Changing subject for now..

I never want to be that girl...you know the one who goes on and on about being engaged, her fiance (that word just makes me think of Seinfeld..i.e."the dingo ate your fiance"...), the wedding(cake, bridesmaids, giant pouffy dress - blech!). Anyone who knows me knows I am not that girl. I am the girl who slings coffee for a living. Who does races, gets her hands dirty cooking, wipes spit-up off her shirt every time she visits her niece Sally(Oh, Sally!). 

In short, I like to think of myself as earthy, humble, salt-of-the-earth.

In other words, that last blog was making me self-conscious, so I am changing the subject.

Off to Hong Kong Wednesday to check out the running scene. Ok, it's actually in the 90 degree range and 85% humidity there right now, so I'm not sure there will be running.

I'll tell you what there will be in Hong Kong: Massive eating, shopping and a crazy 7 1/2 hour cooking class! In the words of my Grandmother Belle, Oy Vey Iz Mir!

I miss all my Teamsters and can't wait till I can run with you again, September 12th!

p.s. I will show you the hardware when I see you. It's really beautiful.

First Official Team Joe Engagement!

Part I

Dinner was great last night at Au Pied de Cochon. Lots of delicious fat was eaten, red wine from Vacqueyras washed down the bison tongue, lamb shank, boudin, maple pie...(extra runs needed).

Poor Anthony was nursing a head cold. We decided to forgo the jazz club and the funky lounge and head back to Hotel St.Paul so he could get some rest.

In the taxi home, the radio was tuned to the Opera station. Some gorgeous aria by Puccini was playing. I was feeling romantic...

We got upstairs and I was about to make Anthony a nice cup of Mint tea, when suddenly he pulled out a small black velvet box. He asked, I answered "show me the ring!", and then "yes, of course!".
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Part II

Some of you may not know this, but Anthony and I met through Team Joe. March 2007, Anthony, fresh off the boat from Australia and looking for a running club in his new home, saw a sign up at Joe about Team Joe. He sent me an email, and got back my generic response, "Dear Anthony, please feel free to show up any Saturday for our weekly run! I look forward to running with you soon! Cheers, Gabby"

Not only did he show up, but we soon became friends. After almost 2 years of being friends, my brother Jonathan said to me, "why don't you date your friend Anthony?". Hmm...for those of you who don't know Jonathan, let me tell you, he can be brutal about men I have dated. For anyone to pass his test would be high praise indeed. An eyebrow was raised...

New Year's Eve 2009. I had nobody to kiss. Neither did Anthony. I jokingly suggested we kiss each other at midnight and then forget about it.

Didn't forget about it, did we?

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Moral to story:

All The Single Ladies out there: Don't give up! It can happen anytime anyplace. Wait for the real thing!

Montreal 10K

This weekend I am off to my old stomping grounds, the city of my Alma Mater, Montreal. I studied Le Musique, specifically Classical Voice(Opera). I had a wonderful experience both at McGill University and in the city as a whole. 

What I think I missed out on while living there was running. I became a runner roughly one year after I graduated and moved to NYC. Now, I hear there are some great runs to be had in The City By The St. Lawrence, and I intend to right my wrongs in that respect with a couple good jaunts. To be fair, I will be eating a large amount of delicious artery-clogging food as well, so there is the need cleanse as well...Check out Au Pied du Cochon... absolutely heart-stopping.

I will be sure to report back to you Monday...

Hot Yoga? Hot Running!

Gotta get the run in! Last week I ran once at 7 a.m. and once at 2:30 p.m., both when it was muggy. It's not easy but it's not impossible. Check out link in above title for tips to hot running.

My personal tips: run slowly, drink lots of water, stop and walk once in a while, treat yourself to a donut afterward.

Today in a few minutes, Deborah and I will hit the Hudson Park. I cannot say that I am looking forward to it.

Things I'd rather be doing:
eating donuts
watching the 30 DVR'd shows I need to get to before they're deleted
sitting in air-conditioning and finishing the stack of books I can't seem to get through
cook my way through Julia Child's cookbook
nap
eat dim sum

Anyway, wish me luck!

Gabby

New Team Shirts Ordered

That's me above...did I ever tell you about my previous life as a sportswear model? 

I went into Jackrabbit to visit Doug Oldiges, who is in charge of such things(don't remember his title) as team shirts. He's found us a new shirt from a company called Sport Science. It combines the feel of cotton with wicking properties for a soft sporty running top.

I ordered 5 each of Women's  small and medium and Men's medium and large. They will be less costly than last time, at $20 a pop wholesale.

 the design will be       TEAM

                               on the front and the same logo on the back with "www.joenewyork.com" on the back.

Who wants one? Besides you, Dad...that one's on me.

Looks like a good time...

Here we are together at the 10K, looking spry, then Anthony ("GQ picture") and me ("What NOT To Wear", especially sunglasses on hat and fanny pack around waste...nerd!). 

Now that I can think again...

Yes, the 13.1 mile ordeal was rough. Now that I've had some rest, I want to mention how nice the PBDS (Powered By Dim Sum) folks are! We all shared dim sum, and boy, can they eat dim sum. They know how to order, too! Chicken Feet, tripe, and all manner of dumplings.

PBDS seem to be pretty competitive runners, so I am not sure if they will be joining us for our weekly jogs. Maybe just dim sum. Fine by me. I wouldn't want to make a habit of running that half-Marathon again just for dim sum...maybe if there was a maple bacon donut at the end...

The Real 1/2 Marathon Story.

First let me comment on the above pictures from today's race...(sounds of flatulence). Yes, that bad. I'd really like today to just be over and for me to be sleeping, so I'll get right to the point. It sucks to run long distances in the muggy heat of August. Period.

Alarm wet off at 5:30. By 6a.m., bagel toasted, coffee brewed, banana peeled. Visor on, ipod in fanny pack(cringe...but necessary), vanilla goo(only palatable flavor). In cab by ten past 6, and at race corrale by 6:30.

15,000 runners lined up, led by Paula Radcliffe, my personal hero (ran while preggers), and toilet paper in porta-potties.

7a.m. race starts. 7 1/2 miles in Central Park, then exit at 7th ave and 59th street. Run through Times Square, across 42nd street and down the West Side Highway. Hotter and more humid by the minute. Anthony was having leg pain and I had to go on without him(Jewish guilt ensued).

Did I mention that last year I vowed "never again!" to this race? How did I end up on the same lonely stretch of highway in the sweltering heat yet again? Ask Anthony.

Race ended, I found Anthony and we found the R train to Prince Street. Showered and we were off to dim sum at Jing Fong 20 Elisabeth street with our new friends PBDS(Powered By Dim Sum). We sit, Anthony turns green(pea soup color). I send him home in taxi. I eat copiously. I return home to check him for pulse. Pulse strong. I ask for new vow for end of the cycle of violence (to ourselves. No more half-marathons in summer).

p.s. really poor photos Simon Bird.

run, run,then maple bacon donut

Unholy, un-kosher goodness. Maybe the best thing I've ever eaten. Definitely worth running 11 miles for...and even then I probably ingested more calories than I ran off. It was one whopper of a donut.

Maybe I should start from the beginning of the story. Last Thursday, my brother Jonathan and I flew to Portland, Oregon to attend the wedding of our Director of Coffee, Amanda Byron on Cannon Beach, an hour & a half away on the Oregon Coast. We went for a jog before dinner, and happened by this crazy donut shop downtown. There was a large line outside and a party atmosphere. I looked into the small window to the kitchen, where I saw people rolling and cutting donuts by hand. There was a man handing off a large and strangely shaped donut and I asked him what kind it was. Get ready: "The Cock and Balls", he said with a straight face. "Okay", I said back. Sorry I asked. What if a small child had asked? Portland's a wild town.

ANYWAY, we decided to be good and not donut (donut becomes a verb when they are one's favorite food). However, the next day, we drove on to Cannon Beach, an adorable seaside town with Nantucket-style houses and saltwater taffy. We went to the best coffeehouse in town, called The Sleepy Monk. It's a really cute coffeehouse that looks like a monk's cell. They also roast their own beans. However, most importantly, they get a shipment in every Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. of Voodoo donuts! Well, clearly it was a sign from the gods that I was destined to try one.

Saturday, when I woke up early, I decided to go for my long run to train for the Half-Marathon this coming weekend. I would go about 11 miles, or 1:45 and then be free and clear to get a maple-bacon piece of heaven. I had a glorious run, all over the beach, up a mountain, through a primeval forest, back down on the beach, through town...and then for the last 30 minutes, I pretty much just circled the Sleepy Monk, making sure there were still enough supplies for me.

Then the donut. Fresh, soft dough, perfectly baked, real maple syrup frosting, and to top it off, perfectly crispy, salty bacon. My Orthodox-Jewish great grandfather may have been turning in his grave, but I was in heaven.

If I could eat a maple bacon donut every weekend, I would be willing to run 11 miles beforehand. A pact with the devil?

p.s. I shared the donut with my rotten brother. Grrr....

Summer lovin' and Summer streets

Summer time - gotta love New York City during summer - sure, the Hamptons, Fire Island or the Jersey Shore are fun, but if you happen to be in the city during the weekends, make the most of it and enjoy everything the city has to offer during summer time.

Yesterday, as part of my half marathon training, I thought why not take to Summer Streets and run up Park Avenue - so I did just that. Running along Lafayette in Soho up to join Park at Union Square and then up to about 60th St before doing a u-turn and heading back and eventually ending up at Joe Waverly for a refreshing and soothing iced skim latte. It was great to run places typically reserved for cars only, like up and the ramps around Grand Central. Incidentally, I forgot to charge my iPod, so all I had was the city and Park Avenue to keep me entertained. It was such a great atmosphere - cyclists, runners, walkers, tourists out along Park Avenue - water stations, mini tennis courts, bike repair stands, free roller blading as well. A hotel along the route even had its own water station out.

Summer Streets is on for the next 2 Saturdays (15th and 22nd) between 7am and 1pm. Get out and enjoy it.

Bird legs in the desert

Just to add a quickie to the Joester reports of running in 'exotic' climes, I'm here in Albuquequequequque, New Mexico and have been jogging a few miles the last couple of mornings along the Rio Grande. (Or not so Grande, given that it's a 10-foot wide mud slick in most places this far north, it seems.) It's 'nice' and hot, so have been trying to get out early enough to avoid the Big Shrivel. Feels good on my recovering splinted shins to be running on the sandy trails and I've been treated to humming birds, hawks, bees the size of baseballs, and other desert wildlife skimming past. First time I went out, I took an interesting path along the side of an irrigation channel and ended up trapped on a never-ending path, water on one side and large, imposing fences of rich gits on t'other. Luckily a kindly bloke watering his cacti let me shin over his wall so I could double back and re-find my original path. I will, apparently, never learn when running and hiking in unfamiliar locales - not particuarly wise to do unplanned miles in these arid cities, eh?