2016: Year in Review

Happy New Year!

In each of my previous years’ recaps — 2013, 2014, and 2015 — I usually talk about all the wonderful places we’ve traveled, PRs I’ve run, and the 1,000+ miles I’ve run for the year. 2016 was different – it was the year of family. Josh and I welcomed our baby girl to the world in July. While many would like to forget 2016 and believe me, there are definitely parts of the year that were challenging, however, it will always be one of the most memorable years of my life.

—We started the year living in Connecticut and the announcement of our pregnancy. I tried to recap the pregnancy throughout the trimesters as transparently as possible without scaring away all readers! You can catch up on that here if you’re interested — 1st trimester, 2nd trimester, 36 week recap, and initial postpartum thoughts.

—We traveled to Southern California shortly after that and enjoyed our trip very much in Los Angeles and San Diego. A couple of weeks after that we went to Atlanta to celebrate my brother in law’s wedding. The last remaining trip before the arrival of the baby was to Providence to cheer on Coach Brian as he ran his 50th state marathon.

—We moved back to Hoboken in May. While this meant leaving my job, ending our lease early, and switching doctors late in the pregnancy, this was ultimately the right move for us. We’re happily settled back now and look forward to sharing more of our Hoboken favorites with our little one in the upcoming year.

—On the running front, the longest distance I raced in 2016 was 10 miles. I ran 4 races pregnant and 4 postpartum. Total mileage for the year was slightly under 300.

—And most importantly, 2016 is the year that I became a mom!

Cheers to a wonderful 2016 and a memorable 2017!

Running updates and Los Angeles Marathon

Just popping in for a quick hello…

I haven’t been running too much since the Bronx 10 Mile. I was sore for a couple of days and then with schedules, I wasn’t able to fit a run in again until we were in Pittsburgh last weekend visiting family. I did a run/walk with Josh’s parents, his dad is training for his first triathlon and I’m helping coach. We ran/walked some pretty steep hills in the neighborhood and it felt really nice to get out there.

This past weekend, I was able to fit in a Wet Barre (Cardio!) class on Saturday morning. I’ve taken this class a couple of times postpartum and it really kicks my butt. Yesterday, I even managed a 2 mile run on the treadmill before heading to a baby shower. Let’s see how long I can keep up this routine for.

img_4525However, the most important running news as of late is that I signed for the Los Angeles Marathon in March. We have been toying with the idea of me running the Tokyo Marathon (it’s a World Major and a big bucket list race for me) in February but after much back and forth decided that such a big trip was likely too much with a 7 month old. I really wanted a goal race to train for post-baby and a vacation, and decided on Los Angeles. We loved our trip there earlier this year and are excited to go back. The course, from what I read, is somewhat hilly in the beginning but I am excited to run from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica. Now I just need to find a way to start running consistently and the time to train for a marathon – wish me luck!

In other exciting news, I have been coaching my cousin for his first marathon and he ran his first half this weekend. Despite the crazy weather in Staten Island and being sick, he rocked it out there with a great time! I’m so excited for him to tackle NYC in a couple of weeks. And a BIG congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend – Staten Island Half, RnR Brooklyn Half, Twin Cities Marathon, Long Beach Marathon, Chicago Marathon and I’m sure a ton more that I am missing.