My AFAA Experience

This weekend, I attended the AFAA Apex in Atlanta for Primary Group Fitness certification. I've got a lot of certifications under my belt, but it was time to be recognized by a world wide organization.

I waited a bit late to register...then, because I didn't check the boxes for all the extra stuff at registration, I didn't realize I would have to go looking to order the textbook (included with the "extra" stuff), so all I got was a blank study guide. I had 2 weeks to study, but nothing to actually study with, and getting the textbook to me in time would have been way more than I could have afforded at this time. So, I turned to my background and the Internet to help me. I found lots and lots of flash card sites that had the answers to the study guide, and I was able to find everything I needed that way. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS METHOD.

When I went in on Saturday, I was a complete ball of nerves. I knew for sure I was going to fail...at least the written. I was pretty confident with the practical, but my worry about the written was overshadowing it all.

I got there early, got signed in and found a spot to sit. As soon as everything got started, the instructor immediately put me at ease. She was funny and informative and really helped me to believe I could pass this thing.

So, when things finally got going, we quickly went over the cardio warm up, exercise, and cool down portion. She got us up on our feet and gave us some pointer and hints about what they were looking for. Reminding us that during the cool down, you don't just stop, you gradually slow down. I knew all this, but it was nice to have someone in front of us saying "yes, this is what you need to do"

Next we went over the strength portion. She told us what the order was, and gave us several ideas for each one. We had to do exercises plus a stretch. Again, she made sure we knew what we were going to do for each section well before the actual exam.
After lunch, we went over it again, then went through the study guide and she told us everything that would be on the test. Again, you need to study beforehand. Don't go in there without looking at any material and think that you will absorb it from this workshop. All this did, for me, was clarify some things I was fuzzy on.

Then it was time for the practical. For the warm up, I just did my warm up from my Zumba class. It consists of some step-touch, shoulder rolls, grapevines, torso rotations, and knee lifts. From there the 8 (I think) minute cardio portion. I did some ChaCha steps, V-steps, jump knee lifts, grapevines with jumps at the end, and just repeated it until the time was up. Cool down was just whatever I was doing and slowly bringing it down. Ex. jumping knee lifts, to just knee lifts, to march, to heel dip. Easy peasy. Then we brought out the mats and did the strength portion. Again, just remember what you went through during the workshop and do that. This isn't this time to try anything new, lol.
Next we were broken up into two groups, number 1-50 on one side of the room, and 51-88 on the other. Number 1 and 51 went at the same time, then 2 and 52, etc etc. I was number 54. I was glad I was able to go near the front of the group.
I did planks. I kept it super simple. Beginner was hands and knees, intermediate was hands and feet, and advanced was elbows and feet. I recommend keeping it simple like that. Some people tried to go WAY advanced. Most people who chose planks started right off with elbows and feet, then went to arms and legs extended for their advance. I just think beginner should really be beginner. I don't need to show off to a room full of instructors about what I can do. This is supposed to be how I would teach a class full of people who may be just starting their fitness journey. So, there ya go. I would advice knowing what you are going to do before you get to the workshop. Practice it. Ask yourself "could your gramma do this beginner?" If not, scale it back some.

When we finished that, it went to the written. I would highly suggest bringing a clipboard. We sat on the floor and took the test, had an hour to finish, afterwards, my back and neck we killing me from being hunched over.  The test wasn't a cake walk, but if you can use process of elimination you can do well. It's multiple choice, so often you can immediately eliminate two choices, then figure it out from there. I finished the test in 40 minutes and I feel confident that I passed. There were a few things I wasn't sure about, but, for the most part, I knew the answers. Going over the study guide with the instructor helped.

Now, it's a waiting game. It can take 3-6 weeks to get the results

One step forward....

Two steps back?

Maybe...
The Zumba class I auditioned for, never heard back. After a fantastic meeting for FITTBarre....they stopped returning my emails. I have no idea what happen, but I'm packing up and moving on. There loss, right.
In the meantime, I've sent out my resume to several local gyms. One place even forwarded it to a friend who owned a different franchise. Something will give.
I'm signed up for the AFAA Primary Group Fitness Certification in, I think, 2 weeks. I'm completely freaking myself out over it. First, I waited to sigh up, so I'm just getting my study material now. Second, apparently the REQUIRED textbook isn't part of the fee, and they don't really make that clear when you are signing up until you get your material and all you have is a date to show up for testing and a study guide you are supposed to fill in from the textbook (that you never got). And now to get the textbook, I have to go back in, pay another $70 plus shipping and still probably not get it here in time for me to actually read it. So, I guess I'll be winging it. Worst case scenario, I fail and have to retake it. I'm pretty sure I'll rock the practical, and the written is multiple choice. Ten years has to have taught me something, right.
While waiting for a gym to see my greatness and hire me, I've been doing drop ins everywhere. One little studio does $5 classes, so I stop in there a couple times a week and shake my groove thing. There was a gym I did the whole 3 day trial thing with. I told them up front I did not want to get locked into a year contract because I was hoping to get hired as an instructor soon, so I just wanted to use what I could. They ended up texting me and inviting me to another class after the 3 day period. So, yesterday I tried Flirty Girl for the first time. Wow! It's different. I liked it.

Oh! And allow me to be ridiculously giddy for a minute...I'm going back to San Fran!! Whoo! That picture....up there ^^^ was taken the day after my birthday last year during the best 10K I've run in my life. I'm going back this April. I'm so excited. I simply love the west coast. I'm a southern girl through and through, but something about the west just draws me to it.

2013, I think I'll keep you

Oh hi...

How's it going? How's the family? How's things?


I've been busy settling in to 2013. 2 weeks in and I feel like it should be Feb already. Whew.
My running has been slower than I would like, but I've been hitting a bit of a black. I make myself use the treadmill just so I can log some kind of mileage. It's starting to wake up these legs. I will get there. Meanwhile, I'm also working on getting my FITTBarre class together. I had a meeting last week with the owner at a dance studio. She LOVES the idea. We're planning a launch, soon.
I went from subbing Zumba classes every week, to not teaching at all. I was feeling like I needed to get back into some one's class, when a friend of mine sent me a message asking if I wanted to join her. I said sure and took off to meet her. Not only was it great to see my friend again, it was fun to get back out there and dance.
I auditioned for a class of my own, and now I'm waiting. If it doesn't work out, something will.

My oldest son just turned 18, and I'm still figuring out what that means for both of us. I've spent 18yrs being his mom, and I'm not sure how to parent this new man. I'm so very lucky that he is a fantastic, mature, kid. He's certainly way more mature than I ever was at his age. Ha! I thought I had it all figured out. I'm sure he thinks he has it all figured out, too. I think he does. Funny how he will one day look back and think how wrong he was. He's been accepted to Western Carolina in the fall, and I couldn't be prouder of him. I also don't know what I'm going to do without him.

 January has been a whirlwind so far, and I'm enjoying the ride. I still firmly believe that 2013 will be my year.

Proclaiming

I've made a decision, now I'm putting it out into the Universe.

I will run 500 miles
And I will run 500 more
Just to be the gal who runs 1000 miles
in 2013...

It will happen.
If you break it down, it averages 20 miles a week. I've done that before during half training. Maybe 5/10/5 is a bit much...RIGHT NOW, but while I'm building to that I can easily pull off 5miles 4 days a week.
I'd like to do some kind of race, even if it's just a local 5k, once a month. That should keep me motivated through the cold weather, and Atlanta summers.

Reset

Where was I?

Oh yeah, I had just finished my second half marathon, but instead of improving my time and...well, everything, like most people, my time was worse, and I ran over half the course with an injury. But hey, I finished, right.

What have I been doing since? Well....a whole lot of NOT running. I do this. I put everything into a race, then take an extended break afterwards. I have to, for my head as much as my legs. The Monday morning after the race, I took a 3 day sub job teaching Zumba. That was such a crazy, fun, experience. That carried on to 3 days the following week, as well as a couple days during the week of Thanksgiving. I was having such a great time, it was just what I needed to reignite my love of Zumba.
But, as happens with subbing, the regular teacher came back, and now I'm looking for my next opportunity. One weekend a few weeks ago, my husband and I were just hanging out, watching silly infomercials, and came across Fluidity. I told my husband that I'd always wanted to try that out, but it was just way too expensive to invest in when it would probably turn out to be like every other piece of fitness equipment I bring in this house. Ugh, what can I say, I just get bored trying to work out at home. But, that I'd love to find a barre class and try it out. The conversation kinda moved on to other topics and I didn't think much more about it. Then, on an unassuming Weds morning, I saw a post in one of my fitness Facebook group about a barre certification course the following weekend. Brand new course, and we'd be certified by the creator. Best of all....it was $20. I was all over it. So, that Sunday I spent a few hours in Atlanta and came home with a shiny new certification I CAN'T WAIT to put into practice. I also walked on my toes for 2 days because...HOLY...you don't realize you're working until you stop.

So, I haven't been running. That doesn't mean I'm no longer a runner. I'm just taking a reset. I'm entering 2013 with a clear mind and rested body, and then...IT IS SO ON.

I laid out the path in 2012, and 2013 will be my year. It's the end of the world as we know it, indeed, and I feel fantastic.

All's well

REALLY well. Things are just falling into place and though I'm busier than I've been in years, I am so, so happy.

I took a sub job a few weeks ago. It was a bit of trial by fire, if you will. I was teaching for a group of non-English speakers...and I only speak English. But, music is universal, and it forced me to be better. I taught 3 days that week, then was asked back for 3 days the following week. Three days a week.....is a lot, ya'll, lol.
On top of that, I was asked to be a presenter at a Zumba Club event.
Then this week, I did some more sub work, again with non-English speakers. After yesterday's class it was said "Good class, good dancing, good instructor, very good". After months of back-handed compliments and passive-aggressive digs, it was really nice to hear.

I have a few things in the works for after Thanksgiving. I get to relax and enjoy my family for a couple of days before diving back in.

Run, Walk, or Crawl

However you get across that finish line, 13.1 miles is 13.1 miles.

On Saturday, I finished the Rock n Roll Savannah Half Marathon. It was my first race in Savannah, but I hope it isn't my last.
The very first thing I want to say about this race is...my performance had nothing to do with the course, or location, and everything to do with me. Now, that being said...I fall short of calling it a disaster.
My first half, in April, I trained for nearly 6 mths for, and came across the finish line, hurting, at 3:33. I had trained with intervals, but the day of the race, I threw all that out the window and pushed to see how far I would run without stopping. I got to 11.5 miles and when I stopped to walk, I had to force myself to start again. After that race, I said the lesson I learned was to run the race the same as I trained and not try anything new.

This race...well, I let a lot of drama and straight up bullshit distract me from doing what I needed to do to get ready. my "training" consisted of running a bunch of  5 and 10ks from July until a couple weeks before this race. I knew it was going to be tough and just decided to do what I could do and not try to break any records. I was gonna start off taking walk breaks early, instead of waiting until I was past the point of needing it.

First 3 miles...fantastic. I was making good time, and even made myself slow down a bit. I told myself if I averaged a 15min mile, I was good and could still shave time off my previous half. Each miles got a little slower, but I was also walking, so I was ok with it. I maintained this pace though the 10K mark. At that point, I decided to give myself an extra long walk break and ended up walking to mile 7. I met up with my husband who was waiting for me along the course,. He asked how I was doing and I told him my knees were starting to hurt, so I was walking a little. He walked with me for just a bit, then said he'd meet me at the finish line and we went our separate ways.
About 7.5 miles, I started to run some more. My right knees started hurting more, so I had to walk more than I ran.

 By mile 8, I wasn't running much at all.

At 9.5 miles, I knew I was in trouble. I started to doubt that I would make it to the end. By this point, walking hurt, and I couldn't run at all. I started texting my Sole Sister, telling her I was hitting a wall.

Her: No Wall. There is no wall.
        Walk a bit
Me: I have been walking.
Her: You're over halfway done. Suck it up. Cry and ice later. You can do it
Me:If one more person asks if I'm doing ok, I'm gonna cry.
Her: So cry. It's almost over
Me: 10 mother fucking miles
Her: 5k left. Easy Peasy

Her: It's been 30 mins. Where are you at now?
Me: 11.5 I can't run, Can barely walk. I don't know if I'll make it
Her: You can make it. Walk slow

(30 mins later)
Her: Where now
Me: 12.8
Her: Cake. You got it.
        FINISH! FINISH! FINISH!

And I did finish. I'm not sure how I was able to keep putting one foot in front of the other, but I was determined to finish.
I could see the finish line ahead of me, and I mustered what I could to run across it. I looked back at the live web cast of me (and everyone else) crossing the finish, and what I was doing really could not have been described as a run, lol.
As I cross the finish, and ice cold bottle of water was handed to me, and as I made my way through the crowd, I was rubbing the bottle on my knee. A woman from the med crew came up and asked if I was ok. I told her i was fine (because that's how stubborn I am), that I just needed to ice my knee. That's when she pulled me over to the med tent and sat me down and put ice on my knees. I never would have stopped on my own.
I sent my husband a text letting him know where I was. He said he'd go get the car and for me to stay put. Since we were parked a mile from the finish line, I happily sat there and waited.
It took 30 mins for him to walk to the car, and get back to a spot right outside the finish. With the ice still on my knees, I made my way to the car and we headed back to the hotel. At this point, my skin was numb from the ice, but I think that's what saved me.
We stopped for food on the way back and I sat on the bed with the ice still in place while I ate, then I went and soaked in a sports mix of Epsom salts and other stuff. I was so tired, I started nodding off in the tub and decided it was time to get out. Took 4 Aleve, rolled out my muscles with the foam roller and took a nap.
I'm not gonna say I wasn't sore later, but I could get up and walk without too much trouble. I prepared for recovery better than I did the race.
My official time was 4:11. Miserable, but at least I finished.

Now I know that I have to stop letting people and things that don't matter interfere with my running. The BS from the last 6mths or so was ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as me letting someone else tell me my running wasn't as important as what SHE wanted from me. I will NEVER make that mistake again. This is what Savannah taught me. This race was not my best, but that just means I have no where to go but up.