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My New Kicks: New Balance WT20’s

There is nothing like opening a fun package, regardless the hour!

005 This morning before I headed over to Equinox for my personal training session, I opened my fun surprise from Amazon! After reading Tina’s post about her new Cross Fit shoes, I discussed a shoe change with Lauren, my trainer. She has been stressing to me that my Brooks running shoes are for running, not the gym. The running shoe’s cushion makes for an unstable base which is risky when I’m doing compound movements with heavy weights. She promised that my investment would be worth it. In fact, she suggested a few different styles and said that I shouldn’t need to spend more than $49-$79, if I watched Amazon and found a style on sale.

I didn’t care about color since these are just going to be gym kicks and therefore jumped on these beauties when I saw them on sale last week for $59!

003 They are the exact same style Tina has been sporting at Cross Fit, just in a different color. These New Balance WT20’s, part of New Balance’s Minimus collection, are actually a lightweight trail running shoe which features a Vibram minimus sole and tight fitting upper. This combination allows me to have better balance when doing jumping movements and a strong base when doing work with heavy weights, making me feel more stable and secure when I push myself.

While I haven’t actually run in them yet, and may never, I am in love with these after just one training session! Here’s some of the footage my trainer captured of me doing today’s last workout, a combination modified burpee with reverse pullup/hang.

 

Do you wear running shoes to the gym?

As a side note, I’m working on my one year reflection on personal training and would love to incorporate answers to any questions you all may have. Therefore, leave any questions in the comment section today!

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Sunday Shakeout

 

After yesterday’s long run, I headed down to New Jersey for an afternoon lunch with my my lovely South Jersey family, including my cousin Meredith who is adorably pregnant.

I made it back to Penn Station by 6:45 to the sound of saxophonists and dancers, entertaining the tourists.

001 Instead of heading home, I hopped on the subway to Brooklyn, for this month’s dinner club. We’ve really enjoyed these monthly dinner dates with our friends. Each one is filled with lots of wine, delicious food, and laughter. Last night’s even included homemade yeast rolls which were amazing. I think, in fact, that I may have held it in my hand whispering sweet nothings to it.

002 003 005 006Even though it was a wonderful evening, I think we were all happy to call it a night at midnight. ‘

Over the past few weeks I’ve started enjoying sleeping in until my body wakes up on Sunday mornings. This morning I left the comforts of my crisp sheets at 10:30. Bo and I spent the day doing some Spring cleaning around the house including gathering and dropping off donations, reorganizing, and finishing some of the changes my friend Alison, our interior designer recommending last week.

010 One room done, two more to go!

By 3pm, after a very productive morning, we were ready to enjoy the fresh air for a leisurely shakeout run. A shakeout run is a way to shorten the duration of muscle soreness and help heal muscles after a long run our tough workout. It’s normally less than four miles and done at warm-up pace the whole time. After yesterday’s double digit run, enjoying a relaxing run with Bo through the city allowed us to get our muscles moving, release some of the toxin build up, and enjoy the amazing weather. Talking the entire time also helped keep our speed in check. If you can’t tell from the pictures below, it was an absolutely great way to spend some time together.

001 002 003005 006 007 Now we’re spending the rest of the evening watching Tower Heist and relaxing on the couch!

Question: What is your favorite way to recover after a tough workout?

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Running 10 Miles on The Treadmill

 

Bo and I had aggressive plans this morning.

  • Wake up by 6am
  • Run 6.3 miles to the center of Prospect Park, by way of the Manhattan Bridge
  • Run the 4 mile NYRR race in Prospect Park
  • Take the subway back to Manhattan in time for me to head to see my cousin in New Jersey

When the alarm went off at 5:55 this morning neither of us were ready to get up. Even though we’d gone to sleep at 10:30, we were still exhausted and our bodies were craving more sleep. Due to our busy work schedules we don’t have the opportunity to sleep in during the week and therefore feel it’s healthiest to listen to our bodies during the weekend.  It didn’t help that when our alarm went off we could already hear the howling wind that was blowing through Manhattan. When we saw that it was only 30 degrees, felt like 27, and the wind guests were 22 miles per hour, we decided to bag the race. Oh well, that’s $34 which will go to a good cause, by way of NYRR.

Instead, I woke up 2 hours later, ready to conquer ten miles on the treadmill. Don’t get me wrong. I love running outside in Manhattan each weekend but there are some things I only do if I’m running a race. Running in crazy, gusty wind is one of those things. Therefore, I enjoyed an open faced peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cup of coffee before heading to the gym.

imageSome people cringe at the thought of running even a few miles on the treadmill. Therefore, I figured I’d share with you all a few of my tips to making a long treadmill run bearable.

  1. Bring your own water bottle and ensure that you have a towel large enough to cover the treadmill screen.
  2. Dress for the gym, not outside. Today I really wished I was wearing shorts and a tank during my run instead of crop pants and a technical t-shirt. I was sweating bullets and the crowded gym was a bit more hot and humid than it is when it’s nice and empty.
  3. Bring your own water bottle and fuel so you can treat it like a race. I sipped water every two miles and enjoyed a few Honey Stingers at mile 6, similar to what I’d do during a race.
  4. If possible, position yourself in front of a television. Watching two episodes of Law & Order made the time fly by this morning. If your gym or home treadmill aren’t set up near a television, bring your favorite playlist and jam out.
  5. Switch it up! It seems more bearable to think of it in little parts. Therefore, I ran 4 miles on one treadmill, moved down three treadmills for the next 4 miles, and moved upstairs for the final 2 miles. I didn’t waste time during my treadmill swap either. This is a time to log the miles, not dilly dally around the gym.
  6. Rarely log long runs on the treadmill. This will keep it fresh and more like a unique situation than a dreadful habit. This is my first treadmill long run this training season and I think that made it far more tolerable.

image What are your tips for treadmill running or do you avoid it entirely?

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