This weekend was the first time in more than two months that I had a free Saturday morning. My schedule has been bananas since the end of January, so I was ready to embrace my low-key day.



My big plans were to get up and work out.

I originally thought about a long run, but I poked around on ClassPass and found a Dailey Method class called Battle of the Boy Bands.


BSB concert in 2011

I signed up immediately.

This was my first Dailey Method class, so I wasn't totally sure what to expect in terms of style or pacing. But I did know the music would be awesome.

The instructor played some solid favorites like "Everybody" and "MMMBop." She also played some of the less popular boyband jams by O-Town and 5ive. (I had forgotten about 5ive until "baby when the lights go out" started cranking over the studio speakers).



The soundtrack did a nice job of making me forget how much my legs were burning during the workout.

For those not familiar with Dailey Method, each bike has a computer so you can see how fast you're going and how hard you're working. This is both a blessing and a curse for competitive people like me.

I also completely loved the Dailey Method bikes. I felt like all of my pedal strokes were super smooth. Plus I was able to find a comfortable seat height that didn't make my left knee click like it does on other bikes.

You can use Dailey Method bikes with regular sneakers or you can bring your own clip-in shoes. I don't have fancy spin class shoes, so I just rode in my sneakers, and I still felt like I got a pretty good workout.

Not only was the music awesome, but the instructor really varied the workout. We did a mix of sprints and climbs in and out of the saddle. I liked the variety and how much she mixed things up. It kept me from getting bored.

As an added bonus, everyone in the class was super friendly. I've been to other spin classes where people don't talk to each other at all. But everyone at Dailey Method was so friendly before and after the class.

This was such a fun way to start my Saturday. I'm already looking to see when I can work some more Dailey Method classes into my schedule.

My favorite way to spend my Saturday mornings is doing something crazy fun and fitness-related.


Usually that just ends up being a long run, nothing fancy or special, but this weekend, I went all out and had one crazy day of fitness.

It started off with the Four Courts Four Miler race on Saturday morning.


This is another Pacer's sponsored race. They hands-down put on some of the best races in the D.C.-area. They're well organized, have fun themes and usually offer some pretty great race swag.


The course itself is just an out and back. It's two miles downhill and then you turn around and run those two miles uphill.



To give you an idea of how steep the first hill is, I clocked my first mile 7:36. It was literally impossible to run slowly down that hill.

To add to the fun and festive St. Patrick's Day theme, 20 minutes after the gun, one lone, super speedy runner starts and is accompanied by a leprechaun on a scooter. For every person the runner passes, Pacers donates money to charity.


I didn't think I stood much of a chance of beating the leprechaun because I wasn't planning to "race" this race. But somehow I was able to hold on to my super speedy start time, even up that brutal hill at the end of the race.

I finished in 33:33, an 8:24 average pace per mile, and well before the leprechaun! Whooop!


After meandering around the Irish bar after the race, my friend Zach and I fueled up with some bagels, and set out to run two more miles to get in my long run distance for the weekend.



We ended our two miles in Arlington at my favorite spin studio, Revolve.


You might remember I tried a class there a while back and totally loved it. So I was thrilled to see they were offering a free community class on a day I was already going to be in Virginia.

I rarely "cross the river" from the Maryland/D.C. side into Virginia, but since I was there for the race already, I figured I couldn't pass up a chance to spin.

After less than 15 minutes of spin, my quads were expressing their extreme displeasure with me. I looked over at Zach who looked like he wanted to murder me for coming up with such a ridiculous plan. Apparently his legs were hurting too.


The class was a complete sweatfest but other than my quads hating me, it was awesome. Can I mention again how much I love cycling in clipless shoes?


So as if running a race, tacking on two more miles and then hitting a spin class wasn't enough, I rounded out my day of fitness with an 8-minute run after spin to get to my friend's apartment.

I collapsed on his sofa in a complete heap of uselessness and spent a little while there watching the ACC tournament until I could muster enough energy to Metro my butt back home.

I got home, demolished some Subway, and curled up with some TV for the rest of the afternoon.

My friends think I'm crazy, but that is seriously mind kind of a perfect day.

Last Thursday I got invited to attend a spin class at Revolve DC, a new cycling studio in Arlington, VA.


I was pretty excited to check out the class. It's been ages since I've been to a spin class, even though it's one of my favorite indoor workouts.

When I went online to reserve a class, I had the choice of three different styles:

• Real Ride - A spin class designed to mimic outdoor cycling conditions
• Complete Body Ride - Heavy on the cardio with strength and flexibility work added in
• Barre Ride - 30 minutes of spin followed by 30 minutes of barre-based exercises

I thought the Barre Ride sounded really cool, but I opted for the Real Ride since I was looking for something more cardio intensive to fit in with my tri training.

Revolve requires that you use clipless shoes when you take their classes, and they allow you to rent them for $2, which is perfect for newbies like me who have never touched clipless shoes.


I couldn't believe how much of a difference clipless shoes made in the class. Now I understand why real cyclists are so into them. My movement felt really smooth on the bike and I got the benefit of pushing down on the pedal as well as pulling up.

The people at Revolve were great about walking around the studio in the beginning to make sure everyone could get set up on their bikes and get clipped in without a problem.


Surprisingly I had zero trouble clipping in to the bike. (It helped that I knew the bike wasn't going to fall over.)

However unclipping at the end of class was a different story. I was able to get my left foot out without a problem, but for the life of me couldn't get my right foot out. I ended up having to take my foot out of the shoe and then yank the shoe off the bike with my hands.

The class itself was pretty stellar.

The instructor led us through a solid warm up before taking us through some really challenging drills. We did high intensity sprints, long slow climbs and plenty of quick riding on flat roads.


She played great music, and she dimmed the lights, which is something I always appreciate in a spin class.

I actually couldn't believe how quickly the 45-minute class flew by.

If you're in the Arlington-area I definitely recommend that you check out a class at Revolve. I really can't say enough good things about my experience. I just wish the studio was a little bit closer to me because it's tough for me to get out to Arlington on a regular basis. (Although rumor has it they may be looking in to adding additional locations in the future!)

Resting up has been great these past two days. My right IT band is still knotty and angry at me for making it run 13.1 miles of hills in the heat. I've tried to apologize and stretch it and in general pay extra special attention to it, but the only thing that seems to be helping is rest.

So rest is what I will do.

But now, I'm starting to get antsy. I want to do something.

Sitting around like a bum so isn't my style (although I have been able to catch up on massive amounts of TV the last two days).

I'm thinking maybe I want to get back into spinning. I loved spinning when I lived in York. It was such an awesome, heart pumping workout and it gave me a good alternative to running.


The problem is, I don't belong to a gym and I have no desire to pay a $40 per month membership fee for just the spin classes.

I've been trying to look for places in the DC/MD area that have the option of just paying for the classes you take and not paying a full gym fee. I haven't had much luck though.

On Twitter last night someone suggested I just call some of the local gyms to see if they'd be willing to work something out with me.

There's an LA Fitness not too far from my house that has spin every evening at 5:30. As long as the Metro doesn't break, I could most likely get to that class. So I might give them a call.

Anyone have any other suggestions? I really miss spin and would love to get back into it, but not if it means having to pay for a bunch of extra gym things I'm not going to use.

I continued to take advantage of my free 7 days at Gold's on Tuesday night. I wanted to try a spin class and this class called BodyCombat, which the Gold's Web site describes this way:

"BODYCOMBAT™ is the empowering cardio workout where you are totally unleashed. This fiercely energetic program is inspired by martial arts and draws from a wide array of disciplines such as Karate, boxing, Taekwondo, Tai Chi and Muay Thai. Supported by driving music and powerful role model instructors strike, punch, kick and kata your way through calories to superior cardio fitness."

Kickboxing was one of my favorite classes to teach at Maryland and I was really excited to try this variation.

I hit the spin class first though and was horribly let down. Bad music, boring class, not challenging at all (and I made sure I cranked the tension extra high). I barely broke a sweat. The whole time the instruction was telling us we were burning 800-900 calories. It's a personal pet peeve of mine when instructors talk about how many calories we're burning and how Spring Break is right around the corner, which he mentioned a lot too. It just takes the focus off all the other benefits of working out and makes it solely about body image. Plus, I think I barely burned 300 calories. I felt bad for the two girls next to me who were talking about going out and eating lots of food after class because of all the calories they burned.

After the disappointing spin class I was really excited to get to BodyCombat. The instructor looked like she had been a fighter her whole life. She was jacked, but not in a manly way. The class was set to fun music and I was beat by the end. My arms got worked, but in a good way and I can still feel the workout today. Unfortunately all the kicking really upset my knee even though I had it taped. I'm still hobbling around today. Bad times. I'm staying off it for now as best as I can and hoping it's just a little flare up from motion it wasn't used to.

Took a rest day yesterday and I'll most likely be taking another one today with the knee acting up although I may try to get to yoga. I'll have to see.

Happy Thursday!

This week at work has kicked my butt. I have been drop dead tired every morning when I've woken up and every night when I get home I've wanted to collapse into my bed. Last night I fell asleep around 9 p.m. And it's only Wednesday.

But last night I also managed to get in a speedy (by my standards) six miler. I'm not sure where I found the energy. I literally dragged myself out the office collapsed in my car and thought I was going to fall asleep on my two minute drive home.

But the crisp fall air must have invigorated me because I got home threw on a long sleeve tech top and some shorts grabbed my iPod and was out the door. I clocked the six miles in 1:02.10. I felt great the entire time. My left knee hurt for a second in mile five, but went after that.

When I got back home though, my right knee was acting up a little bit. Nothing too serious, but it caught my attention.

I slept a lot better last night and I have to credit that to taking the melatonin. I had stopped for a while because I wasn't having any problems and I don't like taking stuff if I don't need to. But man it makes all the difference in the quality of sleep I get. I'm 99 percent sure I'll be taking it again tonight. (I mentioned the melatonin in a post a while ago, but just a reminder, it's not a sleeping pill, it's a supplement my doc. recommended that helps your body sync to circadian rhythm.)

Anyway, after an awesome night sleep, I woke up this morning to meet Michele at the gym for spin class at 5:45. Except Michele wasn't there when I got there. Turns out she had way overslept. No biggie though. I didn't stay for the whole class because I had to bounce out to get home to shower and get ready for work, but I did about 45 minutes and felt pretty good. My legs weren't too tired from last night's run.

However, when I got home my right knee was acting up. It buckled three times when I was walking around the house getting ready for work. Not cool.

I'm skipping my soccer game again this week because I don't want to aggravate the knee. Instead I'm going to ice it down and watch my Phils in the World Series.

Last night was my spin night with my co-worker Michele. I was super pumped when Angie, my most favorite cycling instructor in the entire world, walked in to sub for Thursday's normally ho-hum instructor.

I knew immediately that it was going to be a great class. Plus I was antsy as heck and couldn't sit still all day so I knew I needed an serious energy release.

Angie's class was awesome. It was hard, but fun, and loved it.

When I was driving home I was thinking about how super nice the weather was, no sun, in the low 50's or high 40's, perfect running weather. So when I pulled into the driveway, I ran into the house, dropped my bags, grabbed my watch and headed back out for a run.

I ended up doing 2.09 miles in 20:46 without my iPod! (I never run without my iPod!) I was really happy with the run. Everything felt great. My legs were tired from cycling but they stayed strong through the run and kept their normal pace for the most part.

Today I'm planning tennis on my lunch break.

I'm headed back to Maryland again this weekend (really who does this surprise these days?) No home football or soccer games, just want to see my people. I'm hoping to get a run in on Saturday. I'd love to get one in Sunday too, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

ORN:
2.09 miles in 20:46

All this tennis and spinning have caught up with me and totally killed my legs.

I played tennis Sunday in Maryland. My legs had been tight that morning so I stretched out a little bit when we got to the courts and they felt fine when I was playing. Unfortunately it started pouring on us, so we made a mad dash to the car before heading home and sitting around watching football (to be read: no post-tennis stretching).

I could feel my legs tightening up as I was sitting on sofa so I tried to rub out some of the tightness. I don't think it did much good though.

Yesterday I played tennis during my lunch break and my legs felt heavy and tired. That should have been a warning sign that spinning last night was going to be tough.

But I had plans to meet my friend Michele from work, and I had no intention of blowing her off.

You may remember the last time I went spinning, I wasn't super in love with the instructor, well last night the instructor was evil. She kicked my butt. But it felt good to ride really hard, and I was dripping with sweat by the time the class was over. (Get your minds out of the gutter people, I don't mean that to be dirty.)

It was a great workout, but I realized just how stressful cycling was on my IT Band. I could definitely feel it tightening a lot when I was riding. We hit the sauna afterward and I worked on my IT Bands a bunch in the heat, which I think helped. I also rolled them out with the Stick when I got home.

Today is a much needed rest day. I'm heading down to College Park for our soccer game tonight against Binghamton. I'm hoping the boys can rebound from Friday's loss and get a convincing win tonight.

Spin class last night rocked. I had been away far, far too long.

My co-worker Michele and I headed to the gym after work, both needing to de-stress and get some endorphins flowing. With everything going on in the financial world right now, this business reporter has been up to her eyeballs in work and was in desperate need of blowing off some steam.

The instructor was alright. I don't love her as much as I love Angie, who teaches my early morning spin class, but last night's lady gave me a workout, so I can't really complain.

I thought I was going to be hurting a lot more than I was, having been away from it so long, but I felt really good and was able to crank the tension back to my usual levels.

This weekend's festivities include an awesome soccer match between my No. 2 Terps and No. 1 Wake Forest (soccer fans out there you can catch the game on Fox Soccer Channel at 8 p.m. tonight). Tomorrow is my roommate's birthday so we're going to dinner and then out in D.C.

It's supposed to rain all weekend, but I packed my running stuff anyway because I'm craving a run around campus on my old stomping grounds. As long as the weather isn't too miserable I'm going to try to get out there.

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend and good luck to all those racing!!!

I'm feeling a little bit like Casino Drive this morning. Don't follow horse racing? He's the one who had to scratch the Belmont Stakes at the last minute.

How am I similar to said horse you may ask? Well I'm thisclose to scratching the Baltimore 10-Miler because of my stupid knee. But before we get to that, I'm going to focus on the positive of this weekend -- that besides running it was awesome and I accomplished a ton.

Friday I hit a rocking spin class and it felt so good. I was sweating like crazzzy, but was working my butt off and I liked it haha.

Saturday I played tennis for about an hour and a half with a friend from work. It was insanely sunny and hot outside leading to unfortunate sunburn lines. I was wearing a sleeveless Under Armour top (who's surprised?)and my shoulders are really red and there's a very distinct line between red and ghostly white haha. It doesn't hurt too badly though.

Sunday was the day I was going to test out the knee. I headed out around 9ish and it was already 86 degree so I made sure to carry some water with me. I started off fairly slowly just trying to take my time. After little more than a mile I could feel something twinging in my knee. S of a B. I didn't want to push it so I headed home raving mad.

Because I was pissed off at my knee, I decided to head to the gym for some nonimpact stuff. Did an hour of yoga and about 40 minutes or so of laps.

Because I am stupid/was antsy from sitting around/am extremely stubborn/figured if my knee was hurt already what the hell was more tennis going to do for it, I went out Sunday night and played about 30 minutes or so of tennis. It was a good thing it got dark when it did.

Anyway, going to try to make an appointment with an orthopedic dude sometime. Goody goody.

Please kill me now.

Spinning this morning was fine, but then it started to bother my knee. What the heck else is new? I"m swimming tomorrow because at least that can't mess anything up.

GAHHH!!!!

For some reason unknown to me, I woke up ready to face the day at 3 a.m. Seriously it wasn't cool. I tried to fall back to sleep, but gave up at 4 a.m. and thought maybe I would try to read and eventually fall back to sleep. Well no such luck there either so at 5:20 a.m. I got dressed and went to the gym.

I hadn't been to spin class in about a month and a half because when the weather gets nice, who wants to be inside in a gym? I'd much rather be outside running.

But as I'm sidelined with this knee thing running was out of the picture.

Spinning was great. The regulars had missed me and asked me where I'd been, which made me smile.

Tonight I'm supposed to have a soccer game (if it doesn't thunderstorm). I'm going to play, but if the knee starts acting up I'm going to stop. I'm hoping that running on the grass will be a nice easy way to break it in.

If things go well tonight, I'm planning on trying a short run tomorrow.

Lots of catching up to do.

Soccer on Wed. night was tons of fun. It was a pretty close game for a while, but then we ended up losing 3-1. It was a bummer, but we still had a blast.

The only bad part was that my friend and I were running late because we got out of work late so we didn't really have time to warm up before heading into the game. As a result, I tweaked my right quad.

I was playing defense in the first half and felt a dull pain a little bit during half time, but I stretched it out and figured I was good to go back on D for the second half because we had plenty of subs. I played for a while and then got subbed for which was good news. But then one of our mid's needed a sub really badly and no one volunteered to go in so I said I would.

Bad decision. I spent the night with an XL Icy-Hot patch slapped on my quad and a bag of frozen veggies on my right knee (I got decked by an opposing player and have quite the bruise to show for it.)

Thursday morning I lifted upper body at the gym and thought about walking on the treadmill to keep the quad loose. It felt OK so I thought I'd try a light jog. Bad decision number two. I stopped right away though and stretched it out.

The quad seemed to get better as the day went on and then this morning I thought I'd take it for a spin in cycling and see how things went. Surprisingly no pain at all. (Could be because I slathered on some Bengay last night to help...nothing like the smell of Bengay in the evening haha)

Cycling was awesome. I got such a stellar workout. It was a great way to blow off steam because my personal life is stressing me to the max. I don't like posting too much personal stuff on here, but suffice it to say the male gender is not on my good side right now (sorry fellas!)

As far as the new shoes decision. I think I'm going to go out for my 9 miler tomorrow morning in the ones I have now and see how it goes from there. I may just buy the new shoes anyway because I'm going to need them eventually. More on that decision to come.

Today was a cross-training day, and I somehow convinced myself to drag my booty out of bed at 5:15 a.m. to get to spin class at 5:45.

Now peeps, remember how I don't like spinning?

Right well now I've done it twice this week. What give?

And I had so much fun in today's class. (Ok well at least as much fun as you can have with an alternating songs of extremely high speed or extremely high tension).

But the music rocked, the instructor was upbeat and the class format was solid. I felt like I got a great workout in.

So I think I'm going to have to reconsider my stance on spinning because seriously I was craving spinning by this morning.

Anyway, tomorrow's supposed to be a six-miler. I'm debating if I want to do a three mile loops twice around the neighborhood or head into the city and check out this trail everyone keeps telling me about. Depending on the weather I might go for the trail.

Check back tomorrow for the final decision.