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Zumba Master Class with Richard Martinez

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My first non-YMCA Zumba event was in February of this year. It was a Zumba for the Cure fundraiser at Lifetime Fitness on the north side of Indianapolis. The funds raised were split between Susan G. Komen and Firefighters with Parkinson's Disease Foundation. Zumba instructor Trish's husband, Gary Coons, founded the Foundation. There were 15 ladies from the Y class that came out to support Trish and have a great time doing two-hours of Zumba.

I wasn't going to go. I hadn't bought the cute black razor back shirt with the "Team Gary" slogan on it. I decided to go the day before the event and went to Target looking for a lime green tank so I could match the girls. When I got to Lifetime Fitness that morning I really struggled with my shyness and looked on while the Y girls took photos of each others with huge smiles and big hugs.

I'm so thankful for one of the Zumba girls, Beth, because she came up to me and said, "You're in our class aren't you?" and that's all it took for me to break through my comfort zone and join in.

I made it through the two-hours and I made sure I was included in this group photo.

Zumba for the Cure - February 2010

I was so proud of this photo that I had it has my Facebook profile photo for several months.

What a difference four months can make.

Last night I went to my first Zumba Master Class and this time I was one of the girls.


Beth, me, Ashley and Alisa

Again, I decided at the last minute to go to the event. Shannon had asked me at class on Thursday if I was going and I said no - too much going on since I just got back from vacation. Lame. Then later that night I was talking to Fatima (she was the first Zumba girl I talked to in class - love her) on Facebook and she said I should come and I said ok. Just like that. I got the ok from Jim (the husband) and I went to bed super excited.

Friday evening I rushed home from the north side in rush hour traffic and rain, got home, changed clothes, tried to do something cute with my hair (meh), gave the family a kiss goodbye and tried not to feel guilty about missing G's ballet class. I pushed the guilt aside and gave myself the pep talk about it's important for Moms to do things for themselves. Yep, guilt gone and smile on my face.

I was running late. I needed to meet the girls at the Y at 5 p.m. and I got a text from Fatima on my drive over saying "where you at?" Oh, I hate running late. Totally throws me off. I texted her back "5 min" and after a phone call from the parking lot of "where are you guys" "we're over here, don't you see us" and "I can't find you." I made it to Fatima's car and headed to Greenfield with her, Ashley and Jasmine.

It was a nice ride chatting with the girls. Fatima gave Jasmine a hard time about being a back seat driver - I believe the term "ok Mom" was used several times. We talked about work, kids, Zumba Bob - all the normal stuff. We stopped by the gas station so Jasmine and Ashley could pick up some energy drinks.

Jasmine and Ashley with their energy drinks. Bottoms up!

We made it to the Family Fun and Fitness center and claimed our spots towards the front. We were "insanely early."

We flocked to the Zumba merchandise table and said hello to Trish who was helping out with the event. I got a pink Zumba tank and purple bracelet. I'm trying to watch my budget so I was trying to think of what I can sell on eBay to help out. I'll find something - swag is worth it.

I brought my camera and was determined to get a bunch of cute shots. Here are a few of my favorites.


Fatima with Zumba Master Class instructor Richard Martinez


The Zumba YMCA girls with Richard


Alisa and Stephanie


Front row - Alisa, Stephanie and Trish. Back row - Shannon and Beth.


Me.


Jasmine and Ashley



Tina and Ashley. (Note how fabulous they look after 90 minutes of Zumba.)



The class was great. I really enjoyed Richard. I had watched some of his videos before class and learned that he had been overweight and lost 65 pounds doing Zumba. You would never have guessed it watching this guy move. He was amazing.

The girls told me I would be starving when the class was over. I felt pretty good right after, but once we made the dash in the rain to the car I realized I was beat. We decided to head downtown for Chammps. We tried to eat outside.


But after a few stories of people being hit by lightening we decided to move it inside.

I knew with 10 of us ordering I wouldn't make it till the food came out so I ordered their yummy spinach and artichoke dip and shared it with everyone and just had a Greek side salad for dinner. Right choice.

Dinner was great and I really enjoyed spending more time with these girls and getting to know them better. Here are a few more shots I took during dinner.


Jasmine, Fatima and Tina


Alisa, Stephanie and Trish


Shannon, Beth, Me and Ashley

After dinner it was pushing 11 p.m. and we were all exhausted so we headed for the cars.

I made it home and Jim was still up so I checked in with him and how his night with the kids went - pretty uneventful. I showered and then put up the photos on Facebook like I promised the girls. I think I had something like 50 Facebook notifications this morning from all the comments on the photos - I guessed they liked them.

Zumba has several of these fundraisers and master classes. I'm looking forward to going to more of them. Sure I'm doing it for the exercise (man I'm sore this morning) but mostly it's so I can get to hang out with these girls more. We are all so different, but our love for Zumba is what brings us together. It's a special bond we have and I'm privileged to be a part of it.

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