Washington, DC Adventures Continued

Going back to work today was not easy. I had 82 emails when I logged on this morning and immediately started to get stressed. Instead of letting this stress ruin my evening I went on a great run instead!

IMG_8676.jpg image by edc3

I ran for 46 minutes and covered 4.5 miles which isn’t bad considering I had a few lights between me and the West Side Highway.  Due to the absolutely gorgeous weather this evening I passed more runners, walkers, and boot campers than normal. I felt great when I finished my run even though I don’t normally run in the evening. I think it was the perfect stress release after a long day!

I’m already looking forward to Wednesday night’s run club because I’ll finally be able to keep track of my pace. Yup, you read it right. I finally ordered a Garmin Forerunner 305! I found it on Walmart.com for less than $150 and after a few helpful tweets, decided to take the plunge. Hopefully this will be a worthy investment as I start my marathon training!

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One of the reasons that today was so stressful was due to my exhaustion. Yesterday was an amazing day with some great gals but by the time I crashed at midnight last night I was a tired gal.

Yesterday morning, our lovely hostess treated us to a yogurt and fruit buffet! I loved this cute idea and the wide array of fruits Jacquie featured.

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Blog Pictures 2010 391  Isn’t her kitchen adorable? Look at that heavy duty mixer!Blog Pictures 2010 389  Meghann and I split 1/2 of a scone and enjoyed it in our fruit and yogurt. These were more moist than any scone I’d ever had and reminded me more of a muffin than scone due to the cheese. Blog Pictures 2010 390       The fruit was all fresh from the Farmer’s Market and included apricots, strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, cherries, kiwi, apples, and bananas!

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We walked from Jacquie’s house all the way to the Dupont Farmer’s Market. Along the way we saw some gorgeous parks, Embassy Row, and beautiful rod iron!

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Three smiling gals loving every second of the Dupont Farmers Market!IMG_8891.JPG

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This dog was smart and found some shade. By the end of our Farmer’s Market explorations we were all drenched! It was soo hot on Sunday!

At 11 we were rescued from the heat by the Blogger Brunch at Scion.

Blog Pictures 2010 417 Blog Pictures 2010 418 I’ve never seen a restaurant that features a FREE fresh fruit bar for diners to enjoy before their meal!Blog Pictures 2010 419       Almost everyone ordered the make your own omelets. I enjoyed egg whites, spinach, tomato, mushrooms, onions, and black bean egg white omelet with dry wheat toast. It was delicious and they did a great job chopping the vegetables finely enough to mix perfectly inside the egg whites. Blog Pictures 2010 421  I had a great time getting to know the DC area bloggers and readers. Who can’t use a few more friends and readers especially in a great city like DC?Blog Pictures 2010 422 After brunch we did lots of this as we headed towards the Lincoln Memorial. We all agreed that a trip to DC without at least one memorial wouldn’t be acceptable. Luckily we were only about 1.5 miles from the memorial. Too bad the sidewalk suddenly ended and we were dodging parking meters. 🙁Blog Pictures 2010 423 Blog Pictures 2010 424 Blog Pictures 2010 425 Blog Pictures 2010 426        Megh ann was elated to see at least one monument during her quick trip!Blog Pictures 2010 428After our monument visit we headed back to Jacquie’s apartment to grab our stuff and head towards the airport and the Bolt Bus. Meghann had an evening flight down to Orlando while I had to catch the Bolt Bus back to NYC. We had a great time together in DC and are so thankful for Jacquie’s hospitality!

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This is never a good thing to see on the highway. The red lights of traffic!

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After 4 hours sitting still on the Bolt Bus I was ecstatic to see this sign!

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Happy Hump Day! Celebrating National Running Day with Lululemon

Holy hump day humidity! After tonight’s 5 mile run I am absolutely exhausted and still dripping even though I just finished a cold shower. I’m with Jess, cold running is so much better!

Today’s eats were very similar to yesterday’s and equally as enjoyable. My goal for tomorrow is to increase the water consumption EVEN more and enjoy at least one cup of tea during the afternoon slumps.

Breakfast was basic but delicious.

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It’s been one month since I unintentionally gave up coffee and I haven’t looked back once! I’ve been enjoying a Venti Iced Unsweetened Green Tea from Starbucks every morning and love the refreshing flavor and energy it gives me.

Lunch was another scrumptious salad though I was a bit disappointed with their romaine today. I prefer green lettuce versus faded white green lettuce. *fail* I think I’m going to go with a healthier salad tomorrow by adding spinach to the mix. Today included sprouts, tomatoes, red onion, shrimp, salt & pepper, carrots, celery, and FF lemon pepper dressing.

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Blog Pictures 2010 207  I saw these crispy treats at Toasties today and thought they may be a good replacement for my normal PopChips. I tried the traditional cheddar flavor as I hoped they’d be the most flavorful. Fail. These tasted like Styrofoam rubbed in artificial cheddar. I don’t think i’ll be buying the Gourmet Basics Smart Fries again.Blog Pictures 2010 209

 Blog Pictures 2010 211 After a long day at work, I couldn’t wait to meet Rebecca at the East 66th Lululemon for a great Wednesday night run. We’d planned to join Jessie and others for the NYRR National Running day event but we realized we had no interest in the drinking/bar or Upper West Side location. Therefore, we stuck with my normal Wednesday routine instead. I was excited to introduce Rebecca to Claire and the rest of the group. We had a blast! Tonight’s workout was as follows: warm up jog from the store to the Central Park transverse, stretching, warm up to the Tavern, 10 minutes out on the bridle path, 1 minutes of squats, 10 minutes back on the bridle path, 1 minute squats, 8 minutes out on bridle path, 1 minute pushups, 8 minutes back on bridle path, 1 minute pushups, cool down jog back to the store for…..NATIONAL RUNNING DAY CELEBRATION!

Blog Pictures 2010 212You know you’re at a Lululemon party due to all the ridiculously bright colors!! 🙂 Girls enjoying some of the healthy treats including grapes, strawberry, hummus and veggies, and Vita Coco!  Blog Pictures 2010 213  Below are two hot and sweaty messes! Rebecca and I were drenched by the end of the run due to the humidity. I can’t imagine summer running with out my luon tee and tanks!

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. When I got home I was clearly dehydrated because all I wanted was fruit. I knew I needed some protein for staying power so I enjoyed a Chobani 0%, blueberries, and some Galaxy Granola. It was delicious, cool, refreshing, and health

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Run Like The Wind

Last night I crawled in bed around 1am. In fact, should that be referred to as last night or this morning? Therefore, when my annoying Blackberry alarm went off this morning I had no desire to wake up. In fact, I felt like this:

The last thing I wanted to do was wake up and head to the gym. But, over the past three years I’ve learned many times that a quick workout is ALWAYS better for me than countless cups of coffee or tea. There is something about getting in that workout and getting the blood flowing that helps me get ready for the day.  What about you? Does a workout help you wakeup?
On days when I’m exhausted and dragging, I know that in order to get a truly effective workout I need to have a formal plan to follow and keep me motivated. Sometimes I’ll choose a spin class or other group class at Equinox but this morning I had the perfect workout in mind.
Monday night I was talking with one of my favorite healthy NYC ladies, Fit Chick In the City. Since she is the running goddess that she is and often sports the coveted RED bib of the NYRR, I thought she could help with some treadmill drill ideas. She was more than happy to help and sent me this awesome yet intimidating workout:
Fit Chick In The City’s Speed Workout
1 mile warm-up (easy pace)
1/2 mile at 7.0
1/4 mile recovery pace (probably same as warm-up)
1/2 mile at 7.5
1/4 mile recovery pace
1/2 mile at 7.7
1/4 mile at recovery pace
Cool Down
I altered a bit to look like this to meet my desired mileage and the speeds I thought would be challenging yet feasible. By the end of the 50 minutes I felt like I’d run like the wind through my workout and was a hot sweaty mess!
Ashley’s Speed Workout
1 mile warm-up 6.0
1/2 mile at 7.0
1/2 mile 6.0
1/2 mile at 7.2
1/2 mile 6.0
1/2 mile at 7.5
1/2 mile 6.0
1/4 mile 8.0
Cool Down: 10 minutes 4.0 at 4 incline

This came out to a 9:20 avg pace which is AMAZING for me! I loved this speed workout and it didn’t give me any chance of having a monotonous uninspired workout. If I had hopped on the eliptical an caught up on the latest People magazine I know I wouldn’t have put as much energy into the workout. If you’re goal is to break a sweat and challenge yourself I suggest this awesome workout!!

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