Dreams Really Do Come True

Every little girl has a dream; mine was to be famous. My dream was to sing on stage and create music that everyone would listen to for years to come, just like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.

My dream has come true, just not the way I had imagined. Yesterday, I locked myself out of my house... again. I called my roommate and made my way over to the laundromat to pick up the spare key from her. As I trudged through the rain up to the glass door, a man looked over at me and asked, "Aren't you the instructor at (name of one of the gyms I work at)?"

"Yes, sir, that would be me. I take it you're a member?"

"Yeah. I see you there a lot. What do you teach?"

"Pilates, Cycle, Strength and Conditioning, Aqua Aerobics..." (shall I continue).

"When do you teach?"

"Throughout the week. You can look me up on the schedule. My name is Ashlee. What was yours? Nice to meet you. Hopefully I'll see you in class soon!"

Well, that was fun. The more places I work, the more people I get to know and the harder it becomes to go anywhere without running into a familiar face. Not gonna lie... I sortof love it. Though, I am starting to wonder if I've become one of those instructors who is good, but knows it. For instance, Sophia was commenting that this one boy was cute, but he knew it, so it detracted from his attractiveness. I worry that this will become me. Last week, I caught myself shouting out, "Welcome to an Ashlee class!" during a zone 5 (100%+ effort level) when I knew everyone was dying. Have I passed the, "Hey, Ashlee is a great instructor" level and reached the "Dang, that girl is full of herself" level? I certainly hope I never get there!

Friday, March 17, during strength class, Drea complimented me in front of the entire class. Twice. She first complimented my haircut and how much she loved it. Then she called me out during one of our moves: "Perfect form, Ashlee!" She didn't call anyone else out. Drea loves me! Yay! This is the woman whom I respect so much and aspire to be like and she is telling me how great I am! Solid!

The next day, I went on a run and a swim. I can't even remember what I did later that day... shoot, it has been a long time since I wrote last. Oh! I swam at work because it was raining and my run was on the elliptical. I walked in and all of the lanes were full. A good ten minutes went by before I threw in the towel and borrowed Jameisha's shoes before settling in on the Arc Trainer. So sad... and boring. But I did it! Josh texted me awhile later to let me know there was room in the pool. The swim was great. I got it out of the way and my shoulder didn't hurt too much.

Photo by of Evan Janke

After the swim, I went home and cooked green food for my friends. The meal consisted of artichoke, edamame, pesto pasta, green beans, asparagus, kale, avocado... I think that's it. For dessert, I baked a grasshopper pie. My friend time is pretty limited, so it was wonderful to take an evening off and just enjoy the company while eating and playing Taboo (which Sarah, Jameisha and I totally won!). We even created green beer in honor of Saint Patrick's Day; yes, that was the reason for all the green food.

Evan and Ty

The little rascal on my lap. Photo by Evan Janke.

Sunday was another rainy day, so after work, I sat on a stationary bike for three hours on end. Grrrr... so bored. I watched all the episodes of How I Met Your Mother that I have been missing lately. That's always entertaining.

Enjoying my oatmeal in the rain.

It was a light week in the training department. Rest and Test week, I call it. Great time to relax, walk the dogs and enjoy the pool at the house I was house sitting.

During Thursday's cycle class, a group of the hardcore cycle guys were sitting in the corner chatting after class. "No secrets in the front of the room, boys," I scolded jokingly. They walked up to me: "Ashlee, we took a poll. We decided that you are officially more insane than Drea." I laughed, "Well, thank you, but Drea still kicks my butt, so she wins in my book." However, I have to admit that is the best compliment I could be paid. My life goal is fulfilled! Now, if only I could have her body...

My new headshot by Evan Janke

Last Saturday, I had a bunch of new people in my Pilates class. Staci walked in halfway during class. "How do you guys do this," she groaned. "Becky, do you do this class every week? Dang! That's how you got so lean and toned! This class is hard!" Staci is a beast when it comes to cardio, so I love it when she tells me how sore she feels after my core sessions. Tom, Jennifer and Staci all commented on their sore butts the next day.

"Does this class ever get easier," Staci moaned.

"No," Becky responded. "It gets more painful every week."

"I took a week off," Kelly stated. "And it feels like this is the first class I've ever done."

Awwww thanks, ladies.

After work, I met up with James, Christine and Dani for tri practice. The girls and I put on our wetsuits and hopped in the 53 degree water. They had sleeves on their suits, but I had no such luck. After the first minute in the water, I couldn't even feel my arms anymore. My legs were moving faster than they've ever moved before. "Watch me do step aerobics," I blurted to the girls. Brrrr! But we stayed in for a good twenty minutes. My friend Oliver was out there surfing and he said there were whales in the water. Awesome, I totally swam with whales and didn't even know it!

As we exited the water, we came across a crab the size of a large tree trunk. This thing was amazing! We ran up the steps to the parking lot where James was waiting with the bikes. The transition time was not short, but we hopped on our bikes and rode for an hour. I was not supposed to bike that day, but somehow I ended up in the lead for most of the ride. We bricked the bike with a quick run around the lagoon, then chatted by the cars for a bit afterward.

Sunday was another rainy day. What is with this weather? I was supposed to do a trail run before work, but decided to wait until after work since Richard couldn't meet until later. The mud was thick and deep. My shoes were layered with mud and I slipped and slid all around the mud. My playlist was epic though! Best playlist ever! I have the most random taste in music, but it couldn't inspire me more. Allow me to share:

1. Sweet Disposition- The Temper Trap
2. Back in Black- ACDC
3. After Your Heart- Phil Wickham
4. Be There Again- Mike Edel
5. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked- Cage the Elephant
6. Gettin' Jiggy With It- Will Smith
7. Beautiful- Under the Influence of Giants
8. All of Your Love- HelloGoodbye
9. Beggin'- Madcon
10. Titanium- Sia
11. Gold Gun Girls- Metric
12. Bodysnatchers- Radiohead
13. Sun Hands- Local Natives
14. Approach the Bench- The Audition
15. Bounce- The Cab
16. Boys! Grab Your Guns- My American Heart
17. Go Tell The World- Joy Zipper
18. Devotion and Desire- Bayside
19. Electable (Give It Up)- Jimmy Eat World
20. Burning Man- Third Eye Blind
21. Heart in a Cage- The Strokes
22. Embrace the Martian- Crookers
23. Fader- The Temper Trap
24. Crazy- Gnarles Barkley
25. Club Can't Handle Me- Flo Rida
26.  Follow You Down- Gin Blossoms
27. Country Girl- Luke Brian
28. Forget You- Gwyneth Paltrow
29. All My Life- Foo Fighters
30. O.N.E.- Yeasayer
31. Go Baby- Lupe Fiasco
32. Make Me Wanna Die- The Pretty Reckless
33. Invincible- OKGo

http://youtu.be/X7tZMn5dJh8

This is a music video of the song World News by Local Natives. Love, love, love this album for trail running!

After my run, I met up with my family for a portabello mushroom sandwich, mud-covered butt and all.