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1,100+ miles and 2014 goals

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 Last year I ran 201 times with an average distance of 5.4 miles each time. I ran a total of 1,103.05 miles over 183+ hours and burned more than 110,000 calories (from just running). I also ran in four different countries – United States (over a handful of states), Turks & Caicos, United Kingdom, and France (it’d be really cool if Nikeplus can keep count of this for me). I completed three full marathons, two half marathons, and nine other races ranging from 5Ks to a 10-miler. You can say I had a full year of running (at least for me, it’s relative of course).

Around 1,100 miles (that’s 2.2 million steps running, average is around 2,000 steps per mile running) is the distance from New York to Central Florida, where my in-laws live (I could have run in that if I had a year!), New York to Minneapolis, Minnesota, 37 trips to my parents’ house in Central Jersey, and if you could drive (or run) to Bermuda, I’d be there as well (it’s less than 800 miles away). 183 hours (10,980 minutes) is over 7.5 days. Man when you calculate it out to days, it really doesn’t sound as impressive. However, 183 hours means I could fly to Bora Bora over eight times or roughly 3,660 songs that I would have listened to on my playlist, and way too many other things I could have done had I not been running (please don’t remind Josh of this!).

When 2013 started none of these were goals of mine, the only goal was to break 1,000 miles in the year and run the NYC Marathon. However, while trying to accomplish these goals, I’ve had the chance to grow and learn more about myself. Prior to all this running years ago, I wished for the time and opportunity to find a hobby outside of work. I tried many different things from yoga, random volunteer projects, reading, and more. Nothing stuck with me until I started running with the Alzheimer’s Association. Running, exercising, and overall health consciousness has become more than just a hobby, it is a way of life and I’ve met some lifelong friends along the way.

When 2014 started I hadn’t really spent much time thinking about resolutions or goals. However, when I commuted to work the first day in the new year, I promised myself I would try to not let things stress me out as much. Sure, I was thinking specifically of work but also personally. Last year, I didn’t finish a half marathon because of a number of factors but stress and anxiety leading up to the race was a big proponent. I spent weeks leading up the race freaking out (really couldn’t think of a better word!) about breaking my goal time, pacing, and fueling. I cannot let that happen again. For most of May and June last year, I was in a running funk. The thought of lacing up my shoes was not fun and even though it’s arguably one of the best times of year to run, I didn’t want to. By June last year, I had already completed two full and two half marathons. All I was doing in the first six months of 2013 was training, racing, training, and more racing. I was eating, sleeping, running all on a training schedule, no wonder I was in a funk.

In 2014, there a number of running and exercise related goals I have my sights on:

  • Build a stronger core
  • Tone my arms (in fact, I am about to purchase two SPRI Soft Mini Xerballs!)
  • Try new activities that I think I might like – Crossfit, trapezing, rowing and spend more time on ones I like – rock climbing and bouldering, go to more spin classes
  • More swim lessons? (I really need to figure out this whole breathing thing)
  • Run a couple of half-marathons (no real goal on how many, just whenever I feel like it. My first one this year is in a couple of weeks.)
  • Run in at least one marathon (maybe in May? Will I use my guaranteed entry for the 2014 NYC Marathon? I guess I have to decide by March 18th.)
  • More importantly though, regardless of the race, I will run for fun, and for me (not for time, with that hopefully those PRs will rake in)
I am also contemplating different ways to build on my passion for health and exercise — coaching certification, nutrition classes, volunteering in this space? Any recommendations or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
What are your 2014 goals?

Happy Holidays and New Year (belated December recap)!

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Happy belated holidays and a on-time Happy New Year!

I’ve been a blogging delinquent this last month. My last post was a month ago when I was late wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving. I promise you though that this has been a really busy but exciting month! 
St. James’s Park (London Eye and Westminster Palace
in background)
December started and ended with a lot of European travels. Immediately after Thanksgiving, Josh left for a business trip in London and I followed a couple days later. We both spent the weekend in London before flying home on a Sunday. Even though I was only there for less than four full days, I was in love with the city as soon as I arrived. I had the chance to casually sightsee, meet up with a college friend for dinner, go on a personal city running tour through the Royal Parks, eat some really good and just spend a lot of time walking through the city. Everyone in London was complaining about how cold it was (I guess to be fair temperatures in the 30s – 40s is the coldest the city gets) but I loved being in a climate warmer than home.
See the Eiffel Tower in the background!
Coming back from London, I had two full very busy weeks at work before leaving for France the weekend right before Christmas. We booked a vacation purposely over the holidays since I had those weeks off from work. For the last ten days, along with Josh’s parents, we traveled in Paris and Nice before arriving back yesterday just in time to ring in the new year in my pajamas from bed. The whole trip feels like a whirlwind now, but we had such an amazing time in Paris despite the lousy weather on most days and capped the trip off with sunshine and warmer temperatures in Nice at a hotel overlooking the Mediterranean Ocean. While in Paris, aside from lots of eating, sightseeing, museums, and more eating, I had the chance to sneak in two rainy runs through parts of the Left Bank and along the Seine River. In Nice, I was spoiled with the nice temperatures and was able to run along the Promenade de Anglais (right next to the Mediterranean Ocean) during sunset.
Sunset run in Nice
After two amazing back to back trips to Europe, I am in love! There is something to be said about traveling when you’re old enough to appreciate the sights and culture and lucky enough to have worked and lived in one of the world’s best cities (New York) so that you can compare and contrast. I really enjoyed the “European” way of life – from the food, culture and history in the cities, shopping and styles, and layout of London and Paris. It is amazing to have parts of the cities connected by pedestrian bridges and rivers that aren’t terribly wide so navigating between one side to the other is fairly straightforward even by foot. Also, the proximity of the countries and cities to each other is incredible. London to Paris is just a two hour train ride away (I should have just stayed in London between these two trips!), Paris to Nice (and the French Riviera) is a five and a half hour train ride (or hour plane ride), and from there you’re less than an hour to Monaco and Italy. Brussels, Amsterdam, and other cities are just as close. 
I mastered the art of taking dorky selfies this trip
Running while traveling is one of the best ways to see your new locale and I was lucky to have the chance to run while away. When you run along the Hudson River for over 50% of your runs and the rest in Central Park or in other parts of New York City, you really take for granted how lucky you are to run on such amazing routes. However, it has really made me appreciate the chance to run through cities you’re not familiar with, waterfront paths, and over bridges (much shorter and less steep ones). It is neat though how much pathway there is to run along the Thames or Seine Rivers all with views of the cities’ biggest attractions.
2013 has been a challenging and rewarding year in many regards on a personal and professional front. Despite some obstacles along the way, I am thankful for support from my friends and family in helping me accomplish some major milestones this year. I finished 2012 by completing my first marathon, but in 2013, I am lucky that my legs were able to carry me through another three marathons with New York City being the highlight. While running is a very individual sport, it is definitely a team effort. Between the support of my coaches and teammates, I am fortunate for the continued support from my friends and family who have to deal with my tough training and race schedules. On a smaller scale, it was a goal to complete the Local Barre I <3 Barre Challenge which I finished right before heading off to the airport to France, run in three continents in the month of December, and to run a total of 1,100+ miles for the year (a more detailed post about that to come).
I hadn’t really spent much time thinking about goals or resolutions yet this year but will definitely do so over the next couple of days. I am excited for what 2014 holds and look forward to sharing it with you.
In the mean time, I hope the new year brings much happiness, good health, and lots of running and PRs!