 This time I wasn't so scared of the dreaded run! In a mad dash to fully prepare for GORUCK Challenge, I've been taken to extreme measures: -Insanity Workouts and Runs in the same day -Weighted Runs -Multiple workouts in a day -Lots of Icing (Not the delicious kind found on cakes, the cold kind on my knees) I know I sound silly but I refuse to be "that girl" that holds back the group during GORUCK because I'm not in shape. That being said, I feel that the impending challenge was just the push I needed to get on track in other areas of my life. AH, balance, I love you. That in mind, I bet you're wondering how my last weighted run went. Well, look no further!
 This guy has got nothing on me! Fun with Weighted Runs
This morning I thought it was a good idea to see the sunrise with some extra weight. Ready for the run that is always fun, I had my game face on and guess what? It actually was not that hard. That's right, training for a few weeks and taking a rest day actually helped improve my weighted run. Huh, life is weird sometimes. Weighted Run Stats: -2 Miles -No Walking -Actually Pleasant -DURING FLORIDA HEAT -24 Minutes including my walking cool down! In conclusion, if one actually trains, prepares and takes rest days to recover, your running actually does improve. SO weird. And to think, all I had to do was listen to my body. You learn something new every day. After a busy week of training and working I'm more than amped for a weekend filled with friends, a beach day, rock climbing and a mini training session. What can I say, life is good. And because I like you guys so much, enjoy the view from my run! Do you find preparation helps your endeavors?**I know what you're thinking, this is a no brainer. However sometimes it can be the opposite. I'm just curious.
Seeing this pretty lake and the sun on my run made it that much better!
 After playing in Miami..it's back to GORUCK training! After a luxuriously lazy weekend, I'm back to my routine! Miami was fun BUT I have to prepare for the doozie that is GORUCK. Yesterday, I made the mistake of researching the hours and everything last night. (You'd figure I wouldn't have waited untill now but I am a procrastinator. Shhh...don't tell) The time commitment? GORUCK starts April 7th at 1 AM and goes till April 8th at 2 PM. Hello wakeup call! Now do you think I'm crazy for doing 3 a days? Well, ok, but at least it makes sense. My overall takeaway from signing up for GORUCK: It's something at the time I'll most likely hate but at the end be SO proud of myself and glad I experienced it. And so.....
 This is the view I experience during my Insanity Workouts! Today began with:
-6:30 AM sunrise Insanity Workout After Work Plans:
-A nice run with some weights -A relaxing pool float Yeah, with less than 2 weeks away, I don't mind being a little extreme for a few weeks. Besides, all these active exercises are rejuvenating, uplifting and bringing me closer to my goal. So, bring on the 6:30 AM workouts and crazy schedule. GORUCK is waiting to give me a good spanking but I'll give it a good run for it's money. In the meantime I plan to prepare, prepare and prepare. Maybe I'm a little insane for signing up for GORUCK (That's what people tell me) but I think it will all be worth it in the end! Do you ever try something that seems out of your reach?
 Hello gorgeous. Can I visit you? You know how I spoke about actually indulging in a little R and R this weekend? Well, can one of the R's stand for a mini adventure? Ok good. Hey, at least I'm not working out...that counts for something right? Feeling ready for a beach excursion or mini vacation, Saturday morning before work, I packed a weekend bag for beach/camping or whatever adventure would beckon my presence post commitment! So after a nice work shift filled with overtime (holler) I hopped into my adventure mobile (2005 Honda Accord) and started on my quest for a mini adventure. Where did I end up? Well, take a peak. (Look below)
 Good evening South Beach. When I made it and met up with my lovely hosts, I was introduced to the condo I'd be staying at. LOOK at the view!!!!  After getting all dolled up, we headed to Lou's Beer Garden in Miami. Yes, there's a pool in the middle.  The first drink of the night was a delectable Caipirinha! I sense the beginning of a great evening.  Before we headed to the madness of downtown, Alex, Ian and I attempted to take a photo. TOOOO DARK!  And then we headed to the madness that was South Beach. Here we are in Sandbar. The floor is all sand. And then, we ran ALL over South Beach!  When we FINALLY made it back at 4 am and crashed for a few hours, I finally woke up and treated myself to Espresso. Yum!  Finally on Sunday morning, I treated myself to a lovely date with the beach! AHHH! All in all, I'd say my impromptu adventure was an ultimate success. I mean, I got to frolic about the beach, connect with friends and have an all-around good time. We were up till 4 AM running around South Beach during Ultra and THEN I got to lounge on the beach. Good times. Though I didn't relax by the traditional person's standards, I was able to indulge in my own form of relaxation. What can I say, I'm not very traditional. And you know what, I'm okay with that. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. ~Harvey FiersteinThe most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. ~Jim MorrisonSo what you're saying Uplifting Quotes is that it's okay that my form of relaxation is retreating to an impromptu adventure to the beach? Perfect. How do you relax?
 As much as I love to get up in morning and workout, I need to rest sometimes! My back, shoulder, knee hurts and every muscle is sore. Hmm...I wonder why? It couldn't possibly be due to the fact that I worked out the past 5 days? Nah. Let's get our detective hat on, magnifying glass, pipe, Dr. Watson, think and use our detective skills to determine why I'm feeling so full of "ouch." In the past 5 days I've: -Ran 3 times -Climbed 3 nights -Completed 2 Insanity Workouts -Completed 2 Stretching/Yoga sessions. Hmmm..could there be a correlation between soreness and my active plans??? OF COURSE YOU RIDICULOUS PERSON!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, sometimes I need to be remineded that I need to rest. Therefore, this weekend I'm going to treat myself to some much needed R & R. (And maybe a 3rd R for one teeny run. Maybe.)
 I'll be doing a lot of this this weekend: RESTING! How I plan to dabble in R and R-Stretch my cranky body daily -NOT workout for 2 days -Have Epsom Salt Baths (Yeah...I'm old) -Massage aching ouches (I'm an adult, I swear) -Ice my perturbed parts (Shoulder, knee and back) -Lay by the beach and do nothing! (This is my personal favorite) I mean, it is hard for me to take a break, (I kind of like to go, in case you were unaware) but I have to remember this : Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. -Ovid. All right Ovid, I'll listen to your wisdom and oblige your simple request. I'll give myself a rest but that bountiful crop better be a kickass climbing session and GORUCK Challenge completion! You know, I have a feeling he's onto something. Well, here's to a great weekend filled with rest and some glorious beach time. How do you spend your rest/recovery days?
 I miss times like this....and climbing those rocks. It's true. I have a confession to make: I Teeny, am missing the rock. Just 2 weeks ago, I was camping about, jumping all over, climbing them. Today, I am in beautiful Florida, hours from any sort of mountain. To remedy this ailment (and First world problem) I've done a few things to fill the empty hole in my heart where camping and climbing outdoors once lived: -Insanity Workouts -Run a lot -Yoga -Climbed inside Obviously, I'm trying to fill the void from climbing in the mountains. Though I can't plan another trip for a month or so, I conveniently planned a challenge to distract me: GORUCK. I talk about it a lot (Me talk? Never!) but it's just absurd! I'm still kind of shocked that I signed up for it. I mean 8-10 hours and 15-25 miles of a challenge all while carrying around a 20 lb sack? CRAZY!
 Instead I'll be doing more runs with this on my back! To train for it, I'm attempting any and every workout possible. Since I really don't know what to expect (straight from the Lead Cadre's mouth) I just want to have my cardio and strength up! What lies ahead this week? -More climbing -More Insanity Workouts -Weighted Runs -More stretching/Yoga -Insert some rest? Papa does always preach it..... Though I'm not climbing outdoors this week at least I'm keeping busy otherwise. Yay for cross training, running with sacks AND rock climbing. GORUCK, thanks for keeping my mind off the rock. How do you keep motivated?
 In an attempt to keep up with the crazies of last year (running 5 races) I've decided to really jump off the deep end and sign up for another unique race: The Monster Bash Dash.
On May 26th during the wee hours of the night a group of teeny terrors and I are going to tackle a high stakes 5k while being chased by Zombies, Werewolves and Monsters galore. It shall be a monstrously good time! Yea, so not only does one get to celebrate the horrors of one of the greatest holidays BUT you get to run. It's a no brainer. (Get it? Attacked my Zombies, no brains? Whatever.) So, if you'd like to join me on this crazy excursion, join my team the Teeny Terrors. Need more of an incentive? Use the promo code cpucf for 15% off. Ready to take advantage of the frighteningly good deal? Follow the instructions below:
 I am so ready for this! How to Join Teeny Terror's Team
-Go to the following Link
-Create an account if you don't already have one -Click Join an Existing Team
-Click Join Teeny Terrors
-Make sure to use the promo code cpucf for 15% off the group rate! -Seal your fate and pay the price for fun! Besides traipsing throughout the woods amongst beasts, they offer body and face painting to derail said monsters. And who doesn't need a little extra practice for the Zombie Apocalypse? There may be some of the Walking Dead present but I'll be running! Join me on this high stakes race amongst Vampires and do it! So click here to join the quest to kill the race. Let's use our braiinnnnnnsss and outrun the monsters. Are you ready for Halloween in May? Sign up today!*How many terrible hints of defying demons can I add in one entry?
 When I'm not running races, climbing rocks, kayaking or camping, I take the time to dabble in my long lost hobby: performing. As time has progressed, I realized I LOVE it as a hobby just NOT a career. That being said, some parts of it still scared me even after all this time. What you ask? Why my ex-arch nemesis improv and on camera work. When I first tried them, I was frozen with fear. So, I made an action plan and killed it. Fast forward 3 months. As of yesterday I signed up for ANOTHER Improv Class, will continue hosting Third Thursday's at City Art's Factory Down Town and am doing a Webisode!!!!! I'm soooo excited that I pushed past my fear and now have great things to look forward to. Take a peek at some of my clips!
Watch the video below around 6:51. It gets PRETTY funny. "Art is performance, performance is art. " So if you're feeling fearful, make a plan and attack it! I did and the results we're pretty nice. Besides, now that I know I can face fear with a nice action plan, I can address any fear with my own plan! I'll be co-hosting the next 3rd Thursday's Art Stroll on April 19th! Rumor has it, the hosts are AWESOME! Well, I'm off to shoot a Webisode in the park. How do you dabble in your long lost hobbies?
 I wonder how much fun I will have on this run... All right, I lied. ITS NOT FUN! Correction: IT"S TERRIBLE. Allow me to rewind. So a while back I signed up for GORUCK, an 15-25 mile challenge completed with a 20 lb weighted bag. Months ago when I signed up, I had this great plan etched out. Fast forward to months later, where I was super busy training for a Half Marathon, climbing trips all WHILE dabbling in theater. Yeah, so I neglected my weighted runs. Last night, determined to FINALLY start, I took my bag, added 2 5lb weights and embarked on a 3 mile run. DEAR. GOD. WHY?!?!?!?!?!?
Seriously, one block in and I wanted to quit. However, KNOWING that this challenge in now 3 weeks away, I persevered. (There was mental bitching and whining, don't you worry).
This bag look innocent enough. DO NOT BE FOOLED! IT IS MEAN AND EVIL!!!!!!!
 This is how I felt post run: THUMBS DOWN! I foolishly thought "Oh, you climb and ran a Half Marathon, this will be so easy." Wrong, wrong, WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What was supposed to be 3 miles straight of running turned into:
1.5 Miles running
.5 Mile walk.
.5 Mile run
Not too shabby but I have never felt so tired after a workout EVER! Morale of the story? DON"T PROCRASTINATE! That being said, my new plan?
Run 3 days a week with a weighted bag. No excuses, just go!
Guess what I'll be doing this weekend? You guessed it: Running with a weighted bag!
What are your plans this weekend?
 This photo is proof that we were up working it at 6:30 AM! Not one day after climbing the face off rocks (Get it?) do I try to become even MORE extreme. This morning, 4 Insane Chicks (myself included) got up at 6:00 AM, headed to Baldwin Park and did a sunrise work out by the lake. I know it sounds like torture but it was actually quite enjoyable.
Plyometrics, jumping, pushups galore and cardio, our morning was anything less than ridiculous. The bonus? Having 3 lovely ladies to do it with AND catching the sunrise. No matter how tired you are, there's nothing more invigorating than seeing the sunrise. Beautiful.
 Not to be cranky waking up to this! The ONLY reason I was up working out was this little challenge that's coming up in less than a month, GORUCK. This challenge is quite ridiculous and I have been mildly lazy towards training for this guy. Though I didn't get a run in with a sack on my trip (I figured carrying around a crash pad and climbing all day was plenty) I decided I needed to push the Crossfit/Plyometric workouts. Thus, enter my 6:30 AM workout. And guess what I'll be doing tomorrow morning as well? Yup, INSANITY!!!!!!!!! So, with less than 1 month till GORUCK, I'll be participating in a few more insane workouts. Hey, I'm up to 4 pull-ups so something must be working! Well, I'm off to adventure* the rest of the day away. YAY! How do you feel about sunrise workouts?
*This adventure may include running tonight. I can't help it, it's very addicting.
 This was the first real route I climbed. I was very pleased to be sitting. Ah, I have returned bruised, scratched, sore and satisfied. Obviously, it was a successful bouldering trip to Horse Pens 40.
We made it back this morning at a nice and early 1:30 AM. Though I'm tired beyond all reason, I keep thinking about climbing, improving my technique and new routes to try. Oh silly climbing, you are an addicting friend!!
Well, enough of my babble. If you peak below, I have a nice little photo journey so you can experience a great bouldering trip too. (But you're lucky enough to enjoy it without the bruising and loss of feeling on the fingertips!)
 When we arrived bright and early, we were greeted by these pretty guys who were just waiting for us to climb on them!  With crash pads in tow, it was time to climb!!!  This route here was a doozy. I eventually made it up the boulder with this lovely heel hook. Now, I have the scrapes to prove it!  This wall was nice and fun to climb. Please ignore the peeping tights. It was VERY cold for this Florida gal so layering was imperative.  And here's another shot of me right before I used my brute strength to pull up! YEAH!  After completing routes, a happy thumbs up was ALWAYS encouraged. After topping out on those sloppers, it was a well deserved. Besides, who doesn't like a good thumbs up!  Sometimes when you're a very early riser, you wander to Lookout Point at 5:00 AM to watch the sunrise.  Lookout Point was quite a looker! See that pretty moon? Getting up early does have its benefits.  When you're up at 5:00 AM, taking self portraits can be difficult but very doable.  The sun peaking through made my early mornings well worth it!  After climbing a few routes, on the last day we ran around and explored caves. What a way to end the trip!  I loved climbing this wall!! I'm ready for more. Overall, I had way too much fun. I climbed, camped, hung out with great people, frolicked about the park, played with horses AND had a blasty blast. At the end of the day, I climbed SO much harder than I even imagined. I mean, the first real route I completed was the guy to your right! *Nudges head to right photograph.* Yup, I climbed that guy and even harder routes! My initial plan worked and I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Now I have to wait till my body recovers so I can climb more. Oh, and plan my next trip. Hmm....decisions....decisions..... Where should I go for my next climbing trip?
|
RSS Feed
