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Hi and welcome to my weekly check in 🙂

Figured I share some of the highlights of this past week and weekend.

Monday and Tuesday must have been fairly uneventful because I have no photos from the day :). Wednesday felt like a Spring day with temps reaching 63 so of course I took Duncan to the park.

Duncan and the sunshine but winter storm approaching

Duncan and the sunshine

I went on another night hike as it’s now become my routine Wednesday night. We covered about 4 1/2 miles in about an hour and a half. But lots of elevation!

Thursday we had a snow storm. I slept over Mr. SOTSS’ the night before so we could ride out the storm together which really means take the dogs for some snow fun.

Lots of snow can't distract Chester from wanting to play with his ball

Lots of snow can’t distract Chester from wanting to play with his ball

I love this picture!

I love this picture!

oops blinked!

oops blinked!

The repercussions of snowplay

The repercussions of snowplay

My view at sunset after the snow storm with an almost full moon

My view at sunset after the snow storm with an almost full moon

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As 2016 comes to a close I thought I’d recap my top 10 favorite runs of 2016. All for different reasons why they made the list and not in any order (although maybe they’re in date order now that I look at it).

1. There was my first time running a 10 miler…

The Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington D.C. Jane, Amy and I got into this race via lottery and while it was cold and windy we all did really well and had a fun girl’s weekend. The Cherry Blossoms were post-peak but I was fortunate last year to experience them during their peak so I wasn’t too bummed about that. I left that weekend with this desire to want to run more 10 milers. Of course there just aren’t a ton of 10 mile races so I haven’t run one since.IMG_2267

Found one!

Found one!

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Jane, me and Amy FREEZING our butts off before the race

2. And a half marathon in Philly for the 3rd year straight…

The Love Run. I set a PR (in the pouring rain) at the 2014 Love Run, the first year I ran it. This year I had a solid run. My fastest of my 4 half marathons of 2016.finish2016

The medals at this race never disappoint. Last year was a spinner medal. This year was just super glittery.

The medals at this race never disappoint. Last year was a spinner medal. This year was just super glittery.

Good times

Good times

3. A Meaningful run to honor someone’s memory:

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Hey there. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

The weather here in New York/New Jersey was awesome and we also got an extra hour thanks to Daylight Saving. Oh, and there was this little marathon with 50,000+ runners yesterday too 😉

On Saturday, Mr. SOTSS and I took the dogs to Asbury Park (New Jersey) to stroll the boardwalk and let the dogs play at the beach. I love the Jersey Shore “off-season”.

Boys will be boys

Boys will be boys

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Run free puppy!

Run free puppy!

Incoming!

Incoming!

Yesterday I traveled into the city to spectate the 2016 NYC Marathon.

It's always a hoot to see a dog in the subway. This guy and his dog were quite the pair

It’s always a hoot to see a dog in the subway. This guy and his dog were quite the pair

Wore my bright green coat again to be spotted easily.

Wore my bright green coat again to be spotted easily.

I met up with my friend’s husband and we split our time between mile 23.5 and mile 18. I saw some people I didn’t expect to see and some I very much did expect to see. I saw NYC Running Mama around mile 23.5. She was on fire and went on to set a 5 minute PR finishing in 3:07 something. And then I noticed Dean Karnazes. Running celebrity in the ultra marathoning world for sure.

Dean Karnazes

Dean Karnazes

NYC Running Mama

NYC Running Mama

I got to meet Colene in person finally! I met her “virtually” on Facebook in 2013 through a running group page she used to organize but had to wait 3 years to meet her in person. She lives on the west coast. Congrats to you girl.

Meet Colene. I met her "virtually" on Facebook in 2013 through a running group page she used to organize but finally got to meet her in person yesterday. So cool.

Looking good at Mile 18

I spotted my friend Erin at mile 18 too…

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This woman! That's inpsiration right there.

This woman! That’s inpsiration right there.

 

Two of my favorite Brooklyn running friends Mike and Lisa—and Lisa's sister Valerie (who came from Texas to run!)

Two of my favorite Brooklyn running friends Mike and Lisa—and Lisa’s sister Valerie (who came from Texas to run!)

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I just noticed the girl in green. Looks like she has to pee. She’s probably just waiting for a fellow runner friend at the water stop.

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Saying goodbye to them as the made their way toward the Bronx

After hanging at the Mile 18 mark for a while we headed back to 5th Ave (Mile 23.5) to catch Lisa Valerie and Mike again. I spotted Jorge. I also got to see my friend Cathy. It was her birthday yesterday too!

Cathy the birthday girl!

Cathy the birthday girl!

it's Jorge!

It’s Jorge!

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Looks like Val as a police escort. He was actually just there to keep us behind the blue tape.

And without fail I felt so many emotions surfaced. I have run the NYC Marathon 3 time, so I know very well the pain you feel on 5th Ave as you head back into Manhattan from the Bronx. I remember the amazing crowds and awesome volunteers who made me feel like a rock star. But when you’re spectating you can really see the mass of runners in such a different way. From runners with visible physical challenges to not visible personal challenges to longtime marathoners with streaks upwards of 30+ marathons and other’s proud to run their first. I could see determination, joy, pain and grit on the faces of every runner….something I don’t get to see while I’m actually running (although I do get to read the backs of shirts!).

It really was a fun day. And might I add almost as exhausting as running the marathon HA!

Hope you all have a good week.

You can find Part 1 (Days 1-3) of my trip recap here.

Ok, now on to part 2…

Day 4-Vancouver in a day: vancouver1And on day 3 we both got a chance to run! 2-vancouver-water-run2

and he's off

and he’s off

We ran along the waterfront just down the hill from our hotel which was really beautiful. We some some cruiseships docked. I’m guessing they were headed to or back from Alaska. Then it was off to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, Cliffwalk and Treetop Adventure. We really liked this because Mr. SOTSS has an engineering background and is fascinated with seeing how things are built. I thought it would be more “adventurous” and not so “touristy” so that was a let-down but I can never have enough of being surrounded by nature. And this particular area was a rainforest.

I looked like I had finished off a bottle of wine as I crossed.

I looked like I had finished off a bottle of wine as I crossed because the bridge rocked back and forth so much.

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