It's cyber Monday and I'm sorting through all the deals on the web. I found some of my favorite gear essentials with big discounts. Check out these links and let me know what you buy!
I like TYR's new Red Line collection - pre and post workout relaxing hoodies & sweatpants, totally soft and comfy.
Since wrapping up my tri season on October 2 at the Dallas U.S. Open, I've gone back to being a one sport athlete. My coach, Cliff English, and I decided that it would be a good time to focus only on running, in order to get back some of the speed I lost due to injuries the last 2 years
This article from yesterday's Wall Street Journal starts to get the idea of what it's like to train on the 1 mile stretch between Brighton Beach and Coney Island, but you really have to go there to experience the true culture. Like many parts of Brooklyn, it feels like a foreign country that's only a 45 minute subway ride away from manhattan. Once you find the secret meeting spot on the beach (which is on the CIBBOWS.org website), you'll feel right at home, surrounded by a group of like-minded swimmers. 
It's hard to imagine that I used to eat sweet potatoes just once a year, on Thanksgiving, since they are now one of our go-to snacks between workouts. Laurel and I got on the sweet potato kick because our gym, Chelsea Piers, sells baked sweet potatoes for a buck each. When we camp out at the gym for a full day of workouts, we need real food (not just bars) to keep us energized.
The first edition of the Athlete Food Lunch Club was held today. The idea is a workout followed by a healthy meal. The host gets to choose the workout and the food. The guests have to come prepared to sweat and to eat. We think it's the perfect combination! 
We love pizza. We eat it after a long day of training. We eat it after races. We eat it piled high with arugula during training season. And, in the off season, we add bacon and gorgonzola.
Maybe it all started with post-meet swim team dinners at Shakey's Pizzeria in the Gaithersburg Square shopping center. Then, in college our 16-passenger vans would unload at pizza joints for carbs and calories while on the road traveling to track meets.
New this year, the New York Road Runners Club held a race the day before the ING New York City Marathon called the Dash to the Finish Line. NYRR recruited about 40 of America's top distance runners, assembling a field probably more competitive than a national championships. Adding this 5k gave many of the runners who are training for the US Olympic Marathon Trials (in Houston in January) a chance to participate in the NYC Marathon festivities, even though racing a marathon right now wouldn't fit into their programs. 
Only a few more days until the NYC Marathon--a day that so many people have been preparing for for months. I can't believe it has has been TEN years since I ran through the 5 boroughs! 
