Run for the Wild!

Saturday morning, bright and early, about 5000 runners headed to the Bronx Zoo for the Run for the Wild. Last year, it was a little chaotic, but this year, was very organized and SUPER FUN!!! Not as much awesome swag this year, but I had really good company. It became clear early on that this was not a run we would be running for any sort of amazing time. The course was pretty full and we couldn’t go very fast. That and the animals. The animals were VERY active this year. Last time I remember them sleeping all day. Maybe the cooler weather made them a little more active, I’m not sure, but they were up and DOING THINGS. Exciting things. So we had to stop and watch the African wild dogs dig a hole. And the giraffes run, which is very amusing. But eventually, we made it to the end. Jaclyn and I did a victory dance, then we spent the morning at the zoo. We saw tigers, snow leopards, and a polar bear. And they were actually out doing stuff too, like one snow leopard tried to pounce on the other, then got schooled. I’m going to guess that was the mama snow leopard. And of course, we had to stop by and see the lions. After all, we did run to raise money for lion conservation. They seemed grateful.

Now that this is over, I actually have to ramp up my training and start running more than 20 minutes. I’m getting nervous. I decided that I actually prefer running in the morning. I feel good the rest of the day when I get up early and get it out of the way. The only thing I don’t feel good about is getting up early. So I tend to sleep in a little and shorten my run. Not good. I’m going to try to get up early tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes.

It's been a week?

Where did the time go? Apparently it's been a week since I posted. So here I am! Unfortunately nothing terribly exciting happened this week. One of the yoga teachers is leaving the studio and moving to Dublin (lucky!) and I took my final class with her on Wednesday. It was wonderful. She always has such wonderful things to say in class and I know we're all going to miss Nandra and her accent!In other news, tomorrow morning I'm running in the Bronx Zoo Run for the Wild. Despite the fact that our wonderful 70 degree weather disappeared and it's a little chilly, it should still be lots of fun. I'm saving lions! I should have some pictures from that next week.

In the meantime, look at this delicious fish I cooked last week. It was sole rolled up with herbs and breadcrumbs. Thanks America's Test Kitchen!

Run for the Wild - LIONS!

I so did not want to run this week. I had no motivation whatsoever. But as Josh reminded me, I’m the one who wanted to be a runner, so run I must! (I think he just wanted me to leave so he could watch uninterrupted television, but I’ll take inspiration where I can get it.) So Tuesday night I took a running tour of the neighborhood looking for cool restaurants and bars. Here’s a secret: runners run just so we can enjoy more food and beer. Beer IS a carb. True story. And the running tour worked! It got me out there running and I even enjoyed myself. It even had built in stops to look and menus and prices. 


Thursday came around, and again I really didn’t want to run and you can only go on so many running restaurant tours before you look like a nut. So instead I opted for a whole new scene. I didn’t run. Instead, I got up early this morning to see what the world looks like at 6:30 in the morning. It’s a lot quieter. And less smelly. And the air feels better. So what’s the point of all of this? The point is, it’s good to mix it up. 


 In other news, I spur of the moment signed up for the Run for the Wild. It’s kind of next weekend. Luckily it’s a 5K, so I think I’m good. And I get free entry to the zoo! But first I have to raise $30 to help lions. If you’d like to donate, please do so here.  If not, I’ll just make Josh do it :)

Highlights!

Sorry again. I got really busy at work, then writing about my busy life just makes me EXHAUSTED all over again. So here are some highlights of a few of the good things that happened since Tuesday:

WEDNESDAY
Yoga with teacher Derek. When I was at my redest and sweatiest, he told me I looked like I had just had a facial. I was glowing and beautiful. Always nice to hear!

THURSDAY
An awesome gym workout. I ran a solid 9:30 pace and it felt great. Then I did some hardcore core work. Who needs a personal trainer?

FRIDAY
Yoga with master teacher Lynn Witlow. I'll admit this wasn't as much of a highlight as it was a reality check. She made us hold the poses for real. And it was HARD. A real highlight, a shirt I've been lusting after that's been out of stock FOR MONTHS was back in stock. So I bought it FAST. I will soon be looking extra fabulous.

SATURDAY
Date night with Josh at Aquagrill in a purdy new dress. It was amazeballs. And I looked fabulous!

SUNDAY
Posture clinic with Lynn Witlow! I gotta admit, after all the date night drinks, I wasn't too excited about getting up early and going to yoga ALL DAY. (Literally. The class was from 10am to 4pm) But it was amazing and I learned so much. Basically all of my problems in class can be solved by doing the following:

1. Activate my inner thighs. Those muscles are there for a reason. USE THEM!
   
2. FOCUS
   
3. Get out of my head and stop over thinking everything. Just do it!
   

I also realized something else about myself. This yoga is hard. It's supposed to be hard. And it's not supposed to get easier the longer you do it. But I've been making it too easy. I let myself come out of postures early because they're hard. I don't try some things because they're hard. Hard isn't the enemy. Hard is a challenge. A chance to triumph and overcome! And sure, I take on hard things, like Bikram yoga and marathon running, but even in those, I do just the bare minimum. I don't challenge myself to try harder. No more of this! If you do what you always did, you'll get what you always got. This is easier said than done, but I'm going to try harder to try harder.

On to next week!

First Outdoor Run of the Year!

I was planning on going to the gym, but the thought of being cooped up in a crowded gym suddenly became very unappealing. I decided to do something I haven't done all year - run OUTSIDE.

At first I was a little unsure. When you're on a treadmill, you can set the speed and not think about it. The terrain doesn't change. You don't have to worry about getting hit by cars. These are all good things I guess, but then I saw the flowers.

Looking at flowers is so much better than watching King of Queens on mute, don't you think? I ran through the park and all my favorites were there to say "Hello" to me. Hello little pond filled with little turtles! Hello little geese! Hello little robins!

Even this tree was surprised to see me.

Then I remembered that running outside is actually sort of fun. I ran longer (and faster) than I intended, but I finished feeling good and very happy. Training, here I come!

Happy Easter!

Well I was planning on showing you lots of pictures of all my pretty Easter eggs, like I do every year. This year I screwed up. We order our groceries online, so I ordered 2 dozen of our usual for egg dying. The only problem is the usual are brown eggs. I tried to dye a few of them, but they looked kind of like they were laid by a sick chicken. It was not appetizing or fun. So instead I'll show you a picture of my wine!

It's sort of Easter colors.

And my new shoes. Also Easter colors!

Also this weekend, I was looking at my blog analytics and I have quite a few visitors from Russia. So shout out to all the Russians! Keep reading!

Very Exciting Thursday

Last night MiMi and I went to the gym. We ran. Then we stretched. But that's not the exciting part. Walking to the train, we saw Janice Dickinson. She pretty much looked exactly like this picture.

Source


A bit of a train wreck. And she was walking weird like she wanted everyone to pay attention to her.

Then at the train station there was a guy playing "Hot in Here" and "In Da Club" on his violin. It was one of those only in New York things.

Just say NO to sugar!

I had my final session with the trainer, and I gotta say, I was a little disappointed. It seemed like he was rushing me out, and we were done in 30 minutes when it was supposed to be an hour session. The verdict? I can see the merit of personal training, and I want to continue, just not here. So I’m in the market if anyone can recommend someone AMAZING!! And cheap :)

In other news, I have something sad to report. Over the course of the winter, my pants no longer fit like they should, and not in the good way. I pretty much eat what I want, since I’m always working out, but I seem to have gone a little overboard as of late, especially on the SUGAR. Then this morning I was watching GMA (I hate to admit it, but yes, I watch GMA) and they had a story on sugar and just how bad it really is for you. Let me sum it: IT’S BAD. Not all sugars are bad. Sugars naturally occurring in fruit or milk or other wholesome foods are ok. Why? Because they come along with other good things, like fiber, that help slow the impact of the sugar on your body (or something like that. Admittedly, I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor, so I don’t know how all of this stuff REALLY works). It’s all the added sugars that are bad. The problem is that added sugars are EVERYWHERE, and the labels don’t have to tell you how much sugar you’re consuming is added sugar. Seems whacky to me, but what do I know? The doctor said something like we should be getting 100 calories everyday MAX from added sugars. Most Americans are consuming something like 3 times that amount. I thought about what I eat, and even though I’m pretty healthy, I can definitely say I consume way too much sugar. So I’m going on a sugar diet. I know I can’t stop eating it entirely, but maybe I’ll replace that piece of chocolate with a piece of fruit instead.

Look! I learned something useful from morning talk shows!

Updates on all things interesting (and a few things not):

On Thursday I hit the gym again for more running. I REALLY didn't want to, but I know I have to get back on the running horse. I realized that when I up the speed a little, I actually relax into my stride and feel like a running machine. And I looked pretty cool too. The gym is all about looking cool :) I've also been experimenting with the Nike Plus running app to keep track of things. It's ok, but the distances are consistently off by .2 mile. If anyone has experience with this, please let me know.

Friday night- DRINKS! 'Nuff said.

Now to check in with our little plants. Josh and I planted last weekend. By Wednesday, we had sprouts. Now they're big enough to photograph:

These are spinach and lettuce.

Here is sugar snap peas and our mini roses. Everything looks super happy. Now they just need to grow so I can EAT THEM!!!

Saturday was all about advanced. I took another stab at the advanced class. This time the teacher was not there, so it was lead by the other students. It was pretty fun. Last time I think I tried to do too much too fast and my hips really hurt. Today they feel pretty good.

Now I have to go get ready. It's a lovely day and I want to get outside and do SOMETHING.