Ok, what is it lately with flakey instructors? Squishing a bellydance class into the middle of my day in between work gigs is hard enough (making sure I get out of my first one on time; pack up heavy load and load car in heat; drop off bars at a "center" so they don't melt in the car; do a quick change; rush to gym with minutes to spare) with having arrived only to find the instructor isn't there.
Next there is the whole issue of dealing with a sub. The lady who fills in is very nice, but not that good. In fact it would be like asking me to teach the class -- eek! I should have left like last time within just a few minutes (by taking a trip to the "bathroom" but not coming back -- wink wink), but this time we weren't sure if our instructor was coming or not. So I succombed to a 15 minute "warm-up" with the sub-lady.
Since there were a few experienced dancers there, I decided to stay, but couldn't stand it after a few minutes. If it wasn't for the steady exodus of students from the room, I would have left sooner as I didn't want it to be too obvious.
Finally I bit the bullet and left.
What a waste! Last week we were told the teacher would be there (and I didn't stick around for the sub because she lead another instructor's class Tuesday that week).
If I didn't like them so much along with the time being convenient I would look elsewhere.
I don't know, but I've got this thing about showing up and doing what you say you will do if people are relying on you. Time is valuable during a busy day. It is just plain inconsiderate.
Ok, enough ranting.
Last night I snuck in an awesome BD class at the Sahara gym taught by my Fri night instructor. 1.5 hours seemed like a long time, but we covered so much including floor work. By the way she said it was ok that I start attending her Sunday afternoon advanced class which works so much better in my schedule than a 12:30 class -- yeah!
And I ran this morning: 5.2 miles, legs were tired from all this dang-fool bellydancing and body-pump (the class being mundane, not the company -- sorry, but lifting weights to me is a necessary evil although having company gives it a "fun" factor -- thanks!)
Foodwise, I am still not back to tracking. What happened? Help, I have fallen and I can't get up!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Pat head, rub belly, chew gum and talk!
That's what learning BD is like. And the teacher leads you into the next combo in deceptively simple fashion:
"But I have two left hips," I say.
Slide hips from side to side. Now L front R back. Now smooth it out into a hip circle. Easy, eh?
I can do that! Maybe I am a belly prodigy and I don't know it.
Now walk. Step, together, step together. Add the hip circle. Easy! Whoa! Entire class suddenly falls apart. She goes over it again.
Now walk in a circle.
Now stylize with arms.
Now add a shimmy on top of the circle.
Um, I suddenly lost the hip circle in all of this. By now we are moving too fast, having added it to our routine to music!
Suddenly I have two left hips again. So the process goes.
Then I spend the next five days doing traveling hip circles around the house. The husband pretends not to notice and the cats shun me. This isn't quite the effect I imagined BD to have on our household.
On a more mundane note, I did meet R yesterday for body pump after my last Tues BD class of the summer (the Tues teacher will go on tour for two months :(). I pumped up the intensity with extra weight on top this time which I am sure will make its presence totally known by later today or tomorrow.
Somehow all this cross-training is to make my running-life easier!
"But I have two left hips," I say.
Slide hips from side to side. Now L front R back. Now smooth it out into a hip circle. Easy, eh?
I can do that! Maybe I am a belly prodigy and I don't know it.
Now walk. Step, together, step together. Add the hip circle. Easy! Whoa! Entire class suddenly falls apart. She goes over it again.
Now walk in a circle.
Now stylize with arms.
Now add a shimmy on top of the circle.
Um, I suddenly lost the hip circle in all of this. By now we are moving too fast, having added it to our routine to music!
Suddenly I have two left hips again. So the process goes.
Then I spend the next five days doing traveling hip circles around the house. The husband pretends not to notice and the cats shun me. This isn't quite the effect I imagined BD to have on our household.
On a more mundane note, I did meet R yesterday for body pump after my last Tues BD class of the summer (the Tues teacher will go on tour for two months :(). I pumped up the intensity with extra weight on top this time which I am sure will make its presence totally known by later today or tomorrow.
Somehow all this cross-training is to make my running-life easier!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Now it's time to say goodbye...
Don't worry, I won't sing -- LOL!
It's just kind of sad that my whirlwind weekend visiting the 'rents in perfectly sunny So-Cal is coming it an end :(
It was my parents' 40th anniversary weekend. From me they got some CD's that celebrated the Summer of Love ('67), the summer of their honeymoon :-) Finding those CD's was a coup! (still chortelling)
Yesterday Mom and I enjoyed a leisurely 5 mile trail run together in the Santa Monica mountains followed by a crazy baby-filled 2 year old BDay party for my 2 year old cousin Maia in Long Beach.
I "snuck" in my own blueberry Western Bagel (one point) to save points for the delicious chocolate chip chocolate cake with creamcheese icing. Hey, you gotta pick your poison. This way I had my lox and bagel AND could eat my cake too. I ended up slowly savoring the frosting and picking out the chocolate chips and was rather proud of myself for putting down the plate. (I could hear the food police in the background shouting, "Back away from the cake!")
In any case, "no guilt, move on" (as The Dotti says).
I made a conscious decision to forgo afternoon snacking figuring I could survive until dinner. Well after an hour bellydancing demo/practice session for the benefit of my Mom who was impressed with how much I have improved (hey Moms are impressed with anything we kids do, right?) and a couple long drawn-out meanderings around Home Depot (I HATE that place) and the newly remodelled Topanga Plaza Mall (I think I HATE that place too), I was ready for a Cliff ZBar in chocolate chip flavor (tastes like cookie dough -- yum!) for less than 2 points since I shared the 2 point wonder with my mother.
I went to sleep dessertless last night and survived! The sun still rose this morning without the extra treat (rarely does a night go by without a dessert).
Today was a day off from running or the gym. I still spend an hour doing yoga/BD isolations and then freestyling some moves together. Also got out the cymbals and scarf and fooled around with those too. Gotta get a REAL scarf as the one I fashioned for myself from something I got from Ross won't cut it for some of the maneuvers --not flowy enough.
After my cousin C came over. She is studying to be a Plant Spirit Medicine practitioner and was using me as a guinea pig. It took two hours while she practiced doing an intitial work-up which includes a medical history, life story and drawing little dots on different parts of my body.
By then we were famished. The four of us (included my parents) tried a new restaurant called Cici's on Ventura Blvd. The menu was quite varied and creative. The place was noisy with very little ambience. I would go back for the food though. I liked my roasted veggie salad with the feta and dressing on the side.
C and I caught a movie, "Paris, Je T'aime" at the Laemmle and tried a new frozen yogurt place afterward. The yogurt place was good, but I don't know how well it will go over with the senior-set-in-their-American-ways crowd that frequents the area. There were four flavors, one being green tea which wasn't that good. The rest were fine for 25 calories an ounce. The place offered some nice chopped fresh-fruit toppings. I got a plain/blackberry swirl topped with mango chunks. The furniture was plastic neon and the menu sign was electronic and always changing. I felt like I stepped into the anime future of yogurt -- hehe.
The movie was mostly good. It was a patchwork of 5 minute vignettes of various scenes having to do with love set in different neighborhoods of Paris. If a vignette wasn't good, I knew a new one would start soon. Talk about the perfect movie for the arthouse movie lover with severe attention deficit disorder! Now the mime scene had me worried for a minute, but that ended up being one of my favorites along with the Metro scene.
I highly recommend it, though. There will be enough scenes in there you will like if you have any inkling of a romantic bone in your body.
Dinner was the most tender filet grilled on Dad's BBQ along with some salad (made by moi) and baked red potatoes -- yum!
Tonight there was dessert though -- a WW 2 point wonder. The sundae cones are great. This was vanilla, second best to chocolate, but delish.
BTW, my tracker is looking a little blank these days. (looking around innocently) Time to rededicate!
Gotta wake up early for my flight back to Vegas.
It's just kind of sad that my whirlwind weekend visiting the 'rents in perfectly sunny So-Cal is coming it an end :(
It was my parents' 40th anniversary weekend. From me they got some CD's that celebrated the Summer of Love ('67), the summer of their honeymoon :-) Finding those CD's was a coup! (still chortelling)
Yesterday Mom and I enjoyed a leisurely 5 mile trail run together in the Santa Monica mountains followed by a crazy baby-filled 2 year old BDay party for my 2 year old cousin Maia in Long Beach.
I "snuck" in my own blueberry Western Bagel (one point) to save points for the delicious chocolate chip chocolate cake with creamcheese icing. Hey, you gotta pick your poison. This way I had my lox and bagel AND could eat my cake too. I ended up slowly savoring the frosting and picking out the chocolate chips and was rather proud of myself for putting down the plate. (I could hear the food police in the background shouting, "Back away from the cake!")
In any case, "no guilt, move on" (as The Dotti says).
I made a conscious decision to forgo afternoon snacking figuring I could survive until dinner. Well after an hour bellydancing demo/practice session for the benefit of my Mom who was impressed with how much I have improved (hey Moms are impressed with anything we kids do, right?) and a couple long drawn-out meanderings around Home Depot (I HATE that place) and the newly remodelled Topanga Plaza Mall (I think I HATE that place too), I was ready for a Cliff ZBar in chocolate chip flavor (tastes like cookie dough -- yum!) for less than 2 points since I shared the 2 point wonder with my mother.
I went to sleep dessertless last night and survived! The sun still rose this morning without the extra treat (rarely does a night go by without a dessert).
Today was a day off from running or the gym. I still spend an hour doing yoga/BD isolations and then freestyling some moves together. Also got out the cymbals and scarf and fooled around with those too. Gotta get a REAL scarf as the one I fashioned for myself from something I got from Ross won't cut it for some of the maneuvers --not flowy enough.
After my cousin C came over. She is studying to be a Plant Spirit Medicine practitioner and was using me as a guinea pig. It took two hours while she practiced doing an intitial work-up which includes a medical history, life story and drawing little dots on different parts of my body.
By then we were famished. The four of us (included my parents) tried a new restaurant called Cici's on Ventura Blvd. The menu was quite varied and creative. The place was noisy with very little ambience. I would go back for the food though. I liked my roasted veggie salad with the feta and dressing on the side.
C and I caught a movie, "Paris, Je T'aime" at the Laemmle and tried a new frozen yogurt place afterward. The yogurt place was good, but I don't know how well it will go over with the senior-set-in-their-American-ways crowd that frequents the area. There were four flavors, one being green tea which wasn't that good. The rest were fine for 25 calories an ounce. The place offered some nice chopped fresh-fruit toppings. I got a plain/blackberry swirl topped with mango chunks. The furniture was plastic neon and the menu sign was electronic and always changing. I felt like I stepped into the anime future of yogurt -- hehe.
The movie was mostly good. It was a patchwork of 5 minute vignettes of various scenes having to do with love set in different neighborhoods of Paris. If a vignette wasn't good, I knew a new one would start soon. Talk about the perfect movie for the arthouse movie lover with severe attention deficit disorder! Now the mime scene had me worried for a minute, but that ended up being one of my favorites along with the Metro scene.
I highly recommend it, though. There will be enough scenes in there you will like if you have any inkling of a romantic bone in your body.
Dinner was the most tender filet grilled on Dad's BBQ along with some salad (made by moi) and baked red potatoes -- yum!
Tonight there was dessert though -- a WW 2 point wonder. The sundae cones are great. This was vanilla, second best to chocolate, but delish.
BTW, my tracker is looking a little blank these days. (looking around innocently) Time to rededicate!
Gotta wake up early for my flight back to Vegas.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Round and Round the Merry Go Round
This weekend I am spending time in CA with my family. California provides great running opportunities so I always look forward to the change of scenery, pace and people when I visit.
Balboa Park was the route of choice and the mileage was supposed to be 8. I was glad I knew the route already since Mom and her friends were running there too (yes I have a mother that runs and has run a lot of marathons and ultras at that!) and were not planning on going as fast.
Not that I am super speedy or anything, but when I am going out for a long run, I don't like it to be any longer than it has to be. It's a mental thing I guess. So when I first found out it was at the park I visualized spending two hours stopping to admire each newly gardened area and lots of walking and then a run cut short since we only have so much time.
But a double loop of the park (a larger outer loop starting at the Golf Club on Balboa, down the dirt path and across Woodley almost to the bird sanctuary and back around the lake plus a shorter loop around the golf course) made it 8.45.
I started slowly, almost feeling sluggish due to sore glutes (Why were they sore? Oh yeah, forgot that new body pump class R and I are taking on Tuesday not to mention the BD isolation exercises). But toward the second half as I started to pass other runners and walkers my inner competitiveness kicked in and helped me bring it home in under a 9 minute mile average.
Glad it is done. First 8 mile run since the LA Marathon.
Tomorrow Mom and I will run together on the trail by her house.
1:22 for 8.45 miles; mood tired and sore but finished strong and energized
PS -- Last night at dinner my parent's friends admired my newly developed abs muscles visible through my shirt (eek!) and asked for lessons on my new signature move, the bellyroll. That was good for a few bellylaughs. Picture a table full of seniors in an otherwise empty Chinese restaurant doing body isolations -- hehe!
PPS -- I was a "good" girl in ordering, but probably ate too much 'cause that food is too danged good! Started with Tofu veggie soup. Next came chicken and string beans in brown sauce followed by steamed shrimp and veggies with black bean sauce on the side. I ordered a cup of brown rice for myself and ate maybe a third of it. By then I was full. We finished with a half an orange and a fortune cookie. Glad I was so full since I didn't care that Mom and Dad's house is strangely "dessertless."
PPPS--Bellyrolls are not a good idea on a full stomach!
Balboa Park was the route of choice and the mileage was supposed to be 8. I was glad I knew the route already since Mom and her friends were running there too (yes I have a mother that runs and has run a lot of marathons and ultras at that!) and were not planning on going as fast.
Not that I am super speedy or anything, but when I am going out for a long run, I don't like it to be any longer than it has to be. It's a mental thing I guess. So when I first found out it was at the park I visualized spending two hours stopping to admire each newly gardened area and lots of walking and then a run cut short since we only have so much time.
But a double loop of the park (a larger outer loop starting at the Golf Club on Balboa, down the dirt path and across Woodley almost to the bird sanctuary and back around the lake plus a shorter loop around the golf course) made it 8.45.
I started slowly, almost feeling sluggish due to sore glutes (Why were they sore? Oh yeah, forgot that new body pump class R and I are taking on Tuesday not to mention the BD isolation exercises). But toward the second half as I started to pass other runners and walkers my inner competitiveness kicked in and helped me bring it home in under a 9 minute mile average.
Glad it is done. First 8 mile run since the LA Marathon.
Tomorrow Mom and I will run together on the trail by her house.
1:22 for 8.45 miles; mood tired and sore but finished strong and energized
PS -- Last night at dinner my parent's friends admired my newly developed abs muscles visible through my shirt (eek!) and asked for lessons on my new signature move, the bellyroll. That was good for a few bellylaughs. Picture a table full of seniors in an otherwise empty Chinese restaurant doing body isolations -- hehe!
PPS -- I was a "good" girl in ordering, but probably ate too much 'cause that food is too danged good! Started with Tofu veggie soup. Next came chicken and string beans in brown sauce followed by steamed shrimp and veggies with black bean sauce on the side. I ordered a cup of brown rice for myself and ate maybe a third of it. By then I was full. We finished with a half an orange and a fortune cookie. Glad I was so full since I didn't care that Mom and Dad's house is strangely "dessertless."
PPPS--Bellyrolls are not a good idea on a full stomach!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Fly! Be Free!
Last night at bellydance class our teacher gave a very motivational two minute speach about how it is now time to let our "inner dancers out" and start choreographing our basic moves together. I left feeling very inspired to do so. I never said I was professional or halfway good at this, but I do have some inspiring visions dancing around in my head when I play my bellydance music.
Since dance class is cancelled next week due to Memorial Day, I will work on my choreography. So many moves to pick from and how to gracefully combine them... hm?
I guess the best strategy is to K.I.S.S. I would like to do a cutesy BD-Indian fusion with a lot of "Egyptian" head and arm moves.
Oh, funny thing happened last night. I showed off the bellyroll (only upwards) I got nailed down to many oohs and ahhs. So there you have it, my signature move! So what if I can't do a full hip circle without looking like I will tip over. I can just stand there and roll my belly ;) Too bad that won't cut it for 3-5 minutes - LOL
Ran this morning. 5.2; mood contemplative and triumphant return until two drivers refusing to look right almost ran me over; diet coke habit out of control; gum -- denial stage of addiction.
Since dance class is cancelled next week due to Memorial Day, I will work on my choreography. So many moves to pick from and how to gracefully combine them... hm?
I guess the best strategy is to K.I.S.S. I would like to do a cutesy BD-Indian fusion with a lot of "Egyptian" head and arm moves.
Oh, funny thing happened last night. I showed off the bellyroll (only upwards) I got nailed down to many oohs and ahhs. So there you have it, my signature move! So what if I can't do a full hip circle without looking like I will tip over. I can just stand there and roll my belly ;) Too bad that won't cut it for 3-5 minutes - LOL
Ran this morning. 5.2; mood contemplative and triumphant return until two drivers refusing to look right almost ran me over; diet coke habit out of control; gum -- denial stage of addiction.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
So you just THINK you're anonymous
Hi! I am the crazy running girl you see running down the street most mornings. Yes you, the person who I am waving at frantically so you don't hit me you are sort of stopping to make a right turn. Yes you!
Six-ish years have gone by since I started running these "mean" streets. I run early in the morning during the Vegas Summer (starts in May) or as late in the morning or day as I can get away with during our surprisingly freezing winter (yes the temps do drop to 32 or less sometimes and we get an occassional flurry).
So I never thought anyone noticed or cared. The cars speed by and I am plugged into my MP3, letting the music propel me forward.
I even ask neighbors if they have noticed me out there. I thought maybe I had a little fan club going I could hit up the next time I am looking for sponsors for my next good-cause race. But alas no one I know noticed -- LOL!
Aside from the occassional kiss from a passing husband, I figured I was as good as invisible. Especially with all the waving I must do to keep from being hit by those danged cars making rights and not looking right.
Except for the people at the gas station. Not only am I the crazy lady with the daily diet coke/gum habit, but they do notice me running by. So did the man at the tank next to me yesterday. His name is Bob and he has noticed me running for years. (So I do have a fan!) He is out there walking in the mornings and I have noticed him a few times and give him "the nod" as I jog by.
So the next time I am out there I will pick up my pace a little knowing that my fan club is out there watching and cheering me on (at least in my own mind).
Hey not every run is a t-shirt race. Nor do I have the luxury of running with a buddy every time. But it is nice to know I am not "alone."
Miles run today: 5.2, tired but triumphant, sticky song: Shakira's Ojos Asi
Six-ish years have gone by since I started running these "mean" streets. I run early in the morning during the Vegas Summer (starts in May) or as late in the morning or day as I can get away with during our surprisingly freezing winter (yes the temps do drop to 32 or less sometimes and we get an occassional flurry).
So I never thought anyone noticed or cared. The cars speed by and I am plugged into my MP3, letting the music propel me forward.
I even ask neighbors if they have noticed me out there. I thought maybe I had a little fan club going I could hit up the next time I am looking for sponsors for my next good-cause race. But alas no one I know noticed -- LOL!
Aside from the occassional kiss from a passing husband, I figured I was as good as invisible. Especially with all the waving I must do to keep from being hit by those danged cars making rights and not looking right.
Except for the people at the gas station. Not only am I the crazy lady with the daily diet coke/gum habit, but they do notice me running by. So did the man at the tank next to me yesterday. His name is Bob and he has noticed me running for years. (So I do have a fan!) He is out there walking in the mornings and I have noticed him a few times and give him "the nod" as I jog by.
So the next time I am out there I will pick up my pace a little knowing that my fan club is out there watching and cheering me on (at least in my own mind).
Hey not every run is a t-shirt race. Nor do I have the luxury of running with a buddy every time. But it is nice to know I am not "alone."
Miles run today: 5.2, tired but triumphant, sticky song: Shakira's Ojos Asi
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