Tag Archive | Thanksgiving

November 16, 2013

Dec30

For most, 11/16/2013 is not a special date. However, for me, I’m going to remember it as the day that I made the first step in changing my life. That was the day that I got certified to be a SPIN instructor. How all of this came about was months in the making, but certification day seems the right time to say it all changed.

How did it all begin? Well, I work out a lot as you probably know if you’ve read any past posts on here. And as part of that, I am always trying to find new ways to challenge myself. One of the things I do to cross-train is take Spinning® classes as my primary thing other than running. They both rank pretty high on my list of things to do.

Anyway, 2013 was the year that I was going to finish the marathon and as preparation for that, I decided I needed to start training to run 26.2 early so I decided to train for a spring half marathon. That meant running in the terrible winter months of February and March. Continue reading →

It’s Back

Nov27

My gym for the past two years has offered a 30-day challenge. Go to the gym for 30 days straight between thanksgiving and Christmas and they will pay for a month of dues, give you $50 to use toward services and five guest passes to use at any location or bring your friends to work out with you.

This year will be the third year of the challenge and it is only 25 days. This because Thanksgiving happens so late this year. It begins on Friday and of course I’m up for this challenge. Continue reading →

RIP Orange

Nov14

This will be a total stream of consciousness, but I just have to tell about grandma. My grandma died early Wednesday morning November 13, 2013. I miss her terribly. She had been sick recently, but only the way that elderly people are sick. I never really thought of her as elderly because she never acted that way. She was just this lady who went about doing her thing. It was always strange to me that she would get a senior citizen discount because she just wasn’t old to me. She didn’t even look like she was anywhere close to being someone 65 years of age or older.

Orange (yes, that is my grandmother’s name) is the reason I love baseball. She was a Cubs fan and just like all the fans before her, never saw them win it all in her lifetime. However, while I saw plenty of Cubs games while growing up, I didn’t become a fan of her favorite team. In fact when I say I saw plenty of games, I mean most of the baseball watching I did as a kid was at her house. And the only things on her television were the Cubs games or her “stories” (i.e., soap operas) and if we were in the house instead of outside, that was the choice of stuff to watch. I’m not so much into daytime soap operas much, but I’m sure if I ever turned one on, it would be the same people I saw as a kid. Continue reading →

Random Thoughts: The Fall Edition

Nov7

Since I am trying to write a blog post each day this month, it seemed like a good time to do another one on the various random thoughts that go through my head. Nothing in particular other than just the randomness that occurs when I am working out, running, or getting annoyed at work because there are too many chatty men around causing me to be unable to think.

img_0422.jpgSo without further ado, here are some random thoughts: Continue reading →

30 Down, 20 to go & Who Knows How Many After

Dec27

The average American gains 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don’t be average! Take CAC’s 30-Day challenge and win!

That was the subject of numerous emails I got in the month of November from my gym. The challenge described? Workout for 20-24 days between November 25th through December 24th and get five free guest passes to use at any Chicago Athletic Club gym. Workout 25-29 days and get a $50 credit to use toward gym services in addition to the five guest passes. Workout all 30 days between November 25 and December 24? One month free gym membership in addition to the $50 credit and five guest passes.

I had been attending the gym fairly regularly for spin classes on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings. I’d also been going for mostly weekly personal training sessions and to get moving on other days. 30 days straight of working out? No problem so I decided to do the challenge. Besides, a month’s free membership? I was all over that. Continue reading →