Voodoo Oils

The other night, Todd brought over a small package his mom had sent me. I opened it up and found a tiny bottle of what Todd calls his mom's voodoo medicine, or in this case, voodoo oil. She sent me a note that said it is for my leg and promotes healing. It contains peppermint oil and PanAway mixed with some massage oil. I looked up PanAway because I had never heard of it and I found out it contains wintergreen essential oil, which is often used for massage. It was created by some guy named Gary Young following a severe injury to the ligaments in his leg and is soothing to the skin while providing comforting warmth to muscles after exercise. I'm suppose to rub one drop on my sore spot on my leg 2x/day.

My bottle of voodoo oil Putting 1 drop on my sore spot... ...and rubbing it in

At this point, I'll try anything that will help my leg get better so you can bet I've been using it twice a day. Thanks Cindy!

On a side note, it's been 3 weeks since I last ran and I plan to run an easy 3-4 mi tonight after work in this amazing weather. Let's hope my leg holds up!

Top 2 Tuesdays--Random Facts About Myself

I decided to participate in Top 2 Tuesdays again from "The Undomestic Momma."



To get to know me a little bit better, here are 2 random facts about myself:

1. I'm rarely ever sick with a cold or flu but I tend to be injury prone or have some other random serious illness that requires serious medical attention. Not including when I was born or getting my wisdom teeth out, I have either been hospitalized, gone to the ER, or put under 7 times. Just to name a few:

• Stitches in my forehead (ran into the corner of the bathroom door thanks to my brother shutting it in my face just as I was running into the bathroom)
• Tonsils & adenoids removed (I had strep throat ALL.THE.TIME when I was younger)
• 3 pins in my left hip (stress fracture from running...yes, I'm aware I have the hip of an 80 year old woman)
• Broken big toe (dropped 45 lb weight plate on it while working at the YMCA)
• Hospitalized for almost a week my sophomore year of college because of food poisoning; it was the worst pain of my life thus far and my stomach has never been the same since (thanks UD dining hall!)
• Extranavicular bone in my left foot removed (crutches for 7 weeks, walking boot for 2.5 months)
• Broken hand (fell while running)

This is what an extranavicular bone looks like...it's the large bump on the arch of my foot

Apparently about 20% of the population has this but it doesn't bother most people. Mine was so large it was painful because my tendons were stretched too far over the bone.

This is what my leg looked like after surgery

2. I have flown on an airplane 39 times and none of these include work/business trips. I feel like this is a lot for only being 26 years old but this is what happens when a lot of my family lives 1000+ miles away. And yes, I have actually kept track of this since I was younger. I already have 3 more trips planned in the next 6 months too including Boston, Portland, OR, and overseas for a Mediterranean cruise!

Week 4 Recap: March 22-28

I spent a lot of time on the elliptical this week, including 3 hours (!) on Saturday morning in place of my 22 mi long run I was suppose to do. I'll attempt to run a few times later in the week as it will have been 3 weeks since my leg started hurting & it feels a lot better.


Monday: 1 hr elliptical (tempo); lifted total body

Tuesday: 30 min elliptical, 45 min spinning; core

Wednesday: 45 min elliptical

Thursday: 45 min elliptical; total body circuit with cardio

Friday: REST

Saturday: 3 hr elliptical (a little over 24 miles)

Sunday: taught 20 min core & taught 50 min spinning


TOTAL: 0 miles

Columbus Blue Jackets Game

Todd & I had a fun date night last night going to dinner & the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game. We had bought the tickets back in January so I couldn't have planned that Kentucky would've been playing for a spot in the Final 4 at the same exact time the hockey game started. Turns out, it was probably a good thing I missed the game from what I heard on ESPN and read in the paper later. They played terrible.

We went to dinner at Press Grill in the Short North. It's a small but really good restaurant that serves mainly sandwiches, burgers, and pizza. This is actually where Todd & I went for our 1st date way back in July 2008 and we haven't been back since so it was fun to eat there again.

Press Grill

Our seats for the game were really good, we were a little high up but we were right at center ice so we could see all the action....including a couple good fights.

View of the game from our seats
Todd & I in between periods of the game
It was hard to get a decent picture because of the lighting

It was an exciting game but the Blue Jackets lost to the New York Islanders 4-3 in OT. Afterwards, we headed to the Big Bang Piano Bar to meet up with some of my friends but the line was ridiculously long to get in so after about 20 minutes of waiting and the line barely moving, we gave up and came home.

Easy Spinach Lasagna

Lent is almost over so we won't have many more meatless Fridays but last night I made Todd & I spinach lasagna. Trust me, this is the easiest thing you could ever make! It literally took me maybe 5 minutes to put it all together.

Easy Spinach Lasagna
Easy Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients:

16 0z. container of cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 box frozen chopped spinach (thawed & drained)
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and spinach. Set aside.

2. Place 3 lasagna noodles in a greased 9 x 11 baking dish and cover with 1/3 spaghetti sauce, 1/3 cottage cheese mixture, and 1/3 mozzarella cheese.

3. Layer 3 more noodles and repeat the same mixture 2 more times, ending with mozzarella cheese on top.

4. Tightly cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

5. Let stand for 15 min before cutting and serving.


We didn't really do much last night, just hung out and watched the OSU vs. Tennessee basketball game. I think I forgot to mention that when I bought my laptop & printer a couple weeks ago, Todd also ordered a mini laptop for half price. He brought it over last night so I could see it. It's so tiny!

Todd watching the game while playing around on his new mini laptop

Close up of Todd & his laptop

I just finished 3 hours on the elliptical. It surprisingly went by fast and I was able to catch up on the news & Sportscenter. I did a little over 24 elliptical mi in place of my 22 mi long run I was suppose to do. My legs are very tired now. I'm sure a nap will happen at some point today because Todd & I are going to the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game tonight.

Cross Training Workouts

I had a request (thanks Karyn!) to describe my cross training workouts since I'm not currently running but still training for Boston.

When I cross train, I like to use the elliptical because I think it best mimics the motion of running without the constant pounding of running. I know swimming or pool running is great too but I don't have access to one. There are tons of different types of ellipticals so maybe whenever I mention I'm doing the elliptical, you have a picture in your head of what machine I'm using but really I'm using a different one. I know I'm always curious what type of elliptical someone is actually using when they say they did the elliptical for their workout. So, first things first, here are the 3 different types of ellipticals I use at my gym:

Life Fitness Elliptical

Precor EFX Elliptical

Arc Trainer

I typically use the Life Fitness elliptical because it's most similar to a running motion. Plus, I can use my upper body which helps keep my heart rate up. I rarely use the Arc Trainer but like to mix it up every once in awhile. I like to use the Precor EFX elliptical because it has the ramp which is good for hills. Depending on what my schedule is for running, that's how I determine my workout.

• Long run on the elliptical would be a steady, consistent speed for 90+ minutes
• Intervals would involve bursts of speed (based on time, not distance)
• Tempo would be increased speed for an extended period of time
• Hills would involve adding a lot of resistance and/or increasing incline

All cardio machines have either a quick start button or a manual option as well as different programs to choose from so depending on my workout, I'll either manually adjust the resistance or choose a program that automatically increases it throughout the workout. Here are some examples of what I've been doing the past couple weeks:

• 2 hr long run on the Life Fitness elliptical: I used the manual program & kept the resistance between 8-12 (out of 25) and the speed between 8.0-8.5
  
• 60 min tempo on the Life Fitness elliptical: I used the manual program & kept the resistance between 7-10 (out of 25) and the speed between 8.5-10.0
  
• 30 min hills on the Precor EFX elliptical: I used the hill program where every 1 min the resistance would increase or decrease to simulate a hill; the resistance started at 1 (out of 20) for a warmup and at some points it would go as high as 18
  
• 45 min intervals on the Precor EFX Elliptical: I used the interval program where every 2 min the resistance would increase then decrease back to where I started (i.e. 2 min on level 6, 2 min on level 12, 2 min on level 6, etc.) and I also increase speed when the resistance increases

Besides the elliptical, I will occasionally take a spinning class (besides the one I teach on Sunday mornings) just because I know I will work my butt off doing it and it's a good combo of speedwork and endurance. I will also do the stationary bike but I get bored very easily with this so I try to limit it. If I do use the stationary bike, I will do intervals with 3 min easy-moderate resistance then crank it to moderate-heavy resistance for 2 min and repeat a bunch of times.

Although sometimes I don't mind cross training because it really does help me recover and gives my legs a bit of break, I'd much rather be outside running everyday!

26 Days Till Boston

With only 26 days till Boston, I've decided to prepare & get more excited for the race by reading a chapter in this book everyday up until race day.

I bought this book last year in Boston at Bill Rodger's running store the day after the marathon. It talks a little bit about the history of the marathon but has a lot of anecdotes from personal experiences during the race. Part I is an intro section leading up to race day. The reason I'll be reading one chapter everyday until April 19 is because part 2 describes each mile of the race in its own chapter so today I already read about mile 1 and in 26 days, I'll be reading about crossing the finish line. Since I ran Boston last year, it's cool reading through the book trying to remember parts of the course it's describing. It also makes me very nervous to think about the race. In fact, I was actually getting butterflies reading about the start of the marathon and mile 1.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I had to be at work at 3:45am but on the bright side, I was done by 12:15pm...and that included my workout! Since we only had a couple police officers to fitness test, we were done around 5:30am and our normal workday doesn't start until 7:30am. Since we had a couple hours to kill and needed to stay awake, my coworker & I left to go to the gym to get our workouts in. Yes, we were basically getting paid to work out. I had another great elliptical workout but the best part was when I did my total body circuit afterwards. I added some cardio in between every few strength training exercises by doing jump rope, jump squats, and mountain climbers and the jumping up and down didn't bother my leg at all! I'm very very happy about this! Looks like I should be back to running by this time next week.

New Laptop

In 2005, I bought a laptop when I graduated from UD because I figured I'd want to take it to OSU when I started grad school. It was a great decision especially because my desk top ended up dying about a year later. I'm not exactly the most computer savvy person (i.e. I somehow get random viruses on my laptop and at one point had like 10 different virus scans on my computer which was really slowing it down) and I lugged my laptop to grad school everyday for 2 years as well as on random trips I've taken so needless to say, I was probably going to need a new laptop soon. A few weeks ago, the top right hinge on my laptop screen came partly unattached which made it difficult to open and close. This was the deciding factor in buying a new one ASAP.

My old laptop (note the hinge slightly unattached on the right hand side)

Todd emailed me one day at work because he had found a really good deal at Dell for a new laptop. When it comes to a big decision like this, I like to take my time in deciding to make sure I'm buying the right thing, but I had to decide by that night in order to take advantage of the deal. Since it was a great deal (almost half price), I couldn't pass it up and went ahead and ordered it. I also ordered a wireless printer for almost half price. One week later, I had my new laptop & printer and I absolutely love it! It's very light weight, thinner, and sleek looking. My other laptop always made a humming noise, kinda like it was working really hard to run, and this one makes no noise and runs a lot faster.

My new laptop

The screen is shinier and the colors are a lot brighter on my new laptop

Happy Wednesday! I have a rough day ahead of me tomorrow since I have to be at work at 3:45....ugh!

Top 2 Tuesday--Things I Can't Live Without

I love blog hops that have you link up to another blog and have you talk about a certain topic, similar to when I did Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life" a few weeks ago about my daily routine. Today I'm going to take part in The Undomestic Momma's "Top 2 Tuesday" and the topic this week is the Top 2 Things I Can't Live Without. Hopefully this will let some of my readers get to know me a little better!



Besides the obvious things I can't live without like my family, friends, Todd, water, food, etc., the top 2 materialistic items I can't live without are:

1. Lip Gloss (specifically Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss)

At any given time I can literally have 4-5 lip glosses in my purse as well as a few others on my kitchen counter and at my desk at work. I'm aware I'm seriously addicted to this stuff. My lips feel naked without that glossy feeling. I probably reapply multiple times per hour--I hate if I don't have it with me and I'm licking my lips because they feel dry.

2. My Blackberry

Now that I'm a Blackberry owner (as of 3 months ago), I now know why it's referred to as a "Crackberry." I don't know how I would survive some days at work without checking my email, surfing the internet, or checking facebook status updates (just kidding about facebook....kinda). Plus, it's obviously a phone and who can't live without that? My question though is how did people live without cell phones? I mean, I didn't have one until my freshman year of college but I can't remember what it was like before they were around.

And in reality, I also can't live without my running shoes.

Quick update about my Boston training: My leg is feeling about 75% but still a little tender on the "hot spot" so I'll probably take this whole week off from running again & maybe try to run easy next week. I've had 2 great cross training workouts yesterday & this morning. Yesterday was 1 hr "tempo" on the elliptical followed by lifting total body and this morning was 30 min of "hills" on the elliptical followed by 45 min spinning and core work. I'll post on Friday more specifics of my cross training workouts.

Week 5 Recap: March 15-21

This was my first week of no running so it consisted of a lot of cross training, mainly on the elliptical. I was happy that I did 2 hours on the elliptical on Saturday, which was equivalent to almost 16 mi, because I had 14 mi on my schedule in terms of running. This week will again be a lot of cross training as it was suppose to be my hardest with a 22 mi run and topping out at 45 miles. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in place of a 22 mi run on Saturday, probably a combination of spinning & elliptical.

Monday: 75 min elliptical

Tuesday: 45 min bike; lifted total body

Wednesday: 45 min elliptical; lifted core
1 hr hike @ Highbanks Park w/ Em after work

Thursday: 35 min bike; total body circuit w/ Em

Friday: REST

Saturday: 2 hrs elliptical (almost 16 mi)

Sunday: taught 2o min core & taught 50 min spinning



TOTAL: 0 miles

An Afternoon with My College Roommates

I was lucky to spend my Saturday afternoon with a couple of my best friends, Dana and Shimmer (not her real name but a nickname she's gone by since she was born so no one actually calls her by her real name, Michelle). I met both of these awesome ladies my freshman year of college at UD because we were all on the cross country team together and lived in the same dorm. I ended up living with them (and a few other wonderful girls) the next 3 years in college. After graduation, Dana moved to Ft. Collins, CO to get her master's degree in Occupational Therapy, where she also met her now husband. They got married last July and still happily live in Ft. Collins. Shimmer moved to Florida to go to med school after graduating from UD but moved to Columbus last year after her and her husband (also a doctor) got placed for their residency at a hospital in town. They've been married for almost 3 years and just had their second son. They have a very busy life and I have no idea how they ever get any sleep!

Pretty flowers I picked up at Trader Joe's to give to Shimmer

Shimmer made Dana & I a wonderful lunch of manicotti, garlic bread, and salad along with some of the best cookies I've ever had. Yes, I cheated during lent and had dessert but I couldn't turn them down since Shimmer had slaved away all morning making them.

Me, Shimmer & Dana
By the way, Shimmer just gave birth to her 2nd child 3 weeks ago...she looks amazing!

We hung out for a few hours just talking and catching up (and watching Shimmer's cute kiddos). I really miss hanging out with these girls and it's funny that now instead of talking about what party we're going to go to or how stressed out we are about school, we're talking about marriage and kids. Definitely a sign that we're getting older! I had a great time visiting with them though.

Besides hanging out with my friends yesterday afternoon, I've had another busy weekend. Friday night Todd & I went to dinner at Claddagh's for some fish and chips before coming back to my apartment to watch basketball and to get my new laptop and printer set up. More on the laptop this week....

New laptop & printer still in the boxes

Todd & I after dinner

Yesterday morning, I woke up bright & early to do 2 hours on the elliptical since I was suppose to run 14 mi. My 2 hrs on the elliptical ended up being close to 16 mi but obviously that's not equivalent to getting outside and running. If I didn't get so bored, I could've gone a lot longer than 2 hrs.

Since Jay's house is up for sale (where Todd lives), Todd and his roommate frequently have to be out of the house when there are showings, which is super annoying & inconvenient for them. Todd hung out at my apartment Saturday afternoon setting up my laptop and doing his taxes while I went and hung out with Shimmer & Dana. Afterwards, I went and babysat for 5 hours.

We don't really have anything big planned for today. I had my yearly review at the gym this morning as my boss watched me teach my core class. The past 2 years, she's watched & reviewed my spinning class but today she watched my core class. It's always a little nerve wracking knowing my boss is watching but it went great. She gave me a hug afterwards and told me it was one of the best core classes she'd seen and she was very proud of me. Not to toot my own horn, but I was ecstatic about this! It's nice to know I'm actually doing a good job.

I think this afternoon Todd & I are going to go furniture shopping for a couch for his new apartment he moves into next month. We'll end our weekend, which went by super fast, making dinner and watching a movie.

March Madness

2 games went into OT

1 game went into 2OT

9 of the 16 games were decided by 5 points or less

A #14 seed beat a #3 seed and a #13 seed beat a #4 seed on a last second shot

AND Kentucky won by 29 points and had the largest margin of victory (I’m just sayin’….)

Yes, this is why I love college basketball. This is why I love March Madness. And this is only from the first day of tournament play.


On a different topic, I feel like since I haven’t been running the past week I don’t really talk about my training for Boston because, let’s be honest, running workouts are more exciting than cross training workouts. Today was a rest day in preparation for a 2 hour date I have with the elliptical tomorrow morning. Let’s hope for something good on TV at 7am!

In terms of my “injury," I've been up & down all week about how my performance will be in Boston. I’m really nervous to go 5+ weeks without running and then try to break 3:30—probably not gonna happen. I’m really hoping to run a few times during the last 2 weeks of training, which unfortunately should be when I’m tapering.

I decided to look back in my running log from last year (I've been keeping a running log since 1998 when I started running cross country in high school) to compare & see how long I had to take off for a similar injury I had in my other leg in October. Let’s just say I wasn't exactly smart about it 6 months ago because even though it hurt, I would take a few days off then try and run again, which in reality, just kept making it worse. Three weeks after I initially went to the doctor and he told me to stop running, I went back again and everything was healing nicely so I was allowed to start walking briskly and then start running if my leg didn't hurt. I gave myself about another month on top of that because I wanted to make sure everything was healed before I started training for Boston. In total, I took about 6 ½ weeks off.

The good news after reading this in my running log is that this time around my leg doesn't hurt as bad as it did 6 months ago and I haven’t tried to keep running on it. So what does all this mean? Hopefully it means that I should be able to start running 3 weeks after my leg started hurting which would put me at April 1. Fingers crossed! And if worse comes to worse, Boston will be 5 ½ weeks after my leg started hurting so even though I might be running slow (or not as fast as I’d like to be), my leg shouldn't hurt during the 26.2 mi race.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani is the first book in a trilogy about Valentine Roncalli, a 33-year-old who is an apprentice to her grandmother and their family's wedding shoe company, Angelini Shoe Company, that's been around since 1903. Unfortunately, the company is also on the verge of financial collapse. Valentine must save the company from disaster while also juggling her new romance with famous chef, Roman Falconi and competing in a shoe design challenge from a prestigious department store. This book takes Valentine to Italy on a trip with her grandmother where she learns new techniques and finds new materials for her one of a kind shoes while a family secret is also revealed.


Like most books I read, it was a fun, easy read with a great cast of characters. I was rooting for Valentine the whole time to be successful in her family's company but also in romance. The ending was a bit predictable but good. When Valentine and her grandmother travel to Italy, the author does a great job of describing Italy and it makes me very excited to go there in September for the first time. The second book in this trilogy, Brava, Valentine, recently came out and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

It's Kinda Pathetic...

but I was so excited the other day when I finally got my 2010 Entertainment book in the mail!

Since Todd & I eat out a few times a week and like to go different places around town, such as the zoo, Ballet Met productions, the movies, Zoombezi Bay, etc., we thought why not try to save some money too by buying this book full of coupons. I'm seriously in love with it. I'm also aware I feel old by buying a giant coupon book. There are hundreds of restaurants listed and most coupons are for buy one meal, get one free so we'll have paid for the coupon book itself in one use. If you tend to go out to eat at least once a month with your signifcant other or friends, I highly recommend looking into buying this. You can check out all the coupons online first to see if you'd go to the restaurants & places listed. In fact, Todd & I are already planning on using it on Friday night when we go to Claddagh's for fish & chips...buy one, get one free of course!

#14027

Yes folks, this is my bib number for the Boston Marathon that is quickly approaching and I expect you to be stalking me come April 19. I've been anxiously awaiting my number and checked online yesterday and they were posted. For those non-runners or those new to running Boston, your bib number basically tells you when you're going to start the marathon because there are 2 start times. Wave 1 goes off at 10:00am and Wave 2 goes off at 10:30am. Your bib number also tells you how fast or slow your qualifying time was because this is the order they put you in, which means 14,026 people are faster than me. The field is also getting faster every year because last year I was #13840 and I used the same qualifying time (3:34:16) since it was good for 2 years.

So where does this put me? I'll be toeing the line at 10:30am because I missed Wave 1 by 27 stinkin' people which probably means I missed it by 1 or 2 seconds. The cut off between waves is at bib number 14000. Last year, I just barely squeaked into Wave 1 but since I was running with my friends, we all started in Wave 2. I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to start at 10:00am this year for a couple reasons: 1) I can hardly eat anything before a marathon (basically half a Cliff bar) so by starting earlier, I would finish earlier and wouldn't be as hungry (yes, my main concern is food, if you know me pretty well, you already knew this) and 2) I feel like I'm kinda fast if I can run in Wave 1 because that's where all the fast people are, right? After some thinking though, I realized I probably have the best start in Wave 2 for a few reasons: 1) The waves are also broken up into corals per 1000 people so I'll be starting in coral 1 so once the gun goes off, I'll be starting the marathon and don't have to wait 10-15 minutes to actually cross the start line and 2) the Athlete Village where you hang out before the race will clear out a little bit after the first wave leaves which means shorter lines for porta potties. It's the little things in life, isn't it?

No running for me still but I've been living in my compression sleeve so hopefully that's working a little bit. I know this isn't going to fix itself overnight, especially if it's the first stages of a stress fracture, but I'm hoping 5 week is enough time to make it manageable. So, it's just cross-training for me. Yesterday was 75 min on the elliptical (or 10 elliptical miles which is what I was suppose to run) and today was 45 min on the bike with strength training. Tomorrow will be a cross-training double with elliptical and core in the morning before work and another cardio session after work with Emily. Please continue to think good thoughts for me!

Week 6 Recap: March 8-14

Well, after a great 10 weeks of training, my left shin started to bother me Thursday morning when I woke up. It probably didn't help that I had run 3 days in a run. My main concern now is getting to the starting line healthy on April 19 (or healthy enough that I can push myself through 26.2 mi). Apparently my body isn't made to run marathons. I will continue to cross train like crazy the next few weeks and see where it takes me. I can only be optimistic that everything will work out. I have also decided that this will be my last marathon for awhile because I can't keep getting injured. Looks like I'll have to start focusing on a half marathon PR.

Monday: 6 mi (progression run; 8:06 pace); 30 min elliptical

Tuesday: 15 min ellliptical; lifted total body; 45 min spinning
7 mi easy (8:19 pace) w/ Sara after work

Wednesday: 45 min elliptical; lifted core
8 mi (3x1 mi @ 7:27, 7:19, 7:21) after work

Thursday: 30 min bike; lifted total body
1.5 hr indoor rock climbing w/ Todd after work

Friday: REST

Saturday: 60 min elliptical; 2 x 45 min spinning classes back-to-back (total workout time 2:30)
Sunday: taught 20 min core & taught 50 min spinning

TOTAL: 21 mi

Weekend Recap

I woke up early Saturday morning to head to the gym to get in my long cardio session since I knew I shouldn't run 20 mi if my shin/tibia was acting up. Like I mentioned a few days ago, I was hoping to do enough cardio to simulate how long it would take me to run 20 mi, which is exactly what I did. I did 30 min on the elliptical followed by two 45 minute spinning classes back-to-back and ended with another 30 min on the elliptical. My leg felt great during these 2.5 hours which was reassuring. I will tell you though, spinning for 90 min straight is hard work! I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life. I was dripping from head to toe. I also realized how much I love running. I was getting very bored the last 30 min on the elliptical and wished more than anything I was outside, in the pouring rain, running 20 mi.

Last night, Todd & I had planned an evening at the Funny Bone Comedy Club with 15 of our friends. We went to an early dinner at Bar Louie before going to see Jim Breuer, who is known for being Goat Boy on SNL as well as starring in Half-Baked. The show was pretty funny although not as hilarious as I expected. Still, I was laughing a majority of the time so I'd say it was a success.

Todd & I at Bar Louie

Jim Breur & I after the show

Hanging out with Megs & Dave (with Nick in the background)

After the show, it was still pretty early so a few of us headed to Adobe Gilas for some drinks. We had a good time hanging out but an even better time laughing at a group of middle-aged, overweight, drunk women, wearing workout clothes, dancing on stage. Let me tell you, nothing is more hilarious that that.

Our entertainment for the night

Today looks to be a lazy day. I already taught my core class & spinning class and plan on spending the majority of the day watching college basketball, the Biggest Loser episode from the other night, and doing laundry.

My favorite time of the year starts today too with the selection show tonight for the NCAA college basketball tournament! I absolutely love March Madness and considering my favorite team, Kentucky, is #2 in the nation, I have a feeling this could be a good tournament year for UK fans. If they make it to the Final Four, my parents already have plans to head over to Indianapolis to watch them (hopefully) win a national championship. My parents, brother, and I actually went to the Final Four in 1997 when UK lost in OT to Arizona in the championship game in what was also Rick Pitino's last game at UK. It was heartbreaking. Let's hope for a different outcome this year.

Pesto Gnocchi with Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

Friday night means a meatless meal so last night I made Todd & I another new dish, pesto gnocchi with green beans and tomatoes. We also had salad and three cheese bread with olive oil. The perfect meal for the night before a long cardio workout. I wish it was a 20 mi run though.

Pesto Gnocchi with Green Beans & Tomatoes

Pesto Gnocchi with Green Beans & Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 Tb olive oil
1 lb green beans
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Salt
1 package (16 oz) potato gnocchi
1/2 cup pesto
1 cup bite-size cubes of fresh mozzarella
Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

Set a large pot of water over high heat. Heat a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and green beans to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, then toss in the tomatoes and continue to cook until the green beans are tender (but still crisp) and the tomatoes are browned on the outside. Remove from the heat.

Salt the water after it reaches a boil. Drop the gnocchi in and cook until they float to the surface (4-5 minutes). Drain and add the gnocchi to the pan with the green beans and tomatoes. Stir in the pesto and mozzarella. Divide among 4 warm plates or bowls and top with a bit of grated Parmesan.

Climbing, Chipotle, and a Confession

Last night Todd & I went indoor rock climbing again. We started in January and have been about 6 or 7 times and I almost made it to the top of a pretty tough climb last night. I tried several times but my arms & fingers were spent after about the 3rd attempt.

About halfway up

Stopping to get some chalk....my hands were getting sweaty

Since we climb until about 8:00 or 8:30pm, we usually just grab dinner out afterwards. We hadn't had Chipotle in months so we stopped to get that real quick before heading home to eat & watch a little TV.

Todd & his burrito along with our chips and guac

Also, I have a confession. I woke up yesterday and my left shin was hurting. This is NOT GOOD. It also hurt today. It feels very similar to what my right shin felt like last October, although not as bad, and that turned out to be a stress fracture. I'm going to not run for the next several weeks and cross train like crazy. I'm already planning on taking 2 spinning classes back to back tomorrow and then cross training some more to simulate the almost 2 hours & 45 minutes it would take me to run 20 mi. I have a little over 5 weeks till the marathon and I think if I'm smart about this, I will still be able to run the race. Hey, and maybe this is nothing and it will be fine in a week or so. I just know from my fair share of injuries, I need to stop before it gets worse.

Running on the Sun

The other night, Todd & I watched the documentary, Running on the Sun, which follows a few of the 40 competitors racing the Badwater 135 ultra marathon in 1999. This grueling 135 mi race through Death Valley, begins in Badwater (282 feet below sea level) and ends at Mt. Whitney (8000 feet above sea level). The temperature at the start of the race was 115 degrees and steadily climbed throughout the day to 125 degrees.

They start off by introducing the runners the documentary will focus on which includes a marine, a man with a prosthetic leg, a 68 year old man, and the current course record holder. They also showed some of the training they do to prepare and it includes running in a sauna for hours on end as well as running on a treadmill, layered in clothes, with a dryer hose blowing heat on them. Many people who run this are just trying to become an "official" finisher, someone who completes the 135 mi in under 60 hours while others are trying to earn the cherished prize, the Badwater belt buckle, by finishing under 48 hours.

The documentary follows these runners (and their training crew helping them on their journey) from the enthusiastic first 15-20 miles, to the painful miles in the middle of the night, to the tears of joy at the finish line. Some of the racers go through agonizing pain during the race with dehydration (just imagine running in 125 degree weather for hours), stomach issues, as well as severe blisters on their feet and toes. Trust me, some of it can be graphic but incredible what they overcome just to finish. At some points, racers are literally laying on the side of the road in so much pain you don't think they can go any further, but they pull through.

If you think running a marathon is crazy, then these people are absolutely insane. These people are running more than 5 marathons in a row! It was amazing to see how strong the human body and mind really is. Because it was such an inspiring film for runners & non-runners, I would definitely recommend watching it.

New Running Shoes

You can see a common pattern here with my running shoes and it's usually a sign that I need a new pair. For some reason, without fail, I always get a hole in the mesh when I'm nearing 350-400 mi on my shoes. And it's only in the left shoe! Granted, my left foot is about a half size bigger than my right foot but my shoes always fit perfectly. I went up to a size 8.5 from an 8 a few years ago after I was getting a lot of blisters on my toes so I know that this hole I get isn't from my shoes being too small. I think eventually they just wear out.

On Saturday, I went to a local running store, Fleet Feet, to buy my new pair of Asics Nimbus but was disappointed when they were out of my size. They said they'd order them and I'd have them within 5-7 business days. Needless to say, I was not happy especially because this happened the last time I went there too. Um hello, obviously this is a popular shoe and a popular size so maybe you should order more! Ok sorry, rant over. I really wanted my shoes this week though so I could break them in before my 20 mi on Saturday.

Sunday morning rolls around and I'm looking through the ads in the paper when I spot a coupon at Sports Authority for $25 off a $100 or more purchase. Since my shoes are ridiculously expensive $125, I headed over to see if they had my Nimbus in stock so I could save a few dollars. I was in luck but not only did I get this pair for $100, I should be getting my next pair for only $16! How does that work? Well, the salesperson working there was telling about the extended coverage plan. For $16, I'd have a 13-month warranty on my shoes, which includes rips or tears, even if it's from normal wear & tear. This means I can get my money refunded in full if the mesh rips (and it obviously will from the photo above) and still keep my shoes with the hole in it. So yes, I'll be getting a brand new pair of Nimbus shoes for $16 by the time summer rolls around.

I know what you're thinking....wow, she just got ripped off, this has to be too good to be true. At least, that's what I thought so I read through the fine print of the brochure they gave me and it was unclear if it did or didn't cover tears from excessive wear. The salesperson who checked me out reassured me that no one has ever had a problem with getting their money back from mesh tears. In fact, all you do is call the company handling the extended coverage plan and tell them the problem. You don't even have to show a photo of the shoe or send it back in. I was still a little leery so she even called the manager of the store over to verify I would get a refund from a hole in the mesh and she said that if for some reason they didn't give it to me, I could come back to Sports Authority and they would refund the money directly themselves. So either way, I'm getting a pair of shoes for $16 in a few months!

New pair of Asics Nimbus 11

Also bought a bright neon yellow shirt to run in outside when it's dark...Todd was very happy about this purchase so I don't get hit by any cars

Enough about my shoes and onto my training. I did 6 mi yesterday morning and was hoping to do some mile repeats but my stomach was upset and my legs weren't having any of that so I did a progression run instead, starting at 8:19 pace and ending at 7:47 pace. I also did a solid 30 minutes on the elliptical.

This morning I did a 15 minute warm up on the elliptical with a few strength training circuits followed by a 45 minutes spinning class. Since Sara is in town from Pittsburgh, I met her after work for an easy 7 mi run (8:19 pace) in Dublin. It was nice to run with her as well as catch up with what's been going on. Kinda like killing two birds with one stone. Tomorrow will be a 10 mi run with some tempo miles thrown in. Since I will have run 3 days in a row, a rare occasion for me, I'll be cross training the rest of the week before my 20 mi long run on Saturday morning.

Week 7 Recap: March 1-7

Another 40 mi week in the books for me. For me, 40-45 mi is about where I peak otherwise I will probably get a stress fracture. I finally learned this after my 4th stress fracture last year. I think taking a complete rest day really seems to help with my long run on Saturday mornings because I felt awesome this Saturday. It also helped that Todd was riding his bike alongside me which seemed to push me.

Monday: 8 mi (7:44 average pace) w/ 6 x 800 between 3:28-3:34

Tuesday: 30 min elliptical; total body circuit

Wednesday: 10 mi (2 mi warm up, 6 mi tempo @ 7:31 average pace, 2 mi cooldown)

Thursday: 6 mi (easy w/ 2 x 800 @ 3% grade @ GMP); lifted total body & core
1.5 hrs indoor climbing w/ Todd in the evening

Friday: REST

Saturday: 16 mi in 2:12:51 (8:18 pace)

Sunday: taught 20 min core & taught 50 min spinning

TOTAL: 40 miles

Next week I plan on running 42 mi, ending with a 20 mi run on Saturday, before taking a cut back week.

Fish Fry Friday & Warm(er) Weather Long Run

What better way to celebrate getting my cholesterol re-checked after a 3.5 month low-fat, low-cholesterol diet than heading to a fish fry full of fried fish, french fries, and mac & cheese? Well, that's exactly what I did. Last night, Todd & I went to the fish fry with my parents at the church my family belongs to, St. Joan of Arc. It's probably one of the best fish frys in the Diocese of Columbus. It's $8 for all you can eat fried fish, baked fish, mac & cheese, french fries, green beans, coleslaw, and rolls. But all kidding aside, I really am going to maintain my diet especially if it helped lower my cholesterol. I should find out next week. Plus, my stomach usually hates me for eating a lot of fried food so all the more reason to eat healthy.

Lots of fried food at the Fish Fry

I got up this morning to get in my 16 mi long run and it was about 30 degrees! Woo!! Since it's been warmer outside this week, a lot of the snow has melted so Todd was able to bike alongside me while I ran. We left from my apartment and ran about 4 mi to the Olentangy Trail along the Olentangy River. I love this bike path because it's almost 14 mi long and I can run to it from my apartment. I prefer to just leave my apartment and run instead of having to drive somewhere to run. The bike path also brings back many memories because I used to run on parts of it for cross country & track practice in high school as well as running on parts of it near Ohio State when I was in grad school and with some of my running friends when we were training for Boston last year.

My sherpa, Todd, getting ready to ride with me

Ready run with my 2009 Boston jacket & capris tights....yay for warmer weather!

The plan was to run 16 mi around 8:20 pace. Like I've mentioned, I wear my garmin but I'm not constantly looking at it to keep my pace. I just try to run based on how I feel that day. Well, I must have been having an awesome day because I ran 16 mi in 2:12:51 (8:18 pace). I got to the trail about 4 mi into my run and happened to run into Eric, a friend of a friend who is also running Boston (he's friends with Jay & Sara and I hung out with him in Boston last year). Anyways, Eric is super fast. His goal for Boston this year is to run around 2:44-2:45. He just ran Columbus this past October in 2:49. He was at the end of running 20 mi and did a couple cooldown miles with me but his cooldown miles were still pretty fast so for about 2-3 mi I was running about 7:50-7:55 pace just so I didn't slow him down too much. It was nice to randomly run into someone you know & be able to run with them for a few miles. It made those few miles fly by. I also ran passed one of the sexy 7's brothers, Mark. For those newer readers, the sexy 7 are my best girl friends from high school. Anyways, I swear, I run into Mark any time I'm on the trail.

Todd was wonderful riding next to me and even riding ahead to stop and get my gatorade & sport beans ready for me as I ran by. The bike path (or trail) I run along is pretty flat but getting to the path from my apartment is perfect for Boston training. From about mi 2-3.5, there's a long steady decline (similar to the first part of Boston) which means running back home from about mi 12.5-14, there's a long steady incline. The last mile I also have to run over a steep quarter mile long overpass which is tough. I killed the last mile though and ran it in 7:47! Awesome run all the way around. Now it's time to enjoy some pancakes and a nap.

Show Us Your Life: My Typical Day as an Exercise Physiologist

Every Friday, Kelly at Kelly's Korner has a topic to "Show Us Your Life." I decided to finally post about this week's topic, what my typical day is like.

4:30 am: Wake up & head to the gym (either my apartment gym if I'm just running or the gym I teach at, Lifestyle Family Fitness, if I'm cross-training or lifting)

4:50 am-6:15 am: Run & workout

My tiny apartment complex gym....my fave treadmill is the one on the left with the red book covering the screen
The other side of the room with the weights

6:15 am: Back home getting ready for work

7:30 am: Work day begins (unless it's my week to go to the local fire station to put the firefighters through a workout in which case I don't have to be there until 8:30am....which means a longer workout!)

The office I share with 2 of my coworkers (my space is on the right)
A close-up of my desk

8:00 am-12:30 pm: Fitness testing firefighters & police officers; fitness testing includes body composition, VO2max testing on the treadmill with EKG interpretation, sit & reach, sit ups, chest press, and leg press

One of the fitness testing rooms where we do VO2max testing along with EKG monitoring & interpretation

12:30 pm-1:30 pm: Lunch; I love my coworkers (there are 4 of us plus my boss) so lunch usually consists of lots of joking around & lots of laughing

1:30-4:00 pm: Finishing out the work day with hopefully more fitness testing but some afternoons can be slow so it consists of making workouts for the firefighters I train (or sometimes workouts for myself), working on any projects or presentations we have coming up, making reminder appointment phone calls....or even reading a book, which is how I read so many books

4:00-5:30pm: On my way home from work, I'm usually running some sort of errand whether it's to the grocery store, the library to pick up books I have on reserve, or to waste lots of money at Target

5:30-6:30pm: Checking email, reading other blogs, making & eating dinner

6:30-9:30pm: Typically spent watching a couple of the many tv shows I have dvr'ed (I hate commercials and refuse to watch shows live, unless it's a sporting event), reading, getting stuff ready for the next day and talking to Todd before heading to bed

If Todd & I are hanging out during the week, my evening will be slightly altered depending on what we have planned (movies, going out to dinner, indoor rock climbing, hanging out with friends, wine tastings, etc). We usually try to eat dinner together though if we are hanging out.

And there you have it, the exciting life of an Exercise Physiologist!