Dear God,
I understand the need to acknowlege our military members. I think Veteran's Day is an important holiday and one that we need to have. Our servicemen and women have an important job defending our country and keeping our citizens safe. However, our hero wod, Hensen, just seriously put me in the hurt locker. Doing 5 rounds in 44:59 of 30 kb swings with 53 lbs, 30 burpees, and 30 GHD sit-ups was just brutual. If you could arrange it so that now I do not need to move for the rest of the day, that would be wonderful. Thanks.
Love,
Katie
PS- If you could arrange to keep me alive without me breathing for the day, that would be great, as breathing hurts now too. I have the utmost appreciation for your consideration.
All joking aside, Veteran's Day is an opportunity to honor those brave men and women who defend or have defended our country and our freedoms. Very often they are the unsung heroes. Sort of like the stage crew in a big Broadway production. They do a lot of work that very rarely gets recognized or seen. Regardless though, without them, the show would not go on. It doesn't matter if there's a lead actor or actress. Without some serious backstage support, all their singing and acting would be for naught. Without our servicemen and women, we wouldn't be able to go on. Without the protection of our freedoms, our lives would all be EXTREMELY different.
I understand that it is a small price to pay to suffer through a hero wod today. But, if it helps to let our servicemen and women know that we appreciate them, then I'm all for it. (aside from the crippling pain afterwards... I'm not necessarily all for that!:P) All joking aside though, to all the men and women who have served or are serving, God Bless and THANK YOU!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
A small thing to be happy about on Monday morning...
So in keeping with my idea that sometimes you need to focus on small things... this morning, I remembered it was Monday (booooo!), but then I also remembered that 94.7 Wash FM goes commercial free in an attempt to make your Mondays not suck quite so bad! It's not always the BEST in musical selection, but it's great for continuous music. Sometimes I hear songs that I'm like, wow, I haven't heard this in forever.
***** Hold for musical break *****
(Picture me rockin' out in my car)
Damn I wish I was your lover, I'd rock you til the daylight comes, make sure you are smiling and more...
***** This has been a test of the random musical break system. Had this been an actual emergency, by no means would you be reading my blog right now! *****
See what I mean? When was the last time you heard THAT song?!?!?
And no it does NOT count if you've been to Rockit Grill recently. *shudders* There is some creepy sorta crazy chick that sings that song EVERYTIME I go to sing karaoke there. Apparently she's a regular! Zoinks! Anyway, good small thing for the Monday morning. No commercials! Yay!
Now back to your regularly scheduled Monday! :P
***** Hold for musical break *****
(Picture me rockin' out in my car)
Damn I wish I was your lover, I'd rock you til the daylight comes, make sure you are smiling and more...
***** This has been a test of the random musical break system. Had this been an actual emergency, by no means would you be reading my blog right now! *****
See what I mean? When was the last time you heard THAT song?!?!?
And no it does NOT count if you've been to Rockit Grill recently. *shudders* There is some creepy sorta crazy chick that sings that song EVERYTIME I go to sing karaoke there. Apparently she's a regular! Zoinks! Anyway, good small thing for the Monday morning. No commercials! Yay!
Now back to your regularly scheduled Monday! :P
Friday, November 6, 2009
Soreness leads to resting which leads straight into a state of Grace...
So yesterday was a good 'ole fashioned rest day. Yup. A rest day. I was really tempted to go in when I saw that the wod had moderately heavy deads and GHD's in it, but I was pretty sore from that blistering Wod we hit on Wednesday. Holy cow. So Jerry didn't put a clock on Wednesday's wod, but told us there was a 20 minute time limit. So basically, when you broke it down, there was about 2 minutes for each exercise, and 4 minutes per round (yes there were five rounds... good math!).
So here's what it looked like
max strict press 55 lbs
max strict chins
Record highest round and total
So my total for the strict press was 75 and my highest round for strict chins was 5. This wod was one of those where your forearms get kind of frid and you feel like your arms kind of want to fall off... yeah. One of those, so needless to say, after working late Wednesday plus that wod, I just had to take Thursday as a rest day. Besides, 3 on, 1 off right? Well, I rested right into First Friday. And you know, most first Friday's I do Josh because it's an opportunity for me to work overhead squats. I love that wod. OHS and pull-ups. Yum. But, you know, I wasn't really feeling Josh for some reason on Friday. I was thinking of mixing it up. So I was thinking that I've never done Grace as prescribed. The only times I've done Grace I've done uber rx'd. Last year during the Grace challenge I did it with 100lbs, and then once before that, I let Jerry talk me into doing it with 115. So, I wanted to see what would happen if I did Grace with 85lbs.
So, I warmed up and jumped on the clock at 8 minutes into First Friday. I finished at 10:44. Yup. Grace in 2:44. That's pretty smokin. At least I think it is. I'm sure there are ladies and gents who can do it faster, but I thought that was pretty doggone good. The last few I was doing as singles, so I think I could easily do this in 2:30 if I stop doing singles, but I did the first 12 no break and I think that messed me up a bit. I was really winded for the last 6 or 7. I really should have gritted through more. But afterwards, since the wod was so short, I was thinking of hitting Josh anyway. But as I was warming up, my OHS just didn't feel good. I was having a hard time staying stable and my OHS just was off. So Jerry said, "Why don't you do Isabelle?"
I couldn't really think of a reason not to or a reason to argue with Jerry, so I turned around, pulled some weight off the bar to hit a few snatches and then went for an rx'd Isabelle. I was already gassed at this point, and so really it was like doing 30 singles. I couldn't tie any of the snatches together, but regardless, I gritted through with minimal rest, meaning, I didn't put my hands on my legs and rest a whole lot. I kept chasing the bar and kept at it. I did this in 8:29. Not great, not bad, but room for improvement of course. Maybe next month I'll start with Isabelle and finish with Grace.... :P Regardless, I was really happy with the Grace wod, and proud of myself for slugging through Isabelle. It was another good First Friday!
So here's what it looked like
max strict press 55 lbs
max strict chins
Record highest round and total
So my total for the strict press was 75 and my highest round for strict chins was 5. This wod was one of those where your forearms get kind of frid and you feel like your arms kind of want to fall off... yeah. One of those, so needless to say, after working late Wednesday plus that wod, I just had to take Thursday as a rest day. Besides, 3 on, 1 off right? Well, I rested right into First Friday. And you know, most first Friday's I do Josh because it's an opportunity for me to work overhead squats. I love that wod. OHS and pull-ups. Yum. But, you know, I wasn't really feeling Josh for some reason on Friday. I was thinking of mixing it up. So I was thinking that I've never done Grace as prescribed. The only times I've done Grace I've done uber rx'd. Last year during the Grace challenge I did it with 100lbs, and then once before that, I let Jerry talk me into doing it with 115. So, I wanted to see what would happen if I did Grace with 85lbs.
So, I warmed up and jumped on the clock at 8 minutes into First Friday. I finished at 10:44. Yup. Grace in 2:44. That's pretty smokin. At least I think it is. I'm sure there are ladies and gents who can do it faster, but I thought that was pretty doggone good. The last few I was doing as singles, so I think I could easily do this in 2:30 if I stop doing singles, but I did the first 12 no break and I think that messed me up a bit. I was really winded for the last 6 or 7. I really should have gritted through more. But afterwards, since the wod was so short, I was thinking of hitting Josh anyway. But as I was warming up, my OHS just didn't feel good. I was having a hard time staying stable and my OHS just was off. So Jerry said, "Why don't you do Isabelle?"
I couldn't really think of a reason not to or a reason to argue with Jerry, so I turned around, pulled some weight off the bar to hit a few snatches and then went for an rx'd Isabelle. I was already gassed at this point, and so really it was like doing 30 singles. I couldn't tie any of the snatches together, but regardless, I gritted through with minimal rest, meaning, I didn't put my hands on my legs and rest a whole lot. I kept chasing the bar and kept at it. I did this in 8:29. Not great, not bad, but room for improvement of course. Maybe next month I'll start with Isabelle and finish with Grace.... :P Regardless, I was really happy with the Grace wod, and proud of myself for slugging through Isabelle. It was another good First Friday!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Back it up!!!
Another day for the new shoes!!! I had an alarm clock FAIL yesterday morning, and so I was forced to make a choice. Hit CFOT after school, or bag the back squats. The last three times we've done BS I've missed them for one reason or another, so I couldn't bag 'em. I had to give 'em the old college try. So I took my new Buddy Lee jump rope (WOOOT!) and hit some DU's before our warm-up and then we jumped right in. The board said to warm up with a few light sets, and then attempt a 3 rep max and lower the weight. Usually we all do the opposite.
I understand the logic behind this type of lifting. Obviously you have more energy to find your true max early on as opposed to later, but at the same time, I don't like it, especially with back squats. The difference in how the weight feels doesn't make me confident. For me I have found that my lifting depends on how I feel. If I feel good warming up, the big weights will go up over. If not, too bad so sad, try another day. To go from such a light weight to a heavy one was really rough for me. It just didn't feel good. I didn't feel confident and that wrecked me. So we backed me down to lighter weight and worked up. I felt more confident jumping and doing singles, then tried for a new 3 rep max PR. I almost got it. Almost. I got 200X2, and halfway up on the 3rd on, I faultered. I lost core tension and started to lean forward and that was all she wrote. Andrea maintains she didn't really help me, but I know they did. It's ok though, I put up 205 X 1 and I put up 200X2. The 200X3 would have been nice though. :P
Regardless, don't you totally just love the new shoes!?!!? They are even better than the silver sequined ones. :) Now, just wait until I throw that 200lb jerk over my head with those babies on. Then they'll HAVE to respect the shiny shoes! :P
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
When the big things get in the way, enjoy the smaller ones...
I'm sure that in all of our lives, there are times where things just seem to overwhelm us. These "big" things, seem to run our lives, dictate or attitudes, and in general, turn us into people we don't want to be.
I'll be the first to admit that in looking through my blog and over my FB, I've realized the big things are really blocking my path these days. Lots of really "down" sounding days, and lots of stormy rain clouds seeming to hang over my head and my posts.
It's hard to see around the big things when they get in your way. For me, work things and relationship issues have been simply plaguing me. But, I'm tired of letting the big things get in the way of all the good stuff. Just because the big things are big, doesn't mean they should get to run the place. I had to walk to get my car today because it was in the shop, and you know what I realized as I was walking? It's gorgeous out today! The leaves are drying out from all the rain, they crackle now when you walk on them, the sun is shining, the temperature is just right for fall. It's a wonderful day. It's a small thing. But it made me smile. It made my day a little better.
I'm realizing that when the big things seem insurmountable, sometimes you need to keep finding the small things because you know, lots of little teeny tiny things, eventually add up. I'm hoping that eventually, the small things will add up, and I'll realize that the small things are more important than the big ones anyway. The scarey thing about this blog, it's public and ANYONE can read it. The neat thing about this blog? I'm able to watch my journey. I can go back and reread now YEARS of wod's and personal moments. It's pretty cool actually. I'd like to think that I'm turning a corner. I'd like to think that this getting back to me is the start of an upswing but only time will tell. Thank goodness my blog doesn't have an expiration date! :P Just in case though anyone reading has been feeling like me... here's a list of small things to smile about and enjoy today. :)
* Good coffee (Starbucks holiday flavors returned TODAY! MMM peppermint mocha!)
* Warm apple cider with cinamon
* A good book
* Michael Buble (he's dreamy)
* Car tunes (you know, the ones you rock out to and belt at the top of your lungs)
* Slippers (mine are ladybugs, with antennae.. be very jealous, even though the
anntenae are slightly broken)
* Fleecy pants (they're just too comfy for words!)
Go... try one... I bet it makes you smile... if for no other reason than because I'm sorta kinda crazy and you had to laugh at me!
I'll be the first to admit that in looking through my blog and over my FB, I've realized the big things are really blocking my path these days. Lots of really "down" sounding days, and lots of stormy rain clouds seeming to hang over my head and my posts.
It's hard to see around the big things when they get in your way. For me, work things and relationship issues have been simply plaguing me. But, I'm tired of letting the big things get in the way of all the good stuff. Just because the big things are big, doesn't mean they should get to run the place. I had to walk to get my car today because it was in the shop, and you know what I realized as I was walking? It's gorgeous out today! The leaves are drying out from all the rain, they crackle now when you walk on them, the sun is shining, the temperature is just right for fall. It's a wonderful day. It's a small thing. But it made me smile. It made my day a little better.
I'm realizing that when the big things seem insurmountable, sometimes you need to keep finding the small things because you know, lots of little teeny tiny things, eventually add up. I'm hoping that eventually, the small things will add up, and I'll realize that the small things are more important than the big ones anyway. The scarey thing about this blog, it's public and ANYONE can read it. The neat thing about this blog? I'm able to watch my journey. I can go back and reread now YEARS of wod's and personal moments. It's pretty cool actually. I'd like to think that I'm turning a corner. I'd like to think that this getting back to me is the start of an upswing but only time will tell. Thank goodness my blog doesn't have an expiration date! :P Just in case though anyone reading has been feeling like me... here's a list of small things to smile about and enjoy today. :)
* Good coffee (Starbucks holiday flavors returned TODAY! MMM peppermint mocha!)
* Warm apple cider with cinamon
* A good book
* Michael Buble (he's dreamy)
* Car tunes (you know, the ones you rock out to and belt at the top of your lungs)
* Slippers (mine are ladybugs, with antennae.. be very jealous, even though the
anntenae are slightly broken)
* Fleecy pants (they're just too comfy for words!)
Go... try one... I bet it makes you smile... if for no other reason than because I'm sorta kinda crazy and you had to laugh at me!
It must be the shoes!
So, I got to break out my new shoes yesterday! :) It's the small things in life that make me happy... :P Jerry has been throwin' down with some serious short metcons that have included barbell work lately, and I have to say, I'm all about it. I love me some metcon with barbells. It's dee-licious! :) I was sad that I'm still unable to do muscle ups and had to sub, but this was actually a good workout for me. I felt pretty solid. I waffled a little here and there on some of the snatches but I had a hard time keeping core tension breathing the way I was. :P Imagine that, it's hard keeping a tight core when you can't breathe... :P
5rft
3 snatches (85)
6 lou burpees (2x push-ups)
9 24" box jumps
Time:9:43
I jokingly wrote in the title that this wod was all about the shoes, but I really actually felt good on the boxes today so I can't help but wonder if it's not all about the shoes. No really. I know I keep talking about them too, so I'll have to get a picture up soon! :) I just felt really bouncy today. They're Converse so I nkow there's no cushion but for whatever reason, today they just seemed to work for me. Normally I'm very slow at box jumps and the force really hurts my knees. Whatever it was, today I was sort of flyin'. I'm sure the metcon/push-up ninjas can finish this in 6 something, but for me not being Speedy McSpeederson, I was happy with this. It was a while back I think, but I likened myself more to a draft horse. I'll give you lots and lots of good work, and I'll just keep going for awhile, but don't ask me to do it fast. I just seem to have one gear. :P But it sort of feels like maybe I'm finding a second gear lately. Still not super super fast, but faster than before. It never gets easier, no no, but it is seeming to get a little faster anyway. :P It must be the shoes! :)
5rft
3 snatches (85)
6 lou burpees (2x push-ups)
9 24" box jumps
Time:9:43
I jokingly wrote in the title that this wod was all about the shoes, but I really actually felt good on the boxes today so I can't help but wonder if it's not all about the shoes. No really. I know I keep talking about them too, so I'll have to get a picture up soon! :) I just felt really bouncy today. They're Converse so I nkow there's no cushion but for whatever reason, today they just seemed to work for me. Normally I'm very slow at box jumps and the force really hurts my knees. Whatever it was, today I was sort of flyin'. I'm sure the metcon/push-up ninjas can finish this in 6 something, but for me not being Speedy McSpeederson, I was happy with this. It was a while back I think, but I likened myself more to a draft horse. I'll give you lots and lots of good work, and I'll just keep going for awhile, but don't ask me to do it fast. I just seem to have one gear. :P But it sort of feels like maybe I'm finding a second gear lately. Still not super super fast, but faster than before. It never gets easier, no no, but it is seeming to get a little faster anyway. :P It must be the shoes! :)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
I'm so behind...
I really had the best intentions of catching all these blogs up this week, but I'm so behind, that I barely remember the wods! This week has been a mish mash of insanity with me working 12+ hours everyday. This has not led to me getting much of anything done besides things that are work related. My laundry is again piling in the corner, and my house is again a trainwreck. Monday and Tuesday are the official days of parent teacher conferences but I started early this week. I've done 8 of my 26 so far, so I've got a good start, however, I need to finish typing information on my PM kids so that my co teachers can pass that during their conferences with their parents. Make sense? Don't worry, it doesn't make sense unless you're doing it, and even then, sometimes it doesn't make sense.
My report cards are due on Tuesday at 900 which doesn't make any sense to me either. We have 2 teacher work days, but yet, our report cards are due at the start of the second work day when most of us have conferences the day before... does that make sense to anyone? No? Me either. So anyway, needless to say, blogging took a hit this week because I've just been too busy trying to wrap up this quarter. After these next few days though, I should slow down immensely and get back on track!
Good news is that I was still able to get to the box three days this week despite the insanity, although on Thursday I gave myself one hell of a scare with a bad bailout. We were doing behind the neck push presses and I was tired. My final attempt at 135 I realized wasn't going to go up so I went to bring it back down on my neck. Well I guess I was leaning my weight forward cause I started to fall a bit, and I started to bend over. I could stand back up straight (after all it was 135 extra pounds) and was going to roll it over my head but realized that wasn't a good idea with 135lbs either. So I wound up keeping it on my neck pretty much and kneeling until I was on the floor and then bending over until the bar was on the floor. Once the bumper plates were on the floor I was able to wiggle out from under the bar. I will tell you, it didn't hurt much at the time, it scared the crap out of me more than anything though. I woke up Friday though and my neck was SORE. Apparently your neck is not designed to withstand that much intense pressure. :P
So, as a result, I skipped Friday and then went apple picking/wine tasting yesterday and so only got three days at the box. Yesterday wound up being a beautiful day and it was perfect for being outside. The apple orchard had homemade apple butter and homemade cider and caramel apples they made right in front of you. Yum. It was a very tasty day. After that, we headed over to Three Fox Vineyard, which is my favorite in the area. I love their decor and their wine. It's a wonderful place to sit and chat and enjoy some wine. The only unfortunate thing is that it's about an hour away so you need to be VERY careful about how much wine you have before driving back to DC. :P But regardless, it was a very relaxing day and much needed. We finished it with an excursion to DSW for some new shoes and we were amazed by the traffic we hit. Why so much traffic? Well DSW is close to a Party City. And lo and behold, they had to have a police officer at Party City to keep the natives from getting too restless. Unbelievable. It was the perfect end to a very fun day though. Not to mention, a MUCH needed relaxing day.
In other good news, I got a jump rope, and it's here. Sort of. They wouldn't deliver it yesterday (well no duh, school's closed) so it's at the post office and I need to go pick it up. :) Yay. :) So now I can use my fancy new Buddy Lee jump rope to help me get double unders. Let's hope I get them anyway. :P
And finally in Katie news, I got a new pair of lifting shoes while at DSW yesterday. Jerry better program a strength wod tomorrow so everyone can see them! :P Haha! :) So, yes, hopefully after tomorrow and Tuesday, life will be back to normal... well as normal as my life can be anyway! :P
My report cards are due on Tuesday at 900 which doesn't make any sense to me either. We have 2 teacher work days, but yet, our report cards are due at the start of the second work day when most of us have conferences the day before... does that make sense to anyone? No? Me either. So anyway, needless to say, blogging took a hit this week because I've just been too busy trying to wrap up this quarter. After these next few days though, I should slow down immensely and get back on track!
Good news is that I was still able to get to the box three days this week despite the insanity, although on Thursday I gave myself one hell of a scare with a bad bailout. We were doing behind the neck push presses and I was tired. My final attempt at 135 I realized wasn't going to go up so I went to bring it back down on my neck. Well I guess I was leaning my weight forward cause I started to fall a bit, and I started to bend over. I could stand back up straight (after all it was 135 extra pounds) and was going to roll it over my head but realized that wasn't a good idea with 135lbs either. So I wound up keeping it on my neck pretty much and kneeling until I was on the floor and then bending over until the bar was on the floor. Once the bumper plates were on the floor I was able to wiggle out from under the bar. I will tell you, it didn't hurt much at the time, it scared the crap out of me more than anything though. I woke up Friday though and my neck was SORE. Apparently your neck is not designed to withstand that much intense pressure. :P
So, as a result, I skipped Friday and then went apple picking/wine tasting yesterday and so only got three days at the box. Yesterday wound up being a beautiful day and it was perfect for being outside. The apple orchard had homemade apple butter and homemade cider and caramel apples they made right in front of you. Yum. It was a very tasty day. After that, we headed over to Three Fox Vineyard, which is my favorite in the area. I love their decor and their wine. It's a wonderful place to sit and chat and enjoy some wine. The only unfortunate thing is that it's about an hour away so you need to be VERY careful about how much wine you have before driving back to DC. :P But regardless, it was a very relaxing day and much needed. We finished it with an excursion to DSW for some new shoes and we were amazed by the traffic we hit. Why so much traffic? Well DSW is close to a Party City. And lo and behold, they had to have a police officer at Party City to keep the natives from getting too restless. Unbelievable. It was the perfect end to a very fun day though. Not to mention, a MUCH needed relaxing day.
In other good news, I got a jump rope, and it's here. Sort of. They wouldn't deliver it yesterday (well no duh, school's closed) so it's at the post office and I need to go pick it up. :) Yay. :) So now I can use my fancy new Buddy Lee jump rope to help me get double unders. Let's hope I get them anyway. :P
And finally in Katie news, I got a new pair of lifting shoes while at DSW yesterday. Jerry better program a strength wod tomorrow so everyone can see them! :P Haha! :) So, yes, hopefully after tomorrow and Tuesday, life will be back to normal... well as normal as my life can be anyway! :P
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