Fitness Magazine Meet and Tweet

What a week!  Thursday was an amazing day in the life of this blogger.  I jumped on the express bus into the city as I usually do, but I didn't get off at my usual spot.  I skipped out on the 9-5 for the day and headed to the Mercedes Club on the west side.  It was the location of this year's Fitness Magazine Meet and Tweet.  A day of for like-minded bloggers to get together to network, listen to some lectures and score amazing swag from some great sponsors.  If you follow me on Twitter and saw a whole lot of #FitBlogNYC on Thursday, this is why.

Once I checked in, I got a great camelback water bottle.  It was a great score since I had completely forgotten to bring water.  It even has a filter in it so you can refill it on the go and not worry about looking for filtered water.  After a delicous mini muffin and some cold-pressed green juice, I was ready for our first session on looking good and healthy.  Sarah Lucero is a make up to the stars.  She is also a breast cancer survivor.  She had alor of great tips for us to share.

• Get 8-9 hours of sleep every night.
• Use a good moisturizer.
• Listen to your body.

Okay, okay, so I got two out of three down.  I swear I am working on the whole sleep more thing.  I do know how important it is to sleep, but everything else keeps getting in the way.

Other speakers included:

Dr. Jennifer Ashton, and obstetrician and author
Brett Hoebel, former Biggest Loser trainer
Rocco DiSpirito - who just made me hungry

Then, we broke for lunch and visits with sponsors.  I had heard that last year's sponosrs were great so I was excited to walk around and check them out.  Reebok was displaying a new line of bad ass workout gear and gave me a great pair of light training sneakers that I cannot wait to try out.  The great color scheme doesn't hurt either.

And because I always need more sneakers, Saucony also fitted me for a colorful pair of sneakers for those days when I want to be seen.

Some of the other sponsors were Athleta, Ford, and Smart Balance.

Fun at #FitBlogNYC

After lunch, I took a yoga class outside with Tara Stiles, owner of Strala Yoga.  It was a beautiful day to do yoga outside.  Well, except for the brightest, strongest sun beating on our mats.  Everytime you stepped back into a down dog, the mat would literally burn your feet.  It was like extreme yoga.  Still, Tara made it fun and even put her own sneakers on halfway through the class.

Literally HOT yoga

Honestly, the best part of the day for me was to hang out with some of my favorite bloggers.

Thanks to Fitness for the invite and the memories.  Hope to see you again next year.

xox
Jen

Wednesday Update

Happy Wednesday.  Hey, it's better than Monday.  Plus I got a double yolk in my hard boiled egg this morning.  Isn't that good luck?

It's midweek and so far I have managed to eat well.  I brought breakfast and lunch every day which saves calories and cash.  It really is about planning and staying on track.  I made oatmeal for the week and picked up enough produce to provide fresh, colorful lunches each day.

Eating better at dinnertime is a bit more tricky.  The routine has to adhere to hubby's schedule  which tends to change often.  This week we are both home by 6pm.  We have been trying to defrost a protein one day ahead and then marinate it for a day.  This way we can eat better and still have some flavor.

Workouts this week are light with the upcoming Brooklyn Half on Saturday.  It is apparently the second largest half marathon in the country.  There will be 24,999 runners along side me.  That is alot of people for any race.  Throw in heightened security following the Bostob bombings and I am doing things a bit different for this race.

• Coming early and lining up in my corral
• Strategically starting within Wave 2 with runners of similar pace
• Not checking a bag

The weather should be warm enough so waiting around will not be nearly as cold as the NJ start.  Also my sister's house is walking distance (or two train stops) from the finish so I should be just fine without a bag/extra clothes.

This has been my goal race for almost 6 months.  I have put in the work and the rest is just luck.  Either way, I got my PR in NJ last weekend, so I am a bit less anxious about it.  Although I do feel like I need to justify (to myself) that my 1:59:30 wasn't a fluke.  So, I am following my plan very close this week.

Monday: Rest and Foam Roll - Done
Tuesday: 4 miles with middle 2 at goal 9:00 pace - Done
Today: 3 easy miles with 4 (50 meter) strides (after work)
Thursday: LIGHT yoga
Friday: 2 miles easy

I have no idea what the strategy is for Saturday.  I will get that by Friday from Jess.  She has gotten me this far, so I'll do what she thinks will work.  Honestly, having someone push me has been the key.  As cliche as it sounds, you really do not know what you can do until you try.

Thanks Jess!

On a side note, today is pajama day at Mini Me's daycare.  Why does this practice not exist in the working world?  I would love pajama day!  I'd wear Wonder Woman underoos!

What jammies would you wear for pajama day at work?

xox
Jen

Mother's Day Unplugged

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmas, aunts, godmothers, etc.  I know that I am a day late, but I spent my weekend unplugged.  I opted to enjoy life fully and not worry about documenting it for a change.  I was also coaxed into it by the fact that wifi on a ship in the ocean is expensive.

My family and I were invited to join the inaugural sailing of the Norweign Cruise Breakaway.  It was given to all of the audience members of a Katie Couric Show that I attended which was full of "Sandy Moms."  In case you aren't familiar with the term, it means those of us whose lives were turned upside down by Hurricane Sandy.

We sailed out Friday afternoon and went about as far as Baltimore before turning around and heading back for a Sunday morning disembarkment.  It wasn't alot of time, but we made the most of it.  In addition to some delicious restaurants and celebrity sightings (SpongeBob and Patrick are celebs, right?), we even saw two shows.  Cirque De Soleil had a dinner and show which both us and the kids enjoyed.

Hubby and I also saw Rock of Ages.  The kids were in the Kids Club, which is the best invention ever.  It is a group of licensed child care experts who play with your kids while you get to have grown up fun for a while.  I will never again take a vacation that does not have a kids club.  As a matter of fact, I need a kids club in Staten Island so I can do the laundry my long run on the weekend. :)

Mini Me's first time playing mini golf

"Jogging" track for runners
on the upper deck of the ship

Photography by my kids

My friend, Heather and I (also a Sandy Mom)

Me and my little man

Fun Times

All in all, a great mini-vacation.  I am so grateful for the trip, but I definitely wish I was still on that ship heading to the Bahamas.  Then again, who doesn't?

Now that my birthday and mother's day have come and gone for another year, it's time to get back to basics.  This week's goals are eating well and getting ready for the Brooklyn Half Marathon on Saturday.  I have no idea what to expect after my PR last weekend in New Jersey.  That course was super flat and Brooklyn's course is anything but in the first half. I ran 10 miles FAST on Friday and now I have less than 10 miles total to run this week.  If you need me, you'll find me rocking and foam rolling.

xox
Jen