Saturday, June 26, 2010

Brooklyn run!

This morning's run was in my neighborhood, so I got to serve as a tour guide of sorts for all the folks who never cross the river from Manhattan. We met at City Hall at 6:45am (an earlier start than usual because of the distance and the heat). We started at 7: ran over the Brooklyn Bridge (my favorite spot in the city; I will never get tired of the beauty of the bridge and the view from it), to Cadman Plaza, to Tillary Street, through Cobble Hill, over the Gowanus Canal (which smells when it is 80 degrees out, by the way) to Prospect Park and back to Manhattan. Our whole run, including one loop of Prospect Park, was 12 miles. We started at 2 and 1 intervals and dropped down to 1 and 1 at the halfway mark because it was just too hot. I showed the group my new apartment (!) and suggested that we run clockwise around Prospect Park to avoid the big hill. Everyone was very willing to go along with that idea. George said he would put me in his will in appreciation, and Christine, a former estate lawyer, said she could make that happen. Hilarious.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Road ID

I got a Road ID recently, and I thought it warranted a post. I also got my dad one for Father's Day. (Happy Father's Day, Dad!) These are cool little wrist or shoe tags that you can get that have your name, town, and emergency contact information on them. I put my friend Sarah on there so I'd have somebody local along with immediate family. She is prepared to sit by the phone on Saturday mornings, right Sarah?

We all need to run safely, so definitely check out the Road ID: www.roadid.com

10 miles and "energy cookies"

I have to start every post, of course, with a comment on how early the alarm went off and how hot it was by the start of the run. With that out of the way, today was a gorgeous day for a 10 miler in central park. We did the outer loop, followed by the inner loop. By mile 8, I wanted to stop running, but I kept at it thanks to the group. I think it's time for new shoes; the bottoms of my feet were definitely feeling it by the end!

We had a clinic with a nutritionist after the 10 miler. She had some great suggestions on foods that give us eneregy: coconut water instead of gatorade (no artificial sweetner), greens, proteins. It was food for thought. (Teehee). We had awesome "energy cookies" waiting for us at the clinic. The recipe is below, thanks to Andrea Moss of Spark! Wellness. They were delicious! I signed up for a 45 minute consultation with her through the team. I will be sure to report back.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Energy Cookies (these were delicious!)
3 large ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1.5 cups)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c coconut oil--barely warm, so it isn't solid (or you can use olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal (you can make your own by pulsing almonds in a blender until they are the texture of sand)
1/3 c coconut, finely shredded and unsweetened.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fine grained sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
6-7 ounces dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks on top third.

In a large bowl, combine bananas, vanilla extract and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough is a bit looser than regular cookie dough, but don't worry. Drop dollops of dough, each about 2 tsp in size, an inch apart onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on your oven, until cookie bottoms turn golden. Be careful not to burn them.

Makes about 3 dozen bite sized cookies.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

What a fantastic weekend!

The family was down in DC this weekend to celebrate John's 80th birthday. It was great, a wonderful gathering in honor of a wonderful man. I arrived Friday night and Dad and I got up early Saturday morning to tackle 4 miles before it got TOO hot. (It was already 75 degrees at 7am). We ran out and back on the trail near the hotel (too many of us to stay at John's!), which was pretty good. It was an old railroad bed, so it was perfectly flat. I felt MUCH better than I have in weeks. The doctor put me on a time-released anti- inflammatory, and I am moving with much less pain. I almost forgot what it's like not to hurt. (Terrible, isn't it? I have so much respect for people with physical limitations). Anyway, Dad and I had a great run (well, run/walk). I love that he is out there with me!

The rest of the day was really awesome, too. Not about running, but worth sharing anyway. We went over to Arlington to wish Pop-pop a happy father's day. It was the first time I'd seen the marker since the burial. Arlington is such a confusing place, moving and heartbreaking at the same time. I am grateful to the armed forces, but I just wish everyone there died of old age like Pop-pop. We paid our respects and then went over to the Korean War memorial and had lunch near the GW campus (my old 'hood--for just a year). Chris was with us, and he said that we walked about 5 miles, so Saturday ended up being a longer mileage day than I planned. Still, by the end of all that, much less pain!

The party was amazing. John was so touched by everyone's presence. We ate, laughed, played music, and told stories. Lots of people shared memories of Mimi, too, which is always great for us. All the grandparents were with us this weekend!

Saturday, June 05, 2010

feels like summer!

It's early June, but it felt like August during this morning's run. Sticky, sticky! We met in front of Jack Rabbit on the upper east side (which meant another very early departure from Brooklyn) for 8 miles. The course was cool: over to the park, north to 111th street, east to the FDR drive, over to the footpath, down to 60th street, and back to 84th/Jack Rabbit. It was so cool to run down the east side--I never go over there--and to see the Queensboro Bridge in the distance. I was remembering miles 14 and 15 of the marathon over that bridge. There are no spectators, so all you can hear are the feet of fellow runners. Very powerful, especially since the bridge is almost completely dark. Anyway, the lovely people at Jack Rabbit had a shoe clinic for us after the run, before the store opened. They had bagels for us (yum!) and gave us a discount on everything in the store. I stocked up on some gear, for sure.

8 miles felt pretty good! I was very happy, especially given all the aches and pains I've been feeling, which has also caused a fair amount of anxiety. I'm going to the doctor this week, so hopefully I'm going to get some answers and possible solutions. I'm optimistic that I'll be able to keep running. Talking to De last week and having a good run today made me feel better. I came home, stretched, iced, and spent a lovely afternoon walking around with minimal discomfort, so that's an improvement.

Next weekend, 3-5 with Dad in DC while we're all there for a family gathering.