Steph Runs the City

New Site Reveal

2009-08-20T16:06:00.003-04:00

For quite some time, I've been working on moving Steph Runs The City to a new site, and it's finally ready to share with you all!

I've had a lot of help from some amazing designers, and I'm very excited about the new site!

You can keep reading at: www.stephrunsthecity.wordpress.com
www.stephrunsthecity.com will soon be directing to the new site as well.

I hope you will continue to follow me on my running journey as I train for the NYC Marathon in November!

Run for Central Park - 4 mile

2009-07-21T08:01:00.005-04:00

hello! yes, i know, it's been a while. did you miss me?

i've been working on some updates to the blog, and i'm hoping to launch a new version of the site in the next few weeks. i'm really excited about it, and can't wait to share it. hence, i've been a little mia recently...

anyway, this saturday i ran the run for central park 4 mile race with team for kids! it was kind of fun to do the race with my team members. we met before hand to warm up and stretch, and then headed over to the corals together (although i had to make a beeline for the port-a-potties!). even though i've done lots of shorter races before, it was nice to have the support of the team- i can see how that will be really great for the upcoming half marathon, and definitely for the marathon.

it was a pretty hot morning, and VERY humid out, which i didn't notice so much until the race actually started. the 4 mile course was in central park, and started out on the east side of the park on an uphill, which was gradual but certainly noticeable! i started out pretty strong, but i think it was too fast. after about 2 minutes the heat hit me, and it was NOT fun!

i stuck with it, and the first two miles of the race i completed in just under 7:30 pace. after that i hit a wall and i was struggling - my pace slowed a lot! i think a lot of it was the heat. i grabbed a water cup at the second water station and kept running- i did what coach frank told us to do before the race- pinch the cup and aim for my mouth!

i kept at it, as we crossed over the 106th street transverse onto the west side of the park and into the hills! around mile 3 i saw coach glen on the sidelines. he ran the race too! he's FAST, and he finished the race and came back out to cheer and coach the rest of us! at that point i felt i was really struggling, so it was really nice to see him. he told me to just use my arms to work through the hills, which were almost over, and after that it would be downhill all the way.

at the third water station, i got a cup of water but this time i stopped to walk for a few seconds, and then started up again. i think it helped get me through the last leg of the race, although i really hated that i had to stop.

those hills seemed to go on for quite some time, but finally, FINALLY, i saw the turn onto the 72nd street transverse ahead! the finish line was so close! i sped up as much as i could in the end, and finally crossed the finish line!

my stats for the race were:

Overall Time: 31:31
Average Pace: 7:52

i slowed down kind of a lot in the middle there somewhere. at one point i looked down and my garmin said my pace was 8:15. i was hoping to keep it at 8 or under the whole race, and i actually was hoping to finish closer to 30 minutes.

but, all in all i was still pretty happy with my time! had it not been for the heat, i might have been able to go faster. still this was a pr for me for a 4 mile race :)

we got an update on the race from coach frank, and it turns out that i was the third team for kids female to finish, which i was pretty excited about! my friend and running buddy was the second and she finished the race in 30:15! go lindsey- you rock!

this week we have a long training run in queens- an 11 miler, and the following week we're doing our longest run yet- 14 miles- as part of the NYRR Long Training Run #2. it's nice because leading up to the marathon, new york road runners offers organized long training runs in hte park. they provide water along the course, and it gets you used to running in a group.

14 miles will be the longest i've ever run before!

finally, i want to let you all know about the fundraising happy hour lindsey and i are throwing to raise money for team for kids!

What: Steph and Lindsey's Awesome Happy Hour
When: Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Where: Madhatter Saloon - 3rd Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets
Why: Help us fight childhood obesity and run the NYC Marathon!

The cost is $15 to attend. All participants will receive a wristband for discounted drinks all night, and a cupon for Miz Mooz shoes!

Join us for a raffle with fabulous prizes, like French Connection clothing, Dragon Bleu Vodka (the coolest new vodka!), gift certificates to Miz Mooz shoes and the Running Company, and a gift pack from Lululemon.

100% of proceeds will go to Team for Kids!

hope to see you there! if you have any thing you'd like to contribut to the raffle, let me know- we're still in search of a few more great prizes!

slushie love

2009-07-08T15:06:00.008-04:00

I decided to skip running class on tuesday night because i was feeling pretty tired and had a lot to do at home. i headed to the gym instead and made it a cross training day.

i did:

2 easy miles on the treadmill at level 6.0 - 6.2
weight machines for legs
pushups and situps
free weight exercises for arms

it was nice to get a good weight workout in! i know i always get caught up in doing a lot of cardio, especially when i wasn't running as much and doing more cross training. but a good weight workout can be just as beneficial for building strength and athleticism. i know overall this will help me become a better, faster runner!

after the gym, i headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things, and cooekd up some pasta for dinner.

dinner consisted of:

whole wheat pasta
zucchini
corn
tomatoes
mushrooms
white kidney beans
garlic
olive oil

i sauteed the veggies and beans with garlic in some olive oil, cooked the pasta and mixed it all together. i topped it off with some lite mexican blended cheese, and hot sauce!

the dish was good, but i wish i had cooked the veggies in cooking spray instead of olive oil. since i ended up adding hot sauce to the dish, the flavors were a bit confusing. it was still a very satisfying meal!

for desert, the fiance made me a 'slushie.' he mixed frozen papaya, frozen strawberries, water, and a splash of orange peach mango juice in the magic bullet. yum! this was a great, refreshing summer desert. especially if you have a sweet tooth, like me.

unfortunately, after making this, the fiance realized the magic bullet was on the fritz, and was barely able to whip up another one for himself. it looks like it might be the end of our magic bullet :( i have to see if i can dig up the warranty for it- because we're kind of a little obsessed with the thing and it would be pretty bad not to have it anymore.

hopefully we can get a replacement soon! not sure how long i can live without the thing! i need my slushies!

tuesday is my monday

2009-07-07T13:53:00.007-04:00

i love it when my mondays are actually tuesdays! it's always hard to come back from a long weekend, especially after going out of town. but it's nice when you come back and it's already tuesday- it definitely makes the week go by much faster!

i have a lot to do this week, but i do feel refreshed after the weekend away. my friend and i are planning a fundraising happy hour to raise money for team for kids, so we have a lot of planning to do this week! if you're in the nyc area, stay tuned for more details about it!

it should be a great event, and we're hoping to have some fun prizes to give away!

although i did eat pretty well this weekend, it's always nice to get back into the routine of a healthy eating schedule.

i started my morning off with a nice yogurt bowl! i had 1 individual container of trader joe's organic 0% vanilla greek yogurt with sliced banana and strawberrt, and a small handful of kashi's autumn wheat cereal.

it was very refreshing and filling!

i also had half a cup of tea, and a bit later a small cup of coffee with a splash of skim (i ran out of almond milk and haven't had time to go to the store!) and 1 packet of stevia.

someone brought some israeli chocolate back from a trip, and i had a small piece mid-morning.

since my fridge is pretty bare, for lunch i brought an old classic- pb&j. i made it on 2 slices of trader joe's whole wheat bread, with tj's chunky unsalted peanut butter (about 2 tbsp), and 1 tsp of tj's reduced sugar strawberry jam.

on the side, i had a nectarine and some pumpernickel pretzel sticks.

i feel like i've been snacking way too much recently, and in effort to cut back, i'm trying to make my meals more complete and satisfying, so i stay full for longer.

so far so good- i may have a snack later this afternoo though before my running class! although it's supposed to rain AGAIN! they say scattered thunderstorms this afternoon, so we'll see how it holds up.

if it rains, i'll skip class and head to the gym for some cross training and weights.

hope everyone is having a good tuesday!

virginia is for runners

2009-07-07T07:42:00.025-04:00

hello! yesterday i came back from a nice long weekend getaway to virginia. i was there visiting with some close friends from high school, and it was a fantastic trip.

i took the train from nyc down to richmond, which was super easy and relaxing.

i had a late lunch on the train, which was healthy and filling. i grabbed a box of mixed greens with roasted veggies, and hummus and 2 pita points, from a local cafe before getting on the train.

i also had a white peach honest tea. it was good- just a tad sweet, as the bottle said, although surpisingly there was still a good amount of sugar in the drink.

i also snacked on some trail mix during the train ride (not pictured).

for dinner, i had a whole wheat bagel with some peanut butter and a little bit of strawberry jelly.

i arrived in richmond late thursday night, and it was so nice to just hang out and catch up with my friend. on friday morning, we woke up early to go for a run- we did a nice and easy 5 mile run through some of the suburban neighborhoods in richmond's west end.

it was definitely a nice change of pace from city running - it was so quiet and relaxed, and people were so friendly and even said hello to us! that's certainly very different from running on the good ole streets of nyc.

also, i was finally able to get my garmin to work! i figured out how to set it to track a workout for a certain distance, to display the distance, and to display the pace after each mile. i think one of the problems i was having with it before was that in the city, it takes a little bit of time for the gps to kick in because of all of the buildings.

but in virginia, it's wide open spaces so i had no trouble at all! i also played around more with the bezel- it's definitely touch sensitive and i don't think i was really pressing it hard enough before.

anyway, it was nice to finally use and for us to be able to track our distance and pace on our run! i still want to figure out how to track the pace as i'm running in between miles, but i guess i just have to play around with it a little more.

my friend from richmond is running the nyc half with me in august, and it was great for us to be able to go on a run together- we've run some races together in the past, but since we live so far apart we never get to train together :(

i grabbed half of a kind bar before our run.

afterwards, we made smoothies with bananas, frozen berries, fage 0% yogurt, and a little bit of juice. very refreshing! i also had the other half of the kind bar.

then we sat and relaxed by the pool- it was fabulous!

for lunch, we came home and made quite a lovely spread. we had tuna salad, hummus, pita chips, a huge salad with peppers, tomatos, and cucumber, and some fruit. everything was great!

i ate a ton of the salad, some pita chips, hummus, and half of the tuna sandwich. for desert i snacked on the grapes.

after lunch we headed to the store to pick up some things for our trip to va beach on saturday. we went to trader joe's. it was definitely busy, but compared ot the one in nyc the aisles were wide open with lots of space for us to roam around with our cart- it was heavenly! i hate having to rush around and always squeeze past people when i go to the one in the city- it's always so stressful! this was a very delightful shopping experience.

we bought some snacks and wine, and the ingredients to make sangria!

afterwards, we headed over to target and i got some new workout gear. i love the C9 line they have- everything is really comfortable, and also relatively inexpensive, although it can add up quickly if you get a lot, which i usually do since i tend to hoard when i get the chance to go to target!

after hitting the strip malls of suburbia, we came home to relax for a bit before dinner. we watched bride wars, which was cute and funny. it wasn't the best movie ever, and the plot was a bit weak, but it was fun and perfect to watch on vacation. i especially enjoyed it since i'm planning a wedding too!

after the movie we got ready to go to dinner in downtown richmond. the neighborhood is called shocko bottom, and it's a cute area with cobblestone sidewalks and lots of restuarants and bars. we went to an italian tapas restaurant called eurpoa.

the atmosphere was great, and the sangria was yummy! unfortunately i forgot my camera, so there's no pics of the food :(

they brought out rosemary focacia bread to start- it was nice and soft, but the flavor was very slight, and i think it needed a tad more salt.

we ordered the spanish cheese plate as an appetizer, which was great! it came with 4 different types of cheeses, including manchego, which i love (i spent a semester in spain when i was in college!). i'm not sure exactly what the other cheeses were, but they were all delicious! it also came with some toasted bread and roasted red pepper.

it took a long time for our meals to arrive, and by the time they did we were stuffed from the cheese and bread!

we both ordered the shrimp and vegetable risotto. since i was already pretty full, i didn't eat much of mine, and to be honest it wasn't that great. the shrimp was actually really good, but the flavoring of the risotto was a bit off. again, i felt like it needed more salt, and they went way overboard with the pepper. some bites were extremely pepper-y. it was also pretty oily, and they topped it with shredded cheese, which i could have done without.

it was still ok. we both ate a little bit of ours, and saved the rest to take home as leftovers.

we skipped desert, because we had a treat waiting for us at home!

earlier, we stopped at an ice cream shop called maggie moo's, where they sell the best thing ever- ice cream cup cakes! i love ice cream and i love cupcakes, and this combines two of my favorite things- how can you go wrong?

you can't! they were unbelievable. i got the cake batter cupcake, which was yellow cake, cake batter ice cream, a caramel topping, and vanilla icing. totally amazing. the icing was more of whipped cream icing, but becuase it was frozen it was really good, and the caramel topping was actually in the center of the cake.

at first i couldn't taste the caramel, but then i got to the middle and it started oozing out- SO good!

my friend got the chocoalte marshmallow cupcake, which was chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, fudge icing, and marshmallow topping. hers was also fantastic!

we headed to va beach early saturday morning- more on that later!

summer daze

2009-06-29T11:35:00.010-04:00

well, it's been a few days since my last post, and in that time it seems summer has finally arrived

i have to say i'm definitely glad to see some sunshine mixed in with the rain, but i'm not too sure how i feel about the temps. still not horrible, but starting to get a little warm and stuffy in the apartment, which makes for some not so great nights of sleep :(

in any case, last week was great workout wise!

i followed my team for kids schedule completely and got in all of my runs! surprisingly, i feel great for doing so much running. my foot isn't bothering me so much, my muscles feel less tight, and i feel less sore in general.

i mentioned in my last post that i think using the stick really helped to loosen up my muscles. i've also been stretching a lot more before and after each run, and icing when i feel i need to.

all in all i'm feeling good, and hoping it stays that way!

this week i've also been doing all of my runs. since i'll be away for july 4th weekend, i'd like to get my "long run" out of the way during the week, so i'll be doing that tomorrow. it's only 7 miles, so not a terrible one to do on my own in the a.m. before work.

actually, this morning i was supposed to do 6.2 miles since I'm not going to team for kids today after work (i have to pack for my trip!). however, i'm having problems with my garmin
:( one of the main reasons i got it was to be able to better and more acurately track my distance (and pace) for times i am running on my own, and not in the park. so, i hadn't really planned out my route ahead of time, although i was running along the east river where i usually run on my own so i'm familiar with the area.

i ran for one hour, as an estimate, 30 minutes out, 30 minutes back. although i'm sure i was going faster than 10 minute miles, so i probably did more than 6.2 miles. however, when i checked www.mapmyrun.com this morning, it said i went 5.4 miles out! i know i didn't go that far, because out and back that would be close to 11 miles.

11 miles in 1:01:28, which was my time, would be sub 7 minute miles!! i was going fast, but not that fast! in any case, i'm guessing i probably did about 7 miles accidentally since i overestimated on the time. i 'm estimating i was running about an 8:45-9 minute per mile pace.

at an 8:45 pace, i would have finished 6.2 miles in a little over 52 minutes, and 7 miles at just over an hour, which is where i was.

so, technically i did my long run today. since the distance isn't that much longer, and i'm also not sure about my accuracy for mileage and pace, i'll probably run the same distance tomorrow.

today before my run, i had half of a kind, macadamia, almond and walnut bar.

afterwards, when i got to work i chowed down on some breakfast. i was pretty hungry, but not starving. this breakfast was filling and satisfying - kashi heart to heart cereal, 1 sliced banana, walnuts and almond milk.

the nuts really help keep me full- i rarely have a morning snack!

i also had an iced coffee!

for lunch, i had an egg salad sandwich, made with 2 eggs and 1 tbsp. miracle whip, on whole wheat bread with lettuce and 2 thick slices of tomato. yum! i love egss and egg salad, although the fiance HATES them! he gets made when i make eggs because he says it stinks up the whole apartment. but they're yummy, and a good source of protein.

i also had a pear.

tonight, i'm packing for my trip, and having dinner with the fiance since he's staying in ny for the weekend. i'm excited to head down to virginia to visit with 2 of my friends from high school. we're going to relax on the beach- i can't wait!

interval madness

2009-06-24T08:23:00.009-04:00

last tuesday was another crazy killer workout with my nyrr running class.

we did:

2 x 2.4 miles @ 10k pace

.5 miles out and back to the location

that makes for a total of about 6 miles! 5 of which were crazy! it was kind of like doing 2 races back to back.

this workout was pretty tough for me. it was hard, but it was good!

eats
lunch

1 slice trader joe's organic spelt bread
1 morningstar farm tomato basil pizza veggie burger
sliced tomato
1 slice yogurt cheese
some pizza sauce
strawberries on the side

this pizza burger was delicious!

snack

1 kiwi

1 cliff bar, eaten in 2 parts, before running class

the cliff bar was a yummy peanut toffee flavor. it was good- i had it in the fridge all day so it was a little hard at first, and very sweet. i realized it had about 20g sugar- which is ridiculous, almost like a candy bar! still, it was filling and satisfying. maybe next time i'll check the ingredients and sugar content more closely though!

dinner

brown rice
kidney beans
broccoli & cauliflower
salsa
shredded cheese
veggie flax tortilla chips

same delicious dinner as last night- i couldn't get enough, and i was craving it all the way home from class!

no desert, i was pooped and after dinner i showered, iced, and tried out my new cool toy- "the stick." this thing was pretty awesome! it's kind of like a foam roller, but more of a massager really. it's a stick with rolling spindles that you use to massage your muscles. you can control the intensity based on how hard you press down.

i thought it really helped! honestly since i've used it (and maybe because i've been stretching more) i've really felt a lot better in terms of the muscle tightness i was experiencing. i've also been icing more, and my foot has been feeling better as well! this makes me happy :)

on the road again

2009-06-23T08:18:00.005-04:00

i went to a monday team for kids run for the first time last night, and it was great! i feel like it's nice to go during the week because it really pushes me to do a better workout than i might otherwise do on my own- oops!

plus, i still do need to get in a decent amount of mileage even if i don't run every day that the training plan indicates. this week we're moving up to 21 miles, which is a lot for me! even when i was training for my half marathons, i generally limited running to 3 days a week, and usually only with the much longer runs would i approach 20 miles. i found it to be easier on my body.

i'm already feeling all kinds a sore, and i don't want to be too beat up by the time the marathon rolls around!

anyway, i'm hoping the rain holds off for tonight's running class, and tomorrow i get an "easy" day with some strength- a total body conditioning class.

yesterday, i had a little snack before heading off to team for kids:

a handful of kashi cereal
1 kiwi

the kiwi was fabulous- i've had them for a while but they finally just got nice and ripe-yum!

after tfk i stopped at trader joe's on my way home and picked up a few things since i didn't have a chance to go to the grocery store this weekend.

when i got home, i made a great dinner:

brown rice
kidney beans
broccoli and cauliflower
tomato
salsa
mexican blend cheese

i also had some veggie flax seed tortilla chips on the side (not pictured)

honestly- it was delicious (even though the picture isn't great) and i was stuffed! all the veggies really add a lot of volume to the plate and fill you up :)

alright, today i am determined to purchase a foam roller- hopefully they have one at the running store near my office. every day i come home saying how much i wish i had one! it's about time i took the plunge...

hope everyone has a lovely tuesday!

monday detox and 50th post!

2009-06-22T11:33:00.007-04:00

after a week/weekend of not-so great eating, i'm excited that it's monday! mondays are great for getting back on track. i was actually really excited for my cereal and banana this morning :)

also, i am happy to announce that this makes my 50th post on the blog! i'm so glad i've made it this far :) the blog has definitely transformed, but there's still a lot i'd like to do with it- maybe by the time i reach my 100th post it will be even better!

eats

breakfast

kashi autumn sunshine cereal
1 sliced banana
almond breeze
1 iced coffee with almond breeze and 1 stevia

no pic of the brekkie- i was hungry by the time i got around to eating it and forgot to snap one before i dug in!

lunch
1 6" subway sub with:

turkey
cheese
pickles
olives
lettuce
tomato
onion
oregano
vinegarette
whole wheat bread

exercise
tonight i'm headed to team for kids! we have runs on saturday, monday and wednesday, but so far i've only been to saturday runs since i have a nyrr class on tues nights, and i've been trying to do less running/more cross training.

but, since i didn't go on saturday, i figured it would be a great way to start my week!

we're doing an easy 4 mile run on the bridle path. i just hope the rain holds off...

happy monday everyone!

and, i'm back

2009-06-21T09:25:00.003-04:00

i know you all missed me :) sorry i've been mia for a while, but things with work and life got a little busy this week. but here i am, and i'm hoping this will be a better week!

exercise

i managed to get in a few decent workouts this week, including a great speed workout at my running class on tuesday night in central park.

we did intervals:

1 mile (on the 110th st. hills!)
1/2 mile
1/2 mile
1/4 mile
1/4 mile

my stomach was bothering me a bit, so i feel like i could have pushed a bit harder, but it was still a great workout. it always is- every tuesday i leave class feeling totally exhausted and beat, but great. it's a little sick, i know.

wednesday i got in some strength with a total body conditioning class at the gym, and thursday i took as a rest day, since i did my long run friday.

thursday was also the worst day ever in nyc, weather-wise at least. it was pouring rain all day, and really just blah. i feel like everyone was in a really weird mood because of it, including me!

since thursday was pretty much a bust, friday was the busiest day ever! i still had to fit in my long run since i couldn't make it to team for kids saturday, so i went to the gym after work. i know, i know treadmill running is awful, but it was really the only way i could make it work since i still had some other errands and stuff to do after that.

anyway, it was a bit of a disaster. i was having stomach issues again (more on that later) and i was exhausted from a crazy busy day. i ran at 8:49 minute mile pace, and it wasn't great. well, the first 3 miles about were ok. then i had to stop for a bathroom break, and it was hard to get back into it. i stopped every mile to get off the treadmill for a water break, and i called it a day after 5 miles.

oh well, not every workout is a winner, and not every week is a good week. i'm still glad that i fit in a run, and that i tried to push the pace (aka didn't slown down to 10 minute miles- it's not that long of a run yet that i can justify doing that).

today i may try and head to the gym a little later either for a yoga class, or an elliptical workout and some weights. still trying to keep the running balanced with cross training, especially because to throw another log on the fire, my right hip has now started bothering me :(

boy, i guess this really isn't my week! i hate to be whiney though, so i'm trying to keep a positive outlook.

eats

this week wasn't the best for me food-wise either. when i get super stressed, it usually gets harder for me to eat healthfully, although in reality it's probably when it counts the most to have a healthy diet!

i definitely noticed that this week. i wasn't great about making sure to eat enough fruit and veggies, and i ate a little here and there of things i don't normally, and it really affected me. more bagels, less cereal or oats. more random snacks (i.e. a handful or 2 of m&ms, less fruit). more eating out in general. not enough water throughout the day, more alchohol than usual.

because of this, a lot of days this week my stomach was upset, and i definitely could tell my body was affected by my choices.

still, i feel like it definitely made me aware of how my body does respond to what i put in it, and it made me realize that it's important to listen to my body, which i'm getting better at every day.

i'm still glad i was able to hold up some of my goals for the healthy life month challenge.

i still haven't been using any artificial sweetener
have incorporated much more whole grain into my diet
have been eating less meat.

areas that are still challenging for me are:

dairy (i can't help it, i love cheese!)
soy products
white flour/sugar.

but even so, i haven't had any milk since the start of the challenge except for almond milk. i cut back on soy except for tofu cream cheese, and i have greatly limited my intake of white flour and try to cut back on sugar where i can.

it's all a work in progress :)

alright, hope everyone has a lovely sunday!

team for kids

2009-06-16T08:12:00.009-04:00

i've mentioned in some previous posts, and you've probably realized by now, that i'm training to run the nyc marathon this year with team for kids.

team for kids is a group of more than 1,300 runners who raise funds to support the youth services arm of new york road runners.

did you know:

more than 43 percent of new york city children are overweight or obese, putting them at significant risk for early onset of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic illnesses that undermine quality of life and that, nationally, lead to health-care costs in excess of $100 billion annually?

student-teacher ratios for physical education in new york city elementary schools are estimated to be 730 to 1, and 2 out of every 5 new york city public schools offer no after-school sports or fitness activities at all.

team for kids helps nyrr deliver running-based fitness programs to 50,000 at-risk school children each week in new york and a handful of other cities. these programs are run by trained volunteers who help kids learn to run, eat well, and achieve fitness and health goals.

(information above provided by team for kids)

please support me and thousands of children in the fight against childhood obesity by

DONATING NOW!

to donate follow the link above and:

enter my marathon entry number: 347601
enter my last name: Hirschorn

your support really means a lot, and will help me reach my goal of raising $2500 and running 26.2 miles this november!

steel cut oats and holey donuts!

2009-06-15T11:01:00.012-04:00

well, it's monday which means back to my regularly scheduled eating. on weekends i usually tend to indulge a bit more and allow myself some "treats." during the week, for the most part i try to stick to a more balanced diet and tend to plan out more of my meals.

i finally finished all of my trader joe's maple brown sugar oatmeal packets, so for brekkie i decided to try the steel cut oats i bought a few weeks ago. it's a rainy day in nyc (again!) so i figured it was more of an oatmeal day than a cereal day.

breakfast

1/4 c. trader joe's steel cut oats
about 1/2 c. water
about 1/2 c. almond breeze
1 sliced banana
1 large dollop raw almond butter

this was my first time making steel cut oats and since i made them at work i had to use the microwave rather than the stovetop. they took a bit longer to cook than my usual oatmeal, but they still came out pretty good.

after cooking them for a combined total of 5 minutes, i ended up with a heaping bowl of oats :) it was so much that i couldn't even finish it all. i probably ate a little more than half, and then i was stuffed.

they tasted a little more chewy than the oatmeal i'm used to, but overall not too shabby. i will definitely be eating these again, and maybe one of these days if i have time i'll make them the night before on the stove.

lunch
mixed greens salad with:

tomato
baby corn
cucumber
chick peas
feta

i also had a pear on the side.

now that i shared some of my healthy eats, please check out danica's holey donut giveaway :) these donuts look amazing, and, the best part is they're lower calorie treats. i reeeallly wish i had one of these for my afternoon snack, but i guess i'll just have to settle for my greek yogurt with strawberries and walnuts...

olives and deep water running

2009-06-15T08:10:00.002-04:00

i had a great run on saturday with team for kids! we did a 5.5 mile run (about- probably closer to 6 miles with the warm up). i went with the experienced group again, and our average pace was around 8:45 minute miles. although i have to say we did vary the pace quite a bit, jumping around from over 9 minutes, to under 8 minutes.

we finished the run with a strong sprint, which was tough but felt great. all in all a great run. it wasn't hot, but i could definitely feel the humidity towards the end.

then, we did our cool down and stretching, which included some yoga courtesy of one of our members who is a yoga instructor :)

i did get to ask the coach about my foot, and he has a podiatrist he recommended i see. he told me if orthodics would help correct my gait and reduce my pain, then they would be good as long as they're the soft kind. additionally, he said that it's ok if i incorporate more cross training into my workouts, and that if anything that would be a benefit to me.

he also recommended that i look into the deep water running class that nyrr offers, because it's non-impact but still a great "running" workout. i looked into it and the next class i would sign up for starts on july 27th, which is still a month away. that's ok though because in the meantime i still have the nyrr running class on tuesdays.

in the meantime i will try and run 2 days a week with team for kids and do the nyrr class one day, and cross train the rest of the time. i'll keep an eye on how my foot is feeling though, and alter my training accordingly.

unfortunately the 5.5 mile run was the extent of my exercise for the weekend. but maybe it's better that i rested on sunday anyway, since tonight i have another team for kids run after work.

afterward saturday's run i headed over to see my friend's new apartment, and then we went to ess a bagel. i was especially delighted to find that at this location they had tofu olive cream cheese!! i LOVE olives, but they never have tofu olive cc anywhere, so this made my day. i ordered that on a whole wheat bagel, and it was maybe the best thing i've ever eaten. well, i was STARVING by the time we ate, but it certainly rivals my discovery of sabra greek olive hummus, at the least.

anyway, obviously i had tofu, which is not a part of the cleaner life month challenge, but that's ok. i did say at the outset there were certain things i wasn't and didn't want to give up and i am fine with that. i've still been reducing my consumption of the items on the no-no list, and in some cases eliminating them, and i am still very happy with my progress so far.

i'll do another update on the cleaner life month later this week!

sorry there are no pictures of the bagel and olive cc in all its glory , but i didn't bring my camera with me to team for kids, so i couldn't take any pics.

happy monday :)

designer diggs

2009-06-13T14:27:00.003-04:00

check out my new diggs! am i even spelling that right?

anyway, you may have noticed some changes to my blog design. when i started the blog, i just went for it with out doing much research ahead of time about how to really create a blog. i kind of just jumped right in.

so, it's a work in progress as i figure it all out, but i'm making some headway. i also have my own domain name now, which i'm very excited about!

www.stephrunsthecity.com

you'll still be able to get to the blog from the blogspot address, but having my own url is pretty darn cool :)

alright, i hope everyone is enjoying their weekends! more about this morning's tfk run coming soon...

spin and sushi friday

2009-06-12T11:41:00.011-04:00

exercise
my foot has been bothering me all week, probably the result of lots of running in the past few weeks :( going from the half marathon, right into marathon training and the 10k race was a lot.

since sunday's race i've been trying to take it easy - i did a total body conditioning class for some strength training monday, a speed workout tuesday and took wednesday AND thursday off!

today i did some cross training and took a spin class- it was great. i love doing spin because it gets my heart rate up a lot and helps keep up my endurance, but it's less stress on my foot.

i'm enrolled in a nyrr running class right now, and that combined with my team for kids runs makes for a lot of running! but i love love LOVE the nyrr class. i can't say enough great things about it. they're totally killer speed work sessions, but the class helped me improve my performance and increase my speed SO much.

so, because of running class i haven't gone to all of my team for kids runs this week, which is ok. it's still early, and i already have a base that i'm working with.

tomorrow i have a team for kids (tfk) run- we're doing about 5.5 miles. one (of the many) great thing about tfk is that they promote running on soft surfaces, like the bridle path in central park, rather than on pavement. they say this will help the longevity of your running career by putting less stress on your body. i totally agree, and need to pay more attention to this when i run. i'm hoping it will help my foot, too :)

at tfk tomorrow i plan on talking to the coaches about what i can do to prevent my injury from getting worse, and how i may be able to alter the marathon training plan a little bit to incoporate some more cross training and a little less running. i've been reading so many different marathon training plans, i think i'm getting myself confused!

eats

anyway, enough about running. tonight i'm having sushi for dinner and i can't wait! i heart sushi friday :) i may break a cleaner life month rule though and get the sushi with white rice- we'll see.

this morning i was good- i didn't get tofu cream cheese, or regular cheese on my bagel! instead, i got a whole wheat bagel with egg and tomato- filling and delicious- yum!

lunch was the other half of my salad from yesterday- yummm. i think i'm addicted to the sherry shallot vinagarette dressing from just salad...

happy (almost) weekend!

challenge check-in and some eats

2009-06-11T08:10:00.023-04:00

so, it's friday, and day FIVE of the cleaner life challenge. how have i been doing so far? well, pretty darn good if i do say so myself.

i certainly have been eating some things on the "no-no" list, but overall my choices have been better, and i just feel better in general. i know the challenge has only been happening for 4 days, but i've been trying to slowly make changes over the past weeks, and i have noticed a difference!

someone even commented to me that my face looked thinner and asked if i'd been losing weight :) i am, in fact at my lowest weight since high school, which was, oh, well too many years ago to really say ;)

it's somewhat surprising to me since i haven't been counting calories, or measuring (unless for a specific recipe). in general i've been eating foods that fill me up, that are more nutritious, and i've been listening to my body. eating when i'm hungry, stopping and not finishing if i'm full (shocker!), and also indulging in real treats, on occasion, which leave me more satisfied than the fake stuff.

i've also been eating a whole lot of peanut and almond butter, like a ridiculous amount, like a little less than a jar a week, but i guess that's another story...

anyway, here are some of this week's eats:
monday
breakfast

nature's path rasin bran with flax cereal
1 banana, sliced
handful of walnuts
almond breeze
1 cup iced coffee with almond breeze and agave syrup

lunch

salmon salad made with canned salmon, chopped celery and miracle whip

1 whole wheat english muffin
side salad with mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, celery, feta cheese

dinner

whole wheat cous cous
chick peas
roasted assorted veggies including onions, zucchini, squash, eggplant, asparagus
2 tbsp sabra greek olive hummus

desert

fig newman's with pb&co. "the bees knees" peanut butter

(sorry, no pic of this yummy dinner- i left my camera memory card at work!)

tuesday
breakfast

nature's path rasin bran with flax
1 sliced banana
handful of walnuts
almond breeze
1 iced coffee with almond breeze and 1 packet stevia

lunch

salmon salad with chopped celery
whole wheat english muffin
side salad with celery, tomato, cucumbers, feta
1 pear

same as yesterday for brekkie and lunch so i'll spare you the pics of everything but the pear :)

snack

1 serving trader joe's peanut butter pretzels
chocolate almond breeze

dinner

whole wheat cous cous
chickpeas
onions, squash, zuchini, asparagus, peppers

wednesday
breakfast

nature's path blueberry cinnamon optimum cereal
1 banana, sliced
handful walnuts
1 container trader joe's organic greek vanilla yogurt, 0%
1 cup iced coffee with almond breeze and agave syrup

this yogurt bowl combo was EXTREMELY filling- i couldn't finish it! i ate probably about 3/4.

lunch

salad with mixed greens, chickpeas, dried cranberries, walnuts, feta, cucumber, tomato, celery

snack

1 serving peanut butter puffins
chocoalte almond breeze

dinner

whole wheat cous cous
blackbeans
corn
tomatoes
onions
cheddar cheese
salsa

desert

fig newmans with pb & co. "the bees knees" peanut butter

thursday
breakfast

nature's path blueberry cinnamon optimum cereal
1 banana, sliced
handful raw peacn halves
almond breeze
1 cup iced coffee with almond breeze and 1 packet stevia

lunch

chopped spinach salad with:
portabello mushrooms
hearts of palm
wheatberries
blue cheese
asparagus
a little bit of sherry shallot dressing on the side
1 small piece whole grain bread
1 orange

snack

peanut butter puffins

beverage

1 and a half bottles of magner's cide - yummmm

this, i'm sure is not part of the cleaner life challenge, but i did say there are some things i wasn't going to give up ;) we went out for a co-worker's last day so i counted it as a treat :)

dinner

whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce
sprinkle of pecorino romano
1 whole wheat english muffin with pat of butter

(sorry- the camera ate my picture of this yummy-ness!)

what's good:

nut milk instead of skim
stevia/agave syrup instead of splenda
no meat
no soy
whole wheat grains
lots of veggies
beans
nuts
organic greek yogurt

what's questionable:

processed foods and snacks like pretzels, cereal, cookies
not enough fruit
non-organic cheese/too much cheese

i think the fact that my good list outweighs my questionable list isn't too shabby :) also, even though i'm eating processed food like cereal, it is organic and lower in sugar than some other alternatives.

so far so good, although i am contemplating a bagel with tofu cc toay... ;)

next week i hope to cut back on the dairy and cheese.

does anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend? i have a run with Team for Kids saturday, and the rest of the weekend is up in the air :)

happy friday!

speed demon! nyrr women's mini 10k re-cap

2009-06-10T09:53:00.003-04:00

happy wednesday! i can't believe it's already wednesday, but i am so, SO glad it is :)

on sunday, i ran the nyrr women's mini 10k in central park. it was a great race, the best i've run all season, and maybe EVER! i got a PR, and i broke the 8 minute mile pace mark!!!

here are my stats from the race:

Time: 48:42
Pace Per Mile: 7:51
Overall Place: 349
Age Place: 97

i am so happy with my time, and i really had no idea i could even go that fast. i think it helped that i had a specific goal in mind, and that i was mentally prepared to meet that goal. i was shooting for 8 minute miles, and somehow i went even faster.

this is a great race, although the course is a bit tough.

miles 1-2: the first mile and change are done outside of the park on central park west, which is closed to traffic. it's a flat road, so it's pretty easy to take off fast. i did my first 2 miles at around a 7:30 pace give or take. once we entered into the park, we started to approach the hills. i felt great through mile 2 :) i was flying on the first downhill! i grabbed water at the second water station but continued running with it.

miles 3-4: i started to get a bit tired around mile 3, but i blew past those hills! they wore me out! i noticed my pace slowing a bit, but i told myself to keep pushing it. i wondered if i had maybe gone out too fast. although i slowed, i didn't let myself slow too much and i kept a fast past. i got water at the third water station- but this time i stopped and walked fast while drinking.

miles 5-6.2: this was the toughest stretch of the race! i was so tired, but i kept pushing. i told myself i had to reach my goal, and that i would feel so happy when i finished and i did it. i told myself how disappointed i would be if i gave up. i was happy once we made it down to 59th street and rounded the south side of the park. i was even happier when we saw the sign that said 800 meters left! at that point i picked up my speed a little. we were almost there! then we saw the sign for 400 meters left- it felt like forever between those two signs- i couldn't believe i'd only gone 400 meters :( the woman in front of me shouted out "No!" when we saw there was still 400 meters left. i totally felt the same way! i pushed on, the last home stretch was killer, but finally i made it to the finish line!!

afterwards i was so happy to see my time, and proud of myself that i didn't give up! at the finish, evetyone received a flower and a medal, and i enjoyed a plum and some water and gatorade.

all in all it was a great race! i realized how fast i could go, and i hope to continue to improve my speed throughout the summer through my speed workouts at my nyrr running class.

cleaner life month- day one

2009-06-08T22:18:00.002-04:00

so, a few days ago, i read about heather's cleaner life month . recently i've been doing a lot to try and eat a more natural, less artificial diet, and incorporating more fruits and veggies on a daily basis.

so, i'm jumping on the cleaner life bandwagon! my goal is to follow heather's guidelines where i can, and try to eat as clean a diet as possible. i'm not necessarily going to eliminate all of the items on the "no-no" list, but where i can't or don't want to i will cut back on them.

i want to use this challenge to help me think more about the types of food i'm putting in my body, and to help me to make better choices.

here's the general idea behind the challenge:

the no-nos:

soy, tofu, soymilk, soy products
artificial sweeteners
non-organic dairy products (or dairy products in general)
non-organic produce
white flour
white sugar
pre-packaged or processed foods
coffee

the good list:

organic dairy or nut milk (i.e. almond milk)
natural sweeteners (honey, agave syrup)
whole wheat flour/grains
fresh fruit, fresh produce
tea

my goals:

eliminate artificial sweeteners and use honey, agave syrup or stevia ONLY
use almond milk instead of skim milk
buy organic dairy products, like greek yogurt and cheese; reduce my intake of these items
eat only whole wheat past and cous-cous- NO MORE WHITE PASTA!
eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
reduce my consumption of pre-packaged and processed foods, such as pretzels, certain granola bars, crackers, cookies, etc. (i definitely won't eliminate these items, i enjoy them, so i will try to eat less of them)
eat more natural snacks, such as dried fruit and nuts
drink more water! (this one wasn't on the list, but i've been slacking in the hydration department, and need to pay more attention to this)
start drinking more tea and less coffee; if i do drink coffee, no artificial sweeteners, and limit it to 1 cup a day
reduce my consumption of meat (this wasn't necessarily part of the challenge, but it's something i've been thinking about a lot lately, and i think it fits in nicely!); eat fish instead of meat, if anything
increase my consumption of legumes, and incorporate new healthy grains into my diet, such as qinoa and polenta

what i've done so far:

stopped using splenda and other artificial sweeteners
purchased honey and agave syrup to use instead
switched from skim milk to almond breeze
purchased organic greek yogurt
purchased lots of fruits and vegetables for the week, many of which were organic (although not everything was!)
haven't eaten meat since wednesday!
purchased whole grain cous cous and pasta
made quinoa for the first time last week!

wow, that seems like a lot and it's only day one, although i've been making the effort to do some of these things for the past few weeks anyway. that's why i was so excited to read about this challenge!

i'm definitely not perfect though - i bought non-organic cheese this week, and some non-organic produce, including strawberries and bananas (yes these fruits represent some of the dirty dozen). i also bought pretzels, some fig newman's cookies, and i still have some crackers from the past few weeks too.

but, that's ok! i'm happy with the progress i've made, and i'm sure i will make additional changes in the coming weeks.

i also need to remember that balance is important. even if some of my fruit and veggies aren't organic, they still may be a better choice than some other things. and, i don't want to deprive myself of the things i really enjoy, but i want to to try and enjoy them in moderation.

i just finished reading food matters by mark bittman, who is a chef and food columnist for the new york times. this book has helped to think about eating more cleanly and naturally, and it really goes along with the principles of the cleaner life month! look out for a review of the book coming soon!

mango banana-y goodness

2009-06-08T15:39:00.013-04:00

on saturday i had a busy day planned after my team for kids run, which included wedding stuff, and also the most delicious smoothie i have ever had/made in my ENTIRE life. seriously, i cannot tell you how good this smoothie was, and it makes me sad to think i've been missing out on this deliciousness for so many years.

after team for kids i came home and made a super quick lunch, which consisted of a veggie burger on 1 slice of whole wheat toast, with 1 piece of laughing cow light cheese, lettuce, ketchup and mustard. i also had some yummy fresh strawberries on the side, which i bought on my way home from my run.

then i quickly got ready and headed out the door to go look for bridesmaid dresses! i went to two stores, and tried about a bazillion dresses :) luckily i had an idea of what i was looking for, and it only took about two hours.

i ended up finding a great dress that is simple, elegant, and i think will look flattering on all of my bridesmaids. no, they likely won't be able to wear it again (afterall it is still a bridesmaid dress) but it's not completely hideous and tacky!

i brought along a kind cranbury almond bar to snack on during my shopping trip, which i enjoyed with a small iced coffee from starbucks in between stores.

in my iced coffee, i put only a very small amount of skim milk, and no sweetner. i stopped using splenda and artificial sweetner in my drinks, and i have to say it's going really well! it was much easier than i thought to ween myself, and i've gotten used to drinking my coffee and tea without as much sweetner.

i initially transitioned by substituting stevia, a new, (supposedly) natural sweetner. i'd like to try to use that sparingly, and so i also bought honey and agave syrup to keep at work for my morning coffee and tea :)

so far, so good!

after bridesmaid dress shopping i came home, and since it was going to be a while before i ate dinner, i wanted to have another snack. i was thinking about yogurt, but decided instead to use the yogurt to make a smoothie- best idea EVER!

we usually have a ton of frozen fruit, but we only had frozen mango left. so i made a smoothie with:

two handfuls frozen mango
1/2 banana
1 individual container trader joe's organic 0% vanilla greek yogurt
some water, for blending

the result: heaven on earth! it was the most amazing, creamy smoothy i've ever tasted. it was like a mango cremsicle, but better. it was very thick and creamy. the mango and vanilla yogurt blended together to create the perfect amount of sweetness, and there was a subtle hint of banana, just the right amount.

(this picture does not do it justice. had i known how good this would be, i would have spent more time working to portray its true deliciousness.)

of course, i made it using my magic bullet, which you should go buy right now if you don't already have one.

i bought lots of yogurt and more frozen fruit yesterday, and i hope to re-create this amazingness again soon :)

later, we went to a friends' apartment for dinner i had 1.5 slices of pizza (blotted with a napkin) and lots of salad. i also enjoyed way to much of the delicious snacks, which included dried fruit, baked jalapeno cheeze doodles from trader joes, cookies, and an assorted variet of chips. i definitely tried everything ;)

the fiance and my friends went out afterwards, but i headed home and called it a night so i could rest up for my 10k on sunday!

i was a little sad to have to head home :( ahh, the sacrafices a runner has to make...
it was certainly well worth it though, since sunday's 10k was my best race yet!

i heart team for kids!

2009-06-08T08:20:00.007-04:00

hello, and happy monday! sorry i've been mia the past few days, what a crazy busy weekend! it was jam packed with lots of running (of course!), wedding planning, and seeing friends.

friday was a nice night in. the fiance and i ordered in dinner and watched a movie. have any of you ever seen memento? it's from a while back, but neither of us had seen it. it was only ok, a little disappointing in the end though.

dinner was takeout from an asian place near my old apartment. it was rainy and yuck, and i decided to go with the veggie noodle soup. i ate about half, and the veggies were delish.

i also had some cheese and crackers on the side.

i'm glad i had a relaxing night, because on saturday, i had my first team for kids training run. my five month journey to 26.2 has officially begun! it's so crazy to think i'm actually starting to train for the marathon, because it's something i've been thinking and talking about for a really long time.

the training run on saturday was a nice and easy 4 mile run. before we began, we all gathered at a meeting spot where we got a little introduction from the head coach, met all of our coaches, and heard from the executive director of team for kids, as well as the president of nyrr, mary wittenberg.

everyone was so friendly, welcoming and enthusiastic, which makes me really excited for the next five months.

then, we broke out into three group levels for the run. beginner, intermediate, and experienced. at first i went with the intermediate group, because honestly i was intimidated by the small amount of people in the experienced group (a handful of men, who looked like they could be the super-fast type). i eventually switched to the experienced group though, when they told us about the pace of the groups.

we had two coaches, who were really great. they talked with us throughout the run, and encouraged us to ask questions. i think they'll be a great resource and will provide good advice throughout our training. one of them even was a professionally competitive runner who was at the world champion level (i think) for the 800 meter.

the run went well, we finished in about 31 minutes and afterwards we stretched. we also did a short warmup and stretched before the run, and they told us about the important difference between active, or dynamic stretching before a run, and static stretching after a run.

the active/dynamic stretching incorporates movement, so you're not pulling (and potentially tearing) your muscles. after a run, your muscles are already warmed up, so it's ok to incorporate both active/dynamic and static stretching.

with team for kids, we have runs 3 times a week- a long run on saturday, and evening runs on mondays and wednesdays. this week, i'm skipping monday and wednesday, since i ran both sat. and sun. (a 10k on sat.) and i also have nyrr running class on tuesday night.

i definitely don't want to over do it, so for now i'll go to the saturday runs, and maybe next week start going one evening as well.

with the start of team for kids, and with my official acceptance to the marathon that i received friday, i am now officially training for a marathon!

stay tuned for my re-cap of the women's mini 10k, which i ran on sunday, and more about my weekend...

rainy friday

2009-06-05T08:28:00.005-04:00

good morning! i'm so happy it's friday that i don't event care about the rain outside my window. i'll take what i can get here - friday trumps rain.

yesterday i made a delicious afternoon yogurt bowl- this was a really great afternoon snack, especially for summer, because it's filling and refreshing at the same time.

it contained:

1 cup trader joe's 0% organic greek vanilla yogurt
strawberries
handful of walnuts

the walnuts add crunch and really make the whole snack! i do really like the tj's greek yogurt. i know that the plain has less sugar, but sometimes i just like the sweetness of the vanilla. i tend to switch back and forth between plain and vanilla, or just buy whichever they have because they don't always have both!

i enjoyed a nice spin class after work. it was a nice change from all of my running and my usual weekly workout routine! after the class, i also did a mini-weights session, which included:

30 bicep curls
30 tricep curls
20 shoulder presses
30 side arm raises
20 upper body rows
20 dead lifts
30 pushups
combination of situps, including bicycles :)

i also am in the process of switching my workout schedule back from mornings to evenings. i started working out in the mornings a few months ago, and loved having the extra time at night. however, my running class and team for kids runs during the week are all in the evenings, so it makes sense for me to do all my workouts after work.

in a way, it's kind of nice, because it gives me more time in the morning!

when do you workout?

dinner was a little bit of a downer last night. it sadly was not successful. i bought a package of tempehtations, which are pre-made tempeh cubes with marinade. the ones i purchased were ginger teriyaki flavor, and i was really excited to try them.

i sauteed them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and some broccoli, and served them over rice, with some leftover sweet potato, too.

i tried them, but i just couldn't do it- i had to stop eating them! they had a weird after taste to them, and i couldn't tell if that's what they were supposed to taste like (i've never had tempeh before) or if they had gone bad!

either way, i didn't like it, so i took them off my plate and ate the sweet potatos and broccoli. i also had some leftover black beans that i heated up on the side for some protein which i added to the rice.

i'm glad i tried the tempeh, but sad it didn't work out because i really wanted to like it! oh well, that's not to say i won't evet try it again!

for desert, i had one of my mini soy ice cream sandwiches with "the bees knees" peanut butter. it was my last one, which makes me both happy and sad at the same time!

i'm glad i got a little strength training in yesterday, because i'm taking today as a rest day. tomorrow marathon training begins, and sunday i'm running the women's mini 10k in central park! is anyone else running that?

alright, better grab my umbrella and it's off to work!

hi, i'm steph, and i'm addicted to veggie burgers

2009-06-04T11:57:00.005-04:00

this morning was delicious- a nice refreshing bowl of cereal.

it had:

1 cup nature's path rasin bran
1 banana
3/4 cup skim milk
handful of walnuts

sooo good...

so, can you guess what i'm having for lunch today? yep, that's right, a VEGGIE BURGER!

i might be a little obsessed, just a little. they're tasty, filling, and so easy to throw together for lunch at night, or in the a.m.

today, lunch included:

1 morning star farm vegetable medley veggie burger
1 thomas' whole wheat english muffin
1 piece laughing cow light cheese
lettuce, tomato, and dijon mustard
grapes

ahh, heavenly :)

tonight after work i am headed to a spin class for some cross training.

don't forget to check out some giveaways!

gearing up for marathon

2009-06-04T08:07:00.006-04:00

good morning! i can't believe it's already thursday, but hey, i'm not complaining about that.

this week i've been taking it fairly easy with my workouts, what with recovering from the half, and prepping for marathon training which begins on (yikes!) saturday. this means lots of rest. i alloted for 6 days of working out this week, but i already skipped yesterday, and i might also take the day off on friday.

yesterday i just didn't feel like working out. i felt tired, and decided to listen to my body and just let myself REST.

i've mentioned before that this can be a pretty hard thing for me to do. but i have 5 months of training coming up, and i don't want to get burnt out before the marathon! i've heard from several people that they trained so much and worked themselves so hard, that by marathon time, they felt beat up.

i'd like to try to avoid that as much as possible, which for me really means not over-doing it, listening to my body, resting a day or two each week, and cross training. i think cross training will be key for me to keep up my endurance and help avoid inflaming the tendinitis in my foot, and also preventing other injuries.

anyway, here were some of yesterday's eats...

breakfast

1 packet tj's maple brown sugar oatmeal (last one!)
1 small banana
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. skim milk
1 small coffee with stevia and a splash of skim milk

i was on a breakfast bagel kick for a few days (i can't help my ess a bagel addiction), and decided the only thing that could get me off of that was some pb oatmeal goodness.

lunch

1 whole wheat mission tortilla wrap with 2 tbsp. sabra hummus, spinach, and roasted zuchini and eggplant
grapes

this wrap was unbelievable! i had roasted some veggies the night before for dinner, and used the leftovers in this wrap. the flavor was really good (i used olive oil, oregano, basil, salt and chopped garlic for the veggies) and the humus made it very savory. i was planning on eating half, but it was so good i ended up eating the whole thing!

dinner

leftover pasta with 2 trader joe's turkey meatballs and tomato sauce with a sprinkle of pecorino romano cheese
1 mini soy delicious ice cream sandwich, topped with pb & co. "the bees knees" peanut butter

i think i am addicted to the pb & co. peanut butter- i need to stop buying it ;)

alright, off to work. more to come soon on rest and recover, and cross-training...

half marathon and hot dogs!

2009-06-02T11:09:00.019-04:00

i did it! i finished the brooklyn half marathon. here are my stats from the race:

Time: 1:55:07
Pace Per Mile: 8:47
Overall Place: 3828/9629
Gender Place: 1022/4450
Age Place: 352/1469

this is a new pr for me in the half, and i beat my time from queens by 32 seconds!

that's definitely exciting, but i think i was actually a little dissapointed :( although i didn't really have a specific goal time, i think i was secretly hoping to beat my last pr by a few minutes. oh well, it was still better than my best time, so how can i really be upset about that?!

all in all the race went pretty well. i didn't feel as great as i thought i would, and i honestly think a lot of that had to do with the fact that i was still a bit congested. i brought tissues with me, but by the time the race started and we hit up the bathroom line, i only had 1 tissue left for the race! i used it as much as i could, but let's just say it was pretty gross, and i was actually planning in my head how long i could wait to blow my nose next :(

but it wasn't that bad.

i woke up at the crack of dawn on the morning of the race- i set my alarm for 5:15- yikes! i got dressed, made my breakfast (1 slice whole wheat bread with pb and banana), made some tea, put my chip and number on, and headed out the door.

that's when the fun began! i took the subway, and was meeting my friend on the last car of the F train. i had to take the L over to transfer to the F. luckily i had gotten directions the night before on hopstop.com, and they told me to take the L to 8th avenue and transfer to the F.

when i got to 8th ave, there was no F train! (i'm a bad new yorker, i should know where the f is- but luckily i didn't!). apparently there was a service change, and the F was running on the E line, which is at 8th avenue. hopstop accounted for a service change in my route, but didn't tell me what that was!

a little confusing/nerve-wracking, but luckily it all worked out, and i met my friend on the train :) i'm so glad i left really early and left myself extra time!

i ate my brekkie while i was waiting to switch trains, and when i got on the F i put on my sun screen. the train ride out was kind of long, but we saw lots of runners on the train. when we got there and made our way to the park, that's when the chaos began!

apparently, the baggage check was closing in 7 minutes- so everyone starting sprinting in that direction- including us! we made it in time, but my heart was racing and i felt so rushed!

immediately after we checked our bags, we headed out to find the bathrooms. there were obviously long lines, which we had to wait in (it felt like we picked the bathroom with the LONGEST line!). i feel like had we looked around or gotten there earlier, we could have found a better bathroom spot with a shorter line (way to go heather for going to mcdonald's- smart choice!) but we both felt so rush after the baggage check, we decided to wait it out- and wait we did! all the way to the start of the race and beyond!

i couldn't help feeling worried the whole time i was waiting in line. but, luckily the starting line was literally right in front of the port-a-potties, so we just jumped right in with the runners from the corrals crossing the start. that made for a rush start, and again, my heart was racing! usually i have some time to hang out in the corrals and 'relax,' but this time i went from worry-warting it up in the bathroom line straight to jumping in the race!

and here's how it all went down!

miles 1-3: i was feeling good! because we were rushing around through the start, i started the race off pretty fast, but because it was a bit crowded i felt like was going slow. i felt really good through these first three miles, however- there was NO WATER in sight! i really needed some... finally it was there at mile 3!

miles 4-6: another loop around the park! luckily i didn't think the hills throughout the park were that bad, after having done a 12 mile run the week before in central park with those killer hills! i felt ok all through my time in the park, but at mile 4 i definitely started to feel like i hit a mini-wall. my head felt a little cloudy, i think due to my sinus congestion. i had never felt like that during a race, i felt almost light-headed. but i pushed on! i turned on my trusty shuffle for some motivation.

miles 7-9: we exited the park, and i was glad to get on to an open road and have room to spread out; it was nice to have the first half of the race done with! we spilled from the park onto ocean pkwy, and it was a nice flat stretch. i was also very happy it was abundantly shaded with trees :) there were also lots of people around- a few lining the side of the road, and other people walking here and there, which i found to be a nice distraction. i was feeling ok, but starting to get tired. at mile 8, i had my packet of gu, which helped!

miles 10-13.1: i'm not gonna lie, i was definitely feeling really tired during these last three miles! i had ditched my sad, pathetic excuse for a tissue back around mile 8, so no more blowing the nose. in my head, i felt like i was going sloooow, but in reality i was keeping a steady pace, probably around 9 minute miles, but my feet were dragging. i stopped for an extra few seconds at the water stations at miles 10 and 12. then, FINALLY, we made a right turn, and were headed to the ramp to the boardwalk- the end was near! i pushed my way up that ramp- no stopping me! i chugged along and picked up my pace on the boardwalk- i was almost done! i sprinted to the finish, and that was that, i did it!

the boardwalk was a bit hard to run on since it was uneven, but luckily we weren't on it for all that long. after the finish we were herded down to the baggage area, where i got my bag and met up with my friend. we got some pretzels, and then met up with my dad and the fiance.

unfortunately, i didn't see them at the finish, and they didn't see me either! :( there were just too many people. i felt pretty bad, because this was the first race my dad came to- and it was all the way in brooklyn! but he had fun anyway, and it was nice to see each other afterwards.

we all headed over to nathan's to get hotdogs! now, i am not a hot dog person, at all, and i never ate them as a kid. i just never loved the taste. but my dad insisted i try a hot dog from the original nathan's, so i couldn't say no. it actually wasn't so bad smothered in mustard and ketchup and relish, in fact it was kind of good! this could also be because by the time we were done waiting in the LOOONG line, i was starving. i wolfed it down, hence no picture :(

then we headed back to the city. by the time we got back, i was hungry again- so i had a bagel with turkey and cheese, and some more pretzels. then, i took a glorious nap. it was, indeed, glorious.

after i woke up, i hung out for a bit, and the fiance and i headed to dinner. we walked around the village, and found a cute mexican place with outdoor seating. i had some chips and salsa, and ordered the chicken enchilada. it was everything i had hoped for :)

it also came with some beans on the side.

the fiance got a grilled chicken wrap, and i definitely had some of his fries! hey, i deserved it after all that running :)

of course, we happened to pass by 16 handles on our way home, and i got a yummy cookies and cream/pb with almonds and carob chips. :) a lovely ending to a great day!

it's only a day away...

2009-05-29T09:18:00.003-04:00

the brooklyn half marathon is tomorrow!!!

i'm happy to say i'm feeling MUCH better today, and expect to be 100% for tomorrow's race! my dad and the fiance are both coming out to cheer me on - yay :) it's always so nice to know you have people in the crowd there to cheer you on, especially for a long race. it's very motivating, and you have something to think about and look out for while you're chugging along.

i still have to pick out my race outfit- it's supposed to be warm tomorrow, so no doubt i'll be in shorts and a tank, and i'll probably wear my visor. since the race is in brooklyn and not central park, i'm bringing a bag with me to check, so i'll need to pack that too.

i also want to take a look at the course map and plan out my race a little. i did that last year for the queens half marathon, and it REALLY helped. in that race i got a half marathon pr, with a time of 1:55:29. my time in my first half marathon was 2:17:52. i improved by over 2o minutes!!!

that wasn't all from planning my race, i also added speedwork into my training, and was in much better shape overall. but still, planning my race ahead of time allowed me to think about what my goal pace per mile was, and what my overall goal time was. i then looked at the course map and figured out what my time should be at different key points- mile 3, 6, 9, etc.

it honestly really helped me stay on pace throughout the whole race, and to not go out too fast in the beginning. i wanted to finish in 2 hours, and i beat that by almost 5 minutes!

i'm not really sure what i want my time to be in this race, and i'm not as concerned about getting or beating a certan time as i was with queens. i think 2 hours is certainly a good target, and i will probably plan my race around that.

yay - i'm getting really excited!

i also decided to treat myself to a mani/pedi after the race- which definitely gives me something to look forward to :) i have a wedding to go to sunday, and figured my feet will need some lovin'.

today i have the day off from work- wahoo! so far i've been cleaning up the apartment and getting some wedding stuff done. i was finally able to check a few things off my (LONG) list, which felt great!

breakfast was yummy, my new favorite oatmeal combo:

1 packet tj's maple brown sugar oatmeal
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. soy milk
1 banana
1 tbsp almond butter
1 cup tea with 1 tsp. agave syrup

it was a little sweet today, because all i had at home was vanilla almond breeze (not the unsweetened kind), but it was still good. once i finish up all of my maple brown sugar oatmeal, i'm going to just start using plain steel cut oats to make my oatmeal. that will cut back a lot on the sugar, and i'm sure it will still taste great with the banana and milk and pb. maybe i'll even start experimenting with some other combos and different kinds of fruit now that it's summer!

now, what should i have for lunch?! i can barely finish one meal without thinking about the next!

Neti Pot Love

2009-05-28T12:36:00.008-04:00

good morning- or should i say afternoon (already?)! i'm happy to say i'm feeling much better today than yesterday.

i'm definitely still congested, but i'm hoping to get lots of rest tomorrow, so i'll be in tip-top shape for saturday's race!

i think my fears of swine have been put at bay, since last time i took my temp it was actually an un-fever! it was a whopping 97.3. i wonder if a low temp is also bad like a high temp?

in any case, my main concern about being sick was that you really aren't supposed to take any cold medication 48 hours prior to a race. luckily my friend, who suffers from bad allergies, recommended a natural way for me to relieve my nasal congestion, and hopefully prevent a sinus infection. enter: the neti pot!

upon first mention, the neti pot seemed to me like some weird freakish thing, kind of like ear candling- frea-ky!! but, after thinking about it more, it really makes sense.

the neti pot is basically a tea pot-like pot, which comes with packets of sodium chloride. to use it, you mix 1 packet of the sodium chloride with 8 oz. of luke warm water inside the pot. then, you tilt your head to the side (be sure to do this over the sink!) and basically just stick the spout up one of your nostrils. the water flows through your nasal cavity and out the other nostril.

so, if you're still reading and not totally grossed out at this point, the neti pot is basically like nasal irrigation. it flushes out your nasal cavity to remove allergens, relieve sinus congestion and pressure, and help you breathe easier.

honestly, it worked like magic! i used it about an hour before bed (they say on the package to wait an hour before bed, so that the solution won't drip down your throat and cause irritation). immediately after using it, my sinuses felt totally clear. soon after that, i did start to feel some congestion, but i was still able to breathe clearly, which i could not do before i used it. i went to sleep an hour later, and was able to breathe, and sleep completely through the night!

i know several allery-sufferers who swear by this pot, and say it really helps immensely. i'm going to continue using for the next few days, and i hope that by saturday morning i'll be at or almost 100 %.

i'm in loooove with the neti pot! (sorry fiancee).

shroom town

2009-05-27T14:37:00.005-04:00

happy hump day!

the great thing about short weeks is that just when the week begins it's already halfway done! tomorrow is also my friday since this week i have off friday.

but, that means busy days at work. just because the office is closed, doesn't mean the work goes away :(

today, i woke up feeling pretty congested. it's hard to tell if it's allergies, or a cold. at first i thought allergies because my throat was killing me yesterday, and has been bothering me for a few days now - that usually happens with allergies. today it's not so bad, but i feel pretty run down. it's one of those curl up on a couch with a blanket and a movie kind of days.

but here i am, working away!

excercise
this morning, i decided to do some yoga instead of an intense session with jillian and the 30 day shred. i felt bleh, and figured it's probably better not to over do it with the half marathon on saturday (ahh, so close!)

i chose a yoga workout from exercise tv on demand that was 16 minutes. it was only ok, i didn't love it. this could be due to the fact that i wasn't really feeling the whole working out thing this morning (and the cat kept getting in my way- apparently he loves yoga, or at least the yoga mat!) but i did learn some new poses:

moon
sun
cat
cow

we also did a few i remembered from before:

downward dog
chair
child's pose

i think this would have been good if it was longer, but i did like that it incorporated flow. we held a pose, then came out of it, then went back into it, and repeated that several times for each pose.

after the workout was over, i had been planning on doing it again, but decided to try something else instead. so i found a 10 minute core workout focusing on abs, and after that i did some exercises with my hand weights:

30 bicep curls
30 tricep curls
20 upright rows
20 dead lifts
20 shoulder presses

then i called it a day! or at least the start to my day...

it wasn't the best workout i've ever had, but i was glad that i at least did something. had i waited until later in the day, i know a workout would NOT have happened! it was my last workout of the week, and i'm excited to have a few days off to rest before saturday.

it's always hard for me to taper and rest in the last week before a big race. i tend to feel like if i'm not pushing it to the max, i'm not getting a good workout. it's particularly tough when i go to the gym and see other people running farther than me on the treadmill, or working harder/getting sweatier than i am. but, i have to remember to stick to my plan- i've been there and done that on other days! and it will only help me to take it easy. every day doesn't have to be my best workout ever. we all have our good days and our bad days.

i'm hoping the next few days of rest will help me feel better before the big race! i'm also trying to drink lots of fluids, and hopefully i'll hit the hay early the next few nights (easier said than done)!

eats
breakfast

few handfuls kashi honey sunshine ceral pre-yoga
1 packet tj's maple brown sugar oatmeal, with 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. milk, 1 banana, and a scoop of almond butter
1 cup english breakfast tea with stevia

YUM! i had been craving this oatmeal since last night...

lunch

1 medium mushroom barley soup from hale and hearty
1 hunk of whole grain bread

this soup was SO GOOD! i had been craving comfort food, and this hit the spot. and, the best part is, it was dairy free, low-fat, and vegetarian :)

snack

1 serving kashi tlc honey sesame crackers

today is a pretty carb-y day so far - oops! i tend to crave carbs when i'm feeling under the weather, especially with a cold. luckily, this is the week before a big race (hey, i'll take any excuse to carbo load!). i really try not to over do it with that though.

what are your thoughts on tapering and carbo-loading before races???

snack attack

2009-05-26T22:29:00.010-04:00

today it was back to the grind, and a healthy routine! but, i after eating so much this weekend, i felt like i could not stop snacking all day long :(

i kind of knew this would happen since i'd be sitting at my desk all day, and on top of that i knew it would be a busy day. so i tried to plan for it packed a lot of healthy things to munch on. i also broke into the snacks i keep in my cabinet too- oops!

today's eats:
breakfast

1 cup nature's path raisin bran with skim milk and one sliced banana
1 cup chai tea with stevia

lunch

lemon scented quinoa salad with chickpeas (recipe from jenna's blog)
1/2 golden delicious apple with cinamon, warmed in micro for 45 seconds- yum!

snack

other half of cinamon apple - 2:30 pm
cup of english breakfast tea with stevia - 3:30 pm
1 serving kashi honey sesame crackers with 1 piece babybel light cheese 4:30 pm
about 1 serving granola - 5:30 pm

yep-i pretty much snacked every hour on the hour all afternoon!

dinner

7 trader joe's shrimp dumplings with small amount of soyaki

desert

1 soy delicious chocolate almond covered coconut bars with 1 tbsp peanut butter
another tablespoon of peanut butter- just on the spoon!

i guess it was just one of those days! alright, time for bed. the good news is, tomorrow's already wednesday :)

summa time

2009-05-26T12:13:00.015-04:00

hello! i hope everyone enjoyed a nice, long, memorial day weekend. i know i did :) for us adults (ok, i guess in this case i fall into the adult category), memorial day weekend is like the equivalent of summer vacay. oh, except you have to go back to work after 3 days :( bummer...

here's a re-cap of my weekend:
Friday

i was lucky enough to have the day off! after a 12 mile run (last 12 long training run before next week's half!) i embarked on a huge cleaning and organization spree (spring cleaning about a month too late!) this girl's got one busy life to organize, and this was a good jump start to the weekend

lunch at Sunburst Cafe - delicious greek salad with iced coffee

a yummy dinner at VAMOS! a mexican restaurant, with friends followed by drinks at the Subnurnt Cow for a birthday celebration. dinner was veggie tacos with rice and beans, and a margarita! drinks were 2, ok, maybe 3, vodka sodas

Saturday

bagels at Ess A Bagel followed by a trip to central park, and bloomie's 40 carrots fro yo- yum!

dinner and wine at i Coppi, a cute Italian gem in the East Village

Sunday

errands- finally got a fan for the apartment!

Dinner at Zabb City - cute little thai place in the village (dinner was shrimp sauteed with garlic sauce, and jasmin rice) - SO good! followed by Angels and Demons, and a beer with friends

Monday

brunch at Banc Cafe (love this place!). i had the chicken and wild mushroom quesadilla- i pretty much get it every time!

spent some time hanging out with friends, then headed home to prepare for the (short) week!

made a recipe from Heidi Swanson, that I found on Jenna's blog for lunches this week, and dinner (chicken salad melt with peanut ginger noodles from tj's)

went to 16 handles for more frozen yogurt- i'm addicted to this place, and somehow always end up adding too much yogurt to my cup, even though i swear next time i won't... i got the ny cheesecake/peanut butter with almonds and carob chips

all in all a lovely weekend. WAY too much indulgence, but i'm very excited to get back to some healthy eating this week in preparation for my half marathon on saturday!

take me out to the ball game

2009-05-20T19:29:00.006-04:00

hello! sorry for no posting yesterday. at the last minute, the fiance was able to get tix to the yankee game! i rushed out of work to come home and change, and didn't get home until late, but it was well worth it :)

the new stadium is beautiful and open, and a total homage to the yankees with photos everywhere.

i really love going to yankee games, and i have great memories of going as a kid with my dad and my grandpa. it was always fun and special, and i still feel that way when i go to games now.

one of my favorite things about the games when i was younger was all of the great "baseball food" at yankee stadium! i mean i do like baseball, but as a 7 year-old, it's pretty tough to sit through an entire game. so i always looked forward to all of the fun treats. without fail my dad always got peanuts, i always got ice cream, and somewhere in between was a hot dog (even though i never liked hot dogs i always got them for some reason), a soft pretzel or cracker jacks.

at the new stadium, there's even more food, and a lot of different choices! i was honestly expecting there to be even more variety with the way people were talking, but it was still prettu overwhelming.

i did think they would have a few more healthy options. we walked around two levels of the stadium fully to scope everything out. the first level had the most variety, and i guess the most healthy choices (although those weren't so spectacular) - that's where the tix cost the most, so not surprising!

i settled on the boar's head vendor for a sandwich, which i thought was one of the best bets- but was surprised to see the turkey sandwich i wanted was over 800 calories! (they put the calories next to every menu item at all of the stands- which is kind of nice, but also kind of stinks!). i chose the roast beef with provolone instead, which was about 100 calories less.

it came with chips- and i was so hungry that i opened the bag on the way back to my seat to eat a few. when i got back to my seat and started eating my sandwich, i was really disappointed to find that the roast beef was really fatty- yuck! i had planned to eat only half the sandwich, but instead i pretty much took out all of the meat except for a tiny bit, and ate the whole sandwich, which was mostly provolone cheese, lettuce and tomato. i also added a little mayo (which i love, but try not really eat much of- i figured a ball game was an appropriate place for it!).

i also had a piece of the fiance's soft pretzel. no pics of the food- it was too hard to balance everything on my lap!

anyway, the game was great- the yankees won! and i'm really glad i got to go, even if dinner was a bust.

alright, off to bed soon- more on today's eats tomorrow!

still shredding

2009-05-18T20:59:00.011-04:00

i've been doing the 30 day shred for about two weeks now (yay!), and i guess it's time for an update.

date started: may 1, 2009
current date: may 18th, 2009 (what?!?!?!!!! how is it already may 18th??)
number of days i shredded: 10 (approximate- i kind of forgot to keep track, i think it may have only been 8 days, but sometimes i did it twice)
current level: 3

truth be told this is a tough workout. i started off with level 1, and did that only for a few days. level one was challenging, but definitely still manageable for me, not too tough for someone who's already fit and doing weight training.

then i moved on to level 2. well, that's another story- definitely more intense. the cardio is harder, and you work your shoulders a lot, and the abs were tougher. do this twice through, or after a run, you feel like you're going to die!

today, i started level 3- even tougher! i had a slight snafu with my dvd skipping, and ended up only doing this once through, and taking a 5 minute break- which actually was kind of nice because i felt like i needed one! the cardio intervals are really intense. the abs were challenging too, as were the jumping lunges (ugh, i hate lunges!).

i think level three will be really difficult to do twice through, but will make for a great workout.

overall likes:

easy to wake up and do the video in the comfort of your own living room
less time-consuming than going to gym in morning
intense- feels like i'm getting a great workout
cardio and strength in one
can be short or long workout if you do once or twice through
i don't hate jillian michaels in this workout as much as i hated billy blanks from tae bo (maybe since it's only 20 minutes)

overall dis-likes:

feels like not enough "strength" and too much cardio (since i already run and do other cardio on my own)
don't feel like i'm getting an overall toning like with total body conditioning, although maybe i'm working my muscles in a different way
my living room is a bit small, so it's kind of a tight squeeze, and sometimes my cat likes to try and workout with me

i took my measurements before i started, so i'll give an update once the month is over, and see if anything changed! i was already "in shape" before i started, so not sure if it really will make much of a difference, but i guess i'll find out!

and here's a recap of today's eats!

breakfast:

1 cup kashi go lean crunch cereal, with 1 small banana and skim milk
1 iced coffee with 2 splashes of chocolate soy milk, and 1 stevia

lunch:

1 boca burger garden medley veggie burger on 1 slice of sprouted wheatberry bread, with 1 slice soy cheese and 1 smear of mustard (ok, a lot of mustard, but it was the last of the container i brought to work, and i scraped every last drop out)
1 cup green grapes

i know this lunch is pretty much the same thing i've eaten every day for the past week or so, but, as i mentioned earlier today, i didn't go grocery shopping! i love veggie burgers because they're so easy to bring for lunch - quick to pack, quick to make, they taste good and they're filling. i'm sure after i finish my stash, i'll move on to somehting different for a few weeks :)

snack:

1 cashew nut larabar (not pictured)

dinner:

1.5 tbsp sabra greek olive hummus, with some carrots and mary's gone crackers
leftover mexican pasta (not pictured)

this hummus is AMAZING!! i don't know how i've lived this long without it. i decided to try it today, since they didn't have my regular hummus at trader joe's (which is where i usually by my hummus since it's cheaper). but, i may never eat that trader joe's hummus again! in face i might never eat ANY other hummus ever again! it's seriously that good. if you like olives like i like olives, you must eat this hummus- it will change your life!

desert:

1 chocolate vita muffin, microwaved, topped with haggen daz vanilla low fat frozen yogurt (didn't measure, but about 1/4 -1/2 cup) and 1 tsp peanut butter and co. white chocolate peanut butter - YUMMMMMM :)

this was a really satisfying desert! the peanut butter co. peanut butter was just ok. i mean, it was good, just not as good as i imagined it to be. it tasted a little processed to me, maybe because i've gotten so used to eating only natural peanut butter for the past year or so. it felt a little hard, and not as creamy, but the flavor was nice.

alright, this girl is off to bed!

coming soon on steph runs the city (if, at this point, anyone is even reading steph runs the city!):

review of bethenny frankel's naturally thin (i'm almost done!)
more about team for kids, and how you can help me raise money and run the 2009 nyc marathon!

also, don't forget to check out these giveaways!

ashley's newman's own giveaway

tina's coffee lovers giveaway

leftover extravaganza - mexican pasta!

2009-05-18T11:40:00.010-04:00

i had a fun night out saturday, and yesterday was my first day in a long time to sleep in, and let's just say i took advantage of it- i slept til noon! it was AWESOME. can't remember the last time i did that. i slept longer than the fiance, which never happens, and felt like i could have kept going.

i did manage to get myself out of bed, probably because i had a bagel calling my name :) we were going to our new fav bagel place- Ess A Bagel on 1st ave and 21st. the bagels there are delish- they're big and dough-y, and usually warm out of the oven. i always get a whole wheat bagel with some varation of tofu cream cheese, and yesterday i had the tofu lox spread. they only had 9 grain bagels though, so i got that instead of whole week- it was a nice switch-up.

my 9 grain tofu lox spread bagel hit the spot (i always take off a lot of the cc, because they slab it on- there's enough for 2 more bagels)!

i also had a small coffee with a little skim milk.

the only downside to Ess A Bagel is that it can get pretty crowded, and since it's a small place that means sometimes no tables, although luckily that wasn't an issue yesterday. also, they don't toast bagels there, but i don't like my bagels toasted, and neither does the fiance, so this is the place for us!

after bagels we went home, and i did some work on the blog, some wedding stuff, and some work related to fundraising for team for kids.

i know i haven't really mentioned it yet on the blog, but i'm running the nyc marathon with a charity program called team for kids! more about that to come in a later post!

while i was working, the fiance and i watched a show on the discovery channel, or maybe the history channel? about earth after humans, which was seriously the most fascinating show- it was a little scary, but extremely interesting. it basically said that after humans, lots of other species will survive, and there will be no trace of us left excpet for bones!

after all that work/tv watching (and a snack - 1 kashi cruncy granola bar) i was ready for dinner. i had a mexican cheese blend that i was going to use for mexican lasagna, but since i didn't make it to the grocery store to get the other ingredients for that, i decided to use what i had to make mexican pasta instead.

ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pasta (any variety- i used rotini)
2 skinless boneless chicken breast, sliced into strips
1 cup frozen green beans (can use fresh, or substitute another green veggie- i.e. broccoli)
1-2 tomatoes (i only had one)
1 half bag frozen corn
1 1/2 cups salsa (any variety- i used medium trader joe's salsa)
1 cup lite blended mexican cheese

directions:

cook pasta according to package directions
spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. sautee chicken several minutes on high heat until no longer pink on the outside
add veggies and salsa
lower heat, and cook until chicken is done, about 10-12 more minutes
slowly add pasta to skillet with slotted spoon and combine with chicken and vegetable mixture
turn off heat; add cheese and mix well until blended, then serve!

it makes about 4 servings, so i have some leftovers for tonight. it was really good- you can add more flavor to spice it up if you like your food spicy. next time i might add an onion or some peppers too!

healthy kindney 10k

2009-05-17T13:33:00.005-04:00

yesterday morning, i ran the healthy kidney 10k in central park, as part of my nine races to qualify for the nyc marathon in 2010.

new york road runners has a program for people to qualify for the nyc marathon and get guaranteed entry in the race (since the marathon is a lottery). you have to become a member of nyrr by the end of january of a single year, run nine qualifying nyrr races, volunteer at one race, and maintain your membership the following year to get guaranteed entry in the following year. so, in 2009, i'm running 9 races, and volunteering 1 race to get guaranteed entry in the marathon in 2010.

in the morning, i got ready as usual. my morning race routine (for a race starting at 9 am):

wake up 7:15 a.m.
bathroom, brush teeth, wash face (7:15- 7:25)
feed cat (if haven't the night before) (7:25-7:30)
put on a pot of coffee, if i'm making it (7:30 - 7:35)
get dressed (7:35- 7:40)
put on race chip and pin on race number (7:40 - 7:45)
put on sun screen (7:45-7:50)
eat breakfast (7:50 - 8:00)

this morning's breakfast: 1 small banana with a spread of almond butter- yum!

i usually leave myself a few extra minutes for anything else i may need to do- bathroom, grab a hat or extra shirt, re-tie my shoes, etc.

then i head out the door around a half hour before i'm supposed to meet my friend. it takes about a half hour, door to door, to get from my apartment, to the subway, to our meeting spot.

if the race is at 9, we meet between 8:30 and 8:40 depending where the start is, so i leave between 8 and 8:10.

saturday's race day began as usual, but it was definitely a doozy!

this week it was tough to motivate myself to work out, and it definitely continued through the weekend. i guess you could say maybe i was feeling lazy, or maybe just tired, but whatever the case, i wasn't pumped and raring to go for this race like i was last weekend.

maybe it had something to do with the weather (overcast). but i did think the rain was supposed to hold off until later in the day. that is, until we crossed the starting line, and it started pouring! we rain the first 3 miles in a heavy rain, which luckily tapered off and stopped for the second half of the race.

the direction of the course was killer- a clockwise loop around the park, starting at 62nd street on the west side, ending around 74th on the west side. once we hit the 110th street hills, i felt like the hills just kept coming!

this race was supposed to be part of a long training run, but somehow my friend and i ended up running at more of a race pace. sure, if i was actually racing i could have gone faster, but i felt like with the rain and the hills and the fact that this was a training run, i was going way too fast altogether!

i finished in about 52:46, at an average pace of 8:30 minutes/mile. great time, but too fast for long training run, which you're technically supposed to run 3 minutes per mile slower than race pace. not that i always run them that slow...

so, needless to say i was exhausted after the race, and the 5 miles we had to do after that were totally killer. not to mention i was still soaked :( we did stop to get water and a snack- i had half of a cinnamon swirl bagel and two bites of an apple - and for a bathroom break. that definitely helped, but it also made it really hard to start up again!

we stuck it out though. the hills were even HARDER the second time around, and were VERY happy to finish! i took the longest hot shower when i got home and then took a nap!

it was rough, but today is a rest day and boy am i glad!

happy sunday :)

biggest loser yoga

2009-05-15T11:42:00.002-04:00

yay for friday!

i had been planning on doing a spin class today, but after yesterday's run i felt really sore/tight. since i'm doing a 10K tomorrow morning plus an additional 5 miles, i figured i should give myself a little break. so i decided to wake up early and do some yoga instead!

as i've mentioned before, i am NOT a yoga person, and i previously HATED yoga- HATED, not disliked, HATED. but, i have to say, i'm really starting to get into it... i think i just had a bad experience with the first yoga class i took, and it was kind of a turn off for me. i guess that's what you get for taking yoga at NYSC, which isn't the greatest gym in the world to begin with.

this morning, i decided to look for a yoga class on exercise tv on demand, and i settled on biggest loser yoga. it was a 26 minute long class (that included probably 2 minutes worth of advertisements for alleve), and i did it twice through.

it wasn't necessarily that hard, in terms of being really strenuous, although a few of the poses were pretty challenging. because it wasn't that strenuous, and there wasn't a large variety of poses, it really gave me a chance to focus on learning the poses. since i'm still a yoga newbie, i thought that was good, and i didn't feel overwhelemed at all. i was also happy i could actually do most of the poses! ( i am extremely un-flexible).

by the second time around, i felt a lot more stretched out, and found it was easier to do some of the poses without having to bend my legs so much. afterwards, i felt super loose and relaxed. it was a great stretch, and i'm not sore anymore!

here are the poses i learned in today's workout:

downward dog
crescent
upward dog
warrior 1
warrior 2
chair pose

i'm excited that i'm learning more about yoga, and that i'm liking it! i think once i really start running a lot more once marathon training is in full swing, it could be good to replace one day of weight training with yoga.

i think the more advanced you get, the more strength-building yoga can be, since you're using your own body instead of the aid of weights to build muscle.

alright, no pics of this morning's breakfast but it was:

one individual container non-fat chobani vanilla yogurt
1 sliced banana
1 iced coffee with 2 splashes chocolate soy milk and one stevia

happy friday!

wheels on the bus

2009-05-14T21:55:00.004-04:00

ok, this will be a quick post, since i'm exhausted! even though this week went by pretty fast, for whatever reason the days felt sooo long.

i forced myself to go to the gym after work even though i wasn't really feeling it (motivating this week has been tough!). i did have a cup of coffee before i went, which definitely helped, but it was a slow, challenging workout.

re-cap:

5 mile run @ 8:57 minute mile pace (stopped twice for water breaks!)
total time: 45 minutes 10 seconds
total calories burned: 495 (although i really don't trust the treadmill's accuracy- need that garmin!)
my sit-up workout from high school- 25 of various different ab exercises, all who's names i do not know, and am too tired to try and figure out, although it started with regular crunches, ended with the bicycle crunches

i also waited about 25 minutes for the local bus after the gym , which i was NOT happy about! i like taking the bus better than the subway, because it's more convenient, you can talk on the phone, etc. etc. but there's no reason why you should have to wait close to half an hour for a city bus down second ave. near midtown at the end of rush hour. NO REASON!

now that i got that off my chest, here's what was for dinner:

1 trader joe's sweet italian chicken sausage on one slice whole wheat bread, with 1 slice soy cheese and some ketchup
asparagus roasted with olive oil, garlic salt, pepper
pineapple for desert

i sort of paid attention to 30 rock and the office during dinner. i wanted to get so much more done tonight but it will just have to wait until tomorrow.

i'm off to bed - goodnight!

pizza pizza

2009-05-14T13:54:00.009-04:00

today at work we had a pizza party! i feel like that sounds so second grade, but regardless of my current age, a pizza party is still a pizza party, and still exciting to me.

i knew we were having the party, so i planned ahead and i brought a side salad with me to eat with my pizza.

the salad consisted of:

mixed greens

grape tomatos

walnuts

dried cranberries

paul newman's lighten up! italian dressing con limone (aka the best salad dressing on the planet)

with the salad i had a yummy slice of veggie pizza, which had broccoli, spinach, and a little bit of cheese. i topped it with some garlic and oregano.

my stomach is very happy now. VERY. HAPPY.

on the schedule for later today is a 5 mile run and maybe some weights/sit-ups, depending on how i feel. since it's pretty yuck out, i'll do my run on the treadmill (ugh, which reminds me i forgot to bring my ipod with me AGAIN!!!!), so i probably won't do the 30 day shred, because i doubt i'll feel like doing it by the time i get home.

don't you hate it when you forget your ipod??!! or am i the only one who forgets mine? it makes the workout way more boring, especially if you're just doing a straight run, and not intervals or something. :( oh well, i will push through. hopefully there will be entertaining people at the gym today to keep me preoccupied.

have a nice thursday! and also, don't forget to check out Danica's snack pack give-away!

tre

2009-05-14T08:16:00.018-04:00

good morning! i'm so glad it's thursday, which means one day closer to friday :)

i did get my self out that door for my run yesterday morning. i did about 3.25-3.5 miles (again, this is really where a garmin would come in handy!) and finished in about 30 minutes. i walked a few blocks back to my apartment, and did level 2 of the 30 day shred once through.

doing the 30 day shred after a run is kind of tough, i'm not gonna lie, because it includes some intense cardio in between the weights and abs, so by the time i was done i felt super exhausted! it probably also didn't help that i hadn't eaten before my run. by the time i got to my office, where i usually eat breakfast, i was starving!

i made myself a bowl of trader joe's maple brown sugar oatmeal, with 1 banana, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup skim milk, and topped it with one packet of justin's honey almond butter. yum!

seriously this was SO filling- i didn't eat lunch until about 3 because i wasn't hungry, which trust me, NEVER happens! but, since it is so filling, it might not be a bad idea to consider eating an earlier breakfast at home, instead of making breakfast at work. i feel like that will balance out my day a little more- i've been finding by the time dinner rolls around, i'm not super hungry, and i think the late breakfast thing is throwing me off. although, it is nice to have a yummy bfast to look forward to when you get to the office...

for lunch, i had a veggie burger AGAIN! this time i skipped the cheese, since i was going out for italian food later in the day, and instead i topped the burger with salsa and mustard- yum :)

i also had some strawberries on the side.

after work, it was my friend's birthday so i went out for drinks and dinner. we met first at a bar called stanton public on the lower east side. the place was really cute, albeit pretty empty at 6:30 on a wednesday evening. i decided to order a pint of magner's cider :) i've never been a huge beer drinker, but i like light beer, and i love cider! whenever they have it on tap, it's hard to pass up. SO good!

after a drink we headed over to dinner at tre, an italian restaurant on the lower east side. this place was good! we ordered wine, and a bunch of appetizers for the table. for my main dish i ordered the salmon, which had carrots and brussel sprouts on the side, and came with a spinach salad, and cheesecake for desert!

i ate the spinach salad (dressing on the side), a small plate of appetizers, about 3/4 of the salmon and veggies, and a few bites of the cheesecake. i also had a glass of red wine (not pictured).

this place was super cute, totally authentic, and the food was really good too. the space was a little small, but even still they were able to accomodate our large group. it was a great atmosphere and a nice, relaxing meal. i definitely want to come back again- maybe on a monday, when they have a great special of unlimited spaghetti and sangria- yum!

also- it's really close to the AWESOME cupcake shop, sugar sweet sunshine- maybe a little too close for comfort. luckily i was so full i didn't stray towards the cupcakes last night- although i have been known to do that :)

some of these pictures may not be so great- i'm still working on my photo-journalism skills and may also need to start using a different camera, but you get the idea. i also apologize for the extremely ugly/boring plates i have! i think i need to get a cute dish or two- working on that one...

run steph, run

2009-05-13T07:17:00.002-04:00

i'm up early(ish) today, but for some reason it always takes me a while to get going in the morning, and either:

a) get out the door for a run (today's plan)
b) get in the shower and get ready for work
c) get out the door for the gym
d) set up my yoga mat to let jillian michaels kick my butt with 30 day shred

today i made coffee AGAIN, and drank more of it than i probably should have. oops! i'm all dressed and ready to go, so i guess i will lace up my shoes and head out.

at least i have some banana peanut butter maple brown sugar to look forward to for later, so hopefully that will motivate!

matty the cat

2009-05-12T20:19:00.008-04:00

so, i made it through tuesday! i woke up early, had some coffee and headed to the gym, where i managed to crank out an awesome workout.

workout summary:

intervals: 9 x 400; alternating between 400 meters on @ level 8.5 (about 7 min. mile pace) and 400 meters off @ level 6.0 (about 10 min. mile pace)
total distance: approx. 4.5 miles
calories burned: approx. 600
weights: 30 bicep curls, 30 tricep curls, 10 dead lifts, 20 shoulder presses, 30 upright rows, 50 sit-ups

i really pushed myself this morning, and i really think taking yesterday off made that easier for me to do- although don't get me wrong, this was one tough workout.

you'll notice that the distance and calories are just estimates- that's because after doing one set of 3 intervals, i hopped off the treadmill for a quick water break, and did that again after a second set of 3 intervals. the treadmill re-set itself, so i didn't have an exact total when i was done with my workout :(

this is where a heart rate monitor would really come in handy! do you use a heart rate monitor while working out? if so, which one? i'm eyeing the Garmin Forerunner 405 which i hear is great for calculating pace and distance, which is what i am really interested in more than calories burned, although it wouldn't necessarily be bad to know that either. i have a feeling i burn a lot less calories than i think!

i really don't love eating before i workout in the morning, unless i have a long run or a race, but i did start feeling a little depleted mid-way through the workout this morning. i guess maybe having something small before i leave the house might not be a bad idea...

today's eats:
today's eats were pretty good, although there were some repeats from yesterday (i tend to make the same thing for lunch, and sometimes the same thing for breakfast, for a few days, or every day, during the week because it's easier to shop for and plan meals that way- then the next week i switch to something else!).

breakfast was ALMOST the same as yesterday, but with a twist. i had 1 packet of trader joe's maple brown sugar oatmeal, made with 1/2 c. water. 1/2 c. skim milk, and 1 banana. i also added 1 packet of justin's organic honey peanut butter on top- yum! the peanut butter really added to the meal and made it extra special, and really filling!

i had been wanting to try justin's for a while, and finally bought some packets when i stopped at whole foods the other day. this might be my new addiction! and i love the individual serving size- it's still more than enough nut butter, but not too much (sometimes i just can't help taking a tiny drop more when i'm scooping from a jar!).

i also had an iced coffee with a few splashes of silk chocolate soy milk, and 1 packet of stevia.

i drank about 2/3 of the cup- it tastes a little like an iced mocha with the chocolate soy milk.

lunch was the same as yesterday- one garden burger veggie burger topped with one slice soy cheese, tomato, and mustard on 1 slice sprouted wheatberry bread. and strawberries on the side! no pic today- i was hungry and ate half of my lunch before i realized i forgot to take a picture.

for a snack, i had one fudge graham zone bar. i know these aren't the best bars out there, in terms of them being as natural as some other bars, but i do like them. i try not to eat them all the time, but they're really filling, so they're great if you're going to have a lot of time between meals. also- they totally satisfy if you're looking for a sweet snack/candy- which i sometimes crave in the afternoon at work. i feel like it's a better choice instead of hitting the m&m jar, which would still leave me hungry.

i did have the cliff z bar the other day, which also felt like a sweet treat, so maybe that could be a better option than the zone bar in the future...

dinner was good- 1 trader joe's sweet italian chicken sausage, asparagus, tomato and mushrooms sauteed with garlic and non-stick cooking spray, and 1 big scoop of a Near East whole grain rice blend.

and for desert, 2 more tj's mini ice cream mouthfuls- thank goodness they were the last 2 in the box!

and finally, i save the best for last- it's time for matty the cat to make his debut on the blog! i just couldn't help myself...

i'm sure there will be many more pics of this crazy kitty to come :)

alright, off to watch the amazing race finale from sunday- goodnight!

interval day

2009-05-12T07:10:00.002-04:00

i actually got my butt out of bed this morning! :) it's off to the gym to do intervals before work- then a busy morning/afternoon at work. at least it's tuesday, which is SO much better than Monday!

i've gotten into the habit of making myself a small cup of coffee before heading to the gym when i go in the a.m. not sure if this is the best habit, but it's a good kick start, and it definitely helps. i usually don't even drink the whole cup, but even just the act of making the coffee helps me wake up somehow.

today my coffee has one stevia, and a splash of vanilla almond breeze. i was a big sweet n low girl, and then switched to splenda when it came out. now i'm trying to ween myself off of them since i'm sure all of those chemicals can't be good!

i bought stevia, which at the time wasn't fda approved- but it's mroe natural than the other sweetners, and honestly i'm not sure i believe the fda. they're probably in cahoots with the companies that make the artificial sweetners, and stevia would be bad for those cos. but, that's just my opinion ;)

anyway, i also bought some agave syrup, which i have yet to try, but is probably even better/more natural than stevia.

i better go finish this coffee now, and off to the gym!

how do you drink your coffee???

wedding bells

2009-05-11T21:51:00.006-04:00

as much as i tried to force myself to workout (sort of...) it just didn't end up happening tonight :( i tend to get disappointed in myself when i miss a scheduled workout, but i have to remember that it's not the end of the world, and in the big scheme of things it's not going to make much of a difference, or affect my performance in the half at the end of the month.

i also have to remember that sometimes life happens, and you just need to skip a workout because of other things going on. running is a huge part of my life, but i also don't want it to take over. there has to be a balance, and i still want to have a life and go out, and see my friends.

tomorrow's a new day, and i'll pick up the week's workouts with intervals! hopefully having a day to rest will leave me invigorated and i'll have a great workout tomorrow morning.

tonight i ended up coming home from work and spending most of the evening creating our wedding web site! it's not quite finished, but it's almost there! i took a little break to make dinner, which was a beefed-up version of the leftover ravioli from saturday night.

i marinated the last of my tofu in olive oil, basil, garlic powder and italian seasoning and baked i, and i sauteed some asparagus and mushrooms in cooking spray with garlic. i added the tofu and veggies to the ravioli, and topped it with some tomato sauce and basil, and a sprinkle of pecorino romano cheese. it was delicious- and really filling!

i also had a snack this afternoon around 3:30, so i wasn't starving when i had dinner. i had 1 indivudal container of fat free vanilla chobani yogurt, and about 3 tsps of granola, which i made myself from "Mix My Granola."

somehow, i still made room for desert!

alright, off to finish the wedding web site, and then bed. have a good night!

just another manic monday

2009-05-11T13:08:00.007-04:00

today is a tough monday so far. i feel really tired and sluggish- even after my coffee! i didn't wake up in time for a morning workout, so i'll have to do today's workout once i get home. i don't love doing that- it's definitely nice to get it out of the way in the a.m., but hopefully it won't be so bad.

i'm not going to the gym, instead i'm going to do the 30 day shred, level 2, twice. hopefully that will be less time consuming, and afterwards i can hop in the shower, make some leftovers, and move on to wedding planning!

on a more positive note, breakfast and lunch hit the spot today.

breakfast: 1 packet tj's maple brown sugar oatmeal, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1 banana sliced.

lunch: 1 gardenburger original veggie burger on 1 slice tj's sprouted wheatberry bread with 1 slice tomato, 1 slice soy cheese with a spread of brown mustard. and some strawberries on the side!

R Baby 4 miler

2009-05-11T07:25:00.008-04:00

good morning and happy(?) monday! the weekend flew by so fast again, i can't believe it's already over :(

yesterday my friend and i ran in the R Baby 4 mile race in central park.

it was a BEAUTIFUL day for running outside, and for being in the park. overall, the race went well. we really ran it as part of a training run for the brooklyn half marathon which is at the end of the month, so we weren't trying to beat our times or get prs, which certainly made it a more relaxing and fun race.

i don't know about any of you, but even though i run and participate in races mostly for fun and to give myself a bit of a challenge, i still notice myself getting a little nervous before a race. i think this might go back to my days of high school track, where, let's just say i wasn't the best one on the team!

anyway, i was a little late leaving the apt in the morning, because they used a new timing system for this race. instead of the champion chip they normally use to time the races, they used something called the D Tag.

i've never used it before, and it took me about 10 minutes of fumbling around to figure out how to attach it to my shoe and get it to stay on! once i did get it on though, it was fine and i hardly noticed it there. i guess it's a good alternative the champion chip, and i can't really say i prefer one over the other. the good thing about the D Tag was that at the end of the race, you don't have to get it clipped off, since they're not re-usable, which i guess is also the bad thing about it- they're not reusable!

luckily i caught a train right away when i got to the subway, so i still made it to meet my friend on time at 7:40. we made our way to the corrals, which were surprisingly sparse, and not closed. once the race started, my friend and i chatted the whole way, and the temps and weather couldn't have been any better.

we definitely both noticed that this race, compared to some past races, was much, MUCH less crowded. it made for a more comfortable run, since there was no congestion, no getting jostled around, and no having to push your way past people to run faster. that happens a lot in NYRR races since they tend to be crowded, which is why they started capping the races. so far it hasn't seemed to make much of a difference, except in this race, which apparently was at capacity and closed out.

it didn't matter much anyway since we were taking it pretty easy, but it did make the race more enjoyable. the course was pretty short, and we finished in about 33 minutes- not bad for taking it easy. we grabbed some water, and my friend grabbed a snack, and we headed out to the loop to continue running. we ran the loop from 72nd back around to 59th street about 5.5 miles, making our total run about 9.5 miles. the great thing about the short race course, is that it cuts over at the 102nd street transverse, so you miss the 110th street hills! we did catch them around the loop though, but it wasn't terrible- somehow they're not as bad when you're doing a training run as they are in a race. although they're never really fun, you always feel great after you've done them!

all in all it was a great morning, and a FABULOUS day for a run :) i was home by 10:30, in time to shower and get ready to meet a friend for brunch.

pre- race at around 7 am i had 1 piece of sprouted wheatberry bead, with 1 tsp almond butter, and half of a sliced banana. i also had some G2 gatorade.

i met my friend for brunch around noon at MY FAVORITE restaurant in the city, Penelope! i love, love, love, LOVE this place, and they have the best brunch, but sadly i rarely go there for brunch because there's always a ridiculously long wait. luckily, that was not the case yesterday :)

i had the salmon wrapped poached eggs, which came on one piece of black toast and was drizzled with a dill sauce, and a mixed greens salad on the side. i also had some coffee, and about 1/3 of a glass of oj. YUM! what a great meal :)

after brunch, we did some shopping, and i headed home to relax. on my way home, i stopped at whole foods to pick up a few things. after whole foods i was pretty hungry (how can you not be after going there and drooling over all of the delicious looking food and treats!) so i had a cliff z bar.

this was my first time trying one, and let me tell you, it will not be my last! i had the chocolate chip flavor, which tasted like a real chocoate chip cookie, or i guess a blondie. it was delicious, and it actually did satisfy my hunger. it really seemed like more of a sweet treat though, so i don't think this would be an everyday bar for me, but perfect for a weekend snack. i have a brownie flavored bar too that i now can't wait to try!

i got home and did some stuff around the apartment, and around 7 or so i heated up my leftover thai food for dinner- yum! luckily, when carrying the leftovers home friday night, there was some leakage, so most of the sauce leaked out of the container/bag! that was probably a good thing, since the sauce was a bit oily- so there was no sauce in my leftovers, but all of the flavor was still there!

sometimes i think leftovers are better :)

i bought myself a treat for after dinner at whole foods- a vegan cupcake! they looked so good, i just couldn't pass them up. i had half after dinner, and went back for the other half a little later! they were just that good. one of the best i have ever had- and this coming from a cupcake lover who has probably tried every cupcake on the island of manhattan! i did have to take off some of the icing, which was surprising for me, since i LOVE icing - it's my favorite part.

alright, on that note, it's off to work i go. have a nice day!

food re-cap: weekend eats

2009-05-10T20:37:00.014-04:00

hello! it's been a busy but productive weekend, that of course, included running and, lots of yummy food! here's a re-cap of this weekend's eats, and i'll be posting about today's race later on.

the weekend kicked off with a bang on friday :) i've been craving thai for weeks and weeks, and FINALLY, on friday night the fiancee and i went to my new favorite thai place that recently opened near my old apartment. it's called talent thai kitchen, and it's phenomenal. everything there is delicious, and it was definitely hard to choose!

we started off with the summer roll appetizer- i do love spring rolls, but these are a lighter, more refreshing version of those filled with yummy veggies, and a sweet dipping sauce on the side.

for my main dish, i ordered the chicken with garlic sauce, which came with chicken, mushrooms, scallion, onion, peppers and bok choy. this restaurant also has brown rice, so i asked for that instead of the jasmine rice.

we also shared a thai iced tea

i ate 3 of the summer rolls, and about half of my chicken and half the brown rice, and had half the thai iced tea. everything was delicious, and it definitely satisfied my thai craving.

saturday was a pretty low key day, and i did lots of cleaning, laundry and errands :( not super exciting, but that doesn't mean my eats were boring too!

i pretty much skipped "breakfast" since it was about 1 when i realized i hadn't eaten anything yet. i had a really delicious meal, that was inspired by jenna. seriously, this was amazing, and i was full for about 5 hours. it was: 2 kashi waffles, toasted and topped with about 2/3 of an individual container of trader joe's 0% plain greek yogurt, almond butter, 1/2 sliced banana, and some reduced sugar strawberry preserves. yum! i've always loved waffles with peanut butter, but this took it to another level, and was really filling. i may have added a little too much yogurt, but i'll remember that for next time :)

at about 6 i got really hungry, and had a snack to tide me over until dinner.

1 lundberg brown rice cake with a smear of trader joe's mediterranean hummus, and 1 slice soy cheese.

after my snack we headed over to trader joe's to go grocery shopping and get something to make for dinner.

dinner ended up being 2 kinds of ravioli - lobster and protobello mushroom- with a tomato basil sauce, and an olive oil, garlic and basil sauce. we made a huge salad, and also had some multi-grain bread on the side. everything tasted really fresh. nothing like a (semi) home-cooked meal!

for desert, i had heaven on a plate, also known as trader joe's frozen mini mint ice cream mouthfuls. they're like frozen mint oreos - enough said. unfortunately they're not pictured, probably because i ate them too fast! seriously these things are amazing- a serving of 2 is about 140 calories and 6 g. of fat. i had 2, and went back for a third :)

after dinner, we watched michael clayton. i prepared my race stuff while watching, and i hit the hay early so i would be well rested for today's run, which i'll re-cap tomorrow.

for now, i'm exhausted- have a great night!

some eats

2009-05-07T13:10:00.009-04:00

eats from last night:
baked tofu, sauteed spinach and mushrooms, and brown rice.

i bought tofu this week, which i haven't bought in ages. i have to say i'm not a huge meat eater, i like chicken and fish, but that gets boring, and sometimes fish is expensive- especially salmon, which is my fav. i found a recipe for tofu from Caitlin (she is fantastic- check out her blog)! i improvised a little and added crushed cashews instead of sesame seeds because i didn't have any.

i have to say, this was my first experience with tofu in a long time, and it came out pretty good, if i do say so myself! i may have overcooked it a bit, but it had a ton of flavor, and i liked that it was a little crispy and not soggy or watery. next time i might add some more of the honey flavor, and less of the spices, because i liked the sweetness of it, and thought it was maybe a little too subtle. the nuts added a nice crunch!

some general feelings on food and eating:
it's no secret - i love, love, love, LOVE food! most of my friends know this, and most of my friends love food too (they say you tend to be friends with people like you!) i have had some friends tell me that they don't like food, and they pretty much eat because they have to. i think that's CRAZY! food is something we need, and true you have to eat to live, but i'm more of a 'live to eat' type of girl!

i do try to eat pretty healthfully in general, and know i feel best when i have lots of fruits, veggies, and fresh food in my diet (not as much processed food). i find that when i am running and working out a lot, there is a tremendous difference in my performance when i keep myself fueled properly with healthy, fresh foods, as opposed to foods that are too processed or fatty (by fatty i don't necessarily mean fattening- there's good fat and bad fat, but more along the lines of greasy, fast food takeout). i have much more energy, feel less tired, and my workouts are better.
that being said, there definitely has to be a balance. i have a killer sweet tooth and i love pasta and bread. i know i can't eat ice cream and pasta every day, but if i couldn't eat them at all i'd be a pretty miserable person. it's nice to reward yourself with treats, and for me, keeping those things in my diet helps my diet more well rounded.

i might even have some desert tonight!

shredded

2009-05-06T11:07:00.002-04:00

alright, so it's been a few days since my last post. i'm still getting used to this whole blogging thing, and it definitely takes some time and committment, but i'm sticking with it!

i think it will really help keep me motivated througout my training over the next 6 months, and of course will let me keep you all up to date :)

here's a re-cap of the past few days:

this weekend was a mixed bag. saturday i did level 1 of the 30 day shred again, and hit the gym for a spin class. saturday night, after a fun dinner out to celebrate the fiance's bday, i had a bad reaction to the paella i ate and was up half the night sick :( but, being the dedicated (crazy) runner i am, i still met my friend for our planned long run on sunday morning. because it was raining, we decided to head to the gym to pound out 8 miles on the treadmill instead of running in the park. i made it to 7 miles, and had to stop because i felt sick. i was glad we were inside and near a bathroom :) the rest of the weekend was spent on the couch in my pajamas!
the week started off ok- i did only one round of the 30 day shred on monday. that's all i did on monday, since my stomach still felt off and i didn't want to push it. i also woke up extra early to bake muffins since monday was fiance's bday :)
tuesday was intervals! i did 8 x 400, alternating each set between 8.0 and 8.5 on the treadmill. the fun thing about going to the gym in the morning before work is that i get to watch the today show while working out :)
this morning, i woke up early, had some coffee, and got set up to do the 30 day shred twice, since today is my strength day. i'm on level 2, and let me tell you, that thing kicked my BUTT! by the second time around, i felt like i was going to die, but i pushed through. i can't remember the last time i sweat that much.

30 day shred

2009-05-02T09:19:00.002-04:00

after hearing my friend rave about doing home workout dvds for strength training, i decided i should give it a try to change things up a bit. she loved jillian michael's "no more trouble zones."

being that my living room is pretty small, i decided to look up some of jillian's other dvds. i've heard a lot of good things about the 30 day shred, and it seemed like i'd have enough space to do that workout in my shoebox.

so, yesterday, may 1st, i started the 30 day challenge! i hope to do this video every day. it's only 20 minutes, so it should be easy to fit it in and also be able to do cardio. yesterday was a strength day, so i actually did the workout twice, which was good.

it has 3 levels, and i started at level 1, which was still pretty challenging considering the fact i've been doing total body conditioning classes at the gym. i used 3 lb and 5lb weights, but also want to get a set of 8lb weights.

i think i'll stick with level 1 for a few days, and move on to level 2 on monday.

snack time

2009-04-30T15:04:00.001-04:00

now is about the time i usually break out my afternoon snack. but, i had a lunch and am going out for sushi tonight, so i think i'll skip it!

you, however, should check out shawna's prana bar giveaway. they look delish!

yogi bear

2009-04-30T08:19:00.004-04:00

since my race on sunday, i've pretty much been taking it easy in terms of workouts. i took off on monday and tuesday. on wednesday, my day for strength training, i decided to try and do some yoga.

i am NOT a huge fan of yoga- although prior to yesterday, i've only tried it once. and that was horrible. i hated the class i took because it was really long, i didn't know any of the poses and i felt like i really wasn't getting a workout.

i decided to give it a whirl again because i want to take it easy this week, and i still felt very stiff and sore from sunday. this time, i went to modell's and bought a yoga mat, which came with a Savasa yoga dvd, which i tried at home. the result: i think i'm in love!

the dvd was short, only 15 minutes, and focused on only 3 main poses: downward dog, tree, and warrior. i felt like i could catch on easily to those poses, and didn't feel overwhelmed. since it was so short, i decided to do the dvd twice, for a 30 minute workout.

afterwards, i honestly felt really stretched out, and i wasn't sore anymore! i'm not saying i'm a total convert, but i would definitely try it again, especially to stretch out after a race. maybe one day i'll even try another class- one day...

speed racer

2009-04-30T08:11:00.002-04:00

here's my schedule of upcoming races for spring:

5/10 - R Baby 4 miler (+ 6 miles = 10 mile long run)
5/16 - Healthy Kidney 10k (+5 miles = 11 mile long run)
5/19 - Wall Street 5k
5/30 - Brooklyn Half Marathon
6/7 - Women's Mini 10k

i also start nyrr's spring running class on 5/26, and marathon training officially begins on 6/6!

shoe-in

2009-04-28T08:09:00.003-04:00

so, as i mentioned in an earlier post, i hurt my foot in march and i had to take some time off from running. i'm back in the game (yay!) but i do still have tendinits :(

on the downside, this is something that i will probably have to deal with on a regular basis throughout my running 'career.' on the upside, the pain is no longer bad, and there are lots of things i can do to minimize discomfort- including resting my foot, adding more cross training, not walking as much (which let me tell you, is no easy feet- pun intended- living in nyc!).

but, as i realized this weekend when the temps soared and i put on my havianas, the best thing i can do for my foot is to get more supportive shoes. after walking around in those stupid flip flops all day on saturday- my foot was killing me! but after scouring my closet, i realized i have a huge dilema- all of my shoes, especially for summer, are total crap! all of my sandals have NO support whatsoever, are totally flat, and probably damaging my feet beyond belief. besides my running shoes and my cross trainers, ALL of my shoes, every single pair, are terrible.

so, yesterday i set out on a mission to overhaul my shoe wardrobe, and went on a search for non-geriatric looking, comfortable/supportive, and hopefully even somewhat cute shoes and sandals.

i'm not that old, so the thought of purchasing a pair of easy spirits, or even naturalizers, makes my stomach turn a bit, but for the sake of my feet, i know i need to do something. my friend recommended clarks, which she said were comfortable, and even cute.

so, off i went during my lunch hour. i think i may have tried on every single pair of shoes in the store to find the most comfortable, non-geriatric looking pair! and alas, i found not one, but three!

Bronze Colored Slingbacks
Black Sneaker Flats
Tan Casual Sneakers

both of the sneakers are actually a brand called privo, which they sell at clarks. in my opinion, all of the privo stuff is super cute and comfy, although some were more supportive than others.

the sandals above are not necessarily what may have been my first pick, but i was basing this mainly on comfort, with style coming in second. still, i wouldn't pick anything totally hideous, and these are still pretty cute. luckily, they were also having a sale! these comfy shoes can be a bit pricey, but i guess it's worth the investment to have good shoes and protect my feet.

other brands that were recommended to me were:
mephisto
birkenstocks
naot

if you have any other recommendations, let me know!

food, glorious food

2009-04-27T08:11:00.004-04:00

after a shower and a three hour nap (i was super tired from the race!), i was really hungry for dinner. my fiance and i made a pizza with ingredients from trader joe's.

we're kind of obsessed with tj's, because they always have a lot of delicious, healthy foods. we bought a pre-made whole wheat pizza crust, and added fat-free sauce, a blend of cheeses, mushrooms, and cut-up turkey meatballs.

we also made a big salad.

yum!

monday, monday

2009-04-27T07:58:00.002-04:00

i can't believe it's monday again already! the weekend flew by way too fast.

yesterday i ran the MORE half marathon in central park. it was really hot out for this time of year, and because of the unexpected change in weather and extreme temps, they canceled the marathon portion of the event, and made the half marathon an un-timed "fun-run."

i started out the race VERY slow. i definitely felt the heat, and didn't want to over do it. also, because of my previous foot injury, i wanted to take this race slow anyway. i ran about 10 minute miles the entire way, and stopped at each water station to get gatorade and water, for about 25-30 seconds.

i think this strategy worked out pretty well. the start was definitely tough though, and i felt pretty sluggish because of the heat. but going out slow helped, and i was able to keep a pretty even pace throughout the whole race. i even felt like i had energy on the second loop around the park.

the last few miles were tough, especially since my longest run before this one was 8 miles. but honestly, it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be, and the heat might have actually helped me by forcing me to go slow.

brooklyn half, here i come!

happy weekend :)

2009-04-25T10:13:00.000-04:00

today is saturday, and it's supposed to hit 80 today and be sunny all day! glorious.

i am doing a bit of cleaning, and preparing my race stuff for tomorrow's MORE half marathon.

i always set out my clothes and things the night before a race, but today i'm doing it extra early since i'll be out and about all day. sometimes if i have to wake up super early for a race, i'll even pin my race number on my shirt the night before, and put the chip on my shoe the night before too. i don't have my race number or chip yet, so i'll do that later.

it will be a scorcher tomorrow, so i'm trying to wear very light weight clothing, and of course, i can't forget my hat.

i also always wear my sports watch ($10 from target), and my special asics socks for races. if it's really hot and sunny, i'll wear a hat or visor. of course, i always have my ipod shuffle (it's purple- my fav color!), and for long races i bring my gu, and cliff shot blocks.

for my last half marathon, i had 3 cliff shot blocks around mile 6, 3 around mile 9, and my gu around mile 11. i find that the gu is honestly a tad, well, gross. the triple berry flavor is the one i can stomach most. but even though it's not the best-tasting, i have to say it really does get me through the end of the race. and, having the gummies and gu to look forward to at various points throughout the race really helps keep me going.

i usually end up pinning my shot blocks to my shorts in a plastic baggie, and keeping the gu in the little pocket of my running shorts.

what's your routine to prep for a race?? which gear are must wear for your races??

p.s. - i apologize for the not-so-great photo. i'm still figuring out the best way to use this site and to post photos.

good morning!

2009-04-24T08:46:00.001-04:00

i'm off to work, and it's supposed to be in the 70s today, which is such a nice change. it's sunny, i'm wearing a skirt (without stockings!), and i am getting a bagel for breakfast- all things that make me happy! oh, and it's friday :)

i usually don't eat bagels during the week- i love love love them, and could probably eat one for every single meal, but i try to save them for the weekends as a special treat- or sometimes i get them on fridays.

i always get a whole wheat bagel, with some variation of tofu cream cheese. tofu does have more fat than light cream cheese, but i find it's more filling.

sometimes i get my bagels scooped, but then i usually get hungry again quickly after eating them. so if i'm having a bagel with eggs, or egg whites, i'll get it scooped, but otherwise i just eat it as is.

today i'm getting my bagel from ess a bagel, which is the BEST!

foot loose

2009-04-23T21:39:00.002-04:00

unfortunately, a little over a month ago, i hurt my foot. i went to my dr. and then to a podiatrist who diagnosed me with tendinitis (probably an injury resulting from overuse) and told me to take some time off.

so, i stopped running for a whole month, which was tough. actually, it was REALLY HARD!

this happened in march, just as i was really revving up my training and right before i was about to start doing some races. i definitely took it pretty easy this winter, mostly doing a few short runs a week on the treadmill, and some other easy classes at the gym, and working out about 4 times a week, sometimes 5. i was excited to get back in the game with more running and some more intense workouts, so this was a disappointing set back.

i had to skip a 15k i had planned for march, but after taking a month off, my foot felt much better! i started running again a few weeks ago, and now i'm training for a half marathon on may 30th.

i was going to skip the half marathon i had signed up for, which is this weekend, but decided to try and run it as a long training run.

i ran a long run of 8 miles last weekend, and was planning on doing 10 this weekend. i figured why not just do my long run as the race? if i have to stop and walk, i will, and i'm planning on going reeeallly slow.

luckily, this half marathon allows walkers, and you have 6.5 hours to finish, so i think i'll be ok, even if i have to walk a few miles. plus, it will count as one of the 9 new york road runners races i need to get guaranteed entry in the new york city marathon in 2010!

on the downside, my foot is starting to bother me a tad since i've been running more in the past few weeks AND it's supposed to be really hot- 88 degrees! on the upside, it will be warm and sunny this weekend :)

welcome to my blog!

2009-04-23T21:10:00.000-04:00

i've been toying around with the idea of starting a blog for quite some time, and i finally decided to just bite the bullet and go for it!

what better to blog about than my journey training to run the new york city marathon on november 1, 2009.

oh, i might also throw in some stuff about food too!