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Vermont Priorities

Good morning from Vermont!

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It’s amazing how things can change over the years. We’ve been coming up to Vermont for 10 years and the Manchester Center Outlets used to be the highlight of my trip. We’d spend at least a day shopping through all the stores and leave feeling as if we’d accomplished a great deal by securing some amazing deals and a new season worth of clothing.

These days, our trips revolve around the outdoors. Since I arrived Thursday night we’ve spent more time outdoors than indoors and it has clearly become not only my priority but also my family’s. I’ve fallen back in love with this area so much that I’ve cancelled a Fall trip so I can come back up here to experience the fresh air, mountain hikes, late night fires, family, bike rides, and delicious wine and food.

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Since I’ve taken the weekend off to spend time with everyone, I’ll step back a bit and give you a few separate recaps, beginning with this weekend’s long run.

Since I didn’t have to fight the heat up here in Vermont I was able to sleep until 6:30 on Friday. After enjoying a half cup of coffee and peanut butter toast I headed down to the Manchester Center Post Office, my starting point for the run.

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My uncle who is an avid cyclist, was able to give me a great route which was exactly the right distance and included a few challenging hills. Starting at the post office gave me a safe starting point that could also easily be looked up on Google Maps in case I got lost.

IMG_3432Per Gia’s advice I did my best not to stress out about the run and instead focused on enjoying the gorgeous scenery, keeping my pace slow and steady, fueling appropriately, and enjoying myself. The two roads, River and Ridgeville Roads, where I ran were new to me which made the route even more fun as it felt like a bit of an adventure.

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I was able to successfully finish 13.1 miles in 2:15:22 with only 2 picture/fuel breaks which were each under one minute long!

 

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Graze at Manchester

When I started planning a trip up to Vermont to see my family, I quickly had to figure out whether to rent a car or take the train. While renting a car gives me the flexibility to leave New York at any time and independence, the rental prices seem to be outrageous these days. In addition, at times New York City traffic can add an extra hour to the trip, just trying to exit the city. Therefore, I did some research and found out that for $80 round trip I could take Amtrak up to Albany, only an hour away from my family’s home in Vermont.

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Two and a half hours later I arrived in Albany relaxed and ready for the weekend. I spent the trip enjoying the beautiful Hudson River scenery and reading. Not bad for a stress free commute. I can’t say enough wonderful things about my Amtrak experience yesterday and am already dreaming of a trip along the Hudson during peak foliage season this Fall!

Once I arrived in Albany my parents picked me up and we enjoyed an hour of uninterrupted catch up time together in the car while we drove up to Manchester Center.

They were sweet enough to make dinner plans for us since they knew I’d be starving by the time we arrived. Graze is an adorable restaurant which opened on Thanksgiving Day this year. New to the Manchester restaurant scene, Graze is a popular deli during the day for sit down or takeout lunch and in the evening it turns into a fine dining experience, run Connie and Michael a son and mother team from Colorado.

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As soon as we sat down we were graced with their bread basket, an assortment of lavash. Part of the fun was definitely figuring out how to politely break the lavash without having it crumble. There were two flavors, one which had a hint of anise and another which reminded me of a pretzel thin. Both were delicious!

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Menus like Graze’s make me smile and so happy. After a long week of making decisions, I want my dinner decision to be as simple as possible. Therefore I love menus that offer 3-4 appetizers, entrees and desserts.

Since we were starving, we each ordered appetizers. My mom and I split a bowl of the gazpacho, which they waiter was kind enough to serve in two separate bowls. The gazpacho was a perfect cool, refreshing appetizer and I loved that it was full of flavor without being spicy. Unlike some gazpacho this one was well blended which was a new touch.

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Dad went with their open face lobster ravioli which reminded me of lobster roll meets ravioli.

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The entrees were the true winners of the evening, delivering more than I expected. I, like many, normally avoid ordering chicken when dining out, instead opting for something more creative. But, knowing that I had a long run on tap this morning I was craving some pasta and therefore the gnocchi side sold me on the chicken immediately.

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The dish was prepared perfectly. Bo would have loved the crispy skin and tender meat while the red pepper flavor and roasted tomatoes were a perfect compliment to the gnocchi.

My dad, always the meat lover, ordered their steak which was served with mustard greens and mashed potatoes. I can’t attest to the flavor since he loved it so much that it was gone before he remembered to offer us a taste. But, the meat looked like it was cooked right as requested. 

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As a new restaurant in Manchester I really hope Graze makes it as both a dinner and lunch destination. The owners are very friendly and the space is perfect for a comfortable meal. My only recommendation would be that they launch a website so tourists can see a sample of their menus and gain a flavor for the restaurant.

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Five Marathon Mistakes

It’s Wednesday which means I only have one more day in my work week! Tomorrow I’m heading out of town on an Amtrak train for a relaxing weekend in Vermont with my family. Other than my long run, which will be one hell of a hilly challenge this week, I have no other plans. I’m looking forward to sipping wine, going on a few hikes, and just enjoying the time with my parents since I haven’t seen them since Hawaii in April! I wish Bo was able to go but unfortunately he’ll be hanging back in NYC due to work. Oh well, I’m sure he and Meg will have a great weekend without me!

Before we get to today’s guest post from Whitney, I want to see who else is heading to BlogHer 12 this year? I am looking forward to the amazing sessions and getting to meet and interact with new bloggers and old friends alike. If you’re attending please leave a note in the comments as I’d like to organize a run or get together of some type!

Now, for some marathon inspiration, here’s this week’s Marathons+Moderation guest post!

Whitney blog’s at LiveRunLoveYoga. Most recently she ran the Boston Marathon with Team in Training and is now working towards becoming a certified yoga instructor. She shares lessons and experiences from years of running and yoga, the foods that fuel her and bits and pieces from a healthy lifestyle!  You can read about her journey with running and yoga at LiveRunLoveYoga and follow her on Twitter too!

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I love marathons; from my very first one I was hooked. I ran the NYC Marathon in 2009 and loved training, the race itself and the lifestyle it created. I had ran cross-country in college and since I had graduated the year earlier I thought I could handle a training plan that had 55-60 mile weeks at the plans peak. I learned through injury, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, and frustration that to “beat” the marathon I had to practice moderation.

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After running the NYC Marathon I took some time off from running to heal and strengthen my IT band. I started running again in the spring of 2010 and took it slow, enjoying races and becoming a stonger runner. After a PR in the half-marathon in the fall of 2010 I knew I was ready for another marathon and decided to sign up for Chicago 2011. In order to accomplish my goal of breaking 4 hours I knew I needed a plan that eliminated the flaws of my first marathon plan and evolved from the mistakes I made in 2009. So here’s a list of 5 marathon mistakes and fixes!

  • Mistake: Due to the high mileage while training for NYC I was often fighting a cold and sick. Instead of taking time off and getting healthy I would rest and then immediately start running high miles again in order to make up for the extra rest days.

Fix: I signed up for the Smart Coach plan on RunnersWorld.com. One feature is that you are able to enter in days or weeks that you are sick, it automatically adjusts and updates your plan to account of the time off. It took the guess work out of it for me.

  • Mistake: Skipping yoga classes to get in more training runs.

Fix: Build in yoga classes to my marathon training schedule. Yoga allows me to stretch my body and strengthen my muscles which in turn helps my runs. I ended up practicing about 3-4 days per week while training.

  • Mistake: Making up for missed runs.

Fix: I now follow the rule that a missed run is a missed run. If I missed my Tuesday night run and could reschedule for Wednesday, I often did while training for Chicago and Boston but if I couldn’t reschedule a run I didn’t worry about it. Marathon training is a culmination of your training and one run won’t make or break your marathon.

  • Mistake: Everyone run must be perfect.

Fix: Not every run is going to be perfect. Some days you’ll be doing speed work and will be 15 seconds faster per mile or half mile and others you’ll be 15 seconds slower. That’s ok. Some long runs you’ll feel like you can run forever and others you’ll struggle to make it through 14 miles when you are supposed to run 20 miles. On those days just embrace that it’s not a good day and be happy with what you did accomplish. If your body is telling you enough is enough, listen and rest!

  • Mistake: Running 5 or 6 days per week.

Fix: Some runners can handle this, others cannot. I am one of those who cannot. While training for Chicago I only ran 3 or 4 days per week and never felt stronger or faster!

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Learning from all of these mistakes really made training for Chicago a breeze. I was able to follow my training plan to a “T” and had a successful marathon, finishing in 3:51.21. I was so energized and motivated that I went on to run the Boston Marathon with Team in Training. I followed a similar training plan and the same “rules” above and was successful yet again! You can read my Chicago Marathon recap and Boston Marathon recap on LiveRunLoveYoga! Marathons do not need to be about high mileage and tough runs, you can be just as successful with moderate mileage and quality runs!

You can read more about my experiences with running, marathons and yoga over at LiveRunLoveYoga!

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