Everybody's out on the run tonight

Anyone who runs, bikes, ellipticizes, or engages in similar exercises, knows the power of a good playlist - unless you are one of those zen people who go on 20 mile runs with no music, in which case, I am proud of you, but I don't understand you.

I am constantly searching for new bumpin' tracks as nothing zaps my motivation quite like an old, tired playlist. I am so thankful for iTunes song of the week and cancion de la semana (over on iTunes latino - I highly recommend) as they have some truly great offerings for free - I think we all know iTunes purchases seem cheap but add up pretty quickly so being introduced to a new artist and saving 99 cents is a double victory over here in my wild and exciting life. And don't even get me started on my reaction on the weeks I see that the theme is "Country Music" - remember the holiday commercials with the over-excited Target 2-day sale lady? Like that.

source

In addition to some great free songs, I also have a few standbys that never ever get old and boring for me. My cousin has just picked up running and asked for motivational music recommendations...so I took it upon myself to make her an entire Spotify playlist. Some tracks that I always love to hear on a run?

Paul Simon, Obvious Child
Dire Straits, Walk of Life
The Spinners, Rubber Band Man
Cody Chestnutt, Look Good in Leather
Michael Jackson, PYT

And of course....

Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run (no one else can pull off the plaid cut off shirt quite like The Boss...am I right or am I right?)

What are some of your favorite, throwback, never-get-old, running tunes?
Any new hot jams I should add to my list?
Do you run without music??

Second City, Third Marathon

Last week I made what, at the time, seemed like a brilliant idea. I signed up for the 2012 Chicago Marathon. I have a wonderful group of running friends I met in New York, one of whom actually came to run the St. Louis Marathon with me last year. She is also a huge fan of the Chicago marathon and has run the race every year since starting to run marathons - maybe 2006 or 2007? Every year she coerces various members of our running crew to join her in "the second city" and race Chicago - some years it's awesome, and some years, like apparently in 2010, it is a boiling sauna of misery.

At any rate, now that I am back in the Midwest, I thought to myself, "self, you're not that far away from Chicago and you never get to see your old East Coast friends, let's run Chicago and reconnect and check out this amazing marathon." So I registered.

And then, a day or so later, it hit me like a dang mac truck. The race is in October...so I will have to start training in July/August. In Saint Louis. Remember running in the heat? I try not to. But it's too late now, non-refundable active.com purchase, it's too late now.

Do you prefer running in the heat or the cold?
Any racing buyer's remorse out there?
Will you be running Chicago?!??

Technology, the bane of my existence

This Christmas, I was elated to open a Garmin 410 watch that my dad swooped up in a hot deal at Costco. Since Christmas, however, I have been disappointed to discover that I am apparently completely inept at operating the dang thing. I can rarely access the menu portion of the screen and usually, no matter which part of the bezel I touch, I just alternate between viewing the time and date and the remaining percentage of battery life. Also, as I was initially setting the little demon up, back in the day when I could view more than one screen option, I accidentally set myself as my correct weight...but a 32 year old man. So now my watch thinks I am a tiny little man who can't figure out technology. No wonder I'm getting no respect.

smart Garmin, stupid Diana

Now, ordinarily this situation, while annoying, wouldn't really necessitate action. But these are no ordinary times. Marathon training 2012 has begun! My girl HRG hooked me up with her training plan from her first marathon, and I would absolutely love to actually time my speed work and accurately determine my mile pace during long runs to the second!

Any advice, or links to technologically impaired support groups would be greatly appreciated.

Do you use a Garmin?

Have you ever had a similar total failure with newfangled technology?? Make me feel better.

Crisis of Charity

For nearly two years, the American Cancer Society's charity endurance athlete program, "DetermiNation," has been an important part of my life. I have raised money for it through at least one endurance event each year, I have discovered my love of half and full marathons through the program, I have made wonderful friends, I have taken joy in spending my time giving back rather than focusing {even more} on myself, and I have felt that I am contributing to a cause very dear to my heart - the fight against cancer.

I have recently discovered through Charity Navigator, however, that the American Cancer Society devotes more than the recommended 25% of its income to overhead expenses. At 28% it is only slightly over the generally accepted limit for an efficient charity, however, even 25% is pushing it in my opinion.

I cannot in good faith continue to ask my friends and family to donate to an organization that, while it does significant good, will not administer their donations as efficiently as possible. I have already attended one event hosted by the St. Louis area DetermiNation chapter at which I learned that their numbers for the upcoming Go! St. Louis Marathon and Half are considerably lower than their expectations. I feel guilty to not pledge myself to run on their team, but knowing that I wouldn't feel comfortable fundraising, how could I? As I am registered to run the race, I feel that I cannot continue to attend DetermiNation meetings knowing that they need more runners on their team, but that I refuse to be one of those runners.

Have any of you experienced such a crisis of charity? Do you have other recommendations for a charity I can get involved with in the Midwest -- giving back is so important to me and I don't want to let that go, just because I am moving on from the ACS.

Mocha Pumpkin Spice Smoothie of LUV {recipe}

I ordered some Click protein powder in the hopes that it would make me as speedy {and skinny, obviously} as this girl and finally made something out of it this afternoon as I was sitting on my couch after a long run, not showering, and enjoying the amazing Rams/Seahawks NFC West "showdown" {announcer's words, not mine}.

@dasternbergDiana Sternberg

on the smelly scale how bad is it that I'm waiting to shower after a 10-mile run until Rams/Seahawks halftime?

Full disclosure...I didn't shower until after the game. Eh, whatever.
However, I still considered my post-run activities a win because I recovered like someone who actually attempts to recover, for once in my life. I stretched voluntarily (!!!) and drank a protein shake. Totally makes up for the lack of showering.
I throw together scary combinations of ingredients in the blender on a fairly regular basis, so I thought I'd share what that might consist of. This time, the mix included:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 serving of Click Mocha protein powder
• 1/2 medium banana, frozen
• large spoonful pureed pumpkin
• large handful of raw kale, stems removed
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup

I attempted to come up with a name for this bad boy, but since it didn't taste totally like pumpkin pie, nor did it totally taste like mocha, I couldn't really decide how to title itappropriately. Let's just say that you could taste both of those wonderful flavors, and none of the kale.
I also considered photographing my smoothie, but it looked like vomit {thanks, kale} so I didn't. You're welcome for that mental image, though.
Fun fact about Click: their tagline is, "The Coffee Lover's Protein Drink." Um...yes.
What's your favorite method of recovery?  Would you rather: watch football, or shower after working out?

Welcome to my pretend studio!

Yesterday I completed my first confirmed double digit run since my spontaneous Summer Streets 13 miler with Luna Chix Sara and Jacqui. The weather was perfect, the time constraints non-existent, and I enjoyed every moment of it in spite of my ravenous hunger (hey, it happens).

So today when my alarm went off I thought, time to run! Oh wait. You probably shouldn't go for another substantial run the day following a 2.5 hour run. See, I'm trying to be a wee bit friendlier to my poor, long suffering bank account after my stint in Manhattan and am holding off on joining a gym. Therefore, I run. I run a lot. I run all the time. These joints need a break.

yes even that one...I have a very tense upper body.

In order to continue saving my precious pennies and not completely abuse my body, I've been incorporating simple yoga and pilates moves into my routine, which is conducted in my bedroom. Hey, my closet doors are mirrors so it's similar to being in a studio....?

not a picture of my room - a picture of my room through the MIRROR

I get inspiration from my favorite Steve Carrell look-a-like, from Cassey and from the Fitnessista. All of these provide great ideas for working out sans equipment. Full disclosure: I don't even have a yoga mat anymore. I practice on carpet. I hope we're in the trust tree right now.

Some moves that are currently saving my bank account and joints right now:

Chaturanga - I have learned to appreciate this pose on its own, and not just as a transitional pose to move from high plank to upward facing dog.

Urdhva Dhanurasana - or for you plebeians, "wheel pose." Do you ever look around the room when your instructor calls out poses by their sanskrit name to see what everyone else is doing before transitioning into the pose? Even if you regularly attend that class and the instructor introduces that pose by its sanskrit name every time? Oh, yea, no, me neither.

The Hundred - so easy, and so hard.

Burpees - ew. Now riddle me this, how does she talk like a normal person while doing this move?

Squats and lunges and pretend-push-ups. All sorts. Jumping, pulsing, on my knees, not on my knees (why is this starting to sound wildly inappropriate...)

At any rate. I bought a Groupon for a 3-month gym membership in midtown St. Louis for $59, which I'm pretty psyched out of my mind about, but until then (and possibly after that time period elapses) I'm fairly confident that I have enough body resistance moves to preserve my knee ligaments through long runs.

Long run and a Christmas preview!

So as we all know, runners are a strange folk. Timely example: we are currently trying to sell our home and  today held a two hour open house. When I heard we were having an open house and I should probably be out of the house for the duration, my first thought was: oh, wonderful! Now I can get in the long run I have been meaning to do! Since coming home, I have not gone on a run longer than 8 - 10 miles and had been itching for a good excuse to get out and stay out. I was also tiring of running laps of my regular neighborhood loop but nervous to cross some of the larger suburban St. Louis streets that are less than pedestrian friendly. In fact, I would say that they are pedestrian-mean.

But knowing that I needed to get out of the house for about a two and a half hour time period, I put on my big girl shorts (which look like my little girl shorts - Nike running shorts, all of them) and ventured over to some sidewalk-less car-full streets to run laps around Tilles Park. While not as well landscaped as good ol' Central Park, what it lacks in iconic statuettes, variety of vegetation, and amusing tourist spotting, it makes up for in its number of neon playgrounds and mysterious workout equipment. This park is also the setting of Winter Wonderland, a holiday themed lights display that I say I will go to every holiday season and never do. This year, though! I will totally make it.

In that vein, in my first lap of the park, I saw this little fellow waiting anxiously for Thanksgiving when he will be displayed in all his full glory:

nobody puts Santa in the corner.

Santa Claus is coming to town! And I cannot wait.

My legs felt wonderful but about an hour into the run my stomach started eating itself. You know those people who don't get hungry after working out? I am not one of those people. I told my stomach to hold its dang horses, finished my run (waiting to return home until 15 minutes after the open house officially ended - I hear sweaty, smelly current residents turn off potential buyers...weird, I know), got home and just shoved a massive smoothie in the face. IN THE FACE.

Yup, just like that.

What's your favorite post-run snack?
What's your favorite scene from The Hangover? Surprise! Mine's the one right above. Close second: Tiger song. I LOVE TIGERS.
When do you start listening to Christmas music? We have a strict rule in our household - no Christmas tunes before Thanksgiving. Sometimes it is so very hard to wait.

Goodbye, bridle path. Goodbye, outer loop and lower loop.

In addition to having to say goodbye to my quasi-boyfriend, Equinox, I also have to say goodbye to my favorite running routes. There are only two, so it won't be too difficult.

I live a block away from Central Park, so I obviously frequent the outer path of the park for 95% of my runs. I don't tangle too much with the inner paths because, um, I get lost. Consequently...my runs could be slightly more variant.

When I really can't stand the same scenery, I am fortunate enough to live on the west side of Manhattan (so much better than the east side, don't listen to anyone who says differently - they are liars and not to be trusted on any matter) and not too far away from the West Side Highway running path, which stretches both south and north. I used to frequent this path during my marathon training as I could run all the way up to Harlem through Riverside Park and then down to the very southern-most tip of Manhattan through Hudson Park, Battery Park and sprinklings of other parks of which I don't know the proper names. This route allowed me a good amount of distance in without having to do laps of anything. Always a plus.

This summer, I've had the opportunity to add a third route to my list: Park Avenue on Saturday mornings, also known as Summer Streets! I love the new route, the ability to cover vast amounts of land, and of course the free samples!

Other running "routes" I've enjoyed include the Brooklyn Half Marathon course, the Queens Half Marathon Course, and the Hamptons Half Marathon course. I was hoping to add one more to that list this weekend with the upcoming Bronx Half Marathon, unfortunately it seems that Hurricane Irene did not hear of my plans and is doing her darndest to thwart them.

I've been discussing options with my running friends for how we should approach the race and the consensus seems to be: sleep in. On Sunday, that is. On Friday, talks are in progress for meeting at 6 am to get in a good 13 miles before work.

are we sure that's a good idea?

One thing I am particularly delighted about is that while I will have to bid adieu to my favorite running routes I will not have to endure a dramatic goodbye with my favorite running friends. The benefit of developing friendships through a sport like running is that you can continue to see each other at races since we are all crazy and love travelling cross-country to run further in one morning than most people would like to in one lifetime. A large group of us are looking into forming teams for this winter's Miami Ragnar Relay because you know where I don't want to be this winter? Anywhere but Miami!

 What are your favorite running routes?
Do you want to run from Miami to Key West with me?!?

Au revoir, Grande Bold with Soy

I have a very exciting announcement. I have not had coffee in an entire week. For many of you, seven days without coffee may seem normal. For some of you, that might seem like a bit of a stretch but nothing too crazy. For me, I assure you, it is monumental. I'm not one of those who downs ten espressos a day, however, I cannot start my day without a full mug or two of the good stuff. I think it's partially the caffeine and partially the ritual of brewing and imbibing as part of my regular morning routine, but regardless of the root, I have decided that it is getting out of hand and adding far too much to my grocery bill.

I miss you...so very much

Yesterday I attempted my first morning run sans coffee. Ordinarily, I wake up about an hour before I need to hit the road, brew some coffee, hang out with it and eventually get myself ready for my run. This process means that I have to get up e-a-r-l-y. With some coffee in me though, I have no trouble getting in a decent run and off too work without too much yawning.

Enter the decaffeinated run. I was so excited to be able to sleep in a bit more (6:15, let's not get crazy) and thought I would have time to get in a longer run - I usually am only able to squeeze in 4-5 miles in the mornings. What I did not account for is how unbearably slow I would be moving. Yikes. There were a few people around me running quite quickly which I could neither mentally nor physically comprehend. I ultimately completed 4 miles at a 9:44 minute/mile pace which for me is actually egregiously slow. My marathon pace schools that. I also felt as though I was suffering from some form of heartburn - rather inexplicable and probably totally unrelated to my caffeine intake or lack thereof...anyway...

My only thought was - it can only get better...right? My hope is to run the Bronx Half Marathon uncaffeinated and as I have seven days to prepare my body for that, I'm sure I'll be able to acclimate {you couldn't tell, but that was sarcasm}

I'm not by any means trying to cut coffee out of my diet completely ~the horror~ I would just like to feel as though I can wake up naturally without it. Coffee is a delicious treat and should be treated as such, not as a daily dietary supplement. I'm aiming for three weeks without it as I read somewhere that developing a pattern over three weeks is a long enough time to form a new habit.

hello, lovah

In related news, I fell asleep last night at 7 pm with all of the lights on. Not everyone can have a Friday night like Katy Perry.

Have you ever tried to give something up?
Are you, also, addicted to coffee?
Should I just go drink some?

Treadmills are boring

That is the actual name of a playlist I created to encourage me to complete speed workouts - or any workouts, for that matter - on the treadmill, because guess what, it's true. Treadmills are boring.

Even armed with my mighty, up-beat playlist, my best laid plans to last more than five minutes on the t-mill often fall quickly asunder and I putter over to a pilates class, or the elliptical, or, you know...home...

My motivation has skyrocketed, however, since my discovery of interval training - you can get an even better workout than the slow steady run, get it done quickly and maintain level of interest? Where do I sign up?

The best part is, you don't actually have to sign up, you just have to climb on your treadmill. Or your gym's treadmill - so I guess you do have to sign up for that one. I digress. Some of my favorites have included this one (note: hard) this 'family of ones', if you will, and the most recent one I've conquered: this one from the cutest Gina which I love because it mixes hill intervals, sprint intervals, and gets me sweaty and off the treadmill in 30 minutes flat so I can do more important things, like enjoy tapas and happy hour margs with these loca chicas:

more fun than a barrel of treadmills!

Any fave interval workouts out there, for either on or off the tread? 
Any new, distracting workout songs I should download?
Help a sista out!

The streets of summer

After being a lazy cat for most of last week, I struck back at exercise with a vengeance with a casual 13.4 mile run on Saturday. But this wasn't just any run - this was a run down Park Avenue with no traffic! How can this be, anyone who has ever been in Manhattan might ask? Guidebooks recommend that visitors drive in the city under absolutely no circumstances as traffic conditions are so hairy. There is one instance, however, during which the casual runner/biker/walker/skater/unicycler?? owns. the. road.

Summer Streets. It's the best! Park Avenue/Broadway is blocked off from 72nd street all the way until the Brooklyn Bridge. There are yoga classes, aerobics classes, drinking fountains, free bike and skate rentals, free samples of all sorts of exciting things and medical tents, should the need arise. You better believe I grabbed a shot of an Odwalla Chocolate Protein smoothie and then proceeded to run the greater portion of those 13.4 miles with an Odwalla bar and applesauce squeeze bottle in my sweaty little hand. Weird? Maybe. Awesome? Definitely. I've said it once, I'll say it again: I love free stuff.

I ran a portion of the Summer Streets with my friends Jacqui and Sara (the carebears from Brooklyn!) who are training for the Marine Corps Marathon and ING New York Marathon, respectively. One order of business regarding races that we discussed was weird race shirts. They should be articles of clothing you can wear with pride while brushing the dirt of your shoulders, but too often, they are ugly, ill-fitting and just plain wrong. I was going to complain about one or two of the shirts that I've gotten, however, I think Jacqui won the prize with her Marine Corps 2010 t-shirt which was not a t-shirt at all, but more of a mock turtleneck. Dear race directors...why, why would you ever do that?

stylish, yes...but appropriate for athletic endeavors?

source

We capped off our Saturday with a margarita brunch at Benny's Burritos {allow me to quickly recommend the veggie burrito with a curry tortilla!} and a matinee of Friends With Benefits...yup, saw it, loved it, no shame.

What's the weirdest race shirt you've ever gotten?
Seen any good movies lately? Bonus points for cheesiness!

Hot hot heat and when not to PR

I am very competitive with myself. I want every race to be a PR and can really berate myself when it's not.

Last weekend, I was hoping to dominate the Queens Half Marathon despite the weather reports about the humidity and 90 degree temperatures on race day, the {scientific} rumors I had heard about reducing your running speed by 20% in extreme heat, and my own experience running {slowly} on hot days.

The evening before the race, I checked the statistics from the Queens Half 2010 out of curiosity. Welp, as it turns out, my finishing time at the Brooklyn Half Marathon would have had me as the top finisher in my age division at last year's Queens Half. Seeing as how I finished 13th at Brooklyn, this gave me great pause.

The second nail in the coffin to my PR dreams came at race start, when the temperature was already 80 degrees at 7 am. Seeing that on the Weather Channel app on my iPhone, I took a deep breath and said to myself something along the lines of, "girl, just get out there and have fun."

Fortunately I had pre-selected a killer playlist, as by mile 3 I was too sweaty to manage the touch-screen of my iPhone and skip through songs. I was also, therefore, too sweaty to keep track of my time as I had initially intended to and as I had so religiously done during the Brooklyn Half.

Ultimately, I am so glad. I was able to chill out and enjoy the race for what it was. The course was surprisingly lovely as we stayed almost exclusively in the interior of Flushing Meadows Park, running past the Billie Jean King court where the US Open is staged and Citi Field, home of the Mets {insert sarcastic joke here} The only horrible highway-view stretch was at around miles 9 and 10 - not the best time for a boring view - but really a small fraction of the race itself.

The final nail in the coffin for my PR dreams was cramp city, which hit around mile 10 and which I fully inhabited for the rest of the race. BUMMER.

I was not too thrilled with how I felt, physically, as I finished the race. However, in checking my stats online afterwards, I finished 13th in my age division again -- same as at Brooklyn {similar number of participants - both races were sold out}, where I felt fabulous! So it turns out, everyone else was also running slower and probably hanging out uncomfortably in cramp city too.

My final thoughts on Queens?

The course is pretty good, considering. I definitely think it is a superior course to the Manhattan half, which is two laps around Central Park. Excuse me, I do that every weekend for free, I really don't need to enter into a race for that one.

my poor attempt at mid-run photography - running around the world!

The "fun stuff" is truly and appalingly lacking. We got a cotton t-shirt. Not dri-fit. No bag. No coupons for Queens restaurants and activities. In contrast, Brooklyn provides a huge coupon packet for goods and services in the Coney Island and Prospect Park areas to encourage non-Brooklynites to take off their coats and stay a while. We were pretty much encouraged to depart the borough immediately upon finishing. Nothing to see here, folks.

Also, as I mentioned in my Brooklyn re-cap, the bananas are disappearing left and right. We got plums at race end. I'm not trying to knock plums, they are a great fruit, I sure ate mine, but...really?

In any case, I had more important things to concern myself with: getting my bottom home, showered, and on the New Jersey Transit for a weekend of sun, fun and friends!

Next up: Da Bronx. Here's hoping I run into J. Lo!

Princess of Queens

Tomorrow I will be rising with before the sun to take two subway trains to...Queens! There I will be running the Queens Half-Marathon, a part of the New York Road Runners' Half Marathon Series. Fortunately {knock on wood} the heat wave seems to have more or less broken and we are back to normal summery temperatures. I am really banking on not passing out from heat stroke tomorrow! That is my goal.

In all seriousness, as I have mentioned, I do have a goal for tomorrow's race which is, as ever, to do better in this race than I did in the last. That may or may not happen, but I'm going to give it all I've got. Announcing this on the world wide web will hopefully motivate me during boring or tiring stretches of the race to dig it out and keep on truckin'.

I always run with music. Those of you who don't, I admire you, and also think you're slightly odd. I have had my iPod die on a run only to promptly turn around and go home. Running without music = eating a meal without peanut butter. Just does not happen in my life.

During a race, motivating jams are particularly crucial. During the Brooklyn Half Marathon, I found that my excellent playlist really pushed me through the last few miles and helped me maintain my pace. With that in mind, assembling a set of tunes sure to please was #1 on my to-do list this morning. Another requirement of my playlists is that they have a sufficiently descriptive name. Behold, "The Princess of Queens":



like country, much?

 Lucky you, you also get to catch a glimpse of some of my other stellar playlist titles: "Treadmills are Boring" (um, they are), "Hang Out With Your Twang Out" (again...do I or do I not like country??), and the list from the Brooklyn Half, aptly named...."Manhattan Takes Brooklyn."

Along with some wonderfully new country songs, if you'll look closely you'll see my favorite Hall & Oates guilty pleasure gem - hasn't gotten old yet.

Now, do yourselves a favor and add some of these masterpieces to your summer running playlists:

Brad Paisley (featuring Alabama!!!), Old Alabama
Jake Owen, Barefoot Blue Jean Night
Brad Paisley, This is Country Music
Zac Brown Band (featuring Jimmy Buffet!!!), Knee Deep
Brad Paisley, Be the Lake

And no your eyes do not deceive you...every other one of those songs is off of Brad Paisley's latest album, This Is Country Music. Huge fan.

Enjoy the jams and enjoy your weekend!!!

What are your favorite workout songs these days??

Productivity city, and more of me than you wanted

This weekend is off to an amazing start as I have time to tackle my to-do list, and I am diving in head first!

I actually intentionally took a bit of a break this weekend to squeeze in a few one-on-one friend dates, have some time to dedicate to reading (!),  and get. my. life. together.

As I'm sure everyone is aware, it is crazy hot, like, everywhere. Here too. I feel ya.

WOOF.

I was able to get out for a {cautious} 6-mile run on Saturday morning in Riverside park, enjoying a bit of a Hudson River breeze. On the way there, I picked up a tip for any gentlemen looking for ladies. Please don't try to pick people up when they're going running in a heat wave at 9 am, or, for that matter, in any climate at any time.

really? now, really?

But if you happen to see a girl lugging large boxes from her apartment to the (seems nearby until you're actually transporting all of your sweaters there) UPS store, that would be a good time to step in. I was hot. And tired.

I was also offered an exclusive free week at YogaWorks! I managed to get on the list by visiting their website and printing out the "free week" coupon. It's really a very selective process, you probably won't be able to make the cut.

I love self-portraits.

I am going to try their Level 2/3 class and will give a full report. I am still obsessed with Equinox, have no fear this tiger has not totally changed her stripes, however I really enjoyed the opportunity to sample different studios as they all have such different styles and atmospheres. Thus far I have taken classes at Equinox, free classes at my college gym, free podcasts (highly recommend, the instructor reminds me of Steve Carrell, what's not to love?), Equinox, a class fundraising for Japan relief efforts at Jivamukti, of course Equinox, a few free outdoor classes in Hudson Park and Bryant Park, and Sports Club LA during a week trial I had there when I first moved to the city. Oh and also Equinox. And tomorrow, Yoga Works!

my teeth are huge so sometimes I hide them.

So I found this function on my computer "photo booth," hence the four pictures I took in as many minutes that I am now forcing upon your eyeballs. It's a self-timed photo, on your computer! You don't even have to have friends, and you can still have pictures of yourself. Amazing.

Lastly, kindly read this high-larious interpretation of LFO's song "Summer Girls." Who doesn't love that song? Lots of people, but that's besides the point.

Off to do some work and {possibly, depends} take another box over to the UPS store, then off to a pinkberry date! Incidentally, they also have a muy exclusivo coupon for a 2-for-1 special - can't afford not to!

see you soon, friend.

Hope you're all coping with the heat, drinking lots of agua and takin' it easy!

Gone Bananas!

I had planned a treadmill speed workout yesterday, but by the time 5 o'clock rolled around found myself stahhhhving.

Enter these:

Yes, that is an individually sliced banana frozen and covered in chocolate, dipped in peanut butter. I did not create these, you can find them at your local Trader Joe's. I discovered them while waiting in the check out line behind a chic older woman who had only a 6 pack of beer and 7 (count 'em) packages of Gone Bananas! in her basket. I know, she is an inspiration to us all.

The peanut butter addition is all me, though. I ate the entire box. 5 servings my Aunt Sally!

What I learned about Gone Bananas! besides the fact that they exist and are the most delicious thing I've ever eaten, is that they are also great running fuel.

Impromptu 8 mile run in the muggy heat? Crushed. Powered by the gooey goodness of Gone Bananas! I can do anything.

Running for a reason

In a recent post, Sarah Kay Hoffman shared a few insights on exercise motivators, many of which I related to strongly: creating a great playlist (new music is SUCH a motivator - I can't wait to go for a run when I know I have a new sweet jam to rock out to!), finding a workout time to stick to (promising myself I'll work out "later" results in puttering around my apartment until I'm out of time), and putting out workout clothes the night prior (streamlining my morning routine and knowing that I've already put some effort into my workout plans leaves me without excuses to get up & go).

The motivator I related to the most, however, was this: run for a reason. I can't even say how much running with the American Cancer Society's DetermiNation program has enhanced my time in New York and transformed my view on running. It used to be a chore, I used to fear competitive races, now I love them. Cancer was something that had personally broken my heart, now I am making a difference in fighting this terrible disease. I've made friends, learned more about running tricks and tools and gotten in better shape.

While I have a clear bias towards DetermiNation, there are an almost overwhelming number of worthy causes out there that sponsor bib numbers in popular, sold-out races. If you are interested in running the ING New York Marathon and didn't get a lottery number (I mean, who did? I don't think I've ever met someone who actually got in through the lottery!), please check out these charities, which currently have spots available!

Streetwise Partners - an NY-based organization that "provides an effective, free job training program for highly motivated people who face multiple barriers to employment (source)."

Girls on the Run - an organization that is particularly dear to my heart as they encourage girls to gain confidence and live healthfully through running! Running for this charity is an awesome opportunity for grown-up girls to lead by healthy example.

Team Fox - Michael J. Fox's foundation for Parkinson's Research has an amazing running team, and let's be honest, how cool is Michael J. Fox?

source

Team in Training - the purple team. For those who are runners, this team likely needs no introduction. It is a huge team of charity runners running for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

And of course....DetermiNation!

I have had friends participate in the running programs for all charities listed and all had wonderful experiences - I wouldn't lead you astray!

Now that you can't use, "I didn't get into the lottery" as an excuse...what are you waiting for??

Giving myself a pat on the back

Last week, I mentioned that I often set out with an ambitious running schedule that I blatantly make no real attempt to follow through on.

Since declaring, however, that I was not going to make excuses for myself, I have actually completed all of the runs that I set out to do - Go team productive D!

Now that I have completed these runs, allow me to show you what a typical week of running looks like for me:

One speed workout, such as the one below, completed on the treadmill so that I can indulge my OCD side and precisely monitor my speed and distance.

Yes, this makes me sweat a lot, and yes, it also likely prevents me from being asked out at the gym.

One short, fast run, usually between 4 - 6 miles at a pace of around 7:00 - 7:30 minutes/mile (I occasionally do this on the treadmill, also, just to be sure I'm hitting my desired speed, although I despise doing steady-pace runs on treadmills. Stab me in the eyeball.)

One medium length run, untimed, usually between 6 - 8 miles. I would estimate that my pace here is around 8:00 - 8:30 minutes/mile and I always strive to throw in some hill sprints, although that's difficult to do in the rather flat NYC. One of my girlfriends from the city clued me into a short, steep hill on 91st Street between 2nd and 3rd so I usually try to hit that up.

One long, double digit mile run. I would estimate my pace on that to be about 8:30, but I don't allow myself to be concerned with time and just aim for getting in the distance and enjoying myself.

I adapted this training plan around what I have the time and resources to do. As I mentioned....I hadn't been very diligent about following it. However, I'm getting better all the time!

So, now you know! I used the beginner version of this plan when I was training for my very first long race, the 2010 Brooklyn Half Marathon and found it to be effective both in preparing me physically and putting me at ease mentally. Since then, I haven't trained for a single one of the Half mar's I've run, so I'm hoping that in actually training for Queens, I will see a difference in my finishing time - wish me luck!

peace out, I'm going to go run.

Making excuses

So I have a somewhat legitimate topic to discuss, but in order to discuss said topic, I have an embarrassing confession to make. I love magazine quizzes. And I'm not even 13! I love them. I love buying trashy mags when I'm travelling and I read every. single. page. although I am well aware of the fact that my brain cells are likely declaring a mutiny and I am well aware of the fact that the June 2011 issue is exactly the same as the October 2007 issue is exactly the same as the March 2002 issue...whatever. At least I'm reading, right?

So last time I was flying, I took a very scientific quiz to on why I procrastinate. My results determined that I procrastinate because I strive for perfection, and I fear that if something is not perfect, than it is not even worth doing at all.

So the truly embarrassing part of this whole situation: Glamour/Elle/whichever magazine was absolutely correct. Really. Saw right through me like a pane o' glass.

I cannot even tell you how many cover letters I've drafted and never sent in because I felt that they weren't "just right," how many projects I've started and abandoned because I didn't think I could execute them in the absolute best manner possible, how many important conversations I've neglected to have because I couldn't find the most succinct, articulate, and sensitive words to convey my feelings.

I've also found this same procrastination tactic emerge in my running habits.

As I reviewed the training runs I wanted to complete this week and tried to plan out when exactly I could complete them, a little voice in my head kept repeating, "yea, but you're probably not going to do them all anyway." I'm so used to hearing this voice in my head that I normally let it float on by, but this time, I stopped myself and said [this is all in my head, I wasn't actually having a conversation with myself...] "well, why not?"

Why not, indeed???

I love running, so why is it so difficult for me to complete a training plan? Why do I consistently plan to go on targeted runs, hillwork, or speedwork and then convince myself I can just go run five or six miles at a steady pace, or, lately, black out and somehow find myself on the elliptical, more or less phoning my cardio in?

My attitude is that if I don't feel as though I'm going to do a training run perfectly, or if I don't feel I am going to hit my race out of the park, to mix my sports metaphors, than it is not worthwhile to even try.

If I admit that I truly care about something and am really striving to succeed in a particular arena, and I do not do so perfectly, then in my mind, I am a failure. Worse than that, actually - a failure before my friends, family and peers.

Well that is ludacris.

In all honesty, I would like to be faster. I do care about my times. I would like to put in hard work and see concrete results. Although I would be reticent to admit it if you asked me to my face, I do have a particular time in mind that I would like to finish the Queens half marathon in, and it's not going to be easy. It's entirely possible that I will fail. And I'm certainly not doing myself any favors by not taking training seriously.

Yes, I will finish the race if I don't train. Yes, I will probably finish within a decent time frame.

But I know that I can do better, and knowing that, I should do better.

So my goal for this month is to stop making excuses for myself, once and for all. If I want something, and I know what to do to attain it, the only thing standing in my way like a pack of tourists in Central Park, is me! In order to get out of my own way, I need to get over my fears of trying, of caring, and falling short of perfection and openly admitting defeat.

I'm not exactly sure who I'm trying to convince that I'm "Rico Suave," and since it's clearly not working anyway, I think it is time to give it up.

December 26th

The first day back to work after an exciting weekend always feels like December 26th to me. This feeling is even more significant today, because as we all know, I think of the 4th of July like my own special, warm-weather Christmas.

So maybe I should start referring to that feeling as a "July 5th" feeling instead...

Anyway, back to the daily grind it is, whether I like it or not.

My mission this week is to successfully see a project I've been overseeing through (we've hit some hiccups, which is extremely frustrating for me, particularly as, no matter what I tell myself, I tend to take work-related issues personally), actually complete a variety of training runs this week: speed work, medium runs and a long run this weekend, keep up with my #fitabs commitment, and get ready for yet another exciting weekend - I have a few prezzies to pick up so I'm looking forward to a couple of fun after-work errands this week. Productivity is the name of the game for this girl, and I have several to-do lists in place: in my Outlook calendar, my Google calendar, and hand-written (so I can color code/decorate it, obviously) to keep me mindful of my goals and plans.

I have some other exciting plans this week, including a few special lady-dates, which I am greatly looking forward to.

And just like that...my December 26th  July 5th feeling has melted away!

It's the freakin' weekend!

The title of this post was inspired by R. Kelly's inspired tune, "Ignition" one of my favorite cheesy party songs from high school, which always reminds me of driving with my girlfriends in my friend Chelsea's Mustang to a spring break kick-off party sophomore year.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS.

While high school may be over, I am delighted that one of my closest friends from my schoolgirl days will be in NYC for a few weeks before embarking on a world tour performing opera, because she is casually the most talented person I have ever met.

It is such a joy to have her here. I love, love, love my friends in New York, but there is just something about spending time with someone who has known you for over a decade, through fun times and hard times, through changing and staying the same.

In addition to a weekend-long lady date, I am maximizing the cooler temperatures to get in some runs in preparation for my next race: the Queens half-marathon on July 30. I have been predictably delinquent in my training and was somewhat shocked that I actually completed the 11 mile run I had planned for yesterday. Listening to my new favorite throwback tune once or twice fourteen times consecutively certainly helped the time go by and I felt ahhhmazing the whole time, hooray!

THROWBACK! you're welcome.

Staying true to my #fitabs challenge, I also tossed in a few ab exercises. And by a few, I of course mean 100 because that is how many I am supposed to do daily. Luckily, 100 ab exercises is actually less intimidating than it sounds so it was no problemo!

WHO ELSE IS EXCITED THAT TOMORROW IS INDEPENDENCE DAY?!?!? It is my Christmas. I cannot wait.