stellargirl returns

the two scoop conundrum

When I am in a good workout routine, I like to followup my exercise (specifically weights) with a whey protein smoothie when I get home from the gym.  For the longest time, the serving amount was 2 scoops of protein powder. Then one day, I opened a new can of protein powder and the scoop was twice the size! Yay! The directions said to use just one scoop. Easy.

Fast forward to today, a brand new can, and let's be honest, I've been in a little bit of a slump and haven't been working out as much.  The scoop looks bigger than normal. I think it's the double size, but I can't be sure. I check the directions to confirm that one (big) scoop is all that is needed, but it says TWO scoops!

Now I'm really confused!

Do you think it's a misprint?

get off your duff!

Together we ran 2 great races in 2008, the Clean Air 5K in the spring and the Parkway Run in the fall.  It's time to get ready for our first run of 2009 and the name could not be more appropriate! That's right, Get Your Rear in Gear, taking place on Sunday March 22nd.  Get Your Rear in Gear supports the Colon Cancer Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and screening of colon cancer. I've formed a new team this year called Get Off Your Duff! What better time to get off your duff than a new year!

I know what some of you are probably thinking, "A 5K? Me? Never! I can''t do it!" I'm here to tell you that YOU CAN DO IT. A 5K run is 3.1 miles, and you've got two months to build up the endurance and stamina to run/jog/walk/skip the entire race!  Running is tough at first, but you begin to see results really quickly. You'll find that each time you run, it gets a little easier than the time before. Depending on your natural or existing physical abilities, you may be drawn to training to go faster, or for longer durations. Running is a form of fitness that you can do just about anywhere, requires minimal investment (other than a good pair of sneakers) and improves your cardiovascular health in a big way.

Still with me?  I've got some steps for you if you're thinking about taking the plunge.

• Check out the Cool Running Couch to 5K Running Plan. This plan will take you from zero to 5K in 2 months.  You might actually get there much faster, you never know unless you try!

• Register for team Get Off Your Duff! on the official race registration page.

• Join the Get Off Your Duff! google group. Share motivation, training tips and questions. Stay tuned for some planned groups runs as well!

• Sign up for dailymile!  Dailymile is a great social training site to log your miles and track your workouts. Cross-training and weights will also improve your runs. Keep track of everything here! There are also helpful discussion forums for all levels of experience.

Are you ready to rock?! I know you can do it, so make the choice today and let's get started!

Get Your Rear in Gear
Sunday March 22nd
9:30am
MLK Drive aka West River Drive
Course Map

2008: the year of awesome

In no particular order, some cool things that happened this year:

• I experienced year one of home ownership. I made it through without any major incidents. I made a few small improvements here and there, mostly of the wall painting variety, but as 2008 comes to a close, I am now in the possession of a brand spanking new water heater. It's so nice to own a piece of Philadelphia and have my own space to roam and hide out. I've also gotten much more involved with my neighborhood civic association and helped organize our fall tree planting this year. Sadly, I can't have a tree in front of my house due to underground utilities, but I played a part in getting about 40 more trees planted in the neighborhood.

• I lost 15lbs. I feel kinda weird putting it all out there like that, but it was kind of a big deal to me! I moved back to Philly from NYC just over 3 years ago and had a hard time adjusting and finding a good fitness routine that I enjoyed, thus I packed on some good old fashioned Philly beer poundage. I'm still working on it, and December has actually been a really lazy month, but overall, I feel so much BETTER. I really think that physical activity is one of the keys to happiness. It affects your life in so many positive ways, and it's also something that you can share with others. I shared my love of fitness by organizing two 5K teams, one in the spring and one in the fall. It was fun training to improve my own pace as well as encourage friends to run their first race. I also discovered dailymile - a great way to train socially!

• I went to SXSW for the first time. I've wanted to go to SXSW for at least 5 years now but there has always been some reason why I wasn't able to make it. I have to give a special shout-out to my friend Joshua Lane for hooking me up with a free registration, he's totally the reason I decided to make the leap this year. I met so many awesome people at SXSW and heard amazing talks from many people who have inspired me for years. I find myself referring to Kathy Sierra's keynote over and over again, I want to make users (people!!) feel like they kick ass. Thanks, Kathy! I hope to make it back again in 2009.

• I helped put on BarCamp Philly. This was a pretty life-changing experience for me! My friend JP Toto and I started talking about BarCamp over the summer. He had recently attended BarCamp Orlando and I kept wondering, why hasn't Philly had a BarCamp? JP and I put our heads together and pulled it off without a hitch this past November. I learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of (a long overdue experience) and met the most awesome people along the way. I am so STOKED to do BarCamp Philly 2009, I think it will completely ROCK. I am also extremely excited for other fun projects on the horizon like Geeks Who Give and Refresh Philly.

• I made even more amazing friends. Living in Philly has its perks. There are so many great events going on, particularly in the tech space, where I have met tons of new people: Junto, Ignite Philly, BarCamp Philly, DrupalCamp, Tweetups, Meetups, not to mention the proximity to the awesomeness of NYC and its denizens. I feel pretty lucky to walk into 2009 with new people to be inspired by, learn from and have good times with.

All in all, 2008 was an exciting and fun year. It feels good to step back and reflect on some of the highlights. I am hoping 2009 is off the charts amazing. I hope the same for all of you. Let's make it happen.

team tweet FTW!

Did I mention that Team Tweet totally kicked ass at the Parkway Run 5K this past Sunday?  Well we did. Even in the rain! There are a ton more 5K races this fall, please reply in the comments if you are interested in signing up for one!

from two feet to two wheels

I don't have a car, nor do I have a bike. Mostly I get around with my own two feet, with the help of SEPTA, or by the good grace of my beloved automobile-havin' friends. My system works fine, but I know I could do better.

If you ever came to Philly, you might pick up right away that this is a cycling town. Don't be confused though, this isn't a bike town in the sense that there are ample bike lanes and racks, more that there are a lot of people getting around on two wheels, fighting their way through traffic, traversing end to end of this fine city. I've been studying them from afar ever since I decided I wanted in. People from all walks of life get around on bikes... young and old, athletic, quirky, normal, completely bonkers. Bikes are an extension of a person's identity, a form of creative expression, and a means to an end... a destination, that is.

I'm pretty excited by the thought of entering the legion of folks who have a much more malleable relationship with Philadelphia, being able to get from neighborhood to neighborhood with nimble ease. I'm at a proverbial crossroads, however, in that I simply cannot decide which path I want to take: the sleek style of a single speed road bike, or the durable comfort of a hybrid cruiser.

My gut is telling me that I am meant to go the way of the cruiser, being a bike novice and all. Truth is, I just want to get out and about a bit more, a bit farther than I could walk, closer to some trees, and really... to the gym a little more quickly and safely on dark, cold mornings.

I'm giving myself a few more days to sleep on it, but I'd love to hear what your trusted mode of transport is and why. Hit me up in the comments.

(Coincidentally, the photo above was taken on the west side of manhattan, not philly)

fight cancer / get fit / join team tweet

Fall race season is here! Looking to kick off the cooler weather with a great and accessible run? May I suggest the Parkway Run 5K on Sunday September 28th! Not only is this is a great excuse to get outside and get some fresh air, your registration fee goes towards The Cancer Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. These children need our help, every little bit counts.

If you are thinking of running (or walking), register here. Since twitter is an invaluable tool for  organizing people and ideas (and helped form the Clean Air 5K team from last spring), I've created a team called TEAM TWEET!  Please join TEAM TWEET when registering for the race!

If you're not able to make the race and still want to help, you can donate directly to the Parkway Run for Children's Cancer Research.

If I haven't sold you on the run yet, I'll finish with this: the race is followed by a free breakfast buffet at The Four Seasons - YUM!

You can do it!

Race Details
Sunday September 28th (Rain or Shine)
Registration opens at 7am
Race starts at 8:30am
18th St & The Parkway [map]

hooked on dailymile

It's official, I am addicted to dailymile: social training and racing for runners, triathletes, and cyclists.

A few weeks ago, I got a follow from dailymile on twitter. I had started twittering whenever I hit bigger milestones (heh, pun intended) in my running routine. I signed up for an invite to the beta site, and within the last week I was able to sign up. So far, I love it!!!

Dailymile was built as a tracker for all those crazy runners, triathletes and cyclists out there who like to keep a record of all their miles.  As it turns out, I am using it to track all of my fitness from total body conditioning class to yoga.  The more friends that sign up and start sharing, the more fun it is! 

Dailymile is also a social network, so it's really cool to see what your friends are up to as well as meet new people who are running the same races as you, etc. In fact, if you are looking for races to run, dailymile has a pretty comprehensive list of races across the country. You can find one in your city and invite all your friends to participate, as well as add your own races and events. 

Here in Philly, a bunch of us are about to tackle the one hundred puhshups challenge so we've got a group going on dailymile to track our progress and keep each other motivated!

Right now, you need an invite to sign up, but I've got a few more to spare, so comment on this message and I will be sure to invite you!  We can help each other stay on track!

clean air 5K // indy hall fit club

This past Saturday, 7 of my super awesome friends and I ran the Clean Air 5K. Our motley crüe included several local bloggers, a handful of video podcasters, a few programmer extraordinaires, a crafty maven, a hot rock chick, and of course, yours truly.

If you were ever thinking of running, training for a 5K is a really great way to get into it. I have known lots of people who have followed the Couch to 5K program with great success. There are lots of races happening all the time for so many different causes. You can raise money to research diseases, spread awareness about issues that are important to you, all while getting yourself in shape.

Here's a list of upcoming races in Philadelphia... who wants to run the next 5K?!

workout music

I am so living in 2005 with my old school style ipod shuffle. My big ipod broke a few months ago and pandora has curbed my immediate desire to replace it.  Nevertheless, I've been trying to fill my dinky little shuffle with good music for the gym.  I've been working off of an old running mix and trying to incorporate a pleasant variety of catchy and upbeat tunes.  A lot of music appreciation rules get thrown out the window when creating a workout mix... I'm currently really digging Sean Paul and other randomness ranging from Dolly Parton to Justin Timberlake to Le Tigre.  I *think* what I am really missing is the artist formerly and still known as Prince.  But I don't know... I need suggestions.  What are your favorite workout tunes?  Please share in the comments!

running with ipods

I used to be really into running when I lived in Manhattan.  I would run along the west side in Hudson River Park.  There were always plenty of runners out, the water was pretty and I could really tune out and keep going, not having to stop for traffic lights, pedestrians, etc.  Plus, a run outside is so much more exhilarating than a run on a treadmill.  I haven't been so great about keeping up with that hobby since I moved back to Philadelphia.  That is, until I heard of Nike+.

Basically you put a sensor in your shoe which transmits to a receiver that you plug into your iPod nano.  It keeps track of your distance, pace, calories burned and you can even power up with a higher tempo song to get your butt in gear.  Believe me, I always need to do that!

Of course, I would have to buy an iPod nano and a pair of super fancy Nike running shoes, but maybe this is just enough motivation to bust out my New Balances and my iPod shuffle.