Ladies Night & A Cape Cod Wedding

I need to stop having such fantastic weekends because these Monday blues are getting pretty bad!

Weekend kicked-off on Thursday evening with the Ladies Night Event held at Philadelphia Runner.  Such a great event - I enjoyed chatting it up with other attendees, as we all know I could talk all things running for hours. It was also a great opportunity to meet the folks at Philadelphia Runner – such good people. The event was sponsored by Brooks whom hooked us up with some socks, gels, koozies, etc., and also gave a presentation on their latest shoes. Tria served up some tasty apps and wines, Phila Massage was giving on-site massages, Excel Physical Therapy  spoke about dynamic stretching, and Ali Shapiro (Board-certified holistic health counselor and Health Contributor for NBC 10) gave a insightful talk about women and their relationship with food. (I introduced myself after – she is so knowledgeable about her expertise, I had so many questions and could have talked with her for hours!)

NaturaStride provided a gift basket as a raffle – Many thanks to Philly Runner for having us and helping to spread the word about NaturaStride!

Friday morning, Joe and I were up at 5:00 AM to hit the road to Cape Cod for our good friends, Tom & Chelsea’s wedding. Joe and I met when we lived out in San Diego in 2006. Chelsea was my roomie and Tom and Joe were great friends. We all started dating around the same time so we have lots of great memories together.

My most *favorite* part of the drive up to New England is this beautiful scene driving through Dirty Jerz. (I am totally allowed to knock the Jerz because we lived there for 2 years.)

After the 7-hour drive (!!!) we made it to Dennis Port, MA. We stopped for a well deserved bite!

We enjoyed some NE clam chowdah!

And a shrimp salad that hit the spot.  

And some chardonnay in a plastic cup (awesome). I totally deserved this.

We checked in to An English Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast. This place was so charming. We were welcomed by the owners, Anita & Joe, an adorable older couple.

Tom & Chelsea’s wedding was Friday evening. She was stunning. I was pretty emotional when she walked down the aisle, as I think of her as my little sister. So happy for these guys!

Saturday morning we woke up a little groggy but headed down for breakfast! Anita & Joe had all sorts of soufflé options for us, but they were kind enough to make me my ideal breakfast: yogurt, fruit, whole wheat toast. And coffee.

We met up with some friends and enjoyed more coffee – and mimosas! We forgot how seriously San Diegans take their day-drinking. Hit the spot.

Then we headed to the beach for a bit…

After Thursday’s horrible intense workout, I knew I needed to take it easy running-wise for the weekend. So, Joe and I decided to go on an easy 5-mile run on Saturday. About 3 ½ miles in, we stopped for FroYo – which is, like, the best run ever. We walked/jogged the last 1 ½ mile. It was great.

Chillaxed a little more back at the inn…

Feeling rejuvenated, we decided to check out some of the fantastic seafood on the Cape. We headed to The Oyster Company for – Oystahs!

So amazing.

Joe had some crab-stuffed cod, and I enjoyed this seafood pasta, complete with a lobstah tail, mussels, clams, and scallops. It was perfect.

We even enjoyed an after-dinner coffee, and walked back to the Inn.

It was so nice for Joe and I to get away for the weekend. My body feels rejuvinated, relaxed, and ready to get in some good runs again. Thanks for everyone's encouraging comments on crappy workouts and recovery tips! An easy weekend of running and rest did just the trick for me.

Thanks for such an amazing weekend, Tom & Chels. Congrats!!!

What did you all do this weekend?

PS: Stay tuned for some new NaturaStride products coming this week! (we're excited...)



Taking the Good with the Bad

Today’s alarm went off with a shock at 5:25 am. After a few minutes of self-pity, I peeled myself out of bed because I wanted to get in a hard 7-mile run this week before Joe and I head to Cape Cod for the weekend. I may or may not be running a 15k in two weeks (the reason I say may not is because it happens to be on Monday, July 4^th and I don’t want said race to interfere with the patriotic celebrations that will ensue that weekend. Priorities, people. You understand.) Regardless, it’s good to be prepared.

So I grabbed a half a Picky Bar, and somehow got my butt to the gym. Joe was telling me recently how when ultra marathoners train, they don’t necessarily talk in terms of distance, but rather in terms of time. (i.e., “Today I need to run for 3 hours”) I am clearly not an ultra marathoner, but I decided to track my workout in minutes rather than miles just for the mere sake of “switching it up.” You know. Have to keep ourselves entertained when doing treadmill workouts, right? Oh, and check out this handy little website I found.

Anyways. This workout sucked. Here’s how it went down:

Katie's Treadmill Workout 06.16.2011
Minutes	mph	Pace	Incline	Comment
0 - 1	4.0	15:00	1.0	Ugh. Morning.
1 - 4	7.3	8:13	1.0	Lead legs.
5 - 10	7.5	8:00	1.0	Okay, waking up.
10 - 12	7.6	7:54	1.0
12 - 14	7.7	7:48	1.0
14 - 16	7.8	7:42	1.0	Lets try for 7:30's.
16 - 18	7.9	7:36	1.0
18 - 20	8.0	7:30	1.0
20 - 22	8.0	7:30	1.0	Comfortable here. Time for some incline.
22 - 24	8.0	7:30	2.0
24 - 29	8.0	7:30	3.0	Ugh. Hello, stomach. Bad night?
29 - 30	8.0	7:30	0.0	Recover.
30 - 32	8.0	7:30	1.0
32 - 33	8.0	7:30	2.0	Okay lets do this hill workout. Now or never.
33 - 35	8.0	7:30	3.0
35 - 36	8.0	7:30	4.0	This blows.
36 - 38	8.0	7:30	5.0	Joe just walked by - and laughed at me.
38 - 39	8.0	7:30	7.0	I'm dying.
39 - 40	8.0	7:30	3.0	This sucks.
40 - 42	8.0	7:30	0.0	How long of a recovery is appropriate?
42 - 45	8.0	7:30	1.0	Ugh. Should I just do 6?
45 - 46	8.1	7:24	1.0	Feeling ok - might as well finish strong.
46 - 47	8.2	7:19	1.0
47 - 48	8.3	7:14	1.0
48 - 50	8.4	7:09	1.0	Make it end.
50 - 52	8.5	7:04	1.0	Thank goodness for Eminem.
52 - 54	8.0	7:30	1.0
54 - 56	3.0	20:00	1.0	Done.
Total Time:	56 min
Distance:	A little over 7 miles
General Note:	Felt like crap

After I stepped off the treadmill, I was exhausted, my stomach was a mess, and I was glad it was over. Suddenly optimistic delirious, I made my way over to the dumbbell rack to see if I could get in some strength training (and by strength training, I mean doing some bicep curls with a 10 pound weight.) I was sweating profusely. My face was the color of an apple (green and/or red apple) I started getting dizzy. Took the cue to stop and call it a day. Too much, Kate. Go home.

I needed to re-fuel big time. I made myself Ye ‘Ol Standby but decided to switch it up and use apple butter instead of PB. In hind sight, I probably should have stuck with the PB for protein. I also had a yogurt bowl with bananas and blueberries. And coffee. And a ton of water as I was clearly dehydrated.

Hours later, I still feel pretty crappy, and am trying to figure out what the problem was. I have a feeling the stomach issues were due to some canned organic mangoes I incorporated into dinner last night. But as far as the sluggishness? I think I’ve just been over-doing it a little lately. I think I need to cool it. Joe and I are heading up to the Cape this weekend, and I’ll be taking a rest day tomorrow, and will maybe fit in a few easy runs on Saturday and Sunday. Maybe.

I have also been trying to continue re-fueling throughout the day. I am still on my pear kick…

… And check out this kick-butt, colorful salad I made: Organic mixed greens, carrots, beets, left over grilled teriyaki chicken from last night, and some whole wheat kashi crackers.

I also decided to give coconut water another shot. The first time I had the regular kind, I thought it tasted like tanning oil and threw it out immediately. But today I picked up this Vita Coco pineapple-infused flavor:

Tried it and loved it! (and wondered what it would taste like with Parrot's Bay added, but figured that would defeat the purpose) Definitely can’t drink the whole thing in one sitting, but it was refreshing. Coconut water is loaded with electrolytes and potassium, so I’ll take anything to help me recover.

Although I felt horrible for the majority of the time during this morning’s workout, I’m pretty happy I sucked it up. Sometimes these workouts aren’t only for exercising our bodies, but are also for training our psyches for the mental part of running and racing. (I apologize for getting all zen on you today, but it’s true.)

On another note – I’m super excited to be representin’ NaturaStride at Philadelphia Runner’s Ladies Night event tonight! Check out this gift basket we put together for one lucky raffle winner!

Contents include Picky Bars, Tera’s Whey Protein, Fruition ProBars, and Rokit Fuel Cereal Cups and Energy Mix, and Earnest Eats Planks! Pretty sweet, right?!

Anyways - Do you have any recommendations for the best way to recover (physically and mentally) after a crappy workout?