Another Day, Another Hill...

...and today is rockin' just like Monday :)

In keeping with my get-as-ready-as-possible-given-the-situation-at-hand (i.e. startlingly little running or exercising of any sort) training plan, this morning I repeated Monday's double workout scenario. After meeting with my physical therapist yesterday, we agreed that I am not going increase my level of fitness by this Sunday, all I can really do is get my body prepared to handle what's coming at it in it's given level of unpreparedness. Did that make any sense?

Today, I mixed things up a little.

The gym was the logical place to begin since it is right around the corner from dropping the kids off at school, but here's where I get all crazy... watch out! First, I did 10 backward minutes on the elliptical. Second, I ran on the treadmill. I know... so confusing. Last time I did it the other way around.

I discovered what many before me have already discovered...the elliptical is an excellent warm-up! When I was done with my 10 minutes and jumped onto the heinous road-to-nowhere, I was not nearly as bored treadmilling as I was on Monday...mostly because I was able to start out faster than an 11-minute mile. I was ready to go and cranked that puppy up to a brisk 7 mph at some incline...that part I haven't figured out entirely yet so I just pushed that ^ a couple of times. I am way to lazy to do the math but I do know that it is faster than a 10-minute mile and slower than an 8-minute mile so I'm good with it. I felt great at that pace for 5 minutes and then every minute I made it faster, running the last 2 minutes at 8 mph. I felt great and this is still my run fast song :)

A little walking cool-down, a little more backward ellipticalling, and a session on that cool, arm-burner...the hangboard.

Time to tackle a hill!

Monday was Moeser Lane...when I told my p.t. I was using Moeser, she started laughing hysterically.

"Only YOU would go after Moeser! Only you..." as she stood there shaking her head.

Today in the interest of mixing things up, I went a quarter-mile north to Potrero. Potrero is a bit shorter than Moeser...but it's got some agonizing steepness...

See those houses on the diagonal at mid-picture? 

That is where the steep part begins. 

The foreground is a gentle incline but looks almost downhill in comparison.

So...yeah...it's kinda steep...

...for a ways.

Even when you're nearing the top, there is still a slight incline...

and the neighborhood is chock full o' super interesting bush shapes!

On the way back down, I noticed this sign ^.

I don't think Moeser has one which may indicate that this section of Potrero is steeper

than any portion of Moeser... :)

I swear it looks like the road just drops off.

While Monday's hill is longer and runs through a section of open space and had the statue of the boy fishing with barbed wire, today's hill running exclusively through a residential neighborhood showcased some stunningly sculpted bushes and one of the awesomest displays of lawn ornamentation I have ever seen...

It's Cupid sitting in the fountain.

The wolf is howling.

The whole thing is in the shape of a heart! It took me a minute to figure that out :P

And technically I guess it isn't 'lawn' ornamentation since there's no lawn...

but the rocks are red and sparkly white so that's got to count for something.

I'm now on the hunt for more wickedly gnarly hills to take on in my quest for fitness and spectacular garden accessories!

What is the most interesting yard display you have ever seen?

A compliment, a hill and a whole lot of brownie...

A lot of people out there in Running Blogland are hurting and a lot of people out there in the general world are depressed, I am a member of that intersecting group...

I know I'm not alone in there...but I didn't know who wanted to be named ;-)

Yesterday, however, my spirits were lifted for a bit, and it was really nice. I got to go to my climbing lesson...which was bound to be awesome in and of itself. It amazes me how challenging climbing is. I sweat and breathe hard, and my heart rate rises. My arms and legs shake. My hands and fingers stop working. It. Is. Awesome.

The plan yesterday was to work hard and challenge myself. I worked to failure. I am so glad that failure in the climbing gym ≠ bye, bye, XL like it might out on the face of Half Dome! The first route I worked on had an overhang. Overhangs are really hard if you have zero upper body strength, like me :) I decided that since I suck at overhangs so badly, I will attack them until I am proficient at and like them....thereby turning a weakness into a strength.

It was demanding work. I fell off the wall a few times. I learned that letting go and hanging out in your harness 20 feet up off the ground to shake out your arms is not only acceptable but is common practice and even encouraged. Resting while working out? You're kidding me?! Even with these condoned shake outs, by the end, I couldn't even hook my fingers over a handhold. On my last route up, with each move I was waiting for every millimeter of slack to be taken up before proceeding to the next hold....so essentially, my instructor was hauling my weakling butt up the wall! Nonetheless, I was working. Hard.

When I came down from the top and she was helping me untie because remember, my hands were useless, she said, "I usually really hate doing this..." Thinking she meant helping people untie,  I apologized. She said, "No, no! Private lessons...I usually really don't like giving them because they are usually kids whose parents sign them up and I'm pretty much just babysitting them. It is so much better and more fun to do it with someone like you who likes it and is into it and really works for it!" When I got into my car, my injured and depressed self cried because that's seriously one of the best compliments I've received in awhile. Thank you, Awesome Climbing Instructor Lady!

In line with trying to get some sweat going two days in a row but not really being able to run and knowing I need to get ready for a massively hilly race in 10 days, I decided to walk up a monster hill this morning...in the rain.

What it looked like as I was getting off the freeway...

I drive around with a helmet-cam on so no need to worry about the safety of my photography ;-)

I tried to channel the honey badger...

Scary, right? 

Be glad you aren't a cobra...or a big-ass hill 'cuz I'll take you down!

It was not as much fun as I had envisioned. In fact, it was kind of boring. Hard and boring. To amuse myself (and probably not you, too) I made some little videos...going for a nasal and annoying voice à la Randall in an exceptionally lame attempt to simulate the honey badger video...

halfway up

three-quarters of the way up

So...ummmm... yeah...way lamer than you thought, right? it happens...

Going up wasn't painful. My hip felt completely fine. But the way down started getting uncomfortable pretty quickly. I tried changing things up and did the ol' balance-beam-on-the-curb routine, which actually helped :)

I did this for over half of the way down.

And I used the walking backwards option, too (not while on the curb). This took a ton of strain off my piriformis while allowing me to catch this gem of a lawn ornament...

Seriously, who doesn't want a little boy fishing with barbed wire in his or her front yard?

Wondering where I might score one of these. I think my gnome is lonely...

All this depression exercise juiced my appetite. Go, brownies!!! Thanks to Bob's Red Mill and their gluten-free baking mixes, I foolishly made a large pan of brownies while home alone.

Much like that last sip of milk left in the carton or that last potato chip left in the bag, I left that last quarter of a brownie in the row...because finishing a whole row by myself in a 10-minute time span would be both lamentable and inconceivable.

Happy Weekend, Everyone :)

Ever run a race for which you were entirely UNprepared? How'd it go?

It's not a Lawn Jockey...

It's better.

He's a sarcastic little guy, my new Garden Gnome. I think he is sticking his tongue out at me as if to say, 

"You sucker! I am the dorkiest thing ever and yet you've coveted me a long time. I even look like my arm fell off, and still you love me. Loser!"

When I posted my night tour of the neighborhood the other day and mentioned that I really wanted lawn ornamentation, a good friend who reads my blog contacted me because...

She had a garden gnome she was ready to part with! Go figure! 

How lucky am I? These things are like heirlooms, right?

I picked up The Bearded One this afternoon and promptly placed him in the garden.

The kids gave him a hand with his wheelbarrow.

Night Rider...with video :)

Time: 2030 hours

Date: 10:24:2011

Location: Classified

It's no secret that I do most of my training at night. 

Some people think it's crazy. Others think it's stupid. And some are even inspired by it. Go figure!

With four kids, it's hard to squeeze it in any other time than when they are finally in bed. I know this isn't for everyone. Safety definitely factors in. If I lived 1.5 miles up the road... forget it. Gang Central. And even if I lived in a 'regular' neighborhood, I would still have reservations and many second thoughts about venturing out after dark.

I am super fortunate to live in what appears to be a gated Witness Protection Program enclave. When I am out at night in my odd, gated development, I feel strangely safe and focused and peaceful. Distractions are minimal.

Last night's workout was a bike ride within The Gate's confines. When I was done, I thought....

"Hey, I'll bet everyone is just dying to see what it's like to train at night with XL!"

Am I right? 

I know some of my readers are curious about my night activities... and some are baffled... and others couldn't care less. I have taken some night pictures and shot a few night videos in the past, but last night I videoed one whole loop... the loop I ride over and over and over again (add a few more 'over's) on my bike. Fun, right?

Get ready...

Warnings:  I say "uhhh" a lot. And "alright." And I am hoping that a few of my friends can forgive my two freak-out "Jesus Christ" exclamations. And I know... all my sniffing has you thinking I'm a coke-fiend... I'm not. Riding a bike at night and making a video at the same time without a helmet cam is kind of scary and is not easy.

So...without further ado...

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Yes, that is really a Lawn Jockey.

And it really is in my neighborhood.

And now for our Feature Presentation...

Here's the youtube link in case it gets stuck on you...

click on this.

I made a mistake early on...to correct my misstatement, my loopty-loops are point-seven-five miles in length. They are. And I want to clarify the commentary that was garbled a few times when the wind-noise-reduction feature didn't work... mostly when I turned the camera from looking straight ahead. It happened when I pointed out the unremarkable Halloween decorations and the hoodie guy and then when I pointed out the flag flying after sundown but remembered that being illuminated made it okay :) And it happened again when I turned to view the Halloween Extravaganza...

Please don't take my reference to the Russians as any sort of un-p.c. slur. They are nice people. My husband and I have lots of jokes about spies and criminals and stuff like that because of the closed weirdness of our neighborhood. We are both old enough to remember The Cold War and so 'Russian' tends to be the go-to nationality when making spy jokes. No offense intended. Just joking. Okay?

I inaudibly point out where the Lawn Jockey lives... it is not our Lawn Jockey. We do not have a Lawn Jockey or any other lawn ornaments. Sure do wish we did. I would want a Wishing Well. Or a flamingo. Or maybe a couple of gnomes working... pushing a wheelbarrow, toting a pick-axe, something like that. How about you... do you have or wish you had lawn ornaments?

The dog walking guy was on the second loopty-turn of my running route, and I failed to point that out in the commentary. He thought I was crazier than the hoodie guy did. He sees me all the time and gives me the evil eye. He might be the guy who rear-ended me back in July... but I'm not sure.

The end of the development where I point out the teenagers-who-have-keggers is considered the 'dodgy' end of the development. The houses and yards are less perfectly kept up ...and they allow keggers. The other end would never tolerate keggers. Or weeds.

One regret with regards to this video... I wish I had included a spontaneous dip in the pool at the end. Yes, that really is the real site of my barefoot skirted swim video (view here) and my follow-up triathlon video (view here). But it was kind of cold. Which partly explains all my sniffing.

Remember to nominate me for Best Documentary Short in next year's round of film awards. I would like some new trophies to put on my mantel.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

There's still time to enter the Great Moving Comfort Giveaway! You might win a new, awesome sports bra of your choice... but you gotta play to win!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Head on over to FreeFringes and join in with this week's Lovelinks!