Off to the Beach

My good friend, Megan, and I had planned for an "early" 9 AM run today. (We should have gone a bit earlier--it was WAY too hot.) We ran an easy 4 miles and jumped in the pool after.

We went all out on breakfast! We made blueberry pancakes, topped them with Chobani blueberry yogurt and tossed on fresh blueberries on top. (I wish I took a picture. It looked so pretty!) We also set out a variety of cereal, fruit (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples, bananas), Kashi GoLean waffles, toast, 3 different PB flavors (regular, White Chocolate, and Cinnamon Raisin). We were hungry!

We planned on meeting a few friends at the beach and spent waaay too much time enjoying breakfast. Our lunches were quick! We packed turkey, tomato, lettuce and cheese on Damascus Bakery WW roll-ups, a bag of blueberries and a few Pria/Kashi energy bars (in case we got hungry). We were off!

We spent the afternoon soaking in the sun. The current was strong and we got knocked down a few times. Haha nothing bad--just a few scratches! We relaxed, read and chatted for most of the afternoon. On the way home, Megan and I called up our other best friend, Alyssa, and grabbed ice cream ices together! I mixed passion fruit ice with soft-serve vanilla ice cream. It was delicious. :)

When I got home, I took my cat (below) outside (Mr. Boop loves the outdoors) and decided to re-check Albert. Classes ended nearly a week ago and I was anxious for grades!


My stats grade was up! An A--yay, this calls for celebration; I created a huge deviled egg salad as a side dish for dinner. It was a quick eat to make and decorated the dinner table nicely.


Ingredients: Makes 6 to 8 servings.

• 7 hard-cooked eggs
• 3 Tbsp. salad dressing, mayo, or plain Greek yogurt! (Surprised you didn't see Chobani??)
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill weed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 6 cups torn lettuce
• 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium red sweet pepper, chopped
• 1 recipe DillVinaigrette

The Steps

(1) Halve hard-cooked eggs lengthwise and place yolks in a small bowl. Set whites aside. Mash yolks with fork and stir in salad dressing, dill weed, garlic, and salt. Stuff egg white halves with yolk mixture. Set aside. (2) On a platter, arrange lettuce, tomatoes, and sweet pepper. Arrange eggs on greens. Drizzle with Dill Vinaigrette. (3) In a screw-top jar combine 1/3 cup olive oil or salad oil; 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill weed; 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard; 1 clove garlic, minced; and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and shake well.

**To hard-cook eggs: In a large saucepan place eggs in a single layer. Add enough cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Bring to rapid boiling over high heat. Remove from heat, cover. Let stand 15 minutes; drain. Cool. Peel.

Be confident and get creative and add your own favorite toppings and make a few substitutes for this vibrant salad!

Long but Productive Day!

After I read through Runner's World last night, I started reading a great book, The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey Sachs:


I picked it up awhile ago at Strand Bookstore and never got a chance to read it. But, I couldn't put it down so I woke up early this morning to crunch in a few extra pages before an early run!

I ate a banana around 7 to give me a bit of energy and push me through my run without any pangs of hunger. I stuck to my schedule and settled for an easy 4 miles this morning. This actually worked out perfectly for me because I had to make it into work by 9! I know; I have a strict boss. (For all those just tuning in now, I work at my dad’s bike store.)

I felt pretty good during the run. My legs needed a little break from the road so I decided to run to a nearby park and through some grassy fields. Always opt to run on grass (or even sand) when you have the opportunity to! It’s so much easier on your legs and will help prevent injuries while strengthening your legs. When I run at NYU, our practices are mostly STREETS, STREETS and STREETS so I have definitely learned to appreciate and take advantage of softer grounds.

For breakfast, I made a berry-yogurt sandwich! I took two toasty Kashi GoLean blueberry waffles, spread Strawberry Chobani Greek Yogurt (which is another great flavor) over one, topped it with two sliced strawberries, and covered it with the other waffle. It looks pretty boring but it tasted amazing. I think I have to invest in some Reddi-wip to add a little decoration to my work!

I still had about 45 minutes before work and, after just finishing a run in the summer hear, the pool looked too tempting. I jumped in and swam 10 laps (about 620 meters). It took me 8 and half minutes. It’s so difficult to swim without goggles; my dad’s going to bring me home a pink pair tonight! (I followed up my run with fifty bicycle crunches and some core work). As I swam and worked out, my two kittens enjoyed the sun:

I then showered and packed a quick lunch: I spread Cedar Garden’s vegetable hummus all over my WW Toufayan pita wrap, added lots of tofu, lettuce and a few slices of Cabot’s sharp cheddar cheese. I love mixing tofu with lettuce because I’m able to taste both the softness of the tofu and the crunchiness of the lettuce! For snacks throughout the day, I munched on a bag of Rold Gold Pretzel Thins and a blue berry jelly belly energy beans.

My mom (who also works at my dad’s store) took a quick break and short trip to Dunkin Donuts… and came back with more SURPRISES! She bought the workers (that includes me!) some cold drinks—did I mention she’s the best? I sipped on a refreshing Coffee Coolatta which filled me up until closing at 8 PM.

Time for dinner! We had leftovers: yummy stuffed tilapia and stuffed mushrooms!

I later snacked on toast and melted White Chocolate PB from Peanut Butter & Co. I first toasted two slices of WW bread. Smothered PB over the bread, which really melted it great on its own, but I wanted to add a little something extra so I stuck it in the microwave for a quick 20 seconds. (I had to be careful not to let the toast turn too rubbery). The White Chocolate Peanut Butter is sweet so it’s perfect for a light snack (and helps me stay awake through my nightly reading time).

I’m drained and ready for bed. Goodnight all!

Workout Day One!

I was so excited to officially start running again today that I decided to go out and buy the Runner's World magazine to get myself motivated. Summer classes have made it really difficult for me to stick to a set training routine. :(

I hoped to run between 3-4 miles today but, surprisingly, I felt really good and just kept on going! I ended up running around 5.7 miles today. However, I try to run for time instead of distance. That way, if I'm having a bad day and don't reach a certain mileage, I won't beat myself up over it. Or, oppositely, if I'm feeling really good, I'll get the added bonus of getting in those extra miles!

If I'm curious to see how my times match up, I'll visit MapMyRun.com, trace my training course and let the site calculate the distance for me. It's completely free and simple to use. The site also offers a lot of other cool training features to members. Here's the user-friendly layout:


When I got home, I figured it would be a good idea to keep a training log on an Excel spreadsheet, so I can keep track of the date, my time, distance, pace (calculates itself), course, and a few notes (how I felt, the difficulty of the course, etc). It's always important to listen to your body and be honest with how you feel. It definitely will help you to understand your training needs and what works for you. Here's the final product:


I love these! I can see how I feel at the end of each week and adjust my training routine accordingly. It's also good to have goals in mind when you train. My goal for the summer is just to keep building up the mileage each week so that I'll have a strong foundation for the upcoming cross country season. For the first month or so, I want to get in 2-3 days of hills per week to build muscle. On "rest" or easier days, I plan to cross train (either swim or bike) so I don't feel like such a couch potato this summer!

I can be a bit of an organizational-freak sometimes. But, I figured I would need somewhere to start! One thing that isn't such a good idea is running blind; it's good to have a plan in mind before just going out each day and running. It helps keep track of how many days per week your doing distance, workouts (if any) and rest. (Rest is especially important.) Plus, it's so motivational to see the progression over the course of a few weeks, months or even years! I created another excel spreadsheet for a tentative summer workout plan (which I will probably end up tweeking a bit):


*LSD stands for "long, slow distance." As you can see, I end up tapering off by the end of the schedule to make sure I am not completely exhausted before the cross-country season starts! Hope this inspired you to take control of your running and map out your own plan. :)


Today's fuel went like this:

• 10:30 AM: Breakfast was quick! I mixed together a 6 oz container of Plain Chobani Yogurt, about a cup of Kashi GoLean cereal and a handful of raspberries.

• 2:00 PM: After spending most of the morning and afternoon running around to B&N, Costco, etc. I came back and couldn't wait to finally make lunch. I used Toufayan WW pita bread and packed it with sliced deli turkey, lettuce, tomato and shredded mozzarella cheese. I was out of the house soon after!

• I spent the evening at my Italian grandma's house and helped cook a pizza for her. ;) She insisted that I "mangia" and share a piece with her. I was more than willing! (How could I turn down an offer from grandma, especially when it sounds so sweet in Italian?)

(Above: Me and grandma) I love her!

• When I returned home at 4:45, I grabbed my iPod and set out for my run. I felt great; I even ran for longer than I expected to. I forgot how good it feels to run without limits--that is, until the last two miles! My stomach started to cramp up and I struggled a bit to finish. I always like doing the second half of my run a little faster than the first, but it didn't quite happen today.)

• 6:30 PM: After I showered, I couldn't wait to eat. My mom had prepared stuffed tilapia and a side dish of linguini with tomato sauce. I also dipped some pita bread into my tomato sauce. I was craving something chocolaty too, and what could be a better choice for a post-workout drink than chocolate milk? A great mix of carbs, to replenish lost glucose, and protein, with calcium!
  

• 9:15 PM: Mom came home with MORE Chobani yogurts. She's the best! She even bought my favorite: blueberry flavor. I think I'll have one now...and a couple of these delicious store-bought Costco cookies! Ciao belles.

Uh oh!

I woke up to a huge scare this morning.

Sister crashed her bike on a downhill in her triathlon! Luckily, my other sister was behind, stopped and stayed with her. She ended up getting rushed to the nearest PA hospital.

It turns out she had a slight concussion and only needed a few stitches above her lip. She didn't even remember the crash at all! But her gears were completely out of whack, her helmet was cracked in half and she was pretty bloody, according to my other sister.

It's so important to have a buddy to race with or even just someone there, in case an emergency does arise. Also, when biking, you should always, always, always wear a helmet. My sister got lucky. Just think how much worse it could have been if she wasn't wearing a helmet!

(One of the lesser important worries: Neither of my sisters had any form of ID or cash on them when they went to the hospital. It's always a good idea to have a pair of shorts with a zipper pocket. You never know what could happen!)