So I accidentally read the wrong week in my plan — aka the week before #peaktraining when I get to “cut back” on mileage. So I guess I’ll be going a littttle longer this week. Quick recap:

Monday: Yoga
Tuesday: 4 miles (8:00), strides
Wednesday: 4 miles (8:00), strength training
Thursday: 8 miles (7:45), whiskey
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 20 miles (8:15)
Sunday: 5 miles, strides

Overall I felt good this week. The long run wasn’t so great, and I’m anxious to start feeling better during these runs. My legs usually feel pretty good, but the rest of my body (breathing, stomach, back) always decide to bother me at various points. I also wanted the pace to be faster, but it was windy as f*ck and I took a really hilly route (four bridges plus CP).

In COOLER news, I had a wonderful weekend filled with a shabbat dinner, dinner and wine party with best friends, a sleepover, gluten-free beer making, trip to barnes and noble and Petco (welcome to my life), and lots of music listening + book reading + naps. So THAT’s a reason to smile.

11 weeks into gearing up for Eugene, and I’ve learned 11 things about training for a marathon.

That’s learning one new thing a week! #Education.

Long runs are what make the marathon
I had no idea most marathon plans call for a long run EVERY weekend. (No wonder “the wall” came on full-force during Wineglass.) And now that I’m running long every weekend, I can feel myself more and more comfortable with endurance training (one would hope…) and have come up with lots of fun mental games to make 20-mile runs “fly by.” (The “it’s just four 5-mile runs!” is my favorite.) That said, long runs are also a huge mental and physical battle. I am always so zonked afterwards that the rest of the weekend I feel like a super sore zombie who can barely keep her eyes open. Let’s hope these runs pay off.

You’ll seriously be in the best shape of your life
After all these crazy miles and strength routines and tempo workouts, one of the huge payoffs (aside from the race, of course) is feeling like you’re in great, strong shape. And I definitely think I am.

You can’t lose sight that what you’re doing is tough
I think it can be easy to forget that training for a marathon is fucking hard. And sometimes when you’re surrounding by others who are doing the same thing, it can undervalue your own accomplishments. Yeah… seventeen of your other friends also went on an 18-mile training run today, but that doesn’t mean yours wasn’t special.

It’s an incredible time commitment
Can I just borrow another 20 hours per day to fit all this in? Training isn’t just one daily run — it’s stretching, warming up and cooling down, foam rolling, doing your laundry WAY more often, finding the nearest running store that carries Gu, finding the nearest bagel store after a long run…

You will be sore…all the time
Even with all the “up-keep,” I still feel legitimately sore all the time. Sorry legs, I know I am being unkind.

It’s fun!
I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t absolutely love running. And now I get to run all the time! It’s a blessing: I get to do what I love…everyday. 

Training through the winter can suck it
This winter can go to hell. Seriously, I used to love winter and now I’ve realized how draining running in the cold weather has been. 

Your never-ending appetite can be stressful
I AM HUNGRY ALL THE TIME. It sucks when you eat a large meal and then two hours later you’re starving again,  and it is stressful when you’re not sure if you’re eating enough or eating too much. Also…I don’t have enough money to feed my marathon hunger. 

You’re never alone
The running community is so incredible, and even though I’m doing most of my training by myself, I never feel alone. Through twitter, emails, real life (what’s that!) and more, I have people I can talk to for advice, support, and encouragement 24/7 and then some.

You’ll have to make sacrifices
At the beginning, I sacrificed sleep. Then I sacrificed my social life. And now to be honest, I think I’ve sacrificed a bit of my training. But the big secret is you can’t do it all, and I simply can’t get enough sleep, see my friends, put all my energy into my job, and train for a marathon. Something’s gotta give a little.

You’ll get faster
I think I can say with (cautious) confidence that I will PR at Eugene. I ran my first marathon in 3:38, which is 8:18 pace. And crazily enough, that (race) pace now sounds slow. I can see the difference being more strict about my training has made. I’m seeing “7” more often on my garmin than “8.” Double digits don’t scare me. Gu tastes like FROSTING. I am ready. Can Eugene be next weekend?

I’m realizing most of these posts reflect the one huge roller coaster marathon training is. I’ve had so many great days, and so many anything-but days, and at this point I just want to get to Eugene and race. I think the itch finally hit me after watching SO many people have amazing races this weekend — PRs, BQ’s, and overall kickass times were everywhere. Pretty darn inspiring.

Quick rundown,

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 5 miles (7:40/mile), lift — felt great

Wednesday: 6 miles (7:45/mile) — felt meh

Thursday: 3 miles (8:00/mile), lift — felt fine, and did a 45 min lifting sesh with some coworkers and the Nike Training app. Discovered tuck jumps are SO FUN.

Friday: 20 miles  (8:30/mile) — decided to do my long run on Friday night to “have energy” for the rest of the weekend. I ran the first 8 miles with Corey, and took her through the wind tunnel that is the West Side Highway (SORRY!) It was great seeing her and catching up, though (: Theeen my body rejected the whole “running for a long time thing” come mile 16 and it was a painful finish to 20. In hindsight, I probably should have stopped, since I definitely was feeling something more than fatigue. I’m also not used to running long in the evening, and my body was so achey at night I couldn’t fall asleep till an embarrassingly late hour. Oy. Long run not FTW this week.

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: 5 miles (8:00/mile) — ran early in the AM with my bFF Danielle, though I felt half asleep and kind of crappy. These runs are better with friends, at least (: (:

In other (way more exciting?) news, I’m fostering a KITTEN that Danielle rescued. Her name is Nora. I haven’t decided if I’m going to adopt her (cats live forever, and I like to travel a lot and can barely take care of my own living, breathing, self) but I’m already falling in love with her.

Also, I’m trying to become a real person before I turn 25, and have a lengthy to-do of shit I need to get done before then. One is getting rid of my comforter I’ve had since circa forever ago and using a gift certificate I have to Anthropologie to get one of their suuuuuuper soft quilts. I’ve narrowed it down to three, and can’t decide because a)  can’t make decisions b) don’t have a good decorative eye and c) don’t know how to “match” things. My room is white, I have some moss green “curtains,” and there’s a brown dresser somewhere in there. Now please, help me decide. Thanks yous!

I came up with an analogy the other day. I compared my life to my inbox.

When my inbox gets super full, I tend to get overwhelmed. It’s not a bad thing perse, because lots of work usually means lots of great things are happening. But regardless, the goal is to reach inbox zero — to work through every email and decide what needs to be responded to, archived, deleted, figured out right away, able to be put on hold, or known that you need someone else’s input before you can respond.

Life, in many ways, is one freakin’ overloaded email inbox. So many things are constantly happening, and every day dozens of new things can pop in. And hey! You can even add labels. There’s family, friends, relationships, health, personal, career, finances, life plans, and more a happenin in your head, in your day-to day, in your life.

But unfortunately, I don’t think people (people = probably me) tend to their life inbox like they do their email inbox. We don’t sit down and work through every “email” and figure out what needs to be done. (Respond? Trash it? Know you need someone’s help to answer?) Instead, things are pushed to the side with the assumption that leaving it there will solve a problem, resolve an issue, or miraculously be answered on its own.

My life inbox has had “get a real bed” in it since August 2012. There’s also “schedule doctors appointments,” “clean the tub,” and “get a sports massage.” There’s a whole lot more, too, and I’m learning the only way to de-clutter what’s going on in your life is to tackle it head on.

Open up the email. Read it. And do something about it.

The last time I wrote a post like this was in October — right when summer was finally over, autumn was coming into full force, and I apparently was in love with 108 things. So I thought it would a fun thing to do again. To remember all the other things I love. 108 more of them, in fact.

1. When I snag a seat on the subway during my morning commute
2. The fact that my co-workers are also some of my closest friends
3. How I’m always surprised how fast the line goes in Starbucks
4. Fostering/maybe adopting a new kitten, Nora, who is now my bff4e
5. When all the subways are actually running on the weekend
6. “Sleeping in” and saving runs for the evening
7. Podcasts
8. Talking half naps while listening to podcasts on the weekends
9. Drinking selzer from a can with a straw
10. “Am I Giving Enough?” – Local Natives
11. Hot showers after long runs
12. Intense movie trailers
13. The new Greatist redesign
14. “We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”
15. The fact Twitter told me who the new pope was before the New York Times did
16. Candles…so many…candles
17. Gogobot
18. Hip openers and hamstring stretches
19.The reservoir loop in Central Park…a perfect distance for tempo workouts
20. Marathon training and seeing my progress
21. The Brooklyn Brewery


22. Finally becoming warm enough to break out the TOMs shoes
23. The satisfaction of making the bed (happens 1-2times a week)
24. Salted almonds and roasted pistachios
25. Catching up with old friends on the phone for over an hour
26. The first few steps of a run that let you know it’s gonna be a good one
27. Having a kitten sleep next and/or on top of you
28. The Burning House
29. Running Ragnar Adirondacks in the fall with Nuun!
30. When your phone obnoxiously vibrates cause someone “liked” your Vine post from a month ago
31. Weekend brunch in Brooklyn
32. Noticing that someone’s lost on the subway and being able to help them out
33. Gmail colored labels…my inbox is a rainbow
34. When the shower water randomly turns ice cold..BUT starts getting warm again
35. Chord resolutions
36. The snake iPhone app
37. That dreadful but also wonderful feeling in your legs when you finally finish a 15+ mile run
38. Checking the NYTimes on the weekend and scanning the new OpEds and Magazine stories
39. Knowing which of your friends are always invisible on gchat and being able to chat em anyways
40. Ginger
41. Learning something new everyday
42. Collecting postcards
43. Listening to John Legend every morning at work
44. Having exact change
45. Becoming way more comfortable spending time alone
46. When the airplane’s wheels touch down #miracle
47. Waking up after a long night of drinking and feeling miraculously fine
48. Long car rides driving with the windows down, radio blasting, cliches, etc
49. Walking home when it’s still light out!
50. Google reader (JUST KIDDING)
51. Getting a handful of trail mix that has one of everything
52. Progress
53. Crunch/salted peanut butter. Whoever invented it is a genius 
54. Accepting that SEO jokes are actually pretty funny
55. Exposed brick
56. Sliced bananas
57. The feeling of accomplishment after cleaning the apartment
58. Friendly people in bodegas
59. Waking up every morning to write down a few things I love
60. The people who lived in this apartment before us and never canceled their New York subscription
61. Cumin
62. Crossword puzzles
63. Horoscopes
64. Lifting and feeling a good soreness the next day
65. Unexpected harmonies in songs
66. Spotify
67. Sugar snap peas and sweet cherry tomatoes
68. Seeing sub 7 on my Garmin (very infrequently)
69. Running along the East River past tourists, fisherman, and people doing Tai Chi
70. Bracelets from Costa Rica
71. Strong Costa Rican coffee
72. Finding a book you cannot, for the life of you, put down
73. Instagram/things on my wall that are Meta


74. Weekend coffee shop writing
75. Free Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum
76. Ghanaian Highlife
77. The Nat Geo photo of the day
78. Getting in crazy conversations with cab drivers and overtipping them
79. Discovering new bars and new types of people in new places in New York City
80. Come On! Feel The Illinois!
81. Coconut ereythang
82. Looking at the random notes I write down in my iPhone
83. Rummaging through old moleskins
84. The gondola you can see from the Queensborough Bridge
85. Weekday catchup beers with friends
86. The hours of 9-11 am on Saturdays when I usually stay in bed with coffee, breakfast, and the World Wide Web
87. Spring jackets
88. Syncopation
89. Dark chocolate chips
90. Those blue egg-shaped chapsticks you can get at Duane Reade
91. The B express train that goes from 125th to 59th street (talk about efficiency).
92. Finally figuring out my “10-year plan.” Oh My.
93. Nearing BBQ season
94. Almost being 25
95. Keeping the bedroom window cracked year round and staying warm under multiple covers
96. Getting the pillows stacked just right when reading in bed
97. Buying new books from Barnes and Noble
98. Papaya for (a beach) breakfast

99. Locking a balance pose in yoga and really being able to open up
100. The view of Manhattan and Brooklyn from the Greenpoint ferry at sunset
101. Finding the perfect pen
102. Using a new toothbrush for the first time
103. “Your love will be safe with me”
104. Irish Soda Bread? Cause tis’ the season
105. The mint chocolate Gu flavor. Seriously. Frosting
106. People who use pay phones #champs
107. Honeydew flavored things
108. Gratitude

Read. I came across this LENS story on Saturday. It’s simply, heartwarming, and heartbreaking all at once. I definitely recommend giving it a quick read. #CATS

Listen to.  I definitely go through phases where I become slightly obsessed with things for a short while. Once, it was seltzer. Then the Hunger Games. Then baking macaroons. And now it’s podcasts. I’ve always been a fan of This American Life (likeee most people) and listened to this show while foam rolling/ stretched/half-napping after my long run. I’m definitely on the “skeptical” side of coincidences, as is the host on this show, but it nonetheless was a fun and super interesting podcast to listen to.

Download. I’ve always enjoyed listening to Local Natives, but didn’t really pay much attention to the buzz when their new album, Hummingbird, was released. I finally started using Spotify (I know…) and have listend to the album over..and over. It’s stunning. The track “Columbia” is probably the best on the album, and is Pitchfork describes, is “warm and emotionally cathartic.” 

Think about. I’ve been keeping up with the Kenyan elections, especially since one of my friends was there watching everything unfold. Uhuru Kenyatta has won, and has also been accused by the ICC for his part in the horrific death squads that took place in the 2008 election. As The New York Times wrote, “Mr. Kenyatta’s trial is set for July, which means that Kenya … could soon have a president commuting back and forth from The Hague, simultaneously trying to run a country and keep himself out of jail.” Immediately, this reminds me how lucky we have it in the United States. Kenyatta makes even Paul Ryan seem fantastic.

Cook. The other week, I decided to make some soup: red lentil coconut curry soup, in fact. You can find the recipe on my wonderful friend Kate’s blog. It’s SUPER easy, delicious, and feeds families for days. (Or me, for weeks.) 

Try. I’ve been starting to run without music again. I noticed I couldn’t hear my footstrike or my breathing, and I also wasn’t as focused on form. I’m finding that unplugging really helps me run better and be able to gauge how hard I’m working. Plus, as spring finally comes back I can look at the beeeautiful surroundings without T.I. ruining the moment.

FREE EARS

Look at. I gawk at Cabin Porn everyday. And you should too. It increases happiness. 

via

Nothing tooooo terribly exciting to note. It was an up and down/kind of emotional week for me, as I realize how much training affects so many other areas of life: mood, sleep quality, energy levels, appetite, social life, concentration, laundry frequency…

Anyways.

Monday: Stretch/ foam roll, light yoga at home
I wanted to go to my usual Monday night yoga class, but my hip was in so much pain I wanted to nurse it at home. I think I need a hip replacement — just another sign I’m legit an old woman.

Tuesday: 5 mile tempo (7:32 pace)
This run was wonderful. I went down the west side highway just around sunset, and decided to pick up the pace and see how long I could hold it. I closed the last mile in 6:55, but felt like I could’ve kept going, which is always a good sign.

Wednesday: Rest
Felt totally out of it and had no motivation to workout. Freaked out about this for a little while but then got over it.

Thursday: Treadmill interval workout, lift
Still felt a little off, but got to the gym and fell back into a rhythm once I started running. Did a simple but tough treadmill workout: sprint on an incline for 1 minute, then run at 7.5mph for 2 minutes. Repeat for 20 or so minutes, with a 5 min warm up and cool down. Then I lifted lots of heavy things and felt great. Then I did core work, and as usual, hated life. 

Friday: 5 miles (8:00 pace)
Woke up early to run before work, and then was greeted with SNOW. WHAT. I ended up running on the treadmill after work and felt fine. But more importantly, I went out to Brooklyn Brewery that night for Danielle’s 25th birthday (!!!!) and watched her house some beers. #LOVEYOU

Saturday: 18 miles (8:03 pace)
This was my redemption run. I went into it super excited, mainly because it was so beautiful out, and the positive energy pushed me throughout. I ran along the east and west side highway and dodged all the tourists/creepy people dressed up as the Statue of Liberty (HORRIFYING). Minus the scary people dressed up as statues, I literally found myself smiling the whole time. My pace hovered just below 8 mins per mile, minus the two times I had to run over the Williamsburg bridge and nearly fell apart. Oh well. Miles 15-18 were pretty tough, but I still felt strong and close the last mile in 7:11. I think I’m doing something right.

Sunday: 3 miles recovery (8:30 pace)
Running 3 miles at an easy pace was mentally and physically way more challenging than the 18 miles the day before. (It’s funny how that happens.) Granted, I got about three hours of sleep the night prior, thanks to going to a bar called “No Fun.” Still unsure about this marketing strategy…
 

As some/most/all of ya know, I work at Greatist, and we just launched a beautiful new site. Everyone on the team has worked incredibly hard to make this happen, and it’s safe to say we’re all thrilled with how it came out and even more excited for what’s to come!

A big part of the new site, and especially its social component, is to bring greatists together. A phrase we use a lot is that people don’t have to be the greatest and make healthy choices all the time, but simply be a greatist and make them some of the time. 

Here’s a heart-warming video that sums it all up:

I’ve been thinking how this idea of being a greatist transfers over to marathon training. While I don’t consider myself a perfectionist (aka “the greatest”), I do get down on myself when I don’t accomplish things I “should.” I see “run x-miles” on the calendar and I have to do it — no questions asked. Even if I’m tired. Or it’s seven degrees out. Or it’s snowing. (Also…why is it snowing?!)

When I did the math, these past seven weeks of training (skipped one because of Costa Riiiica) have been near perfect. I’m only really resting one day a week, so that’s 42 days of working out. 42 days of long runs, and tempo runs, and warm ups, and lifting sessions, and planks on my apartment floor which remind me that  a) I hate core work and b) I need to vacuum..again. And seven weeks in a row of all that? For me, that’s a lot.

Yet instead of being proud of what I’ve done so far, I’ve focused on the slip-ups.  I don’t celebrate the fact that I’ve run a personal best in the half-marathon in a training run or that I’m running “comfortable” miles in paces way faster than I have before. I’m not proud that I’ve gone out every weekend for a long run, or have woken up way earlier than normal to get a strength training session in before work. Instead, I focus on the workout I missed, or the miles I’ve slowed down on, or the speed workouts I’ve had to cut short.

When the time came for me to head to the gym today, I was exhausted, and knew that taking an hour or so break would only mean feeling more stressed with my workload. And that’s when I re-watched the video above and remembered “being a greatist” applies to my running too. As I train for Eugene, I don’t have to be the greatest at it. I just need to be a greatist… and try to do my best. Even if that means taking some impromptu rest. 

Because being a greatist is all about balance. It’s about pushing yourself, and then getting rest. It’s about working incredibly hard but knowing when you need to cut yourself some slack. It’s chasing after your dreams and recognizing all the hard work you’ve put in, regardless of the outcome.

And even when you’re knee-deep (neck-deep?) in a company that promotes making healthier choices one small step at a time, we all still struggle to find a correct balance that leads to our healthiest and happiest life.  But that doesn’t mean we give up. And having that motivation and support right there in the office is so special. It wasn’t until a co-worker told me I was better off taking a rest day did I get the reassurance I needed. Or until another one handed me a ziplock of oreos to take home that I knew I would enjoy them. OR until a mariachi band came to our office that I remembered lightening up and having fun is just as important as being serious and driven.

Plus…it’s one skipped workout. Life, as I’m learning, is going on. And quite well at that.

As you may or may not know, I have a thing with quotes. I like coming across them and collecting them and referring back to them on the regular, and then sharing them from time to time. So heeeere we go again.

“A person susceptible to ‘wanderlust’ is not so much addicted to movement as committed to transformation.” — Pico Iyer

“Wanderlust” is legit one of my favorite words, and yet I like to think my desire to travel isn’t purely to move around, but to learn more about myself and the world, and to become a better person because of it.

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” — Dorothy Parker

I am a very curious person, which means I catch myself reading about random crap till way too late at night, or watching vimeos, or writing, or trying to learn a) a life story or b) how to code or c) the meaning of life. And unfortunately, according to Dorothy, there’s no way to turn this off.

“If you don’t have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain’t getting them.” — Chris McDougall

One of the biggest reasons I love running so much is the “me-time.” My mind is constantly fluttering with thoughts, but usually never about myself or my wellbeing. That’s what long runs are for… (:

“If you don’t like Louis Armstrong, you don’t know how to love.” — Mahalia Jackson 

Someone had to say it, right?

“You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.” — David Foster Wallace 

Guess what? That awkward thing you said last week or that weird green dress you wore or that one slip up that happened a few months ago — no one remembers. And the way you look, act, feel, and present yourself on the regs is probably noticed by others, but isn’t dissected to the extent you may imagine.

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” — Bill Bryson

Too true. A typical morning in Brooklyn is far less exciting than a typical morning in Costa Rica, although they literally are exactly the same: wake up, drink coffee, read or write, then get on with the day. But there’s something about being in a foreign place — it makes every mundane movement becomes way more cool simply because your surroundings are completely different.

“Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. 
Try to be better than yourself.” — William Faulkner

You tell em, Will! But seriously…just work on improving yourself based on your standards and your life. Quit comparing. 

“I definitely want to show how beautiful the marathon can be. I am the opponent of all those who find the marathon bad: the psychologists, the physiologists, the doubters. I make the marathon beautiful for myself and for others. That’s why I’m here.” — Uta Pippig

Trying to channel Uta here as I train for Eugene. It’s true: the 26.2 mile distance is beautiful, and everything it takes to get there is equally as beautiful. I think I can, I think I can..

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” — Albert Einstein

I feel like this is a cooler way of saying “think outside the box!” I like it.

“When hungry, eat your rice; when tired, close your eyes. Fools may laugh at me, but wise men will know what I mean.” — Lin-Chin

Sometimes when we’re feeling a certain way, we don’t take the easy way out. Or use common sense. Or give ourselves a break. But the most obvious answer to a problem is usually the best one. 

((Quotes part I, Quotes part II))

Well shit, we’re halfway there. I’d by lying if I said these first eight weeks have flown by — training through the winter has been an iiinteresting, challenging experience. And while I’m grateful for every step (well, maybe 75% of them) I give MAD props to people who do this on the regular. Training is humbling. And exhausting.

That said, I’m excited for the second half of this training cycling, especially as it gets lighter and warmer out, and as I feel myself get faster and more comfortable with longer distances. Eiiiiight more weeks till race time !

Monday: Yoga
60 minutes of hot yoga bliss. This was more of a “mental cleanse” than anything else. But I seriously love it.

Tuesday: 5 miles (progressive)
I was eager to get some quicker miles in, so did a progressive run around the town. Splits were something like 8:30, 8:15, 7:47, 7:32, 7:24. It felt good. 

Wednesday: 2 miles, 45 min lift
I woke up to run six miles and it was pouring. I was perusing Twitter and came across a quote that said “exercise shouldn’t be a chore,”  and well, heading out in my rain gear in the 30something degree weather seemed less fun than cleaning the bathroom. So I hopped on the subway instead and went to the gym. I didn’t really feel like running for long on the treadmill either, so I did two easy miles and then lifted. #FREEWILL

Thursday: 8 miles (tempo-ish)
These were a much needed “clear your mind of everything and just go” miles. This past week at work was a bit stressful and so I planned a nice mid-afternoon run up to Central Park to give myself a mental break. I barely looked at my watch as I ran up the westside highway to central park. I knew I was running fast, but I got into a nice rhythm where I was pushing myself but was ok with the discomfort. I clocked in eight miles in a little over an hour, and saw my pace hovered right around 7:42. I was veeery pleased.

Friday: 5 miles
These were slow and tiresome and I was half asleep and I almost ran over an old polish man in Greenpoint.

Saturday: Yoga
I had three miles on the calendar but opted for yoga instead. When I looked up a class schedule in the morning I saw the teacher was British, so nothing sounded better than someone with a really soothing accent telling me to “open your heart!”. Which is exactly what happened.

Sunday: 18 miles
Word to the wise: Running on lack of sleep and not-lack of alcohol the night before makes for a pretty uncomfortable morning long run. This run was definitely a bit painful, but I had Jocelyn by my side for much of the way to take my mind off the fact I wanted to crawl up into a ball on the side of the road (drama). I’m not sure the exact distance because we ditched the data once plummeted with a nasty headwind on the East River, buuut I think it was around 18 miles.

And that’s it. Too tired to type more. Seriously..how do people run marathons all the time and remain a functioning human being? Spill your secrets.