In my life I have never been a member of the "Y". I've been to several YMCAs for various events (trial classes, summer camps and birthday parties as a kid, etc.) but I've never myself been an actual member. Until now!
Full Disclosure: I have been offered a free family membership to the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee in 2014 in exchange for blogging, tweeting and general social-media-ing about my experiences there. Hey, why not? Sounds good to me.
As you can probably imagine, my regular running/training schedule is pretty darn packed. However, I'm going to make an honest effort to try *new-to-me* cross training classes over the next 12 months. My goal is to get to one of the Y locations (most likely South Shore or Downtown for me) around once a week. As a trainer, I'm very good at structuring workouts for myself at home but I'm also excited to experience new styles of classes and different instructors again. Basically I just really enjoy learning.
Here's what is on my radar right now:
Y Cycle
Body Pump
Yoga
Kettlebell
TRX
I also might try (GULP) getting in the pool. We'll see!
Many of the classes have words in the description like FUSION, BLITZ and ABSOLUTION. I will investigate further as to what that all means and report back on my experiences here (as well as on all my other usual social "overshare" platforms.)
For my "creative project" in December I stepped a little bit outside of the box. Or actually, into the air? Ha. For a couple of years now I've been really inspired by a friend of mine who does pole dancing. I mean, it's pretty badass right? Those ladies are STRONG. No joke. Anyways, I've been trying to figure out how I can fit a pole class into my schedule and last month while searching around I came across an aerial arts instructor who teaches a silks class at the Miramar Theatre.
What is Aerial Silks? Well, the best way I can describe it is that it's similar to pole, but instead you do all the fancy tricks and flourishes on a couple of gigantic strips of fabric hanging from a high ceiling.
Wut. I know! It looks a little bit like this:
And this:
Except not me when I do it because... hard. This I looked like:
I should also note that instead of being way high in the sky in these photos, I am a mere couple of feet off the ground. In fact, I plopped back down to the floor on my butt with my feet all tangled up right after these photos were taken. But whoa was it fun!
I can't even put into words how much upper body strength this took. And watching the instructor climb up to the tippy top of and get all bendy and twisty in the air was chock full of crazy. My arms were literally shaking at points to where I had to take a break and just watch for a while. (Oh, and I hurt for three solid days afterward. Insanity.) Of course, I'm pretty much dying to go back. A new session of classes starts in February! I am so there.
Backtracking a bit to make sure I'm being honest, I almost bailed on going to this class at the last minute. I was kind of terrified. Not that I thought I would hurt myself, but I was a bit concerned that 1) I wouldn't be strong enough to do it and 2) I would be the "old" lady in the class. (Ok, so one of those things turned out to be true but this old lady can hang with the young 'uns.) I'm glad I pushed myself in the end to try something that scared me because if I bailed I would have missed out on something amazing and fun. And really, who cares if everyone was 10+ years younger than me? I need to get over that crap.
I'm pretty sure nobody is ever happy about death. However, the amount of death happening around me in the last few months feels like it has just reached a tipping point. My heart is sad for so many people in my life right now. I know there's nothing I can do except sit here and feel sort of... empty.
At the end of October my cousin died. He was 41 and he committed suicide. I didn't tell many people how he died- not because it was a secret, but only a couple people ever asked what happened so I just kept that fact to myself. Death is weird like that. In the same week I found out an old high school friend killed herself as well. She wasn't anyone I had kept in touch with after school, but these two deaths occurring so close together had me thinking/searching/reflecting about why some people end up feeling so lost while I'm lucky to have all these amazing, wonderful things in my life (my previous year end recap post being a case-in-point.)
Then on Christmas Day my grandpa died. This was different because he was 88 years old but still, it was unexpected. I put off calling him and my grandmother on Christmas Eve because I thought it would be better to call the next morning after they had opened the gifts I sent down to them in Florida. When I called in the morning my grandma told me that grandpa had a massive stroke the night before and died overnight. My brain tells me it's silly to beat myself up over something like this but my heart still feels sad about it. He requested for there be no funeral service. There wasn't even an obituary in the paper. My grandma will now be moving from Florida to Massachusetts to be near my uncle's family. (With my mom gone, it makes the most sense.) So... I guess that's that. Sometimes it feels like it didn't happen.
Today I found out that an old, dear friend of mine (and Jason's) just lost his lovely wife. She was only 30 years old and died of cardiac arrest due to fluid accumulating around her heart. The official cause of death is a mystery and the doctors have no explanation for it. We attended their wedding in New Mexico a little over 2 years ago and they had just purchased a beautiful home in the mountains there. My heart absolutely breaks for him right now.
I don't know why I'm posting about all of this. It's not well written or saying anything much other than I'm sad. And tired.
So...let's do this thing. Recap of Awesome, 2013 Edition:
RINY
2013 started off with Ava and her friend Grace running (ok, run/walking) the Run Into the New Year 5K at State Fair Park. Leading up to the race, they helped raise over $500 for the family of a friend of hers who had been recently diagnosed with cancer. Bonus point: Her Blogger profile now reads, “I once ran 3 miles in 17 degrees.”
Travel:
1. After about a dozen years, we finally figured out the correct way to vacation in Florida. This year, after stopping to visit my grandparents in Naples (which I like to call The Midwest of the South), we drove out to the Keys for a few days. Needless to say views like this:
And this:
Totally had me at Hello. Vacation Win!
2. For our “kidless” vacation this year, Jason and I spent a fantastic week in San Francisco visiting friends. Naturally, we pretty much ate our way through the city with panache, and the trip culminated with a baseball game at AT&T park. Go Giants! Or whatever. Baseball isn’t really my thing. Sure was pretty though.
3. The third “trip” wasn’t really a single vacation at all. This year we spent many, many, weekends in Chicago- which, if you know me at all, made me absolutely happy as pie. I feel like this year gave me a chance to rediscover the city I love so much. From wandering Graceland Cemetery and lounging on Montrose Beach, to seeing musicals and choral performances and running the Chicago Marathon for the 2nd time, this year had a definite recurring theme and Chicago was it.
Speaking of which;
HOW COOL was my PR at Chicago Marathon? I took over 6 minutes off my previous best (from over 2 years ago) and ran almost *to the second* the time I had been training for/dreaming of for so long. In addition, it was a HUGE confidence boost for me as a runner. I’ve now fully committed to training my butt off for the Wisconsin Marathon in 2014 to hopefully build on whatever mojo I’ve got going at the moment.
Other Running Highlights:
I can’t recap my running year without mentioning two people that were there for such a huge part of it. First off, I completed a ton of amazing races with Sara- not to mention all the miles we ran together in training. Starting with the Icebreaker Gold Medal Challenge (where we ran a half marathon followed by a full marathon the next day), onward through the Chicago Lakefront 50K and the Dances with Dirt 50K (with special appearance by Marty!), we then ended our season in Chicago again for the marathon. Although we didn’t run that final race together, we were lockstep through the first three races (as well as the previously mentioned countless training runs.) I’m so happy to have her a running buddy and as buddy in real life as well. I think we’re in for some spectacular accomplishments in 2014!
The other person I logged a lot of miles with was my dear friend Rochelle. Although we didn’t train together a lot thorough the bulk of the year, we had a fantastic one-two punch of ultra races together with the North Face 50K and the Door County Fall 50. The first one was the fastest, most enjoyable trail 50K I’ve run, hands down. I had such a blast on the trails all day out there with her. Now, the 50 miler in Door County was considerably harder, but having a great running partner made it worth the pain. (And oh. The pain. Remind me not to do any more 50 milers on the road, ok?) Our finish line photo is one of my favorite photos of the year.
My Girls Rock. And Rule the School.
I feel like Ava really found herself this summer at the Girls Rock Milwaukee camp. She spent the week learning how to play the guitar (and about the history of women in rock music), formed a band with 3 other girls, wrote a song together, and performed it on stage at Turner Hall in front of a huge crowd of people. It was nothing short of amazing to watch the confidence on the faces of the girls as they walked out onto the stage. The camp not only inspired her to start taking weekly guitar lessons, but her band has stayed together as well, rehearsing weekly and even recording some of their songs.
In Juliana’s world, after navigating our way through multiple high school open houses, applications, and testings, she got into not one, not two, but ALL THREE of her top school choices. We had to turn down a couple of the best schools in the state! I’m so excited for her to get into an environment where she can be challenged and start using her talents more. Not only is she an off-the-charts smarty pants, she’s a super great artist as well. (Also, I’m still kind of in denial that I’m going to be mom to a high school student, but that’s another story.)
Power UP Bootcamps (and Personal Training clients)
Oh hey, I became a certified personal trainer this year. I’ve been kind of mucking around, trying to figure out exactly where I want to go with this, but the people I’ve met and worked with through the year have been so awesome. I had a great group of ladies showing up to work out at the ass crack of dawn at Cupertino park, as well as a handful of personal training clients throughout the year. Verdict: I learned a LOT. And holy crap, there’s a lot to learn. I think I might have a knack for it though so hopefully I’ll cobble together a better plan in 2014 for what I want to accomplish on this track. I have issues with how much it costs for a person to hire a trainer or go to a fitness class so I’m looking into some way I can volunteer my time in the coming year. I’m also not totally jazzed about how fitness programs tend to be marketed along with a “weight loss challenge” or whatnot but… ok, this probably needs to be saved for another post. (Puts it on the to-do list.) :)
Favorite shows of the year:
1. Leonard Cohen- Holy moly. Best, most inspiring performance I've seen in years. Hands down.
2. The Book of Mormon- I know, a musical! So insanely good. I saw it once with Jason and then had to go back with two of my bestest lady friends. Seriously though, I don't know how anyone will make anything funnier than this show. Ever.
3. The National- I'm not hip anymore so I'm very late to the party with this band. I really didn’t know much about them going in. Now I would like to know everything, please.
L20- Suuuuper fancypants place. (They offered me a hot towel when I sat down. What, am I dirty already?) I don’t even care though. It totally lived up to the hype.
Graham Elliot- Love this place because you get amazing food without the stiff upper lip atmosphere.
Odd Duck- My favorite place to eat in Milwaukee. The best is sitting at the bar and loading up a bunch of small plates and cocktails. Best.
Honorable mention:Bacchus Birthday Dinner with Sara and Renee!
I saw this chalkboard paint idea on Pinterest forever-ago and I started it a few weeks ago as my November project. (You can see how far I got. Derp.) It actually is pretty cool and will be neat once all the stairs are done. Aside from one incident where Ava wrote "Juli is a Jerk," it's been a good decision overall. (And honestly, she was kind of being a jerk so...) However, now I'm knee-deep in my December project- Ava's birthday video!- and then it's Christmas and such. So you know, it will probably be completed sometime in 2014. Whoops.
I'm a mom, runner, dancer, and general fitness enthusiast living in Milwaukee with two daughters and a husband who looks like an 1890s prospector. I love all things related to Buffy, Doctor Who, red wine, Jon Stewart, and the land of snark. I am very liberal. Somebody once told me they laughed at every "thick-headed imperviousness thought" that passed through my head. This made me want to wrap my arms around the internet and give it a big, wet, kiss.
You can now find all my babbling about running at my other blog:
