Monthly Archives: November 2010

I will work on getting an actual picture of her running.

In addition to Thanksgiving feast, there was family. Norak has been diligently training for our princess half marathon; she has her printed Runner’s World Smart Coach schedule handy all the time. On Sunday she asked me to join during her long 7 mile run. I was pooped but could not say no. This was her first attempt at 7. It was super windy and cool — she borrowed my fave Nike thumb-hole hoodie. I have got to dress this woman.

Since I typically run with Andrew, I am familiar with being the catcher-upper, aka the follower. I felt tempted to lead when running with Norak but I let her set the pace – this wasn’t my training run. I was floored. She kept between and 8:30 – 9:00 min pace. Right?! We walked around every mile for a minute, but after a short break she was right back settling in her pace. All said, she netted a 10 minute mile. Now we have some things to work on, such as her scuttle trot, but she is going to make one fine princess.

It was kind of fun running with my mom and also trying to set pace with her, felt different. I was pleasantly surprised. Can’t wait to sneak in more training runs with her. I am rethinking finding a running buddy.

Something else I’m sneaking – these little baby pumpkin pies. Even better being chilled. I am out of whipped cream, please send reinforcements.

Baby Nom Noms

Have you ever had a parent do something that you had no idea they were capable of doing?

We’re gonna have the hap hap happiest christmas since Bing Crosby tapdanced with Danny f*n Kaye.

November 29, 2010

Just for Run

23 Comments

Happy Holidays! Thanksgiving went above my expectations. The “surprise,” my brother came up from Orlando to surprise my mom and dad. Total “Niagra Falls Frankie.” I’ve been sitting on that mystery nugget for a month and am thankful I didn’t slip up. He came in late Wednesday, which means getting my a** out of bed on Thursday morning was incredibly difficult. I Turkey trotted 10 miles solo, but it was a great run and you feel so much better before heading into the kitchen. I wish I could have snuck in a proper race, but we were in the kitchen at 8:00 AM. Oy!

Mikey Likey

On to the food! Our turkey, aka “Norman,” was a success. Phew! The brine worked perfectly and the turkey turned out better than expected. I can’t believe that thing sat in a bucket in our garage overnight. Faith in the Food Network! Alton Brown knows what he is doing – get Alton’s recipe here. Not to brag, but it was probably one of the best we have had in years. We also made a squash casserole that was amazing – thank you Paula Deen. Butter makes it better. I whipped up fresh, homemade cranberry sauce. Deliciously easy. Something about cooking the meal makes you appreciate it 100x more.

Norman - the gianormous turkey

I also baked until the blender beater fell off. Pecan Pie, mini Pumpkin Pies and Pumpkin Bars. The mini pumpkin pies were a huge hit, but they were almost an epic fail. First time baking a recipe means you almost always forget a step.

Guilty as charge. How cute is that little guy?!

After our Thanksgiving with my family, we were off to Andrew’s family. His mom and step dad are serious chefs and they did not disappoint. We got in more turkey, this time deep fried (they do two turkeys, one normal and one deep fried). They inject this turkey with seasonings and spices and let me tell you, fried is the way to go.

Ah, family. Poor dog.

We saw tons of family and seriously this is my favorite time of the year. I am so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by such an amazing family. What a great holiday.

Now – get ready for loads of obnoxious Christmas and holiday rants.

I truly hope that you enjoyed some time with your family and friends as well. Wishing everyone a fantastic start to the holiday season.

Favorite Thanksgiving dish? Let’s here it!

Thanskgiving is here: “I haven’t even finished eating all of my Halloween candy”

November 24, 2010

Just for Run

24 Comments

Today, if you need me, I shall be mini-Marthaing at home. Lookout Betty Crocker, I’ve got my heart set on baking. We are making my first ever homemade pecan pie and I’m also whipping up some baby pumpkin pies. If they turn out, you’ll get the pics of my victory.

Andrew made brine last night and we are going to dip our Turkey into his bath later today. This is actually pretty cool!

I have put in some good workouts in prep for this week, and I have my eye on a mini Turkey Trot around the area. Andrew agreed to go with me – team Renegade! It’s like church, doesn’t matter where you go as long as you show up. Looking forward to family and relaxing this week.

25 Little Things:

Wish everyone safe travels and hope you all spend a little extra time with friends and family. I have a surprise this evening, yea — tell ya tomorrow:) What are your big Wednesday night plans?

Oh the Weather Outside is Weather

November 23, 2010

Running, Trainer Tips

21 Comments

Hello weather. It was too nice yesterday in Georgia. Nice enough that I snuck in a two-a-day. Take advantage of any “unseasonably” cool weather this time of year. It’s been a three-ring at work, about to be a goat rodeo with family – I don’t think I have plans to slow down. I am sneaking in all the “me” time I can.

The cold doesn’t seem to far behind and right now I have a few rules to this in-between weather.

“Stay Cool,” in the not-so-cool sense:
- Chilly Willy. I like to be slightly chilly when I start my run. If I am comfortable typically means I’ll be sweating in a half-mile.
- Turtle time. Find a lightweight, verstile shell to be your base layer. Nike Essentials Women’s Base Layer Running Shirt is a fave, but I have a lighter version as well.
- Like lyrca. Pants, top, etc., this is great for all types of weather.
- Thumbs up. Give the thumb holes in your jacket/shirt a chance. I always thought they were to help navigate your iPod or something, turns out thumb-holes keep your sleeves down and your wrists warm. I end up using it to wipe my nose, haa.

Would you rather have cold hands or cold feet?

Turkey Day Countdown

November 22, 2010

Just for Run

22 Comments

Can you all smell the campfire and marshmallows on me still? I am recovering from a weekend with friends. Time to focus, this week is going to be busy!

A little “bird” told me, Thanksgiving is almost here! I can share with you, for the first time ever my husband I are cooking Thanksgiving. We somehow convinced my family to let us cook, brroohoohaa. But seriously, we love to cook. The engineer in my husband is meticulous – he has a PPT presentation on the best way to cook a bird. Food Network’s Alton Brown has a recipe even the Iron Chefs use, and we decided we are going to give it a go. We’ll split up some of the side dishes with family, but I will definitely be baking and doing some myself. I have a pumpkin and pecan pie in my future. Mmmhmm. We luhve to cook and this is such a treat.

There are a few surprises going on this week and now that we agreed to cook, it is with sad news I have to announce we can’t do the Turkey Trot. I feel like a turkey because it was my idea, but the race ends too late for us to get the bird in the oven on time. Bummed. Trust me, really not too happy. It’s one of those things, I can’t sacrifice our first-ever attempt at Tday dinner because selfishly wanting to stick to my run. I do plan to run team Renegade and do our own mini Tater Trot or something.

Our Thanksgiving recipe will include a morning run followed by two dinners. Phew!

25 Little Things:

How is everyone getting ready for the holidays this week? You going to see family or having family come to you?

The Tale of Two Tigers

November 19, 2010

Just for Run

14 Comments

Looks like y’all were on a roll yesterday the comments around the body fat/scale weigh-in debate were fantastic. Impressive point of views. A few I wanted to share:

Britany, A Healthy Slice of Life, is a ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified Fitness Instructor, and certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant: I test body fat for a living, so let me say that FIRST of all, the electronic body fat testers are bull$hit. If you test in the morning and at night, you can get a reading that differs by 4-5%… which is impossible for your body fat to change that quickly. Secondly, men are supposed to have lower body fat percentages. They don’t have to carry children and they don’t have boobs. An ideal body fat range for a woman would be an overweight or obese zone for a man.

Scott, iRunnerBlog: No way I am checking my body fat. I will not agree with RW on that one. Eat healthy. Exercise. Feel healthy. Pretty simple in my opinion. Why care what a scale or body fat count says. Feeling good in your own skin is the most important thing, not some numbers. End of rant.

All this, and Angela at Diet Book Junkie shares: Research shows: women don’t want to look like 12 year old boys

END SCENE

Speaking of opinions, have you all had a chance to check out Tiger’s essay/memoir/diary/open letter? “How I’ve Redefined Victory” is Tiger’s message to what I assume is we, the people, since we are nearing the year anniversary of the night that unraveled his personal and professional life.

Regardless of being a fan or hater of Tiger, it takes some big golf balls to come out with this statement. It must be cathartic for Tiger. Whether you feel these were his words or not, we may not have seen the success like Tiger has, but we all have hit our rock bottom. To have the absolute success that Tiger had(s) at one of the hardest sports, it somewhat unfathomable. When you’ve been innately “good” at things your whole life, it’s hard not to take advantage of the things that come easy.

At first, I didn’t want to look inward. Frankly, I was scared of what I would find—what I had become. But I’m grateful that I did examine my life because it has made me more grounded than I’ve ever been; I hope that with reflection will come wisdom. Golf is a self-centered game, in ways good and bad. So much depends on one’s own abilities. But for me, that self-reliance made me think I could tackle the world by myself. It made me think that if I was successful in golf, then I was invincible. Now I know that, no matter how tough or strong we are, we all need to rely on others.

Control is 50% of a Relationship, Influence is 100%

November 18, 2010

Running, Trainer Tips

32 Comments

It’s on like:

Donkey Kong!

Meghan and I tagged team the gym this morning, day 1 success! Pleasant change:)

Something I’ve been noodling on, and this couldn’t be a worse time of year, is the scale. Don’t freak out! I am an avid believer in knowing the weight you are comfortable at but also knowing that muscle weighs more that fat, etc. Did you know there is such a thing as skinny fat? Oh there’s more – chances are that if you are losing weight, you will lose muscle as well as fat?

This weekend, I grabbed a body fat percentage tool at the gym. Andrew went first, then me. Mistake 1, just kidding. Andrew rang in at 8%, um totally not fair. I won’t divulge what I registered, only because of the whole comparison issue. Andrew challenge me to try to drop body fat percentage and not worry about weight.

Runner’s World recommends having your body fat percentage checked – sometimes it’s not a matter of losing weight, but toning.

I am considering, as vision of sugar plumbs dance in my head. His freakishly low percentage is due to his insane dedication to healthy living – it comes SO easy for him. But don’t get me wrong, he eats the good and the bad. For me, it’s a definite challenge and I am curious to know if I can hunker down.

Feel free to weigh-in. Do you measure in belt-holes, compliments, heart health, etc?

Making Sure My Workout Isn’t “Work”

November 17, 2010

Running, Trainer Tips

29 Comments

Gym Rat!

My decision to leave my current gym and head on over to the LA Fitness conglomerate was a a long time coming. I actually use to be a member at LA, but when we moved to Michigan we joined a local gym in our neighborhood. I am a member at my current “Tech” gym because it’s CHEAP, and it’s a serious gym. Big pool(s), where the Olympic swimming events were held in ’96, and it has every equipment you can imagine – plus an indoor track. Crap, why am I switching?

Ah, yes, I am making the change to LA Fitness for a few reasons:
- Variety of FREE workout classes at multiple times all day, plus they start early
- More locations, current gym is downtown and I can’t make it on the weekends
- The hubs is joining and we get a power couple discount (ha!)
- Trying to see if I can get Norak to give it a go

Variety is the spice of life and it I’ll have an opportunity to workout with more friends. It’s a simple change but it could be fun.

Does anybody have a home workout gym or prefer not to have a gym membership at all?

You can’t wHinE all the time

November 16, 2010

Just for Run

23 Comments

I am not sure how to follow up with a profile like Heather’s from yesterday. I am still recovering from a ~~throwdown~~ birthday party for Andrew’s 80-year-old grandmother. Seriously, we showed that Hilton in Albany, GA a good time.

Say hey-hey to Ray Ray!

I have a few things, because honestly I am having one of those weeks. Definitely good but insanely busy. I keep wondering when Meghan will go pro and let me do HER PR…. In the meantime:

- We were greeted in Albany, GA by a Ray Charles piano statue that we overlooked from our hotel, and he played music…all night. Blerg.
- In the 80th birthday spirit theme, we successfully hid 80 silver dollar coins around Andrew’s grandma’s house, she’s only found 44. I don’t know when we should start feeling bad. Somewhere, in middle Georgia, a little old lady is scouring her house for change.
- I joined a “big girl” gym. No more college ~~boys~~ gym. LA Fitness finally hooked me, although I was a former member, I’ll explain the switcharoo later. Good news is, Meghan has to teach me how to swim! Brroohaa.
- Norak nailed her mileage this weekend. She completed five out of six miles and she’s going from zero to hero in a big way.
- My dad has to quit baking me cupcakes. Seriously.

Let’s hear it, what’s going on random in your world?

Runner Profile: Registered Runner

November 15, 2010

Running

20 Comments

I had the pleasure of meeting an exceptional athlete and professional, Heather, in person earlier this year at The Healthy Living Summit. I had followed Heather at her home away from home, Dietitian on the Run. She’s amazing to follow, considering I need all the nutritional help I can get, plus Heather and I actually have a very similar training ethic and running style. I have total faith that if when we have a chance to run we’ll make a perfect combo.

Her B.S. in Nutritional Sciences from Penn State University and Dietetic Internship through the University of Maryland is a weapon. Heather has found a fantastic harmony between her love of nutrition/health with running. She also talks about proper fuel in a way that you understand and grasp the information.

Hi! Heather: Makes “long runs” of 20 miles seem easy. Registered Dietitian (RD), marathoner, and self-proclaimed Foodie.

Likes: Moving across the country. Lululemon. Biking with her semi-pro beau. Running, a lot. Teaching others the importance of balanced nutrition.

Dislikes: When Penn State loses. Drivers that don’t understand bike lanes.

WARNING: She trains hard and plays harder. How Heather got into running is truly inspirational.

I remember the day the light-bulb went off – If she can do it, I can at least try. One of my best friends ran a marathon during the fall of our senior year. I was in awe of the training, dedication, especially during a Penn State Football Season. She was spending Saturday mornings running endless miles in heat and humidity without any formal plan, guidance, or idea of where to go. She just ran. Simple.

I convinced her to sign up for a half-marathon with me. 26 miles? No thank you. 13.1? On. Board. The day we signed up I went down to our apartment gym and ran for longer than I ever had before. My normal stopping point was 30 minutes – no distance or pace, it was just my routine. I soon ran outside for an hour. And I felt like I was on top of the world.

5 weeks later it was race day, and my training consisted of adding 15 minutes to every “Long Run” on Sunday afternoon. I had one of my best races, reaching the 10-mile mark and thinking “only a 5K left? I got this!” My goal was to finish under 2 hours, and I came in at 1:49:50, completely elated and astonished at what my legs were capable of! The seed was planted.

Grad school took me to the suburbs in Maryland, directly in between Baltimore & DC. The only perk of that being there was honestly nothing to distract me, a lot of time was spent working, studying and running. A friend from State registered for a small half-marathon in Alexandria, VA. I promised to run with her, not having any idea what I was signing up for. It would be my second ½ that spring, and the race that changed my life. I realized I could run for fun (no time goal), run in the rain, have a glass of wine before a race and be fine, and take walk breaks without destroying my pace or overall time. It was actually the worst organized race I’ve ever been a part of – the start line was shut down by park rangers because the director was stupid enough to register over 700+ runners more than he had a permit for (brilliant). So, technically it wasn’t even a race…

I posted my recap on my site, and received a comment from a fellow-runner, it was his first race and he sympathized with the conditions and the idiocracy of the event planning. We e-mailed back and forth; I found out he usually ran with a group of friends, and he invited me to their next race. It would be my first 10K and race in DC. Of course I’m in! Without knowing anyone I was about to meet/run with, I took the chance. They turned out to be awesome people, and I had a great race!

That group ended up being my sanity, my core, and my roots in DC. Together we ran more than 10 races in a year, found a running group that we frequented (and met many more crazies that joined that core), trained for and ran our first marathon through our city, planned happy hours, volunteered, and found every opportunity we could to Run.

The best advice I can give: find people who share your passions, and let them in. Let them speed you up on tempo runs, join you for long miles, talk endlessly over brunch or beer, show you things you’d never try (hello, cycling & yoga), have dance parties with Lady Gaga, and balance your life.

Motivators: a race, a training plan, a goal, or a group I can’t resist running with, a trail I can’t resist running on, sunshine, good music, the sense of accomplishment that comes from every Finish line, a healthy meal that fuels a good solid workout, an education that engages my interests in every aspect of health and fitness, and the promise of that endorphin rush no matter what the activity.

Marathon Move
I eventually moved cross country to Colorado for a host of life reasons, and I took my amazing boyfriend with me. This move happened to fall right in the middle of my most recent training, for the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon. I battled the acclimation to running at a mile-high, and the frustration of not knowing where a sidewalk led or where to go for a 20-mile jog.

Here we are – Colorado residents living life by the day! I wouldn’t change a thing – unless I could bring that DC running group to Denver. Mountains replaced historical monuments, staring into the sun almost every day replaced that East-Coast consistent cloud, a care-free job with a progressive and unique company replaced stagnant government work, and high-altitude training replaced summer humidity and my lung capacity. Career goals are set and being focused on as I enter the world for Sports Nutrition & Athletic achievement. Personal goals continue to revolve around acting, thinking and living outside my safe zone. Training goals are taking a break as I bask in the marathon-day-glory and set my sights on a Spring race…in DC!

****
It’s her charisma, bubbly attitude that makes her both smart and hysterical. She’s a true joy.

Many, many thanks to Heather for taking time to share her amazing journey with us. Keep an eye on this one kids. Her marathon time in her first race in Denver was ridiculous and absolutely solidifies how amazing she is!