I feel honored and privileged to enter into peoples lives in this way.  Its the heart and soul of why I do what I do.  Without being overly dramatic, I want to state that working out is important. It’s obviously a huge part of who I am.  The fact that I have the opportunity to impact people to live a healthier life day in and day out is living a privileged life.

Honestly, I don’t always feel this way.  There are times when I complain about the challenge of energizing this many people.  It can be overwhelming at times.  Since the fall rush began, I’ve been running around like a crazy person trying to keep up with all of my clients and classes.  I’ve been overly tired and a week behind on everything else.  Moments like the one I had tonight remind me that at the end of the day its worth it because I’m helping people grow affection towards something that will enhance their lives.

What makes you feel like your living a privileged life?

Apparently, setting my alarm clock for the correct time was the biggest obstacle to today’s workout.  Since my friends were already riding, I decided I would just get in a good core/strength training workout at the gym.  I never seem to get in enough core and strength training, so it was meant to be.

Do you have a pet?  The only thing I have is pet envy.  I wish we had a doggie, but our teeny apartment just isn’t big enough.  I just heard a clip from tonight’s 11 pm newscast about yoga for dogs.  Would you consider taking your dog to a yoga class?  If I had a dog I know I’d give it a try.

After this mornings post, I’ve gotten a few questions about how to become a group ex instructor.  I’ll be writing about that soon, if you have any specific questions you want answered about teaching classes, let me know.

Have a great workout and don’t forget to double check that alarm clock!

Do personal trainers eat cake? Well this one does… just not at work. I have a strict “no eating cake at work rule”. I strongly feel that when I’m at the gym or around my clients that I am to be an example. They look to me for encouragement to make healthier choices. Yes, I teach balance. I let them know that despite being a vegetarian, I eat everything else in moderation. However, what is this message being sent? What if you walked into a gym and saw a bunch of trainers standing around eating cake?

Should personal trainers and other gym staff be eating cake on a monthly basis in the gym? Is this an encouraging way to show balanced eating and moderation or is it a “no no”?

Our friends, Scott and Amber organized a wine tasting party. Guests were asked to bring a bottle of wine for a wine tasting showdown. The bottles were placed in a paper bag, assigned a number and then passed around for a taste test. We scored each wine based on 5 factors. Then, the wine with the highest score was crowned the winner and the person who brought it was given a fancy wine journal.

We had a really great night! We didn’t leave the party until after 1 a.m. way, way passed my bed time.

It seems the person behind the camera was struggling to take pictures after tasting 15 different wines.

One thing I did in the past while training was miss out on social events. There was no balance in my life, only training. I promised myself that this time I’d be flexible enough with my training schedule to allow for this type of activity. Not doing your long run on the planned day, does not mean skipping it all together or getting bent out of shape. It just means doing it another day. A simple lesson thats been hard to learn.

This type of night isn’t our normal weekend thing. I’m so happy I decided to fully join the party instead of having one foot out the door the entire night. Mondays have been my usual day for long runs, and I guess its gonna stay that way.

How do you balance a demanding training schedule with your social life?

Behold, a weeks worth of running clothes (does not include other workout clothes)

Sorry for being so gross! But, stink happens. My workout clothes reek especially the ones that have been living in my laundry basket since Monday. I have a friend who jumps into the shower post workout with her clothes on, but I’m just not into it. I’ve also heard of people who immediately rinse out their stinky gear in the sink post workout, but I’m too lazy. Plus, the stopper in our sink doesn’t really work.

My secret weapon:

I combine one scoop of Oxi Clean with one small serving of WIN. I then let them soak in the wash for 10 minutes. Hang to dry. It has dramatically increased the shelf life of my running clothes.

Other than doing chores and running today, I also bought a pair of new running shoes. Because I’m so bad @$$ I plan to break all the rules and wear them on my long run tomorrow. Hopefully, I won’t come back here tomorrow crying about blisters.