Recap of the past 2 weeks

Sorry guys, I disappeared for a couple of weeks.  Between wedding stuff, work and other things, I've been super busy... not a great excuse! 

Let's start with training week #3 - how did I do??

Week #3 went great!  Because of other commitments, I ended up not sticking to this order, but thats okay.  I ran 6.00 miles on that Friday from work to home.  It was pouring rain and it was a tough run, but I did it.  Not only that, but on Sunday, I did my 4 mile run and I ran the entire time.  I was very proud of myself and was so pumped that I actually ran 4 whole miles - thats such awesome progress and I felt great after the run.  It definitely helped that it was about 20 degrees cooler than it had been in the past 2 months, but it doesn't matter because I was still able to do it! 

Also, the 3 mile run I did on a treadmill and it went pretty terribly.  I don't know what it is, but I hate the treadmill.  I can only run for like 10 minutes and then I feel like I'm dying of boredom/exhaustion.  Even though I'm going slower than I do when I'm running outside, it still feels harder.  Does anyone else ever feel this way??

So with the overall high from week 3, I was pumped to start week 4.  My legs were sore from running 10 miles between Friday and Sunday, but I was actually excited last Monday to go for another run and see if I could do the whole thing again.  

Here was the plan for week 4:

Not bad, only adding an extra mile to the 1st run, but otherwise, basically the same as week 4.

Here is what happened on week 4:

Whaaaaaa???  Such a confusing week!  What happened?!?

I think I sprained my ankle. You know how I said my legs were sore after running on Friday and Sunday?  Well my ankle was very uncomfortable, but I assumed it was because of running so much.  On Monday, when I went for my 5 mile run, about 0.76 miles in, my ankle was in a lot of pain and I decided to stop running.  The only reason its 1.3 miles is because I had to walk back to my apartment.  I tried running a couple more times hoping that it was just very tired, but every time I took a step, I could feel my ankle/foot hurting.

On Tuesday, I had to go see a client in the evening and then on Wednesday we had our tasting for our wedding, so I had to take those days off anyway.  I rested my ankle and figured that it was still probably muscle soreness/tiredness.  Or maybe I needed new shoes...

On Thursday, I laced up, got back to running and went for 3 miles.  It continued to be uncomfortable, but I pushed through the run.  See, the thing is, I don't trust myself when I'm sick or injured.  I'm never sure if I'm genuinely injured/sick (unless its obvious like I have a fever), and so I tend to just believe it's all in my head/I need to push through it.  There is no visible swelling, so there is no proof that I'm injured, other than discomfort.  And I'm a baby, so I'm uncomfortable when I run anyway. 

I decided on Friday morning to buy an ankle brace to see if that helped relieve some pressure so I could run on Friday afternoon.  I put it on and it instantly felt much better.  Not perfect, but much much better.  I decided not to run on Friday and take a couple more days off. 

When I got home and took off the brace, there was some bruising by my ankle, which wasn't noticeable before.  I don't know if the compression increased blood flow and made bruising more apparent, but based on the improvement with the brace and the bruising, I'm pretty sure it's an ankle sprain.

So what does that mean for my half marathon training?

No more running for at least a week.  I am going to go on a bike for an hour as often as I can - at least 3 times a week, because I don't want to lose the cardio base I've built up.  It really sucks going on a stationary bike for an hour.  It's just very boring, even while watching TV, listening to music or reading on my phone.  After this week, I'll see how my ankle feels and do a short test run.  If it feels good, I'll try a longer run, and then just pick up where I should be.  I might have to tweak my schedule or add an extra run when I can to keep adding the mileage, but I'll worry about that once I'm back to running.  Who knows, it could be a week, it could be a month, so there is no sense planning a schedule when I don't know what will happen.

Icing my ankle

 How have you handled injuries/setbacks?  Do you prefer running outside or on the treadmill?

Training Week # 3

Let's check in!  How did training week #2 go??

I added 1.00 mile to my weekly total AND I cut my average pace/mile by over a minute!  I have to say... antibiotics for bronchitis made all the difference!

During the middle run for this week, I was able to run for 75% of the run, including the entire first 2 miles.  That was the first time I'd run 2 miles continuously without walking breaks.  It might not sound like a lot, but as a relatively new runner (ok, it's been almost a year, but a lot of this year has been trial and error) its huge.  I have no athletic base to build off of, and so I was literally starting from scratch.  Running 2 miles continuously as a 10 min pace is pretty good.

I also took a hot yoga class at Pure Yoga on Tuesday night.  The class itself was okay - it was a community class and my friend and I felt it was a very advanced class.  I'll write a full review this week... but it was not up to the usual Pure standards that we've seen in other classes.

What's coming up for this week:

I'm added 1 more mile to my weekly today during my long run.  I'm excited for this because I work 5.5 miles from home, so this means I can use my commute home as a run... I might have to overshoot home, but at least I'm saving some time.
The rest of the week is going to be tight - I have a very exciting and busy weekend coming up!  We are going to the sample presentation for the florist for our wedding and then on Sunday, we're going to see Book of Mormon with my family.  My sister-in-law's parents got us tickets for Christmas, and at the time, July 22 seemed ages away.  Now it's here.
Thursday I'm going to get my orthodontist in NJ to get my Invisalign taken off... I think.  Yes, I have Invisalign.  When I got my initial braces off when I was 14/15, my teeth were great.  I wore my retainers through my freshman year of college and then stopped.  My wisdom teeth came in/were impacted and pushed all of my teeth - particularly my bottom teeth - all out of sorts.  When it came time for the wedding, I decided to go for Invisalign because I didn't want pictures of my teeth to look terrible.  It's a little superficial, but there were always pictures of brides with their mouths open laughing or talking, and I just kept thinking, "oh gosh, these pictures are beautiful, my teeth are going to ruin these pictures of me!!"  However, I have noticed that as a result of the Invisalign, I have been much more meticulous brushing and caring for my teeth, and I have also found that my teeth are easier to brush and floss as a result of my teeth not being on top of each other.  It has definitely had it's benefits, but I am excited to get the little brackets (yes there are little brackets even though its Invisalign) taken off and to not have to wear them constantly!
To sum up, I have to run 3 out of my 4 available days, which isn't that big a deal, but it just shows how inflexible my schedule will be for the next few weeks.  I have time to fun, but I can't be lazy/procrastinate because I don't have time to make up that run if I decide not to go.




How are you doing making progress towards your goals? Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend? 

Training Week # 2

OK... so how did I do with Week one... let's check it out...

I did all my miles!!  Maybe not on the days that I scheduled, but I did it all.  Also... that middle run may not have been so easy, but I'm pretty bad at pacing myself.  Whoops.

So... Week 2...

We'll see how it goes... adding 1 mile to my total.  I also will be doing Hot Yoga on Tuesday at Pure Yoga East as part of a Community Event.

In other news... it's less than 100 days until my wedding!  My brain is like completely wedding crazy right now, so its nice to do something thats not wedding related.

What are your goals for the week?  Did you do what you set out to do last week?

Pugs and Mugs

A few months ago, I decided to look for a 5K to do in Boston, my old home, as my first 5K.  I figured that getting to go to Boston would be a good motivator for me since I love it there.
It was a choice between the PRoNE 5K or The Foxboro against Diabetes 5K, which were both this past Saturday, June 2.  I discussed with many of my college friends and we decided to do the PRoNE 5K because of its location; Castle Island.  The PRoNE 5K donates money to the Pug Rescue of New England, which helps rescue and support pugs in New England (if you can't figure that out from the title of the organization).

Race Map

It worked out great because the American Craft Beer Festival was also on June 2nd.  Cameron and I went to that 2 years ago with some friends and we all had a great time.  We were all very excited to spend the day together, running a 5K and then at the Beer Festival.  The name "Pugs and Mugs" was born during a conversation about getting tee-shirts made for the weekend.

Anyway, back to the 5K.  June 2 seems like a great day for a 5K, right? Especially in Boston where it cools down nicely.  Last time we went to the Beer Festival, I wore a strapless sundress and we spent all day outside beforehand.  So obviously, this time would be exactly the same... right?!

WRONG!

As you can see... Rain/Thunder = strapless sundress.  Crap.  My OCD self had picked out my Brooks Running shorts and my Sweat Pink tank top to run in.  I threw a pair of capris in my bag and figured I'd be fine in capris and the tank top - I run in tank tops as long as it is above 55/60.

Before the Race:
We all wake up on Saturday morning at 6:45 and its POURING rain.  Not only that, it's also like 53 degrees.  So Wendi, our very amazing hostess, gets out sweatshirts for all of us, including extra ones for after the race and we all get ready and head out.  We got to the event at 7:50ish, registered and got back in the car to wait.  It was freezing.  I committed to wearing Wendi's sweatshirt over my tanktop, which was a challenge itself because I'm very particular about what I work out in.

At 8:45, we climbed out of the cars and got ready for the race.  We took a couple pre-race pictures, but I look so horrifying, those will hopefully be deleted from Wendi's phone shortly. I put my arm band under the sweatshirt to keep my phone dry and set up my music.  We all lined up - my ex-roommate, Tim (ok, half of the people I ran with are ex-roommates, but he is the most recent one), started at the front and the rest of us gathered in the middle.

The Race:
At 9:05 we were off.  It was steadily raining and I had to dodge many people at the beginning.  Note to  anyone who participates in Run/Walks... try to position yourself appropriately.  I think I was positioned appropriately, but I had to run around people who were walking with 4-5 people in a row taking up the entire sidewalk.

About 7-8 minutes into the run, I was feeling pretty good and I hit a head wind.  The wind was literally pounding against me and I was just pushing through it.  I hit mile 1 running and was proud I'd made that with this wind against me.  If you look at the map, you can see that there is a little addition to the route outside of the circle to make it a 5K.  I ran down that and back up and then walked for about a minute, at which point one of my friends caught up to me and we talked about the ridiculous headwind.

We thought that was ridiculous... oh wait... it gets WORSE.

Between the mile 1 and mile 2 markers, the wind was brutal.  There was a causeway where the wind was completely against us BUT the rain, which was very hard, was coming directly from the right.  There were puddles (more like lakes) all over the route and my feet were soaking wet.  It literally felt like I was running through the Perfect Storm.  Except George Clooney was not there and it seemed like I would never make it to the mile 2 marker.

I ran the entire time over the cause way, although running might not be the most accurate word.  I did not walk.  I really wanted to, but I was trying to hard not to.  At one point, "I'm Not Afraid" by Eminem came on my music, which revived me.  I particularly like the lyric, "We'll walk this route together through the storm, whatever weather, cold or warm, just letting you know that you're not alone" as it made me think of all my friends running this with me and where they were at this point.  I pushed through and made it over the causeway.

I had been planning on walking after that, but I finally found the mile 2 marker and decided to keep running.  At this point, I'd probably been running for about 26 minutes.  Shortly after the mile 2 marker was the race photographer.  I remembered reading on someone else's blog to smile at the finish line so your picture is good, so I smiled the whole way to the race photographer.

Pretty good picture right?? You can see the causeway from hell directly behind me.

Not too soon after this picture was taken, a tail wind appeared!  Suddenly I was being pushed along, but because I was only 2.something miles into the race, I didn't want to expend all my energy and tried to run conservatively.  The rain had lightened up and there was a really cool military fort on one side of us.

I kept running and "Edge of Glory" came on.  As many people know, I strongly dislike Gaga, but I really love this song for some reason, and it's a great song to run to.

About a minute into "Edge of Glory", I turned a corner and could see all the tents and the finish line!  But I'd just passed mile 2!  How did I get to the end so quickly??  I passed the mile 3 marker and sped up to the finish line.

The official results:

I finished in 33:37.1. I had been hoping to break 30 minutes before the race started, but honestly, between the sciatica and the weather, I was just happy that it wasn't more than a minute above my best practice run (which was during ideal conditions).
I DID IT!  I finished my first 5K!

After the Race
Once we all finished, Tim had to collect his prize... because... oh wait... I forgot to mention... Tim WON! This is why he went to the front of the pack in the beginning.  He ran it in 18:08.  He got a heart rate monitor, which is cool.  We were all hoping for a pug, but nope.

Tim: the winner!!

There was lots of free baked goods - we took some brownies and bananas and headed out.  It's a shame we didn't stay for the rest of the race, but the weather was miserable. All of us were drenched.  Completely soaking wet.  One of my friends had to wring her sweater out.  I wanted to make sure to get a picture of myself in my SweatPink shirt with my race number, so I forced Wendi to take one while we were all dripping in the car.

We all showered and changed and then threw a load of our wet, gross clothes into the washing machine.  Thank goodness Wendi has a free washer/dryer!  To reward ourselves, we went to my favorite mall, the Natick Collection and shopped for a little bit.  I actually didn't buy anything, but I love the Natick Collection and was just happy to pay it a visit.

At 4:00, a bunch of us headed to the American Craft Beer Festival to wait in line.  We wanted to sit under cover and wait for the 6:00 start.  We had a great time at the Beer Festival - you get to try lots of different beers and we all just hung out for a very long time.   It was a very nice way to conclude the day and we had a very fun filled day!  Sorry, no pictures of the Beer Festival - with the rain, my hair was super frizzy and I didn't wear makeup.

Thoughts on the Race
When we got back to Wendi's, Cameron looked up to see if the mile markers were accurate.  We found that they weren't - the mile 2 marker was at least 1/3 of a mile too far.  That made sense because I was most frustrated during "mile 2".  Besides the giant storm over the causeway, I also thought I was running the slowest mile I've run in months, which really frustrated me.  I also was trying to conserve energy and actually pace myself because I thought that I was not even halfway through it.

I am very proud of all of my friends, because we all got up on our Saturday together and ran in the cold pouring rain and wind.

I want to work on finding a GPS for my phone that is more accurate than the ones I currently have.  My phone has perpetual problems finding signals, so a lot of times, I run and when I stop the timer, its like, "You have run 0.0 miles! You burned 0 calories!"  Annoying!  However, if I'd had the GPS working, it could have told me that I had gotten to mile 2 and my attitude might have been different.

I'll run another race and I loved going with everyone.  Mt. Washington was Summer 2011, PRoNE 5K was Summer 2012.  What does everyone want to do Summer 2013?!

Last note, we all put the pink SweatPink shoelaces in our shoes to run together.  It was GREAT!  It was so easy to find each other because we looked out for the shoelaces.  Love them!

Have you run a race in brutal weather?  Has it effected your time?  What should my friends and I try in the Summer of 2013? 

Seattle!

Over Memorial Day weekend, I went to Seattle for a work-related conference.  It was very exciting as it was the first time I was presenting a poster of my own research.  I also have never been to Seattle and I've heard it's great.

On Thursday afternoon, my two co-workers and I get to Newark airport and we're faced with a few hours of delays.  We ate SmashBurger, which we would not recommend, and then hung out near the gate.  While we were sitting around waiting, it suddenly occurred to me, "I didn't pack my running capris".  Since I carry a duffle bag, it's pretty easy to go through, and I rummaged through and definitely did not see my running capris.  But I'm wearing my sneakers, which means I had to bring an extra pair of shoes... for nothing?? Oh no.

While the three of us had been planning on going for a run early on Friday morning, I had no pants to run in, and as I mentioned earlier, I can't go pantsless.  Fortunately, the hotels in Seattle are mostly downtown right in the heart of the shopping area, so I decided to head out at 10am to buy a pair of running capris.

After discovering that NikeTown is a "premier" store and does not put anything on clearance or sale, I went to The Gap... my favorite store.  They were having a nice sale and I picked up a pair of sweet capris for 30% off.  I wanted to buy a pair of shorts that were also 30% off, but I resisted because I really just don't need them right now.  Yay self control!

The gap capris I bought - only needed for the weekend, but a nice addition to my wardrobe!

On Friday, I ran a couple of miles on the treadmill, which went very well given my back, and then did some ab work.  Nothing crazy.  Then we went to lunch and walked around Pike's Place Market for like 4 hours.  Pike's Place Market might be my new favorite place in the world.  There is fresh fruit everywhere, gorgeous flowers, and TONS of free samples.  Everyone is giving out samples of everything.  You can try whatever you like.  We ate our way through Seattle and loved it.  It was a great way to experience the city and it also made me feel like Seattle was so fresh and healthy.

On Saturday, I decided I wanted to run a 5K in Seattle to the Space Needle.  The three of us set out, and I was able to keep up with them for about 1.75 miles.  My right leg started to feel a little odd, so I stopped running and immediately went back to normal.  I kept running and then settled that when I turned onto Broad Street to go to from the sound to the Space Needle, I would walk for 30 seconds.  

Well... Broad Street is a massive hill.  I turned and was just blown away by how steep this hill was between me and the Space Needle.  I basically resolved to make it up to the Space Needle however I could.

Map of my run - the turn to the 3 mile mark is where it goes all UPHILL 

I made it to the Space Needle in 31.30 - it was 3.10 miles, so its my usual pace.  I was still impressed given the giant hill. Generally, I try to be positive about my runs... a year ago, I couldn't run for more than 2-3 minutes without feeling like I was uncomfortable.  The fact that I could keep up with my co-workers (who are both experienced runners) for almost 2 miles was good enough for me.  I really just have to keep it in perspective - I have made amazing progress.
The Space Needle was awesome.  I didn't go up it, but it was cool to go to it and know I RAN there.  I actually think there is something more rewarding about making it somewhere on your feet.  While all those other people were driving cars up Mt. Washington, we were climbing it.  It's the same as running to the Space Needle.  There is a monorail from the hotel to the Space Needle, but I did it on my feet.
Of course, after I ran the 5K, I then had to get back to the hotel.  I had no desire to keep running, so I leisurely strolled through Seattle down 5th Ave.  Seattle is very up and coming... there are a lot of brand new apartment buildings and its very clean.

Me at the Space Needle.  The woman who took the picture wasn't sure how to use a smart phone camera... 

While I was walking down 5th Ave, I found a donut place - Top Pot Doughnuts, that my co-worker had wanted to go to.  I decided to go and buy 5 donuts.  5.  What the hell was I thinking?? 5 donuts!!  Well they were all delicious, but we never finished all of them before we had to go back, whoops.
The rest of Saturday and most of Sunday was spent at the conference learning lots of professional development things.  Monday morning we flew back from Seattle on a plane that was likely older than I am.  The wallpaper in the bathroom was very... 80's-tacular and there was a nice little CRT TV mounted to the ceiling like old times.  Also, the seats were TINY!
All in all, it was a fantastic trip!

Do you run/exercise when you go on vacation?  Have you been to Seattle?  How do you keep perspective? 

Urban Girl Squad Run

Just a quick reminder that there are less than 12 hours left until my giveaway closes!!  Comment on that post and tell me your motivation/goals for a chance to win HOT PINK shoelaces!

Now to the actual topic...
Urban Girl Squad does a lot of cool events, some of them cost money and some of them are free.  They do an outdoor running series in Central Park which started up today.  Every other Sunday from now through the fall, Urban Girl Squad will be sponsoring group runs from Athleta stores in NYC.  After the runs, there is a quick stretching class, some refreshments and a workshop of some kind.
So my friend and I signed up and went to the UES Athleta store.  There were a ton of women there!  I was very impressed by the turnout.
The start of the event was very well organized.  They had 3 people checking us in and gave out rubber bracelets to indicate you were part of the running group.  There were dressing rooms in the back which were designated as bag checks, and the store has a restroom (which is definitely a perk if you need to go before you run!) About 15 minutes after we got there, Rachel, the event leader, explained the run and we all headed over to Central Park.
The whole group was divided into three smaller groups; advanced runners, intermediate runners and beginner runners.
Advanced = approximately 7 min mile
Intermediate = approximately 9 min mile
Beginner = approximately 10 min mile OR there was another walk/jog group as well.

We elected to go for the beginner/10 min mile group.  The beginner group was still pretty large, but literally as soon as we started running, the whole group dispersed really quickly and it was just me and my friend running together.  She is also a newer runner, and neither of us have run with another person before.  We enjoyed it (OK, I did, I guess I shouldn't speak for her!) We were able to have a conversation mostly (although there were definitely some awkward breathing pauses) and it was good to have someone else who can monitor the pace and keep me from speeding up too much.  We ran around the reservoir 2 times, which is a 5K.  Unfortunately, my cardio trainer on my phone did not work and we have no idea how long it took us.  I would say I ran slower than I normally do, but we also did not walk as much as I have in the past either.
We did a quick stretch, and then headed back to the Athleta store.  There were complimentary drinks from Honeydrop as well as teeeeeny tiny Luna bars in my favorite flavors. We also got gift bags for being part of the very first one of the season. My gift bag contained 2 hair ties, a blueberry bliss Luna Bar (which I've never had before), an Athleta catalog and a water bottle (as seen below).  My friend's bag the same things, except instead of a water bottle, she had a hat from Athleta.

Amphipod waterbottle - it is designed so you do not have to actively grip the waterbottle.  The strap also has a great pocket that would fit keys, gel, a small MP3 player or other small items.  It's nice when you wear clothes without pockets!

The workshop after was about nutrition, but by the time we got back to the store, there were too many people surrounding the nutritionist for us to even hear what she was saying.  I think this was the only disappointing part of the event - we wanted to learn more, but we couldnt hear everything that was going on.  My guess is that the number of people running will thin out over time and we'll be able to get more out of the workshops as time goes on.
All in all, I enjoyed the event.  We are planning to go back every other Sunday as long as we're available.  I would love to see some more familiar faces at these runs too!  I always thought I didn't want to run with another person, but it turned out to be pretty enjoyable and made the run feel like it was much quicker.  Also, my friend is a lot better at maintaining the pace, so when I'd speed up, I'd realize I have to slow down to stay with her.

I haven't planned out the rest of my week's workouts yet.  I have 2 more Core classes, a week at Clay Fitness to try and a month at NY yoga still!  I need to get started on some of these things before they expire.  I'm hoping to get in at least 3 workouts this week including at least 1 run from work to home, since I have not done that in almost a month.

Do you prefer to run alone or with other people? Have you tried any running groups in your area? What do you think of the snazzy new water bottle?

Yoga Vida is Spanish for Yoga Life

Ironically, the title is poking fun at one of my close friends who misquoted Anchorman by saying, "El niño is spanish for THE BOY" but the Yoga instructor at Yoga Vida grew up in Spain so my title kind of relates (it's a stretch).
Anyway, I have a cold.  It's the first real cold I've had since moving to NYC (August 2010).  I've had sniffles and coughs, but nothing that's lasted more than a day.  I'm a huge baby when I'm sick, but I also will not call out sick for work unless I either have a fever, I'm throwing up or the doctor has told me I cannot go to work (i.e. strep). And if I'm going to work, I'm pretty much continuing my normal life, with a few moans and groans and extra whining thrown in.
I have not been sick since I started exercising, so I have really not had a reason that would force me to not exercise.  This week is a big test for me to see if I can get back on track with my goals when I feel better.  OR! I could exercise this week and just tone it down a notch.
On Sunday night, I was trying to figure out what to do on Monday evening.  I really wanted to do Hot Yoga because I have been feeling very stressed and I find that a nice sweaty yoga class de-stresses me very well.  I decided that if I'm sick, it's kind of gross to do Hot Yoga because the heat makes my nose run.  Maybe I could do some light running?  Except my chest is on fire normally, and actually running on Friday really burned (but I chalked it up to pushing myself), so that's probably a bad idea too.
Why not try non-heated Yoga?  This way, I still can de-stress and do some movement, but its not too strenuous.
I went onto GoRecess.com to try to find a Yoga class on the cheaper side.  I found Yoga Vida which is located on University Place and 12th street (There is another SoHo studio).  Yoga Vida is $12 for a drop in, which is AMAZING, but better yet: its $10 for your very first week with one free mat rental.
Yoga Vida offers Flow classes, Advanced classes and Beginner classes.  The Advanced and Beginner classes are capped at 21 people to allow for more individual attention.  The Flow class was very very crowded. I wish I'd counted how many people there were.
The studio itself was nice - nice floors, nice windows... it felt open and spacious and very calming.  I didn't go to the locker room, but I did notice a long line for a 1-person women's bathroom, which sucks, so thats a downside to the place.
The instructor - Hilaria, was overall really good.  She had a great personality.  I guess she regularly solicits suggestions from the class about what to focus on, which I've never really observed anywhere else.  This class chose the Core and Quads and she designed a class to focus on those areas.
Most of the class was similar to what I've done in other yoga classes - lots of flows, warrior 1 to warrior 2, etc etc.  She did incorporate extra planks in there or holding poses that required core strength for longer.  She also pointed out when we were supposed to be engaging our core or our quads and what it should feel like. She went around and corrected people, although she never corrected me, so maybe I was doing everything okay?  Or maybe there were so many people she couldn't always get to me.
After the typical yoga series, she did a whole core workout.  We did sit ups, bicycle crunches, lifted our legs, alternated lifting legs, did planks, did planks while lifting one leg at a time, did planks by twisting side to side etc etc.  Huge core workout.  It was great.  I was able to do most of it despite being sick (and having done 100+ crunches before class started) but it was definitely not easy!
Oh and personal accomplishment: I was able to get into Wheel pose and maintain it!

Pros:
1) Hilaria had a fanstastic, light, funny personality that made me really enjoy the class.
2) The ab workout was great (which btw, Hilaria did with us the entire time)
3) I enjoyed having an alternative when I was sick that was less intense but provided me an outlet
oh and 4) It was dirt cheap.  If I don't take another class this week, it was still worth it. However, I might to make it more worth it,

Cons:
1) I didn't feel as de-stressed as I do when I go to Hot Yoga
2) The class was very full and at one point, the girl in front of me almost kicked me in the face
3) We didn't do the balance poses, which are my favorite part of any Yoga class

I would definitely do this class again when I need something simple and relaxing without being too strenuous or tough on my body.  I enjoyed it and I was proud of myself for getting out and doing something while sick.
I don't know if it will help me get better faster - I thankfully don't get sick often enough to have anything to compare it to.  I do feel like I have to go to work and not hide in bed because if I can do yoga, I can resume my life as normal.  However, today I decided to sit on the couch with some yummy homemade soup (Thanks Cameron!) and watch the Biggest Loser Season Finale.  Hey, I take nights off when I'm not sick too!

Do you exercise when you are sick? What makes you feel better when you feel sick?

Irish Potato Famine 5K

In 2008, my cousin Lizzie came to visit me for 3 weeks when Cameron and I lived in Boston.  We had a great time (ok, I did, hopefully she did too!!) and we went to NYC for a few days and inadvertently started an annual reunion with all of my college friends.
While we were in NYC, Lizzie, Cameron, Wendi (my wonderful maid of honor) and I did a little sight seeing.  We went to the Sex and the City house (which ironically is walking distance from where we live now) and wandered around downtown Manhattan.
While we were wandering, we stumbled upon the Irish Potato Famine memorial.  It was surprisingly a pretty cool memorial, although very random in downtown Manhattan.  Hadn't really thought about it in a few years until recently.

The Irish Potato Famine Memorial - picture taken in 2008 during Lizzie's visit

Cameron and I went for a run along the Hudson River a couple of months ago and partway through the run, I suddenly thought of the Irish Potato Famine memorial.  Cameron felt it was somewhere along our run, so we kept going and we found it!  I was pretty excited because it was such a unique monument.
Fast forward to this morning... Since we've signed up to run a 5K, Cam and I decided to run a 5K today.  I wanted to have a baseline time to work off of for the actual run we're doing. I got up, went to www.runningmap.com and mapped out a route along the Hudson River. I decided that I don't like running not along the river because of lights etc, so it was better for training purposes to walk to the river, then run, then walk back from the river.
Well... from the Charles St. entrance to the Hudson River Walkway, guess what is 2.5K away?

The Irish Potato Famine Memorial!

And so, the Irish Potato Famine 5K was born.
So at 11:45, Cameron and I left our apartment and set out to run a 5K.  I decided I didn't want to slow him down, so we decided to run separately.  He started a few minutes after me because he was messing with his phone, but eventually caught up and passed me.  My goal was to run the 5K in under 40 minutes, which to all you runners out there might sound like a long time, but I've never RUN a 5K, so I was basically just aiming to finish it without embarrassing myself too much.
I did it in 32 minutes. I am so proud of myself.  And clearly, I underestimated myself.  By a lot.
So now, for the PRoNE 5K, my goal is to run it in under 30 minutes.  To do that, I basically have to be able to run the entire thing.  I'm not going to lie, I walked for about... 6-7 minutes total, so if I can cut all of that walking out, I can do under 30 minutes.

On a sidenote, American Pie by Don McLean is both my favorite and most hated song to run to.  Its like 9 minutes long, so running for the whole thing means I've run almost a mile.  However, after every verse I think, "OK, here comes the slow verse...I'm almost finished" and then its not the slow ending, but some part of the song I completely forgot about.  AND then when you do get to the slow part, it drags on for ever and ever and ever.  But it takes up a significant portion of the run, so when it finally finishes, I know I've run a lot.

Have you ever underestimated yourself?  Do you have any music you love to run to?  Any you hate running to?

It's been a while...

So I haven't written anything because it was a CRAZY week and I didn't get to go to any new exercise classes.  Which made me feel like I didn't have much to say.
I made a google calendar specifically for exercising to keep track of what I'm doing and also to provide myself with some accountability.  I have been awful about actually following the calendar, BUT this past week has shown me that the calendar does make me feel more accountable to exercising.
Sooo this past week I was supposed to do the following:
Monday: Run + weights at NYSC
Wednesday: Run + Total Body Conditioning at NYSC
Friday: Community Class at Soul Cycle

What I actually did this week:
Tuesday: Bike + weights at NYSC
Friday: Run + weights at NYSC
Saturday: Hot Vinyasa at Yoga to the People

I think if my calendar didn't already have 3 things on it, I wouldn't have exercised on Friday and Saturday.  Honestly... it seems really small and silly, but I guess if I say I'm going to do something, I have to make up for it if it doesn't happen.  But why didn't I work out when I said I was going to?
Work this week was absolutely crazy - my hours are 8:30-4:30, but I typically work 8:00-5:00ish, but this past week, I stayed until past 7:00 on Monday and Thursday.  It was just one of those weeks. Then on Wednesday, my mom and her best friend (my 2nd mother) came into the city for dinner to show me the mock-ups of mine and Cameron' wedding invitations.
Oh, and I exercised on Friday, but not the community class at soul cycle BECAUSE IT FILLS UP BEFORE YOU CAN EVER SIGN UP!!  Cameron and I have tried twice now to get into the Community Class at Soul Cycle, and it's been full as soon as you're able to sign up. I don't think we're meant to take this class at Soul Cycle.  We're going to try again in a couple of weeks.
Since I made the agreement that I would take a spin class if Cameron took yoga, this week was the week I brought him to a Hot Vinyasa yoga class so he can see what I actually do!
We went to Yoga to the People and what I noticed was that there were times where the instructor would tells us to move into a certain pose, and I'd want to add tips and hints to tell Cameron because she wasn't mentioning the best way to move into that pose or how your leg should be, or ways you can make it easier or harder based on your skill.  I don't know if its Yoga to the People's no-judgement attitude, or if the class was not targeted towards beginners, but I felt like that was really lacking.  How can you improve/do it correctly if you're not taught the right way??
At any rate, Cameron enjoyed this class more than the "Hot traditional yoga" (i.e. Bikram) class we took.  I also felt relaxed and invigorated.  I find Hot Vinyasa to be incredibly relaxing and focusing for me.  While in the class, I stop thinking about everything else and really focus on yoga and each individual pose.  After the class, and the immense amounts of sweating, I feel detoxified and fresh.  It was the perfect ending to a very long week.

What relaxes you? Are you able to follow a set schedule for exercising, or anything else? 

Total Body Conditioning at NYSC

Yesterday I took a total body conditioning at my New York Sports Club.  Already a member, so it's free - that's a plus!
This was only my second class at the NYSC, which was a little nervewracking because the last class was a Hatha Yoga class that I was not a huge fan of.  When I got there, everyone else knew what equipment to get and how to setup.  While this can be intimidating because I'm clearly the only newbie, I decided to play it cool (after all, I'm going to have to get used to being the newbie in lots of classes) and follow everyone else's lead.
So the class began simply enough with some stretches.  The instructor gave pretty good directions and demonstrated everything. I'm a very uncoordinated person and I was able to do most of the movements after just watching 1-2 reps.
With the exception of Figure Four and yoga, this is the first exercise class I have taken since Tae-bo when I was in high school.  It was reminiscent of Tae-bo to me - obviously we were not kickboxing or doing any of those movements, but it was a similar pace and exercised similar muscles (theoretically my whole body based on the name)
Most of what we did was challenging, but honestly, I could do it, which surprised me. I am so used to not being able to follow exercise classes either because I'm not coordinated enough to follow that many movements or because I'm not strong enough.
The instructor does one part that she calls "cardio commercials" which are 4 30second intervals of different cardio work outs.  Basically, you don't stop moving as fast as you can for 2 minutes.  That was very difficult!
Overall, I enjoyed the class, but I did not feel as pushed as I expected.  I came to realize that I might get more out of a class if I do it a second time because I will be able to follow the class a little more fluidly.

Some pros:
1) There are some ways to customize the class - by using different size weights and occasionally the instructor gave different tips to make it harder or easier
2) My thighs and triceps are sore today so they clearly got a good work out.
3) It's at my gym, so it's free!!

Some cons:
1) I felt the ab portion of the class was not challenging enough.  I really want to focus on my abdominals and increasing my core strength, so that was a bummer for me.
2) I would have liked more feedback during the class about how I was doing specifically.  I used to hate when people corrected me, but now I've learned that it is very helpful and willingly look for feedback to help make me stronger.
3) I could see myself getting bored in this class very easily.  The instructor told me she does the same routine each week, which to me is very rote and uninteresting.

I would go back again, but probably not very many times or too often.  It's a good fall back if I want to get in a full body workout without the sweaty weightroom or traveling too far.

On another note, the instructor and I talked for a little bit after the class and I told her all about my blog and my goals.  She seemed interested and then gave me her business card and expressed interest in providing me with personal training to help.  While I think personal training can be a very useful tool and people rave about having personal trainers, I'd like to hold off for now because I want to try this my way to see how effective it actually is.  I appreciate the offer and effort, but if I start doing personal training sessions, it changes my little experiment here - of course I'm going to get into shape if I have a 1:1!!  Also, it's not going to be cheap, so that would negate that aspect as well.

Off to Florida to see one of my wonderful bridesmaids and then go to some spring training games (go Yankees!) So I will be taking the weekend off from exercising, and most likely from any sort of healthy diet.  What's a ballgame without a hot dog, some beer and a soft pretzel??

First Run with the Inhaler

Did not happen... there were 7 people in line for the treadmills when I got to the gym. 7!! Thats absurd.

So I went up to the "secret" bike area.  On the way up there, I realized that while trying to remember to use the inhaler, I forgot to grab my headphones.  A year ago, I would have been like, "thats a good excuse to go home." but I was not wasting those two puffs of albuterol.

I decided to go on a spinning bike.  I've never been on a spinning bike, so word of advice... if you haven't either, have someone show you how to adjust it or look it up online.  I wasn't quite sure how to do it, so I guessed...  it felt okay and I looked like the rider in the picture, so that's a good sign.

I had a GREAT ride.  Not having headphones kind of sucked, but overall it was a really great ride.  I think the inhaler actually helped - I felt like my heart was pounding, but I could breathe.  It was one of the best workouts I've had in a while, maybe ever.  In the past, which I didn't realize might be wrong, the limiting factor was that I felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen to my lungs and I had to slow down.  Today, the limiting factor was that I was frequently pushing my max heart rate or my thighs (which are weak) were exhausted. I think that's a good sign?

In other news, I decided to do crunches.  I did 100 crunches total - a combination of regular crunches, reverse crunches, bicycles and oblique crunches.  So we'll see how that supplements the variety of classes I'm taking.

Happy Tuesday!  That means its almost Wednesday, which is practically Friday! :)

Fitness goals

I guess if I’m going to track progress towards a goal, I should set a goal.  As a special education teacher, that’s pretty much my job anyways... set goals for my students, then track if they meet those goals.  If they aren’t on track to meet goals, we try different tactics to reach those goals.

Goal 1: Be able to make it home from work in under an hour (by running! I can already do it by subway!)  Right now, it takes me about 1:10, but I tend to hit lights.  When it gets lighter out, I’ll run along the river, which should help decrease my time.

Goal 2: Enroll in and run some kind of running race.  This goal will be refined as I figure it out.  I think enrolling in a race is a big enough goal for me right now, as the idea of doing so is pretty daunting!

Goal 3: Get more definition in my arm muscles.  More specifically... I’d like to be able to flex my left arm (I wish I could say I was kidding)

Goal 4: Get more definition in my abs.  I have a relatively flat stomach, but I would loooove having some abs. Also, I think that if my core were stronger, I would have better posture and be more comfortable.

That’s it for my goals, for now.  If I meet them, I’ll add more.  I haven’t set a timeline for these, but my wedding is in October, so that’s the absolute deadline!

Exercise in the City

I am a lazy person. At least I used to be. When I moved to NY from Boston a year and a half ago, I was super stressed about not having a car, and having to walk everywhere, and especially having to carry things!! Carry cat litter home with me? All 14 lbs? How many blocks??

The idea of exercising never even entered my mind. I’m walking everywhere! Why would I need to dedicate time to exercising?? In Boston, I did hot yoga a couple times a week at a fantastic studio called Inner Strength (I highly recommend it). But the whole experience was “easy” - I kept my yoga mat in my car, drove to and from the studio and that was that. In NY, if I wanted to even do something as relaxing as yoga, I would have to face crowds, subways, bring my yoga mat to work, lug things around etc. etc. whine whine whine. No way, not happening.

Then... I got engaged. What is it about a wedding that changes your outlook on things? I started thinking about exercise, which for me was a big step. In August 2011, I officially joined the New York Sports Club near me and started running. Er... using a treadmill. I have been consistently exercising for about 6 months. But the thing is, running on the treadmill every time is really boring.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that I can watch TV and run at the same time (I’m kind of a TV-aholic). Part of the reason I haven’t kept up with an exercise routine EVER is that I get bored and stop wanting to do the same thing over and over again. So I tried to switch it up a little. I went to a yoga class, I tried the bike, and most importantly, I started running home from work (which is a 5 mile trek). But... I wanted to do something different. Oh and, I want to get my arms and abs into better shape, and cardio doesn’t really do that.

My wonderful fiancee suggested the weight room, but I really can’t get over the stereotype that a weight room is full of meaty guys and I’m just this tiny little girl who has no idea what she is doing. Also, I don’t like people helping me with things (I’m a little OCD as you will learn) and I feel like when you look like you have no idea what is happening, people want to help you.

I found the Pure Yoga website and saw that they offer 1 complementary class at their studio, and decided I’d like to try it. I went with a couple of friends and did a hot yoga class reminiscent of my Inner Strength days in Boston. Loved it. Unfortunately, Pure Yoga’s prices and my teacher’s salary do not agree with each other, and I will not become a member there anytime soon. However, I hatched an idea... what if I take trial classes at lots of different places? It would fulfill my desire to do something different all the time, keep me out of the meaty weight room (no offense to those who like the weight room) and hopefully get me into better shape without breaking the bank.

So here is my experiment... will I reach my fitness goals by taking classes at different places across the city?