It's HOT!

We are in a drenching heat wave. It's so bad that my 6 mile run this morning has turned into a 1 mile around my neighborhood and soon to be 5 miles on the treadmill at work. The air is so thick and the sun just beats on your skin. I'm all about toughing it out but today was about being smart. I tested the waters and there was a big fat sign saying go to the air conditioning.

On another note I just found out that Garmin is running a summer special. Turn in your old garmin for a new one and you get $50 back! In 2005 I was at Target and saw this shiny object in the fitness aisle. It had this glowing effect drawing me closer to see the magical object. It was the Garmin Forerunner 201 on sale. The Garmin claimed to tell you how fast and how far you were running. This is during a time when I was just getting back into running after some rehab for my IT Band.



This shiny piece of equipment looks brand new only because it was used twice in Long Island. The satelite system of 2005 would fail every 10 feet. I was mad and shoved it in a box. It's amazing the things you keep when you move. This little guy has gone from 2 different homes in Long Island to 3 homes in New Jersey to it's current location in Pennsylvania. Maybe I'm a pack rat but I'm glad I can get $50 back and a new toy to play with on my runs!

The beauty of 16 miles

I must admit I over packed my weekend. In my head there's always time to do but in reality I should really pick and choose. The original plan was to go to the Phillies game on Friday night, Saturday morning run 16 miles, Saturday night head to NYC for my best friend's birthday celebration, Sunday morning kayak the Lehigh with my boyfriend. What actually happened was there was a rain delay for the Phillies game and we didn't get home until 1:30 am. I woke up at 11 am Saturday morning and ran the cross country route with my boyfriend (2.65 miles). Then Saturday evening I was on a train to NYC to play bingo. Sunday morning I awake to run 16 miles.

The decision to run without headphones is/was very refreshing. I packed my amphipod with clif shotblocks, gatorade, water and blackberry. I could hear the beat of my feet hitting the pavement. I embrace the beauty of the flowers and back roads the run takes me.

Running Unplugged

Typically, I run with a handful of accessories. This past Sunday I ran 15 miles traveling with my amphipod hydration system, blackberry, ipod, shotblocks, 10 dollars cash and a notecard telling me the next street I needed to turn on. I wished I had downloaded NPR's "This American Life." It would of given me something to actually focus on rather than not even listening to my ipod. I began to wonder why I even brought this piece of technology when I don't even listen to it. I mean it's on but I'm not listening.

So today, I decided to go unplugged. My boyfriend and I woke up earlier than normal to go for a run. He wanted to run for 20 minutes before work and being the good girlfriend that I am, I woke up at 6:10 to go with him. (I set my alarm for 5:45 am but I never heard it go off. That always scares me especially when I have to be at work at 6:00 am!)

So off we went down the path and halfway through the run my bf asks me if I wished I had my ipod. It's like he could read my mind. I finally felt free without the ipod. I could hear my feet hitting the pavement, the birds chirping around me. It was wonderful.

After the 20 minute run I still had 6 more miles to go. We came back to the house and I grabbed my ipod. This was not because I wanted it but because I was running alone. I then put the ipod back down and decided I wanted to run the next 6 just as free as the first 2.

I admit it - best decision of the day so far. :)

Feeling Good, Feeling Great

When I don't have to rush to get my run in, I get up earlier and have the greatest run. I'm off of work today and could of ran anytime but decided to actually get up at 7:00 and was out the door by 7:50. The 7 miles felt light and smooth as if my body was meant to run 7 miles everyday.

After the 13 mile run two weekends ago, I was concerned that my training was making me slower. My legs felt heavy and I just dragged my feet to get the runs in. I would self talk myself out of running but then talk myself back into it.

This past Sunday, was a test of my speed as I ran the Yardley 5k in Yardley, PA. It was a last minute decision to run but once I woke up at 6:30 am and I knew I was going to go. Yardley, is a cute little town with a family feel. I saw a few of my former co-workers from Princeton University and thought what a small world we live in. Even the wife of one of my former co-workers knows my current employers! 6 degrees of freedom seems a bit to big - I really think it's 2 degrees in my world.

The route we took was starting from the Starbucks in town down to make a left onto route 32 make a left onto the canal and follow back up to the Starbucks. I was clocked at 24.23. I came in 4th in my age group and 35th overall. I spent most of the run by myself because there was a small pack in front of me that were running under 7 minute miles and then there was a huge group behind me running 9 minute plus miles. I had to find my focus as most of the people that ran were townies. Everytime I passed a crowd they had cheered for the people in front of me and then they were cheering the people behind me. I was really all by myself.

This weekend is a big 15 miler that I'm going to run in NYC. My best friend and I are going to start our butts in Washington Heights and work our way down to Central Park and then back up the other side of the park back up to the Heights. After today's run I feel like I could run all day - hopefully that stays with me throughout my training.

Later today I'll be picking up my farm share. I still have Swiss Chard and Zucchini from last week. I need to be a cooking machine!

Miles, Beats, Swiss Chard and Raisins

Alarm was set for 6:30 am to get in the groove of running before the heat hits. 8:17 am, I was out the door for my 5 miler. I pumped myself up by saying 5 miles is nothing to the 13.16 you did on Sunday. Yet, my legs were heavy except for a few stride outs. I'm thinking maybe the shuffle of a run I do at times is less efficient than when I lengthen my stride and feel the pavment glide under my feet.

There's always something random I see on my runs and this time it was a skunk that was mowed over by those industrial lawn mowers. I know the grass gets really long in the park areas but to be able to run over a skunk? I had never seen a skunk that up close and personal. It was only 3 feet to the left of me.

When I arrived home I hopped on the computer to figure out what to make with this week's farm share. I love epicurious because you can put in an ingredient and it comes up with a variety of options. I found on Bon Apetit: Swiss Chard with Beets, Goat Cheese and Raisins.

I still need to pick up some goat cheese from the store but I'll just grab it on the way to work. :) It tastes delicious either way!

Guilty!

I am on vacation and guilty as charged for not running 12 Miles this past weekend. I did however, run everday since Saturday, so far. (Guilt is trying to get me to run again today). Saturday, was a run on the beach with the BF's dad. He is a hard core runner and so we went 15 minutes out and then run back. It was about 31 minutes of running. The slant of the sand irritated my IT Band but I toughed it out.

Sunday, was a killer from BF's dad. He takes me to the development next to where we're staying and off for 10 minutes easy and then sprint intervals on the side streets. It ended up being 6 sprints of varying lengths.

Monday, I was on my own for a 2.5 mile run. Yesterday, was a 4.5 mile run.

I know boring. Not much to report but I'm on vacation. ;)

Vacation!

Ahhh... take the time and smell the flowers. It is my boyfriends family vacation and this year I've been invited to partake in the adventure. We left Pennsylvania at 12:30 am this morning/last night to arrive around noon today in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My boyfriend and I had the longest day on Friday with both of us going to work extra early. I was at work at 5:45 am and he was at work by 6:30 am. The BF didn't get home until 7:30 pm.

I had gone to pick up the CSA around 3:30 pm and prepared most of it for dinner. In this weeks package I ordered meat from a place around the corner that has grass fed cows. So, not only did I prepare the veggies but cooked ny strip steak on the grill. Now I am not a master at cooking with meat - so it took a few times of going back to the grill to get the meat just right.

After dinner the bf went and mowed the lawn. I started cleaning the kitchen and preparing for our journey. The next thing we knew it was midnight and we're like there's no point in sleeping and off we went.

I think we were both a little cranky because of sleep deprevation and hunger.

We fixed that with lunch at Red Lobster. We split the ultimate feast and coconut shrimp. A little too greasey for my liking but I do really enjoy their rolls!

Then off to the vacation rental. I must say it is fantastic. The views, the weather, the warmth of the water, just makes me happy. The BF rents came in with pizza for dinner and then off we went for a walk on the beach.

I'm lucky that they're active or else I might of just kept my butt on the couch. After the walk on the beach, the BF's dad and I came back to turn around and go on a night beach run.

My IT Band didn't like the slant of the sand in some areas but as the tide was going out it made it easier to run on a flatter surface.

We ran 15 minutes out and came back to home base. It ended up being 31 minutes and we're predicting at least 3.5 miles. Man does it feel good to move my body. Epecially, after 11 hours in the car. :)