I Run Like A Girl

This weekend was centered around two friends’ birthdays, including my very best friend Michelle ❤

Friday

Friday was the day before Michelle’s actual birthday and the main night to celebrate. We started off with a little pregame in Stuy town. I met some of Michelle’s friends, and we all got friendly over mojitos 😉

Then, we hit up Bar None in east village. Bar None is definitely a college-y, ratchet spot, but we always have a good time. Our good friend from home joined us, who I hadn’t seen since high school. I use to hate running into people of my past, but it was actually so incredibly heart-warming to catch up with an old friend. We are definitely going to make an effort to meet up more in NYC 🙂

Next stop was Penny Farthing, one of my favorite spots in the village. We had a blast drinking the night away and meeting more of Michelle’s friends.

The night ended with Michelle and I ubering back to my place and spending the night.

Saturday

Saturday was Michelle’s actual birthday!!! Happy 23! ❤

We literally spent the WHOLE day together, and it was such a treat. The morning and most of the afternoon was spent in bed, reminiscing about the night, seamlessing thai food, taking naps, and getting over our wicked hangovers.

Finally around 3pm we got out of bed and got ready to send Michelle off. We were sitting on my stoop waiting for her uber, when we spontaneously decided to cancel it and take a walk instead and hang out together longer…can you tell we love each other? 🙂 We took a stroll and picked up some Chinese take out.

After dinner, I got ready to hit the town again for another friend’s birthday. I decided to bike down to the lower east side…remind me to never do that again. It was incredibly packed and hard to navigate, plus biking back at 1am isn’t particularly fun.

Overall, I’m glad I made it out, despite being a bit worn out from the night before. Trish and I caught up first at Whiskey Ward before joining the whole party at Verlaine. The night was mainly spent having a little a roomie reunion. I sure miss living with these girls; they’re some of the most energized, fun, optimistic ladies I know and we always have a good time 😉

Sunday

The morning started with a long run – 7 miles! For the first half of the run, I was debating whether to cut this one short. I was so tired from two late nights and was convinced my body wasn’t ready for 7 miles. But around mile 5 was when I hit my groove and committed to the run, and made it to the end. I’m SO glad I stuck with it and didn’t give up! These hard runs are what make us stronger, physically and more importantly mentally. Runs like these make me realize how much of running is mental strength, and on race day that is what carries us to the finish line!

Afterwards, I treated myself to a bagel with lox and cream cheese…I’ve been OBSESSED with these lately, and I just discovered a cafe near my apartment that really packs in the smoked salmon; it’s been my little treat to myself on weekends 🙂

The rest of the day was catching up on life and me time – studying, laundry, FaceTiming with Christine, Netflix. I watched Hello My Name is David, a documentary about a brilliant pianist who suffered a nervous breakdown. He lost his ability to play piano until he met the love of his life, and now he’s one of the best pianists of our time. So inspiring. My favorite quote was from the pianist’s wife: “I think one of the secrets of life is to be grateful, because then your heart is open and you’re letting the beauty of love and life flow into you.”

Now another week of work, study, run, repeat! And staying grateful, of course 🙂