Highlights from the Weekend

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Greetings from Savannah!

I sunk my teeth into this juicy burger last night after arriving in Savannah around 6pm. It was so much fun to go to Whole Foods with my dad and do some dinner shopping before my brother and mom came home from work. I don’t have them often but every now and then delicious burgers, topped with onions, mushrooms and some avocado are the perfect dinner!

Before flying down to Savannah, Bo and I enjoyed a relaxing weekend in New York.

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Friday night we went to Empellon Cocina with our friends Katie and Michael. It was a fun way to catch up before we part ways for the holidays while enjoying delicious margaritas and Mexican food. Opened in 2012, the restaurant has been featured for their award-winning margaritas, James Beard award winning chef and most recently, their $45 five-course tasting menu. If you haven’t been there yet, definitely add it to your list!

After sleeping in until almost 9, we worked out together at Fhitting Room. The workout on Saturday was harder than normal as it featured five separate sets of workouts, each including two moves which you did for five minutes. The kettle bell work as well as the lateral jumps has left me sore for days!

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That afternoon I met Kayla in Brooklyn Bridge Park for a frigid photo shoot. The wind gusts and cold temperatures kept us on our toes as we dashed around the park, avoiding tourists. While neither of us are experts behind the camera, it was fun to work with a friend and we each learned a thing or two while trying to capture the most flattering pictures possible.

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The highlight of Saturday night was watching Meet the Patelsa hilarious documentary that is part romantic comedy and part informative as it follows the story of Ravi Patel and his search for love. Since one of my best friends is Indian it helped explain a lot about their lives.

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Last but not least, yesterday morning we tried a new to us spin studio in Park Slope, Byklyn. We discovered the studio on ClassPass when we were searching for workouts within walking distance of our house. While we don’t mind going into the city to workout during the week, it’s nice to have something local on Sunday.  While the studio may not be as fancy as Soul Cycle or Flywheel, the 45-minute class was a great workout and the teacher, who was unfortunately teaching her last class, had a killer hip-hop playlist for yesterday’s Hip Hop theme ride. If you’re in Brooklyn, their new rider special is 2 classes for $15!

What were the highlights from your weekend? 

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CLASSPASS Month in Review

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As you may remember, two months ago Bo and I decided to give ClassPass a try after hearing wonderful things about it, realizing the two of us could leverage it together and a positive month long trial back in July.

Each month I will provide a brief recap of our experience including the number of classes taken, average cost per class and a brief recap of the studios where we sweat that month. In addition, if you’re on CLASSPASS feel free to follow my fitness schedule here. I love meeting readers so if you see me in a class, please say hello!

Month 1: September 20 – October 20th

Number of classes taken: 8

Number of studios visited: 6

Number of classes missed or late cancelled: 0

Average cost per workout based on NYC rate of $125 per month: $15

Considering that I spent 12 days traveling for business or races, I am thrilled with the number of classes I took the first month. Of these classes, five of them were early morning classes taken with Bo before work. On a typical day I take the subway into Manhattan with him for a 6 AM class somewhere in Flatiron or Chelsea. Once class is over he’ll shower at the studio and head to work while I’ll quickly hop back on the subway towards Brooklyn.

Keep in mind, while Bar Method Brooklyn is a ClassPass studio, I use their registration tool and the membership as part of our partnership versus registering on ClassPass. If you include that, then there would be an additional three classes and one studio added to the below list, which would of course reduce the average cost even more.

Last Month’s Classes

Hot Power Flow Yoga 60 at Tangerine Yoga (2)

There is a reason this studios classes quickly sell out, especially evening and weekends when Brooklyn locals and Manattanites flock to Tangerine Yoga. The 60-minute class isn’t for the weak as it is a heated strong, power yoga class. But, don’t fear, instructors provide lots of adjustments and guidance to ensure everyone has the best session possible. The studio provides complimentary yoga mats and towels as well as selling juices and coconut water in the small boutique and lounge area.

Weflowhard Vinyasa Yoga at Y7

I’ve talked about Y7 more than a few times on the blog as I really enjoy their candle lit power yoga classes. The flow and atmosphere is unlike any other studio I’ve experienced, allowing for free flow time every 15-20 minutes and limiting the light in the studio so students aren’t judging themselves or intimidated by other students abilities. The 60-minute class moves very quickly, which is why I would recommend that only students who have at least a basic yoga knowledge attend the class. Due to the dark room it isn’t very possible to follow the instructor who is primarily adjusting and motivating students versus flowing through the poses. The studio doesn’t have showers but they do have two bathrooms and an adorable, fully stocked “refresh bar” including dry shampoo, deodorant, body wipes and more. The studio provides towels but charges $2 for mats and $3 for skidless yoga towels.

Rest Yoga at Anya

Charlie and I took this class together after her 6-hour flight from London and before the Chicago marathon. While it met her request of being easy and relaxing, I do not think I’d take it again. The hour long class consisted of literally 5 poses which we held for 10-15 minutes each. We left the class, laughing that we’d just experience assisted naptime. If you have an issue relaxing or sleeping, then this class could DEFINITELY help!

Yin-Yasa at Area Yoga

I’m a huge fan of the Area Yoga studio in Carroll Gardens due to the hands on approach to teaching, airy second floor studio and proximity to our house. This class included 40 minutes of strong, power yoga which left me sweating but then flowed into a relaxing 30 minute sequence of restorative poses. I was so relaxed by the end that I fell asleep during legs up the wall. Make sure to bring your mat and towels to this no-frills studio as it’s $2 to rent.

Signature Fhix at Fhitting Room (2)

I think I screamed with glee the day I received the ClassPass email stating that Fhitting Room was now an affiliated studio. Bo and I love the 50-minute high intensity classes which pair two instructors with a class of 20-25 students for a sweat inducing good time. The music is always perfectly on point, motivating and pushing us while the instructors lead the group through functional movements such as lunges, burpees and squats followed by strength training with kettle bells and finally high intensity exercises including rowing machines, ski-ergs and box jumps. The atmosphere is one of the most supportive I’ve felt and it is a great starting place for people who want to learn more about functional training and using items like boxes and kettlebells as the instructors adjust students during class. The dual instructor model means that there is always someone watching you! The studio offers showers, lockers, towels and water.

45 Minute Metrics at Peloton

After one too many disappointing classes FlyWheel, Bo and I decided to give Peloton a try due to the fact that they have lots of classes on their daily schedule, feature one of the nicest locker rooms for post workout showers and we’d heard a great deal about their bikes. This 6 AM class did not disappoint and even though we didn’t love the instructor, we definitely felt great energy in the studio which holds more than 30 cyclists per class. The Peloton classes are all streamed live so Peloton bike owners can follow along at home. This creates a different dynamic as the instructor is at times motivating and coaching the class while other times she’s giving props to the riders at home. Regardless, we both agreed that we’d return to this studio because the bikes were the best we’ve ridden on – smooth, easy to read computers and easily adjusted. The studio greets clients with complimentary spin shoes, water and towels which make things easy!

Your turn: If you’re a NYC local, what are your favorite studios? Where should I sweat next? 

This post is not compensated nor requested of me via CLASSPASS. While it does contain affiliate links, as a CLASSPASS affiliate, I only receive a small compensation if you choose to purchase a CLASSPASS membership. 

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Training Recap – Week of August 24, 2015

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After a few months of no training recaps, I’ve decided to bring these recaps back in a weekly format. Similar to the way so many of my readers love reading Day in The Life posts, I love reading other blogger’s training recaps. Often they provide me with inspiration and ideas for my own workouts. Hopefully these weekly training recaps will help keep me on track while also providing you with a little insight into my workouts. Instead of focusing it on a race or certain event, I will merely do weekly training recaps throughout the year, regardless of whether I’m just staying in shape or training for a specific race.

As a reminder, I have the following races on my calendar, which explains why I’m working with Jes and focused on my running right now!

Maple Leaf Half Marathon in Manchester, Vermont – September 11th

New Balance Reach the Beach Relay Race in New Hampshire – September 18th – 19th

NYRR Bronx 10 Mile Race in Bronx, New York – September 27th

Brooklyn Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon in Brooklyn, New York – October 10th

Savannah Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon in Savannah, Georgia – November 7th

So, like I said, just a little bit of running to do in the next two months. My goal is to finish the race season feeling strong both from a running perspective and strength perspective.  My goal is to do one yoga class and two strength workouts in addition to my weekly runs while also allowing for at least one recovery day.

August 24th – August 30th 2015 Training Recap

Monday: I didn’t start the week off well as this became an unintentional rest day due to after work moving trips to and from Manhattan to bring things from our temporary apartment to our new apartment.

Tuesday: 5 mile easy run through Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street river front

Wednesday: I clearly need to review my workouts before going to bed because without enough coffee I can’t keep track of anything. I thought our speed workout was 1.5 mile warm-up then 4 400 repeats followed by a 1.5 mile cool down which seemed shorter than expected but still left me wanting to hurl by the final repeat (7:40, 7:01, 7:18, 7:03). But, it turns out we were supposed to do 4 800 repeats. No wonder Jess warned me not to run the repeats too fast.  I stretched things out in the afternoon with another great yoga class at Tangerine Hot Power Yoga in Brooklyn. This was my second class in so many weeks and I really appreciate the number of adjustments the teachers make to the students during class.

Thursday: 6 AM Fhitting Room class with Julia & Ben

Friday: 4-mile easy run

Saturday: A wonderful 10-mile run which felt challenging as we were faced with constant rolling hills through Brooklyn and Prospect Park but wonderful when I saw our final average pace of 9:29.

Sunday: In theory this was a rest day but in reality it felt like a stair and strength workout after 8-hours of unpacking and organizing our home.

Your turn: What race are you most excited about this Fall?  

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