HSPUs. How I need you.

A-coached the 6am. Enjoyed being up so early, getting to a-coach under the Big Coach, and starting my day super early so I can end earlier today. Woohoo! Plan to do that again on Friday assuming all goes well with work b/w now and then :)

Warmed up with a 250m row with a 1:45 pace pre-Qual. wod below. Fastest I've ever pulled for that stretch. Getting excited about the upcoming 2k...

Qualifying wod # 2

90/75/60/45/30/15 seconds for max reps of:
Handstand push ups (head must touch floor on each rep, no kipping)
Chest-to-bar pull ups

NOTE: Must attempt at least one HSPU.

Got some scary news right before the wod so was a bit shook up. Wasn't my best performance, but c'est la vie, no? Attempted one HSPU, and then rested the rest of the time while other would have attempted (or gotten) HSPUs. Got a full hand stand negative (ie got my head to the ground... where it stayed for about ten seconds and I pulled off the wall - WHICH, ps, is a PR. I've never gotten a full hand stand negative to the ground before - I've always bailed out early). So, 0 HSPUs. 48 CTB though. Stephanie and I went head to head. She got 49... I got 48. Damn it. Just ONE HSPU would've at least bought me a tie.

Worked HSPUs post-wod to 2 abmats per Bryce's direction. 3-2-3. Had NO problem staying on the wall today which is SUPER weird for me. Never had that happen before actually. I think I prefer the cement block wall to HSPU against.

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Nutrition

5:30 am - 2 eggs, sauteed rainbow chard. Forgot to measure. It was friggin early. Think it was about 4-5 oz. 1 cup coffee plus ~1/4 c. coconut milk.

11:00 am - 3 oz. sole filet sauteed in 1/2 t. avocado oil; 6 oz. brussel sprouts blanched then sauteed in some water (water that they were blanched in to put the vitamins back into the brussel sprouts), 1/6 t. coconut oil, with 2/3 heavy pinch coconut flakes topped with 10 blueberries (after cooking). Definitely would've been better with less water and more coconut oil and just a few more blueberries. 1 T. cashew butter.

3:30 pm [Pre-wod] - 3 oz. no salt rotisserie chicken breast; 1 T. cashew butter; ~8 oz/ coconut water

5:00 pm [Post wod] - didn't feel like eating. So, nothing.

8:00 pm - 6 oysters, ~3 oz. ribs, ~1 oz. mushrooms with ~1 1/2 oz. egg souffle, 3 small cups coffee with cream (~9 oz. coffee + 1/4 c cream), nutty caramel tart. What?!

1st Qualifier WOD for the A-Team

Qualifier Wod. Current Rank: 5th
3 rds: 10 thrusters @ 85#/ 10 burpees
8:something. Maybe 8:15? :17?

Got through round 2 at 3:30 and thought I was just gonna crush this wod. Then apparently took a nap. Not sure what took so long in the last rd. Once I realized I wasn't gonna finish before the current 3rd place I stopped and was gonna quit, thinking it didn't matter anymore but then remembered that every place gets points so had to get back in. That likely cost me 4th place in this wod. Idiot. Oh well, back in for another qualifier tomorrow!

Also, followed the metcon up with some power snatch work: 5-3-1 reps of 70-80-90% of max snatch. Too bad I thought my max snatch was 83#. It's actually 78# (I can muscle 83# up, but haven't hit it properly) . Oops. Did 58#-68#-75#. Took a bit to get into a rhythm (plus I was kinda burnt out after the metcon), but the 58# felt good in reps 3-5, 68# felt good on the 3rd rep. The other non-good-feeling reps were mostly muscled-up overhead. When I first learned snatches I couldn't get my ass down into a full squat, so they were all power. Now that I can get down, I hate power snatches. You'd gotta throw the damn bar way too high for my liking. Meh. Then did a few OHS with the pvc, the 15#, and 20# bars. Worked on form and fast sets of 10 at each weight. Felt SUPER easy. Didn't want to go up in weight at all - just waned to run through the motion and get my body more accustomed to this lift.
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Nutrition

8:35 am - 2 eggs, 7 oz, rainbow chard sauteed in 2/3 T. coconut oil.

11:00am - 8 oz coffee with 1/2 c. coconut milk

1:30 pm - 2 1/2 oz. skate wing sauteed in garlic, pepper, and 1/2 t. avocado oil; 1 1/2 oz. raw kale tossed with 1/2 t. white truffle infused grapeseed oil, 10 cut up blueberries, squeeze of fresh lemon. This wasn't a lot of food in ounces, but kale takes up so much damn room on a plate! We'll see if I get hungry early or if this tides me through to my next meal :)

3:15 pm  [Pre wod] -  Nope. 1 T. cashew butter, 2 oz. no salt rotisserie chicken breast. (Didn't realize this was my pre-wod meal. Forgot that I had to work out at 4!!)

4:00 om [Pre-wod cont'd] - chugged ~8 oz coconut water

4:45 pm [Post wod] - 2 1/2 oz. skate wing sauteed in garlic, pepper, and 1/2 t. avocado oil; ~8 oz coconut water

6-7 pm [During vball] - ~8 oz. coconut water.

7:30 pm - 1 tagalong. I heart Chris Skafidas. After these damn qualifier wods are over I'm eating the other four. Not all at once mind you. The donut coma is still too fresh a memory. I'm keeping them in the freezer so they won't go stale, Chris, don't you worry.

9:30 pm - 4 oz. no salt rotisserie chicken breast sauteed with white truffle infused grapeseed oil and 3 oz. cooked mushrooms on top of 3 oz. kale with lemon and avocado oil. Approx. 1 T. oil total. Plus 1 T. cashew butter.

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!!

Tuesday... felt like a Monday

Workout at 6:30 am. Surprisingly not bad... but it wasn't much metcon, mostly strength. Tomorrow should be all metcon... we'll see how that feels at 6:30 am.

Warmed-up with a 400m row. Pulled 1:55-1:56 for the last 300m. Was surprised and pleased with this.

Back Squat Progression:

Warm-up set @ 45# x 15 reps

Then,

95# x5 - 125# x5 -135# x5 - 145# x5 - 160# x5

CFTotal BS was 165 (prev PR was 185) so felt good about today's numbers.

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Nutrition

5:30 am [Pre-wod] - 3 egg whites + 1 yolk; ~2-3 oz mushrooms; 1/2 T cashew butter

7:45 am [Post-wod] 1/2 small-medium apple; 4 slices all natural no nitrates ham (it was literally the ONLY meat in the grocery store that was remotely paleo and cooked. I asked for no salt turkey and the woman was confused. She said she had low sodium turkey. "How low?" I asked. "I don't know, I think it says 240 on the label. I assume that's per slice." "How much sodium is in your regular turkey (so I could figure out whether this really was low enough in sodium content to bother)." "Um, probably the same." Sigh. "But, if that's your low sodium brand, wouldn't your regular turkey have higher sodium?" "Oh. Well, I guess so then." RIGHT. So, needless to say I didn't buy the probably not low-sodium turkey, and settled on the nitrate-free ham.

9:00 am - 10 oz coffee + coconut milk + 2 raw sugars

12:00 pm - Seafood salad (mussels, shrimp, calamari poached in white wine) over field greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onions with olive oil & red wine vinegar.

12:30 pm - 10 oz coffee + coconut milk + 2 raw sugars

4:45 pm - 1 Banana Bread Larabar

7:00 pm - 4 oz venison steak; 3 1/2 oz red chard sauteed with coconut oil, coconut flakes, and dried cranberries; 3 1/2 oz. sauteed onions, portabellas, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, honey and balsamic vinegar.

Three Days of catch-up

Weekend wods, first.

Sat: FUN Team wod with JJ, Emmitt, and Tina:

Round 1: 2 rope climbs
Round 2: 50 ball slams
Round 3: 10 muscle ups
Round 4: 40 toe to bars
Round 5: A hallways length of lunges with a 25# plate

Each round each team member had to run the length of the hallway 2x. Felt awesome to sprint again - hadn't run in forever.

Time: 19:21

Post-wod on Sat I ate way too much at the paleo cook off, and then wanted a nap but instead had three cups of black coffee, followed by more food and bunch of vodka. Late night after getting up at 6am.

Sun: Was exhausted!! Got up to a-coach and then hit up the West Loop for open gym with Jonny. Did a 500m row super slow. Stuck around 2:15. I got off the rower, went and got some water and tried to shake that slow ass row off. Got back on a few minutes later, and rowed 500m in 2:00.5! Much better time. Only went above 2:00 in the first few strokes. Felt waaay better! My right deltoid has been troubling me the past few days so since the 2nd row started to hurt towards the end I opted to stop working out and rest. Then got a phenomenal massage. She focused on my lower body and stripped away so many trigger points and so much whatever was in there. My thighs feel a bit tender but I'm not in pain in my hip flexors anymore and the muscle that goes on top of my IT band (don't remember its name) was apparently the problem, but it's better now. My snatches on Monday were easy to get into the bottom of and without pain :)

Mon: Olympic Total!

"Olympic Total"
1RM Snatch - 78# (failed 83# 3x)
1RM Clean and Jerk - 118#
(failed clean @ 123# 3x)

Total: 196.

My prev ugly-as-crap-total-press-out power snatch (from the oly meet) was 75#... My prev. full squat snatch PR was 63#. SO, 78# felt great tonight! Think I can get more if I get under the bar faster and with better hip extension. I muscled up the 83# pretty easily, but it wasn't a good snatch so didn't count it. Danced around like a silly little girl afterward.

Prev Clean PR was 110, Prev Jerk PR was 115. 118 was exciting, though I was disappointed b/c I felt I could've gotten 123 but just wasn't getting my elbows under fast enough... or I wasn't getting low enough fast enough. Wasn't sure, and the coach there had newer CFers working on 1RM Power Cleans so his focus was on them.

Have to workout tomorrow at 6:30 am in order to get a wod in while in VA. Not sure how that's gonna go... never tried working out that early. Maybe I should go to bed...

Starting work on my improvement plan. Patience is a virtue...

Worked on kicking up against the wall and handstand negatives in my apt for about fifteen minutes after lunch.

OH Squat & Snatch work at the 7pm class. Snatched the bar up, and then began OH squats. Worked with:

the PVC for a little while
15# bar - 2 sets of 10 reps
20# bar - 5 reps, 10 reps
33# bar - 5 reps, 2 sets of 10 reps
43# - 5 reps, 10 reps
53# bar - 2 sets 5 reps (failed the snatch twice. @ 53#?? Seriously? WTF?!)

My wrist flexibility was a huge problem today. Stretched it out in between each set, but wrists HURT on every set. The first set at each weight was only 5 reps because of the wrist pain. Also, in the bottom struggled to stay in my heels.

Lots of soreness in my right deltoid (please notice I used the name of a muscle besides bicep. That's right, kids, I now know the name to TWO muscles) for the past few days. Also my traps (three!!) are incredibly tight. Especially on my left side. Why must the pain be worse on opposite sides of my body??

Meant to work on bench press after but worked on OH squats for so long I put bench off till tomorrow. Then went and played three games of vball.
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Nutrition
8 or 9am ish (I don't remember) - 1 egg; 2 oz grilled grass-fed beef shoulder; 4 oz. rainbow chard, rutabagas (finally -all gone!), & mushrooms. All cooked up together with an egg on top like a 554. De-licious.

9:30 am - coffee with coconut milk and 1 1/2 t. raw sugar. Didn't drink it very fast - I finished it with lunch at 1:45.

1:45 pm - 3 oz. halibut, 4 oz. lettuce, ~4 crushed pecans, wild maine blueberry dressing, black pepper & a tiny bit of sea salt. I need to go grocery shopping. I just ate a lettuce salad. With fish and pecans too, and I did enjoy it... but seriously? no other vegis but lettuce? Sad.

3:00 pm - 3 T. sunbutter. Maybe only 2 1/2 - I was annoyed/frustrated and on the phone and not paying attn. Normally I spoon out a portion and put the jar away, but I was distracted so just kept spooning from the damn jar. NO MORE PHONE CALLS + EATING. Wasn't I trying to cut down on the fats in my diet?

7:00 pm [Pre-strength work] - 2 oz. no salt turkey breast; 6 oz coconut water

8:30 pm [Post-strength / Pre-vball] - 2 oz. no salt turkey breast; 4 oz coconut water

9:30/10 pm [During & Post vball] - Pecan Pie Larabar; 6 oz. coconut water

10:30 pm - 4 oz. grilled grassfed beef shoulder; 4 oz. parsnips & 2 oz. broccoli sauteed in 1 T coconut oil; 1/2 c Mint Galactica Coconut Bliss ice cream.

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. 
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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.