Matt's Winter 2012 Epic Fitness Challenge

Sometime in the middle of February a friend sent me a link to a page that a co-worker of his had set up. It was called "Matt's Winter 2012 Epic Fitness Challenge". Matt's Winter Epic encompassed 31 days and 45 challenges. The goal - finish as many challenges as possible. Game on.

Ski 1 day
Log 8 ski days
Ski 1 backcountry day
Ski 5km nordic
Log 100km nordic skiing
Ski Chute 75 top to bottom with no stops
Ski off a cliff taller than your height

KT-22 chair after skiing Chute 75 non-stop. Slowly, but still non-stop.

I was immediately stoked and quickly sent the link to my most intrepid fitness fanatic friends. Naturally my trail running | ski partner | work husband Yariv signed up and soon thereafter, our friend Chris. Yariv and I started to plan our course of action for the month ahead trying to determine if working out inside a foreign embassy constituted working out in a foreign territory (it didn't) and where to go ice skating, where to rent rollerblades, and where to summit a climbing wall.

Rollerblade/skate 2 miles
Ice skate 20 laps around a rink
Summit a climbing wall
Summit a mountain
Row a boat
Take a Zumba class
Take a Bar Method Class

Ice skating is WAY harder than I remember. At Belmont Ice Palace.

Infused with ambition, we jetted to Squaw the first weekend and ticked off Chute 75, 1 ski day and 30 minutes of snow shoveling from the list despite a scary lack of snow that actually needed shoveling. Each morning as Yariv greeted me with "I'm up to 150" or "250" or "300" I'd head back to my bedroom to log my own knee pushups grinding out all 500 before I returned to the city. 4 down, 41 to go.

500 knee pushups
500 real pushups
1000 situps
250 burpees
1 pullup
150 pullups

Getting the hang of it on lap 18

Work kicked in big time with free access to zumba, yoga, spin classes and swimming. I'd forgotten how much I liked the quiet rhythm of being in a pool, the feel of the water and stretching out my limbs. I'd also forgotten the intensity of a spin class - the heaving and sweating and going all-out for ten minutes at a time. I started wondering what else I was missing in my long ago transition from triathlons to trail running.

Log 1 spin class
Log 5 spin classes


Log 5 Bar Method classes
Log 1 yoga class
Log 5 yoga classes

Wall sitting for a meeting with Lindy and Yariv

Each day at work Yariv pulled up the spreadsheet to see who had done what. He got an intro package for the Bar Method while I checked off a class at Dailey. We logged our time in a boat (outrigger practice), on the Lyon street stairs, on a mini-trampoline a friend brought into work and through a meeting where we had to wall-sit.

Run Lyon Street stairs non stop
Log 30 laps of the Lyon Street stairs
Wall sit in a meeting
Jump on a trampoline for 30 minutes
Work out in a country other than current residence
Surf a wave
Paddle a surfboard past the break

Top half of the Lyon Street stairs

I had my surfboard and wetsuit waiting by the door but each day I decided to check it was flat or raining or cold. Or I was too tired, still in bed, or contemplating if jumping in the water in the winter was worth it just to check it off the list. I did get out for the bike ride (25 miles) and was humbled to find myself relieved when I hit 25 thinking of how far I'd fallen from the epic 100 mile bike rides of my Ironman training days. To rejoice at meeting my goal of doing a 25 mile ride was a little sad. I had a surge of resolution in regaining my long lost biking skills but I never got back on the bike again that month. Oh resolution, you let me down.

Bike 25 miles
Log 112 miles
Swim 500 yards non-stop
Log 2.4 miles swimming
Run 5k nonstop
Log 26.2 miles running
Go dancing/clubbing for a night
Go to the "Squaw Prom"

Rowing a boat

Unfortunately, that one weekend turned out to be my only ski weekend. Bad ski conditions and concern for my knee kept me local. Towards the end as we were crunched for time, Yariv launched into obsession and started going from yoga to spin class to Bar Method in the same day. We hammered out 2 of the 3 Crossfit workouts together (1 with Chris) and I contemplated doing the "Power Hour" by myself because I knew I had no takers and I was going into surgery in three days and down to my last challenges. But it seemed sort of sad to drink a shot of beer a minute by myself for an hour. Just for a checkmark. Instead, I finished my situps, finished my last spin class and hammered out 250 burpees the day before surgery so I could go in feeling strong. It was my best last ditch effort.

Crossfit Workout: Angie - 100 Pull-ups; 100 Push-ups; 100 Sit-ups; 100 Squats
Crossfit Workout: Barbara - 5x through: 20 Pullups; 30 Push-ups; 40 Sit-ups; 50 Squats; Rest 3 minutes
Crossfit Workout: Chelsea - 5 Pull-ups;10 Push-ups; 15 Squats; each minute on the minute for 30 mins)
Power Hour

Matt's Winter Epic turned out to be the gift I needed to get me through the doctor's appointments and second opinions and lack of good skiing and lack of running that would have conspired to bring me down had I not had something to focus on. I also realized that where once I'd said I wanted to be fit enough to jump into any activity with a certain amount of ability, I was now fairly removed from being able to go out and swim 800s or hammer a ride on Paradise Loop or paddle out at Ocean Beach with friends. The best thing I got from this was a new sense of where I want my fitness and activities to take me.

So who won? Yariv, with 30. I came in 2nd with 25. If I'd been fully healthy I suspect Yariv and I would've become so competitive we would've ticked off all 45. I can't wait for the 2012 Summer Challenge! Thank you Matt, whoever you are.