Did a peaceful sunset run in Fort Greene park tonight, just what I needed to close out a Monday.

Distance: ~3 miles
State of Mind: Tired, collected, relaxed

Legs are still feeling really tired, so I decided to sleep in today & do a run a little later in the day. The hubs & I headed out for an easy run around 4pm, right after we did a little house duty. The run was quite fun actually, except that the hubs passed me very quickly on GAP hill...which was disappointing. I mean, how many hill repeats does a girl have to do to try to compete with a chubby, non-runner?

Distance: 5.35 miles
State of Mind: Come back to me....pretty please

My legs still haven't fully recovered from all the running I have been doing, so I was a little skeptical about how today's run was going to go. I woke up to a morning full of pouring rain, which wasn't exactly a bad thing.

I knew S had a route planned for us, so I was excited to try something new. We ran down Eastern Parkway up & up through Bedford, which was full of HJ's, not one of which even glanced our way. Very, very strange.

I felt pretty tired the whole way, but the pace was rather comfortable. Big group too, which was nice. Just hope we didn't scare them away.

Distance: 10.45 miles
State of Mind: Legs, are you trying to tell me something?

Almost walked right out of the building tonight, was just too tired & spacey to take on the effort of yoga. But I knew I owed it to my body to try to work out some of the inbalances that I have caused, so I closed my mind off & joined the practice.

Strangely enough, it was one of my best yoga practices ever. Not sure why, I just felt so little distraction & so much focus, it was amazing. With the slightest of adjustments, I was going to a whole new place. I even (with the help of Ali) did a head stand without much fuss, which is a huge feat for me. Ali just kept on saying, over & over again, you outer presence is a symbol of what's within...which I tried to internalize. Part of me struggled with that, since I feel like there are so may distractions, headaches, battles that change my outer presence. But I will try to learn from her words.

Distance: n/a
State of Mind: I know I say this all the time, but yoga truly saves me.

Although I am feeling a little over trained & tired today, there was no way I was going to miss our Wednesday night run. It was a larger group than I expected, including the Coach with is always a treat. Even though everyone else thought the loop was easy, I definitely felt pressed to keep up with the pack. Classic sign of needing rest...

Distance: 5.35 miles
State of Mind: Legs, will you act like you are 20 again?

We are at the 10th week of the speed session, thank god. I wanted to get in a few extra miles so I decided to make my way on foot down to BPS. The area was jam packed with runners for a benefit 5k that was going on, it was crazy. It was seriously one of the busiest times I have EVER seen at the park.

Coach decided on hill repeats, which was a nice way to end the session. I ran with G & J, which was a very very very good parring, we vibed really well. Afterwards, we made our way in the dark back to the start to finish it off.

Here is a a pic from tonight: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=19gny2ba.83p9eqme&x=0&h=1&y=5lqcwm&localeid=en_US

Distance: 2 mile run, 8 hill repeats, 2.5 mile run
State of Mind: Honestly, feel faster because of Tony's help....

Okay, the last run was DEFINITELY the hardest. Thank god it rained a little to bring the temp down but my legs & body so didn't want to do it. I couldn't really keep the pace & mid way through I threw up in my mouth a bit (I think my stomach was fighting against me). H welcomed us with her presence though, which made it all worth it. And the park at night is so much different. So full of life.

I hope....think....pray....that Reach the Beach is easier than today. It was quite hard to pull it off.

Distance: 5.35 miles
State of Mind: Corre minus running sounds pretty good right now

Run two was hot hot hot. We decided to do the outside of the park, which was a very good idea because of the breeze & shade it provided us. But S & K really pushed the pace & made me pay, which was great...except for the fact that we were crazy enough to do so many runs in one day.

Distance: 4 miles + 2 mile bike
State of Mind: Dripping....

Ahh, the start to my 3-run day. Slept really well last night, after pigging out on pizza & beer until late in the night. Met up with a big 9am crew for an easy run around the park. We started off fast, but slowed down to a nice easy pace after a mile or so, mainly so we could run all together as a group. It was really nice to chat it up with the girls, to me, a big part of running has always been the social side of it.

Afterwards we met up at the Tea Lounge for some final logistic planning, which is always quite fun & gabby. Seems like everything is coming together swimmingly.

A few of us girls decided to head to LuluLemon for a free yoga class, which was, in my opinion very nice because it was free but pretty useless. But all the same, just shows how spoiled I am with Laughing Lotus.

Distance: 4.5 miles
State of Mind: 9am run complete, 11am yoga practice (kinda) complete....let's see how this day goes

Woke up to light rain this morning, which is actually a nice break to the constant heat/humid we have been feeling. Felt exceptionally tired this morning, but I knew I could manage a good run to begin my weekend.

We ended up doing the Summer Streets again, a much larger group than last week which can complicate stops, pace & desired mileage. But it all turned out fine. A smaller group of us headed to Whole Foods afterwards for some yummy shakes before catching the train back to the better borough.

Distance: 10 miles
State of Mind: Happy to run with so many lovely people

After a long week of running, yoga was exactly what I needed. It was a packed class, seriously couldn't fit another soul in there tonight. Ali seemed in the mood to impress so she brought in a variety of new poses, flows that I have never practiced before. It was great to give my legs some refreshment, my mind a rest & my body some much needed TLC.

Distance: n/a
State of Mind: Dear "mind", please stop messing with me, I need a break...

Although I was totally not looking forward to racing tonight, I figured why not. Mainly, knowing that a lot of the group would show up for the last 5k of the series in Prospect Park was the reason I knew I couldn't back down. But I knew my mind would definitely be defeated by more sore & tired legs...

The heat was a definite factor, but I just played it easy & told myself to hold back on the hill & through mile one & then let myself go for the last two remaining miles. Which is exactly what I did.

M won in her true style, I have no problem being behind a talent like that. G & I rode our bikes home after the awards, the sound of the crickets & G's successful attempt at making me laugh made for a very sweet close to the day.

Distance: 1.5 mile bike ride, 1 mile warmup, 5k at 21:36, .5 mile warmdown, 1.5 mile bike ride
State of Mind: Glad my legs held out, but for how long???

Really wanted to take it easy tonight, but I knew if a workout is put in front of me I have little control of taking the middle ground. Had a nightmarish time getting to the speed workout tonight, the trains took forever & I barely made it to BPS. But, I did make it, which is what counts.

A smaller group of us jogged down the slope to the Red Hook track...it is always nice to have such a long warmup before a track workout. Coach had us do 7x400 meters with a 400 meter recovery in-between each one. I tried to run even splits & stick behind M the whole time, which is exactly what I did. A few of the girls were there with us, but mainly I ran alone tonight. Each one of my splits were at 1:33, nothing too out of control.

Distance: 2 mile warmup, 7x400 meters with 7x400 meter recovery, 2 mile warmdown
State of Mind: My legs are so not going to be refreshed for the 5k race tomorrow

My legs are definitely burnt out from all the running this weekend, but I wanted to try to get a little exercise in tonight to keep the momentum going. It is such a HOT day, so my sis & me headed to the Red Hook pool for a little relaxing, refreshing swim. It was less busy but somehow more chaotic tonight at the pool, the variety of people that make up NYC makes large group activities quite interesting. That is a nice way to say how I feel.

Distance: easy swim
State of Mind: Try to recover so you can have a decent 5k on Wednesday

Starting a Sunday morning off by getting up at 4:45am is not my idea of a good time, but I guess I am feeling a little overly anxious in my life & trying to fill my time up with anything that distracts me. So, in celebration of that, A & I decided to do something a little different -- try to run the 3 bridges, Brooklyn, Manhattan & Williamsburg. But since this was also the day of the NYC half, what better way to merge a race & a run by enjoying them both. And since S was running it, we knew we had to go out & support one of the most talented peeps in our group.

So, we met up early to get S off to her race at Central Park & made our way down to the finish at Battery Park. All before 6:30am.

A & I didn't really know what we were doing, so we just started off towards the Brooklyn Bridge & knew we would eventually need to figure it out. Felt pretty good after the first bridge, but neither of us really anticipated the long journey from Brooklyn to Williamsburg so that really took it out of us -- but I think I did take in my very first few of Vinegar Hill (yeah me). I was feeling good, but my legs were definitely tired from yesterdays run. After Williamsburg, we realized that we simply didn't have enough time to Manhattan & enjoy the finish of the half so we decided to "touch" the bridge & scramble down to the tip of the island for the festivities.

Watching the racers was exciting, but I didn't have an overwhelming desire to be in the race. Go figure. We watched most of the top finishers come through & even got to c0ngratulate Paula Radcliffe & Ryan Hall on their amazing races. Shortly (very shortly) after the pros came through, S bounced in. She is seriously an amazing runner.

We all hung around for a bit before making our way back to our non-running lives. Mine was filled with stomach aches, watching tennis finals (Montreal & Cincinatti), Tiger Woods & Bolt take a WR. Athletes are crazy motivating.

Distance: 10.2 miles
State of Mind: As the b'burg bridge cleanly states: "Leaving Brooklyn, Oh Vey"

Am really excited to get an amazing weekend of running in. Started off today with a nice run up to Central Park, celebrating Summer Streets. I expected it to be a much smaller group, but it was great that we had so many people.

Park Avenue was so much fun, so liberating, but also so great to do a run that is out of the routine. We made it all the way up to Central Park, ran the lower loop & made our way to some free iced coffee before going underground at Grand Central to make the lonely way back to Brooklyn. Running in Manhattan is definitely differnet than running in Brooklyn.

Distance: 12.1 miles
State of Mind: Running makes me so happy

Yoga practice was brilliant tonight. The class was packed, as usual...we did a ton of hip opening & balance poses. I really tried to listen to & focus on Ali's advice, I am working on valuing what others say instead of always listening to what is going on inside my head.

Distance: n/a
State of Mind: You have to close down to open up

Did a fun, fast loop with the group tonight. Strangely enough, I felt very strong compared to the Tuesday speed workout. The pace was pretty nice, but more importantly I felt like I had complete control the whole time. Very strange how much things can change overnight.

Afterwards, we all headed to Bar Sepia for a few drinks. A huge group came out & we definitely had a fun time. Note to self, this whole not drinking thing really goes to a strange level when I actuallly drink.

Distance: 4.35 miles
State of Mind: What wonderful people I run with

Ahh, yet another speed workout. Had a very calm day at work today, so I was excited to get out there, chat amongst wonderful running peeps & kill myself a little.

It was super humid, but I didn't really notice it affecting me until we started our repeats. Coach said we were going to do 4 x 2 mile repeats, but I knew that was never going to happen. But the course was great, I love running the lower loop.

The first repeat, I was chatting it up for the first half mile, feeling okay until the end of the first mile but then the heat just hit me...at least that is what I blamed it on. I was definitely struggling to hold my form & to control my breath.

The second repeat, I felt much more in control. Half way through I realized that I always fall apart my first repeat & to not let it get to me too bad. My heart rate was definitely hitting a zone that it's not comfortable with, but that is what training is all about.

After the second one, I was ready for the third...but Coach cut us off. A little disappointed, but I never really know my limits...

Distance: 2 mile bike ride, 1 mile warmup, 2 x 2 mile repeats, 1 mile warmdown, 2 mile bike
State of Mind: Wasted...through & through

Sis convinced me to try something new tonight, so we headed down to the Red Hook pool for a little lap swimming. The pool was HUGE compared to what I expected & decently crowded...but after all it was a hot day in the city.

We ended up doing about 40 minutes, I did everything from legs only, arms only, side legs, breast & free style. The pool was refreshing & wonderfully relaxing.

Distance: who knows
State of Mind: I love to control my breath under water, it is so hard for me

To get ready for my biggest race of this year, Reach the Beach, I did my first two-a-day today. I have definitely done a lot of two-a-day workouts in the past, especially when I was training for tri's but this is the first two-run day I have ever had. Since I raced yesterday & didn't do my usual long run, I knew my legs would have enough in them...no problem.

Met up with K, R, S & A for an easy loop at 9am. Could tell I was a little tired from yesterday but we truthfully took it pretty easy. The humidity was pretty brutal, so as we ran further we definitely heated up quite a bit. But all in all, the whole run was done in conversational pace.

The second run was at 4pm, which gave me something to look forward to BUT also pretty much took up my day. I can now see why professional athletes have trouble working, training at the more advanced level just takes it out of you -- time & energy wise. The second run was very much the same as the first, easy pace with no issues. R & I even pushed it on the hill, which is always a great way to finish.

Distance: 5.35 miles x 2, about 10.7 miles
State of Mind: Looking forward to this race, minus the logistics of it all

Drove up to Shelburne Falls, Mass yesterday with H & S, wonderful company in the car which was a delight since we were stuck in traffic most of the way up to H's hometown. Upon arrival, we had a lovely pre-race dinner in the town center. After dinner, we made our way to Mom's house, where we chatted it up a bit before heading to bed for a good nights sleep.

We rose early & took our time getting ready for the race. About 2 hours before the start time, we jogged down to the start & got prepared for the race by watching the 2-miler & stretching near the falls. Of all three girls, I was definitely the most calm & collected, possibly because I don't have as much was riding on the race (pace wise).

We knew it was going to be hilly, so I stuck to my plan of running the first 3 miles moderately easy to keep my composure. It worked really well, after the 1000 ft. elevation climb, I was able to put in a solid downhill/flat performance BUT I felt like I still had a lot left in me when I finished.

Afterwards, we went back near the falls & enjoyed in a little celebration with H's hometown. It was a wonderful 24 hour trip, only wish we would have stayed longer.

Distance: 10k + 1 mile warmup/1 mile warmdown
State of Mind: Feeling very average

Met up with a smaller pack of runners tonight, G & J were there...which is always nice. We did an easy loop around the park, cheered on the 5k speed series & kept it really light. J & I ran down to the finish of the 5k to congratulate everyone, which was very sweet & it always allowed for a few more miles.

Distance: about 6.75 miles
State of Mind: Running so helps calms my mind

Met up with the speed group tonight, felt extra extra extra tired & not sure why. Ate a ton of food before leaving in the hopes that it would give me the energy to kick ass, but I should have known better. We did a slightly different speed workout tonight, lamp posts on the outside of the park were used as our pick-up, recovery markers.

I felt great during warmup & for the first 3 miles of the run but then I just came crashing down. My pick-ups went from distinguishable to non-existent. The last mile I was just trying to hold on, to my breath...to my dignity...to my vision.

Distance: 2 mile bike ride, 1.5 mile warmup, 3.75 pick-ups, 2 mile bike ride
State of Mind: You have got to be kidding me, do I ever learn

It was actually really beautiful tonight, but I decided to stay in & do a little cross training on my computrainer instead. Did a steady, hard 35 minutes followed by some core & arm work.

Distance: who knows?
State of Mind: Sweaty & loving it

B & J planned another wonderful outing to Rockefeller State Park, which I knew was going to be full of adventures. S was late in picking us girls up, but we made our way up to the park in no time. There is something so refreshing about getting out of the city, especially to get a good workout in.

We decided to just head out on one of the trails & see where it took us. For the majority of the run, we were covered by beautiful trees, running up up up as much as we could. B, K & M definitely set the pace on this run, it was not too bad BUT faster than I would have done it. Was a little harder to enjoy the scenery when you are constantly trying to keep up with the lead group.

Eventually, we made our way to grassier pastures & on to Swan Lake where we took an easy couple of loops to finish off the day. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning.

Distance: 11+ miles
State of Mind: Sweaty, tired, happy