Running in the Rain: Half Marathon and 20-Mile Run

Posted on April 25, 2010 | 22 comments

Happy Sunday all! I am going to make this a short and quick post since I’m sort of tired. Last night I attended the More-Fitness Magazine Half Marathon Pasta Party, where I met up with my cousin-in-law and a few of her friends. I’m usually not one to sign up for these parties and I was reminded of why last night. The food was pretty generic and unimpressive, but I didn’t go into it expecting a gourmet meal. Still, they could bring it up a notch next year. Although if I run the race next year, I will most certainly not be attending the pasta party, so it really doesn’t matter to me in the end.

Anyway – sorry for the tangent. It was good to catch up with my cousin a bit and talk about the upcoming race – and the terrible weather predicted. Everyone there seemed pretty optimistic that the rain would hold off, but I did not share their sentiments. My cousin actually brought down my light rain jacket with her – that’s how non-optimistic I was.

I stopped at the store on my way home from the pasta dinner and besides a bunch of healthy stuff, I also bought some Tostitos Hint of Lime chips – they are an addiction. So I snacked on a few of those before bed because the dinner hadn’t really filled me up.

I headed to bed around 10:00 p.m. and was up by 6:00 a.m. this morning (Sunday). I had my normal pre-run breakfast of an English muffin with peanut butter and a banana, as well as a granola bar and a big glass of water. I grabbed my Garmin as I headed out the door at 7:15.

I decided to catch a cab to the start since it was indeed RAINING when I left. And I’m not talking a sprinkle here and there. It was rain. As I tried to hail a cab, a girl in running gear came up right next to me. She asked if I wanted to share one to the start and I said heck yes! Apparently, she lives in the building right next to me – who knew?!

Made it to the start and decided to huddle under a tree until the very last minute in order to avoid the direct rain. I also noticed pretty quickly that my race bib had me placed in THE FIRST CORRAL!! What is that?!! My time on my bib said 7:49 as my expected pace and I did not think that would place me in the first section. Being the chicken that I am, I opted to line-up in the 2,000 corral, a few back from the start. We all huddled in the corrals for what seemed an inordinate amount of time and then finally we started.

And it was WET! This was a whole new kind of wet I’ve never in my life experienced. I was optimistic about the power of my waterproof rain jacket for the first 2 miles or so, but then slowly felt the wetness seeping in.

Oh oops – totally forgot to mention the BIGGEST bummer of the day…and no it wasn’t even the rain. My Garmin froze. Yup – totally froze at 7:04 a.m. apparently. I was pushing buttons like a crazy woman while lining up at the start, but finally just gave up and decided to wing it. After Googling the issue when I got home later, I learned I needed to hold the Start and Reset buttons down at the same time for about 10 seconds. I had tried holding them both down, but for only a few seconds. So this presented a HUGE problem. Yes, I wouldn’t be able to track my speed during the race, but I also needed to run extra after the race to get in my last 20+ run for training. I did a few mental calculations and planned out a route I thought might work.

So, back to the race. It began, it was raining hard, and I was Garmin-less. Sounds like a worst-case scenario right? Well yes, it was, but I also just decided to run whatever pace I felt comfortable with. The first few miles were really rough. My body wasn’t warmed up, but my clothes were getting soaked and it was making for a very uncomfortable run. Finally, by about mile five I was sufficiently warmed up and used to the rain (as used to it as one can get).

I made it around 1 loop and was even feeling pretty happy when the rain cleared a bit and it was only drizzling slightly. That was short-lived when it started raining hard again around mile 9 just as I was approaching the big hill on West side near 110 Street. Fun. Around this time, we also started passing the walkers, which meant I was basically running in the center of the drive the whole time – a.k.a. running more than required. Awesome.

But I’m making this sound horrible. Despite the rain, the cold, the lack of Garmin and the extra mileage, it was actually a good race for me. In fact, I PR-ed. Haha! My official finish time was 1:46:00!! That is about 3 minutes faster than my half marathon in January. Average pace was 8:05 minute mile and I came in 168 place overall. So maybe my bib number wasn’t all that far off?

Yeah – go figure, I ran my best in the worst of conditions. I can’t explain it.

So after I crossed the finish and marveled at the fact that they announced my name even without my racing bib on display (those sly NYRR officiators are so quick), I grabbed a gatorade and water and washed down a Gu I’d had in my pocket throughout the run. I paused for a moment and argued with myself about continuing the rest of my long run or calling it quits and heading home (I sooo wanted to go home). But guilt and fear won out (afraid I wouldn’t be prepared for the marathon) and I trudged on. I headed West out of the 72nd Transverse and then headed South again to do another loop. The funny part was that I was mixed in with runners and walkers still racing. This also served as incentive to keep running since I was being cheered on (I know I’m such a liar) and I figured that these other racers were going to be in the rain for the same amount of time as me, so if they could stand it – so could I.

I did another loop and then turned into the 72nd Transverse from the West side and headed North up the East side. I left the park around 85th and made a bee-line for home. Walking indoors out of the rain felt amazing – everything I’d dreamt it would be and more. I later used mapmyrun to determine how far I’d run and it was 21.3 miles! I was hoping to get to 22 this time around, but I will happily take 21.

Here are a few photos of my state after this wretched run:

See Hubby – look at my superlow Bib number!!

And my nasty socks and leg – those socks used to be white.

I literally stripped at the front door and immediately jumped in the shower. My legs were screaming for a good stretch, but I had to get rid of all the mud and muck first. After my quick shower I gave my legs what they were begging for and stretched really well – also including some rolling with my marathon stick.

Since then, I’ve snacked on this:

Chobani with granola

And some carrots, grape tomatoes, hummus, cheese and grilled chicken breast.

I also ate quite a few Hint of Lime Tostitos as well. And Hubby and I just finished watching The Blind Side and I loved it!! So cute.

Anyway, this has turned into a super long post. But I am very happy that my last 20+ run is finally done and I didn’t skimp out on it like I soooo wanted to! Yay for determination and perseverance despite ALL ODDS!

Hope you’ve had a great weekend. What was the best part of yours? Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

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Three Cheers for Friday!!

Posted on April 23, 2010 | 4 comments

Happy Friday! Thank goodness it’s finally here. I am very ready for the weekend! What are your weekend plans?

For me it’s squeezing in my 5-mile run tonight that I missed on Wednesday, pasta dinner with my cousin-in-law tomorrow night and the More Magazine Half Marathon and 20+ run on Sunday morning. And then my taper will begin!

As for yesterday, my day started out with a boring breakfast of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal.

My lunch was not too exciting either and the photos are absolutely mind-numbing, so I’m not posting them. I had a PB&J sandwich on wheat bread, a Chobani yogurt and an apple. See boring.

Weather.com toyed with me throughout the day – saying a thunderstorm was coming at varying times. Finally around 3:00 p.m. I said “screw it”, closed the website and told myself if I got rained on it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I wasn’t missing another run.

I flew home after work, as usual, and got ready in record time. I headed out to clear skies. Here are my stats from my run:

Mile 1 – 8:35
Mile 2 – 7:51
Mile 3 – 8:22
Mile 4 – 8:09
Mile 5 – 8:23
.14 – 1:15

Total mileage – 5.14 in 42:38. Average pace – 8:17 minute miles

The sky was definitely starting to get dark as I neared home, but I was doing a little ha-ha happy dance in my mind because I beat the rain and broke free from weather.com’s curse. Being a weatherman is such a cush gig.

After my run I cleaned a huge pile of dirty dishes and then made myself a quick dinner.

Soup with a side of carrots and grape tomatoes with dill hummus. This hummus was amazing and I will definitely be buying it again.

A little before 7:30 Hubby began readying a spot in front of the t.v. and preparing for some grand event. The NFL Draft of course. I forgot what a big deal it is for people every year. Did you watch the draft?

While Hubby hunkered down for some NFL excitement, I got pretty excited about this dessert…

Ohhh yum! I am making this again tonight. I have been snacking on some chocolate chips here and there when I need something sweet, but this was a grand decision. I just melted a handful of chocolate chips in the microwave for about a minute, mixed up the chocolate and drizzled it over top the strawberries. AMAZING!! I am actually craving this right now.

As of right now, weather.com says RAIN still for Sunday. It’s the only day on the forecast that has not changed in the slightest. Fantastic. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed that, like usual, the weathermen have no clue.

I think today I may also start seriously planning/looking into our trip to Ireland. Anyone have suggestions?!

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Weather.com Strikes Again!

Posted on April 22, 2010 | 8 comments

Good afternoon – I’m posting during my lunch today.  A morning post just did not happen. I’ve had kind of a stressful past two days, so I’m feeling a little grumpy and I know that’s not the best time to be posting on my blog, but what can ya do?

Anyhoo – for a quick recap of yesterday I’ll start off with my delicious oatmeal breakfast yumminess with banana and peanut butter.

Doesn’t that just look divine?

My workday was super busy yesterday, so I squeezed my lunch in kind of late in the day. I had the leftover chicken dish from dinner the night before. Yum!

Good lord I hate florescent lighting. Afternoon snacks, an unphotographed Chobani yogurt and a new flavor of KIND bar.

The cranberry almond was really good, but a little bit sticky.

Towards the end of the day, my work started to spiral out of control. I had a lot to work on and it needed to be done asap. I ended up getting out of work a little bit late and then was so upset when I walked outside and big fat raindrops landed on my head. I check weather.com every morning and the forecast was clear. If it even hints at a chance of rain I bring gym gear with me to work.

Weather.com totally screwed me yesterday. So I went home tired from work, stressed and then upset by the rain. Needless to say, I didn’t make it to the gym for any kind of run. GRR!

I was starving when I walked in the house, so I made a pre-dinner snack of Triscuits with melted cheese and then I spooned a little salsa on them. It’s kind of like eating nachos.

I also poured myself a glass of much-needed wine. After my pre-dinner snack, I made a big salad for dinner with romaine lettuce, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cheddar cheese, raisins and walnuts. I drizzled balsamic vinegar on-top.

Delish!

Oh but my weather.com struggles do not end there my friends. I happened to glance outside a little while ago and see that it looks eerily dark. Mind you, I checked weather.com this morning as well before leaving work, and then around 10:00 a.m. and my local forecast was all clear. Plus – do you think I learned my lesson and brought gym clothes just in case – Nope!

I just checked the website again and now there are thunderstorms forecasted for on and off between 3-6 and then 9:00 p.m. and on! How, why, what – that’s not fair!! Theoretically, I can try to squeeze my run in between 6-9, but I know in an hour it’s probably going to tell me torrential downpours for the whole night. Darn you weather.com – I am shaking my angry fist at you!!

Lastly – I’m running the More Magazine Half Marathon this Sunday and just guess what weather.com has to say about the forecast…You got it – RAIN!! Not even showers or drizzle – solid Rain! Should be fun. I was also planning on tacking on some extra mileage at the end for my last 20+ run – looks like it’s going to be a wet one. 😦

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The End of Mid-week 8 Milers!

Posted on April 21, 2010 | 10 comments

Sometimes it’s the little things that make me happy. Completing my first 20-mile run of this particular marathon training plan felt great, but for some reason, the fact that my mid-week 8 mile runs have come to an end made me ecstatic!

At this point in my training, an 8 mile run isn’t all that bad, but it’s the mid-week part that gets me. My schedule goes something like this: race out of work at 5 p.m. on the dot. Pray the trains aren’t slow or backed up. Race off the subway to our apartment. Change. Gulp down some water. Hit the bathroom. Try to head out by 6:00 p.m. Run my 8 mile run at a decent clip. Get home by 7:15 or so. Stretch, stretch, stretch, and drink some water. Hop in the shower. Get out and get dressed. Race to the kitchen to throw together some semblance of a dinner. Try to be done by 8:30 at the latest so that I can maybe relax for an hour before exhaustion strikes.

Phew, just writing that tired me out. I feel like my 8-mile run nights are kind of fast forwarded or played at super sonic speed. I often think of the warp speed mode in Space Balls…I’ve gone plaid. I try to squeeze everything in and get it all done at a decent hour. And then I collapse. So when I updated my mileage on my training plan last night and saw that it was the last mid-week 8 miler, I did a little happy dance. Next week, my highest mid-week mileage is 6 miles, which is very okay with me. 🙂

Do you ever feel like in your quest to fit it all in your time is super compressed or your rushing around like a mad woman?

Or maybe it’s just me and I do it to myself. I’m one of those people who gets upset if I don’t maintain or beat my commute time to work. That’s kind of sick right? I’m constantly early. For every job I’ve ever had I’ve been “the early girl.” At my first job, a co-worker once called me when his car broke down on the way to work and asked me to tell the boss once he got in. He said he called me because he knew I’d be the only person at the office already. My early-bird ways worked out great when I was getting paid by the hour, but at this point in my career it really doesn’t matter.   

Anyway, I have no food photos from yesterday since besides being on warp speed mode, I was apparently on totally forgetful mode as well. But here are my stats from my last mid-week 8 mile run!

Mile 1 – 9:09
Mile 2 – 7:52
Mile 3 – 8:27
Mile 4 – 8:04
Mile 5 – 7:56
Mile 6 – 7:44
Mile 7 – 8:09
Mile 8 – 9:59

Total mileage – 8:00 in 1:07:02. Average pace – 8:22 minute miles.

After my run I threw together a chicken, pasta and broccoli dish that also involved chicken broth, lemon juice, white wine, cheese and butter. It turned out pretty good and I will be enjoying some of those leftovers for lunch today.

I managed to catch the last 1 1/2 hours of Biggest Loser too. And I would like it noted that I became pretty peeved when I saw the new Yoplait Greek Yogurt plug. Sure, I can understand why Yoplait is jumping on the Greek yogurt bandwagon. I’m sure their sales have taken a hit as the Greek yogurt craze took off. But, if you’re going to enter a new market, at least DO IT RIGHT!! There are plenty of other Greek yogurt producers out there that are making natural products that taste amazing. Why would you create a brand new product that is less than the best? Why create a product with Milk Protein Concentrate (MPCs) and other unappealing and unnatural ingredients and try to sell it as being as good and as “healthy” as all the rest. Seems like cutting corners and producing it cheaply to me. And it seems like they put very little stock in consumers being able to tell the difference. They think consumers will see “Greek” in giant letters on the side and dump it in their cart.

I’ll pass thanks.

Sorry for that little rant. I think I gave Biggest Loser a little more credit than that. Their product placements are always a little out of control, but my recent taste-test and ingredient look-up of this new yogurt only fueled my annoyance with this plug. And I’m sure a lot of people out there will try it and like it ,and that is completely fine with me. I certainly don’t eat all natural and/or organic all the time, that is for sure. I’m just saying – why not at least try to make your new product as healthy as possible?  Oh if only I were a billionaire CEO. 🙂

Hope you all have a happy hump day!

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Caravan Dinner and 16 Handles

Posted on April 20, 2010 | 9 comments

Good morning all – happy Tuesday! I hope everyone’s Monday was good and all the Boston marathoners are recovering nicely. I was checking the progress of my 18-year-old cousin and this lovely lady and both did AWESOME! Congrats to them and everyone who ran it!

My Marathon Monday was good. As I mentioned yesterday, I was up super early to get in a quick 5-mile run. I made a yummy oatmeal and banana morning mash-up with some delicious brown sugar on top.

Then I headed to work  for the day…just a little bit tired.

What a boring eating and snacking day at work. Mid-morning snack was a granola bar and then lunch was a salad with romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, carrots, walnuts, raisins and chickpeas.

My afternoon snacks were an unphotographed apple and yogurt with Kashi Go Lean. And it was the yucky yogurt. I just couldn’t throw it out – it felt too wasteful. Plus, the pickens were slim in our fridge yesterday and beggars can’t be choosers right? So I sucked it up and at the Yoplait yucky yogurt.

It was loaded with cereal, which made it a little bit better.

After work I headed to the Lower East Side to meet up with my friend Katie for dinner. She suggested Caravan of Dreams, which is where I met up with a few bloggers and blog readers a little while back. I loved it then, so I happily agreed!

We decided that we wanted to share an appetizer and then split our entrees as well, we really wanted to try as much as possible. We started with the Classic Nachos and they were scrumptious!

For our main courses, we split the Shiitake Stir Fry and The Ecuador “live meal.”

They both looked delicious, but the stir fry was the only one that impressed us. The Ecuador was too much like a plain salad – there were hardly any noodles and hardly any of the dressing and pic de gallo. It was unimpressive to say the least. I wish we had ordered another of the main entrees.

I did enjoy the stir fry a lot. However, after our meal I was craving something sweet. Katie had just mentioned a frozen yogurt place called 16 Handles, which was in the neighborhood, so I decided I needed to try it.

All I can say is YUM!! The yogurt at 16 Handles was delicious!! I tried to control myself, but you get to make your own, so it’s kind of tough. Here was my creation:

Yeah, there was a lot going on in there. The frozen yogurt in my bowl is vanilla (boring), NY Cheesecake (divine) and Dulce de Leche (YUMMM). Then I topped my three flavors with a few cookie dough bites (love em), granola and shredded coconut. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!! It ended up coming to about $4, which isn’t so bad. I’ve definitely spent more a Pinkberry.

Have you ever tried 16 Handles?

I certainly do recommend.

However, one thing got me thinking as we were leaving. I noticed a group of three high-schoolers with their yogurt containers piled high and deep with everything you can imagine. I looked at their obscenely large yogurts and then instinctively I looked at them to see what kind of health they appeared to be in. (I couldn’t help it) Two out of the three were extremely overweight. And for some reason this made me really uneasy. I immediately thought of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, which I’ve been watching lately, and about all the obese kids in high school these days. These girls were probably about consume at least 500-calorie yogurts (if not more, I’m so bad at estimating) and were likely thinking that because it’s “frozen yogurt” and they saw signs posted that said “low-fat” they were being healthy.  Or maybe they just didn’t care.

And it’s certainly not my place to judge anyone, I just know that if/when I have kids they will learn the value of their food — what it gives you in terms of nutrition and energy and how to enjoy desserts and treats in moderation. To be fair, I wasn’t much of a moderation-kid. I wanted candy, fruit rollups, Little Debbie dessert cakes – you name it and I wanted to eat it. But my mom also instilled in me the need to have three nutritious square meals a day. So maybe that helped tame my snacking a bit. That and the fact that I was always on the go – riding bikes, playing tag, climbing trees, building forts. I didn’t really discover video games until junior high and even then, I wasn’t a huge fan. So I burned a lot of the extra calories I ate through cardio activities.

Sorry for this long tangent. The yogurt place just seemed to be a perfect example of how we got to where we are today in terms of childhood obesity.

For all you mothers out there – what are some of your techniques and tips to teach your kids about nutritious foods? And do they seem to get it, and/or are they interested?

Alright all – have a good Tuesday!

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No Time for Slacking!

Posted on April 19, 2010 | 12 comments

Good morning all – hope your Monday started off well! I’ve been such a poor blogger on the weekends as of late. But for some reason, I’ve really been cherishing the chance to just unplug and relax a bit. It might be because on the exercise and training side of things I am not unplugged or relaxed at all – far from it.

Before I get into my weekend recap, I want to say good luck to all those Boston Marathon runners! I can only imagine the adrenaline and nerves they’ve got going on right now. Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn a bit. Hopefully someday I’ll be running that race as a qualified runner.

Which leads me to this past weekend. I didn’t take many food pics, but I did get in some running (although a bit reluctantly).

On Friday after work I was plain exhausted and running was the furthest thing from my mind. I had planned to do a short 4-5 miles, but instead I went home, relaxed and was asleep by 10:30 p.m. Exhaustion.

Saturday morning I was up and out for my run around 9:00 a.m. – I wee bit later than usual. But I only had 12 miles on the agenda, so my late start wasn’t a big deal. I started off and was trying to decide how fast to run when it just clicked all of a sudden that this was no time for slacking! I needed to be working hard! Here are my stats from that run:

Mile 1 – 9:25
Mile 2 – 6:55 (this is clearly wrong)
Mile 3 – 8:32 (that seems like a more accurate pace to me)
Mile 4 – 7:57
Mile 5 – 8:05
Mile 6 – 8:23
Mile 7 – 7:56
Mile 8 – 8:08
Mile 9 – 7:59
Mile 10 – 8:01
Mile 11 – 8:28
Mile 12 – 8:19
.43 – 3:26

Total mileage – 12.43 miles in 1:41:40. Average pace was 8:10 minute miles.

I felt pretty good after this run. My second mile was definitely a glitch by Garmin because I physically Can NOT run at that speed. But anyway – I felt better after getting that run done.

The rest of Saturday was good, if perhaps a bit lazy. We may have even ordered in dinner. 🙂

On Sunday, Hubby and I got up late – I think almost 10:00 a.m. for me. We chilled a bit and then set to work on cleaning the apartment. It somehow manages to get dirty really quickly. I blame it on the dirty city we live in.

How often do you do a general overhaul cleaning of your place?

As we neared the end of our cleaning, I debated whether I should go for a run. I still had about 4.5 miles I was supposed to get in for training to meet mile 35 mile quota for the week. I hemmed and I hawed, and then I finally told myself to shut up and GO because…yup – you guessed it:  It’s no time to be slacking! I gave myself a good kick in the pants, reminded myself that taking it easy wasn’t going to get me any closer to Boston in 2011. So I threw on my running gear and headed out. Here are my stats from that run:

Mile 1 – 8:07
Mile 2 – 8:04
Mile 3 – 8:10
Mile 4 – 7:51
.56 – 4:52

Total mileage – 4.56 miles in 37:06. Average pace – 8:08 minute miles

As you may imagine, I felt very happy after getting this run done.

How do you motivate yourself when your slacker side starts creeping in?

I also kept reminding myself all weekend, every time I thought about bailing on a run, that some really great runners would be running the Boston Marathon in two days or the very next day. That was some good motivation.

And, just when you thought at my slacking ways were gone. We come to Monday morning. I’m having dinner with a friend tonight and I really wanted to get my run in this morning. But let’s call a spade a spade – I am NOT a morning runner. I even emailed two running buddies last week kind of begging them to run with me this morning so I wouldn’t have an out. Alas, they were both busy. So…did I go?

.
.
.

Sure did!! I dragged myself out of bed at 5:10 a.m. for a solo run (and this after Murphy woke me up at midnight, 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.). Here are my stats from my morning run:

Mile 1 – 8:58
Mile 2 – 8:23
Mile 3 – 8:48
Mile 4 – 8:56
Mile 5 – 8:41

Total mileage – 5.02 in 44:00. Average pace – 8:46 minute miles.  

It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t particularly fun, but it is done! And I’m hoping that by powering through these recent runs, I’ve taught my slacker alter ego a lesson and will be able to keep her at bay until May 16!!

Have a great Marathon Monday all!

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The Furminator and Zombies…Sounds Scary

Posted on April 15, 2010 | 12 comments

Yay it’s Thursday! This week is almost over. I was supposed to get up and run this morning before work, since we have a happy hour planned for after work, but it just did not happen. Maybe I need to take a rest day.

My hump day yesterday was busy, but good. Breakfast started out with a bowl of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with skim milk and strawberries, and a side of light cranberry juice.

My mid-morning snack was four clementines. They did not keep me satisfied for long. For lunch I had some burrito bowl leftovers – so good.

My afternoon snacks included another non-Chobani yogurt, but one which was much more satisfying and truly “all natural.”

I give Brown Cow a very good rating. It was tasty, but maybe not as thick and creamy as Chobani. But still a winner in my book and way better than Yoplait. Ingredients in this yogurt: Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk. Contains Five Live Active Cultures: S.Thermophilus, L.Bulgaricus, L.Acidophilus, Bifidus And L.Casei.

Much better. I wish I’d bought more of this brand and less of Yoplait.

My late afternoon snack was a peanut butter and jelly Larabar – fuel for some running.

After work I headed home and reluctantly put on my running gear. I was still feeling a little nervous after my IT band pain on Tuesday. Would a 5-mile run help or hurt?

I headed to the East River promenade and did a somewhat easy run.

Mile 1 – 8:34
Mile 2 – 8:29
Mile 3 – 8:37
Mile 4 – 8:38
Mile 5 – 8:32
.28 – 2:21

Total mileage – 5.28 miles in 45:13. Average pace – 8:34 minute miles.

I actually wish I had slowed it down even more – maybe to 9:00 minute miles. It’s just so hard for me when I’m running around other people. I don’t like to follow too close behind another runner, or have another runner on my heels, so I tend to speed up rather than slow down.

I felt a few twinges in my hip area here and there while running, but didn’t feel too bad after my run. I stretched again, but not nearly as much as I did on Tuesday night and I think that was a problem. I did wake up with a very dull and minor pain in my hip/leg. I need to stretch like crazy from now on. Like I said, today is going to be a full rest day for me and then we’ll see if I work in a run tomorrow or just hold off till my 12 miler on Saturday.   

After my run, I made a very quick and easy dinner – a fried egg with cheese on an Arnold Thin Sandwich with carrots and hummus. BTW – Hubby says that I am obsessed with fried eggs now that I know how to make them…and I kind of am. 🙂

Loving that dill-flavored hummus too.

Then I made a small dessert:

I actually couldn’t eat all of the peanut butter and chocolate chips for some reason – maybe too full or I just wasn’t in the mood for it.

Hubby and I also watched “Zombieland” last night. I think we both approached the movie with less than high expectations and me with some trepidation. But despite a lot of blood and guts in the beginning, it really wasn’t half bad. It was very funny in some parts and I loved all of the actors in it. It was short and over before I knew it. I would definitely say to give this movie a chance, it’s unexpected entertainment.

More unexpected entertainment is the book I’m reading: The Year of Living Biblically. I think people see me reading this on the subway and think I’m a big Jesus worshipper or a little bit crazy (the cover is kind of crazy looking), but I promise you, this book is not trying to convert anyone or anything like that. It is truly hysterical. I’m moving through it pretty quickly, so hopefully I’ll have a full review soon.  

And since my parents pointed out that their grandkitty Mr. Murphy hasn’t been featured on my blog lately, this little shot is for them:

He was just chillin – hanging out with his Daddy and obviously having a good time. Doesn’t his fur look particularly shiny and clean? Why, you ask? Cuz we’ve been furminating him all the time. That’ right, we bought a product called “The Furminator” and it’s pretty good. It’s supposedly removes hair from your pet’s undercoat as well as top coat. When I use this thing on him giant globs of hair come off. And he’s gotten better about tolerating it. We bought one for my parents to use on their cats and the one cat absolutely LOVES it. If you have pets (cats or dogs) that shed, you should check this thing out. The demos on the website are pretty incredible. Do you brush your pets? Do they like it? Like I said, Murphy usually tolerates it for a while, but I think he’s kind of getting used to the Furminator.

That’s all for now folks – hope you have a good Thursday.

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Yucky Yogurt and IT Band Issues

Posted on April 14, 2010 | 15 comments

Good morning. Happy Hump Day. My week seems to be moving by slowly. I am very much looking forward to the weekend and possibly even sleeping in on Sunday!

But first, my Tuesday recap. For breakfast I had some delicious oatmeal with banana in an almost-bare peanut butter jar. Yay for oats in a jar!!

Early morning snack was a granola bar and then lunch could not come soon enough. I was so hungry. I had sliced chicken breast with two slices of american cheese and mustard on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. And three pickles on the side. These were the leftover pickles from last week’s jar-breaking in the fridge catastrophe, so I figured it was time to eat them.

For my first afternoon snack I tried Yoplait’s new Greek yogurt. Apparently, there was a raid on Price Chopper in Whitesboro this weekend and all the thieves stole was Chobani yogurt. Seriously, the shelves were absolutely bare! So, I tried to make do with a few other kinds of Greek yogurt, Yoplait being one of them. I added some Kashi Go Lean cereal to this yogurt and gave it a whirl:

Decision: This yogurt was less than stellar. It is not nearly as thick and creamy as Chobani and it had kind of a weird taste. Not only that, but this yogurt is not all natural. The ingredients include: CULTURED PASTEURIZED GRADE A NONFAT MILK, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SUGAR, STRAWBERRY PUREE, KOSHER GELATIN, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, COLORED WITH BEET JUICE CONCENTRATE, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, , VITAMIN A ACETATE, VITAMIN D3.

So all the ingredients highlighted in red made me suspicious. For the first one: milk protein concentrate, I found this info almost immediately:

“Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) sounds OK, but how would it look if we saw the word “glue” on our food and beverage labels? MPC is legal for glue and for industrial uses, but it has never been approved for human consumption. Why then does the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permit MPC use in any food or beverage without first having this unapproved ingredient tested for safety and nutrition as required by law under federal “Generally Regarded As Safe”(GRAS) status?” from www.farmdefenders.org.

Yuck – did I really eat that?! I dug a little deeper and found that  New York Senator Chuck Schumer introduced a bill back in 2009 that would levy higher tariffs on imports of  MPCs. The dried dairy product is used in many processed foods in the United States because it’s cheaper than domestically-produced dried milk powder.

Bleck!!

Next on the list: Kosher Gelatin – sounds yummy doesn’t it? Well, Kosher gelatin can be made from fish bones, beef, Japanese insinglass, agar agar, carrageenan, and Irish moss, according to The Vegetarian Resource Group. Double ewww and gag!!

I’m a little rusty in the periodic tables, so I googled Calcium Chloride next and Wikipedia told me this:

Calcium chloride, CaCl2, is a salt and the compound of calcium and chlorine. It behaves as a typical ionic halide, and is solid at room temperature. It has several common applications such as brine for refrigeration plants, ice and dust control on roads, and in concrete. The anhydrous salt is also widely used as a desiccant, where it will absorb so much water that it will eventually dissolve in its own crystal lattice water. It can be produced directly from limestone, but large amounts are also produced as a by-product of the Solvay process.”

Oh yum – this yogurt is really sounding tasty now, right? Widely used as a desiccant – delish!

So next is Vitamin A Acetate. I had a hard time finding info on this vitamin additive. My searches kept bringing up facial beauty products and information about retinol. I’m going to continue searching, but in the meantime, maybe I should be rubbing the yogurt on my face instead of eating it?

Anyway – I bought one more container of this yogurt and part of me doesn’t even want to eat it, but I also don’t want to waste food either. Tough call.

After work I set out for my 8 mile run, fueled by all the really great and inspiring comments posted yesterday (thanks all – you’re the best!). Everything was going really well until about 3 miles in when my left side thigh area really started hurting. I trudged on and finished my 8 miles, but the pain in my leg was searing from my butt all through my upper thigh afterwards. Here are my stats from the run:

Mile 1 – 9:14
Mile 2 – 7:58
Mile 3 – 8:30
Mile 4 – 8:26
Mile 5 – 8:02
Mile 6 – 7:55
Mile 7 – 7:52
Mile 8 – 8:50

Total mileage 8.01 miles in 1:06:43. Average pace – 8:19 minute mile.

I was definitely pushing myself a little bit harder than I probably should have, especially after my 20-mile run on Saturday. But I so wanted to prove to myself that I could run harder without any issues.

I guess that was not true last night. When I got home, I tried to stretch every way possible to help with the pain and then finally it dawned on me that perhaps this was IT band related. I’ve heard so, so many runners mentioning IT band pain, I needed to check it out.

And all my searching told me that it likely was related to my IT band. I wasn’t experiencing any knee pain, but the pain from my butt throughout my upper thigh sounded like one of the symptoms of an IT band issue. I then searched for many different stretches and happened upon Megan’s post about her IT band stretches (including awesome how-to photos). So I spent a solid 20-3o minutes throughout the night doing her stretches. Hubby even turned to me later in the evening and told me all I’d been doing since I got home was stretching. Darn right!!

But it must have been IT band related and the stretching worked because my leg feels about 80% better today. I got out of bed very cautiously, waiting for the pain to hit, but it was gone! Hurray. At least now I know the cause and how to stretch it. Plus, I’ve decided to take tonight’s and tomorrow’s runs REALLY slow. Seriously, I am going to force myself.

Have you ever dealt with IT Band issues? Did they ever go away completely or do you just work to keep them under control and at bay as much as possible?

After my run I made us a yummy dinner of chicken, rice, lettuce, a little cheese and salsa in a bowl. I call this dinner a mini “burrito bowl” and it was totally satisfying.

I swear there is some chicken and rice in there….

After dinner I stretched away, vacuumed up gobs of Murphy hair and watched The Biggest Loser. Does anyone else feel like it’s time for Sam to go home? I like the guy and all, but I don’t think he needs to be there anymore. He is totally motivated and has got this – he can do it at home.

So that was my night. Hope you had a nice day yesterday and that Hump Day flies by for you!!

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Dealing with Doubts

Posted on April 13, 2010 | 19 comments

Good morning all. How is your Tuesday going? So far mine is okay. I went to bed at a decent hour last night, so I was able to catch up on some of my sleep. However, Mr. Murphy did try to get me up at 5:00 a.m. this morning, which was not appreciated. I really hate when he decides he wants some attention bright and early in the morning.

Did everyone make it through their Monday okay? Mine was a little tough because I was so exhausted. I started off the day with an easy breakfast because I had zero motivation – Kashi Heart to Heart cereal with almond milk and cranberry juice.

It wasn’t a thrilling breakfast, but it was all I could manage. I trudged through the day still feeling a little bit sore from my 20 mile run on Saturday. I didn’t even change out of my sneakers once I got to work.

Lunch was also less than exciting. It was some Triscuits with Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese and a small bag of carrots.

My afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean Cereal and an unphotographed apple.

As the work day came to a close I actually started dreading my run for that evening. I was contemplating moving my 8 mile run up to last night because there was a threat of rain on the radar, but once I got home and changed I knew that 5 miles was going to be my max.

I set out for a run along the East River and hoped my lingering soreness wouldn’t make things too difficult. After a few minutes my legs actually started feeling better – maybe I was working some of the residual tightness out. Here are my stats from the run:

Mile 1 – 8:23
Mile 2 – 8:09
Mile 3 – 8:11
Mile 4 – 8:01
Mile 5 – 8:11

Total mileage – 5.05 miles in 41:20. Average pace was 8:11 minute miles.

I’m glad I forced myself to get out there. I was really thinking about taking another rest day. Hopefully today I can will myself out for my 8 mile run. For some reason, 8-mile mid-week runs have been sounding so daunting as of late. But the truth is, my marathon training schedule isn’t half as intense as some other runners I follow. My highest weekly mileage of my training is scheduled for next week and it’s only 45 miles. I follow this runner, who is tapering now and has 50 miles as part of her taper plan!! Or this runner who crushes long runs left and right, even when she’s NOT training for a marathon.

It leads me to question if I’m doing or have done enough to help push me toward a BQ. I know that each runner is different and that for me, running really high mileage would put a lot of strain on my body (not mention being able to find the time). I’m running more miles this time around than I did for my first marathon training – that is for sure. But I’m nowhere near an average of 55-70 miles a week, like other runners who have qualified for Boston.  

Plus, I was chatting with one of Hubby’s bestfriends this weekend and he told me he has a few friends who participate in triathalons and couldn’t qualify for Boston. Eeek – what makes me think I can come even close to qualify if these tough and toned athletes couldn’t do it?!

As you can tell, I’m having some doubts and starting to get pretty nervous. How do you cope with doubts/nerves about upcoming races or goals you’ve set?

After my run I rolled my legs out a bit with my marathon stick and it felt AMAZING!! Then I made us an easy dinner of pork chops with a side salad on the George Foreman.

A little A-1 sauce on the side. BTW – I love A-1. I could put it on anything, much like ketchup. Mmm soo good!

Then for dessert I ate a pusty.

I’m pretty sure this is an upstate NY dessert. Hubby’s mom picked up some pusties while we were there this weekend and sent two home with us. It’s basically a small custard pie with various fillings. Hubby and I both love the vanilla-filled pusties. I think the name “pusty” sounds kind of weird, but they are really delicious.

Exhaustion began to take over shortly after dinner. I made it until around 9:45 and then called it quits.

I hope you all have a nice Tuesday – hopefully my 8 miler tonight isn’t too painful. Have a good one!

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20 Miles and a Busy Weekend

Posted on April 12, 2010 | 14 comments

Good morning all! Hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine went by so fast I can hardly recall all we did…but it was a lot. We were all over the place and I barely even saw my Hubby!

Friday night we headed upstate around 7 p.m. and got to my parent’s house by about 10 p.m. We ate some grub (and I may have snacked on some cake) and then I headed to bed since I had my first 20 mile run planned for bright and early Saturday morning. I was pumped because I would have two friends with me for the first 5 miles or so.  Initially, I was supposed to have three friends with me, but one texted on Friday to cancel because she has the flu. So I headed to bed and slept TERRIBLY – nerves I think.

20 Miles!

I was up around 6:45 and began my pre-run ritual. Around 7:00 I received a text from one friend telling me she was too tired and was going to have to skip our run. And then there were two. I finished getting ready and tried texting my last remaining running friend to confirm if she was still game. I texted and called to no avail.

So I began mapping out some potential runs to do on my own just as my last friend showed up at my house. She was supposed to be picking me and driving us to a nearby park to meet our other friend. Turns out she just got back from a trip, didn’t feel well and had lost her phone, so she didn’t get any of my messages. She drove over to tell me that she wouldn’t be able to run.

Sadness!! It finally dawned on me that I would indeed be running my full 20 miles all alone. A little tremor of fear ran through me, but I decided there was no turning back. I gathered my gear, strapped my water belt to my waist and headed out alone. (My mom was too cute – I think she was a little nervous about me going it alone and she told me that she wished she was a runner so she could run part of it with me.)

So for this 20 mile run I had a few things working against me: it was crazy windy and colder than I expected, I was all alone for the whole thing, I didn’t have my ipod, and I mapped a pretty intense route.

I was more than a little nervous starting out. But then I reminded myself that for this long run I wasn’t running part of it as a race, so I could set whatever speed I wanted, and I had just done 18 miles, so really it shouldn’t be too much harder. Right…18 to 20 is easy – haha!

Miraculously, the entire run went pretty smoothly. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for exhaustion to kick in, but I stayed strong. And let me tell you, there were some pretty insane hills in this run. Here are my stats from the whole thing:

Mile 1 – 8:53
Mile 2 – 8:31
Mile 3 – 8:09
Mile 4 – 10:01 (biggest, steepest, scariest hill of my life)
Mile 5 – 9:08
Mile 6 – 9:00
Mile 7 – 8:43
Mile 8 – 8:49
Mile 9 – 9:09
Mile 10 – 9:10
Mile 11 – 9:02
Mile 12 – 9:08
Mile 13 – 8:52
Mile 14 – 8:40
Mile 15 – 8:54
Mile 16 – 8:33
Mile 17 – 9:37 (hills, hills and more hills)
Mile 18 – 9:48 (and more hills)
Mile 19 – 8:57
Mile 20 – 8:36
.36 – 3:07

Total mileage – 20.36 in 3:02:58. Average page – 8:59 minute miles

And my 20 miler was done! It wasn’t my fastest long run, but I think given the difficulty of this course, I did okay. I made it particularly tough and hill-ridden because I know the Poconos Run for Red Marathon has a bunch of hills, so I need my body to be prepared. Plus, my last long run 21-22 miles next weekend (April 25) will be done primarily in Central Park, which has some hills, but not too many. So yes, in short I tortured myself during this long run in order to be extra ready for my marathon.

All that being said, I was surprised at how decent I felt throughout this run. My waterbelt water supply was more than adequate (I think because it was a lot cooler, so the heat wasn’t taking its toll) and I took one Gu packet between miles 14-15 and it did its job.

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by a long run? Maybe you expected it to be tough or you felt lackluster when you began, but great by the finish?

I finished up my run back at my parent’s house and tried to stretch as much as possible. I didn’t have my marathon stick with me, so I was a little sad about that. Oh and I forgot to mention that around mile 5-6 of my run a small skunk ran right across my path. It was a scary moment because I know that healthy skunks typically don’t come out during the day. So I thought this skunk was sick and was probably looking for someone to spray. I stopped dead in my tracks and waited for him to cross the road and then fly by him as fast as possible. Skunk spraying averted!

The rest of my Saturday was crazy busy – no napping after this long run. I ran errands with my mom, then headed to my friend’s house for dinner and finally got back home and to bed around 11 p.m.

Sunday was another busy one. We got up early and headed to Utica for the baptism of Hubby’s best friend’s adorable little daughter. Hubby is actually the Godfather of little Audrey. She was very good throughout the whole baptism – and she’s absolutely gorgeous!

Side note – sorry about the pic-less post, I’ve barely had time to breathe, let alone upload pics.

After the baptism we went to the after-party for a bit and grabbed some food. We got on the road to head back to NYC around 6:30 p.m. – much later than I would have liked. 😦 That meant we got home late, I went to bed late and I’m super exhausted today. Blah!

A very good, but busy weekend. I know that my posts have been very running-centric lately. A few books have made it in here and there, but food has definitely taken a back-seat to running-oriented topics. I think that once I start to taper I might be able to focus more on food, or even just be less running-crazed in my posts. I’m not sure if this happens to other people when they train, but running seems to take over my time, body and my brain. Has this happened to you?

I do want to mention the new book I’m reading though because it has made me laugh out loud MANY times already and I’m only on page 75: The Year of Living Biblically. Hysterical!

Anyway – enough rambling for today. Have a good Monday all!

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