PR train, choo choo!

I spent a good amount of time this morning figuring out numbers for tonight's workout. I knew I was going to PR on everything and I knew the press was going to be the hardest lift for me. My previous CrossFit Total on July 23rd was 196. Today I finished with 223, that's a 27kg PR! For those of you that don't know, CF Total you're given 3 SRM attempts at the Press, Back squat, and Dead lift. Your total is the total of your best SRM attempt.
For the Press my attempts were 40kg-fail, 38kg (83.6lbs) - PR, 40kg - fail. My old SRM was 35kg, and I've been struggling with this lift during the cycle, so I knew it was going to be the toughest. I was really hoping I could get 40kg and I was thiiiiiiis close to getting it, but had to stick with 38.

For the back squat, I was really guessing on numbers since I haven't attempted a SRM since the last time we did CF total and I got 69kg. I was kind of basing these numbers off my progress on my front squat. I was shooting for somewhere between 80-85 kg. My attempts were 70kg - 75kg - 80kg (176lbs) PR. I felt really good on all three attempts and feel like I could have successfully lifted 83-85kg. Now I know and can work off that and shoot for another PR next time. BUT I was very happy about the 11kg PR!

Finally, one of my favorite lifts...the dead lift. My previous SRM was 92kg(202.4lbs). Last week I did 94kg at 4 reps so I was shooting for around 105-110kg. My sets were 95kg - 100kg - 105kg (231 lbs). 13 kg PR!! After my final rep at 105, I think I could have pulled 110kg, but again, now I know where I'm at and what I'm capable of. I'm super excited for setting PR's on ALL 3 lifts, THAT was my main goal for the day and I succeeded.

I'm super proud of everyone at the Fort today. Everyone has come along way and in the end all your hard work pays off! :) Thanks to Bill and Jennie for being amazing coaches and training us to set the PR's we do.

Food: Breakfast: 3 eggs and 7 sausage links. Lunch: 12oz pork stir fry, more veggies than anything. and 2 paleo muffins with butter on top. Dinner: chicken breast with roasted turnips, parsnips, and sweet potatoes. .5oz dark chocolate.

Where did the weekend go?

This weekend has gone by way too fast. This is the first moments I've had to sit down and relax...and it's 7:30 on Sunday night! :( Lame. Maybe this blizzard we are supposed to have will make work close and I'll have a day off...I can only hope. Even though it was a busy weekend it was a bunch of fun.

Saturday started off with Oly lifting and K-Tuck and I decided to work on the clean and jerk. I was really looking to get a good PR since I haven't worked these movements in awhile. So I started off light working on form and trying to get low on the split jerk. I have a tendency to have a very shallow split so I need to work on that. My final attempts for a PR was 55kg. The first 2 I completed the clean, but couldn't get the Jerk over head. I went for one last try and successfully complete the clean and Jerk. I was pretty happy with a 3 kg PR.

Then we moved onto Team Saturday and I was teamed up with Ryan Fain and Kim. The workout was:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Burpees Body Rows
Rest (start 1:00 after the slowest team)
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Ball Slams Sit ups

I don't remember our times exactly, but I remember we did pretty well. Kim and Ryan were great partners to work with. I really tried to go with some major intensity throughout all the movements. I went unbroken for all the movements and really gave it my all. I'm glad this team Saturday wasn't a complete killer, my body needed a little break.

After team Saturday was our Paleo Breakfast. I love when we have these gatherings so I can see everyone and have more time to talk with everyone. Or see people I normally don't get a chance to see. I helped make the eggs and then finally got a chance to eat and I consumed a lot. haha. Then I decided to make an attempt at the 100m row and PR on that, I came out with an 18.8 second row...I think if I wasn't full of so much food I could go a little faster...maybe I'll make an attempt this week.

Last night I went out with Jer and his family for his birthday. Went to Outback for dinner and I got a nice 12oz prime rib with a sweet potato and veggies. Then we went to the Rockford Icehogs game. I love sports, so it was nice to go to a game, even though it wasn't the Blackhawks!

Today we went out to CrossFit Carbon's grand opening event. I decided not to WOD it up today to give my body rest. So I just counted for a lot a people and that just wore me out. It was nice to see a bunch of people from different boxes and see how everyone matches up. Gets me excited for some Games competitions! :) Anyway, food wasn't terrible this weekend, but not great. More paleo treats than necessary so a bit of a carb overload and I'm kind of feeling it now. So back on track tomorrow! Night loves!

Winter blues

Is anyone else starting to get depressed from this weather? I don't think we've seen the sun in a week! I'm really dying for a vacation on a sunny beach...who wants to take me!? Spring weather can't come soon enough. I went to bed around 9:15 this morning and I can't say that I woke up any more refreshed. I actually felt more exhausted when my alarm went off. It's really a good thing that I can get like 45 min worth of napping before and after work. That's the ONLY benefit of working in Rockford and having dad drive. I'd much rather have those extra minutes in my bed and drive somewhere closer, but that's not the case right now. Maybe (hopefully) sometime soon... Food for the day Breakfast: 3 eggs 5.5oz turkey breast 3 paleo cookies. Lunch: 5.5 oz chicken breast and 4 oz spaghetti squash. Dinner: a bunch of pork and veggie stir fry and a couple more cookies... Strength: Floor Press: 5(75%)-3(85%)-1+(95%) originally I moved my training max down last week, but I felt it was too much. So I decided to do this set at the same weights I did them at on the last cycle which was 38-43-48. last time I only got one on the 1+ and this time I got 2. I was pleased that I did a little better this time around since this movement has been a struggle for me. WOD: 5:00 AMRAP of: 5 power snatches 5 Overhead squats (50/35) 2:00 mandatory rest then 3:00 AMRAP Kettle Bell swings (24/16) first AMRAP 4 rounds + 4 reps second AMRAP 77 swings

Overall I was really happy with this wod. I actually think I could have pulled out more reps in both AMRAPs but there were some distractions during the first AMRAP. You see Zach decided to snatch the 50kg bar into his face and started bleeding all over. So I was slightly worried as was everyone else and everyone started trying to help which meant they were all huddled around and kind of in my way since I didn't want to hit anyone in the face. I think I could have gotten 5 full rounds, but I was happy with the 4+ rounds. For the KB swings my main focus was getting a really good first set. I did this during Satruday's team wod and I only got 62 swings in....after 90 wall balls. So my goal was to beat 62 swings. I got 56 swings in my first set and was pushing for a total of 80. So that would've been 24 reps in just over a minute. I was really trying to focus on technique with Tommy Mo there helping me and giving me pointers. But I dropped the bell 3 times I think, my forearms were on fire! Next time we do KB swings I'm really going to focus on getting the bell straight up, Tom said I was off by just a liiiitle bit, so it's something to practice!

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!! :)

Frump a lump

Yesterday I was pretty busy and felt kinda sick at night so I didn't have time to blog. And today was a very frustrating and emotional day. So needless to say it's been a not-so-great couple days. In need of a pick me up for sure. Anyway, when I got home today I wanted to eat like all the sweets in the world to deal with my emotions, but instead I did some retail therapy. I got a shirt, a pull over fleece and a pair of jeans all for $17. Yes, you can call me the bargain queen! When I got home though, I ate a chocolate chip cookie, but it wasn't too good, so I decided I needed to make some of Trish's paleo cookies to cure my sweet tooth. Today is rest day and my new rituals are an Epsom salt bath, mobility drills, and bed earlier. The bath really helped me relax and calm me down from the day and the mobility I was focusing on my left IT band again, that really needs to get better! And after I'm done with this it's off to bed.

Yesterday's food: Breakfast: 10 oz chili. Lunch: 5 oz chicken 4 oz spaghetti squash 2 oz mixed veggies. Dinner: 10 oz chili and some trail mix.

Today's food: Breakfast: 3 eggs and 3 meatballs. Lunch: 10 oz chili and 3 oz baby carrots. choc chip cookie. Dinner: salad, a bunch of turkey breast and some spaghetti squash. 3 paleo cookies

Yesterday's Strength: Dead lift 5(75%)-3(85)-1+(95) training max 99kg. 5@75kg - 3@84kg - 4@94kg. The last rep on the last set was pretty tough and not so pretty, but got it. My previous single rep max was 92kg so I'm already passed that on my last set. I did some online calculation to estimate what my new one rep max would be and it says it should be around 103kg. Can't wait to see what it is!!

WOD: 3 rounds for time of: 7 pull ups (purple band) 14 burpees 21 situps. 5:58 I was pretty excited about this wod. I've been debating about doing unassisted pullups in a wod again, but decided to go with the purple band because my shoulder hasn't been in the best condition. So I don't want to completely wreck it with the crazy range of motion on unassisted pullups. Anyway I was shooting to beat 6 minutes and I did just that by 2 seconds. overall I was happy with my performance and Louis was too, he's starting to feel his 6 other ab friends come through. :)

Time to sleep and put this day to rest. night friends!

I would like my weekend back...thanks.

Today was definitely Monday. When my alarm went off, I was sooooo not ready to get out of bed. I could have used another few hours of sleep, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. Boo Monday's, I would love to have my weekend back. And this whole going to bed at 10 thing hasn't been going so well...I need to work on that.

Food for the day.
Breakfast: 3 eggs and 4 meatballs. Lunch: 10 oz chili and 3 oz trail mix. Dinner: 5.5 oz almond meal coated chicken breast with 3 oz spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and 3 oz mixed veggies.

Strength: Press 5(75%)-3(85%)-1+(95%) training max 37.5kg. 5@28kg - 3@32kg - 4@36kg. The last set is 1kg over my current single rep max, so Jennie predicted that my new 1RM will be just over 40kg. I was hoping at the beginning of this training it would be a little more than that, but for some reason I struggled with this lift. Either way, there's proof that I've gotten stronger.

WOD: 12:00 AMRAP of: 15 Sumo dead lift high-pulls (35/25) 15 push ups. 7 rounds plus 23 reps. Going into this wod I notice most of the girls were in the 5-6 round range, so I was hoping to get at least 6 + rounds. So when I finished I was happy I exceeded my goal. I was able to keep my SDHP reps all unbroken with the exception of the 5th round where I went 10-5. The first 2 rounds of my push ups were unbroken, but then it went something like 7-8, 5-5-5, 5-3-7 for the remaining rounds. The push ups were definitely the ass-kicker in this WOD. But I really liked this one and was happy with the outcome.

Alright...way past my bed time...5AM comes too soon. :(

PR, Friends, Food, and Good Times

Since I was able to get to bed at a decent hour, when I arrived at the Fort I felt like it was a PR day. And that's exactly what it was! K-Tuck and I decided to work on our snatch since we don't get to practice this often outside of Wods. I started off really focusing on my technique and dropping under, since the last time I practiced these, that was my problem. My sets were 5@15kg 5@25kg 3@30kg 1@35kg fail@38kg 1@38kg fail@40kg 1@40kg PR. I'm really pleased with my technique, but need to work some more on my pull and really exploding at the hips. I think I can definitely get some more weight on that bar in the future. Thanks for the tips from my coaches and Tommy Mo!

After many PR's by the ladies at the Fort it was on with Team Saturday. In teams of 4 complete: Wall Balls (20/14) Kettle Bell swings (24/16) Rowing (calories) Box Jumps (20")

4:00 work 2:00 rest 3:00 work 1:30 rest 2:00 work 1:00 rest 1:00 work

Split up so one person is at each station for the duration of the work and move from station to station as you choose. I went wall balls, KB swings, Rowing, Box Jump. My reps were 90/62/35/23 and the team total was somewhere around 920 I think. I was pretty happy with my wall balls, but probably could have gotten a few more. My KB swings were pretty pathetic, my back was really feeling those and my shoulders, so I was a little upset I only got 62 reps, I was hoping for more around 75. Rowing I pulled as hard as I could and then going to box jumps sucked and I probably should have gotten 2 more reps or so. But overall it was a great workout and that's all that matters!

Food yesterday: Breakfast: 3 eggs 6 pieces of bacon and a shot of fish oil. Snack later on some cantaloupe. Dinner: half pound burger with 3 pieces of bacon and grilled onions and a side of mixed veggies.

Food today: a bunch of slices of pepper and guac, 2 bowls of chili and some meatballs. Dinner: 5 bacon wrapped scallops, 8 asparagus spears and a side salad. nom nom nom...I'm super full!



It was a great weekend and of course it once again went by way too fast. Great time at the Fort, great dinner with some friends in the city, and great time watching the game with friends. Hopefully it's a good week! :-)

Burpees and Bunco!

Today was a great day...why you ask? Because it's FRIDAY!!! Yahoo. This week dragged on like no other! I was a little disappointed I wasn't informed of this casual Friday at work, a bunch of people were wearing Bears/Packers stuff and jeans. UM I SO would have taken advantage if I knew, pssh. I just got back from playing Bunco with about 400+ other women and let me tell you it was rowdy! I've never played before, but mom asked me if I wanted to go with my aunt and a close family friend, and plus the money goes to local organizations, so it was well spent. And guess what, I won TWO prizes!!! Our table came down to myself and another girl with the most wins, then we had a roll off to see who got 3 of a kind first. And THIS girl won, talk about beginners luck! And I also got the prize for having the last Bunco. So I got a necklace and this cool set of bags. Not too shabby for a Friday night!

Food for the Day: Breakfast: 3 eggs and 2oz leftover fajita stuff. Lunch: 6oz meatloaf 2oz roasted sweet potatoes and 2oz trail mix. Dinner: (rushed bc of bunco) 5oz hamburger with cheddar cheese, half an apple with 2TBS sunbutter. then he bad stuff at bunco...that was irresistible and SO DELISH....a glass of wine...DESSERT: all bite size mini desserts....a small eclair, a tiny red velvet cupcake, a chocolate cup, and 1 1/2 cookie/chocolate cup thing. and oh.my.goodness. they were heaven! yummo! now that my cheat is out of the way...back to the good stuff tomorrow

Strength: Front squat 5(65%)-5(75%)-5+(85%) training max moved down to 61.5 kg from 68kg because I didn't meet all my reps last week. So I did 5@40 - 5@46.5 - 9@52.5. The second set already felt heavy, so I was a little nervous going into the 3rd set. But good thing Tommy Mo was next to me reminding me to stay back on my heels and keep my back straight so I was able to bust out 9 reps. It was depressing to lower my training max again, but hopefully I'll be back at it again soon!

WOD: Complete 10:00 AMRAP of: Deadlifts (100/65) Burpees. Do 1 of each for the first round, 2 of each the second round, 3 of each the third round etc... Looking at other scores on the board I was shooting for somewhere in the 10 rounds range. I got through round 5 and I was only 2:40 in, so I was like alright I'm good to go. But shoot those sneaky little bastards of deadlifts caught up to me! By round 7 my back was really starting to feel it and my sets were broken up. I was a little disappointed with that but then I realized that 65kg is a little over 70% of my single rep max and I did it 60 times. woofta! The burpees I was able to fly through without a problem and didn't have to break them up. I was hoping to get more along 11 rounds, but ended up with 10 rounds plus 5 dead lifts. Overall, I was pleased, but boy was my back on fire after that. So to finish it off and save our backs we did 4:00 worth of plank holds. That sucked at the time, but my back is thanking me for it!

Well, surprisingly I'm off to bed before midnight on a Friday night! This is a miracle! I'm getting more than 5 hours of sleep before Oly Lifting/Team Saturday. Can I go for a hat trick with Team Saturday wins??? Stay tuned to find out! :)

More shoulder torture!

I passed out around 9:00 last night....clearly I needed it. I barely moved during the night and my alarm startled me awake, I probably could have slept another 3 hours at least! I think my new Wednesday night rest day tradition is going to include dinner, an epsom salt bath, mobility work, and going to bed by 9. Perfect pick me up for the middle of the week!

Food: Breakfast: 3 eggs, 6 pieces of canadian bacon, 3 strawberries and 2 oz blackberries. Lunch: 4.5 oz steak, 3 oz cauliflower and 2 oz roasted sweet potato. Dinner: chicken fajita mix

Strength: Floor press 5(65%)-5(75%)-5+(85%) (training max moved down to 46.5 because of failed reps last week :( sad face): 5@30.5-5@35-10@39.5. Clearly I was able to make the last set. Hopefully this will help me get back up to a better training max..

WOD: complete 5 rounds for max reps/cals of: :30 dumbbell thrusters (2 25lbs) :30 rest :30 Knees to elbow :30 rest :30 row. My right shoulder was still a little sore from all the cleans in the last week, so I was a little nervous about this one. The thrusters got heavy after awhile, but I had to get the most reps there and cals on the rower because my K2E suck. I ended up with a total of 161, but I didn't feel terribly exhausted after. I think it's because the K2E I don't get as much of a fast paced work out in because I have no kip with them. But I was satisfied with my score. I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow.

Hopefully we won't have another crazy incident like mom cutting her finger and bleeding all over the place! Geez, I can't take them anywhere. And Thanks to Tommy Mo for given my P's advice on their cleans! :)

SO excited tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!! :)

Epsom Miracle Bath

Yesterday was a pretty crappy day. I was tired all day and crabby and sore and just didn’t feel like myself. I was just miserable and felt like it’s been the longest week ever. I still feel like that, how is it only Wednesday?! In the end I was debating about whether or not to go to the Fort, I was in such a bum mood. Typically that will cheer me up, but even when I got there I just wasn’t feeling it. Today is a much needed rest day.

Food for yesterday: Breakfast: 3 eggs and 6 pieces Canadian bacon and 5 strawberries. Lunch: 5.5oz pork chop, hard boiled egg, ½ cup cooked carrots, and 2 oz trail mix. Dinner: big salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, half an avocado, hard boiled egg, peppers, and chicken on top.

Food today: breakfast: 3 eggs and 6 pieces of Canadian bacon and ½ cup cantaloupe. Lunch: 5.5oz pork chop, 2 cups mixed veggies, 2.5oz almonds. Dinner: 4.5 oz steak, roasted sweet potato, and cauliflower. .5oz dark chocolate.

Yesterday’s strength and Wod

Strength: Dead lift: 5(65%)-5(75%)-5+(85%) Training max – 99kg: 5@65kg – 5@75kg – 8@84.5kg

I was pretty happy with my dead lift. This is the one lift I have been able to keep up with throughout the “games programming”, I’ve consistently been going beyond the numbers on the + days. Now if only I could fix that with the other lifts… anyway I felt really good on the last set, the 8^th rep was a little bit of a struggle to get, but I made sure of it. I can’t wait for when we find our 1 rep max on these lifts!

WOD: 15:00 AMRAP of: 5 Power Cleans (60/40) 10 Pistols (5 each leg) 15 sit ups. 8 rounds plus 4 cleans

My shrugging muscles were already sore from doing 45 heavy cleans the day before, so I wasn’t really looking forward to this. Jennie also wanted me to give pistols a try unassisted. I could almost get all the way up with my right leg, but I knew my left leg would have nothing to do with it. my IT band has just been unhappy lately and I’ve been trying to roll it and do a bunch of mobility stuff to get it better. So instead I used the ring to hold me up the least amount as possible. This was also the first time I’ve done sit ups in a wod since Louis appeared. So I took those a lot slower than I normally would too. Overall, I just wasn’t feeling this workout so I went at about 85%. Not to mention that on some of my cleans I felt this pinching feeling in my right tricep area coming from the back of my shoulder. I felt it a little bit the day before too. So I was trying to really focus on my form with those instead of getting through them really fast. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve done heavy cleans in 3 workouts since last Thursday or if there’s something else wrong. My right shoulder is already my crappy one from pitching for 15 years, so I don’t want to do anything to make it worse.

It’s a good thing today is a rest day, I did a bunch of mobility stuff and torture with the lacrosse ball on my legs and shoulders. I really hope these pains go away soon. I also took an Epsom bath and it was like a miracle, I already feel less sore than before. I'm gonna have to do that more often!

Snowy fun.

This weekend was a great one with my fellow CrossForters. Saturday started off with Oly class and Team Saturday. I was super crabby from going to bed late so my performance during Oly class was pretty pathetic. I worked on my split Jerk with Steph. My body was tired and weak from a hard week, so that with crabbiness was not a good combination. I did 5@25kg 3@35kg 2@45kg 1@50kg fail 55kg fail 55kg fail. My previous pr is 52kg, and 50 was already a bit of a struggle. If I was feeling it like I normally do, I probably could’ve got that 55kg over head. There’s always next time.

Team Saturday was another fun one as usual. In teams of 4: one pair rows partner A rows 400m the partner B rows 400m then A does 300m then B does 300m then A does 200m then B then A does 100m then B. Meanwhile partners C and D are downstairs doing an AMRAP of 20 push pres (35 kg men/25kg women) and 20 lateral hops (20”) *one person works at a time. Once the first pair finishes rowing they go to AMRAP and the others row. The final total was the total seconds it took your group to row minus your total amount of reps. Our team ended up with 18:08 and 18 rounds + 38 reps. After realizing some teams made some miscalculations, our team was declared the top team after the fact. And I’m just saying that’s TWO team Saturdays in a row that I’ve been on the winning team…

Saturday night was then our CFF train crawl. I was really excited to see how many people showed up. And I think everyone had a good time. Half naked burpees outside, pull ups and hand stands on the train, burpees and squats in the bar…that all makes for a good night. I definitely paid for in yesterday though and I was still recovering till about the second half of the Bears game. So needless to say I ate and drank pretty poorly Saturday night so we won’t keep that one on the record here…

Yesterday was recovery day, so I had some pretzels in the morning. Paleo Pretzel crisps as K-tuck calls them. Ahahaha. Then I had some paleo chili and meatzza at Pete’s for the Bears game, which was absolutely delish! Then Mom made meatloaf and some cooked carrots with a side salad for dinner. I’m glad I got my drinking binge out of the way Saturday because I won’t be doing that for a long time. I remembered why I like waking up in the morning without a hangover!

Today I ate: Breakfast: 3 eggs and 5 small turkey sausage patties. 3 oz trail mix. Lunch: 8 oz meatloaf 5 oz cooked carrots. Dinner: 5.5oz pork chop and 3 oz brussel sprouts with bacon.

I made another trip to Carbon today. I can't say thank you enough to Pete for giving Jeremy the opportunity you are. It means more than you know to me! Thank you thank you thank you. Anyway...

Strength: Push Press 3-3-3+ 70-80-90-110(3) I never had a 1RM on my push press, so this has been a guessing game. The 3 at 90lbs seemed pretty easy so Pete suggested I go up to 110 for my last set. I got the first 2 and on the last one I dropped my chest and failed the rep, but then tried it again and got it. Pretty crazy that I got 110 lbs over head!

WOD: 21-15-9 Cleans (135/105) push-ups (games standards - release hands at bottom) Ivy and I went head to head on this work out and chose to do 85 lbs. I again was hesitant to go heavy because full squat cleans is when Louis arrived. Pete told us this should be a 7:00-9:00 workout and would cut us off at 10:00. So I was determined to finish by the 9:00 mark. However, 85 lbs got heavy quick, that's like 38kg. I would get 3 really good reps then my elbows would drop and I'd struggle like no other. I had one failed rep during the 21, but I got every other rep. I finished at 9:14. A little slower than I hoped for, but I was pretty pleased with my performance. Just really need to work on focusing on my elbows up and I'm good! Great workout today, but can't wait to be back at the Fort tomorrow!

Oh my legs...

It was a pretty tense day around the office today. 50 layoffs here and 50 in Connecticut. Crazy to see people let go after being here for 30 years. I know at least 3 of the people let go here and I can say they were a pleasure to work with when I got the opportunity. Once again I’m shown how thankful I need to be of my job even if it is contract and not what I want to do. With all this rearranging, it looks like I’ll be getting more work and my days won’t be dragging on. I’ve got an income to support myself and parents that let me live at home until I’m stable. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Food for the Day: Breakfast: 3 eggs, 5oz ground turkey/ground beef mix, 6 medium strawberries. Lunch: 6oz turkey burger and 2 cups of broccoli in butter. Dinner: 6oz salmon with garlic butter, 10 asparagus spears with garlic butter, and 5oz mixed greens.

Strength: Front Squat: 3(70%)-3(80%)-3+(90%) (training max 68kg): 3@48 - 3@54.5 - 2@61
Again....I didn't meet the last set. :( sad face. I don't know if my body is tired or what, but two days in a row I didn't make the reps. I knew my legs were tired today and the squats were going to be heavy, but I was hoping to push out the last rep. I got half way up and I just couldn't push anymore. Oh well, I'll get it next time.

WOD: 10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1 Ball Slams (30/20) Box Jumps (24/20) Goblet Squats (20/16) goal time 7:00-9:00
Speaking of tired legs.......Obviously this was going to be rough with my legs already tired and from the front squats. I decided to go RX'd on this. I knew my legs were tired and my box jumps aren't great, but I figured I could finish in the goal time. And I did, I finished in 8:48. I just made it, but I made it. It was a tough one, but I liked it, I really felt the burn in my legs.

Catch up

I know I promised I would have something insightful to blog about today, but I really don't. All I can say is that I love catching up with friends I haven't seen in awhile. I love sharing crazy stories, or what's new, or gossip about who did what, or plans for the future. I wish that everyone didn't get caught up in their busy lives, myself included, and were able to spend more time keeping in touch. But I'm thankful for the times I do get to catch up. So, thank you Mark and Chase for getting dinner with me tonight, I've missed you guys!

Food for the day, Breakfast: 3 eggs, 6oz pork tenderloin, 3oz blackberries and 4 strawberries. Lunch: 5oz flank steak and spinach roll up, and 4oz salad with 4 grape tomatoes. Dinner: handful of almonds then 1/2 lb burger with cheddar cheese and sweet potato fries.

Strength: Floor Press: 3(70%)-3(80%)-3+(90%) (training max 51.5kg) : 3@36kg - 3@41.5kg - 1@46.5kg (SAD FACE!) Last cycle I just made the numbers on the plus days so I only added 1kg to my training max this week. I don't know if I'm just tired and weak or what, but that was heavy today. I struggled with the second set at 1.5kg so I knew the last set was going to be hard. I was kind of disappointed I only got one rep on the last set, so it's time to take some more of and work from there next week.

WOD: 12:00 AMRAP of: 3 Power Cleans (60/40) 6 Push ups 9 Squats. My total was 13 rounds plus 1 Clean. I LOVED this workout. I originally asked Jennie if I should do 35kg for the cleans, only because Elizabeth and that work out that had me crying the one time were heavy cleans. Louis was in the back of my mind saying don't torture me!! So I was a little hesitant to do the RX'd weight, but like Jennie said it's only 3 reps a round. So I did the 40kg and I'm glad I did. I think the workout would've been too easy if I went lighter. This was the perfect weight to push me, but not struggle through it. I was kind of disappointed that my squats were pretty much 3-3-3 throughout because that's a strong point of mine, but my legs were shot from the push ups. Those I was happy with, I think only one set I did 5-1 and the rest were all unbroken. I can't believe how far my push ups have come since I started in June with the green band on the rack! wowza! Overall, I was really happy with this WOD and hope to see it again in the future and see what kind of progress I make.

Hump Day

Today was just an average day. My mood and emotions are starting to get back on track and every little thing isn't effecting me. Good thing the paleo eating is starting to kick in because Saturday-Monday was just bad. It's pretty crazy how what you eat can take control of your emotions so much. But I'm glad I'm on the right track and getting back to myself again. Other than that I don't have anything insightful today. I guess I should get back on that because that's why you all enjoy reading this, I've got to keep you interested! Promise, I'll have something tomorrow.

Food for the day: Breakfast: 3 eggs, 5 oz ground beef, 3 oz black berries and 4 strawberries. Lunch: 10 oz pork ribs and 1.5 cups mixed veggies. Dinner: handful of almonds 2 fried eggs and 4 strips of bacon (didn't feel like a lot of meat tonight) paleo cookie.

Today is normally my rest day, but since I didn't get a rowing workout in last week, I decided to go. I'm preparing for a rowing competition in February. Our coach Bill writes 3 rowing WODs on the board every week to get better at our rowing. Today's WOD was 4 rounds of 5:00 rowing with 3:00 rest in between for max meters. I ended up with 4866 meters, and that took everything out of me. I was hoping to get 5000, but it was sooooo hot up on the loft, after the second round I was so parched and hot I turned the fan on. I think I came out too strong on the first round. I think my rounds broken down were 1240, 1215, 1202, and 1209. I gave it my all the last minute, but ugh I was beat. I need to work on my form though so that it works my hammies and butt instead of my quads. gonna have to talk to Bill and Jennie about that one.

100 Burpees!!!

Do you ever wish you could be a kid again? That you could go back to the days where all you had to worry about was what game you were going to play with your best friend? When boys/girls had cooties? When you could wear pigtails and barrettes in your hair? When you had summer vacations? When you had snow days? When you could get up on Saturday mornings and watch cartoons?! When you had nap time and recess? Boy do I miss those days…

Today was one of those days where I really wish I was a kid again. I sat at my desk all day staring out the window, watching the snow fall. I was imagining all the fun I could have playing outside. Building snowmen and igloos, going sledding, having a snowball fight, making snow angels… that would be SO much more fun than sitting behind a computer all day.

Remember when we were kids and we wanted to grow up and have ‘big kid jobs’? What on earth were we thinking?! If I could have days where I was able to not worry about anything and be a kid again, I so would. I guess that’s what my weekends are for? Or that’s why teachers went into teaching, because they have summer vacations?! Maybe I should switch my career path? Well I do need a different job, I can’t be stuck behind a computer in a cubical the rest of my life…this isn’t what I signed up for. I want to have some fun too, what happened to that?! Is anybody out there a life coach and would like to guide me in the right direction for a job? That would be grrrreat!

Food for the day

Breakfast: 3 eggs 5oz ground beef, 3oz blackberries and 1.5oz pomegranate Lunch: 10 oz chicken thighs and small side salad with 3 large grape tomatoes Dinner: 5.5oz Pork Ribs and 1/2 cup mixed veggies Dessert: paleo brownie

Strength: Dead Lift 3(70% of TM)-3(80% of TM)-3+(90% of TM) (Training Max (TM) – 99kg) 3@69.5kg – 3@79kg - 6@89kg My dead lifts felt great today, however, it's definitely getting heavy! For the 3+ set I ended up getting 6 reps, which I was really happy with. My single rep max before we started this training was 92kg. I can't wait to get our single rep maxes again and see what I can do!

WOD: Complete 5 Rounds for total Pull-ups: In 1:30 complete: 25 burpees then with remaining time AMRAP pull-ups 1:30 rest.

I decided to scale to A which was 20 burpees. When we did the 1:00 of burpees on Saturday I got 19, so I knew 5 rounds of 20 would be a challenge. The first 2 rounds I felt good, but the last 3 once I got to about 12 burpees the last 8 were a struggle. I ended up with 21 total pull-ups on the single purple band. I'm really working my dead hangs to get off the band. I debated about not using a band today for this, but also wanted to make sure I got the full range of motion so that's why I went with the purple band. I also think I did a couple extra burpees since Jennie was photographing my awesome burpee form and I had people walking in front of my face to get to the bar. But what's a couple extra burpees when you already did 100 of them?!

Moody Monday and Isabel

I put a lot of pressure on myself, in all areas of my life. One main area would be helping others and making them happy. I love doing things for others. I probably should have picked a career where I feel like I could help others more… Whether it be as simple as being there to listen, or a shoulder to cry on, or helping cook, or helping with school, or with motivating them, or buying something, whatever it may be I want to see them happy. If I was able to lend a hand in any way, it makes me feel good, it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. But when someone doesn’t take my offer of help…I feel like I’ve failed. Not only do I feel like I’ve failed them, but I feel like I’ve failed myself. I feel like my help wasn’t good enough.

And that’s been happening a lot in the last few weeks with some people really close to me. I can’t control everything and I know that, but these last few weeks its really gotten me down. I guess I just have to accept it and move on. Maybe they’ll come around some day…

I’m really trying to work on this not getting upset/frustrated easily thing. It’s hard. I’m pretty easy going, but ugh some things just really knock me on my butt. I definitely have a case of the moody Mondays..

Yesterday mom and I spent all afternoon shopping for food and cooking for the week. We made chicken thighs with peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms and tomato sauce in the crock pot; dry rub pork ribs with garlic and onions and a can of diced tomatoes in the other crock pot; some ground beef with garlic, onions, peppers, and seasoning; and for dinner last night mom made pork tenderloin medallions and cooked baby carrots.

Sunday I ate: Breakfast: 3 eggs, 6 pieces of bacon, 6 strawberries Lunch: some chicken breast and a paleo treat Dinner: side salad 6oz pork tenderloin and 4 oz baby carrots.

Today’s food:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 5oz ground beef mix, ½ brownie paleo treat Lunch: side salad 6oz pork tenderloin 4oz baby carrots, and other ½ of the paleo treat (trying to get these out of the way before the BBC IV at the Fort :-p) Dinner: 10 oz of chicken thighs and 1/2 cup mixed veggies

I’m excited for the next BBC. And I’m also excited there are some new ‘point systems’, like for the food log. I like this since I felt jipped last time because I was the only one to log my food EVERY day… I hope to see a lot of people participate and follow through to the end. It’s great to see how everyone changed. I also hope that with me starting my adventure a month before this challenge, my body will already be used to burning fat for fuel, so I won’t have to deal with those weeks in between where I don’t lose anything. Which will probably be the next two weeks coming up. I ordered some fish oil and vitamin D-3 online yesterday, in the mean time I’m taking some fish oil pills mom has… then it’s shot time with the liquid eeek. I’m really trying to do everything I can for my body to be as healthy as possible. I just need to work on this stress thing…

Strength: Press 3(70%)-3(80%)-3+(90%) (new training max – 37.5kg): 3@26kg - 3@30kg - 4@34kg

I've been struggling with the press the last few cycles. The last cycle I actually went down 2kg on my training max. So my goal today was to really focus on keeping my core tight and get at least 4 reps on the last set. I tried for 5 and got about half way, but just didn't have it in me. Overall, I was pretty happy with it.

WOD: “Isabel” 30 snatches (60/40) for time. Goal time 3:00-6:00. Compare to 9/30/10 (30kg 3:37)

Last time I did Isabel I used 30kg and completed it in 3:37. I remember that my last few reps sucked and kind of tweaked my back because I didn’t get under the bar all the way. My goal this time was to go a little heavier and really focus on my form. It’s a fast paced workout, but form is key. Today I went at 32 kg and finished in 3:51. I really wanted to do 35kg going into it, but I tried a couple reps and it just felt heavy, my body was tired and not feeling it. I was happy that I added 2kg and only 14 seconds to my time, even though I was pushing to finish at about the same time as before. But Jennie mentioned that I do this awkward chicken neck thing once I fatigue, so I need to just focus on pushing my head through and lock it out. Overall, I was pretty happy with today and look forward to this week of work ahead!

So now that I’ve surpassed the 163 mark, it’s getting into the 150’s. At one point during the BBC III the scale read 159, but that didn’t last too long. So this time I’m determined to make it there and stay there. My other goal by end of February/early March is to do unassisted pull ups in the WOD’s again. I was doing them for awhile before my injury. Granted everyone didn’t have my chin over the bar and it pissed me off to no end, but I think I just gave up when I walked in the door and saw pull ups on the board. This time I’m going to face that bar with all I’ve got and let go of those bands. I’m going to continue to use the bands on my dead hang pull up at home and at the Fort so I can gain some strength, but I want to be band free for pull ups again.

I’m really surprised at how many people are reading this blog and how many have said they enjoy reading it. It encourages me to keep going with it. I’m happy I’m able to share my journey with so many people and see it for myself typed out. Hopefully I can inspire at least one person with all of this...

Victory!!!

I got to bed pretty late last night since I was visiting a couple of my friends from college for dinner. That alarm at 7 was pretty harsh. But my excitement for going back to team Saturday woke me up the second I walked in the Fort. K-Tuck and I decided to work on over head squats since we don't get to outside of WODs. This was the weight and reps
5@15kg 5@25kg 3@30kg 2@35kg 1@40kg 1@45kg 50kg-fail 50kg-fail 1@48kg new PR by 13kg!!! The toughest part of the OHS at 50kg was locking it out over head. Getting that back push jerk over head was just not cooperating. I was determined to get it after K-Tuck accomplished it, but it just didn't happen. So I took 2kg off the bar and successfully lifted 48kg. I felt good in the squat and feel like I can go heavier, I just need to get it over head.

Then it was time for Team Saturday. It was a rough one to come back to after a couple of months, but it felt great to be back. The WOD was:

In teams of 6 complete 3 rounds of:
2:00 wall balls (20/14)
2:00 ball slams (30/20)
2:00 rowing for cals
3:00 rest
*2 team members at each station with one person working at a time
*at the end of the last 3:00 rest 1:00 of max burpees

My scores for each round and the burpees were: 60/62/56/19

I had a great team with Steph, Garth, Drew, and Pete.I knew we could be in the running for the championship belt, but I also knew the overhead squats really tired me out. These are all movements I'm pretty good at, but my legs were beat. Steph and I were paired up and started on the rower, I took a good chunk of the 2:00 each round and more as the rounds continued. So I put on at least 20 cals every row. I was beat by the time we got to wall balls, but I pushed through those and the ball slams. THEN Bill decided to surprise us at the end with 1:00 of burpees. That was tiring, but if I can get 19 in a minute, I sure can do more when I'm rested. In the end our team came out on top with 1738. I love team Saturday's win or lose, because I always get a great workout with some great people.

Brunch: 3 eggs and 6 pieces of bacon and a paleo treat
Snack: Pear
Dinner: 4.5oz chicken breast, baked sweet potato, and 3oz broccoli

Oh and on another note...I stepped on the scale this morning and was at 161! Woot! goodbye nastiness that was in me!

You won't find this at a globo gym...

Louis was a little sore this morning when I woke up. I was a little nervous that I over did it and I was going to have to sit the bench again. But I took some Advil and he’s feeling pretty good. I don’t really think the lump swelled at all (maybe a little?), I think it was just sore. I’m not too sure. It’s hard to explain since it’s an awkward injury to being with. Hopefully it’s just a little thing and maybe I’ll avoid any form of squat cleans for awhile? Or just go lighter. We’ll see. I wonder why that movement just hates me… I guess I should’ve “iced that mother” after the workout last night. Those are the words of Kelly Starrett, when I asked him for recovery advice.

One of my favorite parts about the Fort and the CrossFit community in general, is how it feels like one big family. You’re family at home is supposed to be there to support you no matter what. No matter how strong, weak, lost, on the right path, succeeding, having troubles succeeding, etc. they’re there to support you and help you achieve your goals and pick you back up. And the same goes for CrossFit, everyone, there wants to see you excel and push yourself that little bit further. I remember the day I got my first pull-up and Jennie started jumping, dancing and singing a little tune with me. Or during Fight Gone Bad, when I was struggling with the sumo dead-lift high pulls and Tommy Mo was right there yelling in my ear “you want to be a size 6, push for the size 6”. Or that Tuesday where we did that awful WOD with heavy cleans and jerks and burpees and running and who knows what else, but I was at my lowest of lows. I almost started crying (ok maybe I shed a tear or two) on the last 400m run, but then I saw everyone in the parking lot cheering me on and Jennie hugged me when I came in and said I did a great job for fighting through the suck. I felt like absolute shit and it was my worst performance EVER, but I didn’t give up. Why didn’t I give up? Because I had support, I had my Fort family there cheering me on to finish and making sure I did not give up. No one ever judges you for not being able to do a movement correctly or if you have to scale down to your ability. They help you improve your technique and push you to jump on that box if you started on plates, or move down to the blue band for pull-ups if you’ve been using the green or add another 5kg to crush your old PR. They see the best in you, which you may not always see yourself. Sometimes we focus too much on what we can’t do, instead of what we can do.

I wish more people were given the opportunity or took advantage of the opportunity to experience this family. I’m lucky enough to have my parents there crossfitting with me and my brother and sister-in-law crosfitting in Virginia (we constantly text each other PR updates and our struggles). If I ever have to move for a job or something else, it’s going to be REALLY hard to leave the Fort. But I’ll know that I’ll always have a place to go and where I’m welcomed with open arms, love and support. It really is the best feeling.


Breakfast: 3 eggs, 5 oz ground beef and a pear Lunch: 4 oz flank steak/spinach roll and 8 oz mixed greens with 3 grape tomatoes and olive oil/vinaigrette Snack before my laaaate dinner, a paleo brownie treat that just so happened to be my brothers xmas present to me that I got in the mail today and it was AMAZING!!! nom nom nom Dinner: side salad with balsamic vinaigrette and a burger with cheese a fried egg and 3 slices of bacon, no bun.


Strength: Front Squat (training max 69.75kg): 5@28kg(40% of training max) 5@35(50% of training max) 5@42kg(60% of training max)

Front squats felt good. I really wanted to focus on my form, getting the deep squat and really driving my knees out. My left IT band has been bothering me on and off for awhile now...it really needs to go away. So it was a good thing it was light today.

WOD: 4:00 AMRAP of: 21 double unders and 7 power snatches (40/30) 4:00 rest 4:00 AMRAP of: 14 burpees and 14 pull-ups

I didn't know how I was going to do with this workout given that Louis was acting up a little and I haven't done double unders in ages. But it turned out pretty good. I was pleased that I did the RXd weight for the snatches and the second round of double unders I strung them all together! woot! I ended up with 2 rounds plus the double unders and 4 snatches, so 25 reps. For the second half I used the two purple bands again, I'm still working on my dead hang at home, but I'm still not comfortable with my unassisted pull-up...ever since I got the one it's been awful! I just can't seem to get over that bar and I pull way too far from the bar...eh, I don't know, it'll come back someday. Anyway, my burpees were pretty solid and I started to slow the second round at like the 10th rep and my pull-ups I did 5-5-4 for both rounds. I ended up with 2 rounds and 7 burpees, so I was pretty pleased. It was fun to work out with BOTH mom and dad at the fort tonight. I'm sure it'll happen more often!

Excited for Oly lifting and Team Saturday tomorrow, it’s been almost 2 months since the last time I went! Wowza!

Fort love!

I AM Beautiful! :)

I woke up this morning with two pretty bruises on my forearms and one on my right leg. Those Turkish get-ups are evil. It was a good night’s rest, I made it to bed by 10 after talking to Jer to see how his doctor’s appointment went. I barely moved during the night which is abnormal for me as I usually twist and turn all throughout the night. I must have been really relaxed after knowing his blood work came back good and he’s still in remission, but need to keep watch on his sugar and liver enzyme levels. But as long as he exercises (I’m trying to get him to the Fort! :-)), eats well, and rests we should see an improvement in those. I can’t help but get a little nervous every month when he goes to the doctor now, the first 2 years after treatment are the most crucial, but so far so good. I’ve got plenty to be thankful for!


I reread my post from yesterday after reading Tommy Mo’s comment. And I know it was a lot of thoughts put into one post and this blog is obviously a good idea for me to get it all out. I think it’s going to be a great way to let my thoughts go that sometimes pile up and get me down. Anyway, I just wanted to clarify that my statement of

“Which got me thinking…is it really possible to be happy no matter what? Or is there always going to be something that we aren’t happy with?”

Was purely appearance based. Which, I do know, is something I need to move past. Many years of childhood bullying, not only from other kids but myself as well, has burned this negative image of myself within me. For years when you’re told “you’re too fat”, “you’ll never have a boyfriend”, called every fat name in the book etc. you start to believe it yourself. But guess what?! I’m NOT fat anymore and I DO have a boyfriend and I DO have loving friends and family and I’m on my way to becoming a beast at CrossFit, all of which I’m damn proud of! It has taken years to get to this point in my life where I’m starting to be happy with my physical appearance. I used to go shopping with mom when I was a kid and just end up balling my eyes out on the drive home because absolutely nothing would fit me. But now I have a shopping addiction…I look forward to shopping and seeing what cute stuff I can get in a 5/6 or 7/8 whatever it is at the moment. I decided there’s always going to be something about your physical appearance you’re never going to be happy with, you’re always going to have some sort of flaw. However, that’s what makes you unique and you should be proud of it. Everyone will always have battles with their weight and appearance, if it was so easy life would be boring and I wouldn’t have found CrossFit. It’s something I’ve been learning to accept over the past few years. Yes, I feel like I could use to lose some in my inner thighs or my tummy or my triceps, but it takes hard work , dedication, patience and acceptance. I’m proud of my ass, my strong legs, my strong arms, and my newly added 7th “ab” Louis. I am me and I’m happy about it! I’m proud of myself for pushing my body 4-5 days a week to get stronger, I’m proud that I’m a woman and lift heavy shit, I’m proud that I can row really well, I’m proud of myself for beginning to let all the negative thoughts go and move past my fat days.

I am also happy that I have a wonderful family, boyfriend, friends, coaches, and good health. I’m so thankful for all that I have in my life and all that is to come. I wouldn’t have made it this far if it wasn’t for the support everyone has provided for me over the past 23 years. Tommy Mo and everyone else who has said “beauty isn’t only because of appearance” are right. I know that. Sometimes we get so caught up in physical appearance we don’t realize what true beauty is. I AM beautiful inside AND out!!! (I think I’m going to put a post-it on my bathroom mirror to remind me every day.)

Food for the day: Breakfast: 3 eggs 4oz ground beef Lunch: 10 oz pork chops and 9 oz cauliflower .5 oz dark chocolate Dinner: 5oz flank steak rolled with spinach in the middle and 9 asparagus spears

Strength: Floor Press (training max 50.5kg): 5 @ 20kg(40% of training max) 5@23kg(50% of training max) 5@31kg(60% of training max)

WOD: 21-15-9 cals/reps rowing and clusters (40/30) scaled to A @ 30kg rep scheme 15-12-9 goal time 6:00-9:00

Today's strength was easy. I always love de-load week. The WOD I knew I wanted to go heavy with less reps. I was a little nervous given the last time I did heavy squat cleans, "Louis" appeared. But I made sure to push myself, but be cautious. The rowing was easy for me and took no time at all. And the clusters weren't bad either. I felt really comfortable at 30kg. I actually liked this WOD. I finished in the goal time at 8:45, a little longer than I had hoped for, but beat the 9:00. I checked Louis a couple of times, so that may have taken a good 30 seconds combined. :)

I got beat up by the Turkish get-up!

The first week back at work always feels like the longest week ever. And then when you have a day or days off they go by so freakin fast and you don’t get as much accomplished as you wish. Can I go back on winter vacation please? I took a much needed nap after work today before going to Warrior Women Wednesday and plan to go to bed here soon. I need to make it another one of my goals to get to bed at 10 every night, that’s going to be kind of hard, but worth a shot. Eye on the prize right?

So today I decided to hop on the scale, my body has been feeling great even though it’s only been 2 days of eating paleo, but I don’t feel like I’ve got a giant tire around my belly or so bloated if a pin pricked me I would explode and flop around like a balloon that just popped. And to my surprise I’m already down to 163.8, which is almost the weight I finished the BBC III at. And it’s also that evil number that I couldn’t get past, but I’m going to this time. I’m determined to kick 163 in the ass and make it into the 150s. How am I going to do that?! I have no idea. I know I need to cut back on my fruit intake, which is going to be super hard because I love fruit. It’s hard knowing that fruit is ‘bad’ for me because I want to lose weight, when for years I’ve been told to eat fruit to accomplish this. Hopefully I can wean off fruit slowly every week and get it down to one or two servings a week. It’s kind of been my crutch the last couple of days to make up for the lack of crappy cookie sugars I’m not eating. I definitely hit that sugar crash yesterday afternoon, but it wasn’t too bad today…maybe because of that dark chocolate, damn chocolate! One day at a time…

During the BBC and for years, I had the constant urge to step on the scale, this time around I want to try and only do it once or twice a week, not every day. Getting to that number is like an addiction. I used to wake up every morning and step right on that scale, after peeing of course because that’s extra weight. But it would be the first thing I thought of every day. It’s a serious struggle, but in the end I need to be happy with the way I feel in my clothes, the progress I make at the gym, and the way I look at any weight close to my goal. I don’t want a number to define me. I want to be happy no matter what and that is my ultimate goal. It may not happen this year or next. Which got me thinking…is it really possible to be happy no matter what? Or is there always going to be something that we aren’t happy with? Am I always going to be unhappy that my little toe is so small that I can barely get polish on that toe nail? Well, it’s going to be pretty annoying every time I go to paint them, but dammit I think there comes a point in your life where you just need to be thankful for what you’ve been given. If you’re working hard to stay fit by eating right, going to the gym, releasing stress, and don’t give up, then you have plenty to be happy about! I really need to start listening to myself more often! :)

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 3.5oz chicken breast and a pear (so juicy and yummy!)

Lunch: 8oz mixed greens with 5oz ground beef ½ an avocado and 2TBS salsa, and 1 oz 86% dark chocolate

Dinner: 5.5oz pork chops pre-workout, a handful of cashews post workout

Again too many carbs today with the avocado, pear and chocolate. Could be worse, but still needs a little improvement.

Warrior Women Wednesday

I was originally going into it just to learn the movement, Turkish get-up, but then I decided to do that scaled option of the WOD. RX was 20-14-8 push ups, box jumps, Turkish get-ups. So I scaled to 16-10-4 and boy am I glad I did, I ended up with a time of 14:16. I used a 12kg kettle bell for the TGUs and those got tiring after awhile. If you don't know what they are...google it, they're nuts. It's a complete body movement, like you actually have to use your brain and concentrate really hard when you do this since you have to stare at the KB!! And the TGU beat me up, I have lumps/bruises on my forearms from the kettle bell and bruises forming on my knees/legs. They might be picture worthy later, if you know me...I like to take pictures of my injuries! :) Once I was done with the wod, Jennie goes, "you know what's awesome? Your mom is doing Turkish get-ups right now!" It is pretty awesome, I'm SO incredibly proud of my mom (and dad) to push themselves to the limit and do CrossFit. So many people my age won't even do it and they're almost 60 and 62! They're rockstars!! I'm also proud of mom for starting a paleo challenge with me, I think it'll be easier for both of us going through it together!

I really want to thank everyone that’s reading this and supporting me, it means A LOT. This has been another release for me outside of CF. Aside from helping myself, I hope in the least I can inspire someone else out there to do something for themselves. Too often we put everyone else before us and try to make everyone else happy, but we truly can’t make anyone else happy until we are happy with ourselves! Live, Laugh, Love! <3

Got a little taste of Carbon!

I will never get used to the 5 AM thing. I’ve done it on and off since 2007 and I still hate it. I don’t know how my dad has done it for the past 23+ years and is so chipper in the morning. I slept like a rock last night and boy was I pissed to have that alarm startle me awake this morning. It doesn’t make it any easier that I hate my job and dread going to it every.single.day. I desperately need to find a new job this year. Fingers crossed! If only I knew what I really wanted to do…

Today was an exciting day, 6 months and counting with the boy. Who woulda thunk I’d finally have a great guy in my life. Not I, but I’m glad I finally do! :) It was also exciting to visit some good friends of mine that I haven’t seen in weeks. Myself, K-Tuck, and Jer went to go visit Pete and Ivy and Steph at their box, CrossFit Carbon, that they just opened a few weeks ago. The place is HUGE! They’re very lucky to get a place of that size and I’m sure within time they’ll have plenty of members to fill it up. Pete is a great coach and gave me some tips the next time I work on the push press. Maybe next time I'm there I'll get the full effect of the weightlifting platforms with some Oly lifts. I'll be back soon, friends!

I’ve missed them a lot at the Fort, dead lift/tall sock Tuesday just isn’t the same without Ivy. I also haven’t seen them as much outside the Fort either, so we need to work on that. Hopefully now that they're up and running, they can afford some time to be friends again. ;)

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 5oz chicken breast and 2 Clementines Lunch: 4.5oz burger and 2 cups of stir fry veggies Dinner:went to Friday's with Jer after Carbon.... 10oz sirloin with a side of sweet potato fries and vegetable medley which had squash and zucchini. I ate a little more carbs today than I would've liked, but at least they mainly consisted of veggies, so I'm ok with it!

Since it's deload week at the Fort, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to go check out Carbon. I'm still amazed at how large the gym is!

Strength: Push Press 5-5-5 none of us (K-Tuck, Ivy, or I) remembered our numbers so we kind of just went with it. I followed them with 65-75-85 and Ivy said that was too light so I did another set at 95. Felt pretty good, I don't have a 1 rep max in push press, so now I know I can do 5 reps at about 44kg. I just need to work on keeping my core tight and not rounding my back and really opening my hips and driving that bar up. Thanks for the tip, Pete.

WOD: 5 rounds of: 15 wall balls (14#) and 2 wall to wall sprints (there and back twice)

Wall balls are kind of my thing, so I was looking forward to this wod. I needed to go a little deeper on some of my reps, but overall the wall balls felt great. The sprints were tricky coming out of those wall balls and probably could've been faster. But overall I was happy with my 5:36 time. I also want to say I'm super proud of Jer for trying his first CF wod. After his cancer treatments he's really lost a lot of his strength and stamina, so it was tough for him, but I'm happy he did the best he could. That's all I could ask for! And thanks to Pete and Ivy for really working with him and understanding the condition he's in after his treatments! Overall it was a great day, but this girl is TIRED! night world

A new beginning

The night before the first work day of the year, I for sure slept like crap. I couldn’t fall asleep because I’ve had too much on my mind recently and once I fell asleep, I was up every hour. Needless to say, that made for a really long day at work. I know this week is going to be a struggle between adjusting to getting up at 5 am again and my body adjusting to the paleo lifestyle…aka not eating loads of sugar from cookies and candy. But my body really needs it, the last month and a half I’ve felt super sluggish and just bloated and my emotions have been all over the place. I definitely notice the difference in how emotional I am when I eat like crap, and that’s no bueno for anyone around me. I remember how good I felt when I was doing the BBC III and how my confidence was getting better and I’m ready to feel that way again. It’s going to take some major dedication and hopefully I’ll have the support I need, but I see a great year ahead of me. It helps when you're taking this journey with others, I know there's a few of you out there and hopefully we can help each other push past that wall that has stopped us before!

I’m starting this weighing in at 167 this morning. That’s 4 lbs I’ve gained since the BBC III ended, and really in the month of December with all the cookies. And I only have myself to blame, I had no self control. During the BBC III, I had troubles getting over that 163 bump, so I hope I can break that this time around. I don’t have an ideal number I want to weigh, it’s just hard to determine with CrossFit and all the muscle I’m gaining. But I would like to shoot for the low 150s/high 140s in the next couple months. Really I just want to be at that point where I’m comfortable with myself and still making progress at the Fort. In the next couple of days I’m hoping to come up with some realistic goals to accomplish at the Fort this year and maybe a number.

Food for the day:

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs, 3 oz rib roast and 2 Clementines

Lunch: 14 oz paleo chili

Dinner: 6 oz chicken 5 oz cauliflower and 1.5 cups mixed greens with olive oil and vinaigrette

Water allllll day

Strength Work:

Press: training max – 35kg

5 – 15kg (40% of training max)

5 – 18kg (50% of training max)

5 – 22kg (60% of training max)

This was really light because it's deload week which was nice since my press has been awful. And I've had to decrease my training max in the last round, hopefully when we start the next set next Monday I'll be able to get the numbers! It was also great to lift with Tommy Mo today, I haven't seen him in almost a good 2 months. He's a great inspiration to have around during WODs, so it was nice to have him back!

WOD

3 rounds of: 10 toes to bar 15 pull ups 20 kb swings (24/16)

I scaled to option A) 8/12/16, since it's deload week and when I asked Jennie an approximate time, she said 7-9 min, I felt like I could do A in that amount of time. I also used 2 purple bands for the pull ups. I'm still really frustrated with my pull ups, ever since I got the one I can't get the rhythm down and get my kip going. So I've been focusing on my dead-hang pull up at home and at the Fort with the band. One of my main goals for this year is to get that pull up and a good rhythm to my kip so I can bust through those WODs, I'll get there some day. Anyway, I took today's WOD pretty easy given it's deload week and ended up with a time of 7:31. I felt good afterward and I could have probably gone with the Rx'd reps, but I'll save that for the rest of the week. I'm going back to 5 days a week by returning to Team Saturday and I can't wait! It was also great to see some faces tonight I haven't seen in awhile!! Missed you guys!

Time to step it up

Welcome to the new year! I can't believe how fast 2010 flew by. I graduated college, got an OK job for the time being, discovered CrossFit, found an amazing guy, battled his cancer, and many more memories in between. Now that my boy is healthy, I feel like I'm allowed some more time to focus on myself. The last 6 months of my life have been more physically and emotionally taxing than I could ever have imagined. But I wouldn't have had it any other way, if we can make it through that, we can make it through anything.

Now 2011 is the year to finally be comfortable with myself. I hope to finally be comfortable with how I look and not resort to food for emotions and turn to working out. CrossFit has helped me with that the last 6 months, but I'm not going to lie, the last 2 months I've been pretty awful with the eating. And I can see it effecting my WOD's, and could possibly be to blame for "Louis" the lump in my stomach. I hope to stay injury free, preform the best I can at the Fort, eat Paleo, find a better job, and be the best daughter, sister, friend, and girlfriend I can be in 2011. Cheers to a new year and many adventures! :)