I hope you can hold a fork tomorrow...

Jerry has this habit of really enjoying torturing us around holidays, especially ones that involve a large amount of eating! :P Monday's AMRAP snatch wod was pretty brutal, and despite my plan to make it after swimming on Tuesday, I did not get to the box. So, since I knew we were going to be closed on Thanksgiving and Friday, I needed to get in. So, up and at 'em I was to get my butt spanked first thing on Wednesday morning.

The WOD looked a bit like 'dis.

33 OHS, 1 rope climb
33 GHD, 1 rope climb
33 Thrusters, 1 rope climb
33 GHD, 1 rope climb
33 Front squats, 1 rope climb
33 GHD, 1 rope climb

Ok, honestly. Just looking at that, I knew it was going to suck. Doing it, I was unaware of how much it was going to suck. I banged out the OHS pretty quickly. I didn't drop until 26. I was hoping to go all 33 with no drops, but at 26, the snatch wod caught up with me. I was really sore in the shoulders and holding up the bar was just too much. The weight for all BB exercises was 65, which isn't a lot but high reps + 65lbs + rope climbs = PAIN!!! If the bb didn't gas you, there was the rope climb to tear your legs to shreds and make you even more gassed. The worst of all were the 33 thrusters. I swear I must have dropped them at least 10 times. I was doing sets of 2 and 3. It was terrible!

I hurt so badly after this that going to work really sucked! I was going to run the Alexandria Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, but after the wod and after work on Wednesday night, no way Jose!!! I was too sore. But, on a happy note, I did this RX'd and I climbed the GD rope 6 times. Two were back to back because I missed the one after the first GHD. Not to shabby. Time in was 24:53 I think. I can't remember now! Dangit! :P Oh well. I got it in under 25:00 and that's good enough for me.

Snatch master

Ha, haha, hahhaa.... I said snatch master. It never fails, snatch wod's cause me to resort to giggling like an 8 year old school girl. Hehe, snatch. Ok, alright fine. Enough.

Jerry gave us a pretty blistering wod yesterday, and seeing as I am now in the recovrey stages from the last two weeks, I opted to sleep in and hit class after school. I'm back to my normal schedule at the restaurant now which is 3 nights a week and not 6, so I have the freedom back to switch my schedule around a bit.

Today's wod was again one that didn't look horrific on paper, but once you started doing it, dude, it really f'ing sucked! I know, those are like the best ones, but I mean, really, I stopped moving, and I just kind of stood there. I mean, I didn't want to sit down because I was afraid I'd never get back up, so I just kind of wandered around for a bit. In a daze you might say.....

Today's wod was

AMRAP
3 heavy snatch
6 pull-ups
9 24" box jumps

I'm not sure why all of a sudden we need to start putting the weight on the boxes to make them higher, but I'm not really a fan of jumping even higher. I have short little legs and they really don't jump that well. I sort of remind myself of a basset hound. I have short stubby little legs. Except, I don't drool, at least I don't think I do, maybe in my sleep, and I don't bark. I do on ocassion growl, but that's only if you really irritate me... but anyhoo, moving on.

Back to the snatches.... :P Haha... My snatches today actually felt pretty good. I was using 85 lbs which is 25lbs less than my X1. It still felt pretty heavy though, and let me assure you, that by the time I was a few rounds in, I was so tired, that I seriously had to think about snatching. It wasn't automatic anymore. I was getting so winded from trying to hurry scurry through the box jumps that the snatches felt like trying to climb a mountain. No joke. This wod was seriously a burner and it was only 20 minutes!!!

I was upset with myself because at some point I lost count. I couldn't remember if I was finishing 7 or 8 so I'm not sure if I did 10 1/3 or 11 1/3 rounds. I would be more pleased if it was 11 1/3 but I think that it was 10 1/3. Oh well, what can you do? Another day, another brutal wod. And I already saw it, so I know I'm in for it after school today. Oi....

An addition to my list...

So you remember all those things I was telling you I did that you REALLY shouldn't do? I have an addition to that list.

*Do not do a hand intensive wod which causes your hands to become incredibly sore, and THEN attempt to use your hands to twist the cap off of an adult bevvie. OUCH!!!!

Do as I say, not as I do!

It's STRICTLY business...

So, finally. Finally after a week + of complete and total chaos, I have some free time. This is only due to the fact that I have taken the day off school, but that's totally irrelevant. I have free time... at least until 10:00 at which time the mall opens and I have shopping to do before heading to my sister's wedding this weekend. Totally and completely IRRELEVANT. :P

After work Wednesday and being on a 6 day run at the restaurant with a 3 day run Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of working all three jobs, I decided to sleep in yesterday morning. I decided to go to the box last night, and despite still being sore from the beating I took Tuesday, I decided to hit the strict presses. Jerry threw everything except the kitchen sink into Tuesday's wod, and I was feelin' it, but I knew that this weekend was booked, so four days needed to be done during the work week. So go I went.

I have to say that my strict form feels MUCH better than it used to. The thing to keep in mind with the strict press is that the second you move that bar AWAY from your face, you've sort of just screwed yourself. By pushing away instead of straight up, you're losing all the momentum you just created. It's a totally different beast. You need to give yourself a very unattractive double chin, and think turtle. Pull your head back into your shell and get it out of the way. Then with the bar rested in a good rack, you're ready to toss that puppy over your head without pushing it away out in front of you. I feel like I've really dialed in on this part of the press. I can still work more on getting my legs even tighter I think, but my top half of my press felt good.

I was able to do more than I thought I would and my lifts looked like this.

35X5
45X5
55X5
65X5
75X5
80X5
85X5
90X5

I found this lift today interesting because my X1 is only 94. Why can I get so close to my X1 for 5 but yet I can't seem to break 94 for 1? I don't know. It's weird. I really have my eye on that 100lb mark. I know I'm getting close. I know it. I want it. I feel like for me, that's straight up legit if I can strict 100 lbs. Inching my way closer.... maybe X1 stricts will come up soon... maybe JERKS will come up soon... MAYBE?!?!?!? MAYBE JERRY!?!?!?!?!?! :) I hearts you! :)

Nice RAK!

I know I spelled that wrong sillies. I did it on purpose! RAK stands for random acts of kindness. I've been working all three jobs the last three days, and I have hit the box, but just have not had any time to myself in which to write. I've barely had time to make lessons for school and grade papers and sleep let alone do anything enjoyable. But regardless, I wanted to put this up because over the last few days, I've seen a lot of nice RAKs. I know. It sounds funny, that's why I keep saying it... duh! :P First off, on Tuesday night, I was put on a party at work with another server. It was 36 people and they were ordering off a set menu, but when they came in the woman in charge said they could basically do whatever they wanted. They all decided to start ordering drinks and appetizers, in addition to their meals, and they quickly racked up a pretty sizeable check. SOP for us is to add 18% to parties larger than 6, so when she asked for the check we had already included gratuity. When the other server handed her the check, she told us we were going to need to adjust it. Our hearts sort of sank thinking she was upset about the 18%. Believe it or not, some folks are. But, that quickly turned around when she then said it wasn't enough and added an additional $100 to the gratutity. With all the irons I have in the fire right now, that extra money was so needed and so helpful, I really just wanted to kiss the woman. It wasn't necessary, but she did it, and I was very appreciative. To the folks, in particular Sam, from Georgia Pacific east coast region, THANK YOU!

Now, again, last night I was at work. We were actually a little busy, which hasn't happened on a week night in a few weeks. I had a couple, probably mid-late twenties. He was dressed in an army uniform and was very obviously doting on his girlfriend. In my mind, being that I'm slightly jaded towards the military now, I was thinking he was trying to make up for being an ass at some point, probably cheating on her, but regardless he was being very nice. There was a single businessman sitting at a table near them, and when the time came for his check he told me that for some reason he felt he should really pay for their dinner. I told him that wouldn't be a problem and that I could simply ignore the credit authorization on the couple's check and close it out to his. When I told the gentleman at the table that the businessman was paying his check, he acted a bit like an idiot and was like, why? I told him I didn't know but that his dinner was already paid for. Regardless though, it was a very nice RAK.

So, despite the ass kicking I'm taking these days, it's still nice to see some bright spots around. Has anyone else had a nice RAK this week?

Another one of Katie's Lists...

As I was reading back over my blogs from the past few weeks, I've noticed a trend. Aside from the "my life is spinning wildly out of control" trend that seems to exist, I also seem to have this trend of doing a lot of things that I constitute as being "really bad ideas". So, since I'm all about helping other people, I've compiled a list. A list of really bad ideas of things you shouldn't do. Let my experiences be a lesson in health and safety for you all!

Katie's List of Really Bad Ideas That You Would Do Well NOT To Do

Don't...

*Tap the cage- If that animal gets out, oh man it's going to be really mad at you

*Tempt an alligator with a steak- I didn't do this one, but I watched it on Animal Planet and I swear, that dude almost lost his arm

*Jerk/press the bar into your chin or nose- It smarts! Keep the bar close, yes that's the idea, but get your head back and OUT of the way.

*Step out of the resistance band prematurely- Make sure that thing is under control first. Boys, the last thing you want is for that thing to snap a little too high.

*Ask Jerry if you should add more weight- You'll regret this later

*Buy your own jump rope-I've been having nightmares about double unders. I've also started practicing in weird places. Not all places are equally good for double unders... like when the ceiling is too low. Ooops. Sorry about that.

*Ride the bar down to the floor on your neck- Bail out FAIL!

*Put a hand chalk print on someone's butt- Unless you're sure of a few things.... a)you can outrun them 2)there is no significant other waiting to pound your face

*Waste your time watching Housewives of Atlanta- Tardy for the party is a godawful song... I want that 30 minutes of my life back.

*Worry about everyone else on the white board- I struggle with this too, but your progress is your progress so be proud damnit! Flaunt your two pull-ups or first RX'd Fran. Hellz yeah!

*Run in the rain with glasses- Murph prep FAIL! I nearly bit it on a pothole!

*Go the LOLCatz site- You could waste hours there!

*Go to Failblog.org- Again, you could waste hours there!

*Do Murph and Hansen in a three day time span- Ow!

*Forget to rest- Rest days are important and I'm regretting not taking one!

*Be afraid to scale the weight- Should not have done Hansen with the 53! My abs have still not recovered

*Clean the bar into your chestular area- Strap the ladies in!!!!

*Eat a cheesesteak, fries, nachos and beer in one sitting- You WILL regret this later, as will anyone who happens to be with you

*Forget to jump ON the box- Whoopsies!

*Forget to put the same amount of weight on BOTH sides of your bar- Awkward!

*Leave weight on one side of the bar and not the other while it's on a rack- I actually alomst impailed someone when the bar fell off. Sorry about that!

*Let Pete play Miley Cyrus- It causes team 0645 to become incensed with rage

*Forget to have fun- I've been forgetting this lately. It doesn't have to be fun to be fun!

*Forget to accessorize- Shiny shoes all the way!!!!!!

*Kick drywall- It will uh, you know, leave a hole? SONI!!!!

*Stop believin'- Hold on to that feeeeeeeeeeeeeeelin!

Saturday AM wod: Cleans X 1-1-1-1-1

HAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHA! What was I thinking? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH

Next time.

We did fix my starting position though and for the first time, I think I actually cleaned the bar to where it is supposed to be instead of getting it JUST about there, and pushing it back by bringing my elbows the rest of the way up. More practice is needed with the set-up, but it made sense as to why I can't clean off the floor. Same thing as with my snatch. If you're not in the pockets, you can't jump the bar.

A Thursday night wod, and a Friday early am... MURPH!?!?! Oh F!

After working Wednesday night I had a very challenging time dragging myself out of bed on Thursday am. So, I decided that I'd do a rare thing and hit a Thursday night class to get in the wod that Jerry schemed up. Jerry has been really great lately at throwing together these nasty little metcons. I mean, they've been short, but they've HURT like nobody's freakin' business. Thursday's wod was another of that sort of variety. It was short, but it was designed to put you in the hurt locker. It was

450m row
30 24" box jumps
15 push press or push jerks
360m row
24 box jumps
12 push press or push jerks
270m row
18 box jumps
9 push press or push jerks

The weight for this was 85 for the women. Jerry had said that he didn't care how we got the bar overhead, just that we got it overhead. So, depending on your strength level, you could push press, or jerk the weight. Now, Melissa goaded me just a smidge and said that I was strong enough to push press 85lbs and it would be a faster cycle rate if I pressed it instead of jerked it. Then she also added, "and I think you'd be the only female today who push pressed it instead of jerked it." Well crap, gauntlet and all that. So I decided to go for it.

I'm not going to lie. Hansen, dear Jesus, Hansen wrecked me. My abs hurt so badly. But not where you would expect. Not in the middle, but down the sides. Trying to engage my core to get stuff overhead was excruciating. The row sucked even more than normal too because, well you engage your core in a row too. Hansen was god awful and I never want to see that wod again.

I managed to move relatively well through the first sets of things, and I was on my last round going at a nice clip until I hit the 9 jerks. No more 85lb bars left! :( Oh. I'm not mad about it, I mean stuff happens, but it would have nice to have been able to finish without waiting and see what my time was. As it stood, my time was 14:34. Still one of the faster times on the day, but that includes about :45 of rest time waiting for a bar. But, like I said, stuff happens, but it was still a nasty little thing.

After that wod I was feeling a little wooooooo! I hurt everywhere and when I crawled home I nearly cried when I saw that Jerry had already posted the wod for Friday. I was hoping for something with minimal abs. No rowing, no overhead work. Certainly no kipping. What I got was Murph. My initial reaction? Oh F! I think in fact I even wrote that on the CFOT Facebook page. I was not feeling confident about doing Murph on Friday AT ALL! Kipping and trying to maintain a tight core on push-ups with abs that won't even let me sit up without assistance? Oh hell!

But you know, I took off Monday and Tuesday this week because I was cranky and didn't want to work out and you know, it bit me in the butt. If I wanted to get my time in this week I had to go. So, go I went. And I will not lie, the first half was miserable. I was almost crying on the pull-up bar. I adjusted my kip so that I wasn't opening my hips as much and was therefore not putting as much stretch on my abs. I was DYING. I'm not kidding. I really was. I was thinking through about the first ten round or so, that there was no way I was going to PR. Yeah my run was a decent 10:00 even, but I wasn't feeling like I was flying through. But I hit round 16 and realized if I stayed my pace and could get out the door before 50:00 I might have a fighting chance. So I basically booked it. I mean, I struggle with push-ups, that's the one thing that has kept me from breaking 60:00 on Murph for two years. I can lift tons of stuff, but don't you dare ask me to do push-ups. No idea why, but it is what it is. And when I said I booked it, I mean it. Even in round 18 and 19 I was getting sets of 6 unbroken. That for me is UNHEARD of. My push-ups usually go to 2's after about round 4. This was certainly a switch.

As I hit round 19, I started thinking that if I could get out the door before 47:00 I would give myself an even better fighting chance to break 60:00 and PR. A 13 minute mile pace? I could almost walk that. I literally busted through round 19 and on round 20, I did my chins and my push-ups and started to head towards the door. Jerry was cheering me on to get to the run, but I said I still had squats left. So, to save myself some time, I stood directly in front of the clock to gauge myself, and also while squatting, began to put my clothes on. Yeah, I wish I had a photo of that because it was probably hilarious. I know that Sean C. caught me doing it, but hey it worked. I was ready and out the door by 45:55. Well, sort of ready, I only had 1 arm through! :P

The last mile run was probably one of the most inspired mile runs I have ever done in my life. I'm not a big self talker. I don't yell at myself or talk to myself while I workout, but that day I did. I told my body that of all days, this day was not the day to quit, and it was going to keep going. Despite the rain, despite the head wind by the river, it was NOT going to quit. As I hit the hill I bargained with myself.... if I made it back, I would get a big fru fru venti coffee to reward myself. Not the small ones I usually make myself get since they're full of sugar and crap. No, I promised a big one. Apparently that worked because as I hit the trail behind the offices and hotels down by the river, the stride opened up and I was bookin. I hit the second to last corner and refused to walk, I was wheezing, I was talking to myself, and I'm sure I looked about half crazed to anyway walking by at that hour, but I would not quit. I was sore, I hurt, and for all accounts should not have gone to the box, but I was there and GD I wanted sub 60:00.

When I hit the last corner I felt like I wasn't going to make it. I'm a horrible judge of time when I'm running without a watch and I felt like I had passed the 10 minute mark 4 minutes ago. But regardless, I pushed myself down the final slope to the double doors AND.....

There it was. 55:57. A sub 60:00 Murph. After that brutal hero wod Hansen and a night wod the night before, it finally came. A sub 60:00 Murph. Over the course of my now 2+ years with CF, I've had a lot of PR's in the box, but I'm always known for my strength work. I'm never known as someone who is fast or strong on bodyweight exercises. I've always been one of the last to finish all of those sorts of wods, especially Murph. I'm proud of all of my PR's, but there was something very satisfying about finally doing this. I think that my sub 60:00 Murph may actually overtake my first pull-up as my proudest CF moment. I think I probably fought harder for my sub 60:00 Murph than I did for my first pull-up or any of my strength PR's. It was a happy day in Katie land to be sure, and you can bet your ass that I celebrated with my big fru fru coffee. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice to be precise. I do believe I earned it! >:) I will take it as a sign that there are more good things coming with regards to my metcon and bodyweight work. Let's hope. Let's hope.

CFOT Hopper Challenge

This past Saturday, I was able to participate in the CFOT Hopper Challenge. I know that I'm a little late in the write up, but it was a long day with lots of stuff, and I knew that getting it all down was going to take awhile. Not to mention, I was super cranky pants this week for two days so I needed some time before I could write without being all sorts of poopy pants.

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about the Hopper. I'm an uber competitive person, and I hate to lose. This does not bode well for competitions because, well, there's always going to be somebody bigger, stronger, and faster than you. Not to mention, I'm not a metcon ninja. You can't tell me that in a Hopper challenge it's not all about speed. Even if you do do a strength wod, it comes back to speed in the end. How fast can you get crap done? So, for me, I'm not sure that competing in things is necessarily the way to go. Yes, being in that environment, in that atmosphere, did cause me to push a little more than I would in a normal WOD, but I'm not sure for me there was a HUGE difference.

There are those who will argue that doing something like the Hopper challenge teaches you about weaknesses, and that's definitely true. But most of us, if we've been doing this long enough, know our weaknesses already. Some people use the Hopper as a driving force to progress. Eh, I am not sure that I really do or don't. I realized I sucked at double unders, muscle ups, kettle bell swings, burpees, HSPU, running, and push-ups LONG before the Hopper. Regardless of my performance at the Hopper, I am still going to work them. So, I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I loved doing the first wod, hated getting trounced in everything else, so honestly, I go back and forth on the whole thing. Regardless of my feelings on MY competing, Jerry put together a great day. For the most part, it was a lot of fun. I got to spend my day with some awesome friends, and who doesn't love that?

The one thing that was so really super cool about the Hopper was the team atmosphere. CFOT has always been hands down one of the strongest communities, if not THE strongest community I've ever been a part of. I've been on a lot of teams in my life, but they all pale drastically in comparison to the support from CFOT members. There were athletes who really struggled with some of the stuff that came out of the hat, and instead of quitting, just gritted through. It was AMAZING to see their determination and it was AWESOME to see people support each other like that. I have to say that is my FAVORITE thing about CFOT. We are a team, and we don't let each other forget that.

But, enough of me trying to wax all philosophical. Let's get to the WODS!

Jerry told us in advance that there would definitely be two wods. A strength component and also a couplet or triplet. Coin toss would decide couplet or triplet on the day of, and bag pull would decide the strength wod on the day. For certain cards in the strength bag, Jerry wrote the word "Joker". If we pulled a strength wod with a joker, we had to throw in a third wod which would come between the strength wod and the more metconish wod.

As it happened, the bag pull resulted in a 1 rep max jerk. Needless to say, I was pleased with that. I've been wanting to max jerk for awhile and I was pleased to see it. I wasn't so happy though with the fact that I had demolished myself the day before at first Friday by doing Grace and Isabelle. Me doing the Hopper was not planned in advance (clearly) and was only done with the expressed written permission of my middle sister who allowed me to come late to an event we had scheduled in advance. Regardless though, I had the shiny shoes on hand and I was ready to throw down with what I could. But, on the jerk card was the word joker. Sooooo... that meant three wods. The extra wod was done immediately when all lifts were completed and it was 30 jerks with an 800 meter run for time using 50% of your max effort.

Now, I will admit that I was feeling really good with the jerks that day. I was all sorts of excited about jerking. I have a goal to hit 200lbs by Christmas, and I don't get to jerk 1 rep maxes often, so I really wanted to go hard. So I did. I landed a 180 jerk cleanly. I mean, it didn't feel difficult AT ALL. I was stoked. Cised as Soni would say. So I hurriedly threw 185 on the bar as time was ticking away. With 15 seconds remaining in the lifting portion of the day, I unracked the bar. I had the bar over my head, but wasn't able to lock. I HAVE that weight, and I mean, I HAVE it. It's in me. I can feel 200 so close. But then, I had to turn around and take 50% of that 180 for 30 reps. I mean, I had 90 on the bar, while some people had 45/65, and yes I know it's all relative and blah blah blah, but still, 90 for 30? I don't care who you are. Immediately following a 1 rep max? It's going to suck regardless of how good you are at the movement. I should have stopped when I lifted enough to win, but I didn't. I think it was stupid on my part to keep going. I should have stopped. With two wods the day before, and 30 coming after, I should have stopped at 140. But I didn't. If this happens again, my strategy will probably be different.

Needless to say, I was the last person lifting, had no down time before we jumped into that joker wod, and I was the slowest female on the 30 wod. It sucked. I was angry and basically felt like I'd just been punished for being strong. I wasn't happy.

The final wod wound up being a couplet of front squats and kb swings. The load on the front squats was 100lbs, and the kb was 35. It was an ascending/descending ladder so the front squats went down 21-15-9, and the kb swings went up 18-30-42. It's a bit like Josh. (My FAVORITE!) I have to say that by the time I got to the third wod, I was pretty wiped. It's hard to say from what, but I was. The weight felt heavy, and my back started to seize up on the KB swings. It was quite painful in the end. I know that a few people dnf'd on the last wod, so although it looks quick and dirty, it really was a beating. I wasn't pleased that it took me 8:29 to bring this in. I wasn't. I'm not going to lie. Getting my ass handed to me on both the second and third wod, sorta put a big damper on the first wod.

And this is where the whole, "I'm not sure I should compete" thing comes into play. Most people would walk away from the day going, I had a great lift, and that's awesome. In my psyche, the getting pounded almost completely negated the lift. So, you know, I'm not sure what I will do in the future. I'm already signed up for the finals in December technically, but I'm not sure I want to do it. I may just go cheer, as for me, that was the most fun part of the day. Maybe work is clouding my judgement now, but we'll see what I decide to do. Regardless of what my feelings are regarding competing etc, the atmosphere at the Hopper was awesome, and it was quite an ass kicker. Jerry and the other coaches really put together a great day and it was really cool to see.

Veteran's Day: Honoring those who have served or are serving

Dear God,

I understand the need to acknowlege our military members. I think Veteran's Day is an important holiday and one that we need to have. Our servicemen and women have an important job defending our country and keeping our citizens safe. However, our hero wod, Hensen, just seriously put me in the hurt locker. Doing 5 rounds in 44:59 of 30 kb swings with 53 lbs, 30 burpees, and 30 GHD sit-ups was just brutual. If you could arrange it so that now I do not need to move for the rest of the day, that would be wonderful. Thanks.

Love,
Katie

PS- If you could arrange to keep me alive without me breathing for the day, that would be great, as breathing hurts now too. I have the utmost appreciation for your consideration.

All joking aside, Veteran's Day is an opportunity to honor those brave men and women who defend or have defended our country and our freedoms. Very often they are the unsung heroes. Sort of like the stage crew in a big Broadway production. They do a lot of work that very rarely gets recognized or seen. Regardless though, without them, the show would not go on. It doesn't matter if there's a lead actor or actress. Without some serious backstage support, all their singing and acting would be for naught. Without our servicemen and women, we wouldn't be able to go on. Without the protection of our freedoms, our lives would all be EXTREMELY different.

I understand that it is a small price to pay to suffer through a hero wod today. But, if it helps to let our servicemen and women know that we appreciate them, then I'm all for it. (aside from the crippling pain afterwards... I'm not necessarily all for that!:P) All joking aside though, to all the men and women who have served or are serving, God Bless and THANK YOU!

A small thing to be happy about on Monday morning...

So in keeping with my idea that sometimes you need to focus on small things... this morning, I remembered it was Monday (booooo!), but then I also remembered that 94.7 Wash FM goes commercial free in an attempt to make your Mondays not suck quite so bad! It's not always the BEST in musical selection, but it's great for continuous music. Sometimes I hear songs that I'm like, wow, I haven't heard this in forever.

***** Hold for musical break *****

(Picture me rockin' out in my car)

Damn I wish I was your lover, I'd rock you til the daylight comes, make sure you are smiling and more...

***** This has been a test of the random musical break system. Had this been an actual emergency, by no means would you be reading my blog right now! *****

See what I mean? When was the last time you heard THAT song?!?!?

And no it does NOT count if you've been to Rockit Grill recently. *shudders* There is some creepy sorta crazy chick that sings that song EVERYTIME I go to sing karaoke there. Apparently she's a regular! Zoinks! Anyway, good small thing for the Monday morning. No commercials! Yay!

Now back to your regularly scheduled Monday! :P

Soreness leads to resting which leads straight into a state of Grace...

So yesterday was a good 'ole fashioned rest day. Yup. A rest day. I was really tempted to go in when I saw that the wod had moderately heavy deads and GHD's in it, but I was pretty sore from that blistering Wod we hit on Wednesday. Holy cow. So Jerry didn't put a clock on Wednesday's wod, but told us there was a 20 minute time limit. So basically, when you broke it down, there was about 2 minutes for each exercise, and 4 minutes per round (yes there were five rounds... good math!).

So here's what it looked like
max strict press 55 lbs
max strict chins

Record highest round and total

So my total for the strict press was 75 and my highest round for strict chins was 5. This wod was one of those where your forearms get kind of frid and you feel like your arms kind of want to fall off... yeah. One of those, so needless to say, after working late Wednesday plus that wod, I just had to take Thursday as a rest day. Besides, 3 on, 1 off right? Well, I rested right into First Friday. And you know, most first Friday's I do Josh because it's an opportunity for me to work overhead squats. I love that wod. OHS and pull-ups. Yum. But, you know, I wasn't really feeling Josh for some reason on Friday. I was thinking of mixing it up. So I was thinking that I've never done Grace as prescribed. The only times I've done Grace I've done uber rx'd. Last year during the Grace challenge I did it with 100lbs, and then once before that, I let Jerry talk me into doing it with 115. So, I wanted to see what would happen if I did Grace with 85lbs.

So, I warmed up and jumped on the clock at 8 minutes into First Friday. I finished at 10:44. Yup. Grace in 2:44. That's pretty smokin. At least I think it is. I'm sure there are ladies and gents who can do it faster, but I thought that was pretty doggone good. The last few I was doing as singles, so I think I could easily do this in 2:30 if I stop doing singles, but I did the first 12 no break and I think that messed me up a bit. I was really winded for the last 6 or 7. I really should have gritted through more. But afterwards, since the wod was so short, I was thinking of hitting Josh anyway. But as I was warming up, my OHS just didn't feel good. I was having a hard time staying stable and my OHS just was off. So Jerry said, "Why don't you do Isabelle?"

I couldn't really think of a reason not to or a reason to argue with Jerry, so I turned around, pulled some weight off the bar to hit a few snatches and then went for an rx'd Isabelle. I was already gassed at this point, and so really it was like doing 30 singles. I couldn't tie any of the snatches together, but regardless, I gritted through with minimal rest, meaning, I didn't put my hands on my legs and rest a whole lot. I kept chasing the bar and kept at it. I did this in 8:29. Not great, not bad, but room for improvement of course. Maybe next month I'll start with Isabelle and finish with Grace.... :P Regardless, I was really happy with the Grace wod, and proud of myself for slugging through Isabelle. It was another good First Friday!

Back it up!!!

Another day for the new shoes!!! I had an alarm clock FAIL yesterday morning, and so I was forced to make a choice. Hit CFOT after school, or bag the back squats. The last three times we've done BS I've missed them for one reason or another, so I couldn't bag 'em. I had to give 'em the old college try. So I took my new Buddy Lee jump rope (WOOOT!) and hit some DU's before our warm-up and then we jumped right in. The board said to warm up with a few light sets, and then attempt a 3 rep max and lower the weight. Usually we all do the opposite.

I understand the logic behind this type of lifting. Obviously you have more energy to find your true max early on as opposed to later, but at the same time, I don't like it, especially with back squats. The difference in how the weight feels doesn't make me confident. For me I have found that my lifting depends on how I feel. If I feel good warming up, the big weights will go up over. If not, too bad so sad, try another day. To go from such a light weight to a heavy one was really rough for me. It just didn't feel good. I didn't feel confident and that wrecked me. So we backed me down to lighter weight and worked up. I felt more confident jumping and doing singles, then tried for a new 3 rep max PR. I almost got it. Almost. I got 200X2, and halfway up on the 3rd on, I faultered. I lost core tension and started to lean forward and that was all she wrote. Andrea maintains she didn't really help me, but I know they did. It's ok though, I put up 205 X 1 and I put up 200X2. The 200X3 would have been nice though. :P

Regardless, don't you totally just love the new shoes!?!!? They are even better than the silver sequined ones. :) Now, just wait until I throw that 200lb jerk over my head with those babies on. Then they'll HAVE to respect the shiny shoes! :P

When the big things get in the way, enjoy the smaller ones...

I'm sure that in all of our lives, there are times where things just seem to overwhelm us. These "big" things, seem to run our lives, dictate or attitudes, and in general, turn us into people we don't want to be.

I'll be the first to admit that in looking through my blog and over my FB, I've realized the big things are really blocking my path these days. Lots of really "down" sounding days, and lots of stormy rain clouds seeming to hang over my head and my posts.

It's hard to see around the big things when they get in your way. For me, work things and relationship issues have been simply plaguing me. But, I'm tired of letting the big things get in the way of all the good stuff. Just because the big things are big, doesn't mean they should get to run the place. I had to walk to get my car today because it was in the shop, and you know what I realized as I was walking? It's gorgeous out today! The leaves are drying out from all the rain, they crackle now when you walk on them, the sun is shining, the temperature is just right for fall. It's a wonderful day. It's a small thing. But it made me smile. It made my day a little better.

I'm realizing that when the big things seem insurmountable, sometimes you need to keep finding the small things because you know, lots of little teeny tiny things, eventually add up. I'm hoping that eventually, the small things will add up, and I'll realize that the small things are more important than the big ones anyway. The scarey thing about this blog, it's public and ANYONE can read it. The neat thing about this blog? I'm able to watch my journey. I can go back and reread now YEARS of wod's and personal moments. It's pretty cool actually. I'd like to think that I'm turning a corner. I'd like to think that this getting back to me is the start of an upswing but only time will tell. Thank goodness my blog doesn't have an expiration date! :P Just in case though anyone reading has been feeling like me... here's a list of small things to smile about and enjoy today. :)

* Good coffee (Starbucks holiday flavors returned TODAY! MMM peppermint mocha!)
* Warm apple cider with cinamon
* A good book
* Michael Buble (he's dreamy)
* Car tunes (you know, the ones you rock out to and belt at the top of your lungs)
* Slippers (mine are ladybugs, with antennae.. be very jealous, even though the
anntenae are slightly broken)
* Fleecy pants (they're just too comfy for words!)

Go... try one... I bet it makes you smile... if for no other reason than because I'm sorta kinda crazy and you had to laugh at me!

It must be the shoes!

So, I got to break out my new shoes yesterday! :) It's the small things in life that make me happy... :P Jerry has been throwin' down with some serious short metcons that have included barbell work lately, and I have to say, I'm all about it. I love me some metcon with barbells. It's dee-licious! :) I was sad that I'm still unable to do muscle ups and had to sub, but this was actually a good workout for me. I felt pretty solid. I waffled a little here and there on some of the snatches but I had a hard time keeping core tension breathing the way I was. :P Imagine that, it's hard keeping a tight core when you can't breathe... :P

5rft
3 snatches (85)
6 lou burpees (2x push-ups)
9 24" box jumps
Time:9:43

I jokingly wrote in the title that this wod was all about the shoes, but I really actually felt good on the boxes today so I can't help but wonder if it's not all about the shoes. No really. I know I keep talking about them too, so I'll have to get a picture up soon! :) I just felt really bouncy today. They're Converse so I nkow there's no cushion but for whatever reason, today they just seemed to work for me. Normally I'm very slow at box jumps and the force really hurts my knees. Whatever it was, today I was sort of flyin'. I'm sure the metcon/push-up ninjas can finish this in 6 something, but for me not being Speedy McSpeederson, I was happy with this. It was a while back I think, but I likened myself more to a draft horse. I'll give you lots and lots of good work, and I'll just keep going for awhile, but don't ask me to do it fast. I just seem to have one gear. :P But it sort of feels like maybe I'm finding a second gear lately. Still not super super fast, but faster than before. It never gets easier, no no, but it is seeming to get a little faster anyway. :P It must be the shoes! :)

I'm so behind...

I really had the best intentions of catching all these blogs up this week, but I'm so behind, that I barely remember the wods! This week has been a mish mash of insanity with me working 12+ hours everyday. This has not led to me getting much of anything done besides things that are work related. My laundry is again piling in the corner, and my house is again a trainwreck. Monday and Tuesday are the official days of parent teacher conferences but I started early this week. I've done 8 of my 26 so far, so I've got a good start, however, I need to finish typing information on my PM kids so that my co teachers can pass that during their conferences with their parents. Make sense? Don't worry, it doesn't make sense unless you're doing it, and even then, sometimes it doesn't make sense.

My report cards are due on Tuesday at 900 which doesn't make any sense to me either. We have 2 teacher work days, but yet, our report cards are due at the start of the second work day when most of us have conferences the day before... does that make sense to anyone? No? Me either. So anyway, needless to say, blogging took a hit this week because I've just been too busy trying to wrap up this quarter. After these next few days though, I should slow down immensely and get back on track!

Good news is that I was still able to get to the box three days this week despite the insanity, although on Thursday I gave myself one hell of a scare with a bad bailout. We were doing behind the neck push presses and I was tired. My final attempt at 135 I realized wasn't going to go up so I went to bring it back down on my neck. Well I guess I was leaning my weight forward cause I started to fall a bit, and I started to bend over. I could stand back up straight (after all it was 135 extra pounds) and was going to roll it over my head but realized that wasn't a good idea with 135lbs either. So I wound up keeping it on my neck pretty much and kneeling until I was on the floor and then bending over until the bar was on the floor. Once the bumper plates were on the floor I was able to wiggle out from under the bar. I will tell you, it didn't hurt much at the time, it scared the crap out of me more than anything though. I woke up Friday though and my neck was SORE. Apparently your neck is not designed to withstand that much intense pressure. :P

So, as a result, I skipped Friday and then went apple picking/wine tasting yesterday and so only got three days at the box. Yesterday wound up being a beautiful day and it was perfect for being outside. The apple orchard had homemade apple butter and homemade cider and caramel apples they made right in front of you. Yum. It was a very tasty day. After that, we headed over to Three Fox Vineyard, which is my favorite in the area. I love their decor and their wine. It's a wonderful place to sit and chat and enjoy some wine. The only unfortunate thing is that it's about an hour away so you need to be VERY careful about how much wine you have before driving back to DC. :P But regardless, it was a very relaxing day and much needed. We finished it with an excursion to DSW for some new shoes and we were amazed by the traffic we hit. Why so much traffic? Well DSW is close to a Party City. And lo and behold, they had to have a police officer at Party City to keep the natives from getting too restless. Unbelievable. It was the perfect end to a very fun day though. Not to mention, a MUCH needed relaxing day.

In other good news, I got a jump rope, and it's here. Sort of. They wouldn't deliver it yesterday (well no duh, school's closed) so it's at the post office and I need to go pick it up. :) Yay. :) So now I can use my fancy new Buddy Lee jump rope to help me get double unders. Let's hope I get them anyway. :P

And finally in Katie news, I got a new pair of lifting shoes while at DSW yesterday. Jerry better program a strength wod tomorrow so everyone can see them! :P Haha! :) So, yes, hopefully after tomorrow and Tuesday, life will be back to normal... well as normal as my life can be anyway! :P