louisiana

bourbon street.

Over a week ago I checked off my 28th state—Louisiana. Since the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon and Marathon series launched in NOLA, I've been looking to go. However, I didn't go for running reasons on this trip. Although I did have good intentions of getting a longer run in and take advantage of warmer temps. But my sneakers remained in my bag since there were non-running on the agenda. 

My friend Sue is getting married in March and she chose NOLA to celebrate her last weeks of bachelorette-hood. Her friends from high school, college, and NYC converged onto the Big Easy. Unfortunately there were some travel issues. Apparently the south can't handle the mild winter conditions us Northeasterners are used to. Fortunately everyone arrived—eventually. 

oak alley plantation.

We stayed on Bourbon Street and got a snapshot of what Mardi Gras would look like (or even the summer) and I'm glad we went when we did. I won't get into too many details of the weekend (I do want the bride-to-be to maintain some level of mystery from her fiance). There was drinking, eating, live music, and dancing. There may or may not have been a fake (or real) penis that made an appearance. That's all I gotta say. 



One fun excursion we did go on, was a plantation tour. We headed out of the city to Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, about an hour from New Orleans. It was pretty cool. We got a tour of the mansion, while drinking a Mint Julep of course. We learned a little bit of the history of the family that has owned it during the late 1800s and how it became what it is today. Even with the beauty of the place, you can't help but think of the existence of slavery all over the south. We saw a list of how much slaves were bought for and where they lived. We didn't get much history about the slaves that were at Oak Valley, but they are expanding the tour and will be including a more detailed history in the future. 

live music.

I had a great time and very glad I went. But two nights were definitely enough for me. When I go back, it'll be less drinking and more wandering around and exploring. Eating and music would still be on the agenda though. 

books (2013 part 3)

This is the final installment of the books I read in 2013. I didn't read the 45 books I set out to, but I'm ok with that since it was a very busy and fun year. Also, in September I succumbed to pressure and downloaded Candy Crush. It took way longer to read my books after that. And it didn't help that the last book I read was over 900 pages (but was worth it). Lastly, I re-read Catching Fire and Mockingjay since the 2nd movie had come out. I set my challenge for 2014 to the 45 books like last year. We'll see how that goes. 

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl, Sandberg

I enjoyed reading this. However, I didn't get through it as quickly as I would have liked. While I was reading this book, I wasn't in a good place at work. I was actually very frustrated with my job and it was hard to read about work when all I wanted to do was not think about work. But then it got better and I was able to finish the book. Some people didn't like this book and don't like Sheryl's take on how to approach your career from a female perspective. Everyone is entitled to their opinion though. I did take some interesting things from it and I'm going to apply them to my career. Or at least try to. 

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

This was an interesting take on how America is collapsing in the near future, intermingled with a love story, albeit not a traditional love story. It was well written, but not one of my favorite books from last year. 

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

This was an easy and true-to-life book about an actress struggling in NYC. I thought it was cute and funny. Nothing super amazing, but a good fast read which was perfect on the beach. 

Chasing Mona Lisa by Tricia Goyer

I had to add one more WWII book in for the year. This was one a different take on the war as opposed to the others. Agents are set out to protect the Mona Lisa from the Nazis. It was a quick read and suspenseful. Another good beach read. 

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

This was a great book, in a guilty pleasure way. And I kind of want them to make a movie out of it. Nicholas invites his girlfriend, Rachel, to attend the wedding of the year in Singapore and embark on a roller coaster of the wealthy and insane. 

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Another engrossing Ken Follett book. This one takes place in the lead-up to WWI and gives points of view of all the players involved--the US, the UK, Germany, Austria, Russia, ect. It's a fictional account, but has the historic parallel. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel which takes place around WWII. 

34/45 books in 2013.

2013 recap and 2014 goals

1451 miles. 45 BoMF runs. 8 PRs. 1 BQ. 1 200-mile relay. 2 new states. 1 stamp in the new passport. 365 photos-a-day. 3 weddings. 1 psychic reading. 1 polar bear plunge. 1 opera. 1 jazz festival. 2 JT concerts. 34 books. 1 great year. looking forward to 2014.

That was my year in recap. A lot of running, traveling, socializing, and reading. The usual. I didn't set out 2013 with a concrete list of goals, but definitely had a couple things I wanted to do. For one, take one photo a day for the entire year. I had a few rules. 1-I had to take the photo. 2-Try not to be too repetitive. 3-Try to be creative or interesting. I'm happy to say that I did it. Today I finished compiling all the photos I took. I took a nice range, from art and foliage to funny and cool things I saw. Some days were harder than others, like when I worked 12 hours in a day. Other days were easier, like when I was in a new city. I have to say living in NYC definitely helped though. There are a lot of interesting things to see everyday if you are looking. Of course, there are a lot of pictures from the Chelsea and Midtown neighborhoods since this is where I work and live. I had fun doing this project. I enjoy taking photos and I was happy to be a little more creative last year. Now I have to come up with a fun way to show off all my work. 

Secondly, I wanted to finish my 12 in 2012 list. That didn't happen. Still working on it. I feel a little guilty about not completing my list. Seriously it's taken 2 years and I still have 4 1/3 things left. But then I don't feel so bad when I realize all that I did last year. I checked off a bunch of items, including something I didn't plan on. I started out 2013 with the intention of taking a year off from the marathon distance and try to qualify for Boston in 2014. However, events from April changed that and I finally checked off a goal that I've had since 2009. A few factors contributed to accomplishing this goal, but joining CPTC was probably the biggest one. Not only did I qualify for Boston, but I ran more miles than ever before and I got a personal record in 8 different race distances. Not too shabby. 

I decided to volunteer more a couple of years ago and I'm happy to say I volunteered on average once a week with Back on My Feet. Earlier this year I started questioning my commitment to the program though. Attendance was low in the winter months and I wasn't seeing a lot of motivation on the part of the res members. The volunteers, including myself, continued to dedicate our time and energy, but I feel like it wasn't doing much. The chapter I work with changed facilities and we saw an influx of members that were motivated to do something about their life. I had thought about putting my effort elsewhere, but am happy this change made a difference and I was able to continue my commitment. 

Obviously traveling was a great highlight this year. I checked off 2 new states--Oregon and South Carolina--and 1 new country--Turks & Caicos. These 3 travel highlights included a trip with family, a friend, and one on my own. A nice mix. I traveled for running (obviously) and for weddings, and many other reasons. 

I did a few new things too, like going to the opera and a jazz age festival. I completed the Super Bowl Polar Bear Plunge for the 3rd year in a row and will continue to make this an annual tradition. I went to museums, sporting events, concerts and snowboarded once. And I read a lot--not quite as much as I wanted, but still an average of almost 3 books a month. 

I spent a lot of time with family and friends this year. One big event was a Dusseau sibling (sorry not the half sisters) reunion on Nantucket. Unfortunately it was on the heels of losing my aunt, but it motivated me to make a last minute decision to spend time with those that matter. The last time my siblings were on Nantucket together was back in 1996. We have all lived there at some point, some of us temporary, others a bit more permanent (my brother still does). We decided to do a reunion and recreate a photo my aunt (other side of the family) had taken back in the early 90s. We all borrowed some Little Feat shirts and hit the beach. 

I don't usually talk about work, but the year ended better than it started and I hope for some good things in 2014. I switched accounts and am looking forward to a lot of hard work, but an accomplished year. 

There was a lot more that happened, but I'm writing a blog post, not a book. Now time to look forward to 2014. I've been thinking of a few things that I want to do this year. So here's goes. 

1. Finish my 12 in 2012 list

I still need to go on a blind date (or any date at this point), go to AC, go zip lining, go on a NYC bus (or boat) tour, and finish writing notes to people. I think I can accomplish this. I just need to focus.

2. Run faster

This year was meant to be a year off from the marathon, and I told myself that once I qualified for Boston, I'd take a year off before doing that race. Well I was so pleased with my race (under not so ideal conditions) that I want to do even better. I'd like to break 3:30 (and kind of secretly break 3:25). I had a lot of PRs this year, but one PR that I didn't break (I got close) was in the 10k. I'm actually not a huge fan of this distance. It's too short to get into a long-distance groove, but too long for when I want to just run fast. Based on some recent races, I should be able to set a PR in the 10k. I'm working on my 2014 race plan, but always welcome an improvement across the board. 

3. Read more

Last year I read less books than the previous year. I set a challenge to read 45 books this year. This is a lot and I have yet to do it (came close in 2012 and if I didn't download Candy Crush on my phone, I may have been closer in 2013). I've want to read a nice range across various genres. Right now I'm reading a thriller and a memoir. Looks like I'm off to a good start. 

4. Do something new

So I'm not sure what this is yet. But it will be something I haven't done before. Maybe zip line since that's on my list already. 

5. Visit 3 new states, 1 new country, and 1 new ballpark

I already have Louisiana planned. But I want 2 additional states in the books by the end of the year. I also want to put my shiny new passport to good use. If I'm lucky, I can kill two birds with one stone and catch a ball game somewhere new. The sky's the limit. 

6. Be more creative 

I worked towards this last year and want to continue. I finally bought a new sketchbook a few months ago. All my old sketchbooks are probably up in my dad's attic. So here's to sketching more and improving on my photography skills. 

I think this is a good start. Here's to 2014! 

psychic reading by donna

It took a while, but I finally went to a psychic a few months ago. I had thought about getting a tarot card reading done, but due to the cost, and since it was getting pretty late, I decided to just go with the 5 minute consult. I didn't want to pay a load of money to hear something that may or may not be true. 

14th street

I got to ask 2 questions with my $10. As a single woman living in NYC, I didn't want to ask the obvious. So I first asked if I'd always live in NYC. I got a long-winded response that didn't quite answer the question. The sum of it was, she could see me living here, but also somewhere else. So I'm guessing I'll come into some money and own that NYC apartment someday. And also a beach house somewhere near the ocean. Or maybe not. 

For my 2nd question, I decided to get a bit more personal and ask whether I'm going to have kids someday. I know I want them (and I know my parents want grandchildren--this has been broadcasted at several holiday gatherings), so figured this would be harmless. I got another vague response. Essentially she sees many children in my future, but only one would be my own. Looks like my only child will have several cousins (which seems obvious since I have 7 siblings). 

So essentially I think it's a load of crap. But it was somewhat entertaining. And who knows, it could come true. 

BQ baby

I can officially check off qualifying for Boston off my 30 Before 30 list! I had checked it off with a disclaimer back in 2011. Since Boston changed their qualifying standards after I came up my list (and after mentally preparing to get 3:40, not break 3:35), I counted it, but it didn't really count if you know what I mean. I ran a 3:39:04 in Amsterdam, which would have counted in 2010, but not in 2011.

Last year, I tried again, but failed. I know fail is a strong word, but I was disappointed. I didn't even PR, which was unfortunate given the much better training program I stuck to and almost ideal running conditions in Chicago. But again, Boston eluded me. 

I guess 5th time's a charm. After 2 New Yorks, 1 Amsterdam, and 1 Chicago, I had to essentially 'go home' to make it to Boston. After the terrible events in Boston back in April, I was going to give qualifying another chance, even though I had planned to take a year off to give myself a break and try again next year. One marathon that I kept hearing that had a good flat, fast course was the Wineglass Marathon in upstate New York, not far from where I grew up. Not only did it have a lot of Boston qualifiers, it had some good schwag. And what runner doesn't love their schwag? 

First step—sign up for Wineglass. Second step—train. And train I did. I had a good solid base this past spring, but summer came and it was time to ramp it up. Earlier in the year, I joined a local running team, Central Park Track Club. These runners are amazing. Some are faster than I'll ever dream of and I'm fortunate to be on the same team as them. And it was a shoo-in since my sisters were already on the team. 

My plan was to do my typical marathon training plan, but try to incorporate as many of the team track and tempo workouts that I could. If I could make it to one workout a week, I thought that would be a great start. I felt the track workout was the more important workout to get to, since it was more complicated to do logistically. I could do the tempos on my own, but running with the team would be ideal. I think those track workouts made me faster and I'm happy for my teammates who pushed me without even realizing it. I just tried to keep up with all those speedy people. 

I built up my mileage, ran the track, did tempos around the bridle path, and got some key races in this summer/fall, including a 5k and 1/2 marathon PR. All good setup for a marathon PR. 

Until this past Thursday night. I was in full taper mode and trying to relax the days leading up the marathon (in the midst of client needs). But no, my body had other things on its mind. Instead of sleeping through the night, I woke up repeatedly and actually got sick. Not cool. Friday I felt like total crap. I wore my company's oversized fleece all day since I had the chills (and it was in the 80s outside), and dealt with a lingering headache. Exactly what you want to deal with 2 days before running a marathon. Oh and add a weather forecast of showers/thunderstorms and 93% humidity. Not in the plan. Not even a little bit. 

After hydrating and carbo-loading on Saturday (and one last easy run in the Statelands), there was nothing more to do. Fortunately, I woke up Sunday morning feeling much better. I was glad to feel like my normal self and tried to not let the overcast and warmer than normal October, 63 degree weather discourage me. Although, I did hope that the storms would stay away. 

Everyone knows that I ran to BQ, but what was my real goal. Up to 3 weeks ago, it was to break 3:35. But then I PR'd at the RNR Philly 1/2 marathon by almost 3 minutes, which gave me a time of 1:40:22. Putting that into a race predictor, it put my marathon time at 3:30. Now what to do? Be conservative and aim for my original goal of breaking 3:35 or screw it and see if I can do 3:30? I spent last week analyzing my previous marathon times and assessing if 3:30 was realistic. I decided it was and wanted to go for it. By the way, 3:30 would have been a PR of 9 minutes, which did seem ambitious. 

Of course, given the weather, I mentally adjusted my goal slightly. Which meant I was still shooting for 3:30, but I would be ok if I was a minute or 2 off. Although, I did not want to be off by 5 minutes. At the start I inserted myself between the 3:25 and 3:35 pace groups. I wanted to stay behind one and in front of the other. 

Before getting into my actual race, I wanted to give a topline review of the course. The race started in Bath and finished in Corning. I ran on country roads and through small towns. A hill here and there were thrown in, but there were some decent downhills. It was overcast and a bit foggy, which looked cool with the fall foliage peeping through. Even though blue skies would have been prettier. But I didn't want the sun to come out. At least not until the afternoon. 

Since it's a small race (2500 registrants and 1682 finishers), and went small towns, there wasn't an overwhelming number of spectators. You got to see the same cheerers over and over, and I'm happy to say my dad and brother were among them. My sisters were waiting for me further along on the course. Some of my favorite scenes (besides the cows), were the couples who pulled up their chairs at the end of their driveway to watch and a practically naked toddler who tried to run onto the course somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I liked it since it reminded me of home, but without the Finger Lake hills and valleys. 

Back to the running part of the race. Sporting my CPTC orange, I started out on the downhill and began my 26.2 mile journey. My first mile clocked in around 8:04. Slightly faster than I wanted, but not terrible. Now I don't have a Garmin, so my times are totally what I remember with my foggy marathon brain and what my results tell me. After this, I was ranging around the 8:10-8:15 range. Which I was good with and wanted to maintain at least until the halfway point. I focused and completed the first 10 miles with no issue. Except for the 3:35 pacer who kept talking about his Lasik surgery that was happening the next day. After I got caught in the pace group for a bit and them sneaking up on me a couple of times, I finally got rid of them for good. I just can't remember at what mile, but it was relatively early on so they didn't bother me too much longer. I caught up to a few other women running, who soon realized they were going way faster than their goal. I lost them at a certain point and kept focusing on ahead. I saw my dad and Levi at two points in the first half, where my brother got a few good action shots and gave me a constant energy. 

After I saw them at mile 10, I focused on the next 10 miles, where I knew I'd see my sisters after the halfway point. However, after I didn't see them at miles 13, 14, and 15, I assumed they must have been delayed (didn't think this happened) or got lost somewhere between Corning and where I was running. Turns out the latter was the case. Not surprised since it's pretty rural. When Alysia joined me between miles 15 and 16, she gave me a quick update and mentioned that everyone told them they were running the wrong way. Ambreleah then joined us at around mile 17 (I think it was here but can't remember). At this point, my pace went down and I was running in the 7:50 range. I couldn't do math at this point, but I was informed by the twin's Garmins. 

I got to mile 20 (which isn't too memorable, but I know I made it) and focused on the last 10k of the race. I was still feeling good and wanted to get to mile 21, where I heard there was a steady decline to the finish. They didn't tell me there would be one last hill included for good measure. But I felt strong and passed by the folks walking up the hill. I kept moving along and picking people off. I focused on one runner (or 2) ahead of me and closed the gap. I kept at it. I focused on each mile and continued to do math in my head to assess finish times. That .2 always throws me off though and my estimation is always faster than it should be. I had a few miles to go and powered through with thoughts on Boston, running it in 2015 and all those affected by the bombing. I counted to 100 (my MO) many times. Too many to count. I did get a pleasant surprise when a group of strangers called out my name around mile 25. The twins had run ahead to take pics and inform these nice spectators of my impending arrival. 

Closing in on a BQ.

I finally turned onto Market Street and passed mile 26. I saw my family cheering me on and with one last burst of energy, ran through the finish line. I was tired. But a good tired. I was so happy I accomplished my goal. I felt strong for the entire race, even though that last mile was a little tougher than the rest (mile 25 always sucks). I was given my hand-pressed glass medal. I downed some chocolate milk, and collected beverages to last me a week. Once the fam found me, we took some photos, and made our way to Market Street Brewing Co. to celebrate and replenish with more fluids (aka beer sampler). I celebrated further last night after I got back to NYC and drank my New York champagne out of my new wine glass as I relaxed on the couch. Yummy. Like I said, good schwag. 

Today, I'm feeling a bit sore. Throughout the day, I've been rolling my quads and slowly walking around the office. But it hasn't been terrible. Each marathon I run, it gets a little easier to recover. Or maybe I won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning. We'll see. 

I have decided to take next year off from the marathon and focus on smaller races. I'll register for Boston next September and finally run in 2015! 

My support crew.

books (2013 part 2)

Well it's been a while since I blogged about the books I've read. And I've read a bunch of books of them. Some good, some not so good. Instead of highlighting every one of them, I'm going to give a top level review of some of my favorites. 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

This was a good easy book to get through. The novel is put together by Bernadette's daughter Bee with emails, letters, and other correspondence in order to find her mom, who has disappeared. Bernadette is slightly eccentric and actually has an assistant in India that does all her everyday errands, but she is her best friend and is determined to find her, no matter where she is. It's a cute story and a quick read. 

World Without End by Ken Follett

This is the follow up to The Pillars of the Earth, which I really enjoyed reading. The setting is the same town as before, Kingsbridge, but two centuries after the cathedral was completed. You get to know some of the descendants of the characters from the first book and one character I really like and admired was Caris. She goes through a lot and to be honest some of the crap she has to deal with pissed me off from a gender equality standpoint. Even though it would make me frustrated on her behalf, I still enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading other books by the same other. Next up is Fall of Giants. 

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

This was a book club recommendation and a page turner. Kate's daughter has committed suicide and after getting a text saying that Amelia didn't jump, Kate is determined to find out what happened to her. She goes through texts, emails, and social media to get to the bottom of Amelia's life and what happened at the end of it. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This was a really great book from Death's point of view about a young girl, Leisel, who becomes the book thief outside of Munich, as the Nazi regime is building momentum and enters World War II. She builds relationships with her foster parents, her father in particular, a neighborhood boy, and a Jewish man that's hidden in their basement. This was the 1st of 3 books that I read about WWII and I highly recommend it. 

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

This was another page turner about a woman, Kirby, who survives a serial killer attack. Harper has been traveling through time and murdering women and doesn't even realize that Kirby has pulled through and is now determined to find him. 

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

This is a fictional account of the first Native American that graduated from Harvard. Bethia befriends Caleb on Martha's Vineyard in the 1660s and you see how their friendship takes them from the island off of Cape Cod to Boston. I thought it was a very interesting historical portrayal of early American history. 

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Lauren Hillenbrand

This was a great nonfiction story about Louis Zamperini. You learn about his childhood and what brought him to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where he raced the 5,000m. And then what happens after the Olympics, when he enlisted in the Air Force during World War II. What happens after is so interesting and heart-breaking, especially knowing that he could have gone after the elusive 4-minute mile. As a runner and a person, I highly recommend this book. 

There were a few others that I thought were interesting and would love to have a discussion about, but had to limit this blog post to some degree. 

In the upcoming months, I'm going to try to be better about my book updates, especially as I have some good ones on the to read list. 

26/45 books in 2013.

summer

Summer is over. Not officially, but since it's after Labor Day, it does feel like it. Not sure where it went. It flew by so fast and clearly I was too busy to even blog (my last one was about the trip I took last spring, where I returned on Memorial Day). So what did I do this summer? 

I went to Yankees games (and Mets, SU football, and the US Open). I golfed, bowled, and played kickball. I went to the Jazz Age Festival, showers and a wedding. I celebrated birthdays and hung out with friends. I went upstate a lot to see family and hung out in Nantucket to see even more family. I went to a few concerts. And I worked. But you know, I don't want to chat about that so much. 

JT and Jay-Z concert. 

UR reunion with the girls. 

Nantucket.

Family.

And of course I ran. I ran a lot. The Wineglass Marathon is in exactly 4 weeks. Actually I'll be long done with the race and hopefully celebrating a sub-3:35. My training has gone well and yesterday I ran my 2nd 20-miler. And it felt good. As much as a 20-miler can feel. I've got a lot of speed workouts in with the team, but need to get a few more tempo runs in the next couple of weeks before I start tapering. Like the last 4 marathons, I want to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. Even more this year due to the bombing back in April. That is the reason why I signed up to run a marathon this year. Unfortunately, registration for Boston opens tomorrow and will most likely be completely sold out before I even race. So I've started to accept the fact that I may not be running it next year. I will be cheering pretty damn loud though. When I qualify next month, hopefully I have a good chance to run in 2015. 

Catharine Valley Half Marathon.

Thats summer in a nutshell. This fall should bring on some more blogging.