Hi there and Happy Sunday!

I slogged through a trail 10k yesterday morning and my victory was that I didn’t quit. I ran the Wolfe’s Run Trail 10K, the third and final race in a “triple crown” series held by Complete Race Solutions here on Staten Island.

not my finest race photo but it was free and that’s always a plus. It also clearly shows that this wasn’t easy for me and that means I was working hard and that means I give myself a pat on the back. Go me!

The funny thing is that last year I ran the first two races of the series but got injured before the third so I missed out on getting my last interlocking finisher’s medal.

Last year’s 2 interlocking medals

And yesterday I got that 3rd piece but it is a totally different design for 2018 than it was for 2017 so no bueno. But even so, I still feel complete now anway. HA!

this year’s missing piece

The weather was ridiculously warm. It was in the mid 70s by 10am when the race started and my body has barely had time to acclimate to running again let alone acclimate to the warm temps.

The course was set up as two 5k loops. I kid you not that I was ready to go home after that first loop and it was so hard to talk myself into going the distance.

I finished in 1 hour and 24 minutes and honestly I don’t even care what the finish time was. I’m just happy to have completed my first race of the year.

My feet are pretty banged up. I have blisters everywhere. And there were plenty of rocks and Sweetgum tree balls that irritated my poor toes.

running over the sweetgum balls….ouchie!

The course had a nice mix of terrain including about 150 feet on the beach, some multiuse paths and then some technical trails through the woods.

running on the beach

I had to walk a whole lot. The first 5k I only walked on the inclines and on the beach until I got to the wet sand. But the second 5k? I walked some downhills too. I was THAT tired.

I’m at the far left. This was the first mile before everyone smoked me and before I totally melted in the sun 🙂

There was this one moment when I realized that I hadn’t needed to look at any of the trail markers because there was always someone in front of me but by the second 5k there was no one in front of me and that meant getting to know those little orange ribbons and yellow arrow signs in the ground real well. Hey, at least I didn’t get lost!

I enjoy the races that that Complete Race Solutions puts on for so many reasons. They’re soooo enthusiastic about what they do. They take a lot of time crafting the courses and the same group of runners seem to attend each event so I like to see familiar faces even if I only know one or two really. I love that the races are all just a few minutes from home and in parks that I frequent regularly anyway. This particular park is about 1/2 mile away from my old high school and where I’d hang out all the time with my friends. It’s also the same park that has the dog park that I used to take Duncan to daily when he was a lot younger.

I’m secretly wanting to run the NJ Half in 2 weeks but I know I won’t be ready. So my next race will be in about 6 weeks when I run the Spring Lake 5 miler. I’m hoping to get stronger in the next 6 weeks. But hope is where I’ll leave it. 🙂

In non-running news Duncan is still doing the usual….

like a siamese twin.

morning nap in the warmth of the sunshine

And I’m trying not to cut myself as much at work but that’s not going so well. I usually have 3 bandaged fingers by the week’s end. LOL. It’s not just the blade that I cut myself with. The edges of the backing paper to the adhesive vinyl are so sharp I’ve ended up with paper cuts that are so deep. The thumb is my most recent self-inflicted wound.

 

So what have you been up to? Anyone running Boston tomorrow?
Do you prefer running in the heat or in the cold? Signed up for any races?

Hi there.

Happy Spring. Here in New York City we got a big dump of snow thanks to Nor’ Easter Toby. But it has mostly melted.

at the beginning of the storm

at the beginning of the storm

the morning after the storm

the morning after the storm

I got back at the beginning of the week from being away for 17 days. Away from home, away from Duncan. Needless to say it was tough. But it was for something very exciting…

Mr. SOTSS is opening a business. It’s a franchise called FASTSIGNS.

Welcome to FASTSIGNS :)

Welcome to FASTSIGNS 🙂

Basically a business that creates visual communications like signage for other businesses. In addition to traditional signage there is digital signage now added to the mix and even vehicle wraps. When Mr. SOTSS made the decision to do this I immediately jumped on board because I knew I could help him design the signs. He was really excited about the production part of it (actually building the signs). So this seemed like a great combo. This has been in the works for well over a year now and over that span it became clear that he, as the franchise owner, would be busy with many tasks at first, including the very important task of sales and that the production part is really more a dual role for the graphic designer…moi. I knew this would be a challenge for me, and as I learned while we were away, challenge is an understatement.

Let me back up for a minute and tell you about the trip which was to the corporate headquarters of FASTSIGNS, in Dallas, Texas. We had to complete a 2 week intensive training.

a little bag of snacks was given to each of us to help us get through the training weeks. And a BIG BINDER that was full of info by the time we left

a little bag of snacks was given to each of us to help us get through the training weeks. And a BIG BINDER that was full of info by the time we left

We set out back on March 2nd on a drive that would ultimately land us in Dallas, We were originally going to take our dogs which is why we opted to drive. We also thought it would be fun to see a bit of the country as we traveled (I think we covered 15 states total—New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansa, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland).

I insisted on taking photos of each state. If I was driving then Mr. SOTSS took the photo

I insisted on taking photos of each state. If I was driving then Mr. SOTSS took the photo

We ended up not bringing the dogs (HARD THINGS #1: Leaving my dog for 17 days! and HARD THINGS #2: Leaving my home for 17 days when I’d never been away for longer than 8 days before.)

We started the drive through a snow storm and the first 6 hours of the trip were very stressful for us but more so for me. I legit had a panic attack in the car and asked if we could pull over. And so we found a WalMart and he got new windshield wipers and I took a few deep breaths. HARD THINGS #3 was definitely getting through the snow storm. There was an 18-wheeler trying to make it up a hill on the Interstate and kept rolling back. We were the vehicle directly behind it.

But after that we were smooth sailing and made it to Ohio where we slept for the night.

Happy road trip AFTER the storm

Happy road trip AFTER the storm

The next day we drove through Kentucky and into Tennessee and when we got to Nashville we walked around for a few hours.

Hi, from Nashville

Hi, from Nashville

nashville-cashmuseum

music-row

 

silly timer-camera stuff

silly timer-camera stuff

sweet treat stop at Goo Goo Shop

sweet treat stop at Goo Goo Shop

Hi, from Nashville

Hi, from Nashville

nashville-cashmuseum music-row

More »

Hi there,

How is it already December 8th????

I’m really getting busier and busier and unfortunately blogging keeps taking a backseat. Instagram seems to be my favorite way of letting you all know what I’m doing and #spoiler alert: It’s pretty much taking selfies with my dog and my laptop.  

seriously?

seriously?

My "boss" breathing down my neck. :)

My “boss” breathing down my neck. 🙂

not exactly ergonomic working setup

not exactly ergonomic working setup

I’m growing my business, helping my boyfriend get his new business going (more on that to come next year), doing the holiday decorating, shopping, (some grinching), and all that jazz.

twinkly tree

twinkly tree

My 3 minute outside decorating setup

My 3 minute outside decorating setup

I did run a race last weekend which was awesome…

Let me tell you about the Big Chill 5K.

This was my 4th time running it. Well, actually in 2014 I walked it thanks to a sprained ankle. Mr. SOTSS introduced me to the event because he’s been running it for like 15 years!

staying warm in the gymnasium until the race starts

staying warm in the gymnasium until the race starts

The entry fee is a new toy of $15 or more.

IMG_4144

It’s so powerful to see the thousands of toys along the wall in the gymnasium (where you check in and get your race #.)

staying warm in the gymnasium until the race starts

toys galore!

The race doesn’t begin until 10am but you have to get there around 8:30-9 to get a parking spot and then after getting your race # you have to kill some time. Luckily they keep the bleachers open and it’s warm so it’s not too terrible. This race now has close to 7,000 participants.

IMG_4150

Some are walkers. They have an option for you pay for a timed chip and have a separate corral in front for the timed-chip runners. We didn’t bother so we stayed in the non-timed corral. I asked Mr. SOTSS if he would stay with me for the entire run. He’s not a fan of running with anyone (unless it’s his daughters because then he’s giddy that they want to run with him) but he agreed. I didn’t want him to feel like he was going too slow so I tried really hard to keep up a decent pace. It ended up being about a 9:30 pace.

:)

🙂

My feet felt ok during the entire 5k. But by the evening they were aching.

After the race we went for breakfast and then back to the pups for a walk.

Chester's waiting his turn to sniff whatever it is that Duncan's sniffing.

Chester’s waiting his turn to sniff whatever it is that Duncan’s sniffing.

And for dinner Mr. SOTSS made a boatload of meatballs! (we both froze some for future meals)

The cook doing his thing

The cook doing his thing

There’s snow in the forecast for tomorrow. This might be my very last few true Autumn photo

IMG_4134

I haven’t run since the race and I’m probably going to refrain for a little longer. I’m just so darn sore and achy, especially my feet. I’m trying to stretch, foam roll and go to yoga as much as possible and trying to give my feet some rest. I know I’ll run at least one more time before the end of the year when I meet my friends in the city to do our annual holiday windows run. I blogged about last year’s Holiday Windows Run here , our 2015’s run here , our 2014 Holiday Windows run here and our 2013 run here

That’s all for now. I leave you with just a few more selfies with me and Duncan just in case you don’t check out my Instagram.

my support system

my support system

working our angles

working our angles

cheese

cheese

Have a great weekend!

What are you doing? Anything fun?

I was thinking today how normal it is for me now to NOT run like a crazy person. I used to run so much but since returning from injury this time around I’m basically down to one run a week. After the Fall Flat 5k two weekends ago I waited a week and ran 4 miles the day after Thanksgiving. It was an AWESOME run. Just felt so happy and appreciative. Great fall weather and a quiet day since most of my clients weren’t around.

A beautiful Fall day  run

A beautiful Fall day run…my Black Friday… #optoutside

My feet took a beating though over the next two days.

Saturday Mr. SOTSS and I took his two daughters and my niece into the city to check out some of the department store holiday windows and see the big old tree at Rockafeller Center (unlit since the tree lighting doesn’t happen until tomorrow). Of course it ended up being more about shopping, SnapChat and selfies as my niece is 17 and his girls are 12 and 14. #teenagers 🙂

Taking their SnapChat selfies

Taking their SnapChat selfies

They were SO excited because there was a special “pop-up” store of Kylie Cosmetics and they waited on a huge line to get in and buy some makeup. It was fun though.

waiting for the girls

just two kids skipping ;)

just two kids skipping 😉 And those french braids are one of my braid masterpieces of the weekend.

These ornaments are displayed every year for what feels like forever. I feel like they've repainted them to be extra sparkly this year.

These ornaments are displayed every year for what feels like forever. I feel like they’ve repainted them to be extra sparkly this year.

My niece is such a hoot. And a great role model for the girls too. I love to see them hang together. We walked a ton and then, the next day we went back into the city with Mr. SOTSS’ parents and the girls to see Wicked, the broadway musical.

3rd row!

3rd row!

She wanted a french braid to the side. Mission accomplished.....and I did it while standing on the train.

She wanted a french braid to the side. Mission accomplished…..and I did it while standing on the train. 

Needless to say after another full day of strolling the city my feet were achy yesterday. I did manage to go to yoga but today I tried to rest my dogs as much as possible today. The old me would have run today because I had the time and the weather was great. But I just don’t want to risk injury. I’ve got a 5k on Saturday and I’d like my feet to be happy so I can run happy.

I can’t even wrap my head around ever getting back to a training schedule. I’m just going to continue to listen to my body. I haven’t signed up for any races in 2018 yet. I’d like to gradually build back up to 3 runs a week but who knows when that will be.

November is almost over and so are my Thanksgiving leftovers.

Last  of the TG leftovers

Last of the TG leftovers

IMG_4024

I’m almost done designing my holiday card. I’ve even done some Christmas shopping. Hoping I can stay ahead of the game this year.

If I get stressed I'll just hit the bottle....not the wine...the whipped cream! LOL!

If I get stressed I’ll just hit the bottle….not the wine…the whipped cream! LOL!

Duncan's dropping the hint about what he wants for Christmas....he needs more tennis balls.

Duncan’s dropping the hint about what he wants for Christmas….he needs more tennis balls.

What’s new with you? Are you a fan of the holidays? Are you the type who gets more stressed or more spirited?

I’m a little of both. I do get stressed trying to get it all done but I LOVE when my tree is up and decorated and I’m wrapping gifts and listening to some holiday music.

For all my injured readers give me an update and let me know how you’re doing.