The Little Things
September 12, 2012

A few months ago I noticed a new hashtag on twitter- #sweatpink. After doing some research, I found out about these awesome group of people on their website, FitApproach! Sweat Pink is a healthy living community, and highlights the idea that we can be girly and at the same time still be strong, healthy people! Just because I love throwing on a great pair of heels and a pearl necklace doesn’t mean that I also can’t love my tennis shoes and kick it hard on the race course! It’s been a journey to balance my girly girl and fitness girl selves, and I think I’m doing it pretty well!

I think that being part of a community of people is a critical step to being a healthy individual, and we can all use a bit of support on our journey. That’s what I love about Sweat Pink! This is a great group of people supporting one another and learning from one another on our fitness and healthy living journeys!

I’m happy to announce that I was asked to become a Sweat Pink Ambassador, and I’m really excited! I’m happy to be a part of a healthy living organization, and the fact that it includes the color pink doesn’t hurt at all!

About to cross the line of my first triathlon!

For those of you who are knew to my blog and coming from the Sweat Pink hashtag or website: Welcome! It’s great to meet you! Here’s a bit about myself:

And that’s a bit about me! Please say hi and share a bit about yourself! I’d love to connect with some of the other Ambassadors out there:)

September 11, 2012

September 11th. Each year as September 11th rolls around, I can’t help but think “I can’t believe it’s already been ___ years since September 11th”. In some ways I truly can’t believe that that day even happened. Really, it just seems like a terrible nightmare.

I just found this quote a few days ago, and I thought I’d share it: “Now we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend- even a friend whose name it never knew.” -President George W. Bush

And this one: “For me and my family personally, September 11 was a reminder that life is fleeting, impermanent, and uncertain. Therefore, we must make use of every moment and nurture it with affection, tenderness, beauty, creativity, and laughter.” –Deepak Chopra, M.D.

Both of these quotes put into words some of my personal thoughts and feelings about that day. What’s made this day even more real to me was the fact that I had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 memorial this past April. Now, sitting and watching the footage, I recognize the area. I stood there. And I still can’t believe it happened.

As I was standing next to one of the reflecting pools trying to figure out how high up in the sky (and what floor) the planes hit, a man overheard us and gave me the answer. I began to talk to him, and he shared part of his story. He worked in the tower, but was running late to work that morning. He wasn’t in the tower, and he was safe. That day standing next to him was the first time he had been down to see the memorial or the new world trade center building that is being built. It was such an intense and emotional experience to stand there witnessing this person experience the memorial for the first time. I think about it often.

This year I have something new to add into the images and news clips from those days and weeks after September 11th- getting to walk around those pools and see the new building standing tall over the memorial.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are some of the strongest memories you have surrounding September 11, 2001? 

September 10, 2012

In my August recap post I mentioned that I had met Seth Rogen. I had a few requests to tell that story, so here it is:

In mid August I went down to Florida to watch someone I know graduate from film school. Graduation is always pretty exciting because not only do a few people from the film industry attend, but there’s a huge post graduation party on the sound stage that night, and it’s fantastic. The night before graduation, this friend of mine came to the hotel where all of us were staying and said that Seth Rogen was going to be at graduation (there was lots of excitement on our part)! He was there because his wife was there to promote her new movie “For A Good Time Call”.

Yes. That is Seth Rogen in the hat.

So while I didn’t go up and purposely introduce myself (I was told that was very “uncool” to do), I did have two somewhat embarrassing interactions with him. The next day after the film showing (of those who had graduated), I was walking out of the theater and was looking down while texting (never a good decision) and tripped really badly. I flew forward and caught myself at the last moment before smashing my head into someone else’s back. I looked up and realized that it was indeed Seth Rogen, and I was SO. THANKFUL. that I didn’t go flying into him. How embarrassing would that have been? Whew.

Later that evening at the after party he was there as well, and was very polite to everyone who was hanging around him, just plain staring at him, or going up to ask for pictures. Someone I was with wanted a picture, and gave me his camera to take the picture. So Seth and this friend walked over to me and stood there, and I proceeded to COUNT TO THREE before taking the picture. I didn’t even think about how UNCOOL that was until afterwards. Ugh.

Here is the picture. I took it.

So those are the two embarrassing situations I had surrounding my day I spent in the same room as Seth Rogen. One thing that was really funny about him is that his laugh in real life is 100% like it is in his movies except- it lasts much, much longer. It made me laugh every time I heard it throughout the day!  And that’s the story of the afternoon and evening I spent in the same room as Seth Rogen.

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s the most embarrassing time you’ve tripped in front of people? Have you met any famous people before? 

September 9, 2012

After a crazy month of August, I feel like I’m finally settling a bit more into a routine. As I’m training for my next half marathon, I’m trying to avoid a few of the mistakes I made the first time around. Because I’m trying to avoid shin splints, I’m only doing 2 runs a week, and supplementing with lots of cross training. While this is certainly not going to get me an amazing finish time, I’m trying to stay injury free and have fun while training, and my ultimate goal is just to reach the finish line with a smile on my face! Here’s what the week looked like:

Total Miles: 1 mile run + 7.56 mile bike + 7.96 walk = 16.52 miles

The first part of the week I was busy celebrating labor day weekend at my friend’s house, so the first half of the week is a little atypical. I originally had my long run scheduled for Saturday morning, but I ended up moving it back a day to spend time with my parents who popped in town for the weekend. Because of that, I have VERY low run mileage for the week, and next week I’ll have two long runs on my training recap. So, while it makes it look funny on the blog, it really isn’t as weird as it will look!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one exciting or interesting thing you’ve done in the past week? 

September 7, 2012

I can’t believe it’s Friday again, and time to post a little link love on the blog! Wow this week flew by, perhaps because it was only a four day week? I’ve been recovering from all the fun I had over Labor Day, and am also looking forward to a fun weekend with my brother. Here are a few great links to check out that I’ve found this week:

Speed Play: A great article from runner’s world on how to do fartleks (speed work). This is something that I’ve been trying to incorporate a bit into my mid week run, and it’s tough! After yesterday’s speed work, I was definitely out of breath!

Brown Butter Garden Vegetable Pasta Skillet: Be still my heart! I LOVE pasta and I love easy, one dish meals. You need to check this recipe out! I’ll be making this soon…

Overnight Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe: I’m a HUGE fan of pumpkin spice lattes, so when I found this recipe I immediately starred it in my google reader and made a note to try this as soon as possible! While I haven’t tried it yet, I wanted to pass it along to all of you so you have the chance to try it too!

Tablet Lift May Affect Sleep By Suppressing Melatonin: I know I’m guilty of looking at my computer or phone at night, and I’ve often heard that this could affect my ability to fall asleep. Ironically I found this article last night when I was having a bit of a difficult time sleeping.

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you read on a computer, tablet, or phone in bed? Have you pulled out the pumpkin products yet? 

September 6, 2012

I’m a big fan of working out to help deal with my stress. I think it’s helpful, and there’s nothing better then pounding out my stress on the road or on a bike. Even walking and getting fresh air can help! Not only do I feel like the endorphins definitely help, but I feel like I can think more clearly and I’m more relaxed after a great workout. (The Mayo Clinic has a great article on Exercise and Stress here).

The last few days have been a little bit rough in one particular today, and while I skipped my workout yesterday (ah… storms…), I was very eager to get out and release some stress after work today.

I came home and laced up my shoes and hit the road. I did one mile of sprints, which was particularly difficult because it was HUMID outside. It was pretty hard to breathe after that mile, but I felt much better. I did a .85 cooldown walk, which served a different purpose then the run did. The mile pounded out the stress, and the walk calmed me down and allowed me to focus on my breathing. Both got me outside in the fresh air and the sunset, and both were so healthy and good!

Sometimes nothing helps stress like a good workout session!

Now it’s your turn to share! How do you deal with stress? What’s your favorite way to exercise when stressed?

September 4, 2012

Whew. I can’t believe I made it through August. Actually I can, but at the start of the month I wondered how much energy I’d have left by the end. You see, I spent a solid month living out of suitcases, and was on the go constantly. In fact, I ended up going to  10 different states throughout the month! This month was really fantastic, and I’m pretty sad to see it go. Not only am I sad for the month to end, but I always hate August ending as it also signals the end of summer (my favorite season)! Here’s a look back at the month:

In between that was working, training, spending time with family and friends, and doing all the other necessary daily living activities. When I started to type this post and realized that August was my birthday and the Olympics, I could hardly believe it. Because I’ve done so much and traveled constantly, this month has seemed like it was two or three months long. I’m ok with that though, because it was great.

Next up? September! (I already have some pretty fantastic plans for the fall. Like this one!)

Now it’s your turn to share! What stands out to you about the month of August? What’s one thing you want to accomplish or enjoy during September? 

September 3, 2012

I’m a huge fan of balance- working hard and playing hard are both involved in that! After putting in a great week of work, I headed straight from work on a long car ride that took me to a friend’s house. I got to spend Labor Day weekend relaxing with a group of friends from college, and we had a blast. Here’s a little peek into our weekend:

Trip to the beach! It was in the low 90s and sunny with a light breeze; a perfect way to say farewell to summer!

Baked Oatmeal Cookies

Had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season (It was even better than I remembered it!)

Completed a “long run” for my next half marathon

Went on walks every morning

Watched many episodes of How I Met Your Mother and Psych

Started Labor Day with Donuts!

Growing up almost all holidays (including breaks from school like fall break) began with donuts. Sometimes they would be a “surprise” and other times we would put in our orders the night before. Either way, almost every holiday started off with donuts, so this morning I hopped in the car and went to the nearest Dunkin Donuts to buy my friends some donuts. A bonus? The pumpkin spice cake donuts are out now and they are delicious (I forgot to take a picture of it because I devoured it so quickly!)

This weekend was really fun and relaxing, and the perfect way to “say goodbye” to summer (although I refuse to say goodbye when it is still so warm and nice- I need a few more weeks of summer weather before I can embrace fall! *please*).

Now it’s your turn to share! What did you do for Labor Day? 

September 2, 2012

I’m not sure if I should call this “week one” of training for my next half marathon or not, although I suppose it officially is because I just finished training for my triathlon last week. I kicked off this week of exercise with my triathlon, which definitely led me to feeling stiff and achy for the next few days. I also had three days of travel this week, which certainly didn’t help my stiffness or my ability to fit in workouts well. Here’s what the week looked like:

Total: 12 mile bike + 0.5 mile swim + 7.63 mile run + 8.51 mile walk = 28.64 miles total

Overall this week felt pretty good to me. I’m really hoping to avoid shin splints this time around, but I guess time will tell on that. My run yesterday felt really great. My breathing was good, I immediately fell into a rhythm, and I loved every step of it! Why can’t every run feel so great?

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one exciting thing that happened for you this week? What’s one of your favorite “holiday weekend” snacks? 

September 1, 2012

That’s right! While I’m still riding on the race induced high from my first triathlon, I don’t have worry because I already have my next race planned. At the beginning of November I’m planning to run the Monumental Half Marathon in Indianapolis! While at the race expo for my first half marathon, I saw a booth of this race, and immediately started thinking about it. Around mile 10 of my first half, I knew I needed to sign up for another race, and thought that the Monumental might be the right one! I thought about it for a bit, and finally signed up for it in mid June, about 5 weeks after my race.

Because I’ve spent lots of time training for my triathlon this summer, I definitely haven’t had the running milage that I would otherwise have had going into training. While I have a great cardio base, as well as some good cross training under my belt, I’m feeling a little worried the small number of weeks I actually have to train for this race. I also know that running even three times a week tends to give me shin splints, and I can’t risk having to take a few weeks off to heal from those.

My basic plan for this race will be to do a short run during the week and my “long runs” on the weekend, and fill in the rest of the week with cross training activities. I know this won’t help me towards a great PR or anything like that, but I want to train safely and smartly in the few weeks that I have.

So there you have it! I’ve signed up for my next half marathon and am officially in training!

Now it’s your turn to share! How do you “come down” from a race? Welcome to September- do you have any fun plans for the month?