Star Spangled Spin Class

I really love a theme for spin classes and there's nothing like a holiday to help determine a theme.  This week it was obviously the Star Spangled Fourth of July Spin.  If you have any playlist suggestions for independence, fourth of July, America and summer music, feel free to suggest.

Spin Playlist at Sky Club Fitness on July 2, 214
1. The Star Spangled Banner, Jim Hendrix
2. Independence Day, Mel C. (Spice Girl)
3. American Girl, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4. American Boy, Estelle feat. Kanye
5. Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes
6. The Boys of Summer, the Ataris
7. I love New York, Madonna (a tour of the states)
8. Lubbock or Leave It, Dixie Chicks (NY to TX)
9. Lump, the Presidents of the United States of America (get it?)
10. American Pie, Madonna
11. Young Americans, David Bowie
12. Firework, Katy Perry
13. America, Simon & Garfunkel
14. Ice Cream, Sarah McLachlan

And let me tell you the class could have used some ice cream or fro yo after it was over, even though it was 6:45a.m. because this morning was H-O-T!  It was 80+ degrees and HUMID in New York City today.  To beat the heat, I did my brick workout inside today.  10 min on the treadmill before class and then spin class, back to the treadmill for 15 min and then a quick swim before work.  Gearing up for the triathlons we just signed up for July 19 Hopkins Vineyard Triathlon and Niantic Bay.

This Friday we'll be kicking off our 4th in style with a Firecracker 5k.  I started this week with a great Monday night run and yesterday had a kick ass bootcamp class (workout to follow).

Unfortunately the fireworks are no longer over the Hudson, but this was our amazing view last year. 

Flat as a Pancake Triathlon Recap & Race Season Realizations

I have once again been a bad, bad blogger not having posted in about a month.  Unfortunately, keeping pace (pun intended) with training and wedding planning plus my new position at work, has left minimal room for blogging.

So what have I been up to?

Well, on May 9th I posted about race season but since then I've had to minimize my goals, the sprain is taking longer to heal than I hoped, though most people are telling me I should be glad it's healing so quickly! I did my first 5k on May 18 and ran about a 10:30 pace, but definitely felt sore.  So I am aiming for one sprint triathlon per month and a few 3-5 mile races peppered in and still hope that once the wedding is over but before the honeymoon I can complete a half marathon. Here's to hoping.  Fortunately, my most favorite race of the season Niantic Bay is still on the calendar.

But first I had to make sure I still liked triathlon, despite the training, the cool awards and free t-shirts, occasionally right before race season, I start to think of all the downsides - early wake-ups, pain and soreness, ugly weather, etc. - so I wanted to get in an early race and make sure I still loved it. Normally I do a triathlon over Father's Day weekend in CT but unfortunately for the second year in a row it's cancelled so we decided to the Pantanella's Flat as a Pancake Triathlon in Staten Island, I've heard about it for a few years, but never was able to go as I was usually doing the NYRR mini 10K.

My fiance and I both signed up at the last minute in a now or never approach.  Here's the recap:

Pre Race
We were so late!  A friend of mine was already set up and posting to Facebook before I was even out of Hoboken.  The bridge was closed so we had to turn around and backtrack, we just made it and were in the parking lot when they announced transition closing. I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast and swallowed some Nuun before starting.  Fortunately, I remembered everything. No chance to warm-up aside from the walk to the beach.

Swim
Well, maybe not everything! Since we signed up so late, I had to have my mom FedEx my tri suits but there was no way to send the wetsuit so I went sans wetsuit. It was COLD!  But I got in anyway and pulled off a decent swim of 10:10. :) I had some trouble after the swim getting up the beach, I had the energy to run but sans sneakers in sand my ankle was pretty unstable. :(

T1
I think I stumbled around a bit not knowing the course and being freezing, I had half a mind to put on sweatpants and sit down but we put on bike shoes. 2:20

Bike
I had been worried about the 3 loop course but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, there was enough room to pass and I enjoyed watching the bridge get closer as I circled back.  Time of 43 minutes, need to work on my speed but not bad considering I'd just debated a nap.It didn't hurt to keep seeing my fiance on the course and keep cheering for each other!

T2
I think here I started to get worried as my ankle had started to hurt again and I was still freezing, but I changed shoes and grabbed my baseball hat and pressed on. 2:20 again.

Run
I started out very slow, and was considering walking when my friend from the gym passed by and gave me (unbeknownst to her) a second wind, I did walk the set of stairs to the first water stop and had some water and pressed on to get to halfway, my fiance passed me at the halfway point and I told him to keep going, he had an amazing run and I finished with a 10:40 pace, not too far off my 5k time from a few weeks before.  I even managed a burst of speed at the end with some cheers from the crowd.  The view was great and it was - flat as a pancake.

Overall
Great race, definitely had me eager for the next one, it was nice to be done by 10am and on our way home and headed to the Farmer's Market (see my breakfast below) knowing we'd worked out that morning. The weather was beautiful and it was well-run.  Maybe not my favorite t-shirt but nice to have pancakes at the end! Though I didn't eat any it's really cute, I can't eat at races until a few hours later.

Our bikes after the race!

Chatting with a friend post race.

Post race fancy pose.

In the parking lost after the race. 

My pancake breakfast post race with fresh Farmer's market strawberries and farmer's market whip cream.

Comeback Trail...Summer Race Schedule

I've been a bad and delinquent blogger as of late.  Mostly because time is constantly getting away from me with training, work, and the wedding, but also because a few weeks after my last post, on the first nice day in NYC, I went out for a long run (8-10 miles) to see if I was ready to sign up for a half in May and tripped and fell within in the first quarter mile.  I am not sure if I was more upset from the pain or the knowledge that half was likely now out of the question.  It did hurt pretty badly.  Fortunately, it seemed to only be a minor sprain. I was back to spinning the next week, teaching from the saddle only!  However, the half was definitely out, it's next week and I've only just been cleared to run 2-3 miles now. But, I am now back to almost all activities except things like burpees in bootcamp, alas! ;)

Having already done the summer schedule it took a lot for me to regroup and decide not to do a half before the wedding but perhaps get one in before the honeymoon (the next month) and focus instead on getting back into running and triathlon season. I've been waiting to make any final decisions until I actually heard the PT folks say that I was good to run. So far I am hoping the season will shape up as such:

Flat as a Pancake, June 7th
Westport Tri, June 15th
Litchfield Hills, July 20th (this will be a tough one, I had to give up last year after an injury on the bike so this is my "reach" race)
Niantic Bay, August 3rd, (2 weeks before the wedding and the spot of our engagement)
Hammerfest, Sept. 14th

I am also hoping to get in a half, possibly the Newport Half in September in NJ and a few races here and there. I am hoping to do a 5k as early as next weekend and possibly do a few road races over June/July. I just started by 20 week out calendar for the summer now that the okay is in, I'd been thinking about, mentally doing it, but wanted to to wait until the okay came in before putting pen to paper.  Everything will depend on how well the running goes and now the running feels good but also a little like...

Niantic Bay Triathlon (and a Surprise), Camping and Catch up!

A Big Surprise Waited for me at the End of the Niantic Bay Triathlon!

I have not been blogging in awhile, sorry for the drop off, but a lot has happened since the Niantic Bay Triathlon last month!

Catch Up
I am still teaching classes and we're still rocking our Tuesday bootcamp workouts, and I'm going to start up with those again this Thursday. (Promise!)

I have a few triathlons to catch up on, first and foremost, Niantic Bay today. But we also did the Tobay Triathlon on Long Island for the first time and I did the Women's triathlon for the 3rd time.

Races
The Niantic Bay Triathlon is one of my favorite out of the Hartford Marathon Foundation races. I love the location.  The swim is great (especially when no jellies!), the bike is scenic (who doesn't love a course where people blast music to get you up the toughest hill?), and the run is flat and so scenic (which as a lousy runner - I love).  The whole experience makes you want to get up and do it again.

Quick Race Recap

Swim 13:19
I beat my best swim time by almost 2 minutes coming in at 13:19.  I made myself move to the front and tried to stay with the leaders as best I could. I definitely think there was a strong current pulling us in because I felt like I'd landed back on the beach in no time flat and despite being unable to find my wet suit strap I got a helpful hint from the announcer on the shore.

T1 2:28
Shocking! Considering it normally takes me 20 minutes to get out of a wetsuit, but I must've been in high spirits.

Bike 45:25
Not a bad showing for me, exactly where I wanted to come in at.  I was hoping to be at an hour after the bike and that's just about where I was. I was glad to see the family blasting helpful tunes up the hill.

T2: 1:27
After a smooth showing on the bike I ran down the hill, if you've never done Niantic Bay, there is a big down hill after the bike and you need to remove your bike shoes to get down quickly and safely. 

Run 35:38
Running is always my downfall and since my great illness of May and June, I haven't been running like I should.  But, I was pleased to keep my average pace under 12 minute miles and to run the entire course with only a small stop for water at mile 1.5.

All in all it was a great race, and I had always thought I'd never go under 1:45 on this course and I made it in 1:38 so that was a huge success!

Crossing the finish line at the beach!

But the best part was still ahead.  Turns out I got a big (semi) surprise at the end and was rewarded for my hard work with a proposal. (That's why I've been busy!)  Wedding planning, working and running around can make you crazy!

Slightly better than the Niantic Bay medal. 

A great day with the additional surprise of having our favorite kiddies and their parents there! And my mom and dad! 

Fortunately, we also did not have to right back to work after getting engaged and were able to enjoy my first camping trip in the Maine Woods.  We went up to Portland, Me. and had a great weekend just outside Portland at a campground and then staying in Portland. A few highlights

I only spent one night camping and though I enjoyed it, it wasn't without challenges. It took us awhile to build a fire, which almost meant no s'mores (I almost went home!)  We had an animal sneak in to test out our left out beers at midnight and he came back a few more times. And I had to pee.  But all in all it was great. We had s'mores, pancakes and enjoyed a day at the beach the next day.

Our Humble Home for one night outside Portland.

Delicious goods from Two Fat Cats. 

We taste tested most of Portland after fending for ourselves at the campground. We had ice cream and fried clams near Old Orchard Beach.  We ate pie for Breakfast at Two Fat Cats (and whoopie pie) and we had croissants at Standard Bakery.  We ate a great meal at 5 Fifty Five and a out of this world meal at Fore Street. Fantastic foodie town Portland. And we had lobster rolls, all over!!

My wall climbing. 

We did a lot of biking, walking, running and other activities while on vacation. Our last day it was rainy and I was feeling pretty tired. I had done a triathlon that weekend!  So Thursday morning we went for a long walk and stumbled across this park which had awesome obstacles.  We tried to do each one and it gave us a great workout.  I am thinking about signing up for Hoboken's obstacles course race in a month and this was a good test!

Well I will get back to Tuesdays this Thursday.  We had a great workout this morning.  Post my end of summer spin playlist and recap the latest 2 triathlons soon!  We have one more triathlon this season this weekend HAMMERFEST in Branford. It's scheduled in amongst wedding venue searching! Last week's triathlon was in and amongst dress shopping.   Then its on to some runs before the cold sets in. But all in all.

Yes, we spent a lot of money in the life is good store, but look how cute this towel looked on Long Island's beaches.

Litchfield Hills Triathlon Recap

On Sunday, July 14th, my friends and I did the Litchfield Olympic Triathlon.  For me, the Olympic triathlon has proved troubling.  I have had trouble with Olympic distance for the past few years, this was my third and failed attempt.  The first one, I got 2 flat tires and fell on the bike and in Round 2 I made a wrong turn on the run.  I felt terrible after the experience but I found a blog from a fellow who did not finish after training for the Ironman and his disappointment and story of picking himself up afterwards was very inspiring.  I was very glad to be there at the end of the race to see my better half finish the Duathlon and he did an amazing job.  I also got to see my good friend Jen finish and she did great.

This year, I will admit I did not trained properly.  I was so focused on getting through the half in June after being sick for most of May that I did not put in the proper training effort. I also have not been swimming as much as I should have. So right there, 2 things to work on. However, one positive, we got to make use of the brand new 4 bike hitch and bike rack on the back of our car!

Brand New bike rack!

 Race Recap
I started off the swim great, I was only a few seconds off from last year, so I was pleasantly surprised. 31:36 for a mile.

In T1 I was 2 minutes faster than last year, which was great considering it's a .25 mile run uphill after the swim on a rocky path back to transition.

On the bike I got started strong down the screaming downhill and started a good pace.  Unfortunately, things headed downhill from there.  My odometer wasn't working so I started focusing on that instead of riding and then at some point in the first 5 miles I developed a searing pain in my glute.  I know a pain in my ass and OMG was it.  I felt like couldn't peddle, it hurt to sit in the saddle, I couldn't stretch it out.  By the time we got to the uphill side of the ride I wanted to cry. I also wanted to get off my bike, throw it in a ditch and beat it with a baseball bat.  Needless to say, it was some pain.  I made it up Bruning Hill which is a final 2 mile uphill and the last push to transition and started to get off and wanted to see if I could run.  I was already limping along and mentally I had given up.  The 6.2 mile run just seemed too far, I felt like too bad of a runner to finish it, and I wanted to sit in an ice bucket.  So for the first time ever, I gave up.  I spoke to the medic and he advised turning in my chip and sitting in ice.  So, I turned in my chip and got an ice pack and waited for my pals to finish.

Fortunately, I have a fantastic boyfriend and friends who were encouraging.  The race kicked off the week of heat and humidity and we dealt with some serious heat and humidity during the race.  Afterwards, we went home and sat in a cold pool. It was seriously wonderful.  My boyfriend even offered to share his medal with me, he said I could have the swim image since technically he never swam during the race.

I think the Litchfield Hills Course is gorgeous, but it has beaten me, abd I think if we tackle it again next year, the better half and I may tackle it as a team.  But, I will not give up on the Olympic distance....yet. However, that means putting in the training and setting goals.

Back to the races & Plymeteric Paradise: June 4

 Back on the Road to Racing

I have slowly started to make my way back from illness!  And it's been a long road.  Before I got sick, I was doing really well with running (for me) and ran the HOHA Hoboken 5 mile in just about 10:30 miles, which was great for me.  The run was great, fantastic morning and I was there with some great pals from Sky Club.

After the HOHA 5 Mile on Mother's Day.

Then, I got sick as I talked about in my previous post, and lost all ability to move much less run.  But, this weekend I came back with a vengeance (ok I just came back) and ran the Oakley Mini 10k.  The race ending up being a lot of fun. I had been really excited about doing the race and then Friday it poured rain, like Noah's ark prep.  I had mentally prepared myself that the race was going to be cancelled, Hoboken was going to flood, I'd lose power, and sleep in.  So had my better half.  But, race morning came, so did the sunshine and birds chirping and with my pal Run Lift Repeat saying she was up for the race, we were off to the races, literally.  Fortunately, the drive by car into NYC is speedy quick, which left us plenty of time to get registered, talk my better half out of being mad at me for waking him up so early, and use the restrooms. He set off on his own run around the park and I went to the starting line.  I ended up being last. How? I dunno. 

I was expecting to have a horrible race after eating pasta and pizza by the pound at 10pm the night before, but amazingly I was setting a 10:30 pace a week after being sick, I slowed up some on the hills in Central Park but my finish was only a minute behind last year, so I was happy overall.  I was happy I didn't cough, throw up, or DNF, especially since I had forgotten many of the hills that were involved. Whoops. The one at the 5k mark always gets me.

I was very excited the medals were pink! Especially since I was wearing pick.  One the way into the race, Run Lift Repeat and I had a long discussion on race fashion, much to the disgust of my better half, who couldn't understand dressing up to sweat.The race has a great "go women" vibe and I love the medals and carnations they give out.  I also cannot forget some love for the super race volunteers who made bag drop easy.

Post Race Pink!

This is the 5th year I've run the mini and the tanks that they gave out may beat some of the previous T's. Go partnership with Oakley.

Missing a medal from 2010, maybe I lost it? But otherwise 4 years of medals starting from 2009!

Last week, before the Mini 10K, I also formally got back to teaching classes.

 Plyometric Paradise.

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching

I decided to change up my Tuesday class and I set up rows of benches. We did our usual warm up and then a plyometric workout.

They lined up in front of the benches and did plyometric jumps all the down the benches (6 in a row at varying heights) and then lunges back (3 rounds).  The first set deep squat on the step.  Second set was deep squat when jumping down and run back after 10 squat jumps.  The 3rd set we moved laterally and did toe taps down and shuffle back and reverse.

We broke it up (each set) with heavy weight work and 3 minute challenges. The 3 minute challenge was 3 minutes of 5 competition burpees, 10 squat jumps, 5 burpees, 10 mt climbers. I was exhausted by this. The weights we did squats, curl press, push ups, single leg dead lift, and dead lift row. (10-15 of each).

Here is a link to the video that inspired me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLzI1mcvIv8


Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n! 

Weekly Workout Summary - June 3 - 9

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Plyometric Paradise and Swimming - 20 min, 20 min run at night
Wed - Spinning 45 min and 20 min Running
Thursday  - 40 min Run in the Rain
Friday - Spinning - 45 min and some ab work
Saturday - Oakley Mini 10k
Sunday - 17 mile bike on some big CT Hills and 20 min Run (BRICK!)

Tough Tuesday Workout: Fantastic Four Round (4.30.13)

What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, mat, band, bench and a mat, Gymboss or other timer

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.with band and gymboss 50/10, 10 Rounds

Round 1 w. the band

1. Uppercuts

2. Squat

3. Overhead press

4. Wood Chop R

5. Overhead press

6. Wood Chop L

7. Squat Curl

8. Front Raise

9. Squat Side Curl

10. Wide Leg Squat

Round 2. w/ bench, weights and mat (same intervals)

1. frog jump burpee

2. high knees

3. burpee step jump

4. high knees

5. one legged burpee

6. high knees

7. one legged burpee

8. high knees

9. pushup jumpover

10. high knees

Round 3. w band

1. Squat

2. Front Raise

3. Squat

3. Overhead Press

4. Right leg side leg lift

5. Left leg side lift

6. Two steps R and L

7. Wood chop alt sides halfway

8. Squat Curl

9. Chest Press

10 Row

Round 4. with step and w. heavy weights

1. lunge twist

2. star jump

3. lunge twist

4. pulse squat with heavy weights

5. wall sit overhead lift

6. Single Leg row R

7. Single Leg Row L

8. Pushups

9. Lunge side and back alternating

10. side Plank alternate halfway

Abs

one minute crunches
one minute bicyles

one minute plank. 

cool down & stretching

This took about 50-55 minutes (4 Round x 10 plus about 1 minute break plus abs and the warmup and cool down)


Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n!

Weekly Workout Summary
I started my week on Tuesday after taking Monday off. This Tuesday workout was really tough, especially with all the burpees!  

I was pretty sore the next day (Wednesday) during spinning but still did some swimming to get ready for tri season and then that night when I went to Local Barre class with Meghan in Hoboken.

Thursday night I went for a quick run with the my running buddy since I got home late and then  
 Friday did the Cinco de Mayo Spin, some weights and swimming.  

Over the weekend we did 5 miles with some 400s and 15 miles on the bike on Saturday and on Sunday we did 10.3 miles to get ready for a half marathon at the end of May. 

Tough Tuesday Workout (4.9.13): 500 Squat Warrior Workout

500 Squat Warrior Workout 

These past few weeks the gym has been very crowded and it creates an incredible energy.  It definitely makes teaching more inspiring. Challenging at times, like this morning when equipment goes awry and there's feedback on the mic but it's great. Many of my students are training for a spring season or to see their own personal strength grow.  I myself did my first 5k (of the season) on April 6th and was happy to see a time improvement and am planning a season full of races and a few triathlons. So many of the people in bootcamp have gotten so much stronger since they first started coming and many of my spinners are training for the spring season.

With the post coming just a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing, those of us who can grasp the idea of throwing yourself out of bed at ungodly hours and pushing ourselves to the max, were particularly affected by a tragedy taking place at this type of sporting event. Whether you're at your first 2.62 or that awe-inspiring 26.2, you can comprehend the amazing feeling of accomplishment waiting at the finish line.  To have that taken away and replaced with worry, fear and pain, is unfathomable. My thoughts are with all those and like many others donned a race t-shirt Tuesday morning - Disney 13.1 Half Marathon.

This workout is the last week - I got the idea for this workout from a Facebook post from a high school buddy who posted info about the  April Squat Challenge. 

What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, mat, step and ball. Workout is not timed is #'s of reps inside the hour we have

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.
 
10 prisoner get ups
50 squats
20 wide leg squat jumps
50 suqats
30 side to side jumps
50 squats
40 skaters
50 squats
50 mt climbers
50 squats
60 high knees w/ plank every 10 - hold plank one minute
50 squats
70 plyo jumps
50 squats
50 squats with one weight

10 step ups each side
dead lifts - 15
10 step ups each side
bridge on step 10 center - 5 each leg
10 step ups
alternating lunges - 10 each leg

50 squats

bicep curl on one leg
overhead press
bicep curl
overhead press
 25 squats

pushup - 10
plank row - 5 on each side
25 squats
repeat plank row

abs
crunches
reverse crunch
bicycles

Exciting News and what Pasta and Power Squats Is

  Pasta and Power Squats: A Girl Fires Up the Gym and Kitchen is a blog about my adventures as a group exercise instructor, runner and triathlete as well as my kitchen experiments, good or bad as they are. I was certified as a fitness instructor in 2006 to supplement my nonprofit income at my first job. Now, I love both jobs equally and don’t think I could give one of them up. 

I just added twitter to my blog so you can follow my posts on twitter and a gadget to receive P&PS by email.  Super getting social today!