The YMCA of My Dreams
I haven’t been to a YMCA in a very, very long time.
My best guess, 15 years.
So, yesterday when I walked into one of the local San Antonio branches I was beyond shocked. It was so nice. The branch I was at wasn’t huge but what they lack in size they make up for in high quality equipment and wide variety of classes.
They have Expresso stationary bikes which have these crazy interactive displays. It made me feel like I was playing a video game but really it was kicking my butt riding through the Alpine Pass.
They have Woodway slat treadmills which are designed to have less impact on your joints and are better for longer runs. Something I will keep in mind if I decide to ever go beyond a 5K.
They have a huge spin studio with the nicest spin bikes I’ve ever seen.
They have two additional group exercise classrooms with classes offered all day and evening long. The classes range from yoga and pilates to boot camp and TRX with about a half dozen Les Mills classes thrown into the mix. Tonight I am going to try out Les Mills’ CXWORX and then boot camp. I’m ready to get my butt kicked J
They have a rock wall.
They have two rope climbing machines. Tried those- awesome!
They have an Ab Coaster. Tried it- also awesome!
They have a computer that creates customized workouts for you. Log on and tell it what you are looking to do and poof! Out comes your workout on a sheet you can use to track performance. There is also a free app you can download.
They offer half marathon and marathon training programs for people looking to run the Rock n’ Roll Marathon in November.
But the coolest thing they had was definitely the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill. It’s basically a treadmill with a giant plastic bubble you climb into and from the waist down your body is in zero gravity conditions. This machine is designed so you can run with no impact on your joints. It’s great for someone rehabbing an injury or just coming off surgery trying to build strength without doing physical harm. We were also told the high school and college track runners use it to help increase their speed. I thought it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Designed by NASA, of course.
This machine does require you to pay an additional fee to use it. For one 25-minute session it will cost you $15. Of course if you buy multiple-use packages the fee per use is less.
I am thinking I may try it out one day. I’m curious what it would feel like to have half of my body in zero gravity conditions. It would be super cool if it was like walking (running) on the moon but I am doubtful that is what it feels like.
Although we still have 13 days left on our free two week trial I am pretty sure we will be joining up as soon as it is over. This place is so cool. It was so much nicer than I imagined it would be. Heck, it’s nicer than most of the nice, ‘upscale’ gyms I have been in. Our updated/improved fitness center on post is just sad in comparison. This YMCA is so nice and they offer so many classes that I can totally justify the cost. It’s hard to turn my back on a free gym with $3 classes but what we have on post just isn’t cutting it anymore.
I think my health and wellness are totally worth the cost of a monthly Y membership. Wouldn’t you agree?
Thanks for reading!
Wordless Wednesday: St. Patrick’s Day
Freetail Brewing Company
Blue Star Brewing Company
The Friendly Spot
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{Semi} Wordless Wednesday: First Friday
First Friday in San Antonio…
It was awesome!
We saw a pub run. Literally. They were running.
We went to the Friendly Spot which is truly the friendliest spot in town. Playground for the kids, dogs welcome. No excuses not to be there!
Drank some beers
Went over to Blue Star to meet up with friends and check out the galleries and studios open late for the night
Saw a painting that looked just like Ruby
Headed back home super excited to do it all again in April 🙂
Thanks for reading!
{Semi} Wordless Wednesday: A Rainy Race
A few pictures from the very wet, very rainy Fuego 5K this past Saturday. Paul finished in 21:12 and I finished in 39:40. We were both super excited with the results especially given the circumstances!
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My Nia White Belt Intensive; Part One
I wanted to share with you this video taken after the graduation ceremony from my Nia White Belt Intensive. It is the perfect illustration of what Nia means to me; happiness, community, acceptance, love, laughter, peacefulness, and friendship. The song is from a Nia routine and at some points you will see us dancing to some of the moves, jazz square – cha, cha, cha and jumping jacks, but most of it is us free dancing, having fun and celebrating this accomplishment. Not only was it a celebration for the graduates but for the trainers as well. It was an amazing day and I hope that plays through in the video.
P.S. Sorry for the fact that most of the video all you see of me is my backside 😉
Here are a couple photos I took on graduation day.
Adelle Brewer and Joanie Brooks both Nia Black Belts and my trainers for the White Belt. Although I have only known them for six months they have played such a vital role in my journey. They inspire me every day and I am so lucky to have them in my life!
I just had to sneak in a picture of me in my white belt. How cool???
Thanks for reading!
Wordless Wednesday: Rock n’ Roll Marathon
Just wanted to share some pictures from Sunday; the Rock n’ Roll Marathon. Of course these pictures aren’t of me but instead of my awesome husband, Paul, who ran his first full marathon. I tell him I am proud of him but saying I am proud is such an understatement. He is an amazing person so it’s no surprise he was able to train for and run a freaking marathon. Congrats Paul and to all if the runners/joggers/walkers (and cyclists, too) who participated in Sunday’s event!
Thanks for reading!
Five Things Friday: That’s what’s up edition
Weekend Plans
Our weekends are usually busy but this one is more jam-packed than usual. So much so I had to put together an itinerary (in excel, of course) so I wouldn’t forget to do something. Tonight we only have one thing on the agenda but it will occupy our whole evening. Paul and I are helping out at the Haunted House on post over at the Warrior Transition Unity for the wounded soldiers and their families. I am going to be a zombie and last night I made my costume. I took some of my way-too-big clothes and ripped, cut, burned, and bloodied them up. After work I will head over to the haunted house and get dressed and zombie myself up. Thankfully my friend Whit is highly talented with theatrical makeup and gave me some tips. Although good makeup or bad makeup I will still be pretty scary looking 😉
Tomorrow I have my normal Saturday morning classes, Tai Chi and Nia, and afterwards Paul and I are heading my company’s employee appreciation picnic. I’m not going to lie; I am pretty darn excited for this picnic. It is at one of our locations that have a big park and they are having all sorts of free food and activities. Some of the things I am looking forward to are the rock climbing wall and the Euro Bungee Trampoline. I have never done either so I am going to try and do both if I can and of course I will be making Paul take plenty of pictures. After the picnic I have to run to the grocery store to pick up dinner stuff and ingredients to make soups on Sunday morning. Then Paul and I will be heading to the Rampage game. That’s Saturday.
Sunday is even busier. First thing in the morning I am going to make up two batches of soup for weekday lunches. At 10am I have Journey Dance which goes to 11:15. Then home for a shower and a quick bite before MS comes over to my place at 1230p. Then the two of us will be heading over to the Synergy Studio for Sound Journey with Jodi Roberts (the gongs and Tibetan bowl lady) at 1pm followed by a 330pm Rampage hockey game which MS is attending with me. Then afterwards home to change and back out to Synergy for the 7pm Kundalini Yoga class. That’s Sunday. This weekend is definitely jam-packed but it’s filled with all fun things so I am really looking forward to it. What’s on your agenda?
Non-Scale Victories
I had a few NSVs this week and wanted to share them with you. The first was Monday when I went to the PX (Post Exchange, our Wal-Mart/Target like store on post) to buy a new pair of pants. I bought a pair of size 16 pants from the regular size section instead of the plus size section. Yes, I realize that 16 is still plus sized but this means I can fit into size 16 pants from non-plus size stores which makes me happy. Then I went over to grab some new socks and ended up looking at the Hanes underpants. I looked at the size chart on the back- size 8 fits size 14-16 women. I desperately needed new underpants since I had yet to buy new ones since I started losing weight. Don’t judge, buying new shit all the time is expensive and underpants were not high up on my list. Any who, I decided to spend the 8 bucks for a 6 pack of Hanes underpants figuring that if they were too small now I would fit in them eventually. Guess what? I fit in them now. Score! Double score for no longer having to buy my underpants from a plus size store which by the way tries to rob you blind in my opinion. At best the sell plain cotton panties for $5 each on sale but the usually are around $15 each which is nuts for plain cotton underpants. I mean yes there is more material being used but not that much. Sheesh, what a rip off.!
My second NSV came on Tuesday when my Pilates instructor stopped me after class. She came up to me and told me she has noticed improvement in my form and that she also noticed how much weight I have lost and that my clothes are fitting me better. That was pretty awesome to hear. Of course I love having people tell me they are noticing my physical changes but I also love to hear I am improving my physical form as well. Some things we do in Pilates and in yoga I struggle with because my belly or boobs get in the way. It can be discouraging at times but as I lose weight and my body changes I am having an easier time at it. It’s nice to know people can notice these things as well.
Fake Exercise
If you follow me on Twitter (which if you aren’t, you should @dacialee33) then you probably already know this story but too bad, you have to hear about it again. On Tuesday after Weight Watchers I was having a conversation with a co-worker about my weight loss. This is how it went:
Him: “you’re doing pretty well so far with your weight loss”
Me: “yeah”
Him: “especially since you don’t exercise”
Me: “What? What do you mean? I exercise on average anywhere from 800-1000 minutes a week.”
Him: “yeah, you do that tai chi stuff. It’s not real exercise”
Here’s a newsflash in case you didn’t already know I fake exercise. That was some bullcrap if I ever heard it and I can go into detail about how annoying it was to hear that or how rude this person was but I won’t. Exercise is exercise; it doesn’t matter what you do it only matters that you are doing it. Find something you love, whatever that might be, and just try to incorporate it into your life whenever you can.
Houston
I’m going to Houston not next week but the week after. I found this out yesterday. It’s only for two days but I am pretty excited. I am going to attend a training class for Tableau, analytics software I use in my job, and I cannot wait. I doubt I will have much more than one free night but if you have any recommendations of things to see, places to eat, etc. let me know. I have only ever driven through Houston, en route to New Orleans, but haven’t really seen much of the city. I am staying in the Galleria area which I think is downtown. I am pretty excited to check it out. Hopefully I can stay on plan, get some exercise in and not jeopardize myself in Shrinkvivor if I am still in the competition at that point. Oh, and I should tell you that my tribe, Hodari Gray, received immunity and we are all safe. Yay! One of my tribe mates logged over 2600 minutes exercise, she had a two day danceathon, which I am sure made our tribe a lock for immunity. So much good news and so many good things happened this week. Yay! J
Pictures
I just wanted to share with you some photos from the walk I took at lunch today. Although it was cold it was a beautiful day. It’s weather like this that makes me happy to live here.
Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading!
Random Thoughts
Random topics and thoughts to help get you through your Thursday 🙂
1. In case you hadn’t heard a 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit about 50 miles outside of San Antonio this morning. I was at work, on the ninth floor of a ten floor building, when it happened. The building was swaying; it felt like I was on a boat. I got a little seasick but it passed pretty quickly. Since everyone felt it we all immediately wondered if it was our building possibly about to collapse (kidding, sort of) or if we had an earthquake. People were on their phones and scouring the internet trying to figure out what had happened. It took about 20 minutes but we finally were able to confirm that it was an earthquake. How random? About thirty minutes after the quake our building was evacuated so they could check for structural damage. I was hoping this process would take a long time and we would be able to hang outside and enjoy the fall weather but it wasn’t too long before we were being told we could go back in. Oh, well. I have already lived through a San Antonio snow day I shouldn’t hold my breath for a San Antonio earthquake day 😉
2. Today I went for a walk with the at-work lunchtime walking group. It was the perfect weather for a nice walk along the river. I really enjoyed it and I enjoyed talking with a woman in the group I had never met before. We walked together almost the whole time and it was nice getting to know her. I love meeting new people and I love having company on my walks so it was a win-win for me. Once I was back in the office I promptly went to change back into my work clothes. Unfortunately we don’t have any type of locker room /changing areas in the building I work in. When we get changed we do so in the restroom. Since I am not thrilled with the idea of throwing my clothes onto the bathroom floor while I undress I take the clothes I am changing into and hang them up on the hook on the back of the stall door. Then as I take clothes off I place them on top of my gym bag. As I was doing this clothes switch I hung my work pants on the hook and as I did I noticed the mother of all tears in the crotch of my pants. If I had to guess the tear is four to six inches long. Not sure but it basically runs the length of my lady parts. Ugh! I am pretty sure it is not noticeable from the back but I am trying to stay seated at my desk as much as possible just to be safe. This sucks. I have to pee. Not to mention these are new pants and this is only the second time I have worn them. Boo that!
3. I thought Pandora was spot on today playing all kinds of great songs I love. Then I realized I had my iPod on shuffle. LOL!
4. Will I still be able to float next summer? I am/was a very buoyant person but I think a lot of that is due to my high body fat percentage. Next summer when I am at a normal body fat percentage will I still be able to float? Paul has very little body fat and he can’t float. I wonder if that will happen to me.
5. Should I change my blog name in January once I am 34?
6. If I did another vlog would you want to see a cooking one or a Q&A one? Keep in mind if it is a cooking one it will probably be a vegan dish.
Ok, that’s all I’ve got for today. Thanks for reading!
My First Vlog AKA 15 Minutes of Torture…
Here it is, live and in living color, my small screen debut.
Ok, it’s not that exciting.
Here is my first ever vlog (video blog)- well actually you get my first and second ever vlogs. The first one stopped recording because I didn’t have enough free space on my iPhone to store it. Hmmmm, I wonder why. Could it be the five million pictures I had on there? Yep, so I deleted some videos/pics and filmed the last segment, which is only a of couple minutes long, instead of starting from scratch. So, I apologize for the two videos. I also apologize for the video quality and the fact that I babble as much when talking as I do when writing. I hope you stick it out to the end. All in all I think it is about 15 minutes of video. Hopefully you can understand my nonsense talk and you don’t immediately regret your decision to watch. As always, I appreciate your open and honest feedback. Should I ever do this again?
Part One
Part Two
Thanks for watching!
{Semi} Wordless Wednesday: Pictures from my Phone
A true friend is someone who will walk with you even when it is 100+ degrees at 9 pm. This is what we saw along our walk on the river.
By far the coolest Gerber Daisies I have ever seen.
The outside of Boehler’s which was featured in my post a few weeks ago where I showed the inside and how crooked it is.
Did your dogs go to a WNBA game this weekend? Mine did!
My August!
Thanks for reading!
thirtyfourandfabulous 