barre

lately and lesson learned

August 4, 2014 by Kristy 9 Comments

It’s been awhile…almost 2 months to be exact.

The past 2 months have been a whirlwind. I’m going to do a seperate post on 50K training but first an update on life in general is needed.

I quit my job in early July to become a SAHM, running coach, and (former) barre instructor. More on that last part later. I was lucky to have 6 months of child care leave but I knew I wasn’t going back. I started RTLR Coaching 4 years ago with the goal of devoting more time to it once I had kids. And I loved staying home with Fiona more than I ever imagined.

In anticipation of leaving my job I decided to pursue any and every opportunity. Because adjusting to motherhood, coaching runners through a busy Fall racing season, and train for a 50K isn’t enough (this was an actual thought of mine). One of the opportunities that came up was a barre instructor position at a new studio. This was perfect – I loved barre and wanted to start teaching classes anyway. Win-win.

I started training back in April and teaching in June. What an eye-opening experience…and kudos to all you fitness instructors out there. A lot of work goes into an hour class (and a lot of work to make it look so seamless and easy). Between taking barre classes, prepping for classes, making playlists, and getting up to speed in general, I was in way over my head. WAY over my head.

The pressure to give 100% to everything was physically and mentally draining. There was so much I wanted to do with coaching but didn’t have the time. When I was with Fiona, I couldn’t turn off the to-do list in my head and just be present with her.

I finally admitted to Matt last week at dinner that I bit off more than I could chew and something needed to come off my plate. He agreed (to say I was an anxious basketcase at times is an understatement) and wondered when I was finally going to wave the white flag. The problem was that I truly enjoyed everything on my plate and, obviously, coaching and Fiona were non-negotiable.

Matt, always the voice of reason, reminded me of why I left my job in the first place: to stay at home with Fiona and grow my coaching business. Barre was taking time away from coaching and, to a much lesser extent, Fiona. It had to go. It killed me to give up such a wonderful opportunity that I loved. Had this opportunity popped up before Fiona was born or even when she was a bit older, the timing may have been better. So I slept on it, ran 20 miles on it, and then resigned. I do feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off of me but part of me is still sad about it.

unrelated but makes me laugh

Lesson learned? You can have it all but not at the same time.

snow love

January 27, 2013 by Kristy 13 Comments

Yes, snow love.

As much as I whine about running in the winter (and whine even more about running in the snow), Saturday’s long run changed my perspective a bit.

This week was abnormally cold. Bitter, biting, down-to-your-bones cold. Thankfully this isn’t the norm in Philly or I would have to relocate to San Francisco.

On Monday I took advantage of the “warm” weather and day off and knocked out 10 miles with Abby.

Tuesday through Thursday, I stayed indoors. I took 2 barre classes, did a quick run on the treadmill, and took a rest day. All strategically planned around the weather.

On Friday I braved the cold for 9 miles. It wasn’t so bad.

We got a few inches of snow on Friday night and I thought I may have to treadmill my way through 16 miles on Saturday. I can’t even fathom being on the treadmill that long (I don’t know how some of you do it…it’s impressive).

I hit the trails, Yaktrax in tow, and figured if the cold/snow/ice was really bad I could always finish the run on the treadmill (or call it day).

I was pleasantly surprised!! It was wonderful…definitely one of my top 10 long runs ever. I didn’t want it to end.

My version of playing in the snow.

It may not be the Marin Headlands, but I’ll take it.

Did you brave the cold this week and run outside? How did you stay warm? I wore my ski gloves with a pair of those cheap stretchy gloves underneath. As long as my hands are warm, I stay warm.

2 days

December 5, 2012 by Kristy 13 Comments

As per usual during race week, my productivity is at an all time low – except for Lysol wiping, hand sanitizing, and weather checking. I fully attribute my (heightened) germ neuroses for keeping me healthy. Matt is also feeling better too, so that helps.

As for weather, it’s looking rather unseasonable. Thankfully the race starts at 7AM and it doesn’t seem like the wind will be too bad. I’ll take it.

tank top and shorts weather!

Race goals? To run a sub-3:40. Same goal as I had for hotter-than-hell Boston this year. Simple and uncomplicated. Whatever the day brings I will try my best to go with it.

See ya on the other side folks!

PS – I need to pass along a message from my friends at Barre Focus Fitness. The grand opening celebration of their University City studio was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. Join them tomorrow night for 2 free classes! Details below…

WHAT: Barre Focus Fitness University City Grand Opening Celebration

Join the owners of BFF-UC for an official “Grand Opening” celebration! Complimentary classes offered at 6:30 & 7:45, accompanied by a champagne toast, yummy snacks provided by Pure Fare, and giveaways from local businesses

WHEN: Thursday, December 6^th, with FREE classes at 6:30 & 7:45

WHERE: Barre Focus Fitness University City
4145 Chestnut Street-2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA

Register at www.barreuniversitycity.com.

for the love of barre

October 26, 2012 by Kristy 16 Comments

UPDATE: Due to Hurricane Sandy, the Grand Opening class for Barre Focus Fitness University City has been moved to Thursday, November 1 at 6:00PM.

Before January of this year, I hardly ever strength trained. I just wanted to run and not be bothered with anything else. But as I started to build my mileage up and run more marathons, I knew strength training was important but still couldn’t bring myself to consistently do it.

The more miles we run, the more we need to strengthen our bodies to support the added mileage. You can only avoid strength training for so long. Sooner or later, those twinges can turn into injuries.

Fearful that my many years of back-to-back training cycles and added mileage would sideline me, strength training was a must. My #1 criteria? It MUST accompany marathon training and not take anything away from it. I didn’t want my marathon training to suffer because of strength training. Running will always come first.

This immediately took CrossFit off the list. I’m highly skeptical that anyone can consistently do CrossFit and effectively train for a marathon. CrossFit is too intense and marathon training is too intense. You’re asking for burnout and injury.

I tried barre because it seemed to be a perfect fit. Highly effective yet low impact. No squatting, lunging, or weights (except for 2-3 lb hand weights). I was sore enough the next day to know it was effective but not too sore to get a training run in.

I equate barre to a ridiculously hard yoga class. It doesn’t send your heart rate through the roof but your muscles are definitely working. There are many times in class I need to rest for a few seconds so my legs can stop shaking.

I was lucky enough to find a great studio – Barre Focus Fitness – with amazing instructors. I only plug the things I’m truly passionate about on my blog and Barre Focus Fitness is one of them.

While I frequent their Haverford location, I’m excited that Barre Focus Fitness is branching out into Philly! If you live in the Philly area and want to try barre or are looking for something new join them for a free grand opening class on Halloween!

Do you strength train? Like barre? How about CrossFit (am I opening a can of worms with this one…I’m personally sick of hearing about it)?!

Back to Reality

June 11, 2012 by Kristy 12 Comments

All good things must come to an end. This is true of vacation-palooza. Kauai, London, and Paris were all amazing in their own way. Kauai was active, scenic, and refreshing. London and Paris were about exploring, strolling, and marveling.

But now it’s back to normal life and checking back into it.

My body seemed to be revolting a bit on Sunday. Too many nights of drinking made my stomach churn. Too little water during the day (coupled with numerous beers at night) made my head ache from dehydration. I feel squishy too.

I’m making a conscious effort to eat better this week and stay away from this:

Evil (via)

Matt went to the grocery store in Paris to pick up wheat bread and PB so we could have a cheap and easy breakfast each morning. He came back with Speculoos; it was the only “PB” available other than Nutella. Oh my god was is delicious. We killed the entire jar in 4 days, mostly because of my compulsive need to eat spoonful after spoonful. Turns out this is available at Trader Joe’s (thanks to Jen for this finding)! I’m trying my best to not make a pit stop at TJ’s and pick up a few jars.

On Sunday I’m making a return to barre to take care of the squishy side effects of vacation-palooza. My last barre class was a few weeks before Boston and I miss it so much. Squishiness be gone!

I do feel really good about where my running is at the moment. I’m hoping to hit the mid-40s mileage-wise this week – nothing fast, just running whatever pace I want for that day.

Have you ever tried Speculoos or TJ’s Cookie Butter? It rivals PB & Co.’s White Chocolate Wonderful, which I affectionately refer to as crack. What would we do without PB or specialty butters?!

Recovery

April 26, 2012 by Kristy 11 Comments

Recovery from Boston can best be summed up in one word: humbling.

I have the whole recovery thing down to a system: no running 1 week post-marathon, ease back into running during week 2, increase mileage and maybe add some easy speed work during week 3, etc. Essentially…reverse my taper. This works for me.

Earlier this week, I set out to do a rather ambitious 8-miler. Keep in mind this was my first run post-Boston. Not sure why I wanted to do 8 miles but I guess I missed running?

8 miles turned into 6 miles with a walk break. My quads were screaming. Kinda like I went to barre class for 4 days in-a-row.

I know trashed quads are typical of the Boston course. But I never, ever thought my quads would be this beat up though. Why?

1. I trained adequately. After “experiencing” the course, I wouldn’t change a thing about my hill prep.

2. Umm, I certainly didn’t go out too fast in the beginning on the downhills. Hello, 89 degrees.

3. I was fine after running Steamtown, which was far worse in terms of downhills than Boston.

So what is it?! Time on feet. I haven’t ran a marathon in 4 hours 33 minutes since 2006. I certainly didn’t train to be on my feet that long. In fact, my 21-miler was my longest run and it lasted 3:04. That, coupled with the extreme conditions, is probably why I’m still feeling the effects of the marathon.

Humbling.

I’m happy to report that my quads felt much better this morning and I hope that trend will continue – very quickly – as we move towards the weekend.

I have Broad Street in a little over a week! I haven’t decided if I’m going to race it or run it as a tempo/progression run. I will all depend on how my quads feel next week.

Have a great weekend!