Me Vs. The Volcano

Normally, I start off July in the most epic way possible. By watching Independence Day and yelling “Welcome to Earf” a million times before enjoying the middle of the summer. But this year is going to be the year of Mega July, a.k.a. the July I Decided to Conquer Everything. Starting exactly at midnight, we set off to summit Mt. St. Helens via the Monitor Ridge trail.

I knew that this hike was going to be difficult, and we had been training for this hike for some time, but nothing can really prepare you for things out of your control. With the current heat wave and dry spout happening here in Washington it lead to two things: no snow pack and extreme heat. Reading several trip reports, it was advised to start well before sunrise to avoid mid-day heat. Even starting at midnight and arriving at the summit just after sunrise we barely made it back down the trail in the early morning heat that quickly reached the high 80s. It was well into the mid-90s by the time we made it back to the trailhead.

Into the Darkness

Hiking a volcano is what you would imagine. The higher we climbed the more we felt like we were facing Mt. Doom, except there was no Samwise Gamgee to push us forward or make us second breakfast. The hike starts out pleasant enough, through a moonlit forest which was probably supposed to feel magical, but only being able to see as far as the headlight could shine, it was more unsettling than comforting. When we made it out of the forest, then began the climb. We started to ascend the steep field of rock and pumice. At one point we thought we spotting the reflective trail markers in the distance, only to realize they were a pair of eyes. I kept telling myself it was just an owl, and then 2 more pairs became visible. Owls hanging out it groups, right?

After about an hour into the steep terrain, we realized that maybe we weren’t going the right way. We decided to start moving laterally to see what was on the other side of the ridge to our left, only to find that we were completely off trail and finding the actual trail markers. Our steep and messy shortcut cut out a huge chunk of the trail. Back on the right path, we reached the first of 5 boulder fields. As we reached the top of each one, we thought the summit was in reach, only to find there was another staring back at us. The only thing that kept us going at that point was a little bit of Journey and The Boss himself.

The bf makes an excellent portable pillow for cat naps on mountains.

At the end of the boulder field, I started to feel like my body was failing. It was just around 5am and I should of been asleep, so everything was in a state of confusion. We had to take a long break so I could nap for a few minutes and let the feeling pass.

Now was time for the final push. The final mile in nothing but sliding ash and pumice. It was literally a “two steps forward one step back” scenario. It went on forever. The sun was starting to rise over Mt. Adams to the east of us. And then, after an hour of exhausting climbing, we made it to the summit.

View from the top.

The view was pretty amazing. To see the direction of the explosion to the North and all that it took out—including what was left of Spirit Lake—was breathtaking. Looking back towards the south, it was very clear where the mud flow from the eruption ended and forest began. Standing on top of a volcano that erupted not too long ago was a certainly a privilege not to be taken for granted.

The descent down was twice as grueling. With no snow pack, there was no chance of glissading down. The sun was now up and scorching despite the early morning hours. Water breaks and hiding behind boulders for some shade came more often and left us silent from exhaustion. It nearly broke our spirits at one point thinking we were never going to make it down. When we finally reached the forest line, we thought the last two miles would be easier. But it wasn’t. It felt like the longest two miles of our lives. When we finally made it back to the trailhead, I dropped my pack and wanted to yell Andy Samberg style and walk away.

Looking back, it was a humbling experience. Whatever assumptions I had about my physical and mental abilities were tested to the max. I had been there before, but in a more controlled setting. Adding the beast that is nature was a whole new challenge. But I can thankfully cross this volcano off my list and look back, shake my fist at it, and say, “I walked on your face!”

This also marks just 7 days until STP. By the end of July I am pretty sure the reply I'll have to how I'm feeling will be this.

Get To Class: With Strikerfit Kettlebell Club

It is always an amazing feeling after getting your butt handed to you, especially in the most friendly and polite manner. It is almost like getting spun around over the head of Randy Savage and rather than passing out of sheer fright, you find yourself crying “Eagleeeeeee!” instead and getting treated to dinner afterwards. In the past 2 weeks, I attended 2 of the free classes offered by Strikerfit Kettlebell Club. Their philosophy is to get people out of the gym with both indoor and outdoor classes to achieve an effective and fun workout with others in *iron* solidarity. As a personal trainer, I have always needed another trainer to both push me to my max and actually keep me interested. It was like kismet stumbling upon this fine group of people.

For both of the free classes, there was ample time for warm-up and overview of basic technique for all levels to get familiar with kettlebell terms and moves, lead by the owner himself. Then after feeling like a pro with the basic moves, I quickly found myself back in a rookie state of mind as one of their trainers started the actual workout. After about a half hour of a few exercise sets—which became more brutal as the session went on—we were rewarded with a cool down and stretching session led by a yoga instructor. The same format was followed for the 2nd class I attended, with the exception of an additional trainer who warranted a few groans from the regulars. The woman next to me leaned over and said, “Get ready to get your ass kicked.” She wasn’t kidding. But his portion was so short that I almost wanted more. Almost.

The classes had a good mix of new faces and regulars, which offered an insight to the club itself. When the regulars are comfortable enough to prod the instructors while they themselves tell the cheesiest of kettlebell puns, I become more drawn to wanting to be part of the club. A sense of community is what makes clubs like these the most desirable, and it didn’t hurt feeling like a badass on the beach as a dude on his bike kept riding by and yelling strangely positive and supportive compliments. Overall the free classes gave a gleeful taste of what the club was about. The owner’s wife was on hand to answer questions and hand out free training session coupons and class calendars. Chatting with them afterwards, they were genuinely interested in hearing feedback and getting suggestions for more locations to make their club accessible to different neighborhoods. They currently offer membership plans to class locations that are not especially close to me, so I am hoping they expand to my neighborhood so I can commit.

Check out Strikerfit Kettlebell Club on Facebook for upcoming free sessions as well as their official website for more information and membership details.

Just Breathe: Sports and Exercise Induced Asthma

photo by Divine Harvester via photopin cc

As an athlete, there are just as many setbacks as there are gains. Some we can control with proper training and over time, others we have no control over whatsoever and swear that Zeus himself cast a curse to forever roll rocks up hills. For me, I stumbled—rather, choked—upon one that I didn’t even know existed.

I didn’t grow up with asthma. It wasn’t until going into my second season of roller derby that I started to have real trouble breathing. At first, I didn’t know what was wrong. There were a few times during my first season where I thought I was either not warmed up enough or conditioned to jump in the game off the bench cold. The next year—during pre-season—while beginning to attend regular speed practices, I found myself constantly gasping for air, thinking that my conditioning was not up to par. When I found myself choking for air and coughing non-stop just to be able to swallow, my captain sat me down and asked if I had asthma. That is when I went to see my doctor and was diagnosed with Exercise Induced Asthma (EIC).

Exercise Induced Asthma is defined as the narrowing of airways causing difficulty moving air out the lungs during exercise. There are additional triggers that can set it off, which I pretty much was exposed to all the time. Allergies played a huge part, more than I knew, so in addition to seeing my regular physician, I saw an allergist. Dry air was also a contributor, as preseason started late fall and went through the dead of winter, I had every element against me.

How I Broke Through

I am not a health expert. I can neither diagnose nor prescribe what will work as every person is different and reacts differently to environmental and physical factors. But I can tell you how I managed to do it.

1. I listen to my doctor.

When I first starting having problems, it was my best and most accurate move to find the root of it all. Now that I listen to my regular physician, I also follow my allergist’s advice as well. My allergist brought to light that I am severely allergic to everything in the natural world—every seasonal allergy, dust mites, cats … you name it. (I literally could be the Grandmaster for the Allergy Pride Parade.) Since having found out which allergens affect me the most, a plan is in place for when I need to absolutely use certain medications and when I can ease off them depending on what season it was. I eventually cut down on multiple aides once I had control (I was on an albuterol inhaler, a nasal spray and an oral pill—in addition to a steroid-based inhaler) but I had no idea what worked and what didn’t until I was able to rule out major triggers.

2. I keep it consistent.

I couldn’t stop a routine just because I thought I was having a good day. I also hated the fact that I now had 4 different and particularly expensive medicines to control one problem. But It was the presence of persistence and discipline that gives me control. With medications keeping triggers at bay, endurance and stamina training was also built into my regular schedule. My biggest problems burst to the surface when I reach my highest intensity and heart rate, so when I train at that level in a controlled setting, I am able to scale back how much I have to reach for my inhaler during activity. This also came in handy when I had a regular rotation in the roster and needed to stay on the track.

3. I make others aware and don't feel ashamed when I need a break.

That first year of learning to control my asthma, my captain came up with a signal for me to use for when I had hit my limit and would sit me until I recovered. It kept me out of danger and kept my teammates aware as well. I knew I was in a safe place when everyone was aware. Even when I was ignoring my own signals and wanting to push harder, there was a level of accountability that kept me in check. I learned never keep it to myself, even when I thought I was being a wimp and I knew I wasn’t alone. (Almost half my team was asthmatic, Team Puff Puff). There is a distinct difference between excuse and reason and the inability to breathe is not an excuse by any means.

Knowing my limitations kept me from getting set back by taking the time to focus on how to work with them. It took some time and a lot of patience to figure it out but it was worth it. If only it were as easy as: inhale, exhale, repeat.

Read more about breathing, exercise and asthma:

The Art of Breathing | via Hockey Training Pro

Star Athletes with Asthma | via Health

Asthma and Exercise | via AAAAI

So You Think You Can Run

proof that i'm pounding the pavement.

After retiring from derby, I said I would concentrate on speed skating. But I have put off recreational sports until I am back on my feet after moving halfway across the country. To replace my cardio conditioning, I started running.

If you’ve known me for years or known me for five minutes, you would know that I actually hate running. It is not my cup of tea. I don’t like the high impact. I don’t know how to breathe properly. I get really bored if I have to run longer than 20 minutes. If I were an Olympian, I would rather sprint like Usain Bolt than run a marathon. You get the point. But now that I am in foreign territory and there is a whole lot more to look at here in the PNW with such a mild winter, I had no excuses.

the view on my running route. in the middle of winter. say what?

When I first started running 4 weeks ago, I could barely make it a mile. I was frequently losing my will to live and awkward pains shot up my legs. And that old Joanie Utah knee? The one that cries in agony all the time? Not happy. My boyfriend would constantly remind me that I was a trainer and assumed that all trainers enjoy doing every type of workout. Wrong. Like normal human beings, trainers also have preferences for workouts. I have a preference for cardio conditioning that involves being on wheels. Skating, biking and spinning. If I knew how to swim, I would probably do that too. But you can’t tie a rope around my waist and throw me in the pool, can you? So how did I manage to stick to it for 4 weeks?

I had wrote out a simple plan. It started extremely light. 30 minutes of light jogging on day one, then having a goal of 2 miles on day two, then switching it up on day three with stair climbing (272 of them). From there I would slowly pick up the pace or add intensity/mileage depending on the day and monitor how I felt after each run. My pace has picked up, which I am very proud of and I need less breaks. My longest run so far has been 4.5 miles and I’d like to think that when I get to 5 miles, I won’t have the desire to run any further.

you want me to do how many sets? 

I don’t have a goal of running a marathon or becoming a distance runner. The goal for starting running was keep up my cardio conditioning. That was a good enough goal for me. As I wrap up my 4 weeks, I plan on taking a nice recovery week from running all together, then seeing if I can translate that work into getting back on my bike and tackling these mighty hills that were non-existent in my 15 years as a midwest biker. 60 miles was no problem in Chicago. But let’s see how far I can get here in Seattle and how long it takes before either my quads or my bike explodes.

Lesson of the Day

Even if you know you hate a particular type of training, give it a try. Mixing up your training will challenge you in different ways and keep you intrigued while making physical gains. When in new territory, always start smart and ease into it. Then, after you’ve gotten the hang of it, mastered it and realize you still hate it, you have now earned the right to loathe it with your own two feet.

Happy New Year!

welcome to 2014, everyone! instead of resolutions this year, make goals. goals that are achievable but challenging. resolutions are meant to guilt us into doing things we know we already want to do. goals motivate us to do better by ourselves.

my goal on day one of the new year? hike up a mountain. 

8 miles round trip, 4,160 feet up.

stay tuned for new posts for the year, i promise to keep them exciting and loaded with hard work. cheers!