Spin at Pursuit Boston

On Saturday, I attended a spin class organized by Little Miss Runshine at Pursuit Boston.

As luck would have it, I was greeted at the studio by the most adorable dog in the world – Mr. Bo Jangles.

As I walked over to pet him, I said my day was made and I didn’t need to take the spin class. (I’m a dog lover but my condo doesn’t allow pets. I’ve been known to take a walk through the Boston Public Garden just hoping to see a dog that is friendly enough to pet.)

Our spin class was free, but when I looked up from petting Mr. Bo Jangles, I noticed this sign:

 

We lost 2 Boston firefighters this week in a terrible blaze in the Back Bay area of Boston. One was 33 years old. He’d been a first responder at the Boston Marathon bombing last year, and I was training to run the Boston Marathon this year, in honor of the victims. The other was a 44 year old father with 3 kids under the age of 10. By all accounts they were 2 of the kindest men in the world.

I have an uncle who’s a MA firefighter so the news of losing 2 in our own state hit me hard. I made a donation at Pursuit to the memorial fund set up for the families of both of these brave men.

Anyway, on to the class description!

I’ll post group photos from the class when I receive them.

Here’s a pre-workout photo of the whole group:

My thoughts during the class were, “I’m still not a spinning fan, but I no longer think all spin should be relegated to a circle of hell.”

The instructor was very engaging and it was a great work out. (By the end of the day – with this class, a little walking, and dancing at a concert – I earned 5 WW activity points.)

I’m still a spin newbie, so I’m glad I wore a pair of padded cycling pants, to lessen the pain from a bike seat. I’m still a little sore today, but I’m sure that would be much worse if I wore regular work out pants.

Thank you to Pursuit for hosting us!

If I ever get into spinning, I’d consider coming back to this studio – especially because it often hosts fundraisers for nonprofits, and I love working out while funding good! (My next 2 workouts with donations to a nonprofit will be 4/5 at an Autism Speak spin-a-thon and Ultimate Bootcamp 4/12 to benefit One Fund Boston.)

Love Letter to Boston

Boston, I love you.

You’re the place where I run, the place I train to do better, the place I take fitness classes, the place I am always inspired by.

Today, I took a spin class near Copley Square. (I’ll write a separate post about that later.)

For those who don’t know Boston, Copley Square is near the Boston Marathon finish line. The street I walked on to get to the spin class, Boylston Street, is the same street the bombing last year occurred on.

All over Boston, the banners above are displayed on street posts, in honor of the upcoming Boston Marathon.

“We run together”

It’s true. I train for my 5Ks alongside a marathon runner. Even if you’re not running the Boston Marathon, you’re with the runners in spirit.

I love MA, and the city of Boston. I’m proud of the years I lived there, and am glad I still live close enough to visit the city multiple times a week.

Boston is a city of people who love to stay fit, despite our New England weather patterns working against us. It’s a city of people who embrace bettering yourself – be it getting out of bed for your 1st November project workout, off the couch in a couch to 5K program, or setting a personal record in a marathon. It’s an amazingly supportive place.

Local songwriter Michelle Lewis recently released Marathon tribute video for her new single. A bunch of my friends who are running the Boston Marathon this year are extras in the video, as well as the famous running team of Rick & Dick Hoyt. I highly suggest you watch the video. You’ll cry tears of joy.

3 WW Activity Point Tuesday Night

Tuesday night was busy for me.

I’m President of the networking group Boston Women Communicators. Last night was our March meeting, featuring Boston Globe columnist Robin Abrahams as our guest speaker.

I parked my car in the Boston Common Garage and walked to our Commonwealth Avenue meeting location – the College Club of Boston.

I was able to stay to hear just the beginning of Robin’s presentation, before I had to leave to get to my Social Boston Sports soccer game.

I arrived at the soccer game just after the half, and I was confused. The league is sponsored by Chipotle, and they had sent cheerleaders to the game to cheer us on. It was odd to walk in and see them, and a sign “Go Free Agents 3!”.

Our team is still not winning, but we’re having fun. If the rest of the team signs up for another SBS soccer league, I’d join too. (Our last game for this league is next week.)

When I returned home that night and plugged in my Weight Watchers Active Link, I’d earned 3 points.

Do Good AND Get A Great Workout – 4/12

Did my posts on Ultimate Bootcamp make you curious about trying it out?

Ultimate Bootcamp is hosting a fundraising workout on Saturday, 4/12 to benefit One Fund Boston!

Workouts will take place in Boston and Framingham.

I’ve registered for the Boston Common workout, and you should join me!

Register at http://ultimatebootcamp.com/onefund
Below is what the Ultimate Bootcamp founders have to say about this workout/fundraiser:

Ultimate Bootcamp – 3/23

On Sunday morning, I participated in an awesome free boot camp style work out from Ultimate Bootcamp.

It was a great work out and I’m so glad that me and my friend Jess L attended!

I’ve worked out with Peter from Ultimate Bootcamp before, as part of the Sweetgreen Passport program, back on November 21st. (11/21 recap – reading the recap makes me realize I’ve been fighting the same weight loss plateau for over 4 months now – which is pretty frustrating.)

The cool thing about the work out on Sunday was, I could definitely feel a change in my own fitness level. I couldn’t do all the exercises that were asked of me during the November work out, and I remember feeling exhausted and slow when I ran “suicide” sprints. Yesterday, I was smiling as I sprinted. (Thanks Jess for all your time running with me! There’s no way I would have improved without your coaching.)

I was very happy to spend my morning working out. I actually view exercise as fun now (especially group classes).

My legs are sore today – but I figure that just means I actually worked the muscles on Sunday,

Here’s a post workout photo of Jess, Peter, and me:

Barre class – without a barre!

Sometimes, free fitness classes aren’t what you’d expect them to be.

Last night, I attended a free Barre class offered by Athleta on Newbury Street in Boston.

Hilariously enough, the class did not have the one thing I expected it to have – a barre!

I’d chosen to try this class because I thought having a barre to hold during moves would help my balance. Without one, I didn’t do so well.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a workout! It just wasn’t what I was expecting.

The store clerks moved aside clothing racks and we put yoga mats on the floor to work off of.

I felt faint towards the end of the class and started seeing spots in front of my eyes, so I stopped instead of pushing further. (I had to drive home after all. No need to scare my husband by having the store call him as my emergency contact.)

I’d try another type of class at Athleta that doesn’t require special equipment to give them another chance. Another participant I was chatting with before class recommended their Zumba class.

And I may try Barre again at a studio that has a Barre.

For now, I have another funny story on my road to fitness.

Not my class (mine was only 10 people) but this is what the store looks like when it holds fitness classes:

Pissed Off About Plateaus!

My Weight Watchers meeting and weight in day is Tuesdays, and I’ve just returned from my meeting. I was expecting a big loss. What I got instead was over a pound and a half gain!

For me, what’s so frustrating about this is not knowing what to change to snap back to losing weight. I’m frustrated that I’d lost 25 pounds total and now I’m down to 23 lost! I can accept delayed results on a scale, if I know what’s working with my routines and what isn’t.

Here’s a monthly snapshot of my WW tracking for food and activity:

I’ve tracked my food every day (and stayed within my daily food points values, along with the 49 points we’re given every week to use how we see fit).

I’ve upped my activity level! 22 Activity Points earned last week and 15 earned this week.

I’m sharing here, because this is a normal – annoying – part of weight loss.

The point of this blog is to share my whole journey – days when I feel like I’m moving backwards, days where I crush personal records, and the days in between.

11 Weight Watchers Activity Point Weekend & Cambridge 5K Craicfest

This weekend was great for activity.

My husband & I took the subway to Cambridgeside Galleria for me to pick up my bib and tee shirt for the Cambridge 5K Craicfest.

Then, since the weather was a spring like 50 degrees, we took a long walk from Cambridgeside Galleria to Harvard Square. (Not as long on paper for a direct route, but we got a little lost. Oops.) The walk earned me 6 WW Activity Points.

On Sunday was the Cambridge 5K Craicfest. I had a great time & earned 5 WW Activity Points for the run. I didn’t set a PR (the wind and cold were brutal) but I still had fun.

This race felt like my circles of friends and family were colliding (and that’s good)! My brother ran with me. I ran on Dani from Weight Off My Shoulders team Slumbrew. I also saw my friend Heather (my mentor when I worked for Weight Watchers), and my friend/coach Jess L. ran too (then ran to Davis Square to get in another 5K race!).

I was hoping to finish in under 40 minutes, but I finished in 43. I’m looking ahead to improving my time for my April 5k(s).

Here’s some photos from Cambridge 5K Craicfest:

My brother and me.

Notice our different race strategies… I crazy layer….he runs in shorts & a tee shirt…..and he kicks butt and crushes the race in under 30 minutes. (I’m jealous!)

And my brother made me tear up when he replied to the comment above on Facebook saying, “Remember this post when you’re crushing 10k’s and I’m struggling to keep up” I’m so psyched my brother came down from Lowell to run the race. It was great to see him! (I’m the older one.)

Me & Dani – meeting her for the first time in “real life” but I’m a long time fan of her blog

Race start – look for my pink jacket & my brother is beside me

Finishing strong

SBS Soccer 3/11

I had a fun time at Social Boston Sports soccer league last night.

The game was at 10 PM (which was tough since that’s usually my work night bedtime) but that’s the last game that’s scheduled that late for our team. Most games are at a much more reasonable 7 PM.

Now, my soccer skills are still awkward, but I was pretty good at using my body to block the ball last night (and I have bruises on my leg and arm to prove it). Despite being sore this morning, I was happy that I at least contributed positively to the game and I’m not afraid of being hit by the ball anymore.

Our team lost again, but we played hard and it was a close game. (Tied 2-2 at the half!) My husband made me laugh when I got home saying “your team is un-undefeated” to try to cheer me up.

Next Tuesday, 3/18, all the women on our team cannot make the game due to work conflicts. If you’re a women in MA who’d like to sub for the night to keep our team from getting disqualified from not having at least 1 women on the field, I’d love to hear from you. The games are played at Boston Athletic Club in South Boston.

The teammates are very friendly, and you’ll have a great time. (And, if you really like it, we’re down 1 woman on our team who just never showed up, so we could arrange for a permanent spot on our team for you.)

Wednesday Blog Hop – Hosted by Fitness Blondie

Today I’m participating in a blog hop. Check it out below.