Barre3 - All smiles and sassy pants

So believe it or not, I have a managed to take a new class almost every week for the last year and a half (thanks, Classpass and weird schedule), but finding the time to both exercise and expatiate about my exercising adventures is proving difficult.  Stupid adulting. Therefore, I am just going to write about my various workouts as I have time and in no particular order.

On July 4th, I took Barre3 in Georgetown.  I have attended a class at Barre3 on one previous occasion, and on my first adventure I learned that the people working at the facility were incredibly nice.  I base this conclusion on the fact that they were sweet about the fact that I was late due to an inability to find parking and getting lost.  They still pleasantly showed me around the studio and allowed me to sneak into class (side note - super attractive studio).  Though a great workout and a nice facility, there wasn't much to note after my first workout.  Totally different story July 4th.

The instructor on the 4th of July was an incredibly patriotic woman.  This was evidenced by her announcement that July 4th was her favorite day of the year, she wished that every day could be July 4th, she would only be playing patriotic music...and we would be playing July 4th trivia.  I'm a huge history nerd who just recently listened to the book 1776, and I am a sucker for that Lee Greenwood song, so everything sounded great to me. 

Even if the instructor had said nothing, her enthusiasm for America was evidenced by her awesome workout ensemble. I've included a picture of the pants she was wearing while they were on the hanger in the studio (she obviously purchased them there).  I figured that trying to capture  a picture of the instructor's workout ensemble on her would probably be creepy.  Explaining, "don't worry, I just want a picture of your bottoms to put on the internet" seemed like it would roll off the tongue poorly.


All the songs were American themed-ish. I learned that "America themed" could also just mean from the 80s. That might be the most patriotic decade of all time. I had that epiphany during class when I heard "Eye of the Tiger" and "Life is a Highway." Thank you, 1980s, for providing the soundtrack for the United States.  Sadly, no Lee Greenwood, but I survived.

The instructor yelled things like do "13 more repetitions for the 13 colonies." Or, "push your feet up towards the ceiling like you're pushing open the doors of freedom." I am comfortable saying I will probably never hear that line for encouragement in  another workout class.

Also, her trivia was hard.  She knows her America. I was expecting like 6th grade history class, which I would still consider no joke since recalling any historical facts while squatting or doing overhead presses is a challenge.  I didn't know the answer to a lot of his questions, and I was not alone. I did learn some nuggets, which I will pass along because why not.  Fun fact, Vermont was the 14th state to ratify the Constitution. Also, the Philippines left the United States on the Fourth of July (of a different year) making in their Independence Day as well.

She wrote everyone's name on the workout mirror to track points.  This trivia wasn't just for fun.  This trivia was competitive.  I did not offer any answers, which was largely due to lack of knowledge, but I would have tried a little harder to recall things had I known there were awesome prizes at the end.  Swell bottles and tank tops. How nice is that?

Seriously, instructors with great personalities (albeit, perhaps a slightly quirky holiday obsession), and a studio offering fun incentives to their customers - great place.  

You also get to enjoy the Georgetown waterfront when you go to class.

The instructor shared that her cute boyfriend of almost a year, who was not from the area, was very excited to see the DC fireworks . I really hope the fireworks happened for them even though it poured.  I also hope he heard her overshare to the class that he was cute and dreamy.  He was.  And it was sweet of her to say.

I've been the Barre3 twice. I would definitely go more if I lived closer to the facility. They are incredibly nice, the workout is good.  I didn't even care that the hour-long class went an hour and 18 minutes in honor of America. Go USA!

Barre 3 is great!  Go check them out!  Maybe one of the instructors is all about Labor Day! 

Reston Perfect 10 Miler - When high school kids organize a race (September 27, 2015)

I am not going to say this race was bad.  As a person who is such a fan of a very particular, and not often available race distance, I don't want to bad mouth a ten-miler. An truly, it wasn't bad.  It was just boring.  They shouldn't play fast and loose with the term perfect because in my mind a perfect course is pretty, or exciting, or something.  This was just a solid ten mile course beginning at a high school and ending at a high school with a tour of the Fairfax suburbs in between.  See the link with the course map: http://www.prraces.com/perfect10/files/2011/02/PRR-Reston-10-Miler-Course-Map1.pdf

There were some notable highlights that did offer some entertainment, or a change of pace.  I fell down twice.  That changed the pace.

The race seemed mostly organized by high school kids, and high school kids were the bulk of the volunteers.  As a result, there were a lot of kids in charge of directing race participants with flags.  It turns out that teenagers like to dance with flags.  Sometimes, in hilarious ways.  The sassy ways I was directed to turn did give me a chuckle. 

I was allowed to listen to music on the run, which isn't always allowed, so that made me happy. 

There was also a lot of high-fiving, and if you don't like high-fiving, I don't understand you.

There was one woman running backwards as a way to encourage her friend who was struggling to run.  I am torn on whether I would find this encouraging.  I have a lot of fast friends.  I prefer them to carry on their way and meet me at the end of the race.  The end of the race cheering is enough support for me.  I would probably find it a bit disheartening if my friend ran the entire ten miles backwards and was still in front of me. Kind of like how I've seen people juggling while they are running a race, or wearing a cumbersome costume.  We get it, you have motor skills.  Some of us are still trying to master lifting our feet off the ground without falling (and are not succeeding).

Now, I will say that high school kids know how to throw a race after party. The baked goods and candy game were on point.  They weren't going to have you just walk away with a banana and some peanut butter and call it a day. They also had good music playing, and the race ended on the high school track, which provided a dance floor for the teens and tweens of Fairfax.

Overall, not a bad race, but the high light was definitely when the race was over and I could meet my friend dear Joanna over at the Reston Town Center for brunch and shopping.  Nothing cures falling on your face twice in front of teenagers (and the immediate high school flashback) like a mimosa and a trip to Sephora.

Other than including a picture of myself and Joanna, I didn't have any other pictures. I decided a good solution to that problem would be to do a Google images search of "what do teenagers like."  I have copied and pasted a random sampling of the results in case you ever asked yourself that same question.

Bootybarre Plus - Plus what? (an overlooked early September class)

Sometimes the names of Classpass classes surprise me.  For example, the other day I saw a class entitled "Erotic Witchcraft."  That two-hour class seems like one I will avoid unless I can get a large group to participate with me. I digress.  Bootybarre Plus was kind of a sassy name.  Plus what?


The plus appeared to be a washer, dryer, country time decorations and some physical therapy equipment.  I should have anticipated the physical therapy aspect after my trusty Google Maps directed me to what looked like a medical park.  You know those dark brick strip malls with lots of offices?  They don't scream gym, but it is amazing how many workout studios are tucked away in those spaces.  Not flashy, but probably economical. 

I walked into the class and there were five girls who obviously all knew each other.  They were having a loud and detailed discussion about one girl's love life. I was not invited into the conversation. Perhaps they require more vetting before they directly tell a new person all the intimate details of their relationships.  That makes sense.  I'm sure they cherish the privacy gained by discussing it loudly in a tiny room where strangers can hear everything. 

The class started, and I looked around the room.  There was a washer and a dry stacked behind some free-standing medical curtains.  There were also some balls that looked like they were used for physical therapy (a physical therapist's office appeared to be attached), and a free-standing ballet barre, which we would eventually move to the middle of the room after the warm-up.

This place took the ballet aspect of barre more seriously than some other places.  A lot of barre places integrate yoga, Pilates and ballet, but this place was ballet heavy.  The instructor was using a lot of ballet terms.  And she wasn't using terms like plié, or other terms I heard in barre classes.  The words were totally foreign to me.

I struggled, and I don't say that as if I struggled in a subtle way.  I didn't even know what I was supposed to be doing with my legs at times.   I guess I also must have struggled with the terms "right" and "left." At one point, the instructor actually said, "well, since Kelly used the wrong leg, we are going to have to turn around the ballet barre in order for everyone to correctly work the next leg."  Okay, way to call me out lady.  Its not like I accidentally high kicked someone in the face (although that is probably because I cannot kick higher than my shins - it is actually embarrassing). 

The class was a good workout, but I won't return.  One, I live no where near the studio.  Two, I guess I am getting spoiled with Classpass because I like pretty studios now, not ones that vaguely remind me of my elementary school's nurse's office.  Three, I was obviously harshing everyones' barre buzz by not knowing my left leg from my right leg. 

The instructor  seemed alarmed at the end of class because she was running a few minutes over.  She asked everyone if that was okay.  That question was obviously directed at me as she knew the other five girls in the class very well (or so it appeared).  I am totally fine with an instructor running a few minutes over in order for me to complete a workout.  I understand that I am an adult with free will, and I am free to leave the class whenever I need to do so, even if they are not done instructing the class.  Except in Bikram Yoga.  I left one of those classes to pee once, and the instructor was livid.

Anyhow, the Bootybarre instructor proceeded to tell the class how she read a horror story on Facebook about an instructor who went five minutes over on a 75 minute class and she got screamed at by her participants.  There are a few things that I find suspicious about this story. One, a 75 minute class sounds like a yoga class.  I can't imagine a yogi screaming, especially because their zen time ran over.  Two, my instructor did not know the instructor that got screamed at.  To me, it sounds like an urban legend that got passed along.  Obviously, a fitness instructor urban legend.  Participants going nuts on you in front of everyone for running a few minutes over on a class must be fitness instructor equivalent of Bloody Mary.

More importantly, please let me know if you've ever been to Erotic Witchcraft class because I am dying of curiosity.

The flamingos were added because flamingos are neat to look at, pictures of them were in my cell phone, and I don't have any other pictures of the Bootybarre studio.  The end.

Moving for Melanoma 5K - If you ever thought to read one of my posts, please make it this one. (September 20, 2015)

As a general rule, I do not touch on serious topics in my blog, or anywhere outside the realm of my close friends.  Even then, I try to do it sparingly.  Everyone is dealing with different daily challenges and carrying different burdens.  No one needs additional heaviness.  I will not say that this blogpost is heavy, or burdening, but it is serious, and for good reason.  This week, I did the Moving for Melanoma 5K with one of my dearest, and definitely my longest-standing friend, Leigh.

Leigh has been my friend my entire life.  Our parents have been friends forever.  I cannot remember a point in my life when I did not know Leigh, which I think most people can only say about siblings or cousins.

In June 2015, Leigh went to a dermatologist appointment (as I hope everyone does every year).  She wanted her doctor to look at a mole that she thought looked funny.  Her dermatologist did not think the spot looked alarming, but removed the spot for a biopsy.  Leigh's instinct was correct, and shortly after her biopsy, she was informed that she had melanoma.  Not only that, the melanoma had spread to her lymphnodes.  Metastatic melanoma.

Leigh is 33, and at the time of her diagnosis, had a 3-month old baby, Rory.  Yeah, he is the little guy in the pictures.  As usual, cancer did not care about a person's age, or life responsibilities.

Leigh was diligent and received quick and successful surgical treatment. The entire ordeal caused Leigh to become inspired to find funding for melanoma research.

Leigh organized a group of us to participate in the Moving for Melanoma 5K in Wilmington, Delaware.
 

The race was huge!  When I pulled into the parking lot at the Wilmington waterfront, I was shocked at the number of teams!  In 2016, we will need to get some kick ass team shirts to keep up with the T-game around us.  The 5K was a nice loop around the Wilmington waterfront.  The sponsors were giving away loads of sunscreen, which I diligently snagged. 

Of importance...to me, Leigh and I crushed her husband in the race.  Sure, you might say, "hey, he is pushing a baby." One, look at that serious face.  You cannot underestimate a competitor who looks that serious.  Second, I have lost to people running with babies before.  I think they secretly give you momentum.  I am counting this as a win.  Sorry, Ty.

Unfortunately, after a few months in remission, Leigh's cancer returned.  She has undergone surgery again, and she is hoping to get in a trial at Foxchase Cancer Center for immunotherapy treatment that is supposed to be very good.

 Leigh is a redhead with fair skin and probably more diligent about sun care than most people of my generation.  I will say that people my age (we will go with roughly 30) are better than our parents were about sunscreen.  I never witnessed my friends rolling around in baby oil and basking in the sun, which are the tales I hear from people my parents' age.  That said, I also see my friends diligently slathering 50 SPF sunscreen on their children in a way I never saw them put sunscreen on themselves when we were growing up.  That is why I think our generation is at a huge disadvantage in the healthy skin battle.  For our generation, both the ozone and the sunscreen use were weak. 

I encourage anyone to become an advocate for whatever they care about.  I'm not hear to preach, but if you don't have a cause and are looking to help out society in some way, efforts to improve cancer research is a great place to focus your time and energy.   Do the Melanoma 5K in Wilmington if you are in that area.  Consider joining our 2016 team because I have no doubt that Leigh will be putting a team together next year.  I love you, Leigh!  You are strong, and you are a fighter, and I am so proud of you.

And in the words of Baz Luhrman, wear sunscreen.

Revenge of the Penguins 10-miler - Beautiful scenery and one penguin mascot (September 13, 2015)

I ended up registered for the Revenge of the Penguins by chance.  I was registered for a 10-miler scheduled for the previous spring, but I became incredibly sick the week of that race and requested to transfer my bib to another race.  The organization hosting the race was incredibly nice and told me I could transfer my bib to a September race called Revenge of the Penguins.  Who doesn't love penguins?  Black and white animals are adorable in general. One word. Pandas.  I guess Zebras aren't so much adorable as majestic, but I am  getting side tracked.

Anyhow, I am so happy with how this twist of fate worked out because the course was beautiful.  That said... getting there was an adventure.

The race was held at Carderock Park in Maryland.  Basically, on the opposite side of DC (from me...give or take... I'm geographically challenged), near Bethesda.   I could not find an exact address for the Park, but I wasn't worried.  I try not to look at any of the race information until the morning of the race because I like the element of surprise, or apparently, being lost.  I also find reading directions painful, which is why I don't own any IKEA products.

The day of the race, I even slept in a little...because I am an idiot. My logic - no one will be on the road, and Google maps can get me to the park because Google maps can do anything. Well, Google maps dropped me in the back of a neighborhood in Maryland, and apparently wanted me to abandon my car and hike to the middle of the forest.  That didn't seem right.

Race time was quickly approaching.  I left the adorable, but incorrect Maryland neighborhood and got back on the main road.  I drove around about 20 more minutes looking for civilization. Keep in mind, it wasn’t even 8 in the morning, and I was in a wilderness area, so there weren’t a lot of options.  Suddenly, what did I see ahead?  A bakery!  Perfection!  I would stop, get a delicious pre-race treat, get directions to the park and be on my way!  I went into the bakery and asked the store owner about the location of Carderock park. 

Turns out, I had stumbled upon a Korean bakery, which although delicious, presented a slight language barrier.  The man behind the counter had never heard of the park.  Well, that was a bummer.  Oh wait, another customer walked in.  I asked that gentleman about the park.  He could speak very little English and did not recognize the park.  Fuck. I thought to myself, this sucks...and, I should look into Rosetta Stone.  I'm never making the race.

Luckily, the shit in the bakery looked delicious, so as a consolation, I purchased a number of fruit tarts, cookies and danishes and got back in my car #healthy.  I gave up the ghost and started to drive home.  The Nation’s Triathlon (the real badasses) was about to start in downtown DC, so instead of driving back through the city to get home, I decided to take 495.  As I drove towards 495, I saw a sign for the Carderock Park’s picnic area!  It was a race day miracle.  I ended up getting to the race 5 minutes before start.

I can't say enough about the course.  We ran on the C&O Canal Towpath. It was gorgeous. Just look at the pictures.  At one point, the Potomac river was on one-side and the locks of the C&O Canal were on the other.  It was quiet and beautiful.
 

I have noticed that Maryland courses (based on all two Maryland races that I have run in) tend to be narrower, which is a little difficult in the beginning, but I think makes for a more pleasant race overall because it usually means the race is off the beaten path, smaller, and quieter.  The description online says it perfectly, "low-key, low-stress."

At the end of the race was an incredibly grungy looking penguin mascot being inundated with children who wanted to be held.  Watching that spectacle towards the finish line gave me a good giggle.  There is no way that mascot costume could be dry cleaned enough to recover from that day.  More importantly, at the end of the race was tons of peanut butter, and we received a nifty windbreaker with a picture of the penguin emblem, which you see above. 

I definitely recommend signing up for this race.  See http://www.mc-coop.org/revenge_of_the_penguins.aspx

I know I want run it again! 

Heated Power Yoga - That time I signed up for the wrong class (August 12, 2015)

I rarely workout during the middle of the workday.  There is usually too much work to be done, the mid-day shower is a hassle, and I generally feel as if I get my best workout in the evening.  That said, every once in a while I will try and squeeze one in if I know my evening is going to be hectic. On this special day, I decided that I would pop into one of those CorePower Heated Yoga Sculpt classes that I like so much.  Unfortunately, that is not at all what actually happened.  Instead, I showed up to the wrong class, and I didn't comprehend the mix-up until 35 minutes into the class.  Win.

The class that I ended up taking was Heated Power Yoga.  If you have followed this blog, I am terrible at yoga.  I am not flexible or quiet.  I would never sign up for something called Heated Power Yoga on my own accord.

I walked into the class.  Per usual, it was hot, so nothing seemed amiss.  I set up my mat (i.e. unroll it) and look around.  It seemed a little weird to me that no one had weights next to them, but I wrote it off in my head.  "We will probably just be doing a crazy amount of push-ups today.  No need for free weights." My flawed logic didn't end there.

The class started.  The instructor gave no speech about lifting exercises, but I reassured myself that there was no need for an explanation since there were no weights.  Or, maybe she recognized us all from previous classes and knew we knew what we were doing. Of note, I had never had her as an instructor, so this conjecture was particularly baseless.

The music started and we began doing yoga stretches.  Not unusual.  The class usually starts with five minutes of this before the music amps up and we get going.  Ten minutes go by...man, why are we still doing yoga?

The music started to pick up, but not in that blaring Ludacris type of way that it should for this class. It was more like amping up from Enya to John Mayer.  We also weren't doing jumping jacks or push ups.  WTF? Herein lies one of my problems with yoga.  I couldn't just lean over and ask the person next to me what was going on.  Embarassment aside, I am just supposed to keep my mouth shut and not kill anyone else's meditative vibe.

Fast forward 35 minutes.  We are doing some aggressively advanced yoga...or, basic yoga. I can't tell the difference. It is all well above my skill level.  Anyhow, I looked at the clock and realized that I may as well beat everyone to the shower and get ready to go back to work.  Obviously, I stumbled into the wrong class. Luckily, as I try to do when I take classes, I had positioned myself by the door.  I slithered out.  I decided that the smoothest thing to do was to just leave my mat and stuff in the studio so as not to draw attention to myself while leaving.  Another poor choice.

I head to the locker room to take a quick shower.  I get out and get ready.  I step out, but unfortunately, the class still has two minutes left.  Shit. This is awkward.  I paced outside the studio in the lounge area (not looking weird at all) until class was dismissed and scurried in to get my mat.  The instructor rushed over to me and informed me that she was very alarmed because I just disappeared during class.  I think she was exaggerating her sense of alarm because she obviously didn't feel the need to check on me.  She was super worried in that kind of way where you take zero action and do zero follow up?  I think the more honest statement from her would have been, "I was mildly curious about where you went, but figured you would come back for your shit."

I explained to the instructor that I had to hustle back to work.  I didn't want to tell her that I blatantly signed up for the wrong class, and her class is actually how I envision my hell.  Nothing against the class or the studio - I'm sure it was lovely for the yogis.  One man's hell is another man's delightful lunch hour.

I returned to my office that day rather defeated.  I checked Classpass to learn that I had taken half of a Heated Power Yoga class instead of my beloved sculpt class.

I have no pictures from this adventure.  Embarrassment and bitterness doesn't photograph well for me no matter what filter I use.  As a result, I just provided a completely random one for aesthetics.  I hope you like
my dog.

Solidcore - How I learned Sheila might be a masochist (July 31, 2015)

Sheila is incredibly sweet.  When I started blogging about my workouts and said that my goal was to try a new workout every week, she took the time to tell me about a listserv called Active Life DC.  I signed up and I now receive emails almost daily about workouts, many of which are free, available around the city.  Super thoughtful suggestion from Sheila, right?

She recently sent a few gals, including myself, a group email about Solidcore.  She was very excited because a Solidcore studio opened up right next to her condo.  I was very excited because I had no clue what she was talking about.


I arrived at the Solidcore studio still knowing nothing about the workout (my preference).  When I walked in, the machines on the floor looked like heavy-duty Pilates carriages.  In my head I thought, "cool, fancy Pilates."  Per usual, I was wrong.  Solidcore is so much harder than Pilates. Actually, Solidcore is the hardest workout I have ever tried.  I sweat more doing Solidcore than any other workout.  That includes running distance races.

It is difficult to articulate the exercises done on the apparatus, but it allows you to work all of your body parts.  There is a carriage in the middle of the machine that moves back and forth, and there is a stationary platform on either side of the carriage.  There are different pullies on the machine to perform exercises like overhead presses.  Or, you can perform triceps dips on the handles on the end of the stationary platform.  You can do lunges while standing on the machine, off the machine, or to the side of the machine.  It is difficult to adequately describe all that you can do with the machine, so I encourage you to watch the brief video on the Solidcore website: http://solidcore.co/

Now for the synopses.  The 50-minute class goes by incredibly fast.  As soon as you walk in and get on the machine you are working hard.  I have now been to a few classes, and they all seem to start with abs...and finish with abs. The class also goes quickly due to the  fast-paced music and the instructor counting down each exercise.  "In ten seconds...eight seconds...you'll switch to lunges...five seconds walk to the the back platform...only three more seconds..." you get the drift.  The countdown is necessary and not annoying at all.  I know that I am a sarcastic creature, but I am being one-hundred percent sincere.  Some of the moves are so challenging that if I didn't know that I only had to make it through eight more seconds, I would probably just give up and collapse on my machine.  After working out hard for roughly 45 minutes, you don't want to start doing planks to pikes as fast as possible on the torture apparatus, but you manage to get through the reps because you know there are only ten seconds left...five more seconds...three more seconds.

Encouraging things are written on the floor under the workout machine (see below picture).  I believe these sayings are to keep you going when you are crumbling from the successive mutant planks. For example, I saw one that said, "You're inspiring your neighbor."  I don't know if I am inspired by my neighbors in that class, but I have definitely been impressed by the strength of the other people in the class.    I am extremely confident that I have yet to inspire.  I was probably uninspiring the day that I forgot a shirt, purchased one at the studio, and then went home to realize that I was wearing it backwards the entire time.  For context, it wasn't a loose tank top.  It was a halter sports bra shirt.  I must have looked absurd.  Other sayings include, "Smile, you're getting stronger."   I smiled when I saw that one, but mostly because I was laughing from pain delirium.   I think the pain is pretty visible on my face because the other day I took a class and the instructor (standing directly in front of me) said, "just because it hurts doesn't mean you're doing it wrong or injuring yourself."  Okay, I guess I will take her word for it?  I think it hurts me because the class requires me to use a lot of muscles that I never usually use...or even knew existed.  Seriously, I think I worked a muscle that wraps around my ribs.  I didn't know there were muscles there prior to taking a Solidcore class.

All that said, the class is fantastic.  I swear that I notice a difference in my abs after one session. I now go in for tune-ups periodically (like post-fudge season, otherwise known as Christmas).  Admittedly, the classes are expensive.  There is no way around that fact, even when you buy a package.  Given that I already participate in Classpass, and I can't commit to any studio, I would never purchase a package, but I like going every now and then.  I think if you were trying to tone up for a wedding or a tropical vacation, it is hands down the best workout package you could purchase for fast results.

Thank you, Sheila.  I enjoy going to Solidcore every now and then.  Also, I'm completely convinced there is a masochist hiding behind your kind smile because Solidcore definitely hurts.  You are a bad ass for being a Solidcore regular.