Gretch Runs

Hi everyone!  Have you heard of Class Pass before?  To put it simply, it's a membership program that lets you try out boutique fitness classes all over your city for one monthly price.  It's a great way to try out fun new classes without any commitment or hefty prices that are usually associated with these specialized workouts.  (In fact, just out of curiosity I looked up how much individual classes that I tried this month would be if I didn't have Class Pass, and I ended up saving $62!!) Class Pass has been around for a while in big cities, and this year they came to Pittsburgh!  I immediately jumped on their website and got a "medium" plan, which is 5 classes per month for $30 (this price varies per city).  There's also a small plan which is 3 classes for $20, or 10 classes for $60.  Once you use up all of your classes, you can purchase individual classes! I wanted to try out a wide range of classes, so I went to 5 different studios around...

Hi everyone!  Last week, I took a quick trip down to Baltimore to go to Natural Products Expo East with my blogging (and real life) friend Alexa .  This expo (which also occurs in the west at another time of year) brings together companies of all sizes to show off their latest and greatest products that are all centered around healthy living.  There's everything from paleo to vegan to gluten free food, as well as supplements, body products, and stuff for your home.  There's a little bit of everything! There were so many different companies that we got to meet, and we ate SO MUCH FOOD.  We started the day with a sponsored breakfast, and tried food and drinks at pretty much every stall that caught our eye (and there were a lot).  Even though we tried a lot of different products, there were a few that stood out for me: (in no particular order) Don't Go Nuts Roasted Soybean Spread This was one of the first products that I tried, and it stayed in my mi...

I absolutely love trying out new cookbooks.  I'm always looking for new recipes to try out, so cracking open a new book full of delicious recipes and trying as many out as I possibly can is one of my favorite things.  I was especially excited to see that one of my favorite athletes and Olympic marathon Shalane Flanagan recently came out with her own book called Run Fast, Eat Slow which she co-authored with nutritionist (and runner) Elyse Kopecky.  These recipes promised to be clean, delicious, and perfect for runners. In order to really test out the book, I decided to try out one recipe from each chapter.  There were so many good recipes to try out, and a lot of them were either vegetarian or could easily be adapted to a vegan diet.  At the beginning of each recipe, there is a short note by the author, as well as what kind of workout the recipe is best suited for.  I'll be sharing the recipes that I tried out, along with some thoughts and overall grad...

Hi everyone!  Now that I'm in the thick of marathon training (you can follow my weekly training logs here or read my first 1/4 recap here ) I wanted to talk about some of the gear that I've been using.  Since the weather's been so awful with the majority of my runs being in temperatures below freezing, I've been sticking to a lot of the same pieces for most of my runs.  These are all tried, tested, and pass every test!  Here's what I'm loving: Tops Lululemon Run for Cold Pullover  (no longer available, but jacket and vest still available in same line) I got this as a splurge last year, and have definitely gotten my money's worth so far!  This is definitely the warmest piece that I own and has gotten me through some really rough, cold weather. Columbia Base Layer I've gotten base layers from Columbia's outlet for the past few years and wear them for all of the coldest runs.  I like how warm they are, but they're also breathable ...

Hi everyone!  Today I have lots of reviews to share from a recent trip to Lululemon.  I was in need of some winter running clothes and was excited to try on all their new items.  I found some amazing pieces, and was also disappointed by some others.  I'm going to share all of my thoughts, so I hope you enjoy! Speed Tight V *Brushed in Darkest Magenta $108 Size 6 Made for running, Medium Rise, Reflective Cuffs, Side and back pockets, Hugged sensation Wearing the leggings with the Rush Hour LS (not online) I've never owned a pair of Speed Tights before, but everyone raves about them.  I couldn't believe how comfortable these were!  These have plenty of compression to hold everything in, but aren't restrictive at all.  The length is great for me, and the fit is absolutely perfect!  I love how these look and there are always new colors coming out in this same cut. I picked these in the "brushed" version because they're supposed...

Hi everyone!  It's been a while since I've done a Wednesday Review post, and I'm excited to bring it back.  Today I'm going to be talking about one of my favorite beauty and food products- coconut oil.  If you read any beauty, health, or fitness blog you've probably seen this product all over the place, because it's pretty much magical.  You can eat it, feed it to your pets, use it in your hair, clean your face....pretty much everything! I was lucky enough to get to sample a few different coconut oil products from the brand Skinny and Co , and I'm excited to share my thoughts!  I've been using all of the products for a few weeks now, and have a pretty good idea of what works and what isn't for me. Just a disclaimer- I was sent these products for review, but I'm not being paid at all for this post!  All of the thoughts are 100% honest :)  If you're interested in trying anything from Skinny and Co, you can save 15% by using the code SKINNYC...