East River Runs

Lately I've been returning to my old familiar running route, the East River Esplanade. I leave the apartment, run towards the river, and then run up towards 125th and back. I like to make the run a solid 5 miles so sometimes this requires me stopping the Garmin and walking home or actually running a little extra. It really depends on what kind of creepers are lurking at 125th near the fence and how early I decide to turn around to avoid them.

Wednesday's run was a get outside and clear my mind run. Wednesday was less than stellar and I needed to get out of my head. Look at that first mile - 6:48 minutes. Booyah.

Last Thursday I did pretty much the same run, but I was focused on increasing my turnover. I found that I was able to run more quickly without feeling like I was running any harder. These years of long distances have changed what I consider fast or moderate, so it was nice to know I could still move reasonably well. I am a moron and hit lap instead of pause, which is why the fifth mile is only 0.97 miles and the 6th lap is 0.03 miles.

I've been wearing shorts and a pullover for my evening runs. No undershirt required.

This is in the shop next to my office.

You're welcome.

Breaking News: Darryl Gaines Quit Equinox

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This morning I thought I was going to Tripp Doherty's 6:30 AM spin class. Too bad it starts at 6 AM. Oops. I ended up getting on the bike at 6:25 and enjoying an awesome half hour ride. While there, I learned that Darryl Gaines has left Equinox.

Say what?

I haven't heard why Darryl decided to leave, but perhaps he got the idea from another person who has recently decided to part ways with the gym...

I'm not in Manhattan right now, but I can only imagine that mass hysteria. I'm not being facetious - people really love Darryl and I'm not sure how they plan on getting through the day without him. Actually, I do have an idea - invite Tripp Doherty to take over the lunchtime classes.

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Erik Von Detten Look-Alike at Equinox

Today I went to TranscendCycle at 12:30 PM over at Columbus Circle. I noticed that someone named Luke had signed up for Melissa's bike, bike number 8, and since I was signed up for bike #7, this Luke ended up next to me. Don't worry, Melissa had the pedal on bike #9 fixed (my bike) and we were in a nice little row.

So this Luke character walks in and warmly (and kind of loudly) greets Darryl. Obviously he is a regular at one of the TranscendCycle classes because Darryl greets him warmly as well. And yes, this is what I choose to spend my time doing - analyzing the dynamics between members and instructors at Equinox and assigning positions within the social fitness hierarchy.

Luke has a striking resemblance to the love of my life, Erik Von Detten. Although he was in The Princess Diaries, I first fell in love with Erik while watching the Disney classic Brink. Luke's hair is very early Erik Von Detten, which combined with the features of older Erik Von Detten, made me very distracted. And he smelled good.

Erik Von Detten in photos

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It was a great workout with great music and great energy. I also thought I was having a heart attack. And I kept sneaking glances to my right. Maybe I need to join Curves or another ladies only gym?

I blame my susceptibility to great hair and the scent of deodorant on the fact that I was too tired to have sex last night. TOO. TIRED. TO. HAVE. SEX. Yes, the apocalypse is now upon us and you should be fortifying your homes and stocking up on food stuffs.

Speaking of food stuffs, I made dinner last night. Like, made salad dressing from scratch made dinner last night. (Alright, I just reheated the pork roast, but that salad was made by my own hands!) After working all day, going to the grocery store, taking more work calls, and then preparing dinner, I was so tired. I've come to the realization that without Chinese delivery, the American people would cease to reproduce.

Alarm Clock Accountability

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I understand that it is difficult to wake up early to work out. And when I say early, I mean you need to be out of bed before 6 AM and if you get up 15 minutes later, you can no longer complete the workout you intended.

Today I fully intended on getting up to go to 6:30 AM Bikram and my alarm went off at 5:15 AM. I felt pretty wide awake, but decided 15 minutes more in bed would be perfect. Then I decided that I might not make the class in time now that it was 5:30 AM (can anyone explain the bus schedule to me so that it actually makes sense?), and so I better cancel. I proceeded to use Siri to change my alarm by a half an hour until 6:50 AM, when I executive decisioned that I would get out of bed at 8. Had I been thinking clearly, I would've realized Wednesday is the day I work from home in the morning and I didn't need to be at the office until this afternoon anyway.

We have had to read this book called Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey for work. Pretty worthless book, but there is a section about setting your alarm clock to get up to workout. If you set your alarm early every day (or many times a week), but always hit snooze until it's too late to workout, you no longer trust yourself to get up. It's futile to bother because you expect yourself to stay in bed. It is better to be honest with yourself and not set the alarm unless you really are getting up. The worst thing you can do is ruin 2 hours of potentially good sleep by having to hit the alarm every 9 or 15 minutes.

I have fallen to this trap many times, but now I try to be more conscious of my early alarms. I would really like to make it to 6:30 AM Bikram tomorrow so if anyone wants to call me at about 5:15 AM, it would be much appreciated.

EMS Shopping Trip

I drove over to Eastern Mountain Sports after Zumba today to pick up some gear for the Rock the Ridge 50 Mile Endurance Challenge. It suddenly feels very real and I am getting nervous.

Rock the Ridge sent me 20% off at EMS, which is awesome because I needed a hydration pack, a headlamp, and some fuel.

I had wanted a hydration vest at first, but these aren't carried in stock at the Carle Place store (who knew?). Eric, my exceptionally helpful salesman, recommended the Camelbak Octane LR. I got mine in skydiver/egret, otherwise known as blue and white. The lumbar reservoir is pretty nifty and I think I will prefer to wear something that puts the weight on my lower back.

I bought a Princeton Byte headlamp. It has 3 settings: red light and two white lights. I'm not sure I'll be spending much time running in the dark, but I am super excited to wear it just the same. I have no idea where my last headlamp went but it was sick wearing it around the Egyptian desert.

I bought some citrus and raspberry flavored Clif shots and shot bloks because they are one of the few energy gels I can swallow without choking. I also like the margarita flavor but EMS didn't have any.

I came home with my bounty and was very excited about my purchases. My parents were less than impressed. My mother also had trouble understanding what a hydration pack is until I started drawing comparisons to the bag inside a box of Franzia.

Zumba with Coco

This morning I headed back over to MC Dance Fitness for Zumba with Coco. I love Coco, I love her classes, and I love her style. I was experiencing some serious envy over her DC Shoes today. I wasn't able to find the exact pair on the DC Shoes website, but I am a fan of most of their high top shoes.

I wore a pair of Under Armour black pants, my neon yellow C9 for Champion sports bra, and a hot pink tank top I found in the closet in the guest bedroom. My green K-Swiss tubes and a hunting camouflage pullover completed my own Zumba look. I prefer Coco's.

quick pic in the only full-length mirror left in my parents' house

I haven't gotten any better at Zumba but I still like it and it's a great workout. You burn an average of 750 calories per class and now Zumba is running the Great Calorie Drive to help combat world hunger. When you check in at a Zumba class, $0.14 is donated. I know this seems like a low amount, but with all the crazed Zumba fans out there, I don't doubt they will reach the $1 million mark.

Learn more about this Great Calorie Drive and get the app.

check in using the Zumba app

Just an awkward group shot of my fellow Zumba classmates and me before we got our dance on.

Break Up

After a long period of reflection, I have decided to terminate my membership at Equinox. I first joined the Roslyn Equinox in 2007 and later became an all-access member in 2008. For many years, I found that Equinox fit all of my fitness needs, but as more of my favorite instructors have moved on to other ventures and my work schedule has changed, I haven't felt motivated to attend classes as I once I did.

Today I signed the contract ending my membership, effective May 1. It felt like I was breaking up with a boyfriend. Or at least I imagine it's what it feels like to break up with a boyfriend. My relationships tend to end in two ways:

1. The guy decides he is no longer interested in me and neglects to tell me for days and sometimes even weeks.
2. I never actually break up with the guy, instead dragging him through months, and sometimes even years, of quasi-emotional abuse until I get bored or he cries uncle.

My breakup with Equinox seems a lot more amicable and we seem to be on the same page.

Photos from February

I found these pictures on my desktop from February and I guess I intended to write a post about them and forgot.

I definitely got dressed for a run on Saturday but didn't end up running until Sunday.

Loving my new (at the time) grey matty m leggings

I got my hair cut and colored instead.

Try getting lowlights instead of highlights. Similar look without the awkward roots.

 Shoe shot!

I have two pairs of Brooks ASR 9s. This pair is the first pair they sent me.

 Nice cold run by Oyster Bay.

I didn't wear gloves that day like an idiot.

Gratuitous selfie.

 Looking out towards Centre Island

 Old school phone just chilling in a fence.

I make my mom take really awkward photos of me.

This is a GREAT look for me.

Sunday Funday

Yesterday was an epically good Sunday. I didn't go out Saturday because my body has been possessed by good decision making aliens and watched Ted on the couch with Lauren instead. I was well rested and awake when I received a text message inviting me to get in bed across the street at 9 AM. If this is being a grown-up, I'll take it.

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I had been looking forward to Sunday all week because I had plans to go see Jurassic Park 3D. Yes, one of the best movies from 90s, in all of its original glory, IN 3D! I laughed, I screamed, I buried my head in the shoulder of the person sitting next to me - it was glorious. Remember the scene where the velociraptor jumps on top of the kitchen table? It is so much better when the velociraptor pops out of the screen!

I felt like Tim one day in my office last summer.
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We stopped by Juice Generation before the movies and sneaked in our own snacks. But I insisted on getting popcorn too because movie theater popcorn is the best. When I was little, my mom would take my sister and me to the movies and let us have "movie dinner", which is just another way of saying, "You can eat popcorn, candy, and soda instead of anything of nutritious value tonight." I had a wonderful childhood.

PB Açai™ bowl

The PB Açai™ bowl was pretty dang good, but I think the granola could have been replaced with Cap'n Crunch. Apparently not the point of Juice Generation but meh.

I caught up on some work and then Lauren and I went for a 5+ mile walk around Central Park and back.

I honestly just wanted an excuse to wear a shirt that said I've run a 50K

Lauren made a delicious dinner of spinach pasta and roast chicken and then we watched Chanel West Coast make an ass out of herself on Ridiculousness. I am living the dream.

Sweat It Out

This morning I woke up to a novella of a text message in response to some long ass diatribe I made about feelings and the future and God only knows what else. Three bottles of wine at happy hour lead me to confess feelings I didn't even know I was capable of having to my very convenient hook up across the street. I am an idiot.

Instead of feeling shame, I dragged my ass next door for a prosciutto, egg, and mozzarella cheese and booted up my work computer. Then I realized it was covered in water. Miraculously, it still works.

I went to TranscendCycle at 12:30 PM. It was a killer ride. I love this class so much and I get to go enough to have semi-regular status. I sit next to a girl named Melissa and Darryl calls us out by name. TranscendCycle is more of a dance party than a spinning class, and I find myself having flashbacks to Governors Ball.

Then I went to Bikram at 6 PM. It was vicious and I loved it. I haven't been to Bikram in years and I finally got to try out Bikram Herald Square. The place is awesome and I will be writing a full review soon.

Sweating out my hangover was the best decision I could have made today. It kept my mind off of my stupidity and I felt pretty damn awesome by the time my 8:30 PM conference call rolled around.

Casual Day in Marin

I was recently in San Francisco for work. Over the course of a week, I viewed more PowerPoint presentations than I can count, drank too much, angered my friends, and managed NOT to get fired. All in all, successful trip.

The running partner/neighbor who used to live across the street from me and motivate me to drag my ass around Central Park has moved back to California. I'd say boo but he has a much sicker set up out there. Kudos to you bud.

We made plans to run some trail in Marin on the Saturday after my work obligations ended.

Check out that awesome color-coordination.

For some reason, I own a lot of turquoise and neon yellow running apparel. I was so set with socks that matched my shorts and sports bra and sneakers that matched my pullover. This is gear from different companies mind you. I got those shoes for free from Brooks for being a wear tester, but you can buy a pair here.

I was effing starving so I went to Mel's Drive-In to house a meat lover's breakfast.

My former running partner and his buddy showed up and picked me up. We drove out to Marin.

parking lot for the trail

entrance to the trail

in a tree!

Thankfully my former neighbor knows that photographs are important for the blog and offers to take them or be in them.

look at that view

I'm entertaining running the Dipsea Race one day. I almost fell during this short portion so I'm not sure how wise that idea is.

The run was awesome. It was beautiful and mostly downhill. I felt so free just throwing myself into the run and enjoying the fresh air and the woods, and the promise of the ocean in a few short miles.

We met back up with our buddy who was meeting us with the car at the other side. Then we drove to the Pelican Inn to drink wine and eat cheese. 

all runs end at the bar

hipster heaven

Easter Segway

Happy Easter! I hope everyone survived day drinking in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

My family headed out east to Riverhead to visit our cousins. Little did I know that my cousin Danny had bought a segway because he is brilliantly awesome.

This segway is the off-road model, allowing one to drive on grass and over hills and whatnot. It has two settings - tortoise and hare. Hysterical, I know.

Please enjoy these videos and be jealous that you're not an Alvarez.

The Easter Bunny has an accent and a love of beer.

My father terrorizes his cousins.

I get promoted to Rabbit level.