Chakras

I'm out on Long Island visiting my parents this weekend (like most weekends) and I made it to yoga again today. I went to Tina Conroy's Yoga Flow class at the Roslyn Equinox. I've been to quite a few of Tina's classes over the years and she's a very good instructor.

Roslyn Equinox purchased red Jade Yoga mats since the last time I took a yoga class there. I think these are a pretty color and I also like that they don't shed black crap all over my feet like the other ones.

The offending black yoga mats are still available as well.

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The one thing I tend to forget about Tina until the middle of class is the readings and talk of chakras during meditation. That and this smelly stuff she puts on your third eye during chivasana sometimes. Today we meditated on our chakras and their colored disks. I'm all for learning about new things, except my SARS cough reared its ugly head, and instead of meditating on "I am" and "I see" and "I understand," I hacked up a lung into my towel. Then, for the second day, I had to miss out on chivasana (or as my sister calls it - her nap) because I was making too much noise. I spend the entire first hour of yoga class in yoga class so I can enjoy my 8 minutes of chivasana!

I swear yoga will make me a more centered and balanced person. No, I will not stamp my foot on my yoga mat if I do not get to enjoy quality corpse pose time.

After cleaning out my closet (who knew I still had some of that stuff?), I went up to the tailor to get some pants hemmed and then for some pampering at Angel Tip nails. I also ran some pre-hurricane errands for my mom.

Enough cigarettes to last 10 days without electricity!

Then I sat on the couch in my sweatpants feeling very satisfied with myself. And I only ate two Mallomars today after finding the box I hid at the bottom of the pantry drawer. Overall, a successful Saturday.

This is an entirely unrelated photo of my cat wearing my l.l. bean slippers

Vegetables

Some of my colleagues recently held an intervention for me at work... about my consumption of Chinese food and general lack of exercise. One comment was:

Alessandra, your lack of exercise and consumption of Chinese food has hurt me in the following ways: You never eat JustSalad with me anymore, you make me think I too can be just as amazing looking by not exercising, and worst of all, you come into work with Chinese food hangovers.

This is the sign they brought when they staged the intervention.

So this was my response:

Thank you for my fitness and healthy eating intervention. I have already attended step aerobics today and hid some veggies in my pasta bolognese at lunch. I promise to make exercise and vegetables a regular part of my life. I will never give up the 40 oz Slurpee.

We use an internal social media platform at work so these are actually real posts back and forth.

Because I am a woman of my word, I went out and bought a bunch of frozen vegetables to make consuming things that are not bacon vegetables easy. Unfortunately, the vodka lost its home.

What do you mean the 1.5 liter of vodka no longer fits in the freezer?
Ugh.

I obviously prioritized eating the lightly sauced creamed spinach - it does exist! - but I've moved onto other Birds Eye products including the green beans. So effing easy. Toss the bag in the microwave for about 5 minutes (varies by microwave or so the package advises), wait for the bag to cool off so you don't burn your hand (I got in the shower to distract myself because I cannot be trusted not to touch hot things) throw your seasoning of choice on top, and then feel good about yourself for eating three servings of vegetables in one meal.

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If you're like me, you take your sense of satisfaction to kickball and then celebrate with a trip to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

Working From Home

One of the nicest things about my job is the ability to work from home. Since my desk was given away last week and I have been exiled to the third floor until the massive reorganization of the eighth floor, I have decided to work from home as much as possible. Mostly I am annoyed that I had to pack boxes at 5:30 PM instead of getting to happy hour on time, and I am now postponing unpacking these boxes for as long as possible. I have a home office (in my tiny ass studio!) and I like using it.

Yesterday I went for a nice run along the East River before heading into the other office for meetings. Today I fit a lunchtime yoga class in at 74th and 2nd. I've been to Adrian Molina's Warrior Flow Yoga before and I remembered liking it. Good class, but God am I out of shape. However, I was able to get some of my flexibility back by the end of class. I think I've been in a rut lately, really disinterested in working out or taking care of myself. Maybe yoga should be my new thing?

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I've been eyeing Atheta's Kickbooty™ Bermuda shorts. At $46, they're not incredibly expensive, but I can't really justify buying a bunch of pairs unless I take up yoga regularly. They come in black, asphalt, and heather black. I've heard some great things about Athleta, and there's a store right near my apartment, but unfortunately these shorts are not in stock. I'd like to try a pair on before I commit.

I know I've been MIA for a while, but I do have marathon tales and some gym class reviews I could be persuaded to write. If you send me your requests, I'll get out of this funk and post these thoughts that have been swirling in my head (and the photos clogging my iPhone.) Speaking of funk, I left the gym without showering because I figured I could do it later at home after I took some calls, only to find out that the hot water has been turned off.

Too Many Fitness Enthusiasts

This morning I woke up and headed to the hotel gym and found it packed. I figured my colleagues should be in bed after partying at the CHCI event last night, but the damn overachievers beat me there. And I walked in at 6 AM.

Since no one seems to lift, I took over the weight bench.

I performed chest presses with 20 lbs and 12.5 lbs weights. I did chest flys with 12.5 lbs weights. I also did shoulder presses with the 12.5 lbs, tricep kickbacks with 7.5 lbs, and squats with 20 lbs.

Then I went for a 1.5 mile run outside near the other hotel.

Sofitel Hotel Workout

My dad and I got into DC late last night. We had a delicious midnight meal at Old Ebbitt Grill before I passed out in my comfy bed.

I didn't get up until about 9, although I woke up at 8. The SO FIT gym was said to be located on level B. I got dressed, grabbed my Oxygen magazine and my headphones, and headed on down only to discover that the gym is under construction. It's been temporarily relocated to a conference room.

Given what it is - gym equipment temporarily housed in a conference room - the space is alright.

I spent about 10 minutes warming up a 9% incline power-walking with short bursts of jogging. I did two rounds of varied squats with an 18 lbs body bar, chest presses with both 15 and 20 lbs dumbbells, and shoulder presses with 10 lbs dumbbells. I flirted with the idea of doing planks with a medicine ball before deciding I was done with my quick workout and needed to get. Y day started.

My dad and I hit up the George Bellows exhibit at the National Art Gallery and made a visit to the United States Botanic Garden, where he got lost. We're now sitting in the lobby of 675 E Street NW, waiting out the storm. A nice woman who lives here let us in, and good thing too because I saw the Starbucks umbrellas sail down the street and almost hit a car.

Look at that amazing French manicure.

Run on Day 6

I'm on a roll with my workouts and needed to fit one in today to continue my streak. My original plan to attend 7 AM yoga fell through and I needed to make the 7:54 PM train out to LI. I decided a run along the Westside Highway was better than no workout at all or having to take a later train.

view overlooking the NJ Transit train yard

My legs felt a little stiff but overall the run wasn't too bad. I wore my Nike Frees without socks (I used to do this all the time) and gave myself horrible arch blisters just like during the AHA run. Reminded me of how that night and how I got dumped the next day.

Just the Statue of Liberty helping out a homeless lady.

Super Mario Brothers comes to Chelsea Piers

So tired, hot, and sweaty but thank God the sun finally came out.

Epic fail on the Garmin tonight. I didn't have time to wait for it to find its satellites and it didn't pick up the first .75 mile and then I forgot to turn it off when I got back to the office and added at least 5 minutes to my time. Oops.

I ran closer to 6 miles.

I couldn't shower after my run but I did change back into my work clothes. Sorry fellow train passengers - I know I smell.

My colleague almost caught me taking this awkward photo.

ZUMBA!

Lashawn Jones teached ZUMBA! at thr 50th & Broadway Equinox on Wednesday nights at 7:15 PM. As much as I wanted to go to DM's to watch the Giants game, I knew that I needed to go straight to the gym instead. I didn't want to lift or do anything with kettlebells, and I didn't want to spin, so I figured that Zumba was the best choice. Great workout, lots of cardio, and abdominal work. I haven't found anything better for my abs than cardio dance classes.

I wasn't familiar with the first two songs and struggled with the moves. I'm not very coordinated and it takes me a while to get into my dance groove. Lashawn uses the legit Zumba tracks, and you can tell because Zumba is shouted out at least once a minute like a marketing team's orgasm. She had me hooked though when she played Daddy Yankee's Gasolina remix. Yes, I'm secretly into reggaeton and I know all the moves to that one.

Every time I go to a Zumba class, I decide I want Zumba clothes. I've spent the past 20 minutes perusing the Zumba website, and these are some of the items that caught my eye.

I am addicted to sneakers so of course I noticed the Z Kickz II and the Z Kickz Original. I have absolutely no reason to buy them, but I appreciate a brand that creates its own shoes. Other colors than the ones shown here are available.

Z Kickz II

Z Kickz Original

I have an obsession with Zumba cargo pants. They're like UFOs - does anyone remember these delightful pants from the late 90s?

Lashawn was wearing the Feelin It Cargo last night in black, but I prefer this teal color. I really want the Electro Cargo Pant in grey. How freaking cute are they? Again, not exactly sure why I'd need them since I don't really go to many Zumba classes.

Feelin It Cargo Pant 

Electro Cargo Pant

The Bliss V Bra Top is cute and functional. It doesn't seem particularly Zumba-y to me and I might order a few. I love this blue color.

Bliss V Bra Top

I like the color of these Escape Running Shorts, which are on sale by the way. I can't figure out if they have a built in panty (God, I hate that word) or not. I only run in shorts that I don't need to wear underwear with, however, I'd use these for the beach and hiking if they aren't lined.

Escape Running Shorts

Last but not least, no wardrobe is complete without Zumba thongs. I would love to know how many of these sell each month.

Daydream Thong

Weight Loss Wednesday 9.5.12

I'm starting a new weekly feature called Weight Loss Wednesday. Maybe it'll be easier for me to avoid Chinese food if I know that my weight is going to be posted on the internet each week.

This morning I weight 145.4 lbs. Yup, I qualify as an Athena runner. I do not make this stuff up thank you.

I'd like to lose about 15 lbs, but my real goal is to lower my body fat percentage.

More than a quarter of my body is fat. That's gross.

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The chart above is from the American Council on Exercise. As you can see, I fall into the average category.

The charts below are based on research by Jackson & Pollock and take age into consideration.

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I would like to be around 19% body fat. It's not like I have an exceptionally well-endowed chest that would skew my number higher. Day 5 of Super Sober September Health Month continues and Weight Loss Wednesday will hopefully keep me accountable.

One Heart, One Soul, One Hour

I had an 8 AM call to China this morning (I feel so cool being able to say that and actually told as many people as I possibly could about it), and since I was still at my parents' house, I decided to work from home for the morning instead of getting on a super early train back to Manhattan. This meant that I was able to go to Tripp Doherty's 6 AM spin class at Woodbury.

I was concerned that I might not get a bike so I stayed up until 4 AM to book it Monday morning. For those of you not in the know, you can book a bike using MYEQ 26 hours before a cycling class. Since I didn't get home until 3:15 AM, the extra 45 minutes wasn't that big of a deal.

4 AM email confirmation. I don't eff around.

I love Tripp's classes. It is impossible to attend one and not feel good for the rest of the day. Tripp is more than a cycling instructor; he is an inspiration. Tripp's the reason I started running 50Ks. I asked him one day if he thought I should sign up for the 25K or 50K trail race, and he was like, "Do the 50K. Believe in yourself." I trust him completely, so I signed up for the Greenbelt Trail 50K the next day. As we know, I've now run two 50Ks.

The title of this post is the mantra that Tripp shouts throughout class. It's so true that we all spend our days very disconnected from one another, but inside the studio cycling room walls, a group of strangers come together to create a force working towards a common goal. I've tried to find this same collective feeling in other spin classes and I haven't been able to find anything that comes close.

I find that I am able to work harder, pedal faster, and find strength I didn't think I had when I am in Tripp's classes. I turn into quite a beast, and I'm always proud of my workout. I never dial it in with him.

Tripp's an inspiration to a lot of his students. Today he told us about a lawyer who hadn't been to class in 2 years. He came up to Tripp recently and said how he had been inspired to leave his law firm and start his own because of Tripp's influence. That's pretty freaking awesome. I'm being completely honest when I say that something that sounds crazy or out of reach seems totally possible after spending time with Tripp. Your own law firm, running 34 miles... it's all in a day's work.

Tripp and me after class.

Being around Tripp makes me want to be a better person. Many times today I found myself getting annoyed or short-tempered, but I took a breath, thought about the kind of person I want to be, and was able to respond in a much more even-keeled and compassionate manner. When 26 people respond to a message that says, "Please do not respond to this message," it makes me want to shake them. Having the peace of mind to step back, and reply kindly is a big step for me.

Tripp also peppers his classes with current events, his take on the economy, and challenges you to think about what you hear and read. I hadn't given much thought to what will happen in three years when all of the people riding out the economic downturn in law school graduate. The demand for lawyers doesn't seem like it's going to escalate, and suddenly a large number of highly educated people will be unemployed and in debt. And somehow I missed that Russell Crowe attempted to kayak in Cold Spring Harbor, failed miserably, and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard.

If you have the opportunity to spin with Tripp, definitely take advantage of it. He really can change your life.

Rest, Running, & Relaxation

I didn't get home until 3:15 this morning and I wasn't even drinking. Sober September has been a success thus far. I made myself get up at 9:30, but there were no yoga classes being offered today at the Long Island Equinoxes. My body is too sore for another full body workout class.

After lounging and napping today, I went for a quick run around the block at about 6 PM. I realized I had forgotten all of my Brooks road sneakers in Manhattan so I was forced to wear a pair of Nikes that I don't care for much. The LunarGlides 2 are just too heavy and clunky. I feel like I'm wearing platforms.

I'm fully capable of sucking it up for a few miles. I listened to a mix I found on my iPhone called "I Respect You" filled with some songs that don't really show respect for anyone. Ohh, drunken playlist making. I'm sure I was pissed at someone when I made it.

I ran 4 miles. Feel pretty good about myself and this commitment to fitness. Just have to keep going for the rest of the month.*

*For the sake of full disclosure, Sober September Health Month might be ending on the 28th. The annual Cape Cod bender is that weekend and I'd like to participate.