Posts Tagged ‘training’

  1. just made: dessert for breakfast

    January 13, 2013 by justgathering

    I made banana bread. Again.

    2013-01-13 01.46.56

    But this time I used a Smitten Kitchen recipe, and I added a boatload of dark chocolate chips instead of millet.

    2013-01-13 01.52.22

    Yeah, it was good.

    I also got a little more technical and whipped up some scones for Sunday brunch.

    P1040798

    An amalgamation of recipes from around the web, I’m calling these cinnamon streusel scones. They were wonderful, and I guess my friends are lucky.

    I have been consoling myself with baking because the Phoenix Half is totally off for me. After what I thought was a very conservative nine days of rest, I suited up for a run this morning — it was unseasonably chilly for Phoenix and I had to put socks on my hands because my gloves are packed away under my bed in Brooklyn — but I made it less than half a mile before my IT band called it quits.

    2013-01-13 07.30.25Yes, that’s frost on the ground behind my hopeful-looking Garmin. I would run through five feet of snow if it meant I could run right now. Sigh.

    My foam roller is in the mail, so until it arrives I’m focusing on other ways to keep moving. (Spin! Yoga! Kickboxing! Crossfit…?!) And, you know, baking for people. It calms me.

    I’m not watching the Golden Globes, and I still haven’t seen an episode of Girls. I feel behind the world, or at least outside of it. And that’s perfectly fine. I’m going to go curl up with Daniel Boulud’s Letters to a Young Chef and plan the next brunch.

    Category eat. | Tags: ,,,,, | 4 Comments

  2. starts and summits

    December 2, 2012 by justgathering

    Training for this half has started off pretty strong. Three runs down and a whole lot of fun cross training. 

    I'd been a little nervous to get back into speedwork because it meant finding out exactly how much speed I've lost. But I was pleasantly surprised. I did 8 x 400m on Thursday, and during the middle six repeats I hovered around a 7:50 pace. It makes me think that getting faster is definitely within reach. 

    This week's long run wasn't too long: just 6 miles. I kept it around a 9:15-9:20 pace and ran the [sunny, hot, beautiful] Greenbelt. 

    I did my long run yesterday because today I had plans to hike Camelback Mountain for the first time. Check one big thing off my Arizona List!

    We set out at 7am, so our side of the mountain was shaded for most of the hike—which was really nice, because this hike is challenging. We chose the more difficult path, and the online reviews were not kidding: this mountain is serious. 

    I am not a great climber, so I was the slow one in the group. I was primarily focused on not falling and killing myself. I don't have great eyesight, and this incline is so serious that at times you're pretty much pulling yourself up by poles that are secured in the rock. (Or if you're me, clinging for dear life.) 

    Here's the view from just halfway up—so gorgeous.

    And here's a candid shot of me. I probably looked as if I was about to faceplant throughout most of this hike. (Do I think pretending my arms are wings will help me miraculously take flight if I lose my footing? Maybe.)

    I actually used my arms during this hike a lot because my hiking style involves a lot of what can only be called scrabbling: using all four limbs and both knees to hoist myself up in whatever manner gets the job done. 

    Out of our group, I think I felt the most self-satisfied when we reached the top. (There was one point when, wrapped around a pole and unsure of where to step next, I thought for a moment I might not make it.)

    But make it I did, and the views were very worth it. 

    There's Phoenix—way, way out there in the distance.

    The way down was just as difficult as the way up. I am not ashamed to say that I did a lot of what I have deemed granny scooting. Yes, I descended parts of the mountain on my butt. "Whatever gets you there" was pretty much my hike MO. 

    I'll definitely be back. I kept thinking that Daniel would love this hike, so I can't wait to take him next time he visits.

    So how did this week look in terms of training? 

    I switched things up a bit, but I feel really good. This coming week I'm ramping up the mileage for sure, but it's a good start. 

    p.s. I'm tracking my individual workouts on Fitocracy, so feel free to follow me there if you're a Fitocrat!

    Category explore., run. | Tags: ,,,,, | 1 Comment

  3. next up: the arizona half

    November 25, 2012 by justgathering

    It's about time I ran another half. My friend Mimi suggested that we sign up for the 2013 Arizona Half. I'm all about December and January long runs at temps in the high 60s, so I said sure. And I've been dying to train for something to get my running back on track. (Sadly, I am nowhere near this fast these days.) And apparently my last half marathon was well over a year ago. What have I been doing since then? Drinking too much beer, considering I haven't actually needed to carb-load.

    So. I've got exactly eight weeks, and I've come up with a bit of plan. It's a little boring, but I like my routines. I'll probably shift things around as life happens, but declaring my intentions here will help me stick to them.

    Canal runs? Mountain scenery? A Central Park long run or two over the holidays? Yes, please to all of the above. 

    This morning's run: 7 miles, 1:04:06. Hot and sunny. I baked banana bread before I left, and I ate some when I got back. I love Sundays.

    Category run. | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  4. Short Races, Long Runs, and Divine Sandwiches

    September 18, 2011 by justgathering

    Yesterday was the Fitness Mind, Body, and Spirit 4 Miler, a race for which I signed up quite a long time ago.

    It was also 10 miles on my half marathon training plan. What to do? Run a 4 mile race in the middle of a 10 mile long run, of course.

    I left my apartment around an hour before the start of the race and charted a course that took me downtown and around Central Park on the roads. I wound up at the start of the race with 4.6 miles down. I chatted with friends who were running it, ate a handful of sport beans, and took off for the speedier part of the long run.

    This race was a little unorganized, but it was fun. I wasn’t taking it seriously at all, so I didn’t mind too much when a random lady tried to cross the road right in front of me as I sprinted toward the finish line. She probably minded when I body slammed her, but I’m pretty sure she was fine.

    Official time: 34:22, a PR. I grabbed an apple on the way through the finish and kept on running for the last 1.4 miles. Then, with 10 miles under my belt, I wandered through the little expo with my lovely friend Amy and ate my free food.

    Delicious apple.

    Yogurt, berries, and granola. Definitely a nice change of pace compared to the usual bagel.

    I actually really liked running a short race in the middle of a longer run. It broke up the long run into manageable chunks, and it was a good mental exercise to pick up the pace for a few miles in the middle. I might start doing this more often.

    Today was purely relaxing. Daniel and I joined Leslie at the Brooklyn Book Festival. We checked out all the book stalls, ogled some literary magazines and nonfiction anthologies, and successfully attended a ticketed reading (quite the feat, apparently).

    We also ate some amazing food. Sandwiches from Tazza, where we ate on Labor Day.

    Our experience there was just so good that we had to expose Leslie to the wonder that is Tazza. Daniel and I split two sandwiches again.

    Tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella.

    And roasted eggplant, red peppers, and goat cheese on focaccia.

    Followed, of course, by ice cream. Blue Marble mint cookie, to be exact.

    Not a bad weekend at all.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 7 Comments

  5. NYRR Running Class: Week 17 & A Short Note to Central Park

    September 16, 2011 by justgathering

    This evening, I found myself walking home across Central Park, around the Reservoir, a path I rarely walk. I hit that loop on repeat most mornings, but slowing down afforded an entirely different point of view. As I was overtaken by runner after runner, two thoughts occurred to me. (1) Central Park belongs to runners. (2) I feel so much gratitude to be one of them.

    The park belongs to runners because we’re the ones who know it, not by the well-loved landmarks but by the distinct feeling of a foot striking the gravelly sand around the Reservoir.

    We know every winding path, feel them in our knees. We know just where to step to miss every rocky trap along the Bridle Path. We know the rhythmic surge of the crowd in the morning and again when work is done.

    We know the perfect combination of large and small loops to fashion 5 miles, 9 miles, 17. We know which hills to tackle when we’re up for a challenge–and which to avoid when we’re not.

    We’re there for the sunrise (and often after it sets).

    Since moving from Brooklyn to Manhattan earlier this year, I’ve come to know and love this park and its (sometimes brutal) hills.

    To Central Park: I won’t always live in Manhattan, but when I leave I’ll miss you most.

    This week’s running class was my first week at the basic competitive level. The workout was the same ladder that I first ran during my third week of class. 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, mile, 1/2 mile, 1/4 mile.

    My times on the 1/4: 1:44 and 1:46.

    On the 1/2: 3:42 and 3:44.

    On the mile: 7:50. That’s 40 seconds faster than 14 weeks ago. And 14 weeks ago, I felt like I was going die. This time, I felt amazing.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,, | 2 Comments

  6. Labor Day Weekend, Part 1

    September 4, 2011 by justgathering

    If I call this post “Part 1,” that means more fun things have to happen, right? Putting it out into the universe. Can’t hurt.

    The good times started rolling yesterday afternoon when I met up with an awesome group of people at Keg 229 to surprise Megan for her birthday. (Sofia’s got some spicy pictures of this little get together in her post.)

    I had a Captain Lawrence Brown Bird Brown Ale, which was pretty delicious. I think I had another beer after this as well, but I honestly don’t remember. Either I was having too much fun talking to everyone or I didn’t eat enough lunch. Maybe both.

    Cupcakes were eaten, drinks were had, hours passed and felt like minutes. Awesome Saturday afternoon.

    Relaxing Saturday, chill bar, full pint = happy boyfriend.

    The conversation was probably quite hilarious to anyone who was not either a food blogger, a runner, or both. A popular question was, “Did you run long this morning?” I believe Kelly had just finished running 18, and a few others had done very long runs as well.

    Me? I was quite happy with yesterday’s 8 miles, actually. Sure, 8 miles isn’t incredibly long compared to the long runs of those training for marathons, but there are two main reasons my long run left me feeling extra good:

    • I had good listening. Last week’s episode of This American Life (Episode 444: Gossip) went straight to the top of my list of favorites. I am not exaggerating: Act 2 features the best contemporary short story I have heard or read in years. Possibly ever.
    • I ran a lot faster than I’d expected. I told myself I’d run 8 miles at a 9:30 pace. When I looked down at my Garmin sometime around mile 3, I was coming in under 9. I tried to slow myself down a bit, but I just kept falling into a faster pace. Since it felt fine, I went with it and ended up doing 8 miles in 1:11:04, an 8:53 average pace.

    The breakdown –>

    Mile 1 — 8:41

    Mile 2 — 8:49

    Mile 3 — 9:04

    Mile 4 — 9:01

    Mile 5 — 8:58

    Mile 6 — 8:55

    Mile 7 — 8:38

    Mile 8 — 8:59

    Nice! I didn’t think I could maintain a pace like this for anything over 6 miles, but I finished running and felt absolutely fine. Good sign for the upcoming half.

    After Megan’s party, I met up with my friend Joe, who was in town visiting. I lived with Joe in Dublin the second year I was there, and I have amazing memories of cooking and eating with him. Joe really likes food, so I was excited to find somewhere new to enjoy together. (Isn’t it just more fun to eat with people who love food? I think so.)

    We were wandering around the Lower East Side looking for something (a) tasty and (b) not too pricey, and the place we stumbled upon was perfect.

    Souvlaki GR started as a food truck, won a bunch of awards, and now has its own place on Stanton.

    I could not resist the sign out front. Who wouldn’t want to taste the tzatziki rainbow? (By the way, Joe had to coach me through dinner on how to say tzatziki. I blame my inability to pronounce words on my midwestern heritage, but he wouldn’t take that excuse and by the end of the dinner I was pretty much able to spit it out.)

    This place looks like a Greek villa inside. I kept expecting to look outside and see crystal blue waters instead of NYC streets. Very charming.

    We got started with Brooklyn Lagers. I was going to go for a Greek beer, but the offerings were lighter and I’m not into light beers at all. So Brooklyn it was.

    We each got a veggie souvlaki, which was basically warm pita stuffed with cucumber, onion, tomato, kalamata olives, and a ton of really delicious tzatziki.

    Then we split the Greek fries, which were totally covered in feta and sprinkled with oregano. These were so good. I’m not even a fries person, but I would go back for these. The whole meal was exactly what we were looking for.

    Definitely hitting up their food truck, and can’t wait to make it down to the restaurant again.

    Woke up this morning to a text from a neighbor wanting to run and ended up doing around 5 at a pretty fast pace. (I don’t know how fast because I operate by the rule that when I’m running with others, if my Garmin doesn’t load by the time the other person is ready to go then NO GARMIN. But it felt fast.)

    Now I’m looking forward to the rest of our Labor Day weekend festivities, which involve more friends and more food. Perfect.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | 7 Comments

  7. NYRR Running Class: Week 15

    August 30, 2011 by justgathering

    So, this news might be a little belated, but we made it through the hurricane.

    We emerged from our forced captivity on Sunday to find the big tree in our corner of Central Park had not made it through the night. Sadness.

    Other than that, we were thankfully spared. Sofia and I went on a 6 mile run on Sunday to assess the damage along the East River.

    Then Sofia suddenly got the rage and pulled down this bus stop sign. Wha?

    Anyway, quite thankful that our area didn’t incur any real devastation, and my thoughts are with those whose homes and lives were more affected by the storm. Also, it’s really good to know our city can get its act together when it counts. Right?

    I took Monday off in favor of a ladies’ night (and too much wine) with Sofia, Rebecca, Leslie, and Katie. I made a salad that smelled terrible but tasted awesome (what’s new?) and Sofia made tiny addictive cookies of which I ate at least 7 or 8.

    Tonight, I had running class.

    It was amazing.

    I took pictures and they didn’t turn out because (guess what!) it’s getting dark out a whole lot earlier lately.

    But the sunset was lovely, take my word for it.

    The workout: a little over 5 miles altogether. We did a 1.5 mile warm up to 110th Street. From there, we ran the end of the NYC Marathon. The next mile we held steady around an 8:30 pace. Then we did a .5 mile pickup at a 7:15 pace, followed by a mile in 7:30. We slowed it back down to an 8:30 pace for a while and did another .25 pickup near the end.

    I felt wonderful the whole time. Even that 7:30 mile.

    Partially because I’m confident that I’m ready but mostly because Coach Shelly says so, I’m moving up to the next level next week.

    Sometimes I forget why I blog about this stuff. Then I realize it’s so I can remember nights like this.

    That’s enough for now.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 3 Comments

  8. NYRR Running Class: Week 14, cancelled races, & running to beat the storm

    August 27, 2011 by justgathering

    This week’s running class left me feeling awesome. Since I was tapering for the Bronx Half, I was pleased that the week’s workout was a 5 miler at a tough but doable pace, with a 400 meter hill sprint at the end. (This was supposed to simulate a race finish and going full force on tired legs. Worked.)

    I left class feeling totally ready for the race. My plan was to do a couple more easy, short runs before Sunday, and I’d be good to go.

    Then people started to sit up and pay attention to Irene. Bronx Half: cancelled.

    At first I thought this was overreaction, but apparently this is serious business. Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated, subways shut down, businesses shuttered. The Whole Foods in our neighborhood stayed open through the night last night and closed down for theweekend this morning. We stopped in to stock up on beer around 10 last night and this was the situation:

    I know, right? Never seen a Whole Foods looking so ransacked.

    Daniel and I decided to try to be normal and went out for Ethiopian at a wonderful place in the neighborhood called Awash.

    Vegetarian combo. Seriously good food. Ate way too much, but we had to reinforce our energy supplies before the storm, right?

    I had no plans for my run this morning, but I knew I wanted to get in some miles before bunkering down in the apartment for the rest of the weekend. Apparently, every runner in NY had the same idea because Central Park was totally packed. Toward the end of my loop of the park, I ran by Ali, who had a giant smile on her face. I’m guessing this means I encountered her before she vomited a Gu.

    I did 6 intensely humid miles. The sky was spitting a bit the whole time, so this run was mildly uncomfortable, but it felt good to be out there. There was a sense of urgency coming from the other runners and bikers, many of whom were probably trying to get their workouts in before evacuating. Despite the palpable determination, though, there was still a sort of eerie calm due to the fact that the park was pretty much devoid of pedestrians, children playing, tourists, and the like. It was an odd feeling, to say the least.

    I’m totally bummed about the Bronx Half, but I’m going to wait til Irene gets the heck out of NYC to start thinking about the next half marathon (Staten Island!). For now, waiting it out and hoping to emerge from our building on Monday morning to a wind-battered but otherwise unharmed New York City. Knocking on wood.

    Stay safe, East Coast friends.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 9 Comments

  9. week in review: exploratory running… and eating

    August 21, 2011 by justgathering

    We got back from Chicago a week ago, but I have yet to settle back into my routine when it comes to running. I was all over the place this week, mostly because I had several opportunities to run with great people. In fact, I didn’t look at my training plan once in the last seven days, choosing instead to give myself up to running when and with whom I wanted to… and fueling it all with the summer foods I know I’m going to miss the most.

    One of the highlights of my week: running with Steff, Sara, Ashley, Leslie, and Sofia. We met up to do a group run put on by Athleta on Wednesday, but it was a bit disorganized so we ended up heading off on our own for a few miles around Central Park. Seeing these ladies all in one place was a total midweek treat.

    My favorite run this week: 3 easy miles around Central Park on Friday morning, alone and sans headphones. Yes, I love running with friends and I almost always use solo runs to catch up on my podcasts, but Friday I just needed it to be me and the park. And my breathing. And the sunrise. Perfect.


    This weekend’s long run was sort of broken into two parts. I set out with a friend for 9 miles along the Hudson on Saturday, but her knees were hurting around 6.5, so we walked the rest.

    I figure I’m about as ready as I’m going to be for the Bronx Half at this point. No use in stressing about my training now. I’ve got a whole lot of great runs under my belt, and I’m just going to give it the best I’ve got next week.

    Plus, I wasn’t about to head out for another few miles right away because we had plans that involved (a) food and (b) beer.

    Yes, Smorgasburg. I have been looking forward to this pretty much all summer. Daniel and I made the food tent rounds with a group of friends, some old and some new.

    We started with a vegetarian papusa filled with beans, cheese, and jalapenos and topped with pickled onions and cabbage, salsa, more jalapenos, and sour cream. This was excellent. Mighty heavy, but excellent.

    We followed that up with a pretty delicious falafel filled with tabbouleh and some sort of tomato jam or chutney. Also quite good.

    But what I couldn’t stop thinking about was a giant ice cream sandwich. I sampled a bite of one of these when our friends got one a few weeks ago at the Brooklyn Flea, but this time I wanted at least half of one to myself.

    I say half because these things are huge. Two gigantic oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies with fudge and about an inch and a half of vanilla ice cream. Insane.


    Of course, a lunch like that required beers afterward. To aid in digestion, you know. We wound up first at a German beer hall in Williamsburg where I had a wheat beer bigger than my head. Then we went to d.b.a. in the East Village (the site of our first date!), where I had the Goose Island Summer. Both good, though not favorites.

    This morning I did another 4 miles with another friend — part recovery run, part attempt to get my weekend mileage up. We gave ourselves the mission of exploring un-run paths in the park, which turned out to be a really fun task and something I’m going to do more often, rather than sticking to the same old loops.

    Looking back now, my training was better this week than most, despite the fact that I wasn’t thinking about it and just running when I felt like it. Here’s how my runs measure up to what I’d planned:

    3 miles + Strength 4 miles speed Strength XT 3 miles tempo 9 miles Rest/Yoga 19 miles
    4 miles tempo 4 miles speed 3.5 miles easy Rest 3 miles easy + 1 hour power Yoga 6.5 miles 4 miles easy 25 miles

    Yeah, apparently I suck at getting in that strength training. Gotta do that. But even so, I’m pretty proud of my miles this week.

    Post-run, my Sunday turned into one big sugar rush and involved a whole lot of this:

    Oh yes. More on that tomorrow. Mwah ha ha.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,, | 5 Comments

  10. NYRR Running Class Week 13, or Surprising Myself

    August 17, 2011 by justgathering

    I am still so pumped about last night’s running class.

    Why? I ran 3 miles in less than 23 minutes. For reals.


    This was my first time running with someone other than Coach Shelly, and I was a little apprehensive at first. The workout: 3 x 1 mile repeats.
    Shelly gave our pace group a little pep talk and sent us off with a very funny and nice man named John. I quickly fell into step, meditating on the sound of all of our feet hitting the pavement at the same time. I honestly didn’t feel like we were running that quickly. It felt hard, but only a little uncomfortable.


    When we finished the first mile, John smiled and said, “How many of you are surprised that you just ran a 7:35 mile?” I raised my hand. Then he said, “Why?”
    And we were off again. Mile 2 was uphill and I came in at 7:55. Mile 3 was downhill and I came in at — get this — 7:12.
    I know.


    I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when I surprise myself.
    Running class week 13 = success.

    Category run., write. | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

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