Adrenaline READY

Wednesday brought me back to Team Adrenaline.  After being sick last week, I was ready to get back to my Bestie for a solid workout.

Someday the novelty of telling you about his (<-- whoops! I meant) THIS class is going to wear off.  Someday.  NOT today though.

Paulie's strategy for Adrenaline this week was to work on the muscles that runners don't strengthen but really ought to because we use these muscles all the freaking time...  This is injury prevention.  And ultimately being stronger through the feet, ankles, core, shoulders, etc is going to make us "faster", more "explosive", "stronger", "agile" runners.

SIGN ME UP.  I will take a little pain today if I can just CHECK ALL on the list above.

I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today...

"Ready?"

"Probably not.  But let's do it anyway."

3L & I spent time... a lot of time... with the other athletes in a line on a soccer field hopping from foot to foot performing deceptively easy looking drills designed to strengthen our ankles, change our posture for the better, encourage us to pick up our feet, and make us laugh.

OK, maybe they were not intended to "MAKE US LAUGH", but somehow, even through the pain of our burning muscles, we laughed.  

Paul apologized to our burning glutes.  We laughed.  He had us doing IRISH dance steps.  We laughed.  Hopping on one foot.  Backwards.  In a line.  We laughed... well, when we weren't cursing and huffing through gritted teeth at any rate.

Best line of the day was when BFF Paulie called "time" on one of the exercises and 3L grits out, "YOU HAVE THE SLOWEST WATCH EVER."  Cue the laughing.

I've been bringing a guest every week since I first went to Adrenaline.  I will continue to bring a guest until I have exhausted my resources and every friend of mine has tried it once.  I truly believe that Team Adrenaline is the best fitness experience in the greater Richmond area*.

It's good for ANYONE.

Runner, cyclist, or bowling enthusiast.  Male, female, elite, or newbie.

Do you breathe?  Enjoy fun?  Like to sweat alongside beautiful men with rippling ab muscles while you secretly hope his shirt rides up a teeny tiny bit?  Ok, then yes.  It's a good class for you.

Anyone can benefit from the genius that is Team Adrenaline.

I've tried a lot of fitness adventures on my quest for "fitness".  From large scale gym "classes" to cross training on my own, to P90X, to personal training, to a competitor of Paulie's that is also a free standing outdoor fitness class.

The difference in Paulie's class from all of these things is that there is an unmatched level of knowledge here.

I.O.W. my BFF Paulie seriously knows his s#*t.  Every time I walk away from him, I feel I have picked up something that is going to take me places.

(and really, I should stop calling him "BFF Paulie" and remind you that his real name is Paul C.  He's really a professional coach, who happens to be an excessively talented runner.  He also happens to be a really nice, humble, guy).


He seems perfectly content to take my questions, listen to my thoughts, and teach me.

Even though I'm not ever going to be anything more than a "mom who runs".

I mean, I'm not kidding myself.  The place my new knowledge is "taking me" is not going to make me elite.  I think it could make me a really good runner though.  And that works for me.

In all honesty, I'm not trying to beat anyone else but ME.

I want to be better than I AM NOW.

I want to GROW as a runner.

I want to LEARN as much as I can about this sport.

Because I am in LOVE... with running.

This is why I surround myself with wise, fun, clever, knowledgeable, professional, & sometimes, it's true, elite runners.  No matter their specialty or distances, these people say things worth hearing.  There is a well of knowledge out there from which I am, sometimes, invited to drink.

I just want a taste.

And a laugh.

Because why do any of this if it's not fun?

* a little side note here, Team Adrenaline is not limited to Richmond VA.  Currently, Team Adrenaline is in: San Francisco, Ca., Stewart, Fl., Ontario, Canada, Kansas City, MO., Indianapolis, Indiana, Erie, Pa.  and much more to come.  check Paulie's website at http://adrenalinesportsusa.com/ for more details.  Or shoot my Bestie an e-mail and tell him I sent you.