pushups

“A key factor is to do training that is fun.”
Bill Toomey

Planking with a weighted pack? Sure, I got that!

I decided to kick my Ultra Beast training up a notch by doing some hiking with a weighted pack. I love being outside, and anything that adds getting sweaty or dirty (or even better- MUDDY!) is just a bonus. In other words: hiking + added difficulty= good times.

Getting out on the trail with the pack was actually the first time that I felt like I was actually training for the Ultra Beast. Caring the extra weight was definitely an added effort in the beginning, but I adjusted pretty quickly. Once my legs were warmed up, I was ready to go!!!

Instead of going to the trails around my house, we headed over to Sleeping Giant in Hamden (a few towns over) for some more difficult climbs and terrain. It definitely didn’t disappoint! Some of the more technical parts were a little tedious with the pack and extra weight, but they were still doable. My first time out we hiked for about 40 min because I was on a time crunch. I felt pretty good when we finished and didn’t feel too tired at all. The second time we went for over two and a half hours and I was DEFINITELY feeling it. (The pushups and planking during the breaks may have helped…) My shoulders felt life the were being pulling down toward my feet, and my back got pretty sore. Next time I’ll have to adjust the weight so it stays more centered in the pack to spare my muscles a little.

Overall, I’m looking forward to spending more time out on the trails getting my butt kick by my awesome new day pack!

“I know what I am doing and I will be OK!” Result: Over Three Weeks Lost in the Desert (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)
Four Life Lessons From Hiking (rachaelruddick.wordpress.com)

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“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest”

-Ashleigh Brilliant

Or feels as frustrating as injury...

Okay, maybe it’s not technically confinement, but it may as well be. Someone should just go ahead and lock me up because not being able to exercise has been DRIVING ME CRAZY.

Then, as if life were taunting me, the gym called me today because my payment didn’t process for the third month in a row (ever since I updated to my new credit card). They needed me to come in person, so I hauled myself over there on my way home from work to fix the issue. I was definitely having some serious exercise envy watching everyone workout. I would have been happy even to do a little cardio, but I was a good girl and didn’t risk it- even when G-Dawg showed up after his run or offered to do some lifting. (He quickly remember my shoulder and apologized when I ~~shot him a dirty look~~ reminded him I couldn’t)

On an up note, I ran into Mike while I was there AND HE TOTALLY MADE MY NIGHT! He said a client of his was in the gym Saturday when we were lifting, and she just happened mentioned to him that there were two guys doing some really sloppy pushups and getting completely shown up by a girl. Mike said he knew right away it had to be me based on the description she gave. It definitely cheered me up to hear that I was, in fact, actually kicking their butts at something even while nursing my trashed shoulder and feeling like a wimp. It was absolutely the nicest thing anyone could have said to me (THANK YOU MIKE!!!). lol Plus, I know he wasn’t making it up just to make me feel better because he was clearly excited to tell me.

Tonight I’m going to try some time with the foam roller to see if it helps the knee. Mike agreed with my plan to lay off Insanity for the rest of the week and really give my body time to recover. It’s somewhat fortunate that this happens to be a week where my work shifts are all scheduled on boot camp days, so at least I ‘m not missing days I could have made otherwise.

Have a great night everyone!!!!