Yesterday was my 25 birthday, and we spent much of the weekend prior celebrating a quarter century of my life. Aside from all the jokes about how I’m really old now, it was a lot of fun and I’m grateful to the friends and family who make every day of life special, not just my birthday.
As the temperatures climb and the sun continues to shine, it feels like summer is finally here. It’s felt that way for a few weeks, actually, but there was a moment in May when I doubted it was coming. Now that it has, and I’m at the start of my first summer in a full time job, I’ve been thinking about what it is, other than free time or vacation or a summer internship, that makes the season special. What I realized is that to me, summer is a verb. It’s a state of mind and a way of living, and no matter what I’m doing day to day, I’ll be happy to be summering.
Following up on this blog survey I did a few months ago, and a post about five songs I was loving this spring, I’m here with another round of favorites, five recent reads I’m loving this Friday. All five of these blog posts made an impact on me in recent weeks, whether related to running, relaxation, or recipes. Those are the real three R’s we all need!
My blog is a wonderful outlet for sharing my running journey and new recipes, but can’t totally reflect my reality. I love running, and I am so excited to be kicking off my five months of training for the New York City Marathon in November. I enjoy creating new allergy free recipes, and only hope that I have time this summer to spend some time experimenting in the kitchen. Yet running and cooking together take only a couple of hours out of my day, and as for the rest of what I’m doing, I’m doing it as Alyssa, not as Renaissance Runner Girl. So where does that leave me and my blog? Right now, it has me thinking about where I personally leave off and the blogger begins, where the two overlap, and what I want the focus of this blog to be.
There are many reasons why I love a Maine vacation. Getting to run along the Atlantic. Goofing off by the Bean Boot. Eating all the delicious food, the burgers and baked goods, special meals out, and ice cream galore. But I think the best part is the feeling of being totally at peace, a feeling I had on our day in Kennebunkport and have had in the past in this place. To me, taking a vacation means truly getting away from everything that weighs you down in daily life, and for some reason, I was able to spend more moments doing just that in Maine than I have been anywhere else.
I hope you’re not tired of my steady stream of Maine-related posts, because I’ve got a couple more coming at you. Today’s is about Kennebunkport, a town that holds a special place in my heart. I visited Kennebunkport with my family while I was growing up, both in summer at the height of the “season” and in winter when the inn we stayed at was covered in snow. Literally, we once stayed there and got snowed in during a blizzard. This time around, there were no snowflakes, but there was sunshine, gorgeous ocean views, seafood, and ice cream in abundance. Nothing more needed for a perfect Monday. Or any day, really, but especially Monday when you’re on vacation and it feels great not to be back to the daily grind 🙂
As I mentioned in my April monthly recap, one of the things I was looking forward to most this May was a trip to Maine. If I’m lucky, you’ll be reading these thoughts on taking a vacation when I’m already en route to my Maine getaway – or maybe even at our destination! I’ve decided that I’m actually going to take a short blogging break while I’m away, because I’d like to use the opportunity to unwind and disconnect not just from work (aka my day job as a lawyer) but also the other “work” that I do in my daily life.
This time last year, I was finishing up classes at Columbia Law School and getting ready to graduate. I was nervously anticipating the bar exam, while eagerly looking forward to the second half of the summer and my planned travels. I had absolutely no idea how any of it was going to go. And now? A good friend from law school and I had brunch last weekend, and she said she felt like ten years had passed rather than one, that she wouldn’t even recognize her old life. I understand what she’s saying. So much happened just this month that it felt like longer, and as for the past year, I was right about one thing back then. I had no idea that my life would be what it is today.
Ever since I finished my 9+1 last November and received my guaranteed entry to the New York City Marathon for this year, I’ve had people asking me how I was going to approach my training. It’s no secret that I’ve never followed a training plan before. I’m not particularly fond of doing things just because someone else is telling me to (“because I said so” is probably my least favorite response to “why”?) and even though I considered trying to stick to something for my first half, when I was able to do it after figuring it out for myself I simply carried on that way. Yet the marathon is different. To successfully cross the finish line I need to get advice from those who have been there before and use a training plan so that I stay on track. I think I’ve now settled on my first marathon training plan, but getting there was definitely a process.
If you can believe it, I’m coming at you with my last weekly workout recap of the month of April! This month felt like it was going by slower than the first few of the year while it was happening. Then spring finally settled in for good late enough that it feels like we’re heading straight into summer and I don’t know where the time went. Which is what I always say.
renaissancerunnergirl 