"Lat-in-Shape" is coming...

Friday, February 18, 2011

I was meeting with an old friend of mine, Bob Iafelice, at the Arabica Coffee House in downtown Willoughby (I liked it better when it was a kick-ass hardware store) to discuss his new dance/exercise class when Betty walked in. I knew she was meeting with Holly, but I didn’t know where…and now I did. Both Holly and Betty like to do exercise classes and so this would be an opportunity to get some feedback…not that Bob needed it…on his class. They listened for a bit, but then Holly reminded us that we were just boring guys and left for their own table and some interesting ‘girl talk’.

Bob is a nutritionist and we’ve known each other since grade school. We worked together as Fitness Instructors with the Back Wall Racquet Clubs over 25 years ago and have always stayed in touch since. He’s there for me when I need advice on nutrition and diet and I’m his sounding board for questions about exercise physiology. He had owned two ‘Curves’ stores, but was thrilled to be out of the business of club ownership. He used to be a Ballroom dancer…well…a little more than that… he was the National Amateur Champion about ten years ago…and had created a class he’d been teaching in his ‘Curves’ facilities. Since leaving, he’s started a class called ‘Lat-in-shape’, which combines dance moves and aerobic exercise for a 45-minute workout. I’m going to take one of the classes next week and report back. He says there are seldom guys in the class which doesn’t bother me any, but…not being much of a dancer, asked him if I’d embarrass myself. I could see the surprise on his face when he realized I actually intended to do the class and not just observe. “You’re going to do the class? Um…yes…you’ll embarrass yourself.” Thanks for the vote of confidence.

I went to the South Chagrin Reservation to attempt another run, but quickly discovered that the trails had melted down to the point where only ice remained. I started out with some major slipping and ran into a hiker with his dog. “You’ll never get under the bridge at Chagrin Boulevard…the water is running way too high,” he cautioned. In fact, the runoff from the field I was running across was flooding the trail about 50 yards in front of me…with no way around…and I wasn’t going through. I turned and headed back to the car for a short drive to the Polo Fields.

This is not a bad place to run…if you want to get bored quickly, but it was the best I was going to be able to do. There is a dirt road running around the perimeter of the fields which measures around a mile and so I spent the next 40 minutes making loops, splashing through the mud and wondering why one lady was carrying an infant like a sack of potatoes and another was pushing a stroller…I mean it was REALLY muddy. Well…good for them…get the exercise no matter what.

Holly and I went to ‘Outback’ for dinner later that evening and I have a word of caution for all you ‘Bloomin’ Onion’ lovers…they’ve shrunk. I thought it looked smaller and then Holly shared the same view. We proceeded to eat the entire thing…something we’ve never done…and still had room for dinner, which confirms that it’s smaller. Still tastes damned good though, and is just loaded with saturated fat…of course Holly ate most of it.

Run duration: 40 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 675.