Gridiron Run and Blogger Brunch

Wow, another weekend gone too soon.  The busier they are, the faster they fly by.

Sunday was the highly anticipated Blogger Run and Brunch!  I stayed overnight at a friend Derek’s apartment near the park, so I wouldn’t have to get up too early for the 9AM race.  Turns out my friend Derek’s girlfriend is a runner, so she actually joined the race with me, borrowing Katherine’s bib and dtag. We somehow way overestimated the amount of time it would take us to jog three blocks to the park, so we arrived to empty corrals at 8:15 with 45 minutes left to freeze our butts off.  So we decided to stay warm by jogging around. After running down a very quiet and chilly Madison Ave for a while, we headed back over to the start.  Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of the lovely blogger bunch anywhere .

A few minutes before the race started, I lost Meg to a last minute restroom run. So I set off on my own.  Meg hadn’t mentioned how much of a runner she was, but I found out that she has run many marathons and was even a pace coach in California.  I am happy she didn’t have me to slow her down!  My race, though solitary, went smoothly.  I took it really easy the first mile.  I had to ditch my gloves and tuck the little hand fabric in the sleeves of my running jacket around my cuffed fingers to ease the intense burning going on.  Once the icy pain eased, I happily sailed along until around mile two, when a six year old passed me, and I decided I better start picking it up a bit.  When I reached mile 3, I realized I had taken it way too easy.  I had never felt so fresh at that point in a race before.  Since the last mile of the race was all downhill, I really tried to go for it.  Fortunately, my playlist had some great sprint songs at the end.  I finished pretty strong, but knew I could have ran much much harder overall.

Here was my totally randomly thrown together Gridiron Playlist.  It ended up being great, I skipped You’re So Damn Hot and finished the race just as Kill the Director was starting.  It was a good mix of new and old favs.

My time was actually my second fasted 4 miler with NYRR, but much slower than my 8:50 Turkey Trot Pace.

My official time was 38:21.

I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find Meg at the end, but she was right there as I crossed the finish.  She finished in a speedy 32:08!

After the race, the real fun began.  I dashed back to D’s to pick up my stuff, take off my bottom layer and throw on some jeans and then went to meet up with several of my favorite ladies!  This of course included my blog crush, and NYC guest of honor, Meghann!  Graduate Meghann is one of two blogs I don’t have on my google reader because I never go a day without checking it at least once—pure runspiration! Meghann is now fully aware that I am a creepy stalker.  Happy Birthday BTW!  And the other lovely lady is my friend, neighbor and fellow blogger Ashley. How are you so glowing and fresh after the race, Ash?

Brunch at Arte was great.  It gave me a chance to catch up with Dori, Heather, Katie, Jesse and several other great bloggers and runners! I hope to run and brunch with you all soon.  I am thinking of signing up for the Shamrock and the NYRR8000, anyone else?

After brunch ended, I headed to work for a few hours, and then to help a friend get ready for a superbowl party. While I like football okay, I love the superbowl,  and I fully embraced the opportunity to do some baking!

Images graciously used from Google Images to represent likeness.

I made Southern Style Cornbread adapted from the amazing Angelica Kitchen recipe pg 158:

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup ww flour
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• few dashed garlic powder
• 1 cup skim milk or butter milk
• 1/4 EVO
• 1 egg
• 1/4 pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  delicious

I made one of my favorite desserts of all time:

CHOCOLATE STREUSEL BARS

• 1 ¾ cups unsifted flour
• 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup cold margarine or butter
• 2 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14-ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
• (NOT evaporated milk)
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (or chocolate morsels)

Preheat oven to 350°. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar and cocoa. Cut in margarine until crumbly (mixture will be dry). Reserving 2 cups crumb mixture, press remainder on bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes. In large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in Eagle Brand until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Pour over prepared crust. Combine nuts (or morsels) with reserved crumb mixture; sprinkle evenly over cheese mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Cool. Chill. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

Finally for a super simple, yet very impressive appetizer, I made

Caprese Skewers

• bocconcini (mozzarella balls)–find very very fresh!
• sweet cherry tomatoes (or grape in a pinch)
• fresh basil leaves
• s+p
• evoo and balsamic
• dried oregano

Simple skewer the mozzarella on a toothpick/skewer, follow with a basil leave and one tomato.  Around completed skewers on a platter and drizzle with EVOO, BV, Salt, Pepper and dried oregano. Viola.  As long as your ingredients are super fresh and high quality, this will be molto bene! I stole the idea from Miss RR

Also on the extensive party menu was: a whole roasted turkey, chili, two types of ziti with homemade sauce, white sweet potato fries, fresh guac, bean dip, chocolate chip cookies, banana pudding, baby carrots (all me), chips, pretzels, fried cheese sticks, tacitos, mini pizza, nuts, candy corn, and beer.  I think there were more food options than interceptions and completions combined. lol.

I hope you all enjoyed the superbowl/and or the commercials.  If anyone is interested here are some of the songs played in the commercials.  It includes Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear, which Gena recently put on a mix for me and I LOVE. Also, here’s what happened if you called Barney!

Hope you all had a great Monday!  I hope to finally put together my next NYC post soon!

Back in the Saddle and Love on the Run

**Before I start on the post, I want to mention that I have joined the Ask Anything bandwagon.  I am not sure who started it, maybe Heather?, but I love it.  If there is anything you want to ask anonymously, click here to ask away, I am all ears.  I have also adding an ask anything link to the contact info on my sidebar. **

After almost a year and a half away, I have returned to one of my first true loves: spinning.  I am taking a class before work on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  It’s pretty hard getting up so early, but totally worth it once I am there.

I signed up with a friend, which of course helps keeps me motivated.  I took  a risk on an instructor I didn’t know.  The other choice was a women I have had before, who was fine, but not phenomenal. I have actually described her before on the blog: cropped Richard Simmon’s weight loss cruise sweatshirt, spandex, high tops with socks and a bandana headband, classic 80s in the new millennium.

Fortunately, I love the new instructor.  It’s a guy, who is also a cycling coach, but he has great hip hop/top 40/pop music and throws in enough spinning moves to satisfy me!

The first class was seriously painful because it was two days after the tri, and my butt was insanely sore, and my muscles weren’t fresh as daisies either.  Today was much better. I am so excited to be back.  I really hope I might get into enough to finally get my own spinning certification!

One take home that I will pass on from my instructor:

Do short sprints.  The majority of the calories are burned in the initially burst of speed.  So jump right from zero to sixty keep it there for 30 seconds, do a short recovery and then hit it again for your next intense sprint.  Rather than doing a minute long sprint where your calorie burn will level off quickly after you start, so your effort is not being utilized to its fullest extent.

I tried this on a recent elliptical session.  And boy was I whipped at the end.  I did 30 seconds sprint alternating with 45 seconds recovery f0r 30 minutes.  Killer. Like Jesse says, the ellip can be pretty kick ass when used effectively.

STAIR CHALLENGE CHECK IN

I am three for three with the stair challenge, although I still have to do it today.  I was pretty proud that I managed to make it up 29 flights of stairs after getting home from work at 11:30 last night.  I have a friend doing it with me which is seriously helping my accountability.

Finally, I received my Jack Rabbit Sports Newsletter today, and they are doing a plethora of Valentine’s Day runs.  Mainly aimed at singles, but I am sure couples are also welcome! Here are the details:

Kiss Your Sweetie Promo⇒
From Thurs Feb 4 until Valentines Day go into any of our stores with your sweetie and get:
15% off any two or more pairs of shoes
20% off any two or more pieces of apparel
But, in order to earn your discount you have to kiss your sweetie at the register.

Come Enjoy Your Best Valentine’s Day Ever!⇒
What better place could you possibly think of to meet someone than JackRabbit? Runners are friendly, active, intelligent, social and lots of fun. We’ve planned some really fun Valentine’s Day events in each of our three stores to help connect single runners. Plus anyone who comes to any of these events gets 15% off shoes and 20% off apparel. Here’s what’s going on at our stores:

UNION SQUARE:

42 W. 14th St., Sunday, Feb 14th. 12pm fun run, 1pm-3pm open bar mixer

Teaming up with Save the Date(ing) to present Love Cubed, a 5K run along Hudson River Park to benefit the American Cancer Society. Following the run, mix and mingle with other New York singles while enjoying delectable hors d’oeuvres, a premium top shelf bar, raffle prizes and discounts on JackRabbit merchandise.

EAST SIDE: Lexington between 84th & 85th St, Sunday, Feb 14th at 9:00am

Partnering with Team In Training for a Giveaway Contest and a Fun Run in and around Central Park! . All paces are welcome to come join the run. Meet at 9am at JackRabbit.

151 7th Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, Sunday, Feb 14th at 12:30pm
PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN: Do you want to meet someone special who shares your Running Obsession? Come to the Brooklyn store on Valentine’s Day for a fun singles run! They will hand out free gifts from Team In Training and coupons for a discount on brunch at Stone Park (so you can go on an instant date with your new friend), not to mention fun ice breaker questions to get the conversation running. The Run will start at 12:30pm and will be one loop of Prospect Park at a conversational pace.

Normally I would be all over these events; heck, I would probably go to more than one.  However, I do have Valentine’s Day plans with a non-runner, so I won’t be able to partake. If anyone goes, I would love to hear about it though.  Next time send these out earlier JRS!

Oh and a big thanks to Sarah at Skinny Runner for sharing this little gem.  It was a total highlight of my week! Is that sad?

February Challenge and Running Resources

Hi ya’ll,

I owe you two things:

-A health diet update with dessert recipes!

-A Day of Wellness Recap!

both coming soon.

Since I only have a few minutes, I wanted to tell you about my February Challenge.  Tanya and I may team up and make a formal challenge, I need to get in touch with her asap.

You may remember that I was devastated when I didn’t get into the Empire State Building Run Up.  

So instead I have decided that in lieu of the Run Up.  I will climb the 29 flights of stairs to my apartment at least once every day in February.  At least it’s a short month!

Actually, I have to say, I have gotten lazy about stairs.  Two years ago, I lived on the third floor of a walk up.  Now I take the elevator to the 29th floor every time.  Four months ago, I worked on the fourth floor of my office and took the stairs several times a day.  Now I work on the first floor. No stairs.  The decrease in the number of stairs in my life is probably not directly correlated to the increase in my jeans size, but I feel like this challenge is a good place to start.

It’s easy to get lazy in the winter.  I was thinking of some type of challenge to encourage adding that natural activity back into your life.  Whether it’s  stairs or the lunch hour shopping/walking that we gave up when temperatures dipped below 20 degrees or hand washing dishes, actually taking the time to make the bed and tuck in the sheets,  or throwing in a few sets of sit ups while watching  How I Met Your Mother (holla Swisher!) or even just cranking up 5 or 10 minutes of your gym workout every time.  I think it’s more realistic to add in normal stuff rather than trying to find time for additional or super long workouts in the winter.  Is there something you find yourself being “lazy” about in the winter?

In other news, I came across a wonderful race resource the other day. Runner’s World Race Finder.  I always feel like Road Runners (and believe me I LOVE Road Runner’s) races are my only option, but actually there are many races happening in the city, Road Runners and beyond!  But in case you are interested, Road Runner’s does have their full year of 2010 races available.

Speaking of running.  At the suggestion of a fellow NYC Marathoner, I rented Run for Your Life on itunes the other night.  It was good, but it didn’t blow me away/inspire me/ almost make me cry the way Spirit of the Marathon did.  Spirit is free on Hulu btw.  That may have been because it took six hours to download on itunes and I was frustrated as hell and watched like 20 minutes at a time over the course of 24 hours, but worth a watch for the run addicted

Indoor Tri Recap

The indoor tri came and went yesterday.  And boy was it a good time!  I didn’t do particularly well, but I know to prepare more next time.  I definitely should have practiced on a spinning bike, biking was by far my weakest leg of the race.

So here’s how the event went down:

I arrived at Asphalt Green around 2:30PM.  They marked me for a 3:15 start time.  I then got a walk through of the course, the rules and regulations.  We started at the pool on the first floor, had 15 minutes to change and get to the 5th floor for spinning and then had 5 minutes between biking and running to get the the 4th floor for the last leg of the event.  Any time over those limits were your loss.  The tour left me with  just enough time to put my stuff in a locker and get ready for swimming. The only major obstacle here was the hundreds of flailing children with their moms and nannies in the locker room.

I made it out to the pool, which was gorgeous.  We had a 25 meter section with a few lanes to ourselves.  There were several people counting laps.  The start whistle blew and I swam hard, but not too hard for 10 minutes, clocking 22 laps. That is 550 meters. Or .33 miles. Much slower than my racing days, but not bad for only 2 practice swims in the last several years. Actually swimming was by far my strongest event in comparison to others.  I can in in the top third.

Next up, I changed and got up to the spin room with a few minutes to spare.  My bike, miraculously, was at the perfect setting, so there was no need for adjustments.  Off we went.  I felt like I was spinning my heart out.  They were pumping great music and everyone was really into it.  The heat before us was in a row in front of us. And there was a great team vibe.  The time keepers were fun and playful.  They would yell out, you guys have 10 minutes left, and you guys behind them have a whole lot more time than that!  When Don’t Stop the Music came on, we couldn’t help but clap and sing along.  My butt started burning around minute 20, but I kept on.  At the end of 30 minutes, I had gone about 15.73 miles, which was in the bottom third.  :0.  Oh well, it was definitely a LOT of fun!

After a few quick stretches, I headed down the stairs to the treadmills for the last 20 minutes. Running.  I had really pushed myself on the spinning, so I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.  The treadmills were also super jacked up.  It was almost impossible to change the speed and sometimes I would be hitting the up button and the speed would go down.  GRRRRR!  In any event, I suffered through 20 minutes at between 6.7 and 7.0 MPH clocking a total of 2.23 miles. I was about in the middle for running finishers.

While I definitely enjoyed the experience I learned a few lessons for next time:

• Train.  I signed up in early January and really didn’t train enough in those 3 and half weeks.
• Practice on a spinning bike.  The stationary is not the same.
• Set goals for each leg.  If I had lap and distance goals set for myself, I would have pushed myself harder rather than just going at a relatively challenge level.
• tri, tri again

I would love to try this with each leg being twice as long for a real endurance challenge!

Slower sounds

The other day I treated myself to a whole slew of new workout songs, compliments of an itunes giftcard that I received on Christmas. 

They turned out to be a bit slower than my usual workout songs, but after a listen or two, I realized that I don’t always need intense music for a high intensity workout.  Here are a few of my recent downloads:

• Seven Nation Army—White Stripes—great song
• Telephone-Lady Gaga (finally realized this is different than Video Phone)
• Cousins-Vampire Weekend (it was a free video of the week)
• All the Same to Me—Anya Marina (also a freebie)
• This Too Shall Pass—Ok Go
• WTF—Ok Go
• Speechless—Lady Gaga (omfg amazing)
• Hard—Rihanna
• Carry Out—Timberland (so cheesy it brings me back to the puffy and mace days!)

I recently received some Febreeze Sport to try out.  I am definitely a good candidate for it, as I have a gym bag and a gym drawer at work!  I have to say, I am not always the best at bringing my old clothes home.  I just bring new ones in.  ooops.

So I decided to use the Febreeze Sport Extreme Odor Eliminator on my gym bag. The spray bottle is for shoes, apparel and unwashable equipment.

So I gave the bag and it’s contents a good spray

 

I also sprayed the shoes I have stashed for emergency workouts

I have to say, the Febreeze sure smells good! I mean, it wasn’t like my gym bag was giving off a horrible odor (or any odor before) but after a thorough spray, my desk was enveloped in a powder fresh scent.  I then passed it on to my staffer who was begging for such a product.

It did make my shirt a little wet, so I will use the smaller, clothes specific “fabric refresher” Workout Odor Eliminator soon and report back. 

Has anyone else noticed how cheap berries are all of the sudden? I got this huge container of blackberries for only $1.99!

Perfect topping for my morning chobani!

 

Free Wellness Day at Pure Yoga

You may have read about Pom and Pure Yoga’s Day of Wellness on Tina’s blog.  It turns out, the event is open to everyone, and there will be four free classes offered to non-members on Saturday, January 30th!

A while ago, I reviewed several Pure Yoga classes, and raved about the gorgeous studio.

In addition to the free yoga classes, there will be a wellness presentation by Pom and free chair massages compliments of Equinox Gyms.

Here is the free class schedule:

9:00–Basics Yoga Class

12:30-2:00PM Zenyasa Class

1:00-2:00–Hot Power Yoga

2:15-3:15  Wellness Seminar

4:00-5:30–Vinyasa Class

To reserve a place just call Pure Yoga West: 212-877-2025

Let me know if you plan to attend, I think I will check out one of the vinyasa classes.

Triathlon Training (sink or swim)

My indoor tri is less than a week away!

I know I haven’t posted much about my training–or lack there of!  My back to back 70 hour work weeks kind of interfered with posting, and a bit with training too!

Over the past couple weeks, my training has looked something like this:

4 medium-high intensity days of cardio (approx. 60 minutes)

• 30 minute interval run, 20 minute bike, 10 minute rower
• 30 minute elliptical, 30 minute interval run
• 20 minute elliptical, 20 minute bike, 10 minute rower
• 30 minute bike, 20 minute run, 15 minute elliptical, 5 minute rower

2 days of easier cardio (30-40 minutes elliptical)

2 strength sessions–such as J.M’s No More Trouble Zones and Exhale Core Fusion Body Sculpt

1 session abs (10 minutes)

1 rest day

Hmmm…anyone notice something missing in terms of triathlon training?

Yup, no swimming!

I actually haven’t swam in months, okay, besides splashing in the pool, like 4 years!

The first real encounter I had with water since lifeguarding in 2005 was on Saturday.  After I recovered from 360 Fit Bootcamp (check out details on an upcoming class below), I hit the pool for about 15 minutes or so of swimming.  I did about 50 laps–the pool in my building is only 20 yards or so, alternating 10 freestyle, 10 breaststroke.  While I was actually really worried about my stamina after all these years, I actually felt right at home in the water.  Swimming has always come very naturally to me, and I was shocked at how strong I was in the water.  It was amazing.  I have to work so hard at running, and it is NEVER easy for me, so this was a nice change of pace.   Random fact about me: I love love love the smell of chlorine! Anyways, I was happy that I don’t have to fear dropping out during the first third of the event!

Last night, I had session two in the pool.  I actually did a reverse triathlon workout.  It looked like this:

• 30 minutes on the treadmill-running to Master the Treadmill with OKGO
• 30 minutes on the  bike
• 10-15 minutes in the pool.  Alternating 4 lengths free with 4 lengths breast and throwing in a length underwater or a length butterfly for good measure.

While I am worried about how my legs will feel during the running after the swimming and biking, all in all, I am excited for the race on Sunday!  When I got out of the pool last night, the lifeguard asked me where I used to swim.  Yup, I just brushed my shoulder off.  Believe me, I am no Janet Evans, but at least I don’t look like an active drowning victim as I had feared.  I did manage to rip my cap last night, so I will have to pick up a new one this week.  Darn, I guess that means I will have to go to Jack Rabbit Sports…tear.

If any one is interested in trying the 360 Fit Bootcamp this weekend, please see details below:

This Saturday, 360Fit will hold a fundraiser boot camp class! A portion of the proceeds will be added to the yoga fundraiser and the Nike 6.0 shoe raffle to Doctors Without Borders.

Details:

Where: 360Fit
211 East 43rd Street, Suite 1105

When: Saturday, January 30th from 10 – 11am. If this class gets too full, there will be an additional boot camp added at 11am.

Cost: $25

How to RSVP: email Shanna Farrar at shanna@360fit.biz or sign up through our meetup group on-line:http://www.meetup.com/The-New-York-360Fit-Meetup-Group/calendar/12109666/

I am off to class, le sigh!  see you all soon! xoxo

Skinnygirl Dish Review

While I highlighted a few of my initial thoughts about Bethenny Frankel’s new book, Skinnygirl Dish in this post, I have a few more reflections upon completing the book.

First and foremost, the book is very useful to people new to cooking and the everyday cook.  The main premise is that you can use whatever you have in your kitchen to make almost any recipe in the book and to whip up amazing meals when your cabinets and fridge are seemingly barren. Skinnygirl Dish challenges you to think beyond the cookbook and guides you through the process of modifying recipes by varying and substituting ingredients in effort to allow you waste less food, save money and create healthier recipes.

I really appreciate how down to earth Bethenny is about cooking.  Her goals are simple: affordable, feasible, fast and healthy.  How many cooks truly think about minimizing clean up when creating recipes?  That was something I truly appreciated from Ms. Frankel, well actually, roomers are she is married, so I guess I should say, Mrs.. Hoppy?

Bethenny does occasionally reference Naturally Thin and her diet philosophy, but that is a very small part of the book, which is nice.  This is a cookbook, not a diet book.

A few things that set this book apart from most cookbooks:

• Bethenny helps you set up your kitchen for ease of use, preparation and clean up.
• She breaks down cooking terms and only includes the most practical ones.
• It is accessible for very novice “chefs.”  This includes tips on:
• how to boil water
• how to boil an egg
• how to use spices
• and many more
• She shows you how to stock your food shelves and cooking supply cabinets from the most basic (there are only 6 essential ingredients you must have at all times—EVOO, lemon, S+P, parsley and garlic) to the most advanced level—for those who occasionally (though optional) may use kitchen twine.
• It encourages you “Not to be a Hero.”  Work with what you have, feel free to never make hummus, pesto or bread from scratch.
• Bethenny encourages you to learn from her mistakes.  Apparently she has dropped several dishes on the floor–frittatas and turkeys–and then served them to guests.  This was probably not necessary to include IMO.  Don’t rush or bite off more than you can chew or cook would have been enough for me.
• Each recipe has endless variations and suggested ingredients for substitution—therefore the 60 recipes can in theory become over 1,000 recipes.
• For example, for her french toast recipe she gives several variations if you don’t have the exact ingredients on hand, such as:
• use a different bread, instead of vanilla use any other flavored extract, use agave instead of maple, and topping alternatives
• There are vegan alternatives for many of the recipes

All about Food

The recipes are divided into categories

Breakfast, lunch, dinners, snacks, desserts, comfort foods, entertaining ideas and menus and menus created by chefs from Bravo and Bobby Flay.

So what did I think about the recipes themselves?

They were very straight forward, not intimidating to prepare and in most cases healthified versions of classic favorites, such as pad thai, tacos and baked ziti.

Her baking section had some mouthwatering creations with great wholesome ingredients—oat flour, applesauce, banana, dark chocolate.  I think this is the most tempting section for me.

She had simple and easy lunch ideas for soups, salads and sandwiches.  Nothing that you haven’t seen or heard, but she does bring the sandwich back with vengeance and helps you fit bread into your diet while still fitting in your jeans.

Invite Your Friends

The entertaining section is great because it trims the fact and ups the veggie factor of many of your favorite munchies: low-fat mock a mole, and guilt-free artichoke and spinach dips.  She also gives great ideas for feeding men and non-vegetarians, which I really appreciated.  I was asked to help cook for a super bowl party, and I will definitely be using some of her hints.

Go Gourmet

The celeb chef section gives some fancier options, including a watermelon salad that sounds phenomenal.

Bottom Up

There is also a really great cocktail section.  While I rarely make cocktails at home, she explains how to transform your favorite cocktails into a skinnygirl cocktails at the bar.  So if you are ordering a mojito, ask for soda and clear run, with mint and a dash of sugar or agave and a lime wedge. This was a really useful section for those don’t want to miss things like margarita night, but don’t necessarily want to drink a 300+ calorie cocktail.

My bottom line is that this book contains a lot of useful information on how to cook for those new to cooking or with a busy lifestyle.  It teaches you how to move beyond following recipes to the tablespoon and shows you how to modify and healthify your favorites.

Most of the recipes aren’t anything amazing, they are all standard dishes with a healthy spin.  The entertaining sections and the chef’s guest recipes do add variety to the book.

This is a book, there is a lot of Bethenny chat between recipes, some useful, some not so much. But Bethenny does encourage you to have confidence in the kitchen, which is great.  It is an easy, breezy, stress-free read for those looking for healthy, easy and stress free cooking, entertaining and eating.

360 Fit Boot Camp Review

Last week I received an exciting offer to try a Boot Camp workout class.  Of course, I said yes.  The 360 Fit studio just opened in early January and happens to be only one subway stop from my house, on 43rd Street and 3rd Ave. 

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but I said to myself as I entered the building, I hope this is a good workout…

Turns out, I had no need to worry, the workout kicked my ASS! Oh my god, just hours later, I am already sore!

So the studio is actually a very small, very plain room with mirrors on one side on the 11th floor of a large office building.  I felt a little weird taking photos in front of everyone, but it is no bigger than the small yoga studio in my building—pictured below, which fits about 8 people comfortably.

But boot camp isn’t exactly about the frills.  As I entered Shanna, the instructor, introduced herself and a few minutes later we got started. The class was 4 girls and 3 guys.

We started out with a “warm up.” The warm up was lunges and then for some added pain, low lunges involving a ground touch and hop!  I immediately wondered what I was in for!

Next up were wall sits while raising one leg and jumping jacks with a weighted ball.

Then we took the weighted ball and raced up 12 flights of stairs!

The workout alternated cardio, strength, plyometrics and static strength moves-burpees, squat hold jumps, mountain climbers, push up with many many variations. We used resistance bands, gliding discs and weighted balls throughout the workout. Towels and water were provided, and needed!

It was a lot like the 30 Day Shred, but harder.  Yes, HARDER.  It was like doing level 3 two times and half times in a row at a bit faster pace and with no rest.  Jillian says you get no rest, but there are moments between moves.  Not in Shannon’s boot camp.  Your transition between moves is ziltch!  Yet, she is so sweet and has such a calm, soothing voice, it’s hard to moan and groan when she says, just 5 more!

There were moments when I worried about how the burning sensation in my legs and arms would affect my running and swimming in prep for the indoor tri later in the afternoon.  Yup, it’s going to hurt!  But what is the point of a workout, if you don’t even feel it? pain is weakness leaving the body peeps!

All in all, I loved the 360 Fit Bootcamp Workout! It was much harder than the Crossfit workouts I tried this summer.  I might have had a different playlist, but the music didn’t bother me.  Speaking of music, you have to check out Tanya’s Go Hard Like Sharks Workout Playlist! Love.

Shanna started 360 Bootcamp started as a one-on-one workout for personal and corporate clients and then also started an outdoor group class in the warmer months. The winter class schedule is a little limited right now since it just opened a few weeks ago, but here are the class descriptions and the schedule:

• Full Body Definitions: body weight resistance, gliders and bands to challenge you for a total body workout.
• Core/Cardio: a fast paced mixture of abdominal and lower back strengthening mixed with intense cardio.
• Boot Camp: circuit training integrating strength training, cardio endurance and core conditioning.
• GLIDE: a full body workout using the Pro Glider system to strengthen, define and tone.

The first class is $25 and your second is free!  Not bad!

Tomorrow night there will be a Yoga Class to Help Haiti from 5:00-6:15PM.  The class is free with a $20 suggested donation, which will benefit Doctors without Borders.

I wish I could go, unfortunately, I have friends coming over for dinner tomorrow.  But for those interested, here are the details:

There will be a yoga fundraiser tomorrow at 360Fit Studio from 5-6:15pm. The address is 211 East 43rd Street, Suite 1105. Amy Elers, the instructor, is one of NYC’s top yoga instructors and currently teaches at PURE Yoga and Equinox.
Please let me know if you can make it, it would be great to have you! 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. There will also be a NIKE shoe raffle.

So Much To Say!

Hi,

It’s be oh so long!  I just finished the craziest two weeks of work since my 21 straight day stint in August.  Even ounce of my body is exhausted, and yet exhilarated at how much was accomplished!  I really can’t complain when work involves planning and running parties, happy hours, and big fun events!

However, as I checked my ridiculous to do list infinite times throughout the day, I would always sigh a little inside when my list of things to blog about remained constant, if not growing!

So let’s get started!

I have been dying to tell you about my Health Magazine “before” photo shoot!

It was amazing!  I had a huge team of people doing my make up, hair, picking out my leotard, styling me, and taking my photo, obviously.  While I had been dreading it, the staff was so nice that I had a great time.  They also did really flattering hair and make up even though it was the before shot.  The artist gave me lots of ideas for my make up and even ideas for evening make up.  I fell in love with the Origins Underwear for Lips in Beige Gaze and the Trish McEvoy Luxe Moisture Lip Balm.

 

Anyways, Health magazine is really kind to take semi-flattering before shots and work so hard to make us comfortable!

I also met with Marissa Lippert for my nutrition one on one.  The diet had been very confusing, and I hadn’t really been following it at all, but speaking with Marissa really simplified things.  There were so many recipes, I was totally overwhelmed.  I have eaten one meal at home in the last two weeks.  There was just no way I could plan, shop and cook!  She helped me figure out ways to incorporate the foods on the plan without getting stressed out about cooking and buying hundreds of ingredients.  Thankfully, I will have a little more time in the upcoming weeks, I am going to set some time aside to pick a few of the (many) recipes and do my best to plan my week a bit more.  She also gave me some goals for the next two weeks:

• healthy breakfast
• one indulgent dessert a week—we discussed how to make this more doable
• one treat meal a week
• one good resistance starch a day, preferably two (barley, polenta, corn flakes, potatoes, yams, sourdough bread, bananas, to name just a few).
• mindful snacks, not always giving into the big candy dish and constant flow of free food at work.  For some reason Hersey Kisses seem innocent and call my name all day.  (It’s pretty hard to say no when a colleague brings you a warm spice cake a la mode like the one below!) 
• eat sitting down—why is this hard for me?!
• less night eating, more of a wind down routine (80 calories max after dinner)

This brings me to a second announcement.  I am postponing the Spark Wellness/Choosing Raw cleanse until late February.  Last week I had staff meals all week, so I had little to no control over the options, and no time to shop and bring my own food, even had I wanted to.  In addition, I have a commitment to Health magazine and the two are not very compatible.  So I am going to focus on cleaning up my diet according to the Health plan guidelines and then enjoy and focus on the cleanse a bit later on.

I do plan to update on my progress and road bumps a couple times a week, mostly for accountabilities sake.  It is time to put my health first for a bit.  I definitely have not felt as amazing as I want to lately. I actually canceled fun plans tonight because I just could take another late night. It’s really hard to do that sometimes, besides work, I have a hard time saying no to dinner and drinks with friends, and of course, what to do on dates, which almost always involve drinking more than I would otherwise.

Next order of business: reviews.

I am thoroughly enjoying SkinnyGirl Dish when ever I have a second on the subway, so my belated review is on the way.

I also received a huge shipment of soup compliments of Progresso.  I LOVE soup and Progresso is hands down my favorite variety.  The minestrone and macaroni and bean are to die.

However, when I offered to review their new healthy soup line, I kind of forgot that the soups wouldn’t all be vegetarian.  Sometimes meat just never occurs to me.  In any case, I will review all the veggie varieties and I have friends who have volunteered to sample the meat varieties.

If you would like to win some soup and the chance for a trip to NYC for two for a makeover and $1,000 new wardrobe, check out the Progresso Soup-er You Debut Contest!

“From January 4 through March 15^th visit www.Progresso.com/SouperYou to enter the Progresso “Souper You Debut” contest for the chance to win a full makeover in New York City.

Three grand prize winners will be awarded a trip for two to New York City from May 21st-23rd. The prize includes roundtrip airfare, a two-night stay in a NYC hotel, a full makeover, a $1,000 wardrobe shopping spree and personal consultation at a New York department store.

To enter, you’ll need to do the following:

· Go to www.Progresso.com/SouperYou to learn more and enter the contest

· Submit your essay (200 characters or less) telling Progresso why you loveProgresso Light or 100 Calorie Soups and why you would like a makeover

· In addition, please submit a photo of yourself that visually reinforces the theme of your essay

Once you enter, you’ll have the chance for your photo and/or an excerpt from your essay to appear on www.Progresso.com/SouperYou, so be sure to check back frequently! Once the 10 finalists are announced, you can visitwww.Progresso.com/SouperYou from March 29 through April 12 to vote for your favorite.

In addition, throughout the duration of the contest you can visitwww.Progresso.com/SouperYou to download a coupon for $1 off any three varieties of Progresso Soup!

I also have a reader progresso prize pack giveaway that I will be announcing shortly!

To close, I would like to send some blog shout outs—finally had a chance to browse through my g-reader!

• Tami has a great circuit workout from Women’s Running. Mega calorie blaster!
• Katherine has had some amazing posts about her Spark/Choosing Raw Cleanse Journey
• Ashley is back and blogging!
• Congrats to Dori on a successful charity auction for her upcoming NYC half marathon!
• I am also very excited to be registered to run the Gridiron 4M in February with Meghann and a host of fellow NYC bloggers!