Can't Stop the Feeling: Off-Beat ZUMBA Instructor Leads Warm-Up

This Saturday as I departed Hersheypark Stadium, I walked to my car with my head hanging low. I joked to my partner-in-crime, Shawna Strine, about how the headlines would read "Off-Beat ZUMBA Instructor Leads Warm-Up at GOTR 5K." 

This Saturday I had one of those experiences that left me humbled, and I thought that others might find solace in my missteps - possibly in that "misery loves company" kind of way...

Or perhaps it's just good to know that life isn't perfect, and there is reason to celebrate the journey anyway! 

First, let me tell you a little about GOTR... 
Girls on the Run (GOTR) is a national nonprofit dedicated to, "creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams." This organization works to train young girls to run their first 5K race - all while sharing positive, self-esteem building messages! Girls on the Run aims to show these young girls that they truly are ROCKSTARS (certainly a mission that I can stand behind)! FYI... The organization is also responsible for the largest 5k series IN THE COUNTRY!

Pretty impressive, right? That's why for the past few years we have been proud to fundraise for this organization while training for distance runs through their Solemates program!

On to the 5K... 
When they needed someone to lead a short warm-up before their spring 5K, they looked right at their own volunteers... And our trio of licensed ZUMBA instructors was quickly formed: Shawna Strine, Dawn Clouse, and myself (fyi... Both Dawn and Shawna have also volunteered as Coaches)!

The Vision... 
I'm not going to lie. The thought of teaching ZUMBA on that massive stage was so exciting! This was a real-deal, professional, enormous, formidable, beautiful STAGE!! And we were going to get to teach on it!!!

In my visions, we were perfectly choreographed. I was able to balance teaching and crowd engagement with the utmost skill (making my Zumba Pro Skills Instructor, Steve Boedt, so very proud)! We got those girls PUMPED for their very first 5K!!

What actually happened was slightly different. 

The Reality... 
We waited backstage as they brought our awesome backup dancers on the stage - participants in the GOTR Heart and Sole program (Just another reason why this was going to be the coolest experience EVER)! We took the floor excitedly when we were motioned to enter.

Then it happened. The music came on, but there was one small problem... We couldn't hear it. At all.

So what do Zumba instructors do when they have NO CLUE what to do? Of course they smile and start dancing!!! For the next four minutes (possibly the longest four minutes of my life), the three of us rotated between super simple moves, smiled, clapped, and prayed that every so often we would hit the beat (we still haven't confirmed that we ever did).

The Take-Away... 
Ok, so the warm-up tanked. But we kept dancing - just like the girls that participate in the GOTR program. Some of those girls were about to begin a race they weren't sure they could finish. They had doubts. They had insecurities. But in the end, they pushed through it.

Over 2500 girls, coaches, buddies, and community members crossed the finish line at the Capital Area Girls on the Run Spring 5K!!

Things don't always turn out how we planned. But that doesn't mean we can't celebrate being there in the first place! No matter how many beats we hit in the warm-up/where we placed in the race/etc., we all kept dancing! The fact that we got to stand on that stage and show our support for those girls is incredible (and certainly an experience we will remember for a long time to come)!

"...Ain't nobody leaving soon, so keep dancing." Justin Timberlake, CAN'T STOP THE FEELING!

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Help Girls on the Run to show young girls that they are SUPERSTARS! Become a Solemate, Volunteer to coach, or make a donation. 

#gotr5k #finishstrong #girlsrule #zinlife #zumbalove #cantstopthefeeling