Snow Day!!

Last night I gave a quick speech at a casual dinner celebrating the student volunteers that will be embarking on some truly awesome community service trips this school year (some students have already completed their trip). These trips are planned by student leaders involved in the group Alternative Breaks here at Rutgers University and I had the pleasure of being an "Alt Breaks" member for three years as an undergrad at Rutgers. Being able to speak at their Kick-Off dinner as an Alternative Breaks alum was a great experience and one that can now be added to the many great experiences and memories I have as a result of the community service trips I participated in during my college career. 

After the dinner, I returned to the apartment to do complete some late-night planning for today's school day and having closed the laptop after 11pm, I was not looking forward to the now-inevitable dragging state I'd be in for school. You will understand, then, my relief and excitement to find out this morning that school was closed due to the impending snow, however I did not read that "impending" part. So as I go to look outside the bedroom window, I am expecting to see nothing but a pristine, white blank of snow covering the street and sidewalks. Instead, I see absolutely no sign of snow. "Oh well. No school!" I think to myself. So I change my alarm clock to 7am (yes, that's sleeping in for me), but as I am lying in bed I can only think about the endless possibilities of a snow day: a ten mile run, completing a paper due Thursday, buying fish food, a ten mile run, doing laundry, catching up on some TV episodes, a ten mile run, enjoying a hot lunch at the kitchen table, writing this blog post, and lastly, a ten mile run. Needless to say, I could not fall back asleep and decided, instead, to go on...you guess it....a ten mile run. 

AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! 

I haven't been so ecstatic about a run in a long time. I would choose an early morning run over any other time of day without pausing to think about it. Having been unable to leave the apartment for a run while the sun is yet to rise made the run today so much more enjoyable. Andddd to top it off, it started snowing about 5 miles into my run and with no sunglasses to protect my eyes from "the elements" I was really forced to enjoy Mother Nature in all her beautiful glory. 

I just wish I had my phone with me to take a picture of the untouched snow covering the streets and sidewalks not even 20 minutes after it started coming down. 

If you haven't gotten a chance to exercise today, I encourage you to grab some gloves, layer up, and go "play" outside. Don't think of it as exercise. Throw snowballs in the air for your dog to catch or jog around a local park that's bound to be more beautiful when covered in snow. Or you can be like my girlfriend, Val, and get off of the bus a mile and a half early and walk back home (or to destination x)! Now that's the spirit, Val! 

Lastly...I stumbled upon an article for those of you who have contemplated changing your diet to a vegan, plant-based diet or for those of you who have tried, but reverted to your old ways for whatever your reason. This Health.com article may prove helpful! I encourage you to read the article even if just to educate yourself...you never know if a friend or family member of yours might bring it up in conversation.

http://news.health.com/2013/12/06/jay-z-is-going-vegan-6-dos-and-donts-for-first-timers/

Happy running!

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Today's run: 10 miles

Pre-run fuel: Nothing, unless half a glass of water counts. I was aiming for my late dinner, as a result of the event I went to, to hold me over for the run. I was right!

Post-run recovery:  Breakfast: Two small, toasted whole-wheat rolls (from last night's dinner event) with natural peanut butter and a banana sliced up for each one (2 small bananas). Excellent recovery breakfast or snack for multiple reasons: potassium for muscles, protein for muscle and tissue recovery, and carbs for restoring glycogen levels.    

News Blast!

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by! I remember talking to everyone about my upcoming student teaching internship in the Fall and now I have 13 school days left to teach. Additionally, I asked Val about any upcoming exams she may have and she replied, "Not until final exams." I was shocked at this long break in her exam, however I was also dead wrong. The last day of Rutgers classes is next week! I've been out of the college courses game for almost an entire semester already. I guess celebrating Halloween and then Thanksgiving weren't really time-checks for me; the days have just been rolling on, blending into one another. 

As I'm posting before school this morning (due to my increasingly busy days which is the reason why I've lost all track of time!) I'm going to keep today's post a news blast! Maybe I'll post again later on if I feel..inspired. Please feel free to post any comments following the post. I'd love something to read tonight after class!

Did you think you can just run away all of those holiday/winter-time calories? "Think again," says a recently published study. I probably should have taken notes while reading the article, but I couldn't help salivating at the look of those runner gingerbread cookies! 

 Check out the news article here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/moderate-eating-not-extra-exercise-key-to-fighting-holiday-weight-gain

Would you like increased heart contraction rates with that drink? Didn't think so. 

Check out the article here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/energy-drinks-said-to-alter-heart-function

Did you have a bowl of these at your Thanksgiving meal? Well if not, there's always next year! Oh and the 364 days in between. They help with more than just preventing UTIs. Check out why cranberries should be a regular part of your diet:

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/the-health-benefits-of-cranberries

And of course I couldn't be "up with the times" and not post about the latest celebrities to try a vegan diet...that's right: Beyonce and Jay-Z are going vegan for 22 days. 

Read about it below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2013/12/04/jay-z-and-beyonce-go-vegan/

I hope you enjoyed today's news blast! 

Happy Winter (okay, cold Fall) Running!

Cinnamon is da winna mon!

How was everybody's Thanksgiving!? I'm truly sorry for not wishing everybody a Happy Thanksgiving. Between grading projects and tests and making sure Val and I had all the ingredients for our Thanksgiving dishes, I was too tired each night to post anything.

Speaking of Thanksgiving dishes, ours was a success! It took three kitchens to complete our cooking (our apartment kitchen, my parents' kitchen, and my sister's kitchen), but the effort was worth it! Our dishes were the following:

• an Almost raw pumpkin pie - courtesy of Rich Roll
• a hot vegetable dish of oven roasted sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and beets
• the best stuffing I've ever had- Val's masterpiece that was a huge hit this year
• sweet potato-cranberry sauce- I was so happy for how this sauce came out!
• Tofurky's Tofu Turkey w/ gravy- Val and I tried the Tofurky for the first time last year at a "Friendsgiving" dinner party we attended and knew it had to be on the menu this year!

There were many other dishes on the table that Val and I were able to enjoy due to the considerations of my family as they prepared their meals such as mashed potatoes with soy milk, butternut squash and cranberries prepared with Earth Balance (vegan) butter, and yellow rice (Spanish-style). For an ingredients list of the dishes that Val and I prepared, check the end of this post.

On another note...who remembers eating this cereal      when they were younger or maybe even this morning? I never actually opted to get this cereal when I tagged along for grocery shopping, but I have vivid memories of visiting my family in Virginia and having Apple Jacks for breakfast (it was my cousins' favorite cereal). Well it turns out their selections were probably a bit better than my Count Chocula or Cocoa Puffs. Why is this so? One reason: Cinnamon.

If you haven't heard lately, cinnamon has been the center of many recent studies on the benefits of particular foods. It's nothing groundbreaking. The studies pretty much just support what was already shown back in studies 3 or more years ago, but there's nothing wrong with reassurance! It has been shown that cinnamon helps stop blood sugar spikes, provides blood sugar control over a longer period of time, and lowers the risk of diabetes! So cinn-a-mon reall is "da winna mon" as Stick so accurately puts it in those great Apple Jacks commercials. Of course the benefits of cinnamon are kind of neutralized by all the grams of sugar in Apple Jacks so I highly recommend adding ground cinnamon to your apple slices in the morning or maybe your banana or pear. Oatmeal or cereal person? Sprinkle some on there too! It also is great to add a dash of it in your morning coffee! You really can't go wrong...at least, it's not easy to do so. If you're skeptical about what I've shared with you, then that's great to hear! I like skeptics. Check it all out for yourself by simply Googling "cinnamon" or "benefits of cinnamon" and find some credible sources so you can find sources. Credibility-advice aside, here are some sites I found when Googling "cinnamon" for this post.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266069.php

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2901047/

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Val's Thanksgiving Stuffing

Main Ingredients: Butternut squash, brussel sprouts, shallots, gluten-free bread, an apple, dried cranberries, walnuts, and celery 

The Tofurky (The size of the box was quite deceiving. Good thing it was only Val and I enjoying this softball-sized ball of tofu!

Val's Almost raw pumpkin pie

Main Ingredients: fresh, cooked pumpkin, coconut milk, maple syrups. Walnuts, dates, and flax seeds (crust)

AND my Sweet Potato Cranberry Sauce (think of a puree)

Ingredients: Sweet potatoes, cranberries, brown sugar, orange juice

SO glad to be back to blogging with all of you! Until next time!

News Blast!

Tonight will be a news blast of both running and vegan news (I have some homework to get done!). Enjoy!!

My mom ran the Trenton Half Marathon that this 5 year old ran in about two weeks ago. He just ran a 26:43 5k (roughly 8:37 mile). Read this story here: 

http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/5-year-old-runs-2643-5k

Zach Miller wins the most famous 50 mile race: the JFK 50 in Maryland. His time: 5 hours 38 mins. His pace per mile: 6:45. Crazy. 

Emily Harrison is the first female finisher of the JFK 50. Her time 6 hours 35 mins. Her pace per mile: 7:54. Equally crazy. She was runner-up last year. Way to get em this year Emily! 

Check out their stories here: http://www.irunfar.com/2013/11/2013-jfk-50-mile-results.html

Not the greatest quality of studies, but it promotes nut consumption. Always a plus in my book! Check out this article about why you should consume nuts more frequently! 

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=6347&catId=8

Val's favorite: Cashews. 

My favorite: Almonds. (Walnuts are creeping up there). 

Nuts sometimes get a bad rap because they are high fat. As long as you aren't inhaling handfuls of nuts at each meal, you should be fine. The fats are good fats and fats have been shown to enable the body to better absorb the nutrients and vitamin founds in in vegetables. So if you are packing in the veggies at lunch or dinner, pair them with a slice of avocado or a handful of nuts of your choice. Also, pair nuts with raisins or dried blueberries or cranberries for a healthy afternoon snack!

And lastly, I love having you here, but if you have the time, check out another blog by a passionate runner who loves blogging about healthy eating and living a healthy, active lifestyle: Christina, The Athletarian 

http://www.theathletarian.com/

Happy running! (And yes, you local readers...even in the rain.  It's so much fun!) 

3 days until Thanksgiving!!

As far as Mondays go, today was a pretty good one. I didn't have any lessons to plan out as I was continuing a lesson in the school from last week so that was a relief; I was able to enjoy a relaxing Sunday and an even more relaxing Monday at school. I hope tomorrow's quiz on the Byzantine goes well. I know it's a test the students take, but their scores reflect my teaching thus far so I truly am mentally invested (read: nervous) for how well they are going do. There's one thing that is going against me which happens to be the thing I'm most excited for this week: Thanksgiving. That one word translates to "break" for the students--this is the excitement that could distract them from their studies--and "endless amounts of amazing vegan food" for Val and I!! Good luck students. Now onto an equally important (kidding...er..sort of) point of business: Thanksgiving.  

I'll post about the menu later on in the week either after the feast or the next day, but here is a peak at what's probably to come!

I came across this recipe for an amazing salad with caramelized pecans, apples, and cranberries while I was perusing through VegNews and am thinking about adding it to the Thanksgiving Day table. The recipe can be found here: 

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=6351&catId=2

And as of now, Val will be making a raw pumpkin pie for our dessert. She made a pumpkin pie (obviously vegan, but all that means is that EVERYONE can enjoy it!) for my niece's Halloween birthday party right before Halloween and it was a big hit! I'm sure she'll top it! She also makes a mean cocoa-banana bread if anyone is interested in the recipe or, if you're local, she'll happily bake it for you and drop it off. Yeah. She's pretty sweet. Recipe for the raw pumpkin pie can be found here: https://www.richroll.com/nutrition/plantpower-holiday-cooking-how-to-make-almost-raw-gluten-free-vegan-pumpkin-pie/

    

Okay, these aren't on the menu BUT can they be?? Pretty please?? BAIT and Saucony have teamed up and have created a casual vegan sneaker that will hit stores December 2nd. I guess even if I could be granted my wish, Thanksgiving is still a few days too early. Christmas maybe? Check out the story and read about these awesome kicks by clicking on the following links: 

http://sneakernews.com/2013/11/18/bait-x-saucony-shadow-original-shoes-cruel-world/

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=6349&catId=8

 

Happy running everybody!

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Thoughts for the week: 

-What are you thankful for in your life right now?

-Who are you thankful for in your life right now?

-What is your meaning of Thanksgiving? Is it about the food, the family, the days off, or something else entirely? 

Would love to read the comments if anyone is willing to post! 

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Today's run: a quick 5 mile run around New Brunswick. Had to get back to cook Val a dinner I promised before she had to head out for class.

 

Pre-run fuel: 3 dates with water (plus breakfast and lunch of course)

Post-run recovery: Dinner

Dinner: sauteed cabbage, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and fresh garlic with a side of green beans and a adzuki bean and lentil mix. AMAZING!!! 

Dessert: dairy-free strawberry and cookies and cream ice cream from our favorite local spot: Dairy Deluxe in Highland Park! You don't know what you're missing...oh wait..maybe you do: the dairy! Check them out if you're nearby, but please do order a dairy-free option. 

27

As I lied in bed last night, I did what I pretty much always do before turning in:
1) I played my moves in Words with Friends (I've been playing a 70 something year old woman from out west for the past 4 years and it's become a ritual to make sure I at least catch up on my moves before the night's up. I sometimes joke with Val that she's my backup love. I mean...it has been 4 years!)

2) I made sure my alarm was set for the right time so I can get to work on time and still sleep as much as possible.

3) I checked the weather.

If my memory is correct, I'm pretty sure it said between 30-32 degrees would be the high for the day. Yes. The high. "Good thing I made tomorrow my rest day or lowest mileage day," I thought to myself as I lay in bed. Well, when I woke up I thought maybe I'll get in a few miles on the treadmill at the YMCA where I work after my shift and then I'll be able to workout afterward. I haven't run on a treadmill since sometime last January and that was only because I was recovering from an injury and was going to the gym on campus quite often to keep my fitness up. Well as soon as I told somebody--and said aloud--my plan to run on the treadmill, I decided I couldn't do that. Yeah it was the coldest day of the season so far, but if I can't take the cold now, how will I take it later? How can I run 50 miles in the January temperatures if I can't handle an hour or so run today.

Well that did it. When I got back from some grocery shopping (slightly disappointed after having to put back gluten free and dairy free pizza crusts because they contained eggs--man, dinner could have been great!) around 2:30, I got on my running gear and headed out the door.

I felt great! I ran into the wind only about half the time and I had a tailwind for quite some distance too so overall it wasn't too bad. The Saucony 3 season gloves I just bought about 2 weeks ago were really put to the test today...They passed with flying colors. The gloves handled the frigid temps with no problem and my trusty Nike thermal headband that I've had for at least 5 years now did the same. A little over 5 miles my watch died, but I was completely fine with that. I was too busy enjoying the beautiful day outside--despite the cold, it truly was a gorgeous day!

When I got back to the apartment, I was curious what the temperature was that I just ran in: 27 degrees according to my phone. Awesome. I could have easily run in the nice warm gym or taken the day off altogether, but I succeeded in not letting the day go to waste. And I wasn't the only one. I saw at least two other individuals who thought they were going to be tougher than 27 degrees today and it was awesome knowing there was company on the road--even if they were running the opposite direction.

When I got back I couldn't wait for dinner! Around 4 I started up some adzuki beans to let them cook through and by 5 I was sitting down for an early dinner. I had several small dishes that I cooked up; I ate one dish, waited about 5 minutes, then got another dish until I was done. Because it was early, I decided to eat dinner this way so that way I would be satiated longer. I managed to take a picture of one of these dishes:

Cabbage with tomato and tofu topped with an Asian style stir fry seasoning and good old ketchup--buy natural to nix the high fructose corn syrup  

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Pre-race fuel: Clif bar with banana for lunch

Post-run recovery: banana and natural peanut butter

Dinner: adzuki beans (protein), tofu (protein), cabbage dish (pictured above), green beans, and a side of carrots and kale w/ hummus. 

Slow down!!

Late post tonight. I really have to start posting earlier and getting to bed earlier. Hmm...a New Year's Resolution perhaps.

As planned, I woke up this morning and was all set to help out in any way that I could at a YMCA 5K about 25 minutes away. I was so glad that Val decided to volunteer with me; there was a chance that I was going to be venturing out alone as Val was contemplating sleeping in and studying for her exam all day.

Our car ride was a bit rocky heading over to the 5k. Usually on her game with the phone's GPS, Val proved to be a bit directionally challenged this morning (Sorry Val...you know I'm right though!). On top of that, we stopped for Dunkin' Donuts coffees and were attempting to mix in our own brown sugar and almond milk that we brought, but of course the coffee was to the brim and being seat-belted in my seat and in an awkward position I proceeded to spill some of the coffee over the center console. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but it wasn't something that I preferred happen. "Hopefully the volunteering will go much more smoothly than this car ride," I thought to myself.

So we finally got to the check in area, initialed our names on the volunteer sign-in sheet, and received our assignment which was to direct runners up a street at about a mile into the race as well as stop traffic when runners were nearing the intersection. We stopped at a bagel place before heading up our post. Blueberry with grape jam. Split that and had half a banana each. The combination: fantastic. Those simple carbohydrates would come in handy during our run later on. Anyway, when Val returned with the ca$h to purchase said bagel, she informed me that we had company at our post. Now I'm expecting a cheery volunteer to share the post with...was that so wrong an assumption? I mean it was about 40 degrees outside on a Saturday morning so clearly some heart was necessary.

I was expecting someone like this gentleman:



Or maybe a kind, more-experienced community resident such as this cheery lady.


Not quite.
We wound up sharing the post with this woman...

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 Okay maybe not so cartoony, but you get the idea!

All jokes aside though I think she scared the living bajebus out of one woman who was going about 10 mph past our intersection after screaming for her to slow down!!!...there was not a runner in sight. But hey! We didn't let any runners get hit and no cars laid on the horn so I guess that's a success story if you've ever heard one.

Overall, I think the volunteer experience was certainly a good first-time experience. The event was pretty small and I didn't have as much interaction with the runners as I thought I was going to have. I was expecting to hand out life-saving containers of miracle fluid (read: cups of water) to runners with pit stains who were sweating profusely. Maybe when it's a bit warmer out. As for now, I'm grateful for the experience I shared with Val. Without volunteers, these runs literally could not function. I mean had we not been at that intersection, runners would easily have continued running straight for who knows how long. Plus, there were some runners who were definitely struggling and the words of encouragement that the volunteers provide--today, that was us--really do make a difference. This is coming from experience being one of those runners on multiple occasions.

I have a newfound appreciation for these volunteers after today, especially during the winter runs. At least the runners get to warm up after about a mile of running. The volunteers have to stand the cold. Leave your post and you seriously risk harming a runner--and during a race, this could mean either her time or her body should a car not know what is going on!

I encourage all exercise enthusiasts out there to volunteer at an event you have run or have performed at. Maybe that event will be at a local organization such as the YMCA or a public library. The service to the community is obvious and you never know how your actions or words may impact those receiving them.

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Check out a Runner's World list of the best Thanksgiving foods to add to the table. Then count how many are cruelty-free.

http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/the-best-foods-to-eat-this-thanksgiving


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Today's run: 9.4 mile run with Val.
Pre-run fuel: 1/2 blueberry bagel with grape jam, half a banana, half cinnamon-raisin bagel. (Bagels are great simple carbohydrates that can be broken down by the body quickly which helps with an upcoming run, race, or other cardio performance.
Post-run fuel: 1 1/2 bananas (potassium) with natural, home-made peanut butter (protein), and cinnamon (to reduce any inflammation). And coffee, of course.