Just another 5th Avenue Church

On my way to Niketown run club the other day

From Russia with Love

Serge got back this week from Russia... 

Date night was cooking dinner together and then to a movie

 

He brought me back a beautiful tray from Moscow in a traditional Russian style.  I love the colors!!!  Note how well it goes with the vase he got me for Christmas.

I already had the Nesting Dolls, but Serge thought they all needed some fresh air.  Look at how tiny the littlest one is- probably half the size of a baby tooth.

Keep on Running, Nancy!

Just checked the P.F. Chang's Rock'N'Roll 1/2 marathon website for live race results.  

My mom just passed the 10K mark running a solid pace, and negative splits from her first 5K.

Way to go mom!

UPDATE:  I just got her 10.2 mile split... she's running increasingly faster...

UPDATE 2:  She just called... relieved to be finished.  Almost as fast as last year, but she ran very smart, and VERY well.  I am SO proud of her!

The French birthday Faux-Faux pas

Last week we surprised my very French boss with a confetti cake, boxed wine, and spray cheese on club crackers.  He was a gracious sport, but the look on his face is priceless.

But once we ended the joke, he really liked the Veuve Clicquot Champagne and Payard cake, and it ended up a very happy birthday

West 57th Street

On the way to work.  A brisk 15 degrees outside, but absolutely beautiful

Both Angelina Jolie and I really like Lee's Art Shop.  She actually buys things.  I like to look.

Contrary to all logic, the Brooklyn Diner is in midtown Manhattan.  The clock tells me exactly how late my picture-talking excursion will make me.

What to do with your old running shoes?

I go through about 5 pairs of running shoes a year, and though they are all dear to me, I don't have the apartment space to get sentimental and keep them.  

Usually, I drop them off at Nike's reuse a shoe program, which grinds down the old shoes into sports surfaces and playground materials.  

They have to be athletic shoes, no metal or spikes, any brand, no muddy or wet shoes.  And they can't be dress shoes.  

Like night and day

These pictures are both from the corner of my block, on 57th and 8th Avenue, looking North towards Central Park and Columbus Circle.  

Non-scientific tips for running outside when it is 9 degrees outside

I'm pretty much the biggest baby out there when it comes to cold tolerance (as in I have none).  Here's what works for me though. 

1. The first one is from Captain Obvious.  Cotton is not your friend.  Anywhere.  
2. Good mittens and hat, and wool socks too.  Saucony makes a great pair of fleece-lined mittens with a windbreaker shell.  I wear a Nike skullcap with a slit in the back for my ponytail.  Totally ingenious.  In the summertime, my toenails fall off, in the winter, my toes feel like they're falling off.  Big thick wool socks are great.  Tall ones too.  Pull them up as high as they'll go.  If you've only got anklets, you can also abstain from shaving your legs for added warmth, but I don't recommend that.  Buy taller socks.
3. When the air is really cold, it can irritate your lungs and make you feel winded.  When your lungs hurt, it feels almost like you are tired-winded, but you're actually not tired.  Believe it or not it gets easier.
4.  Chapstick is great, but not when it has mint or menthol.  I like Burt's Bees Wax Honey Lip Balm.
5. Misery loves company, and peer pressure is a powerful drug.  You'd be amazed at how many suckers are floating around who you can talk into joining you.  Be sure to ask someone super competitive, and emphasize that it's no big deal if they can't handle the cold, you don't mind running alone.
6. But if they have a "prior obligation" and bail on you, get some good distractions.  I personally recommend NPR Talk of the Nation, or beginner's Russian Language podcasts, or CFA Institute lectures on Financial Statement Analysis.  You wont think about cold.
7. Another good idea is to go to the dentist immediately before your run, so that when your face is totally numb from windburn, you really only feel half of it, because your left side is numb from the Novocaine and you can't even tell that you're drooling and it is freezing, because again, you're good an numb.
8. Train for a race, at least.  Running when its that cold just for the sake of "building character" is pretty ridiculous.  Admit it.  At least have a goal, and then you can pretend you're not a total masochist who actually likes little bits of ice chunking on your eyebrows.
9. Fashion here doesn't matter. Forget the cute Victoria's Secret cut and whip out the stash of hardcore (non-cotton) granny undies.  Otherwise, that is a whole lot of extra tush not being shielded with an extra layer of fabric.
10. Run, don't walk or bike.  Too slow and you never get warm in the first place.  Too fast and you make too much wind and get cold.  And while running, remember that both your feet and your nose run.  Perfect your snot rocket, and factor in the wind when you spit, because if you miss, the stuff freezes pretty quickly when it hits your jacket and then has to be sort of scraped off.
11. While you're out running in the aforementioned 9 degree weather, feel free to silently mock all the crazy other runners stupid enough to be outside running.  In your head, make fun of their crazy outfits too, like the surgeon's masks, the tights with basketball shorts over them, and the really dumb ones who still wear shorts.  

Run fast, Nancy!

This Sunday (January 18th) my mom, Nancy is running her 2nd half-marathon down in Arizona at the P.F.Chang's  Rock'N'Roll Arizona.  The race starts at 8:30 am Arizona time for 13.1 miles of fun-filled, well, fun.  

She just joined a new age group too, so she's pretty much ready to crush a bunch of little old ladies pushing 70 with her fresh legs (almost a decade younger) and Rocky-Mountain-altitude-conditioned lungs.  

Check out the website here, and be sure to check back tomorrow for instructions on setting up your mobile phone to get race updates along the course.

We are all SO impressed and proud of her... go Nancy!

 

Race Results Options

The following options will be available this year for race results.

• Live Results: 
  On raceday, each participant’s time will be recorded at the 10k, half marathon, 20-mile mark and finish for the Marathon, and the 5k, 10k, 10-mile mark and finish for the 1/2 Marathon.
• Mobile Results: www.liveraceresults.com/mobile to track a participant on your phone or PDA.
• Official Race Results (online): http://marathon.azcentral.com
  (Jan 18, 7pm MST through Jan 25)
• Results & Race Coverage (printed): The Arizona Republic (Jan 19)

Everything I know, I learned from NPR's Talk of the Nation

Ok, well maybe not quite everything, but my life has dramatically improved since I discovered Talk of the Nation on itunes. 

Neal Conan, thank you for leading me through a "productive exchange of ideas and opinions on issues that dominate the news landscape.  And Ira Flatow, I just can't get enough of Science Fridays.  

TOTN, as we insiders like to call it, gets me though some of my long training runs in the dead of winter, engages me on topics I didn't even know were issues, and touches me with its stories. Not to mention, my inner nerd is in intellectual bliss every time I learn about something like methane gas on Mars, or 50 years of research on pheromones.  

Thank you again Neil, Ira, and all of the TOTN staff.  I like what you do.