Celeb citings.

So I always get the question from family and friends, "do you ever see celebrities walking the streets of New York?" and ususally they are disappointed with my answer. "No, not at all. Plus I wouldnt know one if I tripped over one." Umm yeah. basically...

The opening night of Shakespeare in the Park I was strolling through passing the Great Lawn and the Public Theatre passing all these people dressed to the nines sipping cocktails with a jazz band playing tunes oblivious to the fact that tons of stars were among NYC's elite crowd. So of course, Im barreling down the hill to our "TFK meeting spot" and who crosses my path? Bette Midler with a s**t eating grin on her face because Im staring right at her like I know her from somewhere... typical me, I dont realize who it is until about a minute and a half after I walked past. Next up--Liev Schrieber. Chillin' on the bench by the entrance, blended in with the common folk. No one approached him, no one stopped and stared. Just let him be. Pretty cool. Not LA style... no papparazzi or crowds making a scene. My favorite scene that night was watching Kevin Spacey get an escort on the back of a club car up to the show. No need to walk when you can hitch a ride on a club car! Good for him! Supposedly tons of celebrities came out for the opening night gala. And yet, Im standing in a pair of spandex shorts, tech tee and sneakers stretching like some poorly dressed 80's aerobic instructor. Ohh the life! hahaa!

So, there ya go! I do sometimes (but verrrrrrrrry infrequently) see celebrities strolling the streets.


Next citing? the Womens Mini 10K. You might not think its a celeb citing, but I got to meet Kara Goucher and Paula Radcliffe; two highly talented and respected marathoners! The 2 women came out to NYC for the annual all womens race to support and run with us women. Kara and Paula are both preggers, and believe it or not, due on the same day!!! They came out on that hot June day to have a "fun run" and enjoy themselves, no racing! Seriously, these women are such an inspiration. They are proud of the running community and embrace the support of their fans. After the race, we got the chance to meet both of them, and ahh duhh... us picture whores... our picture taken with them! Kara is so cute! the little preggo mama can crack jokes like no other! Paula and her little accent, soo sweet!! These women are the top american runners and yet they were out with us and talking to us, giving hi-fives, signing autographs and welcomed all of their fans wishes and words of praise.

Okay so Im all celeb'd out. That was overkill for me, haaa. I never see any famous people and I seel all these up close and personal in a weeks time, pretty sweet!


Dont ask about the race. it was awful. First time I have ever felt sick to my stomach and stopped in a race. Awful! I cant eat bananas before a race ever again! the ringing in my ears, the tingling in my fingers and the dry heaving on Harlem Hill was enough to make me never want to eat a banana again! Hopefully that was my first and last bad race. I dont like knowing I can feel like that during a run. I never felt like that during swimming... and I used to do race after race after race over 3 consecutive days. Major lesson learned! Exnae on the Monkey Fruit.

what do you get when you mix work, social life, family, 30+ miles of running, and gym sessions piled into one? lack of sleep and total burn out. Delirious.

Man, I love summer. there is nothing like the long sunny days, hot weather, shorts tee-shirts and flip flops! ahh... who am I kidding?? thats not why I love summer... who cares about the little things, its the big things! Yankee games, Happy Hours, long hot runs, Concerts (oh yes, Bon Jovi x2 baby!), outdoor dinners, some races, World Cup (who knew soccer was so flipping fun!!) and of course ROAD TRIPS! Squeeze these into a jam packed day of work from sun up to sun down, a little gym action or a run, trying to keep up with family and friends outside of NYC and maybe a little "me" time is exhausting! literally. Over the past month or so, I have come to realize I have been trying to do waaaaay too much and need to learn to say "No" sometimes.

I was tired.. very tired. Alright outright exhausted! I ran a race every weekend for a month on top of 3 practices a week. Throw in there a Half marathon too.. my body was screaming, take a break before you hurt yourself! So finally I did.

That break didnt come before some great times though! One especially great time was the weekend of Fathers Day. My dad is my life! He deserves the world! Hard working, and needs a little spoiling once in a while, so I coaxed him into coming to stay for a weekend. What better way then say, "hey dad, so I really really want to do the Prostate Cancer run on Fathers day, how about you come in and spend the weekend here so I can do the run? Ill pay....?" Of course I got a yes... YESSS!! Papa-dukes is coming to my 'hood! So that saturday morning of our Dad's day weekend, I had my first Team for Kids group run, and then needed to volunteer for a few hours with the Foundation I help support through work. (again note--another thing packed into my busy life!) Pops came in early, so the Jac attack, a.k.a my roomie took him under her wing and took him for Cervesas and World Cup; thanks Jacs! With that said, I had quite the appetite and took dad to Luke's Lobster for infamous lobster rolls. Delish! Headed to Dugout Days sponsored by Delta airlines in Madison Square park, played some games, won some, lost some, got some free drink vouchers for my next flight and watched the Subway Series on the jumbo screen in the park. It was so fun! No better way to spend a hot summer day in the city then watching the Yanks play the Mets with some beers, and crossing your fingers hoping your raffle ticket number is the winning domestic round trip travel vouchers! Too bad they werent...

The rest of the day was spent at a wine tasting that we stumbled across, a little air conditioner installation and a fantastic dinner in Chelsea. After all the walking, a little Pinkberry, and my upset stomach, I think it is safe to say, I wore dad out.

The next morning was Fathers day.. the Prostate cancer run. Holy mother it was a scorcher! Hottest and most humid day of the year. The news actually advised staying indoors in a cool place, not to do any strenuous activity. Ehh, not for meeee... off to the race. 5 miler here we go... I told myself I wasnt going to race it, just pace it; and I failed that attempt. Running that race meant so much to me! Running with so many dads that were survivors, supporters, mothers and children, grand dads and grand kids. Everyone was out for the same reason, supporting the cause. So, of course I raced it! Zoomed right by dad too! He didnt even see me coming, I scared him when I yelled hi and waved in his face. Oh gotta love the chuckle he gave me seeing his face, hahaaa. After the finish, I ran into 3 of my closest coaches. and yep, got yelled at. Well not technically yelled at, but lectured. Especially by Asteria. She told me I am trying to do too much, I have too much potential and I am wearing myself out. I need to take a break before I hurt myself. I wanted to be like, "ahh duhh! I have only been saying that for 2 weeks now" but its my own fault for keeping at it. After her serious chat, the only thing I can think of doing was eating and taking a nap. And thats what I did... little Gracie Mews pancakes and dad's 3rd breakfast of the day, I sent him home and crashed for a few hours.

Buuuut........ the weekend didnt stop there! (I mean, did you really think the story was going to end that easily? ahh no!) I abruptly woke up at 2:20. I was supposed to meet Vanessa and Jackie at 1:15 for the World Cup in Little Brasil. I literally run out of the house and fly downtown to meet them to find them screaming at the score of Brasil's first goal at some bar I cant even remember.. about 4 Caipirinha's later, some serious World Cup excitement and a Brasil win, we headed to our second home... Cascabel for what else? Carnitas Tacos.. .oohh delish! and a free round of drinks because we are there so frequently. Oh help us when they move next door to the bigger space! No hour and a half wait? Hello! Tacos por favor! hahaa

Okay okay, then the weekend was over. Seriously exhausted just thinking about it. and typing about it :)

So on that note.. another story in another post.

Hasta proximo tiempo, Amigos!