Category Archives: Running

Beautiful Bulgur and a Worthy Cause

Posted on February 2, 2010 | 9 comments

Good morning – happy Tuesday. How is everyone doing this week? My week is much less hectic and I am very thankful. I was supposed to get up for a morning run at the gym today, but it didn’t happen. So hopefully the place will be desolate tonight and I can squeeze in a longer-ish run. Yeah right.

Before I get to Monday’s eats, I wanted to spread the word about a unique cause. My friend Rachael at Outdoorphins is an outdoor activity enthusiast and she sent me some information about her friend who is seeking support for her new non-profit organization dedicated to outdoor activities linked to raising money for charitable organizations. Here is her friend’s request:

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“Hey Everyone,
 
I need your help! As many of you know in April of 2009 I started a non-profit called Outdoors For A Cause (OFAC). Outdoors For A Cause is a non-profit organization which brings together outdoor activities and raising money for charitable organizations and causes. We believe that if people are given an easy way to raise money while doing the outdoor activities they enjoy, together, we can make a difference while maintaining healthier, happier lifestyles.  
 
I submitted OFAC to the Pepsi Refresh Project which gives grant money to new ideas that will have a positive impact! I am in the running for a $50,000 grant. Pepsi likes my idea but now it’s up to your votes to see who wins! If I win this grant money OFAC would be up and running in 4 months!  This organization will truly make a difference in the lives of those in need and all it will take is YOUR VOTE!
 
You are allowed to vote once a day, so vote as much as you can through the month of February!
 
YOU CAN START VOTING FOR OUTDOORS FOR A CAUSE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW!
 
http://refresheverything.com/outdoorsforacause
 
As one becomes many and $1 raised becomes millions, Outdoors For A Cause and all of you that voted will be proud to say that we were part of a movement that promoted happier, healthier lifestyles while supporting those in need, saving lives, and making the world a better place for future generations to come.
 
If you like my idea, vote for it! If you REALLY like it, then help spread the word to everyone you know via email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc! 🙂 Pepsi has even created links to easily promote this idea, after you vote simply click on the social networking site you prefer and spread the word!!
 
Thank you very much!

Karen Lewis
Outdoors For A Cause

 

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I think her organization sounds like a great idea and a unique way to stay healthy and fit while giving back to charities and groups that need the help. I always feel better about signing up for a road race and doling out sometimes upwards of $75, if I know the money is going to a charitable or needy organization. I’m very happy that the Poconos Marathon in May benefits The Red Cross, especially after all they’ve done in Haiti.

So I encourage everyone to check out the site and at least vote – voting is super easy and you will be helping someone to move one step closer to achieving their dream/goal.  And  I know so many of us out there have some amazing and important goals and can relate.

Now onto Monday’s eats:

Breakfast was Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with skim milk (no almond milk in the house) topped with blueberries, and with a side of light cranberry juice.

My mid-morning snack was a Larabar and I was ravenous for it by 11:00 a.m.

Not the biggest fan of the cherry pie flavor, but it probably would have been good combined with something else – for instance in my yogurt maybe?

Lunch was reduced Fat Triscuit crackers with Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow Light Cheese. YUM! And a side of carrots.

Afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal and a bag of green grapes.

After work I hit the gym for a quick run of 3 miles – I finished in 26:20. I definitely took it slow and steady. I’ve had quite a bit of congestion in my ears and nose lately and yesterday was particularly bad. I was glad for the easy run.

For dinner, I took some inspiration from Meg and made a meal with Bulgur. It’s been sitting in my kitchen cupboard for a while, but I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted to make. Meg made hers with shrimp, but I decided to use chicken and I switched a few other things up. Here was my final recipe – thanks for the inspiration Meg!

Bulgur with Chicken and Spinach

 Ingredients
1 shallot – chopped
1 cup of bulgur
1 tsp. olive oil
2 cups of chicken broth
1/8 cup of cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of frozen spinach

Directions

Add chicken to skillet and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until nearly cooked. Add shallot and bulgur to pan – sauté with olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmered for 15 minutes.

While that is cooking, heat up frozen spinach in the microwave and add it to the skillet for the last 2 minutes. Add cheese for the last minute of cooking – allowing it to melt and stir.

Final result:

Up close

I added a little bit of ground Cumin at the end as well and it got a “pretty good” from the Hubby. So that passes in my book.

Have you ever cooked with bulgur? If yes, what is your favorite recipe?

After dinner, Hubby and I watched The Bachelor – I guess you could say we are now officially “regular watchers” no matter how much we want to claim we aren’t. I’m leaning towards thinking Tenley is going to win it. But I definitely thought he was going to axe either Gia or Vienna last night – I was way off.

And as I mentioned, this morning I was supposed to run, but instead I made a quick visit to my doctor just to be sure there was nothing weird going on in my ears. They have been clogged for almost two-weeks and it can be really frustrating. I feel like I am constantly yelling because I can’t hear what’s being discussed. I figured it would go away eventually, but wanted to practice the “better to be safe than sorry” idea.

Doc said it’s viral and that it should go away if I continue to flush out my nose to drain the mucus (this will in turn help my ears I guess). I’ve been taking Sudafed off and on, but he said I need to be strict with my regimen: Sudafed, Mucinex D, Nasonex and I need to try something called Salt-Aire, which is kind of like a netty pot, but with a saline solution. I’m sure none of you wanted all that info – but just in case you face a similar congestion issue – here’s the cure! He made a point to note that if I don’t do all this, it could turn into a sinus infection – eek!

So besides a longish run at the gym tonight – I’ll be doing all that – fun, fun!  Don’t you just love winter? Blah. Have a good Tuesday.

9 Comments

Posted in Bloggers, Running, Uncategorized

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Weekend Run and Wedding Fun!

Posted on February 1, 2010 | 4 comments

Sorry I was MIA all weekend! I was busy, busy from Friday evening on, so no blogging occurred. Everyone needs a little break once in a while right?

I’m just going to give a quick recap of the weekend and tomorrow will be back to the norm.

On Friday after work the Hubby and I drove up to Albany to my parent’s house. We left late, got there late and pretty much just went to bed. But not before my mom told me that I was absolutely not allowed to run outside the next day. It was supposed to be frigid and she told me she was “pulling the mom card” and telling me no.

So on Saturday I got up and we to my mom’s gym for a nice long treadmill run. Fun times. I generally dislike running anything more than 4 miles on the treadmill, but I didn’t really have many other options. Important note: it was 2 degrees outside!! I got to the gym and was shocked by how many people were there at 9:30 a.m. All the treadmills were taken, so I milled around for a bit until someone hopped off.

I hopped on and told myself that I was running at least 6 miles without feeling guilty. It was the weekend and people could wait. That being decided, I started my run and watched some t.v. After about 30 minutes I decided to do some incline work and raised it to incline 3.5 for about 5 minutes and increased my speed. I did this twice and it really helped move the workout along. I ended up running 7 miles in 61:30.  This week, my training plan called for a total of 22 miles, but after missing a few early-week runs, I only managed to get in 18 miles. I’m not beating myself up about it.

After my workout, I headed back to my parent’s house to do some stretching and relax a bit before getting ready for the wedding.

Kelly and Jerry’s wedding ceremony started at 4:00 p.m. in Schenectady. It was really beautiful and unique. I had never been to a Greek wedding before and I loved all the different rituals and ceremonies. It was a small and cozy church. After the ceremony we headed over to The Glen Sanders Mansion for the reception.

Hubby and I had a great time! I didn’t take any food pictures during the cocktail hour because I was focused solely on eating. 🙂 But I did take a picture with the bride!

Lauren, Kelly, me and Becky

We headed into the main ballroom following cocktail hour and then began the real eating! Hubby and I took our requisite “at the table” photo.

And then we ate! I had a salad for an appetizer (everyone else who got prime rib or chicken for their entrée had pasta as an appetizer). The salad was good, but went unphotographed. Then my main course was Rigatoni Pasta with a Butternut Squash Sauce. It was yummy and very rich.

It looks so bright! I had to use the flash – sorry. It was very good.

Then it was time for some dancing! And boy did we dance. The bride and the groom danced a lot as well! I love when the bride and groom are out on the dance floor enjoying themselves.

Then it was time for a little cake! The cake was great, but I was so full that I could barely eat any of it.

I had such a great time. Here is one last photo of me and Becky – we were table mates and crazy dance partners!

It was a great time, but also a late night and Hubby and I were pretty tired on Sunday. We didn’t end up heading back to NYC until early evening, which means we didn’t get home until basically my bedtime. I tried to stay up and watch The Grammys, but I was exhausted, so I headed to bed.

Tonight’s workout calls for an easy 3-mile run and for that I am very relieved. I wish I had one extra day of rest after weekends like this.

How about you – how was your weekend? Any fun activities – did you brave the cold?

Have a great Monday everyone!

4 Comments

Posted in Bloggers, Running, Travel, Uncategorized

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Wave to the Camera!

Posted on January 29, 2010 | 11 comments

Good morning and happy Friday! I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a seriously stressful week and am ready for a nice weekend. And the best part is that my friend Kelly is getting married tomorrow, so the weekend is sure to be a blast! Congrats Kelly and Jerry – I can’t wait to celebrate with you tomorrow!!

Yesterday was definitely a less stressful day and I was very grateful. I started the day off with a great breakfast of oatmeal with almond butter and tons of blueberries. I love blueberries!

Around 10:30 a.m. I ate a banana – I was ravenous for some reason. Then we had a work meeting and it just so happened to be my co-workers birthday and my boss had purchased giant cupcakes for everyone. Now, those who know me well know that I simply can not pass up a cupcake. And I didn’t. Not only that, I chose the worst one: carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting (sooo good!). These cupcakes were from Zeytuna and they were enormous. Seriously out of control…and I ate the whole thing. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. It was awful.

Needless to say, I was pretty full and felt gross for the rest of the day. And I also got a terrible headache (probably from such a huge rush of sugar) and then felt sleepy. Awful! Where was my self-control on that one?

Can you say no to sweets – especially when it’s your very favorite? It’s obviously something I need to work on.

The rest of my afternoon involved little food – some Triscuits with laughing cow cheese and a Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal.

In the afternoon  I received an email from the NYRR photographer site notifying me that the pictures from last weekend’s half marathon were ready. I always check them out just to see how terrible I looked. There were a ton of pics of Lauren and me. Some were pretty awful, but then I came to this one, which made me laugh out loud:

I actually remember doing this. It was at the very beginning of the race, maybe at the first mile marker, and I saw the photographer right in front of me. But there were so many people taking pictures that day, that I didn’t think the guy was definitely one of the event photographers – umm yeah he was. Ha!

Anyway, I digress. I made it through the work day in a slight sugar coma (actually is was really bad). And then I trudged to the gym after work. This week has been terrible as far as my marathon training goes. I am supposed to finish up at 22 miles for the week and I’m at 11 right now. And I will not be running 11 miles tomorrow – maybe 6-7.

Anyway – I hopped on the last available treadmill and pretty much told myself I’d have to stop at 4 miles because people would be waiting. Miraculously, after 2 miles, the treadmills cleared out and I was able to run 5 miles (43:03) without feeling guilty.

Then I did some ab work and some arm free-weight exercises with a 5-pound weight.

I left the gym feeling much better (sugar coma gone) and started walking home and holy coldness!! The temperature had dropped tremendously! I got home, did the dishes, vacuumed and tidied up and then made some dinner. I already had some cooked pasta ready, so I just added a ton of veggies and stuff to it: cucumber, carrots, grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese and apple. I then drizzled it with Newmans’ Light Balsamic vinaigrette.

Perfection! Dessert was the second half of my grapefruit with a packet of Truvia on top.

I also had a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips as well.

I was considering getting up early today and hitting the gym for a 4-mile run to make my weekly mileage total, but my legs were feeling tired and so was I last night. I figured why push it? If my body was telling me to rest a bit, then I would. That way, I’ll be extra rested for my cold run upstate on Saturday morning. I don’t even want to check what the temperature will be – it will certainly scare me. I am simply preparing to layer-up like crazy.

And then after that it will be party time!! Do you have any fun plans this weekend or will you just be trying to stay warm? 🙂 Have a good one everyone!

11 Comments

Posted in Dessert, NYRR, Running, Uncategorized

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Ethiopian Eats

Posted on January 28, 2010 | 9 comments

Good morning – happy Thursday! It’s almost the weekend. How was your Wednesday? Mine was infinitely better than my Monday and Tuesday. For starters, I actually got up and went to the gym before work! YAY. I wasn’t taking another chance that I might not make it after work.

And it turns out my decision to skip the gym on Tuesday night following my stressful day was probably a good one. After reading this article: 4 Tips to Run the Stress Off from active.com, I’m positive that forcing myself to squeeze in that run could have resulted in an injury, or at the very least exhaustion.

What about you – do you back off running when you’re stressed or do you push through and try to work it off during the run?

So I was at the gym and running by 5:45 a.m. on Wednesday and since there weren’t many people clamouring for a treadmill at that time, I was able to run 6 miles guilt-free. I ran it in 52:20. I did a few ab exercises, but I wanted to be sure I got to work on time, so it was pretty quick.

While I was at the gym, I realized that I had completely forgotten my food bag for the day. It was sitting on the kitchen counter all alone. So I stopped at the Food Emporium on the way to the subway and picked up a few things to tide me over throughout the day. No clue where my head was yesterday morning – probably still in bed asleep.

I got to work a little early and proceeded to have my make-shift breakfast of a gnu bar with coffee and a clementine.

I loved this bar and the banana walnut flavor! Yum – I will be buying this one again.

My mid-morning snack was an apple and I was ravenous by the time I ate it at 11:00 a.m.

For lunch, since I forgot my food bag, I had to run out in the cold to get a salad. Yesterday’s salad had romaine lettuce, carrots, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, chickpeas and peas.

Later afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal and a small bag of walnuts and raisins (undocumented).

All day I was thinking about what I needed to do after work – stop at the store, do the dishes, tidy up the apartment and make dinner. And then around 3:00 p.m. my friend Katie texted me and asked if I was free to go to dinner. Normally I’m not free – I’d be going to the gym. But since I’d already done that, I told her yes, I was very much free!

Katie and I like to try a variety of cultural and ethnic foods. Last night, we decided to try Ethiopian food at the appropriately titled: The Ethiopian Restaurant in my neck of the woods.

We started with the Sambussa appetizer, which was very small and was two, cooked ground-beef and classically-spiced patties.

We then split two entrees: 1) the ethiopian combo which was a combination of yebeg alecha, tibs wot, tikel gomen, misr wot and yabesh gomen; and 2) a chicken dish with the house sauce and spices.

I loved almost everything on the plate. The bean/lentil dish was a little too spicy for my taste, but I still ate a bit of it. And the cabbage and carrot portion was amazing!

My friend warned me that I may or may not like the bread because it has a unique texture and some people love it or hate it. I loved it!! It’s called injera.

Footfit.com’s page on Ethiopian food is really interesting – check it out! Here’s a small snippet.

“The cooking of the oldest independent country in Africa stars an array of spices that give its stews, sautéed meats, and vegetable dishes a deep, rich, aromatic, oft-times fiery taste….At the heart of Ethiopian cooking is injera, a flat bread that looks like a large pancake but has a spongy texture and a tangy taste reminiscent of sour dough. Injera is made from a tiny, highly nutritious grain called teff that is rich in fiber, iron, protein and calcium.”

Not only is inerja yummy and nutritious, it’s also your utensil throughout the whole meal. You pick up the various meats, veggies, etc. using this bread. And it works really well.

All in all, it was a great meal. The owner kept coming over to check on us, which was very nice and even offered to take our picture.

Don’t mind my slicked-back hair. That’s what happens when you shower at the gym in the morning and then put a hat right on. A nice little flat-head.

So what do you think – would you ever give Ethiopian food a try? What interesting or new food/cuisine have you tried lately?

I for one highly recommend you give it a shot! I was nervous going in because I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but it was great!

Have a great day everyone!

9 Comments

Posted in Restaurants, Running, Uncategorized

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Ma! The Meatloaf!!

Posted on January 25, 2010 | 13 comments

Good morning – it’s Monday. Did your weekend feel like it flew by? Mine sure did. And I can’t believe we are in the last full week of January. 

I woke up this morning kind of sore from yesterday’s half marathon race. I think I may even be more sore than I was the day after the marathon. Lauren and I ran pretty hard yesterday – and we really didn’t even intend to. 

After the race yesterday, we had planned to meet up with my friend Katie for a hearty brunch. Not considering our condition after the finish, I planned for us to meet Katie on Madison Avenue directly after the race. But, by the time Lauren and I got there we were shivering and chilled to the bone. All we really wanted was to shower and be warm before we did anything else. Thankfully, Katie was such a good sport and came to my apartment to wait while we showered and became human again. 

Then we decided to head back to my favorite crêpe place right around the corner: Yorkville Creperie. Whenever I eat there, I typically get one sweet crêpe. However, this time I was ravenous and decided to get one savory crêpe and one sweet crêpe. 

I started with the Greco Crêpe, which was filled with spinach, feta and tomatoes. It was delicious. 

 

My second course was a sweet crêpe called The Country Crêpe and it had banana, strawberry and nutella. 

 

It was sooo yummy, but I was openly jealous of Lauren’s Sweet Crêpe which had baked apples, graham crackers, vanilla ice cream, cornflakes and white chocolate. It was divine and might be what I have to order there from now on. 

After brunch we lounged for a bit, Lauren headed home and I started on the laundry. Walking up and down the 5-flights of stairs after the race was extremely tough. But I managed to get two loads done. A third was needed, but I just couldn’t do it. 

Before dinner, I decided to try some Kombucha I had picked up a little while back and had completely forgotten about. I had no idea what to expect, but I didn’t want it to go to waste and I had heard wonderful things about it through the blog world. 

 

I have to say it was not what I expected at all: fizzy, a little vinegary, but also sweetish at the same time. It was strange and it took me a little while to finish my small glass. I may try the rest of it again tonight, but I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it yet. 

What about you – have you tried Kombucha? Or better yet, have you ever made it?  

I was Googling it and found so many sites where people were making their own. 

Here is the definition of Kombucha from, GT, the manufacturer’s website: 

Kombucha is alternately known as a Chinese tea, a plant, or a mushroom. But it’s not really any of these. It’s a living culture of beneficial microorganisms, and in Kombucha’s case, the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts! Our Kombucha is delicately cultured – some liken it to fermentation – for 30 days. During this period, essential nutrients form like active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols. All of these combine to create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality. Kombucha has been used for hundreds of years throughout the world as a daily health tonic. The culture resembles a light brown, tough, gelatinous disk—and because it’s a living, growing entity, it can regenerate and create new cultures with every batch.

Kombucha is not a supplement, drug, or medicine… it is simply a super healthy food that helps the body to find (or regain) its natural balance in the body, which promotes overall well-being. Just like regular exercise, Kombucha is something that supports a healthy lifestyle. When the body is healthier, its natural defenses are stronger. 

Anyway – the jury is still out on that. I’ll let you know how round two goes. After trying some Kombucha, it was time for dinner. Hubby and I finished the rest of the meatloaf… 

 

And shared a plate of tater tots. 

 

I don’t normally eat tater tots often, but I felt entitled after running a great race. However, I did end up making way too many though and Hubby had to finish them off and then sit with a very full stomach. :-/ 

After dinner I read, watched some football and headed to bed early because I was exhausted. I’m about 290 pages into my new book (The Historian) and am still loving it! I can’t wait to finish it and share a recap with you all. 

Have a great Monday everyone! 

 

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Good Weekend, Great Race!

Posted on January 24, 2010 | 15 comments

Good afternoon – sorry for the lack of posting this weekend. It’s been a busy weekend and I’ve just now had time to take a break. Well, actually I’m currently doing laundry as well as blogging. I definitely want to share a recap of our great NYRR Half Marathon today (YAY), but let me do a quick run-through of Friday and Saturday’s eats – I’ll just give the highlights.

On Friday morning I made Tina’s 3- minute breakfast cookie for the first time and it came out great! I substituted raisins with dried cranberries and used Truvia instead of brown sugar.

It was a really yummy breakfast and something new to break up the monotony.

Lunch was my usual salad (not going to list all the stuff), follow-up by a Chobani yogurt with granola. I’m not posting pics in the essence of time and so as not bore you. But I did enjoy my afternoon snack, which was a KIND bar in a new flavor.

Mango and Macadamia Nut was amazing!

After work I skipped my 3-mile training run for two reason: 1) I knew I’d be running more than 9 miles this weekend (which was the required long run) so I would be making up the mileage, and 2) I wanted to go pick up our race packets. When I got home, Hubby was busy making some venison meatloaf. Yup, venison – in case you missed it – check out this post which talks about my Hubby’s hunting hobby and why I support it. The dinner was amazing.

After dinner, we watched Casino, but I fell asleep about half-way through (it’s a lonng movie).

Saturday was a busy day, with cleaning in preparation for Lauren’s visit and cooking. I started the day off with another breakfast cookie.

I made it larger than before and kept me well-filled throughout the day. For lunch, I had a Chobani yogurt with Kashi cereal, a few pickles (I know – gross combo) and some Triscuits. I didn’t document my lunch.

Lauren arrived around 7:45 and we searched for parking until about 8:15. Then we came home and had some pre-race dinner.

For dinner, I tried making this recipe, (Chicken and Broccoli Mac-N-Cheese) from a site my friend Jess emailed me. I changed a few things up and didn’t buy the pre-packaged broccoli with cheese, but made my own instead. It came out okay, maybe a little more bland then I would have liked.

I may try making another recipe from the site another night though. They had some good ideas. After dinner we just hung out, drank lots of water, watched the SAGs and went to bed early. And now for the NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon Recap:

NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon

I had a kind of restless night of sleep and was not feeling so optimistic about the half marathon the next morning. But, we left the house around 7:15, met up with Katherine, and took a cab to the start. After hitting the porta-potties, we found our corrals and lined up. It was about 38-40 degrees outside, but it still felt chilly.

Finally, the race began and it took us a solid 3 minutes to reach the start. The course was essentially two full loops – starting around West 63rd street and finished at the 72nd Traverse. Exciting and interesting the course was not. But at least you knew exactly how much you had left.

Overall, Lauren and I did very well. We stayed together the whole time and definitely had some ups and downs. Both of us experienced a rough patch around mile 10, but we powered through. The hills in Central Park felt especially large and never-ending today, and even the slighter “rolling hills” were excruciating. But I am extremely proud of our times, here are our stats:

Mile 1 – 8:08
Mile 2 – 8:13
Mile 3 – 7:52
Mile 4 – 8:16
Mile 5 – 8:26
Mile 6 – 8:00
Mile 7 – 8:20
Mile 8 – 8:16
Mile 9 – 8:09
Mile 10 – 8:23
Mile 11 – 8:38
Mile 12 – 8:02
Mile 13 – 8:05
.1 (which was actually .31) – 2:19
Total of 13.31 miles in 1:49:14

As you can see, we ended up running way more than 13.1 – the reason was because it was nearly impossible to keep to the inside of the course, so we were constantly passing and running around the outer edge, so we were running more than we needed to. My Garmin would beep a solid few seconds before we would hit each mile marker.

But overall, despite the extra mileage and cold, we had a great race. Now I’m off to finish laundry, relax, eat more (I’ve already eaten a ton of good stuff …more to come on that tomorrow), and read my book.

Have a great Sunday everyone – and Lauren thanks for a G-REAT race! 🙂

15 Comments

Posted in Bloggers, NYRR, Races, Running, Uncategorized

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All Natural* With An Asterisk

Posted on January 20, 2010 | 16 comments

Good morning – Happy Hump Day already! I really do love short weeks. Except sometimes you have to pack a lot of work into those four days. Anyway – still nice.

I’m pretty tired today because I spent another late night with my book, The Historian. I’m only about 15o pages in (600+) pages, but it’s one of those books that I think about when I’m doing other activities and look forward to picking it up again. And then when I do, it feels like an old friend. I’m such a nerd, I know.

Anyhow, my day went by very quickly yesterday. Breakfast was oatmeal with apples, cinnamon and a bit of agave with a side of light cranberry juice mixed with orange juice.

The day was busy and before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I hadn’t packed anything and was craving veggies, so I grabbed a salad with romaine lettuce, raisins, dried cranberries, cheddar cheese, carrots and chickpeas.

Afternoon snacks were a clementine (two shown, but I only ate one) and Chobani yogurt with granola.

I literally flew to the gym after work because my marathon training plan called for a 5-mile run and I wanted to get there before it got packed. I tried to run as fast as possible because I really hate being one of those people that ties up a machine, but I ended up running 5 miles in 42 minutes. Not awful, but there definitely was one guy waiting for a treadmill for about 3 minutes when I was on and the guilt was building.

Do you adhere to the 30-minute rule at your gym (if you have one)? Will you break it if no one is waiting?

If no one is waiting, I feel slightly better about bending the rule a bit. Anyway, I jumped off and did some quick ab work and got the heck out of there. I’m not sure if I was thinking maybe the guy would tell on me and then the gym managers would come yell at me or what, but I wanted to leave fast.

I came home and was ravenous after banging out a quick five miles, so I set to work on making dinner. Hubby had purchased more chicken, so I decided to give in and use some of it. I looked at the label and was rather confused:

Where was my confusion you ask? Well, what are all the asterisks about? And when you have an asterisk, aren’t you supposed to look for the footnote? There were no footnotes here, but there sure were asterisks all over the place. *No artificial ingredients, minimally processed; No Hormones Added** (that one got a double)!

I took the label out and checked the back, but found nothing. And I went on the store’s website today, but couldn’t find any info about their “All Natural* fresh young chicken.” I’m going to keep looking. That label really angers me.

Anyway, I moved on despite the ambiguous label and made a stir-fry dinner with brown rice, All Natural* chicken (ha), carrots, onion, green pepper, broccoli and a little corn. I topped it with organic soy sauce.

After dinner, Hubby and I watched The Biggest Loser. It’s sad to say, but I didn’t once flip over to American Idol. Spoiler Alert: So, what do you think – was the Red Team Wife throwing the weigh in? I can’t decide,  but I’m kind of leaning toward maybe.

After BL and before I read my book into all hours of the night, we had a little Murphy photo shoot. Here are some of Murph’s best shots:

Apparently, Murphy does not like feet. Doesn’t he look huge in the last shot – he looks so long!

I hope you have great* (asterisk with no footnote, so you’ll have to just guess what I mean) Wednesday everyone!

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Easing Back Into Healthy Habits

Posted on January 19, 2010 | 14 comments

Good morning all. Happy Tuesday – back to work for many of us who enjoyed an extra day off yesterday. I don’t know about you, but I definitely enjoyed it and needed it.

I started the day yesterday with a breakfast of Kashi Autumn Wheat with almond milk and light cranberry juice. Please forgive my atrocious bowl.

For lunch I snacked on some Garlic Herb Triscuits (these can be a bit much if you get a really seasoned cracker). When Hubby went to the store a little while ago, they only had flavored Triscuits – so I gave these a shot. They weren’t too bad. I also had an apple with peanut butter, a big glass of water and some raisins.  

After lunch I finished up two loads of laundry and then decided it was time for a quick run. My marathon training plan only called for a 3-mile run, but I ended up doing almost 4 miles. Here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 8:10
Mile 2 – 8:30
Mile 3 – 8:51
Mile 4 – 8:13
Total of 3.97 miles in 33:46

After my run, Hubby came home from his trip upstate and I helped him unload the car. Chobani yogurt was on sale for 99 cents in Albany (whoohoo), so I had him stock up! Dinner was lazy – I ate more triscuits (not pictured) and had a few pickles and a yogurt with granola.

After dinner, I reluctantly turned on The Bachelor. I swore to my friend this weekend that I was done watching it and that I had only watched last week’s episode to see what the “big drama” was. But alas, Hubby and I wound up sitting through another two hours of the show. I thought Elizabeth was the prettiest on the show (Hubby called her “Megan Fox-esque,” but I agree that she was playing games with him. Bet she regrets that now.

Anyone else out there still watching The Bachelor?

There were definitely two girls I didn’t know at all – one of them was eliminated (the long dark hair), but who the heck is that short girl with dark hair (I think she was wearing a sparkly dress)? She keeps making it through and I never see her at all. She’ll probably win. I am glad that crazy Michelle is gone though. And wow – I can’t believe I’m still talking about this show.

Moving on…

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I had a ton of fun and am soo looking forward to Kelly and Jerry’s wedding in less than 2 weeks! I did eat and drink a bit too much, so it’s back to my training schedule and healthy eating for me this week and hopefully from here on out. Plus, I’m running the NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon on Sunday! I’m excited and nervous. One of my best friends is coming down to run it with me, so that should be fun!

How do you get back on track after a weekend of less-than-healthy living?

I’m kind of easing back into it – Monday wasn’t the healthiest of days as far as eating goes, but I did get in a run and I drank a good amount of water. Today will hopefully be much healthier though.

And lastly, here are a few interesting health stories:

Exercise protects and improves the aging brain

Mediterranean diet protects against stomach cancer

Hope you all have a healthy and happy Tuesday! Yay for short weeks.

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Saturday: Bachelorette and 9-Mile Run

Posted on January 16, 2010 | 4 comments

Good morning – happy Saturday! This going to be a quick post because I’m heading out to a bachelorette party for my friend Kelly at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut soon. I’m very excited!! It’s going to be such a blast.

I just got back from a 9+ run with Katherine in Central Park and despite the balmy 42 degree weather, it felt a little chilly while running. My nose was running so terribly. Here is our breakdown of the run:

Mile 1 – 9:56 (on our way to CP)
Mile 2 – 8:46
Mile 3 – 8:59
Mile 4 – 9:03
Mile 5 – 8:52
Mile 6 – 8:52
Mile 7 – 9:13
Mile 8 – 9:10
Mile 9 – 11:17 (on our way back from CP through the streets)
.21 – 9:57
Total of 9.21 miles in 1:26:18

This is actually more than my Marathon Training Plan called for for today – so that’s good – I’m right on track. Here’s yesterday’s recap:

For breakfast yesterday I had Kashi Autumn Harvest with almond milk and a side of cranberry and orange juice mixed.

Lunch was leftovers of Thursday night’s dinner and it was just as good.

My afternoon snacks were Chobani pineapple yogurt (my fave!) with granola.

And a handful of walnuts and raisins.

After work on Friday night I headed to the gym because my training plan called for a 5-mile “pace” run – meaning run it at the pace you would want to run at the marathon (for me that means to BQ). With my first marathon I usually took the night before a long run as a rest day, a light workout or cross training day. I decided to try and follow this new Higdon plan, but chose to run 4 miles instead of 5.

4 miles in 32:51

That was a pretty fast pace for me, averaging about 8:12 per mile, which is actually faster than what I would need in the marathon to qualify for Boston, but I was feeling good so I went with it. I must admit that running hard the night before a “long” run does not seem to work for me. I think I’m going to need to tweak Hal Higdon’s plan a bit to meet the needs of my body. I need more of a light, short run the night before a long run. I may move the “pace” runs toward the middle of the week.

If you’ve trained for any kind of race using a training plan developed by someone else, have you tweaked or changed it at all – how and why? Did it work out better for you?

After that I did some core work and some arm exercises with a 5-pound weight and headed home.

I decided to use up the remaining spinach gnocchi for dinner, since the package said to use within three days. They did not disappoint the second time around! Yum!

After dinner I also ate a handful of un-pictured chocolate morsels – they’ve been my obsession this week. Then I headed into read for a bit before bedtime (which was super early). I am totally into The Historian at this point and I’m only about 80 pages in, but I’m loving it!

That’s all for now folks – time to pack and get myself into party mode!! Have a great weekend everyone! 🙂

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Marathon Decision, Book Review…FRIDAY!

Posted on January 15, 2010 | 8 comments

Good morning all!  Happy Friday!!

So it’s time to announce my big Marathon Decision for 2010. Here it is:

I’ve decided to run the Pocono Mountain Run for Red Marathon on Sunday, May 16, 2010. I made my decision based on several factors and I thank everyone so much for all the feedback and suggestions yesterday. I tried to take everything into account. Here is why I’ve decided to run it:

  • I’ve got two half marathon races in the next few months and I plan to add a few more road races to the list, so I think this will help increase my speed and endurance.
  • I don’t enjoy training and doing long runs in the peak heat of summer (July and August), so hopefully I’ll feel great during my longs runs in March and April.
  • If I don’t qualify for Boston this May, I would still have time to try in the fall of 2010.   
  • We’re planning a trip to Ireland in the fall and I know that it would put a hitch in my fall training. I definitely wouldn’t have enough time to run while in Ireland since we’ll be on the go and sightseeing the entire time.
  • I feel confident that I can increase my speed significantly in the 18 weeks I have for training and have already outlined a training plan.

So there’s my reasoning, now here’s my training plan – I’ve already started!

View my Poconos Marathon Plan in PDF version – I know the image above it pretty terrible. I’m also going to be incorporating some hills, tempo runs and mile reps in the training runs outlined above – I just haven’t decided exactly where yet. I should note that I used Hal Higdon’s Intermediate Marathon Plan as a guide for my training plan.

I feel very relieved that my decision has been made and my training has started! No turning back now. Thanks again for sharing your opinions and thoughts!

And I welcome any suggestions, tips, hints for running faster that anyone has to offer! Do you have any advice to share with me?

Book Review

Finally, before I get into my eats, I have to let you know that I posted my book review for The Weight of Silence. Check it out! Now on to eats:

Yesterday’s breakfast was a honey wheat double fiber English muffin with peanut butter on one side and almond butter on the other, topped with banana. And of course, a side of light cranberry juice.

Lunch was some leftover spinach gnocchi – yummy yum – and some carrots.

My late afternoon snack was some black cherry Stonyfield yogurt with granola.

Dinner was kind of a mish mash. I cooked 4 baby red potatoes in olive oil and lemon juice for a bit, then added chopped up green pepper, onion and garlic and some butter. While that cooked, I microwaved three veggie sausage links. Then I added them to the mix when everything was just about ready. It was soo good – the lemon really gave it a kick.

Dessert was a few of these again…

After dinner I watched the new episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” and I have to say, I’m just not as into it as I used to be. I did watch part of the cross-over episode to “Private Practice”, but then I gave up and read more of my new book instead:

My friend Katie recommended this book , The Historian, after I finished the Twilight series and was on a vampire kick. However, I didn’t get around to reading it until now. And so far I am loving it. I was so into it on the train ride home last night that I almost missed my stop.

I’m so excited for this weekened! I’ve got my friend Kelly’s bachelorette party tomorrow at Foxwoods Casino in CT and I can’t wait! Do you have any fun plans for this weekend? I’m also going to work in 2 runs hopefully – the weather is supposed to pretty warm!

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend all!

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