Our Favorite Race: The Chocolate 5k Run

When Todd and I first started running, I wanted to find a race that was timed and competitive but also fun, with good prizes. As fate would have it, my Google search led me to the Chocolate 5k Run. It offers a challenging course (with an off-road element), a spirit of community, and both a race shirt and breakfast (eggs, sausage, pancakes, chocolate fountains!) included in the price. This year, as the race marked its fifth anniversary, Todd and I received honorary jars of chocolate for being two of only fifteen people who have participated in the run every year since its inception!

Clockwise from top right: at the starting line;
standing among the five-year participants;
getting coffee in nearby Cornwall, NY.

The race organizers, members of the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in New Windsor, have no idea how important that jar of chocolate was to me this year: For the past six months, I’ve been dealing with a scary head pain that started a couple of weeks before Todd and I ran the New York City Marathon in November. Tests have, thankfully, come back negative for anything sinister, but I’ve still been really anxious for it to go away. Plus it’s completely affected my exercise regimen and my training, so I knew that I wasn’t going to run the 26-minute Chocolate 5k I did last year, placing in the top three runners of my age group to earn a jar of chocolate.

I’m proud to say that, on race day, I did the best I could, given the circumstances. I made sure to stretch and do the neck exercises my physical therapist has assigned to me, and despite the rain, I started the race in good spirits. I kept a slow pace for two miles, running first beside Mom, then Dad, who encouraged me with his antics (racing past me while singing, zooming ahead only to wait for me and wave me on at the top of a huge hill). I took the time to look around and be grateful, for the pretty trees and blooming leaves, the handmade signs of encouragement around the course, and the community members who stood outside in the rain to cheer us on. And I even finished the race with a spurt of speed, thanks to one very competitive runner who tried to beat me to the finish line in the final stretch.

I might not have placed this year, but my honorary jar of chocolate is an award enough, because it means I didn’t let pain or fear stop me from running my favorite race or living my life to the fullest.

Thanksgiving Weekend in Photos

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did: it was a lot of work, but spending time with family made it all worth it. Plus, we’ve had leftovers for days—which made dinner much easier on Saturday and Sunday while we put up all our Christmas decorations. Here are some snapshots I’d like to share.

Countdown to Disney: 45 Days

My Disney obsession is no secret. I first visited with my parents and brother in 2001, and thought I don’t remember much of the trip—to those who know me well, it’s also no secret that I have the worst memory in the world—I know I had a good time. Todd and I visited together early in our relationship, then again in 2012 when he proposed. And on our recent trip to California with my parents, we visited Disneyland for the first time (right). But every time we’ve gone to that magical place, it’s been warm and sunny—until now. This year we’ll be in Disney World for New Year’s Eve, so that we get to experience all of the holiday decor plus a special celebration to welcome 2018.

Vacation Memories

As recently as last month, my parents hadn’t been on a vacation since their honeymoon. They’re two of the hardest working people I know, and I thought they deserved some time away, so I convinced them that we should take a family trip to see the West Coast—from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon to the Hoover Dam to Las Vegas to Los Angeles. I’ll eventually share details about each part of our trip (including the best deep-dish pizza I’ve ever eaten and our kayak surprise), but for now I just wanted to share a picture from each leg of our trip and say hello to everyone I’ve been missing these past two weeks:

Grand Canyon

Todd and I at the Grand Canyon, one of the most stunning vistas I’ve ever seen.

Las Vegas

Disneyland

With Nick Wild from Zootopia at Disneyland. I loved taking family photos with characters!

Los Angeles

On the Santa Monica pier, my favorite spot in LA.

My 29th Birthday… Sort Of

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It was my sort-of birthday this weekend: Technically I was born on February 29, the extra day in a leap year, but since there isn’t one this year, I guess I can celebrate whenever I want! Everyone was so good to me. Todd’s parents bought me the rainbow cookie cake I’m posing with in the slideshow above, and my parents got me some cute cupcake balloons and took the family out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. And everyone gave me wonderful cards and gifts! I’m so thankful to have such awesome people in my life.

I know I haven’t updated this blog in a few weeks; it’s been tough to juggle work, household chores, errands, and hangouts. And when I do have some time, I’m not too sure what to write about. But now that I’m (almost, sort of) 29, I’ll try to be more responsible and do better haha. I also hope to really make progress on my New Year’s resolutions between now and my next birthday, as well as train for the 2018 New York City marathon. But I also hope to find more time for the people who make my life as meaningful as it is: all of my family and friends, and my fellow bloggers and online amigos who push me to do better, be better, and live better.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on what your favorite blog posts have been, and what you’d like to see more of going forward so that I can brainstorm some ideas. And, as always, thank you so much for your continued readership and support!!! xo

A Reminder to Give Thanks

It’s been just over one week since Thanksgiving, and I’ve spent the week trying to truly hold on to the gratitude I felt on that day. It’s always so easy on a holiday, with no work and the prospect of delicious meals and family time, to feel thankful for the things and people in our lives. It’s a lot harder after the fact, when we’re too full and back to the daily grind. I want to be appreciative more often, if I can. We only get one life in which to show people they matter to us, and I want to use mine. I hope you’ll join me in this quest: to be thankful every day in December leading up to Christmas and the New Year. I’m going to start trying to post to my twitter account each day with the hashtag #ThankfulDecember to remind myself that no matter how cold it is outside or how hectic it is at work, there’s always something to be grateful for. I’d love it if you could post, too, and we can help inspire each other!

 

 

7.5-mile Fall Harvest Race

The day before the 7.5-mile Fall Harvest Race in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, I trimmed down my Spotify running playlist and packed leggings, a t-shirt, a long-sleeve insulated shirt, a head warmer, and two pairs of socks. Todd, my parents, and I drove about an hour upstate to Beacon and walked around the town: art galleries, a hipster coffee shop that wasn’t as good as we remembered, a chocolate shop, and a record store, but also a Key Food, a squat library, and a smoke shop or two. Mountains rose in the distance, but I could never get a picture unmarred by houses or cars or telephone poles. We ate dinner—a patty melt for me, a pork chop for Todd, a chicken-and-avocado sandwich for Dad, and a walnut-crusted chicken salad for Mom that had more meat than lettuce—at a diner a few towns over, then retired to an airport hotel room infested with ladybugs.

At half-past seven the next morning, we picked up our free t-shirts and race bibs at the Storm King Engine Co., a firehouse on what appeared to be Cornwall-on-Hudson’s main street, alongside a cafe, a diner, a flower shop, a post office, and a gazebo. In the same room as packet pickup, colorful gift bags held raffle prizes and organizers offered coffee and bagels to runners. Around 8:20 we made our way to the start line, where we found only a dozen or so others waiting. By 8:30 a small crowd had formed, and we were off! It turned out that only 80 of us participated, a majority of the crowd potentially having signed up for a nearby trail race instead (according to what I overheard one local saying to another, anyway).

The first two miles took us through the town: houses and lawns, cars with Trump bumper stickers. I kept clenching and unclenching my fingers into a fist to try and get some feeling in them. Around Mile 3 we passed back along the main street and headed toward Storm King State Park, a 1,972-acre tract of protected land. During Miles 3 and 4, we got some great views of the Hudson River. Mile 5 took us steadily uphill. We had passed my parents earlier, and at this point Todd slowed to a walk. It was just me for a while, following the white painted arrows on the roads, which were open to traffic, to figure out which way to go in order to stay on course. I passed up a group of women who’d been in my sight at the start of the run but whom I’d since lost track of. My legs burned, especially the backs of my thighs. My breath came heavy, since I’d been running the race at a faster pace than usual. But I didn’t focus on those things; instead, I felt only gratitude—for the pure, crisp air and crunch of leaves and nostril-tingling scent of nature and woodsmoke. At the top of the biggest hill, there was a spectacular view of the Hudson Valley, a swath of red and gold trees. Another few more small climbs, then downhill the last mile to the finish line, where I came in at 1 hour and 13 minutes, with an average pace of approximately 9:50/mile. Though I placed 56th overall (those runners were fast!), I was second in my gender/age group and got a cool embossed cup as a prize.

On the drive home, we stopped to snap a photo at a scenic view:

 

A Boo-tiful Halloween

Wow, I’ve been busy! I’d spent some time planning snacks and activities for a Halloween party held at my friend’s house in Connecticut, and I’m pleased to say that it was a success. We had a sleepover the night before so that we could wake up and get an early start on all of our creations, from chocolate cupcakes to fruit cups meant to look like candy corn.

Clockwise from top left: Elina and me, wearing matching Halloween socks, with Ghost; chocolate-covered Oreo cookies made to look like pumpkins; a salad topped with a sour cream “spider web”; spinach “toxic waste” mac & cheese; and orange, pineapple, whipped cream “candy corn” fruit cups.

At the party we also took pictures with Halloween props and watched Poltergeist, a horror classic that isn’t scary but is fun to poke fun at. We even carved pumpkins! Todd and I went the easy route and just turned out pumpkin into a bat, but some of our friends etched out some really creative designs.

On Sunday, I decided that we still hadn’t had enough Halloween sugar, so I baked a lemon-ricotta cake with cream cheese frosting and a layer of lemon curd, then decorated it with some Halloween sprinkles. I also made mini cupcake versions, but those were topped with a vanilla-malt frosting. Mom and I baked vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, too, and had fun scarify-ing them with spooky ghosts and gummy worms and any other candy we could find.

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To burn some of those calories, Todd and I did a six-mile run to the Botanical Garden in hopes of seeing some fall foliage. Most of the trees hadn’t begun their transformations yet, but we saw some stunning fall colors near the entrance of the garden. When we got home, we quickly washed Todd’s car before it rained, falling in sheets so thick you couldn’t see through them. It was nice to relax and listen to the storm after the busy weekend we’d had.

Unfortunately I missed out on seeing the cute costumes of trick-or-treaters because I had to work late yesterday, and it’s likely to be busy and late all week here at O magazine. But it’s okay: I have plenty of sweets and candy to help me power through!

My Bachelorette Painting Party

In the time since my last post, we’ve mostly been busy with wedding planning. We finalized the music selections for our ceremony and reception. We organized our seating chart and coordinated with the florist. We ordered our cake topper, created a program for hotel guests, and figured out our favors. We sorted hundreds of pearls based on size and shape: flat-bottom, large, medium, small, very small. But the best part of the past two weeks was the one thing I didn’t plan: my bachelorette party!

The Ups and Downs of the 5 Boro Bike Tour

I’d been really looking forward to the TD 5 Boro Bike Tour after the pleasant 25-mile training ride I did with my dad, brother, and Todd about a month ago. But as May 1 loomed closer and the forecast predicted rain, I started to feel less confident. I’d never cycled in the rain before. Especially not surrounded by literally thousands of people who might skid and crash into me. But I didn’t want to quit before I even tried (nor did I want to lose the $99 I paid for the event), so Dad went out and bought us all ponchos. On the morning of the bike tour, we tied plastic bags around our socks to try to keep the rain out. Then, in just the barest drizzle, we biked to the subway that would take us downtown.

Todd, Dad, Brother, and me outside of our house before heading to the subway.

The Second Annual Chocolate 5k Run

Just when I thought nothing exciting enough to blog about would ever happen again, I scored a new PR in the second annual chocolate 5k run: 28 minutes and 32 seconds. That’s nearly two minutes faster than I ran the same course last year, so I felt pretty proud of my improvement. Here are a few highlights from the race!

Welcoming the Fall with Apple Picking

Sometimes you have to dig deep to get the best apples.

We kicked off the season last weekend with a quintessential fall activity: apple picking! We went to Barton Orchards, about an hour upstate from my house, and luckily we arrived early enough to beat the crowds that developed later in the day. Though I had worn a sweater in the morning, the weather warmed up enough that I didn’t need it, and it was a beautiful day to enjoy apple cider donuts and spend time with Todd and my parents.

Photo Post

Some pretty big life developments are in the works right now that I truly hope to get the chance to share with you soon. For now, because I don’t have a ton of time but don’t want to forget about posting on this blog, I thought I would do a short, fun photo post to give you a glimpse into my weekend. And I’m already looking forward to the upcoming weekend because I’m going apple picking! Hopefully that will lead to some great recipes I can share.

My First Ever (Hopefully My Only) Engagement Party

Nothing beats celebrating life milestones with family and friends, and that’s what I did this past Saturday. My parents hosted an engagement party for me and Todd in our backyard and decorated with balloons and streamers. My mom and Todd’s mom cooked all of the food; although I forgot to take pictures of it, I can tell you that it all tasted delicious, from the baked ziti and eggplant parmigiana to the glazed corn beef and roasted Brussels sprouts. We finished the celebration with a huge napoleon cake—my favorite! Because it gives me so much joy to think about how many people care about us and how nice it was to spend time with all of those people, I wanted to share some photos from the event with all of you.

Returning Home Sweet Home

Engagement ring

I love traveling, from flipping through magazines on the plane ride to exploring new places and having incredible adventures. My recent trip to Disney World with my boyfriend checked all of those boxes. We ate at some delicious restaurants, like The Wave; we ventured on Disney’s Wild Africa Trek in Animal Kingdom, which I’ll hopefully get a chance to review in a later blog post; and I saw my first Cirque Du Soleil show ever. Todd and I even found time to exercise by doing yoga in our hotel room, riding surrey bikes around the boardwalk, jogging around our resort, swimming in the pool, and walking pretty much from the moment we woke up to the minute we collapsed in bed every night. Of course, I can’t forget the most exciting part of our trip: our engagement. Todd popped the question on the observatory deck of the California Grill restaurant, right before we watched the fireworks exploding over Magic Kingdom. As you can probably guess from the picture, I said yes. After our stay in Disney World, we visited my grandparents and had a great time cooking Hungarian food like palacsinta and chicken paprikas with them. We also went bowling (they won) and played cards (they won again).

Rising Up to the Challenge

On Sunday I participated in the NYPD’s 13th Annual Memorial Run, which honors fallen police officers. It brought me one step closer to my goal of completing at least three 5k runs this year. My timing in the Bronx Zoo Run for the Wild averaged about 34 minutes in total, a pace of approximately 11.5 minutes per mile. This time, I wanted to complete the run in 32 minutes or less but didn’t know if I could.