The Banishment

Yesterday, I skipped CrossFit.

Despite the fact The Professor was all smiles.

I didn't want to go, I knew the extra effort to get there before work was daunting.

I still got up at 4:50am.

I discovered Lad wasn't home at 5:00am (I had worked late, he had stayed with his Grandparents.)

At 5:15am I had pulled clean workout clothes from the laundry room pile and caught the King's eye.  He's on vacation this week.

We live waaaaaay out of town.

My view of Granite Mtn.

It's a 25 minute drive into town, workout for an hour, 25 minute drive back, shower too fast, get ready for work, 25 minute drive to work.

Or...

Get some coffee.  Talk with King.  Enjoy an extra hour in bed.  Do a three song workout.  Sweat some more.  Leisurely shower, one drive, not three.

I don't call this a score for Maverick.

I call this judicial use of time.

I'm 18 weeks into the Quest.  This is the first workout I've skipped...and today, I wish I had done it.  Yesterday though, it was the best choice.  It's still the best choice, even though I'm craving that deliciously sore feeling that only comes from weighted squats.

My dog misses me:)

I new wrinkle?  My hand.  Again.

Apparently a hose nozzle is more than 5lbs of pressure.

Still swollen 24hrs later, and I did it at work.

So I feel guilty today about skipping yesterday's workout even though it was the right choice.  Apparently the excuse monster and cheat monster have a friend I had yet to meet:  the guilt monster.

I don't think so.

I refuse to feel guilty about skipping.

That monster?  Well he can just go take a hike.

And I happen to know I'll be at least 40 paces ahead.

Keeping Up

This past weekend, the King & I slipped away to Oak Creek Canyon for some R&R.  

Arizona.  It never ceases to amaze.

One would think that with two guest bloggers this blog would be easily maintained, right?  Of course, they are both single dads, both very successful professionally, both working out and both lacking a wife to nag them to get a blog post done.

Sigh.

The weekend extended into Monday, and I did nothing in the form of exercise all weekend-I needed a break.

Lovelocks.  Guaranteeing you'll want to return-a brilliant piece of marketing...

Thus, the last two days were exhausting. Up at 5am, in the gym before 6am.

Lad had a tough time on Wednesday.

Home late, but at least I had this waiting:

Javelina Leap is a local vineyard.

Add in a hike yesterday right after Crossfit:

Thumb Butte, week 18!  Note the bandage off the hand.

And the new job...

And you have one tired blogger.

I think I need to give my guest bloggers a call, don't you?

Time to go rock this set.

Double Dipping

"Let's hike at 6am" he said.  "It'll be great," he said.

It was cold.

Like want to go back to the car and find a sweatshirt cold.

Like the dead tree was shivering cold.

Of course the answer to that is hiking faster, right?

Or how about sitting in the sun? 😁

I'm hiking with The Wild Hussey, who has decided to start a Fitness Quest of his own, and will be blogging his story here.  This is our third hike together, but his first official Quest hike; we are back at Constellation trail, whose trailhead is the parking lot of my new job.  I'm scouting out lunch locations while Chris plots our course.  We're going the opposite way, and it's seems harder.

We debated if this was even a trail.  It was.

It did warm up, and I worried about our timing.  You see, I had CrossFit Prescott at 8am.

Oh, I know it's nuts-and hours later I'm STILL REGRETING IT. (Sorry, Troy!)  let's just say I learned the hard way that a hike is too much of a warm-up.

Getting rocks out of my shoe (proof Chris was along.  Who'd think The Wild Hussey would be camera shy?)

The hike complete, I drive over to meet Lad.

Yes, my 14 year old son greets me this way.

The Professor teaching the basics.

Dang kid picked up form fast.  I was jealous.

My workout?  I did modified ring pulls and kettle bell squats with planks again, and barbell squats.  

It was hard.

Like lay on the ground after planking and not wanting to get up hard.

Then there was the mini ab set with the Roman  chair and abmat.

Hmmmm

I finished exhausted, sick to my stomach and fading fast.

At least he could pick me up if I collapsed, right?

Getting in the car, I start digging around for some sort of "fueling."  Jerky, nuts, something....

Carrot cake.

We were delighted!!!!!

I shoveled in four forkfuls, and handed Lad the rest.  Chris had posted about making carrot cake last night with his son, and I had begged him to bring me a piece to sweeten the 6am start time.  Now, it had saved my life.

Perhaps hiking with The Wild Hussey won't be that bad after all.

The Son & I

This is my son, affectionately nicknamed Lad.

At ERAU aviation history lecture.

Early Monday morning I roused him from his teenage slumber, forced him to eat and get dressed to join me at CrossFit Prescott.

Back in The Professor's lair.

It's his first day, and I have a still broken hand.  The plan is for Lad to go through the training, and we (Joey & I) adapt it for my broken bones.

Day One starts with rowing-which I can now do by hooking the bar in the crook of my elbow.  I instruct Lad in the regular technique...

Yeah.

What's impressive is I am able to keep my speed under 3 minutes per 500 meters basically utilizing just my legs...I'm feeling a twinge of pride when I finish my 500 meters one second behind my lanky 6'2" boy who is using both legs and arms.  We head over for instruction; I am determined to observe only, and not talk.

Easier said than done....

At a certain point, Joey tells Lad NOT to look at me....so I jump up and move behind him.  I cringe watching his awkwardness...surely he inherited that from his mother, eh?

The Professor assures me everyone looks that way when they start.

Really, Spock!  I don't chase alien women!

As Laddie figures it out, Joey and I set up the adaptions.  Instead of ring pulls, we switch it to straps which hug my wrists, eliminating the need to hold on.  For kettle bell squats, he threads a chain with straps on the end through the handle-I can position them on my wrists or in the crook of my arm (and oh my word-to do weighted squats again-delicious.  I am so infected with the weight bug.) Push-ups are out of the question (lol-I couldn't do them before, nevertheless now) so a 45 sec plank is substituted.  Regular squats needed no adaption...and off we went on three sets (10 for him, 15 for me.)

It felt this fantastic.

I loved it.

Yes, I finished after my son.  But I freaking got it done-with a broken hand.

The rest of the day I ran from appointment to appointment...and I felt great.

Perhaps it just takes three months for endorphins to kick in?

Or is it because I shared it with someone?

I ended the day with three of these.

Perfect day.

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....

33: Mace Windu & the Klingons

It seems The Professor may be a Jedi.

These aren't the excuses you're looking for.

My tweaked shoulder gave me issues yet this morning; I thoroughly expected to show up, be confirmed to be injured, and sent home.

Instead I ended up doing clean lifts?!?

Joey listened to my issues, and made some suggestions I followed.  I was relieved to feel the pain subside, and figured I'd be done-right?

Oh, no.  We still had exercises to do.

Not me; Joey. 

The Professor figured out how to work around my stiff shoulder:  a modified squat with weights, clean lifts and jerk lifts.  Rowing was the poison in between sets.

At some point Joey claimed to be Yoda; I said he was too snarky to be Yoda.  "What about the Jedi played by Samuel L. Jackson?" he suggested.

Scroll up the page & look at Joey, then at Mace Windu.  I believe we have a winner.

Yep, he plays Jedi mind tricks, too.  Like telling you "your welcome" when you show him the blisters on your hands.  Then we start talking about me continuing Crossfit outside the Quest.  Jedi Mind tricks folks, Jedi mind tricks.

I did fuel twice already, and noticed those two fuelings have started to become a habit.  Interestingly, I haven't needed my coffee as I usually do.

Impressive.  She no longer wants coffee.

Busy with meetings and work, I manage to get home before the kids.  I grab six songs while laying in the sun, the heat soaking into my sore muscles.

Do you know how you know you're spending too much time lifting?

When you know the words to songs like this.

And like them.

Will wonders ever cease?

One of the Seven Wonders of the World, just in case you're wondering.

Tonight, I babyed my still sore shoulder, and caught up on old episodes of ST:TNG.  An old favorite came on with Worf and K'Ehleyr.

I'm a sucker for a good old fashioned romance.

Tomorrow I'm not planning on exercise, or a hike.  Perhaps a little good old fashioned romance instead?

Gotta love the Klingon inspiration. 

31: Fever! I've got a fever (or two!)

Going into today's workout, I had warned Joey prior I would be hiking the Grand Canyon the day before.  He told me we'd lay off the legs. 

I'm a sucker for landscapes.

 Imagine my surprise when he informed me we were going to utilize the Roman chair, which I knew used hips.  He assured me I could do it-I admit I was dubious.  So he demonstrated:

This looks very intimidating in person.

Then I tried them out.  Joey corrected my form, and made certain I understood the sets.  I then did three rounds of seven; five different exercises all geared towards opening and closing the hips and lower back.

They were...fun.

Fun?  As in funny?  Exercise doesn't have to be serious?

For the very first time on the quest, I caught myself giggling out of glee.  These looked silly-but they felt good. Like fantastically awesome stretches. For a change, my height actually made the exercise easier to perform-and again I saw a glimmer of exercise as it could be.

:)

Up until now, I've only known exercise to challenge, push and strain me.  Here I was, with calves screaming from the prior days' twelve mile canyon hike, and my thighs and hips were performing flawlessly on this chair.  It felt fluid for the very first time; I wasn't fighting my height to find the right form, it just happened.  A breakthrough, for certain.

Joey looked dubious when I told him.  He must read the blog:)

I was pretty happy leaving, until I started feeling odd.  Like really cold.

There are two things in life I hate:  exercise & cold.  My workout finished, I headed to the nice sun-warmed car.  I ate my fueling, drank a bottle of water and drove home-in silence.

One reason I adore the Canyon?  It's silent.

Silence is not how I normally jive, and as I grew colder I wondered just what was going on.  I was hydrated, I had eaten.

It never occurred to me I was sick.

Three hours later, bundled up in a sweatshirt and three blankets, my mind suggested a thermometer.

100.2°

Gee.

I had hundreds as a child, unfortunately.

I napped, and the tell-tale throb when I awoke confirmed my suspicions:  ear infection.

So the rest of today was laid waste.  All plans cancelled, grumpy, tearful, you name it.

But I had fun this morning...and I can't seem to forget it.

Not quite as much fun as yesterday, but pretty darn close.  Just had to throw in some extra-"oh my word I've got the inner canyon fever" photos:)

29: Is Channing Tatum a Secret Prince?

I woke up when the alarm went off.

Miracle of miracles-I slept through the night!

I have long hair.  One cannot possibly sleep like this.

Which meant it was Monday, and I had to eat six times, workout plus do actual work, too.

Like a normal person.

Because clearly, people who pose lovingly with a Prince Eric statue are normal.

Well, I ate two hard boiled eggs and slugged a jumbo size cup of coffee, because my research shows coffee hydrates as well as water.

Didn't believe me, did you?  It's been all over the English papers.

I headed to CrossFit, and decided to not walk in early.  Maverick is serious about Mondays.

Unfortunately, he's serious about a lot of stuff I need to do.

Once inside, my mood lifts.  It's hard not to smile when The Professor has on his buff.  He sets me up with six exercises:  kettle bell swings, barbell rows, standard barbell deadlifts, front barbell squats, overhead dumbbell presses and finally a strange yoga-pose sit up.  3 sets of 15.

I liked those weird sit ups-half the exercise involved laying down.  I call that rest.

So I did seven extra on the last set, because I liked the song playing, and I wanted to see how long I could go.

It's still not fun.  Really, it's not.  Nope.

That's how I felt, driving home with music thumping while eating jerky.

I get home, start the laundry, hang my white boards, write some goals, start some calls.  Dryer buzzes, I flip the laundry, and gather towels for a towel load.  Guess what I find buried in the process?  The scale.

It was under our son's bed.  Really.

Seven or so weeks ago, I started the Quest not knowing what I weighed.  The scale was missing, and I didn't need to see a number to know I needed to lose weight.  Last week I was weighed when they did my BMI, so I had a benchmark.  Joyfully, I climbed on.

Yep, that bad.

I apparently had GAINED two and a half pounds.  FREAKING REALLY?!?

So much for a ridiculously amazing Monday.

I vow now I'm not weighing myself again.  EVER!

Ok, maybe vow isn't the right word here. Did you know there is some movie called The Vow starring Channing Tatum?  Nor did I until I googled "vow."  Hmph.

Although the King of Athletics is older, he's equally cut & hot ❤️

Here's the deal:  my calorie count is NOWHERE near my energy output.  I should have lost weight-goodness knows I've been hungry enough!!

Jim thinks my body is scared of the exercise and retaining my fat because I'm not eating enough.

Seriously???  That's a broken record!

UGH.  Suddenly, my mood is black.  Yeah, I'd drank three bottles of water, plus the coffee and two snacks and I was dressed.  BUT STILL!?!

Nothing got thrown, so that's good.  Although I just realized I never finished flipping the laundry.

Excuse me.

Crap.  Stuff in dryer is damp.  Anyhow...

This is my 1970's dinner:  Shrimp Orleans, on rice.  With a beer.  Carb city.

You want to mess with me, body?  Really?  Let me give you some carbs.

And thus was my day (plus a trip to the dentist; I remain cavity free all these 43 years.)  Tomorrow the big hike.  5am start.  I've heard it's call for some time, now I must go.  

My destination is easy, the return trip?  We shall see.  Pray for me!