Run as One

This morning M and I ran the Run as One 4 mile race in Central Park. My training for this has been totally inconsistent due to lack of discipline, other commitments, lack of time and  a nagging hip pain. When I woke up and my hip was hurting I did not have great expectations for the run at all. In fact, I think I even mentioned as we were getting ready that ‘I didn’t want to do it.’ Yep, I was pretty crabby. Despite my grump mood, I managed to have some breakfast, about half the banana and Ozery bun, but  all of the espresso (duh!) and some water before we hopped in a cab to the race start.

It was freezing while we were waiting in the corrals, I think when I checked the weather it said 45, which was great for running but felt really cold when you were standing around. It’s a a little hard to see, but in the first picture below, the corral marker says 9000+, which M and I both felt made us feel very ‘un-special’. It was a large race, with over 8,000 finishers, and the final open corral was huge. It took just about 12 minutes for us to get to the starting line.

As I said, I didn’t have high hopes for this race. I knew I hadn't trained enough, I was worried about my stomach, and my hip, and my shins/knees etc. but, surprisingly, I had a great race. Sure, there was a point just before the finish line came into view when I was so tempted to just stop (this was just after what seemed like the 20th hill of the race), but I imagined how happy I would be if when I finished strong, without any walk breaks, so I pushed on. I crossed the finished line in exactly 40 minutes. Yes, that would be 40:00. Kind of cool, huh? In my wildest dreams my goal was to be under 40 minutes, so I guess I succeeded on all counts! I ran the whole thing with no walk breaks or stops, I saw three friends, I finished right at my goal time, and I had fun doing it (despite the hills- ugh!)! I know every race and run wont be as good as the one today was, however, there is something about running, that when it is good, its really good, and leaves a smile on your face all day.

After water,  nibbling on apples bagels and lots of chit chat with friends, M and I walked slowly through the park in search of some coffee and a light brunch. As we walked we saw these two ladies who had run the race and were hightailing it out of the park, with extra bagels attached to their running belts. Snazzy!

Our afternoon wanderings took us into Lululemon, where I succumbed to a new pair of crops and a tank (oops!), and Trader Joe’s to stock up on groceries for the week. After showers at home we headed back out to the movies, to see the Five Year Engagement, which we both thought was hilarious. We have not been to see a movie in about a year and this was a great Sunday afternoon treat.

Friday in Pictures

Coffee, and  a delicious protein smoothie!

I found this on Pinterest today courtesy of Glitter Guide and it fit my mood perfectly. Smiles, glitter, and a glass of champagne are sometimes all that is necessary to make the world feel immensely better than it did just minutes ago.

After work, I met up with M and  headed to NYRR to pick up our race bibs for Sunday. While there, I ever-so-gracefully slipped down the stairs in front of dozes of people which was a classic Dana move. Brilliant.

The next stop was Uva for some much needed wine and dinner. Nero d’Avola, vegetable antipasto to share and  a special salad with fresh calamari, fava beans, tomatoes, olives and red potatoes. Amazing!

Post dinner we headed home for some relaxation (and more vino) and last minute travel planning. So, so excited!!!

Green Juice and Sunny Flowers

This morning at the gym I did a back workout: lat pull-downs, assisted pull-ups, one-arm rows (with hand weights), double arm row (on machine), and back extensions as well as yesterday’s  Tone It Up booty workout. I did the first two videos listed on the link: ‘Bikini Beach Bum Workout!’ and ‘Booty, Lower Abs & Love Handles Workout’.  I followed it up with some easy elliptical time and the latest JCrew catalogue.

Breakfast was something I have been enjoying a lot lately. A sandwich of egg whites on Light Vans Waffles with a wedge of Laughing Cow.

I ended up buying lunch at work today and I was surprised to see that the cafeteria now carriers Blue Print Juices. I had actually never tried one, as I am always tempted when I see them at Whole Foods but I always put them back due to the cost. Well, today I got suckered in. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to eat, nothing looked appealing, I had to be back at my desk for a conference call in 8 minutes and it was too wet to go outside. So I caved and bought one. And it was delicious. I went with the greens juice and it really tasted like it had been freshly made. The checkout woman was having a hard time ringing it up as it’s a new item, and as I was waiting with an enormous line behind me, she mentioned how delicious the new juices were and how much she loved the greens one. At that commend the guy behind me made a very loud sound that I can only describe as a cross between a snort and a laugh. Ha. To each their own I suppose. I am definitely excited for my juicer to arrive and start getting more into juicing at home.

Dinner unfortunately was a bit of a fail. I have had this Whole Foods vegan pizza in the freezer in case of food emergencies for months now, and tonight when I got home after a networking event that I went to after work I was starving. The taste was a bit bland and almost stale for my taste, and the egg I (over) cooked on top did little to improve it. I also nibbled on some leftover kale and raw green beans. Oh, a piece of M’s sushi, quality control, right?!

What did make my evening significantly better? These gorgeous sunflowers that M brought home for me. It was a depressingly, drizzly day here in NYC and these were just the right thing to improve my mood.

Three Things

1. I saw this feature on the Kate Spade blog today and it made me smile, and then get a little bit sad. I realized that for the first time in my life I wont be with my mom on Mother’s Day. My mom and I are really close, so not being able to share this special day with her will be tough. Mother’s Day usually falls right around my birthday, so growing up, often she would take a day off work and I would play hooky from school for a day and we would have a ‘girls day’. Such good memories! I would love to be able to spend a day together soon and do some of the wonderful things listed in this post. In the meantime, I need to get working on a fun surprise to stick in the mail.  

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2. Doesn’t this just make you smile? And book a ticket and grab your passport….

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3. Easy summer dresses. I lucked out at the gym this morning and found a discarded copy of the new JCrew catalogue to peruse. I am especially drawn to classic cuts in fun colors and patters (stripes!). Not sure if any of these will be making it into my closet anytime soon, or at least until they go on sale, but fun inspiration nonetheless.

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Dinner and a Movie

Predictably, I started thinking about dinner as soon as the late afternoon munchies set in. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to have, but as soon as I saw this delicious looking lunch, I was sold!  I knew I had all the ingredients, and it was quick and easy. Just what I wanted after a long day at work!

I sliced one small-ish sweet potato into rounds and tossed with a small drizzle of Olive Oil, salt and paprika. I put those in the oven for a few minutes (maybe 6-8) at 425 while I washed and tore the kale and tossed with Olive Oil, salt, pepper, paprika and Garlic Gold. I then added the kale to the baking sheet and put back in the oven for about 8 minutes. Meanwhile I soft boiled two eggs, (about 8 minutes). It was very hands-on, but dinner was done in about 20 minutes!

Drizzled with Siracha of course!

This morning, I did a chest and abs workout, loosely based on Day # 30 of Live Fit and this workout from the Tone It Up workout plan.

I opted out of the Medicine Ball Throw Down as I felt that was a little too ‘attention grabbing’ for the gym at 5:30am. At that time of morning, the gym is pretty silent and I definitely didn’t want to be the loud, obnoxious person making a huge scene! I followed up my chest and ab workout, which all together took about 40 minutes with a short spin session and some time on the adaptive motion elliptical.

I watched this movie on Sunday night, and I just wanted to recommend it, and the book  its based on. I thought I had read the book at some point (like way back in high school) so I just dove right in after discovering it in the Netflix new-release section.  I must have confused it with another book because I definitely did not recognize the story, but now I cannot stop thinking about it. I bought the book for my Kindle right after I finished the movie and I have already finished that as well. Absolutely amazing. I just cant get it out of my head. If you are a fan of thought provoking stories about the consequences of human actions and how they affect and change us please give this a chance. You definitely do not need to be a fan of historical books/movie to enjoy this, though I found the historical backdrop fascinating, and something I knew nothing about despite a long time interest in World War II history.

Broiling

Despite yesterday’s (and today’s) super rainy weather here in New York, I managed to finally stop at Sephora to finally try out those lipstick shades I mentioned (umm weeks?) ago. Okay, fine. So I didn’t really try them all out, just this NARS one which was the first I initially gravitated towards and ended up being perfect. I then headed to Whole Foods to go grocery shopping in my gym clothes, with braided, wet hair, no make up, and bright red lips. It was quite the fashion statement.

Eats today were nice and clean and green and healthy! After a weekend of one (okay, multiply by about 4) too many indulgences it felt good to get back to good-for-me-food. Breakfast was ‘overnight quinoa’. I cooked a batch of quinoa last night to have for lunches and once it cooled I put about a cup of it in a container with some almond milk, a tablespoon of protein powder, chia seeds, cinnamon and frozen blueberries. The verdict? Not my favorite ever breakfast but I didn’t hate it. Lunch was some quinoa, with roasted asparagus and Brussels sprouts, topped with a hummus/balsamic dressing and mixed greens. An pictured snack was a Simply Bar.

Yesterday at Whole Foods I purchased a single serving of wild Coho Salmon. While I do eat (and really like) fish on occasion, I do a terrible job at eating it consistently. I always seem to think it is too much work to prepare on a weeknight and  when we go out, I usually gravitate toward other veggie options instead. But, every once in a while I get a craving to have it at home, and being able to purchase a single serving (or two if M and I are eating together) really helps. Tonight, I broiled my piece for 7 minutes on high, then flipped it, drizzled with lemon juice, Garlic Gold and broiled for about 3 more minutes. Perfection! Served on top a ‘Nicoise’ style salad with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, olives, green onion with a balsamic mustard dressing and sliced baguette on the side.

Can we talk about this thing (oven) for a minute? Well, it freaks me out. A lot. I grew up in California, and we don’t have gas ranges there (at least its very, very rare). In fact I had never even turned on a gas stove until I moved to my first off-campus apartment in DC, which had a gas stove and oven. Long story short, I was completely and utterly terrified of it. I basically subsisted on oatmeal and soup if I was eating at home, (all microwave friendly), just so I didn’t have to mess with it. M and my first real apartment (aka away from the ‘dorm style’ apartments we both lived in when we first moved off campus) was recently renovated had an electric stove and oven. Bliss, I was back in my comfort zone! Well, after living there for about a year and a half, we moved to NYC and ended up with a gas range, and gas oven/broiler.  C'est la vie, I got over it. Sort of. The broiler freaks me out even if it is an electric appliance, so broiling  with an open gas flame is seriously intimidating. Cooking my salmon tonight was a massive test of my nerve. Open blue flames?! No, thank you!! The second I start to hear hisses and pops I freak out and have to open the door to check that my meal has not burst into flames (highly unlikely I know). I (rationally) know that gas cooking appliances are very safe and the chances of it blowing up on me are slim to none, but I am never going to love gas ovens. Ranges, I have gotten over and I now like how quickly they cook, but I still don’t like turning them on!

Anniversary Weekend + Brunch

I met M after his Italian class for brunch at Whitehall 10014. Hands down I think this might be my favorite brunch place to date in NYC. A super spicy Bloody Mary with Gin, which is apparently called a Spicy Red Snapper was a great way to start things off. I had the avocado, baby rocket, chili flakes and poached eggs and M had the burger with an egg on top. Both were fantastic. Well, I didn’t actually try the burger but I was informed it was great and the fries were definitely delicious! Mmmmmm…..I  am going to be dreaming about this meal for a long, long time. I absolutely loved this place, it reminded me of being back in London (!), and I am sure we will be back soon.

Brunch was followed by Salted Caramel Goat Milk Soft Serve  with two spoons from Victory Gardens.

And a nice long walk over to the Hudson River to enjoy the sights and the sun before tomorrow’s predicted torrential rain storms.

Four year anniversary picture! Could be better (iPhone self portraits are hard!+ too much wind), but I am glad we at least managed to document the weekend.

The view is looking toward downtown Manhattan and the Financial District. I am down there every day of the week for work and it such a strange feeling to look at those enormous buildings from afar when I am normally right among them.