Spinning, Yoga, and Walking... Oh My!

Thank you all for your advice and comments regarding my injury, it means SO much to me!!! So, needless to say there was no running this weekend! I am actually pretty sad because it was an amazing (weather wise) weekend in Boston. Today, I think, the high is 65 and sunny! However, I tried not to let the weather and the fact that I could be running in a race on this beautiful day get me down.

I took a wonderful spinning class Saturday morning and my legs did not hurt me one bit. I approached the teacher after class (because she seemed to really know her stuff) and asked about my injury. She explained that it sounds like the muscles below my knee and above my knee must be VERY tight. She didn't think it was too serious because it does not hurt during non impact activity. Her suggestions were to NOT run, stretch, ice and foam roll the areas above and below the knee.

After spin I spent some time with the foam roller. Immediately after rolling out my IT band and calf muscle, I got a BAD charlie horse in my calf (the same leg with the injury). It was really bad (and embarrassing in the gym) because I was jumping around and making weird faces. Maybe I hit something while rolling....

In addition, last night while sleeping I awoke to a major pain in my right (the other leg) quad. What is going on with my body??? So, I decided to cancel my plans of stairs and weight lifting to attend a yoga class today (I am really trying hard to listen to my body). The yoga class was OK today. It was the same studio as before, but a basic class. It was good, but went a little too slow for my liking. I think I will try to stick mainly to the intermediate classes. Anyways, it was still GREAT to get some good stretching in. I think my body was thanking me.

After the class was through I walked outside to AMAZING weather and was instantly depressed that I was not running Doyle's and taking advantage of this beautiful day. So, in order to make myself feel a little better I thought even though I can't run, I can still walk. And I went on a nice 3 mile walk around the city through Boston Common and Beacon Hill. It was actually nice for a change to SLOW down and enjoy the amazing city of Boston.

I know in my last post I mentioned that I might walk the race, but this weekend just got SO busy and I have an intense week coming up that I couldn't commit to the time it would take to get there, walk 5 miles and go to an after party (b/c I couldn't go all the way to the race without participating in the after party, come on...haha). So, I decided to just forgo the race and concentrate on getting better and preparing for my week.

If you ran the Doyle's race how did it go? 


In other news, I had a nice night out with friends last night. We dined at the OtherSide Cafe, a vegetarian heavy restaurant with a GREAT beer list. The table started with the nachos with vegetarian chili and guacamole.

I ordered a Pretty Things Jack D'Or, which was amazing and actually a little heavy for a Saison style beer.

For my entree, I ordered the "Mock Chicken Salad," which was ground pecans, cashews & sunflower seeds mixed with cucumbers, celery and tart green apples, served over simple green salad with a lemon wedge. It was VERY good and came with a nice and soft roll.

Sorry the pictures came out HORRIBLE because the lighting was NOT good!!

After dinner the group headed over to Kings for some bowling. Although we had to wait a little bit for a lane it was a fun night!! 

Even though I am not much of a bowler, it was still a GREAT night!! Hope you all had a good weekend and those of you who ran the Doyle's race (or anything other races) I hope you had a great race!! 

I am not sure what my blog schedule will be like this week because it is going to be a CRAZY week, but I will try my best. Have a GREAT week!!!

Attempt #2

Yesterday was another amazing day here in Boston, I think the temps reached close to 60!!! I took advantage of the nice weather by going on a run with Evan. I guess everyone else had a similar idea because the streets were packed! It was actually kinda annoying at points, but I still managed to get in a good run. 


Evan stayed with me for the first 2 miles and then headed home, while I continued to run for 6.2 miles. Here are the splits:


Distance: 6.2
Duration: 54:30
Mile 1: 9:49
Mile 2: 9:13
Mile 3: 8:22
Mile 4: 8:37
Mile 5: 7:52
Mile 6: 8:53
Mile .2: 1:40


Running these past two days have regained my love for running ( I was getting a little burnt out with all this cold/snowy running and treadmill running). It was nice to be sweating for once outside on a run. I cannot wait for this spring!!!


Ok, on to the questions.....


Where and when were you happiest?
I can think of two times; the day Evan asked me to marry him and the summer after my senior year in high school when my 10 best girlfriends rented a house on the beach in Cape Cod. That was one CRAZY week!!!


If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would change my hair because it is SO thick and frizzy. I wish it could be straight and silky.


What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Finishing grad school!


What is your most treasured possession?
My computer!!! haha


What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Being stuck in the house for a LONG period of time.


Where would you like to live?
California


What is your most marked characteristic?
Friendly/outgoing


What is your greatest extravagance?
Going out to fancy dinners!!!


What are the qualities you most like in a man?
Funny, good looking, kind, caring and sensitive


How would you like to die?
In my sleep as an old, old women


Who are your favorite writers?
J.K. Rowling, and a variety of others...currently loving the book "Sarah's Key"by Titiana De Rosnay and "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen, but I haven't read any other books by those authors.....


Who are your heroes  in real life?
I would say a mix between Jackie Kennedy and Hillary Clinton. Someone who has the grace, beauty and style of Jackie, but the brains and drive of Hillary!


What is your motto?
"Live like you are dying." I know it is corny, but I think it is important to think about every day!


I would like to hear from:
Taking Back My Twenties
Runner's Kitchen
Early Morning Run


I leave you with some pictures of last night's second attempt at bowling at Sacco's Bowl Heaven and Flatbreads Pizza in Davis Square. A few weeks ago I went there with my family, but was really bad at bowling. I am happy to report I had a comeback last night and actually beat Evan in a game! Afterwards we went to a local bar to hear some music and dance. What a fun night with friends (and good food and beer!).

Ommegang: AMAZING!!!

Flatbread's pizza!!!

Fun night!

Off to pack for San Fran!!! Not sure what my blogging will be like this week, but I will be sure to get a few good runs in and take lots of pictures of amazing food, wine and beer!! Have a great week!!!

Beer and Bowling!

We are experiencing some wet weather here in Boston (at least it isn't snow!). Since it was raining, I decided to head back to my old pal Mr. Treadmill. I went back on the Woodway and ran a quick 6 miles in 53 minutes. Man, was it fast! I was sweating and huffing and puffing, but it was a good workout and I even sustained an 8.0 mph pace for a while! It was good to work up a sweat for the first time all week!

I am dealing with a little issue that I hope you guys can help out with....My training hasn't been going exactly as planned with all this snow and wedding stuff. So, I was kinda revisiting my race schedule for the spring. I noticed that a lot of bloggers are running a "Run to Remember" in Boston at the end of May. However, if I run the Providence marathon (with the DreamFar team) at the beginning of May it might be too much running in one month for my legs. However, I noticed that the The Cox marathon (Providence marathon) also offers a half marathon option at the same time/day/and place as the full marathon. So, I was thinking of running both the Cox half marathon at the beginning of May (instead of the full marathon) and then the "Run to Remember" half marathon at the end of May. There is also the New York marathon in the Fall or the Lowell marathon, and it would be SO much nicer training for my first marathon in the summer months........

What do you guys think? Do you think that would be too much running in the month of May? Would it be a bad thing not to run a marathon this spring and wait till the Fall of next year? Thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!


In other news, I had a lovely afternoon of beer and bowling today! Evan, unfortunately, had to work so I met my mom and brother for a little bowling. I had heard of this new bowling alley that opened up in Davis Square, so when we were thinking of something to do on a rainy winter afternoon I suggested checking it out!

The place was called Sacco's Bowl Haven and man was it cool! It is owned by Flatbread's, a pizza company, that offers a 10 lane bowling alley with a pizza restaurant attached. Flatbread's is an organic, locally grown minded restaurant that features unique pizzas and local beers. Also most of the tables and the bar were made from recycled bowling lanes.

VERY COOL!! We weren't hungry for pizza, but since there was a one to two hour wait we decided to sit at the bar and grab a beer! I started with a Ommegang Carranza-- Mmmm, yum!

After we finished our first round, our lane was ready and we started bowling! It was a LOT of fun, but I was not very good.....

As we bowled, I sipped on a glass of organic Cabernet Savigon that was dry and spicy and just how I like it!

Needless to say I lost both strings, but I had SUCH a fun time! I will definitely need to take Evan back, so I can practice for a future rematch!

Relaxing the rest of the night and getting ready for the big game tomorrow!

Any fun Super Bowl plans?