ashleyd /

What’s Next?

 

Two weeks ago, I crushed my half marathon goal and set a new personal record (PR) during the NYC Half Marathon. It was a wonderful day that reminded me just how much I love running!

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Even though you’d think this runner’s high would make me want to sign up for every single race in the metro area to continue pushing myself, I’ve actually experienced the opposite. I decided it was time to take a break from training and spend two weeks doing whatever workout I found myself in the mood to experience that day. Therefore, my evenings or mornings have been filled with yoga, Barry’s Bootcamp, and Uplift Fitness classes. I’ve loved gaining a new appreciation for yoga through the month unlimited pass I bought at Laughing Lotus. Both Barry’s Bootcamp and Uplift have allowed me to combine great music, super sweaty workouts, and friends while pushing my body. In order to break through a bit of the plateau I was feeling I’ve started increasing the weight I use in both of these classes having now moved up to primarily using 15 pound weights for all arm workouts, even tricep work!

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However, now that my legs have had a break from running for two weeks, they are anxious to get back into training. Yesterday during the run portion of Barry’s Bootcamp I found myself pushing the speed in ways that I haven’t done previously just for the sole purpose of feeling my stride again. After reviewing my race calendar along with the New York Road Runners and NYC Runs calendar, I’m excited to focus on speed for the next few weeks. On May 4th I’m running The Run for Hope, a local 5k race down in Battery Park City hosted by high school children. I love the idea of supporting a local school since I remember working for hours to fundraise during high school and am hoping that the route will include scenic views of the Statue of Liberty and the Hudson River!  Therefore the month of April will be all about speed! I look forward to working with Gia to incorporate more speedwork into my weekly running schedule while we still balance the strength work that I’ve been loving through group workout classes and weekly long runs to ensure that I’m still in half marathon shape come May 18th when we head out to Brooklyn with a number of our other running friends for the New York Road Runners Brooklyn Half. It’s been two years since I ran this race and while I’m not looking to set another half marathon PR, I would like to improve my course time which is a 2:20:44.

Luckily, to help with this new speed training, I have a new lightweight pair of shoes to incorporate into my shorter workouts. The New Balance Minimus 10V2 feature a Vibram out sole,  which makes them last longer along with odor resistant interior, and hot pink laces!  I love how bright and fun the shoes are while still being supportive and good entry point to minimal running without being as extreme as some other options on the market. With a 4mm drop the shoe will help improve my running form and feel running in a whole different manner.

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I’ve tried the shoes out three times in 2 different environments: on the treadmill during Barry’s Bootcamp sprints and at Uplift. My feet felt no pain during either workouts even though one of the Barry’s Bootcamp classes included 3.5 miles of treadmill running. While on the incline I felt like I had a stronger grip and was more stable while on the sprints my feet felt lighter due to the fact that these shoes only weigh in at 5.2 ounces! I can’t wait to use these during my shorter speed workouts in April to see how they can help my form and feel of running a new pace! Hopefully come May 4th I’ll be sporting these bright shoes at the finish line with a new 5k PR!

 

New Balance Client Logo for Author ProgramNew Balance has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. New Balance is currently the only athletic shoe company that manufactures footwear in the U.S. with 25% of our U.S. footwear shipments produced at five New England facilities. To learn more about how New Balance Makes Excellent Happen, visit http://www.newbalance.com

“Disclosure: Compensation was provided by New Balance via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of New Balance.”

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ashleyd /

Diet to Go Review

Sometimes my busy schedule doesn’t allow for me or Bo to cook a full meal each night. We do our best to cook at least 3 times per week but the rest of the nights, what we have for dinner is anyone’s guess. Tonight, for example, I chose to push my legs through 4 fast miles next to Bo on the treadmill instead of cooking dinner. Instead of takeout or ordering in, we opted for filling smoothies.

 smoothie

Since I’d just finished a pretty tough 4 mile run at higher than normal paces, I added some much needed protein via almonds to this smoothie. Having a smoothie for dinner is something I crave but it has to pack in significant calories in order to help my body recover after the workout.

The rest of the time, the ad-hoc dinners aren’t always the easiest. Therefore, when Diet to Go, a new to me meal delivery service, offered to send me some of their meals to review I jumped at the offer. Breakfast, lunch and dinner delivered to my door step just in time for a busy week before traveling to Geneva? It sounded like a dream come true! After studying their website, I got even more excited.

  • They have multiple types of meal plans including traditional, low fat, low carb and vegetarian.
  • They were just voted #1 in a national taste test by Epicurious
  • The meals can be frozen for up to a month or  they also last 5-6 days in the refrigerator.
  • Their site allows you to customize and make substitutions to your deliver meal plan based on needs

But, the real test would come when I was able to finally taste the meals. I’ve never been a huge fan of frozen meals due primarily to the high sodium, lack of flavor, small portions, and lack of protein or nutrients. I was a bit hesitant to give these meals a try as I figured I’d look like a bloated balloon due to the sodium.

But, I figured that I’d give it a try and enjoy the leisure of not having to think about breakfast, lunch or dinner during a busy week.

Diet to Go collage

 Here’s a glance of the meals I had the opportunity to try:

Breakfast

  • Cranapple muffin, cran-orange cream cheese, orange
  • Whole wheat monte cristo, raspberry maple syrup, citrus yogurt salad
  • Fajita omelet

Lunch

  • Waldorf chicken salad, V-8, snack mix
  • Pretzel and broccoli cheddar soup
  • Fish sandwich, apple

Dinner

  • Chicken stir-fry
  • Old fashioned meatloaf
  • Quesadilla

So, what’d I think when all was said and done? The meals definitely delivered on protein and flavor but I questioned the amount of sugar and sodium. Some of the breakfasts included syrups, cream cheese, and jams that I just felt unnecessary. In addition, a few of the sides such as an apple, V-8, or carrots would be difficult to freeze and enjoy later even though they advertise that the meals can be frozen or kept in the refrigerator. I don’t think I’d choose to use Diet to Go for all my meals but I can certainly see the benefit to having a few frozen dinners in the fridge for nights like tonight.

How about you? Have you ever relied on frozen meals as easy options or do you make your own frozen meals?

Interested in trying it out for yourself? They’re also offering 20% off through 1/31 and giving away 1,000 meals on Facebook.

 

FitFluential LLC compensated me for this campaign. All opinions are my own.

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