Family, Life, Swim

Battle Ropes and Kayak Cross Training!

I had never been on a kayak before, so when my sister in law suggested we head down to Oleta River State Park and go kayaking Saturday, I was all in!  I didn’t realize, however that I was scheduling this the same day that my friend and I planned a morning workout.  Our workout consisted of an easy walk/run 5k and then I promised to torture her with battle ropes.

If you have not tried a battle rope workout, I highly recommend it, although I don’t think I could use this as my regularly scheduled routine.  When I told my friend we’d be trading our usual strength training session for this, she looked at me in disbelief.  “Are we going to do the weight after the ropes?”, she asked.  I chuckled a little and told her that if she felt up to it, we certainly would, but that I think she was thinking the ropes are much easier than they can be.

I got up at my usual 4:45 training time, got ready and ran to meet her at her house at 5:00am.  She literally lives on the next block, so yes, the times are right.   We headed out on our run.  We are working to build her endurance the same way I had in the past.  We are up to one minute running, one minute walking.  She’s got that nailed, so we are going to amp thins up a bit next week.  We easily completed the 5k and arrived back at my place to get started on the ropes after a short break to hydrate.

When we got home, my amazing hubby had already laid out the battle rope around a small palm tree in the yard.  I grabbed a couple other items to use in between rope sessions to work more areas of the body while giving the guns a break.  I brought out a jump rope and an ikea step stool to use for box jumps (I wasn’t sure it would work either).  I also planned a series of distance jumps and side steps to add focus to the lower half.

I grabbed the ropes and told her we would attempt 20 second intervals.  I hadn’t done the ropes in probably a year, so I thought 20 was ambitious, but hey we should push ourselves now and again!  She kind of looked at me like she wanted to scoff at the 20 seconds, but I hit my interval timer and started doing alternating waves.  My time was up and it was her turn to hit the ropes.  When her 20 seconds was up, she had the greatest look on her face and said “oh my gosh, that was harder than I thought it would be!”  We laughed, and took turns doing various things in between more sets of rope waves or whips.

We discovered that neither of us can jump rope well at all, so maybe that can be a fun goal one day.  I discovered that in the grass, an ikea step stool can work as a box jump, at least for my current box jump skill level.  I also learned that I really like doing box jumps, so I am going to bat my eyelashes at my carpenter hubby to see if I can get him to build me one soon.  She discovered that she’s got some guns and likes a little friendly competition because she didn’t stop until she hit the same numbers I did (which I love)!

Once we were done, we did not hit the weights afterward.  I asked if she wanted to, and she said no, I think we have done enough (and we had).  “Wow, it’s just a rope around a tree” she said.  We both chuckled, acknowledging what a good workout it was.  I walked her home while taking Hera for her morning walk and hit the showers, have some breakfast and get ready for the park adventure.

We got to Oleta around 9:45 and put in our paperwork to rent the kayaks.  Darin and D2 were in one and my sister in law and I each had a single person kayak.  I have to admit, I was a little nervous.  More so of my son tipping over or something and not being confident in my ability to get him back on safely but I kept reminding myself that I had two other people with us that could help.  I adapted to it pretty quickly and was really enjoying cruising through the beautiful mangroves.

We went through the mangrove maze and headed back the start which lets out to the boating area, beaches and eventually the ocean if you went far enough.  I’d guess it was about 20 minutes into our adventure.  That’s when my arms remembered that we did battle ropes earlier and mind over matter started to fire up.

I was able to keep up thankfully, but at some points I hid the sheer anguish I was in.  Just when I thought I was going to just stop and drift wherever the water took me, giving up, we hit an open area and all paused to take in the sight and take some photos.  Phew!  Just a few seconds of rest, to reset the arms and mind was all I needed.  I hydrated, sat back and just focused on relaxing each muscle in my arms, shoulders and back.

We continued on and headed back into the returns area.  It was a great adventure!  We headed down to the beach for what I was waiting for the entire time…. open water swim!!!  Though the lake water will be totally different, this beach had little to no waves due to its location.  What it did have, was some fish, people, drop offs, rocks and gunk here and there in the water.  The perfect first attempt at swimming not in a pool in years!

I swam a bit with the family, laughing and enjoying each other and then headed out for a couple swim laps.  I had to tell myself to slow down and just breath.  For my current skill level, I did great!  I was so happy!  When I got to where I was going to stop, I went to stand and could not reach the bottom.  What a great thing, I thought.  That is how it will be in the lake if I need a moment.  I quickly realized that even though I was tired, I was ok.  I treaded water for a second and headed back towards the family.  I took breaths, not all went well mind you, but I took them.  I practiced sighting a bit and even rolled on my back to see how calming I could make it, if I needed a moment to not freak out during the real thing.

We headed up the beach and grilled up some hot dogs and had some potato chips.  Hot dogs, buns and chips aren’t exactly in my wheelhouse anymore but hat’s ok.  I have been doing well in my weight and cleaner eating so I went for it.  The chips were good filler because I was starving, but I did not enjoy them as much as I pictured enjoying them.  Guess that’s a good thing!  We packed up and headed to the car.  In true Cris fashion, I quickly realized that I must have had my foot resting in an ant pile because as we started walking to the car, they started biting the crap out of me!  I stepped out of my vibrams and it was like a a movie.  The fire ants just oozed out of every nook and cranny.  Darin got them all off my shoe and I washed the bites as best I could and we headed home.

Ant bites aside, it was an amazing day filled with pushing out of my comfort zone and achieving things I was not sure I could achieve.  One of the best take aways for me was that I really do believe in myself as of today.  I really do believe that I will complete that swim in September.  The final piece of the puzzle is there.  I am more motivated than ever and plan to push hard until the end.  I will be a triathlete in September and I cannot wait!

kayak

Bike, Life

When your gut tells you not to….

Do you listen?  Most of the time, I do.  I have always “gone with  my gut” when I could not make a decision based on research.  I always listen to my gut when I am deciding how I feel about people.  Where I have trouble is with my training.  Sometimes, I am not sure if it is my gut, or if it’s my lazy subconscious telling me not to work out that day.

Whenever I feel unsure about working out, I start with baby steps.  I set my first goal as to simply get my workout clothes on.  Once I achieve that, then I tell myself to just get out the door.  Then, it’s maybe just run one mile and then reassess or go a quick three miles on the bike and see how I feel then.  That usually gets me moving enough that I don’t have convince myself to continue and I finish the scheduled workout.  A body in motion stays in motion, they say.

The other morning was a little different.  I was up and ready to go, excited to do my ten mile bike ride.  The moment I started to walk out the door, I got this really sinking feeling…. and I was actually scared.  I’ve only been really scared once on a run, and that was due to a super creepy guy on the greenway in a section where I had no where to go if something went down.  Other than that, for the most part I am comfortable heading out the door in the dark on my own.

I am always careful.  I always make sure I scan around in the distance so I know what to expect.  It could be a fellow runner or cyclist headed my way that may need to pass or someone walking dogs ahead (for which I always slow down to ensure the dogs see me too).  I am very much aware that there is a certain danger in being out there alone.  I don’t believe that the possibility that something bad could happen does not exist… but, while I may lack confidence in other things I do know that if faced with the need to fight, I will.  I’m not saying I have super abilities or have been trained in such a way that I know I could win any fight.  I am simply saying that I will fight with everything I have to get out of any situation in which there is possible harm and if that means I am forced to harm someone else, I will.

Leaving that morning was different.  It was not elevated cautiousness, which I have felt before.  It was actual fright for some reason.  I told myself it was just part of me not wanting to go and at least get a couple miles in.  See how I felt once I hit the greenway, I told myself.  I headed out the door and to the greenway.  Once I got onto the greenway, I reassessed.  Still felt scared.  I told myself to just ride to Sunrise.  Still felt scared.  I told myself to just get to Broward.  Still felt scared.   When I took a second to reassess in that moment, I realized that I was really not doing well.  Yes, I was getting the miles in, but with horrible form!  My heart rate was more elevated, I was not keeping form or pace.  I was constantly looking around, almost in a panic and my body was so tense!

I had done four miles at this point, and had another four to do if I turned back at that moment.  One more mile, and I would end up completing my goal of ten, but I decided that after all this if I was still feeling this way I would turn around.  I made a u-turn (it was a right turn, still need to work on those lefts!) and headed home.  I immediately felt like I was doing the right thing, which set me at ease bit I still felt scared for some reason.  I got close to home and thought about doing two more miles because I don’t like not reaching a goal, but decided not to.

I cannot describe the sense of relief I felt when I got to my driveway.  What would have happened if I had continued, and completed those extra miles?  I have no idea, but I do know that not doing those two miles did not hurt my training in any way.  I do know that only my pride is hurt but not doing those two miles.  And I do know that I made it home safe and hugged my boys hard that morning.  I trust my gut and I feel very grateful that, while it may have taken some time, I eventually listed to it.

Do you ever have to take small steps to motivate yourself into doing something?  Have you ever had to change plans because something was just not right?  Share your story below.  Until next time!