Workin' It Out On the Road

Our family is still up here in Washington, we came up for a family reunion and especially to be with hubby's brother who is still deeply grieving. Although the sadness is there, there's also the joy of seeing family and getting to spend time with people you don't see very often. A real emotional roller coaster this week for sure. Whenever I travel, I try to find ways to slot those workouts in, and especially when things get intense I find that I need that pressure release valve more than ever.

Running is of course the easiest activity on earth for the traveler, so the well-worn running shoes are the first thing to get packed. The family reunion was at a lake, so the swimsuit and goggles were a no-brainer as well. Although the lake was full of waves in the afternoon that kept the kids having fun jumping them and body surfing, the early mornings were like polished glass and so clear I could see the individual leaves on the kelp-like plants growing up from the bottom (is there such a thing as lake kelp? I don't know what that stuff is.)

The bike got thrown on for good measure, though I've only used it once for some CFE-prescribed hill repeats. This morning I payed a visit to a local Crossfit gym as a visitor and got my butt handed to me by the "Deck of Cards" workout (weighted back squats, power cleans, power snatch and push press according to suit, and the number dealt by the card... yes, an entire deck...wow!). I'm hoping I can manage a run tomorrow morning before we head for home tomorrow a.m.

The Big Race: Me vs. the Leaves

It's that time of year again, when I've had five dumptruck loads (like big enormous gravel-truck-sized loads) of leaves from our city's leaf pickup program dumped next to our garden plot, and it's my job (with help from the kids) to move them all down the hill, over the garden beds, and into the chicken pen area. When The Pile first arrived, it was about eight feet tall, but I've reduced it to three with my efforts this week. Unfortunately, the three feet that are left are the most densely packed, already-composting part of the pile. Every time I take a layer off, the steam comes pouring out, it's well over a hundred degrees inside the pile already.

Also unfortunately, tomorrow it's supposed to rain and that means heavy wet condensing leaves that I have to use a pickaxe to get apart. So that means today it's a race: me against The Leaf Pile. Is it any wonder that by the time the afternoon rolls around, I barely have the energy for a "workout"?? Yesterday I did an hour on the trainer, but I was really dragging. Today I want to run, but I'll have to see how many hours it takes battling The Pile first.

It sure makes you realize why our ancestors had no need to train for triathlons. Wielding a pickaxe, shovel, and rake are exercise enough for any human.