The 11th Day of Patmas

On the 11^th Day of Patmas, I give to you…11 Feats of Strength!

Happy Festivus!  Yes, it’s a festivus for the rest of us today!  Last year, on the 11^th Day of Patmas, I celebrated by airing out 11 grievances!  This year, we will continue the tradition with 11 feats of strength!  I’ve completed each of these feats of strength over the last year...all in preparation for the Feats of Strength to close out this glorious holiday.

So, here they are, 11 feats of strength to celebrate Festivus!

1.  Ran in two 5K runs.  This is cool because they were my first races ever.  A true feat of strength to go from the couch to running a 5K (while losing weight along the way).  I even took a minute and a half off my time between the first and second 5Ks I ran…legit running strength!

2.  Increased my curl rep weight by double!  Yup!  I started out repping out curls at 25 pounds, max.  Now I can knock out 3 sets of 8 reps at 50 pounds!  If that’s not a feat of strength, I don’t know what is!

3.  Hit my first two softball home runs.  In the world of softball, there is one true feat of strength…hitting the softball over the fence!  Once I upped my weight training strength, I used that strength to power the ball over the wall!  Twice!  One was a grand slam, one was a 3 run home run.  Oh yes, true softball strength!

4.  Backpacked the Skyline to Sea Trail.  My first backbacking trip took my friends and I from the Santa Cruz Mountains, through Big Basin, and down to the Coast.  Two days, on my feet, all my gear on my back…in bare-foot 5 fingered shoes!  A true hiking feat of strength.

5.  Big Sur Marathon Relay.  My first taste of a big, international running event came at this year’s Big Sur Marathon, taking part in the relay as part of my dad’s team!  I ran the 4^th leg, and made up about 10 minutes of pace time for the team…ensuring our team finished in under 4 hours (a necessity).  I then jogged in the 5^th leg of the race after handing off to my dad, since I didn’t want to wait for the bus!  9.5 total miles that day…a high for me at the time.

6.  Successfully rode a wave on a surfboard!  This is a true feat of core strength and balance…when in Kauai this year, I took a surfing lesson.  By the end of the surfing lesson, I was riding waves into the shore!  Baby waves, but still!  I was pushing myself up, balancing on the board, and staying up all the way in!  Rad!

7.  Jumped out of a plane!  This is really only a feat of mental strength.  Falling out of a plane with a pro strapped to you and a parachute strapped to him takes no strength whatsoever to do.  You just have to get over the mental hurdle of willingly falling out of a plane and hurtling your body down towards the ground.  This was epic…and a true feat of mental strength! 

8.  Paddle boarded down the Deschuttes River.  This was yet another feat of core strength, combined with arm strength to paddle myself down the river!  I steered myself around the river, never once fell off the board, and was pretty much in control the entire time!  True strength comes from within…and this feat of strength was no different!

9.  Mountain biked up Nisene Marks, Almaden Quicksilver, Salt Point State Park, and around Central Oregon.  Not only have I been working on my running and weight training…not only have I been working on my core activities and mental strength…I’ve also trained my legs to be able to bike up mountains!  Up, up, up my dad and I will go on our mountain bikes!  Grab a bike and go to the top of the mountains on the Sonoma Coast, your thighs are burning, your chest is heaving, and yet you keep going, because its there…that takes true strength!

10.  Hiking Half Dome.  For my birthday weekend, I went to Yosemite.  And, I was fortunate enough to get a permit to go to the top of Half Dome!  It’s a beast of a hike.  Up, up, up…but the views, incredible!  Not everyone can hike half dome.  We did the round trip in, what, 8-9 hours?  That’s simply incredible.  A true feat of strength for everyone involved!

11.  The Big Sur Half Marathon.  My most impressive feat of strength this year was running in and completing the Big Sur Half Marathon!  Indeed, I upped my running distance from the 5K level to the 5 mile level to the 13.1 mile level this year.  And I finished it in 1 hour and 45 minutes…which isn’t terrible.  This was truly the greatest feat of strength of my 2012!

So, there you have it, my feats of strength this year.  What are some of yours?

Happy Festivus, everyone!