Summer is finally here, friends! I could not be more excited and I have been taking every opportunity possible to lace up my sneakers and head out for a run. Running is one of my favorite ways to sweat.
Since moving to Brooklyn last year, I often run home from the office, it’s the best way to commute. My trail home is 5 miles of my version of “therapy.” It’s my me time where I work through my deepest thoughts or just jam out to some disco house funk.
I have a bit of exciting news to share with you! I will be running the NYC marathon this year! That means this summer is going to be filled with LOTS of miles, cross training and hopefully a whole lot of stretching (trust me, I’ve learned my lesson).
So as the weather starts to heat up I’ve been looking for some great new pieces for my summer workouts. Here are a few of my favorite pieces I’ve been perusing lately:
The New Year: that time when we decide to start fresh, ditch all of our bad habits, create a new workout regimen, and well, tell ourselves we’re going to get down to business. Not everyone is a New Year’s resolution maker. I though, am one of those people. I find that setting goals for myself helps give me direction and accountability.
This year I made a few goals involving my career, my health (mental and physical) and my home life. I’ll share a few of them here with you.
Goal 1: Sign up for a 1/2 marathon (I haven’t run one since my back injury last year).
Goal 2: Find the workouts that I love doing that will continue to push me to get my sweat on.
Goal 3: Find time in the morning to sit peacefully and enjoy the view in my new home.
Goal 4: Cook two recipes a month with my husband out of our Bon Appetit Magazine.
I’m sure many of you have goals that are fitness related. I love to workout, so getting my butt to the gym or a class has never been the problem. But sometimes the workouts get stale and you need to find something new and fun. Since moving, I’ve been encouraged to shake things up and try some fun new workouts. My early favorites are Brooklyn Body Burn, Xtend Barre and Brooklyn Total fitness.
Even with all of the great new workouts in my neighborhood, one of my all-time favorites and always a kick-ass workout is Body Conceptions. The classic Body Conceptions classes are part cardio dance, part toning and a whole lot of seat section as they like to call it. I like to call it “torture,” but I’ll tell you, my ass thanks me later when it looks a whole lot tighter 🙂 Last November I participated in the BoCo 5-week challenge and lost a total of 15″ (the sum of circumferences around your arms, thighs, waist, etc.). It’s a great way to get in gear and feel inspired by other women doing the same thing. From February 5th – March 19th they’ll be hosting another challenge. It starts this week so there’s still time to join.
What are your goals or resolutions this year? I would love to hear from you all what you’re striving for in 2017.
Something every athlete fears is the risk of injury. We all do our best to stretch after a long training run, take it slow when something doesn’t feel right, etc. But sometimes you get into bad habits and the worst happens, you get injured.
I’ve spent the last 4 months nursing a back injury and accepting that my daily workouts weren’t possible. For me, working out every day is therapy. Some people spin, others lift weights, but for me, running is where I find peace. If I’m working through something difficult, I hit the pavement. That time alone on the West Side Highway working through things in my head is necessary. So, for the last few months I’ve felt a bit stir crazy, or just plain old crazy.
The road to recovery felt like a long one, but I am finally working on integrating workouts back into my schedule. The hardest part though is not to go full steam ahead and workout 7 days straight. My brain is telling me to do more, while my body is telling me I’m not quite there yet. And so here is the dilemma, like many of us, my physical appearance and overall fitness is something I work very hard on. I’m proud of being fit and able to run a half marathon on a whim. After 4 months of not working out I’ve found it difficult to give myself a break. I look at my body after this lack of physical activity and find myself picking it apart. Accepting that I’m not perfect and that everything is a little squishier than it used to be is a hard pill to swallow.
These are moments when we learn though. Back to the drawing board is what I’ve told myself. Learning to make time for other therapeutic outlets has been one of the many positive outcomes. I’ve started taking an interest in meditation thanks to my new friends at Lululemon, and found a new way to chill. Even though I find it hard to accept my flaws, my new uplifting friends accepted me in my sadly broken state and invited me into their family.
I was humbled when asked last month to be a Lululemon ambassador. The honor is one that is I do not take lightly. In my months of recovery they picked me up, cheered me on, invited me to meditate, have coffee, cocktails and laugh. I am so excited for the amazing journey ahead with this kick ass crew of people.
So here’s to an amazing spring ahead with lots of new running paths, friends and experiences. If I can leave you with one piece of advice, it’s to get out there and do something that brings you joy today. A very wise person I met recently told me to spend 15 minutes everyday doing something that brings me joy. My goal this month is to do just that. So what will you do with your 15 minutes?
