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As an “adult”, I don’t really go out much anymore.  I don’t drink to get drunk much anymore, but I do drink casually much more than I used to.  Don’t get me wrong, drinking is always bad for you.  If you want to give up all alcohol, then more power to you.  I think, though, that moderation is key.  Drink slowly, and drink lots of water in addition to alcohol.  This will really help minimize your hangover the next day, too, so you’ll feel good enough to hit the gym the next morning and a night out won’t derail your whole week.

When I drink, I try to stick to lower calorie options.  Wine and light beer are good options.  If you prefer liquor, choose calorie-free mixers.  Vodka soda is my go-to, but rum and diet cokes are good.  If the bar’s not to crowded and the bartender can pay me a little more attention, I’ll often get a vodka soda with a splash of fruit juice and a slice of fruit.  It has a little more flavor while still being relatively guilt-free.  When I really want a sugary cocktail (I love me some margaritas…), I try to stick to one, and have it slowly as my first drink to really enjoy it.  Too many of those will give me a killer hangover, anyways.

Do you try to stay healthy when you go out?  What are your tips?

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So adorable.  Stripes and coral are my favorite trends this season, and I love that the top can be a halter or a tube top.  I’m obsessed with it.  Unfortunately… it doesn’t fit.

I’ve been buying the same size Victoria’s Secret swimsuit every year since college, and all of a sudden, the bottoms are cutting into my love handles.  I know in my head that this particular suit just runs small, and I should just be rational and exchange it for a larger size… but I’m just not a particularly rational person.  In a fit of frustration, I threw the receipt away, and vowed to lose a few pounds to make the suit fit before the pool opens in a two weeks.

Now, I hate all the pro-ana thinspiration bullshit all over Pinterest these days.  I’m all about working out to be the healthiest version of you, not the skinniest one.  BUT, there is nothing wrong with a little extra motivation this time of year.  Especially if  exam-related stress caused you to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s on your coach while you tried not to cry into a Property Law textbook.

Now, I don’t do well on diets.  I tend to get deprived easily and gorge myself after a few days.  I eat fairly healthy in my every day life, though.  My main tactic right now is to eat out less, drink less alcohol, and skip fewer workouts.  I think it’s going pretty well so far, although even if I don’t lose any weight, the fact that I’ve done the work makes me feel better about myself regardless.

I’ll report back.  Unless I find the Nutella I made Pete hide from me.  Then we’ll pretend this never happened.

I was so wrapped up in Combat last week during launches that I’m only now getting to try the new releases of other Les Mills formats.  Here’s the track list for BodyStep 87!

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This release is pretty fun.  It’s tough, but not quite as hard as 86 was.  I really like the warm-up tracks (1,2, and 3).  “Moves like Jagger” is super fun.  The first two cardio peaks are intense.  There are some burpees/push-up mixed in, which normally I would appreciate but the ridges on the benches hurt my hands.  I’m not a huge fan of either of those songs; they’re a little too emo for my taste.  The first strength track (“Own This Club”) is fun but hard.  Your heart rate won’t go down much during this track (thank you, jump squats).  The party step is a great song, but it has some awkward moves in it.  The speed step is fun as always (note: if you’re new to step, go easy on the one- the speed step has the greatest learning curve of the class I think).  The last cardio peak is awesome.  It’s actually a really old step track that was remixed for this release.  It’s every bit cheesy epic that Step should be.  I love it.  The conditioning track is pretty good, too.  It has lunges (which are necessary since they weren’t in the strength track), push-ups, side planks, and bicycles!  Phew!  There is an awkward “interpretive dance” pause though… I just can’t at 6 am.

All in all, it’s a really fun and challenging release.  My hair was soaking wet by the end of it all and sweat was burning my eyes during the bicycles.  I love when that happens.  If you’ve never tried BodyStep before, you should check it out.  It’s a really fantastic workout that goes by really quickly.  Just stick with it, though, since it does take a little getting used to.

After all the working out I’ve been doing lately (with practicing Combat I’ve basically been working out twice a day over the past couple weeks), plus exam time stress, I’m kind of beat.  It’s also bring your kid to work day today… it’s nuts.  There are way too many screaming toddlers in here for my taste.  I’m excited to unwind with a friend at Sushi Rock tonight.  I need a cocktail like whoa…

Have you tried BodyStep 87 yet?  What did you think?

From LesMills.com: “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, you strike, punch, kick and kata your way through calories to superior cardio fitness. Like all the LES MILLS™ programs, a new BODYCOMBAT™ class is produced every three months with new music and choreography.”

Training really was an amazing experience. It far surpassed my expectations. I learned so much about technique, coaching, and honestly, about myself. I learned that there were a multitude of things I had been doing wrong. BodyCombat is primarily a cardio class, but it draws from different forms of martial arts that are thousands of years old. So, there is a very specific technique, and mastering that is a constantly evolving process. Throughout an instructor’s career, there will always be things to improve upon. Coaching also involves so much more than I ever realized. Les Mills has a specific process of scripting set-up, follow-up, and motivational cues to help your class get a great workout, improve their technique, and get the best experience possible out of your class. I think this will get easier over time, yet while my technique will be ever evolving, my coaching needs the most immediate work.

The weekend was exhausting. I’d estimate we did the release about three times a day (each class burns about 700 calories… so think about that one!), in addition to intense technique and conditioning drills throughout. The last time I worked so hard was during the marathon. Quitting wasn’t an option- I wasn’t being evaluated until the end of the day on Sunday, so I had to force myself to get my energy up to present my track. I drew on resources I didn’t know I had. When it comes down to it, though, when I do eventually start teaching, there will be days I’m exhausted, sore, or in a bad mood. I’ll have to teach anyway, and I can’t let my personal issues keep someone else from getting a good workout in.

After I worked my ass off all weekend, I walked away with a “pass”, which means I have to team teach four times before I can submit a video of myself teaching a class to Les Mills and finally be certified, which I have two months to do. I also have to audition for Gold’s Gym on Friday before I’m cleared to team teach. I think it’s just a formality, since they sponsored me to go to the training, but I’m gonna prepare hard and give it my best. I’ll need to get the whole release ready to present for my video anyway, and since the gym will be deciding when and how often I get to teach, I need to impress. It’s going to be a few months before I’m actually able to teach my own class, but I can’t wait to move forward.

There were some other unexpected things I got out of this weekend. I have a renewed passion for fitness because I want to be a better instructor. Similar to when I began running, it’s not just about looking good anymore. I want to do it to get better at it. I want to take extra cardio and strength classes to improve my combat performance. The desire to look good is never going to go away (ha… give me a break… anyone who says they don’t care what their ass looks like is full of shit), but I feel like an athlete whose primary goal is to improve performance now, not just lose weight.

I’ve also become a little less self-centered over the past couple days. It’s about your class, not you. Your primary responsibility is that they get what they need. Part of that is inspiring them by working hard and showing good form, but they aren’t there to see you. They are there to do their own work. I love that. Part of the reason I stopped performing was because I felt selfish. I felt like I was doing something solely for me and not benefiting anyone else, and that wasn’t how I wanted to live my life. But this is using my talents for good. I am passionate about being healthy and helping other people get healthy. Plus, theater is incredibly competitive, and I hated that. Here, everyone can be better. It’s a team effort to improve. There’s no limit to how many people can succeed. The mission of Les Mills is to get more people to be active. So as instructors, we need to separate our ego from our work and make it about others, what they need to succeed. It’s a beautiful, selfless thing, and exactly what I needed in my life right now, when I’m so wrapped up in my own, busy self.

I know, I’ve been MIA. This month has been NUTS, but they all are, so that’s not much of an excuse. Life has finally calmed down a teensy bit this afternoon, so I can tell you all about the Four Courts Four Miler I ran two weeks ago.

This is the second time I’ve run this race, the last time being two years ago, and it was every bit as horrific as I remembered.  The course is an out and back down Wilson Boulevard, starting at the Four Courts pub and meandering two miles through Rosslyn, up 110 a bit, and then back to Four Courts.  If you’re local to NOVA, you know the reason this course is a bitch.  Four Courts sits a top a monster, mile long hill.  Since this is an out and back, the last mile of the race is a serious uphill climb.

I knew all of this, since I’ve done this race before… but my legs weren’t really listening to my head that morning.  Perhaps it was the cold.  I know the temperatures have been in the low 80s in the nation’s capital lately, but just a scant two weeks ago , if you can remember back that far, it was pretty frigid outside.  I HATE the cold.  I hate the cold, and snow, and the dark… everything about winter. When the race was about to start, and I finally had to pull myself outside, I wanted to warm up and get back inside to my Guinness as soon as possible.  I flew down that hill, weaving left and right around the slow pokes (if you’ve ever run a Pacers race before, you know how race etiquette tends to go out the window; there will always be walkers lining up with the elites in the front). Once I got going it wasn’t so bad. This course sucks, and there aren’t many good spots to cheer people on, so the crowd support is negligible. But the costumes and people watching are fun. I jammed out to Glee on my ipod (stop judging me) and tried not to think about how numb my ass was.

Everything was going alright… until mile 4. Holy crap. I’m an idiot. Every step up that hill hurt. It took everything in me not to walk. That’s the product of poor pacing, I guess. I didn’t hurl… but I sure felt like I was going to. I can’t even express the sheer elation I felt when I finally crossed the finish line. I was JOYOUS. SEE!

Ahem… like I said… thrilled. Stats:

Time: 35:34
Overall Place: 550th out of 1,512
Age Group: 102nd out of 396

Amazingly, I finished faster this time around than I did last year. It could be because I pushed myself so hard in the beginning, but most likely because it was pouring down raining last time, since I am definitely not in the fighting shape I was then. I have not been running nearly enough lately. Don’t get me wrong, all the cross-training I’ve been doing is really helpful, but nothing can replace a good speed work session or a long run. Judging by how absolutely miserable I felt during this race, I need to work to build my base back up before marathon training starts this summer.

I’m running the Monument Avenue 10k this weekend, which is my all time FAVORITE race, so I’m pretty pumped. For the reasons stated above, I doubt I’ll be PR-ing, but it should be a great time regardless. I’m taking it easy this week until then, but after that I plan to implement some kind of informal training plan to take me through summer when the real fun starts.