A few weeks ago I shared a post about my love affair with barre classes.  I think fitness is something that has to ebb and flow with life, circumstance, and age.  In my adult life, at various times I’ve been really into hot yoga, casual running, distance running, weight lifting, spinning, and now – barre!

Here in Seattle, I have mostly been going to the local Barre3 studios.  Aside from the great workout, the other major incentive that keeps me coming back to Barre3  specifically is the childcare!  It is so hard to find fitness centers with good childcare options, and having this has been such a big motivator for me.  Unfortunately, the only studio in our area without childcare is the one closest to my (current) house in Kirkland, so I drive to one that is about 25 minutes away.  This morning, I got an email that starting next week – the day after we move – the Kirkland studio will be offering childcare.  Of course, right?  Sad face for me, but happy that this studio will be even more accessible to other local moms now. 

But back to the studio – I’ve been lucky enough to connect with people there who have kept me motivated and encouraged, and I know they are always excited to read about how many of you are enjoying the workouts too. 

After my last post, they got in touch with me after reading your comments – so many of you are interested in trying barre workouts, but are deterred either by the price or by the lack of accessibility to classes where you live.  So my friends at Barre3 reached out with a special promo just for Daily Garnish readers.  Here’s the deal!

For you:  Access a week of online Barre3 workouts for FREE!

Here’s some info about the online workouts, and what you can expect:

• Get long, lean muscles with barre3 online workouts.
• For the price of one yoga class (regularly $15/month, but free for you this week!), you get access to over 80 online workout videos.
• Stay balanced and fit at home. Perfect for nap time!
• Workouts are easy to follow and range from 10 to 60 minutes.
• Other benefits include: a toned upper body, strong core, lifted seat, and shapely legs.
• No extra equipment needed.
• Online workouts range from 10-60 minutes in duration and with over 80 workouts (and growing!), options are endless. We break our 30, 40 and 60 minute workouts into 10 minute segments, making it super doable and fun to create your own.

How Does It Work?

Click here to get started with your free week of workouts.  You can get started whenever you like – it doesn’t have to be today!

Promo Code:  7daysbarre3

This is just something fun I wanted to share with you guys, since I love to spread the word when I find something I personally use and value.  This isn’t an affiliate link, and there is no kickback for me.  I hope some of you find it useful, and enjoy the opportunity to try something new!

And for my local friends, heads up that there is a new Barre3 studio opening tomorrow in the Roosevelt area!  To celebrate their opening week, all studio classes are FREE from Wednesday – Monday.  Now that we are moving back into Seattle, this will probably be my new home base – I can’t wait to check it out. 

Happy barre-ing! 

Another (pregnant) race in the books!  On Sunday morning, I ran the West Seattle 5K with my friend Katie, while Casey and Cullen cheered from the sidelines.  I had only ever been over to West Seattle once before – last summer – and I have been itching to get back.  On a clear, summer day this area provides some of the most breathtaking scenery and views in the whole region.  People even spot orcas in the Sound during the late summer months!

Sunday morning was chilly and grey, so the mountains were hiding from us.  But it was still beautiful to run along the water and see the panoramic Seattle skyline across the water.  I was worried about parking so we left really early, and ended up with almost 30 minutes to spare before the race start.  We camped out in a coffee shop to keep the kiddos warm and get some drinks, and we were so busy talking we almost missed the start!

We realized we were the last ones still sitting there and literally ran down the street to make our way into the pack. 

Since we were late to get lined up, we just headed to the very end of the group.  We weren’t really racing for a time, and Katie was pushing a jogging stroller, so we figured there was no point in pushing forward any further.  This meant we had a LOT of people in front of us though, which made our first mile reaaaally slow.

Eventually, we made our way around all of the walkers and spotted Casey and Cullen on the sidelines!

I did my first pregnant race a few weeks ago at 16.5 weeks, and it’s amazing the difference three weeks makes.  I felt (and look!) a lot bigger this time, and I definitely felt it more that first mile.  I never felt any pain or cramping, but I did  feel a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen during the first mile. 

I was shocked when I saw the first mile marker, since I thought we were probably closer to 1.5 miles in at that point (forgot to grab my watch out of the stroller during the last minute rush!).  Once we passed the Mile 1 sign we both picked it up a bit.  Our second mile felt good, and I felt relieved from a lot of the aches and pressure I’d felt early in the race. 

By the third mile, we’d definitely picked up our pace significantly, and I felt really comfortable.  Katie and I were able to chat the whole time, which made the race go by really quickly.  As we came down the final stretch and saw the finish line, I was bummed to see the clock at 33 minutes. 

I didn’t have any “real” goals other than to finish without walk breaks (which we did!), but I had hoped to either meet or beat the time from my last race (31:51).  Due to our back-of-the-pack start, my time ended up actually being 31:57 – still slower than I’d hoped, but still pretty good considering the extra baggage in the belly. 

I’d still like to try again and see if I can finish closer to 30 minutes next time.  I’d also like to finally remember to wear my watch, which I think would make a big difference.  Third time’s the charm?  Let’s hope.

Considering I didn’t run at all during my last pregnancy, I’m just really grateful to be feeling so healthy and active this time around, and I’m hoping to keep running as long as I can.  Nineteen (point five!) weeks and still going!

After the race, we let the boys get down and stretch their legs on the beach.

They had a blast throwing rocks into the water, and eventually cramming them into their mouths (which meant it was time to go). 

So many thanks to Katie for running with a slow, pregnant lady!  She was pushing about 50 pounds of stroller/toddler, so we felt like we did pretty well considering our handicap.  :)  It is always so much more fun to run with a friend.

After the race, we packed up and headed to the West Seattle location of one of our favorite North Seattle spots – Chaco Canyon.  I wish we lived closer to this one because they have a huge play area in the back of the restaurant with a chalk wall, train table, and tons of toys.  Cullen was in heaven. 

I was busy stuffing my face with this delicious lentil burger. 

And a side of kale minestrone soup.  The perfect post-race meal!

After my last 5k I was really sore and felt incredibly drained all day.  I can tell I’m either getting back into better shape (although getting bigger at the same time) or maybe just improving my running fitness, because I felt a lot better this time.  I spent the afternoon packing and cleaning out our garage with Casey, followed by a long family walk in the evening. 

We have a BIG week coming up!  We have our 20-week ultrasound on Thursday, our moving truck arriving on Saturday morning, and a fun (cheesy) gender reveal party planned with friends for Sunday evening.  In the meantime, we have a house to pack up and clean, and a lot of other odds and ends to fit in. 

And here on DG, I have a fun Barre promo to share with you guys (tomorrow), a pregnancy update (Wednesday), and some more moving and house updates planned for Thursday!

Counting down…