This Time Last Year...

This week last year my training regimen looked a lot different than it does right now. I took a trip down my "blog post memory lane" to see what I was up to in February 2016 and discovered this...

The week was off to a great start and I had already completed an early training session that day...

(I haven't completed a swimming workout since the start of 2017 so I'm definitely falling behind where swimming is concerned).

In addition to my 2016 swimming training I was also getting my long runs in at a decent pace...

Home For The Holidays...

I've been on vacation mode since Christmas Eve when I came home for the holidays. And not my usual vacation mode where I work out every day (which is what I should be doing), but an actual "I've only exercised once in the 8 days I've been here" vacation mode...

Christmas Eve was spent traveling; hanging out with family; and doing Snap Chat shenanigans with my baby sister...

Then we went over to my cousin's house and hung out with him for a bit...

On Christmas morning my family and I went to Church; then we went back to our respective houses and finished our Christmas Dinner food preparations; then we had a wonderful Christmas Dinner together; and then we opened presents. My favorite gifts were a top that says "Faster in Jamaica"...

No One Runs Alone {Weston 1/2 Race Recap}...

The Weston Half was the day after Ragnar ended (I'm still working on that race recap but I promise it will be posted soon), so as you can imagine I was pretty exhausted. But I decided to push myself to do it anyway since perseverance is the key to success. Well, that and race registration wasn't refundable.

Once I got to the race site I headed straight to packet pickup (which was quick since very few other people were there at 5:30am) and then went to use what I can only describe as THE BEST PORTA POTTIES EVER!!!

(I borrowed this picture from the web... this is what the female porta potties look like)

If you're a runner you can appreciate that porta potties are a necessary, but often unpleasant, reality of our running and racing life. However, these porta potties are impressive. They don't make having to use them magical, but compared to what you normally experience at a race they come pretty damn close!

Anyway, while in line for the porta potties I was talking with my former interval group coach (Anne Marie) from the Memorial Milers group that I used to train with. Anne Marie was with Yvette, who was running with the Milers for this training season, and I overheard Yvette say that she always finishes the race by herself. Well, I figured that no one should run alone (unless they wanted to) so I offered to run with her. At races, and even in training, sometimes we runners like solitude, but I was all up for having a running buddy to distract me from the miles and miles ahead, and so was she.

At the start of the race I saw a few other people that I know from the running community including Andy...

But once the race started Yvette and I kept pace together. We spent most of the 13.1 miles filling each other in on our running, races we've done, races we want to do, work (we both work at the same hospital and didn't even know it!), and our kids. It was really nice getting to know a new running buddy at an actual race.

Almost 30 Miles Later...

I'm still alive guys! I survived the trails & the post-trails half marathon, and I still love running despite all those miles 😊. Each race had it's own set of unique experiences and both were amazing...

I'm working on the race recap for both races and will be posting those this week. In the meantime I'm resting my legs (well, until I run tomorrow) and preparing for my final race for 2016...

Have you ever done a Hot Chocolate 🍫 race before? Is it as yummy as it looks?

What's your final race for 2016? 

What's your first race for 2017?

The "Good", The "Bad", & The "Why Am I Doing This?!" {TCS NYC Marathon Race Recap}

I have a ton of emotions surrounding the NYC marathon so it's hard to figure out where to start. I guess starting at the beginning is as good an option as any, but before I do that let me just say that (regardless of what I felt during and in the immediate aftermath of the race) I'm proud to be able to display this badge...

I was well rested for the event thanks to Daylight Savings Time and the fact that I didn't have to leave for the race until 7am. I took my time to get ready, met my friend Will (who was also running), and walked to the Staten Island Ferry Station well before my 7:45am ferry departure time. The race staff encouraged everyone to take the first available ferry so Will and I (along with half of New York) shuffled our way on board...

Once on board I spent my time trying not to focus on the fact that I have motion sickness and unwisely boarded the ferry without my anti-motion sickness bands (not my finest moment), and taking pictures of the Statue of Liberty...

Running Sarasota: 1/2 the Distance ~ 2x the Fun {Sarasota Half Marathon Relay Race Recap}

On race morning I woke up to a MilePost quote (by Joe Henderson) that said "A course never quite looks the same way twice. The combinations of weather, season, light, feelings and thoughts that you find there are ever-changing". Truer words have never been spoken. That's exactly how I felt about being in Sarasota again for the half-marathon. Granted, a lot of things were different this year: I was doing the relay (not the "full" half marathon); I car-pooled up Niqui (relay partner) and we both brought our kids; and some crazy people from years ago (who were obviously not runners) implemented Daylight Savings and I lost an hour of sleep.

The day before race day was a great one. Kai and I met up with Niqui and her son and we all drove up to Sarasota. We left South Florida pretty early, stopped for Starbucks, and then headed out...

Our first stop was the packet-pickup because we wanted to get that out of the way early...

After a lot of pictures and a little shopping we headed out to find food, then our hotel (thank heavens for early check-in!), and then took advantage of some uninterrupted "rest" time before our pre-race dinner plans with Anthony and Dafney (pictured below) later that day.

The End of an Era...

There is something soothing about the early morning. You know...that brief period between "This is a ridiculous hour to be awake" and "Ugh! Why are there so many people on the road?!" Early in the morning has always been my favorite time to run, and my absolute favorite time to swim. When I woke up at the "ridiculous" hour this morning I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to get out of bed; but...

(Speedo was right)

Today I swam approximately 1.25 miles...