Refine Method, brought to me by Athleta

Happy Hurrication Day, fellow east coasters!  I hope everyone is battening down the hatches and staying safe.  (Or planning hurricane parties, if you're in New York City)  Marc's relishing the rare opportunity to sleep in, while I slept in...til about 8:45.

Today will be all about making sure we're all set for the storm - my mom just gave us the excellent advice to make sure we have cash on hand, which we didn't even think about, so heed my mom's advice, everyone! - and finally turning our attention back to that little event known as our wedding coming up in less than five months.  What with my race, Marc working hard to prepare for filming a sketch he wrote this weekend, and life in general being busy, we haven't really had time to spare for it.

I also wanted to take advantage of the unexpected free time to write my entry this week.  I'm glad I don't have to wait until Thursday, my typical bloggin' day, to write about the awesome morning I had last Thursday.

I was once again generously invited by Athelta to preview one of their collections - this time it's their upcoming Spring 2013 collection.  (Spring?  Really?  The two-seasons-ahead nature of fashion has always thrown me off.)  The clothes, as always, are beautiful and functional, and they're really expanding into so many other sports than the typical run-and-yoga-wear you see in many athletic clothing lines.  They're developing swim pants for surfing, paddleboarding, and other water sports, triathalon suits designed to go easily from swimming to biking to running, and even clothing for sports like golf.

After taking a tour of the collection, I was ushered into the room where the morning's complimentary fitness class was going to take place - a new class called Refine Method.  I had absolutely zero idea what to expect - all I knew was I was told to wear my running shoes.

The class was fantastic, hard, and sweaty.  It felt like I was doing a Jillian Michaels video but with an actual teacher and with props.  Refine mixes cardio and functional training for a safe and intense workout that leaves you a quivering, sweaty, but very happy puddle on the floor afterward.  The class was taught by Brynn Jinnett, who I later discovered was the founder of the class.  With locations in Union Square, the Upper East Side, and the Upper West, I'm definitely going to be back.  The classes are on the pricier side for me, but they offer great new-student packages.

After the class, I got my incredibly generous free gift - a workout top and capris from Athleta.  I found my gift bag among the rest, and couldn't help but notice the other name tags on some of the bags noted people from Women's Health, the New York Times, and other really respected and legitimate news organizations...and then couldn't help wondering what my name was doing among them!  Regardless, I'll take it with lots of enthusiastic gratitude!   The enclosed outfit could not have been more perfect - the top was the new Skills & Drills Tank and the bottom was the Relay Capri.  The top is that perfect Athleta combination of girly and pretty and incredibly funcional and comfortable.  It might be the first top I can take running without an extra sports bra underneath, which would make my weekly laundry load happy.  The capris were a really exciting treat, as my Relay Capris in black were the pants that saw me through every single long run I took in my half marathon training as well as the race itself.  Happily, the gifted capris were in a beautiful black heather (i.e. grayish) color, which I like even more than my original blacks.

I already recommend Athleta to any woman with any need for any workout clothes, sportswear, comfortable undies, or cute dresses - now I'd love to recommend Refine Method to anyone living in New York City looking to shake up their workout routine with a really intelligent blend of cardio and functional strength training.


Once again, Happy Hurrication, and stay safe everyone!!