The Arnold Classic Recap, and Tuesday Excitement

Hey all! So I mentioned last time that I was planning to go spend a day at The Arnold Classic and see a bunch of sporting activities....So I will tell you that overall I had a good time, and spent the day walking around the Expo, watching various sporting events, and being severely grossed out (more about that in a minute)...
I went with the boyfriend, and we met up with some of his friends up there. Now let me clarify a little tidbit about myself. I tend to tweak out a bit in big crowds of people. I have been know to pitch a bitch-fit and have to leave immediately before having full-blown panic attacks and feeling like I'm being suffocated. So of course the boyfriend was thrilled to have me accompany him, knowing I might go off at any moment. Needless to say, we drove separately from everyone else, just in case I needed to make a quick getaway for my sanity.
When we first got there, it was just a madhouse of obscenely muscled people with extreme fake tans (which apparently helps the judges to see the muscles better on stage, but just looks like a horrible mixture of orange and purple, and some were so bad I was sure they were beginning to decompose).  I do not, I repeat, DO NOT find myself attracted to those guys with the huge muscles with veins popping out, walking like they're carrying invisible little dogs under their arms, with pimply steroid faces (and probably bodies too, blech!)  On the other hand, it was cool to be in a huge crowd of people that are so into fitness.
So when we were beginning to walk around, we got stuck in a crowd of people not moving at all, and saying, "here he comes....there he is....." and then we saw this:

Yeah, so we saw The Governator walking around a few different times, but didn't get good photos or video or anything, but it was still cool. Then the boyfriend and I parted ways, so I could watch Gymnastics and he could watch The Strongman Competition. I got the chills watching these girls do the uneven bars, the balance beam, and the floor routines!

 

 

 

Then I walked around the Expo for a long time, looking at different things they had going on--mostly trying to keep out of everyone's way....I did see a couple of big guys (and one of them happens to be Lou Ferrigno, The Incredible Hulk, but again it wasn't a great picture)

THE HULK!!

I don't know who this is, but his muscles gross me out!

 

 

 We spent all day long at the Expo, and the boyfriend and I got to stand in lines and get some free stuff, but I can't say I was too awful excited, since almost all of the swag was in the form of various supplements (protein, creatine powders, pills to increase "stamina"). I did, however, get to buy a few packages of Miracle Noodles so I hope to be able to tell you about what those are like. I also found a small company similar to Sweatybands that I ended up getting a couple of hair bands from--one thin one with crabs on it, and a bigger one with stripes. The big one doesn't work for me. I will be doing some small tweaks and making them fit better. I'd recommend going with Sweatybands on this one!!

We finally met up with all the boyfriends' friends, and headed over to Mongolian BBQ to have dinner. If you ever get the chance, you should go there! They have this big round grill-top that they cook all the food on--you fill up a bowl with fresh meat and veggies and such, then make your sauce combo, then they cook it all on that grill in front of you. They yell every time someone puts a raw egg in their bowl, and hit a bell every time it's someone's birthday! And the beer was amazing, after a day spent getting elbowed in the face by bodybuilders (I'm short, just in face/elbow range)!

Yesterday, the boyfriend and I headed over the the gym at Hocking College to work out. It was my first day back running in three weeks (thanks, bronchitis/ear infection/sinus infection). I was able to run 3 miles on the treadmill before I thought I would die. My legs are killing me today, and I think I might have 4 miles on my agenda today. Not sure if my legs are okay with that.

So on to the Tuesday excitement: I just signed up for a three month membership to Stride Box, and am looking forward to getting my box of running stuffs here in the next month or so! I'll be keeping you updated on the excitement!

Until next time!!

Marge

 

This Week's Excitement

Hello anyone in Blogland that still reads my posts! I have been running my buns off since the last time we talked, training for my next half-marathon on May 4th. Well, I was, right up until I caught the plague/trifecta of ear infection, sinus infection, and bronchitis that has been kicking my ass for the past 2 weeks....I am slowly coming back from that, and hope to be able to start running again next week. Before I got sick, I was up to six miles at a time, running on the treadmill while watching The Biggest Loser. I guess the one benefit of being sick has been that I have plenty of back episodes on Hulu to watch when I get moving again!

And as you all know, I work almost non-stop being a Crisis Mental Health Counselor, as well as a counselor for the local jail, and have been getting things set up for some trainings we'll be doing throughout the year for local law enforcement (Crisis Intervention Team trainings, Advanced CIT, info on Veteran's issues, and a really cool simulation training called Hearing Voices, which is supposed to help show people what it is like to have symptoms of schizophrenia). And I have set up the program with our community center to provide memberships to clients of our agency that deal with significant mental health issues, since it's expensive to join the gym and a lot of our people are on fixed incomes and also have concurrent medical concerns. So, yeah, I'm a busy girl.

I am actually getting ready to head to the jail here soon...

The excitement for this week is that I am going to the Arnold Classic Expo tomorrow in Columbus. And while I'm there, I get to try Zumba, maybe do some Pilates or Yoga, watch cheerleading and gymnastics competitions, meet bodybuilders and MMA fighters, and lots of other stuff...I have never been to it but I am geekily excited!!! So excited that I might get to meet The Governator!!

I'll keep y'all updated on my famous-people sightings, and try and take some pics so you can see it too!)

Later,
Marge

I'm a Big Fat Loser sometimes

Hey anyone that still remembers me! It's been way way too long since I've posted, and there are so many lame-o reasons for that that I won't even start getting into them. I suppose the most I can say is that at one point this past year, I realized that nothing worth noting was going on so I just pooped out.

In case you have been waiting all this time to find out what I've been up to:

WOW! You should find some other stuff to do!! LOL!

I am still me, and I still love my boxers, and I still run (sometimes) but it's time to start building back up. I must say, summer in Ohio is a hot, sweaty crapshoot, and I fall victim to the swimming pool and a few beers regularly, which seems to have (partially) gotten in the way of running.

I say partially because:

1) I ran the Cincinnati Flying Pig 10k with my sister-in-law in May of this year,

 (NO PHOTOS, DEAL WITH IT!)

2) I ran/walked the Cleveland 1/2 Marathon two weeks after that,

After the Half!!

3) I did the Warrior Dash again this year (with the boyfriend)

Pre-Warrior Dash!!

Post-Warrior Dash (and mid-banana for me)!

4) I ran the Zombie Buffet 5k in Columbus this fall as well.

So overall, I've run multiple 5k's, one 10k, one 1/2, and multiple fun-runs.
I've also had some changes in living situation, with the boyfriend and one of his childrens moving in, so there's been a lot of situating that's come out of that.

With work, I still work crazy hours doing crisis mental health evaluations, and I do counseling at the local jail. I also set up a program with the local community center to get passes for our clients with severe mental health issues to try and improve health and wellness access. Add on the annual police CIT officer training (for crisis intervention) and it's been a stuffed-full kind of year!

Oh, and My Favorite 2 things of the winter:

1) I finally got a woodburning stove! Finally finally finally, and a chainsaw! And since it's so freaking cold, I have just been keeping that sucker stoked up and as hot as I possibly can,
and (da da da da dummmm)
2) Little brother announced that we'll be expecting a new baby in the summer, so I'll be an auntie again!!

Whew! That was a load of stuff to unload on you! Now, since I've been sick with the flu since Xmas, I will not be working out tonight, but I might be having a brew or two (I'm feeling better today, trust me) before turning in for the night! Big 12 hour day of work tomorrow, here I come!

Toodles!

Walking back to the hotel in Cleveland after the Half!! Woot Woot!!

Marge