And the nerves set in!!

Sooooooo my recital is this Sunday. And I’m so nervous. Like waaaaay more nervous than last year. Our dances are so much more difficult this year. I just want to look good and land all my turns. Is that too much to ask?!? Hah! I know in the end, I’ll end up being ok, but I’m still nervous. I’ll try to take some pictures from rehearsal and performance day! I love our costumes, so I’ll try to get pictures of them for sure. We only have one more night of classes on Thursday, then it’s the rehearsal on Saturday. A group of us is also performing at a local arts event after our rehearsal, so I look at it as another opportunity to practice!

On a side note- my pointe shoes are finally working for me. I’ve stuck with my Grishko 2007’s. I have ended up wearing a 7.5 on my left foot and a 7.0 on my right. Both still the soft shanks. It seems to be working! I had to cut the satin off my platforms and replaced it with some moleskin due to the crazy slippery satin on them. Works like a charm!

Well, here’s to another recital!! Send me all of your good-dancer-good-luck vibes, because I most definitely need them!!!! I’m so excited for our show. I know it’s going to be awesome. Everyone has worked so hard on their dances. So yay!

Happy Dancing!! 🙂

Cleveland 10k Race Recap!

Well I did it!! Even though I’ve run 3 half marathons, I’ve never actually ran a 10k race before. So when the news was released that the Cleveland 10k finishers would receive medals, I was all over that!! I was even able to convince my husband to run it with me!

Last year I ran the Cleveland 5k with my younger friend. It was a great race, and I even PR’d at it! I was expecting nothing different from the 10k. And I was not disappointed. Packet pickup was a breeze. I went there early in the day and there was minimal people there, which was nice. The swag bags were awesome! Not only did I get a cool tshirt, but we also got free sample of gummies, protein bar, Neutrogena shampoo, and a 4oz bottle of sunscreen! It was the best swag bag I’ve ever received.

Awesome shirt modeled by my lovely husband!

Awesome swag!!

Race day couldn’t have been better. The weather was a little chilly in the morning, like 40-45 degrees at 5:30-6:00 am. But by race start at 7:00am it was around 50. Perfect running weather! This year they had the marathoners, the half marathoners, and the 10k runners all start together. It was crowded, but finding your corral and taking off went smoothly. The 10k course was mostly flat. There were a few smaller hills, but nothing too bad. Once the courses split off around mile 2-3, the congestion went down a lot. I didn’t mind running together at first. I wasn’t stopped once or had any trouble maneuvering around walkers or slower runners. So good job with that Cleveland!!

Now, you have to know, I did absolutely zero training for this run. Stupid? Yes. Did I survive? Yes. I knew from running my half marathons that I could physically handle this distance. My legs have still been active due to dance, so I really wasn’t too concerned. With that being said- I didn’t really have any goals for this race. I just wanted to have fun and finish. Ok, maybe I had one goal. I secretly wanted to finish in under 1:10, but wasn’t sure if it would happen. Well, I’m happy to report that I accomplished my goal!! I finished in 1:06:59. Not too shabby! I ended up placing around the middle of my female age division, so yay! Husband also did great. He finished at exactly 1:10:00. I am so proud of him. He’s never ran more than a 5k, and he was really nervous. He did awesome though. I knew he would!!

We did it!!

Overall I loved this race. I honestly don’t have any complaints. Here’s a quick recap of the pros to running this awesome race!

PROS:
~ Simple and straightforward packet pickup
~ Plenty of parking at race (we only spent $5!)
~ Simple corral placement (a little crowded due to spectators being allowed to be right in/beside corrals.)
~ Plenty of bathrooms with minimal lines, awesome!!
~ Fast, flat course with great views of downtown and Lake Erie
~ Plenty of water at the stations- awesome volunteers!
~ Great spectators along courses
~ Super cool spinning guitar finisher’s medal
~ Lots of post-race food and drinks (bananas, chips, Cheetos, Popsicles, water, chocolate milk)

The only con I have with this race is with the starting corrals. They really shouldn’t allow spectators to be so close and in the mass of runners trying to get to their corrals. I think they should have had the corrals fenced off like they did when I ran the Rock n’ Roll half marathon. It was a pain to get through the crowds, and there’s such an easy fix for that.

Overall, this was a great race. I will most definitely be running in it again next year! I’m hoping to run the half then! I highly recommend running this race if you live in or around the Cleveland area. I know the half and full marathon courses are pretty flat and fast as well. Many runners PR when they race! So thank you Cleveland for putting on a spectacular race!!

Now onto to the Lady Gaga concert tonight!!! Woo hoo! I’m so ready to rock out and artRave!! 🙂

Pushed to the Limit

Man, have things been busy over here!! I’m working more now, got the new puppy, have dance 2 nights a week, teach on Saturdays, and I’m adding volleyball into this crazy mix now!! I haven’t been running as much as I was in the fall, but I am running the Cleveland 10k this Sunday. Woo hoo! Husband is running it too, and this is his first time running more than a 5k. I’m so excited for him. My friends asked me to join their volleyball team for this summer since my friend just had a baby and isn’t ready to return yet. I played with them a few times over winter, but this will be sand volleyball! I’m so pumped!!

Dance has been crazy. But a good crazy. Our recital pieces this year are really hard. Way more difficult then any of the ones I was in last year. For example: our fan dance has 3 sets of double pirouettes just about back to back. And then, we repeat it again towards the end of our dance. The length of this dance?? Just over 6 minutes. We do a lot of running on and off stage for this piece, which is really cool. We change our formations a few times and it looks amazing. One of my other dances has fouettés in it, which I’m doing good with for the most part. I get a little mentally intimated by the one set, but I’m getting better. We do two piqué turns and then two fouettés ending with an attitude turn. It’s so weird- if I just do two piqué turns and then start the fouettés, I can do over 10. But in the dance, I struggle with just the two. So frustrating!! I know it’s just a mental thing. I just need to trust myself more.

This year has definitely taken me to a higher level of dance. I’ve never pushed so hard and worked so much on such tough skills. Every class, every week, I’m pushed to my limits. And I love every second of it. I love the challenges of these dances and I’m pleased with how well I’m doing. I love coming home with aching feet and sore calves. It’s the best feeling.

Nothing new has really been happening with teaching. The girls are so adorable in their little recital dances. They love the songs. We are doing Pharrell’s “Happy” from Despicable Me 2 for our 3-4 year olds and Kesha’s “Blow” for our 5-6 year olds. They sing along while we dance and it’s so cute. They really enjoy it. I’ve been working on some new things to incorporate into their classes. I would love if anyone had any suggestions!

Hope everyone is doing well. I’m so glad warmer weather has come to Ohio. It’s been nice to get outside and do home yard work and play with the pups! Speaking of pups- here’s my little baby Peanut!

Where Have I Been?!?!

Well hello! Where the heck have I been?!?! This is why…..

That’s right folks! We got a puppy!!!! This is my little teacup chihuahua buddy! We named her Peanut and she is currently 10 weeks old. She was born on Valentine’s Day. So freakin sweet. I love her so much. She’s been such a good puppy so far! Other than the expected occasional accidents, she is really picking up things quick! She’s going potty outside when we let her out and she’s sleeping soundly in her crate at night. She sleeps right next to the bed on my side. Everyone here loves her too. Our one cat, Oreo, is best friends with Peanut. They wrestle and play together constantly. Even Kya, our other dog has really warmed up to her. Peanut loves to chase everyone around the house. She’s so perfect. I love her!!

I will get around to posting more, but here’s a little update on all things! Ballet is going good! We are still working hard at our recital pieces. I really am loving them all. We ended up taking our second pointe dance and turning it into a ballet dance. Between our teacher being out with her injury and everyone having foot or shoe problems, we decided it was for the best. Next year it will be on pointe though. We are still wearing our tutus, which is really cool. The dance has really come together. It’s so different from our other dances. We are still using the fans too! It’s really awesome.

I have a running event coming up soon too! I haven’t been running as much as I was last year, but that’s ok for me. I had a 5k scheduled in March that I ended up not running because I ended up being really sick. I then participated in a Run or Dye race with a couple co-workers. We ended up just walking the whole 3.1 miles and talking. It wasn’t a timed race, so we took our time! Here’s a pic from after the race!

I’m the crazy girl on the left! It was so much fun. I recommend doing one!

Well, that’s all for now people! Catch ya on the flip side! 🙂

Maybe Dreams do Come True?!?!

Guys. Guys. Omg guys. Remember that dream I had the other night?! The one about doing 30 fouettés?! Well today, after I was done teaching, me and one of the other girls in my class decided to work on our piqué turns into fouettés. So I went piqué turn, piqué turn, fouetté, fouetté…until I couldn’t fouetté anymore. And guess what?? I did 10. And then did 10 again. And then did 11. Holy freakin cannoli. And the best thing about it??? I didn’t travel when doing them either. Maybe my dream was good luck?! Hah!! I was so happy today. And the girls were so excited for me. I was so excited for me too!! So maybe my dream was bringing me good karma or good luck or something. But whatever it was, it made me so happy! I felt so confident while doing them today. So yay!! Hope everyone has a good weekend!!!

Happy Dancing 🙂

Dreaming of Fouettés

I had a ballet dream last night. I dreamt that I was at some studio, (maybe at a hotel?! Weird, I know!) but was with the girls I normally dance with. We were instructed to work on our fouettés. Our teacher wanted us to be able to do 8 of them. That part is true, for our one dance, but I’m not in the group doing 8. So in my dream, we all start working on them. I was working hard, trying to get 8, when all of a sudden I just kept on going. And going, and going. I heard one of the girls counting out loud when she realized how many I was doing. The final count? 30. HAH!! And the weirdest part, I did them while keeping my eyes closed. No spotting. Nothing. That’s not even possible to do, so I have no idea why I dreamt like that. It was the weirdest dream ever. 30 fouettés?! I mean come on. I’d be happy if I could just do the 8 lol. I woke up from that dream basically laughing. I’m guessing I was dreaming of fouettés because we’ve been doing them a lot since they are in both of my ballet dances for our show. But closing my eyes?! I need my eyes! Hah!!

So I guess you could say I have a dance brain right now. We’ve been plugging away at our recital dances and I usually go to bed thinking of them. Both dances are coming along nicely and I’m so happy with them. We’re also still working on both of our pointe dances too. I ordered our first fan that we are going to use, and brought it to class last night. Practicing with it felt amazing. I thought I was going to struggle more with it, but it turned out to be easier than I expected. We had been using paper fans, just to get used to having a prop in our hand. Using the real fan was very different as well. Our teacher told us that our prop, in this dance- a feather fan, should give us strength in our movements. That we should be able to use our arms in a strong way now. Once we figured out what we were doing with our arms and the fan, it definitely changed the way the dance felt, at least to me! Holding that fan made me feel stronger in my movements and really made the music and our choreography stand out that much more. It’s just so awesome. I’m glad I embraced using the fan instead of being scared of it, which I initially was. We decided to go with black tutus for the dance, and most likely will be using red feather fans. I love the red. This dance is turning out to be one of my favorites.

Anywho! Hope everyone else is doing well out there!! I *think* I see an end in sight to this crappy winter we’ve had?!? It was literally 60 degrees here on Tuesday and then we had a snow storm and it was like 10 degrees out on Wednesday. Crazy weather.

Happy Dancing 🙂

Ballet Shoe Review (Part 2)

Whoa. Hello there. I didn’t realize it has been a month since I posted anything. Oops!! Well, I’m still here. Anyways….I reviewed ballet shoes before- the new, unreleased MDM canvas shoes. If you remember, I loved them so much more than their first model I also owned, but they still were not a good fit. So here is part two of my ballet shoe review…..I present to you the Bloch Neo Hybrid!!

These shoes are AMAZING!!! Like, for real. I tried them on at the dance store, and was like heck yes I want these!! The front of the shoe is made of a really soft leather. Then right around the arch it splits to a neoprene material that covers the heel. It is just amazing. The way it hugs my heels….holy cow. I love the way my feet look in them. The padding inside the shoe where the ball of your foot and heel sits is a little thin, but I haven’t had any pain. All the girls in my class complemented me on these shoes too. They were so intrigued by the neoprene on the heel!

I ended up getting a 7.5 “C” Width. They fit perfectly. I’ve been wearing them for about 2 months now and they are wearing really well. I’ve literally had no complaints about these shoes at all. So yay!

If you’re ever in the market for new ballet shoes, I definitely recommend checking these out. I have tapered feet, so I love the way they conform to my foot. They were pretty reasonably priced. I don’t think I payed more than $25. I did not see them online on any of the familiar websites, like Discount Dance and All About Dance, so you may only be able to find them at local dance stores.

Enjoy! 🙂

It’s That Time of the Year!!!!

Wow. I can’t believe January is almost over. Time flies. It snowed a lot here where I live this weekend, and it’s been pretty cold. And to think at this time last year we were in sunny, warm, Disney. Oh how I miss that place!!! But anyways. With January comes “that time” of the year. The time of the year where we start working on our recital dances in ballet. We’ve been working on our pointe dance a few months now, and it’s really looking great. We’ll also be doing our pointe dance from last year too, but changing up some parts since we are more skilled now. TWO pointe dances! I’m so excited. I think we even get to wear tutus in our new one. How cool is that?!? We’ve also started on our Ballet 1/2 and Ballet 2/3 dances as well. Both dances have awesome music….I can’t remember their names though. The Ballet 1/2 dance is off to a good start. I feel really confident and comfortable with what we are doing. That class is definitely my more basic class. Last year, we had a separate Ballet 2 class, which was my most challenging dance (With that dreaded double pirouette!!!) This year the classes have been combined to have just two different classes/levels. The Ballet 2/3 dance is definitely more difficult. It’s chock full of turns right from the get go. Double pirouette, fouetté, fouetté, attitude. And then soon after that two pique turns, fouetté, fouetté, attitude. These turns are definitely kicking my butt!! But I love the dance and music. I am pushing hard every week to work on my turns. It’s funny… I can do several fouettés after just a single pirouette, but I’m struggling with pulling them off after a double. I think it’s just a matter of getting used to it (I’ve never tried them this way before) and being more confident with them. The girls in class are very supportive and are always pushing me to do better and not give up.

I help teach a Beginning Ballet 1/2 class, which is mostly 6-8 year olds. We’ve picked an awesome Irish sounding song that’s played mostly with a violin. So cool! The little girls love it and it’s so cute watching them dance. We’ve been searching for the “perfect costume” for this song, and I think we may have narrowed it down to a few options. So exciting!!

We haven’t started much with the teeny tiny kids in the Saturday classes yet. We’ve narrowed down their songs and have started working on some choreography. These girls are just so stinking adorable. We’ve had a big increase in attendance too which is just amazing. I think we had 20 girls in the 3-4 year old class and about 16 in the 5-6 year old class!! I’m doing really well with teaching them, and I’m becoming more and more confident. My teacher is still always there, just in case I need her. It’s nice because some days the kids just need some more assistance in class. Things have been going good! I am loving teaching the little ones. With my teacher being out due to her injury from time to time, I also get to fill in and teach the Beginning Ballet levels too. Which I am absolutely loving, when I get to do it. I remember being so scared and nervous the first time I had to teach way back in October. Now it’s just fun! The girls have gotten to know me and I’m (slowly) learning and trying to remember all their names. I think I was meant to be a teacher sometimes! Hah!!

The show will be here in 5 months. I just know that time is going to fly by. Pretty soon we will be ordering costumes, which is also exciting. This means I also have to finish my prototype tutu! I started making a tutu for us to possibly use in our pointe dance, but I’m struggling on figuring out how to finish it. I have the stiff tulle to put under the softer tulle, I just need to figure out how to sew the stiff tulle in the correct circles and then attach it to a brief. Should be easy right?! Hah!! Luckily my mom is an excellent sewer/ quilter/ crocheter/ any-type-of-crafter-extraordinaire, so I’m hoping she can help me. There’s always my mother in law and grandmother in law (lol!!) to help too. If this doesn’t work, we might just stick with using the classic black tutus my teacher already owns.

I also just got a new pair of pointe shoes in the mail! Just ordered another pair of my trusty Gaynors! So I have to remember to sew my elastics on before class this Tuesday because my old pair are dead. Like beyond dead. These ones will most likely not last until the recital. The dances we are doing are just killing my shank. But the timing should work out well to order another pair before the show and get them broken in just right.

Hope everyone in the ballet (and running!!) world are doing good! Happy dancing people!! 🙂

Ballet Shoe Review- Part 1

Well hello there!!! It’s been awhile since I reviewed any ballet products. A few months back I received an email from a gentleman named Tim Heathcote. If you’re wondering who he is, he’s the CEO of the company MDM. They are a ballet gear company based out of Australia. Last year, I bought a pair of their new ballet shoes to try out. You can read all about them here. I was not happy with them and did not give them a good review. Soooooo fast forward to a few months ago and this email. Mr. Heathcote had read my review and wanted to send me a new-not-yet-available ballet shoe. What?!? Me?!? I couldn’t believe he had found my blog and reached out to me. I was super excited to receive these shoes. I had really high hopes for them. After all, I really did like the concept of the arch support in the shoe. I just wasn’t really crazy about the canvas material. Unfortunately, he only had this sample shoe in canvas to send me, so I figured I would still give them a try. Here are the pretty shoes!! They even came in their own little fancy box and dust bag. Loved it!!

When I first put them on, I was in love. I loved how they fit and how they felt. The color of these shoes was much better than their first version. The arch seemed to really contour against my foot. I did a couple tendus at home and put them in my dance bag. I was excited to try them out in class. When we started doing tendus at the barre, I kept feeling my foot dragging, more so than it normally does. I also noticed in the mirror that it didn’t look like I was pointing my feet as well as it should. I was so disappointed!! I looked closer at the shoes on my foot and realized what the problem was. The shoe fit perfect everywhere, except right at the tips of my toes. There was extra fabric beyond my toes that was responsible for making my foot feel like it was dragging. It’s not too much fabric that I would need to go up a size, but just enough that it gets in the way. I think it’s because my foot is more tapered than the shoe is made for. If I had a wider foot with even toes it might fit better. I was so sad!! I really, really, liked these shoes and wanted them to work!! I think I’m just more of a leather shoe kind of girl. The canvas shoes just always feel so baggy on my feet. I never like how my feet look in them. I’m guessing if I got this newer shoe in their leather version, it would be perfect! I don’t think they are even for sale yet.

Here’s a few pictures of them:

See how when I point my foot the shoe gets all wrinkly??

Overall these are great shoes. I love the color, the fit around the arch and heel, the arch support, the elastics come pre-sewn, and I love the little bag they come in. I know if this shoe was made in the leather version, with drawstrings to tighten the shoe, they would be perfect for me. My tapered feet need those drawstrings!! Hah!! When this shoe becomes available for sale, I would recommend trying it out. I’ll have to update you if I see them online!

Stayed tuned for another ballet shoe review. I think I finally found a good pair for my feet!!
Until then, happy dancing everyone!!! 🙂

2013 Running Recap

Wow. What a year this has been. I remember earlier this year I started running casually to help increase my stamina in dance. I would only run a few miles here and there, but never was really serious about it. I began running and was also learning choreography for my dance numbers too. Our show was in early June, so I just kept running. I ran my first ever race in March. It was about 20 degrees out and snowing. My mom was in town and my husband also came to watch to me run. I remember being soooo nervous as we waited inside where it was warm. The pictures my mom took even showed how nervous I was. It was only a 5k, but I was still nervous. Who would have ever thought that 8 months later I would have successfully completed 10 races- 3 of them half marathons!! Not this girl! I’m so incredibly proud of myself for my accomplishments this year. I found a joy in a sport I never thought I would. I loved pushing myself and seeing the results. I loved looking down at my Garmin and seeing my mileage increase every week. I will never forget what it felt like crossing that finish line at my first half marathon. It’s that feeling I crave now every time I sign up for another race.

I’ve also made some new twitter “friends” as a result of running. It’s so inspiring to see their accomplishments and their excitement for running. Social media has definitely changed the world. I hope to meet some more of my “friends” next year in other races. So a huge thank you to everyone I follow on twitter. You all inspire me to be a better me.

Here’s a quick little recap of my races this year- and don’t forget you can check out my race results tab above to see all the races I ran in and my times.

~ 10 races in 2013
~5 of them were 5ks
~ One 5 miler
~ One 2 miler
~ 3 half marathons

~ My best 5k time was 28:06 at the Cleveland Rite Aid 5k
~ My best half marathon time was 2:28:58 at the Towpath Half Marathon

I know my training for all these races was a little unconventional, but I still accomplished all my goals. Heck, I never even thought I would run a half marathon this year, but instead I ran and finished 3. Sure, I may not have been the fastest or placed in the top, but I still got out there and ran. I crossed every finish line. So I’m very proud of myself.

My goals for next year are simple:
~ improve my 5k time
~ improve my overall pace
~ run a 10k race
~ run a race in Disney (this is more like a dream lol)

I’m looking forward to 2014 and all it will bring with it. I look forward to continuing to challenge myself in running and also in dance. I’ve learned I’m more of a “loner” when it comes to running and that’s ok. I don’t do well running with people or in groups. I just like to put my music on and run. I like to get lost in the music or in my own thoughts. I do like running races with friends though. Even though we never actually run together, it’s nice to see a familiar face on the course and at the finish line.

I know most of you follow my blog for my dancing entries, but I want to thank you for supporting me in my running too! It means a lot to see your kind words and encouragement. So thank you all!!!

Happy New Year!!! 🙂