Boot Camp

Note: This entry was written at the end of September, but for reasons that I can't quite explain, is only now being published.

Pete convinced me to sign up for August/September boot camp session at the Pro Club. He went the first week or two, then promptly dropped out, leaving me on my own. Sometimes, I wonder why I am friends with Pete, but that's for another blog entry. Ahem.

Boot camp. I thought that I was in pretty good shape - I'm a gym person, working out at least 3, usually 4 or 5 times a week. Or, if I'm not at the gym, I'll run at Green Lake or in a loop around my neighborhood. The point is - I'm not a slouch (despite appearances, and if you read this blog, you know why).

Boot camp, to put it nicely, kicked my ass. Two months of jumping jacks, the worlds' greatest stretch, versa climbers, weight training, endurance training, running and so much more. Wait, did I mention running? I mean, a lot of running. On average, I ran anywhere from 6-10 miles a week, with Tuesdays being "lighter" (i.e., shorter) runs and Thursday, the "heavier" (i.e., longer) runs. The military bent (someone told me our instructor was in the Marines, but I may be too scared to ask), meant that we were placed in groups, the alphas (the winners), the betas (the strong ones) and the charlies (the losers, which is where I went, and I should mention, I was the only charlie to make it to the end).

Did I also mention that class started at 6AM? Boot camp resulted in a major lifestyle change - no more play on Monday nights, because I had to get up at 5, no more play on Tuesday nights, because I wanted to keep the momentum going and hit the gym early Wednesday morning, no more play on Wednesday nights, because I had to get up at 5, and by the time Thursday hit, well, I was exhausted. Even Friday and Saturday nights were hard, because by the time Friday morning came, my body woke up on the
early end.

As a result of turning up the volume on exercise, I've experienced a few interesting changes:
--I had to curb my evening wine consumption - I just can't drink more than a glass and be able to function well at the gym the next morning.
--With the exception of two really bad days, my energy levels and increased. Really, I felt much better overall. My sleep also improved; I have suffered from insomnia for years, waking up at 2 in the morning about once every two weeks and tossing and turning until about 5. During boot camp, I had exactly two nights of insomnia. Huh.
--Eating habits changed too. I started to crave tons of protein and green vegetables. While I love bread and cheese, I ate those favorites a lot less, mainly because they simply just didn't t taste good. Eating overall focused much more on "whole" foods, the processed foods just didn't taste good or provide enough energy. When Pete and I took the train to Portland, I strategically packed a picnic lunch full of good food, primarily because I was concerned that there would be nothing for me to eat on the train, and then the lack of calories would lead to a bad, bad situation.
--Speaking of which, I found that when I had to eat, I had to eat. If no food, stupidity set in. This required some planning, and in hindsight, was actually quite humorous at work; Char - my office mate, also exercises a ton (of the Ironman/Triathlon/marathon) variety - and as a result, one of us was always eating.
--On the social front, I met some really cool people. Everyone was incredibly supportive and nice, and still seemed to respect me, even though I was in the loser, I mean Charlie group.
--And most importantly, my strength and endurance increased. A lot. At the end, I was able to run longer distances, I was getting better at keeping up with the class and the workout just didn't seem as daunting.

Boot camp ended for 2008. It's organized into two-month sessions, and will start again in April.

Addendum: I signed up for winter sports conditioning, which focuses on core conditioning. It's still a workout, all indoors and slightly different than boot camp, although just as challenging. Someone told me that they emerged much stronger from winter sports than from boot camp, so we'll see what happens in April when Boot Camp 2009 starts.

The Tour de Chocolate

The Chocolate Box offers the Tour de Chocolate, a whirlwind tour of Seattle's best and finest chocolate shops. And, like most foodie tours, samples are highly encouraged for on the go consumption or to enjoy later at home. My spoils are pictured below.



As for the tour, we started at the Chocolate Box, for a quick education in chocolate and flight of Fiori's dark chocolate. If you're a dark chocolate fan, I recommend Fiori's dark chocolate. Next, an airporter size van transported us to Theo Chocolate in Fremont, the only Seattle chocolatier to produce from start-to-finish, or in chocolate speak, from cacoa bean to consumable piece of chocolate. I'm now a big fan of their cocoa nibs and the Jane Goodall line. Fran's Chocolate in the University Village was our next stop, where we drank Fran's delicious hot chocolate, a few truffles and my favorite, the sea salt caramel. Plus a new sea salt caramel trick - upside down, allowing the salt to hit your tongue. This is also the point in the tour where I started to get a chocolated out, although I persevered. Another fun fact: Fran's production facility is in Cap Hill! From Fran's, we went to Oh! Chocolate, where we learned to temper chocolate, which is the process of cooling melted chocolate by spreading with your hands, then dipping various foodstuff in the chocolate. Licking your fingers at the end was highly encouraged and practiced all around. We ended up back at the Chocolate Box, for an amazing cup of European sipping hot chocolate. Imagine the best chocolate bar you've ever imagined melted, in a cup, with a dollop of heavy whipped cream. Yes.

My only advice for the chocolate tour: eat a good breakfast; the tour is morning only (something about having a cleaner palette) and if you're an early morning gym person like I am, the typical yogurt and granola breakfast isn't going to sustain you. Even though I stopped with the chocolate, I had some serious sugar issues - made worse by the bites of coconut cream pie and donuts at Dahlia - and my system went completely off kilter. It was still worth it.

November 4, 2008

I updated my Facebook status:

Schelley is proud to be an American for the first time in a long time. Sadly, not feeling the Cali love. 8:48pm

Things that are making me happy right now:
--No more George Bush.
--John McCain's graceful concession speech.
--Truly believing that our vote counts, regardless of where we live and how we voted.
--Knowing that the crowds in Chicago represent the America of today, while the crowds in Phoenix represent the America of yesterday.
--Believing, for the first time in 8 years, that the President is truly intelligent.
--Barack Obama's amazing, inspirational and hopeful acceptance speech.

I walked down Broadway, where a spontaneous celebration full of happy, happy people had formed. Yes!

It's a Backsplash!

For the most part, coming home to a house that has changed dramatically since you left is never a good thing. We have all heard tales of floods, fires, earthquakes, and thievery. Recently, a friends' house was completely ransacked, with antiques and valuables stolen.

But once in a while, goodness comes about. For example, look at the two pictures of my kitchen the day before I left for a business trip two weeks ago:





Pete and Paul then came in, and after several hours of hard sweat and labor and likely, a tears, left me an excellent treat. I came home to this!!





It is a thing of beauty, don't you agree? Thank you, boys.

More painting to come - while I love the blue, I think it needs to be tempered a bit.

3 and 6

It all started 36 years ago today, on a cold and drizzly day.

Enough said.