Busy, Busy

So here I go again not blogging regularly like I said I would. Some days it's just hard to get my thoughts processed, let alone written out.
I do have a couple of updates to share, though:
1) I have attended 2 births in less than as many weeks. The first birth about 12 days ago, was incredible. A completely unmedicated birth for mom, with no interventions at all. Thankfully, the natural process unfolded really smoothly and baby was even born in the bag of waters! That was the first time I have seen that in person. Mom did a really great job and coach was equally as wonderful.
The 2nd birth was just last night. First of all & most importantly, mom gave birth to a really cute & healthy (9lb, 3oz!!!!!) baby girl. I am very thankful for that.
I was out of there by 8pm, picking up my babies from Laura's house.
I have more to write about my first triathlon of the season last Saturday, but I will come back & do that later.

WOOT! It is Official!!

So, after about 6 months of home study & 4 days of training/learning & a 3-hour exam in Dallas, TX at the Cooper Institute....I am now an official Certified Personal Trainer! YAY!! I got my exam results this past Saturday and passed with a 91%!!!!

I was thrilled to have passed, to have done well on the exam and I am thrilled to be done with that whole process. It did take quite a bit of energy & time, but it was worth it, I believe & it feels great to have accomplished the goal.

Thanks to my new friend Trish (who sort of motivated me to get the studying done sooner and go up to Dallas for the training and the exam sooner) for all her studying help and friendship through the whole process. Congrats to Trish, who also passed the exam! I also want to thank my friend & coach Rebekah, who helped both Trish & me study over the last 6 weeks before the exam and who also encouraged me to go for this personal training certification to begin with. Well, I had actually had this in my heart for the last couple years, but was really not doing anything about it to make it a reality. Looking on the internet for certifying bodies and programs does not qualify as taking necessary steps to acheive a goal!! So, it really was Rebekah that helped me to solidify my plans and my goal.

So, for now I plan on just continuing to help out the ladies in my church in our fitness ministry called Temple Foundations. I also have a neighbor that has hired me to help her as a personal trainer & I will eventually work with Rebekah as we do Boot Camps around the area.

For now, I am happy to have more initials to put behind my name:
Christina Barkley, BS, AAHCC, CI-CPT

Day # 2 of class @ The Cooper Institute

Ok, so things are going well so far this week with this Personal Trainer certification course. Yesterday's lectures and material was doable, but I still have a bit to memorize before Friday's test.

Today should be slightly more challenging because we will be going over anatomy. But, even still I am feeling good about it.

Later today, we actually do some of the fitness assessments where we will be doing running, walking, strength & flexibility testing. Should be interesting.

I also got in a 3 mile tempo run last night & then did a short interval workout.

Ahhh.....in Dallas for the week.

So, I am here in Dallas right now -the night before- the start of my week-long Personal Training seminar at the Cooper Institute. I admit I am nervous about everything, especially the certification exam on Friday...but, I know that I will do well and pass the test. Plus, I gave God my worry & anxiety & I know He will carry it for me. My prayer is that He would enable me to absorb what I need to absorb and that I will retain all I need to.

Pics from Spring Break @ Grandpas!

Grandpa with Jonah & Ella


Me & my dad


Me & the kids in Rockefeller Center


Kids in front of the apple store


The train ride back to Grandpa's house

In the Big Apple

I'm away from the Austin area right now in New York visiting my dad. All is well & the kids are liking their time here -- talking with Grandpa & chasing the cats around.

I have taken a few days off from training to get things done and get here for our spring break. I did do a short run today (about 35 minutes) - slow pace, just to get my heart rate up a bit. And I will taking tomorrow off so that the kids & I can tour around the Big Apple. We'll be taking the train & probably a cab, so all of those new experiences will be great for the kids. I am hoping to do plenty of walking, too, to help tired them out. I promised them we would stop by FAO Schwartz to pick out a toy! They are psyched about that!

We are here until very late Saturday night (not getting back to our house until 1am!) and then Sunday I teach my Thursday class group from 2-4pm and then it is off to Dallas just one hour later at 5pm to do my Cooper Institute Personal Trainer seminar and certification exam.

I won't get back from Dallas until late Friday night, too. This is going to be a long week ahead!

Peace?

At our small group last night we talked about peace....and whether or not we all have this fruit of the Spirit. Now, of course there are times where we have peace & others times we don't. And that, by its very nature, is the problem. Our study pointed out how we automatically have access to God's peace when we accept Him into our hearts. The matter is not whether we have a constant source of peace, the matter is whether we choose to accept His peace and WALK in His peace. So, we looked at some of God's attributes -- what makes Him trustworthy & why we can have faith in Him and therefore, have access to an incredible levels of peace -- even in the midst of the storms of life.
I learned a lot last night & I am resolving to seek God more, trust Him more & give Him my worries. By doing this, I believe I can walk in a new level of peace that will ultimately glorify Him.

And now, switching gears...

I started my day today by taking Jonah to school and then working on my studying for the personal trainer certification. In fact, I should be doing more of that right now. But, I need a break. I am trying to absorb all that I need to, in order to go to Dallas in 2 weeks for the training and exam.

I also went to the gym & did my prescribed workout (my friend & triathlon coach, Rebekah, has written my triathlon training plan for this season). Today was a "long run" and 1/2 hour core & stretching. I did 6.2 miles on the treadmill (torture) and then lifted and did core & stretching. So far I am on target with my plan, but it will go out the window (well, not totally) while I am away in New York next week & then in Dallas the week after. But, I will do my best.

Looking ahead, this weekend is a night away for me & Matt. We have a wedding to attend in Houston & Angie will be coming to take care of the kids/house/dogs for us. She is such an awesome friend!!

I guess that is all for now. Later.