Reunited and It Feels So Good

I'm actually writing these next two posts out of sequence, because I haven't gotten all of the pictures ready from my trip that involve my two exercise activities I actually did when not drinking wine and eating cheese and eclairs chocolat (bloating section to come soon).

Yesterday was Memorial Day, a national holiday that honors the many men and women who have lost their lives serving for our country. Most Americans use this day off to bbq, go to the beach/lake/pool, or pretty much do any outdoor activity all day as much as possible since the end of May is not a miserable hot yet like the months to come. My outdoor activity...running with my old running partners. Hence, the title of this blog. I'm reunited with Haley and MaloRee and it feels so good. Yeah, I went there.

The girls showed up and in my naivetee, I thought we would swim first and then run in the evening when it was less sun. But noooooo, we had to run first...in the middle of the day. Thank you Mal and your sadistic new attitude that you picked up in Grenada. At least the pool would feel exceptional once we were done.

Our before shot showing us still alive.

The plan was to go to Hermann Park for a quick 1 mile (ok, really, it's 1.98 miles, but I wasn't informing Haley on the details). However, I forgot that it was Memorial Day. Everyone was at the zoo and they had so many roads blocked off. We couldn't find parking and didn't want to pay to park at Rice University. So, we went back home to run around my apartment. I mentioned to the girls that there is a new running path that opened and I've used, but I didn't know how long it was and there was absolutely no shade whatsover. I apparently was the only one concerned about this, but I digress.

We parked the car at my apartment and walked up to the running path. Haley immediately wanted to run, but I'm all about a warmup first. As soon as we got in the gate, we stretched a little bit and started our short jog. Haley and I are still slow; Mal is not. Along with her brand new super skinny and tanned body (hate you Mal...seriously), she's faster, as well. The route was HOT. The iron fence surrounding the path made it even hotter. Sometimes, I felt smoke coming off of my skin from the burning. We ran around without stopping, but I needed a quick walk break as soon as we got to the starting point. Our conversation was mostly catching up with eachother's lives...Haley's weird disease, their country dancing, my trip, Mal's trip to Nicaragua, school, family, etc. When we made it around halfway, I started to get nauseaus. I managed to find the only 1 ft diameter of shade underneath this small tree where I could just stop to get better. I walked around the shade line to keep moving, while Haley and Mal kept moving around in the sun. Hey, I just got back in from England the night before with lack of sleep and it was after 3 p.m. on a hot day.

Finally, the vomiting feeling passed and I was cleared to run. We kept going until we got across the street where the shade was located. I walked not for a cooldown, but just to walk. Afterwards, we got in the pool and had fun like old times.

Mal and Haley goofing off in the pool.

Sexy women poolside.

DUCKFACE!

Okay, Haley and I can be serious.

My new camera is waterproof.

Haley and Mal underwater...if you couldn't tell.

Mal's like a fish.

Seriously, how did Mal make this look easy?

I had a smile on my face in the other pictures, but this is the only one that came out of all 3 of us. I blame Mal.

We did do 1 lap in the pool for some exercise and I'm pretty sure I stretched. I swear it. Really. Then, Mal asked about when we would have dinner, which was code for I'm hungry. Haley finally answered and I laughed, because I was thinking the same thing...FOOD now. So, we got out of the pool and made a really healthy dinner (at 5 p.m.). I guess old age is finally hitting me now.

Hunting the Infamous El Chupacabra de Houston



Probably the best race day shirt that I've gotten besides my Toughest 10K Kemah shirt.

On Saturday night (8:30 p.m. to be exact), May 12, 2012, I completed one of my 2012 goals by participating in the El Chupacabra de Houston 5K/10K. If you don't know, which I suspect some of you don't (looking right at you mother who keeps thinking it's a zombie), the el chupacabra is basically translated as the goat sucker. It is a creature of legend that drinks the blood of the livestock, especially goats (and people, whatever) in Mexico, Puerto Rico (allegedly the first sighting), and USA. I'm sure it shows up in the other Latin American countries, as well.

I've wanted to do this race ever since I saw it on the Run In Texas website (love this site, because it has a listing of all these unique events like my famous Sand Crab run) last year, but I just never got around to registering. Then, I found out that not only did Kris and Sara run this event before, but they wanted to do it again. SOLD!

So, we headed out on the long drive talking about how we really weren't up for this race. It had been raining all night and most of the day, which meant the ground would be muddy. Sara hurt herself and was downgrading to a 5K, which I was thankful for since I didn't feel comfortable running a 10K in the dark (haven't ran 6 miles since the half). I ended up downgrading myself, but Kris stayed with it. He also mentioned how we were complaining and looking for any excuse to not go, but yet, we will probably have a great time (yes, we did).

After you get in to the park, there was a long drive to the event. In fact, everything was a long ways away; from the parking to the actual start line seemed like a 5K itself.

So, light and cheery and happy.

The light gets dimmer as we go farther in the woods.



Seriously, this is how horror movies start.



We trekked the LONG way to get our packets and then back to the car and then back to the start line with only 7 minutes to spare. It's funny, we were heading to the car, while everyone was heading back to get ready for the start.



Wait? What? How do I get out of this race?

I guess everyone is okay with this sign.



I had my new Shut Up and Run shirt, but Sara gave me this shirt so we can match. Way cooler.



Although, next time, I'm wearing the tank top.



Kris, Sara, and I in our high volume bright before shot. I have a feeling my mother will love these shirts.



People getting ready to start, while we are going to the car. They had the coolest light horns. I'm so wearing those next year.

Finally, we made it back to the start line and just people watched. There were so many cool lights.

Starting to think about what we are hunting. I mean, it sucks the blood of goats. Am I a match to defeat it?



We are so scared that the El Chupacabra will suck our blood before we can kill it.

It's like I'm at a rave.

And then we were off. Kris left us quick weaving in and out of the crowd. Boy, was there a crowd. There were a couple hundred people all trying to vie for a spot on the trail. But it was a pretty sight to see and the one time I wished I had gotten a picture. The line of people with their lights was so much more amazing than the lights on the Sand Crab race. Since there were so many people, I just couldn't stop to get that shot. Oh well.

Like I mentioned before, it was packed. At times, you were forced to walk due to a traffic jam. Although, we missed the crowd later on, because Sara and I realized it was easier to see the ground (and the large roots and holes) with everyone's lights. In fact, I almost ate it. I tripped over a big root, but caught myself just in time. Sara was behind me ready to grab me to safety if I didn't make it. She didn't know I was secretly a ninja.

Throughout the run, you could hear the calls of roots, mud, holes, etc. Sometimes, it helped and sometimes, it didn't. The mud pits always snuck up on us (except once since I saw the puddle of water glistening), which caused some slipping and sliding.

Then, you heard the chants of CHUPA in which we followed with CABRA. The gun shots were blasting in the background giving us and the hunt the extra oomph we needed. Somewhere a long the trail, we saw a guy go down holding his ankle. Sara and I stopped to make sure he was okay and help him, but we never saw him again; I hope he made it.

I just want to mention that lots of people running on a creaky bridge is not how I want to spend my Saturday. I swear that thing was going to fall.

Sara and I kept up a good pace albeit slower than I wanted. I actually hit another root (didn't trip), but my bad ankle twisted a bit and Sara's knee was hurting. Plus, you had to stop to walk everytime you hit the mud pits. Other than that, we pretty much ran the whole way and I felt good about it. In fact, I felt like I could have tackled the 10K, but that's just me being overly confident.

As we approached the finish line, I sped up for a big finish. My time was 43:34.0 and Sara's time was 43:35.4. After that, we got some water and waited for Kris. I missed the shot of him coming in, but we were cheering anyways. He finished in 1:11:19.4. Click here for full results. We didn't stick around for the party, but instead headed to Petrol Station for a post celebratory beer where I was informed that Zane from Three Sheets was just there. Grrrr!

Sara and I just got done with the race and waiting on Kris.

Kris just ran a 10K, didn't get El Chupa, and couldn't find us even though we were right in front of him.

Unfortunately, we didn't catch the El Chupacabra, but I'm so happy that I did this run and I can't wait to do it again...with more lights. Thank you to Sara and Kris for going with me. Now, we look on to other races in the future. It's funny, but Kris mentioned that we would be talking about signing up for our next race over beer (just like how this race happened). At the end of the night, we are doing the Sand Crab together and I'm joining Kris on the MS 150 next year with his team called Liver Strong. Maybe we shouldn't plan races over beer....nah.

All of us after the race. Don't we look sexy?

				42:08.0	13:34	117	65	Houston	TX
				42:08.8	13:34	118	66	Houston	TX

1:09:51.9

11:15

178

124

Houston

TX

Sprint For Life 5K Recap

Sorry for the week delay of this post and I will be delayed on the El Chupacabra post, as well. 


On Saturday, May 5, 2012, I participated in the Sprint for Life 5K under Team Teapot for MD Anderson in an effort to raise money for Ovarian Cancer. This event really meant something to me for 2 reasons:

• I was running in honor of MaloRee and BranDee Allen. They lost their mom to this disease and couldn't be here for this event. I took their place to run with their other sister, MegGan.
• This particular 5K started the whole, "I'm training for a half marathon and then writing a blog about it" thing for me 2 years ago. I did sign up for the Chevron 5K a couple of months prior, but that was just to run in a 5K for nothing other than to see if I could do it (didn't do it, foot surgery). See my posts here and here. 

The big surprise to this whole day was that I FINALLY got Kate to run with me. I was doubtful that she would even sign up; she did. I was suspect when we talked about getting to the run and how; she picked me up. And on that morning, I was surprised that I didn't get a text to say that she had caught this weird disease skiing in the Pokonos (which inadvertantly set off the zombieapocalypse) and is now quarantined in the CDC (meaning she wasn't going to make it). But then she showed up right on time and I was so glad, because I was nervous about running alone sick (MegGan was walking and I didn't know the others in the group, except Derek). I have dealt with a viral infection for about 3 weeks and then it turned ugly on Thursday. Consequently, I woke up still very sick on Saturday morning and not sure I would actually survive. I made a promise to not push myself and I'm glad Kate was there in that matter. It's the only time I'm going to say that, Kate. You hear me?!

Anyhoo, on to the race. We got up really really early (Kate much more than me since she lives in the sticks). If I was at normal capacity like last year, I would have walked up to the event (2-3 miles away), but there was no way that I could do it. The event organization and information was not great. They sent out a pdf, but didn't inform us that it was NOT at MD Anderson; it was across the street. Naturally, we parked far away providing us with a good warmup. We found Team Teapot hanging by the balloons although we left them to go pick up our packets.

Kate and I in our standard before shot.

 Kate made the mistake of eating a free kolache. She should have seen that I didn't, but I wasn't going to tell her. Actually, I just wasn't hungry since I ate oatmeal before we left. 

When we got back to the group, we took pictures with our cool new shirts that were made.

Team Teapot in our new awesome shirts.

Kate and I can't NOT be goofy

Then, we started to hear the calls for the runners to take their place (that's Kate and I since I believe everyone else in the group was walking). Kate and I head to the mass herd of cows...er...I mean people.

Waiting on the race to start. 

It's getting packed all around us.

Thankfully, it wasn't as packed like at the Susan G. Koman Race. We took some pictures, heard the Star Spangled Banner (forgot to take off my hat), and we were off. I held on to Kate's hand (yeah, I know) to guide her through the masses. We managed to clear the crowd and start the actual running. Stupid me forgot to start my nike + ipod app.

I love that I'm so close to my house.

We ran for about a half a mile before Kate needed a break to walk. Our goal was to make it to 1 mile, but she was huffing pretty hard. I had us stop after the light so that we could beat the traffic. The main thing that I didn't like about this event was that there were at least 4 times where we had to stop at a light to let the cars go in to the parking lot (I believe the VA Hospital). We managed to miss most of them, except for 1. It just messes up the flow of running.

Kate begging the Gods to let her stop.

This was a nice easy run and so cool to be in my neighborhood running for an event. I never get that...ever. I tried to steer us to the middle of the road since I knew how bumpy the roads were. One guy complained that we were running up hill; we were not. It was mostly flat the entire way. I had to set short goals for Kate to keep her going without dying ("Let's run from the light pole to the stoplight."). To keep her mind off the whole I'm running thing for the first time ever, I talked to her about random things. I told her about my first 5K in June (MUCH HOTTER) where I was only allowed 2 breaks of walking that lasted 10 seconds maybe. So, she should be greatful that I'm letting her walk and reward me with beer.

She's moving. 

Look closely, I'm running backwards.

A lady thought we should have our picture taken together during the race.

At one point, she poured water all over her head.

Finally, we got towards the end. I got worried seeing these people running the opposite way and thought that there might be a turnaround point. Usually turnaround points for 5Ks are at 1.5 miles, but I was pretty sure we were at 2 miles. Thankfully, it turned out to be the showoff people running to the event, running, and then running somewhere else. In fact, I wasn't even sure they were in the event. They were just there to make us look bad.

We got to the last turn in to the final stretch and I had to stop to take this lady's picture.

What an awesome shirt.

I let Kate walk ahead of me. In her words, she was hoping that I would take my time and then she heard my feet running up in which she let out a loud moan. She also mentioned to me that she felt that she was running like a banshee in heat and I'm not going to lie, it looked similar.

And then it was the final stretch. I got in to pure motivation mode to keep her going. People on the sidelines were cheering us on. It was 40 ft, then 30 ft, and then I had her pick up the pace. We crossed the finish line at 43 minutes. I high-fived Kate and then we waited for the others (okay, Kate was dying on the side looking like she just gave birth), while I high-fived strangers until the rest of Teampot crossed.

What a drama queen.

Keith and David waiting for MegGan to cross.

We finished. So very proud of Kate.

MegGan and other Team Teapot member (didn't get her name) crossing the finish line.

Now, everyone say Ahhhhh. 

 Team Teapot at the finish line.

Congratulations to everyone that participated and especially, congratulations to Kate on her first ever 5K. This won't be her last, oh no, it won't. Thank you to everyone who donated, everyone on the team, and to MegGan's hubby and son to cheer us on during the race. Team Teapot raised a total of $1,765.50 raised by 15 people. I raised $485 of it. Kate also told me that her coworkers were going to a donate a dollar for every minute that she made it under 1 hour. This was our motivation throughout the race and I'm hoping they stay true to their word.

Next race for me is a 2012 goal for me...the infamous El Chupacabra race this Saturday. Somehow, I need to run 6 miles between now and then. EEK!

On a side note, I've lost a total of 6lbs.

We saw this gazebo on our walk back to the car and we couldn't resist.

Yeah, I'm rocking it.

Picture 56 of 60 in this style. For some reason, I couldn't get it right and this was the best one.

This was a Chinese food truck called Happy Endings. Yeah, we thought it was funny, too.

Tuesday's Bootcamp

I got there in enough time to setup and do some introductions before we started our stretches. I haven't had a stretch feel so good in a long time. We first ran our 2 warmup laps before we headed to map for the dreaded ab workout. I thought last Tuesday was rough with over 600 crunches. I was wrong, so wrong. We had to do the dreaded military style ab crunch (forget the name) where you hold your legs straight about 6" off the ground. After a certain amount of time passed, we moved our legs up and down (and a little bump at the end for more challenge) and then return back to the holding position. Then, we did the Russian Twists instead of moving our legs up and down. My tummy felt like a rock. The torture was finally over only to go on to other things.

There were 3 sections set up:  1 group (me) were to do the high-knees, 2 group would do bicep curls/shoulder presses 100 times, and 3 group would do jumping jacks. Once the 100 was reached, we moved to the next section. This was our first run through. The second run through had 1 group doing 250 high-knees. The third run through had the 3 group doing 75 jumping jacks. I was proud to say that I was the first to reach 75 jumping jacks. Actually, we had a mini competition on the second run where I reached 100 of the tricep curl workout before we could move on to the next section. There were other exercises, but I just can't remember everything. I really should write this as soon as I get home, but I was tired and hungry. Anyways, we ended with more ab exercises, but this time with planks. Oh my, the planks. So much planks. In the end, I felt good for going, because I had some issues with my sickness that reared its ugly head. I wasn't sure I would make it there or not.

Also, I made Veggie Paella for the first time with Lime-Butter Grilled Corn. It was so delicious and so very healthy.

I'm going to try to go to Bootcamp this evening, but it's looking highly unlikely. My sickness again has hit me harder than before, but thankfully, it's not dizziness. I think it's just the viral part of the viral infection. And hopefully that means it's on the way out of my body for good. I'm not sure I will be able to run tomorrow and basically, I'm just showing up to the 5K on Saturday. Cross your fingers that it goes well.

An Exercise Review

I've decided to combine a bunch of posts in to one so that I can eliminate lots of posts with similar information.

Mean Green Boot Camp

Thursday night, I endured the legs workout at Hermann Park. I'm not sure what I was getting in to, but I certainly didn't think it would be as hard as it was. Boy, was I ever wrong. We stretched and then warmed up by running around the area for 2 laps. Then, it was time for abs. Thankfully, we only did150 total (I think...I did so much, I can't remember). Yes, no, it was 150. We started out in the crunch position and then moved to bicycle crunches. We couldn't really relax, because we had to hold in the front crunch position.

Then, we moved to legs. At this point, I'm fuzzy on what all we did. There were lots of jumping squats (sooooo many), running, knee highs, quick steps, more running, sets of all of that combined in to 1 exercise, etc. After all of that, my clock said 6:56. Oh my, we still have more than 15 minutes of pain to go. We then grabbed a partner and headed for the tables. I hold a hand and step up, kneeing the air for 45 seconds. That was probably the longest 45 seconds of my life. But wait, we had to do the other leg. Unfortunately, my right leg was jelly and I could barely step up. So, I had to grab the table with my other hand just to help. Then, we switched. Everyone was so motivating and yelling out you got this. We turned the shout out for sexy legs to sexier legs. I liked it. Then, Chris wanted to introduce us to his mean ex named Hilly. Yup, that's right, it was time to run up the hill. We had to run up as fast as we can and then control jog down 4 times. The first one that shouted, "Results," meant that we were done. If he called our name, we had to do 5 jumping squats (at this point, they were just squats) in place. When I completed my third set, I heard the best sounding word in the universe, "RESULTS!" We could finally stop, although, now, we had to finish our ab workout. This time, it was Hulu Hoop abs and the opposite toe touches. The first person to complete the opposite toe touches finished for all of us. Chris said a quote that I just loved, unfortunately, I don't remember all of it since I was doing jumping squats when he said it. "A vision without an action is not a plan (or something). An action without a vision is a nightmare." Very cool words.

Friday Running

I tried to take Remington up to Hermann Park, but they were having some kind of event. It was so packed and lots of traffic. I decided to just head home, because I knew I could use the running/exercise trail (surrounds 2 large soccer fields) that just opened up by my apartment. I am not sure how long this trail is, because it only gives you warmup/cooldown exercises on the signs at each station. We walked up there and started the run as soon as we got through the gate, but I was having issues with the bag and bag holder. Plus, Remington wanted to stop every 2 ft to sniff and chew. But finally, we got on a pace albeit slow, but a pace nonetheless. I love Hermann Park for the shade it offers me. This trail didn't have any shade whatsoever. Remi was getting slower and slower and sometimes, I had to walk, because he didn't want to jog anymore. I ran 2 laps around before deciding to end it due to my dog's lack of desire to run with his mommy. He was hot (and I have to admit that I was alittle hot, too) and just done. So, we walked home. What I do love about this place is that I can easily walk home, but I think I will keep this run for early mornings. I just wished I knew how long it was. My Nike + ipod said it was 2.25 milesm but I doubt that seriously.

Saturday Running

Once again, Remi and I head to Hermann Park in the evening for a quick 1.5 short run. We had luck this time since it wasn't as packed and we were there after the zoo crowd. I have a feeling that Friday's event was something to do with Miller Outdoor Theater. They had an event Thursday night, too. We walked a bit so that I could get his bathroom breaks out of the way (less stops). I started out with Beyonce Crazy in Love when I picked up the run. There wasn't anything special about this run, except maybe that Remi and I ran up and down the stairs again. I was still pretty sore from Thursday's boot camp. I ran for 3 songs and walked for 2 songs. Remi tripped me and I almost wiped out pretty bad, but I caught myself just in time. Ninja skills come in handy!

Sunday Running

I have only completed 1-2 mile runs since I got back to exercising after my surgery. With the Sprint for Life 5K coming this Saturday, I was really needing to run a 3.1 mile run to get ready or make sure that I won't die. So, for Sunday's run, I wanted to go back to my old faithful, Memorial Park. I love this run, because 1 lap is 3 miles long. The more laps I have to do, the more I get discouraged from running. I hate seeing the same things over and over and over again. When I finish a lap at Memorial Park, I feel like I accomplished something. When I run 2 laps, I feel like Wonder Woman. When I run 3 laps (happened once), I felt unstoppable. But today, I just wanted to finish 1 lap and 1 lap only.

It's been awhile since I've been here and I missed the hustle and bustle of the runners and walkers of this oftentimes packed park. And this day was no different. In fact, I parked somewhere between the 2 and 3 mile markers, because there were already a lot of people at 11 a.m. Normally, I don't run during the middle of the day, because it's just too hot. However, in April, we get days that are nice...bearable in fact. So, I wasn't worried about the heat. I didn't take in to account the lack of shade. Due to the extreme drought we experienced last summer, at least a third of the trees died (probably more like half). They are making progress by planting some new ones, but they are still short. Consequently, the run was almost entirely in the sun.

On a side note, the Memorial Park Conservancy is holding a big campaign called Re:plant Houston. They had signs at almost every marker asking for donations or volunteering to help replant the trees. To be honest, it was weird seeing inside the forest and not seeing a thick wall of trees. I will help where I can.

I didn't have Remi with me, because this run is too long for him and there are way more dogs at this park. It would be too difficult to control him and have a decent run. So, it was just me getting back to the peace of running. I plugged in my ipod (no Nike + ipod), stretched, and walked to Ke$ha's Tik Tok for my warmup. As soon as the song was done, I started running. I kept a pretty good pace for 1.5 miles without stopping. WOW! I haven't done that in such a LONG time. It felt good. I actually ran a little more, but then stopped. I didn't want to push myself so quickly even though I think I could have made it to the next marker. My plan was to pick up the run at the next quarter mile, but I missed it as usual. When I could see the 1 1/2 mile marker, I started running. I ran for awhile wanting to make it to the 2 mile marker so I could have a good walk cooldown right to my car. However, I got hit with some nausea and then headaches. Being in the sun for that long was starting to hit me and unfortunately, the edge of the trees didn't provide help. I walked the rest of the way, except for a quick jog when I felt better. I stretched before I got in my car to head home.

There were 2 songs that just hit me on this run:  B52s' Juliet of the Spirits (change out for Kristi or KW, of course) and Elton Johns' I'm still standing. These songs just inspired me to keep going when I felt tired. And it certainly, helped my personal life mood.

On another side note, I should have ran the other way so that I could end with a workout at the adult playground. Once I saw my car, there was no way that I was walking over there.

After I got done with the run, I felt confident about my 5K on Saturday. Will I run it all without stopping? Probably not, but that's more likely because of Kate Scaife and her first 5K ever. I'm going to have to pull out every trick in the book to get her to run more than she ever expected (oh...I will, I will Kate. Muhhahaahhaa). Anyhoo.

Oh and big news for me, I lost weight. I bought a scale finally and I lost 3lbs. YAY!

A Mean Way to Exercise

Last night, I used my Living Social deal for a month of unlimited boot camp training with Mean Green Training & Bootcamp. I have had this scheduled since before my surgery, but I was unsure of how my ankle would do in bootcamp since it's still weak. Plus, I've been dealing with this horrible week long vertigo sickness and the strain of roughly 10 hours of testing on Monday. Naturally, I was nervous about my energy level, about getting dizzy, about my ankle popping open, etc., etc. I even wrote them an email to maybe postpone it just in case so I get the full value of my workout. Thankfully, they didn't reply back to me.

In all actuality, I was having a rough day yesterday and I was more than happy to get my stress out with some hardcore training. By the end of the day, I noticed that I didn't have any dizzy attacks and felt confident to go. If something happened, I would just take a break or go home.

What I liked about this bootcamp compared to the other one that I have attended at Elite FX Studio is it's on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When Elite FX removed those days from their schedule, it made it harder for me to get there. Plus, Mean Green is outside at Hermann Park in the evening. So, it's closer to home. Right now with the weather all beautiful and nice, it's great to be outside doing boot camp. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about being outside exercising in a couple of weeks. But whatever.

I got there a little early, early enough to realize that I didn't know exactly where to meet and I didn't bring anything I was supposed to bring (i.e., towel/mat, dumb bells, living social certificate, and certificate of registration). Yup, I was a big failure on that part, but my only excuse is that I've been really sick lately. At least I had a towel in my trunk. So, I got some stretching in before the class all met and of course, two girls (first boot camp ever) and I were in the wrong area waiting. I forgot about the concrete slab meeting area at the bottom of the Miller Outdoor Theater hill (can't they bring back 80s movies night like last year already?).

Finally, everyone showed up and of course my name was not on the list. It was okay since I forgot all my paperwork. They still let me play. The regular members were really nice and encouraging. The Instructor, Chris was pretty cool and gathered us around for more stretching. I can't have too much stretching! He told us that we are working on arms today (which didn't mean it was ALL arms), to breathe, and don't be afraid to take a break or get water. I like that, because sometimes you feel bad when you take a break. It's like the instructors are staring at you thinking she's the big whiney wuss with her wittle water bweaks.

Now, it was time to exercise, burn some calories, and feel like a jelly mess. He asked the 2 Candices to pick a number between 1 and 10. Our numbers were 7 and 6 or maybe it was 9. I don't really know, but it basically boiled down to we were doing 630 ab crunches. You read that correctly, 630 AB CRUNCHES. Thankfully, we weren't doing them all then, but we did do 330. We were told that the remaining 300 would be done at the end of the boot camp. The first 330 were fluctuating between bicycle crunches (already do...well, before I got sick) and scissor crunches. And I did them all. I might not have gotten all 330, because I missed some on the switch. But I still did freaking over 300 and that's alot.

We then moved to running/jumping jacks and dumb bell workout. I grabbed someone else's dumb bells (10lb...sheesh, I had to stand next to a guy). You do shoulder presses and out in fronts until someone tags you out to run and do jumping jacks. Of course, nobody grabbed me or the other guy, Jeff since we had the heavier weights. Finally, he was tagged and then he tagged me when he came back. After that, Chris gave us numbers from 1 to 5. We had to run down, do 4 knee highs, and then return for 4 more knee highs. If our number was called, we had to go over to the circle and do 10 jumping jacks. I missed the first time 4 was called. Oh well, I made it up in the 3. Chris encouraged us to hi-five anyone that you can and we did. I'm all about the hi-five. In fact, after each exercise, we were told to tell eachother that we were awesome. I mean, I know I am, but it's nice to hear from strangers. HA! I keed I keed. I really did like that about the boot camp. You think of boot camp as hard and something to make you cry, but this was pretty encouraging, while losing some lbs.

There were more exercises, team exercising with lots of arm dips and pushups off a table, while your partner did 100 quicksteps. Anytime you finished counting, you shouted, "RESULTS!" At the end, we had to hold the dumb bell over our head, while we high kneed. When he called our number, we went to him. When we got to the last part, he had this other guy (also named Chris) to do a 100 high knees. We were not allowed to stop until he said the magic word. I didn't make it.

Now, it was time for the last set of ab crunches...300 to be exact. That's right, 3 freaking 00. Bajeebus. We did Russian Dips (sitting up and twisting your torso) first and the girl next to me let me use her weight. The switch crunch was the Opposite Touch or something like that where you lay down, lift your legs up straight (as straight as you can), and touch your toes. You wouldn't think it was hard, but it is. Trust me.

All in all, I really enjoyed the class and will be back for the leg workouts on Thursday. And since this is unlimited for a month, I'm going to attend the Saturday class, as well. I have to get in shape for my trip to France in 3 weeks. WEEEE!

On a side note, I biked a couple of miles on Saturday. The wind was up and it was a workout. I cut the bike ride short due to my body's weakness from being sick. On Sunday, I ran/mostly walked the short 1.5 mile loop with Remington at Hermann Park. I was feeling real bad all day, but the weather was so nice. I just had to get out there to enjoy it. I only ran for 2 songs total and walked the rest.


Remington and I taking a break.

 As a reminder, I'm running in the Sprint for Life 5K for MD Anderson on May 5, 2012. If you can, please donate with just a $1 or come join our team. Go to http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/kristiwiley/organizedgroups for more information.

Tour de Force

With my ankle taking a beating so to speak, I haven't been up to my full capacity of running. I had to come up with something new and Jim had the key...biking. I think he just wants me to ditch running so I quit asking him to join me. So, I begged my parents to give me their bike since they don't use it anymore and they obliged.

My parents finally delivered the bike last weekend. At first, I was intimidated to ride the bike. It has gears. It has devices. It's not the hot pink Lady BMX I had as a kid. It was a complicated machine ready to train athletes on how to win the Tour de France. I mean, it expected you to wear a helmet. The boys that I grew up with would have laughed at me if I wore a helmet on our biking adventures.

My new bike...what should I name him?

It was really windy weather all weekend long, which further helped my procrastination. But finally on Sunday, I went for it. I put on my yellow helmet and matching sunglasses and set off.

Lance Armstrong, eat your heart out!

The plan was to start in the parking lot of my apartment to get a feel of the bike before I set off on the roads with the cars and traffic. After a few spins around (is it fair to call it spinning?), I rode out of the apartment and on to the main roads.

Thankfully, our area is bike friendly. We may have roads with craters in it, but we have a bike path.

I'm so used to the laws where the bikers share the road with the cars, but they created bike paths on the sidewalks. Very nice and big.

Really cool picture.

I wasn't sure about the gears. I just kept fiddling with them until I felt like I had a gear that worked for me. I picked the lower, heavier one instead of the higher one that felt like I was biking fast without actually going anywhere. I didn't know really where to ride, but I ended up at the Reliant Stadium.

Actually, thats the old Astrodome...the 8th Wonder of the World.

I turned around and rode all the way to the freeway. Then, I rode home. I'm not sure how many miles I biked, but it seemed like a lot. I remembered thinking how this biking thing is not really working for me, but then towards the end, my legs felt it. 

After the bike ride.

Proof I was on a bike.

I haven't decided yet if I like it better than running, but I did enjoy it. I liked looking around and seeing the houses. I haven't mastered taking a picture while biking like Sheryl Yvette, because I managed to take a lot of pictures of my chest area. I'm still learning. 

I haven't been able to bike or run or exercise all week due to this weird vertigo illness. So, hopefully, I can get out for something this weekend.