I have a list a mile long of blog posts I want to write: that pumpkin bread recipe I'm in love with, my Race to Deliver recap, or images from my Thanksgiving in Maine. But all of those will have to wait because I'm really excited about my friend Grateful Mama's Erica Sara giveaway and want to make sure you're in the loop.
I'm not sure how I first "met" Sugarmagnolia (aka Grateful Mama), whether it was through dailymile or the twitterverse, but we felt like kindred spirits right away and I knew we'd be friends. After I redesigned her blog, we discussed doing a giveaway but the timing didn't seem right so we agreed to wait about.
Fast forward a few months later... I was hired to teach jewelry at LivePerson Aspire 2011 event and as a result, I got to hear Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary sing! For those of you who don't know me that well, I truly believe I was born at the wrong time. I should've been a teenager in the 60's or 70's; Peter, Paul and Mary is one of my favorite groups and hearing Peter sing, and then meeting him & getting a kiss from him might have been one of my favorite 2011 memories. But I digress. During Peter's presentation, he held up two beautiful guitars, both of which he painted with his own artwork, and told the crowd that they could win one of these beautiful guitars and all they had to do was something good for the world. He said we could leave the event, do something kind for the world, and then email him and let him know we did to be entered to win a guitar. And I LOVED this idea!!! I do giveaways all the time and am truly happy every time an excited winner contacts me to collect their prize. But the opportunity to encourage folks to do their part in the world, no matter how big or how small, got me really excited.
And then Sugarmagnolia contacted me about our earlier giveaway conversations, she seemed like the perfect person to host this giveaway, and so it was born. And here it is!Please, please, please enter!!! Not because you get to choose from three necklaces, which is awesome, but because in this crazy wacky world, you do have the ability to change someone's life for the better, even if just for a moment. And maybe that person will then be inspired to pass it forward... and maybe, just maybe, more people will have smiles on their faces this week and .. ok, you get the point. Now go enter & good luck!
Happy Friday! I cannot believe another week is over! It's been quite a whirlwind: editing marathon pictures, post marathon race bling orders, and getting ready for this weekend's trunk show at Exhale Central Park South. So many things for which to be grateful.
So hey, I'm having a trunk show this weekend & you're all invited! So if you're in town (NYC), please stop by and say hello. I'd love to chat!
I'll be showing my new 18kt coated Drusy collection at the show and I can't wait to see the response. Here are just a few of the new pieces
I told myself I wouldn't blog today, that I needed a day off from thinking about the marathon to focus on my upcoming holiday trunk shows and engraving race bling orders. But I can't help it because in the past two days, I've read so many incredible race recaps and I am in awe of so many people. I say this all the time but I'll say it again: the running community is an incredible one and I am proud to be a bib wearing member. So, to keep the marathon mojo flowing, I've decided to compile a list of some awesome race recaps for you all to enjoy! Here are just a few of the people (in no particular order) I am honored to know and were overjoyed to cheer on at this weekend's NYC Marathon (click on the images to access their race recaps!). I know that I'm probably leaving a billion people out so PLEASE, if you wrote a race recap, leave a comment at the bottom with the link! I will do my best to continue updating this post by adding your pics/recaps!!!
360 days, 23 hours, 25 minutes and 40 seconds till NYCM 2012!
It may seem strange to write a race recap for a race I didn't run, but NYCM has been a significant part of my life for the last year. From the entire weekend of last year's race to now, it's been on my mind at least once a day. So it only seems fitting to me that I recap my experience and memories from this weekend.
For those of you new to my blog, I was registered to run NYCM on Sunday and began training only to injure myself in July and realize that it just wasn't going to happen this year. After a few weeks of rest, PT, and even training on an elliptical for long "runs" (16 miles on an elliptical is NOT fun!) until I could run again, my body just wouldn't cooperate and with some advice from an important friend, I acknowledge that my health was more important and stopped training. I watched my friends train all summer and early fall, envious each time I heard about a great long run or some awesome speedwork they accomplished. It was difficult for a while but I did my best to support them and be there for them. After all, NYCM 2011 was no longer my race but it was still theirs and they deserved my support and encouragement. I stopped focusing on what I couldn't do and focused on what I could. I could cheer for them and there for them, I could check in after long runs or even the short ones to see how they did, I could meet them in the park for a quick hello during their training. After a while, it got much easier and all I could think about was cheering for them on race day. I think that's what kept me in good spirits throughout the training period- knowing that although I couldn't run with them, I would get to see my friends out there on race day and scream like a wild woman for them.
Race week came and I was psyched! I visited the park every day, took pictures and posted them here to get others excited. I tried to serve as eyes for the out of town folks who would love a glimpse of the park as it transformed into a race course. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be for the most part. But the day they put that finish line up, I bawled like a baby. I walked into the park at 72nd street, headed towards Tavern on the Green and the flood gates opened and I cried. Lucky for me, Jess also happened to be in the park in the exact same area at the moment and met up so we could console each other. Just another reminder of how important friends are.
As race day drew nearer, I began preparations. Posters needed to be made, emails about where I was cheering needed to be sent, runners needed to be tracked, I was hosting Vee for the weekend so my apartment needed to be cleaned (ok, that didn't happen but I did try!), I needed to set up for friends who would use my bathtub for ice baths after the race, and I needed to put the finishing touches on the dailymile meetup brunch. On Friday, I met a friend in town for the race and visited the expo with her, took her out for lunch, and then gave her a tour of the finish area in Central Park. The path to the finish was lined with flags and and full of people from all over the world. The energy was beautiful!
On Saturday, I attended the dailymile brunch which was a great success (whew!). We had about 36 runners in town for the race and we were a lively and chatty bunch. I almost felt the need to apologize to the rest of the patrons at Josie's East (sorry other diners!). Josie's was awesome, working with me to create a custom menu for the dailymilers, and the food was great. If you're in town and need a delicious and healthy place to eat, you should definitely check them out. And they are vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free friendly!
Saturday evening I headed downtown to wish my favorite marathoner good luck. We grabbed a bite to eat, chatted a bit about the day ahead, and I just tried to be there for him to keep him calm and focused. It was interesting to be on the outside, looking in at the emotions of all my friends running the next day. NYCM is so important to me and was a huge part of my life this year but at the same time, since I wasn't running it after all, my emotions were a bit out of wack. I wasn't anxious or nervous about Sunday, but was in a way. I could totally feel the emotions of those I cared about who were running but was still looking in from the outside. I went home Saturday night wondering how I would feel when I woke up Sunday morning.
And then it was Sunday morning, I woke at 6am and I could feel the nervous energy in the air! The upper west side was already up and alive. I put the finishing touches on my poster, ran to get some treats at Trader Joe's, and Vee and I met up with Melissa, Jeff and Vicky to head to CP. We found some of Vicky's friends at the entrance and then walked around the great lawn to find out cheering spot in front of Cleopatra's Needle where Jen & Kimberly were already waiting with a giant bowl of candy & Gu for the runners. Our group got bigger as Jess, Jeff, Shannon, Stacy, and Seth joined us. We were in time to see the elites go by and I was out of control excited!!! We saw Mary when she was still in the lead, with Firehiwot and Buzu on her tail minutes before they passed her to win first & second place!
We saw Geoffrey Mutai leading the way for the men towards a first place finish, followed by Emmanuel Mutai and Tsegaye who came in second and third.
The race was insane! The crowd was thick, everyone was cheering and smiling and having an amazing time. There were kids watching the runners in awe. And then our friends started to go by and the day got even better. We saw Lam looking strong, Baker passed with his arms up in the air waving at us, we almost missed Susan but screamed her name like crazy when we saw her. My favorite marathoner G passed by, gave me a sweet signal and looked strong as he made his way south in the park. Next I saw this guy with the bloodiest nipples ever and started cracking up until I saw his face and realized it was my good friend Ronnie in town from Miami. I was so happy to see him and cheered and jumped up and down. Woohoo Ronnie! The runners kept coming and friends kept passing: Kevin, Maura H, Sharon, Matt, Steph, Linna, Sam G! The only thing almost as awesome as running a marathon is getting to cheer your friends on as they run theirs!
Of course, I took a gazillion pictures (a gazillion = 1,000+ in this case) and have edited & posted most in a slideshow for you to enjoy. I posted part 1 in yesterday's post and here's the rest. Like I said yesterday, if you spot yourself, please feel free to grab the picture and use for your own purposes but please credit me if you do (thanks in advance).
"Wow!" It's the first word that comes to mind when I think about yesterday's NYC Marathon. Wow the people, wow the crowd, wow the strength, wow the courage, wow the love, just wow. I have lots to write about this race but I am still sorting through my thoughts and need another day to put them into words.
In the meantime, I'd love to share the pictures I shot from my cheering spot in Central Park, positioned just after the 24 mile marker. I shot about 1500 pictures, edited them down to 960 and spent this morning uploading the first half and reviewing them. Since I really need to get back to working and engraving marathon jewelry for all those incredible finishers out there, I've decided to post a slideshow of the first 500 pictures and will post the rest tomorrow along with my thoughts on the day. I know how we all love a good race picture and wish they were available the minute we cross the finish line; I didn't want to keep you in suspense. So enjoy and if you spot yourself, please feel free to grab the picture and use for your own purposes but please credit me if you do (thanks in advance). And don't forget to stop by tomorrow for part 2.
Congratulations to all the finishers and I hope you are still celebrating your a$$es off!
When I stepped out of my apartment and onto West 72nd Street this morning, I saw the sun rising over Central Park and the street filled with traffic...
and I thought to myself, come Sunday, the street will be lined with UPS trucks transporting marathon bags from the Start to the Finish Line
I approached Central Park West, filled with commuters and taxis...
...and noted, come Sunday, CPW will be packed with spectators on their way to cheering spots, and then later, with marathoners proudly searching for their family & friends
Come Sunday, these runners won't be training on this bridge because their training will be over and the race will have begun
Come Sunday, the sidewalks of Central Park South will be packed with cheering, screaming spectators...
and the street will be packed with runners instead of cars, making their way towards Columbus Circle and then back into Central Park
and if they turn to their left along Central Park South, they may catch a glimpse of some famous NYC landmarks
And come Sunday, after running along Central Park South, these runners will face this path
and will run towards the finish line, instead of away.
and on the way, they'll pass these bleachers which will be packed with folks cheering them on and watching them accomplish their dreams and reach their goals
and as they cross the Finish Line come Sunday, they will pass this statue and will know that Fred was right, "Few Things in Life Match the Thrill of a Marathon."
So, anyone else psyched for Marathon Sunday to come?!?
As I took today's daily walk to my backyard, aka Central Park, I saw this sign:
Um, YAY!!! I knew what that meant... time to see the Finish Line! Here are some photographs I took as the Finish Line was being built this morning. The energy in the park is beautiful right now, the sky is blue, the trees are gorgeous and the sun is shining. If you have a chance, definitely stop by and enjoy it! And if these pictures don't psych you up enough, take a look at yesterday's post where I included a slideshow from last year's New York City Marathon. Let the countdown continue....
And now, back to work ... lots of finish line gifts and race bling to engrave!
My nieces think my name is Erica Miss America. For reals. I heart them. When I'm not designing jewelry or engraving marathon necklaces, I spend my time running, cooking, dancing, practicing yoga, and trying to make the world a happier place. Welcome to my world. Please, make yourself at home and leave some ink so I know you stopped by! Click on this picture to check me out in the New York Times Style Section!
