About

Hi, I’m Alyssa – also known as the Renaissance Runner Girl. I’m a writer, a runner, a reader, a baker, an appreciator of art and a lover of nature…the list goes on and on! Some might say I’m all over the map, but I prefer to think of myself as a renaissance girl – with so many things to do, books to read, performances to see, and places to explore, it’s too hard to pick just one focus! This site is a place to share a bit of everything – running stories, refueling recipes, and general musings on life. Enjoy!

 

My Running Story: 

At the finish line of my first half marathon!

At eight, I was convinced that I would grow up to be a soloist with the New York City Ballet. When it was clear that I was going to I top out around 5 feet tall, I decided to become a coxswain instead, which I loved. The energy of being in a crew, gliding down a river, knowing that you’re the brains of the operation – all good! But as a coxswain, I was not actually moving much. I started running with some of the crew to fix that, just a mile or so. When I finished college and went to law school, running became my “me time” – a time to get out in the fresh air, clear my head, and forget the world for a little while. Like many others, I’ve been hooked ever since! I was elated when I first ran three miles without stopping in March 2013. I finished my first half marathon, the New York City Half Marathon, in March 2014. In January 2015, I ran the Walt Disney World Half Marathon as part of Team JDRF to cure Type 1 Diabetes, and in March I ran the New York City Half Marathon again on my second run-iversary and first half-marathon-iversary. I’m currently looking forward to completing the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge at Disneyland in September 2015! In between, you can find me on the trail at New York Road Runners races and working out with November Project NYC.

 

 
How The Girl Who Couldn’t Boil Water Learned to Cook:
Growing up, I never gave much thought to cooking.  Lifelong allergies limited my palate. I’m allergic to wheat, nuts, avocados, and oranges, which really isn’t all that difficult – as long as you have access to all the right ingredients and someone else to cook them for you! But when I arrived at the University of Oxford to attend college at 18, I quickly found that the plethora of special prepared foods available in Manhattan or the Connecticut suburbs had not yet arrived on English shores. And that my college dining hall dished up a LOT of bread and pasta. I scraped along, conquering the all-important skill of boiling water when my electric tea kettle broke and I had to do it the old-fashioned way. I made scrambled eggs and only set the smoke alarm off once, and even discovered a few new foods that were not typically available in English restaurants, like quinoa. When I graduated, I moved back to New York, my native land, to go to Columbia Law School. I could easily have slipped into the Seamless habit, but found out that like running, cooking was a good distraction from the pressures of law school! It was also a huge part of my journey from struggling with food to embracing and enjoying it as fuel for a wonderful life. Soon, I started baking in addition to making myself dinner. I served up my first dessert at the family Thanksgiving table in 2014, and now you’ll find me in the kitchen creating new recipes all the time.

 

 

Life in the City:
Although law school keeps me busy, I try to make time to experience all that New York has to offer. I was a history major in college and love reading and learning about history to this day, and just walking around New York to look at the buildings in the New York Times Streetscapes section is a fantastic way to absorb the history of my city – as is visiting the New York Historical Society. I indulge my love for at as a young member of the Apollo Circle of the Metropolitan Museum – the special exhibit viewings are fantastic, and the parties aren’t too shabby either! And most importantly, I love giving back to the community as a volunteer of the New York Junior League.

 

 

 

© 2014 Renaissance Runner Girl. All rights reserved.

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