The Case for Massage

Last night I got a massage. While massages are always a good thing, for runners specifically, regular massages can be very beneficial while training. The one I got last night focused on my legs because of the tightness I've been experiencing in my left leg which has been bothering me a bit; it was also a combination of assisted stretching and massage. While it wasn't always super comfortable and relaxing, I definitely do feel that it was what I needed. Immediately afterwards I felt better. This morning, I was a little stiff and my run still started out a little wonky, but I settled in and my legs loosened up. I'm feeling pretty good as I write this, so hopefully I'll continue to.

There are several reasons why massages are great for runners:

1. Can speed recovery time
2. It increases blood flow and circulation
3. Can help increase flexibility
4. Keeps muscles, tendons and joints healthy and in good shape
5. Relieves muscle tension
6. It feels great and can be extremely relaxing - good for the body and soul

While massages can be pretty costly, they can also be very beneficial, even if used once every so often. Or as a 'reward' for finishing a race (just wait a few days before you do it so your muscles aren't too sore)! If you do get a massage, remember it's important to eat healthfully and stay hydrated to optimize the benefits.

Especially with my history of injuries and osteopenia, I hope to make massages a part of my training; I think they'll help keep me running! Because for many of us (including myself), massages aren't very economical, between them I'll keep using the trusty foam roller and stick!

• What's your favorite way to recover while training hard or from a long run or race?

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Today's workout -
40 minute tempo run
3x10 lateral arm raise
3x10 hammer curls
3x5 resistance band front, side, and back kicks
2x10 reistance band side squats
foam roller
stretching

Still Catching Up

So, you know I went back to Michigan for the weekend. This is why...

My grandma's 9 grandchildren (who live in 6 different States) and 3 of her great-grandchildren invaded her house at 10am Saturday and we spent the day catching up and celebrating her 90th. Festivities included a trip to the MSU Museum, lunch out, games, a photo session to remember the day, oh, and lots of eating!

Here's a random fact about me...

I own a dinosaur bone! Yep. Well, actually my parents bought one for me and one for my sister way back in 1987. It was a fundraiser for the MSU Museum when it acquired the dinosaur to make the long term exhibit possible. Funny thing is, the first race I ever entered was the Dinosaur Dash organized by the museum! We had all forgotten about this, so it was fun to see our names on the wall...so many years later!

We had a great time on Saturday and it was really a gift to have the time to catch up with my cousins who I hardly get to see. I have to say though, it was a bit crazy in the evening when we had four generations in the condo enjoying cake and ice cream. Still, it was a great time!

So... I've been catching up since I got home. Doing laundry, trying to read a few blogs, write this post, work on NYRR YPC planning, spending a half hour on hold trying to reach someone at the MTA to complain about a refund.... you know, the normal stuff!

I did 6 miles on the treadmill this morning. The first half mile was still pretty wonky but then my muscles loosen up and my stride evens out. Felt pretty good, but I probably could have pushed it a little more. I'm really looking forward to tonight when I get a sports massage! I've been trying to schedule this for a few weeks since my leg started acting up. It really is just tight muscles (I hope) so the massage should help work things out! I'll let you all know tomorrow how it goes. I love that the guy I'm going to see works on elite athletes and his office is in lower Manhattan not far from our place so it'll be an easy stop on my way home. I'm hoping that this helps work out the tightness!

• What's a funny/weird fact about you?
• Do you work massages into your training?

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Today's workout -

6mile run

3x5 resistance band leg kicks - front, side, back

stretching

foam roller

Raw Crunch Bar Giveaway Winner

It's been a busy day so far. I got back to the city from Michigan last night after a whirlwind weekend visiting with family and just couldn't get the energy to pull out the ol' computer. So, all I have for you today is the winner of the Raw Crunch Bar giveaway!

The winner is:

Congratulations Victoria! I'll reach out to get your address so I can ship these off to you!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. If you didn't win, you can buy them online HERE or go HERE to find out where you can pick up these bars near you!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

• what was the highlight of your weekend?

UPDATE 3/29: Victoria Elizabeth, please email me at lmhansen (at) hotmail.com with your address so I can send these bars to you! Thanks so much!
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Today's workout -
3 mile run
3x12 cable push down
3x10 resistance band side squats
3x10 resistance band kicks (front, side, back)
stretching
foam roller

5 for Friday

1. Tonight I’ll be sleeping in the room I grew up in. I’m going home for a very quick weekend trip. You see, I have one older sister and 7 cousins on my father’s side. Our Grandma turned 90 years old last month. A few of the older cousins got us all to commit to one day to meet in East Lansing to celebrate with our Grandma. So, it’s just Grandma, her 9 grandkids and 3 of her great-grandkids (all under 6 mos old), for the day. We have a few things planned for the day, but really it’s a time for us all to get together. The last time we were all in the same place was last summer, for our Grandpa’s memorial service; this is a much more joyous occasion.

2. Saw THIS on twitter Wednesday and went crazy for it instantly! I definitely have to send one of my race bibs in to be made into coasters! I love the motivational fridge magnets too! 

via 26MileStones

3. I signed up for another race. According to Daily Mile that means I have six on my calendar now, the first one being in 14 days! I just signed up to run the Scotland Run 10K in Central Park with Grace! Let me know if you’re running this. No doubt we’ll be hitting up some great place for brunch afterwards and I’d love for you to join us!

4. Researchers at the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, recently released the results of a study done to see how well athletes cross busy streets in comparison to non-athletes. So, basically seeing how well one group processes information versus the other. It'll take too long to explain the actual study in this post, but it's pretty interesting, so check it out HERE.

5. I did it. After a horrible night of sleep, I woke up at 4:40am, went to the gym, and ran 7 miles. The first half mile was still a bit wonky and my legs felt heavy, but I suppose that's to be expected when you wake up so early and start running less than an hour later.
Long run for the week: complete!

• What are you doing this weekend?
• Are you on Daily Mile? If so, what's your favorite thing about it?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!! 4 free Raw Crunch Bars might be heading your way!
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Today's workout -
7 mile run
lots of stretching
foam roller

Making A Training Plan My Own

Back a few weeks ago I shared with you that I'm following Hal Higdon's 15K/10M training plan to get ready for the Broad Street Run on May 1st. I've been doing very well to follow the plan exactly. That was until last week when my leg started bothering me.

Here's a look at the plan for last week and this one:

I turned Wednesday and Thursday into cross training days on the elliptical and basically took a rest day on Sunday.

So far this week is going really well, but I have made a few changes. First, I switched the interval workout to Tuesday because I had to wait for someone from our building's management company to stop by before work which meant I had more time at the gym, so I could fit this workout in better. That pushed the 5 mile run to Wednesday. As you'll see below, I also added a mile to today's run. And I need to change up the end of the week (aka long run) because I'm flying home to Michigan Friday evening for a quick weekend trip.

My plan was to wake up very early Saturday morning and run on campus before the family festivities begin, but then I found out it will probably only be 12' at that time! If I haven't told you before, I have a self-imposed minimum temperature limit for my runs - 28'. So this will be well below my limits! Since I don't have access to a treadmill in Michigan my only option is to wake up at 4:40am tomorrow morning so I can be at the gym when it opens at 5am and get my 7 miles in before work. This also means I'll be taking two rest days in a row (Saturday and Sunday), but it will probably be good for me (and my leg). If I have time, maybe I'll walk the length of the Delta terminal in Detroit a couple times to get some exercise (it's like a mile long)!

So, as of now, while I'll miss a cross training workout, I still plan to get all my mileage in for the week, just not in the same order as the plan dictates. But, life happens and I can make the plan work for me. Next week I'll be back to the plan Mr. Higdon so graciously devised!

• How flexible are you with your training plans?
• Do you have a self-imposed temperature limit? (hot or cold)
• Do you ever do long runs before work? Are you exhausted by the end of the day?

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Today's workout -
4mile run
3x12 leg press
3x12 cable press down
3x12 hammer curl
leg kicks and squats with resistance band
foam roller
stretching

Raw Crunch Bar Giveaway!

A couple week ago I hinted that I had a few giveaways coming up. Well, I figure this weird rainy/snowy Spring day is a great time for one of them!

The very nice people at Raw Crunch Bar sent me a box of bars to try out and giveaway!

The founders, Ross and Kathy, were both in the fitness industry, always wanting to eat fresh, real food instead of stuff filled with ingredients they couldn't pronounce. So, they worked hard to find just the right combinations; this North Carolina company makes each cranberry, goji berry, blueberry and chocolate bar by hand to guarantee freshness.

I love that these bars are fresh with all natural ingredients. They all come in at 150 calories, which I really like. As much as I love larabars, I feel like each new flavor they come out with has even more calories than the last. At 150, it's a good snack that'll hold me over and give me the energy I need, but not as many calories as a mini-meal. They're low in sugar and sodium which is always a good thing. And in case you're wondering, except for the chocolate flavor, they're all gluten, soy, dairy, and peanut-free (the chocolate isn't raw or soy-free).

Like the name says, these are raw and crunchy. They have a tendency to break up, especially after I threw it in my purse that seems to hold more stuff than a suitcase! They can be crumbly, but they are good.

The blueberry was a bit sweet and I would have liked a little more chocolate in the chocolate version, but that's because I can always take a little more chocolate! The cranberry was a perfect a mid-afternoon snack while I was out running errands. I shared a little with Woody and he thought it was a little dry, but agreed it's just because they aren't held together with something like dates, like larabars are, which naturally add a little moisture. He did like it though.

At first bite I knew I was going to like these. They're fresh, crunchy and healthy. I'll definitely be seeking our more of these bars!

Okay, so the giveaway. Enter before Sunday March 27th at 10:00pm EDT.

One lucky winner will win one bar of each of the four flavors! 
There are two easy ways to enter:
1. Follow my blog (and tell me you do)
2. Check out the Raw Crunch Bar website HERE and tell me why you want to try these?

Each entry needs a separate comment. K. Got that? If you want two entries, leave two comments. Mmm. Thanks!

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Today's workout -
5 mile run
leg exercises with resistance band
foam rolling
lots of stretching

Blueberry Recharge

Woody is the one who typically makes smoothies in our household. He's been making them as long as I've known him, but for some reason I've never really gotten into it, even though sometimes I do crave one. It's really because I like to chew something and have always preferred to eat my calories rather than drink them. BUT, I decided on Saturday that a smoothie was what I needed.

Really simple and healthy. If I can put this together, anyone can!

Blueberry Recharge Smoothie

ingredients (makes about 8oz)
1/2c original unsweetened almond milk
1/3c non-fat plain Greek yogurt
half frozen banana
1/3c frozen blueberries
1/3c frozen mango
1tsp ground flaxseed
1tsp chia seeds
dash cinnamon

1. Put the almond milk and Greek yogurt in the blender first, then add other ingredients. Mix until well combined, pour into a cup and enjoy!

To satisfy my need to chew and add even more protein, I had two hard boiled eggs along with the smoothie (one minus the yolk, but aren't they a beautiful yellow?!). 

I was actually pretty impressed by how well this turned out, being one of my first smoothies. Woody even liked it! I have a feeling I'll be having a lot of these as the weather gets warmer!

• Do you like smoothies? What's your favorite combination?

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Today's workout -
6x800 intervals
plus 2x800 warm-up and cool-down
stretching
foam roller

The Finish from Above

I decided to forgo my workout Sunday to walk over to Chambers and the West Side Highway to watch NYC Half Marathoners cross the finish line!

My hope was to see Meb and Kara race to the finish, unfortunately, neither of them won, but Kara did come in third! And while Meb didn't place in the top 5, Galen Rupp, a 24-year old American, running his 2nd career road race and first ever half marathon came in third for the men! Not a bad showing for the Americans!

I got to the finish pretty early and found a great spot on a pedestrian bridge right past the finish line! It was really cold, but definitely worth the wait!

The view from my perch. Waiting for the runners!

Mo Farah of Great Britain wins in 1:00:23
with Gebre Gebremaria right on his heels (1:00:25)

American Galen Rupp finished 7 seconds after the winner - 1:00:30

The top men were all smiles!

While Meb finished in 15th place, it was still an incredible 1:02:52!
The men's race was incredibly tight!

Caroline Rotich of Kenya won the women's race in a quick 1:08:52

The women put out a great race with Edna Kipligat coming in second, finishing in 1:09:00 and
Kara Goucher (above) crossing three seconds later.



Goucher celebrates with her husband and 6 month old son!

It was really a cool thing to watch the finish from above. A big crowd had gathered by the time the men were a mile away, so there was a fun, excited vibe going on. Not long after watching the women finish I gave up my spot to a a woman who were there to watch for her friend; it was more important for her to get that great view than me! I was thoroughly charged up by the experience. I stopped by Whole Foods to do a little shopping and loved seeing all the runners in the neighborhood as I walked home. I'm totally pumped and can't wait for my first 'big' race on May 1st.

• Do you like watching races as much as you like running in them?
• Do you follow elite runners?

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Saturday's workout -
5 mile run
leg strengthening exercises
foam roller
lots of stretching

Sunday's workout -
walk to/from race finish (approx 2 miles)
stretching

Today's workout -
4 mile run
3x10 lateral arm raise
2x10 side squats
forward, side & back kicks with resistance band
stretching
foam roller

5 for Friday

Happy Friday!! I hope you all survived St. Patrick's Day; I bet we're all looking forward to the weekend, for one reason or another.

1. I mentioned yesterday that the NYRR Young Professionals Committee event was a success. Here are some of the cute (and functional) outfits our committee members modeled!

This white Sugoi Versa jacket was pretty popular because the sleeves come off, as one piece, and are attached to the vest part by magnets! No awkward zippers to deal with!

2. Sunday is the NYC Half Marathon that takes 2.5 loops of Central Park before heading down 7th Ave to Times Square and over to the West Side Highway finishing up at Battery Park. I ran this a few years ago, when it was still in July, and had a great time! There was a bit of controversy last year after the lottery was held, but hopefully people who didn't get in will put it behind them for the day and cheer for those running, because really, it's the camaraderie between runners that matters, not the politics of the races. Check out NYRR TV for pre-race and race day coverage!

3. Speaking of races and lotteries, there was an article in The Wall Street Journal the other day about the rapidly increasing popularity of marathons in the US over the past few years. I think it's hard for any runner who races not to know how quickly marathons, half marathons and races of other distances have been filling up at lightening speeds. Turns out, that even though Boston closed in 8 hours, the Marine Corps Marathon in 28 hours and Chicago in 31 days, all record times, there were 35 new marathons across the country in 2010 (according to Running USA).

4. Another running documentary is hitting the movie theaters for a one-night-only run. This time it's about a 57 year old man who, after losing his wife to cancer, ran 75 marathons in 75 days. If you're like me, you might think this sounds crazy. But, he did it to bring awareness to the struggle of losing a loved one and becoming a single parent. The film, narrated by Billy Bob Thorton, will be shown on March 31st in theaters nation wide and proceeds will go to benefit the Livestrong Foundation. You can go HERE for more information on the film and you can watch the trailer below.

5. In non-running news, the first ever NYC Vegetarian Food Festival will be held on April 3rd at the Altman Building. Sarah Gross, one of the founders, was kind enough to return my email request for more info and gave me a bit of background on how the festival came about. Simply put, she was frustrated that many other cities have festivals celebrating and teaching about the vegetarian/vegan/flexitarian lifestyle, but not New York City. So, she and event planner, Nira Paliwoda, are changing that. "A big goal of the festival is to pull in non-vegetarians. The event is free, we want it to be maximally inviting to everyone so they can come and learn about the diet, the ethical and environmental issues, and sample lots of great food!" says Sarah. I'm definitely looking forward to trying some great veg food and checking out the speakers!

• Are you running in the NYC Half Marathon Sunday?!
• What's your must-have Spring running gear item?
• Are you a vegetarian/vegan/flexitarian or interested in learning more about it?

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Today's workout -

None. Rest day.

Irish Soda Bread With a Twist

First, the event went really well last night. The day started with a downpour but ended with sun and 59 degrees. We had quite a drop off in attendance (compared to rsvp's) but the women who did come were great and our volunteer models (committee members) were incredible! Big thanks to Cara from Urban Athletics for showing us some great new running gear and teaching us about the importance of fabrics!

Okay.... so it's St. Patrick's Day, right? Well, the past few years Woody and I have treated ourselves to a loaf of Irish Soda Bread from Whole Foods this time of year. The other day, I found a recipe on Trader Joe's website that looked pretty simple and like something I could do. I've never baked bread, so this was going to be a first for me and I didn't want anything too complicated. Also, I had all the ingredients on hand!

I decided to make it Sunday morning so it would be baking when Woody got home from the gym (I just use the elliptical and weights in the small gym in our building) and we could enjoy fresh baked bread with our breakfast, assuming it all worked out.

And, it did!

The original recipe is here, but I made a few tweaks to make it a little healthier. No surprise there, right?

Healthy Irish Soda Bread

ingredients:
1.5c white flour
1.5c whole wheat flour
3tsp baking powder
1/4tsp sea salt
1/2c sugar
1c raisins
2tbs softened whipped butter
1tsp cinnamon
2tsp ground flax seeds
1 egg
1.25c original, unsweetened almond milk

1. Pre-heat oven to 350' if using a glass 8x8 dish, or 375' if metal.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in one bowl by hand. Make sure to break up clumps of raisins if they're sticking together.
3. In another bowl, mix the egg and milk.
4. Mix wet and dry ingredients thoroughly, then mix in the softened butter.
5. Pour into baking dsh and bake for 45 - 60 minutes. You'll know it's done when the bread doesn't give too much when touched.

I really wasn't sure if it was done or not, so after the first 45 minutes I checked it and put it back in for a few more minutes. The edges were browned a bit and I basically just decided to take it out and hope it was ready. Thankfully, it was.

I let it sit for a few minutes then sliced one edge, cut in half, and both Woody and I enjoyed a piece with a bit of my Grandma's strawberry jam. I don't know if that's the traditional way of eating Irish Soda Bread, I doubt it is, but then again, these ingredients aren't traditional either! What mattered, was that it tasted great and now we can have Irish soda bread all year long!

• Have you ever made bread from scratch?
• Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? 

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Today's workout -
45 minute elliptical
lots of stretching and foam roller

What a Week

I've been spending way too much time and attention to this event tonight over the past few days. The RSVP list hit 90 and we started a waiting list. Then that reached 35 people. There are always last minute crazy details to attend to, things that don't work out as thought, but other stuff turns out better than expected. I'm nervous about tonight but I'm sure it'll be a success in the end. Am I the only one who gets anxious when planning a big event?

If you haven't read her blog or found her on DailyMile, Erica is a runner and jewelry designer in NYC and she graciously donated a piece of her art for our raffle tonight! Go and check out her blog and designs. She even creates race bling!

The muscle behind my knee is still bothering me a little. I wore high heels to work today, which I rarely ever do, and oddly enough, the muscles hurt less than when I wear flats. Emily H thinks a muscle might be irritated and by wearing heels the muscle isn't stretched as far when I walk which might help it feel better. As much as I like that idea, I don't plan on spending much time in heels. Yesterday it felt better as I ran farther and faster. I don't know. Today I decided to forgo my tempo run today and get on the elliptical instead. Definitely the right idea. It didn't bother me one bit during the workout and felt fine after, too! This week is a step back week on my training plan as well, so it's coming at a good time.

Okay, off to start the day. By this time tomorrow the NYRR YPC event will be over and we can start working on the next one (April 13th). Oh, and tomorrow, in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I have a recipe for Irish Soda Bread to share with you!

• Do you tend to get stressed out when planning an event?
• How do you feel about Daylight Savings Time? I like the sunlight after work, but it's still dark when I finish my workout in the morning now! #fail

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Yesterday's workout -
4mile run
stretching and foam roller

Today's workout -
40 minute elliptical
3x12 lateral raise
3x10 upright row
3x12 overhead tricep extension
3x10 cable pushdown
3x12 leg press
stretching

Saturday Shenanigans

Saturday morning was my longest run in quite a while, but I wasn't nervous about it at all. I was actually really excited to get out there and put in some quality miles on the road. We had some nasty weather towards the end of the week, but Saturday morning was a different story.

I had laid everything out the night before so I wouldn't have to waste time doing that in the morning. Got up, had an Akmak cracker with PB and raisins, a cup of green tea, some water and got ready. Per usual, right before I was about to leave I had a second thought and decided to switch hats. I had gotten out a baseball cap but when I heard it was 'a little breezy' and felt like 35' I opted for the winter hat. I hate running with cold ears! Then, I was out.

Right away when I started running at Wall St at the river, I was hit by strong wind that was fighting against me. I was glad I had changed hats but wondered if I'd make it through the run with this wind. Thankfully when I made the turn north at Battery Park, I was running more with than wind than against it and could relax a little. There were quite a few other people out enjoying the nice day but the paths weren't too crowded. What I liked most about this route is that I was able to avoid traffic for about the first 75% of the route! I also ran along the river, which was nice and could take the path that provides a little buffer of trees and buildings between me and the road. The only hills were the last two miles. West 59th St has a massive hill that lasts about two long city blocks, but I had no trouble getting up it. The few hills I climbed in Central Park were no trouble either. I was armed with my new Nathan handheld waterbottle and a Gu, that I took around 6 miles. It was a great run and I enjoyed this route! I actually finished outside of the park along CPW so I could take a cool-down walk to Whole Foods at Columbus Circle and then jump on the subway to head home.

After I got home and cleaned up, Woody and I headed to Brooklyn to check out the Brooklyn Flea. I wanted to take Woody here before it moves outside because of the amazingly beautiful space it's in. We checked out the vendors, found a few vintage postcards with our apartment building on it, and stopped for some food.

It was a fun afternoon but I was ready to relax by the time we got home. I definitely recommend checking out the Brooklyn Flea if you're in the area.

FYI - I started reading Matt Long's book, The Long Run yesterday and the only reason why I put it down was because I had to make dinner. It literally has taken my breath away at points.

• Are you fond of flea markets?
• What was the best part of your weekend?

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Saturday's workout -

8 mile run

stretching

Sunday's workout -

60 min elliptical

3x12 hammer curls

3x10 bicep curls

3x10 weighted side bends

3x10 lat pull down

100 jumping jacks

lots of stretching

Today's workout -
3 mile run
3x10 cable push down
3x12 leg press
3x12 upright row
100 crunches
3x10 glute kick-back
lots of stretching & foam rolling

Five for Friday

Happy Friday! I am tired this morning. The big rain storm that came through the area made our building creak like a 300 year old wood ship all night long and our ceiling started to leak again. We had to call maintence at 12:30am to bring a bucket and tarp. This morning, we found a few new wet spots on our bedroom ceiling that need to be fixed too. I need some coffee.

Did you hear there's a free Fitness Fashion Show for women next Wednesday that's raising money for youth running programs through ticket sales for great raffle prizes? Are you coming?

1. Today my Dad is having eye surgery. He's nervous about it, which makes me nervous. My parents are my rocks, and it's hard for me to see either of them scared or worried about anything. This is pretty major surgery for him but he has a great doctor who is the best in the area. I'm sure it will go well without any problems, but it's surgery, so it's a little scary. Next Friday he goes in for the other eye, so it's not over after today. Hopefully this one will go smoothly so he won't be so nervous next week. I wish I could be there with my Mom while she's in the waiting room; she's had to spend too many hours in hospital waiting rooms. I just called and told my Dad I love him and I'll talk to him soon.

2. I saw a link to this video on Twitter the other day and want to share it with you. The narrator's voice is a little creepy, but if you just listen to what he says, it's pretty cool.

A Runner's High by Ben Redmond from Mishmash on Vimeo.

3. While on Facebook the other day I was served up an ad that I actually clicked on. It was for the NYC Running Show presented by Jack Rabbit Sports. It's two days of all things running. Unfortunately though, one of those days is a Friday. Hmmm. The list of events looks great with featured speakers Matt Long and Scott Jurek and highlight panels on women's health and minimalist running. Of course, there will be the usual vendors including all the big running shoe companies and other companies that offer all the essentials for runners. Grace and I have already made a date to attend this inaugural event!

4. Tomorrow Woody and I are heading out to the Brooklyn Flea. Even though this awesome event has been happening weekly since 2008, I've only been there once. And this will be Woody's first time. Until April, when it moves outdoors, it's held in the former Williamsburg Savings Bank, a gorgeous building in its own right. There are more than a hundred vendors, offering "antique and re-purposed furniture, vintage clothing, collectibles and antiques, as well as a tightly curated selection of jewelry, art, and crafts by local artisans and designers, plus delicious fresh food." I'm definitely looking forward to combing through all the treasures and enjoying some tasty food after my 8 mile run!

5. Just wanted to give you a heads up that I'm working on two giveaways. I haven't settled on the dates yet, but they'll be relatively soon and I promise they'll be tasty! (hint, hint. wink, wink)

• What are you doing this weekend?
• What was the best part of your week?

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Today's Workout -

None. Rest day!

The A, B, C's

I've enjoyed reading the responses by other bloggers to these questions the past few days, so I decided to jump in with my own! Here we go:

A) Age: 29

B) Bed Size: Full, but I dream of a king. I like my space!

C) Chore You Really Dislike: taking out the garbage! It’s gross and I can’t believe we create so much of it.

D) Dogs? None. I prefer not to walk around in the cold/wind/rain/snow waiting for a dog to do its bizness.

E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Does a workout count? If not, then a banana

F) Favorite color: Green, although I don’t have much of anything (non-Spartan related) that's green.

G) Gold or silver? Silver

H) Height: 5’3”

I) Instruments you play: saxophones (soprano, alto and baritone) although I haven’t played them for years.

HaHa! I can't believe I'm showing you this picture!

J) Job title: Account Manager

K) Kids: None

L) Live: in a tiny (but fantastic) apartment in NYC. Size isn't everything!

M) Mom’s Name: Barbara

N) Nicknames: None. That’s sad, isn’t it?

O) Overnight hospital stays: Two. A 5 night stay in the recovery room because a regular room never opened up. Then a 1 night stay in the emergency room. Thankfully I don’t remember much of either.

P) Pet peeve: People who try to get on the subway train before letting people off. Taxi drivers who don’t understand what a stop sign means.

Q) Quote from a movie: Um, I'm horrible at remembering movie quotes. Woody, on the other hand, can quote just about any movie he's seen! Especially if it's a classic mob movie.
R) Right or left handed? Right.

S) Siblings? One older sister.

T) Time you wake up? 5:00am during the week, 7:15am on the weekend.

U) Underwear: Always, except while running.

V) Vegetable you dislike: Mushrooms. Ew.

W) What makes you run late? The MTA.

X) X-rays: too many to recount them all!

Y) Yummy food you make: These raw fruit & nut balls and this Moroccan Stew!

Z) Zoo, favorite animal: Penguins.

• Okay, it's your turn. Tell us a bit about yourself by choosing one, or a few, of these to answer!

Don't forget to RSVP for the NYRR YPC Ladies-only Spring Fitness Fashion Show next Wednesday! (It's FREE!)

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Today's workout -

4mile run

3x10 cable push-down

3x10 weighted side bend

3x10 tricep dips

3x10 leg press

100 jumping jacks

lots of stretching

The Air We Breathe (and the stuff that comes with it)

Every now and then I pick up a copy of Women's Health Magazine. It's a great magazine that for one reason or another (ie: Woody's strong dislike of clutter) I don't have a subscription to but would probably save a lot of money if I did! I got the Matt Damon/Emily Blunt issue the other day and starting thumbing through it at a coffee shop. Right away I landed on an article about the effects poor air quality can have on people who exercise outdoors.

Being a city dweller who prefers running outdoors, this instantly grabbed my attention. It's pretty obvious that city streets in mid-town probably aren't the best places to run or bike. And even the  path that mingles between the West Side Highway and the Hudson River probably isn't the cleanest area either. But I've always assumed that the healthy act of running would offset the harmful effects that pollutants might have. I spend time walking through mid-town and that can't be worse than running along the water, right?

Well, turns out I've been wrong! I don't want to give away the entire article, but apparently while the air is cleaner than it was 30 years ago, it still has a long way to go and we are often breathing in soot, dust, aerosol and even metal while we're outdoors. Breathing heavily means we're breathing in more oxygen, and while this can be a good thing, it also means we're breathing in more of the nasty stuff than if we were just strolling down the sidewalk.

Studies have shown that bikers and runners who exercise in polluted conditions show signs of diminished performance. Over a long period of time, it can even lead to lung cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and more unpleasant health events that we're trying to prevent by exercising.

While this information does worry me a bit, it's not going to stop me from running outside. There are many benefits from being outdoors and as long as I stick to my morning routine and perhaps stay in on the hot summer days when we have air quality alerts, I think I'll be fine. Plus, I now have more incentive to make the trip uptown to Central Park to run!

The article gave provided these links to check local air quality before heading outside:

• http://www.airnow.gov/
• http://www.stateoftheair.org/
• The Oreck Air Quality Forecast app for iPhone and iPad
• Weather.com's air quality & pollution forecast

For the whole story by Katherine Bowers, pick up an issue before they're on to the next one, or read it here.

• How's the air where you live and play?
• Have you ever changed your plans because of bad air quality?

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Last night's workout -
3x12 seated row
100 crunches
3x10 glute kickbacks
Zumba!

Today's workout -
5x800 repeats w/ 400m jogs between
3x10 lateral raise
lots of stretching

My Race Card is Filling Up!

Aside from the baggage fees and dealing with the New York City airports, we love to travel. It's so fun to explore new cities. And getting to go running while there makes the trip even better!

We decided a while ago that we were going to go on two trips this summer - one to North Carolina (the Raleigh/Durham area) and another to Seattle, but we didn't set dates. I've been filling up my race calendar and other things have been popping in too, so we're finally making plans!

We still don't have exact dates for the NC date, but we're going in June. Not the weekend of June 11th, since I'm running the NYC Mini 10k that day. In July we're heading to Seattle, getting there before the 17th, because I just signed up for the See Jane Run Half Marathon!! I'm really excited for this because not only do I have three half marathons on my calendar, but I get to run in another State and I'm going to meet Mel! She even tipped me off to a great discount for my race entry (through a Groupon-like site) and it sounds like I'll get to meet other great bloggers and runners at the race! Not a bad way to start a vacation, right?

Woody is a bit worried that I'm going to over train and end up in the dreaded boot again (it's sitting in the corner of our bedroom) so while my goal is to run four half marathons this year, I'm holding at three for now. I have one in May, July, and October. I think these are nicely spread out and if all is going well after the July race, I'll probably sign up for Grete's Great Gallop in October, a couple weeks before I run the Detroit Half Marathon (which reminds me, I have to renew my passport!). So, other than a few short races I'll sign up for here and there, I think I'm all set for now!

This is totally random, but Woody got me some flowers from a bodega the other day. Last night, while eating dinner, we noticed they looked like this

They had drunk all the water in the vase and looked so sad! He re-filled the vase and this morning they're back to life!

I guess this proves how important staying hydrated is! In honor of this lesson I'm going to make sure to drink enough water today, I've been slacking on that lately.

• If you live near Raleigh/Durham, I'd love suggestions on where to run!
• Do you travel for races or stay close to home?
• How do you combine travel with fitness?

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Today's Workout -

6mile run

warm-up/cool-down

stretching

Peanut Butter Art

Happy Monday! Woody and I made it to the Nutropolitan Museum on Saturday, the first art exhibit of it's kind.

Neither of us had any expectations going into it. It featured one of our favorite foods, it sounded unique and was free. Plus, every family that went got a free jar of peanut butter. Why not go?

We got to the open gallery space in SoHo just after Noon and were greeted by a woman who works for Peanut Butter & Company and I know from working at their booth at the Chocolate Show. There were a good number of people already there, but it wasn't very crowded. It was still pretty early though.

I've been to this gallery space for a few other events and have seen it set up a few different ways. For this event, the main space was open with nothing in the middle of the large room and all the images were hung on the wall.

The interactive portion of the event was in the other room: create your own peanut butter masterpiece. Not only were kids getting in on the action, but so were the adults. Of course, after the masterpiece is photographed, the artist gets to enjoy it! Once I saw this, I quickly regretted eating such a filling breakfast as I wasn't hungry one bit and thought it would be a little silly to indulge. Looking back on it now, I have no idea really, how or why, I passed up this opportunity! These were smart people. The kids in the aprons and chefs hats were super cute.

Along the walls were photographs of peanut butter in all it's beautiful glory, intermixed with advertisements professing the health benefits of peanuts, created by the National Peanut Board. Large images were also being projected on the back wall, although the space is so bright that they were a little difficult to see.

It was an interesting exhibit, definitely different. I was a bit disappointed to see that the jar of PB we got in our bag as we were leaving was The Heat is On, since it's too spicy for me and is automatically reserved for Woody alone. It's just too spicy for me to enjoy, but he definitely likes it, so it wasn't too bad. The only thing we would have liked to see that wasn't there, was a film about how peanut butter is made. There were a few pictures of peanuts growing in the interactive room, but it would have been cool to see the process, from planting and harvesting to how it ends up in the jar. A different angle would have been to do a 'behind the scenes' video documenting the images being taken and how the ideas were developed.

But, this was the first time this had ever been held and I hope it was a great success. I have to mention the philanthropic portion of the event. I mentioned that we got a jar of PB as we left, well, for each jar they handed out, another was donated to the Food Bank for New York City! It's a great organization that not only provides food for those in need of help, but also nutrition and health education and tax assistance to New Yorkers. 

FYI - Skippy announced a limited recall of it's reduced fat creamy and super chunky peanut butter. If you eat this, check HERE to see if what's on your shelf has been affected. Then, I suggest you hit the grocery store and pick up an all natural PB without any additives. Oh yeah, and reduced fat PB isn't any better for you than the full-fat stuff. This is one time when you can just go for it.

• Did you go to the Nutropolitan Museum over the weekend? What did you think?
• What was the best part of your weekend?

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Saturday's workout -
7mile run
lots of stretching

Sunday's workout -
60 minute elliptical
3x10 weighted side bends
3x12 hammer curls
3x12 tricep kick backs
3x12 lat pull-downs
lots of stretching

Today's workout -
3mile run
3x10 cable twists
3x10 tricep push-down
3x10 upright row
3x12 leg press
100 crunches
100 jumping jacks
stretching