Do you want to be famous (infamous)? Are you really cool and would you like to share your coolness with the internet? Would you like to be the next NYC Social Sports Club Star of the Week?? E-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Hometown? Dublin, OH -- home of Wendy's, the PGA Memorial Tournament, and a giant field of concrete corn.
Day Job? I'm a senior editor at Prevention.com, the website of Prevention magazine. I edit stories about health, fitness, nutrition and beauty, write articles and blog posts, and produce our online videos. I'm also finishing up my MA in Media Studies at the New School.
When/Why you came to NY? I've been in New York for over 9 years now. I moved here right after college to find a job as an editor/writer, figuring that my odds were better in New York than just about anywhere else. My first job here was at Barnes and Noble and lasted only three months. But I stuck it out with temp and freelance jobs, and eventually landed a full-time gig as an editor.
Neighborhood? South Slope (aka "Greenwood Heights"), Brooklyn
Sport(s) & Team Name(s)? Broomball, the incomparable Gotham Blades
How did you get involved with your sport/team? I was recruited by my teammate and former co-worker, Ethan Sacks, who became known around our office for his broomball proselytizing. He often refers to me as his "greatest success story."
Where does your team name come from? It's the name of the hockey team in the Batman comics! If there was a contest for geekiest team we would win.
Your Favorite NYC Social Moment? I have had so many good times with my team over the years, but the best has to be when we won a hard-fought match against our archrivals The Greeks in November 2008. It moved us into first place, and we went on to win the playoffs that season. Everyone in the city flooded the streets that night in celebration of our historic victory! Coincidentally, that was also the night Obama won the presidential election.
Shameless plug for website, youtube, facebook, twitter, anything and everything else! Follow me on Twitter: @MillerTracyL
Home of Wendys!? Wow. What is your favorite Wendy's treat?
That's a hard one. The burgers are good but I usually go for the fried chicken sandwich. Also, you can't beat the classic combination of fries dipped in Frosty. I try to eat healthy most of the time, but if I find myself in a Wendy's situation I'm just going to go with it.
Concrete corn...how do you eat that?
Very carefully or you might chip a tooth! The concrete corn is mainly for photo ops. Luckily Ohio has no shortage of edible corn.
Working for prevention - what are your favorite things to write about?
Anything where I get to interview people -- it's fun to talk to people who are passionate about what they're doing, whatever that might be. I like having experts explain complicated things to me and then being able to break it down for non-experts, it gives me a chance to geek out and learn something. I also love editing the food and nutrition stories because, well, I love food.
Prevention gives a lot of advice. Do you agree with most of it?
I really do! It's hard to disagree with advice along the lines of "Exercise is good for you, you should try and do it a few times a week" and "You will not lose weight if you pour Ranch dressing on your salad!" I make a lot of the recipes at home, too.
Our videos tend to have fun, quirky tips, and we have to do them all on camera -- a good way to tell if something really works, or if it's a dud. I found out how to make my own taco seasoning without salt, which I now do all the time -- no more seasoning packet! And I know how to chop an onion without crying.
Ok, now you have to share the secret...how do you chop an onion without crying??
You leave the root on while you're cutting. The vapors that make your eyes weepy are concentrated in that brown part at the end of the onion. So leave it on as long as you can, and it's much easier.
I see that you recently ran a 5k. Do you often do that? What was the cause of this one? Did you have to train for it? What was it like?
I've gone for (very slow) runs in Prospect Park semi-regularly for years, but have never been really consistent about it or trained for a race before. I signed up for this 5K with Gotham Blades captain Don Becker. He lost nearly 100 pounds a couple of years ago, and took up running, which was an impressive transformation to witness. I told him I wanted to run a 5K with him sometime, and when he told me about the Liz Padilla 5K in Prospect Park this fall, I decided it was time to make good on my promise. Some of my other NYC Social friends are runners too, and I've seen a few of them go from complete beginners training for their first 5Ks to running marathons, doing overnight relays, and shattering Personal Records. They're an inspiring bunch!
This was my first 5K but not my first race -- I actually ran a 10K a few years ago. I signed up for that one on a whim with a friend, and didn't really train at all. I ran the entire thing veeeery slowly and finished, but the experience totally kicked my butt and put me off running for a while. This time around I was much smarter about it, and found a 5K training plan online.
The race itself was awesome! We had perfect fall weather for it. Running with a number pinned to my shirt, surrounded by other runners, made me a little tense, but I was able to shake it off. I finished in around 31 minutes, which is a pretty solid 10-minute mile. Not exactly speedy, but faster than I would have been had I not trained.
What online tool did you use to train for this race?
I did some Google searching, and while a lot of the beginner 5K plans seemed to be geared towards people who had never run at all, this plan for advanced beginners was perfect for me.
