Why? Because this is the gift that will keep on giving! Each month, your recipient will get 18 bars delivered to their door and they’ll remember, “Man, ____ is really an awesome person.”

3. PICKY BAR SWEATSHIRT ($48)

This should be reserved for the Picky addict in your life (raises hand) to enhance their #pickylife.

OISELLE

1. RUNFINITY SCARF ($24)

Why? Scarf is functional, soft, and goes with just about everything. I wore mine (ok, I have two) every day last winter.

2. STRIPEY LONG SLEEVE SCOOP NECK ($44)

Why? Another fan favorite. This one is even Mom (my mom, that is) approved. Perfect for travel and for running around the city — its fashionable and holds up for any workout to boot.

3. LUX LAYER ($76)

Why? This is my favorite weight long sleeve tee that Oiselle sells. The fabric is like butter and the weight is perfect alone for those first cold days of the year and a great layering piece.

4. LUX LAYER ($76) + DISTANCE SHORTS ($39)

This gift says: I really care about your running.

Distance shorts in action!

BAUBLE BAR

1. PAVE POP STUDS ($26)

I’d go with the turquoise ones but that’s just me.

2. ACRYLIC SCRIPT MONOGRAM NECKLACE ($58)

A twist on a classic.

3. CLASSIC SCRIPT MONOGRAM NECKLACE ($100)

Why? Because Blair on Atlantic-Pacific has one and she always looks well put together.

SOUL CYCLE:

1. SOUL CYCLE CLASS ($34)

2. SOUL CYCLE 5 CLASS PACK ($165)

3. SOUL CYCLE 5 CLASS PACK + GRAPEFRUIT CANDLE (!!!) ($165+$42)

4. SOUL CYCLE ATHLETE HOODIE ($125) (I think I just like this because it says athlete on it.)

You have absolutely no idea how happy a grapefruit candle can make someone until you give a SoulCycle addict a grapefruit candle. I only burn mine on times when I really need that grapefruit scent. And I searched high and low last year for comparable grapefruit scents to the Jonathan Adler one (the one SC uses) and the Nest version is close if you need a back up candle choice. [I did my grapefruit candle research.]

RUNNER BUNDLE:

PICK TWO to FOUR (DEPENDING ON SANTA’S BUDGET) AMONGST THE FOLLOWING THINGS AND BOOM! WELL THOUGHT OUT GIFT (IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF)

– NUUN TUBE ($6.50) OR 4 PACK ($22) – OISELLE DUDS (price will vary)

– PICKY BARS SAMPLER PACK ($12.50) – BELIEVE I AM TRAINING JOURNAL ($19.99)

– ERICA SARA BLING (price will vary) – SPARKLY HEAD BAND ($15)

NYC FITNESS FANATIC:

1. FITIST GIFT CERTIFICATE (varying prices)

2. JUICE PRESS GIFT CERTIFICATE (varying prices)

Odds are if the person lives in NYC and is into fitness, they’re probably also into juices right now. Correlation, not causation.

CHARITABLE:

1. ALL THE GOOD COOKIES COOKBOOK (benefitting Cookies For Kids’ Cancer)

2. EVERY MOTHER COUNTS GEAR FROM OISELLE (benefitting Every Mother Counts)

GYMNASTICS GURU OR TRACK ADDICT

1. ACCOUNT FOR GYMNASTIKE GOLD OR FLOTRACK PRO ($150.00/YEAR or $20/MONTH)

I watch more Gymnastike Gold videos (particularly “Beyond the Routine” series than I care to admit. I don’t have Flotrack Pro, but imagine it’s just as good. Both generally have great interviews and profiles on athletes and Gymnastike has done a stellar job with their docu-series.

FOR YOUR FAVORITE INTERN/RESIDENT:

STARBUCKS CARD (varying) + SPECK PHONE CASE/CARD HOLDER ($35) + SPARKLY LANYARD FOR ID (varying)

I have yet to land a blinged out lanyard for my ID. I mean, my cotton NYU one is holding up ok and I’ve added some pizazz to the scrubs with handbands, but we can always keep improving.

FINAL MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF VARYING PRICES:

1. BEADED HEADBAND FROM ANTRHO (~$20-30 dollars)

Why? They’re pretty and can dress up boring outfits…like scrubs.

2. MAY BOOKS PERSONALIZED NOTEBOOK

For your favorite paper prince or princess.

3. KILLING LINCOLN BY BILL O’REILLY AND MARTIN DUGARD ($19.59 on Amazon)

Its a good read for your favorite history buff.

4. GRAIN BRAIN BY DAVID PERLMUTTER, MD ($15.16 on Amazon)

This might be a great addition to a gift for your fitness addict friend whose into juicing who probably also eats semi-gluten free or thinks gluten might be killing us (raises hand here…but still eating gluten).

5. BRACELET FROM KIEL JAMES PATRICK

For your favorite preppy friend who you think may need to branch out from Vineyard Vines and Sperry’s.

Happy Thanksgiving…Happy Holidays!

TELL ME: YOUR HOLIDAY WISH LIST?

[PS: Winner of 10 box of Picky Bars announced Sunday – you still have time to enter!]

13Nov2013

NYC Marathon 2013: Convincing Myself Otherwise…

Posted in Charity, Intern Year, Oiselle, Racing, Running, Uncategorized by thethinksicanthink

If you spoke to me around May of this year, I would have sworn up and down that Eugene was my last marathon. It’s was why I trained so hard for it, right? That last hurrah before residency?

I had no intention of running the NYC Marathon for myself this year. In fact, I chose the “refund” option for my 2012 entry after the cancellation. I thought it’d be impossible to do a marathon as an intern.

However, the opportunity to run for Every Mother Counts made me convince myself otherwise. After spending some time on labor and delivery, it became very apparent how dangerous pregnancy and childbirth can become in certain situations. The thought of having to walk 5k to receive basic medical care while in labor, which many rural African women have to do, fueled my desire to raise both awareness and funds for EMC, which seeks to remedy this and other barriers to prenatal and obstetrical care. One look at this video compelled me to take the plunge into another 26.2 mile journey.

The more I run and the more I go through life, the more I realize that most situations are determined by how you look at them.

Hugh Downs may have said it best: “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but, rather, with a certain set of attitudes.”

More simply stated, attitude really is everything.

So, I convinced myself that running this marathon would be a GREAT idea. I would be raising money and awareness for a great cause. It would motivate me to run on days I didn’t want to. And, best of all, I could run it with one of the coolest moms I know (besides my own mom), Gia.

Residency blazed ahead a blistering pace and “training” fit in where it could. I didn’t tempo, mile repeat, long run workout, 800 repeat, or do any of the other traditional workouts one might associate with marathon training. In fact, I missed a couple of long runs. I ran or spun when I could and convinced myself that what I did was enough and that, in fact, being an OB/GYN intern was actually high intensity interval training disguised as work (which sometimes it feels like it is).

By the time last Sunday arrived, I was over the moon excited – probably the most excited I had ever been for a marathon. (Or maybe I was also just really excited to have the weekend off of work…).

In my “YES… I’m off all weekend” excitement, I told the “team” (Addie, KScott, and Gia) that we were going to run free and race inspired. I had the next four hours off from any thought of residency, ACGME, logging work hours in New Innovations, CREOGs/Prolog studying, cleaning my apartment, organizing the piles of stuff on my desk, answering emails of which there are too many, or any other obligation I had.

The race itself was the antithesis of every other marathon I’ve run. I didn’t wear a watch. I didn’t think about a split or goal time other than the fact that I thought I’d like to finish at or just under 4 hours to save my legs the extra beating.

The race started and despite all excitement and the reality that I knew I was running a marathon, the whole situation didn’t seem real. I couldn’t believe I was there. After an entire spring of proclaiming that I was done with marathons as residency wouldn’t allow time for that, here I was….running another one.

Miles 1-10 were so mesmerizingly distracting that I don’t remember much about how I felt. What I do remember was how awesome the crowds were, how nice the views were, and how excited Gia and I were to see VC, G1, and G2 at mile 8. As Gia went to swoop up her two twinkles, I decided I needed a kid, too, so I gave Addie’s little Q a great big hug, which probably traumatized the poor unsuspecting kid.

To be honest, around miles 10-13 I started to feel my quads ache a twinge in both my right IT band and left lateral knee. I knew at this point I had two options: freak out about it or keep moving forward.

I’ve found that most of my marathons mirror what’s going on in my life at that point in time. Residency somewhat forces you to get used to this state of constant, relentless forward motion and progress. You have to keep moving.

So, just like I had for the past several months as an intern, I did what I had been doing – I kept moving forward.

By Mile 16 my quads were done and thus began the rest of the most painful marathon I’ve ever run.

Yet, it was the most fun I’ve had running a marathon at the same time.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around how that’s possible.

Anyways, since I was in quad pain fest, I did have a doubt or two along the way that I would actually be able to finish. 10 miles is a long way to go on dead legs.

At mile 20….I actually couldn’t believe I had made it to mile 20 without cramping or collapsing. And, oddly, my overwhelming thoughts from that point forward were “you’re here! you’re doing it!” which comes straight out of Charlee’s SoulCycle class.

And, finally, after 6 more miles of relentless forward motion and telling myself “you’re here! you’re doing it!” over and over, I made it here:

FINISH LINE!

And, shortly thereafter, found myself here:

I made the trek from Staten Island to Central Park in 3 hours 55 minutes and 43 seconds and I couldn’t be happier.

The poncho may have had something to do with that happiness.

A final HUGE thank you goes to my marathon buddy and #sisterinsport, Gia.

From a long run my last weekend before starting residency.

One hot day way back in July, I ran 16 miles with Gia (and RB!) as part of her Chicago marathon training.As we ran up and down the hills of the Palisades Parkway (of which there are many), I talked about how cool it would be if I did a marathon this fall “just to see if I could.” Gia encouraged me. She believed in me probably more than I did at some points. And even when I was struggling in those last 10 miles, she never left my side (despite my telling her “go! run faster!” I think every mile of the last 10). I couldn’t have picked a better friend to share 26.2 miles with. Gia, I’m lucky to call you my friend!

And, finally, Jocelyn, we missed you!

Come back, JCB! This is how I feel now that you live in Oregon.

If you made it this far. Congratulations! This is now the end.

Recap: I ran a marathon. For Every Mother Counts. It hurt really badly. But, probably not as much as walking many miles while in labor. And that’s why I ran the marathon in the first place.

Until next time…

28Jun2013

The Better to See You With, My Dear…

Posted in Charity, Fashion, Intern Year, Oiselle, Residency by thethinksicanthink

…and other Public Service Announcements…

1. Warby Parker

I’m in love with my new frames. For $95 I was able to get new frames with lenses. LensCrafters was going to charge me $330 just for lenses to put in my own frames.

Bonus: For every pair purchased, Warby Parker gives a pair to someone in need.

2.. Raglan Slub Top from Oiselle

This is the perfect basic tee and it is super comfortable. Looks great at the track or on the street (I’ve paired mine with statement necklaces for an added punch).

You get more bang for your buck. Two birds with one stone. Win-win situation.

3. DoDo Cases

Build an awesome bookbound case for your tablet.

Plus, plenty of other cool paper products for any fellow paper princesses (or princes) out there!

TELL ME: PRODUCTS YOU ARE INTO LATELY? IF I WRITE ABOUT INTERN YEAR, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?

Until next time…

29May2013

#WeRunNYC Update and FAQs!

Posted in Charity, Fashion, Favorite Things, Nuun Hydration, NYC, Oiselle, Picky Bars, Running by thethinksicanthink

Hey Hey Hey!

We are so looking forward to seeing friendly faces – new and old – at #WeRunNYC this Saturday, June 1st at 8:30. Bright and early to beat the heat!

Here are the deets in case you forgot.

WHAT: Fun Run (4 mile and 8 mile options)

WHEN: Saturday, June 1st, 8:30 am (trying to beat the heat!)

WHERE: Greatist HQ – 18 W 27th Street, 8th floor

FREE TICKETS: GET THEM HERE!

SPONSORS: @oiselle, @pickybars, @nuunhydration

HOSTS: @greatist

RUN EXPERT: Josh of Gotham City Runners

HASHTAG: #weRUNnyc <– because if it didn’t happen on instagram or twitter, then it didn’t really happen, right?

Here are a few updates and FAQs on the run, prizes, AND a special online raffle so those who aren’t in NYC can participate (tear, we wish you could be here!).

1. BAG CHECK: Yes! You can leave your bags in the designated bag check room at Greatist HQ. One of the Greatist employees will be staying behind so your stuff will be a-ok while you run.

2. OISELLE CLOTHES TO TRY ON: Jocelyn and I are going to bring some of our Oiselle clothes for people to try on for sizing purposes as I know many people often have questions on the sizing. Boom! Here’s your chance to try on. Don’t worry, all clothes will be clean! 🙂

3. PRIZES: Oh yeah. Get excited. This is the real reason you’re going to want to come.

NUUN: New Flavor Mixed 4 Pack AND a water bottle, similar to the ones Kara Goucher used in Boston

PICKY BARS: 10-bar pack and wrist band

I know you remember this guy…

OISELLE: 1 women’s 50/50 “Fly” tee

2 men’s 50/50 “London Calling” tees

1 pair of women’s Game Day shorts in poppy

3 pack of Rundies

GREATIST: Trigger Point The Grid Foam Roller

Greatist T-shirts

And, the piece de resistance…drumroll please…

AN ELITE OISELLE SINGLET SIGNED BY LAUREN FLESHMAN!

Because we believe this last one is so special and because we love Every Mother Counts, we’re making this one both an online and in person raffle for charity. The other prizes are in person raffle only and the run and are free.

Enter to win an elite Oiselle singlet signed by pro runner and Oiselle business partner, Lauren Fleshman! Lauren is a 5x NCAA champ, 15x All-American, and 2x US 5K Champ! Online entries can be done at our crowdrise page:

——> http://www.crowdrise.com/teamemc/fundraiser/werunnyc <——

ONLINE ENTRIES: $2 for 1 raffle ticket

IN PERSON ENTRIES: $1 for 1 raffle ticket, cash only at #WeRunNYC on 6/1/13

WHAT YOUR DONATION SUPPORTS:

Every Mother Counts (EMC) is an advocacy and mobilization campaign founded by Christy Turlington Burns that seeks to increase education and support for maternal mortality reduction globally. More simply stated, EMC helps to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all mothers.

$3 (just a few raffle tickets!) can ensure a pregnant woman can get a ride to a clinic when she goes into labor.

$500 can provide 50 women with safe motherhood kits with basic supplies for delivery and postnatal care.

$3600 can train a midwife in Haiti who will, on average, attend to at least 100 births over the course of her career.

Raffle winner will be drawn on June 2nd and announced on Monday, June 3rd.

Didn’t win?! You can be stylish and philanthropic by purchasing Oiselle’s exclusive collection for Every Mother Counts! Forty percent of all purchases go directly to EMC. I kid you not, that EMC sweatshirt is one of the softest sweatshirts I’ve ever owned.

Find out more about EMC here: http://www.everymothercounts.org/

Find out more about Oiselle for EMC here: http://www.oiselle.com/shop/the-collective/every-mother-counts

Find out more about Lauren here: asklaurenfleshman.com

TELL ME: WHO’S COMING? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO WIN? DONATING? FAVE NUUN FLAVOR? FAVE PICKY BAR FLAVOR? FAVE OISELLE PIECE? FAVE CHARITY?

See you Saturday!

Until next time…

The Thinks I Can Think

Category Archives: Charity

A Gift Giving Guide ( ie Santa, This Is My List)

NYC Marathon 2013: Convincing Myself Otherwise…

The Better to See You With, My Dear…

#WeRunNYC Update and FAQs!