Daily Loaf

It was 7 a.m. on a Saturday when my alarm sounded. The pounding headache, the unsteady vision, and the smeared mascara under my eyes confirms that I, Caitlin Reagan, had lived my Friday night to its fullest potential.  After one cup of coffee, two aspirin, one bowl of cereal, four glasses of water and a quick drive across Gandy Bridge, I found myself standing in the group fitness room of the YMCA beginning a 90-minute cardio-strength conditioning class.

“Up, down, up, down, alright everyone! Go! Go! Push it!” the instructor yelled to everyone.  Her motivation was unusual — the demeanor of a pyramid-schemer.  She was sly, steadfast, and domineering all while maintaining her smile and composure.

With my flushed cheeks and Sir-Mix-A-Lot thumping through the speakers, I fist-pumped one dumbbell back and forth in a squat all while trying to ignore the water fountain in the back of the room.

Humorously, I thought how oddly similar a group fitness class reminded me of the night before — a Friday evening full of friends, booze, and bars. Read the rest of this entry »

On Halloween, I was hopelessly spending most of the day huddled in my apartment researching the United States’ media coverage on Iran. I had purposely not made plans to celebrate the evening dressed as media sensation Balloon Boy, a firefighter with red-hot lipstick and heels, or even a cat. Instead, six weeks prior, I’d committed myself to the Hob Gobl’n 5K Race, hosted by the Dunedin House of Beer.

For about 30 bucks, I agreed to run 3.1 miles in exchange for three beers of my choice, a t-shirt, and a wonderful spaghetti and meatball dinner. Oh, and a portion of my $30 went to the Dunedin Doggie Rescue — but that wasn’t the best part. The best part was that runners were not required to wear a costume.

I suckered my classmate Manny into running in the event, too. While the purpose of my participation was to avoid the annual Halloween costume stress, Manny signed up because — well, I don’t know exactly why he participated, especially since he treated the entire event as though it were a brisk walk down a scenic trail. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s get one thing straight: I don’t like spin classes. Five years ago, when I was in college, a sorority sister of mine was a spinning instructor. She suggested I attend her class one afternoon. Being the naïve individual I was at the time, I took my young, skinny body to this class thinking it would be great and I would surely be the fastest spinner. Thirty minutes later, I had a cramp in my side, my foot kept slipping out of the pedal, I was cursing my sorority sister instructor under my breath each time she instructed us all to turn the knob up, and I jumped off the bike and quit. I walked away red-faced with my towel on my shoulder never to look back again… until last Thursday evening.

Upon moving to Tampa, I’ve joined the YMCA. So far, it has been great — especially if you are a single female under the age of 35. But that’s a whole other topic that I’ll explore later, maybe. With a little coaxing and shoving from my brother, Jib and his fiancé, Kristin, I joined the two of them for a spin class. After a lot of fiddling with the seat, disinfecting the handlebars, and tightening the shoe straps on the pedals, I began to feel my stomach twisting. Read the rest of this entry »

Lately, I haven’t been sleeping very well. Friends and family tell me that it is because I am living alone for the first time in my life. Perhaps this is true, but what I’ve discovered from my newly-poor sleeping habits is my appreciation of dawn.

On the few nights when I get tired, I’ll rise to the occasion by wearing the most comfortable pajamas I own, fix myself some chamomile tea and hop into bed as soon as possible. This usually occurs at about 7:30 p.m. Tragically, I’ll wake up at about 5:30 in the morning, bright-eyed, rested and smiling, but with no one to talk to. After lying in bed for about 30 to 45 minutes deciding what to do with myself, I decide to take the opportunity to use my subdivision’s gym. The best part about this: I will be the only one there.

I know I’ve made myself pretty clear on the fact that I like to workout, I enjoy the adrenaline rushes, and fitness is slowly taking over my life, but when it comes to gyms, I have a lot of hang-ups about to gym personalities. Read the rest of this entry »

“This was such a terrible idea,” I thought to myself as I gasped for air while jogging in the sweltering August heat.

“Please rain, please rain, please rain,” I repeated over and over in my head.

“Oh my god! I feel like my legs are going to fall off.”

I am only 9 minutes into my jog (which is just over a mile) and the heat is getting to my head.

If you are the type of person who enjoys having an extra slice of pizza on a Friday night, buttery nipple shots on a Saturday night, and an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet on a Sunday morning, then I’m sure you’ve uttered these negative thoughts to yourself on a Monday evening during your workout. Read the rest of this entry »

In my attempt to join the athletic world, I attended a Rays’ game during the recent Red Sox series. I was joined by about six of my friends from college. We all collectively agreed to get the cheapest seats possible which was, of course, in outfield. During the fifth inning, I think, I decided to visit the concessions to buy a few beers for myself and friends.

Twenty-four dollars later, I found myself carefully shuffling along my row of strangers to get to my seat when suddenly I felt an energy in the crowd that I can’t describe. My inexperience with spectator sports is quite embarrassing, and what happens in the next moment is even more embarrassing. I looked up at my friends, who were now standing, facing me, with their arms in the air, shouting something I couldn’t understand. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Ebyabe

My first experience on Bayshore Boulevard was nearly a year ago, on a gorgeous day in the fall — sunny and breezy. My brother Phil had suggested we spend the day walking along Bayshore. This was the day I was introduced to Bayshore Etiquette.

“First, you should know that there is absolutely no stopping on the sidewalk. If you need to stop, just move over to the grass but not in the grass lane,” he said as he pointed to the half-dead line of grass that stretched along the sidewalk.

“Oh, and always travel on the right side of the sidewalk, Caitlin,” he told me while waving his arms back and forth in front of him to show me an imaginary lane in front of us.

“Often, a group of women will travel in a group and block the whole sidewalk,” he said as we continued to walk down Bayshore. “It’s very annoying.” Read the rest of this entry »

“I hate running,” my friend Carolyn said to me as we sat sipping a glass of Sauvignon Blanc on an idle Tuesday evening. “In fact, I hate people who run. It seems masochistic in so many ways.”

“Maybe it is,” I said. “I run for the after-effects, not the process.”

My name is Caitlin Reagan. I’m a 23-year old Florida native who enjoys running and all things fitness. Please keep in mind that I said I enjoy these activities; therefore I am not a professional trainer nor am I one to pass up a Five Guys burger on a Sunday afternoon to cure my hangover.

I have just recently moved to St. Petersburg to attend graduate school at the University of South Florida and I’ll spend my time away from school discovering the various fitness programs offered in the St. Pete and Tampa area. I plan to give you all a “real person” perspective. In other words, I’ll tell you when I experienced a bout of flatulence and blamed it on the machine during a spin class.

Catch me next week when I discuss my introduction to the Bayshore Drive etiquette and my experience with following these unspoken rules.