My New Celebrity Crush & Sunday Miles...

First things first: I'm in love with Baby Groot...

I mean just look at him 😍... look at his cute little eyes!!!

Baby Groot was my favorite part of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, so the second movie is going to be amazing! He is as cute as a button!

(including that button he is not supposed to push 😉)

The Verge did a brief article recently that had a link to a new trailer (movie trailer with Baby Groot) and I've already watched it three (ok fourteen) times 😊.

In addition to obsessing over Baby Groot, I spent some time running this morning. I did 6 miles; two with Jani...

Then we paused to meet up with Andy and Tabitha (they were doing 23 miles this morning) so we did two miles with them, and then for the last two Jani and I ran back to our cars...

I was still half asleep by the end of the 6 miles with absolutely no motivation to do any more. Plus, with all the miles I will be doing next weekend pushing for more miles this weekend wasn't a part of the plan.

The rest of my Sunday (and this upcoming week) will be all about preparing for Ragnar, which means ensuring I have (or have access to) all of these things...

What are your Sunday plans?

Are you a Baby Groot fan? (if not look at those eyes again...)

What other Ragnar/Trail running/Camping gear do you think I need?

Diet Pizza, Trails & Exciting News!!!

Since my 💔 experience at the NY Marathon (😞 you can check out that post here), I've been on an emotional roller coaster regarding training and my marathon (& post marathon) weight gain. So, the thing with the emotional roller coaster is that I'm an emotional eater... which invariably leads to more weight gain since I'm not only eating my feelings, but also eating like I'm still carb loading for a race...

 source

Dec 1st was the start supposed to be the start of my renewed focus on training and my "training diet". But I had pizza for dinner last night🍕... and breakfast this morning... so things aren't off to a great start. Although... it was a thin crust and didn't have any cheese so it's more like "diet pizza" right?

Longest Week Ever...

My post-NY Marathon rest week is finally coming to an end...

source

I know that the general idea is to take a break from any racing or intense training so I did just that. And on top of that I decided to take a break from everything. I even slacked off on my "10,000 steps a day" goal...

Except for a 1 mile (slow & steady) evening run on Wednesday, I spent this week relaxing, eating whatever I wanted, trying out a new red blend wine, and sleeping in...

source

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...

The Expo & The Parade...

I flew into New York yesterday morning and it was a non-stop day of activities... 

source

The morning started out as any other travel day: up early -- pack last minute items -- get to airport -- still get annoyed about taking off shoes in security line -- search for food -- find a Starbucks -- all is now right with the world :)

Kai and I were on the same flight as Will (who is also running NY) so we were talking about race strategy until it was time to board. Once we got on board I ran into my friend Alex from the law firm where I used to work...

Alex was one of my favorite people there. Always super cool. We spent the entire flight talking and catching up on what has been happening in our lives. Once we landed we said our goodbyes and Kai, Will and I made our way out of the airport into the Big Apple! Whenever I saw a bridge I asked Will "Do we run over that one?!"...

(I don't remember if this is one that I will run on, but the picture is nice right?)