After a little hiatus in my running I am back at it!  This time it’s all about Staten Island.  Now I’ll be completely honest.  I had no idea what the course was going to look like.  I kind of assumed it would be flat…but no.  Apparently Staten Island is covered in rolling hills!  But that didn’t stop me.  After 3 months away from my daily run I must say, I’m not disappointed in my 1 hour 55 min finish.  There were a couple of keys to bouncing back post surgery for getting back in running shape.

1. Give yourself enough time to heal post surgery/illness.  There’s nothing worse than hitting the pavement too soon.

2. Go at the pace you’re able when you get back out there.  It’s ok not to be at your normal gang buster pace.

3. Get back on a schedule.  For me that meant easing back into my 5 days a week schedule.  Additionally I made sure to get in a few really good long runs before my race.

4. Buy yourself something new and fun to wear in your first race back.  Make yourself feel good and excited to get out there!

Here’s a look at the course:

Perk of running a race on Staten Island, you get to take the picturesque ferry!

Shop The Look: Jacket: New Balance Glow Beacon Jacket c/o // Shirt: New Balance Ice Short Sleeve Shirt c/o // Pants: New Balance Impact Capri c/o // Sunglasses: Electric

Why I love what I wore:  The New Balance Glow jacket is so light weight and perfectly bright.  Making it easy to pick me out in the crowd.  What’s even better, take it out for a night run and the entire jacket lights up after 10 minutes of charge in light.  The Ice Shirt was possibly the lightest weight running top I have ever worn.  It was dry in about 2 seconds post race.  Last but not least I am in LOOOOOVE with the impact leggings.  They are a bit higher rise which I prefer when running.  Additionally the leg openings are backed with tacky grip tape so the pants never ride up, genius!