Holiday Bootcamp

Last week's big Allt Om Mat dinner went off almost without a hitch and was a ton of fun, and now it's time to work off those calories! But first a recap: I say "almost without a hitch" because I dropped the entire roasting pan of brussels sprouts, bacon and chestnuts on the floor, which was a damn shame, but they tasted so good that my friends ate some anyway before I could throw them away.

It was quite a challenge juggling the tasks of being a good hostess to nine guests, getting courses out hot and served to everyone at the same time, and helping the photographer get the shots she needed, but everyone had a great time except for a few stressful moments that were hopefully only noticeable to me. I'll post a few photos (the ones I'm sure won't go in the magazine) in a week or so, when Stacey is done processing them.

And in the meantime, I'm on to a new challenge: getting fit for my '09 New Year's resolution! I'm not talking about the standard "I'm going to lose five pounds" resolution: that never works for me. Basically I'd rather scoop out my eyeballs with a spoon, Slumdog Millionaire-style, than commit to a vanity-based diet. I always need some specific, performance-related goal that I can push myself toward achieving, and then the physical results are a happy side effect. To that end, this year I'm committing to getting my RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) certification so I can teach a few classes a week at Keira's gym, and also be in the kind of kickass shape that inspires students. The sad truth is that no one wants to take classes from a fat fitness instructor—you have to lead by example, and it's fairly easy to make that happen when your workout is as physically demanding as kettlebell.

So where does Sweden fit into all this? Well, this week I got a wonderful surprise. I've known for a while that there's an RKC instructor based in the chichi Stockholm suburb of Djursholm, about an hour north of me, but he was doing mainly personal training. The distance and cost were prohibitive enough that I previously opted to just do my kettlebell workouts in my living room. But this month the same guy opened a new training studio in St. Eriksplan, about 5 blocks from my apartment! He's going to give group kettlebell classes several times per week at 80 SEK a pop (about $10/class). What serendipity! My goal is to train with him for the next couple of months and then launch into an intensive program with Keira from March through May to prepare for an upcoming RKC test in 2009: probably the May workshop in Copenhagen, which I could do while I'm in Sweden for the Dragon's Den portion of the Bonnier Publishing Program.

All that said, I've spent the past week (after I got done with all the cooking) working out hard with the kettlebells and also schooling some horses at my showjumping alma mater, Las Campanas Equestrian Center—a combination of activities that has left me limping, applying ice packs to my thighs and guzzling Aleve for the past three days. I ask you, who comes home for the holidays and kicks her own ass?