Tag Archives: running

Day 6 and Pumpkin Scones

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Hello hello!

I ran 3 miles today. I kept a little bit of a faster pace and got a good work out in. I was actually pretty tired after this run, which is atypical. I sat on the dock in the lake where I ran and chatted with my new found friend while I stretched before heading home.

I didn’t feel like making anything so I picked up a salad and headed to the library. I don’t know what was up with that salad, but I felt terrible afterwards. I drank nearly a gallon of water trying to get rid of that dry, weird taste in my mouth before I gave up and came home. I ate some carrots and downed an electrolyte drink before taking nap… apparently that did the trick because I feel better. Anyway, lesson learned. No more store bought salads.

I also just noticed that I gave myself a good sunburn on my shoulders from sitting out on the dock… so sunblock for tomorrow for sure. Though, I’m told it will be raining so we’ll see how my run shakes out tomorrow.

In the mean time, I want to share a new scone recipe that I tried out. I know… I know… I have so many of these types of recipes on my blog, but since I do spend a rather large portion of my day sitting in the library, I like to have good food that is portable. I’ll do a separate blog post on what I take to the library, but that’ll have to be another day.

So… these are almond flour scones (again) but sweetened with a bit of maple syrup and fluffy from the delicious pumpkin puree. I used this recipe from The Spinach Spot. I just found her blog today, and it’s totally awesome!

I tweaked (as always) and swapped the baking soda for baking powder, added a palm full of hazelnut flour, and skipped on the frosting. They turned out fluffy, moist, and absolutely delicious. I do have quite a sweet tooth, so next time I’ll add a little more maple syrup… maybe chocolate chips or some dried fruit…..

So… what did you all do today? Any weird food experiences like mine? What do you like to avoid??

 

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(Sorry for the crap photos, I have terrible lighting in my kitchen and I didn’t try…. O.o)

 

Day One of the Kaprise Active 30 Day Challenge

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Today was Day 1 of my challenge. I managed to get a 2 mile run in around 8:00pm… which was nice but kinda buggy out. I know for sure I swallowed a bug or two on this run. I think I will try to run in the mornings so I get it done and I can focus on the rest of my day. Today, I woke up thinking about my run and then wasted the entire day thinking about it instead of just getting it done.

I also dropped my athletic-wear drawer on my foot so that kinda dampened my run… combined with the bruised toes I have from wearing uncomfortable teetery heels for a wedding last weekend.

Basically… it was good to get back out there, but I think I need to be less clumsy and do my runs earlier.

What did you do today??

Thirty Day Challenges – My ACTIVE 30 Day Challenge

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I’ve been reading a lot of these “Thirty Day” challenges online… or thirty day diets or thirty day somethings. For those of you who know me, you know I don’t proscribe to any type of dieting regimen, and my philosophy about running is quite simliar.

That being said, I think it is important to challenge yourself mentally and physically when possible so that you maintain a healthy soul and body. So, I’ve come up with my own little thirty day challenge. I’m calling it the Kaprise Active 30 Day Challenge. I’ve never been one to run every day, so I’m challenging myself to a run or bike ride every single day for 30 days. My rules are these:

  1. Run or Bike every day from June 1-June 30
  2. No less than 2 miles a day
  3. No more than 10 miles in a singe day
  4. Varying length runs and bike rides
  5. Try ONE new route a week (for a total of at least 4 new routes during the 30 days)
  6. Run smart – in reflective gear, sunblock, etc.
  7. Don’t let anyone or anything distract from the Challenge!

I’m not going to impose any other restrictions on my running/biking, but only to remember to enjoy every single day and be happy! Endorphins!

I’ll document my runs and bike rides in pictures on Instagram, and I’ll keep you all posted on my blog. I haven’t decide how I’ll post, but maybe we’ll just let the blog posts happen organically.

What are your challenges for the summer?? Will you do the 30 day run/bike challenge with me?

 

 

Sunday Seven

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Back! I’ve been busy doing random little things and getting my life together. Because I only work part time, my schedule has been off balance for the last couple weeks… add to that the sudden realization that I actually have a half marathon to run in 3 weeks! I’ve been getting my ass in gear.

Yesterday I went running. I started off nice and easy, bopping my first 3 miles in just shy of 30 minutes, but as I rounded into the second 3 miles there was an older couple running ahead of me. From the looks of their easy lope, they were both experienced runners… so naturally I set the goal to catch up and stay ahead of them. I managed to stay ahead of the gentleman until the last 500 meters when he just pulled ahead and demolished me. I loved every minute of my last 3 miles because I felt that competitive fire again… and let me tell you, that guy? Kept me on my toes! We had a good natured talk afterwards, like only runners can. I always find it wonderful to talk to other runners because there is something about our heads that work the same way. Anyway, what started as a good run, ended up being totally amazing because of that couple that I “raced” with. I rounded my second 3 miles in just under 26 minutes, a decent enough pace to wake up a little sore.

This past week, I’ve also thrown out about a dozen eggs trying to make popovers. I’m still not friends with the recipes, but I’ll update you once I’ve stopped wrangling with the proportions.

And as always, here are some pictures!! If you follow me on twitter or instagram, some of these photos might be repeats, but I’ll try my best to show you guys, in pictures, the things I’ve appreciated the last few weeks that I’ve missed posting here.

Love;

H

Carrots, arranged neatly for roasting

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Ripping up old carpet and pulling up old nails… SO satisfying!IMG_1537

Cold steak salad with mint and goat cheese
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Brights for running. Ready for spring!IMG_1552

Boo, after a quick run outside.IMG_1559

Kale, broccoli rabe and cheese omelet!IMG_1568

Topnot Boo… She’s trying out a new look for springIMG_1573

Boo, in her new and very girly dog bedIMG_1638

Late night snack… avocado and Dubliner cheese (a new favorite)IMG_1643

Bourbon cherry and hazelnut cake (more like brownies)IMG_1644

Attempted popovers… tasty but lacking in the “POP!” Might need to purchase a popover pan IMG_1647

Paleo wraps (recipe coming soon)IMG_1653 IMG_1673

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For the Love of Running

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I’m not sure what is going on with my mobile app, but my Sunday Seven isn’t posted (grrrr). I’ll post it shortly, but I did want to share a quick little article with you guys before I get back to my day.

My cousin lives in D.C. and recently posted a video of a “crazy” man, hopping up and down and running in spiraling circles through her neighborhood. I’ll be honest, when I saw the video I smiled. Man looks happy!!!!

Someone else commented that this was in fact a gentleman who was famous for his running in D.C. I read the article, and smiled some more. Apparently, the man is Cedric Givens, and he has been running for decades. I’ll leave you with the article link below and one final thought… We should all live happily, without fear, and smiling the entire time.

xoxo- H

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/03/08/magazine-running-in-reverse-cedric-givens-has-befuddled-onlookers-for-decades/

My Treadmill

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After graduating college, I was working really long hours and  by the time I was in my running gear it would be really late. During the summer months, I would run in the middle of the night. I was much more mindful of my surroundings, I wore reflective gear, lights and would run on the sidewalks. But as it got cooler, I began to realize I would need a better solution since it was getting darker earlier and the roads were slippery with fallen leaves and ice.

One night, while I was running, I saw my neighbor drive home. He was careening all over the road. I saw him hit his garbage can, before squealing up his lawn in his car and falling out of the driver door and into a puddle.  Drunk? I’m not sure, but I was horrified. Luckily, I was running on an adjacent street to his home and he didn’t pass me, but I did get a front row seat to his erratic and completely dangerous behavior. I got home and immediately ordered a treadmill online.

Yeah. I know. Not exactly the most normal response, but I knew I would need to run indoors during the winter anyway so I clicked away. I got my treadmill a week later. I guess I never realized how large treadmills are because whenever I had used them before they were at the gym, surrounded by other huge equipment. It was shipped in a giant crate and arrived by special courier. The box was so heavy I couldn’t even slide it across the driveway. I ended up disassembling the box on the driveway and dragging each piece of the treadmill, one by one up to the door. My sister helped and it took us almost the entire afternoon to move and assemble!

I still have the same treadmill. I purchased the Pro Form Competitor CS. Mine is the fold-able kind, but I really don’t use that function. It’s such a large treadmill that even folded it takes up a ton of room, plus it’s so heavy and hard to fold and unfold it every time you want to use it.

My treadmill is on the bottom floor of my home, which has a carpeted concrete floor. The treadmill faces a wall that has a ledge. I like to put my laptop on the ledge and watch TV while I run. I also keep a bunch of weights and other assorted work out stuff of that ledge. I also keep a separate pair of “treadmill” shoes near the treadmill. I don’t like the idea of tracking the mud and other junk from my road running shoes onto my treadmill, so I keep clean shoes for just the treadmill.

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So. That’s my treadmill. What about everyone else? Do you own a treadmill? Do you go to the gym??

 

 

Tips for Cold Weather Running

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Like most runners, I hate carrying things with me. I hate extra layers, water bottles, watches… anything extra that i have to carry is a huge nuisance and commitment because I am stuck carrying it until the end. I want to be free when I run.

Conventional wisdom tells you to layer your clothing, but they don’t take in to account freezing fingers, numb ears and achy nose from cold wind.

I’ve been keeping pretty good track of what I wear at different degrees and I have found that if my core, my head, hands, and feet are warm that I can handle cold runs even if wear less layers. Here are some more essentials to battling out cold weather runs:

1. A hat – not only does the hat keep your hair out of your face but it keeps your head warm. On really cold days, I’ll put a really thin nylon beanie under my baseball cap to cover my ears, but this only happens when temps drop into the teens.

2. Gloves – I used to hate gloves because they made me feel numb and too covered up, but I do wear gloves once the temperature goes below 30 degrees. I noticed that once my hands get chilled, it’s hard to focus on running because I’m flexing my fingers to make sure they aren’t falling off my body. I have thin running gloves from Champion. I don’t see a dupe online but any gloves should do the trick. You should look for fitted gloves, I find that the fitted gloves bother me less and they tend to be warmer since you aren’t getting cold wind stuck in the fingertips or what not like you do with larger gloves.

3. Warm socks – the shoes aren’t what keep your feet warm, it’s the socks. I’ve already posted at length about my socks, so I won’t say much more here.

4. Vests – to keep your core warm. I never really understood vests. Like… Where are the sleeves?!?! But I bought a neon colored vest to throw over clothes to increase visibility during my late night runs… And I discovered it really keeps you warm. I started putting the vest over my running tops and hoodies and discovered that one extra piece of fabric was better than extra layers of shirts. I like the vests because they keep your core warm, and your arms aren’t hassled by bunching shirtsleeves.

In addition to adjusting my running clothing to include these things for winter, I find adding some really good moisturizer to my exposed skin helps keep it hydrated and prevents wind burn. On really cold and dry days, I swipe a little Vaseline on a q-tip inside my nose and under my lips so I don’t get dried out. I also add some good lip balm to the surface of my lips to prevent chipping.

What about you guys? What do you do during the chillier months?

(I’m writing this on my iPhone, so it might be a little garbled, but I hope it helps!!)

Race Records and To Do’s

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I promised a while back that I would share more about my running experiences, because I always find it helpful to read about other people’s races and how they felt. It’s a good way to determine which races you want to run, and just to see other people doing the same thing as you. When I started out signing up for races, I did it blind. I just googled random search terms and signed up for races as they popped up on my screen. Needless to say, I was pretty lucky because I lived in Baltimore and there are a ton of really good races in the area.

These are the races I have run:

Date Name Distance Time Pace
October 10, 2009 Baltimore Running Festival 5k 24:59 8:03
March 20, 2010 Carefirst BlueCross Blue Shield National Half Marathon Half 2:05:47 9:36
June 19, 2010 Baltimore 10-miler 10 mi injured
October 16, 2010 Baltimore Running Festival Half 2:03:03 9:24
November 25, 2010 Turkey Trot 5 mi sick —–
January 9, 2011 2011 Walt Disney World Marathon/Half Marathon Half 2:26:01 11:08
March 26, 2011 SunTrust National Marathon Half 2:06:19 9:39
April 3, 2011 The Cherry Blossom 10miler 10 mi 1:32:05 9:13
May 15, 2011 The Maryland Half Marathon Half 2:09:58 9:56
July 31, 2011 The San Francisco Marathon Marathon 4:30:48 10:20
October 15, 2011 Baltimore Running Festival Half 2:18:44 10:35
November 19, 2011 TCS: Annapolis Half Marathon Half 2:17:33 10:30
April 1, 2012 Cherry Blossom 10miler 10 mi 1:41:58 10:12
April 14, 2012 St. Charles Running Festival 10 mi 1:43:42 10:22
April 29, 2012 Althea Columbia ½ Marathon Half 1:59:47 9:09

As you can see, I was pretty ambitious in 2011 and ran 101.7 race miles, but at the end of the year I felt broken. My times had really been dropping off, and I was cranky at the end of my races (totally not like me). I gave myself a couple months to get my head back in the game, and signed up for races for April of 2012. I had thought that giving myself 4 months of race-free running would be a good way to come back stronger and faster than ever.

I started off with two 10 milers. Both were miserable. My times were horrible, my legs hurt, my stomach bothered me, and I dressed poorly for both. These two races really took it out of me. I was mentally and physically tired at the end of each, and I knew it was time to take a break. I had committed to a half with my friend Courtney, and this race was where things “clicked” again for me again. (I wrote about it here). I know it’s really easy to get THAT feeling back and then sign up for more races, and push yourself… but I decided, for the first time in nearly 3 years that it was time to take more than a couple months off.

So… It has been nearly a year since that race, and my next race is April 28. When I run, it’ll almost exactly a year to the day of my last race in 2012. I am feeling good about running again. I am back to a good place where I am running for fun and not fighting with my watch, my shoes, or my head.

What about you guys? What races have you run? Did you ever feel like you needed to take a whole year off to get back into the game?

(Also! If you have any questions about the races that I’ve run, please let me know! I’d love to give my impressions of the races for those who are interested!)

It does NOT feel like Winter

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Two days ago, I woke up to snowflakes gently floating down and coating everything. I was thrilled. I love snow!!! Anyway, I bolted out the door with my dog and camera so that I could take some pictures… I was outside for 30 minutes before the snow turned into hard, little bullets of rain. Booooooo.

Yesterday was unusually mild here, I’m told it was in the 60’s in Baltimore/D.C. but here in the NY Metro area it was a balmy 48 degrees.   Unheard of during the winter months, let alone 24 hours after a beautiful snowfall. The snow had all but melted away when I was out the door and driving off for a run.

I went to a park that I normally don’t go to… only to realize that the path was closed for the winter. Being the naughty person I am, I parked my car down the street and jogged into the park. Once I got to the path, I realized exactly why the path was closed. Between the hurricane late last year, the torrential rain, crazy winds, and all elements of weather the path had been eroded quite a bit. The first few minutes of my run were littered with huge rocks that had cascaded down the hillside and falled trees. At one point, there was a mangled bench lying across the path. It was totally unreal… but utterly fun.

It was obstacle running… I climbed over rocks, trees, and skirted huge holes filled with icy water. Most of my runs are on asphalt, and I don’t have to pay too much attention. I just have to get going and get into the zone. This was an all together different kind of running. I loved it! I’m definitely going to make an effort to run more trails and paths that are more challenging.

For those of you who are curious: I ran 4 miles in 47:39 (about 11:54/mile).

And some pictures of the snow from Monday!

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