Nike Women's Half Marathon unofficial blogger brunch

A quick post to update since it's Nike Women's Half Marathon weekend in DC. The race is Sunday morning but the "Expotique" was going on today. In addition, Stephanie from Cat Lady Runs co-hosted an unofficial blogger brunch with Roaen from Love Life Logistics.

I knew that it would be crazy in Georgetown where the Expo was being held, not only because of the Nike festivities, but also because it was a beautiful day and a lot of people would be out and about around the harbor.

Beautiful day on the water with the crowds just out of view

So I decided not to bother with driving and to take the metro/bus instead. This would have been a great idea except for the fact that I had trouble finding the bus stop once I got off the train.  I finally found it but there was a bit of extra walking involved.  This also meant that I got to the harbor just 15 minutes before brunch so didn't really have time to check out the Expo.  However, I was able to take some photos in the 15 minutes.

There were separate tents for packet pick up, t-shirts, and the expo. This probably helped things move a little faster and everything looked very organized in spite of the crowds (there was a long line in the photo above to take a photo with the We Run sign). There were volunteers everywhere to help direct and I was impressed with the handling of the logistics from what little I saw.  It also looked like a lot of fun.  I could hear the music from the Expo tent outside and ether were clearly trying to make it feel like a party.

After the photos, I went over to Sequoia to meet up with the other bloggers for brunch.  We had a great table by the window overlooking the river.  This is the first blogger meet up I've been to and I really feel like Stephanie and Roaen hit it out of the park. They did a wonderful job organizing and arranging for sponsors.  They had little goody bags (which Stephanie stenciled herself with the runner graphic in "Tiffany blue") prepared for us with a lot of swag from some of the sponsors. After receiving the goody bags, we went around the table to introduce ourselves (I think there ended up being around 17 people). It was great to meet in person with some bloggers I'd been reading as well as meet a whole bunch of new bloggers. We ordered drinks and food and then the hosts told us about more goodies they had to raffle off. I got a pair of ProCompression socks as well as a tank top from Xracewear.  I can't wait to try both out!

All the goodies I came home with from brunch.

Sadly, there was some difficulty at the end getting separate checks and it took a bit of time getting it straightened out with the restaurant. We figured it out but that did mean I was running a bit late by the time I left. That wasn't helped by the fact that I got lost trying to find the bus again!  I used to go to college in Georgetown but that was a long time ago and the bustle today didn't help.  Needless to say, I had very tired feet by the time I got home and didn't make it out for my run this afternoon.  I am hoping to be able to fit it in tomorrow after volunteering.

Friday Five - Follow

The theme of the Friday Five link up with the DC trifecta (Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia) this week is "Follow Friday."

I'm going to use this as an opportunity to talk about five information sources I follow that may be useful to new (or not so new) runners :)

1. The Mickey Miles Podcast is a podcast that I really enjoy listening to. There are two episodes a week generally, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. As I'm sure you can tell by the name, it concentrates on Run Disney events. But it has a lot of useful information that is applicable to running in general and much of it is aimed at beginners since there are so many new runners at the Run Disney events. They have had people from teh Run Disney orgnaization on multiple times to talk about topics that can benefit new runners in general such as training, nutrition, etc. They often have episodes that concentrate on answering questions from runners that they receive so you also have the opportunity to submit questions which might be addressed on the podcast. And they're just a lot of fun!

2. Embrace Running is another podcast I enjoy by two people who live in Northern California. This one isn't as applicable to me as a lot of the races they review are in the western part of the country, but I just love their attitude and presentation. It really seems like it's just a casual conversation with friends. And they are a great source for running news from the running community in the US in general. I listen to this one more for entertainment and news rather than specific tips I can use in my own running. But it is great to be able to keep up on various news and events in the community at large.

3. Runner's World is something that I would think most runners keep up with. But if you're new to running and haven't gotten around to it yet, definitely head over to their website to check it out. They have a great section for beginners with articles, tips, and training plans. A recent article that explained different types of runs like fartleks, tempos and intervals was so useful to me as I kept hearing these terms thrown around but had no idea what they meant!

4. Twitter is something I just joined recently (feel free to follow me if you're interested) and I love it so far! One of the things I'm loving about it are the articles and sources of information that people post and re-tweet. @Fitfluential is a great one to follow on twitter as they're often posting alot of useful information. I also love the various twitter chats that they regularly host. #runchat is a great hashtag and there are weekly chats using this hashtag on Sunday evenings which are also a great way for runners to connect. If you're new to twitter and a little uncomfortable with jumping in, you can even just follow along with these chats without posting. It's still a great source of information and a way to see what other runners are doing.

5. I also like to follow local running groups or media, which of course will be different depending on where you live. A good one in the DC area is Run Washington. It is a great source of information on the local running community and local races. I think most cities and larger communities would have something similar given the explosion in running's popularity in the past several years. Your local running club is also a great option for keeping up with local events and maybe even meeting local running friends. I love Montgomery County Road Runners Club for anyone who's in Montgomery County. It might also make sense to sign up for sources of local deals/coupons. I've used groupon and living social in the past to get discounts off race entry fees.

So that's it for my Friday Five :) I hope everyone has a great weekend and I would love to hear about any podcasts or websites that you think are worth following!

Liebster Award

Michelle at From Baby Blue to Running Shoes nominated me for a Liebster Award earlier in the week.  Here's a brief description of the award and the rules:

The Liebster Award is an online award by bloggers for bloggers. It helps to generate attention for new and upcoming bloggers, generally those with 200 followers or less.

The Liebster Award Rules

1.) You must link back to the person who nominated you

2.) You must answer the 10 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you.

3.) You must pick 10 bloggers to be nominated for the award (with a small following)

4.) You must create 10 questions for your nominees

5.) You must go to their blogs and notify the nominees

Thank you for the nomination, Michelle!  If any of you don't read Michelle's blog, definitely check it out. She has a great writing style and offers lots of inspiration :) So, here are my answers to her questions:

1. What was a defining moment in your life so far?  I'm going to cheat and give 2 for this one... Graduating law school because it was the culmination of so much hard work and because it's defined my professional life. The second is meeting my husband because that has defined my personal life in the best way possible and made me want to be a better person (cheesy!)

2. Who is your biggest inspiration?  There are so many people that have inspired me throughout my life but if I have to choose one, I'd say my mother. She defines strength for me in so many ways, even having grown up in a culture which often doesn't approve of strength in women.

3. What is one thing you are too scared to try?  There's a lot on this list too but I'm working on that :) Right now, I'd say a triathlon. My short legs and I have a hard time with bicycles.

4. What is a goal you are working towards right now?  The big goal I'm concentrating on this year, as I'm sure is obvious, is my running and getting up to a half marathon by the end of the year.

5. Do you have any phobias?  I don't think it rises to the level of a phobia but I'm not a fan of creepy crawlies.  No bugs, spiders or snakes for me!

6. Have you ever broken a bone?  Nope, knock on wood.

7. What is your favorite time of year and why?  Late Spring, early Summer.  I love the hot weather just beginning to settle in and the warm nights.  I love all the outdoors festivals that show up around here.  Plus, my birthday is in early June :) Fall is cool too but I hate that it feels like Winter is creeping up on you.

 

Interesting little art installation at a festival last year (Figment DC)

8. Who are 3 celebrities you would want to have dinner with and why?  James Franco because he seems like he'd be so much fun. Sandra Day O'Connor because she has been involved in so many defining moments in the law and I would love to hear about her experiences as the first woman on the supreme court. And Neil Gaiman because I love a lot of his books and would be interested in talking to him about the stories. (My husband just pointed out that this would be the weirdest dinner party ever, so maybe not all at one dinner.)

9. Do you have a nickname?  Just a shortened version of my name, Chaita.

10. What decision are you most proud of?  The decision to take a different path in my career that resulted in a bit less pay but more home/life balance, less stress and more happiness. I'm glad I learned this lesson earlier rather than later.

Now, here are my nominations.  I tried to make sure they were individuals who hadn't been already nominated but I apologize if any are repeats.

Fawn at Long Haired Runner

Jennifer at Run Jenny Run

Stephanie at Cat Lady Runs

Stacey at Running Muffin

Jen at Going the Distance

Amanda at Eat Hard Work Hard

Lena at Lean Lena

Diatta at Femme Fitale Fit Club

Ashley at Downsizing Ashley

Nevie at Writing, Reading, Running

1.  What inspires you to lead a fit lifestyle (however you interpret that)
2.  Why did you start blogging?
3. What is the biggest obstacle you've overcome?
4.  Favorite vacation spot?
5.  What is the one piece of gear or clothing that you would recommend a new runner purchase?
6. What was the last book you read and would recommend to others?
7. What is your preferred way to spend a weekend?
8. What is your favorite race you've run so far?
9. Puppies or kitties (or other)?
10. What is a dream race on your bucket list?

Tasty Tuesday - Dinner at Del Campo

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Lean Lena for Tasty Tuesday.

I have it confess that I haven't been cooking much lately due to a busy schedule. I'm hoping that will change soon but in the meantime, I'm going to post about a celebratory dinner at Del Campo in the Gallery Place neighborhood of DC. Now, this was by no means a healthy meal, and it wasn't meant to be as we were celebrating paying off student loans.  But, it gave me some ideas for healthy meals to try out at home.

We shared a burata salad to start, Mike had the Peruvian chicken with yucca fries and I had the kale pot pie.  For dessert we shared tres leches "twinkies" with mango sorbet.

Everything we had was amazingly delicious, even the salad. The base was a good quality cheese (burata) with grilled artichokes, shaved fennel, and greens.  The lessons I'm taking home from this dish are that trying vegetables prepared in a different manner can make them taste completely different and that a little bit of high quality cheese goes a long way, allowing something to taste decadent without being too unhealthy. The burata was the star here but the grilled artichokes were a pleasant surprise.  I had no idea artichokes could taste like this and I can't wait to try to replicate them, as well as the shaved fennel.

Del Campo is known for their meat dishes but their vegetarian entree was unbelievably tasty and unique.  It certainly didn't seem like an after thought thrown together by the chef at the last minute.  It was swiss chard, spinach, kale and a rich bechamel sauce cooked in a buttery pot pie crust.  It was topped with a fried egg and a blizzard of parmesan.  It was so rich I was only able to eat half of it.  But I think this would also be delicious at home as sautéed kale topped with a poached egg and a sprinkling of parmesan. And a vinaigrette could be a good option instead of the rich sauce.  It would taste very different from the pot pie but I bet it would still be good.

Now there is probably no way the tres leches cake can be converted to something healthy. But the mango sorbet was tart and refreshing and would probably be a great summertime dessert on its own.

I love having special meals out but I know that there is no way I could eat like this on a regular basis if I want either my waistline or wallet to be healthy.  But I do love getting ideas from our restaurant meals of new things that we can try to do at home.  And of course, I try to include a lot of activity on days with rich meals like this.  I had gone for a run in the morning, walked around downtown all afternoon, and went to a NBA game that evening where there was lots of cheering and jumping up and down.

Pre-game warm up.

Anyone else ever tried to recreate a restaurant meal for healthier home eating?

Weekly review

This week's workout report isn't too good, sadly.  This is the first week in a long time that I didn't get three runs in.  It was due to various scheduling issues plus the weather and not feeling too well the earlier part of the week due to allergies.  Still, excuses.

I did pull it together on Thursday and I went for my scheduled run of 2.5 miles according to the Hal Higdon 10k training plan.  I am so glad I went. I feel like it took me out of a funk and it went really well. It was a beautiful morning, though still cold enough that I had to pull my running jacket back out of the closet.

And then I received this notice on my phone.

Thank you, Runkeeper!

Friday I made it to a yoga class and Saturday morning I went for my scheduled run of 3.5 miles. I wasn't able to join the running group in the morning but ran on a treadmill in the afternoon.

Sunday was some strength training.  I've just been using body weight exercises so far but I'm going to have to get some weights soon, I think.

I'm planning for things to be better this week.  The plan is for running with the group on Tuesday evening. Yoga on Wednesday and running on my own Thursday. Saturday will be another group run and strength training on Sunday. I hope everyone has a good week!

Friday Five Fitness Goals

Yay for Friday and what is supposed to be a mostly beautiful weekend! It's time for a Friday Five link up with the DC Trifecta (Mar, Courtney and Cynthia) and this week's theme is fitness goals.

Most of my current fitness goals have to do with running as I'm new to it and it's my priority this year. I'm concentrating on increasing distance but not worrying about speed this year (other than keeping up the required pace to not get swept).  So here we go.

1.  Complete the Lawyer's Have Heart 10k in June.  I'm looking forward to this one as I'll be doing it with a friend and it's in Georgetown off the river.  Should be pretty and I'm crossing my fingers it's not too hot.  Last year, they changed the 10k to a 5k because of excessive heat :( I really hope that doesn't happen this year because I'm hoping to use this as a proof of time for my next goal race.

2. Finish the Tower of Terror 10 miler at Disney World in October.  I'll be honest, the idea of doing a race at Disney World is what started me running in earnest last November.  Having a goal race that is at a destination I have to travel to is definitely a motivating factor as I want to make sure that money doesn't go to waste! And not only do I want to finish, I want to finish in good enough shape to be able to enjoy the after party at Hollywood Studios.  That means I have to be well trained and not just winging it.

3. The Richmond Half Marathon is my last big goal race.  I figured if I'm training for a 10 miler in October, I might as well keep the training going and do my first half marathon in November,  10 miles is too close to the half marathon distance to not give it a try.  And I've heard great reviews of the Richmond race so I'm really looking forward to it.

4.  I want to be able to do 10 "real" push-ups.  Right now, I'm still doing knee push-ups but trying to transition to full push ups.

5. My yoga goal is that I want to be able to do an unassisted headstand. Right now I still need the wall.

So those are my goals for the year, and hopefully achievable :) I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead of them!

"Pretty Quick Pinto Picadillo"

It's Tuesday and that means it's time for another Tasty Tuesday link up with Fairytales and Fitness and Lean Lena.

A while ago, I saw Quick Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson on sale for Kindle so I snatched it up. It has some interesting recipes and the first one I tried was called "Pretty Quick Pinto Picadillo." It's another variation on rice and beans but it had some interesting flavors so I gave it a try.

Here's my interpretation of the recipe and it made 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1.5 cup uncooked rice (I reduced this to 1 cup since that's our usual amount for 4 servings)

 1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced bell pepper

2 cloves garlic (I used garlic powder instead)

1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 Granny Smith apple, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup pimento stuffed olives, sliced (I used a variety of olives from the olive bar at the grocery store instead of buying a whole jar I wouldn't finish)

2 tbsp chopped canned green chiles (I used a fresh jalapeno)

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp toasted slivered almonds

Salt and pepper to taste

I have to be more careful with an e-cookbook!

I cooked the rice separately in a rice cooker.  If you don't have a rice cooker it can of course be cooked in a pot on the stove top.  I just like the rice cooker so I can put it in to cook and forget about it while I prepare the rest of the dish.

Once the rice is started, heat the oil in a pan.  Then sauté the onions, garlic and peppers until soft. Next I added in all the rest of the ingredients except the parsley and almonds. I probably added some smoked paprika because I end up putting it in almost everything.  It all cooked together at a simmer for about 15 minutes. Then serve over rice and top with the parsley and almonds.

The finished meal!

It was pretty good and an interesting variation on rice and beans. I liked the salty punch of the olives. It was a little sweet for me so I would probably cut down on the raisins and apple next time but it's definitely something I would eat again.  The recipe also indicates that the dish can be served with guacamole, salsa, or as a burrito filling.