A New Obsession

In the reality of New York City, where square footage has a depressingly inverted relationship with rent, space is precious.

So to maximize my expensive space, I finally stopped in to the Container Store fully intending to go crazy.

Second only to Target, the Container Store is the kind of place where you feel compelled to purchase absolutely everything in sight (I DO need a rotating Bamboo tray for my spices... Now that I think about it, owning a paper towel holder would make my life so much easier).

Doesn't this make you feel so calm and happy?
No? Just me?

I went in meaning to buy a shoe rack for my dismal shoe situation, and a utensil organizer for my kitchen drawer (I moved into my apartment in October and I still did not have a utensil organizer. My forks have been mixing with the likes of knives and spoons, and wine openers were canoodling with potato chip clips. It's been disastrous). But when I got in there, I had a tough time choosing how I wanted to spend my benjamins.

I thankfully did at least walk out with the items I set out to buy. I went with the mahogany shoe rack, because it clearly suits my personal style:

Downside upside to buying a shoe rack - organizing your shoes and realizing how badly you need to go shopping. And finding that pair of shoes you literally never wore, and put in the back of your closet because you felt too guilty donating them.

Sinkside lookin' fresh with the paper towel holder

And perhaps my favorite purchase - the bamboo rotating rack (official name). It's fun AND practical - gone are the days when I accidentally use a dash of ground red pepper instead of cinnamon!

So all in all, a successful trip. And a lighter wallet.

You have more free time to worry about organizing your kitchen drawers when you're in taper-mode. In 3 days, I will be running the Brooklyn Half-Marathon. I'm taking tomorrow and Friday off from any exercise, and made sure to squeeze in my three scheduled runs in the beginning of the week.

Although pretty low-mileage, my runs didn't feel as great this week. I don't know if my legs are sore from last week's higher mileage, or if I'm just not getting in as many carbs as I should be. I really and truly did not feel like doing my tempo run last night, but I went, and ended up making out okay:

Today, I was able to get out of bed before work to do my last run before the race. My body was not feeling up to it at all (not sure whether it was because I did a tempo run just 12 hours earlier, or whether it was the white wine drinking the night before). But it ended up being okay too I guess.

Now for the important question: race-day wardrobe. What to wear?

I got a sweet Nike tank that I am surely going to wear, as well as my neon yellow headband. I have to decide if I'm feeling gutsy enough to wear my LuluLemon shorts, or to stick to comfort and wear my running capris. I'll see how the mood strikes me at 5:00AM Saturday morning.

My favorite running friends and I are carbing up together on Friday night at Jillian's apartment, and I am stoked. I believe gnocchi and garlic knots are in order. I also want to make sure I am really hydrated for the race, so I can enjoy spending post-race with my parents and Keith who will be waiting at the finish line for me. Talking about it all is getting me really excited for what is sure to be a fun and tough race!

Now I'm going to go organize my sock drawer.