It's a Murphtastic kind of day...

Today we shot a HUGE group through Murph... awesome!

Soooooo today was Murph... I'm sweaty (still) and gross... but I just went back through my emails to find my old Murph time so I could make the comparison. The last time we hit Murph was October 17, right after I joined CF. Last time we did Murph, I was using pink bands and also was doing modified push-ups. Last time we did Murph, it took me 1:32:53. Yeah, it really took me that long. Here's a quick refresher on Murph.


Me right before my final run on my first Murph...

1 Mile Run
100 Chins
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run

Today when we hit Murph, I did not use any bands, didn't do modified push-ups, and brought this in in 1:01:08. Do you realize that's over a half hour improvement? I say that's pretty damned good. What's funny is that I was so hot, I stripped. I actually went shirtless today on the last run. I NEVER do that, but today, I couldn't help it. Apparently it was a day of firsts for me. :P I'm still no Leslie, or Karen, or Mel. Those girls had insane times. All under 50:00. Sick. Freakin' sick. So I felt crappy that I couldn't keep up with them, but I'm happy about the improvement. Now, I'm going to pass out. That's just the way it's going to work today. :)

Parade with the Dubya...

I got to go to the marine parade last night. It was even cooler than the Thursday one, complete with 21 cannon salute. The Dubya was there, and as much as I hate No Child Left Behind and despise some of what he has done, it was cool to be that close to such a powerful person. Laura Bush is adorable however! Check out the pictures here...

The end of the week, a new row PR, and my lowest weight yet...

So, I know I've been crazy busy this week and I haven't been keeping up with all your blogs and I'm sorry. I counted it up yesterday and between Monday and yesterday I worked 51 hours between my two jobs. That's INSANE. Who works overtime in 4 days? Uh... apparently I do. So anyway, I'm sorry that I haven't been around much, but I've been a little occupied. But I still made it to CF this week! :)

After the craziness that was Fran, I took Tuesday off. I needed to recover. So then on Wendesday, we hit a nice little circuit with some HSPU's (or shrugs for those of us who can't yet do those)and running. Wednesday's fun looked like this:

21-15-9
HSPU's
L-sits
Run 800 meters

I had to sub 6 shrugs for 3 HSPU's and I did strict chins since I can't do L-sits. Definitely worked my tris on Wednesday! I love working out with my older brother Gar, but working out with Lt. Col. Dan is fun too! I like to give him crap while we're working out.... ;) Nothing like picking on a marine. ;)

Yesterday was a little metcon gasser, and man, I was feeling it. It looked like this:
6 TGU (20 lbs)
9 Jumping slamballs (12 lbs)
12 Box jumps (4 mats)
15 Abmat sit-ups

Jerry gave us a half hour time limit for this and I went through 8 1/2 rounds. Craig was telling me I should have had to use 5 mats, but I don't think I could have done it. I had to jet because Open House was yesterday, but most other people stayed and finished 10 rounds. Except for Matt who finished 10 before I finished my 8 1/2. I dislike Matt sometimes....:P

I rolled home from work last night sometime after 800 cooked dinner, did laundry, folded my other laundry, talked on the phone and literally collapsed in bed after 11. I'm not sure how I managed to roll myself out of bed this am, but I made it up at 5, and made it to CF. My body was aching. My hip flexers are uber tight and I just felt sluggish. Jerry said to me today that sometimes you need to know when to say when, and I know I have a really hard time with that. But I need CF. It's a good way to let out toxins and stress, and I like being around the people. So, I guess I'll take a sub par performance and settle for just finishing if it means I get to see people.

Since I wasn't feeling the all out sprint today, I decided to really slow down and focus on my squats. I'm still struggling with them a bit, so I really need to hit them hard. Today's workout went like this

5 rounds for time
400 M run
15 KB swings (35lbs)
30 Squats

It seems weird that after so long I still have to make a really conscious effort to get my hips back before I squat, but I guess everyone has their weak areas. Body weight exercises like dips and push-ups are a bear for me, but so are squats. My time today was not awful, but not terribly great. It was 19 something. I did a cool down 400 M run, and then went inside. Gar pulled a Funishment today, and I decided to hang with him. After watching him row a little, I decided to test my row. I haven't done a 500 M row in a minute, so I decided to see where I was. I also felt a bit like a Nancy for that workout today, and I was sort of kicking my own ass.

Now, I mentioned this the last time I did a 500 M row, that I'm not a very vocal person. I don't yell at myself or grunt much at all, but today when I was rowing, I was yelling. Everyone was outside besides Gar, so I wasn't really worried or embarassed about it, but I know had I not been telling myself to keep going, I wouldn't have gotten my new row PR. (Don't you just love how I always have these brilliant ideas AFTER the workout? :P ) Anyway, I joined a pretty lonely club today because until today, Stacey was the only woman in the under 1:50 club. I joined her today. My previous 500 M row PR was 1:51. My new 500 M row PR is 1:48.8. Gar and I tried to take a picture to submit as evidence, but we took so long to figure out how to work the camera, the monitor on the rower went off! So then we hit memory and luckily the C-2's are smart little cookies and they record each row, so it was in the history, and I took a picture of that, but it was blurry, so who knows if you can actually see it.

Believe it or not, the row itself felt good. Looking at my shoulder actually helps. I can see the form for some reason. Don't ask, I know it's weird, but I wrote about that two weeks ago when I rowed the 2K PR. Now, walking down the stairs AFTER the PR wasn't fun at all. In fact, I stepped confidently onto the first step and nearly fell down the stairs cause my leg almost gave out. No lie. I had to grab the railing. :P

On another good note from today, I hopped onto the scale this morning before the workout. Lately, the scale has been more my enemy than my friend. Being around food all summer at the restaurant kept me in a constant flux of 157-159. But this week I've really made a conscious effort to stop drinking any soda, kick the Starbucks (jerks keep putting crack in my drinks), and really get back on a strict Zone versus an approximate one. My good lookin' out in staying away from the PTA breakfast and all the treaty treats this week did me good... I hit my lowest weight to date. 156.6. That means I'm officially down 22.2 lbs. It is finally starting to hit me just how much that is. Even on "fat days" now, my size 10 pants are still loose. It feels amazing. I just hope I can keep going with it. Leslie said my arms looked cut today... I hope so... I wanna be a BEEFCAKE! :)

Please be patient...

my updates are slow this week... I know, but once this week is over and things calm down... I'll be back to my usual quirky and witty self... with my usual updates... I'm sorry that I haven't been reading your blogs and leaving comments... I'm sure this weekend will afford me some time to catch up... as it is, I'm logging 10-12 hour days each day right now, with yesterday being 17 hours. I'm trying to adjust to this new schedule and I miss reading everyone... I will try to catch up! I promise!! Please just be patient with me... :(

Some thoughts on the year...

After I put together my video the other day, I got to thinking about the last year I have spent with CrossFit. Everyone always thanks Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, etc. for all the things they learned, and this got me to thinking. What have I learned at CrossFit? And the reality is that the last year I've spent with CrossFit has been one of the best learning experiences I could ask for. Everything I need to know about life, I learned at CrossFit... ;)

Lesson 1- There are varying levels of pain. There is "Ow I stubbed my toe kind of pain", and then there is the "I'm dying because I just did Fran" kind of pain. I have learned however, that I can survive both. Pain is temporary, and pride in yourself for not giving up lasts a lot longer.

Lesson 2- Judging workouts by how they look on the board is a bad idea. BAD.

Lesson 3- Doing burpees or walking lunges on concrete or pavement is a bad idea. BAD.

Lesson 4- I am stronger than I think I am. There are appropriate times to quit things, like smoking, or when you are seriously injured and continuing would do more harm than good. However, there are also inappropriate times to quit, such as when you think you just can't and you are too tired. I have only ever DNF'd on 1 CF workout. I think that says something about that little mind I've got upstairs.

Lesson 5- Fran is more brutal than she looks.

Lesson 6- "Party with the Girls" is not really a party at all. In fact, it sucks.

Lesson 7- Finding the ability to take pride in ones work is well worth the effort it takes to find your self confidence.

Lesson 8- It is a lot easier to do kipping pull-ups when you weigh 20 lbs less.

Lesson 9- Jerry really DOES have an evil CrossFit lab in his basement.

Lesson 10- The cameraderie I have found in the Blue Room is not something I will ever find anywhere else. The people that I CrossFit with are all top notch.

Lesson 11- I will have dreams/nightmares that involve workouts and Jerry yelling 3-2-1 Go!

Lesson 12- People staring at you while you are working out is a good thing. It means they are wondering how the hell they can be like you!

Lesson 13- Blisters will heal, wounds will eventually stop bleeding, horizontal love lines will fade, injuries will eventually subside... and I will continue to progress.

Lesson 14- Rest is important (like if you've ever decided to stay out too late having a few too many and doing pistol squats in a dress and heels).

Lesson 15- Sometimes it's ok to have an off day.

Lesson 16- You can't PR everyday.

Lesson 17- All you can give at any one moment, is all you've got, and somedays, it just ain't that much.

Lesson 18- In keeping with that theory, sometimes you just get points for showing up!

Lesson 19- CFOT is home to the smoothest burpees ever... they're like butta!

Lesson 20- CFOT women are strong... don't meet them in a dark alley.

Lesson 21- If the title of the workout sounds bad, the workout itself is probably far worse.

Lesson 22- Creating workouts with cool names is fun and a great way to procrastinate or distract yourself in staff meetings.

Lesson 23- Coach Glassman is the smartest man alive.

Lesson 24- The CF website is does wonders for my libido... mmmmm shirtless men. ;)

Lesson 25- There is no subsitute for CrossFit.

All joking aside, this year has been tremendous for me. I have never been a person with a lot of self-confidence, especially being slightly overweight. CrossFit gave me a place I could call home, when I had just lost the only place in Virginia where I felt at home. They gave me an environment where I could be myself and make mistakes and learn, but also succeed and grow. Watching that video and seeing how far I've come makes me feel proud of myself in a way I've never felt before. When you look at yourself in the mirror everyday, sometimes it's hard to see the changes in yourself. Until making that video, I really didn't realize how much has changed. But, I never quit on myself, and I didn't give up, much as sometimes I wanted to. As a college athlete, I was never a star... I never accomplished much, and I didn't feel as if I really belonged to my team. CFOT has given me something I have never had, and even though I go to get my butt kicked, I feel great afterwards knowing that I'm doing something good for myself. I wouldn't trade CF for anything in the world. It's been a year well spent.

I sorry...

that I have not been posting/commenting... school has been kicking my butt... 22 hours worked in two days... huh... and teachers don't work enough right? I'll try to post later, but I can't promise anything... after my lovely inservice that I'm being forced to attend I have to go to work... today is going to be another long day... should be back home around 11... so we'll see... I have some ramblings in mind... :)

The video reveals all...

Poor form on the thrusters... did I get off my toes? And the 90 lb bar... oi...

Happy Anniversary to my sweetheart...UPDATED AGAIN

Happy 1 Year Anniversary CrossFit honey... I love you! :) CrossFit and I have officially been together for 1 year now. Yeah, it's serious. ;)

I don't know why Blogger videos are so small, but if you want to go see the full WMV file, click on this link to the CrossFit Old Town page, then open the attachment at the bottom of the post.

School is back in session... oh today... oops... guess I stayed up too late making my video... :(

*****UPDATE*****

And on our one year anniversary, I did an RX'd Fran. And by RX'd I mean as the website calls it RX'd. Not with the women's 65 lb RX'd Fran. No no, I mean with 95 lb thrusters. It hurt. My hands are fried, but I accomplished it. My time? A not too shabby 14:17. I'll take it. :)

I love my honey... ;)

*****UPDATED AGAIN*****

In a cruel twist of fate, Jerry noticed that my bar was loaded only to 90 lbs. However, in listening to the video, my time was not 14:17, it was 13:17. One whole minute faster. The 12 week goal has again been revised. It is now a sub 12 minute 95 lb Fran. He did video some of the rounds so you can see it at Crossfitoldtown.ning.com.

Body Worlds 2: The 3 Pound Gem

Yesterday my sister took me into Inner Harbor to the Maryland Science Center and we went to see the "Body Worlds 2" exhibit which was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Body Worlds exhibits (there are currently 3, with 4 opening in October) are very contraversial because they contain bodies that have been plastinated. This is a special process which allows bodies to be prefectly preserved. The skin is then stripped from the bodies (in most cases, in some parts of it are left on) and you can see how the muscles, connecting tissues, circulatory system, nervous system, etc all work together. They pose the bodies in different positions so that you can see what your body looks like when you do those things. It is amazing and creepy at the same time. Some states have argued that you're stripping the corpses of dignity, while the man who invented it, argues that it's one of the best ways to promote anatomical understanding of the human body. But, the people who are plastinated gave consent and donated their bodies to the project, so legally I guess the states can't object.

There is an entire seciton of platinated fetus' so you can actually see embryonic/fetal development up through 28 weeks, and there is a plastinated pregnant woman too, whose skin and muscle tissues have been peeled back so you can actually see the fetus inside her stomach. Yes we have text books, yes we have videos, but seeing a body that has been plastinated was so much more informative. You can actually see and understand how everything works together.

It was really cool too to actually be able to see the organs and what they look like. In some glass cases they had normal organs and then organs that had been affected by diseases or tumors. They also compared a set of smoker's lungs to healthy ones, and even coal miner's lungs. That right there was enough to make my jaw drop. My grandfather was a coal miner, and I can't imagine him having lungs that look like that. Black lung was not just a term, it's true. It looked like somehow had painted the lungs black. The smoker's lungs were also disgusting. Dude, ditch the cigs and do yourself a favor.

They also had varying stages of things like heart disease, kidney disease, gall stones, breast cancer, liver cancer, cirrophis. All this stuff you read about and understand what it means, now you can see, and it's truly amazing. I know that the Catholic Church is not a big fan, but the way the bodies were presented, did not feel grotesque or demeaning at all. Had they placed the bodies in sexual positions, yes, I would agree with the church that it was pornographic and it was demeaning to the dead, but this was done very artfully and I thought it was amazing. This particular body world, is all about the brain, which is why the nerves etc were a big focus of this exhibit. If you have an opportunity to go, the exhibit closes on September 1. It is somewhat graphic, so if you're squeamish, don't do it, but if you'd like to see what your muscles look like when you do CrossFit, go. I thought of all of you and Jerry immediately when I saw one of the plastinated bodies. It was a male body positioned as if it was doing an Iron Cross on the rings. You really got a good sense of how tight your core needs to be, as well as your glutes and upper body to do something like that. It was awesome.

Go check out the Body Worlds 2 site at the Maryland Science Center if you are interested.

Maryland Science Center: Body Worlds 2

Subtly is NOT my forte...

I'm about as subtle as a 10 lb. brick... honestly... someone needs to take charge of my cell phone when I drink. I am going to see the body in motion exhibit with my sis today. Then I'll be running later and kicking my own, not subtle backside... eesh...

Pictures...

Facebook says that even if you don't have an account, you should be able to see my pictures from last night.... use this link to go see them... Marine Corps Parade

I skin the cat, go to the marine parade, and miss Badger....

Yesterday was a skill day, so really not much to write about. Jerry let us play around on the rings a bit which isn't something we typically get to do, so it was fun to get up there and practice skinning the cat, and working on front levers. Being upside down on the rings gives you a whole new perspective on things, and leaves you lots of time to think about important questions, such as: How badly will it hurt if I fall off these right now? How much are my abs going to hurt when I'm done? Who created this mother f'ing move? Why did I decide doing this was a good idea? If I fall from the rings, will I die and have my obituary read "Death by Rings"? How DO they make Cheez-its? Who really did put the "butter" in butterfly and why... perhaps their flyin' is smooth like butta... like Matt's burpees?

Anyway, I think you can see my point. Lots of time to think. We also had some fun with tall box jumps and handstand push-ups (still my arch nemesis!). After that wicked team challenge on Wednesday, I was ok with just having time to play. My forearms were pretty jacked, so the down time was a ok with me. After that I had to rush out to get ready for work. I got to pull the lucky dayshift card again yesterday, so I didn't have much time. I also had to pull together all my stuff because I was going straight from work to the Marine Parade. Basically, the marine parade is an opportunity for the marines stationed at the barracks in DC to perform their drill routines for the public. It also includes the Marine Corps' band and drum and bugle core, as well as the silent drill team.

They normally do this parade on Friday evenings, but last night was a special parade to honor Korean War Veterans. It was a coat and tie event, and so I had to have a dress all ready to go. This was somewhat problematic since I haven't purchased any new dresses since losing my weight. I pulled one out though that fit ok, and decided to go with that. I left work and met Keturah on the King Street Metro and we headed up to the barracks. I'm glad Keturah was back in time from Vegas to go. Once we got to the barracks, I have to say, I was not prepared. Seeing all the men in their dress uniforms was like entering an alternate world. Having them say ma'am and holding doors while also holding out a hand was surreal. Nice, but again, something I'm not accustomed to.

When we told the gentleman at the gate that we were headed to the Center House to meet up with our Lt. Col he looked at me a little strangely, as if he couldn't believe I was a guest of a Lt. Col, but nonetheless off we went and I was pleased to find him already at the bar. ;) I didn't realize why the gentleman had looked at me so oddly, but what I didn't understand is that Center House is basically for the officers, and important guests of the parade and the officers. So basically, for an evening, I got to be treated like a VIP. It was odd, but very cool. The Center House is rich in tradition and has a lot of very cool memorabilia on the walls. I did feel a little out of my element though as I did brush elbows with a few VERY decorated marines. It was neat.

When we entered the parade we got to see the full band plus the drum and bugle corps before the marines entered the parade grounds. If you ever have the opportunity to go see the parade, go. There is nothing like hearing the sound of 130 odd rifle butts hitting the ground simultaneously. It's a little intimidating, but very cool, and to see the silent drill team throw their rifles around WITH bayonets fixed is really amazing.

I have to say, I'm not partial towards one branch of the military or another, but after watching the parade last night, it does certainly seem that the marine corps cares a great deal about tradition and has a certain element of pride in what they do. Their precision was amazing, and you would not be able to garner that kind of performance without hard work. I had the opportunity to sit with my friends and our Lt. Col, and near us were seated some of the Korean War veterans. A man who had to have been at least 80 years old was in attendance.... in his full dress uniform. Even at 80 something, he still looked sharp, STOOD and saluted the flag, and took pride in the service he had provided to his country. There are people in the services currently who probably wouldn't do that because they see defending our flag as a paycheck, but watching that elderly gentleman was enough to make me tear up. I hate to sound so disgustingly patriotic, but it made me regain a little of my pride in our armed services. Living in this area unfortunately, while you get to see the best of the best in our armed forces, you also get to see the worst of the worst at times. Seeing the marines last night restored a little of my faith in the armed services. They obviously train hard and take pride in what they do. And god love 'em for doing it in polyester when it's 80 some degrees out.

Now, after the parade, we were invited to go back to Center House and have a few drinks on a man who was a friend of our Lt. Col. He was a very polite gentleman, and I did enjoy talking to him. Didn't hurt him that he CrossFits either. ;) It was fun to talk to the people who were there last night, and I had to laugh when someone said this to me. "Seeing the parade will do one of two things. It'll make you either want to join the marines, or date one." To that, all I can say is..... damn dress uniform. The man (cause it obviously had to be a man) knew what he was doing when he designed those things. It's hard NOT to look sharp in that. Damnit. :P

As people began to trickle out, Linda, Keturah and I stayed and had a few drinks with a fun bunch of marines. They were a little on the crazy side, but a lot of fun. I won't rehash all the details of the night, but let's just say, I did pistol squats in a dress. :P Damn CrossFit....

Now, I had a such a great time last night, that I had a little trouble getting up this morning. I would like to blame the shots of whiskey, but eh, no one held a gun (or sword as the case may be) to my head... so truthfully it's my own fault I didn't make it up. So, I missed Badger this morning. I have never actually missed a workout from being hungover... damnit! I'm kinda pissed because I have to work tonight and can't go in at 5. But, truth be told, I think I need more rest anyway so it's probably for the better. I was also supposed to go to school today... Uh... oops.

Lots of pictures from the parade... when my stomach settles and the grease kicks in and does it's job... I'll upload them... what a night!

And the winner is....

THE WOMEN!!!! YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!! *wild cheering, a few woot woots, and rounds of applause* Apparently this one was pretty hotly contested too... the women held out though, despite Chriss' MASSIVE 41 points for the men. Jesus. And I thought 30.3333333 was bad. Good night Irene! The women won by .15. Last time the men beat us out in the final class of the day and won by .6 points. This time it was even closer but the ladies stuck it out. WELL DONE!

Gents, good job, but uh, better luck next time.... ;)

Men Vs. Women: The rematch

You know, when Jerry sent the email that today's workout was going to be the rematch that I've been waiting for, all I could hear were ringing bells and the "LET'S GET IT ON!" I was so ready for it this morning. With all the pansy boy drama, I needed a good butt kickin' workout, and team competitions always seem to be good for that. The men vs. women competition we did a few months ago was one of the most hotly contested things I've ever been in. Last time, the men were saved by the men in the 500 class. They barely beat us with the average being less than a point. It was close. VERY close, and we've been nagging Jerry for a rematch and finally got it.

Today's rematch was either the best workout I've ever done, or the worst idea I've ever had. (and believe me that's saying something since we all know I've had quite a few REALLY bad ideas) I'm typing this now because I'm afraid if I wait until later, I may have actually lost function in my arms, so better to get it done now. But, basically, I decided to workout through all 3 classes so I could keep putting points on the board for the women. I just needed to stay above the class average to keep helping us out. I started at 0600 and worked out until 0815. That's a lot of work to put in. I think I may have actually crippled myself this time, but time will tell. Here's how this broke down today.

Men Vs. Women
All Day Team Competition
3 Points
Farmers walk (w 20lb m 35lb)

1 Point
500 M row
400 M run
10 Burpees
50 Double Unders
150 Single Jump Ropes
35 Ab Mat Sit-ups
20 Wall Ball (w 10lb m 15lb)
70 Bull Whip
10 TGU (w 15 m 25)

I decided to try the 2K row again right out the gate and see if I couldn't beat yesterday's time, and put up 4 points right away for my team. The row didn't feel as good, but it was faster than yesterday. I rowed out a new 2K PR to get the women started. I rowed in 8:16.5. 21 seconds faster than yesterday. After that, I hit the outside for farmer's walks. I did 8 rounds of farmers walks and put a total of 28 points on the board for the women in the first class.

Now Jerry told me that we could workout in more than one class, but we would count as another person. After Matt goaded me, I decided to jump into the 0645 class. I made sure Matt was aware of the counting as a new person rule, and he said, "Yeah. I'm going again. Aren't you?" And then he went out the door, and that was all I could take. Mother f'er. I went out and just kept doing farmer's walks. There was no way I was going to let him put more points on the board than me. I did 10 farmer's walks AND in the second class I managed to get 2 times around the building (roughly 800 M) without dropping, which def helpd me get to 10. Then I split some burpees at the end with Mel and Karen, so I basically scored 30.33333 points in the 0645 class.

Now, I was going to call it quits after that, but Mel asked me if I was going to jump in at 0730. I was going to leave, but she looked like she might jump in, so I thought, what the hell... if I just stay above our average, I'll help out the team. The average for women was just a little over 23. So I knew if I stayed above that I could help raise the average. Well, as I got set, Mel bailed out cause she couldn't stay the whole time, and I was the ONLY woman to represent at 0730. My point total was 25 and I avoided the row, run, and the farmer's walk.

Here's how my overall reps for the whole day broke down... this is insane you do realize right?

2000M Row (PR!)
18 Farmer's Walks (7200M total)
Total meters walked/rowed- 9200

Burpees-50
Ab Mat Sit-Ups- 350
Bull Whips-280
Single Jump Rope- 300
Wall Ball-80
Total reps- 1060

Mind you, all the rowing and running came in the first two classes. All the reps came in the third class, at which point I will wholeheartedly admit, I hit fatigue. This was insane. But, BUT, it does say a lot about Jerry's work that he's been able to put me in shape metabolically to be able to do this. So yay for that. The women took the 0600 class and the 0730 class. The men got away with the 0645 class, and I'm not sure how 0900 panned out. As the numbers were crunched (by moi ;) ) after the 0730 class, the men were down. Jerry took total points and divided by total people to get the average for each team. The men were at an average of 20.23. The women were running at an average of 23.45. AM ladies, I'm very proud of you! You guys kicked some tuckus! This is why I say the women of CFOT are strong!!! Awesome work.

As Jerry updates... I'll be sure to pass them along..... :)

I forgot to mention the funnies from this morning... ;)

Gar: "Katie, I don't know if I can work out today."
Me: "Why?"
Gar: "Cause we're on different teams."
Me: "Well Gar we kinda have to be. You have a penis and I have a vagina."

5 minutes later
After retelling this conversation to Anthony...
Anthony: "That's what's wrong with you right there."

Ah... CrossFit moments...

Just in case...

Just in case you wanted to see Kung Fu Hamster in action... I think the fact that his tag is still on takes away from his street cred though... ;) And before you yell at me, I did work out and I already posted... scroll down... :P

The best day EVER...

I love CF days where I laugh a lot... today was one of those days and believe me, I needed it. I know that it's stupid to let a situation with a boy mess with my head, but for some reason this one is really getting to me. I guess it's over but I'm not really sure, and I'm wandering around in that limbo land where I hope he calls and explains that something dreadful has happened and he's really sorry he didn't retun my call, but the reality of the matter is that that's not going to happen. So why doesn't that register with my brain? Or rather my heart which seems to be a useless organ and only good for getting me into situations where I find myself wanting to beat myself senseless with blunt objects, which is very clearly a health hazard. *sigh* Anyway, I needed to laugh today and there were a few good moments that gave me a good giggle.

For those of you who don't work out with us, you should know that I put together a collection of music on my I-Pod for us to workout to. I took the requests from our team, plus took some, "creator liberties" (hehehe, they include the likes of Abba) and added a few of my favorites. One of my top moments from today involved Terrance singing "Poison" while attempting to do Hollow Rocks. I also laughed hysterically when "Beat It" came on, and Terrance said that he's going to put that on loop when his wife Jen has her baby. Apparently he thinks it will be inspirational... ;) I told him he may want to clear that with her.

Another favorite moment was when Matt was coming down off the ring dips with a KB dangling between his legs, and my filter didn't quite make it in time, and I said, "Dude, watch your nuts." Now, I'm not quite sure why I was worried about Matt's family jewels, but he and Craig, as well as Andrea T. and Laura got a good kick out of that one.

Now, my favorite giggle of the day was when Jerry spit out what has to be the best pick up line EVER. Oh teee he. It made me laugh for about five minutes. As Adrienne was working her modified deadlifts he told her that she had "Great cervical vertebrae allignment." Oh tehehehehehehehe. It made me giggle in the worst way. It seriously sounded like the world's best pick up line. How Adrienne didn't lose the barbell and laugh I don't know, because I did.

So, it was a good day to work in the Blue Room. No crazy rounds for time. Just a work up heavy for about 5-6 working rounds. Here's what we did.

Modified DL work up as heavy as you can be perfect X10
Hollow rocks :30-:60 as your level sees fit
Ring dips 5-10 as your level sees fit

Now, for me today, 5 ring dips was plenty. If you were keeping up over the weekend, you know about Elizabeth, the following Funishment, the run, Sunday's workout, and then the following Funishment. So, that's 5 WOD's in 3 days? Yeah, 5 ring dips was plenty seeing as how I haven't recovered. I was a bit upset with the ROM on them, but hey, I just did 45 the other day... can't be too upset with that.

I did 5 rounds and worked up to 10 Modified DL's with 145lbs, so I didn't think that was too shabby either. Afterwards in an attempt to kick my own ass for being such a jackass about this whole boy thing, Jerry suggested a 1K row. I made it 2. So I rowed 2,000 meters. I was really trying to focus on form. I know it sounds odd, but I found that if I looked to the left as I was rowing and watched my shoulder, I could also see my knee out of the corner of my eye, and I was able to focus more on legs then arms. It's weird I know, but it really helped because then I wasn't focused on the time or meters left. At the end I didn't feel like I had expended all I could, but it felt good. My time was 8:37.7. Not too bad. It took over the top class time, but my records don't usually last very long... damnit.... :P

So, then I did a couple sets of 6 chins, but my hands are still so screwed up that I couldn't even hang on the bar. I think it might be time to untape my bar again, but we'll see. I think the tape is what's giving me the wicked ridges in my hands, but we'll see. Lots of people now like my bar, so I may have other people to contend with. Summer is winding down and Monday is the official start of school for teachers. *sigh* Not looking forward to a week of meetings etc. So to try to make my time a little more pleasant, I'm trying to get my posters and bulletin boards up this week. I'm hoping that having a bit done already will help. I'm also trying to bury myself in work so I don't think about how crappy I feel. Avoidance? Yes. Does it work? Usually.

Because it makes me giggle a little...

Watch me

Because who doesn't need a singing hampster with nunchucks?

Everybody was kung fu fighting... ya! Ha! Those cats were fast as lightning....

And for more funny stuff... listen to the youtube I posted yesterday... and before you yell at me for having too much time and not posting anything CrossFit related, I did post about yesterday's workout(s)... you just have to scroll through the random things to get to it... :P Yesterday was the Hinterlands... :P

Had to post this...

So my friend sends me random links to things sometimes... sometimes funny personals on CL, sometimes it's news stories, and sometimes (like today) it's random stuff from the internet. So, here's the back story on this. Apparently Dimitri met this wonderful woman named Olga in the street, and she told him to "call her" and gave him a business card. Now... the messages pick up after their little love encounter... :P I'm going to be looking to see what you guys say about this...

Oh, and you kinda have to ignore the pictures... just listen to the message... someone apparently thought the pictures would be funny...

The Hinterlands and some more Funishment...

I haven't quite fully recovered from my bout with Elizabeth yet, but you know me. I'm a glutton for punishment, so I headed off to CrossFit this morning like a good little lemming should. I wasn't sure if I was actually going to workout or not, so I started to stretch and then saw that the workout was all legs. That didn't warm my heart much as my legs were still a little wobbly from the run yesterday, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

The Hinterlands looks a little something like this...

3 rounds for time
800 M run
50 Squats
50 Ab Mats

Jerry brought out the PVC so people could go overhead squats, and that's what I decided to do. I think my depth was a little shallow today, but I think it's just because my legs were pretty fried after the Funishment from Friday plus yesterday's run and the workout today. The speed on the squats though felt pretty good. I brought this one in in just over 22. I was 22:09. Not too shabby. I was actually doing the abmats in sets of 50, so maybe soon I'll have abs of steel! Rawr! :P

After the workout, Gar and I still had another Funishment that we owed to Jerry, so we decided to get it out of the way. Ironically enough, our Funishment from Friday pretty closely resembled our workout today.... hmmmmmmmm.... Anyhoo, our Funishment today was pretty brutal after all the running and leg work we had already done, but I guess that's why it's called Funishment.



Funishment
4 rounds (for time)
400 M Farmer's Walk (men 35 Katie 25)
400 M Run

We weren't going to time the Funishment but Jerry decided he wanted to put us on the clock. After round 1 we developed a strategy for the Farmer's Walks and did them with only 2 drops. No drops would be ideal, but come on. After the workout? Cut me some slack here... :P I can't remember the exact time, but I wrote it on the board, so when Jerry takes the picture I'll go back and look. But I know it was 32 something. Jerry was also snapping photos of us during the Funishment. I'm sure they're lovely as I know I was making plenty of faces.... errrrr..... so anyway, today was a rather sweaty but fun Sunday. I feel tough now doing two WOD's back to back. Eh, not really... I feel sore now...:P Until manana (or I think of other crazy things to post)!

I went running...

and I didn't like it... but I did it... and I ran 3.2 miles in 32:38. Ironically, that's just off my 5K time. Hmmm... the knees started to go just as I was finishing. I'm a little worried about this whole 13 mile thing. :/

I went to dinner tonight with one of my good friends from my old job. We got to talking about relationships and all the issues I've been having lately. As much as it was a good talk, it really was upsetting. It's hard to know that things are out of your hands and that your heart is in the hands of someone else. All you can hope is that the other person will take care of it as you would see fit, but meanwhile you also have to realize that the chance that it will remain unbroken is very slim.

My father's words ringing in my ears... plus more inspiration

When I was a kid, back before my parents divorced, they were always at all of my swim meets. In the summers, mom usually would stroke judge, while dad would usually announce. If you've never met my dad, which I don't think any of you have, you have to understand that my musical talent comes from a combination of my parents but largely him. He has the "Most Bombastic B-52 Bass" voice. (It was an old Concert Choir award, I didn't make that up.) Basically, he has an awesome voice, so he was a great announcer for our swim meets. After my races, I couldn't go talk to mom cause she was busy watching the kids in the pool, so I went to dad. For the better part of the 15 years I swam, my dad always said the same thing. It got to the point where I would say "I KNOW!" before he would even say it. "Starts, turns, and finishes will win your race, Kate." After 15 years, it really sunk in.

These days, I find myself acting more and more like my father when I'm coaching at swim practice. I yell at my kids for not finishing hard, standing up on starts, doing open turns instead of flip turns, and I certainly find myself chastising them for gliding to a finish. In a sport that can be won or lost by hundredths of a second the smallest of technial things matter. And I can't tell you how much last night's race in the 100M fly between Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic excited me. Not because it was a tight race and because it came down to the thinnest margin I can think of, no, that's not why I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it because it proves me right (and we all know how much I love to be right!) I now have fodder for my rant mill come November when my kids get back in the pool.

It proves me right to my kids because one of the world's best athletes fell blunder to one of the oldest rules in swimming and it cost him. They can now see that their crazy coach isn't really just talking out her backside. Cavic fell blunder to one of the rules that is ingrained in swimmers from day one. DON'T glide into the wall. His mistake cost him the ultimate prize. That last glide cost him the gold medal. Instead of finishing hard and hitting the wall the way he should, Cavic failed to nail the touch pad, allowing Phelps to get in .01 ahead of him. .01. You can't even blink that fast. Ok maybe you can, but I think you get the point. Everyday at CF we preach form. Form and technique. A technical failure on the part of Cavic cost him dearly. That's not to take anything away from his swim. He still left his heart in that pool and did a pheonomenal job, but guaranteed when asked in 10 years how he feels about that race, he will lament on that last stroke. (If you didn't watch that race, I encourage you to go to the NBC online site and stream it. Actually, even better are the photos taken by the underwater cameras. you want to see what .01 looks like? Check out the Getty photo gallery. This race was even better than the 4X100 relay that everyone was talking about, including me. You can't seem to figure out how Phelps gets his hand on the wall. Even Phelps mom thought he was in second. Watch her reaction post race.)

Form and technique are important, there is no doubt about it. Sometimes with CF we get so caught up on going heavier, we lose form, and we forget about it. We need to remember that there is a purpose for the form and techinque we practice, so that like Cavic, when it counts, we don't ruin an opportunity. It might be an opportunity for a PR, it might be an opportunity just to complete a safe lift. Form and technique, just like those "starts, turns, and finishes" are ultimately what will allow us to win our "race" with CF.

The Olympics give us lots of great performances to focus on and lots of reasons to be proud of our athletes, but I found some inspiration a little closer to home today. I love reading CrossFit NYC: The Black Box, because they do a great job of finding interesting links to post on their page. I copied and pasted the following story today because I thought it was too great of a story not to pass along to those of you who don't click over to those guys very often. I think it shows how CrossFit can be embraced by anyone!

Mary Conover is a grandmother in Santa Cruz, CA who started CrossFit at age 69, this is her story: "About 3 1/2 years ago, at the age of 69, I was fretting because I couldn’t pick up my 13 lb granddaughter. I figured that in order to get her into my lap, I would have to wait until she could climb there! My police officer son, who keeps fit, strong, and happy with CrossFit, urged me to contact Coach Greg Glassman because he wanted a lifealtering best for his mom. That contact and his unspoken confidence that I wasn’t “too old” were some of my son’s sweetest gifts to me, especially because the gift goes on and on every day!
A couple of weeks later I walked into a world foreign to me. Actually, I paced up and down in front trying to figure out what I was getting myself into as I surreptitiously glanced in the window of a somewhat daunting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu center where Coach Glassman, in those early days, had a little rectangle of CrossFit floor space where he and Lauren worked their magic. I finally made it through the door after Coach noticed me loitering outside! On that day I developed a bond with the Gravitron (with lots of help) and could only squat with poor form to the highest plyometric box. Situps followed the squats and by the time I had done 5 situps, I knew that one of the components of my quads had given up... actually failed! My first workout was over! When I informed Coach that I couldn’t do one more sit-up, there followed the only time in my now long acquaintance with him, that I found him speechless, if you can imagine that!
I was back the next week. In the days, weeks and years that followed my reps and weights increased and, as I strengthened and learned technique, minutes and seconds fell away on my 2K rowing times. But the bonus was that I can now pick up my granddaughter and, now at 4 years old, she weighs a whole lot more!
The elderly obviously don’t have the potential reflexes, balance, or strength of a young person. However, CrossFit workouts do improve every one of those functions. I feel strong and, if I concentrate, can even achieve a little straighter posture. My bone density reads “Normal Young”, and, in a world where few people notice an old lady, I enjoy the genuine acceptance, youthful camaraderie, encouragement, celebration, and love that permeates the CrossFit world."

Now, be inspired, and go focus on your form and technique... I might go for a run later... :P

Elizabeth plus some "Funishment"...

Unlike many days in the Blue Room of Pain, I knew what to expect once I hit that door today. I knew going in that Elizabeth was on the docket (sp?) for this morning. Over the last few days I've had a couple of conversations with people about ring dips. I've been using the floss band to do them assisted lately, but getting off the band has been challenging. I have always been able to lift and move heavy weights, but I struggle when it comes to movements where I need to be able to move my own body weight. It's truly been a challenge for me. So, needless to say, when Jerry and Andrea found out that I could do one ring dip, they suggested getting off the band and moving into working on volume. Andrea even went so far as to nudge me to do Elizabeth today without any band. (Andrea btw is the same girl in the two video posts from Monday. The girl is a freakin' beast.)

So, I went in this morning, a little tired after trying to watch Michael Phelps swim last night, but had some thoughts on doing the workout. My thought was, I would do the set of 21 without the band, and then try to do the rest with the band. I wasn't intimidated by the 85 lb squat cleans at all since we've done them before, and since last week we did that ungodly day of 100lb squat cleans. So, I decided to go for it. The round of 21 squat cleans was faily easy and I wanted to do all 21 without putting the bar down, but I had to drop at 15. Then I did 3 and 3 because I was having trouble holding onto the bar. The movement felt good, but I just couldn't grip the bar for some reason. From there I jumped into the 21 dips. Let me just tell you that, as suspected, they took FOREVER! By the time I got back to the squat cleans I think that 10 minutes had gone by. The set of 15 cleans were all 5's, and then the ring dips.... I should have stuck to my original plan. I should have. I should have gotten the band after the 21. But my stubborn self said, no, let's do this as Rx'd. I fatigued on rep 15 5 different times. Talk about frustrating. I need to learn to kip off the bottom if I'm going to get good at these.

So the 9's... squat cleans flew in sets of 3 and before I knew it I was back on the rings. I was so fatigued that doing just 9 was unbelievably difficult. I missed rep 7 about 4 times, and then reps 8 and 9 were just gritty. On rep nine I called time, let go of the rings, and literally fell on the floor. There was no graceful dismount. I was at fatigue. It took me 28:30 to do this workout. It was flat out hard, but it's a benchmark, so as I get further away from the band, hopefully that time will improve.

As I was laying on the floor trying to recover, Gar reminded me that since neither of us hit our goals, we needed to pull a "Funishment" workout. Actually since Gar missed this week, and I missed last week, we had to pull 2. So we pulled these two workouts.

Funishment #1
Run 400M
50 air squats

Funishment #2
400M Farmers walk with 35 lbs
400M Sprint

When I could pull myself off the floor big brother Gar and I headed outside to do Funishment #1. I figured after that many ring dips I couldn't possibly do anything that involved my arms. I'll post the picture later, but when I had to write on the white board what my time was, it seriously looked like spooky Halloween writing. It was actually THAT shaky.

So Gar and I did Funishment workout #1. During the workout though, I had to crack up because of Gar. We were in front of one of the exit doors from the gym below us, and on round 2, some guy walked out. As he walked away, Gar goes, "He totally just checked you out. I had to give him a look." LOL. I love my older brother. He does such a good job. :)

Ahhhh yes... now it's time for work... I hope my legs can handle stairs this evening... ugh. Maybe I'll get a run in tomorrow... we'll see... if not I'm sure I'll find something to ramble about... ;)

Weighing in on Michael Phelps, medal counts, today's WOD, and Elizabeth tomorrow

The Olympics are an amazing thing when you sit down to think about it. Athletes from countries all over the world, doing what they love to do, and giving it their all. There are amazing performances to watch time and time again, and plenty of inspirational stories to hear. But one thing that has irked me since the beginning of the games is the constant running commentary on the medals. I understand that announcers and analysts will always look at past times, games, bouts, matches etc. and compare teams and athletes. It's what they do. But what has driven me nuts since day one, is how these people seem to think that just because their predicitions have not all be correct, something is terribly wrong, and someone had an awful performance. I've heard it in swimming a lot with the American women. So and so was favorited in this event and didn't make the medal stand. Well, yes, this may have been the case, but so what? The athletes in the games are working their butts off and giving it their best. The reality of the matter is though, that sometimes even though you're giving your best, someone else is too, and their best today might just be a little bit better than yours. I really wish the announcers would lay off the athletes, stop trying to put the US on the medal stand for every damned event, and be proud of the athletes for training their butts off and swimming for their country in the Olympics.

It also drives me nuts that the media is keeping a running tally of how many medals each country has. Honestly, who cares about how many medals each country has? The Olympics have turned into the biggest pissing contest ever. I swear. Why should it matter if the Chinese have more medals than us? Honestly? Why should it matter if we have more than Australia? What matters is watching these athletes give gutsy performances and celebrating their efforts. How sad is it that instead of celebrating personal bests, we lament them because they were not good enough for a medal? In the end, what is more important? A medal? Or knowing that someone did the best they could? Medals are nice, and pretty, and shiny, and we all know how I love shiny things, but seriously. Let's get back to the real reason that the Greeks started the Olympics. Pride. Pride in oneself and pride in one's country. I'm proud of our athletes, but not for our media for putting the focus of the Olympics where it doesn't need to be.

Now, as for Michael Phelps. I know that everyone in the world has become a bandwagoner for him. I get it. He's in the media, it's hard not to follow his story. But what I wish the media would focus on, is not that he swims fast. I know that. The world knows that. The world by now has caught on to the fact that "The Cube" is a damned fast pool. What makes Michael Phelps good is not that he is fast. What makes Michael Phelps one of the best athletes around, is how he is winning these medals. He is breaking world records, yes, but BUT, he is doing it over a period of 9 days. He is swimming 17 times. I'm not sure even I as a former swimmer can comprehend just how much focus and energy that must take. It's not as if he is just going out and giving one great performance for each race. He's not. He's doing prelims, semis, finals, and swimming in some cases multiple races on each night. Michael Phelps is not good because he's fast, he is damned good because he is sustaining it. There is a HUGE difference there. This is what sets him apart from other amazing athletes in history. Not only that but he is doing it with one of the most demanding programs I have ever seen. I'm not sure if any of you have attempted to swim a 400 IM before (100 of each stroke) but it's flat out brutal. Butterfly is by far the most demanding of the four strokes and to start a race with that, and then have to do the other three... ai caramba! Not only that, the man swam the 200 fly! C'mon! He is either that good, or a serious masochist. I'm going to put my two cents in on the former. Anyway, I'm not telling you to respect Michael Phelps because he's fast and he breaks world records and my isn't that amazing. No, in that pool breaking a record is apparently as common as seeing a KB at CrossFit. You're more surprised it if DOESN'T happen. Respect Michael Phelps because the dude has the cahones to keep breaking the records over 9 days with an insane program. Dude deserves the credit.

Today's WOD... 3rd long one of the week... oi vey!


No warm-up today. Today it was straight to the chaos! We had chaos on the menu again... mmm... isn't chaos delicious? :P
WOD
Buy in + 5 rounds + buy out for time
Buy in 50 Ab mats
400 M run
10 TGU (women 25 men 35)
10 L-sit pull-ups (or progression)
10 Burpees
Buy out 50 Ab mats

This took 46:11 today. I was using the ropes to do L-sits from the floor. They are not as easy as they look. I was smoked. My shoulders were still sore from earlier this week so TGU form got a little shaky towards the end, but still got 'em done.

Tomorrow is Elizabeth... last time I did RX'd weight with a pink band on dips. Jerry has said before that once you get off bands you should never go back. I officially got a single ring dip today. Tomorrow I am going to attempt a full RX'd Elizabeth with no band. I have a feeling I will fatigue early and it will take me a loooong time to do this workout. I'm fully anticipting 30 minutes or more. Wish me luck... I may die. Death by ring dips... but what a way to go... :P

So you wanted to see my snatch eh?

Well here it is... :P



I am a particular fan of the slow mo... I've never seen my extension in that way before and it's pretty wicked cool! :)

Monday's OHS video...

It's only a short one but Andrea has great form to look at...

An inspiration...

I know that many of you, like me, are following the Olympic games. It's amazing to sit and watch athletes do what they do best. Compete. Now, for those of you who don't follow swimming the way I do (with a sizeable vengance) you may not know all the stories that go along with this particular Olympic team. There is one story in particular that stands alone. Not Michael Phelps quest for Spitz's record, not Coughlin or Piersol's repeat, not the relay that should never have been. There is one story that is such an inspiration, I have to post it here.

Although we CrossFitters are not Olympians, we are athletes. We have goals, we have successes, we have injuries, we have failures, we have good days, we have bad days, and we have days where we just don't want to see the inside of a gym. But, regardless, we are capable of doing what we want to and love to do. Although at times it may be harder than others, our bodies allow us to do what we want to do. Now, imagine that you have trained for 4 years. Imagine that you have pushed as hard and as far as you can. You've FINALLY met your ultimate goal and made the Olympic team. Now imagine that all of a sudden, something changes. You may not be able to do what you love. You may not be able to persue your dreams and goals. Just weeks before the Olympic Trials that is exactly what happened to Eric Shanteau.

After noticing something wasn't right and going to see the doctor, Shanteau discovered at the age of 24 that he had testicular cancer. Four years ago, Shanteau just missed making the team for Athens. He had come so far from four years before, only to have this dropped in his lap. But yet, rather than bemoan the fact that something so tragic had happened, he kept quiet, and asked the doctors to clear him to swim in the trials. He did, and all his hard work paid off as he made the Olympic team. Shanteau's doctors recommended surgery. He recommended they take a hike. He wanted the opportunity to swim. He had them clear him to go to Beijing. As I've read, he has had to consent to weekly testing of his blood levels but so long as they remain high, he will be allowed to compete.

Here is a kid (he's younger than me for Pete's sake, I can say that...) who is faced with something that would scare adults twice his age. Here is someone who has been dealt a hand that few would ever be able to manage. But instead of crying and giving in, he said not me. He is not allowing it to win. He is continuing to train, and to work towards his dreams and goals, all the while knowing what is looming in his future. He has found the ultimate ability and will to persevere. His return to the states will undoubtably bring surgery and treatment. But for now, it doesn't matter. He is going to do what he set out to do. Eric's story is an inspiration to athletes everywhere. No matter how small they may be, never give up on your goals. When things seem at their darkest, when giving up and giving in seem like an option, think of him. He didn't give up, and he didn't give in. Neither should you.

CrossFit Old Town: "Dude, I'm gonna tear my hands the F up."

So, you know, I have to hand it to myself. It seems that I have this knack for spitting out great little quotes while I'm at CF. Sadly no one heard my great little one liner yesterday, which was completely unintentional mind you, when I said, "My snatches are getting sloppy." I was on the 8's on the way down, and they totally were but later when I thought about what I said, I had to giggle to myself. Then this morning, Jerry got me with the blog title after I just looked at the workout and spat out, "Dude, I'm gonna tear my hands the F up." I didn't actually use the word. No no, I just said F. Yes, it's true, I'm a complete retard. :P

But anyhoo, I've managed to pull the lucky "double" card at work today... yay for being in a restaurant for the better part of 10 hours... that's not really a yay... there's a lot of sarcasm there so I hope you picked up on that. So anyway, I best get this blog moving. Today's fun looked like this...

Warm-up
3-5 rounds
5 burpees
10 OHS (pvc)
15 Abmat sit-ups

WOD
For time
33:42
Pull-ups
KB swings (45, 50, 52)
Box jumps

36-30-24-18-12-6

Now do you understand why I said I was going to tear my hands? The shave job I gave myself was a bad idea. My calluses are too low now and my hands are, well not baby soft, but they're smooth(er). They are tearing in the palms again, and those hurt and don't heal nearly as quickly. There were lots of rips today, and not little ones either. Big bloody ones. Poor big brother Gar had three, and they were deep too. Those are gonna take a hot minute to heal. Ouch. Steven had a deep one too. They both finished the workout though. Steven in a bloody surgical glove, Gar taped all to heck. It was quite a sight. Let me just say, after yesterday's chaos on the menu, this was brutal. I was a lot more sore than I thought I was. I felt like lead weight the whole time. And it didn't help that Jerry switched my KB on one of the higher rounds. Made me do the 50. Then I went back to the 45, and then the 52 was the only thing available. Wicked. If you have a half hour or so to spare, give this a go. It has my official sweat guarantee on it! :P Gotta go to the shower now or I'll be late like a bad little lemming.....

My return, some thoughts on well... my thoughts, and "There's chaos on the menu!"

I think it's safe to say, especially after reading everyone's comments and the few emails that I got, that I did not realize that my little blog has become, not a staple, that's not the word, but a part of people's daily lives. Got the paper, check, got my coffee, check, see what crazy Katie has to say today... check. :) I guess I didn't really realize that if I went away people would miss what I had to say. After reading all your thoughts and comments though, I was a little surprised, pleasantly though, so don't take that the wrong way. I didn't realize that you all felt so strongly about me being around. It's very nice to see, and it gives me those warm little fuzzies you get when you know you have great friends around. It's a great feeling. I know that I have never met some of you and for some of you far away, the possibility that that will occur is slim, but I can't describe how good it felt to know that you all appreciate my writing and care about what I have to say, and what's going on in my life. After talking with Jerry, Keturah, and a few others, I've decided to keep going with my little blog. I may piss people off along the way, I may offend them, but that's the risk that I take by putting myself on the internet I suppose. But, BUT... before I get back into workouts and such, there are a few things I need to say, and for those of you that this applies to, bookmark this post, and then SHARE it. You'll know what I mean.

First and foremost, let me start by saying that, yes. I am single. I realize to many out there, that means a few things in your supposed world. It must mean that I am just putting myself on the internet to meet men or women in some cases, and therefore that means I'm trying to steal yours. INCORRECT. I write my blog because I enjoy it. I communicate with people because I respect their opinions and enjoy the communication. HOWEVER, just because I am on the internet, it does not mean I have no morals, or that I am trolling the internet looking for a sexual encounter. I don't belive in dating or sleeping with someone else's so/fiance/spouse. I am NOT out to get your man, or in some cases, woman. I am single, but there is someone who I care for and would like to make things work with, and no he's not a CF'er, he's not married, engaged, or someone else's so. He's single, like me, and god willing, we're going to give this whole long distance thing a go. I like him, quite a bit, although he doesn't know that yet. (sometimes boys it's better you don't know all right away) So, if you're one of those people who has told me your so/fiance/spouse doesn't like you communicating with me, tell them to put that in their pipe and smoke it long and hard. And, then don't ever email me about the matter again, and tell your so not to either.

Secondly, I welcome dissenting opinions from my own. What makes the blogging world great is the ability to open the door to discussion. I loved the blog I wrote about CF ruling the fitness world, because that blog caused so many long comments and so much discussion. It was GREAT! I welcome that. But what I do not welcome are attacks on my character, or assumptions about my character. Please be advised that comments or emails that are regarding such will be immediately deleted, your name will be blocked from my site, and you will not be dealt with. So basically, you'll be wasting your time. So don't bother. Jerry was right when he told me this morning that I can't be concerned with the assholes of the world. I do tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, and when I am high, I'm touching the clouds. But part of the problem with that, is that I also allow others negative thoughts to bring me off that high. I forget how good I felt ten minutes ago and plummet, and that's exactly what has happened lately with the few emails I've gotten. But you know what? I have come too far, accomplished too many things, and worked too damn hard to let the stupidity and insensitive comments of a few ruin all of that. I AM a STRONG, BEAUTIFUL, CFOT WOMAN, and I have an awesome coach in my corner and an awesome crew, as well as an awesome group of bloggers around me. There's no need for any of your comments to be allowed to exist. So, just save yourself the trouble.

Now, now that I have gotten that little rant off my chest, I guess I should get back to what you're really here for. The Blue Room of Pain. :P Today there really was no warm-up. We shot straight into the chaos. Aren't those always the best workouts? No time for warming up, we've got chaos on the menu! Mmmmmm... chaos is tasty.... :P Ha! So, I haven't spent much time on the CF main site lately, but I think this one was one of theirs. Wait...double checking on that... patience please... Oop. No... courtesy of CrossFit Vancouver. Damn Canadians. ;) (I heart you CrossFit Regina! :) )Although, the boys in the video were pretty cute (for Canadians ;) ). They can come work out with me anytime. :) So, anyway, back on track here. The chaos looked like this today.

"Brutus" (Et tu Brute? Sorry, couldn't resist! :) )
Ladder for time
1 BB Snatch
1 OHS
1 Ring Dip
1-10
800M run
10 BB Snatch
10 OHS
10 Ring Dip
10-1

I used 53 lbs on the snatches and OHS, and I had to use floss for the dips. I brought this in in 42:40. I really suck at dips. I think that needs to be my next goal. I didn't feel too bad today though in all honesty. I did manage to beat the ever loving crap out of the top of my legs and the very inner part of my groin. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong to get bruises THERE but they hurt. I think that I was using my hips to throw the bar forward and then up but I'm not 100% sure. Jerry did take some video today, so if he posts it up I'll be sure to steal it. (I'm good at that.) I did not hit 26 chins though as some have inquired. I shaved my calluses down too far and my hands are a mess. I hate to tell my team this means that we will have to pull the first funishment workout. :( I is sorry.

.....

This blog has been suspended until further notice.

Head, shoulders, KNEES and toes, KNEES and toes...

Soooo... I ran 5.2 miles today. Not too shabby... but my body nearly fell apart. My KNEES were screaming. They are apparently not ready to run more than 2 miles. Cardio wise I felt great, had a great medium pace going, wasn't winded or heaving. I felt pretty good. Then somewhere on mile 2, my knees started to ache. By mile 4 I had to stop and massage them every so often. I am not sure if I run more if this is something that will go away... meaning that right now they're just not used to all the impact of running, and that will get better as I run more, or if my bad knees are doomed to ruin this goal of the 1/2. I guess I'll just have to keep running and see. I think I need to keep doing lots of short runs (2-3) miles just to build up that strength in my knees. But like I said.... we'll see...

I also think I've figured out what I want to get my masters in... problem is I need to see if someone offers it.... so that's a goal for today... along with laundry and vaccuuming my room... it's going to be quite the busy day.... then back to CF tomorrow am to test my chins. I shaved my calluses using the pedegg the other day so we'll see if it helps my grip. I was having trouble because I was getting really sore around my calluses. I think I was actually developing blisters beneath them and it was painful. So hopefully I'll get 26 or it will be funishment for all!! Yikes!!!!! :/

Restful Ramblings: If CrossFit Ruled the World

If CrossFit ruled the world things would be much different, and much better. How so you ask? Well, allow me to enlighten you... :)

If CrossFit Ruled the World....

-The winning lottery numbers everyday would be 21-15-9

-All the globo gyms would be replaced with CF boxes with garage doors

-Annie, Fran, Grace, Helen, Eva, Kelly, Karen, Angie et al. would have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

-Your title and salary at work would be based on three qualifications: Your CF total, your Fran time, and your max number of pull-ups

-Everything would be done for time, except for sex which would be AMRAP

-Parks would no longer be for children, and you would no longer get in trouble for throwing your rings over a tree branch

-All restaurants would be Zone friendly

-Billboards would be showing adds of strong fit women, instead of skinny heroin chic models

-On our money, "In God We Trust" would be replaced with "In Coach Glassman We Trust"

-People would travel to CA to pay homage to CrossFit where it began

-3-2-1 Go! would become our new national motto

-Our national symbol would just be a picture of Pukie

-Anyone caught attempting to use a stairmaster would be forced to replace their workout with AMRAP stairs in 20 minutes

-Anyone attempting to open a globo gym would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law... this could potentially include Painstorm workouts or death

-Olympic events would include things like Atlas Stone throwing and Hooverball. Every Olympics would also be held in Aromas

-People would be made fun of if they did not have calluses or torn blisters

-Failure to meet deadlines at work would result in a "Funishment" workout

-Things like housework would be done as intervals

-PVC pipe stocks would go through the roof, as would stocks for white boards and dry erase markers

-Gas prices would be irrelevant as you would now be forced to run everywhere... for time

-Chuck Norris would be forced to stop selling the Total Body Gym and would be forced to focus solely on his acting, well and his roundhouse kick

-Bowflex would no longer be helping 50 year old accountants in rock bands have the rock hard bodies they've always wanted

-We would no longer be forced to listen to or see Richard Simmons sweat to the oldies

-Billy Blanks and his Tae Bo routine would disappear

-Clothes would fit correctly because desingers would actually make them for people who really work out

-Kool-aid would become much more popular... ;)

Jerry's evil CrossFit lab...

After today, I'm convinced, nay, 100% positive that somewhere in the Hill household Jerry has some sort of secret laboratory. It does not look like your atypical sterile scientific laboratory, with a bunch of rocket scientists in lab coats. Oh no. This lab is anything but typical. In it are assorted "scientific measuring devices". And what do they measure you ask? Pain. In this lab you will find a mixture of ropes, tires, pvc pipes, plumbing pipes, kettlebells, AbMats, gymnastic rings, chains, med balls, barbells, dumbbells, weight vests, fractional plates, bumper plates, and C2 rowers. In this lab, Jerry devises workouts and through rigorous testing, determines their pain factor. When he finds workouts that significantly register on the pain meter, he then laughs maniacally (ok maybe not that part) and then brings them to CFOT in the morning. I SWEAR that this is REALLY how it happens.

Ok, well, maybe it's not really how it happens, but damn does it ever feel like that. After that workout of cleans and push-ups yesterday my traps were fried. So then today when I looked and saw that the buy in was strict chins, and that the WOD had burpees, TGU's, and ring dips, I wanted to... well, not do it to be frank. :P But of course, I was already awake, I was there, I figured I may as well do the workout. So here's what things looked like today.

Warm-up
Buy in with 4 minutes of strict chins
Bodyweight unless easy, then add weight/vest

WOD
5 Rounds for time
8 Burpees
8 Kettlebell swings (45, American/CrossFit)
8 Tgu's (Women 25 Men 35)
8 Ring dips (floss/pink)
8 Box jumps

Errr... to this I say oww..... Done in 29:12. Not my best work. I lost active shoulder on the TGU. In retrospect, I should have scaled the weight back to 20lbs probably and had better form, but hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it? When I saw this on the board, I thought it didn't look too bad, but looks are deceiving. Before the 645 class, Chriss said, "Maybe I'll use a weight vest." He decided against it and at the end was happy with his decision... :P

In PA for a lil bit this week (I know I know I KNOW!!!) Tomorrow was going to be a rest day anyway, so I have some fun restful ramblings stewing in my brain... ;) It should be another fun day here at the Mindless Ramblings! :)

I dare something to try to kill me!

I'm sorry for the delay in my ramblings, but I wanted to leave my video as the first post for a little while longer. I really wanted people to see that video. I'm so proud of all the ladies who work out with me, and I'm so glad to be a part of this crew. They have all come so far, even those who have just joined us. They truly deserve every moment they get in the spotlight. And as an aside ladies, I hope you realize that Jerry sent an email to his subscribership about that video. To date, you have been watched over 700 times. You have inspired others over 700 times. You have made 700 people realize that strong IS beautiful. I say that's pretty damned cool.

Now, yesterday, just because I was on a video high, that doesn't mean that I wasn't working it. Oh no no no. Jerry brought the pain by setting up the CrossFit.com WOD from Saturday. Before the workout, we were having a discussion about toxic water bottles and supposedly how a certain type of plastic promotes leeching. Chriss response was great as he threw out the great blog title for today when he said, "I dare something to try to kill me!" Now, I have to say, that that workout was pretty f'ing close to doing it, at least to me. God. I freaking hurt the whole time. There was no recovery. Really. I know we were supposed to rest after each interval, but shit. I was breathing so hard I couldn't recover. I got on the rower each time STILL smoked. But, despite how badly I really suck on the rower, I actually had some of the faster ladies times yesterday, so that felt pretty good.

If you didn't check out the WOD on the main site, it looked like this:
Row 1,000 Meters
21 Thrusters
15 Pull-ups

Row 750 Meters
18 Thrusters
12 Pull-ups

Row 500 Meters
15 Thrusters
9 Pull-ups

My times went a little something like this:
Round 1 7:43
Round 2 6:02
Round 3 4:35

I was gassed after this. Flat out gassed. I sat in the chair and did not move during the 0645 class. This was wicked. Hands down one of the worst workouts I have done. I love the epics. I can just gut through them. The short intervals where it's a full on sprint tear me up. Just can't hack it. :P So anyway, that was yesterday.

Today was another little beast of a workout that Jerry put together. You know, someone once asked me in a comment if Jerry has a little lab where he sits and puts these workouts together. To be honest, I am starting to think he must. He is some sort of evil CrossFit genius. The man's workouts tear me to pieces, but I keep getting stronger. So, whether it's a lab or not, I don't know, but it works. Although, it'd be interesting to see an evil CrossFit lab. Hmmmm... I'm envisioning it now... LOL. Anyhoo, I'm rambling... go figure. Today's craptasticness looked a little something like this.

Warm-up
"Cleanin' up the Clean"
10 minutes of clean progression
Modified dead lifts
Shrugs
Elbow whip

WOD
5 rounds for time
12 Hang power cleans
24 Push-ups
48 Squats

Seriously, I had to laugh when we were warming up and Jerry started talking about the Cowbell scence from Saturday Night Live, and then comparing it to the clean by telling us that he needed more elbow whip. So Jerry, I have to tell you. "I have a fever... and the only cure, is MORE ELBOW WHIP!!!" ;) But seriously, after that I stopped laughing cause this one HURT. Dude, after that day of rowing and thrusters... aw man... just brutal. I have scrapes and bruises everywhere. My collar bone looks AWESOME right now. Totally looks like I've been making out with every guy on the block! Sweet... I look like the village bicycle... :P I brought this in in 26:51. The thing that held me up was the push-ups. Can I just tell you though, after all the work I've done on my squats, they finally started to come together today. I was hitting sets of 26-30 squats at a time, which definitely helped make up for my shitty push-up times. This would have been a lot faster had I listened to Jerry and modified this a little. Instead of doing 5 rounds, do 10, and make everything half. I thought that was a good idea too, but felt like it was sort of cheating. Doing 24 push-ups straight has to be harder, and it was a good challenge for me today I think. Maybe if we do this again though, I'll break it down and really go for speed. Aside from cracking myself in the collar bone a few dozen times today, the cleans felt pretty solid. As a side note though, my legs have put in a request that I start wearing pants on clean days. The bruises and missing skin may have something to do with it. I literally covered my legs in chalk today to keep the bar moving and to stop it from sticking or ripping off skin as it went. As it is, I still have wicked marks from the bar... ouch dude. But a solid two days worth of work.

Grip still hurts a bit.... will rest Thursday. Chins test on Friday... :) Going for my week 4 goal of 26 on my way to my week 12 goal of 30. Let's hope I can hang on or everyone gets a funishment workout!!!

CrossFit Old Town: Strong Beautiful Women...

I missed my workout (and my run) this weekend due to some much needed late night fun. I bumped into my old boss and stayed out late on Friday, then spent yesterday shopping and running errands until it was time to do some karaoke! We hit up Rockit Grill to say goodbye to our good friend Georgia who is leaving us this week. I wish her the best but hope she knows that she'll be sorely missed. In between my excessive drinking and laziness, I put together this video for all the ladies at CFOT. I couldn't use any videos, because apparently I can't save them from our site since they're on YouTube. Damnit. But I like the end result anyway... I hope everyone enjoys this... I worked pretty hard on it...

For whatever reason, I can't link this as a full wmv and I know it's small. To see the full wmv, which is much better, follow this link to CrossFit Old Town. (Due to site issues this link was not working for awhile... it is now fixed as of 9/14)

As an aside, my page is going nuts at the moment, so I'm not sure where you are all coming from, but regardless, please take a moment to leave a comment or two. The ladies in this video work very hard, so please feel free to give them your encouragement... :)

Katie...meet Fran... Fran meet Katie... Now let's get it on!

It really was past due, this meeting between Fran and I. Really. I've missed Fran the last two times we've done her and I've been extremely upset. A sub 10 minute Fran has been on my goal list since February. So, Fran and I were destined to meet again. It just so happened that our next meeting was this morning in the Blue Room of Pain. (Blue Room of Death sounds better, but a little more morbid! :P)

So anyway, I had nervous dreams last night about hitting Fran, kinda like the time Geogia had nightmares about doing ring dips over a moat full of alligators before we hit Angie. I think honestly it was because I know what kind of wrath she brings, and I was really nervous about my time, and how I'd feel afterwards. Not to mention, I tore up my hands a bit yesterday so I was really worried about grip etc. Anyway, I woke up like 10 times last night worried about it, but finally at 4:50 I just got up and got ready to head to CrossFit.

I warmed up with a few sets of 55 and thought I was ready to go, but man, I'll tell you, that first set of 21 I did without putting the bar down and after that I just felt shitty. I broke the chins into as big of chunks as I could. One thing I did do the first two rounds on the thrusters that I liked, was that I sqaut cleaned the bar and went right into my first thruster. I thought that kept me from standing with the bar and wasting time to get that set started. By the time I hit 9's I was just wiped, and cleaning and going right into a squat didn't seem possible. I had to break the 15's and 9's down and I was bummed about that. The thrusters take me longer and if I'm going to improve from here on out, the thrusters need to be smoother and unbroken.

By the 9's I was seeing the light, but so gassed it was hard to push. Grip was fried and I was just wanting to die. I'm not so certain I actually jumped off the chin up bar, or fell off, but either way the ultimate result was that I landed in the fetal position on the floor, panting and wanting to DIE. I didn't meet Pukie, but for the first time, I felt seriously close. My forearms were so jacked that I couldn't move my fingers and it took me a solid 20 minutes to regain movement. It was like having Charlie Horses in both forearms. Quite possibly the worst after feeling I've ever had. I've done Fran before, but it was nothing like that. Straight up though, it felt way awesome. I went with the Rx'd women's weight of 65lbs and brought this one in.... in...... in........ 6:54!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sub SEVEN! Woot! WOOT! WOOT! WOOT! Oh, what the hell...one more won't hurt, WOOT! Do you realize this was almost a 5 MINUTE PR from the last time I did Fran? Who does that? Oh, well, I guess I do really. :P

My diet has sucked for the last two days, and I should feel guilty, but I'm so happy about Fran that I can't! :) Yay! Yay for meeting such a long standing goal! :) Bobby once told me he'd respect my Fran time when it was done as rx'd with 95 lb thrusters... hmmmm... he'd better pack a lunch cause that bad boy isn't far off. You watch. You watch.