Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Across the Years Race


As I write this, my friend John Radich just completed running 100 miles in the Across the Years Race in Arizona. He's in the 31st hour of 72 hours of racing and is still going strong. So strong, in fact, that he is in 16th place!

A couple of months ago he asked me to crew for him, but we had a last minute change of plans, so I'm watching his progress through the webcast at Across the Years.

John is a super nice guy and very dedicated runner. We got to run together Christmas eve morning with his running group the Foothill Flyers. It was a blast and we had a chance to talk a lot about ultra-running and make some future plans. He told me later that after our 8-mile run (his warm up) he went for another 14 that day! And now here he is running for 72 hours with a goal of 300 miles by the New Year! Gotta love it!

I have to say I'm in awe of this guy. He's 54-years old and still going strong. He's run in Badwater--the world's toughest foot race--eight times now and is going again in July. 135 miles, 130 degrees, 60 hours. How's that for intense?

The coolest thing about John, is that he runs to support a good cause....The Way to Happiness. I really admire that.

Good luck John and see you next year!

photo by pixareus.com

Saturday, December 27, 2008

X-treme Fun


What do single people do for Christmas when they aren't visiting family? Well, I'm sure you could do the whole dinner with friends thing or watch a movie. But I'm sorry, that's too boring for me. Instead, I wrangled up some friends and took them to Big Bear with me for skiing. I've been wanting to learn snowboarding for awhile now and this was the perfect opportunity.

I already knew I was going to have fun. But this was beyond belief fun....Out of this world fun....Blown out of our minds fun....Insanely gleeful fun....It was fun beyond fun.

The trip itself was full of adventure and mother nature was in quite a "mood." But nothing deterred us from having a good time. It rained for most of the drive up to Big Bear with temps just above the freezing level. The long, windy road up the mountain was slushy. Not fun to drive in a tiny little 4-speed Saturn. Chains were mandatory, however none of us had put chains on a car before. So Celina read me the directions while I attempted to put them on. Haha. Not working. Their directions sucked! Of course by now, I'm getting soaking wet, even though I had one of those emergency poncho raincoats. The problem was it suddenly got real windy and the hat kept blowing off, the poncho kept getting in the way of my hands and face, and I still don't have the chains on my tires. OK, so we ask some people. They didn't know what they were doing either. Sigh. So I just look around and see someone drive on the chains and then tighten them. That made sense. Why didn't the instructions say that! I drive on the chains, tighten them and finally we are off again! Whew.

When we arrive it's overcast but snowing! Our timing couldn't have been better for this trip. In the last couple of days Bear Mountain received its largest snowstorm in 35 years...4 feet of snow in 2 days! Seeing the snow everywhere was so exciting. It was truly a white Christmas for us. And the best part was yet to come.


The first part of the snowboard lesson was learning how strap the the board on and falling techniques. I must have a big label on my face that says "PICK ON ME" because the instructor chose me to demonstrate all the falling techniques. And this wasn't even on the snow. It was on the hard ground. Ouch. Now if I could just put these techniques into practice. I noticed that when you fall for real you are not really "thinking" about HOW to fall. You just fall. And the reactive action is to do the wrong thing....like trying to brace your fall with your hands (bad) or falling straight back on your tail bone (very bad) instead of choosing the left or right butt cheek.


Falling is very much part of snowboarding. I knew that in advance so I was completely prepared for it. Over the 2 days there I probably fell somewhere between 50-80 times. Mostly on the butt, with a few good head bangs. Amazingly enough I'm not that sore. Except my shoulders and arms which I used to get back up every time I fell!

The class progressed nicely from movement to movement but as the lesson progressed so did the weather. We went from snowing with a few windy gusts to an almost full-blown blizzard. Early on in the lesson I had just gotten up and was preparing to take my turn down the slightly slanted slope and a big gust of wind hit me. I went flying (and screaming) down the hill not having learned how to stop. Well I knew one way. Fall. Thank goodness for the goggles. They saved my eyes from the stinging snow pellets. The instructors kept debating whether to stop class or not. People start dropping out of the class because the conditions are now so extreme. Celina and I didn't care a bit. We were dressed for it and having the time of our life.

Next thing we know, there are only 3 students. Cool. Semi-private lesson. We learned more in the next hour than in the entire lesson. Who cared about a little snow storm? We didn't. Besides it made it even more challenging. And believe me, snowboarding is a very definite challenge. But by the end of the class I had a clue. And didn't fall as much.


I am so hooked. I found a new passion.

I am seriously thinking about getting a place in the mountains and learning bar tending so I can snowboard all day and work at night. Crazy? Maybe. Possible? Anything is possible in my book. I'm already signed up for a virtual snowboarding lesson here in LA and am going back skiing next weekend. It's just too bad I'm going to be in Florida for all of January and February.


Big Bear is so cute. It was a little quiet on Christmas night but we managed to find some cool places. This place, "The Pub" was like a big living room with couches, a fireplace, pianos, and a small stage. I discovered a new drink....hot apple cider with spiced rum. Yum! We weren't out that long (so we could rest up for skiing), but apparently we got quite a bit of snow in that time. So much so, that my car got stuck. It had gotten stuck earlier, but I was able to get it out with some pretty aggressive handling. This time it wasn't working. It got to the point where I asked my 2 friends to go push the car while I tried to back it up. Some people saw us and wanted to help.




It was a couple and they had some cardboard in their truck. We tried putting that under the stuck tire. That didn't work either. Apparently the tire was in some kind of hole. Another guy came and went to get something from his truck to help us. Meanwhile, out of the blue, these 4 gorgeous men appeared and offered to help us 3 girls in distress. They went to the front of the car and practically picked it up. Just then, the other guy came back and offered to drive the car out. I let him. Yeah! We were out. I high fived all the guys and the last of the gorgeous men didn't let go of my hand for awhile. Finally he released it and wished me Merry Christmas. After my moment of "wow," I realized I didn't know his name, his number or anything. Darn. Missed opportunity but a happy memory nonetheless.

The next day Shannon and her boyfriend Dan came to learn snowboarding too. Fortunately they brought the sun with them so it turned out to be a beautiful day. As expected they caught the snowboard "bug" just as bad as me and Celina. We are all so hooked and can't wait to go back. By the end of the day I could actually board on the toes (going backwards down the hill) without falling. It was quite an accomplishment. I have so much more control now and am eager to go to the next level.





Here's Celina, Stacia, Shannon and me at the end of the day....completely spent and happy. I can't imagine having a better Christmas than this...one with great friends and having an awesomely amazing time.

Friday, December 19, 2008

All Gains Are Not Lost

Whew, I thought for sure I had lost all my CrossFit gains by not working out for two straight months.

Today, I realized that wasn't so. The muscles are still there. They've just been hiding under the extra pounds of fat that have accumulated since I stopped smoking over four months ago. By the way, If you ever want to quit smoking, just join CrossFit. You'll become so addicted to CrossFit that smoking just won't matter anymore. Besides you need really strong lungs.

So how did I figure this out? I did a 4.1 mile hill workout run today. It's one of my favorites because I can leave right straight from my house and within 4 minutes I'm on the fire trails. Shannon wanted to join me, so we went together. Along the way, my nose was running and I was coughing up more yucky stuff, but overall, the run felt pretty good.

It was so nice out too. Sunshine, beautiful sunshine. For me it was a wonderful change from the sucky rains we've been having. The trail was a bit muddy in places, but not bad enough to worry about slipping.

Shannon has become a really strong runner in the last couple of months and could definitely beat me, but for the most part we stuck together. Actually her running a slight bit faster forced me to keep my pace faster than I would have gone if I were on my own. Running with someone definitely has benefits. It's like a non-verbal self-discipline boost that keeps the negative internal voices at bay.

Time for the 4.1 mile hill-workout run was 41:44, my first hill workout since I got back from Florida and a personal record for me. So yeah, I was stoked. All was not lost.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

CrossFit Nightmares

Whoa. The last time I did a CrossFit workout was October 17th, exactly two months ago. As long as I can help it, I'm not gonna let that happen again, because I don't think my nerves can take it. There are definite reasons why this happened, which I won't go into here, but there is a solution now for the next time I work out of town. And I should be able to stick with it.

Usually I'm slightly nervous about CrossFit workouts, but today I was frightened! I even had nightmares last night of puking in the bushes and other strange things. I was pretty sure I could run, since I had at least been doing a bit of that, but could I lift any weights? Do push-ups? Or god forbid, box jumps? Even though I just ran a half-marathon 10 days ago, I felt really out of shape. And I am certainly not used to working out in the freezing cold. Brrrrrr. (Yes, I am missing those lovely temperatures in Florida.)

So what did we do today? The Miller. That's what the workout was called. Funny, seeing how that's my last name. It consisted of 5 rounds of:
-15 Deadlifts (M-135lbs, W-95lbs)
-400M Sprint
-15 GHD/Abmat Sit-ups

I had trouble right from the start, just in setting up my weights. I was so nervous I couldn't even add. Finally I realized I hadn't counted the bar weight. Duh. Guess 95 lbs. wasn't enough for me! Once we got started, things were better. My head was on a little straighter. Round number one went great. But after that it slowly went downhill, except for the final spurt of energy during round five.

Running in the cold burned my lungs and throat so bad I couldn't tell if that's how it's supposed to feel in the cold or if it was because my lungs hadn't fully recovered from the lung infection I just had. It probably was a bit of both because more yucky stuff came out of my lungs on the way home.

The weight seemed to get heavier and heavier. I tried really hard to keep my form, but I think that as I got more tired, I must have slipped up because my hip/lower back is hurting now. Or it could just be that I've irritated areas that never quite healed from months ago. (Yes, I still need to see one of those sports/orthopedic docs and would appreciate any recommendations).

All in all though, I am so happy to be back CrossFitting. This body needs it. On a regular basis. What was especially cool today was to see the new gym and have Vanessa as a coach for the first time. She's awesome and keeps my attention on good form. I feel really fortunate to be training at Team CrossFit Academy where the coaching is world-class, with no compromise to quality and care.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Handgun Training in the Desert

Front Sight Trained


There's nothing like a little 4-hour drive out to the middle of the desert to do some handgun training. And thanks to my tom tom gps I got to go through death valley for the first time. It was a beautiful drive with hardly any traffic. Translation: pedal to the floor and a happy inner speed demon!




Yes, I'm still sick with a cold, and probably quite nutz for spending the last two days in the freezing cold outside. But I was invited to this thing a couple weeks ago and I didn't want to NOT go. So even though I'm coughing up green phlegm now, I can say it was totally worth it.

Located just 40 minutes outside of Las Vegas, and occupying a spectacular 550 acres in the Nevada desert, Front Sight Training Institute is the first choice for those interested in the highest quality self defense and personal safety training. They train more students each year than all the other shooting schools in the US combined...Men and women, teens, families, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, teachers, military personnel, persons from all walks of life and all ages. And I can see why. The staff have the most impressive credentials I've ever heard of and instruct with consistency to the Front Sight method.



Front Sight's method is based on safety and drilling the fundamentals. With that, you gain the certainty that you can keep yourself, your family and others safe. It reminded me a lot of the crossfit method and its attention to form.

I learned a lot in the past 2 days, and even though I don't own a gun, when I do get one I'll have confidence in handling and operating it. The training was pretty intense and included loading and unloading; grip, stance, sight alignment, and trigger control; presentation; target engagement under time pressure; malfunction clearing; speed and tactical reloading.

In addition, important topics were covered like use of deadly force and the law; mental awareness; stopping power; and civil liability. It was extremely interesting to learn that if you use deadly force even if you are defending yourself, certain actions can land you in jail. Hopefully it will never come to that, but at least I know if I had to, I can take someone down.

The only thing I'd do different for next time, is to go a different time of year. I was freezing my ass off up there, despite my multiple layers! It brought back memories of my life on the road working outside in Chicago in December. Painful. Saturday was a little less cold, but we had these crazy hurricane-like winds. It was hard to stand up let alone shoot a gun! Our targets kept flying away which was quite amusing, but eating sand for hours was not. And, it took me almost an hour to brush my hair that night! Ouch!


On the way home I snapped some photos of the moon because it was so beautiful. And what do you know, I learned that it was the biggest and brightest full moon to be seen for 15 years. Each month the moon makes a full orbit around the earth in a slightly oval-shaped path, and last night it swung by the Earth at its closest distance, or perigee. It will pass by 356,613km (221,595 miles) away, which is about 28,000km closer than average.

The unusual feature was that the perigee also coincides with a full moon, which made it appear 14 per cent bigger and some 30 per cent brighter than most full moons this year. Cool, eh?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Ocean Kim Koala


The koala has always been my favorite animal. As a child I had a stuffed one that I slept with every night. So once I found out that I could adopt one it was a no-brainer. Meet Ocean Kim, my newly adopted koala.

Ocean Kim, a tiny 0.455g joey, was found out of the pouch and under the body of her injured mother, Ocean Therese, on 26 June 2006. Ocean Therese had been struck by a car on Ocean Drive, a busy highway that feeds into the Port Macquarie industrial area. While her mother went into her own rehabilitation, “Kimmy”, as she became known, was fed formula and given pap milkshakes to inoculate her gut with the bacteria required for her to digest eucalyptus leaf. Kim responded well. She put on weight and, after a small mishap in her aviary, soon grew accustomed to climbing.

Kim was transferred to the hospital and placed into a yard with a tree so she could continue to acquire her “koala survival skills” before release. She shared yards with a number of joeys before finally being returned to the wild with her yard-buddy, Lake Christmas, on 22 August 2007.

Want one too? Go to The Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, Australia

Monday, December 8, 2008

The First of Many



I survived two marathons in the last couple of weeks. The first was a work marathon. Talk about intense. I was working until 8 or 9 every night at my Florida job, then coming home to work until 1-2am for my California clients. Sleep? Some. Exercise. None. Why is it that everyone wants their stuff all at the same time? Do they just know that you are busy and purposely try to kill you? I wonder sometimes. And didn't they know I had a marathon to train for? Geez.

On top that, a virus was spreading around the office. I had successfully fended it off with airborne for over a week, but lo and behold on the day of the marathon I woke up sick with a cold. Seeing how I just spent $100 on my entry fee I wasn't about to miss it. Sick or not, off I went to the West Palm Beach marathon early Sunday morning and ran in the half.

I purchased an ankle brace and did a trial run the day before....only 2.5 miles. Previous training runs were 5 miles a week and a half ago, and my 20.5 mile run about a month ago. Obviously not enough training, but that was as much as I could do considering the work load and the ankle problem. The night before I had to pack, so I was up a little later than I wanted. I ended up getting about 6 hours of restless sleep. But I did eat well. I had a turkey burger and lots of spinach the night before. And no junk food the whole day.

On Sunday morning I woke up at 3:30am. I ate a light breakfast of one scrambled egg and 1/2 cup oatmeal. Got myself ready with the ankle brace and a slight adjustment, strapped the timing chip to my shoe, and put glide every where I was likely to chafe. I wore my goofy looking night running gear because it had a big pocket to put kleenex in, in case my nose started running while I was running. West Palm Beach is about an hour away so I headed out at 4:40am. What I didn't expect was traffic, parking troubles, and long lines for the restroom. The half marathon began at 5:55am and I got out of the restroom at 5:54am and barely had enough time to jog to the starting point. I never even stretched or warmed-up before the race. Boy, you sure learn a lot from these things.


Once the race began, everything changed. There was such excitement in the air. All these people. All out here for the same thing. As I started running I realized that I must have really been way back at the very back of the half marathon runners because for the first 2 miles I passed hundreds of people until I finally found MY pace group.

I never knew about these pace runners. They rock! With them you don't have to think about pace. Just follow along. It kept my running steady and at a just slightly uncomfortable pace. It was the 4:15 marathon pace group. Could I go faster? Of course. But I didn't want to burn out. And I was running faster than my target pace of 10 minute miles. So that made me happy.

The run felt surprisingly good. Here I am sick with a cold and it seemed to just disappear for awhile. The temperature outside was perfect. Probably 70 or so degrees with a nice breeze. I drank either gatorade or water at EVERY mile because I knew my body needed it. Actually I'm convinced I drank about 5 gallons of fluids that day between the marathon and traveling back to Cali. I just couldn't seem to get enough fluids. I also brought shot blocks. Had 2 around mile 5 and another 2 around mile 9. They seemed to help when I started feeling slightly less energetic.

The highlights of my run were at mile 6.25 and 8.7. The first turnaround was at mile 7, so when I was at mile 6.25 I could see the faster runners coming back my way. It was so exciting to see these athletes. They were beautiful. Men and women alike. I admired them and wanted to be where they were. I just couldn't stop smiling. There was so much cheering going on. This event went through local neighborhoods and people just camped out on their lawns to watch us and cheer us on.

There were different themed sections, mostly at the water stations...disco music, cheerleaders, pirates, the tie-dyed hippies, and my favorite, the male hula dancers. They were at mile 8.7. These guys were in grass skirts with coconuts on their breasts, and wearing wigs. It was hilarious. They were well coordinated and dancing in perfect sync. One just couldn't help but laugh. You've got to admit, these Florida people are pretty creative.


Time just flew by. At around mile 7 (shortly before the hula boys), I pulled ahead of my pace group. In my past training runs I've noticed that I run faster after I make the half way point, so I thought this should be no different. I must figure it's all downhill from there, so to speak. Besides I felt strong enough to go for it, so I did.

It might not have been a good idea because at mile 10 something happened. All of a sudden running became difficult. I started slowing down. I went from a 9:30 pace to a 10 minute pace then for miles 11 and 12 was almost at a 10:30 pace. I had eaten a shot block a little earlier and just didn't want to have too many of them. I wasn't even really having any pains to speak of. Sure I could feel blisters, a toe nail scraping skin, a mild ankle thing, and stiff knees, but that wasn't it. It was an energy zap. Like someone said you are done now. From here it just became a mental game. Obviously I kept myself going. But it was rough. I really had to talk myself into finishing. And I did.


Surprisingly the last few miles didn't affect my time that much. I still ended right where I wanted to be....at a sub 10 minute mile pace. Total time was 2:08:04. Here's my official race results:

Event: Marathon of the Palm Beaches - Half Marathon 13.1 miles
12/07/2008 06:00 am
Overall Place: 1002
Overall Time: 2:08:04
Gender Place: 412
Athletes in Gender: 1303
Division: FEMALE AGE GROUP AGES 40-44
Division Place: 72
Athletes in Division: 198

I keep wondering what it will be like to do the full marathon. It seems like there would need to be a lot more conditioning to get this body ready for even longer runs. My knees were so stiff after this one. The ankle didn't hurt, but I could tell towards the end that it was just starting to get weak. It was a good thing I only ran the half.

Today I'm really sore. And much sicker of course. Traveling cross country right after that much running isn't such a good idea. It was too much time in the same position when I should have been keeping those muscles moving. A lot of lessons learned for next time. Now I just have to decide whether to do the Miami marathon Jan. 25th or the Ft. Lauderdale marathon Feb. 22nd or both since I'll be back in Fl those months.

Well, first things first. I need to get better. No looking back now. Marathons are definitely for me.

Monday, November 10, 2008

One Day in Heaven


20.5 miles. That's how far I ran last night...my furthest distance yet in training for the WPB marathon.

Although my training has been going well, last night was rough. Right at mile 3 I got sick, spending about 15 minutes in the bathroom. And during the run I had to stop 3 times for food (once at McDonalds for some fries because I needed the salt) and 2 more times to handle the increasing number of blisters I was getting. Then at mile 18, I started feeling sick again, but pushed through and made it the rest of the way. The run took me 4 1/2 hours. I sure hope I can improve my time before the marathon or I'm going to miss my flight back to California on the same day.

Earlier in the week I had done one 10 mile run and six 1/4 mile sprints. Both went extremely well. During the run I kept a really fast pace (for me anyway) of 9:30 the whole way. And on the sprints I blew away my previous times by going well under 2 minutes per 1/4 mile sprint. Times were 1:44, 1:49, 1:53, 1:57, 1:53, 1:51. Considering the last time I had done sprints my times were all over 2 minutes I feel I had a big improvement. The two factors I think that came into play were: 1. nutrition. I've been really good lately and 2. rest. I took 2 weeks off to let my ankle recover and haven't been back at the local crossfit for fear of hurting my hip again. (I think I'm going to wait until I get back to Cali before I start it up again)

So why did I feel so bad last night? Well, I think it was the alcohol. I was really bad this weekend and overdid it again. It all started on Friday....my day in heaven.

As I've mentioned before I'm working on a beauty magazine in South Florida where I'm looking at mostly naked beautiful women all day. But Friday was different. The publishers decided to put the "New Man" section in the magazine again--something they haven't done since issue number one over five years ago. And lucky me, I was selected to produce it. That was the most fun ever....searching for hot guys to feature, a sample of which is illustrated in the above slide show.

But the day got better. That night, my friend Alex had his 24th birthday party and a bunch of us went out to celebrate with him. It was wild. Really wild. We went to 4 clubs that night, 2 for drinking and 2 for dancing. Because the dance floors were so packed, dancing was dirty. But all in fun. Alex must have made out with a half dozen girls that night, most of which he worked with! And no, I wasn't one of them.... But I did have my own fun.

Around midnight I spotted a guy I had seen before at another local bar. I remembered him as being one of the most sexy men I had ever seen in my life. But I thought he was gay because he only hung out with guys and didn't look around at women. Having the assistance of a few drinks consumed I could now approach him. Grabbing his arm, I asked if he would dance with me. He was leaving to go next door. I asked, "What if I went there too, would you then?" In a very sexy voice he responded, "but of course."

OK, so my heart melted. Quickly I worked to get my friends to go migrate to the other place and then I helped to get a ride home for Alex who was about to pass out. When I went in to the club Deluxe I found the guy. His name happened to be Alex too. Being quite bold now, the first question I asked was "Are you gay?" And I explained my reason. He actually remembered me from that night. Apparently I must have been drooling. He was quite calm about the whole thing. He told me that when I saw him before he had a girlfriend, but now he didn't. Of course I bought it. This was like me talking to Brad Pitt. Words just kind go in one ear and out the other. The visual aspect was just too mesmerizing.

I don't know how I did it, but somehow I managed to remain my witty self and later he said he liked me because "I made him laugh." The reasons I liked him were obvious. He was a cross between Mr. Sexy and Mr. Hot in the slideshow, 32 years old, about 6 feet tall, dark hair closely cut, was in the marines, has tattoos and tan skin, and he races motorcycles. At that moment in time, nothing else seemed to matter. We danced, we drank some more and talked about all kinds of things. Somehow I ended up agreeing that if we got married I would work, make all the money and he would cook, clean, take care of the kids and work on his hobby building racing motorcycles. Huh? At the time it made perfect sense. See what an alcoholic trance can do. The rest of the story you can guess.

It's a good thing I'm back to reality. It was a surreal evening, not meant to last, but memorable nonetheless. The lessons learned were 1. moderation on the alcohol and 2. if you are not sure, use plan b.

Saturday night was another story altogether. One I'll save for another day.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Getting Away from it All


This weekend my friends and I went up to Hobe Sound to kayak along the Loxahatchee river, Florida's first federally designated "Wild and Scenic River." It was our chance to get away from all the work, partying and other stresses of life. A few of us were still recovering from Halloween and the fact that we had to work that Saturday. So now was a good time to take a break and get some fresh air.


We ended up having so much fun that we can't wait to do it again. Well, most of us anyway. There were 7 of us on 3 boats (2 double kayaks and a canoe). The weather was great and the river was nice and calm. It was amazing that in some places the water was so still that it looked like glass and you couldn't tell where land ended and water started. It was kinda surreal.


At the start of our journey, watching everyone was such a hoot. We had mostly beginners except Paula and me. The 3 on the canoe kept crashing into the mangroves or the other kayak and the the other kayak had a lot of trouble going straight.


The river winds its way through the park under a canopy of cypress trees and at some points the river becomes quite narrow. Here's where it became really interesting, because you can quickly lose track of the other boats (which we did) and get a little closer to nature than you'd like!


Friend Brielle discovered this when a bunch of spiders landed in their boat. And Brielle doesn't like spiders! (I think she's still traumatized from our adventure.)


Paula and I saw an alligator, but I wasn't quick enough to get the camera. It was funny because I wanted to get close to it and she was screaming "NO!" With this many kayaks and canoes going through the river, I really didn't think the alligator was going to come after us.


We also saw a lot of cool birds, wild pigs, and turtles. When the river became too narrow we had to turn around. Although it didn't bother me, there were just too many trees in our face and spiders falling on us for this crowd. We had our fill of adventure for the day.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Challenged to a Duel


Yesterday, pirate Courtney challenged me to a duel. Why? Well of course, she wanted my bottle of booze. It was a mighty fine bottle. Maybe not filled with rum, but with plum wine, a tasty, yet potent drink fit for a pirate. Isn't that what all pirates fight over?

Anyway, what she didn't know was how passionately I would defend my bottle! So after the staff meeting with a bunch of devils, angels, witches and the like I accepted her challenge.


Courtney came prepared. And I must admit she had killer boots working in her favor (mine had been lost at sea over 3,000 miles away).


Courtney charged at me and seemed to stab me, but alas, she missed and I went chasing after her.


When I caught her, I took her down, heroically defending my bottle of booze. Ahh.

The nun came by to say some final words for pirate Cortney.


That night, my mates and I went out to celebrate my victory. First, it was off to 2 Georges, a quaint marina bar near our ship. Four drinks and one shot later, I was well on my way to becoming drunk.


And so were they.


These two I don't even know. But it was sure interesting to see what they were doing in the bathroom.


Next stop was the Banana Boat right next door where we experienced even more fun pirating activities including stealing treasures from a drunken Mardi Gras gent wearing way too many beads. Besides, they looked better on us anyway. Here's my booty along with the defended bottle and sword.


After that, the ground became unstable. We must have been sailing in some rough seas because the ship was moving around a lot. Or was that the effect of those last two drinks? And did I meet an incredibly handsome gent or was that a dream? Hmmm. Only tomorrow will tell.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly


Sorry to disappoint, but this is NOT my new boyfriend. I've been having mad cravings lately and needed a little inspiration to stick with my diet. Diets can be ugly, and, I'm finding, more difficult than quitting smoking. I'm convinced there is some nutritional deficiency or perhaps some endocrine malfunction going on with my body, because these cravings are NOT normal. And I am definitely NOT pregnant.

I am very leery of nutritional advice from anyone (including friends), because our bodies are not created equal. I do know however that I shouldn't be listening to my body right now, otherwise I'll soon look like the guy in the video....not pretty. So I'm putting my research "hat" on instead and am mentally preparing (through education) for some drastic changes. Now if I could find a book like "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" but for sugar I'd be in business. That book was incredible at explaining how smoking is actually a drug addition and that all you are doing is feeding the monster. It mentally prepared me for the challenge and proved quite effective.

Instead of taking a hike, I'm convinced my smoking monster transmuted into a sugar monster. That's UGLY. Uglier than any CrossFit workout I've ever done. Time to get stronger....much stronger. Mentally and physically.

Which leads me to the GOOD news. On Friday, I set 3 personal records in weight lifting! I am getting stronger.

Bench Press - 85 lb.
Squat - 95 lb.
Dead Lift - 175 lb.

Below I'm setting up for my 175 lb. deadlift. I was able to do 2 reps! WooHoo!


The other good news is that I finally started some interval training this week. I did eight 1/4 mile sprints. It was hard. Initially I seemed to peter out around half way, but the more I did, the more I could keep a more consistent pace. I can totally see how these will help my training. What was really fun was sneaking in the FAU campus and doing them there. ;-)

The bad news is that a couple days later while running on the beach I hurt my ankle. I'm pretty sure it's tibialis posterior syndrome. Although the beach is a great place to run, it is not exactly a flat surface. Where I've been going has a pretty steep incline and when I run south, the right foot is higher and when I run north, the left foot is higher. Apparently my right foot doesn't like the inclination. I noticed it the first time I ran, but stupidly ignored it. The second time I ran there I really felt it, and could barely walk the next day. Even though nothing touched that area of my ankle there was an actual bruise there and a lot of swelling. So for 2 days I iced, elevated, and rested it. Running is on hold for a least a week. Maybe two.

Boy do I miss my hills at home in California. I don't seem to get ANY injuries there. Perhaps I'm allergic to Florida! No worries though, I'll find something else to do in the meantime.

This week's training....

10/13
Day 6 Apollo Challenge - 6 rounds of "Cindy"

Workout of the Day (WOD)
"Met Con Day"
The following for time:
-Run 400 Meters                          
-Row 500 Meters                       
-Jump Rope 200 Singles
-Run 200 Meters
-Row 250 Meters
-Jump Rope 100 Singles
-Run 400 Meters
-Row 500 Meters
-Jump Rope 200 Singles

10/14
Marathon training
1/4 mile sprints

Two 1/4 mile warm-ups, then
1. 2:00
2. 2:00
3. 1:56
4. 2:00
5. 2:02
6. 1:57

10/15
Day 8 Apollo Challenge - 8 rounds of "Cindy"

Workout of the Day (WOD)
7 Rounds for time                                    

-21 Shoulder Press  75M/45W                   

-21 Back Extensions

-21 Double Unders or 63 Single Jump Rope

10/16
Day 9 Apollo Challenge - 9 rounds of "Cindy"

Workout of the Day (WOD)
For Time: 
-Push-Ups

-Double Unders or 3 x's Singles

-Sit-Ups                                                                 


reps of 05-15-25                       

10-15-20                      
15-15-15
20-15-10

25-15-05

20-15-10

15-15-15

10-15-20
05-15-25

Marathon training
5 miles running barefoot on the beach (MID-Tempo)

10/17
Day 10 Apollo Challenge - 10 rounds of "Cindy"

Workout of the Day (WOD)
Strength Training
reps of 10-8-6-4-2

Bench Press 55-65-75-75-85
Squat 55-65-75-95-95
Dead Lift 125-145-155-155-175
Barbell Curls 25-35-45-45-45

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Utter Exhaustion


I hadn't realized how much my body needed to recuperate until today. First off, I slept in this morning. I was out late last night with friends at a going away party, but sleeping until 11:00am? Whoa! Guess I really needed some sleep....

When I did get up I didn't feel like doing anything. I could barely find the energy to make breakfast. Even breakfast didn't revive me. In fact, I jumped back into bed and watched "Van Helsing" with the yummy Hugh Jackman. Fell asleep again right afterwards.

Next I knew, it was 5pm! Geez the whole day was getting away from me. By now I was hungry though and since I read that other crossfitters cheat on the zone on weekends I decided I needed to cheat too (thanks V). I wanted a big juicy hamburger with fries. Nothing else would do. I even drove 25 minutes to get a good one. Boy did that hit the spot. And I made sure to put lots of ketchup on my fries. I mean if you are going to cheat, you might as well do it right. I didn't even feel guilty since I had been so good all week, working out everyday and staying within the zone. Except maybe those 2 mojitos I had last night. Hmmm. But they were really really good.

OK, so now that I'm properly (or overly) fed, my energy levels are finally coming into existence and I can start my day. Gee, what do I do? My hot date for tonight got cancelled so I didn't have to take a shower. Ah, relief! Dating sucks anyway. Nor did I feel like going to the Octoberfest where most of my friends were going to be. So instead, I made a date with Mr. Barnes and Noble. It was an excellent choice....very relaxing, with no one to bother me, and I didn't even have to dress up. Aaaahhhhh. The simple pleasures in life...being lazy for a whole day. Gives me a whole new meaning to the words "rest day."

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Barefoot in the Rain


It rains a lot here in Florida. Normally I would reschedule a run if it were raining, but tonight I felt different. My thinking was, "Well, if I were in an adventure race and it started raining, would I go find a big tree to hide under?" Of course not. I would keep going. That means I need to get used to it. Next will be mud, then, snow, and whatever else mother nature brings. Tonight it was rain.

Since I'm working only 2 miles from the ocean, I headed straight for the beach. Stretched for about 10 minutes (per the training program I downloaded last night) and headed out for a 6 mile run on the beach barefoot. My 2 purple toes needed a break from the shoes, and besides how better to keep one's training constantly varied! I was supposed to keep a 10 minute pace, but I forgot that beach running is a little bit different than regular running. Pace was more in the 12-13 minutes per mile range. I ran as close to the water as I could because that's where the harder packed sand was. Otherwise I would have really put my legs through some abuse. It must have been high tide, because the sand wasn't packed as hard as I remembered it to be which made the run a bit more strenuous. But I got into a groove nonetheless.

Shortly after starting I noticed a 20 somethings couple follow me in a run. We were the only people on the beach. And I thought it was weird that they just suddenly decided to go running too. Such crazy people. Anyway, after about a half a mile they got farther and farther away from me and when I looked back after about a mile they were gone. Made me feel good that I can out-run those much younger than I. :-)

The rain had been on and off since I started, but all of sudden disappeared. The clouds started opening up and the light from the moon came just in time to light my way. Good thing because I didn't have any lights on me tonight. It was actually quite beautiful...the moon reflections on the surf, the gentle breeze, the smell of the sea air. It was enough to keep my attention occupied, seeing how I didn't have my ipod with me tonight.

On the way back, there was some really cool lightening far out on the horizon. I started counting 1,2,3,4,5,etc. to determine how many miles away it way, but the sound of thunder never came. It seemed I was safe from lightening. However I picked up the pace in any case for the return journey. It was a really good thing I had my training watch on tonight because otherwise I'm not sure I would have found my way back. There aren't a lot of landmarks on this particular beach and all the lifeguard huts looked the same. In the dark you can't read anything, and with everything looking the same, it can be quite disorienting. It woke me up to the fact that I need to be very aware of my STARTING location so that if my watch stops working or I don't have it, I can find my way back.

On Monday I went back on the zone diet again which is helping to keep my energy levels up. Now I just need to figure out how to get more sleep!

Thursday 10/09/09 Workout
"Helen"
Three rounds for time:
-Run 400 meters
-1 1/2 pood Kettlebell X 21 swings (or 55 pound dumbbell swing)
-12 Pull-ups
Time: 9:55 (scaled with jumping pull ups)

Wednesday 10/08/08 Workout
4 rounds for time:
-200m Run
-100m Farmer walk
-10 Wall Ball 14#
-20 Pushups
-20 Kettlebell Swings 35#
-20 Squats
-20 Double Unders or 60 Singles (I did singles)
Time: 30:26

Tuesday 10/07/08 Workout
"Nicole"
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
-Run 400 meters
-Max rep Pull-ups

+ 9.25 mile run

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Why Run?


While packing my suitcase this morning I watched a video on why runners run. Most of the reasons were the same as mine: a love of the outdoors, the solitude, the challenge, a way to calm the mind, experience life, get away and see new places, keep fit, and feel good, etc. It didn't hit me until later what my real reason was.

To explain that, however I need to go back in time.

My dream as a young woman was to write music for film and television...I went to school for it, I interned for it, I moved to California for it, and after a couple of years achieved that goal despite all the odds against such a challenging profession.

I did it for 10 years. It was hard work, the hardest work I've ever done. But I loved it, even when I'd have to stay up three days straight to meet a film or production deadline. There was never an option for not finishing...even if it was an hour's worth of music that had to be written in a ridiculous time span. I worked on a lot of cartoons and direct to video films, game shows, and even theme park music. I worked with some of the most talented studio musicians on the planet and even conducted an A-list Hollywood orchestra. I was good at what I did.

But I lived with someone who didn't believe in me, and who over time shattered my own self-confidence. It's weird how we see the early warning signs, but don't listen to ourselves until the damage has been done...like drinking a poison. Consciously. That was a big lesson. And I'm the only one to blame for not having listened to myself much earlier on. So when I left that life, I left everything including the music. I needed a new beginning.

And for some reason, today I wanted to play my new keyboard during the 20 or so minutes I had before driving to the airport. It was a rough go....My fingers fumbled around and the playing generally sucked because it's been so long. But as I was playing I realized that running had become my new creative outlet. Running and adventure. I thirst for it. I need it. Right now I live for it. And can't seem to get enough of it. Perhaps I'm obsessed. Music had been for so many years... More than half my life. And it just isn't anymore--at least not in the same way. Now I use the energy from other peoples music to feed my running. It's kind of a reverse flow.

It's been eight years since I stopped writing music and interestingly enough that's when I got back into running again. Now I know why.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Party In the Clouds


I love running, even though it sucks sometimes. Especially the first 2-3 miles. But once I'm going, it's such a great time to reflect on things...clear your head and extrovert. Or even set goals and daydream. It's kind of like long distance driving (also a favorite of mine). People who worry a lot should try running. It's very therapeutic. Oh, and if you ever need stress relief I found the perfect thing. It's called adventure racing. It's guaranteed to make your stress completely disappear.

I'm already thinking of Tone 40's next race because I know the stress will start building up over the next couple of months while I'm working as an Art Director for a national beauty magazine. Most of my job will involve browsing thousands and thousands of images looking for the most beautiful, sexy, half (or fully) naked women to feature. Believe me I get a little self-conscious after looking at gorgeous women all day!

Anyway, I just learned about the Equinox 24-Hour Race in San Diego coming up early next year. It will involve a 2 Km swim, a 20 Km kayak, some 140 Km of biking (mostly trails, but some bike paths and roads to connect) and about 40 Km of hiking. We can have a team of 2-5 people. There are 3 of us confirmed (Shannon, Dan and myself) and we would like to get 1-2 more, preferably someone with navigation skills. And if you have a good connection with Santa Claus, please let him know I need a really good mountain bike for Christmas!

OK, so back to running. (Boy, do I get distracted!) For the second time this week I've gone on a 14-mile run in preparation for the West Palm Beach marathon on December 7th. That puts me at 32 miles for the week so far. Today's run was still difficult, but much better than when I went on Wednesday. For one, there was a huge temperature difference--Wednesday was around noon, probably high 80s and today was starting just before 5pm with a slight chill in the air.

Next, my leg muscles seemed slightly more recovered than the last time. Wednesday they were pretty burnt from the previous day's CrossFit workout of squats and dumbbell presses. Today the sorest muscles I had were in my upper back/shoulder area and arms from the heavy lifting we did yesterday. So it didn't affect my running. Right around mile three I got into the groove, running strong with a decent pace and was generally enjoying myself. I planned on only going 10 miles, but I felt so strong at mile 5 I thought "what the hell?" and continued on to the farthest radio towers (mile 7) before turning around.

Of course I knew the danger in this. It was going to get dark on me again. On the way back the air started to quickly get cooler and all of sudden these clouds just appeared out of nowhere. It became so foggy I couldn't even see the city below. I was running in the clouds! What a cool feeling..literally. And this run felt so good I didn't even need to stop like I did the last time.

That was until I ran into my new mountain biker friend Carlos at the main radio tower. Up until then, I had only seen one other person on the trail this whole time. Carlos invited me to the Friday night radio tower party with his other mountain biker friends. What? A party? At the top of the mountain? After dark? Who are these crazy people? Who would have ever guessed I'd be running up in the hills seemingly in the middle of nowhere and find a party? I amuse myself by what I find sometimes.

Instead of beer and wine, we exchanged bananas and trail mix. Yeah, yeah, parties should have alcohol, I know. But we were still 3 miles away from our vehicles...with only fire trails to follow...at the top of a hill...in the mountains...completly in the dark...with who knows what kind of creatures running around. And it was getting cold. Really cold. After about 10 minutes of the party, I had to bail as I was only wearing my running shorts and tank top. Considering how foggy it was, my little dinky flashlight wasn't going to help me get back to my car so Carlos volunteered to bike down with me as I ran...such a gentleman.

It was a long way down, but it was pleasant with the company and the light from his bike! The only trouble I had was the 4th toe on my right foot was getting jammed in the shoe as I ran down the mountain. It felt like someone was beating--just that one toe--with a sledgehammer. Ouch! I need advice on how to manage that. But the good thing about these runs is that I learn what needs to get fixed for longer runs (like new shirts that don't chafe, something to keep my camelbak from irritating my neck, and a way to handle the downhill sledgehammer effect on my poor little toe). Since my new goal is to run endurance races, I need to learn how to ENDURE (with as little pain as possible)!

Post advice to comments please.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Happy Thoughts


You never know what you are going to run into when trail running. And it's usually not what you expect. Last week I logged 21 miles and encountered a rattle snake, a tarantula, a coyote, a deer, and a few rabbits. None of these really even startled me...well maybe the rattle snake because I didn't see him until I almost stepped on him. But so far, no real life-threatening encounters.

I've even been running in the mountains after dark. I wasn't really my intention but I'm going on longer runs now and if I leave too early, it's too hot. But then if I leave too late in the afternoon it turns dark on me. At least I brought a flash light with me the last time I went. The one advantage is the incredible views at the top of the mountain. My run from La Tuna Canyon brings me high up to the radio towers. From there you can see all of Burbank, downtown LA, Sunland, and Tujunga. Sunsets are gorgeous up there and the city lights are really cool looking.

But today I encountered the unexpected. A vicious dog. To me, dogs are actually more scary than coyotes. The coyote I encountered didn't have any interest in me. But the dog needs to prove something.

This particular dog lives in a house off the fire trail so he is pretty isolated. Normally he is behind the gate and I remember this dog as being the one dog I wouldn't want to come face to face with. He had always seemed to be the one that would go for the kill had he been let out. Well today his gate was open. He was running up to me barking incessantly. I didn't even have time to think about what to do. Some instinct told me to just validate him. So I started saying "good boy, good dog," in a very cheerful tone of voice without any sign of fear whatsoever. Actually I didn't even have time to be afraid. He didn't attack me. Hmmm. But I noticed that as he was barking at me, he had his eyes on my wrists. It's like he wanted me to reach for him so he could chomp on them. I got the message and kept my wrists up high, away from his mouth. He was drooling. He really wanted to bite me but he seemed confused. I kept really good eye contact with him and slowly started moving again, continuing to validate him with "good dog." Once I got around the corner, I spotted his owner who yelled to his dog. While he was distracted I quickly made my escape, sprinting away from the situation.

Luck was on my side again. I realized that I applied the principal of "happy thoughts" and that it worked--a successful action to remember.... And the best news of all was that I PR'd (personal record) on this particular run. It was only 4.1 miles, but I wanted to see how fast I could do it. Time was 42:06, 22 seconds faster than the last time I ran it. My longer runs are really helping speed up my shorter runs. And yes, 4.1 miles seems short to me now. Funny, I wouldn't have thought that a few months ago. Pretty soon 10 miles will seem short, then 15, then a marathon! I just have to keep finding longer trails. At least there are an abundance of them here in California.

However, my flight to Florida is on Sunday. I'll be there for 9 weeks. The only wildlife I'll have to worry about there are the careless drivers who aren't used to crazy runners like me running around town. When possible I'll hit the beach barefoot to avoid them....

Monday, September 29, 2008

No Wind in My Sails


Some adventures just don't turn out quite the way you planned. Take this weekend's sailing trip to Catalina island. My friends and I had planned this trip over a month ago. Mark, the captain, (shown below) had made the trip several times and guessed it would take about 4 hours from Marina del Rey to Catalina as long as we had decent wind. The plan was to get to the island, romp around for awhile, go back to the boat for dinner, stay the night and head back the next morning.


We all arrived at the Marina eager for our weekend getaway trip: Me, my roommate Stacia, new friends Crena and Herman, and Mark. It was surprisingly cold--much colder than our cozy home in Tujunga. No worries, though because we all brought jackets. Although Mark and I have been friends for years, he needed to give us all the obligatory rules and instructions, including "posts" for each of us. Stacia got to be the galley boss--meaning it was now her kitchen! Herman was 1st mate as he has had a lot of sailing under his own belt and Crena and I were deck hands.


Our boat, "Day Dreams," was a 36-foot sailboat and was a good size for a party of five. Any more of us and it might have gotten a little tight. After getting all our gear and food on the boat, we were ready to go. "Port clear," yelled Stacia. "Starboard clear," I yelled. Mark smoothly pulled the boat out of the slip and we were off.

At first it was fun. Something new. Something different. Fresh air. It was just cloudy. Very cloudy. We kept thinking it was a morning fog that would burn off. It was even predicted to burn off by 1pm at the very latest. But lo and behold, it didn't. And the wind never came either. Hours went by before we even attempted to sail (We had been motoring this whole time). Along the way though we saw a lot of wildlife which kept us quite entertained. First it was the seals. They were napping like the one pictured below. Some even wrapped themselves in seaweed to float easier. Silly seals.



Next we saw the most amazing event of all (unfortunately I have no pictures). Dolphins. Dozens of them. Possibly over a hundred. It was one of the most awesome events in nature to see....kinda like seeing a herd of wild horses. They were jumping really high in the air, swimming along side the boat, and just generally having a dolphin good time. We were all in awe. For a couple of minutes the sun even came out. But then, back to reality. "Are we there yet?," Crena asked. It was 3:00pm. No, we still have hours to go. Bummer.




Around 5:00pm the sun came out again, this time for a little bit longer. And out of the blue the island appeared. Wow, we actually made it there. Next we had to get the boat moored. Another 45 minutes to get there. And guess what? No mooring available. Bummer. Back to white cove where they had mooring but no taxi access. Didn't look like we were leaving the boat. Hmmm. We all talk about getting drunk. Thank goodness we had brought plenty of food! Stacia (below) prepares chicken with peach salsa. Yummy. We make the most of our situation and start drinking. Actually it was really nice. You should have seen the stars. At least the sky finally cleared up!



The next day had an interesting start. I don't drink coffee anymore, but Crena and Stacia do. The power outlets in the boat weren't working so the coffee maker didn't work and they had to make it the old fashioned way. What was funny was how badly they needed their coffee! It was like "get out my way, I need coffee right now" kind of thing. It made me laugh and I wondered if I was like that when I used to drink it. Amazing how we get so hooked on these things... And of our course it could have been the confinement of being on a small craft, not being on stable ground for almost 24 hours now, or a number of things. But as soon as coffee was consumed, everyone was happy again. It's the little things, you know.

Today we had some wind--about 10 knots per hour--so we set sail right away. The waters were a bit rougher though so the ride wasn't quite as smooth as the day before. Mark, Herman and I all took turns today sailing.



What was really fun was trying to prepare food below or even go to the bathroom. We laughed every time someone went down below because we'd see them holding on, then flying across the room as we hit a big swell. And of course you couldn't stay down there too long or you'd start feeling a bit nauseous. My stomach was on edge for most of the trip, but I never got sick. I just kept drinking Ginger ale and eating ritz crackers. Definitely not zone food, but better to cheat than be sick. Crena probably had the worst sea stomach, so she slept a lot to keep it under control.

Although hard to believe, we had a repeat of the dolphin party again. Not as many as yesterday, but these swam much closer to the boat. It was so exciting to see. It was the highlight of the whole trip. You can't always plan the perfect trip, but no matter what happens, you make the most of it. And that's what we did. And it was fun, despite the obstacles.