Happy Monday!

Summer is now officially here! I went running last night and timed it to catch the first official sunset of the season.

Summer's first sunset

Summer’s first sunset

I covered 8 miles and brought my anxiety level down a whole lot of notches!

8 miles

8 miles

It was really peaceful and for a hot summer day I lucked out as there was a great ocean breeze and the humidity had dropped.

IMG_6404

Sometimes birds will just chill out on these wood pilings. I always get a kick out of that.

Running through honeysuckle-ville! So sweet!

Running through honeysuckle-ville! So sweet!

happy!

My view for a few of the miles!

I'll never be able to move away from the ocean.

I’ll never be able to move away from the ocean.

Here's the hare....I guess I was the tortoise =)

Here’s the hare….I guess I was the tortoise =)

sweating out the small stuff

sweating out the small stuff

I had a highly emotional weekend. It started on Friday with a trip to my friend’s house. Her mom is in her last days as she has been battling cancer and it’s taking a toll. She’s lived a very long life but it doesn’t make it any easier to see someone deteriorate and suffer with the. I went for a run friday too.

Since it was Flashback Friday I wore my very first Ragnar Relay team shirt—Running on Butter!

Since it was Flashback Friday I wore my very first Ragnar Relay team shirt—Running on Butter!

I’ve been much slower but just happy to be able to run. I’m on track to start NYC Marathon training in about 3-4 weeks. Woo hoo!

Saturday I joined my friend and his family for the Walk to Defeat ALS. His mom was diagnosed last year as was a former coworker’s husband. It was a wonderfully successful walk and my friend’s mom even walked the whole thing but it brought so much emotion out. The cold hard facts about this disease are grave and hard to believe.

In the car waiting for everyone to arrive. An innocent smile before it all sank in.

In the car waiting for everyone to arrive. An innocent smile before it all sank in.

Supporting Mrs. C because she deserves all the support in the world.

Supporting Mrs. C because she deserves all the support in the world.

My former coworker’s husband found a unique way to raise money for ALS research. It’s called Pickals. Go check it out.

After the walk I took Duncan to his first ever doggie birthday “paw-tee”. Peanut was having a bash for her 6th birthday.

it's not a party without a cake!

it’s not a party without pup-cakes and paw-tee bags!

How cute is she in this birthday dress?

How cute is she in this birthday dress?

It was really cute. Duncan was a little freaked out though by all the noise and hoopla. We stayed for an hour or so and he even won a prize for doing tricks. Then we had to head out to my brother’s house for a BBQ.

Playing with his loot the next day

Playing with his loot the next day

There was also some bargain shopping and some cleaning that went down in between everything else. And lots of chill time with this loyal companion…

Eyeballing my post run bowl of cereal

Eyeballing my post run bowl of cereal

in the car on the way to Peanut's birthday paw-tee

in the car on the way to Peanut’s birthday paw-tee

Here’s to a good week! Hope you all have a good one.

Tell me about your weekend?

Hello!

It’s Tuesday already! I feel like I have no time these days which is ironic since my running mileage is practically nothing at the moment. 🙂 Speaking of running, here’s how my first few days of training (Take 2!) have been going:

I ran 1 mile on Saturday and then walked a mile back home. No ankle issues.

1 mile run

Sunday, Duncan and I went on a challenging 2+ hour hike with a bunch of other dogs and their owners. It was a great way to cross-train physically and clear my head mentally. My balance was a little shaky and I found myself using my hands to brace myself when the terrain got challenging and I was super careful where I placed my bad foot to ensure I didn’t twist any part of it. It started to get a little achy toward the end but the next morning it felt absolutely perfect.

at times we had narrow rocky paths to navigate through

at times we had narrow rocky paths to navigate through

That's Chester....the daredevil dog of the pack.

That’s Chester….the daredevil dog of the pack.

I love looking up and watching the sun filter through the leaves of the trees.

I love looking up and watching the sun filter through the leaves of the trees.

Me and the doodle hopping across the the rocks. I kept my feet dry! Unfortunately the doodle misjudged on one of his final steps and one paw landed in the water. He wasn't happy.

Me and the doodle hopping across the the rocks. I kept my feet dry! Unfortunately the doodle misjudged on one of his final steps and one paw landed in the water. He wasn’t happy.

Duncan in action

Duncan in action

hiking

we hiked near this cute little babbling brook

labradoodle

dirty doodle post hike

This morning I got up at 6 am and I ran another mile pain-free. Then I took the doodle for a ride in the Subaru to the park and we walked around for a bit. So far so good!

photo 5

another mile….pain free!

photo 1[2]

photo 4[1]

I might actually turn tomorrow’s 2 miles into 3…livin’ on the edge! With the hike on Sunday and the early morning walk today Duncan is exhausted! Good thing because I’m meeting my running peeps after work tonight to go over some details about our upcoming Ragnar Relay. I promise I’ll get a very useful post up about relay races and best way to approach them. I’ve done 3 already and have learned quite a lot!

sleepy doodle

sleepy doodle

I’m loving Forest(er) and have already put on 300+ miles in just 3 days. I went to my folks house over the weekend and snapped this shot from their porch.

photo 2[2]

Inconvenience VS Adversity

The other day as I thought about all the inconveniences that I was experiencing (small stuff) like nails in tires, car breakdowns and such, I reminded myself that I am lucky that is really the worst of it for me these days. Compared to some true adversity happening with close friends and family and in the world in general. I mentioned back in this post about my friend whose mom was just recently diagnosed with ALS. Well if you have seen the ice bucket challenge (#IceBucketChallenge #StrikeOutALS) going around on Facebook it is to raise awareness about the illness and encourage people to donate to the ALS Association. I was challenged by my sister-in-law and accepted! Here’s my little video… (I did donate but ice bucket part is what makes this campaign so viral and attention grabbing so I agreed to do both. apologies ahead of time about the video….it was unrehearsed and i didnt’ have time to make it too polished).

If you feel compelled to participate please share a link to your video in the comments. I’d love to see others continue on this campaign and the awareness that it’s bringing to a dreadful disease. And please donate if you can. ALSA.org

So how’s your week going? Is there a specific charity that you are passionate about?

I was just going over my flight itinerary with my sister in law so she could make sure she was available to get me to and from the airport and watch the doodlebug while I’m in San Francisco for marathon weekend and while I had my calendar out I counted the days….36 left!

Color_Logo_TSFM

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’ll be running either a half marathon or a full having practically no training. (I’ll basically have 3 weeks of training and 1 week of taper!) Here’s the plan I pulled out of my ass head that will start on 7/1 (plus i’ll be biking for the rest of June and “running” the Queens 10k tomorrow):

Week 1:     Tues – 3 miles easy • Thursday-5 miles tempo • Saturday-8 miles easy • Sunday – bike
Week 2:     Tues – 4 miles easy • Thursday – 6 miles tempo • Saturday 10 miles easy • Sunday -bike
Week 3:     Tues – 3 miles easy • Thursday 7 miles tempo • Saturday 12 miles easy • Sunday – bike
Week 4:     Tues – 3 miles easy • Thursday 3 miles easy • Friday – shakeout run • Sunday –  MARATHON!

This should be plenty to get me through an easy paced half…..and if i’m crazy enough to stick with the full I’ll let you know how that goes. =)

Yesterday I attended the International Franchise Expo here in New York City at the Javits Center (where the NYC Marathon expo is held) The ad agency I work for does their print advertising and on-site materials, so our team decided to take a field trip there and check it out.

getting ready to check it out

getting ready to check it out

I'm holding the show directory for which I designed the cover. Yeah I'm a total nerd!

I’m holding the show directory—I designed the cover. Yeah I’m a total nerd!

I often dream about just opening a Dunkin Donuts somewhere. There were hundreds of franchises exhibiting but we were on a mission to check out all the food franchise exhibitors first! We started with llaollao the BEST frozen yogurt I’ve ever had.

seriously delicious

seriously delicious

I approve!

I approve!

the mango sauce!

I had the mango sauce and my life is changed forever!

llaollao

llaollao — the fastest growing european franchise in the fro yo market

Then we checked out House of Cupcakes. The couple that started this franchise were the season 2 winners of the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars.

cupcake1

sampled the merchandise

sampled the merchandise

There were beverage franchises too…

sodapop1 sodapop2This definitely gave me food for thought. (ha! get it?!) Do I want to be my own boss? Do I want to buy a franchise? Hmmmm!

my wonderful coworkers!

my wonderful coworkers!

This morning Duncan and I went down to participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS. The team I joined to help support is a family very dear to me.

#defeatALS #findacure

#defeatALS #findacure

The team raised a total of $1,700, more than double their goal. It’s quite the reality-check when your friend tells you his mom was just diagnosed with ALS. It makes me really think twice about crying a river over some tendonitis. Life is so unpredictable and our days are not guaranteed. Someone once told me (or maybe I read it somewhere) that we are all terminal…..we are all going to die some day but we don’t know when. That’s why it’s so important to make the most of each day we have. I take these moments to remind myself of that.

After the walk I headed straight to my brother’s house for a family get together to celebrate a bunch of stuff. The only important thing you need to know is that I had 2 of these cupcakes made by a friend of my sister-in-laws

Irish Car Bombs!

Irish Car Bombs!

In addition to some booze in the batter there was a hidden nugget of chocolate ganáche in the center….to die for!

Well it’s getting late and i’ve got my alarm set for half past the cows ass (or 4:30am) since I’m running that 10K in Queens tomorrow. There will be some pickup of running peeps in Brooklyn at 6:30am and then we’ll head to the start. Race starts at 8am. But again, I’m just so excited to run with my peeps and allow my legs to enjoy a few more “preview” running miles!

Hope you’re having a super Saturday night (or Sunday if you’re in a different hemisphere =)