Memorial Day

The weekend isn’t even over, and we’ve already seen and eaten so much! On Saturday Josh and I went to the NY Botanical Garden. Not only did we see lots of pretty flowers and forests, we saw lots of animals! There was a bunny, chipmunks, woodpeckers, blue jays, toads- even a wild turkey! Trust me, a wild turkey running at me was pretty much the last thing I expected to see.

 When we got home we made a fancy pants cold salmon dish with avocado sauce that I found in Bon Appétit magazine. I didn’t realize that the recipe was for 4 servings, so we ended up with lots of extra sauce and salad.

To remedy this problem, Sunday we made some quinoa patties with avocado sauce and some left over salad, along with a side of avocado fries. These fries were DELICIOUS!!! They needed some kind of sauce, but we couldn’t figure out what. Something with some kind of ZING. 

In other news, despite having a lazy week last week, my training is kicking into gear. Today I ran my longest run this season, almost 5 miles. I think I’m doing pretty well. I have a problem with racing strangers. If someone is in front of me, I do my best to try to pass them, but I guess whatever keeps me motivated.

With my training kicking off, I’m also kicking off my fundraising in a big way. DetermiNation is having a contest for the biggest fundraiser this week. The person that raises the most before June 4^th will win a 7 night stay for 2 at an Interval International Resort anywhere in the world. So this week, before June 4^th, my goal is to raise $1000. I know that’s a lofty goal, but I think with everyone’s help, we can do it. And  (if I win) I might even bring one of my very generous donating friends with me.  Let’s start this fundraising off right! You know you'll donate to me eventually, so just do it now by clicking here. 

Everyone have a happy and safe Memorial Day!

Lazy Lisa

I have been a big lazy bum this week. I've only run once this week. The weather hasn't exactly been cooperating, but that's still no excuse. I have the DetermiNation kick off on Tuesday, which officially starts the training season, so that should provide me with some motivation. Hopefully after the nice long weekend, I'll come back next week ready to kick some running butt.

Everyone have a happy and safe memorial day!

A More Personal Post

Ok. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I’m going to post something about a very personal lady problem I’ve been having. If you don’t want to read about this, I suggest you watch this video of kittens reading the news instead.

Ok. Now it’s just us. So basically, I had a yeast infection that wouldn’t go away. I won’t go into all the details, but needless to say, I was very uncomfortable for quite a while. I had gone to the doctor several times and they loaded me up with creams and pills to no avail. So I started looking at more natural methods. The good news is I found something that worked! (What would we ever do without the internet?) Apple cider vinegar is a godsend and basically a home remedy for just about anything. (Seriously, look it up.) My vinegar baths (I smelled like salad!) were able to get rid of the symptoms, but the bigger problem was that I didn’t want the infection to come back- EVER. After more internet research, I found the “anti candida” diet. You can look that up too, but I’ll sum it up for you- lots of green vegetables and plain yogurt, and not a whole lot else. The point was to starve the yeast of anything it finds tasty, which unfortunately is also most of the things I find tasty. It’s pretty much the most boring diet ever, but I was determined to get rid of this thing once and for all. I stuck to most of the diet most of the time (weekends are hard) and I’m pretty sure it helped and I feel almost as good as new.

So what’s the point of this story? Well I learned a few things about myself that I wanted to share.

1. I have more willpower than I give myself credit for. It was surprisingly easy to give up things like bread and cheese that had become almost staples of my diet. A little less easy to give up sugar, but most of the time I’m ok. When faced with, say, a cookie, I would think, I could either eat this cookie and feel good for a few minutes, or I could skip the cookie and avoid the itching. When faced with those options, you find you have more strength and willpower than you ever imagined.

2. I think the most important thing I’ve taken away from this experience is I’ve started to look at the food I eat a little differently. I’m usually pretty healthy, but this has made me look at food as not just something you eat because you’re hungry. The food you eat can also act as medicine. It’s meant to nourish every part of you. Food is fuel. So now instead of thinking of taste first and health second, I’ve been approaching eating from the viewpoint of finding the best thing possible I could put into my body. And believe it or not, I’ve found ways to make this incredibly boring diet actually taste good too. I gotta say, I kinda like it. I feel so clean and light- and way less itchy too!

I'm a Green Machine

Thursday night I went to an info session for DetermiNation. We didn’t have a huge turn out (just 3 people), but it was great. Coach Ramon was talking about the experience you would have when you joined the team, and it made me think about my marathon. It made me really nostalgic. I’m so proud to be a part of this group, and I’m happy I get to train with them again this summer.

While I was at Jack Rabbit, I picked up some new shoes and let me tell you they are AWESOME!!!! As a runner, we’re supposed to pick the shoes that feel the best, regardless of what they look like. You’re not trying to be cute when you run 26 miles. So normally, I’m stuck with whatever they have. This time, I actually had options, so I chose these bad boys.

I feel like a running machine in these. I like to think I’m a Green Machine. Maybe it will make training more fun. And they even match my new running pants! But despite the new shoes, I was really lacking motivation to run yesterday. Josh had to literally push me out the door. I'm so glad he did! Yesterday was the PERFECT day for a run! And the new shoes felt pretty good too:) I'm slowly inching up my mileage, so I'm sure I'll have some fun and agonizing running tales to tell soon.

Join Me!

This week has been pretty crazy. I did manage to squeeze in a run yesterday, but I kept it short since my shoes are totally dead. Good news! I'm going to get my new shoes today!!! It's like Christmas for runners. For anyone that might be even a teeny tiny bit interested, I'll be at an info session for DetermiNation at Jack Rabbit on W72nd street today at 6:30. You can come check out my new shoes in person, and find out more about our program. You should do it! Then we could be running buddies this summer!

Beautiful Weekend!

This weekend was a beautiful weekend! It was sunny and warm and perfect! And my good friend MiMi had her bachelorette party Saturday night! What happens at a bachelorette party, stays at a bachelorette party, so we won’t be talking about any of that here :)

Instead we will discuss my run yesterday. I’ve been in a 3 mile rut, so I decided to push it to 4 miles. Again it was a beautiful day, but I really did not feel like running. The first half was slow and torturous. But by the time I finished, it felt easy and relaxed. I was definitely happy I went out for a run. In other news, my shoes have died. They’ve lost all their happy bounce. I think they served me well, but it’s time for new ones. They have them in stock at my local Jack Rabbit, so I will be picking them up soon!

Happy Friday!

It was a beautiful morning in the park.

And I was trying out my new running pants.

AND my Nike GPS congratulated me for running more miles this week than I did last week. It was a good start to my Friday morning.

NO MORE EXCUSES!!!

Last week was the week of excuses. There was always some reason I could give myself and I didn’t run all week. I’ve decided that enough is enough. No more excuses. I was going to get up this morning and run NO MATTER WHAT.

So today I got up, got dressed and headed out. Apparently it was raining (that’s what I get for checking the weather without my glasses on) but I was already up and dressed, so out I went. My iPod was very clever this morning and knew that I really wanted to listen to “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. That song is pure bubble gum goodness, which is exactly what I need at 6:30am, even more when it’s raining. I may or may not have listened to it several times. It was actually a pretty fun run. Apparently, running in the rain makes me run faster and I ran 9:42 mile. All in all, it was a good (and wet) way to start the day!

In other news, Team Happy Hippo is having our first fundraiser on June 21st from 6pm to 9pm at Slane (on MacDougal and Bleecker). Keep your eye out for the official Facebook event, but you’re now officially invited! There will be drink specials, a raffle, and live music starts at 9pm, if anyone wants to stick around. It would make the hippo very happy if you came!

Birthday Extravaganza!

This weekend was a birthday extravaganza.

Saturday was the best day ever. My friends and I went to Spa Castle in Queens. I could go on and on about how awesome it was, but I’ll try to keep it brief. There was a whole floor of saunas, both indoor and outdoor pools with massaging jets, hot tubs, a naked area with herbal pools, and we all got pedicures too! The saunas were my favorite. We were so relaxed I couldn’t really form whole sentences. Wonderful. Later I met up with Sonya and ate the biggest bowl of mac and cheese I’ve ever seen. Some of it I saved for my Sunday breakfast. Then we went to a Cinco de Mayo/birthday party for all the other May babies. 


Sunday I went to yoga, then to a fancy bridal show with MiMi. We got free champagne. I went home and planned to go for a run (since I haven’t actually done that in a while) but instead fell asleep. I promise there will be running this week. 


Monday, my actual birthday, I took the day off! I still got up and went to 10am yoga, because in Emily’s class, we always sing Happy Birthday in triangle pose. I don’t really like that pose, but that always makes it more fun. Plus, people in Harlem tend to be artsy and know how to sing, so you always get a four part harmony Happy Birthday. Then I went to accupunture, had some lunch and gelato, then had some birthday drinks at Slane. They made me a birthday shot that tasted like ice cream. Then dinner and drinks with Sonya and Alicia, and home to watch The Muppets with Sonya. It was a lot of fun. 


So thanks to everyone who helped celebrate my birthday. It was one of the most relaxing weekends I’ve had in a long time.

May the Fourth be with you!

I think the universe did not want me to run today. I got everything ready last night and even went to bed early. I woke up at 6am to huge claps of thunder and lightning. Message received: clearly someone thinks I should sleep in instead. Done and done!

I should have more exciting things to talk about next week. My birthday is coming up and this weekend is Cinco de Mayo, so I could have fun weekend tales. Did I mention Sonya is coming to visit too? Because that's also pretty awesome. 

I think I also have a date and venue for Team Happy Hippo's first fundraising event! I should be able to solidify it all on Monday, then I'll let you guys know!

Run for the Wild Part 2- with Jaclyn!

I actually did it. This morning I got up at 6:30 and went for a run. I feel like a real runner again! Plus it's baby season. The pond was full of tiny little geese.

I also have something special. On Saturday I participated in the Run for the Wild with my friend Jaclyn. This was her first ever 5k and she wanted to share her experience: 

 My first experience running surprised me! I recently took on running as a way to de-stress and focus on me rather than reviewing my iPhone obsessively for work, meetings, events, etc. I was fortunate to have a great girlfriend support me every Tuesday and Thursday running with a beer as a reward or Pinkberry. Safe to say, my Pinkberry card has lots of stamps. I digress…

 On the day of the race, I was extremely nervous because it was chilly and several of my friends and their marathon-loving acquaintance friends were joining us. Luckily, I told everyone I am not running a marathon but my goals are 1) to finish and not die and 2) eat all the free food at the end. When the race began I had a hard time concentrating because I left my headphones in my bag that I checked in so I heard everyone’s conversations and I have been training with my play list of Bloc Party, Sigur Ros, and Adele (got to mix it up). When we hit the 1-mile mark, I thought, “Someone lied to me during training”…It felt like I ran 5 miles by the time I hit the 1-mile mark. So I knew, “Pace Yourself Jaclyn”. After that, it was a brisk run with quick pit stops to visit the giraffes, monkeys, and zebras. Towards the finish line, I started dancing and to my amazement my friend Lisa had a camera so we could prove to my mother I ran and crossed the finish line! The best part was the MC coming up to me and asking, “How do you feel?”…I said, “I feel like dancing”. He made a circle of people around me so Lisa and I could freestyle and pretend we were at a rave for 15 seconds! It was fantastic! The next best thing was the ample supply of carbs!!!! Muffins, bagels, bananas, fruit bars and water…OMG! I was in Carb Heaven! 

 Here are a few things I learned while running: 

-Breathe. No one is rushing you so take your damn time. 

-Bring your headphones! If you have been training with a certain routine, stick to it. 

-Be proud of your achievements! Sometimes you have to pat yourself on the back; in my case, I needed to dance! 

-Be a squirrel. Take as much food as you want and place in a bag; you will want to eat again later.

Doesn't Jaclyn look happy?