When Healthy Living Isn't So Healthy

Well, first there was the Schmohz 5K.  Although the running portion of this event is healthy, the part where you drink beer each lap and then celebrate your run by drinking more beers is slightly unhealthy.

I was going for a three-peat win, but I have not been running much these days and knew that would be a lofty goal.  All it takes is one fast lady to show up and dash my dreams.  And show up she did. 

I clocked in with my worst 5K time of the past 3 years.  Somehow this still earned me 2nd place female and a free growler of beer, so it all works out.

The next day brought broomball.  I managed to pull off some magnificent feat of clumsiness that is difficult to describe in a way that makes sense to anyone who wasn't there.  Basically I tripped for what felt like 100 miles, thought I caught myself on the bench ledge only to find the open door, fell through the door and landed on my ass.  Aside from that butt bruise, the real pain came when I stopped a shot with my right quadricep.  It hurt.  A lot.

Lucky for me I had tennis the next night.  A nice, easy non-contact sport.  Unless you get slammed with an overhead smash in the exact spot you got hit with a broomball the day before.

Then I went to Crossfit the next day couple of days.  I just started this class because there was a deal on Living Social and I have zero upper body strength.  I would guess that most kindergarteners could beat me in an arm wrestling match.  So the introduction of strength training to my arms made me almost cry during the second workout.  And then I got in the car to leave class and found myself UNABLE TO TURN MY STEERING WHEEL because I had just murdered my arm muscles.  I managed to figure out a a way to grab the wheel at the bottom without lifting my arms and somehow managed to get home without wrecking my vehicle or further wrecking my body.

So yesterday I did nothing but sit and drink beers. 

My muscles feel great and no part of my body is bruised or in pain.

Which therefore must make drinking the healthiest thing I did last week.

Still Here.

When work and life get busy, this blog seems to take the backseat.  Things seem to have slowed down a bit as of recent, so here's a quick recap of what I've been up to these past few weeks.

In the end of February we went to Michigan Winter BeerFest.

Why yes, my necklace is four times the size of Rachel's.  I get munchy when I get drunky.

A couple weeks later I went down to visit some Meese in Virginia.  We were going to run an official race, but the darn thing filled up before we could register.  So we made up our own race and t-shirts.

The good thing about making your own race is that you're in charge of post race beverages.

It was normal to start boozing at 10 am because it was St. Patrick's Day.

When we weren't running we were hanging with this adorable dude:

By the end of the weekend, he saw a carton of ice cream and without prompting said, 'That's Aunt Jewey's!"  Yes, child, all the ice cream in the world is mine.  Now spread the word.

Since we flew in and out of DC, we also remembered to stop and smell the cherry blossoms.

The next weekend I drove off to Chicago to celebrate the birthday of my very pregnant friend.

Since she was 8 months preggo, we celebrated her B-day by eating instead of drinking ourselves silly.  It almost felt like we were growing up.  Until we went to Babies 'R' Us to pick up her glider - we took it out of the large box and loaded it into our Jeep.  So naturally I then hid in the large box in the middle of the parking lot and they told me when a car was driving by so I could jump out and surprise some random stranger.  Yup, definitely still not grown up.

I of course also spent some time with these dudes:

Toby actually began training to be a West Michigan Therapy Dog.  We're about halfway through classes and he seems to be doing well.  That might be because "doing well" in this class requires a dog to be oblivious and non-reactive to everything around him.  So our bear is a natural.

Since I started this post with Michigan beer it only seems fit to end it with Michigan beer.  Last weekend we enjoyed the much sought after Founders KBS:

A local bar happened to score a keg - which was tapped out in about 15 minutes.  It is often listed as one of the top three beers in the world and bottles on Ebay can sell for ridiculous amounts of money.  We sat next to a gentleman who had driven all the way from Chicago just to have a glass. 

I'll try to do a better job of keeping all of my seven readers updated on my drinking life in posts to come.

The Kepler Track

After we finished the Routeburn Track, we spent a night in civilization then immediately set out for the Kepler Track.

As we awoke in Te Anau and walked to the bus stop to catch our shuttle, we saw a rainbow over the lake.

Funny enough, the rainbow basically shows our hiking route.  It's a loop that  begins near the left edge of the rainbow, continues out to about the right edge of the rainbow and then loops back to the start.

We actually did the track in reverse from what most people choose. There is a steep portion of the track and we decided it would be easier on Andy's knee to go up rather than down the more treacherous part.  This meant we had a longer first day of about 14 miles, but with an early start and a gradual incline, it wasn't difficult.

Crossing the swing bridge at Rainbow Reach

The Big Slip

We planned to take our hike slow and make a few stops for lunch and snacks.  We attempted to do this, but the sand flies were out in full force.  So we made great time getting to the Iris Burn hut, where we promptly took refuge from the bugs.

If I have one regret, it's that we went to bed and didn't try to see a Kiwi.  They are in the area, and another man in our hut went out at night and was able to see one.  They are shy nocturnal birds, but if you stand still they will come over, sniff your shoes and hang out for a bit.  Instead, we got a good night's sleep in preparation for a steep climb the next day.

How steep?

97 switchbacks steep.

It was probably the most difficult part of our entire hiking experience in New Zealand, but handsome rewards in the form of incredible views awaited us at the top.

A view of the trail ahead.

Andy leads the way

That hut on the ridge in the distance is our first resting point

Stairway to Heaven

Those stairs were like torture to my legs after tackling all those switchbacks. When we finally reached the hut to rest, my thighs were shaking. Here's the elevation chart for more of an insight into our morning:

That was a 3000 foot elevation gain to start our day.  After a rest at the Hanging Valley shelter, we continued onward towards Luxmore.

The trail along the ridge line.

Two other hikers the size of ants hiking on the ridge line

Andy discovers New Zealand

The hike went pretty quickly thanks to the views.  Finally, we had Luxmore in sight.

We planned to wake up early the next morning, so we quickly explored the Luxmore caves and then settled in for the night.  We arose with the sun the next morning.

Sunrise out the window of Luxmore Hut

Hitting the old dusty trail

Clouds filling the valley

After a few short hours, we reached the shoreline and our end was in sight.

On that day's descent, Andy had developed a few blisters and decided to give his 5 year old hiking shoes the boot (pun intended).

We then boarded the bus for Queenstown.

Where they promptly set off fireworks to congratulate us on our hiking success.

Or perhaps it had something to do with it being New Year's Eve.

The fireworks brought a perfect end to our hike and our year. 

Hoping for many more memorable hikes, views and good times in 2012.

Urban Adventure Racing

A couple of weeks ago, Andy and I took part in the Grand Rapids Urban Adventure Race.

And it was the most fun I've ever had at a race. 

I think that was due to the fact it wasn't like you're typical running race - where you're trying to beat a specific time goal or set a new PR.  Instead, we just had fun and left our competitive spirits behind.

Thirty minutes before the start, we were given our maps to plan our routes.  There was a running portion and a biking portion, but you couldn't mix the two.  We decided to run first and then bike and plotted our routes.

 Please note that the photos in this post are from Stellafly and Terry Johnston Photography and feature strangers, as I chose not to carry a camera during the race.  I've never carried my camera during a race because that would be a disaster.

At each checkpoint you hole punch your passport with a unique hole puncher.

Some of the checkpoints have challenges you can complete for an extra hole punch.  The goal is to get as many hole punches in the 4 hour time frame as possible.

Since this was our first race, we weren't sure what to expect or how to best attack the course.  We ended up getting all but one of the running checkpoints, but spent about 2 and a half hours running, a little over 7 miles.  After transitioning to the bike, we only had a little over an hour to bike and missed a lot of checkpoints.  Good thing we didn't care.

Since this was themed around Grand Rapids' annual Art Prize event, many of the challenges dealt with the art.  For one challenge, we were given a question and had to search for the answer in the artists' description of their work.

On another challenge, we were given a picture of an eye and had to find the art work that eye was located within.

The next challenge required us to count how many wooden monkeys were hanging right-side up on the blue bridge.

One messy challenge involved a sheet where our team number was written 3 times.  In "paint by number" style, we had to locate all of our numbers and paint in the squares.

Another challenge was tied to a charity, and we purchased art supplies for WMCAT and then made get well cards for the kids at the Helen Devos Children's Hospital.

One of the more difficult challenges was a grid puzzle.  Basically we were given a blank grid and had to fill in the scrambled grid pieces that were on a wall.  When put together, it made a map that led us to the checkpoint.

That's actually a photo of Andy and I and my coworker and her friend.  We worked together when possible, which is another fun aspect of the race.  Overall, everyone is helpful and gave other teams tips or pointed them in the right direction if they were turned around.

One of my favorite challenges featured a hollow wooden tower.

The hole puncher was at the bottom, and you and your partner could only have one finger in the tower at a time.  You had to work together to schooch the puncher up to the top and out so you could punch your passport.  I of course found a way to injure myself and hole punched my finger when trying to get it up the tower. 

Then came the most messy challenge.

There was a tube with many little holes in it.  We had to fill it to a fill line using a bucket, which also had a bunch of larger holes in it.  So I held onto the tube and tried to plug up the little holes while Andy ran back and forth to Reed's Lake to fill up the bucket and then pour the water into the tube.  It took maybe 5 or 6 bucket loads until we filled up, and I had received a significant shower by the end.

Around that time, we saw we only had a half hour or so left and decided to call it a day.  Did I mention that the race began and ended at our favorite brewery?  That may have influenced us in deciding to end our journey and go drink some beer. 

Others did a better job of reporting the race here, here and here.

The next race on the agenda is a Winter Adventure Race at the local ski hill, and Team You Booze, You Win will be signing up for that as soon as registration opens.

Biking Woes

The Good News: I successfully biked to work this morning.

The Bad News: I totally forgot to pack my regular bra to change into.

The Good News: I'm fairly flat chested so you can't even tell I'm wearing my sports bra.

The Bad News: I'm fairly flat chested so you can't even tell I'm wearing my sports bra.

Yogassy

I don't regularly practice yoga, but I'll often do 10 minutes or so at the end of some other form of exercise. In yesterday's case, it was after a 10 mile bike ride.

I usually find it somewhat relaxing and it's always nice to get a good stretch in.

Now, one of the things they emphasis in yoga is breathing through your nose. Something about air flow and some other BS I don't care about. But I try to be a good yoga student and breath properly.

This is easy if I'm alone.

This is not easy if I'm in the living room and Gordie likes to lie as close to me as possible at all times.



Yes, I'm too cheap for a proper mat and use a towel, but ignore my Cheapy McFrugalton ways and let's focus on the dog.

So why is having Gordie close a problem?

BECAUSE GORDIE HAS THE WORST SMELLING GAS KNOWN TO MAN.

Let me put it this way: When we first got Gordie we were unaccustomed to his digestive issues. And when he would unleash a monster on us, we'd often look around for actual dog poop. Because he must have crapped on our faces when we weren't looking because OH MY GOD THE SMELL.

And it is definitely not relaxing to take a big inhale of dog butt whilst performing yoga.

So until Satan relinquishes control of Gordie's bowels, it looks like I'll be locking myself in a room the next time I want to get a good stretch in.