October 29, 2008 - SUSAN KOMEN 60-MILE 3-DAY

PART II: MY ROAD TO ICE AND ACE BANDAGES

DAY 1 = 23 MILES OF HOOPING
DAY 2 =
DAY 3 =

With one rough night of sleep under our belts Yvonne and I woke early and began the day.  We walked down the paved path and had so much fun talking with everyone around us.  Everybody seemed fresh and there was a lot of excitement in the air for Day 2!  A very sweet group of girls, in their 20’s, passed by us and were very excited about our hooping.   The took lots of photos and chatted with us for a bit.  After we exited the park I settled into my hooping/walk groove and it felt great.  I was so glad to feel that my sore knee was okay (actually excited is more like it). I had my game face on! I was ready!  And then I was, well, how do you say... not-so-ready? Yes, we had taken a detour off the sidewalk and into some cross-country, very rocky, very uneven terrain.  Did I mention very rocky, very uneven??? 

Of course there was no hooping on this stretch because it was just too narrow. And did I mention rocky and seriously unstable.  Maybe some would say I over-exaggerating- but I will say that by the time this little one mile stretch of sensless cross country terrain was over I was in some serious pain and could not imagine going any further.  There was my husband David was sitting on top of this little bridge that crossed over our path smiling and waving.  I could tell he was ready for the day and very excited.  I however, was not excited and definitely not ready for the day. My right knee was completely shot from all of the twisting on top of the rocks on that path.  It was absolutely awful.  I was so bummed when he told me that the medical tent was UP the hill. UP the hill??? Are you kidding me?  I hobbled to the tent and waited… and waited… limped over for some food and then came back and waited some more.  One hour later (yes, one hour), the line had only shortened by about half- (yes, only half!), everyone seemed to be having serious knee/ankle/foot issues from that path!  Well, once I found out that there was another mile plus of the rough terrain before it went back to a paved surface I decided to forgo the additional waiting and go ahead and catch a ride up to Pit Stop 2. I knew I needed to have my knee iced and wrapped if I wanted any hope or chance of hooping the rest of the Day 2 route.

As we drove off, I felt quite sad that I was “giving up” and couldn’t do the full path as I had intended to hoop the entire 60 miles.  However, as we drove past the sea of never-ending walkers (thousands)- which by the way was absolutely amazing to see in action- I realized that the seat in the car felt absolutely wonderful and that it was really “ok” to take my much needed ride to medical.  Admittedly I felt guilty… and to this day I still guilty! 

Anyway, by the time we arrived to Pit Stop 2 it was already flooded with walkers (some of those walkers are fast!) and another line at medical.  There was no way I could stand to wait, so I asked David to drive ahead to #3.  There was actually a split second when we arrived that I thought about having him keep on driving to lunch… yes, that is how luxurious that ride felt! And Yvonne was not fighting that urge... oh it was so hard to get out at Pit Stop 3... but I did.  I got out of the car and was seen immediately.  I had my bum knee iced for 20 minutes and then wrapped. Oh why hadn’t I done that earlier I thought!  Yes, I discovered the key to knees… ice and wrapping! 

Once we had refueled and iced, it was definitely time to hoop again.  I figured that if I completed that day’s course from #3 that I would have completed at least 10 full miles of hooping and that wouldn’t be so bad after all.  So, off we went.  I was admittedly quite slow but it was really nice because it gave me the opportunity to speak with more people as they passed. Since I was hoping much less, the day became much more about observation and the other walkers. 

We met this one guy after lunch- with this fabulous pink beard who was on his 37^th 3-day.  Ok, so let’s break that down for a moment… 37 x 60 = 2,220 miles walked (!!!).  37 x the $2,200 minimum that you have to raise even to walk = $81,400 minimum that he has raised (!!!).  I see why he proudly wore the banner with 60-mile Man on it!  He said that he his first walk was because a friend had asked him to.  Well, after that, he was hooked and hasn’t stopped because he figures “why not if he can!”. I was researching 3-days for next year so I asked him which one he like the most.  He said San Diego because of all of the hills… well, you can say I crossed that one right off my list very quickly! 

We passed through “cheering stations” that had so many people that it made me cry each time we went through.  Little kids, big kids, grandmas & grandpas… everyone… these women in sitting in chairs that you knew were survivors holding up signs of thanks.  They were so sweet and so incredibly encouraging!  They commented on having seen us at the send off and were happy to see that we were still hooping.  Man, I was happy we were still hooping!  I was able to warm up and get some speed going in the open flat areas. And we even met up with Lily again, the walker that came in with us at the end of Day 1.

Of course by this point other walkers were starting to get the understanding that we were actually “hula hooping” the 3-day walk since they had seen us come in the night before.  “Did you really hoop 20 miles yesterday?”  “Yes, we really did!”  If we stopped for even a moment they would ask why we weren’t hooping!   

Anyway, after the unfortunate events of the morning I was much smarter and during lunch and every pit stop I sought out the medical tent immediately and re-iced and re-bandaged.  I decided to be proactive and protective of my knee on this day knowing full well it would be my only chance to even be able to attempt any hooping on Day 3.  Because we had shaved off time in the morning with our ride, we were able to arrive back to camp on the “earlier” side.  I was so thankful to see medic AND to not be the last ones in!  My limp was definitely stronger and so was my back pain- but I felt so much better having the time to shower and relax.

During dinner the big announcement was made- the last walker was arriving! It was incredible to see her come in- and what a pleasant surprise that she ended up being one of the gals from the morning that walked with us and took pictures as we exited the park!  She had her own limp and a friend with an arm around her for support.  She had the biggest, sweetest, proudest smile holding the Day 2 flag.  You knew there were so many times she wanted to give up, but didn’t. I was incredibly proud of her!

Well, by 8:30 when I was ready to go to bed my limp turned into a barely can walk. But I was absolutely determined that no matter how much pain I was in that I was going to hoop the whole last day… I had to!  I made a game plan. Lots of salonpas patches placed all over me and I spent a good half hour patching and wrapping my knees.  I then put the ear plugs in and decided that I would spend my sleep willing my knee back to health.  I don't think it took very long to fall asleep, but it was all too short of a night as the next thing we knew the alarm was going off and it was a cold, damp 4:00 am… to be continued

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October 9, 2008 - MY OWN PERSONAL 3-DAY

I just put my two oldest daughters on the plane- one to DC and the other to Boston for the long weekend. As I drove back home I decided to stop and visit my dear friend at her fabulous hot dog stand. I just wanted something to do besides go home and I figured Henrietta could use the fresh air too- not to mention, Alisa's gorgeous smile is so wonderful to see. With Henrietta in tow in her fabulous pink tutu I limped along up to the weenie hut. Standing there talking- and realizing that I was what I like to call "air pumping" or swaying my hips as if I had an imaginary hula hoop on me, I realized that I have not hooped in three days (!!!) The last time I went this long was, well, when I was banned from hooping during the 12th week of pregnancy due to "the scare"- which was what, over 2 years ago? Well, I have my first class tonight and I am so nervous because I cannot physically do any move aside from waist hoop! Yes, yesterday I got stuck for about 20 minutes trying to get out of my own car (!!!) Anyway, once it dawned on me that my oldest daughter Fiona was not going to be around for class tonight, I quickly called a good hooper friend of mine to come be my demonstrator. Thankfully she said yes- but I have no idea how class will unfold. Even 9 mos pregnant I still held AND hooped all of my classes! <sigh>

I did receive my first photos from the 3-day! I am so excited because I could not carry the camera with me and have been waiting axiously for photos! I began the update on Part 2 and hope to have it up by the weekend, so check back to find out exactly why yesterday I spent 20 minutes trying to get out of my car... stuck... in the rain... yelling to my kids in the house... "I NEED a stick! I NEED a stick!"

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October 7, 2008 - Part 1: HOOPING IN A SEA OF PINK BOAS AND TUTUS!

What an incredible journey- an event of a lifetime!  Headed for the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Washington, DC 60-mile, 3 day event, David (my husband), Yvonne (one of my Hooprama teachers) and I landed in Baltimore on Thursday and then drove to DC.  It was kind of wild driving in a new city and then turning a corner to be right up on the Pentagon!  We met up with a friend of mine for dinner and then went and watched the VP debate in a local pub that was full of camera crews.  Afterwards we went straight to bed because we had to be at Opening Ceremony by 6:30 am.  That’s 5:30 for you in Nashville!

Remarkably, we arrived on time for check in and Opening Ceremony.  It was so cold outside and next to us was this very tempting IKEA.  We were surrounded in a sea of pink… boas, tutus, hats, sparkles- everything was pink.  Yvonne and I were just standing there holding our hoops and getting lots of strange looks.  I overheard “Are they going to carry those things the whole way?” 

The host/spokeswoman of the weekend, Jennae, warmed the crowd and then sent us on our way to take the first steps into our first mile. 3,000+ walkers filtered through the families that came to support and see everyone off. Yvonne and I had decided to start at the very back of the pack so that we would not get in the way of anyone else.  And since we were not going to be able to carry our things with us like the other walkers, my husband David, became a part of our personal crew for the weekend.  He rode in his bike (or car) to meet up with us at pit stops to take articles of clothing as we warmed or to give us a change of socks as needed... or to pick up emergency ACE bandages....

Day One was a bit of a blur because everything was so new for us. I spent most of my morning in a daze about it. We passed by these folks who rode motorcycles and yielded the traffic for us.  I thought they were just a part of that particular crosswalk.  I had no idea that they were part of the crazy crew that would keep our paths open the whole 60 miles!  It was really a welcome sight because they would blast music from their bikes and were always dressed in wild outfits with leather pants and pink things and always- ALWAYS- have a smile and be so incredibly sweet and encouraging to us... "there's our Hula Hoopers!" they would say as we hooped by. 

There were pit stops for us every 1- 4 miles.  It varied.  I think over the course of the first day of 20+ miles there were 5 pit stops and one lunch break… I don’t really remember.  I do know that each main pit stop had a medical tent but on Day One I had no idea exactly how valuable that medical tent was going to become to me! 

Yvonne and I kept up a pretty good pace in the open pockets of walkers and even passed quite a few thankfully not holding us to last in line.  Our goal was not to rush, but to take it easy and keep a good pace.  We worked really hard to stay out of the other walker’s way.  In the very beginning we had even seen a woman pushing her friend in a wheel chair- now that was impressive!

The beginning of Day One was fairly easy for me.  Looking back on this day I realize that I was sooooo incredibly naïve.  We had lots of folks asking us “Are you going to hula hoop the whole way?”.  I think miles 1-10 it was a determined reply... “Yes!  We are!” to miles 10 on being more like a questionable reply... “Um, well, that’s our goal...”  Yes, towards the end of the first day it was getting really hard for me, but I kept going.  Every time someone asked about our hooping the walk (which was often) we would hand them one of these cards explaining what we were raising awareness for. 

I do remember the “final stretch” of the walk going a little something like this… we pass through rush hour traffic and come down a hill to see in front of us this huge, enormous incline on the other side of the intersection.  I couldn’t make out if there was pink moving on that hill or not as it was just too far away to focus my eyes.  Yvonne said that surely they were not going to make us go up that hill.  We were so relieved to see an arrow that pointed us left (away from the hill) and into this tiny town!  The town had really narrow streets and then we ended up at the end of the town at what is called a “grab & go”:  Basically a pit stop with no medical tent.

There was one woman there who greeted us with a bark that there was no time to stop that we had to keep going.  I did notice that there were plenty of people putting along behind us, so I was not at all worried about being last or at risk of being swept by the van.  Yvonne went to stretch for a moment then we carried on.  We crossed over this old rickety wooden bridge with a creek and then up a peaceful gravel road... the sun was setting and it was very quiet... and then around the corner to the… oh crap, the hill! I quickly found a new rhythm and began my assent up the hill.  It was slow, it was rhythmic- and my abs were pushing hard- but I knew I had to make it! We were too close to give up now!

All of the sudden about half way up the hill, I realized that a staff member was behind us on a bike.  I thought she was just checking to make sure that we were okay as they had sweep vans that would pick up people who could not walk anymore, who needed rides to the next stop or to camp. "I'm good," I said confidently while in some pain.

Well I was wrong about her job being just to check in on us.  It turned out that she was the one who was in charge of being behind the last walkers… or in our case hula hoopers.  Yes, she just said that we were the last ones!  Oh no I thought, how in the world did this happen? There were people, lots of people, behind us!  I quickly figured out that the ones that were behind us had to take rides because they just could not do the giant hill... that we were currently on.  Then she asked me if we could go any faster.  At first I thought she was kidding.  She wasn’t. And I couldn't.

Determined not to need the sweep van on the first day and to hoop the entire 20+ miles, I did push a bit harder and we finally made it to the top of the hill.  At this point, after we witness a car getting rear-ended at the intersection (was he distracted by the hoopers???), we hooped across the road into the park that would house our campsite at the end.  I asked the bike gal how much longer and she said only one mile from the foot path.  Okay, I will tell you right now, that was no one mile- and she was on a bike!  It took forever to even get to the little pink sign that announced “one mile to camp!”

The warmest part of that last mile was Lily. Along the foot path we met this sweet woman, Lily.  She said that in California she had found this pink gorilla and had decided right then that he was going to do the DC walk with her so she brought him home.  He was strapped to her shoulder with her other things like a timer and some music (that I envied).  She had pictures of who she was walking for taped to her back and she had a very slow walk- about as slow as I was hooping at that point.  On this mile she shared with us that all of her toes had blisters except for her two pinky toes, but that she was determined to make it because if someone could go through chemo she could go through this.  Who could not agree with that? So I tried not to think about my knees that were starting to ache badly.

At this point we rounded a corner to see a gorgeous body of water and these huge boat houses with people fishing along the side.  The sun was still going down and it was getting a bit darker.  At this point the bike gal was fielding call after call after call from camp asking where she was, when would she be there, could we go any faster.  I did not realize until day two that we were a good hour past what they expected to bring in the last walkers. But she was so patient with us. I think she knew this meant a lot to us.  But what I did not realize was that the last walkers were brought in had to raise the flag.  If I had known that I might have taken the sweep van at that last pit stop!

I can't tell you how many times I asked “How much further? How much further?” on that last so-called mile. But then we finally arrived at a point where we could see the magnificent dining tent (spaghetti dinner was sounding really good at that point!) and then the path was lined with the fabulous motorcycle crew.  They cheered us and started to walk with us on the final stretch into camp.  We continued to hoop down the path around the bends. Then we could hear the host of the weekend, Jennae, on the speaker and the crowd getting very excited but we had no idea why nor did we think anything about it. We hooped through the walkway where one gal scanned our cards to check us in and then all of the sudden there was another gal with a flag in her hands that said Day One and then all of the sudden we were in camp hooping up towards a flag pole and all of the sudden there were a thousand of people (or more) surrounding us cheering for us as the last walkers and then asll of the sudden Yvonne and I were crying- ok, make that sobbing. 

It was so emotional.  It was so incredible.  It was so touching.  All I could think of as we rose the flag was how happy I was to be there and how every mile, all 20+ of them was well worth it for the thank you’s that we received from the cancer survivors and supporters/families on the side of the road.  Once the flag was raised people came and hugged us and took pictures and asked us if we had actually hula hooped the whole way.  I could not believe that we did it!  We did hoop the whole 20+ (*) miles!  But as exciting as it was to raise that flag, Yvonne and I both agreed on the spot that we did not want to be last in on Day Two! Yes, we were going to be a bit more punchy on that one!

[that's it for this entry... more to come, so check back this week & next as the rest of the 3-day update is posted!]

(*) We heard from a few that Day One's course in all ended up being around 22-23 miles.

If you are a cancer survivor and are interested in being a part of our FREE Hooping For Hope series which opens November 1st, please visit [here] for more details!

If you want to send us a blog comment, do it [here] and we will post it!

comments...

Ah, sweet Sunny! You’ve gone and made me cry, too! I can picture exactly what camp looked like and the walk and everything having been there myself in the past. I envy you so much for having been a part of a 3 Day! And I am also so proud of you and Yvonne!!!! Can’t wait to hear more…. Kat

Miss Sunny! I just sat here and wept as I read your blog. I could not be prouder of you and Yvonne.
You are an amazing women....I am constantly inspired by your chutzpah, creativity and love. Xo
Melissa

I am sitting here reading this and CRYING! I'm so proud of you both. You girls are an inspiration to hoopers and women everywhere. I can't wait to read the rest of the story! - Maggie

October 2, 2008 - DC or bust: Wacky box and all!

Sometimes I have these little pause moments that allow me just enough time to reflect and question how I got to where I am because life continually amazes me again and again. Right now I am wondering how in the world I ended up at this point of just a few hours from a flight to DC with a handful of hoops in a wacky box that my husband just made for me.

You know, I don't even remember how the 3-day was presented to me in the first place. I believe I saw it in a magazine... that's right... I was flipping through a magazine and there was this full-page ad for the Susan G. Komen 3-day. I had just finished up hooping the half marathon (must have still been high on the adrenaline or the fumes at the nail salon!) and looked at the ad thinking, if I could hoop 13 miles, surely I could hoop 60! Needless to say, being realistic is not my forte. But I went ahead and registered on the spot and figured that I could work out the reality later.

In true last minute fashion, I decided to bring some hoops to give away so I made ten of them tonight... admittedly without much forethought to the packing part of the process. My thought was it's a travel hoop, it can fit in a suitcase- no problem! Well, maybe yes for one hoop but not so much for ten hoops! Thankfully my hubby is crafty and whipped up a nifty traveling box for my goods!

With my hoops secured and ready to go I find myself excited about this weekend because I am ready for the challenge of hooping those 60 miles! At first I decide to take this journey to make an investment into my daughter's futures and quite frankly "just because" I can. How many people out there wish they could do this, but can't? I decided to do it for them. But over the past couple of weeks, the reason behind this journey became for my husband's Aunt N. Ahe was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of weeks ago and just went through the surgery today. You know what- I liked it better when I was doing it "just because" I could. Things become so different when you can put a name & face to it. So, take it from me... go and do something for someone this weekend that will their life better "just because" you can." Do it before it becomes "because you need to". Pay it forward for someone else. We need this change desperately.

Dear Aunt N., with that said, I dedicate my weekend to you. Our thoughts and love is with you for a speedy & healthy recovery. We love you very much.

August 30, 2008 - HONK 4 HOOPING!

Honk for Hooping was actually birthed on World Hoop Day. And yes, there *is* an actual World Hoop Day (WHD)! It is not like it can sneak up on you because the calendar is pretty well set in advance. The problem is for me... well, last year it was 7/7/07 and that was a couple of weeks after Henrietta was born. And while, I was spotted performing one week post cesearean, I simply could not pull it together enough to get a big event happening here in Nashville for WHD 2007.

So this year WHD was on 8/8/08... the unfortunate landing of two days prior to THE biggest event of the year for me, the Tomato Art Festival. Admittedly, due to poor planning on my part *again* I fell way short of what I would have liked to have accomplished. I sent out an email, but I think it was kind of late notice. So, with only a couple people (thank you Leigh, Hailey & Jennifer!) showing up, I instead spent my WHD dangerously close to the street hula hooping and just waving at the people driving by.

It didn't take many honks for me to get a buzz off what was unfolding. And it quickly became a rush to see how many people I could get to honk. The more people who didn't, the more I became determined. I made the sign with my arm... like when you were a kid on a road trip asking the truckers to honk. That worked for a few, but the lack of response led me to believe that not everyone must know that sign anymore. I really thought that *everyone* knew that sign! So, I added my own "honk your horn version" but I think that, my new signal mixed with my old-school trucker signal, had people thinking I was throwing them some wild gang sign or something... after all it *is* East Nashville!

Once my Level Two teacher, Yvonne showed up, I explained to her the addiction that was about to follow. I don't think that she believed me. But she was quickly converted and I was happy to see such enthusiasm ensue.

We were amazed at the number of sour faces that are on the road. People driving attached to cell phones and totally disconnected to what is outside around them I mean, how could you see a hula hooper waving at you wildly and not at least smile? Please don't get me wrong, we did receive a LOT of honks AND smiles... and we did provide them with enthusiastic responses of jumping up and down (while hooping) and yelling extra loud as a thanks.

All of the sudden, time was up and we needed to go home. I left WHD exhausted from hooping (it's a serious workout to stand there hooping, waving, jumping around) and I left witha newfound vision... I decided that I wanted to hit the streets of Nashville on a regular basis and ask people to Honk 4 Hooping... but this time with real signs instead of hand signals! Mission: Bring smiles to the citzens of our fine town one hoop (and honk) at a time!

UPDATE: since the start of this blog entry, we have had two Honk 4 Hooping adventures. The first, at the entrance of Centennial Park on West End. We had lots of horn honks and smiles. We had a fire truck siren, police lights, bicylists "honk" verbally, and many passengers reach across to honk the horn for the driver! The second, was Friday, 8/29, at the corner of 21st and Wedgewood. We had amazing response- horn honks NON-stop! We received so many smiles and waves. The joy of hooping IS spreading even to those who don't have a hoop on their waist! [join us!]

August 6, 2008 - I have an aversion to blogs.

If you couldn't tell already by my lack of posting, I have an aversion to blogs. I don't like reading other people's blogs- always feel like I am peeking into someon'e diary and that makes me uncomfortable. What makes it even more uncomfortable is if the blog has one tone and yet, I know the author and know that they are not being remotely true to character in their "sharing". That is put mildly. So, with that said, you probably wonder why I am writing. I am writing because I have heard from some people that they actually read this blog and that surprised me. Since someone is reading, I figured I might as well give an update. Besides, I just spent 12 solid hours... maybe even more, building my shopping cart and fine tuning my website. And I needed to make adjustments to this page anyway.

Lately I have felt a change in my body. For a while I thought things were a bit stagnant. I even gave in and bought a fancy new pair of jeans to fit my still-10-pounds-heaver-post-pregnancy body. However, over the past month I have noticed that a little more weight is dropping and better yet, tone is defintiely showing! Someone this week (a student) asked to see my *6 pack*. They were referring to the one that I had pre-baby. I was a bit nervous to show, but lifted not knowing what was there. I caught a glimpse in the mirror behind them and noticed a *4 pack*, I think. That definitely made me smile!

I met with a reporter the other day, about some award that I won. There were no catagories, only write-ins... so I am quite flattered that Hooprama made it. The article should debut in September. Anyway, in meeting with her I had to share three plus years of hooping in about 45 mins. I was amazed hearing how far I had come in such a short time. If you had told me that I would be quitting my security blanket of a desk job to pursue hooping I would have told you that you were crazy! As I went on speaking with her, I realized how grateful I am for everything and for what hooping means to me. I am on this journey for my girls. And I am on this journey for the women around me who need it. I used to have this allure of becoming a great hooper, but then I realized, I am 36 with three kids and a husband... is my priority *really* about becoming a "great hooper"? No, it sure isn't. My goal is to help change someone's life. It's not about how good I get, it's about how good I make someone else feel. Yes, next time you look at someone, ask yourself what you can YOU do to make THEIR day a little better!

Team Hooprama crossing the finish line of the Country Music Half Marathon. Final time: 3 hours and 39 minutes!

April 26, 2008 - RACE DAY!!! Team Hooprama HOOPED the Country Music Half Marathon!

There was something so sweet about today and now that I have experienced my first half-marathon, I am officially addicted! I learned so much about myself in the process and it feels so good and I am already ready to do it again! Unfortunately I under estimated the degree of soreness that my knees would receive... and I definitely underestimated how well we would do!

My vision was a slow hooping saunter in the very back of the crowd of 30,000 people, but what I quickly found were 10 women with bright pink hoops maneuvering swiftly in and out of the crowd passing mile marker after mile marker. We were on a mission and definitely had grand success with an average of 16.42 minutes per mile mile and a finish of 3 hours 39 minutes!

I have never really been on a "team" before and loved this aspect of today- 10 women working together, hooping together... crossing the finish line together! A few years ago when I thought of Hooping the Half, I thought it would just be me out there by myself plugging away in my hoop. I never imagined a "team" and what a beautiful thing that was! I would like to thank all of the amazingly strong, ambitious women/HoopStars who joined me in this adventure... Adele, Yvonne, Sadhna, Stephanie, Angela, Adrianne, Rebecca, Ciona, Leah as well as an unknown number of supporters from hoop students, to friends/family, and the countless volunteers and cheerleaders along the way.

One of the things I enjoyed most were all of the people that supported us from the sidelines. I can still see their faces... Yvonne's husband Aaron and their daughter Maggie in three different spots along the course with Maggie hooping herself on the sidelines with her silver & pink hoop... my own daughter, Madeline, out there with her Girl Scout troop passing out water. Stephanie's friends with the rocking band and the shout out from them and some of the other musicians that we passed over the miles. Hooprama HoopStars Lucia with her bagged gummy bears and Beth with the one granola bar left. Endless friends popping up along the way... some on the sidelines waving, others running the half in the opposite direction... and all the people taking pictures of us along the way! And the various groups of cheerleaders with their team outfits on... I think one group was even dressed as chickens. But that was around mile 10 and I think by then I might have been seeing things! The support out there today was unbelievable... and so magical! I am so very proud of our team and really proud of all of the people that we saw out there today pushing their limits and acheiving their dreams.

Everyone keeps asking me how it was- and honestly, it seems so surreal and I cannot believe it is done and over with! On a personal note, I managed to keep the hoop spinning at my waist for about 10 of the 13.1 miles. I would have probably done more off body work, but it never felt comfortable enough to keep doing it for very long. I found a groove in a slight jog/shuffle; however, around mile 10, my knees were really (REALLY) feeling it. I still have no idea how we hooped a whole 13 miles- but oh my did I learn a lot about how to train for this kind of thing and would do it so differently next year! Yes, next year- as I have already registered! Woo Hoo! Go Team!

To learn more about why Team Hooprama hooped the half-marathon visit: HoopingForHope.org

September 11, 2007 - A lot of students have told me that when they stop hooping they can see their body change back a little. I haven't hooped since the last class and already feel sluggish even though it's only been a little over a week.

I refuse to weigh or measure in right now as I have decided for the moment to just "be". Honestly, I don't want to get discouraged if a little bit of weight returned already. It's really difficult dealing with a soft belly post partum... especially when I had abs that I had never had before. I looked in the full-length mirror yesterday. It's hard looking at a scar and a soft belly and wondering if my bottom will ever tone again. I can tell, without getting on the scale that things are still adjusting back somewhat... just not fast enough for me! I still cannot fit in my pants or skirts for that matter. But I refuse to buy new clothes. And I absoutely refuse to do sit ups. I hate sit ups. Once I found the hoop, I gave up sit-ups for life!

I am working hard to remain patient with the process while really wishing and hoping it would go faster! My flow is still not there. I feel stiff and uncomfortable in my body. I miss performing when I felt so secure. Now I get nervous when I have to hoop in front of others. My balance is still off. I know I am on an upward path, but how long does it take? Am I being unrealistic? I get frustrated right now because there is no time to hoop outside of class for me right now. Henrietta's 3-month old schedule just will not allow ANY solid time for me. And I must say, it's really difficult to hoop holding a baby! How do new moms balance time for them when everything around them screams (literally) otherwise?

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September 1, 2007 - Today was the last class in my Saturday morning hoop series and it is the 6-week mark from when I first started my post-pregnancy exercise venture. Upon weigh-in and measuring this morning I have found that these 6 weeks have proven to be quite a sucess!

Starting Statistics:
weight: 127
chest: 36"
waist: 33"
hips: 39"

6-weeks later...
weight: 120
chest: 33.5"
waist: 30.5"
hips: 36.5"

for a total combined loss of 7 pounds and 7.5 inches!!! My regimine consisted only of hooping during class which came to approximately 3 hours of hoop time per week. I did not pay any attention to my diet so I did not make any major changes there.

It was also very inspiring to hear from students in my class and their sucesses. One even lost 8 pounds! So, needless to say, I am really excited to see what the next two months bring to me as in this round I will be hooping for a minimum of 5 class hours. I do not intend to focus on diet these next 6 weeks. I am already not eating much "junk", but since I am nursing, I know I need to maintain a good, solid calorie intake.

If you are a student of mine, I would love to hear what hooping has done for your body, so too send a comment, click here!

July 27, 2007 - Today I had my 6-week check up with my doctor. He gave me the okay to exercise without any restrictions. I am really excited because this means I can now resume my hooping without any hesitation or worries. My only concern is that I have not really done any serious activity in months... will my own classes wear me out? I have quite a few performances on the books and a HUGE one in New York City in September, so I hope to see some progress on the faster side!

I am not sure what my measurements were, but I do know that I started my pregnancy quite fit and at 108 pounds. At month nine, I weighed 157. Currently I am 127. I lost 30 pounds quickly (I think mostly to breastfeeding), but I have noticed that all the left over weight fell down low, really low. My current measurements are: 36 33 39. I will post a picture tomorrow with my update after class!

To read my pregnancy hooping article, click here.

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