NEW Nike Training Club Class on Upper East Side

*Edited: This class is no longer available. Check out @NikeNYC on Twitter for their weekly classes! Signs ups start at 3pm on Sundays.

Let's be honest, outdoor workouts are tough to do in this frigid weather! I spent the summer going to NTC classes at Nike Town. They have faithfully continued offering their Monday 6:30pm class on the roof top, which is great if it's 35-40 degrees. 20 degrees? Now that's a tough sell. Thankfully, Nike has expanded its class offerings with a new night and new location:

What: Nike Training Club with trainer Will Arrufat
Where: UES Nike Running Store 1131 3rd Ave. New York, NY (3rd Ave. between 66th & 67th St.)
When: Thursday Nights at 7:30pm
Contact: Follow the UES Nike+ Run Club Facebook page or on Twitter @NikeNYC

What is the workout like? This is a fast paced, cardio/plyo type workout which utilizes your own body weight during a challenging workout. You can go at your own pace, but be prepared to get some serious pep from Will and other Nike team members who love to rally you to push harder! They also offer women's shoe trials and Nike Fuelband trials.They close the store and clear space for the class, so you don't have to worry about shoppers gawking at your amazing squat form! Best of all? It's free! So, a great trainer, challenging workout, the latest cross training shoe to try out, and it's free? What's not to love!

Verdict: YOU SHOULD TRY THIS WORKOUT! The class creates a great sense of community, especially when you pair it with a Nike running club (offered at the UES, Midtown and Flatiron stores). I saw great results this summer by combining NTC classes with running, so check it out!

How about you? Have you tried Nike Training Club? Do you have a favorite winter workout class that keeps you moving? What is your favorite cupcake flavor? (I'm in the mood for one...) TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Winter Weekend Workouts!

In case you live under a rock, we're in a polar vortex. 

 I WISH I could wear a snuggie. Every. Day. Via

It's so easy to stay snuggled inside, but I had some fun sweaty plans for this weekend! My Saturday plans included two workouts, both on the Upper West Side. Commuting to the UWS from Queens TWICE in one day means a pretty serious commitment to sweat!

My first workout was at Refine Method with the bump brigade! Abby got the idea to get a few of us expecting mums to break out our inner beast mode together at her favorite studio. I was SO pleasantly surprised by it! Refine Method combined weights, plyo and resistance to give you a total body workout in which you did.not.stop.moving. HELLO active recovery! The instructor, Brynn, was great; completely encouraging, checking in with me, and keeping the class motivated! I highly recommend this studio if you're looking for a challenging workout from which you walk out with a sweaty smile.

All smiles! We held it down in the class!

In order of due date: Ashley (2 months to go!), Abby, Jenna and myself are all due in the first three weeks of June!

My second workout of the day was a Nike Training Club workout at the Museum of Natural History. Say what?!?! That's right, I got to go work out with hundreds of ladies in an amazing historic location. It was incredible to walk in and see this grand open space, and we were going to do burpees in it! Thank you Nike for an amazing NTC workout and a fun evening!

 That whale was mammoth! 

 Hundreds of ladies in pink and white doing jumping jacks under a whale. A splendid evening.

My girl Nadia and I lost in the Natural History forest! My belly looks huge here. The pants make me look a lot bigger than I am, but they're elastic waist, so they work!

It was nice to get out of the house to break up the monotony of a VERY chilly week. Sunday my workout was trying on new Old Navy maternity clothes that arrived in the mail. Putting on and taking off pants is a serious workout people. Serious.

How about you? Did you brave the elements this weekend? Are you in hibernation mode? DID YOU RUN!? (If you did, you're brave/crazy/part polar bear) Tell me about it!

"You have an excuse..." NOT

Huge shocker: Life is a bit different while growing a little one. Exercise, free time, work life, everything is different. I'm starting to "feel" more pregnant, and with that comes some necessary changes. Even though there are necessary changes and adjustments happening, I feel like screaming from the rooftops: I AM NOT CRIPPLED.

You hear that Lambeau?! I'm not crippled! 

Even in my first trimester, I tried to stay active. Now that I'm in the full swing of my second trimester, I'm trying even harder to walk up the extra flight of stairs, not care if my car is parked far away from home or school, and push myself to get a workout in even if I'm tired. However, the majority of people (most of whom I work with God bless them) feel the need to coddle me with warnings like 
- Don't carry a heavy bag! (Which I need to do my job...)
- Take the elevator!
- Don't bend over! (?????)
- Eat all the candy you want!
- I'll take the paper downstairs, you sit and rest!

I pick up over sized $150 elephants. What.

I'm trying to find a balance when presented with these types of statements. I'm a fairly stubborn person, and have been known to create standing desks and do squats while grading tests because I spend significantly more time sitting during April-May. I understand my body needs rest, I understand I need to be careful when walking in the snow/ice (Thank you Beth for always looking out for me, you know how clumsy I am pregnant or not!), but gosh darn it, CAN I LIVE?! 

I had to work today...BOO! Extra slow walk to the train with extra yummy coffee! Not one slip Beth, not one. Be proud.

"You have an excuse: You're pregnant." I don't think there's a statement that rubs me the wrong way more than that one right now. That kind of excuse can lead to lethargy, which isn't good for me OR the baby. After being completely zapped of energy my first trimester and feeling defeated, I am SO thankful for the ability to work out. I am thankful that I've had a fairly easy pregnancy; I was a nanny for a family whose mom was on bed rest for months for each of her four children and it was the worst for her. I am cherishing my current ability to remain active because I know that this ability could change in a heartbeat.

We visited family in Hershey, PA this weekend...yea, there's no excuse there. When you go to Hershey, you eat chocolate.

I know my story will probably change. Have I been running as much as I would like? Absolutely not. Do I indulge in chocolate chip cookies on the regular right now? Yes...unfortunately that's been a current craving.  Did I have pizza for lunch this afternoon? ABSOLUTELY (Buffalo chicken pizza, and it was divine!). Will well meaning people stop trying to baby me? Probably not. I guess this will be an inner balance I will have to find. As Ashley wrote about the other day, people are all too free to share their feelings/opinions with pregnant friends/strangers, so I guess this will be my new mentality: 

Note: I do care what my doctor says, and he is very happy with my activity level.

How about you? Have you faced a lot of "babying" in your life? Do people love to comment on your exercise routines? Are you running in the polar vortex squared? TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Pregnant Runner Thoughts I

This could actually be titled "all the things you don't anticipate happening". I first had an inkling that I was pregnant (After a negative test) as I was running home on what would be my last runmute for a while. I got nauseous at around mile 3.5, and thought that it was post nasal drip nausea from my allergies. Obviously, I was wrong!

After that instance, my running resumed to normal. I wasn't running as fast or as often, but I was still getting my miles in. In fact, I had an amazing 8 mile run around 6 weeks and was over the moon! Nothing would change! I would run miles and miles during my pregnancy! Then, at 7 weeks, my body shut down. 

Insert hibernation.

I was not prepared for this. I wasn't prepared for falling asleep on the couch while my dinner plate sat barely finished in front of me. I wasn't prepared to be yawning by 11am at work, and having to deal with near-migraine status headaches every other day. But the biggest thing I wasn't prepared for? Missing out on my fitness community.

Clearly this is me.

Try as I might, I ended up missing out on things I enjoyed doing. I knew there would be changes, but I assumed that since my first 7 weeks were easy, nothing could stop me. Group runs, NTC workouts, all were too much effort for me. I also grew timid. I didn't want to reach out to friends and ask to run for fear of a) not being able to keep up and b) revealing why I couldn't keep up. 

Finally, around 14 weeks, I started a slow come back. It's been a long road. Something else I wasn't prepared for? How quickly my fitness has declined, in addition to the fitness repercussions of the baby growing (and being compared to different food items, thanks bump.com). As the baby gets bigger, and I gain more weight, even walking up one flight of stairs leaves me breathing heavy.

 

We're currently  in sweet potato country!

So, here I am at 18 weeks. I'm so happy to be running a mile or two at a time. Happy to be able to do 10 burpees...well, I may pause for a few seconds at 7 but I can do them! I'm happy to be able to meet with friends to run again. I'm happy to be going to NTC, and for a trainer who gives me adjustments when needed. I'm happy that my husband has been pushing me to get outside when I make excuses, because I remember the weeks where I couldn't move. I'm happy that my baby is active according to sonograms, growing stronger and stronger everyday. I'm happy that my physical activity now will prepare me for the duties of labor in June. 

Really, this is like being in training again. Building back up again. Preparing things. Getting ready. I'm excited for this time to have energy, and to not discount my "low performance", but rather embrace the changes. 

The huge mental shift as a pregnant runner? Embrace the changes. Shifting from being on a training schedule, being SO focused on fitness and weight; it's all fading away. I'll take the mental shift with the excitement that something beautiful will be born as a result of it.

How about you? Do you have a hard time "rebuilding" your fitness after significant time off? Did you work out through a pregnancy? Do you find it more difficult to work out post polar vortex hibernation? TELL ME ABOUT IT!

18 weeks update

I figured it was time to do a proper update. Time is flying, we're almost halfway there! It is now the beginning of my 18th week pregnant, and I don't have many complaints thus far. Here's what has been going on in pregnantville:

Energy level: HIGH. Compared to my first trimester, which was snoozeville, I have welcomed my second trimester with open arms! I am staying up past 8pm, which is huge!

Our Puerto Rico, why can't I live there?!

Exercise: I have been exercising! Mr. Miller and I have been attempting our own mile a day challenge, and we've made it five out of nine days...the darn cold has kept us indoors "for my safety". It's still hard to take the "You shouldn't do that" type of advice, but accept it I must! I also have been to one NTC workout, and I plan on attending this week as well! They're starting an additional class at the new Nike Running store on the UES at 7:30pm, so check it out this Thursday!

Our mile a day on the snow day last Friday! It wasn't so bad, and we walked when we needed to.

Eating: I'm definitely eating! I've noticed that my snacks aren't cutting it anymore, so I've had to pack extra stuff for work everyday. Seriously, it's likes a bring a grocery store to work! Oatmeal, clementines, a yogurt, lunch, carrots...that's just a day's packing for me. I'm also having a hard time saying no to the occassional cookie, chips, french fries or empanadas offered to me by coworkers...sheesh. I think I'm finally over my aversion to coffee, and there haven't been any other aversions that I can think of!

Blueberry and Gruyere stuffed french toast. Snow day breakfast of champions!

Weight gain: I wasn't going to post about this. I saw tons of other mothers posting about this, and now I feel okay about it. Honestly, it's been interesting transitioning from being a fitness/weight focused person to a person who is supposed to gain weight. More on that in the next paragraph. So, my weight thus far: 9lbs/11lbs. I have two weights: my home scale weight and my doctor's scale weight. I weighed myself when I found out I was pregnant, and have weighed myself on my home scale before each appointment. EVERY. TIME. It's been 2lbs off. So, both of these weights are my truth ;-)

This dress made me look a bit bigger than I was at the time...and I kind of liked that!

Mental status: I didn't realize what a HUGE shift pregnancy would be mentally. I feel like it's not talked about often, and none of my friends have mentioned this as a side effect. My huge mental shifts include how much I'm eating, giving in to cravings, clothes getting smaller and smaller, and my fitness level depleting. More on that in another post!

Gender prediction: Well, it's 50/50! Ha. My appointment is on 2/4/14, but I started panicking today. I had a regular appointment with my doctor, so I begged him to take a peek to see if there goods or no goods. Well, baby was NOT cooperating! He said he was 75/25 with his guess, but since it was a guess, we would talk after my 2/4 appointment. Insert emotional roller coaster! I'm trying to think of a fun giveaway for guesses. Stay tuned. 

Thank you for all the lovely comments. I've appreciated reading all the well wishes and happy thoughts!

How about you? Tell me the latest greatest in your life!

2014: Just Do It

2013 was a great year. It really was. Looking back on this past year, I have zero regrets. I had a great time, ran a lot, spent quality time with friends, and gradually changed my lifestyle to prepare for cooking a bun in the oven! 

Who doesn't love Lambeau Puppy in Christmas jammies!?

Last year's goals were a mixed bag. The ones I achieved, like organizing my clothes/closet (On 12/30/13...), love my husband more, read three helpful books, complain less, cross train, a half marathon PR (By 1 minute...sigh) and do more speed work (aka running with faster people) were all attained. Some goals left by the wayside, like travel somewhere foreign in April (I guess Puerto Rico TECHNICALLY counts), get new dressers, and run a race in CT didn't happen. So I guess 7/10 isn't so bad! 

This year, goals take on a different lens. Instead of gunning for PR's or organizing my closet, I'll be shifting to actually pounding the pavement regularly for as long as possible and getting our one bedroom apartment baby ready. Here are a few I hope to achieve:

Fitness: 
- Workout three times a week. Since I've begun my second trimester, I have had a lot of my energy return! Granted, I've also been on vacation for two week. Working out during the school week has become virtually impossible, so I hope to meet this goal and then some! Mr. Miller decided we should try to do a mile a day, so I'm excited to have a partner in crime for January!
- Stay as active as possible until June 16. We all know staying active will help with labor and recovery, so I hope to be moving to the very end.
- Run a fall half. I won't be gunning for a PR, but I will be coming back from birthing a baby! 

I think we have some unfinished business Ashley...she's having a baby too!!! YIPPEE!

Personal:
- Arrange our bedroom to comfortably fit a baby. Thankfully we have a long bedroom, so adding some furniture pieces (Such as a new bed with built in storage to eliminate some of our dressers) will even out the total space between our things and the baby's things!
- Meal plan. It's been hard not being able to rely on a last minute turkey sandwich for work, so I'm coming up with lunches I can make in bulk for the week.
- Birth a child. You know, that's got to happen one way or another, so easy victory.

This is the bed. The drawers on a Queen bed literally are the size of the Queen bed. Huge.

Professional:
- Make it as long as possible at work! Brooklyn Queens Day is June 5, so my hope is to make it till then and the rest is gravy! 

So there you have it, 2014. I've got my work cut out for me! Happy New Year Everyone!!! 

16 weeks pregnant and partying like it's 30 to 12 last night. 

How about you? What are your goals (Link in any posts for me to catch up on!)? Do you prefer not to make them? TELL ME ABOUT IT!