Sea Otter Classic
Took the day off from work to spend time with the family. We wen to the Sea Otter Classic for the afternoon. Though i’ve lived here for about 9 years this is my first time going. It was fun to see all the bike enthusiasts and booths, even though i am not a real cyclist by any means.
The photo is from some sort of time trials by age group. It is kind of weird to see cyclists on the raceway.
The day was so nice and sunny. We ate some ok-ish food at the vendors there, and i found a stuffed otter holding a starfish. What a koinkydink to find an otter and the sea otter classic. It looks like something that was on sale at the aquarium. I don’t see where anyone was selling or giving these out so i have no idea how it go there. I wanted to take it home but Jeff said it might have fleas. I said i’d love it unconditionally anyway. Where is it now you ask? … i think its somewhere in the sun room….hah!
The In-Laws Visit
Jeff’s parents Mike and Lisa flew in today for the weekend from Florida. We made some Eggplant Parmesean for dinner. Pat drove down from Eugene, Oregon and will be here most of the week, since Jeff has the next week off from work.
This was the first time Lisa saw the house in RL (real life) and she loved it, especially the sun room and the garden .Those are my favorites too!
Happy Birthday Daddy…
Here is your present Daddy! I think you are turning 66. This card i made for you (yes i created it today, though it should be in your hands today!) has 66 candles on it. Yep count ’em. Hope you enjoy this random book i got. I know you like reading and history… and stuff.
AND so the fact that i didn’t mail this gift to you before your birthday has come has allowed me to take a photo of it for my 365. ADDITIONALY since i am so behind in posting my blogs, i knew it’d be safe from you seeing it here before it actually got to you the mail even though i still ended up mailing it a week after this date.
Thank you. Many people come to blogs for updated news, i just post old news.
Tehani Tuesday
Tehani came over to have some Kalua Pig & Cabbage and to catch up since we havent seen her since the superbowl party. Sounds like she’s got her whole summer planned – Hawaii, Japan then Vietnam. What a jet setter.
Tonight i downloaded the new Hipstmatic application for my iPhone.. its a camera withe cool filters. So fun! Makes it look all retro. I didnt realize how blurry this came out.. but oh well.
Tree Droppings
These droppings from the trees at work look like water-logged cat food.
California Mania 2010: Day 3
Day 3 and you are thinking how could my body possibly get though another workout?!? Last night after dinner all three of us we were wobbling around. I think i pulled my knee last night at step class doing a move called “the elvis”. Yep.
Here’s my review of the classes for today:
Su1: A HORIZONTAL BOOTCAMP (Sandra Koulourides)
This class was insane. OK image a whole class on your hands or elbows doing planks and other crazy horizontal moves. Yes. My wrists were hurting the most probably.. i wished this class was a little bit earlier in the session because my body was too weak to really do most of the advanced moves. A lot of them also used gliding discs. Probably won’t use them in class but i bought my own pair so i could train for myself since they’re great and different exercises.
Su2: BLENDED STEP (Deborah Puskarich)
This was lead be Deborah again, and she actually did the same routine. I wished it was different, but at the same point, it was really progressive routine so it was good to get it ingrained in my head. At the end of class we did yoga off the step. I wasn’t so impressed on that part. We just did sun salutation.. not sure if the box really makes it easier as claimed. Not too sold on it. I thought it was funny that Deborah kept saying “listen to mommy!” talking to the class. Throughout this whole convention i have been trying to watch instructors closely to see what verbal / visual cues they use as well as the motiviating phrases they say. But that one was silly.
Su3: SUPER FIT BOD (Amy Dixon)
Amy Dixon. I’m impressed by her notes. Very detailed so i can actually remember what she did instead of forgetting everything! Yes.. this was a step and weights class essentially. Not too much step choreography, more just weights and intervals but this is what i do with my weekly class, so i took a lot of ideas from her.
Su4: Real Ryder Cycling
I had actually signed up for another plyometrics class but it was canceled, which is fine by me because i wanted to take at least one cycling class. This one featured new bikes that “swayed” back and forth like real bikes. Its really fun to ride, a little bit to get used to, but i like the feeling. I even got a free t-shirt.
After the last session, i had to drive home for 2 hours in the pouring rain! When i got home, i think i ate dinner, said hi to Jeff, then went right away into my office practicing some new moves for my class the next day! Oh my body hurt so much. But i liked the pain. Haha! I can’t wait for next year.
California Mania 2010: Day 2
Day 2 – SIx classes on the schedule today – all but one of them involve workouts.
Sa1: TRIPLE THREAT (Mindy Mylrea)
Ended my day yesterday with Mindy and started at 7am with Mindy again! I was looking forward to leaning more about Gliding discs. In this class we did some basic gliding moves that involved the discs and the Bender Ball. We did a few partner exercises, one that involved lunging and passing a glide to your partner at chest level, at hip level, and at foot level. Interesting how much harder it gets as it progresses.
Sa2: STEP ‘TIL YOU DROP (Gay Gasper)
Sandy and I took this class and it was really fun and a lot more practical than yesterday’s step class. I got a couple of good ideas for combos from her.
Sa3: POWER HOUR: THE “S.W.A.T.” TEAM WORKOUT (Leslie Grosshauser)
My first boot camp class! Can’t believe I havent taken on yet – but either my gyms havent had it or you had to pay to take it. It was intense for sure but i loved it. Plyometric moves, followed by strength, followed by stability then 30 sec rest. Really a great format. I’ve already taught it a couple of times when i was subbing for Melissa at Golds. I’ve gotten so-so feedback on it, but it’d be fun to get more experience in it.
Sa4: TRAIN LIKE A PRO WITHOUT THE DOUGH: SPORTS CONDITIONING DRILLS USED BY PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES (Fabio Comano)
This one was boring because it was not practical for me. It was interesting, but i was tired after 3 workouts so i suppose it was a good break. If i were a personal trainer i would have benefited more. The drills weren’t good for group exercise but the speaker was knowledgeable.
Sa5: EQUIPMENT-LESS BOOT CAMP (Abbie Appel)
I was expecting a little more creativity in this class, but overall it was ok. I suppose you can’t get too creative when all you have is your body and the floor. But good re-iteration on tried and true exercises.
Sa6: STEPILICIOUS (Deborah Puskarich)
Deborah’s class was a master class – just for fun! I actually signed up for it and then found out from Sandy that she wanted me to take it. This girl has creative and complicated routines! But man was it fun. Just can’t do it up like that anymore at our gyms. So sad! At the end of class Deborah sang us Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” while her friend/fellow instructor lead us through a choreographed cool down.
At the end of the day i was pretty exhausted (but still having the time of my life!). We showered up in our hotel room then the 3 of us went back out to Maxes for salads, fries, and dessert. Ah, this is the life. Working out then pigging out! Just one more day to go…..
California Mania 2010: Day 1
Its finally here! My first fitness conference – 3 full days of workshops for group exercise instructors. The workshop was held in at the Hyatt in San Francisco near the airport. A very nice hotel, with an atrium in the middle and great views of the bay. I made plans to room with my friends Sandy and Maria who are group exercise instructors that i sub for.
I got up early and drove up to make the first class that started at 9am. Here was the schedule of my classes for today:
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Fr1: DOES EXERCISE LEAD TO DYSFUNCTION? (Fabio Comano)
This class was interesting… not very exciting as it was more of a lecture that lasted over an hour about how to properly do a squat! But still useful on some level, nonetheless.
Fr2: CARDIO*COMBAT*CORE*STRENGTH – ROUND 2 (Jeff McMullen)
This class was basically kickboxing class with some planks and other non-traditional kickboxing moves thrown in. It was good to take a non-Turbo Kickboxing type of class to see what that is like, but i still prefer Turbo Kick it is much more exciting.
Fr3: USEABLE, CUEABLE DOABLE STEP (Melissa Layne)
This was my first step class! Melissa showed some interesting combos, but i don’t think i will be using her combos without some of my own modifications.
Fr4: A CIRCUITS ON A SHOE STRING (Mindy Mylrea)
LOVE Mindy Mylrea! She is just pure energy and really a goofball. So entertaining. This class was so much fun – there were 10+ stations set up with activities. We were broken into several groups (i was the leader of my group) and we ran around trying every station out. In between we did different drills as a whole group, and at one point we did some Flirty Girl moves. The most memorable part of this was sitting your butt on Gliding Discs (think plastic plates) and then having your partner drag you across the room! And putting a Bender ball (just a small inflatable ball) between your legs and hopping like a kangaroo or waddling like a penguin.
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So i was pretty tired after 3 straight workouts – but this was only the beginning!
For dinner, Sandy, Maria and I went to a place around the block called Max’s. We shared big, tasty salads, a basket of sweet potato fries, and of course some well deserved dessert — some sort of cake + cheesecake combo.
We walked back to our hotel and went to bed pretty late considering our next class was 7am! To top it off, Maria ended up snoring pretty loudly and i was too anxious to get a good nights sleep. We all laughed about it the next morning though.
Riley Riled by Roosters
Riley gets excited when she sees roosters and chickens, jumpin’, and barkin’… though i don’t know what she’d do if she got close to them – probably run away.
Thank You Flowers
The ladies over at Natividad Medical Center sent me some flowers at work today to show their appreciation for the work i did on their web site for The Onyx Fund.