New Obsession
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Welcome…
So, I figure I write about one of my passions, running and fitness, and I figure I should show you the OTHER side…. how I replenish those calories burned. :)
I *plan* to use this blog to post pictures of my cupcakes, cookies and anything else delicious that comes out of my kitchen (once I finally get moved into my new apartment).
To start, here’s a gallery of a few of my past creations:
Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes Brown sugar based cake with frosting that is essentially an eggless cookie dough mixed with butter cream
Lemon strawberry- What better way to use fresh farmer’s market strawberries? Lemon emulsion mixed with white cake makes this super lemony without being too tart. Fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting.
Pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. (I revisited these later without the pumpkin candy and made the frosting thicker and won the hearts of the entire party I took them to)
Coconut cream pie- my favorite custard pie with fresh whipped cream.
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5. You rarely regret the runs you do; you almost always regret the runs you skip.
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BRICK is my new favorite workout.
A site called Groupon had a $35 one month membership to Club One where I could go to any of their clubs in Silicon Valley, and I’ve taken advantage of this to get back into spin and swimming and generally improve my fitness.
As is obvious by the title of this blog, I like to run. That’s an understatement; I love to run. I love the feeling of pavement, grass, dirt, sand, rubber underneath my feet. BUT I also love the feeling I have after spinning. (Rarely do I actually enjoy spinning during the class. I’m a clock watcher.)
At Club One’s Santana Row club, they offer a BRICK class twice a week, which is a class aimed at athletes training for a triathlon. It combines 45 minutes of spinning followed by 30 minutes of running. I generally can’t wait for the spinning to be over to get on the treadmill and pound it out, but have found that the extra work and cardio has really helped me to increase my running speed AND get in extra cardio and endurance training without aggravating my achilles too much. (Silicon Valley folks- I HIGHLY recommend Carlo at Club One, he’s a fantastic instructor!)
So, combined with the mile I’m swimming at least once a week, I’d say I’m in good triathlon training mode.
My fiancé, Jeff, is not an athlete and does not understand the lure & the challenge of an ironman triathlon-which to me is the pinnacle of human athleticism. So, I’ve decided to make a late New Years Resolution, which is in addition to training for my second marathon this year, I’d like to compete in at least one Olympic distance (or longer) triathlon.
For anyone in the NYC area, please recommend good spin classes or BRICK classes. I was a Crunch gym member before moving to California and will be shopping around for gym’s once I get there. (And get a job to pay for said membership.)
*Bonus* I ran outside this morning, here’s my playlist:
The Appleseed Cast- Steps and Numbers
La Roux- As if by Magic
Girl Talk- Bounce That
Paramore- Ignorance
Shiny Toy Guns- Major Tom
The Ting Tings- Be the One
Arcade Fire- Neighborhood #3
Miike Snow- Animal
VHS or Beta- Night on Fire
CSS- Move
Lady Gaga- Bad Romance
The Killers- All these things I’ve Done
MGMT- Kids
Daft Punk- Harder Better Faster Stronger
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Goodbye Running Shoes
It’s that time of the year, it’s time to retire my running shoes (THE running shoes I ran a marathon in) and get new ones.
Letting go, and recycling shoes.
I’m about to move back to NYC and in doing so, have spent some time sorting and cleaning out my closet. Now, I’m no pack rat, but I have a sentimental connection to running shoes, the miles logged in each shoe represents an achievement, a time of my life… But, I have my last 6 pairs of running shoes… Most of them are no longer good for running, but are fine for everyday wear. Someone who’s not pounding out several hundred miles on their shoes would be A-OK to wear them. I generally donate them to Goodwill or Salvation Army, but for the shoes that are a bit more worn out, or missing the insoles, I found out that Nike will recycle shoes (just drop them off at any Nike store) and they can even become part of an athletic surface. Neato, and way to go Nike for being socially responsible. http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
How to know when it’s time to get new running shoes?
If you’re like me and super prone to injury, new running shoes is crucial (right up there with orthotics) to preventing over-use injuries. The first sign for me when I need new shoes is ankle pain and shin splints… the evil kind of shin splints that have me spending way too much time with a foam roller.
The shock absorption and the support in the shoe can go out long before you start to see significant wear on the sole of the shoe, especially if you buy stability or motion control shoes that have wide bottoms of tougher material.
Heres a short list on how to know when it’s time to buy new shoes:
1. It’s been 6 months or more- no matter what your mileage has been.
2. After putting between 300-500 miles on the shoe (depends on the type of shoe)
3. Pain- such as shin splints, back pain, foot pain etc.
Always remember to buy your running shoes at least one size up from your normal shoe size. Feet swell when running long distances, and shoes that are too tight can cause a lot of problems- blisters and black toenails being the most common.
Don’t buy shoes based on the way they look, buy them for the way they fit, and if it’s not broke, don’t fix it! (i.e. Why change shoes just for something new, if your shoes are working for you, buy the same shoe again) For my last two shoes, I’ve been running in the Mizuno Wave Alchemy 8’s, which were recently upgraded to the 9’s whose reviews are not great, saying they aren’t as cushioning as the 8’s. (Which was why I went with the Alchemy, considerable control + cushioning) So now I’m looking for a brand new shoe (or for a random running store somewhere in the US that has a few of the 8’s leftover). It’s a frustrating task to find the right new shoe. I always buy new running shoes from running specialty stores- not only do they have special equipment for determining the right shoe, but the workers are normally passionate enough about running that they’re going to understand why you try on 12 pairs of shoes before deciding that the first one was the right one.
All this shoe talk makes me want to go out for a run…. How many miles are you running this weekend?
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It’s been awhile…
The whole experience from start to finish was amazing (except maybe trying to park in San Francisco the day before the race). There was a great camaraderie, and shared insanity from everyone who was involved.
We had a beautiful inspiration dinner the night before with the honored speaker Joan Benoit Samuelson, there were thousands of people and everyone was supporting the cause of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!
The morning of the race was filled with nerves, I’d been nursing an achilles injury for the 3 weeks before the race, but knew that even if I had to walk the entire race, I would finish. It hurt just walking over to the starting line, but I tried to stay optimistic and got together with my amazingly cheerful running buddy Catharine Nadeau who was also using the run/walk strategy.
At about 7:15, we crossed the starting line and began our journey around San Francisco. Here we are pre-hilly section of the marathon being happy and cheerful about the day. BTW, the weather was SPECTACULAR, a bit foggy around the bridge and through fort mason, but perfect temp!
Around the time we were starting our first hill into Fort Mason, Catharine starts telling me about her time in the Alps, where she used to run hills all day… this is the point when I start questioning my decision to run with the hill-master. My poor achilles and knees just don’t handle the hills, but I barely managed to keep up with her.
Then we rounded the beautiful corner at the Pacific Ocean before heading into Golden Gate Park, which was the beginning of my real pain. When they say it’s not hilly, they lie. It’s not BIG hills, but they’re rolling and constant.My pain started at the beginning, when I was looking everywhere for my fiance, Jeff, who was going to try to catch me before I entered the park and again when I came out. Mile 11, no sign of him. I ran through the park, getting grumpier and grumpier passing signs telling me about how I’d given up sleeping in (true) gotten blisters (true) and finally exited the park ~mile 16…still no Jeff. At this point, I feel like my achilles must actually be on fire and that someone has slipped a golf ball in my shoe, but I kept running down the great highway, passing teammates who were on their way back on the other side and wishing (quite literally) I was in their shoes. While running with Coach Hao along the great highway, I’m pretty sure I may have mentioned wanting to punch Jeff in the face. I lost Catharine around mile 18 as she sped ahead to finish the race 20 minutes faster than I did. About this time. I began crying from the pain and how I believe that Jeff has forgotten about me. Mile 19, I enter the worst part of the race… Lake Merced. No beautiful scenery, hardly any people cheering, just 4 miles of pain and solitude. And just as I’ve put my headphones on in an attempt to use music to pull out of my funk…..there is Jeff, complete with Gatorade! YAY! I’m pretty sure I was delusional at this point…. made no sense… probably cursed a lot….. Mile 23… chocolate mile…. also known to me as the “F*ck off, the last thing I want is chocolate mile” (My apologies to the volunteers trying to hand me chocolate for my profanity)
Mile 24… Coach Kris to the rescue!!!
Mile 25…. Coach Adam to the rescue!!!
Mile 26…. Coach Tim running with me to the finish line…. I’ve never been happier! (OK, yes that’s pain in this photo)
Time to run it in…. Total finish time was something around 5:40, definitely not my goal time, but I gained a great understanding of my body and my injury and think I’ll be able to be smarter about the running in the future and WILL run a sub 4:00 marathon in my future.
Okay, I’m done, I can barely walk. Now, where’s the food? (This eat attack attitude lasted for me for the next 2 weeks post marathon, I felt as though I was never full… and put back on ALL the weight I lost + 5 lbs….oops)
Again, I want to thank everyone who supported me through this journey, my friends, my family (my sister in particular who listened to me talk about running on the phone more than any human should have to endure), my fiancé, my coaches, my teammates (especially my running buddy Catharine and the rest of the Guadalupe park buddies and the “Girl Band”) and thanks to anyone who has fought the battle against cancer. Stay tuned to this blog for more running adventures to come!
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Finisher’s Medal
Yes. I finished my very first marathon! Full post to follow.
Sent from my iPhone
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