Let's Turtalise 'Em (aka Give them Shell)

Riddle me this: What goes up when the rain comes down? Answer: Not my feet!

Something in the air was tempting the rain to pour when I left the house on Saturday morning. I said goodbye to the dogs and wished them luck staying dry. I grabbed some hot chocolate (because chilly mornings like these require a warm liquid to tag along throughout the day). My pink, white and green striped umbrella promised to make me look like a giant watermelon, so I grabbed it for kicks. Hey, when you collect umbrellas, you have to use them at any chance that comes your way.

Classes went smoothly, though spring break had stolen most of my clients. When it came time to teach Pilates, only three people showed up. Three is better than none. One minute sumo squat pulses, two minutes deep lunges with a tricep press on each leg and three minutes in plank position for warm-up. Ouch. The class flew by. I shortened the length of time they usually hold each move, thinking we would have more time to do some new exercises, yet the hour was over sooner than I expected. I apologized that it seemed so short, but Sharon, Kim and Kelly were not complaining. In fact, they were grateful it was over.

The rain decided to take a nap in the clouds for a bit, so I debated what my next move would be for the afternoon. I needed to run two hours and swim one, but which would come first? And I needed to clean the house I was house sitting; you know, get my food out of the fridge, wash the sheets, give the dogs one last walk, etc. I grabbed a coffee and a giant chocolate chip cookie, just because I wanted to.

Matt and I met up a couple of hours later. Many of my friends are not up for a good trail run, but Matt was willing and ready. We got up to the trail and off we went. It was an amazingly gorgeous day and it was fun to get to know Matt a little bit better.We talked about running shoes, 5AM baseball practices and Ninja Turtles. Did you know that they are making a movie where Ninja Turtles are aliens? How dumb is that? I do not support this at all. Ninja Turtles are turtles, not monstrous creatures! That is what is so epicly amazing about them! You know what's funny? I wasn't even allowed to watch Ninja Turtles growing up, along with every other show out there; however, there was a cute boy in my preschool (Zack was his name, turtles were his game) who had a Ninja Turtles pillow case and loved them. Yes, my boy crushes started at a very young age, but Zack was the first, so even though I was forbidden to watch the show and really had no idea what it was all about, I was a hardcore fan. Actually, even though Zack has moved on and has a baby of his own, I still am a Ninja Turtles fan. I am so bizarre.

So where were we? Oh trail run. We got to the top and it started to drizzle. By the time we got to the car, more than just a light rain was coming from the skies. I let the water drench my hair and my running tights. Good thing I wore my muddy old Sauconys. I would hate to get my beautiful Brooks dirty.

We said our goodbyes and I went straight to the pool. Bloggers, guess what?!?! I'm getting so much better! I can now do a 25m sprint in 19 seconds, which is 16 seconds shorter than it used to take me. I can swim over 500 meters without getting exhausted and having to stop. I remember when I used to swim with Josh and going 50 meters straight was a challenge. I am so on it. Dang girl, you swim, girl.

It was pouring when I exited the pool. Though I had planned to go to my college's school-wide musical, I didn't feel like getting soaked, so I called Heather and we went to see Hunger Games. My grandmother bought me the book, so I somewhat knew what to expect, but movies are always a bit different. The beginning totally disappointed me. As I sat their bored, I thought of how dull the colors were and how I had envisioned this story in a much different way. Then something changed. My heart started beating. The characters came alive. I felt the main character's fear, her anxiety, the muscles in my neck got stiff. I jumped out of my seat at parts because I was so into it. Oh man. Good, good movie. I totally want to be as bad A as Katniss is. I'm going to make my own Hunger Games boot camp. Get ready, Pure Awesomeness class. You are about to feel the wrath of my "hunger". Hahahaha. Get it? No. Okay. My bad.

Sunday, I met with a new client and gave her some core exercises to work on before starting class. I taught my classes then locked up the shop so I could walk home and go on a bike ride. Steadily, I walked up to the stop light. There, a woman stood with her baby, feeding it pieces of a banana. She looked over at me. "Don't you work at (insert name of one of the gyms I work at)," she asked.

"Yes," I responded. "I do. Are you a member?" This is so funny. I have cut back my hours at this gym by 3/4ths and people are finally starting to notice me? What is this? I walked Sarah and her baby all the way home, totally passing my house. It was fun to chat with a complete stranger.


I hurried home and threw on my bike gear, grabbing a bite of salmon and some lettuce before hitting the road. Angie and Kent had suggested I bike out to see the goats, which is a 34-mile ride. I wanted a new ride with some adventure on the freeway, so I started my trek. It was awesome! I did a 15 minute warm-up, gradually increasing speed and intensity. Then I started the good stuff. 8:00 in heart rate zone 4, 2:00 easy recovery five times. After that, it was a simple 45 minutes in heart rate zone 2 then a 10 minute cool down. The cool down was the hardest part. My legs were refusing to move. I wondered if I had fueled properly. There were points within the last 4 minutes where I wasn't entirely sure I would make it home, but I kept digging my legs in and home I got.

After grabbing a peanut butter smoothie, I met up with Richard for an hour of hill sprints. I kept thinking to myself, "I shouldn't be doing this. Let him do it by himself." Then I thought, "Well, that's not what a stud would do. The hills only take 2:00 then it's a downhill recovery before starting over. Eh, let's do it! Gotta keep Richard on his game!"

I had just enough time to change for church then see Mat Kearny play an acoustic concert. Great Sunday. I love Sundays.