Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you all had relaxing weekends. Snow hit pretty hard this weekend in NYC, and so I definitely got plenty of down time, which was much needed after a busy work week (I apologize in advance if I start sounding like a broken record about work. We just began our 2-month “busy season,” so things will be sure be crazy around here!)
First, a flashback to earlier this week when I saw one of my best friends from college. We lived together senior year, and now he’s a grad student at MIT. We spent the evening catching up on our past year, and talking about Science topics (I can always count on this one for some intellectually challenging talks!). My friend also recently has been getting into yoga, and was surprised that I don’t do it…then I thought, “I’m surprised I don’t do yoga either!” I’ve always been a spiritual person and see the importance of getting in tune with your body, so I’m aiming to find a yoga studio nearby as a form of recovery/cross-training for marathon season!
Now onto the weekend.
Friday: ice skating + mentors at work
We had our annual firm holiday party on Friday (I know…super late, but they rented out all of Rockefeller Center ice rink and it was much cheaper after the new year, ha!).
The party was loads of fun, filled with endless booze and buffet food, and of course, ice skating! Much harder to sorority-squat on ice than it seems 😛
A huge highlight of the evening was having one of my favorite mentors come down to visit from the Hartford office. We worked together in the NY office my first year at the firm before she moved to the Hartford office. I go to her for all my career (and even non career) questions, and she quickly became a very important person to me. It was such a treat to see each other again ❤
After the party, we, along with some more work peeps, went to a cocktail bar in SoHo to continue the fun. I loved getting to know some new faces and felt so grateful to have some pretty awesome people to look up to at my firm.
Saturday: long run in the snow + chill day + fancy Greek dinner + La La Land
I woke up Saturday and looked out the window, it was snowing! According to the weather app, there was still an hour or so before “light snow” turned to “heavy snow,” and so I laced up my running shoes and hurried out the door to get in my long run before things got worse!
The choice to run in the snow vs the treadmill felt like an easy one: I try to avoid treadmills as much as possible because I get bored in 3 seconds flat, and I saw the whole experience as seizing an adventure – I mean, how often do I get to do long runs in the snow? Let’s have fun, right?!
WRONG.
It was overall pretty rough. Although, the beginning felt pretty nice; I was enjoying the light snow and feeling pretty badass for making it outside. It was also encouraging to see other (crazy) runners like me braving the blizzard on the east river too.
Foggy views, manageable road conditions, not too bad! For a while I looked like this:
By the end, I looked like this:
The snow got super heavy half way through, but since I chose an out-and-back route, I had to finish what I started! My whole body felt stiff, and the wind slapped me back and forth, and my face LITERALLY froze!!
I was soooo happy to be back in my apartment and take the longest, hottest shower ever.
Then, I hibernated. The afternoon was filled with some quality time on my guitar and binging on This is Us. I just discovered this awesome show, it is so touching!!
Later in the evening, it was time to brave the blizzard again, as Nicky, Trish, another friend and I met up for dinner at an upscale Greek spot, in west village! We caught up over some yummy seafood and sangria. So many laughs with silly gals ❤
Afterward, I wasn’t entirely ready to hit the hay, and so I headed to the movie theater right next door to my apartment for a solo movie night, catching La La Land. I was so excited to finally see it, but unfortunately was disappointed. I absolutely love musicals, but I didn’t love the casting decision, in my humble opinion!
Sunday: church + Bachelor afternoon + productive evening
Sunday started off with going to church. I was looking for a new church since moving to Kips Bay, and was so happy to find a lovely one this morning within walking distance. One of my new years goals is to try and find community here in NYC. As I’ve mentioned on this blog, last year was filled with lots of loneliness, and I definitely don’t want to go back to those dark days, and so I’m trying to make an effort to try and find communities where I can fit in and meet people here in NYC! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be exploring church, volunteering, and possibly a running group too 🙂
Afterward, I met up with Christine for a low-key deli lunch while watching the new season of The Bachelor. I love our cozy afternoons in, where we turn off our brains/lose brain cells, catch up on life, eat junk food, and share our silliness. It’s always a sea of positive energy being with Christine ❤
The rest of the day were usual Sunday things: grocery shopping, meal prepping (I made braised cabbage and apples with balsamic vinegar!), and watching football with my roomie 🙂
Week 1 of marathon training
I must embarrassingly take back something I set out on my last post. I will not be aiming to run 5 times a week anymore. After some reflection and going through my first week back from work, I decided to cut back to my happy spot running 4 times per week, for a few reasons:
- Prioritize studying. Busy season hit me like a ton of bricks…and if I have any hope to study for my Spring actuarial exam this busy season, I will have to cut back my running
- Avoid burn out. Running 4x/week has been tried and true to me; it’s the perfect amount so that I am actually EXCITED to run each time. I will still push myself and make each run with a purpose (easy, speed, long).
Soooo that was short lived! But I am confident with my decision will help my running goals and also finding balance in life overall.
Monday: 3 miles on the treadmill (9:45 min/mile avg) -> 1 mile warm up + 2 miles progression
Tuesday: 4 miles in cold, dark, and rain! (9:30 min/mile)
Wednesday: 3 tempo miles on the treadmill (9:20 min/mile)
Thursday: REST
Friday: REST
Saturday: 7 miles in the blizzard! (10:30 min/mile)
Sunday: REST
I Run Like A Girl 