a marathon and a reward

Have you ever seen the movie 300? You know, the one where the men are ripped (ooh, la la...Gerard Butler!)? Do you want to know how they got that way? They trained at a one-time-CrossFit-affiliated gym. What is CrossFit? It's an insane, intense gym that promises to "forge elite athletes."

They have gyms across the country, so there's most likely one near you.

a little something extra : live in the Phoenix area and want to check out what CrossFit is all about without a full-fledged commitment? Check out Lululemon at the Biltmore on Tuesday nights. They offer a free CrossFit class every week.


This weekend, some of my teammates and I headed down to Tucson to compete in an erg marathon (that's 42,195 meters) - against a bunch of CrossFit athletes. And guess what? My teammates came in first! Hooray! (My team also competed respectably and didn't come in last.)

~full marathoners. that means 42,195 meters to complete all on their own~

~matt during the first leg of the relay for his team : no hugs, just fist bumps~

~katy's checking out our final time~

~the girls of no fist bumps, just hugs~

~happy to have finished. the team (minus stacey and rachel)~

The best part about the whole trip - besides the team bonding, of course - was the treat at the end. Every time I go to Tucson, I have to stop by Beyond Bread.

It's an amazing bakery that has the most scrumptious sandwiches. My favorite is Bart's Bag - turkey, brie, to-die-for honey mustard. And the sandwiches are as big as your head.

My friends Emily and Jenny got Betty's Brie, featuring roast beef and brie.

The only beef (get it?) I have with Beyond Bread is that they haven't expanded north. So until then, I will happily swing by whenever I head south.