cindyruns

Happy Friday! I had every intention of my next post to be about changes I’d make in my next training cycle, but I just don’t have the heart to write it yet. For once after a marathon, I’m not itching to run another, not yet at least. Plus I woke up on Wednesday morning with some hip pain again, so I’ve taken it easier than I’ve already been doing this recovery. I am running the Brooklyn Half Marathon next Saturday, so I hope I can get back into my running groove soon.

Instead, here are some of my favorite reads/tips/wish list items from the week:

Taking a Run Break – Hearing about others who aren’t currently overzealous about running is helping me feel better about taking a break from running because I know…

That Marathon Was More Painful Than You Remember – Please remind me of this when in three months (when I feel that the London Marathon was 10% less painful) or in six months (when I feel that it was 20% less painful) and I want to sign up for another marathon (oh, and yes I’m already signed up for two other fall marathons, what was I thinking?).

8 Reasons You Should Never Date A Runner – Sorry, Josh for #2, 4, 6, 7, and 8! At least for #8, we travel to cool places.

Chicago Marathon Lottery By Numbers – I love the Chicago Marathon so I loved reading this article about the percentage of runners who get in by lottery. That is how I got my chance at running it last year so I am very excited for everyone to have the chance to run the scenic course and in such a great city.

#fbf to my favorite picture from the Chicago Marathon (I know I’ve used this picture over and over in my blog. I love it so much, it never gets old – for me at least!)

Why You Should Have A Quiver Of Running Shoes – This is how I justify buying so many pairs of running shoes throughout the year even if I am on a running break!

7 Lessons Learned From A Running Group – Everyone has heard me go on and on about how much I love my running team and this article reinforces some of the benefits of running with a group, especially #1, 2, and 7!

The best running group ever

How To Clean A Yoga Mat – This is such a random tip but after traveling with my lightweight mat, which I love by the way, I need to sanitize it. Plus the one I have at home that is permanently laid out on the floor (still too lazy to put it away), that needs to be cleaned too!

A bad picture of my poor downward dog pose on our patio in Santorini (at least the backdrop looks nice).

Kindle Wish List – I wish I spent/had more time to read. Vacation is usually the best time for me to do this but it’s a shame I didn’t plan well for this last trip. Regardless, here are some of my running-related reading wish list items — Meb for Mortals (how can one not love Meb?), The Happiness Project (not exactly running related, but I think it will help improve the mental aspect of running), The Art of Eating Well: Hemsley and Hemsley (such great insights to eating well and recipe ideas), Anatomy for Runners (I’m guilty of wishing I paid more attention in biology and anatomy and physiology classes), and on the wish list is to finally finish the Advanced Marathoning book that I bought over two years ago!

My guilty pleasure (US Weekly) – I came back from vacation with three weeks of US Weekly’s waiting for me in the mailbox. I need to get cracking on these otherwise I will know very delayed celebrity gossip!

We’re up to 4 now including the one that came today!

With that, I should probably go read something. Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day!

Santorini stole our hearts! It was the perfect end to our vacation – London, London Marathon, Athens, and Santorini. We enjoyed beautiful weather and sites on the island and hope you enjoy the pictures (some appeared on my Instagram page), though no picture can do the views justice, half as much as we enjoyed the trip.

Food – We continued our trend of eating salads with almost every meal, especially Greek salads with feta cheese or the Santorini salad with fresh cherry tomatoes, capers, and homemade chloro cheese. Aside from breakfast which was served to us on our balcony at the resort, we made it point to eat at top rated restaurants on TripAdvisor. All of the vegetables on the island were extremely fresh, especially the cherry tomatoes, fava beans, and olives which were local. We ate at some amazing restaurants including Cave Restaurant at our hotel, Avaton Resort & Spa and Kapari Wine Restaurant.

Activity – After all the walking and sightseeing in London and Athens, we wanted a break in Santorini. However, the island was the perfect blend of activity and relaxation for us. Since we only had 4 nights on the island, we tried to keep it as low-key but active as much as possible. We hiked from our hotel in Imerovigli to Oia along the most scenic and challenging paths. The hike was over 4 miles long and took us a little over 1.5 hours with a lot of stops for pictures. We also did a run from Imerovigli to Fira and back all along the cliffs overlooking the caldera. The run was about 5 miles out and back on a very hilly, stone-paved/uneven path. A perfect, yet very tough recovery run. On our last day in Santorini, we went to Perissa Beach. The water was cold since it’s the beginning of the season but extremely calm.

Shopping – I love browsing through all the local shops on vacation to see the arts. I wish we had more space at home or a big enough suitcase to bring back some of the beautiful pieces we saw in Santorini. We did some browsing and shopping while we were in Oia and Fira. I do recommend shopping in Oia over Fira as everything appeared to be more local rather being a tourist locale. If you happen to be in Oia, I recommend checking out Aquamarine Jewelry as the staff is extremely friendly and they sell gorgeous pieces made in Greece.

Sights/Relaxation – There is so much to do on the island from catamaran cruises to wine tours, but we really wanted to see as much as possible but also relax and we did just that. We made sure to sleep in as much as possible, start the day with a leisurely breakfast overlooking the caldera, and then decide what to do next. In addition to the activities mentioned above, we read by the pool, enjoyed the amenities of the spa, and I even had one of the best massages ever. While everyone talks about the sunsets from Oia, we enjoyed the sunsets each night from Imerovigli and they were incredible. Our hotel is right at the edge of Imerovigli, so we had unobstructed views of Oia but also of the caldera, which we felt was the perfect spot for the sunsets.