Nicknames

Guantanamo. Ashlee the Hammer. “Darn that Ashlee”. Wheatzie. Shlee. Prancis. Go ahead and call me nice, but never call me easy because I will turn around and kick your booty.

Guantanamo became my name during a circuit class. Happy (yes, that really is his name!) used to come to my class every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Soon he realized my workout wasn’t going to be as refreshing as my bubbly personality. One day in the middle of a power drill, he cried out, “The harder you push us, the bigger your smile gets! Have you heard of Guantanamo? That’s what you remind me of!” Obviously, he wasn’t working hard enough if he could say all of this. But, it stuck. Honestly, I’m not even sure he knows my real name. He walks into cycle, “Guantanamo! Did you bring good music today?” I pass him in the hallway, “Guantanamo! Who are you going to torture today?” He peaks his head into my circuit class, “Keep kicking butt, Guantanamo!” Yes, sir.

Ashlee the Hammer was more recent. I overheard Heather making this reference to Ronan during a circuit class… right before she went into Pilates and REALLY got the hammer. “Darn that Ashlee” also came from the same group. It started with Terri (shout out to Terri! Miss you, Lady!), who was telling me that every time she woke up sore the next morning from a workout, she would shake her fist and say, “Darn that Ashlee”! Mary Lou said the same thing yesterday, except her wording was a little different/not so blog-friendly.

Wheatzie… Haha. Oh, that one is from middle school. Kristi and I used to make up nicknames for everyone in our middle/high school (all eleven of us). Her nickname was Spike because of basketball and her love of Spike Lee films. Mine was Wheatzie because I was super health consciences. Oh man, those were the days.

Shlee has a couple of stories behind it. Sho was the first one to start calling me Shlee almost two years ago. I guess that's one way to shorten my name. Next thing I knew, Eva, Sarah and Nancy were using the nickname. It sortof just stuck.

Prancis was a Cosy nickname for me because she claimed that when I run, I prance. Running on my toes makes me look like a reindeer? Well, there you have it… Prancis.

I love nicknames. I love giving nicknames, getting nicknames… I can’t even remember all of the nicknames I’ve had over my years of living.

Monday, after writing my wonderful blog, I went out to Fit Buddha Fitness. Juliana had recommended me to Marcus, so I didn’t even have to apply for the job. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE Buddha. No, I am not a Buddhist, but I have always been drawn to little Buddha statues. Fit Buddha has been on my list of places to try, but with my work and training, I just haven’t had time. When Marcus contacted me and basically handed me the job on an oriental-style platter, I was more than ready to “kick some Buddha-y”, as he likes to say. There you have it… job number 6. I could not be more thrilled though! I will be teaching cycle classes and definitely want to have some friends there to support me through my first class. If you think you can make it, give me a call so we can save you a spot in the class!

That evening, I worked. The first two classes were a breeze. I was looking forward to the last class of the evening because some of my favorite clients usually come to that class. There was no way I could have been ready for what came during that last class though… I finished teaching the core routine to my five o’clock class then walked into the other room to find eighteen, count ‘em, eighteen new people! Brand new people. That is fantastic for business, but hectic for me! Trying to give six regular clients a great workout while teaching five different machines to eighteen individuals who have no idea what they’re doing is not an easy task. I lost my voice within the first ten minutes. It was stressful, true story, not gonna lie to you. The class went well though and I think the new people had a good time.

The treat came at the end of the evening, when I got to go enjoy a nice meal. It is not often that I get to just unwind. It felt great to put a nice outfit on and go downtown to a quiet restaurant. Resolution: I must do this more often. Maybe once or twice a month? Just for my sanity, if nothing else.

Tuesday morning, Dani and I cycled. It was quick, but it felt good. Ben sat and watched me as I drank my tea latte for twenty minutes after cycle. I went to work. Then, the good stuff came…

My favorite place to run

Anaerobic endurance run overlooking the beach. Thirty minutes of warm-up, 3x5:00 at 10k pace with 2:00 walk/jog recoveries and ten minutes of light jogging cool down. Total: 6 miles. Paces for the 3x5:00’s: 7:55, 7:59 and 8:00. It was a gorgeous day with an incredible view and I was just stoked on life. It felt easy and the warm-up wasn’t a challenge to get through like it can be at times. I absolutely loved it! Afterwards, I grabbed a sandwich for my carbs and protein intake, then I headed to the gym to swim.

I love my life

Usually I dread swimming, but I wanted to try out the pointers Matt had given me. My set called for 10x25yards working on technique drills, 5x100yards at 2:00 pace then twenty minutes of nonstop swimming at 2:28 pace. Well, the warm-up felt sloppy. I loved that I only had to do 25 yards before I got long recoveries, but I still couldn’t find my rhythm. Then came my 5x100 yards… they came naturally to me. They felt comfortable and strong. I was finishing in 1:51 instead of 2:00. My final twenty minutes felt really good, too. Typically, I am counting down the minutes until I can get out of the pool, but I didn’t mind staying right then. At one point, I even wondered if maybe I was beginning to enjoy swimming… no, could it be? No…

Rub a Dub Dub

Work came after. Then came circuit class. I had to skip home group because I wasn't feeling well. Bed never felt so good.

Wednesday morning I woke up and my leg was asleep. I could not move. Shoot! I called Cody and asked him to open up the cycle room so I could just rush in there as soon as I arrived. Fortunately, I got there right on time and got to work. On Monday, I had the class test to find their average watts. I made them cards so they can work in their zones from now on. We will be working with power so they can improve both speed and strength. I stayed after class to cycle a little longer on my own.

Power Zone Cards

After cycle, I went to work at the retirement home and put in my two weeks notice. I have been there for almost two years now and, as much as I love the people, it's time for me to move on to other things. I don't want to remain stagnant.

Later at work, I taught one of my best circuit classes ever. My Pure Awesomeness class was even better. I was on my game! I had 22 people (mostly men), including my boss. Within the first ten minutes, we were all DRENCHED in sweat. I don't think I've ever felt that confident about one of my classes. That was possibly the best class I've ever done... well, one of them. It's probably due to the fact that I was wearing my hot red pants, which seem to be woven out of some energy-giving material.

I've Got The Power

Wednesday's run was a 2-mile warm-up, 8x400s with 100m jog and a 2-mile cool-down. My times for the 400's were as follows: 1:50, 1:39, 1:45, 1:42, 1:44, 1:47, 1:49 and 1:44. Some of the guys that take Pure Awesomeness saw me running. "Do you ever stop?" Doug looked at the boys and said, "She's Ashlee... she doesn't know what stopping means."

I went home and recorded my calories, just to see what a typical day looks like for me. Uhmmm... it was frightening. I burned 2,256 calories through exercise alone and ate 2,876 calories. Dang! That is a lot of food! I was still down over 1,000 calories, but that's the amount some people eat in an entire day! I can't force myself to eat that in one sitting! Oh, the dilemma I face... yes, you can hate me right now.

Food! Love my Bob's Red Mill oatmeal!