Monday, April 30, 2012

no wimps challenge !

so it was the captain (the head pylon), everhard (aka E) (the new pylon) and me, dora, (the easy pylon), who were seen loading all their krap into the swanky jeep E rented for the big excursion to michegan on friday! the last thing i was thinking about was the upcoming run (runs actually - 21k on saturday, and 50k on sunday). i was totally stoked for the road trip - it had been way too long since i'd traveled with the pylons. and again, my biggest challenge would not be the run(s), but being able to sustain from the usual 'cross border' inhalation of junk food. (as in, the first thing we hit in the states is a target store, or a walmart, so i can buy a/several monster hershey bar(s).)

the captain drove to the treehouse, and patiently waited while i started packing (i still had lots of time) - okay, maybe a comment or two was made - and then we were on our way! first stop was the ferry/border crossing at marine city. we got to go on a boat!!!

then we hit big boys for lunch were i managed to ignore the 'strawberry' desserts that were displayed in the menu that cap and E kept waving in front of me!

from there, it was another hour and a half to ann arbor and the running fit store where we picked up our race kits. i scored an awesome deal on a pair of cascadias AND a really kool pair of arm sleeves. next stop was the best western just outside of ann arbor where the three of us were sharing a room.

and as pylon tradition dictates, we found an applebees for dinner! the wait was about 30 minutes, so we grabbed a picture, and then headed over to the grocery store to get some stuff for breakfast. me and the cap had ribs, and i think E had a steak - so far no junk!

saturday morning we got up at 6 and began preparing for the 21k which started at 8. and despite having gone specifically to the grocery store for something for breakfast the previous night, i ended up eating a bunch of blueberries and some carrots, as i seemed to have gotten distracted while there, and forgot to buy anything. stoopid dora! anyway, we got to the start area plenty early, so we sat in the parking lot for 45 minutes, laughing at all the dumb roadies and tri-geeks running around in tights, toques, compression sox, race belts and tights with baggy shorts over top. finally we got out of the jeep and meandered over to the beach, where 800 others were waiting to start.

the race director was great! he informed us he was going to start everybody in waves of about 100 so there would be no log jam on the trail. the first group was to be for those expecting to run 6 - 7 minute miles. i just about shit when i saw captain and E taking off at the back of that group. i found out later that they got passed by the entire second wave. not wanting to be left out, i stoopidly started with the next wave - those capable of running 7 - 8 minute miles! ahaha! i got passed by the entire third wave, and half of the fourth!! it was a good course. not very technical, but a lot of random roots you could trip over if you weren't paying attention. and it didn't have any big hills, but there were a ton of them - all runnable - which over the course of 21k added up to a total elevation gain of 1800 meters! i can honestly say i didn't like this run. it was too fast for me, and there were way too many people. but i got through it and managed to finish in 2:12. cap and E came in around 2 hours solid. i did my burpees - 78 of the fuckers - at the end, and then we all braved the nasty cold water in one of the lakes to soak our legs. at this point, it started to rain, so we hustled back to the jeep, and back to the motel.

as i was coming out of the shower, E made some comment about my head being all swollen (or something like that, i can't remember). "what the hell are you talking about?" "you won kendra" "what - fuck off, i did not!" "yes, you did, you won your age group" "oh sure, what were there, 2 of us?" "no, 30" "fuck off, you're shitting me!" and so it went. i never really believed him, or the captain, until i saw the results myself. aha! i guess all those seizure repeats derrick made me do were actually working! dora was getting a bit faster!

we then drove to hell - really, it's a little town called hell - for some lunch. slim pickings for paleo, so i settled for some chicken and fries (i know, fries aren't paleo, but i was really hungry, and they USED to be potatoes ...). i did manage to refrain having a milkshake while the cap and E were devouring theirs! next, we drove into ann arbor and visited a couple shops - the REI store (like an american version of mec) and the michegan state varsity store. oh, and i did get something for breakfast this time. we ended up at mr. b's for dinner, (after a side trip to the outback steakhouse, but we won't go there) where all three of us had sirloins! mmmm!

doh, this is a pic of E and the cap trying to fix the heater. i had cranked it before we left, and forgot to turn it down, and as a result it stopped working ...

sunday morning race start was 7:30, so we got up a bit earlier. it was chilly - minus 4 i think - but the sun was out and we knew it would warm up fast!

i was MUCH happier with this distance - well, okay, not the first 21k loop. my legs were great, but my mind was kranky. regardless, i sucked it up and got through the first loop in 2:35. the second loop went way better - i was totally in my happy place and finished 5 minutes faster. of course, it might have helped that i was running with this guy for a bit ...

who i found out is from colorado, and who is also running leadville this summer - wait - where was i ...

oh ya, the race. okay, so by the end of 42k i felt super strong. the last 8k was on trail we hadn't run before, and i swear to gawd, they put all the big hills on this loop! the total elevation gain over the 50k was 3500m. kool! still i managed to run every one of them, and came in with a respectable time of 5:57. cap finished his marathon - he decided it would be funny to sit in a chair and watch us head back out for another 5 miles - in 5 hours, and E was about 10 minutes ahead of me. we got 2 medals this time -one for the 50k and one for completing both races!

i even did all my 79 burpees unbroken - fuckers - before a nice soak in the lake!

check out the kool shirts - looking good E !

finish line shot!

the ride home wasn't TOO bad. i was whining silently in the back, trying to stop my legs from throbbing. i made E stop on the gore just 20 minutes before we got back to palgrave cuz i had to whiz. ask me how hard the two of them laughed at me trying to claw my way back up out of the ravine. it also was really hilarious watching all three of us stumbling around at the treehouse trying to unload the jeep! and most of all, watching the captain as he walked backwards down the steps to his car!!

so the whole trip was gold! i came out with a ton of swag - 2 technical t-shirts, 3 medals, 3 buttons, some bling from the varsity shop, a new pair of shoes, some sweet sleeves and a new sticker for the mazda. but most of all, i had an awesome time with captain and E !! despite them relentlessly teasing me about winning, it was all good! AND i didn't succumb to the pressure from both guys as they tried to break me and get me to fall off the paleo wagon (except for the fries - which used to be potatoes - which i'm allowed - cuz i'm a runner)!! wahoo!

AND my feet weren't bad at all ...

thanks guys! can't wait for the next one!!!


and finally, i leave you with this hilarious line uttered by the captain's mother as he was trying to complete his first marathon way back in the 1900's ...

"just get in the car and we'll never talk about this again. it never happened."

classic!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

royal burpee challenge - only 39 days left

yeehaw! day 76 - 2926 total! it's been a challenge so far for sure - one sprained ankle (lucy) resulting in one-legged burpees, one sprained wrist (anna fair) from trying clipless pedals for the first time, many catch-up days due to vacation (sarah) and just plain forgetting (ian and anna v), but we're getting them done! my burpeeers rock!!!

so i argued with myself whether or not to post this, as i still don't believe it's really me. i caught a glimpse of my back in the mirror last night and just about fell over. i was stunned! this is what crossfit, massive amounts of burpees, and a strict paleo lifestyle can do for you. but to keep it real, i took this in my 'joe boxers', with the shitter in the background.

sunday i was feeling lazy and finally got around to an easy run up behind the tai chi center. turned out to be a beauty of a day! only did an hour, but it felt great! check out the first white trilliums ...

really kool old stump ...

super shot of this tree while resting on one of the ladders. feeling the trail love for sure!

then went over to dunc's for dinner and some hanging out with indy!

ran 2+ hours last saturday up k2 and then up and up the dingle. legs really heavy from friday night club deadlifts ...

tomorrow, me, captain and everhard are heading to ann arbor michegan for the no wimps challenge. a two day stage race, where we run 21k on the saturday, and then 50k on the sunday, followed by 78 and 79 burpees respectively, for me! cap and e will be drinking beer - waiting for me to finish both the run and the stoopid burpees. wahoo! ROAD TRIP !! e is picking up the rental car in newmarket at 9, also phoning me when he leaves so i can start packing, and then grabbing me and the cap up at the treehouse around 10. only thing missing is our little beer-drinking pylon ...

while i'm stomping around the woods of michegan, dunc will be doing his first o'cup on sunday up at mansfield put on by chico racing. watch out for brooms honey !

and finally, i leave you with this ...

Saturday, April 21, 2012

battle ropes ?!!!??

i was really happy with my workouts on friday. first i upped my max push press to 105, and then managed to pump out 100 deadlifts at 185. that was nasty! check out the 'butt angels' ...

super group lead by the evil little elorrrrrrrrrrrrrrra ...

great shot of tone in st. john's

okay, leadville training day! after some benchmark kilometer (seizure) repeats on the rail trail - 5 of the suckers - hay - managed to get the last one down to 4:07, (the garmen probably malfunctioned) i went into bolton for my weekly beating. "let's do some 1 rep heavy squats to warm-up." i was pretty happy with my 165 and then hearing, 'that was too easy for you'. this was followed by the killer. "load up the prowler with 110lbs and push it across the parking lot and back. oh, and make sure to use the bottom rungs on the way there - and try to run with it."

"then load up these bars with 50lbs each, and walk as fast as you can across the parking lot and back ..."

"and finally, grab the ends of this rope and bounce them up and down for 30 seconds ..."

"and do it for 15 minutes!" fuck i love this guy!!

tulips and a dragon fly ...

maxed my deadlift at 245 on monday! wahoo! not bad after 7 hours running on the weekend! thanks to father jimmy for the coaching!



today is day 71 of the royal burpee challenge! only 4114 more to go...

and i just thought i'd share an email i got from one of my super star burpeeers the other day ...

Ok, I know you have not heard me bitch about this Royal Burpee dude for at least one day.

I know you all have days where you are rocking these things out by the hundred and others where the gas is just not there. The whole make up the next day is cool when the sun is shining and you are up. I dig that.

However, the famous however………..

Who the F’ came up with this 115 days of Royal Burpee Fart worship? Who ever heard of 115 with no break for God, the sun, the whatever. Every religion or training regime has at least 1 day of fucking off per week! Who was this dude and the nut heads who worship him. Glad he is dead, his followers should have taken the cool aid so we would all be spared.

18 more to go then they may find me dead in my hotel room. I have put a toe tag on myself. Reads “R. Burpee RIP”.

awesome!


Sunday, April 15, 2012

okay junior - 100 burpees for time!

sunday - long(er) run day! after a good breakfast of blueberry banana almond pancakes (paleo of course), i headed over to the 5th to meet up with everhard. we slowly picked our way down the first big decent, and then gradually settled into a nice rhythm up and over the hills of hockley! after almost being eaten by this massive dog that weighed more than both of us (thank gawd the owner ran and grabbed it as we approached) and then chased by this other little dog that looked like a small pig - i don't think said owner appreciated when i yelled out, 'aha, look at the little fat dog', we finally made it to the top of the ski hill ...

what do you mean this won't take us to the top ...

man, it felt way too comfortable sitting on this after 3+ hours!

check out this very kool old stump - must have been magnificent in its time ...

wahoo! first red trillium!

and so, after 4 hours of running AND 65 fucking burpees, we were done! okay, well, lazy everhard didn't do the burpees. we decided to hit the hockley store for a coffee, and NO i did NOT succumb to the sweet sugariness of the dreaded cowboy cookies. instead, i had an amazing sweet potato, ginger and apple soup, along with some pulled pork! whaaaaaa ! oh, and you tell me - would YOU try to break into this car ... awesome!


saturday, after a couple of clients, and some procrastinating, i finally got myself out on the trail. decided to head up k2 for a change. it's still hilly! hehe! finished a solid 3 hours and i was tired - probably didn't eat enough. stoopid dora!

burpee markings ...

view from the bottom ...

ahhh! putting the dawgs up on the deck ...

lots of shoulder stuff at friday night club and as always, a fantastic group!

said it lots before - love these two amazing ladies ...

marion brought 'junior' over to the treehouse with her on friday! i had fun putting him through a warm-up of front rolls, lateral jumps, squats, pushups and bear crawls ...

and then, cuz he'd made some smart ass remark about 63 burpees being easy, and that he could do a hundred, i decided to call him on it. i was pretty impressed with his time of 8:09!

to finish, i had him do some planks and hanging knee holds! awesome job junior!

had some solid running this week. did 7x3 seizure repeats on thursday with everhard. we leave for michegan next week with the captain!

wednesday was leadville training day with the mighty one. good gawd! 75meter prowler sprints - with 105 - using both top and bottom grips - and had to be done under a minute. after the last one i just crumpled onto the parking lot gasping. the mighty one asked if i was okay. 'no' i groaned. 'well, i'll be inside if you need me.' i LOVE this guy!!

monday we did snatches. nothing out of the usual but got a few pics.

wicked one of anthony!

and wahoo! day 65 of the royal burpee challenge! we've done 2145 so far!

''Yeah
This time I'm 'a let it all come out
This time I'm 'a stand up and shout
I'm 'a do things my way
It's my way
My way, or the highway''