Rollin' Along

It's been another good week fitness wise, I feel like I have a pretty good schedule figured out, which takes the guess work out of my days. Most of my runs were on the treadmill, and yesterday was another yoga day, but today I got to run a new route outside with my running group.

The weather is finally nice enough to feel as if winter is truly behind us, this morning we did seven miles in a part of town that was new to me, which is a nice change. I feel like I've claimed Saturday mornings for running. I ran Saturday's all through the winter with the group, and I plan on keeping it up, and do my longest run of the week on Saturdays. That way I don't have to worry during the week about Mike getting home from work on time for me to head out, or to get up earlier than usual to fit it in before he leaves. I think it's good all around, while I'm out running Mike has Saturday mornings alone with L&E which I know they all enjoy. Then I'll let him sleep in on Sundays, give him some affection, then it's all good.

Here are details of my run today. Just 'cause:

Time: 01:10:39
Distance: 7.08 mi
Calories: 980 C
Avg Pace: 09:58 min/mi
Best Pace: 07:15 min/mi

The photo is from the next race on my calendar, the Boilermaker 15k on July 11. It will be my fourth year running it. And is it me, or is it weird that the Moody Blues are playing at the post race party? I didn't know they were still an item.........don't forget the Bondi Band Giveaway.....it ends May 26th!

Review of Vitalicious Vita Tops

After my giveaway last month of Deep Chocolate Vita Tops, I received some of my own to try out and review. I'll say right off the bat that it says a lot that Mike (who is still in the process of quitting smoking) has been eating them too.

We had a variety of Vita Tops to test out, from Chocolate Mint to Banana Nut, along with their Chocolate Brownies. If you aren't familiar with the product, one of their tag lines is "maximum nutrition for minimal calories." They are preservative free (must be kept frozen otherwise they spoil), have 8 grams of whole grains, 15 vitamins and minerals, are a good source of fiber with 100 calories and between 1 and 2 grams of fat per muffin. Completely feel good eating.

I would grab one out of the freezer, and either let it come to room temperature for a snack, or would pop it in the toaster to have for breakfast with my coffee. I put one next to Mike's water bottle in the fridge, so he could take it with him when he leaves for work. They have so many different flavors (three of chocolate alone) that it's easy to have a few favorites (at least for me). This is what I thought of each:

Apple Berry - I'm going to use the word "bursting" for this one, there were chunks of apple, along with whole blueberries and cranberries.

Blueberry Bran - very full flavored, lots of whole berries.

Golden Corn - it was dense, with a rich corn taste.

Bran Cranberry - sometimes bran can be grainy, this wasn't like that at all.

Banana Nut - subtle banana taste, I liked the addition of walnuts.

Chocolate Mint Chip - my favorite of them all, the mint flavor wasn't overpowering, and the chips just made it even better.

Triple Chocolate Chunk - reminded me of a devil dog.

Deep Chocolate - ditto on the devil dog.

We also had the Brownies, which to me tasted more like cake than a brownie, but the bonus was the nuts on top.

So if you're looking to find a way to eat muffins or chocolate and not feel guilty about it, definitely give these a try.

*I received samples for this review, I was not compensated for my thoughts on the product.

I'm a Versatile Blogger

Thanks to Elle for this "versatile blogger" award.....more bling for my sidebar!

I'm supposed to list seven things about myself, and pass it onto 15 new blog friends. I started listing blogs that I read frequently, and I had to stop, because we'd be here all day. I've shared so much about myself already, but there's always more to tell, so here goes:

1. I tend to drive a wee bit fast, although I didn't get a speeding ticket until about two years ago. I was going 81 mph in a 65. That same weekend I got a parking ticket, and then a letter from EZ Pass saying if I drove that fast thorough the exit again, they would revoke my pass. Turned out to be an expensive weekend.

2. Before having kids I traveled. Outside of the U.S. I've been to Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France, The Netherlands, Venezuela, Belgium, Mexico, Canada and the Carribean. I would love to go to Japan.

3. I want to do some trail running. I sometimes run on the trails at a nature center near my house, but I don't think that counts.

4. I'm a fan of the Mets, Giants, Islanders, Knicks and SU for college basketball, which can cause some good natured friction within my family at times, since my Dad went to Chapel Hill and he and my brother are obviously big Carolina fans.

4. I played field hockey for four years in high school, was a cheerleader for three, and captain my senior year. Go Falcons!

6. I love libraries. There is one down the street from the house I grew up in, and I was there all the time. When I lived in Rochester, I worked down the street from a library, and would spend my lunch hours there. I love the feeling of finding a little quiet corner and staying there for as long as I can. It's different now with the kids, but they love it too.

7. When I was little my grandparents had a black cat named Molly. I've always suspected that I'm named after the cat, but no one would admit it.


Barefoot Angie Bee
Running Off At The Mouth
Julie's Running Blog
Beach Eats
Miss Zippy
Weight Loss Mama
Dangle the Carrot
Tri Diesel
Run Tall, Walk Tall
Racing With Babes
Goals for the week
Early Morning Run
Morning Runner
Run to the Finish
Journey's of a Triathlete Father of Five
Age Groups Rock
Run With the Black Knight
Running on My Time
Fit To Wed

Running and eating. Running.....and eating.

I had a great week fitness wise, which is a good thing because judging by the amount of food in my fridge you would think that more than four people lived in my house.

Three out of my four runs were done outside, and I managed to squeeze in a five miler before Luke's birthday party for his buddies. I was drained after two hours with 14 six year olds, and we didn't even have the party at our house! I managed to do an hour of yoga one day, a bike ride another, and did enough push ups, squats and planks to feel sore. I haven't tried the heart rate monitor on G-Unit yet, but I'm loving how much freer my outdoor runs feel. There are paved trails throughout my development, and it's great to just ramble around knowing I'm still getting my planned mileage in.

Food wise, we still have pizza left from the kid party, TWO cakes (one for the kids, and an ice cream cake that we had to celebrate a second time with the family, after we ate greek food) all the fixings for gyro's, including Mike's homemade tzatziki sauce which has so much garlic that you can smell your own breath after eating it. Mike did the weekly shopping yesterday while Luke and I were at yet another birthday party, so last night we had my favorite grilled veggie salad for dinner. So I'm in leftover heaven.

I didn't make the above Transformers themed birthday cake. But I ate it.

Five for Friday

1. I went to a new dentist this week for a cleaning. He was a nice enough guy, but the type who asks a ton of questions while your mouth is full of metal. One of our conversations went like this:

DDS: Are you athletic? You look athletic. What are you, five ten?

Me: Good guess, I am five ten. I run, I ran the Mountain Goat last weekend.

D: Running, UGH. Running makes me nauseous.

M: hrkm kgrof.

D: Do you have a brother? Is he as big as you? He must be really big.

M: I do have a younger brother. He's a plumber.

D: Then I guess he's not that big.

???????

2. We had a raccoon come up to us on the deck a couple of weekends ago while Mike was grilling dinner. It would not go away, it was like that kid movie Over The Hedge. I threw some cans of Play Dough at him, and he kept ducking back and forth behind a tree like in an Arcade game. Mike shot off a Roman Candle (yes, fireworks. In our house it's a year round occurrence) and he still wouldn't go. We gave up, and Mike kept cooking. Every so often he would whip around and shine the flashlight on it, and the raccoon would turn his head like he was embarrassed for staring.

3. I'm not sure if I'm happy with my Nike's. They are a vast improvement over the Asics, which I realize now were too narrow, and did nothing to keep my foot centered. I've been feeling a twinge in my left heel, I've dealt on and off with plantar fasciitis in that foot, so I'm wondering if the Nike's aren't cushioned enough. I've only had them for two months, but I'm considering sneaking over to Fleet Feet for a second opinion. I'm having flashbacks to wearing a boot to bed for a month, cortisone shots and foot taping, and I really don't want to go down that road again.

4. I had a few moments this week:

I told Eliza to eat her corn on the cob like a typewriter. She didn't know what the hell I was talking about.

I learned that you need to be careful with what you touch after you use Ben Gay.

I went outside to put some outgoing mail in our mailbox, and when I got to the end of the driveway, I realized I was holding a box of rice.

5. Good luck to Suzy in the Ragnar Relay today! And don't forget Julie's Very Cool Giveaway..... and Lisa's Peanut Butter & Co giveaway....

First Techie Run and a Giveaway

I found it funny that in this month's Runner's World there is an article about running with a Garmin for the first time. Which is what I did on Monday. Mike made it home early enough for me to go for a three mile run in the chilly, yet sunny afternoon. I'll take it though after the weather we had on Mother's Day.....it snowed, and I spent time in front of the fireplace reading, it felt more like March than May.

For the first mile of the run, I kept looking at G-Unit, in between watching where I was running and avoiding dog walkers. My pace kept going up and down, which makes sense because it takes me almost a mile to settle into my ten minute pace. I felt good after my self imposed week off, and the run went by quickly. Once I was home I was happy to see that what I thought is a 3 mile loop around the hood really is 3 miles. And now, I can officially report that I ran it in 28:54, with a 9:39 pace. Success!!

And now, Giveaway time!! I'm sure you have heard of Bondi Bands, headbands to hold your hair back while you work out, or go about your daily business. I wear mine when I do the pre-school drop off and I haven't showered. They came in handy when I was growing out my bangs, I would put one on after I pulled the rest of my hair in a ponytail for a run. I wore my brown and green polka dot Band the day of my Shamrock Run.

I think the Bands are cool, but I also think it is very cool that the company donates 10% of their profits to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

So the lovely folks at Bondi Band are offering two things......first, a discount code to use on their website, buy five bands for $25, and use code FIVE at checkout.

And second, you have a chance to win a package of three bands, one wicking band in "Solid Chocolate," one lycra band in "Fresh" a pretty blue flower pattern, and one lycra band in "Summer" a green/blue pastel colored striped band.

To enter.....please go to Bondi Band's website here, and look around, then leave me a comment.

For additional entries (please leave a comment for each extra entry):

1. be a follower of my blog or become one

2. follow Bondi Band on Twitter or facebook

3. spread the word via your blog, Twitter, or facebook

Giveaway ends at midnight EST on May 26th.

Run Like a Mother Review

I keep seeing Run Like a Mother pop up on blogs and different places online, so I was really excited to read it. I'm the type of person who only reads the first few lines of the inside cover of a book, I want to know what it's about, but I want to find out for myself what happens. So I wasn't sure what to expect from Run Like a Mother, but it delivered.

It was a nice change of pace to read a running book that was written by two women, Dimity McDowell, and Sarah Bowens Shea. As I was reading, a light bulb went off, when I realized that they were the women who wrote a Runners World article back in 2008 about training for the Nike Marathon in San Francisco. Dimity had to do the majority of her training on a bike, due to a stress fracture, and I remember thinking of how much of an extra challenge that must of been.

As I read further, I found I really liked Dimity and Sarah, I enjoyed their humor, and we're the same age, so I appreciated their taste in music and references to things from their past (Guess jeans anyone?). I could completely relate to Dimity being prone to injury (at times my past hamstring, arch, hip, and toe injuries have all ached at the same time).

The book is broken into 26 chapters, with a .2 page at the end of each one (a la, the distance of a marathon). The .2's are all different, with lists of things like what goes through their minds during a run or favorite running tunes. The book is a combination of "how to" for women who are starting to run, and for women who already run. It covers topics such as dealing with injury, exercise addiction or running during pregnancy. I'm still learning about the proper fuel for long runs, and I found the nutrition section very helpful, as was the chapter on the importance of cross training. (I'm going to be better about planks. Really).

Scattered throughout the book are "Take It From A Mother" sections, which poses a question, and the answers come from real women who run. From what your favorite speed work out is, to wether you run with a partner, or the most memorable thing your kid has said to you about running.

Which brings me to the Moms who "run and feel guilt" issue. I have to figure out on a daily basis how I'm going to get my run in, life was much easier when my kids napped and they weren't aware of what I was doing with that time. Now that they're older, at times I feel bad taking the time away from them. But the way Dimity addresses this guilty feeling really makes sense to me. The time you spend running strengthens your spirit, it re-charges you to be your best each day. It makes you more present as a mother for the rest of those hours in the day. Which I agree with, if I get to sweat, then everything I'm faced with during my day as a Stay At Home Mom is much easier to handle.

I related to so many things in this book, but I would have done so even if I didn't have children. It really is a celebration of women who run, and all that goes along with it.

In a cool coincidence, Tall Mom Mel is having a Run Like a Mother giveaway, a chance to win an autographed copy of the book. So click here to check it out. If not, run (pun intended) out and buy yourself this book.

*I received a copy of Run Like a Mother for this review, which is my own, I was not compensated for my thoughts on this book.