Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 01:55 PM
Hi, guys! 
After blogging about breakfast, I headed downtown for a BURN class at Healthworks. BURN is a hard-core treadmill workout, but it is designed to challenge all fitness levels– you don’t need to be a superstar runner to take a class. You can even walk the BURN class and still get an amazing workout. For 50-minutes, you work between treadmill intervals and strength training circuits, which maximizes your workout efficiency, so you burn a ton of calories.
Healthworks offers about 10 different BURN classes; I took Total Body Blast BURN this morning. This workout is performed predominantly on the treadmill and involves sprints, high-incline power walking, and endurance intervals.
The class was tough, and it totally kicked my booty! Toward the end of the workout, we alternated between sprints and jogging on a 6.0 incline. I thought I was going to die. But, when it was all over, I felt GREAT! I’m so glad that I pushed myself. I love workouts like that! 
(But, seriously, I thought I was going to die!)
After a butt-kickin’ workout at Healthworks, I headed over to Intimacy in the Copley Mall to buy myself a new bra. What can I say, I have expensive taste when it comes to bras! 
I realize the importance of high quality (aka expensive) bras, but I’m still a cheapskate at heart. I didn’t need a new bra, but my $50 off coupon was going to expire at the end of the month, and I heard a rumor that Intimacy was having a big sale, so I just had to check it out. Plus, I always love a good deal!
When I arrived at Intimacy, I went straight for the sale rack. I found 3 bras– 2 of which were half price– and tried them on. I ended up buying a lacy, black and purple number, which, with my coupon, cost me less than $3! It was totally worth the trip downtown!
Lunch
By the time I got home from my workout and running errands, I was famished! I took a quick shower and then whipped-up an even quicker salad for lunch. I munched on some veggies while I chopped.
In the mix:
- Arugula
- Carrots
- Grape tomatoes
- Cumbers
- Celery
- Black olives
- Black-eyed peas
- KooLoos
- Balsamic vinegar
Like usual, I wanted something sweet after lunch, so I baked a quick batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
And, I ate them all!
I also put on a fresh pot of coffee. The combination of cookies + coffee just sounded so delicious to me. Plus, the rest of the pot will become iced coffee for tomorrow morning’s breakfast.
I love my new mug! Thanks, Beth!
So, my plans changed for this afternoon. Instead of spending it drinking beer, I’m driving out to my in-laws’ house with Mal to pick up a dining room table and our couch from storage. Mal and I want to have our place completely settled by the end of the weekend, so beer drinking will have to wait until tonight.
See ya later!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, workouts
Tags: BURN, Healthworks, Intimacy Boston
Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 07:41 PM
So, we had a little change of plans this afternoon.
Mal and I were supposed to meet his parents in Harvard Square to see the Hasty Pudding performance, but we got caught up at home with the Sears repairmen. Our washer has been broken for a couple of weeks now, so the repair guys came out this afternoon to fix it. They were running late and the repair took longer than expected, so we had to cancel our plans. 
Mal and I were bummed about missing the show, but somehow his parents finagled switching our tickets to next weekend. Sweet!
Not going to the Hasty Pudding show was actually a blessing in disguise.
Mal and I had time to set up the “guest room” for Beth and Corey.
And, we had time to go to the gym, which was a pleasant surprise considering how busy we were today!
Workout
At the gym, I did a treadmill workout, which varied speeds between 6.5 mph and 7.1 mph. I covered 3.3 miles in 30 minutes. After running, I did some crunches on the ball and stretched before heading home.
Snack
Once I showered and “prettied” myself, it was time for Happy Hour. Mal and I broke out a bottle of Dry Pear Wine from Nashoba Valley Winery.
The Dry Pear Wine was really good, but I think I like the winery’s Riesling better. I never thought I’d say that about a Riesling!
We’re grabbing a late dinner with Beth and Corey, so while we enjoyed our wine, Mal and I snacked on some Triscuits and Blue Cheese Skinny Dip to hold off our hunger.
Mmm… wine!
Ask Me Anything
You guys have asked some great questions! So far Ask Me Anything hasn’t been that scary!
If it was your last meal ever, what would you have?
French bread, stinky cheese, and Chardonnay.
What does Mal eat in a day (besides PB&J for lunch)?
Typically, he eats oatmeal or frozen waffles for breakfast. Lunch is PB & J with Kettle Chips. His snacks include chocolate chip granola bars, apples, bananas, and pistachios. He usually eats the same dinner as I do. He’s also an iced coffee and water fanatic like his wife.
What time do you typically go to sleep/wake up?
I try to be in bed by 9 PM and asleep by 9:30/10 PM. I wake up at 6 AM unless I am working on my book and then I wake up at 4:29 AM.
How did you get your job at NuVal?
Melissa of A Better Bag of Groceries contacted me through Carrots ‘N’ Cake about writing a guest post for my blog. NuVal sounded really interesting, but once I realized that they were a local company, I wanted to become involved somehow. Basically, I “pitched myself” to them. You can read the whole story here.
Where did you get that awesome straw that’s in all of our pictures of your iced coffee? I’m obsessed with it!
They’re from cheftools.com and so cool!
Does Mal read your blog everyday?
Yes, he reads it at least once a day.
—
Our guests will be here in about an hour! Wahoo!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: workouts
Tags: Ask Me Anything
Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 04:43 PM
Murphy and I feel lazy today. 
Even though we really just wanted to snuggle on the couch all day long, we had lots to do. Somehow, we motivated ourselves to get moving.
Workout
I wasn’t in the mood to exercise, but I knew I’d feel better once I was done. Plus, if I checked my workout off my To Do list early, it wouldn’t be hanging over my head for the rest of the day. I figured that I might as well just do it.
Before I hit the gym, I snacked on a peanut butter crunch Cinch bar, which was just so-so. Of course, I enjoyed the peanut butter flavor, but like the chocolate bar, it tasted pretty artificial.
At the gym, I ended up running close to 5 miles! Don’t you love workouts like that?! You don’t want to exercise, but once you get moving, you feel great and end up having a fantastic workout. Today was definitely one of those days!
Here’s the 45-minute treadmill workout that I did today:
- 00:00 – 05:00: 6.5 mph
- 05:00 – 07:00: 6.6 mph
- 07:00 – 11:00: 6.7 mph
- 11:00 – 21:00: 6.8 mph
- 21:00 – 22:00: 6.6 mph
- 22:00 – 23:00: 6.8 mph
- 23:00 – 24:00: 6.6 mph
- 24:00 – 25:00: 6.8 mph
- 25:00 – 26:00: 6.6 mph
- 26:00 – 27:00: 6.8 mph
- 27:00 – 29:00: 6.9 mph
- 29:00 – 31:00: 6.8 mph
- 31:00 – 33:00: 6.7 mph
- 33:00 – 35:00: 6.6 mph
- 35:00 – 38:00: 6.8 mph
- 38:00 – 40:00: 6.6 mph
- 40:00 – 45:00: 6.5 mph
In 45 minutes, I almost covered 5 miles, so I walked for a few more minutes until I met my goal. I stretched for a good 10 minutes and then headed home. It was an unexpectedly awesome workout!
Lunch
For lunch, I whipped up a couple of tuna melts for Mal and me. I mixed a can of tuna with relish and mayo, spread it on top of whole wheat bread, and topped it with wasabi-horseradish cheddar cheese before popping my open-face sandwich in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Mmm! I always forget how much I like tuna melts.
On the side, I had some raw veggies.
After lunch, Mal and I decided to divide and conquer our remaining tasks for the afternoon. We still needed to go grocery shopping and take Murphy for a long walk. Mal offered to go grocery shopping solo, so I took Murph for an hour-long walk around Southie.
Our walk was really nice– a little cold, but warm in the sun. I’m just happy that I didn’t freeze to death like I normally do on long walks! 
Snack
When Murphy and I returned home, I wanted something yummy to warm me up. I made myself a hot mug of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea with a squirt of agave nectar and snacked on a banana. Who knew sugar cookie tea + banana would go so well together?
I’m off to relax with another mug of tea and watch some DVR shows before dinner.
P.S. Where did this weekend go!?!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: workouts
Tags: treadmill workout, tuna melt
