Updated 30 by 30

So I have another race for the 30 by 30 challenge.  I registered this week for the Brooklyn Half Marathon with NYRR. I have done Brooklyn before (5 years ago actually!), but this is a new course this year.  Starts in Prospect Park and ends in Coney Island.  It'll be in the middle of May, so weather should be nice (fingers crossed).  That leaves only 3 races unplanned:

24 - New Jersey Half Marathon
25 -Brooklyn Half Marathon (new)
26 - 
27 -Virginia Beach Half Marathon
28 -
29 -
30 - Disney World Half Marathon

30 by 30

This upcoming January will be my 30th birthday (holy cow, it feels weird saying that!).  This is not an "I'm turning 30, let's freak out" post, because a) it's still like 10 months away and b) I'm not really freaked out by it (see a).

But I did come up with an idea/goal for my 30th birthday - run 30 half marathons (i.e. 30 by 30).  Honestly, I'm not really that far away from 30.  I'm currently at 23.  So I have 7 still to go and already have a couple planned (I originally thought it was 24, 6 left but then realized I was counting a half relay in there and can't have that).

24 - New Jersey Half Marathon
25 -
26 - Virginia Beach Half Marathon
27 -
28 -
29 -
30 - Disney World Half Marathon

Not sure what those remaining 3 will be, maybe the Disney Wine and Dine will be one of them...still trying to figure out my schedule.  Hoping to find a local one for June and maybe another in July.  I am doing a full the last weekend of September so need to factor that in.  Either way, I do know the Disney World Half will be my 30th though!

Will update as I get closer to my goal!

5 Food Cleanse

As I said in my last post, I came home from New Orleans feeling incredibly full.  Like crazy full and overstuffed (not a good feeling, but at least it was from good food!).  I got this 5 food cleanse from my friend Melissa (who was also on the trip with us).  It's not a cleanse in the traditional sense (at least what I think of traditional - i.e. the juice cleanses that disturb me).

This one involves only eating the following 5 ingredients: almonds (dry roasted or raw, no extra oil), fat free yogurt, spinach, eggs and raspberries.  I am not sure the science or thinking behind it, but basically it's a lot of protein to help burn fat and clean your system.  I started it yesterday (first day back from the trip) and I definitely feel less bloated.  Probably helps that I am not eating as much and drinking a lot of water, but whatever helps!

So far, I have been eating a lot of egg and spinach omelets and yogurt and raspberry parfaits with almonds.  Given the limited food choices, I thought I'd be starving, but I am shockingly not (so far).  The eggs are pretty filling (breakfast) and the parfaits are keeping me full (I'm also snacking on some almonds throughout the day, but am limited myself, this isn't a gorge yourself on the 5 foods cleanse).  I think it's also making me focus on drinking water and I'm realizing a lot of the times when I am hungry and eat something, I'm actually probably just thirsty.

Only on Day 2 though and I'll only be able to do it through Friday (which will be 4 days and probably a good number, one can not live on 5 foods alone).  I'm off to a wedding this weekend!

New Orleans Weekend

Spent this past weekend in New Orleans for the New Orleans Half Marathon.  Had a wonderful time with friends and really enjoyed the city.  I love trips that include races.

This is the second time I've done the New Orleans Half (although it was called the Mardi Gras Half then) and they have changed the course slightly, but it was still a lot of fun.  The course is very flat and takes you through most of New Orleans giving you a nice view of the city.  Officially, I ran a 2:20:59, but we did take an 8 minute bathroom break!  I didn't go down to the race to race it, went to spend a long weekend with friends.  Ran the whole things with my friends Amanda, Melissa and Michelle.  We had a great time.

The rest of the weekend was basically all about food!  We had some delicious food while we were ranging from low key places we found by chance to some of the nicer more "famous" restuarants (Emeril's).  Everything was delicious.  Definitely came home feel full.  For days (more on that later).

Overall, had a great weekend with friends.  We reverted to teenagers a little bit and laughed so much during the trip.

I'll be back in NOLA at the end of April for Jazzfest.  Can't wait!

Ash Wednesday

So today is Ash Wednesday.  The start of Lent.  While I probably won't actually get ashes (I'm kinda a lapsed Catholic in that sense), I always give something up.  After some thinking, I have decided to give up 2 things.

• Snack food.  Primarily includes chips, pretzels, popcorn, crackers.  Figure I love this stuff and since it's not the healthiest thing for me anyways, would probably be good to give up.
• Unnecessary shopping.  To clarify, what is necessary to me, might not be to other people.  For example, a new sports bra is a necessity to me, but that cute top at Banana Republic is not.  Same goes for running shoes vs. heels I don't need but want.  But a new pair of running shorts?  Not a necessity as I have a drawer full of shorts.  We'll see how this goes!

So, that's what I am giving up this year.  What are other people giving up?

More to come,
S

Hawaiian Shredded Chicken and Lime Rice

So, as stated in my last post, I love Pinterest.  It's such a great place to find ideas and get inspired.  Mostly, I pin clothing I can't afford and lots of delicious looking recipes.

Any who... I also love my crock pot.  Such a useful cooking appliance and one that doesn't have to be super expensive either.  My crock pot was one of the first appliances I bought myself once I was living in the city (and in a tiny studio so space was a premium, but I had to have my crock pot!)  There are a lot of crock pots out there and you could spend a lot of money on it, but I got a pretty basic one (just a high and low switch, no timers or anything - I was on a budget!).  I've had it for about 6 years now and have never had any problems with it.

I also love using the crock pot because I like cooking on Sundays and having left overs all week.  Most crock pot meals make a ton of food - great for leftovers and reheating!

So this weekend, I used my crock pot to make a delicious and easy meal.  I chose a recipe from Pinterest called Hawaiian BBQ Chicken.  The full recipe can be found here: Hawaiian BBQ Chicken.  Just 3 simple ingredients - how can you not like that!  I paired it with a lime rice (a version of the recipe on this site, how I changed it below).

Success!  Hawaiian BBQ Chicken with Lime Rice

I thought both recipes were delicious.  For the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, I did think it needed a little bit more sauce, but that's very much a personal opinion as I love sauces in general.  Luckily, I had another bottle of BBQ sauce already, so I just added a little more to the top.  With the rice, I did make some changes to the recipe I used.  I left the cilantro out because I am not a fan of cilantro.  I always buy it when called for in recipes, but I either end up leaving it out or picking around it, so this time I didn't even buy it.  I also used more lime juice then she recommended.  Just minor changes, but based on my personal preferences.  That is one of the things I love about cooking - you can adjust to your own tastes.

Overall, I was pleased with how both dishes turned out and I did end up with tons of left overs for my lunches this week.  While normally rice does not reheat well, I find when it's covered with something (i.e. saucy shredded chicken) it stays pretty moist.

More to come,
S

Let's try this again...

So, it has clearly been close to 2 years since I've actually blogged.  Going to try this again.  Blog will basically be about the same things: running, racing, traveling, life in the city and food (I love food).  Also included will be things I've made or created from Pinterest - my new favorite site (seriously, I'm obsessed).  I've been making a lot of the recipes lately, so excited to share those!

I will try to post at least once a week if not more, but no promises!

More to come,
S

NOLA Celeb sighting

Oh yea, Spike Lee was on our flight from New Orleans to New York.  Looks just like he does on TV.

New Orleans weekend

I went to New Orleans for the first time this weekend!  It was really great!  One place of of my list of places to go.  I went to run the Rock n Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon with my friend Marissa (she ran the full!), her brother, sister-in-law and some other friends.

The trip did not get off to the best of starts - anyone in the NYC area will remember there was a blizzard that left about 16" of snow on Thursday and Friday.  My flight was scheduled to leave on Saturday morning...but of course if got cancelled Friday afternoon.  After some dealing with Delta, I was able to get on a different flight that eventually got me to NOLA (via Atlanta).  Unfortunately, this meant I missed the race expo, but was still able to get my race number on Sunday morning.  It did mean however, I missed all the race gear to buy!  We all know I love my race gear, so this was probably a good thing. 

The race was Sunday morning and went really well!  I set a half marathon PR - 1:51:22 (an 8:30 per mile pace!).  I was very pleased with it!  Marissa also set a PR in her marathon - 4:12:00.  Great job Marissa!  The course was really nice - for someone who has never been to New Orleans, I thought it gave me a great overview of the city.  We ran down St. Charles Ave (and there were still beads everywhere from the actual Mardi Gras).  We also ran through some of the French Quarter and City Park.  It was very pretty and very flat.  Some races call themselves "flat" and definitely aren't, but this one was definitely flat. 

We had some great food while there - lots of gumbo, po' boys, oysters, shrimp, etc.  It was all very delicious!  I also had some beignots from Cafe du Monde.  The line was semi long, but worth it in my opinion.  They were just as good as I imagined (and made for some pretty delicious hangover food on Monday morning).

Sunday night (after a delicious dinner at Bacco), Marissa, Landon and I went to Bourbon St.  It was crazy!  I still can't get over that there are no open container laws (yep, everyone just drinks in the open and in the street).  Being a first timer in NOLA, Marissa insisted I had to have a Hurrican from Pat O'Briens and a Hand Granade.  They were both pretty dangerous, but delicious. 

Overall, a great time!  Can't wait to go back in May for Marissa and Landon's wedding!

Currently reading...

So I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't getting anywhere with Fever Pitch.  Despite liking soccer, I just can't get into it.  So instead, I started reading, "A Year in the World" by Frances Mayes.  She also wrote "Under the Tuscan Sun".  While I haven't read that yet, the movie is one of my absolute favorites!  Which is probably why I haven't read the book - don't want it to ruin my love of the movie (yes, it works in reverse). 

I am about 2/3rds of the way into A Year in the World and so far, I am enjoying it.  It took a little to get into, but now that I have I am loving it.  It's all about trips that Mayes and her husband are taking around the world.  Where they stayed, what they ate, who they visited, why they went there.  It's pretty interesting and has totally added some places to my (ever growing) list of places to visit.