I heart spinning

I do heart a good spinning class. And I had forgotten just how much until I got my butt to the gym Saturday morning for the 9:30 a.m. "journey."

This class was actually dominated by men, even the instructor. Interesting, because most of the classes at my gym all full of ladies. Jim, the instructor, led us for an hour, playing some of the best music I've heard in a spin class. Now, that's relative, because the qualities that make music good to workout to do not necessarily make prolific music. Jim's choices were very hard rock-y (as opposed to techno/dance or the Village People) and had very fitting beats and lyrics and moods. Me like.

I felt great after, too: sweating, but not exhausted, strong, but not too sore. I need to make it a regular thing, and would love to go in the mornings but the 5:45 classes are too late for me to make it to work on time. So that leaves evenings and weekends.

In other news:
Monday is the official kick-off date for my half-marathon training plan. To celebrate, Valerie and I are scheduled for mani/pedis. She is doing the Louisville Half Marathon with me in October, but she first has a 70.3 (half Ironman) on her schedule in July! She is amazing. Here's a pic from her "warmup" race a couple weeks ago:

Dog Days

My dog Zoe is a little anxious and a lot barky. We had a trainer come out recently to work with her, but I think it's going to take a lot of patience to get her to stop freaking out every time she sees a stranger. One thing we're supposed to be doing is wearing her out, which fits in perfectly with my revived exercise habit.

Her preferred method of play includes me throwing her tennis ball into the dining room a million times in one sitting. That's not much of a workout for me, however. So I'm jogging with her. This takes some planning since A)We can't jog with Mikey 'cause he's old and slow, B)I have to be careful of the weather since dogs are extra-sensitive to heat, and C)I need to be able to get sweaty. She does really well, though, so it's worth it.

I also read today that I should exercise my dogs twice a day for at least 30 minutes. Whew! I probably am out with my dogs a total of an hour every day, but I wouldn't call it all exercise. I'm going to try to build up to it though, and it will be good for me as well!

Here's Zoe being a little less crazy than usual:

Fathers Day

We have a very Father-y day of activity today at my Dad's house. Adam and I took a set of golf clubs and our foam practice balls and hit a bunch. Dad gave me some good pointers, resulting in my ratio of whiffs-to-connections rising significantly.

Then Dad, Adam, and I took off one our bikes (with helmets!) to a car show. It was actually really fun and good exercise. I was very proud of Adam getting on a bike. He never wants to ride when I ask him, but now he may not have so many excuses!

Fore!

So I'm reviving this old blog. It's been just over six months since my last post, and I think I may be beginning to recover from the marathon. It nearly did me in. While I haven't completely suspended all athletic activity, I came close. But lately I'm getting back in the groove, and I've enjoyed having the freedom to try new things and do whatever I feel like doing instead of having to stick to a schedule.

That being said, I NEED a schedule! So I've got a simple sprint tri and a half marathon on the agenda for fall. Nothing too extreme or time consuming. And I'll still be able to incorporate some strength training, yoga, and fun new things like Zumba! and golf.

Zumba is a latin dance class and is super fun. I highly recommend it. I felt dorky going in, but there were so many people in the class I figured at least I wasn't alone in my dorkiness! The music is great, and it's a major workout despite being really fun.

Golf has taken over my husband, and I have gotten a taste of how addictive it can be. I'm planning to take lessons this fall. My goal right now though is to just get more comfortable swinging and spend time with Adam. One of my resolutions this year, oddly enough was to play a round of golf since I've only ever been to the driving range before. Another resolution was to finish a knitting project, and I've complete two!! But that's not what this blog is about, is it?

Here are some pics of us at the driving range tonight. It was really fun, and the Ohio River is behind us but you can't tell at all since it's getting dark in the photos.