Barre Frenzy

Now that I have finished school and I am not yet working, I should have plenty of time to catch up on the blog! The DC area, along with other parts of the East coast, received plenty of snow the past weekend from winter storm Jonas. Unfortunately, this means I have been snowed into the house for the past few days and unable to run outside or drive to the gym. Today I completed a barre3 workout that I found on YouTube. I first tried Barre3 about 2 weeks ago, since a new studio is opening soon on 14th street. The studio has been doing free classes over the month of January, which has worked out great for me. Unfortunately, with all the snow, two of the classes I was registered for were canceled, but will be rescheduled. I have tried other barre classes, mainly at larger gyms and also a small studio, Breathe, in Harrisonburg. I loved the ballet-inspired workout and small toning moves, especially as an active recovery workout. When I first tried Barre3, I was impressed with the variety of the routine—it was very different from the barre classes I had taken previously, but in a good way. The instructor, Kate, was very encouraging and friendly, and there were only three other people in my class, which made it like a free private lesson. Since I was motivated to work out indoors, I found this video on YouTube titled “barre3 Body Burner.” I liked the variety of the class compared to the class I took in person. Also, I happened to have 5 pounds weights, which came in handy, but I did not have the special barre ball they use in class. I improvised and used two long-sleeve t-shirts that were balled up and this worked perfectly!

The video was only 40 minutes, which made for a quick workout. I wasn’t sweaty when I ended the workout, but several times I was breathing heavily and feeling my muscles burn. I will definitely save this workout to complete on other snowy days! Since the video was short, I decided to add in a quick ab workout and found this video by XHIT Daily on Youtube. I loved the simplicity of the video format—the workout started right away—and the fact that the video was only 7 moves, each for one minute, for a total of 7 minutes. I will definitely be saving this video!

The snow has also inspired me to start looking for decorating ideas and DIY tutorials for when I finally sign an apartment lease. I will be posting some of the tutorials in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

I was not compensated by any studios mentioned above. Please remember to exercise at your own risk and ask a doctor before beginning an exercise plan.

Mile Repeats

I’m running a half marathon again this Fall–either the Anthem Richmond Half or the Heritage Hunt Half–maybe both! My goal is to finish below 2 hours, which I missed by only a few seconds during the Nike Half in April. My watch said I was a few minutes ahead, which is why I didn’t run harder for the finish! I’m using the “Break-2:00 Half Marathon Plan” courtesy of Runner’s World. I started at Week 5 of the training plan, since I was running regularly before I “started” this plan. Monday I did a 5 mile long slow run (since I missed it Saturday). It was over 90 degrees and humid, but I pushed through and finished strong. Tuesday I ran four miles at an easy pace, which ended up being around 9:30/mile pace. The weather had cooled off significantly after a light evening rain shower, which really helped my pace. This morning, I completed mile repeats. The plan suggests a one mile warm-up, followed by one mile at an 8:20 pace, followed by a half mile recovery jog. Then, repeat two more times, followed by a one mile cool-down run. I modified this slightly during my run, since I felt somewhat tired into the first mile repeat. Instead, I ran a half mile at sub-9:00 pace, followed by a half mile recovery. Then, I increased the distance to 0.75 mile at sub-9:00 minutes, followed by a one mile recovery. Last, I pushed hard and ran one mile at sub-9:00 minute pace, followed by a half mile recovery cool-down run. All in all I ran 5.25 miles. I am relatively new to speed work, so these runs are harder for me than running longer distances at a slower pace. However, if I want to finish below 2 hours on my next half, I know that speed work will make me faster. I usually run at a comfortable speed, which ranges from 8:30 minutes/mile to 10:00 minutes/mile, depending on how I feel and the weather. It’s a big adjustment to run in the “uncomfortable” zone, but I know it will pay off!

Liquid Diet

Recently I’ve been in a weight loss slump, despite working out 1-2 hours per day 6 days per week and usually walking 10,000 steps on my “off” day. During a relaxing five days at the beach, I let myself rest (running 3 miles only one day) and eat pretty much whatever I want. After getting back from the beach, I needed to jumpstart my weight loss. I’m only looking to lose about 5-7 pounds and then maintain it, but it’s been harder than I thought. Yesterday I did a “liquid diet.” I snack a lot throughout the day, so doing a liquid diet helps me stop snacking and focus only on meals.

What I ate:
Breakfast: Cinnamon Swirl Protein Powder + 1 banana + 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (about 275 cals)
Lunch: 1 cup Campbell’s Coconut Curry Chicken Soup (160 cals)
Snack: 1 bottle Reed’s Hibiscus Ginger Grapefruit Kombucha
Dinner: 1 Serving Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (homemade; 263 cals)
Snack: Justin’s chocolate peanut butter powder (2 TBSP @ 45 cals) + 1 banana (100 cals) + 1 TBSP chia seeds (70 cals) + 1 cup unsweetened almond milk plus protein (40 cals)= 255 cals (very delicious & chocolately!)

Overall, I ate 1,088 calories, so it wasn’t that restrictive, but I definitely wouldn’t do this for more than 1 day a month, since it’s not sustainable. It was a good way to keep me motivated, reduce snacking, and realize when I was actually hungry.

Marathon?

I’m considering running a marathon (my first one!) this Fall–possibly the Anthem Richmond Marathon. The farthest I’ve ever run is 13.1 miles, so running 26.2 miles seems intimidating. My motivating mantra during half marathon races has always been, “At least I’m not running a marathon!” I’d like to also run another half marathon at a sub-2:00 finish. As of today, I am registered for the Army 10 miler the second weekend of October and will most likely sign up for a local half marathon race the first weekend in October. Any thoughts on transitioning from a half marathon to a marathon or good marathon training plans?

Army Ten Miler

Registration for the annual Army Ten Miler in DC opened yesterday at 10 AM and sold out a few hours later! Luckily, my boyfriend and I managed to be 2 of the lucky 35,000 runners who snagged a spot in the October race! I have never run this race before but have heard great things. Running a ten mile race will also be new for me, but I’m excited as it’s a long enough distance where I will have to train and push myself, but less than a half marathon (13.1)! The only downside is that you can’t run with audio… Which I found out after I signed up… I have never attempted any sort of run without music, so this will be a challenge in itself.
For those of you who missed out on the sign up but are still interested, the website says that beginning June 2, for a limited amount of time, runners can sell their spots to other (unregistered) interested runners. The only downside is that you have to pay $85 instead of the original $65. Most races don’t allow this so this is actually a great way to join the race if you missed out on registration.

Has anyone signed up for any other summer or fall races?

Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Pad Thai Recipe

Summer is approaching quickly and if you are like me, you want to shed a few extra pounds for bikini season. Making your own meals is a great way to control what you eat and how many calories it contains. I found a great shrimp pad thai recipe that uses spaghetti squash instead of pad thai noodles from the blog: Stuff We Ate.

I absolutely love pad thai and make it regularly. The sauce recipe for this version was very simple, and didn’t require many odd ingredients or pre-made sugar-loaded pad thai sauce. I modified the recipe slightly by using shrimp instead of chicken, not using chicken broth or bok choy, and adding an egg and bean sprouts.

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti Squash
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1/2 TBSP minced garlic
• 1 cup carrots, diced
• 1 extra large egg
• 1/3 bag of 2 lb bag Medium shrimp, cooked, tail removed– thawed
• 1 can bean sprouts
• 2 TBSP natural peanut butter
• 1/2 TBSP soy sauce (low sodium)
• 1 TBSP rice vinegar
• 1/2 TBSP sriracha sauce

Garnishes:

• Chopped peanuts
• Cilantro, fresh
• Lime juice, fresh
• Chopped green onions (only the green parts)

Cut the spaghetti squash in half and set the halves (flat side down) on a foil-covered baking sheet. Set the oven to 375 degrees and cook the spaghetti squash for 40-50 minutes.

While the squash is cooking, add the vegetable oil to a large frying pan over medium-high heat. After a minute, add the minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Move the carrots to one side of the pan and cook the egg on the other half. Once the egg is scrambled, mix the ingredients. When the squash is cooked, use a fork to remove the seeds, and then use the fork to remove the squash from its peel.

Add the bean sprouts, thawed shrimp, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha sauce, and cooked spaghetti squash to the frying pan. Mix together and reduce heat to medium for 5 minutes.

Garnish and serve your dish with fresh chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts, lime juice, and chopped green onions.

I was surprised at how much this tasted like traditional pad thai! I would recommend making the full recipe and freezing half of it in a ziploc freezer bag. From my estimate, this recipe makes about 4 large portions with 261 calories each.

Nike Women’s Half Marathon DC– The Finish

This post is a little late, but I have been swamped with the semester wrapping up and final exams. I finished the Nike Women’s Half in 2:00:02, which means I missed my goal by 3 seconds! I am still very proud of myself, as I was not feeling wonderful during the run, but still pushed myself to set a new PR. My fastest time was in 2012 at the Heritage Hunt Half Marathon, with a time of 2:04:12. I ended up knocking about 4 minutes off my time! I focused training for the DC half on many long runs, but I definitely should have added more tempo runs and interval speed training. I plan to register this fall and run the Nike Half in DC next year as well. It was very empowering to run a race where there was thousands of women around me running, with only the rare sighting of a man. I did get a beautiful Tiffany’s necklace with a Nike swoosh on the front and the details of the race on the back. Overall, it was a great, well-organized race and I cannot wait to do it again next year!

Tomato Sauce Recipe

Hope your Monday started off wonderfully, as mine was painfully slow and tiring. I wanted something quick for dinner, but equally satisfying. I made some pasta and topped it off with a very easy homemade tomato sauce. I found the tomato sauce recipe on the Food Network, by Mario Batali. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 2 (28 oz) cans of diced tomatoes 

Heat the olive oil over medium heat for one minute. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the italian seasoning, diced tomatoes, and their juice and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and more italian seasoning– whatever you want. Then, put the sauce in a blender and blend for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is smooth. This recipe makes about 4 cups, so I usually save about 1 cup for the week and freeze the rest of the sauce in plastic freezer bags. I accidentally only bought one can of diced tomatoes, and made the sauce with the other proportions the same, and the sauce still turned out great! I served my homemade tomato sauce over organic sprouted grain pasta elbows purchased at Wegman’s. 

               

Enjoy your Italian cooking with cheese and a large glass of red wine 🙂

Chia Pudding Recipe

Happy Thursday! Technically I don’t have class tomorrow, but I still have work to do before I relax and enjoy the Nationals play this weekend!

I found a quick and easy Chia pudding recipe from PopSugar that is wonderful. I forgot to take pictures when I made it, but it’s healthy and fast.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup milk (I used regular skim milk, but the recipe originally used coconut milk)
• 1/2 tablespoon honey

Mix ingredients together and store in the refrigerator overnight. Top with frozen fruit or mix with a tablespoon of your favorite jam!

You could probably try using Splenda instead of honey for a lower calorie option.

Enjoy your weekend!

23 minute Tabata workout

I was reading about the benefits of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and increased VO2 max and endurance, and decided to add intervals into my weekly workout routine. Shorter workouts including intervals produce similar calorie burning and fat burning (maybe more!) compared to longer cardio workouts. I love short workouts, especially since I have a super busy and ever-changing schedule of classes and studying. I found a 23-minute (including breaks!) tabata workout from FitSugar that was amazing! It definitely challenged me and I was super sweaty by the end, but I would definitely do it again. 

The workout starts with a 4 minute tabata (20 seconds full out, 10 seconds rest, 8 times) of jumping jacks, another tabata of backward lunges, followed by some ab work. The next two tabatas are burpees and skaters, followed by tricep dips. If you hate burpees (like I do), you can easily substitute any jumping exercise into your tabata, like froggers or squat jumps. The full routine is available through the FitSugar link I posted above!

I recommend trying some HIIT and tabata training this week! Let me know what you think 🙂