Race Recap: Lifetime Indoor Tri

I was sitting here a couple of days ago talking to myself, trying to figure out what blog post I'd been forgetting to write when it dawned it me: I needed to write a recap of my very first triathlon!

On January 5, I participated in the Life Time Indoor Triathlon Series. I signed up for it with my friend Tikima because we wanted some triathlon experience as sort of a baseline test for June, and we weren't ready for anything in open water or outdoors just yet. This was perfect because it was indoors, timed, and simulated a lot of the basic challenges of a triathlon, i.e. transitioning, endurance, competing in a swim, etc.

New Year, New Box of Treats

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com. All thoughts shared in this post are my honest reactions to the products in my very first BabbleBoxx.

To help me start my 2020 in a health-focused way, I received an awesome BabbleBoxx filled with some sweet products! Keep reading to learn more about what was included in this box!

Studio Review: Sculp'd

For my first studio visit of the new year and new decade, I decided to try out Sculp'd in Alexandria, Virginia. I had the day off of work, so I was able to take a mid-day class - something I never get to do! That morning, I taught my first indoor cycling class of the year (my 45-minute, 7 a.m. class), so I had some time to come home and chill out a little bit before I hit the road.

Because I can be an airhead from time to time, I totally misread the location of the studio as Arlington instead of Alexandria, so I totally miscalculated how long it was going to take me to get there, and with random mid-day traffic, that mistake almost cost me a spot in the class! Fortunately, I was able to call ahead and let them know I might be getting there right on the dot instead of 15 minutes early like they preferred (and as I had planned if it was indeed in Arlington). This actually says a lot about how much the boutique fitness market has just totally exploded in Arlington. It seems that whenever there is a new studio in the DMV, they're in Arlington! It was actually a relief that it wasn't Arlington because I don't get to explore the fitness scene in Alexandria nearly as much!

Race Recap: MCRRC New Years Day 5k 2020

I kicked off 2020 with a 5k! This was my first time running a race on New Year's Day, and I actually convinced my lovely SO to join me. I've gone with friends to do the Polar Plunge in Coney Island (I was comfortably bundled up on the beach, dry, natch), I've slept in until mid-day because I was out partying until 4am, and... yeah, that about sums it up!

Fortunately, I'm a member of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club! They have a race series that they call their Low-Key Race Series, and they're free for all members and only $10 for non-members. Hard to beat that!


Their races are always well organized, and almost always* start exactly on time. For members, it's pretty easy. Once you have your bib and chip (you keep the same one for the entire calendar year), you just show up and run. The check-in process took us about two minutes tops (total, for both of us) once we got in the right line. John laced up my chip (I always lace it wrong, so it never hurts to have a little help), I got our bibs pinned on, and we were ready to go.

He went to join the potty line, and I went to the start line. I didn't think he would actually make it to the start on time because the line was so long, so I figured he'd catch up with me at some point during the race. Well, I misjudged that, because this was the first MCRRC race I'd been to where we started a little late! Nonetheless, it was actually a good thing we did because I bumped into some of my Black Girls Run friends at the start line!

I thought the group was running in the DC Mayor's Race, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw so many friends right there at the start line! We took some group photos, wished each other a happy new year, and chatted a little about the race. It was chilly that morning, so it was nice to be able to bundle up a little with a group!

John eventually met us at the start line, and we were all on our way! I wanted to run my pace, so I ended up running by myself most of the time, but I cheered on friends as we crisscrossed the course. I didn't run my best pace, but I did much better than expected (although the final results seemed to dictate that I was slower than what my Fitbit was telling me). It was so cold and windy - two conditions in which I really don't like running!

My friends and I decided to wait for each other at the finish line so that we could cheer each other in through the final stretch. We grabbed some post-race photos, and then we went our separate ways. I headed into the race HQ so that I could grab some coffee and something to eat, and bumped into another friend and her family along the way. Everyone was on that post-race high so there was so much positive energy around!

All-in-all, I'm glad I ran this race on New Year's Day! We might have to make this a tradition!

One little thing: I am still a little bummed that I didn't get a single race photo. MCRRC usually does a great job of capturing photos during the low-key races, and they're even free!; however, this race, I noticed that one of the photographers was just standing watching people and not taking any photos for the majority of the race! In fact, it looks like two of the photographers have never uploaded their photos from the race. Whomp whomp.

How did you spend New Year's Day? Did you do anything active? Do you have any New Year's Day traditions?

100 Ways I've Sweat Over the Last Year

I've done a lot of workouts over my lifetime, and I've done some really creative sweating over the past year. As we transition into this new year, I thought it would be a fun exercise to write out how I've sweated over the last year. I don't know what 2020 will bring or how I will sweat from now until December 2020, but I'm hoping to add some new things to this list!

I've broken down the list into groups, and I've included some commentary on selected items in the list. (Maybe next year I'll have commentary for each one?) I think it also helps guide my adventures for next year. Maybe I should try to sweat more in the X category, you know? It also helps guide me as I notice fitness trends (existing and emerging) while I build my sweat calendar. Anyway, check it out, and let me know if you have any recommendations for ways to sweat this year!

6 Things I'm Bringing With Me to 2020

So, I told you what I was leaving behind in 2019. Some of my friends shared their thoughts on this topic as well. Now, let's talk about what I'm bringing with me from 2019 to 2020!

But first, in case you don't hear it from anyone else, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Why am I bringing anything from this trash year into 2020? Well, first of all, you can't throw the whole year in the trash, people! Yes, 2019 brought with it some challenges. Heck, it brought with it some serious challenges, but that doesn't mean that everything that ever happened at any time on any day in 2019 was all bad and that there weren't any lessons learned. That can't be so, y'all. I refuse to accept that, and so should you. And with that, here are the 6 things I'm bringing with me to 2020:

2 Things I'm Leaving Behind in 2019

Last year was the first year where I introduced my Things I'm Leaving Behind post. It was popular, I thought I'd try it again this year! I am joined again by a few of my friends in the fitness world who are leaving some things behind as well.

Here's what I said last year about why I put together this list:

I know we've all seen a bunch of posts on social media with folks reflecting on their year, posting their favorite members, and talking about their resolutions for 2019. At the end of each year, I like to reflect on the year and recalibrate for the upcoming year. I don't necessarily do "resolutions" in the traditional sense, but I'm all about setting goals throughout the year anyway, so why not set some more at the dawn of a new year? So this year, I'm trying something new: I'm choosing 10 specific things I'm leaving behind in 2018, for real for real. Throughout the year, I told myself to stop doing these things, but I'm stubborn and hard-headed so I didn't even listen to myself. Now that I'm throwing it out there in the universe (otherwise known as the internet), I have to do them, right?

I actually did pretty well with my list from last year, so, bravo, me! I focused more on self-care, I actually ran some races (including my first Ragnar Trail race ever!), I incorporated more strength training into my fitness routine, I began teaching indoor cycling as a regular instructor, I used my tent for camping, and I made more time for my business. Now, I was still awful about comparison, actual pounds lost,  time management (not as frequently), and sugar (not as bad as the previous year), but I did almost all of the things I said I would do, and improved on most of the things that I didn't totally check off the list. I'm hopeful that I can do better with those items this year, so I'm not adding it to my updated list.

This year, my list is a heck of a lot shorter. And so, without further adieu, here it is!