Yep, it's time...

Life is all about change.  We would like to think that we have a set routine and can be certain that we know what to expect on a day to day basis.  We make decisions based on what we know to be certain in our day or week of events.  And then, when we least suspect it, the tornado/hurricane/tidal wave hits, the pieces have to be picked up and a new way of doing things has to begin.  Now not all change is like a hurricane.  Sometimes it is like winning the lottery or digging a hole to plant a tree and striking oil.  No matter what it is like, it is still change.  A few of the changes that a person may face in life is the loss of a job, a new residence, or a new situation or new opportunity.  Change can be stressful.  In the past three weeks I have had a lot of change in my life that has been both stressful and exciting at the same time.  All I know is that I have been really good at rolling with the punches.

Change #1:  The kid has been diagnosed with Juvenile Myolonic Epilepsy.  What I had seen as common clumsy teenager moves and not getting enough sleep over the past few months were actually petite mal seizure.  The big grand mal seizure was with the grandparents and my nephew and his friend while they were driving to go fishing.  After the Emergency Room, many doctor and neurologist visits, and tests, medication is in place and life is starting to get back to a new normal.  I have to enforce bedtime a bit more and drive him to school so he can sleep in rather than get up 30 minutes earlier to get the bus.  I have someone who can cover for me at work for my early 5:30 am classes when El Esposo is out of town and I have to be home in the morning.  Yes, it was scary. Yes, we had to make some changes. Yes, we are treating it as a speed bump and we are still moving forward. Now we just have elbow pads and knee pads on along with the helmet and gloves.  Extra protection, but we are still moving on.

Change #2:  The company (Big Box Gym) that I have been employed with for the past 15 years has been in a bit of a death spiral since 2008.  Last Thanksgiving it sold 171 locations to a major competitor in the fitness industry and last week it sold off 39 more locations, including all of the Texas locations, to an unknown fitness start-up.  The new management is in our gym this week to start making changes and after many years of putting up with crap pay, having all of my previous job opportunities to travel and train other trainers wiped out due to budget cuts, and no room for advancement, I am leaving.  I had been mulling over this decision for a long time, but I had always felt a sense of responsibility to the gym members who came to my classes and paid for personal training sessions.  I am in the process now of letting them know what has taken place in the last week and they all agree that I have to do what is best.   I had lots of great opportunities handed to me with Big Box Gym but all the people who gave me those opportunities had their positions eliminated for budget cuts.  It is time to cut the cord.

Change #3:  I am going from being employed to being self employed!  Today I have a meeting with a trainer that I used to work with at Big Box Gym who struck out on his own several years back and opened up a private training facility.  Joe is a great guy and I have a lot of respect for him as a trainer.  He was excited to see me walk through his door last Friday and said that he had heard that I was coming to see him.  I know a few of the other trainers who work with their clients at Joe's facility and they had encouraged me to make the switch and go talk to Joe.  The best part is that I get to work around people that I like, set my own hours, and it is not very far from where Big Box Gym is located so that many of my clients will be able to follow me.

Change #4:  I was approached last night about coaching another Team in Training Tri TEAM for the Oceanside 70.3 Ironman and the Galveston Memorial Hermann 70.3 Ironman next year as well as a TEAM for Ironman Texas in 2014.  Um.....YEAH!!!!  San Juan 70.3 Ironman was thrown around in there as well.  I am stoked about it!

Change #5:  Adopted Daughter #1 will graduate from  Texas A& M on May 11th.  Paying for her schooling has been an eye opening experience.  The dorm rooms still look the same as when I was a student there, but they cost three times as much per semester.  The last payment for the cap and gown, diploma fee, and living money to get her through the next few weeks has been made.  Adopted Daughter #2 has one more year at The University of Houston.  This means we have a little extra money that is going to be available to provide for.....

Change #6: A new dog!!!  Not just any dog, but for those of you who still don't know what kind of dog yet, I will leave that as a surprise for you.  I got the call yesterday that the reports from the home visit and the phone calls to references and vets were finished and would be submitted to the adoption committee and that we would soon be approved to start meeting the dogs to have one pick us as their perfect "Forever Home".  I am in the process of getting the house ready for a pup crate, food bowls, and squeaky toys.  Just letting you know, it still may be several weeks or even another month due to the fact that EVERYONE in the family has to be present for adoption day and El Esposo is heading out of town again for work and I have a few things going on as well such as volunteering at Ironman Texas and a marathon in San Diego.  I am being patient.  :)

Yeah, so lots of change going on here in NW Houston, TX.  Some of it daunting (ok, most of it), and most of it is stuff that I know I am going to be able to handle.  There may be some kinks to work out, but as a former colleague said, I will land on my feet and come out smelling like a rose.   There were days that I was run down, mad as hell, or even sad but I had to put that aside and walk out my back door to my car and just be awesome.  The workouts might have been rough, but I was being awesome. The job situation was a bum deal and I felt like checking out, but I had to be awesome.  The hospital was giving me the run around, I stopped them in their tracks with my awesomeness and they bowed to my command.

Incredible things on the horizon.  Stay tuned!

Later Gators,

Liz

One Step Closer

I bet each and every one of you have had a wish list.  Possibly it was one you made after fingering through the pages of the Sears or JC Penny's Christmas catalog when you were a kid.  Maybe it was one you made in high school about what you wanted to do after graduation.  Did you get your wish?  Did you give up on your wish because something else or something better came along?  Are you still waiting for your wish to be fulfilled?

I have had a wish that I have been holding onto for the past twenty-five years.  I was told to wait on my wish because I would be leaving for school in a few years.  Then I had to wait because I was in school and had no way to enjoy what I was wishing for.  After school was no better because I had no money or because there were other, more serious matters at hand.  Then there was a few years where I kind of got my wish but it was a little different than what I really had my heart set on.  For the past five years I have kept that wish alive, but I have been too scared to follow through with obtaining it.  Was I too busy?  Was I able to afford it?  Was I ready for that kind of commitment?  Was I worthy of my wish?

Two weeks ago, I took the first step to realizing my wish.  I had to do the thing that scared me.  I had to ask the owners of this thing that I wanted if I could have it.  I talked at length to the person who could help me obtain my wish to show them that I was committed and that I had done my homework and I knew what I was getting myself into.  I visited the place where I would go to get the thing that I wanted and I got to spend some time looking at it, holding it, and admiring it.

Now I have to have someone come to my house and see if I am ready to own the thing that I want and that I have space for it in my life.  The process is daunting, but I am still on track to get my wish granted to me.

Keep wishing, hoping, and dreaming.  Don't give up.

Later Gators!

Liz

I'm Signed Up!

I will be at the Start Line of Ironman Texas this year!  

Yes, I will be there.  I will get to high-five all of my triathlon friends as I direct you over the timing mat and into the water as a Swim Start Volunteer.  And remember, if you don't move fast enough, I get to start yelling at you to get your @$$ in the water as fast as you can because you have hundreds of people behind you waiting to get in as well.

Look for me at the practice swim on Friday and on Race Day!

Later Gators!

Liz

Lost and Possibly Found

It has been over three months of silence from me and I am sure that I have lost all of my creepy Internet friends because they thought I had written this blog off.  I have had exciting things take place in the last three months such as a marathon PR, a cool coaching certification, and a realization that I need to move forward with my training and coaching.  I have also had some rough patches to work through as well such as a return of the hives, a W-2 form that indicated that a janitor or bus driver has a better income, and a need to move forward with my training and coaching.

Did you catch that?  The need to move forward with my training and my coaching are both exciting and daunting.  I have let myself stay in a job where I get paid less per day than a substitute school teacher because I was dedicated to the clients that I have been working with for the past 12 years.  I had to realize that if I went someplace else, they would probably follow me.  But where was I to go?  If I moved to another gym, I would be in the same crummy pay position that I was already in.  I might get a few dollars more, but there would also be high expectations set on me to work hours that I currently do not work and reach revenue goals that I was not motivated to reach.  I had a lead on a private facility that was going to open where I could pay rent, move my clients to and end up collecting 100% rather than 40% of what my clients had been paying to work with me.  Sadly, that lead has yet to materialize.  So for now, I am going to take it to the great outdoors.  I will have zero overhead and I will just tote around my equipment in the back of my car.  I will be working out of client's homes as well.  As I start to make the transition, I will be finishing off client's sessions and quietly advising them not to renew sessions because I will be taking a "summer vacation" for several weeks.  I have had plenty of people that I have worked with that have not renewed sessions due to travel, why the hell can't I do the same?

I will be giving myself until June to get out of the situation that I am in.  I would do it sooner, but I have other poles in the fishing hole that I need to attend to.  My 13 awesome athletes that are racing the Memorial Hermann 70.3 triathlon in Galveston have their race in two weeks.  My amazing 8 athletes who will be going to St.Croix for their 70.3 race have seven weeks left in their training.  My kid has a bit more school left this year.  And, I am still trying to get ready for the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon.

I have ideas of what I want to do once I have moved past June, but I also know that I need to get some things in order to tackle that project.  All of this is kind of scary but I have to do it.  If I don't, I will continue to be unhappy with where I am at in my job and feel unchallenged.  I may not be the most successful coach or trainer that is out there, but there are not too many trainers and coaches that have the knowledge that I have and can do as good or a better job than I can.  I have had to work hard to convince myself of that, and a job that does not reward success other than hitting a revenue goal can grind you down.  I am not into making tons of money, I am into changing people's lives.  Ok, yeah, money is a good thing.  I am just looking to be paid what I am worth, and right now my W-2 form says that I am a Dollar Store bargain with a 50% off coupon.

Promise to keep you updated...

Later Gators,

Liz

Oh, We Need a Little Christmas...

Right this very minute!

These past few weeks have almost been a blur.  Sometimes I wish things would slow down, and then at other times, I am glad that the train is rumbling along the tracks.  A few things have taken place that may put a different spin on 2012.  I am remaining positive that it will all be for good things to come.

I have been training.  Not as well as I would like, but I am training.  I did my 21 miler last Thursday and I have one month to go until I run the Houston Marathon.  This was supposed to be the race where I was going to qualify for Boston, but I have had one thing after the other try to interfere with my training and I just don't feel like my speed is where it needs to be.  Of course, I could pull out a "Race Day Miracle" and really surprise myself.  Everyone else seems to think that I can do it.  My coach thinks I can do it.  My personal drill instructor thinks I can do it.  My athletes I coach think I can do it.  Even my sports docs think I can do it.  How come I am still on the fence on this one?  I guess that it is because none of these people have been out on a run with me and gotten a good look at how my training is really going.  Out in the trenches, it is a lot different than on paper.

The "Big Box Gym" that I work for sold off 171 of its locations to another "Big Box Gym" right around Thanksgiving.  Now things are kind of like the Wild West around here.  Our corporate offices were in locations where all of the gyms in our Big Box Organization were bought up by the other company.  So now, no one really seems to know where the corporate offices are.  My "boss" from California is no longer my boss and my Personal Training Manager is letting me call the shots on what days group exercise classes are going to be held at our gym around the holidays.   I have heard that our now named Small Box Organization will not be spending any of the $153 Million dollars from the sale in the first quarter of 2012 and they will be looking at which of the 100 or so clubs left can be profitable for the first quarter.  I do not know if that means if clubs that are not profitable or ones that just break even are going to be shuttered as a few were in Dallas and one here in town in slated for.  I need to put together my resume, for the first time in nearly 19 years, and start shopping myself around to other gyms that are more elite in clientele and in what they offer in programming.  I do feel like a rat going down on a sinking ship, but I have to hang in there as long as I can for my very dedicated clients that I work with.

My health has been wacky.  I am not sick, but I am not well.  I am not contagious, but I need to figure out what is causing my symptoms.  I am a puzzle.  I am "THAT" patient.  You know, "THAT" patient, the one who gets assigned to 3rd or 4th year interns by their supervising doctors and asked to figure out what is wrong with them and everyone is stumped?  Yeah, that's me.  Since August I have had little health issues building into big health issues.  What started as a random itchy spot on my arm for a few hours, every once in a while has grown into a full blown case of hives that cover my arms, shoulders, trunk, back, legs, and scalp lasting for days on end.  A blind person could read War & Peace on my arms!  My allergist has no clue what to do other than take an Allegra in the morning and a Zertek at night.  I have had strange digestive issues that no one really wants to talk about, but my doctors tell me I have to spill the beans.  Joint and muscular issues seem to pop up out of no where when I have not even been training hard or even with those muscles.  I have had fatigue one day and then loads of energy the next.  It looks like my liver may be the culprit and I am under orders to undergo a cleanse or liver purification process to clear out the excessive toxins that the liver accumulates as it filters the blood.  For the next 21 days I am only able to eat very lean free-range organic proteins, organic vegetables, organic fruits, healthy fats, and the occasional serving of legumes.  I will be taking a few supplements as well, but I have to stay away from dairy, grains, nuts and seeds, caffeine, and all refined foods.  I have done this Paleo diet before and I know I can do it.  I just have to make sure that my fridge and my pantry are ready for it.  Tomorrow's breakfast should be exciting.  I will keep the updates coming.

Finally, tomorrow I start my certification to become a Newton Natural Running Coach.  I am really looking forward to this.  I had to teach myself how to run again after I had knee surgery in 2006 and little did I know that I taught myself Natural Running.  Now I get to learn the in's and out's and how to watch other people run and help them modify or change their running style to avoid injury and to pick up some extra speed.  Again, I will make updates on what I have learned.

Ok, it is off to bed for me and on to another day.

Later Gators!

Me and the kid at a holiday party. I am in 4" heels to be that tall next to him.

Liz

The Ups and Downs of Life

Sorry it has taken so long to recount some of my adventures, but basically, life has been like a roller coaster with ups and downs, laughter and screams, a little bit of motion sickness, and time and space rushing past this girl that I have either not had the time to update this blog or I did not have the strength to do it.  A lot has happened in the past seven weeks and this might be the longest that I have abandoned my blog. Not that anyone minds, I am sure there are much more exciting and fun things to read/glance at on Facebook and Twitter.  Taking time to read one of my blog posts is just not in the cards for most people anymore.   I am going to try my best to see if I can keep this post short.  HA!

Ryan "Ironman" Barnett and I are enjoying the java from the Coffees of Hawaii Catamaran.

When I left off seven weeks ago, I was preparing for a HUGE adventure.  I went to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii to watch and volunteer at the Ironman World Championship.  I flew in and was picked up at the airport by Ryan "Ironman" Barnett.  The next morning we swam out to the Coffees of Hawaii catamaran and got our morning cup of java along with an interview by John Newsome and Bevin James Eyles for their IM Talk podcast.  Ryan and I did a run in the Energy Lab and I finished of the day with a spectacular vegan dinner with Coach Carrie Barrett and Hillary Biscay and Belinda Granger.  The next few days were spent hanging out with Coach Carrie and Shawn Barrett as we hit the race expo and participating in the Kona Underwear Run.  On Race Day, Carrie and I had a blogger buddy meet up with Shirley Pratt and volunteering on the run course at Pro Aid Station Number 1.  It was amazing seeing all of the professionals racing, as well as the final finisher to come across the line before the clock hit 17 hours.  I don't think that I could have had a better "first time" trip to Hawaii or a better birthday.

Getting interviewed for IM Talk.

Hanging with Craig in the showers after a swim.

A post Energy Lab Run photo.

A fantastic dinner with two beautiful women of this sport.  Thank you Hillary and Belinda for a wonderful evening.

Blogger Buddy meet up with Shirley Pratt and working a run course aid station.

When I got home, it was back to reality and back to being a single mom as El Esposo headed off to Trinidad for three weeks.  It was time to get back to workouts with regularity and time to figure out why I was breaking out in hives multiple times during the day.  I met with Dr. Krupka who is a specialist in Functional Medicine.  He works on finding the root cause of the symptoms rather than finding a way to cover up the symptoms and make them disappear.  I had to wait a week to get in to see him once my test results came in from a saliva sample I had sent off to a lab before going to Hawaii.  Originally, we were looking to see if I had a gluten sensitivity.  The results came back negative.  That is good.  I can still eat bread!  However, we found out that an enzyme that is in everyone's saliva to help break down food as you chew it up before it gets to the stomach was missing.  This results in the stomach and intestines getting irritated by certain foods that have naturally occurring histamines in them.  The enzyme in the saliva breaks down the histamines in tomatoes, spinach, salmon, chocolate, citrus fruits, red wine, yeast, hard cheeses, and other foods.  When you have allergies, it is the body reacting to histamines you encounter in the air or surfaces you come in contact with.  My histamine levels were off the charts and the only way the body knew how to "dump" them was to try and excrete them out of my skin, resulting in the hives.  Allergies shots, smoke in the Texas air due to wildfires, naturally occurring fall pollen and ragweed, and the inability to break down the histamines in foods before they got to the stomach had done a number on me.  Now, I am on a treatment to try and lower the histamine levels in my body.  I still have the hives, but now it may be only once a day instead of multiple times a day.  I have a long way to go, but it is a start.

Work has been work.  Fun at times, and work at other times.  I taught a successful Pilates Master Class utilizing the Pilates Chair and the Arc.  The participants enjoyed the challenge of the class and requested another.  I am going to see if I can get some more equipment brought over from another gym to teach another Master Class next month.  One of my personal training clients told me that she really buckled down and cut back on the nightly glass of red wine and bowl of Goldfish to loose 10 lbs.  Way to go!  Just making small changes can make big differences.  Another one of my personal training clients has hit the one year mark of working with me.  In that year, she has lost 35 lbs., gone from a Chicos size 4 to a 1.5, and feels amazing with her new energy.  Her big test this week is to see if she can keep up with her family on a ski trip and get up on her own when she falls down.  I know she can do it.  I am so proud of her and she is determined to keep going with her weight loss.  She has 20 more pounds to go to hit her goal and we are taking steps to get her orthodics so that she can start running again without her bunion bothering her.  On the other end of the spectrum, 171 gym locations of my employer were sold off to a huge competitor.  There are about 100 gyms left and Texas was spared.  It shall be interesting to see how things play out over the next few weeks and what changes will be made.

In the days leading up to Halloween, I was feeling an impending sense of dread about the holiday.  I did not want to pull out my decorations, I did not want to buy candy, I did not want to open my door to Trick-or-treaters.  I ended up taping black garbage bags over my windows and sitting in a dark house.  Later that week, I had to bail on a long run because I knew that nothing productive would come of it.  I was in pain from hormonal shifts and after a brisk 30 minute walk, I realized that it would be too painful to run.  That was a bummer.  But the funk didn't stop there.  I became increasingly down in the dumps even though it was sunny outside.  I had issues weighing heavy on me about work and my training (or lack of it), and things I had to get done before time ran out on me.  After a good cry, things started to get better and then I ate a donut.  That donut about killed me.

For five days I was in severe abdominal pain as the donut loitered in my gut.  I despise donuts but I succumbed to it's mesmerizing evil cyclops eye and ate it after a bike ride that left me hungry.  I could have waited to get something else, but the donut was there and it was quick calories.  It was like throwing a grenade in a hole and throwing cement down with it as a chaser.  I wanted the donut to exit my body by any means possible, but it did not want to leave my gut and hung in there as long as it could, making me miserable.  Dr. Krupka first laughed at me for eating the donut and then gave me the "I know I'm preaching to the choir, but..." speech.  The yeast, sugar, and trans fats had inflamed my stomach and intestines so much that things basically shut down and the donut did not move for a good couple of days and festered inside of me.  After the 5th day and some of Dr. Krupka's treatment, I was starting to feel better and wanted to get my long run in.  So, last Thursday, I ran 16 miles and ran the last of that donut out of my system.  I feel so much better and I will never eat another donut again, no matter what.

And that leads me to the present.  I think I may be coming down with some sort of sinus thing.  I had to take a decongestant for the first time in a long time and my nose is drippy.  I want to keep this above the neck and not get it into my chest.  We shall see.  The Banana had a good swim meet a few weekends ago and swam the 1650 yd. event in 22:29:34.  The kid is fast.  He participated in the District Honor Band auditions and made 2nd Chair Trumpet.  He had a great band concert last week that my dad and step mom got to come in to town for.  The report card came with A's and B's on it!  He has one more swim meet and another band concert before the end of the year.  Coaching my Team in Training tri team has been good.  More people are starting to show up to weekend trainings as we start getting closer to 2012.  I am still not in a holiday mood and and a little ticked off at the radio stations that have been playing Christmas music for the past few weeks.  I am sure it will pass.  Once I struggle with getting a 35+ year old fake tree up and mess with the lights until it pisses me off and I throw some ornaments on it, I am sure that I will feel more jolly.  Ok, so next post will contain a pic of the tree.

Until then, later gators!

 Liz

48 hours...

That is all the time left that I have to get a whole lot of things done.  And I should be doing some of them right now.  Well, it can wait for just a few minutes.

Sometimes there are things that quickly pop up that you make some plans on.  Exciting things!  You look forward to them with anticipation.  It may be one of the things that you have experienced in the past and you LOVED IT.  And then events and schedules merge and the thing you wanted to do must be postponed.  It is frustrating.  Will the opportunity come up again?  How long will I have to wait for things to fall in place one more time?  Bummer.

These are the times you just have to accept that this was not the right time or the best time to embark on that adventure.

But then there are BIG things you plan on.  Months in advance you start working on organizing the major details.  With each major piece of the puzzle put into place, it becomes more real.  There is preparation to do and gear to be purchased.  As the event quickly approaches, all of the details are solidified and it becomes more exciting.  There is no turning back now!  Of course there will be one or two things missing from the picture.  Inevitably, there is something that is forgotten or some favorite lucky charm that had to be left behind.

And suddenly, it is here!  The months of waiting, dreaming, and anticipating are over.  There is a message in your "In Box" to confirm that you will be there in 48 hours.  There is a message waiting to confirm what size you wear.  You have to get everything together, but remember not to take too much.  If you need it that badly, you can get it when you arrive because EVERYTHING you might ever need or want will be there.

The hardest part is the last 48-hours.  The final hours of waiting.  The final details to put in place so that mayhem does not ensue when embark on the journey.  The last days of another year quickly come to a close.

It is pau hana.  Wikiwiki Tuesday!  I am ready!  Hau`oli la Hanau Mo'o!!!

Stay Tuned!!!

Liz  :)