Remember When?

Oh hey there. Remember when I used to blog every day? Or when I used to have coherent thoughts? No?? Me either. Neither of those things have happened for the past two weeks, which you can probably assume due to my absence in the blog world. Life got crazy. I think we left off after Labor Day weekend where I recapped a lot of running, never came back to update you on my non-running activities but to skip ahead – it was a much needed long weekend. So today I’m going to do my best to try to catch everyone up to speed over what’s been going on these last two weeks – running and life wise.

So I’m going to link up with Erin for Weekend Recap, Tara for Weekend Update, and Katie for Marvelous Monday to recap everything that was/is marvelous these last few days.

Labor Day weekend was incredible for a few reasons. First is that my boyfriends shoulder surgery went great. It’s going to be a long road of recovery, but he is doing awesome and is already leaps and bounds further along than two weeks ago. He is handling it like a champ and to be quite honest, I don’t know how he’s doing it. If it was me, I’d be THE WORST person to ever be around. So thank you Will for being an amazingly awesome human being.

Also, my boyfriends name is Will. I have finally decided that referring to him as my boyfriend or BF is tiresome and mostly makes me feel awkward. He has a name. And you’ve seen pictures. So Will = my boyfriend. BACK OFF LADIES. Haha. Kidding. But actually.

Anyways, Labor Day weekend was amazing because we totally relaxed. Well I did, Will was half on pain killers, half in pain, so I just laid around with him which was EXACTLY what I needed. I did manage to sneak some time in to go to the beach since it was gorgeous out, but it was nice staying inside and not #doingallthethings like I tend to do. We saw two movies, The Gift with Jason Bateman (YOU MUST GO SEE ASAP) and Straight Out of Compton (good, but you can probably wait until it’s on HBO…). We also watched Wild. I read the book and was 50/50 on it. And I just didn’t really like the movie. So that was unfortunate. Oh well.

We ate a lot of good food that I didn’t take pictures of, and I didn’t think about work or blogging for a second of the weekend. It was perfect. Oh and I had a nice little 20 miler … nothing like some good vibes, American pride, and clear blue skies to start your day out.

I want to move away from home, but then I remember…

Another reason I have been absent from the blogging world is that I have been swamped at work. I started my new job in April, right as I started this blog, and well… things were SLOW at first. So slow, that I would blatantly blog at work, write thoughtful posts out days ahead of time, and not worry about getting all my work done before the end of the day. And now, well… things are anything but slow. I’ve been working from home, occasionally over the weekend, and was even subjected to working on a project while away on vacation in Nantucket. It’s tough, and it is BEYOND stressful, but I like it. I find my job insanely interesting, and I work with some super smart people. Is it what I thought I’d be doing – nope. But it is something that I’ve become more and more passionate about.

Long story short, I left my job as a clinical researcher at one of the top cancer hospitals in the country to pursue a career in healthcare analytics. I work to provide clinical and financial insights to design successful bundled payment programs using predictive analytics, development of performance reports, risk assessment, and comparative modeling. I work to create comprehensive profiles of how your organization compares to peers in your local market and how specific hospitals compare to best practice outcomes across the U.S. Long story short, we help focus initiatives to improve care coordination, reduce costs and improve quality care. P.S. I had to learn how to code.

And that’s more than you ever wanted to know about healthcare and my job….

Last weekend was one seriously busy weekend for this girl. My best friend from boarding school moved across country to San Fran with her boyfriend, so I did one of my least favorite things and schlepped myself into the city for brunch. Not that I don’t love Kathryn and Steve, but I despise NYC. I know… I know… please don’t throw things at me but it is ALWAYS a hassle. For example: I get to the train, excited to see my friends and enjoy some delicious food. Trains 7 minutes late. Eh, okay I can roll with that. Well, 25 minutes later…. now I’m hungry… not quite hangry, but I’m getting there. Now commuting in and out of NYC taught me that Grand Central is always a cluster and if possible, walk instead of subway, so I figured I could tackle the mile walk to the restaurant in my SkyHigh’s no problem… or so I thought.

My mile walk was detoured into 1.8 miles, thank you step counter, as a parade (which there were like 5 people walking in) closed down 5th avenue. WHY!? So after trying to log roll myself over the barricade and casually walk through union workers in my not so discrete flannel and wedges, the police officer told me I’d have to walk up to Central Park to cut across. Are. You. Kidding.

Nothing is easy. I swear. But once I got to brunch, it was lovely, and I miss Kathy and Steve already. I sense a West Coast trip in my future… who will house me?

Later that day Will and I went to Hartford for one of the best concerts of my life – Good Old War. If you don’t know them. You should. It was a small venue, unlike any show I’ve ever been to before. One of the benefits of dating my amazing boyfriend is that he is a total music nerd. So in turn, I get to learn about some pretty awesome bands, and always know when a good show is playing. So I trusted him, let him take me to the outskirts of Hartford, or actually I took him as his personal chauffeur until he gets his sling off in 4 more weeks, and had one of the best nights in a really long time.

The concert was incredible.

Not a man purse

At the end of the concert, the band comes off the stage and played in the middle of the crowd totally acoustic. Ah. Maze. Ing. Highly recommend. You’re welcome.

And as a result of all these activities and just 100% enjoying life, I’ve been finding myself in bed at a grandma hour, like 8:15PM. Sometimes it’s just worth it.

Snapchat selfies

So other than that, I’ve been welcoming the cool temps in the morning for my runs, beyond excited that footballs back (go Giants), and oh yeah… this happened on Wednesday….

Boston round 2. I’m coming for ya! Let’s just hope for a little less rain… and wind.

Now I have a question – I’m toying with the idea of running Boston 2 Big Sur. I don’t know if anyone who reads this has done it, and even if you haven’t, I’d love your input. Ideally I’d like to enter an Ironman next fall (say what) and take the fall season off of marathoning, so I figured why not go big or go home this spring. Thoughts? Comments? Am I absolutely certifiably insane? Please share…. 

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What have I missed in these last two weeks?

Any other Good Old War fans out there?

What’s the best thing your significant other has introduced you to!?