There are three parts to this post.  Wedding Stuff + Refine Resolution Challenge Learnings + Ellie Workout Clothes. I’m sure you could have figured that out.

Since all I’ve been doing is my modified version of Refine a few days a week (and a nice long walk with pup this morning) I don’t really see much of a reason to share my weekly workouts.  This leads me to…

Part 1

I’m really stressed about my injury; with just three weeks until my wedding in a dress that is even more see-through now that the seamstress removed the lining (on purpose), I want to be able to work my hardest! Instead, I’m modifying and going easy so I don’t make my neck worse.

It will be fine, I’m just in crunch time and stressed. I don’t enjoy wedding planning so I haven’t been doing it. That means that now, with only three weeks to go, I have to DO ALL THE THINGS. I’m not exaggerating. When I tell people how much I have left to do they usually interrupt me and say, “You really haven’t done anything yet!”

Just to give you an idea of what I still need to do: Contact and make an appointment with a florist, select the menu for appetizers and buffet, hire an alcohol vendor and beer vendor and determine how much to buy, contact vendor who does chairs/napkin colors, tablecloths/etc, create and print programs, log on to the DJ website and fill out all the song info (including dislikes, any specific songs that should play at certain times, etc), purchase and put together all decorations, put together gift bags for hotel guests and one other project that I’ll share after the wedding. And that is just what I can think of right now off the top of my head. I know there is more.

So, there’s that.  In addition to wedding and injury stress, I’m also dealing with work, signing a new lease and moving, and a few other things. It’s an exciting time in my life so I’m not too negative about anything for the most part. I just am really looking forward to the wedding being here already and then being done and then being on a beach in Bermuda where I will forgo all technology except my Kindle and daily check-ins on my pup.

Part 2

The Refine Resolution Challenge changed the way I exercise. When I moved to Jersey City, I continued taking Refine classes. It was easy, one short train ride to Union Square, 30 minutes door-to-door. When that studio closed after Hurricane Sandy I figured I was out of luck. I made the trek to the Upper West Side on weekends, either one or both days but no more. The Resolution Challenge, however, forced me to take class at least three times a week. That meant I needed to get to UWS either before or after work at least once a week.

Through this, I learned that the two-train trip wasn’t really THAT bad. I learned that I am happier and less stressed when I can take more Refine. I learned that the social aspect of Refine plays a large role in what makes it to special. I got my muscles and my shape back after losing them from my extended break. I learned that I feel most like myself when I’m taking Refine classes. I learned that a closer in distance workout, like CrossFit Jersey City, isn’t worth it if I don’t love it.  I learned that I love Refine so much it’s worth two trains that don’t even connect with each other. I learned that I don’t ever want to take an extended break from Refine again if I can help it. I learned that I feel more confident in all aspects of my life when I get to take my favorite class throughout the week. I learned that I can, in fact, have abs.

I took this photo in March and have had countless internal debates about whether to post it. Stomach-baring on the internet is scary.

I also learned (well, I already knew, but this reinforced it) that Refine is my happy place. So much that I am having my bachelorette party there tomorrow! (There will be drinking after. I’m not THAT crazy).

And my fiance even completed the challenge! Remember when we were the Refine Challengers of the Week? I am so proud of Andy for taking so many classes. He doesn’t find them fun the way I do. He seems miserable the entire time. I did not even ask him to do this; Refine owner/genius Brynn did. Andy has improved so much from when he first started – he can do more pushups, improved his ability to do lunges and can even bang out a series of jumpbacks (much to his chagrin – he HATES those!).

My next post will get more into the details of the challenge — the perks, the rewards. That program got me my wedding shoes! More on that soon.

Part 3

In other news, I owe you an update on Ellie workout clothes: As you might remember, I was a pvBody ambassador. The service used to send members a workout outfit each month. Then there was some controversy as they changed their business model and became Ellie. Instead of receiving an outfit from different brands, members now receive an outfit from their own dedicated brand. Members can also buy the clothes directly from their site. Membership is $49.95 a month which gets you a full outfit — top and pants — each month. You take a quiz with your personal preferences when you join to ensure you get the type of clothing you like! You save 20% of this price by signing up through me, and I get $10 for every new member.

Of course, the question is, why would you sign up to get clothes from a new brand?

I’ve had a couple months now to test out the clothes myself and I can assure you they are fantastic. They fit me better than most other brands, are flattering, functional and comfortable. I’m picky with tight pants that touch my skin because I get really itchy and I haven’t had any issue with two of three crops I’ve received from Ellie. That is impressive for someone who can’t even wear most brands’ regular leggings, or any stockings or tights at all.

The tops — particularly the gray tank top, called Truth or Dare Carbon — fit me far better than any of my Lululemon tops. It’s also more moisture-wicking and comfortable.  I’m wearing it tomorrow to the Refine Method portion of my bachelorette party!

My favorite pieces so far are Truth or Dare Carbon tank top and the Heartbreaker Capri, which are so comfortable.

I’ve also seen people at Refine in Ellie clothes (like Laura who writes a hilarious blog where she reviews fitness classes) and they always look great. I didn’t expect to love this brand, but they assured me beforehand that the clothes would be high quality and flattering, and they are right.

I’ve even gotten a Refine instructor ordering the Electric Love Capris!

Has anyone else been wearing Ellie? Has anyone attended a bachelorette party that included a workout? Has anyone waited until three weeks before their wedding to begin planning?

I feel the pressure of having a number of blog posts I want to write, about a varying number of topics. I know that once I write each one I will be so happy I did. That’s how I always feel after publishing a post I was procrastinating on. I know I don’t need to make excuses because whatever, it’s just my blog and no one cares, right? Well a couple of companies care because the posts are semi for them. One sent me workout clothes I would like to discuss and the other had a nice phone call with me about a nice service I think is worth sharing. And one is Refine!

But work has been extra worky. Wedding planning has been wedding planning. I just want to skip to the part where I have a new last name and am on a beach.

And working out has been what it is given my neck isn’t doing as well as I hoped it would by now. It got a lot better really quickly initially and then I stupidly went back to teaching spin a couple of weeks ago and it brought me right back to square one (and now I know that spinning is likely a huge contributor) and my progress hasn’t been nearly as good this time around.

Not everything is terrible.

Larry has a girlfriend.

They see each other all the time and are in love.

My wedding is in just over a month. I can still do Refine…ish. I have to modify the entire class and turn it into a much easier, more pleasant class that doesn’t make me fear spontaneous death. And maybe I shouldn’t even be doing that but after my two week break, a month out from the wedding, I just won’t not go. Especially after I worked so hard during the Resolution Challenge which I WILL recap because it was the greatest workout experience I’ve had in a very long time.

Oh! Did I mention I am mildly buzzed and thus there is an excuse for my ramblings? I’m in an airport in PDX and on my second flight, the mini one from Seattle on a loud tiny plane, they gave out free wine. Being not-24, I can’t really drink anymore, and so I am slightly drunk.

Just one of the gang

I did work out this week and here’s how it went. ALSO I feel like I should, like, go on the elliptical or something? Maybe the one without arms? Get in a low-impact workout that won’t fuck up my neck even worse that also won’t require much of me mentally? I don’t know if I can handle the boredeom. TWT, kids. Time will tell.

MY DOG IS IN DAYCARE AND BEING BOARDED AND I MISS HIM AND LOVE HIM.

Here are my workouts this week!

• Sunday – Refine Method (1 hr)
• Monday - Refine Method (1 hr)
• Tuesday-  Refine Method (1 hr)
• Wednesday - Rest
• Thursday - Rest
• Friday – Rest
• Saturday – Refine Method (1 hr)

How’d I do last week?

• Sunday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
• Monday – Teach spin (55 min) – Idiotically complete!
• Tuesday - Rest – So fucking complete!
• Wednesday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
• Thursday -  Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
• Friday – Rest – Complete!
• Saturday – Teach spin (50 min) and Refine Method (1 hr) – I wised up on Monday and took a leave of absence from teaching spin until after my honeymoon, with a tentative start-up date of June 22. Refine, complete!

Are you injured? How much does it suck? How much do you love cheese because I was at the Seattle airport and they have a Beecher’s there so I bought a bunch of cheese.

How’d you like my disappearing act?

I last shared my weekly workout schedule the week of March 31. At the time I was battling some upper back pain and taking it easy. I went on an easy 3-mile run on a gorgeous spring morning that Tuesday and as I sat at my desk later on, my neck blew up. The right side was incredibly swollen and it hurt and I freaked out. I made an appointment with a doctor for that same day because I needed to know what the hell was going on.

As it turns out, my neck is the cause of my back pain. It also was last year, which the doctor I went to totally missed. I remember her trying to figure out where on my back the pain was originating from, and she never even considered to check my neck. But that is exactly what it is.

All those right-side neck pains I get while running finally make sense. I used to dismiss them as just some random pain, but as it turns out I have stage 1 spinal degeneration. My diagnosis is a cervical strain and myofascial pain syndrome.

[Source]

What does that mean? Normally, your spine at your neck is slightly curved to support the weight of your head. My spine, however, is straight. Stage 1 is fixable, it’s when you get to stage 2 that you’ve got a permanent problem. I am in physical therapy three days a week and the pain has gotten much better.

After a two-week break from Refine, I went back last week. I’m taking it really easy. I can’t do any exercises with impact – it was that seemingly innocent 3-miler that caused my neck to blow up in the first place. I also keep the weights light and am very cognizant of my form because if my neck is straining at all, I feel it.

I also took off teaching for a week which meant canceling both my classes plus the three I was supposed to sub. Spinning is a terrible position for your neck as it turns out, so now that I am back at it I am trying to be careful and not strain. I’m trying to spend more time off the bike but it is very tough for me. I am not ready to take spin classes yet. I even had to miss the free Revolve RIP Ride that I hosted last week!

The best part of my rest was that I finally caught up on months worth of sleep. I had to take a muscle relaxer at night and I was able to sleep until normal human hours in the morning (ie, not 5 am). During the day I take a prescription strength anti-inflammatory.

The plus side of being injured and on drugs

This week at PT, I will ask when they think I might be able to run again. Now that the weather is starting to get nice I am itching to be outside. Also, with just over a month until my wedding, I’d REALLY like to get in quality workouts. I didn’t post for a couple of weeks because I was so down about not being about to exercise. I didn’t feel like myself. I enjoyed my couch time too much – I knew if I didn’t get back on my feet soon I was in danger of never getting back to it!

When I did get back to Refine, like I said I  took it easy – but my legs were so sore that I could barely walk for two days! Just from doing some squats and lunges with an 8kg kettlebell! I’m used to doing squats with 24kg and not being sore, so this was quite a shock. But not in a bad way, I’m happy that I can move again.

While I am doing much better than I was, I’m not near 100%. I’m still scared and concerned. I am getting another sports massage with my amazing massage therapist Danielle on Thursday because the knots (that’s the myofascial pain part of this) are out of control.

I sit with a lumbar support pillow at work now. I sleep with a special pillow that offers neck support and try to avoid sleeping on my right side (the bad side). I put a big magazine under my laptop so I am not looking quite as down at my computer (we use laptops at work – it’s on a riser but it’s not enough). I use a backpack when I have a lot to carry now.

Stress makes it worse, and I’ve been extremely stressed with work, wedding stuff and of course, not working out.

I also hope I can heal soon so I can start marathon training this summer.  I want to RUN! I’m signed up for a 10K in a couple weeks that runs directly in front of my apartment. I’ve been looking forward to it — and was planning to try and PR — but now running it at all doesn’t seem likely.

More importantly, I hope I can get back into top shape for my wedding. I’m overdue on my Refine Resolution Challenge recap – -partly because I took a photo of my new abs that the challenge gave me and now that they’re gone I feel sad and partly because I’ve been busy with wedding stuff and partly because I’ve been feeling lazy and unmotivated to do much of anything — because I am way too into my head about working out for my wedding.

At the same time, I feel silly for being so upset about this when Boston happened and people are suffering much worse than I am.

Enough rambling and whining. Here’s my workout plan for this week:

• Sunday – Refine Method (1 hr)
• Monday – Teach spin (55 min)
• Tuesday - Rest
• Wednesday – Refine Method (1 hr)
• Thursday -  Refine Method (1 hr)
• Friday – Rest
• Saturday – Teach spin (50 min) and Refine Method (1 hr)

 Have you ever had a neck injury? How’d you get past it? How are your workouts going now that we are pretty far into 2013?

How can I post this week without mentioning what happened at the Boston Marathon? If this happened five years ago, I would have been sad and scared of course — but I would not have been quite as deeply affected. Five years ago I wasn’t a runner. Five years ago I didn’t understand what a marathon even was. I used to live along the NYC Marathon route in Manhattan and I remember seeing the wheelchair racers go by and knowing it was a marathon but not getting what was happening. Not caring.

Five years ago I might not have been quite as glued to my two screens at work at 3pm on Monday, one playing a live news stream and the other playing a recorded video of when things went down. I might not have truly “gotten” that OF COURSE there are tons of spectators and tons of runners and that the Boston Marathon is a holiday in and of itself. I wouldn’t have gotten that OF COURSE this race would present an opportunity to cause mass harm and hysteria. OF COURSE. It is BOSTON – the race that’s run on its own holiday on Patriots Day, the race that many runners work tirelessly for years and years to qualify for, the marathon of ALL marathons. Of course.

Five years ago I might not have connected my own mortality or that of those I love with what happened in Boston. Five years ago I would have been sad for other “types of people,” sad for the types of people who ran marathons or spectated marathons, the types people I had no connection to and nothing in common with.

A lot can change in five years.

Not to make this about myself because it is not, but now all I think about is how I am a runner striving to finish a marathon in around 4:10 – just like those finishing when it happened. I am a runner whose fiance, whose best friends, whose mother have stood at finish lines cheering for me. I am a runner who loves standing at finish lines to cheer for others.

So now, five years after never even thinking about putting on a pair of running shoes, much less ever heard the words ShotBloks or Dri-Fit, what happened in Boston feels personal. And based on what I read on Twitter, Facebook and blogs from my friends in the running community, we ALL feel this way. It could have been any of us; it could have been any of our loved ones.

I meant for this to be a short intro into a regular blog post but that obviously isn’t happening. Instead, this is a blog post about being in a community, being the “type of person” who runs marathons and watches marathons and cares about marathons and gets the significance of the Boston Marathon. This is a blog post about how the running community was the vehicle. The Boston Marathon would ensure many people would be in this one significant spot at this one significant time. The casualty was the running community but it was not the target.

And now, as someone deeply embedded in the running community, I get it. I get how we could be a vehicle.

Five years ago, I would have been sad for other people. But five years later, I am sad for my own people.

A few weeks ago Melissa and I hosted a free class at Revolve NYC for our readers. Jason taught an incredible class (as he always does) and so we are doing it again!

This time, Dyan is teaching!  She also happens to be an IntenSati instructor so she brings that same incredibly powerful energy to her cycling classes. And look at her amazing before & after weight loss transformation on Shape.com!

She will be teaching my favorite format at Revolve, the RIP Ride. A 60-minute class with two breaks for upper body weights work. We do three sets during each break and by the time it’s over you really WANT to be cycling again just for a break from the break (which is not so much of a break).

Sunday, April 14
3:00 PM
RIP Ride at Revolve – Union Square

There are still spots available –  sign up here!

This will be short, but I’ll probably be back this week with a workout clothing review. Andy and I also completed our Refine Resolution Challenge this weekend. I’ve got lots to say about that too, and that will come soon. And I still haven’t reviewed my CrossFit Jersey City experience! That was in December, so you might say I am a little behind.

Until then, here’s my workout plan for the week of March 31, 2013:

• Sunday - Real Ride at Revolve (45 min)
• Monday – Teach spin (55 min)
• Tuesday – Refine Method (1 hr)
• Wednesday – Rest
• Thursday – Real Ride at Revolve (45 min) or Rest
• Friday – Rest
• Saturday – Teach spin (50 min)

You might notice this plan looks very different than most weeks – notably because of the lack of Refine Method. I started feeling some pain in my upper back on the right side. I’ve had this twice before and I’ve been to a doctor about it. She said it’s a muscle strain and comes from carrying absurdly heavy bags on my right shoulder.

Over the last few months, I’ve carried a heavy workout bag which includes sneakers for Refine, spin shoes (sometimes both, sometimes one or the other), a water bottle that is often full, a coconut water bottle, a bag of makeup, a hair iron, etc etc. And this is in addition to my purse. I’m incapable of carrying my bag on my left shoulder; I can’t explain it but it feels so wrong and unnatural that I just forget how to walk when it’s there. I’m like a dog. Does anyone else have that issue?

The point of this long winded tale is that the pain came back.

In the past, a full week off Refine has helped, since lifting heavy things and doing pushups and using my back muscles don’t help the situation at all. After a week, I’ve been able to come back to class feeling back to normal. I canceled the class I planned for yesterday and went to Revolve instead. I’m going to Refine on Tuesday because I am bringing a new friend who really wants to try it. We met because she takes my spin class every Monday morning! It’s been hard for Andy and I to make friends in Jersey City, and we loved meeting Caitlin and her husband for a drink last week. This week, I show her the wonders of the Refine Method.

After Tuesday, I’ll take a few days off Refine and see how I am doing. Also, going to Refine means carrying my heavy bag to and from Jersey City on two trains with some walking thrown in. So not going there should help.

I want to take care of this now because my wedding is in just over two months and I want to be back into my workouts as soon as possible. My back felt fine yesterday and this morning, but after having to carry that heavy bag with me today since I taught spin and had to get ready at the gym, I’m hurting again.

My bag is definitely the culprit. I need to find a non-ugly backpack this week! I can’t let something so dumb derail me from my workouts and keep me from the class I love most in the world, Refine.

I have a sports massage scheduled for this Friday with the most amazing, brilliant, talented sports massage therapist Danielle DeMaio (She works with famous athletes – let me know if you want her info!). I feel confident that I’ll be good to go after that.

Here’s how I did with my workouts last week:

• Sunday – REST – Complete!
• Monday – Teach spin (55 min) and Refine Method (1 hr) Teach spin again (55 min) – I got a call to sub a spin class i nthe evening, so I did that instead of Refine – Complete!
• Tuesday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
• Wednesday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
• Thursday – Revolve (45 min) – Complete!
• Friday – Rest or easy run – I went to Refine Method since I canceled it on Monday. So, complete!
• Saturday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete! (Last day of Refine Resolution Challenge!)

Last week was a great week of working out. This week I’m looking forward to taking it easier. I am open to canceling any workouts after Tuesday and just letting my body rest.

Rest isn’t so bad when you’ve got this tiny thing to squeeze.

Do you have a recurring pain that’s not quite an injury but keeps coming back? How do you handle it?

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! And thank you… ATM?

Being 30 is weird and old. I celebrated by taking the day off work (something I’ve never done on my birthday before, although one year it fell on Good Friday and my old company had off that day and it was spectacular).

So, this shirt exists. Andy randomly found it on the Internet and got it for Larry for my birthday.

Accurate!

Workout plan for the week of March 23, 2013:

• Sunday – REST
• Monday – Teach spin (55 min) and Refine Method (1 hr) Teach spin again (55 min)
  
• Tuesday – Refine Method (1 hr)
• Wednesday – Refine Method (1 hr)
• Thursday – Revolve (45 min) Refine Method (1 hr)
• Friday – Rest or easy run
• Saturday – Refine Method (1 hr)

I am really loving the results I’ve been seeing from the Refine Resolution Challenge and will devote a post to it once the challenge is officially over. For now, I’d like to unofficially up my challenge from 12 classes this month to 15. This is partly because I already know I can do 12, so why not make it more challenging and partly because I am loving it so much. I’ll explain more when I recap my challenge.
Here’s how last week’s workouts went:

• Sunday – Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!
• Monday – Teach spin (55 min) – Complete!
• Tuesday – RIP Ride at Revolve (1 hr) – Complete!*
• Wednesday – Refine Method (1 hr) - Complete!
• Thursday – Refine Method (1 hr) **BIRTHDAY WORKOUT** I will be requesting hip lifts with a band, just like last year. And this year, Andy has to come too.- Complete!**
• Friday – TBD – Short run, spin or rest – Real Ride at Revolve (45 min) – Complete!***
• Saturday – Teach spin (50 min) and Refine Method (1 hr) – Complete!

*After the class (which was beyond phenomenal, crazy energy) ended, a sweaty guy burst into the room and exclaimed, “Great class!” It took Kira Stokes a second to realize what happened and once she figured it out she clued us all in. The guy was either too late to get into class or the class was full, so the Revolve staff took the display bike from the window, rolled it up to just outside the classroom, and he took the ENTIRE RIP Ride class outside the room! Alone. Following along to all of Kira’s cues. He got an amazing workout and we all got an incredible story!

**Brynn asked me on Twitter if I had any birthday requests for the class. I said:

She misread “No discs” as “Discs” and we did my all-time most hated exercise: Snow angel planks. While I wasn’t thrilled about this, I wasn’t really angry either. I’m there to get stronger and this is clearly an exercise I need to work at to be stronger. And make my Refined abs even abbier.

***I had ONE birthday drink at dinner and a few sips in realized I was already drunk. I proceeded to finish the entire cocktail and then I was wasted. Not the fun kind either. I felt pretty ill and I passed out at home early, just one episode away from finishing House of Cards (which I did complete the next day and PLEASE let’s discuss it!). I woke up ridiculously hungover on Friday and felt that way all day long. From ONE drink. I also felt like I needed to sweat off the hangover, and decided to go to Stephanie Nieman’s Real Ride at Revolve after work. Excellent decision; I felt much better after.

This is what being old is. I did manage to consume three less-strong cocktails on Saturday night when I celebrated at a private room in a bar with friends from all different times in my life. There were lots of blog friends there too – thank you Ashley Runningbun, Theodora, Fiona, Melissa, Jen, Leticia, Beth, Elizabeth and Melissa Z for coming out.

Blog friends

Fiona & RunningBun. What is so funny?!

Andy looks like this in every single picture.

This is my former roommate Lim. She will be an extremely pregnant bridesmaid at my wedding this June.

While it was really special and made me feel liked to have so many people come out for me when I worried no one would show (and I seriously can’t express my gratitude enough to all of you), this is the last time I do the bar party. I was absurdly hungover all day Sunday despite only having three drinks and not even feeling that drunk! I only slept for about four hours when I got home and felt exhausted and headachy all day Sunday in a way that no amount of Trader Joe’s Frosted Flakes could cure. I know this because I ate three bowls in a row following my egg and cheese sandwich. This is why I can’t go out anymore.

Apparently they can’t either.

How were your workouts last week? Anything fun planned this week? Are you old and incapable to consuming alcoholic beverages like me?