Doing Fine!

That's all!

Weird that when I don't have an event to train for, I find myself with less and less to write.  Especially since I have been working more and working out less. Meh.

But I did get in a quality yoga workout yesterday, and ran 4 miles on the treadmill today. (Seems like the only option these days; we just got dumped with another 4-5 inches of snow this weekend....) I think the key to going to the "fake gym" is to just get up and go really early (i.e., whenever I wake up).  This way, I get it out of the way.  Somehow, I always find myself feeling more sluggish in the mid-afternoon and I'm more likely to skip out on a workout than if I just do it first thing in the morning.

So it felt great to run, even though it was all hot and...treadmilly.  No icy cool breeze, no flush in the cheeks (well there was, but it was because I was hot instead of because of the wind!), no seeing your breath in the crisp winter air.  Gee, it really sounds like I enjoy running outside even in the wintertime.  I guess I do!  I just don't want to risk slipping on ice and falling.

Superbowl plans are yet undefined...might go hang out with friends, might not.  And I'm really ok with either one, because I don't even like football!  Just doing it for the hubby.  Ah, the things we do for love.

Takin' it Easy....

Yeah, okay, I admit it. I am slacking.  (With regard to both blogging and running.)  But I'm tired! :)

This week was an okay one; nothing much to report.  Work was crazy as usual.  I used the crockpot pretty much every day to make our meals - thanks to this site (well, to be more specific, the book that was created out of the site, called Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea.

Here's a  list of the delicious, fool-proof (no, seriously, fool-proof) recipes I have tried thus far using my slow cooker:

•  Basic chili
• Vegetarian "No-Noodle" Lasagna (eggplant and yellow squash slices act as "noodles")
• Chicken and dumpling soup
• Pork stew with peppers and eggplant
• Cranberry beef
• Korean ribs (aaamaaaaaazzzzing!!)
• Pineapple pork tenderloin
• Pomegranate beef

Here are some pictures (I didn't capture all of them, but here's a sampling).

Vegetarian No-Noodle Lasagna

Cranberry Beef

Pineapple Pork Tenderloin

Pomegranate Beef









So, that's been making me really happy over the past few weeks.

Recipes on tap for this week include White bean and turkey sausage soup and Buffalo Chicken Lasagna.  Nom nom!!

In other activity-related news, I've been doing a lot of yoga lately.  It's suiting the winter blues just fine.  And running is still happening, just on a lesser scale. The weird thing is that I think I still haven't recovered physically from the marathon in November, not necessarily only because I trained hard and it was a tough course.  I realize that I have never truly taken a break from running, even when I knew it was best.  So it's not just this past race that has me all tired, it's years of running without a set period of recovery.  Hence, recurring injuries and overtraining blues. 

I am also finding myself, for the first time in the winter, without a gym membership (well, if you count the "fake gym," I guess I do), and it's forcing me to come to terms with the limitations I naturally want - need? to put on my body this season.  I have said this before, but I think that in the past I have never taken time off at all because I was always nervous that I would "lose it" and that I would never come back.  Well, I know better now.  But I'm still taking some time off from heavy training.

Hope you guys are having a great end to the weekend! :)

Back from Vacation....

...and boy, did I need it!

Ok, I guess I always get the winter blues.  I try not to, but it always creeps up on me!

So I was extremely excited when my husband was sent on a business trip to Orlando, Florida and I was able to tag along for a few days!!!

Plus, we still haven't taken an official honeymoon (yet), so we kept calling this our mini-moon. :)

Here's the summary:

Thursday - flew down, felt warm sun on my body for the first time in months! Hung around the hotel and just soaked it all in while Derek was at a meeting.  At night, went to Trevi, an Italian restaurant inside the hotel.

Friday - ran at the hotel's fitness center in the morning (I would have definitely taken advantage of the warm weather and gone outside, but the path was around a golf course and I didn't want to get in anyone's way!), then went to Magic Kingdom! 

Afterwards, took a drive a bit north and went to BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse for dinner.  We also toasted our mini-moon with a mini bottle of champagne that Derek picked up for us!


Saturday - played tennis at the hotel with Derek, then had brunch at Trevi.  After a shower, tried golf for the very first time!  I sucked, but it was fun.  Then we took a drive to downtown Orlando midday and ate our fair share of fish and seafood (um, and drank a whole lotta beer) at Cityfish.  A nice, laid-back way to close out the weekend.

Sunday - ran on the treadmill again (man, I really dislike treadmill running now, which is ironic being that it's how I started running and how I almost always used to run), then packed up all our stuff and headed to the airport.

In the airport I listened (or, tried to listen because there was so much hustle and bustle around me) to Obama's speech at Vermont Avenue Baptist Church commemorating MLK Day and just commenting in general about all that's going on right now.  He closed his speech by reiterating that, though we are experiencing a "dark winter," his faith keeps him calm.  Interesting to think about.  Even though religion doesn't play a huge role in my life, I do occasionally think about faith and how trusting in the good of humanity can do wonders for your state of mind.  Although I'm mostly a cynic, I also hope for the best and try to stay optimistic about positive changes for the future.  And with this in mind, I think of Haiti and keep those who have suffered in my prayers.

Here's hoping this week is a good one for all.

Winter Warriors of the Human and Auto Kind

Today, my husband and I did something amazing.  We both went out for a three-mile run in the snow!!!!

I say this is amazing because...a) we did it before 9 am.  b) we BOTH had the motivation and desire to get dressed in our warmest clothes and go out. and c) neither one of us complained the entire time!

In fact, we were going to do only 2 miles, because it was really coming down and the trail hadn't been cleared.  However, we went an extra half-mile or so in, making it 3 total.

I must admit that I have been really bad about exercising this week.  REALLY bad!  In fact, I kept thinking that I started the year off on a bad note by not running on January 1st.  However, I have been thinking lately that I always push myself, and never really give myself a "vacation" from running.  I've only ever been sidelined because of injury, not because I chose to take it easy for a month or two.  Not only that, but I have always beaten myself up about it.  I am trying not to do that anymore.  At first, I used to get worried that if I strayed from running for a few days or a week, I'd "lose the urge."  That's just not true.  I may lose fitness -- and I am prepared to deal with that while I take January as an easier month -- but it's finally hit me that I will not lose the runner I've become, because it's too important to me now to ditch!

The other VERY EXCITING NEWS...we got a new car yesterday!!  It was kind of unexpected.  We didn't really think we were going to drive it out of the lot, either!  But we did.  Of course, we're really going to have to cut corners now, but it's worth it because first of all, having only one car, in a city where you NEED to drive everywhere sucks.  Secondly, our Ford Focus, Sheila, is awesome and I love her, but only when the weather is nice.  I get a little frightened driving a small car like that in midwestern winters.  Derek and I have been saying that the next time we get a car, it'll be either an all-wheel drive vehicle, or at least a bigger car more equipped to handle snow and ice.  So....here it is!

A 2010 Toyota Rav 4!  As you can see, I am really excited.

And here I am getting nice and friendly with our new buddy.

2010 rocks so far.

The '00s in review

Happy End of the '00s!  I guess I'm joining the ranks of those of you who are "reviewing" either this past year, or the decade.  Even though these last twelve months have brought about a number of changes, it's amazing to think what a different person I have become in the past ten years.  Here goes!

2000:

• Rang in the New Year (and new decade) in London, where I spent two weeks visiting my old friends from sleepaway camp.  
• Got mono that spring - ugh!  
• That summer was also the last summer I worked at Camp Monroe.  
• Became a Student Fellow at Vassar that fall and helped a group of incoming freshmen adjust.
• Got my first car, a used red Toyota Corolla. 
  

2001:

• Got really involved in writing poetry with a year-long class at Vassar called Verse Writing.
• Started working at a music school in Ossining, NY teaching piano and voice part-time.
• Turned 21 -woohoo!- and spent my birthday at the Dutch Tavern in Poughkeepsie listening to one of my favorite Vassar bands, The Oddities.
• Performed a lot with our college a cappella group, Matthew's Minstrels.
  
• Worked that summer on a book project about BargeMusic, Ltd., a floating barge holding chamber music concerts under the Brooklyn Bridge.
• Also started working for Young Communications part-time helping edit educational texts.

2002:

• Visited the Outer Banks, NC.
• Graduated college!  Heard Tony Kushner speak at commencement.
  
• On a whim, applied to the NYC Teaching Fellows program, and got in.  Moved to NYC (Inwood).  Started a crazy summer of student teaching, back-to-back classes, and basically a crash course on how to teach "at risk" youth having never majored in Education.  Got the sh*t kicked out of me, mentally and emotionally.
• Started teaching at an elementary school in the Bronx, where I again felt like every day was a struggle.  Was I really cut out for this?
• Got my first cell phone.
  
• Moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn in November.
• Sold the Toyota. :(
  

2003:

• Finished my first year teaching!  Can't believe I made it.
• Attended some really great summer classes at City College, and met tons of great people.
• Started back at work and felt rejuvenated.  Met even more amazing coworkers who turned out to be great friends.

2004:

• Visited Lake Placid and the Bahamas.
• Almost took a different job at a charter school specializing in math and science.
• Was asked to take over a gifted/performing arts program at my school and decided to stay.
• Got my Masters Degree in June!  Heard Bill Clinton speak at graduation.
• Got my first ipod.
• Spent some time on Long Beach Island, NJ that summer with my mom and stepdad. 
• Moved back to Manhattan (Washington Heights) with Kristin.
• Had a great summer visit (as well as two following summers thereafter) visiting my cousin Steve and his girlfriend Amy in San Diego, CA.
  
• Co-created a music/dance performance at school with my performing arts students.  Also became musical director of 5th grade graduation.

2005:

• Auditioned for an a cappella group in NYC.  Got called back!  And then...rejected!
• Started my very own a cappella group in NYC.  We rehearsed for a while....let's just say the friendships lasted longer than the group.
• After struggling with indecision, finally ended a 4-year relationship in October.
• I decided to finally do something about my inactive lifestyle and joined the gym in November.
• Joined Weight Watchers in December and began to see my life completely change.

2006:

• Started running...mostly on the treadmill...
  
• ..and doing yoga.  Started frequenting my favorite yoga studio, Life in Motion.
  
• Visited Atlanta, GA in February and the Dominican Republic in April.
• Had a lot (a LOT) of bad dates, and some good ones, and some weird ones.
• My roommate got plagued with bedbugs (recurring) that entire year!
• Watched more Sex & The City than anyone I knew and ended up being able to quote the entire show.
  
• Spent New Year's Eve on the subway with Kristin.  We were coming home from Bella Luna, our favorite UWS Italian restaurant, and the clock just so happened to strike midnight as we rode the 1 train.  It was pretty memorable!

2007:

• (Re)-met Derek on January 20 at a party for mutual VC friends.  We went out on a couple of dates and we both knew we were going to fall in love.
• Ran my first 5k in March in Washington Heights.  Derek was there with the camera!
• Spent part of July in wonderful Walloon Lake, Michigan with Derek's family and also attended his cousin Kate's wedding that month.  Was introduced to Wisconsin, its sports, its beer, and its cheese!
• Ran my first half-marathon (NYC Half) in August. My stepbrother also became engaged that month.
• Joined Team in Training in September.
  
• Derek moved to Madison, WI for business school at UW that fall.
• During an October visit, Derek proposed to me in my classroom in front of all my students!

2008:

• Put in my notice that I was leaving work.  :(
• Ran my first marathon in Phoenix, AZ in January!  Made sure to do my 9+1 (volunteering) for NYRR to secure a spot in the NYC Marathon 2009!
  
• Moved that summer to Madison, WI.  Bye bye, NY!!!! 
• Got a new (used) Ford Focus, my first car after six years of taking public transportation.
  
• Spent the summer searching for a job and visiting Derek at his internship in Minneapolis, MN.  Spent a lot of time with Kim attending concerts on the square and other fun Madison events.
• Started working at a music school part-time, and then finally found a classroom position in Madison.  Spent the year being in over my head!  Everything was different and I barely had a minute to myself.  Good thing the wedding plans were done!
• Went to my Jack and Nicole's wedding in September.
  
• Got married in October at Harvest-on-Hudson in Hastings, NY.  Best day of my life!
• Started my blog but hardly wrote in it.
  

2009:

• Re-joined Weight Watchers in March.
• Took a birthday trip to NYC in April, and attended Nick and Kristie's wedding in Folly Beach, South Carolina that same month.
• Derek struggled with finding a job in the economy, but finally lands a position in Cleveland, OH.  Bye bye, Madison!
  
• Ran another half-marathon and a bunch of other races, but was REALLY waiting for...the NYC Marathon on November 1st!
• Spent the summer training for the marathon and looking....looking....LOOKING for a job!
• To pass the time while looking for a job, I started baking, cooking more, writing in this blog more often and writing reviews on Yelp!
• Spent another lovely week in Walloon with family.
  
• Finally found a job in my field in October and I am happy there. :)  It's not a classroom position, but I am still very satisfied with what I am doing.
• Cooked dinner with Derek for our entire family for Christmas!  That was exciting and nervewracking.
  
• Derek and I just celebrated our one-year anniversary and plan to ring in the new year at one of our favorite restaurants, Fahrenheit!

Whew...if you are still reading this, congratulations! :)

And Happy New Year!

Running Quote of the Day

Great article by John "The Penguin" Bingham in January's Runner's World.

The article discusses how runners sometimes become as obsessed with running as they had been with some old addictions they conquered when discovering the sport (such as smoking, overeating, etc.). He says that throughout his running lifetime, he has often had to "start again" because he didn't listen to his body and pushed himself to injury. Here he talks about how he has adjusted his view of what it means to not give up:

The great lesson that I learned from running--because I wanted to run for the rest of my life--was that I had to accept the limits of my body.  I had to adjust my goals to match the reality of my abilities. I had to understand that if I wanted to run forever, I might have to not run today. Taking a day, or a week, or a month off, if necessary, might be hard, but it wouldn't mean giving up.

For someone who has quit jobs, left relationships, and often quit when the going got tough, running has been the exception. I haven't quit. I'm not going to quit, even if I take a break. And in that I take enormous pride.

I think this speaks to me, and to a lot of us who are either easily injured, are too hard on ourselves for taking time off, or both.

Just something to ponder. As I always say when I am injured, "Do I want to run for this next month, or for the rest of my life?" We put a lot of pressure on ourselves as runners--some of which is necessary to keep moving--but much of which is just another excuse to punish ourselves for not doing enough. I know I do this, and it's counterproductive. Don't we already have so much to worry about? Let's remember that running is suppose to be a release from all that madness, not another cause for worry.

Thoughts?

A look back at the runner, not the run

Hey all!  This is one of those "all about me" running surveys I've seen every now and then.  I saw one on a couple of running blogs lately, so I thought I'd share my own info!  Feel free to cut and paste this into your blog afterward and share all your stuff too!


Miles this past week: 20

Describe your most recent run: It was on the Towpath Trail where I live (Cleveland, OH) and it was snowing the entire time!  I felt like such a trooper because there were only a couple of other people walking around outside.

Your first Race: Coogan's Salsa, Blues, & Shamrock, New York, NY, March 2007

Your last Race:10th Annual Reindeer Run, Lakewood, OH, December 2009

When/Why did you start running: At first (Spring 2006), it was part of a fitness/weight-loss regimen I had been working on.  Then, when I started racing (Winter 2007), it became less of a means to an end and more of an end in and of itself.  You can read my original post on this topic here.

Favorite Race: ING NYC Marathon!!

Favorite Distance:
 This is tough.  I think that, because of all the Central Park 4-milers I've done, that distance is very familiar and dear to me.  But most races outside of NY are not 4-milers.  The 5k is a bit too intense for me.  I'd say either 10k or half-marathon.

Mistake you always make while racing:
 Not warming up enough.

Your mantra is: "Be a warrior."

Favorite food before a race or long run: Night before - pizza.  Morning of - peanut butter and banana slices on an english muffin, toast, or bagel.

Favorite Gadget: Just my regular Timex sports watch.  I have a Garmin, but it gets too "high maintenance" sometimes and takes forever to load the satellites.

Something *strange* you always need on a run? My locket with a picture of Dad.

Amount of races you’ve done in your life? 43


Amount of races you’ve done this year?
 14

When I can’t run, I: whine!  A lot!

Music or no Music? Both.  I will never use music during a race or during a run with a friend.  When I'm alone, I could go either way.  But I love music, so...it helps!

Favorite running book? The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik.  I call it my running bible.  It's got training tips as well as inspirational stories from women.  It's awesome.  I go back to it time and again when I feel I need motivation.

Favorite running Movie? Spirit of the Marathon.  Although my husband wasn't as excited to watch it as I was :)

Favorite Runner? Kara Goucher and Brian Sell. I like how they seem like everyday, "normal" people.

Favorite brand of apparel?
 Brooks and Under Armour

Favorite brand of shoes? 
Asics 2130...discontinued!  Have tried a bunch of other brands too.  Think I might try the 2150s for my next pair - they just came out.

How many pairs of running shoes do you have? 3...one for everyday training, one lightweight racing shoe, and one trail shoe that needs to be replaced....NOW.

How many pairs do you actually use?
 Just the first 2, and I'll use the trail shoe for walking around or when it's gross out.

Next Challenge ahead:
 Getting through the winter while still maintaining some running fitness!  Perhaps a spring marathon, but definitely a half-marathon.

A Goal further ahead you’d like to get to someday:
 Break 5 hours for the marathon.

PR you’re most proud of:
 Breaking 30 minutes for the 5k, which I did this summer.  For the first time in 3 years I felt that I was getting a little bit faster!

Fuel of choice on long run or races: PowerBar Gel!  That turns out to be the only gel I can tolerate after many trails (and errors).  My favorites are rasperry & cream, strawberry banana, and (when I need a boost) double latte.

Last/current injury:
 Ugh! My right foot.  I think I overtrained for the NYC Marathon and something definitely went wrong there.  It's doing much better now.

Most inspirational running moment: For my first marathon in Phoenix, I ran with Team in Training and raised money for cancer research.  Around the halfway point, I saw a woman with a big sign in her hands that read, "Because of You I am Alive." I think of that moment every time I think I can't run another step.


Why do you run? My question is why DON'T people run?  :)  That's how ingrained it is within me now.

Anyway, I'm not gonna tag anybody because I don't want to force you to fill this out...But I'd love to know this stuff about you all!  Anyway, have a great Sunday!