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! 

Way too much eating…

Oh man, am I late with this post!?!? Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving weekend, and then this week came and went so fast and I’m still paying for it. I’ve battled a cold since Monday, which I guess is a sign that I had a great holiday weekend.

There is no better way to recap than through a series of pictures, mostly focused on food! 🙂

NJ running gals reunited!

NJ running gals reunited!

It was so nice catching up with Heather (who moved way too far away) from us NJ running gals. We definitely didn’t have enough time together even though we were at the restaurant until they closed and were cleaning up for the day! Fortunately, we were able to get them to take a picture of us before we left.

Our feast for just the five of us!

Our feast for just the five of us!

I prepared well this year. I spent almost a full day prepping and making sides for Thanksgiving. I put it to a vote with my family and the dishes that won were roasted brussel sprouts, roasted veggies, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and apple dumpling cake. My mom also cooked 1.5 Thanksgiving dinners by herself, so we had way too much food for 5 people! I was so anti supporting Thanksgiving Day, early Black Friday shopping but we were all too full and needed somewhere to walk around that was warm. Unfortunately, the mall won out and we were able to see some of the crazy shopping frenzy.

P.S. Coco says hi!

P.S. Coco says hi!

yummy Indian dessert

yummy Indian dessert

Next up was a wedding for Josh’s good friend from growing up that started Friday night into early Sunday morning. Needless to say, I spent more time eating than I did taking pictures of the food. Let me assure you that there were 4 different buffets of Indian food in addition to the other meals we ate those days. By Sunday morning, I felt like I got hit by a truck and gained 10 pounds.

Awesome dinner at Topping Rose House!

Awesome dinner at Topping Rose House!

As if that was not enough, we spent an extra night out in Long Island at Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton. I love Tom Colicchio, so this was a belated birthday celebration. In our first meal in the Hamptons, we (well I did) spotted Mary Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy at Fresh. How did I know it was them, US Weekly, of course! Believe me, I’m not that cool, and of course, I hadn’t showered and was dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans. We had dinner and breakfast the next day at the Topping Rose House restaurant and Tom Colicchio does not disappoint (P.S. Colicchio & Sons and craftbar are my most favorite restaurants of all time – the food at his restaurants are always excellent and service is extraordinary). Lucky for us, we didn’t have far to roll ourselves back to the room after stuffing our faces. I did manage a short run to see Mecox Beach though and a massage, rewarding myself for the food!

Scallop crudo appetizer

Scallop crudo appetizer

Breakfast, the potatoes were the best I've ever had!

Breakfast, the potatoes were the best I’ve ever had!

Ah, I love the beach!

Ah, I love the beach!

And now we’re back and I need to stop eating so much, get over the cold, and start focusing on training for my next race (to be announced soon). No better way to start than ordering french fries with breakfast today… (it was a craving, and I swear I hadn’t had any in weeks)!

How was your Thanksgiving?

What are your favorite Thanksgiving dishes?

I need motivation, Tell me about your December running goals!