May 22nd 2013 05:15:49 pm

eating… broiled grapefruit. A delicious, but very healthy breakfast or dessert. I followed this recipe, but you can easily modify it and use whatever fruit or nuts you have on hand.

playing with… the A Beautiful Mess photography app. If you like Instagram, but want to add a bit more to your photos, you will love this app. It allows you to add text and doodles and novel borders and then share your creations via Instagram or other social networks. It is a lot of fun and totally worth the .99 cents!

prepping for… the Trail/Road Challenge next weekend. I’ll be running a 15k trail run on Saturday and a 5k road race on Sunday. In between, I’ll be partying with my Brooklyn Team in Training in the Berkshires!

trying something new… swimming! I am taking a weekly lesson with my friend Suzy. It is a beginner lesson geared toward triathlons. I have always known how to swim, but swimming competitively or for long distances is totally new. I think I am making progress…

::

What are you currently up to?

No Comments » Categories: Currently, Exercise, Food, Friends, running, Team In Training

May 16th 2013 12:00:51 pm

So. Running.

I am still at it, running races and training for my upcoming Trail/Road Challenge next weekend… but I have also been trying to take it easy.

So far in 2013, I’ve run three full marathons and five half marathons (if you count the Brooklyn Half I’m running on Saturday), plus assorted smaller races and trail miles. I am not bragging. When listed out, that race count looks obnoxious and dumb. I am still paying for over-doing it. I am sluggish and slow.

My favorite recent race was the Nike Women’s Half in DC on April 28th. I ran it with Chelsea and I felt good the entire race. Our time was not overly impressive, but it was much better than what I struggled to do at both the NYC Half the month before and the NJ Half the week after. Plus, the Tiffany necklace at the finish and lots of treats in Georgetown made it a fun weekend.

So, I’ve had a few fun races, a few terrible races, and some low key, relaxed training runs in between. Where do I go from here?

I still love Team in Training. My Brooklyn team is just a few weeks away from finishing up our summer season. I say it all the time, but it is the truth, TNT people are the best people. So fun! I mean, look at this gorgeous group! And these lovely ladies. We run for Boston. We run for equality. We train in storms and in the dark. Oh ya, and we all raise money for cancer research. It is a win, win, win. (hint: Join TNT!)

Some of my most fun and rewarding experiences ever have been with TNT… but I am tired. I need to pull back a bit and re-group. My running enthusiasm is injured and I’ve discovered something about myself: I’ll never be hard core about running. Sometimes I think I want to be, but the truth is, I don’t want to put in the work. I’ll never qualify for Boston or win my age group in anything. I’m into running for the fun, fitness, and friends… which are all great reasons, but they are difficult to shape into concrete goals and motivations. Do I want to run more fulls? Try a triathlon? Train for an ultra? I’m not sure.

My short term goal: focus on general fitness, listen to my body, and enjoy it! It might mean walking, hiking, doing more swimming, more cross training… or even running. I don’t have a plan… and that is the best part! I can do whatever I want!

1 Comment » Categories: Exercise, running, Team In Training

Jan 31st 2013 12:01:19 pm

Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday! I love making Valentines.

You know what else I love?? Helping to find a cure for cancer. Yes.

I have started my seventh season with Team in Training. This season I am mentoring and training for the New Jersey Long Branch Half Marathon and the Memorial Day Road Trail Challenge. I am also raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Want to help?? And, want to receive an awesome hand-crafted Valentine sent from me to you via Snail Mail??

Make a donation (of any size! big or small!) before my birthday on February 10th and I will mail you one of my Valentine matchboxes. The tiny box of fun will be a one-of-a-kind creation made just for YOU and it will contain some sweet Valentine goodies. (I once taught a craft night class at Etsy on how to make these little boxes… so I guess you could say I’m a pro!)

More info: The LLS is an awesome organization that funds cancer research and supports patients both emotionally and financially. The research they have funded has led to medical advances and extreme increases in blood cancer survival rates. Your donation will go 100% to the LLS. I pay for all of my own race and travel expenses for every event I do with TNT so that all of the money donated via my campaign goes directly to the LLS mission.

4 Comments » Categories: Crafts, holidays, Team In Training

Dec 4th 2012 11:05:53 pm

Go team, indeed. The fall season of Brooklyn Team in Training has finally come to a close. This was a huge, long, complicated, wonderful marathon training season. I am both happy and sad that it has ended.

Some highlights from our 6+ months of training:

TNT Night at the Brooklyn Cyclones, a big fundraiser event planned by Lynn and me /// my fast showing at the Bronx 10k /// my huge PR at the Staten Island Half Marathon /// fun times at the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Diego /// the cancellation of the NYC Marathon /// and our triumphant plan B race, The Philadelphia Marathon!

I was social captain this season, which turned out to be a very big job. I planned weekly socials and a few other events for the team, including our fun end of season party on Saturday. I REALLY enjoyed my role, but it was an intense time commitment. Plus, Superstorm Sandy and the cancellation of the NYC marathon put a bit of a damper on the final weeks of training. I think it is for the best that Travis and I are taking a short TNT break for the winter… of course, we will still be doing plenty of running!

Check out all the photos from fall season on my Flickr set.

I’ve said this 100 times before, but if you want to complete an endurance event, do it with TNT. You won’t regret it. (I can’t ever stay away for long. Travis and I plan to be back with our fabulous TNT peeps for Summer season.)

2 Comments » Categories: Brooklyn, Friends, running, Team In Training

Nov 19th 2012 03:24:30 pm

Philly was my fifth and fastest – yay – but most painful – boo – marathon yet.

I was in a daze leading up to this race. Between the terrible hurricane, the NYC marathon cancellation, and catching a cold/flu, my head just wasn’t focused on running my best marathon yesterday. But I did it. Thanks mostly to my wonderful friend Sarah Yuen who ran with me the whole way and made sure I got my PR (4:48) at the end when I was majorly struggling.

In June, I ran the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon. That was MY race! I made a detailed pace and fueling plan, stuck to it, pushed it at the end, and finished with my sub-5 hour goal time. That felt like a triumph. Despite my excitingly fast time in Philadelphia, the race overall felt more like my painful 2010 NYC Marathon than triumphant San Diego.

I trained hard this season. Really hard. I ran almost 50% more miles than last fall season. I achieved a crazy fast time at the SI Half. I had high hopes for my full marathon… even if it couldn’t be NYC.

I started maybe a bit too fast. We were running 10:30-10:45 minute miles for the whole first 20 miles and I really thought it was an ok pace. I was probably being too ambitious. Especially since I was sick. I thought I was going to be able to pick it up for the last 10k and get my super goal time. I was wrong.

Somehow I lost my mind and gave in to my flu/cold-induced lack of appetite and decided that I didn’t need to eat any more fuel after mile 16. So dumb. I ate about half of the calories I should have during the race. And so, unsurprisingly, I totally hit the wall at about mile 21. Coach Syed tried to keep us moving. I struggled. I was in pain. I stopped to walk. I wanted to quit. I’ve never wanted to quit a marathon as much as I did at mile 23 yesterday. Sarah kept me going. Then, Coach Kara jumped in and gave me Swedish Fish which basically saved my life. I was able to run. My friend Matt ran with us at mile 25 and lifted my spirits. Coach Amy jumped in near the end and got the crowd cheering. That was fun. I did my best to sprint to the finish line. I was just so relieved to be done. Whew.

Sarah and I got our medals. Took some photos. Drank chicken broth and ate pretzels. Then we found Travis near the bag pick up. He was sitting on the curb looking exhausted. He PR’d with a time of 4:15, but hadn’t quite reached his original goal. We saw a few friends, but then hobbled the mile back to our hotel. I wasn’t up for getting back out on the course to cheer. I just got in bed and napped. (Not a smart recovery plan, btw.) We missed our team victory party, but managed to go out for some dinner later in the evening. I wanted ice cream, but settled for froyo.

Travis and I feel very lucky. Lucky that we got into this fun, organized, giant Philadelphia road race at the last minute. Lucky that we are able to afford such fun trips and such a wild marathon running hobby — both financially and health-wise. Lucky that we get to enjoy it together. And VERY lucky to be part of our amazing Brooklyn Team in Training.

I say this every time I run a race, but I am serious: the only way to marathon is to do it with TNT. Philly was a mostly impromptu race for most of our team. Still, our coaches and team mates were there to support us. This training season didn’t end up exactly as we had all planned, but the team pulled together, reorganized, and made it fun. I am impressed.

I am in pain as I recover today. So sore, chaffed, sick. I’ll survive, but I wouldn’t mind taking a marathon break… that won’t happen, of course. We have the Goofy Challenge coming up in about 7 weeks! Gah!

UPDATE: I almost forgot!! Travis and I were on tv! We were interviewed about signing up for Philly after NYC was cancelled.

8 Comments » Categories: Friends, running, Team In Training, Travis, Trips

Nov 6th 2012 02:13:13 pm

This was the top I was going to wear while running the NYC Marathon on Sunday. The race was cancelled due to controversy after Hurricane Sandy.

I have a lot of conflicting and sad feelings about the entire situation. I wanted to run the NYC marathon for the second time because I love this city. I am ok with the cancellation, but there were a lot of hurtful things said about runners in the past week that really discouraged me.

Of course, my running team has been helping out after the storm. We are a charity organization, after all. We’ve given money, food, gear, and more than 100 Team in Training runners (who had raised 2.2 MILLION dollars for cancer research while training for the NYC marathon) went to Staten Island on Sunday to help the recovery and clean up process. We will continue to help.

A few related links: Some thoughts on why the NYC Marathon could have been good for the city. | My friend Carmen sums up the roller coaster week. | If you want to volunteer to help Hurricane Sandy recovery in NYC, check out NYCservice.org. | I’m hosting a “Swap-bot for Sandy” hurricane relief donation drive. Our site members have already donated more than $700 for the Red Cross. Join us!

4 Comments » Categories: Feeling Sad, New York, running, Team In Training

Oct 24th 2012 02:02:56 pm

I know, I know… I’ve run a lot of races this year. But our trip to San Francisco last weekend was more for fun than for fast race times. Travis and I decided on the trip earlier this year when our sister Chelsea joined Team In Training in Kansas City to train for the Nike Women’s Marathon.

It was Chelsea’s first full marathon and we were excited to be there for it. She was great. Travis ran around the course cheering, and I was so pleased to get to run with Chelsea and her friend Amelia for a few minutes at mile 25. Like nearly all first timers, the exhaustion at the end of the race shocked her, but she was very strong and made it to the end without any trouble! Such a fun accomplishment and so exhilarating! Congrats, Chels!

I only ran the Half Marathon. Since I had raced the Staten Island Half the week before (and got a surprisingly speedy time) and am gearing up for the NYC Marathon as my main race this season, I planned to just have a ton of fun on the Nike Women’s course. My plan worked out even better than I had hoped!!

I ran with my friends and TNT teammates, Pam and Cynthia Narozny. Pam and Cynthia have a strong connection to the TNT cause. Their mother, Carolann, passed away after a 3 year battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1997. Our trip to SF corresponded with what would have been Carolann’s 59th birthday and we ran in memory and honor of her.

The three of us had a wild time on the course. We took photos at every mile marker, filmed some video, posed with a Telletubby, took time out for a few additional fitness moves, lamented our non-existent view of the Golden Gate Bridge, danced to “Call Me Maybe,” acted tough for our coaches, and ultimately, got our Tiffany necklaces at the finish line.

I definitely set a Personal Record at Nike Women’s… a Personal Record for fun!!

See all the photos from SF in my Flickr Set.

4 Comments » Categories: Family, running, Team In Training, Trips

Oct 7th 2012 03:06:31 pm

In the year 2000, I ran the Drake Relays Half Marathon in 2:07:55. (That is 19-year-old me running the race above.)

Today, I ran the Staten Island Half Marathon exactly 6 minutes faster. A big PR, 12 years in the making!

Travis ran with me during the whole race and kept me on pace. (He PR’d last week in the Hamptons, so this was just a long run for him.) The weather was a perfect 50 degrees. I stayed focused and worked hard. I didn’t even bring my phone or water bottle! It was difficult, but overall it was less painful than I expected. I had some cramping in my diaphragm late in the race, but still managed to beat my original sub-2:10 goal. Thank you, Travis!

I am happy. In a complete reversal of my usual training assumptions, I think that my speed workouts this season have been much more beneficial than my distance workouts. I am grateful to my persistent Team in Training coaches for showing me that.

Surprisingly, I think Reach the Beach was the most beneficial. It gave me confidence and “permission” to run my hardest and see what I can do. Just for fun. Thank you Warriors and Coach Joel!

I still have work to do. A sub-2-hour half now seems like a possibility!

UPDATE: The race photos are in… and they aren’t half bad!

9 Comments » Categories: Feeling Happy, New York, running, Team In Training, Travis

Sep 10th 2012 05:46:54 pm

I am happy. And sore. I ran the NYRR Bronx 10 Miler on Sunday. It was the final run in a big 40-mile training week and I had intended to take it really easy. I ran 13 easy miles on Saturday at Team in Training practice and didn’t know what to expect doing double digits again the next day. Surprisingly, it was an incredible and fast run!

The weather was beautiful yesterday. Clear skies and low humidity. We were late to the start line, but not stressed. I started the race too fast, but felt great and decided to see what I could do. Despite the fast start, I achieved pretty perfect negative splits. Nearly the whole race I was thinking, “I can do this on the last 10 of the NYC marathon if I don’t do it on the first 10.” We’ll see about that, but success with these two days of long runs definitely gives me confidence for the Goofy Challenge in January.

I am reluctant to post my time because I really don’t want to compete with anyone other than myself, but I will say that I ended up with my fastest pace in any race this year! Even shorter races! I’m looking forward to finding out what I can do at the Staten Island Half Marathon next month.

I ran the Bronx race two years ago when it was a half marathon. I ran much, much slower then and was just happy to finish. I have been marathon training for nearly three years straight, and although it is slow going, it is working!

But even at my top speed, Brian, Sarah, and Travis finished much faster!

(For the record, I have deliberately and slowly worked up to these training distances and I am doing them for a specific purpose: an ambitious winter race schedule. I listen closely to my body, cross train, and take rest days. I do not recommend or endorse these distances for beginners. Be smart, everyone.)

5 Comments » Categories: Exercise, Feeling Happy, Health, New York, running, Team In Training

Aug 31st 2012 11:17:42 am

With a group of running friends, Travis and I signed up for The Color Run this summer. The multi-city race is billed as “the happiest 5k on the planet” and the NYC event sold out within two days, despite the $50 registration fee. The photos and videos online made it look like a lot of fun, so we were excited to try it out.

A 5k is sort of low mileage at this point in our marathon training, so it was a little annoying to wake up early and drive deep into Brooklyn on a Sunday morning for three un-timed miles, but we were still pumped. Many members of our Brooklyn Team were there decked out in the required white t-shirts. We had fun dancing and throwing color on each other before and after the jog through the course on an abandoned air strip.

There were four “color stations” on the course where volunteers sprayed you with colored powder. There probably should have been more color stations, since otherwise the course was completely boring… but there was music and lots of young people acting crazy, so we stayed entertained. After the finish line we were instructed to throw our color packet (basically corn starch and dye) in the air for the grand finale. It made for fun photos. In fact, the photos were definitely the best part of this race.

It was a fun morning. And yes, all of the color washed off… eventually. Overall, I am glad that we tried out The Color Run, but I probably don’t need to do it again.

Have you done The Color Run? What did you think?

3 Comments » Categories: Brooklyn, Exercise, Friends, New York, running, Team In Training, Travis