July 2012 - My Healthy, Happier Life

ashleyd / July 31, 2012

NYCM Training Week 4: Pump Up Playlist

Last week was fun and I am pleased to have no regrets. But, now that I’m back in New York City and ready to jump into the month of August, it’s time to get pumped up and back on track with my weekly training.

My travel schedule is in place for the next six weeks and work is going to keep me on my toes.

August 14th-16th San Francisco
August 18th-19th Boston for Healthy Living Summit
August 22nd-24th Chicago
August 29th-September 3rd Seattle
September 4th- 8th Los Angeles

In order to make sure that I am ready for the challenge and in the swing of things before travel ramps up, these next two weeks are a huge focus for me. While I did a great job eating healthy while I travelled last week, I didn’t get the sleep that I need and I definitely enjoyed a few to many alcoholic beverages. These next two weeks I’m pumping up the workouts, increasing sleep, keeping my food in check, taking my daily vitamins, and focusing on foam rolling and stretching a bit more.

Today was a perfect start as you can tell from my lunch and my dinner. The dinner, made at 9:45 when I got home from Pure Barre, was put together from start to finish in 5 minutes using ingredients in our refrigerator and pantry!

This week’s workout schedule is as follows:

Monday: 5 miles in Central Park+Pure Barre blogger class

Tuesday: cross training

Wednesday: 5 miles

Thursday: stretching and foam rolling

Friday: 14 mile long run+Physique 57 blogger class

Saturday: 4 miles

Sunday: yoga or light, easy run

Anytime I need to focus on pumping myself up I head over to iTunes and build a new playlist. This one is a keeper and kept me moving, faster than normal, this evening as I ran through Central Park with my co-workers! I hope you enjoy it and find at least one song to add to your mix!

How do you get yourself back into a routine after a break week OR what is your favorite workout song right now?

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ashleyd / July 30, 2012

Birthday Gone Right

So while the birthday weekend didn’t start perfectly, it certainly ended well!

After our poolside adventures yesterday we spent the evening grilling outside, sipping cool drinks, watching the Olympics, and blowing out candles of course!

Dinner included rubbed and grilled baby back ribs, corn on the cob, grilled asparagus, an arugula salad topped with honey goat cheese and tomatoes, washed down with refreshing drinks ranging from spiked lemonade to dark and stormy.

After dinner we spent the rest of the evening watching the Olympics from the comfort of the sofa and blowing out candles. Scott picked up cupcakes from Brown Betty Dessert Boutique in Philadelphia which were perfect for sharing between the five of us. Bo’s favorite was the chocolate while mine was the sweet potato!

In keeping with the cooking and dining theme, we enjoyed a group brunch on the back patio this morning before Bo and I had to head back to New York City via Amtrak. The weather was perfect and the eggs were some of the best I’ve ever had! If you’re looking for a scrambled egg recipe I highly recommend eggs, sautéed shallots and garlic, along with some shredded cheddar cheese.

Brunch on the back porch was made even more interesting by deer appearances throughout the morning. Bambi was far braver than her mom who quickly ran back in the woods as soon as she saw us.

Then, our evening was made complete by two episodes of The Newsroom, a family dinner guest appearance by Theodora, a birthday toast, and a delicious dinner of Chilean Sea Bass served over sautéed shitake mushrooms and Tofu Shirataki noodles.

I really am not ready for this weekend to end but rumor has it tomorrow’s Monday and that means an early morning workout!

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ashleyd / July 28, 2012

Birthday Fun in the Suburbs

Oh what a day it has been!

Last night I was asleep within minutes of hitting the air mattress. Needless to say my day of stressful travel and week of enjoyment left me completely exhausted.

This morning, my host, Sean, was sweet enough to prepare breakfast and coffee before I woke up at 7am. His girlfriend loves the Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage, Egg & Cheese biscuit and therefore he figured I’d appreciate it as well. It was the perfect start to the morning and a great mix of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables!

After picking up Wendy, Sean’s girlfriend, we headed to Philadelphia where we met Bo at the train station.

Our plan today is to celebrate Bo’s birthday with 2 of his best friends, Sean and Scott, down in the suburbs of Philadelphia including swimming, sunshine, Farmer’s Market shopping, grilling, and celebrating together.

You know it’s going to be a great night when the backseat of the car is filled with food and alcohol!

After shopping we headed to the pool for an afternoon of relaxing fun including locating the first diving board we’ve seen in ages, playing Marco Polo and chicken, reading on our Kindles and iPads, and catching up.

After an afternoon of laying out I was finally ready to enjoy a run after a three day break. My legs felt fresh but the heat and humidity didn’t allow me to truly enjoy the experience. After 3 miles I was more than ready to throw in the towel. Luckily there was a shady path that provided some shade and animal watching. During my less than 30 minute run I saw a groundhog, 2 deer, birds, and lots of squirrels.