When I was planning to move to New York City, I was thinking about my blog name. It couldn't be Berkshires Raw anymore, right? I thought of other names I could change it to, but I didn't like any of them. Until I thought of, "My Hearts in The Berkshires- Raw" I liked that, but then it suggested that my heart would not be in the same place as the rest of my body. Not good! That's never good no matter what you're doing: where you live, work, relationships etc. And, when I got to NYC, would I be able to be "there", and not pine -no pun intended- for the hills and trails I love to run in?

I know happiness does not come from anything outside ourselves, but since I don't claim to be a Buddha, I can realistically assume that my surroundings could effect my happiness.

Anyway, that's a lot of blah blah blah, just to say I'm happy to still be here in the Berkshires.



So, what's the next thing? I believe it's going to be the snow shoe series. I'm really looking forward to it.

My friend, Chrissie, and I ran 8x 200m yesterday. I had some of my best times, and I felt quick.
Here are the times:
1) 32
2) 34
3) 33
4) 33
5) 33
6) 35
7) 33
8) 34

"every little things, gonna be all right"

I hardly know where to begin. My life in the past two months has been a roller coaster ride: from separation, to moving plans to another state, to new job, to girlfriend, to no job, to no girlfriend, to not moving, to not having a place to live at the end of the month. And, I'm trying to navigate all of this with a positive attitude, a smile on my face, and faith that the universe has a plan for me that is greater than the one I was trying to manifest; because that plan has completely crashed to the ground. Which brings me to my favorite phrase: God laughs at our plans.
OK, because this is mostly a running and raw foods blog I'll swiftly move to those topics. The good news is my running is getting better and better! DON'T ASK ME HOW!! Before my meltdown, and after the mountain series, I was putting in a lot of good training for the Rochester Marathon. I was running about 70 to 80 miles a week. The training was intense, and I was getting very good results. In fact, I ran a 8 mile mountain race up MT Greylock, and beat Tim VanOrden by thirty seconds or so. (Sorry to mention that, Tim) http://www.runwmac.com/results/greylock-road2009.html
I thought I could run the marathon in about 2hr 45min. But,in the last two months because of everything I was trying to navigate, plus stress etc., my training has been spotty at best. But, I have run two 5k races in the past three weeks and Pr's both times. In fact, in this past Sunday's race, I ran the first mile at 5:07. That's a PR for a mile by about 12 seconds!?!
And it gets weirder as I have gained some weight, my diet hasn't been all that great, and I have never slept less. This is the new training method I should submit to a running magazine: BLOW YOUR LIFE TO HELL AND GET FASTER IN TWO MONTHS!!.
Oh, and here is the better news: I won money for both of those races! Actual money, not a mug, not a little trophy, but real money. Life is good, right?
Anyway, thanks for hanging in there while I have been distracted, and thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers you have sent my way.
"Don't Worry, Be Happy"