Check it out! I WON something awesome =)

Saturday night I went to the Redline Running Club's bi-annual potluck and WON the ROTHY =) 

Redline Runner

Of

The 

Half

Year Award!!

I can't believe it.  I am not quite sure why they picked me.... but they did and it made my whole day! I won something and I have the totally awesome shorts to prove it.  I plan on putting these puppies on and debuting them shortly.... stay tuned.

Thanks Redliners. Our club is amazing.  The peeps I train with are super motivating, inspirational and very fun to be around.  We all share a total obsession with running and have been able to build a support system through this club.  We really are a team and I just couldn't be happier.  YAY to our coaches Josh,  Doug, and Kim for putting up with all my crap and making me realize that I can be better.

Below is a lot of my fellow Redliners right after our Predict a 5k workout.

For the predict a 5k workout each individual picks a time that they will complete the 5k in.  We are not allowed to wear watches, music, or anything else that might give us a sense of what pace we are running.  All we get is to listen to our breathing and hope that through all of this training our bodies can recognize what pace we have chosen.  We weren't allowed to pick our actual 5k pace either.  Seeing as how I have the marathon coming up in 1 week, I chose my marathon pace.  Some chose what they would consider there 10k pace and others just picked a pace they figured they could feel.  And so as results went, the person who was the closest to there designated pace won, and the furtherest away lost. It was way fun and I highly recommend doing one on your own every so often to see how in tune you are with what pace is what.  Great workout =)

Also, I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to my brother James.  I sucked him into coming coming to Lifetime with me for 1 week to show him how crazy hard the classes were. So because he loves me he agreed and although Barbell and Total Conditioning kicked both are A**'s (literally, these classes are tough) he ROCKED it.  I was proud to be his little sis. 

So James, you are joining right =) 

This Pic was taken right after Total Conditioning class.  We were wiped out. Apparently doing 150-200 pushups with variations that include loads of mountain climbers, bear crawls, jumps, lunges, leaps, turns, body bars, bands....and the list goes on and on will wear you out.

and P.S. my Friday Night BBQ chicken sandwiches were delish.  Sweet potato, watermelon and roasted green beans for sides.... I love food.

Anyone else out there in a running club?

If so, have you ever won anything as cool as these shorts!?!

Who else is running Grandmas? We'd love to meet up!

What is your favorite Carbo loading meal? and why?

Anyone have a gym class that is crazy hard?

I find they are few and far between but for some reason I am lucky enough to live right next to the Lifetime fitness that employs a lot of there regional peeps including instructors.  These people are the ones they send out to train all the others.  I feel lucky.

Happy Running - Jen

Meals and Marathons

There are only days left until I run this race that I am hoping to conquer......so from here on out I am going to do my best to eat all the foods that would make some good fuel for race day.  Cooking is a hobby of mine that lately comes 2nd.....to running =) If I have time and energy I'd totally cook crazy food always. So to start this marathon loading fiesta I went through all of my favorite websites: cookinglight.com, foodnetwork.com, allrecipes.com and found some recipes that I thought I would try.  I also am going to make some recipes that I know my family loves. Sometimes if I try too many new recipes in one week I kind of get a look from my husband that means... can you please cook something I've heard of. =)  

              

So below I have listed all the recipes I plan on making for dinner. I also plan on blogging about them, so on top of our daily workout postings hopefully you will hear from me about how some of these recipes turn out. They are listed in the order of when I am going to make them starting with the first dish tonight. So join me if you are looking to try something new. We can talk about what was good and what was great! I have made my grocery list and while my son is at cowboy camp I am going to make my way to the grocer and stock up. I am gearing to turn my kitchen into a mini Food Network.  Wish me luck =)   

Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese and Grilled Steak

Halibut in Artichoke and Tomato Broth Served over Quinoa

Grilled Havarti/Roast Beef Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Oven Fries

White Chicken Chili with Tortilla chips and Fruit

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Baked Sweet Potato and Grilled Veggies

Running Club pot luck.... (should be tasty, I am not sure what I am going to contribute but when I figure it out I'll let ya know)

Pasta with Italian Sausage, Veggies and Regular Tomato Sauce. Served with whole wheat Garlic cheese bread

Steak Fajitas on Corn Tortillas with Lime Sour Cream

Garlic Oil Sauteed Pasta with Broccoli

Parmesan Chicken from Barefoot Contessa

Tuna and Artichoke Panini's (this dish is extra but it is soo tasty I really want to try and fit it in somewhere.... I am just not sure which dish to eliminate yet. But if you want a good Tuna recipe try this. you won't be disappointed.)

P.S. although I realize "carbo loading" is the most popular term to get ready for a long race, I prefer to think of it as just healthy loading.  I personally think you need it all in order to preform well.

P.S.S. The recipes I don't have links to are recipes that are my own. I will post the recipe as I make the dish so you can try it at home.  If you'd like the recipe sooner shoot me an email at alwaystrainingtrio@gmail.com and I'd be happy to share.

My workout this week is going as follows:

Monday: 8 Miles slow
Tuesday: 6x800's with a 200m pickups; Barbell class with light weights
Wednesday: Swim
Thursday: 8 Miles with last 5 at marathon pace
Friday: Total Conditioning (class at Lifetime Fitness)
Saturday: Guess your own 5k pace at Running Club. This should be fun. We are all supposed to guess what we will run a 5k in and then take off our Garmins.. and the coaches will let us know how close we actually came.  Can you feel your pace or can't ya?

What are some of your favorite healthy loading meals?

How far in advance do you really watch what you eat before a race?

Do you guys like to cook?

Happy Running -Jen

Friday

Yesterday morning I pulled myself out of bed to get to my 7 AM yoga class. Yes, I know... 7 is not that early but for me it was tough.  I feel like I never get to bed before Midnight which makes it that much harder to get up in the morning.

Ok so this was my first time at Bikram Yoga. I normally go to a Vinyasa class at Hosh yoga which I love but I also wanted to try the hot stuff.  Let me just say I will need a few days before I head back.  That place was HOT, I mean 1 1/2 hours of pure heat and sweatyness I thought I was going to pass out! I made it through and felt glad about that.  I will probably head back on Monday or Tuesday.  I would like to make one comment if I may?  Why oh why is the studio carpeted??  I mean yuck oh, all I could think about for 90 minutes was germs, am I going to pick up any germs??  I have my mat, I have my towel so please lets get something else besides the carpet that absorbs sweat and germs and move on to something more advanced??  Ok I am done now and will be going back.  

For my day job I design woman's clothing.  I own my own company called Edelweiss by Sarah so the majority of my morning was working on that but I was excited because I was giving myself a field trip to the Met to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit.   I made it up to the upper east side and had to wait in line just to get in!  Once I was in my whole energy level changed, I couldn't help but feel sadden by the loss of such a great designer and artist.  It was a very intense feeling for me.  After I walked through I had to explore a little more.  I love the Met and don't go enough. 

 

So after a little while my stomach was screaming, I had to eat fast.  I don't know why I didn't bring a snack with me.  I was panicked, my blood sugar was dropping at a rapid pace.  I was going to walk back to the train and then saw that Sigmund Pretzelshop had a truck outside the museum.  Score! So I got a pretzel dog with mustard.  Delish!

I happened to walk down one of the most beautiful streets in NYC.  East 80th, all of the town homes looked like Alexander Hamilton could have lived in them.  Very American Colonial. I was lame and only took a pic of the flowers on the street.

Before I headed back to the studio I needed to run by the Farmer's market in Union Square to pick up some honey from a local guy to help cure my terrible allergies.  Anybody else suffering from the same problems this spring??  Mine are really buggin.

Got home and ate this.... whole wheat english muffin with almond butter, banana and honey.  It was good.

 

Got back and did some more work before I headed back into the city once again to meet my man for dinner.  Because I have my 22 miler today I thought I would eat a bowl full of carbs for dinner... We really like this place in the East Village called Supper.  It took forever to get our food but it was still good.

I had the Tagliatelle al Prosciutto di Parma, very salty and good but way too much and have left overs for today.  I think I actually like eating cold pasta rather than warm.  Is that weird?

And no trip could be complete without a stop to my favorite fro yogurt place, 16 Handles. YUM!

Here we are headed back to Brooklyn on the motorcycle.  It was a little chilly so I had to wear my scarf up around my face.  I thought I looked like a ninja, Scott just looks like he has a black alien head. Luckily on a motorcycle it does not take us long to get home.  We can weave through traffic, it is wonderful.

A little late night TV and then reading of my book before I hit the hay.  22 miler starts at 7-7:30 at the latest.  Taking 3 frozen Gu's with me and a pack of sports beans AND I am carrying water with me.  No more of me hoping to find it on the run.  Everytime I do that I wind up only thinking about when I am going to get more water.  Spring is here, sun is out I am sweating so I need my water!!

PS My sister Heather was totally right on about freezing the Gu's.  Way better cool than hot!

What do you eat the night before a long run?
-I actually don't usually eat pasta, I don't really like it but I thought why not.

Also, what do you eat in the morning before a long run?
-Me, I am always eating grahams with Dark Chocolate Wonderful pb but gonna try a bowl of grape nuts and almond milk this time.

Happy Weekend!!
XX
Sarah

Penne with Spinach Sauce

I do love myself a little Giada every now and then.  And this recipe of hers is quick and easy.  You must give it a try when you need to do some carbo loading for your training. To get the step by step instructions just go HERE.

 

Taken with IPhone camera so please excuse the fuzzies!