The Last Day...

Today was the last day in my 30-day challenge.  I did a double, spinning early this morning (OK, it was a Beyonce/Rhianna class, who wouldn't want to attend? and it was a REAL ass-kicker) and then barre at the late morning class.

I've been trying to attend the latest morning class whenever possible because there are fewer attendees and more attention from the instructor.  Today BOY did I get quite a bit of feedback.  But at the end of class the instructor told me she's loved watching my progress (she didn't realize it was the last day of a personal challenge) and that I'm making strides for sure.  She then went on to tell me she's been doing barre for four years and she's still seeing improvements... that made me feel better about where I stand now.

So, here's the decision I have to make - continue this blog, or move it along to another blog?  I'm challenging myself again for another 30 days (one of these months I'm going to hit that 20 class goal).  This 30 has a different focus though - I need to work more spin/treadmill/outdoor run sessions into each week, and I also realize I'm deep in ski season, so that's going to take a day or two a week away from my barre practice...

Decisions decisions....

Where have I been this whole time?

I've been out sick!  I've had a cold since the middle of November.  Every time I think I have it kicked, it rears its ugly head.  I'm hopeful that I'll get this thing totally licked soon!

So, I missed a full week of The Bar Method, which left me pretty upset, but let's be honest, no one wants someone who is sneezing and coughing at the barre.  I did a little walking and I also went skiing twice (maybe not the smartest move, but the most fun), so it wasn't a total loss.

I have been back at the barre for the last few days, and I've now completed 12 classes (14 if you include the two FlyBarre classes I've taken), which means I'm only 8 classes away from being able to take BarMove, the cardio barre class!

It feels good to be back.  Going back after almost a full week off wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.  Even though I've only been going for three weeks, going so frequently makes it feel like I've been doing it forever (something to be said for ramping it up as part of the intro).

Now, here's my current struggle (or two):

Goal setting.  With the new year came this question: what are my goals?  Usually I announce something like "I'm going to run a marathon!" or something to that effect, but this year, I didn't really have any such goal.

I thought about barre.  What are my goals at the barre?  Goal setting at barre has been a challenge for me because in a way I'm still struggling with the fact that barre seems to be about looking good and feeling good, but without a tangible take away (i.e. "I'm working my way toward a 250lb deadlift.") that I would get from another workout.  I'm still so inflexible that everything is a struggle, and I'm not sure what good goal setting would include.  So for the time being, my goal with barre is going to continue to be attendance based.

Then I thought about other sports.  Did I want to run another marathon?  No.  Did I want to do another multi-day bike ride?  Yes, but I really didn't want to commit to the fundraising necessary to do the ride I had my eye on (seriously, do the Climate Ride if you're ever thinking of doing a multi-day bike ride, I've done it twice and it's so worth it).  But I do want to do a 100 mile bike ride during the summer.  Hiking?  YES!  That's right, I have a lot of passion around hiking.  So now my goal is to figure out a few longer hikes to train for.  This was a win, because I can really get into the training for this - walking, snowshoeing, running, stair mill, yes!

After this I thought about food.  Do I want to be vegetarian again?  Yeah, probably, but am I committed to going back to that life?  I'm not sure, and I don't have to decide today.

Finally I realized what was underlying this whole thing.  I don't always like to put this out there, but I have a chronic condition called endometriosis and a related condition called adenomyosis.  As a result of these two conditions I have all the joy of chronic pain and fatigue among other things.  But I fight a good fight, I don't let it get the best of me.  When I'm tired and I don't feel well (except when it's really really really bad, which does happen) I still drag myself out to work out because it is almost always worth it.  Lately, I haven't been feeling well, and I realize I'm in a mood to make some changes that will help me feel better.  So even though I have some goals which I listed above, it seems to me I'm going to have to continue to think about this.

As for tomorrow - we had a big snow storm today, an I'm not sure I'm going to be dug out in time to make it to barre tomorrow.  That's OK - Monday looks like it's going to be Spinning, Barre, and possibly a little skiing or climbing, so it's all good..........