"Sit this one out champ."

Hands down the most frustrating words I heard at CrossFit last night.

The class was learning cleans and because I can't jump while wearing an air cast, I got to sit on the sidelines and watch.



It's been nearly a week, and at this point I am so beyond frustrated with this injury.

I'm sick of not being able to run. I'm sick of not being able to participate fully in my CrossFit classes. I'm sick of sitting around feeling like I'm getting fatter by the second because I can't do anything other than eat, sleep and hobble around in an aircast.

I miss endorphins and I miss feeling healthy and clearly this lack of running thing is making me become unhinged.


So excited and happy to run 26.2 miles!

And yes, I realize I sound like a giant whiny brat. I should probably be grateful that this is an injury I'll be able to bounce back from fully and all that.

But right now, that's not where my head is. Right now I'm sad and annoyed and a whole bunch of other emotions that have me alternating between wanting to punch a pillow and wanting to curl up in a little ball and cry.


Reminder from a friend to not be a bonehead

I know resting is the smart thing to do. I know if I try to come back to soon, I risk re-injury or an even worse injury that will take longer to recover from. In my head, I know all this, but that doesn't make it any easier to cope with.



I can't take much more of this whole injury thing and what it's doing to my emotions and my overall happiness levels.

And yes, I'd really love some cheese with all this whine.

Last night I had my third CrossFit Elements class, and I didn't want to miss it because my foot is in a giant air cast to cushion the strained tendon in my foot.



I opted to go to the class, figuring I'd do the moves that I could and at least watch the others to learn the proper form of anything I couldn't participate in.

When I showed up Coach Colin asked me right away what happened and what I could and couldn't do workout wise, and then he came up with a modified workout plan for me.



Unfortunately for me, the class was learning the beginnings of box jumps tonight and since high impact is out of the question for me, I wasn't able to participate. I was so bummed! I had been looking forward to box jumps for a while.

But Colin promised we'd do more of them in future classes and hopefully by then my foot will be on the mend.

We also learned front squats and presses with the weighted bar. I was able to at least practice the form on those, but I couldn't really manage much weight on the bar in the squats because the air cast makes me wobbly.



Our workout of the day consisted of five squats followed by bear crawls, doing as many sets as possible in five minutes.

Colin modified it for me, and I did five squats with a kettlebell and then a kettlebell carry, as many sets as possible in five minutes. Holding the kettlebell was easier than squatting with a big heavy bar, and I could keep better form.

At the end of the workout, I wasn't as winded as the other people in my class doing the actual WOD, but I still know I got a decent workout.

It was hard standing on the side and watching the class try some of the things I couldn't do. Being injured definitely sucks, but I was so glad I can still at least do a little bit of a CrossFit workout.

Our coaches emphasized a lot that any workout can be modified to work around injuries, so I plan to keep going to the classes and doing what I can. Better than sitting at home and moping about how I can't run.

Sooo I might have gone a little MIA over the Thanksgiving holiday. I was thoroughly enjoying my time in PA and wasn't all about spending a bunch of time on the computer.

So what have I been up to the last week you ask?

Well let me give you a quick rundown:

My mom and I hit the outlets on Tuesday looking for some pre-Black Friday bargains. I found a cute pair of boots and a few cute work things so I'll call that a win!

I spent Tuesday night catching up with some of my friends from high school. We met for dinner and drinks and met a friendly guy at the bar who bought us a round of shots. Then the bar closed at 11. Only in PA, people, only in PA.

Thursday, like every other good American, I gorged myself on Thanksgiving deliciousness. But I did run a 5K that morning to make me feel a little less guilty. I also signed up for the Runner's World Holiday Run Streak and committed to running at least a mile every day between Thanksgiving and New Years.



Friday I ran an awesome 10-miler on a rail trail near my parents house. It was a gorgeous day and I was able to run in capris and a t-shirt and feel perfectly comfortable. Managed to hold a decent average pace too.



Saturday I hit the pool with my mom to swim with her masters swim group. We did 2,000 yards and I was spent by the end, but I squeezed in a one mile run to keep the run streak alive. I also tried out my awesome new Pro Compression socks. I know they look really hot tucked into my capris.



Then this happened.



And the run streak came to a crashing halt.

It appears I have strained my peroneal tendon. It's a small tendon that runs from your foot up and around your ankle. I can't walk at all unless I'm in my really sexy air cast, but I'm hoping the pain and inflammation start to fade by the end of the week.

If it doesn't, I'll go see a doctor, but for now, rest is pretty much the only thing that will help this.

I'm already going out of my mind with boredom. I. miss. running. so. much.

Greetings from PA!

I'm officially home for Thanksgiving! I took the whole week off so I could spend some time relaxing with the family.

Before I headed out of town, I spent Saturday at our last tailgate of the season.



I'm always insanely surprised at how fast the college football regular season flies by. I can't believe it will be another nine months until we tailgate again.



Hopefully by then Maryland's quarterback and other key players will have healed from their many, mannnny ACL tears so maybe we can be remotely competitive next season.

After all, it will be our last season in the ACC.

If you hadn't heard the news, Maryland announced yesterday that we're leaving the ACC to go to the Big 10 starting in the 2014 season.



I have mixed emotions about the move. I'll definitely miss some of the games and the rivalries of the ACC, but the truth of the matter is, our athletics department was in a pretty dire financial situation and we will benefit hugely from the money from the Big 10.

It's going to take us a little while to get our footing in football in the conference, but our basketball team will certainly be competitive.

I'll definitely miss the Duke and UNC basketball games and the ACC in general (especially in sports like soccer and lacrosse), but hey this move could be good for us.

Lots of people have put out their opinions on this, but I think Scott Van Pelt summed it up nicely: It's sad to leave, but it could be a good move.

Getting out the door to CrossFit last night was a little bit of a struggle. I was wiped out when I got home from work, and since the beginner class doesn't start until 7:30 p.m., I knew I was going to have some down time at home where I'd get real sleepy.

After eating dinner, I set my alarm for 6:30 and grabbed a short power nap. I felt much better afterward, and had more energy to get to the gym.



I arrived a little early and got to watch the end of a regular class wrapping up. Damn did their workout look intense. I am equally excited to get to that level and terrified that I won't be able to keep up.

In class last night, we focused on proper form for dead lifts and kettlebell swings. Without proper form you risk really messing up your back.

We also did more squats last night, and let me tell you, my poor aching quads were not the least bit happy about it.
(Source: Silver Spring CrossFit)

It's really uncomfortable to hold a kettlebell that way, but coach Colin promised we'd get used to it.

We wrapped up yesterday's session with a partner workout consisting of 10 kettlebell swings followed by 10 medicine ball slams, repeated four times. I was definitely huffing and puffing after that one, but I felt really good.

I know it's still early, but I am loving CrossFit. The group atmosphere and having a coach plan workouts and push me is really, really awesome. I'm looking forward to really taking advantage of the off-season to really get into CrossFit.

Do you ever have one of those days that is just awesome from beginning to end? That was definitely my day yesterday.

Even the most normally mundane things seemed extra awesome, and I was literally in one of the best moods ever all day long.

I kicked major butt on the 9-5 front, making some really solid headway on a few big projects. Since I'm taking off all next week to spend time at home in PA for Thanksgiving (YAY!), I've been trying to get ahead on some of my stuff and yesterday things were just falling in to place.

I also dove head first into a new pet project that I'm really, really excited about. It's health and fitness related and it's going to be awesome. It involves mass amounts of coordination, logistics, marketing and strategic planning, some of my favorite things ever. I'm tackling the project with a friend so I'm not majorly overwhelmed because well, sometimes I have a tendency to bite off a little more than I can chew, and then stress myself out. I don't have many details to share yet. When I do, I'll promise to let you know more.

Then last night I got to spend some time hanging out with two of my friends who are getting ready to launch their start-up today. I don't think I've ever been in a small room where there's been so much energy, anticipation and excitement. You could literally feel it bouncing off the walls, and it's a highly contagious attitude. When my friend and I took a break for a quick run, I was pretty much bubbling over with excitement.

Tackling a million projects like this in all different areas just makes me feel so energized. I couldn't fall asleep last night because my brain was going a million miles a minute trying to work out different details and scenarios on several of these projects, and I woke up this morning kind of ready to tackle the world.

I wish I could bottle this feeling up and save it for when my motivation tanks are a little low.

Guys, I think I'm going to really like this whole CrossFit thing.



It feeds my competitive side and I love that about a workout.

Right now, I'm in an eight session intro class that my gym calls CrossFit Elements. The point of Elements is to teach us the basic movements that are used in regular CrossFit classes so that we can do them safely with the proper form and not feel lost in the class.

I love, love, love that my first several classes are with people who are just as new to this whole thing as I am.

It made me feel so much less intimidated when I got to the gym last night.



Last night's class was an hour and we learned about five different exercises before doing our first intro-style workout of the day.

We tackled the goblet squat, ring rows, planks and push-ups and something else that I'm forgetting. (Links go to demos of the moves, if you're curious)

Most hilarious part of the class was probably when I almost fell on my face trying to do a pushup in proper CrossFit form. I'm going to need to work on that whole upper body strength thing.

Then we did our first mini-WOD -- the part of the class I was most looking forward to.

This was the workout:

• 7 goblet squats


• 7 ring rows


• Farmer's carry

Repeat three times for time.

Our instructor had all the girls use blue kettlebells (which I later found out weighed 12 kgs or about 26.5 pounds). I will probably use a heavier weight next time because I think that amount is a little too light for me.

I was the second one in our group of seven to finish the workout, and I finished in 5:10. One of the guys beat me, but I was only a couple seconds behind him.

Yea, CrossFit is definitely going to fuel my competitive side. I had a ton of fun in the class and I'm really looking forward to Thursday's session. I can definitely see why people love CrossFit so much.

The weather in DC has been really strange lately. Yesterday it was warm and in the low 70's.

I was able to run in shorts and I actually felt a little uncomfortably warm on the run.



I did about 3 miles, but didn't wear my watch so I have no idea what my pace was. I felt slow though.

Today it is rainy and about 45 degrees. Luckily, I won't be working out outside today. Instead I'll be doing my first ever CrossFit class!


 

I am two parts excited and one part nervous. The nervous part is mainly because I'm fairly certain I won't be able to walk tomorrow after a thorough butt-kicking tonight.

I'm viewing CrossFit as a fun experience and something different to try between now and Christmas. If I love it and I'm seeing some results by then, I might sign up to do it longer term. If I hate it or I'm not seeing any results, I won't continue to do it.

Data nerd alert!

In order to measure results, I'm going to be taking all sorts of fun measurements before my class tonight.  I plan to monitor weight, body fat percentage, and then number of inches around pretty typical body parts: waist, hips, biceps, etc.


 

I'm not sure if I'm going to go public with any of those numbers, but I will most likely do some sort of check-in where I at least let you know if I'm seeing changes and what direction things are moving in.

My biggest goal for CrossFit is that I'd like to put on some muscle (and ideally have it replace fat). So a drop in body fat percentage is going to be the key indicator for me of how CrossFit is going.

I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how the first workout goes. Fingers crossed, I won't be in too much pain.

What could be more fun than running a 5K with a bunch of your friends?

How about running a 5K in the dark on a course lit only by stuff that glows in the dark and then getting to celebrate the run at a post-race dance party?



That was the awesomeness of the LivingSocial Glow in the Dark 5K Dance Party.

Friday night, I headed out to RFK Stadium in DC where LivingSocial had set up a 5K course through the stadium's parking lots. When I was first looking at the map, I was wondering how exciting a course through parking lots could be.

But then I noticed there were things on the course like glow tunnels, and glow-in-the-dark spray paint tents and speakers pumping music throughout the entire course.


Photo by Drew Angerer/LivingSocial

I had a feeling this race was going to be beyond fun.

A ton of my friends were doing this race, and I had plans to run with my coworker Emily, her boyfriend Mike and their friend Diana.


Me and Emily at the start

We met at the start line, dressed in our black running gear. Because LivingSocial comped my entry to the race, I got to start in the very first corral. I don't think I've ever started a race this close to the start line.

As the countdown started, we got ready to take off. Once we got through the start line, it took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but then I was able to see pretty well despite it being nighttime.

We took off at a pretty fast pace, dancing along to the music and running through all the tents where volunteers sprayed you with glow-in-the-dark paint.


Photo by Drew Angerer/LivingSocial

I didn't see any mile markers on the course (though there's a chance I just missed them), so I was glad I had my Garmin to at least let us know how far we'd gone.

I loved the music they were playing on the course. It was fun and happy party music and I definitely busted out some goofy dance moves and sang along as we were running.

This race was all about having fun and we all crossed the finish line with big smiles on our faces.


Diana, Mike, Emily and me after finishing

We rode our endorphin high back to the DC Armory where a crazy dance party was already underway. We grabbed some drinks and hit the dance floor while we waited for the rest of our friends to finish the race.


Lauren, Laurie, Emily and me at the dance party

I was sad I had to leave the dance party on the earlier side because of that whole 4 a.m. wake up call on Saturday morning. I was having such a blast and I didn't want to leave.


Photo by Drew Angerer/LivingSocial

It sounded like everyone I talked to had a really, really great time with the race. I wasn't sure how LivingSocial would manage a race with more than 7,000 participants, but they did a great job keeping enough space between all the corrals. My friends in the back corrals said the course was crowded, but not in an uncomfortable or annoying way.

I seriously think this was one of the most fun races that I have ever run. I loved every minute of the course and the dance party. I need to get more "just for fun" races on my calendar.

It's been a long weekend.

I woke up at 4 a.m. yesterday to make the long drive up to Ohio for my grandma's funeral.



The service itself was very nice. My aunt managed to incorporate all the grandchildren and great grandchildren into the service. I had to do one of the readings, and I managed to not mess up, even though I was nervous I wouldn't be able to hold it together.

I was actually OK during most of the service, until the very end. There are just certain songs they play at most funerals that make me lose it. And I fell apart pretty badly at the end.

As we were walking out of the church, I think that's just when everything sort of hit me about how final it all is.

We got through the part at the cemetery and the luncheon afterward, and then my dad took me and my cousin up to see my grandma's house one last time.



It might not look like much now. You can tell the years have definitely taken their toll, but I have lots of memories of being a little kid here and exploring in my grandma's yard or shooting hoops in her driveway when we'd visit at Thanksgiving or Easter.



Though it's been a long time since I've been to the house, it's sort of weird knowing that it's up for sale and it won't be there anymore.

I guess it's just another chapter in life that's closing.

This weekend was mentally and physically exhausting. As soon as I got home, I passed out for an epic three-hour nap. I'm glad I have the day off work tomorrow to relax.

And on another note, thank you to all the veterans who served, including my Dad. He showed me his old military ID this morning before we left Ohio.



He's 18 in that picture and still has a full head of hair. He also still rocks that mustache to this day.

As promised today's awesome guest post comes to you from my best friend Emily Yahr!

The journey to my first 5K started in the typical way -- at a party in the back alley of a friend's house on a sweltering summer night.

It was July 2012, and I had been telling everyone that would listen at my friend's birthday barbecue about my goal to finally, after years of start-and-stop training, to run a 5K. Apparently I talked about it so much that it became an actual conversation topic. Suddenly, someone mentioned that American University would hold a 5K in October, called Race to Representation (could it be any more DC?).

Other people standing around us agreed that we should all run the race -- I over-enthusiastically chimed in. Though as any plan that hatches late on a Saturday night when everyone starts posing for hipster Instagram pictures, I didn't think anyone would mention it again.

[caption id="attachment_2395" align="aligncenter" width="450"] I mean, does this look like someone who's going to complete a goal?[/caption]

But when my friend Jennifer sent around an e-mail about the race a couple weeks later, I knew I was locked in. Feeling the pressure to actually complete this goal that I had since 2007 -- and the promise of brunch after the race -- I hit reply all: "I want to also! Ahhh this is scary."

----

To say I had never been a runner is a HUGE understatement. It seemed like the least enjoyable activity imaginable. My friends Jess and Jason both ran marathons, and I loved going to watch their races. I just had no desire to participate in such an activity myself.

"You just have trouble with endurance," my mom sympathetically told me once after I epically failed running a mile in elementary school gym class. I clung to that statement as an excuse for the next decade or so. "I don't have endurance," I kept telling myself. "I could run, but I can't -- I don't have endurance."

[caption id="attachment_2396" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Me with Jason after his marathon[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2397" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Me with Jess after her marathon[/caption]

My only real foray into running had been briefly in the spring of 2007. I spent six months in Boston for a very intense internship, and my social life in the beginning was, shall we say, underwhelming.

Out of sheer lack of anything better to do on the weekends, I Googled "how to run a 5K" and stumbled upon the very popular Couch to 5K program. It seemed manageable. Run 60 seconds, walk 60 seconds, and build from there. I could do that! "That's it," I told myself resolutely. "I'm going to run a 5K."

And so I tried. Every night, I would gasp for breath and run around my neighborhood in freezing weather, increasing the amount every time. "Oh forget it," I would think, seeing that I would have to run 5 minutes consecutively. "There's no way." It was incredible to see my own progress, and about 8 weeks in, I was running about 2.2 miles at a time -- I couldn't believe it.

Though by that point, I had met some new people, and running took a back seat to exploring the city and going to dragon racing class. I never made it past 2.2 miles. I tried to pick up running again when I went back to school for senior year that fall, and never got the motivation. I would wander around for awhile with my iPod, and then head back inside. "Oh well," I would think. "I mean, I don't have endurance."

---

Graduation came, and then the real world (both the actual thing and the show, since I write about TV for a living), and it became increasingly difficult to excel at an extremely time-consuming job, have a social life, and exercise on a regular basis. The third obviously took a back seat. Even though I knew I should, and it was, you know, good for me, I always had an excuse.

I had it in my mind that running was the only kind of exercise that really got people into shape, so whenever I got the urge to work out, I would try it -- sort of. I would pick up Couch to 5K every few months, then get busy again. Or just get bored. Or, one time, take a very embarrassing spill on the sidewalk, hobble away, and not run again for weeks. I signed up for a 5K with my college roommates, and promptly walked the entire thing.

[caption id="attachment_2405" align="aligncenter" width="450"] University of Maryland contingent at the race. From our attire, I think you can tell only one of us *cough Jess cough* runs races.[/caption]

Post-college time flew by faster than I could imagine, with that cycle repeating over and over. But by the time Summer 2012 rolled around -- five years after my initial 5K goal -- I couldn't avoid the fact that I was in terrible shape. It was easy to ignore until I couldn't anymore. In making some other changes, I vowed to finally conquer my Everest: run a 5K.

So, the above conversation at my friend's party in July came at the perfect time. And as if finally getting healthier wasn't enough, I had extra motivation -- I really hate canceling on people. And since my friends had signed up, I didn't want to let anyone down.

---

The day of the race, on a gorgeous morning on October 6, I kept telling myself it wasn't a big deal. No pressure. Only 3.1 miles. That's not so long. How bad could it possibly be? I had trained religiously for the last few months, running a little further more every other day, in the DC summer heat. I asked Jess a million questions about training, and she very nicely answered. I did the same with Jason and repeatedly made him tell me if he thought I could really do this, and every time, he told me I could. I was ready as I was every going to be.

I am not an early riser, nor do I generally arrive at places early, and I showed up a solid 40 minutes before anyone else for the race that started at 8:30 a.m. Eventually, I saw a few other people from our group, and as everyone arrived, the panic set in.

All these people are faster than I am. Why am I even doing this again? What if I finish last? Will people laugh at me? What if I fall over and become a YouTube sensation? What if it takes me an hour to run it? What if I get lost on the course? Can I get out of this somehow?

We got to the starting line, and I was surrounded by people I knew -- no chance for a quick escape. Before I knew it, it was time to start.

The course was a fairly simple trek through American University's campus -- it started through the quad and wrapped around the street, down to a track and then back through the same route again. The first round went okay. Most people in my group were really fast, but two of them, Anne and Jennifer, ran with me in the beginning. As much as I had been nervous about running with other people (What if they expect me to have conversations? I can barely breathe!) it was actually nice to have company.

The second time around the course, however, was unpleasant, as I remembered that running more than a mile is a lot of work that I'm not necessarily cut out for. Out of the goodness of her heart, Anne stuck with me the entire time, not even minding when I put in my headphones to listen to the country music that had gotten me through training for this thing. (It is here I must give a shout out to Florida Georgia Line, as well as Randy Montana -- I can't even listen to "Cruise" or "Ain't Much Left of Lovin' You" without feeling like I should break into a jog.)

I also discovered I have a lot of rage during races. "They're not running! What do they know!" I snarled to Anne, in reference to the people who gave up their Saturday mornings to stand on the sidelines and cheer for 5K runners. She nodded kindly in agreement, while probably thinking I was a terrible person.

However, I did greatly appreciate another friend that showed up to not only cheer everyone on, but randomly appear at different spots on the course to yell at us to keep going. It was great, and also wonderfully distracting, because my mind would wander to how he got from one side of campus to another so fast..until I remembered he was a high school cross country star who ran four-minute miles or something.

Finally, finally, I saw the finish line in the distance, and saw the rest of the group cheering and clapping for me and Anne to keep going -- they were awesome. I triumphantly crossed the finish line, and couldn't believe the clock said something around just 38 minutes. I was so fast! For me, that is. I gave high fives to everyone I knew.

[caption id="attachment_2406" align="aligncenter" width="373"] Finish line![/caption]

As for my fears about me finishing the race last? Um...as you can see from the picture above, there's no one behind us. So I probably did. I didn't even care.

[caption id="attachment_2408" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Group shot after the race![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2409" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Anne, Jennifer and me[/caption]

Overall, I'm not proud of the fact that it took me so long to achieve a very manageable goal. But the whole experience wound up being so much more than that.

Not running a 5K became a mental hurdle, like that I was going to be stuck in the same routine, in the same place always. So I think running has taught me that sometimes, you don't have to wait for things to be exactly the way you want them to make changes in your life -- you can just start, right now, regardless, and good things will follow

(As a sidenote, wow, does running get you in better shape -- turns out it's not just a rumor! The random compliments alone are worth it.)

In the end, I know I'm not a runner at heart, and I never really will be. Yet I'll still continue to do it, because what the whole experience showed me is worth so much more than that. And right after the race, Jennifer started talking about running a possible 8K in December. Honestly? It doesn't sound like a bad plan.

Here's just hoping it doesn't take me 8 years.

[caption id="attachment_2407" align="aligncenter" width="375"] A few weeks ago at an apple orchard. A more accurate description of what I love to do in my spare time.[/caption]

Emily is running her second race tonight, the LivingSocial Glow in the Dark 5K Dance Party. Since the rules allow it, she'll probably dance most of the way.

1. I think I'm pretty much completely recovered from my marathon except for a few lingering and super annoying blisters. By the end of MCM, I had what looked like a second toe growing off the big toe on my right foot. It was huge and insanely painful. Even after draining it, I couldn't wear real shoes for several days. I've been going through BandAid blister pads like no one's business to keep it covered and healing quickly.

Luckily it's almost gone. What's not so lucky is that on one of my recovery runs, the blister pad slipped and started rubbing against a different toe, where I have now developed yet another blister. This one is smaller, but pretty painful. Stupid blisters just need to go away.



2. I've run twice since the marathon and other than the blisters everything felt good. I did a six miler last Sunday and a three miler on Tuesday. I took the six miler nice and slow and tried to push the pace a little bit on Tuesday's three miler. But I didn't wear Garmin so I have no clue what pace I was actually running. It was kind of freeing to run without a watch and not worry about constantly checking my pace, time and distance. It was nice just to be out there running for the sake of running.



3. Most plans I've looked at have said allow at least two weeks of recovery before diving in to any sort of training plan for a follow-up marathon. At the end of this week, I'll have taken it pretty easy for two weeks and I'll be ready for a slight build in my training before I start tapering down again.

Because of the time crunch, the build phase will only be about a week or so and it will be not super intense or have super high mileage. The goal at Rehoboth Beach is to have fresh and well-recovered legs. The tricky part will be striking that balance between pushing it enough, but not overdoing it. I'm still trying to figure out a good plan to get me there.

And that about wraps it up for today. Tomorrow I have a really fun surprise for you guys -- a guest post from my best friend about running her first 5K. It's hilarious and extremely well-written, I think you guys will really like it, so make sure to check back tomorrow!

Happy Election Day!!!

I hope everyone takes the time to go out and vote today, and no matter which way you swing politically, let's all celebrate that after tomorrow there will be no more political ads! Hooray!!!



In workout news, last night, I decided that running another marathon in 4.5 weeks apparently wasn't the only fitness challenge I wanted to tackle this month. I went to the local CrossFit gym and met with one of the trainers to learn more about the program and the workouts.


 

Going in, I was pretty sure I was going to sign up unless they said something ridiculous or pushed the Paleo stuff too hard.

But the trainer was awesome. He mentioned Paleo, but also acknowledged that since I was a runner, I would need to be eating some carbs too. (Let's not kid ourselves, I'm not doing CrossFit for the diet.) He talked a lot about how he thought CrossFit could benefit my running and seemed pretty cool with the fact that I was just looking to try CrossFit as a way to mix things up in the running off-season.

I've heard from a few people that some CrossFit people drink the haterade when it comes to distance running, but I didn't get that vibe at all last night.


 

So after maybe 40 minutes of talking about goals, my current fitness level and getting a good overview of the program, I forked over more money than I ever care to admit for the month-long intro class.

The intro class meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and gets underway next week. The point of the intro classes is to teach you the basic form you need to not get injured. The class is eight sessions long, and any time after the first four sessions, you are welcome to attend regular WOD classes.


 

I'm excited to get started and definitely less nervous than I was walking in to the gym last night. It's good to know that everyone in my intro classes will be a newbie like me and will have just as much of a learning curve as I will.

Have you ever tried CrossFit? What did you think of it? Any tips for a newbie?

I've been mulling over this whole follow-up marathon thing all week, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted another crack at 26.2 while I still have a solid training base.



I'd been researching races that were far enough out to let my legs recover from Marine Corps, but not too far out that I'd have to work in a completely new training cycle.

Philly was sold out, a smaller local race was an out and back done twice that sounded miserable, Rehoboth Beach was nice and flat, but was it too far out?

The Rehoboth Beach Marathon is on December 8th. I realized that meant I could take my time and recover fully, and I would still have enough time to do a gentle build and then taper again.

So after researching hotels last night (and realizing they were almost all booked), I found one that wasn't ridiculously expensive and booked it immediately. I figured I could always cancel the room if I decided not to do the race.

But then I thought, "Who am I kidding?"

I love Rehoboth. I've been dying for a chance to get out of town for a vacation, even if it's only one night at my favorite beach town in the middle of winter. And beach town means the race is mostly flat. None of those crazy hills I dealt with during Marine Corps.


Family in Rehoboth this summer

Of course I was going to do this race. Booking the hotel was just the first step.

So about 40 minutes later, I plunked down the race entry fee.



And now it's on again.

I've never trained for two marathons back to back like this, so I'm still working on figuring out how to train properly with a big race coming up so soon. If you have advice, I'd love to hear it!

Every year right around Halloween, the annual high heel race takes place in DuPont in DC. Tons of men in their most fabulous drag costumes run several blocks down 17th Street in their stilettos in front of thousands of cheering spectators.



My friend Laurie has an apartment that overlooks the start line, so last night Emily and I headed over to enjoy some dinner before the race festivities got started.


Laurie watching the crowds amass below her window

Afterward we wandered outside to watch the parade of costumed men strutting their stuff up 17th Street to get to the start line.

There is only one word to describe the whole night. It was obviously fabulous.

Here are just a few of the many, many pictures I took.

Shoes:

       



       

Costumes:













The Running:





If you're a DC dweller, have you ever been to the high heel race? If you're from anywhere else, does your town have anything like this?