Too hot to handle

After over a week of 90degree sweltering days, it's official - summer has hit New York City. For most New Yorkers, that means cranking up the A/C, escaping to the Hamptons, or searching for entry into the city's elusive private pools. For runners, though, it's the time of year that most of us dread - a potent combination of long training runs for the fall marathon circuit and suboptimal weather (to put it mildly).

Luckily the folks at Runner's World complied some tips on surviving long, hot runs. Adjusting your schedule to take advantage of cooler mornings, bringing some speedwork onto the treadmill, and finding creative ways to avoid dehydration are all solid ideas to train safely in the summer heat. A big challenge for a lot of runners is staying hydrated, which is critical to running in high temps. If your running route isn't littered with water fountains, then you might want to considering investing in a hydration belt. While it's not the sexiest fashion accessory out there, the belt holds up to four small water bottles and also has a small pouch to store your keys, Metrocard, and snacks for those extra long runs. Definitely very practical. Kim and I even bought matching red belts at the Broad Street 10 Mile Expo a few months ago! Sadly they were out of hot pink...

Personally, I'm a total wimp when it comes to hot, humid weather so I've been sticking to the treadmill for the past couple weeks. Unfortunately, that's not going to cut for my long weekend runs once marathon training starts in two weeks. Early morning (ugh) runs are going to become a staple of my running lifestyle. This morning, I decided to bite the bullet and start getting in the habit of waking up early for runs. Got up at 5:30am and sleepwalked my way over to the FDR for a 6 mile run. Eventually woke up a few miles in and enjoyed the miraculously beautiful weather and fresh breeze coming across the river. Best way to start the day!

Speaking of staying cool, Kim and I will be braving the heat to run the NYRR Splash n'Dash 10K next weekend. 10K may not sound very far, but by 9am I'm sure the humidity and heat will make the distance a bit brutal. Thankfully the race finishes at Lasker Pool in Central Park and the fabulous NYRR race coordinators have reserved it for race participants to take a refreshing post-race dip.

Running along the beach front Durban

A long-awaited Hail from the lone runner across the sea in deepest, darkest Africa. I decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns and actually grab a friend for a proper run last Sunday. Up to now, I have only managed a few kilometers here and there before my hip-hop dancing class twice a week. But now that the World Cup is here the city has really done a lot of plastic surgery, giving it a beautiful face lift. Our beachfront has gone from being a rather dirty, unsafe area, inhabited by many street children, vagabonds and petty criminals to one of the most beautiful beach fronts I have ever had the privilege of walking on. The police presence is phenomenal and the absence of all the usual suspects suspiciously obvious. All walks of life are making use of the new walkway, people with their dogs, people rollerblading, cycling, walking and running. Even some wheelchair athletes make use of the broad walkway to get some sunshine. The sand artists make the beach so much prettier with their sand castles depicting many African themes - the big 5, the new stadium, people suntanning. Throw them a few bucks and make their day.

Starting out on the run was easy, taking in the sights and wondering where many of the tourists were from (uh - duh - that was obvious, they were all wearing their country's football jersey). With no stops along the way, we made it all the way from Sun Coast Casino to Ushaka Marine world at the other end. For once, I really was not worried about making it all the way back. The absolute energy from all the people strolling, running, cycling along seemed to sweep us to the end. Once we made it all the way back to our car, it was lovely just sitting, having a drink and taking in all the people going by. Behind us the new Moses Mabhida stadium stands proudly and guards us. A true feather in Durban's cap. I am so happy to say that I am proudly South African- can you feel it? IT IS HERE!!!!!! Comrades, here we come! AYOBA!

Comrades Training Schedule

Both Monica and I are training for marathons in October (I'm doing Chicago, she's doing the Marine Corps.) So up until we finish those (hopefully with sub-4h20 finishing times for a better Comrades qualification), we'll be doing our own separate training.

However, once that's done, we're going to have the long slog to ramp up from 26 miles to 56 miles. If you're interested in what that sort of a training schedule looks like (or if you want to follow along!) our training calendar is now available here:
Comrades Training Schedule

Running across the Bridge of Sighs

Hello from Venice! Just spent the past four days exploring the alleys, canals, and wine bars of this lovely city and of course, had to top off the trip with a run. Exercised both my running and crazy muscles this morning when I went I ventured out of the hotel at 6am to brave the streets. Armed only with my Hoya basketball shirt and slip of paper with my hotel's name, I spent the next 40 minutes sprinting up and down the myriad of stair cases (unexpectedly good hill training for Comrades...) and getting a chance to see the city finally sans touristas. Not only a fantastic run but also managed to avoid being kidnapped and getting trafficked. You think I jest, but seriously my mum was having vivid ightmares about this... Minor details.

Photos of Venetian adventures to come soon!

All my runner ladies

Courtesy of Kim, a great article on "8 Wonder Foods for Female Runners." These days it's impossible to pick up an issue of Runners World or troll a running blog without reading an article on the best foods, ingredients, or crazy Native American protein powders to supplement your running and maximize performance. However, many of them force readers to search out ingredients that you could only maybe find in your local veganlocavorefairtradesustainablyorganic market. Eh, that sounds like far too much effort. This article offers accessible advice for health conscious runners, and some tasty recipes to help you tap the various benefits of several foods. Although the author gears the article towards female runners' needs, the nutrition tips are applicable for most athletes. Pretty sure pomegranates' antioxidant power doesn't gender discriminate.

Personally, I'm usually slightly skeptical of the ever changing "food of the day", preferring to focus on eating well balanced meals full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and MEAT. Hey, I'm a growing girl - I need my protein. Speaking of healthy running snacks, spent Memorial Day having a much needed bakeathon and whipped up a massive batch of my favorite whole wheat muffins. NYTimes' Mark Bittman posted this recipe a few months ago, and it's absolutely one of the most flexible quick-breads I've tried. The recipe can hold up to 3/4 cup of whatever add-ins you like, giving you so many yummy variations! For the past month, I've been itching to get my hands on all the fresh berries abounding in my farmer's market. So Monday I picked up some fresh blueberries, threw in a handful of oatmeal and poof! oatmeal, blueberry whole wheat muffins. Definitely my new favorite combination!

What recipes are you dying to try this summer?

Summer in the city

Annnnnd I'm back. After a month long sabbatical from "Couch to Comrades," steel yourself for weekly blog spam. The radio silence doesn't indicate a lack of running, I promise. Last weekend Kim and I ran the NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon (recap to come in a second!) and I've been plugging around 30 miles a week for the past month in preparation for the start of marathon training in July. But to be honest, my ongoing premature quarter-life crisis has left me with little motivation to write about the same old, same old runs.

As most recent graduates will admit, this time in our lives is an exciting, promising, debaucherous chapter but still quite full of uncertainty. Friends move in and out of your life, apartments change seemingly every month, and five year plans rarely pan out as we envisioned. And for the first time, we're left without an obvious next goal to work towards. High school and college rolled by in a blur of standardized exams, college applications, club elections, job hunts, and theses, but now the next step is less clear and pursuing our true passions can often feel difficult, if not downright impossible.

Amidst this continual change, running serves as a much needed constant for me - not just a daily challenge but also a way to connect with friends no matter how much distance time puts between us. This fall, Christine, Mike, Tom, Kim, Greg, and I will be running marathons across the country, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be on the sidelines at every race cheering them on. As I've mentioned before, what better excuse for a reunion than a life-changing race!

Last Saturday, the Brooklyn Half reminded me why I adore running and why I've committed to running the Marine Corps Marathon this fall and Comrades next year. The conditions were perfect for a long race, the crowd support throughout the course was inspiring, and running with one of your closest friends makes the miles fly by. After a month of less than inspiring 6 mile runs, the half marathon was definitely the perfect antidote to my stuck-in-a-rut blues. Also amazing was seeing Maddie, who was visiting her friend Anna (who totally rocked the half) for the weekend! After the race finished, we all met up to grab some post-run carbs courtesy of Dunkin' Donuts (no way we could stomach Nathan's hot dogs), and sat around on the Coney Island boardwalk noshing and catching up. Always wonderful to see old friends and compare running war stories. With two marathons already under her belt, Maddie's definitely an old hand at this long distance running thing and has been a bit of a running inspiration for me :)

Upcoming races: Before listing my running ambitions for the summer, I shall caveat to hell that I am not built for hot, humid weather. It doesn't matter that I've lived on the swampy East Coast for the majority of my life; I've never acclimated. So forewarning that there may be a few too many whiny posts about horrendous racing conditions and skipped long runs. Yes, I am a wimp. The Wall Street 3M on June 24 is up next, followed by NYRR Splash n'Dash 10K in the beginning of July. Kim will be headed up to the city later in the summer for some lovely training runs and the Bronx Half Marathon. Call me crazy but I'm actually looking forward to 15+ mile runs every weekend!

Pepita says time for a RACE RECAP!

Okay, sorry for the obnoxious inside joke title but had to give a shout out to Team Pepita (aka Kim, Tim, Mike, and I) for the great hustle at Sunday's Broad Street 10 Mile in Philly! Despite horrendously hot and humid weather, the race was fantastic and the perfect excuse for a Georgetown reunion. After fetching my hungover self from the Boltbus station on Saturday afternoon, Kim took me on my first real tour of Philly, making sure that we hit up all the important cultural and culinary sites. Mmmm Amish apple dumplings are definitely my new favorite way to carboload!

After loading up on food, Kim and I headed over to Lincoln Financial Field to pick up our bibs and packets from the race expo. Luckily by the time we arrived, most of the runners had already come through so we were able to grab our packets without a hitch and then spent a little time wandering around the expo searching for free schwag. Not much in the way of free goodies, but Kim and I did come out with our AWESOME NEW HYDRATION BELTS. These will be a much needed running accessory as we delve into marathon training this summer. Obviously we got them in matching colors, although we did restrain ourselves from purchasing them in highlighter pink. The ridiculously good looking photos of us modeling the belts will be posted shortly...

In order to get us PSYCHED for the race, Tim brought Without Limits, the 1997 cult classic that documents the short, but amazing life of famed American long distance runner Steve Prefontaine. Our viewing session on Saturday evening was cut a bit short due to exhaustion, but watching some of Pre's record-breaking runs definitely put us in the mood to dominate the race the next day! Scope it out for yourself:



As for the actual race, well, for what was supposed to be an "easy" ten miler, the Broad Street run turned into one of the most painful (albeit fun) runs I can remember. To put it mildly, I was woefully unprepared for the realities of running in 80degree, disgustingly humid weather. Yes, I am being a whining wimp but seriously, who actually enjoys running when the air has the consistency of pea soup?! No matter, Philly put on a great show for the race with spectators cheering us on along the entire length of the course, fire hydrants spraying down the runners, and, of course, the Rocky soundtrack blasting from more than one apartment window. While our times may not have been exactly what we hoped for, Team Pepita survived and managed to go enjoy the CcTC post-race tent party and keg. Win!

Which running conditions do you prefer - freezing snowpocalypse or humid hot mess?

Up next: NYRR Brooklyn 1/2 Marathon on May 22. Kim's heading back to the city to brave another NYRR race, this time on the opposite end of the weather spectrum. She, being an intelligent non-procrastinating individual, actually registered for this race. I, being total fail, missed the sign up. Minor details. So I'll be ghost running (i.e. sneaking) into the race. Sadly I won't get credit as part of the 9+1 to auto-qualify for 2011 NYC Marathon, but since I've already checked off six of the nine races, I'm not too concerned. Keep your fingers crossed it's an abnormally cool day!