A Hike in the Mountains, A Walk on the Beach

While racing up a 52-story building certainly burned a lot of calories, it wasn’t the only exercise I got during my weekend in San Francisco. In fact, it wasn’t even the only exercise I got that day!

A Sick Performance in San Francisco (Fight For Air Climb Race Recap)

Two Race Recaps, back to back? Yup, that’s what can happen when you compete in four races in one month, which is what I just did. First, stair climbs in Detroit and Phoenix, then the Warrior Dash last weekend, and now the American Lung Association’s Fight For Air Climb in San Francisco.

These races are often in landmark buildings, but this day had a bonus landmark. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to get into the city!

I saw “we” because I had a cheering section for this race: my

I’m a WARRIOR! (Warrior Dash 5K Race Recap)

I got a little dirty this past weekend.

That, my friends, is MUD, and it was a whole lotta fun getting that muddy. It happened at the Warrior Dash, a 5k race that combines running with a mud-filled obstacle course.

I’ve been hearing about races like these

Aftermath

I thought I’d be done blogging about my Birthday Burpee experience – especially since my last post was literally titled “I’m DONE with Birthday Burpees!” – but it turns out there’s one little post-script, and it’s this: I woke up the next day in pain.

I’m DONE with Birthday Burpees!

My birthday was two weeks ago, and I wanted to celebrate with a big physical challenge. So I set up a social media challenge. It was simple: I shared a special image on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+, and every time you guys liked, shared, or retweeted it, I had to do burpees.

You guys didn’t mess around. 24 hours later, the count was up to 970. Nine hundred and seventy burpees.

I promptly got to work. I set up a highly technical burpee tracking system (involving a

Adventures in Phoenix… Plus Birthday Burpees and Bowflex News!

My last post was a recap of my stair race in Phoenix, but that wasn’t all I did in Arizona. It was my first time in Phoenix (excluding layovers at the airport), and luckily I have two really great friends that live there. And they’re both named Emily! One Emily is a great friend from high school, who is now a nurse and a competitive ballroom dancer. I got to see her compete the day before my race, and it was a blast.

I almost wore the exact same dress – that would have been awkward!

Emily has been dancing for years and years, but apart from

Two Towers, Double the Fun! (Fight For Air Phoenix Race Recap)

This past weekend was an excellent one. I visited Phoenix for the first time, where I saw a couple long-time friends (both, coincidentally enough, named Emily), and competed in my 18th stair race. This race provided an entirely new experience for me. Most races are held in the stairwell of one skyscraper… but this race was in TWO.

Let me introduce you to Renaissance Square. They’re not the

Green Beans with Anchovy Topping

I’ve been back from Michigan for a week, but I have one more recipe to share from my time there. It seems weird to use the phrase “anchovy topping,” because it sounds desserty, but this dish definitely isn’t a dessert. It starts with three very un-desserty ingredients: onion, green pepper, and red pepper.

That’s 1/2 an onion, 1/2 a green pepper, and (surprise, surprise) 1/2 a red pepper.

I should back up. The idea for this dish came about because

March Weigh-In Results and Workout Progess Report

Stay tuned for a Birthday Burpees update at the end!

Sorry for the delay, folks! Normally I do my monthly weigh-in at the first of the month, but I was in Michigan when March began, and I didn’t weigh myself until I returned home, a few days later. This post was further delayed due to my birthday and the enormous Birthday Burpees challenge that came along with it.

No more delays! I stepped on the scale last week, and it said…

Burpees are Hard! (Birthday Burpees Update, Part 1)

My lesson of the week: When I ask all of you to challenge me on my birthday, you guys deliver! I posted photos on social media on Thursday, and said that I’d do burpees for every Like, Share and Retweet. The Likes, Shares and Retweets began immediately… and continued… and continued. 24 hours later, you guys had assigned me 932 burpees. 932! It makes me