FINALLY...

... more races on the calendar!

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The More/Fitness Women's Half Marathon on April 19, 2015.  http://morefitnesshalf.com/
this will be there third time I am running this race, the first time I was pregnant with my son.  It has be one tradition even though I hate run inning counter-clockwise loops around Central Park!  Need to get to training as this race is 10 weeks away! 

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This has been a long time coming... I registered for Spartan Sprint at Citi Field  with my sister on May 9, 2015.  Now to focus on my upper body strength. I'll stick with my Insanity Max:30 regime and Continue with the #Spartan30 Challenge! Current challenge is 30 push-ups per day for 30 days. Let's gooooo!

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Brooklyn Half Marathon, May 16, 2015. Another favorite as the finish line is on the Coney Island boardwalk.  This is a very popular race and sells out in just a few hours.   Its also a part of the NYRR Borough Races.  Happy to be be running with my favorite running buddy crew!

Here's to a Healthy 2015!

I'm sure you have made a New Year's Resolution one time in your life.  A list of actions you wish to stick to with the best intentions, of course.  This year I made no real resolution but to remain healthy and active and be the best Mommy to my son.

With the best intentions, I only ran 7 miles in January.  Life has ways of playing tricks on us and it has been a challenge for me.  This was unacceptable to me. This is my life and I should love it to the fullest. So I decided I had to come up with a way to control what I could.  There are lots of great health and fitness challenges on the internet and if you know me that's all I need- a challenge! 

The first Monday of January I embarked on the 21 day NO JUNK FOOD CHALLENGE! No chocolate... No candy... No chips?  Oh my! I killed it and had some weight loss to boot.  What would my next challenge be?

I knew I had to take control of my fitness regime next.  Whatever program I started had to be flexible and fun.  By coincidence, I ordered Insanity Max:30 and am so glad I got on the bandwagon! 

Many of my future posts will share my Insanity Max:30 experience with this and when #imaxedout I'll even share my food planning journey.  I hope to get more miles in this month!

Stay tuned! 

The No Junk Food Challenge

Day 19 of the 21 Day of The No Junk Food Challenge!

Two more days until I can enjoy a Lindt truffle or ghiradelli peppermint  bark or some salty chips! :)

It's a great challenge.  I am to to stick with a variation of this in my daily life!

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?

Getting My Run On... Vacation Style

The NYC Marathon is just 73 days away!!!

I am on a long awaited and much deserved vacation.  Although I am vacationing in a hot tropical location with high humidity (conditions very different from NYC) I still need to get my miles in and I finally did so this morning.

I started later than planned and it was already 84 degrees at 7:45 AM but I grabbed my water bottle (with Nuun), a visor and iPod and went on my adventure.   I ran a few laps around the perimeter of the resort which I learned was 1.4 miles on tripadvisor.com and by the time I go back I looked like jumped in the pool.   It was beautiful running outside but I will start earlier tomorrow!! 

I got to subtract some miles from my #August100miles Challenge!

Here's a quick view of my run! 

You can still help me reach my goal and donate!  Link is above. 

thanks for your support, 

-xoA

Week #15 Summer Streets and UWS

Another 16.25 miles in the books! Our run started downtown at Canal St & Lafayette Street taking advantage of the last day of Summer Streets here in New York City.  The route took us  north to 72nd Street, across Central Park via the 72 St transverse to the west side to Riverside Park and all the way up to Fairway on 125th AND BACK!!!  The trek 72nd St to 125th is always REALLLLLLLY long!

The atypical August weather this year has been working in our favor! 

Hitting the #August100Miles  challenge is seeming more and more feasible... 36.5 miles down... 63.5 to go!!

How man miles did you run or walk this weekend? Go out and hit the pavement!

-xoA

My Staten Island Buds at mile 12!!!!!

Park Avenue on the return.

Love that I could stand in the middle of Park Avenue with no cars!

Kathy with one of the Summer Streets volunteers!  STOP!  Really? but we have 3 miles to go!

I <3 NYC!

Al..... most.... there.....

Running biddies 4 Life.  Couldn't do it without you girl!! <3

NYC Marathon Fundraising Update

84 DAYS TO GO!

With your generous support and donations I have raised $2,535 or 63% of my $4,000 goal!!  Woo hoo! I am more than half way there! 

I feel like I was meant to be a part if the Race to Stop MS race time for a greater reason.  I have already received so much postive feedback from sharing this journey with so many.  I have been blessed in ways I could never imagine and did not imagine were possible.  If this is just the beginning of the challenge, I better buckle up for this ride!!!

There is still time to donate consider Sponsoring me $1 a mile/$26.20 or $2 per mile/$52.40 and help me reach my goal.  Together we can create a world free of MS.  What a sweet day that will be.

Check out my fundraising website.  main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/alrnyc

There is also a link at the top if my blog page!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! 💗

#August100Miles

BOOM!  8 miles done!  82 miles left to hit the #August100Miles goal!

Week #14 City Streets

Today was a beautiful day for a run.  We had clear skies and low temps for an August day!  Our route started at 72nd street and 5th Avenue and took advantage of Summer Streets.  The route went downtown via Park Avenue from 72nd street to Prince Street in SoHo and back.

From the start of our run looking down Park Avenue.

Pass-thru at The Helmsley Building

Grand Central Station

Astor Place

Park Avenue Tunnel art installation 

Park Avenue Tunnel ... waiting for Michaelangelo to make an appearance!  ;)

Park Avenue Tunnel

Peek a boo!

Grand Central Terminal

Return up Park Avenue

Art Deco at The Waldoff Astoria

Hydrate!

It's Thursday! Time to hydrate for Saturday's long run!

To help me remember to drink my 8 glasses of water every day, I bought this 2-quart Takeya pitcher at Costco.  It was a good deal actually, it came with two 2-quart pitchers, a fruit/tea infuser for $19.99.  I leave a pitcher at my desk at work.  I fill it in the morning and use it as a reminder to drink up my water and hydrate!

Other hydration options are Accelerade, Gatorade, Nuun Tablets, Ultima Replenisher, etc.  I personally am a fan of Nuun as it is sugar free and doesn't mess with my sugar levels like Gatorade does!  I usually drink this before i go to sleep the night before a long run as well as during my long run to replenish electrolytes!

What's your favorite way to hydrate?

Happy hydrating!

-xoA

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Week #13 Service Road Streets

Week 13 of marathon training and I was getting my mind ready all week for the 14 miles on the schedule.  I was excited to take advantage of Summer Streets and run up and down Park Avenue with the group.  The weather in NYC had other plans. Typically we run rain or shine BUT when there are thunderstorms in the forecast our runs are postponed. So our run was postponed from Saturday to Sunday so I decided to wait for the weather to clear and run the mileage on Saturday as planned alone locally without the group.

I got all my gear and fuel together, had my tunes and GPS watch ready and went on my merry way.  I was running at a 2:1 interval and a 12:30 pace.  I was doing great, feeling good until I HIT THE HORRIBLE HILL at mile 3; let's call it The Hill (for obvious reasons and until I come up with a better name)!  The Hill reminds me of my favorite Harlem Hill in Central Park only it The Hill goes straight up.  Harlem Hill is winding and has better scenery... all I saw was asphalt as I looked ahead.

My first mistake was trying to run up The Hill when I should have walked up most of it.  It sucked the energy out of me!! Boo.  But what does up must come down finally allowing me some recovery.  This is what training is all about... we build stamina and endurance as well as strategy and learn from our mistakes... I have 92 more days to get it right.  Who's counting?

This was me at the halfway point just after hitting the dead end half way turn around and then having to run up and down the hill again!!!  I continued my positive outlook and pushed along.  I did not hit the 14 miles I was scheduled to run but I did run 10 miles with confidence alone.

And I treated myself to a well deserved coconut iced coffee on my way back home.

10 miles down for #August100Miles 90 to go! I can do it because I'm Racing to Stop MS!

I lovingly call this run "Service Road Streets".

T.G.I.F. Thank God Its Friday!

Summer Streets are back in NYC!  Our long run tomorrow will be up and down Park Avenue!

What are your weekend plans?

-xoA

#August100Miles

The long runs are getting longer as marathon day gets closer and of course, coincidentally, I saw a post on my Facebook newsfeed that intrigued me.  It was from ilovetorun.org challenging me, YES me, to run 100 miles in August.  I first I thought I was crazy for even thinking it was a possibility but once I broke it down, I think it can be done... No, I KNOW it can be done... Actually, I WILL do it! I will get it done!  I will run 100 miles in August.  #August100Miles

Wanna join me? Raise your hand if you're in! You can run/walk/crawl!

Here's my plan: 

Saturday long runs = 65 miles

35 miles left to run over 4 weeks

That's a total of 8.75 miles left to run per week.

-xoA

Week #12 and Marathon 101

Week #12 & Marathon 101

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This was a “short” recovery run after last week’s 12-mile run.  This week's run was 7 miles.  We started at 16th St & 8th Avenue and followed the West Side Greenway downtown to the end of the path and back! 

This run was followed by a “Marathon 101” clinic. This clinic is great as its focuses on proper nutrition, proper race attire, training strategies to achieve your race pace, and sports drinks/supplement.

 Some important tips:

• NEVER EVER wear cotton clothing! wear DryFit everything from head-to-toe including your underwear and socks!  Wearing moisture-wicking clothing that absorb moisture allows your body to stay cool and comfortable. Thee way to learn what styles of clothing work for you is though trial and error.  I've got race attire down pat…

• Make sure you have proper footwear.  The recommendation on the number of miles you should run in your sneakers vary.  I like to stick with 400 miles as a magic number.

• water! Water! WATER!  Start hydrated!

• As the marathon approaches, be sure to eat a good balance of protein, complex carbohydrates (building up glycogen), and fats.

• Pre-race... nothing new!  Do not introduce new foods or drinks days before your race or on race day. Training runs are the best time to figure out what works/doesn't work for you.

• Nutrition during the race.  You need to keep fueling and hydrating your body during the race.  To receive the electrolytes my body needs, I have learned that I cannot drink Gatorade or use gels.  The sugar messes with my insulin levels and I feel too many lows in my energy level.  I have discovered NUUN, a sugar-free electrolyte tab which helps me tremendously.  NUUN is gluten-free, just 8 calories per serving and has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee (there are caffeine free flavors too).  I have also learned that packing your own nutrition and not relying on what is provided at the race is very important! Finding the right nutrition race plan has been the hardest for me!

• Post-race.  water! Water! WATER!  Replenish electrolytes and protein.  And more water! Water! WATER!

Marathon 101 was informative and was a good reminder of some important DOS and DON'TS!  Marathon 102 take place in a couple of months as marathon day approaches!

- xoA

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Mini Running Buddy

Last night my mini running buddy, my 9 month old son Baby J, and I hit the pavement. I finally used my jogging stroller! I'll post a review on it at another time. It was a great night to be out in the neighborhood. After two miles we stopped at Grandma's house and the little guy was upset to leave. He would not look at me and would not make eye contact...His face was priceless!!!

I was glad to spend time with my little guy and get my miles in! Marathon training in full effect -- NO EXCUSES! #nycmarathontraining

Marathon Training

Marathon training is getting serious as we are hitting double digit mileage. This weekend we ran 2 loops around Central Park or 12 miles including the infamous Harlem Hill; my favorite! ;)
We are 15 weeks away from the race on November 2nd! As we get closer to race day and train on the NYC streets, I can't help but imagine what that day will be like... SO EXCITING!

The best part about this race will be running along side my running buddy Filicia and my sister Christina!(I had to give you both a shout out!)

Keep checking back to see how my training is progressing! -xoA