Joining the Wolf Pack

Who remembers that great scene in The Hangover when Alan preaches to the other guys about the power of the Wolf Pack and becoming a part of a group.


“You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack… it grew by one. So there… there were two of us in the wolf pack… I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, “Wait a second, could it be?” And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!

Tonight, Bo and I had the great opportunity to feel like we were part of the running wolf pack. We’ve never been part of a weekly running club together due to two barriers: time prioritization and intimidation.

After my experience with the Bryn Mawr running club i’ve been hesitant to join anything more than the NYRR. While the people at the BMRC were all very nice, they didn’t have formal workouts or pace groups. Therefore, I was often running alone as most of their regulars were seasoned runners training for races such as Boston or New York and keeping a pace of less than 8 minute miles. This left me feeling intimidated and dissapointed in my running ability as I would always compare myself to those around me.


Once we moved to NYC, a running club was never a priority for us because we didn’t realize the power of the pack. We figured that it’d just be an inefficient way of getting our workout in and end up wasting our time. But, running with a group is EXACTLY the opposite as we both found out tonight. The East Side Lululemon (66th and 3rd) and West Side (Lincoln Center) stores sponsor a weekly Wednesday night running group Spring through the Fall in Central Park. Some of the benefits we discovered were as follows:


-A coached run with leaders for each pace group (7-8, 8-9, 9-10, and 10 plus minute miles) ensures that you’re running with people of your caliber and won’t feel out of place.
-Running with other people who are sometimes faster helps you to push yourself and realize your true potential. Tonight I kept a 9:30 pace for the first mile and Bo found himself keeping a 7:15 at one point!
-A coached run provides an established workout plan so you are forced to focus on intervals, speed work, or other often avoided forms of training. Tonight’s workout was 2-3 laps of the lower loop in the park. The first lap we were focusing on speed and power as we went up the hills and then recovered during the downhill portions. The second lap we focused on speed during the flat and changing our stride on the hills while using them for a recovery. Including hill workouts and speed fartleks in my weekly training should really help me improve my half marathon time!
-Everyone was so friendly and high off the positive endorphins! The people are inspiring as many of them are passionate about the sport of running whether they are Iron Women, Iron Men, triathaletes, or a beginner runner who is enjoying their first endorphine high post run. I even ran into an old friend from UGA who I hadn’t seen in 3 years and a fellow blogger- Jesse from Jesse Runs the City!!
-The run leaders ensured that everyone had finished and returned before they headed back to the stores. They wanted to make sure no one was left behind in the dark.



So, as you can see from the above, Bo and I absolutely loved our experience tonight and would recommend a local Lululemon running club to everyone! You can go to your local Lululemon store site to find out more about their community events. Most stores offer a running group once a week and a yoga class once a week free of charge.


**DON’T FORGET TO ENTER MY GALAXY GRANOLA GIVEAWAY HERE!

Share Button
Follow:
Share:
Comments Off on Joining the Wolf Pack

A New Galaxy of Granola Finally Discovered Giveaway

Like many people, I have steered clear of granola over the past few years during my weight loss journey. It is calorie dense, often laden with added sugars, the portion size is often very small, and it is baked in oil. Therefore, i’ve avoided sampling the many new granolas currently on the market as I knew that limiting my portion and enjoyment would be difficult. I definitely believed that ignorance was bliss.
That was until I discovered Galaxy Granola. I really don’t know why it took so long for someone to invent a granola that isn’t baked in oil which therefore results in healthier granola. When I opened the box they sent me I was greeted with the statment, “2 fresh, tasty apples in every bag!” I was curious how this related to the granola until I read more. The statement has to do with the method Galaxy uses to cook the granola. Their granola is baked in apple sauce instead of oil which results in 70% less fat than over 100 other granolas! Kevin, Tristan, Luke, and Melissa, the gang at Galaxy Granola are all passionate about tasty and nutritious food. Their products boast the following characteristics which quickly make any other granola jealous!
Galaxy Granola’s amazing flavors prove that oats and granola don’t need fat to taste good. Nor do they need a laundry list of ingredients that you can’t pronounce. Each flavor features a short list of 10-12 quality ingredients like apples, barley flakes, whole rolled oats, and wildflower honey. They offer four delicious flavors: Not Sweet Vanilla, Vanilla Almond, Cranberry Orange, and Raspberry.  Tristan sent me a sample of Vanilla Almond, Cranberry Orange, and Not Sweet Vanilla. All three feature less than 120 calories per 1/4 cup serving, 4 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of protein.
Cranberry Orange: Yum!!! I have a huge sweet spot for fruit mix ins and this one hits it home. Amongst the toasted granola are chewy cranberries and spelt flakes. This flavor is definitely my favorite! The orange peel flavor and raspberries add more flavor depth and tartness than the average sweet granola. The cranberry orange flavor is perfect alone as the flavor is strong enough on it’s own.
Not Sweet Vanilla: I don’t exactly understand the name of this granola as I thought it was still quite sweet. It tastes very natural and has a light vanilla and nut flavor. This flavor doesn’t feature as many mix-ins as the others but does include fun lil cereal puffs with the granola.
Vanilla Almond: This flavor has lots of crunch and each bite includes glazed almonds and scrumptious toasted granola bits. It is the sweetes of the three flavors. This one is definitely the “most like other granolas” due to the strong flavor and sweetness.

Be sure to check out their blog for more information. In addition, Galaxy Granola is available at many different retailers all of which can be located on their site. Now, here is the exciting part. I love this granola so much that i’m willing to give away a bag on the blog. You may enter in the following ways:
1 entry – Visit the Galaxy Granola website and tell me what your favorite flavor to try would be (mandatory)!
1 entry – Twitter about this giveaway with link-back to the post and @healthyhappierbear

1 entry – Either add me to your google reader/blogroll OR blog about my giveaway in your next post!!
Be sure to comment letting me know that you did each of these. I’ll announce the winner this Friday! Thanks Galaxy Granola for a fabulous sample and product. I’m obsessed and won’t be going back to another granola anytime soon.


Share Button
Follow:

Barbounia Restaurant: Gramercy Chic Greek

Apartment hunting works up an appetite, especially when it is preceeded by an 11 mile run. In between two broker meetings on Saturday Bo and I only had an hour to find lunch and knew we wanted a restaurant where we could relax and have space to review the apartments we had seen throughout the morning. We were in the Gramercy area and quickly headed towards Park Avenue as we figured this large avenue would provide the most options. Cosi is always a reliable chain but we weren’t in the mood for a chain, Sushi Samba and City Crab weren’t serving lunch, and the 24 hour diner was jammed pack.

That left us with Barbounia, a large restaurant we spotted across the street. We could tell it was open as there was a large sign out front and the door was propped open welcoming newcomers. As we approached we realized the sign was an advertisement for their brunch special: add $12 to your brunch and enjoy all you can drink champagne, belllinis, and mimosas. While this is definitely a good deal, unfortunately Bo and I knew we couldn’t enjoy the special due to our afternoon broker meetings.

Upon entering Barbounia, we were both amazed with the atmosphere. The space is quite large and airy, displying an open kitchen in the back, fun whimsical throw pillows along the side tables which all in all bring back visions of Aladin and Arabian Nights. The lavish warm gold and yellow tones are inviting and welcoming against the ornate decorations which channel the restaurants Mediterannean and Turkish roots. We were quickly greeted by a friendly hostess who was able to seat us promptly. Luckily the restaurant was only half full when we arrived though the bar area was alive with friends recapping Friday night’s events and girlfriends meeting for lunch. The seating was well spaced during lunch and we had ample room on either side which is a refreshing change from most New York City restaurants. The menu, while only one page, featured Mediterannean fare spanning from fallafel, hummus, eggs, and the classic greek salad. Bo quickly chose the Falafel sandwich (tahini, chopped salad, and zhoug) while I chose the Classic Greek which featured Classic greek romaine, tomato, cucumber, black olives, feta, and za’atar. I knew that a mere salad wouldn’t satiate my post long run hunger so I added grilled shrimp for some added protein. Upon our waitress’ suggestion we also ordered an the hummus tapas.

The hummus tapa came out quickly and looked absolutely decadent. The hummus did not come out with warm pita but instead a warm salt and rosemary encrusted doughy loaf of bread. The hummus had a light garlic and lemon flavor though the true winner was the bread. The doughy texture and warm salt was just what we were both craving. It was clear that this is one of their most popular menu items as every table around us was enjoying the same appetizer. I caught a glance of the eggplant tapas and regretted not choosing that instead as I bet the flavor would have been even better. Oh well!

Our main courses came out a few minutes later and were presented beautifully. Bo’s fallafel sandwhich was in fact a gyro and the warm hummus and tahini was oozing out the end. The flavor complex was spot on while the crunchy greek inspired vegetables (tomato, cucumbers, lettuce) balanced out the richness of the tahini and fallafel. In one word, Bo described it as a delicious vegetarian lunch. In fact, he was very proud of the fact that he ordered a vegetarian entree as he is trying to be more open to enjoying vegetarian meals instead of dwelling on their lack of meat. My salad blew my expectations away. I had prepared myself for a typical greek salad with bits of feta, chopped cucumbers, and way too much olive oil. But, intsead I was delighted and overwhelmed with the large triangles of feta, the jumbo shrimp, and the flavorful herbs. I was glad that I requested they serve the dressing on the side as it was far more oil than herbs and vinegar. However, when used in small amounts it was a perfect addition.

Overall, Barbounia was a perfectly chic brunch spot which we will hopefully enjoy again soon one evening with friends. I can only imagine what the space would be like at night with the energy of a Saturday night crowd and their creative drinks.

In addition to Barbounia, some of our other Greek recommendations in NYC are as follows:
Avra

141 Est 48th Street,            212-759-8550

Tends to be a bit pricey but this is a perfect restuarant to go when entertaining clients, enjoying a corportate meal, or celebrating.

Pylos

128 E. 7th St, west of Avenue A/212-473-0220

It’s lasted in the East Village for over six years. That in itself makes it a success!

Thalassa

179 Franklin St/between Greenwich & Hudson/212-941-7661

They have 5,000 bottles in their wine cellar, need we say more?

Share Button
Follow: