Spinning, Yoga, and Walking... Oh My!

Thank you all for your advice and comments regarding my injury, it means SO much to me!!! So, needless to say there was no running this weekend! I am actually pretty sad because it was an amazing (weather wise) weekend in Boston. Today, I think, the high is 65 and sunny! However, I tried not to let the weather and the fact that I could be running in a race on this beautiful day get me down.

I took a wonderful spinning class Saturday morning and my legs did not hurt me one bit. I approached the teacher after class (because she seemed to really know her stuff) and asked about my injury. She explained that it sounds like the muscles below my knee and above my knee must be VERY tight. She didn't think it was too serious because it does not hurt during non impact activity. Her suggestions were to NOT run, stretch, ice and foam roll the areas above and below the knee.

After spin I spent some time with the foam roller. Immediately after rolling out my IT band and calf muscle, I got a BAD charlie horse in my calf (the same leg with the injury). It was really bad (and embarrassing in the gym) because I was jumping around and making weird faces. Maybe I hit something while rolling....

In addition, last night while sleeping I awoke to a major pain in my right (the other leg) quad. What is going on with my body??? So, I decided to cancel my plans of stairs and weight lifting to attend a yoga class today (I am really trying hard to listen to my body). The yoga class was OK today. It was the same studio as before, but a basic class. It was good, but went a little too slow for my liking. I think I will try to stick mainly to the intermediate classes. Anyways, it was still GREAT to get some good stretching in. I think my body was thanking me.

After the class was through I walked outside to AMAZING weather and was instantly depressed that I was not running Doyle's and taking advantage of this beautiful day. So, in order to make myself feel a little better I thought even though I can't run, I can still walk. And I went on a nice 3 mile walk around the city through Boston Common and Beacon Hill. It was actually nice for a change to SLOW down and enjoy the amazing city of Boston.

I know in my last post I mentioned that I might walk the race, but this weekend just got SO busy and I have an intense week coming up that I couldn't commit to the time it would take to get there, walk 5 miles and go to an after party (b/c I couldn't go all the way to the race without participating in the after party, come on...haha). So, I decided to just forgo the race and concentrate on getting better and preparing for my week.

If you ran the Doyle's race how did it go? 


In other news, I had a nice night out with friends last night. We dined at the OtherSide Cafe, a vegetarian heavy restaurant with a GREAT beer list. The table started with the nachos with vegetarian chili and guacamole.

I ordered a Pretty Things Jack D'Or, which was amazing and actually a little heavy for a Saison style beer.

For my entree, I ordered the "Mock Chicken Salad," which was ground pecans, cashews & sunflower seeds mixed with cucumbers, celery and tart green apples, served over simple green salad with a lemon wedge. It was VERY good and came with a nice and soft roll.

Sorry the pictures came out HORRIBLE because the lighting was NOT good!!

After dinner the group headed over to Kings for some bowling. Although we had to wait a little bit for a lane it was a fun night!! 

Even though I am not much of a bowler, it was still a GREAT night!! Hope you all had a good weekend and those of you who ran the Doyle's race (or anything other races) I hope you had a great race!! 

I am not sure what my blog schedule will be like this week because it is going to be a CRAZY week, but I will try my best. Have a GREAT week!!!

A Fall Meal

Good Evening, I hope you had a nice Columbus Day! With a GREAT start:

Banana Pancakes with Almond Butter and Blueberry Jam

I had a great day that included a lot of cooking and some HOT yoga. I went to a Baron Baptiste Power Yoga "Hour Power" class today and it was wonderful!!! Hot and sweaty! A perfect complement to yesterday's run. I have tried many other yoga classes and have not found one even somewhat comparable to this studio. All the classes I have been to are incredible and worth the 1/2 hour commute there (however I do not always have the energy to trek over there). If you have not tried this studio and like "hot" yoga, I highly highly recommend it. It is very challenging, but still offers the stretch and meditation of yoga. They even offer (only at the Cambridge studio) $5 community classes and discounted college passes. But I am always looking for new challenging yoga classes in the Boston area to try.

Does anyone have any yoga studio recommendations in the Boston area?


For dinner I used a KERF recipe and made: Creamy Curry Butternut Soup in the slow cooker.

It was delicious and a perfect way to sneak in some squash for someone (Evan) who does not care for it. I also made some homemade croutons for salads this week and the soup tonight.

For the croutons I chopped up old bread, brushed melted butter on them and sprinkled seasoned salt, oregano and basil on them. Put them in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Perfection!!!

I also had a salad on the side with cheddar cheese made at the apple orchard I visited on Saturday.

And finally a Pumpkin beer.

This was the first time Evan and I tried the Dogfish Head "Punkin Ale" and we both agreed it was in our top two for pumpkin beers (Shipyard being the favorite). All together:

OMG BEST DINNER EVER!!!! Welcome Fall!!! Oh but I saved the best for last.......

APPLE CRISP!!!! Made from the apples collected at the orchard on Saturday. I used a variation (we didn't put the baking powder and baking soda in it but put pumpkin butter, halved the regular butter,  and put  raisins in it) of this recipe from All Recipe.

A La Mode

YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Newport for the Day!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend, I had a lovely Sunday! The day started with a banana and some Asana yoga class at my gym. The yoga classes at my gym are not very challenging, but a perfect post-intense run workout. It actually, surprisingly, was a more challenging class than I was expecting and I am a little sore from it today. Once home, I made myself some oatmeal with apple, cinnamon, peanut butter, raisins and granola.

Oh and a little more coffee too! Around 11 my dad pulled up with his 7 passenger van and we filled up all 7 seats. We all headed down to the Newport Winery for the 1 o'clock tour. Here are a few pictures from the tour:

Then we did some tasting...

The wine was OK, not my favorite. I am no wine expert, but I felt the wine had a funny after taste that did not sit well with me. However, it was really fun tasting all the different kinds of wine and laughing with my family.

After the tasting we sat outside at the vineyard and had a picnic lunch. I was not thinking and left my camera in the car when I went to go get the picnic. So, I have no pictures of lunch. Sorry!! However, I can describe what we had: 3 types of cheese (Aged Chedder, Gouda, Comte), crackers, white bean hummus, grapes, carrots, celery, brownies and cookies. We had a feast!

We drove over to downtown Newport, RI and then to the mansions. We wanted to go into the Marble House, but it was closed for the Food and Wine festival. So, we instead went over to Rosecliffe and toured that home.

The house was BEAUTIFUL!!!! With incredible ocean views!! I wouldn't mind living here and having this view! How about you?

On the way home we stopped at Granite Links on Quarry Hill for dinner. The tavern has good food, but more important has spectacular views of Boston! Unfortunately it was starting to rain by the time we got there so we couldn't see the views too well. Oh well, the food was still great. I had lots and lots of rolls to start.

X2

I LOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEE bread!!! For my entree, I had a mixed greens salad with goat cheese and scallops.

The salad was good, but the scallops were a little gamey and not very good. However, it was a very nice dinner and a VERY nice day with Family!

Lets Go Sox!

I woke up yesterday (Tuesday) feeling SOOOOOOOO sore!! However, my knee felt great! I was really sore in my calf muscles and back (weird). So I rolled out of bed and decided I would try to find a yoga class to participate in for my work out. As I was eating my cereal, banana and peanut butter I scrolled through the Internet looking for yoga classes in and around Boston. There are a lot of different styles of yoga to choose from in Boston. My favorite yoga studio is the Baron Baptist Power Yoga studio in Brookline and Cambridge. I thought about going there, but realized I did not have 2.5 hours to dedicate to yoga (it is about 1/2 there on the T). So, I continued to look, but did not find anything I liked and finally decided on a Power Yoga class at my gym (Boston Sports Club). I usually do not like yoga classes that are held at my gym, but I figured I would give it a shot.

After a little food shopping at Whole Foods, I headed to the gym for yoga. I started with 20 minutes on the elliptical to try and loosen up my legs and then went into the yoga class. When the teacher walked in, she explained that the class was Hip Hop Yoga, which is basically yoga done to Hip Hop music. "Ok", I thought (I guess they did not change the schedule on-line). This could be fine because I just need to stretch, I do not need to have an intense work out (i.e. Power Yoga). So, I stayed for the class and it was fine. A lot of stretching and not much work out, but the class forced me to stretch for an hour. I also really enjoyed the music and the teacher was very nice. I am not sure if I will go back to this class, but maybe I will try out the Power Yoga class another time. After the class I cooled down with another 10 minutes on the elliptical.

I came home and prepared a lunch of leftovers. I used the veggies from the Blue Ribbon BBQ lunch and some hummus leftovers I got at the Cheesecake Factory on Monday night. I added some lettuce (50/50 mix) and pita chips to the mix.

Yummy lunch! I quickly got ready and headed over to a School Psychology Social at a local bar: Solas. While chatting and catching up with my classmates and professors I enjoyed a pint of Harpoon UFO. Afterwards I went home to catch up on Entourage and relax a little before Evan and I headed to the Red Sox Game. Around 5:30, I asked Evan if he felt like sausage and peppers (which we had planned to eat before the game). We usually eat at the park, but I always feel sick after I eat that food and I think it is WAY overpriced (I would rather use the money to pay for overpriced beer instead). However, Evan proclaimed he was still to stuffed from lunch to even think about food. So, I changed my plans and made a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some cantaloupe and carrots.

With dinner I also enjoyed my favorite beer: Magic Hat #9.

Evan and I were rooting for opposing teams. I was cheering for the Red Sox and Evan was for the Rays (he grew up around Tampa). Here we are with our opposing gear.

We walked over to Fenway and got there just as the game was starting. Well, I don't really want to talk about the game. Let's just say it started off good and then got worse and worse. I was revived with a little Sweet Caroline in the 8th, but by the 9th I decided it was time to leave. Oh well, at least Evan and I had fun! I had one Bud Light at the park and Evan had two. 

On the walk Evan and I did not want the evening to end, so Evan suggested going to a bar and getting another drink or going to get a burger and fries somewhere. I, of course, chose the food option. We walked by a Be Good on the way home and decided to stop in. Evan ordered the El Guapo burger with a side of sweet potato fries. He was nice enough to share his fries with me and I ate about half. I LOVE sweet potato fries. 

Today's plans include running 5 miles, laundry, going shopping and then taking Evan out for his birthday dinner! I will be back with a recap tomorrow!