Lisa's Adventures

Final Chapter of the Path to Being Pain-Free

2011-01-18T18:42:00.000-08:00

Am I pain-free? Mostly, just as long as I don't overdo it. Am I as active as I want to be? Sadly no, but give me some time!

The Hip Arthroscopy, or Hip Scope for short, is known as a minimally invasive surgery and typically has a faster recovery than full-on hip surgery, but even so, I gotta tell you it ain't no picnic.

Taken from the Latin words "arthros" (joint) and "scope" (to look inside), arthroscopy allows physicians to make tiny puncture wounds (I got three), then insert a pencil-sized optical device which has a camera attached into one hole, and surgical tools in the others. An image is projected onto a large video monitor in the operating room, showing the surgeon exactly where to go to correct the problem.

My mistake was to go online the night before the surgery and look at some youtube videos. That was really stupid. One that I saw had to do with making the holes and sticking the tools into them. It really freaked me out. Needless to say I didn't sleep very well. And on the morning of the surgery I came close to calling the whole thing off, but better judgement kicked in and made me stay the course.

Upon arrival to the hospital, I was able to meet with the anesthesiologist to discuss my surgery preferences. At first I was really nervous, because she reminded me of the Irina Spalko character played by Kate Blanchett in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. God only knew what she was going to do to me! I had important business with her, and even though her accent was freaking me out, I just had to get over it.

There are some really unnecessary drugs out there that are typically used by anesthesiologists and I didn't want any of them entering my body. Versed is one of them. It is a forgetter drug and can actually cause long-term amnesia.

Armed with my list of "no-go" drugs, which also included benzodiazepines and any psychiatric drug derivatives I met with her to also discuss my religious preference for a "silent" or near silent surgery. What I learned is that when you claim your "religious preference" in a hospital they can be very accommodating. So at least I could breathe easier about that.

The first thing she did was give me a nerve block. Although she stuck a needle straight into my spine, it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. Over the next hour the upper part of my leg became completely numb. Definitely a strange feeling. Next was surgery prep and placing the IV. Can we say "dislike!"

When I first entered the surgical room at Broward General Hospital--and shortly before they put me under--I thought I was entering a sci-fi movie and was going to be operated on by aliens or something. The room was huge, and the equipment was so sophisticated and hi-tech looking. I hadn't seen anything like it anywhere. But there was really no time to admire it and soak it in. Within minutes they had me on this strange table that wasn't even a table and put the oxygen mask on my face.

The next thing I knew I was in a different location. When I came to (if you could really call it that since I couldn't see straight) all I knew was that my foot was in incredible pain. WTF? I thought I was having a hip operation, not a foot operation. I tried to communicate this to the people standing around my bed (who I couldn't really see) but apparently I had bit my tongue during the operation which was now very swollen and I couldn't talk!

So here I am trying to find out why my foot is in such pain and no one could understand me! All I remember next is someone saying we are going to give you some morphine. Joy.

Next I wake up later in the evening and I'm in a different room. The doc comes in and asks how I am. At least this time I could manage some words out of my mouth. I told him I feel really out of it and then asked why my foot hurt so bad. He told me they had it in a traction device and that it isn't uncommon to hurt after surgery. Note that my foot hurt more than anything else for more than a month post surgery. My feeling is that someone might not have properly placed my foot in that damn device. Who knows. It is better now though, thank God!

Over the next 18 hours my condition improved and I was let go the following day. Before I left the doc gave me some details about the surgery. He had discovered (and removed) extra cartilage that was floating around in my joint. According to him this was highly unusual and he had never seen it before. It actually excited him because he wanted to publish something on it. OK, whatever.

Also he told me that there was a tear in the tissue. He tried to repair it, but two hours into the 4-hour surgery he realized it was beyond repair and decided to take it out and place cadaver tissue in my joint instead. So now I have some "gently used" tissue. It's much better than the stuff I had before, that's for sure. That dull inner-ache that I couldn't get to by massage or any other means is gone.

The next 24 hours were probably the worst part of the whole ordeal. My leg was still numb and it felt like I was carrying a "dead" leg. I was on crutches and it felt like I had to drag the leg along just to get anywhere. What was worse was getting in and out of bed. I'd get one half of me on the bed then have to pick up my leg using the brace that I had to wear and lift it up on the bed. I couldn't bend over at all. There were so many little things that we take for granted that I just couldn't do. At one point I broke down and cried.

My saving grace was that I had help from my father. He was my hero. He was there for me the whole time. It was like I was a little girl again and daddy was taking care of me!

As the days went by it got easier. The physical therapy sessions made a huge difference. After 10 days I didn't have to wear the brace anymore and I didn't need to use the CPM machine. But the three-week point was a major milestone. That's when I got my stitches removed and was told I didn't need the crutches anymore. And, I was able to take a proper shower. It was like "Hallelujah!" I still had to wear those uncomfortable compression stockings for another week, but that would soon be over.

During the next few weeks I had even more improvement and was even able to start bike riding again. Something that helped facilitate my initial speedy recovery was the customized nutritional supplement I was taking from BioTech Solutions (sorry, but there's no website). The nutritionist creates a customized water-based formula for each individual's body. And it's all from a hair analysis. What's wild is they can do it from across the country. It's pretty hi-tech stuff. Not only did I have a lot of chemicals in my body from the surgery, but the analysis also found I was deficient in quite a few minerals. By taking the formula I felt much improvement in my overall health. I think that my formula may also be the reason I didn't have a need for pain meds up to this point.

What I learned is that even though I felt really good, I couldn't overdo it physically. Probably the biggest thing with recovery is you are bound to have some muscle compensation going on. That's why physical therapy works. It works to get the strength back evenly. Unfortunately for me my insurance had ended (it was a temporary policy) and I wasn't able to continue my physical therapy sessions. And then, by doing too much, I managed to re-injure myself and go back on crutches for another couple weeks.

It's much better now, but I am taking it slow. Full tissue recovery takes from 3-6 months. That may mean I miss the whole snowboarding season, or won't be able to ride my motorcycle for a bit, but eventually I will heal.

And when I do, watch out! Adventure-Seeker-Lisa has had way too long of a break from the more serious adventure seeking.

The path to being pain-free (part 2)

2010-11-27T21:48:00.000-08:00

After the wake up call from my physical therapist I knew it was time to see an orthopedic surgeon—the one type of doc I feared most because “surgeon” implies surgery. And who wants that unless you are Heidi Montag.

From all I had read about hip pain and the solutions, the most critical element lingering in my mind was that of one’s doctor selection. Anything requiring entry into the hip joint (either a needle or a knife) requires a very skilled doctor. The path to the hip joint is an exact one and if the entry isn’t just right there is a risk of nerve damage. I wasn’t about to take any chances on this so I did my homework before making an appointment with anyone.

Well it turned out that the orthopedic surgeon my physical therapist had recommended was highly qualified, extremely competent and had numerous testimonials to boot. After meeting with him, I just “knew” that if I could be fixed, he would be the one who could do it. The first thing he needed was an MRI arthrogram to determine exactly what was going on.

This is basically a joint imaging procedure where a special type of X-ray technology, called fluoroscopy, is used to take pictures of the joint after a contrast material has been injected into it. Along with an MRI, this allows the radiologist to see the soft tissue structure of the joint.

I was also injected with lidocaine to numb the hip joint. This was an additional test to help determine the source of the pain. The whole procedure was a bit nerve racking but nothing too horrible to endure. I did notice that while my hip joint was numb I was missing some of the pain I normally had, which was a good indicator that the trouble lay within the joint.

After all tests were complete, the doc told me I had a degenerative labrum (a piece of connective tissue around the rim of the hip socket) and an internal snapping hip (a tendon was catching). Post surgery would reveal more, including a tear and an extra piece of cartilage floating in the labrum.

Although it seems I’m kind of young to be having such problems with my hip, I found out from my doctor that I was genetically predisposed to problems in that hip socket because I had a deep socket. Why couldn’t I have been born with deep pockets instead?

Anyway, that combined with my activities and delay in handling the problem resulted in this chronic situation. The biggest lesson I’ve learned from all this is you’ve got to act quickly and get proper medical attention when you hurt. It’s fine to try natural remedies, but when they fail, or don't work quickly enough, it’s time to move on.

So what were my options? 1. Cortisone treatments; 2. Hip arthroscopy; or 3. Joint replacement.

From what I read about cortisone it seemed only to be a temporary treatment and I was "done" trying things. I wanted more predictable results. With the hip arthroscopy the doc thought I'd have about an 80% chance of full recovery of the hip joint. The risk was that degenerative labrums aren't that easy to repair and a hip arthroscopy is more effective when there is no degeneration present.

I wasn’t about to go through door number three. I wouldn’t even consider that one unless I was 80-years old.

I chose the hip arthroscopy. Although it's a minimally invasive surgery, it's still surgery with all the risks. And it needed to be done in a hospital, my least favorite place in the world. Uggghhh.

The time had come, like it or not, for me to face my fear. Part 3 will delineate that experience.

The path to being pain-free (part 1)

2010-11-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

Just one month ago I had a hip arthroscopy (a minimally invasive hip surgery) and I thought it would be good to write about the whole ordeal. Although I had been avoiding it for two years, I finally came to the realization that surgery was the answer for handling my chronic pain.

Being indoctrinated in the “natural” approaches to wellness, I had always considered surgery to be a last resort. But by reading the stories of others on the internet, I opened up to the idea. Their stories helped me to get an idea of what the process would be like and how it could potentially help me.

The documentation of my experience is mostly for me like a diary entry, but by being on a public blog, it can serve to shed light on the process and basically just share with others who may have similar problems and may still in the decision-making phase of what to do.

My pain started two years ago while I was increasing my athletic activities. At the time, I was doing CrossFit, was training for a marathon, and had just gotten into adventure racing. I was also taking some kick boxing classes at a boxing gym. When they offered a new course in Capoeira (an Afro-Brazlian art form combining martial arts and dance), I jumped at the chance. It was so beautiful to watch I just had to try it.

One day in my Capoeira class, my knee just completely gave out on me while kicking. It was the strangest thing. One minute I'm kicking and the next minute I can't even put weight on the leg. There was no snapping or anything out of the ordinary. It just turned to rubber. At the time my only thought was I didn't feel the instructor warmed us up enough, or at least like we normally did.

After that day, nothing was the same for me. I started having trouble running due to a new pain in my right ankle; I couldn't lift the weight I was previously lifting in my CrossFit classes due to increasing hip and back pain; and I wasn't able to jump like I used to due to this new unstable feeling with my right knee. At the time, I had no idea that all these pains were related. I knew something was wrong, but basically I tried to ignore it, thinking it would all just go away.

It didn’t.

Reluctantly I had to start decreasing my activity level. I kept on my CrossFit classes for awhile, going less often, but eventually the weights became too painful and I stopped altogether. I wasn't ready to give up running though. It was too much a part of me. And as long as I didn't go too far or too often it seemed ok. At first I could run 10 miles without hurting, but over time the pain started kicking in at shorter distances. Next, I could only go 8 miles then 5, then 3, 2, then hurting even after only 1 mile. I'd try again every month or so just to see if taking a break had helped. But no, it hurt every time I ran.

During this time I also sought medical attention from various types of doctors. Being more of a natural-approach type of person—along with having a general disgust at the medical profession for mostly treating with drugs instead of finding the root of the problem—I went to chiropractors, physical therapists, an acupuncturist, a medical doctor who treated with prolotherapy, and a sports therapist who specialized in Active Release Technique (ART). I even got trained in self-treatment of trigger point therapy, which has a similar objective of ART—releasing muscle tension.

ART turned out to be the most helpful because at the time I saw the doc, all the muscles around the hip, groin, buttocks and thigh were extremely tight and in constant pain. The procedure is quite painful because the practitioner has to dig into the muscles at a very deep level, but it does get the muscle to release the tightness. I used to call it my torture treatment. Although this gave me temporary relief by relaxing the muscles there was still continuing pain that I just couldn't get rid of. The pain I had felt like it was just too deep for anything to get to.

All I could do was cut back on my activities. So over the past two years I went from a training maniac to couch potato. Even my favorite sport of snowboarding—which didn’t engage the pain as much as other activities—suffered because my legs weren’t as strong as before and I tired more easily.

My journey with this hip problem has been quite frustrating. All the doctors I saw had different ideas of what was going on, and none of them up to this point had really helped me. Over time my frustration turned to apathy. I started to think I would never get to do fun stuff again without pain. To top things off, my boyfriend at the time broke up with me “over my hip” (what a loser, I know). But it did act as a catalyst for me to seriously solve this problem, so for that I'm grateful.

Shortly after that I got heavy into research and read up on hip pain. I learned that by not exercising I could create even more trouble. One popular book recommended pool exercises. So I tried that. Even that hurt.

Being almost at my wit’s end I called the closest physical therapy office with the word “sports” in their name and made an appointment. I was determined to get a customized exercise program no matter what the cost. I didn’t care anymore.

When I went in for my appointment the therapist asked me a lot of questions and moved my leg around a lot asking if this or that hurts. He seemed very knowledgeable and competent. No other doctor I had seen had moved my leg around as much as he had. Suddenly I felt a tiny bit of hope that he might actually be able to help me…

So I asked him if he could prepare a customized exercise program for me.

He flatly refused.

WTF?

He told me straight up that I needed to see an orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible to find out what was really going on before I did anything. He was dead serious and it kind of shook me up. But I really respected him for that. I felt like this was the first person I had seen that really had a clue. And although I could tell he had his suspicions of what might be wrong with my hip, he refused to guess.

Damn, you gotta admire that!

Stay tuned for part two.

The Beginning of a New Adventure

2010-05-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

For the longest time I've wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle, but was always too busy doing other things. It just kept getting put on the back burner. Well, as you can see from the photo above, that all has changed. Necessity played a part in that I needed another outlet for my energy. Since I am no longer training for adventure racing and haven't been able to exercise like I used to due to injuries, riding a motorcycle has become one my outlets and is a way to extrovert my attention away from the internal dialog of daily life. It's not quite the same as running in the mountains trying to avoid snakes and mountain lions, but there is a certain "danger" associated with it which is what I like.

Every day I ride I know going in that this could be the day I die. There are so many additional hazards that you don't have to think about when you are in a car: oil, water, dirt, hitting a turn too hot, tires locking up, dogs chasing you, and so on. The biggest issue, of course, is that cars just don't see you, so you have to be super alert and drive very defensively, especially nowadays with so many people using their cell phones and texting while driving. Yes, I saw you doing that. We can see a lot from a bike.

I've accepted the risks associated with riding a motorcycle. The fun and freedom outweigh these risks and makes me feel alive.

Learning to ride the motorcycle wasn't easy. I dropped it a couple times going less than 5 mph and got freaked out. It turns out that knees and pavement don't go together very well. There's some pain involved! Handling a 300 lbs motorized machine takes some skill. Thankfully I didn't give up. I continued to work on those skills.

Now I ride the bike as much as I possibly can, eager to get more experience. The first few months were kind of terrifying. I'd want to ride, but was scared all at the same time. My desire to ride though overcame the fear. Each day it seems to get better. Finally, I stopped thinking about dying and just today I started thinking how natural it is starting to feel. I even did my first "white lining" at 80mph and didn't get nervous.

The feeling of riding a bike is amazing and makes you feel so alive. I finally understand how dogs feel when they stick their heads out the window. It's a very happy place. And the thrill you get when zipping through traffic is indescribable. As long as I can get the bike in between the cars I can get to the front of the line every time, all the while thinking "Ha ha you suckas!"

Seeing the looks on people's faces is kinda cool too when they recognize you are a girl. Gotta love that! :-)

I'm a Winner!

2009-07-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

OK, so I didn't win any adventure races. I'm still in recovery mode from injuries, but completely out of the blue I won this really cool boot bag for my snowboard boots....the Transpack XT1 bag!

It's too bad it's the wrong season to really put it to the test, but my boots and helmet fit in there really nicely and are being kept nice and safe for next season's use.

How did I win this you might ask?

Well, last year I joined the Mountain Sports Club to get discount ski lift tickets and it turns out they have these random drawings for cool stuff and I won! I didn't realize it, but the club also gets you discounts on things like rafting, hotels and more. So I highly recommend joining them.

On another note, my recovery seems to have taken a turn for the better. I'm seeing a sports doctor who does ART (Active Release Techniques) and it seems to be helping.

Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'm eager to put this body in motion again!

Double Dose

2009-04-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm still recovering from last weekend's double dose of snowboarding.

As I'm frantically trying to get as much time in before the season is over, I'm going as much as possible. Don't tell any of my clients, but I'm actually playing hooky on Tuesday to go all day too! ;-)

Last weekend I went both Friday night (Mountain High) and all day Sunday (Big Bear).

Friday night I decided to step it up a notch and got more aggressive with my snowboarding. Well there is a price for this.....a lot more falling. Unfortunately because it's so late in the season the snow is pretty hard packed and a bit icy. Translation: falling hurts. It's like landing on cement. And damn, I didn't have knee or elbow pads. So guess where I landed? Of course, on the knees and elbows. Ouch. You should see these big beautiful purple patches.

Did I mention the hip and butt pads were MIA too? I actually went to get some before the trip but they wouldn't fit in my new snug-fitting snowboarding pants. Hmmm. Fashion over practicality. Not smart.

So yeah, there are bruises on both knees, bruises on my left elbow, bruises on my hip and butt. By the way, don't ever use one of those steamer things on your clothes while you are wearing them. I was stupid enough to try it and now have a trail of burns on my butt to go along with the nice big bruise. But oh, I digress....

In spite of my wounds I had a really good time on Sunday. What we nice was that I fell enough on Friday that it wasn't really necessary on Sunday. Whew.... And I even came fully equipped with knee and elbow pads.

Snow Summit at Big Bear has these nice long trails where you can really get your practicing in. And so I did. By late afternoon it was so natural and I noticed that I was just flying by a lot of other snowboarders. That was cool.

I'm still a little nervous about the jumps in the park but I did try them and will be working on that next.

What was really awesome though was that by the end of the day I went down the black diamond run. And not just side-slipping down, but "S" carving. It was some serious carving too. You've got to get your balance just right or you just slide down the mountain (although I have to admit that was kind of fun too).

Next month is my birthday and I'm planning a trip up to Mammoth since they will still be open. I've already got one person committed to going with me and I'll be looking for more. And no, don't ask me how old I'll be.

I say f&$#% the economy and do something fun. Who's with me?

Lisa's Secret Strategy to Meeting Men and Getting a LOT of Attention

2009-03-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

No. This does NOT require any clothes coming off. Or even sexy clothing. As a matter of fact, the only skin that will be showing is your face and your knees and you could even do it without your knees showing.

"Huh?" you are probably wondering....

Read on.

OK, I admit that I didn't come up with this one, but the original intention was was for an entirely different purpose....actually it's a sales gimmick. But damn. This is so good for meeting men and really fun too. Well, for people like me anyway. I mean you've got to be kind of a flirt to make it work. Stick-in-the-mud's are just not going to make this happen. Sorry.

Before my final days of my last job I knew I had to start looking for work and a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to do this really random job working a booth at a trade show in Sacramento for a few days. I thought "what the hell, I don't have anything else going on." All it required was for me to learn about the company's product, wear a "uniform" and talk to people. OK. No big deal. I can do that. Besides, I knew the owner of the company and he was cool. He owns a couple of Harleys. To me, that equals "cool."

So on the plane ride from FL to CA I read up on the company info. I studied the FAQ's and skipped all the really technical stuff. Then I didn't think about it anymore. Two weeks later the time comes to make the trip. Shannon drills me on the FAQ's for a half hour. I've got it down. OK, good.

(Yes I'm dragging this out, hahahahaha!)

We drive up to Sacramento which takes foooooooooever because we have to follow the owner in his truck. Something happened to it along the way and as long as he drove slow it would keep going. At one point we were doing 35 miles per hour on the 5. Holy mother of #@#&$&# was all I was thinking.

Anyway, we make it up by morning and start setting up our booth. Well, really the guys did. Shannon and I went walking (kind of sleep walking since we hadn't slept) around Sacramento and checked out the trees. Yes, Sacramento is the "city of trees" and you can go on a "tree" tour which we partially did. We walked everywhere just to fill time and keep awake. We even went into a church where an organist was practicing.

Finally the guys were done and we could go to the hotel and sleep. Ahhhhhh. Zzzzzzzzz. So nice.

The next day we put on our uniforms and headed over to the convention center for the California Green Summit. The gimmick was that we were Eco cops wearing very realistic cop uniforms and handing out Eco tickets to anyone who didn't have a hydrogen hybrid system in their car.

Whoooooooaaaaaaaaaaa. I had no idea the fantasy men have about women in cop uniforms until then.

Not only did it help drive people to our booth but we got a considerable amount of attention. Here we are covered completely in clothes with only our face and knees exposed and yet men wanted our phone numbers (personal phone number) left and right.

Quite a few men approached with "Please handcuff me," "Tie me up officer," "I'm guilty, take me away," "Beat me, I've been bad," etc. The only thing we could do was roll with it. It was all in fun anyway (well except for maybe 2 or 3 or 4 that were quite persistent and a couple that seriously thought I had danced at a bachelor party).

What was cool was that the women just thought it was a cute gimmick and so it worked to get them to look at our product too.

The only thing that wasn't cool was that Arnold Schwarzenegger himself came to visit our booth on the second day, but because our cop gimmick was a little too realistic looking Shannon and I had to leave the area. Bummer. Damn PR crap.

Overall though it was a fun experience and great insight into what gets a guys attention. It's kind of like our fascination with men in uniforms....police, firemen, pilots, military, etc.

How can you apply this? Easy.

1. Become a cop
2. Work as a meter maid
3. Duplicate the above or similar at your company's trade show booth
4. Get and wear a realistic uniform while doing your normal errands (just don't get one that is too close to a real cop because impersonating a cop is illegal)
5. Be creative and come up with your own ideas that might use this concept. Share your ideas by publishing them to the comments below (because I might want to try them myself)

DISCLAIMER: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I DO NOT WARRANT THAT THIS WILL WORK FOR ALL WOMEN AND I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ACTIONS OCCURRING AS A RESULT OF TAKING THIS ADVICE.

Must Love Snowboarding

2009-03-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's been 2 months now that I haven't been able to work out or do any kind of real physical activity--including running. That's a real bummer. Apparently I have a locked-up hip that doesn't want to get better. And to top it off I have some kind of ankle problem too. Joy. Have I tried to do something about it? Of course. But for now I'm done spending money on doctors that can't fix it. It's been too frustrating and besides I'm almost broke. Am I in pain? Yes, but I'm managing to deal with it. For now anyway. I may try swimming or yoga in the meantime. We'll see how things go and hopefully I'll be able to get this body back to normal soon.

Right after I lost my job a few weeks ago, a friend of mine invited me on a ski trip to Utah. Hmm, a chance to go snowboarding! There was no hesitation in my response. No "thinking" about it. No "let me look at my finances." No "let me check my calendar." Nothing. Just, "hell, yeah!" I love snowboarding and will do anything to do it.

Yes, probably anything.

Not even pain will stop me. I seem to have an addiction. Or maybe an obsession. Actually I wonder if there's a snowboarders anonymous club......

Anyway, it turned out to be the most amazing 2 1/2 days.

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon, checked into the hotel and went straight to the slopes at Brighton for night skiing/snowboarding. I had never done the night skiing. It was amazing. The clearest sky, a slight breeze, minimal skiers and powder-packed slopes. My new body glove jacket was wonderful. It kept me warm even though it was only 9 degrees outside.

At first I was nervous because I hadn't been on real snow for 2 months. But my virtual lessons in Florida paid off. I felt really comfortable on the board and started zipping down the hill in no time.

Both my friends are advanced level skiers and so the next day they got me to go up to the top of the mountain (10,000 ft elevation). Talk about some scary runs! The good thing about snowboarding is no matter how steep the slope you can always side-slip down if necessary. At that time I was much better on my toe side so I did what is called the falling leaf backwards down the steep slopes. On not-so-steep runs I just kept practicing my turns. Turn. Fall. Turn. Fall. Turn. Turn. Turn. Fall. You get the idea.....

The last day was pure heaven because it snowed the entire day. There was so much powder that when a person fell, they actually disappeared into the snow! I had a couple of face plants where my face was just buried in the snow. It was actually fun to fall! You didn't feel any pain! The good news was I hardly fell on the last day. Progress!

And I fully "got" the turns and could do the "S" turn--the proper snowboarding technique. There is a certain excitement when you finally "get" it. No one was around, so I just did my own little jumping for joy dance. You couldn't wipe the grin off of my face either. Pleasure moment. So now when things aren't going so well, I just think about snowboarding. It will instantly bring a smile to my face.

That's why I've decided that any man that wants to be in my life must love snowboarding. It isn't even a negotiable point.

Taken by Surprise

2009-01-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

I am definitely not a morning person. Today I went for a bike ride and forgot my helmet, my watch, and my gloves. But check it out....I brought the camera for a change so I could take some pictures.

My roomie here in Florida has an extra bike, so until my ankle is feeling up to running again I'll be biking instead. It's much easier on the joints but yet still yields a good workout. I pretty much keep it in the lowest gear and ride at max speed unless I'm going over a bridge. Definitely not the same as mountain biking but still fun.

Biking here in Florida is lovely. Especially today. It was the perfect weather. Temps were probably in the high 70s, it was sunny and just a little bit breezy. I had only planned on going out for about an hour, but it was so nice I kept going and going and going and going......

.....all the way to the Hillsboro inlet. There were so many people out today taking advantage of the perfect weather: walkers, runners, cyclists, boaters, beach-goers, etc. You can explore so much more on a bike. I've been going different places everytime I go out and am amazed at all the places I've never seen......even though I grew up here in Florida!

Once I realized how far I had gone, I had to race back to where I was staying because I had a lunch date with my dad. I knew he would understand, but I didn't want him to go hungry!

As soon as I met up with him I noticed this hospital sticker he had. Within five minutes of seeing my dad I was in tears. His friend just died and he was with him the last few hours in the hospital. Liver failure. What a way to go. I try so hard to keep everything in my life positive and upbeat, but boy you never see these things coming.

To top it off we went to go see a funny movie at the theater but it was sold out. Next option was Marley and Me. I don't want to tell the story if you haven't seen it, but DAMN. It is not what you think. I thought it was just going to be a cute movie about a dog. WRONG. It is so sad. Sniffles could be heard all around the movie theater. Twice in one day I'm crying. That's NOT my kind of day.

Dating Adventures and Advice for Men

2009-01-11T16:20:00.000-08:00

We are going to take a little detour today on the blog. Yeah, I went running yesterday, bike riding today and my tail bone still hurts from last week's snowboarding, but that stuff is boring. Today it's all about dating and men.

Friday night I went out with my friends and saw this poster in the girl's bathroom. I thought it was hilarious. It pretty much describes our basic needs. Well, maybe everything except the cooking, because we are usually on a diet anyway.

But in reading this I realized I have been missing the mark on almost every point. And I never even got to experience point number six. Bummer.

Well that's all about to change. My standards are getting higher. So for practice, I am doing a lot of "turning down." I try not be mean, because I realize it takes some guts for a guy to ask a girl out in the first place, but I'm finding it easier to be upfront from the beginning rather than go through the slow painful process of trying to make someone go away.

My roommate turned me on to this great blog called ManSlations. Not only is it quite humorous, it's really giving me the insight into how men think....or should I say.....don't think. They seem to have similar patterns when it comes to women and having a clue about their reactions is quite enlightening. Because of this I'm toughening up. And to help guys out, I've set down some guidelines to follow when pursuing women in general. Hopefully this will help save some future embarrassment. So here they are....

1. Don't tell her she looks like X, Y or Z movie star. It doesn't matter how beautiful the actress is, we women want to think we are unique and we ARE unique. Besides we may not even know who you are talking about and then have our attention stuck on who this mystery person is that we apparently look like. This happened to me Friday and I really didn't like it. I was related to Tracy Pollan and Stephanie Graf. When I finally looked at their pics on the web, I was like, "NO WAY." So just don't do it. It is NOT FLATTERING even though you might think so. Do yourself a favor, and just ZIP IT.

2. Don't play the "shy" card. This guy Friday night told my friend that he liked me but was too shy to tell me so she told me. Huh? What does that tell me? L...O...S...E....R! We want a guy who is assertive and confident, not a wiener. We'd rather you make a fool out of yourself and be brave than be afraid. I lost all respect for the guy before I even knew who he was. Don't let that happen to you.

3. Alright, so maybe it is a bit scary for a guy to go over and talk to a girl in a bar. But if you made the effort, stick with it. Friday night, this really nice guy from Jamaica came over to tell me how beautiful I was (we love that by the way) and invited me to go on a date with him in Jamaica. I wasn't super interested, but I think I would have at least chatted for him a bit to get to know him better. However, he said, "OK I'll leave you alone now" and left. ???? What was that all about? He didn't even give it a chance. It was probably nerves because I don't really think I had bad breath. I don't know. Translation to me: Q...U...I...T...T...E...R. Not good. So if you start something, finish it.

4. This one may not happen much but it happened to me so I thought I'd mention it. After I had turned a guy down, he started doing this thing where he said, "I saw you checking out X. You want me to go get him for you?" First of all he was wrong. He didn't know where I was looking and secondly, it was kind of creepy that this guy was observing me THAT MUCH. P...S...Y...C...H...O is what that one spells. Stay far far away. If she turns you down, just move on. Don't make a big deal out of it. We'll only think you are crazy.

5. If she tells you she is not interested or not attracted to you, leave it alone. There is no reason to elaborate our reasons. It's like saying, "Why don't you like mushrooms?" Or, "Why don't you like spinach?" Through our own individual experience we've learned what we like and what we don't like and telling you any of this is only going to invalidate you. I mean if you like to be abused, then go for it. But realize we don't want to go there, just as you probably wouldn't want to do that to a woman. Besides it's a sure sign of I...N...S...E...C...U...R...I...T...Y.

6. This should be a no-brainer but I'm going to mention it because it happened. No matter how charming you are, never ask about having a threesome.

7. Probably the most important of all....If you say you are going to do something, do it. Manslations educated women are going to be watching this one very closely. We will judge you not by what you say, but by what you do. So if you say you are going to call her, you damn well better call her.

A Pain in the Ass

2009-01-05T21:05:00.000-08:00

Snowboarding is not friendly to one's behind. You usually fall forward on your knees and/or wrists or backwards onto you behind. Occasionally you will do a helicopter flip where you and the snowboard spin until you land on your side and one or both ankles gets twisted in the process.

Well, yesterday I managed to do all of the above multiple times.

It turned out that Mt. Baldy isn't really a place for beginners to go. It's got some pretty advanced runs and some serious slopes. We should have got a clue when we were driving in. The road up to the resort is super steep. The one good thing we did have going for us was the weather. It was a beautiful sunny day. Cold at the beginning of the day and freezing at the end of the day, but perfect weather while we were snowboarding.

However, the conditions were not perfect. The snow was not nice and powdery, but hard and somewhat icy. There hadn't been new snowfall since Christmas and they had only just turned on their snow machine the day before. How does that translate? Bad for beginners. After our very first run, we were all ready to exchange our snowboards for skis. It was pretty defeating. But we ended up sticking with it. I guess we all like to abuse ourselves!

Falling was the worse thing, especially in our case when you do a lot of it. It was like falling on concrete. So yes, I have sore wrists, sore ankles, bruised knees, and a very tender tail bone.

But that's not all...Apparently the full development of soreness from my previous crossfit workout hadn't come into play until then too. It appears I tweaked my neck and shoulder area somehow from those wall climbs and I was still feeling quite a bit of the stomach muscle soreness as well from the L pull-ups. So every time I fell backwards my neck whipped back irritating the already irritated area. And then when I got up I had to use the already sore stomach muscles. Ouch.

Needless to say I am in quite a bit of pain today. Driving was almost impossible. I couldn't even turn my head and walking up and down stairs was torture because of the burning calf muscles.

I started to wonder how nuts I am for putting myself through all this. The pain was so bad today that I wanted to cry. So I did nothing today...drank some wine, ate some chocolate, watched a movie and went back to sleep. Hopefully this won't last long because it really sucks.

The crazy part is that my friends and I still can't wait to go snowboarding again. At least I'm not the only one who is nuts. However, next time I'll be wearing knee pads, a tail bone pad, wrist guards and possibly a helmet. Football gear has been recommended.

That's at least 2 months away. Tomorrow I fly to Boca Raton where the closest I'll get to snowboarding is virtually. My tail bone should be healed by then!

Snowboarding in Florida? You've Got to be Kidding!

2009-01-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

Shannon, Dan and I went for our first virtual snowboarding lesson today. OH MY GOD! This is the coolest thing. We were able to refine our edging technique without falling! It is so realistic it's crazy! And we only did the intro lesson.

Since we are hitting the slopes tomorrow we wanted to be a little bit more prepared and this was perfect. Who would have guessed that such a thing even existed. But even experts use virtual training to hone their skills. So imagine how it helps beginners or anyone just needing to get the basics down pat. My hat's off to Dan for finding this.

The founder of virtual lessons is two-time world champion and legend in freestyle skiing Bob Salerno. The whole idea is that by training in a controlled environment, you learn the skills and muscle memory without all the time, trouble, travel and costs associated with a trip to the mountain. After the training you understand the commands and are in shape to ski or snowboard. Below is a video about who Bob is.

What's got me really excited is that there is a virtual training place in Florida--a mere 1/2 hour drive from where I'll be hanging out the next couple of months. Is that bad-ass or what? Ten lessons or so should do some major damage in improving my technique. Perhaps I'll even learn a few tricks.

Tomorrow I'll get to test how this virtual experience translates to the real deal. I'm just hoping my muscles will hold up because the last couple days of crossfit were brutal. They are so sore from the combination of crossfit, my 10-mile trail run yesterday and today's virtual lesson. Walking up and down stairs is quite painful. And to top it off I've got major skin burns from trying--unsuccessfully-- to scale a cement wall. (No, I wasn't running from the police!)

Boy, is my body a wreck.

Across the Years Race

2008-12-30T15:43:00.000-08:00

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

X-treme Fun

2008-12-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

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.

All Gains Are Not Lost

2008-12-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

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.

CrossFit Nightmares

2008-12-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

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.

Handgun Training in the Desert

2008-12-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

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?

Ocean Kim Koala

2008-12-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

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

The First of Many

2008-12-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

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.

Spring Break in November

2008-11-27T18:43:00.001-08:00

I thought I came to Florida to work. But here I am having all this fun. And as far as I'm concerned you can NEVER have too much fun.

Not that I'm not working....I'm working my ass off right now. But at the end of the week all I can think about is going dancing. And thank god that isn't giving me any injuries.

I'm trying to run more so I'll at least be able to do the 1/2 marathon next weekend. My ankle has been so problematic that I've had to take two 2-week rest periods to recover. Tonight's 5 mile run seemed better, so we'll see how it goes. But that 20 mile run a few weeks ago just about did me in. And it's probably not helping that I haven't been crossfitting either. But it appears I lack discipline without a group.

Think I'll need my ass kicked when I get back home. Any takers? I already know I'll be suffering.

One Day in Heaven

2008-11-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

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.

Getting Away from it All

2008-11-04T20:03:00.000-08:00

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.

Challenged to a Duel

2008-11-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

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.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2008-10-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

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

Utter Exhaustion

2008-10-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

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."

Barefoot in the Rain

2008-10-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

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

Why Run?

2008-10-05T22:31:00.001-07:00

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.

Party In the Clouds

2008-10-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

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. If you are interested in joining us, email me at graphicsandmusic@yahoo.com. 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.

Happy Thoughts

2008-09-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

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....

No Wind in My Sails

2008-09-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

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.

Big Blue Sprint Adventure Race 08

2008-09-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

As Team Tone 40 crossed the finish line, heavily panting, with our lungs burning fire, and our nostils filled with dirt, all Shannon and I could think was, "Wow, what fun!" We had just covered 2-3 miles kayaking on Lake Tahoe, 10-13 miles mountain biking on a variety of terrains (single track, double track, fire trail, pavement, and even a wood chip covered trail), and 3-5 miles running on this gorgeous mountain at Lake Tahoe. It was a tough course for both of us, and a real eye-opener as to what we needed to work on. But we were jazzed. We completed it without injury (and believe me there was plenty of opportunity for that!) and with a new fire in our bellies. Well, maybe we were just really hungry. In any case, it wasn't the end of an adventure, but the start of a new one.

This adventure started weeks ago: running as much as we could, going farther and farther distances until we could do 10 miles; taking the mountain biking intro course; visiting the local sporting goods stores several times to gear up and to test out energy gels, electrolyte shot blocks, and clothing options; getting bikes rented; a campground reserved; securing a tent, camping items, and as a bonus, a support crew (Shannon's boyfriend); and lastly, learning how to use our brand new compass. (Thanks E!)

It was an 8-hour drive with stops to get to Lake Tahoe. We hit the bike rental place first where we got these great Trek bikes with full-suspension. Then it was off to the lake to check in for the race. Todd Jackson, the race director was there so we got to clarify one of the mandatory gear requirements regarding wearing a fleece undergarment AND an outer shell windbreaker. Our windbreakers were fleece-lined so we didn't have to have both. It was cold, but it was hard to believe we'd need both on in a race where we would more likely be sweating! Once we were all checked in we headed over to Donner Memorial Campground where we set up camp for the night. Dan--our support crew--was awesome! He set up the tents while Shannon and I went over our gear list and got everything organized. Being an avid cyclist who builds his own bikes, Dan then prepped our mountain bikes with a tool kit, spare tubes, and pump, and showed us what we needed to know in case of a flat.

After a nice hamburger dinner, we put all our food and toiletries in the bear locker and got ready for bed. The forecast was for temps of 29-39 degrees overnight. Not wanting to be cold, I brought my ski outfit to sleep in. Along with gloves and a hat, this worked out really well to keep warm and cozy in the freezing temps. After all, it was important to get a good night's sleep.

Shannon and I woke up ready to race. I think our adrenaline started pumping from the moment we woke up!

After a big yummy breakfast it was time. "Uh oh, we lost our bib number safety pins. Let's get some more. Oh look, we can get the map now. Let's figure this out." At first we were completely stumped. The course instructions just had stuff like:
1. run up the multi-use trail, run around the staff member and run back down
2. bike down big tree
3. left on buzzsaw
4. right on flameout
5. right on knicknak
6. etc.

We were so confused because on the provided map none of these names appeared. We realized we needed the mountain trail map (duh). Ok, so now we have our maps. Now what do we do? The instructions weren't entirely clear and there were quite a few of us wondering what we are supposed to leave in the transition area, when we are instructed to take EVERYTHING with us up the ski lifts. Oh well, let's downsize. No extra stuff. Oh and during this time it is FREEZING cold. Now we know we'll be running first and have everything on, leg warmers, fleece-lined jackets, etc. Turns out neither of our camelbaks are big enough to fit our jackets so we wrap them around our waists and ditch the leg warmers. Ok, it's time to go up the lift. Shannon decides to memorize the instructions. We are both now shaking from the cold going up the even colder ski lift while Shannon is repeating the instructions over and over. We probably looked pretty crazy.

Ok, we get to the top and the race is about to begin. Suddenly I'm starving. We get a banana out of my camelbak and give Dan the peel to deal with. We just learned that the run is only 1-2 miles so we decide to wear the bike helmets, gloves, and jackets so we don't waste any time transitioning. I notice Shannon has her race bib safety pinned to the outside of her jacket. "What if you want to take it off?" I ask. She says she'll just keep it on the whole time. Seconds later I see her moving it to her shorts just like I had done minutes ago. Oh my god, "5,4,3,2,1. START!"

We start running up the multi-use trail with full gear on. Within minutes we were sweating. I'm estimating that we started at about an elevation of 8,000 ft, maybe went up 200-300 feet and then back down again. Neither one of us had run at this elevation. It was seriously hard on the lungs. We had tow lines attached to each of our camelbaks so I had Shannon grab the tow line while I ran as hard as I could up that mountain. We passed quite a few people, but as we would realize later this was actually one of the most crucial moments of the race, because he who got to his bike first had less people in front of him and wouldn't be subject to the bottlenecking that occurs on single track bike trails.

Coming back down the hill was great. Both Shannon and I run really fast downhill so no time was wasted there, except when trying to pass in tight areas. When we got to the bikes, we quickly got on and started heading down the hill. We were going to go down to an elevation of 6229 feet where we would pick up the kayak section. First was the scary single track. The turns were tight and the trail was extremely rocky. Big boulders were on the sides of the trail. One bad move and you could get really hurt. The trail bottlenecked. Better riders would just pass. When I looked at the map later, I realized these were pretty advanced trails. Hmmm. None of my training had prepared me for this. However I just applied the basic concepts I did know which were 1. relaxed arms 2. butt off and back so the thighs are gripping the seat 3. body very low 4. feet position horizontal to the ground, not vertical, 5. don't look at what's in front of you, but look way out ahead of you. That worked. Shannon got about 5 people ahead of me during this, but as soon as the trail widened I caught up to her.

Next was miles and miles of top speed downhill on a wide rocky trail. I remember for a lot of it, feeling like a human vibrator, going "vrrrrrrrrr, bababababababbooom, bababbooooom, vrrrrrrrrr, yikes, sandy area, yikes other bikers, vrrrrrrrr, babababbooooom, vrrrrrrrrr, uh oh, Shannon is getting too far ahead, I better catch up! Oh this is scary. Minor detail, no time to think about that. Just keep going as fast as you can." Three quarters of the way through the race, I realized I had my bike gloves on upside down. No wonder I felt like I could easily lose my grip. Mine have that slippery material on the outside. Oh well, I know for next time.

Finally we get down to the kayaks. Take off running shoes, put on water shoes, take off camelbak and put on jacket. Grab paddle and kayak. Earlier I had told Shannon to just follow my lead because I had some kayaking instruction on power strokes. So I sat in the front. It was one of those inflatable kayaks, not very comfy I must add. So we get in and push off and start paddling. Boat goes to the right. Now boat goes to the left. Ok, what's happening we can't seem to go straight? I've done this before and know how to compensate. Why is this not working. Our paddles clash. Two female kayakers pass us up.

Shannon notices that they aren't using the same power strokes we were. So we try it their way, brushing the water and not digging in like we were before. Hmmm. We started to go straight, although not very fast. We both decide we need kayak lessons. After we reach the orange cone floating in the water we decide to try with Shannon leading by verbal command. Left, Right, Left, Left, Right, Right. That's better. But oh, another female team passes us up. We suck. Later we realized that both of us like to be leaders. Obviously that doesn't work in a kayak, so as soon as we can, we are going to get that sorted out. But for now, it's back to the race. We get our passport signed and go back to the bike. We are going to go almost all the way up to where we just came from minus the single track trails.

Initially it wasn't too bad, but after awhile the uphill battle became increasingly more difficult. It got to the point where I couldn't breathe. Shannon had to remind me to breathe through my nose, but by now, my nose was stuffed full of dirt and didn't seem to have a clear air passage. I started walking the bike up the hill. That was actually faster than my riding the bike up the hill. It was during this portion of the race where we lost the most time. Shannon actually did pretty well with the uphill biking--probably from her years of cycling--but I burnt out on it. I just didn't have the conditioning for it. Even with all the uphill running I do, it just wasn't enough to get me up the hill on a bike. So I would bike some, walk some, bike some, walk some, never stopping until we got to the top. Here the signs were confusing. We were on our own at this point. Racers were either way ahead of us, or way behind us. We see the sign for our trail, start to go on it, then see another sign with our trail with an arrow pointing the opposite way. There were a bunch of fully-padded downhill mountain bikers going by so I just asked them if that was Village run. They said yes. I also verified it on the map because it pretty much ran parallel to the ski lift. OK, good we could get going again. It was all downhill from here.

Once back to the transition place, we shed everything. Dan took a couple shots at our transition and asked us how it was going. We told him we just had a crash course in extreme mountain biking, With no time to waste, we checked into get our passport signed, drank as much water as we could and we were off running. It was back up the hill again. This leg was longer though. Up, up, up. We passed an all male team. Good. A sense of hope returned. We weren't going to be last! Amazingly enough we were able to run pretty strong after going hard for what seemed like hours. The body can take a lot. Finally it started going downhill, then got straight. We passed a co-ed team, a team we saw a lot of. The guy was always towing the girl, both on the bike and on the run. Poor guy, he probably did all the kayaking too. We are getting closer, I can sense it. Let's run faster. We pass another team. "Come on Shannon, keep up with me! We are almost there! There it is. Faster, faster, we've got to finish together. Sprint! Yes, we did it! Woohoo!" Time was 3 hours 50 minutes. We came in 36th place, 8th in our division. A fellow racer, "Old Goat," informed us that this year's race was much more difficult than the same sprint race last year. In any case, we know what to work on, and will only get better from here.

Destination Tahoe

2008-09-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful place Lake Tahoe is. I can't wait to get there. We leave in the morning. For me at least, it will be an escape from the increasing number of life challenges I've had this week. Just how many more things could have gone wrong, I don't know. And I really don't want to find out.

Yesterday I went out of town to train for a job I was going to take during the holidays and discovered that it just wasn't for me. So I quit before I even started it. Then the stress of what the hell I was going to do started setting in, and rather than smoke--which is what I felt like doing--I resorted to the Michael Phelps diet and a small amount of alcohol. Bad ideas I know, but it seemed to help for the moment. (Yes, I have weak moments, but fortunately they are pretty rare). Then today it seemed like everything I touched stopped working...my computers, my iphone, my GPS. Something was really "off" with me and it was not good. I walked into the grocery store with my list in hand and still didn't know what I was there to get, and on the way home I literally fell asleep while driving. I should actually be dead right now. But amazingly enough I'm here. When I woke up it scared the living shit out of me.

I felt much better when I got home and went for an easy 5-mile trail run. Running is such a great way to chill out the mind. I can see why ultra marathon runner Dean Karnazes loves it so much. More and more I think about these long distances (26+ mile) runs because I feel like that's where I'm headed. Longer runs are getting easier, especially the longer I go. It seems to be merely a matter of conditioning the body to take on the extra miles. One thing I wondered while running is, "how many marathons would be good training for a 50-mile run?" Or "how many for a 100-mile run?" Dean's book has really inspired me to go for it. I've already got my 1st half-marathon and 1st full-marathon planned out. My biggest concern is my shoes. I love my trail shoes so much, but I don't think they are going to support me enough on the road. The upcoming half-marathon should be a good indication.

As far as training on the bike, sadly Shannon and I haven't enough. A couple of nights ago, we took one of the borrowed bikes out and traded off running and biking to get used to the feel of transitioning. It wasn't bad. We just had a lot of trouble slipping in the sand on our inclines and later learned we had the wrong kind of tires on the bike. It was a good experience to learn this and also get more comfortable on the downhill parts. We started a little late so on the way back it turned dark. We weren't prepared with lights, reflectors or anything, so basically I rode the bike back on the trails completely in the dark. Interestingly enough it was much less scary, because you don't see what you are running over. The mental part of "oh no, I'm going to fall" wasn't there and made the ride a lot more fun. I realized just how much of the sport is really in the mind. And better bikes are really important. We're upgrading our borrowed bikes to full suspension rental bikes for the race. It will be worth it.

Oh, and it looks like I might have some better work options coming my way which don't include traveling! That means I'll be able to go skiing and snowboarding this season...Woohoo! Some things happen for a reason.

Introducing Team "Tone 40"

2008-09-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you are probably wondering "what does Tone 40 mean?" And no, it doesn't refer to a bunch of toned 40-something year olds, although that's fine if you want to think that. It' a specific term used in my religious philosophy. The definition that applies to our team name is:

"INTENTION WITHOUT RESERVATION."

Team Tone 40 members so far are Shannon (on the right) and myself. We are about to have our very first adventure race this upcoming weekend and we are psyched! Already we have had quite a few obstacles to overcome and we still have some more preparing, but our intention is solid and there's no turning back now. The race we are doing is the Tahoe Big Blue Sprint Adventure Race. We are driving up Friday, camping overnight (in 29-39 degrees), then racing on Saturday. We may even squeeze in a little gambling fun! For the race we are borrowing most everything....camping gear, bikes, coolers, etc. But are already thinking about sponsoship plans for future races. (Shannon is a great salesperson!) We just need to be able to perform!

Who knows how we will compare since it's our first, but we are going to go for broke. We've even planned on minimizing our transition times by not changing from running clothes to bike clothes or shoes. If anything the bike section will be our weakest leg. We only learned mountain biking this past weekend by going on an REI outdoor biking class up in the Santa Monica mountains. It turns out that uphill climbs use a different muscle group than uphill running and my legs burned bad. But that's okay, I'm up for a bit of torture. It's the mental "oh, am I going to crash?" thing that is a little harder to deal with.

Our instructor had us do some pretty crazy things like biking over logs, big rocks, and fly down the hill, so at least we have more confidence. It's just going to take some more practice that's all. For me, the correct body position on the bike felt completely natural, more natural even than a street bike or a unicycle (yes, I did that when I was kid). And boy was it fun! Shannon and I are totally addicted to mountain biking and can't wait to get our own bikes and hit the trails! We're even thinking ahead to 24-hour races. By the way, I've heard that mountain biking is an excellent way to meet guys ;-)

Saturday, we did a 10-mile run in the Tujunga mountains to test our endurance. This was probably the longest run either of us had done. The first 3 miles were straight up, then 2 miles slightly downhill, then the reverse of that. We took the camelbaks this time so we could get a feel for running with a load on our back. Ten miles was tough, but totally do-able. I've already realized a half-marathon is within reach. Afterwards my knees were like rubber and I had two huge blisters, but the recovery was not bad at all. Shannon learned that she MUST EAT beforehand and then again afterwards even if she isn't hungry. The body needs fuel and needs to replenish its stores. Thank goodness I've been reading about what athletes need before, during and after workouts. One can bonk pretty easy if you aren't properly fueled.

Aside from our training-packed weekend, we've been pretty consistent with CrossFit too. The past week's workouts were:

Monday, September 15, 2008
Four Rounds For Time Of:
-400m Run
-21 Kettlebell Snatch (R)
-21 Kettlebell Snatch (L)
-15 Burpees
Time was 27:57 using an 8k kettlebell

Friday, September 12, 2008
Michael
Three rounds for time of:
-Run 800 meters
-50 Back Extensions
-50 Sit-ups
Time was 21:17 (beat my last Michael of 21:59)

Thursday, September 11, 2008
“The Murph”
-1 Mile Run
-100 Pull-ups
-200 Push-ups (jumping)
-300 Squats
-1 Mile Run
Time was 59:58

Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Upon completion or failure of the Deadlifts:
-1000m Row for PR Attempt
PR of 145
I didn't get my row time but my pace was :30 faster than ever before.

6.5 mile evening trail run

Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Something Like Daniel
For Completion:
-200m Run
-50 Pull-ups
-400m Run
-21 Squat Thrusters (2x 25lb dumbells)
-800m Run
-21 Squat Thrusters (2x 25lb dumbells)
-400m Run
-50 Pull-ups
-200m Run
Completed

Monday, September 8, 2008
Lightening Bolt Variation
-4 Rounds For Time Of:
-400m Sprint
-15 Hang Power Snatches (M-75lbs, W-45lbs)
-10 Push-ups
We did this a a 3-person team where the runner set the pace. The result was that each of us did a LOT more power snatches and push-ups than called for! My team of Shannon, Kellie and me completed in 28:00 using 25lbs.

Flying the Big Kite and Cracking Nuts

2008-09-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's so good to be back home in California. The last 8 weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and it doesn't seem to be stopping now that I'm back. I arrived Friday, went straight to REI (sports store) to gear up for the weekend, had to pass on dancing with friends due to my early morning the next day, went for a short nighttime run in my hood, drove down to Lake Hodges in San Diego on Saturday (a 2 hour drive) to go orienteering, mountain biking and kayaking as part of an all-day Adventure Race course, went for a 6.75 mile trail run just because I didn't feel I had quite enough exercise for the day, would have gone out on a date if I wasn't so exhausted, finally unpacked on Sunday and resumed my CrossFit training on Monday.

I am sore and I love it. Sore is better than pain from injury although I still have a little of that too. I gave up on docs for now. Mostly because they drained my pocketbook. What I realized is that one's form is crucial when working out so as to avoid injury. So if you are reading coaches, feel free to give me a hard time when I'm not doing something right.

This really hit home when I discovered the differences between running on the beach, running on the street and running in the hills. Running on the beach barefoot was the best. I did this for 5.5 miles and felt great afterwards. It's the most natural way to run and was almost completely pain free (except the chafing on my inner thighs from wearing the wrong shorts!). Next best was running in the hills. There's something about running up the hill that keeps the feet in the right position. And downhill is great just because it's downhill! When I went on Saturday it turned dark when I reached the top (a 6.75 mile run). And since I like to book down the hill I had to raise my legs higher so I didn't trip on anything. Running in the dark with no light is interesting and boy do you see the strangest things. There was this guy walking up the hill when I was about half way down carrying a guitar and singing. Weird!

Anyway, I digress. Running on the street is the worst. The last time I did any length of running on the street I was in a lot of pain afterward. So for now, I'm sticking to the trails and will try to get to the beach occasionally.

Speaking of the beach, I had the opportunity to take a couple of kite surfing lessons while in South Florida. It was a blast. The first lesson involved just the kite and getting used to it. We used a small trainer kite which is actually harder to manage than the normal ones which are much larger. This is one of those things that looks a lot easier than it actually is. The wind has a mind of its own and the idea is to be able to control the kite regardless of gusts, lulls, or direction changes. Because when it comes down, it whips down, crashing hard, damaging anything in its path. That's why we train away from people.

My second lesson was much more fun. First I practiced with the trainer kite to get a feel for the winds that day (it was a much more constant wind than the last time) and then get a handle of the larger kite using only one hand. The wind was about 20-25 miles per hour--perfect for kite surfing. Next it was time to get in the water. Instead of going straight to the board we took the next gradient which was body surfing with the kite. It was actually a lot to manage because the seas were rough--4 to 6 feet--and you need to keep the kite up in the air while you swim through all these waves. Actually it was hard enough to keep my head above water! And I'm a strong swimmer! So the idea was to dive the kite to grab the wind and keep it at the 2:00 position and pull you as if body surfing. Fun stuff! We had to do this quite a few times.

The instructor kept close by, and actually too close because I kicked him in the nuts once by accident. He now calls me the Nutcracker, which I can now add to my list of nicknames.....Warrior woman by my Muay Thai instructor, Dude by my friend Socrates, Crazy woman by my coach in Florida, VGBG (very good bad girl) by a friend in Florida, Gorgeous by my roommate Shannon, and now the Nutcracker.

So I haven't officially kite surfed yet. But I've had a blast learning. When I go back to Florida in October I'll continue lessons and probably even buy the kite and board. After all, I'll want to get into kite skiing and kite boarding too! But when I get to Florida again, the first thing I'm going to do is rent a boat with my dad so I can do some wake boarding. It's great practice for kite surfing and most likely a lot of fun. Hopefully my water skiing skills will translate. Any friends in Florida reading this are welcome to come.

Saving a Life

2008-09-01T18:44:00.001-07:00

It's been weeks since I've written anything on this blog. Work has been insane, and because of my injuries I haven't been able to work out until this weekend.

Friday we worked really late so we could take off the entire Labor Day weekend. It was so worth it! There's actually a lot to write about, but I'll save it for later because something incredible happened today. I helped save a boy's life.

Around 4pm I decided to go to the beach for a run. It was a beautiful sunny and windy day and I just couldn't waste it. So I get to the beach, find a nice spot to put my things, and start stretching. I notice there are a lot of surfers out today and quite a few kite surfers too. The conditions were perfect. We had a nice 25-30 knot constant wind and good surf. But I did remember hearing about the riptide warnings on the news earlier in the day.

Now I'm just waiting for my training watch to pick up the satellite signal so I can get going. But I notice some activity on the beach. Boys are pulling a body out of the water. Then another group about 100 yards further away start pulling another body out of the water. Two young boys apparently got pulled in by the riptide. Neither was breathing. In the corner of my eye I saw someone performing CPR on the body farthest away. I go towards the first boy. People were just standing around him doing nothing. The surf was coming up over him. He wasn't pulled up onto the sand far enough. As I approached I couldn't understand why no one did anything. Are these people stupid? or what? This boy was dying! He looked dead but it seemed we might still want to try to do something.

So I did what any normal person with a brain would do. Try to help him. I don't know CPR nor do I know the first thing about saving a person, but I do know that the wrong thing to do is nothing! First I made sure someone had called 911. Then I got some guys to help me put the boy on his boogie board so we could get him farther away from the water that was coming over him. As we were moving him he started to cough/vomit. Good, he was alive! But, yikes! He might choke on his own vomit! So I maneuvered his body so he was on his side and not on his back. More water started coming out. I helped move him so it would go out. Someone handed me a bottle of cold water and said to pour it on his face. I did. And then, the boy tried to speak. He asked me for water which I gave him very carefully. He was now at least breathing, but going in and out of consciousness. He still seemed in critical condition, so I just stayed and comforted him, holding him and rubbing his back. He looked to be only about 14 years old.

A woman near me had the sense to find out who was there at the beach with this boy and get the family's phone number. She got them on the phone and told them what was happening. Emergency personnel arrived but they went straight to the 2nd boy. From reports, he seemed to be the worse of the two. Next a kite surfer came over who had some kind of emergency training background. He helped assess this particular boy's situation and took control of the situation until emergency personnel came over.

Once the emergency personnel were handling this boy I knew he would be taken care of. He at least seemed like he was going to make it. I was satisfied with that. And therefore continued on with my run. I later learned from a friend that these 2 boys were on the news and that luckily both of them made it through.

The run was quite incredible. I went for five and 1/2 miles barefoot on the beach. Incredible isn't even the right word. It was more like insanely pleasurable...Splashing in the water...A constant 25-30 knot wind blowing on me...The wide open space...The smell of the sea air...The feeling of my toes going deep into the sand...And not a moment of tiredness.

There was so much to observe...Like the dozen or so kite surfers flying through the air making 20-30 ft. jumps...The little girl flying a regular kite on the beach looking nervous because she didn't want her kite to crash into me...And the 60ish year old couple waiting for me to pass them so they could closely embrace...the pregnant woman taking an early evening stroll...the man fishing on the beach far away from everyone else.

You see so much life when running. It's quite amazing. When I finished running I sat down and started reading a new book I got, "Ultra Marathon Man - Confessions of an all-night runner." It was such a great ending to my day. The first chapter in that book is so funny it had me in stitches. Picture this: So here I am sitting on the beach as the sun is going down--after my five 1/2 mile run, after saving a little boy--and I'm laughing uncontrollably all by myself.

Life is beautiful and it is very precious. Every second counts so enjoy it. And if you ever see someone in trouble, help them. Don't be one of those cowards sitting on the sidelines.

Daily Battles

2008-08-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

Well, work is starting to limit my workouts. Magazine deadlines....what do you expect? In the end, it's probably helping me to keep from over-doing it. It turns out all that kicking did a little damage to my hip rotator or so my chiropractor says. Very reluctantly I took 3 days rest to recover a bit.

Today at CrossFit we did Fran, a benchmark workout. It actually went really well. No pains, no problems, just a great workout. I was so happy to be able to lift and thrust 55 lb. On a few occasions I would get the weight almost all the way up, but my left arm was still bent and felt like it was going to drop the weight. I had to muster every ounce of strength I had to push it up where the arm was straight. When I finished I really felt like I accomplished something. Even though later I found I had the slowest time, I still felt good about the workout. My arms/shoulders are definitely getting stronger. Every workout puts me that much closer to getting "fit."

With the pull-ups, I'm now doing something that is in between a jumping pull-up and a real pull-up. They take more time, but I'd rather get to where I'm doing them standardly than to try to beat some jumping pull-up speed record. Of course, the calluses are really starting to form now!

The battle I'm dealing with this week is the nicotine monster. It's week number two as a non-smoker and interestingly enough it is getting a bit more challenging instead of easier. Week number one was soooooo easy. I couldn't believe it. But perhaps with the added stress at work the monster inside has become hungrier and it is harder to keep him at bay. I have zero intention of feeding him though. He will just have to suffer.

This got me thinking...it seems we always have some kind of inner battle going on. It could be the nicotine/caffeine/sugar craving monsters, the fear demons, the inhibitors and suppressors that keep us from achieving what we want, doubts, conflict of desires, etc. It's just the game we play to keep life interesting and not boring. But if you can step back from these inner battles, you'll see that none of this is actually you. Think of it more like a parasite that got stuck to you somewhere along the way.

The good thing is you can handle them and be control over them. Once you acknowledge that fact, the battles become easier. You can be more you and they can be beaten into submission. That's how I'm dealing with my monster....by putting him in his place and treating him like the parasite he really is. The good news is that it only takes 3 weeks for nicotine to leave the body, so I'll have more to write about then.

Workouts:

8/7

Four rounds for time of:
-Run 400 meters
-75 lb (45 for women) pound Sumo deadlift high-pull, 21 reps
-75 lb (45 for women) Thruster, 21 reps
Time: 33:00

8/8
7am workout

Ten rounds for time of:
-12 Burpees
-12 Pull-ups
Time: 28:24

10pm workout
2 hours of power dancing (I didn't name this!)

8/9-8/11
rest days

8/8

Fran
Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 lb (65 for women) Thruster (I ended up doing 55 lbs.)
Pull-ups
Time: 15:56

Tolerating the Pain

2008-08-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

My knee and shoulder still have not fully recovered, but they are getting better. I remember running the 5K on Friday and afterwards thinking "I SUCK." It was such a terrible time...29:41. The knee didn't bother me while running but this other pain--the one in my shoulders was really bad that day. It felt like someone had taken a spear, put it through my back just below my right shoulder blade and pushed it all the through clear to my chest. No wonder my time was so bad. Who wants to run with a spear through their body?

Anyway, I found a chiropractor and went right after the run. He said my rib bone is out of place. This area seems to be getting sore/going out of place right after I lift weights (push press bench press, etc.). Just what I wanted to hear.....NOT! Since my muscles were too tight, he couldn't adjust me and sent me over to his massage guy instead. Ok fine, another day with the spear. I seem to be tolerating it.

Did I stop working out? Hell no! I only seem to hurt when I'm NOT working out. How strange is that? Here's the recap since my last post:

7/31
7am workout
Lynne
Five rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

55# Bench Press 10,12,11,12,13 (43% of my body weight)
Jumping Pull ups 80, 60, 60, 64, 80

7pm workout
Capoeria

8/1
7am workout
5K run 29:41

8/2
10am workout
TAP OUT: Conditioning for Combat Sports

11am workout
Capoeria

8/3
REST DAY

8/4
7pm workout
Muay Thai Kickboxing

8/5
7am workout
4 rounds for time of:
-400 meter rurn
-25 back extensions
-25 glute ham sit-ups
Time: 16:08

7pm workout
Cardio Kickboxing
ending with extreme sit-ups

8pm
30 minutes on the bike machine

8/6
5 mile run (yes, miles)
Time: 46:00

In addition to the above I've been practicing pull-ups with a new doorway pull-up bar I got. Mostly I'm doing knees to elbows, but I can tell I'm getting closer and closer to doing a real pull-up soon. One thing I discovered is that I get a much better grip with my arms twisted (palms facing me instead of away from me). Doing it this way, I can touch my knees to my elbows every single time starting from a standing position, but not yet from the hanging position.

The bar has also come in handy just for stretching. The rib bone that is out of place seems to be slowly making it's way back into place. Hanging on the bar loosens a lot of things up and takes pressure off the tight areas. Hope it feels ok tomorrow, because it looks like we're gonna have more lifting....yippee!! (There's nothing like tackling one's weakness with a cheerful, positive and enthusiastic attitude!)

Artwork above by Steven Stahlberg. Anyone notice anything strange about it? Post to comments.

Future Adventure Racer

2008-07-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

This cutie pie is the reason I'm in Florida right now. His mommy is an Art Director for New Beauty magazine and I'm covering for her while she's on maternity leave. Baby Owen was delivered on July 28 at about 6:30pm and weighed in at 8lbs. 1 oz. Krisann is doing fine and is recovering from the grueling labor process.

Bill, her husband, is a fireman and adventure racer. It was his Swamp Stomp race story that originally inspired me to see what adventure racing was all about. Since both parents are very active, it seems likely that little Owen will follow suit.

Workouts so far this week:

7/28
Nancy
5 rounds for time:
-400 meter run
-25# overhead squat
Time: 16:25

7/29
Cindy
As many reps as possible in 20 minutes:
-5 pull-ups (jumping)
-10 push-ups
-15 squats
Total: 18 rounds
+
2.6 mile run
Time 24:04

7/30
Muay Thai Kickboxing
+
2.6 mile run
Time 24:08

What is Adventure?

2008-07-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

When I was 16, my dad took me on a boating adventure. It was to become one of my most memorable experiences this lifetime. During that trip, I almost died twice and was almost stranded on an uninhabited island. It defined adventure to me--facing the unknown, learning from it, and surviving. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. These are the things that make life exciting, challenging, and test one's resourcefulness. They define you.

The trip consisted of 4 boats each with a 2-person crew. My dad and I had the smallest boat, a 24-foot Thunderbird. We started from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and the plan was to tour the Abaco islands. Boat problems prevented the full tour, but we definitely got our money's worth. For the most part the weather was great, the fishing was bountiful and the group's energy was positive.

It was a strange mix of people, but a good group nonetheless. A 50-ish year old man with his 20-ish year old girlfriend (I don't think she had been on many boating trips), a seasoned boater with his wife, and my best friend's parents who drink a lot, but know how to make the best conch fritters around.

The first few days were amazing. The water is crystal clear and it was so tempting to stop everywhere just to go in the water. We caught so much fish that we ran out of room in our coolers. Every night we cooked the food we caught and slept in the boats. It was like camping on the water. When we stopped for gas we would resupply with fresh water and take showers. The only clothing we wore was our bathing suit, pretty much the whole time.

On about the 5th day, we stopped for some snorkeling and diving along this incredible reef. There was so much to see, I felt like I could stay down forever. Ben, my friend's father had gone spearfishing and caught a flounder. He went back up to his boat and started cleaning it. He forgot that I was still in the water below him. Suddenly I become surrounded by barracuda. I had no fear of barracuda, but had never experienced being in the water with so many of them--20 or so. I decided to get out.

As I was climbing the ladder I looked back down in the water and what did I see? Sharks. Baby sharks. A whole school of them. They were hungry, vicious and in a complete frenzy. Had I delayed my exit by a mere 5 seconds, I would have been eaten alive. The thought was quite nerve-racking. Apparently when blood is sensed in the water, barracuda arrive first on the scene, with sharks arriving shortly thereafter. Lesson learned, thankfully without any injury.

A couple of days later we had anchored for the night with our boats all tied together as we normally did. It was in a seemingly protected natural harbor next to an uninhabited island. A storm approached, the boats started violently rocking and banging together. We jump out of bed. We hear yelling, it is completely black. My dad sees the 50-year old man (don't remember his name) swing an axe and cut off our rope. None of the boats' anchors held. We all drift apart, separated from each other, left alone to weather the storm. We know there are rocks along the harbor edge and that we can't let the boats get near it. We can't see anything. And by now our little 24-foot boat is rocking violently back and forth to the point where it appears we might flip over.

My dad asks me to go up to the bow of the boat and get the anchor line though the bow eye. I thought he was crazy. For sure I would have fallen off the boat never to be seen again. By this time I started to panic because our situation was pretty desperate. Change of plans. I was to steer the boat and he was going to go do it. Now I really started to panic. It seemed worse that HE might fall in leaving me all alone. My entire thought process was "we are going to die." Thank goodness my dad had more survival instinct than I did at the time. He carefully crawled onto the bow of the boat looking like spider man with his legs stretched out along the rails. The boat was still violently swinging from left to right. I was crying by now for fear of losing my father. He was amazingly calm...concentrating on what he had to do. I can't even imagine the strength it required to do what he did (thankfully he used to be a gymnast). He succeeded. The anchor was down and we weren't going to crash into the rocks. Sleeping was futile. As we lied down in bed, the motion of the waves just lifted our bodies entirely off the bed. All we could do was hold on and wait it out.

The next morning we learned that Ben's boat was struck by lightening. They were lucky to be alive. All electrical controls were lost, but they had the foresight to bring an extra boat battery. The other two boats seemed to have gotten through the night ok with no harm done. But it was a night none of us would ever forget. We were all very lucky to be alive. After a few hours we were on our way again, as if nothing had ever happened. We stopped at Green Turtle and took a much needed "land" break.

Over the next week we continued to explore the islands...catching more fish, diving for conch, and just enjoying the water. At one of the uninhabited islands we visited, we weren't paying attention. We had anchored all the boats and swam to shore. While at shore the current changed and all of our boats started drifting away. We would have been stuck there for God only knows how long without any food or water had it not been for the strong swimming skills of the seasoned boater. He managed to get to his boat and bring them all back. Luck was on our side once again.

After that though he ran his boat aground and messed up his motor. We were able to make it to Jones town where we stayed until he could get it fixed. The locals were very nice. But anyone who has ever been to the Bahamas would know there is a different meaning of time over there. It's called Bahama time. And it's like molasses. Everything takes 2-3 times as long. And no one is ever in a hurry. It's a whole different pace of life.

Eventually we were able to get going again. After that we continued on to Treasure Cay where my brother and my friend Renee flew in to catch up with our trip. At this point my brother took over the boat tour with my dad and I flew back to Florida. They continued on to Hope Town but due to boat troubles with Ben and the seasoned boater, turned around and headed back home.

Dad and I still reminisce about this experience. We saw the beauty of the islands, the diversity of underwater life, explored unknown lands, experienced mother nature, witnessed human courage and resourcefulness, and made new friends. We lived. And survived. To me, that's real adventure.

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

2008-07-26T19:59:00.001-07:00

Florida is f%!@ing hot. Even last night when I went dancing my clothes got soaked. Well, maybe it had something to do with the way I was dancing. ;)

For the second time this week, I've had this burst of energy come out of nowhere. I danced for almost 3 hours straight and it wasn't some mild, mellow, swing your hips thing. It was all-out, no holding back, jumping up and down, boody-shaking, hardcore dancing. I wore more than a few guys out.....even got a $20 tip from a guy from Romania when I got up on the bar and started dancing. It didn't last long though. The security guard kicked me off so I just went back to the dance floor.

And no, I wasn't drunk. It was all just fun and enjoying the moment. I would just like to know where these energy bursts come from so I can capture them when it really counts--for ADVENTURE RACING!

Today, however is rest day. And was much needed. Here's my week in review:

7/22
7am workout
10 rounds of:
75lb. deadlift
15 push-ups
Time: 16:04

7pm workout
Cardio Kickboxing

7/23
7am workout
Start with 500 meter row
then do sets of 15-13-11-9-7-5-3 of
pull-ups (jumping)
20" box jumps
26lb. kettlebell swings
burpees
20lb dumbell thrusters
End with 500 meter row
Time: 38:04

7pm workout
Muai Thai Kickboxing

7/24
7am workout
Michael
Three rounds of
run 800 meters
50 back extensions
50 sit-ups
Time: 21:41

7pm workout
Capoeira

7/25
7am workout
Shoulder Press 1-1-1-1-1
Push Press 3-3-3-3-3
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5

Weights were:
Shoulder Press 35-45-55-55f-55
Push Press 35-45-55-55-65f
Push Jerk 35-45-55-55-65

This week was a little hard on the body: Bruises and scrapes to the legs from the deadlifts; a strained right knee from the Capoeira class, strained shoulder muscles from the heavy lifting; and blisters on the bottoms of both big toes from the dancing. Only one more day of rest and then I'm back for more on Monday. The body will just have to learn to keep up with me because this girl ain't gonna just sit around.

A Killer Within

2008-07-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Last night I must have spaced out because I set my alarm for the wrong time...I thought I was back in California. Well anyway, I got up 15 minutes before CrossFit, changed as quickly as possible and made it to the class just 2 minutes late! We did four rounds of 800 meter runs and my times were:

#1 - 4:07
#2 - 4:05
#3 - 4:01
#4 - 4:09

I felt like crap and am pretty sure it had to do with my nutrition yesterday. The only "off" thing I had was lasagna and I've realized that pasta is NOT doing my body any good. So out it goes...along with sugar, bread, caffeine, and a whole bunch of other things I've been slowly but surely eliminating. If I want to play this game, it needs to be done right. And now that I'm reading "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" a new viewpoint on food is coming into view.

Even my Muay Thai kickboxing class was rough. We used weights with our workout tonight, and although my arms were burning like crazy, I stuck with it the whole way through. The instructor is tough, and doesn't let us break for a moment (except when we go to put on our gloves). We are either punching, kicking, doing push-ups, sit-ups, squats, running, or holding extremely painful postions the entire 60-minute workout.

The last 15 minutes or so, we go to the bags, and here's where it gets interesting. So here I am, exhausted, with practically no energy and it's time to punch and kick the bags. All of a sudden this burst of energy comes out of nowhere when I go to punch the bag. I wasn't even thinking of anything (or anyone) in particular, but I just start KILLING the bag. I mean like with REAL strength, REAL power. It was PURE INTENTION. I must have looked like a madwoman hitting that bag! Maybe my arms felt super strong because I wasn't holding a 5lb weight in each hand anymore. Or maybe I had some repressed anger/hostility coming out. I don't know. But I felt like the Rage Against the Machine's song "How I Could Just Kill a Man."

It's actually kind of funny, because those who know me well, know that I'm a calm, even-tempered person. Hardly anything "gets" to me because I don't take life very seriously. I know it's just a game. But there seems to be this other side of Lisa now with these new fitness goals... a more competitive nature....disappointment when I don't do well... empowerment when I improve....frustration when my arms don't want to lift more...pleasure in gut-wrenching workouts, and pure enjoyment of killing the bag. Actually, hitting the bag is a pretty cathartic activity. I'm going to get one when I get home.

Assaulted by a Duck

2008-07-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

This morning I opted for TAP OUT: CONDITIONING FOR COMBAT SPORTS. It's meant strictly for the person who likes their workouts to be gut-wrenching and I was curious to see how it compared with CrossFit.

Although the sledge hammers weren't used today (probably because it was raining), it was still a great 60-minute workout leaving me sweaty, wet and very dirty. The component parts were:

Burpees
Sit-ups
Air squats
Jump roping
Twisting with a 20lb. bar on the shoulders
Wall balls over head (the small wall balls) from about 10 feet to the wall
Wall balls under hand to the wall with a forward leap
Wall balls close to the wall right hand only, then left hand only
Moving tires across the parking lot (by squatting, lifting and flipping)
Jogging and Sprinting
Running in place followed by side stepping, forward and backwards running
The Bear Walk
The Duck Walk
The Crab Walk
Shadow Boxing
and finally boxing on the bags as fast and as hard as you can

This was definitely high intensity and constantly varied. The big difference I noticed was that there was much longer recovery times between the component parts. Where I did really well was with the tires. I pretty much blew everyone away with this one thanks to my CrossFit training.

What killed my legs though was the Duck Walk. Oh my God, did that take it out of me. It's like getting in the squat position all the way down to where you are practically sitting on the ground, then walking in that position. It's pure pain and a definite energy zapper. Took me awhile to recover from that.

Well not too long. Right afterwards I went on to do Capoeira. The movements were slightly easier today and I'm starting to get the feel of the spinning kicks. It's amazing how dizzy you get with these.

Later in the day, my dad and I went to the shooting range so he could try out his new glock. I rented one as well just to try it, and LOVED it! I think it's so great that he and I can share this kind of stuff together. He used to be just as crazy as me when he was younger and so he appreciates my adventerous spirit. He shot really well today...way to go Dad!

Cartwheels, The Matrix, and a Guy Named Indigo

2008-07-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my favorite movie is the Matrix and I still want to be like Trinity. I remember seeing that movie for the first time and just being in complete AWE. What I was really impressed with was the martial art acrobatics performed in that movie and always wondered "how do they do that?"

Well golly gee, I found out tonight in my Capoeira class, the Brazilian martial art that uses acrobatics, groundwork including sweeps, kicks and sparring. Indigo (pronounced in-djo) is the instructor and he is amazingly fluid with his movements. His name makes me think of my favorite fiction book series--"Indigo" by Louise Cooper.

The first half hour of the class was ALL stretching. It was actually quite nice, since I worked out so much this week. Then came the fun part....

First was cartwheels! I couldn't believe it! I haven't done these since I was a kid and amazingly enough I can still do them! Then movement by movement we added kicks, spinning kicks, and eventually "the dance" such as in the above video (although not quite as advanced!). I felt pretty clumsy for a lot of it--trying to coordinate my hands with my legs and keeping the regular rhythm, but I started to get it and now can't wait for more. We'll see how far I get in the 8 weeks I'll be spending here in Florida...

Earlier today at CrossFit we did the following:

for time:
-2000 meter row
-50 wall balls
-1000 meter row
-35 wall balls
-500 meter row
-20 wall balls
Time was 32:08

This was a tough workout. For the wall balls I used a 10lb medicine ball and aimed for the 10' mark in order to push beyond what I had been doing. About 50% of them were at about 9.5 feet so technically I'm still at an 8' wall ball. Nonetheless it was still an improvement.

Tomorrow will be rest day....darn.

The Most Painful Sit-Ups Ever!

2008-07-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I registered for my boxing classes at punchfitness.net. My work schedule is keeping me from attending a lot of the one's I'm interested in, but I should be able to make the Muay Thai Kickbox Conditioning and Capoeira classes on a regular basis.

This place is so much fun! I found it the last time I worked in Florida and just had to go back. They have these special classes from time to time, like kite surfing workouts, combat challenge training, Krav Maga self-defense training, and a workout called TAP OUT. In this one, you get down and dirty with tires, sand bags, sledgehammers, and more. There's strongman training, some speed work, and a lot of core exercises. It's for those who like their workouts to be gut-wrenching. Hmmm, sounds a bit like a CrossFit workout!

I decided to do both CrossFit AND the boxing classes while I'm here in Florida. Doesn't leave me much time to rest (or blog for that matter).

Anyway, we did a lot of kickboxing last night and towards the end of the workout the instructor had us do sit-ups with the punching bag. I had done most of these before...sit-ups with feet under the bag, hold in a 3/4 postition for what seems like a million years, twists, etc. But then came the real clencher. Put your feet up off the ground and hold the sides of the bag while doing these same sit-ups. Holy Moly! Pure pain! I couldn't even stick with it (bad Lisa). Need some practice on this one...

Ok, now for my last couple of workouts:

Tuesday:

4 rounds for time:
-400 meter run
-50 air squats
Time was 15:58

Today:

Helen
3 rounds for time:
-400 meter run
-21 kettlebell swings
-12 jumping pull-ups
Time was 11:15

After work:
Run 2.6 miles Riverland loop
Time 24:36

The run felt really good. I opted for a steady pace the whole way. As I was running I kept thinking about what it would be like to run for hours and decided I need to start some longer runs. Perhaps this weekend I'll go for a 6-8 mile run for starters. I want to do a marathon. Doesn't look like I'll be ready (or in town) for the Pasadena one in November, but the LA marathon should be a pretty realistic goal. Maybe it's time I took a serious look at what the CrossFitters are using as their guide. Hmmmm.

Riverland Loop
Find more Runs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Repressed Energy

2008-07-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I thought for sure my stopwatch had broken. My run time was just too much faster to believe, so I decided to test it out today on a much more challenging run--4.43 miles going straight up and back in the Tujunga mountains off of La Tuna Canyon Blvd. I haven't checked it, but was told it's a one-mile elevation increase.

I started off with an easy pace so I wouldn't wear myself out too quickly. Well this seemed to work because as I got farther up the hill I found that I felt stronger. So I pushed it and as I neared the top was strong enough to do a really fast running pace for the last leg. On the way down, I really booked, trying not to run over the local hikers on the trail.

Well to my complete amazement I kept the same pace as yesterday....10:24 per mile, and knocked off 7:56 minutes from my last best time on this trail. Total time for the run was 46:03. The stopwatch isn't broken! That's f!#*ing awesome!

I believe I'm capitalizing on a lot of repressed energy right now. On Tuesday I start my boxing lessons again which will give me the opportunity to really let loose on this energy. WooHoo. Then it's crossfit 5 days on 2 days off at a new location in Ft. Lauderdale, FL while I'm away for work. Can't wait to give the report on that!

Intensity

2008-07-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

How exciting...I just got my Blecksmith 5K photos today! Boy, I never realized how intense I looked while running. I've always had a lot of determination, but it was funny to actually see it in a photo. This race was on the 4th of July. Time was 28:08, just over 9 minutes a mile. Started strong, but started wimping out after the 1st mile.

On another note, we did the Crossfit Total (Back squat, 1 rep; Shoulder Press, 1 rep; Deadlift, 1 rep) today. I always wondered what kind of workout would only involve 1 repetition. It seemed weird....but now I know what it's all about....and it sure is intense!

My results:
Back squat - 105lbs.
Shoulder Press - 45 lbs.
Deadlift - 155 lbs.

I really suck on the shoulder press. Right arm is willing to work with me, but the left arm is a total wimp. So if the point of these workouts is to find my weaknesses, I really found one today.

Throwing Rocks

2008-07-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

Above is what I encountered on my 4.2 mile trail run this morning. At the time I didn't know what he was so caution was in order. Because he was taking his nap all stretched out across the trail, I didn't really have enough room to maneuver around him (he was pretty big...about 4 feet). So I did the first thing that came to mind.....start throwing rocks at him. It took a few rounds, but he finally moved out of my way.

I didn't have any fear of the snake--I was more angry that he was in my way, and messing up my timed-run! It was a really strong run today....good pace and not winded and it got me thinking about what my successful actions might have been for feeling so strong. So looking at nutrition from the day before, I had:

Breakfast: cereal with nuts and turkey
Snack: Fruit smoothie
Lunch: Chicken sausage and spinach
Dinner: Chicken salad

Also, I had decent sleep. What I had done the night before to make sure I slept was:

100 air squats
100 sit ups
30 push ups

The 3rd factor could have been all the new tunes I put in my iPod shuffle.... by Rage Against the Machine, the Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, Nickelback, Puddle of Mudd, Buckcherry, Seether, and Finger Eleven.

Oh, turns out the snake is a King Snake, completely harmless. Makes me think I should get educated on snakes and other critters I might encounter. So if I see one of these again, I'll know to just run right over him.

Super Women

2008-07-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

Shannon (left) and Stacia (right) are my roommates. They are probably going to kill me once they see their pictures on my blog...oh well! This was an impromtu photo I just had to get when I saw them both wearing their superman t-shirts one day. Just so I didn't feel left out, they bought me my own superman shirt a week later. They are so cool!

Anyway, Shannon decided to join me at CrossFit today. She did great, and will be back for more. So if any of you reading this see her, say "hi" and tease her about the shirt. :) Her background is running and cycling, but like me she was getting bored with the same routine.

Now we've decided it's time to really pump up the volume on getting in shape for all the fun activities we want to do. It's so cool to have friends that enjoy the same things. And I am making so many more with the CrossFit family. You guys rock!

Sleepless in Tujunga

2008-07-07T02:43:00.000-07:00

It's 2:45am and I should be sleeping right now. This has been going on for the last week or so and totally sucks. Since I can't sleep and I refuse to take any drugs--including aspirin--I'll blog. It's better than tossing and turning for hours with an overly restless mind.

One of my friends took this photo when we went to a fair in Santa Clarita last weekend. It was a blast, and to my surprise the rock wall was a piece of cake. Last time I had done one my legs starting shaking and I didn't have enough strength to make it to the top. Now my legs are much stronger, however they still have a long way to go which I discovered earlier today when I went for my long run (see The Water Tower post).

What was interesting was I began to recognize that my cardio respiratory endurance was improving, but the strength in my legs was now falling behind. I ran at about the same pace as the last time (actually :15 seconds faster), but didn't have any heavy breathing. The only thing slowing me down was this weak feeling in my legs. All that CrossFit drilling about optimizing one's physical competence in each of the ten recognized fitness skills (Flexibility, Cardiovascular and Respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy) was starting to sink in. Time for more leg strengthening. And sleep.....

Bye Bye Box Jump Monster

2008-07-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday was the 1-2-3 Punch at Cross Fit where you get to pick your own torture (sorry, I mean workout). That's number 1. If you fail that you take a Cross Fit written test (#2) and failing that you do something like 100 burpees. I have no love for burpees and I pretty much knew I would fail the written test, so completing number 1 was the only solution.

I chose Christine.

3 rounds of
500m row
12 Deadlifts at 95 lbs.
21 Box jumps.

I only had one problem.......a fear of the box jumps. Everytime I thought about jumping on one of those things I would get this image of bloody skinless shins. Not a pretty thought. Well thankfully Eric talked me through it (and yes, even held my hand) until I actually did it. The first few times I was pretty near the edge, but at least my feet were making it all the way up. Once I felt a correct one, I was good to go and went on to complete Christine. Thank God, no 100 burpees!

And the best news is I'M ON THE BOARD finally. That's happiness for this Cross Fit newbie.

Damn the Bandana

2008-07-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's Cross Fit workout I decided I needed to handle my head gear. I had been using a bandana to keep the hair out of my eyes, but the damn thing kept coming off during my sit-ups. Had I moved my hands to fix it I would have failed the test and that was NOT an option. So today on my run I tried out a new hat I got at REI. It was great! And I noticed a big difference in my body temperature--not that it kept me cool or anything, but I felt less hot during the run.

This is one my normal runs. It's a 2.8 mile run from my house going out on the fire roads to a point I have arbitrarily called the helicopter landing and then back again. There's this big white cross on the ground (the medical symbol) and it looks like a good place to land a helicopter if needed. Anyway, it was a good run...not super efforty, yet still working the body pretty good. I was again amazed at my time. I cut off :59 seconds since the last time I did this run on June 20th. Time was 31:52. Whatever I'm doing, I'm doing right. Now the trick will be to just keep it up!

Helicopter Landing
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Army Physical Fitness Standard

2008-07-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today at Cross Fit we took the Army Physical Fitness Standard Test. The APFT consists of three tasks: two minutes of max reps push-ups, two minutes of max reps sit-ups, and a two-mile run. This test is used across the Army, with a passing score of 60 percent of the standard for each event, scaled by sex and age. I wasn't really sure that I would pass because all the push-ups I've ever done were completely wrong. And at no time can your knees touch the ground. The only resting position is the plank position. After watching my partner give it her all, but completely fail I was nervous. But I went for it.

Here's how I did:
16 push-ups (score of 66)
57 sit-ups (score of 85)
17:47 2-mile run (score of 97)

To be at 100% in each category I would need to do:
37 push-ups
72 sit-ups
17:24 2-mile run

Obviously the push-ups are my weak point.....something to work on for sure! As far as the running goes, I smoked my last flat run by coming under a 9-minute mile. A few weeks ago I had done a 5K with a 10+ minute mile. Not too shabby for someone who doesn't consider herself an athlete! And if I ever decide to join the Army, they'll let me in!

The Water Tower

2008-06-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Today I finally confronted running up to the water tower. My roommate has been doing this run for weeks, but I never felt I was ready for it. It's a straight uphill climb starting from La Tuna Canyon Road in Tujunga. I was told it was a 5 mile run, but after using mapmyrun discovered it's only 4.43 miles. It was a rough run, but I made it! My time came in at 54:14....probably not too bad for the first outing.

water tower
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