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‘Tis the Season

December 16th, 2012 | Posted by Lindsay Runs in Blog Posts - (5 Comments)

Although Christmas is just 8 days away (what!?!) I’m only just now feeling in the spirit. It hasn’t been terribly cold or snowed, I haven’t thought much about Christmas shopping, work has been crazy busy to even think about a break, and I don’t have any big holiday travel plans to look forward to besides home in NJ.

My new couch and little Manhattan christmas tree brings joy, too.

But yesterday, I donned my holiday best and joined thousands of others to roam the city in festive garb for Santacon. It’s my fourth year doing Santacon (whoa, time flies) and my fourth year being a reindeer. Ho ho ho! And all the sudden, Christmas started to feel a little closer.

Despite barhopping yesterday for 12 straight hours (seriously how did I last that long?), I woke up this morning feeling not-too-terrible and decided a hangover-clearing run would make me feel a little less gross. It was misting/raining and I didn’t have any mileage/time in mind, just wanted to sweat it out.

A few minutes in, my mind wandered and I started feeling pretty crappy about myself and my running. I still feel off and I’m tired all the time. While it’s starting to get easier to get in my mileage especially when I meet up with friends to run, I just want to feel like my old fit competitive self. I know it’s still early and I don’t need to start killing myself, but I do need to start sucking it up and getting in some basic workouts and pushing myself on runs a bit more.

So I headed into the park and to my favorite trusty solo workout, Central Park’s lower loops. (No really, I’ve professed my love here, remember this awesome workout last winter, and here’s one of the 1st times I ever did this workout, early blog/pre-Garmin days.)

Consistency is my strong suit. While the pace was nothing special for me and actually I thought I was going to die or my legs were going to fall off, I’m proud that I completed it all without stopping short. It felt good to push, even though I wasn’t really able to drop the pace at the end.

Still, doubt creeped into my mind at the end. “How are you going to run 13.1 miles under 6:25 pace in just 3 months?” Honestly, I don’t know. That felt hard, guys. But I need to start somewhere; this is where I am today, but it doesn’t have to be where I am in a few months.

What else have I been up to? This past Thursday was our company holiday party. Even though it was just at our office, it ended up being a blast! The highlight was by far the food and drinks (oh, maybe too many drinks…), talent show, and watching this amazing Rock Center with Brian Williams segment live, alongside Hamdi himself.

Click to watch!

If you know me personally, you know I can talk about yogurt for days and days and think my job is the coolest. BUT I really encourage you all to just watch this video. And then you’ll get it. The company went from startup to a $1 billion business in only five years. It’s a crazy story, but really not so crazy when you get to know Hamdi. He’s an incredibly humble yet visionary Founder and CEO, and sharing the moment to watch the clip alongside my colleagues was truly special.

And last weekend, I kept busy through friends’ holiday parties on the Upper West Side and Brooklyn, a friend’s bridal shower in NJ, and volunteering at the Girls on the Run 5k on Randall’s Island.

Ely, in the middle, is getting married 2 months from today!

This was my first time volunteering as a running buddy, and it was amazing. My girls finished strong and happy, with a bit of a ‘sprint as fast as you can and then get too tired and walk’ pacing strategy, often linking arms to run 3 across. They were both too cute (and knew the Gangnam Style dance, whaaaa?), and one said “I never thought I’d actually be doing this. I just thought it’d be a dream! But this is real!” She repeatedly called us ‘Thunder and Lightning’. Girls on the Run is an incredible organization and I really wish I could commit time to coach. I hope I’m free to volunteer for the Spring 5K, too!

And now, I’m going to go curl up on my comfy couch, bask in my Christmas lights, and try to fall asleep at a ridiculously early hour to get ahead of a busy week. Sunday funday.

How are you getting in the holiday spirit?

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The Week & Nuun!

September 23rd, 2011 | Posted by Lindsay Runs in Blog Posts - (6 Comments)

This week has been pretty busy, lots going on in Lindsay-world and I cannot believe it’s just a little over 6 weeks until the big day. After a much needed cutback week the w/o 9/4, my legs felt rejuventated and I had a solid 60 mile training week last week, my highest to date. This week I was planning to hit 60 miles again, but may or may not happen since I had to swap my long run schedule. See, I schedule my week totals like a calendar, Sunday to Saturday. I did a long run on Saturday the 17th but am scheduled to run 20 for the NYRR 18 mile tune up this Sunday the 25th. Which means no long run during the Sunday-Saturday block this week, making it harder to hit 60 on regular mileage. I’ve been squeezing in miles here and there, but if I fall a few miles short I won’t mind. Especially after a solid effort last night!

Here’s how my week’s been:

Sunday 9/18

It was a gorgeous, crisp fall day and I wanted some flat terrain after Saturday’s 17 miler. So up the Hudson River path I went, all the way to the little red lighthouse! I can’t believe it was my first time running there, after living right alongside Riverside Park for over 2 years.  I ran 9.5 miles total, with my last three miles at 7:10, 7:11 and 7:11 pace. Probably not the best recovery run, but took advantage of feeling good..because it’s happening much less often as the training gets harder. I finished the run at NYSC to attend my favorite Total Body Conditioning class…and was beat afterwards! Nevertheless, I couldn’t fall asleep at night and tossed and turned as my mind ran a thousand miles a minute.

Little Red Lighthouse under the GW Bridge. Source: Wikipedia

Monday 9/19

I decided to double because I had no post-work plans and 9 miles before work was just not going to happen. 5.5 in the morning around 8:00 pace, and 4.25 a bit quicker after work. I ran in Riverside Park and around the waterfront, and glancing over at the bright city lights against the dark sky was extremely picturesque. One of those nights where a short run reminded me why I love NYC so much!

Tuesday 9/20

The poor sleep I got Sunday night really caught up to me, and I struggled through 7.75 miles in the morning. Everything was tired and heavy and my body was just not cooperating. I had originally planned to take this Saturday as my rest day before the NYRR 18 Mile Tune-up, but decided there was so way I’d survive Thursday night’s workout if I didn’t take off the next day.  The evening was made 10x better by lovely NYC blogger ladies gathering at 16 Handles to wish the lovely Christine farewell as she moves back to Boston. Christine was awesome enough to let me come over her apartment one night for yummy food and wine, and I’ll miss her! And she’s going to kick butt at the Chicago Marathon. Confession: I went back for a second cup at 16 Handles. Yes, I’ll spend $12 in one night at 16 Handles but am too cheap to take a cab home at 4 a.m. Priorities.

Thanks to Ali's handsome man friend for the pic!

Celia, Christy, Ali, Gia, Christine, Me, Meggie, Shannon and Jamie!

Wednesday 9/21

REST! I caught up with friends (and old co-workers) Elyse and Julia at a bar for happy hour. We spent a few hours talking over tasty cocktails and food, and I was still able to get home for a decent night’s sleep. Hooray!

Thursday 9/22

On evening workout days, I like to do 2-3 miles in the morning to shake out my legs and get the body moving. Also helps to squeeze in some extra mileage. I felt great for those 3 miles, and knew I made the right choice in taking Wednesday off versus struggling through another run. My body just needed a break and I was flexible!

The planned workout was 8 miles total: 4 miles at marathon pace and 4 at half-marathon pace. The loop was actually a bit long and ended at 8.1 miles. I focused the first loop on staying relaxed and in control, and I felt awesome. I didn’t get caught up with going out too fast, and it really helped me the 2nd loop. Overall 54:42 for 8.1 miles, 6:45 average. Felt strong, not depleted at the end. Miles 1 and 5 were up Cat Hill, with miles 3 and 7 up the rolling west side hills. They kill me every time! The humidity last night was also a killer…seriously haven’t been that soaked from a run in a while. Ew. Bring back the fall air!

I purchased some Nuun after seeing Nuun Platuun and AfterNuun Delight have a blast at Hood to Coast. I tried the banana flavor for the first time on Thursday before my workout, and loved it!

Maybe a coincidence, but I’ll attribute my workout success to Nuun. Along with banana, I got the mixed new flavor pack which contains grape, fruit punch, strawberry lemonade and tropical.

As I mentioned, I have my first 20 miler planned this Sunday, with 2 miles warmup to the start before the NYRR 18 Mile Tune-Up. Last year, I had major stomach issues during the race so I’m trying to avoid that at all costs. While I am not looking forward to a 7 a.m. start time and running 3 boring outer loops, I am looking forward to a solid effort since I’ll be running with my CPTC teammate Alex. We both ran 3:04 last year and are both training to break 3:00 this year, and I’m so happy we met and have done a few runs and workouts together! She is also going to do Boston 2 Big Sur with me in 2012! Registration opens on Saturday, so if you’re signed up for Boston…it’s not too late to join in the fun :)

How is your week of training going? Have you ever tried Nuun and what’s your favorite flavor? Going to do Boston 2 Big Sur with me ;) ?

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Mid-Week Long Runs & Soft Serve Fruit

August 18th, 2011 | Posted by Lindsay Runs in Blog Posts - (10 Comments)

I am so excited tomorrow is finally Friday! Despite taking a sick day on Monday to rest up and do basically nothing, I still felt as this week was moving exceptionally slow.

Bright and early Wednesday morning, I met up with Megan, Ali, Kelly and Elyssa bright and early (like, I left my apartment before 6:00am early…) to get in my long run for the week, 13 miles. If you take a look at my training log, you’ll see most weeks I’ve been doing my long runs during the middle of the week versus the weekend. I’m an advocate of the mid-week long run for a few reasons:

  • Since it’s kinda early in Marathon training, my long runs have just been 12-13 miles. Totally manageable distance before work if you want it to happen. I’ll probably continue mid-week long runs until my long runs reach 15-16 miles.
  • It allows me to travel on the weekends (or just sleep in…) without having to worry about squeezing in a long run.
  • Planning a run-commute is a great way to do a mid-week long run, as you can either run a few extra miles (in lieu of taking the subway/driving to work) or get some extra sleep. Unfortunately, my work does not have a shower but my gym is a few blocks away. If I am planning a run commute, I’ll bring a change of clothes and my shower stuff the day before and end my run at the office to grab my stuff and head to the gym. Don’t worry about scaring the front desk security when you enter your office building soaked in sweat; they’re probably just amazed at how bad ass you are.

I highly recommend mid-week long runs if you’re traveling for the weekend, too busy, or want to get a bit more R&R. It’s also good prep (for me), as I’ll shift my long runs to the weekend as the mileage goes up, but I’ll likely still look to get in 10-12 on Wednesdays as a weekly ‘short-long’ run. I did many of those as run-commutes last year and it was great being able to wake up at 6:45 and still squeeze in 12 miles before work!

Tonight’s workout called for 5 miles at half-marathon pace, a very brief recovery, and 1K basically giving whatever you had. The one downside to mid-week long runs is feeling a bit lethargic heading into Thursday workouts, but I’d probably be tired no matter what.

Soooo it was a bit longer than 5 miles. Also, my time for 5 miles was about 15-20 seconds faster than I actually raced during the Club Champs 5M race, whoops. This workout had us starting on W72nd street, heading counterclockwise south on the lower loop, coming up cat hill on the east side, cutting across the 102nd street transverse, and coming down the west side. I wanted to start conservative, as I really felt zonked at the end of last week’s workout, and I was happy I was able to bring down the pace a bit each mile. Mile 4 always gets me with the rolling hills on the west side heading south. Hills are not one of my strengths, never have been and never will be, and rolling hills are the worst.

Nonetheless, I felt like I was able to really push at the end and I felt really strong mentally. Although I had to continually repeat a mantra of “You. Can. Do. It.” and “Strong. Steady. Smooth.” in my head, and maybe outloud once or twice as I gasped for air. Hey, whatever works.

My 1K time was exactly 4:00; which is 6:27 pace. At that point, I was just lucky to be moving. Oof.

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All this hard running deserves a good treat! I’ve been meaning to check out the Soft Serve Fruit Company for a while, and yesterday just happened to be their 1 year anniversary! In celebration, they were offering $1 Kid Size treats with all the toppings you wanted. Since I’m a sucker for a good deal, I stopped by after a late-ish night at work.

I got banana and raspberry swirl since I couldn’t decide between the two and almost every topping under the sun. It’s no 16 Handles (my true love<3), but it’s actually a tasty and healthier alternative– just real fruit, sugar cane and water. Yum!

Since evening workouts leave me a bit parched and sweaty (yum), I decided to try to re-create my own ‘soft serve fruit’ when I got home, with a twist.

Based on the classic recipe of ‘soft serve banana‘; simply whipping up a frozen banana in a food processer though I add a bit of soymilk to make it blend easier. But, I knew a bit of protein would probably be good for my muscles post-workout and make it a bit more filling, I added a scoop of protein powder along with some frozen berries for flavor.

Yum! Who knew bananas + berries could turn into something so creamy! It’s no Soft Serve Fruit Company, but it’s pretty darn good for homemade.

I’ve got a busy but exciting weekend ahead as I’m headed out to NJ to spend some time with college friends Friday night, then back into the city Saturday morning to do the Great Urban Race (should be interesting!). Afterwards, I’m headed out to Long Island on Saturday night and Sunday for a relaxing weekend with Dan; I bought a Living Social Escapes deal for a quaint hotel and we’re going to go celebrate his birthday a weekend early!

Do you ever do your long runs during the week, or are you strictly a weekend long-run kinda person? If you do weekends, do you prefer to knock it out Saturday or save it until Sunday? What’s the best recipe you’ve made this week?

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How Runners Rock a Thursday Night

August 12th, 2011 | Posted by Lindsay Runs in Blog Posts - (16 Comments)

My idea of a rockin’ Thursday night: doing a speedy 6.5 mile tempo run, showing up sweaty post-run to a fellow runner’s fundraising event, and eating 16 Handles for dinner. Seriously, I’m a total runnerd and loved every second of last night.

I managed to escape work around 6:15 to drop my stuff off at the gym before running my warmup to Central Park for a CPTC workout. I was actually excited about this workout, as we’re starting to do some more marathon-specific training now that Club Champs is over. The longer (and slower!), the better.

The workout on tap: 6.5 miles– 3.25 out at Marathon Pace, straight into 3.25 back at Half-Marathon pace (or ~15 sec/mile faster).

I wanted to start out around 6:50-6:55 pace, but our group kinda got caught up with the pace and averaged 6:45. Felt comfortable, definitely could have cruised at 6:45 for a while. We turned around at the 3.25 mile mark in 22:05, and started to drop the pace. I felt great and relaxed at first, but the rolling hills on the west side really killed me on mile 6. Nonetheless, I was still able to bring back down the pace, making the 3.25 return 21:09, averaging 6:30 pace.   Last time I did this exact workout (May 5th, how’s that for a Cinco de Mayo celebration?), my overall time was 44:04 with a 6:45 average pace. Progress!

Directly after the workout (no changing, no showering, no nothing!) Megan, Alex, Rebecca and I headed over to Jackrabbit Sports on the UES for Ali’s awesome fundraising event. Even though we were sweaty (sorry!) Ali greeted us with a smile and hug. No judgements. Especially since I didn’t feel too out of place in my post-run glory because of these awesome shirts. They were only $25, are lightweight and soft, and benefit Ali’s support of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. On September 24th, she’ll be running the Hampton’s Marathon in support of the charity and is going to rock.

Thanks for the pic, Ali!

I spy some lovely runners and bloggers! Seriously, it was such a fun event though I’m bummed we didn’t arrive until 8:30. It was great meeting a bunch of new people, and seeing some familiar faces. I am always amazed at the running community here in NYC, and I never expected blogging would lead to some new friendships. Hooray!

After the event, my co-worker (and fellow runner!) Jamie and I headed over to 16 Handles on the UES. I hadn’t had a real dinner (though the mini sandwiches, fruit and brownies at the event were delish!) but figured I was too close to pass up my favorite froyo. The line was just about out the door! Shamelessly, mine may have cost almost $9…I blame it on the gummy bears.

Jamie and I sat outside and ate our froyo while talking about running, dating, work, and life. We both joked about how this was our idea of a good time for a Thursday night as we saw people going out for the night to bars, and it was true. On my way home, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much fun I had. I was in my element, getting in a great road workout, meeting new running friends, and eating 16 Handles. I just felt like myself. Everything about tonight was totally me, and I was happy. You know those moments? They’re hard to describe, but awesome when you find yourself in the midst of them.

SIDENOTE: I’m planning to do a post for my upcoming race schedule, but I am officially registered for the Big Sur Marathon in 2012. No matter what, I am not racing this race- running it solely for the experience and scenery so I enjoy it. The race is 91% full, about to sell out, so if you’re on the fence, or want to do a fun destination marathon- sign up now! I’d love some company.  If you need more convincing, check out these awesome recaps by Susan, Page and Aron. Seriously, try tell me you don’t want to run that next April. That’s what I thought.

So, want to run Big Sur? :) What was the most exciting thing you did this week? When was the last time you were really happy and content doing something?  Simply hanging out with friends? Swimming in the ocean? Relaxing and reading a great book? Cooking a new recipe? Tell me about the last time you really felt ‘in your element’! I know you know those moments I’m talking about.

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Twitter Magic, Tempos and Recipes!

July 14th, 2011 | Posted by Lindsay Runs in Blog Posts - (14 Comments)

One of my favorite easy week night dates is the “Whole Foods Picnic”. Grabbing food to-go and heading to the park for a picnic is much cheaper (and healthier?) than eating out at a restaurant, and allows for a bit more conversation.

Usually I hit up the UWS Whole Foods since it’s closer to my apartment, but since I was coming from an event in midtown, Dan and I headed to Columbus Circle on Tuesday night and took our food down to Riverside Park. We enjoyed the scenery and nice cool river breeze with made the hot temps bearable.

I <3 Riverside Park

The only downside to date nights is when Dan’s alarm goes off at 5:15 am, since he gets into work around 7. Not so pleasant. I’m usually able to fall back asleep (or half-asleep) until my alarm goes off, but I was just not feeling it. On Wednesday morning around 5:45 am or so, I tweeted:

All the sudden, replies popped up!

It was like MAGIC! I had a longer run planned for the morning anyways since I am going away this weekend, so I was thrilled to have company. I <3 Twitter for reasons like this. I met up with Susan, Megan, Ali and Kelly for some easy miles, and ended up at 11 miles for the day with an average of around 8:00/mile. Perfect!

Tonight, I headed to Central Park for a CPTC workout. Only my second week of workouts back, I didn’t know what to expect from the 4-mile tempo run at half-marathon pace and wanted to go off feel. I aimed for 6:45-7:00 miles but got caught up with my group and ended up a bit faster than that. Whoops!

It was a tad longer than 4 miles, but an average pace of 6:25. YIKES! This was a pretty hard effort, particularly struggling in mile 3, but the workout was completed at my exact half-marathon pace so I suppose I nailed the task at hand.

I am trying to make an effort to not go too hard in these early weeks of training, as I’m building up my base and I want to have enough in me to rock workouts in later weeks. I suppose it’s a fine line I’m dealing with from not wanting to burn out or peak too early, to really pushing myself beyond where I’ve been to get to the next level.

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Backing it up to the weekend, I wanted to share some recipes I made this past weekend for “cooking club” with my friends. And, they’re healthy and delicious!

Kale Quinoa Goddess Salad

(based off Angela’s Weekend Glow Kale Salad)

  • Kale (I used 1 large bag from Trader Joe’s– removing the stems)
    • Tip from Angela: massage your dressing directly into the kale before adding other ingredients and let sit for about 15 minutes to absorb!
  • Quinoa (1 cup, cooked)
  • Feta Cheese
  • Diced Red Onion
  • Chopped Zucchini
  • Walnuts
  • Orange Bell Pepper
  • Sliced Avocado
  • Shredded Carrots
  • Baby Tomatoes

Mix it all together, and top with your favorite dressing! I love Annie’s Goddess dressing, it goes perfectly with any vegetable and added a great flavor to the (kinda) bitter kale.

I have only tried to make kale chips, but I’ve never had it in a salad! I never knew what went well with it, until I saw Angela’s recipe and figured it’d be the perfect veggie-packed salad. It was so flavorful with the feta, the quinoa added a bit of substance and texture, and I love tomato and zucchini in anything.

Yum!

I also made dessert this weekend. I’m not going to share the exact recipe since I made some tweaks given what I had on hand and it didn’t turn out as well as I’d like. It was still good, but the original recipe looks and probably tastes better– so make this instead! Deep Dish Cookie Pie by Chocolate Covered Katie

Ready to go in the oven...

This recipe was appealing to me because it uses a secret ingredient: chickpeas! Coincidentally, I’ve had about 6 cans of chickpeas sitting around waiting to be used. This recipe called for 2 cans, so maybe I’ll be making a few more batches.

Everyone really enjoyed the taste of the cookie pie (which I cut into bars), and nobody could guess the secret ingredient! They agreed they tasted ‘healthified’ but not in a bad way. They were super gooey and chocolatey considering I used about double the amount of mini chocolate chips. Yum!

I am headed to my friend’s lake house this weekend, so running may be at a low but fun and drinking will be at a high and I can’t wait to get out of the city and enjoy the great outdoors :)

Have you tried any new recipes this week? What do you have planned for the weekend?

 

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Surprises and Stir-Frys

March 3rd, 2011 | Posted by Lindsay Runs in Blog Posts - (9 Comments)

It’s funny how quickly our moods or feelings can change– I really surprised myself yesterday. I just posted about how last week was pretty terrible running and energy-wise. Thank you for all your comments and well wishes! I got the test on Tuesday evening and survived despite my extreme phobia of all things blood/needles. I am hoping to get the results back tomorrow but we may have to wait and see.

I have been feeling a bit better lately, so I attempted a tempo run last night after work. I wanted to run off feel instead of working off a certain pace goal, so I picked a new route I’ve been meaning to try so there would be no basis of comparison to a prior workout if it was going sub-par. I decided to run one entire counter-clockwise loop of Central Park. I thought this was 6.2 miles but it ended up being closer to 6 on my Garmin so I added in a tad more than 1 loop to make it a 10K distance.


SURPRISE: I felt awesome and strong, physically and especially mentally.

Downsides: it was windy, and about 38 degrees– I did not anticipate it being so cold and wish I had gloves as my fingers get numb easily. Is it possible for the wind to always be head on no matter the direction? I swear I never felt it at my back to push me along. Nonetheless, here’s the splits:

Mile 2 contained Cat Hill, and Mile 4 contained Harlem Hill (oof), hence a bit slower. I am most proud of mile 5, that annoying stretch of rolling uphills on the west side after you come down Harlem Hill counter-clockwise; I kept the pace pretty consistent and mentally worked through that mile. The last mile had some fair downhill so the 6:17 is a bit ‘misleading’ than if it was hillier or even flat but I’ll take it.

Just makes me wonder, how can I have low iron when I can bang out workouts like this? During my last bought, I could barely hold a 8:00 pace. Last night was a really strong, solo effort for me. It really boosted my confidence going into the NYC Half-Marathon, like my workout 2 weeks ago did. Maybe last week was just a bout of overtraining coupled with poor recovery? I am happy I took 2 rest days last Friday and Saturday, and took it easy with a 4-miler on Sunday.

I guess we’ll just have to wait for the results of the bloodwork. Maybe nothing is wrong with me. I guess that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world now, would it? :) Just wish there was a reason why I haven’t been 100%.

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I am going to Chicago for a quick work trip on Sunday and Monday, so I’m trying to use up any food left in my fridge before it goes bad. I had mushrooms that weren’t looking so hot, so I threw them into a “use what you have” stir-fry with quinoa for dinner tonight.

What’s in the mix? First, I sauteed the following in a pan with red wine:

  • Chicken breast
  • Mushrooms
  • Chopped Carrots
  • Frozen broccoli
  • Frozen spinach
  • Garlic
  • Onions

Then, I tossed it together with some cooked quinoa! When I make ‘stir-fry’ dishes like this I tend not to measure much, I just kinda toss what veggies I have (mostly frozen) with some flavor (garlic, onions), add in a protein (chicken, steak, tofu, potstickers, etc.),  simmer in a sauce (usually teriyaki, actually), and serve it over rice or grains. Today I mixed it up with a bit of red wine to add flavor, admittedly from a super-old, already opened bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Using what I have!

The thing I love most about stirfry-type dinners like this is how quick they are to make, and how easy it is to amp up the veggies in your meal. I would probably not eat this amount of veggies on the side for dinner so incorporating everything into a main dish is key for me to get the good stuff in.

But no dinner is complete without one a few of these!

White Chocolate Dipped Oreo

How did you surprise yourself this week? What are your “go-to” ingredients in a stirfry-type dinner? I am always looking for more variety!

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