Trampoline birthday party

I love trampolines. Love! And since I needed something fun to do for my birthday I invited a bunch of my friends to the trampoline park Tuesday night.

It was great workout and my friends had a lot of fun. My husband might have had the most fun.

We went to the local trampoline park. It has lots of trampolines, with some tumble tracks, a foam pit, dodgeball courts, a small dunk trampoline and a ninja course with a rock climbing wall.

Flip!
I've been able to flip now for a year and a half. But I flip into the foam pit or a gymnastics mat. I have never tried flipping landing on a trampoline. I was scared of rolling my ankle. I tried flipping on the Olympic trampoline at TSNY. I was feeling brave at the end of our jump time and I tried it when no one was looking.

Jump. Wait. Flip.

And I landed on my feet. First try.

I didn't hit my head and my flip wasn't too low.

AND my husband tried a front flip for the first time. He got it on his second attempt.

To outdo him, I tried a handspring to front flip. I almost got it. Not quite, but close enough to want to go back immediately.

I didn't turn the workout app on my watch on, but I burned at least 250 active calories and had so much fun. I should really start going back every other week or every two weeks.

Birthday offers and activewear

I love a good birthday offer. I decided to track what birthday offers I got via email this year. Food. Clothes. The works. I like a good excuse to spend money.

Birthday offers have definitely declined over the years. Companies want to spend less and less money.

Food
On the Border - Free cheese dip or brownie sundae (Perfect for people with a dairy allergy. Did not use. I actually used to eat here all the time but haven't been in years.)
Zoe's Kitchen - free entree. (Yes!). Received about 10 days before my birthday.
Moe's - got a coupon for a free entree. (Yes!) Received four days before my birthday. Got a burrito bowl :)
Schlotzky's - free original. (Last year it was a free sandwich. I don't eat The Original as I don't eat red meat, so didn't use and unsubscribed since their offers have gotten worse over the years.)
Panera - free dessert (received day of)

Clothing
Fabletics: 10% off order. (I did order some neon crops, will report back if they're sheer.) Received at the beginning of my birthday month.

Revolve: 10% off order. (Couldn't find anything. Looked several times). Received at the beginning of my birthday month.

Express: $40 off (I've had one of their premier credit cards for more than 10 years. Don't shop here much anymore because I've gotten older. I got some dress pants and a sleeveless button down!) Received at the beginning of my birthday month.

Workouts/Misc
A spa I visited on vacation sent me an offer for 50% off a massage or 20% off retail.

Pure Barre sent me an email for 10% off retail. Good for 3 months. (Received day-of)

Ulta also sent me a birthday offer for free mascara. (I am allergic to mascara :( Do birthday offers target things I can't use?) (Received day-of)

Offers I didn't get
I have an Athleta card. I thought there was a birthday discount, but apparently not for me.

Workout clothes/Activewear sales (non bday related)

• I did order a pair of reversible crops with the Sweaty Betty Friends and Family Discount. Free shipping. (Not a birthday offer, but maybe a bday present to myself).

• Bandier had a one-day sale near my birthday. Everything was 15% off. I almost ordered some K-deer leggings but didn't want to pay $10 in shipping. #dealbreaker

• Athleta has 20% off their sale with a coupon code. There's only one sale item I want and think I already have too many long sleeve shirts. (Extra20 through 3/30)

• I've been eying some Lorna Jane crops with pockets. LJ has 30% off their clearance, but I can't quite bring myself to spend the money.

• I also ordered a S'well water bottle last week (as my husband's bday present to me). I love this pretty metallic colorful bottle. (Color: Neptune). I'd hoped it would get here in 7 days in time for my birthday, but it will be nine days before it gets here: So two days late.

Travel Worthy Activewear

I have never been a light packer. I was the girl that brought everything from formal wear to Pringles to summer camp. But with airlines get stricter and stricter with carry-ons I've had to pare down.

I wanted to pack especially light for a recent trip to D.C. because if I had to check a bag, I'd miss my shuttle home. So I packed the bare minimum. And activewear is so versatile, it's most of what I packed.

Here are the activewear pieces that I got the most mileage out of on my recent travels (Lululemon unless otherwise noted)

Hi elephants!

1) Vinyasa Scarf
I wore a grey herringbone vinyasa scarf—and it is just perfect for travel. It wore it looped around twice in the airport. I got hot and put it on my suitcase handle while I waited. On the plane, I got cold, so it worked as a wrap/blanket. And it was great to have in D.C's chilly weather. It's soft, stylish and super functional. Will definitely bring this scarf next time I travel. I might even need a second scarf.

Vest and 5 mile long sleeve. 

2. Down for a Run Vest
I tried this on in the store for giggles. I had no intention of buying a $139 vest. And then I looked in the mirror. It is cute, so flattering. And it has a million pockets. I waited a week and broke down and bought it and then wore it every weekend.

This is what I wore in the airport—so I didn't have to carry a purse. It has two pockets that are big enough for a wristlet mini wallet. It also has two pockets on the side that can fit a can of Coke. It's stylish and more hands-free than a purse. I stocked my mini wallet, inhaler, winter hat, and anything I'd usually carry in my purse when I went out.

I sent a pic to my sister—she thought it was perfect for moms, but needed a spot for a pacifier.
This vest is a winter staple. I wear it all the time.

Upgraded to exit row on my rerouted flight through Charlotte.
Lots of leg room. Love my jet crops.

3. Jet Crop Slims
I wore these pants in the airport because they're comfy and don't have metal. And I could dress them up or down if need be. They're something I can wear ALL day. (They feel kinda like pajamas). I ended up wearing them the next day to walk around the zoo, and pulling them on over my leggings when I was in a hurry to get from a last minute trampoline class to rush to the airport.

4. Athleta ponte pants
These are my dress yoga pants. They packed well and didn't wrinkle. They work well for a dressy business conference.

5. Align leggings
I packed these because they can work as leggings under a dress or workout leggings. It was freezing in DC so I wore them under a dress when I went out for lunch, and wore them to an exercise class that night.

6. &Go Where-To Dress in grey (grey is sold out)
I got this on mark down and where it every week. It packs well and doesn't wrinkle. It's comfy and has a pocket that's perfect for a hotel room card. I like that it dresses up well for a T-shirt dress. I got the short sleeve, so I can slip a sweater on if I'm cold/want to dress it up.

I brought some other activewear: I wore a 5 mile long sleeve on the plane, and got too hot, and got too hot again at the zoo. I brought some purple leggings for trapeze.

 I ended up buying a black Cool Racer Back from Lululemon near the Whitehouse and wore it that night for trampoline class and I think twice since. I'm always looking for a clean black tank.

And I wore everything I packed in my tiny carryon suitcase and laptop bag—except a pair of shorts I brought in case I wanted to run on the treadmill. But I walked so much around D.C. that I decided I didn't need to run. (And I did two more trampoline classes than I'd planned and still had clothes for this :)

Oh, and I missed my shuttle home anyway. There was light snow in the forecast so it took 40 minutes to de-ice my plane going home, so it was really late coming in. #Fail.

TSNY Trampoline classes

Trampoline classes at a trapeze school sounded like THE BEST THING EVER to me. I love trampolines. And I love flying trapeze. So when I had a work trip to an area with a TSNY, after I booked my flight the first thing I did was book a trampoline class. (And trapeze class second.)

I didn't know quite what to expect in this trampoline class, but given my history with trampolines—well I was just hoping it was fun.

The day of, I met the instructor. I told him my goal was to have fun, that I'd never even been on one of these fancy Olympic trampolines before but that I'd spent a lot of time at the trampoline park. I don't think he was expecting much from me.

My class was three people. Me. A girl who had done trampoline as her college PE (that sounds amazing) but was out of practice and a lady who was an instructor at TSNY and was working on cool flips.

Since there's only one trampoline, we all took turns.

The warm-up was to bounce up and down and stay in the middle. And the trampoline was a lot bouncier than I'm used to so this took some calibration. I also use my arms to balance me and the teacher was standing to my side, so he had to move before I could do this. Once I got the hang of that (and staying in the middle, not bouncing off to the side), we practice straddles, pikes, seat drops and back drops. I think the teacher was surprised I could fearlessly do a backdrop.

We tried cradles—back to front. And I'd never been taught the right way to do a lot of these things, so he had to show me where my hands should go etc. But I got back to front and front drops—he was pulling a mattress in front of me.

And then he decided I should work on backflips.

I have never been brave enough to do a backflip. Ever. But I was feeling brave. So we decided to go for it.

And Rich is the best spotter ever.

He would jump with me, count to three, and then I'd try to jump back so my shoulder would land on his shoulder, with my back and butt in a straight line with my shoulder.

After a few rounds of that, I'd try to get up and over. And he'd kind of push me so I'd get in the right—back and over.

And I had the same problem as with my front flips. Not waiting. And rotating too fast. My flips were all rotation. No height.

But I started getting them. And I was so SO CLOSE. I was pumped.

I went back to the hotel and sent the video to my adult gymnastics instructor. And I was high as a kite on adrenaline for a few hours.

Almost doing a backflip when you've been terrified for years is amazing. And that was some amazing spotting.

I ended up taking THREE trampoline classes in three days while I was in D.C.

I came back the next day and took a class with a gymnast. I wanted to get my back flip. Only the second teacher couldn't spot that. I was so disappointed. She had me working on front drops and cradles. And I am not good at them and don't care to do them.

My last day in DC I took another trampoline class after flying trapeze. Another class with Rich. I needed to get my backflip. This class was also three people. Another girl from the flying trapeze class—who used to live in Athens and work at UGA. And there was another lady who worked at TSNY in NY.

The instructor was working on cradles, which is a back drop, and you go up like for a front drop but rotate over so you land on your back again. I can't do the rotation. I think it's all about waiting and getting enough height in the air. I have enough power in my drop but can't.

The other girl really wanted to learn net tricks for flying trapeze. She was working on back drops. They are so scary and hard to learn.

I wanted to work on my backflip.

(Thanks Nadia for the video) 

I didn't quite get it. Either it wasn't as good as a few days ago (or I was tougher on myself. The first time I was so thrilled just to be making progress, so not as tough on myself.) And then I worked on front flips. I don't know how to land them. I was trying to stick the landing. Like on a mat. But with a trampoline you just bounce. Haha. That's what I learned.

I love these classes and wish I could find one in Georgia. I found a gym that does have trampoline classes—but more for kids. I messaged them and they told me about their open gym. Not interested.

Verdict: Trampoline classes—LOVED. Need in my town.

Taking a sick day

Haven't blogged at all this week because I've been sick.

I've had a fever over 100 for four days. I think this is the sickest I've been since college. Ugh.

(And I am utterly worthless when running a fever. I do not think straight. Or do logical things.)

And here's the deal: DO NOT WORKOUT WHEN YOU ARE SICK.

Don't go to the gym and get your germs all over the equipment and breathe on your class mates. It's just a bad idea.

I've done easy runs with a mild head cold before (solo) but that's the extent of it.

This week, I was tired Tuesday so didn't work out. And the fever started Wednesday so I just stayed home and whined. And took my temperature every hour. (101.4).  I did try to get some exercise in. I have a stationary bike at home—so I tried that—super low speed to get some calorie burn in and meet my Apple Watch goals for two days but it really was really a bad idea. I was already burning up inside from the fever. I didn't need to get even hotter.

I think I was most upset that this illness made me break my Apple Watch move streak. And because I couldn't work out, now I can't get my perfect month badge :(

The Apple Watch is SOOOO ANNOYING when you are sick.

1. It gives you TIME TO STAND reminders every hour.
Seriously, it needs an option for I'M SICK today. Because you can't get more than an hour's worth of sleep for this thing chiming at you.
It does have a mute for the day option. And I could take it off. But I'm running a fever and therefore not thinking straight.

2. It reminds you that you haven't met your goals for the day. You've only exercised for a minute. You've only walked a mile.

Really, I should just take the watch off. But I didn't think of that until my fever went down. (I did this Sunday and it was glorious!)

I went to the doctor Saturday morning. My doctor was a former U.S. Rep known for saying unintelligent things. He was nice enough.

We did a strep test. Not strep. Then blood work.

And that went badly.

My head started to feel funny and I felt like I was going to puke. I was still holding tissue on my arm to clot the bleed and looked at the nurse and told her I didn't feel good.

They went into emergency mode. Told me to lay back, put a cool compress on my head, told me to do something with my arm.

I was trying so hard not to puke. And then my leg started to shake. I was so light headed through all of this. It was a horrible combination of my head, nerves and stomach. It was really scary.

That happened ONCE before in college when I was super sick. I get blood work done once or twice a year and like to think I'm tough. Not this time. I hadn't eaten that morning. They didn't ask. I was too sick to realize this before hand.

I laid there for a while. I sat up to get something out of my bag and got REALLY dizzy. That was a bad idea. I laid there for a while longer  and eventually, it passed. I ate a granola bar when my stomach calmed down.

The doctor gave my a prescription for some cough beads and I picked up some stronger decongestants than I'd been using. After the cough beads made my cough worse, I switched to a different medicine and am hoping for the best.

Hopefully, I can workout again soon. I've dropped about two pounds since I've been sick and have had zero appetite (and felt bad when I ate more than a few bites of food.)  I'm ready to be healthy again.

Throwback Thursday: Running—Then vs now

I'm 32. Half a lifetime ago I was running track for my high school. And running has changed a lot in the last 16 years. I was thinking about what's different in running for me now.

1. Running by myself
The biggest difference is that when I was running in high school someone was telling me what to do. And I had team mates. Now I run by myself. I make up my own workouts. There's no team (and I do miss this). I've thought about getting a coach or even looking into online training plans. For now it's just running three times a week—2-4 miles. I'm not really training for anything either.

2. Frequency

I ran six days a week in high school. Some times twice a day. Now, I run three times a week now, and never on back-to-back days. My knees and joints don't like running consecutive days. I feel like three times a week is enough to keep my endurance without overexerting myself. (I do teeter on the verge of over-use injuries. I battled tendonitis in high school.) It's just enough to push myself without breaking myself. This could change if I wanted to train for something in particular, but for now I think three days a week works for my body.

3. 20 pounds
I'm 20 pounds heavier than I was in high school. My thighs are bigger. My arms are bigger. I have more upper body strength. I might have been a tad slimmer then. But there's not that much difference. I could probably fit into a lot of my high school clothes. At size 4-6, I think I'm doing just fine.

4. Supplements
I'm sure supplements were around when I was in high school. I remember my mom gave me health bars for races. (They tasted terrible.) And some of the guys would take yellow jackets (caffeine pills) before races.

But now supplements are so much more common. There's pre-workout shakes and post workout shakes and all sorts of stuff you can take to enhance your performance. My routine is usually to eat a banana or a granola bar an hour before I workout—if I'm hungry. I like a shake after gymnastics, because it's so late and I'm usually too tired to eat (but usually it's almond milk, a banana and some fruit. No synthetics here).

5. Watches
I used to run with a purple Timex. I could see my running times. I could see my splits. I loved that watch (it went over a waterfall in North Georgia when I was in college.) Now, watches are crazy advanced. I run with an Apple Watch. Watches have GPS, heart rate monitors, sleep trackers, step counters, calorie goals. Some can compare your pace. Smart watches can get text messages. Watches are so much more advanced now.

6. Heart rate monitors
I don't think I'd heard of a heart rate monitor in high school. We just ran. And if we felt dizzy, maybe we sat down. Now, all serious athletes wear heart rate monitors.

7. Shoes
I ran in Nikes or Addidas in school. I hadn't heard of Brooks or Asics. Now, you can go and get your stride measured on a treadmill with a gait camera. I think I remember FANCY sporting goods stores having the tiniest indoor track you could run on. Now, you can find out exactly what pricey brand of shoe you need to wear.

8. Popularity
In high school, my cross country team was TINY. Most years we didn't have enough girls for a team. I was the only senior on the track team, my year. No one ran in high school. Now, I see so many of my high school friends posting about races on Facebook. Now, everyone runs. Which is great. Except they thought I was weird then. I guess I was just ahead of my time :)

9. Music
Running to music? Some times they played music at my high school meets. I remember running a 3,200 meter to Destiny Child's "I'm a Survivor." We didn't run with music. I used the quiet to reflect on my day or plan. Now, I run with wireless earbuds to songs with good beats.  (iPods and iPhones didn't even exist then).

10. Running clothes
In high school, I ran in T-shirts and Umbros. I had a few tank tops and shorts. Dry-wicking shorts came out my senior year of high school (at least that's when I noticed them at Target). Running clothes are so much more IMPORTANT now. Crops with compression. Sports bras with pockets. There are so many choices. There are so many high-end lines—Lululemon, Lorna Jane, Sweaty Betty, Koral, Athleta. I could have had screen printed panther leggings for my mascot. But that wasn't around then. Now, I am so addicted to workout clothes. I love wearing workout clothes and picking out my gym outfit is usually the highlight of my morning. (As opposed to mindless throwing a T-shirt and shorts that smelled clean in my backpack.) Clothes for working out are fun now.

Also new: running skirts.

I guess all of this means that one day I can reminisce to youngsters about the time when we ran without earbuds or heart rate monitors—and didn't know the exactly mileage we ran when we ran for 45 minutes.

I sure am glad I learned to run when I was young. It makes it so much easier now.  Thanks coach!

At the state cross country championships.

Valentine's Activewear Wish List

Dear husband,

If you want to get me something for Valentines Day, here are a few ideas:

Werkshop leggings in heart prints

If I taught fitness, this is what I'd wear Feb. 14.


S'well water bottle in hearts

They have a whole Valentine's collection. I also like the pink bikini bottle.

I do need a new water bottle. I lost two in the last four months.

Carbon 38 also has a Valentine's Day edit full of hearts, red and SEXY activewear pieces.

Splits 59 also has some cute heart leggings.

And I could use a new purse (the handle broke), this pink Vera Bradley bag is lovely.

And I'm sure I'll see a few more Valentine's Day promos in my emails in the coming days.

Is there any activewear you want for Valentine's Day? Or just chocolate?