Morning!
I’m off to Boston today for the Massachusetts Reach the Beach Relay, which starts tomorrow! I’m hoping I’ll be able to blog while on the road, but either way, I’ll be all over Twitter — we’ll be using the hash tags #rtbrelay and #teamoffbalance. Please follow along on the adventure! (Just catching up? Click here to read more details about the relay race.)
On Tuesday night, I met up with the Lululemon Georgetown crew for one last run before the big race! We had a gorgeous run showcasing some of DC’s best sights.
The Georgetown Lululemon running group leaves from the store every Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. My girl Heather is one of their run ambassadors and invited me to join in on the fun. I’m really excited to incorporate this into my weekly routine! All are welcome, so if any of you guys are local, please come join us! Their runs are even more awesome because they recently started incorporating a mini-bootcamp into them, courtesy of another Lululemon Ambassador, Chris McQuilkin, who works for Crossfit Dupont!
His shirt says: “It’s not conditioning… it’s getting’ SEXY.” Love it.
This week, the bootcamp took place before the run — sometimes it’s incorporated into the middle of it. Chris was nice enough to take some photos for me of us in action! I told him I had just visited Reebok’s Crossfit ONE last week and he was excited. 🙂
We started the bootcamp at the famous Exorcist stairs in Georgetown. I used to do these stairs as part of a morning boot camp class I did back when I was working full time in DC, so I knew what we were in for. They are VERY long and steep!
The workout (or WOD, in Crossfit lingo) that Chris had for us was done in pairs — obvi I snagged Heather as my partner. 🙂 I’ve missed her!
First up — jog up and back down the stairs to warm up. These stairs will raise your heart rate FAST!
Then, one team member does a wall sit while the other team member does 20 squats. When the squats are complete, you switch!
Then, run up with your teammate to the first level of the stairs, and come back down.
Next up — one team member holds a plank while the other person completes 20 pushups. Then switch!
I love how I’m looking over at her like, let’s hurry this up, please
After completing that, we ran up to the second level of the stairs, and back down.
Up next was the final round — each team member does 10 burpees (at the same time).
Final hurrah — run all the way to the top of the stairs and back down. Whew!
DONE! Clearly I was pumped
And then, it was time for the run! This whole pre-run workout only took maybe 10 or 15 minutes max, but our heart rates were definitely up — a big thanks to Chris for leading it!
The group of us set off towards the waterfront to begin our run. Gorgeous views.
This picture is my favorite — we just missed the thunderstorm!
And soon we arrived at the monuments! Usually, the running group splits into two groups at this point — one that turns around at the Lincoln Memorial for a total of 3.5 miles, and one that goes on to loop the Washington Monument for a total of 5.5 miles. Last night everyone was on board for 5.5, so we charged onward!
This run made me really feel like I’m officially back in DC. So cool to see sights like this in the middle of a normal weeknight run!
We looped on back towards Georgetown and ended overlooking the canal. Stunning.
5.5 miles — check! Average pace: 8:58 minute/miles.
I can’t wait for next Tuesday night. 🙂 Let me know if any of you all think you might join us next time — I’d love to meet you!
Catch you guys later from up north — please wish me and my teammates good luck tomorrow and Saturday at the relay race in Massachusetts! 🙂
