Two types of people in the world....

In the week-plus since I had gotten my hard-earned and well-deserved BodyPump certification, the celebrating had never stopped. After getting home from the County and receiving congratulations from my teammates and gym members, Caroline and I headed to a party at SkyDive New England in Lebanon for the weekend, and after that came and went, I prepared for my first big event as a qualified instructor, the Super Quarterly in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
This was something I had been looking forward to all summer, as it was my first major workshop. My teammates had informed me to expect hundreds of people in the master classes, as instructors come from all over the world to do the new releases before their respective clubs launch them (I think we're launching BP 75 sometime in October).
The workshop was Saturday, with Pump at 7:30 a.m., so I asked for a Bangor-Mt. Blue girls soccer game in Farmington on Friday, and got my wish. After watching the Rams and Cougars battle to a 3-3 tie and grabbing some dinner with a couple friends, I headed to Poughkeepsie around 9.
My original plan was to drive to Boston, and get on a midnight bus to Albany and get to Poughkeepsie from there, but an accident on I-95 just south of the I-93 interchange prevented me from getting there by 11:30 (luckily I hadn't bought a ticket), so I just decided to drive the rest of the way to Poughkeepsie.
I finally got there at about 4 a.m. It sounds like a grind, but the trick to driving all night is taking breaks every couple of hours, stretching the body and getting fresh air (which was vital, since I'd be doing a ton of Les Mills classes in just a short time).
The gym wouldn't open for people to line up for check-in at 5, so I found a gas station to hit the restroom. The clerk, however, would have none of it, and angrily asked me to leave (apparently he thought I was drunk or something HAHA).
Nevertheless, I got to the gym around 4:50 and checked in to set my bench top up at about 5:45. Luckily, the benches and weights were set up for us, so all I had to do was put my camera and water bottle on top of my bench to claim it.
After doing that, I took quite a few pictures, and meandered around and got to know some of the other instructors, including a few from New Jersey, and a nice woman from Connecticut, who claimed the step next to mine.
The most touching thing was the September 11th tribute, since this workshop was held 9 years to the date of the greatest tragedy on American soil. It was emotional, as there were quite a bit of tears shed by those around me, including the emcee, and it was a great way to bring the Les Mills tribe together.
The master class was like a rock concert, with spotlights everywhere, a huge stage, and amazing presenters, including Shelbon McBee, whom I had met at a workshop over the summer. He's one of the best instructors in the world, and was on the Pump 75 Instructor DVD, so taking a class with him again was the best feeling in the world (he even took a couple pics with me, and congratulated me on my certification).
After doing Pump, RPM and BodyVive, I headed to NYC for the rest of the day for dinner at my friend's house.
It had been a long day and I had been up all night, but was too wound up to take a nap even though my body was telling me too. After all, I needed this energy to find a place to park outside the city. I found a Metro North station in nearby Rye, so I put the car there, and headed to Brooklyn.
Everyone subsequently congratulated me on my certification, and we made a delicious Beef Stew dinner, played some Harry Potter Lego on XBOX, had some drinks, and just cherished the moment.
I decided to hit the road at 7 the next morning to get home at a decent time, and made it back to Old Town around 3:00, and it was finally time to catch up on my much-needed sleep.
This workshop was an amazing experience, and the culmination of how far I've come in these last 12 months, from a sucky student to a (hopefully) inspirational instructor. This is only the beginning, and I'm hoping this will launch my Les Mills career far beyond my own expectations.