NYC Marathon, check!

NYC Marathon Stats

   The NYC Marathon was an amazing experience. Thanks to all the love and support from family & friends, I raised over 3K for Stoked and pushed myself harder physically & mentally than I ever have before in the process. Stoked. Thank you!!

NYC Marathon Warm-Up

Nice 2 mile run in Staten Island. Staying with one of my best friends, Elana, her husband, Frank & baby Jack before the big day!

NYC view from the Staten Island Ferry

Watching "Elmo's Song" with baby Jack. Good times!

Jack is the cutest! Who sleeps like this?!

Much more than a concrete jungle.

Mellow Miles

Ran 4 miles with the finance dudes from work. Jamie & I both having the 9 minute/mile goal and kept the pace pretty well. Weather was perfect today. Hoping it will be the same for NYC. My last official training run until the marathon! Will have a mellow 2 miles to run on Saturday and it's go time!

3 Mile Taper

Training runs are getting few and far between this week! Lots of rest in preparation for the big day. Would be amazing if I could keep this 8:30/min mile average during NYC! But my goals are not that high... (Or low in literal terms.) Will definitely need to slow things down come race day. Should practice marathon pace on my run tomorrow too.

8 mile Sunday

Slept over 9 hours and felt tired still when I woke up. All the training has been intense and felt so nice to sleep in a bit! Have been enjoying going to bed early too these days. Today was beautiful in Burlington. Set off my my usual bike path course with 8 miles on the agenda. Stayed pretty consistent with my 9 minute per mile pace. Practiced eating every mile from the 4 mile mark on as well. One shot block per mile. Feels like the constant fuel helps my energy.

One of the main things I have noticed with all this training is feeling positive and relaxing my mind. Long distance running feels meditative. Enjoyed being in the sun and taking in the Lake Champlain views.                    

Nice Little Saturday

4 mile run, pace is faster than what I want to do in NYC. Hoping this is a good thing. Will have to remind myself to take it slow at the start. Nice bkfst, reading, bath, haircut, grocery shopping at HL, now settling in for a movie. R&R is the goal this weekend.

On another note NYC saw its first snowfall of the year today. Better this weekend than next!

Friday After Work Run

Tapering down the miles. Have been fighting a cold this week, so took the last 2 days off from running. Felt much better today (thanks to daily fresh juices from Healthy Living) and was ready for a run after work. Beautiful day. Blue & red sunset hues colored the sky. Fluffy clouds, Adirondack mountain views and vibrant trees completed the Fall landscape in Vermont. Weather is getting much colder. A Burton hoodie, beanie and glove liners kept me toasty while I ran beside a choppy Lake Champlain. Noticed that my right ankle feels strong again after spraining it almost 2 months ago. (Still running in an ankle brace and wearing it throughout the day as well.) This time next week I'll be going to sleep so I can be awake and ready for my 5:30am flight to NYC. Trying to stay calm and making sure to rest this weekend in preparation for the big day. My main goal is to stay calm mentally while running the marathon, and be present, enjoying the views and experience as it will probably be the only time I run the streets of NYC with 40,000+ people. After the 20 mile night run I know I can do this. that said, I expect miles 20-26.2 especially to be a huge challenge. Off to read the latest Runner's World issue and catch a good night's sleep. Happy Halloween weekend! Excited to be a ghost this year & choose rest & running over parties and hangovers.

A squirrel decided the pumpkin I carved, aka lil guy, was a good snack :(
P: Lindsay Dorey

4+ Mile Lunch Run

It's been nice to have running friends at work. Ran with Mike & Jamie at lunch.
Good dudes! Mike ran a marathon 2 weeks ago where he set a Personal Record & is running the Shelburne 1/2 November 6th. (Same day as NYC.) Jamie is running the NYC marathon too. Will be his 2nd time running it. Has been awesome to hear their advice. Yay for running buddies!

Weekend Warrior

Slept in Sunday, truth be told all I wanted to do was relax on the couch and play guitar. But a 12 mile run was in the cards for that day. Set out on the run late afternoon, but not too late. For once evading nightfall and rain. Amazing! Kept a consistent pace I was happy with. Listened to Pandora on mix... lots of Radiohead & Björk kept my eardrums and soul happy. The weather was perfect. Crisp, Fall air. Not too hot, not too cold. 12 miles felt enjoyable compared to the 20 mile night run I finished the Sunday before. The colors were incredible. As I ran on my favorite part of the bike path I was tempted to shoot an iPhone photo, but didn't want to slow down and kept to the task at hand, making a mental photograph. Thinking about the lost art of painting pictures with words.

That said, I was happy to see this photo pop up on Facebook land later that night... Turned out my friend Randy captured the same view on his bike ride.

Dreamy BTV Bike Path View. Photo by Randy Torcom

4 mile Jaunt

Woke up Saturday feeling a little fuzzy from the night before. Jack & Gingers sounded like a good idea at the time. Was fun to play music into the wee hours of night, welcoming the next day. Luckily all I had to accomplish training-wise was a 4 mile run. Kept a good pace & got 'er done. Last party night for me til after November 6th!

Another rainy run. 

Night Fall

Day 6 in a row of training. Set out on what I thought would be a nice evening run while the sun set over Lake Champlain. Foliage is at it's peak right now, enhancing the reward. I got to enjoy a little bit of this then my sunset vision quickly turned to another night run in the rain. Didn't even have my headlamp this time, yet powered through the 5 miles holding my 9 minute per mile pace. Feels good to have gotten through that one. Tomorrow will be a well-earned rest day.

Hamster on the Wheel

Somehow have gotten into the habit of night running. Darkness starting way too early for my liking, light almost gone by the time I leave work. Lately with the rain, the gym has been more appealing than running outside. And so I run. Like a hamster on a wheel, but with music in my ears and an eye on the pace. I always turn the TV screen off. Can't fathom watching television so close to my face while in motion. Instead, I zone out & sweat out the day. The gym is usually quiet that time of night. When time allows, the infrared sauna is a nice way to unwind and call it a night. Only downfall is being energized this late at night when I should be sleeping. Goal for next week: run in the morning. Need to try that more consistently before NYC Marathon time.

Checked off 5 miles last night, 6 tonight. 5th training day in a row. Will have completed a 42 mile running week by the time tomorrow is through.

20 Mile Night Run!

After a 4 and a half hour drive from Rhinebeck to Burlington, I found myself with only one choice. It was Sunday and I needed to get 20 miles in. The sun was setting and I set out past dusk with a headlamp lighting the way, running the ever familiar Burlington bike path until I got downtown. Ran up a steep little hill, into the North End, then, Winooski... at this point I realized Winooski isn't quite as far as it seems on foot. It started raining softly and I ran through downtown Burlington, up Shelburne road, down Home ave, down Pine Street, zig zagging my way up to Pearl Street then back out to Winooski! Still had about 7 miles to check off at this point. Ran back through town, up Shelburne and down Home ave, looping my last, slow mile. 


The Garmin watch has been a key tool in my training as I track mileage and pace stats, and stay motivated. My music situation was interesting. Ran with an iPod I need to update and went with shuffle. A lot of skipped songs & many I haven't heard in a long time. Hidden treasure of the run was Missy Elliott "Slide".


By the last 2 miles of the run I felt mentally strong and like a different breed of human, a running ninja of the night!

Rhinebeck Run. 5 Miles

Ran 5 miles through the landscape of my youth. Fall was at it's peak. Happy with how fast I ran.  Fastest pace per mile yet! 

Came down to Rhinebeck for the weekend to visit my parents who hit the road after spending the summer in Maine. Almost 2 years ago now my parents retired, sold their house and hit the road in their truck, towing behind a Montana 5th wheel that would soon become their home on wheels. They drove across country the 1st summer, visiting family and seeing parts of the US they had always wanted to see. They ended up in Gulf Shores Alabama for the winter, where I had my 1st Bama Christmas, and where they are returning this winter.

I admire that my parents are enjoying retirement and living a life outside of the box... and that they get along so well living in a rectangle! 44 years of marriage and "living the dream.... their dream."

The greatest 2 people I ever met! Biggest supporters in life. No matter what path I've taken, they always encouraged me to follow my dreams. Love you mom & dad!

Sophie in her festive Fall scarf!

15 Miles

Heard the sad news of local Burlington artist, Mikey Welsh's passing the night before and ran the extra miles thinking of what a gift it truly is to be alive. Thought about art outliving humans and had no idea that Mikey was the genius behind the Weezer song Hashpipe which I always thought was their best piece. Loved the bass in that and turns out he played it. Wish I could have gotten to know Mikey better while living in Burlington. Was always a fan of his work and raw energy that he translated onto canvas, wood, walls, wherever his paint found a home. Great use of color, abstract and intense characters.

With music in my ears, and thoughts on my mind,  I set out to run the longest I've run to date. Was hoping to get 20 miles checked off, but stopped at 15 to respect my legs and not push it too hard. Ankle is still on the mend.

Running this far was intense. Ran by the Winooski river in Richmond. Pretty Fall farmland views. Saw a snake the 1st mile in! Garter snake that was coiled up on the side of the road with it's head poking out looking like it wanted to cross the road. We almost collided! Loved snakes as a kid, then was scared of them, and in this last month of training have seen so many between Utah and now here that I'm over the fear... I think.

Also saw a black bear later in the run! That scared me a little. Ran across the road about 1/2 a mile in front of me. The main reason I was scared is that I've been practicing eating while running and had just downed some Honey Stinger Cliff goo that exploded all over my hands and was a mess. I felt like a running honeycomb in bear country! Needless to say I survived. The run itself was challenging. My legs felt so heavy and tired by the end. Really happy my heart, lungs and breathing felt strong.

In October, 4 years ago, I got the sickest I have been in my life after a trip to Bali. Then was hit with pneumonia shortly after. Feels amazing to be strong and healthy. Very thankful for the gift of life, it truly is precious and important to live it well.

Rest In Peace Mikey Welsh.

8 miles

8 miles checked off the list today. Was nice to run in Richmond. Was in the 70s & sunny. Warm for VT this time of year! "Lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it..."  



8 miles on the 8th!

Morning Run

Trying my best to becoming a morning person. Run in the morning / gym at lunch... 

This morning's run was crisp, still dialing in my gear. Wore shorts and a hoodie.

Hoodie made me too hot halfway in, but feels nice to start in. Music scene needs to get dialed! iPhone in the pocket not working, ended up running w/it in hand. Love Pandora while on the run... Need to sort all of this out! All in all felt amazing to get a run in early and start the day with a clear mind and strong body.

Lunch Run in the Sun!

No music, just the sounds of water, wind & small city life on a vibrant Fall day in Vermont. Last night cross-trained at the gym. Day off from running.

Night Run... time to get more miles in.

After-work run turned pitch black fast. iPhone myLite app saved my ass. Rain started around mile 10.

Utah Run

September was a tough one training wise. Sprained my ankle pretty bad during a Catamount 5K trail race. Was a couple days after Tropical Storm Irene took Vermont by surprise. I slipped running down a wet rock surface and stunt doubled into the woods, rolling on wet leaves, grabbing my ankle. The ankle swelled to a softball sized cankle, but luckily was just a sprain. Still, this meant taking a few weeks off which was a bummer. Had a couple days of rest in VT then flew across country for good friends, Kimmy & Chris' wedding in Mammoth where I posted up on Kelly's couch for a majority of weekend, ankle elevated... RICE method in full effect. Beautiful & FUN wedding!

From there I headed to Utah to visit my friend Tara, cut that trip short to fly back to VT for a Phish show.... had to.... was for VT flood relief... then back to Utah for some vaca time!... Here I felt much better and was able to run again, hike, hit the gym and even wake surf.  All that flying caused some serious ankle swelling, but thankfully it's healing up nice.

Now on the up and up! Cram time before NYC!!

7 Miler

Shelburne Farms Running Adventure

1st time running (or visiting for that matter) Shelburne Farms. Beautiful farmland on Lake Champlain. Wore my trail running shoes. Started off fast. Felt slow mid-run. Turned off music at that point, enjoyed the sound of the lake & nature. Worked on relaxing my mind and body.

Bike Path Run

After work run. Felt like stopping at 5 miles / was close to home, but did an extra loop & kept on for the 7 miles I had planned. NZ jet lag gone :) Tried to relax into the pain points.

Home from NZ. Time to run!

Day 2 home from NZ. Dealing w/jet lag. Ran at 3pm… better then yesterday which equaled no run and sleeping til 3pm after arriving home at 1am from long flights. ZGN-AKL-SFO-IAD-BTV. Flying not so kind on the body. Ran for 40 minutes today. Not sure how many miles. Buying one of those fancy watches soon that will calculate pace and miles. Body felt stiff & tired. Took a while for my mind to relax too. Still have sinus pressure in my head and sore ears from air pressure / flying. Ran everyday the 1st week in NZ. Beautiful path by the lake. 2nd week came down with a fever and head cold and stopped running. Felt good to sweat today.

New Friend, New Zealand!

My 1st week in Wanaka, made friends with Emerald. Emerald is a beautiful horse who lives across from Lake Wanaka.
Quite the view she has every day! I'd stop and say hi each time I ran. We snapped a few self portraits... Emerald really hammed it up! :)

Hello New Zealand!

Can get used to training here with views like this!

Location: Queenstown. Morning after the long flight!

NYC Marathon. Long Road Ahead!

Just last week I was saying to a friend that I didn't think I'd ever do a marathon.... fast forward to one week later and I'm committed to run the New York City Marathon with the Stoked Mentoring crew! Excited & nervous for this challenge to say the least!

I started trail running this Spring with my good friend Ara, an awesome motivator, who introduced me to the local Vermont trail race series that happens every Tuesday night through the end of September at Catamount. I have been tracking my races in a nerdy Excel sheet each week and have happily been able to meet or exceed my personal goals each time I race!

That said, these races are 5K. 3.2 miles is a far cry from 26 miles. I have some serious work cut out for me and am ready for a good challenge. I head to New Zealand for the Burton New Zealand Open & team shoot August 4-23rd. This will be my 5th time to NZ and 1st time going with a big personal goal. Luckily I am surrounded by amazing athletes like Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter & Enni Rukajärvi to name a few. When not working with them at the event or shoot, I look forward to snowboarding, hopping on their cross-training plans & appreciating the beauty of New Zealand as I meet my daily mileage goals.

I have heard that running a marathon is life changing & am inspired to dedicate these next 3 months to getting in the best shape of my life. Excited to see the change it brings! The experience of running with a massive group of people through NYC in the most prestigious race out there sounds amazing alone. I'm originally from Rhinebeck, New York & can't think of a better place to run my 1st (and maybe only!) marathon.

Ready to take all the steps for not only myself but for Stoked Mentoring & to help kids have a chance for positive life change through action sports. Snowboarding & Burton have given me more amazing experiences and opportunities than I could have ever thought possible. Pay It Forward as the saying goes. If you'd like to support my efforts for Stoked, here is the place to do so: http://www.crowdrise.com/SusieFloros

"Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes up and it knows it must move faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be moving." - Maurice Greene

(Will have a lot of time to ponder deep thoughts like this on the long run!)

Off & Running

Decided it's time to keep a live journal style blog about running, travel, life... and the steps I'm taking to get to the NYC Marathon.
Hope you enjoy it!

New photo blog these days...

http://susiefloros.tumblr.com/