Exploring New Areas

Yesss! It's almost June so I owe this blog an update! I'll keep blogging as long as I pay GoDaddy my annual hosting fees, because I hate paying for stuff I don't use. And there's plenty of that, some magazines I never find the time for, or my Hulu account, but I blame Time Warner for that, since my internet connection is not up to par for streaming and therefore my Roku keeps stalling so I can't enjoy my Hulu channel. Oh well, I guess it doesn't bother me enough to pick up the phone and complain, I'm barely home.

In any case, so far any pair of running shoes I owned got their full money's worth

as well as all the NY gyms and fitness classes I belong or belonged too.

Speaking of that, I'm in a transitioning phase, cause after a few months of marathon training and indoor cycling paired with my weekly plyo/strength sessions (a MUST) taught by Susan Bayat, I'm ready to join a new gym.

 I'm currently on a guest pass for Chelsea Piers, which has the nicest pool plus sun deck overlooking the Hudson and its sport center has everything you possibly wanna try, it's like a playground for grown-ups, so I think I hear it calling my name already :-) I'm not too sure about their indoor cycling classes, however luckily I can go to Swerve, a newer boutique studio where you can literally swerve and swerk your butt off. 

They are located in the Flatiron/union square area, which is seriously a Mecca of gyms and boutique fitness studios as well as fitness apparel. At Swerve you ride as one of three teams and you have your individual score to see where you're standing versus the rest of class and your team. They send your results right after class and that scoreboard somehow makes me VERY competitive, NOT cute, but I love to ride there, it's a great studio and it can be challenging.

On Friday night they have a happy hour class, a great way to ring in the weekend with fabulous energy and encouragement by instructor Dyan Tsumis!

My 4th marathon on February 16th in Austin, TX was an amazing experience! I PR'ed by 8.5 minutes and ran a 3.41.17 in a very hilly, challenging course with not the easiest weather, since it was a balmy 60 degrees Fahrenheit versus freezin' sub-20 in New York. You see, we had the longest and coldest winter in years and I never skipped a run, but as of December, half-way in my training, I ran most of my workout in freezing temps, icy and snowy conditions. So halfway through the race, I felt that my legs weren't used to these conditions and the sweating made them feel heavy, and the hills contributed to that feeling too of course, despite my solid hill training back in NY. But it's all coulda woulda shoulda, I'm very happy with the results and kept telling myself that I trained hard and earned this PR and 'you GO girl', it all came together!

After this wonderful experience with one of my best friends in Austin, celebrating her birthday as well, I flew to Holland for vacation and to meet my first nephew, the adorable Teun! I love him! And he digs me! 

I also celebrated my birthday in Holland, admired my sister's pregnant belly and met up with good friends. 

After a week off from running, I slowly got back into it 20 feet below sea level where my parents live. I had spring like conditions that week, amazing! In February! 

Back in New York my friends treated me to Korean food, delicious cake and karaoke! So much fun! I'm blessed with such good friends and family on both sides of the Atlantic.

Running felt good with no race pressure and I enjoyed trying new classes together with Jen, which was also a good idea to fill a void when our favorite cycling classes were no longer available. We tried indoor rowing at City Row: that was intense, I even landed on my behind next to the rowing machine :-) 

And core fusion at exhale was challenging, especially when not wearing yoga socks, I kept sliding out of my plank position on the carpet. 

Ashlee lured me into Pure Yoga for PXT, a blend of yoga moves and plyometrics and the room is a little warmer than usual. So much sweat! :-) 

Jen said so many good things about her kettlebell kickboxing classes, so I took a class with her and had a great time. 

My plan for this year was to wait with running races and focus more on outdoor riding, duathlons, another triathlon and a real bike race. So I went on a group ride, attended CRCA bike racing clinics and had my first race on my roadbike, with guidance from CRCA coaches and more experienced racers. It was awesome and a very positive experience, I was SO nervous beforehand though. No idea how

I would compare to other riders, especially if that's what they mostly do while I come from running and didn't train as much outside. Also afraid to cause of end up in a crash! I'm hooked though! Riding in a pack makes a big difference speed-wise and luckily I was able to keep up with the front. I ended up finishing 6th. I hope to do many more rides, training sessions and more races in women's Cat4 this season. 

As soon....as I am more recovered from a foot injury. X-rays were showing inflammation in the 2nd metatarsal and symptoms of a stress fracture. I  had a (hot pink) cast for 10 days, which was removed last Friday.

My foot is not completely healed yet so no running for a few more weeks, but biking/swimming/fitness are fine. I hope I can walk around pain free soon! Being patient and sitting still are making me anxious!

I don't even know what caused it, although it might be related to that big bottle of shower gel I dropped on my foot in the shower, or a small sprain I didn't notice. My weekly running mileage post-marathon wasn't too high and all of a sudden I had some pain on top of my foot, so I laid off the running for a few days, but then I had to run some hills in the gorgeous Big Sur marathon, a race that four friends and I ran as a relay. Two miles into my 7.1 mile leg, my foot started to act up and it progressively got worse, but of course I kept on running to hand off the snap-bracelet to the next runner of my team. Once I did that, I was done; actually my foot was done. It sucks, but it happens. The rest of the trip was wonderful though and I was able to limp around and not miss a thing of Monterey, Carmel, Chez Panisse, San Fransisco, Napa, Sonoma, all with great company! 

Now it's time for me to focus on other and new areas, as well as my new job, starting in June. I love working for the UN Mission of my country, but an internal vacancy opened at the Dutch consulate and after seriously considering it, I had to apply, since it's a wonderful opportunity, I would regret it forever if I did not pursue this amazing position; it actually combines my 10 years of US/NL transatlantic experience in a multilateral environment as well as my design-arts work experience and my degree and network. I'll be joining the Consulate as the new Policy Officer of the Cultural Department, promoting Dutch performing arts, film and literature in the U.S.

My first week will be spent in the Netherlands where I'll attend a conference to meet counterparts, colleagues, Dutch institutions all involved with international promotion of Dutch arts and culture. Very exciting and great to get such a useful start! I'll be able to see friends and family too, including Max! My one week old nephew! I love him!

Here's to a great summer! Stay fit, stay fab! Xoxo