5 Days of Juice

I’ve been really busy for the past week. And yes, it is because of my most recent, 5-day BluePrint Cleanse. After my first cleanse (which I thought was amazing), I knew I’d want to do another one before the first of many summer weekends on the beach. Last time I felt 3 days was too short so I went for 5 this time. And really, it couldn’t have gone better!

My refrigerator on Sunday night

Prepping for the cleanse was simple – I just ate fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean protein (egg whites, seafood, chicken) and a limited amount of complex carbohydrates usually in the form of oatmeal or black beans.

So many people at work asked me about this juice I was drinking. I explained that it wasn’t specifically for weight loss – I told them it was to help put me back on a healthy path, to help me with self-control, and to give me more free time. Honestly, do you know how much time I spend on food prep each day? I usually prepare 3 meals per day plus snacks. It is at least an hour of my time each day. And that doesn’t include the time it takes to go to Fairway, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to buy it all, or the time it takes me to wash my dishes.

As a result, I’ve had a lot more free time while cleansing. And I thought this week (and next) would be the perfect time to use my 2 weeks of unlimited classes at Exhale Spa that I purchased on Gilt a few months ago. And I was right. In 5 days I’ve taken 6 classes at Exhale (5 core fusion and 1 yoga). And yes, you can totally exercise while on the BluePrint Cleanse! You will have plenty of energy; I did. On some days I worked out twice and was fine.

Speaking of working out, I also had my first Flywheel experience courtesy of Melissa. I’d gone to spinning once before at SoulCycleand wasn’t sold on it. Flywheel totally changed my mind. Jesse was a great instructor with tons of energy, the music was fun, and the studio was classy – water, shoes, and towels are included with each ride and the lockers have built-in locks.

Jesse helping me clip into the bike. And Dori looking really happy. Photo courtesy of fitnessnyc.wordpress.com

Plus, I got to hang out with Dori and Ellen and meet Melissa, Sam and Fiona! The verdict is in: Flywheel is far superior to SoulCycle, in my opinion. But I’ll still go to for the free community rides around the corner from my apartment in the summer when I’m in town.

Tomorrow I go back to having to decide what to eat on my own. And since I wake up obscenely early even on the weekends, I think the best way to fill some early morning hours before Core Fusion is to buy some fresh fruits (I have plenty of vegetables thanks to my CSA pickup this week) for my post-cleanse meals.

Question: Have you done a juice cleanse recently? What has your experience been like?

Brotherly Advice

For some reason, Tuesday has been my designated speedwork day (assuming I attempt speedwork). I think this comes from taking NYRR’s running class, which I attended every Tuesday for about a year. So yesterday I woke up at the usual time of 5:15 am. After drinking some water and eating a few pieces of honeydew, I got dressed and headed down the block to NYSC. My friend Karen is a member there and kindly gave me a week free pass. I hopped on a treadmill and attempted to do this treadmill workout, courtesy of FitSugar:

Time	Speed (mph)
0:00 – 5:00	5.0
5:00 – 6:00	8.0
6:00 – 7:00	5.0
7:00 – 8:00	8.0
8:00 – 9:00	5.0
9:00 – 10:00	8.0
10:00 – 11:00	5.0
11:00 – 11:45	9.0
11:45 – 12:45	5.0
12:45 – 13:30	9.0
13:30 – 14:30	5.0
14:30 – 15:15	9.0
15:15 – 16:15	5.0
16:15 – 16:45	10.0
16:45 – 17:45	5.0
17:45 – 18:15	10.0
18:15 – 19:15	5.0
19:15 – 19:45	10.0
19:45 – 20:45	5.0
20:45 – 26:00	3.5

Now I’m fairly certain that FitSugar is a site for women, not Boston qualifiers, so I didn’t think I’d have trouble. The workout just said it was for people with a solid aerobic base, which I believe that I have. But after two minutes at 8.0, I said to myself, “f this” “no way I can run at 9.0 or 10.0 mph.” So I modified it – my sprint paces were 8.0, 8.3, and 8.5 mph. I was a sweaty mess at the end and finished my workout in the stretching area for some reverse crunches, med ball chops, and side planks. This NYSC location had awesome yoga mats laid out for stretching, btw.

Mid-morning at work, I e-mailed my brother (not certified in anything except law by the State of California, but he’s qualified for Boston a few times and trains on his own) for some advice about the 10.0 on the treadmill. He said that’s way too fast for me – he does half-mile repeats at 10.2 mph!! His rule of thumb: Take your goal marathon time, change it to minutes, and that’s about how fast you should try to run a half mile. For example, his goal marathon time is about 3 hours, so he aims to run a half mile in 3 minutes. Since my goal marathon time is about 4 hours 30 minutes (did I just say that out loud?), I should run half-mile repeats at a 9 minute mile pace. Quarter-mile repeats can be done about 10-20 seconds faster per mile. And also, I am supposed to do treadmill speedwork at a 1.0 incline.

As usual, I’m really glad to have such a knowledgeable brother who can give me free advice. Now if only he’d also pay for an Equinox membership for me!

After work I headed over to Bikram Yoga, since I have so many classes to use up by the 28^th of July. I hadn’t gone in way too long but surprisingly I didn’t struggle through class. I’m going three times this week and I won’t see my beloved Michael at all since he’s on vacation. I’m getting used to other teachers and I’ve found that I’ve learned a lot from other teaching styles and dialogues.

Question: Do you have siblings or other family members you turn to for advice about certain topics? Tell me about it!

NYC Workout Review: As 1 Effect

Since my package of classes at Refine Method ended, I needed to fill some time in my schedule before my two weeks unlimited at Exhale (purchased on Gilt) and sessions with my personal trainer (written up in the NY Times!) I read about As 1 on Well and Good, just as they had a deal on active.com. With one free class and four more as a result of the deal at a good price, I couldn’t pass it up.

The verdict? Awesome. I’ve been 3 times now and am sad I’ll have to wait until after the summer (and probably marathon training) to go back. The first time I was legitimately nervous – 75 minutes of interval training?!? But George (a better-looking Michael Imperioli) was great and made sure I knew what to do and was using proper form. That’s important since there are no mirrors in the studio. At the beginning of each class, we stretch and then do 5 sets of 20 jumping jacks and 5 burpees. And that’s just the warm-up.

Today I took the 6:15 am class and we did 1 minute intervals: alternating the AeroDyne (bike) with weighted squats, pushups, sit-ups, and pull ups with 15 seconds transition time. We did this complete circuit 4 times. A large clock is set and beeps loudly at the end of each interval so we know when to get ready for the next exercise. After some water, we left the studio (on the 7^th floor) and took the stairs to the 12^th floor, came back down, and had to do 10 burpees. We repeated this for about 8 minutes or until we were told to stop. The class ended with some arm / upper back work using resistance bands and foam rolling.

The As 1 studio is located at Columbus Circle – very convenient for me. There are 3 classes in the morning and 2 in the evening Monday-Thursday, one class on Friday morning, and none on the weekends. Mark and George are the only 2 coaches and both are very encouraging and supportive.

Another fun aspect of class is that we provide the workout soundtrack! Today there were some winners along with some duds on the iPod but at least I’m entertained and can mock whoever chose a particular song.

People in this class are also very friendly – everyone smiles at each other during exercises and passing each other on the stairs. I haven’t felt intimidated by all of the really fit people I’ve met and was in a really, really great mood this morning after class.

As 1 provides an amazing, sweaty workout (and the 75 minutes seems scary but it goes by really quickly!) in a supportive environment that allows me to work to the best of my ability. I don’t feel like I am comparing myself to anyone else, which is unusual for me. I have 2 classes left and I am glad my calendar has them spread far apart so I can look forward to something!

This week, I’m prepping for another BluePrint Cleanse (5 days this time) since I enjoyed my last one so much. We’re in the middle of exams at school so I have a little more down time than usual.

Question: What was your favorite exercise in gym class? Let’s face it – I hated them all, yet now I pay people to make me do them!

Race Recap: Brooklyn Half Marathon 2011

Warning: this won’t have a happy ending.

Remember on Seinfeld when Elaine took over the J. Peterman catalog and did an awful job? I mean, come on, she put the Urban Sombrero on the cover. When J. Peterman came back and spoke to her about it, he said, “Kudos, Elaine, on a job…done.”  And that’s how I did at this Brooklyn Half Marathon. I finished, and that about sums it up. And here’s what happened. I had a relatively normal dinner of Thai shrimp, mixed vegetables, and brown rice at Pam’s. We watched some episodes of Showtime’s Gigolos, one of the most hilariously bad shows on TV right now (and I blame Tracy for getting me to watch it.) I went to bed at 9:30 pm. I woke up at 5 am (you know me; I actually set my alarm for 4:59.) Sad part (?) was that it was easy to get up.

oh hai, 5 am, looking good

I hydrated (but not too much) and ate my overnight oats with almond milk, cinnamon, a big blob of crunchy peanut butter, half a banana, and blueberries. Everything was going according to plan. I walked out the door at 6:15 am and headed to Prospect Park. Once I got my clear plastic bag on the truck with the unwashed masses (RIP, VIP tent), I tried to warm up a bit and stretch. Sadly I didn’t see any friends while waiting to start.

The first few miles didn’t feel great – my ankles felt very, very heavy. The second loop of the park was better…until I got to the big uphill. Sure I did some speedwork for this race, but neglected to tell you about my lack of hill intervals and my lack of long runs due to both sloth and illness. So I did some walking. It was bad. And then I got some water. Since I can’t drink and run at the same time, I had to walk. And once I did this, my nose started running like crazy. GREAT. I tried to keep running but after walking twice, my head was just out of it. Once on Ocean Parkway, I stopped at every water/Gatorade table, knowing that I’d already missed my chance for a PR. I just felt so ambivalent but I can’t really explain why. It’s a shame, too, because when I was actually running, my pace was pretty decent.

I saw my parents on the boardwalk, just where they were supposed to be. They saw me and were cheering and excited, yet knew I was miserable. The finish line seemed so far away, but I knew I had to keep running, which I did. I finally hit 13.1 miles and immediately saw Ellen and Matt. I was very happy for smiling, friendly faces and we chatted until my parents met up with us at baggage. I was so glad it was over; I even let Matt take a picture. (You can read Ellen’s recap here.)

Emily & Ellen 13.1 miles later - at least my nose stopped running long enough to pose for this photo

As expected, my parents drove me back to Manhattan and took me to brunch. They are very supportive and wonderful people and probably deserve their own post soon. After that I showered, napped / watched The Real Housewives of New York City, and had dinner at I Tre Merli with Lindsay, who was in from Seattle! And it included NUTELLA PIZZA for dessert!

As usual, NYRR put on a great and well-organized event, for which I’m grateful. I’ve run 3 half marathons so far and this one was by far my slowest. I can’t say I’m surprised because of the walking. Sad part is that I wasn’t in any real pain, just a little uncomfortable. Next long race I really need to get over that – no walking unless absolutely necessary. I know that if I allow myself to walk once, I think its ok to do again and again. And its not.

To all those that also ran the Brooklyn Half – I hope your race went better than mine! I’ll be on the lookout for your recaps.

Brooklyn Half Prep

I’ve been waiting for the Brooklyn Half Marathon for a while now. I ran this race last year and it was my first half marathon. I had a great experience at the VIP Tent courtesy of Continental Airlines, which unfortunately is no longer sponsors this race. I am sleeping at a friend’s in Park Slope tonight so I don’t have to go very far tomorrow morning. I’d like to avoid the stress of dealing with the MTA on a weekend for a 7 am start!

I said I was going to do speedwork. And I did. My parents will be on the boardwalk in Coney Island tomorrow to cheer me on at the finish. If that’s not motivation to run a good race (after which they’ll drive me back to Manhattan and buy me brunch), I don’t know what is. I don’t even usually post pre-race, but I’m just so excited about this one. My plan is to stay at a steady, moderate pace in Prospect Park and then pick it up on Ocean Parkway, the long, flat stretch to Coney Island. Last year this was both my least favorite  (tired after hills in the park, boring) and my favorite (Orthodox Jewish fathers shielding their sons’ eyes because too many women in too little clothing were running by) part of the course. I’m hoping for a time of 2:15 or under.

Right now I’m snacking on red grapes and updating my shuffle. For this race, I added the following, since, you know, the world is going to end tomorrow:

- “Its the End of the World as We Know It” by R.E.M.
- “4 Minutes” by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake
- “Till the World Ends” by Britney Spears

A big thank you to Amanda for the suggestions!

My outfit is decided. I love it. I know I’ll need a long-sleeve shirt at the start, and I’ll make sure to pack one.

lululemon push ur limits tank, nike dri-fit capris

With that, I’m off to pack, and I’ll see you at the start tomorrow! I am expecting to see many friends and familiar faces, including Ali, Ellen, Lauren, Shelby (all the way from NC!), and Tracy. Maybe I’ll make some new friends in the purple corral. Anyone else I forgot?

What do you do to feel ready for a big, exciting race?

April Wrap-Up

A month ago, I wrote about my April goals here. Now that the month is over, let’s see how I did!

• 3 days of juice cleansing – DONE! You can read about my BluePrint Cleanse experience here.
• 1 spa treatment – DONE! Turns out, the daily deal didn’t work out. I got my money refunded and I got an awesome facial at Bliss SoHo.
• Limit Alcoholic Drinks – DONE! The cleanse totally helped with this. I spent 3 days prepping, 3 days juicing, and 3 days breaking the cleanse. No alcohol allowed during that time.
• Exercise (4 workouts/week) – DONE! Some weeks this was challenging. I started running to and from Refine Method (3 miles total), so I would count that as 2 workouts. Cheating? I hope not.
• Limit Caffeine – DONE! I think I had 1 caffeinated drink. Apparently green tea has caffeine? Who knew?!
• 2 servings of fruits and vegetables / day – DONE! This was super easy.
• Eat more vegetables in place of fruits – Questionable. I’m doing better, but fruit is just so good.
• Stop buying pints of frozen yogurt – I think by the end of April I succeeded in this. To prep for the BluePrint Cleanse, I gave up dairy. I was dairy-free for over a week after it ended, too. And then I had some frozen yogurt when 16 Handles opened 2 blocks from my apartment.
• Run 15-20 miles / week – Sadly I only accomplished this for one week of April. But that week was awesome. And I ran almost 28 miles, including a 10-miler on Saturday to Brooklyn!

Overall, I’d call April a success. There were some rough patches with a lot of work stress that caused some unhealthy habits to rear their ugly heads. But I’m starting May in a good place and even went swimsuit shopping yesterday!

I’ve been thinking about my May goals and will share them soon! What do you have going on for the month of May?

I Did a Speed Workout

The title says it all. I did it. On my own.

I used to do weekly speed workouts when I went to NYRR running classes on Tuesday nights. I stopped going. But not because the workouts weren’t good/effective. It was because I kept having to work late in May and June. And some of the other runners really annoyed me. Like REALLY.

So in order to focus on beating last year’s time at the Brooklyn 1/2, I used my Living Social deal and will be a member of Crunch for a month. Its 10 blocks from my apartment so I can jog there and use that as part of my warm-up, which I did not do yesterday. I just walked. I wanted to enjoy the lovely morning as it was my last day of spring break! Anyone who was excited to go back to work today has serious problems. I mean, I wasn’t dreading it, but I wasn’t jazzed.

I did a pyramid workout, inspired by Gabi over at Top Running Tips. I discovered her blog through a twitter #runchat. And here’s what I did when I hopped on the treadmill (aside from try to ignore the Today Show’s coverage of the Royal Wedding):

Warm-up: 2 miles at 5.7 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	30 sec 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	30 sec 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	1 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	1 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	1.5 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	1.5 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	2 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	2 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	1.5 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	1.5 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	1 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	1 min 6.5 mph
1 min 5.7 mph	30 sec 6.5 mph
Cool-down: 5 min 5.7 mph

Now I realize that 6.5 mph isn’t that fast (9:13 min/mile), but I am just starting. If I do this again, I will increase the speed by at least .1 to see how I feel. Because after this workout, I felt pretty sweaty and awesome. And Akon’s Beautiful was a favorite song on my shuffle during this.

Help me out, please! Do you have any good speed workouts you’d recommend? And how often should I be doing this? Once a week? Twice a week? I need all the advice I can get.