This Week: Workouts, increase in running mileage and things I’m looking forward to

Good morning! What a gorgeous weekend we had, right?! It’s amazing what a good dose of Vitamin D, warm weather and outdoor cocktails can do for your (my) mood. Another thing good weather is for? Running outside. This past week, I amped up my running for some odd reason. I’m not one for running more than a couple of days in a week, but it felt good this week so I ended up running 4 days! It’s definitely not my favorite way to workout, but sometimes my regular workouts get boring and I need to change things up.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am Muscle Work class and then did 30 minutes on the elliptical after.
  • Tuesday- I ran 5 miles after work!!! I’ve been capping my runs at 4 miles lately and decided it was time to amp it up a bit. It wasn’t my fastest mile times, but it felt pretty good.

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  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles along the Charles before teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- I taught SHRED (which left me SO sore) and then Cardio Kickboxing. I almost had a meltdown because I realized I forgot my socks and teaching for 2 hours sans socks would’ve been a really miserable experience. Luckily, a random (seemingly normal and hygienic) lady in the locker room volunteered an extra pair of clean socks to the cause- I was so thankful! She forgot her sports bra, but unfortunately I didn’t have anything to give her there.
  •  Friday- Friday’s are usually my rest days but since I wasn’t teaching on Saturday and was going to a surprise birthday party that night, I decided to workout. My plan was just to run 2 miles then do yoga, but I ended up running 3 miles and then doing about 20 minutes of yoga and my standing ab workout. I was sore before I worked out and even more sore after. Whoops!
  • Saturday- I did A LOT of manual work with my dad. He came down to start my garden for me and I lugged so many heavy bags of soil mixes and wood and shoveled so much- phew!

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  • Sunday- I went for another run- 4 miles this time- with and average of 8 min/mile, which is pretty fast for me. I also did some core work.

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- My plan is to do a strength workout during my lunch break since I won’t have access to the gym for much longer (more on that later!). I’m not going to do cardio today since last week was cardio heavy.
  • Tuesday- I have plans after work (going away party for work- again, more on that later!) so I’ll get up in the morning and probably run and do core work.
  • Wednesday- Running and then teaching UXF Burn.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and then cardio kickboxing.
  • Friday- Likely a rest day or yoga day. I don’t think I’ll have to work so that means I have plenty of time for something.
  • Saturday- I’ll finally be back at the Oak Square YMCA for my cardio kickboxing class- I missed you guys last week!
  • Sunday- Probably nothing. I think I’ll be in NH Saturday night and then heading to Maine on Sunday for Memorial Day weekend.

Increase in Running Mileage- how much is too much?

Last week I ran 15 miles, which is more than I’ve run in a long time. I get a little nervous about doing that much running in a week because I’m afraid of getting injured (and since I’m still teaching my regular fitness classes). I’m by no means a “runner” and have developed injuries in the past when I’ve run too much, but lately I’ve really been enjoying it. I think part of the reason is because I’ve had a lot on my mind and running is a good way to zone out and think about things. It’s also been fun to see how my speed changes depending on whether I run at night or in the morning and I’ve been pleased that, for the most part, my speed keeps increasing. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep at it, but for now I’m just soaking it all in.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

Phew. Lots of stuff this week! I’m looking forward to having some time off at the end of the week and celebrating with work people after work on Tuesday. I’m also looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. The boy and I are going to his Uncle’s birthday party/pig roast on Saturday and then we will head up to Maine on Sunday for a BBQ at my parents house (I think!). It will be nice to be around friends and family and really kick off the summer. I just hope the warm, sunny weather is here to stay 🙂

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Are you a “runner”? What’s your advice for increasing mileage and/or speed in a way that avoids getting injured and not overworking yourself? What are you looking forward to this week?

This Week: Workouts, weekend recap & things I’m looking forward to {hosting Mother’s Day!}

Good morning! Happy Cinco de Mayo! Are you doing anything to celebrate tonight? Did you guys have a good weekend? I did! Friday night started on Lisa’s deck. She, Lauren and I all got together for some after work cocktails and snacks- it’s awesome to have girls in the same apartment building that are fun to hang with! Lisa’s view is amazingggg and she made a delicious white sangria- can you tell we are itching for summer to be here? Lauren swung by Angela’s Café and picked up some fresh chips and guac. Have you ever been there? Their Mexican food is absolutely delicious! Thanks for a great start to my Friday night, girls!

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After cocktails with them, I met up with the guy and we headed into the city to meet up with my friend Jessi and her boyfriend for a little double date bowling night at Jillian’s/Lucky Strike. I cannot say I was good (at all), but it was a really fun night regardless!

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Saturday morning, I got up, taught and then pampered myself a little by cashing in the pedicure gift card that I got from my gym friends Alice, Steph and Jen- thanks girls!! I finally had a Saturday where I had nothing “planned”, so I did a little shopping… whoops! Check out these awesome buys 🙂

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That night, the boy and I watched the Derby and he made us dinner. I was asleep on the couch before 10pm… I am so lame.

Sunday morning, he made us pumpkin banana paleo protein pancakes and we went on a walk along Constitution Beach. The rest of the day required lots of computer work, a yoga class and finally a night in the kitchen cooking! All in all, a really great, relaxing weekend, which was so necessary after the craziness over the past couple of months.

Let’s get to workouts, though, shall we? Last week’s workouts were good and I was happy to be able to get some yoga into my life. Every time I do it, I always say I need more of it, but do I do it? No, not usually. Ugh. Anyway!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I taught my 6am muscle class and followed it up with 30 minutes on the elliptical and a little extra core work- Miami is in a month… gotta put in the extra effort 😉
  • Tuesday- I was invited to try a class out at The Handle Bar’s new location in Fenway, so my friend Lisa and I headed there after work. I’ll share more on that experience later!
  • Wednesday- I worked from home and had all intentions of getting up to run before I started work, but it was raining and I just wasn’t feeling it. I kept putting it off and off until I finally saw motivation on Facebook from my friend Jen, saying she had run 4 miles at lunch. That was just what I needed to get my butt out the door to run! 4 miles later, I was feeling so much better! I also taught, but didn’t DO, my UXF Burn class.
  • Thursday- I taught my SHRED and Kickboxing classes. We did my Across the Floor workout in SHRED- love that workout! I lost serious amounts of energy after that class, though. The studio was SO HOT and I had to really dig deep to get energy to make it through my kickboxing class. Hate that.
  • Friday- I did 25 minutes of yoga in my apartment followed by 10 minutes of core work. My shoulders were rather sore on Saturday, just from those 25 minutes of yoga- yikes!
  • Saturday- I taught my kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA. It’s crazy how much more energy I have when that is my one and only class to teach!
  • Sunday- The boy and I went for about a 35 minute walk throughout East Boston and along Constitution Beach- it was nice! Later in the day, I went to a yoga class at the East Boston YMCA. While I liked the class and felt like I worked really hard, I could’ve done with it being a 60 or 75 minute class rather than a 90 minute class. Otherwise, I loved it and will likely go back. Running into my upstairs neighbor, Lauren, in the class was an added bonus 🙂

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- My plan today is to get in a strength workout during the day.
  • Tuesday- I have an appointment mid-morning so I decided to take the morning off from work. I’m going to get up and run or do something else before I go to that since I’ll have extra time.
  • Wednesday- Probably running before teaching UXF Burn. Hopefully it will be nice enough for me to run outside!
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing- any suggestions for SHRED? Fitness instructors, any good formats for me to try?
  • Friday- Probably a rest day, or maybe some yoga.
  • Saturday- My sister and I have plans to go to the 10am class at Flywheel before running errands to prep for hosting Mother’s Day.
  • Sunday- I’m not sure! Maybe a walk with my mom? Maybe rest?

Things I’m Looking Forward To

There’s not really much going on this week, which is kind of nice! I may get together with some girlfriends on Tuesday night for dinner which would be fun since I haven’t seen them in so long. Other than that, I am excited to host Mother’s Day on Sunday. We have to figure out what we want to make, though- any suggestions? We are doing brunch, so we are thinking we’d like to make some type of fancy egg casserole and fruit salad and potatoes… help!

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Did you watch the Derby? Get outside to enjoy the warmer weather? Do you like to go bowling? Did you have any particularly good workouts last week? What are you looking forward to this week?