RunNYC

After a painless bus ride I arrived in the (other) city around 11 pm last night. I showed up on Shipra's doorstep drenched in sweat (due to the humidity of course, not the fact that I was extremely overdressed). After some celebratory hugs and reunioning Shipra suggested we go get some Fro-Yo (which is always a yes in my book). We beelined for the nearest shop and desperately tried to finish our treats before they melted into Fro-Yo soup (we failed miserably). With our bellies content we headed to bed.

Not surprisingly I woke up way before my alarm and decided to head out on my planned 10 mile run at 6:45 am before the sun had a chance to heat things up (I probably should have run at 3 am since it was already VERY humid at 7 am). 

I planned to run a 10 mile loop I had found on mapmyrun.com starting/ending at Shipra's apartment. Besides the crosstown run on 29th street I was on bikepaths the whole way which were very pleasant. I ran by the Chelsea Piers, Staten Island Ferry, and up the East River Bikeway. Although I was a sweaty mess the whole time, I was able to take some pictures on my phone throughout the run.

 

This is when I realized that my 10 mile route was going to end up being more than 10 miles. Not so thrilled about that as you can see.

 Brooklyn Bridge looking mighty fine. 

 

 I made it! Happy to be done, and out of the sun for the time being.

Despite the high temperatures I had a great run and was able to try out my new Nathan's Hydration belt that I got for my birthday (I loved it, thanks Dad)!

Total Miles: 11

Time: 1:38

Pace: 8:54 min/mile

Happy Weekend everyone! Stay cool!

Some more from the weekend

Guys, I did it! I survived another trimester of organic chemistry! Two down, one to go (and not until after Labor Day)! After a tough week, I finally have time to focus on things other than benzene rings. What a relief!

After I stopped going for a moment I realized that it's already June 26. WHAT? When did that happen! Do not fear though, July holds some pretty excellent things as well.

Here's what I'm looking forward to in the upcoming weeks:

- A weekend in NYC with some of my favorite people.

- 4th of July in one of the best places on Earth.

-A stay-cation full of quality time with a very special visitor from Houston.

-Jamestown, RI Half Marathon (who's idea was it to start a race at 6:30 am!?).

-Boston Color Run.

-Official start of my Philadelphia Marathon Training!

- the OLYMPICS (anyone else addicted to watching the Olympic Trials? I may or may not be trying to decide which event I have the best chance of making the Olympics in. Dream big right?)

And here are a few more photos from this weekend. Mostly from that time we walked through Boston Common and it torrential down poured on us. Fun times.

 

B.A.A 10K Race Report

We interrupt this study session to bring you the race report of the weekend!

5 am - Woke up an hour early full of excitement for my first ever 10K race. Spent the next 90 minutes eating breakfast (yogurt and Grapenuts), drinking coffee, icing my shins (which have been acting up this week), and watching Sportscenter.

6:45 am - En route to the race via public transportation (nothing better than running a race in your own city). 

I say 10K's qualify as doing life

7:15 am - Arrived at the start, hit the Port-O-Potties, checked the backpack, and had some extra time for the essential pre-race photo op. (Please take note of all the clouds overhead and how cold we look. ha.). 

745 am - We lined up in the 9:00 - 9:59 corral (Wave 3).

8:00 am - Elite and Wave 1 start. The three different waves were spaced 4 minutes apart. This was my first corralled start and it seemed to go very smoothly. 

The race started (and finished) in Boston Common and featured an out and back along Commonwealth Ave with the turn around just after the BU Athletic Center. 

I am used to the beginning of races being quite jam packed and was pleasantly surprised that we had quite a bit of room around us right off the bat. We did almost no weaving during the first kilometer which payed off when we needed those extra reserves once we really got into the heat. 

My favorite part of the race might have been seeing the leaders heading back to the finish (in their last mile) while we were still in our first mile! To give us some credit they did start 15 minutes before us and were running 5 minute miles. I joked that "hey, if we were running any faster we wouldn't have even gotten to see them!" Miles 1 - 3 were almost entirely in the shade, but just after the water station at Mile 3 we were hit hard with some sunshine. 

After a grueling half mile incline we passed the 5K at 29:00. With the sun still beating down strongly we hit a slight downhill and after some time (I may or may not have blacked out at some point as I don't seem to have any recollection of Kilometers 5 - 8) we were back in the comfort of the shade.

After doing some math in my head I knew we were well on track to finish under 1 hour (our group goal) and it was only a matter of keeping a steady pace for the remainder of the race.

We quickly reached the 9K marker and could see the tree line on the Common just up ahead. We turned the corner and entered the finishing chute (which was quite longer than .2 is in my mind). We waved to our #1 FAN Darren as we sprinted through to the finish and finished in 57:41!

This was my first race put on by the Boston Athletic Association and let me say they sure do know how to put on a race. From no lines at the Port-O-Potties to an easy-peasy t-shirt pick up and bag drop I had zero complaints during my whole 10K experience. They even mailed us our race packets ahead of time! After such a great experiment I just might have to run the B.A.A Half - Marathon on Columbus Day this year. As an added bonus it starts/ends in Franklin Park AND goes through the entire Emerald Necklace near my house. I have a few weeks to decide but after today I'm definitely leaning towards yes. 

 

We followed the race with a delicious brunch at Charley's on Newbury St.

Yes, I did finish all of my french toast in one sitting. It was that good.

And now we return to our regularly scheduled Friedel - Crafts reactions. Please contain your excitement.

Life Lately

Life seems to have picked up the pace this past week and blogging has momentarily taken a back seat. I'm in the midst of studying for my organic chemistry II final so it has been ketones, Friedel - Crafts, and benzene rings all day, everyday. I'm on serious lockdown until next Monday but promise I'll be back in full force next week! Until then, here is a random assortment of photos from the past few days.

And in case you are wondering, no, we didn't get a dog. However we ARE dog sitting our favorite lady MAE for the week. Is it just me or are mornings 100 time easier when you have an overly excited dog to wake up to?

Celebrations

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful birthday messages over the past few days! I've had a great couple of birthday days (it should really be called a birthweek in my opinion) celebrating with old and new friends, family, and a few random strangers (only kidding of course). Here are some snapshots of the past few days.

Turns out it was quite a lot of eating and drinking. Not a bad way to ring in 23 if I do say so myself. 

Today I am 23.

 

Yes, today is my birthday! And yes I had a cupcake for breakfast.

It is also the birthday of my good friends Anika and Linda (have a great day girls)!

It seems like just yesterday I was celebrating my 22nd birthday around a campfire in the Downer State Forest. Time is such a funny thing isn't it?

I have to admit that 22 was a pretty great year. In the past year I have made some pretty big real life decisions, moved to a brand new city, started a full time job (and finally understand the whole 9 - 5 business everyone complains about), am taking classes again (although this semester of organic chemistry may be the death of me), successfully completed two half marathons, and am feeling pretty great about this real life shindig everyone warns you about when you graduate college.

Over the past few days I've been thinking not only a lot about the past year, but also about what I am looking forward to most about being 23! While running this morning I came up with a short list of things I'd like to accomplish/do as a 23 year old. Here's what I came up with:

1. Run my first marathon. If all goes well this will happen on November 18 in Philadelphia!

2. Study for and take the MCATs.

3. Grow my savings account.

4. Take an epic trip.

5. Keep my blog up to date/ learn HTML.

And don't forget it's also my very favorite holiday, FLAG DAY!

For a short history of FLAG DAY head on over HERE

B.A.A. 10K

After a long day of working, shopping (hey, it can be tiring!) and BOOT CAMP, I came home to a big white envelope from the Boston Athletic Association. As much as I hoped it was an acceptance letter to the newly opened B.A.A Medical School (only kidding of course, that doesn't exist...yet), it was actually just my race packet for the B.A.A. 10K (coming up on June 24)!

3110, I can deal with that.

On the move

 

In an effort to combat the fact that I sit at a desk for 8+ hours everyday, I've started a new initiative. It's called "move more" (very unique, I know). For starters, last week I set a goal of walking to/home from work at least once a day (and both ways if my schedule permits). It's been 6 days so far and as long as I walk home tonight, the streak will continue!

This week, I'm adding lunchtime walks to the regimen. Although it's very easier to just sit inside in the cafeteria, and be brainless for an hour, it's almost just as easy to walk outside during this time. Luckily for me, I have a wonderful bike path just behind my building and am able to receive my daily dose of nature while I walk.Yesterday's highlight: watching thirty geese attempt to outrun a lawnmower (they were moving too quickly for me to snap a picture).

The only downside to all this walking is it makes my fingers resemble sausage links. Seeing as I already have "hobbit hands," any increased blood flow to my digits inflates them almost immediately (see below). It's okay, you can laugh, I can take it.

 

Autumn Orange

 

 

 

Thanks to the hard work of Drew and Dad we were able to paint our entire kitchen in just one day! 

We chose what some may call a "challenging" color however I think it turned out pretty perfect. It might even be Pinterest worthy, don'tcha think?