'getting strong now'

the week started off great with a surprise gift from my buddy paul in australia!  check out the kool t-shirt - adelaide mountain bike club!  actually got two of them!   thanks paul!  i've been practicing my aussie slang for when (ever) i make it over there!
 

strong week for running too!  actually managed to put in 6 days!  haven't done that for awhile!  AND i got lost in palgrave on thursday?  wtf?! 

how did i end up HERE!?

the worst part is, once i got home and checked my gps thingy, i discovered i was at the south end of the forest, when i honestly believed i was north. 

EWWWW!  and wtf is THIS thing!?  they were all over in there ...

regardless, it was awesome!  love finding new places to run right in my backyard!

with my schedule this week, it made more sense to train friday afternoon instead of evening.  so, we took a 'matinee' pic.  and yes, it took a couple of attempts for me to trust that fig WASN'T going to drop me!  pretty kool shot though.   and did i mention that i did 16 deadlifts at 205!  owww!  that hurt!

father jimmy showed up just as we were finishing.  LOVE the shirt!!

on saturday, ghetto girls sarah, janner and jen donned their ears and braved the rain to run the zoo 5k!  awesome job ladies!

as for me, i wasn't so brave!  i procrastinated till almost 3 when the rain finally tapered off, and headed into palgrave for my 'long run' ...

i love the forest when it's like this ...

 yup - still sporting the hokas ...

what a beauty run!  i felt amazing and did over 90 minutes that seemed effortless!

 
sunday mass with father jimmy was INSANE this week.  talk about old school - me and jay were saying we couldn't remember the last time we did a workout that took so long!   5 rounds of 15 deadlifts, 12 hang power cleans, 9 front squats and 6 push jerks at 95lbs!  holy krap!  28 minutes!  i checked back and the last time i did this was in 2011 and it took me 41 minutes!   not too fucking bad!  my amazingly strong buddy lisa did it with 105lbs!  BEAST! oh, and i know this pic has NOTHING to do with today's wod, but lisa's in it and it's hilarious!   LOVE this chick!

and finally, finished off the day with a short romp through albion.

Trying hard now
It's so hard now
Trying hard now

Getting strong now
Won't be long now
Getting strong now

Gonna fly now
Flying high now
Gonna fly, fly, fly...

september wild flower

so september 12 was my birthday - i turned 53.  what does 53 feel like?  i can't say.  i feel good, i'm moving, i'm having fun, that's all that matters.  it's just a number. someone said to me, 'you have the body of a 20 year old.'  hmmmm, i see a lot of 20 year olds at the gym, and i beg to differ!   they look like shit!  so i'm going to say, 'i have the body of a 53 year old who works her fucking ass off'  -  i like the sound of that much better!!!

i was like a child on christmas morning when it came to facebook!  all day the little notification blip kept going off - over a hundred people wished me a happy birthday.  holy krap!   i especially liked this one from my old university buddy 'brownie' ...

i blew off coach D's prescribed 'tempo repeats' and instead went for a fun romp through the forest!  now that was a great birthday gift!

i see my friends at crossfit as my 'family', so i invited a bunch of them out after friday night club.  even thomas made it back from guelph!!!!!

good gawd - our poor waitress took 4 shots and this was the clearest, but you can kinda see who made it out!!! 

then saturday, after much procrastination, i laced up the hokas and headed out onto the trail - my gift to myself!

it was a gorgeous day ...

*sigh*

over 2 hours of trail bliss. and to steal this from a buddy - 'september wild flower' - i kinda like it ...

not one of my more adventurous birthdays, but still spent it doing what i love.  and that's fine with me.  big big thanks to all those who took the time to send me wishes - i am so lucky ...

crossfit pr's ...

i think a couple of weeks have gone by ...  i guess life hasn't been all that exciting lately.   i recall an okay run in palgrave last weekend ...

i went to visit kathy's parents on saturday, but only lou was home, so i left the flowers with him!  i took a pic as proof that he's still alive and well!

i finally had the perfect opportunity to wear my new 'afrobrutality' t-shirt - can't think of a client it could be more suited for ...

it was a really good week at crossfit!  pr'd my split jerk at 125lbs, my deadlift at 255lbs, did a bunch of strict handstand push-ups AND managed a weighted pull-up with an extra 12.5lbs strapped to my waist!  not bad considering i couldn't even do ONE six months ago!

and check out fig - pr'd HIS deadlift at 485lbs.   holy fuck! 

saturday morning i got up early and did a soggy run in palgrave for 2 hours.  it rained the whole time but i loved it!  legs felt great!!  yay!    once i got home and showered up, i headed to the patch for my little grand-niece jayden's first birthday party !!!   she is sooooooooo cute!

and today i finished off the weekend (sigh) with a short but satisfying run in albion.

trail bliss ...

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!   got these pics from my buddy lisa today - taken at 'the wedding' in july!  so this is what to-nay would look like with a lot of hair ...

your stache is falling off fed and WTF - who's that guy in the background ??

the girls ...

sara's tongue ...

photo bombing the boys - WAIT - there he is again ?!

my favorite!  even poopy pants got in on it - very appropriate in the fireman's hat, don't you think?

and on that note,  i leave you with this ...