Today – I am re-evaluating that goal…not because I think it is impossible, but because I want to be realistic. You see, I have not had as strong of a training cycle as I would have liked and here I am, a month away, and I have yet to hit a 20-mile run.

I don’t doubt that a BQ is in the cards for me – but I also want to remove the pressure I had put on myself, and this is something that has been bouncing around my head since last month’s running of the Boston Marathon – and since the announcement that all of the 2013 Boston Marathoners that didn’t get to finish this year have special invitations for next year (which was an incredibly noble gesture by the Boston Athletic Association, by the way) I’ve gotten a bit more nervous.

So, here’s the new plan:

• Still run the full San Francisco Marathon - SF will be my seventh full marathon; I would NOT recommend going into a full without a 20-mile run, usually, but I do have two weekends to possibly get it in, and I KNOW that I can be smart race day and not over-extend. I did briefly consider dropping to the half distance, but this is something that I want, and I am happy with this decision.
• Run SF smart – I am not going to chide myself into thinking SF will be simply a “fun” race (ala Walt Disney World) but I am excited to run a strong and scenic race on June 16.
• Take some time off – I am going to keep my mileage up (my comfortable level is in the mid-20s, so that’s where I plan to stay) but work on SERIOUSLY incorporating cross-training before launching into my final marathon training schedule of the year for Space Coast Marathon.
• Target Space Coast for BQ – Space Coast is flat and fast – which has proven to be challenging for me (I tend to be stronger on hillier courses) but…certain yet-to-be decided or disclosed future relocation plans might aid in the training conditions needed for optimal performance
•  Run Boston 2 Big Sur in 2015 – This is a big one! I tweeted about it a few weeks ago, and I am pretty sure I’ve got a posse to join me on this adventure. And 2015 is two years away…which might work better for certain other life things in general.

…whew. So there it is…lots of thoughts that have been weighing on me, and I think it’s showed on the blog…but now I have it all out, I feel ready. My road to Boston might be longer than I originally planned, but I think that will only make it that much sweeter. After all, life is what happens when you’re making plans

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Do you make long term plans about your goals – and how do you adjust them?

(photo courtesy of Morgan)

Whether it’s a work day or a weekend, there are always a few signature items that I will likely be sporting: sparkly nail polish, my Alex & Ani SF bracelet, Road ID and a variety of other ‘arm candy.’

Well, just a few weeks ago, I amped up the ante with a new, high-tech piece of wrist wizardry when I purchased the Fitbit Flex. I had been contemplating purchasing a device like this for quite some time – and this fascination was further cemented upon reading a post from my pal Kat’s blog on her experience with the Fitbit and Jawbone Up. From her post, I did some more research, learning the pros and cons of a variety of devices on the market, from the variety of Fitbits (here’s a great comparison chart), to the aforementioned Jawbone Up, and even the Nike Fuelband.

After several hours of reading, I came to the conclusion that the Flex was for me, for these particular reasons:

• As much as I loved the Fitbit One’s small size and digital screen, scouring of the Fitbit Facebook page proved to me that I, queen of the klutzes, would likely put the poor device through the washer. Also, as per Kat’s review, I realized that I would probably not get the most accurate amount of steps if the device wasn’t “on my person” at all times.
• I live and breathe with my iPhone!! I needed a device that could “talk to it” whenever and wherever, without extra “stuff.” When I discovered that the Jawbone Up required hooking it up manually with the headphone jack to upload data, I was pretty turned off.
• I had seen a lot of neat commercials about the Nike Fuelband - but it did not measure sleep – a cool feature found in both the Fitbit and Jawbone Up.

So, that was that: I was going to get a Fitbit Flex! I checked the website and it looked like they weren’t quite shipping yet (this was the last week of April) so, as hard as it was, I knew I would have to be patient before getting my new fitness toy…to make matters even more challenging, on April 24, Administrative Professionals Day, my firm was kind enough to deposit $150 into my account, so I told myself I’d use it to by my Flex…as soon as I could find one!

About a week later, still without a release date in sight, I was perusing the Facebook page and saw something interesting…a few posters had commented that their local Best Buy stores were stocking them! Now, this caused a little drama with other members of the page, as many had made pre-orders through Fitbit or Amazon, but I was intrigued! I checked our local Best Buy’s site, and though it indicated that they were not yet in stock, I decided to chance it and visited right after work on May 2: and lo and behold….there it was:

Voila!

Well…there they both were, really: black or slate. I took to instagram to decide which one to purchase (ended up going with black) and well, the rest, I can say, is really history.

Soon, I’ll share my thoughts on the last two weeks I’ve experienced my Fitbit Flex – and would love to answer any questions you might have about it, so please, leave your comments here and it’d be my pleasure to answer them in a future post! I have really enjoyed the device so far, and am proud to have shared that enthusiasm to convince a few people to check them out already – both internet and IRL friends/coworkers!

So stay tuned!! I am stoked to post all about how Fitbit has already changed how I look at each day

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Disclaimer: I purchased the Fitbit Flex on my own and am not being compensated or sponsored in any way whatsoever in using this device, so all opinions are 100 percent my own

(source)

(source/Andy Gapin)

Pre race, courtesy of Ashley.

This weekend was one I had been looking forward to ever since I first hear the whisperings of an expansion of the Nike Women Marathon event to include both coasts (San Francisco and now, Washington DC). I was fortunate enough to be able to register under their ‘College Program’ which meant that I was not only allowed guaranteed entry (for the general public, it’s a lottery) but a price break as well ($125 vs. $160).

After a fabulous month of racing (April 7 – Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, April 20 – Blue Ridge Half Marathon) this was the last stop on my road map! Hubs and I headed up on Saturday to packet pickup in Georgetown.

I have to admit – this was the least magical part of the weekend:

50 min wait…yikes!

First off, when we got down to the waterfront area (where the Packet Pick Up and Expotique were located) it was MOBBED. Yes, the expo started Thursday – but for those of us traveling from out of town, Saturday was really the only option. We arrived a little bit before 3 PM and were misdirected toward the expotique (mistake) which we wandered around for 5 minute before I stopped to ask a volunteer where the packets were – yup, we were definitely in the wrong place.

Once we were in the RIGHT place, I could NOT believe the line – it stretched on…and on…and on. In all, we waited about 50 minutes…but the volunteers in the tent were AWESOME, so I couldn’t be perturbed for too long

After a quick pitstop at Baked and Wired, we were back on the road to Northern VA to stay with my friend Allie. We had a low key evening – her awesome parents made us a great dinner and we chatted until 10-ish so we could get up bright and early for the drive in to DC.

Pre-race setup!

Race morning, our battle plan was this: hubs would drive us into the city, he’d find a parking spot, then we’d rendezvous with him later. I had posted my completed costume online so I think I was pretty findable

Costume selfie!

I had to meet up with Anna (I had picked up her packet) and then Danielle (who I’d be running with) and that went smoothly as well. Before long, we were filing into our corrals and we lined up (D, me, Ashley and her friend Rita(?)). IT WAS SO CROWDED! It was announced that Shalane Flanagan was in the front but we were so far back we didn’t see her. Oh well! The race started and we were off on the streets of DC.

Now, I have PLENTY of friends that PR’d today (BIG CONGRATS) but D, A and I were out for one thing only: SUPER FUN. We are all at different points in race training, so it was a day to just soak it all in and enjoy. The original loose goal was 8:30s to 8:45s, but we were packed in so tightly, the first few miles clicked off closer to the 9 minute mark. Not like we were worried!

Pic courtesy D’s hubs, Andy.

We chatted about all things running, random and fun through all 13.1 miles. The course was very similar to the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, but with a few extra parts to add in that extra 5K. I know D would totally roll her eyes to hear this, but I definitely feel like the miles just clicked off in this one, especially since my Garmin was all jacked up from the tunnel and it starting about .1 miles late due to it timing out before we crossed the timing mat

Final official time – 1:58:35 (apx 8:50ish pace)

A few notes on the course:

• About halfway through the race, we stopped in real bathrooms in Hains Point. They had a line, but it was more important for us to stick together so it wasn’t a big deal.
• I LOVED HAVING NUUN on course!
• I also grabbed the mini Luna bars on course, but didn’t eat them, just stuffed ‘em into my running short pockets. I ate one on the way back to Allie’s house afterward.
• I DID take one Hammer gel as fuel (carried with me) and have to say: APPLE CINNAMON IS AMAZING. Thanks, Kris and Mindy for the rec.
• There were lots of…errmm… inexperienced racers on course – read: not the best etiquette - and I definitely had elbows thrown into me, a cup of water dumped onto my foot (yay squishy shoe) but we just rolled with the punches so NBD.

Because really? This:

Tiffany blinggg.

That little blue box, coupled with the memories of just running and feeling free and happy outweighed any of the other drama of the weekend. Sure, I think there’s definite room for improvement (organizationally-wise) but with it being an inaugural event, that was to be expected.

And again:

Close-up of the finisher necklace.

Today’s race was the PERFECT way to cap out another great month of running and racing – especially in the wake of events that have really shaken up the running community. Events like today’s showed just how strong we all can be when we stand (and RUN) together and I couldn’t be more proud to call myself a runner.

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What’s been your best running memory of April 2013?

Audrey-inspiration

See you there!

Now, since I have become pretty immersed in the idea of interactive and mobile technologies in my graduate school classes, this proposition not only appealed to my tech geek side, but of course, my Disney Dork side Naturally, I had to see what it was all about, so I whipped out my iPhone and texted as directed.

Right after sending ‘PRINCESS’ to 33992, I received a message back that asked what Princess I’d like to have call me! The choices were (1) Merida (2)Rapunzel and (3) Cinderella. For my first try (yes, I would eventually try all three) I chose Rapunzel, so sent ’2′ as my choice.

After confirming that Rapunzel was my choice, I received another message; this one asking when I’d like the call, with the options presented of (1) for five minutes from NOW, (2) for one hour from NOW and (3) for two hours from NOW. Since I was about to head back to work, I opted for (2).

Since I utilize Google Voice (I forward my cell to my desk phone, which I answer with a headset) I was able to receive my Princess call (that came in under the phone number 877-402-0169) without everyone in the office knowing what I was doing.

The messages are really fun and, aside from the potential text message charge from your cell provider (I have unlimited) totally free! It was a fun little perk to my day and I wanted to share it with all of you! So, whether you’re a Disney Princess at heart, a parent or family member that knows a special little Princess or just looking for fun ways to pump yourself up for your next Disney vacation, why not schedule a call with a Princess today?!

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What Disney character would you call if you had the option?

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Disclaimer: I came across this promotion on my own today –  with no sponsorship or compensation from the Walt Disney Company. I’m just a big, dorky fan that will never grow up

Beautiful display at bubble cake!

Now, you all know that I love my cupcakes…and before I even begin this review, I am gonna be straight up: this shop jumped straight into my ALL TIME top three shops (I rank it right at Extraordinary Cupcakes / Baked + Wired level). Between the fun decor, friendly staff, creative and beautiful variety and of course, FANTASTIC flavor, Bubblecake proved its prowess on this cupcake connoisseur’s map!

Yes!

The shop itself is located right outside of what I considered the downtown area – using my iPhone to navigate us there, I have to admit I was skeptical of the directions that my navigation were giving me, since we were in what appeared to be a residential area. Fortunately for us, it WAS right and we found Bubblecake – a small shop in a row of small businesses with a bit of street parking.

Cupcake closeup!

Among the variety of fantastic flavors were your standards, like red velvet, carrot cake, ‘old school’ (vanilla chocolate) and lemon, but a bevy of creative signature cakes like snickerdoodle, birthday cake, tiffany (vanilla/almond) and more! Each was more beautiful than the last, and at $3.50 a piece, they were actually quite large (about 1.5 the size of a standard cupcake). ‘Babycakes’ were also available ($2.25) but those were more the standard cupcake size than a mini cupcake, so that seemed to add to the value for me. (See full menu here).

The ‘babycakes.’

Along with those colorful confections, there were also a few ‘brownies’ that looked scrumptious! I put that in quotes because they were not your regular square chocolatey treats, but rather sophisticated ones in three varieties: butterfinger, fallen souffle and nutella ($3.95/ea)!

The brownie bunch!

I stared and salivated for a good 5 minutes before hubs and I made our choices. I consulted with the friendly staff behind the counter for the recommendations – you know a place is good when they have SEVERAL favorites each!

Eventually, we made our picks:

Hubs’ pick.

…and…

Krissy’s pick!

We opted to eat in and we were given a cute little tray and sporks We headed over to the indoor seating are (a converted sun room) with a hot pink picnic table to sit at

View from dining area

After admiring the cupcakes from all angles (really, they were just so pretty) we both unwrapped our chosen cupcakes and took our first spork-assited bites…and OH YES these cupcakes were just as good as they looked…if not better!

My dreamsicle cupcake was orange cake – very moist – and topped with vanilla bean whipped icing. So good! I attempted to take a cross section pic:

Moist cake + fluffy icing!

Pretty much perfect.

Now, I did take a few bites of hubby’s cupcake as well (which was quite fantastic) I did restrain myself and stuck to just one…which was a little challenging, but hey, it’s a big world full of lots of cupcakes, right? Anywho, I really don’t think you could go wrong at Bubblecake…and I definitely enjoyed my experience there.

Cupcake Heaven!

Cupcake Heaven…in Roanoke, VA?! Who woulda thunk it?

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For more cupcake reviews, check my Yelp list here.