April 10 - Slimmons with Simmons

Saturday, April 10
Alt. Mode - carpool
Points - 4
Gear - black team spirit crops, short sleeve bold blue swiftly tee, lagoon slipless headband, reebox run shoes


What a better way to bond with mom, take advantage of Hollywood, and get a work out in than joining the one and only Richard Simmons for his weekly "Sweatin'" class.  When we arrived half an hour early to sign in there were only a few people there.  Then they started arriving, mothers and daughters, sisters, aunts visiting from North Carolina, and droves of friends all cramming in the foyer to get a chance to to sweat it out with Richard.

When it was time, the double doors opened into a larger, mirrored room and everyone raced in, securing a spot.  In all, there were between 75-100 people of all ages and weights.

The theme of class was Five Decades of Divas.  Even though I couldn't always from the back, I tried my best to keep up.  I have to admit, I am the least coordinated person when it comes to rhythmatically moving my feet.  I kept punching left when I should have been kicking right.  None the less, the fact that I was moving was all that mattered.

We danced, sweat, high kicked, and plied to Olivia Newton-John, Blondie, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, that disco song, "Gloria," and Rhiannah.  And, oh, is Richard a dirty old man.  The dancing was followed up by free weights, crunches, and side crunches.  During one transitional break, he came over and gave my mom a big kiss on the cheek.  She made him wait so he could plant one on me.  Oh my God! Richard Simmons kissed me on the cheek!!! My day was made.

At the end of class while we all sat on our mats after crunches, Richard gave us a motivational talk.  He told us his story.  From the time he was young, he had orthodics for his right leg.  His doctors wanted to operate, but his parents wouldn't let them.  All his life, all he wanted to do was help people and dance.  He worked in an Italian restaurant until he saved up $25,000 to open up Slimmons Studio in Beverly Hills.  That was 38 years ago!!! I was years from being born! He emphasized going for your dreams, "wanting it so bad it hurts," and making sure you know that you, yourself are an incredible person!  You tell it, Richard!
  

April 9 - Biking on the Beach!

Friday, April 9
Alt. Mode - Carpooling
Gear - no luon, just jeans and a t-shirt
Points - 2

Andy, my mom, and I were up at 5:00am.  By 6:00am we had driven across town and dropped Andy off for his weekend trip home to Albany.  He wanted to surprise his brother and see his nephew's first birthday.  What a sweet guy.  He's a keeper.

So, what do you do when you find yourself on the other side of town at the crack of dawn? You go to the Omelet Parlor.  Food was ok.  I highly recommend the sun-dried tomato and pesto benedict. Because it was still too early for any of the shops to be open, we drove up the scenic PCH up to Malibu.  I made a point of riding past the newly opened lululemon Showroom before turning around and heading to the Santa Monica Pier.

We were going to hang out on the beach and wait until the shops of the 3rd Street Promenade opened until my mom had the great idea of renting bikes.  Beach Cruisers!  I don't know if I've ever ridden a cruiser before.  I tested a couple to make sure I had the ideal fit.  (This is very important if you're going to be riding for any length of time).  I, also, made sure it had a cute little basket on front so for my giant red sigg bottle (seriously, it holds 1.5 liters), sweater, and keys.  It was so much fun! So leisurely, so freeing! Something both my mom and I enjoyed doing as we rode in the sun with the waves crashing.  It made for great people watching.  I couldn't believe how many people were out walking, running, and participating in group exercises so early in the morning.  I was thoroughly impressed with the guys riding a bike with a surf board strapped to the side.  That's dedication.  Loved it!  I suppose if I lived in that environment, I would be doing exactly the same thing.  Now, to stay in Silverlake or move to Santa Monica?  Tough decision...

The cool thing I learned is that the bike path is called The Stand.  It runs 22 miles starting at Will Rogers State Park, through Santa Monica and Venice Beach, and ends at South Rodando Beach.  I wonder how long it would take to ride the whole thing? And back?

April 8 - A Bike Named Tiger

Thursday, April 8
Alt. Mode - Biking, Carpooling
Points - 2
Gear: black wunder unders, bold blue cool racerback, bold blue check leader of the track jacket, reebox run tones

There was something so easy and peaceful about the ride this morning.  I left right on time.  There was no sense of urgency. The sky was clear. It was beautiful out.  Time flew and the hills seemed easier. I suppose biking, like running because easier the more you do it.  It becomes a moving mediation, a space for your mind to wander.  My mind wandered to the uplifting conversations I had over the past week.  To the freedom I felt while riding my bike.

There's a quote I stumbled upon weeks ago that has changed my life.  "You can like down and let the tiger lay its paw on your head.  Or you can chose to ride the tiger." I've condensed it to, "Ride the Tiger of Life!" and adopted it as my personal motto.  This is how I feel when I'm riding.  I now have a bike named Tiger.

April 7 - Mom's in Town

Wednesday, April 7th
Alt Mode -
Points - 0
Gear - no luon today :(

I picked up my mom in Burbank this afternoon.  She's in town for the next week. I'm excited to see all the trouble we're going to get into!

April 6 - Carpooling, Walking, Running, and Carpooling again

Tuesday, April 6th

Alt Modes - Carpooled to Yoga, Walked to Work, Ran to Aleah's
Gear - Yoga - black wunder unders, senorita pink power y, lagoon inner strength tank. Running - black speed skirt over black wunder unders, passion swiftly racerback, bold blue check leader of the track jacket stashed in my running backpack, and Reebox runtone sneakers


Today was a day full of first for me.  After I picked Amanda up, we headed to Yoga Blend, one of our ambassador yoga studios. It was the first time I had been there.  It has an incredibly warm, peaceful, serene energy.  Nicole taught an awesome class around the theme of "abuta" which in essence is sanskrit for approaching or exploring something for the first time with childlike eyes and innocence. It diffused the pressure one often feels about being able to get into certain poses. Instead, I was infused with a sense of playfulness which made headstands and handstands much more fun, especially when I got into my first twisted headstand!!! Leaving Yoga Blend, the sunlight brightly lit the flowers while a gentle breeze blew by.  Perfect.

On the way home, Amanda and the conversation we had proved eye opening, putting a lot of my life into perspective for me.  I am so fortunate that I have a great living situation, I can pay all my bills, I have an awesome boyfriend, I have an awesome job, I'm having an incredible time in LA, and I'm happy.  I have an this wonderful opportunity to really explore myself, who I am, and what I really want.  I'm letting go of all the self-imposed societal expectations of who I should be, what I should want, what I should be doing for a living, and where I should live.  Instead, I am living for me, today.  Because, every little thing is gonna be alright!

Run Club!!! - We have our Run Club every Tuesday night at 6:30pm.  This week Alysa was living it up in Mexico and Kali worked in Calabasa. That meant I got the opportunity to lead run club.  I warmed up with a nice 5 mile walk from my house in Silverlake to work.  Of course, I was sporting my butt sneakers (reebox run tones), black wunder unders, black speedskirt, passion swiftly racerback, senorita pink power y, and running backpack.  I set out on with my ipod charged and loaded.  I really need a new arm band.  I've had mine for 2 years and its about to break apart.

Within the first block, I saw a store front I'd never seen before.  The old Skunk bar (I don't know if that's what its really called, but it had a giant neon skunk) next to Local was gone.  In its place was the beginning of "The Thirsty Crow." I saw people with tools inside.  I popped my head in, introduced myself as a neighbor, and began asking questions.  What's your name? What's the deal? What's your specialty? When are you opening? Are you the owner? Can I use your bathroom? Now, I know the deal, the owner, and that they have a cute bathroom. Also, I never would have known that inside was this incredibly beautiful old 1920's bar if I hadn't walked by.  Can't wait to support them by having a drink there later this week!

I simply and truly enjoyed my hour and a half walk though Silverlake and Atwater Village.  The sun was out.  It was a beautiful day.  I snapped pictures here and there.  I treated myself to a chocolate pecan cookie from a "Sweets for the Soul" because if I'm walking 5 miles to go to Run Club, I can eat a cookie.  And it was delicious!  Yum, yum, yum.

Run Club was so much fun as usual, but even more so this evening.  Leading by myself meant that I called on our veterans, Jon, Dorothy, and Christina to lead the advanced and intermediate groups. (Dorothy and Christina started with the run/walkers 3 months ago, unable to run a mile.  Last month, they completed their first 5k, the Glendale Downtown Dash, and are now leading the intermediate run club pace group! Way to go!  I'm so proud of them.)  I ran with the run/walkers.  It was so inspiring and uplifting to hear their goals, what they want, and how much fun they're having.

The whole night left me high and happy as I raced to Aleah's for our girl's night screening of New Moon.  Go Team Jacob! I literally ran from the store to her house 2 miles away. As much as I love my Run Backpack, I don't love running long distances in it.  It doesn't stay put on my hips and rides up along the back of my neck.  After an exhausting day and a fun movie night (and a screening of the episode Sierra and her husband, Nick were Who Wants to be a Millionaire) with 6 amazing lus, I got a much needed ride home from Denise.

When she dropped me off, I knew much more about what was going on in her life.  Certain topics just don't come up at work. Riding in a car with someone lends itself to more intimate conversations. I am thankful for each and every insight, conversation, and experience I've had carpooling so far this week! Let's keep 'em coming.

***update*** Since that conversation, I really have been able to let go, change my perspective, and be happier in the moment.  Andy even commented on how much happier I've been this week!!! Yay! Thank you, Amanda!

April 5 - Rain or Shine

Monday, April 5
Alt. Transportation: Bike, 1 pannier bag
Points: 3
Gear: black wudner unders, black speed skirt, senorita pink power Y, lagoon inner strength tank, black running henley, and black stride jacket 
Post Ride: astro pants, lagoon pima T, compression socks

I didn't pack my lunch the night before.  I didn't lay my clothes out.  I didn't have to be to work until noon.  But I did have to meet Aleah at Square One at 9:30am for a delicious goal coaching brunch.

My usually bright and sunny kitchen was darkened by grey clouds and pouring rain. Ugh! I had a very important decision to make: Do I throw on a pair of jeans and my favorite furry hoodie and drive in the comfort of my heated car? Or do I suck it up and ride? Here's when checking the weather comes in handy.  It was only supposed to rain before 10am, my way to brunch.  It was supposed clear up by late morning, my ride to and from work.

For me, this challenge is about finding alternative transportation rain or shine.  In real life, when you don't have a car, you have to get where you're going no matter what.  I mustered up all my will power, got dressed cursing the fact that I didn't buy the Leader of the Track Jacket yesterday, packed my pannier (which fortunately has a built in rain cover.  See the yellow shower capped bag in the above pic), and set off for the 2 mile ride.  It was raining pretty hard, but the experience really wasn't that bad.  I felt bad ass seeing drops of rain dripping from my helmet, feeling the mist spraying my face, and knowing that nothing could stop me.  When I arrived, I was a bit soaked. Good thing I was wearing quick wicking clothes! And it wasn't anything a hot cappacino couldn't fix.  Knowing dry clothes awaited me at work also helped.

After a delicious breakfast and excellent goal coaching session, I headed off to work with plenty of time to spare.  The rain had stopped just as the weather channel predicted.  After a couple minutes, I realized I had been in autopilot mode and  didn't recognize where I was.  Luckily, I had a vague sense of where I was and which direction I needed to go.  I cut down a street that I felt would get me where I needed to go.  It turned out to be a great opportunity to see the surrounding neighborhood and take in the vibrant spring flowers.  Then the long gradual incline followed by hills started.  The first one was a decent climb.  I could hear Cynthia and Karen of RMP in my head.  "Flat back. Chest forward. Tailbone tucked. Encage your core. Keep your upper body still." Second one was a doozie.  Using the downhill momentum of the previous one, I kept pedaling until I physically couldn't make the pedal move anymore.  At that point, the bike stopped completely, I lost my balance, and tipped over.  Luckily, I managed to catch myself on my feet before I fell onto someone's lawn. How embarrassing would that have been?  I got right back up, straddled the bike, pushed off, and tried to gain momentum by pushing down on the pedal.  No go. I changed gears. Still wasn't moving.  I did this a total of 4-6 times until I finally got off the bike and walked it the rest of the way up the hill.  At that point, I hopped back on and went on my merry way.

For the rest of the ride to work, I waxed poetic about how roads and "wrong turns" are like the course of life, while hills are the obstacles and challenges we overcome.  Over the course of our life, there are many roads to choose from, taking us in opposite directions.  But there are also many different routes leading to the same destination.  Some of these roads are flat and easy, others are wrought with winding roads and huge hills.  At the bottom, the first hill seems like a mountain.  You have no idea how you're going to get to the top, but you know you are. You keep pedaling and pedaling.  Its so hard.  You switch gears (blatant metaphor) and try something different.  And you keep switching gears until finally you get off the damn thing and walk it to the top.  You made it!  It might not be the way you wanted or even intended to do it, but still you're at the top. You got there! With confidence, you stand at the top, looking out at the next hill, your next challenge.  Its bigger, but with the moment you gain from riding downhill, it'll be easier than starting at the bottom.  Now you know as long as you try, you'll get there, even if you have to change gears 5 times or get off and walk it.

April 4, Easter Sunday- Biking

Easter Sunday, April 4
Alt. Transportation: road bike, 2 panniers
Points: 2
Gear: black wunder unders, power y, bold blue swiftly tee, black stride jacket

I set myself up for success last night.  I laid out my biking clothes and prepared my lunch.  After hitting my snooze button once, I was up, dressed, panniers (bike bags) packed with snacks for our sunday morning class, and ready to go within 10 minutes.  It was only 7:25am.  I didn't have to leave until 8:00am.  I could have slept in an extra half hour!!! Instead of lamenting the lost sleep, I basked in the morning sun streaming through the kitchen windows, sipping a perfect cup of yerba mate (I have recently switched from coffee to yerba mate).

The streets of Silverlake and Glendale were empty and peaceful on this early Easter morning.  Right before the Hyperion bridge starts heading into Atwater village, I grabbed my little digital camera out of my jacket pocket.  The site of the valley under the large open sky with the snow capped mountains in the background is worth climbing every hill.  With my camera held high over my head i, I try to capture the essence of the scene as it unfolds. Unfortunately, I kept hitting the on/off button instead of the capture button.  That just means I'll have to try again.

With the downhill momentum, I glide into Atwater Village, camera still in hand.  I just point and shoot (clicking the correct button this time).  This is so much fun! I love taking pictures while riding my bike! Who cares if they aren't perfectly straight or in focus? This gave me an idea.  What if I rigged a camera mount to my handlebars? Would that make taking pictures easier? Safer? Hmm... I'll just have to do it and find out.  My by when to make this happen is April 30.  Expect that series of photos soon!

Take aways from today:
1) Preparing the night before lets me 1) sleep in 2) ensures an easy and stress free ride 3) eat well and save money by packing my own lunch
2) Bike photography is cool.