5th day in a row this week. Ouch...
Max jerk= 160
Death by pull-ups- ladder up adding +1 pull-up per minute
Tapped out after round 15
15+14+13+12+11+10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1 = 120 pull-ups ow
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Katie on entertainment: What's with all the book movies?!?
The title of my blog clearly gives me free reign to talk about just about anything here. CF, nutrition and eating, and in general anything that pops into my pretty little head. Ok, not pretty, maybe cute. Anyway, I have a bit of a gripe. As a teacher, I've read a lot of books. I enjoy reading. Reading is a great escape and I think it's awesome that 10 different people can read a book and their vision of a character can be different. Reading is really personal. Your thoughts on a book all depend on your connection with it.
It drives me nuts then that Hollywood now seems to be finding it necessary to turn every decent selling book, in particular books of the children's variety, into a movie. Now I know this may sound odd since obviously some of my favorite movies are things that were books first. But the movies I enjoy were movies that were LABORIOUS processes and projects where directors and writers spend hours trying to make the movies connect to books as much as possible. They aren't projects that are produced in a matter of months, and thrown together simply because they want to make money quickly. Lord of the Rings took YEARS to film and produce and literally boosted the economy of an entire COUNTRY. Harry Potter has also been continuously filming for years as well. Band of Brothers? Come on. Hanks and Spielberg? Attention to detail was at the utmost.
But seriously, all these new movies that are coming out that are based on the books really anger me. Kids especially NEED to use their imaginations and when they see the movies it takes away that connection to a book and it removes their imagination from the equation. Now the only thing they think about is how it looked in the movie. Reading encourages their thinking and creativity and that therefore encourages their learning. When we take that away from them by digitizing everything, it really hurts them. I can't tell you how many times I have heard a kid say, "Yeah well, that doesn't happen in the movie." GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. No, it doesn't happen in the movie. Because the movie is a piece of crap! Ugh! I understand that there are some things that as a movie are great, but we don't need to turn EVERY bestselling YA novel into a movie. Twilight? Really? Someone saw the cash cow in that and decided to go for it. You can't tell me that a producer really had a "vision" for that series. I would honestly have preferred that they leave that alone. Besides that, it reeks waaaay too much of being a Harry Potter wannabe. I thought that when the author WROTE the books for Pete's sake.
Anyway, I honestly think that kids today are overstimulated. With all the Wi's and Nintendos and computers, they barely have time just to use their brains and imaginations. Everything is already imagined for them. They need to read. They need to develop their own sense of characters and connect to books on a personal level, not just read it because "It's going to be a movie." We're not doing our kids any favors by turning every book into a movie. I say, if Hollywood feels the need to create a movie, they ought to think of a plot line on their own. Leave the books alone.
Katie's List of children's books that got turned into craptastic or mediocre movies
*Chronicles of Narnia (HORRIBLE!!!!!!! and I own it so yes I can say that)
*Tuck Everlasting
*Bridge to Terebithia
*Inkheart
*Where the Wild Things Are
*Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
*Fantastic Mr. Fox (This was my FAVORITE Roald Dahl book in elementary school and I'm PISSED that they turned this into a movie. The version in my head was way better)
*Tale of Desperaux
*The Spiderwick Chronicles
*Series of Unfortunate Events
*Eragon
*Aquamarine
*The Thief Lord
*How to Eat Fried Worms
*Hoot
*Holes
*Because of Wynn Dixie
*Zathura
*Cat in the Hat (SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!!?)
Katie's list of children's books that she actually does like as movies (again, with the exception of a few, most of these were laborious, long drawn out processes with lots of attention to detail. Maybe this is why they are better?)
*Polar Express
*Ella Enchanted
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (my imagination didn't do that one justice)
*Harry Potter (Quidditch played on screen is way cooler than in my head)
*Princess Bride
As a side note, I have yet to see The Lightening Thief. That series was such a kickass series, especially for YA boys, that if they f it up, I will be SUPREMELY pissed off. The way that he integrated Greek mythology with a learning disability, and a male protagonist is pretty awesome. That was a terrific series and I'm going to be very very upset if they don't do it justice. This is the first of a 6 book series... so it'll be interesting to see if they do a good job with it or not.
It drives me nuts then that Hollywood now seems to be finding it necessary to turn every decent selling book, in particular books of the children's variety, into a movie. Now I know this may sound odd since obviously some of my favorite movies are things that were books first. But the movies I enjoy were movies that were LABORIOUS processes and projects where directors and writers spend hours trying to make the movies connect to books as much as possible. They aren't projects that are produced in a matter of months, and thrown together simply because they want to make money quickly. Lord of the Rings took YEARS to film and produce and literally boosted the economy of an entire COUNTRY. Harry Potter has also been continuously filming for years as well. Band of Brothers? Come on. Hanks and Spielberg? Attention to detail was at the utmost.
But seriously, all these new movies that are coming out that are based on the books really anger me. Kids especially NEED to use their imaginations and when they see the movies it takes away that connection to a book and it removes their imagination from the equation. Now the only thing they think about is how it looked in the movie. Reading encourages their thinking and creativity and that therefore encourages their learning. When we take that away from them by digitizing everything, it really hurts them. I can't tell you how many times I have heard a kid say, "Yeah well, that doesn't happen in the movie." GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. No, it doesn't happen in the movie. Because the movie is a piece of crap! Ugh! I understand that there are some things that as a movie are great, but we don't need to turn EVERY bestselling YA novel into a movie. Twilight? Really? Someone saw the cash cow in that and decided to go for it. You can't tell me that a producer really had a "vision" for that series. I would honestly have preferred that they leave that alone. Besides that, it reeks waaaay too much of being a Harry Potter wannabe. I thought that when the author WROTE the books for Pete's sake.
Anyway, I honestly think that kids today are overstimulated. With all the Wi's and Nintendos and computers, they barely have time just to use their brains and imaginations. Everything is already imagined for them. They need to read. They need to develop their own sense of characters and connect to books on a personal level, not just read it because "It's going to be a movie." We're not doing our kids any favors by turning every book into a movie. I say, if Hollywood feels the need to create a movie, they ought to think of a plot line on their own. Leave the books alone.
Katie's List of children's books that got turned into craptastic or mediocre movies
*Chronicles of Narnia (HORRIBLE!!!!!!! and I own it so yes I can say that)
*Tuck Everlasting
*Bridge to Terebithia
*Inkheart
*Where the Wild Things Are
*Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
*Fantastic Mr. Fox (This was my FAVORITE Roald Dahl book in elementary school and I'm PISSED that they turned this into a movie. The version in my head was way better)
*Tale of Desperaux
*The Spiderwick Chronicles
*Series of Unfortunate Events
*Eragon
*Aquamarine
*The Thief Lord
*How to Eat Fried Worms
*Hoot
*Holes
*Because of Wynn Dixie
*Zathura
*Cat in the Hat (SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!!?)
Katie's list of children's books that she actually does like as movies (again, with the exception of a few, most of these were laborious, long drawn out processes with lots of attention to detail. Maybe this is why they are better?)
*Polar Express
*Ella Enchanted
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (my imagination didn't do that one justice)
*Harry Potter (Quidditch played on screen is way cooler than in my head)
*Princess Bride
As a side note, I have yet to see The Lightening Thief. That series was such a kickass series, especially for YA boys, that if they f it up, I will be SUPREMELY pissed off. The way that he integrated Greek mythology with a learning disability, and a male protagonist is pretty awesome. That was a terrific series and I'm going to be very very upset if they don't do it justice. This is the first of a 6 book series... so it'll be interesting to see if they do a good job with it or not.
Thursday's WOD: Deadlifts and ring dips = no bueno
This workout barely warrants a mention on my blog... that's how bad it was. I got halfway through and wanted to DNF like nobody's business. I was tired when I started and the WOD didn't help. A rest day would have been a better idea for me, but well, I was there and if I was there, then I needed to get it done. I gritted through, but it was by no means pretty. I had to go to a band partway through the wod, and THAT frustrated me more than anything. The wod went like this...
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Deadlifts (175)
Ring dips
Deadlifts are already a goat for me because of the issues I have with core tension and rounding on a touch and go wod, and then you throw in the dips where I have to move my bodyweight, and you have a recipe for disaster. No, I'm serious. Melissa just left me alone because she saw how angry and upset I was. There was no hope of finishing this quickly. It became quickly more of a mental fight. I was pissed about going to a band after the 6's because I just felt like that wasn't something I should do, but honestly? I was fatigued and I couldn't lock out any more dips. It was a very frustrating feeling, especially with sectionals right around the corner. I guess clearly I should have been more worried about my deadlifts and dips than my double unders.
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Deadlifts (175)
Ring dips
Deadlifts are already a goat for me because of the issues I have with core tension and rounding on a touch and go wod, and then you throw in the dips where I have to move my bodyweight, and you have a recipe for disaster. No, I'm serious. Melissa just left me alone because she saw how angry and upset I was. There was no hope of finishing this quickly. It became quickly more of a mental fight. I was pissed about going to a band after the 6's because I just felt like that wasn't something I should do, but honestly? I was fatigued and I couldn't lock out any more dips. It was a very frustrating feeling, especially with sectionals right around the corner. I guess clearly I should have been more worried about my deadlifts and dips than my double unders.
Wednesday's WOD: My Hero: Josh
It wasn't a First Friday today, but I got to do Josh! Josh is my absolute favoritest workout at CF ever. I'm not sure why, because it's kind of like Fran and it makes you want to cut off your forearms rather than experience the burning pain, but I actually enjoy it. I think this means there's something wrong with me, aside from the addiction to glitter and shiny things.... Ooooh! Something shiny! :P
Anyway, there really isn't much I can say about Josh that I haven't already said before. For me this is just a fun workout to hit. Because of all the crazy insaneo work stuff, I decided to sleep in and hit night classes for the end of this week. Working over 90 hours last week really just depleted my energy, so I felt like sleeping in for a few extra winks was more important than trying to get in at my normal time. So, I rolled into the box for the 1715 class, and away we went.
Josh for those of you who don't know is as follows.
21-15-9 OHS (65lbs)
42-30-18 Pull-ups
Now, this was not the best Josh I think I could have done. Honestly. I was breaking the pull-ups into really small chunks, and honestly, I dropped the bar on 15's. That NEVER happens to me. I can usually bang out the OHS without a problem. To be honest though, 65 is so light for me that I wasn't tight and I wasn't doing a good job of keeping active shoulder. That little tidbit bit me in the but because my shoulders fatigued (well I was already fatigued) and then I dropped. Bingo bango. Regardless thoguh, even with that little slip, I still PR'd by :20. It just makes me wonder what would happen if I could ever actually do a perfect run through. You know, where you feel great and you feel like the wod is just plain easy? You know... in a perfect world... where you're not sore or tired or anything like that. Just makes me wonder... I guess since I just did this I can't do it for First Friday this month though.... damnit! Now what will I do? :P I guess I'll actually have to pick something different... awwwwwww.....
Anyway, there really isn't much I can say about Josh that I haven't already said before. For me this is just a fun workout to hit. Because of all the crazy insaneo work stuff, I decided to sleep in and hit night classes for the end of this week. Working over 90 hours last week really just depleted my energy, so I felt like sleeping in for a few extra winks was more important than trying to get in at my normal time. So, I rolled into the box for the 1715 class, and away we went.
Josh for those of you who don't know is as follows.
21-15-9 OHS (65lbs)
42-30-18 Pull-ups
Now, this was not the best Josh I think I could have done. Honestly. I was breaking the pull-ups into really small chunks, and honestly, I dropped the bar on 15's. That NEVER happens to me. I can usually bang out the OHS without a problem. To be honest though, 65 is so light for me that I wasn't tight and I wasn't doing a good job of keeping active shoulder. That little tidbit bit me in the but because my shoulders fatigued (well I was already fatigued) and then I dropped. Bingo bango. Regardless thoguh, even with that little slip, I still PR'd by :20. It just makes me wonder what would happen if I could ever actually do a perfect run through. You know, where you feel great and you feel like the wod is just plain easy? You know... in a perfect world... where you're not sore or tired or anything like that. Just makes me wonder... I guess since I just did this I can't do it for First Friday this month though.... damnit! Now what will I do? :P I guess I'll actually have to pick something different... awwwwwww.....
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Can't you go any faster?!?! I thought I was going faster?!?!?
Is anyone else a fan of the Princess Bride? I love that movie. I seriously had this on VHS and I watched it so much, I WORE the tape OUT. Seriously. I did. I love the part where they're they're climbing the Cliffs of Insanity and they're yelling at Fezzik for not going faster when he's climbing with himself and two other people. Vizzini says, "Can't you go any faster?" and Fezzik replies with "I thought I was going faster." Classic.
That's sort of how I felt today. We did 1RM front squats in 20 minutes and then did some interval work on the rower. I felt like I was rowing faster, but I was not going anywhere.... both literally and figuratively. Cause well, a rower doesn't move... duh! :P
But anyway, we did 8 X :40 max meters on the rower with 2 minutes rest in between the rounds. I felt like I was flying and pulling really hard, but by the 5th round of this, I was pretty smoked. Nothing smokes me more than a rower. Through the 8 intervals I thought I hung in pretty well, until we started putting numbers on the board and mine was less than a lot of the other ones.... boo. I think my total (If I'm remembering correctly) was 1,756. I'm not positive on that though, so don't quote me.
Rowing = who lot of suck. Period. Ze end!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Katie on fashion: Glitter is good!
I don't think it's been any secret that I have a certain affinity for glitter. I like shiny things, what can I say? But for as many comments as I get about my 'big liftin' I probably get just as many about my outfits. A few folks have gone so far to ask me why? Why is a workout outfit important and why all the glitter and color? They've grown even a little concerned as they've seen some of the outfits I was considering wearing for sectionals.
So what's the answer to that question? Why do I leave my house with oufits that match my socks and shoes that could potentially blind someone?(Ok, they really can't, but there is quite a bit of sparkle) Real reason? It's FUN. CrossFit is hard. Duh. Sometimes I burn out, sometimes I get tired, sometimes I just don't want to do it, but looking down and seeing bright colors and shiny things can be a bit of a pick me up. Sort of like the same reason you paint a baby's room a calming color, that's why I wear crazy colors and glittery shoes. They're fun, and bright colors have been known to induce happiness. They have also been known to induce seizures but that's not the point. Happiness is the point. I know to some people it sounds weird, but my shoes make me smile. My socks that have Animal the Muppet on them, make me smile. Some days it just helps get me through. Now, that's not to say that every day at the box I'm using my outfits to pick up my spirits because I'm in a lousy mood... no certainly not, but I do also just genuinely like them.
I don't think it's been any secret, especially since I swear I've said it 8,000 times, that this year has probably been the roughest year I've had since moving to VA. It just seems that it's been an endless stream of things that just have bogged me down, mostly work related. Sometimes, I lose that normal happy Katie, and sometimes I need to find little ways to bring her back. Wearing fun stuff, that makes me smile. It makes me forget a little bit about the day I've had, the stuff I have going on. I can't say it makes it 'all good' but it helps for that little bit I'm at the box. And sometimes, it gets me there. What do I mean? Well think about this for a second.
Ocassionally, ok, FINE, all the time, I'm one of those people who buys new things and HAS to wear them. And there have been ocassions where I've bought new socks, or new shorts, or a new shirt, and because of this, I now have a new outfit to wear. So since I really want to wear it, I make doubly sure I get to the box. I know it sounds a little crazy, but I also KNOW that there are people out there right now going, oh, I've so done that. You KNOW it. You buy something, whatever it is, and you go do whatever it is specifically for because you just bought it and want to wear it or use it. I'll bet, I'll BET you, serious money, that the #1 thing people do that with is running shoes. As soon as you get those new shoes, you gotta go run. And if you have shoes you really like, you'll probably run a little more now that you have shoes you really like. Am I wrong? Especially if they're something like Vibrams. You say, "Oh, I've got to go test out my Vibrams."
That's all my outfits are for me. It's like having that new pair of shoes. I really like them, so I want to wear them. It helps keep me going in the box, and sometimes, when I really need it to, it helps to get me TO the box. I've found that it's hard to be down and dreary when you're running around with the words 'bad ass' written on your legs or perhaps, when you have a Muppet on you, or my personal favorite, my fruit socks! How can you be grouchy and down and lift poorly when you're covered in FRUIT?!?! I think it must be impossible. So, maybe to you the glitter seems excessive and maybe the fruit seems weird. You may ask how could a serious CrossFitter even CONSIDER leaving the house like that? Well, for me, it's easy, I just do. Cause it's fun. And sometimes, we all need a little more fun in our lives. Especially me. I spend about 80 hours of my week working. Sometimes I've got to find little ways to make things fun so that I don't lose my ever loving mind.
Perhaps if you don't like my glitter shoes, you should go get a pair of your own and see what happens.... I'm just sayin'.... I guarantee you'll be a happier lifter. Glitter is good, and I think there should be more of it, and socks, in the box!
So what's the answer to that question? Why do I leave my house with oufits that match my socks and shoes that could potentially blind someone?(Ok, they really can't, but there is quite a bit of sparkle) Real reason? It's FUN. CrossFit is hard. Duh. Sometimes I burn out, sometimes I get tired, sometimes I just don't want to do it, but looking down and seeing bright colors and shiny things can be a bit of a pick me up. Sort of like the same reason you paint a baby's room a calming color, that's why I wear crazy colors and glittery shoes. They're fun, and bright colors have been known to induce happiness. They have also been known to induce seizures but that's not the point. Happiness is the point. I know to some people it sounds weird, but my shoes make me smile. My socks that have Animal the Muppet on them, make me smile. Some days it just helps get me through. Now, that's not to say that every day at the box I'm using my outfits to pick up my spirits because I'm in a lousy mood... no certainly not, but I do also just genuinely like them.
I don't think it's been any secret, especially since I swear I've said it 8,000 times, that this year has probably been the roughest year I've had since moving to VA. It just seems that it's been an endless stream of things that just have bogged me down, mostly work related. Sometimes, I lose that normal happy Katie, and sometimes I need to find little ways to bring her back. Wearing fun stuff, that makes me smile. It makes me forget a little bit about the day I've had, the stuff I have going on. I can't say it makes it 'all good' but it helps for that little bit I'm at the box. And sometimes, it gets me there. What do I mean? Well think about this for a second.
Ocassionally, ok, FINE, all the time, I'm one of those people who buys new things and HAS to wear them. And there have been ocassions where I've bought new socks, or new shorts, or a new shirt, and because of this, I now have a new outfit to wear. So since I really want to wear it, I make doubly sure I get to the box. I know it sounds a little crazy, but I also KNOW that there are people out there right now going, oh, I've so done that. You KNOW it. You buy something, whatever it is, and you go do whatever it is specifically for because you just bought it and want to wear it or use it. I'll bet, I'll BET you, serious money, that the #1 thing people do that with is running shoes. As soon as you get those new shoes, you gotta go run. And if you have shoes you really like, you'll probably run a little more now that you have shoes you really like. Am I wrong? Especially if they're something like Vibrams. You say, "Oh, I've got to go test out my Vibrams."
That's all my outfits are for me. It's like having that new pair of shoes. I really like them, so I want to wear them. It helps keep me going in the box, and sometimes, when I really need it to, it helps to get me TO the box. I've found that it's hard to be down and dreary when you're running around with the words 'bad ass' written on your legs or perhaps, when you have a Muppet on you, or my personal favorite, my fruit socks! How can you be grouchy and down and lift poorly when you're covered in FRUIT?!?! I think it must be impossible. So, maybe to you the glitter seems excessive and maybe the fruit seems weird. You may ask how could a serious CrossFitter even CONSIDER leaving the house like that? Well, for me, it's easy, I just do. Cause it's fun. And sometimes, we all need a little more fun in our lives. Especially me. I spend about 80 hours of my week working. Sometimes I've got to find little ways to make things fun so that I don't lose my ever loving mind.
Perhaps if you don't like my glitter shoes, you should go get a pair of your own and see what happens.... I'm just sayin'.... I guarantee you'll be a happier lifter. Glitter is good, and I think there should be more of it, and socks, in the box!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Double Under of Death...
Have I mentioned recently that I absolutely hate double unders? I haven't? Cause I was pretty sure I did... several times... several hundred times? Maybe? No? Regardless, I'm not a fan. Yes, I know... since October when I didn't know how to do a single one, I'm now stringing a few together, so I am improving but when you sit and watch the person beside you string together 50 like it's not a problem, it's aggravating. When you're fighting for 3 and they've got 30, it can be discouraging.
I didn't throw the rope this time, but I did get very frustrated. I was also frustrated because the rest of the wod I was flying through, but it took me nearly 5 minutes to do each set of double unders. Seriously? What the crap? The wod looked like this...
5rft
15 push press (65lbs)
30 sit-ups
45 double unders
I blasted through the push presses and the sit-ups. Got bogged down in all the double unders.
Total time was close to 29 minutes. I started at 1:00 on the clock and I think I finished at 29:23, so really it was 28:23. I f'ing hate double unders.
I didn't throw the rope this time, but I did get very frustrated. I was also frustrated because the rest of the wod I was flying through, but it took me nearly 5 minutes to do each set of double unders. Seriously? What the crap? The wod looked like this...
5rft
15 push press (65lbs)
30 sit-ups
45 double unders
I blasted through the push presses and the sit-ups. Got bogged down in all the double unders.
Total time was close to 29 minutes. I started at 1:00 on the clock and I think I finished at 29:23, so really it was 28:23. I f'ing hate double unders.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Katie on music: Groove is in the heart!
As awesome as our box is, it seems that everyday there is always a fight. I'm not talking about coming to fisticuffs or anything like that, but a general disagreement that usually results in a (nicely) worded insult or two and the ocassional reference to someone's mom. This hotly contested topic of dissention? Why it's the music of course!
You know, it's funny that this one minor part of CF always brings up such discussion. Some people are opposed to anything with vulgarity, some swear by stuff with lots of vulgarity, some swear by classic rock, some swear by heavy metal, some swear by 80's rock, and some just say so long as there is some background noise to cover their grunting, that's all that matters. You know what I say? Groove is in the heart! Break it down now!
I seriously am a firm believer in the idea that music is essential to life. I'm serious. I know it sounds funny but think about it. You hear songs and all of a sudden you're transported back to another time, another place, another memory. It's all about how our brains work. All these associations that our brains have made come up just with a few simple chords. You hear "Chariots of Fire" or "Jaws" and all of a sudden, you know. It's just what music is, and we'd be lying if we said that it's not important. It can brighten your mood, or help you wallow in it, whichever you choose to do. I'm not going to lie. Country music and some ice cream really do you good when someone's broken your heart. (Yeah, ok, it's happened a time or two, or ten... whatever I suck at relationships...) But anyhoo, moving on...
The point is, that when it comes to CF and music, there is no right answer. You can try to divy it up and make it fair so that there's variety or each person has their day/say, but the end result is that music is personal. Our brains make associations in different ways. A great workout song for me, may not be for someone else. I will admit that I love working out to some random stuff. Why? It's all about the rhythm. For me, rhythm is what I need to get through a run, or a metcon wod. If I can find the rhythm, I'm good to go. I won't lie, I've matched my pull-up rhythm to music. For whatever reason for me, it just works. People say that hard rock is best for lifting, but you know what I say? I say, if it moves you, it moves you. And after the last month or so, I'm a firm believer in finding music that moves you because it can help push you through that wod. Find what makes you feel good. Find what makes you want to tear the roof off. Because in the end it doesn't matter what everybody else is doing, it matters what YOU do. Find music that makes you feel like you WANT to pull that PR, you WANT to crush this metcon. Find the groove in your own heart. Music is personal... it's why people write it. Let it move you and you may just be surprised at the results.
I didn't really intend to get so "in your face" with this post. I really meant to keep it lighthearted, but lately, I've really been feeling a connection with music again and I guess maybe I want others to be able to find what I've found, or maybe just look at music in a different light. I haven't sang in years, but music has always been "in me". And this particular piece of music that I've found recently has probably been played by me more times in the last month than by all the other people in the world combined. It just resonates with me and makes me want to tear the roof off a wod, whether lifting or running. And the funny thing about it (and the reason I'm hesitant to share it) is because IT'S CLASSICAL. There isn't a SINGLE word in it. And it's rather long too. It's almost a 10 minute piece! But the runs, and the horns just make me want to throw things and MOVE.
To be honest, this piece has become almost like an anthem to me. When I hear it, it makes me think of battle. Although the title is "The Battle" it would make me think that even if I didn't know that's what it was supposed to be. You can almost see the action as you hear the song. It's like these great ancient men preparing for battle in the first three minutes. Taking their time, testing their shields and swords, readying their men, and as minutes 3-5 start to run you can feel the beginning. Tentative, perhaps a few skirmishes on the battlefield, but by 5:30 into the song, the battle is full on and you can hear it all. The infantry, the calvalry, the seige weapons. The full attack driving into the enemy, it's all there, and it just makes me feel sort of like that. I think of CF and I can imagine that feeling mid wod. I FEEL like a warrior when I'm battling for reps, battling for strength, battling to the end. That idea of pushing through and battling through to the end has sort of been my motto for the last three to four months, and with sectionals just around the corner, I feel that way more than ever. I feel like a warrior. I feel like a Gladiator just pushing through everything to be victorious. Victorious for me probably means something different than it does for other people, but for right now it means fighting til the end, not quitting. Because believe me, I've wanted to. I've forgotten why I signed on the dotted line, and I've wanted to just be like, f it all. But funny how this piece, this "song" has me ready to go. Funny how that music without any words made it all make sense again. Funny how a song said it all without actually saying anything.
I orginally heard part of the piece on a Penn State You Tube video, which now makes me love it even more. I realized though where the You Tube piece came from when I caught the movie Gladiator on TNT one night after work. I realized that I couldn't buy the song without purchasing the whole soundtrack, so I spent the money regardless. This one piece has been worth every single penny. It moves me, and that's what music should do. I would encourage everyone to find their "piece" or their "jam", or whatever you want to call it. Find your inner Gladiator. Become that warrior. Find that song that just does it for you. And when you get that jam, ask your box if you can play it while you try to tear that 400lb DL PR off the floor. I promise you, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Get the groove in your heart.
The YouTube that started it all....
You know, it's funny that this one minor part of CF always brings up such discussion. Some people are opposed to anything with vulgarity, some swear by stuff with lots of vulgarity, some swear by classic rock, some swear by heavy metal, some swear by 80's rock, and some just say so long as there is some background noise to cover their grunting, that's all that matters. You know what I say? Groove is in the heart! Break it down now!
I seriously am a firm believer in the idea that music is essential to life. I'm serious. I know it sounds funny but think about it. You hear songs and all of a sudden you're transported back to another time, another place, another memory. It's all about how our brains work. All these associations that our brains have made come up just with a few simple chords. You hear "Chariots of Fire" or "Jaws" and all of a sudden, you know. It's just what music is, and we'd be lying if we said that it's not important. It can brighten your mood, or help you wallow in it, whichever you choose to do. I'm not going to lie. Country music and some ice cream really do you good when someone's broken your heart. (Yeah, ok, it's happened a time or two, or ten... whatever I suck at relationships...) But anyhoo, moving on...
The point is, that when it comes to CF and music, there is no right answer. You can try to divy it up and make it fair so that there's variety or each person has their day/say, but the end result is that music is personal. Our brains make associations in different ways. A great workout song for me, may not be for someone else. I will admit that I love working out to some random stuff. Why? It's all about the rhythm. For me, rhythm is what I need to get through a run, or a metcon wod. If I can find the rhythm, I'm good to go. I won't lie, I've matched my pull-up rhythm to music. For whatever reason for me, it just works. People say that hard rock is best for lifting, but you know what I say? I say, if it moves you, it moves you. And after the last month or so, I'm a firm believer in finding music that moves you because it can help push you through that wod. Find what makes you feel good. Find what makes you want to tear the roof off. Because in the end it doesn't matter what everybody else is doing, it matters what YOU do. Find music that makes you feel like you WANT to pull that PR, you WANT to crush this metcon. Find the groove in your own heart. Music is personal... it's why people write it. Let it move you and you may just be surprised at the results.
I didn't really intend to get so "in your face" with this post. I really meant to keep it lighthearted, but lately, I've really been feeling a connection with music again and I guess maybe I want others to be able to find what I've found, or maybe just look at music in a different light. I haven't sang in years, but music has always been "in me". And this particular piece of music that I've found recently has probably been played by me more times in the last month than by all the other people in the world combined. It just resonates with me and makes me want to tear the roof off a wod, whether lifting or running. And the funny thing about it (and the reason I'm hesitant to share it) is because IT'S CLASSICAL. There isn't a SINGLE word in it. And it's rather long too. It's almost a 10 minute piece! But the runs, and the horns just make me want to throw things and MOVE.
To be honest, this piece has become almost like an anthem to me. When I hear it, it makes me think of battle. Although the title is "The Battle" it would make me think that even if I didn't know that's what it was supposed to be. You can almost see the action as you hear the song. It's like these great ancient men preparing for battle in the first three minutes. Taking their time, testing their shields and swords, readying their men, and as minutes 3-5 start to run you can feel the beginning. Tentative, perhaps a few skirmishes on the battlefield, but by 5:30 into the song, the battle is full on and you can hear it all. The infantry, the calvalry, the seige weapons. The full attack driving into the enemy, it's all there, and it just makes me feel sort of like that. I think of CF and I can imagine that feeling mid wod. I FEEL like a warrior when I'm battling for reps, battling for strength, battling to the end. That idea of pushing through and battling through to the end has sort of been my motto for the last three to four months, and with sectionals just around the corner, I feel that way more than ever. I feel like a warrior. I feel like a Gladiator just pushing through everything to be victorious. Victorious for me probably means something different than it does for other people, but for right now it means fighting til the end, not quitting. Because believe me, I've wanted to. I've forgotten why I signed on the dotted line, and I've wanted to just be like, f it all. But funny how this piece, this "song" has me ready to go. Funny how that music without any words made it all make sense again. Funny how a song said it all without actually saying anything.
I orginally heard part of the piece on a Penn State You Tube video, which now makes me love it even more. I realized though where the You Tube piece came from when I caught the movie Gladiator on TNT one night after work. I realized that I couldn't buy the song without purchasing the whole soundtrack, so I spent the money regardless. This one piece has been worth every single penny. It moves me, and that's what music should do. I would encourage everyone to find their "piece" or their "jam", or whatever you want to call it. Find your inner Gladiator. Become that warrior. Find that song that just does it for you. And when you get that jam, ask your box if you can play it while you try to tear that 400lb DL PR off the floor. I promise you, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Get the groove in your heart.
The YouTube that started it all....
Snatchtastic!
The snow is still here, it's not going anywhere, but finally, FINALLY after a week+ off, I got to go back to school! Well, minus the kids, but I got to go to work. So, it was back to normal schedule for me and at 0515 14 folks were rockin' the wod, despite the federal holiday.
Jerry threw out ANOTHER wod that was pretty leg intensive and I gotta tell you, I was STILL feeling those back squats and lunges. I mean, I know back squats can cure cancer and all, but they're also a pretty good at destroying your ass. I mean, literally destroying your ass. My glutes were SO tight at work over the weekend, I can't even tell you how funny I looked trying to walk around. I think I would liken it to a duck, but I'm not 100% sure of that. I'll confer with the co-workers and get back to you on that.
Anyway, more legs, more destruction, more flying chalk. Of course it was a good day! :P Jerry's evil metcon looked like this...
3 rft
350 row
10 power snatch (85lbs)
Time:9:47
Now, 85 lbs is not a terribly heavy snatch for me, but when your legs aren't giving you a stable base because they kind of have that Jello feel, it certainly makes power snatching 85 a smidgen difficult. The first round of 10 I was so tight that all 10 were done as singles, which def slowed me down. Rounds 2/3 though I was able to tie about the first 4 reps together and then move to doubles or singles. The second 2 rounds felt much better than the first. I was really movin' slow and hurtin after the bs, and my double at other work on Sunday, so that first round was pretty painful. But rounds 2/3 I loosened up so that helped a lot. I feel like I didn't really rest much here at all, there were a few times where my hands hit my knees for a second, but aside from that I really didn't rest much at all. I really tried to fly through and I'm a little disappointed that this wasn't closer to 9 minutes than 10. But since I dropped all that first round, I guess that really killed my time... more metcon... need need need need need more metcon, but I'm taking a rest day today because my legs can't handle it.
Jerry threw out ANOTHER wod that was pretty leg intensive and I gotta tell you, I was STILL feeling those back squats and lunges. I mean, I know back squats can cure cancer and all, but they're also a pretty good at destroying your ass. I mean, literally destroying your ass. My glutes were SO tight at work over the weekend, I can't even tell you how funny I looked trying to walk around. I think I would liken it to a duck, but I'm not 100% sure of that. I'll confer with the co-workers and get back to you on that.
Anyway, more legs, more destruction, more flying chalk. Of course it was a good day! :P Jerry's evil metcon looked like this...
3 rft
350 row
10 power snatch (85lbs)
Time:9:47
Now, 85 lbs is not a terribly heavy snatch for me, but when your legs aren't giving you a stable base because they kind of have that Jello feel, it certainly makes power snatching 85 a smidgen difficult. The first round of 10 I was so tight that all 10 were done as singles, which def slowed me down. Rounds 2/3 though I was able to tie about the first 4 reps together and then move to doubles or singles. The second 2 rounds felt much better than the first. I was really movin' slow and hurtin after the bs, and my double at other work on Sunday, so that first round was pretty painful. But rounds 2/3 I loosened up so that helped a lot. I feel like I didn't really rest much here at all, there were a few times where my hands hit my knees for a second, but aside from that I really didn't rest much at all. I really tried to fly through and I'm a little disappointed that this wasn't closer to 9 minutes than 10. But since I dropped all that first round, I guess that really killed my time... more metcon... need need need need need more metcon, but I'm taking a rest day today because my legs can't handle it.
How low can you go, how low can you go? Go low!
Oh, yes, the lyrical genius of Ludacris is truly a magnificant thing to behold is it not? :P Ok, so maybe he's not Beethoven or Mozart, but the man has a way with words, or at least the ladies.... ;)
Anyway, Saturday was another one of those days where Jerry had a two wod day planned and we kicked off our morning by building some strength on the back squats. So, while we were all drinking our milk, we were getting ready to squat deep! Jerry had us ramp up a bit and then take 80-85% of our 1rm back squat, and go for 5 sets of 3 reps with that weight. We were to keep the same weight for all 5 sets, and I'll admit, it was pretty challenging. The key to having good back squats is to engage the glutes and hammies and drive out of the hole at the bottom, and boy oh boy, when there is 190 lbs sitting on your back, that sure can be challenging! :P I was pretty pleased though that despite how sore and tired I was (bs were my 5th wod last week) I actually was able to stick with the 190 and didn't have to drop. It was also fun to work with Blain and Gar since I never get to work with them, just see them as I pass through team 0600.
After that, Jerry had set up this really disgusting metcon for us that we were supposed to bust through. Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and share some insight that I've acquired, or at least feel I have acquired. *ehem* It is hard to use your legs after you have done heavy squats. *ehem* Now, others may argue with me, and say that's a big honkin' load of poo, but I strongly feel that I have evidence to support this. :P Metcon land on Saturday was seriously no fun because everything involved legs, and after those squats, I wasn't really feeling so much like a flying machine. The metcon looked like this...
Once through for time
1K row
50 OH lunges (25)
30 KB swings (45)
Time: 9:47
My time on this wasn't horrible, but the speedies had this in about a minute and a half ahead of me, and that makes me feel not happy. I want to get faster, but my diet I know is impeding me, as is my lack of training for the past few weeks. Need need need need need to get faster.
Anyway, Saturday was another one of those days where Jerry had a two wod day planned and we kicked off our morning by building some strength on the back squats. So, while we were all drinking our milk, we were getting ready to squat deep! Jerry had us ramp up a bit and then take 80-85% of our 1rm back squat, and go for 5 sets of 3 reps with that weight. We were to keep the same weight for all 5 sets, and I'll admit, it was pretty challenging. The key to having good back squats is to engage the glutes and hammies and drive out of the hole at the bottom, and boy oh boy, when there is 190 lbs sitting on your back, that sure can be challenging! :P I was pretty pleased though that despite how sore and tired I was (bs were my 5th wod last week) I actually was able to stick with the 190 and didn't have to drop. It was also fun to work with Blain and Gar since I never get to work with them, just see them as I pass through team 0600.
After that, Jerry had set up this really disgusting metcon for us that we were supposed to bust through. Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and share some insight that I've acquired, or at least feel I have acquired. *ehem* It is hard to use your legs after you have done heavy squats. *ehem* Now, others may argue with me, and say that's a big honkin' load of poo, but I strongly feel that I have evidence to support this. :P Metcon land on Saturday was seriously no fun because everything involved legs, and after those squats, I wasn't really feeling so much like a flying machine. The metcon looked like this...
Once through for time
1K row
50 OH lunges (25)
30 KB swings (45)
Time: 9:47
My time on this wasn't horrible, but the speedies had this in about a minute and a half ahead of me, and that makes me feel not happy. I want to get faster, but my diet I know is impeding me, as is my lack of training for the past few weeks. Need need need need need to get faster.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday: Push press and metcon
In order to get more strength work in, but not lose our metabolic work, Jerry has been slating two wods on certain days. He's giving us a 20 minute time limit to work up to a heavy single, double, triple of whatever movement we're focusing on that day, and also still leave time to get a metcon in. Yesterday we started off by focusing on a 1 RM in the push press. I like doing overhead work, but for some reason the push press just doesn't light my fire. Neither does the strict press really. I understand that both of them are important and necessary for getting stronger etc, but neither one of them really make me go wow! That was fun!
But, since I get to lift heavy things over my head, I really shouldn't complain. We worked up pretty fast to a heavy single, and I was able to increase my previous PR of 135 to 140. I think I may have had 145 in me, but of course that time limit gets you every time! After that we moved into a short but pretty brutal metcon. It was
4 rounds of
1 minute on each station for max reps
Record total reps of
Pull-ups
Box jumps
Sit-ups
Melissa encouraged anyone who was trying for a pull-up PR to start with pull-ups. Now, I know I just got done having myself a push press PR and that's a lot of shoulders and what have you, but I thought what the hey. I haven't actually tried for a pull-up PR in awhile, so I'll give it a whirl. So I started with pull-ups and increased by 1. Not a big pull-up PR, but it's still a PR. My current pull-ups stand at 27. I def think I have 30, but on 25 I adjusted my grip and totally lost my rhythm. Next time I need to wait until I absolutely have to to adjust my grip so I don't lose the momentum. I really sucked wind on the box jumps and didn't do well with them at all, but did ok on the sit-ups. My total numbers were 70, 50, and 117. Not great, but not bad. Clearly more metcon work is still needed. I'm getting very frustrated by that, but if I use the word "frustrated" one more time in a blog this week, I may have to flag myself for overusage of the word. As a side note, this made 4 wods this week, and I plan on going in today, which means I'm going to hit 5 this week. This will be the first 5 wod week in a long time.
But, since I get to lift heavy things over my head, I really shouldn't complain. We worked up pretty fast to a heavy single, and I was able to increase my previous PR of 135 to 140. I think I may have had 145 in me, but of course that time limit gets you every time! After that we moved into a short but pretty brutal metcon. It was
4 rounds of
1 minute on each station for max reps
Record total reps of
Pull-ups
Box jumps
Sit-ups
Melissa encouraged anyone who was trying for a pull-up PR to start with pull-ups. Now, I know I just got done having myself a push press PR and that's a lot of shoulders and what have you, but I thought what the hey. I haven't actually tried for a pull-up PR in awhile, so I'll give it a whirl. So I started with pull-ups and increased by 1. Not a big pull-up PR, but it's still a PR. My current pull-ups stand at 27. I def think I have 30, but on 25 I adjusted my grip and totally lost my rhythm. Next time I need to wait until I absolutely have to to adjust my grip so I don't lose the momentum. I really sucked wind on the box jumps and didn't do well with them at all, but did ok on the sit-ups. My total numbers were 70, 50, and 117. Not great, but not bad. Clearly more metcon work is still needed. I'm getting very frustrated by that, but if I use the word "frustrated" one more time in a blog this week, I may have to flag myself for overusage of the word. As a side note, this made 4 wods this week, and I plan on going in today, which means I'm going to hit 5 this week. This will be the first 5 wod week in a long time.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Hail to the chief...
So, I'm gullible... ok maybe not gullible, moldable? No, goadable? Maybe that's it. Given the right prompting and the right WAY of suggesting things, I can be talked into just about anything. Ok, let me rephrased that, just about anything when it comes to CF. I don't want you to get the impression that if you started suggesting that I jump of bridges and jump in front of moving cars I would do it. But if you happen to casually suggest that I increase my weight from RX'd to a little higher on a wod, that probably might happen.
To be fair, I did scale up on the chief yesterday and although it was only 10 lbs, it helped to seriously burn out my forearms in a hurry. Repeatedly cleaning 95lbs instead of 85, will start to put you in the hurt locker. That alone probably won't do it, but combine it with the push-ups and squats and you've got a pretty good recipe for the hurt locker.
The Chief
5 Rounds of
AMRAP in 3 minutes of
3 power cleans
6 push-ups
9 air squats
I have to say after the god awfulness that was the DU wod the other day, I was actually looking forward to the Chief today. All 3 things are things I can actually do. Well, apparently I was a little too ahead of myself because the push-ups knocked me on my ass. After almost 3 years now with CF, I still can't do push-ups and I haven't the foggiest clue why. They elude me completely. It's not that I'm not strong enough. For Pete's sake, my shoulders are the strongest part of me I think, so that's not the issue, but I'll be darned if I know what is. I wound up with 19 1/3 rounds on this and I really wasn't happy about that. I hit 20 rounds on this the first time I did this wod over a year ago, and haven't been able to match that since. I have no idea why. I left the box feeling very frustrated after this wod too.
To be fair, I did scale up on the chief yesterday and although it was only 10 lbs, it helped to seriously burn out my forearms in a hurry. Repeatedly cleaning 95lbs instead of 85, will start to put you in the hurt locker. That alone probably won't do it, but combine it with the push-ups and squats and you've got a pretty good recipe for the hurt locker.
The Chief
5 Rounds of
AMRAP in 3 minutes of
3 power cleans
6 push-ups
9 air squats
I have to say after the god awfulness that was the DU wod the other day, I was actually looking forward to the Chief today. All 3 things are things I can actually do. Well, apparently I was a little too ahead of myself because the push-ups knocked me on my ass. After almost 3 years now with CF, I still can't do push-ups and I haven't the foggiest clue why. They elude me completely. It's not that I'm not strong enough. For Pete's sake, my shoulders are the strongest part of me I think, so that's not the issue, but I'll be darned if I know what is. I wound up with 19 1/3 rounds on this and I really wasn't happy about that. I hit 20 rounds on this the first time I did this wod over a year ago, and haven't been able to match that since. I have no idea why. I left the box feeling very frustrated after this wod too.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
"A whole lotta suck"... a rant from a frustrated athlete...
***Warning- The blog you are about to read is not very upbeat or positive. If you're looking for that today, my apologies. Please ignore this post and try again tomorrow.***
A blown play, a missed putt, a blocked shot, a poor serve, a lousy return, a missed goal... it seems that every athlete has those days. Those days when things that normally come so easily just, well, don't. Some athletes call them slumps, some call them off days. Regardless of what you call them, they all boil down to one thing. Someone isn't getting the job done the way they or others would like.
There could be any number of contributing factors to this "slump" or "off day". Things like stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, poor training, over training, mental fatigue... you get the idea. There are any number of reasons why we just can't seem to do the job the way we'd like. I don't know exactly what it is that is holding me back, but I will be the first to admit that I'm seriously worried about where I am right now with regards to my training. I feel like I have hit rock bottom. I feel like I have regressed to where I was almost two years ago. In just over 6 weeks, I'm slated to compete in the eastern sectional. When I signed up for this, I knew that I needed to start working on my goat list a little more, and try to stay consistant with my appearances in the box.
I also knew that my current schedule was going to wreak some serious havoc on my first few weeks of training. But, I figured once that was done, it would be game on for me. This hasn't exactly proved to be the case. I have stayed consistent at the box (at least 4 wods a week plus a run if I can on Sunday), but despite that, things are not going quite as I had planned. Yeah, ok, granted I put up a hell of an overhead squat PR the other day and PR'd on Josh, but so what? Sectionals, and in general my overall fitness, isn't measured by how much weight I can hold over my head. Being strong like bull is great, but where the hell is it getting me? I can't move well, and that's not a good thing. Right now I'm seriously feeling a whole lot of suck. I apologize for the downbeat of this blog, but the one thing you'll always get with me is my reality. Whether it be perceived or otherwise, I always write about how I feel with wods and life. And to be very fair and very honest, I'm seriously not feeling very confident about my abilities in the box. I'm feeling like there is a whole lotta suck going on.
The wod that we tackled yesterday was a pure metcon. Burpees, pull-ups, and double unders. Fly fly fly as fast as you can. My burpees were slower than molasses and my double unders were so horrific I can barely even express how awful they were. It took me 40 minutes to complete the wod. That would be 25 minutes slower than some of the other sectional atheletes. This concerns me greatly because I know, I KNOW just like Gibb's gut, that they are going to be on the list for sectionals. They're too easy to judge. Either you have it or you don't. They will be there. If it were just a matter of pride within our box, I would not be so worried about the DU's. Yeah I would still care, but just like anything else I've learned, they'll come over time. To be really successful at most of the barbell movements took me over a year. Once I got the form, I was able to start rippin' some weight. But this isn't just about pride in the box. This isn't just about wanting to keep up with everyone else. This is about competing with other boxes in a format where knowing all of the movements is important. If they pull a wod with rounds of DU's, there is no way I will be able to adequately show what I can do, and I will embarass the hell out of my teammates and coaches. This worries me IMMENSELY.
For some reason, I am the only sectional athlete who cannot manage to get herself together. I am the only one who instead of progressing right now is instead falling to pieces. Now is the time that I should be moving forward, not backwards, and I don't understand. For you military types, here is an analogy that I think you will understand. When you roll off the wire, you've got all sorts of extra gear. Kevlar, M-4, kit, body armor, all the good stuff. Added up it adds, what 30 lbs at least? I feel like for the last 3 months, that's what I've been carrying everyday. The constant go go go of my schedule has just lead me to feel like I was constantly carrying around this extra "stuff". Make sense? But I figured that once swimming was over and I could stop carrying that proverbial rucksack of stress around, it would just be game on and my training would go back to how it was before swimming started. I was by no means the speediest of speedies in the box, but I could still hold my own. But instead of feeling more energized, and more rested with all the snow days I've been having (thank you mother nature for the week off), I feel terrible. I feel lethargic, I feel like I can't lift myself (or push myself up), I feel like I can't breathe, I feel incredibly weak, and incredibly sore. I have started to take fish oil, but without being in a normal routine (thanks again mother nature) I'm having a hard time remembering to take it.
I'm a person who relies on routines. I am extremely organized (I have to be with my schedule) and when I'm out of my routine, I have a hard time. When in my routine, I know which bags I need before I leave the house (you laugh, but my life is organized in bags) and what I need to do and have with me before I leave the house each day. I rely on that repetitive nature to help me remember everything. Without it, I struggle. Right now, I'm trying to also switch my diet back to the zone, but again, getting out of my routine has hurt me. Being in the house surrounded by food is hard. I can't keep anything here I'm not supposed to have or it will be, not a one time cheat here and there, but a gorging of oneself. Case and point, I bought ice cream the other day... I threw it away yesterday still half full so I wouldn't eat any more of it. It also hasn't helped that my roommate's mother, who is very nice, was here for our blizzard and baked pie, and magic cookie bars, and dinner....none of which are anything I could or should eat. I turned down most things, or tried to, but I can't lie, I ate horrifically these last few days. And I know I sound like I'm whining, but damnit, this is hard and I'm frustrated. I feel lousy, and feel like a definite failure at the moment.
Right now, I just need to get my thoughts out because keeping my feelings and frustrations bottled up doesn't help. In fact, it just makes me think about it more. (Thanks Jason!) I know no one has the answer. I don't have the answer. And really I guess I can say that I'm not really looking for one because I'm the only one who can figure this out. I'm far from perfect, and I'm sorry I don't honestly know what I'm going to do. I wrote that blog last week about knowing when to throw in the towel, and I can't help but wonder if I should. Maybe I should not compete and just walk away from CF for awhile... maybe that will help me right my head. I don't know. But I know that I need to decide what I'm going to do. If I'm not going to compete, I need to inform CF so that another athlete can take my slot. It's only fair. I've got some thinking to do....
A blown play, a missed putt, a blocked shot, a poor serve, a lousy return, a missed goal... it seems that every athlete has those days. Those days when things that normally come so easily just, well, don't. Some athletes call them slumps, some call them off days. Regardless of what you call them, they all boil down to one thing. Someone isn't getting the job done the way they or others would like.
There could be any number of contributing factors to this "slump" or "off day". Things like stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, poor training, over training, mental fatigue... you get the idea. There are any number of reasons why we just can't seem to do the job the way we'd like. I don't know exactly what it is that is holding me back, but I will be the first to admit that I'm seriously worried about where I am right now with regards to my training. I feel like I have hit rock bottom. I feel like I have regressed to where I was almost two years ago. In just over 6 weeks, I'm slated to compete in the eastern sectional. When I signed up for this, I knew that I needed to start working on my goat list a little more, and try to stay consistant with my appearances in the box.
I also knew that my current schedule was going to wreak some serious havoc on my first few weeks of training. But, I figured once that was done, it would be game on for me. This hasn't exactly proved to be the case. I have stayed consistent at the box (at least 4 wods a week plus a run if I can on Sunday), but despite that, things are not going quite as I had planned. Yeah, ok, granted I put up a hell of an overhead squat PR the other day and PR'd on Josh, but so what? Sectionals, and in general my overall fitness, isn't measured by how much weight I can hold over my head. Being strong like bull is great, but where the hell is it getting me? I can't move well, and that's not a good thing. Right now I'm seriously feeling a whole lot of suck. I apologize for the downbeat of this blog, but the one thing you'll always get with me is my reality. Whether it be perceived or otherwise, I always write about how I feel with wods and life. And to be very fair and very honest, I'm seriously not feeling very confident about my abilities in the box. I'm feeling like there is a whole lotta suck going on.
The wod that we tackled yesterday was a pure metcon. Burpees, pull-ups, and double unders. Fly fly fly as fast as you can. My burpees were slower than molasses and my double unders were so horrific I can barely even express how awful they were. It took me 40 minutes to complete the wod. That would be 25 minutes slower than some of the other sectional atheletes. This concerns me greatly because I know, I KNOW just like Gibb's gut, that they are going to be on the list for sectionals. They're too easy to judge. Either you have it or you don't. They will be there. If it were just a matter of pride within our box, I would not be so worried about the DU's. Yeah I would still care, but just like anything else I've learned, they'll come over time. To be really successful at most of the barbell movements took me over a year. Once I got the form, I was able to start rippin' some weight. But this isn't just about pride in the box. This isn't just about wanting to keep up with everyone else. This is about competing with other boxes in a format where knowing all of the movements is important. If they pull a wod with rounds of DU's, there is no way I will be able to adequately show what I can do, and I will embarass the hell out of my teammates and coaches. This worries me IMMENSELY.
For some reason, I am the only sectional athlete who cannot manage to get herself together. I am the only one who instead of progressing right now is instead falling to pieces. Now is the time that I should be moving forward, not backwards, and I don't understand. For you military types, here is an analogy that I think you will understand. When you roll off the wire, you've got all sorts of extra gear. Kevlar, M-4, kit, body armor, all the good stuff. Added up it adds, what 30 lbs at least? I feel like for the last 3 months, that's what I've been carrying everyday. The constant go go go of my schedule has just lead me to feel like I was constantly carrying around this extra "stuff". Make sense? But I figured that once swimming was over and I could stop carrying that proverbial rucksack of stress around, it would just be game on and my training would go back to how it was before swimming started. I was by no means the speediest of speedies in the box, but I could still hold my own. But instead of feeling more energized, and more rested with all the snow days I've been having (thank you mother nature for the week off), I feel terrible. I feel lethargic, I feel like I can't lift myself (or push myself up), I feel like I can't breathe, I feel incredibly weak, and incredibly sore. I have started to take fish oil, but without being in a normal routine (thanks again mother nature) I'm having a hard time remembering to take it.
I'm a person who relies on routines. I am extremely organized (I have to be with my schedule) and when I'm out of my routine, I have a hard time. When in my routine, I know which bags I need before I leave the house (you laugh, but my life is organized in bags) and what I need to do and have with me before I leave the house each day. I rely on that repetitive nature to help me remember everything. Without it, I struggle. Right now, I'm trying to also switch my diet back to the zone, but again, getting out of my routine has hurt me. Being in the house surrounded by food is hard. I can't keep anything here I'm not supposed to have or it will be, not a one time cheat here and there, but a gorging of oneself. Case and point, I bought ice cream the other day... I threw it away yesterday still half full so I wouldn't eat any more of it. It also hasn't helped that my roommate's mother, who is very nice, was here for our blizzard and baked pie, and magic cookie bars, and dinner....none of which are anything I could or should eat. I turned down most things, or tried to, but I can't lie, I ate horrifically these last few days. And I know I sound like I'm whining, but damnit, this is hard and I'm frustrated. I feel lousy, and feel like a definite failure at the moment.
Right now, I just need to get my thoughts out because keeping my feelings and frustrations bottled up doesn't help. In fact, it just makes me think about it more. (Thanks Jason!) I know no one has the answer. I don't have the answer. And really I guess I can say that I'm not really looking for one because I'm the only one who can figure this out. I'm far from perfect, and I'm sorry I don't honestly know what I'm going to do. I wrote that blog last week about knowing when to throw in the towel, and I can't help but wonder if I should. Maybe I should not compete and just walk away from CF for awhile... maybe that will help me right my head. I don't know. But I know that I need to decide what I'm going to do. If I'm not going to compete, I need to inform CF so that another athlete can take my slot. It's only fair. I've got some thinking to do....
Monday, February 8, 2010
OHS X 1 with a metcon finisher...
Have I ever mentioned my love of heavy things? I haven't? Oh... well I love heavy things! I especially love lifting heavy things over my head! Since it was a heavy lifting day, I'll take the lazy way out and just post the video! :)
Oh, BTW, that new 1 RM is 175 lbs! Woot! I won't talk about the metcon finisher though, cause I suuuuuuccccckkkkkkked! I felt really smoked after that max. Anyway, a new PR it is!
Oh, BTW, that new 1 RM is 175 lbs! Woot! I won't talk about the metcon finisher though, cause I suuuuuuccccckkkkkkked! I felt really smoked after that max. Anyway, a new PR it is!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
First Friday...
It seems like it's been forever since a first Friday. January felt like a VERY long month. But I like first Friday. It's an opportunity to choose any hero or girl workout that we want and have at it. Due to the snowpocolypse this weekend I didn't have school yesterday, and I decided to sleep in and go to a later class. Although the snow hadn't started yet, everyone was anticipating something BIG. Jerry had planned to cancel the PM classes, and with the snow scheduled for a late morning hit, I figured I'd better get in at 0915.
So I stopped at the store on the way to the box to try to pick up some provisions so I could be prepared for the snowpocolypse, but they were OUT. How could they be out of cider? No one but ME drinks that stuff.... but apparently someone else does. So I went off to the box to hit a wod and figured I'd try Trader Jose's after my WOD.
So since last month was just an open gym due to the new year, it'd been two months since meeting my regular hero choice, "Josh". I decided it was time for a rematch. CFOT was PACKED due to the snow and closures, so I decided to wait a smidge until the floor was a little clearer and then I hit the bars. Josh for those of you who don't know looks like this.
21-15-9 OHS
42-30-18 Pull-ups
I'm not sure if I was just tired or what, but the pull-ups felt like poo today, and the OHS were all done without breaking, but man, they weren't pretty. I am strong, so I held out, but my shoulder stability was poop. I managed a pretty significant PR, but I would have felt better about it had my form been better. Regardless though, I did this in 8:02, which is more than a minute off my previous best time which I believe is 9:08. I will have to go look. After I was done though, my forearms were fried and I was whooped. I decided to cuddle.
After cuddle time, I was on a mission. I decided to walk to Trader Jose's so I wouldn't have to fight the traffic madness. I was glad I did because it was a zoo! But guess what!?!?! They had just stocked my jerky AND just got a shipment of my beer (well cider) and so I was all set! I picked up my final provisions and headed home to settle in for the big snow. If you don't live in DC or haven't been following, we are currently getting pummeled with about 30 inches of snow. I'm diggin' it. I'm fine staying home and doing indoor things. Not everyone in this area is, but oh well. I'm good to go. I just don't want to shovel my car. UGH. Having a man for that would be helpful... ;) :P
I don't suspect I'll be back in school for a few days... so more box wods and more training could be on the plate for next week. And stay tuned also... I may have a new 2nd job (cross your fingerss!) to fill you all in on next week too. Bring on the snowpocolypse... oh ps... more snow scheduled for Tues/Wed and next Sunday too... it's going to be a looooooonnnnnngggg school year! :P
So I stopped at the store on the way to the box to try to pick up some provisions so I could be prepared for the snowpocolypse, but they were OUT. How could they be out of cider? No one but ME drinks that stuff.... but apparently someone else does. So I went off to the box to hit a wod and figured I'd try Trader Jose's after my WOD.
So since last month was just an open gym due to the new year, it'd been two months since meeting my regular hero choice, "Josh". I decided it was time for a rematch. CFOT was PACKED due to the snow and closures, so I decided to wait a smidge until the floor was a little clearer and then I hit the bars. Josh for those of you who don't know looks like this.
21-15-9 OHS
42-30-18 Pull-ups
I'm not sure if I was just tired or what, but the pull-ups felt like poo today, and the OHS were all done without breaking, but man, they weren't pretty. I am strong, so I held out, but my shoulder stability was poop. I managed a pretty significant PR, but I would have felt better about it had my form been better. Regardless though, I did this in 8:02, which is more than a minute off my previous best time which I believe is 9:08. I will have to go look. After I was done though, my forearms were fried and I was whooped. I decided to cuddle.
After cuddle time, I was on a mission. I decided to walk to Trader Jose's so I wouldn't have to fight the traffic madness. I was glad I did because it was a zoo! But guess what!?!?! They had just stocked my jerky AND just got a shipment of my beer (well cider) and so I was all set! I picked up my final provisions and headed home to settle in for the big snow. If you don't live in DC or haven't been following, we are currently getting pummeled with about 30 inches of snow. I'm diggin' it. I'm fine staying home and doing indoor things. Not everyone in this area is, but oh well. I'm good to go. I just don't want to shovel my car. UGH. Having a man for that would be helpful... ;) :P
I don't suspect I'll be back in school for a few days... so more box wods and more training could be on the plate for next week. And stay tuned also... I may have a new 2nd job (cross your fingerss!) to fill you all in on next week too. Bring on the snowpocolypse... oh ps... more snow scheduled for Tues/Wed and next Sunday too... it's going to be a looooooonnnnnngggg school year! :P
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
When is it time to throw in the towel?
This blog title has been up on my blog for a few days now and it's been sitting idly without any thoughts to actually go with it. There are several reasons for that. One, I've been busy with my jobs, and two, because it's a hard blog for me to write. I've not only been having trouble organizing my thoughts, but also coming up with the right way to say what I want to say.
I don't think it's any secret, or I'd like to think not, that my very busy schedule has worn me down. More this year than any other, I've felt the drain of this crazy 3 job schedule. I've not gotten as sick from it as I have in years past, but I've gotten that feeling of just being utterly exhausted. A constant hampster wheel of scheduling, and a feeling that when the alarm goes off, I just want a few more hours to lay there and not think. Lay there and not worry. Lay there and not move.
Over the course of the past two years, I have come to rely on CF to help get me over the hump so to speak. While running this insane 7 day a week schedule being in the box was one of the only things I actually enjoyed, and it actually helped to relieve the stress of everything else that was going on. But lately, lately I haven't felt like that. Lately I've felt that instead of being a stress relief, CF has been a source of stress itself.
I am struggling to complete wods, I am not recovering well, and to be honest, I don't have the same drive I did before. People keep trying to push me to go harder, go faster, lift more... and to be honest, I just don't have it in me right now. A lot of times, just getting TO the box is a victory for me, and I don't want to knock that because just getting there IS important, but at the same time, it just doesn't feel like I want it to. Despite all the crap that's going on, I'm doing the best that I can to get there and get some work in, but it's not like it was before. I'm not feeling good about things, and I'm not feeling like I'm getting anywhere.
I've been EXTREMELY hesistant to mention it but I did sign up for the CF sectional. As things stand now though, I'm not sure it's something that I want to continue to strive for. I don't want to embarass Jerry or the box, and I certainly don't want to embarass myself by being unconditioned. I feel like sectionals is pushing me, but I'm not sure it's pushing me in a positive direction. A lot of people are using it to push them to work harder. I seem to be feeling the opposite. I feel this stress, like I have to get to the box, even when my body seems to be screaming for a break. So what's more important? What's better? Pushing through to get the training in so I can compete? Or stopping? I don't have all the answers. Even doing this for almost 3 years, I sometimes still struggle, and now is one of those times. I have always been someone who has struggled to find her limits. I always keep that one foot in front of the other idea, but I'm wondering if it's time. Is it time to throw in the towel and call it quits? Walk away while I still can?
I don't think it's any secret, or I'd like to think not, that my very busy schedule has worn me down. More this year than any other, I've felt the drain of this crazy 3 job schedule. I've not gotten as sick from it as I have in years past, but I've gotten that feeling of just being utterly exhausted. A constant hampster wheel of scheduling, and a feeling that when the alarm goes off, I just want a few more hours to lay there and not think. Lay there and not worry. Lay there and not move.
Over the course of the past two years, I have come to rely on CF to help get me over the hump so to speak. While running this insane 7 day a week schedule being in the box was one of the only things I actually enjoyed, and it actually helped to relieve the stress of everything else that was going on. But lately, lately I haven't felt like that. Lately I've felt that instead of being a stress relief, CF has been a source of stress itself.
I am struggling to complete wods, I am not recovering well, and to be honest, I don't have the same drive I did before. People keep trying to push me to go harder, go faster, lift more... and to be honest, I just don't have it in me right now. A lot of times, just getting TO the box is a victory for me, and I don't want to knock that because just getting there IS important, but at the same time, it just doesn't feel like I want it to. Despite all the crap that's going on, I'm doing the best that I can to get there and get some work in, but it's not like it was before. I'm not feeling good about things, and I'm not feeling like I'm getting anywhere.
I've been EXTREMELY hesistant to mention it but I did sign up for the CF sectional. As things stand now though, I'm not sure it's something that I want to continue to strive for. I don't want to embarass Jerry or the box, and I certainly don't want to embarass myself by being unconditioned. I feel like sectionals is pushing me, but I'm not sure it's pushing me in a positive direction. A lot of people are using it to push them to work harder. I seem to be feeling the opposite. I feel this stress, like I have to get to the box, even when my body seems to be screaming for a break. So what's more important? What's better? Pushing through to get the training in so I can compete? Or stopping? I don't have all the answers. Even doing this for almost 3 years, I sometimes still struggle, and now is one of those times. I have always been someone who has struggled to find her limits. I always keep that one foot in front of the other idea, but I'm wondering if it's time. Is it time to throw in the towel and call it quits? Walk away while I still can?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Annie Get Yer Gun!
I'm sure by now if you've been following along, you know that I have a hatred for some certain things. Burpees, push-ups, running... and have I mentioned double unders? I haven't? How could THAT have slipped my mind?!?!?
I don't know why, but for some reason, double unders elude me. They are a force in the universe that try as I might, I just simply cannot seem to grasp or understand. It's like, trying to understand why Ray thought of the Stay Puft Marshmallow man in Ghostbusters. I mean, really... Mr. Stay Puft? Clearly, I missed that connection, and clearly, I am missing the connection with the double unders. People tell me not to change my jump, to speed up my wrists, and not to bend my knees. Ok, got it.... great, so why can't I do it?
We all have our nemesis, or is that nemesi? Regardless, we all have them. Double unders just happen to be one of mine, so for me to hit "Annie", which is basically all double unders, was just short of sheer torture. It was what I would refer to as ughtastic. I got really frustrated and I really wanted to throw the rope, but I didn't. I finished in 13:16. Not great, but it could have been far far worse. I'm still not a fan though...
I feel like Annie just let loose and opened a can of whoop ass on me... she got her gun out and showed me who's boss... that's for sure...
Btw, I'm incredibly proud of my random Annie reference today. It came easily to me. I'm a fan of cheesetastic references like this.
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