Chicago Shenanigans

I'm getting pretty good at these once a week updates. I think I need to step it up.

This past week was super busy, but also so much fun! From Thursday to Sunday I was in Chicago for a girlfriend's bachelorette party. I (1) love Chicago, and (2) was happy to check out the city I'll be running my next marathon in! This bachelorette included another bride and girls who are into fitness, so we definitely got our share of exercise plus fun. I was the first girl to get there, and thanks to classpass I took a 9:15am core fusion advanced class at Exhale Chicago. (But not before stopping at Glazed and Infused for a classic donut and coffee). The class really kicked my butt, but what I loved the most was being able to shower after my flight and relax in the spa-like locker rooms before meeting up with the girls.

First stop.

Making my most of my trip to Exhale.

The bride is a HUGE FlyWheel fan, so we took a class on Saturday at 9:45am. I was SO hungover and shaky, but I managed a PR of 267. I am determined to break 300! The bride won the class (as usual) and shared that her recent PR is 401. She's unbelievable!!! We had a great time walking around the city, checking out rooftop bars, and just dancing with the girls. I have had so much fun with these bachelorette parties and they are just beginning. I love that brides can include their love for fitness and fun in their special weekends.

The girls at The Bean.

The Bean. The bride is behind me in the red top and white skirt.

The girls all wore black and the bride wore white and blue because her wedding has a nautical theme.

Finally - a healthy Cinco de Mayo treat. Huevos Rancheros and a Skinny Margarita. CM and I have been using Flatout wraps to make flatbreads. We took that same idea to make huevos rancheros for Cinco de Mayo. We cooked the wrap on 350 for 2 minutes (1 minute each side) on a cooling rack. Then we removed the wrap from the oven and covered with black beans and mozzarella cheese. We cooked the flat bread for another 5 minutes until the cheese was melted. While those were cooking CM fried up some eggs over easy and I sliced up and avocado. We topped the cook flatbreads with avocado, salsa, and the cooked eggs. So good. I found a recipe for 3 ingredient skinny margs on Happy Food Healthy Life. A great way to celebrate 5/5!

RyGirl obviously wants in.

Big Decisions

So remember that post I put up a few days ago about my alcohol inspired (and Boston Marathon inspired) Chicago Marathon lottery entry. Well, I got accepted! (Gulp).

Now comes the big decision - do I commit to the race?! I have to be honesty I'm about 80%/20% yes right now. I found out 2 of my other girlfriends were also selected to run, plus CM and I have been dying to plan a trip out there for some time now. Looks like I'll be doing more than just bachelorette partying in Chicago this weekend - I'll be scoping out my next marathon route!

This was last night's dinner. I made a delicious baked salmon brushed with dijon mustard and olive oil, baked asparagus, and I followed Pink's Pantry recipe here for the awesome acorn squash fries! Super easy and so satisfying!

Monday morning's class pass brought me to Lifted a relatively new local gym. I took the Group Strength class which consisted of high intensity interval training with weights. I enjoyed learning new weight training exercise and getting a good sweat. Plus, Mo always plays great music to keep you motivated. 

Saturday South End Sweat and Stroll

I had a very full weekend of fitness, food, and fun. It started with a class at Burn Fitness Studios in the South End. I took the Circuit Row Burn, description directly from the website below. It was a HIIT (high intensity interval training) class with rowing as the primary cardio segment. I have never taken a rowing class, and I loved the unique setup. The studio was pretty chic, too.

Circuit Row BURN

This total body circuit challenge combines different workout stations to inspire a results-driven, maximum effort. It is extreme cross-training at its best with Indo-rowers, functional exercises, and a whole bunch of other fun fitness toys in a team-oriented class that will challenge and transform your whole body.​

Next I had brunch at one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood, Local 149. I had the lobster mcmuffin, and a bloody mary. Delicious. CM & I ran some errands, next, and rounded out the afternoon at a barbecue to celebrate a friend who completed the Boston Marathon last week. I bought her this great bottle of wine as a gift. Each comes with a personalized oyster shell, and for every bottle sold 100 wild oysters are restored. 

Next CM and I attended Purple Party 2015 for the Boredom Buster's Charity. This annual event and others like it help to raise money to help provide hospitals with entertainment for children in long term care. Read more about the charity here.

Finally, one of my favorite parts of Saturday was waking up to this face. This is a before and after of her every-six-month transformation from shaggy to chic. How cute is she?!

Before:

After:

#MCM Marathon Crush Monday

This past Monday was the 119th Boston Marathon. I can honestly say that in my five years of living in Boston Marathon Monday is always one of my favorite days of the year. I love the spirit of the city on Marathon Monday. It feels like everyone is out to help and support each other, from the marathon runners and volunteers on the sidelines to people sharing pints at the bar. It's an amazing day.

Every year that I don't run the marathon (three years since I moved to Boston, and this year included) I get serious FOMO. I got such a case of FOMO this year that I signed up for the Chicago Marathon Lottery on a whim. (Whoops! You may be getting a lot of Marathon Motivation posts if I'm accepted - stay tuned!)

This year my friend JE ran the marathon for Cradles to Crayons, and this post is dedicated to her. She's my #MarathonCrushMonday. (See what I did there?) You might remember I posted a little bit about JE's training here. I am so proud of my little friend. She is admittedly not a runner, but trained through one of the hardest training seasons in history to be prepared for this day. Not only was it one of the hardest training seasons in history, marathon Monday was a cold, rainy, WINDY day. (Mother Nature, couldnt you cut them a break). Despite the hardship, JE never stopped smiling. Some of our friends met up with her from miles 17-25, and each of them said she was soaked, soggy, and smiling ear to ear the entire time! She raised over $10,000 for her charity, and earned every mile of that race. JE I hope Boston now has a very special place in your heart! It's such an incredible accomplishment!

I love this super sweet picture of JE hugging her dad. He's tearing up. He was so proud!

So as I mentioned I get serious Marathon FOMO, so I decided to do a Barry's Bootcamp workout on Monday morning. It was an Arms and Abs class, and for those of you who know Barry's, this was a "dirty thirty" class. You essentially spend 30 minutes on the treadmill and 30 mins on the floor without breaks - Killer! What I loved about this class is that the instructor modeled the tread workout after the marathon - 26 minutes, where every minute mimicked a mile of the marathon in incline and speed. It was such a cool way to celebrate the iconic day, and it really kicked my butt!


For breakfast I came back and had a delicious new shake I concocted. The Marathon Macaroon. (Are we seeing a theme here?) This shake sort of happened by accident when I added almond extract on a whim.

Marathon Macaroon

1 scoop vanilla protein

2 cups cold (cool-ish) coffee

5 ice cubes

A tsp of almond extract

CrossFit Virgin

I lost my virginity this morning.

(Get your minds out of the gutter).

My CrossFit virginity, that is! Thanks to ClassPass I was able to try CrossFit Southie for the first time. It was great! I took a bootcamp class at 6am this morning. The class started with an extensive warmup (a little too slow for me), but the instruction was excellent. I think CrossFit can get kind of a bad rap because I've heard of many people being injured from not doing exercises properly. This bootcamp and instructor made sure to show us how to properly swing a kettlebell and complete a jumping pull-up before the workout began. The workout was a 20 minute "AMRAP" aka As Many Reps As Possible. The breakdown of the reps was this:

• 400 meter run
• 21 kettlebell swings (bringing the kettlebell over your head)
• 12 jumping pushups.

I did 6 rounds in 20 minutes and was pretty pleased with myself!

Last night I made veggie lasagna for dinner, and loved it!!! I followed Frankie Hearts Fashion's recipe here. Instead of turkey, I used tempeh and sautéed it with a little coconut oil. It was one of the best veggie lasagnas I've ever had! Low in carbs (thanks zucchini) and a good dose of protein (thanks tempeh and cheese!)

Bachelorette Break

This weekend I celebrated with one of my good girlfriends and all of her closest friends in Newport for her bachelorette party! This party was a little different than other bachelorette parties I've attended, because all of the girls were interested in health and fitness in some way. The bride and her fiancé met at CrossFit, as did many of the girls at the bachelorette. One of her other girlfriends is training to become a power yoga instructor in VA, and one was training for the Boston Marathon. It was refreshing to be around a group of women who were excited to celebrate while also making healthy decisions.

The weekend started with a run along Newport's scenic Cliff Walk. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather!

That's the bride in the pink. This is the view from one of the tunnels. Look how blue the ocean is!

The next stop on the agenda was a tasting at a local vineyard. I was surprised by how much I liked each of the wines I tried. My favorite was the dry Riesling.

The bride and I before a night of comedy and 80s cover bands. The grey dress is definitely being put to good use.

Dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant before a very fun night!

Protein Pad Thai

Again, not my most appetizing looking dish (I hope this isn't a pattern here), but one of the most delicious! CM is a big fan of pad thai. I had a bunch of those black bean noodles left over from this recipe, and this was the perfect way to put them to good use. I followed The Nifty Cupcake's recipe here. It was so easy, so quick, and so good! I definitely recommend the extra limes. This made lots of leftovers so I had it again for lunch today, too.

I know I went on and on about the nice weather in yesterday's post, but I am still so happy it's finally warm and sunny! After my barre class and run I decided I wanted to celebrate spring. I stopped by the grocery shop near our house and picked up a few selections of cheese, peanuts, and pretzels. CM and I enjoyed this spread on the porch with a couple of glasses of red. #sundayfunday

I'm biased, but how cute is he?!

Finally, I ABSOLUTELY love the following photo found today on Instagram. Look at those adorable rolls! This is my Monday Motivation.