Epicurious Runner

Finding a Routine

I thrive on routine. It’s something that’s been slipping away from me ever since the marathon has been over. It’s also something that tends to change as the seasons change. For me, winter is the hardest season to find a routine in, therefore it’s the hardest to thrive in. I am working on finding what works for me each and every day and sticking to it, I’m a creature of habit and I like it.

Everything from what I eat for breakfast to the scheduled time I leave for work every morning, I like it to be the same.

This morning, I am trying something new. Even though it wasn’t planned, since I slept through my alarms to get up and get my butt out the door for a run (surprise), but once I got up, I realized I had showered last night, so I figured what’s the point of showering again. My hair was literally still wet, so I let it out from it’s bun and styled it accordingly.

My winter breakfast consists of oatmeal. I’m way too lazy to make real oatmeal, so instead I use the “less sugar” Quaker instant oatmeal. I almost always make 2 packets, because come on, one of those is NOT enough, plus it’s only like 160 calories per packet. How is that a whole breakfast? Along side my oatmeal is a nice hot cup of coffee.

Just pretend I’m this little boy, because clearly he doesn’t shower either.

Could this be my new routine? Exercising and showering at night, and waking up to a nice relaxed morning with breakfast and coffee? Sounds nice, right? I kind of like it, although my eyes are definitely feeling the fact that they have yet to be hit with the streams of hot water from the shower.

I also got a sunlight simulated light for Christmas. I think I am going to add this in every morning, use it while I’m eating breakfast and drinking my coffee. It takes regular use to have an effect, so I might as well get that into my routine ASAP.

What is your daily routine? Do you have one, or do you just wing it every day?

Running Streak + A Busy June

 

I am on a running streak lately! Derek is partly to thank for it. That’s right, Derek. Derek has been running for the past 3 weeks with me! He bought some running clothes a while back and eventually got around to putting them on and running outside. He also purchased a pair of running shoes and he’s been doing great.

He started to run to train for the Warrior Dash that is coming up in 4 short weeks and also to lose a little weight for the BIG day. He’s already up to 2 miles!

So far, I’ve run 5 days in a row this week! That is a huge accomplishment for me! I’m usually too lazy or tired to keep up with my running every day. I’ve been keeping my runs short (2 – 4 mi) and I’ve been running after work. Now that we aren’t looking for an apartment anymore, I have more free time after work.

I did a nice evening run last night and covered a good 6 miles in about 55 minutes. I am up to 17 miles this week and I hope to do another 2 or 3 tonight.

All this running has already amounted to 2 pounds of weight loss, woo hoo!

I can’t believe the Brooklyn Half was just last weekend, it seems like it was so long ago.

Although there are a ton of fun things happening in June, I can’t help but wish just a little bit that June was already over.

Here is what my schedule looks like:

June 3 – Drive to NH

June 4 – American Craft Beer Fest (Boston)

June 5 – Drive back to NYC

ACBF 2010

June 11 – Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

June 12 – Finish Packing Apt.

June 17 – Drive to NH

June 18 – Derek’s brother’s high school graduation/party / Celebrating Kerri’s birthday

June 19 – Drive back to NYC

June 24 – Drive to NH

June 25 – New England Warrior Dash

June 26 – Drive back to NYC

Warrior Dash NY 2010

June 29 – July 2 – Move into New Apartment

July 4 – FINALLY relax, 3 day weekend

July 8 – Drive to NH

July 9 – Wedding Dress Fitting

July 10 – Drive back to NYC

July 22 – Drive to NH

July 23 – Wedding Shower

July 24 – Drive back to NYC

Man, creating this schedule makes me realize what exactly lies ahead and it’s quite overwhelming. I feel like the summer is already over. All I can say is I CANNOT WAIT FOR MY HONEYMOON!

2011 Race Schedule

I feel like I’ve signed up for a billion races in the past week! This is what my schedule looks like for the racing season this year.

March 27, 2011

New York Colon Cancer Challenge 15K – Central Park

April 3, 2011

More Magazine Women’s Half Marathon – Central Park

May 21, 2011

Brooklyn Half Marathon – Prospect Park

June 25, 2011

New England Warrior Dash 3.02 – Amesbury, MA

I am super excited for the Warrior Dash because Derek is doing it with me this year!!! I can’t even believe how easily he agreed to do it. This will be his first race, I can’t wait to run with him! Kelly is also doing it with me again, we will all be staying at her parents house in Massachusetts so we will be nice and close. It’s going to be lots of fun!

The first 3 races will be counted toward my 9 +1 Guaranteed Entry goal. This program will guarantee me a spot in the 2012 ING NYC Marathon!

Every Day is a Work Day!

From here on out I must think of every day as a work day. I feel like a new woman today. I am officially an intern at I Really Like Food dot com and I must contribute 15 hours a week towards writing for their site. I am very excited about this and I look forward to the challenges it will bring. I made an official work space today by organizing our unused desk.

My area is complete with a large wall calendar, a desk lamp that I just set up and a Snuggie on the back on my chair. It gets cold in the bedroom and I am right next to the window so a Snuggie is perfect because I can wear a blanket and type at the same time!  : )

I am an organized working woman now, who is still working for free, but hopefully after tomorrow I will be a working woman who gets paid real money. I have an interview tomorrow at lululemon in Soho. It’s a group interview so I’m going to have to try a little harder than normal. I want this job and I will get it so I have to make sure I stand out and talk a lot! I had a dream last night that I was really late to my interview and I ended up missing it completely. I was so upset in my dream and it was unbelievably real. It’s at 8 am tomorrow and I must say that I am glad it’s in the morning because it therefore does not allow me to think about it way too much before I go. Wish me luck!

On the food side of things, I made a delicious appetizer plate as my lunch today. We don’t have many things to eat as meals in the apartment so I decided to eat a little bit of everything.

• Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Crackers
• Celery
• Green and Yellow Peppers
• Garlic Hummus
• Feta Stuffed Olives
• and a Pickle

Key Workout # 1

Today is the first day of my new Half Marathon training. I’ve switched my schedule over to the FIRST method for training. It incorporates 3 running days a week and 2 cross training days. Every workout has a specific focus and reason behind it.

HERE IS MY NEW TRAINING SCHEDULE:  New HM Schedule

Key Workout # 1 is track repeats or speed work. What I had planned today was a 10 – 20 min. warmup followed by 12 x 400 with Rest Intervals of 90 seconds. Then a 10 minute cooldown. I’ve never done track repeats like this before and there would be no way to do them properly without my new Garmin watch, so I am very happy to have it.

My first Rest Interval (RI) I did a slow jog, but soon realized that all of my RI’s should be walking only. This definitely helped. I noticed a huge difference in my recovery and I don’t think I would’ve made it through all 12 repeats if I jogged between each one. I didn’t realize how far I ended up running until I got home and transfered the data to my computer.

• Distance: 6.13 Miles
• Duration: 61:49
• Pace: 10:04
• Calories Burned: 577

Here are my repeat stats:

12 x 400 Meters

• 1:52
• 1:58
• 1:54
• 1:54
• 1:53
• 1:54
• 1:57
• 1:56
• 1:54
• 1:56
• 1:56
• 1:55

Now, it is extremely recommended that you keep each repeat as close to the target pace as possible without much variation in each repeat.

My target pace was 1:53 for each 400 meter lap. I thought I did a pretty good job for my first time. The target pace is determined using a prior 5K race time and it also varies whether you are running a 400M, 600M, 800M, etc. intervals. The longer the interval, the slower the pace.

I will be doing these types of runs every Monday.

I’m bummed because I forgot to wear my heart rate monitor strap again today! Who knew today would be a long run day, I love it!

PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO DONATE! I NEED TO REACH MY 25% GOAL BY JANUARY 9TH!!!!

MY TNT FUNDRAISING PAGE

Brrr…It's Cold Outside!

I had a 30 minute Tempo Run planned for this morning and man was it cold! I knew what to expect though by looking at this!

I guess it wasn’t so much the cold, but the wind was absolutely terrible. I could barely control myself. I bundled up real well, I was wearing two pairs of pants, a sports bar, a tank top, a long sleeved shirt, a short sleeved shirt and then over that I had 2 zip up coats. I also had a pair of gloves and a hat! It was completely necessary. Okay maybe I could’ve done without one of the coats, but it was brutal out there. At one point my left leg kept hitting my right leg and causing me to trip in the middle of my stride, it was crazy. That was the coldest temperature I’ve ever run through.

• Distance: 2.9 Miles
• Duration: 26:47
• Pace: 9:14

So, it wasn’t exactly a tempo run and I didn’t exactly hit the 30 minute mark, but seriously I was glad that I even got out there and ran because that is what really counts. I was ready to stop, I was tired and my lungs were hurtin’ for some warm air.

I got the book ‘Run Less, Run Faster’ for Christmas and I started reading it last night and I already love it. I’ve heard so many good things about it in the past that I knew it wouldn’t let me down. I am going to revamp my training schedule for the HM and base it on the book so that I can follow along with it. It basically is a training plan that involves running 3 days a week with 2 days of cross training. That is exactly what I am looking for in these winter months. It focuses on quality, not quantity.

Please don’t forget to donate! I have until January 9th to reach my 25% mark!

My Fundraising Page

13 Weeks for 13 Miles

I know I haven’t been around the past couple of days, but I’ll be back in the swing of things starting tomorrow. I spent some time today planning out my Half Marathon training schedule. I based it off of Hal Higdon’s plan, but made a few tweeks so it would fit my needs.

NYC HALF MARATHON SCHEDULE

I have it so that it starts the week of December 20th and the race is March 21st.

Wish me luck!

and don’t forget to donate….

My Fundraising Page

Speed Work and Falafel

I had a pretty good day today. My original plan was to go to Central Park and run, but it would’ve been a huge pain because it was pretty cold out and I didn’t want to carry anything with me like a coat or bag. So! I decided to try out the Astoria Park Track that I did not know existed until only a few days ago. This was my first time running on a track since high school and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED it! I had such a good time and I was really surprised. I decided to try out some speed work since that is where speed work is mainly done. I’ve never done any official speed work, but I have read a lot about it. I planned it all out last minute and kind of just went with it my own way. The whole run went by incredibly fast and I felt like I could’ve ran forever. It was pretty chilly outside and I’ve been experimenting with different clothing to figure out what I need for certain temperatures. It was probably about 45° and I was very comfortable after about a half mile warm up. I really need to get a hat though and probably some more long sleeve shirts.

Here are my stats:

3.5 Miles in 31 minutes ain’t too bad! Although my body is telling me quite differently as of this moment. I felt great after my run and I stretched right away and even did some push ups. Now, I can’t even walk! My legs, mainly my hips and my upper thighs are killing me! I’m supposed to run 7 miles tomorrow, I’m wondering if I should push it off til Sunday. I would love to incorporate speed work into my normal running so I have created a new table for it within my running log on my computer.

After my run, my goal was to get falafel. I wanted to try this place called Astoria Falafel (at least I think that’s what it’s called), but anyway after driving around for 15 minutes I couldn’t find it and decided it wasn’t worth looking for any longer. So I headed to the King of Falafel, which is amazingly good! I had falafel from here yesterday too! What can I say, I love falafel! I really am glad that it has exceeded my expectations of how delicious it was going to be. Today I opted for it on a hero instead of a pita because I was extra hungry. It took me forever to get there, like I was seriously driving around for an hour before I made it there. I knew where it was and everything, but the traffic sucked! and I had to figure out which roads where thru roads and I somehow could not make it to the other side of the overpass!

Yesterday’s falafel in a pita.

Today’s falafel in a hero.

I made brownies yesterday from scratch and they came out really good. They probably could’ve been cooked longer because they are very fudgy and gooey, but they taste great! A few of them didn’t come out of the pan so nicely so I smushed them into a ball and that is what I had for dessert after my falafel.

I am currently baking a sweet potato in the oven for dinner tonight. I can’t wait to eat it, I love sweet potatoes!

This has been a complete full week of running and I am so happy and proud of myself for getting back on track! My new goal is to reach 700 miles by the end of the year.

The Cycle of Organization!

There is always a cycle of organization for me. I just can’t seem to keep up with it 100%. I almost prefer it that way though. I love reorganizing things and starting fresh, but it never fails, everything I once organized and got under control eventually becomes cluttered and out of control. This seems to happen with everything in my life, not just the cleanliness of my apt. I must admit though, our apartment has come a long way since the last debacle of organization. The point here is that it is time to yet again reorganize and restructure. The summer time has hit and it is time to do a third round of spring cleaning. Especially when it is hot, that is when things need to be clutter free and spacious otherwise things will be even more uncomfortable.