The 48 hour film project I had the pleasure of working on is now online!
If you have never heard of or seen or understood what it meant to be in a 48 hour film project here is the quick-and-easy summary: You are given 48 hours exactly to create, film, edit and drop off your short film. You are given a genre to work with as well as character/careers, lines and props. You don’t have much time to sleep (if you are one of the leaders..us actors had it easy) and you have obstacles you will face that you won’t prepare for…BUT it’s so much fun and a great learning experience.
Mike Rohlfing and his awesome team invited me to be apart of their acting roster this year, and I couldn’t have been more stoked!
Mindscape snagged some awards as well …. The team Won Best Writing, Best Editing, Best Use of Required Line, and 2nd Place overall!
The finished product is linked below. Check out all the hard work the guys at Anonymous Productions created!
This week, my friend Andrew Gordon and I played along with a song and thought it would be more enjoyable to play up the drama of the lyrics. Here is what we tossed at the camera:
This has then sparked my desire to do many more vocal videos, but with a humorous spin to them. Andrew Gordon and I already have plans for another one, and I will finally be singing some songs while I bike!
This will all be posted here, so stay tuned for some giggles *
*Disclaimer: One may have reactions to said videos including, but not limited to, sudden bursts of laughter, peeing ones pants and/or feeling awkwardly uncomfortable and later laughing hysterically over the aforementioned videos. Safety First y’all.
No, I did not win the Ironman race, but I did “win” in so many other ways that day.
The Santa Rosa Half Ironman is a gorgeous triathlon location for many reasons my fellow iron sisters tell me; we are going to have a perfect day for a race.
As it is my first experience with a race of this magnitude, the absorbtion of the festivities and chaos of the weekend is a priority for me. I ingest the excitement of the booths selling odds and ends that are only priced bumped because of the Ironman logo stuck on them. the fellow athletes chat about their game plans or strategies for their morning, “I’m getting up at 2 AM. I need to do a light jog or I’ll be freezing at the beach”.
My friends and I decide to lay out our items for the transitions (there is normally just one Transition station; a place you use to go in and out of different parts of the race in order to keep food, water and materials including your bike, towels, and running shoes). This race has two, so decisions have to be made for what you want when you want it.
The day before…with our bib #’s
Per usual, I don’t get to bed as early as I’d like, the excitement is coursing through my veins. This will be the longest race I’ve ever done to date. I slowly fall asleep dreaming of my ideal Ironman experience.
We wake up at 2:15AM and get ready to hop into the van and as it happens with 4 ladies, we wind up running late. We can’t find parking either. It’s a hot mess and at 4:25 we have 5 minutes to get to the buses or we have to drive the 65 minutes up the hill to the beginning of the race (good luck getting back there, because the race ends 56 miles away.
We designate people to different duties, one of us will take our transition 2 stuff to our spots while two others save a spot in line; I park the car. We are hoping it doesn’t blow up in our faces that we split up.
We reconvene on the bus. Now the next hurtle…we have to go to the bathroom. We wait in silence to fall out of the bus and rush to the restrooms at the top of the hill; apparently that was everyone else’s idea too.
*Don’t wait until you get to the race start to decide to go to the bathroom. It just won’t work out for you.
We wait in line for the remaining 30 minutes we have to use the facilities. Each of us goes to place our transition stuff in our spots while the other holds the place in line. We all make it just as the race begins. This is the only time I’ll be grateful I’m not a professional athlete. If I were, I’d be in some kind of debilitating tummy pain.
The race begins! My blood is pumping, and they’ve announced the temperature is in the 40’s and the water is very cold; they urge everyone to wear extra protection for the swim and ride including socks, extra head caps and the long wet suits that everyone seems to own except me. I’m the only person I see wearing the short sleeveless wet suit. I’m going to freeze to death.
As I go into the water praying for some kind of massive heat source to protect me from hypothermia, I am determined to swim as fast as I can until I warm up. I step in and don’t think, but dive in and go for it and that made all the difference. Minutes in, I’m hoping to finish the 1.2 mile swim in 30 minutes which is what I had projected from training when out of nowhere I feel this big hand behind my head push me further into the water. Some huge beast of a man its trying to kill me, or he has high hopes of winning at any cost. I veer out of his general direction and not two minutes later, I feel a feminine grasp on my right ankle. This graze of contact is normal, but this lady was hoping for a ride, and wouldn’t let go of me. I don’t know if she was freaking out and hoping for a flotation device, or trying to sabotage my time, but I fluttered out of her reach and had to collect myself. Two things I learn during the swim, Men are ruthless in the water, and if I let it, I could become overwhelmed with what happens in the first leg of this race. I had to decide, will I buck up, focus and swim like the swimmer I am, or just doggie paddle back in with my tail between my legs? I took a breath and swam on the outskirts of the chaos and made it back onto dry land in 38 minutes.
The second part of the race is usually where you make or break your time; the bike portion. Now, the race “experts” let us know that they have changed the bike route so we wouldn’t have head wind for the majority of the ride. I don’t know if they were psyching us out, but we had headwind the WHOLE portion of this race. It was almost laughable how strong this wind felt. Almost.
I realized as I had gotten onto my bike, that none of my transition food was there. Where had it gone? Then I remembered the rush we made earlier that morning and how my ladies and I delegated our transition food; I forgot to take out my bike food from my running food. All my food was at the last leg of the race. I had nothing for 56 miles.
A good samaritan lady next to me saw my duress and handed me a GOO. I thanked her and gulped it down as we started the 56 mile endeavor.
My bike is not the worst, but it certainly isn’t something to be desired. It’s a 1992 Trek 1000. It’s weighs in at about 24 lbs and has a replaced front derailed that never seems to shift correctly. On this ride in particular it decided to act like a tween and fight me every step of the way. the gears fell out completely at one point and the uphills, which I trained for, were heavier than normal since the head winds were pulling my already heavy bike backwards. I pumped more than the racers with $10,000 bikes who basically took a nap for 2 hours while the bike did all the work. I, on the other hand, was working despite my bikes stubborn behavior. I decided to make the ride not about making my ideal time but meeting new people. I changed my perspective and actually had a few fun conversations. It helped keep the joy of the race despite my dashed dreams of a killer race time. I strolled in at 3 hours and 29 minutes for the second leg of the journey.
The last leg of the race was to be the most thrilling for me; for many this is where people lose their cool and either vomit, get hurt or lose hope. For me, I found a strange nirvana. As I rounded into mile 1 my legs started to cramp. I forgot to take my salt pills. This is imperative for runners, or racers who do long distance and don’t eat enough. I know I don’t eat enough, it just doesn’t sound appealing to eat more than what my body is asking. So, in order to keep going, you must keep your body on top of it’s electrolytes. I also didn’t do that (remember, no food during the bike). I quickly spotted the first aid station and asked where the medic tent could be found. “That’s not until mile 9”. Hmm, that’s strange, I thought. You’d think there’d be more than one for a race this size, but no worries. I have prepared for this. I decide to sprint for .5 miles and walk 2 minutes. This would ensure no further pain would come to me nor any major loss of time (and it’s good for my mental awareness, so I don’t slow down out of boredom). I see that this method has me passing people even in my walking portions. It gives me a new thrill and joy that I start cheering people on and looking out for my friends. I see a few and chat with them, before long, however it’s time to sprint again and I’m off.
This goes on until I reach mile 9 and discover that there is no medic tent. At this point, I decide, well there’s only 4 miles left, let’s continue to do this until the last mile. Then, run and don’t stop until the finish. This plan goes better than I expected. As I start to lose steam, I hear cheers from the fellow iron men and women and their spectators. I usually find some reserve of energy that pushes me to sprint the last bit; it comes and I pass the finish line smiling. My run portion time is 2:17 for 13.1 miles. I finish at 6 hours 43 minutes. Not my desired time, but the time I am blessed to have.
Some iron sisters finisher pics
This race taught me so much about training, and how race day is 80% mental. The other 20% is what the months of training was for, finding that habitual discipline.
I truly believe anyone can do an ironman, but it’s all about finding that discipline and making it a habit, so when race day comes you can dig deep and fight those demons and obstacles and find a truer more refined self.
It’s out of context, but a biblical verse that has always been a mantra during many portions of races for me is,
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Philippians 4:13
That verse was with me the whole race, as well as being reminded that (much like psalm 17:3) we are tested and put to our limits, and it’s up to us to decide if we are going to overcome and continue, or choose not to see the expanse of our endeavors. I think that’s why I race; I want to see how far I am able to go. I desire to see, like explorers, where the boundaries truly lie for me and if this will lead to the next great adventure. I’m willing to push to find out. Are you?
I recently looked at my youtube videos over the past year and my Hermione Monologue from “Winter’s Tale” is getting some love. Thanks for watching and sharing it!
In lieu of the Hallmark holiday favorite, Valentine’s Day, Miles Allen and I created this romantic love song for the most honest of all love songs. CLICK FOR LOVE!
The clip below is from the ASL show I had the pleasure of working on last year. This show inspired me to pursue the beautiful language of signing, and I hope watching does the same for you!
Thank you, Aly Easton for letting me play in your passion project; it really is a beautiful production.
Also, The wonderful Sonya Wilson helped interpret Shakespeare’s words into ASL magic! Thank you for your patience with learning this lovely language!
This scene also features the very talented Stephanie Nogueras and Sydney Berk.
Indi.com has just informed me that I am nominated, not once, not twice but FIVE times! I have attached all the links below. Getting the word out is imperative so please share, like, post and show me some love! Thanks!
Last Sunday I was blessed with the most challenging and wonderful marathon experience in my running career (so far). I thought I’d share some of the reflections that occurred on that very special Valentine’s Day.
To begin, I started a tradition beginning at my first marathon in 2010. Every race I run I have the verse “Phil. 4:13” written on my shoes. It reminds me that when I’m discouraged, God is present and knows how to encourage me. It’s not about winning, but running well. Yes, it’s a metaphor but I like using it for literal races as well. Anyway, that was one of the many joys that helped me run well Sunday. I highly recommend (as do many of my runner-friends) having a token or something to remind you that when you want to give up, to keep moving forward!
The design/artistry is from my amazing friend Megan Lockhart. Phil 4:13 is written on the other shoe strap. 2010 Pasadena Marathon
Lindsay, thank you for knowing my odd running needs! 2016 LA Marathon
This year, I definitely needed this small yet strong reminder to run well. Quick recap:
The first half of the marathon was wonderful! I started at the pace I was hoping to keep throughout the 26.2 mile course. My co-coach and friend, Will was keeping me distracted by chatting and singing (this was a normal occurrence during our training runs). Around mile 5, as Will and I were jamming out to Mulan’s,”Be a Man”a friendly British lady joined in. It was the best rendition of the song we have ever sung. It was full of joy and spontaneous friendship; it’s these moments that make running a marathon without earbuds so special.
Mile 9, I started feeling the heat but was still encouraged. It was great seeing my Nutribullet friends, Jimmy, Billy, Pauline, Carlitos, Corazon and many cheerleaders on the sidelines around this quarter of the race. Their smiles, cheers and hugs were power boosts to my soul!
However, the third quarter reared it’s ugly head. I had never had a knee spasm during a race or training run, but mile 18 proved very challenging both physically and mentally. My leg pain went from my interior superior knee all the way down to my achilles until a sharp pain started to hinder my pace completely. My friend, Kent, who was running with me at the time, suggested I head to the medic tent at mile 21. I got some medication, electrolytes and a quick PT massage. I was afraid I would have to call the race as a DNF (Did not finish).
As I headed out of the medic tent, I said a prayer that the sharp pain would subside for the last 4 miles. I started running at my pace of 9:30 again and there was no pain! I was so relieved I started getting emotional (as you do when you reach the last few miles). I kept praying and decided it was time for some music. Of course, as I turned onto Ocean Blvd the very appropriate, “Something in the Water” by Carrie Underwood started playing. I opened my arms to the heavens and was in awe of how this race had turned out. I closed my eyes and crossed the finish line with a smile on my face and on my heart.
The 2016 CSWS team pre-race!
I had a course PR of over 9 minutes, but the most rewarding take-away from this LA Marathon race was the overflowing sense of family; Team Nutribullet taught me so much last year while I was on their team, and that didn’t end once the season concluded. I still feel like family with those I have bonded with as well as the new group, team “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” that many former Team Nutribulleters are now apart of. This running community knows how simple yet powerful kind words are while running long distance. The mental battle that goes on inside your head can make or break your time. With that said, I want to thank everyone who crossed my path along the race course; your smiles, hugs and words of encouragement brought me closer to the finish line. I can’t wait to (properly) recover and get back on the road for the next race! See you all out there!
Tara Bopp 