Tag Archives: marathon training

Early Morning City Street Running

Posted on February 17, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning – happy Hump Day! It’s 8 a.m. and I am already done with my run for the day – hooray! All my talk of being a “real winter runner” yesterday must have inspired me this morning. I was supposed to go for a 3-4 mile run with a fellow blogger (who shall remain nameless…but you should check out her blog 🙂 ), but she had to bow out of our run. So it was 5:30 a.m., I was awake and semi-dressed for a run and my choices were to: a) go back to bed, b) fly around like a maniac and grab all my stuff for the gym, or c) just go running outside.

I chose option c and did so very warily. I had a conversation with another NYC blogger last week about the potential perils of running on the streets of NYC during the early-morning hours before sunrise. I told her I’d never done it and was too chicken to ever attempt it. Apparently, I lied. I found some sort of courage this morning, or maybe it was just sheer desperation, but I went.

The Verdict: It wasn’t bad at all! (I swear Mom!!) Within the first 5 minutes of hitting the streets I encountered another female runner – with headphones (I was sans headphones and on constant alert). I ran down York Avenue to 61st Street and then started heading West and back up. I hit 79th street while still on 1st and then went all the way over to 5th Avenue and turned around and headed home. I was able to squeeze in just over 4 miles. Here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 8:24
Mile 2 – 8:35
Mile 3 – 9:00
Mile 4 – 9:26
.11 – 1:46
Total mileage: 4.11 in 37:14

Mile 4 was very slow because I waited for two red lights – grrr. Anyway – my entire run was very well-lit, and surprisingly, there were more people out at that hour than I expected. I saw doctors/nurses heading to work in their scrubs, a total of 3 other runners, doormen (one who was very nice and warned me about ice), store owners opening up, and plenty of cars driving around. I didn’t feel at all nervous or in danger. I will definitely entertain the idea of running the streets again in the future (and I always welcome running buddies of course!). But March 14th and Daylight Savings also can’t come soon enough!

If you live in NYC – have you ever run the street before sunrise? Or if you live elsewhere – how safe do you feel during early-morning, pre-sun runs? What precautions do you take?

As promised, I do have photos once again! Here is my recap of yesterday’s eats:

Breakfast was a delicious bowl of oats with banana and peanut butter.

During my lunch break I ran out to Borders and picked up Food Rules by Michael Pollan and a salad. I’m already halfway through the book. A  lot of it is common sense stuff, but I’m still glad I bought it. I used my 33% off coupon (for Borders Rewards members that coupon is good until the 18th), so it was a good deal. Borders also had a Buy One Get One Half Off Section and both of Pollan’s other books: The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food were on the table (I went to the Borders down near Wall Street).  So my lunch looked like this:

Sorry for the blurriness. My afternoon snacks were some Brown Cow Greek Yogurt (decently priced at $1.09 upstate) and an apple.

After work yesterday I headed to the gym. I had a 5-mile run scheduled on my training plan, but I figured since I’d be running the next morning, I would only do 4 miles (plus then no guilt about running for more than 30 minutes). I finished up 4 miles in 32:18 minutes, did some ab work, some arm work and headed home.

Both my mom and Hubby’s mom sent leftovers home with us this weekend, so we are set for a bit when it comes to dinner. I had some of the leftovers (wheat pasta, chicken, tomato sauce) and added in some broccoli to pump up the veggie quotient. I think Pollan’s mantra of “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” was in the back of my mind.

However, that didn’t stop me from having two of these bad boys for dessert.

I headed to bed early last night, but managed to sleep terribly the whole night. I’m sure I will crash later today.

And I totally forgot that today is Ash Wednesday. At least my run is done so I can head to our church after work for the 6 p.m. mass.

And lastly, an interesting health article in the news:

As Girls Become Women, Sports Pay Dividends – I definitely agree that there is a connection between playing high school sports and the level of confidence and/or success a girl (or anyone for that matter) has.  What do you think?

Have a great day all!

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Posted in Bloggers, Books, Running, Uncategorized

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Get into the Training Groove

Posted on February 9, 2010 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone! Hope you all had a decent Monday. Mine wasn’t too bad as Mondays go. My breakfast yesterday was a delicious bowl of oats with banana, almond butter and agave. Delish!

I was ravenous again by early morning, but I decided to have a small snack  of 3 prunes. They look gross, but they are actually pretty tasty.

For lunch I finished up some rice and beans from Saturday night, as well as a few sticks of celery with Garlic and Herb flavored Laughing Cow Light Cheese.

My afternoon snacks were Strawberry and Banana Chobani yogurt (this one was not zero-fat – it has 2%)  and an apple pie Larabar. I liked the Larabar flavor just okay.

After work I headed to the gym for an easy run. My legs were still a little sore from my run on Sunday, so I was definitely happy to have an easy night. And I did not even try to up the speed or increase the distance at all. I ran 3 miles in 28:00 minutes. Then I did some ab work and a few arm exercises with 5-pound weights. I so did not feel like running or exercising at all, but was very proud that I actually went. Hopefully I’ll be able to stick to my marathon training plan a little better if I can just get into a groove with it.

I headed home after the gym and just re-heated Sunday’s dinner of Venison and Barley Soup (sorry no picture!). It was actually even more flavorful on day two, which was what some of the reviewers of the recipe had said. I finished that up, but then had a strange craving for some…

Pickles!! I had a little pickle plate with dill and bread and butter pickles! I just love em!

And finally, a little while later I wanted some dessert, but I also felt not entirely full. I had big plans to run on Tuesday morning, so I thought a little snack might actually be a good idea so I wouldn’t be completely low on fuel on Tuesday morning. I made a Tina 3-Minute Breakfast Cookie, but used: oats, egg whites, 1 packet of Truvia, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin purée, cinnamon and walnuts. 

It was actually pretty darn good – maybe a little bit bigger than it should have been.

Then Hubby and I watched The Bachelor and shared some moments of utter disgust. Hubby turned to me at one point and told me he felt like punching Jake. HA! I agreed. Jake says the SAME things about every girl and then stares at them trying to seem deep, but to me it comes off as a vacant stare. He was really annoying me last night. And then Allie pushed me over the edge with her fake crying (yes, she had real tears at other moments) and her overly-dramatic exit at the end. Hubby and I agreed they will be bringing her back later to spice things up or maybe will give her a spin-off Bachelorette. Overall – GRRR to that episode.  

Health in the news

Learning What Food Looks Like Before It Goes Into the Package – I would have loved to take this class in high school. I’m so happy that schools are starting to offer courses like this one.

The Healing Power of Herbal Tea – I don’t think I really realized there was a difference between “tea” and “herbal tea.” Interesting.

Study links sugary soft drinks to pancreas cancer 

Three Home Habits Help Youngsters Stay Slim

P.S. – Who’s excited for the Olympics to start?!! MEE!! I love watching them. Hopefully they aren’t on too late at night.

And who’s not excited for the snow we’re supposed to get tonight/tomorrow? Me again.

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A “Super” Run and Soup

Posted on February 8, 2010 | 11 comments

Good morning. I hope you had a nice weekend! I took a little blogging hiatus on Sunday.

After my last post on Saturday, I visited my neighbor/old boss who is having a baby very very soon, ran some errands, and then Hubby and I went to see Avatar late in the evening. I really enjoyed Avatar. We went to the IMax theater on the West side and I was shocked by how huge it was and that this movie is still selling out. The 3D glasses were a little goofy, but all in all it was a great experience. And it didn’t feel like a 2 1/2 hour movie. It flew by. I think parts of the movie had a bit of the cheese-factor going on, but the action sequences totally drew me in and I forgot about any corny parts.  But the movie started at 10 p.m., so we didn’t get home until 1:30 a.m.! 

Have you seen Avatar? Did you like it?

As I mentioned, unfortunately I did not get a long run in on Saturday. I theoretically could have run in the afternoon, but once my mind was set on not running the night before (thanks to the darn weathermen), I was not motivated to go. Plus, I was not hydrated at all.

I decided that I would do my long run on Sunday morning. I woke up a little late – around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday and had my pre-run breakfast of a honey-wheat double fiber English muffin with peanut butter and a banana on top, along with some water.

But then I glanced at the temperature gauge and saw that it read 21 degrees outside. BRR! I putzed around and wasted time until finally I had to either go running outside or go to the gym. I left our apartment around 12:45 p.m. for my 11 mile run in 30 degree weather. I was sufficiently bundled, but my nose would not stop running (no pun intended). I headed to Central Park and did two 5-mile loops, plus a mile warm-up there and cool-down back — so a total of 12 miles. Here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 10:23
Mile 2 – 8:13
Mile 3 – 8:31
Mile 4 – 8:17
Mile 5 – 8:38
Mile 6 – 8:34
Mile 7 – 8:29
Mile 8 – 8:57
Mile 9 – 8:43
Mile 10 – 8:45
Mile 11 – 8:49
Mile 12 – 9:36
Total Mileage 12.40 miles in 1:49:10.

I was somewhat consistent and ran faster than I expected. I had so many layers on, along with gloves, that I didn’t check my Garmin once while I was running. I just went at whatever pace felt right and good.

After my run I wanted a snack, so I made a breakfast cookie with  oatmeal, egg whites, protein powder, raisins, Truvia, baking powder and cinnamon. It was a great after-run snack.

The afternoon flew by after I finally finished stretching, showering, ate and warmed back up and before I knew it, it was 5:00 p.m. and I wanted a light snack before dinner. I had an apple with cheddar cheese.

Before my snack, I set to work on cooking up some Beef and Barley Soup (made with venison) from a recipe on cookinglight.com to have while we watched the Super Bowl. This recipe took 2 hours to make!

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 1 pound of cubed venison meat
  • 1 1/2  cups  thinly sliced carrot
  • 1 1/2  cups  thinly sliced celery
  • 2/3  cup  chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup of fresh cremini mushrooms
  • 4  cups  fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
  • 1  bay leaf
  • 2/3  cup  uncooked pearl barley
  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper

Preparation

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Remove beef from pan. Add carrot, celery, onion, and mushrooms to pan; cook 6 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add beef; fat-free, less-sodium beef broth; and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in pearl barley; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until pearl barley is tender. Stir in salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.

It was yummy, but next time I would start making it much sooner. Hubby and I watched the Superbowl and I was very happy The Saints won. 

After it was over, I read for a bit and headed to bed – my long cold run made me exhausted. I definitely think running and marathon training in the winter/spring is harder than in the summer.  I feel like I’m exerting more effort during my long runs this time around.

What about you – have you trained in the winter/spring, and if so, do you think it’s harder than the summer/fall?

I really hope that this training pays off in the end. I’ve been trying to stick to my training plan, but this time around feels a lot tougher (I think because of the weather). How do you motivate yourself to get out there and run?! I could use any advice anyone has to offer at this point.

Have a good Monday everyone!

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Avoid Noshing till Nausea

Posted on February 5, 2010 | 5 comments

Happy Friday everyone!! Who else is soo happy?! And who else is dreading the thought of snow this weekend? I have an 11 mile run planned for tomorrow morning and I’m not sure what’s going to happen with that. It may have to be postponed until Sunday morning depending on the weather.

How was everyone’s Thursday? Mine was pretty good – it started out with a nice breakfast of a honey wheat double fiber English muffin with peanut butter and banana and a side of light cranberry juice with orange juice.

Then yesterday afternoon was very snack-filled. I don’t know why I was so hungry, but it started off with me snacking on my granola bar at 10:30, following by an early lunch at 12:30 of a salad with romaine lettuce, carrots, cheddar cheese, chickpeas, peas and artichoke hearts. I apologize – I left my camera at home today, so I can’t upload my pictures from yesterday.

After lunch from about 1:00 – 4:30 I proceeded to eat: a big bag of blueberries, two Lindt Lindor Dark Chocolate Truffles, a small bag of walnuts and raisins and a Larabar.

I know – that is a lot of afternoon snacking. I just could  not stop. Do you ever have days when you seem to be constantly hungry? Yesterday was out of control and then when I headed to the gym after work I felt super full.

The gym was dead, so I managed to work in my required 6-mile run in 52:34. I was happy with that, considering I had quite a full belly.

Before my afternoon of noshing, I had texted Hubby to ask him to take out two frozen burger patties for dinner. I decided to give him the meat he so dearly loves and claims he needs. But as I approached home, I felt less thrilled by the idea of a big burger sitting in my tummy.

When I walked into the apartment, I finally realized just how excited Hubby was for his meat — he had stopped and picked up a tomato (to slice and put on his burger), a large bun (since I don’t eat my burger with a bun we don’t keep buns in the apt. regularly) and a new jar of small pickles for sandwiches or burgers. Clearly, he was preparing for full enjoyment of this meal. I had to laugh. 🙂

And so we cooked up some burgers and had a nice side salad to go along with it. As you can see, mine is sans bun – it ends up being just too much food for my tummy with a bun. And lord knows my tummy was at its limit already.

Please note how delicious these pickles look! Good job on the pickles Hubby. He got “bread and butter” which I like, but never think to buy.

Mmmm those pickles hit the spot. I seriously think that I love or could love any kind of pickle. They are just soo good. What about you – do you like bread and butter or are you more of a dill person? I will eat whatever kind of pickle you send my way!

And for dessert I had a handful of these:

I know – a lot of food for one day. So today is going to be a bit leaner. Well… breakfast didn’t really start out that way, but that’s tomorrow’s post.

So what are your plans for the weekend? As I mentioned, I need to run a nice 11-miler, per my training plan. I seem to have a slight problem with my training plan… I can’t seem to run 5 days a week. So far, all I’ve been managing is 4 days. I had lofty dreams of getting up this morning to run a quick 3 miles outside –  in the dark. But then the alarm went off and it was pitch black and I snoozed instead. By then it was too late to even attempt the gym. And I’ve got a work happy hour to attend tonight, so I can’t sneak it in later. Argh!

For my first marathon, I only ran 4 days a week and that worked. But with my new goal of trying to BQ, I feel I need to be running more.

And advice? If you’ve followed a training plan – how do you ensure you meet your weekly mileage, run the full amount of days, etc.? Or do you not let it bother you if you don’t stick to the plan?

Other than trying to work in an 11-mile run somewhere around the forecasted snow this weekend, I plan to read these:

Oh yeah – I’ve got some magazines to catch up on! Apparently, people know me pretty darn well. I received Runner’s World as a gift from my cousin and cousin-in-law this Christmas (thanks Linda and Chris). Linda loves running marathons and tried to get me to run one for years by talking about what a great experience it was and sending me a gift subscription to Runner’s World every year. Well – I’m not sure if it was the magazine, her recaps or my own desire that finally got me to run one…maybe all of it combined.

And my Aunt and Uncle got me a gift subscription to Fitness this Christmas too (thanks Aunt Pat and Uncle Pete)!  Apparently, I make my interests pretty well-known to everyone. 🙂

Lastly, I signed up for Cooking Light one day in the fall when I found a one-year subscription deal for only $5 (a steal)!

Oh my – I’ve got some serious reading to do! Not to mention that I’m about 100 pages away from finishing The Historian and I literally can not put it down . You guys are going to want to put this one on your list for sure…and move it right to the top. I also think I heard that it’s being made into a movie, so you’ve got to read it before it comes out!

Other than that, I plan to clean, hang with Hubby and hopefully finally go see Avatar. I kn0w – yes, we are the last people in the country to see it.

What are your weekend plans! Whatever you’ve got planned – enjoy it and travel safely through the snow, if it’s headed your way.

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Veggie and Cookie Cravings

Posted on February 3, 2010 | 6 comments

Good morning – Happy Hump Day! Hope everyone had a good Tuesday. My day was pretty good – I started off with a nice breakfast of oatmeal with banana and peanut butter, along with a side of light cranberry juice. A very filling breakfast.

It was such a filling breakfast that I didn’t even have a mid-morning snack – so unlike me. But lunch was filling enough as well, I had leftover chicken and spinach bulgur from the night before. This meal was very hearty.

Afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal (aren’t you so sick of this snack – maybe I will switch it up on Thursday) and an apple.

After work, I headed to the gym to try to squeeze in as much of a run as possible. I ran a decent 4 miles in 33:26 and then was going to stop, but saw that there were one or two treadmills opens, so I ran another mile for a total of 5 miles in 42:30. Then I noticed people waiting so I hopped off and did some ab work. I slacked on doing free-weight arm exercises, but oh well.

So far, this week I am doing okay with my marathon training. Here is a link to access my training plan through Google Docs. I like using this program because I can update it from anywhere. Here’s a brief snapshot of my progress so far:

I can’t wait until it starts getting warmer and light outside later so I can do my longer week workouts outside — running 8 miles on the treadmill would not be fun.

After the gym, I was craving veggies in a really weird way, so I came home and made a giant salad for dinner with Mediterranean lettuce, carrots, goat cheese, raisins, and walnuts. I drizzled Newman’s Light Balsamic Vinaigrette over top.

It was delicious and hit the spot, but then I was craving some dessert (very much like me). I decided to try to make Tina’s 3-Minute Oatmeal Raisin Cookie into a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. I followed her original recipe, but added peanut butter, swapped out raisins for chocolate chips, used protein powder in place of flour, left out the cinnamon, used Truvia instead of brown sugar and voila!

The addition of the peanut butter made it a little gooey in places, but I was okay with that. I also doubled the original recipe, which produced a GIANT cookie  – totally unnecessary. Somehow, I managed to eat it all, but wouldn’t double it again in the future. Here was my final recipe:

  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/4 cup liquid egg whites
  • 1 packet of Truvia 
  • 2 tsp protein powder (thanks Hubby)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp peanut butter

    • Thanks again to Tina for this great recipe and congrats to her on her two-year blog birthday!

    Lastly, here are a few health headlines that caught my eye:

    Slimmer Doesn’t Always Mean Fitter – I am still trying to determine what my “best” weight is for running. Hopefully I can figure it out by May – just in time for the marathon! How about you – have you PRed or run better when you were either heavier or lighter – how did you find your ideal running weight?

    Rules Worth Following, for Everyone’s Sake – I am buying Michael Pollan’s new book  Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, published in December 2009. I really want to read his other books:  In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, but I think Food Rules has moved to the top of my list. This NY Times article gives a great overview of the book’s main ideas, as well as some general info/facts about healthy eating.  Have you read any of  Pollan’s books? Will you be checking this one out?

    Have a great Wednesday everyone. I’ve got some exciting plans tonight: I’m going to the ballet with Katie and trying some authentic Greek food beforehand!  I’m super excited! See you tomorrow.

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    Posted in Books, Dessert, Running, Uncategorized

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    Monday = A Bad Balance = Glass of Wine

    Posted on January 26, 2010 | 4 comments

    Good morning – day two of the work week. Let me start by saying that day one was a rough one. I knew coming into work that I had a lot to do, but it got way more out of control than I expected.

    The day started off really well, with my very first oats in a jar!! I used up all my Peanut Butter & Co. White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter (sadness), so I made some oatmeal with banana and dumped it right into the nearly empty jar.

    My first oats in a jar was a success!! How bout you – have you ever made oats in a jar? I feel that I’ve been officially indoctrinated into the food blog world.

    My morning flew by and soon it was lunch time. I had some reduced fat Triscuits with some garlic and herb light laughing cow cheese. I also had a side of carrots.

    I loved the garlic and herb flavor!! New fave – so good it might show up again later in this post! Next up was my afternoon snacks of Chobani pomegranate yogurt with a mix of granola and Kashi Go Lean. Then a bit later I had some green grapes.

    After those snacks I buckled down to finish up some work and then around 4:45 p.m. found out that I needed to do some major work on a big project and it needed to be done and ready for early the next morning. Thoughts of hitting the gym for an easy 3-mile run quickly left my head as the clock ticked away and finally I closed up shop at 8:00 p.m.

    I really strive for a healthy work/life balance, but I realize that there are times when emergencies are going to arise and I may have to stay late to get things done. However, I couldn’t get rid of the nagging guilty feeling I had when I left the office because I couldn’t fit my workout in. I know that one day is not a big issue – especially since it was the day after a big race and I could probably use the rest anyway. So I tried to brush the guilt aside and rework my training plan so that I can still build up the appropriate mileage for the week. I’m definitely more lax about working out when I’m not marathon training. But once training starts, I get a little crazy and compulsive.

    How do you balance work and life? Do you ever find work encroaching on your personal time? How do you keep things in check and do you feel guilty if the balance is ever a little off?

    While I was at work, thankfully I had a few reserve snacks in my arsenal. I grabbed a KIND bar and finished up an apple (that had been in there since last week, so it was probably good that I ate it) to tide me over.

    I finished up my work and left the office around 8:00 p.m. and arrived home at 8:45. Thankfully, I had plenty of leftovers from Saturday night’s pre-race dinner, so I heated it up and added some more Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow Cheese (appearance number two). The added cheese really enhanced the flavor of the dish and I was sad that I hadn’t thought to add it on Saturday night – Hubby and Lauren would have enjoyed their meal that much more! Next time I guess.

    It’s hard to see in the first photo, but next to my meal is a nice big glass of Cabernet Sauvignon – I needed it. On my commute home, I went back and forth between having more Kombucha or a glass of wine (I didn’t think both would mix well) and obviously the wine won out. I figured after such a long day, I fully deserved it.

    I sipped my wine and ate my leftovers while watching the second half of The Bachelor and I have decided that I think Jake is boring – I think he has no personality and he’s kind of a dud. I also constantly feel awkward and uncomfortable when I watch him with the women. I just don’t think there’s much going on behind the scenes, no matter how hard they try to make him seem “thoughtful” and different.

    And I finally figured out the girl’s name that I never knew: Jessie. She got some face time this episode…and then got kicked off. At least now I know.

    Hopefully my Tuesday is more balanced – I hope you have a nice, balanced Tuesday as well!

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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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    Posted in NYRR, Running, Uncategorized

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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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