The Holiday Season

This was a busy blogging holiday season for me and the one thing I didn’t spend much time talking about was what made it such a great break.

You can't go wrong with Nutella hot chocolate

You can’t go wrong with Nutella hot chocolate

We booked a last-minute trip to Atlanta to visit Josh’s brother and to see his parents who were also coming into town. We arrived early morning on Christmas Eve and left the day after Christmas. While it was a very short trip, we enjoyed spending time with the family, celebrating a belated Chanukah with everyone, running in Piedmont Park, and eating a lot of great food.

Piedmont Park on Christmas morning

Piedmont Park on Christmas morning

The next day after Atlanta, we had tickets to go see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with my family. We were that group of adults without young children at the 9:00AM show! It was intentional, of course, to be able to see my friend, Amanda perform (she was incredible as always). After the show, Amanda brought us backstage and we saw the sets, costumes, changing rooms, and the highlight, the camels. I decided that it is no longer possible to see shows that you don’t know people in; I’m spoiled thanks to Amanda.

With Amanda and the camels

With Amanda and the camels

Later that day, we walked around a less hectic Rockefeller Center area and ate brunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Fig & Olive. I am so glad to have the chance to introduce my family to such a great dining experience and after 31 years, I think I might finally have succeeded at choosing a restaurant my mom enjoys. Even though it was busier after brunch, we did a little shopping. No trip to NYC with mom is complete without some new clothes! This was one of favorite purchases, now I just need to wear it somewhere fun and I am also so excited about my Christmas present from my parents – a new Links of London charm bracelet.

The Tree

The Tree

The next day, we made waffles for our good friends and their daughter at our apartment. It is such blast having little ones in the apartment and seeing how they react to different things each time they are here. Months ago, she was fascinated by my foam roller and now, she’s moved on to Piglet (definitely a girl who knows the way to my heart).

The bracelet looks better next to the Fuelband, huh?!?!

The bracelet looks better next to the Fuelband, huh?!?!

The rest of next week was spent relaxing and trying new things. Josh was battling a cold, so my week off wasn’t as lonely as he was home working and sick for most of the week. I went to my first Mile High Run Club class and ran my first speed workout with the Dashing Whippets Running Team. We spent New Year’s Eve making dinner and hanging out on the couch. I’m surprised we made it to midnight, though I did take a nap during the day. Friday was my first full day back at work, it felt like it was a Monday but I’m so glad it wasn’t. I’m not ready for a full week yet.

Silly family picture

Silly family picture

And finally yesterday, we hosted my dad’s side of the family for a get together at our place. We made appetizers, went out to dinner, and had dessert back here. It a great way to bring in the new year!

Now, I am prepping myself for the first full week back to work.

How did you spend your holidays?

Announcing – 2015 London Marathon!

I’ve hinted at a spring marathon for weeks, maybe almost months. Ever since the NYC Marathon was over, I knew I wanted to run a spring race and after much back and forth, I decided to run the London Marathon on Sunday, April 26, 2015! That’s a big marathon day for many people, with friends running Big Sur and New Jersey, I’m excited to run the race and then track everyone from overseas.

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IMG_1691I toyed with the idea of running a local race — even New Jersey again, or perhaps Pittsburgh, but at the end, I was looking for a race that was not only exciting but one that I couldn’t just go do in a drop of hat. So London won out and it checks off another marathon from my goal of running all the World Majors! I loved London when we visited last December and even went on a jogging tour through the city’s parks. This time I am excited to see more of the city and spend more time sightseeing.

IMG_0181I will running the London Marathon with the Age UK team. I am excited to represent Age UK because provides services and support at a national and local level to inspire, enable and support older people. It’s an organization that helps everyone in later life from money advice, health and care, to home support, to befriending services, and community outreach. They are truly an organization that does it all!

As for other races in the upcoming year, apparently, 2015 is the year of marathons, after I decided to commit to London, I found out that I had entry to two (technically three but I knew about that one already) other marathons for next year:

Dusseldorf Marathon – I found out I got in by raffle that I entered randomly at the NYC Marathon expo. This marathon is on April 26, 2015; the same day as London so unfortunately I will not be running this race.

Berlin Marathon – another World Major that I would love to do on September 27, 2015. I entered the lottery for Berlin a couple of days before the NYC Marathon for fun and found out a couple of weeks ago that I was selected. I have a couple of friends who are interested in also running Berlin, so maybe I will defer to 2016 (to be decided later on), plus it’s probably not feasible to travel to Europe twice in a six month span.

NYC Marathon – I have guaranteed entry to the 2015 race on November 1st by completing my 9+1 this year. I look forward to another fun day in the boroughs of NYC, but this time hopefully it will be less windy!

Heather and I frozen after last year's Fred Lebow Manhattan Half!

Heather and I frozen after last year’s Fred Lebow Manhattan Half!

I signed up for a handful of shorter distance races coming up in January – the Joe Kleinerman 10K and Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon – both in Central Park. After our brutal winter last year, I’m really hoping for a more mild one so I fit in some good outdoor training.

For the past month, I allowed myself some time to recover and relax from a rigorous training schedule but I am antsy though to get back in a routine and focusing after the holidays. I look forward to sharing my training progress and race details in the upcoming months!

In the meantime, have a wonderful last day of Chanukah and a very Merry Christmas! I hope Santa brings a lot of happy miles for you all!

What races are you signed up for in 2015?

What are your 2015 running goals?

P.S. If you’re interested in donating to Age UK, please visit my page. Any amount is greatly appreciated!