RACE DAY Musings

Forgot to mention in my last post how RACE DAY actually turned out. My cryptic email messages and in-class announcements did their job: Spinners got really excited about the day. There was a buzz around Pottruck Gym which reached new participants and my rather surprised boss. One of my Regulars even said that she'd been talking about it to her parents and was bursting with anticipation all week long. Said Regular and two others also decided to make 'costumes' for the occasion. I was completely tickled to see their "NINA IS MY HERO" jerseys. I myself bought a racing outfit (NB: I bought a triathlon outfit that would help motivate me to sign up for my first triathlon in August...I mean, if I have the duds, I HAVE to sign up, right?). My race attire matched my neon green sweatband, which I wore 80's style across my forehead. In block letters, you could easily see my "TEAM" and "MIND/BODY" catch phrases. Did I mention that I stayed up until 2AM the night before making those bands? Crafts take so much longer than you think... It was just as well the bands took me so long, I was so excited I couldn't sleep.

The hours leading up to class passed in a whirl wind. Greg had agreed to meet me an hour before class to help me set up the bikes, etc...however, the day before he had a huge exam and slept through his alarm. He did make it in time for the event, but this left me alone to move all the bikes into a square, hang streamers, and set up the cards and photos. Fortunately Cecilia and others arrived 35 minutes early to claim their spots and I was able to delegate the duties. By T-30 minutes, there was already a bulging line out the door. It was up to me to take charge, make sure people stayed outside and then pass out the right bands to the right people.

Slight difficulties arose because this wasn't a separate, official event. It was first come, first serve; so a complete Newbie could have show up and come into this situation. For my Regulars, I had specific bands that I wanted to give them. For instance, I wanted Dorsey to have the "SexyBack" band because we had worked on posture technique together. To Linds, the "Endure" band because a) she's made so much improvement since she started last year and b) she said it was her favorite of my catch phrases. Cecilia: "Breathe" because she's really into yoga...Hope: "Faith", obviously you can't have Faith (the second song) without Hope (made connection and joke during the track). Anyways, the list goes on. I had made up a list of all the people that I knew, and hoped, would come to class and what power words I associated with them. The tricky part was that I didn't know for certain who was coming. And I was hoping that no one new showed up that day and took the spot of a Regular.

I, myself, felt the same feelings and anticipatory-nerves that I'd feel before any race (and I was a little nervous about whether people would show up)--which is exactly what I was going for! The Race went off without a hitch and I made my usual corny jokes. For instance, during "Sex Bomb," which was popular during my first semester in France, I told the story of how this French guy commented, "Nina, normally you are like ice, but tonight you are on fire!" I then followed with a "Fire it up, Team!" Also, I had a real blast beating on the cowbell during "Phantom of The Opera" to signify pace changes.

*The feedback to me personally and to my boss, Katie, was so positive that Katie has agreed to make TWO OFFICIAL RACE DAYS this next semester! Now we can have a sign up sheet and a separate time just for this event! I have so many ideas already on how to make it better and run more smoothly.

In any case, the goal of this class was two-fold. A) To test how your training is going & B) To keep people excited about working out. Definitely accomplished both of those tasks. Success!

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you to all the Regulars who make planning spin classes such a delight!

Licking The Spoon: Another 7 Hour Meal Chez Moi

My old eating buddy and long-time friend, Grant, left last May for his residency at Boston University. More or less once a month for the past two years (since that first seven hour meal) we had been getting together at my apartment for an over-the-top culinary experience orchestrated by yours truly. Since his departure, I have been having a hard time getting motivated to bake. I love having meaning in my meals and without someone/something to inspire me, my rolling pin and puff pastry skills have been collecting dust.

The beginning of October marked several momentous occasions: my best buddy, Emily, left for a six week adventure to Nepal and Thailand, it was Greg's birthday, and it was my birthday. These two friends have become like family to me and have brought so much positive energy to my life. I can't think of a better way to show my appreciation for them than by creating a sensational meal.

Like many other things in my life, I make my meals with tons of consideration for the participants. What are Emily's and Greg's favorite foods? What tastes will send them over the edge? Will I be able to combine the two preferences in each course?

Emily's favorite tastes were easy to discern as I've eaten with her on many occasions and I had already made her a scrumptious Truffle Themed Meal last year for her birthday. Emily loves anything truffle (truffle honey, truffle oil, truffled cheese, truffles). Other than that, her tastes are very rustic and pure: gamey meats, vegetables: asparagus, artichokes, simple fruits--blueberries, blackberries, cheeses. Also, she only likes white chocolate, not dark chocolate. She prefers simple flavors to complex.

Greg was more difficult. Sure, he and I are very close, but we don't eat together. Ok, we eat sandwiches post-spin or burgers post-climbing, but I've never witnessed his favorites. For two-three weeks I discreetly observed his tastes. He's a med student, so he doesn't have a lot of cash to spend. And when he does spend his cash, he opts to spend it on activities (climbing, going out) instead of tasty meals like Emily and I do. Post climbing session, we usually go out for dinner at some low-key joint like Grace Tavern. You would think that this would give me some insight into what he likes, but no. He ALWAYS orders exactly what I'm having (except he orders his burger well done). When we are hungry and listing off what foods we'd really like to have right now, he just goes on and on about "delicious soups and sandwiches." Only once did I get a hint of one taste he likes: at Caprogiro all he wanted was a caramel gelatto. Ok, that gave me one workable clue: CARAMEL.

So, what did I have to work with after combing the two:

Gamey meats, delicious soups, hearty vegetables, cheese, truffle, fruits, white chocolate, caramel.

Sounds like a good start.

I also wanted to share something that was special to me, so I decided to make my original venison meal that my French mom taught me (original post) but with new twists and turns to combine Emily's and Greg's preferences.

1. Kir

Aperatif. Great way to cleanse the pallet and start off the socializing.

1 part Creme de Cassis (black current liqueur) + 5 parts dry white wine (used a 2007 Chablis)

2. Pecorino shaved on puff pastry rounds brushed with truffle honey

3. Pumpkin Soup (don't forget the baguette!)

Made from real pumpkins! NB: it was so hard to cut off the pumpkin skin...make sure you plan for this. Used an immersion blender for extra fluffiness.

I got this recipe from Patricia Wells' book, Simply French. She takes her favorite recipes from the famous french cookbook, Robuchon, and explains the how's and why's behind the seemingly complex baking techniques. This and Robuchon's book also focus on the purity of taste--bringing out the simple and wonderful flavor of the main ingredient.

Served with the left over Chablis from the kir

4. Roasted Venison (Chateauneuf du Pape marinade) with Raspberry Gastrique on top of butternut squash rounds and served with scalloped potatoes

1st bottle: 2003 Hermitage (Chave) from my collection

*At this point, Emily took over the role of DJ and got the party hopping while I was finishing the main course preparations. Of course, the preparations then took a little longer than planned, as we all stopped to bust a move for a bit. Good times, good times.

2nd bottle: 2003 Chateuneuf du Pape, Chante Cigale

*I snazzed up my venison presentation by placing the meat medallions on top of a butternut squash round. Got the idea from The French Laundry At Home site. I arranged the scalloped potatoes in a semi-circle around the squash. I placed fresh raspberries on the other side of the circle. Served in a light green, 1-inch deep bowl. Excellent color presentation.

5. Amuse Bouche: Marbleized chocolate wafers with caramel mousse filling
Think three layers of swirling white/dark chocolate with a tan-looking caramel mousse layered in between. Approximately one inch across. Bite-size so everyone got one to pop in their mouth.
**While we were digesting and preparing for the final course, Emily turned on my "Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner" spin profile. Good times singing and dancing to "I've Had The Time Of My Life!"

6. Shortcake with vanilla-almond custard sauce accompanied by blueberries and blackberries

7. Calvados
Apple brandy digestif from Normandy. The only way to be sent off to bed after a labor-intensive, gut-busting meal.

The meal was of course fabulous and went off without a hitch. Putting together a huge meal like this takes a lot of time, patience, and thought. Fortunately for me, I had two great friends with the right spirit to experience the joy of eating.

Climbing, Yoga, Concerts, & Weddings, Oh My!

Here are the new and interesting things I've been up to the past few months. In the works is a ginormous post on climbing in celebration of my big trip/Tweetup out at Joshua Tree next month with Katie (@adventuregrrl).

Dave Matthews Band Concert in Jerz. Went with my BB Emily and it felt like we were transported back to high school. We had seats waaaaayyy back in the lawn section, making it even more like high school... The band was awesome, of course, and played a great mix of Big Whiskey and our old fav's including Stay or Leave, Ants Marching, and Crash.

Me, at the Gunks, testing out my trad anchor. It holds!
Woo, it was a lil nerve wracking to sit back and trust the gear I had placed!

Gunks! Katie, Dan and I traveled up North to the Gunks, a range of cliffs where trad routes abound. We hired a guide, Jason, to teach us how to set up anchors, place trad gear, and generally prepare us for the indoor/outdoor climbing transition.

On top of the trad learning, we bouldered. This was quite the eye opening experience. What did Nina learn outside on the rock? Indoor climbing prowess does not translate to real rock...at least not until you learn to trust your feet.

I'll have plenty more time to work on my outdoor skills during the Joshua Tree Climbing Tweetup next month!!!!

Weddings! There have been two this month. My good high school friend, Amy Moran, married Don Lowe in Gloucester, Ma.

Cute story: they kept seeing each other on the commuter rail for months before Don introduced himself finally and asked Amy out. The rest is history!

One other wedding. My band mate Jory got hitched! The reception was at the Society Hill Dance Academy. He looked very dapper in his gray suit! His bride, Susan Gager, plays the keyboard in the band East Hundred.

Last month, my favorite yoga studio, Yoga Sutra, unexpectedly closed down (within a week of notice). In the wake of that sketchiness, I have been in search of a new studio. I like Vinyasa yoga best for a nice, deep, and relaxing stretch. I prefer Friday night yoga--excellent way to wind down your week and work on being in the Now. Here's a list of places I've tried.

Dyhyana Yoga Studio
http://www.dhyana-yoga.com/
40th & Chestnut
Most likely, this studio will replace Yoga Sutra. It's only blocks from work and the Penn gym, making it easily accessible. So far I've taken the Sunday Vinyasa Align and Flow class with Marisa. I really enjoyed this class. She helped me get into positions that I didn't think I could do and was helpful about explaining why we do this or that.

Class description: realize our vibrant true nature by aligning our poses and intentions to their fullest potential in the moment. By applying the Universal Principles of Alignment, we integrate physical action with inner awareness. Classes include an engaging flow of postures, demonstrations, individual adjustments and modifications.

Bikram College Of India

http://www.bikramphiladelphia.com/

1520 Sansom St Philadelphia, PA 19102-2810

(215) 977-9642

Bikram is a form of yoga noted for its extremely high room temp of 105 degrees and about 60% humidity. The room is kept at this temperature to keep the body from overheating (contrary to popular belief), protect muscles to allow for deeper stretching, detoxify the body (open pores to let toxins out), thin the blood to clear the circulatory system, increase heart rate for better cardiovascular workout, improve strength by putting muscle tissue in optimal state for reorganization, and reorganize lipids (fat) in the muscular structure.

I felt invigorated and well stretched out after this class.

Beginner special: $20 for first week: unlimited classes

Philly Power Yoga

http://www.phillypoweryoga.com/

2016 Walnut St Philadelphia, PA 19103

(215) 636-9642

Power yoga is a general term used in the West to describe a vigorous, fitness-based approach to vinyasa-style yoga. Most power yoga is closely modeled on the Ashtanga style of practice. The term "power yoga" came into common usage in the mid 1990s, when several yoga teachers were looking for a way to make Ashtanga yoga more accessible to western students. Unlike Ashtanga, power yoga does not follow a set series of poses. Therefore, any power yoga class can vary widely from the next. What they have in common is an emphasis on strength and flexibility. The advent of power yoga heralded yoga's current popularity, as people began to see yoga as a way to work out. Power yoga brought yoga into the gyms of America.

Beginner special: first class is free!

Go to Troy's classes. He is the best instructor!

I very rarely go to Power Yoga because it is more of a workout than a good stretch session. After teaching Body Pump 2-3 times a week, it's more beneficial to me to lay off more strenuous activity. That said, I think it's an excellent workout and a great way to work your core without having to do boring/traditional abs.

Lastly, where have I been eating? New and old places have made the list:

Village Whiskey. New whiskey bar at 20th & Samson. Amazing burgers! Really, I think the best in the city. AND that's coming from me. Trying the goat cheese one. UH, so good. Plus, the fries are cooked in DUCK FAT. Mmmm. Have already been here multiple times. Plan to put your name and cell down and then go do something else for 40 minutes. It's worth the wait! And they make it easy by calling you on your phone.

Tinto. 20th & Samson. It's become the magic corner! (Tinto, Village Whiskey AND Caprogiro gelatto). Tried this tapas place out with Em during restaurant week. Same owners as Amadas and it lives up to its rep!

Noble. On Samson between 20th and 19th I think. New french fusion restaurant. Excellent! Went with Katie--she was able to get a coupon online somewhere.

Audrey Clair. Always exceptional.

X0 Chitl (so-cheat). Tasty margaritas and upscale mexican food.

Taste of Philly. This was just last night and I'll prolly write a whole article on it. Very enjoyable in any case!

Post-climbing haunts: Grace, Standard Tap, 10 Stone, Doobies. Always dependable for a good microbrew and burger!

TONIGHT: Distrito. New(ish) restaurant in West Philly. Chef is Jose Garces who is finalist on the Next Iron Chef show.

Last thing to mention. TANGO lessons. Yes, that's right. Katie & I went to Society Hill Dance Academy and took group lessons. No partner necessary.

Concertina: Spin Profile #25

Concert Going-Ons In The Past Week:
Last night I went to the O.A.R. outdoor concert with my Best Buddy, Emily, on Penn's Landing. Despite a severe thunderstorm following the opening act, perilous body surfers, beer bottle throwing, and a moderate rain throughout, the show was wicked fun. Everyone was dancing and singing along; generally very happy and content. The rain actually added to the magic of the show, as the stage lighting made the air sparkle and glitter. If only Guster and Ben Kweller had been there too...

Last week, I was asked to a show by one of my workout buddies, Greg. His explanation of who we were going to see: There's this guy playing...I don't know what kind of music it is or where, but we know his dog from Doobies [Bar]...

Unbelievably, I still agreed to go to the gig even though from his description, I thought we were going to see some dude and his dog play guitar or something.

We went to KungFu Necktie in Northern Liberties--a really awesome venue despite it sketch location in North Philly--and met up with another friend, Naomi, who fortunately had more details. Amazingly, not only did I know the band, but it was my bass player's (Jory) fiance's band EAST HUNDRED. Really awesome local, indie rock band (www.easthundred.com). They won Battle of the Bands last year at World Cafe Live.

Sure enough, as soon as I entered the bar, I saw Jory and Susan, who were very surprised to see me there! Spontaneous run-ins are the best!

Next month, I'm seeing Dave Matthews Band and hopefully Journey. In light of all these great shows, I decided to make a spin profile featuring music from concerts I've been to.

Here's a list of the biggest shows I've been to:
Neil Diamond, America, Madison Square Garden, 5th Grade, John + Dee & Family
Billy Joel, River of Dreams, 6th Grade, with Band Director Bob Lassonde + Family
Guster, Goldfly, The Shell, 8th Grade (first Guster concert, not going to list all)
No Doubt, Tragic Kingdom, 8th Grade, with Pam Hershey, etc, in white limo
Smokin' Grooves, All High School Years
Lilith Fair, All High School Years
Janet Jackson, Velvet Rope, Junior Year HS, Lara Clemenzi
Usher, Junior Year HS, Lara Clemenzi
*NSYNC, No Strings Attached, Senior Year HS, Chris Pearson, surprisingly very good!
College:
Guster multiple times @ Tufts, Bates, The Shell
Rusted Root @ Colby
O.A.R. @ Bowdin
Post-college:
Ben Kweller @ Festival Pier, @ Johnny Brenda's
Guster @ Festival Pier, with Cristin
Guster + Akon @ Franklin Field, Penn with Emily
O.A.R. Festival Pier/Penn's Landing
East Hundred, @World Cafe Live with Jory, @The Khyber with Jory, Jeff, Grant, Todd, Melissa, + Kevin, @KungFu Necktie with Emily, Greg, Naomi (and Jory).


The profile:
Four sets. Three song set.
1) Climb
2) Run/Jump
3) Sprint

Start out at highest resistance, slowest pace and work your way down to lowest resistance + fastest pace.

1. Love and Memories by O.A.R. (3:25)
2. Only The Good Die Young by Billy Joel (3:53)
3. Spiderwebs by No Doubt (4:28)

4. Ants Marching by DMB (4:31)
5. Cherry, Cherry by Neil Diamond (2:43)
6. Center of Attention by Guster (4:07)

7. We Takin' Over by Akon (4:30)
8. Bye Bye Bye by *NSYNC (3:20)
9. Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson (5:31)

10. Deadpan by East Hundred (4:50)
11. This Town by O.A.R. (3:36)
12. Two Step by DMB (6:27)

13. Need You Back by Ben Kweller (3:17)/**1st min: climb, 2nd min: run, 3rd min: sprint!
14. Heard The World by O.A.R. (5:01)/CD
15. Slow Burning Crimes by East Hundred (4:09)/CD + stretch

5 "Aha!" Moments In The Lab

Alternatively, I could have also called this post "five illogical things I did in the lab today that seemed to make perfect sense at the time..."

1) If the label on a powder chemical says, "use mask, toxic to airways," pulling the collar of your pink, Nike long sleeve running shirt over your nose is not an acceptable substitute for a real surgical mask. In fact, the fabric doesn't protect at all from the diffusion of powder through the air, through the semi-spandex non-barrier and into your air passages. Indeed, as you are coughing and choking on the white substance, you will probably think back to what it does and why it's toxic: dissolve proteins. You may then be slightly concerned about it coming into contact with your lungs and the membranes being degraded...

2) If you are working with mice that are known to be a particularly aggressive strain, make sure the head is securely held back between your thumb and pointer and tail is wrapped tightly around your pinkie before attempting to inject estrogen inhibitor (particularly if you are a twenty something female hoping to have kids one day) with your other hand. The aggressive mouse will fight you, bite you, and squirm away from you before you can say "infertile." Before you know it, you will be on your hands and knees, heart racing, trying to grab the tail with oily, estrogen inhibitor all over your gloves, hoping not to get it on any of the surfaces.

3) If you are working with aforementioned aggressive mouse strain, be sure to notify the animal facility technicians of this lovely uniqueness. This prevents escape of feisty rodents from the cage to the Great Unknown. This is handy information if the mouse is worth, say, $400 plus six months of hard labor on your part.

4) If working with your mice requires you to be in a surgical mask for 5+ hours, be sure to take hourly breaks to get fresh air. This prevents development of mouse allergies and, for instance, nose bleeds. Should you get a nose bleed after being in a mask for six hours, do not be surprised and try not to leave a trail of blood from the lab to the bathroom. Oh, and FYI, the lab's paper towels are not very blood absorbent, so the blood will just pool on top and then spill over the sides, thus adding to the trail.

5) If making a buffer from a powder base, remember that a buffer is a detergent, even in powder form. So, should you spill several grams on the counter top, try not to clean it up with a wet paper towel or you will soon find the entire counter covered in suds. Not the worst thing to happen, but it will take at least 10 minutes to remove all bubbles and lots of H2O.

The Tasty Cup: One Woman's Search For The Best AM Brew

Favorite morning beverage: Medium Chai With A Shot Of Espresso
(Otherwise known as Dirrrtay Chai, Chai Charger, or The Hot Nina...only rarely do I go for a Cold Nina...)

Since moving away from the Gayborhood and my daily coffee haunt, Brewhaha, I've had to find a new morning coffee shop to frequent. In the past three weeks, I have visited a handful of coffee shops and was shocked to find that none of them have had the same melange of goodness found at Brewhaha. For someone who used to think Starbucks was great coffee, I had to ask myself, "What made the Brewhaha experience so pleasurable? What am I looking for in a morning coffee shop?"

Here's my list of criterion, in no particular order:
1) They know what I want and how I want it.
2) They taste good.
3) They are laid back and don't rush me to into making decisions or leaving.
4) They make me feel special, i.e. they like to chat me up and know what's going on in my life
5) They seem genuinely happy to see me each morning.
(Chris says whenever he sees me, "Let's get Dirrrtay!" with a grin on his face. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside)
6) They are easily accessible (I don't want to walk too far out of my way in the am).
This one I'm willing to sacrifice a bit, if the other criterion are met.

Here's the list of coffee shops I've tried so far.

La Colombe: Mr. Emotionally Unavailable
I went to La Colombe after reading rave reviews on CitySearch. Their coffee and espresso are supposedly the best in the city. Perhaps the place is different post-am rush, but I have to say I was traumatized by my experience here. I went in around 7am--admittedly prime time coffee rush. As soon as I entered, I was shoved into what felt like a frenzied production line. It was strangely robotic: step up, cash down, small cup taken, exit, repeat. As the line quickly moved along, I started to tense: I have no cash, do they accept cards? Can I order a chai or is it just coffee? Upon frantically scanning the joint for a menu to no avail, I ardently listened to the interactions between the barrista and the patrons to get a clue. Unfortunately for me--an obvious foreigner in a strange land--there really was no conversing. Everyone was getting the same thing and already had the exact cash counted out. Everyone else knew exactly what was expected. My turn approached and I actually contemplated stepping out of line because I didn't want to be a cog in this otherwise smooth and efficient machine. Why hadn't I looked this up online beforehand to become familiar with the protocol?

Anyways, I got to the front, frowned, and hazarded actual conversation with the gorgeous Italian-looking man behind the counter (which believe you me did not help at all with the tenseness of the situation): "Hi, how are you?...Medium Vanilla Latte?" The suave man returned the frown and uttered, "Latte?" Yes, please. I embarrassingly shoved my card at him and shrunk off to the side to wait for the seemingly out of place latte. FYI, they do make lattes, but they have no syrups. Just simple coffee, espresso, and lattes. And there is only one size.

Once I left the intensity of the interior, I breathed deeply and sighed. My God! That was definitely not the laid back and friendly experience I was looking for. I understand that there are plenty of people out there who rush around in the morning and want their coffee experience to be quick and efficient. I like to gab a bit in the morning. I like to take my time and enjoy the aromas and tastes. And I definitely don't want to feel like I should've looked up a protocol just to get my steamed beverage.

Good Karma: Mr. Physically Unavailable
Good Karma ranks up there with Brewhaha in terms of quality of espresso and friendly/laid back service. I usually go there after work or on the weekend when I want to read. See, I'm in the habit of taking the bus to work and walking home in the evenings. And when I walk home, Good Karma is right in my path. However, in the mornings, Good Karma diverges 5-7 blocks away from the bus stop. Factor in my gabbing and slow walking pace and all of a sudden it has taken me an hour to get from my house to the bus stop. An hour that I'd rather be spending elsewhere.

NB: I'm not saying anything bad about Good Karma! I love Good Karma with all my heart. This is the quest for the perfect AM coffee shop and it's just not at all convenient or practical to make it there in the morning.

La Va: Mr. Overrated/Mr. I'm-Too-Cool
People rave about this hipster coffee shop on South Street. Umm, not to be harsh, but their espresso sucks. Big time. And their chai? Gross. It tastes like the chai at Bucks County, now known as Saxby's, which is a chain. Anytime an espresso tastes like a chain-store's espresso...I'm just saying.

I think the real draw of this place is "The Scene" and the tasty snacks and sandwiches offered. Their are a lot of cool looking people there. And a plethora of scrumptious looking pastries. However, I can barely finish my coffee/latte/chai ordered from there, so I'll pass.

Cafe De Miel: Mr. Changed
About 6 months ago, Cafe de Miel went under a change of management. Now they do not offer chai or any syrup-containing drinks. This limits the beverages to simple espresso, coffee, or latte. The quality of espresso is high, but as a sweet tooth, I really need to have the option to get a vanilla latte or a chai with a shot of espresso. Do not worry, the pastry selection is still divine! Just not what I'm looking for in the am.

Beauty Shop: Mr. Real-Potential

This is the coffee shop that most closely fits all of my criterion. It's on the way to the bus stop. Laid back. They make an excellent chai with a shot of espresso. I have had pleasant conversations with the owner, John. He recognizes me when I come in and knows what I want and how I want it. It's a quality establishment.

Nonetheless, no matter how many criterion it fits, it's just not Brewhaha. This is an unfair comparison. I spent two and a half years making daily visits AND I used to spend entire days studying there. That's a long time to form connections and feel a real affinity for a place.

Trust and relationships take time. I need to be patient for the new links to form!

Check them out for yourself:

La Colombe: http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/11352860

Good Karma: http://www.thegoodkarmacafe.com/

La Va: http://www.lava-cafe.com/

Cafe De Miel (awesome pastries): http://www.mielpastry.com/Scripts/openExtra5ca0.asp?Extra=23

The Beauty Shop: http://www.yelp.com/biz/beauty-shop-cafe-philadelphia

Nina And The Cursed IT Band: A Running History

In middle school, I had been a promising runner and had won many of the 5k-cross country races by a minute or more. I specifically remember several times looking back behind me, seeing no one at all, and feeling my shoulders relax: I had the race in the bag. I would then impressively kick it in at top speed to the "Ooos and Aaahs" of the crowd. I loved to win.

My style of racing was similar in the 800 meter race. The first of two laps were spent in the mid to back of the front pack. At the 500 meter mark I would start to pick up the pace, pour on whatever I had in the tanks, and speed ahead to win the race.

I also excelled at the triple jump. In 8th grade, I had already been jumping over 30 feet and got to go to the state comp (most other girls were jumping 26-28 ft).

Getting in shape and winning was easy for me back then. I could start the running season with no preparation at all. I'd take for granted that my body could go from no distance work (just soccer running) to full on cross country training, including hills, speed work, tempo runs, and distance runs. And stretching? Yeah, maybe I'd quickly "stretch" for a couple seconds before or after a run--you know, go through the motion of reaching for my toes or grabbing some shoelace to stretch my quads.

For three and a half years (6th-part of 9th Grades), I was able to do this no problem.

Then it all went downhill and not in a good way.

I remember the exact moment that my knee started hurting me. It was the last home meet of the cross country season in the 9th Grade and I'd done fairly well--tenth place. Post race, some people were stretching out, cooling down properly, but I was lazing about in the grass, eating Smart Food and scanning for my Mom's silver Volvo to pull into the parking lot. When I finally caught a glimpse of the car pulling up, I instantly jumped off the ground, threw my bags across my back and sprinted across the field. As I was sprinting, I gradually felt a burning sensation just below my kneecap. The pain increased exponentially and I hastily stopped, stretched out, massaged the area, and prayed to the Gods. It seemed to go away. After five minutes, I was running across the field again, telling myself that it must have been a weird fluke.

Of course it wasn't a mere fluke. It was the start of Illiotibial Band Syndrome or ITBS, a common overuse injury for runners.

At the end of the Fall running season and into the Spring track season (I played basketball during the Winter), I started to consistently feel the pain in my left knee. Instead of doing what a normal person would do--take time off, see a physical therapist, cross train, stretch...--I felt that I should just continue to push myself through the pain. It didn't seem to change my gait or running style; I could still keep my pace up; I was still getting PRs (personal records). It just became another challenge to overcome. Isn't that what running is all about: staying mentally strong, pushing yourself as hard as you can go? It didn't occur to me then that not all pain is good pain and that this injury could go on to affect me for the following ten years.

After almost a year of pushing myself through the left knee pain, the burning sensation started to travel up into my hip. And then, probably because my gait had changed without me knowing it, my right knee started to hurt. And then my right hip.

You would think that all of this pain would have been a signal to me to listen to my body and ease up. No dice. I was stubbornly stupid [back then] and convinced that these problems would work themselves out without taking time off or changing my lifestyle.

Well, mid-cross country season in 10th Grade, my body went on strike without my permission. By the time homecoming came around, I was barely able to walk. My hips were so stiff I couldn't stretch properly--yes, now I was at least trying to stretch out. I was unable to keep a good pace during the races. I was now finishing in the latter half of the race.

What a blow to my ego! No longer being able to run through the pain, and no longer being able to walk without pain, Coach Sawyer ordered me to physical therapy. I went to a local place, to a guy who specialized in IT Bands. He told me that in his entire 20 years of therapy he had never seen a case as severe as mine. Usually ITBS localizes in the knees or the hips. My entire band (from the knee extending into the hips) was tight and tender. We started with FRICTION rubs--massage meant to break up tissue, circulate the blood, and release tension. These are not nice, soothing massages. The pain was so severe that I would feel it shoot into my brain.

This did help a bit. I was able to walk without pain. Unfortunately, I was too stubborn to take time off. And I wasn't really stretching outside of the PT sessions. And I did no cross training to help build the muscles around the knee.

Junior year was a disaster. I consistently ran in the back. I physically couldn't hit good times. I became frustrated and negative. The spring season was worse. My triple jumps were an abysmal 25 ft and often I would fault out because I couldn't keep my stride consistent and mess up the timing.

I would often end these meets in tears.

In retrospect (ahhh, how nice it is to be able to look back on these events with the wisdom I've gained since then), my problems with my knee and the way I handled the situation was representative of a larger problem in my life. That is, every time a problem would arise, I would be convinced that somehow it would just work itself out. The best thing to do would be to keep plugging along, don't change how I'm going about things, and just hope for the best.

The wrongness of this line of thinking is so obvious when I'm here, sitting at my desk, contemplating my life, and trying to suss out the past. If only I didn't have to keep learning about this the hard way! As a side note, my Dad has always said that the sign of true intelligence is being able to learn from mistakes and to not make the same ones over and over again. This is a wise statement and has proven to be hard to follow through on!

Anyways, this lack of problem confrontation came to an apex in the winter of Junior year when I came down with the croup and almost died--mostly because I did too many things and didn't admit that I needed help or needed to take a break when I felt overwhelmed with life. Again, even though I felt pretty sick and overwhelmed, I kept thinking that if I just kept going and made it through this difficult time, my health would work itself out. Sound familiar? How stubborn of me!

This bent with the croup and near-death caused me to re-examine my life. I realized that my problems with my Health, the IT Band, and doing too many activities were all connected. I'm not taking action to make my life better. I just keep going forward, making the same mistakes over and over again. Not the sign of intelligence at all!

I needed to change. Easier said than done, right?

Ameliorating my knee situation turned out to be the easiest change (at least in the short term). I researched the IT Band, found out the causes and the solutions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz73i3O01d8). I ended up not doing any sports Senior year and the first semester of college--I thought this was going to be hard, but I had been so frustrated and down that I was glad to get out of it for a while. I went to PT, did the stretches for real, and focused on relaxing more.

By the time I got to college, I was ready to start running again. But this time, I was going to do things right. My first semester, I still didn't run, but I walked everywhere I went. I read that it's important to build a strong foundation before getting into serious training. Once I had been walking for 30 minutes 4 times a week, I started easy jogging--just for one mile and then walk the rest. In this fashion, I started to add on more and more mileage. A slow build up was key.

In addition, I made sure I added in stretching sessions after each run and one longer session per week (one hour focused solely on stretching and core work). This lateral and core work turned out to be a key to rehabilitation: I had learned that ITBS is not only caused by doing too much too soon, but also because the muscles surrounding the knees are not built up [in runners]. Makes sense: with all the forward motion we do, the sides of the legs are completely neglected, weak, and tight. This causes imbalances in the knee which can lead to injury.

The real test began in the Winter of freshman year at Colby: I joined the Track & Field Team. I'll admit, I was nervous. Would I fall back into my old patterns? Would my knee start hurting again? Will I ever be as good as I used to be?

I will never forget my first race back. I gave up being a distance runner and became a 400m runner instead. I came in dead last. By five seconds. Yep, Nina Martin came in dead last and could only whip out a 75 second 400. And my glutes had never burned so much! While I went on to improve my 400m time by 12 seconds over the course of the next four years, I sadly was never able to regain my triple jump skills. Indeed, I never broke 30 feet again and fouled out many, many times.

Regardless of this one negative, many good things happened for my running career at Colby. I relentlessly worked on technique and form and became one of the "instructors" of weight lifting technique to the underclassmen. Me and my workout out buddy Liz (and then later Kate), would think nothing of spending an extra two hours in the weight room before or after practice. Cross training, stretching and core work became a normal part of my everyday routine (on top of the running workouts). Also, I proved to myself that I could train hard and remain injury free: a sign of a responsible runner. My confidence and good spirit was rejuvenated as well.

These good habits and experiences at Colby not only prevented further injury, but also influenced decisions post-graduation. After college, I went on to train for the Philly Marathon AND remained injury free! I made sure I trained for this correctly and took an entire year to build up the mileage, adding in massages, stretching sessions, and lots of cross training. I followed the Runner's World Training plan. I was (am) extremely dogmatic about training safely.

My obsession with technique that started at Colby has also influenced me to become a group exercise instructor in Body Pump (weight lifting) and Spinning (great cross training for running). I feel it's very important to share my mistakes with other athletes and help them safely achieve their goals.

In summary:

*The good news: no IT Band pain since high school!

*The bad news: I never regained flexibility in my hips--they still cramp up and are rod-stiff.

*The Extra Good News: I am a marathoner with no injuries (knock on wood). I continue to be vigilant about listening to my body, stretching, and dealing with problems as they come up. I have taken up climbing and yoga to work on my flexibility and hopefully one day I'll be able to sit in the V-position and lean forward.

So, if you are serious about running, my advice is to become serious about cross training and stretching. My story turned out well because I am now completely dedicated to the well being of my body. Health comes first! This means taking the extra time to stretch and work on your weaknesses.

I learned these lessons the hard way, but at least I have proved over time that I have at least some intelligence and have stopped making the same running mistakes over and over. Now if I could only apply this to the rest of my Life, I'd be a genius!

Lessons Learned:

1) Health comes first. You have nothing without your health.

2) Listen to your body; don't ignore pain. Take action: ice, aspirin, stretching, heating...

4) If you feel bad pain, immediately take three days off, if persists, take more time off, get help!

5) Make stretching part of your daily routine

6) Make cross training part of your weekly routine; build up those non-running muscles + strengthen the running muscles! When I do consistent core work, I feel stronger when running.

7) Be consistent...my racing style used to be start off slow, then sprint the last leg. Terrible, can lead to injury! Pick a goal pace, stay with it. Never do more than you have trained for. This goes for your overall training plan too. Be consistent with your running. Don't leave off training until the last minute and expect your body to do more than it's ready to.

8) Add on mileage slowly, never more than 10%--this lets your body adapt slowly

9) Have your race pace be consistent with your training pace.

10) Be patient with your training, i.e. building a solid foundation or taking time off. Shit happens. Deal with it.

11) Have fun; don't take yourself too seriously. We are choosing to do this in our free time. Most of us will never be pro's, so why get all bent out of shape if one day you can't hit a pace or if you have to take a day off. Things that you do for yourself in your free time should be fun.

Happy Training!

Useful links:

Great YouTube Video on ITB(S): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz73i3O01d8

ITBS Article: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-290-291-2861-0,00.html

Injury Prevention: http://www.runnersworld.com/channel/0,,s6-241-0-0-0,00.html

Soon To Be Gumby

Hi folks,

My goal for next week: write posts that are not spin profiles! "The Tasty Spoon" is supposed to be about all my hobbies, not just spinning, so I'm going to make more of an effort on that part.

Lots has been happening the past few weeks, including APPLYING TO MED SCHOOL, running, climbing, spinning, MOVING, yoga, Body Pump, movies, ALIAS, eating, and day dreaming about climbing trips out West or to Mexico...

My climbing obsession has peaked [again] in the last month--have been climbing at least three times a week and pushing myself to climb more challenging routes. I have broken into the 5.9's and have been consistently climbing 8's very well. Also, I have gotten back into Sunday lead climbing sessions with Howard and Chris. I will sit down and write about this over the weekend! Lead climbing is so different from top roping--it's more about keeping your cool than anything else. My partners and I have been trying to figure out outdoor climbing trips this summer (the Gunks, El Potrero Chico Mexico, Rumney, North Conway...). It's getting me very excited!

I moved a few weeks ago. This was a big deal as I'd been at my place at 11th & Pine for 2.5 years--longer than I'd been anywhere since high school. I moved in with two, very laid back dudes near 18th & Christian. So far it's been going well. I was worried about living with other people after having been by myself for so long, but there hasn't been any transitional difficulties thus far. One of my housemates, Adam, and I have been watching Alias together. By the way, I am a huge Alias fan and own all the seasons on DVD. Adam had never seen Alias, but thought he would like it (side note: I was very pleased to discover that he is also a Smallville fan!). So, little by little we have been making it through season 1: only have 2 episodes left! It's really nice to bond with someone in this way and share my obsession for the series with a housemate. FYI, he's totally obsessed now too!

NEWS FLASH: I have also taken up yoga. If you know me, you are probably familiar with my extremely inflexible hips. My hip flexors feel like rods, my IT Band (at the hip insertion point) cramps up, and I can't sit up straight (let alone lean forward) when in the sitting V position. It's thoroughly pitiful. Running and spinning do nothing to help this. Climbing does get me moving around, but the more challenging 5.9's have been forcing me to get into positions that make my hips cramp, burn, and shake. It's only my will and pure stubbornness that have gotten me through those moves! After one particularly stemmy 5.9 a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to fix this problem: it's only going to get more inflexible as time goes by. It's not going to magically get loose and limber. I've got to take action now! So the very next day I went to Philly Power Yoga Studio. It was awesome! So invigorating.

Since then, I've been trying to find the right style for me. I liked Power Yoga, but it was more of a workout than a therapeutic stretching session. I've tried Iyengar, Power Yoga, and Ashtanga. Tomorrow I'm going to a Vinyasa class. So far I have liked Iyengar the best because it went at a slow pace and focused on correct alignment and technique. I'm planning on writing a whole post on this soon...

I'm also planning on a huge baking session this weekend. It's been since Grant's Goodbye Dinner that I've baked anything (over a month). I haven't had much inspiration to bake, but I've been eying some recipes in my favorite dessert book, "The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle."

I will be making more of an effort to make this site a bit more well-rounded. If you judged my life by my posts, you'd think I just taught spinning all the time. On a given day, I'm prepared to do at least 4 different activities (running, climbing, spinning, yoga--my mat stays at the lab so I can go right to the studio when I get a chance).

Alright, more to come this weekend. Must get back to my PCRs, Western Blots, and cell culture here in the lab...

Busy Little Bee

Hi Folks. Been a crazy week and I've definitely fallen behind on my communication.

Here's what's happening.

My band is playing tonight! Funny story behind this. Last week I had my final pre-med committee interview during which I of course talked about the band. A few days later, I received an invite from the director of the program to play at the Penn Post-bac Premed Reception this evening in Houston Hall! Ha. We of course accepted. Looks like we're doing a Health Program Tour (since our first gig last month was for Temple Musicians In Medicine Spring Concert and our next gig will be for Penn as well in July at an employee bbq). We are so cool.

Med school applications open on Tuesday. Yikes and excitement! I've been waiting and planning for this process for five years, so I'm pretty psyched (and a bit nervous) to get things moving. Wish me luck!

I've also been keeping up with climbing about 3 times a week. My climbing buddy, Emily, has been doing a rotation in NE Philly Hospital and has been working 10 hours a day and doesn't get out until 8. We've been meeting up at 8:30 and climbing until the close of the gym at 10. It's not a long session, but we've been consistent and definitely been improving. I'm hoping we'll be getting up to the Gunks in the next month or so.

Running has been going well, though I only run 3 times a week now. I have a new running buddy, Greg, who is in his first year at Penn Med. We met randomly in a spin class that I substituted about 1.5 months ago and have been fast friends. We balance each other quite nicely--when he's lagging I motivate him to push harder and vice versa. He's been getting me to challenge myself in the push up domain (I'm up to 30 in a row!). It's quite a relief to have an equal; meaning, I love class and motivating people, but it's also nice to have someone who can challenge and motivate me too. He's going to help me get the extra edge to qualify for the Boston Marathon (whether he knows it or not!).

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Grant, graduated from Drexel Med School on May 15th. I can't believe he's actually a doctor! So crazy! I got to go to all the events that week--formal, family dinners, graduation, cocktail parties. It was quite the week, going out every night, celebrating his accomplishment, and unfortunately, saying goodbye. He took off that following weekend for Boston. He's doing his residency up at Boston University. I'm so proud and happy for him, but I'm really going to miss him. He's like family and it's going to be hard to be without that tie (and our famous seven hour meals together).

Work in the lab is going well, but slow. One week I'll be getting really awesome results, and then it seems as though the next week none of the experiments are working. This is pretty normal for lab work and you just have to accept it as the way of "Science." It's a bit trial and error. Also, the mouse workload has increased a 100 fold in the last couple of weeks. I've been spending a lot of time down in the "Mouse House", collecting hearts, livers, and tails for DNA genotyping. I like mouse work in general, but spending six hours at a time down with the smells, bad lighting, and Death has me appreciating bench work a bit more.

And lastly, summer session at the gym started this week. My schedule is completely different from last semester. I'm teaching three spin classes and one body pump class (plus lots of subbing). I'm bummed to be only teaching one official BP class, but they really cut down on the amount of classes during the summer and that's all I could get.

So, yes, I've been a busy bee, but thankfully with things that I love to do. Hopefully things are going well with you, too. I'd love to hear your own update!

Until next time!

Letter from Bro

Here's the letter I received via email today from President Bro Adams regarding the incident at Colby last Sunday am. I've been getting updates all week about the incident and it still seems unclear what happened and why. On Monday, I received reports saying that a kid got so drunk someone had to call EMS. Some other kid interfered with the treatment. He reacted in a verbal then physical way. Security and police were called in and the kids were arrested. That story seemed straightforward enough. By Tuesday there were reports saying that the kids were treated forcefully and unfairly and perhaps this has something to do with race. Five days later it still seems pretty unclear... Let me know what you think.

Dear Colby Alumni,

I have received hundreds of e-mails and voice messages in response to my communications with all of you regarding the events of April 12. I cannot respond to each message individually in the thoughtful and timely manner they all deserve, so I hope you will understand my resorting again to e-mail in order to provide an update. Some common questions and concerns emerged in many of your messages.

Chief among them were:
-requests for specific information about the April 12 events and Colby’s response to them;
-expressions of shock regarding the video that shows Colby Security officers restraining two students;
-questions about a possible racial element to Colby’s and local law enforcement’s handling of the situation;
-how Colby will proceed in investigating the events of April 12.

At a forum on campus last night, I reiterated to members of the on-campus community that I find the video deeply disturbing. I understand why, in the absence of other information, students and others would respond to the video with expressions of anger and fear. The host of emotions called forth by images of security officers restraining students is complex, and the complexity deepens because the officers are white and the students are of color.

While I acknowledge the power of those images, I also recognize that the video depicts only a very brief portion of the time in which the Colby personnel, students, and law enforcement officers interacted. A full and complete understanding of the facts and circumstances of that morning is required if we are to have any hope of addressing productively the many concerns raised. As I did in my last message to you, I underscore my feeling that we must not rush to judgment in the absence of that complete understanding, even while I acknowledge the many requests that Colby act quickly. We do not yet know whether any of the events was motivated by racial considerations. We do not yet know whether the methods used constitute excessive force.I understand that these are questions that demand answers and that the pace of our investigation and the scarcity of detail surrounding it are clearly of concern to many of you. So I will share with you what I have told students about how the investigation has been mounted and how it will proceed.

Beginning early on Sunday morning, Associate Dean of Students Paul Johnston, Coordinator of Multicultural Programs Joseph Atkins and Richard Nale from Colby’s Human Resources Department have been conducting interviews with witnesses. They were selected to conduct Colby’s initial investigation because of their knowledge of Colby policies and federal laws surrounding student privacy issues and employment regulations and because each is experienced in gathering information immediately following an event. Experience, not only at Colby but in other settings, suggests that the sooner such interviews are conducted, the more complete and accurate a picture of events will emerge. Paul, Joe, and Richard have been unable to interview all potential witnesses because some have not responded to requests from them, but they hope to conclude this phase of the investigation shortly, joined by Director of Equal Employment Opportunity Cora Clukey as we make the transition into the next phase.

At the forum last night, students asked whether it would be helpful for Colby administrators to receive information germane to the investigation from students who were not present – for example, from students who have had interactions with Security that they believe may be exemplars. Vice President Doug Terp and I agreed that the wider scope could indeed be helpful and encouraged those who wanted to talk to us, to Dean Jim Terhune or anyone on his staff, or to the investigators to do so.

Since Monday, I have worked to identify a person unconnected with the College who will evaluate the facts and provide an independent determination of what happened. This independent investigator will have the full cooperation of the College administration and will conduct his or her inquiry as he or she chooses. I cannot provide details now of how or when the conclusions of that investigation will be shared, but I hope to have more to say about this soon.I will continue to keep you informed as to the progress of the investigation and Colby’s response to these events. In the meantime, the College also is maintaining a Web page that contains, in addition to our communications about the matter, links to the media coverage of which we are aware. The address of that site is: www.colby.edu/april12incident. By tomorrow, we hope, a complete video of last night’s forum also will be posted on the site.

I am grateful to all of you who have engaged in these discussions. As difficult as it is to hear and to read some of the more negative criticism, my sense of the power of the Colby bond has been deepened by the thoughtfulness of your comments and your clear commitment to making this College stronger in every way.

William D. Adams
President

I'm A Rock Star Baby.

New 14" Sabian X-Plosion Crash. Oh the sweetness!

Come check out Gozer & The Gozarians from 12:30-2:30 pm tomorrow, March 27. I'm the hot drummer in the back. You can't miss me; I'm the only female. Wuzzzup!

Location:
SFC/4th floor
3340 N. Broad St (Southwest corner of Ontario & Broad)
Philly

Six-Week Training Plan For Broad St 10 Mile Race (May 3, 2009)

Goal Pace: 7:50 min/mi pace

Notes: First race of the season. Haven’t been running that much since I started teaching Body Pump (BP) and Spinning in January. Last year, I ran 8 min/mi pace for this race. This year I’m shooting for sub 8. I think 7:50 min/mi is a reasonable goal. My PR for a half marathon was last year’s Nike Women’s Half Marathon in October and I averaged 7:31 min/mi. Obviously, not at that pace yet, but sub 8 is def doable considering I am very fit from my classes!



-Speedwork gets 800m jogs in between sets.
-I’m not sure that I’ll be able to keep to the >7 min/mi pace for the mile repeats….that’s pretty slow, but that’s the suggested pace considering I haven’t done any speed all Winter. I’ll let you know how that goes!
-I also kept out 400 repeats from the schedule…going to save that ‘til after I get my legs back.
-Tuesdays are my worst energy days (so much teaching mon/tues). I tried to allow for that in my planning.

My Band; RIP John Pike

Aka Gozer & The Gozarians aka Zuul aka Apoptonic aka Work In Progress.

Yes we're geeks and proud of it.

I've been officially playing the drums since the fourth grade. Unofficially, I've been tapping out beats since I was born. Some of my earliest memories are of me sitting atop my Dad's shoulders, watching the drum core of the local marching band stomp by. I'd try to imitate the rhythm, using my Dad's head as my first snare drum. Thinking back, he must have had bruises from my 'sweet' beats, but he never complained. Always a supporter!

In high school I mostly just played with the school bands (marching, jazz, and orchestra) under Band Director Bob Lassonde. I'd occasionally play a school musical or with fellow students (shout out to Four Green Polo Shirts). Back in those days I was obsessed with playing Zeppelin, namely Kashmir or Stairway to Heaven. Couldn't get enough of that heavenly bass drum sound. In college, I branched out a bit. My other drummer friends and I would go down to this park with our sticks and knock out rhythms on anything we could play on. This is what I'd like to call my "creative/hippie" phase. Later years at Colby saw me playing in a band with a good friend of mine, Leif. We did a lot of covers and had a blast together, though we didn't really practice that regularly.

My drum playing reached an all time low in the years immediately following graduation. My grad school program sucked me into a dark abyss and I didn't do much besides study and run. I kept thinking to myself that I'd get back on those drums soon, once I got some more free time and motivation. However, I 'all of a sudden' found that three years had passed and I still hadn't picked up a drum stick.

In June 2007, all of that changed. A childhood friend of mine and fellow drummer died unexpectedly. Just as his own band, Ra Ra Riot, was starting to get momentum and start a tour that summer, Johnny Pike's life was suddenly taken away. Apart from feeling an immense sorrow for the loss of such a talented and outgoing musician, I was reminded of how quickly things can end and how important it is to take advantage of the moment. Don't put off things until tomorrow because a) you'll most likely put it off again to the following day, etc, or b) shit happens, you may not be around tomorrow.

*You can't wait around for that magical free time, good timing, and/or motivation to suddenly appear. It's not going to come. Stop thinking about doing something and just go do it.

And thus, the day I returned from the funeral, I sent out an email to the Penn listserv and asked if anyone wanted to get together and jam; I explained that I hadn't played in a couple of years, but I really wanted to get into something consistent.


Matt and Jeff replied quickly; eagerly saying that this is exactly how they felt too. Jory got recruited through Matt; they've known each other for a while and had discussed getting together, but never got around to it. We've met pretty much every Saturday since then (ok, we have periods where life has gotten in the way, but overall we've been consistent).

And that is the story of how the band got together.

I cannot express how happy playing with the band makes me. The first level of pleasure comes from the mere act of playing and making music. It's great to be inside that beat and feel it easily flowing from you. Second, I feel happy because this is something that I actively sought out. I could have just as easily kept on slogging through my schedule, still claiming that I just didn't have enough time. Activities like this make me feel alive and that I'm living to the fullest. There's a jubilation in that knowledge.

March 27th! 12:30-3:30p. Temple Musicians In Medicine Spring Concert. Be there or be square!

Shameless self-promotion

Few things coming up I'd like y'all to know about.

*March 27th*: MARK YOUR CALENDARS. My band is playing at The Temple Musicians In Medicine Spring Concert. Yay! It's from 12:30-3:30. Everyone is welcome to come, even if you're not in med school...Please come! I'd love to see familiar faces in the crowd. For you HW folks out there, Nick Papacostas shall also be in attendance an playing in his band. He sings, he plays piano, he raps a bit! Multi-talented dude. We're reppin' good ol' Ham-Wen well. Come show your support.

*I opened up a flickr account last month and have been uploading photos little by little.
Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daisie981/
I'm planning to get a bunch of films developed this weekend from my 1970 Nikon and scanning them in. Be on the look out!

*If you are looking to do something artsy this weekend, come see my friend Amanda Juner's art show at T Bar (12th & Samson). It's Saturday, March 7 from 6-8p. Free teas and treats AND there's going to be a jazz band. Need more reason to be there? Yours truly shall be present! Fo Sho! And then I'll be headed to see The Watchmen. Sweet!

*Next week is Philly Beer Week. Yes! It's here again! Last year I was so caught up in studies, I didn't get to attend any of the events. Not this year! I'll be posting my favorite stops. Get ready!

*Sunday, May 3. Broad Street Race. 10 miles of flat & fast & fun. You still have two months to get ready. Sign up and join Melissa and my Dad and me! Give it a try! http://www.broadstreetrun.com/site3.aspx

Philly Fav's

Stuff I do on a regular/seasonal basis in Philly.

Relaxing Weekends:
1) When the weather gets a bit nicer I like to stroll down to the Italian Market with a book. I get a slice of Laurenzo's Pizza at 9th and Christian for a buck-fifty then head across the street to Anthony's Cafe, purchase my favorite chai with a shot of espresso, then sit outside at one of the tables and people watch/read my book.

2) Weather permitting, I like to take a book down to Locust Street Park (it's down by 25th & Locust, near the River). I either sit in the grass or on one of the many benches. Everyone from the neighborhood brings their dogs here (there's also an enclosed dog park). I love to watch all the doggies at play. It's also a great (and safe) location to sun bathe during those steamy summer months. You can also enjoy the abutting community garden.

3) Head over to Go Vertical Indoor Rock Climbing Gym near Columbus and Spring Garden. It's great for newbies and veterans alike. If you go with a member (like me), first time is for free.

4) Take a stroll or run along the Boat House Row on Kelly Drive. There's a sweet bike path the runs along the river (out and back = 8 miles). About .75 miles from the start of the bike path at Logan Hall, there a nice bouldering spot and bench area. If you go a bit farther, you get the sense that you are no longer in the city: there are lots of trees, grassy areas to sprawl out, and benches to relax and admire the lovely view of the Schukill River.

5) When my trusty best buddy Emily is not off skiing in Jackson Hole like she is this month, we take a weekly drive out to the Wissahickon Park (The Wiss) in Mount Airy area of Philadelphia for some trail running. If you want to feel like you are in the woods but not actually leave Philadelphia, this is the place to go. You'll see runners, walkers, families, and dogs out on those paths. Beautiful weekend retreat! If you can, stop at Valley Green Inn for brunch or lunch. Very quaint and always has the best food!

6) Another enjoyable day trip to cast off the city blues is to Media. Media contains a cute Main Street with a brew pub, cute shops, a Trader Joes, and top notch restaurants. What pulls me to Media is Tyler Arboritum--a great preserve with a plethora of trails. You can choose from 3 mile up to 10 mile loops. The air smells soooo good here! Do try out the brewpub on that Main St in Media. I forget the name of it, but they always have good beers on tap and tasty dishes.

7) Manayunk. Another section of Philadelphia in the Northeast. FYI, the City of Philadelphia is huge--sections like Manayunk and Mount Airy are so far from Center City that you feel like you have entered the suburbs. It's still Philly though! Manayunk has it's own Main Street which has a small town feel. Lots of coffee shops, bars, restaurants and boutiques. I am in Manayunk every Saturday for my band practice; the studio is just off main street (East Side Studios). Since you have to drive out there from Center City, I haven't gone out there alot at night, but when I have it's been a blast. Kildare's Irish Pub is one of the favorites and it hosts quizzo every Tuesday night. A favorite spot of mine is The Machismo Burrito Bar = build your own burrito. They're pretty cheap and very tasty. They also have a Le Bus restaurant. The bread here is fantastic! Lot's of vegetarian dishes.

My favorite place to hit up in Manayunk is the Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant (or just The Brewpub). ****Great weekend combination: trail running at the Wiss following by dinner and beers at The Brewpub. Sweet! I've done this many a time and it's always a very satisfying day.

Ok, I'm going to move to list form or this will get very lengthy...

Favorite Cafes/Coffee Shops:
1) Brewhaha (between Walnut and Locust on 12th). I am there every day.
2) Anthony's Italian Cafe: 9th & Christian
3) Mug Shots: 21st & Fairmount (great food here too! and it's across from the old prison which looks like a medevil castle...this is in the Art Museum district). **Every Weds night they show a movie. http://www.mugshotscoffeehouse.com/
4) Cafe de Miel: on 17th in between Walnut & Locust. The pastries are to die for!
5) Naked Chocolate Cafe: Walnut & 13th or new location at Penn's campus (uh oh!). Yes, this is a cafe that specializes in chocolate goods too. Try the aztec hot cocoa. OMG.
http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/44522863/

Favorite BYOs: (MAKE SURE YOU BRING CASH)
1) Mercato. 13th & Spruce. Gourmet italian/french. Get the cheese plate! http://www.mercatobyob.com/
2) Audrey Claire. 20th & Spruce. Ahhh, this may be #1, but Mercato is only a couple of blocks from my apartment...you must go here. Expect to wait, but it's worth it!
3) Effie's. 11th & Pine. Best Greek food in the city! And it's a half a block from my house. The feta is unbelievable.
4) Salt & Pepper. 6th & Fitzwater. Great Queen's Village/Bella Vista neighborhood BYO. Menu changes all the time, so can't really recommend a specific dish. Small & intimate.
5) Cochon. Ok, I haven't been here yet, but it's on the way to The Royal Tavern and every time I pass by it looks delicious. Who wants to go with me? It's at Catherine & Passayunk. http://www.cochonbyob.com/

There are soooo many great BYOs in Philly, but these are my top four that I keep going back to and have never been disappointed. To try these or to look for more, go to this great interactive BYOB search engine: http://www.gophila.com/byobmap/

Also check out the City Search Philadelphia webpage. I'm on there just about every day for one reason or another: http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/roundup/38802

Best Margaritas:
1) Xochitl. On 2nd between Lombard & Pine. High end tequila and full range of tequila types. I never knew how many different kinds of tequila there are; it's as complex as wine! Tastiest margaritas in the city. This is actually a restaurant too. The food menu looks divine but I've only sat at the bar. I need to go back to eat. The food is pricy, but looks filling. Headhouse Square is neat, too. There's the Society Hill Dance Acadamy across the way--can take lessons there or go in Thurs/Fri nights for open dance party. There are also other pubs there too, but I haven't tried them out yet.
2) Mixto. 11th & Pine. The best cuban food and drinks in the city. The mojitos, margaritas and plaintains are particularly good! And it's a half a block from my apartment!
3) El Vez. 13th & Samson. Great after-work or weekend night drinks. Try the blood orage margarita, you won't be disappointed. Also Mexican food served.

Best Pubs/Gastrobars:
1) The Royal Tavern (see my review). 6th & Passyunk
2) The Standard Tap. 2nd & Poplar. The beginning of North Philly, it's near the climbing gym so Emily and I go there fairly often. Great food, great beer on tap. Lots of local brews. Victory Wiezenbock is my fav when in season. The salad with duck leg is great as are the daily selection of soups.
3) Monk's. 16th & Spruce. Specializes in Belgian beer and food. Order the mussels and any of the burgers. This is a Philly must.
4) Good Dog. 15th & Locust. Try the Good Dog Burger. Stuffed with Roquefort! Sweet potato fries come with.
5) The Belgian Cafe. 21st & Green Street. Owed by same dude as Monk's. Different feel though. Awesome fries!
6) Doobies. 23rd & Lombard. On the dive bar side. Great burgers and cheap beer.
7) Nodding Head Restaurant & Brewery. 16th & Sansom. Great bar food and beers on tap.

Best non-BYO restaurants:
1) Amada. 2nd & Chestnut. Oh god this is good. Spanish tapas. Not cheap, but worth every penny. Take that special someone here.
2) Vetri. 13th & Spruce. Italian at it's best. More modern than traditional though. Gnocchi!
3) Ghenji. 18th & Sansom. SUSHI! Great Japanese beers too and plum wine.
4) Ralph's. 9th & Christian. Ok, some people have called this place the "Walmart of Italian Restaurants"...I however enjoy this place. It's the oldest family Italian restaurant in the country (opened circa 1905). If you're expecting high end Italian, this is not it. If you're expecting a more laid back family restaurant then this is the place for you. The table wine is great and anything with prosciutto. South Philly has so many great Italian restaurants, so if you want something with a bit more class in the same neighborhood, try Dante & Luigi's (on 10th between Catherine & Fitzwater). If you want real decadance, head to SALOON on 7th st in between Fitzwater and Catherine. You will need someone to cart you out of there at the end!

Best treats:
1) Capogiro. 13th & Samson or 2oth & Samson. GELATTO! This is a must!
2) Reading Terminal Market. Arch & 12th. Amish market place. http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/
3) Italian Market. Starts at 9th & Christian. DiBruno Bro's--cheese, butcher, fresh veggies, spice shop, pizza place, chocolate shop, pre-made food shop, kitchen shop, patry shop...
http://www.phillyitalianmarket.com/
4) Termini Brother's: 8th & Tasker. Totally worth the trip to South Philly. The BEST pastries, cookies, cakes, CHOCOLATE COVERED BANANAS, etc, etc ~ really whatever your heart desires it is there. http://www.termini.com/
5) Isgro's. 9th & Christian. (seeing a trend? get yourself to 9th & Christian). Best cannoli's. http://www.isgropastries.com/
6) Famous 4th St Cookies...up until recently the shop used to be over at 4th & Bainbridge. I recently went back and panicked because it was no longer there. Fortunately I checked online and found out that they are now in the Reading Terminal Market. The peanut butter cookies are amazing as are the oatmeal chocolate chip. They'll heat them up for you!!

Best breakfast/Brunch
1) Sabrina's. 9th & Christian. If you get there too late (after 10) expect a wait in the cold. It's worth it though. Filling proportions, unique flavors added to classic breakfast items, and all organic/fresh ingredients. Look for the pumpkin pancakes when in season. Uhhh, so good.
http://www.sabrinascafe.com/ There's also one near Mugshots. Breakfast then coffee? Sounds good to me. Let's go!
2) Morning Glory. 10th & Fitzwater. Diner. Classic. Never disappoints.
http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/8990918/philadelphia_pa/morning_glory.html
3) The Dutch Eating Place. Reading Terminal Market. You sit at the counter. Cheap, quick, greasy and filling. An Amish family runs it. Get some scrapple. It will feel like a stone in your stomach after but it's a Philly classic!
Great Philly Food Blog: http://comradechufood.blogspot.com/2008/12/dutch-eating-place-philadelphia.html
4) The 21st Street Gourmet. Near 21st & Walnut. Jewish influences. The poached egg on croissant with cheese is amazing.

Well, that should get you started. My stomach has led me to many interesting spots! There's still so much more to explore too! Let me know if you have anything specific you are looking for.

5 Most Embarrassing Race Moments

If you've been running in races since the sixth grade, shit happens...literally.

5. I took a year and a half off from running between senior year of high school and spring of freshman year at Colby because of IT band problems...in this time, the most exercise I did was walking from my house to school. When I started running again in January of 2001, I found that I had, surprise, lost all fitness. My first race back, I got dead last in the 400...by five seconds. Five seconds in the 400 meter race is equivalent to at least ten minutes behind in a mile race. It was pitiful and embarrassing.

4. Again, freshman year of college. I attempted to triple jump as I had in middle school and high school. The bounding drills caused me to get incredibly painful shin splints so I would have to pull a "seagull on hot sand": shifting my weight from one leg to the other and then back again. The pain was particularly acute at one indoor meet, so I decided to take some ibuprofen. Well of course the regular dose was not enough...20 pills later I was feeling a bit loopy. At the end of the meet, I jump onto the bus and am ready to head back to Colby. One by one my teammates climb onto the bus and say, "Whose Colby sweatshirt is this?" "Whose Colby tank top is this" "Did someone leave their spikes on the risers" "Who left their Colby sports bra by the track." I embarrassingly kept raising up my hand. Whoops. In total, I had left ~20 items of clothing strewn about the track. It's a wonder that I was still fully clothed. Chalk it up to dehydration. Chalk it up to ibuprofen overdose. Whatever. That earned me the title (and end of season award) for "I-took-so-much-ibuprofen-I-left-all-my-shit-at-the-track-and-apparently-my-brain-too." Definitely felt a bit sheepish after that and stopped triple jumping. NB, my other end of season awards included "The Prime Rib" Award (I'm particularly fond/proud of that one) and the "Full-Body Spandex Suit" Award (let me know if you want to hear about that).

3. Sophomore year of college. I was at a race at Tufts and wicked excited because my whole family was coming out to watch. Before the race, my mom was standing next to me and helping me to take off my warm up clothes. Once down to my race tank and underwear bottom, my mom gives me a good look up and down, smiling in support..until her gaze rests on my neck. Instantly her eyes narrow and her smile transforms into a grimace. "What is THAT?" she barked. "What?" "You have a hickey on your neck! I can't believe it. Don't let your father see this." My hand automatically shoots up to try to cover the evidence. But what are we kidding, you can't hide anything in my skimpy track uniform. I then had to walk proud over to the start line to greet my coaches and teammates. Apparently my mom was correct, my boyfriend must have gotten a little too frisky before the meet, and left a nice love bite for all to see. And everybody did see it. Nice. My sprint coach laughed, my head coach raised her eyebrows, and at least my teammate threw up her hand to give me a high five.

2. In the eighth grade I was an awesome distance runner. I often placed first by a minute or two. At the end of the cross country season, we had a big state meet at Pingree School in Ma. Kids from all over MA were competing in this meet = more competition = more pre-race jitters for Nina. The first half of the race went very smoothly, I was in a solid standing in the top ten and was feeling smooth. Little by little however, I became aware that I had to go to the bathroom...and not just pee, but a full on number two. The race was only 3.1 miles, so I figured I would just hold it in. Unfortunately, after five minutes of holding it in, I started to get sharp pains in the ol' GI tract, pains that turned to stabbings. I had a choice. Pull over to a Jiffy John and lose precious time. Or relax. I mean really relax. Ha. I chose the latter option and just let it go. The results were twofold. On the one hand, pooping in your race bloomers is obviously disgusting. What if some came out and I left a trail of droppings? Oh God. And then there's the stewing. Ah, yes, yuck. But on the other hand, I got rid of the pains, I felt light and smooth again. I was able to kick it in and get 8th place (and a nice little trophy). The embarrassing part was not just the act of defecating in my shorts; the embarrassing part came afterwards when everyone came up to congratulate me. I had to make an excuse and high tail it to the Jiffy Johns (finally) and clean myself up as best I could. Wow. I was pretty committed/insane even back in the 8th grade.

1. Most embarrassing moment ever. May 5, 2007. Broad St 10 mile race. In the two weeks leading up to the race, I had been suffering from a bad case of bronchitis: coughing, wheezing, fevers. Obviously this is not a good way to prepare for a race. I was feeling better by race day and felt compelled to do it because my Dad comes down every year to do it; it's a special event that we share together (though we don't actually run it together). That year my running buddy Melissa and I were running it together. Things were going well at an 8 min/mile pace for the first 7 miles. Around mile 7.5 however, the consequences of the illness started to rear their ugly heads. I got a case of brick legs and my tummy started to act up and I start coughing lots of nice balls of phlegm. Fun fun. I was determined to just keep going, so I threw back some Gatorade and put one foot in front of the other. By the last 200 meters I was feeling like complete crap and my stomach was definitely having a bad reaction to the orange Gatorade. 100 meter mark comes into view and I realize that I'm not going to make it...not going to make it in the sense that I had to pull over and puke on the sidelines. This is unfortunately not the most embarrassing part. Melissa tugs at my hand and says, "Come on, Nina, let's just finish this. It's right over there." Me being masochistic, stupid, stubborn, easily goaded--however you'd like to describe it--totally let her pull me in. I hadn't gone more than 50 meters when I got that queasy feeling again. And oh man, in the last 100 meters, of course the street is jam packed with spectators and worse, CAMERAS. That's right film and video. I'm pleading with myself, "Please, please, please, not now. Not here!" I think that I'm in the clear when I reach two feet in front of the finish line, only to suddenly experience an involuntary heaving. Oh no. As Melissa observes that I'm slowing down and tugs on my hand again, the vomiting commences. Not just any kind of spew...uncontrollable projectile vomiting (and what was the culprit--uh huh, the orange Gatorade). In front of hundreds of people and, oh yes, right into the cameras (only five feet in front of me and I was projecting the Gatorade at least three feet. Impressive?). Yes, so what's my awesome race photo from that year? That's right, they caught the projectile vomit on camera. And not after the fact; as it's coming out of my mouth. OMG. Grossest (and, come on, it's a bit hilarious too) moment ever.

As I was writing this post, I realized that I have many embarrassing moments (none so disgusting as that last one, thank goodness). These ones are the first that came into my head. I haven't even gotten into the wonders (and pitfalls) of marathoning. Perhaps another time.