Endurance Training, Part One- Kicking It Up a Notch

    This year, I plan to have a very full race schedule: A few triathlons, a 1/2 marathon, a full marathon, a century ride, and hopefully a 1/2 Ironman race as well. This is all in preparation for the big race year: 2012! Next year, I hope to participate in (and finish!) my first full Ironman race. The goal is to do Ironman Coeur d'Alene, Idaho! Before I can entertain visions of crossing the finish line in Idaho to some announcer saying, "John Courtney, YOU are an Ironman!!" I have a bit to go in my training.

I do about half of my training with a local Triathlon/Running Club called Team Fitness Evolution. The team is headed by my friend and mentor Luis Leonardo (an accomplished triathlete from Guatemala and former co-worker at Sports Basement), and Kyle Leto (a professional Triathlete and friend of Luis). Needless to say, I am surrounded by quite a bit talent and knowledge of the sport of Triathlon. All of the workouts with TFE, with the exception of the swim workouts, are lead by Luis (Kyle, a former UC Davis Swim Team member, leads the swim workouts). When I am not with Luis and TFE, I take what they have taught me and apply it to my own workout concoction.

This morning, Luis kicked it up a notch. We met at Heather Farms Park at 5:30 a.m. as usual, expecting another (grueling) strength and core workout (typically a 20 min. warm up run, followed by an assault on our legs, butt, and abs). But this morning was different. We warmed up in a similar fashion, with a mild run to the new Iron Horse Trail bridge crossing over Treat Blvd. in Walnut Creek. But this time, we did not turn around. Luis jumped right in to the workout, starting with 2 minutes of Body Squats. Okay, not so bad, as we had done 3 minutes at a time last week. Then came the twist. We were going to forgo the adherence to our heart rate monitors (having previously tied to stay below a certain HR threshold) and sprint to the apex of the bridge and then jog down the back side.

Maintaining a regimen of "base" oriented workouts had made today's workout a real kick in the pants. Immediately following the first sprint, I felt different. It felt great! I was not instantly explosive, but I felt as though there was a lot of potential deep down somewhere that Luis had insisted to all of us was growing during our base training. I was starting to feel what he was talking about.

Jogging down the back side of the bridge, we went immediately in to 15 bench push-ups, 10 standard push ups and approximately 60 seconds of side/oblique leg raise holds (this one is difficult to explain, mostly because I don't know what it is called. On all fours, raise one leg straight out to the side, like a dog doing its business, and hold. After 30 seconds, move that knee up toward your head slightly, holding for 15 seconds. For the final fifteen seconds, crunch your knee up as far as you can towards your head and hold. Man, does this one work!). Immediately following this, we popped back up, sprinted back to the top of the bridge, and jogged down the other side. All of that made for one repetition.

This morning, we did four repetitions.

Although this workout does not seem like much on paper, I can tell you that it was one of the most complete workouts I have had in some time. There was explosiveness, core work, endurance, and muscular endurance. My hat goes off to Luis and Team Fitness Evolution. Awesome workout!

John

A little bit o' cactus, a little bit o' succulents, a little bit o' love...

I am so excited to show you what I did today! We had some left over apothecary jars from our wedding and I have been going back and forth on what to do with them. I love how pretty the clear glass is and I liked the idea of putting something more permanent in them than seasonal decorations. This morning, while making coffee, I had an epiphany. I have been wanting to do a cactus garden for a really long time. I wanted a little piece of Tucson in our home to remind of us where we met. I decided to try and make a cactus and succulent terrarium out of our jars! I thought two might be too much so I had the idea of using one as a picture frame. Shopping for the items, not surprisingly, took much longer than actually putting them together. Here is what I started out with when I came home from Navale's...

To do this project I needed...

small pebbles, plant charcoal, succulent soil, and plants. As well as something to put the plants in. 

I started on the picture frame one first; I figured that was easier and I was little nervous about the whole project so I guess I was looking to boost my confidence. It only took me about three minutes to put it together and then I started on the real project.

 I ended up buying way more plants than I needed, and could only fit two in the jar! I am really happy with how it turned out though! I decided to use a left over mason jar from the wedding to plant the aloe I bought. Here is a picture of three projects. 

I apologize for the shotty picture, my blackberry does not have a good camera. Anyway, I thought it needed a little something more so I added the tera cotta dishes I got at the garden store. 

So what do you think?

A door, a dresser, and a light...

This is our door. We bought it at Building REsources in San Francisco. I read about Building REsources in my favorite magazine, Sunset. It is AMAZING. If you have ever been to Omega Salvage or Urban Ore then you kind of have an idea for what it's like. Building REsources is better than the aformentioned though. It is cheaper, the people rock, and it's a non-profit!  As we were perusing through the doors trying to find a headboard for a project I saw on our good friends Nick and Jessica's blog, I came upon this beauty. We really like how Nick and Jessica used a window for their platform bed. My smart husband though decided that glass, Christian, and bed do not go well together. I am pretty clumsy and toss and turn like a dolphin while I'm sleeping and can just see me busting through the glass in the middle of the night. Needless to say, John thought a door would be safer =) I was SO excited when I found this door. It has the perfect old world rugged feel we are going for in our new room! There were two, but at $50 bucks a door, we decided to get just one. (I think John might be secretly planning a trip back just to purchase second though.) We intend to hang this just as shown (minus the chair) directly behind the platform bed John made for us! I can hardly wait to get it up and see how it looks! We have been spending many hours picking out paint, materials, and designs for our much larger, much better room that we will soon have! We have not decided on colors yet but I know John is equally excited because when I came home from work today, this is what I found on our bed...

A plethora of colors, notes, wood, booklets, and paint samples! 

In addition to our headboard, we also bought some redwood so that John can make me this dresser...

I found this dresser on Anthropologie's Website. I found out about this store from Jessica (of Nick and Jessica) as well! I fell in love with this industrial wooden dresser and since it's $998.00, I opted to beg my husband to built it instead =) To be honest, I don't really have to beg, he is happy to do it, along with my father-in-law! The last treasure we found at Building Resources was a couple of wire baskets. We have been looking for wire baskets because John wanted to make this project that he saw in the newspaper. 

After seeing it in the newspaper, we discovered that again, Anthropologie had their own version (pictured above). This is our basket...

We are going to turn it upside down and cut the wire so we can put an old fashion lightbulb through it and make a hanging light! I am so excited! I was hoping to find one a little more decorative but I am happy with what we were able to get. And at $1 for the basket, about $15 for the light, and $10 for the hardware, we will make out WAY better than the $148 we could have paid for one purchased at Anthropologie! So after seeing some of our ideas and samples of our projects, what do you think? Will we be able to accomplish the industrial, rugged, room we are going for? I hope so! 

Vet time!

Today I took Eddy to the vet to get his shots. After freaking out and nearly escaping, he peed all over the lady and whimpered like crazy. I felt so bad for him I almost cried! He got all his shots though and he is officially licensed! I guess that means we are keeping him =) We also found out that IS in fact neutered. I know it sounds funny but we weren't sure =) He has to go back again in 3-4 weeks for the booster. John is definitely taking him next time!

Life, Love, and Eddy

This is Eddy. A cute, fun loving, sweet, terror of a dog. We got him about two weeks ago. He is a mini pinscher mut. He stands about 16 inches (John's estimate...so precise) off the ground and is about 24 inches from nose to end of tail. Not too big, not too small. He is full of energy and loves anything that squeaks or has stuffing... 

Especially $50 dollar dog beds that are made of foam. Yes, sadly he tore that apart, and a blanket, and numerous toys. But somehow, whether it be the cute floppy ears, or chocolatey brown eyes, he won his way into our hearts. His previous owner was going to take him to the pound and John and I couldn't resist taking him in. He is very loyal, but he pees every time he meets someone new...how embarrassing! I have taught him how to sit and stay, and how to stand on his hind legs and spin in a circle (we call it dancing). Although these tricks are somewhat cute, they do nothing to correct the craziness that ensues when someone walks in the door, or the chaos that consumes our happy afternoon walks when he sees any other living being. Eddy, unbeknownst to him, is starting doggy school on Monday evening! Hopefully one evening a week for six weeks will be enough training (for him and us) to correct some of his more annoying habits! But who am I kidding? He had me at hello. 

Snowshoeing, Chili, and the Cabin

December 30- January 1

For our New Year's getaway, Christian and I decided to convince my dad that it would be a great idea f we went up to the cabin... in spite of the weather AND the fact that no one plows the road to the cabin! But Christian and I were prepared for adventure.

Our first stop was The Sports Basement (where I now, work by the way) in Walnut Creek to pick up our snowboard and ski rentals. Because of my connections (but mostly because the fine folks at SB are awesome), our rentals were all free! This was going to be an awesome weekend.

We left early Thursday morning with homemade lattes in our hands and started the 5 hour drive to the cabin. We made an obligatory stop at Granzella's in Williams, CA, a personal favorite of ours. More coffee and hot breakfast fueled the rest of our voyage. We arrived in McCloud in the late afternoon and parked the truck about a quarter mile from the cabin: Time to test out those snowshoes!

At the road sign about 1/2 mile from the cabin

We loaded up with as much as we could carry and started out.... success! To all of our amazement, the snowshoes were awesome! We made it to the cabin in (relative) ease and actually enjoyed the walk. The snowshoes provided a great workout, but still made walking through the snow so much easier than regular boots. 

It felt good to be back at the wedding; the first time since we drove away on our wedding day. The lights still hung over the driveway and lined the front porch. Standing in front of the cabin on a picturesque, snow covered day reaffirmed our decision to get married in McCloud: It was perfect.

The snow-covered cabin. If you look closely, you can just barely make out the
lights hanging in front of the garage.

We unloaded our things and checked out the rest of the cabin. We had accidently left the cheesecakes from our wedding in the cabin and expected the worst... But to our surprise, they were basically untouched (although moldy!). The rest of the cabin checked out... or did it? As we went to inspect the generator, my dad discovered a large pool of coolant on the generator house floor. At the risk of ruining the engine, we opted to forgo electricity for the weekend. Now it was becoming a real backcountry adventure!

For the next few hours we melted snow for water, boiled it for drinking, and literally cooked by candlelight. We all huddled by the wood burning stove as the sun went down, and talked about the weekend's plans.

Christian and my Dad enjoying Christian's amazing "Candlelight Chili!"

 The next morning, we strapped the snowshoes back on, trudged (happily) through the snow to the truck, and made our way in to Mt. Shasta for some of the best lattes and scones on the planet! (Thank you Seven Suns Coffee!) We explored the town for a little bit with stops at Ace Hardware and The Fifth Season (all required with any trip to Mt. Shasta), until finally heading back to the cabin to drop my dad off: It was time to go snowboarding!

With our equipment all set, we pointed ourselves West to head back towards the mountain and the Mt. Shasta Ski Park for afternoon/ night snow boarding and a New Year's Eve party! We were amped!... until we saw the traffic heading up the two lane road to the ski park. The back-up was awful and the parking lots were all full. A car coming back down from the park had told us that there was at least a two hour wait! No bueno! Saddened, but nit discouraged, Christian and I headed back down the mountain with our sights set on Snowman's Hill...

But before our adventure could continue, we decided to try out a new Thai food restaurant in downtown Mt. Shasta. We ordered two amazing dishes (Pad Thai and Red Curry Chicken), stuffed ourselves, and declared sledding season officially open. We picked up a sled from Ace and headed to Snowman's Hill.

Christian catching some air!

A view from Snowman's Hill looking up Mt. Shasta

I love this one!

Awww!

Needless to say, we had a blast! We spent a couple hours sledding with the rest of the kids on The Hill (sounds more daring that way!) and were laughing the whole time. With daylight fading, he packed up and headed back to the cabin.

New Year's Eve was spent sitting in front of the fire with Christian and my dad, with a glass of almond champagne, a bowl of hot chili, and a pan of gingerbread cake. all in all, I think that was one the best New Years I have had! As always, it was hard to leave the cabin, even after having to "rough" it for a few days in the winter.

From the porch

Courtney Cabin, Winter, 2010-11

The old railroad tracks

The postcard-worthy church where we got married!

Honeymooning With the Mouse

After leaving the beauty and grandeur of Yosemite Valley, I, like any loving husband would do, decided to take the most scenic route to get to our Disneyland destination... through California's Central Valley. Needless to say, the scenery was drastically different from the granite cliffs and emerald pools we had enjoyed for the start of what would be an amazing honeymoon. Still, hazy skies and drab shades of brown filling the horizon could not deter us from having a great road trip.

About two hours south of Yosemite, we made a pit stop at a family-run fruit and produce stand. Unfortunately, we don't have pictures to show you (nor can I remember the name of this place!), but "stand" doesn't accurately describe the size of this mecca of fresh foods. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, juices, honeys, and many other items filled a small warehouse that was manned by some of the farm workers. We grabbed a couple of our favorites (after many many samples) and continued on our way.

We made great time between Yosemite and Disneyland and were able to enjoy the architectural awesomeness of our hotel in the daylight. After unloading the car, we simply stood in awe of the sheer size of the hotel's main hall. We were immediately taken back to Yosemite by the style and decor of the lobby and knew that we were in for an amazing stay!

The next morning, I literally shot out of bed with excitement! We were going to Disneyland and this was going to be Christian's first time!

John, totally psyched!

Christian, laughing at John's excitement!

The next few days in Disneyland were amazing! We were constantly laughing and finding new things to do everyday... and we still feel like we did not have enough time! From Christian's very authentic and very terrified scream during Splash Mountain, to stuffing our faces at the most amazing buffet in the world, from repeatedly going on the Grizzly Rapids ride to escape the record heat wave, to the most amazing water and light show ever (Disney's World of Color... wow, amazing), Christian and I have so many wonderful memories from our honeymoon, and even more stories! So to avoid setting a record for World's Longest Blog Post, here are some pictures of our favorite memories of what could quite possibly be, the happiest place on earth! (... hmmmm, I think I smell a slogan idea....)

Yes, that is a Mickey Mocha, and yes it was delicious!

Mini Mickey Waffles... and they were unlimited too!

Christian and the Cearley Family! (I'm the special photographer)

Sometimes, Christian forgets the first letter in her name... not anymore!

Laguna Beach! Just because we could!

It took me a long time to get this shot just right... I guess TOO long for the guys in the band...

The pumpkin man is staring at me....

Get active in Cali!

I have lived in California for 2.5 year now. CRAZY! The thing that I love most about it is the ample amount of active outdoor activities that are so close in proximity! For example, Yosemite is only 3 hours away! When we were planning our honeymoon we knew we wanted to something adventurous and also something fun. So we decided to split our time between Yosemite and Disneyland, neither of us had ever been to Yosemite (shame on John!) and I had never been to Disneyland so it was quite exciting for us! We didn't just want to sit around Yosemite and marvel at its beauty, although we DID do that, we wanted to get out there and experience it! So we planned to climb half dome! Several people thought we were weird for wanting to do such a long day trip on our honeymoon but it was perfect for us. After we rented a car for our trip (which ended being a free upgrade to a Mercedes!) we headed south! Or southeast I guess, I'm not good with directions.

The car ride was quite nice and we pretended the whole time that it was so lame that we had to take the Mercedes instead of our nice car. Here is John acting Yuppy with his cup of coffee and his Mercedes. The hike up Half Dome was amazing! And amazingly difficult! But so worth it. We started early in the morning...

By the time we hit the trail head it was around 5:15. We hiked in pretty much silence and darkness for about an hour or so until the sun started to rise. The only noise that could be heard was from a girl (maybe myself) saying "hey bear!" every so often to keep from running into one of the furry creatures. (Next time ill use the bear bell John got me for christmas!) 

The sun rise was beautiful! The uphill climb wasn't getting any easier but we kept going! I was not going to give up on our honeymoon!! So we kept on keeping on. John had to stop and wait for me a couple times, I can never keep up with him, but slow and steady won the race! Before we knew it, we were standing at the foot of the dome! 

If you look close at this picture you can see the ladder leading up the dome. It is relatively empty right now, but what you can't see is the long line of people in front us making their way up sub dome to get to the cables! The cable portion was exhausting because we had to hang and wait while others slowly pecked their way up. But at last, we had done it! We were on top! 

Standing on top was pretty amazing. And even though I was pretty tired, I still had time to enjoy the view. After a snack, some chatting, and some pictures, it was time to head down. It was about 1:00 at this point and we had already been hiking for approximately 7.5 hours. We knew that the trip down though would be faster, so we got up and excitedly made our way down. 

Going down the cables was much easier than going up. I grabbed onto the cables, pointed my butt backwards and walked down butt first. This was the easiest way, I think, to get down the steep slope. The rest of the journey down the mountain was not recorded on film. The trip down proved to be much harder than the trip up, our knees were on fire! Thinking we were young and invincible, the two of us failed to train adequately for the pounding our joints would take coming down the steep trail! By the time we got back to the trail head around 6, we were in need of some food, and some Advil! My feet and ankles were swollen from my new boots and I could hardly walk. Hungry, tired, and stinky, we headed to the Cafeteria at Curry Village for some bland buffet style food. After dinner we crashed in our curry village tent and fell right to sleep.

The next day was the part of the Yosemite portion where we would be lazy and and in love. We sipped lattes on wooden rocking chairs and watched deer and squirrels play. We people watched while we ate pastries and enjoyed the sunny crisp morning. We took the transit through the valley and visited El Capitan where we watched the climbers painstakingly move an inch every couple minutes. 

We had a simple deli lunch and beer and pizza for dinner and talked for hours until we were so sleepy we had to crash. Our Yosemite trip was definitely one to remember and definitely something we will be doing again! Next time, we want to try the two day version on half dome and backpack. 

As we headed out of Yosemite, bound for Disneyland, we stopped to take one last photo. A funny memory of us, a couple, whose car barely runs, posing in front of our Mercedes in the middle of the Great Yosemite Valley. 

*look for our post late this year after we climb Mt. Shasta!!! 

A wedding worth remembering

Now that John and I have agreed to take turns blogging (mostly I had to agree, he is way better at this than I am), I figured it was time to update you on our lives! I wanted to start with our wedding. Which was a complete DIY project including food, decorations, and plans. Although there were some hiccups and the people we hired to cook the food we prepared didn't do it quite like we had planned, we were VERY happy with the end result. I always dreamed of getting married outside, and John, being catholic, wanted to get married in a church, so we compromised and got married in the church and had our reception outdoors. We had the festivities in our favorite small town McCloud, CA. If you have never been there we highly suggest you visit and stay at the Mercantile Hotel. Anyway, we had a (semi)short ceremony filled with laughter and tears (mostly laughter from John and I...oops). Then we headed to the Courtney Family Cabin for the reception. John and I spent months planning how to decorate and our wonderful families made it all come to life the morning of our special day. We were amazed at how great everything looked! And even more amazed that despite an 80% chance of rain on our wedding day, we made it though the whole thing without a single drop! Our theme was rugged simplicity. We decorated the tables with (free) pine cones that my sister and I had gathered the week before (thanks Jess!) and red roses. There was raffia and white lights, glass containers holding candies and goodies, cheese cake in lieu of wedding cake, and good ol' fashion hot dogs and hamburgers. Thanks to our dear friend and photographer, Melody Shirazi we ended up with some great pics! Here are just a few of the highlights!  

Wedding Week Prep!

More Prep!

Church where the ceremony was held

Everyone who attended the festivities!

Before everyone arrived

After!

Olive Bar!

our wedding "cake"

Fresh Fruit Bar

Candy Bar

Shot for the groom and groomsmen!

Brenden's Toast 

End of the Night!

Happily Ever After.