the success of the weekend when we arrived at the race start and our tiny Team was all huddled under a tent trying to stay dry. But everyone brought their PMAs (positive mental attitudes) and headed out in the rain to tackle 6 miles of hills. Despite the rain, everyone was thrilled to finish their race and I was feeling much more positive after – as evidenced by this epic jump shot!

It rained and rained and rained all day on Saturday. We basically napped the day away before heading to the Team inspiration dinner. Our friend and teammate, Shelly, told her story of how she has been living with leukemia for nearly 10 years. She is so sweet, and funny, and inspiring. It was a wonderful evening.

The weather was MUCH better for the half marathon – a little overcast and cool. I ran the race nice and easy with my friend Jon. We goofed off with our teammates, stopped for some swinging and some beer, and I managed to take a few photos. I felt really strong and steady for the whole race and I look forward to pushing it a bit harder next week in NOLA.

After the race, we ate at Travis’ favorite restaurant, Bouchee, and rode the water ferry back to our hotel. A successful morning followed by a successful evening of celebrating with our friends and teammates! We even made it to the hotel pool and hot tub!

Monday was our perfect, sunny beach day. We only had a few hours to enjoy it before heading to the airport, but we took full advantage. We headed to Horseshoe Bay, sunbathed, swam in the ocean, took lots of photos, and basically tried to soak up all of the Bermuda we could before heading home to Brooklyn. We couldn’t have asked for a better end to the trip.

Bermuda was such a quick, little trip, but it is so wonderful to get to spend time with Travis away from work and our normal, day-to-day life. We really love our life in the city, but taking breaks now and then for travel is really fun. And worth the expense, I think. We are currently saving up for our next big adventure… Stay tuned!

See all of my photos from Bermuda here.

December 31, 2013December 31, 2013

goodbye, 2013!

2013

Happy New Year’s Eve!! Another year down.

2013 wasn’t the year I was expecting, but I had a lot of good times and made some excellent memories. I have more big plans for 2014 and can’t wait to get started on them!

…but for now, here are some of my favorite blog posts from the past year:

January
My word for 2013 was sweetness, but it could have been RUN! The year started off with running… Travis and I ran the Goofy Challenge and the Bermuda Triangle Challenge back to back.

February
My birthday! I ran another marathon (my 8th!) and lost someone special to me.

March
Not much happened in March…

April
In April, I did a craft project.

May
Lots of running in May. Many half marathons and a few trail races.

June
I traveled in June, to Kansas to run the Color Run with the fam and to Portland to see Adam and Nina.

July
July was busy! Stephanie and Bill visited New York, I continued my Summer Run Streak, Travis and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary and went on a big date, and we ran the Boilermaker.

August
In August, I went camping, ate some cronuts, attended Blogshop, and did more running.

September
I was digging navy blue in September. I also finished my 101-day Run Streak and Reached the Beach.

October
October brought a sweet wedding, my dad’s first half marathon, and my fastest 5k – all in one big update.

November
Travis ran the NYC Marathon in November and the helped me run my fastest marathon ever in Brooklyn. Plus, Friendsgiving!

December
Travis got Lasik this month and we had a relaxing and lovely Christmas together in Brooklyn.

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Travis and I are celebrating tonight with friends at a big prom party (a lot like last year!) What are your plans???

December 4, 2013December 4, 2013

friends-giving

friendsgiving

Am I a control freak? I am starting to admit it to myself… but I hope that is not how my friends thought of me on Thanksgiving.

I just REALLY like making a turkey. And I LOVE hosting events at my place. So, I am very THANKFUL that my friends put up with me and were willing to come over for a Friends-giving feast!

I am grateful every day for the people we have met in Brooklyn. I wouldn’t have survived in this city without them.

friendsgiving2

Everything I made for our dinner was super-simple and traditional. I roasted the turkey with just some butter rubbed on the skin and some veggies, herbs, and lemon stuffed inside. The gravy made from the pan drippings was amazing. I also made simple bread stuffing, sautéed brussels sprouts, traditional cranberry sauce from scratch, an apple pie with a sugar crumb topping, and a chocolate pecan pie. Travis made the mashed potatoes. Daniel brought a Puerto Rican stuffing with plantains and homemade coquito. Karelle made spicy sweet potatoes. Amanda brought bread and cheese. Suzy brought wine and chocolate. Everything was delicious. We all ate a lot and laughed a lot!

I think this was my best Thanksgiving meal attempt yet. Practice makes perfect! Plus, I think I did a good job of prepping a lot in advance. The only thing that didn’t really turn out was the chocolate pecan pie. It was my first time making it and I think I over-cooked it. The baked brie and mulled apple cider were hits for appetizers, but my apricot cheese bites weren’t very popular.

turkey

Overall, I declare Friends-giving a success! I just wish it could have lasted longer and I could have eaten more…

Travis and I had two good meals from the left overs. Plus, I made stock from scratch and soup out of the leftover turkey. There is still plenty of soup in the fridge!

Now, I am working on my plan for my next holiday get together…

crusherturkey

Crusher wants more turkey!

How was your Thanksgiving??

(Almost all of the photos in this post were taken by my friend Amanda. You can see more of her and my Friends-giving photos in my Flickr set.)

November 26, 2013November 26, 2013

thanksgiving countdown

I really love Thanksgiving. I love roasting a turkey and sitting down to a big meal! I’ve made full Thanksgiving meals many times, like in 2005, 2008, 2009, and last year. It is a good amount of work and takes some planning and coordination, but I really enjoy it!

This year, I’ve invited some friends over. I think there will be eight of us and I am making the meal basics: turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, pecan pie, apple pie, mulled cider, and a few appetizers. (Check out my Pinterest Thanksgiving board for most of the recipes.) It sounds like a lot, but it is my usual, practiced menu. My friends are bringing extra side dishes, drinks, etc. There will be too much food, but I love it!

So, right now I am in prep mode. If you spread the shopping and preparation out over several days, it makes things easier. I had some of our groceries delivered by Fresh Direct and I ordered our pre-brined turkey from Williams Sonoma. Getting stuff delivered really helps, especially since otherwise I shop for all my groceries on foot and carry them up many flights of stairs. I saw my neighbor in the hall yesterday and chatted about our Thanksgiving plans and she was astounded that we were making the full meal in our apartment. Our place is quite small. But anything is possible!!

I thought I’d publish my Thanksgiving Day Countdown check list here for fun and for future reference…

Tuesday:

clean bathroom & kitchen
Get all serving platters and extra dishes out of storage.
wash platters and dishes
cut bread for stuffing
make pie crust

Wednesday:

get last minute groceries
Make apple pie
Make pecan pie
Make cranberry sauce
Assemble baked brie
Assemble apricot appetizers
Chop and cook veggies for turkey & stuffing
Get out folding table
Get nails done (if time allows…)

Thursday – Thanksgiving!!

Run Turkey Trot
Take turkey out of fridge
Watch the National Dog Show!
Prep turkey, put in oven
Start mulling cider in crock pot
Prep stuffing, put in fridge
Set up drink & appetizer table
Set dinner table
Greet guests!
Put brie in oven
Make mashed potatoes
Make brussels sprouts
Take out turkey, let rest
Put stuffing in oven
Make gravy
Put food on table and EAT!

What am I forgetting?? What else should be on the list?

(For more Thanksgiving prep inspiration, check out Martha Stewart’s timeline checklist.)

November 18, 2013November 20, 2013

Brooklyn Marathon

ouch. I am very sore. And very happy.

How did I even end up running the Brooklyn Marathon yesterday?? A year ago, when NYC was cancelled, Travis and I made a mad dash to get signed up for an alternative race. NYCRuns had hoped to be able to allow more people in the 2012 Brooklyn Marathon. We signed up, but the plans to expand the field fell through. Bummer. Everyone who had signed up could transfer their entry to 2013. But even though I was registered for over a year, I wasn’t ever totally convinced that I would actually run it…

The three marathons that secured our membership in Marathon Maniacs earlier this year were plenty for me. I didn’t NEED to train for another fall race. But I guess I was curious to see what I could do. To see if my personal best time at Philly a year ago was a one-time thing and/or if I could consistently run sub-5-hour marathons.

I trained on my own. I mean, I am participating in the Winter Team in Training season (it is great!) but my long marathon training runs were done solo. I completed both a 19-mile and a 20-mile run completely on my own leading up to this race. I have never done that before. And even more incredible, my pacing was actually pretty good, at around 11-11:30/mile. Those runs, plus a few faster, shorter runs gave me confidence that I was actually ready to run a marathon. I didn’t really have an excuse not to…

I was more nervous than I’d like to admit leading up to this race. Marathons are fun, but also RUNNING, EFFORT, PAIN! You can never predict exactly how the day is going to go. But I had my truly sweet and patient husband (who ran NYC two weeks ago) running it with me. And SO MANY supportive friends. I knew that whatever happened, it would be a good day.

And it was. I completed my 9th marathon and it was my fastest yet at 4:46:01. Travis stuck by my side even when I got cranky. I listened to my favorite songs. Nine loops of the park didn’t even seem so bad. My fueling was smart & consistent (MilkyWay, 6 Gus, brownies, and gatorade). We took it easy on the six trips up the North hill, walking some. I was in pain for most of the race, but also felt strong. I concentrated and I fought for it.

It seems crazy to run for nearly five hours just to gain two little minutes… but it was worth it.

But the race, my time, those are not even the best parts. The most amazing part of the whole day was seeing so many friends in the park! So many. This race comes at the end of a long, strenuous fall race season. All of my friends have already trained and raced and coached and cheered at plenty of events. I didn’t expect anyone to spend their Sunday watching me (and all the other racers, of course) run in a circle around Prospect Park. But they did. Plus, did I mention that it rained?!

THANK YOU: Suzy for bringing my treats and gatorade and being my personal pit crew, Pam for being there from the start and taking so many great photos, sweet Sarah Y. for pouring my gatorade, Joel and Amanda for surprising me with my baby, Crusher, on the sidelines, Jessica for keeping me pumped up and running those first two loops with us, Lisa for making me a sign and coming out after already coaching another race that morning, Matt for running a loop with us and not minding that I was totally brain dead, new marathon maniac, Meghan T., and all of our CHEERful friends, Emily C., Nate, JP (and Beau!), Dory, Amber, Cynthia, Kristen (and Mike!), Emily H., Judith and John, Kitty, Louis, Flegar, Sarah W., Sarah K., Josh, Tony, Shanna, and many more that I am probably forgetting. (Blame it on marathon brain.) You all MADE MY DAY and make me feel very fortunate. (And get this: The rest of our SCBkR crew was in Philly yesterday cheering on the racers there. Amazing.)

bkmarathonmedals

Running is just a hobby. But it is healthy. And challenging. And fun. And the friends I have made doing it are incredibly supportive and encouraging and silly and sweet and fun. Team in training + Brooklyn + the running community at large = so many good vibes.

I could blame it on the marathon endorphins, but I think it is true love. This South Central Brooklyn Runners community that we’ve all created is something special. Maybe even magic. I hope we can keep it going… forever.

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Watch a news report about the Brooklyn Marathon here. (You can see me & Travis run by for a second.) And view all of the photos (mine and my friends’) from the day here.

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Random personal note for future reference: Don’t put too much stuff in the side leg pockets of Lululemon crops. Not only is it unattractive, but it causes major bruises!

October 31, 2013November 1, 2013

so many running updates

Happy Halloween!! But this isn’t a Halloween post… it is about running. Of course. It is always about running.

I completed so many races in the beginning of 2013 that I really burned myself out… spring and summer were not great running seasons for me, but I’ve gradually been working myself back into the groove. Recently, I’ve been surprised to realize that I am actually feeling pretty good. And, I have been doing some fairly successful marathon training on my own. I completed two solid long runs this month, including a solo 20 miler that went exceptionally well… and not just because I made pit stops for a donut AND a cupcake.

I am feeling unexpectedly excellent. Running is on my good side for now. Which is handy, because there is a lot of fun, running-related stuff happening…

Early this month, one of my best and sweetest running friends (and Warrior van-mate), Sarah, got married to her equally sweet (he got me a signed photo of Patrick Stewart!) boyfriend-now-husband, Lawrence. It was a beautiful, fun, huge, family wedding and it was such a thrill to be invited. The food was amazing and the entire event was full of cute, personal touches. Sarah and Lawrence made race bibs for their table seating cards! So clever and fun! Such a great night. Travis and I made good use of the party photo booth with our fellow running Warriors.

My dad ran his first official half marathon on October 19th. Very cool! With the covert help of my brothers, I flew home to surprise him on the course. Aaron, Seth, Mom, and I had signs and we were yelling our head’s off, but somehow we missed Dad at the start of the race. Good thing we saw him at Mile 3 near the Liberty Memorial. He stopped and gave me a hug. I think he was genuinely surprised to see me. Success! I met him again at Mile 11 and ran the last 2 miles with him and his kind friend, Todd. Dad was tired at the end, but he ran a very strong race. Now he has his sights set on a full marathon!

See all my photos from my Kansas City trip HERE.

Above is my current Brooklyn Team in Training. We are all participating in the “Endless Summer” (winter) season and training for either the Bermuda or New Orleans Half Marathon. I’m Social Captain again this season, and although our group is small, it is awesome. Last night we had a “Socktober” costume contest and a 5k test. I ran (maybe) my fastest 5k ever (sub 9min/miles, but still didn’t break 28 minutes – boo) and felt great. Travis was sweet and paced me the whole way. I run my best races when he helps me.

brooklynmarathonblog

With the successful 20 mile run and the strong 5k under my belt, I feel confident enough to publicly admit that I am running the Brooklyn Marathon on November 17th. The race is entirely in Prospect Park and it will be challenging… but I think I am going to take it seriously. I have no idea whether I can PR, but you never know what will happen… perhaps it will be MY race.

In even BIGGER news… Travis is running the NYC Marathon on Sunday! Wow. It his first NYC, but his 6th marathon. He has been training extremely hard and I think he is going to have an amazing race. I plan to cheer for him at three points on the route. He is Bib #22006 (starting in Blue Wave #2, Corral #22). You can track him by downloading the free iPhone app.

NYC Marathon Day is one of my very favorite days in the city. I was devastated by Hurricane Sandy last year and the cancellation of the race. What a sad time… But this year is going to be great! I am volunteering at the Team in Training booth at the Expo all afternoon tomorrow – come see me! – and I am an official #INGNYCMarathon Social Reporter. You can follow me as @rljart and @SCBkRunners on Twitter and as @rljart on Instagram. Be prepared for a LOT of marathon updates! (You can also search for the #ingnycm hashtag to get the newest marathon-related tweets.)

Will you be watching the NYC Marathon? What other fall events are you excited for?