Days 61 - 65: Just dance!

But not like Lady Gaga, k?

Friday I was going to go to yoga, but then I forgot my mat, and by the time I realized it, there was no way I was getting home to get it and then getting back to the studio in time. So I did nothing. Apparently my spirit is easily broken. Rest day anyway, right?

Saturday I was supposed to do a 5k "race," but since we hadn't signed up for anything and Chris was still out of town, I just ran a 5k in Lullwater with my coworker and her dog. It was actually quite cool, and a little misty... a welcome break from the intense heat. Time was 33 something... not really that important.

Saturday afternoon I had a special work shop for belly dancing: fan veil technique! 3 hour workshop, about 2 of those spent really dancing. It's hard! It looks so pretty and graceful and light when you watch dancers with the veils, but by the end, my arms were sore and my hands were on fire and all torn up from the wooden fan base. I can't wait until they offer a choreography though... it's totally the coolest prop. Well, except fire. But I'm not advanced enough for that yet.

Sunday I started a new 6 week course for dance: Shake it like Shakira! I'm apparently obsessed with Shakira, since this is my second Shakira-based class. I guess her music is just that awesome to belly dance to. She actually does belly dance... she is part Lebanese, so she's been belly dancing since she was really young. You can definitely see the influence in her videos. This class is a combination course, so instead of learning one big choreography, each week we'll learn some of Shakira's belly dance moves and then put them together for a short combination to one of her songs. Should be fun. I finally made it to yoga on Sunday, too. The thumb seemed to hold up fine, so I consider it healed.

Monday I was also going to go to yoga. I even remembered to bring my mat with me to work this time. But... then I went for margaritas with some girls from work instead. Almost the same...

Today the schedule called for a 7 miler. I was solo again, but it was actually a fantastic run. It wasn't hot, although it was humid. My joints were a little creaky getting started, but once I warmed up, I kept a pretty consistent pace, and it was a beautiful morning--I could see actual sun rays through the trees thanks to the slight haze from the humidity. It was quiet, and I was able to just listen to the sound of my own feet, meditate, and focus on myself for a little. Time was 1:06:57, without too much stress about it during the run, so I'm pretty proud of that.

Back-to-back dance classes tonight, too! (Yes, that is 3 classes and a workshop in 4 days. Yes, I have a problem.) In the African drum solo class we drilled chest drops and pelvic drops, so my uppermost and lowermost (is that a word?) abs want to cry right now. We also drilled knee shimmies. It's amazing how each class you can learn something different related to a move you've done a million times, just because it's explained a slightly different way. I've been doing knee shimmies since my very first class, but however the teacher explained it today just clicked, and I finally feel like I have the right technique down. I was super excited. I also noticed how much more flexibility I have in my chest now... no more pathetic lifts. You can tell I'm moving! In the second class we finished our Tahitian drum solo choreography. It's 2 and a half intense minutes of hip shaking! The last part is a little sketchy for me... I'm pretty certain I'm not doing it right and probably won't ever be able to, but I can fake it, so it's fine.

I'm pretty exhausted. I consumed 3 liters of water today. 3 liters! That's a lot. Even though it's only like 0.8 gallons, for all you non-metric people out there. I'm about to go drink more, so I might make a gallon today. Maybe have some ice cream too... I think I earned it. And hopefully sleep... too much work stress, even the exercise isn't helping. But I definitely need to try to sleep.