The Day the Music Died

Remember that time that I did a brick workout?

Did one again today..

Remember that time I ran without an iPod and actually didn't hate it?

Did that too...

Something has definitely come over me and whatever it is, I like it!

As a general rule I will always workout when I feeling like breaking a sweat. In fact, I could be in the middle of a wedding and if the mood hit I would run a lap around the hall before the reception started. Don't believe me? Well you'll just have to invite me to your wedding (ahem.. Maria) and see for yourself.

That being said, today was the kind of day that I felt the urge so I hit the gym for a run, bike, run kinda of workout.

The routine:

2 speedy (for me) miles @ 9:20/mile

30 minutes spinning with varying tension and speed (seated and standing)

2 slow recovery miles @ 11:00/mile

All done without an iPod I might add. If you know me, the girl that would leave the gym if my battery died, you know this is a big deal.

Running without music is actually a lot easier then I thought it would be. I can think more without it. And thinking leads to distraction. And distraction is gooood.

Now before we get all "Samantha is selling her iPod on ebay" around here, I discovered another reason why earphones come in handy at the gym:

Drown out the "I know everything about working out and I'm going to blab on about it for an hour while I hammer out a measly eight 10lb reps" guy. Ick! I swear, this dude talked non-stop the entire time and all I could hear was him flip-flopping from knowing everything to having 63 excuses for why he couldn't actually do any legitimate working out. How obnoxious.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be all catty and judgemental, but seriously if you are going to talk the talk you better damn well walk the walk. Don't be the guy that gives unsolicited advice to the guys who are actually busting their ass, while you stand there in your barely damp t-shirt rambling about ....well everything.

Not cool dude, not cool. And if I need to I'll substitute earplugs for earphones. Because really, I'd rather listen to the belt on the treadmill then that. Just sayin'.

In sum, I give this workout 2 thumbs up for butt kicking and a half a thumb down for noise pollution. Still a big win in my books!

So tell me, what annoys you about the gym? Do you workout without music?

Long Weekend Roundup

Hi everyone! If it's a long weekend where you are I hope you are enjoying your holiday Monday. And if its not, well look a the bright side, at least the world didn't end on Saturday after all. Phew!

Here's a little look into how my Victoria Day long weekend has panned out:

Friday:

The weekend got off to a great start when I hit up a local club to check out FirexFire which is an awesome local indie band here in Toronto. Admittedly I personally know these crazy-talented musicians but I promise I would dig them even if I didn't. They rock, what can I say!?!

It was a great night spent with friends celebrating the start to the weekend, awesome talent and my birthday too! Fun times!!

Saturday:

I spent most of an absolutely beautiful day indoors cleaning and doing laundry. Not exactly the best plan but the cleanup needed to happen in a big, bad way. I really need a more trainable boyfriend housekeeper.

After clean-a-palooza I headed midtown to my favorite spin studio for another intense spinning/strength class.I made a point to walk some of the way before hopping on transit so I could soak up some rays before heading back indoors for the sweat fest.

Then I hunkered down for the night for a TV series DVD marathon

Can you believe I have never seen Grey's Anatomy? I'm a complete freak who has lived in a cave for the last 5 years, I know! I started right from season one and have been working my way through all weekend. I am addicted!!

Sunday:

The Boyfriend got home early from a weekend with his family and we headed out to watch Bridesmaids. While we tried to anyway. The theatre at the mall was jam packed and the 6:50 show was completely sold out. What the what??I have never seen a sold out comedy in my life! That's just crazzzy! Making the best of things we decided to grab some dinner and head to another theatre in the north end for a later show. And guess what?? That freakin' show was sold out too! Holy sh*t! If its that popular it must be amazing right? Now I wanted to see it even more badly and was so disappointed that we had to come home instead.

Well not that disappointed really...we just watched more Greys!

Monday:

This morning I headed out for another spinning class at my fav studio. The Boyfriend was super cool and drove me to it and then waited at Starbucks until it was over to drive me back. Sweet right? And the class, as usual was killer. In a good , but my butt is gonna be screamin', kinda way!

Now I am hoping in the shower and rushing out to a mid-afternoon showing of Bridesmaids. I'm determined to see this movie and might get a little ruthless if there is a line. Stay tuned for the evening news for major dramatics at the theatre just in case.

Old people and children be warned..things could get a little rowdy. I will see this movie today or else!


So tell me, how was your weekend? Have you seen any good movies lately? Do you love Grey's Anatomy?

Back in the Saddle....Literally!!

Finally, after days of dealing with a slight physical ailment and the flu I woke up today feeling like I was finally starting to get back to my old self. My chest still felt slightly congested but I had my long lost friend Energy back and I was ready to hit the gym and burn some of it off.

I taught a bootcamp style Tabata class at lunch and while I actually instructed more and worked out less than usual, it still felt really, really good to sweat (and not the kind of icky sweat that comes with the flu...blech!!)

After work Cynthia and I headed to a spinning studio nearby to take an intense spin/strength training class that really forces you to push yourself to every limit. Needless to say that the class was a toal butt kick and felt amazing!! And much to surprise I didn't cough up a lung. Yay me!!

There were definitely some happy endorphins floating around after that class!

And some serious sweat too!

You gotta love crazy, sweat drenched girls snapping photos in a random parking lot in the middle of the city. You truly know you are a blogger when.....

We are a wacky bunch huh??



I'm so glad to have bounced back from this illness and grateful that I am healthy enough that a down and out flu is really the worse ailment I've had to deal with in a long time.

I'm also so glad that I am feeling well enough to head out to celebrate my birthday and my friends' musical talents tomorrow night when I go see FIRExFIRE headline a show at a club downtown. The band is awesome and I am so proud of my friends, not to mention excited to hang out and party with some really cool people!! Oh, and I have been asked to assist the band with some social media related endeavours which is such a cool project to be involved with. I won't say much more then that for now but know that I am so freakin' pumped!

And on that note I should really head to bed. After two serious workouts I'm going to need my beauty sleep to get ready to dance the night away tomorrow!

So tell me, after being sick for a few days what's your favorite part about feeling healthy again?