I receive a ton of questions from readers about where to stay when they visit Boston. I’m always hesitant to give my recommendations because I’ve only stayed at two hotels (now three) in the area. All of my family lives locally and when my friends visit, they stay at our house, so I just haven’t had a ton of experience with the hotels in the Boston area.

With that said, I finally have a great hotel recommendation for those of you who are visiting Beantown: The Charles Hotel. It really has a lot going for it, especially if you’re looking for a “healthy living” experience.

Quick side note: The Charles Hotel is located in Cambridge, which is not Boston proper. If you want to experience all of the Boston-y things in the city, I recommend staying at The Colonnade Hotel. It’s located in the Back Bay/Copley area of Boston, right on Huntington Avenue across from the Prudential, so it’s basically near all of the touristy stuff. The rooms are absolutely gorgeous, the hotel restaurant Brasserie Jo is amazing, and there’s a pool on the roof! If you want to learn more about it, here are my reviews: The Colonnade Hotel.

Ok, back to why I think The Charles Hotel is a great place to stay when you visit Boston. The main reason is that it has so much to offer; everything is right at your fingertips.

Obviously, Harvard Square and everything that goes along with it (shopping, restaurants, etc.) is right outside your door, but check out what The Charles Hotel has to offer (I totally nabbed this info from the website, but it’s really impressive):

• Full Service Spa & Salon – Corbu Spa & Salon
• Complimentary Wi-Fi access in all guestrooms and public spaces
• 24-Hour Concierge
• 24-Hour in-room dining
• Library in lobby with The Harvard Coop’s autographed bestsellers
• Avis Rent-a-Car located onsite
• Same-day laundry
• Valet, indoor/underground parking & car salon
• “Kid’s Kits” presented to children upon arrival
• Complimentary Children’s DVD Rentals
• Pet-friendly < --- Murphy wants to visit!
• Access to The Rink (seasonal)

Not included in that list, but what I liked most about my stay:

• Complimentary access to Wellbridge Athletic Club
• Four delicious (like really delicious) onsite restaurants

Ok, now that I’ve (hopefully) sold you on The Charles Hotel, here’s a recap of my morning there. (I apologize if this post sounds super sales-y. I just want you guys to know why I think this hotel is a great place for out-of-town folks to stay.)

Snack

Jen woke up bright and early for work, so I got up as well. I said goodbye to her and then threw on my workout gear for a visit to the hotel gym for a run. I snacked on a banana before I hit the treadmill.

Workout

The Wellbridge Athletic Club is a legit gym, meaning the folks who live and work in the area are members. It has all of the usual fitness equipment (and plenty of it) as well as a lap pool. It’s definitely not your typical tiny, dark hotel gym with old school equipment.

For some reason, I just wasn’t in the mood to run this morning, but I love trying out new gyms, so I forced myself to get started. The first mile of my run was brutal (like why the F am I doing this to myself?), but once I got warmed up, I was happy I got my sweat on.

My workout for today was 3 x 800 with 5 minutes rest in between. It looked like this on the treadmill:

As I mentioned, I felt terrible at the start of my workout, but, as it progressed, I felt better, so my 800 intervals increased in speed each time. It was a short and sweet workout, and I finished in under 35 minutes.

After my workout, I headed upstairs to my hotel room for a quick shower. I watched Live! with Kelly while I got ready in the bathroom. It was awesome. How cool would it be to have one of these TVs in your bathroom at home?!

Breakfast

Once I was ready to go, I went downstairs to Henrietta’s Table for breakfast.

I almost headed home and ate breakfast there to save some money, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dine at Henrietta’s Table. Their breakfast/brunch is epic.

The first thing I ordered: coffee! Nice and strong. Perfect.

Everything on the menu sounded delicious, so I had trouble making up my mind. Eventually, I just ordered a few different things, which ended up being a lot of food!

Check out the size of my fruit!

The waitress warned me it was a large portion, but I didn’t think it would be that huge! Ha!

I also ordered an egg and a Morning Glory muffin, which was also pretty big.

I had no problem eating the entire thing. Obviously.

Good times at The Charles Hotel. I definitely recommend it!

Off to CrossFit! Woot!

Hi, guys! How’s your Tuesday afternoon going? Mine is going especially well because I just discovered a Target less than five miles from my house. Oooh, yes. I am psyched! I plan to spend a lot of time and money there.

Workout

After breakfast, I headed to the gym for a quick run. On days that I plan to go to CrossFit in the evening, I try to stick with shorter runs, so I still have some energy later in the day for my PM workout.

According to my half marathon training plan, 6 X 400m was on the agenda, which, on the treadmill with my speeds and intervals, worked out to be exactly a 3.1 miles (5K). How cool! So, here’s a 5K treadmill challenge for you! (If the speeds are too fast for you, just subtract 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 from each of the intervals.)

I planned to run six intervals at 8.5, but by the fourth interval, I still had some energy to burn, so I picked up the pace to 8.7 and 9.0 on the last two intervals. It felt good to finish strong, especially on such a short workout. This run was over before I knew it! (It took me about 28 minutes to finish the entire workout.)

Speaking of treadmill workouts, I added a new Treadmill Workouts category as well as a Treadmill Workouts widget to the right side of CNC, so you can find them more easily and discover new ones. 

Lunch

After the gym, I headed home for lunch. On the menu: an omelet with diced ham, tomatoes, kale, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I thought a protein-packed omelet with ham and fibrous veggies would satisfy me, but about an hour later, I wanted something else to eat, so I sliced up a banana and added a scoop of Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter to it.

Snack

Just now, a couple of hours later, I broke into a KIND bar as an afternoon snack. I wasn’t super hungry, but I figured I’d want a little something in my stomach for CrossFit tonight.

CNC FAQs

If you didn’t notice, I posted a ton of Frequently Asked Questions and my responses yesterday. I hadn’t updated my FAQ page since 2009, so it definitely needed it! I also split up the questions into different categories for better organization:

• Blogging Questions
• Fitness Questions
• Food Questions
• Miscellaneous Questions
• Murphy Questions
• Tina Questions

I love hearing from you guys, so if you ever have a question for me, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or email me with it directly.

I’m off to walk the pug and then to CrossFit! We’re doing the Nasty Girls tonight. Sounds dirty, doesn’t it?

So, I haven’t been doing a great job following my 8-Week Half Marathon Training Plan, but I’m going to try to do better in the coming weeks. I thought I could handle 5 days of CrossFit + 3 training runs each week, but I’m now realizing it just isn’t going to happen—at least not right now. (Maybe it’s something to work toward in the future?) My new workout schedule will probably be 4 days of CrossFit + 2-3 training runs each week. I think I can handle that. We’ll see how it goes!

I was actually planning to go to CrossFit tonight, but my upper back and shoulders are still sore from Tuesday’s workout. (Wall-Climbs are my nemesis!) So, instead of having a mediocre workout tonight that could potentially leave me exhausted for tomorrow’s WOD, I’m skipping tonight’s class and starting fresh tomorrow. Plus, Saturday’s workouts are always a blast, so I don’t want to miss it.

Workout

A 10K was on my training schedule for today, so I hit the treadmill for a sweaty workout. It was a lot of fun and really challenging. I love those kinds of workouts.

I liked this treadmill workout because it started out at an easy pace and built speed every 1/2 mile. By mile 4 or so, the speeds started to get pretty challenging, but I kept telling myself:

only 3 more intervals

only 2 more intervals

only 1 more interval

Which helped me mentally motivate and pace myself by breaking down the run into smaller parts. I also reminded myself that I wasn’t running that much faster on each interval, so I knew I just needed to keep trucking along. Plus, the faster I ran, the quicker it would be over! When I hit 6 miles, I picked up the pace and sprinted to the end. I love finishing strong. I also love this workout (if you couldn’t tell)!

I finished 6.2 miles in 52:34, which was an average pace of 8:28, and my fast 10K ever. I beat my current PR by 41 seconds! Woohoo!

Snack

Before heading to the gym, I snacked on a banana.

Pug-nocchio!

Ok, it’s an old joke, but I still think it’s funny!

Lunch

After my workout, I threw together a quick lunch: deli ham + provolone cheese with guacamole on whole wheat bread. On the side: salad with truffle oil and balsamic vinegar. Quick, easy, delicious.

Snack

A few hours later, I snacked on another banana, but this time with a scoop of almond butter. I guess it was a two banana kind of day. < —- TWSS?

I’m off to walk the pug, and then I plan to sit on the couch and drink wine for the rest of the night.

Happy weekend, friends!

Hello, hello!

Did today fly by for anyone else? Holy cow. I still can’t believe it’s dinnertime. I feel like I just woke up!

Thankfully, I was super-duper productive all day long and got plenty of stuff done. My head is spinning a bit and I exercised twice today, so I am more than ready to RELAX this evening. Bring on the R&R!

Lunch

I plowed through my To Do list this morning, so I didn’t even realize it was lunchtime until my stomach started growling like crazy. I threw together a huge salad with roasted veggies, hummus, guacamole, black beans, balsamic vinegar, and truffle salt. I rule at making salads.

Workout

After lunch, I headed to the gym for a quickie workout: 3 x 1200m with 3 minutes rest in between. I warmed-up with a 1-mile jog, and then got right to it. Here’s how my workout looked on the treadmill:

The first two intervals didn’t seem all that challenging, but by the third one, I was starting to feel it. The last quarter mile was pretty tough, but I pushed myself to the end. I covered 3.85 miles in about in about 37 minutes.

Snacks

After my run, I headed home, quickly showered, and headed out to drive to an appointment. I grabbed an apple for the car ride.

After my appointment, I came home and took Murphy for his afternoon walk. I munched on a KIND bar during our walk.

I was still sort of hungry after my walk with Murph, so I ate a few pieces of deli ham before heading CrossFit.

I just got back from CrossFit a little while ago. I’m sweaty and covered in sand (more on that tomorrow), so I’m going to hit the shower, eat dinner, and then park my bee-hind on the couch for the rest of the night. I am spent. Is there anything good on TV tonight? I’m in the mood to veg out.

Enjoy the evening, friends!

P.S. DailyBurn is running a healthy Super Bowl recipe contest that closes tomorrow, so just a heads-up if any of you have any healthy recipes you’d like to enter!

I want to keep track of my favorites posts from the year, so here are my top 12 from January. Enjoy!  

How I Chose My Protein Powder

I swear there are some mornings that my iced coffee tastes better than others. Today was one of those days. Holy yum! Cold, creamy goodness in a glass. Hey, sometimes, it’s the little things in life… Breakfast Along with my iced coffee, I enjoyed a Coconut Protein Pancake.

Apple Crisp Light

Remember my mom’s recipe for Apple Crisp? It’s seriously delicious and one of my favorite desserts ever, but, sadly, it’s not at all healthy. I mean, there’s a cup of sugar and a full stick of butter in it.

“Oatmeal” Minus the Oats

Last night, within minutes, I received two emails from readers asking very similar questions about breakfast and protein: I’m so sorry to say that I just don’t like oatmeal. You’re so creative with it and i know it is a great source of protein but I just can’t get into it.

Running + CrossFit: A Match Made In Heaven?

Now that I’ve been doing CrossFit for almost a month, I’ve noticed that it really interferes with my running— not really my motivation to run, but my physical ability to actually do it. Typically, I’m too exhausted to run after a CrossFit workout, so I try to run before, but, sometimes, my body is just too exhausted.

Bob Harper on CrossFit, The Biggest Loser & His Last Meal on Earth

Awhile back, Quaker Oats invited me to participate in a conference call with Bob Harper along with a few other bloggers. The call was scheduled on the same day as the NASM Live Workshop, so I wasn’t able to attend, but Quaker folks kindly offered to coordinate a one-on-one email interview with Bob.

NASM Certified Personal Trainer Q & A

Hi, guys! Look what arrived in the mail this afternoon! My NASM Certified Personal Trainer certificate! Woohoo! I figured receiving my certificate in the mail today was a sign that I should probably reply to your questions about NASM, so here’s a little Q & A.

Lunch with Ellie Krieger

Hi, guys! I just got back from having lunch with Ellie Krieger. No big deal. Lunch This afternoon, Kris, Karen, and I met Ellie at Cookshop for lunch. (Kris and Karen are the PR folks from the California Grapes Commission.) Cookshop was a great spot for lunch.

How I Started Running

Good morning! Check out last night’s Workout of the Day: Hmm… Surprise WOD? I should have known then that it was going to be a killer workout! (Our coaches didn’t post the WOD because they thought people wouldn’t come if they saw it ahead of time! Ha!)

How Much Exercise Is Too Much?

Yowsahs. Last night’s WOD was another killer CrossFit workout! Two days in a row of tough workouts, and I’m spent. Today is most definitely a rest day. Check out last night’s WOD: Strength: Overhead Squat 5-5-5 WOD: “Helen’s Ugly Cousin” 15 Minutes As Many Rounds As Possible of: 400 meter run 21 Sumo Dead Lift High.

Mostly We Don’t Remember The Days; We Remember The Moments

It’s never a dull day in the Haupert house! I live with the two biggest clowns ever. So, I haven’t been totally truthful with you guys about my life lately. Not because I have something to hide, but after my ex passed away last summer, I’ve been hesitant to share the really personal details of my life.

Mohegan Sun WineFest ’12

Wow! What an event! I’ve attended all sorts of wine tastings over the years, but nothing like Mohegan’s Sun WineFest! Featuring beer, wine, specialty spirits and delectable dishes this weekend extravaganza has something for everyone. Wine and beer enthusiasts can select from over 1,000 brands or enjoy tastings of specialty sponsor spirits.

At-Home and Budget-Friendly CrossFit Ideas

In the past several weeks, I’ve received a ton of questions from you guys asking for cheaper and at-home ideas for CrossFit. It seems that quite a few of you want to try it, but don’t live near a CrossFit location and/or don’t have the funds to afford a membership.

One of the best perks about working from home is afternoon cuddle time with my favorite pug. How adorable is this dog?!

Murphy often spends much of the day sitting in my lap while I work at my computer. I’m sure it’s terrible for my back, but he’s so darn cute, I just can’t say no. Plus, he keeps me warm!

Breakfast

I woke up craving a warm, creamy bowl of oatmeal, so I whipped up a batch with rolled oats, a banana, egg whites, hemp milk, ground flaxseed meal, and cinnamon. I also added two spoonfuls of peanut butter to the mix.

Lunch

After breakfast, I headed to NuVal for a few hours. I was there during lunchtime, so I packed a meal to take with me.

Today’s lunch: veggies + roasted garlic hummus.

And a single-serving of sunflower butter.

That I spread on a Protein Pancake.

It was a tasty lunch and much more satisfying than I thought it would be. I always sort of worry about being hungry before a workout, but this one did the trick and kept my stomach happy for hours.

Workout

After NuVal, I headed straight to the gym to get my run on. (I knew if I stopped at home, I wouldn’t want to go!) On the agenda: 12 x 400m with 90 seconds rest in between on the treadmill.

For the rest intervals, I walked at 3.5 mph, which worked out to be approximately 0.10 mile, so I just used that distance instead of trying to do the math in my head for 90-second rest and 1/4 mile intervals twelve different times. The more tired I get, the more difficult simple addition becomes for me! Anyway, here’s how it all worked out on the treadmill.

It took me a little over 50 minutes to finish the 5.2-mile workout.

Snack

After my workout, I came home and immediately took a few swigs of coconut water (to replenish my muscles) and then hopped in the shower. After that, I snacked on a toasted Banana Walnut Paleo Muffin with melted butter and a large spoonful of Teddie peanut butter that went directly from the jar into my mouth.

I’m kind of pooped after that treadmill workout, so I’m debating whether to skip CrossFit or not tonight. Plus, a special visitor is visiting tomorrow, so I should probably stay home and clean the house.

Enjoy the night, friends!

P.S. Here’s a super cute/funny photo for the pug lovers!

Yowsahs.

Last night’s WOD was another killer CrossFit workout! Two days in a row of tough workouts, and I’m spent. Today is most definitely a rest day.

Check out last night’s WOD:

Strength:

Overhead Squat

5-5-5

WOD: “Helen’s Ugly Cousin”

15 Minutes As Many Rounds As Possible of:

400 meter run

21 Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls (75, 45)

12 Overhead Squats (75, 45)

It might not look too difficult, but I swear any workout with running (or an insane amount of Box Jumps or Burpees) makes every other exercise in that workout so much harder to do. Holy cardio!

I planned to do the workout as perscribed with 45 pounds, but, at the last minute, I switch to a lighter weight (35 lbs) for the Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls and Overhead Squats. I’m so glad that I did because I’m not sure I could have done that workout with the prescribed weight and proper form. I finished 4 rounds with 29 seconds to spare, so I ran an extra 400m just for fun. I gotta get in some running where I can!

Dinner

When I got out of the shower after CrossFit last night, I found Murphy intensely staring outside. Of course, I wondered what the heck he was looking at, so I walked over to the door to check it out. To my surprise, Mal was out on the backporch grilling a steak for dinner. Apparently, spring-like weather in January means grill time!

On the menu for dinner: grilled steak with roasted broccoli. Delish!

TV dinner.

I finished off the meal with a dark chocolate Adora disk with peanut butter and a couple of glasses of wine.

After drinking a couple of glasses of wine While relaxing on the couch, Mal and I had a little fun with the pug.

Yoda pug?

Do or do not. There is no try.

Mal and I thought it was pretty funny, but Murphy wasn’t amused.

At all.

Super Sunday 5 Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered the Super Sunday 5 Giveaway! Here are your winners:

Claire

I live near there – and it will be so great to get out and be active before coming home to healthy snacks to watch the Super Bowl!

Blythe

I’m training for a half marathon and I’m supposed to run 5 miles on that day anyway! What great motivation woooo

kitchenbelle

Sounds like a lot of fun! Would love to run this! Always like checking out a new course.

Anne

Well, I have a 10K on the half-marathon training plan for that day. So I could go for five miles of it as a race!

Congrats, winners! Please email me at tina@carrotsncake.com to claim your prize!

How Much Exercise Is Too Much?

A number of readers have questioned and commented on how much I’ve been exercising lately, so I just wanted to explain myself.

Since I started CrossFit, I’ve started to exercise more simply because I enjoy it so much. The WODs are never the same thing twice, which keeps things fun and exciting, and even though the workouts are tough, I’m not beating up my body day after day. CrossFit is “by design, broad, general, and inclusive,” and its specialty is not specializing, so it trains the whole athlete and prepares them to face all sort of fitness challenges, which means I can do many different kinds of workouts each week. Of course, when my body is tired and sore, I take a rest day. I know my limits, and I know the importance of rest days. That’s when the magic happens!

As for my running mixed with CrossFit, I have to admit, I probably wouldn’t be doing all that much of it if a half marathon wasn’t on my calendar. After spending the past two months CrossFit-ing, I actually find running sort of boring. Ok, I love a quick interval workout on the treadmill or running 3-4 miles just to clear my head, but the thought of running for hours and hours just doesn’t do it for me. CrossFit is like playtime with my friends for me. It’s never the same thing twice, and I’m always excited to go.

With that said, I stumbled upon an article in this month’s Self magazine that features a really great interview with Jillian Michaels. She said a lot of interesting things, but one quote about exercise, in particular, really got me thinking:

You know you are overdoing it if you are spending more than 5-6 hours a week in the gym. I really, really think you need one day off—your body needs to rest and you need that recovery time. So, if you are going over 6 hours a week, you definitely may have an exercise addiction—unless you are morbidly obese and you have a ton of weight to lose. That’s a different story.

I’m not sure I agree with Jillian on this one. I assume she’s not referring to professional athletes, but what about amateur athletes training for endurance events or people who just enjoy exercise? I don’t think you can say some has an “exercise addiction” just because they spend more than 6 hours doing it each week. I honestly don’t think there’s a right answer for how much someone should exercise. It all depends on what you enjoy, your fitness level, goals, and what works for you.

Question of the Day

What do you think about what Jillian said? If you spend more than 6 hours a week exercising, do you have an exercise addiction? How much exercise is too much?

Here’s another treadmill workout to add to your collection!

800’s & 400’s

This workout starts with a 1-mile warm-up and then moves onto four 800’s with a 1/4 mile jog in between. When you don’t think you can do another 800, the workout drops down to four 400’s at the same pace with a 1/4 mile jog in between. For a 6-mile treadmill run, this workout really flew by!

For those of you following along with my half marathon training for the Rock ‘N’ Roll USA, I updated my training page this morning. My coach is still waiting to hear back from the CrossFit Endurance folks about a half training plan, so I’m just winging it for now. Hopefully, I’ll have some news soon.

Bob Harper Kettlebell DVD Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered the Bob Harper Kettlebell DVD Giveaway! Here’s your winner:

Haley

Since I’m at college and sometimes (well a lot of the time) don’t feel like walking a half mile to the gym I do work out videos in my dorm. I have free weights and a kettle bell so I would LOVE this DVD!!!

Congrats, Haley! Please email me at tina@carrotsncake.com with your full name and address to claim your prize.

Oooooh, I have another great treadmill workout for you guys! I did a Tabata workout, which is interval training of 20 seconds of maximum intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times for a total of four minutes. My total workout time, including warm-up and cool-down, was only 20 minutes, but it kicked my butt!

Credit for this simple and powerful training method belongs to its namesake, Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. Their groundbreaking 1996 study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise, provided documented evidence concerning the dramatic physiological benefits of high-intensity intermittent training. After just 6 weeks of testing, Dr. Tabata noted a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity in his subjects, along with a 14% increase in their ability to consume oxygen (V02Max). These results were witnessed in already physically fit athletes. The conclusion was that just four minutes of Tabata interval training could do more to boost aerobic and anaerobic capacity than an hour of endurance exercise. [source]

Pretty cool stuff, right? With this in mind, here’s how my Tabata worked on the treadmill:

Instead of fiddling around and adjusting the speeds on the treadmill during the Tabata, I set it for 9.5 and then just hopped on and off as needed. For the 10-second rests, I stood with one foot on each side of the treadmill, and when it was time to run again, I held onto the rails and (carefully) started running at 9.5 again. It worked out really well.

Lunch

After my workout, I came home and chowed down on lunch. I made a big salad topped with roasted chicken, prunes, olives, Bulgur Salad with Kale and Grapes, roasted Brussels sprouts, balsamic vinegar, truffle oil, and truffle salt. Holy yum! I rule at making salads.

After lunch, I enjoyed a whole wheat Sandwich Thin with White Chocolate Wonderful spread on top.

Snack

A few hours later, I snacked on an Apple Cinnamon & Pecan KIND Bar and chugged some water. I wasn’t all that hungry, but I figured I needed something in my stomach before CrossFit. We have a benchmark workout on the agenda for tonight!

I’m off to walk Murphy! Enjoy the evening, friends!

Yowsahs! That was a killer workout! I didn’t expect 800’s to be so challenging. It seems like a nice, friendly distance until you’re giving it your all on repeats and then it seems like it’s never, ever going to end! Friends, don’t let those 800’s trick you!

Workout

This afternoon, I hit the hotel gym to do my second CFE half marathon training workout, which was 5 X 800m, and, boy, did it kick my butt. I actually stopped to rest for a few seconds on the fourth 800m because I just couldn’t keep going. But, I didn’t let myself stop on the 5th one, so that was awesome. I mean, I was almost done with the workout at that point!

Here’s how the 5 X 800m went down on the treadmill:

I’m telling ya it was a tough one! I thought it was even more difficult than Monday’s super fast interval workout! FYI: The entire workout, including the 10-minute warm-up, took 45 minutes and covered approximately 4.5 miles.

Snack

After my workout, I grabbed a quick snack from a café across the street from my hotel: Fage Greek yogurt and a banana. Dinner isn’t until 8:00 tonight, so I definitely need a little something to hold me over until then.

And, because I’m weirdly obsessed with hotels, here are a few pics of my room:

I love the art!

And the stand-up glass shower. I want one of these in my house!

And, of course, fancy bath products are always fun!

Off to meet Theodora for a cocktail!