Tag: Coffee

Summer heat, sweaty mornings

Summer heat, sweaty mornings

Gio

Amongst the throngs of people working out early mornings I’ve ascertained that not many really can be comfortable being outdoors for prolonged periods of time due to the weather. Yes, fair weather athletes come in all shapes and sizes.

Not judging at all since they give a good ribbing as well as take it. Once the frost clears, the grass is growing with flowers to boot. So the interest of doing work outdoors increases. The next step is getting them to commit to a schedule and then to commit to the varied weight loads and types of movement included while wearing a ruck.

We typically use the ruck as primary tool for resistance and exercises, and not limited to sliding down muddy slopes without much of a second thought since it’s a benefit added once we get rainfall (dry now), while working out at our favorite hill. Going up is tough, going down fun. So it’s a ying yang type of thing. We adapt accordingly.

Recognizing that every time there is a plan of action we must be fluid enough to adapt to a plethora of circumstances like construction here. Our staging area is beside an under pass where we get some of our work done. It’s being fixed and bricks, rock, and steel can fall on you so we’ve staged further away to keep our nuggets safe.

Then, there is bright sunshine! I love it. Early light means no headlamps, and no reflective clothing for our dreary dark workouts. Shorts, tanks, and bug spray has replaced much of our attire. Not complaining one bit. Except for areas near the river where we ruck the mosquitoes are huge! So, spraying bug juice will continue until we’re comfortable with the bugs everywhere. Then spray some more so you don’t get mugged by them.

Am I the only one that looks forward to a hot cup of coffee on a Hot day, with my favorite cigar to boot after a workout? What is your go to post workout in any temperature or time of year. I’ve been very consistent without losing a beat on endurance.

There is heat then there is-Humid heat! Sweating while thinking of working prior to getting to our workout location is something to ponder if you consider going outside in the summer. In the Midwest, more like Chitown there are two seasons, 1) Winter, + 2) Construction.

You fight the battle in front of you one at a time. Keep hydrated, and smile knowing you can do the things many more can only dream of doing. Complete each evolution, set, rep, workout in the knowledge the the discomfort you’re experiencing is temporary and the benefits outweigh your exertion. Heat subsides, sweat cools you down unless it gets in your eyes then it’s a blistering paragraph of expletives! Speaking from experience here.

Oh let’s not forget the little snags or cuts out in the field you get while crawling around like a mad person doing your thing. Searing hot burning is a threshold you need to learn to appreciate. Swear, scream, laugh, cry, just don’t quit! The high fives and funny post workout pics are well worth it.

I’ll leave you with this.

Get up, go outside and move. No matter how uncomfortable you become just keep moving. The chemistry involved between your ears is what we’re trying to change. Change it will, and for the better.

Below

1) 210611 – RED Friday partner WOD at our hill. Video included of my partner in crime and I

2) 210604 – RED Friday WOD at our Sandlot

Partner WOD 1 mile ruck, hill lunges, hill ruck, dive bombers, push ups, 400m run, bear-crawl ruck drag, candlesticks, and sweaty high fives!
Got pretty sweaty, scratched, itchy, and encouraging everyone to get it done!
Sandy WOD with squats, sit ups, bear crawl ruck drag, low crawl-ruck press, flutter kicks, leg levers, walking lunges, mtn climbers, hello dolly’s, 200m ruck run, prone flutter kicks, crab walk. Yes, hot, sweaty, and sand everywhere!

Get some!

See you out there! Hopefully with us soon!

G

Cooking out

Cooking out

Gio

Spent the majority of my morning wishing I had a bottomless cup of Coffee, but it was not in the cards! It all started with placing an order from a Big box retailer for pick up. Got up, walked my Gunner, fed him and made a cup of Joe. Got in the car and headed out with the assumption of just driving up, pick up and haul it back home to use it.

The it happens to be a grill. Our first grill that we can call our ow, and it’s awesome. Ok, back to our debacle. Arrived, gave our info and waited. The website does not provide information stating that our product was prebuilt, and we assumed ( you know the saying) that it was boxed. Hahahahaha on me! Pre built equipment does not, and repeat does not fit in a small car no matter what you try to throw out to make things fit!

Heck, I tried to unscrew some of the attachments (one actually popped right off to our surprise but we were stumped. Sideways, backwards, forwards and even had a gentleman offer to take to our house and wanted for us to pay him. Heck, we both had the same car, and who’s to say he wouldn’t driven away with it and left us high and dry anyway?

Weber grill

We made a few calls and had a bite, and it totally fit! Drove it back, and got it situated. Oh, heck we need gas/propane container so we can use it. So off we went to our provide around the corner. Oh, the luxury of having something close by and open. Of course that was an event too. Called to reserve it, but could not reserve. First come first served. Arrived only to be sent to the filling station, then directed back to storefront and back twice without container because two people could not communicate with their handsets properly.

Purchased the container, put everything on properly and tested the connection. Safety first, so they said. ‘Nene said ‘how do you know if it turned on?’ (You know where this is going don’t you?)

Well, of course I being the intrepid gentleman I said it feels warm, but it’s hot today and it could be just the sun radiating from the grill so reaching in I glanced my thumb on one of the burner shields and ooooohhh boy yeah it works alright!

Prepped a little meal for us to break it in, and boy was it delicious!

Medium rare please!

Oh, now after late lunch enjoying my Perdomo Cigar, Guinness, and much needed sun! Food was delicious! I can’t wait to use it again and explore some delicious ways to cook food also.

Have a great Sunday all! Grill on, and be merry!

G

Fall / Winter Trail Racing

Fall / Winter Trail Racing

Gio

Well coming off the trails in Wisconsin we dialed in our trail running skills in Palos Park Trail System once more to keep our momentum going. Running more than 10 miles on the trails while being more efficient and effective on our running speed and cadence. We had a few new runners for this late fall race in Galena, IL Oct/19.

On this weekend we had the option of three distances. A 5k, 10k, or half marathon. Five of us raced the half while four more raced the 5k. Nicely groomed trail, and almost flat and shaded. Late warmer temps had runners shed their outer shells and ran fairly fast on this little trail.

Coming from the Northwoods with minimal rest and recovery I thought I could tackle this 1/2 marathon without skipping a beat. Well, not so fast my body was telling me very early on. Half marathoners staged first on this 27F morning and I was not a happy camper. Cold, and feeling very stiff we started our run. Sun was peeking out between he trees only teasing us with some light and zero warmth.

My hat, shell, and gloves stayed on when we hit a few icy bogs on the trail and knew right away that this was gonna be a rough one if I hit these bogs, and I’d feel colder if I did. Not my ideal running situation while I was just getting warm. Well, to no avail with runners somewhat tightly situated on the trail some of us hearty souls took one for the team and sloshed through those bogs and kept on cruising. Feeling cold, it took me to the 10k mark to finally shed my shell and stash it in my pack somewhat.

The shell stayed on my shoulder straps and it would not budge. Upon shedding the shell I began to feel my Right IT bad fire like crazy. No build up of discomfort or indication of hip tightness at all just boom! Here I am big boy! Whatcha gonna do!? Well, I continued to run, walk, stretch, and repeat that process around a half dozen times to stretch and curse my tight hips, all the while I hydrated to stem any possible cramping that may arise from this. I thought long and hard about just walking the rest of the distance, but I was not gonna give in and just walk.. I made up my mind that I would finish regardless of my discomfort.

I made it back to the start line and knew I had 5k left. Regardless of the hobble, shuffle, and pain I would not stop to stretch until I crossed the Finish line. When I did finally cross that line I was fatigued, and in pain. We took our medals, some pics, and then I tried to walk a few steps (26 total) to the top of the bridge / sidewalk to grab some food when at the first ten steps I took my body lit up like lightning bolts on both IT bands bilateral knees and hips. My body was having none of this stair climbing nor walking in general. So, what did I do? Heck I walked with Nene next to me for 800m to the restaurant and finally sat down to drink as much coffee as possible not caring about anything else except that there was food coming my way and I could relieve my pain with copious amounts of coffee until we walked 1200m back to the car and head back to the hotel to take a Hot bath. Purchased epsom salt, and Skor chocolate to take the edge off. Yes, cho-co-late! My pain killer of choice.. I have my type of meds and you have yours. 😛

Post bath what would any sane human do? I’m not sane so we went to a distillery that a friend referred me to and had an adult drink. Man did it hit the spot. No, not buzzed just felt the warmth inside that was missing and we headed back to the the hotel and then grabbed some food. Time well spent.

Would I do this race again? You bet! I love Galena, and plenty to do there. This year we’ll sty a bit longer and have great time to enjoy the festivities they have after the race. Halloween weekend with parade, and costume contest to be had.

L-R- Gio’s Wrecked Runners
Eleni, Tom, Nene, me, Aurora
L-R: Gio’s wrecked runners
Aurora, Eleni, Mark, Nene
Monday recovery

Monday recovery

Gio

This past weekend was spent hiking the trail system at Turkey Run State Park, IN.

Camping in a two person tent, and spot we were in was ample enough to host two big tents and two cars with electrical outlets to use. The majority of the days were hot, humid, and a beautiful cloudless blue sky.

Spending Friday morning setting up the campsite, and grabbing some snacks here and there in the likes of Doritos, veggie sticks, and of course my Docaff. Delicious, dark, and tastes incredible!

The camping area was huge! I mean it was full of RVs and not a single tent except for the five other couples we went camping with. RV camping was a sight to see. How they managed to park those gigantic things into a very tiny spot is beyond my amazement. Finesse, skill, and not having your neighbors yelling at you to not knock down their tarps, or tent lanyards go a long way to a good weekend of peace and quiet.

Quiet, silence, and hot nights are not synonymous to peaceful nights. A/C noises drowned out nature, and if they didn’t then there were a few yahoos with a blow horn keeping people awake, or waking people up in the am. Oh, well. It’s not like backpacking where you have to pay to camp at secluded spots in a National Park. Trust me, well worth the hike, effort, and patience to find the secluded silent spot.

The trails were groomed and well maintained. Engineered at some points then turned into regular dirt, and rocks. Taking a hike where a waterfall should’ve been, was strewn with slick boulders, and muddy. Not very technical, and within a certain part called the ice box, it was way cooler there than any other place. Caves, shallow ones were cool but not for camping. Possible for riding out a T-storm but that’s about it.

Eating – oh the benefits of being prepared. Friday night was provided by the Dixon’s- smoked BBQ pork. Homemade bbq sauce, and eaten on a bun, topped with coleslaw, and baked sweet potatoes. For dessert we had brownies, and ice cream that was made right at the campsite!

On Saturday, Paul, Kim, Gint, and Tina threw down with a serious breakfast of omelets, hash browns from-scratch, good Coffee provided by Sandra. Man oh man it was good! Now, on Saturday night Selene had prepared tinga at home and was just ready to be re heated –My Latina Kitchen

There was plenty of other food on the table with grilled salmon a lot of greens and a Quinoa salad….. oh, the full tummy and great company! We have to do this more often.

This was a very short period of time sharing life with people that enrich your life, laugh at corny jokes, and get very down to earth honest with the life stories we shared. From all walks of life, we came together not as friends but as family.

Well we are looking forward to next years outing, since it’s so much fun why just once a year? We’ll see…. ha!

Here we are – group pic…. say con Queso!

Magister Nosce