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.
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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

CrossFit Total + me = PR! No ice pack today!!!

CROSSFIT TOTAL!!!

CFT = 530 (PR!! Prev CFT was 490)

BS - 190# (prev CFT was 165#, prev PR before that was 185#, so back on track!)
Press - 85# (matched PR)
DL - 255# (prev PR was 240#)

Woo!!

Tonight I was tired of not feeling proud of my wods. I decided that I was gonna go in and fucking lift. I wasn't going to be social, I wasn't going to hang out, I was going to lift heavy ass weights (HAF for Emmitt), and I wasn't going home without a strong showing tonight. Downloaded some angry music (Megadeth, Pantera, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Hatebreed, Godsmack... you get the idea) and then I worked by myself, with music loud enough to block everything else out. Next time I need to get a playlist ready as I constantly flipped around in the beginning, as some Pantera songs that I like to listen to on any other day aren't good for lifting... by the end I gave up and was listening to Marilyn Manson's The Beautiful People on repeat so I wouldn't have to mess with it. Will def set up a good playlist before my 2k row. This was especially beneficial for me. Helped me focus just on me, which is helpful since right now I'm struggling with focus and pushing myself beyond my usual limits/capacity.

A great fucking day.

PLUS, Em mentioned a 10 week deadlift program by Ed Coan (renowned as a 220-lbs powerlifter who has set over 70 world records. 70?!?!) that she wants to try and I think I'm gonna take her up on it. Sounds awesome, and I could use some substantial growth in all my lifts/wods so I'm excited to start it. Here's an interview with Ed Coan. Pretty fucking cool.
http://www.criticalbench.com/Ed-Coan.htm

Great quote from the interview:

Interviewer: "You don't train muscles like biceps?"

Ed Coan: "Nope, biceps are like ornaments on a xmas tree"

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Not sure if I'm gonna keep posting nutrition... I guess I'll do it awhile longer... it is helpful I think to keep oneself on track. We'll see.
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Nutrition

8:15 am - 2 eggs; broccoli sauteed in 1 t. coconut oil and red pepper flakes (spicy and YUM!)

9:00 am - coffee w/ 1/8 c. coconut milk

10:30 am - cashew cookie larabar
2:00 pm - ~6 oz. hamburger on salad greens with grilled portabellas, carmelized onions, avocado, oil, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes; ~9 oz. herbal tea. Delicious.
6:30 pm [Pre-wod] - 3 oz. grilled tuna steak; ~6 oz. coconut water; 8 oz. coffee + 1/8 c coconut milk.
8:30 pm [Post-wod] 2 oz no salt turkey breast, ~3 oz. coconut water.
Didn't feel like making dinner after the workout, so skipped it. One missed meal won't kill me, right?

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.