Sunday, May 30, 2010

Relay?

Relay? By the end of it, I felt like I had done the 47km bike ride that Mike just accomplished. The adrenaline bursts, anticipation, nerves and sun were enough to require that I take an hour nap before heading out to the nights festivities. I love the feeling of being around active, motivated people. It's an awesome environment and to me, would be inspiring to anyone. It's amazing what people can accomplish when they set their minds to it. Mike revealed to me on Saturday night that a couple of years ago he couldn't imagine doing the 2man relay at this event. Frankly, as he said, he couldn't imagine doing more than 1 leg of the race. Now, well, here's how Saturday went:

For team M&M (Mike and Mike) this was their first 2man attempt and had set their sights to make the overall Top 10 - in all the categories combined. This 2 man relay consisted of the following 5 legs:
Leg 1 - 7.5kms (RUN)
Leg 2 - 27kms (BIKE)
Leg 3 - 10kms (RUN)
Leg 4 - 20kms (BIKE)
Leg 5 - 6km (Canoe or Kayak)
My Mike did both bike legs and the kayak portion, while Mike R ran both legs and kayaked. These guys were amazing - near the front of the pack in all legs - I don't think anything could have stopped them. Well - Mike C WAS using his kayak paddle backwards for the 1st half of the leg (1st timers) and they just couldn't seem to get their rhythm however still managed to pull out a 5th in that leg.

With their 2man team placing 5th in 2mans and 8th overall - these men achieved their goal. As I was dubbed Mike's coach (can't help but give some advice to him as he's preparing for the race) it was only fitting that we stayed after to do a post race debrief and of course, eat hotdogs and watch awards. I was so proud of both of them and loved witnessing athletic excellence.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Lulu, I love you....



Lululemon may be expensive and a novelty to some but to me it is more of a staple to daily life. I always make a point to hit the lulu stores when I'm away to add to my collection. Yes a pair of pants generally run at about $98 or a hoodie at $89 but the feeling of my body in the clothing is priceless. To date, I have the following lulu items:
- white hoodie
- black tight pants
- black relaxed fit pants
- black shorts
- grey jacket
- pink tank top
- grey capris
- green pants
- waterbottle
and my last most recent inspiring purchase - black running tights...ahhh:) As I perused the new Vegas shop - I was kindly greeted by a sales associate that was vibrant, fit, pleasant asking if I needed help. Knowing that I was going to purchase something to add to my collection - I asked for running tights. She then brought me these hideous looking black tights (picture spandex riding pants - enough saddle bag to do anyone)... I was momentarily disappointed in this lulu followers choice until she said that these tights "may look weird "(understatement) but they will lift your bottom, tighten your inner thighs and will not trap sweat. Basically, miracle tights. Sold! I went to the change room and within a minute had experienced the joy of compression wear. I came out with a spring to my step that I've never felt in my life. As I would bend my knees they would immediately spring forward making me 'want to' run. I didn't want to take them off. I was energized and motivated to workout. I thanked the sales associate perfusely for introducing me to the compression world and quickly went to the counter to purchase my new equipment. Yes, when you are wearing compression wear you can call it 'equipment'. It was unreal how excited I was to purchase these new tights.
Lululemon can also be considered a lifestyle. Lulu has a manifesto that would inspire or make anyone 'think'. I've also always loved the inspiring sayings on the sides of the reuseable bags. Do one thing a day that scares you. Stress is related to 99% of all illness. Children are the orgasm of life. Friends are more important than money. Your outlook on life is a direct reflection on how much you like yourself. Sweat once a day. Mr/Ms Lululemon, you're a genious!
The moral of this story is - clothing can help motivate you. If you look good, you feel good. Sometimes it is worth splurging for the specialty items. Sometimes the specialty items will give back - confidence, life lessons (lululemon bags), and lots of wear. I've had my first pair of lululemons since 2002 and still continue to wear them daily. They may be starting to look a tad tattered but they still make me feel good. Lulu, I love you - <3

Check out the Goaltender website at lululemon: http://goals.lululemon.com/default.aspx

Monday, May 24, 2010

Vegas Vacation


This last week I was on a whirlwind Vegas Vacation. As I did not 'schedule' exercise into my week - there was no lack of it. I walked, did more walking and walked some more that I'm sure my feet, legs, hips will never be the same. The interesting part of this vacation was that my body didn't hurt AS much as my last trip to Philly. In better shape? Possibly. Muscles loose/limber? Maybe. It's really hard to say WHY I didn't feel the pain as much. Our week consisted of the following:
Day 1 - 23.5hours of travel to Vegas (gotta love flying on points), crash in bed upon arrival
Day 2 - Touring the strip in flip flops (not a good idea) = walking for 5 hours, death defying NYork, NYork rollercoaster, Blue Man group
Day 3 - Shopping from dusk till dawn = walking all day
Day 4 - Shopping in the morning, bowling tourney in the afternoon (ie. weight lifting - those balls are HEAVY), birthday party evening
Day 5 - Touring the strip = walking, Cirque du Soleil "O" show evening, body rejecting the food, walking, and occasional cocktail - night
Day 6 - Wedding dress shopping and purchasing, Touring the strip = walking, ice bar & shark reef afternoon, Cirque du Soleil show "KA" evening, touring the strip night, possible sighting of "the Situation" from Jersey Shore at MGM - check!
Day 7 - Touring the strip = walking, Megan's birthday party and Limo Party Bus tour night, pass out for 5hours to fly home
Day 8 - Airports, airports, airports!
It was a fantastic week and although I did not do any formal training, I did do some excellent cross training - speed walking to catch the nightly shows (couldn't get the timing right for arrival), occasionally dancing and walking (anything goes in Vegas), heart rate elevation at possibly winning a "jackpot" at the Hot Hot Super Jackpot slot machines and lots of weight lifting - Bath and Body Works purchases, bowling balls, drinks, chili covered nachos - haha.
Now back to the Grind........ Training to resume on Wednesday - wish me luck!

Friday, May 14, 2010

-2 weeks + Level 2/3 = A Whole Lotta Shaking Going On!

Last night after returning from a 2 week break from pole dancing I entered the 2nd week of Level 2/3. As the format has changed from Level 1 - I was sent on a whirlwind of hip rolls, cat spirals, new stretches and spins. I thought I might as well "Just Do It" and so I began.....
We started with arms overhead shifting hips side to side. Level 2/3 moves love the hand travelling so let's just say the arms didn't stay overhead too long. We then started mini hip rolls into figure 8 pattern (arms travelling) and then big hip rolls into figure 8 pattern. As we were trying to jam lots of moves into this class there was no time for rest. We then started our new model walk from one end to the other and if that wasn't enough we added in a full turn 1/2 way through the walk. After a couple of walks back and forth and a change in song we did another walk where we switched to backwards walking with a slight leg kick out (as if we were wearing a skirt)... interesting. We then model walked to the wall - marked our territory and started travelling figure 8 hip rolls (travelling = squating) for a count of 8, couple sexy squats and then peeled off to the mat work. By this time I was working up a sweat and my head was spinning from all the new moves. We switched up the mat work which gave the quads quite a work out (slow pony moves) and then we were ready for the pole. At this point, my leg muscles were quivering and so I was feeling slightly unsteady on my feet. Good thing it wasn't heels night! We learned 3 new spins (diamond, ballerina, chair, and diamond/chair combo) and much to my dismay we learned the grip for inversion lifts (upside down....). There was so much going on that I had no choice but to be sexy and focused. I didn't hurt thinking about the PCDolls lounge in Vegas either as it allowed me to channel my inner doll. Becs had some issues with her hand grip so put a gel like substance on her hands that acted like glue - it was quite a sight seeing her mid diamond spin stuck floating in the air....Yes, it happened - true story!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

"Dance Like Nobody's Watching"

Getting up at a wedding dance, staff party, house gathering, or bar can be awkward at the best of times. Losing yourself in the music is tough because whether you'd like to admit it or not - people are watching...Maybe not solely focused on you but watching the dancing people wondering "I hope Britney Spears comes on" (maybe that's just me...) or "please don't pull me up now" or better yet "where did he/she get those moves:)". I used to be the type of dancer that needed a couple drinks to give me the courage to get up on the floor and bust it out. These days, I have been experiencing 'sober dancing' and it's a whole new world for me. I have recently been practicing at home my new dance style. It's a mixture of a head bob, half fist pump (alternating sides) with a few mini pelvis thrusts. It may sound like an erratic style because, well, it is. However, it's fun and I get a good laugh at myself as I'm practicing. It evolved from a sillier dance that I choreographed for Mike to help make him smile and laugh. The game of getting him to laugh was just the creative inspiration I needed. I have now mastered the 'Just Do It' attitude and quickly get myself to the dance floor at events. I start with a slight bounce, toe tap, hip swing and occasional snap. Just recently, while at the athlete's banquet for Nationals I found myself, reverting to my new 'house' dance on the floor.... As a new trendy song came on - possibly Justin Beiber - I went to the dance floor and the Beiber fever came out of me. For a minute (or 1/2 a song) I was 'dancing like no one was watching'. Amazing. Never thought that would happen as I can be painfully shy. I was smiling, laughing, trying new moves and didn't think "when is this song going to be over...". Dancing is also a great form of exercise - you can work up a sweat while having fun. So, my advice to everyone is to practice dancing at home, make a game of it, let loose and laugh:)
For creative inspiration check out Elaine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQu_NLRvULM

Waking up to a Water Workout


Swimming has always been a love of mine, obviously...:) - nothing's better than hitting the water early in the morning. The moment you feel the cool water on your face it's like an instant wake up call and ready to take on the world. Being underwater is such a calming feeling - if you can float you're able to lay on the surface relaxed and block out the hustle and bustle of life around you. Becs and I experienced this at 6:15am this morning. All I can say is, it's been a while since I've done a pool workout!
I asked Becs to go to the lane swim this morning at CARI due to my foot/calf injury. I also wanted to try getting back into swimming for cross training. I made up the following intro/beginner workout for us this morning to get us back into the groove:
1) 200m warm up (medium pace)
2) 4x50m - front flutter sprint, slow flutter
3) 4x50m - back, free (arms only)
4) 2x50m - breast stroke, windsprint
5) 3,5,7,9 (breathe ever 3 strokes, 5 strokes, ...)
6) 200m cool down (slow laps)
10 mins stretching in hot tub - yes, it's part of the 'workout'.
As I put on a purple (slightly molded....it's been a while...) bathing cap, black goggles and my newly purchased noseplug - I looked the part and frankly, that's 1/2 the battle. I hit the water and started off with a bang - oh what a feeling! I was gliding through the water and thinking "this isn't so bad". Second lap - I started feeling my breathing getting heavier, 3rd lap - my arms were starting to feel heavy and legs slightly burning... As I got 1/2 way through the warm up I was thinking - I must have been crazy to think that Becs and I could get through all of this. Things did get better for me - after the bod warmed up but I had forgotten how hard swimming can be.....I've realized starting to do these pool workouts - there's not too much of a difference between my flutter "sprinting" and my slow flutter - however my legs do feel the effort. The workout took us 30mins and we had a great time! Aside from the overall experience, the hot tub was the best part:)

Injury update: So really - I believe my so called "injury" was a muscle knot in my calf with referred pain into my foot. My mom worked on my calf, I iced it, I heated it, I stretched it and now, it's better. The healing fairy (Mom) worked her magic and I'm almost as good as new:) Life is good!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

911 What is Your Emergency.....?

Everyday, people may feel like they have an 'emergency' on their hands and are inclined to dial 911 for help...Be it neighbors driving "them nuts", to youths "causing a racket", or someone noticing their window "shattered to smithereens" - I hear it all. Sometimes I wonder - how does this person think this is an 'emergency'...? Until today.....
Becs and I went out at approx 1:30pm to do our 5.9k training route. As we started with our 5min warmup fast walk - I felt like the muscles were a little tight. As we got into our running, things were looking better - I was starting to loosen up and felt like I was achieving something. The fresh spring air cooled my itchy sunburnt face (yes, tanning bed disaster), I could hear the birds chirping (cliche, I know) and life was good. We got to the 2.5k mark and suddenly Becs foot got an excruciating pain in it - we didn't think we could go on. As I proceeded to try to calm her down (she was discouraged and had to stop running) and advise her to 'listen to her body', I could feel my right calf tightening up and burning.... Hmm...At this point I thought - well this is just great! We both limped down North Queen Elizabeth Drive with the wind out of our sails. 5 mins later - Becs thought she may be able to try to run again - Bonus! We started up again and had awesome 3.5 minute stints of running all the way home. 41mins and 25secs later - we arrived back at the Gee homestead - sweaty, tired, stiff, but proud of ourselves for "pushing through". I sat down and replayed the 41mins to the folks, got up and stretched and noticed my right foot was extremely tender to stand on. We then headed to the Superstore for some last minute Mother's Day supplies and I was increasingly lame and limp on my right side. Upon arriving at my house, I came through the door stating "I'm taking a turn and it's down injured street"... Mike, I'm sure, was thinking - oh the drama! I heated my calf, iced my foot, had a nap and woke up in worse condition. I started understanding WHY some may think that the not REAL emergencies may really be an emergency.
If my foot is injured this could:
- Threaten my training schedule and progress
- Make me fearful to run
and
- Torture myself on my trip - walking around seeing the sights would NOT be fun!
Yes, it is small beans to some - but for my simple life - this is an emergency! I pray that when I wake tomorrow, the healing fairies will have fixed my poor foot/calf and I can put this behind me....fingers crossed!

So, needless to say today was one of those days that I felt like dialing 911, however 9 times out of 10, I would get myself....

Fitness Log:
Today - 5.9kms - 3.5min run, 1min walk - 41:25

http://www.holytaco.com/9-funny-911-calls - Enjoy!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

6km Run/Walk

Yesterday, Becs and I got back to our training schedule (took break for Nationals) and decided to start measuring the distance of our running (instead of going by time)and do 3mins run/1 min walk. We hopped in her civic, reset the odometer and took a scoot around the block by my house. If I had to guess the distance around my block I would have said (before yesterday) "a good 4k's"...As we rounded the last corner to my house it I couldn't believe my eyes when the odometer read 2.5..."2.5 K's?!?!" I can't believe how long a "K" actually is. So, after realizing that the block was exactly 3k's to my driveway we decided to run it twice. Things started off rocky - heavy breathing, stiff muscles but at about 25mins into the routine, I started to feel like I was finally warmed up. I can't believe that it took me 25mins to warm up....Yikes. The whole 6kms took us 45mins and after googling what 6kms usually takes a person - the general consensus is 30-35mins. Hmmmm.....We could probably achieve this if we started running right at the beginning of the route (instead of walking 5mins to "warm up") and if we kept a respectable pace throughout. Needless to say we still have lots of work ahead of us but are back at it and going stronger than ever. On Saturday, we have a 3.5min run/1 min walk scheduled so hopefully that goes well. I must admit - the body is feeling pretty good - no aches or pains today! YAY!
Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.
-Lowell Thomas

Sunday, May 2, 2010

"Pride and Prejudice"

This week has been one I'll remember and 'chalk up' to one of the best meets I've ever been to. As the 2010 Canadian Open Synchronized Swimming Championships come to a close, it's bitter sweet. I feel such amazing amount of pride today because I'm a Naiad and because of that, don't want the season to end. Throughout this competition the athletes, parents, community, sport organization supported us in a way that makes me emotional thinking about it. At the competition's close I could sum it up with the concepts of Pride and Prejudice. Pride - in the fact that our athletes and coaches worked their hardest this season, worked as a team, fostered a healthy club atmosphere and performed at our best. Prejudice - in the predetermined belief that the above would be true. I never doubted the ability of the Charlottetown Naiads or parents (Open meet manager Lucille and organizing committee) to be able to carry this event through at a high standard and represent us well. I've learned a lot watching these women carry out the tasks, deal with the pressure, stresses and unknowns and on top of it all - still able to smile:) WOW!
Although the next few months will be filled with planning for the next season, organizing and training - it's not the same as our weekly visits to the pool.
To me - winning or losing wasn't what this experience was all about - it was about developing a stronger sense of synchro community and 'thrusting' us into the next level. Ahhh...What a feeling!
Now - back to fitness training - as I was maxed out at the pool this week, Becs and I were on sabbatical from running. We're getting back at it Tuesday or Wednesday this week and then it's full steam ahead. Oh - and in 14 days I'll be in Vegas.....just saying....:)