outdoor crossfit challenge

i knew we might have a problem when marsala and i arrived in collingwood saturday at the cottage lisa had rented and saw this . . .

and then we saw jay and fedon looking like this . . .

and when we FINALLY managed to drag lisa out of bed looking like this . . .

apparently the kids had been 'shotgunning cold shots' and then doing absinthe shooters (this awful licorice smelling stuff that looked like grannies old lavender perfume.) poor lisa seemed the worst for wear, and we barely got her into the car. we thought maybe a piece of toast, a coke and some fresh air would help . . .

when we arrived for the start, it was raining - yuck - and miserable. our team - jay, lisa, marsala and i - was drawn for the first wave. there were 22 teams altogether i think. we then found out what the first event was - a 1km run through deep snow, down a big hill, across a suspension bridge, pick up a big log and carry it up a 150m hill, drop it and then sprint to the finish. i think i was the only one happy with this particular workout! . . . 3, 2, 1 GO ! argh! it was chaos ! we were at the back, and my beautiful hungover friend was experiencing major sufferage ! we had to pause a couple of times for dry heaves, i had to drag her up the hill while she was holding the back of my jacket, and then pull her across the field to the finish line. but being the tuff chick she is, she made it ! i think our time was around 9:45. bolton team 2 - fedon, luca, sara and jenn - went next and did really well - although they carried the big nasty heavier log ! and then team 3 - dillon, jimmy and kane (hiiiiii kane) were in the 5th wave - HOWEVER they were short one person. 'hay kendra, can you run again - we need a female?' 'yes, but i'm not fast and i'm not competitive, so don't get mad if i can't keep up.' 'you'll be fine - we're not fast either . . .' RIGHT! and they're not competitive either. just before we started, jimmy says, 'hay kendra, i apologize ahead of time if i yell at you.' OH FOR GAWD SAKES ! so, again, . . . 3, 2, 1 GO ! i took off like the devil himself was chasing me - i didn't want those guys getting too far ahead, and then me having to catch up. as jimmy put it, 'she was passing dudes, and knocking people over and i was dying trying to stay ahead of her.' all i could see as i was running down the hill were dillon's long legs taking one stride to my 5. we got to the log and there was only 1 team ahead of us. we BLEW by them and powered up the hill, dropped the log and sprinted to a first place finish. AMAZING! 'i thought you said you weren't fast kendra ?!!' doh! i didn't think i was jimmy !

the second event was more running, and the dreaded overhead squat - i am HORRIBLE at these! the prescribed weight was 65lbs, and i was shitting my pants, as i'd never been able to do them very well. now lisa had decided she'd had enough fun for the day, so she was resting in marsala's car. i stood in the starting area, waiting for my teammates and saw jay running down the hill with jimmy in tow - he was our substitute. incidently, it was a freakin blizzard out by now. so, each person had to run 400m in the deep snow and then do 15 squats. while the person was running, the rest of the team had to do partner squats. unfortunately for jay and jimmy, they had to do all the partner stuff, as i couldn't lift marsala, and she didn't even attempt to haul my heavy ass up onto her shoulders! anyway, i went first so i could get it over with. did my run - almost wiped out 3 times - got back and hoisted the bar up over my head. 'for the love of gawd - please let me do these fucking things . . .' and holy krap - I DID THEM ! could not believe it ! as soon as i finished, marsala took off and jimmy threw me onto his shoulders and started squatting - another dream come true . . . 'BAD KENDRA'. the rest of the team totally rocked and we got through this event in pretty good time. afterwards, we were all a little wet and cold, so we made our way back up to the 'heated room with 2 wood stoves' !!! lisa was feeling a little better and finally starting to thaw out . . .

jay was kinda sleepy . . .

and luca and fedon were their usual comical selves . . .

organizers decided to cancel the last event, as it was almost 5:00. i was really disappointed, as i was having a blast! bolton team 3 did amazing -with dillon hammering out 15 unbroken OHS's at the finish and JUST beating the other team by 1 second (even though judges ruled it a tie - we know different !) they had used jenn for this workout, as she was the lightest - crucial for the partner squats ! AND, they ended up with a spectacular 3rd place overall ! here's a fab shot of all 3 crossfit bolton teams - check out the snow !

oh, and remember that first shot of when we got to the cottage? well here's what it looked like when we left sunday morning . . .

so i can truly say that i had a fantastic time and would definitely do this again! thanks to everybody for making it such a fun weekend and lisa, i hope you're feeling better !

sunday, christine and i did a 2:30 run in stoopid deep snow. went from humber station, up k2, and up and up half of the dingle. almost lost her in this drift . . .

it was a beauty day, but i was freakin exhausted by the end. i guess running fast DOES take a lot out of you. i never knew that before . . .