Bustin' Bootie

Ah, my first long lapse in blogging. There have definitely been things to write about. Some good books and some great movies. One HORRIBLE adventure race, which you can read about on Ali’s blog…I actually wrote two pages about our trip to Nationals, but I just haven’t gotten around to polishing it up…I also haven’t touched my mountain bike since, and the race was over a month ago now…hmmmm…not to mention the unpacked gear on my office floor…

Anyhow, there was a great trip to the Maurice Sendak exhibit at the Rosenbach, and a sweet ultimate Frisbee game at GA. I spent Thanksgiving break chipping away at the walls in our basement and then patching them up with mortar. I’ve had some nice runs, some fun times in the woods at DVOA and a surprise Christmas Party. A History Conference at Princeton and a trip to Borders to research a potential trip next summer…Oh, and I found my first Letterbox on a glorious hike with friends and dogs to the Indian in Wissahickon.

So there has been plenty to write about and little excuse for not sharing!

The new thing in life is the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge. While I have been running more consistently than I had been in months, I have generally felt rather lazy since Nationals. As I mentioned, I have shunned my mountain bike and I didn’t touch my commuter until this Monday, the first day of the HBBC. When you can keep track of your training by earning points and when said points might give you a chance to win free gear, how could you pass that up?! So, I’m back on the bike, and counting minutes and miles for the next month. I should say WE are as both Abby and I have entered the HBBC and are pushing each other on. As one famous immortal swordsman said, “There can be only one”, but some friendly competition never hurt and if one of us can pull off a victory in this month long contest, we’ll celebrate by going for a run together! In all seriousness, I think this is a great motivator for anyone looking for a way to get through part of the winter training doldrums. It’s difficult to motivate sometimes when darkness falls before leaving work, especially if you loathe gyms the way I do, and I definitely feel a new degree of inspiration since Monday dawned. It will make it much easier to turn on the flashing lights on the bike and risk death or serious maiming on the way home from work, and running the trails of Wissahickon with a headlamp will be that much more fun since I know every mile is worth something more than the periodic fright of running in Wissahickon at night. In fact, I’m already dreading the end of the HBCC in early January when I will have to look elsewhere for inspiration to get out in the lung searing cold of the dead of winter to run and bike. In reality, I’m sure one of the 70 or so people signed up for the HBBC is training for a marathon, ironman, or something else which will lead to mind numbing point counts, but it’s kind of like in AR, when you never can know for sure how well the field is doing!

So, here goes. I’ll keep track of my earned points here in the woods. If you care to be an honorary competitor, here’s how you earn points:

“HBBC Rules:
1 Point per mile (run or walk or snowshoe)
1 Point per 15 minutes of weight lifting or pilates
1 Point per 15 minutes of another form of cardio (i.e. kick boxing, elliptical)
1 Point per 30 minutes of stretching or yoga or abs
Keep track of your points through whatever means you'd like...be honest.”

Finally, anything goes. Rock climbing would fit in with strength or perhaps cardio. Hiking would earn you a point per mile, and so on…biking counts as cardio, if you’re wondering. XC Skiing? I have no idea. By miles or time? I’d think miles, but I’m not the boss:)

Good luck bustin’ the bootie…

Day 1: Monday, Dec. 8
2.5 hrs. biking 10 points

Daily: 10 points
Total: 10 points

Day 2:
1.5 hrs. biking 6 points
20 min basketball 1.3

Daily: 7.3 pts
Total: 17.3