Great Strides 2013

Great Strides Dallas 2013 took place yesterday.

Our 2013 team. Bigger and Badder than ever!

For Team Bermudez, it was a huge success! We raised more money than ever before and almost double what we raised last year- over $5,500! More people were on our team than ever before. I never got an official total count, but there were a lot of us.

Some of our team members were gung-ho and sped through the walk while others of us took our time enjoying a leisurely stroll. It was hot and humid, but I figure that’s better than rainy or cold. The sun was certainly shining.

Me and my mom.

My mother-in-law hosted a get together at her house afterwards. There was no short supply of delicious treats. She probably had way too much food, but nobody was complaining.

I personally ate about half of this.

Emotionally, the day was bittersweet. It was hard not to think of last year when Ben was still with us, smile plastered to his face, celebrating one year since his lung transplant. At the same time, no one knows the highs and lows of Cystic Fibrosis like the other people present at Fair Park yesterday. (One team present was even there in support of a team member who had lost their battle with CF earlier this month.) It felt comforting to be surrounded by so many other people dedicated to finding a cure to CF. Doing something positive in the wake of something negative and painful was therapeutic. Plus, it always feels nice to spend time with family.

Stephen (on the right) with his mom and brother Josh.

During the walk I thought about Ben and how much I love him. I thought of each person who donated to our fundraiser. I thought about how lucky I am to have my health, to have never had a day where I couldn’t walk or run or play when I wanted to. I thought about the possibility of a time when CF is easily treatable if not erased completely.

In The Field

If you’ve got a military man or woman in your family, chances are you’re familiar with the phrase “in the field.” It means that your soldier is out somewhere (in the desert, in the woods, in a swamp) doing soldiery stuff (running scenarios, practicing maneuvers, marching, missioning, etc.).

Stephen has never gone in the field before. When he joined his unit in Germany, they were so close to deployment, that they had finished all their field exercises. When he returned from deployment, the unit was deactivating – so no field time. But 10 days ago, Stephen and his comrades left for the field. It’s been 10 days of sleeping outside, not showering, eating MRE’s, having zero contact with loved ones, doing whatever it is soldiers do in the field.

The worst part for me is the fact that we aren’t in contact whatsoever. I can’t text him a quick question, ask for his opinion on how to handle our upcoming trip home for Great Strides, tell him about what’s going on with me, ask him how he’s doing. Not to mention, he left two days after our household goods arrived, so it was a mad dash to unpack and then get him re-packed. After dropping him off at his company in the wee early morning hours, I returned home to a house half un-packed and full to the brim of boxes and packing paper. The good news: he comes home today!

A visual capturing how Army life sometimes makes me feel.

I’ve come to realize that being a military family means accepting that your life is constantly in flux. Between deployments, PCSes, field time, TDY (temporary duty), any number of schools or trainings (remember WLC?), and whatever else they mandate that you do, it feels like we find ourselves adjusting to a new normal on a regular basis. Just when I get used to something (being on my own during Basic Training, living in Germany, reintegration), things change again.

I can’t help but chortle when people say, “You knew what you were getting into when you signed up for this.” I’m two and a half years into this whole Army thing, and I never know what to expect! There’s no telling how often my husband will go into the field (or for how long or with what kind of notice – this time around we knew less than a week in advance), deployment schedules are unpredictable, PCSes are supposed to be at certain intervals but then something crazy happens (cough deactivation cough) and things change.

I used to feel like life was a car ride. I imagined myself in the driver’s seat steering the way, navigating, making the stops I wanted- I was in control. Now I see it more as a roller coaster. Someone else is at the controls and all we can do is make sure our safety harnesses are in place, throw our hands in the air, and scream.

Maybe that doesn’t sound appealing, but the more I think about it, the more I see it as a good thing. The pressure is off of me to make the right decisions or do things perfectly. Instead, I’m just here to make the best of things, laugh when I can, and enjoy the ride.

Today my husband comes home. You can bet I’m going to enjoy that!

Hardcore

One of the first places Stephen and I explored after arriving in El Paso was the gym at Fort Bliss. Bliss actually has something like 8 gyms (!) but the one closest to us is the biggest and the newest. How can you argue with a 10,000 square foot weight room, a cardio room with over 200 machines, a steam room, two basketball courts, a snack bar, an indoor track, group exercise classes at all times during the day, and it’s free! (Well, you gotta pay for your own snacks, but everything else is free free free!)

The gym. Oooh. Ahhh.

I was most intrigued by the group fitness classes. The one and only time I ever did a group fitness thing was the summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school: The Athlete’s Course (TAC). While TAC was awesome, it was also really hard. I think it’s probably comparable to boot camp nowadays. We did sprints across the football field, weight lifted, did resistance and agility training. It was mostly attended by football players with a small spattering of us female athletes. And the guy who was in charge yelled at us. A lot. I got in awesome shape after doing that two hours each morning week after week, but I have no desire to repeat it, thank you very much.

Thankfully casual drop-in class at the gym are not quite that scary. I got my first taste with a 30 minute class called Hardcore. As the name implies, it’s about ab work. I was talking to the trainer before class started and she was so sweet. I expressed to her that I was nervous that I couldn’t keep up, but she encouraged me to just give it a try.

Class began with us leaving the fitness room (huh?!) and going downstairs to the TRX straps.

TRX straps – also known as the torture chamber for your abs.

Whosawhatsits? I like to think I’m informed when it comes to exercise trends (I do read healthy living blogs after all), but TRX straps were new to me. TRX straps use suspension training and your body weight to incorporate balance, flexibility, strength, and core work into one.

There are a million ways you can use the straps, but for the most part, we put our feet into them and then assumed plank positions, did crunches, did push-ups. The grand finale was a plank/push-up/crunch combination.

This is exactly what I did! Only my form didn’t look quite like this.

Every time the trainer would demo or explain a new move, I would say, “holy shhht” or something equivalent. The other people in the class (thankfully there were only five of them to witness my struggles) seemed to just go with it. They were strong-abed workout drones. I was the first person to take a break when we’d do planks, I had to do modified push-ups, I’m certain I was red-faced the entire time. No abs of steel for me.

For the next week few days, I felt my abs with every little movement I did. Taking dishes out of the dishwasher? I felt it in my abs. Rolling over in bed? Hello abdominals! Petting Geronimo? Bring the abs along with you! My muscles were making themselves known. I was sore sore sore. But I loved it. I don’t like struggling in class, but I like knowing that my body got a killer workout. Would you believe it, I even went back on another day to use the TRX straps by myself.

I already told the trainer that I’ll be back in her class. I foresee it taking me many moons to actually get a hard core, but I’m not giving up!

Have you ever done TRX workouts? What’d you think? Any group fitness fans? I’m not much of a joiner but considering how good this workout was, I’m contemplating attending some of the other classes.

Less than a Week

In less than a week, I’ll by heading to Dallas for my third annual Great Strides walk. Great Strides is a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The idea is to raise awareness and money. Last year, over $40 million was raised, but there is still no cure to CF, and there are still too many people dying too young from this disease.

I can’t help but think back to my participation in previous years. Great Strides 2011 serendipitously fell the day after Ben’s (my brother-in-law) double lung transplant.

Our 2011 Great Strides team.

He obviously couldn’t participate in the walk (he was still doped up and hooked up to a million machines deep in the throws of post-surgery recovery), but my mother-in-law, nephew, my other brother-in-law and I did. I remember feeling giddy from the happiness over Ben’s surgery. There was a bounce in my step. How could there not be? The day we thought would never come had suddenly befallen us, and we got to celebrate by walking with other CF families.

Great Strides 2012 was even better.

Our 2012 Great Strides Team.

Ben was able to attend and our team grew considerably in size. We even made matching t-shirts. The loop around Fair Park felt triumphant. We were rallying around Ben and his huge gains in health, basking the glow of someone kicking CF’s ass. I think all of us smiled the entire time. Afterwards, we pigged out as part of a lung-a-versary celebration.

I predict that this year will be much more somber. Ben died back in February (it’ll be exactly three and a half months on the day of the walk). His friends have really banded together to raise as much money as possible this year. They held bake sales, got Dallas nightclubs to donate a percentage of their proceeds on certain nights, and have worked their tails off to reach our team fundraising goal of $10,000.

Oh, how I wish Ben could be here with us to enjoy the walk one more time. Since he can’t, I feel a sense of duty to try to give all the other families who love someone with CF what we lost – more time together. If you feel compelled to do so, please consider donating to our Great Strides team. (Just click the link here.) I know a few of you have already donated, and you are amazingly generous for having done so. It means a lot to me and to those living with CF. Any amount makes a difference. You can rest assured that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a worthy charity. (It has a rating of A- from the American Institute of Philanthropy.)

Next week I will recap the 2013 Great Strides walk and let y’all know how much our team was able to raise! Stay tuned!

Podcast Favorites

Now that I’m watching decidedly less TV, I have started to listen to podcasts on a daily basis. Podcasts are pre-recorded shows that you can listen to via your computer or smart phone after downloading them for free. I’ve started to listen to them while I am doing boring tasks like laundry, unpacking, driving to work (I don’t like the radio stations here), cooking, and washing the dishes. Podcasts are more convenient than watching TV because I can listen anywhere that I set my phone down unlike my television, which is stationary.

So which podcasts are my most favoritiest?

• Stuff You Missed in History Class

This podcast, produced by How Stuff Works, gives you 30 minute shows about different historical topics, sometimes obscure but not always. Some of the best shows I’ve listened to so far include The Life of Johnny Appleseed, Loving v. Virginia, Historical Hoaxes, Nikola Tesla and the War of the Currents, and The Hindenburg Disaster. The shows are always comprised of two woman (they have a few different commentators, but it’s always a combination of two women) discussing the ins and outs of each topic. Stephen thinks the women sound like the Schweddy Balls skit from SNL years ago, and he’s kind of right. They talk so softly and sweetly, but I kind of like that about them. It’s easy on the ears when I listen to the podcast first thing in the morning.

• Freakonomics Radio

Have you seen the Freakonomics movie? So good! The podcast is simply the radio version. Economists and writers Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt tackle topics from an economic point of view – so they’ve done the research, run the numbers, put together interesting interviews, and give you the skinny on things like spite, the effectiveness of cash for grades,  what would be the most effective form of gun control (that one was so interesting!), how to fight obesity, jerks, parking, the value of a college degree, and more. The podcasts are usually topical (like the gun control podcast in the wake of all the gun control discussion, a tax-related podcast in April). I have found that the podcasts provide a unique perspective and are highly entertaining. Freakonomics is Stephen’s favorite podcast. The guys are funny and there is variety within and between the podcasts.

• This American Life

This American Life podcasts are longer but less frequently produced than the others, however, I have found them to be the most interesting. This one is a little harder to describe. One particular show was called “Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde” about a doctor who murdered his father. The clinic where he used to work hired a new doctor with the same name. The podcasts explored the first Dr. Gilmer’s motives behind the murder and the second Dr. Gilmer’s reaction when he found out and eventually befriended and helped the first Dr. Gilmer. Another podcast explored a town where the majority of the residents were on disability, the trend of people getting disability in the country as a whole, and its economic impact. I was cracking up on the way to work listening to “Music Lessons” which included a comedic reading by David Sedaris. So I guess it is what it sounds like – a look at life in America from every different angle.

• Great Speeches in History

This one is definitely the least sexy of the bunch. It’s straight up recordings and readings of famous speeches in history. I’m familiar with some famous lines from big speeches but there is something really powerful about hearing a speech in its entirety, especially the ones that we have recordings of. (Washington’s farewell address, for example, is obviously not a recording – it’s a reading.) I’ve discovered that we have had some really smart people in our midst who are also incredibly talented with words. I’ve loved re-visiting some of the big speeches and discovering others that I’d never heard before (Eisenhower’s farewell address, Reagan’s Inaugural Address, the eulogy for Robert Kennedy). I’ve already thought of tons of ways I could use this in my class if I was still teaching. Since I’m not, I just listen for enjoyment instead.

Other notable favorite podcasts include The Moth, Nerdist, and Ted Talks. All worth a listen!

Are you listening to podcasts? Which ones? Share!

It’s All I Could Manage

I realized that I haven’t talked about running or fitness at all lately. The reason for that is I haven’t been very actively.  *Dun-dun-dun.* (That was dramatic music.) With unpacking bogging me down, I just haven’t squeezed much in. (And by “haven’t squeezed much in” I of course mean “I’ve done nothing.”) Today (four days sans workout) I knew that I had to do something.

Looks like a nice day for a run, eh?

I put on my workout clothes, and gave myself the old “it doesn’t have to be fast, it doesn’t have to be far” pep talk. This is usually really effective for me. I lower my expectations because I realize that anything is better than nothing. My Garmin wasn’t charged, which helped me brush aside worries about pace. Instead, I just started the timer on my phone, grabbed Geronimo, and ran.

We took it easy with a slow jog from our house to the park nearby and did a few loops. My plan was to drop Geronimo off at home and then run a few more miles on my own…

…But I just didn’t. I wasn’t feeling motivated. I was feeling hot, I was feeling tired (achy back, tired feet, sore neck), and it couldn’t compete with my the cool air conditioning and overstuffed furniture in my house.

I went inside, kicked off my shoes, plopped on the couch, and did not feel one ounce bad about it. I probably should have sucked it up and gone back out. But but but I’m not going to feel bad about it or beat myself up. Sometimes one miles is all we can mange. Sometimes I can’t even get myself to go that far! Usually one mile leads to more; this time it didn’t. I’m proud of myself for getting out there and giving what I could, even if it was just one measly mile.

Do you do short workouts or are they just not worth it to you? How’s are your May workouts going so far? Stalling out like me or blowing throw the month?

Why Did I Pack That?

This past weekend, our household goods arrived!

The last four crates on the truck belong to us. The last time I saw them it was 40 degrees and raining. And I was in Germany.

The movers packed us up in Germany at the end of March, so we weren’t expecting our belongings to make it to Texas until the end of May. No joke, I screamed for joy when Stephen told me get got the e-mail. No more sleeping on the futon, no more eating our meals on the floor, no more cooking with one spatula. Happiness.

And then the unpacking starts and the joy fizzles a little. Unpacking totally blows. It’s physically tiring and it’s annoying. And somehow a few things got packed up that shouldn’t have been.

Example numero uno:

An onion. I think this is actually a tribute to our German movers. I told them, “Pack up everything in these cabinets,” in our kitchen, and I guess they did. Other random kitchen items include an open packet of taco seasoning and one packet of Taco Bell hot sauce.

Example numero dos:

The fanny pack. Now I guess I just need Stephen to take me somewhere that fanny packs are part of the dress code. Where would that be?

Example numero tres:

A hanger with a protective plastic bag and nothing inside. Whatever was inside did not fall out. Nothing goes inside. It’s just a hanger and a bag. I had to laugh at that one. And then I hung it up in my closet.

Other than a few stowaways and certain items that we still have way too many of (mugs! shoes!), unpacking is going okay. It only took the movers two hours to unload all of our stuff, and I made it my mission to work myself to the bone the rest of the day. I got the entire kitchen unpacked (yes!) and we were able to get our bed put back together.

According to my sticker sheet, I think we may be halfway there.

Each sticker = 1 box or piece of furniture.

Many of the remaining boxes contain a million small items, and some of the boxes that have already been unpacked require subsequent organization (our spices, my closet, the books). I keep reminding myself that we are going to be here for a while, so there is no rush to get everything done in one day or even one week. I’m going to take my time and get everything exactly the way I want it.

Every find something weird when you were unpacking? I can’t be the only one!