Second Saturday

Recovery Meal: 1/2 Muscle Milk (Will look into getting Muscle Milk light next time. Ava says we can find it at Costco)
Breakfast: None (not sure how that happened)
Lunch: cup of tomatoe bisque, a Shrimp and Avocado salad with greens and vinagrette, 2 small pieces of squaw bread
Snack: Apple, Vanilla Danactive
Dinner: Large Tabouleh Salad, Tortillaless Turkey Taco (my own little concoction/innovation once I realize my 7 grain sprouted bread was all moldy. Two slices of turkey, 1 swiss cheese slice and sprouts rolled together like a 'tortillaless taco')

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If you plan on attending the workout session on the beach at 9am on Saturday, get there early. Last week, it was overcast and there wasn't a problem finding parking space. Today, it was sunny and gorgeous. Plus, they had their annual Woodie convention (Very cool by the way, I saw a 1966 mini coper woodie, very cute little thing. A driving deathtrap, but cute.)

When I arrived at nine, there were only about six of us there. Sal, Courtney, Anna, Sydney and I think Bernard was already there too. While we waited for others to join, I mentioned to Sydney how it was kind of weird, but I was nervous for the workout today. I think that perplexed her, but once we were well into the workout, she knew what I as talking about. I might say we were about 12 or so. We were about half the size of last week.

The workout was generally the same, but with noticeably less rests in between. We started with a light jog back and forth about 6 times then, we did lunges one way, basically we did four sets that had a formula similiar to this; changed up a bit but generally:

Sand Sprints-Jog lightly about 50% from one marker to the other and then go into a full sprint once you are halfway there. Turn around and jog back lightly. repeat and repeat then,
-Gradually get to a full sprint one way, sprint back, then jog lightly back and forth four times. repeat

By this time, most of us are already dying, but we move on to the second part of the set up by the low wall. There we proceed to do the following:
-20 pushups
-20 step/knee ups (10 on each leg)
-20 dips
-20 crunches where we sit like a 'v' and pull our legs into our stomachs as we crunch in

After this we jog back down to the starting line to do another set of sprints. We repeat this process four times. It's amazing that I manage to pull this off, but we all do it. Someone said, "I have never felt so out of shape before." Another said, "I feel like I did on the first day!". Sal said, "Sand does that. It makes you work harder. It's a great humbilizer."

It is soooooooo a mental game. At least for me it is. You know what I have to do?
- When we jog back down to the starting line for sand sprints after doing our 80 strength moves, I say to myself, "Drift lightly down to your water bottle, liiiiike a snowwwflaaaake." I have NO idea where I came up with that nonsense, but it HELPS! It helps me 'drift' down to my water bottle.

Wanna know what I do when we have to jog lightly (50%) between markers? I look for the 'holes' or footprints and leap from one to another, almost in the same fashion that one might rock climb. Why do I do that? It feels more like a 'game'.

Wanna know what I do when we have to all out sprint? I don't so anything. I just book it. Actually on the very last sprint, Saleem was right next to me, and I decided to race him. I hadn't raced anyone because I don't want to be pooped, but knowing it was the last sprint and we were neck and neck, I pushed. I think it was a tie. I told him what I had done when we finished and he said, he had his eyes closed, but he was glad he could motivate me like that :) Hooray for motivation!

Speaking of motivation! Ava showed up near the end (she was doing her own biking thing today) and she asked if I was noticing any changes in me. I responded that I felt like I was performing more athletically than the beginning, but I hadn't lost any weight. She said that she had noticed a change in me. WOW that made me glad! I guess others are seeing what I cannot see. She also made a great point to Sydney and I and all of us to just not look at the scale and wait until we are measured. So many others chimed in that it's in the inches we will see it, not the weight per se. We have to realize that our muscle we gain is heavier than the fat we lose. Someone even said to give our scales to a friend for safe keeping! hahaha so instead of a 'keymaster' we should have scale masters!

So, Sal did another good job standing in for Rudy. One thing that almost broke me, but this is a mental thing I have always had to work on, is that he kept saying, "Last one", when it wasn't really and then we had to do more. I have always had that as a pet peeve, it's like insta-bad mood/attitude generator in me. It doesn't matter what it is, workouts, prayer, whatever... if someone says 'last one' and I soon learn that it really wasn't the 'last one'. I lose momentum and motivation, I get deflated. I think though, it is good for me to experience it and learn to deal with it anyway and not let it get me like it does. I think I did so so with it today.

Once again, I remained after the class to just sit and cool down and take in the beach. It's sad that I live so close to the ocean and the only time I really hit the beach is on special occasions and now on workout days. Anna, Tracey, Bernard and I had a nice talk.

Bernard offered that if we really want a GREAT workout, that we attend his boxing class at 6pm and THEN go to Rudy's class at 7pm. The reason he gave was that in the first hour of working out, we burn 'glycogen' (I hope I am getting this right) and the second hour we will burn fat. Back when I would do martial arts, I had crazy Tuesdays!. I would get to the school at 7pm, take two 1/2 hour classes of punching and kicking, then go to sparring, then go to grappling! I was trim to say the least. I MIGHT take him up on the offer... at least I will have Wednesday to recooperate. Anyone other takers?

Hope to see more of you on Saturday sometime! Just come! Just do it! It's all about just getting out there and getting it done and learning about yourself in the process. I know I am learning a lot.

Now, I'm gonna get ready for bed and start reading my new book, "Generation Kill". :)

Thus ends week two! I hope you enjoyed this blog.