This weekend I was able to enjoy Miami Beach for a number of workouts…it was a great chance to remind myself how lucky I am to be near the ocean, the sand, and such a variety of opportunities.
SHAPE BIKINI BODY TOUR
Shape Magazine set up this weekend on Miami Beach for their Bikini Body Tour . As part of this event there were a variety of workout classes on the beach running from early in the morning throughout the afternoon. Classes were on average $10 and normally I tend to find ways to do things for oh say FREE, but I figured the experience was well worth the cash.
Since I was paying for this I wanted to do something new and different. My first class was kickboxing! While I truly LOVE kickboxing, this particular class had a very small turn out as it was noon and 90 degrees outside. This left the instructor a little flustered because the energy was probably much lower than her normal class. After about 30 minutes, I asked her to slow down and suddenly the whole class was back on track. She was so friendly, but simply talking so fast we couldn't figure out what move was happening.
Next up it was time to figure out if I had any dance moves...What did I learn? ZUMBA is freaking fantastic! I have zero rhythm and am positive what I’m doing does not look like dancing, but I could not stop smiling for the entire workout. My back muscles have also been sore for two days from all the new ways in which I was moving and grooving. 
Unfortunately there aren't any gyms right near me that offer Zumba, so I won't get to do it quite as often as I might like in the future. I know they make DVD's, but truly I would say it was the group environment the crazy smiling instructor that just got me going! It also clearly proved that running is not the only way to break a serious sweat and feel like I got a great workout.
Along with the classes, Shape had a number of booths set up and some great areas for lounging in the sand...yup workout followed by lounging in the sun is a great day.
CHI RUN CLUB
A great running friend in Miami, started a Sunday morning run club a few months ago. We rotate locations which gives us all a chance to see new places in Miami and this week we ran the boardwalk along South Beach at sunrise.
A group of army boys was out with their 50lb packs doing a training session during our run and literally talked to every one of them. It was a blast joking and each of us cheering the other on…all punctuated by the sun coming up over the water.
I am so fast, I just look like a blur.
Mr.BMX took his bike on some crazy wicked trails this weekend while I was out running and came home with a few war wounds. While I’m willing to push myself through long run pain…I am not willing to slam in to trees.
Have you tried Zumba? Mountain biking on wicked trails?
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Gratitude Journal
June 7
I am grateful for soldiers
I am grateful for not carrying a 50lb pack
I am grateful for Xmen movies
I am grateful for quiche
I am grateful for Florida oranges
12 comments:
Never tried zumba, 'cause I'm pretty sure I'd look like an idiot! Mtn. biking, however, is a blast. Used to do tons of it--great workout!
You look fantastic, btw, and I'm jealous of all the workouts on the beach you have!
i've done zumba. it's fun. but i'm not coordinated enough to keep up. lol
I've tried Zumba--it's fun! The class at my gym was very low impact though, wasn't as intense as I've seen Zumba get!
What a beautiful place to run!
:)
I am super jealous of your running scenery and beach workout options!!
I have done Zumba before and I enjoyed it. I love to dance and prefer a traditional dance class though.
I haven't tried any of that, but you are making me interested in Zumba!
You are definitely lucky to have such a beautiful environment to run and train in. I'd love to try Zumba, I love to dance.
Sounds like such a fun event! I've taken Zumba classes and loved it! So much energy and you can totally let go and have fun!
I tried zumba and I didn't enjoy it because it was just too 'dancing'-ish for me. Didn't really feel comfortable for some reason!
Kettle Bells are supposed to be WONDERFUL for runners, I really would like to try them. My boyfriend just got one and he's really into running so I'll see if he likes it or not.
I just realized that I may have cheated, the Pad Thai deliciousness that I had on Saturday night may have had added sugar in it?! Ooops I totally forgot about restaurant stuff.
My pace for my longer runs will def be slower. When I run on my own, I like to run 6 miles around an 8 minute pace (slower when it's hot out), so that felt comfortable with the group. But I'll be slowing it down a lot with the higher mileage!
I used the McMillan pace calculator (http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/cgi-bin/calc.pl)and it suggests a 8:30 to 9:30 pace.
Someday, someday! So jealous of all the great workouts by the beach!! Love it!!
The scenery is gorgeous! And I've heard rave reviews about zumba but have not gotten around to trying it.
I did Miama half marathon this year and can't wait to come back for it next year! Obviously you're pictures made me think of that. And there were people doing Zumba as I finished Wildflower triathlon this year, which might be one of the oddest things I've seen coming down the finish chute. And that concludes my random comments :)
Zumba is so much fun! I know I'm not good at it, so I bought the PS3 game to do at home! It doesn't even seem like a workout.
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