Love/Don't Love

1. My TV has been tuned to all Olympics all the time since Friday night. Whether it's Fencing, Beach Volleyball, Swimming, Gymnastics, Rowing, White Water Rafting, I'm hooked. I freaking love the Olympics. Love.

2. I do not however love the coverage of this year's Olympics. I don't like the way NBC is talking about the athletes (pinning US teammates against one another), I don't like how invasive they are (leave poor Jordyn Weiber alone for 5 minutes to gather her thoughts instead of shoving a camera in her face 2 seconds after she didn't advance to the All Around Final) and I don't like finding out via Twitter the results of certain events 8 hours before they air on "prime time." Don't Love.

3. I had a pretty great week of training last week. More on this tomorrow. Love.

4. I did not however make it out to Milwaukee this weekend, therefore missing out on an awesome weekend with this birthday girl and missing the Racking Sausages 5k that I was super excited about. Bad storms on the East Coast left air travel pretty up crazy making my efforts to stand by fruitless. Don't Love.

5. I got new running shoes! Love.

They're a bit more white than I would've liked but they're the right shoe and they work. 

6. My little sister Sammi turned 18 yesterday! I wish I could've been in Florida to celebrate with her but I'll see her soon enough! Love.

Sam and I picking up our bibs for Cowtown!

I've got a busy week ahead: heading to DC tomorrow to give a presentation Wednesday, coming back Wednesday night and leaving again first thing Thursday morning for a weekend away with The Pilot! Don't worry though, none of that is going to prevent me from watching as much Olympic coverage as humanly possible!

Have you been watching the Olympics? What have been your favorite events? (Mine so far are swimming, gymnastics, judo and beach volleyball) 

Have a great start to the week!

Thoughts from Thursday

Yesterday, was somewhat adventurous.

I started the morning bright and early with a 2 mile run that got cut short due to impending doom...aka dark, ominous clouds and light rain drops. I kept debating whether to cut my run short and when I finally made the decision and ran home, I had barley made it to my top step when the sky broke open into a burst of thunder, lightning and subsequent down pour.

I came inside and hung around for a bit doing some core work before attempting the second half of my run...4 miles with 2 at marathon goal pace, which I pretty much nailed.

After getting some laundry going, doing some work stuff and a call with the office in DC I'm presenting at next week, The Pilot and I headed out to Long Island to visit my undergrad uni because I wanted to buy a frame for my diploma.

It was the first time I'd been back since I graduated and I had fun showing The Pilot around the south side of campus where all of our classes were held. He had been there twice before but had only seen my house, the bars my friends and I frequented and the football lacrosse stadium where I graduated.

To get to Hofstra, we had to take a trip over this:

That would be the Verrazano Bridge...aka the Starting Line of the NYC Marathon.

I got chills going over this bridge. I've driven over it a hundred times and never thought twice about it...until I realized that instead of cars in front of and around me, there will be 45,000 other runners toeing the line to take off for their 1st, 5th, or 90th marathons. For the record, bridges absolutely terrify me. I blame the oh so traumatizing Disney movie, Susie Q (starring Pink Power Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson) for that.

I seem to be the only person in the world who has seen this movie.
Does anyone else remember it?

When we finished up at Hofstra, we stopped for dinner to beat the traffic before making our way back towards the city. As was the theme for the day, as we approached Manhattan, the sky started getting darker and darker.

By the time we exited the Lincoln Tunnel, we could barely see through the windshield, the storm was so nuts. It didn't bother me though since I wasn't driving and was busy snapping pictures out the window. 

Crazy right?

So that's Thursday. I'm supposed to be leaving for Milwaukee tonight but the flights getting out there aren't looking good at all! The Pilot has been with his airline for a year and I've never had too much trouble getting anywhere on stand by but today isn't looking so hot. Wish me luck!

What are your weekend plans? (Besides watching the Olympics...duh)

Three Things Thursday

1. Olympic Coverage - While the Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics aren't until tomorrow, soccer has already kicked off with the first women's match being held yesterday (USA v. France, with the first USA win of this Olympic games) and the men's matches kicking off today. Right now, Switzerland is playing against Gabon and I decided to turn on the game. This is the first year Gabon has fielded an Olympic soccer team. In 2008, Gabon sent just 4 athletes to Beijing in 3 sports - Track & Field, Judo and Taekwondo. (I have a good friend from Gabon and I've spent time in West Africa which is why I know these things.) The commentary on this soccer match is absolutely appalling. The announcers keep saying how "embarassing" the Gabonese are playing and how much they're "nerves are showing" while consistently saying that the Swiss have fielded a stronger team. Obviously. Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world. Gabon is in West Africa. Instead of talking so negatively about the team, MSNBC should be highlighting the individual players' talents and citing what an accomplishment it is for them to be representing their country in a sport that is so insanely popular there. I really hope that the rest of the coverage of the Olympics isn't like this because in my opinion, the Olympics are a great way to learn about other countries and are supposed to represent friendly competition and international camaraderie. 

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2. Diet Changes - Growing up, I always had a (for lack of a better word) sensitivity to dairy products. I was allergic to milk as a baby and to this day, I can't even stomach the site of a glass of milk. As I got older, my allergy turned into a pretty bad lactose intolerance which had subsided by high school complements of Lactaids. By college, I didn't even need the Lactaids and for the last 10 years or so, dairy and I have gotten along just fine...until this summer. Lately, eggs and ice cream makes me sick, cheese makes my tongue swell and any other dairy products (with the exception of yogurt) totally do me in. I just ordered a pack of Lactaids again and I'm hoping that those will do the trick but if dairy turns into a banned food for me, I might have to make some changes to my vegetarian diet since dairy products are my biggest source of calcium. 

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3. Thesis - I vowed that after April I would never say that word but remember my thesis? The bane of my existence over the course of the last year? Well, next week, I'm presenting my thesis in DC! I'm really excited about this opportunity, especially since my graduate program at NYU did away with formal thesis presentations which made me feel like I slaved away for 6 months to write a 122 page research paper that would sit in a file cabinet for eternity. But, one of the people I met in DC last month was so excited about my research topic that she invited me to come back and present my research to her entire staff, which is doing similar work. I'm really hoping that this opportunity turns into an even better opportunity but for now, I'm just excited to talk to people who are actually interested in my research. 

That's that! So tell me: Have you been watching Olympic soccer? Are you pumped for the Games to kick off tomorrow? Have you had to make any changes to your diet lately? 

It's almost the weekend!
I hope everyone has had a fabulous week!

New York City Marathon Training: Week 2

This morning, I started chatting with a guy at the track about speed work, race plans, etc. He's aiming to BQ in Philly and when I told him my plan to go sub-4 in November, he said, "You can totally do it." New York was his first marathon and his longest run had been 16 miles. He wanted to be realistic and set a goal to go sub-4. He ran a 3:30.

It's obvious that this guy is in shape and based on the fact that he's at the track each week with a bunch of teenagers, I'm guessing he's a track coach. I don't think I'm going to go out and run a 3:30 but he's the first person (with the exception of Gia) who has run New York before and has actually told me that I can totally go sub-4.

So thanks Mr. Track Coach Man.

After our brief chat, I proceeded to have one of the best workouts I've had in awhile and came home on such a runners' high that I didn't think I'd ever come down from it. Until I looked at my Garmin splits and realized that instead of running my 800s in the minute/second equivalent of my marathon goal time, I ran them at marathon pace. So instead of 5 800s at 3:50, this is what my 800s looked like.

*Garmin Connect wasn't working today and after sitting around waiting for 4 hours for my splits to load, I'm just typing them manually*

3:54, 4:17, 4:21, 4:20, 4:30 - Yea, and I actually tried to run SLOWER to hit my MGP.

Crash and Burn.

I was so frustrated. Then I took a cold shower and got over it. I'm not going to stress myself out over every bad run or every workout I miss this training cycle. It just creates bad energy that spills over into your next run and creates a domino effect leading to a string of bad runs and I'm just not going to let that happen this training cycle.

So let's recap:

Total Mileage Last Week: 18
Missed Workouts: 1, Food Poisoning derailed my long run
Trouble Spots: None
Planned Mileage This Week: 30-35

I'm obviously bummed about missing my planned long run of 10 miles but I'm not too concerned. It would have been my 3rd 10-miler in 3 weeks so the base I've built up allows room for a missed long run early on. I just need to make sure I'm on track this week, especially after royally screwing up this morning's workout.

Last week, I mentioned a few things I'm doing differently this training cycle compared with my last few. One other thing I'm doing, is giving my planned mileage a range, rather than a set number. It's a lot easier to aim for 30-35 miles/week rather than 32 so I think that's going to work in my favor.

So, there we have it! Week 1 is in the books and Week 2 is under way! I've got a 5k race this weekend which I'm super excited about...I PRd my last 5k by 6 seconds but came just 3 seconds shy of breaking 25:00 so that's the plan for this weekend! Wish me luck!


Are you training for anything? How's your training shaping up?

Love/Don't Love

1. I'm wildly excited about the Olympics to start this weekend. Not only are the Summer Olympics my absolute favorite sporting event, but they are taking place in my 2nd home. It's been 5 years since I packed my bags and bid adieu to my Kensington apartment and I miss it every single day. Love.

What I would give to be sitting at my favorite pub with an ice cold Pimm's lemonade with this view right now.

2. This summer sucks. The next 6 weeks seriously need to shape up because this has by far been the worst summer I've ever had. I've barely left my house all summer except to make 3 trips to DC that didn't amount to anything. Don't Love.
3. On the bright side, I'm traveling this weekend. Milwaukee, here I come! Love.

4. I missed my long run this weekend because I was sick with food poisoning. Don't Love.
5. Despite missing a key workout this weekend, I'm excited to kick off Week 2 of NYC training. Love.

6. Mom and I went shopping on Friday and I tried on 2 gorgeous dresses that I fell in love with...neither of which fit right. I hate that. Don't Love.
7. Even though those dresses didn't fit, Mom and I still had a fun weekend shopping together, checking out the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, and having some killer Cuban food. Love.

That's what's going on this Monday!
My heart goes out to all of the victims and families of the Aurora, CO shooting this weekend.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and has a great week!

Three Things Thursday

1. Summer Heat - As much as everyone has been complaining about the heat, it really isn't bothering me. I don't know if I'm used to it having grown up in Texas or if it's because I'd rather be hot than cold, but the summer heat waves that we've been having just really aren't that bad in my opinion. Sure, it's 85 by 9am, which means I have to get up early to run but I honestly like having the entire rest of the day without having to worry about getting my workout in. 

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2. Cross-Training - For the last 2 weeks, I've been working up a base in preparation for marathon training and Week 1 has really just been a continuation of that. I always say that I'm going to be better about cross-training and, for Madrid, I actually was. For New York, I've been doing the 30-Day Shred as a form of strength + cardio since it's a short, low-impact, but still challenging workout. Yesterday, I did 2 workouts that I downloaded as an app on my tablet called Daily Butt and Daily Abs that kicked my butt. They were 10 minutes each but were great workouts! I just got my tablet and I love that I now have workouts like this at my disposal for when I'm traveling!

Strong Glutes = Stronger Legs! Get the app free here

3. 50 Ways to Say Goodbye - I don't ever listen to the radio so if this song came out 6 months ago, I'm sorry but I heard it on the radio for the first time today and I absolutely fell in love with it. I can already tell it's going to be the kind of song that I play on repeat over and over again during a tough part of a workout. I love everything about this song...the chorus, the trumpet, the Mexican beat...everything. Check it out!

Tell Me: Is the summer heat getting to you? What are your favorite non-running workouts to do? Do you have a new favorite workout song?

Today, I'm guest posting on Holly's blog about my favorite way to enjoy a baseball game! 

Be sure to check it out!

Let's Get it Started

New York City Marathon Training: Week 1. Here we go. 

The ING New York City Marathon will be my 5th marathon and my 4th marathon training cycle. (You can read about that time I accidentally ran a marathon here). Since I've started marathon running and blogging, I've taken 1 day a week to discuss my training and get advice from other runners out there. This time around,  it will be Tuesdays. If you're a runner, tune in every Tuesday for my training updates...if not, feel free to skip my Tuesday posts for the next 4 months!

It's taken me just shy of 2 years to get to this point. I signed up as a member of the New York Road Runners in November 2010 and started working my way toward guaranteed entry for the NYC Marathon through NYRR's 9+1 program in 2011. I ran my 9 races, volunteered for 1 and dropped the $216 to officially register.

When I saw that NYRR had raised the registration fee from $156 to $216 over the course of one year, I was pissed and to this date, one of my most popular posts is my rant about just how much it actually costs to run the NYC Marathon. 

I don't keep it a secret on this blog that I really don't like New York. I've hated the small apartments, the over-crowded streets, the I'm-the-only-person-in-this-city attitude, etc. All of these things got me thinking about whether I actually should run New York.

My boyfriend thought I was crazy. "You've put this much time, money and effort into running this race and now you want to call it quits? No babe, you're running this race." He had a point.

So the goal since getting "in" has been to get psyched for New York, to be excited about this race and plan to have fun with it, rather than being bitter and angry about the race and so far, it's worked. While I'm still slightly more about my TBA plans for my spring marathon than New York, the fact that training has started and that my Twitter feed is flooded with posts from other NYC Marathon runners, I'm finally started to get excited about toeing the line on the Verrazano Bridge on November 4. 

To everyone who has at some point or another, made it a point to tell me that New York is not a PR course and that I cannot and will not go sub-4, I cannot wait to prove you wrong. 

I have a plan for New York. On the one hand, I have a plan perfectly fitted into an Excel spreadsheet. On the other, I have a plan to run by feel, to aim to get in my key workouts (technique workouts, cross-training, long runs) and to not feel like my training plan is set in stone and that if I miss one workout, I'll throw all of my training out the window. I think it's going to work for me. 

The biggest change I'm making going into this cycle is incorporating speed work and goal pace runs into my training from Week 1, rather than building a base of hills and easy runs before getting into any kind of technical workouts. I'm excited about it. Speed work is no joke. It's damn hard. This morning, I ran 1/4 mile repeats - 8 of them - and felt like I was going to die on every single one of them. (I realized after the fact that I ran all but 1 of them between 30 seconds and 1 minute faster than I was supposed to...oops) When I got to my 4th, I thought about quitting. When I got to my 6th, I thought about quitting. When I finished the workout and jogged my way home at a nice, easy recovery pace, I knew that this training cycle is going to be very, very different. 

Dear Queensboro Bridge, you don't scare me. 

Marathon training is about getting ready...getting ready to tackle the distance...preparing yourself for the physical and mental challenge that running 26.2 miles entails.

Well guess what, New York? I don't need to get ready. I am ready. 

Dear Monday...

I've seen this around the blog a few times and decided to link up with Megan today!

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Dear Monday...This week needs to be great. Let's work together to make that happen, shall we?

Dear New Blog Followers...Hi! Thanks for visiting!

Dear Marathon Training...Despite the heat, this morning's run was glorious. Thanks for kicking things off the right way. I have a feeling we're going to get along really well over the next 4 months.

Dear Garmin...Don't die on me now! I need you!

Dear Boyfriend...Let's go somewhere fun next week, please?

Dear UnderArmour Visor...I'm glad I dug you up and started wearing you on my runs instead of sunglasses. I wasn't pulling off the raccoon-eyed look.

Dear Summer...What happened to us? We used to be so close. Can we start getting along for the rest of this month?

Dear Wedding-Obsessed Friends...Calm down. Whether you're engaged, think you might be engaged soon, are dating someone but not planning to get engaged soon or are not even in a relationship, please calm down with the Pinterest boards and stop obsessing over every detail so that everything will be OMG perfect.  It won't be. But everything will fall into place.

Dear Job Search...I hate you.

Dear 25...You have been nowhere near as awesome as I'd hoped you would be. Let's turn that around for the remaining 6 1/2 months I have with you.

That's that. Today will be filled with job searching, laundry, cleaning and once and for all, putting my marathon training plan to paper. How's your Monday shaping up?

Three Things Thursday

1. Marathon Training - I guess you could say I'm already marathon training since I've been getting in key workouts like speed work, goal pace runs and long runs but I'm still operating on the 16-week training plan which won't start until Monday. I already feel better about training for New York City than I have coming into any other training cycle...and for that, I know that training is going to go really well. I'm not coming off of injury right into training (Marathon #1), I'm not starting training with a total of 25 miles run over the previous 3 runs (Marathon #2) and I won't crash and burn midway through training because of a Master's thesis that keeps me up till 2am every night (Marathon #3). Instead, I'm coming into this training with more time on my hands than I care for, with a strong base of 20-25 miles per week, with a confidence that the third time is a charm and that I will go sub-4 this time around.

2. Life Lately - Life lately hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. Things have just been a lot harder than I ever dreamed they would be this summer and it's starting to wear me down in more ways than I ever thought it would. I've always thought myself to be an incredibly strong individual and the reason for that is that no matter what, I've never lost faith in myself or hope in things to come. All of that is changing and it's scary and terrifying and I have this overwhelming sense of despair that I don't know how to overcome. In the middle of everything though, The Pilot has been so unbelievably supportive of everything. He has this way of just making me understand that he's going through this with me, that he's holding my hand and that he isn't letting go...and that makes everything just a little bit ok.

3. Vacation - I'm craving a fun, exotic vacation so badly. Last summer, I was all over the place - The Netherlands, Bosnia, Serbia, Italy, India - and this summer, the explorer bug is biting at me again. I have a good friend in Australia who invited me to come visit...and then there's London which has been pulling at my heart strings since I was there last in 2009...unfortunately, my rapidly dwindling bank account is keeping me grounded, but I can still crave adventure, can't I?

/

Tell Me: If you could drop everything and go somewhere today, where would you go? 

Ballpark #18 - Kauffman Stadium

Last night, while watching the Home Run Derby, ESPN did a tour of Kauffman Stadium. It was so cool to be watching the tour...and the Derby less than 24 hours after having been at Kauffman Stadium myself!

As I mentioned yesterday, I was ecstatic when The Pilot was assigned a long overnight in Kansas City during MLB All-Star weekend. Sure, we wouldn't be able to stay in town for the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game, but it was super exciting to be part there for all of the festivities over the weekend. I didn't have $300+ to spend on tickets to the Derby and the ASG anyway.

We were still able to check out the stadium by going to the MLB Futures Game - an All-Star Game that pits the top Minor League prospects from each team against one another on teams representing the US and the World.

Kauffman Stadium is about 20 minutes outside the city. We picked a great weekend to go because there were free shuttles running to and from the stadium every 15 minutes. I have no idea how we would have gotten there if it hadn't been All-Star Weekend.

From the outside, Kauffman Stadium is nothing to write home about. Built in 1973, it's one of the oldest stadiums in Major League baseball, but a recent major renovation that was completed in 2009 revealed a pretty nice stadium.

We weren't sure if we'd be able to make it to the game given that we had to flight out that night but we were able to by Standing Room Only seats for pretty cheap once we got there. Our legs were both dead from the race and being on our feet all day though so we made our way to the Upper Deck where we found seats rather than standing through the game.

I don't know the stats on this but Kauffman Stadium has got to have one of the biggest scoreboards in baseball. It's certainly the biggest I've ever seen!

The stadium was pretty expansive...I learned from yesterday's ESPN tour that the average length of the fences is longer than the average in the MLB by some 12 feet...making it an interesting place for the Home Run Derby!

We did our standard, walk around, checked out the Hall of Fame and visited the Team Store...which I was disappointed to see sold All-Star Game gear and only All-Star Game gear despite the fact that about 200 tents and makeshift kiosks had been set up throughout the park to sell All-Star Game gear. Luckily, I found someone who broke the rules and decided against hiding all of the Royals' gear who I was able to buy my souvenir pin from.

3,154 baseballs make up this tribute to Royals' Hall of Famer George Brett, representing his 3,154 career hits

Neither of us were too hungry when we got to the stadium, so unfortunately, we didn't dig into the plentiful food offerings Kauffman had to offer...and it was tough to get a feel for the stadium since it wasn't  typical Royals game but there was a great turn out and it was a lot of fun to watch some of the League's top prospects duke it out. We saw some pretty amazing plays.

We opted to sit way up top instead of stand in our SRO spots that were much closer. #deadlegs

We had to leave after the 4th inning to make our flight which was a bummer but just as we left, the US team...which was being destroyed by the World, started to make a huge comeback that resulted in them crushing the World 17-5.

The Pilot and me at the entrance to the stadium.

We wore our Mets gear to support Mets' prospects Zach Wheeler and Wilmer Flores...I would otherwise never wear Mets gear to a stadium when the Mets aren't playing. It's against my principles. 

So there you have it...Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals. 
18 down, 12 to go!

36 Hours in Kansas City

I love traveling with The Pilot. When he gets long layovers in places I've never been, I'm always eager to hop on a flight and join him. Kansas City was no exception. 

The Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game is in Kansas City this week. With the game scheduled for tomorrow and the Home Run Derby tonight, the weekend festivities kicked off on Thursday starting with MLB FanFest, a Charity 5k race and a number of other baseball-themed events throughout the weekend.

The Pilot wouldn't be arriving in KC until much later that night but since he was flying in from Houston and me from Newark, I got in in the early afternoon so that I could wander around and sightsee for a bit.

When I landed, I felt like I landed in the middle of nowhere. Oh my goodness. The airport was desolate.  There were no cars/buses/taxis/any mode of transportation outside and I ended up finding some people from my flight who worked for MLB to share a cab downtown with. 

When we got downtown and the first thing I saw was this:

That's when I got excited...it was impossible to turn a corner without finding MLB signs plastered everywhere. Kansas City was hosting the All-Star Game...and they were definitely excited for it. 

As soon as I got downtown, I made my way to the Power & Light District to pick up our race packets.

Our packets came with t-shirts and socks. The t-shirts were awesome, they said "I Run for the National League. We Will Win." Even though the shirts were cotton, I knew I was going to wear mine for the race which was fun because everyone was wearing their race shirts so the whole field was decked out in American versus National League.

Yes, we even got medals post-race. 

After Packet Pick-Up, I grabbed some lunch in the Power & Light District and then made my way to our hotel to lay down for a bit and shower. It was 105 degrees and I was definitely struggling in the heat. After my cat nap, I made my way to The Plaza to walk around and do some shopping.

You can't really see it, but they dyed all the water in the fountains blue for All-Star Weekend!

After walking around the shops for a few hours, I made my way to a bar/restaurant called The Foundry. First things first, I delved into their beer menu. They had a lychee beer on tap which was amazing! I had some beers and food and made my way back to the hotel. 

The Pilot arrived just after midnight, and after what felt like a short nap, our alarms were going off to signal the start of Race Morning. 

Sleepyheads

The MLB All-Star Charity 5k and Fun Run: I didn't think any race could be as bad as the Hot Chocolate 15k I ran back in December but oh  man, this race came in a close second. The race was a 5k through Kansas City's Power & Light District. It started about 15 minutes late with the temperatures climbing what felt like every minute. There were 8,000 runners and no announcement was given to runners/walkers to keep to one side of the road or the other. I know that in most races, these rules aren't abided by, but I do feel like they provide some organization to the race. 

We spent most of the race weaving in and out of people over the duration of a hot, somewhat hilly course. The Pilot seemed to be having fun and he quickly made a game of stomping all over the cups strewn all over the ground from the aid stations. I purposely didn't bring my Garmin and was just enjoying the fact that we were racing together. Just before Mile 3, we spotted the Finish Line and started sprinting toward it. We hit Mile 3 and bam. Stop. Traffic jam. 

The Finish Line was so backed up that once we hit Mile 3, we had to slowly shuffle our way to and across the Finish Line because there were so many people. We watched the clock tick by for about 3 minutes before we finally crossed. It was so disappointing. 

Next year, the All-Star Game will be at CitiField, home of our team, the New York Mets. I'll be avoiding that race like the plague, thank you. Dear Major League Baseball, Stick to baseball. Road racing is not your thing. 

The Pilot was pretty happy to get a medal but he was just as bummed as I was about not being able to finish the race the way we wanted to. 

Results: 31:17 (10:06/mile) 

Post-race we headed to MLB FanFest (Disney World for baseball fans) and then made our way to Kauffman Stadium for the Futures Game before boarding our flight home.

Despite the details of the race, I finally got to run a race with The Pilot and we had a ton of fun being in Kansas City for All-Star Weekend...maybe one day, I'll be able to justify spending $200 on a baseball game and will actually be able to go to the All-Star Game...

How was your weekend? Have you ever been to Kansas City? Have you ever run a race like that?  Ever been to an MLB All-Star Game?

Three Things Thursday

1. 4th of July - This year, I had what was probably the most low key 4th I've had in awhile and you know what? I loved it. I spent the day lounging, bbq-ing and swimming with The Pilot's family. I made a no-bake nutella cheesecake that was so instantly devoured, I have no photos to show evidence that it actually happened. The good news is that I found the recipe on a blog, so you can check it out here and see just how much prettier the cheesecake looked on the creator's blog than it did in my spring-form pan.

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I doubled the recipe put it in a spring form pan so that it worked for a crowd rather than just a few people but it works either way. I also ate my way through the Kitchen Aid mixer before I put it in the pan. Oops. Try this recipe, it was amazing.

2. 30 Day Shred - When I first started running, I had some pounds to lose so I decided to do a round of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I found it to be a great workout and a fantastic complement to my running regimin. Lately, I've been popping in the DVD on my off days to get in some good strength workouts since I no longer have access to a gym. It's a short workout but it's tough and my arms always burn the next day so I've decided to start 'shredding' twice a week as a form of strength training this marathon cycle. I figure if I add a yoga/swimming/pilates/insert other form of cross-training here to the days I shred, I'll have a well-rounded marathon training cycle that I think I'm going to be pretty happy with.

3. Baseball Season - Baseball season is the highlight of my life right now. With the All Star Break coming into effect this week, the Mets, for the first time in a long time, are still in it and that's awesome. I scored free tickets to Tuesday night's game and The Pilot and I had a blast. I also picked up these sweet shorts which I plan to run Sunday's MLB All Star 5k in.

Nike Tempo shorts with the Mets logo? How could I resist? I'm going to be decked out in National League gear for Sunday's race and I can't wait!

Kansas City, here I come!

How was your 4th of July? Did you make any snacks that I should try? What's your favorite form of cross-training? Have you ever tried the 30 Day Shred?

2012 Goals Check-In

I'm the furthest thing from the type of person that wishes time would speed up. Lately, I keep coming across blog posts that offer some kind of thought as to "omg how is it July already???"

How isn't it July? I felt like the month of June just dragged on. I thought July was never going to come. I'm perfectly content with the pace that this year is going...not too slow, not too fast...just right.

Since it is July though, I thought I'd check in with my 2012 goals and see how I'm doing.

1. Try a spin class. Check! I hated it. I don't think I ever want to take a spin class again. Soul Cycle was NOT my thing. I might try a class again...if I don't have to pay $32 for it but I really just don't think it's my kind of workout. I felt like the only thing I got out of it was a sweat...as in, I'm sweating because it's hot and there's other people sweating - not because I'm getting a good work out.

2. Do more yoga. Fail. What's yoga? I started off the year doing pretty well with this by going to the free Yoga to the People studio around the corner from my apartment...but then I had one too many bad experiences there that were enough to derail me from going back. First, I went to three classes that had you start doing crazy intense ab workouts (100s, bicycle crunches on speed, etc.) after savasna...umm...doesn't that defeat the purpose of yoga? Second, the last class I went to was SO crowded, our mats were literally 1/4 inch apart. I didn't do a single pose without poking someone in the eye or getting smacked in the ass. One of my marathon training goals is to go to yoga at least once a week, so hopefully I'll be better about this in the 2nd half of the year. No promises though.

via YTTP is way too crowded for my taste.

3. Leave my apartment more. Check. I've been a rock star at this. I credit blog friends and 16 Handles. While it was super easy to phone in an outdoor run and jump on the treadmill downstairs, I made it a point to do at least 2 runs a week outside and I was much more social. I also went to Spain. So there's that.

4. Finish my college scrapbook. Fail. Hahahahahaha. I don't think I've touched it since last summer.

5. Get The Pilot to run a race with me. Almost check. Ooh ooh ooh! WE'RE RUNNING THE MLB ALL STAR GAME 5K IN KANSAS CITY THIS WEEKEND. TOGETHER! Sorry I went all caps on you. I'm really excited about this. I've been asking politely annoying the heck out of him all year about running a race with me and he finally agreed. Actually, I've been begging him to run a half with me but this weekend I'm going to prove to him that racing is OMG SO FUN and he's going to love it so much that he's going to walk away and say, OK babe let's sign up for that Half in Montreal that we talked about. Right babe? Right???

6. See the rest of the ball parks. Working on it! 17 down...Kansas City this weekend will make 18. That will put me at 12 to go. I need friends in LA, San Diego, Denver, St. Louis, Miami and Phoenix to offer to host me in their cities for baseball games. Any takers? I want so badly to make this happen! I'm so close!

via

7. Go to an NFL game. It isn't football season yet.

8. Visit my BFF in Kentucky/Cincinnati. Check! Just got back on Friday!

9. Do something big to celebrate my birthday. Fail. I did nothing. I was sick on my birthday. I performed in The Vagina Monologues, had a cocktail and went home and went to sleep. Lame.

10. Read more books that I want to read. Check! Currently reading Bart Yasso's "Born to Run." I've loved the books I've read this year and am looking forward to a summer of reading many more books!

11. Read the newspaper more. Umm...

12. Move out of New York. I'm working on it. (Touchy subject)

13. Run a sub-4 marathon. The New York City Marathon will be my 3rd attempt at a sub-4 marathon. I have to chop 3 minutes off my time to do it. If I don't go sub-4 in New York, I'll be devastated.

I just about busted after Madrid

So that's that. I'm not doing too badly! One thing I didn't put on this list is to run 1,000 miles. I came so close last year (983) and then got so burnt out from running and racing that I just needed to take a break. I'm well over 500 for the year already, so as long as I stay healthy, this will be an easy goal to make a reality!

My goals haven't changed much and I'm still hoping to stick with all of them. How are your 2012 goals shaping up? Have you added/changed any of the goals that you made for the year?

Love/Don't Love

1. Remember that 5k I ran a couple weeks ago? Turns out I placed first in my age group...I was also the 5th woman to cross the finish line and the 20th overall. Gotta love small town races. Love.

2. I was sick for most of the weekend...all night Saturday and into yesterday. It sucked...it totally killed my plans for Oops-ing my way to Boston to visit my best friend from college who's home on leave from the Navy. Don't Love.

3. Cincinnati/Kentucky was great. It was fun catching up with my two of my oldest friends and getting to check out another ballpark. We also went to the aquarium and saw penguins. I freaking love penguins. Love.

Who doesn't love penguins?

4. I'm house sitting for my mom while she's on vacation. I feel like since she left, I've turned the house upside down. It amazes me how much messier a house can be than an apartment. This seriously makes me rethink ever wanting to be a home owner. Don't Love.

5. I feel very at peace with things right now. Love.

6. Even though I came up with a marathon training plan for NYC, I'm not happy with it. It technically doesn't start for another 2 weeks but being 18 weeks out from NYC, I'm a little stressed about how I want to proceed with my training. I'm running and already have a pretty good base built up but I just don't know how I want to go about actually training for the race. Don't Love. 

So if I just do hill runs and intervals I'll be fine?

7. I'm in a serious mood to bake this week. I think while Mom is away, I'm going to commandeer her Kitchen Aid mixer and bake my way through the week. Love.

8. It's July. My little sister turns 18 this month. I'm not at all prepared for that. Don't Love.

My "little" sister Sammi

9. The Pilot and I are going to Kansas City this weekend! It's MLB All-Star Weekend and I'm pumped for the festivities! Love.

That's what's going on this Monday! What's happening in your neck of the woods? Have you ever been to Kansas City? What should I do there?

Have a great week!

Ballpark #17: Great American Ballpark

I've heard great things about Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds, so when my best friend from high school moved out to the Greater Cincinnati area earlier this year, I was looking forward to taking a week to go visit her and go check out the Reds' ballpark

I had flown into Cincinnati on Sunday and we decided to head to the game on Tuesday. The Pilot had a couple of days off, so he flew in and joined us for the game.

We couldn't have picked a better day to see the Reds play. Bronson Arroyo had a perfect game running into the 8th inning and then a no-hitter shortly thereafter before the Brewers scored 3 runs and tied the game. The Reds still came back to score another run and win the game which was fun.

I had heard great things about Great American Ballpark so I was excited to check it out. We got to the stadium shortly after the game started and made our way to our seats. 

Outside the stadium

Reds Country is definitely an accurate description. When I walked off the plane, the Jetway was plastered in Reds wallpaper. When I left, there was a TSA video at the airport demonstrating proper TSA security procedure featuring Reds mascots. This city takes baseball seriously. I like that in a ball team.

We had great seats. I paid $20 each for us to sit on behind the 3rd base line. A baseball team that charges reasonable prices for seats? I can definitely do that. The stadium seemed so small though! After coming home and looking at it, I realized that it actually holds a few hundred more people than CitiField does...but CitiField (home of the Mets) just seems massive in comparison. 

One plus, the stadium was packed. When I went to San Francisco and Philadelphia earlier this season, their stadiums were packed but they've both won the Fall Classic in the last few years...Cincinnati won their division in 2010 but it was their first win since 1990 so I was pretty surprised!

A few innings into the game, The Pilot and I got up to take our usual walk around the stadium. There wasn't as much to see as there are in most other parks, but I liked that you could walk around the whole park and that the stadium was right on the river. We popped into the Team Store so that he could get a hat and I could get a pin. They had a giant replica World Series statue inside the Team Store which was awesome.

The Reds also have a Hall of Fame, but you had to pay to get into it. What??? I've never been to a ballpark that charges you to get into their Hall of Fame...even the Yankees, who probably have the most robust Hall of Fame of any Major League team and could get away with charging for their Hall of Fame don't charge...and since they charge $3 more for beer than any other stadium, that's actually quite surprising. So that wasn't cool.

When we left the Team Store, we were making our way back to our seats when we ran into Rosie Red, one of the Reds' mascots. Well, let me tell you something. We asked that little b*tch for a picture and she was all up on The Pilot.

Back off Rosie, he's mine. 

So we made our way back to the edges of our seats and watched anxiously as Bronson Arroyo threw a perfect game until the 8th and lost the no-hitter shortly after before Adolis Chapman (The Cuban Missile) closed the game giving the Reds a 4-3 win over Milwaukee.

I'm a big fan of teams that shoot fireworks after each home run and a win.

So there you have it, my trip to Cincinnati. I had a great time at the game and what a great game to see! The stadium wasn't one of my favorites, and I don't think I'd put it in my Top 10 but it was nice and a perfect night for a game.

17 down, 13 to go!