Dinner for Two!

Hope you all had a great Valentine's day! I did! It actually was a VERY long day for me, starting with a busy day at work, followed with a quick run "workout" at the gym that went a little something like this:

Distance: 4.0 miles
Duration: 35 minutes
Warm up: (.5 miles) 6.3mph
Work out: 6 x 400s 8.0mph
(with a 400 rest inbetween)
Cool Down: (.5 miles) 6.3mph

Great workout! Short and sweet. But man, those 400s were SO hard! After my run, I showered and went to class and then a meeting (I told you it was a LONG day!)

I quickly got back home and was greeted with this AMAZING scene:

Evan was busy at work making this INCREDIBLE meal!

Cioppino with clams, mussels, shrimp, tilapia, and scallops!

Arugula salad

Baguette

Evan and I enjoyed a lovely dinner, complete with relaxing background music and good conversation. We drank a couple glasses of wine (from the Newport winery we visited in September) and some delicious food!

But no Valentine's evening could be complete without some dessert: Angel food cake with strawberries and whip cream! YUM!

PERFECT DAY!

How was your Valentine's Day??

Off to eat another piece of cake, g'night!

Happy Birthday!

Sorry guys I have been MIA, it has been a whirl wind the last few days. I will start with a running update: Thursday, I went on a nice run, after school, with the DreamFar team. The team was planning on running 8 miles, but I had to cut mine down to 6.2 miles (in 55 minutes) because I had to leave early. 

The run was one of the better ones outside in awhile. The snow has been, slowly but surely, disappearing and the ice is melting. However, it was still freezing outside! I felt pretty good and was able to get a good run in and it was nice to catch up with the team!

The reason I had to leave the practice early was because Evan and I had a meeting with my childhood priest. Surprisingly, Evan and I were a bit nervous because it has been a little while since we have been to church, but the meeting went great! 

Friday, I had a somewhat stressful day at work because I had 2 big meetings! But the meetings went well and I was very happy to see the end of the work day. Friday evening I had my bridesmaids get together at my apartment. In my wedding party I have girls from a few different groups of friends, so I wanted to have them over so everyone could meet. I decided to make a taco bar, but I was so busy entertaining and hosting that I forgot to take pictures. Go to Laura's blog to see the spread! It was a wonderful evening with some incredible girls. I am SO happy that they all can be part of my wedding!! But boy, entertaining sure is tiring!!

Saturday, I got a 7 mile run in on the treadmill. I completed the run in 61 minutes and felt great!!! I am really feeling prepared for my upcoming races. After working off some food and drinks from Friday night, I got ready to do it all again on Saturday. 

The month of February brings the birthdays of two of my best friends, so usually we pick a night to go out and celebrate. Last night was that night! The birthday girls:

We started the evening off by the three of us going to Top of the Hub for beautiful views of the city and a birthday toast. 

For non Bostonians, Top of the Hub is a restaurant on the top of the Prudential building that offers panoramic views of Boston. We all ordered Martini's: I got the ginger lemon drop. AMAZING!!

The martini tasted great, while also being nice and strong; a perfect drink in my opinion. Top of the Hub was a great way to start off the night!

Next up, we met our boyfriends (and Fiance) and my friend's brothers and sister at a local Thai food restaurant: Bangkok City. The ten of us were put in our own private room, equipped with a shrine to a famous Thai king!

The table started off with spring rolls and champagne.

For my entree, Evan and I split:

Pik King with Seafood

and

Green curry with chicken (sorry bad pic)

All the food was fresh and delicious. And as we were leaving the wait staff come out with umbrellas and ice cream singing happy birthday. 

After dinner, we met up with a bunch of other friends at a local Fenway bar and danced the night away. Fun, fun night! Happy Birthday Kira and Vicki!!!!!

Today, I have just been catching up on things and preparing for the week. I am getting so excited because one week from today I will be in San Francisco!!!!!

How was your weekend? Any ideas on good restaurants or fun things to do in San Fran??

Let's Move!

Hello, hello! How's everyone's week going? I had a great running "workout" yesterday (done on the treadmill) - must have been because I took a break on Monday. Here is how it went and I did the whole run at a .5 incline:

Distance: 5 miles
Duration: 44 minutes
1 Mile: 6.3 mph (warm up)
.5: 7.5 mph
.25: 6.3 mph
.5: 7.5/8.0 mph
.5: 6.3 mph
.5: 7.5/8.0 mph
.25: 6.3 mph
.5: 8.0 mph
1 Mile: 6.3 mph (cool down)

I felt great and actually I could have sped up a little more on the 800s (.5 miles), but I did not want to overdo it on my first time completing this workout. I will try to push myself to doing more 8.0 mph 800s the next time I do this one.

Speaking of running, I decided to run the two halves instead of the full marathon this May. Thanks guys for all your advice! I also was able to sign up for a "fun" 5K St. Patty's day race where they provide an after party with beer! Also, Evan and my brother also signed up for the 5K race, so it is going to be such a fun day!! I am also eyeing another "fun" 5 mile race in April, but have not signed up yet because my running funding has dwindled for this week. Oops! I am hoping to sign up soon and maybe look for a few more races over the summer. As of now, I have one race for March, one for April and two for May. This is going to be an eventful spring!

This morning I watch Michelle Obama on the Today Show. Among many topics, she also discussed her "Let's Move" campaign.

What do you guys think of this idea/campaign? 


Working in a school, this initiative is of special interest to me. I highly, highly believe schools have an obligation to provide education around nutrition and fitness at multiple grades. I also think schools need to provide healthy lunches that include wheat products and more fruits and vegetables. I also think gym should be required at every level and after school fitness classes should be provided.

What role do you think schools should play in the increasing rise in childhood obesity? 


Off to relax and pack because Evan and I are heading to my parents' house tomorrow (we have a meeting with the priest). But before I leave, here are a few pics of our cheesy dinner: Kath's Mac and cheese

  
Enjoy your night!

A different take on Love.....

I recently stumbled upon this really cute article on love. Being in this relationship for a long time, I have definitely tried to keep the spark going and even had to rekindle the love a few times. There was even a period when I took a break... from running that is!

As cute as this article is, I think it also makes some really great points:

- Listen to your body! It will tell you when it has had too much, can be pushed harder and/or is injured. LISTEN!

- Don't let running become too predictable. So, don't run in the same place, same time or same distance every day. Mix it up a little...be spontaneous!

- Be flexible (even if that means running 2 half marathons instead of the one you planned).

- Appreciate that you CAN run! And love whatever distance and time you can accomplish!

- Even the sweetest relationship can go sour if you overdo it. Time apart, after all, is just as important as time together. If you need a break take it and try another exercise (like Body Pump, Zumba, Cycle). It will make running more fun!


Fun article and makes me get excited for the upcoming holiday. Evan and I never do anything too big, but we just enjoy setting some time aside for just the two of us!


Do you have any Valentines plans yet? 


Today running and I took a little break and I did a 45-minute spinning class and lifted some weights with Evan. It was nice to switch things up today and like the article said: time apart is good. It is making me excited to run tomorrow!


As for dinner, I sautéed a few veggies (Kale and Baby Bella Mushrooms) and Italian Chicken Sausages.

I added a little of this soup:

Let it simmer for a little while

PERFECTION! Served with crusty bread.

AMAZING!!!!!!!!

Off to watch Gossip Girl and eating ice cream! Enjoy the night!

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?

Weight Maintenance

Good News, my groin is feeling much, much better today and I was even able to do a little running! However, now I have a little cold and my nose is a runny mess! So, I decided not to run with DreamFar today because I did not want to run outside and get sicker (especially in the cold and snow) and I also wasn't sure how my groin would hold up.

To the gym I went. Since my groin was feeling better I thought I would try the treadmill. I also have been hearing a lot about the Woodway in the blog world and decided to give it a try. The Woodway advertises that it provides better support than the traditional conveyor belt on a treadmill. I ended up running 7 miles in 62 minutes and felt great! As for my injured area, it did not hurt even a little and my nose actually stopped running for the first time all day.

The verdict on the Woodway: I LOVED it! I actually didn't feel much of a difference while I was running, just a little bumpier than normal (kinda like a country road). My shins felt funny while I was running, but not a bad funny, just different. But I really liked how my legs felt after the run; NO pain at all, especially my knees (which sometimes hurt after a treadmill run). I think I may have converted!

Have you used the Woodway? What are your thoughts?


A few posts back I talked about weight gain during marathon training. I received a few comments about eating healthy to maintain appropriate weight during marathon training (some people actually lost weight). Here are a few more tips I found about weight maintenance during training.

- Fuel appropriately for workouts and calculate how many calories are needed to fuel for the workout - consume that many calories before and during the workout to keep energy levels constant. You burn about 100 calories per mile. 

- Eat Smart! Choose foods that have high nutritional value and eat as much of those foods as your body needs to fuel properly for your run.

- Eat fewer calories during the day to lose excess weight. Besides fueling for runs, cut back on calorie consumption to a low but adequate level. For instance, keeping calorie consumption around 1800-2000 per day for women, or 2000-2500 for men, not including whatever is needed for workouts, will help maintain weight. 

- Weight train, especially programs that advertise high repetitions at low resistance (Body pump is a great class). 

Those are just a few, but I agree with the comments previously posted that if you are eating healthy during training, weight gain is normal. 

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I leave you with a glimpse of my spicy diner: Shrimp and veggie curry stir fry over basmati rice!

Incredible!

Happy almost Friday!

Becoming Routine

So, I have ANOTHER snow day tomorrow! This is my fourth week within the past month I've had a snow day. I have not had a full week of work since December vacation! In my 20 years of education I have never experienced this trend!

What is up with the weather this year? Are other parts of the country experiencing this trend?


I am going to try and find a balance between work and fun tomorrow (maybe a movie in the evening...) I am also going to try and hit up a noon time spinning class.

BAD NEWS~I apparently injured my groin area during Body Pump on Sunday. I woke up yesterday (Monday) feeling VERY sore, but just figured it was because I haven't done "proper" weight lifting in a LONG time. But today when I woke up still feeling sore (especially in the groin area) I knew something was wrong. However, being the crazy person I am, I attempted to run (on the treadmill) and almost immediately had to stop because I was in SO much pain!! I decided to stop running because I learned the hard way that running on a body part that hurts only leads to a much, MUCH worse injury. I jumped on the elliptical and felt no pain, so I continued for 20 minutes and the climbed stairs for another 20.

I looked up a few articles on groin injuries and found this one to be pretty good. According to the article I must have strained (stretched the muscle beyond its limits) the muscle during Body Pump. As for treating the pain, they suggest the "RICE" method (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate). I sure hope I don't have to "rest" from running for too long because I don't want to lose too much training time. Although, I guess a few days of  running "rest" is in order and maybe some yoga.

Have any of you experienced groin pain? What have you done to resolve the problem?


Tonight's dinner included "make your own salad" from Whole Foods.

I put cranberry couscous salad

and string bean salad

and orzo salad

and grape leaves

on top of a bed of veggies!

Mmmm BEST easy weeknight dinner!!!

Enjoy the snow or if you live in some place warm enjoy laughing at us!