MR 340 - Ground Crew

Start of the race in Kansas City.

My boyfriend Michael Maples participated in the Missouri River 340 this year. (MR340) This was his second time competing in it. And it is quite a feat! For those of you that don't know, it is the longest non-stop river race in the world. They go 340 miles- from one side of Missouri to the other. (Kansas City to St Louis)

My make-shift bed in the back of my
car.

The team leaving Jefferson City. 

Michael was a on a team of 12 that were racing in a beautiful wood dragon boat. (And it was a small boat for that many people!) They sit side by side and paddle day in and day out. They never stop to sleep or anything. It took them 53 hours and 7 minutes. And they got 1st in their division, and they were I think 10th or 15th overall. Amazing!!

There were 8 official checkpoints along the way. And I was a part of the ground crew, so I met them at all those stops. They wouldn't get out for long, sometimes, they didn't stop at all! But when they go there we needed to have their new food and drinks ready for them to take. There were 4 other girls on ground crew, and we made up every body's stuff. (Most people had shakes and things we needed to mix up, etc...)

My set up for my workout in the
parking lot.

It was a crazy and wild ride! I made a bed in the back of my car, and I slept there for 3 hours the first overnight (between two of their checkpoints) and then got an hour and a half the next night (again between two of their checkpoints). I was running a bit ragged myself, but at least I wasn't paddling! But I definitely was exhausted.

At the finish line with Michael!

I was very smart about the situation food wise though. I had a cooler for myself, and I brought plenty of water, and then a couple bags of cherries, some blue berries, some chicken salad and some little apple sauce cups. So I snacked on all that all day. I did have one meal a day though- there were BBQ's going on at the checkpoints, so I did manage to get that twice throughout the whole thing. But I have to say I was very proud of my eating. It would have been so easy to just sit in my car and eat junk ALL 53 hours... But I didn't. I made healthy choices.

Also, the last day, a few hours before they arrived at the finish line, I even did my workout! I had a workout video- so I pulled over to a shady part of the parking lot and I just did the video right there. I will admit I got some weird looks. But I was committed to fitting it in! (I'll have a blog about the workout videos I've been doing soon!)

I can also say that there was plenty of drama ON the boat. They got stuck on a jetty for 2 hours in the middle of the first night, and also one of their teammates lost his mind. (Which isn't unusual after that much missed sleep, and stuff. Normal to hallucinate. But this guy wasn't keeping up with his nutrition either, and so he really just lost it.) So the team ended up crossing the finish line with 11 people.

First place in their division!

However, after the race ended and Michael and I stayed in that town a couple days. Obviously Michael needed to refuel his body, so he ate quite a bit, but I also found myself feeling very hungry and wanting lots of food! My body went into a bit of a panic! I also bloated up quite a bit! I don't know what happened- except to say that my body was probably confused by the lack of sleep and routine.

But after the good, bad and ugly... (And all that time without a shower is definitely ugly!) I have to say it was an amazing experience. And watching Michael compete in that- and even just completing what I needed to as a part of the ground crew, really inspired me to get out there and do some kind of event. I don't know what it will be or when it will be, but my eyes and ears are open. I am ready to participate!

Obrigada Brazil! (Thank You Brazil!)

Dad and I on the roof of a hotel we stayed at in Sao Paulo.

Going to Brazil was an awesome experience. I love to get to know other cultures... And other foods!

Indoor/Outdoor Gym on the roof of a hotel we stayed in.
Amazing to workout there!

We traveled around to a few different cities, and we did 5 shows. It was absolutely amazing. My boyfriend Michael and I were not ready to leave.

Meat cooking at a
Churrascaria.

At the beginning of the two weeks, I tried to start out strong, and I went to the gym a few times. Most gyms there at the hotels are indoor/outdoor. So it is actually a pretty awesome vibe! Unfortunately, by the second week, I started to get a cold. I got pretty sick for a day or two, and then it lingered for a bit. So going to the gym wasn't the best idea. (Not good to overwork your body when it is busy working on fixing you- usually. There are times it is good to workout when you are sick, but that is usually when you are winning the fight over the illness. If you aren't, you probably should push it! Unless you know that works for your body!)

This is a pic of maybe one third of
salad bar at a Churrascaria we
went to.

As for food... Oh man... What can I say. The food there was amazing, and I had to try it all! Churrascaria's are unbelievable. (I know they have the Brazilian grills in the states that are similar, but the real thing is a step ahead for sure!) All of those places have a huge salad bar that has hot and cold food- and really all sorts of things! And then they come around table to table with every kind of amazing meat you could imagine. It is incredible. One of my favorite things they had was barbecued pineapple covered in cinnamon. (My new favorite treat to make at home!)

Love this place! Pinguim.

Aside from that, they had great breakfasts at the hotels, and it mostly consisted of breads, fruits and dessert! (This is not a good country to diet in!) 

However, their fresh juices that they had everywhere was a whole different thing than ordering juice in the states... It was fresh squeezed or pressed every time. The pineapple was always my favorite! Had the yummy foam on top and everything!

The shows went great. The crowds were younger than expected, because they knew my Dad from the movies in the late 80's and early 90's. So that was cool. 

Also while we were there they had huge protests going on. I mean serious ones! That made it a bit interesting and slightly worrisome and times! 

But it was all and all and incredible experience. However, health wise- not my best couple weeks. But that is one of the reasons why you keep yourself in good health... so you can live, experience and savor the moment when you get the chance.

I've Been Slacking...

August 21, 2013

I know, I know... I have been majorly slacking. But I am about to get things back up and running on here! Unfortunately, when I was in Brazil, I had issues posting to this site. So I wasn't able to update you. Then I got home, and I had a month off! So things were a bit boring to be posting. 

But now we are back at it, and I am in need of getting back on track! I definitely need some accountability! 

So over the next couple weeks I'm gonna post a few different things... I'll do a post about Brazil, and another special event I was apart of in July, and then on to what we are up to now! I have also started a new workout program- and I am excited about it, so I'll post about that too! 

Lots of new stuff coming, so get ready!

Travel Til Tomorrow...

At San Diego Airport... Beginning of the travel day!

June 10, 2013

Food -

• Breakfast - Protein bar
• Lunch - chips and salsa, and half a salad with chicken on top
• Dinner - roll, two crackers with cheese, one manicoti pasta roll, cookie

No workout. We left our hotel at 9:30pm, and began a travel day that actually has gone into tomorrow... Won't land until morning!

Oh, but I did do 20 push ups this morning... Just for fun!

2 of 6... Done!

June 9, 2013

Food -

• Breakfast - an amazing fruit and low-fat yogurt parfait, and a blueberry muffin
• Dinner - (Went with some friends and family to dinner, we ordered a bunch of appetizers...) So I had 2 spring rolls, one rolled taco, one mushroom cap, 2 slices of bread, and a pear salad. 
• Snack - 2 cookies before show
• Snack - 2 cookies after show (couldn't stop, they were amazing!)

Workout -

• I went to the pool today so I decided to do something different. I swam laps as my workout! I love to swim, but it has been a long time since I have swam laps like that. I did 15 total back and forth laps. (3 sets of 5 laps.) I have to say it wore me out! And I was sore the next day! Amazing! I love that!

The show went great as well. It was a busy day! But it ended up being a good one!

Travel Again

June 8, 2013

Another travel day... Folsom, California to El Cajon, California.

Food -

• 12pm - A small side of sauteed mushrooms
• 2pm - small bag of peanuts on the plane
• 6pm - Dinner- pear and gorgonzola salad, seared tuna appitizer, half of a mushroom flatbread appitizer, two pieces of bread. 

Unfortunately no workout today. Just traveling. I got to meet up with Michael though, so I am a happy girl! 

1 of 6... Done!

June 7, 2013

Food -

• 10am - Perfectly Simple, Zone Perfect Bar
• 2pm - Luna Bar
• 4pm - Some chunks of pineapple
• 6pm - Dinner- small piece of chicken, slice of beef, steamed veggies, 2 rolls, and a lemon bar.
• 8pm - 2 madeleines (I had never had one before, amazing!)
• 10pm - couple slices of cheese, and 1 madeleine.

Workout -

• Cardio - 8 minutes... I ran for 5 minutes, (2min at 6mph, 1min at 6.5mph, 2min at 6mph), then I walked for a few minutes, started doing my intervals, but I got a very bad foot cramp, and I had to stop. I knew it wasn't worth hurting my foot!
• Weights - Circuit - 400 movements total - 25 bench presses with two 25lb free weights, 25 sit ups. Repeat 3 more times. 10 lateral raises with two 10lb free weights, 25 triceps extensions with a 20lb free weight. Repeat 3 more times, and then do one more round of lateral raises. 50 bicep curls with two 10lb free weights.

The gym was VERY old, and it was not a very fun place with options. So it wasn't the best gym experience. 

We had our first show of this tour tonight. Folsom, California. It went great! Lots of fun, and lots of joking around. Great start to the tour!