Getting Our Licks In!

Hi all,

Having all kinds of trouble posting, sigh. Trying again. Lots of saving in the middle ...

This week was challenging with the timezones changing and a two day off-site for work! Still, I managed to do a few things. Sunday was great, indoor climbing with Brother in California, not intensely but for several hours, and a fun session overall in a new setting. Monday, down with a cold Tuesday, flew back and totally out of it. Got better the next day and after the offsite tested my elliptical and pull up skills. Yikes!!!!! Both have atrophied significantly!!!!

So ... made a plan.

Now doing small segments on the elliptical, just ten or twenty minutes at a slow pace, but multiple a day. I would like to get back to doing a hard interval workout for 45 minutes again. Patience and persistence should do it. For pull ups, same approach. Doing a few lower offs from the high point, and a few pulls then stepping on to a ladder after a brief hold. Long break between. This is actually good news of a sort, as it should translate immediately to climbing improvements. Still, it is a little disconcerting to see this down side of working so hard on an energy conserving style!!!

The coached workout went well Friday morning. Matt had me climb a lot of easy routes, little break, for an hour, and then we spent twenty minutes doing two sets of deadliest at 95 pounds focus on form, Turkish Getup with the fifteen pound kettlebell, and the dreaded abdominal roller focused on form.

Michelle, so glad you are enjoying warmth! I hope you as avoided this cold snap.

Janie, you are having such a challenging winter. ((Hugs))

Laura, great workouts! Inspiring! You have so many skills, with yoga and skiing.

Cindy, love your family stories ... had to snicker when you described your son. Would love to see a pic.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
 
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I'm still here and withstanding all the storms that come our way. We have a choice. We can stay at the Beach House with potty problems, but doable, or we can stay in Shelton with 9" of snow. I prefer BH, to me it's safer. But hard to get excited about working out in these conditions. Don't have a bath, so have to sponge bath most of the time. Oh well...

I see everyone is doing beautifully and exercising. Very proud of all of you.

Take care everyone,

Janie
 
Got back Friday afternoon from a week at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Not much exercise during the week except walking. Did manage to get in the hotel workout room to exercise on Thursday. Yesterday I did Body Fusion and today I did the upper body sculpt from the Basic Step dvd using heavy weights. Busy week coming up but glad to be back home with my sweet pup.

Michelle
 
It was a bright sunny day today. So beautiful I had to walk the beach with Rolly. Little Lefty couldn't have made the trip. We walked about two miles and it was glorious! Will walk tomorrow too before another storm hits us. Planning on taking a full bath today and tomorrow. LOL!

You all are doing good with your workouts. Keep up the wonderful work you are doing.

Take care everyone,

Janie
 
Hello all,

The three day is off to a good start! It is beautiful out, so I had a lovely two hour hike to celebrate the break. Last week I even managed to work in two short hour sessions at the climbing gym, plus my usual Sunday crowd plus a coached session. Coach Matt also declared Friday a strength and for day, so we had a second whole session just with weights. I am hoping to do as well next week!

Michelle, welcome back. I bet Toby was glad to see you.

Janie, you always manage to be so positive. ((Hugs)) for weathering the literal storms. When do they think you can get your septic fixed?

Take care all!
 
When we bought this place near the beach, we didn't know that the septic tank and the rain in the Winter makes for a poor situation. It simply can't soak up the saturated ground fast enough. Thus a problem with flushing, baths, laundry, dishes... It will pass.

I'm not doing well with exercising because of this problem. It's OK. I will catch up soon. Just around the corner and everything will be back to normal and will be able to exercise on a schedule. In the mean time I do exercise/walk when I can take baths. About once a week. I know.

Will keep you posted.

ShadowPup, Great job on celebrate the break with a 2 hr. walk. And last week to worok in the climbing gym, Sunday crowd and coached session. And Friday's strength day with weights.

Take care,

Janie
 
This past week was a whirlwind. Hoping this next week will not be quite as busy. Did Strong and Sweaty bootcamp rounds 1-3 yesterday; will do rounds 4-6 for my workout tomorrow. This month has been catch as catch can with my workouts. I didn't even look at Cathe's February rotation. Toby and I had a good nose detectives class yesterday morning. I've figured out that I need to go in the ring with him without any treats otherwise he won't sniff and find the scent. Next weekend we have a confirmation handling workshop on Saturday afternoon that I am looking forward to. Weather here in Virginia is beautiful. Some of the maple trees are pushing their blooms. Worked in my yard today and now I'm going to start taxes. So exciting.

Hope everyone is having a relaxing and restful weekend.
Michelle
 
Been MIA with posting lately but not with missing workouts! I am now working through the Xtrain series. I enjoy the lifting in this series. I am still modifying the high impact and for my wrist. Today I used Cathe's yellow plates for all the zillion jumping jacks in Hard Strikes which worked out pretty well. I missed a few jacks in the transitions but thats okay with me! ;0 I also took a walk.

Michelle: you and your sis are stepping monsters! How do you get 20,000 steps in a day? Thanks for adding me to the challenge! It is good to keep busy sometimes. Are you getting spring weather yet?

Janey: When I lived in the mountains in our off the grid house sometimes we would lose power and wouldn't have running water so I know exactly what is like not to be able to bathe. Hopefully the storms stop soon and your living situation will normalize. Walking is a wonderful exercise in the mean time... at least between the storms

Shadowpup: I love how scientific you are about improving your physical fitness goals. You inspire me to take a more intellectual approach instead of my somewhat haphazard one that is less effective in producing results. I look forward to hearing your data on improvements!

Hi To Life is Good hopefully your tearing up the slopes!
 
Yesterday was ICE Metabolic Total Body; today was S&S Giant Sets Upper Body Timesaver. Both great workouts. Will do the Lower Body timesaver from Giant Sets tomorrow. Toby and I have a conformation handling workshop tomorrow from noon until 5. Looking forward to it.

Laura: Sister is a an elementary school music teacher--she is moving ALL the time in class, plus she's gotten into running. Me--I'm just a dog walker plus do my Cathe workouts. On weekends, we go a little nuts with our steps. Glad we are helpiing to get you moving. We have had spring weather all week. Some Maples are blooming and my tulip magnolia is starting to bloom. I'm happy we've had a snow free February but we could use some rain. Not to worry--Toby was groomed today so it is sure to rain regardless of what the weatherman says. I like the XTRAIN workouts too.

Waves to Janie and Shadowpup.
Michelle
 
Yahoo!! I'm going to Daytona for Cathie's road trip!! So excited!

Still working through XTrain. Today I did burn sets bi's & tri's and cardio portion of LIS from 4DS.

Michelle I though Renee's work would log a zillion steps! And I knew you had your Toby walks(wow almost typed sweet Ripkins name!). It definitely motivates me to move more. I have been walking and doing work outs but still no where close to y'all's stats.... good look with Toby!

Hi Fives to everyone


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Been clamming and that is really good exercising for now.

It's beautiful weather but now I've lost my drive. It will come again. The weather is getting better and I'll soon have no excuse to not exercise.

Great to see everyone working out.

Take care everyone,

Janie
 
Today was Super Cuts from XTrain and a walk. My right knee was bothering me on the stairs today so I kept the lunges, squats and other leg exercise shallow. I am starting to sound like an old lady listing all my aches and pains! :0

Eliza is leaving for Germany for a four and a half month German exchange this Wednesday. She spent last week, during winter break, looking at boarding schools with her father on the east coast. His family has offered to pay the ridiculous tuitions for these prep schools. This is something Eliza really wants to do, she absolutely lights up with excitement when she talks about them. However, this is a big loss for me. I really didn't understand how difficult the 'empty nest syndrome' could be, and considering the loss of Sophia, this is even more difficult for me to bare. I feel like I am being cheated out of two more years of her living with me, which is a significant amount of time. So I have been going through very difficult emotions and trying to work on myself so that I can handle this new and unexpected development in my life with out harming my relationship with Eliza. I have decided that I need to use this time while she is in Germany to really take excellent care of myself and to start to build a life that I want to live. Exercise will be a big part of the plan, as long as I can stay pain free!
 
Ordered Cathe's new DVD's coming out this Summer. Order number 162528! YaHOO! I have the equipment for it so I really do need to order this set. I can't wait!

Laura, Great job on your workout. When I had to let go of my daughter for leaving home was extremely hard. I know what it's like. Love your way. They leave the next go fast don't they?

Take care,

Janie
 
Doing ICE workouts this week. Monday was ICE Rock em Sock em (one of the timesavers), Wednesday, was ICE Triceps timesaver from RESE, today was ICE TMB blizzard blast and chest.

Laura: it's hard being alone when you are not used to it. But it is good that you are seeing this as an opportunity for you to focus on yourself. I know how much you miss Sophia and that you will miss Eliza terribly, but I also know how much you love Eliza and want her to have a happy life. You deserve the same and I have faith that you will move through this transition with grace and confidence.

Janie: I've been struggling too with exercising. Must be a phase that we are going through. Doing Cathe's shorter timesaver workouts has been my go to option to help get through this lower motivation period. I'm thinking of ordering the new Cathe workouts as well.

Waves to Shadowpup!
Michelle
 
Hello all,


Janie, Michelle: cold days with little daylight make it harder for me to start a work out even indoors - maybe we all just need some warm sunlight!

Laura: being solo does take a different kind of energy. There is a sense of off-balance, to me, that has taken awhile to overcome. Being able to focus on yourself can be enlightening! ((Hugs)) and kudos for letting go gracefully.

It has been hectic! Travel, talks, and I injured a tendon ... so my hand is in a splint. Not broken, Huzzah! Should heal up fine, and it may let me board planes early for a bit :)

The annoying thing is that climbing is tricky and my pull up campaign is disrupted. Most climbing routes require two good hands, but I have found at least one on the gym that could be managed, really slowly, by only pushing with the heel of the hand, and one good one. VERY hard. Checking again tomorrow. Weights are a challenge. Coach Matt found some fiendish core workouts plus lightly assisted one leg squats knee touching the ground. Ouch!!!!

On the plus, my elliptical/cardio endurance is way up! I am where I want to be for steady pace; after my next trip, HIT. And the splint may come off in three weeks, then rehab.
 
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A little bit of cold weather here in Virginia for the weekend. Feeling it in my left hip flexor today. Will be glad when it warms on again on Monday. In the meantime, just have to push through the cold. Toby and I had a nice long walk first thing this morning. Then I did ICE Bootcamp timesaver with no upper body. We had our nosework class this morning and Toby wasn't that into it. I don't get upset if he is not into an activity--I just enjoy being with him and other dog people. Quite honestly, I probably need to spend more time working with him at home on the nosework. Next week, we are starting a C-WAGS league (Canine-Work and Games) at Pup 'N Iron. We are registered for obedience and rally. We can earn C-WAGS titles and it also will be good practice for doing AKC obedience and rally. We also are starting agility next week. So, lots going on with our training. I'm very excited to start agility with Toby.

Shadowpup: hope that hand heals up quickly. I've been training to do pullups too. I'll see how long I last. I've been wondering: you had so many animals/pets when you lived in Idaho? Did they all come east with you? And do you still keep in touch with the young woman who lived with you and your DH for a while? You have been traveling quite a bit of late. Somehow you manage to go to more exotic places than I do--but I'm usually going to Marine Corps bases LOL!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Michelle
 
Michelle,

When Jeff was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, and stage four prostate cancer, both having spread ... and simultaneously I was diagnosed with my second breast cancer not quite stage two, we knew we were in a dire position and made a seriesof tough decisions. One was that I would continue working so as to retain our full health coverage. Second, to move Jeff to be here, with the me and most importantly, one of the top pancreatic care centers in the world. We decided also that we needed to agree this was long haul at best. Stage four cancers often recur, so a joint return to our Idaho home within even two or three years was unlikely.

We chose to jointly find new forever homes for almost all of our pets and my 200 houseplants. My youngest horse, Sierra, is the one I hand delivered when he was twisted in the womb. He went to a friend of mine in eastern Washington, and then after two years to a great couple with a mountain property. My quarter horse, who shrieked desperately when we loaded him up, went to be the pet of a loving young near teen. He had the hardest time adjusting because we had been so bonded but he looked happy in a later picture. Our oldest lab, kc, went to a neighbor. Kc lived only nine more months. They did not tell us til after Jeff's death - but KC died in their arms to spare him more pain. Probably renal failure. Sadie the white cat went to an older lady who loved her. The best I could find in rental houses here would take only two cats, and so we brought Rapscallion from Idaho and kept Pumpkin. I really don't think either could have adjusted to anyone else. Pumpkin still hides from strangers. Rapper hardly leaves me when I am home. She used to be so brave, but she has lost a lot, and is sixteen, and needs the comfort. We adopted out the tanks of fish, a neighbor took the four beehives. Sam the border mix was hard to place. But a further out neighbor found a family who wanted him. Sam was a mommas boy and I worried, but he loved the kids and seems settled.

The houseplants ranged from a ten footer to tiny cuttings. Many I had grown for over a decade, some longer. Probably half went to friends, a dozen smaller ones we hauled to Maryland, and the garden club sold the remaining ones.

Picante, My big beautiful warmblood, great grandson of Secretariat. he is the only one of my three who could have gotten a good home in the east, as the other two are classic westerners. Wonderful friends here offered to take him in for me. I shipped him out in style, in the same carrier service that moved California gold to the Derby. While Jeff lived and for awhile afterwards, it was a comfort to see him, ride him sometimes, and know he was safe. But an overwhelming sense of guilt and sadness settled in when I decided to sell my Idaho property. It just brought home that in seeking to do my best for Jeff and my own health, I had given my children away. I couldn't visit properly. I tried for a year and failed. It hurt. And it wasn't fair to him, and my friends loved him and he loved them, so I gave him away also. This is best.

Clara, I call my foster daughter. She is doing great, living now in Oregon, going to school. She's out here yearly at breaks, we talk in between. Very proud of how much she has overcome. I see step daughter less, but then we rarely saw her before. She seems happy still in Seattle and has finally invested more in doing what she loves and less in what looks good to others. I am really glad. That is partly growing more adult (30 something) and understanding mortality better.

Our home, 48 acres we found while engaged, designed and built during our first year together. Such places are hard to keep up as rentals. Last year that became obvious, and again, it was too hard to watch a decline. And seriously, retiring solo to a huge house in Idaho? Even if feasible, a decade away. Time to let go, move on.

The house finally sold this summer, probate closed in December (3 years!!!!) and so here we are.

This was a long post. Cathartic. But I do understand deep grief, loss, hard choices, guilt, kindness from friends and strangers, and how to find joy in desperate times far better than I had ever thought. And that I have limits to what I can carry, and this is being human. And that ... the depth of our love is the depth of the painfulness of inevitable loss, but Love wins. Hands down. I have been and continue to be grateful for it all. And would do it again eyes open. Bless you all for listening.
 
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I apologize for not posting in ages! Time has really slipped past me. It's been a normal, off and on with sickies in the house, busy with activities and everyone enjoying skiing on Sundays :) Lucas went from needing Dave to support him to him leading the pack and hauling down the mountain on his own. The little stinker even tried to get on a lift all by himself! I'm getting better each time and think I will take my last lesson this season on Sunday. A little bit of exercise here and there but it's hasn't been regular enough. I did start a 10 min Pilates challenge for 21 days yesterday so that will at least have me doing something on those busy days. I plan to get some Hiit in tonight. The weather here feels like spring, saw my first Robins of the season in our yard on Sunday morning. I need to start thinking of my garden and I feel mostly ready for it :)

Janie - I hope your water situation gets better soon, that is tough! Glad the nice weather has shown up and your are enjoying it!

Laura - My mommy heart feels your pain! 4.5 months feels like ages and how do they grow up and become so capable this quickly!?! You have done an amazing job raising her because she's so confident and ready to take on the world, that is wonderful. I agree this is a good time to focus on your and make your life how you want it and of course you'll be able to video chat I'm sure and talk with her a lot. I would feel cheated on time too, her last 2 years at home spent on the other side of the country is tough to swallow! Stay strong mama! No matter how far she will always be your little girl and you can find fun ways to still bond. One thing my mom did when I left for college was send me gift packages and letters and each one had a puzzle piece to put together for a picture, it was fun. Keep up your awesome workouts!

Michelle - You and Toby have a busy class schedule but so much fun! Great work keeping up on the workouts and enjoying those walks :)

ShadowPup - That is a lot of loss to bear, it sounds like your babies found loving homes at least! Hope that hand heals quickly so you can get back to your challenges :) Here's a picture of my kids - should be attached, Brodie (10), Lily (8), and Lucas (4).

Cindy
 

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Shadowpup thank you for sharing your story about your four legged and rooted children! I can relate with your experiences of deep grief and surprising life events that lead you to make choices you never knew you had the strength to make. I admire your strength and determination to continue to find joy and beauty admits the pain as I too strive for the same. Some days we are only human and we do reach our limits, but thankfully, for now, we get another day to seek joy again. And it will be all the more joyous having known the depths of despair.

I am leaving tomorrow for an adventure of my own. My mother, in all her wisdom and generosity, is taking me on a Safari in Africa. We will be visiting the Victoria Falls in Johannesburg, Chobe National Park & Okavango Delta in Botswana; Kafue National Park, Zambia; Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. I plan on walking as much as I can during our afternoon downtime and doing yoga and pilates while I am gone.

I will be posting photos to share on FB.

I didn't get any workouts or walks in the past two days with all the last minute doings for an extended overseas trip. But I did do a great hike with an old friend I hadn't seen in two years on Saturday and Bi's & Tri's from XTrain, Sunday was Great Glutes (man that was tough for me that day) and LIS 4DS.
 
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