Surfing is Sexy

Surfing is a sexy sport.

It has always been a sport I have wanted to try.

I love the ocean.

I love the beach.

I found some amazing photos of surfing on tumblr…

These photos made made me think…

I love running… but I have been so consumed with it lately, that I haven’t had much time to get involved in any other types of physical activities. However, my running season is starting to wind down. I only have two more races, my last race being the Annapolis Half scheduled for December 1st, and although I will continue to run through out the winter, I won’t be training for anything until early March.

Hopefully, this will leave me more time to do…

Yoga

I like the style of Bikram, and during the colder months of winter, my body wakes up craving it.

Hiking

My sister and are planning a hike on Black Friday. It will be so refreshing to be out in nature breathing in the fresh air burning off the Thanksgiving dinner we had the night before.

Boxing

I have yet to try Boxing. I had written a post about it a month ago, but something came up and I ended up not having the chance to go. But it has still been on my mind, and I am looking forward to trying it. Read about Why I need a Punching Bag here.

Cycling

I use to ride a couple times a week, sometimes riding my bike to and from work. But I haven’t been on it in the last couple months. So it would be nice to dust off my road bike, and ride a couple times a month. It is great for cross training and a wonderful workout.

Chrissie Wellington Ironman World Champion 2011

Rock Climbing

Again this is something that I have yet to try. But it has been on my mind. I think it will be a great full body workout.

CrossFit and Weight Lifting

I have yet to try Cross Fit but it is a must. A couple months ago, I ended up at the Mid Atlantic Crossfit Games. It was a true inspiration. I need to try  CrossFit, and if I can’t afford to join, I may just work on weight lifting. But either way. I need to get my body strong. It is important for injury prevention and it will make me feel better at work. I am a hairstylist on my feet all day, and it can be very tiresome. Read about the Mid Atlantic Crossfit Games here.

CrossFit

Barre

I’ve tried Pilates. I use to practice on the reformer. Honestly, it just wasn’t intense enough for me. I have thought about trying Barre because it incorporate ballet like moves to help strengthen the body.

This photo reminds me of a combo of boxing and barre.

Snowboarding

Last but not least. I am praying for some snow this winter so I can get on my board. I love weekend getaways to the mountains.

So those are the other activities I have on my mind. I know that in the end, by incorporating some other activities I will build more muscle, become stronger, and overall improve my running.

Because at the end of the day I always end up with a desire to go for a run.

*None of these photos are mine. All were found on tumblr.

© 2012 sweatdaily.

Lets talk about food!

It is funny how… once I changed my eating habits and started eating clean, eating fresh organic whole foods, I no longer crave junk. And on the rare occasions I do, weakly give in, I soooo regret it. My stomach can no longer tolerate the high fat, processed shit, like it use to.

DINNERS

I wanted to show you a couple photos of past dinners I have made…

This is the dinner I ate tonight. It is vegan and organic. It consists of broccoli, onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, squash, brussel sprouts, spinach/kale, salt, olive oil. All of these ingredients are poured over quinoa.

This is a dinner I had earlier this week. It is organic.  I love Whole Foods Market. They have vegetables already washed, cut up, and prepared. All you have to do is saute them over the stove. I used one of these prepackaged vegetable platters and cooked it over the stove adding spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. I pored the veggies over rice. Poached an egg, and sliced up a side of avocado. This is a well balanced meal, including healthy fats, protein, and colorful veggies infused with antioxidants.

This dinner was one I ate last week. It consists of onions, cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, capers, spinach, poured over rice with a side of wild caught salmon. This meal is very well balanced with healthy fats, protein, omega 3s, carbs, and colorful veggies infused with vitamins and antioxidants.

This meal is a dinner I ate last week. It consists of similar ingredients but includes pine nuts. Again, it is an organic, well balanced meal. These dinners are also very easy and fast meals to cook. They are simple, but full of color, flavor, and texture.

LUNCH

Most days I eat a variety of salads for lunch.

Breakfast

Everyday, I drink a Chai Latte. Somedays, I eat a greek yogurt or oatmeal.

Snack

Fruit, such as strawberries and nutella.  Hummus and raw veggies or pita. Toast with Almond Butter. Smoothie with Vega protein powder.  All of these are great snack ideas.

My problem is never eating to much. I always have the problem of not eating enough. But just as your car need gas, your body needs food. Food is fuel for your body. So eat clean on regular intervals, so your body can continue strong through out the day, full of energy.

What is your favorite healthy snack?

© 2012 sweatdaily

 

 

 

 

photography and 11.5 mile Training Run


“How many of you like to run with a phone or something else to capture images of your run?” –Newton Running
Above is the facebook status of Newton Running, and it already has close to 600 likes. I am happy to know that I am not the only one who enjoys taking photos during my runs. I will admit that I was late to jump on the smart phone wagon. I know, call me crazy, but about two months ago I bought my first smart phone, the iPhone 5, and I am in love. This phone goes everywhere with me, even on my runs.

really bad picture of me. but great picture of my new iPhone 5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I use to run, carrying nothing with me. But I always regretted it when I came across something really cool I wanted to record- by snapping a photo or video of. But now with my new phone I am able to do that. My two favorite new apps are Instagram and Map my Run.

I just started using Map my Run. I still use my Garmin, but I am just experimenting with a couple new apps. I just wish Map my Run recorded your Cadence, because I think my Garmin’s Cadence my be inaccurate. I just downloaded an app to measure cadence, but I have yet to try it.

11.5 Mile Training Run

Anyway, lets get to it. I felt pretty good on my 11 mile run. L came and picked me up yesterday morning. We headed down to the south side of the MVT. I felt cold at first so I had my gray Nike fleece on, but I new I would warm up, although it was 48 degrees out, the sun was bright.

After the first mile, I ditched my fleece on the side of the trail, I knew it would still be there on the way back.

2.5 miles on the MVT. Looking over the GW parkway. It was a Beautiful Fall Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L and I continued on. I like the south side of MVT because it is so beautiful. Although, it is a paved path, you feel like you are on a trail run. You also run so close to the Potomac River that you could fall in. I also like it because it is much more hilly. Annapolis will be all hills so it was a good practice.

In it for the long run!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we headed back and I hit mile 10, I realized I was making better timing then I thought. We ended up finishing in 1:48:00, running an average of a 9:23 min/mile. I would like to run an average of a  9:00 min mile for the race. Which I am pretty sure I can do. I am still debating on which shoes to race in though… Distance U are lighter, and I feel faster in them. The Gravity are a bit heavier, a little more supportive, but sometimes I feel like I am dragging in them towards the end.

RUN ANALYZE

SUMMERY from my Garmin

Distance: 11.5

Time: 1:48:00

Average Pace: 9:23 min/mile

Best Pace: 8:46 min/mile

Calories: 938 C

Cadence: 96 – which can’t be accurate. I use to have a cadence of 160, which is lower than average, but not that low.

Future Goals

The plan for this week is up my weekly milage a bit! I am going to have plenty of time to get some good runs in with days off thanks to the Thanksgiving Holiday. I also plan to strength train, stretch, and continue to work on form.

Questions for You

  1. Does anyone know of a good Cadence App?
  2. What is your favorite running app?

© 2012 sweatdaily

 

And this is why I love fall time…

The other day, I did a short post on Washington, DC: Rave Run worthy. In the post there was a photo of Washington, DC durning the peak of Cherry Blossom season. It was a pretty photo I found on tumblr. Well yesterday, I went running again on the MVT and I had to stop to take some photos, it was that gorgeous.

Although, DC, is pretty during the spring, nothing beats the Fall time here.

And this is why…

Color

The Potomac shines from the sun.

I feel like I am bragging, but I can’t help it. I live in a city, but I get to run by this everyday!

RUN ANALYZE

SUMMERY from my Garmin

Distance: 3.03

Time: 27:48

Average Pace: 9:11 min/mi

Best Pace: 8:19 min/mi

Calories: 245 C

Run Cadence: 93

© 2012 sweatdaily

10 mile Run with Em and Honey Stinger

Last week two exciting things happened.

  1. On Saturday, I ran a 10 mile run with my sister, Emily.
  2. And I also finally typed up my Blog Award post. If you have any desire to get to know me better, you should read the post, because it is super personal.

Anyway, in my Blog Award post I was asked what was the last movie I had watched. I answered with, The Fighter. One thing that I love about the movie, The Fighter, is the bond the two brothers, Mickey and Dicky have. I am very close with my family, so I can totally relate to this.

Dicky is the older brother, who has a star shining boxing moment back in the day. He still wants to be involved in boxing so he coaches his younger brother Mickey. Drug abuse ends up becoming an uncontrollable obstacle that alters Dicky’s ability to coach. Although, Dicky’s quality of life suffers, the brotherly bond never breaks.

Of corse there is no drug history among the relationship I share with my sister. I can relate to this because in life, your sister, is the one person, you can be totally honest with, and who will push you to your fullest potential (especially in sports.)

And that is exactly what happened during my 10 miler.

My sister pushed me to my fullest potential.

Here is what went down…

I met my sister at her apartment. Before we left we looked up this Half Marathon Pace Chart. I am no longer just going out there to run. I learned from Hal Higdon, if you want to run fast, you have to train fast several times a week. So we decided to practice our 10 miler by running at a pace similar to the one we are planning to run race day.

We decided to hit the MVT, but to get there we had to run down hill for two miles, stopping at some street lights. Once we got to the trail, we ran three pretty flat miles and then turned back. The last two miles were off the MVT and up hill. We wanted to add two miles up hill because Annapolis is super hilly, so we are expecting a lot of hills race day.

Honestly, I don’t know what happened during this 10 miler. Normally my sister and I run at a similar pace, and sometimes I am a little bit faster. But during this run my sister was much more speedy.

There is a quote from the book, Born to Run, it goes like this, “But you can’t muscle through a five-hour run that way; you have to relax into it like easing your body into a hot bath, until it no longer resists the shock and begins to enjoy it.”  Even though, it may seem like an excuse to you, it is the truth. During this run, I just wasn’t feeling it. I couldn’t find my running rhythm.

RUN ANALYZE

SUMMERY from my Garmin

Distance: 10.00 miles

Time: 1:37:31

Average Pace: 9:45 min/mi

Best Pace: 7:51 min/mi

Calories: 814 C

Run Cadence: 96

HONEY STINGER

One thing that did help me when I felt a little bit low in energy was my Honey Stinger. This is the first time I have ever tried this product. I actually had never heard of this product until the blogger from All Seasons Cyclist suggested I give them a try.  I am really thankful I did. I love the fact that this product is more natural and free of chemicals. They also tasted really good, and didn’t cause any stomach problems. The Honey Waffle was a fantastic post run snack. For a more detailed review check out the blog All Seasons Cyclist or click here.

 
Tomorrow, I am scheduled to do an 11 mile run with L. So stay tuned…
Questions for You
  1. Have you tried Honey Stingers?
  2. How did your long run go this week?

© 2012 sweatdaily

Speed Work Drill

I wanted to share with you another recap on a speed work drill I did last Thursday. Again this was run on the treadmill in my Newton, Distance U shoes.

picture found on tumblr

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

11: 40 PM

RUN ANALYZE

SUMMERY from my Garmin

Distance: 3.10 miles

Time: 25:19

Average Pace: 8:09 min/m

Best Pace: 7:14

Calories: 253 C

Run Cadence: 97

I felt really good about this treadmill drill. However, because I am only doing daily 5K runs, my weekly mileage is drastically lower.

© 2012 sweatdaily

Washington, DC: RAVE RUN worthy!

 

I love that my home is RAVE RUN worthy. I probably have run this area along the potomac a million times. If you were ever wondering what it would be like to run the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, this is what it looks like.

Questions for You

  1. Is your home town/city RAVE RUN worthy?
  2. Where is the prettiest place you have ever run?

© 2012 sweatdaily

* photo found on tumblr.

 

Blogger Award… this may get personal.

I was nominated for the Liebster Blog, by Katie from the blog, fitness, food and photography. I want to apologize for responding to this post so late, but better late than never. I also want to thank Katie for being so sweet to nominate me.

So here it goes… 11 facts about myself.

1) I try to eat everything organic. I don’t label myself as vegan or vegetarian but I eat meat in moderation.

2) The last two years I have become passionate in growing my own food. Although, I live in the city, the older I get the more I develop a longing to have some sort of farm.

3) I am a knitter. As a child, my mom taught me how to knit, but it wasn’t until last September that I really began to think of knitting as a form of art. Now I have become a “yarn snob,” guilty of having an obsession with high quality yarn. I love natural fibers such as merino wool, alpaca, cashmere, mohair, angora, silk, cotton, and linen. I also have a knitting blog on tumblr. If you are interested in checking out any of my projects you can find them at my tumblr blog,  Cashmere and Silk.

My latest Chunky Knit! Hand knit by me.

4) I am a hairstylist. In many ways, I find knitting and hairstyling similar. Both, satisfies my passion, for texture and color, it allows me to build a shape.

Me doing hair for photo shoots.

5) I was born with copper hair, as I aged it turned blonde. I started coloring my hair when I was 18 and have been every shade of blonde. Two years ago, I changed my platinum pixie hair, to red. And I love it!

6) I am an artist. Charcoal is my favorite medium. I like to draw people.

7) I love to travel. Barcelona is one of my favorite places in the world.

8) I am a marathon runner. I much rather run far, than run fast.

9) I have been practicing Bikram yoga for 5 years.

10) I drink a Chai Latte almost everyday.

11) I have two dogs. Sometimes I think puppies are cuter than babies.

Here are the Questions My Nominee wanted me to Answer:

1)  How much time do you spend Blogging every day?

Oh I don’t know… It is not consistent. 

2)  What is the one song that get stuck in your head all day after you hear it?

I dunno, it changes all the time! I am always trying to discover new music. 

3)  What TV shows are on your DVR right now?

Homeland and Dexter

4)  What is your favorite season and why?

I love Fall. The crisp cool clean air makes running so refreshing and enjoyable. Oh and nothing is better than being wrapped up in a chunky knit. I also love fall flavors, such as Chai and Pumpkin.

5)  What is your favorite brand of jeans?

I would have to say AG, but to be totally honest I live in my black Lululemon leggings. 

6)  Last movie you watched?

I actually watch a ton of movies. Last night I was at a friend’s house, and we watched The Fighter. It is amazing how much weight Christian Bale lost in order to play the role of Dicky- the older brother crack addict. The movie, based on a true story, takes place in Lowell, Massachusetts. This really touches my heart because I have ton of family in Mass and the accents in the movie are amazing. I mean Christian Bale is from Wales, but you would never know. The costumes are really good too.  Immediately you know this movie is set in the late 80s, early 90s, just because of the costumes. But in the end, my favorite part is the relationship the two brothers have, Dicky and Micky. I have two sisters, and I am really close with my family. I could totally relate to this brotherhood bond Dicky and Micky sure. In life, your sister, is the one person, you can be totally honest with, and who will push you to your fullest potential (especially in sports.)

I also love documentaries. The other night, I watched one called The Elephant in the Living Room. This is based on Exotic Animals kept as pets. It makes me sick that people are so selfish to keep Lions or any other exotic animal in a cage when they belong in the wild. 

7)  If you could be any cartoon character, who would you be and why?

Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I love red hair. I love the water. I love the beach. I was actually her for halloween. 

8)  Name one talent that you wish you had.

I love to Dance, but I wish I could dance at a professional level.

9)  What is your best feature/ favorite body part?

My booty! 

10)  What did you eat for dinner last night?

Indian Food.

11)  Favorite childhood game?

Truth or Dare

These are the blogs I nominate are…

1) Running in Mommyland

2) Sweat Every Day

3) Super Foodie Adventure

4) The Dancing Runner

5) Midlife Makeover blog

6) super generic girl

7) The Barefoot Monologues

8) Knitting Is Awesome 

9) Katie at Fox Flat

10) I heart Vegtables

11) Vedgedout

For those who I nominated you don’t have to answer any questions from me. Just write 11 interesting facts about yourself and then nominate 11 other blogs.  Thank you!

At Night Running Rituals

The night before a race, my ritual is to lay out my running clothes and prepare everything for the morning.  I have never actually slept in my running clothes, but I recently heard from another runner that this is quite normal. Now I am considering this, it seems like a pretty practical idea, especially for those that are not morning people.

Do you sleep in your running clothes?

©2012 sweatdaily

 

1 … 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 … 43