The First Annual Brad Pinney Wine Tasting and Silent Auction!

The weekend finally arrived! On Friday, we headed to Wilbraham to get ready for The First Annual Brad Pinney Wine Tasting and Silent Auction. And, I am proud to say the event went off without a hitch!! We had an amazing night, with 118 guests and over $8,000 raised for the Melanoma Foundation of New England! SO many of Brad's friends and family came out to celebrate his life and support this cause in his honor. With over 20 different wines, samples from Opa Opa Brewing, tons of prizes, awesome food, a delicious cake from Cordis Confections and jazz piano from our good friend Dustin -what could be a better way to spend a Saturday night??

A HUGE Thank You to all of our vendors, donors, guests and friends who helped make the night so special. Thanks to my favorite gals, Ashlee and Jori, for working the door. You girls rocked it!

I think my favorite part of the night was standing back and watching guests and old friends reunite. To see people sipping wine, chatting, laughing and catching up was exactly what Brad would have wanted.

Hosting this event only reinforced how important it is to have a strong support system in life. This was something that Brad was good at and passionate about - creating a community of friends and family for support. It was so nice to have my parents and sister in Wilbraham for the big night. We had a sweet Lasagna dinner (thanks Chris)and for the first time, I felt like my two families were together at once.

So today, as I ran my 14 miles, I snapped the "Entering Wilbraham" sign above. I finally understood why Brad had lived in Wilbraham all his life - the amazing people and the strength of the community. And when I entered the house, exhausted after 2 hours of running, I was greeted by applause from 12 family members having lunch in the living room. Just another reason why I know Brad is definitely around..the support of family! =)

Boston Marathon Training: The Things You Do For Love.

Happy Valentines Day, all! Yes, it's the day of love and all things cupid, but training must go on! Today, I ran 12 miles out on the Charles, before a delicous Valentines day dinner cooked by Shaun. I finished at a 9 minute mile pace, fighting a relentless wind on the Storrow side. Seriously, the wind literally did not stop blowing for atleast 8 miles. I have pretty sweet wind burn to show for it. Oh, the things you do for love =)

Last week, I got a pretty sweet response to my Breakfast of Champs post,(Quiche recipe below)..and today, I started my morning off with another Power Breakfast: Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal! This is a heavy hitter. Loads of carbs for energy and protien for recovery,so make sure to eat it a few hours before your run. All you have to do is mix 1/2 cup of Quick Oats, 1/2 cup water, 1 smashed banana, and a tablespoon of PB. Microwave for 2 minutes. YUMMMM.. It's my favorite!

As I was getting ready for my long run this morning, I started to realize the effort that really goes into a long run. Here are my top necessities to get the job done:

Petroleum Jelly: I slather it on my feet, arms, wherever to prevent blisters and chaffing. Last year I had a chaffing scar on my neck so huge, that everyone thought it was a hickey. I'm trying to prevent that this year.
Foam Roller: The second love of my life. I roll right before and right after my run to release muscle tension
My Fuel Belt: H2O is critical, so I fill my fuel belt with Nuun, my favorite electrolyte drink. This belt is also wicked fashionable.
My ipod Today I started off with tunes from MGMT, then moved to Jay Z. About halfway through, I thought "I wonder if Beyonce ever gets mad about Jay's old songs.."Girls All Over the World? Hustler?!"...Yup, music is always a good way to kill time.
Gu - Sticky energy, nuff said.
Aquaphor's Eucerin Ointment: I slather this on my feet after every run. This stuff heals any and all blisters, open wounds, the works.

All in all, a solid V-day and a solid run. Next weekend is 14 miles and the big Brad Pinney Wine Tasting & Silent Auction. Get ready for lots of pics!

And lastly, here's last weeks Egg Quiche recipe!
Ingredients
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
3/4 cup liquid egg substitute (or regular eggs!)
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup diced onion
3 drops hot-pepper sauce (optional)
Directions
1.Microwave the spinach for 2 1/2 minutes on high. Drain the excess liquid.
2.Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups. Spray the cups with cooking spray.
3.Combine the egg substitute, cheese, salsa, onions, and spinach in a bowl. Mix well. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out.

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day. Thanks for reading!

Boston Marathon Training: Breakfast of Champions!

Happy Superbowl Sunday all! Since my Buffalo Bills or Patriots aren't playing, I'm finding the game pretty anti-climactic. So instead, I've decided to chill out, catch up on writing the blog and cook up some serious fuel food for the week! So what's up in my training these days? Here's the low down:

- Last week, we headed off to Wilbraham to prepare for the big event - the Brad Pinney Wine Tasting and Silent Auction on Feb 20th! Everything went well, even my 8 mile run in 6 degree weather!! Thank goodness for Shaun's mom, who gave me 2 extra layers of clothes to wear and dealt with my early morning neurosis.."Should I run? Should I not run? It's so cold? What do you think? What if my toes fall off? What if I can't move? What if I get lost? I should just suck it up and go. Right? Right?" . Right.

-This weekend, I hit up my favorite run of all - the last 10 miles of the Boston Marathon route. I started at Newton Wellsley Hospital and ended at Marathon Sports on Boylston. I ran about an 8:30 minute mile, so I was psyched. When I finished, I hung out in Marathon sports until Shaun picked me up, deliriously talking to the store clerk about my blister fiasco of 2009 and frantically aplologizing because I smelled.

-Tonight, I made the BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONs! These yummy spinich and egg quiches for the week..Just eggs, spinich, feta and tomatoes, cooked up in muffin tins. They are the perfect "Grab and go" fuel and spinich is a great food for cancer prevention.

All in all, running has been going well, despite an old ankle injury that suprisingly seems to be healing up nicely. And the greatest update of all? I know Brad is with me when I run...protecting me and helping me to push through the tough times. I can just feel it. And that in itself, is worth every mile.

Boston Marathon Training: Learning to Be Flexible

All in all, another solid training weekend. Shaun and I handled six miles on the Charles today…with minimal ice (thank you New Balance for clearing the ice and snow this year!) and a serious wind kicking up on the Memorial Drive side. We finished strong, running about a 9:30 mile. This was Shaun’s first 6 miles EVER, and he killed it! (He’s passed out right now as I write, but well deserved!). My ankle held up pretty well too. (I’m icing now as I write). So I am psyched to run 8 next week on the roads of Western Mass!

As we were running, I was thinking about what I should blog about, which brought me to My 2 Rules of Flexibility that all runners should abide by:

1)Always remain flexible with your training schedule. This doesn’t mean skip a long run or train without paying attention to mileage, but make sure to listen to your body and your mind. If you’re sick, injured, or just plain exhausted..it ‘s OK to move your long run a day or so to give your body some recovery. Or, if you get impromptu all you can eat “Hungry for Hockey” Bruins tickets for example, doing your long run on Sunday instead of Saturday is fine too (Thanks Laura and Kev! We had lots of carbs before our long run today!!


2)Keep your body loose and Flexible! If you haven’t tried a foam roller and you’re a runner, you’re crazy. This thing massages deep muscle tissue like no other. I finally got my own from City Sports this weekend. I love it more than anything else I own. I love it so much, Shaun is worried.

Also, a big congrats to Nicole Pinney Farrell who just ran her first 4 miles without stopping. These Pinneys are natural born runners!!

Couples who Run Together..Paint Together!

This Saturday, Shaun and I finally decided to take the plunge...Yup that's right, we FINALLY painted the apartment! After painting a sea of bright green, we had a good hour to kill while the paint dried. Lucky for me, Shaun's been running a few times a week, so we decided to take a gorgeous 4 mile run on the Charles. It took me a while to get my head in the game, since it was the first time running outside since the ankle has rehabed. But it felt great...and running with Shaun was exactly what I needed to push through the nagging "I want to be done with this run" thoughts that crept into my brain on mile two. Not to mention, Shaun kicked my butt, so that was extra motivating! Marathon for Shaun?? Not sure if he'd be into it, but I think he's up for a 6 miler next weekend!!

Also, GREAT news..we are up to $3500 in donations for the Melanoma Foundation! A special thank you to the Hubspot team, who made several donations today!! Even more motivation to keep pushing.

What motivates you??

Run Forever!

"I have to make funny faces in pictures!" - Bill Rodgers after yesterday's photo shoot ;)

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to hang with Bill Rodgers, 5 time Champion of the Boston Marathon and honorary captain of the Melanoma Foundation's Running for Cover Team. Our team met with Bill and his buddy Roger Park for a lesson in biomechanics of the foot and injury prevention. Let's just say, I was able to have Roger confirm that I have a higher tendancy for ankle sprains and foot pain. I'm a Supinator - only 10% of runners Supinate - or put major pressure on the outside of the foot. Roger Park actually makes custom orthodotics for running legends, like Joan Benoit Samuelson (He kept referring to her as "Joanie"!), so I knew I was in good hands. Biggest lesson for me? I actually need to switch the left and right foot orthodics to get the best support. If you've never been appropriately fitted for your sneakers..do it!

Bill also gave me a signed copy of his book,The Complete Idiot's Guide to Runnning, which will be up for auction in February! He told me modestly that he had no idea why his shoes were sold for $10,000 at an auction once! Ummm Bill...here's why:



He signed the book with his new motto "Run Forever!" and joked that "It used to be "See you on the roads but now I'm getting old..so it's Run Forever!"If anyone has ever met Bill, he's one of the most laid back and inspiring runners I've ever met. He truly LOVES LOVES LOVES to run and he loves helping others get started. Plus, he's oddly hillarious, here's an example from his book:

"At a race in Japan once, I startled all the runners by popping a potato in my mouth just minutes before the start. I had a few stomach problems during the race, but new my opponents were completely psyched out. I won".

haha..maybe I'll try that this year???! Any other suggestions to psych out my competitors???

Make Way for the 1st Annual Brad Pinney Wine Tasting & Silent Auction for Melanoma! plus..frozen corn.

I have to say, with the new year in place, things are defintely coming together! My ankle is successfully rehabbing after a 3 month-long sprain and I've been cleared to train harder, our fundraising event is gaining steam with tons of local attention and amazing auction items, and we're already at $2100 in donations for the Melanoma Foundation! So far, 2010 is bringing it home!!

A few things to remember:
Save the Date for the First Annual Brad Pinney Wine Tasting and Silent Auction! On February 20th we'll be celebrating Brad's tremendous spirit of giving and raising money for the Melanoma Foundation. The event will be held at the Hampden Country Club in Hampden,Ma. Join us for complimentary wines from over 6 vineyards from across the globe, complimentary beer samples, yummy food and over 20 auction items for bidding. It's going to be a great night! Big thanks to our sponsors and the Pinney family for putting this together! Amazing auction items include: a week long stay at a beautiful Cape House in Truro,MA, a one night weekend stay at the Liberty Hotel Boston, high end jewelry, art, a weekend stay at Sugarbush resort, spa gift certificates and even skis!! Tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets are $50 if purchased before January 30th and $60 if purchased after that date. To purchase tickets, please contact me at natalie.deangelo@gmail.com See you there!



Today's Training Tip? Use organic corn to ice ailments. Organic is better for you. ;)