Christine!

So on Saturday I did Christine. 3 rounds: 500m Row, Bodyweight Deadlifts (143#) 21 box jumps (20'' box). My legs were screaming and I had to break up the deadlifts 7-5, 4-4-4, 4-4-4. Time was 12:30. It is tougher then it looks. It always works out that way with CrossFit workouts. You see the WOD and it doesn't look too bad but then when you get into the first rounds you start to think "what did I get myself into?"

As for the rest of the weekend. Had to work a lot of Saturday here and there throughout the Complex. Saturday night went out with Christy and her brother to a Thai restaurant downtown and then a 30th birthday party for someone I don't know. Lynn from flag football invited us and we thought it would be fun just to go for a bit. The party was in this fancy bar. They rented it out for his birthday. Open bar, cake, cheese and Breakfast at Tiffany's playing on the wall. As ore and more people started to show up Christy and I realized we went not in fashion and the 80's tights are back. We saw a girl wearing them at the bar. Crazy! But glad that I went out and had a fun night hanging out.

Sunday we had our first flag football game for the season. We are going to be good and there are two people on the team that played with us in the past that are back on the team. I really like them. They are fun and add to the team. We killed the other team this morning. 33 - 0. It will be a fun season!

Push press with a little something something on the side!

Today was a good workout at the gym. WOD: 5 rounds - 5 power cleans, 10 push presses, 15 deadlifts. 80# I could have gone heavier weight. I was able to do all of the cleans and the deadlifts without breaking them up. I was able to do the first 10 push presses then I broke it up 7 - 3, 5 - 3 - 2, 4 - 3 - 3, 4 - 3 - 3. So I think if I had gone up at least to 90# it would have been more diffcut for me on the push presses but in a good way. Push presses are a weak spot for me anyway. So something to think about when we do a similar workout. Time was 10:01. As for food I was okay. I had a cookie at the Slough that was really yummy but not in the daily plan. So I ate less carbs at dinner and didn't eat a snack before I worked out. It was a really good cookie!

Tomorrow I have to work here and there but I am going to take a break during the day to get in a workout. I am not sure what I am going to do but thinking Christine might be a good one. I have to check on what prescribe weight is. You know a little rowing, deadlifts and box jumps. The good stuff.

Here are a few pictures of the hikes that I went on while I was in Oregon. I sure do miss rivers and lush green forest!

How about them Beavs!

Once again the Beavs knock off USC! This time the Trojans were ranked #1 and once again the Beavs beat 'em. Man it was a good game. I have to be honest and say there was a point when I was worried that the beavs were not going to be able to hold on to the win but they did it. Sure wish I was still in Corvallis. Man it is going to be one big party in C-town tonight! Here is a picture from the wedding. The reception was at the football stadium and I was able to get down onto the field for some pictures. You can't tell but I am still in my heels!

It was hard to leave the northwest. It is just a pretty time of year and I miss all of my friends. They are such great people and I am lucky to have them in my life. I was able to go on a few hikes, pick chanterelles, and enjoy some good wine. All in all a great trip.

While I was in Oregon the diet was not too bad. I tried to stick with at least two Zone meals. I didn't drink as much as I thought I was going to so that was good. My weight didn't fluctuate too much. Nothing more then a crazy weekend down here. So I consider that a huge accomplishment.

Now I'm back in SD. Glad to be home to sleep in my own bed (even though the air mattress that Steph set up for me was comfy) and happy to spend time with Max. I sure did miss him while I was gone. Also bad to the gym. There were a few workouts that I was bummed to miss while I was gone and a few that I was just fine missing. It feels really good to be back at it full time.

Here are the last two WOD's
Wednesday: With the clock running do one pull-up one minute, two pull-ups at two minutes and so forth. Do kipping until failure and then switch to jumping. Go until you can not get the necessary amount. I was able to get to 9 kipping and then 33 jumping. It made a big difference when Andy pulled some plates off of my box. I had to use my upper body a lot more and couldn't rely on my legs.

Thursday: Max effort for 30 seconds of push-up's, sit-up's and turkish get-ups. Rest 2 min
Max effort for 1 min ".....". Rest 1:30 min
Max effort 1:30 min "......". Rest 1 min
Max effort 2 min "......". Rest 30 seconds
My numbers were 22-15-3, 23-30-8, 24-45-9, 30-55-12
I am glad to see that I was able to increase my number for push-ups each time. I am getting stronger here and it feels good to see that improvements.

On vacation

So for all of you that are following my blog (Mom and my Crossfit friends) here is a quick update.

Been in Oregon now for over a week. Got in a CrossFit workout at Recreate Fitness on Friday Sept 12 and then went and worked out with Scott at Crossfit Portland on Saturday. Monday I did kind of the same workout as the gym but had to do hang cleans (instead of power) and jerk. Got to 11 and then went down to 0 on the minute (11, 10, 9, 8...) with full squat clean with no press. Tuesday went on a 9 mile hike. Wednesday did tabata ring planks, air squats, sit-ups and burpees with a guy named Ryan. Thursday went on a hike and picked chanterelles and Friday morning (today) I did 400m lunges.

I have been okay when it comes to food. Not horrible but not great. Drinking a lot of beer and eating freaking good apple crisps and cake. Definitely not Zone. But I have been getting in some workouts and that makes me feel better. Tomorrow I am going to get up early, before the wedding day festivities begin and get in a good one: 5 rounds: 400m run, 20 squats, 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups. We'll see how it goes.

Pirates in the Bay!

So I went to the 6am workout this morning. It wasn’t too hard to get out of bed but I think it took a little longer for the muscles to warm up. The drive over sucked. I was surprised at the number of people who drive over the bridge. It was traffic at 5:30am. That’s just nuts. The people in the class were great and it was nice to workout with a new group.

The morning WOD was 5 rounds: 20 pull-ups, 30 push-ups and 40 sit-ups. Rest 2 minutes between rounds. My times were 3:55, 4:44, 4:41, 4:59, 5:01. The first round I did all kipping. The rest of the rounds I did 10 kipping and 20 jumping (Andy made us go 2:1 jumping) push-ups on toes and ab-mat sit ups with anchor. The push-up were the piece that took the most amount of time. 30 push-ups are a lot and I hate them. It was nice to get the workout in though. Now I’m off to Portland. While I am in Portland I am going to workout at the old gym on Friday night and check out CrossFit Portland on Saturday morning. Sunday will be a rest day. I am going to try to stay with it while I am gone. Andy is going to give me a few workouts to do and told me to bring my rings. So I just need to make sure to motivate myself to actually do the workouts.

Yesterday’s WOD was nasty…SPRINTS
Partner workout: 10 200m sprints, 6 400m sprints and lastly 4 800m sprints. Man I am not a sprinter. I much prefer to go long distances over long periods. Francis and I partnered up and I know that I made it harder for her then she did for me. I had a lot more rest time. But she pushed through it and it will make her stronger!

The picture is what I saw this morning as I was coming into work. It reminds me of a pirate ship. I think it is really pretty. I would like to see what it looks like on the inside. I bet it has a lot of nice woodwork.

Fight Gone Bad. Need I say more

This one is killer. No matter how many times you do it or how many ways you try to rationalize it in your head it sucks. I mean really sucks. Last time I did this I went with men's weight so I decided to do it again prescribed men. There was a fleeting second or two right before we started that I thought I should go with female weight but nah! Here are how my numbers looked:

Round One: WB 25 SDHP 17 BJ 19 PP 12 Row 18 - 91 total
Round Two: WB 15 SDHP 12 BJ 20 PP 8 Row 17 - 72 total
Round Three: WB 10 SDHP 10 BJ 15 PP 8 Row 14 - 57 total
Total: 220

So this is a 4 point increase since the last time I did this back towards the end of July. So that is good. Plus this is the first time that I have done it jumping onto the box. So I am really happy with my number. I need to use the heavier wall ball more often cause that is what sucked the most. If I could get that number up as well as my Push Press. Oh the things to work on.

Dinner was a salad with tomatoes, pepperjack cheese and this tofu taco meat that Sean made up. It was tasty. To get a balanced carb block I had a slice of the homemade bread with a little honey on it. Probably more carbs then needed but it is high in fiber and really tasty! I mean you can't pass on homemade bread.

Quick and easy

So tonight I wasn't really in the mood to cook and I am trying to get rid of the odds and ends in the fridge before I head out of town so I quickly made these egg burritos.

2 corn tortillas (3 blocks carbs. These were ones that Sean had and high on the carb side. Not ones I would buy), 2 eggs (2 blocks protein), 1 oz pepperjack cheese (1 block protein, 3 blocks fat) and some salsa.

Not a very big dinner so I am interested to see how I feel in a few hours. I will be headed for bed in a few hours so it might really not make a difference. Since I have gone down in total blocks I don't have a snack before I go to bed. It really hasn't been that big of an issue.

Strength day at the gym today. Back squats 3 -3 -3 and Front squats 3 - 3 - 3 I went 119, 133, 153 on the back squat and 119, 129 and 139 (for only one) on the Front Squat. Overall a good day. The gym was packed and it was good to see some new people in the gym on a strength day. Overall a good Monday!

Aaron is placed on the DL!

So Aaron never did make it back to the gym. He felt okay on Friday but I guess on Saturday he was really sore and had to roll out of bed. He said he had a really hard time walking to the bathroom. That made me laugh. He said maybe when he felt better he might come back and get in another workout. I said that's cool and let him know to check 0ut the CrossFit site and see if there are gyms up there that he might want to check out. I said that I would even go up there with him if he wanted.

As for eating....I am dialed in during the week. When I can pack my lunch, eat what i have at the house, and snack on the "packages" that i have put together. When I put myself in situations where other food is available to me that is not Zone friendly is when I fall off target. This usually happens on the weekend when I go to concert in the park, or have drinks with friends. The choices that I make during this time are not horrible for me but they are just not what i should be eating. Like I'll have a handful of trailmix with cherries and chocolate. I'm just talking about a handful but the number of nuts, dried fruit and chocolate that comes in that handful puts me over the top in terms of carbs and fat. And we're talking about just a handful.

The workout at the gym on Friday was miserable. It was called "WTF." This one was a tough one. AMRAP in 20 min of 15 deadlifts, 10 back squats and 5 overhead squats. Since it was Friday and I pushed myself all week I decided to stick with it and went with 75#. Man it was tough. I really felt it in my lower back and abs during the squats and then my shoulders were screaming on the overheads. I got 8 rounds and a few deadlifts. On Saturday Mike M. ran the course and we did a king of low key not too intense 3 rounds of 10 burpees, 15 wall balls, 20 box jumps, 25 sit-ups and a farmers carry down and back. I did 12# wall ball, 24 inch box and 35# farmers carry. Time was something like 18:27. It was a good one and I felt pretty strong.

Then I went and watched the Beavs get crushed by Penn State. UGLY. I spent more time sitting in the yard getting sun then watching the game because I just couldn't take it. Oh the Beavs continue to break my heart!

Aaron comes to the gym!

So yesterday Aaron (my brother) came into town and we were going to do dinner at 6pm. Well I thought it might be fun for him to come to the gym and check out what CrossFit is all about. I checked what the WOD for the day was going to be and it was pretty scaleable and pretty easy. The only complex movement was the kettlebell swings. So I asked if he was interested and he said sure. It made me smile because I really don't think he knew what he had just committed himself too. I met him at the house and we carpooled over to the gym together. I introduced him to Andy and the first question he asked Aaron was "have you ever done CrossFit before?" Aaron said no and then the next thing he was told to do was fill out the release form. That's the first thing you do when you start CrossFit.

So the WOD was a partner workout: 3 rounds of 25 push-ups, 15 wall balls, 25 kettlebell swings and 15 box jumps. A partner workout means that each person has to complete all of the reps but only one partner can work at a time. So we broke things up. Like I'd do 10 push-ups then he would do 10 and so forth. He pushed through the push-ups and wall balls but I think it was at the kettlebells that he realized that this is really going to suck. He finished the swings and started to do jump ups onto the box but that quickly turned into step ups. Start of round 2 he was already hurting. It became knee push-up and broken wall balls and kettlebell swings. He was grunting through it. It actually was good for him and I kind of enjoyed watching him push through. Not only are the workouts challenging for the body but there is also a mental toughness that goes along with all of it. There are points were you seriously question if you can keep going and it takes a lot to convince yourself that you can. It's tough. We did the prescribed weight for women 10# wall ball and 35# kettlebell. Time was 23:21. Not bad for someone who has never done CrossFit and had me next to him the whole time encouraging him on.

As the rest of the night progressed he started to get sore and walked a little funny. But he said it was a good sore. Today he sent me a text and said it was hard for him to get out of bed but he is interested in coming to the free Saturday workout. So that's a good sign. I know he won't join the gym or anything but at least he is doing something active and it's kind of a kick in the ass to show you that your not in great shape and there is a lot more that you can be doing. I was there!

thunder, thunder, thunder clouds

So about 60 miles east from where I work is a desert. Which is kind of weird to think about since I practically work on the ocean. But the Imperial Valley is only an hour drive and right now they are having temperature near 110 degrees everyday. So that means every afternoon these really cool thunderheads form to the east. I like to sit at the picnic table at work and just watch them develop. They are cool. Big puffy white things that rise up. They are always calling for flash flood warning and rain showers in the afternoon. It would be nice for us to get a thunder storm here on the west side but I don't think it is going to happen. Sean says every once in awhile we get them but they are pretty rare. Would be cool!

WOD: NANCY 5 rounds 15 Overhead Squats and 400m run. Went heavy today with 75# Was going to do only 65# but a girl in the gym needed the 10# plates so Andy switched mine and I got the 15's. I wasn't too grumpy about it. I am strong when it comes to overhead squats and my legs were not too tired from yesterday's workout. So why not....go heavy! Time was 18:29. I could have shaved off some time here and there but overall I am glad with this time. Can't wait to see Nancy again later in the year. After the workout we did a little extra credit L-sit work. This was something I kind of requested. We never to them and they are something that I want to get better at to eventually be able to get the L pull-up. Tabata L-sits yikes. People at the gym were not happy with me but I think they secretly enjoyed it!

P.S. I'm eating tortilla chips!

Oh Carbs how much do love thee.....

I could go for a big bowl of chips and some salsa right now. I like chips that are salty and let's be honest the ones that a little on the greasy side are the best! Oh goodness. It is interesting to see how you body reacts and what it really craves when you start to regulate what you give it. I had to walk behind a bagel shop today to go to the ATM and as I walked past a truck was delivering the bagels to be cooked for tomorrow morning. All I could smell was fresh bread and that yeasty smell. I started to salivate a bit. Then I started to make a list in my head of all of the bread like things that I have not had in a really long time. Garlic bread (you know the kind you get from the Olive garden), bagels, thick and homemade french toast, cinnamon rolls, and donuts. Oh a glazed donut or a maple bar. Wow, I could only imagine what that would do to my glycemic index and blood sugar. Sometimes I wish computers had a key to represent huge amounts of sarcasm because I can't believe I even wrote the last line.

So Steph if you're reading this the following story is for you. I hope it makes you giggle.....

Yesterday around 5:30 I was bored and I really didn't have anything to do at the house so I decided to go to Eddie Bauer in the Fashion Valley Mall to try on some Cords that I saw in the catalog and really liked. So that was the plan. Go to EB and try on cords. That's generally how I shop. I know what I want or what I'm looking for, go to the store that has it, try it on and buy it. Go home. I really have never been a shopper. Shopping really is not something that I enjoy doing. Well for some weird reason I was in a shopping mood yesterday. Even though I wasn't going to buy anything because I'll wait till I'm in Oregon and won't have to pay sales tax. So really I was just going to go and try them on. Which is even more bizarre.

I parked on the far side were the crowds were less and had to walk through Nordstroms to get into the mall. As I was walking through I saw that they were having their big Labor Day Weekend Shoe Sale. Oh I though this might be fun! So off to the sale rack to see what kind of crazy heels I could try to break my ankle in. It's even better for someone like me because the shoes on sale are already organized by size. I found these black stilettos that were really sexy. Why not. Then there were these cream colored small one inch sandal things that were cute and totally more practical but that was not was I was going for. So I pick the leopard print open toe number with some straps that go up my leg. We all know how I handle weird straps. A sales rep caught me attention and he asked if he could get something from the back for me to try on. I gave him the two I had picked and he was off. I had a seat and took a good look at what I currently had on my feet. Reef sandals that are worn down to the point were if I step on a rock just in the right spot it hurts like a mother because I have worn all of the cushion.

Well the nice man came back with the shoes I had chose and then left. You know I really don't get the whole high heel thing. Who thought that it would be a good idea to walk in something that picks her heel off the ground 4 inches and have her balance on the balls of her feet. So I put the first pair on and I'm telling you I wish I could have seen myself get off the couch to go see what they looked like in the mirror. I think it probably looked like a mix of a 8 month pregnant lady trying to stand with someone had been on a horse for the last two days. It is really hard to stand. The 60 year old lady on the couch opposite of me laughed and said (I'm not joking here) "oh darling you need to get out of those flip-flops and into some heels. You can't be seen walking around in heels like that. You must practice to look good"

I said thank you for the advice, took the shoes off, slipped on the flip-flops and went to EB. Of course they had closed early for Labor Day!

As for the WOD for the day ....

5 rounds: 10 L pull-ups, 15 ring-dips and 20 lunges (each leg)

So since L pull-ups are not an option it was more like jump to a holding L at first (the first 2 rounds) then bent knees and slowly lower. Slowly lower was at times a mildly controlled drop but it was mildly controlled. Ring dips were jump up and control down to the starting position of what a true ring dips would be. These were hard and I was hurting in the chest and triceps area a lot. These really sucked. Then lunges. Lunges are lunges. You just get through them. Time: 21:59. I am guessing that we will do a strength day tomorrow that will work the legs. Over head squats or potentially deadlifts? Well see what good old Andy has for us! Should be fun.