Monday, May 30, 2011

Family Fun and a Kid's Run

We went to see my grandparents this weekend. Wes enjoyed feeding the duck with his great-grandparents!

We left on Sunday so Wes and Dave could run the the Boys Town Memorial Day Run!!

There were a TON of kids for the 400 meter race. After the gun shot, Wes and two other kiddos fell and got a little trampled. A man about 3 rows back, picked up Wes and put him back  up on his feet. Wes looked around and really wanted to cry....but didn't see us so put his head down and started to run with big pre-cry huffs.  My motherly instincts took over and I jumped in the race with him. When he saw me the look of relief on my face was priceless. He ran the rest of the race but refused to let go of my hand.

 But he finished the whole 400 meters!!! He also said he liked it and wants to do another race. SCORE!!!

This is Wes and his buddy Ben who also ran the race!


 
My awesome hubby also ran the race! He did the 5 miler and got a great time. It was really hot, humid, and windy for race day. I kept Wes, Ben, and Sam on the sidelines so both Pete, Jenn, and Dave could run. We saw 2 people go down and one girl puked right in front of the kids.

All in all we had a fun weekend! Tomorrow is my last day at my desk job! I'm nervous but very ready to be done!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

D-O-M-S

D-O-M-S
Delays Onset Muscle Soreness.
My official diagnosis

Here's how it went down....
Sunday: Rocked an all women's triathlon. Feelin' sassy!

Monday: Still feeling sassy

Tuesday: wake up early to train my first client!! I LOVE IT! I hope she does too! I really couldn't ask for a better first client. She is amazing! She works hard, she's sweet, she's fun to work with! Sat in on a Pilate's class to learn the class format for when I begin teaching it next week. That evening I subbed a spin class and got to chat with a TEAM in Training Tri coach. She may have talked me into doing a Tri with the team.
Side note: still feeling sassy.

Wednesday: I stay home with Wes who is running a fever, complains of tummy ache, and in general whines throughout the day. I feel bad for him and we do a lot of cuddling. I notice that the longer I lay on the couch with him the stiffer I become. In my head I think....no big deal, I teach spin tonight and I'll workout any kinks in class.
So I head to class.
I get in the room, get it all set up, and people start to filter in. I hop on the bike and begin warming up while people file in and fill the bikes. The longer I pedal....the more sore I become.        Uh-oh.

On two different occasions I hear myself huffing and puffing into the microphone. I adjust the mic. By the time class is over, I have completely soaked through my shirt and the bike has big drip marks from my sweat. Yuk. My legs.....toast. My back....toast. I am exhausted!

Today: I get to rise and shine to work with my awesome client again this morning. She brightens my day! I head to yoga to learn the class format for when I take it over in July. The Yoga...helps. Nice long stretches in all the right spots. I am hoping a good night's sleep tonight will do the trick!

Monday, May 23, 2011

A Terribly Terrific Triathlon

It was cold. It was windy. The course gave new meaning to the word..."HILLS".


Before the start


So....due to the insanity of a triathlon in MAY, I borrowed my friend's husband's wet suit. A little big but it made the swim do-able. The water was in the mid-60's.....and so was the air temp.....brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The gun goes off and we head in. It was so cold that when you put your face in the water it was reflexive to gasp....I choked several times. I plowed my way through massive amount of stringy moss and lake grasses and I survived the swim. The slowest swim I have ever done....but the key word is done.

Next we hopped on our bikes. We spent a mile on broken down brick and then hit up the most insane hills I have ever riden on in my life. My thighs burned and my back ached. Next up....running.

Hoped off the bike to run straight into a hill. Good times.....good times. It felt like I was crawling!!! After the turn around I stopped to roll out my shoulder due to a massive cramp. I told myself...just keep moving forward...and that is what I did.

Finally I could see the finish line. I looked up at the time and thought..."wait a minute...that can't be right. That is way too early for me to be done. It feels like I've been out here for 3 hours...."

I did my first Sprint Triathlon last year with a time of 1 hr 58 min.


My Official results for THIS RACE.......

Name: Nikki Kendall
Time: 1:48:57 Overall Place: 79 of 214
Place in Gender: 79 of 214
Place in Division F3034: 17 of 43

Swim: 24:47
Trn1: 2:48
Bike: 52:13
Trn2: 0:46
Run : 28:25 Pace: 9:09

I JUST GOT A FREAKING PR FOR MY 5K TIME!!! Not to mention I improved my sprint tri time by 10 minutes! Holy Hell.....I still don't think they have the results for the right girl!!


Me and my running buddy at the finish

I am not sure what happened. I have no idea how that could be my time. It was a terrific race and a terrible race all at the same time.

All in all I am pleased with my time and proud to be a part of the first ever Omaha Women's Triathlon.

GIRL POWER!!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Desk job - Schmesh Job

As I mentioned in my previous post, I put in my notice at my day job.


I've decided I want to get paid to exercise.

Luckily for me...that is an option!


The YMCA has put me on the summer schedule to teach every day Monday Through Friday!!! So Monday through Friday I will teach a total of 8, turning to 9 in July, classes a week!!!

6 spin classes

2 Pilates Classes

One Yoga class.

They has also hired me to be a personal trainer out of the YMCA!


Wanna know what else is cool about this whole deal....
They are very supportive of my private business!!


I can not believe how everything is falling into place so nicely! I meet with my first private personal training client tonight!!

I am one lucky girl!



Monday, May 16, 2011

Open For Business

I spoke with my supervisor at the YMCA last week and told her I really wanted to quit my day job after Memorial Day and begin my personal training business. I told her I wasn't sure if that would happen because I need enough business to justify leaving a stable paycheck. She stated that they have a lot of day time hours available at my Y and that she would set me up with several day time fitness classes to teach as well as put me on the list to be a daytime personal trainer at the Y which I could do along with my private business if I was interested.

Hmmmmmmm....
Told the hubby the news, he said he could support that...

Officially put in my 2 week notice at my day job
The demons in my head have begun chattering...
Having  heart palpitations.
I am leaving a secure paycheck!
Am I in good enough shape to be some one's trainer?
Am I insane?

While having a panic attack I got the opportunity to run a booth at a local company's Girls Night Out. Brochures for Kendall Personal Fitness...yes, my company's name...got placed in over 100 gift bags and I had 30-40 women put their info in for a drawing to win free personal training by me, and I ended up seeing a few friend who all took my brochure and told me that they were proud on me.

Event Flyer

My booth
My brother-in-law designed my logo, built me a website, and helped me design brochures. The website was launched in time for the event as well! I have to pay him in Red Bull and provide my sister with a personal trainer after the baby comes. Totally do-able!! 

Scared. Nervous. Excited.

Here we go.....



Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Ode To The Running Buddy

 We all know the advantages of having someone to workout with. Someone for company and accountability. Things change a little bit when you start training for endurance events like marathons or triathlons. Suddenly...you're friends think your nuts and everyone is intimidated to workout with you. It is absolutely priceless for a girl to find another girl who will train and compete in these crazy events! It is awesome when a 10 mile bike ride followed by a 2 mile run goes by so quickly you don't even realize how far you have gone because it turned into a total gab-fest!  My running buddy is also my camping buddy. She totally rocks!



 
When I ask..."hey...wanna run as fast as you can to the top of the tallest tower in Nebraska?" Wanna know who says "ok"....
THIS GIRL
Then she totally crushes the competition!



When I ask..."Hey..wanna fundraise thousands of dollars to be donated to a charity to fight cancer and then run a marathon/" Wanna know who says "ok"....

THIS GIRL




When I ask..." Wanna travel hundreds of miles away from home to spend several days away from your children all to run 26.2 miles?" Wanna know who says "ok"....

THIS GIRL


 When I ask..."I need a free photographer to come to do head shots of me for a personal training website that I want to launch in 2 days and it needs to be done tonight....Can you do it?" Wanna know who says "ok"...

THIS GIRL
 then she does the entire photo shoot with a smile on her face!


I don't mean to brag....but I have the best running buddy!


Monday, May 9, 2011

Campground Bad-Asses

We went camping this weekend with The Carter Clan....which is always awesome. They brought their boat, they threw on their wetsuits and went skiing. Dave and I marveled at their skills and overall craziness considering how cold the water is the first weekend in MAY!
I have successfully convinced Jenn Carter to not only do a sprint triathlon with me but to also join up with TEAM In Training and run a full marathon with me in October in San Francisco. She kinda rocks!
We did our first true brick work out this weekend..... a 10 mile ride followed by a 2 mile fun...

AND WE OWNED IT!!


This weekend we decided to bust out a little wine after the kids went to sleep.

We ended up going through a ridiculous amount of sangria....literally!
We decorated our glasses with oranges, cherries, kiwi, and even tried fresh mango. The fresh mango wasn't as great as we had hoped but after a couple of classes, none of us cared.

Perfect weather, good wine, great company, and the kiddo even slept in!
Awesome weekend!


Thursday, May 5, 2011

My Willy Wonka World

Sigh...I am so ready to start my personal training business. I am sooooo ready to not be stuck at my desk. I am sooooo ready to begin a new career. I'm taking my time and making sure I have all my ducks in a row before I get started but...
I feel like I can see my golden ticket and I just can't touch it.  I know it is going to take some time to build up enough clientele to justify this being my only means of income but....

I want my new job and I want it now!

Actually...what I should say...

I want to be a successful personal trainer and I want it NOW!

 I absolutely love training for events, mentoring for the TEAM, and love teaching fitness classes. I really think I am going to love being a trainer.... 
Love it like a fat kid loves cake!!

I know my patience will pay off and I will be glad I got everything in order before I dove into this new adventure...but MAN is it hard to be patient!! 

I am bringing my running/camping buddy Jenn to a TEAM In Training recruitment/info meeting tonight. I am trying to talk her into running the Nike Marathon with me for the TEAM. She's already a rock star runner and loves to run....I think adding in the "team" part of it will really make her race! Plus I think we could both use an awesome girls weekend! Keep your fingers crossed that I talk her into it!



Monday, May 2, 2011

May Day Race Day

Yesterday was the Lincoln Half Marathon! I have run 13.1 miles on numerous occasions but I have never raced a half marathon....I seriously had a GREAT race! Great weather, a few windy spots, but nothing major! Sun shine, great crowd! The best part....a finish line on the Husker's 50 yard line at Memorial Stadium.....I mean honestly...could you find a better finish line in Nebraska...I think not! I had hoped to run somewhere close to 2:15:00, when I saw the forecast and the wind estimates (17 mph gusts) I thought I could be happy if I stayed below 2:30:00. When I came busting through that stadium and looked up at the clock I seriously almost peed!!

OFFICIAL RESULTS:

Nikki Kendall Age: 32 Residence: Omaha, NE
15K Split 1:31:04

10K Split 1:00:19

5K SPLIT 30:31

AVE PACE: 9:57 per mile
Overall Finish: 3483 out of 7208

Sex: 1839 out of 4800 Females

AGE GROUP: 384 out of 892 Females in the F30 Age Group

MY FINAL TIME: 2:10:38

I will post pictures as soon as they send them!!