sooo....

Those of you who read this, or heck, just skim the titles, know that Tai Chi is the motivating force that the rest of my exercise success ripples from.
Sometimes I feel the dark forces must know that too, and that's why every childcare issue I ever have is on a Tai Chi day.  (I already expanded on today's adventure in my other blog, so I'll skip it here.)
So now I have  a dilemna, do I ditch Monday Tai Chi and try to motivate myself to get up for masochism, I mean cycling,  class at 5:45?
Do I pay a ridiculous sum of money on Monday to stay happy?
Do I just suck it up and be stressed about my kids during my "stress relieving" class?
I forgot to renew for another 30 days today, so I could switch centers too...but that also would be a lot more expensive, and while in the financial battles of financing the kids fall sports, moving, and more I'm pretty sure a cost increase isn't a good idea right now....but neither is quitting.  There would costs for that too down the road that are more than just money.  So what to do, what to do?

Due to unforseen events

I am not in Tai Chi this morning.  Exercise is all about planning.  Somehow I forgot to plan to have the stuff in the house to make E2's lunch this morning...so instead of Tai Chi I had to go to Hy-vee.
I still made it back to aqua aerobics yesterday morning, and it felt great!  I'm still no noodle master though.
"Put one noodle under each foot and walk to the shallow end."  (I have to be in the shallow end, near a wall, to even get a noodle under each foot, much less move that way.)
"Sit on two noodles like a swing, and kick back to the deep end."  (I can sit.  I can kick.  I ain't goin nowhere.)
"Hold your noodles out at 45 degree angle from your body, and be deep enough your feet don't touch the floor."  (Yes, I can do this!)
"Keep your shoulders down."  (Okay, I can almost do this.)
"Using your noodle like parallel bars, keeping your legs straight, use your abs to swing your legs up out out the water, and then back behind you."  (This one I could not even attempt 7 weeks ago.  I now can do it, even multiple reps!)
So I am getting oodles better with the noodles.  Like everything else, it just will take time.

I sound like a Tai Chi commercial.

This morning the childcare was NOT full.  2 points for that.   I moseyed down to class, and there was a confused lady in the doorway looking at the schedule.
"Is this chair yoga?"
"No.  Chair yoga is in this room at 11.  Then 10am class is Tai Chi.  You should stay.  It's still an easy class."
"I don't know anything about Tai Chi."
"That's okay.  G will teach ya.  It's what he's here for!"
G "I'm here for what?"
"To teach new people Tai Chi!"
"Yeah, come on in!"
So another newbie has joined our ranks.  Both Tai Chi classes have grown since I've been there.  I think it's because G keeps it fun.  He advocates movie reviews, jokes, and weather reports during warm ups, so there's a camaraderie among the regulars and it puts the newbies at ease.   
Tai Chi is especially fun if you have an active imagination.  Some of the moves remind me of various chicken actions.  Chicken breast stroke, chicken trying to fly,etc.  There's also the famous "wax on.  wax off."  from the original Karate Kid .
There's never a dull moment.  I think that's part of why I keep going back.  

Friday, it must be Tai Chi

but not yoga today.  I just was too scattered to handle back to back classes mentally.   Still, it felt great to be there, even for just one class.  Tai Chi focuses on rotating from your "center."  It's kind of your body is the pond that the the rock got thrown into, and the motions are the ripples.  Today it felt like my rocks were off center.  Still made it through.  Mr G still thinks an intermediate class would be a good thing...I don't know.  I've only been doing this 7 weeks now.  I'm still a beginner. 

Spinning.

As in on  a bicycle at 5:45am.  I was there.   I went to the "training" last Saturday.  I thought I was ready.  How long could 45 minutes be?
Surprise #1
"These early morning rides are an hour."
O.k.  What's 15 more minutes right?  Right.
Surprise #2
I really, really liked most of the music.  Queen, Bryan Adams, a little metal, lots of fun.  That will probably vary by instructor though.
Surprise #3
I made it through the entire hour, not that I didn't think about quitting about 20 minutes in.  I did.  Then I remembered what I learned from yoga. Breathe.  When it's hard, just focus on your breath and be present.  That got me through the next 20 minutes.  The encouragement of the instructor, a fuzzy mind, and some adrenaline pushed me through the rest.
Right now, my first thought is ow.
My second thought is two times a week is enough for this, for now, but it's definitely time. 
I could not have made it through this class when I started about 6.5 weeks ago.  So I am moving forward.  Now the goal is to keep moving forward.

a new kind of setback

Today I was psyched.  I love Tai Chi.  Then I got to the community center and there was a half hour wait for childcare.  No point in that when on a class schedule~
I was so mad, I called my husband and cried. 
So Matt Ross.  Here's the deal.  My child care was prepaid for so many uses.  The classes are VERY limited in when they are offered.  So how about giving us class members a break, like a link on the schedule for "reserving" child care?
I paid for 30 uses.  It would be nice to use them.  Since this feature could be  prepaid only, you could still "sell" my spot if I'm x minutes late, & charge me.   More money for you, less hassle for me.  We both win. 
If you feel that would be "unfair" to your fitness users, then just put a link on the childcare segment w/ a calendar/ clock in 15 minute increments.   Then at least, when it's "full" I would know it, and not have to waste my time & gas.
Thanks.

Getting back on track.

This week I did get back on track.    I went to Tai Chi on Monday and Friday w/ the ever entertaining G.  It's like living out an exercise class w/ the stars of Grumpy Old Men twice a week, thanks to R, J, and M.
I made it aqua aerobics on Tuesday, Thursday and today w/ the fabulous Ms. V.  That's a real victory given how I still would rather stay up until 4am than get up at 4 am.  My reward:  I get to shower alone, uninterrupted with HOT water.
Those are my base classes.  The ones I feel I "should" do every week.
For bonus points(because everyone knows there's always more points for a dog to give, in this case a downward dog...)
...this week I also went to yoga on Thursday, with a "spicy salsa" theme for cinco de mayo.  It felt more like fire sauce, but that's okay.  E says she'll only up the pace like this once a month.  Note to self.  Skip yoga first Thursdays. check.
*and*  I went to the cycle 101 to learn how to be fit to a bike and go on a "short" ride.  20 minutes did not feel short to me.  Maybe because I'd already done an hour of aqua aerobics before the intro class.  I hope so.  The cycle class is "supposed" to be my other 5:45 alternate, because I'm masochistic like that.
So that's the week in fast track review.  May your journey in hippo land continue.  Just keep dancing!