Buckling Down

The Oakland Triathlon Festival is less than a week away!  Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It's way past crunch time.

When we returned from our vacation in July, I sat down with a calendar and a pen and planned workouts for the next six weeks (with bolded margin notes for an elimination diet and exclamation points indicating a *very* generous taper to look forward to).  Hehe...  Last week, when I wasn't training my tail off, I thoroughly snooped all the best times in my age group from last year.  With the added confidence I gained from that, I've finally started telling people my goals (manifesting my desire to win): make it on the podium for my age group and/or set the course record on the bike (breaking 37:13).  I feel ready!

This Sunday marked my last open water swim before the showdown.  I met up to swim (sans wetsuit) in the Oakland estuary with a group of other grown women who will cry - LIKE ME! - if they don't win!  Ahahahah... The water was totally great!  Even warmer than the water at Crab Cove or Aquatic Park (possibly due to radioactivity??   Not sure).  Ha!  

The rest of this week I have easy runs and rides with mini intervals at race pace to remind my body to get ready to go fast on Saturday morning!  Off time will be spent practicing transitions, eating clean and dreaming of the top of the podium.  Oh!  I also have to clean my machine...

Blah blah blah here is the schedule of events in case you would like to join the festivities:

Saturday, August, 29, 2015 – Race Day

5:00am Transition Open
6:46am Sprint Race Start
7:00am International Race Start
9am-1pm Expo, Food, Beer, and Live Music
10:30am Sprint Awards Ceremony & Raffle
11:30am Olympic Awards Ceremony & Raffle
1pm Post Race Party Complete

Maybe I'll see you at the race?  :)

Swimming Milestone #3

In preparation for the Oakland Triathlon Festival (coming up August 29th!), last Friday I swam a half mile in open water at the Dolphin Club in San Francisco.  A half a mile!  Yay.  Sure, I stopped to cough up water *and* caught myself swimming in the total opposite direction of where I wanted to go a couple of times, but all in all, it was a success!

This workout starts with a 4 mile bike ride from the Embarcadero BART station along the wharf.  The touristy hustle and bustle down there is always entertaining and merits a mention on this blog because it's a segment that I always look forward to riding for various reasons.  From Pier 29 to Ghirardelli Square, the sidewalks are flooded with droves of tourists from all over the world walking around taking pictures and noticing everything (which turns this run-of-the-mill ride into a kind of parade of urban American traffic).  Instead of cutting off tour buses, I all of the sudden feel like waving to them (Miss Oakland style of course: elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, middle finger... ooops! jk).  One time I was overwhelmed with the urge to just start chanting USA USA USA!  Haha....  Anyway, I don't know why I'm so weird, but I enjoy the idea of sending tourists home with crazy cyclist stories.  :)

Back to the swim though - the first time I went to the Dolphin Club was before my second tri and I barely made it to the first buoy and back.  The second time, two Fridays ago, I went with a friend who encouraged me the whole time.  She was like, yay, first buoy!  Yay.  Second buoy...  ONE MORE BUOY!  ...and so on and so forth.  She helped me prove to myself that the distance was possible.  So, this last Friday I finally did the whole 1/2 mile by myself.  Definitely a milestone!  So that felt great.  Woohoo!

I love the Dolphin Club so much now!  The water is 68 degrees and has an absolutely gorgeous view of the Golden Gate bridge.  Also, in addition to the beautiful swim and the wild ride that gets me there, the sauna there is incredible (that is a story for another blog post though - hehe!).  I'm hoping a few more open water swims is enough to get me ready for race day.  The Oakland Tri Fest Sprint has a swim of .6 miles which will be the most swimming I've ever done in a race!  Eyeyey.  Oh my gosh...  I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it!

Alright - that's all for now.  More later!

Mt. Tam Calling

Oh, Amy?  Here...........  It's for you...............  Oh, it's no big deal.  It's just Mt. Tam.

Climbing Mt. Tam was a lofty/unrealistic goal Billy and I set for ourselves back in 2012 when we first started riding bikes more seriously together.  That year we ventured to do a few slightly less leisurely rides like climbing up to Skyline and riding the American River Trail from Sacramento to Fair Oaks to visit my parents.

We have hyped Mt. Tam FOR-EH-VOR.  We watched youtube videos.  Discussed getting our brakes changed.  Went back and forth about tentative dates.  And thoroughly psyched ourselves out completely about this 12 mile climb until finally Billy got it out of his system the day after Thanksgiving 2013.  I remember him skype-recapping this experience with mixed emotions (smiling and swearing and smiling again...).

Since returning from France I've invested even more time in the saddle alongside Billy and dreamed of making the Mt. Tam trek...  to the point where it seemed like every time I crossed over the Park Street bridge I heard Mt. Tam whispering my name in the wind... "Amy!  Amy!  Come ride me!"  Ha!  Maybe I built it up a little too much???  Well you can imagine my surprise when an impromtu Saturday morning ride with a friend who races for Dolce Vita turned into a group ride up to the *tippy* top of Mt. f#$^*ing Tam!  OMG

So.......  I get off BART at 16th & Mission Street to meet my new *fast* female friend who I had been emailing with all week about doing a long-ish endurance ride (3 hours/50 miles-ish, but I was thinking easy, maybe Tiburon loop or something like that).  Uhhhh.... First thing she says to me is "Did you get my email?!"  I was like "I'm sorry I didn't" thinking to myself "Well, *that's* because you were in bed like a granny at 8pm last night," so.....  She was like, "Well, Mei - [Ding!  Bright orange synapses fired full-speed strava signals to my pleasure center like I'm about to meet a celebrity...  ALL HAIL!  Mei, queen of San Francisco segments!] - invited us to join her on the Bespoke ride, but they are taking off from Pac Heights in fifteen minutes."  Well, ignoring every alert my body was sending to go ahead and abort this mission I jumped on her wheel and we jammed up the wiggle to meet the group.

When I squeaked up on my ten-year-old death-metal-bumper-stickered Specialized tank to 20 geared-out astronauts in their fancy pants kits straddling some of the nicest bikes I've ever seen I looked like such a newb and - I tell ya - the oops-I-pooped-my-pants smell coming from my worn out spandex didn't help much.  About ten seconds after we arrived, Justin, the apparent leader of the pack started to explain the route.  He never actually said "Mt. Tam".  Oh no.  While he dropped names like "Pantoll" and "East Hills" and "wait - did he just say Alpe d'Huez - what?!?"  I focused most of my attention on keeping my breakfast down...

We took off and, oh you know, just that feeling when you are all the sudden on a group ride and you have to quietly ask your friend if he was talking about GOING UP TO THE TOP OF MT. TAM!?!?!

LOL





Once we started climbing we didn't stop.  The road just kept going up.  For an hour.  Between expletives I managed to cough questions at cyclists passing me by about how much further it was to Pantoll.  They just laughed or told me to not worry about it or pedaled faster to clear the stench.  I couldn't even believe it when I arrived at the top, though - I gotto say - can't beat the view!

While the rest of the group rode down to Stinson Beach and back, I climbed at a conversation pace the rest of the way from Pantoll with a few other ladies who agreed that tacking another .5 miles of vertical climbing was insane (but not Mei - no way!).  Haha!  The three of us split up about half way down the hill and my new friend (who turns out is the sweetest woman in the world - and she speaks French!) picked up lunch and a coffee together in SF.  I didn't get home until after 4pm!  What a beautiful ride though.  Oh man.  Though I was overwhelmed and beat, I actually don't think I've ever felt better.

Swimming Milestone #2

This Monday marked the first OTC swim practice *ever* that actually felt like a recovery swim.  I swam 1500m (including a warm up and cool down) and was never really winded even though we did four 200s at 70% for the main set.  All this can be attributed to the Total Immersion online swimming tutorials and the outstanding OTC coaches at these Monday night Mills practices.

Oh - haha - something hilarious happened at the start of this workout.  There was this little boy (maybe 6 years old??) getting out of the shallowest lane and I asked him if he was done swimming there (I knew he was - I just felt like modeling politeness for some dumb reason).  He was like, "You shouldn't swim here.  It's better practice down there where you can't touch!" LOL...  Doh!  I was like, "Okay.  Thanks!"  ...and then slunked into the kiddie lane anyway.  Ha!

It's true that it's pretty lazy to stay in the stubby shallow end of the pool, but OTC considers it the "slow lane" and I'm preeeeeeeetty sure I'm the slowest swimmer there, so......  PLUS, I rely on the floor of the pool to be there for me if I need to stop swimming to cough up a mouthful of delicious pool water or whatever (yes, of course, this still happens occasionally).  I intend to get into the deep end soon, but *that* - my dear little boy - is a milestone for another day.  ;)

The next swim goal on my horizon is to swim continuously for 10 minutes. That may entail getting into some open water soon where there's nothing tempting to hang on to....  Eeeek!  Alright.  That's all for now.  More later!

Snake

Today, I set out to break my time up Snake (a steep 1.5 mile climb up to Skyline Boulevard in Oakland).  My first attempt was just last week and I really went for it from the start, but then lost steam at the top (shooting for under 10 minutes I barely made it in under 12:30 - Oyoyoy!).

Today I was determined to try a new strategy.  I held back the reigns for the first half of the climb (up to Colton) and then really let loose on the last quarter mile (after Thornhill).  This strategy paid off as I shaved 45 seconds off my original time (11:34).  This made me particularly happy because I'm now barely hanging on to the tenth spot out of all the women who have climbed that segment on strava (woohoo!).




I'm already pumped about improving my time next week.  Here are my ideas!
1.  Climb with cleaner lines (cut corners smarter and make straight shots up the squiggles)
2.  Use a nasal decongestant strip (an experienced cyclist recommended this to me for getting more oxygen into my bloodstream - still need to try it!)
3.  Start attacking the hill from Shepard Canyon downhill (this is a little cheap as a tactic, but it will bring my average speed way up if I can get a running start into that first steep climb)
4.  Sprint - slow to fast - sooner (Instead of gunning it and having to back off later, steadily build speed from Thornhill up to 15mph and then stand up to sprint all the way through Colton)

Ohhhh can't wait to do this again!

New Kicks

So.........  This year my right foot has been plagued with injury.  First, the achilles tendinitis in January, then this turf toe in April.  The injuries have led me to do web research on running mechanics, physical therapy, and............  gear!  Yay.  Getting me properly geared up to run has been a collaborative effort to say the least.  Haha!

On my birthday weekend, Uncle Richard was in town from Philly and Sarah invited us to all hang at her place.  So, on Friday we packed up Billy's panniers and rode bikes to Marin!  It was 90 degrees in Oakland and - I swear to God - subzero in SF, but we made it there safe and sound for a non-stop fun-filled weekend at Sarah and Dennis' place.  My Uncle Richard (who ran the Boston Marathon at 50 and has trained for and competed in plenty of other races) gave me a ton of good advice about running shoes and he even did a some research for me.

Well, not more then a few days later, the Moor's birthday gift arrived in the mail...   Of course, the first thing that came to mind was "Yayayay!  I can buy new running shoes!"  In a matter of days I was ordering these babies online.  I used the list Uncle Richard developed for me to try them all on at Road Runner Sports (they fit for new kicks).  So - here they are - the Mizuno Wave Inspire 11 and the Saucony Kinvara 5!

I feel faster just looking at them - hahaha - thanks, Marilyn and Bill!  The best mother-in-law and father-in-law on earth!

Lakeside Bump

The day after my 32nd birthday, I went on a ride with Billy to get the QOM (queen of the mountain) on the segment Lakeshore to Lakeside Bump in Oakland and it's finally displaying on strava.  Yay!

Because I've been nursing this turf toe I've been riding and swimming a lot more.  I'm getting faster!

DEE-EL

The theme of this week has been "reassess" and what better way to finish it off than with a brand new injury, right?!?!  Hahah... Oh man!  March was shaping up to be so awesome!  I was super satisfied with my new goals sheet when I posted it on Tuesday afternoon and *then* I felt SO GREAT about my performance at track practice Tuesday night.  But - oyoyoy - one day and one little baby recovery ride later and I found myself suffering from a mild case of 'turf toe' on my right foot.  I've been RICE-ing and going easy on it ever since Thursday and there's still no sign of the pain going away any time soon.  Meh.

Okay okay - so, I admit that I may have needed a little reality check...  Maguy discouraged me from double days last year and I've been aware I'm pushing it with these back-to-back bricks on Tuesdays.  So, here I lie, on this couch, in this oh-so-familiar position (with one leg up and tingling in my toes from a tightly wound ace bandage).  Ugh!

For the next few weeks, I'll be fine-tuning my weekly workout routine to avoid a double day.  The problem will be deciding which Tuesday workout to retain!  I've been loving my morning jogs with Vala and the Tuesday evening track workouts with Oakland Triathlon Club (OTC) have been so enjoyable and so intense.  Look!  After doing a mini brick in the morning *and* riding 12 miles to Berkeley I still ran my fastest recorded 400 meter (1:12) and my fastest 1/2 mile (3:16):



So you can see what I mean...  I'd like to keep both workouts in the mix somehow (maybe with one 3 miler day and a 5 miler day?).  Once my foot heels, my plan of attack will be to get some new shoes, and maybe custom orthotics, and ask the OTC track coach about how my form can be improved to avoid reinjury. Alright - that's enough wah wah wah for now - more later!

Updated 2015 Race Schedule and Goals

Here they are - my updated race goals for 2015!

Catch Up If You Can

On Tuesday morning I met a good friend from college to jog along Shoreline Drive in Alameda.  It's a beautiful and bustling trail along the southwestern coast of the island that has breathtaking views of the San Francisco bay. We jog/walked and went about 3 miles in thirty minutes.  It was a great catch-up session where I heard all about her new pet sea turtle, her path to buying a home in the Bay Area, and tales of grandbabies and middle management and losing 50 lbs in a year.  Incredible!  When we said goodbye we agreed to a weekly meeting when the weather is nice.  This turned out to be a mini-brick (which means a bike and run workout back-to-back) which is fantastic - and it was oh so fun to see an old friend's face!

This week I'm looking forward to tagging along with Dan for a Thursday morning workout with the Vitruvian club at Lake Merritt *and* Billy and I are also talking about going on a long ride this weekend (somewhere between 40 and 60 miles) so I can barely contain my excitement for that.

It feels so good to be training again.  I can feel my body coming back one day at a time.

Strav-obsession

My strava profile is my current obsession.  If you have an account, you can follow me running and cycling around the beautiful Bay Area.

Win a Sprint Triathlon in 2015: Goals and Challenges

The Waiting Game

I realize that this blog has been, at times, depressingly self-important.  Haha!  Since August, blogging about my experiences here has been a linear connection to home (and a very therapeutic one I might add!).  Though the content has been pretty positive, the whole story is that it hasn't always been puppies and rainbows.  I've experienced homesickness (missing Billy and my family and friends), along with loneliness and  *lots* of waiting.  In fact, looking back, so much of my time here has been - in one way or another - a lesson in waiting.

In terms of volleyball, waiting is such an important part of training; not just in terms of resting and recovering properly after workouts, but also technically on defense, hitting, and blocking.  Not unlike many sports, volleyball is a game where a lot has to happen between touches in order for a team to be successful.  The incredible saves you see...  the impossible kills...  they all occur because of 1. the incredible ability of a team to perform explosive synchronized actions in a split second and 2. the ability of individuals to wait for the exact correct moment to come into contact with the ball.

In terms of life, I've been counting down the days until my return home since Billy left in February.  Looking around this place I've inhabited since August, my bags are finally packed.  I'm now counting down the hours before I leave France (maybe forever).  It's a strangely familiar feeling...  My two beautiful sisters, Sarah and Meghan, were here in Paris with me this week...  in a way, ushering me back into my life in California.  The waiting will soon be over.  That will be a feeling I haven't felt in a while!

Scrappy Scrap Scrapperson

Today, we beat the fourth seed in our league in a five-set nail-biter (21:25, 25:21, 24:26, 25:18, 15:12).  The fans were totally awesome.  It was an exciting match and a great way to finish off our season at home.  This was an especially momentous game for my team because we hadn't won a five-setter yet this season.

This game was also very rewarding for me personally because I was finally picking up defensive balls that (before this season) used to fall inches away from my fingertips (and then torment me for a week!).  Maguy has been working hard with me in practice to rewire my digging and diving (sometimes I would dive too soon, sometimes too late, and sometimes not at all - and almost always with the wrong arm).  I know, I know - my poor coach, right?!?!  Anyway, she somehow managed to connect a few circuits that enabled me to shine on defense tonight.  Though this match wasn't my best, it was very cool to see marked improvement in my ability to dig.  It felt so great to be on the floor scrapping together a play with my team.  And, of course, it was totally worth it for the WIN!  Yay.

The French National Team

The husband of my coach is the Head Coach of the National-Championship-winning professional men’s team in Tours and also Head Coach of the Female French National team (who has been practicing here this week to prepare for their World Championship qualification matches against Bulgaria, Croatia, and the Netherlands).  So, I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday watching the women’s French National team trainings that have been open to the public at the Palais des Sports in downtown Tours.  These ladies totally rock and inspire me by the way they play the game.  Their power and speed is just astounding!  They don’t make mistakes.  Here is me with my two favorite powerhouse players, both outside hitters:

These girls make the ball go BEAM!

Nutrition: Everyday Eating

Back in the States, working for SweetWARE, I started getting a lot questions from people about what to eat and why.  I'm no expert, but (because of my natural curiosity and the tools I had at my fingertips) I had the privilege of learning a lot about what food is made of and what works for me.  Here are a few rules of thumb that I like to think can be applied to any diet for added energy and vitality!

1.  Eat rainbows.  Not Lucky Charms, people!  I'm talking red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow peppers, leafy greens... You get the picture!  If you eat a bunch of grays and browns, that's how you're going to feel.  PS - Condiments don't count...  Sorry!

2.  Fast food = once a year!  For maybe five years now, Billy and I have been getting Taco Bell for Valentine's Day.  This radical tradition started when we found ourselves wandering around Alameda on V-Day with no reservations and the realization that a nice dinner would require an hour wait and about a hundred bucks...  Going to Taco Bell was the most counter-cultural thing we could think of at the time and it stuck!  Now we look forward to it every year and fast food just feels wrong on any other day.  Haha...  Bottom line?  364 days a year, swap fast food for fresh food to feel (yep - pretty much instantly) better!  PS - In-and-Out does not count as fast food after a long day of tournaments and that's just the way it is...

3.  Whole Foods.  Not the store.  The food.  Unless you have a deadly allergy, foods that do not require packaging are generally better for you.  If it absolutely has to have a package, it also requires an ingredient list - so, read that shit!  Ingredient lists are required to list ingredients in order of predominance by weight.  If I'm debating between two products?  Compare the first three words and then run the last three words through my difficult-to-sound-out filter.  Red flags that get a product put immediately back on the shelf:  hydrogenated, artificial, monosodium glutamate, high fructose corn syrup, flavor, and color.  I rarely look at nutrition labels, but when I do it's normally to ensure that foods high in saturated fat, transfat, and sodium don't make it to my grocery cart.

4.  Anti-oxidants: our bestest friends in the whole wide world.  All we need to know is that, as a species, our favorite foods (in no particular order) are: any apple, any dark fruit, all berries, pecans, dark beans and pinto beans.  Period.  Okay, fine, fine!  Go ahead and throw in artichokes and russet potatoes if you insist...  Do it!  :)

Last thing before I get off this soap box (which I'm totally unqualified for if you forgot or missed that part).

5.  HYDRATE!  Replace the liquids you currently drink (soda, iced tea, coffee, alcohol, etc.) with the liquid of life: water...  or fruit and vegetable juices...  or just fruits and vegetables!  And this is where everything starts circling back to reinforce itself:  The USDA recommends 8-9 servings of fruits and vegetables day.   These foods (raw) are 75-90% water, so eat (or drink!) that ridiculously hydrating, nourishing, colorful stuff!

So, if you find yourself asking yourself "Do I dare eat a peach?"  The answer is just yes.

Writing this has made me very hungry, so I'm going downstairs to get a snack...  That's all for now.  More later!

Nutrition: Eat Like the Athlete You Want to Be

Sunday was the 10k & 20k de Tours!  A beautiful day... So, I wandered down to Tours Center to check out all the athletes and the cool booths and stuff.  I stood in line (forever) to get Paella and got to the front of the line only to realize that not only is there meat in Paella, there is *every kind of meat* in Paella (sausage, chicken, and seafood) - and I became a vegetarian (kind of) on Mother's Day this year...  Doy!  Ahahah!  I ate it anyway...  Ooops!  :)

Since I stopped eating meat (okay, fine, not entirely, but for the most part - haters...), I've been told more times than I can count that I'm probably not getting enough protein.  This inspired me to analyze my diet and, believe it or not, it turns out I'm getting more than enough protein, but could stand to DOUBLE my carbohydrate intake.  Insane!

Here's what a day looks like for me right now (a double day is when I workout for more than 4 hours total):
Breakfast - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon, muesli (double days add eggs and toast)
Snack - fruit
Lunch - spinach salad (double days I get to eat whatever I want for lunch)
Dessert - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon
Snack - fruit
Snack - peanut butter rice cakes with honey and cinnamon
Snack - bread with olive oil and vinegar
Dinner - vegetables + grains + beans or tofu (double days add pasta)
Dessert - plain yogurt with honey and cinnamon

This gets me to exactly 100g protein, 360g carbohydrates, and 100g fat (around 2600 kCal) on single days... and on double days I get to eat carbs like it's my job (like just throw in a whole baguette there somewhere, double the grains for dinner, and maybe even a pastry and coffee) to bring me to 800g of glorious, golden, crusty, delicious carbohydrates.

When I'm training, I also like to follow a few general rules:
1.  Low alcohol and low caffeine.  That's right.  Except for occasions, if I'm training right, alcohol becomes a distant memory and caffeine stays out of the picture as much as possible.

2.  High-protein post-workout snack:  nuts, hard boiled eggs, or apple with peanut butter...  My go-to post workout snack right now?  Rice cake with peanut butter, honey, cinnamon and banana - YUM!

3.  Hydrate!  I drink about 2 liters a day of water (at least).  When I'm back in the States, I'm drinking electrolytes like a coconut water, or gatorade diluted by 50% to keep that post-bikram head ache away.  Here, I've been drinking lemon water and diluted apple/pear juice with a little pinch of salt after workouts.

This link is an amazing article written by US Anti-Doping Agency about the best diet for athletes:
http://www.usantidoping.org/files/active/what/dietary_intake.pdf
My targets are based off of this and this fitness calculator from active.com.

On that note, if you have anything to add - please leave a comment for me!  I love hearing about new recipes and things that work for others!!  Thanks!

Day 1 - First Impressions

Welp!  After leaving SFO early yesterday morning and laying over in Atlanta (which was the bomb by the way - really really amazing terminal!), we finally touched down in Venice today.  The flight was empty (which explains why it cost an arm and a leg - haha!), so I snagged a whole row of seats to really get my money's worth outta the seating situation.  Unfortunately, that did not result in a copious amount of sleep, but anyways...  WAH!  Here's Louis on complaining about the plane situation...

 

Hahahaha!  Once we landed, Tim Kelly and I plus two other girls took off in a Meredes-Benz Mini Van for Maribor.  Here in Slovenia, the terrain is a lot like California.  On the way up we passed farms, vineyards, lots and lots of old growth HOPS, and many beautiful forests, mountains, and exposed limestone rock faces.  The countryside looked dry from my car window, but it was actually HOT and WET (my favorite!!). 

On the way up, we stopped to pick up snacks...  Mmmm... fresh cantaloupe, pineapple, and a mushy granny smith apple.  Everyone speaks English here!!  Haha...  I asked our driver who speaks Slovene fluently how to say "Hello.  Excuse me.  Where is your bathroom?"  He replied, "You just say, 'Hello.  Excuse me, where is your bathroom?'"  Ha!  

Once we got to the hotel, reality started to set it...  About half of the women who are trying out are here at the DRAS Center already.  We ate dinner together in the hotel restaurant (which has these two big wall-sized windows that look onto one of the indoor courts here).  The girls are all really nice, but it's clear what we're all here to do.  Everyone is still a little shocked from all the travel and getting used to things!  Can't wait for more!!

Well, it's lights out here.  Open gym tomorrow morning.  First meeting tomorrow evening, followed by a training session.  I'm very excited to be here...  More tomorrow.

Lahko noč!

Laughing Without Reason

Ahahah... So apparently Maribor, Slovenia was host city for the First International Festival of Laughing Without Reason... I think this is going to be a fun trip!!  

Check out this guy:

Summer Training 2013: Agility, Conditioning, and Core

Photo courtesy of Angelique Gutierrez

Ladders x 4

-jog one foot in each square (f, b, r, l)  l and r variation are just grapevine/karaoke

-run two feet in each square (f, b, r, l)

-crawl (f, b) - this is one foot in one foot out one at a time

-advanced crawl (f, b) - this is one foot in two feet out one at a time

-monkey climb (f, b) - this is one foot in one foot out together

-scissor steps (r, l)

-dorsey flex (f, b, r, l)
-alternate jumping in and out (f, b)

-jump both feet (f, b, r, l)

-jump right foot (f, b, r, l)

-jump left foot (f, b, r, l)

Stairs x 4

running*

-one step at a time

-two steps at a time

-right side one step at a time (x2)

-left side one step at a time (x2)
jumping*

-one step at a time

-two steps at a time

*Relax and shake out your arms on the way down

Core x 3

30 toe touches

30 rowers

30 lay down to sit up switch arms to touch opposite toes

30 mountain climbers

Cool down legs, abs, and arms with foam roller.  

Meditate 5 minutes.