Fitness

Home Fitness Workouts I Love

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Last week I posted about the types of classes and instructors that annoyed me, but this week, I am going to write about something more positive and more useful – the workouts I love!

Specifically, below I will link you to my favorite instructors and classes, and I’ll give you the quick rundown for why they are simply the best during quarantine. This post is a doozy, I apologize for my verbosity. Bookmark it and come back to it when you’re ready to work out!

RECAP from last week. Things you will not find in my recommendations: instructors who yell at you or call you out. Things you will find: positive rays of light with fun, engaging workouts and BOMB playlists. Here we go!

Mark Kanemura

Where to find him: Instagram @mkik808

When to find him: 5 pm ET, varies by week but usually always Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and they stay up on his IG for 24 hours after. After that, you’re out of luck, they aren’t saved anywhere.

What you can expect: The most fun dance party ever. He doesn’t even call it a workout, he calls it a party and that’s exactly what it is. But you will also burn calories, get a sweat on, and have a hell of a time. The party usually lasts 30-40 minutes, begins with a warm-up, and then goes into 4-5 semi-choreographed routines. They include moves like “sprinkler,” “Tiger King,” “Robot,” and “Clap for the doctors cheer for the nurses.” There are also more conventional moves like grapevines. He has a few signature phrases like “bake those cakes, put those cakes in the oven” (aka squats) and “pump it for Jesus” (aka body rolls).

His wardrobe is UNMATCHED. I’m talking rainbow EXTRAVAGANZA. Crop tops, cutoff shorts, and neon leotards. And every live usually concludes with a wig-change and confetti. There are rainbow flags, capes, fans, disco balls, you name it. It is a legit CELEBRATION.

My favorite part of his workout is his ATTITUDE. OMG y’all, Mark comes to SLAY. His huge laugh makes me laugh. He smiles the entire times as he switches sunglasses 7 times. He tells us “you are enough,” “you are KILLING it.” He is very honest about mental health and sometimes admits when he is having a hard day. He says “it’s ok to not be ok,” and always reminds us to “be gentle to ourselves.” There are no expectations. He always says that if you feel like just watching and sitting on the couch, that’s ok too. But within 3 minutes, you’ll be up because his energy is contagious.

I should warn you he’s usually 5-7 minutes late, but y’all, he’s doing this FOR FREE so I cut him some slack.

This reminds me, his workouts are 100% free but he mentioned his Venmo/Paypal for the first time last week. Since his parties are the best part of my day and I have danced with him about 45 times since quarantine began (he used to have dance parties 7 days a week), I sent him a donation. It is by no means expected but if you feel inclined, I’m sure he would appreciate it. The photo below is all from one single dance party. And it wasn’t even all of his costume changes!

Amanda Kloots

Where to find her: FREE on Instagram Live (and IGTV Channel), Youtube, and on her Subscription Service, $9.99/month

When to find her: IG Live is sporadic whenever she feels like popping on (more on that below), but her subscription and Youtube videos are available whenever.

What you can expect: Positivity and smiles that you can’t help but smile along to. Specifically, she is known for her dance cardio workouts and jump rope workouts. Her tagline is “Jump Skip Smile” and she does just that. She has recently gone a bit viral because of her unfortunate circumstances – her husband, a famous Broadway actor Nick Cordero, was in a coma from Covid-19 for more than a month and he had his leg amputated (Hashtag: #WakeUpNick) The AMAZING news is that he is showing signs of waking up and things are looking up! (Hashtag: #NickIsWOKE) Why do I share this? Because despite her husband’s illness and her 10-month-old, adorable baby named Elvis, she has continued to be positive, and has continued to jump, skip and smile. Her daily Instagram reminders to move our bodies and to not take a single day for granted has been great motivation for me. She never yells, just encourages. And every day that she has great news about her husband Nick, she goes on Instagram Live and teaches fitness classes to “give back” to the world for all of our support. One time she did a 35 minute dance class that I loved so much I did it twice and screen recorded it before it disappeared from her Instagram Story. I’ve done it twice again since then!

Here is a 30-minute cardio class she did for Pop Sugar, it is SURE to make you drip in sweat. (Speaking of Pop Sugar, follow them for a million workouts!)

She is also known for her “Dancer Arms” series, which I have been doing every day for 3 weeks. Only done to one song (5 minutes or less), I dare you to attempt getting through an entire song without dropping your arms. 3 weeks in and I am FINALLY getting there! You can find them on her IGTV, Youtube or subscription service. Anyone has time for 5 minutes! Sometimes I do it before bed when I’m already in PJs!

Dancer Arms Song 1 (a song by her husband), Dance Arms Option 2, Option 3, Option 4, Option 5.

Here’s a jump rope workout. She even sells her own ropes that say Jump Skip Smile on the handles.

She has a GoFundMe page for her husband, and I feel like I am giving back to her by subscribing to her workout service. It’s only $9.99/month. To be honest, I haven’t used her subscription much, but I use her Youtube and IGTV videos constantly.

The Fitness Marshall

Where to find him: Youtube for free single song workouts, or you can join the Booty Army (lol) with 60-minute workouts and membership prices go from $4.99/month to $14.99. The more expensive tier includes 60-minute sweat seshes with 15 songs each!

When to find him: Whenever you want!

What you can expect: SUPER cardio and FUN choreographed dances. These are actual dancers so some of the moves may be fast or tricky, but he has a lot of modifications for all fitness level and his energy is amazing! Also, great for all body types and fitness levels, very empowering, and you can just do a single song at a time for a 4-minute cardio blast! He has a few toning videos, too, but he’s mostly known for his cardio.

Here’s a playlist for a “full sweat set” aka 13 songs to make a full workout!

305 Fitness

Where to find it: Mostly Youtube, (search 305 Fitness), but they are EVERYWHERE. Even Tik Tok.  

When to find it: LIVE daily at 8 am and 12 pm ET. But they also keep these up on their Youtube channel so you can do them whenever! There are so many videos up there both from before Quarantine taped in their studio, and from recent, usually taped in the founder, Sadie Kurzban’s, backyard. Look out for the cameos when her husband joins her, pretty funny.

What you can expect: Heart-pumping cardio fun and toning. It is usually a combo of 15-20 mins of nonstop cardio, then adding some toning, then a choreographed hip hop section. And they always have BOMB playlists. They do a lot of theme playlists, and usually you can expect some bad words (beware for kids). But they also have some for kids, like today they did a Disney theme! Highly recommend if you want to engage with the instructor in the comments and feel like you’re back at the gym. So many options to join in live!

Katie Austin

Where to find her: Instagram @KatieAustin and Youtube Katie Austin, and she does LOVE Tik Tok, too, but not really for workouts. She also has her own app! There is a 7-day free trial, and then it is $9.99/month. Her Youtube and Instagram are FREE though.

When to find her: Live Schedule varies, but if you go to her IGTV or Youtube, you can find a PLETHORA of workouts in the vault and play them as many times as you want.

What you can expect: On Youtube, she has everything from light body weight toning, abs and booty, to barre, to cardio dance and retro workouts. Her name may sound familiar… remember Denise Austin? Aerobics queen from the 80’s?? Well Katie is her daughter! Denise still looks AMAZING (“all natural!” as Katie always reminds you) and last week for Mother’s Day, they posted daily workout videos together. Speaking of Denise, you can follow her on Youtube, too, for low-impact aerobics and more videos with Katie. My favorite part of Denise’s workouts is her super-throwback phrases like “waistline trimmer” moves and when doing glute toning exercises, she says, “Squeeze!! If you don’t squeeze it, no one else will!” CRINGE but also LOL.

I personally don’t subscribe to Katie’s app, but if you do, you’ll find even more content there including workout videos, a daily workout calendar, recipes, challenges, etc.

Peloton

Where to find it: They have their own app! You can follow workouts on the computer or phone/tablet. Also, they had a 90-day free trial at the start of quarantine but I think it may be back down to 30 days. Take advantage! After that, it is $12.99/month.

When to find it: Classes are available to stream 24/7. The instructors are now streaming live from their homes, but the tech issues abound. I highly recommend their on-demand classes from BC (Before Covid), there are thousands.

What you can expect: Professional quality filming, SUPER fit and attractive instructors, and a little bit of everything!! This is not just about their super expensive bike. They have toning, tabata, stretching, yoga, outdoor coached runs, treadmill workouts, and dance cardio! As you can probably sense from above, I have been mostly doing the dance cardio, but one day I had 10 minutes between calls and did a KILLED HIIT workout. I was panting and dripping by my second call. Many of their workouts require 0 equipment. Perfect for quarantine! The bets part of Peloton is the production value. They literally base their business model from streaming. Their recent classes from instructors’ homes are pretty bad, but the ones from BC are awesome! No Zoom glitches, perfectly clear cuing, and some classes have live DJs spinning!

Step Classes

Where to find them: Youtube or BurnAlong

When to find them: 24/7, or whenever you don’t annoy your downstairs neighbor with your stomping

What you can expect: A workout for your body and your mind. Step is not for the uncoordinated. It is SO fun to be mentally challenged in a workout in quarantine. It is the only way I can take my mind off of the outside world. One hour classes pass in the flash of an eye. Or is that just sweat in my contacts…

But for real, my favorite thing about quarantine has been rediscovering Step. I used to own a step when I lived in Florida, but in my tinyhome aka NYC apartment, it’s not really an option. The first week I “moved” to Texas for quarantine, I considered buying a step and it seemed like a crazy $55 purchase but I took the leap and I have never been more happy with a purchase. I use it at least two times a week, and with Texas getting hotter every day, I will probably use it even more!

My favorite instructor on Youtube is Kat Gates-Buettner. Her advanced routines are SERIOUSLY advanced. I taught step for years and even I am a little confused by them. That said, it’s a great way to make time fly. She also has basic workouts and even did one using a doormat for people without a step in their homes or with bad knees. HIGHLY recommend. There are other instructors with great step routines on Youtube, too, but it may take some culling. Here’s another great one.

I also started using the BurnAlong App because my favorite instructor of all time (and friend), Judy Bremner is on there. BurnAlong has a 30 day free trial, and is $14.99/month after. If you get the free trial or membership, search for her. I used to take her classes at LA Fitness when I lived in Florida, and one of my favorite things about quarantine is taking her classes again! Don’t forget to follow, rate and review, that’s how instructors make money! I watch on my laptop not on my phone so it is easier to see.

If you’ve made it this far, you may have used up all of your time you had set aside to work out today. But bookmark this page and check out the workouts tomorrow or this weekend. Let me know in the comments what you think. Also, let me know if I’m missing any of your favorite workouts! I’m always up to try something new. But remember my ground rules, no yelling, only laughing and sweating.

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Fitness

Quarantine Fitness

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As a fitness instructor, this quarantine is hitting me hard. Not only am I losing hundreds of dollars every month the gym is closed, I’m losing hours of moving my body and I’m missing a critical part of my social life at the gym. All of these things have had an effect on my physical and emotional health, but what I’ve found has affected me most is the loss of my gym crew. I MISS PEOPLE! I love teaching fitness classes, I find joy in helping people meet their fitness goals, choosing news songs for playlists, catching up with the same people twice a week, and sweating out the stress of the day.

And I’m writing this blog so that you can learn from me and you don’t need to do your own research. The first few weeks of quarantine I was struggling to find a balance between work, fitness, and happiness, and I am still working on it. Work is incredibly overwhelming, stressful, time-consuming and emotionally draining, and that’s why finding my niche with at-home workouts was even more important to me. I tried a lot of different things – types of fitness I hated and loved, formats of classes I hated and loved, and instructors I hated and loved. I have so much to say that I’m splitting this post into two parts. First, more generalized types of classes and instructors I love, and later this week, my actual favorite classes and links to where you can find them.

I was especially motivated to write this post now because I follow so many instructors and gyms on social media and most of them have been IRKING me. I discovered the joy of working out in college, but I didn’t always look at it in a healthy way. There was a time in college where I counted every calorie going into my body and every minute on the elliptical. I was at the gym 5 hours a day. Psychologists agree that one factor that impacts disordered eating is a sense of control. When other things in people’s lives feel out of control, eating and exercise are two things that can easily be monitored and controlled. And that is why so many fitness instructors and “fitfluencers” now are annoying the hell out of me.

Things are HARD right now. Stressful. Uncertain. But fitness instructors should not be capitalizing on that to sell classes. I understand that fitness instructors whose livelihoods are depending now on online classes seem OBSESSED with proving that their programs create results, visible abs, visible biceps, etc. But I worry that people see these milestones and feel like it is the only goal to strive toward. With vacations and plans canceled for months, people are looking for things to aim for. And more time on their hands, all they need to do is take 4 fitness classes a day and they can get abs! YIPPEE! Great goal! I see people gloating about “tripling” (i.e. taking 3 classes in a day). This is not something to gloat about. I have been there, that’s how I know. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t create goals for yourself, or set something to strive for during these crazy times. But the unhealthy way I see it portrayed on Instagram is troubling me.

This is not a post about disordered eating or disordered working out, it’s about how I came to find joy in the endorphins of working out, how I am finding that joy during quarantine.

I already told you the main thing I am missing from the gym is my people, so it may seem counter-intuitive that the first thing I am recommending is a solo activity… RUNNING! I know, I know, you never thought you’d hear this from me; I literally own a shirt that says “I hate running.” I recently wrote about my January run streak and how I’d never do it again. But I can’t stress how much fresh air and alone time can help elevate my mood. I have been running often with my fiance’s sister. We run a couple times per week together. But when I am feeling really down, I have been lacing up my shoes, cuing up a playlist of my favorite jams, and taking it to the streets alone. As much as I love my fiancé and his family, it can be nice to quiet my mind and surroundings for an hour.

I have had many friends and strangers tell me they wished they could run, but they can’t run more than a few minutes without giving up. They ask what the secret is and it’s simple – just run as long as you want! And when you want to stop to walk, do that. Especially during these crazy times, adding extra pressure on yourself is not going to help anything. Just get outside, breathe fresh air, listen to some awesome music, or podcast, or audiobook, and stop when you want. Or don’t. It reminds me of the Forrest Gump quote:

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of the town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama. And that’s what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on goin’. – Forrest Gump

But not everyone wants to run or walk. And soon it’ll be way too hot in Texas for me to run, too. The only way some people will work out is when someone is giving them structured advice in the form of a class. The great news is, there has never been a better array of classes available online. But that doesn’t mean they are all equal.

Here’s the type of instructor I do NOT want to be anywhere near during quarantine: Anyone who yells. Period. Do not tell me I can do 15 more squats. You don’t know what I went through today. You don’t know that I spoke to someone who lost both of their parents this month and took a 20% pay cut that day despite having two mortgages because they can’t sell their current house in this market. Maybe today I can’t do 15 more squats. And do NOT tell me that I need to turn my video on for Zoom. I have my video on for Zoom ALL DAY for work. If I don’t feel like having someone watch my form today, then I will leave your class. And guess what, I have done that! Now is not the time to waste energy on things that bring me down and not up. Which brings me to my next point.

Here’s the type of instructor I DO want to be near during quarantine: Someone who smiles. Someone who says, “we’re in this together.” Someone who says, “I had a hard day today, but I’m so glad we’re here together now.” Someone who says, “have FUN!”

Now let’s talk a little about class format. Technology can be hard. I get it. There will be tech problems. But Zoom workouts??? It’s a HARD PASS for me. I have tried a couple different classes on Zoom and WebEx, ALL BAD. Every. Single. One. As a fitness instructor, ex-musician and ex-dancer, music matters. Music must go with moves. I am not an AMRAP girl. I am an 8-count girl. Nothing irks me more than an instructor who cannot count. So, if an instructor is counting but the beat doesn’t match with the voice, I will leave. I left 3 BollyX classes because I was so frustrated. I left a bootcamp class. One class I stayed in, but I put my own music on from Spotify. Now, if I sign up for a class and I see it is taking place on Zoom, I just don’t go. I may lose money but it’s not worth the stress and frustration.

That still leaves a lot of options, though! Instagram Live, Facebook Live, Peloton, BurnAlong and Youtube! None of those options allow the instructor to see you, so it’s less interactive, but you can still leave comments. Also another benefit, no one can yell at you because they can’t see you!

I will post later this week about my favorite instructors and formats during this time. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot of dance cardio, workouts I can get lost in where time passes quickly, and instructors who focus on positivity and fun. I sent an extensive list of links to my great aunt and she has been dancing and Zumba-ing around her house for a month. I can’t wait to tell you all about my favorite online offerings so we can do them “together!”

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Fitness

I Ran a FREAKING MARATHON

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I ran a freaking MARATHON. Do you know how long that is??? 26.2 miles. I literally ran from Staten Island, through Brooklyn, into Queens, into Manhattan, into the Bronx, and then BACK into Manhattan. On my own two feet. And yes, I am pretty damn proud of myself. And the only thing that matters is that I FINISHED! And also I got a pretty SWEET medal shaped like an apple.

When I ran my half marathon back in 2017, I took you mile by mile stream of consciousness through the course with me. Since this course was twice as long, I’m going to save that for a second installation. For this one, I want to tell you all about what went WRONG for this race. Then I will tell you guys what went RIGHT. And then next week, I will take you through my thoughts as I made my way from Staten Island, allllll the way back to my home borough.

I told you guys a little bit about my training back in mid-September, and after that day, things went a little downhill. Almost everyone who runs a marathon will tell you that they didn’t have the perfect training, so I wasn’t incredibly worried about it, but I was a little. Here’s what happened. First of all, I started traveling a lot. I traveled to Paris and had no problem keeping up with some training because my mileage was low then. But according to my training schedule, I was supposed to run 18 miles one Saturday while I was on vacation in Greece, and I just knew that wouldn’t happen. So instead, I shifted that run a week early, and hoped to do a 20-mile run when I came back from vacation. I successfully completed the 18-mile run in Central Park (BRUTAL), and in the process, I hurt my foot. I can’t say for sure what I did to it, because I was too scared to go to a doctor. I took my talents to WebMD, and I was convinced I had a stress fracture. So, I did what anyone does, I decided to take a week off from running, and just walk 20,000 steps/day in Greece. I’m sure that is what any doctor would have recommended…. NOT! Anyway, when I actually got back to the States, I decided not to run the 20-miler at all, and to instead focus on getting to the start line with healthy limbs. This was Strike 1 to my well-intentioned training plan. It meant that I’d have to find 8.2 additional miles within myself during the marathon to take me from my longest run of my life (18 miles) to the marathon finish line. However, I was feeling good, and my foot pain cleared up significantly to the point where I was still able to do a 10-mile training run 2 weeks before the race with the NY Flyers, which let me see the last 10 miles of the marathon course and try to internalize it. Everything was going semi-according to plan.

Strike 2 came the week before the marathon. I knew I had to travel to California for work during the Fall, but I was presented with only two options. Either the week before the marathon, or the day after. I knew that the worst possible thing for recovery was sitting still. And even worse, to be cramped in a small space (HELLOO LONGLEGSbigcity) for 6 hours. I thought I was being smart by picking to travel the week before the race. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a bad idea as well. Not only did it throw off my sleep schedule, you guessed it, as one does when they travel across the country and back within a 48 hour period, I got sick. Very sick. I actually made a doctor’s appointment from the airport in LA and went there directly after my flight. Ok, not directly, I showered first because I am not gross.

Anyway, I guess the travel and the sickness count as strikes 2 and 3. The good news was that I did not have strep, which is what I predicted. The bad news was that since it was not strep, there were no antibiotics to help me, and the doctor said it was likely to get worse before it got better. And it did. I spent the next 2 days trying to get better. I called out of work, overdosed on Mucinex, finished an entire bottle of airborne gummies, took multi-vitamins, went to Juice Generation and maxed out on fruits and veggies and ginger, and still yet, I woke up Sunday very sick. But not running was not an option, so I packed Dayquil in my race bag, and I headed to the start village anyway.

Now guys, I already started this blog by saying I RAN A FREAKING MARATHON, so obviously some things had to go right, right? Hell yea. A lot went right. First of all, I FINISHED THE FREAKING MARATHON!!!! Did I say that yet?

Another thing that went right were my friends in the start village. I was a little nervous and loopy from my Dayquil, and I took the ferry to Staten Island alone. I was afraid I wouldn’t find my friends, so I brought a magazine for my 3-hour wait until my start time, but soon enough, I found two of my friends who were in the same corral as me, and we hung out and chatted so my nerves couldn’t kick in. They kept me company in long port-o-potty lines, and we even went to the “therapy dog” section of the village to hang out with some doggies. I don’t love animals, but it was distracting and that’s all I needed. Of utmost importance – my friend’s friend brought extra body glide! I thanked him profusely later, as I watched person after person go to the med-tents for Vaseline popsicle sticks they were handing out for chafing purposes and I was a-o-k.

  • Keeping warm in the start village
  • Group Pic!
  • I don’t love dogs, but the distraction was nice.
  • Shedded our layers, ready to run for hours, starting with the Verrazano behind us!

Speaking of med tents – I didn’t need them AT ALL! I have been plagued with injury after injury for the past few years. Ankles, knees, hips – you name it, I had it. The fact that I did not have to stop once for help was a feat in and of itself. My left ankle flared up a bit and I sprayed it with some Biofreeze at mile 20, but it was definitely still runnable. I think my sickness was a blessing in disguise here. I was so distracted by my runny nose and debilitating cough that I was barely focusing on my legs at all!

This was basically me the whole race. When I wasn’t coughing.

Now about the MOST important thing that went right: the spectators!! I had heard that from many runners throughout my years, that the NYC Marathon is like no other because the crowds are great, and everyone absolutely proved it to me. The main thing I knew I wanted to do from my years of cheering for the marathon, was to put my name on my shirt. So I got my iron-on letters from the same Etsy shop where I ordered my iron-on for the half marathon (for that race, I put “I Hate Running”) and I put EMILY emblazoned on the front, and “Braid in Manhattan” on the back. The crowd delivered. From the second I stepped foot in Brooklyn, I heard “WELCOME TO BROOKLYN EMILY!” And for the next 25 miles, people cheered me on when I needed it the most. The spectators were electrifying, and they were there the ENTIRE time. (Except for the Chasidic community in Brooklyn, but that’s for the next post.) By mile 25, every time someone said “Emily, you are SO CLOSE!” I knew I could pick it up to a jog again and bring it home. I actually increased my speed the last two miles because of the morale boost from the random strangers! It was awesome.

  • Taken by a friend/spectator/morale-booster
  • Show off them braidz!

And last but CERTAINLY not least, extra shout-outs go to the spectators I actually DID know – my friends and family. Starting at mile 4, I knew people along the racecourse at almost every other mile. It gave me something to look forward to, an excuse to stop for selfies (and cough breaks), and in some cases, a running buddy. At mile 4, I saw my first coworker. In an office of only 10 full-time employees, 3 of them came out to cheer separately! At miles 4, 8 and 25, I had the support of my office. And I know Brooklyn is meant to have great crowds and energy, but the energy you get from people you actually know is different. I was so lucky that my crew from the gym where I teach came out to cheer for me, as well! I saw 4 different people from my spin classes, and I was able to stop and say hi before I was on my way again. It was the first time I was thankful to teach in a different borough from where I lived. And then as I was about to go into Queens, I had a group with my sister, her husband, his brother, and they were cheering and screaming and even got a short video of me running up to them!

  • Best part about friends on the sidelines: extra water and TISSUES
  • Sister-Sister!!

When I hit Manhattan, it felt like I knew people every other block. First there was a group of 17 people (SEVENTEEN!!!) at 64th street. They had signs and they were cheering so loud, I heard people near them asking if I was a celebrity! And my sweet boyfriend brought a shirt for me to change into, which I originally planned to do, but decided I was too exhausted. Then 4 blocks later, I saw more friends and my sister AGAIN! The MTA clearly travels faster than my feet. It was so awesome to see my sister two times. I saw some other spectators multiple times, as well! It helped my morale because I was thinking… if these people are so dedicated to cheer me on throughout this race, then I better give them what they’re looking for and keep chugging along!

10 blocks later, I saw another friend and her baby out to cheer for me some more. And 10 blocks later, there was a huge University of Florida Gotham Gators cheer squad with a sign for me! I stopped for a few chomps and then kept chugging along. I won’t take you mile by mile, because I already promised that would be another post entirely, but I do want to mention my final push, helped specifically by another friend of mine. I saw her at mile 19, and she told me she’d catch me again at mile 22. She didn’t know at the time how important that would be for me. By mile 20, I was coughing a LOT. It was taking so much energy for me just to breathe that running was getting extra tough. When I saw my friend at 22, I was on the struggle bus FOR REAL. I didn’t even try to pretend I was running when I saw her. I solely walked up to her, coughing all the while. She saw my struggle and hopped right into the racecourse, holding her neon pink poster board and everything. She literally ran the entire mile 22 with me, stopping to walk when I needed coughing breaks, and joking with me to keep me laughing. She even turned on Instagram Live at one point, joking with me about the bleeding-nipple-chafing she had witnessed, which kept me laughing through the coughs. Once we hit mile 23 and I knew I had “only” a 5K to go, she told me to run like I trained and that she knew I could finish strong. I don’t know how I would have gotten through that mile without her!

  • Some of the group of 17
  • More of the 17, including my sweet emoji BF
  • Gym buddies!
  • More of the YMCA Crew in Brooklyn
  • The second time I saw my sister! Much sweatier than the first time.
  • Old gym friends further in Manhattan
  • More friends
  • Coworkers!
  • GO GATORS!

The energy and support I received all day was just unbelievable. I had people tracking me from Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and even Singapore. By the time I turned my phone on (it died at the finish line), I had 78 text messages, 3 Facebook messages, and 26 Instagram DMs. I was BLOWN away. When I got home, my sweet boyfriend presented me with flowers, and even more romantically, with 2 bags of ice. He helped me into an ice bath and brought me water and more meds while I sat in it.

When I saw my friend the night of the marathon, she asked me if I loved it. The answer is pretty simple: no. I don’t love running and running 26.2 miles is absolutely torturous. HOWEVER, I feel incredibly accomplished and I’m so happy I did it. People keep asking me if I plan on running it again and the truth is, I think once is enough for me. But there is a small part of me that wonders what I could have done if I had gotten to 20 miles in training, and if I hadn’t traveled the week before, and if I hadn’t been incredibly sick. And as the days pass and my legs feel normal again… I am thinking maybe I could try again??? I am currently signed up for the lottery for the 2020 marathon. I have lost the lottery 5 times before but if it’s meant to be…

  • SUCCESS!!!
  • See you next year? LOL
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