Birthday!

This post really doesn't have anything to do with training, racing or the environment, but read on if you're interested!

I'm 21!

My best girlfriends from back home in Florida came to surprise me this weekend for my 21st birthday in NYC! What a treat! I've lived here for three years and they've never been to visit before this weekend. We had a blast visiting museums, shopping and mostly eating.

Wednesday night I had early birthday dinner plans with my friend and former roommate Lindsey at Cafe Spice, one of our favorite Indian places. She greeted me outside the restaurant and we sat down at a table for two.  I noticed three people at a table near us wearing huge sun hats that covered their faces and suddenly it all clicked! Those silly hats could only belong to my friends (Anna, Tayler and Jordan)! I was so surprised I couldn't even talk...or eat, really!

At midnight I ate a Billy's Bakery Cupcake (Cupcake # 1 of the weekend) in their hotel room and opened a few presents from my mom.

Thursday (my actual birthday) I had to work, so they met me for lunch in Union Square. The girls at my internship were so sweet and surprised me with beautiful cupcakes from Cupcake Cafe (cupcake #2, #3, #4 of the weekend). 

That night I took Anna to my favorite yoga studio, Yoga to the People for a Birthday yoga session. After that we all went out for a late dinner at Veselka, the best Ukrainian restaurant ever.

 

Friday we toured The Metropolitan Museum of Art. They have a contest going on now called "Have we Met" where visitors take pictures in and around the Met of their experience. Here are some of our brilliant entries:

That evening I gathered all of my friends from NYU, FIT and Florida for dinner at Cafetasia, a fantastic, chic, cheap Thai Restaurant. They lost my reservations and gave us horrible service, but the food was amazing as always and we had a wonderful time.

We ended the night with a little bar-hopping and celebrating at Crumbs Cupcakes (cupcake # 5 of the weekend...in case you're counting or wondering, that's too many cupcakes!) The next day, tired and out of it, I took the girls shopping in SoHo.

What a wonderful Birthday weekend! I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends!

This week is Nationals for Swimming in Buffalo, NY - More posts to come!

Ocean College Swim Meet II

Yesterday the FIT swim team got up early to head out to the Jersey Shore for the second match with Ocean College's fantastic swim team. None of us were feeling particularly motivated that morning...it was cold outside and even a bit chilly on the pool deck. But I was excited to be swimming the first meet in our new swimsuits and caps (check it out above)!

I swam four events:

The 200 Medley Relay: Backstroke

The 50 Freestyle

The 100 Backstroke

The 200 Freestyle Relay

Since our team is only about 10 swimmers and Ocean's has, oh, at least 40 or so, we had no chance of "winning." But we did well and by the end I was feeling great in the pool. 

I actually cut about 5 seconds off my 100 Backstroke time, but was still 4 seconds too slow to qualify for Nationals. I figured I'd make it next year when my coach told me I had actually qualified for nationals in my 200 backstroke! What? When did this happen!? (Actually, I know when it happened since I've only competed in that event once...) Hmm, that should be interesting!

We finished the day with a trip to Panera Bread (a suburban treat for us Manhattanites). Now we're looking forward to Nationals in upstate NY in two weeks!

Before, During, After

These are some of the greener, more natural things I'm trying to fuel and compliment my workouts.

Before a hard workout:
Organic Dried Dates


A running buddy told me she's been eating dried dates to fuel her before workouts, and so I looked into the nutrition information. She's right: the fruit has a lot of great carbs to help you get a pre-workout kick, plus they're delicious.

or

Pro Bar


My work used to represent Pro Bar, so we have a few samples in the back room. My superviser encouraged me to help myself and I'm totally hooked now. The bars come in tons of natural flavors and are totally unprocessed and organic (I love every flavor I've tried so far!) They have a good deal of calories, so I make sure to eat them before a workout. They're also chock-full of protein, omega 3's, carbs and potassium.

During a hard workout:

Liv Organic Sports Drink


I've mentioned this product before, but the more I drink I the more I love it! This is obviously formulated to be a sports drink, so it has a good ratio of carbs and sodium to re-hydrate.

or

Coconut Water


It's definitely an acquired taste, but coconut water is a wonderful natural re- hydrant. It too has the perfect mix of sodium and carbs to replenish the body. I've been squeezing hot yoga and swim workouts into the same evenings and I usually down one of these in between to make sure I'm hydrated. So far I've only tried the flavored variety (which are all tasty), but I have a plain coconut one in my bag for this evening.

After a hard workout:

Kiss My Face Active Athletic Body Wash


I think hard workouts should be rewarded and this is the way to do it. It's made with Birtch, which is an anit-inflamatory, arnica which soothes sore muscles, and ceder, which is supposed to be calming.

Back in the Game

I've been so busy since arriving back in New York: school, new internship, working out, and on and on and on! But this past weekend, I got back in the game. 

Friday night I spent time on the runway for my designer friend Kate Goldwater, at a fashion show for an animal charity...which meant there were dogs...in costumes... It was pretty adorable, I'm not going to lie...

Saturday morning I headed up to Central Park to meet two girls from my new internship at Organic Works Marketing for a nice 5 mile (plus 2 extra for me) run in preparation for the More and Fitness Magazine's Women's Half Marathon in April! (Somehow, between me and another runner in the office, we've gotten several girls signed up! How exciting! Watch out for Team Organic Works come April 26.) 

The day was a welcome break from our recently frigid weather. At 10 am, it was about 34 degrees, perfect for running if you ask me, and it warmed up wonderfully throughout the day. I dressed comfortably and brought some Pina Colada flavored Cliff Bar Shot Blocks to chew on in my great new running belt.

We chatted about family, friends, and mostly working out, (but not about work...that's not allowed.) The run was nice and easy for me, and I added a mile warm up and a little over a mile cool down after I parted way with my new found running buddies. It's so nice to have someone to keep you company on a chilly morning! 

Sunday I dragged myself onto my bike for the first time (since being back in the city) in the cold (no, it didn't stay warm for long) night air to get to swim team practice (also a first since being back). The ride was short, but I was surprised how difficult it was! I'm was worried that I wasn't in cycling shape AT ALL! My riding buddy Jack is great conversation and, as always, I was completely enamored. All of a sudden I realized the ride was so hard because my back tire wasn't inflated properly! How stupid and unacceptable of me not to check before running out the door! (But at least it wasn't me...;)

The two hour swim practice was the cherry to top the sundae of my weekend. In short: it kicked my ass.  We incorporated a lot of stretching into the practice, which felt great. The actual swimming was difficult and exhilarating, and I remember why I love swimming. It's really not like any other sport. I've been really active since being out of the pool, but swimming works my body in a completely different way. 

I've also managed to make it to yoga a few times (as per my goals for the year) Hot Yoga and a regular vinyassa flow session. 

It's nice to settle into a routine again! 

Check back later this week...I've been working on a new Athlete's Green Product Guide that's not to be missed.

Adventures in Advertising: PETA/Super Bowl Edition...

The only thing that intrigues me about the strange American tradition that is the Super Bowl, is this recently banned PETA advertisement.

Although I'm a vegetarian and have been for several years, I sometimes don't agree with PETA's tactics (graffiti, paint-throwing, etc).

This ad, however, is exactly why I love them - It showcases what they do best.  They really know how to be cutting edge and get an audience's attention.

Enjoy! (But just as a warning, it's a bit steamy!)

What do you think? Should the ad have been banned from the Super Bowl Broadcast? Is it too racy? Or is it clever and sexy?

Not enough to convince you to go Veg? 

Here are some interesting facts about vegetarianism and saving the environment:

1. Meat production contributes greatly to deforestation. Over 40% of the rain forests in Central and South America have been destroyed to create pastures for cattle being raised for beef. 

2.A U.N. report found that a full 18% of global warming emissions come from raising chickens, turkeys, pigs, and other animals for food. That's about 40 percent more than all the cars, trucks, airplanes, and all other forms of transport combined (13 percent). It's also more than all the homes and offices in the world put together (8 percent).

Still not convinced that a vegetarian diet can get you through triathlon training? 

Well, six-time Ironman World Champion Dave Scott was a longtime vegetarian through the 80's and 90's!

New Year, New Me

Technically the New Year began about 24 days ago, but since I've been on vacation in Florida, I decided to make my resolutions begin Monday January 26th, the day I go back to school (i.e. when the new year really begins for me. This may seem like a cop-out, but I assure you, it's not;) I'm sitting here in the Orlando International Airport, waiting to board my plane back to the cold, snowy north...So here they are, my goals and resolutions for 2009.

Environmental

1. Re-use more instead of buying new things

2. Have a positive impact on my community

3. Recycle, recycle, recycle and encourage others to do so

4. Make a conscious effort to buy sustainable, organic and low impact goods

Fitness

1. PR in the 5 and 10k running distances this year

2. Make it to yoga at least once a week (maybe more?)

3. Qualify for nationals in the 100 Backstroke (I have, like, one month to do this)

4. Complete my personal trainer certification and get a job at a gym

General

1. Keep my desk and dresser drawers organized

2. Don't play favorites with my clothes: wear all of them!

3. Save money

4. Make the best of my exciting spring internship and of my classes

I'll keep you all posted on my progress...We'll see how it goes!

Inauguration Celebration!