Tabata Something Else

Not as bad as I thought it would look...

It was really something else... let me tell you... I woke up this morning, exhausted from work but felt like I really needed to hit CF. My Zone has SUCKED... no really I mean SUCKED lately. I've eaten everything chocolate than has been and can be put in front of me, and that willpower that I was exercising in May no longer exists. So, I needed to get smacked this morning. I was thinking today might be a strength day since we hit FGB yesterday, but I was really mistaken when I saw the whiteboard.

I nearly fell over when I saw the whiteboard. "Tabata Something Else" It looks like this:

32 intervals
:20 work
:10 rest
sell out
pull-ups
push-ups
abmats
squats

I didn't have time to keep totals for each round, so I don't know if I was able to keep them the same, but overall I landed somewhere in the 312 mark and I felt pretty good about this one. I felt like I could have done a few more chins, but the abmats and the squats I know I sold out on. I didn't have anything left on those. I have to say though, that something rare happened today and it's only the second time in CF history that it's ever happened. I took off my shirt. I was wearing a t-shirt today and after doing the chins in that straight up cotton shirt, I was sweating and panting like it was my job.... so it went. The only other time I ever did that was during Murph. I'm sort of regretting doing that because I know that there is now photographic evidence of me sans shirt.... that fact in and of itself is sort of scary. The fact that that evidence will probably hit the internet later is even worse.... god I really hope I don't look too fat in those pictures... oi... I'm tired... and the day isn't over yet... but tomorrow there will probably be more CF to speak of... I have a hard time not going. So until then, the feast, is mine... yikes and away!

Apple picking, some wine tasting, and a little thing called Fight Gone Bad....

So, although yesterday should have been an "active rest" day, I didn't do a run. I've just accepted the fact that my half marathon will, by definition, suck, and the only thing that is going to get me to that finish line will be sheer grit and determination. I have no doubt in my ability to finish, I mean, I could walk the whole damned thing, but I'd really rather not do that. I know I can do 6-8 miles ok... I've trained up that far, but the last 5 will be brutal. I understand that this is not the best way to train for something like this, not even remotely close. But somewhere between the 5 days a week at CF plus working 12 hours a day, plus working a second job on the weekends, things have gotten a little, well hectic. The marathon training took a nose-dive but I'm still going to do it, and do the best I can. I think I need to prove to myself that I can do it. I think I may surprise myself... but we'll have to wait and see in two weeks.

So instead of doing a run yesterday, the pirate and I woke up early and headed out towards Winchester, VA to go apple picking. The drive really wasn't that bad, it only took about an hour, and we got a gigantic bag of apples for $10. We also bought some honey with the comb in it, and a little thing of homemade apple cider. I was tempted to buy apple butter but I knew that if I did that, I would also buy bread so that I could make toast and put apple butter on it... me + bread= bad idea... so I nixed the apple butter thing. But then as we were about to drive back, we kept seeing all these signs for wineries. And we figured we had some time so we stopped. The first one we went to used to be called Stillhouse, but is now called Philip Carter. The women who were there were very nice and joked with us while we did the tasting. We wound up buying a dessert wine for me (I like sweet wine) and a red for the pirate that he can drink with his steak (yay for meat!) LOL.

The nice women at the wineries gave us a pamphlet of all the wineries in the area, and on the way back, we decided to stop at one that was right off 66. We didn't have the time (or the money) to visit all 13 (!!!!) that were in the area. So we decided to stop at one called The Three Fox Vineyard. If you like Italian wine, and a Tuscan theme, this is your place. The winery itself was beautiful. Lots of potted flowers, and a great view of the vines. I literally could take a book, drink a few glasses of wine, and stay out there the whole day. The only problem would be the whole you know, getting back thing. :P We bought two more bottles of wine, and our tasting glasses. That place was beautiful and I wanted to remember our little adventure. Call me a sucker (or a hopeless romantic). You'd be right on both accounts, but it was a great day, and it was a souvenir. It was great to be able to do two things I'd never done (but kept saying I wanted to do) with my pirate. It was a fun day.

We raced back on 66 because we were going to go watch some rugby, but as soon as we got to the metro to head into DC, it began to downpour. Literally, we were both soaked and knew that going into DC was pointless. We would have been miserable and probably wound up sick. So we settled for going home and watching some football. :) I was ok with that. :)

So last night was a pretty uneventful night, what with that whole, you know crazy night on the town... :P Really... we were so far from being wild and crazy it was ridiculous. We stayed up to watch Bama beat the CRAP out of Georgia and PSU take a W from Illinois, and then we passed out. But of course, there was CF today. Oh yes, that whole little Fight Gone Bad thing. My pirate wasn't very happy with his last FGB score, and since I understand him a little better than most at CFOT, I decided to partner up with my pirate.

One thing that you need to understand is that the pirate and I both agree that CFOT is not the place to play lovey dovey kissy face. We try to keep relationship and CF separate. So the choice to partner up was... a good one because we understand each others styles, but I had to try to remember not to call him any silly little pet name I may have given him. :P It's hard sometimes to do that because you have to be thinking about separating the way you normally are with the way you need to act now, and when you're trying to do that while doing FGB and dying, it's a challenge. We showed up early and gave ourselves plenty of time to stretch out. I was awfully sore after those jumping lunges the other day, and I really needed the extra time. So we jumped into the 930 class as partners, and away we went.

I decided to go first because if I stand around and watch, I tend to get the whole case of the nerves thing going on. So I just jumped in and had at it. Really, the only gaming I did was to come up with my strategy for rotation. I know that going from the row to other exercises is hard for me, and I know my push presses are my strength. So, what I did was start with the push presses on the first round, so on the last round, the very last thing I would do would be the row. I think that this strategy worked well for me. I banged out 30 push presses on the first round, which may have been a bit much, because I slipped then on the next two rounds. But aside from that, I kept my calories the same at 14, my wall ball, and my high pull all to within 2. So, overall I was pretty pleased with my output, except for box jumps, which slipped a bit. I used the prescribed weights (55lb presses and 50 lb high pulls) and ended with 280. That was a personal best for me, although I was really hoping to hit 300 today. But, seeing as how last year for FGB I used 35 lb high pulls and 35 lb presses, and barely passed 200, I will take nearly 300 with rx'd weight.

Now, after I rolled off the rower (no joke, I unhooked my feet and rolled left onto the mats), I laid there for awhile before it was my pirate's turn. He really wanted to hit 300 so we were gaming it that he would hit 20 reps on each exercise. He did really well with 113 his first round, maintained at 103 the second round, and fell just shy on the third. He ended with 294, which is still pretty darned good. He was upset that he didn't land the 300 mark, but all things considered, he was happy with the improvment he made over his last FGB.

So FGB is said and done, and my pirate will be leaving today. I'm sorry to see him go, but will be happy when he returns in two weeks to come watch me run my marathon. It's been a great weekend. Tomorrow it will be more CF and back to the grind. Ah yes. :P But until then, the feast is mine! Yikes... and away! :P

Yesterday's strict press and weighted chins, plus today's quick burner...

Yesterday's workout was one that we have hit before. It's one that involves us doing strict presses, and weighted chins. I couldn't remember what weight I used on the strict press, and plus I couldn't find enough of the weights to load my bar the way I wanted to, so I was a little bit pissed with this workout. The workout goes a little something like this:

1:30 on each exercise
:45 transition
5 rounds
5 strict press
5 weighted chins

I used varying weights on this one. I started with 70lbs for the strict then moved up to 73.5. I had to use the fractals because we were out of 5 lb plates and I wasn't thinking fast enough of a way to load the bar to get me where I wanted. Please remember that it's zero dark thirty... I don't always function so good... :P

I used a 10lb weight vest for all the chins. This is an improvment over last time, but I realized I must have used more weight last time because my score was lower. But, what can you do? It can't always be the same. So that kinda stunk, but I got over it.

Then, today's workout was a quick little metcon burner. It looked a little something like this:

AMRAP in 20 minutes
6 ring dips
9 kb swings
12 jumping lunges

I had to use a band for ring dips. The chins/strict day left me very sore and I wasn't able to push out the ring dips. I used the floss though, and pushed pretty hard. I moved up to a 50lb kb since the swing number was so low. I also used a 15 lb dumbbell for the jumping lunges. So, I've been having some trouble walking since. I managed to get 14 rounds in during this workout and was pretty pleased with that. I felt bad about the dips, but otherwise I would have spent the whole time there and wouldn't have really gotten anything out of the workout.

My pirate did this workout with me today, and I have to say it was nice to have him there, but a little distracting. I was trying to watch him and see how he was doing and it was a little unusual for me. He did very well. He's being a little cautious because of some things going on with him, but despite those things did very well.

We played around a little bit with some snatches afterards, and that was a nice way to end our day. Afterwards we went home and had breakfast before heading off to my friend's fiance's funeral. I was debating about going, just because I always feel like the actual service is for close friends and family, and I was going more as support for my friend. But, we decided to go and I'm glad we did. It broke my heart to see my friend hurting like that, but I know she is strong and will be ok.

I had to upload the snicker's video so that you all know where my tagline is coming from...

So... until next time... the feast is mine! Yikes! And away!

Overslept today... and my new toy...

So this morning I overslept and missed CrossFit. This is only the second time that's happened. If I don't go, usually it's an intentional rest day. Today I woke up on time, but did that whole, I'm going to lay here for 5 more minutes thing. Now granted, I woke up in a panic about 15 minutes later, but by that time, I knew I would miss the zero dark thirty class, and I needed to get to school early since I left yesterday for work right after school.

But, on my way to school I saw something that made me giggle. Ocassionally things like cars and trucks provide great entertainment for me because of what people put on them. Like some of the taxis... they have "Cab Assn" written on them. Now if you say that the way they spell it... it just sounds funny. But today's was even better... tehe. I forget the name of the company... but it was something "Steel Erection." I saw that, and busted out laughing. How would you like to be the receptionist who answers THAT phone? "Good afternoon, this is Bob's Steel Erection. How can I help you?" Tehehe... oh it was just too good... LOL.

Now, I am back to having trouble with the Zone. The soda I stopped drinking has been slowly creeping back into my diet. Now, I know what you're thinking. But I'm not drinking Coke again. I've been drinking either diet, or I like Sprite. A lot. Too much. So then I was trying not to drink soda and started drinking Starbucks. Well, that was a bad idea because they put crack in their coffee... or so I'm convinced. :P But anyhoo, I had ordered some magazines for my classroom this year, and went to my mailbox yesterday to find a "teacher gift" for ordering magazines. Now, let me be the first to assure you, I didn't order the magazines because they promised a free "teacher gift". I didn't even know there was one. But hey, free stuff is always good, kinda like Adrienne's free bed that she won at Harris Teeter. But I opened the box and found what looked like a camera carrying case, but slightly longer. But when I opened the zipper, I found a stainless steel travel mug.

Now, I'm trying to kick both the soda and coffee habits and am having trouble, but I'm working on it. So I thought I would try some hot tea this morning. At least it has SOME health benefits in the antioxidants. Anyhoo, I made the hot tea in the kitchen around 630 this morning. My little mug is beside me on my desk and is STILL too hot to drink. Talk about hot! Wow! I think I may have solved my coffee and soda problem. Because, a.)my mug is smaller than the venti crap I love to drink so fewer calories, b.)it stays hot so I don't guzzle it all down and then want more later, and c.)I'll save money cause I can make me some hot tea first thing in the am. BRILLIANT! :) Ah, yes... gotta love it... new toys are fun!

Until next time, the feast! Is mine! Yikes... and away!

CrossFit's "The Chief"

So, this morning, I did the chief. I've been saying that all day long and seriously, it makes me giggle everytime I say it. It's just too much fun. :) But, as Adrienne said in her blog the other day, the chief SUCKED. Yeah, ok, it doesn't look bad, but that's what we ALWAYS say... how often do we, even though we know better, say, "But that one didn't look that bad!". Yeah. They never do.

"The Chief" looks like this...

AMRAP in 3 minutes of
3 power cleans
6 push-ups
9 squats

Repeat for 5 rounds
Allow for 1 minute of rest in between each of the five rounds
Prescribed weights- women-85 men-135

Sounds a little confusing, but really it's like 3 minutes on, 1 off (basically). Jerry kept saying, it's only 3 minutes. Yeah, I know, only 3 minutes but the idea is to be balls to the wall for 3 minutes. And dude, I'm sorry, but that's hard. Especially since I STILL suck at push-ups. *heavy sigh* RAWR!

Basically, by the end of this I was gasping and dripping in sweat. Meanwhile, Jerry is in the corner going, it's only a 20 minute workout. Only? You gotta be kidding me.... The good news of all this (there is good news right?) is that I was able to maintain the same number of rounds across the board. I really had to push for the last two sets, and I think my power clean form was off by the end. I def felt like I was letting the bar come to me instead of diving under it. But part of the problem is that I'm just not as comfortable with power cleans as I am with the hang cleans. We don't normally go from the floor. In fact, we never do. Maybe I'll start trying to do more from the floor on my own so that I can get used to the feeling. I just wasn't diving that much and I know I should have done a little better job with the cleans. But regardless, overall I maintained 4 rounds in each of the 3 minute sets, so I guess I'm pretty happy with that. That's a total of 20 round over the course of all 5 of the 3 minute intervals. So really, I guess that's good. That's kinda like a Cindy I guess. Well, work at the restaurant is calling... sigh... this is such a long day. :(

Hopefully I'll make it to CF tomorrow morning... until then... the feast is mine! Yikes.... and away!

Monday morning mayhem and my Garfield complex...

It's Monday, and I think I'm for cereal starting to feel like Garfield. No... I don't routinely kick my students off tables and try to ship them to Abu Dhabi, but I'm really starting to dislike Mondays. After Sunday night shifts at work, getting up at 0445 to go work out is rough. I don't normally get home until at least 11, so bed before 1130 is hard. But, after missing Friday last week, I've been feeling the added pounds and I really needed to kick my own backside, so up and at 'em I was this morning.

Well, actually, I was up. I'm not 100% sure about the at 'em part. But I was up. So, I walked in this morning, and it was a pretty quiet day at the CFOT. Zero dark thirty has been pretty jammin' since we got rolling but today you could have heard crickets. Jerry told us to get loose and while we were doing that, he posted up the mayhem for the day. Today's fun looked a little sumpin' sumpin' like 'dis...

For time:
30 BB snatch
30 Pull-ups
800 Meter run
25 BB snatch
25 Pull-ups
800 Meter run
20 BB snatch
20 Pull-ups

Prescribed women's weight today on the snatches was 55 lbs. To be honest, on the first 30, the 55lbs felt a little heavy, but once I got myself up and moving and got through the first set of stuff, I loosened up a lot and they felt pretty good. I was going fast through the set, and doing snatches that fast, man, that's enough to gas your backside. Then to try to hop up and do chins and run. Wooooooo weeeee. I was breathing pretty heavy. I did tell Russ (and I hope he took no offense) to kiss my ass when he asked why I looked so tired.... I meant it in a loving kiss my grits kind of way, so I hope that's the way he took it.

I have to say, I was pushing pretty hard today. I was gassed, but was trying to keep going as much as I could. With only 5 hours of sleep give or take, I was pretty pleased with my output today but still wished it could have been faster. I wish at the end I could have done more snatches together, but for some reason when I do snatches, I tear the skin off my bikini line. I know that sounds odd, but I keep the bar so close to my body that when I push my hips forward, the bar literally hits my hips and brush burns up the insides of my legs. It gets kinda painful after oh say you know, 50 reps or so and I definitely slow down. It's just a mental thing. I know I need to do it, but it hurts, so I try to delay the doing it part. :P But anyway... there's a new dude now at zero dark thirty... he was up my butt today, and as much as I didn't like it, it was good to push off of him. He caught me on the running portion (hmmmm are we surprised?) but then I finished off the snatches and chins faster than he did. So it was a good little push for me. (What can I say? Sometimes I just like to beat the boys. :) ) My total time was 25:50.

I really wished this would have been more around the 22:00 mark, but that for me would have been a really big challenge. Maybe one day... :P Until then, no land speed records... But, speaking of sleep... I need some... until next time... the feast! Is mine... yikes... and away!

Yesterday's 5.2 and FGB in overtime...

So Friday morning I woke up and knew instantly there was no way I could hit a workout at CFOT. After barely 3 hours of sleep I was dragging. I was exhausted after back to school night, and I won't lie. With my pirate in town, I stayed up a litle later than I normally would have. It was just great to have him here and be able to talk to him. So, I got up and headed off to CFOT to pick up a set of keys from Lt. Col Dan because he asked me to watch over his pets while he and the missus were out of town. (BTW, Daisy the dog is the cutest thing EVER! It made me want a puppy in the worst way.) So anyway, after that trip, I headed back home and crawled into bed for another hour before getting up and getting ready for school.

I felt like a sloth all day yesterday though because I skipped the workout, and I hadn't done a run in a hot minute (much longer than I should have) and so I decided to head out to my trail. I'm pretty certain that I should not be running the trail I am, because it's not flat, and by not flat I mean, the grade goes ACROSS the trail, and not up and down it. I can feel the difference in my left leg as it tries to compensate both on the way down (because it's the lower leg) and on the way back because the stride has to be different since it's higher. I was having some serious issues with my achilles around miles 2/3, but I stuck it out (no choice really since I wasn't near my car) and around mile 4 things finally loosened up. In total, my run took 58:53, which really isn't too bad. It's no land speed record, but my goal for the half is just to finish. I'm aiming for about a 2:30 time but if I just finish and don't hit the time, I'll be ok. But I'm glad I got off my butt. I jumped on the scale today and realized I've gained back 4 lbs of what I originally lost, and really, I know why. So there are some things that are going to be cut back again, and I need to be more strict (something I've not been very good about lately)

So, today, I went into CFOT, and after that nice wake up call from the scale, had to hit FGB. We've been prepping for the last three weeks since the actual FGB is next weekend. Today was Overtime FGB. Today's fun looked like this:

3 rounds
1:15 on each exercise
Clock never stops
1 minute rest in between rounds

My total score was 335. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I feel like it was a good number for me, but I felt like it should have been higher. I was really tight today and the high pulls and box jumps just weren't coming. But the rower felt pretty good, as did the push presses. So, we'll see how this pans out next week.

On a very sad note, we were told today that one of our members lost her fiance over the weekend. My heart goes out to her right now. I can't begin to imagine what she is dealing with and going through at the minute. Life seems so cruel sometimes. I hope she knows that she is loved and has much support from her CFOT family.

Until next time... the feast is mine! Yikes, and away....

Congrats to Jaime!

On September 1, CrossFit Peru officially opened its doors. Jaime has managed to secure a space to begin training the people of Peru and spread the word about functional fitness. He's already had a few visits from friends in the US, including Will from CF Atlanta, who yes, I agree, does look like he could be related to Tony Budding. The great part about Jaime's space? It's IN a globo gym... ;) Nothing like spreading the word from INSIDE the monster. :) Gotta love it! Jaime and his picture of Will also made the affiliate page yesterday! Go check it out! :)

Yesterday's max strict press and max chins...

I didn't have an opportunity to post up yesterday about our WOD. We had done this one back in July and also once in August. I hit the one in July but missed the one in August somehow. I love barbell work, and I love chins, so for me this is like candy. Yum, tasty! :)

So this is how the circuit works
2:30 of work on each station
5 rounds
Max strict press (no dropping bar)
Max chins (no hopping off the bar)

My rounds looked like this
Rounds Strict Chins
1 15 16
2 15 16
3 16 16
4 15 16
5 13 12

I was pretty please with these numbers since last time I only did 58 strict presses in all, and only did 68 chins. This was definitely a much better output for me.

On a sort of funny note, last night at B2 School night, I was sharing a little info about myself to my parents since I'm still relatively new to this school. I happened to mention in my first session that I have been a long time swimmer and since coming to VA have found CrossFit. I have no idea which parent it was, but one of my parents let loose with a "Aw, no way!". To which I can only interpret to mean that he knows what CrossFit is, and now I will not have a problem with him for the rest of the year... ;) Thanks CrossFit! :) LOL....

The pirate has gone, but he made me a great dinner last night... and he will return. How fitting that today is actually national talk like a pirate day. LOL... yeah, he left wearing my pirate t-shirt. Arg! Go ruck yourself! LOL... gotta love my rugby t! :)

Has to be written...

Today was another long day. It also happened to be Back to School Night. I expected that there would be lots of questions, a few concerns, and in general, a pretty high stress level. It's to be expected. But what I wasn't expecting was what happened as Back to School Night drew to an end. My pirate and I were talking as I was heading for my car and he was asking how everything went. I was telling him all about it, and everything seemed normal until I walked outside. It was then that my day turned into a scene from an 80's movie. Maybe it was the scene where the limo drives away in 16 Candles, only to reveal Jake Ryan waiting for Samantha at the church. Or maybe it was the scene where John Cusack holds up the radio and blasts Peter Gabriel. I'm not sure...

All I know is that when I walked outside, I saw a rather tall figure standing in front of my car. When I looked at the cars left in the parking lot and saw a white truck, I lost it. There was my pirate. After a long day, and five hours of driving, he was waiting for me, with a big hug and kiss. It was the absolute sweetest and most selfless thing anyone has ever done for me. It was by far the best surprise I could have had this evening. I know it's not really appropriate to hug and kiss someone in the parking lot, but for the effort he put in, the rules needed to be broken tonight. He is now cooking me dinner... I can't ask for anything more.... he is wonderful.... and I am quite possibly the luckiest woman in the world. I'm sad that he will be leaving in the morning to drive back to work, but I'm so glad he made the effort tonight. He is worth everything I have put into this so far..... I'm very happy to have found him.

The Power of CrossFit: What's YOUR CrossFit story: Part Deux

So like most things in life, my infamous blog has a sequel, but yesterday was just another in a string of really long days that I've been having lately and I didn't have time (or energy) to post it. It seems that if I get home before 9:00 these days, it's cause for a supreme celebration. So, needless to say, after getting up and being at work by 0700 and then going to job 2 until 10:30ish, that after getting home, all I really wanted to do was talk to my pirate and curl up in bed. So, I didn't get to post the things I wanted to, and that I've been meaning to post for awhile.

So today, here I am. I am taking a mental health hour (before putting the final touches on my Back To School Night Packet) and typing up this blog. Back in May when I wrote my original post The Power of CrossFit: What's YOUR CrossFit story, I was completely flabbergasted at the response that came from it. I got several comments on my blog, the affiliate page, and in person. It was great to know that something I had written resonated with so many other folks, because, I'm going to be honest (when am I not?) and tell you that the reason I write, is because it feels good to know that someone else can relate, and maybe my writing can help them with whatever they are going through. I'm not really a people person per say (I'm very shy when I meet new people but warm up quickly, then can't shut up) so having a computer where I can write things down has been great!

So, after some thought, I decided that I was going to do an update. Kind of like VH-1. You know how they do the where are they now on the 80's stars? The answer is usually something like living in Hollywood using up all the cash they made when they were 18, and sadly, my story doesn't go like that. But, it still sounds pretty cool to me.

Since writing my original post back in May, lots has happened. First and foremost being that I've made many new friends on this crazy thing we call "The Internet". I know that some people think blogging and having online friends is odd, but it's really great to log on and see comments from people who genuinely understand many of my frustrations. In addition to my strong network of friends who are here around me (and are totally AWESOME), I now have a great network of friends around the world who I look forward to hearing from, usually on a daily basis.

Secondly, after writing that blog, CrossFit convinced me to get on an airplane! That's right! I took my first flight, and got off the east coast for the first time, all because of CrossFit and this little blog. I met one of my readers (and she rocks!) and ran my very first 5K. When I started this blog in January, I don't think anyone (including myself) ever thought that I would actually run 3 miles. Furthermore, I don't think anyone would have ever thought that I would sign up to run 13.1 of them either!

Since May, I've posted a number of PR's and am excited about them all. I've hit 2 new row PR's 500 M- 145.9 and 2000 M is 8:13.6. I've posted a new chin PR at 24, hit my first ring dip, and then did 45 the day after when I went RX'd on Elizabeth. I've deadlifted 195 lbs, hit my first strict chin, then did my first weighted chins and PR'd at a 20lbs. I've PR'd on Daniel and Badger, as well as brought in my Fran in 6:54. I met my goal of doing sets of 10 "to form" push-ups, but am still working on the elusive hand stand push-up and my muscle up. :P (I can dream right?) I hit a new strict press PR at 87 lbs (yay for not counting right) and to celebrate my one year anniversary with CFOT, I created a movie, then hit Fran with 90 lbs in a decent 13:17. And to top it all off, I hit a PR clean and jerk and took 120lbs over my head.

When I look back over all of these things, it almost blows my mind. How amazing is it that in just 4 more months I was able to accomplish all of these things? How amazing is my trainer? How AWESOME is this program? You know, I said it in my post the first time, and I'll say it again. There is something about this program. I wish everyone could have the experience that I have had. I can't tell you how it feels to get dressed in the morning and put on my pants from this time last year, and have them not even stay on.

For the girl who has always been chubby, or ok let's face it, fat, to finally start to see results is amazing. I have never felt comfortable in my own skin. Ever. I have always been shy about wearing bikinis, or tight clothes. I'm not saying that now I have suddenly turned into an exhibitionist (sorry boys.... :P) but the day that we did Murph, I realized just how much about me has changed when I ran out the door for my final mile and stripped off my shirt. At the end, I gave myself a WTF? It didn't even cross my mind that people were looking at me half naked. It didn't worry me whether or not my stomach looked ok. I was doing my last run, on a hard as crap workout, and finishing was what was important to me. For me to be able to do that and not spend the entire time worrying about what I looked like, was nothing short of a miracle.

CrossFit has given me both my physical and my emotional strength back. Times still get hard. Stress still wears me down, but I don't quit. I don't go home and curl up in bed with my covers over my head, listening to sappy songs, after eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's. Those days are gone... well sort of. Every now and again, a girl just needs ice cream. (sorry Jerry...) But the point is that this program and my trainer, as well as my team, have rebuilt me. The parts that I didn't even realize were rusted and broken now work better than they ever did. I can lift more weights now and with better form then I ever could have when I was working out for my sports teams. I don't grumble about getting up at 0445 now to get to the zero dark thirty class. I relish it because I get to see my family. Not my friends, my family. That's what this affiliate has become to me. Since May, our affiliate has quite frankly exploded, and while I don't know all the new members, I have enjoyed getting to know them the best I can and including them in my crazy world (whether or not they want to be, eh, there I can't say... ;) )

The bottom line is that CrossFit has made me a better person. It wasn't easy. God no. There have been workouts where I've wanted to quit every step of the way. There are days I want to curse the Zone and eat bread, pasta, pizza, and ice cream all in one sitting. There are days where I feel so tired the thought of picking up 65 lbs is very daunting. But the cool thing about all this, is that I CAN. How many women in this world CAN lift 65 lbs? I have become so strong... and I need to remember that. CrossFit has brought back that fiesty girl who used to exist when I was 16. The girl who stood up for herself, wanted was was right for her, and worked her ass off to get it. She's back (sometimes with a vengance) and it feels good.

To everyone out there who is just starting CrossFit, the only thing I can say is, it's hard. You'll sweat, you'll hurt, you'll probably want to puke a time or two, and if you do, it's ok. Just remember that you came here because you wanted to be stronger, and stronger doesn't just mean that you can pick up a heavier weight. It means that when you hit that wall, you find a way to push through. It means when you feel like giving up and giving in, you pick up the pace. It means that when someone knocks you down, you stand back up and ask if that's the best they've got. CrossFit is about finding the strongest version of yourself... because strong is beautiful. Let's not forget that this is MY CrossFit story... yours may be similar...it may be different... but that's the POWER of CrossFit. It's giving you your story. All you have to do is pick up the pen and write it. Don't you want to be beautiful too?

Today was a rest day...

After the breakdown yesterday, I needed a break this morning... and I also needed to get to school really early... I have some restful ramblings I will try to post later... but I have to work tonight at the restaurant so it may be late...

No rest for the crazy...

It hasn't been a good day. It's 9:45 as I type. I got home from work roughly 30 minutes ago. I had a breakdown of sorts at work today when I was told that I'm not doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. To which then I have to reply, if I'm at work, from 7:15am to 9:00pm almost every night of the week, how am I not able to get everything done that I need to get done? How can you tell me there are things I'm not doing? I cried. A lot and loudly. It is the most frustrating feeling to be told that the effort you are giving, is not enough. That there is more you need to be doing and aren't. I don't honestly know at this point, how I am going to make it through the school year. In three weeks, I start a class that runs for three hours one night a week. In two months, I start coaching again. I am still working 2 nights a week at KSB.... where in the F am I supposed to find time just to be human? To all those people out there who tell me that I "get my summers off", I really want to say a big F U to them right now, because you know what. I guarantee in my 10 months of working, I STILL manage to work those two months of time, PLUS OVERTIME!

But, enough complaining... today's workout was a gasser... pure metcon... it looked like this...

50 abmats
5 rounds of
8 chins
8 crossover push ups
800 meter run
40 abmats
4 rounds of
8 chins
8 push ups
800 meter run
30 abmats
3 rounds of
8 chins
8 crossover push ups

I brought this in in 30:54. Period the end. I'm going to bed... thank you dark continent! Goodnight!

Team FGB

As we inch ever closer to the official FGB date, we have been working on the movements involved in FGB. Last week we hit a full scale FGB. Today we did partner FGB where you and your partner stay on an exercise for six minutes, just going until gassed and switching out. It was pretty wicked. Martha and I tried to keep track of each of our reps so we would know how much we contributed. In truth, I think I was close to 300 reps, but I'm not sure. It sure felt that way. By the end, I was so sweaty I had my pant legs jacked up, and was dripping sweat. There were little puddles everywhere. Ewwwww....

We again had a great crowd, and I think today there were 26 people. That's a lot! Almost everytime I step in the Blue Room I'm amazed at how much we've grown. It's pretty cool.

Today's post is going to be pretty short... and fairly boring... my apologies but laundry and house cleaning kept me from posting earlier, and work sucked, so now I'm really tired and uncreative... or something... :P We'll see how I feel tomorrow at 445... it might just be a rest day.... (GASP!) :P

CFOT Social Calendar...

Hey guys, posted this under the forum today, but I know some of you don't always read those discussions... read through and post thoughts to comments... also any musical selections you would like me to add to the mix, please post to comments cause I know some of you haven't been in the forum to check that discussion...

Hey guys! A bunch of people have been asking me lately about CFOT social stuff; when's the next BBQ, when's the next happy hour, will we ever do karaoke again? Really, all of that is up to you. I know some people like to do social stuff, some don't. I know that some miss out because they don't like the internet and never see the events... lots of things. So... I'm posting this out here in internet land to try to get some feedback.

Do you want to do another Saturday karaoke night? What night would best suit?

A CrossFit BBQ? We still have yet to break out the Hooverball and I still have Jerry's set in my trunk... wow... that's been there since June now that I think about it! I was thinking that October 12 may be a good date. It's a Sunday and the next day is Columbus day so I know lots of people are off. (It will also be the day after the Baltimore half, and I know a few people will have cause to celebrate. :) ) I'm willing to take other suggestions though. Someone else suggested after FGB, but that's two weeks. Would that be enough time to arrange things?

Another CrossFit happy hour/a regular CrossFit happy hour? I was asked if we were going to start doing a weekly happy hour. I know last time that question was posed a lot of people said, weekly was too much. However, the benefit to picking a regular get together spot would be that it would never change, and llike CF, you could show up when you were feeling ready for it. The only hard part would be nailing down a spot. If you are not in favor of the idea of a regular HH, would you like to schedule another HH?

I know this is a lot, but I think a lot of people, myself included have been trying to get to know new members, and chat with old friends, but there just doesn't seem to be the time. I know a lot of people have said in the past that they're not big drinkers, and that's ok. HH times can be times just to be social and interact. Last week Christy and her husband got to ask lots of questions that I'm sure other newer members may also have and it was great fun. So, please give me some feedback and I'd be happy to continue setting things up.

For those of you non-CFOTers who are local, you can leave thoughts to comments too, and perhaps you can meet up with us sometime and we can finally get to meet you! :)

Today's half rest day and my pirate....

When my alarm rang this morning at 445 AM, I realized that there really was no way that I could do CF this morning. After a few doozies this week, I was pretty beat up and with working as much as I have been lately, I really just felt exhausted. So, I reset my alarm for 545 and then went back to bed for a little bit. All things considered, IE it was Friday, the day actually was going really well. That is until the last hour or so of the day. I was in the middle of a science lesson when I heard what I thought was water in my classroom. I thought that was really odd since well, nothing seemed amiss as I looked around so I kept going. About 5 minutes later when I walked around my room, I noticed a huge puddle on the floor and put two and two together. I walked over to the student and she immediately started to cry and tell me that she just couldn't hold it.

My bathroom situation with my room is tricky. I'm the only 3rd grade teacher without a bathroom in my class. So, my kids know that if they need to use the restroom, they need to sign out, and go during seatwork or independent time. Not while I'm teaching. Well I think the reason that she didn't tell me was because I was teaching. I sent her to the nurse ASAP and called the custodians, but still, I felt really really bad. My kids are THAT afraid of me that they can't tell me it's an emergency and they need to go? That makes me feel terrible. I tried to talk to her when she came back from the nurse and I tried to reassure her that accidents happen and that it was ok, but I told her that if that happens again, she needs to raise her hand and tell me it's an emergency.

Meanwhile, while all of this was happening, I saw my comment about today's barbell complex from Jerry. Jerry didn't throw down a gauntlet to me, not by any means, but it was more like he walked by and was like, oh, I dropped my glove. And you know what happens. You sit there and you stare at the glove, and you think, huh, I wonder if I should pick that up. So you think about it for awhile, and then you decide that you really ought to pick up that nice gentleman's glove. (CURSES!) So after school, I headed home and changed and headed out to CF.

It was actually really nice to work out at 5pm today because I never get to see those people so it was nice to work out with a different group of people. It was also nice to be able to see the numbers of everyone else. As part of the zero dark thirty crew, I don't have the opportunity to have someone to chase, so seeing that today was a nice switch. I was STOKED that today was a barbell complex and I was totally loving the workout and was super glad I went. Today's fun looked like this:

Record your 5 highest rounds
You may do as many as you want
Round only counts if you don't put the bar down

3X Mod DL
3X Hang power clean
3X Push jerk
3X Front squat

I was so excited to hit this workout today. Once I saw Jerry's comment I kinda got a number in my head of where I would like to end and I really was looking forward to it. I started out with a warm-up set with 35lbs, and moved up from there. I went 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, and finally 120. I was pretty psyched about that weight. I have been feeling very weak lately so to be able to come in and hit a workout like that, and especially JERK 120 overhead was great. That is the largest amount of weight I've ever had over my head! I was doing split jerks just because that's the way I thought a jerk was supposed to be done. Are split jerks harder? Anyhoo, I almost lifted as much as some of the men. That makes me feel good. I like to keep up! :) I couldn't keep up with my big brother today though. Dannnnnggg... Gar hefted 185 on this cirucit. But regardless, today was a great day to be in the Blue Room.

It seems that things over the last few days/week have been getting a little better for me. School, although it is incredibly long, is getting better, things in the Blue Room are looking up, and things in my love life, well they're looking pretty good these days too. I know over the last few days I've dropped a few references to my pirate, and I guess I just want to take a minute to share some good things. I know when it comes to my love life I don't usually share a whole lot, but I really want to today because my pirate deserves a lot of praise.

Thanks to CF, I met my pirate, and he and I are really enjoying each others company. I refer to him as my pirate for his privacy's sake, and will continue to do so, unless he should ever want to out himself. (If you happen to know what my pirate's given name is, please don't mention it... thanks!) Things with my pirate and I are still very new, and logistically we have a lot of things that we need to figure out, but regardless of whatever happens, I feel like it's really been a blessing that he and I met up. He treats me the way I should have been treated all along, and I know that now. He is a very complex, but wonderful person and I'm not 100% sure he knows just how much so. I have never had someone in my life who has done some of the things he's done, or has ever been as supportive as he is. He has been there to listen and allow me to vent, as well as be a sounding board for ideas, even if he doesn't fully understand things. He has been supportive of decisions I have needed to make, and although he knows that I am able to take care of myself, he has those characteristic sheepdog tendencies, and worries about me and tries to take care of me.

But perhaps what has just blown me away the most, is the amount of effort he is putting in. Despite the fact that he was my guest last weekend, he spent his time making dinner for me, whilst making a cake for my coworkers. He calls when he says he will, texts me to check up on my CF workouts (secretly, I think he just wants to make sure he can beat me... ;) ) and just texts me to tell me to have a good day. He has also gone out of his way to do things for me, like take the time to write me stories (how very me-esque!) and a few very thoughtful emails. I don't think that anyone has ever said anything to me that was as nice as the email he sent the other day. He created a list of the 50 things he liked about me. When I got to #34, I cried.

34. That you are beautiful, inside and out

#14 made me laugh, 14. That you are a Big Ten fan, and #13 was just nice to hear,13. That you are up front and honest. So, I know that this may all be a little lovey dovey, and a little sappy for me, as I know I don't normally enter this realm, but my pirate deserves a little extra shout out for all that he has done. I give him a very hearty yar matey! :) I hope he will continue to stick around, and that the desire to plunder the high seas does not take him away. Now, very quickly before I stop being sappy and get off this topic, guys, I am looking to do something nice for him, but am lacking on creativity since he's already used a lot of my ideas (how dare he! :P). What would you like someone to do for you just as a "thank you honey" kind of thing? (And don't say THAT because I already thought of THAT) I mean something a little more creative... :P Any ideas?

Now, today, should be a rest day. Honest I swear! I have another blog I want to write later, but we'll see if it gets done. I may take some active rest and go run (The HALF MARATHON IS LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY! Ack!) or I might just sleep until work tonight and enjoy my down time. So, we'll see...but tomorrow is a CF day (SUNDAY IS A CROSSFIT DAY! Said with Rugby chant enthusiasm... ;) ) so I'll def have some more stories after tomorrow. Yikes and away! Until next time... ;)

Remembering 9/11...

My view... standing on the Navy Pier in Chicago... a fitting picture for today

I'm sure that unless you are living in some sort of space bubble, you are aware that today is the anniversary of the biggest tragedy to ever rock the United States. And you know, I have to admit, at the time that it happened, I really didn't know what to think about 9/11. I was young, I was in college, and even though I like to consider myself a realitively intelligent person, I never really got just how much it was going to change my world. It was a beautiful day, much like the day in the picture above, and I had showered and gotten ready for class. I realized I had forgotten to call my mom back the night before, and I dialed her. I knew she'd be up. She wasn't a college student. I blabbered on about my Spanish test and class, and then asked her what was wrong. She sounded really sad. And she said, "Kate, don't you have any idea what is going on? Turn on the tv. We've been attacked." For the rest of the day, it was calls to dad. Have you heard from Ab? Did they evac her building (then in downtown DC)? Is Uncle Jer ok(then with the Pentagon)? It was scary, but still had not sunk in. It was sad, most definitely, but I never really understood fully the ramifications that that day was going to have. Growing older and moving out into the "real world" and meeting new people and having new experiences, has definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing.

I guess one thing that's had a big impact on that has been the experiences that I've had at CFOT and all the military people I've met. It makes me angry that my friends are being shot at because one group of people can't understand the concept of coexistance. I understand that my friends signed up for that, but at the same time, it does not warm my heart. Also, getting my first "real" teaching job has shifted my thinking too. I'm not a parent (yet, and when I do, they will all be PSU fans) but having a class full of 25 kids can, at times, make your parental instincts kick into high gear. It makes me angry that this morning I had the task of explaining to 8 year olds why they keep hearing things about 9/11, and explaining to them what really happened that day.

Instead, I want to protect them and allow them to live on thinking that nothing bad will ever happen to them or anyone in their family, but reality won't let me do that. If you've never tried to explain what happened on 9/11 without using a bunch of explatives and a bunch of really nasty names for people, believe me when I say it's not as easy as you would think. It makes me angry that I have to tell my kids about it. But, knowing all of the people in the services that I know now, I know that they are trying. They are doing the best that they can to keep people, myself and my kids included, safe. And I feel better knowing that I can at least reassure my kids that there are people out there working to make sure they are safe. I know that there are "sheepdogs" out there that stand between the sheep and the wolves circling them, every single day. I know that they do things that normal people wouldn't do, like carry a loaded weapon (concealed of course) so that should they ever find themselves in a situation, they are ready to handle it. They're the people that sleep between the door and their loved ones so that someone has to go through them first. They truly don't get enough credit for what they do, and as I grow older, I appreciate them much, much more.

To honor all the victims of this terrible day, as well as the sheepdogs who carry on, CFOT hit a special 9/11 workout. Today's pain felt like this:

"We Shall Never Forget"
Part 1: The Twin Towers
800 Meter run
10 rounds of
9 Burpees
11 Chins
Part 2: The Pentagon
800 Meter run
10 rounds of
9 KB High pull (45)
11 Jumping slamball (12 lb)

I finished this in 47:18. I thought that respectable, but I am sure I got smoked later by everyone else. But I did it RX'd. Despite all of my whining (and I'm sure I'm going to get flack for this) the burpees felt pretty smooth. Close to the end, I was hitting fatigue and I was pretty tired, but the ring dips yesterday took a lot out of me. The chins felt pretty smooth and I did 11 straight a few times, but mostly was able to hold sets of 8 then 3 add ons.

I have to say though that the swings and jumping slamballs did not go as quickly as I would have liked. My legs were pretty sore from the deadlifts on Tuesday and then the box jumps yesterday, but I still did ok. I finished, and on a day like today, that's what counts. Not that it matters, but I think I was the only person at zero dark thirty to go RX'd. A lot of people had to get to work and went with the express version which was 5 rounds, but the same numbers. It was really a lot of metcon but it felt alright today. Maybe the groove is coming back? We'll see, we'll see.

To all the fallen heroes and innocent victims... godspeed.

Remembering flight 93... a "gas"ser today...and a few thoughts on yesterday

Jerry let us know today that tomorrow is going to be a rough workout, but he wanted to come up with a way to honor the people on Flight 93, so he gave us a nice little workout today. Now, before I go any further, I think I need to clarify something from my post yesterday. I mentioned that I felt like we've been doing a lot of bodyweight work at CFOT lately, as opposed to barbell work. We've never done a lot of max stuff, at least IMHO, and I've always (well aside from the times I get the itch) been ok with that. I complain about doing bodyweight stuff, not because I disagree with Jerry's programming. The man is a hell of a lot smarter than I am when it comes to this stuff, and if he told me that jumping off the roof of my school was what I needed to progress, I would do it. I have faith in his programming and am sure that whatever he is doing, he has a reason for it. But remember, this is my blog, and one purpose that it serves is as my outlet of frustration, and believe me, I'm frustrated. I really really REALLY dislike bodyweight stuff (pushups in particular) because I'm HORRID at them. It's been a year, and still banging out 10 is challenging for me. It gets very frustrating for me. One could then argue with me that that's precisely the reason I SHOULD do more bodyweight work(and you'd be absolutely right... write that down, it doesn't happen often that someone else is right instead of me, or in addition to me rather... :P ) but regardless of what I know I SHOULD do, it doesn't make me WANT to do it. If you don't like brussel sprouts, even though you KNOW they are really good for you, you really don't want to ever eat them do you? That's kinda how I feel about pushups.

Now, one of the gifts of CF is also one of the things that causes this to be an even bigger issue for me. And that is that it brings us all into a competitive environment. I like to see my name close to the top, who doesn't? And I know that when we do stuff with mostly bodyweight, that's never going to happen, and it's a downer before I even get going. I know that this extreme hatred of bodyweight work needs to change, but it's really hard. I like my barbells, I like them a lot. Snatches, cleans, presses, squats. Love it! It's like candy for me. I love me my circuits with the barbells. I'm sure there are people out there who probably feel the exact opposite of me, and dread walking into the room and having to pick up a bar. I get that... but I'm not one of those people, and push-ups and squats are my nemesis (nemesi?). So, until I manage to defeat this beast of burden I hope you can forgive my whining.

Now, for those of you who raised an eyebrow at me yesterday, I hope this clarifies a few things. But enough of that hot mess, onward ho! So today's workout as I said was in honor of Flight 93. So, the fun looked like this:

93 Ring Dips
93 Med ball cleans (14 lbs)
93 Box jumps (4 mats)

Jerry told us we could partition this, and my first thought was sets of 10. But seeing as how I just left the band for dips a little while ago, I thought a better idea would be more rounds of a lower number. Now, you would think since I hate pushups that I would hate dips too, but for some reason, I feel like they're a good challenge for me. I feel like pushups should have been mastered long ago. But anyhoo, I settled on 6 as a nice good number. I made it through 10 rounds of 6 of each of the exercises and realized I was not going to have the time to finish as intended. I was slowing down big time. My arms were hitting fatigue, and my ROM was not as deep as it should have been. My form was also going and my elbows were flaring out and not staying close to my body. So after 60 of the dips, I went to the floss.

I did the last 5 rounds plus the missing 3 reps of each with the floss and brought this in in 38:09. Not bad I thought, but I know I got smoked later. I haven't seen the board, but I'm positive. Although I hate always hearing later how people smoked my time, I'm liking the zero dark thirty class. I'm enjoying the extra work time in the mornings, and it's allowing me to feel more calm at the beginning of the day and I'm not feeling as stressed. I'm still ridiculously busy, but I'm feeling better about things.

Now, I do have a confession to make from the workout today, and it's going to be a slightly embarassing one. Today, I totally farted when doing ring dips. I don't think anyone else heard, but I was really really embarassed. I mean, I know it's natural... it's all the tightening of the core and blah blah blah, but there's nothing like being suspended in the air and just letting one rip to make you feel a little awkward. Does this ever happen to other people or is it just me? I find it happens a lot on AbMats too... hmmmm... maybe I shouldn't admit that... now everytime we do dips and Abmats everyone else will be on one side of the room... Although, that may actually work to my advantage... more equipment for me! :P LOL. But seriously, I kinda felt like a tool. It's like that really bad tv commercial... "I see that you're flatulant in 2 languages".... "You're son rip is on line toot." Ah... nothing like corny humor... :P Alright, well work calls.... I'm hoping to be home, in bed, and on the phone with my pirate before 930... ;) Let's all cross our fingers... :)

A feat to be proud of for sure...

Heyyyyyy... you know what I love? Inventory night. You know why? Oh yeah, because I love staying an extra hour at work just to count beer that I don't get to drink. I think that sucks quite frankly, but unfortunately since I work on Sundays, I get the fun job of counting the beer cooler. It doesn't make me happy, especially when I get home at 11.

Well apparently, in my glorious state of being when I got home, I managed to change my Sunday CF alarm to my Monday CF alarm... except, I set my clock for the PM!!!! Noooooooo!!!! So, this was an even bigger problem than usual because today was the start of the zero dark thirty class! The funny thing is, I woke up sans alarm, and in my fuzzy state rolled over and saw the clock. It said 45, which I assumed could only be 4:45 since that's what time I meant to get up, so I strolled to the bathroom not realizing that my clock really read 5:45 (my clock is set 1/2 hour fast) Not thinking that since it's a half hour fast, it should have also read 5:15 which would have really been 4:45. Apparently I can't do math that early... So, when I hit my phone and realized it was already 5:17, I went into attack mode and I flew. I kid you not. I was dressed and out of the house by 5:19 and I was at CrossFit by 5:29 and walked in the door as Jerry was yelling 3-2-1 Go! Now, I think that in and of itself is pretty impressive. :P Thankfully that was, because my numbers today weren't. I really don't like bodyweight stuff... really I don't. I'm so slow on it even when I try to go fast, and now that I'm having to slow down my squats and get my butt back on every one, I'm even slower than the molasses I was before. RAWR! I know I shouldn't complain... I'm sure there are people who read my blog and go, I would kill to have her numbers and I wish she'd stop whining.

I know, I should, but the thing is, I'm a slight bit of a perfectionist and I really like to be able to do well at everything. When a workout comes up where I can't get my name pretty high up on the board, I get a little antsy. I'm competitive to a fault. I know. We're working on that. But patience is not something they sell at Tarzhay remember? (and yes you have to read it the way I spelled it because that's how I say it with a bad French accent! :P ) So anyway, I don't know what to do, my push ups aren't getting any better, and I don't know how to improve on body weight stuff. What else can I do? I've already lost 22 lbs. Eesh and ugh.

On a more positive note, the school year is, not going great, but it is going better than last year for me. Hopefully once the initial 3-4 weeks of school are over and done and the kids finally start to settle into routines, I will start to feel more confident, and will be able to shake this monkey. As a sophomore teacher with 3rd grade, the problem I now face is looking at all the stuff I did last year, and either throwing it out the window completely and going "Why the crap did I think this was a good lesson?" or just finding ways to make things I have, really really good. Like I said, bit of a perfectionist, but hopefully having a base to build upon will allow me to shake some of this stress and get my blog back to being the fun and ridiculous place to come visit that it normally is! :P I know you all miss my random fortune cookie blogs.... I'm not sure if I can top the dancing hamster though... speaking of school... I'm still here... so I need to get stuff done and go home...

The feast is mine! Yikes, and away! :) Until next time....

Oh so hey... how about I post that whole workout thing? Good night Irene!!!!

5 rounds or 30 minutes
20 Chins
30 Push-ups
40 Abmats (yay for doing 100 of these for time yesterday as extra work! RAWR!)
50 Squats

I got 3.25 rounds in today. Everybody else got 4.25..... :(

A great weekend... and a "Fight Gone Bad"

This weekend was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. I didn't really stress about school work, I didn't really do much of anything, except watch movies and football, cook, bake (or rather, observe the baking), and enjoy the good company of my weekend visitor. I was very, correction, am very sad that my visitor had to go, but hope that maybe sometime soon my visitor will come back for another visit. Especially if he's going to cook me dinner again and bake me another cake! :) Yes, it was a good weekend....until... dun dun dun.... we walked into the Blue Room of pain this morning. And to what but my wondering eyes did appear on the white board? Well, I'll tell you what, it sure as heck wasn't Saint Nick and 8 reindeer. My initial reaction to the white board today was "Oh f*ck".

I haven't done FGB since last fall when we hit it in September. Back then, I was still VERY new to CrossFit, wasn't doing prescribed weights, and was still trying to wrap my head around the whole CF thing. We prepped FGB every weekend during our weekend class, so by the end of September, I felt pretty confident with the weights and movements. We also didn't have row back then because we didn't have enough rowers, so we subbed row for 15 lb db thrusters. Seriously? Yeah. Dead serious.

Me during FBG last September

Now, I know some of you are probably going, so what? Well, it's a lot harder metcon wise to row for cals, and it's a lot easier to amass more points when you're repping DB thrusters than it is with row. So overall, today's performance was much MUCH harder. After all the weeks of prep for FGB, I finally finished with I believe a 202 performance. Today, thanks to Leslie's help, I was able to hit 266. It was great for her and I to work together because where I'm weak, she's strong, and we wound up with almost identical scores. She had 268. Talk about close! But aside from that, I'd also like to talk about improvement. Going up in reps alone would be great, kinda like with Murph last week, but going up in weights, AND reps feels pretty good. I'd love to hit 300, but that's going to take one hell of a performance and strategy by me to do.

FGB looks like this (for those who have never done it)
1:00 Per station
Clock never stops
1:00 rest after exercises
3 rounds
AMRAP 1 point per rep
Wall Ball (14 lbs)
High Pull (52 lbs)
Box Jump
Push Press (55 lbs)
Row

Talk about an improvement. I went from 35 lb push presses to 55, 35 lb high pull to 52, and 15 lb thrusters to rows, and last year, we didn't do wall ball, we subbed chins! It felt good to hit that, but we'll see if after the next few weeks I can inch my score up a bit. I tanked on Wall Ball after the rower. We started at one place, but Jerry made us rotate one station each round, so for two rounds I went directly to wall ball after the rower, which surprisingly, I was able to maintain strong calories each round. So, we'll see. I felt pretty awful afterwards, but I think my cake might cheer me up! ;) Starting tomorrow, I'm back 100% in the zone....

Friday's workout and the top ten reasons to take a rest day...

Despite everyone's encouragement to take some time off, I rolled out of bed yesterday and headed off to CrossFit like the good little lemming that I am. :P Yesterday's workout was another metcon workout, with mostly bodyweight. I have to say before I go any further, that I heart Jerry. He has done a world of wonders for me, and has showed me an entirely new world of fitness, BUT I'm not a big fan of all the metcom/bodyweight stuff we've been doing lately. A.) We've all learned about my drafthorse like tendencies, I can't sprint, but I can pace like a mofo. B.) We all also have learned how much I really like to throw things around. It's hard to throw things around when we're doing bodyweight stuff, unless I want to throw myself around...hmmmm...not so much. But, since I'm a good little lemming, I jumped off the cliff and did the workout. BTW, if you are not familiar with lemmings and don't quite understand my references, here's a quick little blurb for you. Lemmings are creatures who follow others, and don't ever question things. They will repeatedly do the same activities over and over, and will actually follow others to their untimely death.

Now, do I think I am a follower going to my death? Well, let's be frank. Sometimes after a CF workout I do feel like death, but mostly I'm referring to the part where the little lemmings keep following the same routine. I am a person who appreciates and thrives on routine. Anyhoo, I wobbled off to CF yesterday morning and hit our WOD which was on the main site no too long ago. Friday's fun looked like this:

For time
30 HSPU (again had to sub- 4 shrugs per 1 HSPU, 15 rounds of 4)
40 Chins
50 KB swings (35)
60 Abmat sit-ups
70 Burpees

I brought this one in in 23:30, the second fastest time on the class. I got smoked by the later folks, but it was the first time I felt like I was really able to push myself in 2 weeks. I broke the KB swings into 25 and then sets of 10 or 15. I did the abmats straight, and hit the burpees mostly in sets of 3-5 but didn't take much rest. It actually felt pretty good for the first time in what feels like forever. The chins felt pretty weak, we haven't been hitting them too much lately, but I was still able to do them pretty quickly, just in smaller sets. So overall, not too bad a day, but I hope we get back to throwing heavy things around soon, and doing more chins.

Now, I am taking today as a rest day... I think it necessary, I have company... ;) Company that will be joining me tomorrow morning at CFOT. So, today is a good day to be fat, happy and enjoy life for a hot minute. But just in case there were others of you who are looking to take a rest day, but really need a reason (rest alone doesn't seem good enough) I have created my top ten list of reasons to take a rest day. Feel free to use them!

10. It's raining, and as we all know, I am made of sugar and if I leave my house I will surely melt. Terrible... far better to stay indoors.

9. I am allergic to daylight. If daylight touches my skin, I will break out in hives, turn purple, and will be begin to sing "I'm a little teapot" without ceasing. Horrid, horrid stuff. Best if I just stay home.

8. There has been a sudden outbreak of alligator sightings in the neighborhood. I'm rather fond of my legs, therefore it is best if I keep to the house today. Yes, best.

7. Area 51 has just reporting alien sightings. Apparently, when they attack, you're stunned with some kind of a "laser" which contols your mind. You are forced to go to a globogym and do large numbers of tricep kickbacks, lat pull downs, and leg curls. HOW TRAGIC! Better to keep away from the aliens.

6. Rumor has it that the killer bees are migrating from Mexico. I've heard they don't like blondes. How discriminatory! I should stay away from them too. Best to rest and stay home.

5. The Food Network is having a "Yan Can Cook" marathon. I don't know how to cook very well, and my flambe usually turns out looking more like charrede (or charred... yeah I just made that word up) so I think it best to take a rest day and stay home and learn from Yan. I need to get me an edumacation.

4. I've been kidnapped by a pirate and he won't let me workout today.

3. I'm attempting to learn wizardry. In attempting to make myself disappear, I accidentally made one of my hands disappear. Can't do deadlifts or box jumps with one hand... yes, better to take a rest day until I can right myself.

2. Like a good little lemming I jumped off the cliff... it's only a few broken bones... I've got a few others intact, but still, best to take a rest day.

1. Penn State is playing today and they're actually on cable and not the Big Ten Network. Best to stay in and support my boys! You're my boy Blue! :)

Tehehe... hope you enjoyed! :)

Uncle?

It's a well known fact that I have a very hard time taking rest days from CrossFit. I have been called (on more than one ocassion) psycho, and I've been told, (on more than one ocassion) that I need to give my body a break before it freaks out on me and goes into overload mode.

Since school has been back in session, my schedule has completely flip-flopped from the schedule I was keeping over the summer. Over the summer I was working primarily nights, and after waking up at my normal CrossFit time, I was always able to go back for a nap if I needed to. Now, I'm awake at my usual time, awake straight on through the day, and going constantly. To say that my body is in shock is probably a slight understatement. It doesn't quite know what to do with itself at this point.

But, despite the exhaustion and the seemingly endless mounds of work that come with the beginning of the school year and just being a teacher in general, I can't stay away. I know that everyone thinks I'm going to wind up hurting myself, but I just can't avoid CrossFit. See, CrossFit is like my shrink. No matter what is going on in my life, and believe me, there have been times when it's a lot, I can go talk to CrossFit. But here's the thing, CrossFit doesn't psychoanalyze me, it doesn't give me crap and talk back, it doesn't tell me I'm a failure at life and that I'll never amount to much. It doesn't tell me that I have issues I need to work on and that I'm needy. It simply tells me that I need to suck it up and get over it, and then it kicks my ass. Plain and simple. And for the 45 minutes that I'm there, I'm not thinking of lesson plans or IEP's or to-do lists, or papers I need to copy or more things that I need to buy for my class with money out of my own pocket. CrossFit and I have a great relationship, and it's hard to have a day where I don't see it.

I know that the science is against me on all fronts on this one, but here's the thing. When I get stressed, I eat a lot. I am a type A- emotional eater. I know I need exercise more than ever then. I also know that being stressed introduces a lot of extra toxins into your body and I feel like the exercise is necessary to keep them at bay. I know that many trainers would agree that I need to back off and rest, but the question is, should I really cry uncle?

I know that if you've had younger siblings you've played that game, or you maybe may have called it mercy instead. Or perhaps if you WERE the younger sibling, you had a great understanding of this game as well, being that you were usually the one who was being pressured to cry uncle. If you are unfamiliar with this game and reference, allow me to explain the basics of this classic childhood game. :P Basically, you use a variety of painful techniques to force your "opponent" into crying uncle or mercy. When they did, then you had to let go.

I feel like my life is trying to make me cry uncle with CrossFit right now. I really want to take a week off and sleep in a bit, but I really feel like that would just crush me and make things worse. I think CrossFit is the only kind of stress relief I have right now that does me any amount of good. I keep thinking that soon my body will adjust, but man, I really don't know how long that will take. I am crashing off the Zone at every turn because my body is craving things like mad, which is very different from when I was in school in the spring. I'm not sure if it's a result of the increase in my stress level or what, but I need to find a way to flatline myself and keep steady.

So I guess the bottom line is, when should an athlete cry uncle? If it is keeping them healthy (if at nothing else, mentally) should they continue to push through exhaustion and fatigue? Or at all costs to one's health, ie mentally, should they stop and take a rest week? I personally would think that the mental positives would outweight the physical negatives to continuing, but I'm not a trainer, nor am I an expert, so really I don't know. But what I do know is that I feel like poop.

Today's WOD was:
4 rounds
500 M row
Keep track of row times
inbetween work ring dips

I'm not going to lie, the rower was more than enough for me today. I could only do 2 or 3 ring dips at a time. I was pretty happy that in my first 500 I tied the class record at 1:45.9. However, I discovered that Stacey took the record back solo within about 15 minutes of that ocurring. Yay. Lesson plans are calling and so is my room which is a train wreck! Gotta love 8 year olds...

Strict press and strict chins...

Today's circuit was easy, in terms of understanding.

5 rounds
5 strict press
5 strict chins (weighted if possible)

At each station we had 1:30 to get our 5 reps in. Then we had :30 seconds for transitions. I tried to start the day at 75 but, we haven't been doing much strength work lately and my form was rough. I was arching my back and had really poor form. I also started with a 10 lb weight vest. By round 2 my strict dropped to 65, although I kept the vest for another round. By round 3, I kept the strict at 65, and took off the vest. It was just too much and I'm way too weak. I finished rounds 4 and 5 with the same weights. Now, what was interesting was how Jerry found the totals for this one. Take your strict weight, times 5 (reps per round) then times 5 again (number of rounds) and get your strict total. Then take your body weight, plus weight used from the chiins and mulitply by 5 (reps in round) and then by 5 again (number of rounds). This gives you your chin total. Then add together for your overall total.

Basically, today it paid NOT to be a skinny minny. My overall total today was 5,675. Not nearly as high as it should be. School and my new schedule are really taking a toll. I feel awful because I feel like I'm making excuses, but the truth is, I really feel awful. I haven't had a workout where I felt good in two weeks. I didn't want to admit it, but I nearly quit on Murph. Fatigue, exhaustion, stress... everything caught back up to me in 1 week. 1. What the hell am I going to do in 3 weeks? 4? 35 weeks? All I know is that I seriously feel like poo, and it's really bugging me that I can't keep up with everything and everyone. I know I've not been leaving comments and reading blogs and checking in and harassing and I'm sorry. But I've been going for 18 hours straight today, and something just has to give. :(

Hopefully this week, I will come up with thought provoking blog... or at least a more upbeat one... :(

I get dirty on the first day of school...

All morning long today, all I could keep thinking about is that scene from "Finding Nemo" where he keeps banging himself into his dad and yelling, "First day of school! First day of school!" I don't know why, but maybe I heard that phrase so many times it felt like I was having it drilled into my head. :P

Today is, was, the first day of school. I will admit that I woke up after having nightmares about my class. I dreamt that my PM class wouldn't listen, and they were all standing on their chairs throwing paper and bouncy balls at the walls. Don't ask, I really don't know where that came from but eh, that was how I awoke today. Anyway, despite my horrific nightmares, I woke up and headed off like the good little lemming that I am to CF.

I almost, and I mean ALMOST, turned around and left when I saw what the board said. Now, I'm not a wuss. Not by any stretch of the means, but when I saw the white board I just about teared up. After Murph, I'm having some trouble. I'm sore, I hurt, I don't want to workout. But yet, Jerry was determined to make me do the "Filthy Fifty." Oh yes, I did indeed do the Rx'd version of the Filthy Fifty today. On my first day of school, Jerry made me get Filthy. Sometimes, I don't like Jerry very much. :(

Our version of the Filthy Fifty looked like this:

50 Knees to elbows
50 KB high pulls
50 Dumbbell thrusters (15lb)
50 Burpees
50 Dumbbell push press (15lb)
50 Double unders (I subbed 150 singles)
50 Box Jumps
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 KB swings (35 lb)
50 Walking lunges (each leg)

We did this back in April, but it was a different version. It was more metcon and not much weighted stuff at all. I did that one in 37:09. This one I did in 38:32. The burpees felt bad. Very very bad. My shoulders are still on fire from Murph. I just couldn't do the push-ups. The burpees alone probably took 5-6 minutes. Not a horrid time, just didn't feel good. It'd be nice to feel good in the blue room again. I haven't felt good since I went back to work.

On a happy note this weekend, Michigan and Virginia Tech lost and Penn State won! :) Yay! :) I'm looking forward to college football this weekend and the end of my first week.

I'm crashing off the Zone big time. I need to get my schedule situated and get my butt back on track before it blows up like a balloon. One of my students brought me brownies today. Where is that sticktoitiveness I had in May when I took that stuff to the teachers lounge? I ate them... all... and they were good. I had pizza and ice cream last night too... if there is a Zone hell, the throne is reserved for me...

As a side note, I just went to the bathroom and realized that I actually put my underwear on inside out today and just realized it. Yeah, it's been that kind of day... good night Irene... Hopefully I'll make it home before 9 tonight. :(