Lately I have begun to wonder what it is that possesses me to stay so busy all the time. There is this crazy bone in my body that gets really bored if I don't have something to do all the time. Do I ever have a day off? Not really. I guess that's part of being a grown-up. There literally is always something I could be doing...whether I want to is another story altogehter. But it's not the typical grown-up kind of busy I'm talking about. I love to be involved in a lot of different things. I decided not to continue in graduate school because it was taking up too much of my time, and I didn't believe that I had an adequate work/life balance. What did I end up doing instead? I joined a gym (we all know how that story turned out - now I live there) and I began coaching junior high small groups at the church. I coached for two years, but this year I gave up being a junior high small group coach at church because it was taking up too much time. Somehow I miraculously (pun intended) found other things to fill Wednesday nights. Town council meetings, Keystone Club advising, etc. Beyond that, though, I worked my butt off to get promoted at work. Now that I am the Branch Executive at my Club, I have a lot of community events and (late) meetings that I have to be a part of, but I prefer to see it as I get to be a part of them. I love connecting with other people, even if in some settings I tend to feel a little fish-out-of-watery. I've become active in the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce, I've volunteered to be involved with the Holiday Festival and Parade. Yes, the Club benefits from it financially, and it is expected that I will be a part of it, but even if I weren't I still love planning events and being a part of something bigger than myself. I'd probably still be a part of the committee if I weren't in my current job - it's a really great event! God Bless my husband, Steven, for being so patient with me. I THRIVE off of social outings where I get to interact with other professionals and people in the community, and because of that I am often out of the house and away from my dear husband more nights than not. Anyway, I guess I'm just a highly-motivated person who needs a lot of stimulation to keep myself moving forward. I really do get bored if I end up sitting around the house without much to do.
What makes you tick?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
it is finished
The 17 days are over. I have to admit that the second week seemed a little bit easier than the first (and a little less eventful as far as stories to tell). However, today's final workout before my day off tomorrow (glorious!) included plyometric lunges (aka crazy hard leg work required). I already feel the burn in my butt and quads. I will need the day off tomorrow to recover!
Have you challenged yourself yet?
Have you challenged yourself yet?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
17 days
Friends out there in the blogosphere, you may have picked up on the fact that I like to exercise. A lot. There are a lot of really good reasons for my addiction. First and foremost, as of September 30 after 2 long hard years of work, I got down to my goal weight. I lost 26 pounds! I had to literally work my you-know-what off to get there, but I feel so great now. Second, I have made some really fantastic friends through my life at the gym. The group fitness trainers are a pretty close knit group and they are a great support system, too. I honestly look forward to seeing a good majority of them. Third, all of this hard work has enabled me to take on things I never thought I'd be able to do, like RUNNING. More on that later...
At this point, you might be thinking, "Okay, I get that you like exercise, but what does that have to do with 17 days?" Well, Fall Break is happening in the QC until October 16, so I had the ability to change my work schedule to accomodate a whole lot of trips to the gym. From October 4 through October 20, I will be at the gym EVERY DAY. As if that's not enough, over this 17 day period I'll be teaching 6 days a week and attending classes/practicing BODYCOMBAT on my non-teaching day. Day 1 was last Sunday.
Now for an aside and some background - I decided a few months ago after my first class started that I would like to run in Pat's Run. It's a 4.2 mile run around Tempe finishing at Sun Devil Stadium at ASU. This race happens every April on/near Pat Tillman's birthday. Considering the fact that the last time I tried to run for exercise I got to the end of my street and felt like collapsing in a panting heap of running hopelessness, I figured a 4.2 mile run is pretty amibitious.
Back to the main story....
Tuesday morning I taught in the wee sma's and felt pretty good except for soreness in my hamstrings (weird). I had to work a little late Tuesday night for the second day in a row (blech), so when I got home I thought "All right Sandi. Pat's Run is only 6 months away. You have no idea how much work it could take to train for a run, so let's start now." Besides, after 2 late nights in a row I had some steam to blow off. I put on some workout clothes and my running shoes, and off I went. I pulled what I like to call the "Forrest Gump" in that each time I got to a point I didn't think I would be able to reach, I decided to just keep running. Aside from a run in with a yipping Yorkie that scratched my left ankle (it's better now, thank you), I managed to keep a good pace going the whole time and ran 3 miles! I practically floated on air when I made it back to my house. Good times.
The worst day of this experience so far has been Thursday. Wednesday afternoon I taught, and then I had to turn around and teach again just over 12 hours later on Thursday morning. I was LIMPING around work on Thursday. Every muscle from my chin down hurt. I tried taking a hot bubble bath and a lot of pain relieving OTC meds, but nothing really helped. Thankfully, I felt a lot better on Friday. I taught again Friday afternoon (great way to end a long week), and then I was dead to the world asleep a little after 8 pm yesterday. I know, if the AARP finds out about my early night, I may be granted early membership to the group. Yikes!
I'm only 7 days into this, but I feel pretty hopeful that it will be an adventure and a great experience to see just how much my body can take. Proof that I'm a glutton for punishment - I woke up early (not hard to do considering my bed time last night) and went to RPM, the spin class, this morning. I have BODYCOMBAT practice in an hour and a half, too. Oh yeah, and day 1 of 6 (round 2 ding ding!) for teaching starts tomorrow.
I hope that all of you out there reading realize 1) yes I am a little bit crazy, but 2) you can change your life if you push yourself to see how far you can go. Twenty-six pounds seemed impossible to lose when I started 2 years ago, but it came off just like it went on. One little pound at a time...
At this point, you might be thinking, "Okay, I get that you like exercise, but what does that have to do with 17 days?" Well, Fall Break is happening in the QC until October 16, so I had the ability to change my work schedule to accomodate a whole lot of trips to the gym. From October 4 through October 20, I will be at the gym EVERY DAY. As if that's not enough, over this 17 day period I'll be teaching 6 days a week and attending classes/practicing BODYCOMBAT on my non-teaching day. Day 1 was last Sunday.
Now for an aside and some background - I decided a few months ago after my first class started that I would like to run in Pat's Run. It's a 4.2 mile run around Tempe finishing at Sun Devil Stadium at ASU. This race happens every April on/near Pat Tillman's birthday. Considering the fact that the last time I tried to run for exercise I got to the end of my street and felt like collapsing in a panting heap of running hopelessness, I figured a 4.2 mile run is pretty amibitious.
Back to the main story....
Tuesday morning I taught in the wee sma's and felt pretty good except for soreness in my hamstrings (weird). I had to work a little late Tuesday night for the second day in a row (blech), so when I got home I thought "All right Sandi. Pat's Run is only 6 months away. You have no idea how much work it could take to train for a run, so let's start now." Besides, after 2 late nights in a row I had some steam to blow off. I put on some workout clothes and my running shoes, and off I went. I pulled what I like to call the "Forrest Gump" in that each time I got to a point I didn't think I would be able to reach, I decided to just keep running. Aside from a run in with a yipping Yorkie that scratched my left ankle (it's better now, thank you), I managed to keep a good pace going the whole time and ran 3 miles! I practically floated on air when I made it back to my house. Good times.
The worst day of this experience so far has been Thursday. Wednesday afternoon I taught, and then I had to turn around and teach again just over 12 hours later on Thursday morning. I was LIMPING around work on Thursday. Every muscle from my chin down hurt. I tried taking a hot bubble bath and a lot of pain relieving OTC meds, but nothing really helped. Thankfully, I felt a lot better on Friday. I taught again Friday afternoon (great way to end a long week), and then I was dead to the world asleep a little after 8 pm yesterday. I know, if the AARP finds out about my early night, I may be granted early membership to the group. Yikes!
I'm only 7 days into this, but I feel pretty hopeful that it will be an adventure and a great experience to see just how much my body can take. Proof that I'm a glutton for punishment - I woke up early (not hard to do considering my bed time last night) and went to RPM, the spin class, this morning. I have BODYCOMBAT practice in an hour and a half, too. Oh yeah, and day 1 of 6 (round 2 ding ding!) for teaching starts tomorrow.
I hope that all of you out there reading realize 1) yes I am a little bit crazy, but 2) you can change your life if you push yourself to see how far you can go. Twenty-six pounds seemed impossible to lose when I started 2 years ago, but it came off just like it went on. One little pound at a time...
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