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Dancin’ in the Rain

Is there anything more cathartic than dancin’ in the rain? I tend to think not.  In all actuality, now that I live in a place where the rain is warm, I don’t even mind dancing in the real rain.  There’s no mystery to why I teach Zumba several week nights.  First, it helps cover the boys expensive hockey habit.  Secondly, and most importantly, it is my sanity keeper.  Even when I’ve had the worst day at work, I leave my Zumba class refreshed, happy and ready to take on the world.

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Dance has magical properties that lifts burdens from our shoulders.  I see it in my Zumba students and myself.  At the start of class, we all look a little more serious and stressed than we do at the end.  To be clear it isn’t only dance that achieves this, however, dancing in my mind is a lot more fun running.  Whatever gets you moving and gets your endorphins pumping will put you in a good space.

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So if you’re having a rough day and thinking about skipping your workout, don’t do it.  Get up and give yourself the gift of dance, running, weights, barre, hockey or whatever your workout of choice may be.  I know its super tempting to sit and binge watch Stranger Things 2, but put it off for at least a 1/2 and get moving.

“Dancin’ in the rain
Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah
Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah
I’m happy again!
I’m singin’ and dancin’ in the rain”

 
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Be Exceptional

Be exceptional, don’t settle for average, don’t settle for mediocrity, don’t freaking settle!  Do you hear me?  Instead choose to be your best.  Everyday we have a choice.  We can choose to be average or worse mediocre, but we can also choose to be exceptional.  This doesn’t mean that we are perfect or striving for perfection.  It only means that we do everything with our best effort.

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For example, when we work out.  Do you give your best the entire time?  Or do you slough off a bit?  If we’re not giving our workout our best effort,  we won’t see the results we covet.  Our results are proportionate to our effort and sadly our diet (damn you age and womanhood.)  For example if we only give 50% effort at a Zumba class,  instead of burning 500 calories, we’ll only burn 250 calories.

Tonight I tried my first Xtend Barre class up at Burn Fitness.  Cheese and rice, I will feel it tomorrow.  Adam, our amazing teacher, likes to call his class barre boot camp.  He wasn’t lying.  Hey, at least he was up front and honest.  He’s a great teacher with tons of energy, so class went quickly.b8d1df9391abe1705203067426eec94f--barre-memes-funny-barre-fitness.jpg

Class may have went quickly, but it was tough!  In truth, I felt a little bit like fish out of water as I was the sole novice in the room.  Adam, as good fitness instructor will do, made the class appropriate to everyone’s level including mine.  Even though I was new to barre, and admittedly not that good, I gave it my best effort.  Consequently, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to move tomorrow, but no pain, no gain.  Right?

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Being exceptional isn’t just for the fitness studio though, it’s for all aspects of our lives.  If we find that what we’re doing is no longer inspiring us to be exceptional, then it is time to move on.  Life is far too short to settle for mediocrity.  It is imperative that we find something that makes our heart and soul sing.  In addition, it is easier to be exceptional when we find something or someone that we are passionate about.

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Tomorrow morning the choice will be all of ours. Join me in embracing the madness one cup of coffee (see meme below)  at a time and being exceptional.    If you’re not where you’d hope to have been by now, that’s okay.  Now is the perfect time to start working towards your dreams.   Now is the time that you stop settling and grab the bull by the horns.   Its time to go get it!

p.s. I’d like to give a special shout out to my Finland for tagging me in the meme below on Facebook.  It very accurately depicts my relationship with coffee!                                     22365410_1448928341822504_7005541926207002228_n.jpg6361016783982351261051636329_574e2900dc33501062016054456

 

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Thirsty Thursday

Here’s to you thirsty Thursday!  We spent our thirsty Thursday at the rink for Goalielock’s 8:30 pm game that started at 9:00 pm.  Thankfully, the rink has a liquor license and plenty of beer and wine.  I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right its borderline sacrilegious to drink beer or wine on national vodka day.  I, however, have an alibi.  Since I had to drive myself to the rink post-Zumba, I couldn’t be drinking vodka all game and driving.  There will be plenty of time for vodka during the tournament this weekend.

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I have to say that a late game is far better, in my estimation, than the 6:00 am games of mites, squirts and apparently peewee. First, nobody looks at you with the stink eye when you drink at an 8:00 pm game.  This is not the case for an early morning game.  Although if we’re honest with ourselves, is it ever too early for mimosas? I don’t think so.  Plus a mimosa is a fashionable way to accessorize any hockey mom outfit.

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There’s an upshot to switching up my drink of choice tonight and that’s the fact that beer is a great re-hydration beverage.  Amazingly, beer has the optimal mix of carbohydrates and electrolytes that re-hydrate the body more effectively than water.  However, there’s a caveat here and its a big one.   The benefits, however, are erased when you drink more than two.

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Ciroc makes a new french vanilla vodka that I’m dying to try in my coffee with a little Bailey’s Irish cream.  It may be the perfect compliment to my morning coffee.  Plus it takes the edge off of U-14AA hockey, which is a definite plus.  Tonight one of our kids got rocked badly at the end of the second period.  I love my hockey fast and fierce, but there’s no need for head contact or knee on knee hits.   Fortunately, our player is going to be okay.   He did, however,  make us pretty nervous for several minutes.   I’m pretty sure there will some Doug Glatt style hockey next time we play that team.

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Guess What Day It Is?!?!

Guess what day it is!?!?!??  Not only is it hump day, but it also opening day for the NHL.  That’s right folks, hockey is officially back!! Whoop Whoop!  My Minnesota Wild start their season tomorrow night, so tonight I’m watching the Pittsburgh/St. Louis game.  Nevertheless, I am stoked to be watching my favorite sport live!

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Last night marked my first yoga class in over a year.  Boy oh boy how I’ve missed my yoga and my yoga has missed me.  Unfortunately, I’ve been away from my mat for far too long and today I’m paying for it.  I am sore from head to toe!  In fact, combing my hair may be problematic tonight since my range of motion is quite limited today.  Initially my plan was take an Xtend Barre class tonight.  I can’t deny, however,  that the only activity my body is up for tonight is blogging and sleeping.

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During shoulder stand, my only inversion of the night, I got a giant, horrifically painful charlie horse in my left leg.  Holy cannoli batman, I wanted to scream at the top of my longs.  Of course, I was in a yoga class, so I couldn’t vocalize my angst.  I didn’t want to detract from the others experience by wallowing in pain.  I briefly left the pose to try and massage out my calf.  Unfortunately, this move met with little success.  As I winced in pain as my calf contracted violently in pain, I used my ujayyi breath to keep my pain and my heart rate at bay.  Miraculously, the yoga breathing allowed me to manage the pain and work through the rest of the pose.

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There’s some pride in the pain, right?  I mean, it is a reminder of how hard I worked last night.  Conversely, its a reminder of how much more work there is to be done.  The thing is, we’re all a work in progress.  I expect days like to as I work toward my physical and mental goals.  At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.  As I tried to climb the steps at work this morning, my left calf reminded me of the charlie horse and my right leg reminded me of a major issue cooking in my shin.

This morning was the first time I actually thought it might be time to call a podiatrist.  I feel old.  Ugh.. What the heck?  I’m not even forty, the last place I want to be is at a podiatrist office in South Florida during season.   Listen its not that I hate snowbirds, its just that I strongly dislike them.  Honestly most of them, at least by us, are utterly terrible and entitled people that feel traffic laws were made for everyone but them.  Sadly, my ankle and my shin are starting to cause some serious pain that no longer abates after I stop working out.  It is probably time to bite the bullet and make sure there’s not something serious going on in there.

 

“I’m the podiatrist around here!”

 

 

Tonight I will be enjoying another nice, hot shower followed by some tiger palm and salonpas patches.  If I thought I could get out of the bath, I’d probably draw myself a nice, hot Epsom bath.  The only problem with this plan, however, is that I’m not confident I could get out tub.  While I’m taking tonight to let my body rest and recover, tomorrow night I’ll be back to teaching Zumba followed up by some yoga at home.   Until then, I’m going to namaste in bed.

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The Struggle is Real

The struggle is real.  By the time we get to Thursday.  I’m fresh out energy, both mentally and physically.  Life as a hockey parent can be freaking exhausting.  Through the week, we run from the morning drop off at the bus stop, to work (pit stop at Dunkin), get the kids, head to the rink, teach Zumba, conquer homework, try to get in a workout and coerce the kids to shower before bed.  Rinse repeat day in and day out.

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By the time we get to Friday, sleep deprivation is hitting its peak and our energy is hitting its low.  The exhaustion is all encompassing, yet we press on.  We derive our inspiration from our kids, while our energy comes courtesy of perpetual coffee.  We should likely have stock in Dunkin’ and Starbucks.  Any hockey mom that’s been around for more than a season knows exactly where to find her favorite coffee near every rink.

Notice how I say we because I’m fairly certain that I’m not alone in my craziness.  It’s not just me… Seriously….  Ask any hockey mom or day and they’ll tell you. As I left work today, I let out a smile as I realized this weekend’s games were home!  Winner, winner chicken dinner!  The realization that  I don’t have to drive to Tampa this weekend was almost transcendent.  Of course at this time of day on a  Thursday, I’m looking for any win.

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I headed home feeling a bit uneasy about life and my path.  Its easy to feel that way when exhaustion fits in.  Thank god for my beautiful, energetic and incredible Zumba girls.  These ladies rock my world (not that way you pervert) and always bring a smile to my face.  There’s nothing like a great workout to clear your head and remind you how great life truly is.  Thank you endorphins!

 

Closing out my Thursday with a rocking Zumba class is the best way to launch myself into productive and happy Friday.  Not every moment in our life is picture perfect.   Moreover, there will be times in our lives where our progress doesn’t align with where we envisioned ourselves.  That’s okay.  So maybe you’re not where you want to be professionally or personally, who cares.  Ultimately the control over where you land is with you and only you.

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Finding Balance

We all have an Achilles heel that can trip us up as we pursue our fitness and health goals.  Sometimes, it is only a minor slip up that causes our healthy habits to start to taper off.  If you’re like me, a cheat meal can easily converts into a cheat week.

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So how do we stay the course without driving ourselves nutty?

  • Allow yourself latitude to miss a workout or eat a treat. It’s okay to not be perfect.
  • Don’t cut out whole food groups completely. Ditching carbs is certainly effective, but not practical long term.
  • Don’t give up everything you like. I can give up almost everything, but don’t make me give up or change my coffee!
  • Have a battle buddy.  Together you can keep each other on track and disciplined.
  • Sign up for a race or event, so you have a milestone to work towards.
  • Practice yoga, it will reduce stress (and stress hormones) and help you avoid injury by keeping you flexible.

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These are just a few tips you can use to taper off your unhealthy habits and convert them into healthy habits and on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

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Getting out of my own way

Exhaustion, pure utter exhaustion from the emotional weight of the last couple of months and a hectic hockey mom schedule, has become the scapegoat for missing my post Zumba run these past 3 weeks.  During Zumba sessions, I dial back my mileage to mitigate the abuse to my body, but these runs are still important for my training.  My goal is to eventually break 27 minutes in a 5k and to complete a 10K in under 60 minutes.  Without these runs, my pace falls off and my endurance wanes.

This weekend Jake and I are running our first 5K of 2017, the Eric Patrie 5K in Delray.  Both of us are looking for a new PR in this race, which will be tough given the increase in temperatures since our last 5K in December.  In order to even be close to my PR (28:32), I knew I’d have to log some miles tonight.  So despite being tired and hungry, I ran.

My treadmill has become an important part of my bedroom furniture serving as a fully functional clothes and handbag hanger.  In the Florida spring and summers when the weather is stormy, it serves a different purpose.  It actually functions as a piece of exercise equipment.  While I prefer to run outdoors, I’m glad to have the option of running indoors when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

In spite of sheer exhaustion, I got in a nice 20 minute run. The run felt good and as usual I felt even better afterwards.  It would have been easy to skip the run given I already taught Zumba tonight, but in order to achieve my goals I had to run.  The point is sometimes the only obstacle between us and our goals is us.  Paolo Coelho said it best, “people are capable, at any time of their lives of doing what they dream of.”  Sometimes we just have to get out of our own way.

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