Get. Excited.

By ellen on November 1, 2011

I didn’t think it was possible, but I’ve sustained this “I’m so excited I could barf” feeling for several days now. The suspense is terrible… I hope it lasts (name that movie).

On Sunday I headed out to get my iron-on letters and marathon shirt for the big day. I stopped at Lee’s Art Shop on 57th for the letters (and met a few other marathoners doing the same exact thing, haha). Then I headed to Nike to pick up my race shirt, which actually turned out to be 2 shirts. I’m wearing a thin long-sleeve with a thin short-sleeve on top.

Marathon week really is one of the best weeks in the city. I know I’m biased, but I thought that even before I ever ran it. The excitement is palpable. Even in the subway stations. Here are some pics from Columbus Circle.

Which one is your favorite? What do you love to see marathon week?

Posted in 1 Comment

Marathon Inspiration

By ellen on October 20, 2011

I know I’ve mentioned the start of the marathon and how much I love it. Here’s more. Sorry, I’m not sorry.

Posted in 1 Comment

Sticking with a Plan

By ellen on August 8, 2011

So last week’s training went just fine, but not completely according to plan. I’m fine with this, but I also know that it can be a slippery slope. I was fine skipping my tempo run last week, but I know that it’s all too easy to think that can become a regular thing.

This week, I’m going to stick to my plan a little more closely. As school gets a little closer and I have to start getting back into work habits (goodbye, afternoon naps. I love you), I want to make sure that I’m fitting everything in (and still sleeping enough).

Here’s what’s up for week 4 (hopefully):

  • Monday: Tempo Run. Since I skipped it last week, I figured I’d switch things up and do it earlier this week. Looking at 1-2miles warm-up, 3 miles tempo, 1-2 miles cool down. Reformer Pilates
  • Tuesday: Yoga; maybe lifting
  • Wednesday: Speedwork on the track (1 mile warm-up, 5x1000m @ 4:59 w/ 400m RI, 1 mile cool down); Reformer Pilates (maybe)
  • Thursday: Swimming, Core Fusion / Exhale Vinyasa double-header
  • Friday: 14 miles
  • Saturday: REST (Wedding)
  • Sunday: Spinning (parent’s bike), yoga

If everything goes as planned, I should log 26 miles this week – which would be great. With only a few weeks left of summer vacation (giant sad face), I really want to take advantage of all the time I have to lift and cross-train. 

I may reward myself for getting all of the above workouts in this week… not sure what the reward will be, though. I’d like it to be something that encourages me to continue the good habits. Any suggestions?

Posted in 3 Comments

Oh, hey August (July Recap and New Goals)

By ellen on August 1, 2011

So that was fast. And now it’s my final month of summer vacation before school starts up (sad, I know). I feel that August should then be the biggest and best of all summer months, right?

July marked my first few weeks of NYC Marathon Training (and a little bit of pre-training too). Today I’m starting up week 3 (here’s how weeks 1 and 2 went). Here were the July goals I set at the beginning of the month:

  • Running/Fitness
    • Marathon Training
      • Kick off marathon training with enthusiasm. –> YES!
      • Stick to my running plan 80% of the month (no completely skipped workouts, but maybe modify a few by distance of time, as needed). –> Big yes here. I was pretty close to 100%
      • Foam roll and ice baths more often, especially after long runs. –> Yep again. I’ve had an ice bath after every long run so far. It’s pretty magical. 
      • One massage –> What? How did I not do this one? Perhaps this week… 
    • Other Fitness
      • Swim for cross-training with some level of consistency –> Almost. I got in the pool once. It will be weekly henceforth… 
      • Weight-train at least once/week –> I say green light. I also consider Core Fusion and Pilates to count for this… 
      • Yoga it up once/week –> BIG TIME. 
  • Kitchen/Eats
    • More salad. And more variety within my salad.
    • Get more creative with cool eats on hot days (read: I hate cooking in the summer). Pretty big FAIL to both of these. Hmm…

Overall, my workouts and my consistency over July is pretty much the best I could have hoped for (I’m usually a HUGE summer workout slacker, so this was big for me). As for August, I’m going to repeat a few goals, and focus mostly on my cross-training and eating. It’s only week 3 of marathon training and it seems that I’ve already subconsciously given myself the go-ahead to eat like a monster (and not usually good stuff, either). I’ll work on that one…

So here goes August:

  • Running:
    • Continue to be as consistent and positive about training. 80% rule applies.
    • Ice bath, foam roll, Tiger Balm (repeat as needed)
    • GET A MASSAGE! (Maybe even two to make up for July…)
  • Cross-Training:
    • Keep up with weekly yoga. Find an at-home yoga practice that is doable, to compliment studio classes
    • Strength Training 1-2x/week
    • Swim weekly
  • Eats:
    • Drink less than in July (this will be a challenge… as I have 3 weddings this month). Maybe choose 1-2 days in which to drink (a modest amount)
    • Choose more veggies.

So there it is! I’m pretty happy with how well I did last month (since I’m very loose and “type B” about things like this). I hope August is as successful.

What are your goals for the month? 

Posted in , Tagged , , , 2 Comments

Running Thought: Do You “Rotate” Shoes?

By ellen on May 30, 2011

By “rotating” shoes, I mean buy 2-3 pairs of the same style shoe so you can regularly rotate throughout your training thereby giving each pair time to “rest” between runs.

I’ve only sort of “rotated” when I’ve gotten a new pair of shoes. There’s usually an overlap period of a few weeks when I switch back and forth to break in the new pair.

When I read 4 Months to a 4 Hour Marathon, they talked about rotating shoes pretty early on (p. 14, in fact). They suggest rotating 2 pairs during training (swapping out every other run) in order to let the cushioning and shock absorbers bounce back. The third pair is for a few weeks before the marathon… then you’ll wear the newest ones for the actual race.

I was a little surprised by this. I generally go through a few pairs during training, but I don’t consciously keep the same shoe in rotation throughout. Do you? Is this something people do? I mean, we aren’t talking totally different styles/makes of running shoe. The exact same shoe.

Thoughts? Do you do this? Do you think you should?

Posted in 2 Comments

Gettin’ Bendy

By ellen on September 1, 2010

The cold hard truth: I suck at yoga.

I know, that statement is not quite in keeping with the yoga work to your own ability, etc… but really. I’m terrible.

And that’s not discouraging to me. In fact, yoga plays hard to get, and it only makes me want it more. It’s like it’s this bendy club that I’m not a part of. But desperately want to be.

I’m pretty athletic and have always been able to pick up sports and be pretty decent at them from the get-go. Yoga is the thing that is a constant challenge. I mean, I can barely even touch my toes. A down-dog is even pushing it sometimes (I imagine I look more like I’m searching for a lost contact lens, than inner balance).

So that’s the September goal. One goal only. Do yoga.

Any style, studio or living room, ten minutes or two hours. I will do yoga. And of the 30 days of September, I’ll be yoga-fying more than half.

What about your September goals? Or, do you do yoga? Are you a yoga newbie or devotee?

Posted in Tagged , , , Leave a Comment

Monday, Monday, Mooooondaaaaay

By ellen on January 4, 2010

[said in booming, thunderous voice]

Well, we’re back to work, school, real life, boo. My Monday, though, was a much smoother transition than I had anticipated. I made sure to pack my bag, my lunch, and lay out my outfit in advance. Yeah, I’m like a fourth grader or something. It works though, really.

I accomplished all menial tasks on my little to-do list (stay after at work to get some things done, hit the gym, eat dinner at the table with M), check, check, and check. In fact we even sold a bunch of our old furniture and alllll of our moving boxes. (Yes, imagine how cluttered our apt was with all this extra junk in it – no more!)

So here’s how it all panned out:

  • Gym: I planned on doing an hour of cardio, but wound up doing a hard 30 on the elliptical. I’m still pretty happy with that. I’ve totally fallen off the fitness wagon and am just working on rebuilding my workout habits. At this point, I’m more focused on getting to the gym every day and doing something. Next week, or the week after, I’ll focus more on what I’m doing while I’m there.
  • Dinner: no pics, it’s the same lasagna as last night. Looks the same too. Leftover lasagna doesn’t photograph well (especially on an iPhone), but I’m sure you can imagine. :)

————————————————————————————————

In other news…

  • Day 4 of dry brushing done. I think I’m going to begin to try the actual way they recommend doing it. There’s a pattern, people.
  • Tomorrow’s Agenda
    • Hit the gym right after work
    • Pack lunch for Wednesday and lay out clothes (this makes my life sooo much easier in the morning. For real).
    • Meet husbo for a little dinner date in Chelsea (part of an awesome new little project we’re embarking on — will have it’s own page here shortly!)
    • Get to bed early

Finally, something that made me happy at the beginning of this rough work week. Enjoy!

 

Posted in Tagged , , , Leave a Comment

Dry Brushing – Day One

By ellen on December 30, 2009

Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! I spent mine in Connecticut with the in-laws and had a lovely time. Tomorrow we’ll be heading down to Philly for a New Year’s/Xmas event with mi familia.

I’ll post soon about some of the great stuff I got, and also a few little resolutions I’m planning for 2010. In the meantime, I just embarked on one of my little resolutions today: dry brushing.

I’ve been thinking about dry brushing for a few months now, and when I asked for a brush for Christmas (and got it) I figured now was a good time to start. I first heard (read) about it in this Fitnessista post a few months back. I was intrigued. I completely believe that everything in our bodies is connected. Case in point: my extremely dry skin (which never used to be so) is not just going to change with different moisturizer. The dry skin is a symptom of something else perhaps… I digress. At any rate, dry brushing seemed right up my alley. And the benefits seemed to far outweigh any drawbacks. I figured, worst-case scenario, it would soften my skin. Dry brushing is supposed to be really good for the body inside and out. This vigorous brushing is said to stimulate the lymphatic system and clear out toxins. Check this site out for all the details and benefits of dry brushing.

The advice is to dry brush every day for about 30 days to really see the benefits. It suggests dry brushing in the morning before jumping in the shower. The site above also tells you specific ways to dry brush. I read them a few times and then just did what I remembered.

So far… it really didn’t take as long as I’d expected. It was just under about 10 minutes, I suppose, then I hopped into the shower. Even though I used a brush with soft-ish natural bristles, it still seemed a little harsh at first. I did adjust though, and it was really invigorating. Once I toweled off after the shower, I did notice that my skin felt a bit softer.

I will continue to dry brush daily for the next 30 days and let you know how it goes!

Anyone else out there have some experience dry brushing? What changes have you noticed?

————————————————————————————————

In other news, enter to win some Coconut Bliss ice cream from Lilveggiepatch! The chocolate hazelnut fudge is calling my name…

Posted in Tagged , , , , 2 Comments

Xmas Gift Baking: Almond Biscotti

By ellen on December 21, 2009

I’ve never made biscotti before, but I thought they would ship well enough to bake and send to my family for Christmas.

I used this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, with little alteration. I was surprised, however, at how sticky the dough was. I actually sprinkled a little more flour in it. Oh, and I didn’t use any zest, but I did add some splashes of almond extract which I think made a great difference. The biscotti were definitely pretty small, but even so I didn’t yield 84… so do with that what you will.

IMG_0663

IMG_0664

Overall, this was a solid recipe for a tasty little biscotti. I think on my next biscotti attempt, I’ll get a little more adventurous with flavors and additions.

Mangia!

Posted in Tagged , , , , Leave a Comment

Physique 57

By ellen on November 30, 2009

Once I came to the awful realization that I had packed on more than few inches and pounds over the last few months, I knew it was time to get serious. I had heard of Physique 57, and since my bestie Kelly Ripa thinks it’s amazing, I guess it’s good enough for me :)

This is exactly the kind of workout I’d love. AND I’m pretty sure it could whip me back into shape. While it’s preeeeetty expensive, I thought I could gift myself – what with my birthday (December 1) and Christmas in one month…

I went to my first sesh on Saturday. I was taking the train back to NYC from Philly and I stopped there for a class on my way home. For some reason, this seemed important to me: I had to go right there before going home.

Within ten minutes, my thighs were shaking. Seriously. It’s no joke. It’s this hybrid class of Pilates/Ballet/Interval/Serious-Ass-Kicking. I’m totally sold. I went to my second class yesterday. I’ll be back on Wednesday and 3-4x/week for the rest of December.

Posted in Tagged , , , , Leave a Comment