Japanese Tapas in California - On the Floor

I was just in California for a work trip and the first night, had an interesting dining experience at a Japanese fusion tapas restaurant. That description itself should have been the first hint that this dinner wasn’t going to be ordinary. But strangely enough- the food was probably the most normal part of the evening.

We ventured to Cupertino, between San Jose and Santa Clara for dinner at GocHi Japanese Fusion Tapas. The restaurant was in a strip mall, next door to the oddest karaoke joint we’d ever seen. Once inside, we realized just how authentic this place was – the seating with tatami style – we were seated on the floor on mats with a cut out under the table for our legs to go in. It was surprisingly less uncomfortable than I thought it would be, despite my horrible posture.

What was slightly concerning was the sign asking us to remove our shoes- while simultaneously telling us that they were not responsible for any stolen shoes. Okay…

Once we sat down and received our menus, the concern grew as we read, “Please do not leave valuables in your car, especially where it’s visible from the outside.  Many cars have been broken into and had their important belongings stolen in our parking lot.”

Really?

The great thing about going to a tapas restaurant with a big group, is you get a chance to try so many different dishes! But GocHi’s menu is HUGE and we still only sample a small portion of their offerings.

Here’s what we had-

Edamame: Standard, although it was cold instead of warm and I prefer it warm.

Tako Carpaccio – Octopus, Sliced Cucumber, Plum Paste Vinaigrette Dressing drizzled with Garlic Oil: Not my favorite octopus that I’ve ever had, but it could have been worse

Hamachi Carpaccio – Yellowtail, Garlic-Ginger-Ponzu, and Chopped Jalapeno Drizzled With Garlic Oil: Again, not really anything special.

Gyuniku Salad – Thinly Sliced Cooked Beef & Spring Mix in Sesame Peanut Butter Dressing: SUPER DELICIOUS. Interesting texture and flavor, but I was a big fan. Figures, I liked the salad.

Kurobuta Steak – Kurobuta Pork Steak with Soy Brandy Sauce: This was really delicious and full of caramelized onions. Pork is always one of my favorites.

Hotate Tomato – Pan Seared Scallop and Roasted Tomato in Shiso-Pesto Yuzu: Didn't love the tomato but the scallop was really good and the pesto mixed with asian flavors was...interesting …

Gyuuniku Maki – Panko Crusted Beef Rolls with Asparagus and Cheese with Hatcho Miso Sauce: Yummy because it was friend and the brown gravy sauce was good too.

Nasu Curry Fusion Pizza – Pork Curry Sauce, Eggplant, Wild Mushrooms and Cheese: An awesome mix of flavors!

Buta Meshi Clay Pot Rice – BBQ Sliced Pork: Sooo good- the rice, with the sauce, with the crispy pork skin made me wish this didn’t come out last when I was already stuffed.

Specials
Tuna Tartare: Did not like this at all for some reason
Pork Meatballs: Delicious is an amazing broth with potatoes

Dessert
Sweet Potato Custard with Vanilla Ice Cream:  SO SO SOO DELICIOUS
Chocolate Cake: Boring
and Lychee Sorbet: Really sweet and refreshing and an interesting, icy texture

After dinner karaoke, anyone? 

(Stay weird, San Jose!) 

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Your Guide to Eating Mexican on The UES

Live in the Upper East Side? Like Mexican food? Hands down my favorite tacos that I’ve found in the city remain the tacos at Cascabel Taqueria. They changed me forever from a flour tortilla girl to a corn tortilla girl.

Usher ate there once.

They offer 10 different tacos, and while I haven’t tried them all, I can give recommendations on my favorite 3:
#1 Vegetal:  oyster mushroom / fingerling potato / poblano / tomato / spring onion house made creme / bibb lettuce / rabano / queso fresco / cilantro. Please, please order this. No matter how much you love meat. Order Cascabel’s veggie taco. I am generally against the word moist, but THEY’RE SO MOIST and flavorful! The queso fresco is killer.
#2 Al Pastor: chipotle achiote marinated pork butt / grilled pineapple / avocado / sauteed onions / paprika / epazote. Mainly, because pineapple and avocado are my favorites.
#3 Pollo Chipotle: shredded amish chipotle chicken / spring onion / avocado chicken chicharrón. Usually chicken isn’t my go to choice in terms of meat, but this is delicious!

There’s also a yellowfin tuna taco, shrimp taco, veal tongue, battered tilapia (a little too dry for my liking), chipotle pork, hanger steak, chorizo (also delicious), and another pork option!

So let’s talk prices.

Cascabel has an incredible all you can eat taco and all you can drink sangria/beer option on Monday nights. For $25 you can get unlimited Dos Equis or Sangria along with unlimited tacos (you have to order 3 of each kind at a time) and Mexi BBQ wings which were pretty good too.

The first time we went, the waiter was amazing- he gave us pitchers, he kept the tacos coming, he gave us orders of wings with our tacos. Second time, the waitress said she wasn’t allowed to give us pitchers, she couldn’t keep up with orders, and we couldn’t order wings and tacos at the same time (granted it was a much bigger group the second time around). Either way – we definitely had our fair share of tacos and sangria both times!

Another great deal that Cascabel has is taco flight Tuesdays – if you’re not looking to get sloshed on sangria or eat your body weight in tacos, this might be the option for you! $16 for 4 different tacos! Do it up, people.

Some other things to note about Cascabel:
*They have a brunch that sounds pretty delicious, though not one of the cheaper ones you can find
*Their margaritas aren’t anything special. The flavors sound special, but trust me, you’re going to pay way too much for way too little tequila.
*You MUST order their yucca fries! Their chipotle aioli is just the extra bit of fat and calories that you need with fried yucca. Order them, pretty please.
*Two locations - one on 2nd Avenue between 80th & 81st and one on Broadway at 108th St. 

I recently took a trip to another Mexican joint on the UES called Cantina 1436 and while I didn’t love them as much as I love Cascabel, I did appreciate their bowl options- quinoa, tofu, mushrooms, spinach, beans and onions was delicious, cheap, and made me feel like I wasn’t gaining 23489 pounds. Again, not worth the margarita price. BUT they have really great happy hour specials that I’ll have to check out. $5 margaritas and $2.50 tacos.

If you’re looking for a place with a strong margarita, check out Selena Rosa. 

Read more about my favorite margaritas HERE. 

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Pittsburgh on Pause

Let us recap the week in running and exercise, shall we? Even though I'm pretty sure the title of the post provides enough foreshadowing to tell you how things turned out...

As I said in my last post, Monday morning I woke myself up at 5:45, looked out the window, and said “Snow hasn’t started yet, no excuses, get your butt to the park.”

I got dressed, put on my sneakers, looked out the window and…the snow had started. But at that point there was no turning back, and I headed to the park for 6 miles that were faster than I’ve been typically running these days- 8:25 pace in the empty, snowy park and my week was off to a very positive start.

Tuesday was another early morning, but it wasn’t very difficult to get up and out because interval day is my favorite day and I knew I was meeting Melissa to do a few miles as a warm up! We did 3 miles followed by 2.5 miles of 400 meter intervals and a .5 mile cool down back home for a total of 6.

(Interval crew) 

It was cold, it was snowy, and when I got back to my apartment, there was no heat or hot water. Thank god for NYSC memberships.

Wednesday morning I returned to November Project after way too long off. I even got up and out for the 5:30 a.m. group so I could make it to physical therapy at 7:30! 

(So early, but so great)

My new apartment is almost 1.5 miles away from Gracie Mansion, and the workout was about 3 miles plus burpees, lunges and pushups! 5 miles total on Wednesday!

(NP_NYC)

Thursday was a day off from running but I did a shoulder and back circuit at the gym:
10 TRX rows
10 front plate raises (10 lbs)
10 ball slams (14 lb ball)
10 later side plate raises (5 lbs)
x4

Then,  15 minutes of rowing.

Friday was another day off from running – 

(Sometimes, seeing this is wonderful!)

Kayla, Melissa and I continued with my new favorite tradition – Friday decks & froyo! We met after work for 2 decks at NYSC. A KILLER arm deck (renegade rows, tricep extensions, lateral raises, pushups, and Kayla’s Chaturanga death move for the jokers. It took a while, so we made a quick ab deck to finish up with- penguins, lower ab circles, weighted Russian twists, and toes to sky.  

Next was the best part of deck & froyo Fridays- the froyo. $4 fill ups, thank you 16 Handles! Who cares that it was the coldest day of the year!?

(Mine's the one with extra graham cracker crumbs, frosted animal crackers and rainbow cookies)

Saturday was Valentine’s Day and it was the perfect morning. We woke up and headed to the park – I finished 12 miles relatively pain free and when I got back, an amazzzzing brunch was being cooked for me :)

Bacon.
Cinnamon Buns.
An omelet with spinach, mushrooms, peppers & cheese.
Hot chocolate with whipped cream and raspberry chocolate sauce.

Why do I spell omelet wrong every time. My brain just wants it to be omelette.

(Lucky girl!)

We got ready and got on a train to Connecticut for happy hour and endless appetizers at TGI Fridays. Approximately 40 mozzarella sticks later, it was time for some hockey! It was so nice being back at Quinnipiac. Watching hockey with some of my favorite people. And seeing BOOMER of course.

(Favorite people)

(Favorite bobcat)

(Just like the good old days!)

We spent the rest of the night drinking and eventually made it to Eli’s which was weird because it was emptier than I’ve ever seen it! Second trip to Hamden in a row where I’ve been forced to leave the women’s room by the bartender because I was busy girl talkin’ with friends. Woops.

Sunday we slept in and got RAY & MIKES SANDWICHES aka heart attack in sandwich form. Cheesesteak with a buffalo chicken cutlet. Because that’s necessary.

("The Irresistible") 

Then, time for more hockey- we had an entire suite to ourselves at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers game! Sadly, my parents and sister couldn’t make it, but we made the best of it.

(We may or may not have watched an entire period on the TV screen because we didn't want to leave the couch) 

Monday was President’s Day so we had an extra day of weekend-ness. I had every intention of running 6 miles. Instead, the cold made it impossible to run outside- my fingers and toes were immediately numb despite all my layers. So we went to the gym and I figured I could at least do a few miles on the treadmill.

Wrong.

Shins. Were. Awful.

I was crushed. My foot has been feeling almost 100%. I took 3 days off from running last week. My runs had been going great. I was finally back in the groove of waking up early in the mornings for my workouts.

The frustration and disappointment translated to me crying in the middle of New York Sports Club. Not my proudest moment.

Naturally, I dealt with it by brunching with my lovely ladies.

Potluck brunches are the best! You get lots of different food. The drinks are bottomless for AS LONG AS YOU WANT. You can take your shoes off and sit on couches.

Our menu consisted of:
The most delicious mini banana muffins that Kayla made. And healthy too! Probably not when you eat like 5 of them like I did, but whatever. 

S’more cookies that were killer. “If we eat them all now, we don’t have to worry about eating them later.”
Bruschetta, classic.
Avocado toast on Ezekiel bread <3
Greek yogurt with coconut flax granola (shout out to Nature's Promise, my favorite granola ever!)
Fruit salad
FRITATTA

And lots and lots of sangria. 

And maybe some cucumber vodka. Organic, of course.

Tuesday, I was supposed to run, but a delayed flight and landing in California later than scheduled meant I didn’t have time to make it to the gym.

I woke up this morning SO EXCITED to run in SHORTS and be WARM. My hotel is right near the Guadalupe River Trail, and I woke up nice and early with plenty of time to get in a wonderfully glorious 6-8 mile run.

If only.

Instead, I limped along for 2 miles before finally telling myself that this has to end.

I have to stop blatantly disregarding the warning signs that my body are giving me.

I have to stop knowing what I need to do to get better, and refusing to do it.

Thank you, to the November Project friend who Facebook messaged me and said, “I just honestly don't want to see a talented runner sidelined because of this mental side of training and need to keep up.”

Thank you to Kayla who probably doesn’t realize how much she has helped me- by watching her overall positivity despite not being able to run for so long – by seeing her persistently  stay active with decks and yoga – by being so unwavering in doing what it takes to make it to her end goal, to run happy and healthy again.

Thank you to Nina, whose tough love protestations of “GIVE IT A REST, IDIOT” have finally broken through my stubbornness.

Thank you to Peter for not pretending he didn’t know the weirdo breaking down in the middle of New York Sports Club and for hugging me instead.

Elliptical, rowing, biking, swimming, weights and decks it is for me for the time being.

I’m still fairly confident I can make Pittsburgh happen, but if I keep doing what I’m doing, there’s no way I’ll be making it to that starting line, let alone the finish. 

:(

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A Muddled Training and Injury Update

I don’t have a good enough memory to start where I left off back in December, so I’m just going to backtrack to January 12, when I officially started my training schedule for the Pittsburgh Marathon. I’m all set up with a 16 week training plan courtesy of the amazing NYRR Coach John.

This is my first time using the NYRR Virtual Training program, and it is way more awesome than I had even expected it to be. Each day, I’m given not only my mileage, but how it should be run. An easy day, marathon tempo pickups, intervals, hills? It’s all spelled out for me, complete with pace ranges!

As convenient as it is – it’s been hard for me to try not to get too wrapped up in all of the numbers. I successfully ran a marathon without worrying about the pace of each 1000 meters that I ran, and I can do it again. Having all this extra information and data is certainly helpful, and hopefully will help me improve as a runner, but it can also be overwhelming, especially when I’m injured. A lot of the suggested paces are what I was running before Wine Glass and now, with all the leg issues I’ve been having, they’re just not possible for me. It’s been discouraging, and I’m considering switching my program to the “conservative” track. 

Pittsburgh was never a “need to run this fast and BQ” race for me- I want to be healthy enough to run another fall marathon and use that to crush it and Boston Qualify. And in order to make that happen, I need to not kill myself training for Pittsburgh. I’m trying to keep telling myself that- but I’m stubborn and when I see that’s I’m scheduled to run 6 miles, I’m most likely going to run 6 miles whether it’s smart or not. It sounds stupid, I know. And it is stupid.

But while the virtual training program may be a little overwhelming and discouraging for now – it DOES tell me all the right things, like, “Remember to not be too rigid with your training. If you're feeling fatigued or feel a pain, by all means cut the run short. Sometimes we get so caught up in hitting a mileage goal that we lose sight of what our body is telling us.” 

I just need to work on believing that even if I miss a bunch of training runs by taking some time off/taking it easy – I’m in shape, I’m a good runner, and I will probably be OK to run Pittsburgh.

Also adding to the overabundance of data is the fact that for Christmas, I got the Garmin 220! My first run with it was Christmas morning and I was totally surprised to see what my pace actually was - MapMyRun had me feelin' like Meb and Garmin brought me back down to earth reallllll fast. As much as it sucked seeing those numbers, I'm glad that I can feel confident in what my watch is telling me. So far, KNOCK ON WOOD, I have had zero issues with my watch connecting to satellites and I love it so far. 

(What do you mean I'm not running 7:50 miles Garmin?!)

My training for Pittsburgh got off to a good start on January 12 – I was traveling for work, but I still managed to get my first 9 workouts in as planned, with additional strength training. I was ready to rock and roll. 

(Training schedule- check! Amazing necklace engraved with "Wineglass Marathon" and my finish time from my parents- check! Wonderful reading courtesy of Peter- check! Garmin- check! Awesome training journal from Laura- check!)

(Makin' it happen on the road)

My first long run was scheduled as a 6 miler, but months ago I had signed up for the Bluepoint Brewery 10-Miler out on Long Island (full review to come). So instead of sticking to the plan and starting off with a nice, easy, 6 miles – I went out and raced 10 miles. Those 10 miles didn’t feel good. At all. My calves were extremely tight and my shins were in a lot of pain. But I thought I was fine, because I finished.

(I also probably thought I was fine because I chugged two beers after crossing the finish line and was drunk at 10:30 a.m.)

The next day, I ran 2.7 miles to get to work at NY Running Co. Felt pretty OK. Monday, headed to Central Park for my scheduled 5 miles and as soon as I started, something in the arch of my right foot started hurting. It wasn’t the usual tight/sore/achy hurt that I’ve just learned to accept in other part of my legs. This was pain. And that difference right there is why I should have stopped. But instead I finished my 5 miles. Walking around doing errands the rest of the day was seriously painful.

So painful, that I very uncharacteristically called and made an appointment with an orthopedist the following morning. I was convinced this wasn’t something that would just go away and while I didn’t want to get bad news, I also wanted to know what the hell was up- I’ve never had foot issues before. Every other part of my legs, yes. Foot? Usually fine.

I went to the doctor that a friend had recommended to me and she was really nice- totally understood my panic at being only 1 week into marathon training and having to come in to see her. After x-rays and some ultrasound, she told me it was either tendinitis (not the worst thing in the world) or a stress fracture (the worst thing in the world). So she put me in a walking boot and told me to get an MRI. Well, of course by the time I got the authorization for an MRI, I was leaving on a work trip the next day, so the MRI would have to wait and I would have to work for a week in a boot.

I stubbornly continued to get in any and all cardio that I could while in the boot.

On Wednesday of that week, I did 15 minutes on the elliptical IN A BOOT. 15 minutes of rowing IN A BOOT. And some ab and arm exercises. Rowing and using the elliptical with a boot was oddly not that difficult.

(Nothin' to see here...completely normal...)

Thursday I did 30 minutes rowing, 15 minutes stationary bike, a tricep circuit, and fire hydrants, donkey kicks, leg raises, glute bridges and clamshells.

Friday was 30 minutes on the elliptical without the boot to see how I felt and 15 minutes on the bike before a chest and abs circuit.

From using the boot, my foot was starting to feel better and I was contemplating whether I could run the 5K I was signed up for on Saturday. I spoke with John and with instructions to not wear racing flats and to take it easy, I decided I would run the 5K.

(My fave up and coming speedster who kicked butt at the 5K!)

It was quite impressive the number of people that came out for a 5K in January in Columbus, Ohio. It was a well-organized race with awesome swag- a long sleeved technical shirt, buff and medal with lots of yummy snacks and full sized Gatorades at the end.

(My co-workers are pretty awesome for waking up to run a 5K before a 13 hour+ work day!)

But, my body was screaming at me the entire time saying, “You’re really stupid!” I was in a lot of pain. I almost stopped and walked but I couldn’t walk across a finish line.

(LOL, rough.)

When I got back to the city on Monday (after an 11 hour bus ride since everyone's flights were cancelled), there was snow everywhere and I ditched the boot because navigating slush puddles in a walking boot is no bueno. That night, I went to the gym and did some rowing and elliptical along with some deadlifts, squats and lunges.

(Perfect weather for navigating a suitcase home with a walking boot!)

Tuesday I went out in the park for 5 easy miles (except they weren’t easy because there was snow everywhere!) It was really pretty and my foot wasn’t that bad until I got to cat hill…but that’s pretty much the end of the run anyway.

(It felt like we were running in place at some parts, but the park was so pretty covered in snow!)

(A lovely gentleman was making perfectly shaped snowballs for people to throw!)

(Happy place!)

Wednesday I took a spin class and was relieved to find that it didn’t bother my foot at all. That night I went in for my MRI.

Thursday I was an idiot and did a deck of cards workout that included speed skaters, box jumps, jumping jacks and squat thrusts. I was expecting all of the above to really bother my foot- but it didn’t!

Friday I took the day off and Saturday I cautiously ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Not too much pain, but also not the 9 mile long run I was scheduled to run, which stressed me out.

Sunday was fun because I joined some people from November Project for a #TravelCheerStation for the 4 miler in Central Park. What is a Travel Cheer Station you ask? We ran the course in the opposite direction and cheered every time an NP comrade passed by. It was really fun and I got in 6.5 miles.

My paces continued to upset me- with 9:17 being Sunday’s.

(Pace, schmace- I had a blast on Sunday travel-cheering with these ladies. Might be my new favorite activity. Why pay to run the race when you can just run it in the opposite direction and encourage people the whole way?!)

Monday I went back to the orthopedist for my MRI results and was told IT’S NOT A STRESS FRACTURE.

I’m free to run, since I can’t really do any more damage to the tendon which is already inflamed. She gave me a prescription for an anti-inflammatory (which I STILL have not been able to get filled by a pharmacy) and fitted me for a brace that has done WONDERS. She also wants me to go to physical therapy – which I’ve been two twice now and will go to 3 times this week.

Once I found out Monday morning, I decided to cut the mileage a little bit for each day on my calendar, but to jump back in.

I was even able to do some speed work on Tuesday on the treadmill!

1 Mile Warm Up @ 8:34 Pace
400 meters @ 7:19
:45 rest
400 meters @ 7:14 Pace
:45 Rest
400 meters @7:09 Pace
:45 Rest
400 Meters @ 7:04 Pace
:45 Rest
400 Meters @ 6:59 Pace
:45 Rest
400 Meters @ 6:54 Pace
 :45 Rest
400 Meters @ 6:49 Pace
 :30 Rest
400 Meters @ 6:44 Pace
.5 Mile Cool Down @ 10:00 Pace
.25 Mile Cool Down @ 8:13 Pace
.25 Mile Cool Down @ 8:20 Pace
.25 Mile Cool Down @ 8:27 Pace
.25 Mile Cool Down @ 8:34 Pace

Oh AND I went to yoga. Yoga really frustrated me, as usual, because EVERYTHING HURTS when it’s supposed to feel good! Child’s pose was painful! Why is everything so tight?!

Anyway, my foot has been feeling a lot better with the brace, and last week I was able to run 23.5 miles. The only real pain was after my 9 mile long run on Saturday. As soon as I stopped and started walking, it killed.

(Saturday long run crew! Solid.)

The long run wasn’t great in terms of how I felt, but meeting a huge group at NYRR Saturday morning full of friendly, excited faces made it worth it. I also am not the biggest fan of long runs in Central Park, so I was happy that I only had to do 9 miles.

(Donezo!)

This morning was the first running awhile where I was able to keep a pace that I was happy with- and although there was still some pain, it wasn’t terrible and I felt good with how things went afterwards.  6 miles at an 8:25 pace. I can definitely live with that.

I have lots of plans for this week- intervals tomorrow, NP Wednesday and hills Thursday- but we’ll see if that actually pans out.

I don’t really know what this post accomplished besides re-hashing the last 2 weeks of training but, yup. There ya have it.

If you take anything away from this post it should be that you can use the elliptical, ERG and stationary bike with a walking boot on but you will get some weird looks.

Also, don’t do what I do. 

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Frustrated, But Back

It’s been an almost solid 2 months since I last blogged, which is really kind of crazy when I think about all the things that have happened since my last post in December.

Of course I’ve been running, working out, and eating delicious, healthy foods. I made my own stuffed acorn squash, and found a new neighborhood Chinese takeout place with a special “health & diet” section!

(Homemade!)

(Tried Sweetgreen for the first time in DC too!) 

But I’ve also been traveling, drinking, and eating things like candied bacon and pumpkin doughnut bread pudding with bourbon ice cream. I also spent an entire day in bed, and only got up to go to a bar for football, beer and nachos.

(This dessert was unreal and one night we ordered 3 of them...)

I wish I could say the healthy lifestyle choices and green juices were outweighing the not-so-healthy choices, but in reality, last Friday I covered a 7-11 Boston Cream Donut in Nutella.  So there’s that. There’s also definitely some extra lbs thanks to my choices…

There’s also the fact that I’m in the process of moving, I was traveling for the majority of January, and have another trip coming up in February. Oh right, and that marathon training thing is happening (kind of, but more on that later). Excuses, excuses, I know.

(I really shouldn't complain about traveling when I get to see things like THIS!)

But I recently received an email that someone had commented on the blog, and that comment gave me the kick in my pants that I needed to get back into this blog. This commenter was a self-described new runner and food lover and they asked me to please start blogging again, because they had just discovered my blog. How could I not? So thank you, commenter, for letting me know that someone out there wanted to read what I have to say about two of my favorite things- fitness & food :)  

To be honest, nowadays running hasn’t given me that feeling of being on top of the world that it used it. In fact, most days at the end of a run I just want to scream and cry in frustration. Something that used to be effortless and enjoyable has become something that is painful and stressful as I try to train for a marathon that my body doesn’t seem to want to run. I’ll get into the specifics of my plagued body parts in a separate post, but needless to say, it’s been disheartening.

(Only 2 weeks into marathon training and I ended up HERE. Ugh)

Luckily, I am surrounded by positive people who make me smile and who share my love of not only exercise, but life. My running buddies have become so much more. They’re there waiting for me at Engineer’s Gate for a 5 mile run after a blizzard, they’re there waiting for me at Engineer’s Gate at 6:30 a.m. for some pre-work intervals, they’re there to walk 6 miles uphill with my mattress, bookshelves, and entire wardrobe, they’re there when I really need a freaking drink at the end of the week, and they’re there when I really need a mimosa Saturday morning at brunch.

(We like running)

(AND we like unlimited sangria and tacos!)

Having people like that makes it easier to handle life’s frustrations and stresses. And makes it easier to handle how, on some days, I am so dang ready I am to throw the towel in on this marathon.   

But like JackRabbit’s Instagram account reminded me this morning, “It’s rare when everything lines up and you feel invincible during your run. That happened to us today- and we want you to chase that feeling too.” And that’s what keeps me going. Because I have to believe that one of these days, everything’s going to click and I’m going to have a great run. Runs like that don’t happen every day, but I’ve had my share of them and I can still remember each and every one. It’s worth every single painful, difficult, shitty step for the feeling of one effortless, happy run.

(This was after my first 16 miler when I felt on top of the world - exhausted, but on top of the world. RAWR)

Here’s to hoping it happens soon. I could really use it! 

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