Pre-Thanksgiving Thankful Thursday

With Thanksgiving only one week away, it's time to reflect on the things we're thankful for.    Family, friends, turkey, pumpkin pie...there are so many things, big and small, to appreciate now and always!  So join me in being thankful this week! 

I feel thankful...

....for amazing runs, that have nothing to do with distance, speed or time.  Last weekend, I got in a few pre-wedding miles along the beach in Cape May, NJ.  I was so distracted by the amazing views of the sunrise and the ocean that I didn't pay attention to my pace or distance.  Perfect start to a perfect day!

...that I do something that makes me happy.  Everyday I meet or hear about people who are miserable in their careers.  I hear "I hate my job" and I immediately think (and often say) "so quit!".  I know it's not as simple as that, but then again...why isn't it that simple?  It's cheesy but very true, life is just too short.  Do what makes you happy, both in your career and your hobbies.

...that my family has always encouraged me and allowed me to do what makes me happy.  I definitely could not have achieved what I have so far without them and I'm thankful everyday for it.

...for my nephew baby.  He's growing very quickly and I can't wait to hug him next week (hope my SIL is ready for a belly squeeze!).  I'll be hanging out with him on Thanksgiving and then again for a BABY SHOWER on Saturday! Woo! 

...that Rocky is back home, drooling and snoring as usual.  I think he's thankful he's back too.

Happy Thursday, everyone! Now tell me...what are you feeling thankful for today? 

Give Me Something Good to Eat

With Halloween just around the corner, it seems like bags of candy and chocolate are everywhere you look.  A celebration originally intended to honor the souls of the dead has become completely centered on candy corn and "fun size" candy bars.  Talk about scary!

Now I'm a big chocolate fan myself (especially dark chocolate!) and I definitely believe that sweet treats do have a place in a healthy lifestyle.  Still every year I find myself frustrated by the overindulgence that occurs around Halloween and other holidays.  Being surrounded by empty calories is just not a good way to set ourselves up to make healthy choices.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not campaigning to end trick-or-treating or anything crazy like that.  I love dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating, but I think we need to make adjustments to the messages (and the treats) we're giving to kids today.  When I was little, we always wanted to just skip the houses we knew to give out apples, popcorn or toothbrushes, but maybe those people were onto something!  Of course those are dietitian approved choices, but it doesn't even need to be that "extreme"! There are plenty of snack options that can satisfy a sweet tooth without breaking the nutritional bank.

  Green Halloween is one of many awesome programs working on changing our approach to Halloween.  It's gaining serious momentum and inspiring people to think "outside the candy-box®".  I absolutely love the idea of making Halloween healthier, safer and easier on the environment!  

Some of the well-known companies involved with the Green Halloween movement include Honest Tea, Stretch Island Fruit Co., Plum Kids, Cascadian Farms and (my favorite) Lara Bars!  In fact, Lara Bars is hosting a sweepstakes to giveaway 100 LARABAR minis, which are a great healthy option for trick-or-treaters! (Hurry, though...it ends at 11:59pm tonight!)

So before you stock up on giant bags of (expensive) Halloween candy, consider giving out something GOOD to eat this year!

Have a Happy and Healthy Halloween! 

Thankful Thursday: Birthday Boy, Baseball & Burgers!

Ahh! I almost forgot it was Thursday!!! Time to get thankful! 

This week I'm thankful...

...for my baby boy (who turned 6 years old today!)

...that Rocky's Halloween costume is on it's way! He's been a pirate, rock star, cow...what will he be this year?

...that the Yankees pulled through to win the AL East. Boom.  Gotta love October baseball!

...that I'm running the Staten Island Half this weekend.  I have some kind of quad/hip injury, so this race will not be pretty...but I'm doing it.  I'm not going to bother setting a goal time because I don't want to push this injury and make things worse.  I'm going to just try my best to enjoy this run and cheer on my speedy dad! :) [Anyone else running SI this Sunday??]

...for a spontaneous roomie date tonight.  We had some beers & burgers at Bareburger (portabella mushroom burger for me...) followed by manicures! (I tried to take a pic of my fab manicure for you, but turns out I'm not much of a hand model.)

As usual, I have a lot to be thankful for this week...how about YOU?!

My Sunday Runday

 Today was awesome.  So awesome I feel like writing about it.  After skipping my runs earlier in the week due to that silly head cold, I was more than ready to get in some mileage this morning.

Before I write about my stellar run, let me quickly say how proud I am of my dad!  This morning he ran the Heads Up Half Marathon in Concord, NH...finishing in 2:04:45! Way to go Dad! Looks like I'm going to have to pick up my pace to stay with him during the Staten Island Half next month! 

And now, back to me. :)

My alarm went off at 6:45am and I spent a few minutes trying to convince Rocky to spoon with me.  He wasn't having it, so I got up and had oatmeal with peanut butter and a big glass of water. I strapped on my fuel belt and Asics and headed out.  

The weather was absolutely perfect: mid-60s and sunny.

To get 12 miles in, my plan was to run down to Queensboro plaza, over the bridge, add 1.5 miles in Central Park and turn around and run back.  

I'm not exactly sure what's going on with the QB Bridge construction, but half of the bike path is torn up and with the storms this weekend, it was a puddly (not a word...) mess.  I quickly decided to scrap my original run plan.  

I knew I could easily add 6ish miles in Central Park and hop on the subway back to Astoria.  As soon as I crossed over 5th Ave, I got excited about my new plan.  I've run a few races in CP but rarely get over there for training.  

In a city where everyone is always in a big stinkin hurry, it's really nice to slow down and take in the beautiful sights and sounds of Central Park.  So I did.

I ran infamous Cat Hill.

And around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.  Twice.  Smiling the whole way. I really got distracted by the beauty of this city and it was awesome.

When I finally snapped out of my happy place, I finished the last few miles on the Bridle Path. 12 miles at 10:16 pace.  Other than a tight quad and achy hip, I felt great on this run.  

After my run, it was time for weekly grocery shopping.  And football.  And of course an afternoon nap!

Finally, after some studying and more football, I cracked a Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.  It's the perfect taste-of-fall beer and is a great ending to my awesome day!

Home Is Where the Heart Is

I've had a very busy weekend! Yesterday I headed upstate to my parent's house so I could take Rocky to the vet. Shocker...he has something NEW wrong with him! Although I hate when he has bully issues and I certainly hate spending so much dang $ on these issues, I have to admit I loved the excuse to go home.

Rocky and Tow Mater. BFF.

I do get to see my family fairly often because they're just a few short hours drive away.  It's been a while since I've seen everyone so I was sure to make the rounds during my short trip home.  Rocky and I visited with my aunt, I went out to dinner with my parents and I even spent some time with my grandparents and their house full of animals!

Oh, and I hung out with this one-eyed guy too!

Hi Wile. E.

As I've said many times before, one of my favorite things to do is go running with my dad.  So of course I did that too!  When I woke up (a little late) this morning, the weather was absolutely perfect.  I mean sunny and mid 50-60 degrees! Amazing.  Dad probably wanted to do a longer run, but I told him my training called for somewhere between 7-9 miles.  

My parents live less than a mile from the Dutchess Rail Trail, a running/walking/biking trail that covers about 12 miles through the middle of Dutchess County.  It's pretty much flat and since you can access it from several entrances, it's great for short runs away from dangerous cars or can be added as part of a longer distance.  

So we started out on the Rail Trail and covered 3ish miles heading over to Vassar College campus.  Although Dad promised there wouldn't be hills on this run, Vassar has does a few inclines.  It wasn't so bad.  And it's a really pretty campus that was super quiet because school is obviously not back in session yet.  In hindsight, I should've snapped a few pictures of the pretty views and buildings throughout campus.

Dad also showed me a "hidden gem" in Vassar Farm, which is huge and I never even knew it existed from driving by on the road.  

Farms? Yeah, we don't have those in Queens.

After a quick visit to this big old farm (which of course has now intrigued me and has me looking into the Poughkeepsie Farm Project), we doubled back and headed back home via the Rail Trail.

Not quite a NYC intersection.

So we did a nice 8.5 miles, keeping a 9:50ish pace.  Good stuff. 

Overall, my whirlwind weekend home was awesome. Doesn't get much better than running with Dad, visiting the rest of the fam, and doing some laundry for free! :)