Turkey Trot pt.1

Thanksgiving. If you tell me you dislike Thanksgiving then we are going to have some serious problems.  Honestly, who doesn't love the feeling of excessive fullness, unbuttoning your pants to fit more, the smell of amazing home cooked dishes and desserts? Everyone loves it. Okay, maybe I am lying about the having the unbutton your pants part, mostly because this is my least favorite but I can always go for eating enough turkey to put myself to sleep. Not to mention the ridiculously unhealthy stuffing that my grandma shovels onto my plate each year.

Everything Thanksgiving is the same, we go to my uncles, argue over who will sit where and what football game will be on TV, followed with amazing food and homemade pie.  But wait, this year will be different.  Prior to Thanksgiving, November 20th to be exact, I will be running my first 5 mile race!  I have always envied those runners with awesome turkey trot shirts and have promised myself that this year will be the year I wear one.  Yes, I am running a race with the highest hopes of finishing and getting my fun shirt. Rather shallow indeed.

My friend Alex suggested a race in Pittsford, NY the Southeast YMCA's Turkey Classic 5-miler.  I set my goals high with this one since I just finished a 5k last weekend but really wanted the challenge of 5 miles. I feel silly saying that 5 miles is a challenge since so many other bloggers are logging 5 miles as a "short run." It still counts as a long one for me!

This past Sunday I set out for a 4 mile run, something I haven't done since last January in the -10 degree weather and bested through. The run went really well and set me in the perfect mindset for this week. I am ready.  While I haven't' trained past 4 miles I'm certain that my adrenaline will push the last mile.

Goals for the race:

(1) Maintain a 8:50 min/mile time or better

(2) Don't be as dizzy upon finishing as the last one

(3) prepare for weather

(4) Have fun!!

Hiatus

I owe you an apology for my recent hiatus from blogging the past few days.  I was ridiculously busy with BPG, Brendan visiting and many other fun and exciting activities.  Lets catch up a bit and move forward with the week:

Friday:

Brendan came to watch my show and we spent the day relaxing.  He took me to breakfast at Highland Park Diner and then I spent the morning in class. We relaxed for the afternoon and then got ready for our big show!

here are a few quick clips from the show:

Geek in the Pink, We rocked the whole "geeky" look which is well suited for U of R.

Me and Sarah before the big show, it took quite a lot of effort to get me out of that tutu, I am IN LOVE with it!

After the show everyone made their way to Friendly's.  I was rather disappointed to realize that they are not like Dennys and DO NOT serve breakfast all night. What?

We settled for a Banana Split which was delicious and definitely filled my starving belly.  First official banana split, ever, and it was amazing.

Saturday we took a trip to Canandaigua and stopped at the Christmas Market, an arts and crafts show designed much like the markets in Germany. We grabbed some bratwurst and beer and met up with Brendan's family. How fun!  There was a very cuddley Alpaca that I tried to bring home with me but that did not work out very well.

Saturday night we went to the Amerks game with a few close friends. I had never been to an Amerks game before but for the $23 tickets it was AWESOME. I am so glad we went and would really like to go again. Also, I just realized that I am writing this like a five year old and deeply apologize.

Great 100 level seats, compliments of Will! Can't beat center ice :)

Ah the moose. I literally chased this guy down to get a picture with him. I just couldn't resist.

Yesterday I made myself get up early and I pushed through a 4 mile run, the longest distance i've done since last january. It felt great! Brendan and I went on a dinner date to Pomodoro's followed by a movie date to see J. Edgar!

Was that a quick enough summary? This week is going to be very hectic since I procrastinated everything up until today but in any case, happy Monday everyone!

Giveaway Winner: Nutrition Nut on the Run

I never win anything. I mean literally, never. There has maybe been one or two times in my life that I can't even remember where I entered a raffle or drawing and actually won. I'm  a sore loser to say the least.  However, my luck suddenly changed once I entered a blog giveaway contest provided by the lovely Hillary @ Nutrition Nut on the Run! Surprisingly, I won! How adorable is this package that was delivered to my parents house?

Hillary was kind enough to give away two coupons for Godiva Chocolatier Coffee each worth $2 off any 12oz. bag.  I'm hoping and praying that Wegmans carries this stuff because it sounds absolutely delish.

Speaking of delicious, she also baked some of her famous (at least in my book) Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies.  Please please try the recipe which was adapted from 101 Cookbooks and agree that they are probably the best cookie ever.

Needless to say, I have already had plenty for the day especially since I have to cram into a leotard tonight, oops!

Lets be real here, I love sweets and treats and giveaways. Thanks Hillary!

Note: Besides the image with me in it, I have switched back to an automatic setting on my Canon Rebel T1i, surprisingly a lot easier to take images without natural lighting!

Healthy You, Healthy Me: My Movement

Until I took the plunge and started assessing different career paths that led from a philosophy degree I had little understanding of the impact that one person has on a community.  One person, two, then three and before you know it a whole lot of "one person's" equal out to an entire city.  This is why I have my own motto of "Healthy You, Healthy Me" to me this means that by making myself a healthier, happier me, I am able to brighten others days, teach them all I know about health so they can pass it to the next person.  So join my trend! Start with a healthier you, so someone else can be healthier too!

I don't believe that I have mentioned my newest endeavor on here in a while so I thought that today would be a great day to share (yes I have posted multiple times today).  I am currently researching and helping the Greater Rochester Obesity Collaborative in conduction with the Healthy Weight Collaborative funded through the National Institute of Child Health Quality (NICHQ). Phew that took a lot of breaths to say!

GROC, HWC, NICHQ and a bunch of other groups are working diligently to address the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States, beginning with individual cities like Rochester!  The rate of childhood obesity in our city is just below the national average of, I believe, 17% (no I do not have a source for this right now nor do I care to take the time to look it up, but I have memorized this from recent research so trust me).  In any case, this is shocking and disheartening when you combine it with the recent discussion of our generation, yes us 20 some year olds, having a life expectancy lower than that of our parents. Gasp.

I am working closely with the team at University of Rochester Medical Center and am looking into various programs across the U.S. that are addressing the same issue--how do we connect physicians, patients and communities to create a movement to stop the epidemic? I am beginning this journey by contacting various leaders of programs such as KidsFit, Weigh What Matters and Healthier Life Steps, to name a few.  I am also learning how to review medical charts of "wellness" appointments at local pediatric practices, assessing the physicians dialogue and chart notes taken for at risk patients.

Two major updates on my project:

1. I was just added to the team for the obesity project (approved by the RSRB!)

2. The team just received a grant for $500k to help with research!

More updates to follow :)

[Giveaway] Announcement

We all love giveaways, especially in the blogging world.  Who wouldn't want to enter to win coffee or homemade cookies? Even better, who wouldn't want to win an amazing cookbook being offered from Clare, over at Fitting It All In? 

Here is what you do:

1. Make your way over to Fitting it all in and subscribe, just because it is the nice thing to do.

2. Follow Clare on Twitter

3. "LIKE" Clare on Facebook

4. Describe the last recipe you cooked her post.

What is there to lose? Nothing!

What is there to gain?

Best of luck to all of you and have an amazing Tuesday!

BPG: Group Shots

Ah hell week how you are helping me procrastinate all my work for next week which will eventually lead to my sudden crash and burn from lack of sleep.  I honestly don't know what to do about this whole hell week business, I am loving dance every night but then again am too tired to start my work at 11pm.  I try to work on bits and pieces throughout the day but find myself doing more exciting things like blog.

This morning I was supposed to finish transcribing my interviews but no, I decided to blog, go on a 3m run (which I was lazy and walked part of) and then came to the stacks to work.  Now I am in the stacks blogging.  I really need to work on my priorities and making the work higher than fun.  Wait, tonight I have a bar party to go to for Alpha Phi, so maybe tomorrow. There I go procrastinating again.

Yesterday Marissa, Publicity Chair, finally posted the lovely group shots from our photo, so here you go.  Procrastinate a bit yourself why don't you?  Also, if you're going to be in the Rochester, NY area this Friday evening, do yourself a favor and stop by the show at 8pm in Strong Auditorium.