A new quest: CrossFit Prescott

Last weekend, I talked about shooting, shopping and sex as exercise.

And that was before I bought the corset:)

My workouts last week included two minor hikes and four morning three-song workouts as my hand continued to heal.  It's been five weeks, and I can safely say it's not gonna be done cooking at week six.

Yep, it still hurts.  I say "ow!" at least once a day.

My Fitness Quest, and my health (see blog "tremors") have taken a hit with the break; I need to get back into the action.

Enter this man, aka The Professor.

Joey Powell, owner & trainer at CrossFit Prescott, figured out how I could do weighted squats with a newly broken hand three weeks ago.  I was so impressed I begged the King to get me a membership for my healing phase-and for our son to join us.

He's pumping gas.

Lad and I enjoy time together; we have had regular "little dates" for ten years (since he was four!). Typically we study aviation history together (I'm bringing him up right.) I'm missing lifting, and he wants to learn-perfect fit.

With my hand not quite healed, I totally trust Joey to get me back in shape and protect my hand.  Thus, the next two months of the Quest I will only be at CrossFit Prescott and hiking:)

Oh, I won't like it when I'm there.  But as Troy says, I won't regret it.

Now if I can just drop these last ten pounds at the same time....

Tremors

I slept in today; if you count waking every thirty minutes with tremors as sleeping.

Night tremors were a regular part of my life after the concussion; as I began hiking I noticed they subsided and went away.  With the diminishment of hard hikes due to my broken hand, I notice they've increased as of late.

Especially in the last week.

I need a hard hike.

A freaking can't go another step hike.

I want my poles in my hands, my boots on my feet and be in the middle of nowhere.  God and I frequently chat during those times (well, argue, if you must know) and I'm missing that.

My favorite place of worship.

Today, I'll do a three-song workout (really, I will) and sort through clothes.  A wedding of two dear friends is later this afternoon; I am guaranteed a dance or two with the King at the reception.

"Shut Up & Dance" starts my three-song work out; it's utterly ridiculous and most awesome all at once.

My feet are pretty sore from the boots yesterday, as are my ribs...who knew?

Being sore, however, I don't want to do a three song workout today.  I tried to share this with the King.  He responded I was looking for an excuse to quit.

Really?

I'm tired.  My left shoulder aches from being the dominant driving arm.  My feet hurt.  My ribs hurt.  All I wanted was a smile, perhaps a quick kiss to the forehead and a word of encouragement. 

"You've got this."

Not a lecture, and especially not the gross assumption that I want to quit.

This is why 80% of America doesn't exercise, because the moment we struggle, we are given two choices:  just do it or quit.

What I think needs to be my mantra.

Monday I start CrossFit Prescott three times a week for at least two months.  Last week I did a daily workout nearly everyday.  So I struggle today and suddenly I want to quit?

Ever tried.

Ever failed.

No matter.  Try again.

Fail again.

Fail better.

Excuse me.  I need to go "Shut up & Dance."

Epilogue:  completed the three-song workout in four songs, dripping in sweat, unable to breathe.  Hard, horrid and I do not regret it.  I won.

Steampunked & The Viking

It was an epic day.

Shawna was a Viking, I was just Steampunked.

I only slept three hours, having been up until 2am getting ready for today.  The sun rose at 5am, and by 5:30 I was up, working to take apart the clock with the one pair of pliers I had thrown in my box of steampunk paraphernalia.

I even laced my own corset, and made a bolt tiara.

Shawna arrived, and we decked her out as a Viking.

She even made herself a purse!

We headed over to Phoenix ComiCon and I learned why Victorians didn't invent the automobile.  It's near impossible to drive in a tightly laced corset.

And fishnets proved to be very hot, despite the holes.

We immediately made new friends upon our arrival...

Hammerhead?  Am I remembering his name right?

See?  We really went there.

I ran into two issues right away:  my laces were too tight when I sat down, and fishnets make the bottom of your foot hurt.

SHAWNA!  Would you please loosen my stays?!?!

One also cannot slouch in a corset.

Or breathe.

BUT...

You do attract attention. 

By the end of the afternoon, we were exhausted.

Abbie had to pull off my boots.

I decided this was all exercise, since both my feet and my ribs hurt.  We changed, and we went filtered to Chick-Fil-A.

We look awesome.

Shawna asked for extra Chick-Fil-A sauce.

And discovered the epic Frozen Lemonade.

Overall, right until this second, it's been a spectacular day:)

ComiCon Fit

I'm in Phoenix attending ComiCon, and stayed at Abbie's apartment last night.  She doesn't have a lot of furniture.

It's a great workout space.

So I decide to do my three-song workout, but for some reason it took four songs.

Perhaps it was my breakfast?

Interestingly, I found the side tap planks hard to do on this floor, and struggled through the 40 sit-ups.  Lunges were a hair easier, and I ripped through my squats.  The wall sit?  Torture.

193,000 at parking.  It's gonna be a great day.

Abbie (my oldest and a sophomore at Arizona State) is attending my first day at Comicon.  A Star Wars/Star Trek fan, she thought it may be interesting.

Media passes!

Well, it's fun and interesting...but I little weird, too:)

Boba Fett killed Uncle Owen & Aunt Beru?  Say what?!

We got photo bombed by a Romulan!

The Exhibitor Hall is HUGE and kinda ewwwwwwie.

But I did find a corset...:)

Tomorrow my workout will be walking around in 4" spiked boots in a steampunk get-up.  

😁😁😁😁😁

I cannot wait.

40 paces ahead...

If I had wanted to be, I could have been 40 paces ahead on today's hike.

Gleefully sitting on the bench off the wimpy side trail of Thumb Butte, 2/3rds of the way up.

I hiked in a dress today, because it's a sporty dress.

I also had to work prior to the hike, and it was better than going to those appointments in hiking clothes, right?

Swinging my legs, not out of breath, waiting for Chris to catch his breath.

So it's 15 weeks today since I first hiked Thumb Butte and started my Quest.  For the first time, today I was the fitter hiking partner, totally understanding the horrors of a Thumb Butte climb.

It was sooooo pretty today!

Pretty terrifying, isn't it?

The rock stackers had been there before us.

I'm not unsympathetic to the breathlessness of a first Butte hike, but it was difficult not to smile.  I had conquered this Butte already, and now it was another's turn.

Is the Quest better as a partnership?

Is sharing the rigors of a fitness quest make one more likely to show up?

Since breaking my hand, my fear has been losing what I had earned through sweat.  Now I wonder if my quest is more about relationships than anything else.  

Just what do I hope to find?

Not smurfs.

Already found Bronies.

And that local radio hosts are a hoot.

And that I shoot better with my left vs my right.

Today, I got to be the leader, instead of trailing 40 paces behind.  Perhaps the best thing to come out of the Quest thus far is the growing number of people contacting me, and letting me know they started their own quest.

Just keep moving.

My journey has been up and down (literally) but the one thing that has sustained it is accountability.  Meeting someone to hike, or writing about a local business-I was part of a partnership.  Working (or hiking) with a common goal.

Instead of Just Do It, it's Win/Win.  Exercise is easier with two.  Whether that be a hiking partner for that trail, or a center full of people-it's just better when people are looking for you to show up.

Fitness Quest-keeping it real.

A New Normal

Back in December, I suffered the concussion that turned my life upside down.  

The King and I at an ASU basketball game shortly after Christmas.  This trip cost me the next two days in bed with a debilitating migraine.

January I began short hikes, and things improved slowly.  I was able to return to work, which meant I stopped hiking-thinking it was a short-term solution.

I can see a difference in these pictures; I look tired despite the smiles.

The Quest began with a hike up Thumb Butte in February; one of the hardest hikes of my life.  The subsequent 15 weeks have been a roller coaster as my body has grown fitter, and my mind has slowly healed.

Things, however, have changed.

I still dread exercise.  I do it; Tuesday morning I got up and did the "Three-song workout" and busted butt the rest of the day.  

My latest in a series of motto's.

Thankfully, it was the last day of school.

I am now the mother of an 8th grader, 9th grader and a college sophomore.

I can tell my brain is finally better; that means more work and less "play"- although exercise is far from play to me.

My new normal?  Daily exercise.  Still occasional brain issues...but I can feel my mind has come back to where it was.  Things are different now; I'm not content as I once was.  It will be interesting to see what my new normal will be.

A Day to Remember

It's Memorial Day, and a day to reflect on the lives lost in battle.

My college senior thesis was on the Strategic Bombing of Germany by Allied Forces; my hypothesis was that the long range fighter (the P-51 Mustang) is what made it possible.  While researching and writing, more than once I found myself in tears over the loss of both military and civilian lives.

Firebombing of Dresden

Every Memorial Day, it is the lives lost I think of...and so instead of bbq's and vacations, a hike made sense.

Granite Gardens

Trail to the Grotto

The Dells

Approaching storm

The King & I

Can you see the face?

You'd never guess.

A day of reflection; a day to remember.