Category Archives: graduation

May 31, 2012

Graduation Day: No More Classes, Still Need Books

Today’s Workout: 5 miles on the AlterG (RW Run Streak Day 4), PT exercises

Happy Thursday everyone! First I want to let you all know that my Sweat Pink Ambassador intro post went up today on FitApproach! Its basically my “aha” moment with fitness and running. Go check it out, I hope you enjoy it!

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This week I am skipping the usual “Three Things Thursday” post (I doubt anyone is really disappointed) to talk about a very special event that happened yesterday: my graduation from graduate school!

This graduation marks the completion of all my regular coursework EVER. That means no more midterms, finals, class presentations, or any other school-related projects. While I am done with classes though, I still have two fieldwork affiliations to complete. But it is honestly so exciting to be one step closer to joining the working world.

My graduation was held at Carnegie Hall, which is beautiful! But first my family and I went out to eat first at a nearby restaurant called Serafina on Broadway. I’ve eaten here many times before and love it.

My sister and I right outside Serafina.

We started out with two of the pizzas as appetizers. I forgot to take photos but they were small and appetizer-sized for sharing, so we each had one piece. For my entree I got the gnocchi. I can never resist those potato dumplings! My family had an array of dishes, and Karl had chicken paillard which I really loved and will probably get next time.

Gnocchi + Parmesan = love

Karl’s chicken

I didn’t have time for dessert because I had to go over to Carnegie Hall early, but my family said it was amazing!

The ceremony itself wasn’t long, with a few speeches followed by the graduates each walking across the stage. That part was so cool.. I mean, how many people can say they walked on the stage at Carnegie Hall?!

Me and a few friends before the ceremony

Afterwards we went outside and took some photos on the streets. It was a madhouse near the hall so sadly I couldn’t get any with friends, but took a bunch with family!

Me and Karl

With the two people who brought me into this world

After photos, on our way to get the car, my sisters and I spotted the fountains at Columbus Circle and decided to run over to take some quick photos. It looks so pretty at night and we love impromptu photo shoots, so this was perfect! Here’s a few of our many pictures.. I shouldn’t be allowed to have a camera.

A nice Australian man took this one

Strike a pose

Although this event was exciting, I still am not done with my program! So until my fieldworks are completed, I won’t feel total relief. But it was a really nice evening overall, Carnegie Hall was great, and I was glad to see all my classmates again. Here’s to all the recent grads! Congrats everyone :)

Where was your college or grad school graduation held?
What is your go-to dish at Italian restaurants?
And to keep this post semi fitness-related, what was your workout today?

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Filed under City life, food, graduation, restaurants

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May 30, 2012

My Graduation Day and Crunch Class Review {The Ride+Abs}

Today’s Workout: 1.5 mile run (RW Streak Day 3), The Ride+Abs at Crunch, PT exercises

Tonight is the graduation ceremony for my Master’s degree in occupational therapy! Basically its a faux graduation though because I’m not really done. Its sort of anti-climactic. While I’ve completed all my classes, I still have two Level II fieldwork affiliations to complete (basically its working full time for credits). So until those are done I can’t sit for my licensing exam. But its only about 6 more months until I can get a real job! Then I’ll probably feel like this…

Later I’ll be going out to eat with my family before the ceremony so I didn’t want to go overboard with my food today (since I know I may indulge a little this evening). In the past few weeks of being off from school, I’ve felt myself losing some control over my diet. Perhaps its me just getting lazy or the change in my daily routine but I’ve noticed I haven’t been feeling the same lately.

Because of that, I think I may have gained a couple pounds. Its only a few and nothing major, but I want to be better about not snacking too much and making better choices in general. I want to feel as good as I did a few weeks ago, which is most important to me. So today I had a Clif bar for breakfast on my way to the gym and for lunch a green smoothie (almond butter, banana and spinach) and TJs salmon burger. Filling and tasty! Plus, there was a ton of protein in there for my muscles.

I was so sleepy when my alarm went off this morning and basically had to pep talk myself into getting up. Its gloomy in NYC lately which makes me feel this way… I’m missing the sunshine! Anyway, I did get up eventually and headed to Crunch gym for a class. I ended up getting there sort of early and decided to get in my run before the class to complete Day 3 of the RW Summer Running Streak.

Since its normally supposed to be a “rest day” for me, I decided to take it easier and run 1.5 miles on the treadmill. I’ve been running on the treadmill a lot lately just because its convenient but I really need to get my butt outside more. I’m just not thrilled about running on the city streets and since I can’t run that far right now, there’s no sense in commuting to Central Park or Prospect Park. But this week I’ll man up and run in my neighborhood! Watch out pavement!!

Proof that I ran. I think that calorie burn is a lie.

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After my quick run I headed to the spin room for my second spin class ever. I may be an addict.

Class: The Ride+Abs@ Crunch
Instructor: Brooke E
Length: 45 minutes

I’ve already talked about the Crunch gym spin room at Lafayette street in this post, so I’ll just get right into the class itself. Basically this class is different from the regular “The Ride” class at Crunch because its only 30 minutes of spin and 15 minutes of abs.

Unlike the last spin class I took with Tomas (mostly in positions 2 and 3), Brooke utilized all three positions pretty equally. We did some seated sprints and then some in the other two positions on the bike. I really enjoyed the 30 second sprints that were incorporated, they were my favorite part.

Brooke seemed to emphasize high-resistance riding while Tomas used more of a moderate resistance throughout with some higher level resistance sprinkled in. I think I prefer the way Tomas organized the class in that sense but I still feel like I got a really good workout today, which is really what matters. Brooke was also very high energy, helpful, and kept everyone motivated!

The music was pretty good overall but I prefer more dance type, Jersey shore fist pumping music for classes like this than the mix that was played. However, it still was coordinated to the pedaling and the resistance on the bikes which I really enjoy since it helps me keep my uncoordinated self on track!

After spin we went into the group fitness room for some abs. Now, I have to preface this by disclosing that I have incredibly weak abs/core. That being said, the abs section of this class was TOUGH! Although it was a quick 15 minutes, I definitely got in a great core workout. I liked the variety of the exercises Brooke chose and how they flowed from one to the next. I was seriously feeling the burn!

I would recommend trying this class. I liked how it incorporated spin + abs, which adds a little variety to the workout. I’m really liking spin and want to take as many classes as I can before my membership expires. I’m also going to keep an eye out for Groupons or discounts that agree with my student budget! If you know of any, send them my way :)

What was your workout today?
What did you have for lunch?
Which do you prefer: running outside or running on the treadmill?

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Filed under classes, crosstraining, graduation, spinning

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May 28, 2012

A Graduation, Family Party and SI Memorial Day 4m Race

Today’s Workout: 4m Memorial Day race

Before I tell you all about my weekend, since its Memorial Day I want to first say thank you to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country! We should always remember their sacrifice and all they do to protect us. A special thanks to my brother, you are my hero!

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I had a very busy holiday weekend! I was in three states total over three days and spent a lot of time commuting. But it was a really fun time. The weekend started off with a long trip to Delaware for Karl’s younger brother’s graduation. We went out the night before with his brother and friends.. man they really know how to party at Delaware!

The graduation itself was a large ceremony with about 15,000 people total including the graduates. Soledad O’Brien, a reporter from from CNN, spoke as the keynote and delivered an amazing speech. She seems like a great person and I’d love to read more about her!

Huge graduation ceremony!

Since it was an outdoor ceremony the dress was very casual for the most part. But I did see this major fashion mistake. I never understood this sandals and socks things and its one of my biggest pet peeves. I couldn’t believe I saw it at a graduation either! I mean its casual, but that’s taking it too far. What?!

This is just so wrong. PSA: Don’t do this!

After the graduation we went out for lunch and on the menu I saw the option to order a Fiat 500. Yes, that’s a CAR. That’s certainly not what I think of ordering when I go out to eat. Now I think I’ve seen it all.

We headed back the city after and went to my parents house. The next morning we left to NJ for a family reunion-type party. Basically half of my family was there and we had a great time catching up. My uncle played the guitar (and after a few beers there was guitar-playing and dancing), we looked at old photos, and we had lots of food. My sisters and I all wore pretty dresses!

Karl got to join in on all the fun too! After 7 years, hes definitely part of the family.

I also got the pleasure of seeing my cousin and her adorable Shirley Temple look-a-like daughter. Shes such a cutie and I love her face!

I can’t get enough!

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MEMORIAL DAY

Today I spent the day at my parents house with my family. We woke up early and got ready for the annual Staten Island Advance Memorial Day 4m race. My two sisters and I were running the race and my parents were giving out water at the water stop. It was a very flat course that started on the streets and looped around to the boardwalk.

It was beautiful course with views of the Verrazano Bridge and Brooklyn. But it was HOT and super humid. In all my years of giving out water at this race, the conditions have never been this bad. My asthma really kicked in today (and also for my sister who also has asthma) because of the temperatures, which made it difficult to breathe well at times.

But it was great that we were together and kept each other motivated the whole time. Otherwise I don’t know how I would have done. I love having running partners, it makes a huge difference and makes it much more fun!

Look at all the sweat. Not sexy!

We saw my parents at mile marker 1 and got some water from them. It was nice to be on the other side and be running this time! It was definitely one of those types of days where we needed water from the first stop and poured some on our necks to cool off.

My favorite part was running on the boardwalk. Not only was the view nice, but the wood is forgiving on my legs. But the downside was that the sun was really strong and there was no breeze. At one point, my sister and I sort of wanted to walk in between miles 3 and 4 but we eventually saw the finish line banner and decided to keep pushing on. I’m glad we did!

According to my watch, our final finish time was 37:47, which is about a 9:26/mile pace. Definitely not a 4m PR for me, but I’m happy with it. Especially with the tough conditions! After the race we got some Gatorade (gotta replenish those electrolytes!) and bagels and then went to take some photos on the boardwalk.

My two sisters and I after the race

And of course when my sisters and I are together, we have to take one of these types of photos… I got some serious air this time!

This took a bunch of tries to get. We must have looked like idiots on the boardwalk.

After the race we went home and all three of us ended up taking a nap. The heat really got to us! Karl was the chef today and cooked the family Memorial Day dinner. We had burgers, baked potato rounds, grilled asparagus, pasta salad, and hot dogs.

I had a veggie burger instead and one of those 97% fat free hot dogs (so basically its not even a hot dog, its an imposter). I didn’t want to go too much overboard with my food, even if it was a holiday. But I did have some rainbow cookies for dessert :) I can’t resist those! All the food was delicious, which it usually is when Karl cooks. I’m so lucky to have him!

Here’s some of the food we had. It was a feast!

It was a long and really nice weekend. Even though it was hot and humid, I’m just glad it didn’t rain. So tell me…

How did you celebrate Memorial Day?
Did you run this weekend? Tell me about it!

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