week one done!

Happy Tuesday!
I can now say I successfully made it through one whole week of training (only 14 to go!) The long run this week proved to be one of the most difficult runs I've done in a long time. I chose a nice flat 6 mile course down Riverside park on the West Side ending at 42nd street, because who doesn't love walking through a bunch of tourists in time square when sweaty and tired.  This is usually my favorite place to do my long runs due to it being flat and usually there is a nice breeze from the water to keep you cool. Unfortunately this time that wasn't the case. Instead I was blessed with 80% humidity to match the 80 degree temperature. While starting the run late at 10:30AM was my own fault because I stayed out too late the night before (but without drinking might I add!) I did not expect it to be so painful. After two miles my legs did not want to move and not long after my lungs seemed to refuse to let much air in. At the 5 mile mark I was spent, I even stopped the run making the excuse that it was too hot and that should be good enough. But then I started thinking...I have 15 weeks to get ready to run 26.2 miles and stopping during my runs is not going to help me, the reason I chose the timing for the training was so I'd have no slack time and allowance to make excuses. So I made myself run/power walk the rest of the mile. By the end my body literally had given everything I was going to get out of it that day but I can say I gave 100% which I'm really proud of. Since moving to the city two years ago its been a struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle while enjoying the city and dealing with all the stressors of the "real world" which resulted ultimately in me getting out of shape which as people know for me is not something I like to be. Running in the park you see hundreds of people out on their runs pushing themselves and they have just as many and maybe even more excuses than I might have. What I was really hoping to gain from this training is that sense of  pride in what I can accomplish by working hard and knowing that I am capable of pushing myself farther than I think I can. I can tell even after a week I've started to feel better and have even lost 2lbs by watching what I eat better (although that fell apart during the weekend). Made it through my 3mi on Monday and the humidity was down to 40% and my run went by so much faster and easier hopefully more good weather is to come for this weeks long run where I will be tackling NYC Summer Streets where they shut down Park Ave for 7mi....should be interesting.

Also here is just a snippet of my workout playlist I'm working on perfecting:
Taio Cruz- Fast Car
Imagine Dragons- On Top of the World
Kris Allen- Fighters
The Fray- Run For Your Life
Miike Snow- Silvia
Neon Trees- Everybody Talks
Temper Trap- Rabbit Hole
Eric Church- Springsteen (and pretty much every other one of his songs)
Gym Class Heroes- The Fighter (notice a trend??)
Karmin- Brokenhearted
....more to come as I find them.

That's all for now!

Two down..I don't want to count how many to go

Just finished run #2 for training. Turns out the New York City humidity is back which was a nice addition to the run. After a week in California I had forgotten how much harder it is to run in the heat. Leaving work the weather said 84 degrees and 64% humidity which to me did not seem too bad....wrong....it felt like I was running through water, each step taking 10x more effort than the last. I was able to get the 4mi in that I need to but at a 10min/mi pace and with lots of breaks. So here are some tips I came up with on how to survive these last few weeks of summer in NYC running

1. Just avoid going outside to run (not a very reasonable option)

2. accept the run is going to be slow and require water and walking stops until later in training

3. get a good playlist

4. when all else fails find a hot guy to distract you or a skinny girl you wanna beat..works everytime

At least I made it through this one and for now I can enjoy my nice cold glass of chocolate milk for a reward!

Time to play catch up

I must begin and apologize for my extreme slacking on the blog here! It turns out as summer got more exciting I forgot to keep writing about it, my apologies. This week marks my 2 year anniversary in New York City and I'm still amazed to keep finding new things to do here. So my new promise to you all will be to try and keep you posted on my continuing adventures here! 

A few months ago I was training for a half marathon which I could not complete due to me breaking my elbow during a training run :( So in an impromptu decision I decided since I was halfway there I should just sign up for a full marathon this fall. (I know this is not a normal impulse buy...what can I say I'm crazy) This week marks the beginning of my 15 week training for my marathon on November 18th when I will tackle Brooklyn through a nice and easy 26.2 mile run. Since my longest distance the past few months of running has been 6 miles I think I'm underestimating the task at hand....Following in my fathers footsteps I decided to add a new aspect and use this blog as an outlet for logging my fitness and nutrition as well. I usually use blogs found on Pinterest to motivate me and give me great ideas for workouts so I figure why not use my own blog to motivate myself and others. Now I can stop using the "camera adds 10lbs" excuse after vacations and a summer of relaxing and get back in shape. Hopefully as work picks up this will help me keep the stress down, but don't worry I will try to throw in some fun :)

Ill leave you with a pic from a run I took a couple weeks ago on the UWS.....this is why I love running in New York