Yesterday, I ran my third half marathon of 2016 at the MORE Women’s Half Marathon in Central Park. I’ll share my weekly workouts and then get to the race recap and other scenes from the weekend. Actually, first I’m going to show you all this beautiful creature I spotted on my walk home from work on Tuesday, because puppies are priorities. But after that!
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about running and racing for fun. As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, when I first started running, I made a promise to myself that I would not ever let it become just another competitive activity. I took every activity I tried very seriously when I was a kid, and running was going to be something I did just for me, to have fun, get outside in the fresh air, and get away from the craziness of life in law school. And then, about six months after I started running, I entered my first 10K race.
I’ve been thinking about what a PR means to me for the last few days, since I set a personal record for the half marathon at the New York City Half Marathon last Sunday. It isn’t about being faster than other runners. It’s not even about being faster than I’ve been before, as the term suggests. It’s about achieving more than I thought was possible, not just in this race but with running in general, and beginning to believe I really have it in me to run a marathon.
I cannot believe this is the 50th time I’ve written a WIAW post. They’ve become a staple on the blog. I found, after years of wondering why in the world someone would bother taking a picture of their food, that they’re actually some of the easiest and most enjoyable posts to write, because I like eating, cooking and baking, and it’s nice to think others might admire the result of my endeavors, or just be interested in the combinations of eats I create. And I find inspiration for my own meals by reading similar posts on other blogs. So here we go again, this time with a rundown of my eats the weekend of a half marathon in New York City.
Yesterday I ran the New York City Half Marathon for the third year in a row. This race was my first half marathon ever in March 2014. I was so happy and proud (and freezing in the 15 degree weather!) afterwards, and the moment I crossed the finish line, just a year after I first ran three miles without stopping, was the same moment I began to dream of running the marathon one day. My second time around last March was a little warmer and a little less momentous – still fun, of course! This year felt like the third time’s the charm. Not only did I set a personal record, it marked my first longer distance race of 2016, putting me on the path to the Marathon come November.
As promised in yesterday’s 10K race recap, today is all about my second stab at the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. I ran this race last year as my second half marathon ever, and my first distance race after coming back from a hip injury that kept me from running for three months during the prior summer. I was nervous and excited as I approached the starting line of this race in 2015. While I experienced both of those emotions this year in some measure, my general feeling was far away from where it had been. What a difference a year can make.
I’m back from my whirlwind long weekend in Florida, where I ran the Walt Disney World 10K and Half Marathon and had lots of fun playing in the theme parks and eating all the delicious allergy free treats in sight! You can read about my adventures the first time around last year fueling up, running the half marathon, and enjoying the experience. Today’s post is my Walt Disney World 10K race recap, and an overview of the rest of the first two days. Check back for my recap of this year’s half marathon tomorrow!
I’m coming at you this Wednesday with my Disneyland Half Marathon race recap, including my opinion on the race course, thoughts on how it compared to the Disney World Half Marathon, and everything I ate in Disneyland when runger struck after! If you need to catch up before diving in:
I can’t believe it’s the first day of September already. As I mentioned yesterday, I am determined to hang on to summer as long as I can. The weather here in New England is complying with my wish. It’s going to be in the mid- to high-80s all week, and pretty humid – so warm that when I head to Southern California on Thursday I may be heading into temperatures just slightly cooler than in Connecticut (although not by much!) I just whipped up a batch of my No Bake Peanut Butter Berry Bars because the oven is not coming on around here for a little while.
A bar with some strawberry ice cream to cool off
As promised yesterday, I’m ending July and kicking off August with a post featuring my plans for post-exam travel! As is traditional, most law firms have their first-year associates start working at least one month after the exam in late July, and typically closer to two. Everyone needs the time to unwind and relax before diving in to a demanding new job. Most recent grads take some sort of “bar trip” which can mean anything from a six-week-long backpacking trip in Southeast Asia, to three weeks of luxury globetrotting, to a week down the Cape with friends and family. Some people even use it as the perfect time for a wedding and honeymoon. Others choose to go home and do absolutely nothing. I’m planning a bit of a grab bag, beginning with my August adventures.
I’ve pounded the pavement right out of NYC for the next couple of months!
renaissancerunnergirl 