Tag Archives: heat

A Tough Ten Miles…in 80+ Degrees

Posted on July 23, 2011 | 3 comments

Holy hotness! I was up this morning at 6:30 and really wanted to make it out of the house for a run by 7 a.m., but could not get myself moving. I drank quite a bit of water and had some coffee, along with a bowl of oatmeal before I left. I knew it was probably going to be a tough run…


That’s a completely fake smile – I was really dreading the run.

But I made it out and headed to Central Park. I knew that there was a long training run going on and was excited that there would be other crazy people out running in the heat. That always makes me feel better and less strange. And indeed, there were a lot of people.

I decided to run between 8-10 miles, based on how I was feeling. About 3 miles into it, I sensed that 8 miles would be most likely. After I got past Harlem Hill, I started to see the NYRR water stops. Ohh how tempting they looked. I watched as runners around me darted to the table, but my guilt won out and I kept on trucking because I hadn’t signed up for the run and felt bad stealing water. Plus, I wasn’t parched yet.

However, by mile 7, I was pretty darn thirsty and I decided to just do it. I grabbed a cup and slinked away with an all too obvious suspicious look on my face. But it was just what I needed. I had finished the Central Park loop and felt okay, so I decided to run the Reservoir loop. Here are my splits…

I was completely happy with my splits and average pace. It was super hot by the time I got home and I was dripping with sweat. I refueled with some Gatorade and a banana with peanut butter.

The rest of today has been spent eating, drinking more coffee, cleaning, doing some laundry, standing in front of the air conditioner, and perhaps there was a little nap in there as well (and maybe watching two Sex and the City episodes).

Plans for tonight include a trip to Hoboken with one of my current co-workers to get together with one of our previous co-workers. I am hoping (unrealistically) that maybe it will cool down slightly.

Hope you all are having a good weekend – stay cool!

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I’m Still Here & a Restaurant Review!

Posted on July 15, 2010 | 3 comments

I swear – I haven’t disappeared. I’ve just been really busy. The past two days were spent in a Leadership Development Class I was selected for about a month ago. They were full day classes about Communicating Up, Down and Across an Organization. It was taught by someone from the American Management Association and it was a really great class. However, since it was all day on Tuesday and Wednesday, I came into work early both days and stayed a little late to get things done, so blogging fell to the bottom of my list.

So anyway – I’m here and trying to catch up on quite a few blogs. But I also promised you a restaurant review! Last Wednesday, my friend Katie and I went to a little restaurant in the East Village.

Tsampa
212 E. 9th St., New York, NY 10003

We arrived at Tsampa fairy early (we’re the early-bird people hehe) and could very well have been the only people in the place. This Tibetan restaurant is conveniently (for me) located off the 6 line and I got off at Astor Place.

If you recall, last week in NYC was pretty sweltering. Wednesday was a really tough day and it didn’t seem like Tsampa’s air conditioning was up to par. As we walked inside, we noticed it was a little cooler, but not too much. We tried not to dwell on the heat as we were shown to our table in the front corner.

We were both ravenous, so we set to work on choosing an appetizer to hold us over. We ordered two 1) Khampa Momo With Chicken and Vegetables – which were dumplings and 2) Tibetan Salad Shredded Cabbage, Carrots, Greens, Cucumber with Sesame Vinaigrette.

one dumpling left


Both appetizers were delicious!

We also decided to try one of their “signature” drinks, which I can’t remember the name of, but looked a lot better than it tasted.

To me, this sort of tasted like soured milk. It looked so refreshing and milkshake-like, but it was not. We were very glad we decided to share this drink and not each get one.

For my entrée, I ordered one of the specials which was made with chicken, rice, cabbage, carrots, leafy greens and spices.


It was sooo good!! And it was really filling as well. I wish it was on the menu all the time.

Overall, our meal was delicious and super cheap. The NY Magazine review of this restaurant also states that all their chicken is free-range. While we both chose chicken dishes, there are a TON of vegetarian options. I would say more veg options than meat dishes actually.

All in all, I think we found a great little place to come back to for healthy, cheap and delicious food!

So that’s all for me today folks. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I hope you all have had a good week. I squeezed in a nice 5 mile run on Tuesday night and am going to try to run outside tonight. I’ve got a 4 mile race planned for Saturday morning and I’m hoping it’s not too hot, although the forecast is showing high temps. 😦 I know I shouldn’t complain about the warm summer weather, but sometimes it just makes running feel so awful!

Have a great Thursday all!!

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Posted in Restaurants, Reviews, Running, Uncategorized

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I Admit it…I’m a Planner

Posted on July 7, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning all. Happy Hump Day! Except it really only feels like Tuesday since we had Monday off. Don’t ya love that?

Yesterday wasn’t as rough as I thought it would be. Anything that technically feels like Monday is never fun, but the day went by pretty fast for me. Breakfast was boring cereal – no pic.

In the afternoon, I went out into the sweltering heat to grab some lunch.

You know – my usual salad. The salad place happened to be particularly busy yesterday and my regular salad guy was trying to move quick. So he literally just started throwing all my items in without me even asking. I noticed several people giving me strange looks and then finally the guy next to me said “Don’t worry – he does the same for me too. He knows my usual. It’s kind of nice and it impresses the tourists.” Haha. It was pretty funny.

Do you have staple meals or items that you consistently eat?

For some reason, I have always been this way when it comes to my lunch salad. At my last job, my co-workers wanted to buy me my salad as a surprise for my birthday, so they actually went in with a picture of me, showed it to the salad guy and he knew exactly who I was and what I wanted immediately. Surprisingly, I never feel like I get in a salad rut either. I only eat it once or twice a week at max – so it doesn’t seem to get old.

Sorry for that random tangent. I just thought it was hysterical.

After work yesterday, I decided to head to the gym for a short run. The heat was out of control and I knew running outside would be brutal. I did a quick 3 miles in 26:14 and then finished up with some ab and arm work. I was just not feeling like working out yesterday.

Dinner last night was back to the basics – pork chops and a massive side salad.

After dinner, I spent a little time working on some of our Ireland itinerary. We are all set for Dublin and Galway. Slowly making some progress. And yes, I’m booking all of our accommodations ahead of time because I’m just not the girl that can go without having everything set. I’d love to be that spontaneous and free, but that’s just not me. I’m a planner and I wouldn’t feel comfortable if I didn’t have it all squared away.

Are you a planner or do you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants?

Oh and just for fun, here is one of the few pics that was actually taken this weekend.

Yup – that’s Hubby and me on a four-wheeler! My mom grew up on a farm (a real one with cows, chickens, vegetables and all that), and we go up there once or twice a year to visit with our family in that area. In case you didn’t know, the easiest form of transportation on a farm is by four-wheeler. I grew up riding on them with my older cousins, so this was like a little blast from the past…and a lot of fun! 🙂

Ok all – have a Happy Hump Day!!

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Back from Break & A Book Review

Posted on July 6, 2010 | 6 comments

Hi all – welcome back to the work week. It was so nice to have a little break, but Tuesday really felt like it came fast. At least we’ve got a short week right?

How was your 4th of July? What was the most exciting part of your weekend?

My 4th was filled with family, friends, fun…and lots of driving. Ugh! I am really getting sick of the car. I didn’t take many photos this weekend. I wanted to just spend some quality time with family and friends. So I don’t have any exciting pics to share.

I did eat a lot of good and bad food this weekend, and squeezed in a 6.5 mile run with my friend Lauren on Friday. I’m not sure if I’m completely ready for the Boilermaker this Sunday, but it’s too late to squeeze in much more training now. I have a feeling that most of my running during this week will be done in the gym on the treadmill anyway. The brutal heat is just not conducive to a good run for me. So I’ll be playing it safe inside.

But, I do have one thing to offer you all! Another book review. I know – just call me speed reader. 🙂 I can’t remember the last time I finished a book this long so quickly. It was really good. So, here it goes:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By: Stieg Larsson

I picked this book up because I had literally seen about a dozen people reading it on the subway or elsewhere in NYC. I figured there had to be something to it. And there was. I started reading this book on a Tuesday and finished it the following Monday. This book is 500+ pages, so that is superfast for me. It was a total page-turning thriller.

So what’s it all about? A Swedish financial journalist, named Mikael Blomkvist, is convicted of libel because of a story he wrote about a successful (but shady) businessman. But that’s just the intro to the story. After his conviction, he is offered a freelance job by on old industry titan. The first part of the job is to write a family history, but the real objective is for him to research the mysterious disappearance of the titan’s niece over four decades ago, and try to figure out what happened to her. The “girl with the dragon tattoo” ends up being investigator Lisbeth Salander, who Blomkvist brings on as his assistant.

There were definitely some disturbing scenes and themes in this book, but in understanding it’s a thriller, you’ve got to accept that there will be some drama and disconcerting episodes. The plot of the book and investigation completely drew me in and kept me intrigued and curious. I could not wait to find out what happened next and who was behind it all.

Throughout the novel, there are a few storylines going on—which means just when one mystery is solved, you remember that there are others that are still floating around. Beyond that, the characters are unique and interesting in their own right. I ended up wanting to find out more about them and what would happen—especially to Lisbeth.     

I was satisfied with how Larsson tied it all together and wrapped up the different stories and mysteries. I was not entirely thrilled with how Lisbeth’s story ended, but then realized that she appears in his second book, which made her conclusion understandable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers or mysteries – or to anyone who is simply looking for an entertaining read. Just remember that it’s not all flowers and butterflies. It contains explicit material which might make some people cringe. I will definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy as well: The Girl Who Play with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.

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Posted in Books, Holidays, Reviews, Travel, Uncategorized

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America Heart Association Wall Street 3 Mile Run

Posted on June 25, 2010 | 7 comments

It’s Friday!!! Yippee! This week went by pretty fast for me, but I am still thrilled that the weekend is finally here. I am soo far behind on all my favorite blogs – I have some major catching up to do.

So last night after a busy day in the office, filled with about 4 hours of meetings and more fun, I decided it was a good idea to run a race in the near 90 degree weather. Yeah it was really gross out.

About eight of us from the office signed up for the American Heart Association Wall Street 3 mile run/walk, which started at 6:45 p.m. We took a team photo and then the walkers and runners were split up. We lined up at the Start, well actually quite a ways from the start, but we could see it.

When the race started, as usual, it took a while to get to the actual start. Then the weaving and avoiding people began. There were soo many people and so many people who started walking within the first mile of the race. I had to run up on the edges on the sidewalks for a while and try to avoid people walk or stopping abruptly – all within the tight confines of the downtown streets. By mile two things started to get a little clearer, but it was still pretty frustrating.

Between the heat/humidity and the crowd, I can say that it was not a great run. It was different to run downtown instead of Central Park, but not the most conducive for running.

My overall finishing time was 24:23. Blah!

After the race, I walked with two of my co-workers from the downtown finish up to 14th Street and then crossed over to the east side and hopped on the 4/5 at Union Square. I got home around 9 p.m. and was starving! After eating some leftover pasta and showering I headed straight to bed.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I think the NYC heat and humidity is finally supposed to break a bit!

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Posted in NYRR, Races, Running, Uncategorized

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Toughening Up!

Posted on June 22, 2010 | 4 comments

Good morning all – we made it past Monday. Mine was a busy Monday – how about yours?

I started the day off with a lighter breakfast – whole wheat English muffin with cinnamon raisin PB and grape jelly.

My morning sort of flew by. For lunch, I had triscuits with laughing cow cheese and some carrots and grape tomatoes.

I’m loving the grape tomatoes right now, and the latest Cooking Light magazine has a bunch of great grape tomato recipes that I want to try.

Then my afternoon snack was Chobani with granola.

I ended up staying a little bit later at work than I expected and it was soo hot out after work, that I gave myself the night off from running. Plus, after my tough race day on Sunday, I think I needed the rest.

I came home and threw together a quick salad for dinner.

Field greens with apple, walnuts, cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes and beets with Sesame Ginger dressing. Yum!!

After dinner, I happily finished up some dessert that Hubby made on Sunday night.

A piece of pistachio pudding pie. I was iffy about the pistachio, but I actually really liked it. Thanks Hubs!

The rest of our night was low-key, we finished up some laundry and then I’ll confess that I watched The Bachelorette. There was nothing else on. Really. And sometimes it’s just funny to watch the crazies on there. 🙂

What is your guilty pleasure summer t.v. show? I’ve been watching The Bachelorette and So You Think You Can Dance. 🙂

I’m going to attempt a run tonight after work. I’d like for the predicted rain to hold off and for the temps to drop a little, but I’m not sure that is going to happen. I’m running the Wall Street American Heart Association 3-Mile Run on Thursday night, so I’d really like to get a run in today as well. This is me forcing myself to get back on track.   

I have to say that after reading Gracie’s comment on my blog post yesterday, I need to be thankful for the tolerable heat we have in NY. It’s nowhere near as bad as down south and I need to remember that, and quit being such a baby and toughen up!

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April Heat and Stress

Posted on April 8, 2010 | 11 comments

Good morning. Happy Thursday – I can not wait until the weekend! This has been a week of stress and heat, and it has not been fun.

I’m not going to recap what I’ve eaten over the past two days, mostly because I was too frazzled to photograph much of anything.

On Tuesday night I did manage to work in an 8-mile run before the heat hit us. Thank goodness.  Here are my stats from that run:

Mile 1 – 10:01 (I hit every light on the way to the park)
Mile 2 – 8:06
Mile 3 – 8:17
Mile 4 – 8:17
Mile 5 – 8:10
Mile 6 – 8:02
Mile 7 – 8:20
Mile 8 – 9:22

Total mileage – 8.05 in 1:05:04. Average page 8:34 minute miles

Happily, I only had one 8 mile run again this week, so I was glad to have that out of the way. Why? Because then Wednesday began and it was the day from hell.

First, I woke up late because I completely forgot to set my alarm. Thankfully, Murphy frequently pesters me to get up in the morning and for once I was happy he did. He nudged me to get up, I looked at the clock and flew out of bed and rushed to work.

I’ve been a little stressed lately at work and I won’t get into it, except to say that throughout most of the day yesterday I was a stressed out freak. Thankfully, after a 3:00 meeting, I was more at ease. But for the majority of the day I was a nervous wreck and even started breaking out because of it.

Then I left work and was hit in the face with 89 degree weather. I had a 5 mile run on the training schedule, so there was no backing out of it. Let me tell you – it was a doozy. I decided right from the start to take it slow. I managed well until the last mile, which was all uphill. Here are my stats:

Mile 1 –  8:25
Mile 2 – 8:19
Mile 3 – 8:26
Mile 4 – 8:18
Mile 5 – 8:50

Total mileage – 5.09 miles in 43:05. Average pace – 8:27 minute miles.

Holy hotness! Not only that, but when did it become okay for people to smoke pot out in the open on the East River Promenade? It’s starting to get out of control over there. Usually when I head south toward 63rd street I prep myself for it because there are typically 1-2 groups of teenagers out there smoking, but I hadn’t encountered it heading North yet. Well, last night I did. It is the most unpleasant thing in the world to run by the people smoking cigarettes and cigars, but a plume of pot smoke is the worst! I’m sort of tempted to put in a call to our local precinct and ask them to patrol or something. I’m really tired of having to hold my breath when I’m running.

Well, I was certainly dripping after that one. That is one of the things I was really liking about training for a marathon in the Spring – not having to deal with the summer heat. I think the crazy heat is supposed to dissipate a bit for a while after today though. And I’m pretty sure in NYC we hit a new record high for this time of year.

After my run I showered and then listened to Hubby explain the latest co-op drama going on. He’s the co-op president, so people always seem to run to him when they have a problem. Fun times – fabulous day.

I made us a quick, easy dinner of grilled chicken with broccoli and then as I started cleaning up I noticed that one of my pickle jars must have cracked in the fridge because there was pickle juice EVERYWHERE! It was totally disgusting. I spent a long time cleaning up that mess, while attempting to clean up the dinner mess as well. Good lord, I just needed the day to end!

With the day from hell coming to a close, I decided to turn in early and move on to the next day. Do you think I was able to fall asleep? Nope – layed in bed wide awake for at least an hour and half. Great.

But today is a new day and hopefully a better one. To be safe, I’ve decided to run my 5-mile run on the treadmill at the gym tonight. It’s only going to be around 80 degrees, but I could use an easy, cool run. I’ve got my first 20-miler coming up this Saturday, so I won’t beat myself up over choosing the treadmill for once.

Did you brave the heat yesterday for a run? How do you cope when you have a day from hell?

Looking back, I probably should have enjoyed a big glass of wine before bed, that might have made sleeping a little easier. 😉

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday…and that I do too!

P.S. Forgot to mention that I finally have some new book reviews up:

Angela’s Ashes
The Help

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