*Champions focus on the positive ALL THE TIME.

And, I love this quote:

“How you start is important, very important, but in the end it is how you finish that counts. It is easier to be a self-starter than a self-finisher. The victor in the race is not the one who dashes off swiftest but the one who leads at the finish. In the race for success, speed is less important than stamina. The sticker outlasts the sprinter in life’s race. In America we breed many hares but not so many tortoises.”
- B.C. Forbes

In my heart, I am a champion. Are You?

[Read more →]

Yes, on Mother’s Day Eve, I am proud to say that not only did I get out on a hike with my family, but I also got to go on a bike ride with my amazing workout buddy!  Whoo Hoo!  I was actually hollering out my street on the way Up the Course!

Scenes from the hike, courtesy of good friend Angie…

Do you ever wake up thinking, I’m going to try something new today? Something physical that you never would even dream up on your own??? In Cross Fit, almost daily, you think you can’t. Or you think, I can do it, but it will be brutal! Last week, we did 400 Jumping Squats split with a partner followed by 300 wall balls (using a complete squat for each one) followed by 200 50 Kettlebell Swings plus 20 Man Makers with 15 pound dumbbells in each hand. And, not once did I think twice about it…but, if I’d seen that workout the night before, I’d have thought, I can’t do that!

So, check this photo out! I am swinging a 35 pound kettlebell while balancing on two uneven posts. Yikes! I was scared to death. And, we did three rounds of 30 swings on those posts. Note: I eventually got my feet on a higher one which made it easier, but, this is the hardest thing I have done to date! And, those swings came after an 800 meter run up a GIANT dirt trail!

What have you done lately that scared you?

[Read more →]

Less than two weeks to the women’s clinic! We now have 76 women riders registered which means there is only 24 spaces left.  This is a great opportunity to learn much needed cycling skills for women of all ages and abilities.  If you’re new to riding, they will walk you through the basics of wearing a clipless shoe, how to clip out at a stop light and how to power through corners.  If you are an old pro, there will be professional women racers there who can help you get faster with your racing.  Off the bike sessions include nutrition, flexibility, and bike tactics.   The women who participated last year had nothing but positive things to say!

I also wanted to give a shout out to our generous sponsors!

My Alibi

Mission Products

Owater

Arrowhead Water

Chipotle

Stell’s Coffee

The Bagel Pedler

Ayers Hotel

You can read more about the clinic on Southern California Cycling. (scroll down about halfway).

Please register for the Women’s Cycling Clinic using SoCalReg.

[Read more →]

A Journey in Discovery!

To have 30 of my Cross Fit buddies all cheering for me in the middle of a workout…

To find I have the ability to complete 30 Front Squats at 65 pounds with no rest.


To find I have the strength to complete 45 snatches at the end of the day.

To find out that “Yes, I can” in all competitions.

As most of you know, this past weekend, I competed in a “Cross Fit Invitational” put on by Cross Fit Next Level Performance.

It was a test of endurance, strength, stamina and speed all at the same time. Why did I do it? To test myself. To find out my strengths and weaknesses…to compete.

What did I learn from this event?

That I am strong! And, that is a really good feeling. I may not have been the best, but, I am proud that I got out there and did it. Going into it, I had a lot of doubts of my abilities- but I found out that what I was worried about meant nothing. I could do it all.

In the photo (Calvin Davis, Steve, Sean, Chris and me)
Would I do it again?
Yes, it’s likely. I like to compete. It was fun! Even better was that I got to spend the day with 150 other athletes who also like to compete.

A BIG THANK YOU!

To do this thing called Cross Fit has been incredibly challenging experience that I just can’t seem to find the words for. My trainers and teammates at Cross Fit CDR have been incredible and I am blessed to have met you all.

A complete run down of the events and results can be found here.

Also, thanks to Angie C for taking all the photos!

[Read more →]

Bet you thought I wasn’t running?!?!? Ha ha ha. Surprise is sweet, even for me. I am running. However, I am only running when the Workout of the Day (W.O.D.) calls for it. That means that in a 2 week period, I might run 1 time. In fact, it might be more like once every three weeks. The last time we did any running in the box was on February 10th when we ran (2) 800 meter runs and (2) 400 meter runs, backwards! And I thought that workout was a blast!

Anyways, here I am writing about my new 5km running PR. My first documented 5km on this site is dated November, 2007 and I ran it in 23:01. Ryan was 1.5 years and it’s likely that I was still nursing and was very heavy at the time- click here and see for yourself.

In 2008, I ran only 2 other 5kms and both run times were in the 23+ minute range.

Witness below the Marathon Skirt:  St. George Marathon completed with a time of 3:59.

‘

One month post marathon, Bobbi and I ran the Skirt Sports 5km and my time is not even listed on my site- except that it was around 24 minutes!

In 2009, I spent the year completing my 200 hour Yoga Works training, trail running, bike racing and kettlebell swinging!

November 2009 was the start of my Cross Fit training.  Since November, I’ve averaged 4-5 days a week in the box.  ( I have dropped at least 6 pounds and 2 dress sizes since then).

This weeks’ workouts have been ridiculously hard- Monday 29 weighted lunges plus 10 burpees times 9 ROUNDS .   Tuesday included 50 repetitions of 12 exercises called the “Filthy Fifty”, Wednesday a 20 minute heavy lifting day- and THEN on Thursday we had to run the 5km.  Crazy.  My legs were still feeling Monday’s lunges and the warm-up for our run included 100 ring dips, 75 sit-ups, 50 Man Makers, 25 Handstand Push-ups!!  Holy smokes, that’s a workout in and of itself!

Long story, but, YES,  I RAN A 5KM IN 21:43!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  First time since my early years of college that I’ve run sub-22!  And, the crazy thing is that I am HARDLY running.

Guess the next thing will be to test out my fitness in a local 5km!

[Read more →]

I loved this article in Runner’s World this month!  Just a few months ago, I was lamenting about my poor attitude and mental negative crap that goes through my head before a bike race.   (Here is the post, “I feel your pain, Kara Goucher.”) And, to be honest, this type of behavior when it comes to sports performance or just life in general does not just evaporate.  It transforms.  If you have a tendency towards negative spirals, it will reappear in other parts of your life.

The article is quite lengthy and discusses her current method of training that includes a sports psychologist, Darren Treasure.  I think his tips are very valuable and could be easily accessible to all of us wanna-be athletes!

Here they are:

• 1. Worry early, not late.  Focus on your strengths and the body of your training work.
• 2.  Employ a key word.  Must have a stimulus and response.
• 3. Embrace your competitors.  “It means I’m going to run together with the best, and they’ll help bring out the best in me.  That neutralizes my anxiety about my own confidence.”  Just think that working out/running with faster people will make YOU FAST.
• 4. Enjoy the motion.  Enjoy the moment. Relax!!
• 5. Define success by your progress.  “I want them to measure their success in terms of their personal progress.  If I can do a couple more reps that I could yesterday,  that’s success.”

Now for tomorrow’s workout, I will be employing all of these tricks! Holy moly, check out the workout…

“Dirty Dozen”

25-Walking Lunge
20-Pull ups
50-Box Jumps 20”
20-Double Under’s with a rope
25-Ring Dips
20-K-2-E (Knees to Elbows)
30-KBS 70/53
30-Sit-ups
20-Hang cleans 35/20 DB
25-Back Ext
30-WallBall
4-Rope climbs
*For Time!

Strengths for me for tomorrow will be the Box Jumps and Wall Balls.  It’s going to be fun and fast! Key word, FOCUS.

Now a playlist for this would be awesome! Anybody have any favorite songs that you can recommend?

[Read more →]

In yet another way to get fit, you can now find local communities offering Old School PE!  Games played include Ultimate Frisbee, Dodgeball, Relay Races, Tug of War and many other games that we played as kids.

As you may know, I am a phys ed teacher.  These games I still teach to the kids (with the exception of a few) and kids LOVE them.  And, in Cross Fit, we are “playing” tug-of-war, climbing ropes and just yesterday, we were hauling a 30,000 pound truck- all in the name of fitness and fun.  And, it is.  We laughed our asses off in tug-of-war and although I was scared of getting run over by the truck, it was also fun to pull it (photos coming soon)…

And, in Portland, Oregon, there is a group of women who get together weekly to play recess games. It’s called Urban Recess and it just cracks me up.  People are getting together to laugh, run and sweat.

Thinking we should all organize a weekly recess game in our own little hood- have a cook-out afterwards and laugh!

[Read more →]

I am the master of “sqeezing it in”! Always trying to fit my workout in around all my commitments- such as teaching  phys ed or yoga at my kids’ school.  And, lately, it’s been harder to find enough time for a “real” run – you know like a good six miler! Knowing that I’ll have an hour between classes, I can sometimes sneak away for a quickie run in the dirt- which I love.

A high intensity workout can potentially burn more calories during the workout and beyond.  (But, you can read the research at your leisure–there is JUST too much of it, LOL).

So, if I have an hour or less and can get to the trail, I run.  Fast and Uphill.  Today, was one of those days.  The hills I run on are STEEP.  So, I usually do a one mile warm-up, then run up this one really steep mother-of-a-hill.    My favorite hill takes me about 2 minutes to get to the top.  My steps are short and I really have to pump my arms to keep from walking!  Today, was a five hill repeat day.  So fun!  And, the best part was that I was able to squeeze it in after work but before going home to the kiddos.  What a difference that makes!

Above is a picture of me that my buddy took (not from today), but, it’s the same hill.  I’m attempting to look PE teacherish- but, still get outside and hammer!

[Read more →]

Runner’s get ready!

This moisture-wicking, long sleeve shirt will be perfect for all your outdoor activities.  Designed to be mult-functional, light weight and super soft, you’ll want to wear this one again and again.  What’s even better is that it has a UPF 50!! According to the press release, this shirt can block 98% of the sun’s damaging rays.

After doing a little research via Google, I found NOT a lot of clothing designed for women athletes that will protect you from the sun!  And what I found (only first 2 pages of google) was ugly, frumpy and for the beach only!  So, I was thrilled to receive this shirt for review!

What’s so great about this shirt? It IS so SOFT.  Soft like the cheeks of your little ones.  There are little thumb holes for extra hand protection or for warmth and a little pocket on the upper left shoulder that fits an Ipod perfectly!  You might think it’d pop out, but, I ran lots of hills and it did not budge.  The fit is great, as it’s fitted slightly but not boxy.  On my run today, the temperature was in the high 80′s and I did not feel hot at all- in fact the fabric may be cooling- or it seemed that way to me.

Anyway, would I recommend this to you, my readers??

YES.  Without hesitation.  Be the first in your group to be both protected and stylish!

You can find them online at BloqUV.com.

[Read more →]

How many of you are tired of hearing about how you can lose 2 dress sizes in 2 weeks? Believe the crap about eating cereal twice a day will help you lose weight? Eating this or that will bring the changes you want to see in your body? Or how about lifting weights? Interval work, blah blah blah…You’ve heard it all before and so have I. I’ve also tried many of the current fitness rages and blogged about them here. I’m here to tell you that I’ve thrown all those damn rules out the door!

Kettlebell swing, kettlebell squats, one arm leg lunges, abdominal work with a kettlebell; all been done here.

Marathoning. Check.

Bike Racing. Check.

Basic Weight Training on the Shawn Phillips philosophy. Check.

David Kirsh’s methods of training via his book (2 weeks to Ultimate Body). Ok, book read, exercises tried, but did not follow plan.

Interval work on bike or feet. Check.

People, I could send you links to evidence to all of the above posts. In the last two years, I’ve tried MANY MANY methods in which to stay fit and healthy and lose body fat. At this point, finally, my youngest is 3 and 1/2 and my weight is lighter than I’ve ever been in my life. My food is fairly intuitive in that I eat a green smoothie, a salad, mostly fish diet, that includes dark chocolate, lots of NUMI tea, occasional beers and sometimes, crap. But, for the most part, I am leaner and lighter than I’ve ever been in my life.

Guess what?!

I AM NOT LIFTING WEIGHTS. AT ALL. That 35 pound kettlebell is sitting in my garage collecting dust. My stability ball is my desk chair. The elastic bands are used as jump ropes for my kids. The weight bench is used for all kinds of imaginary adventures for the boys but I’ve not lifted, pulled or flexed on that thing in almost a year.

Honestly, I still do something physical daily. But, the fact of the matter is that I am not specifically training with any particular plan. I simply run or do yoga. Once a week, I will do Graeme’s CORE AB-Blaster DVD that takes 14 minutes. That sounds simple enough right? The thing with the yoga is that it has made me stronger and leaner than I ever got lifting weights. When I was lifting weights 3 times a week, I was QUADZILLA!! Biggest legs of a girl you’ve ever seen, really. Take one yoga pose like Warrior 2. Hold it for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Feel the burn. Where do you feel it first? If it’s done correctly, you will feel it everywhere!! Take any yoga pose and hold it for even 5 breathes and you get tired. Because it is working your entire body at once!

Learning yoga has been the best gift I ever could have gotten for my body, for my mental health and for my sports. When people ask me about their various running related injuries, I send them to yoga.

It can only benefit you.

[Read more →]