Hanging Around

Happy Thursday!  I'm glad the week is starting to wind down.

This is what I did this morning.

Yup, took some of my freshly washed gym clothes and hung them up on my newly hung clothesline!  While doing so I also told the birds that this was not a new place for them to perch, as bird poop on my clean clothes is not the goal.

You can't really tell, but three of the five bottoms hanging up are cycling shorts.  Do you wear them?

First I had one pair, then realized that I should probably have more, so I bought two more pairs.  So now I have three, which is not enough and I need to get another pair or two.

Do you ride with cycling shorts?  If you don't, I'd recommend you give it a try.

Now this may be TMI, but I ended up getting a blister from cycling in a rather private area.  Lovely, right? 

So cycling shorts were the only way to ride without being in extreme pain when sitting.  My issue has since cleared up so I decided to give a ride in regular pants, umm no.  I was in shock as to how hard and uncomfortable the saddle felt, especially after having used cycling shorts exclusively for a few weeks now.

While they aren't extremely flattering they do make a HUGE difference and i'd definintely recommend them for anyone who spins more than a few times a week.  To quote Ariel from the Little Mermaid, "it's a whole new world."  Hahaha (i'm cracking myself up here).

Cheers!

Is Map My Run Accurate?

Are you familiar with the Map My Run website?  (http://www.mapmyrun.com/)

If not, it's worth checking out.  It's a great (and free) tool for finding runs or mapping out runs you've done to determine their distance. I believe there's also a similar version for biking.

I like to go out on semi-unplanned runs which means I just go, keep track of time, but have no real idea of where i'm going or what the distance is.  When I do this I usually come home and clock it out on MMR.  Thing is, someone once told me that it wasn't accurate.

Was wondering if you've used this site and what your experience has been.  Should I be trusting this information or do I need to take the time out to drive my route and clock it on the odometer?

Input greatly appreciated.

I'm loving this weather!

Good afternoon!

I'm feeling good today!  I'm not working (always a good thing) and managed to get myself to the gym last night to workout for myself, and i'm sore today, which I love.

Trying to get back on the healthy eating bandwagon after many weeks of indulgences.

Whipped up a quick (but late) lunch yesterday consisting of my version of pizza (tomato sauce and low fat mozz on an Arnold Sandwich Flat) and a rather bare-bones (but tasty) salad consisting of spinach leaves, blueberries and a yummy basil vinaigrette.  Yum!

Gym last night was just strength/weights.  I had taught in the AM which gave me some cardio so I headed back to work on other stuff.  I'll admit my energy level was low and I wasn't feeling overly strong, but I'm glad I went and am happy to be a bit sore today.  As I eluded to in a previous post, when you teach, your time at the gym isn't yours, so it was nice to have some ME time.

Right now I'm working on a new spin ride.  When I was in Costa Rica I did a tough ride which totally lends itself to indoor cycling.  I have the ride, just need to find the music.  I wanted to put more of a Latin flair in, so I'm trying to find some good songs.  I told my Wednesday AM class that they'd have this ride, so I need to actually finish it today.

I got a notice in my mailbox this past weekend that they're going to be cutting down the tree in-front of my house (condo).  It doesn't seem to me that this tree is causing any problems so it made me very sad to learn this.  I love trees and nature and hate that they're cutting an established tree down.  I said goodbye to it this morning and had tears in my eyes, I'm such a sap!  So in my head I'm convincing myself that there is a good reason and hopefully they'll put in some nice new plants in its place.  So i'm going to escape for lunch and then will hopefully be able to get back in later.

So that's what's going on with me.  Hope you're having fabulous days!

Fruit and Funk

Double F's on this gorgeous Monday.  The weekend was double H's (hot and humid) but the humidity broke and this morning there was even a slight chill to the air, it was magnificent.  If I had any motivation it would have been a great morning for a run.  Taught this AM and am hoping that energy magically materializes and I can do the run thing tonight.  Fingers crossed.

So FRUIT.

I'm so happy it's (almost) summer because that means that fruits and veggies are on the up and up.  Quick stop at the supermarket this AM and bought pineapple, blueberries and peaches.  Woo hoo!  The pineapple is from Costa Rica and since I had the most amazing pineapple ever when I was down there, I just had to buy it here and see how it compares.  Fingers crossed. 

Last week I bought strawberries, blueberries and watermelon.  Gosh, I love this!

Veggies are on the agenda so I can get some delish stir frys going.  My old route home from work took me past a bunch of farms and I miss being able to stop on the way home for veggies.  Oh well, onward and upward!

So FUNK.

Not in a good music sort of way, just funk, as in "i'm in a funk".  We all have our ups and downs, so it's normal and I'm ok with that.  Given the fact that I've been more or less unemployed or underemployed for over a year now, it's surprising i'm not in a funk more.  Regardless, when one hits, it's hard to bounce back.  So right now i'm in funk-ville.  Ugh.

I've stayed really positive and am welcoming and wanting change in my life, it's just not coming yet, and honestly, i'm a bit impatient.  It gets hard to see EVERYONE moving forward with their lives, and here I am, stagnant. Yuck.

I don't want to dwell on this since it's not positive but since it's on my mind I did want to mention it.

I always have the following goals which allow me to take the emphasis off the bad and put it on the good.
- Do things that I love (which is hard sometimes because it really means carving out time for me)
- Try to make my workouts my own again, teaching makes that hard
- Have as much fun on weekends as possible

But frequently these are easier said than done.  Oh well, it will happen and I am going to stay positive and (hopefully) leave this funk in the dust.

So.  Happy monday to all, hope you are funk-free and fruit-ful.  xoxo

Spin Ride time!

Good morning!

I've taught four classes in the last three days and am now happy that I have a couple days off from teaching.  Of course I love love love it, but a break every now and then is very nice.

Tuesday night I covered for a friend and then left my ipod in the studio.  Duh!  Minor freak out session ensued but thankfully the Wednesday morning instructor found it and put it aside for me.  Phew.

But without my ipod I had to burn a quick cd in order to be able to teach.  This is the ride I used for the past 3 classes.  (all different locations, so no chance of repeats)  I think it's a pretty solid ride and people seem to enjoy it.

Warm Up - Time to Start (3:44) - Blue Man Group
Seated Climb - I've Been Thinking About You (3:52) - 80s group, can't remember
Adding resistance every minute or so.
Standing Climb - The Climb (3:55) - Miley Cyrus
Slow and steady to the top, getting heavy quickly.  Slow song needs a heavy hill and slow cadence.
Recover/Fast Flat/Jumps/Fast Flat - Do You Remember (3:30) - Jay Sean
Recover from climb and then pick up your pace.  On the rap portion of the song, transition in to 4 count jumps on a moderate hill, once the rap is done go back to the fast flat.
Seated Climb - Shattered (4:14) - OAR
Staying in the saddle, adding resistance every minute.
Standing Climb - Dance Dreams (3:50) - Eurythmics v Lady Gaga
Heavy hill, speed bursts for 15s on the chorus.
Sprints - Don't Stop (2:43) - ATB
This song lends itself to two quick sprints.  First one is about 20 seconds, last one is about 30s and goes to the end of the song.
Climb - Mony Mony (5:03) - Billy Idol
Fun climbing song. First half in the saddle, gets heavy quickly.  Second half standing climb.  Just before minute 4 I like to take them back to the saddle for a 5 count, then out to 3, and repeat until I feel their fatigue.
Run - Begging (3:40) - Madcon
Short recovery and then running with light/moderate resistance from 1:40 to the end of the song.
Jumps - Jump (3:46) - Madonna
I usually give about 1 minute to recover and then do six count jumps on a moderate hill for anywhere from 2 minutes to 2:46 (to the end of the song).
Seated Climb - 1901 (3:13) - Phoenix
Keep this climb moderate with speed bursts for 15 seconds on the chorus.
Heavy Climb - Baba OReilly (5:01) - The Who
I alternate between seated and standing, but the last minute of this song is key.  In a heavy standing climb I tell the class to pick up their pace as the song picks up, by the last 15 seconds you're going all out and just waiting for it to end.
Cool Down!!

If anyone ever tries any of these rides, I'd love to hear your feedback.  You don't need to be an instructor, you can also use one of these rides for yourself if you can't make it to a class.

Happy Spinning!!

Snack

After class on Monday I made a quick trip to Trader Joe's to pick up something to bring to a BBQ (and of course some stuff for myself).  As usual they had some samples out so I partook.  Yummy angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries and these cranberry/apple "muffins".

I'll admit it, these do taste a bit high in fiber, but if you're like me, that's OK and not a bad thing.  But I checked the nutrition facts and ingredients and was impressed, so I bought a pack.

Here are the factoids:
Calories: 80
Total Fat: 1.5g
Sodium: 180mg
Dietary Fiber: 13g
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 5g

Yes, I'm a fiber junkie, so 13 grams, woo hoo!

They're sweet enough to satisfy my sweet tooth but don't leave me feeling guilty afterwards.

Guess who's back!

Of course it's me.  Who else would be writing on this blog?

It's true, i'm back from vacation.  I got back on Friday late afternoon.  My flight was a bit delayed as they had us in a holding pattern because only one runway is open at JFK.  I was so anxious to just land!  So back to NY, dinner with the fam, then off to CT.

Saturday morning taught my 10am class, which I had really missed.  It was full, which was a great welcome back class.  Saturday afternoon went to see Bon Jovi at the new Meadowlands.  Amazing and SO FUN!

Sunday, first day of rest in about a month.  Pool time and resting.

Monday, taught a 60 minute class in the AM, then off to a BBQ.  I was in bed by 8:45 and completely spent!

I'm refreshed and feeling good (aside from a bit tired).  Ready to take on the world and make some positive changes!

I'll do a more detailed Costa Rica post at another time, but here are some of the fun activities I did: bike riding, hiking, white water rafting, horseback riding, zip lining, and more hiking.  Love that stuff!

Hope you all had good and safe holiday weekends.  Happy summer!  Cheers to the summer of fun! (that's what my friends and I are calling it)