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Weekly Workout Recap

Happy Monday! After a few weeks of steady workouts I feel like I’m finally finding my rhythm again. (Side note, I can NEVER spell that rhythm correctly on the first attempt.) Since I know that postpartum women are still prone to relaxin-induced injuries even 12-18 months after they give birth, I am being very careful not to overdo it with my training. Right now, I am focusing on rebuilding my strength and endurance while hopefully losing a few more pounds.  During my crazier than normal weeks when I find it hard to balance everything, I do my best to pause and remember that even getting on our Flywheel bike for a 20-minute ride is better for my mind and body than doing nothing.  I laugh when Timehope reminds me of the days of doing two workouts or enjoying boutique fitness classes throughout the city before most of Manhattan was awake. I remember my phone alarm pinging at 11:59 am reminding me to log on Classpass and book the next week’s classes. Oh, how time’s have changed. These days my cell phone goes off at 5:40, reminding me to log off and head out to get Katie in case I’ve lost track of time due to work.

These days, working out is still something I do for my emotional, mental and physical well-being instead of a means to achieving a time goal. While I am looking forward to getting back to that point in the next few months, I’m in a casual base-building stage right now. My workouts can’t be a source of stress at this point in my life. Instead, they need to be enjoyable, efficient and productive. So, as promised, here is a more casual post, recapping last week’s workouts and training including the highs and lows.

  • Monday – I knew it was going to be an especially busy week so I woke up bright and early and got the week kick-started with a 45-minute Flywheel FlyAnywhere theme ride. It was so much fun to jam to 80’s music before starting a crazy week and the playlist helped me forget about the fact that it was 5:15 AM!
  • Tuesday – Pouring rain caused me to hop on the bike again instead of heading out for my planned run. While I am typically someone who enjoys running in the rain, it was only 40 degrees and the wind was howling when my alarm went off at 5:15. I was beyond proud of myself for resisting the urge to push the snooze button and instead walking over to the bike and quickly changing clothes and clipping in for a 30-minute ride. I swear that keeping spin clothes and a filled water bottle near the bike makes it SO much easier, especially early in the morning.
  • Wednesday – Rest Day
  • Thursday – I was so excited to finish the 4-mile run with the local moms feeling stronger than normal.  Waking up at 5:15 doesn’t get easier but I always remember how amazing I feel when it’s only 6:30 and I’ve finished my workout and am already sipping coffee after a warm shower. Our pace continues to get a bit faster each week and one of the local moms just qualified for Boston so it was fun to hear about her marathon experience and the training that helped her chip away at the qualifying time.
  • Friday – Rest Day
  • Saturday – I rarely sleep past 7 AM but after a busy work week, Bo offered to let me sleep in while he managed Katie’s morning routine. I happily took him up on the offer and swapped my morning run for a 45-minute FlyAnywhere Flywheel Power ride which was focused on a long climbs and fast, powerful sprints. I think I waddled from the bike to the shower when I finished the tough ride. I’m thankful that I spent 10 minutes stretching and foam rolling after class as my body was very thankful for the stretch and recovery time.
  • Sunday – Most week’s, Laura and I do our best to squeeze in one of the strength workouts offered at the YMCA but unfortunately this week none of them worked with our schedules. Instead of abandoning our goal of doing more strength, we did a sweaty, 30-minute Pop Sugar TABATA workout on our back porch. It was a great reminder that our porch is the perfect place to break a sweat thanks to a yoga mat, plenty of space, an assortment of weights and a television.
  • Monday – I squeezed in 38 minutes of Dionna Littleton’s Method 45 FlyAnywhere Flywheel class before I had to hop in the shower and get ready for the day.

As I look back on the past week, the high was the consistent workouts and the low was only making it out on two runs and an absence of yoga. Luckily, the weather this week looks PERFECT for lots of runs and maybe even a porch yoga session while we’re out in the Hamptons this weekend!

Photo credit Alexis Damen Photography.

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Virtual Coffee Date – April 2018

Happy Thursday! I hope you’ll sit down and refill that cup of coffee or glass of wine, depending on the hour, as it is time for a virtual date. A lot has transpired since our last date together.  In fact, I feel as if the past few months have been a whirlwind and a blur, leaving me a bit exhausted but very happy.  Until recently, I don’t think I fully appreciated just how much has changed in my life over the past year.  I have a lot to share with you all today, so here goes.

If we were sitting together today, I have not been taking charge of my health and am finally changing that. I have a list of six appointments I’ve been meaning to make such as dentist, follow-up blood work and more that just haven’t been prioritized.  I’ve learned from so many people around me the benefit of preventative care versus reactive and therefore finally took ten minutes today to call the different offices and schedule the appointments. I also found myself drinking a few artificially flavored drinks this week during busy, retailer meetings and paid the price with a massive headache later. Regardless of how busy life gets, I need to remember how great I feel when I put my health first.

If we were sitting together today, I would tell you that I am so thrilled spring has finally arrived in New York City. Even though I love snow and cold weather after growing up in the humidity and heat of Savannah, this year’s never-ending winter weather almost did me in.  This week, during a rainy and blustery day, I vowed that it would be the last time I wear a turtleneck and tights this year. I am so hopeful that we’ll have a chance to enjoy true spring weather before the heat and humidity of summer in the city arrives.

If we were sitting together today, I would laugh and tell you how surprised I am that I’ve found myself using a Keurig a few mornings per week. As background, my parents have been using a Keurig machine at home for years but I’ve never cared for the flavor as much as I enjoy the rich coffee that freshly grinding my beans each morning produces. We’ve gone back and forth between using a Chemex and a automatic coffee pot but, this week, when I mornings were especially rushed, I appreciated the convenience of the Keurig. My next order of business is finding a more robust k-cup flavor because the pack my parents bought is mild and that, my friends, just won’t cut it. Any recommendations?

If we were sitting together today, I would tell you how excited I am to head down to Savannah for a week in May. As you all know, we love spending time outside so a week of introducing Katie to the beach, pool and boating adventures sounds like a perfect way to enjoy a few days off work and time with my brother, his fiance and both sets of grandparents. It will be a very different trip since Katie will be 11-months old so I’m excited to experience her joy and reaction to the new sites, sounds and feels in Savannah.

If we were sitting together today, I would gush about the family pictures we took during a mini-photo session with Michelle last weekend. Before Katie, I never fully appreciated the value of a photographer who specializes in children and families. But now, after seeing the magic that she can create for our family of 3, even during teething tantrums, I recommend that every family invest in professional photos. While Bo and I do our best to capture multiple moments each day with Katie, it’s rare that we are in the picture. Her constant movement makes keeping the picture in focus even more challenging. This is our second time shooting with Michelle and we were so much more comfortable this time as we knew her shooting style and she knew our personalities as well as Katie’s. The picture below was captured while she and Bo were using Katie’s two favorite puppets in hopes of sneaking a smile out of Katie. While I don’t have the final edits to share with you all yet, here is a sneak peak at one of our favorites from the shoot.

If we were sitting together today, I would tell you that I am going to experiment with blogging more frequently, but casually, over the next month. I truly miss sharing my life on this platform and cringed when I realized I’ve only posted five times during April. I believe that over the past year I’ve started limiting my blog reading to only a handful of blogs, many of which are written by full-time bloggers. Therefore the level of content they can deliver intimidates me and often keeps me from opening my computer or pushing publish. In fact, I have four half-written draft posts based on requests that readers have sent me that haven’t been finished because I was brainstorming ways to create Pinterest graphics, edit photos or even shoot images. Over the past year I have focused on living a life that is rooted in the principles and lessons shared in the book Present Over Perfect, so why shouldn’t I bring those same practices to my blog?

If we were sitting together today, I would tell you that I finally ordered a swimsuit for the summer and the decision was 100% influenced by influencer marketing. I have seen so many posts and advertisements for Summersalt’s Sidestroke one-piece swimsuit that I figured what the heck – if they love it maybe I will too! Elle Magazine even awarded it #1 most-flattering one shoulder style swimsuit so it can’t be all bad, right? I ordered the suit in three color style combinations (lava, seaweed, and deep sea) and am hoping to keep my favorite and quickly return the others.

Top photo credit: Alexis Damen Photography

 

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Saturday Morning Favorites

Good morning and happy Saturday!

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend thus far. Last night we continued our happy hour routine and joined a few neighborhood friends for happy hour at Black Forest, a new German restaurant in Cobble Hill. The space is VERY kid-friendly and Katie loved watching all the people come and go.  After an hour of hanging out and catching up, we headed home in time for bath-time and books. Once Katie went down we spent the rest of the evening catching up on this season of Homeland.

This morning I started the day with a few of my favorite things – a run, sunshine and coffee. I headed out bright and early for another Saturday morning run with the Brooklyn Moms running group.  I’m so happy to be back in the routine of running each Saturday as it’s my favorite way to kick off the weekend.  I’m still focusing on building my base so I don’t focus on the pace during the run, instead just keeping up with the other women.  We spent this morning’s four miles chatting and enjoying the sunshine while also cursing the mile of uphill that kicks off our running route as we head towards Prospect Park.  Once we reached Prospect Park we decided to head into the park for a mile or so to catch glimpses of the flowers and trees that are finally blooming.

Okay, if you can get beyond the crow’s feet and eye wrinkles in this picture, you’ll notice how happy I am to be running in my favorite Brooks vest instead of a coat. I also have to give a shout-out to Sparkly Soul headbands as they never disappoint, even after years of sweat and use.

We ended the run, 4.25 miles later, at a new coffee shop in the neighborhood where I treated myself to a latte before walking home.

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend. My goal is to be back tomorrow with either Katie’s 10 month update or our grocery staples that we’ve been ordering via Instacart.

 

 

 

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