Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now...

We've got the groove!



That's today's theme song. It's a classic and I think it's pretty appropriate.

Let's start the very beginning, a very good place to start. After I dropped Bella off at school, I headed to the gym to go to "contortion"(BTW- great name Shannon and Sarah) class (aka- Group Centergy). I met Sarah there for a little contortion and we got to see a lady who took the rest portion of the class very seriously. The lady had a blanket and some like spa eye cover thingy, and you could tell that she doesn't play when it comes to rest time. Sarah and I mentioned that we might bring snuggies for rest time next week.... who doesn't love the blanket with sleeves?! I might have to take some post Contortion class pics of us sporting the snuggies, because we too can take rest time seriously.... and by seriously, I mean the opposite of seriously. After we got our human pretzel on, we headed to Starbucks for some coffee and some great conversation.

Amy and I trained a little later in the morning and had part of our session outdoors bootcamp style. Not only was it bootcamp style, we also had a super therapy session. Gotta love it, we killed two birds with one stone. We also sat down and prepared for our meeting with other trainer that I will be working with for the Lost It At The Club program. I wanted us all to meet together so that we can all be on the same page with regards to my training and such. I feel like I have an entourage, and then I remember that I am neither famous nor rich.

I finished out the day with a little Zumba and a short run. Let me tell you, the run was awesome, and it made me feel a little better about running with my knee being all messed up. The knee discomfort wasn't any worse than if I had only done a zumba class, so that has to be good. I am going to run again on Thursday, and then do the 5K on Saturday.

Went To The Ortho

I had my appointment with the orthopaedist today and it was some good and some possible concerning news. First, the good news, she gave me a cortisone shot in the knee that has only been bothering me slightly. The left knee is going to be rocking out! She also gave me her blessing to run my first race ever, a 5K this Saturday. So, early Saturday morning I will be getting ready to run the Sunrise on the Square Road Race.... I am so excited and just a little nervous but more about that after the knee update. The slightly concerning news is that I am going to have to get an MRI on the right knee because of the amount of trouble it's been giving me. It's good because it'll give us some answers, but it sucks because I have a feeling that this is going to be ridiculously expensive. Please keep a good thought for me, that this is something that can be easily treated and not cost me a small fortune.

So, back to the running thing... you know the whole reason for starting the blog. Like I mentioned earlier, I am super excited but slightly nervous about the race on Saturday. I know that I have not prepared enough for it but I will be pleased as punch just to finish the damn thing. I promise to update it on Saturday with a report of the race and such. Please send good running vibes my way.

Due to the fact that I had to go to the doctor's this morning, I had to reschedule my session with Amy this morning. In lieu of today's session, we will be having a bootcamp style session tomorrow morning after I go to Group Centergy. I will have to get Zen before I get my butt kicked. It's good though, because with the way I have been eating lately, I need a good butt kickin'.

In honor of the multiple margaritas I had after yesterday's Groove class with a couple of friends I will leave you today with this little gem.

Let's Boogie

This was a tough morning, my body wanted to sleep but I had to get to Zumba this morning because I promised the lady who substituted today that I would be there to support her if I didn't make it to the convention. So, I was there today, front row and cheering for her. Before class, I went ahead and signed up for the "I Lost It At The Club" program. Soon, I'll be on my way back to Crazy Town like I did last time I did the program, but I had such great success that it was worth it. Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am going to be doing the program with a different trainer this time but I am going to continue training with my trainer as well. Then this evening, I went to Groove again. Firstly, Groove is a lot easier on my knees and it's a bigger calorie burn... double plus. Secondly, I really am digging this new release, it's fun and it's been fairly easy to learn. If you hadn't already figured it out, I am big on the dance fitness classes.

So, with all the knee issues, I caved and made an appointment at the ortho for this coming week. I was able to get an appointment on Monday, but it's going to be a bit of a hike. It's worth it so that I can start getting some answers and some relief. Plus, I want to get the ok from the doctor to run, because I am itching to run.

Just for fun and because it's on TV, I am going to leave you with a clip from the movie The Proposal.

Who Has Two Thumbs...

Who has two thumbs and has fallen asleep while blogging two nights in a row? THIS GIRL! *pointing at myself with my thumbs*

So, I have tried to blog two nights in a row and fallen asleep at the computer... that's just pitiful.  Let's get you up to speed on what's been going on in the life of Lucy since I last updated late Monday night. Tuesday, I spent the morning and early afternoon hanging out with a friend of mine intown. We had a camera play date at Piedmont Park along with her sweet baby boy who was our young model for the day. It was fun to catch up and enjoy some time outdoors, and the lunch at Einstein's afterwards wasn't bad either. That evening I hit up Zumba class, and tried out my slip-on dancers at the Hwy. 54 location. Let me just say that they work well at the regular Hwy. 74 location, but not so well at the 54 location, the floor there is just so odd. Then Wednesday, I trained with Amy and we had to keep the focus mainly on my upper body because we are trying to save the knees. We actually talked about it and decided that I am going to hold off on running right now until I see the ortho on Monday morning and have her give me her opinion on the current condition of my knees. We also had a discussion about me doing the "Lost It At The Club" competition again but this time I am going to go with a different team and a different trainer, that was hard to do but I think it's time for a different perspective. Plus, I have a good support system on the other team, so it made the decision a lot easier.

Then there was this morning. I went back to pilates but this time it was my trainer's pilates class, and it was something else. I am still not a huge fan of it but I can see where the benefits of it are, and it was definitely a deceptively tough work out. I'll be honest, it's just not my schtick but I will keep going because it's something different, and out of my comfort zone. Tonight, I am going to Groove to check out the new release and get my boogie on.... just very carefully so I don't mess up my knee. I can give up a lot but I am having a hard time giving up my dance fitness classes, I'd rather heavily modify then not do them at all.

I'm Back!

I made it back, and in one piece! Plus, I'm now kicking back with a little wine. SCORE! So, I maybe drank a little too much on this trip, but we were celebrating after all. I also ate, oh did I ever eat. It was pretty much a free for all, and guess what they had at the wedding reception... CUPCAKES. They were delicious, and I went a little cupcake wild. Anyways, we got to San Francisco and had enough time to freshen up and head to the rehearsal. Bella made an instant friend with the other flower girl which did not surprise me one bit. The wedding party rehearsed and I was counting down the minutes to eating and drinking time... I had priorities. During dinner Bella chatted with the Groom's family and won them over, and she just adored them as well. We didn't stay for the whole dinner because the rest of the family was at a Nicaraguan restaurant waiting for us, and I bet you can guess what I did when I got there. Oh yeah, food and drink fest 2010 continued there. I woke up with my stomach on fire Friday morning... what a shocker. We headed to Jack London Square in Oakland and did the touristy thing for a little while before we had to head back to the hotel and start getting ready for the wedding. I had to be ready before everyone, because I was there to work and capture the day... not the most fun when my stomach wasn't the happiest. When I got to my cousin's, it was chaos... it made me a little nervous. Apparently, nothing at the venue was ready because she had friends and family putting it all together. When we arrived at the venue about an hour and a half before the wedding, nothing was ready yet. That just made me so anxious, because I think that if it had been my wedding I would have had a melt down. It made me so thankful for the wedding co-ordinator we had for our wedding and so thankful for the peace we had the day of the wedding. Anyways, I photographed the wedding and ended up not really getting to enjoy the wedding at all until I decided I was done working during the dancing. I am not sure that I could do another wedding, at least not by myself. Saturday morning, I once again woke up with my stomach on fire, but I had to deal with it because I had places to go, people to see. We did a quick tour through Fisherman's Wharf and headed to a place called Crissy Field for a post wedding cook out with my cousin, her husband, their friends and family. We had fun, but I honestly would have preferred to have kept doing touristy stuff all day. My mom and I decided that we are going back to San Francisco for a longer visit and we aren't going to tell anyone, so that we can enjoy our visit on our schedule. I'll post some pictures on here and on Facebook in the next few days.

Now, it's time to get back to the grind and back to work. I went to Zumba tonight and I definitely felt the difference of having been away for a few days. I'm going to try and run on Wednesday morning and I won't kill myself trying to get back into the running thing. Time to finish my wine and get to bed.

Goin' Back To Cali...

Tomorrow morning, Bella and I are San Francisco bound. My cousin is getting married and we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to share in her special day. Bella is going to be one of the flower girls, and she could not be more excited. She's been practicing, walking around the apartment pretending to toss flower petals and practicing her "fancy walk".... heaven help us all. I am going to try and blog while I am there but I cannot make any promises.

This morning started with a training session with Amy. I probably shouldn't have mentioned that I was going to eat whatever I felt like eating because she kicked my butt with our workout. After that, I met a friend of mine and her sweet dog to go on a walk. I had to cut the walk short because my knees just weren't loving me back this morning. The good news is that we walked 5 miles, the bad news is that my knees were not happy with me. So, before I leave in the morning I am going to be making an appointment with my orthopedist to have them looked at. Please, try not to be too jealous, not everyone can have awesome knees like this guy. I went to Zumba this afternoon and I made sure to keep it low key to save the knees, but I couldn't go without my Wednesday class.

I Have A Problem...

Yes, I have a problem.... a problem with following directions. I was told by Amy to take yesterday evening and all of today off, I needed to rest my knee. There is only one problem with that... I suck at following directions like that. Yesterday, I just had to go to Zumba, there was no way that I could stay home last night. Then this morning, I went to Centergy but it was ok because it involved stretching and stuff and that can't be bad...right? Then, I was going stir crazy at home resting my knee, so I went to Zumba. You know it was a Zumba Gold class so it was a lower impact and I was easy on the knee. Ok, so I really should have stayed home and rested the knee but it was hard to do. At least I was careful with my knee and I did get to ice it so it wasn't all bad.

*Warning- The rest of the post might be TMI*


During Centergy, I realized that I could no longer put off buying new undies. With the weight loss thing, I am having a hard time spending money on new clothes including undies. Anyways, during class my undies were shifting every time I moved and then came the wedgie. It wasn't a good situation at all, it had me on the verge of going JetBlue. So, I guess I have some shopping to do.

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I've updated the blog... bad blogger. Where should I start? Hmm, let's start with a recap of my workouts and related exploits since Wednesday.

Thursday- Zumba in the evening, I couldn't get in a morning work out because I had an event at Bella's school that morning.

Friday- One of the most awesome days ever! My friend and I walked for a total of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles, but 10k sounds so much more impressive). We started out with the goal of walking four miles and when we hit the 2k mark to turn around we decided to keep going and before we knew it we hit the 5k mark and weren't left without much of a choice, we had to finish out the course to get back to our cars. It didn't hurt that the conversation was awesome as always and she always pushes me when I start wavering. Also, during the walk, we chatted about triathlons. She almost has me talked into trying a tri, I just need to get over the swimming in lake water thing. I even looked at bikes online over the weekend. We'll see....

Saturday- Was a typical Saturday and I just went to Zumba.

Sunday- Took the day off.

Monday- Walked 4 miles, trained with Amy this morning and hit up Zumba this evening.

So, now that the workout stuff is out of the way, I can fill you in on everything else that's been going on with me. First of all, all the PTO stuff paid off because I was named the school's volunteer of the week, which means I get a prime parking spot this week. You better believe that every time I go to the school I check my spot to make sure that no one is parked there.... it's my spot darn it. On Friday evening, Bella and I were invited to go swimming at a friend's.... I know you are reading... thank you so much for having us over. It was so much fun to hang out and have some adult conversation, I definitely needed an evening liked that. I am so glad that I've made some new friends and that they were kind enough to invite me and the dictator over. I know that Bella had a great time as well because it was all she could talk about on Saturday. Saturday, after Zumba my friend and I had some coffee and hung out at Starbucks for a while. After that I had I had to shoot a friend's son's birthday party which was a ton of fun for both Bella and myself. I know I have said it before but I will say it again, I love what I do. On Sunday, I spent the majority of my day getting the apartment ready for Bella's party with my husband's family. I ended up having to rush out as the guests were arriving, so that I could pick up the cake... I was that organized. After the party, I ended up having to take Bella to the after hours care clinic because I am a shoe in for Mother Of The Year. During the birthday party on Saturday, she hurt her ankle. She told me about the pain, but I thought she was putting on a show because she has a tendency to be a drama queen. Then on Sunday, her ankle just seemed to get worse as the day wore on, and by the end of her party she had a pronounced limp. So, off we went to get it checked out, and I felt like such a jerk because I let it pass for so long. The only good thing about taking Bella to the after hours clinic was watching Bella get twitterpated over the young male doctor. I wish I could describe the look on her face as she was talking to the pediatrician because it was adorable, she really liked him. After seeing the doctor, they got her bandaged up and gave us a prescription for the pain and inflammation. I need a drink just thinking about the weekend... where is my margarita?

What A Day!

Today began with an attempt to run this morning with a friend. It quickly turned into a walk because my knees were so sore and I couldn't handle it today. The only bright spot was having such great company this morning. Afterwards, I went to the gym to train with Amy. She and I had one of our world famous "therapy sessions" and a good work out in the process to boot. This afternoon, I went to Zumba and tried out my new shoes, I loved them.

After the morning's workout sessions, I headed to buy some new shoes for Zumba. I couldn't be happier with the shoes, they were great during this afternoon's class. Sarah, thank you so much for your help! I went shopping for an outfit to wear to my cousin's wedding in San Francisco next week, and it was such a great experience. I'll explain, I went in thinking that I was going to need a certain size in the clothes, and after I went into the change room and started trying the stuff on, it turns out I was wrong. I had to ask for smaller sizes, what a great feeling! I've been smiling since then!

New Kicks

I went and got fitted for some new running shoes yesterday, and I am so glad I did. That being said they are not cute, not even a little but they so much easier on my knees and feet. The true test will be how I feel with them on after this morning's run/walk. By the way, I managed to wrangle someone to come out with me this morning which is great because I don't quite feel comfortable with the idea of going out by the lake on my own. Plus, I know my friend and I are going to have a blast!

Things are getting CRAZY...but only for a little while

My life is getting a little crazy. Bella went back to school today and I am so glad because we are both in desperate need of the structure that school provides. Don't get me wrong, I love her very much and I enjoyed our time together this summer but we both needed to get back to our more structured days. Also, with school comes parental involvement. I think I might have mentioned in an earlier post that I was sort of volunteered to chair the Welcome Committee. Anyways, that means that this time of year is my busiest, and also the time of year that makes me wish I had the guts to say no when I had the chance. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time.... like so many things in life. On top of that, this weekend I have to find the time to find a decent outfit for a wedding, shoot a birthday party and put together Bella's party with the family. Then next Thursday, I am off to San Francisco with the little one to go my cousin's wedding. Then over Labor Day weekend, it looks like we are going to have to make a trip to Nicaragua because my paternal grandfather has cancer, it has metastasized and the situation is not looking good. My dad wants us to see him before his health deteriorates even more and I have to agree. Bella has been lucky enough to meet all of her great grandparents on my side of the family, including my maternal grandfather who passed away a few years ago. Anyways, things are getting a little crazy in Lucy Land.

As for my workouts, on Saturday I went to Zumba in Fayetteville, and Grooved on Sunday. This morning after the celebratory back to school coffee with friends, I trained with Amy for the first time in a while. We had a good work out, and we had one of our famous "therapy" sessions. She also went ahead and warned me that Wednesday's session is going to be an insanely tough one. This evening, I went to Zumba and proudly wore my new "instructor" tee, but I did make sure to clear it with my instructor before I just stepped in her class with it on. She did give me the go ahead, but I don't think that I will be wearing it to her class again... I think it's just probably better that way. Anyways, I was supposed to run with some friends tomorrow morning but there was a change of plans. I might venture out on my own tomorrow or Wednesday, let me rephrase that. I have to run at some point on Tuesday or Wednesday, it might just have to be on my own. I have to refocus with regards to the running, I have to get it back on track.... pardon the pun.

Getting Back Into The Groove

So, we are home from our vacation and I think that I will just spare you all the details of the trip unless you just beg to hear about it. It was a great trip, and I am so glad to be home. The only thing is that I need a vacation to recoup from the vacation, I am still exhausted. Now, I am trying to get back into the swing of things and back to my normal routine.

This morning I went walking with my friend. According to Runstar, we walked 3.7 miles with a pace of 20:43 minutes per mile. The important thing is that we got out there and did our thing. Then this evening I went back into the gym for the first time in a little over a week to hit Groove class. It felt great to be back at it.

Another Slow One

I went for another run this morning and it was another slow one. The only positive is that it was 1.5 miles and the last run I did on the resort was 1.1 miles. We're headed home tomorrow and I will be back to the grind. I'm exhausted, I think I need a vacation to recoup from the vacation.