Running is (umm, should be) Cheap

Good morning! I don't know about you but this week is flying by for me. Usually this is a good thing but I feel like I have a lot to do before my seminars next week!

The gym last night was awesome. For whatever reason the commute home was quicker than ever (I'll take it!) so I got there in time to rock out two quick miles before my body sculpt class at 6:30. The class was great! There wasn't too many new people and there was more than enough room to run around. And, my instructor is pregnant! She is so cute- I am so excited for her! Anyway, she put us through an intense full body workout. My favorite part (not at the time, so hard!) was when she had us doing a zillion squats holding weights. She then had us pause in squat position, then pulse up halfway three times, go up back to standing and repeat. It burned so good!


The other day I was in my bedroom, which I noticed was quickly being taken over by all of my running gear and apparel, particularly now that it is a frozen tundra outside. If you think about it, running is extremely low maintenance; all you need is a pair of running shoes and the ability to run. Cheap, right? Right. Well, hypothetically it is. It is not cheap if you are a gear junkie like myself. I thought about everything that I have either purchased or received as a gift relating to running since I started last May. I was shocked by the total cost. Let's break it down:

• Adidas Supernova Glide Sneakers- $110
• Garmin Forerunner 305- $179
• Running Tights- $40
• Coldgear Cold Weather Hood- $30
• Coldgear Cold Weather Fleece Pants- $55
• Coldgear Compression Top- $50
• Coldgear Gloves- $20
• Coldgear headband- $15
• Lululemon Running Jacket- $100
• Running Socks- $20
• Nike Tempo Track Shorts- 4 pairs- $100
• Extra Sports Bras- $70
• Race Entries (to date) $145
• Oakley Sport Sunglasses- $170
• Running Fleece- $10
• Moisture Wicking Tops- $60
• Foam Roller- $25
• Road ID- $30
• Spi Belt- $20
• Zensah Socks- $20
• iTouch Armband Holder- $20
• Reflective Waistband- $10

Grand Total: $1299, or approximately $1300 dollars spent on running!

Arguably, I could use some of the gear for other activities, but their primary purpose is for running. For instance, before I started running a lot I had around four sports bras (some since my volleyball days back in high school!) However, running a ton required me to either do laundry all of the time or purchase more. Clearly I opted for the latter. I am a huge fan of the Champion sports bras at Target. They are relatively inexpensive (about $15) and provide great support (I'm a C).

Are you surprised by the amount I have spent on my running habit? How much have YOU spent on running (or any other sport/hobby that, on the surface, is inexpensive)?

I am finally getting my hair cut and highlighted tonight- yippee! It will be my last cut and color before the wedding. My hair is getting waaay too long; this appointment is long overdue!


Also, I broke down and joined twitter. It's fun! You can follow me @fittowed.

Lastly, for some pics. My maid of honor Kelle has been asking me to forward her a picture from my bachelorette for the longest time. I'm kind of bad at emailing pics to people. So Kelle, here you go!


Me and Kelle at my bachelorette- wine tasting in the finger lakes! Kelle had just dyed her hair from blonde to a beautiful brunette.

For a frame of reference, here is Kel as a blonde:

Me, my bridesmaid Jenn and Kelle as a blondie in summer '07. I had just finished studying for the bar in Buffalo (read: no sunlight) which is why I am so pale. Who am I kidding, I'm always pale!

Have a great Thursday! Let me know your thoughts on running and/or fitness costs!

My (Blue) Wedding Shoes

Good morning blog friends! Today is going to be a great day, I can just feel it! The Governor is giving the state of the State, which as a general rule means that the commute into Albany will be nasty. So, preparing for that, I awoke at the crack of dawn (6:50 AM is the crack of dawn) and left my house at 7:40, prepared for a stressful commute. Usually I'm just waking up at 7:40 (to leave my house at 8:10- what can I say, I'm def not a morning person!)

The commute was glorious! I feel like such a tool saying that but there was hardly any traffic and I arrived to work over a half an hour early. Loves it! I swear, the sun was even shining differently (which, uh, makes sense, since I left 45 minutes earlier than I usually do). The sky was so pretty! Can you see the hearts and flowers flying around my head yet? I'm practically annoying myself with how happy I am.

Another reason the commute was so great was because I listened to some great music. When I was driving home last night, Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" came onto my iTouch and hearing the early chords of the song literally brought a smile to my face. Probably because it is still new to me (I don't really listen to the radio so if I get sick of a song, it's because I have played it to death, not because the radio is playing it every five minutes). I love this song for some reason! Lady Gaga is a hot mess, her lyrics are strange at best and I can barely understand what she is singing at some points but her music makes me happy! I played Bad Romance on repeat for a while this morning. Are there any songs out there that put a smile on your face when you hear them?

Last week at yoga class my yoga instructor said something that really resonated with me. Since it was still the holidays, she decided that she wanted the class to have a "giving and receiving" theme. In addition to various poses that incorporated the theme (ie, partner shoulder stretching), she read some passages that applied as well. One spoke to ways that we can easily give to others. The example that she described and applied to our every day lives applies to something we all do every day- driving (even yoga ties in with my commute!). You know how sometimes when you're driving along and someone wants to merge in or merge over and you speed up so that they can't pass you? We are all probably guilty of this (at least I am!). My yoga instructor said that an easy way to "give back" to people without exerting any effort is to just let those drivers in. Everything is so rush rush these days but really, what do you have to lose by doing this? Not a thing. So, thinking about what she said, I applied this to my commute this morning. It left me smiling to let in other stressed drivers, and my drive did not take any longer than usual. If you practice yoga, do you try to incorporate it in other ways into your daily actions?

Yesterday was a long day. After work I attended a legal clinic and put in some pro bono hours. I really enjoy doing this. Last night I met with two women and they really just wanted someone to talk to and some reassurance. Doing this sort of thing really puts things into perspective for me. I am so... I don't even know how to put it. I don't want to say "blessed", because I think that term is kind of overused. I am so grateful for everyone and everything that I have in my life. I am thankful that I do not have to stress out about whether I can afford to purchase six dollar medication. There are people out that there that struggle with these sort of issues every day.

Okay, anyway, I thought this was a post about my fabulous wedding shoes? Oh, riight. So I'm just going to come out and say it. I hate (hate) white shoes. Yick. I don't know why; I just do. This presents a problem for the traditional wedding shoe since they are, well, white. However, after seeing Carrie Bradshaw get married in her blue Manolos, something must have stuck with me, because after I got engaged, I KNEW that I had to have blue shoes (navy, to be exact).

Source

Thus began my search for the shoes that didn't exist, or so I thought. I googled the shoes that Carrie wore (not that I was trying to buy $895 Manolos) and saw that they were not navy, nor were they peep toe, which is what I was looking for. My hopes sank. I perused various shoe sites (Zappos, I heart you but your blue wedding shoes were fug) with no luck. I was looking on Macy's website at shoes when I saw a red pair that they "suggested", with the always encouraging "more colors available" link underneath. There they were, and under budget ($99, my budget was $100) with free shipping to boot! I hemmed and hawed about ordering my wedding shoes when I hadn't even tried them on, but I just took the plunge and ordered them.

Behold:
Oops, kinda blurry.

Navy blue satin, peep toe, adorable ruffles- what's not to love?! I tried them on and fell in love. The final test was trying them on with my dress. Originally I was going to have to have my dress shortened a little because I planned on wearing 2 inch heels. These babies are about 3.5 inches. The 3.5 inch heel went PERFECTLY with my dress; it needs no alterations! I'm just under 5'8", so with the shoes I'm at about 5'11"ish. Bri is just over six feet tall so they are perfect!

These aren't the comfortable two inch heels that I was originally hoping for, but it's okay. I decided last night that I had to start breaking them in.

Yes, I wore them around my house with my pink pajama pants on. It was super hot.

So what do you think of the shoes? If you are married, did you wear colored shoes? If not, would you on your wedding day? And should I invest in a pair of ballet flats for the reception?

Tonight my training plan calls for a two mile run and my beloved body sculpt class. If the class is packed to the gills, I swear, New Year's Resolutioners' heads will roll. Kidding, kidding. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to revive (okay, begin) my love affair with brussel sprouts with a recipe that Wendy from Give Love, Create Happiness shared on her blog the other day. It sounds really delicious, and hopefully it will will take the bittah out of the brussel.

Sorry that this post is all over the place. I'm random. Have a great day!

My Default Dinner Recipe

Good morning blog friends! I hope that you are transitioning well back to the first full work week of the new year. I spent the day catching up on missed phone calls and emails and now have the rest of the week to devote to getting ready for my upcoming presentations next week.

Yesterday at the gym was, um, interesting. The parking lot at my gym was insane and the track was filled with people just walking about in the running and jogging lanes. I am all for getting healthy and fit but WHY do we have this tradition of starting on the first of the year? I know it's about starting anew and all of that, but why limit it to January 1? Okay, rant over. Moving on...

My 3.5 miles went by fairly quickly despite all of the new members in attendance. During the run, I decided I wanted to make my old standby for dinner- Lemon Artichoke Chicken. I LOVE this recipe. It is fairly simple and easy to make. I found it over a year ago on Cooking Light and adapted it along the way to come to the ultimate recipe. You'll need:

-1-1.5 pounds organic chicken breast

-1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

-14 oz organic chicken stock

-2 cups instant brown rice

-2 T olive oil

-1 can (14 oz) quartered artichoke hearts

-1 medium sized yellow onion

-salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste

-parmesan cheese

-approximately half a bag of frozen peas

Optional: 1 Glass Red Wine to ease the cooking process

Loves.

Also optional- puppy photo shoot.

Bailey always sits like a gentleman- I love it!

The goods, minus the brown rice

You'll need a dutch oven or similar baking pot to make the lemon artichoke chicken.

-Cut the chicken and onion in bite size pieces. If I can do this, anyone can do this. I seriously have issues when it comes to knives. Challenged, if you will. It took me a few tries but I can now cut an onion fairly decently.

-Once you have the chicken and onion cut, place 2 T olive oil into dutch oven and place on stovetop over medium high heat. Saute chicken and onion for 5 minutes. Stir throughout the 5 minutes, like so:

After the five minutes is up, add the chicken stock, lemon juice, brown rice, peas, salt, pepper and onion powder to the mix. Stir, and bring the mixture to a boil. This usually takes a minute or two.

After the ingredients reach boiling point, reduce heat to medium, COVER and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once this is complete, stir in the (drained) artichoke hearts and let sit for a minute.

Add parmesan cheese and feast!

The finished product.

I really like this recipe because it is easy, has a relatively short ingredient list and keeps well. The rice takes on an almost risotto-like texture. The recipe makes 4 servings (at least), and I've been known to eat it for days on end. The original recipe calls for green peppers instead of peas, but I decided that I like peas better and they are easier to deal with (no cutting!). I think they add a nice flavor to the dish.

Do you have a default dish that you always turn to?

While at the grocery store, I also found that I have an addiction. To bars. I can't seem to stop myself from going down that aisle. I went to the grocery store near my gym, which I haven't been to in years. I've been missing out. They have not only the peanut butter and jelly larabar flavor (which I've been dying to try) but also this new organic clif bar that is made of fruit and nuts. I had to purchase three. The bar damage:

Do you have a favorite "bar" brand? What is your favorite Larabar flavor? Right now mine is cinnamon roll but that is subject to change!

Have a great Tuesday!

Goals and Sigg Om Water Bottle Winner!

Good morning! I'm currently typing this as I ride the train back to Albany on Sunday evening (so pictureless post, sorry!). It was really sad to leave Bri today. We got to spend so much time together; it provided a nice little teaser as to what married life it going to be like- awesome! He is coming up to Albany in a few weeks so we can attend pre-cana, and then I'll see him two weekends in February. After that, it's wedding time and we won't have to do distance any longer. I can't wait. My heart hurts when I have to leave him.


Note to self when traveling on trains in the future: pack more snacks! I attempted to walk to the snack cart earlier, which is no fun when the train is wobbling all over the place. When I got to the cart, it was "temporarily" closed. Dang it! I eventually made my way back later and purchased two bottles of water and a cheese plate. That coupled with a honey wheat bagel and some dried mango slices doth not a balanced diet make. It's easier when driving to pick up somewhat healthy snacks (nuts, bars, etc) but the train is so much more convenient. So, moral of the story is next train trip I am packing lots of healthy goods and a big bottle of water.


It's Monday, which means I'm back to work after over a week off. I am excited to get back but January is going to be crazy! I am traveling around the state putting on three seminars by myself and two additional seminars with my other co-counsel. This means a lot of workouts on the road (I still have to train for the 14k!) and making healthy eating decisions on the road. Anyway, since it's the beginning of January, I was thinking about things I'd like to accomplish this year. I don't really "do" resolutions; I just want to think of ways to become a more well-rounded person.

Goals: Professional

1. Complete at least 50 hours of pro-bono work
a. This will not further my legal career in the field that I am in (municipal), but I think it is important for attorneys to volunteer their services to those who may not have representation otherwise. I was hesitant to do pro-bono work at first because my area of expertise doesn?t really lend itself to pro-bono cases. I was nervous that I would be in over my head handling Family Court cases and the like. However, the organization that I found provides you with clients that oftentimes just want an ear to listen to and a general overview of their legal rights. The clinics are twice monthly for approximately three hours a time, so I am hopeful that I will reach my goals.

2. Become a better small talker and more confident in social situations where I do not know anyone
a. In my job there are lots of networking events where we put in face time with our members. I am not an outgoing person by nature so when I first started (back in September 2008) I put on a brave front but was often very uncomfortable. I have gotten much better in approaching people and making conversation, but I still have room for improvement.

3. Improve my public speaking abilities
a. I put on a lot of presentations. I have seen tremendous improvements in my speaking abilities since starting my current job. My boss serves as an amazing motivator; I have never seen a more confident, engaging speaker. I would like to be at that level someday. Until then, I would like to continue making strides forward in feeling more comfortable in front of the podium.


Goals: Health and Fitness

1. Complete the Virginia is For Lovers 14k
a. I am really excited for this race. On the day of the race it will be a PDR for me. Not only that, it's on Valentine's day, which is the weekend Bri and I got engaged last year. It's a couples race and all of the female finishers get roses at the end. I'm so excited!


2. Complete the Rock 'n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon
a. The half marathon is the ultimate distance for me. I really don't think my body can handle a marathon; I love running but it is hard on the body and I already had hip issues before running came into the mix. If I could run a half I would be so happy!

3. Attend a yoga class at least once a week in a studio
a. I love doing yoga at home, for the convenience and cost-saving factor (yoga classes are pricey!) However, there is something to be said for going into a studio and getting taught by a knowledgeable instructor that can help your form. If I can't attend a class because of travel, I have to at least practice yoga once a week on my own.

4. Run a 5k in under 30:00
a. I know I can do this! My last 5k was 30:37. I need to push myself harder to go faster and, of course, do some speedwork. I am confident that I will reach this goal this year!

5. Continue overall strength training at least once a week
a. Right now I'm mainly getting strength training in through pushups and my body sculpting class. I love my body sculpting class so much that I've incorporated it into my training schedule. I would like to maintain this at bare minimum, and hopefully incorporate more strength training into my life.

6. Complete at least 30 pushups in a row
a. When I first started engaging in healthy living seriously, I could not even do one regular pushup. It was a struggle for me to even do modified pushups with the proper form. I read about the 100 pushups workout and started it after I got through the shred. I have yet to get past week 4 (I've repeated it so many times) but I'm able to do 5 sets of pushups totaling around 70, and can do about 20 without stopping. I'd like to up that number to 30.

7. Incorporate more veggies into my life
a. I am NOT a veggie person. I tried brussel sprouts for the first time in a while the other day and nearly gagged. I need to find a way to make them more appealing and thus up my intake. I do love peas though. Yum! I've been putting peas in annie's organic white cheddar shells and the kick it up a notch, both nutritionally and taste wise!

Goals: Personal

1. Cook a new dish at least once a month
a. Once I find something I like, I tend to stick with it. It can get pretty boring. So, forcing myself to cook something new at least once a month can get me out of my cooking rut!

2. Do more sweet things for Bri
a. Bri is such a great guy and I am a lucky girl. I want to do more sweet things for him to show my appreciation.


Goals: Financial

1. Save at least $10,000 to put towards an emergency fund.
a. In the personal finance world, your emergency fund should cover three to six months of expenses, with three being very conservative. As it stands, my fixed expenses (student loans, car, insurance, cell) total about $1,000 (gotta love those law school loans). I do have additional variable expenses, so that coupled with the fact that Bri and I are merging finances, I want to have a healthy cushion of at least $10,000.

Wow. I didn?t think I a lot of goals but this list is quite extensive. I am excited for 2010 and can't wait to start making these goals reality!


Now for the fun part- the winner of the Sigg Om water bottle giveaway! I would like to thank everyone for entering. It means so much to me that you took the time to comment and read my blog. I wish I could give everyone a water bottle! The winner, per random integer.org, is:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
15
Timestamp: 2010-01-04 13:07:35 UTC

Comment Number 15, which is Ashley over at Fashionably Fit! Congrats Ashley! Email me at Fittowed@gmail.com and we'll get the ball rolling on your new sigg water bottle!


Is your 2010 off to a good start?

Exercise Log

Friday, January 1- Run 3.1 miles- Hair of the Dog 5k

Saturday, January 2- Vinyasa Flow Yoga- 1.5 hours, Run 2.5 miles

Sunday, January 3- Rest- Travel Day

Monday, January 4- Run 3.5 miles, 4 Boat Pose holds

Tuesday, January 5- Hip Opening Yoga @ Home, 30 Minutes

Wednesday, January 6- Run 2 Miles, Body Sculpt Class, 60 Minutes

Thursday, January 7- Rest Day

Friday, January 8- Run 3 Miles, 3 Sets 10 pushups

Saturday, January 9- Run 4.5 Miles

Sunday, January 10- Xtrain- Elliptical, 30 Minutes

Monday, January 11- Hip Opening Yoga @ Home, 30 Minutes

Tuesday, January 12- Run 3.5 Miles

Wednesday, January 13- Rest

Thursday, January 14- Run 3 Miles

Friday, January 15- Run 2 Miles, Strength- First half of NMTZ

Saturday, January 16- Run 5 Miles

Sunday, January 17- 40 pushups/ab work

Monday, January 18- Run 4 miles

Tuesday, January 19- Hip Opening Yoga

Wednesday, January 20- Run 2 miles, winter shape up strength workout

Thursday, January 21- Run 3.5 miles

Friday, January 22- Rest

Saturday, January 23- Run 6 miles

Sunday, January 24- Rest

Monday, January 25- Run 4 miles, 50 pushups, core work

Tuesday, January 26- Vinyasa Flow Yoga

Wednesday, January 27- Run 2 miles, body sculpt class

Thursday, January 28- Rest

Friday, January 29- Run 7 miles

Saturday, January 30- Rest

Sunday, January 31- Run 3.5 miles

Monday, February 1- Run 4.5 miles, 100 pushups workout W1D1

Tuesday, February 2- Yoga for Runners

Wednesday, February 3- Run 2 miles, body sculpt class

Thursday, February 4- Run 4 miles

Friday, February 5- Run 8 miles

Saturday, February 6- Rest day

Sunday, February 7- Rest/100 pushups workout W1D2

Monday, February 8- Strength workout- 25 "jumping pullups", chest press, chest fly, bicep curls, tricep extension and renegade rows

Tuesday, February 9- Run 2 miles

Wednesday, February 10- 15 minutes self guided yoga, strength workout

Thursday, February 11- Rest

Friday, February 12- Rest

Saturday, February 13- Virginia is for Lovers 14k

Sunday, February 14- Rest/100 pushups workout W1D3

Monday, February 15- Rest/travel day

Tuesday, February 16- Vinyasa Flow Yoga

Wednesday, February 17- Run 1 mile, .5 mile intervals, total 1.5 mile, body sculpt class

Thursday, February 18- Rest Day

Friday, February 19- 3.1 mi speed workout, 25 jumping pullups

Saturday, February 20- Run 3.5 miles, strength workout

Sunday, February 21- Jillian Michaels Making the Cut circuit 1 workout

Monday, February 22- Rest

Tuesday, February 23- Run 3 miles, yoga for runners

Wednesday, February 24- Body sculpt class

Thursday, February 25- Rest

Friday, February 26- Run 3.1 mi- speed workout

Saturday, February 27- Run 4 miles, 100 pushups workout W1D1R2

Sunday, February 28- JM MTC circuit workout 2

Race Recap- Hair of the Dog 5k

Good afternoon and happy 2010! I hope that everyone had a fun and safe new year's eve. It's hard to believe that 2010 is already here!

Instead of going out last night, Bri and I stayed in, made a fire and watched season 3 of the Office. Holy H is this show awesome! I bought Bri seasons 1 and 2 for Christmas. We finished those and had to go out and purchase season 3. I love Dwight, but I think Angela may be my favorite character. How have I gone so long without watching this show?!

It was a chill NYE but I loved it. We watched the ball drop and then awakened bright and early this morning for our 5k! I initially planned on wearing my running tights and lululemon jacket but those plans were quickly squashed when I discovered that they were still wet from being washed yesterday. Dang. Instead, I wore my under armour fleece pants, cold gear top, wicking t-shirt and a white fleece. Last night the weather called for upper forties but it was chilly!

The Hair of the Dog 5k was at Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach. Apparently Mount Trashmore used to be a landfill. Yum. It is now covered with sod (?) and grass and just looks like a huge, random grassy hill. Suprisingly, there is no odor emanating from the depths of the grassy knolls. The premise of the Hair of the Dog is to show up after a night of festivities and run the 5k, hence the 10:00 AM start time. The race even had a formal wear division, where people showed up to race in what they were wearing the night before. Some of the costumes were pretty funny, although I doubt that all of them were worn last night... no one really wears a hideous 80s looking prom dress for NYE, right? I even spotted a few tuxes.

Bri and I arrived fairly early, having not partaken in the "festivities" aspect of the hair of the dog. We walked to get our bibs and disposable chips and it was super windy and freezing! The winds were about 12 MPH, according to the race summary email I later received. I put on my ear wrap and gloves and felt okay, but a lot of people were not dressed for the coldness. We went back to the car to put our race shirts away which, by the way, are actually super cool- black long sleeved with no sponsor bs all over it!


We then headed to the start. Walking to the start line. Lovely Mount Trashmore is on the right.

There was a nice warm bathroom near the start, which I took full advantage of. I definitely wanted to avoid the mishaps of my last race. I won't go into detail but yeah, my stomach hurt at the end of my last race.

At the start line the vibe was really fun. A lot of people were wearing 2010 regalia and shouting happy new year. I was happy to see this, because some of the people we walked past on our way to pick up the bibs were just plain rude. People from the North get a bad rap for being unfriendly when they really aren't, in my opinion.

I was super happy to see a timing mat at the beginning of the start line. I have run four 5ks, and although all of them had timing chips, this was the first race that had a timing mat in the beginning. What is the sense in having a timing chip if they are just going to time you from the gun time? Anyway, the gun went off and we crossed the mat pretty quickly. Initially I was pleased that we were not going to be running through the puddles that I saw on the trail, although this would not be the case later on in the race. We were about a third of a mile in maintaining a 9:30/pace when I saw runners running back on my left. What the H, were they doing an out and back or something? Apparently so. It was strange to have a turnaround so early on, and especially one that didn't leave much room for doing the turnaround. It was fine for the number of runners at the race (480) but any more and it would have been really tight.

The first mile was nice and quick. I stuck to the inside of the course and was able to maintain a steady pace. The only downside to the first mile was a little kid at the beginning that was just kind of bobbling around in front of me- I almost ran into him at one point.

Mile 1-2 went by in blur. There was a water station around 1.5, which was nice. I tried to drink from the cup without much success. We started running around a beautiful lake and saw a pelican flying overhead, which was really neat. You don't see many pelicans in New York.


Running around the lake. Looking nice and exerted.

Miles 2-3 were okay. I started to drag down to a 10:00/mi pace, which is fast for me normally but I needed to keep up the pace if I wanted to finish under 30:00. I got a second wind and picked it up. I got my second wind by playing the game of looking at people ahead of me and trying to pass them. It's a nice distraction. Around mile 2.5 I saw the aforementioned puddles, and there was no avoiding them. I followed a girl ahead of me that ran to the side in the grass, which resulted in some nice mud covered shoes. My socks started to feel wet, which was disconcerting.

As we approached mile 3, I started to feel myself lag. This happened to me in my first race as well. I told Bri I felt myself dragging and he told me to kick it up. I sprinted for the last .10 and crossed the finish line with a chip time of 30:37, averaging 9:53/mile. So close yet sooo far to the sub 30 5k. I am still very happy with my time; I am improving constantly and know I can get there soon!

After we crossed the finish line we were handed a finishing "medal", which I thought was cool given that it was a 5k.

Hair of the Dog 5k dog tag. Cute, right?

After the race they were offering instant coffee (blech) and instant gatorade, so Bri and I left and went to a bagel shop to refuel.

Final results:

30:37, 11/28 Age Group (25-29), Overall 219/480.

Overall, this is definitely a race I would run again. There were some minor snafus that were beyond the race director's control (puddles much?), but as a whole, great race.

Positives:

-fun, friendly vibe

-well-directed and well marked

-nice race t-shirts

-water station appropriately placed

-timing mat in the beginning of the race

Negatives:

-puddles/mud

-out and back in the first half mile

-instant coffee- blit

Happy New Year everyone! Enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Did you run a New Year's Eve/Day race? If so, how'd it go? If not, have you ever?

About

Hi! I'm Katie, a 27 year old attorney living in upstate New York. I graduated from SUNY Geneseo in '04 and UB Law in '07, where I developed a Tim Horton's habit. If a Tim Horton's location scouter happens to be reading this, please come to the capital district.

I started this blog to chronicle the adventures I embark on while planning a wedding, training for races, having a career and maintaining some semblance of a social life. I recently married the love of my life and couldn't be happier.



One of our engagement photos from our awesome photographer



Me and two of my favorite things- red wine and Mr. B.


When I was 19, my doctor told me I had high cholesterol. Granted, I have a family history, but there is no reason for a 19 year old girl to have the beginnings of heart disease. After this diagnosis, I took no steps to counteract what was going on in my body. I ate what I wanted, with abandon. I told myself that I was healthy because I was thin. This continued until I met Brian. He showed me the benefits that healthy eating has on the body. I was no longer tired all of the time from eating all carbs. I had more energy. I started craving healthy food. Now, I would say that I eat relatively well. I try to eat a balance of protein, healthy carbs and fat at every meal, although this doesn't always happen. I'm cleaning up my diet and embracing wholesome, organic food. I truly believe in balance; if I want something, I'll eat it. And my cholesterol is now in a healthy range :)

For as long as I can remember, every New Year's I set a goal to run a 5k. However, I was never a runner and did not take the steps necessary to achieve such a goal. Last May, I decided that I was tired of just talking and not doing. I began the Couch to 5k and completed my first 5k in September. I am a huge advocate of the couch to 5k program, it transformed me from a complete non-runner into a runner.

Finishing my first 5k.

I've now run 4 5ks and ran the Virginia is four Lovers 14k this past February. At first, the distance seemed insurmountable, but I ran it and ran it well! My races this season are the Ragnar Relay (184 miles, 12 people, 24 hours, insanity), the Freihofer's 5k for Women and the Boilermaker 15k. My ultimate goal is to run a half marathon, and I have my sights set on completing this goal in the fall.

In addition to running, I like to engage in a variety of other activities, like hiking, yoga and strength training. My newest addiction is hot yoga. It is an arduous workout and my skin has never looked better!

Thank you for reading!