Busy Busy!

Weekend In Review

This past weekend I went to Pittsburgh to visit the McGourty crew, rather than B coming back to NY.  The weather was perfect!

On Friday night we caught some live music in Market Square (and had some beers), dinner at Seviche (highly recommend the Drunken Sailor mojito), and dessert at Sharp Edge.

Seviche was particularly good.  We had the Avocado and Corn Seviche with salmon and the Asian Tartare with tuna from the Seviche Bar and the Pulled Chicken Tostada from the Tapas menu.

We went back to Sharp Edge for lunch on Saturday.  It was good, but gave me a stomach ache.  Apparently I can't eat so much fatty bar food anymore :(

Saturday evening we did the Gateway Clipper sightseeing cruise.  Did I mention the weather as perfect?  The narrator was really good too, very informative and entertaining.  As is typical, we forgot our camera, but I did get this shot with my iPhone:

After the cruise we had dinner at Church Brew Works which is a very cool brewery in an old church.  The food was tasty, especially the Chocolate Mousse Cake.

Workout Update
Tonight I had my first Cross Fit ON-RAMP class.  We got a decent workout, but the focus was really on learning the basic exercises and proper form.  Still thinking I'm really going to like Cross Fit - next class is Wednesday!

Ow!

So, I survived last night's CrossFit class.  I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.  The exercises were doable, the people were friendly and supportive, the equipment brought back memories of my days in gymnastics.  Oh, and we can't forget - the trainer running the class came over to introduce himself bleeding from a rip (callus torn from his hand from pullups) and with his foot in a boot.  He claims the foot injury was not CrossFit related, I'm not convinced.

Today, I hurt.  Everywhere.  I'm not sure what to massage/stretch first.

But, I'm a glutton for punishment and do plan to go back!

What Did I Get Myself Into

So apparently they've open a Cross Fit gym about 4 blocks from me.  Who knew?

Earlier today it seemed like a good idea to schedule myself for a trial class, but now that it's confirmed I'm a tad nervous.
I REALLY don't want to do the box jump thing - have you seen how short I am.  Yikes!!

I'm going to a call Monday night, we shall see how it goes.  Wish me luck!!

New Running Shoes!

I ordered new running shoes from Zappos.com yesterday afternoon and had them in time to use them for tonight's run.  How do they do that??

For the past couple of years I've been wearing Brooks Ghost running shoes.  Every time I think "huh, these shoes feel OK, but it's been 6 months so I guess I should buy new ones."  Then I get the new ones and realize how much of a difference it really makes.  Craziness.

Here are the new kicks:

Disregard the horrendous wallpaper in the background.  We desperately need to renovate the kitchen!

Wahooo!!

I met my workout goal :-)  Can't wait for my massage this weekend!

I'm also pretty excited that we have nothing planned for this weekend except some relaxing and hanging out with friends.  Yay, for travel free weekends!

New workout goal = 60 workouts, not sure of my prize, might stick with the massage.

"Strong is the new Skinny"

I'm back on the exercise bandwagon.  I hope it sticks this time.
I tend to be an "all or nothing" kinda girl, so either I'm working out every day or I'm...well...not.
I'm trying to find a balance, but it's tough.  So, I'm enjoying being in the "all" mode for now.

I guess you could call me a runner.  It is my first choice of cardio exercise even though I'm super slow and it's hard for me to get going most of the time.  I've been good over the last few weeks, running 3-4 times per week.  This past week I finally got over that hurdle of feeling like I was forcing every step and it's getting easier now.
I don't do well in the heat, so I run on the treadmill in the summer.  I'm really looking forward to some cooler weather so I can run outside again without overheating.  Well, that and I'm generally sick of 90 degree days - enough already!

I actually enjoy strength training.  Maybe that's a throwback to my gymnastics days.  Trouble with strength training is that, while I know what to do, I really need someone to tell me to do it.  Classes are good but get old.  Lately I've been finding some workouts online that I can do at home that seem to do the job.

Tonight I did the "I Can Only Imagine" workout on http://www.bodyrock.tv/.  I'm definitely going to be sore tomorrow!!

My current motivation trick - I get a point for each day I work out (break a sweat, get my heart rate up for at least 30 minutes) and when I hi 50 points I'm going to make myself a spa appointment.  I can't wait for a hot stone massage!!