queensboro bridge repeats

we're told that the most difficult part of the nyc marathon is around mile 16-17 when you're coming out of queens and getting onto the steepest climb of the course: the queensboro bridge. from bottom to top, it's approx 475 ft of gain and from one end to the other it's approx 1.5 miles long.

so kev and i decided to practice and ran over after work this evening and did queensboro bridge repeats (4x). it is quite beautiful in the evening with the sunsetting in the background, and it amazes me how many people are walking, running, and cycling in the pedestrian walkway. for some, it could be a part of their daily commute! and the views are gorgeous, a welcomed distraction when the lactic acid is building up in your muscles.

strava map of our workout

queensboro bridge, linking queens to manhattan

best thing: blueberry muffin from corner cafe bakery and a glo juice (grapefruit juice, lemon juice, orange) for breakfast! i was treating myself after getting some decent training on the calendar for the last two days!

worst thing: cyclists riding in the pedestrian lane on the queensboro bridge. it's not safe for anyone!

someone who made me smile: these guys :) i was stuck at my desk today and didn't have too much interesting interaction otherwise :/

wsj: surfing pups take to the waves in california
(full slideshow: http://online.wsj.com/articles/photos-surfing-pups-take-to-the-waves-in-california-1412014208)

monday fundays

mondays are my new favorite day of the week. why? because i have 4:00pm meetings on site with the contractors and can get to the pool by 5:30pm or so afterwards! no more monday blues for this gal :)

here are a few photos from the reno - specifically, unforeseen conditions that we will consider applying change orders for.

office - full of surprises when we opened up the ceiling

living room is ready for paint and radiators

master bath tiling in process

master bath tub area tiling is almost complete

best thing that happened to me today: three los tacos no 1 beef and pork soft tacos at chelsea market for dinner after our swim. and best of all .. NO LINE! woot woot for monday nights!

los tacos no 1

worst thing that happened to me today: started the swim later than expected so we didn't get our recovery run in. thus, only 11,204 steps counted by my pebble+ and after spending a few fine hours in third place, back down to fifth. :p

someone who made me smile: as i was walking across 23rd street to the piers, an elderly hispanic woman stopped me on the sidewalk and grabbed my arm - "hablas espanol?" i looked around wondering who she could POSSIBLY be speaking to ... realizing, she was looking into my eyes! time to brush up on my spanish!

mujere: "hablas epanol?"
yo: "un poquito"
mujere: "donde esta la edificio veriiiiizoooon?"
yo: (after 15 secs of processing) "esta cerca!"

she handed me a piece of paper with the address and i looked it up on my iphone - it was about 100m ahead of us. i think she may not have been able to read because i had to walk her up to the storefront doorway before she recognized it was the verizon store. she gave me a huge smile, hug, and "THANK YOUUUU" and i was on my way. i was expecting to finish my lesson with a "gracias" instead ha.

20-miler complete!

kevin and i have been training for the ny marathon since july, though we were only doing 5-10 miles/wk in july and upping it to 10-30 miles/wk in august. overall, the workouts haven't been as consistent as either of us would have hoped, but i think we may finally be getting into the groove of things, especially with his princeton ironman 70.3 out of the way now (completed on sep 21st)! we have been logging about 15-30 miles/wk in sep, though i think ideally i'd like to bring it up to 35-40 miles/wk, with swimming and plyometrics as XT on the off days. what do i really know though ... but i do feel guilty on the mornings that we sleep in and don't get a workout in.

anyways, today was our longest run to date - 20 miles! starting at 5:45am, we ran from 14th street up the west side highway to the start of our nyrr bronx 10-mile race at 168th street by yankee stadium. who is crazy enough to suggest running at 5am as to beat the sunrise? ME. who is the sweetest, most caring and considerate husband in the world to appease my insane request? kevin, hands down.

the first ten were basically in the dark, so absolutely divine for sun-allergic me, also quite peaceful. the latter ten were a bit too sunny, but it was great to be running amongst 10,000 fellow runners and the crowds were cheering us on! there was also a "fun" hill on 155th st coming off the WSH. we took it nice and easy, but i wouldn't mind going back and owning it. repeatedly.

our awesome 20-miler today!

with just three more weeks left for long runs (oct 5, 12, 19) before we're supposed to taper (oct 26), hopefully we can get some nice weekday tempo runs in and nice long weekend runs as well. we may try to check out the north brooklyn runners at mccarren park as well!

and finally, our dinner tonight! spaghetti with homemade bolognese sauce, parmesan reggiano, and maison kaiser cheese bread. soooo delish and pretty easy to make so we made a big batch which we'll be able to save for a couple dinners later this week.

tomorrow morning will be our first day of commuting from williamsburg to work in the city! hope the trains aren't too crazy ... 

best thing that happened to me today: not hurting my knee or ankle on our long run! YAY

worst thing that happened to me today: in the company of a girl that i was once friends with, but had a falling-out with a couple years ago. we have some mutual friends so we do bump into each other from time to time. i personally want to just forget about what happened, but her de-friending me from FB leads me to believe she feels otherwise. lol. it just feels like unnecessary drama!

someone who made me smile: kaira, my friends' susan & hode's baby girl who turned 1-year old on friday, in her gold polka-dotted shirt and bright pink tulle skit and matching bright pink hair piece which mom also handmade and sported herself! kaira also started walking on her own on thursday, the day before her birthday - happy birthday, lovely girl! i can't wait to watch you grow up :)

ps. i logged in 43k steps on the walkertracker, which put me in 3rd place overall with 207k steps. first place is coming in at 232k steps, so even more reason to get those morning runs in and catch him!

hello, williamsburg!

so after a dramatic couple of weeks of packing, preparing, and moving, we are finally out of the USQ apt and getting settled into our williamsburg place! it's actually more of a staycation while we wait for renovations to be completed.

the little pad we've subletted from lizzie and mike is too adorable - they have done a really nice job decorating and there's a little terrace too! hope we can get some use out of it before it gets too cold. a few pics of our home for the next month:

unproductive area 

productive area

the first thing we did after we awoke, of course, was coffee at toby's estate, followed by a nice walk to mccarren park's green farmer's market. toby's has really nice decor, and it's the type of place where you feel like you could just relax, read, or catch up with friend with any time of the day. mccarren is about ten minutes walk north, and feels like central park, but instead of fancy speedy bikes and type-a runners, it's filled with 4-year olds in soccer uniforms, couples pushing strollers, and people walking dogs. 

in williamsburg, skyscrapers are nowhere to be seen and apartment buildings are no more than 5-6 floors. i forgot how nice it is to be able to see the sky!

toby's

toby's

colorful woven baskets by 10,000 women in senegal

now time to get to bed! we have a 20 mile run ahead of us tomorrow ...

best thing that happened to me today: waking up on a mattress for the first time in a week :) i will try not to take that for granted again!

worst thing that happened to me today: arrived to lafayette 10 minutes late to meet a girlfriend for brunch and the citibike station was full! luckily someone came along to pick up a bike not too long after i arrived and a spot opened up!

someone who made me smile: a yellow lab on the usq L-train platform wearing clothing that read: "service dog on duty (do not disturb or pet me please)". he was such a loyal and disciplined service dog for his owner even when he was tired and trying hard not to fall asleep on the train!

movin' on up

with our upcoming move out of union square and into our williamsburg sublet, and preparing the USQ apartment for our new tenants, the last two weeks have been a serious blur. weekdays were filled with appointments - electrical, environmental, contractor, and locksmiths, to name a few. on one hand, we did learn a few things about MR16 recessed lighting, thermocouplers (?), transformers (?), silicone tape (?), uninstalling a dishwasher (ok, let's be honest - kevin did that, but I helped to fish the electrical wire back through!), and more.

so despite not wanting to turn into my parents, who i've watched spend what feels like all of their non-working time making trips to their rental properties to work on repairs, i think we. just. did. 

a lot of fun times were had at this place. 2010 world cup soccer finals viewing, countless dinners with girlfriends, christmas hotpot with my family, the first super salty dinner i cooked for kevin, my bridal shower (thanks jess!), a massive sleepover and pre-gaming session for jess's bachelorette, wedding morning preparation, and most recently, four nights of tossing and turning on a twin air mattress with kevin.

farewell, uinon square! we'll miss the sunsets, victoria staff, farmer's market, proximity to flatiron-chelsea-west village-greenich village-ootoya-basta pasta-paragon sports, but i'm not going to lie, we probably won't be back. i hope the new tenants enjoy it even more than we have!

best thing that happened to me today: picked up a yakimochi, which is the moooost delicious japanese snack pastry in the world with a somewhat savory outside made with grilled mochi and black sesame seeds filled with sweet red bean (azuki) paste, with my lunch! i will definitely post a picture one day if i can snap a photo before it's in my mouth ...

worst thing that happened to me today: realized that i left too much clothing, too many pairs of shoes, and too many skin products unpacked which i'll have to schlep with us over to williamsburg tonight. up 4 flights of LOFT stairs, which is really 8 flights of regular stairs. i guess it is sort of strength training :/

someone who made me smile: rose, my close girlfriend of +4 years now who fit into jeans again!!! we all have ups and downs with our clothes, and to be able to work it off and fit back into jeans, that is a helluva feeling :) yay to rose who has been taking big strides in all aspects of her life before the big 3-0 next month!

welcome!

welcome to the first post of my blog. i've always enjoyed journaling and have told myself countless times that i want to jot down some of my thoughts in hopes of preservation or possibly even passing down some of the interesting stories and ideas i've stumbled upon. so here it is!

another motivation for this blog was a walkertracker challenge that my company recently introduced in which employees wear a pebble+ (a small device which tracks the number of steps taken) and include a short entry with submit a photo for each day. i've enjoyed this exercise immensely so i wanted to try to incorporate that journaling here along with any interesting articles, videos, or talks i've come across.

today in nytimes fashion & style section, there's a great article about amy cuddy's tedtalk from 2012. she talks about how non-verbal body language shapes those around us and ourselves, and the importance of "powerposing". i think most of us could benefit from a bit of powerposing (myself included).

best thing that happened to me today: realizing how great working in the city with my teammates and plethora of delicious lunch options is

worst thing that happened to me today: caught in 50F rainy weather with my pink birks! eek cold!

someone who made me smile: shahid, our desktop support guy, who is somewhat eccentric, but very kind and always has a smile on his face. he told me a story about how his wife scolded her son for getting a B on his exam. "B is for bad" she said. and when he told her to go easy on him, she said "if i go easy on him now, he'll come back with a C+ next time." i love the unwavering immigrant mother values.