Tag Archives: running

Strong Sexy Spring Runner Challenge: Get Fast, Get Toned

I don’t know if it’s the dawn of a new year (cheese alert!) or being back on a training plan, but I’m just as motivated to stick to a sweat schedule and eat right as I was when I started down this crazy path almost three years ago. (Keep reading, there’s something in it for you, too.)

I left work at 7:30 last night and only grumbled a bit on my freezing walk to the gym. I had a 40-minute tempo run on my schedule, and I was excited to tackle it, even though I knew it would kind of suck. It’d been months since I’d done speed work. I did 4.37 miles in 40 minutes and got so hot that the walk home in the freezing cold barely bothered me. (Honestly.)

I got home and scoured my nearly-empty refrigerator for something to eat.

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I wish I could say I found this lovely spread, but this was from a brunch Emily on Sunday that I just found on my memory card.

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Me, Emily, Liz

Back to last night.

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I was determined to follow this whole Eat In [More] Month thing. My kitchen was pretty bare, so I went for spinach feta eggs. (Ingredients: spinach, feta, coconut milk for a little fluffiness and awesomeness.)

My breakfast and lunch were a giant Eat In [More] Month fail. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail and all that.

Tonight, I left work at a decent time and headed to boot camp. You might remember I did this runner’s boot camp last year. I really liked it, but it kicked my ass so hard that, basically, I was afraid to go back after two sessions. I loved it because Jaz, the instructor, is incredibly intense, but also HILARIOUS. So while I wanted to die doing her class, it was hard to hate her. I’ve seen her around town at a few fitness events (and I saw her cheering at the NYC Half last year, which nearly melted my pumping heart), and we were supposed to work together to put on an event last year, but it ended up falling through.

Anyway, a lovely lady named Sara new of my love for Jaz, and asked if I’d be interested in figuring out some way to collaborate to help out both Jaz and me. I like to help out people I like…and myself…so I was all about it–with one condition: that there be something in it for you all, too.

With that…

the STRONG SEXY SPRING RUNNERS challenge was born!

What I get: free classes twice a week from now until the D.C. Half on March 17 and a customized training plan from Jaz. I’m going to take measurements and stuff tomorrow so that I have a baseline to measure against.

What I’m personally looking to get out of this: helping an awesome woman get more people to get into her classes and get stronger, hot abs and an even hotter PR come March 17. I’m also hoping that strengthening my core will help with lower back pain.

But you don’t really care what I get out of this, do you? You want to know what you get out of it.

So, this challenge is really geared towards those preparing for spring races, but really anyone can do it.

For NYC readers: Jaz is offering a great discount on her classes, which are usually $24/session. If you email her at pace4success at gmail dot com and tell you are part of the Strong Sexy Runners group, she will offer you a deal for $300 for 10 weeks of 2 classes per week, $270 for 9 weeks of 2 classes per week; and $240 for 8 weeks of 2 classes per week–for classes up until March 7 (10 days before the DC/NYC Halfs.) Also comment and let me know you’re in…and let me know if you want to meet up to take a class!

For non-NYC readers: leave a comment telling me if you’re interested in participating. I’ll have check-ins weekly that you will check in to by commenting about your strength workouts, and your comment will count as an entry for giveaways that I will be running. Jaz will also be sharing weekly strength tips for runners.

And if you’re so inclined, I’ll be hashtagging this thing with #strongsexyrunners.

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And dinner was awesome. (I’ll be posting more of my meals again as I start cooking more again.) I made a variation of orecchiette with broccoli rabe. My differences: I used whole wheat shells instead of orecchiette, chicken sausage, spinach and added in some chicken broth while cooking the sausage.

Whoa, you got all the way to the end? Good job.

So, are you in? [Or are you out?]

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I Went to L’Accademia di Vino and Learned Nothing About Wine

So I’m going to do one of those year-end posts, too, but for now, I think we can all agree food is more interesting, yes?

Yes.

Yesterday I got out of work at 3 (yes!) for the holiday weekend, and I skedaddled home and got into my running clothes before I could get comfortable on my couch. It was pretty cold outside walking back and forth to work, but once I got into some running tights and my favorite long-sleeved tee and a headband and got back outside, I was just fine. I’d planned on running about 3-4 miles, but felt good and had all the time in the world and ended up running 5. Score.

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I was supposed to meet up with Lacey to go shopping for New Year’s dresses, but our texts totally crossed wires, and instead I met up with her and her boyfriend for some food and drinks.

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You should totally carb-load when you’re planning on looking for the little-est little black dress you can find for New Year’s, right? No? Oh…

We went to L’Accademia di Vino, but all I learned about wine there was that the two I had (both red and white) were wonderful. In all seriousness, I do want to take a wine class one day.

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Everything on the menu looked amazing, so we decided to go splitsies and share this arugula and prosciutto pizza.

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And do their tasting of three pastas. This was actually the perfect amount of food. We got to taste the pastas, but i didn’t feel too full on them.

We had:

  • whole wheat penne alla norma, marinara, eggplant, mozzarella and basil. This is the one I was probably going to get on my own, mostly just because it was whole wheat penne, but it was the most underwhelming of the three. There was just too much going on here.
  • RAVIOLI WITH DUCK. This was every bit as amazing as it sounds.
  • Orecchiette with pork sausage, broccoli rabe and parmesan. My parents like to judge restaurants by their carbonara; I like to judge restaurants by their orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage, and this orecchiette got an A+++. I think I liked it so much because it was pretty cheesy.

I haven’t gained any weight over the holidays/since the marathon and my pants aren’t any tighter, but I definitely see the carbs showing up in my belly. I regret nothing, but one of my New Year’s resolutions/goals is definitely going to be to cut back some on the carbs.

I’m also going to have a fun half-marathon training challenge coming up in the new year for those of you training for a spring half with some special incentives thrown in for NYC readers. We’re still putting it together, but is there anything you’d be looking for in a half-marathon training challenge? And tell me about your spring races!