Scenes from a Sunday Evening

Thought I'd end the weekend with some pictures of my Sunday evening. I love NY.

 Dance Party on the Pier. GW Bridge in the background.

AHA Wall Street 3M Run & Heart Walk Slideshow

Hi folks! It's been a crazy busy week and I'm so excited to finally get this post up. My last few days were packed with all things running: watching a friend run the American Heart Association Wall Street 3 Mile Race, running in the Front Runners NY Lesbian & Gay Pride 5M Run, and volunteering this morning at the Achilles Hope & Possibility 5M Run. Despite the crazy heat (I feel like a broken record talking about the heat!), all races were a success and as of this morning I've completed the NYRR 9+1 for acceptance into the 2011 NYC ING Marathon!!!

I feel like I have so much I want to tell you guys about all three races so today, I'll focus on the Wall Street run and will follow up with the other race recaps in the coming days. Although I didn't get a chance to participate in this one, I decided to attend to cheer on a friend who was completing her 9+1, and another who was returning to running after a long break. Here's a little info from the New York Road Runner's website about the event:

"Did you know that heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 causes of death nationwide? You can make a difference in your life and the lives of others by participating in the American Heart Association Start! Wall Street Run & Heart Walk (3M). Proceeds benefit the American Heart Association, an organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Last year, more than 10,000 men and women participated"

I think actually overheard that 15,000 people participated this year! The course was a beautiful one beginning a few blocks away from the World Trade Center site, curving around lower Manhattan, and running up the west side of the island, along the water with a beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty.

 Despite the above 90 degree heat and intense humidity, the racers' energy was inspiring. I took over 250 pictures but edited down to 160 and put them into a slide show for you guys to enjoy. If you see yourself in any of the pictures and would like me to forward you the original, just let me know! My favorites include the pictures of the kids giving high-5's along the water, and of course the ones with Lady Liberty in the background. Hope you enjoy!

(10 minutes of) Yoga At the Great Lawn

Living on New York City’s Upper West Side, I often joke that Central Park is my backyard. While many of you have beautiful outdoor space just outside your front or back doors, mine is about a quarter of a mile away but is definitely worth the short walk. Central Park rocks and I am one crazy lucky lady!

So, in case you have already heard, about 10,000 people showed up in my backyard to practice yoga last night and it was awesome! Yoga at the Great Lawn was the brainchild of Flavorpill and I truly appreciate all the energy they put into it to make this event happen. Unfortunately, they forgot to call Mother Nature to ask her for good weather so we only practiced yoga for about 10 minutes before the sky opened up and poured on us. The world's largest ever yoga gathering might have also been the shortest ever gathering, but the experience was still an incredible one and I’m truly happy that I was able to attend. The vibe was cool & relaxed, I met some really interesting people, and made some great new friends.

And now for some pictures to recap the evening…

the trek and long lines into Central Park

 

I sort of fell in love with this wonderful yogi couple

hanging out, waiting for the yoga to begin

Jess, Me, Mari & Alison... I love making new friends!

the crowds gathering on the Great Lawn, surrounded by the NYC skyline

starting our practice as the rain clouds rolled in

Flavorpill has announced that there will be a rain date so we can try this again. Let's hope this time they 1)coordinate with Mother Nature and 2)have porta potties set up. 10,000 people, bottled water & no bathrooms? That's just a recipe for disaster!

Who's in for next time?

Quinoa Mango Salad

Happy Summer Solstice! Today is the first official day of Summer 2010 and it definitely feels like it. It's going to be another scorching week in NYC!

As much as I love to cook, I don't love sweating in my tiny kitchen when I could be outside enjoying the beautiful weather. So to prepare for the week, I made a large batch of this Quinoa Mango Salad that’s great for either lunch or dinner. It’s light and refreshing, and works perfectly as a main course or a side dish.

For information on Quinoa, including how to prepare it, check out my previous post about the delicious high protein gluten free grain.

Quinoa Mango Salad
makes 4 main or 6 side servings

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Water
2 Mangoes, peeled & diced
1 large Shallot, finely minced
1 cup chopped fresh Cilantro
1/2 cup chopped fresh Mint
2 Red Bell Peppers, seeded & diced
1 large Cucumber, peeled, seeded & diced
2 ears of fresh sweet Corn, shucked
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Prepare the quinoa and set aside to cool completely. Prepare the remaining ingredients, cut the kernels off the corn cobs and set aside.
Once the quinoa is cooled, toss with the remaining ingredients and refrigerate until you're ready to devour.

I love to serve this salad over a large bed of arugula or mesculan greens for a complete meal. Enjoy!

Do you have any summer salad recipes you'd love to share? Please leave a comment with a link! I'm always looking for new ideas :)

Father's Day Race Against Prostate Cancer

Dad & I in Philadelphia for the 2009 Half Marathon

I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day and spent the day with family and loved ones! Unfortunately, my folks live in Florida so I didn't get to spend the day with them but I called my father the minute I completed this morning's race to wish him a great day and give him a recap.

As for this morning's Father's Day Race Against Prostate Cancer, it sucked big time. Or I guess I should say I sucked big time. I was really excited about this one. It was the first race I ever ran last year so it was my one year raceiversary and I was running it with my dad, a survivor, in mind. I finished last year's race 53:56 and was hoping to complete this morning's in 47 minutes. Um... not so much.... I finished it in 56:39! My worst time ever!

I wish I could blame the heat (74 degrees) or humidity (81%) at the start line. But I really have no one to blame but myself because I made some really poor decisions this weekend that left me feeling like crap, both physically and mentally. I ate really poorly, hardly slept, and then didn't get out of bed in time for my race morning ritual. The race began at 8:30 am and I didn't drag my ass out of bed until 7:30. I took a quick shower, gulped down some coffee, and ate half a gluten free english muffin with coconut oil, peanut butter, banana and cinnamon. A great pre-race snack? Absolutely! I just wish I'd given myself some time to digest it before heading out to Central Park.

I drank a large bottle of water on the way to the park and felt pretty good until 5 minutes before the start. I had to go to the bathroom but didn't want to miss the start, so I just ignored it and told myself I would go after the 5 miles. BIG mistake, HUGE! The race started off well, I felt good and was running at a healthy 9 minute mile. At mile 2, some major stomach pain kicked in but I kept running. Two minutes later, the pain got worse and I got the chills but I still kept running. At mile 2.5, I finally had to pull over and puked. It was not pretty and I ended up walking to the next set of porta potties at mile 3 to finally go to the bathroom, which I should've done before the race. This picture does a great job of summarizing my performance at this race!

Feeling much better, although a bit weak, I grabbed some fluid at the next station and then did my best to make up for lost time. I spent mile 3 beating myself up, and mile 4 telling myself it was no big deal and thinking about the lessons learned. I finished with a bruised ego but a smile on my face and am just looking forward to redeeming myself next weekend.

This race was an incredible reminder that I need to work hard and can't take my progress for granted. I'm not the most disciplined person and when I take action, and see my action produce positive results, I tend to take that for granted and slack. And then I end up puking on the sidelines at a race. I guess sometimes I need a huge kick in the ass to remind me that I'm not invincible.

Lucky for me, I have an awesome father and he was still proud!

100 Push Ups

 My latest goal: to be able to do 100 push ups in six weeks. Crazy? Perhaps, since I can hardly do five in a row right now. But I got the idea in my head from my Daily Mile buddy, Michael P of Singapore, and I can’t seem to get it out.

Why push ups? Well, as pointed out on hundredpushups.com, pushups

• are great for your chest, abs, triceps, shoulders and torso
• can be performed no matter where you are
• don't require any special equipment
• take very little time so no excuse not to do them!

Sounds like a great way to strengthen my core in preparation for Marathon training! For the next 6 weeks, I’ll follow the plan as outlined on hundredpushups.com. I’ll try to perform full push ups but will not beat myself up if I need to do the modified ones. Better modified than nothing, right?

I’ll do my best to post my progress along the way and maybe even figure out how to do a vlog of my push ups eventually once in a while.

Care to join me?  Any new challenges on your plate? Leave a comment and tell us about them!

Sarah Mclachlan, Norah Jones & Gluten Free Banana Bread

I can't believe I've lived in New York City for 11 years and have never gone to the GMA Summer Concerts in Central Park! Where have I been? Every Friday during the summer, Good Morning America hosts a concert at Rumsey Playfield which is just a 10 minute walk from my apartment. One of my goals this summer is to start doing all the things I love doing, instead of just thinking about them. I love hanging in the park and I love listening to live music. So when I heard that Sarah Mclachlan and Norah Jones would be performing in the park for free, I was so excited!

I invited my friend Jessica to join me and we met up at around 7am to enjoy the music and the incredible weather. And of course, this was a great opportunity to try out a new recipe :) Doesn't a morning in the park with live music, a good cup of coffee, and Banana Oat Walnut Bread sound sort of perfect? Here are some pictures from the morning followed the recipe for this delicious, gluten free, and pretty healthy version of Banana Bread.

Sarah Mclachlan & Norah Jones chillin on stage

Presenting the weather report. I developed a little girl crush on the woman with the mohawk ;) 

 I met a guy with a tattoo of Sarah Mclachlan on his arm. He was obsessed!

Jessica enjoying a piece of Banana Bread

 Jess & I hanging at the concert

Banana Oat Bread
In a large bowl, sift together:
1 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

To this bowl, add:
1/2 cup gluten free ground oats (ground in a food processor)
1 cup gluten free rolled oats

In a separate bowl, or in the bowl of a large food processor, puree together:
1/3 cup agave
equivalent of 1 egg replacer (for vegan version) or 1 egg white
3/4 cup almond milk
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 large very ripe (aka mushy & brown) Bananas

Pour the pureed banana mixture into the flour and oat mixture, and combine well. Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Pour the batter into a greased bread pan and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy!

I Have a Secret

I like to stare at women's asses during races. Yup, you read that right and now my secret is out!

If I run hard enough, there comes a time during some races when I'm cursing at myself in my head and wondering why the hell I'm doing this. That time typically occurs on Cardiac Hill in Central Park and based on the hill's nickname, you can understand why. My legs get tired, breathing gets a bit difficult, and I'm just trying to put one foot in front of the other. Yesterday's NY Women's Only Mini 10K was one such race.

The race began on 61st Street & Central Park West, right by Columbus Circle. It was a beautiful location to begin surrounded by the trees Central Park and the Time Warner Building. But, it sucked as a starting line because there was no room to run! I found myself stuck behind so many women, wasting energy trying to weave in and out, and slamming into the rear view mirrors of cars parked along the street. So by the time I entered Central Park at 90th St, I was almost 2 minutes behind the time I needed to make my goal of completing the race within 1 hour. Obviously, I needed to make up some time in the park so I focused really hard on picking up some speed without burning out.

I strategized to majorly pick up my pace during the flatter portions of the park, and to slow down only slightly for the hills, which would mean that I would run Cardiac Hill a bit faster than I typically would. So this is where my little secret comes in. When I hit a hill and feel it getting tough, I find the best ass in front of me and focus on it. I remind myself that if I power up that hill, my ass might actually look like the incredible one in front of me. It is major motivation!

Unfortunately, the ass in front of me didn't quite help me reach my goal at this particular race, although I swear it has in the past ;) I completed the race in 1:00:58 which is almost a half minute slower than my last 10K just 3 weeks ago. And as disappointed as I was, I know that I tried my hardest and did the best I could under the circumstances.

My folks were in town and my dad was gracious enough to take some pictures.

11 Olympians ran in this race! Running up Central Park West

 Linet Masai of Kenya 200m from winning the race!

Incredible!!!

Just passed the 6 mile marker & only 200m to go!

  Finished!

So that's my secret motivation when the going gets tough at a race.  Do you have any racing secrets? Do tell :)

Screw the Rain… I'm Going For a Run!

Mother Nature just hasn’t been too accommodating to us runners lately. Either it’s 100 degrees outside, or it’s pouring. In the last 2 weeks, we’ve had only a few days of truly beautiful running weather here in NYC and my running schedule has suffered. As you can see from my Daily Mile training log, I’ve only run 16 miles in June so far and my goal for the month is 60. Gasp!

It was pouring when I left the office just after 6 last night, and I debated running or not in my head the entire way home. I just NEEDED a run and didn’t want to let the weather stop me once again.  So I called my friend Dani, a brilliant runner and an inspiration, and asked her to convince me. Dani told me, “do it!” and “you’ll feel badass!”, gave me some advice, and sent me on my way.

Now just to clarify, I have run in the rain before. It’s not like I’m some delicate flower who’s afraid to get wet. But I’ve only really run in light rain, nothing like the drenching downpour we had last night. I’ve heard horror stories of slipping or bad blisters from wet shoes and with this weekend’s Mini 10K only a few days away, I didn’t want to chance any injuries. I am so happy I got out there! I can honestly say that last night was one of my favorite runs ever. The wet cool air was exhilarating and I felt like I was flying the entire time. I must admit, when the lovely girl carrying the giant box of Magnolia Cupcakes cheered me on with a “You Go Girl!’, I did feel just a bit badass! And the best part? I’ve ruled out heavy rains as a reason not to go for a run in the future, unless lightening is involved.

Here are some other lessons learned last night:

1. Don’t overdress. Unless it’s really cold outside, your body will still warm up like it does during any other run. Wear whatever you would normally wear on a dry day with the same temperature, unless it’s a white tank with a white sports bra. Then you might want to mix it up a bit. And extra layers won’t keep you dry. They’ll just soak through and weigh you down.
2. Wear pants or shorts that fit well around the waist so that they don’t fall down when they get water logged. I learned this the hard way last night. The term “plumber butt” came to mind by the end of my run in my stretched out running capris.
3. Wear a hat with a brim to keep the water out of your face so that you can actually see where you are running.
4. Don’t worry about puddles. I spent the first half mile trying to avoid them but my feet got soaked by the rain anyway. If it’s raining hard enough, your sneakers and socks will get soaked. Just accept that and don’t waste energy trying to keep them dry.
5. Wet leaves are really, really slippery. Enough said.
6. Pay even more attention to cars and remaining visible to them. Drivers have to focus on the rain and may not be looking out for you.Wear something reflective even if in daylight.
7. If you are tracking your time or mileage, wear a waterproof watch. That $10 one from Kmart is just may die at 17 minutes if it gets too wet.

How do you feel about running in the rain? Any other words of advice? Please share and happy running!

Easiest Gazpacho Ever

It's been a hot few days here in NYC, the perfect weather for a cold and refreshing soup. Gazpacho happens to be one of my favorites. So satisfying and full of flavor. Yum!

I came up with this recipe about 2 or 3 summers ago and have made some sort of variation of it almost every summer weekend ever since. With a base of tomato, cucumber, cilantro, bell peppers and shallots, you can add which ever additional flavors you'd like to come up with something special. This recipe also happens to be ridiculously easy. Just throw the base ingredients in a blender or food processor & puree. Then chop the add-ins and throw in just before servings. Quick, simple and a great way to impress guests with new flavors!

Some notes about this recipe:

1. For the base, I used canned diced tomatoes so the overall flavor of this soup will be impacted significantly by the tomatoes used. My favorites are Whole Foods or Hunts brands. Remember to use plain diced tomatoes without any seasonings since you'll add your own flavors.
2. I call this the "easiest ever" gazpacho because I use my food processor or blender for almost all preparation. I first puree the base ingredients and place them in the refrigerator to chill and let the flavors blend together while I prepare the add-ins. I then roughly chop my add-ins and set them aside until I'm ready to serve.
3. My add-ins always include both fruits and veggies. Fruits are a great way to add incredible flavor and variety to this soup. My mixing it up, you can come up with something new & delicious as often as you'd like. You can also make a huge batch of the base and serve it with different add-ins each day of the week for variety.
4. I always use cilantro in my soup base because I love the flavor. But turns out there are lots of folks out there that don't love it as much. Feel free to substitute the cilantro with whichever fresh herbs your palette desires. Mint, dill, and parsley work particularly well in gazpacho.
5. This is a great make-ahead recipe, especially for guests on a hot summer night. Just make the base, chop your add-ins and refrigerate. Toss in your add-ins just before serving so they don't get soggy.
6. I usually serve my gazpacho with a wedge of lime to squeeze on time. I love the acidity of the lime against the fruit and fresh herbs.

Summer Gazpacho Recipe
Step 1:
Puree the following ingredients in your food processor or blender

• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 large cucumber, peeled
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeded
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, washed well
• 1/2 small shallot
• 1/4 cup of any other fresh herbs your heart desires. I included a handful of fresh mint this time around- delicious!

This is your base. Remove it from your blender/processor and place in a container to chill in the fridge.

Step 2:
Dice or chop your add-ins. Depending on the ingredient, you may even be able to use you food processor for this step. This week, I added fresh peaches and raw sweet corn. Some other ideas you might enjoy:

• Watermelon
• Granny Smith Apples
• Grapes: Green or Red. Both are delicious!
• Mango
• Plums
• Red, Yellow, and/or Orange Bell Peppers
• Scallions
• Avocado
• Cucumber
• Yellow Tomatoes

Add as many or as few flavors and have fun experimenting.

Step 3:
Pour in a bow, season with salt if necessary, and devour!

Well on my way....

Wow! It turns out that website design is just a bit more difficult than I anticipated! The good news is I am well on my way to having the Erica Sara Designs website up and running.  Here is a sneak peak at my store header. What do you think?