Sealed with a kiss

Over the weekend, we drove up to Newport, Rhode Island to celebrate the wedding of Mike and Mary Kay. When they first announced their wedding date and the location, I thought, "OK, so it'll be cold, snowy, and wet." But by a stroke of luck--and perhaps a favor from Mother Nature--the weekend actually brought sun, unseasonably warm temps, and one of the most picturesque weddings I've ever been to.

My only other visit to Rhode Island was for running camp in high school--where we stayed in some nondescript Army barracks and ran around abandoned air strips--so my expectations weren't high. But Newport completely took my breath away. Amazing mansions, adorable cobblestoned streets, quaint neighborhoods and sweeping views of the Bay. Everywhere you turned there was something new to see and behold. One of my favorite moments of the weekend (besides the wedding, of course!) was a 70-minute run along Ocean Drive, which takes you high above the water past the stunning homes settled into the cliffs. One was more magnificent than the next with equally awesome views. We spent a lot of time daydreaming about buying one...

We had some time to kill on Saturday, so Regina, Kristen, Eugenia and I toured The Breakers, the mammoth, 70-room mansion that was in the Vanderbilt family for over 100 years. We were all blown away by the house--everything from the platinum wallpaper to the room that was constructed and designed in Paris and shipped and re-assembled in Rhode Island. We all had fun imagining what it was like not only to live in the Breakers, but at that period in time among the Vanderbilts, whose opulance and wealth clearly had no end.

After the Tour, we scooted back to Ocean Cliff, the site of the wedding and where were staying. The wedding took place at 5 in a room with a wall of windows, as the sun slowly set over the Naragansett Bay. The touching ceremony transitioned into a blast of a reception, and we, true to form, partied past midnight. Such a fun time.

More pics below. Congrats to Mike and MK!

Happy St. Patty's!

Our little Irish boy's rocking the green today--and even enjoyed some green eggs for the occasion. Hope all of you are having a lucky day!

Your Daily E

 
 
 

This morning, we went out to Long Island to photograph a woman I'm writing about for Competitor. I was playing around with the camera and got these shots of E.

Splits

Just checked out my splits from Sunday on my Garmin...I accidentally hit start at the gun instead of when I crossed the actual starting line, so my first mile was off (though it was definitely slow...over 8/mile), but the rest were pretty close to being exact miles. I don't think I've ever been so consistent in my life! Mile 11 was definitely when I slowed down after choking on my water (oops!), but I'm happy I was able to drop back down to close to 7's for the last two. The competitor inside me is now wondering if, with a little speed work and a faster first three miles, I could hold 6:52's and break 1:30...

Mile 1: ~8:20
Mile 2: 7:17
Mile 3: 7:12
Mile 4: 7:07
Mile 5: 7:01
Mile 6: 6:59
Mile 7: 6:56
Mile 8: 7:04
Mile 9: 7:00
Mile 10: 7:08
Mile 11: 7:20
Mile 12: 7:06
Mile 13: 7:08

Rockin' and Rollin'

Traveled to New Orleans over the weekend to run the Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Half-Marathon! Every second of the trip was so much fun, especially because of my awesome travel companions, Kristen and Regina, my parents, and Eamon! The three of us girls all ran the half and we were all really happy with our results. I ran over five minutes faster than I'd hoped to (and felt really great almost the entire way!), Regina set a 12-minute (!!!) PR and Kristen ran her first-ever half--not to mentions she's 13 weeks pregnant! Big accomplishments all around.

And there to support us each, uh, step of the way were our Super Fans...M, D, and E! I saw them at mile 10 and got an instant energy boost. My parents were so helpful with E--he slept in their room each night and they watched him for two of the evenings and most of the days so we could go out and explore. I LOVE New Orleans and see now why people are so enamoured by the city. There's culture and color oozing out of every corner, and there's so much more to it than just Bourbon Street. Yes, you may gain 10 pounds for every day you're there, but it's totally worth it (the food is SO good). Plus, we ran a hard 13.1 miles on Sunday so we could afford a few extra desserts. :-)

Originally, I'd planned to do the marathon in NoLa, but eventually decided to enter the half because my training had suffered after being sick, plus all of the cold weather and snow. Definitely a good choice. I've never felt so relaxed in a race and actually ran smart (though, as Bec pointed out, I could probably have gone faster considering my first three miles were pretty pedestrian). I held an even 7-minute/mile pace for most of the race with relative ease. It wasn't until the last mile and a half when my legs started to feel heavy, and even then I only slipped to 7:16 pace. I'm thinking I might stick to half-marathons and shorter races, just to see if I can keep bringing the times down. As my mom says, I've always been a middle-distance runner, not a marathoner!

Thanks to everyone for your good luck notes and for checking in after the race! It feels great to have such amazing support.

Here are some more pics from the weekend...

New Orleans