Crashing Vespas in Italy

October 14, 2011 By Laura

This begins the start of the Bad News Bears portion of the trip.

After Valpolicalla we boarded a train to Cormons in the Friuli region. Trains in Europe are a whole other beast. The 3 of us are not accustomed to public transportation (it isn’t prevalent in the South), so tackling the Italian train system was… interesting. There were a lot of changes and a couple of times I was just crossing my fingers we were headed in the right direction!

We finally made it to Cormons around 9p – I was STARVING, but we still had to walk to our B&B. I’m not sure how far it was, but let me tell you it felt like 10 miles because the wheels on my suitcase BROKE!

I carried that $%&^*n 50 pound bag all the way there. I’ve never been to happy that I lift weights regularly in my life! It wasn’t funny at the time but later I’ll post a pic of me carrying it up the stairs in a train station. It is pretty comical – that thing is bigger than I am!

Our B&B, Borgo San Daniele was beautiful, even at night. Even more beautiful was that our hostess had a full tasting of their wines (which I drank a but too fast following the bag carrying-adventure) and a ton of cheese and cured meats (proscuitto de San Danielle is the most incredible stuff ever). Followed by desserts and grappa. I was so tired that I didn’t remember a picture until the dessert.

We woke up the next day and I decided to go for a jog through Cormons. This would have been a great idea after the wine the night before; however, my knee wasn’t having it. You seen, I had the brilliant idea to go for a run the day we were flying to Italy. Wellllll… I tripped and landed directly on my right knee (which is my bad knee, naturally). It swelled up like a melon on the plane, making me generally miserable by the time we landed.

Anyhow, my “jog” through Cormons turned into a limping walk followed by some ab work in a park I stumbled upon. This was the last time I’d work out until the last day of the trip. That’s unheard of for me!

Back the the beautiful…

Next on our “to do” list was to rent Vespas and drive ~30 km north of Cormons to Cividale. It’s a wine road (though we weren’t about to taste and try to drive scooters!) and we were told that the town of Cividale was a “must see.”

Don’t I look like a natural?

PSA: Driving a Vespa is not as easy as it looks.

We crashed that thing. Twice.

Who just hands you keys to a scooter without any instruction?! The uber chill Italians, that’s who.

I laid thing thing down on the way there and Corinne did it on the way back. Mine scraped the whole side of the Vespa! And I landed on my hurt knee side.

Corinne’s at-fault bruised up my hip and her stomach. I wish I’d gotten a pic of the bruise on my hip on days 3 or 4 – it turned black!

War wounds

We did make it to Cividale, but were pretty shaken by the time we arrived. Shaken and hungry.

Some German guests we met during the previous night’s tasting suggested we try the Salame all acela and the Frico and at Al Campanile. Being so close to the Austrian border (and Germany), we decided to trust them!

Al Campanile

They didn’t steer us wrong! The Salame alla acela was amazing served warm with cooked onions and polenta. The Frico was good, but quite heavy with all the fried potatoes and cheese. It was very German!

Salame all Acela

Frico

But the best part was… a very fresh arugula salad and a cold bier (much-needed after the harrowing ride on the Vespa).

~~Refreshed~~ Slightly less frazzled, we spent the next several hours exploring Cividale. It is pretty tiny, but there we tons of quaint little streets to wander up and down.

With helmets… at this point safety was paramount.

We tour like rockstars – go big or go home!

Gelato Flavor of the Day: Pesca (peach)

Everyone was a little sad when it was time to return the Vespas to Cormons. Mostly because we were scared to drive them back.

I was scared to turn in the scraped Vespa because it was paid for on my card. Valid fear – yesterday I spent 30 mins on the phone with American Express filing a claim for the $413 Euro the rental place charged me for damage. That’s almost $600 USD.

Moving right along… nerve-calming aperitif at Jazz & Wine and dinner at Ai Due Fratelli. The dinner spot was a recommendation for our new friend Erika, the bartender at Jazz & Wine. We have her to thank for one of the top meals of the trip!

Spaghetti with clams and a fantastic clam-olive oil-butter-garlic sauce

Eggplant with red sauce (much like an eggplant parm with out the heavy fry)

Some delicious grilled fish that I can no longer name…

Wait. Where’s the wine? Did we not order a bottle of white with dinner in the region most famous for it’s Pinot Grigios, Friulanos, and Ribollas?

Silly Rabbit, of course we did! White wine, noir-style.

We selected a bottle of the Ribolla, which is a light-bodied, floral wine from the region. It also has hints of lemon, which played well with the fish. The Friulanos tend to be sweeter and the Pinot Grigios are what you see most often in the States. Being red wine fans, we chose more acidic and obscure white. 🙂

Post-dinner we headed back Wine & Jazz to hang out with Erika and some other soon-to-be new friends.

I like sparkly things. Including wine.

Italy Milestone: first bar we closed down during our trip.

Speaking of wine… I’m almost through the first 1/3 of the cleanse!

Interesting observation/learning: it is EXTREMELY difficult it is to be vegan (and bread-free) while on the road. It took the Ritz 2 hours to figure out how to make me wild rice and grilled veggies for dinner on the first night of my stay! They did apologize and offer a free glass of wine… which I turned down (sorry for the cold front – hell hath frozen over).

As nice as they were about making me a special meal… I was starving after it took so long to prepare. Sadly, there wasn’t nearly enough food on my plate and it was really oily. Ritz fail.

For breakfast I wandered down the street to a local St. Louis/Clayton coffee chain called Kaldi’s with the hope that they would be able to make a smoothie for me. Success – they guys there were super nice and made me a delicious berry–banana smoothie WITH the protein powder I brought with me.

Special Diet Travel Tip: pack your own protein powder (BYOP!) and locate a smoothie place. They will use your powder! If you enjoy cinnamon if your smoothies like I do, go ahead and toss some in the baggie with your powder before you leave home. It worked perfectly! I’m a little shocked I didn’t get search by TSA with my bag of powder!

It was so good that I returned for lunch to have a delicious vegetable soup with a (modified) Greek salad. They (once again) went above and beyond to customize my food and were incredibly nice about it. Thanks for making my day, Kaldi’s!

I was actually nervous to call down for dinner after the previous night’s ordeal, but steeled up and dialed room service again.

The Ritz pulled through for dinner this time – they were ready for me! Perfectly cooked wild rice with steamed french green beans, asparagus and spinach with cherry tomatoes on the side. Not too oily or over salted this time! Ritz win.

***

All that flying on Delta will call for some Biscoff Cookie Dough Balls soon ehough. 😉

Do you have any trips for traveling on a special diet?

Have you ever been on Vespa? Would you try it in a foreign country?

Valpolicella and Amarone 101

October 13, 2011 By Laura

This was the day I looked forward to most on the trip.

We traveled about 30 miles outside of Verona to Valpolicella where my favorite wine is produced – Amarone.

We booked a tour through a company called VeronAround. Our guides, Daniel and Sabrina, were fantastic and very knowledgeable about the wines. I definitely recommend using them if you are in the region. They also do tours of Verona! Click here for their website.

Our first winery was Giuseppe Lonardi. All across Italy the harvests were early this year due to the unseasonably warm weather. This winery was on the last day of the harvest, so we did get to go out to the vineyards and see it in action.

Winemakers determine whether the grapes are ready to be picked by testing their sugar level. When it reaches the ideal point, its “go” time! Most winemakers have 5-8 hectares (12.5-20 acres) of land and the harvest takes about 3 days.

Giuseppe’s daughter, Silvia

Corvina, the most important Amarone grape, drying

After being picked, the grapes are dried on racks for a 3-4 months. This concentrates both the alcohol and the taste, making Amarone a richer (and more alcoholic) wine.

What makes it my favorite wine is that it is fruity without being too sweet. It’s heavy raisin on the nose with notes of cherries. There is often some spice on the end. It pairs well with bigger dishes (like grilled meats) and dark chocolate.

After this, the grapes have 3 stages to go through:

The juice is kept in stainless steel tanks to ferment for about 3 months
It is then transferred to oak barrels to age for 2 years
Finally it is bottled and aged about a year before it is ready to be sold

Other wines are also produced here: Valpolicella Classico, Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso, Recioto Classico della Valpolicella, and Giuseppe’s own creation – Privilegia.

They each have their own processes as well. Winemaking is definitely an art!

The Lonardi’s were just beginning the production of the Ripasso. Above is a picture of Giuseppe himself dumping the first of the freshly picked grapes into the de-stemming machine. I was beyond excited to witness the start of the 2011 winemaking!

Giuseppe’s daughter, Silvia, conducted most of the tour (Giuseppe doesn’t speak English). We loved her instantly. She was so sweet. We are all about the same age… I may go back and just hang out with her. ~~And the French oak casks.~~

Silvia opening a Superiore to taste

2008 Amarone casks

The tasting was fantastic! We were able to taste the most recent bottles – 2008 Classico Superiore Ripasso (it doesn’t need to be aged as long as the Amarone), 2007 Privilegia, and 2007 Amarone.

The Privilegia is Giuseppe’s own creation. It is not made from the tradition grape blend, and therefore you won’t see the Valpolicella name on the bottle (they are very strict about wine rules!). This did not affect it’s deliciousness.

The family has recently opened an inn and restaurant where Silvia’s mom cooks. If you have the opportunity to go to Valpolicalla, please stop by for a stay and tell them I said hello! Click here for their website.

I could have stayed there all day, but we did need to get on to the next tasting with the 3 brothers of Fratelli Vogadori.

Can you believe this is their backyard? (Minus these hot mammas, of course 😉 )

Vogadori was fantastic as well. We tasted their Classico, Ripasso, Amarone, and Recioto.

Recioto is basically a sweet version of Amarone. The grapes are dried; however, the fermentation process is stopped earlier before all of the sugar turns to alcohol. It feels heaver and more velvety on the palate and pairs perfectly with dark chocolate or cantucci.

A couple of those Amarone bottles my or may not be in the mail on their way to me…

Here we also tasted olive oil. Many families have a small production of olive oil. We learned that it takes quite a lot of olives to make oil, so the smaller family winemakers only produce it in limited quantities. My mom now has a bottle in her kitchen. 🙂

Most places (here included) offer prosciutto and/or salami and bread sticks during tastings. The brothers brought out a blue cheese snack to go with the bigger wines at the end of the tasting. It was SO good – and that’s not just because we were 2 tastings in!

Corinne approved!

I mentioned before that one of the odd things about Italy is that it was so hard to find fresh veggies and fruit. After 2 weeks of carbs, cured meat, steaks, and more wine that I’ll ever admit to drinking, I’ve decided to do a modified version of the Standard Process Cleanse I did last November.

My rules:

10 days of all the veggies and fruits I can eat (more veggies than fruit, as much raw as possible)
4-5 tsp of oil a day (flax, olive, coconut)
1 C lentils or wild rice a day
2-3 protein shakes a day
1 serving of tofu, chicken, or fish a day on last 11 days
No alcohol
No diary
No processed food

The strict program doesn’t allow beans or nuts… but I’m allowing a small amount. I love nuts. (Yes, you can quote me on that.) I may also allow coconut milk after the first few days.

I was going to ban coffee… but I’m in my 3rd city this week and am averaging 4 hours of sleep per night. It’s about survival.

I love Italy, but the return of the (green) Sweet Potato Smoothie (and football!) was a welcome one.

***

I’m already on day 6 of the cleanse and feeling good!

Did I put you all to sleep by geeking out on wine? What is your favorite wine?

Do you do anything to cleanse a certain points in the year or after a period of overindulgence?

Romeo, Romeo: A Day in Verona, Italy

October 12, 2011 By Laura

Our first full day in Verona was laid back.

How cute is our B&B?!

We walked from the city center and to meet out new friend Tim, who had offered to show us where to get our first pizza of the trip. I was so hungry that I FORGOT to take a pic! Fail.

We ordered 4 pizzas and shared them… they were good, but Southern Italy is really the place for pizza.

Next we were off to tour L’Arena. The stairs in that place were no joke! The only stone was quite slippery. If it were the US, we would have seen some serious “climb at your own risk” signage!

They were setting up for a concert that night with a popular Italian singer/guitarist. We couldn’t get tickets, but just seeing the contrast of the ancient against the new was surreal.

Next up was Juliette’s balcony. We took pictures and fought for a spot to rub Juliette’s boob.

Apparently it’s the thing to do here – there were small children feeling up her statue!

When in Rome…

It was unseasonably warm throughout our visit (we, of course, over-packed with all our sweaters). After all that walking around we were past due for our first gelato of the trip!

Vanilla-Hazelnut for me!

Refreshed after our tasty treats, we decided it was time to tackle Teatro Romano (the Roman Theatre). Doesn’t it look far away?

We got to walk across the oldest bridge in Verona to climbed about a million stairs to the top!

The view from the top was well-worth it!!!

Check out yesterday’s post for another view. 🙂

Next is my favorite part of the day – ~~wine time~~ dinner time!

We loved Antica Bottega de Vino so much our first night that we returned again for dinner! This place is the only restaurant in Verona to be officially recognized as a “historic establishment.”

There are worse places to be trapped!

Tim joined us and we feasted. Everything was delicious, but I am sad to say that I did not get a picture of my favorite dish. We started with an amazing plate of polenta topped with some the most deliciously creamy gorgonzola I have ever tasted.

One of the coolest dishes was an Amarone risotto. I still prefer to drink it in a glass, but it’s ~~depressing~~ funny that Amarone is inexpensive enough in Italy to use for cooking. In the States it’s hard to find a bottle for less than $80!

Yes, I realize this looks like baked beans.

You’ll start to see a theme as I post recaps… we ordered pasta with truffles. For the second night in a row.

The nutty parmesan and fresh olive oil coating homemade noodles combined with earthy, rich black truffles is too much for me to pass up!

You’d think that would be enough, but after dinner Tim had a surprise for us – we were able to meet the restaurant owner, Severino Barzan, who gave us a tour of his impressive 130-year old cellar (seriously – the wine in there was worth more than I can imagine).

The Wandering Winos in their happy place

The restaurant and it’s owner are quite well-known – we spotted a picture of the Clinton’s on a recent visit! Can you make out the autograph below?

Not wanting the night to end, we spotted cognac bottles lining the walls dating back to the late 1800s… and decided we needed to have a glass from each of our birth years.

Tim, Brittany, Corinne, me, and Proprietor Severino Barzan with our birth year bottles

On our 2nd night in Italy we were already making memories more fantastic than I could have dreamed of!

***

In all my craziness I forgot about WIAW!!! I’m (late) joining the party with my “What I Ate in Italy” theme! As always, check out Peas and Crayons to see the tastiness everyone else ate today!

I’m out of town in client meetings for the rest of the week. I can’t believe I’m already jumping on another plane!

Did you enjoy reading Shakespeare in high school?

Have you had a surreal night like we did? I want to hear about it!

Kicking and Screaming

October 10, 2011 By Laura

I came back to America.

That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it though! Have you ever gone somewhere and felt like it’s where you were meant to be?

That was Alba, Italy for me.

Over the next few days I’ll recap the many adventures we had over 14 days. For now I’ll just say it was the trip of a lifetime.

We were lucky in so many ways – from navigating train stations to getting private tours of wine cellars to making friends with winemakers.

Let’s start at the beginning: overnight AirFrance flight to Verona (via Paris).

We were well-prepared with out neck supports, magazines, iPods, eReaders, etc. First hint we over-packed: the neck thingys were the only travel items used.

Dinner time!

First wine of the trip

Our airplane feast

Ummmm… let’s just say it’s a little cruel to begin a food and wine trip with such foul food and wine. 😉

Packing snacks was a brilliant idea

The view of the Alps was incredible!

Finally, in the promised land of food and wine.

Most people would take a nap after all that travel. We aren’t most people.

3 quick showers and a chat with the Bed & Breakfast owner. Now we’re on our way to the Verona city center for drinks and an appetizer at recommended stop #1:

Antica Bottega del Vino

One of each, please!

I have died and gone to cheese heaven

My first glass of wine was an Amarone Masi. It was incredible – deep raisin taste, thick, and layered with flavor.

This place proved to be key because we met a new friend – Tim. Tim was there on business, but his family is from the area. Lucky us – he offered to meet up and guide us later!

We also learned the historic Bottega opened a location in NYC. I smell a trip in our future. 🙂

Dinner was at Antico Verona. It apparently had changed names, so we had a fun walk trying to FIND it (at least we burned off the first drink).

Our reward to locating this place:

Valpolicella Superiore is less expensive Amarone – same grapes, different process. It is lighter and the raisin taste is less prevalent. Still delicious – it’s a good “drinking” wine.

Dinner was okay – not the best meal we’d have, but not bad.

Steak, sautéed veggies, pasta with black truffles

Never a dull moment, the old electrical system meant the lights went out in the restaurant periodically. I wish I spoke Italian because every time they went out, the table next to us would sing a song I couldn’t understand. It added to the adventure – especially when the lights went out while in the bathroom.

HUGE thanks to the fabulous guest posters who helped me out while I was gone. In case you missed any, here is a listing:

Healthy (Meatless) Meal Ideas for Busy People by Lisa @ Healthful Sense
Martha: My Meatball Muse (gluten-free!) by Jessica (my college friend!)
Getting Started with Strength Training by Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun
Falafel on a Waffle by Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen
Reformed Cardio Junkie by Claire @ Live and Love to Eat
A Few of My Favorite Things Lee @ In My Tummy
Northern Indian Menu Vocab by Parita @ My Inner Shakti
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake by Ari @ Diva Dish
Remembering Your Passion by Carol @ Lucky Zucca
Fall Workout Must Haves by Heather @ Girly Ever After

Advice for those of you going on extend trips abroad: ~~beg for~~ recruit guest bloggers. I had very good intentions of blogging while away, but Internet and time is far too unpredictable.

Please check out these rockin’ ladies – you may discover your new favorite blog! 🙂

In other news, this weekend was Atlanta Pride. It is the first year I’ve brought a green beverage to the park.

Butternut Squash-Banana Smoothie

1/2 C butternut squash
1/2 banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 handful spinach
Ice + milk/water, to taste

As usual, the people watching was rich.

Rawr

I NEED these shoes!

Happy Pride, ATL!

***

I’m shoveling fresh fruits and veggies in my mouth by the handful – they were SO hard to find in Northern Italy.

Did you enjoy the guest posters? Did you discover anyone new?

Have you ever traveled somewhere and felt such a strong connection to it you almost stayed?

Remembering Your Passion

October 5, 2011 By Laura

I can’t believe we are on our last leg! Today we are in the Tuscan region and are headed to a wine tour in Montepulciano. Vino Nobile is this area’s best known wine. The guide is the same on we had yesterday for a Brunello di Montacino tour. If the tour is anything like that one, it should be an amazing day. We ended up “kidnapping” the girlfriend of one of the winemakers and everyone shared a magnum bottle of some amazing vino. Only in Siena…

You Twlight fans may recognize this town… it was used as the setting for Volterra in New Moon. (Yes, I had to Google that.)

I am lucky to have Carol @ Lucky Zucca as my guest. Carols is one of the newer (to me) Atlanta bloggers and I have loved getting to know her through our last couple of meet ups and email exchanges. We ever had the opportunity to run a race together already! Carol has the best outlook on life of anyone I know. Just reading her posts will put you in a better mood!

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Hey there, Sprint 2 the Table Readers! I am too excited to have the chance to guest post for Laura while she is in Italy. I’m so jealous! I spent a year living there while I obtained my M.A. degree, and I haven’t had the chance to go back yet (it has been 2 & 1/2 years!).

Editor's note: I am eating LOTS of this for you all.

Anyways, us being super jealous of Laura unfortunately isn’t going to get us stowed away in her luggage, so moving on.

My name is Carol and I blog over at Lucky Zucca. My blog started out as a happiness journal and concentrated on all the things that made me happy each day. Anything from a delicious breakfast to a good workout to chats with friends to more serious topics like how to overcome bad attitudes can show up over there. The main theme is simply to be happy and thankful for what we’ve got, even when things seem all wrong. In my opinion, finding little things to be joyful about is such a better way to live your life than concentrating on the bad.

I hope that anyone that visits my blog is inspired to find those things in their life that make them happy, even when times seem grim. I’ve grown and matured with my blog, and it actually is what helped me get through a difficult time in my life. I was struggling with who I was as a person, and through blogging, I reconnected with the things that make me who I am. I started reading again, began crafting more, started cooking and baking more often, hosting dinner parties for my friends, and exercising more consistently. Many things I had somehow lost touch with quickly came back to me when I started thinking about what made me happiest.

So, how can you do that? How can you get back in touch with your passions? I think the first step is to take a few moments, either at the beginning or the end of each day and think on the things that recently made you happy. Things you found joy in. Did you love that walk you took with your friend outside? Did you enjoy relaxing and reading a new book? Maybe group sports are your thing, maybe it is a favorite TV show. Do you find cooking therapeutic or daunting? Are you really interested in different types of beers? (Editor’s note: she knows me too well already…)

Figure out what makes you happy, relaxed, and stress-free, and concentrate on those things. Look for things you’ve enjoyed for all your life (or, if it’s the beer thing, all of your adult life :D). Make time for those things and be sure to live in the moment and enjoy them while you’re doing them.

I was struggling with making time for everyone else and not making time for myself. When I did have time to myself, I abused it by lazing around, watching mindless television I didn’t enjoy, and essentially wasting my life away. I thought I was fulfilled because of the people that surrounded me, instead I was void because I was ignoring my own passions. Making time for ourselves is one of the best ways we can invest our time.

Love yourself!

Though I still post about those things that make me the happiest, I also sometimes post about how we can find happiness in our lives. My blog has become a project of self-actualization, and a journey that I hope you all will join me on! As I’ve become more self-actualized myself, I’ve realized that sharing how I got from where I was (bored, un-invested, and not passionate about most things) to where I am now (excited again, re-invested, and passionate about many things) could potentially help someone else. So, I try to share my thought processes, things I do to get over the speed bumps we all encounter, and spread a positive attitude.

My passions are being outdoors, adventure (hiking, biking, skydiving, bungee jumping, roller coasters, etc.), exercise, cooking and baking, reading, crafts, dinner parties with my friends, travel, animals and pushing myself to succeed. I’ve connected so well with Laura because she is passionate about many of the same things – namely food, exercise, and pushing herself for success. I believe if you look at the happiest people in the world, you will find that they respect themselves, respect their bodies, and engage in their passions. Reading Laura’s blog has reinforced to me the theme that we can do anything we put our minds to. Her exercise success, cooking successes, and overall positive attitude are inspiring and I admire these things about her the most!

Lucky Zucca is a little different from Sprint2theTable, (mainly that Laura is much better at exercise than I and much more experienced in the kitchen! 😉 – Editor’s note: I think you rock, Carol!) but we embrace the same ideals: a positive outlook and pushing yourself to become successful. Dedicating your life to your loves and passions.

Over at Lucky Zucca, I love to do book reviews, crafting how-to’s, share recipes, document great workouts, and talk about fun activities my friends and I engage in. If any of that interests you, I’d love for you to stop by and leave a comment so we can discuss the things that make you happy!

It's a real party over there!

Thanks for taking the time to read my guest post, and I hope to see you around the blog world soon! And a special thanks to Laura for such an amazing opportunity!

***

I wish Carol would call me every morning for a dose of happiness.

Your turn – what makes you happy?

(My answer is far to obvious tight now… cheers!)

Reformed Cardio Junkie

September 30, 2011 By Laura

Today I am in Alba in the Piedmont region. This region produces my second and third favorite wines – Barbaresco and Nebbiolo. Oh, and did I mention it’s truffle season here?!

Claire is so sweet to say she gets recipe inspiration from me… I get so much from HER! She has a knack for coming up with dishes that are healthy while still feeling/tasting decadent. Check out her Plum Apple Crisp, for instance. I can’t wait to make it!

She is also recently got married and was a stunning bride! 🙂

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Hello Sprint 2 the Table readers!

My name is Claire and I blog over at Live and Love to Eat. I’m a full time dietitian, but you might not know that with how much I love to bake and dine at different restaurants! Laura’s blog is my go-to site for good recipes and workout motivation – who wouldn’t want her biceps? I’m honored to be guest posting while she is enjoying herself overseas.

I used to be a cardio junkie, but I want to share my story about how I learned to love changing up my work out routine.

I was never a “runner” – at least not the type of runner who loved the treadmill, lived for a good 10-mile jog, or looked forward to lacing up their sneakers. I started running on the treadmill during college purely for the calorie burn – I knew I was eating too much unhealthy food as part of my new life style, and wanted to avoid that “freshman 15.” I never struggled with my weight but knew I could be a few pounds lighter and running in my dorm’s gym seemed to be the easiest way to burn calories.

Once I started running a few times a week, I noticed that it also helped to manage my stress. I finally experienced the “runners high” that I’d heard my more fit friends talk about, even though I never did more than 2 miles at a time. When I would come home for the summer I didn’t run very often, and later found that the elliptical was an “easier” workout, so I did that the majority of the time my junior year. I took a one credit personal fitness class that taught me a basic strength training routine using the Nautilus equipment, and I fell into a workout rut that didn’t challenge me very much.

By the time I was a senior, I was dating a guy who was really in to running – he started it for stress relief as well, but got addicted really quickly. We signed up for the Pittsburgh Great Race – a fantastic 5/10K combination course. My first 5K was a great experience – I loved the atmosphere, the adrenaline, and the challenge of beating a time that you set in your head (again, not impressive enough to share) – and it made me want to do more races. I started training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, but got a stress fracture from upping my distance too quickly and fell off the running wagon again.

During graduate school and my dietetic internship, I joined a local gym for the first time since I was no longer living on campus. I fell in love with spin classes, which easily took the place of running as my favorite calorie burning option. As time passed, my younger brother also started to run regularly – and long distances – so I signed us up for a 5K the day before his birthday in April. The race was on a chilly morning, and I don’t think I spent enough time warming up – and I got injured (after getting my 5K PR – the back of the photo with the gloves on).

Long story short, I tore my perioneal tendon (graphic photos, sorry), had to wear a boot for 3 months, and my physical therapist told me that any distance running in the future would cause a flare up of tendonitis or possible re-injury. I was months away from my wedding and petrified that I wouldn’t be able to exercise at all – which I needed to maintain my weight to feel comfortable in my wedding dress and to manage the incredible stress that planning a wedding can bring.

I owned Jillian Michaels’ 30 day Shred, which I used for quick strength training and toning at home, but wasn’t even able to do that in the walking boot. For weeks, all I could do was upper body and ab exercises – on demand workouts and exercisetv.tv became great resources! After the boot came off I was still in a lot of pain, and started looking in to other options. Spin class was too painful (lots of pressure on the ankle joint) and running was out of the question. I’d read other blogs where people raved over Bikram / Hot Yoga, so I tried hot yoga and really loved it (even though I was nervous to try it at first). I also experimented with Pilates with kettle bells, as well as at home strength training with hand weights.

I had a strapless wedding dress, so I really concentrated on toning my arms – and loved the way I looked and felt! It’s great to know that I have a healthier body composition (in terms of muscle to fat ratio) even if the weight on the scale doesn’t change much. I love feeling powerful and strong, and even appreciate the soreness of a great workout the next day. And I felt beautiful in my wedding dress.

I’m still nowhere close to Laura’s figure ( 😉 ) and not able to run (I tried to make it a block while walking my dog and it was too painful right off the bat), but the injury was a blessing in disguise – I now enjoy strength training several times a week, have tried many new work outs, classes, and DVDs, and feel like my fitness routine is much more well rounded as a whole. I’m not running marathons or triathlons, but I can appreciate working out for more than the calorie burn, and feel healthier overall.

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As much as I love a good run, weights are my favorite!

Do you make an effort to balance cardio with strength training?

What move have you found to deliver the best results?

Getting Started with Strength Training

September 28, 2011 By Laura

Good Morning! Today I am in the Friuli region of Italy – near the Austrian and Solvenian border. It’s most famous for its white wines, such as Pinot Grigio.

Tina from Faith Fitness Fun is my second guest blogger. Tina is very special to me… she was the first person (other than family/friends) to comment on my blog! I was so excited I think I squealed.

Tina’s blog is one of my favorites because she is one of the genuine bloggers out there. Whether she’s sharing a dish or product or the rockstar way she shed baby weight (seriously – this woman could run circles around me), you can believe she’s showing her true self.

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Hello there, Sprint 2 The Table readers! My name is Tina and I’m the gal typing up all sorts of randomness – from super personal topics (binge eating struggles) to silly stories (stuffing my bra) – over at the blog Faith Fitness Fun.

Eight years ago I fell in love with fitness – strength training playing a vital role in that love. Eight years ago I picked up my first weight and immediately felt empowered. I started to see changes in my body that amazed me. I increased my physical capabilities. I could turn to weights as an outlet when dealing with my past struggles of depression and binge eating.

Eight years ago I started strength training and I haven’t stopped since. Instead, I have competed in a fitness competition and frequented the gym floor even while 9 months pregnant. Despite a newfound passion for running, I remain determined in my strength workouts as I make progress in my Body After Baby goals. Now, I hope you’ll join me as I share my personal journey into strength training, including ways you can get started too. Thanks for reading!

I Found A Comfortable Place to Get Acquainted with Weights
Although I feel comfortable now at my gym, I used to not have such confidence. In fact, I likely would have never started with strength training if not for beginning in the comfort of my own home. Thanks to the old FitTV programs, I had the chance to try out a few workouts such as The Firm and Cathe Friedrich. Cathe’s workouts quickly became my favorites and I began building a library of her workout DVDs. Side note: You can imagine my excitement to meet her at Fitbloggin’ after years of training “with” her.

Over the course of a year, I learned various weight training moves from her workouts and built up a base in my strength training. Eventually, when I joined a gym, I continued to get more comfortable with strength workouts by attending group classes, such as Body Pump.Group classes and workout DVDs can be a great starting point to gain confidence with weights at your own pace. I also highly suggest utilizing the free introductory personal training offer at most gyms to receive a quick run through on the use of equipment and workout safety.

I Did Some Research
When I get into something, I go full out! The more I learned about weight training, the more I wanted to keep learning. It started with figuring out moves in my DVDs, then grew to subscribing to Oxygen magazine, ordering the e-book Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle, and pouring myself into resources such as The New Rules of Lifting For Women. I began feeling excited to branch out from the group classes and try some of the ideas in these resources for my own.

Following a pre-set program, like you can find in The New Rules of Lifting For Women, provided a great way to break in to doing my own thing at the gym. From there I continued to research and learn ways to set up my own strength training plans, turning to things like the Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises for ideas.

I Started Basic
So many varieties of exercises exist. Before breaking out the Bosu balls, sliding discs, and other fitness tools – I stuck with the basics. Pretty much every body part is trained with a few standard motions. For back exercises, there are rows and pulling motions. For chest exercises, there are pressing motions and fly motions. For biceps, curls. For shoulders, raises. You get the idea. I learned the standard moves for each body part and perfected those before mixing up my workouts and adding a new challenge.

I also began using machines for most exercises until I learned the movement. It helped guide my motion as I gained strength. Then, I progressed to barbells and dumbbells. I would also always start light and slowly add more weight once I knew I could handle each move safely. I didn’t want to end up with an injury!

I Began Adding More Variety and Gained Ideas From Others
Finally, after taking gradual steps into strength training, I hoped to continue making progress and push my training to higher levels. I wanted more challenges and started implementing new training techniques. I will search out new things to try – like TRX bands and kettle bells. Now, I look to others for inspiration and have a solid enough foundation in strength moves that I feel capable implementing them in my training.

In short, strength training provides so many benefits. Don’t let fear hold you back from reaping those rewards. It takes time, but we all have to start somewhere. Find a way to go for it. Then keep learning and you will only get stronger.

I promise you can do it! Feel free to stop by my blog for workout ideas or just another virtual fitness friend.

Healthy (Meatless) Meal Ideas for Busy People

September 26, 2011 By Laura

Today I am in Valpolicella tasting Amarone – my favorite wine. 🙂

Lisa from Healthful Sense has graciously composed a rockin’ guest post for you all. This is the first in a serious of guest posts from some of my FAVORITE bloggers. Lisa’s blog is fairly new to me. It was love at first visit to her site when I saw her innvoative, tasty-looking recipes. (Epecially the vegan brownies – OMG).

Hopefully you will discover some new bloggers through this guest series!

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Morning! I’m Lisa and I blog over at Healthful Sense!

I’m so excited to be a guest poster on Laura’s blog today! We have alot in common – we love to eat healthy, make crazy food concoctions, and share a love of peanut flour (yeah baby). She definitely has me beat on the exercise though!

One other commonality that we share is that we are extremely busy… she with work and working out… and I with kids (3 rugrats). I still haven’t decided which is more exhausting — working 3 jobs (before I had kids) or being a stay-at-home mom of 3 little ones.

Anyway, since we are both busy people it’s safe to say that we’ve both become “experts” on making quick, healthy meals. So quick & healthy meals are going to be the theme of today’s post.

Quick & Healthy Meal Ideas

1. Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is usually put in the snack category but because it’s so rich in protein you can easily make a quick meal out of it.

Here are some fabulous ideas:

Laura’s cinnamon roll oats:

And her Sweet Potato Greek Yogurt:

You have got to try the sweet potato/greek yogurt combo… it is amazing!!

Another fabulous combo is peanut flour/greek yogurt!! It’s packed with protein from both the peanut flour and the greek yogurt. I recently did a post about peanut flour — it’s a great product that you can add to just about anything!