The Good, The Bad, and the Sweaty (Oh, and a Giveaway)

I've been a little absent from the blogosphere lately because of a series of craziness, but I'm settling down and moving forward now.  Today's post is a quick breakdown of some of the things I've faced in the past two weeks, both good AND bad - though we're starting with the bad, to get that out of the way quick!


THE BAD

• I lost my job.  That crazy good job that was making it possible for me to follow my passions.  It was a layoff, just an unfortunate economic turn, but it was "last in, first out" for me.  The biggest frustration comes from knowing I was one of the top performers in the company, and that had the decision been anything other than economical I would have kept my job with no question.
• The lack of job means a new job hunt, and the worry that the next job will be a step backwards, in any of many ways.  Mostly, I'm worried the fitness career I've been working so hard to build may have to be sacrificed for a steady paycheck, and I'm especially worried I'll have to make that sacrifice due to another horrible commute.
• I still haven't fully recovered from being sick a few weeks ago.  Despite the company's poor overall performance, the two weeks after my illness were CRAZY busy, and I was often covering for several people who were out on vacation, so I was pushing pushing pushing all day at work, then teaching my classes in the evenings - and not easing back in as I should have been.  Even now, weeks later, I still have a rough cough that sometimes makes it hard to breathe...

THE GOOD

• I thought the job loss was totally Bad when I was told last Friday morning - but there are actually some potentially huge positives.  I've been afraid to quit my job (read: steady income) to make the risky leap into more full-time fitness, but with no job to quit, now might be exactly the time to start making that dream a reality.  I have the power to choose my direction in my job search, and if I keep an open mind and a positive attitude, the outcome of the job hunt may be fabulous!
• The free daytime hours make me available for picking up more fitness classes!  I also have some more time for designing classes and learning new Zumba choreography, which will enhance my current classes.  In two weeks, I'll be adding at least two more classes each week, and hopefully even more will follow, thanks to the amazing communities I belong to that are always so supportive.
• Hubby has been killing it (not literally) in his Brazilian Jiujitsu classes!  He's been going for about two months, and he just received his second white belt stripe.  And, he's up to five classes a week!  That's phenomenal for a guy who used to spend all his free time at his computer playing video games.  He's losing a little more weight, and he both looks and feels great.  I'm SO PROUD of him!

THE SWEATY - AND THE GIVEAWAY!

The skinny on the sweaty is that I'm back in running action - gearing up for my second half marathon: one of the Sunburst races in South Bend on June 6th!  I'm so excited to run around the beautiful Notre Dame campus, which coincidentally is my brother's alma mater!  Sunburst offers a race distance for every runner: 5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathon.  And guess what - YOU could be one of those runners!  I've got a race entry (distance of your choice) to give away, so hit up the Rafflecopter below to enter for YOUR chance to WIN!  Giveaway ends 4/24 at 11:59pm.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Has anyone else taken that risky leap into a new career without much of a net?  What helped you find the confidence to try - and what helped you find success once you were out on that limb?