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Workout Recap – June 11-24th

Hey guys! Today I’m sharing the updates from the past two weeks of half marathon training. Things are going better than I expected. It is clear that I thrive when I have a plan to follow and am therefore accountable to you all as my readers and followers as well as my coach.  I’m thrilled to be in the place where I want to train and have the emotional, mental and physical ability to work towards a goal.  While I am keeping a training journal, where I track my progress, I want to also share my training with you all as I know many of you are chasing the same sub 2-hour goal and others are just curious and enjoy reading workout recaps and getting a bit more details behind my daily workouts.

So, with that said, let’s dive into my second and third weeks of training which includes not only my workouts, but also my health and wellness goals.

Average steps:  10,552 (vs previous average of 6,500)

Number of glasses of wine: 4 and 3 (4 one week, 3 the next)

Did I track my meals breakfast, lunch & snacks Monday through Friday? Yes!

Have I lost weight? Yes, so far I have lost around four pounds.

  • Monday: My schedule allowed me to returned to Body Pump again this week. I increased the weights on certain tracks, which made a huge difference.
  • Tuesday: Once again, I kicked Tuesday off with a super, early private Pilates session at A-Line.  I have a few more privates left in my package and am spacing them out over the summer so we can continue to focus on improvements and form as I progress.
  • Wednesday: I was able to get off the wait-list for the early morning tower Pilates class. This is one of their most popular classes and books in advance. The tower class worked my entire body but surprisingly, my glutes and arms were the most sore on Thursday.
  • Thursday: This week’s 4 mile run with the Brooklyn mom running group was larger than normal which made it SO fun! I don’t know why a few new faces decided to join but we chatted the entire time. My glutes were a bit achy at the beginning so I was happy that our pace was slower for the first mile while my body woke up.
  • Friday: Rest Day
  • Saturday: Due to a last minute change, I didn’t run the Queens 10k so instead I headed out in the afternoon for a 3.5 mile long run (9:02, 9:15, 9:09, 9:03). I kept the pace pretty consistent and finished feeling strong.
  • Sunday: The weather was horrible so instead of leaving the house for a workout, I hopped on the bike and did a Flywheel Power 30 class with my favorite instructor, Dionna. I focused on trying to hit a new PR and came just a few points away from hitting my goal.
  • Monday:  I took another lunch time mat Pilates class at Aline Pilates. I’m trying to take an average of two Pilates classes per week and stick with the same teachers as they are able to make corrections and help me focus on my breathing and weaknesses. I was the only person to show up for class so it actually ended up being a private class for the price of a group – WINNING!
  • Tuesday: My Tuesday Tempo runs are quickly becoming my favorite workout! I listened to a Tempo Playlist on Spotify and focused on the 3 segments of this workout – warm-up, tempo pace and cool-down. I kept a 9:07 pace (9;12, 8:55, 9:16 and 9:08) during the workout and covered 3.2 miles.
  • Wednesday: I squeezed in a 20 minute Flywheel POWER class bright and early before a doctor’s appointment. I pushed myself and hit a new PR for the 20 minute class.
  • Thursday: I ran 3 miles with the Brooklyn mom group but had to turn back early due to a busy morning.
  • Friday: Rest Day
  • Saturday: Between chasing kids around the house during her birthday party and running errands, I went to bed with THROBBING legs as I’d logged more than 16,000 steps. I guess you could call this an active rest day.
  • Sunday: My third “long run” of half marathon training was a 4 mile run through Brooklyn Bridge Park. Since Theodora wants my long runs to be at conversational pace, I figured that I would use the Lululemon and Brooklyn Moms group run Sunday morning for this week’s long run. The plan worked perfectly as I was able to run with a few new mom friends who are my similar pace and talking made the miles pass quickly. I was surprised to see that my pace was a 9:29 – 9:39, 9:17, 9:25 and 9:30.

Overall, my second and third week have me so excited for what is to come but, I am not getting ahead of myself. I know that there is a lot of summer heat, humidity and longer runs coming soon! My goal this week is to make sure that I make it back to Body Pump or another challenging, strength workout. I feel my best when I’m doing 2 days of Pilates, 3 days of running and a strength workout! Since I’ll be out in Seattle with Brooks this weekend, I have a feeling I’ll log plenty of miles with the Brooks #RunHappy Ambassador crew!

 

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Katie’s 11 Month Update

I can’t believe that Katie is already 11-months old. In fact, I feel as if the past few months have flown by in a whirl. As I’ve shared on Instagram, I really regret not posting more monthly updates. Now that time has gone by so quickly, I am already forgetting little bits of information. A few people recommended that I focus on just writing these versus making them perfect and sticking with a consistent format so, for today’s post, that is what you are going to get. I’m going to do my best to answer the questions I receive most frequently. A lot of people have asked for more information regarding Katie’s favorite foods these days now that she is primarily eating solids. That definitely deserves it’s own post so while I’ll make a few mentions today, I will also be sharing more details in another post.

Katie is growing like a weed and must weigh around 22 pounds by this point. At her last doctor’s appointment, when she was sick two months ago, she was on the 50th percentile for weight still and 95% percentile for height. She is still wearing size 3 diapers, which blows my mind since she grew out of the previous sizes so quickly. But, many people have told us that she’ll most likely stay in this size for a while since she will begin losing some weight as she continues to move more. A few people have asked about diapers so I wanted to let you guys know that we are still loving Pampers Swaddlers and even use the overnight version each night. We started using overnight diapers a few months ago when her wet diapers would wake her up around 4 AM. Since making the change, she is back to sleeping through the night! While we haven’t had many issues with diaper rash, we still love Triple Paste, as this medicated diaper cream seems to work better and longer than anything else we’ve tried.  She is wearing size 18 month footie pajamas (these are our favorite) due to her height and size 12 month or 18 month clothing during the day. While she still won’t keep shoes on for very long, we finally bought her a pair of See Kai Run shoes after receiving SO MANY recommendations from friends, neighborhood moms and the shoe store employees. She wears them anytime we’re at the playground or an area where she will be crawling and “walking” around that is not our home or the nanny share home.

Katie keeps us on our toes EVERY single minute of the day. She has figured out how to open doors, drawers and cabinets. Even when surrounded by her favorite toys and books, she will typically be so curious about her surroundings that she will pick up her favorite book or toy and then drag it with her as she investigates everything. She is standing and can walk with assistance but has only taken one or two steps so far but is not walking. We have done our best not to make reactions when she falls or trips as she’s trying to walk since we know that she looks to us to see our reaction and the calmer we remain the calmer she will be. Even though she falls daily, she has only developed one real bump in the process.

We traveled down to Savannah for a week this month and it was a totally different experience than our last flight back in December. Due to work travel, Bo flew down with Katie and I flew back with her so we were both able to experience traveling with her solo. Whereas she used to sleep in our arms or play calmly with one of her toys, all she wants to do now is explore and move. We both survived our flights but found it far more challenging. While she did not cry she did babble a lot which some patrons didn’t appreciate. We had the best luck when we flew nice and early during a time that included a meal. When we flew, I gave her each individual piece of food so the meal entertained her for nearly 25 minutes of the flight. I also brought a lot of toys, many of which she’d never seen before.

Our time down in Savannah was wonderful and enjoyable due in part to the fact that we did our best to stick with Katie’s normal schedule. Even though it was a “vacation” we knew that she would be happier and sleep better at night if we kept her on a schedule while still finding time to enjoy things like the pool, beach, and exploring Savannah. I loved having the time to take her on a stroller run each morning after breakfast and then in the afternoon, when she is up the longest, from 3-6pm we often headed to the pool or beach. This type of structure doesn’t work for everyone but, for us, it worked very well.

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, people standing, shorts and outdoor

Image may contain: 1 person, baby and outdoor

Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, outdoor and nature

We are still following the Moms on Call method which is working out very well for us. Katie has thrived and gained weight while also napping well and has been sleeping through the night since six weeks.  While the Moms on Call method isn’t perfect for everyone and there are many different opinions on schedules, we have been pleased with it.  The schedule has evolved with her age, but a few things look the same as it did back when she was three months old- the wake time and bed time.  7:15 AM Wake and feed (7 oz)

  • 7:30-8:00 Playtime
  • 8:00-8:15 Breakfast (typically protein, fruit, carb such as 3 strawberries (sliced), 1 scrambled egg, & 1 homemade apple muffin)
  • 8:30 Nanny Share drop off
  • 9:15 -11:15 Morning Nap
  • 11:15 Morning Snack (a protein + fruit or vegetable such as shredded cheese and steamed carrots)
  • 11:30 – 12:15 Playtime
  • 12:15 Lunch (typically a protein, vegetable and fruit such as homemade meatballs, peas and 1/2 banana)
  • 1:15 – 3:00 pm Nap
  • 3:-0-2:15 Playtime
  • 2:15 – 4 Afternoon Nap
  • 4:00 Afternoon snack (fruit, cheese, vegetable or carb)
  • 4:15-5:15 Playtime
  • 5:15 Dinner
  • 5:45 Pick up from nanny share
  • 5:55 – 6:45 Playtime at home
  • 6:45 Bath time
  • 7:00 Bedtime Bottle (7 oz) + reading/rocking
  • 7:15 Bed

As you can see from the schedule, these days Katie only has 2 bottles per day at wake and bed and enjoys solids the rest of the day along with her sippy cup of water. We discovered this straw sippy cup at Publix when we were home and LOVE it! We have been very happy with our two high chairs – Stokke Tripp Trapp and the Inglesina. We only use the Inglesina for travel and restaurants but have been very happy with how easy it is to use and clean!

Until this week, Katie hadn’t spoken a true word. However, yesterday when I picked her up from nanny share she waved goodbye to the two little boys and said “bye bye” so clearly! We all started laughing and jumping for joy! Katie had no idea why we were laughing and just looked at us curiously. She loves waving to everyone she passes on the street and so far, she has no stranger danger whatsoever.

It’s hard to identify her favorite food as she has a great appetite and loves trying everything and anything including hummus, quinoa, feta, yogurt, asparagus, cream cheese, and more.

 

I’m sure I forgot to mention a few things so if you have any questions, as always please feel free to email or leave a comment. In addition, if you want more frequent updates, I’m sharing lots on InstaStories and Instagram.

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Friday Favorites – June 8th, 2017

Happy Friday! After coming back from vacation, this week was a tough one. It took longer than normal to catch up on work emails, laundry and errands but after five days of routine I feel like I’m ending the week on a strong note!  My consistency goals are also helping me feel better.  I had one glass of wine between Sunday and this morning, tracked my food, enjoyed six workouts, and increased my average number of steps. We are kicking off the weekend with a date night in Manhattan before enjoying a relaxed weekend in the neighborhood.

Now, let’s dive into this week’s edition of Friday Favorites, including recipes, articles, posts and other things that caught my eye this week.

  • You guys were right! After discovering Younger on Hulu a few weeks ago, we just made it to season four of Younger.  This witty series follows the story of Liza, a 40-year-old mom who finds herself working in her dream job while posing as a 26-year-old. Our favorite characters include her roommate Maggie and her hilarious friend Lauren.
  • This time last year I was enjoying ice cream from one of our many neighborhood ice cream shops each night during my final trimester of pregnancy. This year, it isn’t quite as easy to leave the house at 8pm for an ice cream walk so instead, I’m enjoying Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt bars. While they are no subsitute for real ice cream, they are convenient and delicious. My favorite flavors are chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream. While they aren’t cheap, they do go on sale frequently at Whole Foods and are available at Costco.
  • The cooler weather in New York has allowed me to continue my love of quarter zip tops. Most mornings when I take Katie to our nanny share, I’m wearing either this colorful, fun Lilly Pulitzer Skipper Popover or my Vineyard Vines Shep Shirt.
  • I can’t imagine taking conference calls or going on walks without my Apple AirPods. In just a few short months I’ve fallen in love with the convenience, sound and quality of these odd looking headphones.  Don’t get me wrong, I still think they look funny when I see other people wearing them but I love how easily I can charge them when not using them, pop them in my purse or running shorts and the microphone for conference calls works perfectly.
  • Making smoothies for breakfast this week reminded me how much I love my Aloha protein powder. I’ve tried numerous powders over the years and this one has the best flavor, consistency and least after taste. My favorite flavor is the vanilla bean but the banana is pretty tasty too! If you’re a member of Thrive Market, you can get it for $3-$4 cheaper, depending the week.
  • My mom and I whipped up this quick & healthy shrimp recipe when I was home last week and everyone, including my dad, loved it! We paired it with brown rice and Asian roasted green beans for an easy, healthy and filling dinner.
  • We have three packs of strawberries in the refrigerator, which have been tempting me to bake something delicious. I have my eye on this Smitten Kitchen recipe for Strawberry Summer Cake which, when paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, seems to scream summer!
  • I spent some time updating a few older posts, including this post on running shorts. It includes 7 great short and skirts for summer running, even if you have muscular legs. After years of dreading running in shorts due to chafing or feeling uncomfortable, these options come highly recommended from me and other running friends!
  • I just started Educated after more than 40 of my Instagram followers recommended it earlier this week when I asked for a book recommendation. A powerful memoir, this New York Times bestseller shares the story of a girl who doesn’t step foot into a classroom until the age of 17 and then goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University.

Your turn – What are you loving this week?

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