The challenge is on

One of my facebook friends led me to this... www.hundredpushups.com I think everyone should try it out. It's a six week program to get you up to 100 consecutive pushups.

I'm hoping that will help with the new endeavor I tried this week. On my schedule the coach said, do something new for cross training. I thought about it... bike? not new. swim? not new. elliptical? not new. Stair master? not new and I'd rather pull out my teeth. Ah, got it... rock climbing. I thought I'd go kick some rock climbing butt cause they have this easy looking wall at the gym - and it's free to members. Woo hoo! I thought that would be a great way to spend an hour. Turns out it was a great way to spend a half hour! I made it to the top on the first level. The second level put me to shame. I have scraped knuckles and elbows along with bruises on my knee to prove I was there, but I failed to make it to the top on the second level. I know it can be done because I watched boys and girls of about 10-12 years old doing it... I'm going to conquer that wall! (after that there are still two more levels of difficulty to tackle)

What a good day!

Slept in - 10 hours! It was a REALLY stressful week. Did a nice snappy run this morning.... almost afternoon really ... in preparation for a 10k tomorrow afternoon. The sun was out, the wind was blowing and it was almost 70 degrees. Then after a shower and lunch, I went someplace I've passed a million times over the years, but never stopped. I finally made it to the Cider Mill. This place is amazing! All these years, I've been driving by and here I thought they just sold apples (to be fair, they really did just sell apples and cider the first few years I was driving by on my way to college - at least I think so!) This is a destination! People drive up on Harleys, in Mercedes and Buicks, in big giant camper trailers - and everything else you can imagine. People camp over night here. They stay and sample wine (I couldn't even bring myself to go into the building where the wine tasting was - but rest assured there was a long line waiting to get in). They have lunch or donuts, buy cheese and jams and candies, ride wagons pulled by horses or in a crop-duster airplane or on a "train" pulled by a tractor.... And of course there are tours of the cider mill and plenty of cider and apples to go around. It was packed! And amusing. And one of those places that Dennis would have insisted we stop at more often. It made me smile. (didn't see any Triumphs in the lot, but there were lots of Harleys and Hondas)

Then to top off a really good day, the Spartans won ... and the Wolverines lost (to a MAC team no less). All in all, a pretty good day. Now I'm watching the results of the ironman, glad I'm not running in 108 degree heat, cheering on some of my internet friends from afar. Go Rachel. Go Chris. Go USA!! You are awesome! Inspirational! Amazing!

Thoughts on the run.

I wish I could tell you about all the cool existential things I think about while I'm running. I wish I could say I have all these deep, smart thoughts while I put one foot in front of the other during a workout. The sad fact is running is my time to de-stress, to empty my mind, to let things go. Today was no different. My most profound thought today on my very HARD run (besides I think my legs are going to explode) was damn it, I forgot the body glide.

This is your warning to stop reading...

There is nothing worse than getting a mile or so away from the house and realizing you forgot the body glide. Nothing like the feeling of your thighs rubbing together to remind you to go faster. Does more friction mean thinner thighs in the long run? Or just more painful chafing... I can tell you the unfortunate answer.... it's the chafing. It's all about the chafing.