Thursday Happenings!

Wahoo, it’s Thursday! So, so close to the weekend! 🙂

I first want to announce that I purchased my own domain so soon I will be moving the blog. So hello, upgrade! Keep an eye out for that! 😉

Last night I met up with the rest of my team members for the upcoming Ekiden relay race. After getting slightly lost, I met up with them at Il Laboratorio del Gelato. Holy yum! The place is huuuuge and they have so many flavors of gelato. I never had gelato until yesterday. I know, I know, epic culture fail. But anyway, with a medium you get to have 3 flavors. So I chose:

1. Bourbon

2. Dark Chocolate

3. Mexican Cinnamon 

Of the three flavors, bourbon was my favorite. I am huge dark chocolate lover, but the bourbon was really mind blowing.  They also had other flavors including avocado, pluoto, basil, pumpkin, etc. I want to go back and try other flavors. If you’re in NYC, check them out!

My teammates Megan, Alex, and her husband (he’s running the race too), are so wonderful and so nice. I met Megan before at the SweatPink meet up from over the summer. I really cannot wait for the relay on Sunday. The one downside is that it might rain – yuck. But the weather can change from here to then, so I am hoping it doesn’t. Is there a non-rain dance out there?

 

(credit to Alex for the pic!)

Today’s fitness is Upper Cut & Abs – I really wanted to go to bootcamp, as I really need the cardio, but the Long Island Fail Rail Road was a disaster this morning and I was super late to work. My boss understood but it would not look great to show up to work almost 2 hours late and then take lunch. Hahaha. But I really like U&A and I will take all the toning I can get. I have a race in Florida to prepare for. I need to be a tight little package for the race and the beach! 🙂

Are you a gym-class junkie like I am? What are your favorite classes or exercises to tone up? Have you tried gelato? What are your fave flavors? Hit me up & share, I want to know!

All I Want for Christmas is…

Happy Tuesday!

Today I am going to share with you what is on my Christmas list this year. It used to be things like shoes, jewelry, makeup (that stuff aint cheap!), iPod/iTunes giftcards and clothing. Now it’s been replaced by fitness apparel and accessories. My hubs was super awesome and got me a ton of fitness clothing for my birthday. But I am an addict and can never have enough!

So in no particular order, here are a few of things that is topping my wish list:

1. Rumble Roller

Physical therapists,  trainers, and athletes use foam rollers to relieve muscular pain and tightness. Bloggers that I follow, especially running bloggers, swear by the benefits of foam rolling. I will admit, I don’t stretch as nearly as enough as I should and have terrible knots. I hope that this bad-boy will be under my tree and I can give my body some TLC!

2. Headlamp

Safety first! I think having a headlamp along with some reflective gear will help me feel more adequately prepared to train for my upcoming marathon as most of the training will be done in the winter mornings when it is still dark out. (The ones above are kiddie lamps, but they’re so bad-ass looking… I wonder if they make the designs in adult head sizes!?)

3. Lulu gift card

What fitness-fashionista would not want a lululemon gift card? I am super addicted to their line and that stuff aint cheap! Gift cards also make great gifts when you don’t know what to get someone. 🙂

4. Brooks Pure Grit

Aren’t these so pretty? But they are meant for pretty training! These are trail sneakers and are just what I need to ensure that I don’t bust my face – or my hip – during winter training. If anyone is reading this wants to them for me, I would need a size 9.5 please. 🙂

5. NYC Marathon Necklace 

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Granted, this would be an ahead-of-time gift (orrrr a gift in-time post November), but Erica-Sara’s race bling (and other bling in general) is so beautiful and wonderfully done. One can really appreciate her craftsmanship.  Basically, I’d be happy with any kind of race-bling from her store. 🙂

What is on YOUR Christmas/holiday wish list this year? Any must-haves? Is there anything I should keep out an eye for and put on my list? I want to know!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Weekend Race FAIL

How is it that it’s Monday already? 😦 Yuck.

I hope everyone reading had a great weekend. My weekend went by incredibly fast. I was supposed to have raced not one, but two times this weekend. Did I? Nope. Ugh. Such a fail. I had all my gear ready to go for the races, but I just could not get out of bed. My husband tried getting me up both days long before race time and apparently all I did was mumble “I’m tired” and snuggle deep under my covers.

Eventually I did wake up and lace up my sneakers for runs in the neighborhood. I am not sure if it was a) that I was tired or b) frustrated that I missed both races, but my runs in themselves pretty much sucked. Sunday’s was way worse than Saturdays… just finishing in itself was a struggle and made me question my running capabilities.

All I could think was how am I going to train for a marathon if I could barely eek out 10 miles this weekend (and not even 10 consecutive miles?!). But I went out there and did my tried my best right? (I figure if I say this enough times, I will believe it).

For this week’s fitness line up, I have kickboxing, pi-yo, bootcamp, and personal training lined up. I am also partaking in the NYC Run’s Ekiden relay on the 9th with 2 other SweatPink Ambassadors.

Ekiden is a relay race, and the term originated in Japan.  The first ekiden race was sponsored by the Yomiuri Shimbun in 1917, and was run over three days between the old Japanese capital of Kyoto and the modern capital of Tokyo, a distance of 508 km, to celebrate the anniversary of the moving of the capital to Tokyo. As written in Japanese, Ekiden combines the characters for “station” and “transmit.”  The original concept of the race hearkens back to Japan’s old Tōkaidō communication and transportation system in which stations were posted at intervals along the road. In the race, each runner on a team runs the distance from one “station” to the next, and then hands off a cloth sash, or tasuki, to the next runner.

This ekiden will be comprised of four legs all starting and ending across from Tavern on the Green. I will be doing leg 2. The legs are:

Leg 1: Two lower loops of Central Park-3.4 miles

Leg 2: A five mile loop crossing the 102^nd Street transverse

Leg 3: A full loop ofCentral Park – 6.1 miles

Leg 4: A sprint, one more lower loop of the park,1.7 miles.

As in a traditional Ekiden, the runners wear a sash that is passed from runner to runner. So after I cross the timing mat, I must hand the sash to the next runner. I am excited for this race and just hope I don’t fizzle on race day.

Speaking of upcoming races, I just heard about this race which will occur next year:

 

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I am so in for this race! How fun! I have always wanted to do a zombie race. Now, to see if I can recruit anyone to join me?? Happy Monday (only how much more ’til the weekend?!)!

Run-Filled Weekend!

Happy Friday!!

As you all know, I have been looking forward to the end of the week so badly… and it’s here, hooray! But there is still 5 hours or so between me and the weekend, grrrr. So I have decided to share with you what I have planned for this coming weekend which is filled with lots-o-races. I also have some running of my own set, so I will either finish my own mileage Saturday or Sunday, depending on how Saturday goes.

Saturday…

 

I am scheduled to run the Seaford Hot Chocolate 5K on Saturday morning. I have never done a hot chocolate run before (I will be doing another one in December with one of my blends (“blogger” + “friend” = “blend”; term not originated by me, but I have seen across Twitter and have decided to incorporate it into my vocab), Amanda. I have probably mentioned a thousand times how I love chocolate – if not, well, I do. Anyone who knows me I do and that I prefer dark chocolate (plus antioxidants, bonus!). White chocolate is not real chocolate. Don’t try to argue with me on this.  So I am hoping to bust a PR, but we shall see. The hot chocolate is going to be my motivation.

Sunday…

 

Sunday I am scheduled to run the Join The Voices 5miler by the New York Road Runners. The only issue is that it is super early, so I may or may not run this race depending on how Saturday’s race goes (plus if I tack on the extra mileage). It’s for a good cause, so I probably will hike up to the city. I’ll keep you posted.

Now that December is upon us (WHAT?!), it’s becoming more cold. And it’s much easier to hit snooze and snuggle deeper under the warmth of one’s comforter. So with that, I present some tips I found on Runner’s World to keep YOU (and ME!) motivated to keep on pounding that pavement:

• GO EARLY. Two-time Olympian Shayne Culpepper says that rather than putting off a run, she’ll head out even earlier than usual when she’s not in the mood to work out. “If I have that extra cup of coffee or I wait an extra half hour, it becomes too torturous,” she says.
  
• PAY YOURSELF. Set a price for attaining a certain weekly mileage goal. When you hit it, pay up. Keep your mileage money in a jar, and once it accumulates, buy yourself that new running jacket you’ve been ogling.
• REMEMBER that you almost always feel better after a run than before it.
• BRING HOME SOME HARDWARE. Okay, so you’re not going to you may not win the Chicago Marathon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t score a trophy. Find a few small local races where you might be able to compete for the top spots in your age group.
• DON’T EXPECT EVERY DAY TO BE BETTER than the last. Some days will be slower than others, and some days might even hurt a bit. But as long as you’re on the road, it’s a good day.
• IF YOU DON’T RUN ROAD RACES, where will you get all your T-shirts? #truth
• JUST START. If the thought of running your full workout is too much to bear, just suit up to run around the block. Chances are, once you’re outside, you’ll start to feel better and put in at least a few miles.
• THINK YOU DON’T HAVE TIME TO RUN? You can probably make a list longer than this one of things you’re wasting time on today. Cut one of them out and get the run in.
• A HEALTHY RUNNER IS A HAPPY RUNNER. As soon as you feel like you might be coming down with something, pamper yourself: Eat more healthfully (think lots of fruits and veggies) and get extra rest. A little prevention today means you won’t be debating next week whether you’re too sick to run.
• LISTENING TO YOUR FEET crunch gravel for an hour can erase a day’s worth of stress.
• INVEST IN GOOD GEAR. For beginners, this may mean a good pair of running shoes to avoid injuries and technical clothes made of fabric that wicks away moisture and prevents chafing. For others, experimenting with the latest GPS unit or shoe pod can be a fun way to track training progress and stay motivated.

And my absolute favorite: RACE RESULTS STAY ON GOOGLE FOREVER 

(*cough* Paul Ryan *cough*)

Enough rambles from me, lets have three cheers for the weekend! Happy running!

Back to the Grind!!

Happy Monday everyone!

I am hoping everyone had a fantastic weekend. The holiday break has come and gone (much faster than I would have liked).  After running 7 miles on Saturday, I set out to run 3 1/2 miles or so on Sunday. It was freezing out and my legs were so fatigued. I felt like I had cinder blocks on my legs. Ugh. Plus running into the wind again, was not fun. But I pushed through and accomplished my miles.

#proof

In other news, some of you might have noticed that I am an #elf4health. What is an Elf for Health? Started by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean and Ella of Nutritionella, Elf for Health is a six week challenge that will run from the Monday after Thanksgiving through the first week in January. There are daily tasks, daily winners, prizes, weekly newsletters, and a Facebook group for support.

As an Elf, I am expected to support my assigned buddy with their holiday health goals and the daily challenges. Elves & buddies will be reassigned every 2 weeks. It’s a reciprocal relationship, I am an elf for my buddy and my buddy is my elf.

I’ve already reached out to my assigned buddy and got a jump start on the first challenge. I am super excited about this challenge and look forward to sharing more with you!

Finally, I am super excited to try this:

Celestial Seasoning’s Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride.  Tons of people have raved about this tea on Twitterverse and while I am not a big tea drinker, I decided to give it a whirl. Anything that tastes like cookies has to be great right? I also bought their Gingerbread Spice tea and am looking forward to trying that as well. I’ll keep you all posted on what I think soon! 🙂 Have a great start to the week!

Holiday Weekend Recap!

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend. My weekend was full of turkey, family fun, and running. Thursday morning I went for a run around my neighborhood and clocked in 3.5 miles before calling it a day as hubs and I had to hit the road to see my side of the family. It was so nice seeing everyone; it dawned on me that I hadn’t seen my family since my birthday 2 months ago and that for me, was no bueno. I don’t know where the time went! That’s life, I suppose? I definitely plan on going to see them more. Here are some pics from then:

Dad & me!

#nomnomnom

We had so many leftovers – that turkey was huge! 17lbs, sheesh! My mom said the only things left were either really small turkeys or even bigger ones… so she went with the 17lb one. That’s fine with me… I love turkey. 🙂 Afterwards we had the desserts that I brought over – Italian cookies and cherry pie, yum!

Friday was spent doing some minor Black Friday shopping – primarily I was hunting for a gift my niece wanted, but I managed to pick up a few things along the way. The best was doing shopping online – a majority of shopping was done that way (nothing like shopping in your pjs, ha!). Yay for Old Navy and Loft practically giving things away for free!

Saturday, I hit the pavement and completed 7 miles. I went kind of late in the day and running in the park gave me the willies, so note for future reference: not happening again. I think I’ve seen too many horror movies. 😦 Anyway, here is a pic right after my run:

#proof

It was a bit tough – it was super cold and I was running against the wind for a good portion of it. But I got the miles in and I felt great after. Later on hubs and I watched a Star Wars marathon on TV. We are huge Star Wars dorks! I was always a fan of Harrison Ford and ewoks, hehe!  Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend! I have another 3-4 miles planned for the day before meeting up with classmates for a group project. Be well!

Ever So Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I started my day with a quick run around the park. I’m spending the day with my side of the family so I wanted to squeeze some form of exercise in before heading off.

I don’t know about you, but I plan on enjoying myself later with lots of turkey and pie. I usually cook/bake from scratch, but I didn’t have time this week so I bought cookies and a pie from our local Italian bakery. #nomnomnom

Anyway I just want to share the top 5 things I’m thankful for this year:

1. Hubster!! He’s my biggest fan and supports me in every aspect of my life… and doesn’t complain when I drag him to my many races which include very early wake up calls.

2. My Familia: My family is so great and so wonderful. We may have our tough moments but we get through them and even stronger than before!

3. My friends: My girlfriends are some of the best people a girl can have for friends. They’ve been with me through thick and thin… from drunken college parties to celebrating milestones. We all live far away from each other but we can pick up from right where we left off when we meet up.

4. My kitties: I think we can safely say that I’m a crazy cat lady, but I don’t care. Not all the kitties live with me, but like with any pet, they give me unconditional love and they give some of the best snuggles.

5. My Sweatpink and FitFluential family, blog friends, and readers: So so grateful to have this wonderful community in my life. You all encourage and motivate me in ways I couldn’t even imagine. So thank you for being all around awesome!

And with that, I wish all of you a wonderful holiday filled with warmth, love, family and friends!

Weekend Fun!!

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! My weekend was busy, busy, busy!  Saturday began with a 6 mile run.

I got my six mile run in at the park by my house. I figured I’d run the loop around the lake twice and with the to/from my house, it’d be 6 miles. Wrong. It was about 4 – I ran around that lake pretty quickly. But I had 6 miles to do, so I ran the loop once more and then headed home. I had to go by my house twice to get the full 6, but I did it, woot!

Afterwards, I felt really, really great! Running really helps clear my mind and find myself.  I enjoy running in the cold so much more than in the summer.  I am getting more comfortable running around my neighborhood more and more – there were other runners there, people walking their dogs, parents with their kids.  However, safety first and I asked my lovely #SweatPink Ambassadors for running safety tips and they happily shared their tips:

• Brooke of Sweats and Sweets: Have your music just loud enough, but low enough to hear if anyone is around you. Also, a SpiBelt is fantastic at holding small cans of mace, if you want to carry that. Always run with your phone if you need to call 911.
• Steffi of Almost Healthy Life:  Run in the daytime, always tell someone what time and where you are running, call that someone when you return home so they know you’re safe. Happy and Safe Running!!
• Michelle of Push.Pump.Progress:  i dont listen to music when i run alone, and if its dark i stick to busy well lit areas and i wear reflective gear and/OR i have a little light that i can pin to my jacket that flashes and have your phone on you. When i can i tell a friend and tell them approx when i should be done the run and text them once i am home.

(There are a ton more and I want to share them all in another post… stay tuned!)

On Saturday I was also supposed to go to NYRR HQ to hand out bibs/do registration, but I had such an itch to run, that I knew travel wise, there was no way I’d be able to get my run in, change, and head into the city. So at the last minute, I changed my plus 1 to volunteering at the kids races at the God’s Love – Race to Deliver 4 miler on Sunday. Volunteers were supposed to be at the race by 9, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do the run, plus check in by 9, since the race was at 8:30. So did all of the other volunteers I met at check-in.

Brrrr!!!

Turns out we could have – we weren’t needed until 10. So I/the other volunteers froze for little over an hour. There was coffee available and we happily drank it down to keep warm. Finally, it was 10 AM and we were off to the kids’ races. The kids’ corrals are divided by age group, with the youngest closest to the finish line. The age groups were 2 & under, 3 to 4, 5 to 6, 6 to 7, 8 to 9, and 10 to 12.  One of my tasks were to help line the children up, make sure their bibs were correct, and get them pumped. All of them were so, so cute, especially the 1 to 2 year olds!  Before the races began, kids were running up and down the course, which had a slight incline. One of the volunteers joked that the kids were interval training, hahaha.  The NYRR hired cheerleaders and when the cheerleaders began cheering, the 1 to 2 year olds took off and we had to run after them to get them back to the start line.

Omggg

Finish line!

I never get to see any celebrities despite having lived in the city so long.  I met George Clooney on my 12th birthday and Sisqo (remember him?!) once after school, but that was pretty much it. However, I got to meet WPIX’s own (channel 11 for New York City/Long Island) weatherman, “Mr. G” – he looks good for his age!

Interviewing a 2 year old! Hehe!

After the race, we cleaned up, and checked out. I even got a free shirt for participating. I wanted to do 3 miles in the park before heading home but my phone kept pausing/resuming/pausing/resuming… and after a mile, I gave up due to frustration. So, I walked another half mile and then headed home. But still, I got my plus one for the NYRR 9 + 1, so you will see me at the 2013 ING New York City Marathon! Hooray!!!

What did you do this weekend? Tell me all about it!  Have you ever seen any celebrities in your neck of the woods?

Friday Fitness & Follow-up!

Happy Friday!

We made it to the end of another week. T minus 8 hours until the weekend officially begins! I don’t know about you, but the week dragged. I am so exhausted. On my way to work, I hit up my local Starbucks to get a cup of their Christmas Blend (one of my faves!) and a lady ahead of me ordered a grande 6-shot cappuccino.  So, a grande typically has 2 shots of espresso already… to add 4 more?!  Hey to each his/her own, but I felt nauseated at the idea of drinking something with that much caffeine. 😦

Did it work…?

Wednesday officially wrapped up the 10-day Shakeology Challenge. I know many are curious to learn how it went.  While I did not follow the plan meticulously, I did follow it 85-90% of the way. Some substitutions had to be made because a) I am not only cooking for myself, but my hubs and 2) when a Nor’easter hits and you don’t get home until 9pm, the last thing you want to do is cook, so you get takeout. That is life for you!

But back to more important things – the results!

Great news!

I lost 3lbs overall and an inch off my waist so that is a win-win for me! I really enjoyed Shakeology and yesterday, I had no idea what to eat for breakfast. I ordered a month’s supply on the site and will be getting it on a continuous monthly basis, woot! No more disruptions for me. 🙂

Running updates:

• I will be handing out bibs tomorrow at NYRR HQ for the Race to Deliver 4 miler on Sunday. If you’re running it and are picking up your bib, come say hi! 🙂

• I am running the Hot Chocolate 10K with Amanda of Run Principessa (you may remember her from the great big blog swap from earlier. It’s on Roosevelt Island, to which I’ve surprisingly have never been to. I am excited to meet Amanda in real life! If you want to know more about Amanda, check out her site and follow her @runprincipessa!

• This happened:

I entered as a random drawing as part of a group with another SweatPink Ambassador. The drawing will occur on December 10th. I’ve never been to DC either! I am keeping my fingers crossed! (My husband is going to go bat-$%# if I get picked as we’re already going to FL for the Princess Half. Whoops.)

Do you have any fun weekend plans?? If so, share with me!!

Wordless Wednesday (aka Motivation to Get You Through the Hump)

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🙂