Queens 10k

Last week, New York was hot as balls. Plain and simple. It was sticky, hot, disgusting, gross, you name it, NY was feeling the heat!! But...on Sunday July 21st, the heat wave finally broke!! And thank God it did! I was dreading this race for about two weeks, simply because I had run it last year when it was 95 degrees and boiling! Also, because of the awful heat wave, I hadn't had any runs longer than 3 miles for about two weeks. I get really anxious, nervous, and sometimes panicky before a race if I feel like I'm not ready. I didn't feel like I wasn't ready but I felt defeated because I thought that I would most likely struggle through this run.

 

I was totally wrong! First the day turned out to be gorgeous! It was a nice 77 degrees, and there was even a breeze in the air, it was perfect! First two miles I started out really strong, and finished them in less than 20 mins!! Flushing Meadow Park is where the race took place, and the course is flat, so its great for some speed! But like always I knew I started out kind of fast, so I slowed down a bit but still kept a pretty decent pace throughout. My brother also ran this race with me, and it was pretty awesome to do the whole thing with him. He's more athletic than I am so I was slightly intimidated, but he turned out to be a great partner, and a great motivator, every time I felt like I was struggling, he pushed me to go a little harder.

 

Once we passed the first 5k, it got tough! I started to feel hot, but my brother was awesome for water breaks, he would tell me to keep running, he would grab us water, and catch up to me, it kept the tempo up for both of us. I was really proud to be running with him. And once we passed the 5 mile mark, I was ready to finish, and on my way to the finish, I saw The Awesome Mom! She's such an incredible woman, she runs, she rides, she works out to Insanity, all the while being a mother to three beautiful children, she amazes me, and is an inspiration to me and so many other people, I was so happy to see her again! And we have the same race schedule coming up too!

 

And then out of nowhere I felt like I was going to vomit. It happens, but I breathed through it, and kept moving. My brother said lets finish this strong, and that we did! We came in at 1:09:13! I couldn't have been more proud with that time! I beat my time from last year by more than 4 minutes! We didn't get medals this year but we got some pretty awesome tech tees!

And now I have a small minor break from my races. Next one is Aug 24th, and after that the last two races in the 5 Borough Series! But my next race qualifies me for the 2014 ING Marathon!! The excitement!!!

So til next time, keep the laces tight, and hit the pavement!!

MLB All Star 5k

So for anyone living under a rock, this week in Queens, NY, at Citifield, the home of the NY Mets, it was All Star week. To kick off baseball's midsummer classic, NYRR and the MLB hosted the All Star 5k, in Prospect Park. The best thing about this race was that 100% of the money paid for registration, was donated to the Sandy Relief foundation! 

This was also the second race that my boyfriend was doing with me, and his parents are in town visiting, so they came along for the race as well. My boyfriend and his dad are huge baseball fan's and a few retired players were to be in attendance, so they were excited. 

The day was humid, and overcast, but it wasn't really hot at all. Before the race started, a young 11 year old girl sang the National Anthem, and she was clearly nervous, and messed up a few times. And since runners are so awesome, we all helped her out and sang the song with her, it was a really beautiful moment, gave me goosebumps!

Once the race started, I was ready to finish! The humidity in NY in July, always sucks! And on Saturday it was not being friendly! I started out at my usual pace, around 10:30, and soon I was feeling exhausted. I needed to take a few breaks, grab some water to drink, and pour on my head!  But I finished in 33:34, with a decent pace of 10:50 per mile, I was proud of that for sure!

After the race, there were awards, and raffles to be given out. The awards were presented by the former players in attendance. Just so happened that John Franco, former NY Mets pitcher was there, and he is my father in law's favorite player! We were right near the stage and my boyfriend got his attention and asked for a picture, and he was nice enough to say yes! We were all so happy, and elated that he took a picture with us, it was such a awesome moment for all of us. Then Tony La Russa, former manager for the St. Louis Cardinals was there too, and he took a picture with pops, and signed our bibs! We felt like the cool kids in class! 

We didn't win any of the raffle prizes, but we were happy enough to have gotten pictures with Franco and La Russa. But then out of nowhere, John Franco comes back on stage, and leaned over to my father in law, and took the hat off his head and gave it to him! He told him, " Now your on my team, Team Franco, you'll always be my teammate!" OMG, we were so shocked, happy, excited, and everything in between! It was the best experience we've had at a race. And for my boyfriend it was his proudest moment with his dad. It was touching, and we felt so blessed and lucky to have been there. Thank you John Franco!

Camping Fun!

Ok, so I've been trying my hardest to keep up with the blog, but its the summer!! Ain't nobody got time for that!! But, I'm trying my best anyway! 

So I went camping on July 5th, in the Andes Mountains, with my family, and it was wonderful! To get away from the city, is so refreshing! The change in scenery, people, and no electronics at all, is something I think everyone should go for every once in awhile! 

It was my boyfriend's sons', first time camping, and he is an Xbox junkie, so this was huge for him, 3 days in the wild, no cell phones, no video games, no nothing! So to kill the time we played some playground games! We played volleyball, basketball, football, soccer, went swimming, and even played some board games! I was hoping to get a run in, because the view was amazing, but with all the other games we were playing, I know I got in plenty of activity!

The best thing was that for three days, we actually talked to each other, and really bonded! I mean usually the three of us are sitting around the television, or one of us is using a cell phone, or tablet, and my little guy is always on the Xbox! We had such a great time, and it sucked that we had to leave, but I can't wait to do it again! Roughing it for three days, totally worth it!! 

Try it, you'll be surprised at how much fun it can be! And it's also a lot of work, from setting up tents, chopping wood, cooking, and cleaning, and walking all over the place, my boyfriend and I both lost a pound! As soon as we got home though, we were so pooped! I needed another vacation from that trip, but it was back to work Monday unfortunately! Always too good to be true right?!?

It's Summer, It's Crazy

I've been MIA!! Well, its officially summertime, which means I'm super busy! In June alone, I had three races, a Confirmation, a bunch of BBQ's, a seminar at work, and a mini getaway with my love! So keeping up with this blog hasn't been priority but I'm still giving it a shot!

 

Went to Atlantic City with my boyfriend for a long weekend, and we had a wonderful time together. We got to relax on the beach, watch a movie, ate well, and just enjoyed each others company. It was perfect. I love him so much, and everyday I feel blessed that I've found someone who I can be best friends with, and have an amazing time with just his company. I can't wait to go back again!

 

 I've been really trying to stay focused on my fitness and healthy eating, and so far so, good! Down 5lbs for the month of June and hopefully it stays that way for July!

 

I did two races this past weekend! One was Run2Glow, which was so much fun! My entire family participated in the 5k, and we all had so much fun! I loved every minute of it! The music was great, everyone that was there, was there for a good time; there was great music, color bombs, bubbles, foam pits, and beer at the finish! It was great! That ended late on a Saturday night, and I had another race the next morning in Central Park! 

 

 



 So, on Sunday morning, I was extremely groggy, and sleepy! I went to bed so late after the glow run, and only had 3 hours of sleep! Epic fail! The weather was humid, hot, and sticky, the kind of conditions I hate the most! But this race was really special to me because it was the Achilles' Hope & Possibility 5 mile race, probably one of the most inspiring races to be part of this year.

The race includes able bodied runners, and disabled runners in the same field. There were amputee's, one from the Boston Marathon, others from the military, and even children. It was really amazing to see these people push themselves, I couldn't give up if they were giving it their all! Along the way I even saw a veteran who was dressed in his ACU's with his gas mask on his face, and a rucksack on his back! In addition to the amputee's, there were participants in wheelchairs, and hand cycles, the blind and the deaf, and individuals that are mentally challenged. At one point I was crying because, I felt like crap after the third mile, and I was ready to just throw in the towel, my body was exhausted, and the heat was over taking my mind, but everytime I ran past a disabled runner, I had to push myself further. I had no excuse not to finish!

I finished in 59:27, my worst time ever! But I finished, I beat the wall that was in my head, and I made it to the end. I did feel dizzy, and nauseous afterwards, I think I was beginning to feel dehydrated, so I took it easy afterwards. I know my time could've been better, but I was proud to finish, and be apart of this race, as hard as it was for me, I know there were other people on the course who probably had it worse.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, that's all for now! Next, I'll be enjoying the July 4th weekend, with my family! I'll be going camping, and then later this month participating in the MLB All-Star 5k, and the Queens 10k! It's a busy summer, and I love it!!

 

Have a safe, and wonderful 4th of July! Til next time, stay classy, not trashy!!

XoXo! :)