Glad Game Monday XXIV

Oh my goodness, remember when I would get glad every Monday? Yea, that was pre Philly, pre Thanksgiving, pre anniversary, pre Christmas, pre New Years, PRE EVERYTHING! My last one was right before Philly, and I have to say, it was stellar. So, let's try to bring some GLAD into this Monday monotony!

 I'm glad Mr. Miller had a classy Jersey Shore birthday party. I made an Italian Family dinner, then we went to a fab lounge. We did a funny photo first. So funny, right?

 I'm glad we made peace signs. Keeping it real. All of a sudden, CABS WERE HEAAAYA! 

I'm glad we had an amazing night with amazing friends. And glow wands???? 

I'm glad I meal planned this week. It's only Monday and life is SO much easier!

 I'm glad I FINALLY got a picture of this kid! His Power Wheels is RIDICULOUS! Laser lights, flashing lights, an ipod dock with a pumping system. This kid has it all at age 6.

 I'm glad we visited Singlecut Brewery! This is a local brewery with a delicious selection of brews, a laid back atmosphere and live music!

 I'm glad I got to visit our friends in Brooklyn! Yes, a Queens girl went to BROOKLYN! It was awesome to eat some delicious sausage and enjoy some vitamin D, Brooklyn style. 

 I'm glad Lambeau Puppy is feeling better. He was a bit under the weather Saturday, and I was on major clean up duty. Sunday he ventured to the street fair with us, but he started asking some ridiculous question, like who his daddy is?!

I'm glad I had a banana Nutella crepe. Street fairs rock. Mmmmmm. 

How about you? Are you enjoying some nice weather in your neck of the woods? Did you enjoy a PR this weekend? Do you have an endless supply of Nutella? TELL ME ABOUT IT!

*Thank you, Blogger, for not allowing me to have a post title currently. If I could write one, the title would be:

"NYC <3 Boston: #BostonStrongNYC"

Monday night was a night to run with friends. So many runners came together to honor our friends in Boston. Thanks to Pavement Runner, a movement swept the world and Boston Strong runs were popping up everywhere. Here are some of the great things that happened at this run:

Philly Reunion! I was so happy to see Beth, Ashley and Nadia. We miss Casa De Garcia. 

My girlfriend Mrs. Slafter came out to run. She's speedy.

Abby put together an AWESOME event. She gave a motivating talk and allowed a moment of silence to honor all those affected by the Boston Marathon Bombing. 

Beautiful sunset running with amazing people.

The running community rocks. They started their own finish line, and then a finishing tunnel. 

I got to run with other amazing runners! It was great to see all these amazing ladies. NOTE: Nicole and Beth are the only two NON Queens residents...does this mean something?! :-)

Thank you running community. It was amazing to run with all like minded people; people who have been through races, finish lines, and were rocked by this attack. People who are peaceful, hard working, and love their sport fiercely. People who wanted to do something, to make a statement, and did. 

How about you? Did you participate in an organized Boston Strong run? Did your race dedicate the running to Boston? Did you go out on a solo run to reflect? TELL ME ABOUT IT!

#BostonStrongNYC

The tragedy of Monday is still lingering with me. As runners, this tragic event hit us especially close to home: The Finish Line. It's our happy place. It's where we long to be. It's our goal. It's our strength. It's our calling. It's our home.

We've all been searching for a way to help. Twitter has been amazing at connecting people with ways to help by wearing race shirts, blue and yellow, and through donations. Erica Sara is so inspiring, check out her amazing necklaces and consider joining her in supporting Boston. Want to wear your pride? Check out these shirts for another way to sponsor our US neighbor.

Thanks Huffington Post for the feature, sad that it was due to these circumstances. 

What has emerged from this violent act? Community. A community that will not back down. A community that drags each other to the finish line. A community that stops to help an injured runner on the course. A community that gives a thumbs up to a runner passing by. A community that pats a struggling runner on the back and says, "You've got this." A community that takes runners in after a tragic incident to provide food and shelter. This runner community? They're amazing.

Taken from Racing Tales

So, what now? Now? We run. We #runforBoston. We run for freedom. We run to show our quiet, peaceful community of pavement pounders will NOT be scared into seclusion. We run to show the world we love, care, support and pray for all our friends currently suffering under this horrific act. We run. 

Thank you Pavement Runner for initiating this run. We will run strong in honor of all those affected. Thank You Abby for stepping up to get NYC involved!

How about you? How are you feeling about running? Have you shared your feelings with other runners? Will you join the movement and organize or join a run on Monday? TELL ME ABOUT IT!

The finish line

I started this post last night with a conversation. As I watched the 2012 Boston Marathon finish on NBC sports I got teared up, and the following conversation ensued.

Me: I miss it.
Mr. Miller: What?
Me: That feeling. At the finish.
Mr. Miller: What do you mean? 
Me: That feeling of it all ending, all of the work, all of the pressure, all of the hopes and dreams. There. With a mark in the road.
Mr. Miller: Oh. Okay. Love you.
Me: Love you too.

I planned a post on the finish line. I followed amazing tweets today. I got amped up by the Boston Marathon.  As I left work today, I was greeted by numerous texts and tweets of devastation. All that remains? My initial note that I wrote last night: 

A finish line is a sacred place. It's where blood sweat and tears culminate into the completion of a great task. 

The Finish Line.

THE place for which we strive. 

The place where IT happened. 

Sadly, today's finish line was tainted. Prayers go out to all in Boston.

We are: Runners.

We run the streets. 

We run this world.

We pray for our comrades and our cheerleaders.

*Wear a race shirt or blue and yellow on 4/16/13 to represent our friends in Boston who ran the toughest race on earth.

Running is fun.....right?

It's that time of the running season again: I've run my goal race, now what? After I finished the Allstate 13.1 NYC, I promptly got a pedicure, a massage, and hopped on a plane to Puerto Rico to detox. I've essentially been in training for one goal race or another since May 2012. I took three weeks off after the Philly marathon, and jumped right into the next big thing: a sub 2 half marathon training plan. Now that the training is over, I didn't meet my goal (I think I still have Post Traumatic Run Disorder when it's windy...) , and I have no race on the horizon, I'm kind of in running limbo.

I didn't run for 11 days, simply because I didn't feel like it. I did a runmute with my coworker and it went really well. I kept up with my coworker who is FAST, and it felt good to be back in my Saucony Kinvaras.

I've decided that, for the next few months, I want to have FUN while running! Here are some ways I plan on enjoying my time while pounding the pavement:

1. I'm running a virtual 5k, and you should too! Check out this virtual 5k with awesome prizes and a very worthy cause. Get your friends to hang out on a weeknight, log some miles, and grab some post run liquid or food fuel afterwards! http://runstrongereveryday.com/tag/kick-ass-5k/

2. I plan on running in fun places. Running to meet friends, running to do an errand, running to scenic places, the possibilities are endless! With nice weather coming, sunset runs are definitely going to be mandatory!

3. I plan on joining friends for runs. Notice how every part of my plan includes social running? I find this helps me catch up with runner friends, makes the miles FLY by, and often pushes me to be better.

4. I'm going to try listening to podcasts/audio books. I've heard a lot of runners mentioning this as a great distraction on runs, so I plan to try this out as someone different. I honestly have a hard time reading during the school year because that's all I do at work!

How about you? Are you in training for a big goal race? Are you racing for fun? Are you in training limbo like me? Tell me about it!

HAPPY FRIDAY! I'll leave you with some running humor. I found a site that allows you to make your own ecards, so I had a bit of fun!

The PROOF is in the Race Photos

When I saw my race photos, I just laughed. They were actually pretty good, despite a tough race! They told the story of how the race went. Allstate 13.1 NYC had TONS of photographers, so if you want some quality running photos, you'll be sure to get some in this race!!! 

Here is the PROOF about what my race was really like:

PROOF: I had a hopeful and joyous start with Beth and Ashley!

 PROOF: I was super positive in the beginning. Ashley is a race photo QUEEN. (See Proof here)

 PROOF: I was going strong, I was focused. Then, we rounded the bend into the wind.

 PROOF: I questioned God's use of wind that day.

 PROOF: I was VERY mad. 

 PROOF: I finished VERY strong. Great form and all...

 PROOF: I finished my 4th 13.1 NYC...that's a number 4 in my finish photo...

PROOF: I got my medal and almost threw up. Yup. DONE.

PROOF: This is definitely what happened after.

How about you? Do you enjoy seeing your race photos? Do you cringe at bad ones? Any great photos that you posed for and LOVED? Tell me about it!

PR in PR: How to get over not making a goal

Thank you for all your lovely comments! I don't have fancy schmancy commenting, so if I respond none of you will know! So, a big fat thanks goes out to all the nice people with kind words!

I got over my race in a big way. I FINALLY got a pedicure after months of neglect, and sprang for a massage as well. Mr. Miller went to a Knicks game, so I went to bed early in anticipation of my 3:30am wake up. Nope. Not for a race, for a FLIGHT! I headed down to Puerto Rico in my ProCompression socks with two girlfriends for some fun in the sun while relishing in my half marathon PR. Our flight left at 5:45am, on the beach by 11am, and really didn't spend much time away from the beach for the rest of the trip. It was truly relaxing, exactly what I needed!!! 

Here are a few pictures that tell the story of this fabulous trip:

 I found TWO heart stones! My heart was filled on the beach. I'm a beach girl at heart.

 This is my favorite picture of the vacation. My little refuge from the sun.

Springs Vibes were alive in PR! 

 Iced Red Eye on the beach. I felt like I came back to life after weak coffee for two days. Spoiled. 

 A series of sunsets, they were all individually beautiful.

 Rum Punch by the sea.

Our last sunset was the best one. Creation at its finest.

As you can tell, I HIGHLY recommend Rincon, Puerto Rico, as an amazing vacation site! The food was amazing, I could dedicate a whole other post to it. Ode to the Elephant, Tamboo, and Calypso were just some of the delectable restaurants with incredible views. Now, I'm back to life, haven't run a single mile, made my first ever Easter dinner for friends, and read a couple of books in between. I have some new goals in mind for the future, a fresh tan, and a relaxed mind. What more could I ask for?

How about you? Did you have a "spring break"? Are you enjoying the warmer weather we've been blessed with? Have you taken or are you taking a vacation sometime soon? TELL ME ABOUT IT!