Question and Answer and a Special Birthday

Good Morning!

Okay answers to some questions:

Page asked:


The wedding was on a small island off of Cancun, called Isla Mujeres. The resort was called Privilege Aluxes and it was all inclusive. It was beautiful! The island was so small it was only a few miles around and we basically had the whole place to ourselves. If anyone wants more details let me know. You can read the Mexico Recap here.

Amanda asked:


I LOVE sushi, but I really like the taste of the fish in my sushi. I will eat anything with tuna, salmon and avocado. The names of the rolls are usually different depending on where you go, but one of my favorites is The Philadelphia Roll, which has salmon and cream cheese. Dan hates it so we don’t get it often. When we go for sushi, we usually start with miso soup, edamame, and then share 4-5 rolls. Our favorite place offers half price on certain rolls Monday-Wednesday and we usually leave with a $20 bill. Can’t beat that!

thefitacademic said... I want to work on my SPEED! Do you have any great tips for speedwork that really works? 

 

Check out this post on getting faster.

And most important of all, a very Happy Birthday to Blue-Eyed Dad!

Another year, another marathon. I love you :)

My dad has had a tough week so feel free to leave him some birthday wishes :)

*Also, I have updated my tabs to include my planned races for 2011 so check it out.

Have a great day!
Question: What are your tips for getting speedier?

Update and Some Questions

Thank you again for all your prayers...they worked! Dan went to the orthopedic specialist tomorrow and even though he saw the x-ray in advance and already told us he needed surgery, when Dan got there, he took his own x-ray and decided not to operate! (yet) He needs to go back in two weeks and the doctor will assess how he is healing.

I went to work today, came home to check on Dan who was sleeping peacefully on the couch, and then headed out to another Pilates Reformer session. It was wonderful :) I can still feel my thighs haha.

Because of my hectic weekend, I didn't have time to plan all my blog posts, so please excuse the sporadic blogging. So, I thought I would answer some questions.

David asked: What time are you shooting for on Saturday?

This will be my 3rd time running this race, but my 5th time running this course. There is a major hill about halfway through and then it is down hill until the end. (This will be my first race running with the Garmin so I will be able to tell you the exact distance and grade of the hill.)

St. Paddy's Day 5K
2009- 21:06
2008- 21:41

Same course, different races
2009- 21:25
2008- 22:10

Ideally, I would like to finish under 20 minutes, however, I don't think that is a practical goal for this course. My more reasonable goal would be to break last year's time (21:06) and finish under 21 minutes. (It is also supposed to rain on Saturday...) Sorry for the long winded answer!

Running and Living asked if I am still wearing high heels after seeing the shoes I bought this weekend.

I think she was kidding with this question but the funny thing is, I can't remember the last time I wore heels! I used to wear them all the time and I have quite a collection but I can't wear them all night any more. Fortunately, I don't have to wear heels to work. Give me running shoes any day.

And tomorrow I will be back with a hills post :)

President's Day and Q&A

Happy President's Day!

I am very excited about President's Day because I have off from work :) I started my day off with Fitness Pilates. I love this class because it makes me feel like a dancer and I used to dance a lot as a kid. After class, I went for a run with my dad. My parents were in Florida last week so I had no workout partners :( and I am happy they are back. We did an easy 5k and plan to do some speed tomorrow. It is so much easier to get speed work done when you have someone to run with/against.

My favorite preppy blogger asked me some running questions and I thought they would make for a great post. Thanks, Elle!

What is the distance of your first race this season?

I am running my first race of the year on March 13 (aka Dan and my 4-year anniversary). It is a 5k (3.1 miles) and there is a huge hill in the middle of the race. It is a St. Patrick's Day run and is followed by a big parade and some drinks :) I am running it with my dad (obviously) and 2 friends from work (both male). Every year we have a bet and the loser(s) have to buy the winner a drink after the race. So far I am undefeated and hope to continue that tradition this year :) Last year, I ran this course in 21:06 (6:47 pace) and took 1st in my age group, and I hope to beat that time this year.



Is there a particular race that you are really looking forward to or focusing on?

Last year, my big race was the marathon. So far this year, I don't have one big race that I focus all my training toward...yet. I applied for the NYC Marathon for the 3rd time this year. If you get rejected 3 years in a row, you are automatically in the 4th year (which would be next year). You can also qualify to be accepted into the race. My qualifying time is 1:37 for a half marathon. There is a 59 second window, meaning you can run a 1:37:59 and still qualify. My 1/2 marathon PR? 138:10...yes I missed it last year by 11 seconds. If I do get into New York this year, that will be my focus. I don't find out until June so until then, I want to focus on getting my 1/2 marathon time under 1:38.

Another favorite race of mine is the President's Cup 5K. It is the first race I've ever done and the race I do most frequently. It is a super fast course and also the course where I ran my 5k PR (19:35). It is the first race that I won money for running ($25 haha) AND even better was the race was free (paid for by my running club, The Sneaker Factory). As if this race couldn't get any better...it is sponsored by Sam Adams and they serve an unlimited amount of free beer following (during for spectators!) the race. This race isn't until June, and doesn't require much preparation as I run 5k races frequently.


I know it doesn't get as hot up there in the summer as it does down here, (Austin) so do you continue to race even into the peak of July?

The summer is tough for racing, even in NJ, mostly because of the humidity. Last year, I ran 2 races in July, and they were both nighttime 5ks. There are less races available in the peak of the summer and the ones they do have are usually shorter in distance. My dad and I usually take August off of racing completely. We continue to run, either in the morning, or later in the evening but it can still be tough. The morning is cooler, but the humidity is higher, and it is difficult for me to run too late at night. When we run in the summer, no matter what the distance, we always wear fuel belts with Gatorade to stay hydrated.

Thanks for the questions :) Feel free to ask anything!
Did you all have off today? Do anything fun?