Midnight Madness at OTF Cumming

I know I missed posting my weekly workouts for last week, but rest assured I got in 5 days at Orangetheory Fitness, but there’s one day that truly deserved its own post -

A bit of a backstory….Coach Fox, our head trainer, came to Georgia from Tampa, Florida.  He was a very popular (and fantastic) coach at the New Tampa OTF studio and we’re very lucky to have him at ours now!  Something that he started at that studio was a Midnight Madness class held on the last Friday of each month.  It became so popular that they had a waiting list for it!  He wanted to be the first studio in Atlanta to have a Midnight Madness class, and we definitely succeeded with that feat.

 

We had around 36 people who came out to participate!

The class actually started at around 11 p.m.  He said in the past when it started at midnight and was over at 1 a.m. people didn’t want to go home…and he had class to teach the next morning!  So while most members of OTF around the country (or at least on the east coast) were settling into bed, the OTF Cumming studio was just getting started with their workout!

   

We had 3 stations – the treadmill, rowers/TRX straps, and body weight/bench.  We spent about 6-8 minutes at each station with different exercises each round.  I believe we did each a total of 2-3 times.  It was crazy!  I wish I had written down what all we did!  Mountain climbers, Bosu burpees, tricep dips, and elevated push ups all come to my mind!

Coach Fox, Coach Allie, and Coach DJ all walked around to make sure we were using the correct form and encouraged us to stay strong.

I sported my yellow neon with pink swirl PRO Compression socks for the occasion :)

We did squats, bicep curls, and tricep extensions on the rowers during our last round…definitely feeling the burn the whole time

  

Before we really got going on the treadmill, had to take an #OTFSelfie!

 
At the end of every class, we always do a cool down stretch and check out how long we were in the Orange zone on the screen

 

Workout is DONE…and we’re still smiling!!!

After the workout was over, the staff had a champagne toast waiting for us in the lobby as well as lots of tasty (and healthy) snacks for a post workout treat!

 

It was nice to sit down and chat with some of the amazing new friends I’ve made just by coming to the gym :)  The picture on the left is myself and Coach Allie, and on the right are myself, Janna, Erin, Coach Allie, and Jenny

 

I think I finally drug myself home at around 1 a.m., but this was truly a FANTASTIC event put on by the amazing staff we have at OTF Cumming.  I’m already looking forward to the next one in April! (even though it looks like I’ll be running a 5k the next morning LOL)

I still love coming to the studio 4-5 days a week and getting my sweat on with some great friends and amazing trainers.  If you’re curious about Orangetheory Fitness, check out their website and see if there’s a location near you.  You can go in for a free session and see what it’s all about!

Have you ever done a workout at night?

Until next time,

I am a paying member of Orangetheory Fitness and was not compensated to write this post.  I truly enjoy the workout and wanted to share my experience with my readers.

LiveJournal Tags: Orangetheory fitness,OTF,OTFSelfie,BasePushAllOut,OTF Cumming,treadmill,bosu ball,champagne toast,rowers

Georgia Peach Jam half recap

Since this happened a couple of weeks ago -

I figured now was as good of a time as ever to post my recap (since I didn’t quite get around to doing it last year)

When I first heard about the race, it appealed to me for three main reasons – 1) it’s where I do all of my long runs, 2) it’s about 10 minutes from my house, and 3) it’s 95% flat.  Those are good reasons, right?

On race morning, I underestimated how long it would take me to get ready and make it to Fowler Park, so i was running a bit behind.  Luckily, my BRF Brandi came to the rescue and picked up my bib and shirt for me.  Whew!  I won’t be doing that again this year.  I had enough time to run back to the car to put my shirt in, pin my bib on, and make my way to the starting line.  I saw my Sweat Pink sister, Brooke, before the race and we wished each other luck.

It was a cool, drizzly day, which was both a good and bad thing.  It was nice to keep the temperature low and the bicyclist off the greenway (they informed runners beforehand that they could not close it to the public), but quite a bit of the greenway is a wooden boardwalk, which gets slick when it’s wet.  I knew I had to be careful along the course.

Finally, it was go time.  Ramona, Brandi and myself started together but quickly broke off to run our own race.  I felt confident at the beginning but as cramps set in, that confidence slowly began to fade.  I ended up walking a lot and wanted nothing more but to finish.  It was an out and back so I saw my friends on their way back to the finish. 

I befriended a woman towards the end and we finished the race together.  It was a tough race for me but I was happy to have finished it.

Can ya tell all three of us love our PRO Compression socks and KT Tape?  I posted this on Instagram and KT Tape reposted it.  We were famous! (At least for a day)

Once we finished, we headed over to Dutch Monkey Doughnuts to refuel.  I don’t have any pictures of our selections because we were so hungry we scarfed them down quick!  It’s always fun to unwind with my running friends after a race is over.

After our brunch, I ran over to get some steaks for dinner and had to grab an Orange Crush.  We joked that the shirt looked like the Orange Crush logo…what do you think?

I’m looking forward to running the race again in just a few weeks, and hope that I get a good do-over!

What’s your favorite thing to do after a race?

Until next time,

LiveJournal Tags: Georgia Peach Jam,half marathon,Big Creek Greenway,BRF,running friends,Orange Crush,PRO Compression,KT Tape,race

Wine and Dine – Expo Day!

 

I love runDisney expos, don’t you?

They always have fantastic vendors, great speakers….and limited official race merchandise.  I informed the hubby that we would be up early to get to the expo as soon as it opens so that I would have a chance to get what I wanted before they sold out.  We grabbed a pastry from the food court before getting in line for the bus.

Hey…there’s no pretty way to eat a flaky cherry pastry :)

We jumped in line for the bus and were joined by my friend, Meghan, and her hubby and daughter.  Soon, we were off to the ESPN Wide World of Sports!

The last time I did a runDisney race at Walt Disney World was the 2013 Princess half marathon.  That year, the Braves spring training interfered with the race weekend, so it was held in the ballroom at Coronado Springs.  I was looking forward to checking out the WWoS for the first time.

 

Meg had gotten to the expo a little before us and was holding one of the race jackets for me, so I hurried over to the official merchandise area while hubby grabbed a beer :)  Earlier in the week the Disney Parks Blog had posted a sample of some of the items that would be available for sale during the expo, so I already had a mental checklist in my head of what I was going to get.  Luckily, I was in and out of the area pretty quick!  I got to say a quick hi to my friend Kimberly while shopping around, too!  I got the race jacket, an “I Did It” shirt, a medal pin, a magnet, and the Vinylmation medal (which they no longer sell).  On the right is the race shirt, my bib, after party wristband, $10 Disney gift card, and a coaster.

We walked by the runDisney booth to check out the hardware I would be earning the next night! (This was my favorite side)

Shortly after I stopped by the Sparkle Athletic booth to say hi to Kelly from According to Kelly!  She’s such a sweetheart and it’s always great to see her at the expos

We checked out a few of my favorite vendors, including Sparkly Soul headbands and Lasting Commemoratives to get my Wine and Dine bookmark, before heading over to the Fieldhouse to pick up my bib! 

After getting my bib, we went BACK over to the Jostens Center so I could pick up my race shirt.  We did one more lap around the expo before heading out.

runDisney posted earlier in the day that they had an area set up where you could get your picture taken and superimposed into another picture just by following them on Instagram.  Since I’ve been following them for quite some time and I absolutely loved the picture they were using to superimpose you into, we made one final stop before leaving the expo (I’m supposed to look like I’m running but I think I kind of failed)

 

Next stop after dropping my purchases off at the hotel…EPCOT!

What’s your favorite part of an expo?

Until next time,

LiveJournal Tags: runDisney,Wine and Dine,half marathon,ESPN Wide World of Sports,WWoS,Jostens Center,Sparkly Soul,Sparkle Athletic,Lasting Commemorative,merchandise,medal,Instagram,expo,EPCOT,Walt Disney World

Weekly Workouts : March 16-22

Had some good, solid workouts this week!  That paired with some themed days at the gym and my first real run since the Atlanta half marathon back in November made for a great week!

Monday, March 16

Tuesday, March 17
Since today was St. Patrick’s day, we were all encouraged to wear green (of course!)  I had a friend in town for work and I managed to drag her to the gym with me.  I think she’s finally done cursing my name, but she said she enjoyed the workout!

Wednesday, March 18
Rest day

Thursday, March 19
Today was deemed “Crazy Sock Day” in honor of me, since I always wear a pair of my PRO Compression socks to class!  I think I’ve worn just about every pair I own, so I decided to go mismatched today

Friday, March 20
I’m not saying this to make up excuses, but I honestly think my heart rate monitor was malfunctioning.  I would be booking it on the treadmill and my heart rate would go down instead of up.  Regardless, I was putting in my time in the gym which is better than sitting at home doing nothing, right?

Saturday, March 21
More issues with my heart rate monitor.  We had a lot of exercises that required us to be on the floor, and for whatever reason my body/heart rate monitor don’t like that, so my numbers always seem to drop.  Hopefully we can figure out what’s going on with it.  I’m such a numbers person when it comes to OTF and I hate seeing so much in the blue…more green and orange please!

After I got home from the gym, I parked by the pool and did a mile run…my first real run since I ran the Atlanta half marathon (recap coming soon).  With a little peer pressure I registered for half marathon #13 and, since it’s in 5 weeks, I figured I should probably put some miles in on the pavement.  I did 2 miles at the gym and did one more once I got home.  I didn’t think it was too shabby for it being my first run in close to 5 months!

Later that evening I met up with some awesome friends for dinner.  They were running the Georgia Publix half marathon the next morning and needed to carbload.  I seriously regretted not registering for this year as it has a fantastic course with so much support along the way.  I’m contemplating signing up during the blitz for next year’s race so I don’t miss out!  Love these ladies!

Sunday, March 22
Rest day

Overall I was pleased with my workouts and I’m actually looking forward to getting out and running again this week :)

What’s your favorite way to carbload before a race?

Until next time,

LiveJournal Tags: Orangetheory fitness,OTF,run,treadmill,Georgia Publix half marathon,carbload