Date: 2015-01-21
To: ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂMy, time flies when youÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂre having fun!ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
Miles today: 0.0

69 Days left and there is no North Wind to stop me. It is a bit late to wish you all a Very Happy New Year but I will do it anyway...¢Happy New Year!¢ There I said it, got that out of the way, now I feel better...Well so far it has been a bit of an uneventful January. The temperatures in the Cleveland, Ohio area have been in the single digits to the negative digits and with the wind chill factor it has become unbearable. Now I know why my Grandmother and Grandfather would go south for the winter ¢ Its COLD! Then on top of the cold and the wind blowing we have to put-up with the SNOW ¢ not as much as Buffalo¢s 100 feet; thank God! I know, I live in the North. But still, a pain in the ass for getting around. Then there was the 2nd of January, which was a bit interesting. I had the day off so I went to a 0830 CrossFit WOD instead of my usual 0515 WOD...Yah, I know, everything you do has a lingo unto itself ¢ WOD stands for Workout Of the Day. Well, the session was overly full ¢ New Years¢ resolutions! Just to start the New Year off right we had a challenge. Only this time it was a partner challenge. You see it was also a ¢bring a friend to work-out day.¢   I did not bring a friend and neither did the stud of the box bring a friend.   Oh: A box is a barebones gym to some, but heaven to a CrossFitter. ¢Boxes¢ have all the equipment necessary for the range of WODs without the bells, whistles, and bicep curl bars of a ¢chrome-and-tone¢ gym. Anyway, I am hardly a ¢CrossFitter¢ that is, I do CrossFit to train-up for the Appalachian Trail and because it offers me the most complete and diverse range of exercises scaled to my level of fitness and ability especially considering the Parkinson¢s and the havoc it is reeking on my muscles and balance although, for the most part I am staving off the progression. So, back to the story...I was partnered with the stud of the box (a really great guy). We were to do: A Metcon: The Meta part of the word is for metabolic. The con is for conditioning. It was a partner WOD: 2000m Run which was 2 laps on track while partner holds plank position and this is for 10 Rounds. Then came the Metcon (AMRAP - Rounds and Reps) As Many Reps/Rounds as Possible: 20 Minute AMRAP: Partner WOD Split Reps of 15 KB Thrusters (53/35), 15 Box Jumps (24/20), 15 Burpee Pull-ups. One Person works at a time; score is total rounds and reps as a team. Now the picture: There is me, the overweight, out of shape, 66 years old, (although not as bad as in September) and then there is the jock svelte, in shape, maximum performance, high speed, low drag ...All I could say was ¢you get to start 2015 off with a very attainable goal!¢ ¢Just think how easy it will be to over achieve the next challenge... I would suggest that you take full advantage of the opportunity that is presented here... The bar will be set low, I mean very low and that way you will see great improvement in a very short period of time...It¢s perfect!¢ ¢What else could I say?¢ He was very gracious and did not say a word or make any grunting sounds or eyeball rolling. He just said: ¢We will do our best.¢ Now I don¢t know if he was talking the Royal ¢We¢ or just the ordinary ¢we¢. I like to believe that it was the down to earth ¢we¢ (and as spell check wants to tell me ¢us¢). We did well although coming in last. No surprises there and we held our heads high. On the 12th of January my daughter and I went to the local outfitters to purchase some equipment and clothing for her. I ordered a rain suit and a vest for me. When they arrive I should be about done acquiring stuff for the AT Thru-hike. I will publish a complete list of the equipment to include weights and costs for those of you who wish to take on the AT in the future. Happy 2015!