Hoola Hooping is FUN!

The other day Skirt Sports posted a short video of fun with hoola hoops on their Instagram and facebook pages.  I was excited to see this because within the last couple of years, I have rediscovered the joy of hoola hooping. Seeing them give it the recognition it deserves made me feel less like a weirdo. Let's face it, many times when I tell people I love hoola hooping I feel like they give me a sideways glance as they imagine me in 70's flower child gear as I hoop in a field with flowers. Granted, some of the DVDs out there that teach hoola hooping do have people in fields with flowers wearing tasseled outfits but that's not me!  So. Not. Me. I will say, however, those field hoopers are GOOD! They've got skills, that's for sure!    But again, That's not me.  I wear my trusty Skirt Sports gear when I hoop.  And I'm in my workout room surrounded by weights, medals, yoga mats, my treadmill and a host of other workout necessities ... not flowers.

I remember loving my hoola hoop when I was a little girl.  I actually looked for some fun photos of me spinning that magical device in my pigtails but alas, none were to be found.  Apparently, my mom and dad didn't deem that hoola hooping contest in which I came in 2nd place worthy of a snapshot.  Oh, where were the digital cameras on smart phones back then?  In science fiction tales, that's where they were.  I'm getting old.  My childhood was in the dark ages, according to my kids.  But I digress.  At some point, probably nearing pre-adolescence, I gave up my hoop, relegating it to the category of "childhood play things".

Enter 40 plus year old me, years later, strolling through my local Kohls store, getting waylaid by the exercise equipment set up.  Perhaps they had a good yoga mat or some other item I needed?  What's this?  A weighted hoola hoop?  What the heck is that?  I picked up the box and read the description.  It came with a workout DVD.  I was intrigued and with a small bit of hesitation carried it to the checkout line.  

The hoop and DVD I found are from Empower Fitness, a company that sells fitness equipment geared for women.  And no I have no ties to them nor did I receive any compensation for mentioning them.  They have no idea who I am, I simply bought their hoop.  The hoop weighs 3lbs and can be configured in 3 different manners that make it easier, harder, and hardest to spin.  I went straight to the hardest setting.  Nothing like confidence in one's hooping ability!  I popped that DVD in with no expectations and here's what happened.  First, I realized I could still twirl a hoop!  Hurray!  Second, I got a really good workout! This wasn't just spinning a hoop.  This was full of stretching, squats, arm work, cardio and I was pretty sweaty at the end.  I also had a lot of fun.  The next day ... I was sore!  I learned that a weighted hoop, even if you can spin it for long stretches at a time without dropping it, needs some build up time.  My waist felt tender to the touch as though it were bruised.  Apparently, this is normal.  Everything I read promised that would go away as my body adjusted to the hoop.  Sure enough, within a couple weeks I could spin that puppy for long stretches without feeling any tenderness.  Phew!

Lunges with diagonal arm raises using the hoop

Squats with my 4lb weighted hoop

I'm a little blurry here but that's because I'm moving fast as I leap through the hoop doing one legged jumps. Fun!

I used my heart rate monitor so I could compare my calorie burn to the burn they promise one can get with this workout.  Maybe it's because I'm a runner and used to working out with a high heart rate but this was not near the same burn for me as running.  That said, with the added strength work and the obvious core work I was getting, I didn't mind the lower heart rate.  Except I did mind, a little bit.  I began to investigate other sized hoops.  Would a heavier hoop increase the cardio burn?  What about a lighter hoop?  This Christmas I ordered both a heavier (4 lb hoop) and a lighter dance hoop which comes in around 1.5 lbs.  I like them both for totally different reasons.  The heavier hoop works great with my Empower Workout. I was ready for something more challenging than the 3lb hoop and this one really adds to the arm work.  But where does the dance hoop come into this?  My hope was the smaller hoop would be more cardio because it would make me work harder to keep it spinning.  The weighted ones are actually easier to spin.

Ah, the dance hoop.  I went ahead and ordered a couple of those flower field hooping instructional DVD's. One from Hoopnotica and one from Hoop Girl. Okay, they aren't officially described as flower field hooping (that's my description for them) but they also aren't your typical workout DVD. The Empower workout felt like my normal exercise DVD. I felt like I'd done a workout when I was finished but these were different.  I didn't feel like I'd had a workout so much as I'd played.  They taught me how to spin the hoop low on my hips and also above my head in my hands.  I learned how to move around the room with the hoop still spinning which I found more difficult with the lighter hoop.  I learned how to take the hoop in one smooth move from my arm to my torso.  Okay, it may not have been so smooth on me but I'm getting there! These were definitely more skill/trick oriented but that made them fun!  I found an hour flew by as my focus was on trying to learn and practice skills I had never attempted before.  I did feel like a kid again.  When the DVD ended I put on some 80's music (cause I'm not a flower girl, I'm an 80's hair band girl) and practiced some more.  I wasn't ready to be done!

Putting the Dance Hoop to use!

Oops!  It fell!  I find I drop this lighter hoop a lot more than the weighted one.  Probably because I'm trying those fancy tricks!

Above the head.  Next, I'll do a little spin and let it drop around my waist.  Sorry, no photo of that awesomeness but I have been able to accomplish it, I promise!  

So, all in all, I highly recommend going out and getting yourself a hoola hoop if you're looking to relive what it was like to get exercise as a kid.  You know, that exercise you got even though you weren't aware you were getting it because you were playing!  Yep, playing!  That's what this is.  I've found it so fun I've actually considered coming up with some routines of my own and leading a hooping class.  Wouldn't that be fun?  Not sure if I need to be certified for that though.  Something to look into.  Meanwhile, hop on over to Amazon and do a search for hoola hoops, pop one in your cart and when it arrives, spin away!

* I did not receive any compensation from Empower Fitness, Hoopnotica, Hoop Girl, Kohls, or Amazon for mention of their names.  They don't know I exist.  Well, whoever does their billing knows my credit card exists but that's an entirely different matter.

*Skirt Sports does know I exist.  Why?  Because my credit card is busy there but also because I am a Skirt Sports Ambassador!  I receive compensation in the form of discounts and clothing for mentioning them but mostly, I mention them because I love their stuff, their company, and their #Realwomenmove ideal!  

Has It Been A Year Already? Races and Events in Review

My calendar is a liar.  That's the only explanation.  How can we already be halfway through the month of January in the year 2017!?! What happened to 2016? Did it decide to call it quits early?  Is that how the time flew so quickly?  I am amazed at how quickly the days fly by the older I get.  Yes, I know that's something every one says but that's because it's true.

2016 has been a mixed year for me.  I've heard a lot of people shout "good riddance" as the year passed into history, and I've been tempted to shout the same, but it hasn't been all bad.  Yes, it's had it's share of difficulties and stress but it's also had some really good moments.  So, to spare you from the whiny tone this post could take I will only share the good stuff.  Let's face it, I will finish writing this blog feeling more joyful if my heart and mind are focused on the many blessings I've experienced this year.  

This was the first year I ran most of my races with someone else, either a friend or my husband. Between us many new goals and accomplishments were met and it's been fabulous!  Let's start with a quick listing, shall we?  Don't worry, I'll try to keep it more interesting and entertaining than some of the books in the bible which list who begot who begot who begot who begot ... (I've been working on reading through my bible in a year so that's where that's coming from).

Okay, here's what happened in:

January -
I signed up for a bible plan to read though my bible in a year.  I'm about 50% there.  So ... it's a 2 year plan in my life.  Long, slow, endurance athlete here.  Ha ha.

I was accepted as a Skirt Sports Ambassador!  I think I squealed when I opened my acceptance email. I was so excited!  My first year as an ambassador has been the absolute best experience!  I have met so many inspiring women through this program and have been able to, I hope, inspire other's myself. Being a Skirt Sports Ambassador has been so much more than repping a brand I love, it's been an opportunity to broaden and enrich my running and athletic community.  I absolutely love this program and Skirt Sports! They are so much more than clothes.  They are family, Skirt Sisters!  

Leap for joy!  I'm in!!

I ran my annual Rain Run Half Marathon with my friend Kristy.  Different years see different friends but Kristy is always there and this year she scored a sweet PR!  We also found out a picture they took of us in 2016's race is the poster for 2017's race.  Go us!  

The famous poster photo

Feburary -
I finished the Woolley Trail Run 50K for the second time and got myself a PR!  I'd run this course the year before and finished about 12 minutes faster this year.  As always, the race was a soaker but I enjoyed myself.  Kristy ran the first 6.2 miles with me (she did the half) and the rest was pretty much on my own but a little solitude never bothered me.  My husband did the full marathon, finishing his quest to qualify for Marathon Maniacs (this was #3 in 90 days. We'd just finished the Seattle Marathon in November and Last Chance Marathon in December). We saw each other for a quick wave of encouragement at one point.  

March - 

I did the Lake Sammamish Half Marathon with Kristy. This one was an experience.  We got a late start arriving but still had plenty of time ... had the lines for packet pick-up not been extraordinarily long!  I pretty much ran from packet pickup, to the porta-potties, to the race start and onto the course in one motion.  Kristy and I got separated in the crowd right off the bat and with my adrenaline pumping from running late, I found myself holding a pretty fast pace.  Never go out too fast, right?  Totally what I did.  The last few miles found me walking a lot.  Partly because I wore a tank for the first time in awhile and chafed horribly on my arms.  Every arm swing was painful and walking allowed me to hold them a bit more still but I was also walking because, darn, I was tired.  My legs were reminding me I'd just run a 50K two weeks prior.  Or was it 3 weeks?  Doesn't matter.  My legs were having none of this race pace.  I was still pleasantly surprised to finish with a decent time.  Not a PR but not as bad as I was expecting.  Sure makes me wish I could have held that running pace a little longer.  I think I would have PR'd then.  But isn't that always the case?  It was a great course and I hope to be back. 

Cupcake marathon!  This is a great local race that raises money to help local families in need.  It's put on by Running To Give and I'm honored to be on their team now.  However, at this point, I was only running the race as a participant. My plan was to run it slow as a training run for my upcoming 50 miler.  Let's face it, all my runs at this point were training runs for that big, bad, scary 50 miler.  It's a good thing I planned on running this one slowly because that's all I had in me.  I started out at a good pace for the first 15 miles but faded.  Not sure if it' because it runs along my normal training path so it felt too familiar or perhaps it's because from mile 13 to 15 I ran with someone else who is much faster than me?  Yes, it's probably that last one. But she was interesting and it was nice to have some company.  Speaking of company, the awesome Sheryl was volunteering as bike support and rode alongside me for a few miles at the end.  Bless her for the company and distraction!  This race was also when I first met fellow Ambassador Marie!  I'd seen her on courses before but now we were Skirt Sisters.  .  

No photos of The Cupcake Run so here's a photo of some cupcakes I made for my mom's birthday

April - 

This is it! The big month!  This was the month of my first 50 miler.  You can read all about that in a previous post here:50 Freaking Miles - Mt. Si Ultra  Needless to say, this was an epic experience for me! I was prepared and yet not prepared.  I finished before the cut off, succeeded in finishing without any blisters or lost toenails, kept my hydration and food intake on track, and enjoyed the moments as they came upon me. But I also realized that 20 plus miles of up, up, up, even at a steady gradual incline, is far harder than I gave it credit for. Finally, I got to experience what it's like to find ones emotions tangled up with a finish line.  This was the first race to make me cry at the finish.  Epic.  Just epic.  One day I'll repeat it.  Probably sooner than I think.

My whole family came out to support me, hubby, kids, and my folks.

May -
Cutback month! My husband and I did The Spring Beats 5K/10K.  This was a fun evening race that started and ended at the Redhook Brewery in Woodinville.  I met fellow Skirt Sports Ambassador, Kriss and her family, which was awesome. My husband and I were surprised to run into one of his employees, Gloriana. They each didn't know the other would be running it.  It's always fun to arrive at an event and see people you know!  The race was fun and had lots of music along the route to keep you motivated.  It was far from a PR for me but wasn't as slow as I feared.  This ultra training has zapped my speed.

June -

Busy, busy month! End of school crazy happens as well as my daughter's birthday. This year it was the big 16! I spent a week making her a special "nighttime" themed cake. It was a challenge but turned out beautiful! We celebrated by taking her and a bunch of friends to an Escape Room.  They had a blast despite failing to escape and dying in the last couple minutes.  The consensus was that this was a fun activity.  You can read more here: Birthday Cake Creation Crazy

As for school stuff, my daughter scored an award for Creative Writing and my son was promoted from the 6th grade!  No more elementary children in my household.  That's insane! I'm not that old! Proud of them both!

North Olympic Discovery Marathon!  I wrote about this very hot race in a previous post. Summer Races I'm sweating just thinking about this one.  It was HOT!  But hey, my husband got to run this one as a Marathon Maniac.  And of course I got to see Tory and Marie on the course and ran the entire thing with Jen! Okay, walked a lot of it with Jen! When people are dropping at 10 miles in and you don't do heat ... you walk proudly!

I didn't get to go to Colorado for the Skirt Sports Half Marathon because of my hectic June schedule so I did the virtual.  I wanted the really awesome swinging skirt medal!  13.1 solo miles! Sure would have been fun to be there in person though!  

We took our first camping trip of the season in June (if you don't count the camper stay for the Mt. Si Ultra).  Sure feels good to be back into camping season.  I love camping!  Especially since I have my bathroom, tv, bed and kitchen along for the ride via our travel trailer.  Yes, I'm that type of camper but hey, I did my time in a tent, followed by 10 years in a pop up camper.  I earned glamping!  I still sit by the fire and, therefore, smell like I'm camping!

July -
Just a short race this month! Did a 4th of July 10K Run.  We also enjoyed a camping trip which included some hiking and ziplining, also all mentioned in the above linked post.  But if you don't want to take the time to pull it up and read it (you're busy, I get it.  I am too) I'll give you the short and sweet.  We ran like fire crackers before taking off to the Oregon Coast where we ran through mosquitos and  zipped through bigfoot's backyard before visiting the Columbia River and Gorge where we braved the wind to hike the pretty trails.

 July is also my son's birthday.  This was the summer of BIG birthday's as my son turned 13.  Two teenagers in my house now!  Two!  He's a big You Tube fan with his own channel, BuzzRatchet Gaming.  If you've got kids who like games and You Tube have them check it out.  He's pretty entertaining.  Anyway, he and I opted for a cake that looks like his gaming and recording set up.
And yes, you can read more at the link posted above for cakes.

July was also the Short & Sweet 5K/10K race.  My first time helping direct a race! I enjoyed seeing some of my friends and family out there!  My dad and daughter walked the 5k together and my friends Lisa and Kim ran the 5K.

August -
Okay, I had an entire post written up about August.  I wrote it in August, believe it or not.  And it was GOOD!  Really, I outdid myself.  It was funny, and daring, and informative, with loads of fun pictures, and I wrote it in a nice big circle, wrapping the post up beautifully.  And then there was a technical glitch and the entire thing was lost forever.  I don't know what happened.  I was devastated.  I wanted to cry.  I wanted to weep.  I wanted to throw my computer at the wall. But I took a big breath instead and walked away.  I didn't rewrite it.  Here is my attempt to sum it up quickly.

Last year I did the Hamster Endurance 12 Hour because I love hamsters.  I got 46.8 official miles.  Far more than I expected.  It was the prompting for my first 50 miler.  I mean, come on, I had to run those last few miles after falling unexpectedly close to 50.  I signed up for it again because it was fun and, hey, hamsters.  But this is the year of hot races for me and temps were not as cooperative as they were last year.  I ran a very, very slow 50K.  But I had a lot of fun doing it!  I ran a few miles with my husband, chatted with other's along the way at various points (it's a 2.6 mile loop so lots of chatting opportunities), visited with fellow Ambassador, Marie, and stopped for a few food breaks while I debated just how long I was going to brave the heat and miles.  I'll admit, the nail in the coffin for me was that my husband and I were camping in the area without our kids!  Alone!  No kids!  True peace and quiet while camping!  The temptation to go back to the camper and relax was just too great. I figured a 50K followed by a quiet camping experience made for a perfect day.  I don't think any other parents in the race faulted me for that decision.

I also had the fun of being Guest Instagrammer for Skirt Sports over that weekend.  It was so much fun to document my race experience this way and to share the fun and beauty of the Hamster Run and Washington State via Skirt Sports!  So, since I didn't get to share these photos in the really awesome post I wrote and subsequently lost ... here ya go!

The lake we were running circles around

Ginger Ale.  My favorite when running ultras.

Taking a little rest in the shade

This was taken the prior day to the race at Larrabee State Park where we were camping

This camper bed felt oh so nice after a busy day

Yummiest watermelon ever!

Ultra Fare rocks!

Me and Marie

Short Recovery hike the follow day.  Yep, that's the Gotta Go Skirt from Skirt Sports, in case all the hydration from the prior day upset my bladder mid-hike. 

On our way to the race. My husband ran the 6 hour.

I'm done!  50K is a respectable distance!

We stopped for dinner and this was our view

The family had a nice vacation trip in August also, After our 4 days alone at Larrabee State Park we went to La Conner to camp and my parents met us with our kids in tow.  The kids joined us for the last few days of our trip.

Chillin' in LaConner, wearing my Hamster Shirt, and appearing pretty matchy with my daughter. We did not plan that!

September -

I have a love hate relationship with September.  It's my birthday month so LOVE! But it's also back to school and that means back to the crazy hectic of life.  Then again, a little schedule back in our lives isn't all horrible.

As for races, this was Beat the Blerch Marathon!  Such a fun event!  I go into this one with the expectation that it will be a new PW.  I plan on sitting on couches, taking lots of fun pictures, and eating lots of cake.  I ran this one with my friend, Karen, and we chatted and played the entire 26.2.  My husband ran it also but he was at least an hour ahead of us because he didn't play.  What a party poop!  Ha!  By the way, this race broke me out of the "hot race" cycle. It was a downpour the entire way!

Reward for finishing slow? Boxes of donuts they were looking to get rid of quickly!

September was my dad's 70th birthday, the same weekend as the race, in fact.  We kids threw him a Seahawks themed party and I broke my rule of 2 specialty birthday cakes a year and created him a Seahawks cake.  We also all pitched in and surprised him and my mom with tickets to a Seahawks game.  

 October -
This was my first time running Portland Marathon.  Kristy and I chose this one together as her very first marathon.  So proud of her and honored to run it beside her.  This one was also a soaker. I didn't think I could be any wetter than I'd been at The Blerch but ... Portland was ready to take first place. At least we didn't overheat!  Of course, the year we decide to run it they have a big course routing issue and we found out after the fact that we'd actually run off course within the first mile and finished at 27.01 miles . She's not only a marathoner now but an ultra runner!  Ha ha!  The course wasn't the most beautiful in all areas and the areas that could be beautiful were too rainy and cloudy to see much but they had lots of entertainment and we had a good time. Not sure I'll be back but I can say I've been there, done that.

I got to hold a Skirt Sports Trunk Show this month!  So. Much. Fun! What is this magical event I speak of, you ask? It's when Skirt Sports sends a bunch of their clothing to an Ambassador's home so their friends and aquaintances can try them on!  I had a decent showing of friends show up and fellow Ambassadors Kriss and Marie were able to make it.  Bless them both for helping answer questions and sharing some of their own personal items for fittings.  You can read more about this awesomeness here: Skirt Sports Trunk Show

November -

Hang in there, folks.  We're almost done!  I know this has been quite the recap but hopefully you got to read about a race you've been wanting to run!  And come on, you get to see all my really incredible photos!!  I know, it's like being forced to watch home videos of when your spouses parents were in college.  Or your own parents.  (Sorry, mom and dad, just a little jab at your expense)

My husband had a business meeting in Tampa, FL and we decided to fly me down as well and use it as an opportunity to see some of his family on the East Coast.  We haven't seen them in years!  It was a great trip other than the fact that I was sicker than a pre-schooler.  I'd say dog but we all know pre-schooler's are the masters of catching germ bugs.  I also managed to visit with a bestie from high school, Dana, and a running friend, Jody.  Good visit!  Oh, and yes, I had one day of sitting on a warm beach in Florida while my husband was in his meeting.  We rushed off to Pennsylvania the following day.

The view from the plane of Mt. Rainier was breathtaking!

Hello warmth! Lucky for me, it was actually a cooler day in FL.  Perfect for this NW girl!

Cupcake Runs held our November half marathon and half of a half (in other words, 10K) race as part of the Quadzukilla or Sweet Quadzuki series of races (4 half marathons in 4 days or 4 half's and 4 fulls in 4 days.  Yes, people do that! Many people!) Once again, my pictures consist of cupcakes.  Why?  Because I made them!  A lot of other people donated their baking skills too, as well as all the runners who donated funds (this is a donation only race) which all went to helping two families from the area.  Now that's sweet!

As long as I was baking cupcakes I went ahead and made a cake for an auction our church was holding.  The theme, Seahawks, of course! This is Hawk Land, after all.  Did I mention I was still sick through all of this baking?  I made sure to wash my hands A LOT!

I love running the Seattle Marathon and this was the last year the course would take us over the floating bridge.  I love this section and will be sad to see it go.  I know many don't enjoy this part but I like that it allows me to see all the other runners on the course.  I'm sad to see it go.  That said, even though my body was feeling somewhat tired at this point I was determined to participate.  My friend Jen joined me and we had a great time.  Once again, I got to see Marie for a few miles also.  It's hard not to see Marie at races.  She's at so many!!!  Rock Star!!

Wearing my favorite shirt to wear to expos.  It always gets comments.  Thanks Skirt Sports!

The Floating Bridge!

Pre-Race with Jen and the hubster

Post-Race with Jen and Marie

December -
See!  We're there!  Last month of 2016!  I started this month of running The Blerch Holiday Green Lake Fun Run, with, guess who, Kristy!  Fellow Ambassadors Kriss and Kim were also there but I only managed to share a quick hello with Kriss.  This place was a madhouse!  Lots of people, dressed in crazy costumes and blinking lights, packed into a building, awaiting the start.  Once we were outside it was impossible to tell who anyone was due to the darkness (this race starts after dark for obvious reasons) and all the lights.  It's so much fun though!  Kristy and I did the 10K which meant two loops around Green Lake.  We like this distance because the first 5K is always a huge tripping hazard if you aren't watching your step very carefully.  It's crowded and crazy.  The second loop thins out monstrously and we have a much more relaxing end to our run.  The downside is we wound up at the very back of a very, very long line to get back into the building for our finisher pizza blankets (yes, you read that right) and hot chocolate and cookies.  It was worth the wait.

Finally, there was Christmas and Snow. I won't regale you with all the Christmas photos.  Needless, to say, it was a good day with family.  Look what my kids got me.  I wish I could say it's still sitting in my house, untouched, but that would be a fib.  It's all gone.  I shared. I promise!  We also had snow right before Christmas and a bit after, as well.  Beautiful!

That's it!  That's all of it!  If you stuck with me through all of this, or even part of it, you deserve a nap.  For instructions on how this is done please see the last two photos of my cats.  They have the art mastered.