Hills and Trains

Happy Thursday! I hope you all have had a wonderful week. Right now my body is feeling like an old lady. I guess this week’s workouts, or more so their intensity, have caught up with me.

• Monday: Run
• Tuesday: Personal training session + 90 minutes power yoga
• Wednesday: 4 mile hill workout with Gia
• Thursday: Personal training session

Last night’s hill workout was unlike anything I’ve ever done. One of my goals is to run with a group once a week since I find that I push myself more when I’m around others. It’s that natural tendency to want to run faster than the next person, if you know what I mean. When Gia mentioned that she was the new run coach for the Madison Avenue Lululemon I knew I’d be taking the subway uptown after work a few Wednesdays a month.

This adorable run coach may look sweet but she puts together a hell of a quad and glute killing workout! I don’t want to steal her thunder, since she was so kind to put it on her blog, even with treadmill conversions. Head over to her site and bookmark yesterday’s post for a rainy day when you want a challenging treadmill workout. Your race times will thank her but your ass will hate me for suggesting it.

I woke up this morning wishing I could cuddle further into the pillows and sheets instead of meeting my personal trainer.  But, like everyone says, within an hour I was happy I had gone and had even shown her my headstand, proving that it wasn’t a once in a lifetime moment. Yes, I promise I’ll take a video or picture for y’all soon.

As usual, my hunger was unstoppable after my personal training session. I silenced the beast with an oats, Uncle Sam’s cereal, chia seeds, and banana bowl.

Three hours later my stomach was screaming so I had a handful of almonds and a tangelo.

This little orange beauty has become my favorite winter fruit, enjoyed at least once daily. In fact, if you are looking for a great sweet treat that can be enjoyed at the office, in the car, or just about anywhere I highly recommend tangelos. They are easy to peel and are larger than clementines so I find that I’m more satiated.

This afternoon I had the chance to use my favorite mode of transportation, Amtrak Acela, thanks to  a quick business trip down to Philadelphia.

I find that traveling via train is so refined and refreshing.

There are no security lines, plenty of legroom, ample overhead space, free wireless, and their cafe car serves an astonishing assortment of food and beverages, including wine!

While enjoying the view out the window and cranking through some emails I ate a delicious Zaro’s salad. I always recommend the Penn Station Zaro’s for anyone who is traveling via Amtrak as it has fresh salads, sandwiches, and wonderful service.

The trip back was equally enjoyable as my co-worker and I enjoyed miniature bottles of wine and kicked back to relax.

While Acela is definitely more expensive than regular Amtrak it’s often more convenient when you need to get somewhere quickly, such as a business trip, or when it’s a destination where you’d normally fly otherwise. For example, taking Acela up to Boston or Washington, DC for a 2 day weekend trip is sometimes more advantageous than spending 6 hours in a bus or 4 hours on a train. It all depends on your schedule. I do have two Amtrak tips that I’ve discovered over the past few months.

1. Join Amtrak Rewards for great email discounts and to accumulate points. I was able to save 20% on this Acela trip even though it was booked just a few days out.
2. Planning in advance can definitely save you money on Amtrak, both regional and Acela. If Bo and I were to buy tickets down to Philadelphia today for June, it’s only $32 each way!

Okay guys, I’m supposed to run 10 miles tomorrow morning bright and early. Though the morning weather schedule isn’t in my favor, I’m going to finish it one way or another!