2015: Year in Review

Wow, what a year 2015 was! I know I say this about every year but each year keeps getting better and better.

On the running front, 2015 was the year of many milestones.

IMG_0320—I ran my first international marathon (and race)! I ran the Virgin Money London Marathon in April 2015 and while the race was not what I had hoped it to be, it was an incredible experience. My sentiments post-race helped me find my love for running all over again. I also fundraised over $1,800 for AgeUK for the race.

—I completed 15 races ranging from 1-mile to marathon. Last year I was excited for all the PRs and while it proved hard to beat, I managed to pull out a couple of course PRs this year.

DSC00521—I’m most excited for my running milestones this year. I just started distance running three years ago and in that time I have completed 8 marathons, 10 half marathons, and over 4,300 miles! To say I am addicted is an understatement.

—I will end this year with over 1,300 miles under my belt which tops last year’s record! 1,300+ miles for me is over 212 hours of running, almost 300+ miles further than the distance from NYC to Orlando and almost 4 times the distance from NYC to Montreal.

—In July, I officially became a Road Runners Club of America coach. I am excited for my certification and to help others achieve their running goals.

IMG_3418.JPG—This year, I also helped coach the Athletes to End Alzheimer’s NYC Marathon team. It was definitely a different and rewarding experience from the other side and I am fortunate for this experience. By assisting the team, I ran the NYC Marathon this year with a very different perspective and enjoyed every minute of it.

For as much as I love running, I love traveling just as much. I wish I could travel as much as I run but I appreciate every chance I get to run while on vacation. 2014 was certainly the year of travel and in 2015, we were still jet setting every opportunity we had.

—This year, I logged miles in every city/country we visited: St. Maarten, Pittsburgh, London, Athens, Santorini, Hartford, Block Island, Orlando (twice), Bermuda, and Montreal.

We’re fortunate to have so many opportunities to travel for ourselves, for marathons, and to travel to spend time with family and friends.

IMG_3106This year we also sold our apartment and moved from Hoboken to Stamford for my new job. This is by far one of the hardest decisions and changes we made in recent years. I still look back on the last couple of months wondering how we made all of this happen so quickly and my heart still swells thinking about our time in Hoboken. However, we’re looking forward to what 2016 brings in our new adventure in Connecticut!

Without a doubt, I am fortunate for the best friends, family, and husband a girl could have. I know all of this running, traveling, and changing jobs/moving would not be possible without everyone’s support and love and I am forever grateful.

Thank you for a wonderful 2015 and an even better 2016!

 

St. Maarten

In honor of the blizzard hitting us tomorrow, I need to share some warmth with everyone.

81 and sunny

81 and sunny

We got back from Sint Maarten (St. Maarten, St. Martin – Dutch side) on Tuesday night and it was an immediate rude awakening getting back into the swing of things with the cold, work, and marathon training.

Maho Beach

Maho Beach

Our trip to St. Maarten was from Friday to Tuesday (over Martin Luther King weekend), 4 nights and almost 5 full days was the right amount of time to get too much sun exposure (for someone who typically wears layers of sunscreen, I didn’t do as a good of a job this time) and relaxation. This was our third time on the island – first was on a cruise and a couple of years ago we stayed one night in Grand Case (French side) on our way to St. Barth’s. This time we stayed at the Sonesta Ocean Point Resort on Maho Beach. Maho Beach is right by Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) and is perfect for plane watching.

Love plane watching!

Love plane watching!

The resort was still under construction, which we knew, but still lacked some details to make it the 5 star resort it is supposed to be. I don’t want to dwell too much about the pros and cons of the resort here but you can read them in my TripAdvisor reviews.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

Daily plane board

Daily plane board

—Daily walks along Maho Beach to Sunset Bar & Grill to see the daily flight board.

—Plane watching from our hotel pool deck.

—Drinking enormous amounts of Fiji water (we thought it was pretty crazy and neat that the hotel predominantly served Fiji bottled water).

OverlookingMullet Bay Beach

OverlookingMullet Bay Beach

—Run with Josh to Mullet Bay and Cupecoy Beaches. The running path was through Rhine Road, the Mullet Bay Golf Course, and some of the cliffs. It wasn’t the best running path, mostly uneven the whole way and quite hilly. It was roughly 1.5 miles each way, but in the heat and humidity, it felt much longer.

Quite a crowd for water aerobics

Quite a crowd for water aerobics

—Planking on the beach. I plank on every beach I am on.

—Water aerobics. It was actually really fun.

—Eating an appetizer and dessert with every dinner. I’m very good at treating myself while on vacation.

Beautiful lunch views and Fiji water

Beautiful lunch views and Fiji water

—Lounging and reading by the pool. My choice of books are always quite interesting – If I Stay and Lean In – teenage fiction and business genres. I highly recommend Lean In. It’s a very thought-provoking, moving, and inspirational book for women and men regardless of what industry you’re in. After reading it I have a hard time reading fictional books that portray women in negative light (but I guess that’s why it’s fiction).

A reminder of warmer times!

A reminder of warmer times!

We could have rented a car and drove around to the different beaches and even head over to the French side of the island but were quite content rolling out of bed, to the treadmill (for me), breakfast, and then plopping ourselves by the pool. All in all, quite a great vacation!

Please share some warm thoughts with me! I need them to survive “one of the worst storms in the city’s history.”