My Favorite London Spin Studio

Happy Thursday! Today is a bank holiday in Geneva, Jeûne genevois, a holiday which dates back to the 1500s and was once a time for fasting.

I flew back from London on the earliest flight so Bo and I could enjoy the day together. Or, I booked my flight without realizing that today was a holiday and thought I’d be going directly from the airport to the office. 

Charlie and Tom were kind enough to host me Monday through Wednesday night, even though I was in town for business. It made each morning and evening so much nicer being in the comfort of someone’s home versus a hotel. No time in London with Charlie would be complete without a few great workouts, including two separate spin classes and my final 800 repeat speed session!

Yesterday morning Edge Cycle, a new spin studio located in Central London, hosted us for one of their signature classes.  

IMG_2009[1]Cycle Pic 6

The studio staff was very welcoming and quickly oriented us to the space, including a tour of the locker rooms and the studio itself. The studio’s classes are 15 pounds for one class but also offers discounts through their packages. I love that everything is included in that price! Clip in shoes are included in the price as well as a great locker room. The locker room features showers, towels and REN toiletries, which makes it easy for riders to spin before work or a night out. The studio spin space was so fun, decorated with lots of bright lights to create a party atmosphere, perfect to wake anyone up bright and early. I can’t stand showing up to a studio and worrying if I have cash, pounds or francs to pay for all the extras. Keep it simple!

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As soon as we walked in the studio we noticed the mats on the ground next to each bike. Our class, Edge Cycle Bootcamp, combines 30 minutes of spin with 15 minutes of intense floor exercises using the mat and hand weights. The staff adjusted our bikes, helping to ensure we had the best experience possible, while also answering questions before the class. Did you know that you can use the trick below to figure out how much space should be between your seat and the handle bars?

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The class started promptly and our instructor, Belinda Shipman, instructed us that the goal of the class would be to push ourselves and give it all our effort. I think I gave Charlie an eye roll at this point as we both agreed ahead of time that we’d use the spin class to shake out our legs versus push ourselves. Little did we know that wouldn’t be possible in this class. I could tell that Belinda was the type instructor who would have her eye on everyone the entire class, pushing us and ensuring we were in the right positions. While she did ask whether anyone was new to spinning, she didn’t ask about injuries. Always make sure to proactively tell an instructor if you’re suffering from injuries.

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This class is the most efficient spin class I’ve ever taken. After a quick warm-up she quickly urged us to increase the intensity for sprints and intense climbs. They weren’t joking about the intensity! She told us not to be a clock watcher, which in turn made both Charlie and myself wonder why they have two very bright clocks at the front next to the instructor podium. We hopped off the bikes and hit the floor for a quick round of burpees, pushups, and compound exercises such as lunge curls and overhead triceps combined with squats. She would remind us that it was a short set and to give it full effort. Having a mother of 6 children who looks so fit lead the class is motivation in itself. I didn’t need much more to remind me that these moves, including the burpees, are beneficial for my marathon performance.

Cycle Pic 5

Our next 15 minute set on the bike included a crazy intense climb and a sprint which lasted more than four minutes. Our final floor set focused on abs including moves such as boat pose, twists and planks. For good measure, it ended in burpees because you know, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

So, would I go back if I was in London or would I buy a package if I was a local? Heck yes! I’ve been to three different spin studios in London and this is by far my favorite. The staff was so friendly and helpful, the class was efficient and worked more than just our heart and legs, and the space itself is bright and inspiring.

I am already excited to return to this class or try another one next month when I’m back in London. In addition, many of the instructors are triathletes and runners so they are going to feature duathlon training this winter! How cool is that? They feature more than 25 classes per week including evening classes, starting after 7pm!

Thank you Edge Cycle for the wonderful class and to Charlie for her brilliant photos.

Have you ever taken a spin class that includes more than spin? What’s your preference?

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Healthy Banana Bread Recipe

This weekend in London I had one request for Charlie before our time together came to an end.

“I want to cook and bake together!”

Charlie has the opportunity to spend most days in a kitchen, whether at work or home. I hoped that her passion and confidence in the kitchen would wear off on me after a few hours together. Luckily not only did her confidence rub off on me but I had a blast spending time in her kitchen laughing, learning and making both dinner and dessert together.

IMG_6887IMG_6868She will be sharing our dinner recipes over on her blog along with some great tips and tricks but tonight I have the pleasure of sharing this recipe – delicious, healthy banana bread! Deciding what we would bake was far easier than Charlie ever expected. I’ve read her blog for months now and have fallen in love with her recipes, many of which have included either bananas or berries. No smell in the world reminds me more of home and my mom than banana bread. We used to buy multiple bunches of bananas just so we always had brown ones ready for the loaf pan.

IMG_6866IMG_6870There are a few ingredients in this healthier version that my mom’s version never included:

  • 3 super ripe bananas- Always bake banana bread with extra ripe bananas. The riper the banana, the more sweet the bread!
  • AgaveA great alternative sweetener, agave is lower in glycemic index and is less refined than sugar.  We only needed to use a small amount in the recipe due to the bananas’ sweetness.
  • Spelt flour – Spelt is a whole grain so it is a great alternative to all purpose flour. While we didn’t fully substitute the all purpose flour for spelt we were able to make the recipe healthier by going half and half. 
  • Greek style yogurt – Yogurt provides added protein and serves as a healthy fat so you can use less oil.
  • Blueberries – Fresh and perfectly in season the berries added a hint of tartness to the bread and gave it a new tastes. It’s also a perfect way to use berries when you buy one too many pints on sale at the market!

The finished loaf was so moist and dense that we were able to cut 12 wonderful slices, perfect to enjoy anytime! I had a slice with coffee on my flight from London to Geneva Monday morning and both Charlie and I have both loved snacking on the fresh banana bread with a cup of tea at work.

healthier blueberry banana bread

Blueberry Banana Bread

Ingredients:  (yields one loaf)

  • 2/3 cups spelt flour
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 large ripe bananas
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3-4 tablespoons agave
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine flours, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mash bananas with a fork until they are fully mashed together. Add oil, agave, vanilla, eggs, and yogurt to the banana mixture and whisk well, until no lumps. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl, folding until thoroughly combined. Fold blueberries into batter gently. Pour batter into a greased or lined loaf pan.  Bake in the oven for one hour or until a toothpick passes the test, aka comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool before removing from pan and slicing. Cut individual slices for perfect pre-portioned breakfast or office snacks!

IMG_6905IMG_6932What’s your favorite baked good memory from growing up? Mine is definitely my mom’s banana bread!

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The Color Run London Recap

Yesterday I finally participated in my first Color Run – The Color Run UK: London!

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Leah, Laureen, Jessica, me and Charlie 

Before we get into the details of yesterday’s experience, let’s take a step back to talk about the fact that The Color Run movement is only 2 years old. I can’t believe they are taking place in so many cities across the world after just starting back in January 2012. According to Wikipedia, Travis Snyder started The Color Run as a way to encourage people of all abilities to run together for fun. The color portion was inspired by the Indian festival, Holi, and Disney’s World of Color.

Now that we have that little bit of history behind us, let’s get back to yesterday’s event – the London Color Run. Charlie and I hopped on the tube, or shall I say multiple different tubes, about 1.5 hours before the start as we knew it would take us at least an hour to get out to Wembley Stadium, where The Color Run was taking place. We had decent luck with our transfers and arrived with time to spare and were able to easily meet the other ladies who waited for us in the tub station. Leah even had fun orange tutus for us to wear during the race, leftover from another running event! The tutus added an extra hint of fun to our costume and helped us keep track of each other in the crowd.

 

Like many other 18,000 people who ran yesterday, we opted to wear the gear that we received with our bib including a t-shirt which Charlie and I both cut to make a bit smaller since the sizing ran large and our sweat bands. Since I wasn’t sure whether the color would wash out of my clothes I wore shoes, socks, shorts and a bra which could be thrown out afterwards if necessary. In the end, I only ended up throwing out the shoes as the color came out of everything else in the wash.

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Since the sun was shining and the weather was perfect, we decided to follow the signs towards the starting corrals in hopes of getting a spot in the front. During the race they only let a certain number of runners go at a time so if you want to get done quickly I recommend getting there early and moving as far towards the front of the crowd as possible. We were able to see the starting line from our spot which meant we were able to start in the first group yesterday versus some of the other people who were still waiting to start WHEN WE WERE FINISHING!

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The event itself was supposed to start at 3pm but we didn’t cross the starting line until 3:15. Instead of having tons of fun, loud music in the starting area they had one very loud emcee who was randomly shouting at the crowd and throwing out The Color Run gear. While I know his goal was to get people pumped I think an awesome DJ would have been a better option and more fun overall. Hopefully they can add this for next year. Dancing in the starting area, similar to the way we did before the La Genevoise 5k would have been a blast!

When we crossed the start line at 3:15 we had one goal in mind – have fun! The five of us decided to stick together and run in between each of the five color stations which were spaced approximately 1k apart throughout the course. Each color station featured 10-15 volunteers who were throwing handfulls of dyed corn starch at us as we passed. The orange one seemed to be the longest while the blue volunteers seemed the most aggressive with their color handfulls! My personal favorite was yellow!

PINK2014-06-02 15.29.25IMG_7384BLUE

IMG_73872014-06-02 15.17.11YELLOW

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ORANGE

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As we ran down the finishers area we had a great time giving all the kids who were spectating huge high fives!

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As you can tell from the pictures we took in the parking lot after finishing, each person was covered in a different level of color based on whether they ran straight through, ran the edges or sprinted through.

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We were all SO THANKFUL we wore cheap sunglasses as they were covered after the race. Charlie let me borrow a pair of her fake Ray-Bans which worked perfectly even though by the end we were having to use our fingers as windshield wipers in order to see out of our glasses while running!

There was a party going on in the parking lot complete with music, the same emcee dude and lots of powder being thrown all over. Since we knew we had another hour long trip back home in front of us are group opted to participate in one burst of color powder fun before using the bathroom and heading to the tube station.

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In case you’re thinking about running a Color Run in your city, here are a few things to consider:

1) Why are you running it? If the answer is as a PR then this isn’t the best race. Most color runs aren’t timed and it’s tough to run fast on a course with obstacles as fun as color explosions.

2) Make sure to wear shoes, sunglasses, and clothing which can be thrown away afterwards in case the color doesn’t come out. You may also want to leave nice jewelry at home so you don’t risk ruining it.

3) Get there early if you want to start in the first wave as most color runs have a wave start system. If you can’t get there early then get there late so you don’t have to wait around in the crowds for an hour.

4) This type of event is enjoyed far more with friends than solo. Grab a few friends and make an afternoon or morning of it, enjoying frozen yogurt or brunch afterwards!

5) If your Color Run doesn’t have back check, you can run with a backpack that is covered in a trash bag. We saw a number of people doing this on the course and it seemed to work well!

6) If you have room, you may want to a change of clothes or wet wipes or face cloths to wipe the color off you post race and a towel or trash bag to sit on if you’re driving your car home.

7) You can protect your phone, keys, tube pass and other important things by putting them in a Ziplock bag and carrying it in your hand during the race. My bag was COVERED in powder after the race but everything inside was safe and sound!

Are you a Color Run fan or do you think at $30-$40 per person they are too expensive?

Thank you to Leah and Charlie who shared their hilarious and colorful pictures with me for this post along with Living Social UK and The Color Run London for the complimentary bib.

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