Nike Women's Half Marathon DC 2014

In less than a week I will be running through my favorite city at the most beautiful time of the year!

However, I do have to admit that I am not prepared for this race in any way, shape, or form. After I got back from Princess Half Marathon Weekend, I had every intention of keeping a legitimate training schedule this time. But once again, I didn't follow through and I am sitting here wondering how I am going to do this race.

Before the Princess Half Marathon I truly had no idea about what 13.1 miles truly looked like. Sure, I was intimidated for my first half marathon ever, especially because of my lack of preparation, but I was mainly just excited to be there! I really can not help but to think of the positives when it comes to doing a race because I really just run for the fun of it.

My outlook has not changed, I am still just as excited. This time around I am curious to see the outcome because although I have not properly trained, I will at least not be doing a 10K before like I did for the Glass Slipper Challenge. I am hoping for a better time that will potentially give me pretty solid insight on my ability to run 13.1 miles at this point in my life. Now that the 10K variable is removed from the equation, I am hoping that my body will be more capable.

For my next race, I need to invest more time and energy into training and actually try to get results out of my hard work.

In completion of the NWM DC, I will just be happy to have my Tiffany's necklace and the satisfaction of another 13.1 miles under my belt - not to mention 13.1 miles in one of the most picturesque places around. The political/nerd side of me is going to be way to excited to be running through our nations capital!

Is anyone else excited to #runDC next weekend?

Run Happy, 
Ali 

Run DC to Eat DC

It seems the only time I can sit down and write a post is late at night when I should be trying to improve my already pitiable sleep cycle. But not tonight; sleep can wait but this post cannot, as it is long overdue!

In honor of the Nike Women's Half Marathon DC 2014 being exactly one week away from today, here is my long overdue post on my spring break expedition to our beautiful capital.

Lo and behold: My experience of DC through food. 

 These are my a few of my favorite places to eat in DC, among some new favorites. I fully intend on eating brunch at Ted's Bulletin next weekend while I am in town, if not brunch, I suppose a Cherry Blossom Pop-tart will suffice. Besides Ted's Bulletin, I am really hoping to try out Founding Farmers, 2Amy's Pizza, and Baked & Wired. Of course I will absolutely need a Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake from Good Stuff Eatery at some point post-race.

Does anyone else get overly excited for post race food like I do? What about strategic planning?

Run Happy, 

- Ali 

Spring Break in Washington D.C.

As much as I would love to be spending my spring break in the sun and sand, like many of my friends, I am quite excited to be spending a few days in Washington DC next week!

My boyfriend and I are driving to DC next Wednesday and we are staying with his sister.
Being that I am a PoliSci and Public Policy major, it kind of makes sense that I am highly interested in DC; I dream/hope/plan to live there one day, preferably ASAP!
I usually make it to DC a few times every year, most often in the spring.
This April I will actually be going to DC twice, for spring break and for the Nike Women's Marathon DC 1/2! Because I usually only have a few days to spend in the district, I like to plan, plan, plan, ahead of time.
Oddly enough, the only aspect of planning that I am good at is when it involves food, shopping, or fun activities.

Here is a run-down of what we are trying to accomplish on our 3-day trip. Which is really going to be more of a 2 day trip when we consider travel, sadly.

Day 1: 
Leaving DE and arriving to DC late afternoon.
I am obsessed with Georgetown University thanks to the College Prepster blog, written by the brilliant Carly Heitlinger, (who will definitely be famous one day & I am proud to say i've been a religious reader for the past few years.) Given my fascination with Georgetown, we will definitely be spending some time there.
My places of interest in Georgetown pertain to my two favorite pastimes: shopping & eating.

Shopping: Georgetown Running Co.  I remember looking through the window of this store on my last trip, prior to my running addiction. Now that I run I think I may benefit from their expertise in the area of running gear. Another athletic store on my list is City Sports, which is not unique to Georgetown but i've never encountered a City Sports anywhere else. Reebok FitHub is a definite stop on our list, but mostly for my CrossFit loving boyfriend, although i'm interested to see what is there (and I want to try CrossFit, someday.) We can't forget Lululemon, J.Crew, Zara, or Vineyard Vines...but please God, grant me self control if I end up in any of those stores. 


Food: Luke's Lobster - I have always wanted to try an authentic Maine Lobster Roll, so this is a must! There is a location in Penn Quarter as well, so if we don't get to the Georgetown one, I will still have a chance! An absolute favorite of mine is Good Stuff Eatery and their toasted marshmallow milkshake that is to die for; they recently opened a Georgetown location in addition to their Capitol Hill flagship location, Crystal City, and a new store in Philly!  Did I mention that I love pie? Well there's a place called Pie Sisters and their menu is calling my name. Others on my extensive restaurant list (which I will make a tab for soon) include Serendipity3 for their trademark Frozen Hot Chocolate, and The Tombs - but we'll probably save that one for my 21st Birthday in September.

Day 2:
Well we can't just shop and eat all the time, so we're making it a point to finally visit George Washington's Mount Vernon; i've never been and Will hasn't since he was younger. Given that I have never been and honestly do not know any details, I will hold off on this topic in effort to provide a more informative post about such a great historical landmark.
In addition to visiting Mount Vernon, I presume we will have a good part of the day left over and I know I would love to run in DC before I have to run 13.1 miles there! I am really hoping it warms up some and we have good running weather - not to mention it is our spring break, so spring weather would be quite wonderful! Running around Capitol Hill would be a beautiful way to start the day, can you imagine starting everyday that way? I'm hoping to end day 2 by walking the monuments at night, something I have always wanted to do.
Considering that i've never experienced Mount Vernon before, I am not sure of restaurants in the area. If we run near Capitol Hill, I would love to go to Ted's Bulletin on Barrack's Row. It is home to the best homemade pop-tarts ever, and mac 'n' cheese grilled cheese; an experience I had on National Macaroni and Cheese Day in 2013.

Day 3:
I am currently dreaming of touring the U.S. Capitol Building, which is apparently possible by contacting your State Senators or Representative. Being a constituent in the second smallest state might actually pay off in this case. Tomorrow i'm going to use my time between classes constructively to try to make this happen! Incase you were wondering; yes, I am extremely enthusiastic about politics and it may or may not reflect on my blog, often.
If the Capitol tour does not go our way, I have a back-up plan! The Library of Congress has tours, we haven't been through the National Gallery of Art together, and there is also the National Portrait Gallery, which I love. Last time we were around Capitol Hill, Will and I went to an awesome used bookstore called Capitol Hill Books, which we both liked for the cozy atmosphere. There is also Politics & Prose, a Bookstore and Coffeehouse which is rated as the Best of D.C. by 2013 Readers' Choice.

I cannot wait to come back with better pictures and more information to share about my favorite city (or district)! Now that i'm doing this from a blogging perspective I have so many ideas on how to record my trip! Please, if anyone sees this post and knows any great places in DC, let me know! I would love to hear from my readers!

Run Happy, 
Ali