Happy October folks!

This is my favorite month. I’ll tell you about some of the great things planned.

Local races: I’m running 2 very special events this month that I’ve been doing for many years now.

rnrNY

Rock ‘N’ Roll New York 10k (in Brooklyn, NY)

I’ve been running the Rock ‘n’ Roll New York 10K since the inaugural event in 2011 where I PR’ed with a 59:55. It was a bit unorganized the first year but last year they figured their sh#t out and it was much more organized—I on the other hand was not as organized. I forgot one key pre-race checklist item–to check my shoelaces. I stopped twice to tie my shoes and finished with a 1:01:55, exactly 2 minutes slower. I don’t think I would have beat my PR but I def could have shaved a minute had those laces been tied. I’m super excited to run it again this year on Saturday 10/12! I know the course really well and I might just try to set a new PR. But there’s only one caveat…

sihalf

Staten Island Half Marathon (Staten Island, NY)

…The second special event is actually the day after the RnR 10k this year on Sunday 10/13. It’s the Staten Island Half Marathon in my home town. And it has also become my last (and longest) training run for my fall marathons (NYC in 2011, Philly in 2012 and this year NYC again!). I log 7 miles before the start to end up with a good solid 20 miler for the day. So if I choose to push hard the day before to try for a PR, I might not have enough energy to get through 20 miles. HMMMM. I’m going to continue to mull over my plan for this. While the S.I. half has never been my fastest, it’s one of my favorites. It was my first ever half marathon back in 2007 where I finished in 2:36 and since then my times have ranged between 2:24 and 2:54. I get to drive to the start without hassle because I live so close to the start. I pick my bib and shirt up the morning of, and I’ve even been able to “christen” the porta johns because I’m there so early. AHHHH! Nothing like being the FIRST person to use a porta john.

And a big bonus is that I get to run these events with some of my Center of the Nation running peeps!

Autumn: This time of year here in the North East is so awesome. After suffering through 80 and 90 degree sticky, humid days, it’s a pleasure to finally have cooler and crisper temps in the 60s and 70s. The leaves on the trees turn all sorts of amazing colors and I love to crunch them as I run. Plus, Autumn is apple picking season! I LOVE to go apple picking and then I bake 2 apple crisps and eat them both myself in a weekend. (true story!). And I enjoy decorating my front porch with a cute li’l orange pumpkin (and a doodle).

autumn-collage

My birthday: And this year on October 25th I’ll be turning 40! Woah! Crazy right? I don’t look act a day older than 12. =) Last year I got to celebrate twice and had 2 cakes. The one on the right was homemade by my amazing friend Butter

2cakes

Halloween: While I don’t really dress up in costume anymore, I get a kick out of making Duncan suffer through some rather embarrasing looks.

costumedoodle

Sherrif on the left and referee on the right

So there you have it. October is going to be a great month!

Question: What’s your favorite month? What’s your favorite season? 

Hidee Ho! Happy Saturday

Did you run today? I did! 15 miles!

photo 4 photo 5I stayed on Staten Island and ran solo. I was excited to run the boardwalk since it’s just now completely re-opened since Hurricane Sandy last October. I tried to stay at an even 11ish minute mile pace. Well my average pace was exactly that but each split was really all over the place. Partially my Garmin gone awry, partially from photo taking and partially just me konking out in the sun during some miles and then getting invigorated in the shade for others.

I got to take a photo with my beloved bridge:

camera timer selfie success

camera timer selfie success

I also got to test my willpower when 12 miles into the run I had to run through this:

o-m-g!

o-m-g!

They were setting up for a fair held each summer called “Back to the Beach”. Luckily A. I had no money on me and B. They were still setting up. Because C. I would have got a dozen zeppoles AND a bag of kettle corn and not finished running.

I realized today that there’s just 11 more weeks until the NYC Marathon.

11 more weeks!

11 more weeks!

I obsess about my marathons like it’s my wedding day. Will the weather be ok. Will my stomach be ok? Will I fuel right? What will I wear? I wish I could turn my brain off sometimes.

Today, since I had no running peeps I listened to music the entire way. My good friend Lenny has a band called The Infinite Staircase and they have a couple of great singles out on iTunes. I heard both songs while running this morning. It was awesome. You should listen to their single called The Pride. Buy it if you like. 100% of the money raised goes toward helping Sandy victims. Another great one that really keeps me running strong is this one. It’s called The Things We’ve Done

After my run I went to a surprise 40th birthday party for my longtime friend (since Jr. High) and ate too much. Then I got the doodle and took him to the park for a walk. And then I came home and bought 4 new sports bras (new styles that i’ve been wanting to try because my current style has been failing me in the chafing department) and 2 pairs of capris from Moving Comfort. I opted to try the Luna and the Divine Mesh bra styles and the Endurance capris. I hope they all fit well. But Moving Comfort has free shipping (over $50) and free returns. Score!

$315 kerplunk!

$315 kerplunk!

Questions: Do you have a favorite sports bra brand/style and capri brand/style? Do you have any good music suggestions for my running playlist? I pretend that more than 2 people read my blog so I keep asking questions. Apparently it could take 18 months to get a blogs readership to spike. Good thing I enjoy this. I’ll keep it up regardless. =)

Well hello there e’ryone!

It’s a little after 12pm and I’m resting comfortably after a busy morning.  I hadn’t planned on meeting my “peeps” this weekend to run but when I remembered that it’s the start of Summer Streets here in NYC I didn’t want to miss out. Basically there are 7 miles of streets in the city that are closed to traffic and lots of fun free stuff to do like rock climbing and zip lining. But best of all lots of runners and bikers come to just enjoy streets with no cars. Lisa’s friend Stacey was joining us for the first time. She’s running her first marathon this fall at the NYC Marathon. She asked me questions and I answered like a seasoned pro runner who also ran NYC as my first marathon. Her big question was how to handle inclines. Gee, after 7 years I still can’t handle them. LOL!

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Boys and Girls meet Stacey…Lisa’s coworker who ALSO expressed interest in running. =)

We started at 6:30am in Brooklyn and within 2 miles we had run across the Brooklyn Bridge. I went photo crazy. I love random beauty in the city. And I’m starting to realize I have an unhealthy obsession with bridges (read this post and this post).

Locks of Love.

Locks of Love.

If you Google: locks on bridges, you’ll learn all about what I learned today. This Wikipedia link sums it up.

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random owl sticker.

This one is my fave of the day

This one is my fave of the day

 

Once we crossed into Manhattan from Brooklyn, we met up with Cindy. We passed a really beautiful firehouse on the Lower East Side.Then we got to where the rock climbing wall was. And passing through Chinatown early in the morning is not exactly fragrant…

stunning!

Engine 39 lookin fine. actually it’s Engine 31 but that doesn’t rhyme with fine. LOL.

 

The run didn't stink....just the block we were on....

Cindy and I Holding our noses on a stinky street corner and NOT because of Lisa. She just didn’t hear my last minute request for the nose pinching pose. Want to go rock climbing wall in SoHo anyone?.

Summer Streets goes for 3 weekends. So we’ll be doing this again next week. Today’s run totaled 10 miles. We stopped a whole lot for pictures and pottie breaks and kept our pace slow but the miles were logged. After my nice hard effort tempo in the rain on Thursday I enjoyed this relaxed run.

The NYC Marathon is just 3 months away! Today was a reminder to myself how important it is to really take in the sights when you’re running. It’s part of the joy of running outside for me and the reason treadmills aren’t my thing. Whether it’s a race or a training run. Don’t come home thinking only about the miles. On November 3rd I’ll be really trying to take in all the sights of the crowds and the crazy signs that people hold up. Hmmm, maybe I need to get a GoPro camera to video the whole thing?!

Question: Do you take pictures when running in races? Do you remember the funniest sign held by a spectator at any of your running events?