Two Things Tuesday

ONE: Marathon training has officially begun! As of this morning, in fact! Yes, I’ve been running consistently, but I just decided today at 6am that I should probably, like, follow a plan or something. What race am I training for? The Mohawk Hudson River Marathon in the Capital Region of Upstate, NY — yes, the same (and only) 26.2 mile course I’ve run twice before. Hey, if it ain’t broke…right?
I’ve had two great experiences and love the course and running in early October, and it’s important to me to run a race at home so that my parents & loved ones can be there, so this has become my favorite race. I’ve done the half twice (2011 & 2012) and the full twice thus far (2013 & 2015), forced to defer 2014 due to an injury, and I’m excited to train for this full again. I like the structure and accountability a training plan offers me, even if I don’t always stick to it unwaveringly, and I’m hoping the next 13 weeks take me on a journey of self that challenges & stretches me in all sorts of ways.

I’ve chosen to follow Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 1 Marathon Training plan, which is the same one I (loosely) used last time. No complaints with it and I adjust as needed.

TWO: Dave Matthew Band — in concert, this coming Saturday night. So, so stoked for this outdoor summer concert at my favorite (and most-frequented) concert venue, Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). I’ve seen dozens of concerts & ballets here throughout my life, but DMB has always been the front-runner — this will be my 10th time seeing them in concert since I became a huge fan in my early teens. An outdoor show on a golden evening in Saratoga, NY, where the music couldn’t be any more summer-perfect and the atmosphere is one of overwhelming joy and revelry just to be alive in that moment…those are some of my favorite memories of growing up Upstate, and I can’t wait to relive that again this weekend!

Dave selling out SPAC!

What’s something you’re looking forward to this week?
Anyone following a plan/training for a fall marathon?

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snippets from my lately life

hi, friends! hope you all had fabulous July 4th weekends. i was off both Friday and Monday and was out and about nonstop since last Thursday night, so i’ve had quite the lovely little long weekend and am struggling a bit to get back into the swing of things this week (aka put on work clothes and be a 9-5 adult).

life has been fun, though! busy busy, but fun.

here’re some highlights/updates from my lately life:

*running. still doing it, but i admit the last week hasn’t been very plan-following…and i’m actually okay with that. it’s nice to give yourself a little slack from the runcrazy mentality sometimes, it seems. i’m aware that i can tend to get a bit obsessive.

i had a friend in town who is also a runner, so we ran together Friday & Monday, and it was nice to have a running partner (even if he eventually broke away and smoked me both times). Saturday the weather forced me indoors, so i suffered through 4 miles on a treadmill and thankfully emerged unscathed. gah those things are hard to wrap your mind around once you’ve foregone them for a bit!

*Dave Matthews Band. their music was basically the soundtrack to my high school and college years, and i saw them play live on Saturday evening in Saratoga, NY for the first time since my early 20s. i’m such a fan of Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) — it’s an amazing indoor/outdoor venue, and my favorite place to see Dave play.and holy cow, those guys are incredible. there’s something about an amazing live show that gives me all the feelings and ignites the very air, and i stood there in a crowd of 30,000 people with such a full heart and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the simple things in life. i think his music just does that to people, as it’s so uplifting and energetic and makes you want to love everything and everyone.

just Googling his lyrics makes me happy. #musiciseverything

*fitness fashion. unsurprisingly (and luckily!), a few of my closest girlfriends gave me workout clothes for my birthday (thanks, loves! you know me so well), and i’m absolutely over the moon for these Omshanti pants my bestie Alex gave me:i think peacocks are just the coolest, and i’ve been eyeing these babies for months now and am sososososo stoked about them. this is my second pair of Omshanti Power Pants, and i’m a big fan of them. the material is super silky and light and stretchy and comfortable, and i love the patterns and colors. definitely a repeat customer here. now i just need to start doing yoga!

*NYC. because my city never ceases to amaze me with little bits of magic around every corner, and little snippets of wisdom speckling the sidewalks.i especially liked this one because it immediately made me think of a Bible verse i love, Proverbs 4:23:

always solid advice.

*eating: mangoes. can’t get enough of fruit lately, which is actually helping me eat less sugar/chocolate/any other snacks, so i’m loving this and hoping it becomes a sustainable life habit thing. i eat pretty clean, but i definitely could clean it up more and snack less, so fruit is my answer to that!

*reading:my friend was reading it at my lakehouse over Memorial weekend and raved about it, so i jumped on the bandwagon. i’m liking it — definitely a page turner — even if the main character sort of drives me crazy. i have issues with judging the main characters of novels if i don’t find them overly likeable or relatable. does that happen to anyone else? i SO love a good book and i want to like the person telling the story so that i’m invested in what happens to him/her, and it can be a thin line for me sometimes! it’s a cool story — the writing is good but not spectacular (i love when a book has beautiful, flowery, descriptive writing), and it’s a good, light summer read.

Send me some book recommendations, please!! i’m in desperate need of something good.

What’s up in your world lately?
Anyone had any good runs they’d like to brag about? i’ll live vicariously through you this week, as i capped out at a sweaty, humid, messy 6-miler. the weather in NYC has been gross lately!