PXT (2) at Pure Yoga

The other night, I had the chance to take a PXT class at Pure Yoga East. It was different than anything I've ever done before, different than I expected, but overall a pretty great workout. 

Pure Yoga East is an absolutely beautiful studio. I mean, at $250 a month for membership, it better be a little bougie.  

Pure Yoga is 3 or 4 floors, with all different types of studios. Hot yoga studios, regular yoga studios- I'm not a yogi so I'm sure there are other types of studios and I just have no idea what they are. Either way. 7 is impressive. They also have tons of little lounge areas, a boutique, and a seriously huge and gorgeous women's locker room. 

I started the class of great- by getting yelled at for walking into the studio with shoes on - oops. After taking them off and leaving them outside, I re-entered and took in the setup. Everyone had a mat, a step and those little sliders you put under your hands and feet to torture your abs. The instructor told me to grab two sets of dumbbells (10 lbs and 5 lbs) and a 10 lb medicine ball. 

I was shocked to see that there would only be 5 of us in the class - it was like a private training session! 

As usual, I had done some research before showing up, and I knew that the PXT class would start with some yoga. Grumble grumble. If I must I guess I can do a few minutes of yoga as a warm up. We started slow, switching between the few moves and poses that I actually know (my yoga knowledge is limited, at best). I was a little stressed that it was going to get too complicated for me to follow and I would stand out like a sore thumb considered there were only 5 of us, but instead of adding a bunch of complicated poses to the flow, we just sped it up. Downward facing dog, chair pose, upward facing dog, warrior, vinyasa - by the end of the 10-15 yoga warm up I was actually starting to enjoy it! Minus the fact that the room was slowly getting hotter and hotter. Hey, I'm about to do burpees and squats and you're putting the heat up? What gives? I know, it's a thing. I'm just not sure it's a thing I like. Genius day to forget to bring water too, Lauren. 

This class really pushed me with some moves I had never done before- which I loved. Using the ab sliders was A LOT more challenging than I thought it would be. Pikes and walk outs and lunges- I was shaking! I also loved implementing the step for things like squats and step ups to knee holds. The instructor, Julia Stephens, was great at explaining and demonstrating each move and encouraging and motivating you to push until the end. We didn't stay on any one move for too long, so knowing that the end was near if you could knock out a few more reps was always helpful. 

After the cardio/plyo/strength section we moved into "partner abs." One person laid on their backs and grabbed their partners ankles while the partner got in the squat position and threw the other persons legs down- first to the left, then the middle, then the right. By the end of this, my abs were feeling it and I was looking forward to a break by being the "leg thrower." Well, stay in that squat position and pushing the legs down was more work than I thought, and I could feel it by the end of that too!

The next section was the "Coreball Countdown Challenge." Julia wrote 4 exercises on the mirror at the front of the room and we had to do 8 reps of each, then 7 reps of each, then 8 reps of each, etc. all the way down to 1. I wish I remembered exactly which exercises we did here, but I know burpees with the core ball was one of them, and that was rough!

We cooled down with a few more minutes of yoga and then we were done.

If you ever get a chance to go, or want to drop-in for a $35 class, I recommend it! This class is good for anyone who gets frustrated by an entire hour of yoga and wants something more intense. I loved the challenge, but I also wouldn't recommend it for beginners, as some of the moves may be frustratingly complicated.

Read More

Newest Obsession

This post has nothing to do with fitness or food, but I think you should read it anyway, especially if you live in New York City.

I've recently discovered, through my addiction to both Thrillist and Gothamist, the solution to expensive cab rides. At least from their operating hours of 6:45 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.

So no, it's not going to save you money when you're stuck trying to get back uptown after a crazy Saturday night of bar hopping in the East Village. But when it's pouring rain and you live a mile walk from the closest subway and you desperately want to hail a cab, but you're a poor twentysomething and rent is more important than keeping yourself dry, then it's going to save you money.

It's called Via.

Via is different than Uber or Lyft because it's a car share service. If the driver can pick up 5 passengers along the way, without going off-course from where you need to get, he will. So you're not guaranteed the car all to yourself. But you know what is guaranteed? The ride is going to cost you $5. Every time. No matter how long you're stuck sitting in traffic and no matter where you need to be (within their current parameters of 110th Street to 32nd Street). 

Once you connect your credit or debit card to Via, you buy in "credits." Each ride is $5. I'm not kidding. $5. You use the app to set your drop of and pick-up location and Via tells you how far away the car is, the number in the window, and where exactly it will pick you up (sometimes you have to walk a block or two, but never anything major). 

When you sign up for the app, you get one ride free. And be on the lookout for friends posting promo codes! I got $20 in free ride credits- that's 4 FREE RIDES! I used one the Wednesday before Thanksgiving- it was pouring rain and I had a huge duffel bag to bring home and instead of struggling to commute on the subway, I sat in a beautiful, clean Suburban, Escalade, whatever. It took 13 minutes for a car to get to me once I requested one- on a busy travel day, at rush hour, in the rain. Not bad at all if you ask me! 

When I got back to the city from Thanksgiving weekend, I had a Via car pick me up at Penn Station and the driver was so nice- his previous passenger had left her cell phone in the car and he was going to return it to her, but kept apologizing to me all because he had to make a 5 second stop. All the drivers I've had so far have been extremely friendly and professional- and anyone I've shared a car with has also seemed like a normal, young professional. 

Download the Via app and enter this promo code for $20 in ride credits: lauren5d3

Read More

Two More Trips to Two Tablespoons

Over the summer I wrote a review of a vegetarian pop-up shop at Madison Square Eats called "Two Tablespoons." I fell in love with their summer rice paper wraps and glass noodle salads with some of my favorite seasonal flavors.

(Not a bad view from Madison Square Eats!)

Since that initial review I've been back to Two Tablespoons twice- another time for their summer wraps and salads and more recently, for their updated fall menu at the Bryant Park Winter Village Holiday Shops.

Let's chat, shall we?

The second time I visited the Madison Square Eats stand for the summer menu I ordered the combination again- two wraps with a small glass noodle salad came to $13. I thought the value was pretty good for how filling the meal was! I didn't have any leftovers like the last time I had had it...but it's probably because I had run beforehand.

This time, I ordered the gluten-free, vegan corn, coconut and curry sauce summer roll and the tofu, quinoa and almond sauce summer roll. Both were delicious, and it was awhile ago so it wouldn't be fair for me to pick a favorite.

The salad I went with this time was the favorite of the woman working that afternoon- the cabbage, apple and ginger miso which was made up of glass noodles, red cabbage, carrots, apples. scallions, ginger, gluten-free miso and olive oil. It was so fresh tasty!

What I loved about the summer menu at Two Tablespoons was that everything was fresh and in season and it just made you FEEL like you were eating something summery. Both times I dragged myself up to my rooftop to enjoy my summer rolls and salad outside in the sunshine.

So I was so excited when I realized that Two Tablespoons would be setting up a booth in Bryant Park for the holidays- a few blocks from my office meant I could easily get delicious, healthy, fresh lunches. And when I saw that their winter menu was going to focus on chili and loaded smashed potatoes? Excited is an understatement.

(Oh Bryant Park, you've always been my favorite!)

Check out this menu. It's safe to say ANY of these is a winning combination. The potatoes go for $7.50, the chili is $5.50 for a small and $8.50 for a large, or you can go big like me and get a combination- a potato and a small chili for $12.50.  This was two days of lunches for me.

The potato I decided to go with was the pumpkin, tahini, hummus.

By the time I got it back to my office, it needed to be reheated a little bit. It wasn't as big as I had hoped, but it was tasty. Not mind blowingly tasty though. What's with the duddy spuds lately?

The sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds added a nice crunch to the otherwise mushy components of the dish. The pumpkin hummus wasn't too pumpkin-y which I appreciated, because unlike almost every other female in my demographic, I am not CRAZY about pumpkin-flavored things.

The next day, I reheated my chili with hopes that this would make me forget about the not-so-impressive potato. It was definitely an improvement! I ordered the Chickpea, Spinach and Coconut Chili. It had curry flavors and was loaded with broccoli and tons of chick peas! 

Overall, I have to say that I like two tablespoons summer menu better- but I still have a lot of things to try and they all sound seriously awesome!

Read More

It Ain't Even Mah Birthday! Cake Cake Cake! Restaurant Review: Tompkins Square Bagels

If you follow enough NYC-based Instagram accounts, you'll start to notice that the same food tends to pop up again and again. Avocado toast from Cafe Gitane, the Salty Pimp cone from Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, the infamous cronut from Dominique Ansel, and recently, the birthday cake cream cheese from Tompkins Square Bagels. 

You read that right. Birthday Cake. Cream Cheese. 

In fact, Tompkins Square Bagels was just named as one of NYC's 30 most Instagrammed Restaurants thanks to its colorful, sprinkled cream cheese. Can't you see why? It's just so cheerful and delicious looking! 

(Some of my favorites from Instagram!)

Of course, when I found out that Friday's November Project workout was going to be at Tompkins Square Park and people were planning on getting bagels afterwards, I knew I had to go. Despite the fact that the Birthday Cake Cream Cheese looked great- I was hesitant to order it with other options like Peanut Butter Cream Cheese and Cookie Dough Cream Cheese on the menu! 

(What a lovely - freezing cold - morning for a workout followed by BAGELS)

We walked in and I was surprised at how big the place was- there's tons of seating in the back and even an outdoor seating area. I was also surprised that for such a popular place, they really didn't have their shit together! 

First of all, their register was broken so they couldn't give any change. Then someone ordered an espresso and they couldn't get the machine to work. Then, they were out of the wasabi cream cheese that like 5 people wanted to try. It was a slight disaster to say the least. 

But luckily I had a $5 bill on me and a bagel with a flavored cream cheese was $4.75. I decided to I had to see what all the fuss was about with the birthday cake cream cheese, and ordered it on one of their french toast bagels. You think I have a sweet tooth or something? 

(There she isssss)

I'm not going to lie. I was skeptical about this birthday cake cream cheese. I thought it was just going to be cream cheese with some sprinkles in it, and be more about the way it looked than the actual taste of it. Happy to report that this stuff highly exceeded my expectations! It really tasted like cake batter flavored cream cheese! Think funfetti. On a bagel that was warm and perfectly toasted, but still doughy enough for my liking. The flavor of the bagel was really great too- it really did taste like french toast! I feel like the picture does all the explaining- this bagel was no joke a french toast bagel. Look at that thing. 

It was amazing. I ate half of it there and brought the other half in to the office to eat a little later in the morning and I was seriously so bummed when it ended. I could have eaten like 5 more. It was so good, that if I were to go back to Tompkins Square Bagels (ok, WHEN I got back to Tompkins Square Bagels) I think I'll probably get it again instead of trying the PB cream cheese or one of the others! Crazy, I know. 

And of course, I got one of the classic bagel shots to Instagram. 

The Tompkins Square Bagel trend isn't all hype. 

Jump on that bandwagon. 

Read More

#InjuryDeck

Being injured sucks, obviously.

Last year, when I was diagnosed with a tibial stress fracture and told that I would need to use crutches for a month, which meant I  couldn't run, spin, row, elliptical- nada- I cried. Ugly, angry, frustrated tears on the car ride home while my dad tried to comfort me. But he couldn't. Nobody could, because in my mind, nobody else "got it." Nobody else understood how I was feeling. 

(Being a cripple commuting to Manhattan was no fun!)

But now that I've joined November Project, I've found a whole bunch of people who I know "get it." A whole bunch of awesome athletes who, like me,  have bodies that just don't feel like cooperating with quite their level of fitness fanaticism. Like me, they probably pushed the limits a little too far, and now they're being forced to face the inevitable, "No. You really need to stop for a bit." Whether it's a stress fracture, IT Band syndrome, or like myself, a killer case of shin splints. Tis the season to be injured. Fall marathons have been run and if there's ever a time that we running addicts can be convinced to take a chill pill, it's now. 

I've been trying my hardest to cut back on the running- focusing on other types of exercise whenever possible, because my shins have really been bothering me. Instead of running 5 or 6 days a week, I'm aiming for 2 or 3, max. 

That's why I've been opting to take part in the #InjuryDeck at Wednesday's November Project. #InjuryDeck is a fabulous group put together by Emma and led by Leanne where all of the hobbly NPers who can't run do something else instead. 

The first week of #InjuryDeck was a killer Deck of Cards workout that Leanne put together. Side lunges, bridges, sit-ups, dips, burpees, push-ups (SO many push ups)- this workout left us all sore the next day. 

This week, Leanne asked us to bring any recovery tools we had so she could show us a routine that can help PREVENT injuries in the future, and help us recover from our current issues faster. I dutifully showed up with my foam roller, stick and golf ball ready to learn.

(This is how I roll)

Because I have to admit. I suck at recovery. No matter how many times I'm told by people far more intelligent than myself that rolling and stretching are IMPORTANT I am usually too lazy to actually do it. I wish I had a better excuse than that, I really do. Inevitably I end up hurt- my shins end up killing me, my calves end up tight and I curse myself and I promise that from that day forward I will stretch and foam roll after every workout. I usually don't even last a week. 

It's pathetic, really. I have all the tools. I have space in my apartment. And thanks to people like Leanne, I have the knowledge. 

On Wednesday, Leanne showed me some things I had never known before- different muscles to roll that hit so many of my problem areas. I felt a little click in my brain- "Oh, THAT'S the spot that's causing that pain!" Maybe this little light bulb that went off in my head will lead to more consistent attention to rolling. 

Because it really is so important. 

Leanne led us through a routine that looked a little something like this: 

Self Myofasical Release/Stretch

Hold on trigger point/stretch for 0:30-2:00 each side or until release is felt

• Calves
• TFL (hip flexors)
• Adductor complex

Activation Circuit

Perform 15-20x each side

• Clam shells w/band
• Straight leg side raises with extension w/band
• Hip bridges w/band
• Lateral band walking
• Single leg touchdowns (to knee, shin, or ground)
• Plank, 0:30-1:00 w/ belly button drawn in, glutes squeezed, & hips posteriorly tilted (think: Miley Cyrus twerking forward)

You can read all about it on her blog, where she does a much better job of explaining the technicalities of these corrective exercises. 

I thought I would wrap this post up by showing some of the many different options out there for recovery- it can be a little overwhelming. But it's all about finding the right tool for you and your unique set of weaknesses/problem areas. In the future, I may go into more detail on each of these tools and what they're used for but for now- just take a look at some of the things out there and do your own research.

1) The foam roller

2) The stick

3) Trigger point massage ball (can also use a tennis ball, golf ball, soft ball, lacrosse ball, etc.)

4) ROLL Recovery 

5) Stretch Out Strap

6) Compression Socks 

Read More

Ballin' Restaurant Review: Bantam Bagels

I like to think that I'm up on the NYC food scene. 

A quick scroll through my Instagram reveals that I am following accounts with names like:
chekmarkeats
brunchcritic
shelovesfoodnyc
bellybible
grubshotsnyc
citytaste
eatingnyc
bigfoodiebitches
missnewfoodie
eatupnyc
hungrybetches
nycdining

That's the reason I can spout of deals and specials and the "must orders" at so many random places throughout the city. 

"The Friday workout is in Washington Square Park? You need to get breakfast at Oat Meals afterwards- ask for your bowl "Crazy Uncle" style so it's easier to mix!" 

"Oh you're craving guacamole today? Well you're in luck, it's Dos Toros' birthday and they're giving it away for free." 

"You better hurry up and get your butt to The Meatball Shop for their special turkey meatball before it disappears after Thanksgiving!" 

It's a little ridiculous. I realize this. I accept it. 

Staying up to date on the NYC dining scene via Instagram and websites like Gothamist, Eater and Thrillist is the reason that over 4 months ago, I bought a Groupon for a place called "Bantam Bagels." Fast forward four months, and Bantam Bagels were just named as one of Oprah's Favorite Things. Yahtzee! 

Bantam Bagels sits on Bleecker Street, and is nothing more than a takeaway counter, serving up an interesting spin on one of New York City's most beloved breakfast foods- the bagel. 

Bantam Bagels serves mini stuffed bagel balls. 

I'm going to let that sink in for a minute. See how it makes you feel. 

I was conflicted at first too, it's OK. Changing up the bagel is a very risky thing to do in a city that is known for them. In a city that LOVES them. As an avid fan of all things "filled," though, I was willing to accept the mini stuffed bagel ball - on the condition that the bagel was quality, the filling was sufficient and tasty, and the size was just right. A tall order, I know. But I am from Long Island- and one thing that I feel very, very strongly about are bagels. I was going to be very critical of Bantam Bagels. 

The first time I attempted to pick up Bantam Bagels was a failure. They had just closed. 

(But any trip to my old stomping grounds is welcomed! Look at that building. So damn pretty).

So I made sure to go in the morning the next time I showed up. Like I said- this is not a large operation. It's a take-away counter. The worker was extremely friendly and helped me pick my flavors and let me know which were the most popular- something I always ask. 

Naturally, I was sure to use every cent of the Groupon that I could- which meant walking out of Bantam Bagels with 16 bagel balls. Before you judge me, I was taking them home to share with my parents...except then I ended up eating ~10 myself...

I said stop judging. Moving on. 

When I got these bad boys to the office, I opened a box and wafted. And then I stuck my finger in some cream cheese that had escaped from one of the bagel balls. And then I licked my finger. And then I got really excited- because I could tell that these things were gunna be GOOD. 

I somehow waited until the following morning to break into these with my parents.

[*Side note: I had gone to bed Friday night telling my parents NO EATING THE BAGEL BALLS UNTIL WE CAN ALL TRY THEM TOGETHER. I am the food Nazi after all, and there were specific flavors we each had to sample. I feel the judgement- knock it off. Anyway, I was rudely awoken around 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning by my mom peeking her head in my room and saying, "Lau...I couldn't wait...I ate two of the bagel balls." Me: *groan* Mom: "Are you gunna get up?" Me: "Not anymore!" I then slept another hour.]

The helpful man behind the counter had told me not to have him toast them if I wasn't planning on eating them right away, so we read the included heating instructions and popped them in the toaster oven for about 5 minutes. 

Then, the bagel ball tasting extravaganza began. We heated up 6 of them and gathered around, taking turns taking bites of each bagel. Hey, we're family. 

I wish someone had recorded this because it probably looked and sounded hysterical. The three of us huddled around a paper plate full of rolling bagel balls making exclamations like, "OMG" "I can't tell which one this is but IT'S SO GOOD!" "I think this one is my favorite," "Nope, wait- THIS ONE!" 

I swear, each one we tried was better than the next. 

I had grabbed a menu from the store and brought it home with me so we could hopefully ascertain which ones we were trying, but it proved more difficult than anticipated. Some of them were obvious, like the Bleecker Street which had a piece of pepperoni on top, and some were obvious because of the flavor (like the apple pie and hot pretzel) but it was harder to tell the difference between some of the other ones. 

Here is my overall review of Bantam Bagels:

Holy crap. Much like the filled donuts from Flex Mussels, myself and my parents were totally blown away by how great these were. There is some sort of inappropriate comment about filled balls here, but we're going to move on. For all of us to collectively agree that something is delicious, especially something we all care about as much as bagels, is huge. It helped that Bantam Bagels has a ball for everyone (balls on balls on balls). Sweet, savory- they've got you covered. 

The actual bagels were damn near perfection. I like my dough doughy and if I'm toasting it, the outside crispy. These were spot on. 

The filling to dough ratio was also WHOAH good. They have it down to a science- you can't even really tell where they've squirted the cream cheese in. Squirted. Ew. What an awful word. 

There were a few times we bit into the bagel and the cream cheese went all over the place, but for the most part, it stayed contained and I was impressed that it wasn't completely oozing and drippy considering they had been heated in a toaster oven for 5 minutes. My dad claims one of his was unfilled, so that was lame, but probably just a fluke. 

The most impressive thing about these bagels was that each cream cheese was packed with flavor. You can tell that Bantam uses real ingredients to create these specialty cream cheeses (which you can buy containers of, joyous!) 

Here are some descriptions of the standouts to get those salivary glands workin'. (Yes, I really just typed those words). 

1) Hot Pretzel. This is one of Bantam Bagels most popular bagels, probably because it's the one Oprah talks about. It's a salt bagel ball (sprinkled with some sea salt for effect) filled with a cream cheese that is undeniably flavored like cheddar cheese and MUSTARD. I'm sorry- was that too much for you to handle? Because it was almost too much perfect for my taste buds. 

2) The Bleecker Street. Another popular choice, this is a "pizza dough bagel" filled with marinara mozzarella cream cheese and topped with a piece of pepperoni for good luck. So. Pizza-y. So yum. 

3) Everybody's Favorite. What's in a name? The truth. I am never one to like the plain Jane option at places like this. Reading the description on the menu of "everything bagel filled with freshly chopped vegetable cream cheese" was a total snooze fest to me. But once I took a bite? Sold. Done. Give me a dozen of these and I wouldn't even be upset at the lack of variety. 

4) Apple Pie. This is the current special ball of the season and it was yum yum yum. Yum. Really. Yum. 

4) Box Lunch. Shockingly, this WASN'T my favorite, although it was still damn good. A plain bagel topped filled with peanut butter and strawberry jam. Mmm. 

I was really looking forward to some of the sweet options, because I have the world's biggest sweet tooth and all, but unfortunately, these were the ones where it was hardest to tell which one you were eating.  The cookies and milk, french toast and cinnamonster were impossible to tell apart. All of them were delicious, I just couldn't tell which was which. 

I'm pretty sure my mom hijacked The Hangover bagel ball that I was dying to try (GRR MOM, I know you're reading this!) but listen to this description: "Cheddar cheese and egg bagel topped with melted cheddar cheese filled with bacon cheddar cream cheese and a drizzle of maple syrup." Dead. 

Each bagel ball is 2-4 bites, depending on how HAM you decide to go on it. 4 balls costs $5 and is a satisfying breakfast. Of course, I ate 5 for breakfast. So I'm not saying you should get 6 for $7, but...you might want to get 6 for $7. A dozen bagel balls costs $13. And like I said, you can also buy their specialty cream cheeses. 

Now that Bantam Bagels has been listed as one of Oprah's Favorite Things, I'm sure we're going to be hearing about them a lot more. My family has already decided that my aunts and uncles and grandma in Florida NEED to have these shipped to them for a little piece of New York on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning.  Bantam ships- and you can order 3 dozen balls for $36 (the shipping costs are a little ridiculous of course, but that's to be expected). 

Go get these, people. 

Read More

Track Attack- My Fastest Mile

While I was home last weekend, I decided that since I'm not currently doing any super long runs, I would focus a little bit on speed.

I went to the track to see how fast I could run a mile- something that I've never really tried before, running just one mile really fast! I was curious about how it was going to go.

I did a 1.5 mile warm up and took off.

First lap? Wayy too fast. I immediately regretted it and suffered for the remaining .75 miles.

I ended up finishing in 6:28:26. No idea if that's good or not, but it's something to work on.

I finished up by doing a slow, easy 1.5 miles.

And then, made my mom take some pictures of me sprinting past her ;)

My shins have really been bothering me again, and for once I'm actually completely taking off from running for awhile and letting my body do the recovery it needs to do in order to start training again in January.

I'm really wondering if the shin issues are a result of this track workout. Has anyone else experienced that? Since I was running so fast, I feel like I was putting a lot more impact on my legs and it's also a surface I'm not used to running on. Hmm.

Read More

Guess What I Did?

So, last week I did something that I would like to share with the blogosphere.

I registered for my second marathon!

As soon as I crossed the finish line of my first marathon I knew it wouldn’t be my last. And why wait an entire year to train for another fall marathon? I immediately started researching spring marathons. I was pretty much convinced I would run the Long Island Marathon, despite everyone’s warnings of an incredibly boring course./

(Once definitely wasn't enough!)

But then my friend Erin came to me with an intriguing proposition. Run the Pittsburgh Marathon. There were a few things that gave me some hesitation.

1) Yes I wanted to run a spring marathon, but training through the cold winter months was (and still is) extremely daunting.2) Pittsburgh is not exactly in New York City’s backyard.3) Apparently Pittsburg is nicknamed “The City of Bridges.” Bridges = hills. And the elevation chart for this marathon is a LOT hillier than Wineglass.

(Guess which one is Pittsburgh...)

But in the end, here’s why I clicked that “Register” button and made a commitment to train for 4+ chilly months:

1) I am going to have the most fun training group EVER to get me to lace up my sneakers when it’s the last thing I want to do. A ton of November Project friends have dropped #verbals to run Pittsburgh which is going to make it SO MUCH EASIER.

(SUCH A GREAT CREW!)

2) Erin is running her first marathon, and I SO want to be there for it!

       3) We already have a place to stay that’s close to the start.

       4) Did I mention that I’m so excited for the group I’m training with ? We are going to have so much FUN- wild and crazy Friday nights spent in someone’s apartment as we relax and watch movies because we have long runs in the morning. Brunching after our long runs. Talking during our long runs.

      5) Road tripping to Pittsburgh together!

      6) Getting to see a new city!

      7) Friends from NY Running Co. are also running the Pittsburgh Marathon! Dave and Mack are both super awesome and are going to be able to teach me so much and give me such great advice throughout this training process.

       8) It’s a bigger marathon than Wineglass, and after seeing the NYC Marathon, I’m excited for more cheering/spectators/pizazz. It will be interesting to see which I like better!

      9) I am still scared of the hills, but I have decided that next FALL is when I will try to BQ at either Wineglass or another fast course. Pittsburgh is just to get another marathon under my belt for the experience and to make me a smarter racer and trainer. 

         10) I heard the medal is pretty sweet

      I’m using the next month or so to put on some weight, lift some weights, relax and enjoy life- the holidays, parties, drinks, all of that awesome stuff. Then, in January, it’s back to business.

  Right now, I won’t lie, it’s daunting, scary, and I’m feeling a little lazy. But hopefully by January I’m ready to go- I’ll have stuffed myself silly with holiday treats and done my fair share of lounging around by that point!

(Lots of this in my future)

I also want to give a huge shout out to my friend Kaitlin who ran her first half marathon when Andrew and I ran the Wineglass Marathon. Guess what she did? She just signed up for the Pittsburgh Marathon! BOOM! You’re awesome.

You know who hasn’t signed up? Andrew. He’s in denial that he’s running it. But he is. And Pete, you’re running the half. Just accept it. 

Let's do this Pittsburgh!

Read More

Transformation Tuesday: Why I'm Over My Abs

On this “Transformation Tuesday” let’s talk about the transformative power of strength training.

“We thought you just ran lots of miles,” you’re probably thinking.

 Well, that’s true. For the past half a year, running has been my main focus. But now that I have some time before I need to start upping my mileage again in preparation for the Pittsburgh Marathon, I’m trying to get back into weights.

Yes it can be a little intimidating at first to step away from the treadmill and the elliptical and the safety of other girls like you, looking cute in your Nike and Lululemon.

But let’s be real. You dream of one day being that badass chick doing all sorts of exercises with the free weights with the guys.  (Or maybe you dream of being the badass girl all alone in your own corner of the gym because you’ve been that girl at the free weights with the guys, and they’re just obnoxious for the most part).

Well, I’m here to tell you that you absolutely should go for it.

There’s no excuse. You don’t know where to start? How to do the exercises? I’m pretty sure there are approximately 129308 ways to fix that. Google. Youtube. Pinterest. DailyBurn. BodyBuilding.com. There are literally infinite resources for you to find different exercises and study up on the proper form before you test them out yourself. More times than I can count I’ve printed out workouts, pictures, instructions and brought them to the gym with me. I’ve also watched YouTube videos with no shame.

Start simple, with a few basic moves. Get comfortable. The best part is that once you move to the weight area of the gym- you’re going to see people doing some crazy shit. And then you’re going to go home and try to Google it with weird terms like “crunchy side step weighted leg lift thing” and then say a prayer that Mr. Google somehow figures out what exercise the Hulk at your gym was doing. And then you’re going to research it. And then YOU’RE gunna do it.

Everyone in the fitness world says that cardio bunnies are doing it wrong. Sure, you can lose weight from doing a ton of cardio. I certainly lost weight when every weekend for 4 months consisted of running 15+ miles.

I was never sold on the idea that weight training was just as, if not more, effective in toning your body than cardio until my attention to weight training became almost non-existent. And now, I MISS MY MUSCLES :(

(Hi teddy bear...)

(I even used to have baby biceps when I wasn't flexing!)

At the gym a few days ago, I was doing ab exercises and was asked, “How often do you work on your abs? Your body is amazing.” 1) I thanked that person for the compliment and 2) Said sorry to disappoint you, but I barely ever focus strictly on abs at the gym.

Here’s me 6 months ago when I was doing a pretty good mix of weights and cardio. At this point, I was only dedicating 1 day a week to an ab-based workout. The rest of that came from all the core stabilization necessary to use free weights for shoulder, back, bicep, tricep, leg, and chest exercises.

I read about it all the time, and rolled my eyes. But looking back, it is so completely true.

So while most people use transformation Tuesday to show their progress- I guess I’m kind of doing the opposite. I have totally lost this strength, those obliques, that 2-pack. Those biceps. The triceps I worked so hard for. Gone. Poof. So sad. But I’m excited to get back into the gym to be reunited with dumb bells and kettlebells and squat racks in the hopes of getting toned back up. Looking at these pictures is rough because I know how much hard work I put into getting into that kind of shape, and part of me, of course, wishes I still looked like that.

But at the same time, RIP to that body. I could get it back. But I don’t think I want to. Now, or ever again.

Because that body meant saying “no” way too much.

No to delicious food, no to happy hour with friends, no to drunken nights as a single twenty-something in NYC, no to a coworkers birthday cake.

I was obsessed with never missing a workout. I was obsessed with seeing that definition when I looked in the mirror. Clearly, as demonstrated here, I was obsessed with taking selfies to track my progress (embarrassing…)

And for what? I don’t walk around in a sports bra my whole life. I don’t compete in fitness competitions. Quite frankly, it’s a waste of time and energy for me to look like this. It made me cranky and not fun. I like froyo. I like beer.

(#MERICA)

I also really like lifting weights and doing squats and learning new exercises and running and taking spin classes.

So I’m going to do all of the above. And what happens in terms of body transformation, happens. I am so over the days where my mood every morning was determined by whether or not I could see my abs. 

/transformationtuesdayrant. 

Read More