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Blogging the Bach.

| cheriarmour

Pretty sure that’s what bloggers say when they’re talking about blogging about the Bachelorette, but I’m literally talking about my bachelorette celebrations that I had all weekend in Charlotte.

I made it clear from the beginning of planning this shindig, that I wasn’t really the type of lady to want to go to a Chippendale’s Show.  I really don’t like the idea of a Magic Mike type gentleman rubbing all over me.  It’s not that nudity in itself offends me, but being touched and swung around by a random guy baby oiled up just doesn’t do it for me.

So after this perk of my job…

Snake Turtle

(This reptile lady came to the Y on Friday for the kids, and showed them slithery crawly things).

And this one….

Sno Cone

(I went for a run after work, and sort of stumbled on the campers eating shaved ice and running around in bounce houses).

I trekked down to Charlotte in the pouring rain for my bachlorette, and we started Friday off by going to the Harris Teeter for some food for dinner and Saturday morning’s breakfast.  What was really really neat was that my friend and bridesmaid, Melanie, opened up her family home to us in Charlotte and allowed us to stay there, so we wouldn’t have to spend a million dollars on a hotel and eat out for every meal, which is like my worst nightmare.  Not because it’s super unhealthy, it doesn’t have to be, but because with my gastritis, I really can’t take eating out left and right without being really uncomfortable and ill the next day.

So we cooked dinner, drank some wine, and caught up on friend things on Friday night and planned to get sweaty on Saturday.

Lucky for us North Carolinians, we have the White Water Center available to us, and after waiting for the rain to let up, all of us caravaned over the the Center.  I’ve been once before to actually do some rafting, but this time, we went and spent time on an obstacle course, walking around, eating at the little restaurant they had on campus, and my fave, ziplining!  The second we got there, I almost regretted not rafting, so we started talking about how we will be back to raft.  I’ve never considered myself much of a naturey outdoorsy person, but something about being at a place that let’s you get physical and push yourself will really bring it out of you.

Panorama

After almost a full day at the center, we headed home to freshen up, and officially got the party started, in the best way that a few 20-somethings with full-times jobs can.  It’s funny – had we been doing this four or five years ago, we would have TURNT UP no question, but the turnt level was pretty mild.  We drank, we danced, and generally just really enjoyed each other’s company.  It just felt good to get all the people I care about (minus some really important ones that couldn’t make it) in the same spot, and getting them to know each other.  It was really cool to see the ease with which these folks were able to get along with each other, and it makes you feel confident in your friendships.

Bach

Finally, on Sunday morning, we woke up, grabbed showers, and met with Austin’s mom and my mom for a kinda bridal shower thingie.  It was SO nice, and once again, having all that love in the same place was really trying to make my head explode.

photo 5 (2)

18 days and counting….!!!!

How was your weekend?

Feeling the itch…

| cheriarmour

I’m not really sure what the photo company that Reebok uses for the Warrior Dash is up to, but a few mornings ago, I woke up to an email containing the photos from one of the first races I did over two years ago. Warrior Dash

This picture made me smile for a few reasons.

One, because I barely have any memory of this race. I think I might have fallen down and sprained my ankle a little bit during this race, but I really, for the life of me, can’t remember!

The other reason is Austin’s incredible facial expression. I think we were both having a great time – we typically do every time we do something active together, but what an incredible facial expression, right?  This is going to be my husband!

Feeling the itch.

I ran a ton of races back to back in the spring, and my body decided that it was ready to take a break after all of that, and that’s probably good since I had a wedding to plan and all that good stuff.  But today, I was at the Whole Foods, and I saw a flyer for a race I’d run in October of 2013.  I also saw another ad for the Greensboro Marathon, and part of me was a little tempted to maybe take on that challenge again – but no, right?  I need to focus on everything that’s going on here.

But I really am starting to feel like I’m ready to get back in the racing game.  My runs have been good – the heat has been tough, but I’ve been really comfortable with how my body has seemed to adapt to time/distance even though we haven’t been there in a while.  I know for a fact that I have Ragnar in November, but does a challenge in October sound cool?  Not sure yet.

Who’s racing in the fall?

 

 

 

Wedding insanity has begun…

| cheriarmour

We are less than a month from my wedding, and the insanity has begun.

Friday, I didn’t go to work (I was on duty on Sunday, and I’ve been told I was hitting it a little hard at the office 🙂 ), so I took off to Charlotte with Michael (a bridesman who has been incredible at keeping me on track), to pick up my wedding dress.   Michael is amazing. We have been friends for like 10 years, and he allows me to be me, which is a quality that is sometimes difficult to find in friends.

Now keep in mind, I haven’t really seen my dress since December, and it was INCREDIBLE.  I really really wish I could share a pic, but I will let you be surprised.  But suffice it to say that I’m feeling REAL body confident – the dress fit like a glove, and really flatters me.  I’m excited to see what it looks like with hair and makeup, and I’m excited to see what Austin thinks, day of.  So from here, I’m having a few alterations done, having the dress cleaned, and that will be DONE!

After driving all over creation to get the dress, we hit the Harris Teeter to order flowers, which is saving us SO much money, and I finished out Friday by hitting a Zumba party at the Cary Y.

Zumba Party

It was really cool because I was able to see other instructor’s choreo and decide what I’d like to steal, and what I can take from their style.  The BEST part though, was the fact that Vinh, a talented young instructor, revealed a coconut bikini and grass skirt, and proceeded to teach ALL of his songs in that.  I was crying laughing, and he wore it to the little mocktail party we set up after, where there was a card waiting for me to wish me the best at my new job.

Cookie Cake

Between all of that, my brother was in town for his orientation at NC State, and we spent a lot of time doing all of that fun orientation stuff, getting him sheets, getting him to where he needed to go and…oh.

I found a house we really really like.

Eep!

I’ll keep you posted.  How was your weekend?

Brother Picture

Botched + Second Breakfast

| cheriarmour

First all, let me tell you about this app I discovered.

I registered me and the hubster for Fitbits for our wedding.  While we’re kinda like waitinnnng for one of our awesome friends to bestow upon us gifts so we don’t get “marriage fat” like a lot of folks say that you do when you get married, I’ve downloaded this app, called ‘Moves’ that I heard about in Shape Magazine last month.

It’s on your iPhone, and it tracks your movement throughout the day.  My goal is 10K steps, and I may up that to 20K once I get my Fitbit and can track when I’m not carrying my phone on me.  What is great about things like these is the fact that you never realize how sedentary you are until you have the numbers to back it up.  As a really active person, it’s pretty nuts that I sometimes have to hop up from my desk and do a lap to get my steps in.

Moves AppWhat I think is really cool, is the point in the day where I have run more steps than I’ve walked.  It always makes me think that my main mode of transport is my two legs, and that is really the coolest feeling – that I am really self-sufficient in a sense.

**

So part of the  other thing I’ve had to adopt doing is this concept of “second breakfast”. I used to have to do the second breakfast thing when I was working in the bakery at Whole Foods for a little while, post grad-school.  If you didn’t know, if you work in a bakery, you have to wake up at ungodly hours in order to have breads, coffees, and sweet things out.  So I used to eat something light and quick before work, and then during my break around 10 am or so, I would eat second breakfast, which was a more substantial meal.  Since I sometimes drop by my job super early or try to take an instructor’s class, I’m starting that second breakfast thing.  Usually my breakfasts are super healthy and involved a fruit and/or a smoothie.  But sometimes I go to Whole Foods and get one of these…

SconeWell, two things.  I ate one a few days later.  But yum to that breakfast!  I wish I could live off of breakfast foods and sweet things.  But alas, scones aren’t very good marathon fuel, so I have to eat other things sometimes.  Bummmmer!

***

I think you guys have me pretty well figured out by now.  I love love love reality television, and I will watch anything once.  Except the NFL.  So over 4th of July weekend, I started watching this show called ‘Botched’ which has changed my life for good.

The premise of ‘Botched’?

The premise involves two famous plastic surgeons, who we know as husbands of Real Housewives, Terry DuBrow and Paul Nassif, high skilled surgeons, who are consulted to do revisional surgeries, or basically, to fix surgeries once horrid surgeons have screwed it up.  It is so so frightening to know that there are doctors who run around screwing up people’s bodies, but they’re out there, hacking folks’ bodies left and right.

Now I’m pretty cool with my body, and I take good care of it, but once in a while, I think about getting my breasts reduced and lifted, or getting my nose fixed to look like my sister’s who I swear got the good nose.  But after watching hours of ‘Botched,’ I say HECK NO.  What a scary show!

What is your favorite breakfast food cuties?!

 

 

Weekend recap.

| cheriarmour

I feel like every weekend is really nuts for me at this point, what with us being like a month out from our wedding.  Last week, this fear that no one would show up to our wedding overcame me, which one of my bridesmaids informed me was a normal fear.  But now, all these last minute things are starting to come up and I’m just hoping that we can get it together.  Whew.

So over the weekend, one of my bridesmaids, Ashley, came to spend some time with me.  I think it was good, I needed some friend time, and she needed a break from her insane commute in Northern Virginia, so it all worked out amazingly.

So Ashley came in on Friday evening, and was able to stop by my job to see my new office, which I was really really excited to show her.  One really cool thing about the weekend is that Ashley is going vegan, so instead of doing our usual where we eat everything in sight when she comes, we spent a lot of time snacking at the Whole Foods.

So anyhoo, that first night, we met up with Matthew, my former boss, and noshed on some salads and drinks.  That night, we ended up at the Borough, and met new friends.  I also saw a nose job nose in real life, and it was really scary.

Saturday, I ended up going to work for a little while, and teaching a Zumba® Fitness class where, because of the coffee I’d had earlier that morning, I sweated more than I think I’ve sweated teaching a class all summer.  After a nap, I took Ashley the new vegan to the Remedy Diner, a diner downtown that incorporates a ton of vegan and vegetarian stuff in their menu.  I can’t even tell you what I ate, but I know it was dang good – I’m trying to make it a point to try everything on the menu before we leave Raleigh at some point.

After delicious vegan things, we met up with friends for drinks, and proceeded to run around downtown like we were 22 again – we danced, I saw a bride leaving her wedding reception and I wished her well, and I didn’t go to bed until 3am.

photo 2

I think sometimes when you’re  grownup, you forget to stop and act like a crazy college student and actually have FUN on the weekends, so this weekend was a nice reminder to do that once in a while.

What did you do this weekend?

Naked Running

| cheriarmour

So, one of the amazing perks of my new job is that during the day, when I’m working, I can typically take some time off and work out.  I’ve taken advantage of this in my first week, but surprisingly lately, the workouts haven’t included a ton of running.  Part of that is because of the temps here in North Carolina – the last two days have been beautiful, but on the whole, the summer has been oppressively humid, and it makes it really really discouraging when you look down at your watch, and you’re barely keeping it together for a 10:00 minute mile.  (The other part, is that with as much lifting as I’m doing, sometimes it’s hard to get the run in on big heavy lifting days.)

So over the past few days, it’s cooled down a considerable bit (it’s kind of hung around in the mid 80s for a while) and because of this, and the fact that I’m sort of sick of feeling like a slow poke according to my watch I’ve taken to doing a few “naked’ runs.  I keep my phone with me for safety’s sake, but no GPS, and only the time to kind of guide me to know how far I’ve gone.

Honestly, it’s been a little nice to just run, and get back to why I ran in the first place – because it felt good and felt natural.  Yesterday, I was running during work, and I just got to look around, enjoy some sunshine, and not get locked into the suck that your GPS can be.

So this week, I challenge you to  run naked like one time.  I know a lot of you guys are in your first weeks of marathon training, but take one of those days and just chill out!

Do you ever run naked? 

Your first CD.

| cheriarmour

I know it’s really early to call it, but I think I love my job.

So last week, I had my first official day of work here in Raleigh as the Group Fitness Director of the YMCA here in our area.  I’ve said this before, but I’ve had my eye on this position for a while, and it seemed as if it sort of just fell into my lap in May when I got a call to come interview again for the position.

So now, I feel as though I’m living in a dream when I get to go to work at a place I’ve been dreaming about for the last two years.

My first day there was a doozy, I arrived and immediately got to work teaching a modified fitness class to bunches of kids.  I was literally so amped after that day that I couldn’t sleep that next night, and nearly overslept the next day in the office.

Over the next few days, I have been in my new office, meeting people, sending lots of emails, going to tons of meetings, and taking a TON of fitness classes so I can meet my staff and evaluate their classes.

So today, at my first director’s meeting, I participated in a tradition where as a director, I had to sing the song of my choice at the first meeting, while the rest of the directors cheered me on.  Another director hollered as I was standing in front of the room, “SING SOMETHING THAT WAS ON THE FIRST CD YOU EVER HAD!”

And immediately, I busted out into Christina Aguilera’s amazing second single, ‘What a Girl Wants’.

My first CD. 

So years ago, I had this little grey boom box, and my mom had some kind of subscription service, and allowed me to pick a few cds out of it.  One of them was Destiny’s Child – The Writing’s on the Wall, and the second was Christina Aguilera – Christina Aguilera.  To say that I was obsessed with both of CDs wouldn’t do what I did with them justice.

via Wikipedia.org
via Wikipedia.org

Peep the horrid makeup and the zig-zag part!

via Wikipedia.org
via Wikipedia.org

Peep the cornrows! Hellow, late ’90s!

And yes, that’s Mrs. Carter down in the front.

I can, to this day, sing every song, starting on the write note, and kill all the ad libs without skipping a beat. Since then, Queen Bey kicked everyone out of the group, has gotten married, and has a kid. Aguilera is engaged and pregnant with baby number two. Try that one one for making you feel old!

Tell me what your first CD was!!

 

Body Pump™ Cert Part 2

| cheriarmour

So….obviously, I haven’t been around for a few days which was probably really truly concern to all of you because ya girl can talk. But between starting my brand new job, which I will talk about in another post, getting myself married, and passing my certification in Body Pump™ it has been really hard to brush my teeth, let alone sit down in one spot, get to a computer and pour out out.

So let me pour.

So the last you heard of me, I was just finished up after my first day at the Les Mills Body Pump™ training process, but I didn’t get too deeply into it cause I wanted to keep you on the edge of your seat until today, so I hope that it worked.

Body Pump™!

So like I told you the other night, I drove down to Wilmington on Friday night, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  I’ve been to a lot of different fitness trainings, but right off the bat, this one seemed different because it spanned over two days, and Les Mills had actually sent us music, a live class video, and choreography notes, as well as two of the songs that we were told to prepare for a presentation.

When I got to the student recreation center at UNCW, the training began promptly.  I was really surprised, rather than there being a room packed out, the group was intimate, and every single one of the folks there was incredibly in shape.  A lot of the trainings that I’d gone to had a whole smorgasbord of folks, from the ultra fit to the beginners, so it was interesting to be in a room full of folks who, for the most part, had either been taking classes for a long time, or had been teaching other formats for some time.

Body Pump Team
Suze is the little atomic bomb down in the front. But check out all of these folks, how awesome do they look?

So the training started promptly, and we started with some business, and moved right into our first class of the release, and of the weekend.  Our trainer, Susan was this teeny ball of energy, and she taught an awesome class with a sparkle in her eye, and immediately, the hooting and hollering started from the group.  We were already hurting, but we already were feeling so together, that we were whooping up a storm.  It was awesome.

Again, we went into business – Susan broke down some choreography and choreo notes for us, and we quickly ducked out for a lunch break.  After lunch, we started “studying” the tracks we were going to present to the class, and toward the end of that first day, we took the class a second time, each of us taking turns to teach our tracks, and supporting each other.  The skills that all of us came to the training with were really impressive – though all of us left that day with feedback given to us that we needed to work on, we all started from a really solid foundation.

After Susan let us go for the evening, I found some food at a burrito barn, and chilled with a beer and with ‘The Fault in Our Stars’.  My feet were killing from doing the equivalent of two 60-minute Body Pump classes, so I decided to head to the beach to walk on the sand so that I could get a little circulation into the nooks and crannies and my poor feet.  Fun fact: I hit Flaming Amy’s again after day two, because it was the only place I had the energy to really hunt out.  Plus it was reallllly cheap.

Flaming Amys
I did a vegetarian burrito and a $1.25 beer. Perfect way to end the day.
Beach Photo
The beach. I was really missing my husband-to-be at this part.

Day 2

Day 2, we immediately started by taking the class again – and again, each of us presented our tracks.  Where there were certainly areas to improve on that first day, it was clear that all of us had absorbed some of the feedback that Susan had given us the day before, and there was vast, vast improvement on the day before.

The Body Pump™ Challenge.

I’m going to keep a lot of these details to myself because the challenge was so incredible, so so incredible, that I will let you guys that want to go off and get your Body Pump™ cert see for yourself what it was about.  I will say this.  I actually got a little choked up once we finished the challenge, and I had such an incredible sense of accomplishment, one that rivaled the sense I got when I finished both marathons.

Finally, after some more business, we took our fourth and final class, which we all took turns teaching our last track.

And sooner than I would have liked, we were done.  Susan called us out one by one to let us know if we passed or not (I passed!) and we all gave each other hugs and promised that we would keep in touch.  The way the process goes is that I am currently doing a lot of team teaching, and within 60 days, I have to send Les Mills a vid of me teaching, and being competent.

The weekend was a beautiful, painful, sweaty, hardcore weekend of fitness magic, and I am so grateful to have done it.  Seriously, if anyone is thinking about doing this training, you HAVE to do it, and please please, send me questions if you have any about the training!

Pump Legs
I cannot believe these legs pumped out so much weight! Go me!

What did you do over the weekend?  

How long did it take you to fall in love with running?

| cheriarmour

I’m becoming a big fan of the Hungry Runner Girl, Janae, because she’s so freaking positive.  It’s funny, I’ve seen a few things written about her online, and the overwhelming “complaint” about her, if you even want to call it that is that she’s too positive or that she gets too excited about the littlest things.  I can relate to her – I actually had an associate at Barnes and Noble physically back away from me when I expressed my excitement that they had the Gavin DeGraw album in stock.  Okay lady, let me be happy, kay?

Anyhoo, so HRG posts yesterday and posed this question:

How long did it take you to fall in love with running?

The truth is, I don’t really know.

Sport Photo mailed me this blast from the past from my first race in 2011.  I’m not sure what possessed me to sign myself and my boyfriend (now almost-husband) for the race, except it sounded really really cool, and I think I saw in ad in one of the women’s fitnessy workout mags that I’d been reading like a Bible.

Mud Run

Austin so sweetly agreed to to the race with me, an obstacle 5k in Virginia, and we drove up there after a shift at the Whole Foods Bakery.   Yes, I know.  I’m a fitness director, and I worked at a bakery my first gig out of graduate school.  But I like my sweets, and I love Whole Foods so it worked.

I ran that race.  Finished in decent time.  Felt great afterwards, and within about a year’s time, I was running my first half-marathon.

There was never a moment where I was like “aughhh this is awesome,” but I guess I always just liked the way it made me feel.  I also loved the way you could kind of click into cruise control for a long run and just…run.  Like after a while it didn’t feel like death on a stick, but it just felt like a state of being, as natural as anything else did.  Sure, there were still some runs that made me feel like vomiting on on the side of the road, but the vast majority of the runs just felt…good!

So all that to say is, I just don’t know when I started to love running.  I’m not particularly fast or fancy, but it feels natural to me, and it feels like the kind of workout you can seriously do anywhere, and burn the most calories/stress off without killing yourself.

So my question on this wonderful Friday is….

When did you fall in love with running?