Tag Archives: friends

Better Than the Alternative Tuesdays: Table Buddy

29 January 2013

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Happy Tuesday, y’all. I really like Tuesdays. There’s momentum from Tuesday that rolls into Wednesday that takes you into Thursday which is only one day away from Friday.

It’s like when you’re finally warmed up and running 15 more miles doesn’t seem that bad because you’re getting into your zone. Right?

I gotta tell ya, after 11 hours of school yesterday I am FULLY warmed up for this week.

Passing out on my books on the regular. NBD.

Passing out on my books on the regular. Everybody’s doing it.

And here we are and it’s Better Than the Alternative Tuesday!

You know those 11 hour school/work days when you have to suffer through pay attention to teachers/customers/bosses/co-workers/classmates and you just want to pull your hair our and scream, grab your chair, throw it out the window and jump?

(or am I a whiny baby?)

The people who save those days for me are my Table Buddies. We sit at two person tables ALL. DAY. LONG. so it’s crucial to share your space with an awesome buddy.

Pretty regularly, I get to share it with my super-speedy friend, Birdie.

Birdie lets me cast her leg. I mean, THAT'S an awesome Table Buddy if there ever was one.

Birdie lets me cast her leg. I mean, THAT’S an awesome Table Buddy if there ever was one.

Birdie lets me tag along on her slow runs and laps me when we do track workouts. She also collects notes for me when I’m sick and shares my love for Two Boots Pizza whilst studying for finals.

We’re basically twins.

Coffee, water, computer, notes, pencil case.

Coffee, water, computer, notes, pencil case.

Different choice of caffeine but pretty much the same. And one of us ALWAYS has gum.

Different choice of caffeine but pretty much the same. And one of us ALWAYS has gum.

Table Buddies make looooooooooong classes tolerable. It’s hard to get everything every professor is saying and Table Buddies catch what you don’t and vice versa.

Sometimes Table Buddies make treats.

I mean, how cute is this?

I mean, how cute is this?

And sometimes my Table Buddy and I shop online side-by-side…or try to keep one another from shopping online. And sometimes my Table Buddy is way better at understanding things than I am and he/she explains it to me in words that my little brain can understand.

Sometimes school is hard. Sometimes school is boring. Sometimes it’s just such a long day that you feel homicidal.

Table Buddies are the first line of defense when it comes to talking you off that ledge of crazy. Maybe your office-mate is that for you. I know that my crazy is far less because of my awesome Table Buddies.

So, yeah. Long days suck. But Table Buddies make them better.

Who makes your long days better? Do you have a work buddy who just rocks your socks off? I hope when I start working that I have a partner-in-crime who understands that getting a Flywheel bike > finishing paperwork that very moment. Priorities. Tell me about your day buddies!

Now go out and run!

Better Than the Alternative Tuesdays: Naysayers

15 January 2013

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Better Than the Alternative Tuesdays: A day when we share why it’s better to be here, not matter what kinda crap we got going on, than to not be here. A day to reflect on the fact that life is awesome and I, for one, am glad to to be here.

Naysayer: nay·say·er (\ˈnā-ˌsā-ər, -ˌser\) one who denies, refuses, opposes, or is skeptical or cynical about something.

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Five or six years ago I was with extended family, sharing my new goal of going back to school to become a physical therapist. I had a long road ahead of me, pre-reqs and GREs and hoops to jump through and all, but I was excited to finally find what I wanted to be when I grow up!

And this one Naysayer just kept shooting me down.

“It’s a really competitive field.”

“Those classes are really hard to get through as an adult.”

“So-and-so didn’t get into this-other-medical-school, you probably won’t get into NYU.”

All from the same person. The same Naysayer. It got me so down about my choice. In fact, this was what I’d been telling myself for years. It’s too hard. You’re not smart enough. There’s no way they’d want you. Finally I’d got the guts to say it out loud and here was a Naysayer trying to put me down before I even go going.

photo-9JB, the Obi-wans, and my closest friends didn’t let me give up on my dream. And here I am. At NYU. Kicking butts. Taking names.

There was another Naysayer who (still) cannot believe I’m not working as a personal trainer for the money and, instead, putting money into my education. I can’t. I just CAN’T even begin to tell you how frustrating THAT conversation is for me.

Screen-shot-2010-11-21-at-9.44.51-PM

Naysayers can get you down. They get me down sometimes, too. But they can also be fuel for your Fire of Awesomeness. Naysayers are often people who are not living the life they want to live. (These Naysayers certainly weren’t/aren’t) and they just loooooove dragging others down to their unhappy level.

You know what, thank you, Naysayers. You have given me the opportunity (more than once!) to say, “TOLD YOU I COULD DO IT!!!”

If that’s not a reason it’s better to be here than not, I don’t know what is. Happy BTAT, friends. Haters gonna hate, you keep on rocking.

Now go out and run!

My Thanks

21 November 2012

1 Comment

Disclaimer: This post is sappy and not at all about running. You’ve been warned.

Gratitude is something I have plenty of this year. And I don’t know how to put into words just how grateful I am for every single gift and opportunity I have been given.

And there is no way to express my thanks to my friends and family.

They held me together.

Me. In pieces.

They always say that you know who your true friends are in times of crisis. It’s true. My friends visited me, brought flowers, sent cards. They fed me…well, mostly JB, which is a feat in and of itself.

But mostly, my friends comforted me. When I couldn’t go out, they came to me. They never complained about having to accommodate me at every turn, never made me feel guilty for being out of commission and a big, whiny baby for the past two and a half years.

Friends take you running, colostomy bag and all.

My dearest friends, thank you.

Flying with friends.

My friends weren’t the only ones who hung by me, gross surgeries, colostomy bags and all. I have the best brothers and sisters out there. And, lucky me, I have A LOT of them.

I sincerely hope this picture is old enough and shadow-y enough to protect the identity of my siblings. Would anyone guess that’s me front and center, picking up my sunglasses? You guys look awesome, by the way.

Mr. & Mrs. Jones, Reno & Blondie, Red & the Irishman, The Golden Child & Ginger, Chi-Chi, and sweetest Peanut…I seriously have the BEST family in the world. Also, they have excellent taste in flowers and were always the first ones to arrive at the hospital room post-op.

What’d I tell you? Gorgeous.

When I was literally in pieces, they called from cities near and far to make sure I was ok. To make sure JB was ok. They asked about every step, were/are shoulders for me to lean on. Some are very broad shoulders to lean on.

Angel baby.

Thank you. All of you.

I can’t really describe how amazing my parents are. Those of you who know them know why I use the word “amazing” without hesitation. At every turn, they were there. Every time I felt overwhelmed, they helped shoulder my burden.

They supported me from beginning to end, wiped my tears, and reminded me that it would be ok. I would never have made it through the darkness had it not been for them.

Mom & Dad got our backs, always.

For my gorgeous husband, there are no words. With every squeeze of my hand, every protective arm around my shoulder, every night I had control of the remote, every disgusting bodily function endured, every gentle kiss he said, “I love you”. I will always do my best to show him my gratitude for enduring this year with me, alongside me, often leading me in a direction I was too scared to go alone.

I love this man.

My love, my heart.

Happy Thanksgiving, all. I’m eternally grateful for the support of my extended family and all of you.

Now go out and run!

My “1st” Race

20 August 2012

8 Comments

When I first moved to the city, I made it my mission to find a running shoe store that actually knew what they were doing when fitting a runner for shoes. I went to a popular one near a popular running club and it wasn’t great. The shoes were the wrong size for my foot (I would find out later) and I do not, as they insisted, pronate.

I’m not actually sure their salespeople knew what the word “pronate” meant, but they for sure didn’t know it when they saw it.

Thank God I found JackRabbit Sports.

Holla at my homies.

I go to JackRabbit whenever I need new shoes because they know what they’re doing. Really. They spend A LOT of time fitting my Princess and the Pea feet for new (HOT PINK) shoes. I love them. The shoes AND the people.

My feet are on TV!

The best part about being a part of the I ♥ JackRabbit fan club is being in the know on the races going on in the city that they support, sponsor, or host. That other club has a total monopoly but for my money, I’d prefer to be cheered for at road races, not yelled at. Last year was my first Battle of Brooklyn with JackRabbit. The weather was beastly and there were only 7 POJs (my year-long flare had kicked into gear) but the race was a lot of fun.

So I came back for more.

 

So. Much. Fun.

I wanted my 1st race back to be fun, a little challenging, and low-maintenance.

Two school friends committed to running the race and both kicked butt! I mean, one of them CAME IN THIRD PLACE. The other, who had never run farther than something like 8 miles, ran all 10 miles without stopping at 8 minutes per mile pace. JB was out with his cowbell, cheering us on, and I was wearing hot pink. Fun? Check.

Hot. Pink. Saucony + lululemon. Can’t miss me :)

Prospect Park, though only 3 and change miles around, has some pretty annoying inclines. They are met with nice, rolling declines, but three loops around the park really makes for an interesting progression of times on one hill in particular. That’s why JackRabbit has the Time Your Climb. Whoever has the most consistent 3 climbs on this hill, man and woman, gets a prize. I never win. My third is consistently markedly slower than my first two. A little challenging? Check!

This map is going in the opposite direction from our race. Think of going from mile 2.75 to mile 2.25 (right to left). That was our hill. We climbed it three times.

I signed up online between classes and even used a $5 off coupon that made registration a grand total of $25. JackRabbit package pickup is always a breeze. The four of us shared a cab to the race. The bathroom line only took 5 minutes thanks to many more than 7 POJs this year. There were signs (and Redcoats!) everywhere. The start of the race was with a gun (maybe it was a musket?) with drums and flutes sending us off and on our way to fight the Brits. There were even British troops spraying us with water cannons on the climb. Fun. Fun. Fun. Low maintenance? Check!

Last of our group to finish, but I had the biggest smile, I think.

I may not have run my best race (1:22, 8:14 avg pace) or won any prizes like soooooome people, but I had a ball. I felt better on my third lap than the previous two and finished strong. I didn’t even notice Rosebud was there, which is the best part of it all and totally the point of having surgery in the first place.

I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t bummed to be the last of our team to finish or that I didn’t match last year’s time. Yeah, I was bummed. For approximately 10 seconds and then I realized how far I’d come and how happy I was to be there and how awesome it felt to run with friends and be smiling afterwards. Not that I don’t have my moments, but this was just too much fun to get down on myself about finishing 30th in my age group. A friend told me to “run happy” and so I did.

:)

Ready for the Marine Corps? You bet.

Now go out and run!

Better Than the Alternative Tuesdays: New {Old} Milestones

26 June 2012

3 Comments

Are you sick of me talking about my post-surgery life/changes/milestones yet? No? Good.

And happy Better Than the Alternative Tuesday to you!

I was chatting with a friend last night and when she asked me how I’m feeling these days, I immediately went to how my runs are going. What can I say, I’m happy to be back! Anyway, I was telling her how hard it is to run just 3 miles when a little over a two months ago I was knocking out 8 or 10 like it was nothing.

*sigh*

I don’t get down on myself about this. Trust me, I celebrate running 3 miles as though I had just run 26.2.

You might think I’m kidding about the dancing part. I am not.

What my friend and I chatted about was how NEW it felt to run/workout again. It’s like my body has never done it before, except it has. FOR 22 YEARS!!!! I don’t even remember my first run being as hard on my poor hamstrings as any of these last week’s runs have been.

The last time I remember feeling like death on a run was my first practice as a freshman on my high school’s cross country team. I went from running 2 mile races to doing 5Ks. That may not seem like a big leap to you, but the warmup was 1 1/2 miles.

In August.

In Chicago.

In cotton.

*shudder*

It was torture. I was the last one in on the entire team and the coach turned to one of the captains and said, “What do you think of the newbie?” Thankfully, he said, “She’ll do fine.” So I stayed. Imagine if he said something different.

My face probably would’ve looked something like this. I make the same face for disappointing Christmas present wrapping as I do for when I don’t make the cut on the cross country team. 

I remember my first race with that team. It was my first 5K. 3.1 miles, which was “long distance” running to me. I was so proud of myself for training, for finishing, even if I didn’t place. It was such a milestone for me. On Sunday I ran 3.1 miles for the first time post-surgery and hit a New {Old} Milestone and felt that same feeling of accomplishment.

Yesterday I blasted through another New {Old} Milestone and finished my first Flywheel class post-surgery. It was HARD. Harder than the original first one I took. But I was so pumped to have been there, working hard with my favorite teacher, that my numbers didn’t matter. Just being in the classroom and sweating like an animal put a smile on my face.

Pretty sure I wasn’t this smiley after yesterday’s class. More like, half-smile *gasp* “No pictures, please.”

I have celebrated a lot of New {Old} Milestones since surgery. Walking. Showering. Washing my own hair. Walking by myself. Dressing myself. Making my own food. Walking as fast as my fellow New Yorkers (I definitely called the Obi-wans when this one happened!). Running. Spinning. Staying awake all day without a nap.

(Ok, that last one is more out of necessity. I kinda miss my mid-day naps.)

I do soooooo love a nap.

Some of these may seem silly to you, but I remember doing many of them for the first time. And now I remember hitting these New {Old} Milestones a second time, which is even sweeter.

New {Old} Milestones make me feel like I’m making progress. Actual, tangible progress. Every time I hit–and blast through!–one, I feel more and more like myself. Surgery can take away that feeling of self. So can injury. Or any other life change. Meeting these New {Old} Milestones reminds me that it’s just a matter of time and patience before I feel like me again. 100% me.

And that feeling makes being here any day so much Better Than the Alternative.

Have you ever hit a New {Old} Milestone due to a change in your life? How did it feel? Did you do a dance like I did? Share your story in the comments :) Also, did anyone run this morning? It’s 57° in NYC!!!!  

Now go out and run!