Burpee blitz and Baby Barbara...

I was able to get to the box on Monday night and was thinking of just going for a run to get something in quick before I got back to my papers and school work, but Melissa talked me into doing the alt wod for the day instead which was 5 rounds for time of 20 burpees and a 400 m run.  I did it, and boy did it suck.  I pulled it in around 26 minutes which for me, not so bad, but I was hoping for sub 25.  The first 3 rounds moved pretty fast, but boy oh boy did those burpees catch up with me.  See, I don't flop my burpees the way you see a lot of people do (and they're not supposed to).  I catch myself in a push-up position, do my push-up, then get up.  I don't flop to make it easier.  So by burpee 65 my arms were on FIRE.  Good news is though that I got it in and that it was a metcon.

I then somehow managed to completely f my alarm both Tuesday AND Wednesday.  I can't believe it, but I seriously did.  So, I got myself into the box last night before having to be up at 3am this morning for a field trip to Virginia Tech.  So, I decided last night to do Barbara, but do a baby Barbara since it was 645 and I needed to be in bed by 8.  I only did 3 of the 5 rounds, but man were they smokers.  Round 1 was pretty quick for me but after that initial round at 5:00, I then dropped to 6:57 and 7:00.  It would have taken me way too long to get the last 2 rounds in and I never would have made it home to eat, pack, and get in bed by 8 so I cut it short.  I figured it was better to get some work in than none.  So, tomorrow I will hit the box again, and Sunday will have to be a run day to get a 4th day in again.  I'm getting tired of this schedule, but there's not much I can do right now except keep on driving on.

I've been getting a lot of questions about why I didn't do the Open this year, and here's my genuine heartfelt response...

"Open athletes should be those who are training hard and are at a place in their lives where their level of fitness allows them to compete against the best in the section and region.  I am currently not at a place where fitness and clean eating are my top priorities and I would hate to represent my affiliate when I'm not able to demonstrate the level of dedication and drive that Jerry produces in our box.  I do enjoy healthy competition, however, at this time in my life it is not able to be a priority.  Perhaps within the next few months I will get back to working out five days a week and be at a place where I can better represent the dedication of my coach and affiliate, however, that time is simply not now."

Period.  The end. 

It's Saint Patrick's Day?

So, I'm not sure how I managed to do it, but about halfway through my day today, I completely and totally forgot that today was Saint Patrick's Day.  I had some errands to run in Old Town tonight and for the life of me couldn't understand why I couldn't find a single parking space.  Duh, Katie.... seriously, just duh. 

Anyway, let's forget about my total blonde moment for a minute and move on....

This week, workout wise, has actually been a REALLY good week for me.  I've worked on things that were my weaknesses BEFORE the whole taking an unintentional break thing, and despite it all, the weaknesses actually didn't feel all that bad.  Double unders will blow for me no matter what I do, but even push-ups weren't all that attrocious.  I was actually able to do the wods and stay close to the other people who have been working out full-time.  I felt pretty good about that.  Monday I got in for the heavy dose of clean and jerks and then on Tuesday I got in for a pretty craptastic metcon.  Even after being away so much, I STILL don't like metcons...

Tuesday wod

100 du's cash in (4 min time limit)
5 rft
20 pull-ups
20 push-ups
20 air squats
100 du's cash out (4 min time limit)

I have to say, it took me 28 minutes and some change to do this, but mostly because I spent 8 minutes on the freakin' double unders.  Seriously... that is some crazy ridiculous stuff right there... double unders are evil... 'nuff said. 

Wednesday's wod was much more fun for me... oh wait, btw.... did you notice that I said Monday, Tuesday, AND Wednesday? That's right!!!! I did make it three days in a row!!! I can't tell you honestly the last time that that happened... trust me, it's been a hot minute.  Anyhoo, Wednesday's wod was 1 rep max overhead squats!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy! I love overhead squats.  In fact one might even say, I HEART them... ;)

It's been so long since I've rep maxed anything that I was a little leery about where I'd be.  I was totallly STOKED to realize I was only 10 lbs off my PR! Sweet! My jumps looked as follows.

35X10
65X5
85X2
105X1
115X1
125X1
135X1
145X1
155X1
165X1 (f)
165X1

I know this seems like a lot of lifts, but since I haven't done much lifting, I was making rather conservative jumps.  I also honestly felt a little cranky and kinky... not THAT kind of kinky.  I mean the kind where you feel like you just can't loosen up and just be... comfortable? No, not comfortable... normal maybe... Anyway, I took a good fall on that 165X1 the first time.  I went down into my squat too slow and man did I ever bust my ass.  I'm not going to lie... there was no cushioning THAT blow.  But the second time I went down with plenty of speed and felt good coming back up.  I was totally stoked about the day as a whole. 

I took a rest day today to avoid the whole 4 day in a row thing, but I'm planning on getting up early tomorrow to get my 4th day in.  I'm totally stoked about my performances this week, and the fact that I am going to get in 4 days.  Woot! :) This is happy Katie! :)

The "Leave Behind"... or "How to Ensure You Workout This Week"... or GET TO THE BOX!!!

I had another title for this blog, but after writing it, I actually had to go back and change it... LOL.  For the first time in a REALLY long time, I made it into the box on a Monday.  For the past two months or so it seems like I've been on a double every single Sunday, so getting to the box Mondays has been hard.  But I cut back my hours at the restaurant and so this morning I got in and got a heavy dose of clean and jerks.  I really and truthfully can't complain about my performance, I mean, after all, how often have I been at the box lately?  My weight lifting has been so sporadic, I really can't complain.  Honest! I can still lift a load over my head, so seriously, that's great!

We hit a two wod day today with the first wod being the following.

Every minute on the minute
Hit 1 clean and jerk (go heavy and keep perfect form)
130X10 (roughly 85% of my 1RM)

The jerks on this felt solid and for the first time in a long time, I really enjoyed lifting today.  My cleans were a bit off, but honestly I think it's because I wasn't squat cleaning.  Normally anytime I do clean and jerks, I squat clean everything.  Today I didn't have to and I think it threw me a bit.  Jerry said my feet were off on the cleans.  But like I said, I've been so sporadic, I really can't be unhappy with any of that. 

Wod two today was Grace.  Funny because I JUST did Grace a week and a half ago for first Friday. My time was atrocious that day because Jerry said that the new Grace weight is now 95 lbs.  So all of my previous Grace times with 85 are now null and void.   Well, crap! So today I went 95 again and beat the pants off my time from a week and a half ago.  Shanimal beat me and stole my top Grace spot which doesn't make me very happy, but you know what, again, I can't be unhappy with that performance.  A 3:17 Grace with 95lbs really and truly is not much to sneeze at.  And honestly, I have a feeling I can get under 3:10.  I wasted a good solid 5-10 seconds today because I accidentally clocked myself in the boob on one of my reps and took a few seconds to breathe again after that.  Next time, I'll need to make sure that my boobs are CLEARLY out of the way.  :P

Now, since I made it in today, I had to try to find a creative way to ensure that I get to the box tomorrow.  I have a bad habit of going hard and then not going for two days... oops.... so today I got this master plan.  So, I've now officially devised a way to TRICK yourself into having to go to the gym.  (and before you start laughing, I challenge YOU to find better things to think of at 0600 in the am while you're getting ready for work.)

Ehem, anyway... my masteful plan for ensuring that you get to the box is as follows... leave something of relatively large importance so that you HAVE to go the next day.  A towel or bottle of shampoo... not significant enough.  Shoes, nope.  Shirt, nope.  Those things can all be maneuvered around.  But, aha! I found one thing that you cannot do without... well if you're a girl anyway....

A HAIRDRYER!!!

I have relatively longish hair, so I NEED to have it in order to get ready for work, otherwise I look like crap and run around with wet hair.  So I left (intentionally) my hairdryer in my little cubby thing so that I HAVE to get up and get to it in the AM.  Now, I suppose that I COULD just wake up my roommate at 0515 and ask her for HER hairdryer, but I'm thinking that that probably wouldn't go over so well.  So, now I HAVE to go workout tomorrow because I HAVE to have a hairdryer for work.  I'm ensuring that I get to the box at least twice this week.  Now, the only issue with this is that I know, invariably, that on a day that I don't mean to do it, like when I'm planning on taking a rest day the NEXT day, I'm going to leave my hairdryer.  I know it will happen, so I'm going to have to prepare a plan for the invariable days that I f things all up.  But for now, the leave behind should help me get my butt to the... wait a tic, THE LEAVE BEHIND!? Wait, dude, did I REALLY just say that?!!?! It's like CrossFit and I just had sex and I'm looking for an excuse to come back and see him again...  like oh, oops, I left all my clothes at your place... guess I'll have to come back and get them.... hmmmmm... Oh, sorry CrossFit.  I guess I left my hairdryer at your place... guess I'll have to come back and get it and see you again so we can make out... oh heavens... the leave behind... LMAO... Get you a leave behind and GET TO THE BOX (or the choppa!)!!

Workoutus Interruptus...

This week I was super determined to get to the box 4 times.  I made it Tuesday and Wednesday and was seriously well on my way to making that happen.  I didn't go Thursday because I didn't get off work Wednesday until almost 1230 and needed to stay late to finish my interims at school. I wasn't super worried though becase I figured I could still go on Friday and Saturday.  A friend of mine was coming in town last night, but I figured I would have time to get to the box before he got here.  WRONG! He was early! I was a block from the box when he called and said he was 20 minutes away.  Crap... so there went that.  I figured I'd still get in today and at least get in 3 days this week.  Not my 4 that I wanted, but still decent.  Woke up at 9:25 with the workout at 9:30.  I SET my alarm, and failed to turn it on!!!! CURSES!!!! So, this week was a severe case or workoutus interruptus.  I'm going to try to get a run in tomorrow so at least I can say I did SOMETHING this weekend, but I'm super perturbed that I was so close to getting in my 4 only to have it f'ed by random things.  Grrrr... there is next week, I know, but still, I'm slipping backwards at the box because I can't get in and I want to go forward..... workoutus interruptus... GRRRRR on you. 

The Phoenix rising...

As my classroom read aloud, I'm currently reading the first of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Lightening Thief.  If you're a fan of Greek mythology, or if you happen to have a pre-pubescent boy, this series is amazing.  But before I start to get all teacher-y and wax philosophical about the joys of reading and how fun it is to read Greek mythology, I'll attempt to get myself back on track. 

See, Greek mythology in my opinion is some of the best storytelling ever done.  Where else do you see so many unique and seemingly unexplicable things?  I got to thinking today about Greek mythology though.  Or, more specifically, about one aspect of Greek mythology.  In particular, I started to think about the Phoenix in Greek mythology.  According to Greek mythology, the Phoenix lived for roughly 500-1000 years.  When it was certain it was going to die, it would build a nest and then the bird and nest would burst into flame.  As soon as this occurred, a new Phoenix would arise from the ashes of the old.  In some myths, the old ashes were encased in a new egg and taken to a city in the Egyptian civilization, in others, a new Phoenix is simply born.  Regardless though, the idea is still the same... from the ashes, a new being is born. 

If you've been following my blog for as long as I've been writing it.... I admire your tenacity. If you're a recent newcomer, then perhaps what I'm about to say will not make much sense at all.  The nice thing about having my life on the internet is that it's literally a living diary.  I can add to it and delete from it at will, and it serves as a reminder of events and things that have happened to me over the course of the past three years.  As I look back, I can see the person I was, the person I grew into, and now the person I'm becoming.  I can see that there was a person who was very happy and go-lucky.  I can see that along the way amidst school stress, competition stress, and the stress of working multiple jobs, that person got lost.  Somewhere in the last year, Katie disappeared. 

As I started back to work two months ago I felt like that was a new beginning for me.  I felt like I was getting a second chance to do what I wanted to do.  A chance to fix things that I couldn't fix a year ago.  But as I got ino that position, I realized I still wasn't happy.  Something still wasn't right.  I had a boyfriend, I was making ok money, things at the side job were going well, but I still wasn't happy.  As things with my boyfriend ended and the stress at school mounted due to upcoming SOL's, I had a sort of realization.  I realized that nothing was going to change unless I forced it to. 

Sort of like the Phoenix realizing that it was time to die, so did I.  Because of work, I've been putting off everything, including living my own life.  People always say that you should do everything in moderation.  For me, that never seemed to be the case and it seemed like with me, everything was always all or nothing.  So, like the Phoenix, I've decided to die.

I've made it a point to leave work no later than 7:30 in the evening.  I refuse to allow myself to stay until 9 or 9:30 anymore.  I've spoken with my managers at my other job and have said that I will not work doubles everyday on the weekends anymore.  I have made myself take breaks, I have made myself slow down.  I've had dinner with a friend this week.  I've read a book this week.  I've bought new I-tunes, done a few loads of laundry, and have even found my way back to my blog this week. The Phoenix is rising. 

I'm not sure if in the Greek myths the Phoenix ever felt like a better version of itself was being born, but I do.  I enjoy being a dedicated teacher, and I enjoy being a good, reliable server.  But you know what else I enjoy? Laughing, listening to music, watching movies, reading books, having dinner, a glass of wine, chocolate, blogging, and tens of other things that I've just not done in the last year or so because work has always come first.  I never imagined that in my 20's I would feel so burnt out.  I never imagined that I would spend 100 hours a week working.  I've come to not just realize this anymore, but finally ACT on it.  I need to slow down, and things need to change for the better.

The old Phoenix has burned and a new, wiser Phoenix is taking it's place.  As with any newborn being there is always much to learn, and I need to be careful not to inadvertantly swing my pendulum too far the other direction.  However, I'm looking forward to slowly regaining things that have been lost.  I'm glad that I took this job, as I've had a lot to learn from it, but I'm even more glad that I've finally started to find peace with things.  Even though I don't enjoy my current position, it's had a purpose, and the purpose was to force me to burn.  To force me to rise again, stronger, more determined, and more focused on putting things in order.  Is this to say that I'll never spend another late night at school ever again? No, I know I will.  But it means that I find enjoyment in life again.  That work is not the end all be all.  It means I start blogging again, and start to find myself back in the box more than 2x a week again.  It means I start living in the true sense of the word.  It's scary... it's hard not to fall back into old routines, but I'm slowly getting there.  I'm slowly starting to spread my wings, and like a new born bird take my first tentative flaps of my wings.  I'll get there... I know I will.  But believe me, I cannot wait to see the view from the sky when I begin to soar....