Half Marathon Training has begun

Oh boy. What in the world have I gotten myself into? Two Saturday practices in, and I am feeling seriously discouraged already. I have grossly underestimated how much of my time this training stuff would take, along with just how badly out of shape I am these days. This ought to be a lot of fun for you guys to read out there over the next few months...

My friend Jena started training about six weeks before I did. She did four weeks of pre-season training with the mentors and coaches before her proper training even started. She also got herself in gear by doing several workouts with the Couch to 5K app. She's in rare form now. She ran six miles with her team this morning!

My TNT running group

I'm not going to hash out the details of my training experiences just yet. Let me just say that I went out with the walkers last week, felt that wasn't enough of a challenge, so I tried my luck with the run/walk group this week. Those guys blew me away with their speed and endurance! I ended up walking the 4 miles we were supposed to cover on Saturday, and then I went home and vowed to start using C25K myself this week.

I posted a bit more about the group above at my fundraising page. Please take a moment to donate if you haven't yet. Every little bit helps!

Charleston buds at dinner in Park Slope

In other news, I've been keeping super busy lately between visitors and work. Work has been fantastic. I really like my new managers and responsibilities. I'm getting managerial experience that I've not had before, and I'm being treated with respect. It's really more than I'd hoped would happen.

Crystal and Brooke

Amanda and Nick and Nick's spiffy chapeau

Me and Crystal 

My lovely friends from Charleston were in town last weekend, and Stephen was here as well. I saw a really strange but wonderful avant garde musical with him called Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.  It was a bizarrely upbeat retelling of War and Peace, complete with musical numbers and borscht. If you're a theater buff out there, I recommend it. Not because of the book itself, but because of how it's executed. It's really an immersive experience, and unlike anything I've done before. (I did experience Sleep No More a few years ago, so I think I can speak with some authority here.)

Stephen and me at the Russian extravaganza

Bayley reluctantly poses on the SNL stage

Stephen and Bayley were both here at the beginning of the month, and we had a fun time walking around 30 Rock when no one was really around. We took pics on the SNL stage. (Oddly enough, all three of us are still big fans.) I met them for a lovely dinner one night too. They went to see a whole bunch of theater, as they always do, but I was delighted they also made some time to come see my new digs at work.

My cousin Ani was also in town at the beginning of June. I am so proud of that kid. He just finished his MBA at Kellogg, and that's his SECOND masters degree. His first one was from Johns Hopkins. So yeah, the kid's a dope, really. He's going to be starting a job at BD later this summer, and he'll be living in Hoboken. So he was in town apartment hunting, and I am super excited that he'll be living near me soon.

Ani's birthday dinner last year

This past weekend was full of my favorite musicians. Falu played in Central Park on Friday afternoon, and I walked over there after work to catch the show. It was a lovely afternoon to be outdoors.

Falu and her band entertain us in Central Park

And then Saturday night, the show I'd been looking forward to for months. Shovels and Rope followed by Dawes. I knew from my Charleston days that Cary Ann & Michael from Shovels and Rope would deliver an energetic and engaging performance, so it was no surprise that they rocked Terminal 5 hard warming up the crowd for  headliner Dawes.

Shovels and Rope rocking Terminal 5

The two bands met on Cayamo, the music cruise I went on earlier this year. I fell in love with Dawes and their Jackson Browne-ness when I saw them on the boat. I even downloaded their album in the Fort Lauderdale airport while waiting for my flight back to New York.  The show ended with both acts together on stage performing a Traveling Wilburys song, and I couldn't have possibly been a happier girl after a concert.

Next week, my friend Amanda is coming up from Athens, my nieces are coming right after that, and then my brother and sister-in-law will be here the week after! July is going to be as much fun as June!