At the risk of losing precious sleep (a teething baby does not allow for a restful night) I will update. I so miss writing on a regular basis. When I look back on my older entries I smile and remember what it was like to write at least once a week. Now I'm lucky if I get in a post once a month. So, these rusty fingers will give it a go!
The law enforcement class is rocking my world. I already feel like a police officer. That may sound a bit cheesy, but I do. I've already submitted my application to the Burlington Police Department. I REALLY want to work there. The application was the easy part....except for the question, "List all criminal activity since the age of 10". The age of 10?! I managed to remember my youthful stupidity and cringed as I wrote them down to be dissected by those who will grill me with uncomfortable questions for my oral boards.
What I'm most concerned with right now is the 1.5 mile run. The PT test consists of: a certain amount of push ups/sit ups in one minute, bench press a percentage of my weight, reach over my toes a certain length (sitting down) and running 1.5 miles in a certain amount of time. These numbers are age dependent (I'm in the 30-39 age group) and for the BPD you need to be in the 50 percentile. So, I need to be able to do 11 push ups (no problem), 27 full sit ups (a bit of a struggle, but I can do it. Ah, C-section stomach), 100 lbs bench press (no problem), don't remember the flexibility but go way beyond the number and run 1.5 miles in 15:17. Right now I'm at 17 minutes.
However.....ah the however....I've come down with a nasty case of pes anserine bursitis in my right knee. Yes, that's a mouthful. This happened to me six months after my first child, too. I'm hoping a solid round of physical therapy will make me all better and I can get back to running.
Yup, I'm not running, which isn't helping me lower my time. This means I may not be able to take the PT test until late May, early June. Which means that when (not if) I get hired I won't be able to go to the academy until February (the next class starts in August). This may not be a bad thing since my oldest starts Kindergarten in the fall. It would be so sad for me to miss that milestone in his life, even if he won't really remember it. I'll be gone all week when I start the academy, and I think it may be smart of me to wait until he has a few months of Kindergarten under his belt before I leave.
All in all I'm getting into wicked shape and have lost most of my pregnancy weight. It's so wonderful to work hard again...I can wear my jeans!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The trip of a lifetime.
It's been sad not having time to blog about my martial arts adventures lately. On the other side of that, I haven't really HAD any martial arts adventures for over a year now. "Life" got in the way for a while and I'm not really sure when I'll be able to get back into a dojo. Having two children to look after kind of puts the proverbial stick into the spoke of my wheels. It's certainly not a bad thing, just sad every once in a while. However, a new path has presented itself to me, and boy oh boy, what a ride it's going to be!
A little over a month ago I spotted a flier at my gym. There were many other fliers on the same board, but this one immediately caught my eye. On this piece of paper was information on a program called Step Up to Law Enforcement. The sentence, "Oh, I couldn't possibly do that. My life is too crazy"ran through my mind, but as I was thinking that my hand was reaching up to take the slip of paper on the bottom that had a phone number.
To make this story just a bit shorter, I ended up contacting Vermont Works for Women and was put in touch with the woman who runs this particular program. Turns out we knew each other. Talk about a small state....
Her aunt lives in my home town and I met her about 20 years ago (!) as we were both about to attend the University of Vermont. I hadn't seen her since that time (and we only saw each other a few times in college) and had no idea that she worked for VT Works for Women. She still knew who I was and I recognized her name immediately. So, I went in for an information session. I then came back for and interview with this woman and after that was asked to come back for a second interview. It had been a long time since I was put into that type of situation.
The second interview was with four women: two from VT Works for Women, one police officer and one corrections officer. Talk about being nervous! That had NEVER happened to me, ever. The questions were hard and had me thinking to the bottom of my brain. They do that on purpose since they only take women they feel are suited for law enforcement work. Apparently I am one of those women.
The class started last Thursday and so far I'm thinking this will be the best career path ever. Massage has been so amazing, and was the career that made me who I am today, but becoming a police officer will take me so much further. The class is 9 weeks and introduces us to what it will be like having a career in law enforcement. We will be applying for jobs in two weeks. Once we are hired that agency sponsors us to go to the police academy. That will be a difficult road because not only is it tough academically and physically, but I will be away from home all week for 16 weeks. All students must stay at the academy, but we get to go home on the weekends. That will be so hard to do, but what I'm working towards will make up for having to be away from my family.
Onward, ho!
A little over a month ago I spotted a flier at my gym. There were many other fliers on the same board, but this one immediately caught my eye. On this piece of paper was information on a program called Step Up to Law Enforcement. The sentence, "Oh, I couldn't possibly do that. My life is too crazy"ran through my mind, but as I was thinking that my hand was reaching up to take the slip of paper on the bottom that had a phone number.
To make this story just a bit shorter, I ended up contacting Vermont Works for Women and was put in touch with the woman who runs this particular program. Turns out we knew each other. Talk about a small state....
Her aunt lives in my home town and I met her about 20 years ago (!) as we were both about to attend the University of Vermont. I hadn't seen her since that time (and we only saw each other a few times in college) and had no idea that she worked for VT Works for Women. She still knew who I was and I recognized her name immediately. So, I went in for an information session. I then came back for and interview with this woman and after that was asked to come back for a second interview. It had been a long time since I was put into that type of situation.
The second interview was with four women: two from VT Works for Women, one police officer and one corrections officer. Talk about being nervous! That had NEVER happened to me, ever. The questions were hard and had me thinking to the bottom of my brain. They do that on purpose since they only take women they feel are suited for law enforcement work. Apparently I am one of those women.
The class started last Thursday and so far I'm thinking this will be the best career path ever. Massage has been so amazing, and was the career that made me who I am today, but becoming a police officer will take me so much further. The class is 9 weeks and introduces us to what it will be like having a career in law enforcement. We will be applying for jobs in two weeks. Once we are hired that agency sponsors us to go to the police academy. That will be a difficult road because not only is it tough academically and physically, but I will be away from home all week for 16 weeks. All students must stay at the academy, but we get to go home on the weekends. That will be so hard to do, but what I'm working towards will make up for having to be away from my family.
Onward, ho!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
I'm back!
Well, after six weeks of recoup I finally began my journey back into shape. While karate was out for me until the baby gets bigger and finds his sleeping pattern, I decided to put that same focus into turning my "running hate" into "running love".
One of my facebook friends became a fan of this page called "Warrior Dash". I checked it out and found this amazing foot race that happens all over the U.S. I decided that was going to be my drive to get myself back into some serious shape. See, I went a little crazy with pregnancy eating this time around. Perhaps it was this kooky notion in my brain that said, "since this is the last time you'll be pregnant you might as well take advantage of eating for two!" Pure bogus, but it sounded good at the time.
So, at exactly six weeks I put the newbie into the stroller and walked one mile. I did this two more times that week snd was incredibly sore. I've progressed from there to the treadmill at the local Y and now go two miles walking up a steep incline for five minutes and running for five minutes. I'm thinking that it's time to just run and stop being such a sissy about it already. I now have four other victims (one of which is my sister, who has been running and racing for many years now, but has never done anything quite so crazy as the WD) to join me in the Dash, so now I really have to stay focused and just run three miles already!
I've always detested running. When I played field hockey in junior high and high school we ran this crazy drills all afternoon long and usually finished with this particularly devilish routine lovingly called "Killers". It involved doing various sprints around the field, across the field, etc. It was horrendous. I also never prepared myself for the field hockey training I new was going to start in August by running throughout the summer. After graduating high school I rarely did any kind of exercise, except for walking around the college campus. Needless to say I gained the freshman 15. It wasn't pretty.
But those were younger days and now I'm a seasoned exerciser and lover of anything that makes me huff and puff and perhaps vomit. Yes, I said vomit. I've started doing these indoor sledgehammer exercises which will eventually progress to hitting tires. Such a good way to get out the mommy aggression! There is also the one hundred push ups training. These things I can do with children in the house since I'm now a full-time stay-at-home mommy. This mommy means business!!
So, we'll see how this all goes. I'm foresee burpees in my future. And hill sprints. And wall climbing ( to go along with the hair pulling I've started as my 5 YO exercises his independence and defiance). Oh, and perhaps a pull up bar for the house....
One of my facebook friends became a fan of this page called "Warrior Dash". I checked it out and found this amazing foot race that happens all over the U.S. I decided that was going to be my drive to get myself back into some serious shape. See, I went a little crazy with pregnancy eating this time around. Perhaps it was this kooky notion in my brain that said, "since this is the last time you'll be pregnant you might as well take advantage of eating for two!" Pure bogus, but it sounded good at the time.
So, at exactly six weeks I put the newbie into the stroller and walked one mile. I did this two more times that week snd was incredibly sore. I've progressed from there to the treadmill at the local Y and now go two miles walking up a steep incline for five minutes and running for five minutes. I'm thinking that it's time to just run and stop being such a sissy about it already. I now have four other victims (one of which is my sister, who has been running and racing for many years now, but has never done anything quite so crazy as the WD) to join me in the Dash, so now I really have to stay focused and just run three miles already!
I've always detested running. When I played field hockey in junior high and high school we ran this crazy drills all afternoon long and usually finished with this particularly devilish routine lovingly called "Killers". It involved doing various sprints around the field, across the field, etc. It was horrendous. I also never prepared myself for the field hockey training I new was going to start in August by running throughout the summer. After graduating high school I rarely did any kind of exercise, except for walking around the college campus. Needless to say I gained the freshman 15. It wasn't pretty.
But those were younger days and now I'm a seasoned exerciser and lover of anything that makes me huff and puff and perhaps vomit. Yes, I said vomit. I've started doing these indoor sledgehammer exercises which will eventually progress to hitting tires. Such a good way to get out the mommy aggression! There is also the one hundred push ups training. These things I can do with children in the house since I'm now a full-time stay-at-home mommy. This mommy means business!!
So, we'll see how this all goes. I'm foresee burpees in my future. And hill sprints. And wall climbing ( to go along with the hair pulling I've started as my 5 YO exercises his independence and defiance). Oh, and perhaps a pull up bar for the house....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
