Let's get physical!

So with Lucas starting school and me not having a job, I have some time on my hands. Which is nice! I have been filling that time with lots of trips to the gym, and have started running (read: slooooow jogging) again.

I love the group fitness classes at the gym here. My favorite is Zumba (you know, the super trendy hip hop/salsa aerobic dance craze). Why this class, you may wonder? Well, let me tell you! There is pretty much nothing more awesome/funny/heart-warming than watching a room full of middle aged Arkansas ladies with their full faces of make up and perfectly coiffed hair shaking their booties to Shakira or Ricky Martin. And I mean SHAKIN'! These ladies get down! They even have special Zumba skirts that they all wear that have metal coins attached, so the more they shake the louder the skirt becomes. The class runs based on requests, so at the end of each song the women are shouting over each other, "Hips Don't Lie"..."NO! Elevator!"...NO! Shake Your Bon Bon!!!" Priceless. I have not been brave enough to don a skirt or make a request as of yet, but give me time. I will get there.

So since I have been on a fitness role, I made the spontaneous decision last weekend to run in a 5K charity race. Let me preface that statement by saying that I am no good at mile-kilometer conversions....I thought a 5k was about 2 miles. 2 miles- no prob! Ooops, actually it is just over 3 mi. Drat. I was super nervous the night before the run, and woke up feeling ill with nerves, but I persevered. I kept telling myself that I had run around Lake Merritt many times before, and this was the same distance. No problem, right? Well, although it is the same distance as the scenic run along the Lake, this run happened to take place at an outdoor mall. So we ran through, up and around a mall. For 3 miles. For 35 minutes. And though I love malls more than most, it was not nearly as inspiring as my Bay Area runs. There is something depressing about staring at a Build-a-Bear and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company storefront while you are trying to motivate yourself to keep running. I finished though, and that is all that matters!