Ran with S & K this morning, small group showed up to give our legs a little workout after the half yesterday. We definitely took it easy, keeping the conversation going the whole time.

Distance: 5.35 miles
State of Mind: It's a beautiful day, who cares how I feel. I need to learn how to look at the bigger picture.

Ran the Brooklyn Half this morning. I was really excited & quite nervous about this race, mainly because I knew I didn't feel quite recovered from the Santa Ynez Half earlier this month. But I also wanted to make my club proud & run a good time on our home turf.

It was quite amazing to see almost 12,000 runners in Prospect Park, but for me, I felt like NYRR did a good job of handling the insanity. I met up with K, B & J prior to the race, which was a nice distraction.

I tried to run a smart race, but I just don't think my legs had it in them to give me a PR. I worked really hard to not push it too hard on the mini & full loop of the park, hoping to have left myself with enough to push it hard once we started heading down to Coney Island but I knew after mile 8 that I just didn't feel 100%. I tried to push myself by thinking of Lebron's game on Thursday night, trying to think about how amazing it would be to run a PR on my home turf & listening to the ever-inspiring music of Katy Perry & Kanye West (kidding). I had a turning point when my mind couldn't get my body to speed up, even though I wanted it so bad.

Miles 9-12 were a struggle but I held a pace that would have put me under 1:40 which is what I was looking for. At mile 12.5, right when we got onto the Coney Island boardwalk, my body just shut down & I pulled over to puke. I puked about 3 or 4 more times as I tried to focus on pulling myself together. I think I pulled off to the side for about 2.5 minutes, which was really disappointing but I physically had no choice.

It was great to hang out with the crew after the race. We even jumped into the ocean for a brief second before taking the long subway ride back to the hood. I walked back on 7th avenue with S & K, stopping along the way to enjoy the day.

Distance: 13.1 miles at 1.42.44 + 2 mile warm up & a 1 mile warm down
State of Mind: Slowly accepting that I am nothing but average

Went to yoga with R & J tonight, I could tell right from walking into the studio that tonight was going to be great. Ali was loudly playing music, energizing the room with her own spirit. Practice was definitely aggressive, we did some crazy group work tonight involving flipping partners over our backs. It is strange how strong & in control your body can be.

Distance: n/a
State of Mind: Yoga can't fix all my problems, but it sure can help

Got stuck on the C train on my way home from work today & ended up missing the group run. I got out of the train at 7:08pm & seriously rushed as hard as I could to try to catch up with them...but I was too far back. I ended up running down to the finish of the speed series 5k, talked to a couple of PPTC folks & heading back up to GAP to meet up with the group. I surprisingly stayed very calm throughout the whole debacle, which I was proud of.

Afterwards, a bunch of us met up at Bar Sepia for a few drinks. Of course, with no food, I got drunk very easily. I am way too vulnerable when I am a little toasty. S, K & C came over afterwards for pizza & the LA v Denver game, I never get tired of spending time with such great people.

Distance: 4 miles
State of Mind: More running, less drinking

Right as I was leaving work it started to mist, but it was the last speed session for the season. Just when I thought the weather had changed, we are once again reminded about the variety of storms that NYC treats us with.

Coach wanted us to do hydrants about the park tonight...at 50% ability. Ran most of the way with C & M, they are both such excellent runners. Just kept thinking about the Brooklyn half this Saturday, really started to get nervous.

Distance: 5 miles running, 4 miles biking
State of Mind: Hold back, hold back

Met up with the group today, dragged my lil bro Trisquit along to enjoy the park as well. He rode my girly bike & was instantly bored by the group -- unfortunately he didn't think one of the runners was fun or interesting enough to talk to. Per Ami, we did the outside of the park. It can be so nice to mix things up sometimes.

Distance: 5.75 miles
State of Mind: So happy to have Tris in town

Felt extremely drained from my long duties of tourism guide for the Kombol family yesterday that I contemplated skipping today's run. But the competitor & socializer in me won the argument. Met the group at our usual spot & B decided we should go over the Brooklyn bridge as a group. Most everyone was there today, I have to say that I feel truly fortunate to run with such amazing people -- everyone brings something light, enjoyable & unique to the group.

We ended up do Manhattan bridge as well, but H, S & I cut back on Mrytle so they could go the gym on Bedford. I was happy to be feeling better towards the end of the run, the first few miles were a little challenging for me. The heat & the lack of proper fueling really alters my strength.

I still feel more tired than I want to be for the upcoming Brooklyn half, but I will TRY my hardest this week to just chill out.

Distance: 8.9 miles
State of Mind: I will NOT complain about the heat, goodbye Winter

Was running really late tonight, after getting stuck in an elevator...but I thankfully made it to yoga practice in time. R aka Chuck Bass joined me again tonight, he really seems to have found a connection with the teacher Ali.

The class was thoroughly packed tonight, we ended up sitting in the front row...which is always hard. Ali tortured us from start to finish, from every angle. Seriously, at one point, we were holding a position while she was talking about a point she was trying to make & I almost screamed at her to stop.

Distance: n/a
State of Mind: Can I sweat the badness out of me?

Felt a little more rested today, was excited to head out & enjoy the beautiful weather. Another big group showed for our Wednesday run, it is so nice to have friends around.

H, S, G & I ran together...talking the whole time. Not too hard of a pace, but hard enough to get a good sweat going in this weather.

Good luck F, you will kill the ultra this weekend!!!

Distance: 5.35 miles
State of Mind: I hope this weather continues

Walking up my four-story walk up today was difficult for me, I even stopped on the third floor to let my legs rest. So I was a little worried about track practice tonight, but I knew I needed to get into the park & out of my head.

A big group showed up today, Coach announced we were doing hills at GAP so we took the long way there to get good & warmed up. I ran the whole way there with T, catching up on his new baby & life.

Coach wouldn't let us know how many hill repeats we were doing, all we knew is that we were to push it hard each one. The first one I did, I felt completely out of breath, almost like my legs weren't working right. But I held in there & each one after the first got easier & easier. I finished the last few with M, which is always a great feeling.

Distance: 2 mile bike ride, 2 mile warmup, 7x800 hills, 1.5 mile warmdown, 2 mile bike ride
State of Mind: Little aches & pains make me worry

My IT band on my right leg didn't feel all that great on Sunday, so I decided to bag a run & instead go on a nice walk around Ft. Greene Park with my sis. It was nice to catch up & to stretch my legs. Walking is definitely something I will do more of as I get older, it has some of the same benefits -- mentally -- as running does for me.

Distance: 3 miles
State of Mind: Still single (minus the hubs) & still hating it

Joined the usual Sunday morning crew today, my legs still felt really tired...but I knew I could pull a loop through to keep my training up. It was super windy & a little misty today, very nice day to get out there & enjoy the park.

We did a quick loop, K even stayed with us the whole time. He sure is running well.

So excited for the playoffs tonight, should be a few good games.

Distance: 5.35 miles
State of Mind: Aches & pains, please go away

Went to bed mass early last night, this week really killed me. I am just not as young as I used to be. Woke up late for group, but rushed out the door to make it. I could already tell from my jog up that the humidity was up there.

We decided to do a bridge to bridge, since everyone wanted to keep it to around 10 miles. It was definitely a fast group, I could tell from the start. Once we hit the Brooklyn bridge, it seemed like a race across -- I knew once we got across I was done for it. The bridge was really pretty through, so misty & foggy.

I definitely slowed down on the Manhattan bridge & barely hung in there to finish off the rest of the run. We ended up doing the two waterfront parks under the bridge & the promenade. On the way up Union hill, I decided to slow down the pace incredibly so I didn't completely lose it. That is seriously how I felt.

I think the race last weekend & the week I had put me way back for this run. But it doesn't really matter, what is really important is the Brooklyn half in two weeks.

Distance: 12 miles
State of Mind: Feet, legs, arms...they all feel completely drained

Woke up so exhausted, really have a lot of catching up to do. But I couldn't miss yoga practice tonight, now could I? R joined me again tonight, which is always nice. The class was so packed, so hot, so exhausting...it was exactly what I needed. This month's focus is all about meditation, so we spent a lot of time discussing what how to find ourself or our yoga within us through practice. After class, I think R broke up with me...which was a little heartbreaking. But, knowing myself, I love the pain of it all more than anything else.

Distance: n/a
State of Mind: Reality & fantasy colliding

Still feeling really tired, maybe adjusting back to the NYC lifestyle has been hard for me. Met up with the group & did an easy loop. Felt really slow & sluggish, but thankfully H ran with me. We had a ton of new people, which is always refreshing. Even ran into my bro & his wife.

Road my bike to the park & all the way down to therapy. On the way, N & I stopped for dinner at Amorina. So yummy.

Distance: 3.5 miles running, 4 miles bike
State of Mind: Need to recover

God, I haven't worked out in 2 days & I am still sore from the race. I don't think it's the fact that I pushed it super hard at the race, but I do think it is a combination of the hills that I was so not used to & the fact that I didn't warm down correctly.

Coach wanted to meet down at Red Hook track again, which totally made sense since the weather warranted it. But I definitely didn't expect to go all out today, still really feeling it from last weekend.

We ended up doing 4x1 mile repeats, putting our legs up the fence during a 3 minute recovery. I was happy that I finished tonights workout, since I barely felt ready to start it. I ran with M & M, they both beat me nearly every lap. I ran a 7:00, 6:52, 6:43, 6:40. Which isn't super fast, but at least I went down as opposed to up.

K & I rode home, I talked his ear off as usual. I really missed him.

Distance: 5 or 6 mile bike ride, 4 mile repeats, .5 mile warm down & up
State of Mind: So tired, so sore, so need to recover

Santa Ynez Half Marathon

What an impeccable week of vacationing, I seriously didn't want to go back to NYC. But reality is reality & the race was definitely a reality. With a ton of my Washington friends doing the race, I knew I had some serious competition. There is nothing like showing up on race day all decked out in my training gear only to be outbeaten by a girlfriend who was only able to get a run or two in to get ready for the race. I know that is quite un-sportsmanlike of me to say...but it truly was how I felt.

With the fires in SB coming on hard, there were a lot of concerns about the race. The temp was extremely hot, the wind was going strong & the fire caused poor air condition. But the race director decided to have the race anyways & truthfully I didn't really feel any impact of the fires raging 30 miles away.

We got to the race in perfect time, I ended up taking some Endurox pills which P gave me...which I think really worked for the first hour or so of the race. The lines to the bathrooms were crazy long, just the first sign the race was poorly managed. J, A & I all decided to start together, which was really great to cheer them on & run alongside them just like our ol' high school days. We were watching matching pink tshirts, which definitely helped the audience cheer us on.

The first 5 miles of the course were rolling hills with not a lot of room for improvement. Once we passed the small town of Los Olivos, we were faced with a .7 mile steep uphill. I truly just kept my head down & didn't look up until the hill was done. Thank god I had my headphones on because my breath was so out of control.

After the hill, it was smooth sailing for the next 4 miles or so. A lot of down hills that really helped me pick up my pace, I even ran 2 sub-7 minute miles which was amazing for me. I really felt great during these miles, almost indestructable.

From mile 11 to the end, it was not the race I wanted to run. I thought the course flattened out, but I was so so so wrong. From mile 11 to mile 12.5, it was completely awful. I seriously was shocked to find hill after hill after hill. I basically dragged it in, holding a 7:45 pace to the finish.

I saw C just as I was finishing, which was great. We both watched as the rest of the girls made their way in, all finishing with great times. Afterwards, we waited in line forever to get our shirts & wine glasses & finally made it over to the wine tasting to swallow our pain with several tastings of the valleys finest wines.

Distance: 13.1 at 1:39:39
State of Mind: I miss California so much, so confused about where my life is heading

Had such a beautiful run this morning. Got up this morning at 5am, drove down to Montecito...so excited to run on the reach. Met B there, for old times. We did an easy 5 mile out & back, all on the beach...all as the sun rose. Afterwards, we took off our shoes & jumped into the ocean. Such a serene place.

Distance: 5 miles

State of Mind: I miss you so much, sb

Conquered Camelback Mountain today with N, what a treat to be out here & enjoy the mountain. Over the last few years, I bet I have climbed Camelback over a dozen times...but I am usually with family who needs to take the mountain on at a slower pace. This time, it was just N & I, which left open the possibility of really pushing it.

We tried to run as much as possible, but the mountain is just trecherous. Thankfully we survived, but my heart was pounding so fast at the top that I could feel it throughout my whole body. The temp got up to 90 degrees, which didn't help our cause.

Overall, very fun. Maybe a little too hard...but who cares. It was well worth it.

Distance: Maybe 3 miles, but felt like 10

State of Mind: God, I would like to live here & really bring down Camelback

So happy to be in Scottsdale, things are at such a peaceful pace. Arrived last night & went to be early. Woke up to my gma & her bf moving about. Decided to get out of the house & do a short, slow run with N to get into the spirit of things.

I am pretty use to the running path in Scottsdale now, so I knew exactly what to do. It is alongside a golf course, which definitely has its benefits. A ton of people were out, what a nice way to live life. I am always jealous when I am here.

Distance: 3.5 miles

State of Mind: Oh Arizona, I do love you

Felt quite tired from yesterday's run in Central Park, but knew I needed to get a good long run in before I left on vacation. I ended up doing 10 miles, felt every step of it. I shouldn't be this tired, but I guess I am always at the brink of hitting my capacity. Lucky me.

There was quite a large group out today, great to see everyone in such good spirits. Most of us ran over the Brooklyn bridge & a few people went on to tackle the WSH. As for me, I turned around with the boys & made my way back to the park. The Union hill definitely killed me on the way home.

One week from the Santa Ynez half marathon, so very excited.

Distance: 10 miles
State of Mind: Time to rest up...

Ran with R again tonight. I totally thought he would cancel on me since the weather wasn't looking so good...but I guess he is a little more serious than I thought. The weather was crazy tonight, it went from being almost sunny to a complete downpour...all in the matter of seconds. We did a full loop & only stopped a few times, he definitely has potential. God, I bet soon he will surpass me. How sad, I run my whole life & some random guy can become a better runner than me in the matter of weeks.

Distance: 6.5 miles
State of Mind: I am definitely discovering a new landscape