Being a BAMF
Thursdays *collapses*
Coffee
Catching sight of myself in the mirror and thinking "damn, girl! you look good!" :P
Shiny new Avenger icons *squees*
shin splints
Looooong weekends
The way my cats all gather in my office in the morning to sleep in this obstacle pattern so I have to dodge them to get coffee.

Inspiration, motivation, and getting your ass off the couch.

Whenever I have a fitness discussion with someone lately, the topic always seems to revolve around motivation. The dreaded "M" word.

Elusive, obnoxious, frustrating. Motivation is kind of like red hair. Some people are born with it ... the rest of us have to dye our hair. *grins*

The worse part of it is, nothing motivates you unless you decide it does. That can make it difficult for folks who struggle with things like depression, where you know that getting a little exercise would help your state-of-mind at least some, but finding the energy, the motivation to do that can be the biggest challenge of all.

How?

That's the question I hear all the time. How do I get motivated? How do I get out the door after a long day of work when all I want to do is flop on the couch and drink a beer or take a nap? How do I limit myself to 1200 calories a day? Why do I run mud races? Why do I run at all?

There's no secret key here. No club pass. No special recipe for success. I can tell you my "secrets" but they might not work for you. I have bad days, difficult days and all I can do is power through them. (or sometimes even, just give up temporarily)

It's frustrating as all hell, I know, but you have to find your own motivation in this whole sordid mess. :P

Here's my secrets...for what they're worth. Your mileage will vary.

* I drink water. Lots of water.
* Some days I do flop on the couch and drink beer.
* Some days I eat donuts.
* The days after I get my butt back to work. Why? Because I have things I want to do.
* I've found things I love ... things that aren't eating or sitting in front of the computer. Things that move me and make me move.
* I reach out to others and answer them when they reach out to me.
* I recognize that one battle doesn't win the war, or lose it. So one bad day (or meal) isn't going to determine my failure any more than one good day (or meal) will determine my success. These are things that must happen continuously to set my path.
* I am not in this for 20 pounds lost, or a race win, or better arms. I'm in it for all of that and so much more. Long term goals are good, but you need short term triumphs and a sense of accomplishment to keep going.
* I do this because I can, because some day I might not be able to and I want to enjoy the days I have.

Today's list includes...

* that moment when you realize your "skinny" jeans you could barely fit into have become your "fat" jeans.

* being a responsible adult (it is occasionally fun)

* knowing (finally recognizing) the value of rest days

* second day soreness

* electricity

* fun t-shirts

* good friends

* writing

* coffee

* my husband

I'm not gonna stand there and tell you that you can't do this fitness journey alone. For one I don't much like telling people what they can't do and for another it's an absolute and I don't do those*.

However, community is something that's definitely going to give your fitness journey a boost. Finding a group of like-minded people to talk with, trade tips, enable good habits, and workout with will go a long way to no only helping you stick with your fitness plan but also inspire you to new heights.

( I have been lucky... )

Drink your water! Go play outside!

It was pointed out to me I forgot to post pictures of my newest tattoo. :P So here you go.
I actually don't think it's finished yet. On the advice of just_jenn I'm going to get a scrolly frame done around it.

Text is script Greek - molon lave. Which means "Come and take them" ... or as Dex calls it, the Greek version of "Come at me, Bro."

"Well-behaved women rarely make history."

Five Badass Women of History

1. Julie D'Aubigny, La Maupin

2. Joan of Arc

3. Agustina de Aragon

4. Isabella of France

5. Amelia Earhart


Considering 3 of the five women on this list are French, I think we can safely say you're okay messing with the wussy Frenchmen, but the women will fuck your shit up if you piss them off. :D

I've been doing a lot of whining talking lately about not writing. :P The irony is, I have been writing and kind of consistently. It's just not the kind of writing I'm used to. Since the first of the year I've blogged twice a week here and every other week at Black Ink White Paper. (Which, frankly I'm just awful at promoting, sorry!)

I've also been reading a lot - not books - but blogs. Dozens of them. Blogs about life and loss. Blogs about fitness. Blogs about writing.

I'm becoming ... comfortable with this new routine. Not to the point where it's harmful I think and I'm still really jonesing to find that spark again that will allow me to get back to fiction writing, but I'm lamenting the change less. And more importantly, looking at it like a blessing rather than a curse.

So, we're continuing on this path of twice-weekly blogs and I'm starting to throw a little bit more fiction at the wall of my brain to see what sticks. I've dabbled with an old fantasy novel. Poked away at my science fiction projects. And been warily circling an alt-history project that I desperately want to do but am frankly a little terrified of screwing up. :P So I keep avoiding it. However, something in me might just be up to the challenge now and I'm starting to circle with a bit more determination.

Yup. *laughs* The more I think about it the more it's sticking. That's a good sign.

What are your favorite blogs to read? Why do you like them so much?

Today, here's what I'm thankful for...

The triumph of the human spirit. Despite the abysmal results of the Amendment 1 vote in NC yesterday, I have faith that we will eventually find our way out of this darkness. Despite their fear and their heel-digging hysteria, there will be a day when who a person can marry is as moot a point as what a person eats for breakfast. We have seen it throughout history where bigots and small-minded people attempt to stop, prevent, hide, put-down the things that scare them ... and they fail. Time and again they fail.

Because fear is not stronger than love.

It may growl and grumble, posture and threaten ... but eventually it is chased back into the corner by the light. Eventually it is shattered by its own rigidity. Eventually it turns to dust and vanishes in the wind.

While love endures.

And today, I'm grateful for the fact that love endures.

I honestly don't have a clue what to write about today. My brain is still kinda mush from the weekend. You can go back a post for my thoughts on the Sprint and other things.

Since I am still stiff and sore (and just a little exhausted) I suppose a good topic for today is the importance of REST.

Motivation, movement is essential to fitness. But often in our quest to better ourselves, we lose sight of the other side of that equation. Rest is as equally important.

I'm not talking just about sleep, though some argument can be made that sleep deprivation (an all too common occurrence for most of us these days) can play havoc with your weight loss attempts. Your tired brain might have trouble figuring out if it's in need of fuel (glucose) or rest. We all know often our solution to exhaustion is to hit up the sugar and/or caffeine.

But there's more than just sleeping. Resting your muscles between reps, between workouts is necessary to allow time for your muscles to rebuild and relax. Constant pressure, strain, or other impact trauma creates an environment where your body never has a chance to heal and grow.

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new fitness routine, or too focused on a goal that has a specific time frame and forget about the necessity of rest. Our bodies, however, are good at reminding us ... sometimes with devastating results.

I've got five weeks until Tough Mudder, but I'm coming off the heels of a difficult challenge that really taxed my body. My brain wants to get back in the swing of things, but I'm covered in bruises, still sore, and potentially still suffering a bit from dehydration. As much as I want to jump back into it, I know that I run the risk of injuring myself and potentially missing out on the race in five weeks.

So instead I took it easy on Sunday, swam in the pool, lounged in the hot tub. Monday I tried to move around as much as possible, but I knew I wasn't going to workout. Today I'm feeling better and if it holds I'll attempt a short run after work. This week will probably be all about running as a matter of fact, because my shoulders are just not up to any heavy lifting right now.

It is, however, a struggle to remind myself that I'm not being lazy. That I'm resting. That it's important I do this. That if I want my performance on the 9th of June to be anywhere close to what it was this weekend (or better!) I need to take care of myself now.

Push yourself, but listen and remember to rest. :)

So if you missed the fact that I was playing in the mud on Saturday I'm not sure what to do with you. :P Saturday was the long anticipated Spartan Military Sprint at Fort Carson.

( Read more... )

What do I think is fabulous? This...



And a repost of this one because it's one of my favorites. :D



Share your own fabulous inspirational story.

Here's today's list.

Amanda Fucking Palmer and her creative genius (stoopid failed embed codes - watch the video in this link)
New shoes!
My darling and wonderfully supportive husband
Stress relief
Mud games
Impending BBQs
Starbucks
The Interwebs
Life
Cottage cheese
Britain
Tech
Amusing mugs
Fantastic earrings
Getting to Bree!

So cielamara pulled a tarot card for me the other day in an effort to fire my imagination. (in the good way, not the "don't let the door hit you" way :P ) The one she ended up with was the Wheel of Fortune, from a fairy tale deck with an image of The Twelve Dancing Princesses which happens to be my favorite fairy tale of all time.

*Grins* The story we get though, is neither a fairy tale, nor about princesses ... but there is a dance ... sorta.

( Read more... )

(stay tuned, I might add more as the muse strikes :P)

Doo de do do!

*grins* I totally just got that song stuck in your head, didn't I? I thought about writing a post last night, then forgot. (because I'm cool like that) Then I realized this morning that I needed to get one in here early because I think today is going to be a little crazy.

Here's the problem though, I'm too damn excited to write anything coherent!

*laughs* I am like a kid on the countdown to Christmas. Excited. Nervous. Unable to focus on anything but the 10:30 am start on Saturday morning. This isn't my first mud race, but it is my first Spartan. So while I have an idea of what to expect, the truth is I really have no clue at all.

(I promise there's a point to this. :P )

I was out having dinner with a friend the other day and the topic turned, as it inevitably does these days, to fitness. (He's training up to run TM with us in June.) Motivation - specifically - was what we ended up discussing. If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times ... the best way to motivate yourself into fitness isn't about having a goal, so much as it is having something to strive for.

What's the difference?

Well, for me, a goal is the end point. (example, my goal of losing 30 pounds before TM ... yay! 10 pounds left, btw) Training, however, is something that never ends and if I hadn't fallen into this love of mud races I wouldn't have had nearly the same drive to accomplish my goals over the last few months/years.

The goal is a tangible thing. The activity/training/whatever is the thing that keeps you going through the easy days and the hard ones, through the bleh and the WooHoo!

If you don't have something to strive for, find something. :) If you do, share it here.

***

Signing up for a box of produce delivered straight to my door was one of the best splurges I ever made. We've gotten two boxes so far, with a third set for this Friday. It's amazing the amount of produce that shows up and the things I've managed to do with it so far (cooking with fennel and making potato leek soup were both firsts for me :D ). I'm eating grapefruit again, because the ones we get aren't the size of my head and taste like bitter face soap. Instead they're smaller and sweeter.

It was interesting to discover I wasn't as keen on the spinach I got. I'm still not sure why I prefer the little baby leaves in the plastic box over the bundle. *laughs* But I'm continuing to eat the bundle anyway with the idea that my tastebuds might get used to it eventually.

I can't say for sure if we'll carry this throughout the fall/winter, but for right now it's the best time to sign up for some kind of community supported agriculture. Google for your area now and see what's available! You can also see when the farmer's markets in your area start. Clean eating is key for fitness and weaning ourselves off processed crap is a huge step in improving one's personal health.

***

Pull-ups are the bane of my existence. *grins* I confess I haven't even attempted one for months because a) I don't have my bar at home hung yet and b) it's fucking depressing to just hang there pulling as hard as you can with nothing happening.

However, it's the one exercise I'm determined to master. Somehow. Traditionally pull-ups are a hell of a lot harder for women, but that doesn't mean you can't learn to do them. It also doesn't mean you need to look like a bodybuilder from the waist up in order to do them.

I found a great website the other day with advice on how to progress in your pull-ups (turns out even just hanging there and pulling is still worthwhile :D yay!)

I'll admit I haven't done a lot of reading on pull-ups. *grins* See - avoidance techniques for beginners. But I'm starting to pay more attention now. There aren't really any substitute exercises that will make you better at them ... you just have to do them. Though any general strength training that targets your arms and back are going to be helpful. (yes, back ... this isn't all about the arms)

So that's it for this week. Tune in on Monday for a special post-race blog and then I swear I'll be back on Tuesday with some kind of actual content! :P

So here's Tuesday's post. :P Because Wednesday the LJ was down yesterday it was just not happening.

As I'm sliding through my last week of the BodyRock challenge (seriously, I have two days left?? I don't know where the month went), I've got a lot on my mind. The looming date with the Spartan sprint in a little over a week for one. :P And for two I've been thinking a LOT the last few weeks about judgment.

As I was telling Jenn over the weekend (while we were running our way through the Waldo Canyon loop), my brain wanders a lot when I run and even though I haven't gotten as much mileage in the last two months as I wanted to, I've still been doing it more than I used to. So I think a lot.

I see other people out running or walking and the first thought in my head is normally "Go you!" I don't care what fitness level they're at. If they're huffing and puffing. If they're just out for a stroll. Whatever. *shrugs* Something in me just sings when I see people working out.

Now me? *laughs* When I'm out, I get worried other people are critiquing my form, my running ability, the way my fat's flopping around, how red my face gets ... the list goes on and on.

Ridiculous, isn't it? I don't do that to other people, but I can't seem to extend myself the same kindness. I can't (often) just be proud of myself for getting my butt out the door and doing something about it.

Which, I think, is what happens to a lot of people. That fear that we're being judged by others keeps us frozen in place when we should be doing something. (this applies to a lot of things, not just fitness, btw) Sure, there are going to be assholes out there. Those people at the gym who make fun of the overweight guy trying out the treadmill. The jerks who hoot and holler as they drive by like I care what they think about my running abilities. Those people exist, but we shouldn't let them stop us from achieving our fitness goals. We shouldn't add them to the long list of excuses that are already in our head.

We should be a little kinder with ourselves, focus on ourselves for once because it's really not a bad thing.

makeup
my hair growing out (finally)
color plans
upcoming mud runs
training
hubby
coffee
it's my Friday *sings*

:P

One of the fun things about fitness is all the freaking cool-ass gear that's available. *grins* However, it's also a dangerous trap because people tend to either spend a lot of money and then never use the equipment, or they convince themselves yet again that they can't workout because they don't own X, Y, or Z. (or all three)

You do not need fancy equipment, weights, clothing to get in shape. It's all fun stuff to have and when you get serious about fitness I think it's a good investment to make, but it's not necessary. (Note: about the only exception to this is running shoes, if you're going to be running you do need a good pair of shoes and when you're running a lot you need to change them out frequently.)

Exercises that use your bodyweight as the resistance are all the rage right now. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting something online or a DVD or whatever that doesn't have some form of bodyweight training in it. These are the old school exercises: Burpees, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, high knees, plank, mountain climbers ... just to name a few. All of these can be done without any equipment at all. If you've got wood floors an exercise or yoga mat is great, but you can always improvise padding for your knees (on push-ups if you can't do full ones) with a towel and some of that non-skid foam liner for cabinets/rug tacky stuff. (oh, so technical I know :D )

There are also some easy subs for equipment. Gallon jugs of water are good weights. You can buy playground sand (50#) pretty cheaply at the hardware store - then bag it up in 5# increments and duct tape it for weights or put in a duffle for sandbag. Text books in a duffle are another easy sandbag swap. And there's a great many more. Get creative!

I am a weirdo so I tend to reward my fitness goals with fitness equipment. *grins* It's an easy way for me to spread out the cost while still ending up with the pieces that I need/want. You don't have to buy things new either. Hit up Craig's List or the Goodwill. (especially the months after the new year when people totally bail on their fitness resolutions :P ) Ask around, maybe you have a friend looking to get rid of a treadmill or a co-worker who's upgraded their weight set and wants to off-load theirs.

The possibilities really are endless.

That said ... I do love gear. *grins* So here's a list of my current favorite stuff.

- heavy bag (I've been lucky enough to have friends off-load theirs to me, just have to get it hung up!)
- my new sandbag (which I got here)
- my VFFs (I've got regular shoes for running also though I tend to use them more these days for workouts, because I overwhelmingly prefer to run in my barefoot shoes. This is something I've worked up to and it's highly advised to be careful when transitioning from traditional running shoes to barefoot running.)
- I don't have one of these (yet) because they're pricy - Ugi ball - but damn I want one. :P

There's other assorted clothing and such. I've been replacing piece by piece as my size trends downward. I've got a new favorite sports bra but I don't remember the brand at the moment. I'll try to post about it when I get home.

Now for two new Ooooo! Shiny! things...

Ragnar Relay - this beauty is a 200 mile relay race with 6-12 teammates that goes over 2 days and 1 night. Team members run varying legs of the relay so you can pair up veteran runners with newbies. It sounds like an awful lot of fun and I've added it to my list of "want to run" races.

- this I stumbled over last night and I'm (of course) already super interested. It's a lot of things I'm doing already, and I'm bummed because I missed out on workshops here in the Springs, plus they're not doing any more public workshops after August of this year. But I might eventually bite the bullet and sign up for one of the 5 day retreats they have.

So there's your fitness mish-mash for today. Toss me any questions you have into the comments!

Fitness Test!

Scores from the beginning...

And today...

The Fitness Test
Interval Timer set for 50 seconds / 10 seconds
Eight Rounds

1. Squat Jumps - 38 (now with jumping!)
2. Push ups - 36 (on knees, busted these out like a champ)
3. Burpees - 13 (less than last time, but with a jump damn it :D )
4. High Knees - 120
5. Switch Lunges - 29
6. Tuck Jumps - actual Tuck Jumps, they weren't pretty but I was tuckin' and jumpin' - 21
7. Tricep Dips - 30 (on stairs, knees bent)
8. Straight Abs - 20

In other pertinent news, I've lost 7 lbs since I started two weeks ago, so I'm down to 166.6 (heh) as of Saturday morning. I ran two miles earlier this afternoon for a time of 24 minutes. Haven't taken any measurements but there's some visible difference and my size 12 pants are starting to not want to stay up. Food continues to do well. I ate a donut this morning and it tasted nasty. We've got another kick-ass box of fruits and veggies coming our way on Friday.

I'm loving this.

In no particular order...

The Outsiders
Legend
Back To The Future
The Dark Crystal
Brigadoon
Singin' in the Rain
The Great Escape
StarWars
Darby O'Gill and the Little People
Rio Bravo
The Quiet Man

There's many more. What are some of your favorite movies from your childhood (teens)?

I'm thankful that I feel better.
I'm thankful for sick pay.
I'm thankful for paydays.
I'm thankful for means.
I'm thankful for family and friends.

Also...

summer sandals rain gardens trails running writing good food bad habits water Anthony Bourdain hematite bracelets suntans little kids laughter music fog beef jerky indoor plumbing a working car intervals noticeable results mud races after parties goals dreams determination

There was a article floating around the 'Net about how playing in dirt can make you healthier. A researcher at OSU discovered that women especially tend to have a higher rate of allergies and other autoimmune disorders. Moreover it seems to be connected to the amount of playing in dirt you do as a child.

*grins* I love this for obvious reasons.

I'm a farm girl. Grew up a tomboy. Took me years before I discovered make-up and all that glitter. :P I indulge a lot more these days, but I'm still way more likely to be found in jeans and a t-shirt than a dress. Oddly enough, my dress-up time is winter. When the summer rolls around I don't really shift to sundresses and the like. Instead I'm in shorts and tank-tops pretty much constantly.

***

You're probably sick and tired of me talking about Bodyrock.tv, but you're just going to have to deal. :P I've been doing this challenge of theirs (the February one) for just over a week now and I've already dropped five pounds. There's a large diet component, which really is 80% of the game anyway. But it's nothing restrictive ... unless you count not getting to eat a bunch of processed crap restrictive. I'm not bothered by it at all, in large part because I've been shifting my eating habits this direction for a good while.

What does it mean? Lots of fruits and veggies. Whole grains. Good meat. Very little sugar. As little refined flours as I can manage. I'm still drinking my coffee with creamer because you can have it when you pry it from my cold dead hands. Same thing with my Rockstars.

The workouts for the challenge are only 12-20 minutes long, but they are intense. I've got a solid five days of those, then two active rest days. This weekend my ARDs were spent gardening and then hiking/running the Waldo canyon trail. I was so sore the 1st week (and the weather in grand Colorado spring fashion was cold and snowy :P ) that running was out of the question until the weekend. This week I'm hoping to work that back into the mix for at least 3-4 days. We'll see how that goes.

I did take some before pictures before I started. Will definitely post those and the afters because I'm super curious to see what happens!

Overall a really good week. I was OMG-sore for a large chunk of it in a manner I haven't seen since I first started Shred or Bob's Pure Burn. The downside to this (and the weather) was that I didn't go running at all this last week and when I tried on Friday it was a bit of a wash. :P (as in, I'd run for 30 yards or so until my legs were screaming and then have to walk, lather rinse repeat)

If there's not an improvement in that this week, I'm going to have to figure out something. I can't afford not to run for the next month. It would be bad.

Weight has returned to 168.8. We'll give it another week and see if it starts going down again, if it doesn't I may have to go back to calorie counting just to see some results. I feel like I've done really well with the clean eating this last week, but I figure I've probably eaten more than I normally would.

Man, I'm happy for our CSA box though. :D We've already eaten the apples, yams, fennel, but there's a ton more left. I'll eat a lot of it during the week I'm sure. Right now I'm scrambling to make sure I've got some meals planned out ahead for the veggies so they don't go yucky.

Going to talk to Cory today about building me a makeshift dip stand, since I can't afford/justify buying one right this minute. I've got enough sturdy pieces of spare lumber in the basement I think we can do it. He's also bringing me the punching bag today I think so we'll get that put up and I can integrate some heavy bag work into the routine which will make me super happy.

Next week looks like more of the same for the challenge. I got the days mapped out so I have a vague idea of what's happening. The major difference is that instead of a (relatively easy) fitness test tomorrow, I've got an actual workout. And probably a run, depending.

Five Silly Things I find Fabulous

1. Laughter - love doing it, love hearing it. Especially kids, but when adults laugh it's great too. What really gets me are those surprised laughs where people either are so shocked by whatever it is, or they're not used to laughing to start with and their own laughter surprises them.

2. Invader Zim - best thing ever

3. Chapstick - silly until you don't have any, then it's a tragedy of epic proportions (not to mention causing you to wear lipstick during a camping trip because it's all you have :P true story)

4. Cracked.com - no explanation needed

5. Clown noses - while I detest clowns, I find their noses pretty amusing. So much so that I ordered a bunch last Christmas for my nieces and nephew. :D

Hard Tight Rep Workout

Time: 24:25

1) Tuck Jump into Reverse Lunge (reps on right leg then left) with sandbag

I did a squat with the sandbag then step back into a reverse lunge since I refuse to do tuck jumps, even single leg ones. That's how I broke my toe last time I think. Bleh.

2) Tricep Push ups

Did against an endtable pushed against the couch for stability.

3) Exploding Upright Row with sandbag

Basically a Burpee with an upright row.

4) Reverse Pull up

Used a band attached to a plant hanger in the ceiling. Meh. Not a bad sub, but I don't think I got the same workout as if I'd had a dip station.

( Read more... )

*swims in coffee* I fear there's not enough caffeine to get me through this day. And I forgot to bring a Rockstar to work with me. *facepalm*

*yawns* In no particular order, today's thankfuls...

- music (hee)
- bruises and muscle soreness
- story ideas that just won't go away
- awesome friends
- really good talks on TED - Aimee Mullins and the opportunity of adversity
- inspiring writing from others - like Justine Musk's article about the art of getting creatively unstuck

So you're getting a great blog about clean eating over at Black Ink, White Paper on Thursday. *grins* However, this kinda left me scrambling for something to put in this blog today. Yup. That's how I roll.



I've been thinking a lot lately about how your mood effects your workouts and vice versa. I've been in a weird headspace for the last few weeks. Working out but not really being there for the workouts. Finding myself sliding back into making excuses for why I don't want to workout or just flat piddling around until I run out of time in the day to get it done.

It's fascinating, but also a little frustrating. Thankfully I started a new program on Sunday and with any luck it'll help revitalize me into enjoying myself again.

There is no arguing against the fact that exercise improves your mood. Like the quote above I've never worked out and then immediately gone "man, I shouldn't have done that." On the extremely rare occasion I think that would happen, it would be because you're sick or injured. In which case, you should definitely be paying attention to what your body needs rather than what your head thinks you should do.

(I don't promise much coherency in this post. :P My brain seems to be all over the map this morning.)

It's spring! Even though it's snowing here today (I wish I were kidding) I'm so excited about warm weather and farmer's markets and better tasting produce. I've been checking out https://colorado.doortodoororganics.com/ and am seriously contemplating signing up for a twice-a-month box this summer then just supplementing whatever we get with trips to the farmer's market or grocery. I know I spend more than $100 a month on produce anyway, so it's not that big of a stretch to sign up for it. *laughs* Mostly I just need to get off my procrastinating ass and do it.

I am supposed to get my sandbag tomorrow. *dances* I'm super excited about it. I need it for my workout today but I can substitute a kettlebell for the workouts instead. It's important to learn to improvise and sub out workout equipment, especially when you're getting started. Don't let lack of equipment deter you from getting into a routine. There are all sorts of substitutions one can come up with, you just have to be creative about it. I've been slowing building up my equipment stash over the years and subbing in different pieces as I need until I can get the thing that I need (or want :P ).

Well I think I'll leave you guys with this mess before it gets any worse. *laughs* What are you excited about for the spring/summer? What kind of fitness goals do you have? Share your favorite equipment substitutions.

The Fitness Test
Interval Timer set for 50 seconds / 10 seconds
Eight Rounds

( Scores )

I am a series writer. Not only is it virtually impossible for me to write anything resembling a short story, but more often than not the novels that I write have a sequel (or five :P ).

However, I have a hatred - an intense, passionate, dislike - of the "catch-up". Series readers know what I'm talking about. It's that first chapter (or two, or gods forbid three) where the author catches the reader up on what happened in book one.

Pffft. *snorts* I say, "read book one if you want to know what's going on" because I skip past most of it with a roll of my eyes. (unless it's been too damn long since I read book one and I just don't have the time to reread) It's aggravating to me as a reader and so I tend to avoid it like the plague as a writer.

I dislike the catch-up for a number of reasons:

1) It assumes the reader is dumb
2) It's often overdone or just plain done wrong
3) It's Booooooooring (I honest to god don't care what happened in book one unless it has a direct impact on events in book two. )

However, sadly, some of it is necessary and from what I've seen it's required by a lot of editors.

So, how do you get around it? How do you launch headfirst into book two (or three or four) giving the "new" readers a clue to hang onto without totally bogging down the excitement?

I tend to go for the quick and dirty approach. Readers get a minimum of a chapter to get caught up on the events at the end of the previous books and then away we go. Any other important information from the previous books will be address if (and only if) it's actually pertinent to the events unfolding.

Otherwise, you'll just have to read the other books to find out what's going on, won't you? :P

Now's the time on Sprockets when we dance! What are your thoughts on the "catch-up" as a reader? As a writer? What do you love about it or hate about it? Or are you merely ambivalent Switzerland? *grins*

~ Weekends with the fam
~ Downward momentum on the scale (168 baby!)
~ Writing Fu
~ Having one's financial house in order
~ Gmail changing their sign-in format so you can switch between accounts more easily
~ Little over a month until Spartan Sprint! *squees*
~ Thursdays
~ Coffee

A little over two years ago I got an email from my sister. The subject line just said "300" but inside was a link to the 300 challenge and a suggestion we set a date for the test.

*laughs* We never did do that test. By the time May 2010 rolled around we'd stumbled across Tough Mudder and decided to train for the 2011 event. I blinked and suddenly it was May of 2011 and I was staring this insane challenge right in the face.

I survived it though. *grins* And went on to race in two more (way shorter) events that year. One I even did all on my own due to Murphy's shenanigans, but I made a friend along the way which was totally awesome.

Now I get into some relatively weird shit. *grins* I'll be the first one to admit it. For years I paid money to have people beat me up on a regular basis each week. (Granted, I got to hit them back :P ) My friends and family shake their heads and sigh and I can't really blame them.

But this whole crawling around in the mud thing is amusing even to me. I don't even particularly like being dirty. But something about this obstacle course/mud racing makes my soul sing in the same way kung fu once did.

( Katy, what the hell IS mud racing? )

There's a plethora of sites out there now that talk about how to prepare for a race, what gear to get, what to expect. Here's a few of my favorites:

AdventureRun.Net - one stop shop for a list of available mud races, training advice
DirtInYourSkirt.com - a great blog & training advice geared toward women
LiveTheToughLife.com - blog and resources by a dedicated obstacle racer (especially good for those who are interested in Paleo diet, racing for time, crossfit, and other endurance events like climbing)

For the curious, here's what I've participated in so far and the schedule for 2012: (*are potentials but not signed up yet)

2011 - Tough Mudder, Dirty Girl, Devil's Dash
2012 - Spartan Military Sprint, Color Run*, Tough Mudder, Run For Your Life, Devil's Dash*

If anyone has any questions for me, feel free to throw them out in the comments. :)