Picture day!

Mr. Mirek, here are some bullwhip pictures for you!

And the rest of these are just for straight up fun because I had them laying around.

Friday...

So... you know... I'm struggling today... it's Friday. SOL's are barreling down the hill straight at me like a mad barrel of monkeys, and the only thing I can think, is that my motivation to do work has shot to hell (it's a little early for the end of the year wind down) and the only thing I really want to do is workout and write. Is this sad?

So I hit a workout this morning. Three straight weeks of four workouts, I like it. I may go five soon, but Mondays after late night work at KSB are hard. So we'll see what happens. But regardless, it just feels good to be back. Today was another of those workouts where I was just ridiculously sweaty at the end. I felt so gross, but again, at least I know I was working right? I had to modify...grrrrrr... but still felt like I did a pretty decent job. I am really trying hard to get back to the point where I was before. I'm not sure how, but my rest really snuck in on me. I stopped doing what I know to be right, 3/4 quick breaths and weight back up, and was resting waaayyyy too much. So I've really been trying hard to keep pushing through that this week, and I feel like I've definitely seen an improvement in the last few days. We didn't do chins today, so I couldn't work on my chin form, but we did do just about everything else. The only thing missing today was the kitchen sink! It was a fun couplet day. Work out fun looked like this.

WU
:30 each Burpees, Hollow Rock, Rock Bottom Squat Hold
X3 Rounds

WOD
Jumping Slamball/Wall Ball Situps
Box Jumps/High Pulls
Jumping Pull Ups/Thrusters
*Muscle ups (which for the rest of us were ring dips/ring rows)

Finisher
Tabata sell out squat
:10 seconds rest must be held in rock bottom squat position

So I had to modify this today, as I already said, so I subbed more high pulls for the jumping slamballs and just did push presses for thrusters. For the finisher, I did sell out situps... I was going to try to do a static hold for the 10, but it got to be too much moving around, so I just did the sits. This is scored like FGB and you get one point for each rep. I hit 459 today. I thought that was pretty good. But I'm sure my behind got smoked by the other classes again... Jerks... :P

I never should have written that blog about flushing...

So... Mr. Mirek, you're going to appreciate this blog immensely. So the other day, I wrote a blog about some thoughts I had regarding the accidental drop of my debit card into the toilet. In hindsight, which we all know is always 20/20, I have to say I never ever ever should have written it, because as we all also know, the second which you say something, or write it, it happens.

Well, lo and behold, there I am at Crossfit this morning, still half asleep, using the ladies room, and what do I do? Oh yes, doesn't my stupid self drop something in the toilet. Now, here, I had two choices. Fish, or flush. I'm sorry to say that I was forced to fish. I was so disgusted that I stood and washed my hands in the bathroom for (I kid you not) ten minutes. 10 MINUTES! Lather, rinse, and repeat probably close to 15 times. Under the hottest water in the place, which nearly scalded me, but that would have been ok because then my hands would match the burn mark I got on my arm last night from the grill. (It's been quite a week folks, let me tell you.) So after that... I was ready to go hit Cindy... sort of...

Now, I had a better title for this blog, but I figured that I need to stop dropping drug references into my workout blogs or I'm going to get in trouble, or just give everyone the impression that I have a problem with drugs. I don't really. It's only recreational! I swear! (I'm kidding!) Moving on.... So, today's workout is Cindy... sort of. All in all, a great metabolic workout, but geez Louise does it ever feel like crap while you're doing it. I guess that's kind of the point though... if you were like, "Hey Jerry, I feel like a million bucks right now" while the workout was supposed to be kicking your backside, I think you'd have a serious problem. And by serious problem, I mean serious. I think the punishment Jerry would hand down would be nothing short of, well, the wrath of God comes to mind.

Today's fun looked something like this
Warm up
You go/partner goes
:30 seconds a piece for 3 minutes
Bullwhip
KB Bombs
Wall ball

Wod Rainy Cindy
AMRAP in 30 minutes
400 meter run
5 chins
10 push ups
15 squats

Now, I need to do some 'splaining. First off, wall ball and kb bombs were out because of the hip flexer. Anything involving squating or explosive hip movement is just not going to happen for a bit. So Jerry said to me, "Hey Katie, why don't you just row 1000 meters?" Now, we ALL know just how much I enjoy rowing.... so you can easily picture my enthusiasm at that statement. But, I asked for a substitution and boy did I get one. So, instead of the warm up I subbed a 1000 meter row, and as I'm strapped into the rower sans shoes, Jerry goes, "So what was your PR before? 4:08? Ok, beat it. Have fun!" and turns around to everyone else. I seriously think he did that on purpose. I did beat my PR though and rowed in in 4:05. I'm wondering if it would have been faster had I worn shoes. I guess I'll never know. After the row, I jumped in for some sit ups since partners were still going.

Then Jerry told us about the WOD. Rainy Cindy. Now, I'm not good at Cindy. I can't sprint. Epics I'm ok with because I've got the wearwithall to keep going. Sprint circuits kill me like no other. So I wasn't thrilled at Cindy, or when I saw Cindy's little addition. When you do this circuit, you don't do a 400 meter run each time (thank god) but you do the 400 meter run, then come in and do 2, 3, or 4 rounds of Cindy, depending on your level. I hit three today. Then after your rounds, throw on your shoes and go run again. Then do more rounds of Cindy. Then run again. You can see why this would easily get tiring. All in all I hit 3.25 and I subbed sits for squats. I didn't feel too bad, but man, the row and then the run and then the sprint, wow. Give me a good day of throwing weights around...that's what I love. There's my bread and butter. But all this running stuff... Tanya I told you... es no bueno. Jerry, can we do more strict presses tomorrow? Please?!

Was it madness or mayhem?

So just today I was tinking... I haven't had a picture in my blog for awhile, and lo and behold... it was a perfect day for it. Today's workout was called madness, or maybe it was mayhem? Chaos? No, definitely started with an M. Anyway, regardless of the name, it was basically a seriously f'ed up,(should it be ed? or just d? Anyone? Bueller?) cracked out Fight Gone Bad. I just have to say, despite the hip flexer, I thought I hit a decent number today. Then I realized that I got crushed by the guys in the 0645 class... and 0730. Jerks! :P I have to say though... this whole hip flexer thing and I aren't getting along real well. It takes me 20 minutes to stretch it out just so that I can get into the warm-up. Then I stretch some more, and then about half way through the circuit it feels like it finally loosens up. It needs to go away... like yesterday... or maybe last week. Anyhoo.... today's fun looked like this...

Warm up
Clean and push press review

WOD
1:30 on each station
:30 transition time
2:00 rest
AMRAP in 1:30
X 3 Rounds

Rotate through four exercises
Squat box jumps (I modified to box jumps)
Clean and press X55 lb (women)
TGU x20lb db
Row for calories

So, my breakdown today wasn't too bad. I hit 28, 29, and 30 on the jumps which made me happy. I did feel though that if my numbers increased I should have had more in the first round, but, hindsight is always 20/20. Clean and press was interesting... round 1 I picked up the bar and it felt off. It felt awkward and unusally unbalanced. It took me 9 reps before I realized that it wasn't me... the bar was loaded with a 10 on the left side and a 15 on the right. That cost me a few reps so the clean and press went 9, 16, 18. Not too shabby with a 55 lb bar. TGU's... oof. TGU's weren't pretty. Lots of strain on the flexer... they were bad... 9, 7, 5... I walked off the third round... I just couldn't do it. Row was solid across the board, 20 at each round. All in all, not a bad showing... maybe one of these days I'll actually get to keep the top score! :P Not likely, but it's a nice thought... :P

Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you're going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus. - Oprah

To flush or not to flush... that is the question...

So... my boss convinced me to work a few extra shifts this week. Read... my boss put me on the schedule and then said, oh yeah, even though this isn't in your availability you're working x, y, and z this week. So, anyway, I was at work last night and I happened to have my debit card in my work pants, intending to get gas after work. Well, as I was using the ladies room, a scary thought came to me... if my debit card fell in the toilet, would I flush, or get it out? I pondered this for awhile... and by awhile I mean while I fixed my belt basically... and basically came to the conclusion that since I already had to report my card stolen back in January and issue a new card, "flushed down toilet" didn't seem a good enough reason to issue yet another one. So, I decided that, heaven forbid, should it ever happen, I would pray for a boatload of sanitizer and go in after.

Now you're probably wondering what this has to do with Crossfit. Well the answer my friends.... is absolutely nothing. :) It is just all part of the innerworkings of my very sick and twisted (and yet cute and adorable, not to mention loveable, mind!)

But since this is my Crossfit blog, and Jerry has it linked to our Crossfit page, I suppose I should probably talk about Crossfit. So let's talk Crossfit. So about about that pulled hip flexer eh? Isn't that fun. Oh, about as much fun as a barrel of mother ****** monkeys. (And for those of you who are counting the asterisks and saying that I spelled it wrong... no I didn't. I left off the g... so :P)

Yesterdays workout, despite the hip flexer issue, really wasn't all that bad. The trip to Pacers to get new running shoes was well worth it. Now with proper support on my arch, and some added cushioning to my shoes, my knees aren't dying during the run, and my recovery was quicker. It was no land speed record that I set yesterday, but I finished all five rounds of our mepic (mini epic workout... aren't I so CLEVER?!:)). Yesterday's fun looked like this...

Warm-up
Squat holds

WOD
For time X5 Rounds

400 meter run
10 ring dips
15 chins
20 Iron Mikes

Finished this in 39:52 I think. I refused to put my name on the board. I'm still embarassed about my performance in the blue room. It still doesn't feel up to par and I've been back healthy for almost a month now... Hopefully. I'm pissed that I missed Fran on Monday. That would have been a good test of whether I'm really back or not, but maybe not since the thrusters probably would have killed. Stacey hit a pro Fran under 5 minutes. Sick sick sick...

Over the years your bodies become walking autobiographies, telling friends and strangers alike of the minor and major stresses of your lives. - Marilyn Ferguson

I stand in awe of my body.-Henry David Thoreau

Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners.-William Shakespeare

Am I old enough for a broken hip?

Ok... I'm 25. I'm sort of cute (when I'm not covered in sweat from Crossfit), well that's debatable I guess, I'm in pretty decent shape, so how in the world is it humnaly possible that I have a broken hip? Ok ok, well it's not exactly broken per say, but it really hurts to move it, which tells me that I probably strained my hip flexer. It's been nagging me all week, but I just kept telling myself it would stretch itself out. Unfortunately it hasn't, and now I am an hour outside a shift at work and it's throbbing. Let me explain, in addition to the whole teaching thing, I work at a restaurant every weekend which involves me being on my feet, BUT also involves me running stairs. Our kitchen is on the first floor and we serve on the second and third. Unfortunately, tonight I'm on the third floor. I'm not enthused. But, nonetheless, despite the tightness I did hit a workout this morning. I didn't get as many rounds as I would have liked, but I was there, which is half the battle. Today was a crowded day, but that's what makes Saturdays so fun. Today's fun looked like this:

Warm up
Quick cals

WOD AMRAP in 25 minutes
4 HSPU
8 Chins
12 KB swings (I subbed high pulls since my flexer was bugging me)
16 lunges (weighted I used 20 lbs.)

I finished 6 rounds... but some had 8-10. Not bad, but not a land speed record either. I think coming in 4 days this week was a lot, but hopefully if I keep doing it the repeated back to back days will get easier. So we'll see. But hopefully my hip will heal up soon. Well, I can smell myself since I haven't showered yet and work calls. Happy Easter everyone!

GF, better than VD right? ;)

Well of course Good Friday is better than Valentine's Day! Come on! LOL. (You guys are all pervs. What did you think I meant when I said VD? Get your heads out of the gutter! :P) So, I don't know, maybe it's me, maybe I'm just hallucinating, which after some of Jerry's workouts might not be too far off the mark, but it seems like workouts in the blue room are just not letting up. I don't think I've had a day which I would qualify as a "light" day in a loooong time. That's not to say I don't like the workouts, I do. Otherwise I would not voluntarily punish myself, but it just seems since I first joined to now, they are more routinely punishing and ass kicking. I mean, drenched in sweat, smell yourself when you're done kind of workouts. It's kind of gross if you think about it, but at least you know you did something right? Speaking of doing something, it's taking me forever to type this blog cause I can't move my flippin arms! Good thing I didn't have to try to teach today.... but anyway... moving on to the good stuff... wait before I do that... where's my kult been? Tanya I hope you are not lying somewhere in a desert.... I miss my kult friends! :( AH... yes, shutting up... here we go... the GOOD stuff...

Warm up
Med ball cleans
Air squats

WOD
AMRAP in 30 minutes
30 row (calories)
25 box jumps (high, 4 mats)
20 pushups
15 hang squat clean
10 ring dips

This plus the strict presses yesterday = ouch on the arms but I still hit 3 full rounds today, well with the grandfather clause that is. Time rang while I was finishing my last set of box jumps (I started with the squat cleans). I have to say though that despite how sore I feel, it's feeling good to be gettin' back to the blue room def 3, sometimes 4 days a week right now. My chins still feel like crap, but stuff is slowly coming back online. SLOWLY like the sloth. You Eric Carle readers will understand that reference. Oh and speaking of the writing, for those of you who have asked. It's going. It's going to be a long haul, I need to do a lot more research before I submit anything to publishers, and I need to make sure I'm totally prepared for rejection, but this thing is a go. I'm buying the books, I'm doing my homework, and I'm settling in for the long haul. :) I'll be sure to keep you posted, and perhaps allow you a few read throughs to get your thoughts! :) But for now, my traps are going numb, and my tris hurt, so I'm going to go do research on the couch. :)

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. - Helen Keller

If you greatly desire something, have the guts to stake everything on obtaining it.
-Brendan Francis

By perseverance the snail reached the ark. -Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A nice little gasser today...

Oooh, so today was a fun day! A rightupKatie'salley day. :P LOL. So we started off today with going for a max strict press. I've never done strict presses, only push presses, so I was interested to see how this would go without the power from my legs. I warmed up a little bit, and then let Jerry know I was ready to hit 75. As soon as we were ready to hit our max, we had to let Jerry know because we were to strict press our max, and then see how many chins we could hit in 1:30 right after. Well I put up 75 and thought, dare I say, that I could have gone higher and then did 15 chins. I wasn't happy with that chin number. Chins have felt super super crappy lately, so I think it's time to do some more work on the bar. I think since we've been hitting so many circuits without chins, my form has gone to shit, and I've stopped using my momentum and hips (two of Jerry's favorite words). Nonetheless, I did do 75. So for next time I'm thinking maybe 85 max. Well after that little test we hit the circuit today. Circuit looked a little something like this.

AMRAP in 20 minutes
5 strict press (I used 55)
10 burpees (ew.... who likes burpees? If you say you do, you're weird!)
15 KB high pulls (prescribed was 50, I used 45)

I managed to bust through 8 full rounds of this, and let me tell you, you start out gangbusters, but about round 3, you smack right into a wall. Kinda like you forgot you put it there and just walked around the corner and then BAM! It smacks you full on in the face. A little unforgiving if you ask me, but, well are you really asking me? :P Give this one a go if you want to feel your body completely coated in sweat and be able to smell yourself afterwards. It's my money back guarantee! :)

Looking for help... not psychological or CrossFit related... :P

So a long time ago, and by a long time ago I mean when I was still in college and wasn't rolling under my current amount of student loan debt, ah the days... anyway, a long time ago, I had a college class called children's lit. I had hands down the best teacher in the world and I was sad when she left before the end of my time there. Anyway, we had an assignment. The assignment was either to write a children's book manuscript or to put together a flannel board and present someone else's story. Well I chose option number 1.

I will be very honest when I say, I love writing. I always have and always will. That's why CrossFit blogging has become so fun for me. Well I tell you, I was not prepared for the feedback that I got on my story. My paper was covered with it. My teacher loved the premise for my story. She thought it was something that's been done, but done in a different way and she encouraged me to persue publishing it. Now, here is where things get difficult. I threw that story in a closet for the better part of about 5 years, but I've found it again. And now I really want to start writing on a more regular basis, and even see about possibly getting what I have written published. But.....

I know absolutely NOTHING about the writing industry. I have no contacts, no connections, nothing. I am afloat on a sea with no sense of direction. So here is where I am asking for help. I have a great friend, one of the best in the world, who agreed to help me, but I feel like this is not something I should ask her to do. She has her own job and her own responsibilities, and it's not fair of me to consume all of her spare time with my project, especially since I'm not paying her. So, I know that my blog has started to spread. I'm not taking over the internet completely yet, but I know I have picked up some readers in other places.

I know I routinely joke about my life, and very rarely take things seriously, but please understand when I say that I am very serious about this. This is something I really want to do. So, if any of you have any knowledge about this sort of thing, or have any contacts or know any people who might be able to help me, or if even would just be willing to read anything I've written and offer feedback, I would be more than happy to take any advice, direction, or criticism at this point. As this school year is winding down, this is something I really would like to begin to focus on. Thanks in advance for your advice and for reading!

Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I remember now why I used to hate pyramid sets...

Yesterday's workout was brutal. It's the only way to describe it. After the workout on Friday, I was in some serious pain, and there are lots of bruises to show just how hard I pushed that day. But, nonetheless I was back in the blue room on Saturday am for another rough one. If you are feeling particularly frisky, any of the workouts from this week really ought to test you.

Warm up
Quick Cals
Partner Chin work
Take your max plus partner max and add together
Multiply by three
Hit that number in 7 minutes

WOD
"Quads"
50 jumping squats
40 KB swings
30 front squats
20 jumping lunges each leg
10 burpees
50 med ball/wall ball sit ups
10 burpess
20 jumping lunges each leg
30 front squats
40 KB swings
50 jumping squats

Total time was over 27:00. This one flat out hurt. I could not bust through this for the life of me. It seems that things in the blue room are getting better, I'm picking up heavier weights again, but Jerry's workouts keep getting tougher. Why is that? :P

Pain is life--the sharper, the more evidence of life.
-- Charles Lamb

Pain and pleasure, like light and darkness, succeed each other.
-- Laurence Sterne

Man endures pain as an undeserved punishment; woman accepts it as a natural heritage.
-- Anonymous

Playing catch up and that wascally wabbit...

So, I have some catching up to do. For my devoted fans and members of my kult, I apologize for my slight disappearance. After spending all day yesterday in local screening and TAT (my teacher friends you can relate) I was completely brain dead and fell asleep on the couch about 600 after eating a sort of zone friendly dinner. :P See? I'm getting a little better. I at least left the fries OUT this time.... :P

So, yesterday morning was a bit rough. Not to bad overall, but since I was stiff from BEOWULF putting his pointy toed boot up my behind, I was hurtin. Everything seemed 10x harder. We did a bunch of couplets yesterday and did some TGU's, some push ups, some kb swings, some situps, some walking lunges, some snatches, the kitchen sink... :P But we ended with partner KB swings. Now, if you have never done these, let me tell you, it makes things slightly more difficult. And when I say slightly, I mean if you are doing them with someone else who is NOT your trainer. When the person who is your partner is Jerry, you get no mercy. Lucky me, I pulled Jerry as my partner since we had odd numbers. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Jerry. (And to answer your question Mr. Mirek, Jerry is largely responsible for our workouts, although he does tweak some of the ones from Crossfit from time to time. He is our God, our Savior, our Almighty, our holy trinity, our passer of wisdom, our CrossFit guru, and our kicker of asses.) But having him for a partner, well, it kinda sucks. He didn't take it easy on me. Not that theoretically he should, but I was def spent. But glad to hit the blue room yesterday.

Now today, was sheer joy and sheer hell rolled into one fancy chocolate snack for me to eat! :P I was in early today, per my norm, to stretch out and get loose. I started to work a little of the clean since I'm so worried about that form. Well, doesn't Jerry write up on the board the start to today's workout, and doesn't it fo sho have some hang cleans and push presses. I was kinda stoked at that point because I love pushes. I HATE thrusters, love pushes. I think it's that whole getting back up thing after I squat.... :P

So at this point of the day, I'm ecstatic because this is what the board reads.

Hang Clean to a push press
1/2 Warm up rounds (light weight) x 10
Max Effort X15 No rest, no bar on the floor, rest in the rack if need

So picture me like a greedy little kid in a candy store. Big old grin on my face thinkin' this is up my alley. So I do some warm-ups trying to get that clean form down, and then hit 65. Now I know that sounds light, but Tanya I need to correct one thing. We use plastic weights because of the mats in our room, so they 135 pound thrusters were really only about 1/2 that at 65. Sorry to disappoint. :( So anyway, I figure I've only ever done 65 for Fran so that's my max. Well 15 reps of 65 felt a little easy. So away I went to another bar to see what I could do with 75. And with much grunting, groaning, and pulling, I got 'em up. (*snicker*, that's what HE said...tehe... ) And here then after collapsing on to the mat with that max effort, is where our day in the blue room went to hell in a hand basket.

Now I titled this workout Wascally Wabbit, cause you know, have you ever watched Bugs Bunny? I mean, really. That dude has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve and you never see it coming. Really, I mean it! Who ever thought they'd see him in a dress acting like a girl bunny? Well, let's just say that in a similar fashion I didn't see it coming today. Jerry says, get your shoes on cause we're going to run. In my head I think, RUN?!? NOW!?!? I just exerted about all the energy I had on 15 reps of 75 lbs. I can't feel my legs! I'm like Lt. Dan! I have no legs!!! (sorry for the gratuitous Forest Gump reference) But anyway, he sends us out on an 800 meter run, and tells us when we come back, its max X 12. In my head I am calling Jerry every flippin name in the book. If I'd known then, what I know now, I would not have picked up 75 pounds. And here is where my complaint lies about being part of the 0600 crew. We are ALWAYS the guinea pigs. O645 and 0730 you know what stink pile you're stepping in. I never do and it bites me on the ass all the time. Kinda like my 100 45lb high pulls last week. (wow did those suck) Being a guinea pig sucks... although, were I a guinea pig, the constant sleeping and large ammount of food might be kinda cool... back on target here though.

So I survived the 800 meters (hello captain obvious) and the X 12. I can't remember my time although 856 and 941 seem to be sticking in my head as possibilities. And I thought after max X 12, I was done. But no. Jerry says to get our shoes on now, cause now we have a 500 meter row. And when that's done, then it's max X 9. Rowing... what can I say about rowing that has not already been said? Nothing... moving on... I made three of my last 9 cleans and presses, and had to drop the bar. I picked it back up and got to six, and then eeeeeeeeked out that last three by the skin of my teeth. I think it was Gar (or maybe Chriss) that deserves an apology because once that last press went up, it shot out of my hands about 2 seconds later, and I think I nearly impailed one of them with the bar when it bounced off the floor..... see Tanya, this is why we use rubber. (*snicker* for protection and safety) The time was sub 400 and I think 341 sounds right, but don't quote me. I can't walk now, or rightfully move, but I kind of feel like a beefcake. BEEFCAKE! Now, if one of my kult minions would be so kind as to get me some cheesy poofs, that'd be steller! :)

I AM BEOWULF!

So, after the margaritas and the french fries, I knew I really needed to hit CrossFit this morning. So my joy at actually making it out of bed, quickly turned to an oh @#$@ when I saw the board outside the door this morning. "Beowulf! Row and Run day!". I nearly turned around and walked out of the building, and had I worked out yesterday, I for sure would have. Need I really quote my other blog to tell you how much I suck at running? And after numerous back and forths with Tanya do I really need to tell everyone how much I suck at running?

So I decided to suck it up and stay. I can't even decscribe to you the horror I felt when I saw what Jerry put on the board. No warm up today. We shot straight to the chaos.

Beowulf
800 Meter Run
1000 Meter Row
25 Ring Dips
50 Chins
75 Jumping Slamballs

X2

Cardio is really rough for me to recover from, and I think this is really why rowing is such a weakness. My running ability is about the same, and so trying to come back from a run and row is really difficult. Jerry told people to partition to rounds of 5/10/15 to get through the circuit and to do 5 rounds. He also told people only do 3 round instead of the full 5 if need be. I didn't want to cheat the circuit. I did partition and did 5/10/15, but I did the full five rounds. I knew though that after my first round I wasn't going to be able to get a full second round in. Some people stayed to do another run/row, but hitting both of my weaknesses twice in one day just didn't seem fun.

This workout... wow... I don't even know if I can joke about this one... someone might want to write that down. :P That doesn't usually happen. This was just a straight up burner. I felt so unbelievably fat on that chin up bar today it's ridiculous. It literally felt like I was wearing a weight vest... but sadly I was not. Beowulf seriously put his booted foot up my arse today!

I'm feeling a little defeated today... and I'd like to think my quote today applies to more than just my work in the blue room.

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. - Teddy Roosevelt

The Katie Kult....

Cause I'm takin' over, one city at a time... sadly I do not sound like Akon.... and sadly I don't have a kult.... yet. :P (And yes smarty pants, I did realize I spelled cult wrong. I did it on purpose. It was alliteration... hello! Same sound, repeated? :P yes, I know, I'm such a flippin teacher sometimes) I am working on gaining a kult following though. But before I go any further with my thoughts of my very own personal kult, I should tell you there is no Crossfit reference in this blog today, seeing as how I did not get up this morning. (Sorry Jerry. As much as I love you and your workouts, I loved my bed a whole lot more this morning.) So if you were hoping to read about Kettlebell swings, and how big of a beefed up beefcake I am, I'm sorry to disappoint.

What I really wanted to talk about is my cult that I'm forming! :) It started out completely unintentionally, but now that I think about it, it would be cool to have a bunch of people bow down and worship me and follow all that I do and say. Hmm..I'm liking this idea more and more! I didn't realize it, but apparently the Mindless Ramblings are spreading... slowly but surely they are crossing the United States. I'm now found in Chicago, and Santa Cruz. ;) Oh yes, it won't be long before I have a huge following and then I can take over the world!! Or maybe at least just the internet. :)

Actually, all joking aside, I really just wanted to say thanks to everyone for reading and commenting! I love to come to my blog at some point during the day (usually it's when I SHOULD be doing something else) and find comments from everyone! It's great to know that someone else is finding the humor that I do in my life. I think laughter is important, and while it may seem like I never take life seriously, trust me when I say that I do. I just know that if I can make someone else laugh by writing a zany blog, and maybe bring a smile to someone's face on a day that's been rough, that's a good thing. So to any other readers out there who are laughing and reading, but not commenting, feel free to write me a note. I'd love to hear from adoring fans! :) (Not to mention... I'm more likely to write again to entertain you if I know you're reading and enjoying... this means you Elise! :P )

Dear, dear, diary....

Dear Diary,

Today was a rough day. I worked late last night and somehow managed to get screwed out of $50. I'm not sure how it happened, but I wasn't in a mood to get up and work, let alone get up at 5 to go CrossFit. After spending two hours on teacher narratives today, Genne and I decided to go have 1/2 price margaritas at Mango Mike's. Margaritas make everything better, but 1/2 price margaritas make it twice as nice. I tried to eat healthy, despite the margaritas, and I actually ordered Tilapia for the first time! I'm a bit of a land lubber diary and so eating fish was, well, a little worrisome. I really liked it though, and felt pretty good about eating healthy. I just couldn't really move my arms to eat after the dip in the pool yesterday. Oops. Where was that foresight yesterday? Unfortunately though diary, after two more margaritas, I decided french fries were a good idea. Please don't tell Jerry. I don't think he'll be very happy. :( He might send me to the zone principal's office, and I may get put on probation. I'd like to be able to make it into CrossFit tomorrow diary, so if you can do anything about me not being hungover in the morning, that'd be really swell. Thanks.

Katie

"I love how strong I feel right now. I can lift barbells over my head, I can squat weights, I can clean weights, and hell, I can do chin ups. I can complete workouts that would give normal people a heart attack just thinking about them. But regardless of how strong I am, sometimes going home alone to an empty house is the hardest thing of all to do."

Scenes from the kitchen....

So I went swimming, and as I was swimming was trying to think of a better way to explain per my previous blog what happened in my kitchen earlier. It all started one Sunday morning...

So I went to the coffee shop this morning and spent about three hours grading some papers. Yes, I am REALLY THAT behind. Well when I got home, I opened the refrigerator and realized that I still had leftover Chines food in there from Wednesday evening. Now of course, I said Wednesday and immediately went hmmmmm... and just then, an angel popped up on my right shoulder. "Katie," she said, because of COURSE my angel would be a woman, "you know five day old Chinese food is not a good idea. You're asking to get sick later." "You're right," I said. And just as I was about to throw it in the trash, didn't that pesky little devil appear on my left shoulder, and wouldn't you know it, it was a man. "Katie, you're heating it up," he said. "Anything bad would get cooked out anyway so you're totally FINE." "HMMMM," I said, "you know you're right." Now, here is where my angel should have stepped in and bitch slapped me, but unfortunately, the devil WAS pretty cute and she was otherwise distracted.

So I heated up the Chinese food and after about two bites didn't they both pop up again. She looking supremely pissed off, and him with a big old handprint on his face. (Hey, he isn't called the devil for nothing you know...) Anyway, she told me to quit eating, he told me to keep going. I was torn. Then something else happened. A face even more impacting than my angel or my devil. God? No. Lo and behold, it was the face of Jerry. And although he wasn't really there, I could totally hear his voice saying to me, "You know Katie, that's not really on the Zone, and you know, even if it was, there're way more blocks there than you need." And just like that, the angel and the devil scampered off, and I was deflated. I made my little "Oh" noise, which sadly I cannot replicate through this crazy electronic media, but if you've heard it, you know it. I threw the Chinese food in the trash, and grabbed an apple. Then I packed my bag and hit the pool to work off a little of the Chinese at least.

I hope you enjoyed the scenes from my kitchen.... :P I hope that you don't have any of these.....

Sure signs that CrossFit is taking over your life....

So here are some sure signs that CrossFit is taking over your life...

-While you are at the car wash vacuuming out the inside of your car, you note that the vacuum only runs for five minutes at a time with your token. When your vacuum runs out you think to yourself that that can't possibly have been five minutes. Five minutes lasts waaay longer at CrossFit.

-While in your kitchen reheating your Chinese food, you suffer the worst guilty conscience ever and you imagine your trainer standing behind you in the kitchen shaking his head at you. You then throw your Chinese food in the trash, grab an apple and vow to go swimming before you go to work.

-After throwing away your Chinese food and vowing to go swim before work, you blog about it so that everyone else can laugh at your day.



Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place. -Mark Twain

I made the video!

Ok, so let's face it. The last few weeks have been anything but a picnic for me. Between the lymph node issues and the bubonic plague and the stress of referrals etc at work keeping me out of the blue room, I think it's fair to say I've had my share of distractions. BUT, today my form was good enough to get in the video! That makes me happy.... :)

So you wanna see how hot I am? OF COURSE you do! ;) Check out some thrusters today... CrossFit Old Town style. Rest later!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr_1gqoatcs

Saturday burner....

So here I sit, on the couch.... I'm so sorry that my usually witty repertoire is slightly lacking.... Elise I especially apologize to you since I know you're looking to be entertained, but Jerry put me through the wringer and I can't move my ass. My hands are working... my brain not so much. It's focused on the pain. Here's our day...

Warm Up

Squat Clean

AMRAP in 20 minutes

X9

Chins

Push ups

Thrusters

Med Ball/Wall Ball sit ups

I went in today for the third day in a row, not really sure what I was getting into but Saturday's are always interesting. Warm up today was about 30 minutes and was pretty frustrating. Cleans are a weakness for me, much like my tris, AND ROWING! :P I tend to reverse curl my bar instead of cleaning it to my shoulders. But seriously, think of it this way, I'm strong enough to reverse curl a 65/75 pound bar. I think that is kinda cool. Technically not good, but still cool. ;) After about oh say 14 rounds with a 35 pound bar I decided to go up in weight. Again, why I get these brilliant brainstorms AFTER I've already done an assload of work, I have no idea, but moving up in weight sounded like a good idea at the time. :P Hindsight is always 20/20...of course...

After our warm up we got straight into our circuit today. Although it was only 9 reps of each, the circuit was a burner, but surprisingly I was able to tie together a few of the thrusters, and I was able to hit 5/6 chins together and I felt pretty good. I'm still weak on the push ups but even the med ball/wall ball sit ups were ok. I managed to finish 5 1/4 rounds in under 20 minutes. I only had 20 seconds left before the end of the 20 minutes and I was too spent to even try to get another excercise in, but all in all it was good to be in the blue room today. It was even better that we ate breakfast/lunch afterwards.... :) Yum!

The James....

So, this is twice in two weeks I get to blame James for a baaaad workout. Ok, so again, it really wasn't James fault, but since now the workout carries his name, I can sort of blame him without feeling TOO guilty. :P

Warm-up

Quick round of cals

1 Round 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest

AMRAP

Jumping Slamball

KB Highpull

Dips

Row

Burpees

Take baseline from single round

Repeat for four rounds aiming for sub 20 minutes

Seriously, where did Jerry come up with this workout!?!? A.) It sucked! B.) It sucked! and C.) Why in the HELL did I decide that today was the day to be a hero and start lifting a 45 lb kettlebell for high pulls? How retarded am I? (Again, rhetorical question... do not answer!) So, ok, Jerry picked four of my WORST excercises today and had them in the same circuit. CRAP! Let's see. Per my previous blogging we know that rower+ Katie=Jello, burpees + anybody = suck, I'm still working on my tris, so dips are rough, and who likes jumping slamballs after getting off the rower? Not I. So all in all, I saw this one and wanted to crawl back into a hole, especially after my baseline first round. I have to admit that I heard Keturah say she did 19 high pulls with the bell, and I got a little competitive and decided I had to hit 20, which then became my number for the whole circuit. So in total, I did 100 kb high pulls today. Again, brilliant plan. :P

Believe it or not, the rower and the dips weren't too bad today. The jumping slamballs were def hard because I hit them right after the rower, which we all know is not good to me. The high pulls... ugh, the high pulls. What can I say? They were the bane of my existance. Had I just gone lighter I probably would have been through the circuit a minute faster. I had to keep stopping because I was just that tired. Plus not to mention, my posterior chain still hurts from yesterday! (Gar, that reference was TOTALLY for you! ;) ) All in all though, I finished sub 20 at 19:41. It's no land speed record, but I'm getting there. It's probably going to be another three weeks before I feel totally back, but I'm inching my way there. I just hope we don't hit Fran soon. Then I'll cry. So a nice gasser for you today. If you feel frisky, enjoy.

Back in the game...

After a rough start to the week this week with issues at work, I was finally able to make it back to the blue room on Thursday for a sneaky little circuit.

Warm-Up

TGU 5XL, 5XR

10 Jumping Chins

AMRAP in 25 minutes

5 Front squats (65 lb.)

10 Jumping lunges

5 Handstand push or sub 10 half reps

10 Knees to elbows

I have to admit... I was starting to worry that things would never come back online after my bout with the bubonic plague. Now, in all fairness it has taken about three weeks and I'm still not 100%, thank you now work, but finally I started to feel as if I'm at least getting some of my strength back. Dare I publicly admit that the 65 pound front squats were somewhat.... uh... well... easy? I should probably bite my tongue, I just know that next time we do squats Jerry is going to make me try 105. He's also going to make me go heavier so I can't reverse curl the bar. I just know it. (Although, Jerry if you're reading, I'm somewhat interested in experimenting with my overhead squat weight... dare I say 95? Or perhaps 100? I just want to see if I can do it.... :) ) Anyway, the squats and jumping lunges felt good. I'm still working on those tris, which are so weak in comparison to my shoulders, so the handstands were feeling not so hot. I've never done knees to elbows before and could tie about four together before I couldn't get my legs up anymore. Heh. Props to Mel who does these with her knees on her chest. I have no idea how she does it! I felt a little sluggish through the circuit but think I posted 7 or 7 1/2 rounds. I lost count so I'm really not sure, which is why I didn't post on logs it all. Sorry Jerry! This is why I can't be trusted to take responsibility for my counting..... :P