Tournament Season

Too much Caffeine!

I'm going to be taking a bit of a hiatus for a few weeks.  It is tournament season for me and my school's pep band.  We are going to be very busy supporting our basketball teams.  This doesn't leave me much time to think up and write blog posts.  I'm not going away permanently, just into tournaments are over the first part of March.  Please browse through our older posts and leave comments, I'll still respond to them.  Thanks for stopping by!

Putting Money Where Ones Mouth Is...

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By Danielle Moler

Well, my students really are quite a bit more observant than I thought.  I received the following direct message on Facebook from a student of mine over the weekend.  This student is a great singer and a really good kid.  He's got a rare voice type, and has overcome so much already.  I asked his permission before posting this.

So I've been reading your blog. I have seen your transformation from what u were and what u are now. I see that your happy and fit. There has been a big difference in you since you have lost weight, a good difference. I can honestly say that your class is the only class that I smile without trying, can be myself, and feel confident in all I do. But outside that room it is all a different story. A recent event happened that let reality hit me square in the face. Like I said I went to the doctor. Sat down, flipped through a magazine and heard my name. Got up walked down the hall, and was told to do the one thing I fear more then anything, step on the scale. I stood sideways, so I wouldn't have to see it, but the nurse said it out loud. "two-thirty one point six." like a sharp knife to my ears, I held back the tears. Thankfully I was facing away from the nurse as she ushered me back to a room. The only problem I have, I suffer in silence. My weight. fatty, upa-lupa, chubby- buddy, fatso-lot, mooby man, flab abs. Kids are real creative nowadays huh. The only thing that has ever held me back is my weight and I know this. I don't go out with friends cause most the time involves physical activity, and I sweat like a dog anyway, and get out of breathe just walking. Hate shopping cause I know that we don't look for the normal sizes but things with a big X on them, just knowing that they need extra fabric for me, I hate it. The sweater what a neat invention, something big, comfortable, and looks the same on everyone my safety zone. I envy you Aaron, seeing your success, wanting to be like you. Really don't know what I'm trying to say I just needed to tell someone. Someone who might be able to help. Just maybe.

Idk what I am doing sending this, but guess all insecurities go out the window when you have noone to talk to and nowhere to go.

Wow!  I was surprised, and then incredibly sad for a really great kid.  I hate that stories like this, and they are probably way more common than they should be.  While I'm flattered that students have noticed my own weight loss, I'm humbled that even one student would seek me out for advice.  Here was my initial response to his message.

Wow thank you. I'm so very glad you stayed in choir. I'm truly humbled that you feel like you can be yourself in my classroom. That means more too me than you know. As far as everything else you said, I'll comment on that later when I'm not so tired. But I will say this, weight loss is work, and you really have to dedicate yourself to it to make it happen, and really, that's the hardest part.  Have a good weekend.

I haven't followed up on that response yet simply because I'm not sure what to tell him.  The ironic thing is that this is exactly what I hoped would eventually happen, now I'm at a loss as to what to do to really help him.  I need to put my money where my mouth is, but how do I help him without blurring the teacher/student line?  Perhaps simply sharing with him what I did is the best idea.  I don't know, I've never been in this situation before.  And frankly, it's kinda scary.

Push ups, Oh yeah!

This is going to be short, but yesterday I was finally able to do all the pushups my fitness routine requires without having to do any on my knees.  For me this has been a big accomplishment.

Here is what is was able to do

15 decline pushups, legs up on my couch

15 fly pushups

An exercise called Wide/Tri/Die

7 fly pushups, 7 tri-pushups arms close to the body, and then as many normal pushups as you can.  I was able to do 10.

So all told 54 pushups, none on my knees.  Oh yeah! Life is good.

Translating Goals into Action

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           Through several epic fails and subsequent hard won successes, I’m finding that wanting to lose weight isn’t enough.  The whole feel-better-look-better-live-better thing is great, but translating those goals into success took more than motivation.

Photo by robertsinnett

            I lost weight because I wanted to be active and not hurt, and to get healthy for my son. I spent the better part of this evening playing with my precious Elliot.  (IT’SSSS MINE!  MY PRECIOUSSSSSS!)  Both Janet and I have parents and other relatives who’ve struggled with their weight, and I’ve seen myself heading that direction over the last few years.  I want my son to find out that your own lifestyle influences others.  It cleared up my priorities really quickly, but doing it for your kids isn’t enough by itself, otherwise we wouldn’t have overweight moms and dads.

            Having an overall all goal means nothing if you can’t meet daily goals.  I just started another round of P90, which requires workouts 6 days a week.  I love it.  It’s fun, but it takes serious dedication and usually requires working out at night.  I don’t really like working out late at night, since I have a hard time getting to sleep afterwards, but it’s sometimes the only time I have.  Between playing in a rock band, a Celtic band, doing my school’s pep band, and chaperoning Tri-County Honor Band rehearsals and the tour, I often don’t make it home until 10 or 11 pm.  I’m busy, everyone is.  So, I’m not going to stress out over a couple missed workouts so long as a couple doesn't turn into a lot, but it’s very easy to let one or two missed workouts turn into a week, then into a month, etc.

            I’ve basically decided this time around to exercise when I can, and I’m not going to stress out about having to miss a few workouts when I get home late.  On those nights it’s more important to me to get sleep than try to work out late at night.  This might slow down my overall progress a bit, but if I’m still making progress and not grinding to a halt, I’m happy.  Health is a lifetime goal, not a short term one.  I’m much further along health wise than I was a year ago.

            I want to be healthy, not only for me but also for my son.  I had to figure out a consistent workout schedule that jives with being a band director and weekly evening commitments.  I have all the motivation I need.  I simply have to keep putting into action.    What are your motivations?  What do you do to keep yourself going and accountable?

I Already Did This? Holy Crap!

So I'm just starting my second round of Power 90.  OMG!  I can't believe that at the end of the first round I thought this was easy!  Just finished the circuit and it's tougher than I remember it being.  I haven't really done a P90 routine since mid November and I'm feeling it.  I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow.  It's OK though, it will get easier.  I've done this once I can do it again.  Especially if I'm wanting to do P90X this summer!  Yikes!  Lots of work to do.  Though it feels good to being doing it again.  Tomorrow is aerobics.  Sweating time! 

Starting the Year With A Round Of Power 90

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I have always made a point not to make New Year's resolutions.  Mostly because I've never been able to keep them.  In fact the only resolution I was able to keep was a resolution not to make a New Year's resolution.  I was in college, thought I was being clever.  Anyway, I thought this year it might be good to start the year off with another round of Power 90.  I have already done one round last summer and lost a good chunk of weight doing it.  This time round I hope to lose the last 10 pounds or and gain some muscle mass and tone.   I am planning on upgrading to P90X this next summer but I can't afford to buy it right now, though I think another round of Power 90 will work just fine.  Last time a flamed out a bit the last month so hopefully this time I will not miss any workouts.  If anyone is interested in joining me in a round of Power 90 let me know.  It is a lot easier doing any workout if you have someone to do it with and keep each other accountable!  I would love to have some buddies to go through the program with.  Just leave me a comment if you're interested.  I'm starting this round of Power 90 tomorrow.  Hope everyone is off to a great start in 2011.  Happy year!

Eating Healthy Can Like Totally Kill You, and Stuff!

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Aaron:

No, really!  It can!  

Yesterday, we were getting ready to cook some wild rice.  My wife had taken out some turkey to thaw.  We were going to mix them together in a wrap.  So, my wife put the rice on to boil and we went downstairs to work on some home improvement projects in our bedroom.  The wild rice mix we like usually takes about an hour to cook, so we weren't really in any big hurry.

After being in our basement for about twenty minutes we smelled something burning.  Janet went up stairs to check, thinking the heat was on too high and it had boiled over.  Suddenly, she yells for me to come upstairs.  I stepped upstairs and entered a cloud of smoke.  It was strong enough to make it very difficult to breath and caused my eyes to burn.  I entered the kitchen to see the wild rice burning and sending out a ton of smoke.

Janet:

Woah!  Wait a minute!  The Editor here.  I need to interject that I'm not a complete ignoramus in the kitchen.  So what if boiling rice continues to defeat me?  This time, it wasn't my fault.

A couple of weeks ago, our little darling dropped my favorite thermal mug on the floor and broke the inner sleeve out of it.  I glued it back together and waited an hour or so before I put it in the dishwasher.  Apparently a pocket of glue hadn't dried, which surprised me, as it usually dries before I have a chance to get my finger off of the mug.  The dishwasher spread the glue on several items that were washing with the mug.

Some of it had gotten on our $300 Carico pot.  I soaked everything in vinegar, which seemed to do the trick.  I thought Aaron had used the pot since my little boo-boo, but he apparently hadn't.  So, in an accident worthy of a Pinky and the Brain episode, the glue reacted to the heat, somehow all of the water boiled out immediately, and smoked enough for a Cheech and Chong movie.

Actual Photo of Epic Rice Fail

Aaron:

Luckily, we didn't burn our house down, but now we had a whole house full of toxic smoke. We opened up every window in the house and grabbed a couple of fans to push the smoke out.  The smell, however, is still here.  I don't think anything is permanently smoked damaged, but the smell is going to be around for a few days. We forced our young son to stay downstairs where the smoke wasn't as thick, which really didn't make him that happy, as his Thomas choo-choos were upstairs.  And since the kitchen smelled bad and was smokey, we ordered pizza and had a makeshift picnic on the floor of our bedroom downstairs.  It turned out to be kinda fun!  And the smoke made it smell like we were camping.  Good times.

The most disturbing part about this little accident is that our smoke detectors didn't go off, both of which are brand-new and are supposed to have a ten-year battery.  I guess will be getting new detectors very soon.

So, while an exciting way to bring the year to a close, I guess the lesson to all of this is to always be careful and attentive while cooking.  Nothing really bad actually happened, but if we had waited a few minutes longer who knows what could have happened.   And, in retrospect, we probably should have left the house while it was airing out because I'm sure the smoke was toxic.  So eating healthy can kill you, if you're not careful.

You know what sucks?  I really wanted turkey wraps.  Even though I've noted in the past I love pizza.

Janet:

I know, dear.  There, there.

Christmas time as a Music Teacher!

If there is a more stressful time of the year as a music teacher I'd like to know what it is. Between my wife and I we have six music programs at our school in the next two weeks!
I haven't been able to keep up with writing on my blog lately, mostly due to work. The good part is I'm still getting a couple of runs in a week. Sadly they've been on a treadmill instead of outside, mostly due to weather and icy roads. I'm going to attempt to get a least some blogging done in the next week or so but realistically, I'll probably not being writing much until after Christmas. Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Banish Misfortune at YBC!

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My wife and I both play in a Celtic/folk group.  After a couple months of not being able to play a gig in public we finally played one this past weekend.  While this post really has nothing to do with fitness, it has everything to do with my other big passion, which is creating/directing/performing music.  Enjoy!

Janet & Aaron

P.E. Has to Change, Part 1: The Problems

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Photo by uwdigitalcollections'

The following is a dramatic reenactment of a key moment in Janet's (The Editor's) P.E. experience. Names have been changed to protect the sort-of-innocent.

Teacher:  Ok, kids, today we're going to play kickball.

Class (including Janet):  Yay!

Teacher:  Let's pick teams.  Ok, Timmy, you pick team one, and Sheila, you pick team two.

Class (everybody but Janet):  OK!

Janet:  Yay!  I'm going to be picked last.  Again.

Five minutes later, Janet has been picked last, even after the kid with two broken legs.  It is now Janet's turn to kick the ball.

Teacher:  Ok, Janet!  You're up.

Janet approaches the ball with trepidation, though still filled with the heady exhilaration that affects all elementary kids when it is his or her turn.

Janet:  (To herself)  Ok, just kick the ball.  Doesn't have to be far, doesn't have to be fast.  Just kick it and don't look like a douche...just don't look like a douche...

Pitcher:  I'd better do it slow so she can see it coming!  (Snickers with glee.)

He pitches the ball at a speed that may outpace a caterpillar, but not by much.  Jeers and cheers from the other kids about Janet's remarkable lack of coordination ensue.


Teacher:  Stop it.  That's not nice.  (Other kids point and laugh mockingly behind the teacher's back.)  Janet, just kick the ball.

Janet:  (To herself)  Ok, just gotta make like the Mighty Ducks and go from zero to hero.

Janet squares up to the ball, runs to kick it, but kicks too soon, bringing her foot down on top of the ball instead of the side.  It rolls from beneath her and she falls flat on her butt.  Hard.


Pitcher:  Ha!  She looks like a douche!  Laughter from the class washes over Janet's humiliated and very sore body.


Tinkly music brings us back to the present.  Doo-dee-doo-dooo!   Doo-dee-doo-dooo!

For those of us who were not blessed with the ability to avoid tripping over one's own feet, P.E was an hour of social mayhem.  P.E., especially in high school, taught us one thing:  that we were horrible at most organized sports.  Looking back now as an adults who have struggled with weight and fitness, we wish P.E had taught us more about how to actually succeed with physical skills and less about how to dodge bullies in the locker room.  From our perspective, the way that P.E. is traditionally structured only works for athletes, and it teaches those who aren't naturally gifted to hate, or at the least dislike, exercise.  We hate athletics, not because we're lazy or uncoordinated, but we just can't take the humiliation of failing in front of others and exposing ourselves to ridicule.

Aaron and Janet are far from the only ones who have had this sort of experience.  Rita Barry, the editor and creator of Fitblogger, says, "Oh, I don't know if there's enough words in the universe to communicate the terrible, horrible dismay that was P.E. for me.  I was heavy, uncool, tragically so, and it was really just a lesson in humiliation.  So much focus was put on sports and proficiency in them, as opposed to health and why this 'gym' thing was even important.  Gym for me became a lesson in avoidance, blending, and hiding more than it was about learning, challenging myself, or discovering a love of physical activity."  

A more subtle, but possibly even more damaging, effect of traditional P.E. instruction is the unsaid, but often implied, belief that athletics are the pinnacle of human achievement, and those who are not athletic therefore do not matter.  Think about Principal McGee's line in the movie, "Grease:"  "If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter."  We believe that two problems result from this belief.  First, Janet figured if she couldn't be an athlete, then she wasn't anything, and she believed that for a very long time.  Second, in Aaron's experience, he found that that attitude turns kids off to anything physical.  With the thousands of non-physical activities available, like video games, movies, television,  Facebook, and BLOGGING, it is very easy for a kid with low self-esteem to throw themselves into activities that are unhealthy in long durations.  We should note that we, as Band Geeks, are perfectly aware of the damage this attitude can also do to our music programs, especially if it is held by those who hold the purse strings.

Many schools require health classes in addition to P.E., which we don't think is a bad thing in and of itself.  Though, in our experience, it was taught like life science.  Information was presented and tested.  You turned in your quizzes, you got your grades.  There was no teaching that pushed students to apply the information in the course.  (Janet would argue that this is the number one problem for every subject in education today.)

Both Aaron and Janet are music teachers, and we feel physical education has a whole lot more in common with music education than is apparent at first blush.  Both teach tricky and refined physical skills.  Both have social components that need to be addressed.  Both programs are being cut at many schools.  Finally, and sadly, we find that in many ways physical and music education fail us because certain factors are not being addressed en masse by educators.

A class doesn't have to involve humiliation in front of one's peers.  In music classes like choir and band, the possibility of public failure is just as high as in a P.E class, especially when we ask students to perform something in small groups or by themselves.  BUT, IT CAN BE ADDRESSED IN A POSITIVE MANNER.  By helping those students achieve and by creating a class culture of support, our students learn it's OK to take risks.  We believe that the use of Human Compatible Learning in physical education will work to everyone's benefit, including the athletes.

In our next post, we will explain how this method can be applied and its benefits.

In the comments, tell us about your experiences in P.E.  What did your teachers do that was effective for you and your health?  Or was your experience more like ours?  See what other Band Geek readers have said about theirs on another post.

Thanksgiving

Photo by tuchodi

My wife and I usually spend Thanksgiving with her side of the family.  Her parents own a ranch outside of Wibaux, Montana.  It is always a great time, as it is the only time each year her family gets together all in the same place.  This is also usually the only time each year I get to go hunting.  Between getting a deer each year and the free beef we get from my wife's family we're usually set for meat each year.  However, this year we had a winter storm the day before we were set to leave to go to the ranch.  So unfortunately this year we had to stay home.  We spent Thanksgiving with my family instead.

It was a nice day.  If we hadn't stayed, my parents would have spend the day by themselves as the rest of my siblings were out of town. 

As far as overeating I didn't do to badly,  I probably could have eaten less, but I didn't stuff myself silly either.  It was nice not to be in pain after eating a holiday meal. 

The only thing that is driving me crazy at the moment is a case of bronchitis which is keeping me from working out.  I have a feeling that if I did try and do a work out I'd be wheezing and hacking pretty quickly.  So I'm trying to sleep a lot and get healthy as quickly as I can so that I can get back to my normal routine.

I hope everyone reading this had a great Thanksgiving.  I'm so thankful that I have a great family to spend the holiday with.  I'm also very thankful that I've spent the later half of this year losing weight and getting healthier then I've been in a long time.  What are you thankful for?

School and afternoon runs!

Photo by Kr. B

Every Wednesday my school lets our students out a half-hour early so that the staff can have a PD hour, which stands for professional development.  Most of the time this hour really isn't all that fun.  Though last week I talk to colleague of mine about going running once a week after our meetings on Wednesdays.  She happens to be the cross-country coach and is an avid runner.  Lucky for me she is always looking for someone to run with.  So today during our PD hour I had to do everything in my power to keep my mind on the task at hand and not jump forward to my afternoon run. 

This was the first time I've gone running with somebody else. It's also the first time I've on roads and not a track or a treadmill.  We only went for a short run, 2 miles, because my colleague had to get back for a first aid training class.  I have decided that I enjoy running a lot more with someone then by myself, she was very nice a kept a slow pace since I'm still fairly new to running any length of distance.  Running out in the county and not on a track or a treadmill was also awesome, I loved the feeling of being outside somewhere and not confined to a track or a room.  I'm definitely getting into this whole running thing.

We will try and run together every Wednesday so long as the weather doesn't get to cold or nasty.  If I ever get in enough training, she already said she'd run a half-marathon with me.  She has run several.  It is so nice to run with someone who has had a lot of running experience, but is still willing to take a newbie under their wing.  Yeah for wonderful people in the world.  My hope is that everyone who is new to running has someone like this to help them get started.

The first 5k of the season up here in Montana is in March I believe, I've agreed to run a 5k with another friend of mine sometime this spring or early summer, but then I want to see if I can train up to a 10k before the summers over.  Two good initial running goals I think.  I never thought I'd enjoy running as much as I am. I can't wait for spring!

Drummers National Anthem

Photo by Garrette

This post has nothing to do with weight loss,
However, since I'm a band director and have conducting this piece a zillion times, I find the following extremely funny and true.

Drummer National Anthem:

oooo say can you BOOM CRASH
at the dawns early BOOM CRASH
what so CRASH--CRASH-CRASH
at the CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH
Who's broad stripes and bright BOOM CRASH
through the perilous BOOM CRASH
o'er the CRASH -- CRASH-CRASH
were so CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH
and the rockets red 1-2-3
2-2-3
3-2-3
4-2-3
5-2-3
6-2-3
7- rolllllll-rollllll
BOOM BOOM BOOM
BOOM BOOM BOOM
BOOM BOOM BOOM
BOOM CRASH
o're the BOOM
DI-BOOM-DI-BOOM
and the BOOM of the
CRAAAAAAAAAASH

Target Weight Achieved!

Photo by apdk at www.flickr.com

When I started actively trying to lose weight back in June, my original target weight was 195.  I figured since I was sitting at 230 pounds, 195 was good first goal, which, as of this morning, I have met.

Out of curiosity, I decided to see what my BMI is at 195.  I used a BMI Calculator at a friend's website.  Remember, a BMI isn't the only number that matters.  Body builders often have a BMI in the obese range.  According to the calculator, my BMI is 25.7, which is barely in the overweight category.  To get to the top end of the normal range, I need to get to 189.  That is only six pounds, I think I can manage that.

I've started running a few times a week, as this spring I want to be able to run a 5K with a few friends of mine.  I'm really enjoying it even though I'm a running novice.  I also do a circuit workout from a DVD workout called Power 90.  That's the workout I used the most over the summer, it worked really well.  I'm enjoying the mix of the two at the moment.  Wish me luck!

This Should Scare You

If you've ever gone to a doctor or adjusted your health habits due to a new study's findings, this should make you poop your pants.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science

The article is long, but well worth reading.

Band Geek's Guide to the Gridiron

(Please note that the following is the Editor's overly anal and fussy perspective on college football.  Aaron just wanted me to scream and flash the crowd cam.)

A few weeks ago, one of our former students, Roy McKenney, mentioned that he was the drum major for this year's marching band.  He told Aaron that they were performing at the home football game at the University of Montana in Missoula, MT.  (Roy has lost 35 pounds, by the way!  Go Roy!)  Since we, the Geeks, would be in Missoula for our education conference, we elected to stay an extra night and watch them march.  There was only one problem.

Janet had to watch a football game.  She also had to ignore Aaron's chihuahua-like leaps of joy.

I received my Master's from U of M, so I guess I'm supposed to cheer for the Griz.  I went to classes over the summer, so I never was exposed to the psychotic fan fervor that defines U of M.  I had never been to a major sporting event, and I would probably feel more comfortable getting a root canal.  During a root canal I would just have to lay there and be sedated, and I would know exactly how to to behave.  Football game?  Not so much.

I decided that I would document and study the behavior I saw at the game so I could figure out how to act at any future sporting events.  I tried to see everything from a neutral standpoint.


First, I noticed that I missed the memo on what color to wear.

Our seats were in the student section, and I soon learned that the word "seat" was a misnomer, as there wasn't enough room to sit.  We stood sandwiched in with thousands of students, most of whom were working on their own type of sedation, though the drug of choice seemed to be Everclear.

Some seemed to be channeling the spirit of the bear, a ritualistic gesture designed to incite the murderous power of the beast to said football team.

This guy seemed to be channeling the spirit of a condom.

Also present were walking, dancing avatars for the team.  As cool as it was, how a guy driving a mini fighter jet in a bear suit will make them more likely to win, I haven't a clue.

There were several of our former band geeks present.  Roy, the drum major...

Logan, Roy's little bro, playing trumpet.  (2nd from left, center row.)  Logan lost a great deal of weight, as well, though I don't know the amount.

Andrew, another former student, playing saxophone.  Andrew doesn't need to lose weight.....dammit.

Here's the most puzzling aspect of the game.  I get the basic rules.

Get the ball in the other team's end zone.
Prevent them from doing the same to yours.
Don't die.

Ok.  Got it.  But does anyone else find it even a teensy-weensy bit hypocritical to go to these games to see guys get the piss pounded out of them, and then be all concerned when they get hurt?

Then again, band geeks everywhere owe a debt of blood to the players on the field.  Few would come to see the band by itself.  Sadly, no one has figured out how to make it a contact sport.

Not Dodge Ball Again!

Janet and I are working on a series of blog posts dealing with childhood obesity and P.E classes in public schools.  Being that we're both teachers, we are very passionate about the welfare of children.  

We would like your help.  Please share with us your experiences from gym class.  Did you enjoy P.E or was it an hour a day you dreaded and wanted to hide from?  Feel free to leave your stories here or email them to me here.

Band Geeks Unite!

The Band Geeks, Aaron and Janet Morgenstern, are pledging to step away from their keyboards, horns, and mallets and focus on their health, with the hope of balancing Geekdom with their repressed inner Jocks.

 All are welcome, even Orc Dorks, Choir Goobs, and all others whose stereotypes include a decided lack of social skills and a fondness for fundraiser candy.

Life is not a race, it’s a journey, and for many of us, getting healthier shouldn’t be a competition.

Musicians know how to do things together.

If a foot race was run like an ensemble, we would all run across the finish line at the exact same time with our feet pounding at an identical tempo (well maybe one or two people would rush and end a bit early).

Musicians know how to build each other up.

Many band geeks rush into the arms of the music department because we feel accepted and valued, and to give us a creative outlet that we cannot find elsewhere.

The Band Geeks: Aaron and Janet, strive to create an environment in which our students feel safe to try something new, despite the risk of failure.  We would like to create that same supportive and fun culture on this blog for whomever would like to live a life long and healthy enough to gripe about one’s grandkids’ music.

Talk to us.  Tell us your stories, and join Band Geeks everywhere as we run, arm in arm, across the finish line together.

And then there was RUN!!

As I think I've said before, I'm a music teacher.  This weekend I'm in Missoula at a music convention.  This is actually one of my favorite events each year because I get to see a bunch of my band director buddies from other towns.  However it't been rough on my diet and workouts.  UGH!!

I ate horribly today.  And I felt gross because of it.  I guess I should be happy that eating badly has that effect on me now.

One of my students who's participating in our All-State Music Festival is also a cross-country runner.  The state meet is Saturday right after the music festival is over.

Since she needed to get some running in, and our hotel had a few treadmills I thought it'd be fun to join her running.

Now do realize that I've been working out regularly since June, so I'm in much better shape then I use to be.  But I've been doing Power 90, not running.  So I wasn't quite sure how that would translate.

Turns out it translates well.  I was able to run 3 miles easily.  I never lost control of my breath and I actually felt like I could have kept going.

This is exciting news to me since I've had this thought in my head for awhile now that I'd really like to be able to run races someday.  Well a 5k is in the cards now!  I think I just found a new life goal.  I would really like to be able to run a marathon someday.  In fact, I will run one someday.  Yeah for music festivals and treadmills!

New Fitblogger!

Check out this new site!

It's a place where people interested in fitness blogging can share information.

Fitblogger

Enjoy

Aaron