HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS

• By loramarie03
• 1 September, 2012
• 13 Comments

Yesterday was just the type of day that I needed. I feel like I’ve been grumpy lately due to stress and the hot weather and haven’t had a lot of time to relax. We got out of work at 3 p.m. and I was so excited to head up to the Upper West Side to go to MICHAEL’s! (The Arts & Crafts Store, not some random guy’s apartment.) This is somewhat of a hike from Brooklyn, so I don’t make it up here often.

Of course, I had to make a pit stop for my favorite…

After my adventure (aka an hour wandering the aisles of Michaels trying to decide what I absolutely had to buy besides wedding supplies), I met up with Dayna and Annie (also on our Ragnar team!) for some drinks at Trailer Park (very interesting ambiance in the heart of Manhattan, ha). We adventured over to Shake Shack, said goodbye to Annie and one of her friends while inviting one of her other friends with us to grill on our friend Ed’s rooftop. Which is amazing.

Afterwards, we held contests to see who could do the most planks, pistol squats and pull ups. We also did the Friends game to see how many states you can name in five minutes (I think they did 7 minutes in the show) and revised it to see if you could name all NFL football teams in six minutes. I almost had them all but forgot the Bills (HOW? I live in the same state!), Cardinals (understandable…) and Saints (um, really?).

All of these methods are very good ways to make new friends while ensuring that they think you are absolutely crazy.

***

This morning was what I’m calling my official first day in marathon training since last week was such a disaster. It started out fine, I bumped my alarm back up to 6 — last week I tried getting up 30 minutes later (since I didn’t have to rush to do anything afterwards) and I really didn’t like it. It’s 30 minutes but it just felt so much later. Weird.

I did put on some of my favorite gear (not quite sure I matched, but whatevs):

And headed out the door, completely forgetting to bring water. Oops.

The park was great, not too busy and definitely no tripping over shoelaces. I got water on my second loop since I was starting to feel thirsty. I headed out of the park to the Brooklyn Bridge and was starting to feel a little awful. I have this terrible habit of not bringing money with me on my long runs (which I need to change) and debated about stopping in a hotel to see if they could give me a cup of water. I was nervous so skipped it and pushed on, slowing my pace a bit.

By time I got within a mile of our place, the whole “you’ll have water in less than 10 minutes” mantra wasn’t working. I seriously was getting nervous that I was going to have to walk because I didn’t feel well at all.

But, I made it. Huge lesson learned. And you know what? That’s why we train. Training teaches us what we need to know to be at our best on race day, and helps us build up our body better. I’ve run 14 miles without water before, just not in 80* weather. Oops!

My favorite things on my run this morning:

1. Seeing people claiming their spot for Labor Day weekend grilling in the park in the 6 a.m. hour. I mean, most BBQs don’t start until mid-afternoon so they are going to be there FOR A LONG TIME.
2. Parents exercising with their children. This makes me really happy. I saw so many parents out jogging with their kids, going for walks, biking, etc. It was great! Exactly what needs to be happening. I even saw this guy running with his daughter who had to be three or four (she of course was setting the pace). It was adorable and I’m sure something she had been begging to do for a long time.
3. Hearing a guy yell at me (while I was dying from thirst) “Go for the gold!” I seriously love the stuff that people say when you pass them in the city, whether you are running or walking. Definitely more creative than I’ve ever been.

Have you ever gotten super dehydrated on a run before? What are your favorite things from your workout today?