Om School

March 9, 2010 at 2:02 am, by Bethany Gumper

Today my company offered a free yoga class to employees during lunch. Sign me up! My friend Stephanie and I went and all those sun salutations and downward dogs felt great. The class was challenging but still relaxing, which is exactly what I want from a yoga class. I’m so glad that I have made an effort to make my training for the half-marathon more well-rounded than last year. I’m still doing three runs weekly (one longer one on the weekend), 2 days strength and 1-2 days cross-training on the elliptical machine/bike/etc. I feel stronger overall, and my hips are not bothering me. Yaaay!

Inspired to say om? Here’s a calorie-blasting yoga workout from the magazine.

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Energy-Boosting Recipe

March 8, 2010 at 9:35 am, by Bethany Gumper

In my last post, I mentioned my trip to soccer practice with the New York/New Jersey Sky Blue FC, the Women’s Professional Soccer champs. I got to sample one of the recipes from the upcoming WPS cookbook Food Guide for Soccer: Tips & Recipes from the Pros, by Gloria Averbach and Nancy Clark, R.D. It hits bookstores in April, or you can pre-order it on cardinalpub.com.

It was tasty and reminded me of the bars parents used to pass out with Capri Suns and orange slices after my soccer games when I was little. Clark and Averbach recommend it as a pre- or post-game healthier alternative to cookies. Although it contains a lot of fat, it’s heart-healthy unsaturated fat that’s found in peanut butter and sunflower seeds. YUM.

Washington Freedom Peanut Butter Cereal Bars
Makes 5 dozen 1.5 inch bars

Ingredients:
6 cups crunch cereal (toasted rice, oat O’s or squares, bran buds, etc.)
1.5 cups raisins
1.5 cups sunflower or pumpkin seeds (or other nuts)
1 cup honey
1 16-oz. jar natural peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
.5 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
1. Combine cereal, raisins and seeds or nuts in large bowl.
2. Combine honey and peanut butter in a microwaveable  bowl or saucepan. Heat until well blended. Let cool a bit, then add vanilla and cinnamon.
3. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the cereal mixture; mix well.
4. Press mixture into greased 12″ x 16″ baking pan.
5. Cut into squares when cool.

Nutrition facts per bar (when made with Cheerios): 100 calories, 5 grams fat

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Soccer Stars

March 1, 2010 at 9:59 am, by Bethany Gumper

Last week, I visited the New York/New Jersey Sky Blue FC, the defending Women’s Professional Soccer Champions, with NBC Weekend Today anchor Jenna Wolfe. I set Jenna up with a day in the life of a soccer player to see if she could hack it … did you know the average player runs about 6 miles per game? Yikes!

We met Coach Pauliina Miettinen and scored (ha!) some serious soccer knowledge. I’ve always wondered how to head the ball without getting a concussion. Now I know: When you intercept the ball, don’t let it land on top—push it forward with your forehead (the hardest spot on your head).

And you know how you always see the pros “juggling” the ball (using their thighs to keep it in the air)? Here’s the secret to avoid getting nailed in the face: Your thigh must be parallel to the ground when it makes contact. So here’s what you do: Start by holding the ball with both hands in front of your chest. Drop the ball as you lift your knee to hip-level so your thigh is parallel to the ground when it makes contact. Juggle as long as possible, lowering your leg when the ball’s in the air and lifting your thigh back up as it lowers.

The team also gave me a sneak peek at their new book Food Guide for Soccer: Tips & Recipes from the Pros, by Gloria Averbuch and Nancy Clark, R.D. It doesn’t hit bookstores until April, but you can pre-order it on www.cardinalpub.com. I’ll include one of their fit & fabulous recipes in my next post.

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Swimsuit Season, Sort Of

February 25, 2010 at 4:50 pm, by Bethany Gumper

There’s nothing quite as motivating as swimsuit season. Even if it comes in the middle of winter. This morning, I pulled on my snow boots, zipped up my down jacket, and trekked to a photo shoot for an upcoming bikini-body fashion feature. It’s about which swimsuits work for various body types. I’ve got a little junk in the trunk, so I was the big-butt gal. I was nervous, but it turned out to be a fun experience. I’ve been training hard for the half-marathon, so I was happy with the work I’ve done. It was nerve-wracking at first but a great exercise in loving what you’ve got.

Speaking of what I’ve got, I scored a super-cute bikini that I NEVER would have picked out for myself. (Who knew that bootylicious girls could wear bottoms with ruffles?) Thank you, fashion director Argy! For the rest of the secrets I learned, check out the May issue (not on newsstands until end of April).

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Racing to the Finish

February 21, 2010 at 10:00 am, by Bethany Gumper

Yesterday was another 5-mile run in Prospect Park, and I felt great. Who knew that foregoing a Friday night glass or two of wine translates into a better workout the next morning? It makes sense, since alcohol dehydrates you.

I decided to test my “no booze = better run” theory again, so I had a cocktail-free Saturday as well. Sure enough, my run this morning was terrific. I felt light on my feet, speedy and energetic.

When I got to the park at about 10:30am, there was a race going on, the Cherry Tree 10-Mile Race. So I joined ‘em. It was incredibly motivating to:

A) Have people cheering on my usual ho-hum weekend jog
B) Marvel at the strength & speed of the runners who passed me
C) See my time flashing on the clocks as I ran past

I’m inspired to sign up for a shorter race before the half!

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Running Resource

February 19, 2010 at 11:13 am, by Bethany Gumper

Emily Date left me an awesome tip on my blog — she suggested using the USA Track & Field America’s Running Routes calculator to figure out the mileage of my runs. I’ve been using mapmyrun.com; it works fine, but there are a lot of advertisements. Now, my new favorite tool is: http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/

Try it!! You’ll love it! This is dorky, but it’s really fun calculating mileage with this tool. Maybe I’ll be motivated to run more.

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Treadmill Truce

February 18, 2010 at 1:33 pm, by Bethany Gumper

I realize that many of my recent posts have been pretty whiny. “Boo hoo, I hate the treadmill.” “Boo hoo, I get bored on the treadmill.” “Boo hoo, it’s cold outside and I have to run on the treadmill.”

Good news — I think we were just going through a rough patch (”we” refers to the treadmill and me). Because today I did the 3.5 miles my training schedule called for on said treadmill, and it felt great! I even upped my speed a bit and still had it in me to do some tough ab work afterward. I’m not saying TM and I are best friends now or anything — I’d still rather spend quality time with the trees and the pond in Prospect Park. But I think we have reached an understanding.

I wonder if the sudden burst of treadmill love could be related to the fact that I agreed to wear a bikini in an upcoming issue? More on that later …

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Mind Games

February 14, 2010 at 3:46 pm, by Bethany Gumper

Today my training schedule called for a 5-mile run. I was feeling sluggish, so I decided to trick myself. Somehow, when I only have to run one way, a distance feels shorter. And if I’m running to a destination (instead of just my usual loop around the park), I have to keep going or I won’t get there! So Oscar and I decided he’d meet me at our friend Carolina’s apartment. I did a short loop around the park, then tacked on 2 miles to get to her place.

It worked! The run flew by.

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Making Up for Lost Time

February 12, 2010 at 3:06 pm, by Bethany Gumper

Yesterday and the day before were both nutty, and I ended up skipping my workouts. Boo. Since I’m training for the half-marathon, I feel like I need all the sessions I can squeeze in. Today was a treadmill run, and we know how I feel about that darned treadmill. As Liz Lemon from 30 Rock would say, “BLERG.” I just can’t wrap my head around why it feels so hard to run 3 miles on the treadmill, but it feels great to run 5 miles outside. Today I upped my speed — I figured it already felt kind of like torture, so what difference would a slightly quicker pace make? And that way, it was over more quickly! When I was done, I was psyched that I’d pushed myself to go faster.

I’m planning on doing a quick strength workout when I get home tonight to make up for the one I lost this week.

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Treadmill-itis

February 9, 2010 at 1:39 pm, by Bethany Gumper

I’m tired of the treadmill. I’m three weeks into my training for the More + FITNESS Half-Marathon on April 25. And the weather is just not cooperating. All of my outside runs have been great so far — I feel good, get into my music and zone in on my footsteps. And I don’t mind running outside when it’s cold or even snowing a bit. It makes me feel hardcore, and I like that. But when it is sleeting, blizzarding, hailing, raining sideways, or the ground happens to be covered in huge puddles of snow-sludge, I take my runs inside. And then I get really bored and want to stop running after, oh, two miles. Even though I can happily jog for five miles outside. What’s up with that?

I’ve tried playing all sorts of mental tricks on myself to keep going on the treadmill. I cover up the clock so I can’t see how long I’ve gone. I plan to run for a certain number of songs instead of minutes/miles. The one that seems to work the best is telling myself, “I can do anything for 2 minutes” (or some other short period of time). Then when that 2 minutes is up, I tell myself I can do anything for ANOTHER 2 minutes. As you can imagine, that gets old.

HELP! I need some treadmill motivation. On really gross days, I just can’t run outside. How can I get through it?

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