Lake Country Du/Discovery Run - Week 3 & 4

Week 3 (September 7th - September 13th)

Monday:

Question: What do you do when you want to knock off another section of the Ice Age Trail, but your training plan calls for a run?  

Answer: Find a short section and go for a trail run!  

Mr. R&R and I did an out and back on the Waterville Segment (hiking blog update coming soon).  We ran from the trailhead where it intersected the Glacial Drumlin trail and about half a mile later we were spat out onto a country road full of big rolling hills for just over a mile.  Not really trail, but the road section is a temporary connector.  We ran the flats and downhills and walked the most of the big hills.  Finally, we reconnected with the actual Ice Age Trail.  The trail run made the road section worth it.  There were only a few monster hills, I only tripped 3 or 4 times (caught myself and didn't fall), and the handful of prairie sections were short and scenic.  It was the best 6 miles of trail I've ever run and I look forward to doing it again - soon!

Trail Running Perfection

Tuesday:

After a relaxing week off, it was back to the salt mines. Fortunately it was pouring down rain all day, so being stuck inside all day was a little traumatic.  Since I'd put over 50 miles on my body in the last 3 days, it was a rest day.  I used the down time to:

- Grocery Shop - so we won't starve or go out to dinner this week

- Iron A Few Things - so I don't have to go to work nekkid or in running clothes

- Blog - because I was 2 weeks behind and I still need to work on the hiking blog

Wednesday:

What is it about work and sucking all the motivation out of a person?  I had every intention of parking my butt on the trainer for an hour, but only managed to put in 30 minutes before my growling stomach demanded that I go upstairs and eat - NOW!  Fortunately it was a good 30 minutes.

Thursday:
Neither Mr. R&R nor I wanted to do a damn thing tonight, so we compromised with a 3 mile walk while catching up on each other's day.

Friday:

I took the night off to have dinner with a friend I haven't seen since her oldest child was 3 months old - and she's going to be 4 in a few months!  I guess time really does fly, but if you would have heard the two of us chatting, you'd think we'd just hung out last week.  I definitely missed hanging out with her and will NOT let 4 more years go by again.

Saturday:
Q: What happens when Yada Yada gets a tri bike and his road bike spends an entire season hanging in the garage?

A: He and Texas convince Mr. R&R to test ride it as a possible upgrade.

We headed up to Yada Yada and Texas' house early Saturday morning to fetch the bike before they left for a century ride a few hours further north - and ended up having the most delicious diner breakfast I've ever had.  As a bonus, I kept expecting Sam and Dean Winchester to walk through the door!

Waiting for a demon to show up an cause lots of trouble.

Once we got the bike home, we got Mr. R&R roughly fitted to it and went for a ride.  We worked our way slowly along the pothole riddled roads to my mom's house to check out her latest home improvements and then continued on to the New Berlin Trail.  That was just plain fun.  Mr. R&R took off like a bat out of hell and I used the long stretch of straight pavement to practice riding (and drinking) in aero.  The ride back was even more fun since it's a slight downhill, so free speed is the name of the game.  At one point I was flying down the trail at almost 23mph, fully in aero, and having a blast!  The ride home was at a pretty pedestrian pace due to lots of busy roads and then of course, the thing I absolutely loathe happened...the dead standstill tip over.  We were riding on the sidewalk up one of the busiest roads in the city and when I unclipped my left foot to stop, I didn't lean far enough to my left to put my foot down, so I tipped over onto my right side.  I fell about a foot off a curb into a parking lot with lots of rocks and gravel.  Ouch!  When I finally managed to unclip my right foot and lift my bike off me, the bike was fine and I was missing a bunch of skin on my right elbow and right knee.  Damn.  That's the same side that took all the abuse/damage a few years ago when I crashed at the Shoreline Duathlon.  I really need to figure out how to spread the pain better!

Sunday:
I was pretty sore after my fall, so working out wasn't happening.  I went to work for a couple of hours  and then Mr. R&R and I headed to Madison to watch the run leg of Ironman Wisconsin.  Remember a few years ago when I went out there to watch the Iron Cheerleader finish IM #4 and he swore it was the last one?  He lied. He was going for IM #5 and another one of my tri friends was going after his first and I didn't want to miss it!  We parked at the Alliant Energy Center and watched a few bikes come down the hill (lots of pretty bikes to look at) before catching a shuttle that dropped us off about a block from the finish line.  We started walking along the run course and found an opening around Mile 12.  A quick check of Ironman.com showed that both my teammate and the Iron Cheerleader should be passing by our post within the next 20 minutes - they were within minutes of each other at the last checkpoint.

We passed the time cheering for the athletes as they ran by and checking out the various signs people were waving.

First came my teammate (sorry - no pictures) and a few minutes later, the Iron Cheerleader appeared. I shouted his name and he paused for a quick hug and hello before continuing on to the halfway point and his special needs bag.

Mr. R&R and I trotted a few miles down the road and waited for them to come by again.

The Iron Cheerleader came by looking much happier after retrieving a can of Pringles from his special needs bag.  We figured we had at least an hour and a half before either of the guys finished, so dinner was our next order of business.   We spotted an Indian restaurant with a 2nd story balcony overlooking the run course - perfect!

Another quick check of Ironman.com after dinner showed that it was time to start heading for the finish line.  Both of them had some how picked up speed and were flying!  As we hustled back up State Street, I had to stop and take a picture - this is what the athletes see as they're headed for home.

Pretty cool, huh?

We opted to stand about half a mile from the end rather than fighting the four-deep crowds at the finish and it was a good choice.  I watched my teammate fly by on his way to a 12 hour, 43 minute finish and the Iron Cheerleader thundered by on his way to a 12 hour, 58 minute finish (16 minutes faster than he did in 2013).

Mr. R&R and I worked our way to the finish line and somehow managed to find the Iron Cheerleader in the crowd to congratulate him.  He swore, once again, that this was it.  No more Ironman for him.  Somehow I have a hard time believing him, but only time will tell.

The Home Stretch

(Insert Your Name Here), You. Are. An. Ironman!

Watching Ironman never fails to inspire me. I hope that someday I can be half the athlete that these men and women are.


Week 4 (September 14th-20th)

Monday:
It was a loooonnnngggg day at the office after getting home late from Madison.  I really wanted to crawl onto the couch and take a nap, but I somehow talked myself into going for a run.  Ugh.  Total mess of a run, but I guess three crappy miles are better than no miles.

Tuesday:
I was going to ride my bike in the basement, but Mr. R&R beat me to the trainer (we need a second one) so I decided to try to redeem myself in the running department.  It was much cooler and less humid out - and the run went so much better.

Wednesday:
Mr. R&R spent his evening at Emery's getting his new bike custom-fitted and I spent those hours glued to my desk chair.  It was super late and I didn't have enough in the tank to do anything major when I got home, so I joined Mr. R&R for a quick mile just to shake out the legs before dinner.  I also put my bike in the trainer to test whether or not my skinned elbow had healed enough to allow me to ride in aero.  It wasn't the most comfortable experience of my life (elbow is still pretty bruised), but it was manageable.  Phew!  I really didn't want to have to race my old bike this weekend.

Thursday:
I thought I got home late yesterday.  Hah!  I didn't get home until almost 7:30pm tonight.  The only things I was capable of doing was eating a bowl of macaroni and cheese, petting bunnies, and going to bed.  On a more fun note, I put up a few Halloween decorations in my office so I don't have to feel like I'm totally missing out on one of my favorite holidays.

Friday:
Crazy day at work - so crazy that I ate a banana in the morning and then completely forgot about food until about 5pm.  Not the way I want to lead up to a race.  I came home, scarfed a Clif Bar and hustled off to see some friends at the bar.  It was fun and I managed to limit myself to one beer - and enough water to fill a swimming pool.  That was followed by lights out at 10pm.

Saturday:
It's amazing what 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep can do for your state of mind.  Mr. R&R and I walked a couple of miles for coffee and breakfast and then came home and changed into our bike clothes.

If you've been reading here for a while, you probably just heard the metaphorical record scratch and are now saying something like, "What?  She went for a ride the day before a race?"  Yes, I did.  Mr. R&R was telling me that Brent Emery gave him a new pre-race strategy to try out, so  I figured I'd try it too.

We hit the New Berlin Trail for about 14 miles at a reasonable, but not killing it, pace.  I was pretty pissed off when less than a quarter of a mile in I had a mechanical issue.  My chain dropped - and Mr. R&R was too far ahead of me to hear me shout that something wasn't right (he's ridiculously fast to begin with and even faster on his new wheels), so I got to work figuring out how to fix it.  My hands ended up covered in grease and gunk, but I finally got the damn thing back on, wiped my hands off on the grass and then on my jersey, and got on with the business of riding.  The whole debacle only cost me about 10 minutes, but it was a loooonnnng ride staring at my filthy hands on the aero bars in front of me.  Oh well.  Better today than on race day.  I stayed aero as much as I could, only sitting up at road crossings and a couple of times when the wind was so strong that I felt like my bike was going to fly out from under me.  I met up with Mr. R&R at the turnaround and we rode back together. The overall pace was fairly respectable and I had a couple of seriously kick ass miles in there!  Maybe Brent is on to something?

After our ride, we set up shop in the back yard to clean, degrease, and re-lube our chains.  I wasn't really planning on doing this, but after getting up close and personal with my chain, it was a necessity because that thing was foul.

Next up was a quick run to Endurance House about 30 minutes away for packet pick up and then we decided to drive out to the race site since it's totally new to us.  Once there, we attempted to drive the bike course based on a rather crummy map.  We drove at least half of it, noting where the turns are, significant hills, rail crossings, and one spot that seemed to have quite a bit of broken glass that will need to be avoided.  Good things to know.

Finally, it was time for all the usual pre-race rituals: high carb dinner, gather the race gear, hydrate, and try to get some sleep because the alarm is going to go off at Stupid O'Clock.

Sunday:
Lake Country Duathlon!  Check back tomorrow or early next week for a race recap!

Every Day Is Abs Day

I think this sums up the last 7 days..oh...and OUCH!

Okay, not every day is abs day, but it sure feels like it this week!

Day 29: Pump and Shred
This week began with a sneak peek of what I'll be facing in Phase 2 of this challenge.  Pump and Shred is a 45 minute workout that features squats, lunges, lots of dead rows, clean and presses, a shoulder track, and an ab track that left me whimpering on the floor of The Cave.  Getting good at this one is definitely going to take some work!

Day 30: Hit the Floor
My abs were already sore from Monday's workout, but I dragged myself down to The Cave and did the prescribed workout. I normally don't grunt and groan out loud during workouts, but tonight was an exception. I had to keep reminding myself that the results of this challenge are 100% worth the pain.

Day 31: Feel the Burn
Another day. Another workout (Pump and Burn). Another ab track. I usually crack a smile during this one because of the soundtrack - not tonight.

They're the keys to my success...but tonight they felt like torture.

Day 32: I SURVIVED!!!
Hell Month at work officially ended at 4:30pm today...and I'm still alive and sane! I usually celebrate the end of this annual torture by making a beeline to my favorite bar and chugging multiple beers.  This year was different. I came home, hit The Cave for another round of Hard Core Abs followed by a 20 minute flow workout, and then handed out candy to the few brave kids who came around trick or treating (it started pouring rain about 30 minutes after trick or treat started).  My favorite costumes were a little lion and a tiny pink dragon. For some reason, toddlers in costumes seem extra adorable to me.

Day 33: You're Really Going To Need To Breathe Through This
Finally a Rest Day!!!! I know...last time I had a full out rest day I was twitching. Tonight I was more than content to be face down on my massage therapist's table for an hour instead of working out.  My back and shoulders usually have a lot of tight spots, but tonight was just silly! At one point my massage therapist paused and said, "You're really going to need to breathe through this." before digging his elbow into a massive trigger point in the back of my right shoulder. Holy $#!* that hurt...in a good way. I could actually feel the muscles twitching as he released them! I was a little more prepared when the process was repeated on my left side. I'm almost afraid of what he'll find in my back next month!

After our massages, Mr. R&R and I stopped at the awesome wine shop next door to the massage place.  We chatted with the owner for a few minutes about what we liked, what our price point was, and were quickly directed to a Chardonnay from Napa Valley that he swore was amazing. The wine guy even admitted that he'd never heard of this particular winery before, but fell madly in love with this incredibly inexpensive ($20) wine when he tried it in their tasting room.  Of course we bought it - and a bottle of white Bordeaux that he'd recommended last year when we got back from France.  We swung by Trader Joe's on the way home for some prosciutto, brie, gouda, and crackers and we were all set for an awesome night of celebrating our first 30 Days and the end of Hell Month.  I think the wine and cheese tasted even better after not having had them in so long!

Day 34: That Wasn't Smart, But It Was Worth It
I woke up Saturday morning with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and feeling like a heavy, bloated mess.  I guess that's what happens when you eat a bunch of cured meat, rich cheese, salty crackers, and drink 3/4 of a bottle of wine after abstaining from those things for a month.  I don't care. It was delicious...and totally worth it.

I had initially planned on hitting the pool before tackling another Pump and Shred workout, but the thought of swimming while mildly hungover made my stomach heave, so that was out.  Pump and Shred was tough enough!  The lunge track sucked (yep, still hate lunges with a passion)

Day 35: 
Mr. R&R and I hit the trails again today - this time tackling the 6 mile long (3 miles out/3 miles back) Monches Segment of the Ice Age Trail.  Although this section of trail is really close to our home, we'd never been there before.  We're used to hiking in the Southern Kettle Moraine (which is pretty hilly) so we were pleasantly surprised that the trail was both beautiful and relatively flat!  On a somewhat related note, I finally updated our hiking blog (with last week's hike)!

Monches Segment

And of course my day wouldn't have been complete without an ab workout. Hard Core Abs is tough enough, but it's even tougher when you've already done 2 hours of physical activity!

Phase 2 of the Raise The Bar Challenge begins tomorrow morning - hopefully it's not all abs all the time!

Fuel The Burn

I can almost see the finish line of Phase 1 of my Raise The Bar challenge and it's motivating the hell out of me to work out hard, eat well, and do everything I can to maximize my results. The best part of all of it? I get to eat food that tastes good and is good for me!  Rather than just listing my workouts for the week, I thought I'd share some of the meals that are fueling those workouts as well.

I tend to feel a little queasy if I eat too soon after waking up, so I don't eat breakfast during the week until I get to work.  Fortunately it seems like most of my co-workers follow a similar pattern, so it's not unusual to chat with someone over their morning coffee/cereal/bagel/etc.  My breakfast of choice these days is 1 cup of high fiber cereal (Fiber One Honey Squares) and 1/2 cup of skim milk.  I make up five individually portioned bags of cereal every Sunday night and stash them in my desk drawer for consumption over the course of the week.

I tend to be a creature of habit with my weekday lunches as well.  I usually alternate between two options each week as it minimizes how much stuff I have to buy at the grocery store, but also keeps me from burning out from eating the exact same thing every day.  This week's choices are a Turkey Bacon/Lettuce/Tomato Sandwich on whole grain bread (with an option to add 2 teaspoons of light mayo/Miracle Whip based on your own taste) and a Veggie Burger Pita. Both sandwiches require minimal prep the night before, minimal prep at the office, and seem to withstand hanging out in my little cooler pretty well.

For the TBLT, I microwave 3 strips of turkey bacon and break each one in half so they fit in a container with the lettuce (I use a 50/50 spinach and spring mix blend) and tomato, pack 2 tsp of light miracle whip in a separate container, and bag two slices of whole grain bread the night before.  When I'm ready to eat, I just toss the bread in the office toaster, smear the Miracle Whip on both pieces of toast, and arrange the turkey bacon, lettuce, and tomato on top. Lunch is usually ready in about 3 minutes.

The Veggie Burger Pita requires even less advance preparation. I slice a whole wheat pita in half and throw it in a bag, layer a few slices of tomato, some mixed greens, and a slice of reduced fat cheese in a container, and grab my veggie burger (this week I'm using Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger) out of the freezer in the morning.  When lunch time rolls around, I microwave the veggie burger, slice it in half so it fits neatly in the pita, cram the cheese, tomato, and greens in the pita and I'm all set.

Regular snacks are part of my day as well.  Well-timed snacks keep my energy level up and my hunger level down, so I like to mix these up a bit so I don't get bored.  I usually have a banana or an apple (especially since my favorite apple, the Honeycrisp, is in season right now) every day.

 Other snack possibilities include: turkey slices with low fat string cheese and a side of berries or a whole grain bagel thin with a tablespoon of low fat cream cheese. 

Monday night's workout of 1 1/2 miles in the freezing cold (seriously, it was in the mid-30's) and 30 minutes of Pump and Burn were followed by a delicious dinner courtesy of Mr. R&R.

4oz ultra-lean burger with low fat cheese on whole wheat bun with a side of oven "fries"

 I was a still a little low on calories after dinner, so I made one of my favorite "night time snacks" a whole grain waffle with 1 tbsp peanut butter and 1/3 of a sliced banana. The salty/sweet combination of the peanut butter and the banana was exactly what I was craving.  I also like this snack as a weekend breakfast.

Tuesday was a full rest day. No active recovery. No anything.  I know I need to rest and recover, and I usually love a good rest day, but for some reason this one made me twitchy!  Dinner was a twist on last week's Chicken and Veggie Pita Pizza - Barbecue Chicken Pita Pizza! Can you tell I'm a big fan of anything to do with pizza?

Wednesday was a tough one at the office. I barely had time to eat breakfast and lunch. Snacks? Forget about it - and raging hunger ensued. Tonight's Pump and Burn workout was just what I needed. I didn't have time to go for a warm up run, so I felt confident in increasing my weights for the squat track, and it hurt so good!  The workout was followed by Pork Stirfry with Brown Rice.  Yum!

I was still in need of calories after dinner (since snacks didn't happen today) so Mr. R&R was kind enough to whip me up one of his delicious Berry Protein Milkshakes - and we accidentally discovered that if you leave it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes, it ends up the texture of soft serve ice cream!

Thursday night brought an awesome 30 minute trainer ride followed by HardCore Abs.  I felt incredibly powerful on the bike and I managed a few more walking hovers than usual during HardCore Abs, so the whole night was a win.  The bike workout put me in a big caloric hole and I'm sick to death of eating an extra snack after dinner so after a little math it was determined that mac 'n tuna topped with a slice of low-fat pepper jack was on the menu tonight.  It definitely wasn't the healthiest thing I've put in my mouth lately, especially with my 30 Day weigh-in and measurements looming so close, but it got the job done and it was good! 

I was going to swim on Friday before I did my Pump and Burn workout, but my legs were killing me all day and I didn't think that kicking for 30-45 minutes before doing squats and such for another 30 minutes sounded like such a bright idea.  After all, I'd like to be able to walk tomorrow! So I settled for just the Pump and Burn workout.  I actually struggled to complete all the reps in the squat track tonight - testament to how hard I rode the bike last night.

After the workout, Mr. R&R and I set about making dinner.  We like to use the weekends to make slightly more complex meals since we're not as time-crunched as we are during the week.  This meal  was a twist on a burrito we've been eating weekly since we started our respective programs and damn, it was good!  I guess you could call it a "deconstructed burrito" since it used all the ingredients that would go in the burrito, but just . 

Grilled baja citrus tilapia, black beans, cheese quesadilla, salsa and spicy guacamole

I didn't even realize how much I wanted this until I sat down to eat.  If I didn't know better, I'd think it was horrible for me, but in reality, it was roughly the same amount of calories as Monday's burger and oven fries!  This one will definitely be going into the regular rotation.

Saturday morning's pool plans were scrapped when I realized that instead of HardCore Abs or Flow, I was slated for another 30 minutes of Pump and Burn - and my arms really hate the chest track after I swim.  Mr. R&R and I enjoyed a lazy morning enjoying a hot breakfast and hanging out with Walter and Spot.

Poached Eggs with Whole Wheat Bagel Thin for Dipping

We did a few assorted chores and before we knew it, it was time for lunch!  Both of us love tuna melts, but neither of us want to subject our co-workers to that smell, so it's the perfect thing to have on the weekend.

We both knocked out our workouts, hit the grocery store to restock the refrigerator, and got to work making dinner: Feta Primavera Pasta.

Whole grain pasta, mushroom, red onion, garlic, spinach, lemon, and feta

Sunday brought our 30 day weigh-in, measurements, and photos (that will all be in my next post) a hike on the Ice Age Trail (I'm hoping to update our hiking blog some time in the next week). It was a perfect day for hiking. The weather was cool, but not cold. There were a few people around, but not too many. And the colors were at there peak, so there was lots to look at.

Of course hiking burns a ton of energy, so Mr. R&R and I worked up quite an appetite on our 7 mile adventure.  We discussed possibly going out for a late lunch/early dinner, but then realized that we could make a healthier version of what we were both craving at home - and for less than what we would spend going out.  We knew our entree would take a while to cook, so we also picked up a little appetizer to hold us over.

Baked Tortilla Chips with Salsa and Spicy Guacamole

After about an hour of cooking time, our dinner was ready - and it was so good!

Baked Buffalo and Devil's Spit Wings with Yogurt Ranch Dressing - and a BEER!

I was inordinately excited about the beer (Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat). I first had this beer when we were in North Carolina over the summer and absolutely loved it. It wasn't quite as good as I was anticipating - probably because everything tastes better on vacation - but it was still pretty damned good since I haven't had a beer in a month!

I also opted not to do the Flow workout that was on today's workout schedule in favor of doing a yoga sequence of my own (including all the poses from Flow) and some additional stretching since the hike really did a number on my legs and hips after 2 days in a row of Pump and Burn.

So there you have it...a week's worth of workouts and the yummy food that fueled those workouts. Eating healthy food can be tasty!  If you have any questions about any of the meals, please feel free to ask in the comments section.

2 For 2

Day 8: Feel The Burn
I woke up feeling like a total zombie this morning and in true zombie fashion, I arrived at work and discovered that I'd forgotten most of my snacks for the day at home.

Fortunately I had an extra little baggie of dry cereal in my desk drawer, so the furniture wasn't in danger of being gnawed.  When I got home it was time for a new workout from the Les Mills Pump series - Pump & Burn.  It definitely lived up to its name because it BURNED.  The squat track was almost 8 minutes long! It doesn't sound like much, but my quads were quivering like jello by the end.  The ab track was a burner as well (although I may have made it harder by laughing when the soundtrack to it was 'Save a Horse. Ride a Cowboy.).

Day 9: Spinning My Wheels
Today was one of those challenging days. I needed to workout, wanted to eat clean, and was scheduled to make an appearance at Little Bro's birthday dinner - at a restaurant that does not have anything remotely healthy on the menu and always leaves me feeling far too full to workout afterward.  So what's a girl to do in this situation?  Here's how I handled it: I worked through lunch and brought a bunch of work home with me so I could leave work early and hit the bike trainer (and the shower) before dinner.  I was on the bike for one hour and managed to ride almost 18 miles - and scorch off a ton of calories.

Between the workout and some careful food choices during the rest of the day, I was able to enjoy a little bit of everything on the table without feeling like I'd totally fallen off the nutrition wagon.  I will say that after a week of very healthy eating, that dinner left me feeling really sluggish and kind of queasy.

Day 10: Mixed Double
Today's workout called for a combination of two DVDs from the Les Mills Pump series: Pump Challenge and Hard Core Abs.  I was originally planning to throw in a 2 mile run as a warm up, but alas, I didn't come crawling in the door from work until almost 6:00. So, in the interest of eating dinner, getting a few things done, and going to bed at a reasonable hour, I headed straight for The Cave and got to work.  The 20 minute Pump Challenge workout almost felt easy now that I've experienced the leg burning pain of Pump & Burn.

Day 11: A Good Stretch
Yoga never felt so good. I enjoyed the stretch immensely and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to have a little break in the action!

Day 12: Paddle and Burn
I think the last time I went for a swim was some time in early August, so I was almost afraid to see how much of a disaster I was going to be when I hit the pool on Friday night.  I've definitely lost a lot of my endurance in that area, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, so I'm not starting completely from scratch. I swam 1000 yards in just over 30 minutes and then headed home and down to the Cave for a 30 minute session of Pump & Burn.  My arms and shoulders were not happy about the chest track after the swim.

Day 13: Hikin' Solo
Mr. R&R was off camping and kayaking with WhoHa this weekend, but I still wanted to get outside for a while so I drove myself out to Lapham Peak (in a downpour) with the goal of hiking the 7 mile Moraine Ridge trail. Fortunately the rain stopped and the woods were quiet and peaceful when I set out - punctuated only by the occasional trail runner.

About an hour into my hike the sun came out and for a moment I felt like I was walking in the woods of Washington instead of Wisconsin.

I pressed on with the leaves crunching under my feet and my iPod on low (I need to make a more mellow playlist for these sorts of adventures), planning to stop at the half way point to snack on a pb&j and stretch my legs.

Standing between me and my sandwich break was a series of steep hills - including The Wall.

It doesn't look terribly imposing from the photo, but let me tell you...standing at the bottom of it, it looked like a wall of earth in front of me. By the time I made it to the top my legs and glutes were screaming and a sandwich never sounded so good!  Unfortunately when I arrived at Homestead Hollow, my appointed rest stop, I discovered a huge group of adults and their poorly supervised pack of little howler monkeys.  These kids were horrible. Screaming at the top of their lungs, throwing rocks, hurling handfuls of dirt at each other, brandishing sticks...and their handlers (or parents, if you can call them that) seemed perfectly content to let them run amok.  There was no way I was stopping there, so I pushed on up the aptly named Asthma Hill.  The noise from the howler monkeys faded and I had the woods to myself again.  I passed the Observation Tower, but didn't climb the Stairway to Heaven (about 200 shallow steps) to reach it. I've been up there once or twice, but generally avoid it because it's usually crowded with people.

Finally I reached the part of the trail I've always loved to run: Big Slide.  It's a long, gentle, downhill stretch bordered by hardwood trees.

Just as I got to the bottom of Big Slide, I noticed that the sky was beginning to fill with ominous looking gray clouds, so I ended up taking a short cut back to my car via the Plantation Path (lopping about a mile off my hike) instead of continuing up Hoot Owl Hill.  It turns out that I made the right call since it began to rain when I was about a quarter mile away from the end. I tightened my pack and ran like hell for the trailhead - making it back to my car just as another downpour hit. Talk about good timing!

Day 14: Stubborn
I woke up this morning to some stiffness in my hips and legs from yesterday's adventure in the hills of Lapham Peak, so pounding the pavement for a few miles was out, but I stubbornly insisted on doing some form of lower-impact cardio, so I joined Mr. R&R for the first 30 minutes of his Power 90 cardio workout (power yoga followed by lots of high knees, jumping around, and kickboxing movements) before tackling  Hard Core Abs. By the time it was over, I. was. spent.

After 2 weeks of following the Les Mills Pump program, it's starting to feel like I've been doing it for longer - working out daily is starting to feel normal again. I still crave junk food on occasion, but the few times I've given in, it just hasn't tasted as good as I've anticipated - which is never a bad thing.  I also continue to feel much better, both physically and mentally.  I've been sleeping better and my mental focus has been unbelievable.  If this keeps up, I'm really excited to see how I feel by the end of the 90 days!  On that note, I'm off to do the mountain of laundry that has accumulated this week.