NYC blogger meet up

Last night after work I came home to an email from Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point about the details for the blogger meetup that evening. I was excited to meet Caitlin and the other girls, so I headed uptown to Le Pain Quotidien.
 
At first, there were only about 5 girls at the restaurant, until we realized around 15 ladies were at the restaurant’s other location! Communication meltdown!
 
It was nice to meet Caitlin in a smaller group and hang out, because when we arrived to meet the bigger group it was overwhelming! haha. Some of us got food, and we all just chatted and wished Caitlin luck with her Today Show appearance.
 

 
I thought it would be weird meeting up with people you don’t really know, but everyone was so friendly. It was a fun night!
 
I really hope to meet some of these girls again! It would be nice to have a little blogger/healthy living/fitness community here in NYC. I need more running buddies! haha

No More Trouble Zones

I got up today a little later than expected and had a bowl of cheerios and strawberries. It may be one of my FAVORITE breakfasts… So fresh and delicious.

I didn’t feel like running, so I decided to do a workout video on demand instead. I decided to do Jillian Michaels’ No More Trouble Zones. Unfortunately, It was too good to be true, since it was only about half the video, and it had an annoying New Balance pop-up add during a lot of the video.

Otherwise, I liked the video, It reminded me of 30 day shred, but actually less difficult. Maybe they took out all the hard stuff for the on-demand version

I did do some ab work during it, and I realized how WEAK I am in that area. I feel like I have a strong enough core, and its not totally soft… (but definitely not as toned as i’d like). I think adding 2 days per week of a short ab routine would only help my fitness goals.
 


Looking all sweaty and happy to be done. It was only about 20 minutes, so I did some jumping jacks and a lot of walking after, but it felt good to do something.


Before work, I made some vegetarian tacos for lunch. I used my favorite- boca meatless crumbles. I had a big handful of baby carrots on the side to get in some more veggies for the day.
 
I ended up bringing a PB&J on whole wheat bread with a banana to work. Here until 11:15, then I have to clean my apartment up a little before the management company shows it to prospective tenants tomorrow while I’m at work. Gotta hide my valuables!

How to Become a Morning Person

My roommate will tell you that there were many days when I was stumbling out of my bedroom around noon during this last year. I would have never thought I could become a morning person. Unless you call 11am the morning…?
 
I had been using all the excuses in the book to skip workouts in the Spring (homework…drinks with friends….the bachelor? )
 
I finally realized that I feel so much better when I get my workouts done early. I had to find some ways to help myself become a “morning person” (i don’t workout every morning… more like 4-5 days a week)
 

 
Tips:
 
1. Go to bed earlier This is definitely the most helpful for me. I realized that the reason I couldn’t get up early wasn’t because I wasn’t a “natural” morning person, but that I wasn’t getting enough hours of sleep. I generally try to go to bed by 11pm if I’m getting up at 6:15 instead of 7:45.
 
2. Make a Plan If I have a specific training goal set up for the next morning, I’m less likely to skip it. If I just had a goal of working out, I’d be more likely to put it off. Choose a mileage goal/exercise goal and stick to it!
 
3. JUMP out of bed If I let myself lay there, I will talk myself out of getting up. It’s too cold, too hot…I’ll dig for any excuse. If I just jump out of bed, I’m more energized to go workout.
 
4. Sometimes you have to sleep in There are some days when I just can’t do it. I have a long long day of work and things to do after work, or I stayed up all night watching reruns of the Golden girls…. Sometimes I do have to give in and take a day off. As long as it’s not a habit!
 
Hope these helped anyone trying to become a morning exerciser. I find running to be the easiest morning workout because i don’t need to take time going to the gym. My beauty rest is precious

Rainy Day Run

Woke up at 6:30 to run this morning. Stepped out into a rainstorm. luckily I was prepared.
 
Exhibit A:
 

 
Plastic bag for ipod case. Essential for rainy runs
 
Exhibit B:
 

 
Soaking wet hair and clothing. Solution? Grab hair and ring out. Repeat every 1/4 mile. Or just give up and wait until you get home like I did.
 
I’m easing back into running after having the shin pain. Today’s goal was to run 4 miles at an easy pace. I’m really bad at making myself go at a slower pace. I don’t feel like I’m doing enough if I go slower. I know I have to get over that.
 
I ran 4 miles in 34:27 for an average pace of 8:36
 
I came home and decided to make some fluffy pancakes.
 

 

 
I topped the three mini pancakes with earth balance, pure maple syrup and a mountain of blueberries!
 

 

 
Now I’m doing some cleaning, paying some bills, doing errands and relaxing until I have to work at the restaurant at 5pm.

Weekend Recap

Happy Fourth of July!
 

 
I’m still trying to get my butt moving at 1:30pm to do something fun with this day. It’s just too darn hot!
 
Yesterday I started my day at 7am, with a subway ride up to Central Park. I was armed with a bottle of water, a fruit leather, my ipod, the garmin and my keys. The Garmin got a signal and I hit the ground running. I had a goal of doing 8 miles. My secret goal was to maintain an 8:45 pace too .
 
I had a new tactic for avoiding mental exhaustion. (8 miles isn’t THAT far, but I’ve never run more than 7 miles in my whole life so it’s new territory for me!). I segmented the run into four 2 mile runs. Having mini goals and a reward (ie: eating the fruit leather at mile 4) really helped. Instead of being overwhelmed by EIGHT, I just kept saying… only 2 more!
 
I ran 8.00 miles in 68:33, for an average pace of 8:34 (!!)
 
Mile breakdown:
Mile 1: 8:29
Mile 2: 8:35
Mile 3: 8:35
Mile 4: 8:46
Mile 5: 8:37
Mile 6: 8:31
Mile 7: 8:34
Mile 8: 8:29
 
I did a pretty good job pacing myself, but I finally came across a guy around mile 6 that I used to pace myself for about 2 miles. He pushed me as I tried to stay with him, but eventually he slowed down to over a 9 minute mile, so I had to push myself for the last mile.
 
I’m actually very happy with the time. I did take a break at mile 4 where I stopped the watch for about 20-30 seconds while I inhaled a fruit leather and some water.
&nsbp;
I took the bus home from the park.. but had Horrible cramps on the 1 mile walk home from the bus stop. I’m not sure what brought these on. I suspect that it was from loss of electrolytes or sodium? I might bring something other than water for my next long run.
 
I made a fruit smoothie right away because I was starving.
 

 
It had frozen mixed berries, a banana, soy milk and 1/2 scoop of protein powder.
 

&nsbp;
Refreshing… but I also tore into about 600 calories worth of carbs after haha whoopsies!
 

 
I had work at 5pm last night, which was so boring since everyone is away for the holiday weekend.
 
This morning I slept in a bit and started the day with some cheerios with strawberries on top. My favorite breakfast!
 

 
Now I’m just doing some cleaning and off to figure out how to celebrate the 4th! (And to look at an apartment with my roommates at 4pm. wish us luck!)

Lasagna Roll-ups

Tonight I got home and really wanted to make the vegan eggplant lasagna roll-ups I had been planning for a week or so. I’m not thrilled with how it turned out, probably because the missing ricotta cheese
 
I had only a few ingredients. Lasagna noodles, marinara sauce, grilled eggplant and daiya mozzarella “cheese”. Simple enough!
 

 
I’m glad I tried something new since I didn’t have to work at the restaurant tonight!
 

 

I also bought these cookies today… because I knew I needed some chocolate today (stressful!) I picked these up at the corner deli/mini grocery store. Yum!
 

 
Tonight was filled with Chelsea Lately and Golden Girls! love having the night off-back to the old grind tomorrow.

Fast Lunch

This morning I slept through my alarm! Whoops! I jumped out of bed at 8:47 AM and somehow made it out the door a little late at 9:04. I quickly had some peanut butter pows and vanilla soy milk.
 
Clearly I didn’t make it out for a run this morning, but tomorrow I’m going to the gym to swim laps to train for the tri a little more. This is only my 3rd session in the pool. I’m not confident about the swim portion of the race, but it’s hard to get to the gym with work. So much easier to just go on a run outside than traveling 30 min to the gym and then having to work out.
 

 

I had a busy day at work, trying to get a project done. I took a break to grab a smoothie from Health King, since I didn’t have time to pack a full lunch in the morning. This was made with ice, banana, strawberries and kiwi. Fresh!
 

 
I also got some Glenny’s soy crisps (non-vegan). They’re so tasty, and the protein makes them pretty filling. The whole bag has 9g of protein and 140 calories. Not bad!
 

 
I’m in the process of making dinner right now, and It’s something I’ve never made before! Wish me luck Pictures and recipe to come later.

Garmin FAIL

Last night I stayed up until 2 AM watching Monday’s episode of the Bachelorette. So worth it. I ended up sleeping in until almost 10am! Wooo
 
I got up, had a bowl of peanut butter cereal with soy milk and set out on a run. My Garmin was having the hardest time finding a signal. 2 minutes into my run… the battery died.
 
Today was a speedwork day. I ran about 3 miles total (i’m not quite sure because the watch died). I did 4×400 meter sprints and a warm up and cool down. I ran the sprints at 1:40 each, which is slightly under a 7 minute mile pace. Not great, but I find that I’m not a great sprinter, my strength is definitely in the longer distances.
 
I got home and had a big bowl of FRESH blueberries. They were delicious
 

 
A few hours later I had a veggie burger on a whole wheat bun. Looks kinda gross, but it was delicious.
 

 
I wish I had some veggies on the side, but most of my veggies went bad because our fridge FROZE them all… and then they were left all mushy when defrosted. Yuck
 

 
Now I’m off to run some errands and cross some things off my to-do list before I head to work at 5 o’clock.

Sleep-Deprived

 
Last night I went out for drinks and dinner with a certain someone in Soho. I ended up getting back to my apartment at 2:30, and went straight to bed.
 
I was pretty sad to miss the Bachelorette, but I’ll watch it tonight or tomorrow.
&nbsp
I tried to wake up at 6:15 to get in a speed workout, but I was exhausted. I decided that the extra 1.5 hours of sleep was more important since I got home so late.
 
I got up at 8 o’clock-ish and had some cold cereal to combat the high temps today.
 

 
I got to the internship at 9:30 and since I didn’t pack a lunch, I stopped at Metro Cafe for some food around 1 o’clock.
 
I got a make your own pasta meal, with whole wheat penne, fresh basil pesto sauce and grilled eggplant.
 

 
I’m awkwardly trying to hide from coworkers that I’m photgraphing my food at my desk haha. I ended up eating less than 1/3 of the meal, since it was a huge serving. I’ll save some for later when I have to go straight to work at the restaurant from 6-11pm.
 
Tomorrow I’ll definitely be getting in a good morning run, and hopefully I’ll have time to hit the gym to swim some laps too!
 

Running Goals Realized

I’ve been running casually for a few years as a means to maintain my weight, but It wasn’t until mid May that I started training for races. I think I am now at the point where I would consider myself a “runner”.
 
I am surprised how much I am enjoying it and the thrill of meeting my goals is rewarding as well. Maybe I’ve been inspired by the other healthy bloggers, but now, running a marathon or half marathon doesn’t seem so crazy!
 
I’ve come to realize some running goals recently and wanted to share:
1. Run a Half Marathon in October with a goal time of under 2 hours.
2. Run a Marathon next fall in under 4 hours (Chicago perhaps?)
3. Run a 6 minute mile (just one! haha)
4. Run a 5k in under 25 minutes this fall
 
 
I never thought I’d want/be able to run a 1/2 marathon, let alone a marathon, but thanks to the healthy blogger community, I’ve realized I’m capable of more than I thought!
 
Finishing the 7 miles on Sunday in 61 minutes made me realize I can work hard and achieve all these goals.
 
Thanks Bloggers! You’ve helped me work towards my goals!
 
Question: Have other bloggers ever inspired you to do someting?