Dragging ass today

9:30am - got outta bed. Decided to go to the 10am to wod, but ended up chatting with other members instead. Yep. That kinda day.

12:00pm - double char burger (prob still only about 6-8oz meat) on a lettuce wrap with guac, tomato and grilled onions. sweet potato fries.

1-4:30pm - Nap. Holy shit that's a long nap. I took a nap so long I'm not sure it even qualifies as a nap anymore. And I was still damn tired after waking up. My alarm went off to wake me at 1:45pm and I shut it off and decided to sleep as long as I needed (expecting to sleep another 30 min. whoa.). And then I woke with a stupid headache. wtf?

6:30pm - grande iced red eye with heavy cream + 1 splenda. Hoping this would cut the headache. Either that or the 2 aleve kicked it by about 7:30pm. Would've gone away faster if I'd taken advil but I knew I was gonna wod at some point so didn't want to do the advil.

7:00pm - a-coach.

7:55pm - BCAA

8:00pm - TCF Baseline WOD: 500m row, 40 air squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups, 10 pull-ups. Time: 5:14. Happy with my row pace was good - 1:45 for the first 250m, b/w 1:50-1:55 for the remainder. Sit-ups were fast, everything else was okay. Took short 2-3 breath breaks so I could string reps as fast as possible, pullups were 3-3-4.

8:00pm - a-coach MCAP class. Super fun. Hope I can do more of these classes.

9:45pm - egg white omelette with carmelized onions, garlic, dill and chives plus a mixed green salad with red and golden beets, a T of avocado oil, 1 rounded T goat cheese, sea salt and pepper. These dinners are easily my favorite meal of the day. I really like switching my omelette times to dinner time during the week.

Angie and Helen

I'm not tracking my nutrition today. I ate well, I just don't feel like it. I'm in a weird place with nutrition right now. And I don't really feel like getting into it. I will, at some point, but I'm not really in the mood... plus I have no idea what times I ate at :)

I did Angie yesterday for the first time.

[Angie = 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats]
Time: 23:43

I think I could do Angie again and shave some time off - I went ginger with my pull-ups, breaking them up into doubles mostly to preserve my hands since I was using the bar that tears my hands the most. I also took it easy on push-ups b/c I wasn't sure how 100 would feel so broke it into mainly doubles as well. All rests were super short 1-3 seconds at most during push/pull-ups, prob 3-5 secs on sit-ups and air squats. Felt good about limiting my rest times but would now like to limit the rest stops and hit it harder and preserve myself less. Now that I know how it feels I can hit her harder next time.

I followed that up with Helen today, even though I did her the other week.

[Helen =  3 rds: 400m run, 21 kettlebell swings @ 1 pood, 12 pull-ups]
Time: 12:01 PR!

Helen felt good, I'm still a shite slow runner but hopefully after doing more sprints this summer I can cut this time down. I super wussed out on pull-ups rarely chaining any and never chained more than 3 b/c my hands were pretty messed up from Angie. I opened up a blister in the palm of my left hand warming up, so in order to avoid opening up anymore that I started yesterday I changed my grip up and held the bar higher than usual - more in my fingers than palms, which gave me four new blisters (one that opened during the wod). Sooo, yeah my hands are pretty fucked right now. I have about ten separate places on my hands that hurt, only two requiring bandaids though, and those should be fine by tomorrow. The tender places just toughen up and the open blisters just need a day to heal so who cares if my hands look like shit and I have to take a day off lifting? I could use the forced rest anyway (if I were to take it).

I also benched twice this week. First time going for a new 1RM... ended at 127# but am pretty sure I coulda had 133# but my spotter didn't want me to drop the bar on my face... can't really be mad at that... or at least in my head I shouldn't be... but I am a little disappointed. I want to be pushed to my extreme. I don't want someone allowing me or enabling my failure. Let me fight for it! I wanna struggle. I need to struggle to hit a 1RM. Don't get me wrong... I do not blame her for me not getting it up there, I just wish she hadn't put her hands on so early. If it's coming down or if I call out for help, grab the bar, but the bar never went downward, just hovered. Hovering means I'm still fighting. Let me fight. And, I shoulda said something. I hate it when I don't speak up. But, I just wasn't comfortable enough to say anything to her about it. She makes me a little nervous about stepping on toes/corssing boundaries/etc, and she's been there coaching much longer than I've been a member there, so I just kept quiet. There's always another day, right? The second day I benched instead of going for a new 1RM, I just did a bunch of reps at lighter weights so that the next time I go for it I can get 133# without question. Previous PR was 125, so not a huge increase but feels good to hit a new PR even if it's small. New PR beats the hell outta failing a prev PR!!

Both my Helen times and Angie times landed me a space on the leaderboard at this non-CFC CrossFit, which feels good (I think my Helen time got me up there today... but I'm not 100% sure on that. Def sure on the angie time though). Makes me proud, personally. It's weird though - while I'm personally gratified by making the leaderboard, other people seem to be way more competitive about it than I am. Billy S wrote an awesome article awhile back on the CFC blog Conundrum expressing how I feel about competition... to sum it up- I wanna do my best. And I want to beat you. But, I also want YOU to do your best. And that last part... I dunno... I don't know that I think everyone here feels that same way.

Every day in the box, you come in and you work. You work with whatever the fuck you've got that day - based on what you ate, how you slept, your mood, the weather for fuck's sake. I may beat you today on the same workout you can beat me on tomorrow. That's life, dude. And, don't get me wrong, there are lots of people here who are supportive and seem geniunely happy when others do well. But there are also some who seem threatened or irritated, or even in disbelief when others hit the leaderboard and I just don't really understand that. Seriously, while it's cool to be on the leaderboard, it doesn't mean anything more than beating someone in any other workout. I can be first or last in any of the WODs throughout the week but no one gives a shit about that b/c it's not one of the 16 or so randomly chosen WODs that make up the leaderboard. You know why I did those WODs this week? Because angie was programmed (we do leaderboard WODs every wednesday), and Helen I did b/c one of my friends was coming in to do it, and I really like WOD'ing with people. I like to compete, I like to chase, I like to lead... I just like to workout. Plain and simple.

I dunno. I like this place, I do. I have just been a little miffed recently about a few things. And, I miss CFC. It'll be good to be back this weekend. I have a busy summer and lots to look forward to. I'm just, I dunno, just venting I guess.

OHS is no longer on the suck list

Okay, it's not like I'm great at them. They're still ugly, I'm sure. But I did them in a wod and didn't have to drop the bar ONCE in that wod and they felt the way they're fucking supposed to. Woo! So suck that, Overhead Squat!

Strength set 6am: Back Squat 3x3 @ 155#. These were tough but felt really good. Haven't back squatted in awhile.

Metcon 6am:
5 Rounds for time of: (12 min cap)

1 Snatch (full) @135/95# or 75% of 1RM - used 73#
4 Overhead Squats
10 Pull-ups
Time: 7:32
OHS felt AWESOME! No trouble getting down and Coach Rudy actually told me good job on them!! I DANCED over to the pull-up bar (and probably shouted with a big dumb grin on my face) I was so excited! That is the first non-negative feedback ever on my OHS and I was sooo excited :) Still excited. I power snatched in rds 2 and 3, but got the full snatch in rds 1, 4, and 5.

Skillwork 8pm: Tried to get some snatch work in but just couldn't focus. Tried to switch to butterfly work but same problem. I was just beat after all the traveling, shitty eating, etc this weekend and couldn't push myself into any actual work so went home and went to bed!

Week Two

Sunday 5/1/2011
Skillwork: Butterfly work!! Need to start with feet back and scoop them up without starting with a swinging motion. Need to tighten lats and core for this to be an easier movement.

WOD: 150 push-ups for time. Every break for 2 seconds or more results in a 50m sprint. Steve's creation. Time: 14:04. Good arm killer.

Monday 5/2/2011
WOD 8pm: 3 Rds: 10 BJ @ 24”, 10 KBS @ 1 pood, 10 sit-ups. Time 4:26. 1st rd of BJs unbroken but 2nd and 3rd were not. Need to get better to string BJs at a slightly uncomfortable height.

Skillwork: 8pm: Lots of rope climb instruction while A-coaching (@7pm), then 2 full-out rope climbs before my WOD. 2nd went probably 75% as fast as the first – need to get better upper body strength so that I don’t slow down until after 3rd rope climbs in a row. Then worked on butterflies for about 30 minutes. I got the legs movement down and can rep out 3 in a row though my chin isn’t over the bar. Conversely, can get 1 rep with chin over the bar, but then I drop down hard. In order to get the legs motion I am overly controlling the movement which makes it hard to get enough power to get up over the bar, and when I am going all out I am able to get the 1 rep over the bar but can’t get the rhythm. Need to work on both of these to nail the movement.

Tuesday 5/3/2011
Skillwork: 6 am: Clean bar path work. Need to get my knees coming forward on the second pull to the hang position. Worked on sets of 3 mainly, though stayed at 83# and 93# for awhile as Dan suggested form improvements. Worked @ 33#, 53#, 63#, 73#, 83#, 93#, 103# in preparation for Helen meets Grace event on Friday. Then moved on to Jerks in sets of 3 @ 53# & 63#, 2 sets of 3 @ 73#, 2 sets of 3 @ 83#, and a few singles @ 93#.

WOD 1: 7 am: Half Grace. 2:57. I expected this to take much longer. Felt good.

WOD 2 series/Personal Punishment session with Coach Dan: 8am: 3 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 10 x 9’ WB @ 14#. Time- 5 min-ish. 2 min rest then, 1 mile run – Time 8:20. Followed by 5x back and forth bag penalties for running too slowly of cleaning the heavy bag once, then dragging in from ladder edge to ladder edge across the box floor. Followed by 5 isometric WB pushup, clean & squat – with my left hand on the WB with right hand on the ground do a push-up then jump over and transfer hands (not rolling the ball but moving my body over the ball) so left hand is on ground and right hand on the WB and do a push-up, followed by jumping up into a squatted position, clean the WB into a full squat. Those 5 were the hardest parts I think!! I am not coordinated.

Wednesday 5/4/11
Strength set: Find 1RM Press. PR today!! 5x 33#, 3x 53, 63#, then 2 @ 73, 83#, 1 @ 88# (PR), 93f, 90.5 f, 90.5f. Could’ve hit 90.5# fresh though. Then worked Push Press @ 63, 83, 103#. Slight jerk in 2nd set of 103#.

Thursday 5/5/11
Skillwork: 12:30 pm Bikram Yoga!

Heavy Metal Strength 5pm: Front Squat 5-5-5-5-5 (ended @ 115#)

Heavy Metal WOD 5pm: 3 rounds for time of: 50m Tire Flips, 15 Front Squats 135/95#, 25 Dumbbell Snatches 35/25#, 400 m Row. Time: 24:30 Was SOOO overheated during this workout. No more bikram pre-metcons!

Friday 5/6/11
Team CF Competition - Helen Meets Grace: 8:30 pm Partner WOD 3 rds: 400m run, 21 KBS, 12 pull-ups, 30 C&J @ 95. Time: 13:42.

Saturday & Sunday 5/7 - 5/8/11
Rest days - in CHI-TOWN! CFC Anniversary Party. Thank god I wasn't tracking my nutrition on this trip. good LORD!

--> This week I didn't really stick to my goals of 7-10 min metcons and laying low. Fail. I did, however, cut back and not workout 10 times this week, which when I get really excited about working out is actually quite difficult for me. So, that's a win. Next week I'll be back to two-a-days and awesome punishment, but the following week I really need to get in more of the short time domains.

Week One - Heavy Week

Monday 4/25/2011 Metcon: Team WOD. Each team member rows 800m, while the other members do DUs, hollow rocks, plank holds (for seconds), & mountain climbers (both legs count as 1 rep). My total score 440.

Skillwork: Stringing TTB work. Need bigger kip, almost out of control to string these. Snatch progressions up to 55#. Worked on bar path mostly and shoulder mobility.

Tuesday 4/26/2011
Strength Set: Push Jerk 5-5-5 @40/50/60% 1RM. Accidentally used men’s bar, so thought I was lifting at the %ages, but actually was up about 10% using 65#, 75#, and 85#. Then, metcon was 2 WODs back to back with 1 min rest in b/w.

Metcon: WOD A: 30 DU, 10 Push press @ 55#, 10 HSPU (8 min cap). Again with the wrong bar so worked @ 65#... 1 min rest… WOD B: 200 m sprint, 10 BJ @ 24”, 10 air squats. WOD A completed 2 rds + some DUs, WOD B completed in 8:30 or so.
Skillwork: Skin the Cat work with Coach Dan. Need to focus on tightening lats (shove shoulders back to start the movement) and get a stronger core. Need to do GHDs and other ancillary skills work to improve.

Wednesday 4/27/2011
Activity: Surfing! Love that Stacy came to visit and made me do stuff :) 2.5 hrs

WOD: Cindy! 12 rds

Thursday 4/28/2011
Metcon@ 9am: 15 min AMRAP of 200m row, 10 SDHP @65#, 200m sprint, 10 KBS @ 1 pood, 20 sit-ups. 3 or so rounds. I think.
Heavy Metal WOD(s) @5pm:
1) 10 mins to find your 1RM OHS. 105#! PR!! (Stacy said my depth was good during this portion of the afternoon, but in later rounds struggled really bad to hit depth so unsure if I really hit this PR or not).
2) 5 Rds for time: 3 OHS @ 95#, 25m burpee broad jump. This was atrocious. Couldn’t find the bottom of my OHS so this really ended up being a few burpee broad jump sessions and a bunch of trying to get to the bottom of the squat.
3) 25 min AMRAP: thruster @ 95#, 1 wall climb with 50# sandbag, 7 burpee 24” box jump onto and overs, 1 wall climb with 50# sandbag, 7 KBS @ 1.5 pood. This was kinda a mess b/c there were so many of us waiting for wall climbs or boxes that it’s hard to say b/c I went out of order so frequently. Probably was in b/w 2-3 rounds.

Friday 4/29/2011
WOD: 10-1 exchange Body Complex Progression (air squat, push-up, sit-up, superman, jumping knee tuck) & Squat Clean @ 95# plus sprint 100m in b/w each round. Time 25:58. I was DYING towards the end of this wod. I could really feel that I had worked out so much this week and was simply exhausted by the time I got into this. Was fighting to finish without even wanting to finish by the end.

WOD: Running! 4.1 miles in 47:49.4

Saturday 4/30/2011
Rest Day.

-->by thursday and friday I was REALLY feeling burnt out. thursday evening after we worked OHS and moved on to the metcon the metcon felt atrocious, and friday i was fighting so hard to get up 95# cleans - way harder than normally necessary. i know that this new workout plan is heavy and maybe even a little crazy but i think it'll be good for me to learn to really fight through a week. so... we'll stick with this for a few weeks and then i'll either continue on or try something new.

Back at it

Monday 12/14/10. Back in VA for the holidays!

Nutrition:
2 eggs + 1 egg white
2 c. coffee w/ half and half + 2 sugars, ~8 oz. gyro meat, one bite of pita, prob 1/4 c tzasiki (yogurt) sauce, small greek salad, w/ greek/italian dressing
pre-workout: 2 oz (?) Carl Buddig sliced turkey breast
post: 100 cal vanilla muscle milk
scrambled egg whites (3 or 4 eggs maybe?) with 2 % cheddar

Workout @ Gold Medal Graplling:
3 Rds of 1:30 each interval:
stairs
keg/hammer slam (keg rd 1, hammer rd 2, keg rd 3)
21" tire jumps
25# dumbbell cleans
push-ups
sit-ups
rest

That was tiring and got a good sweat going. Didn't track reps just tried to block out the world and pushed myself. Prob could've pushed harder if I had a counter or could've tracked and compared my reps round by round. Did most of the push-ups on my knees b/c I was aiming at 45 per interval, but did a few full-out in rd 3 (aafter being called out for being a girl). Then, worked on DLs.

DL @ 95#x5 - 135x5 - 185x3 - 205x3 - 225x2 - 245x1

Finished out with 10 sets of 5 kipping pull-ups.

I dunno if I'm gonna keep tracking my nutrition. It was necessary when I first started to keep myself accountable, but now I'm accustomed to eatng this way and really only cheat prob once a week with something I feel bad about. I also decided to switch to a more primal than paleo approach as I allow myself dairy, and occassionally sea salt.

Day 5- 10/14/10

Nutrition.
2 eggs + 1 egg white.

1 grande americano + heavy cream.

~2 oz. Deer steak.

2 oz. Buddig honey roasted turkey deli meat. 1 T crunchy peanut butter.

Pre-wod: 4 oz low sodium chicken deli meat

Post-wod: muscle milk lite

8 oz shrimp + 3/4 T ketchup
--
WOD at CF Woodbridge.
21-15-9 reps of:
Power snatches 95/65#
pull ups
Capped off with 3 burpees to finish the wood out!
10:02

I went light again today which frustrated me but I just knew that I was already tight from the stupid car accident and then OH squatting and jerking yesterday made my traps and neck muscles really tight and sore this morning, so I lifted 53#. Which made me feel like a slacker... but it was the right call.

Back in Chicago for a few days!!

Tuesday - WOD at CF Chicago!! Strength component:
Jerk 5-5-5
Split Jerked @ 75#, 90# and 105#.
Felt strong on these, was able to hit these hard and form felt really solid. Got under the bar faster than usual at full lockout which was nice. Wanted to go heavier, but didn't think I could do it.


Metcon:
30-20-10 reps of:
Wall Ball (20/14 to 11′ target) - Rx'd
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (95/75) - used 65#
Box Jumps (24″) - used 20" box b/c there weren't enough boxes
Push Press (95/75) - used 65#
Row (10 damper setting) - Rx'd
Time- 31:something
I hate not going Rx'd. At other boxes, it is rare that I sub or reduce the weight... which makes it super frustrating when I come back here and can't. Frustrating as it is though, it makes me proud. Proud of our box, of our programming, of our athletes. Even at reduced weight GOOD GOD was this a killer workout! I was sure I was going to puke during this. I haven't felt so close to puking in a very long time during a workout. After I completed the 2nd round I sat on the rower, for, what? twenty? thirty seconds? I couldn't convince my ass to get up. It was 23 minutes into the wod and I hit a huge wall. Bryce, who had thought I was finishing my 3rd rd realized that I was about to quit, just looked at me and demanded I finish the damn workout. God I hated him. But that's one of the best things about CrossFit. There's always a coach to push you when you just can't push yourself. And other athletes like Donna and Karen to help push me as well. I love CFC.

Wednesday - 2nd WOD at CFC (!!)
Strength component:
3x Max kipping pull-ups
10-12-13.
Who increases?! My issue was my grip. And with not wanting to tear my hands. I could feel it start to almost tear and dropped instead of pushing through and dealing with a few tears. When did I become such a pussy?

Metcon:
50 Overhead squats (135/95 or 60% of 1RM) - used 55#
Time cap 8 minutes.
DNF'ed - got through 33 reps.
My wrist flexibility is still atrocious. I got 5-5, then for the rest I had trouble stringing 3s so by the last 15 or 20 reps I did singles, with a few doubles thrown in whenever I felt I could hadle it. Depth was an issue by the end but felt good to start off. I just can't do too many reps of OH squats!!!

I felt GREAT about my workout today!!!!

Tuesday 9/21 travel day.

Wednesday 9/22 wardrobe malfunction.
Seriously, I'm an idiot. I went into the film office for a long day of scheduling and data entry work (producing on a low budget film is NOT as sexy as it may sound. Seriously, on our films, I've done makeup, scouted locations, been dragged around as countless dead bodies, worked out special effects, collected bark, ran after drunk extras and begged them to come back for "just one more take"...). I packed workout clothes so I could leave straight from the office and I grabbed my brand new lulu shorts out of my bag and realized that the security tag was still attached. Awesome. Do I have that receipt anymore? No. Did I buy the shorts locally where I can just go back to the store and get this resolved? Of course not. I bought these shorts on one of my countless trips to VA. So... Needless to say, didn't get a workout in that day. Instead I worked until about 2:30am. Exhausting.

Thursday 9/23. Wod at CF Hollywood:
Find your 1RM deadlift in ten mins.
Metcon: 5 rounds of 3 min on, 3 min off - 5 reps 225/155# DL, 5 pull-ups.

I was five mins late getting in and there was a huge class so I didn't have my own bar and so ended up just going around the room and sharing bars with whoever had a good amount of weight to lift, and so I didn't get to find my 1RM, but I got up to 225#. Then, hit 21 1/4 total rounds! It was a TOUGH workout. 105 DL at 155?! 105 pullups?! Of course, I tore my right hand (twice) in my fourth round so that hurt like a mother! But it was a strong showing and I had the highest number of rounds (I think) in the class so I was pretty stoked. And a couple people said really nice congratulatory things for doing so well, and one guy even said it was awesome to watch me crush that workout :) which made me feel awesome. I still have a lot of work to do to get back to where I was and even more to get to where I want to be, but I was proud of my wod today. And that's a great fucking feeling.

Also, I'm pretty sure my back is going to hate me tomorrow. Even better- my hands are gonna look stupid all bandaged up when I have to sing at a wedding rehearsal tomorrow and at the wedding on Saturday. Oh well. I felt like a badass today, so, fuck it. Totally worth it ;)

Fran at CF Hollywood and MMA circuits

Thursday 9/9.

I went in to CF Hollywood thinking I had to do Nancy (OH squats and runs), which would've sucked b/c my quads were pretty damn sore from the previous day's wod and the 7 mile run the day before that. So, when I found out we were doing Fran instead and was happy. Okay not happy, but glad not to have to do Nancy. Fran, however, was not happy to have me and she kicked me in the face. I finished a full 1:30 slower than my previous PR.

Fran: 21-15-9 reps of thrusters 95/65#, pull-ups. 8:42 (prev PR 7:12)

*to be fair- I did 63# b/c there were no baby weights to use to pull it up to 75. I actually considered dropping the weight to 58# before I started b/c I knew my strength/cardio isn't where it used to be. But I'm glad I fuckin manned up and went Rx'd. No reason to drop weight as long as I can do Fran sub-ten.

I know I'm not where I was before. When I did Fran it was at my Level I Cert and I was very close to the peak of my performance I've had since starting CF. God, I can HEAR a million excuses in my head right now- haven't trained enough recently, when I am training it's less weight training and more cardio MMA circuits vs CF wods, I am getting over a cold... Ugh. All that matters is I have a fucking lot of work to do to get back to where I was and then get even stronger. Faster. Fitter.

[Friday 9/10 traveled from CA to VA. Damn. 9 hrs of travel su-ucks.]

Saturday 9/11.

12 min cardio circuit, 1 min each station, no rest: hitting/punching/kicking/etc the heavy bag, burpees, heavy bag, bear crawls. Yuck.

Five minute rest, then was supposed to alternate b/w heavy bag and gorilla drills but I couldn't figure the damn gorilla drills out today. I was having a rough day mentally, and while hitting the bag certainly helped, doing a drill I don't get just irritated me more. So, I did 1 or 2 rounds of burpees as a sub and then just alternated b/w the bag and a rest pd.

I think I rested about ten minutes or so, and then hit another circuit. 1 min each station - 22" (?) box jumps (not sure of the height but it was higher than our 20" box but not by a substantial amount), stairs, hammer slams, rest. Twice through.

Then I just dicked around the gym for awhile. I did a few sets of 7 pull-ups (I need to get back into doing these for max reps but when I'm fresh, not after a lot of cardio), did 30 sec of sit-ups, leg raises, side-to-side oblique work, I climbed the rope at some point (20/30ft?). And THEN I worked on snatch form for awhile at light weights. Just practiced good bar path, speed through the second pull, landing in the full squat (versus landing and dropping down into the squat afterward). Worked at about 30/40#... didn't know what the weird bar I was lifting weighed. I only know the weights of traditional 33/45# bars.

And ps can I just say it irritates the hell out of me when people tell me and insist that a 33# bar is 35#?? It's 33#.

Ten Days in VA

If I don't track nutrition and workouts while I'm in VA this ten days is gonna be a disaster.

Monday:
5:30 am - 2 eggs, sauteed rainbow chard.

6 am WOD - 10 min AMRAP of 5 Pull-ups, 7 Push-ups, 9 Squats. 12 rds + 6 push-ups. All unbroken pullups and squats. First 6 rds pushups unbroken, then 4/3, 4/3, then 3s/2s/1s for the last few rds. Then, 3x10 reverse hypers @ 20#, 3x10 GHDs.

1:30 pm - 5 chips and guacamole. 3 cups coffee with whole milk. Approx. 3 eggs w/ chorizo, jalepenos, onions, tomatoes.

9:30 pm - approx. 4 oz. steak skewers. tomatoes on lettuce... does NOT constitute a salad... but that's what they gave me. I ordered a glass of tequila on the rocks at a honky tonk VA bar... I got weird look, and then a shot glass with tequila and ice.  So, trying to learn form the past experience I ordered a double... they gave me a glass of tequila on the rocks. When I finished that they simply brought me another. Welcome back to VA.

A-Team... what what?!

Super excited to have made the CFC Affiliate Team and to be competing at Regionals. I had lots of goals for where I wanted to be and what I wanted to improve on and now they've just gotten completely restructured and the time table moved up substantially. In addition to the below goals I just want to improve my pacing on the row and on my runs. I want to be able to sprint my ass off and not crash. Overall, I just wanna get better.

I just barely made this A-Team. In fact, I kinda didn't make it - I'm first alternate, but since our #2 girl can't make it to Regionals, I'm in. I'm proud of earning this opportunity and am going to work my ass off to show that I earned my spot on this team and that I belong on the team. I'm a competitor and I'm not gonna let up, I'm gonna work as hard as possible over these next few months and I'm gonna be ready to compete at Regionals. I'm gonna be more than ready. Seriously. I can't fucking wait.

Box jumps @ 20” x 50 reps unbroken

Clean and Jerk – 125# 1RM

Double-unders – 100 reps in 2 minutes (not necessarily unbroken)

HSPU – 3 unbroken reps, no abmat

Muscle-up - 1 kipping and/or strict

OH squat – 110# 1RM

Pull-ups - 25 unbroken (kipping) on the Big Boy Bar

Push-ups – 25 unbroken

Ring dips - 10 unbroken

Run 1 mile Sub-9 min

Snatch – 1RM 90#
Wall Ball - 3 x 20 reps @ 14#, 60 sec rest in b/w rds. Unbroken or under 60 sec per round.

"I'm no longer wincing when I watch you do an OH squat"

Workout:

Strength set - OH Squat 5x1 @ 80#. I used my 1RM b/c I know that isn't the heaviest I can go based on strength, I'm just being limited by my  horrendous form. And when I say horrendous, please know I am not exaggerating. Need to remember to lead with my butt and not let my knees drift forward. Today I practiced getting down into an OH squat in front of a bench - about four-five inches away. Need to repeat that with a PVC until it becomes natural. I did make progress. It's still really ugly, but Rudy managed to give me a pretty big compliment about it after I worked it for awhile... see the title of this blog.

Met con was an AMRAP. 12 min: 5 burpees, 10 pull ups, 15 sit ups. Post WOD skill - 3 x max handstand push ups with 1 controlled negative at conclusion of each set (90 seconds rest)

6 Rounds + 5 burpees/10 pull-ups/6 sit-ups

Used the fat bar since I need to get used to working on it. Strung 5/5 the first 2 sets, then broken into 2/3s after. Started ripping my left hand down near my palm, realized I was overgripping and loosened my grip a bit, sorta releasing/relaxing my grip once my chin was over the bar. Then I ripped on my right hand. Go figure. Not bad though, doesn't hurt today at all.

Good workout. Kept moving throughout but would've like to be closer to unbroken on the pull-ups. Need to work on those on the new bar more.

--

8:30 am (ish) - 2 eggs, ~4oz rainbow chard.

12:30 pm (ish) - 4 oz. assorted butter lettuce, 2 oz. baked eggplant, 3 oz. grilled sole with 1 t. avocado oil + balsamic vinegar

3:30 pm - ~2 T. cashew/almond/macadamia nut butters, 3 slivers dried organic apples (no sugar/additives). i c. chocolate puerh tea with 2 T. coconut milk.

5:45 pm [Pre-wod] - 3 oz. grd. lamb with ~4 oz. rainbow chard and 4 slivers dried organic apples.

10:30 pm - steak fajita meat with onions and red peppers (whole thing was probably 10 oz. though I'm not sure of the ratio vegis:meat). Ate some of the rice & refried beans.

Last A-Team WOD (Success!!) and Cheatey McCheaterson

Friday - Chipper!!

100 Box Jumps (24'/20")
80 KBS (1.5/1 pood)
60 Wall Balls
40 pull-ups
20 cals on the rower

... last Affiliate Team Qualifying WOD.

And I finished first!!! Okay... first so far. Not everyone has finished. But I was really stoked about my time. Megan, Jess and I went together and I think at some point each one of us had the lead. Of those movements, the weakest link for me was WallBall. I really need to up my game there. That's where I really fell behind. I got to the wall first of the girls and had a bunch of breathing room but they caught up quick b/c they actually strung WBs together... and I just couldn't. I got singles and doubles, and that's just not a competitive pace. Although, I counted for Bryce and his pull-ups were all singles and he was fast as as shit in this wod... but I guess I can only afford to do singles if I'm much faster at every other movement. The BJs were slower than I expected - strung mostly tens. The KBS went better than I expected - sets of 15. Pull-ups weren't where I wanted them to be but I haven't worked them since we moved to the new location. I need to get back on them - they used to be my favorite thing to do and I haven't spent enough time with them lately. I think I was stringing fives and first and then eventually threes. The row hurt more than any row has ever hurt. I was glad to have breathing room there because I thought I was going to die after every pull. It friggin hurt. I was still pleased with the strength of my pulls... getting anywhere b/w 1 and 2 pulls to a calorie (which is good b/c I did not want to pull anymore times than absolutely necessary).

 

So, after that, the weekend was fulla cheats... did a FUN drinking team wod Saturday morning (20 min AMRAP: 50 single-unders, 15 push-ups, 20 Power WB, 12 oz beer) with Billy Q and John A - SO MUCH FUN!! Finished 5 rounds. Drank beer and Jamison shots all day. Passed the f out at 6 pm, and slept till 7 am the next day. Ate like shit - had bagels (delicious), donut holes, corned beef/cream cheese roll-ups in the early afternoon and then didn't eat again that day (smart). Ate like shit Sunday too - Pequod's pizza (almost finished 2 slices peperoni) plus Snickerdoodle cupcake from Sweet Mandy B's... then Texas Queso at dinner, followed 1/2 piece chocolate cake a la mode and 1/2 piece carrot cake with Amy. Mmmhmm. It was a big fat cheaty weekend. I ate some healthy things sporadically in there but all that needs noting for this wkend was my laundry list of cheats.

Active Rest Day Sunday - played 3 games vball. Most fun vball game, maybe ever. I heart Jason, E-Diesel, and Seth. I've never laughed so hard during games!! SUPER fun!!!!

2k row - could've been better

2 k Row today. Finished 8:34.9 Prev 2k row was 8:39, so 5 sec PR.

I RUSHED out of the gate on this one. Had my iPhone and Rihanna's Shut up and Drive was the first song up. Sooo, I jammed to the song and I rowed. Fast. Stayed under 1:48 for the first 500m. What a mistake. I crashed and burned and the rest of my row was around 2:10. Super disappointing, but lesson learned - music is something new I'm adding into my training and so I've gotta work out the kinks. Also, I've been pulling 1:45 for my 250m and 500m rows for the past few weeks which got me a bit too excited about my improvement. Thought I could row at that pace and then slow to 1:55 for the remainder. Should've paced to go under 2:02 all the way through the row and no faster than 1:55 until the last sprint at the very end. Next time :)

Ended the workout with a bunch of HandStand holds, and a few HSPU to 2 abmats. Also scared the shit outta Mandie, Bryce, and Emmitt by trying to get my ass up on the wall on paralettes. It was NOT a successful attempt. The 2nd time though Emm and Steve pulled me up a bit and then I held on up there for a little while. Nice to change it up adn try something new, even if I suck at it :)

Then, played 6 games of vball. We came in second in our season. Wanted first obviously, but was okay getting beat by the team who took first. They were better than us, so I can accept that. Also, the captain of their team (I am making that up - who knows if he the capt was but he seemed in charge) invited me to go to the bathroom with him while we were waiting on Megan and Jason to get back from the bathroom. So, there's that.

Developed a supplemental workouts calendar to supplement my training with the things I want to focus on the most. Will include:

• 1 full day of rest each week. FULL-ON REST. This is important if I am going to be able to continue to myself as hard as I want to with supplemental work and our regular programming.
• 1 active rest day (bikram yoga and/or skills but no metcon or heavy lifts)
• 1 day gymnastic work (pull-ups, muscle-ups, KTE, TTB, etc.)
• 1 day OH work (OH lunges, HSPU, HS negatives, HS holds, OH squats)
• 1 day Oly work (most likely this will be my day with Roger and Mike)
• 1 day cardio/respiratory endurance work (row, run, mostly sprints but some long distances too, jump rope)
• 1 day deadlifting with Emily

Sounds exhausting really, but I'm excited. I'm excited to have a focused plan set out, and I think it'll be good for me to learn to lay out programming for myself, as all coaches need to know a bit about programming so this should help me learn a new skill that will help me in my CrossFit future :)

Also talked to Bryce a bit about focus. I really wanted to push myself on the CF Total on Monday and was really proud of the numbers I put up. I had my headphones on and only focused on myself and I think I need to incorporate more of that focus into my daily training. Only way I'm gonna improve is to get serious about it... so we'll see where that takes me.
--
8:00am - 2 eggs; 3 1/2 oz. mushrooms; 1 cup coffee + 1/8 c coconut milk.
1:15 pm - 4 oz. steak; ~7 oz. mixed butter lettuce, sauteed asparagus & roasted yellow peppers (homemade so not soaking in oil), with 1/3 avocado, white truffle infused grapeseed oil & balsamic vinegar, black pepper and a shake of sea salt. Delicious. Anyone who doesn't like salads isn't doing it right. Amazing.
-Had some cashew/almond/macadamia nut butter today at some point as a snack. Not sure when :)
4:30 pm [Pre-wod] - 4 oz swordfish; 1/2 coconut cream larabar.

5:30 pm [Post wod] - 2 oz. skate wing.

6:30 pm [Pre-vball] - 1 oz. skate wing; 1/2 coconut cream larabar.

-During vball - 1 L water plus 2 bites of Jason's oatmeal raisin power bar.

10:15 pm - 3-4 oz. no salt rotisserie chicken; kale, roasted yellow peppers, handful raspberries with 1/4 avocado; white truffle infused grapeseed oil & balsamic vinegar

Last week and Level I Cert!!

So, it's kinda been awhile. I know. After sectionals I got super busy with work and lost some of the energy I was putting into CrossFit. I was tired and while I didn't wanna take a break from working out, but my workouts weren't impressive, and blogging just stopped all together. My apartment is a disaster. It looks like a bomb exploded. I can be messy and disorganized but this is beyond compare. And that's how I know I'm floundering and need something. Some kind of change.

Last week I flew to VA Monday morning and was there until I flew to LA on Friday morning. I worked out Monday evening, Tuesday morning, skipped Weds b/c the WOD there was running (I didn't wanna pay $20 to run so I thought I'd take a rest day and get back at it Thursday). Thursday the gym I was working out at was closed (oops) and I was going to take off work early and work out but I had an awful day at work, stayed four hours later than I anticipated and had dinner plans so had to skip working out that day. Friday I got into LA mid-afternoon and saw some of my favorite friends in the world. Planned to leave LA around 6, get to my hotel and work out, but dinner ran late and since I never see those friends I decided to forgo my workout to spend more time with them.

Saturday morning I tried to get up early and workout in the hotel "gym" - so sad. I ran on the treadmill (did I mention it was POURING down rain??) for about 1 1/4 miles switching back and forth b/w sprinting and running and jogging. I also set the treadmill to adjust the hill randomly (though it was less random and more like steadily going up throughout the run which was fine). I did 10 push-ups and my arms were exhausted! I thought you've got to be kidding me...

In retrospect, non-paleo eating DOES affect my workouts and my overall level of energy. I was EXHAUSTED on Saturday during my early morning workout.

Thursday night I ate a delicious but non-paleo dinner prepared by a friend of my sister's (pan friend and breaded fish, salad with goat cheese, carrots and string beans) on Thursday and a shit ton of alcohol that night - no mixers of course, but wine, sparkling rose, and a bunch of straight liquor. I know I shouldn't have but the week I'd had was long and exhausting and the day I had was HORRENDOUS ("I wanna quit my job" horrendous) so I cheated.

Friday I was good - ate paleo all day and even brought steak and sauteed swiss chard on the plane so I wouldn't have to eat bad plan food. I allowed myself two glasses of tequila, and then planned on calling it a night and then the waiter brought the table a gift - creme brulee and this chocolate fudgey mousse cake. I do not have that kind of self-control, so I definitely ate some of both of them. Damn it. I did feel bad about that one. Especially since I hadn't worked out the day before and knew I wasn't working out that night since it was already so late and I had an hour drive ahead of me.

Saturday and Sunday I ate well (though breakfast wasn't so great Sat - ate the "buffet" breakfast food - eggs, piece of sausage, & some hashbrowns, 1 c. coffee with coconut milk & 1 t. sugar. I thought they had a person cooking breakfast not a buffet, which is why I didn't plan anything for breakfast. Lunch was 4 oz. no-salt turkey, peppers, and sunbutter. Dinner was halibut with steamed spinach and a tomato/cucumber/red onion salad. I asked for no salt on my dinner and I think they doubled the salt instead... it tasted super salty. I need to plan ahead better for breakfast when I got on trips. Sunday breakfast was much better - eggs, peppers, and 1 c. coffee with coconut milk & 1 t. sugar. Lunch was 4 oz. no-salt turkey, peppers, and 1 T. sunbutter. Snack around 5:30 was 2 oz. turkey and some peppers. Dinner was a burger (no bun, cheese or anything non-paleo) with bacon and avocado and a small side salad with oil and vinegar. No drinks.

Monday I woke at a friends place and was able to cook again. Lovely. I had 1 egg, 2 oz. no-salt turkey and some peppers, 8 oz. coffee with coconut milk. No sugar. I'm quitting refined sugar for real. 4 oz. carne asada from Whole Foods plus 4 oz. kale with mushrooms and red peppers and olive oil, plus 8 oz coconut water. For dinner I had 4 more oz. carne asada from another Whole Foods, 1 T. cashew butter, and 5 oz. collard greens prepared with orange juice and raisins. I wanted to work out (specifically run sprints) Monday night after I got home from the airport but my body was still pretty sore from the weekend workouts and drills, so I was convinced to take the day as a rest day since I'd have a qualifying wod for the A-team the following day and should be fresh for that.

Saturday and Sunday I was at my Level I Certification. Amazing weekend. Learned so much about proper form and learned not only to better my own form but how to teach better form and how to correct improper form. Also got to hang out with some fantastic CFers. Loved the people I met who were getting theirs certs as well as the super impressive instructor roster including Pat Barber, Jason Khalipa, and Jolie Gentry (who is pregnant and still has better form than probably anyone I know) and Stephane Rochet and Andrew Thompson - the list goes on. I had an amazing time, and got a lot out of the cert both individually and as a coach-in-training! Individually, I was told my pull-ups are super strong, got my squats significantly improved, sped up my Fran time by 45 sec and went Rx'd for the 1st time. As far as learning to be a better coach, I learned form MUCH better, got to see faults and how to correct those faults, and learned what I believe to be the most important lesson - technique needs to get better before intensity should. I can't be afraid to tell someone to drop weight if I think their form isn't good enough to support that weight. If I don't do that for an athlete I'm coaching, I'm doing them a disservice.

Sat wods: tabata air squats, drills on DL/SDHP/MedBallCleans, Squat/FS/OHS, Press/PP/PushJerk, Fran
Sun wods: Muscle-up work, pull-up work, Snatch work, Team wod: 1 person at each of these stations for (I think) 12 mins: 1 pood KBS, push-ups, run, rest. Score is total # of KBS+pushups amongst entire team.

PS my new Fran time is 7:12!!

Aim for the Moon. If you miss, you'll still be amongst the stars

Rest Day today. A for real one too - no workout OR volleyball!!

Proving Ground Goal - to be achieved by 10/15/2010:
Complete WOD 1 from the MidWestern Sectionals with a Top Thirty qualifying time. That means in 12:43 or better.

And, here are the rest of my 2010 goals. The rest of these goals I want to have achieved by 12/31/2010:

Back Squat - 185# x 10 reps unbroken

Bench Press – 125# 1RM

Box jumps @ 20” x 50 reps unbroken

Clean and Jerk – 135# 1RM

Deadlift – 250# x 5 reps unbroken

Double-unders – 100 reps in 2 minutes (not necessarily unbroken)

FGB - 300 points or more

Fran - sub-4 min

Front Squat – 165# 1RM

HSPU – 10 unbroken reps, no abmat

Muscle-up - 1 kipping

Muscle-up - 1 strict

OH squat – 80# x 10 unbroken reps

Pull-ups - 35 unbroken (kipping)

Push-ups – 30 unbroken

Ring dips - 10 unbroken

Run 1 mile Sub-9 min

Run 400m Sub-1:35 min

Run 8K Sub-48 min

Skin the Cat on the bar

Snatch – 1RM 90#

Some of these goals will be tough as hell to achieve (10 OHS reps @ my current 1RM? On my worst lift? wtf?!), while others I'm much closer to so think I'll be able to achieve them relatively soon (My current Bench is 110# so 125# seems more than reasonable to achieve soon). But, I wanted to set goals for myself in as many areas as possible so that I know not only where I stand today but where I want to be. I am going to try and review these goals on a ~monthly(ish) basis to track my progress and to see what areas I am neglecting so that I can in fact reach as many of these goals as possible... hopefully all of them :) I'll have to sit down and work out a plan to reach each of them (just stating them won't make them happen)... I'll post as I have more stuff ironed out. 
--
Nutrition
9:00 am - 1 egg; 2oz no salt turkey; 5 oz rainbow chard + spinach; "cereal" 1/8 c. coconut milk with a schlook of coconut water, pinch coconut flakes, ~6 walnut halves, ~5 pecans, 12 fresh blueberries. Mmmmm.

11:15 am - coffee with 1 1/2 t. raw sugar and 1/8 c. coconut milk

3:00 pm - 3 oz. halibut; 8 oz salad (lettuce, a handful of sauteed rhutabagas, 17 blueberries, pinch of coconut flakes, ~3 crushed walnut halves, ~1 1/2 T. wild maine blueberry dressing). Not bad, though I'm so sick of these damn rhutabagas. SUCH a strong flavor. I'm never cooking up two of them at the same time again. One would've been plenty.

9:45 pm - 1/4 c. mint galactica coconut milk ice cream (while cooking dinner)

10:15 pm - 4 oz. grass-fed grilled beef shoulder (delicious and tender); 6 oz. parsnips baked with coconut oil; 1 t. almond butter and 1 t. macadamia nut butter with 10 blueberries.

11:15 pm - 2 T. sunbutter. I TRIED to give it up. I tried.

"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.
--
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

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.

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.