A runless week

You know how you make plans for things and hope that they'll happen and then...well, sometimes they just don't? That's sort of the summary of my week this week. I'd planned on going to RIP Ride on Tuesday, but a nasty migraine sidelined me and put me to bed nice and early. I'd planned on running a couple times this week, and, as you can probably guess, that didn't happen either. And I'd also made plans with my friend Katie to go see Frozen today (Idina Menzel two weekends in a row? Yes please!) - but it was completely sold out at BOTH theaters we tried. Alas, some things are just not meant to be.

This week's plan was...
Monday: OFF/light yoga - CHECK! Took the day off
Tuesday: RIP Ride at Revolve A mean migraine had other plans for me... 
Wednesday: Run Felt a bit better and did an at-home strength/cardio workout - did the 7-minute workout and Sworkit to get me through!
Thursday: Signature FHIX at Fhitting Room Had to cancel because we went to see Catching Fire after work! SO GOOD.
Friday: Run Did an Uplift Strength class in the morning - it was awesome! 
Saturday: Full body workout at Barry's Bootcamp - then multiple holiday parties! - CHECK and check! Hardcore workout and hardcore wine drinking BOTH occurred!
Sunday: Volunteering at the Girls On The Run 5k and hopefully getting a run in myself! - Volunteering gets a check but the run does not...unless drinking hot chocolate while walking around the Union Square holiday market counts? No?

Ah well. I'll run this week (no, really, because marathon training starts Dec. 16 and I don't want to start from scratch!). 

This week I returned to Uplift after a few months away. I didn't LOVE it the first time I went - it was a good workout, I got sweaty, and I really enjoyed their Malin & Goetz shower products and free Nespresso, but I just wasn't that into it. This week I decided to give it another shot, and I'm glad I did! I wore my heart rate monitor and found out that the 55 minute class torched 452 calories!!! WHOA. I mean, that's a lot of calories. AND! I was sore the next day! And the day after that! I also feel like I "get" it now. 

When I went in September, I was a hardcore Refiner - I had been going for a long time, and understood the rhythm of the class, knew what to expect from each class (except for how many times we'd have to do jumpbacks in one class), and was pretty comfortable with how it worked. Uplift does things differently, and that was hard for me to get at the time. Now that I've been using the Classtivity ClassPass, I've experienced lots of different classes, which I think has made me more open to how other classes are run, and how they work, not to mention WHY they work. I think it's important to understand what the class's goal is, how it's going to help you accomplish that goal, and what you need to do to get the most out of the class. I don't think that many fitness studios do a good job at explaining this to newcomers, though on the websites of most, they do explain.

I can't say I fully understand Uplift's ways, but having been to the class a couple of times now, I'm starting to get the hang of it. I hope I can keep improving in it and get the most out of every class!

The other superstar class I had this week was at Barry's Bootcamp (surprise, surprise). Though I've only been to a few classes, I can comfortably admit that I'm addicted to Barry's ways. I have now been to three classes, two with Noah Neiman, who is great. But this week I couldn't go to a Sunday class as I'd been doing, since I had the GOTR 5k, so I had to go to Saturday instead. I signed up with Courtney Paul, having heard the name before and thinking it's good to change it up, try other instructors. I also thought Courtney was a woman and figured it'd be interesting to see a woman's approach to instructing the class. Welp...I was wrong. HE is a seriously kickass instructor. He just seemed so on top of everything - he knew exactly when it was time to do the next interval, knew exactly what to say to push us, and brought an enthusiasm into the class that was totally infectious. I LOVED it, and I'll be back for Courtney again soon. (By the way...this class? I burned 555 calories in an hour. CRAZY.)

The treadmill intervals were really fun this week, too. I managed to get up to 9.7 mph for 20 seconds of the last 30-second sprint, bringing it up to 10.0 for the last 10 seconds! WOO! It was awesome. I felt AMAZING at the end of the class, and loved every second of it. I also started on the floor for the first time, and I have to say, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. I still prefer starting on the treadmill, but what can ya do when there are rabid Barry's fans gunning for the treadmills? (OK, I'm one of the rabid Barry's fans, too...)

I also had a great time volunteering at the Girls On The Run 5k this morning! Though it was freezing (no really, it was 31 degrees), I had such a good time with this amazing organization. It was SO FUN to see the girls' faces light up as we cheered for them, and I loved seeing them pick up the pace and give us all high fives as they went by. I hope I can get more involved in the organization!

The last thing I want to address is this runless week thing...I have to say, I am not happy about this being a run-free week. But some things that were out of my control happened, and some things (like bonding with coworkers over Catching Fire!) needed to happen. I just know that when it comes time for marathon training, and chasing my PR, and making Paris totally worth it (though really, Paris is always worth it) I'm going to have to make choices. Some of those choices might not involve me making the "fun" choice, and might (ha - WILL) instead involve getting up early for hill repeats in the frigid cold, and I'm going to have to do it because I want to PR, I want to run an amazing race, and I want to improve. Luckily the boyfriend is ready to help me go fast, and I might get a coach (biiig might, coaches ain't cheap!) to help, too. But I will have to rely mostly on MYSELF to make these things happen - no one is going to run that race for me, and I wouldn't want them to! I am going to take on the streets of Paris (and afterward, the wines, cheeses, breads, and pains au chocolat of Paris) having given my all in training.

See you again soon, favorite city in the world!
(Taken when I studied abroad in Paris seven years ago)

With that, here's the plan for the last week before marathon training begins!

Monday: Run
Tuesday: RIP Ride
Wednesday: Run
Thursday: Signature FHIX at Fhitting Room
Friday: Uplift Strength
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: Full Body at Barry's Bootcamp

Let's do this thing!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos...I didn't take any this week!