4 Things Friday & An Announcement

Happy Friday!!

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m not doing a Fall Fitness Friday post today. This week was beyond hectic and on top of all that, I’m fighting a cold (although I am feeling a bit better than I was on Tuesday!).

Not only am I still not feeling 100%, but winter is truly beginning to set in. It snowed today.

It looked pretty, but I’m still not ready to let go of Fall! Bring back the 50 degree temps, pretty leaves, and perfect running weather!

I should probably be used to these winters by now, having grown up in New England and going to school in upstate New York, but even so, I’m having trouble accepting it. 😉

But moving on… Since I’m not doing the FFF Challenge this week, I still wanted to do a fun, personal post today. So, I thought, why not try my hand at 4 Things Friday! (Confused? Just keep reading!)

My Top 4 Favorite things about Fall:

1. Pumpkin spice everything… well mostly everything! 🙂 -> 16 Pumpkin Spice Products that Don’t Exist and Should Never Exist.

2. Scarves (I own a billion, but I love them all!)

3. Sweaters

4. Perfect running weather (have I mentioned that fall is perfect for running?)  😉

My Top 4 Movies:

1. Titanic

2. Bridesmaids

3. The Proposal (what can I say – I like romantic movies!)

4. Any of the Harry Potter’s

4 Songs I Can’t Stop Listening To Right Now:

1. Blank Space by Taylor Swift (watch the music video. It’s scary and weird and I couldn’t look away.)

2. You R in Love by Taylor Swift

3.Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift

4. This Love by Taylor Swift

(Yes, these are all from the new album by Taylor Swift. I can’t stop listening to it, and I’m not ashamed.)

My Top 4 Best Halloween Costumes (Since Halloween was only a couple weeks ago)

1. iTunes gift card (did this with my friend Ramya in high school – it was so fun!)

Woo, throwback to high school dances!

2.Facebook

3. Harry Potter’s little sister (yes… I made up a character for one of my Halloween costumes when I was younger.)

4. Cinderella

4 Places I’ve Traveled to:

1. France

2. Disney World (senior class trip! I want to go again. ASAP.)

3. Yellowstone National Park

4. Vermont (for the Mad Half last summer!)

And this category leads me to my next announcement… my mom and I have decided on our next half marathon in our 50 states mission! The next state we will be crossing off is… *drumroll please* 🙂

Yay!! I’m so excited to say my mom and I will be running the Clearwater Distance Classic in January. It will be wonderful to escape the cold and snow and go soak up some of the Florida sun. and run 13.1 miles and cross off another state while we’re at it. 🙂

I hope you enjoyed the 4 things post! Leave a comment of 4 of your favorite things – you pick the topic!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Veterans Day! (even though it was yesterday)

Hello again!

I meant to say this yesterday, but ran out of available hours in the day to post –

I hope you all had a wonderful Veterans Day yesterday. I, unfortunately spent most of the day in bed studying because I’ve come down with a nasty cold and had an exam on top of that. 😦

As I mentioned in my last post though, I did get to go to Letchworth State Park this weekend!

Despite being a pretty brisk day, it was still beautiful to walk around and take pictures.

I got a kick out of seeing all the picnic tables leaned up on their sides. That’s how you know winter is coming. 😉

I think it was a little too late for prime fall foliage, but it was still beautiful and very peaceful to walk around.

Moving on, I’ve decided not to do the Fall Fitness Challenge this week. I’m still feeling kind of tired and sick, and I’m hoping to concentrate on getting better this week (by drinking lots of tea and eating the Trader Joe’s pumpkin cornbread my mom sent me!) With any luck, I’ll be resuming some serious workouts soon.

I also have some important race news that I will be announcing soon, so stay tuned for that later this week. 🙂

Have a good day!

Fall Fitness Friday #4

Happy Friday!

Thank goodness we’ve finally reached the end of the week!

So, I have to admit the Fall Fitness Challenge was more of a Fall Fitness Fail this week. Oops. Halloween really threw me off my gameplan and I ended up hanging out with friends, eating candy, and sleeping late. And then not working out. So, let’s just forget about Saturday and Sunday.

Monday – got up early and managed to squeeze in 5 miles, woo! And I was excited to actually begin my run in the daylight, as my last several 7 am runs began in complete darkness. Thank goodness for Daylight Savings!

Tuesday – 40 minute pure Barre workout. I really like this workout, it makes my legs feel all jello-y after!

Wednesday – Exercise was walking around campus. It was a crazy day and I was still sore from Tuesday’s workout. (I know… excuses, excuses.)

Thursday – 10 minute arms. I still love this video! Some of the exercises are a little hard for me since I only have a set of 8-pound dumbbells, but I generally try to just do as many reps as I can.

My mom took Brady for a short run this week, and I received this funny picture when they had finished-

Apparently, Brady prefers sprints. Especially when there’s a tennis ball at the finish. 🙂

So here’s to hoping this next week goes somewhat better. This weekend, I’m looking forward to a visit to Letchworth State Park, where the foliage should be beautiful this time of year!

It should be fun to walk around and explore. 🙂

Hopefully, my fellow SPA’s did better on the challenge this week then I did! Hop on over to their blogs to find out 🙂

• Diane at Runnin Rocker
• Kristen K at Runaway with Me
• Kristen at Exploring Domesticity
• Ariana at Happy Life Healthy Life
• Brandi at Noteworthy Running
• Michelle at Fearless Beauty Fitness
• Kathy at Mama Marathoner

Have a great weekend!

Volunteering at the Groton Town Forest Trail Race

Hope you had a fun weekend! 🙂 Today’s post is my mom’s recap of volunteering at a trail race last week. I’ve never run a trail race before, and I’m jealous of how fun it sounds.

 

Trail races are so much fun AND a great way to enjoy the lovely  seasonal  foliage. The club Nora and I have been running with  organizes a great one called the Town Forest Trail Race,  which was held just this weekend.

The race offers 2 different distances: a 3.4 mile, and a 9.5, though both take you through the beautiful trails in Groton,  Massachusett’s Town Forest.

I’ve run the 9.5 the last couple of years, but decided that this year I would just volunteer. Nora’s dad came with me and we reported at 9:30 sharp to help set up the refreshments – which we all know are an extremely important part of any race. (Right up there with the free swag!)

We set up coffee and cider, and all the usual stuff like bagels and bananas, but our club has some pretty awesome bakers so we had things like pumpkin whoopie pies, and caramel topped brownies, too!

When we were done with that, we went out to help with the parking (always a bit of a challenge when the race course is not exactly in an urban setting). Luckily, we parked everyone without any difficulty and even left enough space for the horses to get back into their trailers.  (No, the horses were not race participants, though we had some other four-legged racers!)

 

Afterwards, we went out to get our course-marshal assignments. Because the two courses overlapped in spots, this involved moving yellow tapes across some of the trails after the runners had passed.  (The year before an EMT vehicle had knocked down our tapes, resulting in lost and annoyed runners, so we were determined that everything would go smoothly this year. )  Once the tapes were in place, we went back to the start, to direct the runners through the first “crossing”.

And they were off!!! The 9.5 racers sped off at 12:30 with a small black dog in the lead, and the 3.4 mile racers took off ten minutes later, heading down a different trail.

We jogged after them, to move the tapes to the appropriate places and then settled in about a half mile from the finish to cheer on the runners.

Despite the difficult terrain, (rocks and roots covered by leaves with steep climbs and even steeper downhills) some of the 3.4 mile racers came past us at around 18 minutes later! They were flying!

The first 9.5 mile racers shot past us in less than an hour, and about a minute after those two runners, our little four-legged friend sped past, still looking happy and full of energy.

As the runners went past, we cheered, told them they were nearly there, and reminded them that there were great snacks just ahead!

When we were pretty sure we had seen the last runner go by, we headed to the finish ourselves where the race organizers were beginning to pack things up.  Not sure how other trail races do this, but our club sends out a “sweeper” on a mountain bike to check the course for any lost runners: a challenging bike ride! When he reported the course was clear, everyone returned to the refreshment area and warmed up with coffee and snacks. Though there were no more pumpkin whoopie pies for us, it had been a great race, for runners and volunteers alike. Even all the four legged creatures, (six horses and one speedy dog) had had a good time.

• Though the scenery is beautiful, there are rocks, roots and leaves that make the trail slippery, so it’s actually harder to fully appreciate the view, because you need to watch where you put your feet. (Everytime I get carried away and start looking at the trees, I catch my toe on a root and find myself stumbling into a tree! So it’s best to stay mindful of your feet.)
• There will probably be fewer water stations than at a conventional race of that distance because setting them up in the middle of a forest can be a logistical challenge. So bring some water.
• There will probably be fewer, porter-potties! But plenty of trees! 😉
• Be prepared to share the road. This year we had a number of horseback riders, but after a little traffic direction, everyone got to where they needed to go.

Have a good Monday!

Fall Fitness Friday #2

TGIF! 🙂

My week was another busy one, but I’m happy to report I did much better on the Fall Fitness Challenge this week! Without further ado, here’s how the week shaped up:

• Saturday – I tried my hand at yoga! In all honesty, it was not the most intense workout I have ever done, as I used a 15 minute yoga for beginners video, but it was fun to try something new, and if I wasn’t doing this challenge, I probably wouldn’t have done anything at all, so I figure something’s better than nothing. Interested in trying some yoga for beginners? Check out the video here!

• Sunday – I participated in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in the morning (full recap here!) It was a lot of fun, and I was so happy to participate! The 1 mile walk was a teensy bit short for me though, so I did a challenging, fast 5k-long run later in the afternoon.

The first mile is up a serious hill. I was very pleased with the rest of my splits though, as I haven’t pushed myself to run that fast in quite a long time!

• Monday – again, tried a new workout! This time, it was a 40-minute pure barre workout from Fitnessblender. I became curious about pure barre after reading about it on Julie’s blog. It’s kind of a combination of ballet and pilates exercises – think plie squats, leg lifts, calf raises… it was a pretty intense workout! Walking up stairs the next day, I was definitely feeling it 🙂
• Tuesday – 10 minute abs. Workout here. I wish I had gotten in a longer workout, but the day kind of got away from me.
• Wednesday – 4 miles. I knew it was going to be a crazy busy day, so I got up bright and early to squeeze this run in. So early in fact, that the sun had not come up yet. The first picture was from when I first started the run, the second was from the end. It was definitely hard to set out in the dark, but I was so happy that I got the run in when I finished.

• Thursday – 9 mile long run. This was the furthest I’ve run since the marathon, and it felt good to go a challenging distance again! Plus, I was missing vanilla-flavored Gu’s!

So much better than last week. 🙂 Check out how the rest of the Sweat Pink Ambassadors did this week-

• Diane at Runnin Rocker
• Kristen K at Runaway with Me
• Kristen at Exploring Domesticity
• Ariana at Happy Life Healthy Life
• Brandi at Noteworthy Running
• Michelle at Fearless Beauty Fitness
• Kathy at Mama Marathoner

Have a great weekend! 🙂

 

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! If you’ve watched any football at all lately, you’ve probably noticed all the players wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (who knew that so many football accessories came in pink?!). I was glad I got to join in the fun this month by participating in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Sunday with my sorority.

It seems like our Indian summer has finally come to an end, as it was a brisk 40 degree morning.

My sorority sister who also ran the Rochester Marathon was walking as well, and we joked about having “flashbacks” as we walked the course! This time, we were only walking a mile (not running 26.2!) so it was a wee bit easier. Doesn’t it look familiar? 😉

I loved all the positive energy and excitement from all the walkers coming together for this cause. It’s really an amazing feeling to participate in events like this, with so many people celebrating the fight against breast cancer. There was even live music along the course which added to the festive atmosphere!

I had so much fun checking out all the pink costumes and outfits.

And pink garbage trucks!

What a great event! 🙂

Did you do anything fun this weekend? Are you enjoying watching football players wear pink? 😉

 

 

A Cinnabon Smoothie and Fall Fitness Challenge

Hello there!

I hope you had a great week! The weather is finally starting to cool off for real around here, and it’s officially feeling like fall. I love it. 🙂

I briefly mentioned this in the last post, but I am happy to report that I am back to running now! This morning, I went for another fantastic run.

I don’t know if it’s because I had to take a couple weeks off after the marathon because of my toenail or if it’s just the cooler weather, but these runs have felt amazing. I don’t normally think I get much of a “runner’s high”; I feel good after a run, but nothing really out of the ordinary. These past two runs have left me feeling REALLY good after though – all excited and endorphin-y. (Yes, I realize that sounded super scientific.)

When I got back from my run this morning, I celebrated by making a new smoothie with the free sample of protein powder I received from Protein Milkshake Bar. I love the variety of protein powder they offer – everything from cupcake batter to rocky road to ice cream sandwich. I ordered the cinnabon flavor, wanting to try something different!

So. Freaking. Good. I combined:

• 2 spoonfuls Protein Milkshake Bar cinnabon flavored protein powder
• 1/2 cup honey flavored low-fat yogurt
• 1 frozen banana, cut in slices
• 1 cup low-fat milk. (I would have used almond milk, but I was out!)

I blended it all together and then sprinkled a little cinnamon on top. It was honestly the best smoothie I’ve made in a LONG time. I would definitely recommend checking out Protein Milkshake Bar if you’re interested in switching up your protein powder flavors, you won’t be disappointed. 🙂

My mom and I are definitely still living in the post-marathon glow as evidenced by this pumpkin she placed on our doorstep –

So festive. 🙂 We’re currently trying to plan what our next big race will be. It’s definitely going to be a half marathon this time (my toe still needs some healing time!), but we aren’t sure where or when as of yet.

For now though, I’m kind of excited to switch up my exercise routine a little!

The challenge for me is going to be to try to exercise for at least ten minutes a day everyday – and I’m going to try to add more variety back into my workouts. So while I might run some days, on other days, I’m going to try to do some different YouTube workouts or I might go to one of the fitness classes offered at the school gym with a friend. I want to challenge myself to really commit to more cross-training, and now is the perfect time. 🙂 And, I’ll be doing a link-up with some blogger friends and fellow Sweat Pink ambassadors, so stay tuned to hear about their different fitness adventures! Check out their blogs to hear how they do with the challenge –

• Kristen K. at Run Away With Me
• Kristen at Exploring Domesticity
• Ariana at HappyLife.HealthyLife
• Brandi at Noteworthy Running
• Michelle at Fearless Beauty Fitness
• Kathy at MamaMarathoner
• Diane at Runnin Rocker
• Alicia at NeverEverBeenSkinny

Have a great weekend everyone! Go do something fall-themed. 🙂

Black Toenails and Pumpkin Spice Everything

Hope you all had a great weekend!

My weekend started off a little rough, I won’t lie.

Disclaimer– if you’re easily grossed out or don’t like feet, please feel free to skip this paragraph. I won’t judge you. So after finishing the marathon, it was pretty clear right away that my toenail was turning black. This has happened to my mom a few times, and it’s never been too big of a deal (despite having what we affectionately call “mutant toes” for a few weeks). From her experiences, I expected the nail to be sensitive for a couple of days, and then to fall off after several weeks to reveal a sparkling, healthy new nail. I even painted them a nice, festive orange to disguise the gross black color of my big toe. Well, it remained very sensitive several days later, until I was in the library doing schoolwork (and wearing sandals because closed-toe shoes were just not going to happen yet), when I bumped the toe against my other foot. It was incredibly painful (only my dignity kept me from bursting into tears) and it started bleeding profusely. Just what you want to happen when you’re trying to get some work done at the library. 😉 That night, I went to the walk-in clinic to get it checked out. The diagnosis: infected and needs removal. 😦

So my past few days have revolved around picking up antibiotics, calling a local podiatrist, and sorting out insurance issues. But things seem to be figured out now, and hopefully I’ll be good as gold soon. Needless to say, I have not gotten any runs in since the marathon.

But that’s enough about the toe. I wanted to take a minute to jump on the bandwagon of healthy living blogs that are getting REALLY into pumpkin this fall. Because I love it. And I have been eating A LOT of pumpkin-things lately. Some might say too much. But they would be wrong.

Like this pumpkin spice smoothie – a couple of scoops of pumpkin puree, frozen banana chunks, vanilla Greek yogurt, cinnamon,  apple pie spice (because I couldn’t find pumpkin pie spice at the store… I figured these were similar enough!), and almond milk. So good!

I also made pumpkin butter by mixing equal parts pumpkin puree and peanut butter. I sweetened it with honey and added more of the apple pie spice, and I have been eating this on toast or with bananas nearly every day.

And today, I went grocery shopping and was so excited to discover this-

I had to get it. I mean, COME ON, it’s a limited batch!!!! So yeah, I guess you could say I like pumpkin.

Stay tuned for some marathon-related thoughts from my mom! ♥

What’s your favorite fall food and/or flavor?

Prepping For the Marathon (5 Days!)

Hello again!

Sorry that I’ve been MIA for almost a week, I had my first exam of the semester yesterday and I wanted it to be a successful one so I was prepping for that! 🙂

I cannot believe that this Sunday I will finally be running the Rochester Marathon alongside my mom. After so many months of ups and downs, I am incredibly grateful to be feeling healthy and to have happy feet.

Image Source

Yes, I am essentially a dancing penguin right now. 😉

This week, I have a few short runs planned to keep my legs fresh without tiring them out for Sunday. Today, I did a nice, easy 3 miles that felt spectacular in the cooler weather that’s setting in.

When I got back from my run, I decided to refuel with a new smoothie recipe.

It was delicious! I also added a few drops of lime juice to pump up the tanginess. It was the perfect refreshing treat for after a run, and I was in heaven. 🙂

In what spare time I’ve had, I have also been reading up on last minute tips for the marathon. Here’s a few things I’ve learned and am planning to try:

• Pack some cozy, loose sweats to change into after the race. When you stop running after going for 26.2 miles, you cool off FAST, but you want to be comfortable enough to enjoy the post-race festivities.
• Turn off your music at the start/finish of the race. This lets you soak up all the excitement and spectator support. Running a marathon is such a huge accomplishment and you really want to be able to take it all in. 🙂
• If you can, arrange to get a massage later in the day. While there might be massages offered at the finish, the lines get so long that it can be a little impractical. I’m very excited for the massages my mom and I have scheduled at a local spa!
• Add some new, exciting music to your playlist in the days leading up to the race. There’s nothing like a new song that you haven’t yet heard a billion times to pump you up while you’re out on the course.

If you have any tips for a first-time marathoner, I’d love to hear them! Have a great week!

Fall Break!

Hello again! 

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while; I’ve been toying with a lot of ideas, but never got around to actually posting anything. Oops. BUT, with no classes for Columbus Day weekend, I’ve had a little extra time on my hands, yay!

For the break, I’m staying at my aunt’s, rather than travel all the way home. While I miss my family and my dogs (check out this adorable picture of Brady and Keeper frolicking!), it has been wonderful to get away from campus for a bit.

On Friday, I got lunch with my aunt and then tried to go for a little 3-mile run around the neighborhood.

(Don’t I look a little worried?)

With the leaves crunching under my feet and the wonderful breeze, it SHOULD have been a great run. Not so much. The Indian food I’d had for lunch sat heavily in my stomach, and I cramped up.  Ugh… I kind of knew that was going to happen, but I really wanted to get the run in.

Yesterday was another beautiful fall day, and we decided to take advantage of it! My aunt, uncle, cousin and I packed a picnic and went to a nearby ski mountain where we rode the chair lift up to the top to see the foliage. Even though the leaves haven’t completely changed what with all the warm weather there has been recently, it was still gorgeous.

Waiting in line to go up

some of the trees we passed on the way up had bras and beads dangling from them… not sure what the story is with that!

My uncle and cousin on the chairlift!

Me and my cousin Paige after our picnic at the top-

Check out how blue the sky was!

 

On the way back, we stopped at the mall, where I eased my school-stress with a little retail therapy!  I didn’t go crazy actually, I just needed a couple pairs of jeans. Still, I love shopping (I can’t help it!), and I hadn’t been since going back to school at the end of August, so it was pretty nice.

When we got back, my aunt and I made some pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for dessert. YUM…

Today, I played catch-up on some schoolwork. This was much easier after the mental refresher I had yesterday! So far, it’s been a great break. 

Did you do anything fun/fall-related for the long weekend?

What yummy pumpkin goodies have you snacked on recently?