Holy Hiatus

The 2 week wedding/honeymoon hiatus is over and it's back to the real world of running. I can't believe the Seattle marathon is LESS than a month away. Needless to say, I'm a little freaked out! Not only freaked out, but burned out too. This is not the time to lose my motivation, but I am tired of running! I'm tired of thinking about running, feeling guilty about not running, and being nervous about not being able to run enough!

So for the rest of this post, I'm not writing about running. I'm going to write about the wedding bubble that I've lived in for the past 2 weeks.

The wedding was beautiful, with only a few minor bumps along the way. I guess I mean bumps literally, considering that one of my bridesmaids came down with shingles a few days before the wedding and could not be in it. There was also a minor fire during the ceremony caused by a dripping candleabra that one of my quick thinking bridesmaids had to put out. All in all, it was a perfect day with perfect weather and surrounded by the best family and friends.

Due to lack of vacation time, Ryan and I went on a mini 'let's not call this a honeymoon' getaway to Boston. I had high expectations for this city that were mostly based on my obviously defective memory. I'm not saying that Boston isn't a nice city, it is. It's just not one that you should spend more than 2 days in. I remember (or so I think I do) as a teenager visiting the place where the Boston Tea Party occurred. I expertly navigated us around the city to this location (turns out I had the better sense of direction for the entire trip). I can honestly say I've never been more disappointed in a hyped up historical landmark than when I saw Boston's ode to the Tea Party. It was a sign. That was it. A sign that said 'This is where the Tea Party occurred'. It may have given a little history about it, but really, they make you study all of this stuff all through school and that's all they can give? A sign? Where's the boat? Or some sort of re-enactment? Nada. So disappointing. Oh, and Beantown, the Yankees do not suck.

The End of an Era

Well it's official! I'm now Mrs. Bringhurst as far as the state of New York is concerned. Since Ryan and I are New York residents, we had to complete the marriage license process here. Sixty dollars and a quickie ceremony later, we're Mr. and Mrs.

Now we have a 15 hour car drive home to Kentucky to get ready for the actual ceremony and reception. Can't wait to get home and celebrate!

Are we done yet?

Do you know how many muscles you have in your lower body? I do, because every single one of mine hurt, really really bad after my 16 mile run on Sunday. My feet hurt, my calves hurt, my thighs hurt, my hip hurt (just the left one. It's quirky like that) and oh yes, my back hurt. My lower body completely declared war after what I put it through.

What I put it through was a very cold, very windy run up and down the Hudson River. I chose to run there because it was a new area that was plenty big. I should've known when I left for the run that it was a bad idea. It was only 48 degrees out, and do you know that it drops like 30 degrees when you get by the water? And the wind. Oh the wind. It was awful. At one point I had to turn around and go back because I literally couldn't breathe from the wind hitting me in the face.

I guess the positive part of this story is that I did it. I finished. It took me running up and down and the same area over and over again to get the last 3 miles finished, but I did it.
I saw some pretty cool stuff too like this monument for Soldiers and Sailors. It set up a hill and I got to run up a bunch of steps and feel like Rocky at the top. Then I ran around it and back down. It's those types of perks that get you through the run.

Ode to Edy's

My allergies have officially taken control of my upper body. My nose itches, I can't stop sneezing and I want to claw my eyes out. It all started when I decided to have a nice relaxing lunch in the park for an hour and read my nook. During that time those allergies took control and have not let go, even with the help of my Eye Allergy Visine drops. Needless to say, this made my run in the park not as easy as intended.

For some reason I'm having difficulty getting motivated for these shorts runs. They just seem so...boring.

And can I just say that after all of this running, after over 100 miles in the past couple of months, I still don't feel like I'm any more toned or in shape? Sure I can run a decent distance, but based on visuals alone, it doesn't seem like much has changed. I know that my friend Edy's has something to do with it. And probably my lack of strength training. I just thought that burning 1,200 calories during a running session would leave me a bit more svelte. Also, what bride to be in her right mind eats bagels with loads of cream cheese a week before her wedding when she's due to slip into a very fitted wedding dress? That would be me. I try to bargain with myself that my body needs these carbs for all the running that I'm doing. I think that's the devil part of my brain talking. Honestly, I'd probably be happy if Ryan would throw out the Edy's Limited Edition Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie ice cream that's been residing in our freezer for the past couple of weeks. But then I'd probably be really sad, because that's some super good ice cream.

Camelbak or Hydration Belt?

Question for anyone that does distance running: Which is preferable for hydration? A Camelbak or belt? I personally don't think either look that great, but I'm going to have to stop relying on buying water from a vendor in the park each time I'm thirsty.

Thoughts?

14 miles and Counting...

Remember last week when I was writing about how awesome my long run was? Yeah well, this long run, this 14 mile long run, was not so much fun. For one thing, New York was experiencing a record high on Saturday. Even though I left early, it was already at 78 degrees by 9. Mile 1 was bad. Mile 2 was worse. By mile 3.5 I had to call Megan, hoping to be yelled at to stop whining and start running. However, I think 6:30 am was a little too early for her to start yelling, but I did get her blessing to walk some of it.

After about mile 5 I started to feel better. The miles started to get a little easier. In fact, without even realizing it, I ran all the way to the end of Central Park at 110th street. Then I kept running all the way across the park and then all the way back down. I managed to find my running trail too. It is such a crazy, chaotic trail. It looks like someone with severe ADD just started throwing out random trails all over the place. On the one hand it's great because it keeps you guessing where you're going. On the other hand, I end up having no idea where I'm at.

I felt so good once the run was over. I had successfully run farther than I've ever run in my entire life. My legs hurt, my feet hurt, my back hurt, but it was such a huge accomplishment for me. I can't wait to tackle the 16 miles this weekend.