My Bucket List includes participating in a Triathlon

A year ago I said I wanted to participate in the Playmakers Classic Triathlon this year. Well guess what, I didn't train for it. I have participated in other types of races like the Filthy 5K and Warrior Dash but still have a triathlon on my bucket list.

Two weekends ago my friend Rachel and I participated in our first Warrior Dash at Mt. Morris, MI. We had so much fun that we are already registered for next year. We are encouraging others to sign up as well. I've posted pictures to my Facebook account. I had read on another blog to buy a disposable camera and put it inside a Ziploc bag so that it didn't get wet. I carried it in a fanny pack throughout the race so we could get pictures. I'm so glad that I did because now we have the pictures to remind us of the fun we experienced that day.

Rachel and I participated in the Grand Rapids Urban Adventure Race last fall. It's a Run, Bike and Search race hosted in downtown Grand Rapids. It involved figuring out clues so that you could go to your next check-in station. Each check-in station was different. One of my favorites was near a lake and we had to work as a team to fill a tube with water from the lake, but the tube had small holes in it. We took turns plugging the holes while the other retrieved water from the lake. Challenging but fun!

I'm always looking for something new to try, so if you hear of any races in the Mid Michigan area please let me know. I'm always up for a challenge and always looking for people to join me.

INSANITY: THE ASYLUM™

This week I started a new 30 day workout program called INSANITY: THE ASYLUM. This program is recommended for people that have completed THE INSANITY program. I completed INSANITY several months ago and have since been doing ChaLEAN Extreme. So when my daughter, Alicia purchased INSANITY: THE ASYLUM and asked if I wanted to start it with her after we returned for the Beachbody Summit I said sure. We both started on Sunday by doing the Fit Test. The Fit Test is about 25 minutes of Agility Heisman's, In and Outs, Pull ups/Push ups, Mountain Climbers, Agility should taps, X jumps, moving pushups, agility lateral shuffle and agility bear crawl. The program comes with a plastic/strapped ladder that you lay on the floor and use to jump and crawl between the rungs of the ladder. We completed the fit test and I thought if this is a preview of what's to come, I'm in trouble.

DAY 1 - Speed and Agility. I thought I was going to die! I have not worked up a sweat like that in a very long time. I have this love/hate relationship with Shaun T. He pushes you to dig deeper and not give up. I gave the workout 100% although I was not able to keep up. But being 52 years old, I felt very proud of myself when the workout was over.

DAY 2 - Strength. I liked this workout because it involved weights and strength training. I was able to keep up with most of the workout until the end where the pushups started to get the best of me. I ended up doing pushups on my knees but again stuck with it and did my very best.

DAY 3 - Back to Core. I was so sore in the morning that I could hardly move. I put the workout off until later in the day when my body had time to loosen up some. My shoulders were so sore from all of the pushups in Day 2. This workout works your back and would not be bad if my shoulders weren't already so sore.

DAY 4 - Vertical Plyo. OMG! Another hard workout. I'm going to be honest, I could not keep up with this workout. There is a lot of jumping moves and my heart was beating hard. I again worked up a sweat like never before.

So far I would have to say this is the hardest workout I have ever done.The program is advertised as, "With INSANITY you focused on improving your cardiovascular endurance and on total body conditioning. So, what's left? How about improving your balance, agility, power, strength, and coordination? Jump higher. Run faster. If you want to become an elite athlete or just improve your game, THE ASYLUM is your winning strategy." It definitely stands up to its advertisements. I haven't given up yet, it's only a 30 day program so I will stick with it and give it my best.