One of the best things I learned this week was that Pandora has stations based off more than artists’ names. I recognize I may be late on this and if you haven’t heard Pop Fitness Radio and Best of 2012 Pop Mash-Up you should definitely check them out. Pop Fitness took me through my 7 mile run on Sunday! I enjoyed last Sunday’s workout so much I decided to go for it again. I needed some accountability so tweeted for someone to, “Make me do it!” My friend Beth tweeted back, committing herself to me, and sure enough was texting me Sunday morning to make sure I was up running. Oh what would I do without run friends?! Thank you Beth!

It was such a lovely run! This view of lower Manhattan is one of my favorites. It was the first time in ages I wasn’t pressed for time and before I knew it I had run 7 miles- across the Manhattan Bridge, back over the Brooklyn Bridge (which was fantastically pedestrian free), through the depths of Chinatown, and back up the East River. It was my longest run since the marathon.

Surprisingly the week started out with a run too. The weather was perfect for running Monday- sunny and about 45 degrees. I got a friend of mine for work to join me and we ran 4 miles through soho and along the Hudson. Rich is really tall so it was fun trying to keep up with his long legs. We ran at a pace of 8:58 which is fast for me!

Tuesday was a two-a-day for me. I started at a sunrise yoga class at Lyon’s Den with Patrick (he is so great!) I love starting class when it’s dark outside and seeing the sun come up over the city. It’s so awakening and inspiring! Class ended early enough for me to take a stroll through soho before having to be at work. It’s amazing how refreshing 35 degrees feels after an hour of yoga in a 95 degree room. After work I rushed up to Union Square and met Leticia at Revolve Fitness. There are so many new cycling studios popping up in New York, especially in the Union Square area, and I’m loving visiting them. What’s cool about this place is that they have “Real Rides.” The ride we did, I believe, was in Italy. The instructor Kristin has done this ride there before and drew the elevation map on the mirror for us to follow along. This is definitely a uniqueness to this studio! Revolve has complimentary first classes, check them out!

Wednesday I gave myself a break before a RIDICULOUS day at Crossfit 212 on Thursday. I really do love this place and how it pushes me past my comfort zone. We started with lots of planks and side planks. And then this madness. Yep. That’s a burpee, a push-up (I absolutely do them on my knees), a jumping jack, a sit-up, and a handstand. Let’s be clear that I cannot do a handstand. Instead I did this:

Picture credit.

There’s no way my body was in that straight of an L. It definitely left my shoulders sore. Oh, and I forgot to say, we did that sequence fifty times. Yes. 5-0. Needless to say my ENTIRE body was so sore for two solid days.

Friday Nicole and I sweat it out at Swerve Fitness. Located between Union Square and Flatiron, this is yet another new spin studio. The studio itself is really nice and they have a “sign up for first class the second class is free” deal. My favorite thing about this studio is that they track your RPMs and power individually on the bikes, yet they post the scores as a TEAM on the monitor. This means about 15 of you are racing two other groups of 15. This brings camaraderie and cheering for each other. Never after a spin class have I had fellow spinners say, “Great job!” and high five me. They do private group classes there too so it’s a great opportunity to sign up a huge group of people with a competitive spirit!

It was a great week and I was excited to get two runs in. I can’t believe the NYC Half is in less than two months. Remember to donate to my Solemates page as I raise money for Girls on the Run!