Last night, I attended a special event called “The Hunter/Farmer Dinner,” which was held in the Demonstration Kitchen at Canyon Ranch. Canyon Ranch holds special complimentary dinners as well as “Lunch & Learn” sessions every day for guests. I didn’t attend any of the “Lunch & Learn” sessions during my stay, and I actually sort of regret it because the dinner last night was so great. We enjoyed lots of delicious dishes, learned how to make them, and received handouts with all of the recipes. The “Lunch & Learn” sessions are similar, and I think I would have liked them a lot.

Last night’s menu was inspired by The Hunter/Farmer Diet Solution, a book written by Canyon Ranch Medical Director, Mark Liponis, MD. The basic premise of the book: one’s metabolism and ability to lose and maintain a healthy weight is based on whether they are a “Farmer” or “Hunter.” Once you determine which one you are (you can actually be a mix of both), you can adjust your diet to lose or maintain a healthy weight.

From the Canyon Ranch Lenox handouts:

A “Hunter” has natural traits that were designed to help survival under conditions of foraging and finding food. The hunter has adapted to storing energy in the belly where it can more easily draw upon during lean times when foods is scare. This individual should be mindful of their grain and sugar intake.

A “Farmer” gets hungry more often and needs to eat every few hours, especially grains, to maintain their blood sugar. They are typically those who store energy in the lower half of their body. This individual should be mindful of their fat intake.

Interesting, right? I’m definitely more “Farmer.” I am always hungry and store energy in the lower half of my body. When I gain weight, I always notice it first in my quads. Obviously, there are a million different diets out there, so this is just another one to throw into the mix and get you thinking.

Ok, onto the meal. There were four courses and each one (minus dessert) included two different dishes, one for a “Hunter” and one for a “Farmer.”

Appetizer: Kale & Apple Salad (Hunter) and Quinoa Salad (Farmer)

I LOVED the Kale & Apple Salad. I actually think it was my favorite dish of the entire meal. And, the best part, it’s super easy to make. The chef didn’t demo every dish we enjoyed last night, but this one he did—probably because the prep was so genius.

Kale & Apple Salad

Ingredients:

Dressing

• 4 tsp lemon juice
• 4 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Salad

• 4 cups fresh curly kale, finely chopped*
• 1.5 oz croutons
• 1/4 cup Granny Smith apple, diced
• 4 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Mix together lemon juice, cheese, and mustard. Drizzle in oil.
2. Mix kale, apples, croutons, and cheese and toss with dressing.
3. Drizzle 1/4 teaspoon of olive oil over each serving.

Makes 4 servings

*Here’s the genius part of the prep: To easily and quickly chop the kale, remove the stems and then stack a bunch of the leaves on top of one another. Roll them into a tight cylinder and then thinly chop down the cylinder. Easy-peasy!

Soup: Puree of White Bean & Celery Root (Hunter) and Manhattan Clam Chowder (Farmer)

Entrée: Zatar Spice-Crusted Lamp Chop (Hunter) and Cheese Ravioli with Pesto Sauce (Farmer)

Dessert: Fruit & Greek Yogurt with Honey

Mmm! Dinner was fabulous, and it was a fun way to eat.

Breakfast

This morning, I enjoyed my final meal at Canyon Ranch. I grabbed a quick breakfast at Café Tasse: a breakfast panini, fresh fruit, and an iced decaf almond milk latte. I ate breakfast while chatting with Julie and her mom, who arrived at Canyon Ranch last night. I got so excited telling them all about the cool classes and wonderful food I experienced over the past few days. They’re definitely in for a treat!

My drive home was a little over 2 hours, so I grabbed some snacks for the road: another decaf iced latte, a couple of Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, and some Pumpkin Crunch. I’m going to miss those chocolate chip cookies.

I actually felt a little sad when I was leaving Canyon Ranch this morning. One of the bellmen, who helped me with my bags, said he actually hears that quite a lot from guests.

Canyon Ranch is a special experience that you can totally personalize based on your own interests, goals, and preferences. You can pack your day full of health- and fitness-inspired activities or do your own thing without any sort of schedule or obligation. The resort provides so many options for both, which is probably why people love it so much.

If you’re looking for a getaway with wellness in mind, Canyon Ranch Lenox is the place to go. It being so close to home, I would definitely consider visiting again on my own dime. Going to Canyon Ranch with a group of health-minded friends—perhaps for a bachelorette or ladies’ weekend—would be amazing. Fitness, food, and friends? Sign me up! I really enjoyed myself over the past few days, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to experience Canyon Ranch Lenox.

Question of the Day

Do you consider yourself more of a Hunter or Farmer?

P.S. A bunch of you guys expressed interest in booking a vacation at Canyon Ranch, and I just wanted to share some of the current deals with you. Check out the website for more details!

New You

First time guests of Canyon Ranch save 20% on your all-inclusive package of 3-nights or more. Valid through Dec. 23, 2013 (some date restrictions apply)

Celebrate You

Traveling on your own? Visit Canyon Ranch in Lenox and enjoy single accommodations at the lower double occupancy rate – up to 20% savings. Valid through Aug. 31 and December 1 – 23, 2013.

Ranch Anniversary Special

Help celebrate our anniversary! Visit Canyon Ranch in Lenox September 2 – 30, 2013 and you’ll automatically save 25% on your all-inclusive package of 3-nights or more.

Once again, today was equal parts relaxation and activity. Having a nice mix of the of two definitely makes me feel healthy and balanced. I guess Canyon Ranch is doing its job!

Breakfast

I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to start the day, this morning. (I swear the beds at Canyon Ranch are magical. I’ve been sleeping so well.) My stomach started to grumble within minutes of waking up, so I got dressed in workout gear and then headed straight to breakfast in the main dining room.

The meal started with fresh fruit topped and ground flax from the breakfast bar. I also drank part of a decaf iced coffee with almond milk.

Then, I ordered some yogurt with Canyon Ranch Granola. As you can see, the portion sizes are pretty small, which has been great for trying lots of different dishes.

I also ordered the open-face egg sandwich with fruit on the side. It was served on gluten-free bread with cheese, onions, and turkey sausage. It was delicious and very satisfying.

After breakfast, I headed to Café Tasse to get some work done. While there, I ordered a decaf iced almond milk latte (love these).

Workout

A couple of hours later, I took a class called “TRX & Flex,” and, holy goodness, it was hard. The class was split between kettlebells and the TRX suspension system, so we went back and forth between the two. There were only two people in the class (myself and another gal) and we were both pretty fit, so the instructors had some fun with us. They had us doing all of these crazy-awesome, super challenging moves. At one point, we were doing one-legged squats into one-legged plyo jumps while holding a kettlebell. It was tough, and I loved it. I definitely got a great workout in this class!

After class, I headed back to my room, took a quick shower, and then went to lunch. A few of you guys asked if I was dining alone at Canyon Ranch, so I figured I should tell you about the Captain’s Table.

The Captain’s Table is basically a big table at breakfast, lunch, and dinner where you can meet and get to know various staff members and guests over a meal. Each Captain’s Table is hosted by a different staff member, and they (informally) chat about the various services and activities at Canyon Ranch, answer questions, and help you make the most of your time here. It’s also a great opportunity to make some friends, especially if you’re traveling alone.

FYI: There are a ton of lone wolves at Canyon Ranch—a lot more than I expected—so it hasn’t been all that awkward or lonely to stay here solo. Plus, everyone is really friendly—both staff and guests. I’ve joined the Captain’s Table a couple of different times now, and I have really enjoyed meeting some new people.

Lunch

Today’s lunch started with a trip to the salad bar.

Then, I ordered some Anazazi Bean Soup, which didn’t have a ton of beans in it, but it still tasted pretty good.

I also ordered the fish tacos, which were made with tilapia, lime cabbage slaw, and mango salsa and jicama slaw. I enjoyed them, but I guess I’m not a tilapia fan. I always thought I liked it, but it is just too fishy for me. I still ate most of it (for the protein + omega-3s).

I also received a few questions from you guys about the numbers under the various foods on the salad bar. Those numbers are actually on all of the menus too, and they’re the nutrient analysis for each dish/food item. The first bolded number is the calorie count. The next number is carb grams, then protein grams, and so on. Here’s more info and some sample menus.

I finished off lunch with homemade coffee ice cream (everyone at the Captain’s Table was raving about it, so, of course, I needed to try it) and a gluten-free chocolate cookie, which I can’t seem to get enough of. (I am totally ok with having dessert at almost every meal at Canyon Ranch.)

Workout

After lunch, I took a class called “Chi Energy,” which was “a moving meditation based on martial arts, designed to harmonize the natural flow of life energy.” The instructor told us it was a mix of Qigong and Tai Chi.

The weather was beautiful this afternoon, so the instructor took the class outside to practice.

During class, I really enjoyed learning about “chi” and how it relates to the body and mind. The instructor pretty much talked the entire time, so it was really neat to connect what we learned to the movements as we performed them. There’s definitely a lot that goes into this type of mind-body exercise, and today’s class only touched the surface. It was definitely a cool experience. Plus, I loved being able to practice outside and connect with the earth.

After “Chi Energy,” I attended a lecture called “It Takes Guts to be Healthy,” which was all about the importance of optimal digestive health for your immune system and overall wellness. Obviously, it was right up my alley. Some of the interesting things I learned:

• The GI tract is the body’s largest interface with the outside world, and its surface area is equal to two tennis courts
• 70% of your immune system is in your intestines
• 1 in 4 people are intolerant to dairy and a lot of people don’t realize it
• Your skin is a mirror of your digestion – if you have skin problems, look at your diet and digestion
• Many autoimmune diseases can be attributed to problems in the gut
• A gluten sensitivity can manifest itself as an autoimmune disease
• Leaky gut causes all sorts of problems in the body—from rashes to ADHD to fibromyalgia to food sensitivities. It’s all connected.
• Predisone can cause leaky gut

Snack & Workout

After the lecture, I snacked on a banana and then hit the gym for a quick CrossFit workout that I made up. Here’s the WOD that I did:

3 rounds for time:

400 meter run (on the treadmill)
40 Thrusters (45 pounds)
50 Double Unders

I was exhausted by the end of this workout. The Thrusters killed me, especially since they were sandwiched between running and double unders. It took me about 17 minutes to finish, and I was a disgusting, sweaty mess when I finished. I love short, quick workouts like this one. You get a serious bang for your buck, and it is time well spent!

Questions of the Day

What do you think about dining alone in public?

Have you ever tried Qigong or Tai Chi?

Hello, hello!

Here’s my recap from the second part of yesterday. The first part of my day was active; the second part was really relaxing.

Once I finished eating lunch, I headed outside to explore the property. It was a beautiful day, and I was craving sunshine and fresh air in a major way.

The grounds at Canyon Ranch Lenox are absolutely gorgeous!

I especially loved all of the outdoor seating for reading, relaxing, and reflecting.

Eventually, my walk led me to The Labyrinth, an ancient meditation path constructed out of rocks.

I walked toward the center and out again, thinking about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. I wrote that kind of jokingly, but it’s actually what I thought about.

A little while later, it was time for a trip to the spa. The nice folks at Canyon Ranch gave me a credit to try one of the services, so I used it for the Euphoric Ritual.

The Euphoric Ritual started with sage compresses for my face and then an aromatherapy scalp massage. The amazing aromas totally relaxed me. Ahhhhh. Next, a warm botanical mask was applied and scrubbed all over my body (it took about 30 minutes) and then I climbed in a soaking tub to rinse off the scrub and relax. The water had a grapefruit aromatherapy oil in it, and it smelled so nice. The treatment concluded with a full body massage that used a warm herb-infused oil. OMG, it was incredible. The Euphoric Ritual was easily the best spa treatment I have ever experienced.

After my treatment, I had about an hour to kill before my next activity, so I grabbed a banana to snack on and called Mal to catch up (and talk about fecal transplants). Canyon Ranch has big fruit bowls in a number of locations through the facility, so you can always grab a healthy snack if you’re hungry.

A little while later, I headed to a meditation class. I’ve always wanted to try meditation, so this class was the perfect opportunity.

The class started with the instructor telling everyone to get comfortable since we’d be meditating for about 20 minutes. There were all sorts of comfort options—blankets, bolsters, mats, pillows, meditation chairs. (I ended up grabbing a blanket and a pillow.) Some people meditated sitting up while others laid down. I actually went with a laying down, Shavasana pose, which I always find super relaxing.

Before the meditation began, the instructor told us to focus on our breathing and let our minds wander. She also suggested using mantras while we meditated. The example she used was “I feel peaceful,” which I liked a lot and decided to use for the first few minutes of meditating. Saying those words over and over again helped me focus on my breath and really relaxed me. Eventually, my mind started to wander, but I didn’t let it make mental To Do lists like it normally does or fall into a negative place. Someone actually asked the instructor about negative thoughts during meditation, and she said it was ok to let your mind go there and suggested exploring the negative feelings. For example, if you don’t like someone, think about why you have those feelings and/or what you do like about that person to make it a more positive experience.

I really enjoyed my first experience with meditation. I can’t say I came to any big realizations or anything like that, but I definitely left the class feeling relaxed and even a bit energized. I’m actually surprised how much clarity (my mind felt light and clear) I experienced afterward.

After meditation class, I headed to dinner, which started with a Virgin Bloody Mary. (There isn’t any alcohol at Canyon Ranch, but it’s still a good place.)

The Blood Mary definitely wasn’t made from a mix. It was so fresh and flavorful. I actually went back for a second pour because I loved it so much. Who needs vodka?

Dinner started with a trip to the salad bar.

I grabbed a few things (beets, butternut squash, tofu, olive, artichoke heart, rice cracker) to snack on.

For my meal, I started with the Chilled Cucumber & Arugula soup, which was one of the specials of the day. (The lunch and dinner menus change daily, but the breakfast menu stays the same.) It was light, refreshing, and had a lot more flavor than I expected. Cucumber can be sort of bland, but this soup was really tasty.

For my entrée, I ordered the Arctic char, which my server convinced me was amazing. I was little indecisive with my order, so she suggested it. I had never actually tried Arctic char before, so I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, but I ended up loving it. FYI: It tastes a lot like salmon.

I also ordered a half serving of the Red Curry Vegetables. They sounded so interesting.

The Red Curry Vegetables were good, but the Artic char was the highlight of the meal for me. It was served with rice pilaf, roasted tomatoes, and broccoli rabe. I ate every last bite of it.

And, as always, I had room for dessert. I enjoyed the homemade coconut ice cream with a mug of hot rooibos tea. Love.

I ended up finishing dinner pretty early, so I popped by Guest Services to rent a DVD for the night.

I ended getting Smashed, a movie about a young married couple who first bond over drinking, but it turns into something more serious. The plot initially interested me, but seeing Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) on the cover sold me. I really liked it.

I have another busy-relaxing day ahead!

Questions of the Day

Do you meditate? Have you ever tried it?

What’s your favorite kind of vacation? Busy? Active? A mix of both?

P.S. Boston friends: Be sure to enter my giveaway to win a free entry to the Tory Row 5K!

My first day at Canyon Ranch was amazing. It was a great mix of stimulating activity and pure relaxation. Basically, it was the best of both worlds.

Breakfast

I woke up hungry and excited for breakfast this morning. After last night’s delicious dinner, I was really looking forward to breakfast. It’s by far my favorite meal of the day and everything I tried at Canyon Ranch at that point was healthy and delicious, so I was ALL about breakfast.

Not surprisingly, breakfast started with a decaf iced coffee with almond milk. (I’m not going to lie, I got pretty excited when my server said they had almond milk. Oh, it’s the little things in life!)

Once I had a few sips of my iced coffee, I headed to the breakfast bar, which is available every morning at Canyon Ranch. It had all sort of goodies on it, including fresh fruit, granola, cereal, yogurt, nuts, dried fruit, baked goods, and something called “Peanut Butter Delight,” which, of course, I needed to try.

I added a scoop of the “Peanut Butter Delight” to some banana slices, which were soaked in a lemon meringue sauce. (I’m not 100% positive whether it was actually a lemon meringue sauce or not, but it tasted a lot like it!) I topped everything with a sprinkle of ground flax, and, holy yum, I loved it. It was almost like eating dessert for breakfast. FYI: The “Peanut Butter Delight” is peanut butter mixed with ricotta, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and honey. Here’s the recipe!

I honestly could have eaten what was on the breakfast bar, but I figured I should order something from the menu. I wasn’t sure whether I was in the mood for sweet or savory for breakfast, so I ordered both: Gluten-Free French Toast and some scrambled eggs.

Both were delicious. The scrambled eggs were especially flavorful. Hello, fresh eggs!

Workouts

After breakfast, I attended a class called “Advanced X-Training.” Before I tell you about it, let me give you a little info about the group exercise classes at Canyon Ranch. From 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM every day, there are anywhere from three to seven classes offered each hour in six different categories: aquatic, cardio, dance, flexibility, mind-body, and strength. And within these categories, there are four fitness levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced, all levels). There are seriously SO MANY CLASSES. You could stay at Canyon Ranch for a whole week and still not do all of them. Some of them repeat (M, W, F), but there are specialty classes (i.e. “Real Deal Boxing,” “Berkshire Beat,” “Versa Bootcamp”) mixed in, so there’s always something new and different to try.

Ok, back to the “Advanced X-Training.” This class was only 30 minutes (most classes are 45 minutes unless otherwise noted), but it was fast paced and challenging. Using the indoor track and various equipment (medicine ball, ropes, kettlebells), we did a circuit-style, full body workout. There were six stations, each with a different exercise, so we performed that movement until the person running completed one lap of the track before moving onto the next station. We did the circuit three times with a 60-second rest in between, and I was a sweaty mess by the end. I definitely got a great workout!

Up next was “Yoga for Athletes,” a 45-minute class, which included flowing athletic moves (arm circles, lunges) and yoga poses to improve strength, balance, and flexibility.

It was a nice mix of athletic-y exercises (planks, push-ups) and traditional yoga postures. And the room had a beautiful view.

After yoga, I attended a lecture called “Inflammation & Immunity,” which was led by Dr. Teresa Hubkova. Most of the information covered was intended for general health and wellbeing, but Dr. Hubkova talked a little bit about autoimmunity and specifically Ulcerative Colitis. She actually went on and on about how frustrating the disease is for patients and doctor, and then shared all of the terrible UC symptoms. The woman sitting in front of me squirmed in her seat and then said: “That sounds horrible.” Yep, yep it is. And I’m not even ill with the disease! Ugh, IBD is the worst.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a couple of the new treatments out there for UC and other autoimmune diseases:

• Helminthic therapy: An autoimmune disease is one where the immune system basically gets confused. Instead of attacking an “invader,” like a virus or bad bacteria, it attacks healthy cells and tissues. Helminthic therapy deliberately introduces a parasitic worm into the body to “distract” the immune system, so instead of attacking the colon, for example, it attacks the parasite. Doctors use parasites that aren’t harmful to humans in this therapy. For example, whipworm is a commonly used parasite. It causes disease in pigs, but not humans.
• Fecal transplant: Yes, this is for real. After the lecture, I texted Mal and Monica to tell them what I learned: “I learned if I put healthy poop in my butt, it will cure my UC.” Monica had no idea how to respond. Mal called me, laughed a lot, and then made a bunch of gross jokes. (I love my husband.) I know this fecal transplant stuff sounds crazy (and disgusting), but doctors in Australia have been doing it for 16 years now with really high success rates, and UC patients are being cured of the disease. Some patients see improvement in their symptoms within hours of the transplant. Crazy, right? I bet you’re wondering WHY this works. Well, the thinking is that a healthy stool includes thousands of different (good) bacteria that keeps the intestinal lining healthy and teaches the immune system what is good and bad bacteria, so it stops spazzing out. Basically, it’s like a super duper probiotic. VSL3#, the best probiotic on the market right now, only has 12 different strains of bacteria just to give you an idea why these fecal transports supposedly work. Unfortunately, in the United States, fecal transplants are not yet approved for the treatment of UC, but, hopefully, things will change. I would totally do this if I knew it would cure my UC once and for all.

Ok, enough of that. Let’s transition…

Lunch

After the lecture, I headed to Café Tasse for lunch. After back-to-back to workouts, I was starving!

I ordered my lunch and then helped myself to some iced tea.

A little while later, my lunch was served to my table: toasted turkey, brie, and apple sandwich on gluten-free bread. Mmm! It was awesome.

I finished off lunch with a couple of gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. I love these babies—they don’t even taste gluten-free!

More adventures to come!

Good morning and greetings from Canyon Ranch Lenox! I will be spending the next 2.5 days here as part of a media visit. My friend Gina put me in touch with one of the public relations representatives at Canyon Ranch and the rest is history.

Visiting Canyon Ranch is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a teenager. I still remember reading about it in a magazine and wanting to go someday. Post-college, one of my friends and I planned to save up for a visit to Canyon Ranch, but then we ended up blowing our money on booze at bars and never went. Long story short, I am absolutely thrilled to be here and can’t wait to tell you all about it. I’m actually planning to take an “Advanced X-Training” class in a little bit, so I’m going to whizz through this post.

I left Regionals early yesterday afternoon, so I could make the 2-hour drive out to Lenox. (Canyon Ranch has six locations all over the country.) When I arrived, two super friendly gentleman greeted me at my car and offered to take my luggage to my room. What service! I was then directed to reservations in the main lobby to meet with a guest services attendant. She gave me a brief explanation of what Canyon Ranch was all about, gave me the lay of the land and explained where things are located, and told me how meals and activities worked. There’s a lot going on at Canyon Ranch, so I was both overwhelmed and excited at the same time.

Then, I was taken to my room for the next few days. It’s beautiful!

The bed is so comfortable. I pretty much melted down into the mattress before I fell asleep last night. It was heavenly.

There’s a filter on the side of the sink for fresh, filtered water. Definitely love that!

Workout

After being at Regionals all day and feeling totally inspired by the athletes, I had a ton of energy to burn, so I decided to go for a treadmill run in the gym.

The gym was massive! There was literally a sea of treadmills. The pic below is only half of them. To the left was just as many, but I couldn’t get a good picture of it all. Plus, there was a woman walking on one of them, and I was asked to be discreet with my photo-taking while I am here, which, of course, I totally understand. If I was coming here for a relaxing vacation, I wouldn’t want some rando snapping pictures of me.

Check out this gym! It has everything! It even had speed ropes, so I did some Double Unders to finish off my workout.

Dinner

After my workout, I headed back to my room to shower up before going to dinner. There are a couple of different dining options at Canyon Ranch Lenox: the main dining room and Café Tasse. I didn’t have reservations for the dining room last night, so I popped into the Café for dinner. FYI: You don’t have to “dress” for dinner or anything like that. I saw plenty of people in workout gear at dinner, so it’s definitely a casual atmosphere.

For dinner, I had Salad Niçoise.

And French Onion soup. Both were fresh, flavorful, and delicious.

And, of course, I always have room for dessert. I had two gluten-free chocolate chip cookies with a decaf black vanilla tea. Mmm!

Once I finished eating, I took my tea to go and headed back to my room to plan my schedule for today. There’s seriously SO MUCH TO DO! I am pumped for today.

Question of the Day

What’s on your list of places you want to visit someday?

Mine: Grand Canyon, Greece, Key West.

Disclosure: Canyon Ranch is hosting me at their Lenox location free of charge as part of a media visit. As always, the opinions expressed are all my own.

Hi, friends! How was your weekend? Mine was great! I spent Saturday and Sunday watching CrossFit athletes compete at Regionals for a chance to participate in the Games this summer. The top three finishers at Regionals—individual men, individual women, and teams—advanced to the Games.

I wasn’t really in blogger mode this weekend—I just enjoyed my time with friends and watched the workouts—but I still wanted to share some photos and highlights for the CrossFitters. Enjoy!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Austin Malleolo crushing the competition and winning the individual men’s event #4.

He also came in first place at Regionals, beating out Daniel Tyminski by one point. They’re both going to the Games along with Eric McGee.

During the second to last team event, CrossFit New England set a world record and came in first place!

Danielle Horan also set a world record in the individual women’s event #6 and won it. Rumor has it that she beat the current record holder, 2012 CrossFit Games 3rd place finisher Talayna Fortunato, by more than a minute! Beast mode.

Danielle also came in first place at Regionals. I am excited to see her compete at the Games!

CrossFit friends: Did you watch your region’s competition? Who are you excited to see compete at the Games in July?

Local runner friends: Here’s your chance to win a free entry to the Tory Row 5K!

Tory Row is at it again with their 5K road race! I heard last year’s event was a ton of fun (see banana costume below)!

The Tory Row 5K includes some really great prizes, a number pick-up party, swag (including a tech shirt and sport backpack), chip timing, bag check, and a post-race celebration with music, food, and free beer.

All proceeds from the race benefit a wonderful local organization called Title IX Girls Running Club. It’s very similar to Girls on the Run, but based in Cambridge and focusing on all aspects of emotional health for girls ages 9-15 with a focus on running. Learn more here.

To help promote the race, the folks from Tory Row offered to give Mal and me free entries to the race as well as one to give away on CNC, so here’s your chance to enter to win!

To enter: Just leave a comment on this post about why you’d like to run the Tory Row 5K. I’ll randomly pick a winner on Thursday morning.

Good luck!

What’s up for tonight? Going out or staying in? 

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway to win a pair of Koss Fit Series headphones!

Here are your winners:

Liz

I would love the FitClips in either purple or blue. They would we awesome when I’m running with the dog.

Kileen

I love the FitClips in coral

Jess

What a great giveaway!

I need a new pair of headphones desperately. I love the mint and coral colors! I’ve never tried clips only buds- but the buds or clips would be fabulous

Erin

I would LOVE the fitbuds in purple! I am training for my second marathon, and have tons of races planned for the summer!

Christine

Love love love the FitClips! I have a similar pair from Virgin that are looking pretty sad. The colors are great, but I think I like the blue the best, followed by purple. Coral is the prettiest but would not look so good next to my beet-red exercise face!

Caroline

Having only used ear buds, I’m interested in trying the ear clips. But as my current pair of headphones is breaking, I’m not picky and would be happy with either! I do like the blue color.

Kerri

Fit buds in blue for the win!!’

Chelsea @ Designs on Dinner

Fit Clips in Purple! They look awesome!

Kristi A.

I tweeted! https://twitter.com/karyash/status/335188723631263744

shelby

hmmm so sprinklers DO ruin headphones…i’ll have to be more careful about running in the rain with mine:)

i’d probably pick the FitBuds (i never seem to have problems with headphones falling out) and PURPLE! (but only cuz there’s no pink???)

Congrats to the winners! To claim your prize, please email me at tina@carrotsncake.com with your full name, address, type of headphones you’d like, and choice of color.

If you would like to purchase a pair of these Koss headphones, you can buy them online at koss.com and get free shipping and $5 off with the code Fit4Life. Just enter it at checkout.

Yesterday started bright and early once again with a run in Central Park with Monica. We ran 3 miles together, but then I called it quits. I just didn’t have a ton of energy and felt blah, so I headed back to the hotel while Monica continued on for a few more miles.

Breakfast

On my walk back to the hotel, I stopped by Starbucks where I bought an egg white and spinach wrap, banana, and green juice for breakfast. (The green juice was really good—a lot better than I expected from a bottled juice!)

A little while later, Monica and I headed to The Mercedes Club for the Fitness Blogger Tweet & Meet, a day-long, health-focused event for bloggers hosted by FITNESS magazine. I actually attended and spoke on a panel at the same event last year in New York City, so I was excited to be invited again for this year’s event.

Monica and I arrived a little after 9:00 AM to check in. (We stopped to grab a couple of iced coffees right before heading into the event.)

We received our name tags and then stopped by to say “hi” to the folks at Reebok, who were one of the event’s sponsors.

Sweet tank top! I actually wore the same one in coral yesterday. It’s one of my favorites!

#LiveWithFire [instead red head joke here]

Then, we headed outside to join the rest of the attendees for the start of the event. Monica and I both needed to catch our respective train/plane home, so we only stayed at the event long enough to catch a couple of the seminars.

It kicked off with a welcome from Betty Wong, the Editor in Chief of FITNESS magazine. I read her Editor’s Note every month in FITNESS, so I was excited to see her in person at the event.

I really enjoyed the first session of the day with celebrity makeup artist Sarah Lucero, Executive Director of Global Artistry at Stila Cosmetics and also a breast cancer survivor. Her talk was called “Inside Beauty Secrets to Get You Glowing,” which all about how to look pulled together in flash with this season’s hottest beauty trends and makeup tips. Sarah gave some great beauty tips (i.e. match the weight of your makeup with the weight of your clothing (summer vs. winter), wear tinted moisturizer, and buy a great mascara), but I also liked how she focused on a more holistic approach to health. For instance, she said you can’t have good health without a healthy soul and spirit (so true), and gave the example of her love for Soul Cycle. She said even when she was battling cancer, she really looked forward to those classes because of the music, atmosphere, and how it made her feel both inside and out. During class, she paid attention to how she was feeling and went at her own pace, which helped her appreciate her body. She said: “Thank your body for what it can do, and it will thank you back,” which really resonated with me. Since I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis almost two years ago, I’ve spent a lot of time being pissed off at my body, but hearing these words helped me switch my thinking. I definitely need to be more positive when thinking about my health.

While I listened to the speakers, I sipped on some green juice.

A short while later, Monica and I needed to boogie back to the hotel to grab our things and travel home. On the walk, we saw where The Colbert Report is filmed. Love that show!

Saying goodbye to Monica was a little sad, but we will see each other again in a few weeks.

Lunch

During my travels home, I ate some coconut yogurt with blueberries and granola.

A couple of  hard-boiled eggs.

And a lot of chocolate for lunch.

[Monica's photo]

Health News & Views

I love freshly pressed juice. Drinking a brightly-colored, nutrient-rich glass of it instantly gives me a natural pick-me-up.

With that said, here’s a delicious juice recipe that will give you energy and make you feel a little bit healthier, starting with your very first sip!

Try This Recipe for Fresh Pineapple-Green-Apple Juice

Question of the Day

What’s your favorite form of social media (Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.)?

P.S. Last chance to enter the giveaway to win some Koss headphones! I’ll pick 10 winners this afternoon!