The Return of Effen

Saturday
Find your 1RM Jerk

Got 115#, failed @125# twice. I still think I can get it, and maybe even go higher, I'm just not driving under the bar with enough power. I watched Bryce on his jerks and he slams the shit out of the ground when he hits the position, and I am definitely not doing that. I tried to, but I just don't get it. I'm not a timid person, but I just wasn't able to get that SLAM! down. I'll be seeing Mike and Roger this week and working cleans, so maybe we can talk about that.

Workout #3 from 2009 Dirty South Regional:
8 minute AMRAP of:
5 Clean and Jerk (Sectional Athletes 135/95) or (60% of 1RM jerk)
10 CTB pull-ups

3 full rds. We looked up the rankings and I would've ranked 19th for this wod (top 30 girls at sectionals move on, so while this isn't as high as I would've liked to be, I can be okay with it. It's pretty shitty really, when you look at all the other numbers that people put up but again, 19th is in the top 30 and then I'll have a few months to really step up my game and get better). I failed a bunch of reps - only counting CTB where I knew I hit it (I had huge red marks all across my chest after this wod from slamming into the bar), and re-did a few jerks b/c I pressed them out. Heavy as shit and a bit frustrating. Took more time than I probably needed to on the C&Js but could have failed less reps if I took a bit more time on the pull-ups. I hate wasting energy on a failed rep - I should've been smarter in this wod.
 
Post WOD
3x5 GH Raises

3x max ring dips. 3-5-3

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Nutrition - yea so my sister and her husband were in town and it was a cheat weekend. Saturday I REALLY cheated. More cheats than I've had in one day BY FAR since I can't even remember. I'm only going to list the cheats since I'm catching up and don't feel like typing for an hour.

• 1 slice stuffed deep dish sausage pizza from Art of Pizza at lunch
• 1 latte (2 shots espresso, sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream) after lunch
• coffee gelato (with the latte after lunch)
• spaeztle (served underneath mahi-mahi) at dinner
• bite of quinoa at dinner
• And, um, 8 or 9 effen black cherry and waters (at dinner and after dinner). 
• Plus a shot of Stoli O and... something. What? It was some guy's bday. What was I supposed to do??

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Sunday

Rest Day. Went into the WL for a bit of double-under work. Strung 7 in a row - new PR! Old PR was 6 :) Practiced split jerks with the 33# bar to work on that SLAM! I'm not getting. It seemed better by the end, but still not where I want it.

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Nutrition

9:30 am - 2 eggs, 3-4 strips nitrate free bacon, 4 oz coconut water, cup of coffee with coconut milk and 1 t. raw sugar

2 pm - 2 pieces turkey jerky, 1 cup coffee with coconut milk, 1 t. raw sugar

3:45 pm - chopped CDL salad from Caffe de Lucca

9pm ish - Paleo lasagna (eggplant, zuchini, portabellas, lamb italian sausage (cootie-free, only non-paleo ingred was celtic sea salt), olive oil, onions and tomato sauce) over a bed of spaghetti squash with coconut oil. Delicious. Ate 2 plates, which is ridiculously unusual for me, but it was toooo delicious. I hadn't had any paleo meal like it before so was phenomenally taken aback. Cooking with Mo is fun!!!

Front Squat PR, Jeremy PR almost 3x heavier, AND FASTER!

Bikram @ 10 this morning. Sore muscles did not want to stretch very much. I felt sleepy during the 90 min workout, and wanted to close my eyes in the "dead body" pose every time we got into it (which is after, like, half of the poses). I realized after I was in class that I hadn't eaten any fat this am which probably contributed to my sleepiness. Plus I cut back my coconut water intake pre and post wod by 1/2. I think I was having too much and while my performance was feeling great, I just felt heavier than usual... dunno what's been going on recently but I think I should cut back my fat intake and also my fruit/coconut water intake and replace (if I need more sustenance) with vegis with lower glycemic loads.

After class ended I stuck around a few minutes and used the hot room to get in one of the stretches Mike showed me (sit against the wall with butt up against wall at all times, butterfly the legs out, feet in close, arms back against the wall at the sides with palms out, elbows at the sides to start then stretch the hands up and over the head moving so that finger tips meet in the center above the head, then back to the sides and repeat). Did it six times and progressively held the stretch a bit longer each time. It still hurts, but that's okay - once it finally stretches those muscles out and doesn't hurt anymore it'll be all the more sweet.

After bikram and lunch I was SUPER tired. I need to get more sleep (says the girl as she writes in a blog at 11:45 pm).

CF at 6:30pm.  Strength portion felt great. Front Squat - Find new 1RM. Got 155#, failed at 160#.10# PR!!

"Jeremy"
Three rounds, 21-15-9 reps for time, of:
Overhead Squats (95/65# Rx'd, or 50% of 1RM OHS)
Burpees

So, I've done Jeremy before. In May 09 @ 8:46 using the 15#... or as I called it (on the CFC site) using the "tiny silver extra girl girl bar." Tonight I used 53# and my form was messy. Sloppy. Ugly. I dunno if I got low enough every time, and I sure as shit lost my locked arms repeatedly and has to press back out (does that count?). I wasn't tired because the weight wasn't heavy and I didn't go fast because I had to concentrate to get my form at least passable, so it was never muscle fatigue. Just poor form and struggling through the that. The burpees were all unbroken and the OH Squats were 5/5/5 in rd 2 and 4/5 in rd 3. I dunno how I broke rd 1 b/c I was too frustrated. Amy pushed me through the burpees and reminded me to throw my ass on the ground instead of controlling my descent and shouted not to break or even think about breaking. Didn't write down my time - will look it up tomorrow and put it in this post. <--My time was about 8:16. Ugly as shit form, but heavier and faster, so that's at least partially good :)

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Nutrition

8:30 am [Pre-bikram yoga] - 1 egg, 2 oz. turkey breast, 8 oz. coconut water

12:00 pm [Post-bikram yoga] - 4 oz. coconut water, 8 oz. chili, 2 T. guacamole.

1:45 pm - 2 1/2 T. sunbutter, 1 cup coffee + coconut milk and 1 t. raw sugar

6:10 pm [Pre-wod]- 2 oz. no salt turkey, 8 oz. coconut water, 2 T. sunbutter

7:30 pm [Post-wod] - 2 oz. grd turkey

9 pm - Dinner at Vermillion with Danielle, Alex, and Amy. Enjoyed 2 drinks (one with hot chilis... my lips tingled for the rest of dinner - amazing); amuse bouche of white chocolate/cauliflower soup + bean something fritter; appetizers split b/w all us - artichokes, mussels, scallops, duck vindaloo; amazing fall off the bone ribs (only ate about 3 oz of this); then split b/w all of us dark chocolate molten cake, pumpkin bread pudding, masala hot chocolate. The food was A-MAZING. I love that place. And while I cheated, it wasn't that bad. I didn't feel bad anyway. Glad I got 2 workouts in today to make it worthwhile :)

What I didn't eat today...

Rudy - we took this pic on New Years thinking of that HUGE piece of cake you ate at FGB IV.

And by "piece" I mean the entire right side of the cake.

My sister is coming!!

My sister and her husband are coming to town this weekend!! We're all coming to the 630 class Friday night so come and meet them!!

No wod days aren't as much fun

Active Rest Day. Played vball tonight at 8.

Went out for team drinks after. Did not have even one of the delicious, glistening bottles of Miller Lite. And we had 3 buckets of them. 3. Buckets. ::Sigh:: Why again is beer bad for you? This paleo thing is a pain in the ass sometimes. Awesome to get to explain it again though. "No, it's not a diet. I'm not trying to lose weight... it's more of a lifestyle - I eat this way all the time... Yes, of course I allow myself cheats, just not right now. Right now I'm supposed to be strict... Just a few weeks longer. Are those tater tots??"
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Nutrition. NOT my best day (as I'm sure you gathered from the above). This is gonna be a bitch of a weekend as far as food/drinks go. I hope I keep it under control. As much as possible anyway.

9:00 am - 1 egg, 2 oz. no salt turkey, 6 oz. spinach sauteed in 1 T coconut oil with 15 dried cranberries

12:45 pm - Caffe de Lucca Chopped CDL salad (my favorite): mixed greens, avocado, green onion, crisp prosciutto, roasted red peppers, grilled chicken and drizzled a bit of the house Italian sweet and spicy dressing. Probably ~8 oz. vegis, 6 oz. protein, 1/4 avocado. Also enjoyed a Bam Bam - 2 shots espresso and honey topped with coffee, w/ 1 raw sugar. Mmmm.

6:30 pm [Pre-vball] - 3 1/2 oz. grilled swordfish, 6 oz. coconut water, 2 t. sunbutter

9:00 pm [Post vball] - 8 oz. coconut water
9:30 pm [Post-vball] - 7-8 oz. arugula, 1/2 avocado, 6 oz. grilled chicken, tiny bit of lemon juice + oil... plus 5 tater tots, 3 bites bacon + grilled cheese sandwich, 1 piece garlicky cheesy bready goodness. And one effen black cherry and water. Shit! I was supposed to be good tonight.

11:45 pm - 2 t. sunbutter with some coconut flakes on top. Delicious.

"All unbroken?" "Last 2 sets of pullups were 5-5." "Why?"

Worked on snatch for about an hour. Worked up to 63# today. Bar path significantly improved. Monday's oly session definitely drilled that into my head. Struggled today in the bottom of the squat (1) getting the bar forward and not catching it behind me, and (2) landing with and holding my chest high. Kurt and Bryce were very helpful today in running through the movements to ensure we had good form, and Bryce showed me how to "Joey squat" to get my chest higher. Today's issues were due to inflexibility and tightness in my muscles, shoulders specifically. I didn't take the time to do all the stretches Mike had showed me before the workout (though I did get a few in during the workout). I have to remember to do the active stretches before AND during and to do the held stretches after. I should be stretching every day. My shoulders are ridiculously tight today and I could really feel it during the snatch work.

Metcon-

4 rounds for time of:
300 M Row
15 thrusters (45/33#)
10 pull-ups

Time: 11:44

The metcon was a bear. Totally gassed after the wod (which felt niiiice). Rx'd. 1st 300m row stayed at or below 1:58 (ELITE! Even hit 1:52 a few times for a few strokes). 2nd 300m at 2:02 and below. 3rd was the worst round, stayed around 2:15, don't think I went any higher. 4th rd I had my eyes closed most of the time but when I'd open them it was at or below 2:10. All thrusters & pull-ups unbroken except the last 2 sets of pull-ups (5-5 & 5-5). Bryce asked why I broke them... I attributed it to my grip but wonder if i could've pushed through and gotten even those sets unbroken or at least more than 5 strung in a row. In all four sets of 5, I remember wanting to drop off the bar at the 3rd pullup but thinking "at least get 5..." but maybe if I thought in my head "hold on and don't fucking let go until it's over" instead of aiming for 5, maybe I could've strung more?? Didn't think so at the time.
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Nutrition

8:30 am - 2 ox. no salt turkey, 1 egg, 6 oz. coconut water. Coffee, coconut milk, 1 1/2 t. raw sugar

12:15 pm -  3 oz. grilled swordfish, 5 oz. broccoli (sauteed in ~ 1/2 T coconut oil), 2 T. sunbutter

5:30 pm [Pre-wod] - 3 1/2 oz grilled swordfish, 8 oz. coconut water, 2 t. sunbutter

6:30 pm - Paleo cookie that Emmitt made. Delicious.

8:00 pm - [Post-wod] - 3 oz. no salt turkey, 8 oz. coconut water, 2 more paleo cookies that Emmitt made. Even more delicious.

8:45 pm - 8 oz. paleo chili (~3 oz protein, ~5 oz. carbs), 3 t. guacamole

...maybe I did have a bit too much caffeine today

Good workout day.

6pm

Deadlift 3-3-3+
1RM (CFT weight=240) @ 63%-72%-81%
155-175-195x 7reps

Metcon: 5 rounds for time of:
7 Hang Squat Cleans (Rx'd @95#)
7 burpees
Time- 10:13

Heavy as all get out. Broken into sets of mostly 3s in the beginning, broke down to sets of 2s, and a few singles (failed 3 cleans trying to string them, hence the singles) for the middle of the wod. Felt strong on the last set though - that wasn't a bad one at all. FLEW through the burpees - faster pace than usual on those. 7 is a nice number of burpees to do. Thanks Bryce (first and last time I'll ever thank you for burpees, so I hope you appreciate it)!

Post WOD
2x10 GHD

9pm

3 games volleyball. Frustrating - this was the best team we've played against... which would have been exciting. Would have been. But, instead of motivating us and us playing a super exciting game, we played our worst games ever. To be fair, we cleaned up our game in the 3rd and almost came back and beat them. Almost. And, now my shoulders are tight as shit. HOPEFULLY I'll got to bed within the next 30min and at least get into bed before midnight (for the first time since, what, 2009?).

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Nutrition

8:30 am - 1 egg, 2 oz. no salt turkey, 3 t. sunbutter, ~4 oz. coconut water

12:30 pm - 8 oz paleo chili (3:8 protein to carb, so ~3 oz. turkey/bison and ~5 oz. vegis), 1 T. guacamole

1:45 pm - small handful dried cranberries/walnuts/macadamias, 6 oz. coffee w/ coconut milk and 1 t. raw sugar

3:15 pm - 6 oz. coffee w/ coconut milk and 1 t. raw sugar. 2 t. dried cranberries/walnuts/macadamias. What? I know I shouldn't be drinking so much coffee and eating all these nuts today. But, they're delicious. And they're making me happy. And work sucks today, so suck it (... i just told my blog to suck it. maybe I did have a bit too much caffeine today).

5:45 pm [Pre-wod]- 3 oz. grilled swordfish, some coconut juice, 1 T sunbutter

Forgot post-wod meal again...
Consumed approx 18 oz. coconut water after workout and during 9 pm vball games

8:40 pm - (Oops! forgot about this meal) yellowtail tuna & reg tuna sashimi, plus vegi/salmon roll in rice paper (no rice, but did eat the rice paper)... probably only 2 oz vegis and 4 1/2 - 5  oz fish plus ~2 1/2 oz kale/tomatoes/pinenuts/oil/lemon juice salad.


10:45 pm - ~2-3 T. sunbutter, 8 oz. paleo chili

Amy. I like you. But the bar hates you. - MG

Started the day off with a fun workout,
Press 3-3-3+
1RM (use CFT weight - 85#) @ 63%-72%-81%
54#-61#-69# (x 6 reps)

Metcon: 3 rounds,  Work 1 minute at each station for total reps of (FGB style):
Wall ball @ 14# to 10'
KBS (53/35) (dropped kb's are a non-rep)
Double-unders
Rest

Optional Post WOD
3x max HSPU (90 seconds rest)

Press felt strong. I felt good on those. I was excited about this metcon. Three exercises I am crap-ola at, so I couldn't miss this wod. Had evening plans (will explain later), so came in at 9am to get this in. Total was 123, WB reps 9-11-16, KB 23-19-20, DU 11-5-9. My 1st rd of WB was horrendous. Sad really. I missed way too many reps. I should have warmed up throwing at the red with a 20# WB. I've noticed that with WB and HSPUs I have to warm up the movement moreso than the other movements before I start them in a wod, and need to remember that in future wods - otherwise I will suck ass the first rd (note the steady improvement in nailed attempts as the rds progressed). Also, still not used to working out in the am. Need to remember to drink coffee if I'm feeling tired before the wod. The KBS were the LIGHTEST THINGS EVER! I was completely off-balance and almost threw the KB behind me to start out rds 1 and 2. Never thought that would happen :) Realized in rd 3 that I could pick up the speed since the weight was so light, but had never done a KBS that felt so light, so didn't realize how much faster I could've gone until the last 20 sec in rd 3. All unbroken here. The double-unders were, well, double-unders. But I kept my head and didn't get frustrated. My mental game has really improved as far as keeping my cool and not getting frustrated- now I just need to improve my mental focus to push past what I see as my current limits.

Skipped the HSPUs since I knew I was working on Snatches for a few hours that night so decided to move those to another day. Don't let me forget!!

Amy and I scheduled an olympic lifting session with Mike and Roger - awesome. The two of them worked with us for about 2 hours on snatches (5:30-7:30pm). Huge improvement! Worked up to 66#, which is a NEW PR on the full snatch :) And it didn't feel heavy, so I know I have more in me, but after snatching for 2 hrs I played it smart and didn't go up any higher. Mike gave me a shit ton of stretches to improve my flexibility on this lift and was even able to get my grip closer in which made a huge difference. I heart Mike and Roger.

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Nutrition
8:20am  [Pre-wod] 1 egg, 2 oz. no salt turkey, 16 oz. coconut water, ~15 walnuts/almonds/pecans/macadamias/dried cherries

10:00am [Post-wod] - ~3 oz. no salt turkey, 10 or so oz. coconut water

11:30 am - 4 oz. grilled swordfish, 8 oz. fresh kale plus sauteed kale+yellow peppers+eggplant mix and ~1 T. wild maine blueberry dressing, 2 T. sunbutter

3:50 pm - 2 t sunbutter, ~6 oz. coconut water

5:00 pm [Pre-skills wod] - 3 oz. no salt turkey, 16 oz. Starbucks coffee with 1 T. half and half, 4 raw sugars.

7:45 pm [Post-skills wod] - 3 oz. no salt turkey

9:00 pm - 11 oz. paleo chili (prepared with a ratio of 3:8 protein to carbs, so 3oz. turkey/bison, 8 oz. vegis), 2 T. guacamole

(Six meals today! Oops! 1 more than usual... but with the extra workout I guess it was good, no?)

Hells Half Acre... my first 2-a-day

First - thank you Amy, Alison, and Mo! These girls went through these together with me, and it was nice to push through heavy and tiring wods together and to train together - cheering for and competing against one another. Both wods were tough and were well worth pushing ourselves through. I was proud of all of us today :)

Also, thank you Rudy for pushing us to do these wods and for the fun sled work after the 2nd wod. MAN is that gonna be fun (and by fun I mean awful)... why exactly I'm looking forward to those in a wod I have NO idea, but I have to say I am!!

Hell Half Acre Wod #1 @ 9:00 am

3 Rds:

10 Squat Clean & Jerk (105# Rx'd - used 95#)

500m row

Time - 15:57

Hell's Half Acre Wod # 2 @ 1:00 pm

50 CTB Pull-ups

50 Burpees

Time - 9:53

The 1st wod was heavy as shit and very tiring. I only failed one clean (due to a shite grip, not muscle fatigue) so I probably stared at the bar a little too long and could've moved through these a bit faster. Had trouble locking out a few times and pressed it up at the end instead of a proper jerk, and twice forgot to step back together. I need to learn to trust the split jerk with locked arms. 1st round of the row started off with the rower not working so I wasted about 8 pulls not knowing what else to do even though the rows weren't counting. Wasted energy/time there. My row stayed under 2:15 pretty much the whole time, which is much slower than usual. The 1st 2 rds I kept it around 2:05-2:08 through the first 250/300m, but the last 200/250m - 100m I struggled to stay under 2:15. Kept the last 100m in rds 1 and 2 under 2:10. The 3rd rd, I thought I'd try and game the row better by rowing a bit slower in the beginning in order to save enough energy to kick it up faster (2:00 or less) for the last 200m but that wasn't the case. As planned, I stayed around 2:10-2:15 for the first 300m, as I planned but then only had enough juice to kick it up to around 2:05 for the last 200m. I don't think that helped my row, I think it was slower actually, so next time I'll let myself go faster from the start, and only "game it" and pace myself on longer rows (1K or more).

The 2nd wod was more of a mental challenge. Tim (Megan's bf) taped my hands, but the tape moved and shifted and made it nearly impossible to stay on the bar. It also cut off the circulation in my left wrist for the rest of the wod as I tried ripping the tape off mid-wod and couldn't get it off. The tape kept bunching up at the top of my palm right where I grip the bar. Also, the bucket I was jumping off was unstable so kept moving around and falling over. Eventually I gave up on the bucket, and started jumping up to the pull-up bar from this little blue step thing that was only about 6" off the ground. Never done this before, I've always done pull-ups from being able to reach the bar, so this was a new challenge for me, and, so much of a challenge that I decided to skip CTB and just do regular pull-ups to finish out the wod. Thankfully, Heather and the others at the box started bringing weights over to build a step I could reach from for the rest of my pull-ups. After the last weight was placed for me to stand on, it was still lower than usual for me, but as I said, coming at the bar from lower than usual was a new challenge for me and I thought probably a good thing for me to push through as who knows how close I'll be the the pull-up bar at sectionals. The burpees were a blur. Broken more than usual, wasn't sure if I was more tired than usual on these due to this being the 2nd wod of the day or whether I was just tired due to the 50 pull-ups.

As for the energy level of the two-a-day, I felt prepared for it. I have things I could improve for sure (1-I wish I had gotten more sleep the night before, as I did need a nap today after my 2nd wod, 2-I forgot to eat post-wod 2, which contributed to my tired feeling, 3-I want to play with my food choices) but I felt full capable of the work. That was good to know. I just need to remember how important sleep is and stop staying up past midnight. Damn it, it's 12:30 right now.

I'd like to try a few more two-a-days (not too many - I know I shouldn't wear myself out before sectionals) to play around with what foods and how much to eat. I ate steak because red meat tends to make me feel good (either the potassium or iron - something about it seems to wake me up when I'm tired), but I think I should've stuck with something more quickly and easily digestible like fish or eggs like I normally have pre-wod and then maybe add a cup of coffee pre-wod #2, if I feel the need for an extra kick.

I also need to get better at getting full nights of sleep. So, off to bed! Sweet dreams, all.

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Nutrition

8:00 am [Pre-wod #1] - 1 egg, 2 oz. no salt turkey, 16 oz. coconut water, 2 T. sunbutter

9:45 am [Post-wod #1] - 3 oz. no salt turkey, ~8 oz. coconut water, 4 oz. blackberry applesauce (no sugar added - thanks, mo!)

12:30 pm [Pre-wod #2] - steak burrito bowl from Whole Foods with double meat (~4 oz steak), guacamole (~2-3 T), lettuce, jalepenos, pico de gallo, tomatillo salsa, 2 T. sunbutter

[no Post-wod #2 meal - forgot until about 45 min after workout and was not hungry then at all, so skipped the meal since I'd already passed the 30 min window]

2:30 pm - 2 t. sunbutter

5:45 pm - handful of walnuts/macadamias/pecans/dried cranberries

8:30 pm - 3/4 hamburger (mmm!), sauteed rutabagas and carrots, salad of greens, sunflower seeds, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, peppers, red onions, blackened chicken.

9:45 pm - one delicious glass of Effen Black Cherry vodka. The owner bought us the drink, how could we say no, right Mo??

Actual, Real, Full-On Rest Day. Booyah.

GOOD NEWS!!  I googled "sunchokes" & "paleo" - got conflicting and not so helpful info... but then "sunchokes" & "glycemic load" and found out sunchokes have a low glycemic index. That doesn't necessarily mean a low glycemic load, but they often correlate and it's the best info I've got so I'm eating them!!!

They were delicious baked in the oven last night. I wish I had some riiiight now. Like roasted yukon gold potatoes - slightly sweet, with olive oil and black pepper and sea salt... yum.

Didn't workout today. Figured I have a horrendous two-a-day planned for tomorrow, so a day off before would get me fresh and as prepared as possible.

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Nutrition

8:30 am - 1 egg, 2 oz. no salt turkey from WF, coconut water

9:30 am - coffee, 2 raw sugars

10:30 am - coffee, 2 raw sugars

1:00 pm - 2 eggs, 2 tiny chicken maple sausage links, few bites of a fruit cup (pineapple, honeydew, grapes, cantaloupe)

4:00 pm - 3 oz. no salt turkey, small handful of walnuts/pecans/almonds/macadamias/dried cherries, salad of mixed greens and yellow peppers with wild blueberry dressing

7:45 pm - 4 oz. grilled swordfish, 2 T. sunbutter with 1/8 c. fresh blueberries, 2 oz. fresh rainbow kale plus 4 oz. sauteed kale+yellow peppers+eggplant with white truffle oil and lemon juice

9:30 pm - 1/4 c. coconut milk + 15 fresh blueberries + 8 pecans + 1 1/2 T. dark chocolate chunks. It was kinda like cereal. And totally like delicious. And only like a little cheaty :)

And calling it a night

Bench Press 5-5-5+
(1RM +5) @ 67#, 78#, 88# (x8 reps)

3x Max push ups (60 sec rest)
17-12-12

Metcon:
21-15-9
SDHP (@ 40% of 1RM press = 34#)
Push Press (@ 34#)
then
Row 500M

Today's workout was tough. Tougher than I expected. I got through all unbroken (had to repeat 2 reps, 1 push press and 1 SDHP - thanks for counting Jonny) but was GASSED. Got into the row and just couldn't turn it on. I kept pulling but I just couldn't force myself to my usual pace. I stayed around 2:05 for the first 300 or so, then the last 200m were just a bear, and I pulled around 2:10-2:15. At about 110m left I actually took a second in b/w pulls, breathed, and thought I might not finish this, I might not be able to. I ended at 4:47, not a bad time, but exhausted. My legs KILLED.


I just finished dinner, and it's midnight. I'm taking a long bath with epsom salts and calling it a night.
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Nutrition
10:15 am - ~3 eggs, ~1/4 avocado, ~3 strips bacon. 2 cups coffee with 3 t. (total) brown sugar (I asked for raw sugar and the waiter brought me brown... it was cute, he tried... so I used it. Not bad.)

1pm - 3 oz. grd turkey, 4 oz. sauteed kale + yellow peppers + eggplant, 3 oz. portabellas all sauteed together with fresh garlic and 1 t. white truffel oil. 1 t. coconut cream

4:30 pm - 1 T. sunbutter

5:30 pm {Pre-wod] - 3 oz. catfish, coconut water, 2 1/2 T. sunbutter (MAN was I craving it)

8:00pm [Post-wod] - 4 oz. catfish, coconut water

11pm - 1 1/2 oz. goat loin chop, 6 oz. sunchokes and kohlrabi, lightly dressed with olive oil, black pepper and teensy tiny bit of sea salt (SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD. BETTER THAN BAKED POTATOES!!!!), 1 1/2 t. sunbutter

Bikram Yoga!

Today I had a very active rest day. I played vball from 6:30-7:45, then took a bikram yoga class (hot yoga) from 8-9:30. VB was fine  - played with people I don't know (Jason's friend from work and his friend's friends) who do a weird ass rotation with four and sometimes five people receiving the serve (WHY?! so we can be crowded and manage to cover LESS of the court?!) in a trapezoidal fashion. But whatever, vball is vball and it was still fun. Had to leave a stitch early to make my bikram class (which Amy and Erin C ditched... j/k i didn't mind going alone).

Bikram was AMAZING. I used to go often before I started CrossFit and was just terrible at it. I didn't have the strength to hold the poses long enough or the flexibility to get as far into the poses as I would have liked. I enjoyed it though - it was intense and would just exhaust my body and I found that type of yoga to be the only type relaxing for me. Bikram is like the crossfit of yoga - super intense - at my old studio they used to say "if you feel like you're going to die then you're doing it right." Tonight though... what a difference. My flexibility is very improved, i got into positions I could NEVER get into before, my stability was fantastic,and my endurance was well beyond what it had been before. When I left I felt SUPER relaxed, like all my tension and all the toxins in my body had melted away during yoga and I was left peaceful and whole. And, hi, does anyone believe this is me talking? I don't think I've ever said I felt peaceful, but I do have to say I feel amazing. I am going to bed early tonight and I am going to enjoy it. After I ice my back. The lower back is hurting again. Stupid back. I want a new one.
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Nutrition:

Busy morning. I forgot to eat breakfast. Threw off the timing of my eating all day.

11:30am - 1 T. sunbutter

12:45pm - 4 oz. pan seared marlin (delicious), 4 oz. mixed greens with 1 t. oil + balsamic vinegar, 1/4 avocado, a few bites watermelon/grape/honeydew salad, 8 oz. coffee with 2 raw sugars

5:20pm - chocolate tea with coconut milk and 1 t. raw sugar

6:00 pm [Pre-wod] - 3 1/2 oz. grilled catfish, 4 oz. sauteed (in coconut oil) kale + eggplant + yellow peppers with lemon juice, 1 T. coconut cream

1 serving Coconut water consumed during vball game and in b/w game and bikram)

10:00 pm [Post-wod] - 1 serving coconut water, 2 1/2 oz. Dominoe's chicken kickers (I know, but I forgot to bring protein so got stuck with this)

10:45 pm - dinner - 1 1/2 oz. chicken kickers, 2 T. sunbutter, 20 fresh blueberries
I wouldn't normally have Dominoe's anything, but I forgot to bring protein with me for post-wod so had to eat what I found in Travis' fridge when I stopped by to feed his cat. It was either that, pizza, or cheesy bread. I think I made the right choice.

Kind of...

Workout!

Turkish Get-up work. Got up to 25# each side (same weight as previous attempt). Scott convinced me to try 35# (I used my right hand) but I couldn't lock out. Why locking out is such a problem for me I do not know. Coaches? Anyone? Why can't I lock out??
 

Metcon: 12 min AMRAP:
5 Handstand push-ups (used 2 abmats)
10 Pull ups
15 Squat jumps

5 rounds + (5 HSPU + 7 pull-ups)

1st set of HSPUs got 4-1, then the rest were in 3s, 2s, or 1s. All pull-ups UNBROKEN! After FUCKING WEEKS of not being able to string pull-ups together without killing my hands, all of a sudden today I felt like I was on fucking fire. Squat jumps unbroken in rds 1, 2, and 5 - rounds 3 and 4 I did 13-2 (WTF?!). Was frustrated in the HSPUs, but never gave up. Heard Emmitt, Jessica and others pushing me and believing in me during the HSPUs which was a helpful motivator.

--

So, most of you know this, but I've been steadily losing inches and pounds since June (at last count I was down about 40 lbs, not sure how many inches but a bunch of sizes). Recently though I've felt like I've been in a weird place. I can't really be sure if I've stabilized in weight or am still losing, since I haven't weighed myself in awhile, but it's weird. I went to Lulu and bought a few new tops and sports bras since what I had wasn't fitting like they used to (including my favorite workout pants, sigh), but when I look in the mirror each morning I don't feel like I'm losing... I feel like my clothes are definitely fitting differently, but I dunno. My goal for the Paleo Challenge is not to lose weight but to improve performance and lean out/tone up (two possibly opposing ideas). I wouldn't mind gaining muscle, I just also want to ensure that I'm continuing to trim down and lower my body fat %age (not that I exactly know what it is).

This morning was different though. I realized that my body looks nothing like it used to. My shoulders and back are getting bigger and more defined (chest of course getting smaller, thanks a lot, CrossFit), and while my lower body is also getting much more defined it's getting smaller (my ass specifically, so again, thanks a lot CrossFit). It was definitely a different body staring back at me today.


Also, I got a 60 min massage today from my favorite girl in the world. And it was awesome.

--
9:30 am - 1 egg, 2 oz. grd turkey, 7 oz rainbow kale + yellow peppers + eggplant sauteed in 1 T. coconut oil.

12pm - 9 oz. paleo chili. I only intended to have 6 oz again and see if that could fill me up for lunch. But there was so little left in the container that I just finished it. 1 t. coconut cream.

3:30pm - 2 T. sunbutter, 15 fresh blueberries, 1 c. chamomile tea (super weak... does tea go bad?)

4:45pm [Pre-wod] - 2 pieces turkey jerky, coconut water, 1 t. coconut cream

6:15ish [Post-wod] - 2 pieces turkey jerky, coconut water

9ish - Um. I kind of cheated. Went to Fogo de Chao with Amy and Eric. I had a SHIT TON of meat. All kinds - beef, bacon wrapped chicken, pork, lamb, beef ribs, pork ribs, salmon, proscuitto... that may have been it, but there may have been more. The waiter must have thrown away over a pound of food from my plate when I was done, since they would give me a large piece of meat and I would eat only one bite of it before moving on to the next delectable piece of meat. I also ate vegis (lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, olives, artichokes). I pretty much only had one bite of everything - since there was sooo much of everything. I also ate a bite of mashed potatoes, a tiny roll, and some fried banana. Oh, um, and I had the limeade (made with among other things lime juice, condensed milk, and sugar) that was strongly recommended by Eric (how could I say no?) which was fantastic. Um, and then I had chocolate molten lava cake with vanilla ice cream. And coffee, two sugars. So, yeah, um, kind of a cheat meal. It's a good damn thing tomorrow is a rest day for me.

Today's workout > yesterday's workout

Power Snatch 5-5-5+
43#-51#-57# x12 reps.
Stopped not due to muscle fatigue but because I started pressing out in the last 2 reps, and figured crappy form shouldn't get extra reps counted.

3x5 Glute-Ham Raise (I like these)

Then for time, reps of:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of:
Hang power clean 60%1RM =63#
Ring Dips (purple band)

Time: 5:27

Workout felt great. I ate only 20 mins before I started the strength portion and I think that really helped. I also ate fish, which digests super quickly. I felt strong moving through that and then the metcon felt fantastic. Getting to go through a fast workout that I could easily handle the weights and just speed through almost entirely unbroken was a phenomenal way to get over the failing of yesterday's wod.

I ate my post-wod food and then stuck around to work on a few skills - some handstands, attempted muscle-ups with JJ and Steve, double-unders.

Then I had volleyball. I continued to drink coconut water before volleyball and a bit during the break b/w games to stay hydrated. My left calf was tight before I started playing, and while it didn't seem to affect my play, it did feel tighter after I got home. Halfway through the second game (of three) my hip flexers really started hurting. Then by the time I got home, my shoulders and back were sore too. Not as sore, but sore nonetheless. I am going to try and get a massage in this week from Amy!

I just went through my blogs and realized I haven't had a true rest day since January 3rd. I've been active every day for 16 days?! No true rest days?! And while I haven't done any two-a-day metcons, I have done strength work and a metcon, and then added on a few hours of skills work or an hour of volleyball. I still need to get a two-a-day metcon in, but considering my activity level right now I think I'll be able to manage it well. The 3 days where I didn't do a metcon, I've either worked on skills for a few hours or played vball (active rest is not actual rest). I should probably look into an actual rest day soon. I just like CrossFit too much, and I'm really enjoying pushing so hard. Rest days are silly. And the only reason I'm contemplating a rest day now is because I'm sore. But, hopefully the massage will get rid of the soreness and I can get back at it :)
--
Nutrition:
8:20am - 1 egg, 2 oz. grd. turkey + 3 1/2 oz. yellow peppers sauteed in 1 t. white truffle oil

10:45am - 2 t. sunbutter

12:45pm - 6 oz. paleo chili (carbs + protein)
1:20pm - Still hungry. 2 t. coconut cream and a glass of chocolate tea with 1 t. raw sugar

3:10pm [Pre-wod] - 2 oz. macadamia crusted catfish, coconut water, macadamia/walnut/cranberry mixture - maybe 7 walnut halves, 2 macadamias, 15 dried cranberries.  Plus 10 fresh blueberries.

4:45/5pm [Post-wod] - 3 oz. macadamia crusted catfish, coconut water

8:30 pm - 10 oz. paleo chili, macadamia/walnut/cranberry mixture - maybe 4 walnut halves, 1 macadamia, 8 dried cranberries.  Plus 20 fresh blueberries.

Rough Day

I'm switching the order up and posting workout first, food second. On to today's workout.

Press 5-5-5+ @ 58.5%/67.5%/76.5% of my 1RM (85#)
50#-57#-60# x7
15 Handstand negatives
Didn't scream once (success!). Felt better on these, however I failed to maintain speed/stay on the wall every time Bryce was watching. And when I nailed it a few times and jumped up excited, he was talking to Chris... not watching. Once I hit the wall and fell immediately on my head. Yep - he saw that one. 

WOD#2 from the Rocky Mountain Regionals 2009
Three rounds for time of:
10 CTB pull-ups
10 Front Squats 165/105 or (50% of 1RM back squat)
10 burpees

Wow. Going in tonight I had a healthy respect for the workout. I was excited to go Rx'd on and '09 Regionals wod. I knew 105 was gonna be heavy, but I also knew I have done thrusters at 85# for 15 reps that were heavy but not heavy enough to crush me. I also knew that I could front squat, what, 1 1/2 times Rx'd weight so while this should hurt, I should be able to get through it.

What I didn't take into account was that the bar would start not on a rack, but from the ground. So, not only did I have to front squat that weight, I'd have to clean it. My 1RM squat clean is 105.

Of course, I didn't think about this until after I was standing in front of the bar 30 seconds or so into round one. Hitting my 1RM after not doing any cleans in the warm-up did not happen today. I tried. I really really tried. I tried over and over again. I focused on my breathing. I walked away from the bar and came back, trying to give myself enough energy to get the bar up. Trying to give myself enough of whatever I needed to get it up. I was trying to power clean the bar, and then Bryce told me to squat clean it. I was so flustered I didn't know what that meant. "Get under the bar. You're lifting the bar high enough to get under it, so just get under it." Oh, riiiiight, a squat clean. Receive the bar in a squat. Got it. Except, I just couldn't do it. I don't know how many times I tried and failed. I thought - maybe this is an opportunity for me to just pound away at this weight until I hit it. I'll get it, I know I will, I've done it before and it doesn't feel impossible, I'm just not getting it. Bryce came over and started to take weight off. I didn't want to go down in weight. I wanted to fight for it. I WANTED TO FUCKING GO RX'D. I decided the other day that no matter what, when I compete at sectionals, I'm going Rx'd. I don't care if the wod takes me all fucking day, I'm not lowering the weight and D'Qing. So that's what I wanted to do today - finish. Rx'd.

But I also know that I need to trust my coaches. One of the things that makes working out in a CrossFit box, and our box specifically, better than working out anywhere else is having coaches around to help you, to train you, to push you, and sometimes even to know what's best for you when you don't.

Recently I've been reading blogs and discussing with other athletes how we push ourselves when we should stop because we're too proud or frustrated or whatever the reason. I'm committed to listening to our coaches. I believe in them, and believe they want what's best from me and for me. I don't always agree with them, but I always do what they say. And tonight, when Bryce grabbed the bar and started taking the weight off, I simply reached down to the other side of the bar, asked what he was taking off and followed suit (dropping the weight to 85#). I was disappointed. I heard Chris shout that I had to get these unbroken now. Well, fuck, I was so far behind in this workout of course I had to! Plus, I told myself that if I wasn't gonna go Rx'd weight on the front squats then I would at least do them unbroken. Oh yeah, and the thought of more failed cleans was not especially appealing.

The burpees were next, and those went slower than usual as I felt defeated, but I was still pushing through. Not as fast as I wanted, but unbroken as well. I knew I had to push extra hard to get my head back in the game. Once I got to Round 2 though, I just sorta fell into the wod. I had things to do - 10 CTB, another fucking clean and then 10 front squats, more burpees and then 1 more round. I finished at 9:50.

After the wod, I was disappointed. I was irritated. I thought about how I was going to try this wod again with 85# or 95#. I thought about how I needed to improve my clean strength and technique. I hung out, I ate my post-wod meal, and I rested. I talked with Jonny for awhile about casual things (not relating to my workout, thankfully) and eventually I went home to make dinner and watch Heroes. I enjoyed eating my paleo chili and had a delicious cup of chocolate tea.

Tomorrow I'll have a whole wod's worth of cleans to fight through (I may ask to do full squat cleans instead of hang power cleans to strengthen that movement, since I struggled so with it today). At least I know I'll get an opportunity quickly to work on what I failed at today. So, at least there's that :) See you tomorrow.
--
Nutrition
9:30am - 3 oz. grassfed filet, 7 oz. of yellow peppers, eggplant, & portabella mushrooms sauteed in 1 t. coconut oil

10:30am - 1 T. sunbutter

1pm - 4 oz macademia crusted catfish, 2 T. sunbutter, 1/8 c. blueberries

6:20pm [Pre-wod] - 4 oz. imitation crab meat (all gone now - only good meat from here on out), coconut water, 2 T. sunbutter

8:40ishpm [Post-wod] - 4 oz. salmon sashimi, coconut water

9:30pm - 10 oz. paleo chili plus 1 T. guacamole

11pm - chocolate tea w/ coconut milk and 1 T. raw sugar

Sundays are niiice

8:15am - 1 egg, 2oz. grd turkey, coconut water


11:30(ish)am [During skills work] - 4 1/2 oz. turkey jerky plus coconut water.
I did skills work & a wod today from about 10 am- 12:30pm and during skills work I got hungry and wasn't feeling as strong as usual in my strength work so got some protein in.

12:00(ish)pm [Post-wod] - 1 1/2 oz. turkey jerky plus coconut water.


2:30pm - Chamomile tea w/ 1 t. honey. Large green salad with mixed greens, roasted red peppers, green onions, avocado, 6-8 oz. chicken breast and vinaigrette.


8:30pm - 4 oz. macademia crusted catfish plus large mixed greens salad with yellow peppers, mushrooms, 1/2 c. blueberries, white truffel oil, 3 t. cherry/strawberry/blackberry/blueberry preserves (organic, no sugar added) and Chocolate tea with coconut milk, and a few pieces dark chocolate chunks (about a thumb's worth).


11:15pm - one more chocolate tea with coconut milk. And a t. of raw sugar. Mmmm.

 --
Today was a fantastic skills/workout day and I left feeling AMAZING. I still haven't gotten my grip back, but I was able to string 9 together with a switch-grip, so that was improvement. Next time I work on stringing together pull-ups I'm gonna tape my hands and see if that will lessen the grip pain and allow me to get back into longer sets of pull-ups. I worked on overhead squats at low weights to focus on lock out and depth for awhile, saw small improvements. Need to remember to stretch wrists each day. Worked on HSPUs, alternating working on controlled negatives to the ground and push-ups with 2 abmats. Did 3 rds of 5 Wall Ball @ 20# aimed at and sometimes hitting the red line, then 1 or 2 rds 10 WB @ 14#  nailing the red line each time (had to re-do 3 missed reps- 1 in 1st rd, 2 in 2nd). Worked on double-unders for awhile. I haven't done these in, what, a month? Struggled stringing more than 3 together (PR is 6), but was able to work on these calmly, without frustration. That was a first for me. THEN, after I thought I was all done, I re-did the baseline. Hadn't done this since I started (orig time was a whopping 9:53).


Baseline wod:

500m row, 40 squats, 30 situps, 20 pushups, 10 pull ups

Kept the row under 2:00 almost the full 500m, went above 3-4 times throughout the wod (I never stayed above that time though for more than 1 pull) maxing out with a slowest speed of 2:06. Rudy said elite girls time is sub 2:00. I almost peed myself. I thought I was crap at rowing! In fact, I may have jumped up and down after leaving the box and screamed "Rudy said elite! He said ELITE!" at my car. May have. I'm not admitting anything. The wod felt great and I was thrilled to have almost cut my time in half (58% improvement).

Time: 5:24.

It was nice to feel so strong today. It was nice to work on skills I wanted to improve and see improvement. It was surprisingly nice to accept that I couldn't improve my double-unders today, and know that I have tomorrow and the next day, etc. to work on them. Today was a great day. Plus, Amy and I went to Lululemon and I'm down another size.

I did, however, struggle at the end of the day with food cravings. I was craving chocolate and bad things like whoa. Amy and I walked around Whole Foods (WF) and I bought some chocolate tea and coconut milk to have a light cheat (though I as sleepy and craving a MAJOR cheat). It did the trick.

Lean meat!!

8:30am - Pre wod - 1 egg, 2 oz. grd turkey, 3 oz. leftover dandelion greens+red chard, 6 walnut halves plus 15 dried cranberries. Was not feeling today's breakfast. I put all those things together - big mistake. Sigh.

10:15am - Post wod - coconut juice, 3 oz. Whole Foods low-sodium processed turkey breast

1:30pm - 1/16 c. heavy cream to taste
1:45pm - 6 oz (?) coffee, 1/16 c, heavy cream, 2 raw sugars

2:30pm - 3 oz. grd turkey, 3 oz. yellow pepper, 1 T. sunbutter. I was really craving a 2nd T but I think I may be overdoing my fat intake... so I denied myself. I didn't stop craving that 2nd spoonful until almost 3 pm. At least I stopped craving it at some point.

6:45pm- Paleo Chili! I don't know the exact proportions that I ate, but I ate about 3/4 c. chili. Mo and I made it with 1 lb. grd. elk + 1 lb. grd turkey thigh, and tripled the amount of vegis we put in (different varieties of peppers, onions, and mushrooms). Used about 4 T. organic EVOO, just a little sea salt, and everything was totally paleo (spices,vegis, etc). And delicious. Added 2 thin slices avocado on top with and some guacamole. AMAZING.

12:15am - was putting away the chili and couldn't resist a few (2) spoonfuls. And then, when I opened the fridge the sunbutter reminded me that I had I wasn't paying enough attention to it. So I had a T. of that before bed :)

--

Back Squat (Based on 175# 1RM)
125# x5- 142# x3- 158# x1

Metcon: 4 Rds:
5 Power Snatches (Rx'd was 80, did 65#)
10 burpees

Time 6:01.

I wanted to go heavier but my snatch form isn't there yet. Need to improve my form on those so I can get up in weight before sectionals. Annoyingly, I pressed out EVERY one. I may have nailed the first snatch. But that was it. My lift was more accurately called "ground to overhead is a sloppy and haphazard fashion."

3x12 GHD (Post Metcon).

The time was okay and since I wasn't really snatching anyway I kinda feel like I should've gone heavier to force myself through at a heavier weight, as I expect the wods at sectionals to be at high weights that I'm not yet comfortable with. But, if they were only counting true snatches then I may've been screwed anyway. Hearing "does not count" on every rep would not have made this a very successful day for me. Guess I'll work on snatches tomorrow morning.
--
Oh, and one last thing - today I went to the Green City Market with some of my favorite CFCers and it was fantastic (while there I tried heavy cream -from grassfed cows- like you said I could have Zack, and it was amazing. I had about 1/8 c. in total since the nice guy working the table gave me a free sample, and then gave me a second sample the next time I passed his booth so I could have it in my coffee, with 2 raw sugars. Heaven!).

I'm posting a picture of my freezer because it is ridiculous. After ordering from US Wellness Meats on Monday and my Green City Market trip today, I have a freezer FULL of meat and vegis. And that is all.

That's 3 packages of broccoli, 3 of spinach, 1 of asparagus on the top shelf. On the bottom, in various forms (such as ground/tenderloins/chops/etc), is grassfed beef, elk, bison, lamb, turkey, goat (not kidding), rabbit, shrimp and mussels. And of course I've got eggs and bacon in the fridge below. So... I'm pretty good for awhile. This next month is going to be one hell of an experiment in cooking.

F*@# Bryce

Friday -
9:30am - 1 egg, 2 oz. grd turkey, 4 oz. mushrooms. Wasn't feeling the mushrooms today but what're you gonna do.

12pm - 3 oz. super low sodium Whole Foods turkey, sauteed with onions and 1 t. coconut oil. 5 oz. sauteed (in ~1/2 T coconut oil) red chard + dandelion greens plus less than 1/3 vidalia onion. Topped the greens with 4 chopped walnut halves, 1 1/2 chopped macadamias plus ~15 dried (no sugar/no salt) cranberries.

This is the first meal I have ever made where I chose to put nuts into it. It's also the first meal I've ever eaten that had nuts in it, that I didn't slowly and painstakingly pick out every nut before eating. As I'm sure you've heard me say, I'm not a fucking squirrel, and I've never been into nuts/seeds. I have been eating Paleo since June, but did not eat nuts/seed for the 1st 7 months (except the occasional nut butter). I finally started eating nuts after Christmas, but only if they were separated out of my food as a side item. I have picked the nuts out of my food for a solid 27 years. And, today I actually chose to put nuts into my food. And it was delicious. Fuckin' nuts. Who knew?! 


5:30 pm - Pre-wod -  4 oz. Imitation crab (almost done), handful walnuts + dried cranberries, coconut water

8:45ish - Post-wod - ~4 oz. bison jerky, coconut water

9:45 pm - 3 oz. grassfed beef filet, 2 oz. mixed greens, 3 oz. yellow peppers, 2 T. Wild Maine Blueberry dessing
---
Today's metcon. What a beast. Alex said afterward that it was a sectionals type workout. The kind of workout that takes you to that place and you just have to fight through it every second.

25-20-15-20-10-5 reps of
HEAVY KBS (53#)
Box Jumps (20")
Wall Ball (14# to the red line)


I used to get angry during wods when it was really hurting and when I needed to fight to stay tough during a wod, but haven't felt that way in awhile... until this. During the workout I thought over and over in my head I hated Bryce and cursed at him privately in my head... and post-wod Amy admitted that I may have also cursed at Bryce aloud once during a set of KBS.Sorry, Bryce, but it fucking hurt. And occasionally hating the coach who programmed that day give me something to focus on besides the pain.


Erin and Chris today apologized for yelling at me while they were working out today. No need to apologize guys - I feel the same way during WODs sometimes, and if yelling at someone gets you through the wod, I say go for it... so long as the person you're yelling at can take it.


And Bryce can take it.



I posted my time wrong - I thought it was 22:06, but went back into the box this am and realized I finished in 20:39. I am much happier about this time :)

I don't really have a title for today's blog

Nutrition
9:30am - 1 egg, 2 oz. grd. turkey, 1/4 of a red pepper. Surprisingly good. Was prepared not to like it. Didn't remember to add any fat in, so ate 2 macadamias after I finished breakfast.

10am - Attempted coffee +  hemp milk. Yuck. Tasted like soy milk, except not as good. And I don't like soy milk, so this is not a compliment. I will just go back to not having dairy or any dairy substitute. I've made it this far. Sigh.

1pm - Whole Foods buffet leftovers - 4 oz turkey fajitas (meat + peppers+onions), 3 T. guacamole (yum!),  and 5 oz. kale salad with shittake mushrooms, tomato, cucumbers and red onion w/ fresh squeezed lemon

1:30pm hot tea with 1 t. honey and 2 T. sunbutter

5:45/6pm [Pre-wod] - 4 oz imitation crab meat, 2 T. sunbutter, ~2 blocks coconut water

8:30ish [Post-wod] - 2 block coconut water. That was it. ::sigh:: (I forgot the tuna sashimi I had gotten for post-wod today. oops)

9:45pm - 4 oz tuna sashimi, 6 oz. red chard + dandelion greens + red peppers sauteed in ~1 1/2 T. grapeseed oil

I bought grd turkey for the first time and cooked it up today with some sage, rosemary, garlic, and nutmeg. I didn't use any oil or enough spices (also I should have mixed the spices in while it was raw to really develop the flavor of the spices into the meat, but I hadn't yet decided what to put in it), so it's okay, but not great by itself. Amazingly delicious with an over easy egg on top.
--
Worked on getting comfortable throwing myself against the wall for HSPUs and controlled negatives to the floor (no mat). Finally getting comfortable finding the floor without crashing and screaming (sort of. I screamed once. It's hard!!). Also, Megan pointed out that I'm too far from the wall, and that I'm actually doing HSPUs to the 2nd mat, not the 3rd because my head is so far from the wall... which means I can ditch the 3rd mat and move on to only 2!! Progress, again :) Now, if I could only string more than 4 together...



Barbara Lite tonight. 3 rds: 20 pull-ups 30 push-ups 40 sit-ups 50 squats, with 3 min rest in b/w each round. Total time: 22:07, 1st rd was 5:01, 2nd was 5:40, and the 3rd was 5:26.


It was exhausting and I don't think I could've gone any faster tonight, and won't improve on this metcon until A) i get my technique down for pull-ups, and B) I can string together more push-ups. I struggled stringing my pull-ups (still not used to the new grip but am trying to work it out) and was only able to get 10 in a row (in both rd 1 and 3) before coming off. The push-ups I did full-out and FUCK was there a lot of them! The last 4 push-ups in the 3rd round were singles, but I was pleased to not have to resort to singles until then. I started each rd with at least 5 in a row, I think I got 7 or 8 in rd 1. I mainly did 4s and 3s, but towards the end of each rd I broke into 2s.


Sit-ups were unbroken in rds 1 and 2, but the 3rd rd I broke for a second at 20 and thought to myself THIS SHIT WILL NEVER END, before quickly getting back into it. They were slower than I would have liked them to be in the 2nd rd. Squats were disappointing in the the 1st and 2nd rds as I should have pushed harder knowing I had a three minute rest so close and not broken them (they did not need to be broken at all). Didn't break the 3rd rd of squats because Chris kept saying over and over not to, plus I wanted to beat Heather... which I did not do. Next time. Thanks, Chris, for demanding that I not break in my last rd.


Left the box feeling great and super pumped, though I'm not sure about what. But, hey, I'll take it!!


Also, I haven't weighed myself since I moved to my new apt (I left the scale at my old place and have yet to retrieve it). I have done so every morning since June, and it's weird to think tomorrow will be one whole week without weighing myself. Kinda weird. I think I miss it. Every morning I think, Hmm, I wonder if i weight more/less/or the same as yesterday. That may actually be enough of a reason to actually go pick up some of my shit this weekend.

2k row - not so bad after all

Nutrition:

8:30 am - 2 eggs, sauteed eggplant+peppers (not enough fat)

9:00 am - 8 oz. coffee + 1 1/4 t. raw sugar

12:15 pm - Moderately hungry. 3 oz. halibut, 5 oz lettuce + red peppers plus 1 T. Cindy's Kitchen Wild Maine Blueberry dressing (see bottom for nutritional info of dressing... not so bad, actually!!)

4:45 pm - Pre WOD - 4 oz. imitation crab (i know it's bad but I'm not throwing away the last 12 oz I have so am trying to finish it fast and then on to better meat!), 4 oz. steamed mushrooms (w/ garlic, dill, black pepper, sea salt), 2 t. sunbutter


7:45/8 pm - Post WOD - 4 oz. salmon sashimi + ginger + 1 serving coconut water.


9:45 pm - 4 oz. Whole Foods turkey fajitas mix (turkey, peppers, onions, spices, salt) + 5 oz. kale, shitake mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, spices, canola oil + fresh squeezed lemon. This didn't look like a lot of food but I couldn't finish it. ~1 - 1 1/2 t. coconut butter/cream



--
Workout: 2k Row!
Time: 8:39


I paced it exactly as Bryce instructed. It was tiring, but I wasn't as worn out as I wanted to be at the end. I think I had more in me. I've never done a 2k row before and read the article Chris posted (Chris provides my personal library, which I appreciate because he just randomly posts exactly what I need to read) on how to pace a 2k. Then I asked Bryce what to aim for my splits and he said under 2:15, closer to 2:10 throughout. I counted the number of times I went above 2:15 (3x - 2:17 for one pull and then dropped back down, up to 2:18 once and dropped right back down, and then stayed at 2:16 for two pulls before getting back under it) and overall if my goal is to stay below 2:15 and I went above for only, what ten seconds, during the wod I think I managed it well for my first 2k. The last 500m I stayed closer to and below 2:10 and the last 250m I stayed close to 2:05. The article said not to go all out from the gate and to really force yourself to pace slower in the beginning so that you don't lose it later in the row, but in the beginning I had trouble staying around 2:10-2:15 and was anywhere b/w 1:51 and 2:05 for the first 250m until I was able to force myself to settle into a slower pace to ensure I got through it. I think I want to aim for sub 2:10 the whole way through next time I go, and around 2:05 for the first and last 500m, and maybe push for closer to 2:00 for the last 250m. In the middle it was tiring but not that painful. Not as bad as I expected it to be, which I guess is why I think I should've gone harder and faster. Next time.



Megan convinced me to do the row at 7 tonight with her so we could race against each other, which as always I find helpful. She's a great marker for me to compete against in workouts because we have different strengths/weaknesses. I tend to lift a bit heavier than her, but she has better form and she's faster than me in most metcons, so the combination makes for a good fight. She normally beats me in metcons, so it's exciting when I win. Like tonight. Even if it was only by 4 seconds. It was a great 4 seconds (sorry Megan, and thank you).


ALSO, I signed up for my Level I Cert today. Last wkend in Feb. In CA (because it's cold here and warm there) at Crossfit Endurance. Woo, CrossFit.

--

Cindy's Kitchen Wild Maine Blueberry dressing/marinade:

I found this in the produce section of Whole Foods - it's got cane juice (and sea salt) so isn't entirely paleo, but it doesn't have a lot of sugar plus it's a non-dairy and gluten-free dressing option. This is my favorite of the Cindy's Kitchen dressings I've tried but there are a lot of options - just read the ingredients list for each dressing/marinade as some have dairy/other bad stuff.

Ingred: organic high oleic sunflower oil, red wine vinegar, filtered water, light filtered cane juice, blueberry juice concentrate, lemon juice concentrate, sea salt, dried wild maine blueberries, vitamin E, rosemary extract

Per 1 Tablespoon (which is how much I use)

5g fat (~3 blocks fat)

5.5g carbs - 3g of that is sugar (~1/2 block carbs) 
I don't count this towards my carbs servings, but thought I'd point out how little is in here.

Active Rest Day

Nutrition (not bad today, though I cheated on paleo with a protein bar):

8:30 am - 2 eggs, eggplant + sauteed peppers with light oil

2:30 pm - 5-6 oz chicken breast, 5 oz. sauteed peppers/onions/portabellas/zuchini/squash

3:40 pm - Hungry (very unusual, lunch must not have had enough fat in it) 1 1/2 t. sunbutter + 1 1/2 t. forestberry preserves (berries + little sugar)

7-8:30 pm - 1/2 serving coconut juice
8:30 pm - Pre-workout - ThinkThin bar. Brownie Crunch. Delicious. Not Paleo (yes, Chris, I know), but I didn't intend on being at the box so long and I was going to go play volleyball which I couldn't do on an empty stomach!

10:45 pm - Post Workout/Dinner - 3 oz. halibut, 5 oz. jicama/blood orange/jalapeno salad with 1 oz. mango/red pepper/red onion salsa. Also delicious!

**
Today my back wasn't feeling great in the am, but is feeling much better now. I decided not to do the 2K row endurance wod today b/c I didn't want to sandbag the challenge by starting off with a back in poor shape. I iced it on and off when it was feeling like it needed it (after I woke up, after a 15 min walk, after sitting at my desk for too long, and now after I got back from 1 hr of volleyball). It doesn't hurt now but I figured I should probably ice it one last time before bed. Just to make sure it's good and that I didn't overwork it tonight.

I didn't CrossFit tonight, so I would call this an Active Rest Day. I was gonna work on double-unders but it felt funny in my lower back when I was repeatedly jumping up and down, so decided that I didn't have them tonight and should wait another day or so before doing anything too intense, and instead hung around to watch Joey do his CF Total. I did however leave the box to play volleyball for an hour. That felt great, and didn't hurt my back at all. I love playing ball the same week we do heavy deadlifts - my hitting and serving is so powerful those weeks! I thought serving/hitting/blocking might hurt my back a bit so starting off taking it easy, but it didn't hurt at all. I'm playing ball three times a week this "season" which, now that I decided to compete in sectionals seems like a lot, considering the amount of workouts I do in a week, but I really don't give a shit. Being young is about leaving it all out there, right? Plus, I need to improve my endurance/gas tank so what better way to do it than adding in a sport I love? Plus, this damn paleo challenge is going to require me drinking a lot less than I'd like, so I'd better fill up my evenings doing something more productive. Oh Effen, how I will miss you these next few weeks.

Also, not related to sectionals, but definitely related to CF... today was my first day a-coaching at the box. And I love love loved it. I can't wait to get my Level 1 and an OLY cert and maybe even a nutrition cert. I love CrossFit. I have to say - I'm going through what should be a really hard time in my life. And, while it can be difficult at times, I'm really happy. I love our box, I love the people at our box and I love having something to look forward to and to work towards every day.

CrossFit Total + me = Ice Pack on my back. Sigh.

Ate well today - 

8:45 am - 2 eggs plus sauteed eggplant/peppers with light oil

2:30 pm - 8-9 oz salad (assorted greens, roasted rep peppers,  1/3 of an avocado, green onions) with 4 oz chicken, 1 oz pancetta, light vinaigrette dressing


5:00 pm [Pre-wod meal] - 4 oz imitation crab meat (not a great option as it's fish with sugar and some soybean additives, but high in omega-3s), ~3/4 serving of coconut juice, 2 teaspoons sunbutter

During WOD drank water + ~1/3 serving coconut juice



9:00 pm [Post-wod meal] - 4 ox imitation crab meat, ~1/2 serving coconut juice.

10:45 pm - Rest of salad from lunch. ~ 2-3 oz. chicken, plus greens and red peppers. No avocado left, so had a teaspoon of sunbutter for my fat.



The CrossFit Total was today's workout - 1RM Back Squat, Strict Press, Deadlift. Score = the added weight of all three max lifts. Goal was a score of 501 - which would be 1# more that all my current PRs. I did not meet that goal. I matched my PRs on Press and DL, but missed my BS PR by 10#. We'll be doing this WOD again in eight weeks at the conclusion of the Paleo Challenge. At that time I will match all three prev PRs and I will PR in at least one lift. Tonight I had BS-165#, Press-85#, DL- 240# (total=490). I've decided today not to set a number goal in mind for next go around. It will depend on how I am feeling that day and how much work I've put in to improve these lifts over the next 8 weeks. I'm not going to call out a goal now as I think that trips me up sometimes. I'm going to feel it out that day and see what I can perform.




Also, I have a tendency to avoid the truth. Not lie (as I'm TERRIBLE at lying), but avoid things that I know are true but don't like... such the fact that I am not 100% tonight, though I pushed as hard as I could and gave it everything I had. I had a fever last night, and though it went away by the morning (took 2 aleve before bed) that generally means I'm getting a psuedo-cold. Thanks to paleo, I don't seem to get full-blown colds as I used to, just cold-like symptoms (cough, fever, and stuffy/runny nose) over the course of a week that make me weaker but not incapacitated. I have had a stuffy nose for a day and a half now, and can expect to have it for a few more days if I don't suck it up and take some real medicine. I am gonna try 6grams of vitamin C every 6 hrs as suggested by my homeopathic aunt starting tomorrow (if i manage to get to the store and buy some). I was extra sleepy yesterday after our afternoon workout on Sunday and ended up taking an hour nap (I haven't taken a nap in months), plus this morning I stayed in bed an extra hour, giving me a full 8 hrs of sleep last night so I had hoped that would represent well in my workout today but c'est la vie. I need to remember that getting extra sleep doesn't automatically make me stronger, in this case it's actually a symptom that I'm currently a bit weaker than usual due to my pseudo-cold so require more sleep than usual.


I tried REALLY hard to hit 250# on my DL and got most of the way up but just couldn't get my hips locked. I hurt my back trying to force it and left the box unable to stand-up completely straight without pain. Also walking hurts. And stairs for sure. I've been icing it for about 20 mins, will take it off for 20, will ice it for 20 again and then plan to go to bed. Hopefully that will do the trick so I can get my 2k row in tomorrow. If I have to take a rest day because of attempting that last effing DL and failing I'll be super annoyed. Especially because I got my stitches out (while at the box actually by Dr. Anjali Thawani) which means I can jump and double-under... which is what I would've done tonight post-CF Total if I hadn't been in pain. Damn DL.