This is what you're made of...

Phew. It's been forever since I posted. My apologies. Can I blame it on life?


Not a whole lot new. However, things have really picked up with my business... and June is going to be killer. Killer awesome! :) I'll be photographing weddings each weekend, plus starting some senior work.

Last weekend's wedding was a scorcher... (90*, anyone?) but beautiful. It was in an old church in downtown Neenah, which was gorgeous inside and out. Plus it gave me a chance to show off my man-traps in a sleeveless top. If you are like my mom, and wonder if "man-traps" is the style of my shirt... no. ;)

It is a bit funny... I have been "nesting" a little due to my anticipation of crazy June approaching. And NO, nothing about being pregnant involved. ;) I think it's just the fact that I know life will be very crazy... very soon. I did some cleaning, organizing. I even vacuumed! Whoa. This is serious.

This weekend we are semi-free despite the whole holiday thang. So, this week I have been soaking up the last opportunity to squeeze in 6 workouts until July. I love my Saturday met-cons, what can I say? Heh. Apparently this Saturday, I get to do two of them. Sweeeet.

Speaking of working out, that has been going great lately. I am still dealing a little with some elbow/tendonitis issues, but it really hasn't slowed me down too much.

This is the highlight reel:

Yesterday, we did the "Lumberjack 20." Oh. my. word. My trainer, another trainer, and I did this "together." I use quotes because we started at staggered times. I finished last. ;)

7 exercises. 20 of each. Plus running a quarter mile after each one.

Here is what it looks like with our respective weights:

The squat-cleans at the end really got me.. and as I headed out to run my last 1/4 mile, I lost control of my breathing and got a little panicky. Yikes. I actually got mad because I had to stop for about 20 seconds and just force myself to breathe. Wasting time!

You can see my time is 40:57.. my trainer's time was 35:58, and the other guy finished at 30 minutes and change.

But, there are a couple of really cool things about the whole experience:

To date, my heaviest overhead squat is 85-pounds... and I knocked out 20 of them at 75-pounds. "Knocking out" might be too strong of a term. Have you heard the phrase "exhausted to the point of tears?" Yeah. That was what set me back so far, time-wise.

Usually when I do kettlebell swings for volume, I use the 35-pounder. This time, I used the 55. Different ballgame, folks.

Even though I was using a band for pullups, I flew through 10 of them unbroken. That's pretty sweet. Yeah, I know, I am patting myself on the back.

That's a lot of running, too. My running lately has been in the form of sprinting intervals and less about distance. Shock to my system. The funny thing about running, a mantra can really help you keep pace and your breathing on track. Or so I had heard in the past.

It came to me as I was out alone during one of the runs, that "this is what you're made of, to keep going when no one else is around." That somehow turned into "this is what I'm made of, just keep going." And then something about releasing my "inner Froening." Yes. Odd. But it rhymed. And it helped.

Never before have I ever wanted to quit in the middle of a workout. Actually quit. Just stop. My mind literally was playing scenarios in which I would physically not be able to finish the WOD. Freaked me out a little.

But you know what? I did it. I kept going. Never stopped running. Did every single rep.

Definitely tested my limits. And pushed past them. :)

Because "this is what I'm made of. I just keep going."


...and then I ate. It was glorious. Hah!



Moving on from the Lumberjack 20, I have been doing some other cool things too. Lots of volume deadlifts, lots of overhead work. I set a new PR in backsquats not too long ago. 185 for 2 reps. It made me happy. I actually tried 190 today... but failed to stand back up. Apparently that's the last half of doing a squat. Oh, darn. *snaps fingers* Eventually, I'll break 200.

Tuesday, I did some pretty sweet :30/:30 intervals. Just to clarify, that means you work for :30 seconds and rest for :30 seconds. So, the first 12 minutes, I worked up to 11.0mph, which is new. Then, I backed it down to 8.5mph and worked on the incline.. got up to an incline of 10.0, which is also new for me. Nothing like burning 500 calories in 24 minutes, eh? ;)

And today? I got to try my hand at handstand pushups. Ugh. Yes, they were fun. A little. I still need to work on my upper body strength a little, I believe.

I have been trying to overcome some more of my insecurities... nothing like forcing yourself to wear some shorts! I am not going to lie, they are sooo much nicer to work out in, especially when running outside. And neon! This horrid picture does NOT show how bright this top really is. I am trying to quench my inner ninja by wearing more color (and less black) to the gym. Yikes.

Anyway, aside from working out, not a lot going on. We met a bunch of friends for supper Sunday evening, which was a blast. They came back to our place for a while, which is funny, because we don't even have enough chairs for everyone! Oh well. That's what makes it fun, right? ;)

I haven't been too creative in the kitchen either... lots of eggs and meat plus a little full-fat dairy. I keep myself in a semi-ketogenic state most of the time. That just means keeping it pretty low-carb to induce fat-burning. Pretty basic stuff.

However, I did jump off my no-sugar band-wagon at Grandma's on Sunday. But, I think you would have to be dead not to go for a piece of rhubarb-cheesecake pie. Holy Hannah. Definitely worth the sugar crash.

Here's a great article I came across today, actually. I get asked this a lot when I explain how I eat, especially with my family history of heart disease... But what about your arteries?


And a random:
Funny bumper sticker I saw the other day.

"Free punches in the face." Yes. Love it.

I suppose... I better get back to work now. These images are not going to proof themselves. ;)

Have a great holiday weekend! Keep it safe!