Lets Catch up Part 1: Divas Half Marathon *and* Rock N' Roll 10K

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I passed by here! We have a lot of catching up to do! Okay maybe not a lot but enough that I can’t see myself writing just one post so I may split this up between 2 or 3 posts max.

Where should I even begin? Well, I can start by saying that, as promised and previously announced, I ran the Divas Half Marathon which took place in long Island on Sunday October 6^th and the week right after that, on October the 12^th I ran the Rock N Roll 10K race which took place in Brooklyn, NY @ Prospect Park. So, basically a whole lot of running has been going on. I have to say both races were a lot of fun and it was great that I was able to share the experience with my sister and friends. The most important part of running both races was that I (once again) was able to appreciate my body which is capable of so much. The races were a couple of friendly reminders to love my body and not take it for granted. We should all remind ourselves of that even when we aren’t running/putting our bodies through strenuous activities but sometimes we all need a wake up call!

After completing both races I felt extremely thankful that the half marathon took place the week before the 10K. I am not sure I would have been able to endure it had it been the other way around. Here is a quick recap on both races.

Divas Half Marathon:

So, let me just start by saying that aunt flo’ decided to show up in the middle of the night just hours before the race. Lately this ‘monthly visitor’ has had a tendency of showing up at the most inappropriate times (i.e.: went to Costa Rica back in April and she showed up the first day of vacation). But anyways, somehow I managed to dress ‘appropriately’ and drank two Advil’s prior to the race to stop any cramps from gearing their ugly heads. I am happy to say that my strategy worked and I was able to run smoothly, with no discomfort, at least at that level.

The weather on the other hand was not exactly perfect. It was cloudy and at times some drizzle was coming down. The sun did not come out once during the entire 13.1 miles but at least it didn’t actually pour rain (although running a half marathon in pouring rain actually sounds fun).

My legs and knees were amazing until approximately mile 10-ish when apparently my extremities finally caught on and that’s when I really started to feel super exhausted. My poor right leg/knee was particularly not happy at all. However, I kept going considering that when you’re consistently running so many miles; it sometimes hurts more to stop. However, when exhaustion hit, I mentally prepared myself to stop and take a real walking break at around mile 11.5, which I did. I lost my running partner as she continued running but everyone is different and I had to do what felt best for my body. I picked up the pace again at around mile 12-ish and ran the rest of the way—taking it slow. I surprisingly picked up some type of strange (yet, extremely welcomed) speed at around mile 12.5 or so and finished strong!

Photos:

My little cousin rockin' my crown post race...lol..isnt she gorgeous (Love her!!):

At the finish line I received the most awesome medal Ive gotten to date!.

My time was a little bit longer than my first half marathon (by about 10 minutes) but I honestly did not care! Two half marathons in one year has been quite the accomplishment for me and I am very proud of myself and my body. I may not be running half marathons at stellar times but I know what my body is capable of doing and an average of 10-10.30 (sometimes 11!) minutes a mile has gotten the work done and it works for me!! What works for you?

Rock N’ Roll 10K Brooklyn

Another super fun race! Thankfully aunt flo’ was long gone by the time this race came around so I had one less thing to worry about! The day was much nicer than the weekend before and although when my sister and I woke up for the race (~5:30 am) it was kind of dark outside; by the time we were all gathered at the starting lines the sun was beginning to peek through!

The weather was pleasant, I was comfortably dressed, and I ran the entire 6.2 miles quite smoothly. After running double that amount the week before; this particular race almost felt like a breeze! (Which is when I realized how grateful I was the long race had already been done and over with!).

I had never ran in Brooklyn’s prospect park before (or anywhere in Brooklyn) so I am happy to say it was truly an amazing experience.  

At the end of the race I got my super cool medal and tons of freebies (including several bottles of nesquick chocolate milk—ooolala so delicious). Another amazing race for the books!

Photos:

Favorite Photo:

Post race we found this little dinner in some random street by the park and had the most delicious brunch!!

And that's PART UNO of my catching up series :)

Hope everyone is doing great! 

Tell me, Have you ran any races lately? What’s a “comfortable running pace” for you, especially when it comes to long races?

Sunday Happenings And a QUICK money saving tip

Hope you're all having a great day thus far. My sunday is rounding out to be quite productive. However, I must confess that yesterday there was whole lot of "leisure" time spent at my apartment just lounging around. I managed to do some cleaning/organizing and did pay some bills but a lot of time was also spent watching pretty useless TV (aside from a couple of somewhat interesting lifetime movies ha!). I downgraded my cable to save money so I am missing a couple of channels that I really loved :(. I am considering bringing back those channels or just finding a way to get them and still make my cable bill cheap enough. I made a quick stop at my aunts house but then came back home and relaxed some more.

Today, however, is going pretty well. Woke up with running on my mind and so off I went for a nice 3.47 miler around my neighborhood. I must admit it was windy and somewhat cold but it was quite a gorgeous day thanks to the sun.

  
There was also a TON of geese just "chilling". Wish I would have taken a photo. It was quite the view. Anyways, here is the run down of my run/walk (I had to stop and walk at certain times because of the wind):

 My first mile was ran in less than 10 minutes which surprised me because last time I checked my average time was around 10-ish so, I am excited that I am getting better (either that or the wind shall be credited for pushing my assets me forward). Post run I immediately took a shower, changed and made a pretty satisfying breakfast:

 

On the plate: 2 eggs (1 with yolk, one without), scrambled with white onions and spinach. I added a little bit of organic ketchup to the eggs, post pic. On the side-- one whole wheat English muffin, toasted w/ a little bit of butter. Plus my cafe and milk on the side (no sugar) on one of my absolute fave cafe cups!

I decided to get ready before breakfast because that way I knew I would need to get out of the house as soon as I was finished. Sometimes I just lounge around in my pajamas and ultimately decide to stay in. That wasnt happening today! (interesting how much we can learn from carefully observing our behavioral patters).

Before leaving the house I noticed my gazillion bananas sitting on top of my fridge (which I had purchased for about $1.29 at the supermarket about a week ago). They were getting extremely ripe (borderline going bad) so I had to rescue them!!!! I mashed up the ones that were the most "mushy" and put them in containers (I see delicious banana bread and muffins in my future). The rest I split them up in to pieces to make smoothies-- put it all in the freezer and you're good to go!:

So here's a money saving tip (you may or may not know this, but here it goes): Next time you're in the supermarket around the vegetable/fruits area, see if the have a section where they place things that are about to expire or "go bad" according to their standards. (I am pretty sure there is an official name for this which I cant remember from the top of my head). You can find all kinds of fruits and veggies but I usually just grab bananas from there. I get a TON for about 99 cents or $1.29. Is pretty crazy. I make smoothies and banana bread from that. Some of the bananas often times arent even ripe yet so I can eat them right away.

By the way--- Aside from my love for health and fitness I am also a HUGE fan of personal finance. My undergrad degree in finance, my MBA pursuit and my dad may or may not have something to do with that ;). I am thinking of starting a series on the blog where I'll share tips on personal finance, and anything else on the matter than may seem interesting. We'll see if I can gather enough material. Let me know if you have any questions or anything you'd like to see on the series regarding money matters.

Anyways, now I am visiting my parents and sis and taking advantage of their washing machine. Sometimes is awesome having family so close :)


Question: Do you have any supermarket "money saving tips" you can share? What do YOU do with ripe bananas?

Ran, Baked, Hair and Nails done-- Are YOU ready, 2013?!

Hey all!!!

So I have to admit today was quite the productive Sunday  Yesterday was supposed to be my last run of 2012 but this morning I woke up with the running bug and I just couldn't say no. It may have something to do with the fact that the sun was beaming through my window and I decided I just couldn't put such a gorgeous day to waste and so off I went for a ~3.45 mile jog/run/walk (in that order). It was quite windy this morning but somehow I managed to pull through. It was just me and another girl running at the track this morning. We smiled at each other a few times (the only two crazy gals running in 30 degree weather on a windy winter morning). She seemed super nice. I kept track of my run with the Nike app but forgot to "end" the run and so, the app kept running for HOURS later to the point that when I realized it was still on I had been "running" for 3 hours. No picture as it wouldn't be accurate. But yeyyy for morning runs! :) Here are a few pics of the track-- you can see the sun in the background. Quite a difference from yesterday!

Post my run I had planned to go to church but by the time I looked at the time it was already so late :(. Not happy about that. Need to get better about going to church. Not because is a "new year" but because I enjoy it and would like to make it a regular part of my life.

I had quite the satisfying breakfast. I used the leftover omelet from yesterday and made myself an omelet-egg mc muffin if that makes any sense (the english muffin was 100% whole wheat). I paired it up with my usual cafe w/ almond milk and it was so delicious. 

To be honest, at least 5 hours later I was still not hungry but made myself eat a pear and a granola bar while I waited to get my hair and nails done (more on that below). 


So last night I was in the mood to bake and so I did what I love to bake best (after carrot care)-- Banana Bread! I used This Recipe from the clean eating magazine website minus the chocolate chunks (because I ate all my chocolate last week).   I loved how it came out like a real loaf. I got super excited and all I have to say it came out sooooooo good! Super moist!!! I am trying to figure out what I did differently because I made muffins a couple of months ago (same recipe) and they were a bit dry.  I dropped some of the egg yolk by mistake (recipe calls for only 2 egg whites) I wonder if that had something to do with how good the loaf came out. To all the bakers out there, what do you think? Anyways, here are some photos of my "masterpiece":

So, back to hair and nails. As I was saying-- I took advantage of the day today to go get my hair and nails done. I know that all salons will likely be super packed tomorrow and I do not want to deal with that craziness on my absolute favorite day of the year! 

Here are a couple pics of my nails:

Wasn't crazy about the color at first but it'll do for now :) (I was thinking of black or something more dramatic but opted for the festive option). I wont be showing my hair until likely my next post because it is currently wrapped (if you are a Latina with curly hair or an African american you know what I am referring to! lol).

I know in a previous post I mentioned I would be embracing my curly hair more. And I am!! I am contemplating this being my last hair blowout for the next 12 months but I am not sure if that's something I can keep up with. Either way, I plan to wear my hair down and curly more often than the past and thats a big deal for me (ive already been keeping up with that!).

After my long day I got to my apartment starving so put together something quick, healthy and delish. I had some leftover whole wheat pasta from the other day. I sauteed a cup of the pasta with red onions, peppers and some curry powder. I added some chunks of ground meat I had brought from my moms home the other day and this hit the spot for sure-- with a side of Avocado, of course:

Now I am lounging on the couch writing this post, having chai tea and a piece or two of my banana bread. I should really share this and stop being so stingy with my food.=)

Thanks for reading :) Will try to post something quick tomorrow if time permits. Otherwise, see you in 2013! (A whole lot of exciting things coming for the blog. Stay tunned!)

Question: What are you doing for new years eve? do you have a yearly tradition or do something different every year? Whats your favorite day of the year?