Chasing Cupid- Lessons From My First 5K

Running a 5k has been on my to-do list for some time now. I completed the Couch-to-5k training plan in Summer '09 and started the 5K101 training plan last year before stopping because of issues with my knees. I even registered for a 5K last Fall and ignored my guilt when I didn't show up on race day.  I wasn't "ready" so why bother? This past December however, I decided to give it another shot and registered Mr. Forever and myself for the Cupid's Chase 5K, hosted by Community Options, Inc. a national non-profit that works for develop homes and employment for people with disabilities. With only about 6 weeks to prepare, I decided to forgo the training plans I'd used in the past, spent an obscene amount of money on high-tech winter running gear (if you're ever shopping at The New York Running Company in Columbus Circle, ask for Mac- he's great!) and headed outside with nothing but a goal, advice from Mac and my Nike+ Running app (a definite favorite). After being rescheduled due to the recent blizzard, the race was held in NYC this past weekend and I DID IT. In the rain! No walking, no breaks, just determination to keep moving forward until I could finally stop saying "I'm going to run a 5K." and say "I ran a 5K."  

Takeaways from my first real race:

1. Align personal goals with a higher purpose.  There are some folks who run a 5K every morning in the gym, so participating in an organized race certainly wasn't necessary to meet my goal, but knowing that proceeds from the race (registration fees, donations, etc.) would go toward supporting the work of Community Options, Inc. definitely set a positive tone for this run.  It helped remind me that doing this wasn't just about meeting a personal goal and becoming more active, but that through those aims, I could also contribute to something greater than myself. By showing up on a cold, rainy day, we made a statement to the organization, the volunteers, the communities served and the onlookers that something mattered on that day. For me, it might have just been the personal victory of finishing a 5K, but for all the folks who poured energy into organizing and coordinating this race to raise funds for a mission, it was their cause. I'm glad that we didn't let their work go to waste.
2. So what if it's only 3.1 miles? There's nothing wrong with celebrating goals even if they don't seem like much to other people.  I happily ignored the marathoners or anybody who gave me a condescending attitude about running a 5K because it was a big deal to me and therefore, it was a big deal. Period.  I surrounded myself with people who understood that running 3.1 miles is quite a feat for a girl who barely believes in running to catch a train and would be happy to celebrate my achievement, regardless of what they had or hadn't achieved themselves.
3. Pick the right running mate. Mr. Forever was the obvious choice as my running mate for this race because it's a Valentine's Day-themed race (the official T-shirts say "Available" or "Unavailable" on the back- how cute?), but he was also a great choice because he would not let me cop out no matter how little I had trained or how much I whined about not feeling ready. I realized that when it comes to challenges like this, I need to buddy up with somebody who is going to call me out when I'm slacking, who genuinely believes in me and who is unafraid of the challenge themselves (that way they're not also looking for any excuse to back out!).
4. The high-tech winter gear is totally optional. Mr. Forever did just fine running in regular sweats over his basketball shorts and a hoodie, and there were plenty of other folks decked out in regular attire as well.  I don't regret investing in the fancy stuff because feeling like I had the right "equipment" and looking the part motivated me to train in the cold and made me feel less out-of-place at the starting line, but it's nice to know I didn't really need it.  Plus, I'm so in love with my Saucony DryLete Sportops that I almost don't want the weather to warm up so I don't have to stop wearing them when I run.
5. It's better to have a bad race than to have no race at all. While I met (and exceeded!) my personal race time goal, I definitely did not have a photo finish. I didn't come in last but my time would make most runners snort derisively.  Who cares? The point is, I did it! Now I have a race under my belt and a personal best to beat, both things I still wouldn't have if I'd been holding off until I felt "ready." There's a reason Nike says "Just Do It". You may never feel ready, but you can feel accomplished.

Image courtesy of and learn more about Cupid's Chase here.

What to do on Valentine's Day...

Happy Valentine's Day! xoxo, Chelle

Revisited: A Lesson in Calligraphy

Revisited Posts are old favorites from the EP Archives, spruced up for you to enjoy anew!

She was incredibly nice, all smiles and slim cut summer-wear.  I could have guessed the words before they came out of her perfectly pink glossed lips. "I'm getting married in a few months and...".  I barely heard the rest as my eyes fixed on her blindingly clear princess-cut solitaire engagement ring and as I her perfectly pink polished nail pushed the "UP" button and as the elevator doors slid shut, I wondered how the heck I ended up headed to the same place as a real-life Charlotte York....oh yeah...I was taking a Calligraphy class...

Working in corporate America, it can be very easy to get caught up in the fast pace and forget to make time for yourself, much less time to develop the types of skills that once used to be admired as part of the art of being a woman.  Working in New York, it be difficult to forget these skills even exist! In this "now means ten-minutes-ago!" city, the idea of investing time in studying something like calligraphy might seem laughably fanciful to anybody outside the art world.  After all, unless it's going to become part of my trade, why bother?  Just because I've always wanted to, darn it! There is no reason that a modern woman can't appreciate the art of beautiful letterforms and aspire to create them herself. This thought in mind, I put down the Blackberry for three hours this past weekend and picked up a pen holder and vintage Gillott nib to practice the art of Calligraphy in a semi-private class offered by Hannah Rose Calligraphy & Design.

I wasn't sure what to expect as I headed over, a class full of budding artists or bored divorcees perhaps?  Predictably, I instead found myself in an all-female class comprised mostly of young brides and brides-to-be.  The class was small and taught by two instructors including Hannah herself (I was happy to see that the other instructor was male! Lovely penmanship is not just for women!).  They were both incredibly talented and patient as they walked us through the basic letterforms of Copperplate Script.  I'm not sure when the last time you sat for three hours practicing your alphabet, but I immediately felt like I was back in grade school, painstakingly attempting to master my cursive letters for the first time. I know that my once meticulous ("i"'s dotted with hearts and stars!) handwriting has degenerated as I've gone from writing notes in class to frantically scrawling notes during conference calls, but today I realized just how much awareness of my writing technique I've lost.  A huge part of starting to learn calligraphy is taking your time as you the master the shape and weight of the letters.... I have literally been scrawling for at least the past four years. It was a humbling realization indeed-apologies to everybody who got indecipherable holiday cards last year!

Taking the time to learn what goes into calligraphy (including the difference made by the quality of nip, ink and paper you use) gave me a new appreciation for the often high price of stationary and hand-lettered items.  By the end of class, I had only written one complete word in semi-decent form (my name!) and I was exhausted.  If you can see yourself hiring a calligrapher for any reason at any point in life, or are simply interested in the artistic element of it, I would definitely recommend taking an introductory class or course to gain some insight and appreciation for the art. If a class isn't in your budget, fear not, plenty of great calligraphers have been self-taught! If you have the patience and the discipline, just pick up a kit and start practicing! We were told today that we need to practice for at least 15 minutes a day to really develop the skill. I'm not sure where I'm going to find those 15 minutes now that I've started a morning workout routine, but maybe I'll bring it all to work and treat myself to a creative midday break when the numbers start to blur, the papercuts start to burn and the sight of one more manila folder makes me want to scream? A girl can dream...

Free-tip for all those budding brides- if your invitation envelopes are opaque or lined and the calligrapher can't use a guide-sheet underneath them, you'll get charged more because he or she has to use a different technique to keep everything property aligned (What, you thought they just eyeballed it?)!

What's the last creative lark you treated yourself to?

Gamechanger: eBay Now

A few weeks my iPhone case broke. "Replace phone case" I added to my to-do list....and like most of the important but not urgent tasks on the list, there it remained, one more thing undone at the end of every day, one more sigh because I couldn't make it out of the office in time to make the (completely out of my way) trek to the store to pick up my case of choice (the Otterbox Commuter Series).

Enter eBay Now. Discovered via my PureWow newsletter (a must-read!), this app for San Francisco and New York City iPhone users lets you order basically anything from eBay and have it delivered to you almost immediately. It sounded too good to be true, but in less than 5 minutes I'd placed an order for my case and a pair of sport headphones and received a notification that Kausik (complete with a photo of him) would soon be delivering them to my office, along with a GPS map so I could track his approach.   Not only did he deliver them but the customer service was amazing! Apparently, the first store he went to wouldn't match the price I'd found online (did I mention that I nabbed it on sale?!) so he traveled 40 blocks south to a different store that would, only to discover while en route back uptown that they'd given him the wrong color so he turned around and went back to replace it with the correct one. All the while, he was calling me to provide updates and explanations so I knew he was on top of it.  It was like having the perfect personal assistant!

When Kausik finally arrived at my office with my goods tucked into a cute, reusable eBay Now tote, I discovered that I technically hadn't even purchased the items yet.  Although the app makes you sign up via your preexisting eBay account, you don't actually pay until your runner arrives with your deliveries and then you have the option of paying with a credit card or via the PayPal app if you have an account set up already.  There's a $5.00 delivery fee (which is absolutely worth it) but I happened to place my order during a free delivery promotional period so you might luck out as well.

If you're busy, in the city and want to cross "pick up X" off your to-do list, I definitely recommend giving eBay Now a try!

Inspired By..."My Fair Lazy"

I'm going in search of cultural enlightenment...join me?

Last week, I decided to revisit one of my favorite authors, Jen Lancaster and picked up a copy of her 2011 memoir My Fair Lazy.  While it didn't make my personal list of her best work (new readers should start with Bitter is the New Black), it did inspire my next self-improvement project (how many of those do we all have in progress?).  As per the book description, My Fair Lazy is where Jen "chronicles her efforts to achieve cultural enlightenment...by any means necessary: reading canonical literature, viewing classic films, attending the opera, researching artisan cheeses, and even enrolling in etiquette classes to improve her social graces." Oh? You mean she strives to be more...polished? Hello, lightbulb moment!

Living in New York City, I can't help but be exposed to culture merely by walking down the street. Quite frankly, I take it for granted that my social plans often involve going to a Broadway show, checking out a screening at the IFC Center or consuming copious amounts of artisanal cheeses.  Last summer, when my sorority sister and I took advantage of the American Ballet Theater's 18/29 Club to see three spectacular performances, it wasn't sparked by any concerted effort to expand our cultural horizons- I really just wanted to see Swan Lake (which was phenomenal). I've taken an Alvin Ailey extension class with a world-class choreographer, participated in talkbacks with the writers and producers of award-winning Broadway shows and dined at restaurants helmed by master chefs, all without truly appreciating what amazing opportunities those were (and usually while glancing impatiently at my watch and wondering if I'd be able to easily catch a cab home).  What would happen if I did make an effort not only to be more mindful of my everyday cultural encounters but also to actively seek them out? Particularly since I intend to leave NYC someday and many of the opportunities that I have here won't be available to me anymore. 

Well, I intend to find out. I may not have "Page Six socialites, gourmet chefs, an opera aficionado, and a master sommelier," at my beck and call but henceforth, I am going to intentionally engage in "the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties, especially by education" (thank you Merriam-Webster) at least once a month. I'll add some classic films to my Netflix rotation, get around to the books I keep bypassing en route to chick-lit (or that I've only read the CliffsNotes version of) and try to spend less time concerning myself with the latest Kardashian antics and more time polishing my pearls (figuratively speaking).   Hopefully this is the start of a lifelong journey (aren't they all?) toward achieving cultural satori and I hope you'll be inspired to kick off a similar effort of your own!

This month- what better way to start than with Pygmalion? I'll read the myth, the play it inspired, and revisit My Fair Lady with a whole new appreciation for Miss Doolittle's transformation!

Articulated {1.25.13}

• New twists on a classic palette.
• She is awesome.
• A capsule closet..
• Be more successful.
• Rethink the way you sleep.