By now, you have all probably realized that my little yellow kettlebell didn’t make it to Provence. It was in the bag about 4 hours before we left, but then I came to my senses. What is vacation for, anyway? Besides, I had to save the 17 pounds for shoes.
Anyway, I did find a little jug with a handle sitting in the recycling bin when we arrived at our house in Provence. I’m usually not much for dumpster diving, especially while vacationing in the French Riviera wearing my beachy whites… but this was a delightful little jug that once contained a lovely rosé… so I filled it with pool water! It’s hard to tell how much it weighed, but it was probably pretty close to my little yellow kettlebell (8KG). Although, it was a struggle… the handle was quite a bit smaller than my regular kettlebell, so there was no way to do two-handed swings with it. It did dig into your fingers over time, so I had to be creative by wrapping kitchen towels around the handle… and band aids around my fingers… etc., etc. Finally, I gave up. I really should be drinking rosé, not swinging empty jugs of it around! I decided I would take a month off. Completely off. I did yoga once, attempted a run by the river, but got lost and covered in spiders, and let’s just say the kettlebell was bad news.
Today I am one month away from the hardest race I have ever attempted. The famous Cutthroat Classic in the Northern Cascades wilderness. 11.1 miles of beauty, switchbacks and elevation gain up to the highest pass at 6,800 feet. I live at sea level. I train at sea level… in the city… on sidewalks! I gave up trail running when I left Boulder in 2004. Now I have one month to make this happen! Perhaps this is my next challenge… does she do it, or bag it?? I’ve got a month! How do I train to make this happen??
Stay tuned!
Cast Iron Strength 