This weekend my husband and I celebrated our anniversary and his birthday. We always hit the road and end up in NYC somewhere for a weekend of fun, food and laughs. This year was no different. We LOVE NYC. We were fortunate to cover a lot of ground (literally) and attend the Taste of France event held at Bryant Park, meet up with dear friends for an incredible 3 hour dinner and the culmination was my run at the NYRR Series Bronx 10 mile run.
First up, we hit The Taste of France event held at Bryant Park. The weather was picture perfect! Honestly, I couldn’t have ordered a better day. I had an appointment set to meet up with the PR for Maille and I couldn’t wait. Elsa has been such a wonderful supporter of my blog and I honestly love chatting back and forth with her. You know when you’re lucky enough to have a connection like that? Well, that’s how I feel about her. So after we picked up my race bib and shirt we headed off. We stopped at The Bryant Grill for lunch, which I highly recommend and then we started touring the vast amount of stands that contained housewares, technology, The French Bulldog rescue (one of my favorite dogs EVER) and of course, fabulous French food.
First up was the French Bulldog rescue.I was BEGGING my husband to get one (not like you can just take one home with you- yes I realize this) but I still put forth my best effort. We enjoyed snapping a few pics of the local 4 legged friends and talking to the rescue workers. I could seriously take them all home with me. From there I made a fast transition to the French food section to look for Elsa at Maille. Along the way I stumbled upon Mad Mac Macaron. If you watch Cupcake Wars you’ll know Chef Florien Bellanger. We spoke for several minutes and I was lucky enough to get a picture.
Chef Florian from Cupcake Wars and Mad Mac Macaron (French spelling) NYC.
Then I found the Maille stand and was thrilled to hear my name shouted out by my beautiful friend Elsa. We sampled a new product in the works that was unbelievable and then had the wonderful opportunity to learn about the creator of Maille mustard – Antoine Maille. He was a distiller and vinegar maker who founded the Maison de Maille in 1720. Antoine was showered with accolades being known as a premier mustard and vinegar maker of his time. His mustard was served out of porcelain pumps (see photo below) since the 1700’s. We were in awe, having such a wonderful opportunity to see one of the originals that Maille still has in use. Maille mustards are carried in most major grocery stores and upscale food boutiques across the world. It has been and will continue to be the only product I use in my home. The flavors are unparalleled today as they were hundreds of years ago.
Elsa and me.
Mustard pump.
New top secret product they will be releasing soon in the US. So excited!!!
Afterwards we spotted a fun butter sculpted Eiffel Tower:
And some other miscellaneous photos from the festival. It was so much fun!
Mini French Cheescake in fresh blueberry for my husband.
From there we walked around the city enjoying the sights and shopping. Our plans were to meet up with friends that evening for dinner at Serafina and then early to bed before the race. We had a wonderful dinner filled with a lot of laughter, memories and funny stories being shared. Carb loading for me and as an end result a late night out. It was all worth it…
Until my alarm went off and I only had 6 hours of sleep (I need sleep). I popped out of bed and got my running clothes on and out the door we went to the subway.
Yes, sleepy but ready to go… until I realized I forgot my sunglasses. Thankfully hubby had his with him. We got to the race in record time and I was ready to roll.
Hubby made me pose for a few shots prior to the race.
I was unsure of how many people signed up for this race and the corrals were set up by bib number not race time. So I got in my corral and was ready to go or so I thought. About 12k runners ran.
Reluctant, tired anticipation captured by my loving husband. Ha ha.
4 minutes after the gun… I took off.
The race was noted as being mainly flat. I once again think this is a very subjective description. It was not flat according to my legs for the first half. It wasn’t a loop it was and out and back race. I felt the exhaustion from the minute I started to be honest. My legs were dragging but I kept pushing. I normally don’t eat prior to running because I run so early in the morning but did because the race was later. I just never got into a groove where I felt good. My times were exceptional but I was feeling the work.
My initial mile was too fast for my normal pace and I had great difficulty pacing myself to a mid 8 range.
After this my pace started to slow down as I was running out of steam.
Ultimately, my time was a personal record beating my May Broad Street ten mile time of 1.26 finishing here with a:
4 minutes faster! Incredible but I didn’t enjoy it. Running is filled with lessons. I hadn’t tapered my workouts back except for running the week prior and I needed more sleep. Lessons learned! Next week I run a half marathon on Sunday and will most definitely be resting and easing up significantly this week. I realize not every run is your best but I just hated the way I felt and knew I overdid it to myself. Rest is important for muscle recovery and even a seasoned runner needs this reminder occasionally.
As a forever Yankees fan, I had to get the shot.
After the run we headed out to breakfast and then for me to shower and get ready. Because the day was perfect, we wanted to walk and relax in Central Park. I even got some yoga in too!
Then off to lunch at a super secret burger joint for my husband. Fun being a vegetarian in a burger joint… just sayin’!
That’s a wrap! Until next weekend’s race. Hopefully very well-rested, positive race!
~Robin
oxo
— Knead to Cook
AMAZING shot of your back! This race sounds like quite an experience. Great pace, but having fun is also important. Glad you found some peace in the park and a little r and r afterwards.
Thank you darling!! You are the sweetest. I miss you and have been admiring your work in the latest issue of the mag. oxo
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