Monday, January 14, 2013

18 miles all by myself

Monday I started the week off at Bar Method. A difficult class as always. I can't believe they have Level 2 classes that are even harder!

Tuesday I went to Body Dynamix to get my hip flexor worked on. It's just the right one that really bothers me. Dr. Eddie used this crazy jackhammer type instrument to loosen up my muscles or something. I swear he explains it much more technically than I do, I just have a very short memory. He also showed me some stretches for my hip flexors. He thinks it might be from driving which would explain it only being my right hip flexor that hurts.

After that I went to Fleet Feet to join Team CATS for their training run. We ran about 5 miles in the VERY STEEP hills and finished it off with hill sprints! It was very humbling to see that despite the hill training I have incorporated, I've got a looooong way to go. Back at the store we wrapped things up with 5 minutes of ab work.





Wednesday I got to do something a little different. I heard that a restaurant near my Bar Method studio was hosting a Top Chef style Mayor's Cook-Off and attendance was free. It was also a Blue Zones Project event so I wanted to support it. In order to attend you had to make a Blue Zone pledge which could be anything from quitting smoking to attending a faith-based service regularly. The event was so much fun! The mayor from each of the Beach Cities (Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo) was paired up with a well-known chef from a restaurant in that city. Each team had to create a plant-based cold dish (apparently the cold part was more to do with city laws) and the winner would be selected by a panel of judges. Unfortunately I couldn't stay the whole time in order to make it to Bar Method for class but I was glad to hear that my city, Redondo Beach, won the overall challenge for most people taking the pledge. Manhattan Beach won the cook-off.





Thursday I took a rest day and with 18 miles looming I decided it was best to rest Friday too. So that brings us to Saturday. Well, let's backtrack a moment. All week I had been hearing reports of freezing temps for the weekend. Not just "freezing" but literally below 32 degrees. I decided to allow myself to start my run at 8:00 a.m. instead of the usual 7:00 a.m. in hopes that it would be slightly warmer. This was also the reason that when my alarm failed and I didn't get out of bed til 8 I wasn't too concerned. Boy was I in for a shock when I finally got out of my car to run and realized I didn't even need gloves, let alone the jacket I had brought just in case.

Because of my tardiness I missed my chance to run with a partner so I faced 18 miles all alone. This was also due to the fact that I chose to run on The Strand rather than the Venice/Santa Monica Boardwalk. Thankfully the change of scenery helped pass the miles quickly. It was also packed with people which kept me entertained. I'm not kidding, every volleyball court was taken and I had to run around people constantly! You would think it was a summer day if not for the slight chill in the air. There was even a surf competition going on due to the King Tides. I didn't take many pictures because I wanted to keep up the momentum but I allowed myself to take a couple at the halfway point and again at the half marathon point when I walked to eat a Hammer nutrition bar. That was also where I saw the hang glider crossing and hang gliders poised for take off. Looks like fun!







Sunday I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be. I did some laundry and realized I have some very bright workout clothes. Fun clothes definitely makes working out more fun! While I was cleaning up I put my New Year's Race medal on the rack Mike made me for Christmas. Later in the day I met up with Lauren and Kasia at Black Dog Yoga. Lauren invited me to join them but warned me the class was intermediate. I am no yogi but I really wanted some girl time so I went anyways. The class was really tough but I hung in there for the entire 90 minutes (my first ever yoga class that long). After we rewarded ourselves with a delicious dinner at veSTATION which included fresh coconut water!




Although I didn't receive any donations this week, I've been helping team CATS prepare for our Comedy Night! Eric Schwartz aka Smooth-E is hosting an awesome night to help us raise money so I created a Facebook invitation and Evite to get things organized. If you are in the area please join us! Don't forget to call the bar to make reservations.

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