Learned my lesson...

So today was Long Run Saturday. 

As I mentioned last week, my goals for Long Run Saturday were (a) to become more efficient in the timing of preparation for my run; and (b) to increase mileage.

Well I now need to revise the second goal --  increase mileage without major stomach issues for hours afterwards.

It was a glorious running day like this on my Loop
even though my stomach was less than glorious...

Yeah. When I list all the stupid things I did that could have contributed to this, nobody will be too surprised I had stomach issues on my first 10 mile run. Still I'm surprised and disheartened by just how bad it was. I need to find a way to avoid this for sure or that will be the end of the 10 mile Long Run Saturday.

Let me start by saying that I have been known to brag about how low maintenance I am in this department. I have zero dietary restrictions. I can eat anything, in pretty large quantities for my size and not have any real issues. When I travel, I embrace the food - in hole in the wall restaurants, on the street, at people's homes. Mystery meat stew while camping in Africa? No problem. Spicy street food in India? No problem. All kinds of dairy on a regular basis? Welcome to my world. My stomach can handle it all.

I have had stomach issues for sure when running longer distances than I'm used to. But it usually just requires a pit stop on the run and then I can pick up and finish, and I feel fine. Maybe a little tired, but fine. No lingering issue.

Not so this Long Run Saturday. In fact, my run was over nearly 6 hours ago and my poor stomach is still not 100%. So here I am,  on a Saturday night, on my couch writing this instead of heading out to a nice dinner & drinks with my friends. A dinner that I had planned earlier this week and was so looking forward to. :( I am feeling a little sorry for myself. In fact I don't even feel happy right now that I met one of my goals and completed the run.

So what happened? 

Well, here is what I did. In line with not wanting to be too overly disciplined on a Friday night.. last night, while watching March Madness with friends, we all went a little crazy with delicious bar food for dinner. Basically, everything was fried, except the nachos (which I made sure to eat topped with jalepenos and doused with tobasco sauce). The fries and chicken fingers had multiple creamy dipping sauces. All was pretty delicious if unhealthy to an excessive point, but why not? every once in a while, a little good- tasting-but-bad-for-you food is in order. We were at a bar watching basketball after all. I say live a little. And eat a salad tomorrow.

Of course, it was all rinsed down with a strong beer and two glasses of wine. And after the games, we headed to another bar where I shared another glass of wine  and a spicy margarita w/ my friend (didn't mean to but I am a sucker for these things..). 

Got home at a decent time (12:30 or so) had some Vitamin Water Zero and went to bed. 

Woke up around 10 AM this morning very thirsty and with a headache. Had another Vitamin Water Zero and took 2 Advil. Had peanut butter toast and banana with tea and milk for breakfast. More Vitamin Water Zero and water. Stomach was a little unsettled so took a couple Tums. 

At 12:30 I felt good. I headed out for my run. I ran north on the Westside Highway for 1.5 miles and back to get the 3 extra miles on my Loop. I noticed my Garmin said I was running too fast for a new longer-distance-run -- my pace lingered around 7:45 for the first 4 miles. I tried to slow down a little but just couldn't, it didn't feel right to run slower.

My stomach was talking to me the whole time - gurggling and making weird noises. But I felt OK. 

Miles 6-7 my pace slowed - my stomach stopped talking and started yelling at me a little. I started thinking I might need to make a pit stop - but then talked myself out of it. That was easy to do because there wasn't anywhere to stop anyway. Long stretch with no bathrooms or portas. Mile 8 -10 my pace was a steady 8:30 - ish.  My stomach was not happy with me at all, but I was able to hold it together and didn't make a pit stop. I have felt more emergency-about-to-happen on past runs. Mile 10 was tough - but I did it and kept a steady 8:30 pace. 

So I finished 10.07 miles in a little over 1:24. Average pace of about 8:20. As I said, I didn't pace myself well in the beginning - and was slow at mile 6-7, but I felt I still finished at a decent pace (for me!). I was happy with this for my first try.

When I stopped running, my stomach was churning, but I didn't need an emergency pit stop on the mile walk home. 

I made it home - went straight to the toilet and figured that would be the end of it. I made myself lunch (2 eggs and toast, pretzels and half a banana). I felt fine. For about 15 minutes. 

But, then..... my stomach was very, very unhappy. All afternoon. And, as I said, it is still not 100%. I was also beat. I mean really really out of it, tired.  I had an appointment to get my hair cut at 4 and I'm not sure how I even managed to walk the 15 minutes to get there - I almost took a cab, but managed walking - slowly like a zombie - trying not to think of my stomach churning -- and somehow made it through the appointment (I had to make 2 bathroom runs during the appointment then skipped the blow out b/c I just had to get home...) Walked home slowly like a zombie, picked up a Gatorade (figured I was all sorts of dehydrated at this point and somehow the Vitamin Water Zero wasn't appealing anymore) changed into sweats and crashed on my couch.

Aside from several trips to the bathroom, I have not left my couch since. And that was a few hours ago now. 

So what happened?? Yes, I'm aware of runner's trots -- but I thought that meant while running, not for hours afterwards?! And, it's not like I just completed an ironman or even a marathon or even a truly Long run. 10 miles is nothing in the grand scheme of real runners' runs!! Nor should it have been that big of a deal for me. It wasn't that big of an increase from what I've done before -- I ran 9 miles last week (albeit at a slower pace) and have been running 7 -8 miles once a week for months. 

Of course, being the internet detective that I am, I did a few google searches and found out this is not uncommon. Increasing mileage can cause it - and it can last for hours - and you can feel totally wiped and exhausted. So I guess that is a relief (?) It's likely not a parasite or worse.

According to my very scientific google research, here are the suggested things to do to try to avoid this from happening --

Eat low fat / bland food the night before

Limit alcohol

Limit caffeine the day of

Limit milk the day of

Avoid aspirin or ibuprofen

Avoid antacids

Avoid sugar substitute sweeteners (*found in most low cal drinks - like Vitamin Water Zero)

Eat at least 2-3 hours before running

Be properly hydrated

Ok, most of this is pretty common sense. But, yeah, I pretty much broke every rule on the list. The only thing I did right was the peanut butter banana toast for breakfast. Still - I cannot believe how bad it was - especially considering my normal brag worthy low maintenance stomach. (I mean - it was so bad that I am still considering whether I need to see a doctor to rule out anything more serious -- and I never go to the doctor except for routine check ups!)

Have any of you had this happen and successfully gotten past it in future runs? 

I can't wipe out my whole Saturday and Saturday night because of a 10 mile Long Run Saturday. I loved the challenge of completing it and in general like the idea of increasing mileage - but if this is the consequence, it's just not worth it to me.

For anyone who has been through this, does your body eventually get used to it? Should I go back to doing 8 miles and gradually work up to 10 instead of just going for another 10 miler next weekend?

Oh and thanks for sticking it out on this oh so pleasant topic ......  I do hope everyone else is having a fabulous Saturday night ! And avoiding the many belligerent in green, scouring the city right now after hours of drinking. I guess maybe it's not such a bad night to avoid the craziness out there in exchange for a lazy night renting movies and catching up on my book.

Then again, now that my stomach is finally starting to feel almost normal again, I wonder what my friends are up to after dinner....

OK, fine.

I like Daylight Savings now.

I don't mind if the sun sets while I'm on my run -- but
starting a night run in the dark in NYC... does anyone do it?

Although my sleep has been far more messed up this week than I can really give credit to the loss of just one hour (is it in my head??? there is no reason I should be having a hard time falling asleep before 2 AM, it's not like I used to stay up until 1AM regularly before the hour change.).. I did curse Daylight Savings more than once this week when my alarm went off and it seemed impossible it was already time to get out of bed.

But, it is hard to deny it -- there is a benefit to Daylight Savings -- the whole staying lighter later in the day thing. This is particularly true because I like to run after work. And given that I leave work around 6:30/7, it has been dark when I leave the office since late October.

And, I'm not a fan of running in the dark night on the Westside Highway (do people feel the same way about this? It is fine to run in the dark in the morning but seems a little unsafe at night..?)

Anyway - I'm fine if it turns dark while I'm already out running, but something about heading out for a run in NYC when it's already dark just doesn't really sit right with me.

So I was thrilled to leave work last night and actually have time to quickly change and make it to the Westside before the sun went down. It was a chilly night after the 70 degree temps we had earlier this week. But awesome running weather! I did a glorious 5 mile run in 40 minutes (ok 40:28 to be exact). And had time to shower, change, grab dinner and meet my friends for a couple Thursday night drinks in the West Village afterwards. Fun ! There were so many people out and about last night!

I didn't do my Loop. I ran uptown on the Westside this time - for the first time in several months. Yikes I forgot how many bikers there are at night and how skinny the lanes get at a few points when you have to share with the bikers....

 I think the mental vision of me getting run over by a bike  -- and how awkward that would be -- made me keep my pace good and steady the whole run. It felt great. Much better than my 3 mile treadmill run I had to fit in Tuesday in the middle of the day because it was the only time I could fit anything in. (hated  that! especially since it was such a gorgeous day Tuesday)

Best of all, between the run and the two drinks afterwards, I curled up in bed w/ a smile on my face and fell fast asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

It was a good night.

Welcome Spring ! Done with the black tights

I always find it a bit of a dilemma deciding when to start wearing tights in the fall and when to stop in the spring. Like most girls I see in NYC, I have a winter uniform of black tights, black skirt and some sort of blouse. Or black tights and a dress.

I like to buy my tights at Duane Reade,
'cause I'm classy like that.  Don't knock
the Kushyfoots if you haven't tried them.

Save for a few weeks during the transition from tights to bare legs, I really don't ever wear pants to work. Mainly I have a hard time finding pants that fit right, aren't too frumpy looking or too big or too long (I'm barely 5'3"). Plus - the length for wearing pants with heels at work means that they are too long to wear with flats coming and going from work. Does anyone else have this problem?? I cannot walk to work in my heels, but my heel-length pants are too long to wear with flats; the ends of the pants drag along in the street. So I stick with skirts for work. Which means covering my legs with tights to keep them warm and hidden in the winter.

However, there are usually a few weeks in the spring when I'm ready to be done with the black tights but my poor pale wintery legs aren't ready to see the public light of day quite yet. So I will do pants to work during these transition weeks -- but that's about it. (Oh and I never, ever wear pants in the summer  even on the weekends - bare legs all summer long is the way to go!)

But all winter long to work it is black tights. Black tights. Black tights. Every day. And also when going out at night on the weekends.  So when spring rolls around, I'm usually very ready to put the black tights away.

I also like American Apparel Opaque size XS "panty hose" (read: tights)
This pose is giving me a back ache, however. Who stands like that??

For whatever reason I feel the transition to and from black tights has to be cold turkey both ways - no waffling back and forth between tights / no tights. And a big pet peeve of mine is when I miscalculate one way or another and I'm stuck in the freezing cold with bare legs in late October when everyone else around me is cozy looking in tights or boots or WORSE when I'm stuck sweating to death in black tights on a warm day in the spring when everyone else is summery looking and bare legged. That makes me grumpy. 

So it is important to gauge the seasons change carefully.  To me, putting the black tights away for good means Spring is here. There is no more risk of snow. It is time to wear more color, less black. Summer is around the corner. 

That usually happens around mid to late April in NYC. But this year we've had the strangest most non-existent winter ever. And, I was super grumpy to find myself in black tights (and a cashmere sweater no less) last Thursday, when it was a beautiful sunny 70 degrees and everyone else looked like a breath of fresh springy air in their bare legs and spring clothes.

(I blame NY1 for the wardrobe misstep by the way, they said it was going to be a cool and windy day??! I normally love Weather on the Ones. How did they get it so wrong last Thursday?) 

I got so sweaty and worked up about it Thursday that I swore off black tights for the rest of the year. So what, it's only the first week of March?? I was DONE with black tights 'til Fall. 

Then, I woke up Friday, and it was cold. And windy. And I couldn't find a pair of pants that looked remotely OK and I realized (after I got out of the shower) that I hadn't shaved my legs, and was running late. I also thought that I'm not sure my pale little legs are quite ready to be bare in public...... or rather, I'm not sure people are ready to see my pale little wintery legs quite yet. I made a mental note to go shopping for a new pair of transition black pants and I pulled back on the damn black tights. But it was all fine - it ended up being a chilly Friday, other girls were likewise in their black tights and my legs were thankful. I was not grumpy. All was good.

But now here we are with a full week ahead of gorgeous spring weather. Snow at this point seems impossible. I'm ready to wear more color, less black. And before yoga on Sunday, I managed to find a couple pairs of transition black pants that should do the job for me this year. (For anyone who has a hard time finding petite fit pants - the Banana Republic 00P (I think it is Martin fit) pants actually fit alright)  Not great, but they'll do the job. Not too frumpy and the length is just about right for both heels and flats. A little long / short on either end - but they just need to get me through the transition weeks anyway.

So I pulled on the new transition black pants Monday morning. My bare tights-free legs felt good underneath the pants. My bare tights-free feet felt good in my flats and then heels, peeking out below my pants. I was especially thankful for no black tights today -- what an amazing summery day!

Yes, it's only the second week of March. But I'm putting those black tights away 'til Fall. Done. Now my little legs just need to get ready to see the public light of day again so I can put the transition pants away and rock the bare legs w/ my skirts and dresses. A couple upcoming long-weekend warm-weather trips should do the job there.

And just like that... it's Spring!

Shoes and Sweets

It's Monday and I don't like Mondays.. who does? Especially when it's the first work day after losing an hour and you couldn't fall asleep the night before because of losing the hour so the alarm went off way too early and you were tired all day. Grrr. I'm still not a fan of Daylight Savings yet.

To try to bring some positivity to this grumpy Monday, I thought I'd list a few things I am liking these days. Here goes --

My hipstamatic kicks

1.  My Nikes Triax. I like Nike running shoes. I always have. I like a narrow fit along the whole foot. I don't like my foot to feel like it can move within the shoe. I don't like the feeling of free feet in a shoe. I like security. I have never found a running shoe that feels that way, except for Nike. I have tried many different Nikes over the years. I'm currently with the Triax. I like them. They work for me.

I know that as people get serious about running they tend to go with one of the 'runner's brands' that you can't get at your standard Footlocker - Brooks for example. Not me. I have tried running in many other shoes and I spent a long time at Jack Rabbit before purchasing the Triax yet again, trying other shoes on the treadmill to see what I thought. (has anyone ever noticed how many straight looking attractive men are in Jack Rabbit at any given time by the way? Maybe I need to join a running group..) All other shoes feel sloppy on my feet. I like the feeling of clean, structured, security. So I am a Nike gal. 

2. Peanut butter and chocolate. (yeah, no transition here from one random topic to another...!) As the title of this blog indicates, I love to bake. Of course most baked goods are sweetsy things. And I don't really have a sweet tooth. Sure, if something looks yummy and  sweet and is sitting right in front of me, I will eat and enjoy it. But I don't usually really crave sweets. OK once I did eat gelato every single day for 2 weeks on vacation in Croatia (sometimes twice a day) and I do love my frozen yogurt piled high with all the awesome bits on offer at 16 Handles. But my real food vices are more of the savory type. Pizza. Cheese. Crispy salty thin french fries dipped in mayo. Spicy stacked nachos. Crusty bread and salty French butter. You get the idea.

However, when it DOES come to sweets, there is one genius combination I'm particularly fond of -- chocolate and peanut butter. Sweet and salty. Salty sweet. Genius.

So last week, when I received this gem in my 'gift bag' from the James Beard Greens event,  I knew it would be good.  Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams. Natural peanut butter and dark chocolate together, in one spoonable jar.

Beware: Highly Addictive. 

If you are like me and you have portion control issues with anything that can be eaten with a spoon straight from the jar / carton - WARNING. Please proceed with caution when trying this. It. Is. Addictive.

Far better in my mind than Nutella - this has the perfect balance of salty sweet.

AND..... I have convinced myself it is not really that bad for you. I mean it contains peanut butter. That has its health benefits and when lined up next to Peanut Butter & Co. crunchy peanut butter - the nutritional info isn't that off -- yes, higher sugar of course, but it's actually 20 CALORIES LESS per 2 tbs serving than regular peanut butter. And lower fat too of course. Hmph. Plus, it's all natural. I like that.

I wouldn't waste this jar of geniuseness making the following snack -- although you probably could -- save the Dark Chocolate Dreams to eat by the spoonful with a side of pretzels. The following recipe is already easy as pie. And I wanted to end with it while I'm on the topic of peanut butter and chocolate because it is one of the easiest, quickest, fail proof, crowd pleasing recipes I know. It is straight from the back of the Chex box, and also known amongst some as 'puppy chow' although many people have never heard of it before. But trust me. People rave about it.  And it only takes about 20 mins to make, from start to finish and requires no crazy ingredients or special appliances. Perfect treat to make for a casual get together - movie night, book club, March Madness. It's also gluten free. Call it what you want. It won't disappoint.

         Peanut Butter Chocolate Deliciousness


        9 cups of  rice Chex cereal  
        1 cup chocolate chips
        1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural; I use Jiff)
        1/4 cup butter
        2 teaspoon vanilla
        2 cups powdered sugar (at least - I usually use more)
        a 1-gallon ziplock bag

Place cereal in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium microwavable bowl, add chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir. Microwave 30 seconds longer and stir mixture until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour sauce over cereal and stir until evenly coated (I use my hands to mix everything up and make sure it's all evenly coated). Spoon half of the mixture in the ziplock bag. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and seal. Shake the bag until everything is entirely coated. I like mine to be very white with a lot of powdered sugar, so I add more sugar as needed to achieve that. Repeat with the rest. Spread on waxed/parchment paper to cool (10 mins or so). Store in airtight container. Bring to a get-together. Your friends will love you.

--Adapted from the back of the Chex cereal box.

Long Run Saturdays

Vitamin Water Zero - good for Long Run Saturdays and hungover Sundays

Am I the only person who wishes it wasn't such a nice and sunny day today? I want to lie on my couch and be lazy (i.e., hungover) without feeling guilty about the sun peeking through my blinds. And how did I manage to sleep in until noon? And stay out until 4 last night? I am a night person, not a morning person. Losing an hour always hits me hard.

Daylight Savings and the delicious tequila beverages I had last night probably both hit me a little harder than expected because yesterday I ran a little farther than usual on my "Long Run."

Every Saturday I run a "Long Run." For real distance runners and marathon trainers, it is not "Long." But for me, it is a little longer than what I usually run. It has become a new necessity for me and the source of my recent goals.

Usually my Long Run is a 7 mile loop along the Westside Highway down and around the bottom tip of Manhattan and up the East River. I LOVE THIS LOOP.

I have been a runner since high school and I have always run consistently since then. I love it for all the reasons runners love running. It keeps you fit. It is the easiest thing to just pick up and do. It keeps me sane and de-stressed. I feel like I can breathe better when I'm done. I always feel better after a run.

However I have never been a distance runner. I like to run fast-ish and short. On a normal day, a "fast" paced (7:45-8:00) 3 to 4 mile run does the job for me - still after years of doing it. When I am done, my head is cleared, my stress is gone, I am a sweaty, smiley mess and I feel great.

I also love short fast runs because they are so low maintenance -- I can fit 30-45 minutes into my schedule easily, I can do it on a treadmill without wanting to die of boredom, I don't have to be conscience about what I eat beforehand, or about hydrating, or electrolytes or having to go to the bathroom during the run etc etc. Short runs are low maintenance. I like low maintenance.

So the short fast run has been my best friend for years. 2-3 runs a week and I was a happy person.

Until in 2010 I got an injury (non-running related) that prevented me from running, and any form of strenuous exercise, for months. I do not wish such a thing on anyone who loves to run / exercise and is used to doing so regularly. It was terrible.

As soon as I recovered, I was ready to get back into a routine. But I could barely run 10 minutes in a row. It was devastating. I could not remember ever struggling to run for 30 minutes. I felt like I had never run before in my life. I did what beginning runners are told to do -- ran as far as I could until I had to walk, walked a bit, then ran again up to a total of 30-45 minutes. I did this a few times a week and was eventually back to my normal running pace again much to my relief. But it was hard. Harder than I ever thought it would be. It is no joke -- if you basically stop running for several months, it will be hard to start up again.

And when I got back to where I'd been, running 3-4 miles at a 8:00 /mile pace. It felt great. Amazing. I couldn't believe how much I'd missed it. That was a year ago - February 2011.

Realizing how much I'd missed running and how much I loved it, made me naturally want to increase the number of runs I was doing - until I was running 5-6 times a week. My pace got faster and I started wanting to go farther.

Over the summer I went for runs outside, and a few times, ended up running for an hour, unplanned. And it felt great. I soon realized there could be a new love I have for a longer run. So, in the fall I started my Long Run Saturdays.

I do the same Westside to East River Loop every Saturday. Did I mention I LOVE THIS LOOP. If you are in NYC, try it. I have run many of my fast/short runs over the years in all sorts of places, different countries, cities, parks, paths, countryside, mountains. Yes, I have run in Central Park - and it is great. But it is a far trek for me to get up there -AND I really don't like it nearly as much as I like my Loop.

On my Loop you are always alongside water. And when you are running, I swear that water looks cleaner than it is - and even smells like the ocean sometimes!  I love running under the bridges, seeing the statue of liberty, the boats. My favorite stretch is along the East River right before South Street Seaport - running under the bridge - there is a stretch of sandy beach, and actual waves lapping the beach and sea gulls (not pigeons - these are actually white clean looking sea gulls!).

I also love this Loop because it has been the perfect Long Run for me. 7 miles was a good step up from my 3-4 miles. It is an hour of running. I have had to learn to pace myself a little, I cannot do the whole thing at my normal 7:45/8:00 pace. When I'm done I feel great. It has become a necessity in my week. Like therapy. I need my Loop. I need to see all my little favorite spots on the Loop. I need to zone out and clear my head.

It does the job. I've done the run every Saturday since October - except 2 days -- one when it snowed and one when wind chill was in the teens (of course this has been the best winter ever to run outside!!). I forced myself on the treadmill those 2 days and managed 7 miles, but of course it was not the same. And the Saturdays I've been out of town, I've done a 7-8 mile run outside wherever I am which was better than the treadmill, but I still missed my Loop!

I love my Loop and my Long Run Saturdays. But, the Long Run is not low maintenance.

First, I have to try to be careful about what I do on Friday night.  No I will not stay in completely or avoid certain foods or alcohol. I'm not running a marathon here - or even training for one. But I do try to limit the amount of alcohol I drink and the time I go to sleep - no 4 AM binges for me before Long Run Saturdays (which is definitely a good thing, who do I think I am anyway?? One night of debauchery -- Saturday -- is enough for a weekend). However, I'm not the most disciplined person when it comes to such things. I am a night person and I like to catch up with friends. I am always up for 'just one more drink' or a 'night cap'. So there HAVE been times when I've had to consciously discipline myself on a Friday night in anticipation of Long Run Saturday.

Second, I am not a morning person. At all. I don't understand how people can be happy and cheerful early in the morning before ample quantities of coffee. And, while I will get up to run in the morning if it is the ONLY time I can fit it in, I don't like to do this. I don't run as well early in the morning. I don't feel as good on my run. That makes me grumpy. On a Saturday morning, I prefer to sleep in until I naturally wake up, which could be 8 AM or could be 10 AM, depending on my Friday night or week plans.

Third, and related to the above, is that I have to think about what I'm eating and how much I'm hydrating in order to make it through an hour run. I definitely have to eat something - and far enough in advance that I'm well digested on the run. And I have learned my lesson about eating the wrong thing. NO high fiber cereal on a Long Run Saturday. I tried peanut butter + banana on toast this week and this may be my breakfast of choice now.

And then you have hydration. I find hydration to be a huge issue for me. Maybe it is partly in my head but my hardest runs I usually pin on not being hydrated enough. And I am a salty sweater - so I need a good dose of electrolytes as well. I am seriously addicted to Vitamin Water Zero  at the moment -- but next on my list to try is Nuun. The biggest challenge for me is getting the right amount of hydration and then peeing enough before my run so I don't have to stop and pee. This balance is SUCH a challenge.. Am I the only one who finds it hard to do??

Finally - to get to the Westside highway and back from East River from where I live is a bit of a walk (2 miles total). Yes, I could run or jog part of that and often I do - but it is difficult jogging 14th Street on a Saturday with so many people out and about and having to stop at all the lights. So usually I (speed) walk a good portion of that stretch -- which lengthens the door to door time of the run.

So you see... Long Run Saturdays = not low maintenance. All the Friday night disciplining, eating the right thing, hydrating, digesting, getting to and from my Loop and running - when all is said and done it takes up a good portion of my Saturday. Does anyone else have this problem? Maybe I need to just get my act together and force myself out earlier. I don't like having my Saturdays revolve so much around this -- I hesitate to make plans on Saturday because of it - which is not a good thing. I did once do my Long Run before a brunch that I had - I fit all in and was showered and at brunch by noon - and it was great! But I also had naturally woken up well rested before 8 AM that day for whatever reason. Anyway - all this to say - goal #1 on Long Run Saturdays is to get better about the timing of my run, be more efficient and get started earlier. I need to feel free to make other plans and fit my run in somehow.

Goal #2 is to increase mileage. This week I ran 9 miles for the first time. 8 miles was non-stop (1:07 total time) and then I walked across the street and for about 30 seconds then started up again at a slower pace and ran through to 5th Avenue. It was weaving around people on the sidewalks and stopping at lights - but I ran until I hit 9 miles. My goal is to increase my Long Run Saturday to 10 miles. This will mean making my Loop start higher up on the Westside Highway or exploring whether the East River paths go beyond 20th Street - yesterday I tried going that way and was running through a gas station and some sort of hospital looking building - what is that?? And where does the path go?? Did I lose the path or is that where it ends?? I was very confused so just turned around and ran back. I will look this up.

But, yesterday was good. I felt great. Well, except that less than a mile in I had to pee. REALLY?? Ughhh, the right hydration to pee-before-run ratio is so hard for me to perfect. Thank goodness for being near the public toilets. Still I get so grumpy when I have to stop so early on. And that grumpiness made me run faster than I should have when I started up again for that first mile- which I paid for later.

My legs got a little heavy around mile 4-5. But then felt better. Mile 8-9, I was dragging though. I was slow. I felt tired. I could not have easily run another mile. I have read that when you run over an hour you may need to refuel a little - so I may need to try this to see if it helps. I am afraid of all the marathon gels - but read on a serious runner's blog that a pack of honey or Annie's Bunny Snacks could help so will need to investigate. (see www.rungiarun.com, one of the blogs I like to follow!)

Well I have now killed a good chunk of time on my couch while eating breakfast for lunch and enjoying my coffee. I feel better about the sun peeking through my blinds. I think I might even change out of my pajamas and head out a bit before it's time for my Sunday yoga class -- my new favorite post Long Run Saturday routine. Vinyasa. Perfect to stretch out my legs and doesn't require a lot of energy. Low maintenance; no Saturday night discipline needed. I like that.

Why the blog and About Me

Three things I love. Running, baking and sharing dinner at the bar of a favorite restaurant.

I like bike rides too!

I am not obsessed about these things to the extreme. I have never run a marathon and currently have no desire to. I am not a pastry chef, nor will I ever be. I am pretty good at scoring a seat at a restaurant's bar, however, if that is worth anything. Yes, it is a skill.

I love other things as well of course. I also love faraway travel, books, college football, champagne, red wine, random thoughts and dry humor, and I have recently embraced a new inner geeky love for HBO's Game of Thrones (like cancel-all-Sunday-night-plans and talk to the TV love). New season to begin April 1, can't wait!

I may mention some of these other topics from time to time. But, I decided to start this because I realize I follow blogs these days mostly about running, baking and NYC restaurants, and I find many things I agree with, and some I disagree with... and  many thoughts I have about these topics that nobody seems to be blogging about.

So, I figured why not put my own opinions out there. I hope people will eventually ready and maybe even follow and comment as I love hearing what other people think about the things I like and don't like! 

So please let me know your thoughts and even send an e-mail if you have something to share. I'm always up for hearing other points of view and getting recommendations!

Enjoy!