I'm competitive by nature, and really enjoy throwing weights around (with complete control, of course), so a CrossFit Competition is right up my ally. This was a three week, online competition where you submit videos of your workouts. My final placing -which believe it or not was not important to me - was 23rd out of 46. This was for the Masters Division, which was women 40+. I feel like I could have done better had I done the workout another time or two before filming, but I just didn't have the time. The video links are below each workout description.
Workout #1: Cindy Was A Nice Girl
Done on 1/6/12
10 minute AMRAP (as many rounds/reps as possible), every rep counts
Buy in: 50 KB swings (35#KB)
Rounds of:
5 Pull Ups
10 HR Push Ups
15 Front Squats (65#)
I completed 127 reps total, and finished 45th out of 46. My Pull Ups totally sucked, but I'm already better at them because I've been practicing. :) Watch the video...you'll see how frustrated I get. However, I also included a video at the bottom of the page where you'll see how my Pull Ups have improved. Watch the video: Cindy Was A Nice Girl
Workout #2: Bear Trap
Done on 1/11/12
2 minutes. Reps for total pounds moved. Each round is 6 reps, score is multiplied by the weight in pounds.
1 Deadlift
1 Clean
1 Front Squat
1 Push Press
1 Back Squat
1 Press
I did 11 rounds + 4 reps with 75#. My total score was 5250, putting me 16th out of 41. This was definitely a better workout for me, but I feel like my flow could have been a little smoother and a little faster. Click here to watch the video: Bear Trap
Workout #3: Open Chipper
Done 1/19/12
For time.
50 Abmat Sit Ups
40 Box Jumps (20" box)
30 Bar Facing Burpees
20 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (55# bar)
10 Overhead Squats (55#bar)
My time was 7:07, which placed me 13th out of 37. This is one of my favorite types of workouts, and the weight for the bars wasn't anything crazy, so I was able to push pretty hard. Here's the video: Open Chipper
Here's my Pull Up video. I'm able to get out 6 1/2. This is with a taped hand from a broken blister, and after the Open Chipper workout. :)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Quinoa & Turkey Stuffed Peppers
We're all busy, right? That's exactly why I love to share healthy recipes with you that are fast, and easy to prepare. Not only will these stuffed peppers be delicious when you first make them, but if you have leftovers like I did, they're easy to reheat and are just as tasty as when they first came out of the oven. ENJOY!
INGREDIENTS:
INGREDIENTS:
- 6 red peppers, insides cleaned out (cut off top and part of bottom, and chop)
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 tsp tabasco
- 2.5 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp thyme
- 1/3 cup feta cheese, 1 tbsp to sprinkle on top
- 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
- fresh parsley for garnish
PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cook quinoa according to directions
3. Crumble turkey meat with wooden spoon over medium heat
4. Saute peppers, onion and garlic over medium heat. As everything begins to soften, add remaining ingredients, except feta and pine nuts.
5. Combine turkey with above ingredients, then add feta and pine nuts.
6. Spoon mixture into peppers and place on a baking sheet. Top with remaining feta cheese and bake for 30 minutes. Garnish with parsley when cooked.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Healthy, Delicious Supper Salad
Every so often I like to share a healthy recipe, and this one is delicious!!! Try it, I think you'll like it.
Southwestern Grilled Chicken Salad
Serves 4
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (6 to 7 oz), trimmed & butterflied
½ Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. light or dark brown sugar
½ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. ground cumin
Kosher salt
6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more for the grill
2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
2 tsp. honey
Freshly ground black pepper
Green Tobasco (optional)
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz. small cherry (or grape) tomatoes, quartered or halved (about ¾ cup)
1 large scallion, thinly sliced
2 small heads Bibb lettuce, torn into bite size pieces (about 9 cups)
1 medium firm-ripe avocado
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Prepare a medium-high grill.
In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, brown sugar, coriander, cumin, and ¾ tsp. salt. Rub some of the spice mix over both sides of the chicken breast and let it sit while the grill heats.
Clean and oil the grill grate. Grill the breast until the edges of the top side are white, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until just done, another 1 to 2 minutes. Let the chicken rest 7 to 8 minutes.
In a small bowl, or glass jar with a tight lid, combing the olive oil, lime juice, 1 Tbs. of the cilantro, the honey, ½ tsp. salt, a few grind of pepper, and a few shakes of the green Tabasco (if using). Whisk or shake well to combine.
Combine the black beans, tomatoes, scallion, the remaining 2 tsp. cilantro, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Add 2 Tbs. of the dressing and toss gently.
Combine the black beans, tomatoes, scallion, the remaining 2 tsp. cilantro, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Add 2 Tbs. of the dressing and toss gently.
Put the lettuce in a bowl, season with a little salt, and toss with just enough of the dressing to lightly coat. Slice the chicken breast thinly. Pit and slice the avocado. Arrange the chicken, avocado and bean mixture on the lettuce. Drizzle a little of the remaining dressing over the chicken and avocado. Garnish with pine nuts and cilantro leaves.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
My 9/11 Experience. 10 Years Later
Do you remember that day? It was a spectacular day - perfect weather. Most of my memories of that day are as clear as the skies were blue. I will NEVER forget.
I taught an early morning spin class at New York Athletic Club on 57th St, then headed downtown on the subway to New York Health & Racquet Club, where I worked full time as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. I was making a phone call in the office, when one of my co-workers came in and said "Holy shit, a plane just hit the World Trade Center". I, and three of my co-workers headed out to see what was going on.
The club was just a few blocks south of the WTC, so we didn't have to go to far to see what was happening. I remember looking up at the building and thinking I was watching some sort of james Bond movie or something. And just like everyone else thinking "What an idiot! How the heck could someone make a mistake like that?". There wasn't anyone on the street - this street anyway - that thought this was an act of terror. What nobody realized is that because we were standing on the south side of the building, we were actually looking at the side with less damage, where the plane "came out" of the building - if you remember correctly, the first plane hit the building from the north.
As we're standing there watching in disbelief, suddenly I hear the loudest buzzing sound I've ever heard, and feel a vibration all through my body. I swear, it felt like the bottom of that plane was just above my head. Then it was gone, just like that. Gone. Now I don't know if it were just me, or what, but I didn't hear any loud noise, no crash, bang, no boom. All I heard was a loud pop - like a balloon popping. Then screaming. Now I know this was intentional. I ran as fast as I could back to the club, the whole time thinking we're all going to die. That this was it.
Nobody knows what to do - do we stay in the building? Do we get the heck out of here? If we leave, where do we go, and how do we get there? This is downtown Manhattan, the end of a thirteen and a half mile long island, and the options are somewhat limited, especially under the circumstances. A million thoughts are going through my head - I really don't want to be down here right now, but getting on the subway probably isn't a good idea.. If they're are more planes out there, other targets in NYC could be the Empire State Building, Times Square, Penn Station, or the United Nations. Who the heck knows. I call my boyfriend at the time, who also works downtown, and we decide we're going to meet in front of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and figure out what to do. I've got a gym bag with me that we fill with waters and candy bars from a newsstand, because who knows how long we're going to be out here. It's pure chaos.
Black smoke is pouring from shattered windows on floor after floor, I'm seeing bodies falling from the sky, people are running all over the place with really nowhere to go, while others are frantically trying to use their cell phones to no avail. It's very chaotic, and I'm starting to freak out a little bit. We just stand there and watch the buildings burn, because we don't know what else to do.
Fifty six minutes and ten seconds later, we saw the top of the South Tower tilting horribly, then watched in utter amazement as it fell to the ground. We ran as fast as we could away from the smoke, but it was moving so fast that we were quickly consumed by it and had a hard time breathing. That gym bag I had with me came in quite handy at this point because of the extra gym clothes in it. I wrapped a pair of my pants around my face so that I wasn't breathing in God only knows what. We settled in Battery Park for a bit, and then at 10:28 AM watched the North Tower collapse.
After what seemed to be an eternity, we decide it's time to leave the downtown area - we're walking through soot and dust, and over unrecognizable debris - I just can't believe this is going on right now. We were directed to get on the FDR and walk north. We were covered in soot, as many people on that walk were, and the walk was chillingly silent. Most were walking slowly and with their heads down. How do you wrap your head around what just happened?
We stayed on the FDR until about 14th street, because I had to (of course) go to the bathroom. As we made our way back into the city streets, it was a whole different world. Of course people knew what had happened, but I don't think many realized how bad it was until they saw us covered in the gray dust the way we were. Now, I lived in New York City for about 10 years, and I've never used the bathroom at Duane Reade until that day. I'm pretty sure if I ever did ask before that day I would have been told no. But NYC was already a changed city. We continued walking, and as were were, people asked us questions, handed us bottles of water, and asked if we needed anything. Everything just felt so surreal.
We finally made it home to 96th & 3rd, put on the TV, made some calls, and took showers. I cannot describe how disgusting the bottom of the tub was after those showers. It was scary. At this point we really had no idea what to do, and after staring out the window of the twenty third floor apartment watching floods of people walk north, we head down to a restaurant to drink. Apparently this was a popular plan, because not only was that place packed, but so was every other place in sight. All the TV's were on, and when the President came on to speak, everyone became silent. We all listened intently, and when he declared war the place went nuts chanting USA, USA!!
The days that followed were scary - we really didn't know what to do, how to help. People were coming in from all over the country to help, and they didn't want us "regular folk" going downtown. We pretty much watched television and cried.
About a week later, NYH&RC opened back up for business, and we tried to get back on some sort of normal schedule. It was definitely a challenge...what was normal going to be now? The gym became a triage center for guys working at the site. It was a five story gym with squash and racquetball courts, so I'd come in at any given time and see fifteen/twenty guys asleep on the floors. They were taking showers and brushing their teeth in the locker rooms; the lobby of the gym was stocked with donated clothes and food, and the workers were around all the time. It was amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time.
In the weeks and months that followed, NYC was as I'd never seen it. People were actually making eye contact on the streets, smiling at each other on the subway, and holding doors open for others. Every time a police or fire truck would go by on the street, loud cheers would erupt. There were American Flags flying everywhere you looked. I went to the first Yankee game after 9/11, and words can't even describe how emotional everyone in that stadium was. It was all pretty freakin' amazing.
I've probably told this story one hundred times, and I've always thought mine doesn't even compare to so many other stories out there. The devastation this caused to so many thousands of people is beyond comprehension and I truly hope we never forget.
Thanks for listening...
I taught an early morning spin class at New York Athletic Club on 57th St, then headed downtown on the subway to New York Health & Racquet Club, where I worked full time as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. I was making a phone call in the office, when one of my co-workers came in and said "Holy shit, a plane just hit the World Trade Center". I, and three of my co-workers headed out to see what was going on.
The club was just a few blocks south of the WTC, so we didn't have to go to far to see what was happening. I remember looking up at the building and thinking I was watching some sort of james Bond movie or something. And just like everyone else thinking "What an idiot! How the heck could someone make a mistake like that?". There wasn't anyone on the street - this street anyway - that thought this was an act of terror. What nobody realized is that because we were standing on the south side of the building, we were actually looking at the side with less damage, where the plane "came out" of the building - if you remember correctly, the first plane hit the building from the north.
As we're standing there watching in disbelief, suddenly I hear the loudest buzzing sound I've ever heard, and feel a vibration all through my body. I swear, it felt like the bottom of that plane was just above my head. Then it was gone, just like that. Gone. Now I don't know if it were just me, or what, but I didn't hear any loud noise, no crash, bang, no boom. All I heard was a loud pop - like a balloon popping. Then screaming. Now I know this was intentional. I ran as fast as I could back to the club, the whole time thinking we're all going to die. That this was it.
Nobody knows what to do - do we stay in the building? Do we get the heck out of here? If we leave, where do we go, and how do we get there? This is downtown Manhattan, the end of a thirteen and a half mile long island, and the options are somewhat limited, especially under the circumstances. A million thoughts are going through my head - I really don't want to be down here right now, but getting on the subway probably isn't a good idea.. If they're are more planes out there, other targets in NYC could be the Empire State Building, Times Square, Penn Station, or the United Nations. Who the heck knows. I call my boyfriend at the time, who also works downtown, and we decide we're going to meet in front of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and figure out what to do. I've got a gym bag with me that we fill with waters and candy bars from a newsstand, because who knows how long we're going to be out here. It's pure chaos.
Black smoke is pouring from shattered windows on floor after floor, I'm seeing bodies falling from the sky, people are running all over the place with really nowhere to go, while others are frantically trying to use their cell phones to no avail. It's very chaotic, and I'm starting to freak out a little bit. We just stand there and watch the buildings burn, because we don't know what else to do.
Fifty six minutes and ten seconds later, we saw the top of the South Tower tilting horribly, then watched in utter amazement as it fell to the ground. We ran as fast as we could away from the smoke, but it was moving so fast that we were quickly consumed by it and had a hard time breathing. That gym bag I had with me came in quite handy at this point because of the extra gym clothes in it. I wrapped a pair of my pants around my face so that I wasn't breathing in God only knows what. We settled in Battery Park for a bit, and then at 10:28 AM watched the North Tower collapse.
After what seemed to be an eternity, we decide it's time to leave the downtown area - we're walking through soot and dust, and over unrecognizable debris - I just can't believe this is going on right now. We were directed to get on the FDR and walk north. We were covered in soot, as many people on that walk were, and the walk was chillingly silent. Most were walking slowly and with their heads down. How do you wrap your head around what just happened?
We stayed on the FDR until about 14th street, because I had to (of course) go to the bathroom. As we made our way back into the city streets, it was a whole different world. Of course people knew what had happened, but I don't think many realized how bad it was until they saw us covered in the gray dust the way we were. Now, I lived in New York City for about 10 years, and I've never used the bathroom at Duane Reade until that day. I'm pretty sure if I ever did ask before that day I would have been told no. But NYC was already a changed city. We continued walking, and as were were, people asked us questions, handed us bottles of water, and asked if we needed anything. Everything just felt so surreal.
We finally made it home to 96th & 3rd, put on the TV, made some calls, and took showers. I cannot describe how disgusting the bottom of the tub was after those showers. It was scary. At this point we really had no idea what to do, and after staring out the window of the twenty third floor apartment watching floods of people walk north, we head down to a restaurant to drink. Apparently this was a popular plan, because not only was that place packed, but so was every other place in sight. All the TV's were on, and when the President came on to speak, everyone became silent. We all listened intently, and when he declared war the place went nuts chanting USA, USA!!
The days that followed were scary - we really didn't know what to do, how to help. People were coming in from all over the country to help, and they didn't want us "regular folk" going downtown. We pretty much watched television and cried.
About a week later, NYH&RC opened back up for business, and we tried to get back on some sort of normal schedule. It was definitely a challenge...what was normal going to be now? The gym became a triage center for guys working at the site. It was a five story gym with squash and racquetball courts, so I'd come in at any given time and see fifteen/twenty guys asleep on the floors. They were taking showers and brushing their teeth in the locker rooms; the lobby of the gym was stocked with donated clothes and food, and the workers were around all the time. It was amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time.
In the weeks and months that followed, NYC was as I'd never seen it. People were actually making eye contact on the streets, smiling at each other on the subway, and holding doors open for others. Every time a police or fire truck would go by on the street, loud cheers would erupt. There were American Flags flying everywhere you looked. I went to the first Yankee game after 9/11, and words can't even describe how emotional everyone in that stadium was. It was all pretty freakin' amazing.
I've probably told this story one hundred times, and I've always thought mine doesn't even compare to so many other stories out there. The devastation this caused to so many thousands of people is beyond comprehension and I truly hope we never forget.
Thanks for listening...
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Warrior Dash 2011
When I woke up Saturday morning, one of the first things I did was check my finishing time from last year's dash. 32:18...that's what I had to beat. The top female did it in 26:54. Holy fast!
We were on the bus at 6:30, ready for the trip. We made it to Windham with little time to spare before our heat we got out bib numbers, checked our bags, and lined up at the start. We only had about 4 minutes until the horn blew and we were off. It was a slow walk until I heard the chirp, indicating my clock had started and it was go time. Just like last year, it was about a one mile trek uphill. I ran as much as I could, and walked fast when I needed to catch my breath. There were twists and turns on the way up, and not many flats for a break. I lived in New York City for 10 years, and know if you want to make any headway in a large crowd, you need to stay on the outside of the crowd - so that's what I did. As I was coming up behind people, I would say "coming through please"...a nice way to say "get out of my way!", right?
The first couple of obstacles came and went pretty quickly - the Barricade Breakdown, where I jumped over and crawled under about six or so walls, then Road Rage - hopping through tires, and climbing over broken down, beat up cars. After Road Rage, there was a little more of a climb up the mountain, but then a short downhill run to Tetering Traverse, where my balance skills were tested on boards that I ran up, down, across, and up and down again until I was off and running to the next obstacle.
The timing of Deadweight Drifter was perfect - this was a waist deep water obstacle with logs in the way. The choice here was to climb over the log, or dunk my head into the muddy water and go under them. Although I was sweating, and the cold water felt great, my choice was to stay as clean as possible for as long as possible, so over the logs I went. Off again, up and down some trails, maneuvering through the woods, and if my memory serves me right, another water obstacle, this one called Cliff Hanger. The water here was only knee deep so I ran through it as much as I could. At the other end of the "pond" there was a rope which I used to pull myself up a slanted wall. More running through the narrow trails in the woods, trying to go fast, but being careful as there are rocks and boulders and tree roots all over the ground. Any misstep, and my ankle could roll, so I was moving cautiously fast. "On your left, on your right, coming through" Get out of my way!!!!
As I approach Deadmans Drop, there are people standing around...I have no idea why, maybe they need a break, maybe they're trying to figure out how to get up and over this wall. It's nothing crazy, really. You just have to take some steps up several two-by-fours, to get to the top and slide down the wall to the other side. When I get to the bottom of the wall, I turn around and see a big hill - going DOWN! Yeah, it's certainly more challenging to run uphill, but it's a lot harder on the body going down, so you have to be careful. I saw some people that looked wildly out of control, so I did my best to steer clear of them as I ran down, looking forward to whatever obstacle was coming my way next.
It was called Rubber Ricochet. Warrior Dash describes it as a rubber jungle...tires hanging from ropes that swing around when you run through them. It could definitely get a little tricky if there were a big crowd of people all going through it at the same time, but I was fortunate enough to only have one other person in there with me, so I got through it pretty quickly. This reminded me of the Electroshock Therapy at the end of Tough Mudder, only without the electroshock, thank God.
The course continued downward to the Cargo Climb, then the Chaotic Crossover. The climb was about twenty to thirty feet up, then back down the cargo net, and the crossover was traversing across the same type of net. You move a little faster through both of these obstacles with a little hand/eye coordination. The trick here is to also pick a path that seems to be moving quickly - otherwise you're stuck behind someone who could really slow your pace.
I was a little disappointed with the Petrifying Plunge this year - this is a water slide obstacle where you dive head first to get down. Last year it was much steeper, and you FLEW down. I'm thinking they may have had a few incidents last year with crashing, so they may have had to make it less steep. My own experience last year sent me flying into the girl who was ahead of me - if I didn't grab onto her feet and push her the rest of the way down, my head would have ended up where the sun don't shine. Probably would not have been a good time for either one of us.
Anyway.... after getting up from the slide, I'm really in the home stretch of the race, spectators are on the side line cheering everyone on as we pass. I happen to notice a photographer taking pictures, so I do the old "Rocky"pose and hold my hands up over my head for a victory shot. Then, like a giant ass, I trip! It was epic, but thankfully it was quick. After gathering my pride, I run to the Warrior Roast, where I leaped over fire as gracefully as I could, then right away on my hands and knees for the final obstacle, Muddy Mayhem - the low crawl under barbed wire.
I crossed the finish line with a time of 32:08, ten seconds faster than my time last year. The rumor was there were more hills incorporated this year, and the obstacles were more challenging. I concur. I took first place in my age group, beating out 746 other women. I was the tenth female finisher out of 4532 women overall. I'm certainly happy with those results, and look forward to competing next year!
We were on the bus at 6:30, ready for the trip. We made it to Windham with little time to spare before our heat we got out bib numbers, checked our bags, and lined up at the start. We only had about 4 minutes until the horn blew and we were off. It was a slow walk until I heard the chirp, indicating my clock had started and it was go time. Just like last year, it was about a one mile trek uphill. I ran as much as I could, and walked fast when I needed to catch my breath. There were twists and turns on the way up, and not many flats for a break. I lived in New York City for 10 years, and know if you want to make any headway in a large crowd, you need to stay on the outside of the crowd - so that's what I did. As I was coming up behind people, I would say "coming through please"...a nice way to say "get out of my way!", right?
The first couple of obstacles came and went pretty quickly - the Barricade Breakdown, where I jumped over and crawled under about six or so walls, then Road Rage - hopping through tires, and climbing over broken down, beat up cars. After Road Rage, there was a little more of a climb up the mountain, but then a short downhill run to Tetering Traverse, where my balance skills were tested on boards that I ran up, down, across, and up and down again until I was off and running to the next obstacle.
The timing of Deadweight Drifter was perfect - this was a waist deep water obstacle with logs in the way. The choice here was to climb over the log, or dunk my head into the muddy water and go under them. Although I was sweating, and the cold water felt great, my choice was to stay as clean as possible for as long as possible, so over the logs I went. Off again, up and down some trails, maneuvering through the woods, and if my memory serves me right, another water obstacle, this one called Cliff Hanger. The water here was only knee deep so I ran through it as much as I could. At the other end of the "pond" there was a rope which I used to pull myself up a slanted wall. More running through the narrow trails in the woods, trying to go fast, but being careful as there are rocks and boulders and tree roots all over the ground. Any misstep, and my ankle could roll, so I was moving cautiously fast. "On your left, on your right, coming through" Get out of my way!!!!
As I approach Deadmans Drop, there are people standing around...I have no idea why, maybe they need a break, maybe they're trying to figure out how to get up and over this wall. It's nothing crazy, really. You just have to take some steps up several two-by-fours, to get to the top and slide down the wall to the other side. When I get to the bottom of the wall, I turn around and see a big hill - going DOWN! Yeah, it's certainly more challenging to run uphill, but it's a lot harder on the body going down, so you have to be careful. I saw some people that looked wildly out of control, so I did my best to steer clear of them as I ran down, looking forward to whatever obstacle was coming my way next.
It was called Rubber Ricochet. Warrior Dash describes it as a rubber jungle...tires hanging from ropes that swing around when you run through them. It could definitely get a little tricky if there were a big crowd of people all going through it at the same time, but I was fortunate enough to only have one other person in there with me, so I got through it pretty quickly. This reminded me of the Electroshock Therapy at the end of Tough Mudder, only without the electroshock, thank God.
The course continued downward to the Cargo Climb, then the Chaotic Crossover. The climb was about twenty to thirty feet up, then back down the cargo net, and the crossover was traversing across the same type of net. You move a little faster through both of these obstacles with a little hand/eye coordination. The trick here is to also pick a path that seems to be moving quickly - otherwise you're stuck behind someone who could really slow your pace.
I was a little disappointed with the Petrifying Plunge this year - this is a water slide obstacle where you dive head first to get down. Last year it was much steeper, and you FLEW down. I'm thinking they may have had a few incidents last year with crashing, so they may have had to make it less steep. My own experience last year sent me flying into the girl who was ahead of me - if I didn't grab onto her feet and push her the rest of the way down, my head would have ended up where the sun don't shine. Probably would not have been a good time for either one of us.
Anyway.... after getting up from the slide, I'm really in the home stretch of the race, spectators are on the side line cheering everyone on as we pass. I happen to notice a photographer taking pictures, so I do the old "Rocky"pose and hold my hands up over my head for a victory shot. Then, like a giant ass, I trip! It was epic, but thankfully it was quick. After gathering my pride, I run to the Warrior Roast, where I leaped over fire as gracefully as I could, then right away on my hands and knees for the final obstacle, Muddy Mayhem - the low crawl under barbed wire.
I crossed the finish line with a time of 32:08, ten seconds faster than my time last year. The rumor was there were more hills incorporated this year, and the obstacles were more challenging. I concur. I took first place in my age group, beating out 746 other women. I was the tenth female finisher out of 4532 women overall. I'm certainly happy with those results, and look forward to competing next year!
Monday, June 27, 2011
I Love Getting Dirty!
I'm a Warrior, I'm a Tough Mudder, I'm a Spartan. I just can't get enough of these mud runs! The most recent one I did was the Spartan Sprint, in Tuxedo NY on June 5th. The Sartan Sprint is a 3 mile course with some challenging obstacles. It was kind of a last minute decision to do it - I had done the Pawling Triathlon the previous day, but I figured what the heck. The only person I could drag along with me on this one was my good friend Chris. When I asked her if she wanted to do it, I also asked her if she'd be ok doing it by herself, because I wanted to race it. Being the good sport she is, she signed on for it. The morning of the race, I went online to check the top female finishing times from the day before to see what I was up against. 58 minutes. No problem....I can beat that. :)
Unfortunately, things didn't turn out exactly how I had planned. Long story short, we were 20 minutes late to the race. We were in the last heat of the day, scheduled to run at 12:30. When we finally arrived at Tuxedo Ridge, I ran as fast as I could - uphill through the parking lot, and leaving poor Chris behind (she caught up, don't worry) - to find the race director to beg him to let us run it anyway. He was kind enough to let us do it, but we couldn't get a timer chip or our bib numbers because registration was closed. So much for racing it...oh well, at least we could do it. I asked him what time it was, and we were off. Start time: 12:47
There was no easing into this race, it was balls to the wall from the get go. It began with going UP a ski slope, which seems to be a common denominator in these types of races. I started out with a light jog, dodging rocks, boulders, and crevices. We made it through the first few obstacles - the over-under-and through walls, the boulder pull, and the balance beam with very little difficulty and were loving each and every minute of it. Then the eight foot wall appeared in front of us, along with a photographer. We definitely played the sympathy card with every photographer we saw throughout the race... "Can you take our picture please...we were late and couldn't get bib numbers" (this is how they identify you for pictures). I figured if we weren't going to have official finishing times, we might as well try to get a lot of pictures!
Back to the course....my strategy for the monster wall was to have Chris sit in a wall squat while I stood on her legs, and pulled myself up over the wall. I strattled the top of the wall while she put her foot on the tiny foothold that was about three feet off the ground. She grabbed my hand and I pulled her up until she could get both of her hands on top of the wall to pull herself over. Mission complete!
It seemed we were doing pretty well as far as time was concerned...we started "chicking" plenty of people. Chicking is a term the Spartan people came up with to describe a girl passing a guy on the course. We started the race 23 minutes late - it didn't matter to me who we were chicking - guys, girls, whatever....I was totally psyched to be catching up to, and passing people!
One of the most challenging obstacles on the course at this race was the Bucket Brigade. We were instructed to fill a Home Depot five gallon bucket 3/4 full with stones and carry it up what at that point seemed to be a giant incline, then back down. Total distance was probably a quarter mile, but it was pretty torturous. I started out by carrying the bucket like I was hugging a tree, with both arms wrapped around it, thinking that having the weight evenly disributed would help. It didn't. So I decided to switch back and forth between my arms for a bit. That didn't help either - this is just a HARD obstacle. Now my legs are starting scream, and I have to stop for a few seconds. As I muster up the energy to get up that damn hill, I decide putting the bucket over my head and holding it with both arms is now the best option, and it's working for me. I lift my head up to see where I'm going and now my view is not only this giant mountain, but a girls who's ass cheeks are hanging out of her shorts. God bless. I have to pass her....it's too distracting, and not really what I'm interested in looking at, especially as sweat is pouring into my eyeballs. I make it to the top only to start my descent with caution. There were a couple of missteps and slips because of rocks and stones that were scattered all over the ground from what I'm sure was from people dumping stones out of their buckets. Cheaters!!
We didn't have too far to go to get to the next obstacle - the Sleigh Pull. This was straight out of Medieval times, and I was cracking up as we approached it. Someone, or several someones, had the brilliant idea to put a milk crate filled with sand bags on top of two rickety old wooden skis, attach a rope to it, and have the competitors pull it around in a giant circle. Just before reaching the end of this circle that went uphill for a minute, you went through a path of fire. Just in case you weren't hot enough.
Time to trek back up hill, through the woods, back down and up again only to conquer the Zig-zagging Balance Beam and the Soapy Wall. I quickly scaled up the soapy wall without using the rope to pull myself, only to be yelled at by a 20 something year old girl for not going right up the middle of the wall. Obviously she didn't realize how smart I was by not running up the soapiest part of the wall. With age comes wisdom! Onward and upward to the Wall Scale - where we were again more concerned with pictures than time - and the Spear Throw. Yes, I do live in the suburbs of NYC, but no, I don't get much practice throwing spears up here. You're only given one chance, and if you fail, you do 20 burpees. Once again though, we played the sympathy card and begged for another shot, only to suck again and have to do those burpees. As much as I love burpees, I was glad on this day that this was my only burpee obstacle.
Next up was the longest mud crawl I'd ever seen - and it was UPHILL!! This was unlike any other mud crawl I've ever done. It was the muddiest, wettest, rockiest, mud crawl to date. I felt like porky the pig as I rolled and crawled around in this muck. Oh, and don't let me forget to mention the barbed wire that was floating just above your body. Big asses beware - keep it low! You know the saying though, right? "happier than a pig in shit" - it was a blast! And we even got to pose for a couple more mug shots as we went through. Finally making it to the top, I stood proud, pulled up my capris and marched on through a trail of boulders that were to be navigated through carefully because of wet, muddy, heavy feet. After clearing the trail and coming out the other side, I stopped dead in my tracks to see another crawl - only this time it was through ice. "Are you kidding me?" was my first thought, then, "ok, I'm feeling a bit warm, so this might even feel good". Yep, it did...for about 2 seconds! Good thing this crawl was down hill and not up, because I literally rolled through it as fast as I possibly could, which if I do say so myself, was pretty fast.
All that was left was a quick down hill run, a Fire Jump and the Spartan Gladiator Pit! Ah, the Galdiator Pit.... handsome, six-pack-ab, shirtless twenty-something boys holding on to pugil sticks...I'm thinking this was a better way to end the race rather than the empty calorie free beer!
It turned out to be a great experience to share with Chris. It took us 1 hour, 12 minutes, but we stayed together and posed for pics every chance we got. Hey, if I wasn't placing, I may as well get some good pictures, right?
Next mud run, the Warrior Dash in August (also 3 miles). Then, the Spartan Beast on Staten Island (8 miles). I plan on redeeming myself - first by leaving extra early to get there on time. Then by kicking ass on the course! Anyone care to join?!?!
Unfortunately, things didn't turn out exactly how I had planned. Long story short, we were 20 minutes late to the race. We were in the last heat of the day, scheduled to run at 12:30. When we finally arrived at Tuxedo Ridge, I ran as fast as I could - uphill through the parking lot, and leaving poor Chris behind (she caught up, don't worry) - to find the race director to beg him to let us run it anyway. He was kind enough to let us do it, but we couldn't get a timer chip or our bib numbers because registration was closed. So much for racing it...oh well, at least we could do it. I asked him what time it was, and we were off. Start time: 12:47
There was no easing into this race, it was balls to the wall from the get go. It began with going UP a ski slope, which seems to be a common denominator in these types of races. I started out with a light jog, dodging rocks, boulders, and crevices. We made it through the first few obstacles - the over-under-and through walls, the boulder pull, and the balance beam with very little difficulty and were loving each and every minute of it. Then the eight foot wall appeared in front of us, along with a photographer. We definitely played the sympathy card with every photographer we saw throughout the race... "Can you take our picture please...we were late and couldn't get bib numbers" (this is how they identify you for pictures). I figured if we weren't going to have official finishing times, we might as well try to get a lot of pictures!
Back to the course....my strategy for the monster wall was to have Chris sit in a wall squat while I stood on her legs, and pulled myself up over the wall. I strattled the top of the wall while she put her foot on the tiny foothold that was about three feet off the ground. She grabbed my hand and I pulled her up until she could get both of her hands on top of the wall to pull herself over. Mission complete!
It seemed we were doing pretty well as far as time was concerned...we started "chicking" plenty of people. Chicking is a term the Spartan people came up with to describe a girl passing a guy on the course. We started the race 23 minutes late - it didn't matter to me who we were chicking - guys, girls, whatever....I was totally psyched to be catching up to, and passing people!
One of the most challenging obstacles on the course at this race was the Bucket Brigade. We were instructed to fill a Home Depot five gallon bucket 3/4 full with stones and carry it up what at that point seemed to be a giant incline, then back down. Total distance was probably a quarter mile, but it was pretty torturous. I started out by carrying the bucket like I was hugging a tree, with both arms wrapped around it, thinking that having the weight evenly disributed would help. It didn't. So I decided to switch back and forth between my arms for a bit. That didn't help either - this is just a HARD obstacle. Now my legs are starting scream, and I have to stop for a few seconds. As I muster up the energy to get up that damn hill, I decide putting the bucket over my head and holding it with both arms is now the best option, and it's working for me. I lift my head up to see where I'm going and now my view is not only this giant mountain, but a girls who's ass cheeks are hanging out of her shorts. God bless. I have to pass her....it's too distracting, and not really what I'm interested in looking at, especially as sweat is pouring into my eyeballs. I make it to the top only to start my descent with caution. There were a couple of missteps and slips because of rocks and stones that were scattered all over the ground from what I'm sure was from people dumping stones out of their buckets. Cheaters!!
We didn't have too far to go to get to the next obstacle - the Sleigh Pull. This was straight out of Medieval times, and I was cracking up as we approached it. Someone, or several someones, had the brilliant idea to put a milk crate filled with sand bags on top of two rickety old wooden skis, attach a rope to it, and have the competitors pull it around in a giant circle. Just before reaching the end of this circle that went uphill for a minute, you went through a path of fire. Just in case you weren't hot enough.
Time to trek back up hill, through the woods, back down and up again only to conquer the Zig-zagging Balance Beam and the Soapy Wall. I quickly scaled up the soapy wall without using the rope to pull myself, only to be yelled at by a 20 something year old girl for not going right up the middle of the wall. Obviously she didn't realize how smart I was by not running up the soapiest part of the wall. With age comes wisdom! Onward and upward to the Wall Scale - where we were again more concerned with pictures than time - and the Spear Throw. Yes, I do live in the suburbs of NYC, but no, I don't get much practice throwing spears up here. You're only given one chance, and if you fail, you do 20 burpees. Once again though, we played the sympathy card and begged for another shot, only to suck again and have to do those burpees. As much as I love burpees, I was glad on this day that this was my only burpee obstacle.
Next up was the longest mud crawl I'd ever seen - and it was UPHILL!! This was unlike any other mud crawl I've ever done. It was the muddiest, wettest, rockiest, mud crawl to date. I felt like porky the pig as I rolled and crawled around in this muck. Oh, and don't let me forget to mention the barbed wire that was floating just above your body. Big asses beware - keep it low! You know the saying though, right? "happier than a pig in shit" - it was a blast! And we even got to pose for a couple more mug shots as we went through. Finally making it to the top, I stood proud, pulled up my capris and marched on through a trail of boulders that were to be navigated through carefully because of wet, muddy, heavy feet. After clearing the trail and coming out the other side, I stopped dead in my tracks to see another crawl - only this time it was through ice. "Are you kidding me?" was my first thought, then, "ok, I'm feeling a bit warm, so this might even feel good". Yep, it did...for about 2 seconds! Good thing this crawl was down hill and not up, because I literally rolled through it as fast as I possibly could, which if I do say so myself, was pretty fast.
All that was left was a quick down hill run, a Fire Jump and the Spartan Gladiator Pit! Ah, the Galdiator Pit.... handsome, six-pack-ab, shirtless twenty-something boys holding on to pugil sticks...I'm thinking this was a better way to end the race rather than the empty calorie free beer!
It turned out to be a great experience to share with Chris. It took us 1 hour, 12 minutes, but we stayed together and posed for pics every chance we got. Hey, if I wasn't placing, I may as well get some good pictures, right?
Next mud run, the Warrior Dash in August (also 3 miles). Then, the Spartan Beast on Staten Island (8 miles). I plan on redeeming myself - first by leaving extra early to get there on time. Then by kicking ass on the course! Anyone care to join?!?!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Off to the Races!
The 2011 triathlon season has officially begun for me, and I'm off to a good start with two races under my belt. The excitement of taking 1st place in my age group (and 7th female overall) for the first race of the season was quickly replaced by taking 3rd overall female in the next race exactly one week later. My forte is competing in the sprint distances - usually a 1/4 to 1/2 mile swim, a 10 to 20 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. This year though, in August, I will take on an Olympic distance - a 1 mile swim, 24.9 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run. People ask me all the time about doing an Ironman; it's just not something I see in my future, but you never say never, right? An Ironman is the ultimate endurance challenge - a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike, then a 26.2 mile run. As crazy as that sounds, what's most daunting to me about the Ironman is running a marathon after doing the other two disciplines. The women's world record time for an Ironman was set in 2009 by Chrissie Wellington, with a time of 8:54:02. The cut off time for the event is 17 hours. That's a pretty long time to be swimming, biking, and running, no?
The butterflies are always bustling in my stomach while I'm standing on waters edge waiting for the horn to go off. Most races start at 8...I'm usually up at 5 - water, a little coffee, some breakfast, and about 37 trips to the bathroom. The swim is my weakest, and it's really because I just don't get in the water enough. It's much easier to hope on the bike and go for a ride, and even easier to strap on a pair of sneakers and go for a run than it is to get into a pool, or preferably a lake. And a lot of times when I finish a race, my mind wanders to the bike, and I think about how I could have pushed myself even more than I did. Then I look at my transition times and wonder what the heck I'm doing that takes me so long to get out of there. Always something to work at, I suppose.
Here's a breakdown of my races, thus far:
Saturday, June 4th, Pawling Sprint Triathlon (1st in AG, 7th overall)
Swim: 1/3 mile. Time: 11:54
Transition 1: 1:37
Bike: 11.5 miles. Time: 35:17
Transition 2: 1:31
Run: 3.1. Time: 23:22
Total time: 1:13:41
Saturday, June 11th, SBR Series Sprint Triathlon (3rd overall)
Swim: 1/2 mile. Time: 15:25
T1: 2:31
Bike: 15 miles. Time: 56:45
T2: 1:13
Run: 3.1 miles. Time: 23:19
Total time: 1:39:11
The butterflies are always bustling in my stomach while I'm standing on waters edge waiting for the horn to go off. Most races start at 8...I'm usually up at 5 - water, a little coffee, some breakfast, and about 37 trips to the bathroom. The swim is my weakest, and it's really because I just don't get in the water enough. It's much easier to hope on the bike and go for a ride, and even easier to strap on a pair of sneakers and go for a run than it is to get into a pool, or preferably a lake. And a lot of times when I finish a race, my mind wanders to the bike, and I think about how I could have pushed myself even more than I did. Then I look at my transition times and wonder what the heck I'm doing that takes me so long to get out of there. Always something to work at, I suppose.
Here's a breakdown of my races, thus far:
Saturday, June 4th, Pawling Sprint Triathlon (1st in AG, 7th overall)
Swim: 1/3 mile. Time: 11:54
Transition 1: 1:37
Bike: 11.5 miles. Time: 35:17
Transition 2: 1:31
Run: 3.1. Time: 23:22
Total time: 1:13:41
Saturday, June 11th, SBR Series Sprint Triathlon (3rd overall)
Swim: 1/2 mile. Time: 15:25
T1: 2:31
Bike: 15 miles. Time: 56:45
T2: 1:13
Run: 3.1 miles. Time: 23:19
Total time: 1:39:11
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