Hello my friends! Before I get into my food + fitness highlights from the past few days, I wanted to share some exciting news: the annual “Winter Shape Up” that I co-host with personal trainer Gina of The Fitnessista is launching on Monday!
As you know, we’ve co-hosted this fun and free challenge on our blogs for the past few years now. You’ll get 4 weeks worth of daily workouts (from Gina) and 4 weekly meal plans (from me) to inspire you to kick off your new year on a healthy note! You guys know I’m not about anything extreme, and this is no exception – it’s not a diet or a weight loss plan, just a fun way to encourage each other to get or stay active and eat healthy in a sustainable, balanced way.
Want to join in on the fun? No need to sign up or do anything – just keep an eye out on our blogs as we’ll post the content links here. And feel free to join the private 2016 Winter Shape Up Facebook group, too! It will serve as a positive place to encourage each other, share updates, and generally participate in the community of those doing the challenge – and you’ll get access to all the content first.
In other news, DC is bracing for a big snowstorm this weekend! We got a little taste of it last night with some unexpected snowfall that snarled traffic right at rush hour – oof. It looks pretty this morning, though! I enjoyed my chilly walk to the metro.
On the fitness front, I’m glad I got in some good workouts earlier this week because it looks like it will be harder to get out come tomorrow! On Tuesday, I worked from home and took an afternoon break to go running with my high school BFF Jenny (who is still in town for her sister’s Gretchen’s wedding, which is supposed to happen on Saturday – ahhhh! I really hope we can all still make it there in the snow!).
It was REALLY cold (in the teens with windchill) but we were lucky to be able to run while it was light out/at its least frigid.
We did 2 really cold, wind in our face miles out and then 2 much more pleasant wind at our back miles home.
During the last mile my right calf and knee felt really tight leftover from the Charleston Half Marathon, but overall my legs felt decent considering. It was nice to shake things out! I don’t think I’ll be doing much running over the next week with all the snow so I’m glad I got one last run in this week. 🙂
Yesterday morning, my workout buddies Kathleen and Chelsea and I met up for a little early morning Urban Athletic Club action via ClassPass. Graham was teaching and his classes are always fun – as is working out with these ladies! Here we are monkeying around after class – I’m rocking my new favorite pair of Victoria’s Secret tights that I got for free with a sports bra purchase (I bought another of this sports bra, which I love) as part of their awesome deal last week. 🙂 I hope those of you that took advantage of the deal are enjoying your new gear, too!
On the food front, when we got back from Charleston on Monday I was craving something light and veggie-packed after all our southern feasting, so I made a big batch of my old fave Veggie-Tastic Minestrone Soup (<—recipe).
It was one of those nights where I just really felt like cooking – I turned on some country music and rocked out while I chopped veggies and it was very relaxing. 🙂 I pretty much threw everything but the kitchen sink in this soup – allllllll the veggies! The pasta I used is a quinoa pasta, just to mix it up – yum.
I’ve got a busy day today with lots of calls in the afternoon I need to prep for, but I’m sneaking out for a lunchtime yoga class break in a bit. It should feel really nice to stretch!
Have a great day, my friends – stay warm out there!
Who is excited to join us for the Winter Shape Up? 🙂
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