Bike to Work Day!

Firday May 15th is Bike to Work Day! The name really says it all...bike to work this week to boost your health, and to ensure a totally eco-friendly commute!

Picture...RUN!

Not the best, but here's a race day pic from last weekend...

I look pretty slow here...This just makes me want to run faster!

MORE & Fitness Magazine Half Marathon

Today was the More and Fitness Magazine Marathon and Half Marathon in Central Park. I registered with a few girls from my work (Organic Works) earlier this semester, and was so excited to run! 

This run was a lot different than my last because I actually got an amazing night's sleep last night. I went to bed at about 10:45, and slept soundly until my alarm work me up at 5am. I was so rested and ready! My friend Kristen (who lives in my building) had a friend in town, Lisa, running too. We met in the lobby and headed out around 7. I mention the time of day because it's quite remarkable how hot it was already. When we got to the starting area to check bags, I was already sweating. 

We were enjoying the usual pre-race excitement when they made a rather shocking announcement...Due to the heat, the full marathon had been cancelled! What? And furthermore, the half marathon was no longer going to be officially timed! WHAT? 

Apparently the race directors had a rather difficult decision to make. They wanted to avoid a potentially unsafe situation, remnant of the Chicago Marathon heat wave last year. Luckily I wasn't running the full, so it didn't matter much to me, but I can imagine a few people were pretty disappointed.

7, 700 women lined up at the starting line. It was possibly the most crowded race start I've ever been in. Because the full marathon (which had a separate starting line) was cancelled, everyone ran the half, and everyone lined up in the half starting area.

After picking my way through throngs of enthusiastic runners, all dressed in either pink or some other type of girl power gear, I settled into a comfortable pace with my new running buddy, Lisa. We ran 8:50 minute miles for the first two, and then I said good-bye and picked up the pace. I actually found one of my friends from Organic Works, Megan, while running. We hugged quickly mid-jog and I was off again. 

I picked up my pace to around 8:40 - 8:35 minute miles. Despite the heat I was feeling really great. The first 10 miles were awesome. I was actually surprising myself! I was on a roll! 8:40, 8:35, 8:30...really comfortable and fun.

Needless to say Central Park is beautiful, and it was a lovely run. But right after mile 10, the heat really hit me. My body was done. 10 miles! Time to stop before you pass out from the 90 degree weather!

I kept pushing and finished a few minutes slower than I had planned, but still PR'd and had a true runner's high when I was done.

After a bagel, banana and chocolate soy milk, we stretched out under a cherry tree. Way to beautiful. We sun-bathed, got a quick tan, treated myself to a mimosa and some frozen yogurt.

At the awards (which were based on clock times, no chip times) I saw USA Olympic marathon runner, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, which was pretty cool. She won with 1:08:10. (Jeez! In this heat?!)

It was an all-around beautiful day and a fairly successful race. Hopefully the actual professional running pictures will be in this week!

Happy Earth Day!

I hope everyone is having a wonderfully eco-chic Earth Day! 

Here are a few of my ideas to celebrate all year round...

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Run:

From Atayne's line of eco-chic clothing

Replace old running clothing with eco-friendly performance clothing from my new favorite company Atayne. The running tops are moisture wicking, UV protecting, odor controlling, and temperature regulating, as any good athletic top should be. However, they are made from recycled polyester (from plastic bottles) and activated carbon (from coconut shells) instead of from virgin polyester and harsh chemicals. Visit Atayne to lear more and buy a super-cool, eco-friendly running top.

2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Bike:

This isn't my picture, but I thought it illustrated the point well!

for transportation instead of just for fun! I just bought a basket for the back of my road bike, and now I find myself riding it to the grocery store, on errands, to work, and to school. Granted I live in a city, and my other means of transportation are usually walking (very eco-friendly) or public transportation (more eco-friendly, but busses still do emit harmful gasses that contribute to global warming). Replace just one trip you'd take in a car with a bike...to a nearby friend or relative's house, to the store for a small purchase, or to the gym for a warm up! Here's the bike basket I bought.

3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Swim:

Picture from Manhattan Island Foundation

Swimming in a pool is normal, but not very eco-friendly. If more people took advantage of the various natural bodies of water for swimming, maybe we'd be more inclined to take care of them, stop pollution, help the earth, and stay healthy ourselves. Visit NYC Swim to learn more about swimming around New York City, and the efforts to clean the waters for us and the earth.

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?

Beach Run

I spend the weekend in Florida (awesome) and took several day off of training (not so awesome). But I did get an absolutely beautiful beach run on my last day. I'm back in NYC, where it's spring-ish still, but for one wonderful run it was definitely summer...enjoy the pic ;)

Keep Running and Triathlon Healthy: How Yoga Practice can Prevent Injury

Sunday night I attended a little mini discussion and workshop on how great yoga is for keeping triathletes and runners healthy and injury free. The talk (and following Power Vinyassa practice) was held at NYC's Upper East Side Lululemon store. Dr. Jordan Metzl, from the Hospital for Special Surgery and Erica Goss from Pure Yoga came and talked to a packed room of triathletes, yogis and novices alike. 

Dr. Metzl, who has completed 25 Marathons and 4 Iron Mans (what?!) spoke about common sports injuries, symptoms, prevention, and treatments. He made the distinction between acute injuries (like a freak accident: think Lance Armstrong's bike crash last week that resulted in a broken collar bone) and overuse injuries, which are much more common. 

He helped us better understand common injuries like runner's knee, shin splints, hamstring pulls, and Achilles tendinitis and what these injuries may really reveal. (He writes a regular column in Triathlete called "Doctor's Orders" which you may want to check out for way more detail). Both runner's knee and shin splints, for example, can manifest in two different ways and each means something different. Shin splints can be in the muscle or the bone, the bone being more serious because it can indicate a possible stress fracture.

He also mentioned two common mistakes he sees again and again. The first is people going too fast too soon with training. The normal athletic process is something like "athletic darwinism," where you start off running a mile, do a 5k, then a 10k or half marathon, and then one day train for a marathon. Today, he says, many people want to jump right into the marathon! Without the evolution! Next he says people commonly ignore injuries until they are at their worst and can't do their sport anymore. Early detection of symptoms can help prevent more complicated problems form forming.

Then Erica Goss led a fantastic Power Vinyassa series and we talked about the obvious ways yoga can build flexibility for triathletes and how it can also be an excellent part of strength training. Strength training, both Goss and Dr. Metzl stressed, is essential for triathletes and especially runners. Without it, the bones and muscles may not be able to support intense training necessary for competition. 

The discussion was very interesting and informative, and both Goss and Dr. Metzl were excellent! Thanks Lululemon, for hosting such great community events like this!

City Running Tours

So I have kinda of an exciting new gig. Today I shadowed a run for the tour company, City Running Tours...I'm going to be a running tour guide! The company is 4 years old and gives tours of difference distances and paces around six cities in the USA: New York City, Washington DC, Chicago, San Diego, Austin and Charlotte.

The President and CEO, Michael, started the company after a tourist stopped by the gym where his chiropractic office was located. He asked if any of the trainers would give him a running tour of the city. Since none of the trainers at the gym were really runners, Michael offered the tour the businessman. After the run he knew they were onto something and the company was born!

Today they run as many as 150 tours in New York City ever year. They're usually one-on-one or small group tours that can follow one of several different routes or a custom made route to see any of the city's specific sights.

This morning we headed west from Time Square to the Hudson River, past the High Line, through the Meat Packing District, the West Village, NYU, up 5th Ave through Union Square, Madison Square and finally back to Times Square. It was a chilly 32 degrees, but clear and crisp. The guide, the tour-ee and I talked about life in New York, the historical sights and legends of the areas we saw and of course about running.

So now that I've shadowed my first run I'll get to start leading tours sometime soon. It's a really great way to see the city: running allows you to pass lots of sights and sections of the city in a short time...and it also lets you, as a tourist, to keep up with your regular runs or training. Also, not to mention, it's very eco-chic! No carbon-emitting tour busses!

If you're traveling to any of the cities we run in, sign up for a tour! And if you come to NYC, I expect to see you!!!