Truth

{photo from we heart it}

I am, if nothing else, honest, particularly when it comes to this blog.  As I began reflecting over 2010 and thinking about how/what I'd do to sum up the last year on Hang On Little Tomato, I started thinking about why I blog at all.  My blog, as I'm sure you've gathered, is extremely personal in nature.  I've never been afraid of being brutally honest about my life because guess what?  I'm not here to sugarcoat anything.

Last week I was catching up w/ an old friend on gchat, and she said something along the lines of "Your life sounds fabulous."  I laughed to myself, knowing that she was basing this statement on my tweets and occasional facebook updates.  Is my life fabulous?  Sure, sometimes, but I'm sure it sounds a lot more fabulous via Twitter/FB than it actually is.  Isn't that how it always goes?  Actually, one of the things I hate most about Facebook is that it's become a competition of "whose life sounds better?"  It's insanely annoying, and at times, depressing, especially when you feel like your life isn't going so well.  I know, I've been there.  Many a time.

So no, my life is not nearly as fabulous as it may sound, but it is pretty sweet these days.  For the past few weeks I've found it difficult to walk around and not smile.  How did I get here?  One year ago today, I had no idea that I'd be living in New York.  I had no idea that I would no longer be practicing law.  I had no idea that everything could change in such a short period of time.  And all for the better.  I am so so SO thankful.  I am so blessed.  I have been so ridiculously lucky.  I thank God about a million times a day.  I am grateful and want to share some of that gratitude with you. 

New York City... is my home now.  That continues to blow my mind every time I step foot outside of my apartment.  Despite all the annoying things about living here, this city has welcomed me with open arms.  I've adjusted alarmingly well (and much to my surprise), and I kind of can't imagine being anywhere else right now.  I love it.  I love it so much.

My social life... is completely different from where it was a year ago.  I think part of it is living in the city (it's almost impossible not to be super social here), but a lot of it has to do with the fact that for the first time in a couple of years, I want to be social.  Don't get me wrong - I still crave my alone time and solitude - I just don't need as much right now.  People warned me of how lonely NYC can feel, no matter how many friends you have.  But I haven't felt lonely at all.  I have a WONDERFUL support system here, and that, my friends, is priceless.


My roomies... rock my world.  I never, EVER thought I'd enjoy living with roommates as much as I have.  Granted, it hasn't always been easy (remember all the complaining I did early on??).  But these days, we've fallen into a wonderful and regular rhythm of living together and enjoying it.  Take this past weekend, for example.  Friday night Roomie Une and I were both exhausted and decided to have a chill night in.  We ordered pizza, shopped at a blissfully empty Trader Joe's, and then went to Borders at midnight to purchase Eclipse.  We then proceeded to make coffee, eat Candy Cane Joe Joe's (AMAZING!!), and stay up watching the movie.  It was one of the best Friday nights ever!  Saturday, Roomie Une, Roomie Trois and I got bundled up and headed to Friend of a Farmer for brunch.  We ordered beaucoup du cafe, pumpkin pancakes, and a ginormous breakfast burrito and chatted about everything.  We then hit up the Fifth Avenue shops for... well, a lot of shopping we probably didn't need to do.  ;)  Today, Roomie Trois got engaged, and I couldn't be happier for her (although I'll be tres sad when she moves out next year). 

My job... rocks my face off.  No, seriously, I never thought I could enjoy going to work as much as I do.  Even when we had our major emergency, and I had to work on the weekend and stay late on Friday nights, I still loved it.  And it has 99% to do with the fact that I adore the people I work with.  They are smart, hard-working, kind and FUN individuals, and I feel like I have a whole new family. 

My apartment... is a third floor walk-up in the heart of Chelsea, and it has a WASHING MACHIEN.  It's mere minutes from a great movie theater, Trader Joe's, my gym, and about a bizillion restaurants.  And my room, while small, has a decent sized closet and is pleasantly pink.  :)

My running... would not have taken off again had I not been here, surrounded by inspiring runners and a gorgeous park.

My life... is wonderful.  It's not always great.  My days have their ups and downs.  I still get pissed off, I still cry, I still wish that certain things could be different.  But overall?  I'm the happiest I've been in a very, very long time.  Merci, 2010.  You've been a good year.

5 Miles... Again

WONDERFUL long run in Central Park.  Definitely less "I want to die" than last week's 5-miler, which is funny considering I ran under a 10 min mile for most of it.  Also, it was mad chilly!!!  34 degrees yo.  I busted out the running tights and looked like a walking Lululemon ad...

Also, you can't tell from the pic, but my socks were purple and also Lululemon.  Yup... I'm ridic.

Was I warm?  Yes, while I was running, I felt great.  At times I even unzipped a little because my neck was getting too hot.  But afterwards my fingers were completely frozen (the Gatorade I held during the last mile decidedly did not help).  I am definitely getting my hands on some running gloves before my next run.  34 degrees is COLD, y'all.  Anyway, here are my stats!

Distance: 5.08 miles
Avg Pace: 9:55/mi

1. Mile 1 - 9:53/mi
2. Mile 2 - 10:17/ mil (HELLO, HILLS!!)
3. Mile 3 - 9:41/mi
4. Mile 4 - 9:48/mi
5. Mile 5 - 9:59/mi

Calories Burned: 631 (which I then consumed in the form of a salted caramel hot chocolate)
Ascent: 807 ft
Descent: 893 ft

Not sure why I ran so much faster than normal, but whatevs!  I feel GOOD.  Currently icing my shins (those hills are brutal) then taking a very hot shower.  Tonight is Harry Potter!!

Have a WONDERFUL Sunday, mes amies!!

Bad Run

Tonight I had one of those runs.  You know, the kind where after you've barely finished, you're asking yourself how the HELL you're going to run 13.1 miles when you can barely run 3.5?  Yeah.  I don't know what was going on, but my body was not having it.  My chest felt like it was going to explode, I got a sharp pain under my bust (on the right side, bien sur), and my legs felt like lead.  I had to stop multiple times to "drink water" and every minute felt like an hour.  Miserable.  I know this happens, I know that every run can't be a good run, but what the heck??  How can I run 5 miles no problem on Sunday (with HILLS no less) and barely squeak out 3.5 tonight?  Depressing.

Give Thanks!

My Thanksgiving looked a little something like this:

{photo from www.korean-arts.com]

No, really, it did!  Maybe on a slightly smaller scale, but I kid you not when I say my Mom makes several dishes for every meal, even if it's just for my Dad.  She's a rockstar!  And I ate TONS of her delicious food during my short visit to Texas.  Oh Texas... I sort of miss thee.  I missed Super Target and Chick-Fil-A, but really, I think my heart belongs in NYC.  Shh don't tell!! 

I DID, however, miss Momma Park immensely.  It had been SIX WHOLE MONTHS since I'd seen her!  So, naturally, we spent every waking (and sleeping) moment of my 3-night stay together.  Highlights included: 

• eating a LOT (korean stews, grits, biscuits, bacon, persimmons, beer, candy, coffee)
• going for a run together - I ran, and my Mom walked with water bottles so I could loop back around and take a swig when I got thirsty - genius!
• inhaling Chick-Fil-A post-run - it was just as delicious as I remember
• SHOPPING!!!  Mom bought me a new suit (3 sizes smaller than my old one - hurray!), 2 blazers, and a darling skirt.  All for work, of course.  :) 
• TARGET!  The clothes were tres disappointing, but I scored some Hello Kitty slippers and some majorly cute Christmas stickers.  (I snuck them into the cart and at checkout, my Mom gave me the "Do you KNOW how many stickers you have at home???" look.  But she didn't take them out.  :D
• Plane rides to and from w/ my dear friend David.  Despite my ridiculosity and general high-maintenance when it comes to flying, we had a good time.  And saw Lance Bass and Harry Connick, Jr.!

All in all, I had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!  How was yours??

RUN: 5 Mile Long Run

Central Park.  45 degrees.  Sunny. 

My stats:

Total Mileage: 5.02 miles
Avg Pace/Speed: 10:05/mi, 5.9 mph
Max Speed: 8.5 mph
Ascent: 844 ft (apparently this figure isn't terribly accurate on the Garmin, but either way, these hills were mad hard, dude)
Descent: 901 ft (sure felt like less than that...)

This run was surprisingly good, although my pace was all over the place.  My average pace was below my norm because after I stopped for a Gatorade at the end of mile 3, I ended up stopping a lot to drink it and finish it so I didn't have to carry it around (SO annoying).  I didn't have a great feeling going into the run (tired, cranky belly), and despite my inner voice screaming at me to wear tights, I wore shorts as suggested by Runner's World for today's temps and subsequently froze.  But I made it!  Afterwards, I made my way to the Starbucks at Columbus Circle for a tall extra hot 2-pump peppermint mocha (normally 3 pumps) to warm my hands (and soul).  Delish.

RUN: Adventures in Central Park

or...

Why I Hate MTA on the Weekends

or...

Why I Fear Public Transportation

or...

How I Went to Central Park to Jog 4 miles and Got Lost

Okay enough of that.  Ready for my silly little story?  As planned, I woke up Saturday morning ready to tackle 4 miles in Central Park.  I was NERVOUS and EXCITED (yes, I tend to overreact over petite things - makes life more interesting?).  I got up early and got a bagel from Brooklyn Bagel (ironically not in Brooklyn, but in Chelsea) since I knew I'd need some energy and heard that white carbs were better to eat pre-run since they break down so easily.  I woke up extra early to eat since I have a tendency to not run well post-eating.  Anyway, suffice to say, I was READY, y'all.  Then I debated about what to wear.  The forecast called for sunny skies and temps in the lower 50's.  After much debate, I settled on running shorts and long-sleeve cotton tee.  I get SUPER heated when I run so I figured that I'd be fine despite the chilly temp.  Boy, was I wrong!  But more on that later.  First, the commute...

I headed down to the 23rd street stop to hop on the C line and take it all the way up to 72nd street and Central Park West.  When I got down there, I saw that an A train was approaching.  Okay... A train is an express train and therefore doesn't normally stop at 23rd street, but then I heard on the loudspeaker that A trains were making all local stops.  Sweet!  I hopped on and grabbed a seat.  Everything was great until we got to the Columbus Circle stop.  My stop was next - yay!  But the train wasn't slowing down.  In fact, it was speeding up.  And there went 72nd st... then 81st st... then 96th st... then 103 st... then 110th, then 116th, then FINALLY, we stopped at 125th.  Um, seriously?  SERIOUSLY?  This is why I hate taking the subway on the weekends.  So I got out and waited for entirely too long (another thing I hate about weekend subways) for a C train to arrive.  Hopped on the C and got out at 72nd.  FINALLY.

Of course, at this point, I really had to pee.  But there were no restrooms to be found, and I really wanted to get this party started.  Oh, I was also freezing.  I turned on my Garmin and waited for it to find satellites... well it proceeded to find satellites for the next 5 min to no avail.  Argh!  I couldn't wait any longer so I pressed START to start the timer and started running.  About 5 minutes later, my navigation finally kicked in, but at that point, it was totally off in regard to mileage and pace since I made the mistake of starting the timer before the GPS.  Dummy.

I planned to do the 4-mile loop aka the route marked with red dashes in the map above (except for the last bit on the right side).  According to everyone, the loop is easy to follow, and it is very obvious as to where/when you need to turn.  But stupid me... stupid me was not paying attention.  I saw the 102nd street transverse, I know I did.  It wasn't terribly obvious and I don't think it was marked as 102nd St, but I remember passing it thinking, "WHOA that's a big hill - good thing I don't need to turn there!"  Uh huh... stupid.  Because I proceeded to then run up to the very top of the park where there are even bigger hills - hurray!  And because I couldn't remember that I was supposed to turn and not run up to the very top of the Park, I was completely unaware.  Also?  As you can see by the white upper loop in the pic above, it's super twisty turny up there, so I couldn't figure out which way I was going.  I just assumed I would hit 4 miles and find myself exactly where I started.  Nope...

Instead, I ran and ran and then realized that 40 minutes had passed.  I typically run around 10 min miles when I do my long/easy runs at the gym so I figured I should be somewhere near ending my loop.  But it was nowhere to be seen.  In fact, nothing looked remotely familiar.  I decided to run for a little longer in case my pace had just significantly slowed, but finally, around 43 minutes, I decided I was in need of some Gatorade and a friggin' map.  So I stopped, walked up to a vendor and bought a Gatorade and asked him where I was.  84th street.  EIGHTY-FOURTH STREET.  WTH?  I'm supposed to be back on the WEST SIDE of the Park at SEVENTY-SECOND, not on the EAST SIDE at 84th!  I was tres confused.  And FREEZING. 

At this point, I was completely frozen, exhausted, and confused.  I wanted to hail a cab and call it a day, but I knew there was no reason whatsoever to take a cab, so I crossed back to the west side and made my way to the 72nd street stop.  Luckily, a C train was approaching right when I got there - my first bit of good luck all day - yay!

Once I got home, plugged in my Garmin and looked at a map, I realized where I went wrong.  I was on the 6-mile loop, not the 4-miler, and my mileage/pace was all out of whack b/c the GPS didn't kick for several minutes.  Whatevs.  I inhaled some food and took a very, very hot shower.

As for the run itself, well it was fantastic.  Seriously, the Park was GORGEOUS, fall foliage everywhere, and people-watching was so fun!  Runners, bikers, families, couples, friends - everyone was enjoying the Park - it was lovely.  And the 4 miles flew by, even with the hills and completely lack of knowledge as to where the hell I was.  I was in love.  Oh, and yes, I was completely and totally freezing the entire run.  It was windy, and I was in a cotton tee which meant that whatever little I did sweat did nothing but make my shirt very cold and wet, which made for a tres uncomfortable subway ride home. 

So I did what any normal girl would do.  I got home, ate, showered, got dressed and then headed straight to Lululemon where I invested in some running tights and a jacket.  :D 

In other news, according to my Garmin (which I'm going to name btw... any suggestions?), these are my stats:

Distance: 3.47 miles (LIE)
Avg Pace: 12:53/mile or 4.7 mph (LIE)
Max Speed: 9.7 mph (seriously?? that's awesome!)
Calories Burned: 450 cals (LIE... was definitely more which is AWESOME!)
Ascent: 804 feet (um, is that a lot?  b/c it sure does sound like a lot)
Descent: 826 feet

Needless to say, j'adore my Garmin.  I just wish it wouldn't take so darn long to find satellites!!!

1, 2, 3...

(as in Britney...)  Last night at work, I repeatedly told myself that no matter how late I got out, I would go to the gym and run.  I even called my gym to see what time they close to make sure that I could get there AND had dinner so I couldn't complain of being hungry and therefore not going.  Luckily, I got out relatively early (at least for this week - 7:30), raced out home, changed, and excitedly headed out.  I was so unbelievably excited for a chance to run that I almost forgot to feel fear that because I hadn't run in an entire WEEK, it wouldn't go so well.   I hopped on my favorite treadmill and I swear, the first 1.5 miles felt like I was floating.  It felt so good, so easy, so normal.  Of course, after that, I felt a side stitch flaring up and decided that I cannot eat for at least a good 2 hours before running or it will hurt me.  Nonetheless, I completed the 3 miles with flying colors and felt like a new woman.  Note to self: When in doubt, run.

I also set up my Garmin last night so that it will be ready to go for my weekend long run in Central Park.  Central Park (supposedly) has an entire road system conducive to training (markers, lots of water fountains, etc.).  I snagged this map off the NYRR website and plan to follow their 4-mile route.

My friend David is having his birthday party on Saturday night, and since I want to enjoy myself, I think I'm going to do my run on Saturday instead of Sunday.  The hardest part of training (at least what I think will be the hardest part) will be saying "no" to social outings, ESPECIALLY on the weekend.  When I trained for a Half in college, I often skipped my long run in lieu of something fun, and that was a very, very bad idea.  I'm not saying I have to follow this training to the letter, but I want to follow it as closely as possible.  Here's my training guide btw (which begins the Monday after Thanksgiving!):

I plan to blog a LOT about my training once it officially stops, so I apologize to those of you who don't care.  I'm doing it partially for my readers who are interested and partially for me to stay motivated.  Now it's time to refill my coffee cup and head to work!  LOVEYOUMISSYOUMEANITBYE!!