John Mayer, here I come! (Your questions answered, part 2!)

A while back, I had you ask me questions, and I'm still working on the answers! Here's round 2!

Penny @ Pink Hat Runner asked...

What is your favorite distance to run?

I would have to say the half marathon. It takes discipline and hard work to train to get there, and I feel so accomplished when I'm finished! (the bling doesn't hurt either!)

Out of all the races you've done, which was your favorite so far?

I have 2 races for different reasons. First one is Disney Half Marathon 2010, where I managed to convince my brother & 2 friends to run with me, and another friend to run the marathon. We had a bunch of friends come along as spectators too & had a blast. The race itself was not so good because of the weather, but it was awesome to help my brother finish his first half. I also love that you wear your bling around Disney until you go home, makes you feel like a Rockstar!

Horrible pic I know!! But it was such a big moment for us!

My other favorite would be Rock N Roll New Orleans. The race course was flat & I hit a PR, running with one of my best friends for her first half marathon finish. The post party was fun & the city of New Orleans was a blast afterwards. I wore my medal around town here too haha

What is your favorite place to eat?

Great question! My absolute favorite is the Goten, a japanese Hibachi restaurant in Sunderland, MA. They have noodles instead of fried rice & always put on a great show. I have a bunch of other loves too... Eastside Grill in Northampton (gorgonzola garlic bread), Villa Napoletana in East Longmeadow, Max's Tavern in Springfield, The Federal in Agawam. YUM!

Wells @ My Story... Chapter 2 asked...

If you could have a final meal, what would it be?

wow, what a hard question! Pick just one?? I would say a favorite meal I get at EastSide Grill. Probably gorgonzola garlic bread to start, followed by the blackened scallops with mashed sweet potatoes or their delicious risotto. For dessert a Canoli or fabulous cupcake. Now I'm getting hungry!

How did you decide the name for your blog?

I was trying desperately to come up with a catchy phrase. I thought about why I was running... to get in better shape and overall health. I'm still not wild about the title, but it works for now!

If you could have 3 pieces of gym/workout equipment for your home, what would it be?

My number one would be the TRX, no questions asked. I LOOOOVE that thing, and have been seriously considering buying one, but I don't feel like I have a good place to put it. 

My number 2 would be a lap pool. I hate getting up early and fighting for a lane at the pool. It would be nice to train/swim laps whenever I wanted.

Lastly, I think I would go with Bosu ball. They're a ton of fun for getting some great core work in!

If you could have dinner with 3 famous people (alive or dead), who would you select to dine with?

I know most of you will probably laugh at my first one... Britney Spears. I am a huge fan and would love to gossip and girl talk with her. John Mayer, since I am in love with him. Jacoby Elsbury, since he is my Red Sox boyfriend!

John Mayer's gap ad <3

Do you prefer books or movies?

Tricky question. I love books, but now with limited time on my hands a movie is easier to get through. I am not a huge fan of books that turn into movies. I feel like so much of the story gets lost or the details changed (The Something Borrowed star was a chubby girl in the book, not some cute skinny girl!). For books I love John Grisham and Chick Lit, and movies I like girly movies, comedies and horror flicks.

Would you ever consider doing an international race? If so, what location(s) would be most appealing?

I would definitely consider an international race, but I would be nervous not speaking the language!! How would I understand the race directions, where to go, etc. I think I would only do it as part of a group going for that specific reason. To nix that whole language thing, I would definitely do the Caribbean, I was considering Puerto Rico for the Diva Half, since most people speak English there too.

Thanks for listening! Part 3 will follow eventually...

Missed part 1? Check it out HERE

Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Race Report

Race Expo

Fabulous. The Expo was rockin. Killer music & TONS of vendors. The only bad thing? The goody bags weren't consistently packed, so they contents varied a lot from bag to bag. Shelley and I didn't get all the same freebies & flyers. Otherwise it was a blast. After bib & T-shirt pick up, we headed to the race merchandise to stock up...

Shelley's gear!

I ended up buying a pair of capris to wear race day, as well as a long-sleeve technical T & half zip top. We spent over $150, so we were awarded Brooks VIP Potty passes (more on that later). Then we headed out to check out the rest of the vendors. A glamour band, and new tshirt for the race, and a stop by a few other booths, including...

Dan & Jackie from Biggest Loser!!

Did anyone watch the orange team on the Biggest Loser a few years back with mother/son team Jackie & Dan!? I did, and was excited to meet them and ask about life on the ranch. They are busy running 20 half marathons this year to raise money & awareness for Reach Out For Life. 

Race Day

The hotel was a quick walk away from the race start area. Shelley and I met near the Casino and walked over. By the start, they had an area set up with pre-race food. Bananas, snicker's marathon bars, water, cytomax, I was impressed, I've never been to a race with pre-race food. There was a huge area of porta-potties, but we had our VIP potty pass...

The VIP potty pass

Flushing toilets, running water, mirrors, sport beans, lotion, sunscreen. What a nice treat instead of a pre-race porta-potty! The corrals were set up with clear easy to read signs, and even porta-potties in the race corrals!

corral potties

We were back in corral 15, so we didn't cross the start until about 7:20ish with the wave start. Off we went! The miles ticked by easy, Shelley and I were cruising along thanks to a super flat course and interesting people and places to look at. We decided against wearing music for the race, and I was happy since there was a lot of on course entertainment. There were also a lot of cheering groups all dressed up, and some people with creative signs along the route. We were killing our times the first 6 miles, and slowed down a little by mile 7 & 8. Mile 9 we saw Kevin & Caitlin and they captured a good shot of us, still smiling!

Shelley left, me right!

Around mile 10, I really started feeling it. I slowed down quite a bit taking short walk breaks when I needed it. Mile 12, I started getting overheated. I shed my arm sleeves, but kept running out of fluids, and could feel my heart rate getting to high. I had to stop to refill water, but I still ran out before mile 13. A little after mile 12 I let Shelley go ahead and finish, and I did what I could to finish strong and managed to speed up a little for the last mile. I hit the finish line with an official finish time of 2:25:56, a new PR!!

Here's my Garmin split!

Post race was fun, my legs were incredibly sore, so we laid out in the sun to stretch out for a while. Eventually I headed to the beer tent to grab my free beers, Shelley got a sandwich, and we listened to a little music before heading back. The band was so-so, not really a Bowling for Soup fan, so we headed out early. The shuttle buses back downtown were speedy! We barely waited to get on one, then lucky us, it dropped us off right near our hotel! (big change for the wait at Disney last year for a shuttle)! 

Overall I loved the race, definitely my favorite half I've done so far! Did I mention Shelley and I signed up for RnR Providence at the Expo since they had a $15 off coupon code? I can't wait until the next RnR race, they really know how to throw a party! And the Medal was pretty bad ass too!

Were you at the race? What did you think?

Livin' it up in the Big Easy!

Wednesday night as we flew into Hartford and saw the snow coating the ground, I almost started crying. We had a blast in New Orleans, mostly from the warm weather and non stop drinking, but the race was pretty kick ass too. I'll have my race recap to follow, but I wanted to start off with an overview of the entire trip.

We got in pretty late to New Orleans, and were tired from traveling, so friday night was lame low key. Straight to bed once we were able to have the maintenance crew from the hotel disconnect our fire alarm that kept chirping. 

Saturday was Expo day! 

We had a blast, I'll give more details in my race report including my semi-celebrity meet up!

Then we headed to lunch...

We saw a cathedral on the way for Beignets...

and even though we missed out on meeting Elizabeth, we scored some delicious treats.

We had a bad dinner at the Crazy Lobster (which ironically was out of lobster), then stopped at the convenience store by our hotel on the way back for gatorade for race day. We also found 4 Loko, which is outlawed in Massachusetts (obviously Kevin went back to get some after the race).

The race was amazing! My favorite so far. Well organized and supported, I was wicked impressed!

Don't worry, my official race report will follow later today!

Shelley and I totally killed it and had an awesome time.

Can you see that gorgeous sky? It was a beautiful day...

After some relaxing, we went to dinner at Cafe Giovanni's which was the most delicious meal of our trip. Then we headed out on the search for hand grenades.

We found them, and they were delicious! After a couple of those, and my drinks at dinner, my legs weren't feeling as sore!

Saw this on the way home.... Never knew CVS sold booze!?

Monday we walked to Magazine street to Varsity Sports to get my medal engraved. I couldn't resist and bought a new pair of running shorts. We did a little shopping before Shelley & Caitlin left for home, then Kevin and I went to get ready for our Valentine's day dinner.

We went to Dragos, and had lobster (yum!), then headed over to Bourban for a few cocktails. Tuesday we went on a tour of Mardi Gras world, where they make many of the floats for the Mardi Gras parades.

One of the finished floats for this year

A lindsey lohan, paris hilton themed float design for this year

After, Kevin and I decided to make our own bar tour. We picked out 6 different bars to go to that had some history behind them, and classic drinks. At each one, we got a drink (or 2) and read about the history of the bar from our iphone. Our spots included:

1. Napolean House

2. Muriel's

3. Pat O'Brian's

4. The Bombay Club

5. Old Absinthe House

6. Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop

We had everything from Pimm's cups, whiskey sours with egg whites, hurricanes, mint juleps, absinthe,  and obituary cocktails.

Pimm's Cup

Absinthe

wicked strong

Needless to stay, after that and a couple grenades & a slice of pizza, we ended the night with Kareoke at the Cat's Meow. A little Ke$a and Carrie Underwood for me, then I was ready for bed at 2am.

Thursday morning we did last minute shopping and packing before heading home. I miss the warm weather already! I do however, need to stop drinking & get my eating back on track since the Disney Princess half is 10 days away!

We had a fabulous time in New Orleans, who knows, maybe we'll make it back there again someday!

Today is your last chance to enter my Gu giveaway HERE!

 

Finding the next adventure!

Today I am sitting at my kitchen table with a big glass of red wine and box of crackers. Can you tell what kind of day I had? I am supposed to be cooking dinner shortly for Kevin and I, I am exhausted beyond belief. Work was physically exhausting and mentally draining today. More physical than mental. The good part about my job is that I'm constantly moving, the bad part about my job is that sometimes that means heavy or tough patients for extended periods of time. Being a physical therapist is a workout!

This morning I made it to the gym, first workout since my triathlon (read about it HERE). I did an easy elliptical workout, followed by a short 1 mile run. While I was running I was thinking about how much I've changed over the years. I realized that I finished my first 5K (Susan G Komen race for the Cure 2006) in the same amount of time that I finished the 5K during my triathlon. Which by the way was after a 1/4 mile swim & 12 mile ride with killer hills. Oh, and I just had major foot surgery 5 months ago, I've only been able to run for 21/2-3 months. While I'm still disappointed to not be able to get the mileage in since my endurance has decreased so much following the surgery, I'm amazed at what I can still do. I can't wait to tell my surgeon about it when I go to see him in a few weeks.

I'm inspired for my next adventure. Looks like the next major adventure is the New Orleans Rock N Roll Half Marathon. My college roomie is in! Now I'm checking to see if our 2 other friends from college are interested, and we can make it a reunion! One of them said she's not sure about the running, but is in for New Orleans.

Kevin was an awesome photographer for my triathlon this past weekend, but he was really quiet like something was bugging him. On the car ride home, he told me about how he feels like he's not a part of my lifestyle since he doesn't do any type of racing. He said he wants to do a triathlon, but isn't big into running. I thought maybe an Aquabike would be a good thing for him, he loves to cycle. I told him I don't want him to do it just because I do, but only if he really wants to.

Don't forget about my giveaway for a triathlon charm bracelet bead! Go HERE to check it out & comment to enter!

Off to finish dinner, good night!