It's Been A Day

I know, I'm off today. Usually I post MUCH earlier, but it's been a busy day!

Last night my heel was bothering me quite a bit so I decided that rather than walking to our gym and being inticed by the elliptical (which bothers it a little bit), I'd hit up the 'fitness room' in our building for a spin on the bike. Unlike the three relatively new treadmills and the one elliptical, the two bikes in the room look like they're circa 1995! I'm not going to record my distance today like I usually do because I'm 99.9% sure the distance was not correct. My legs were pretty limber this morning, but I don't know how I could have 'biked' just over 20 miles in an hour. Is that possible? Our 'fitness room' has three tiny TV's to keep people entertained while working out. Of the three, one doesn't work (the closest to the bikes) and while the other two have remote controls, they only control the channels. Turning on/off and the volume control must be done at the TV. This doesn't work out too well when you start your cardio workout as the lone person in the room and during the course of the hour two people come in and get on treadmills. As we all know, treadmills are not quiet. Needless to say, I could just barely make out Willie Geist's 'News You Can't Use." I did have the latest issue of Women's Health to finish reading though. Which reminds me, I saw the new issue of Runner's World on sale at a news stand this afternoon but it wasn't in my mailbox! What's up with that Runner's World? I need my fix?! It's odd. I can only read when I'm on a bike. I get bored on the bike. Nevertheless, I actually didn't have any pain when I finished my 60 minutes, so I ended my workout with a few minutes of stretching before heading back upstairs.

I quickly put together a light breakfast of toasted whole grain bread, peanut butter and a banana. No time for tea this morning. I had to get out of the apartment quick. Bad news though. I've run out of PB&Co peanut butter! I prefer buying my jars at the restuarant - I feel that way they get all the profits and no one is skimming off the top. Unfortunately I haven't been there for a while so my cupboard is empty! I did pick up a jar from Trader Joe's during my weekly visit on Monday. It's cheap ($2.99) and a pretty good flavor, but very runny, even when I keep it in the fridge. Definitely no PB&Co, but I suppose it will tide me over. I have to get to the restaurant soon!

This morning I attended a Step Up Women's Network Power Breakfast. About 20 members were fortunate enough to get two hours with Linda Descano, the President & COO of Women & Co. a division of Citi, as well as the CAO of Citi. I love the Power Breakfast series because not only do I get to meet other motivated, intelligent and active women, but we get an inside look at what makes strong, successful women tick. What inspires them and how they got where they are. 

One topic she touched on was mentoring: she has had several mentors throughout her career and has been a mentor herself. Her advice was to find someone who is an expert in something you want to know about and ask them for a bit of their time to pick their brain. Or, find someone who has a similar background as you. I think this tip can also be used when it comes to running, fitness and nutrition. What's wrong with having a running mentor? Someone who can teach you and push you to maximize your potential? I think this happens often without people even realizing that it's a form of mentorship. It can be friends introducing other friends to running or cooking. I feel this is happening a lot in the blog community as people take time to reach out, comment on posts and make a real connection. It was a great event and I learned quite a bit. Linda is an inspiration. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to attend events like this and I do not take them for granted!

This afternoon I was down at Chelsea Market. You know, where the Food Network studios are! It's a great place filled with all sorts of restaurants, bakeries, and markets. I picked up some great stuff while I was there:

I've been reading a lot of recipes using cumin seeds lately and I'm curious. I picked these up to try out. Not a bad price! I also picked up some produce, including tomatoes that weren't outrageously expensive from the freeze in Florida this winter!

I also picked up a treat for Woody and I to enjoy!

You know how much I love chocolate and I've been really good about limiting it this year. Well, I really love Jacques Torres and I really love chocolate covered matzos! The chocolate covered matzos from Whole Foods used to be great, but I was massively disappointed with it when we picked up a small package over the weekend. I had a few bites and left the rest for Woody to finish. For some reason it was more sugary and caramel than chocolate and matzo. Not good. Anyway, I also picked up these cute chocolate bunnies for Woody for an Easter treat. They're hidden now - he has to wait till Easter! (don't worry - I'm not spoiling the surprise - he doesn't read this often!)

With all my treats in hand, I made my way back home and now I'm icing my heel, writing this post and about to do some stretching.

One more thing - Molly, at I'm a Sleeper Baker, profiled me on her blog yesterday! I was so flattered when she asked to profile me! I, along with over 300 others, love her blog, so this is definitely an honor! You can check out the post here, and I also encourage you to read more of her posts, if you haven't been there before!

Okay, I'll be back in the morning! Have a great evening!

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Workout Stats -
60min bike (mileage unknown)
stretching