Core Class

Kevin's PM Core class...insanely popular as usual (I am not the only masochist at my gym, clearly). It was 30 minutes of a bunch of endurance core crap that I just hate, all on a swiss ball. I really suck at core stuff. Seriously, half way through the class my internal dialog went like this: "Are your abs just for f'in show? c'mon! go! That 65 year old lady is kicking your ass! Go!" But at the end I was all, "Hey, wait? Are we done? Was that the full 30 minutes?" which goes to show that I didn't work nearly hard enough.

That's it. That's all I did. So far the past several days have been a 2 on-1 off cycle, and counting today as a "1 off" cycle I should be in prime shape to hit Wednesday, Thursday and Friday hard. Next day off is Saturday....and no slackin' for me, cause my photo shoot with Amanda is happening in 13 days. Exciting!

First Workout of my 30s!

Today was pretty busy, so my first chance to get to the gym was only 15 minutes before I needed to leave to pick up Bella. So I did a 1 mile time trial and rocked it out in 8 minutes. I'd like to get this to 7:30 by the time we leave for France, and I think it's doable. Nonetheless, an 8 minute mile is a great achievement for me, and I'll take it!

In the PM I came back but was a little unfocused. Luckily, Kevin's core class started just a bit after I arrived in the gym so I caught that and was able to get a decent workout in without a lot of thinking. It was a series of sit-ups and low back extensions, alternating in 30 second increments.

Relayed the results of my body comp to Kevin, and his reaction to my body fat was: "Don't go any lower." I agree. I think 13-14 percent is probably where I want to maintain, which translates to about pound and a half extra fat, or a total weight of 151-152. I'll get some hot pictures of my abs so I have proof they look like this, then go tuck into a plate of hot wings. :)

After core class I felt like I had a bit more to give, so I worked on lighter-weight Deadlifts for a few rounds. Started with sets of 5 at 135, went to sets of 3 at 185. Did maybe 8 sets total.

That was it. My first day back, and a moderate/ho hum workout.

Countdown to 30: Last Day!

It's been a full and fun day, but I can say with total certainty that I have achieved my goal of getting in the best shape of my life. The 5 pounds 5 weeks challenge was a total success and I am excited to greet my 30s super fit and raring to go.

Today I had a physical and a body comp test to see where I stand, and to see if the results were worth the training. Don't have the results from blood work yet, but every other stat came back great:

Weight at home (AM weight, nekkid): 150
Weight at Dr's Office (fully clothed, no shoes, hydrated): 154
Weight at Bod Pod Clinic (underwear and sports bra, after lunch, hydrated): 152
Blood Pressure: 108/56
Resting Heart Rate: 46 Beats per Minute
Body Fat: 12.1% (Last August, training for triathlons, it was tested at 14.9%)


More details on the Bod Pod Body Composition Testing tomorrow. Right now I have a great book to finish!

Edit:

Got results of bloodwork back. Everything looks great. Cholesterol is at 110, which is apparently quite low but in a good way, and my LDL-HDL levels are great. Urinalysis, CBC, Kidney functions, thyroid, etc. etc. are all described to me as excellent. I have asked my doc to send me a copy of the results. When I get them I'll have D (best friend/nurse) walk me through my labwork so I understand what everything is.

Countdown to 30: 1 Day to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4
4/25: 151.6
4/26: 151.8
4/27: 151.6
4/28: 152.6
4/29: 153.6
4/30: 151.2
5/01: 149.6
5/02: 150.0
5/03: 151.4
5/04: 149.4

Well, tomorrow will be the last day of the 5 Pounds, 5 Weeks Challenge. I was back under 150 this AM and my moving average continues to creep lower. I'm feeling really confident and strong, and I can honestly say it's worked - I am without a doubt in the best shape of my life. But I am also feeling that I am on the last day of my three day on - 1 day rest workout cycle. All through my workout this morning I could feel that I was ready for a break.

Did spin class - regular instructor is back, yeah! - for 60 minutes, then hung out and read until D could join me. Neither of us were totally gung ho to go workout, but we dragged ourselves up to the weight room and committed to an arm/back ish type thing. Normally I don't go for the body-part specific body builder type workout but when you are tired and Crossfit-style intensity just isn't happening, it's a good way to do something. Besides, even if I mostly work out for function, sometimes you want to work on form (your own physique form, I mean) a bit too. And I don't think there's a thing wrong with that.

So D and I did this:

Wood Chop Down with Cable - 4 sets (2 per side), 10 reps, 85#
Wood Chop Up with Cable - 4 sets (2 per side), 10 reps, 65#
Lat Pull Down - 3 sets, 8 reps, 100#
Low Row with Cable - 3 sets, 8 reps, 100# first and second set, 85# on third set
Tricep Dips - on bench, feet elevated, 3 sets, 15 reps, bodyweight
Walking Lunge with Single Arm Press - 2 sets, 20 steps per set, 10# overhead, alternate press side between sets

And then we were done. It wasn't much, but it was what we had.

I have to take a moment and RAVE about a new book I picked up a few days ago. It's called Swimming to Antarctica and it's riveting. A truly amazing autobiography by Lynne Cox, who holds (held? I'm not sure) all the open water distance swimming records worth holding including a two-time world record in the English Channel swim. She also swam in places no one else would even dream: Straight of Magellan, Disko Bay Greenland, Bering Straight, the Straight of Gibraltar, etc. etc. I'm about half way through and every chapter gets more fascinating.

The stories Lynne Cox tells would be unbelievable, if they weren't completely true. I highly recommend this book...it competes with Lance Armstrong's Not About The Bike for best "athlete book" I've read, and in many ways is more compelling for being from an athlete who is, in this country at least, less well known. It's also a wonderful reminder that the best athletes in the entire world come in all shapes and sizes.



Lynne Cox, world record holder (men and women) in multiple endurance open water swimming events. By any reasonable measure, an elite athlete in an unthinkably challenging sport. Basically, she's the Lance Armstrong of swimming. The top picture was taken when she was 16 years old and had just become a 2 Time World Record Holder for the English Channel crossing. The second is more recent, taken I believe, during her Antarctic Swim.

Countdown to 30: 2 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4
4/25: 151.6
4/26: 151.8
4/27: 151.6
4/28: 152.6
4/29: 153.6
4/30: 151.2
5/01: 149.6
5/02: 150.0
5/03: 151.4

Sunday has become family day at the gym. Nick comes with me and works on whatever form stuff he's mastering (past several weeks it's been deadlifts and bench presses) then does cardio (usually walk or jog outside) while I get my Crossfit on. I really like that he joins in, even though he's not into fitness in quite the same way I am. It's cool to share what I'm learning with him, and to hang out.

So I was expecting that we would do the same strength based thing today, but Nick was game to give a WOD a try. I was planning on Tabata Something Else, which was the WOD I missed when I took Friday off.

So, brief explanation: a "Tabata" is thusly named because it is a high intensity training method developed by Dr. Izumi Tabata, who discovered that a 4 minute workout, cycling between 20 second of work and 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds, could produce amazing strength and endurance gains in already trained athletes. A 4 minute workout sounds pretty weak....until you do your first Tabata. Then you get it.

So "Tabata Something Else" is 4 back-to-back, 4 minute Tabata's. The first cycle is pull-ups, second is push ups, third is sit-ups, forth is squats. There is no rest between cycles, so the whole workout is 16 minutes long. The first minute isn't so bad but the last 15 are a bitch. Your score is the total number of reps you get, total across all cycles.

Nick seriously maned up and joined me for Tabata Something Else. He timed me, then I timed him. Alas I have misplaced our score sheet, but I think I was around 370 and Nick was around 210. I do remember I held a remarkably constant rate on sit-ups (10 on almost all rounds) and squats (17 across all but a few where I slipped to 16 - but upped it to 19 on the last one despite the burning in my quads). Pull-ups and push-ups were, no surprise, the weak links. I was disappointed with how quickly fatigued I got on the upper body stuff, but then again 150, 45# dumbbell swings yesterday was bound to take something out of me. I was also having some grip issues. Here's why:


Yes, this is the sight that greeted me after my workout when I pulled the band-aids off my pinkies. Remember how I blistered, then tore, the skin on both pinkies doing the aforementioned dumbbell swings? Well, they had not responded particularly well to being "protected" under a bandage for 24 hours. Truly nasty. They look much better now that they've had a chance to breathe--less necrotic. I think I was attempting my pull-ups with 80% of my fingers and doing the classy British tea-drinker pinkie-in-the-air thing with my wounded digits. You wouldn't think two little pinkies would make that much of a difference in grip strength, but I believe they do.

Dinner last night was delish, and plated up nice enough for a pic:



Ponzu-Maple Glazed Coho with Brown Rice and Spring (ish) Veggies

Countdown to 30: 3 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4
4/25: 151.6
4/26: 151.8
4/27: 151.6
4/28: 152.6
4/29: 153.6
4/30: 151.2
5/01: 149.6
5/02: 150.0

Great day today. Lots of great family time celebrating Nick's awesome quarterly review (these are days to be a rock star at work, and Nick is pulling out all the stops) and I even picked up a few new books too!

At the gym, I came back from yesterday (took it as rest - was feeling a bit run down) feeling ready to go, but I gotta say today's Crossfit WOD was intimidating.

The WOD was Hansen, a new Hero WOD named after Marine Staff Sgt. Daniel Hansen, who was killed in Afghanistan while serving as an EOD Technician. These Hero WODs suck, in all possible ways: they are a reminder that one of the (usually young men) of our community has died, and because of that they are super challenging both physically and mentally. Hero WODs are generally made of hard motions with heavy weight for lots of reps and lots of sets, and this on was no exception. When everything in the workout sucks, when your hands break open and bleed (as mine did on this one) and when you think you cannot actually do anything more, you go do it anyway, because in a tiny tiny way you are honoring the memory of a fellow Crossfitter. RIP Sgt. Hansen.

As Rx:
5 Rounds for time
2 pood Kettlebell swing, 30 reps
30 Burpees
30 Glute-ham sit-ups

As performed:
45# Dumbbell swing, 30 reps (1.5 pood, or 54#, is the woman's rx weight)
30 Burpees (did the push-up but the jump towards the end was a bit weak)
30 Glute-ham sit-ups

37:06 (I think - my stopwatch/phone is downstairs...will edit if I am misremembering. My goal was sub 30. Not even freaking close.)

This was tough. At the end of Round 3 I could not believe I still had 2 more rounds to go. At the end of the Round 4's swings I realized I had blistered then torn the skin off the bottom joint of each pinkie finger. I did the rest of the workout without using my pinkie fingers, which was a strange feeling on the burpees, and caused me to change my grip on the final set of swings.

After the workout was over, one of the trainers at the gym, who I know and who is a totally nice, cool girl, told me people were worried about my swings. She basically said they were a liability cause if I ever slipped, and someone got hurt, it was 45#, it could be a huge problem....which I get. I think the real issue is that I was set up next to the GHD station, and that's across from where people do their stretching and stability stuff, and I think I musta freaked somebody out. I got the impression that if I did the swings somewhere more...isolated...it wouldn't be a problem.

To be frank, I did look a little freaky doing the swings. My hair was all greasy and flying everywhere, my shoulders were all striated and tendony, my pants were rolled up and my bruised-to-hell shins were on display and I had my music way up so I'm sure I was grunting and breathing really loud in a very uncouth way. Plus, you know occasionally I would yell at myself: "c'mon!" or "5 more! let's go!" or - when I discovered my pinkies were out of commision - "oh, fuck!" I probably would have freaked me out if I had seem me. I can hardly be offended that the poor 65 year old's who were also there were a little nervous. Anyway, I apologized. I don't want to freak anyone out. :(

For all the Globo Gym horror stories out there from Crossfiters, my gym has been super cool. Two of the training staff have their level 1 cert, and one of them - the oft mentioned Kevin - runs his clients thru Crossfit type workouts almost every day. The trainer who talked to me about the swings was totally nice about it and seemed apologetic for having to mention it. In general, it's what you would expect from an independent place. There are a lot of regulars and the staff and regulars form a big, occasionally messy pseudo family. Sometimes there's drama. For the most part I've been able to stay out of it, and I intend to keep it that way. If that means subbing ab-mat sit-ups for GHDs and doing my workout in an empty racquetball court, I'll do it.

Countdown to 30: 4 Days to Go (I did it!!!!)

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4
4/25: 151.6
4/26: 151.8
4/27: 151.6
4/28: 152.6
4/29: 153.6
4/30: 151.2
5/01: 149.6

149.6! 149.6!?! Where the fu@k did that come from? I'm at my goal! Now, my 4-day moving average is still 151.8, so I won't consdier the goal officially met until that is at 150, but if I stay at or under 150 for just a few more days, I'm there! I will have met my goal. Honestly, even if I bump up a tiny bit from here, I have to say I am amazed and super proud of myself. I really didn't think I was going to drop lower than 151 without cutting back on food (which I am just not willing to do). Yeah!!!!

In other good (if totally superficial and shallow) news, the super hot, tall, lean, yoda-hard-body manager at Lululemon complemented my arms when I went into buy a new sport bra and asked what I did. So I got to evangelize Crossfit a bit and gt a really nice complement. In the past four-and-a-half weeks I've seen some real improvement in the definition in my arms so that acknowledgment felt great.

That's it - no training or diet journaling. Just a totally superficial post to celebrate hitting my goal!

Countdown to 30: 5 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4
4/25: 151.6
4/26: 151.8
4/27: 151.6
4/28: 152.6
4/29: 153.6
4/30: 151.2

Wed was supposed to be a rest day, but I woke up to 153.6 on the scale, and just felt a bit derailed. Now, I know enough about trends, moving averages and the like to not freak out about a jump like this, but it was still a bit discouraging. So I did what any reasonable fitness freak would do: I called the only person I know more fitness focused than I am for a pep talk.

Hesper did not disappoint, and after a short chat with her I felt much better about my uptick. She also confirmed what I was thinking: for the psychology of it, and to help with hydration, little light cardio would do me good. So, even though it was my rest day, I dropped into a spin class at the gym.

Now on Monday, we had a sub, and that wasn't the best experience (she was nuts). My regular spin instructor was still out of town, so I was a bit hesitant about class Wednesday, but I knew we would have a different instructor, and I figured I could always just do my own thing on the bike if need be.

As it turned out, the Wednesday sub did a hell of a great job. He was motivating, had great music, and led us through a sprint and hill based workout that really wore my ass out. Took the rest of Wednesday off from training but definitely felt like I made the right decision about doing a little something. Thanks again for the advice, Hesper!

Today I was pleased to see I was back down to 151.2...that's a bit lower than my steady hold in the 151's from before my uptick, so I feel like I'm still on-track-ish, but I remain unconvinced that 150 is reachable in the next 5 days. We'll see.

This morning was super amazing spring weather: sunny, 60s, clear skys. Seattle had an uncharacteristically ugly, cold and protracted winter. So to finally see some sunshine is a really great thing. I did the only sensible thing and headed to Greenlake for a run. I figured I would do a fartlek work and just go at the speed and pace that felt good. That turned into some pretty focused Pose form work as I concentrated on pulling through and keeping my lower leg relaxed.

I definitely overused my calves -- they are so sore right now! -- but I am also really pleased with the feeling I was getting on my last two stretches of form work. I really could feel a pull from the hip flexor/core and it make a huge difference to the comfort and speed of the recovery portion of my stride. It always feels great when you get how something should feel, even if you aren't at the point where you can duplicate that accuracy over and over yet. There was also just a joy in running--I stayed off the hard surface path and ran through dirt, wood chips, grass, and a whole field that was practically white with mini daisies. Pretty hard not to smile when you are running through flowers.

This afternoon I had a WOD scheduled with Alison, who apparently is tired of waiting around for me to get her Crossfit on. She got together with another friend to do Micheal - 3 rounds for time of 800 meter sprints, 50 back extensions & 50 sit-ups - AN HOUR before she and I got together to do Elizabeth - 21, 15, 9: Cleans and Ring Dips. I heard this was her plan and texted her: "maybe you and I should just do a cardio WOD." She writes back: "Oh they use different muscles; I'll be fine." OMG, Alison has become a total firebreather. I am so happy!

So Elizabeth it was, and here's how it went down:

As rx:
21-15-9 reps of:
Clean 135 pounds
Ring dips

Modified (Erica):
21-15-9 reps of:
Clean 90 pounds (Started with 6 or so full cleans, then switched to hang power cleans when the going got really tough. Sort o feel like I wussed out in that way. I'll do some full clean skill work and hit it hard next time.)
Jumping bar dips
8:06ish

Modified (Alison):
21-15-9 reps of:
Clean 40 pounds (Hang Power Cleans)
Bench dips
6:58ish

Countdown to 30: 7 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4
4/25: 151.6
4/26: 151.8

4/27: 151.6
4/28: 152.6

One week to go. That jump this AM isn't helping my chances of hitting 150 by 30, but I continue to push forward with clean eating and hard intense workouts. I love how I mouthed off about my extra couple hundred calories in yesterday's post, only to see a one pound increase on the scale this morning. Typical. Rarely should one miss an opportunity to keep one's mouth shut.

Today: Crossfit WOD: One rep max, shoulder press 1 - 1 - 1 - 1- 1 - 1 - 1
My Shoulder Press from the CF Total was 90, so that was my goal, but it just wasn't in the cards today.

75 - 80 - 85 (F) - 85 (F) - 80 - 80 - 80 - 85 (F) - 85 (F) - 80 - 80

I tried and tried but couldn't stick an 85, so 80 is what it was today. Could be my shoulders are a bit fatigued from the 105 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls yesterday.

Then I did some super fun (in retrospect) skill work.

5 rounds of 50 double unders. Each round for time with full recovery between rounds. Set it up this way because I wanted the met con aspect, but I wanted the skill work part too. I knew that 5 Rounds for Time straight thru would have just smoked me, so there would have been no form work by half way thru.

So as it was, I was pretty happy with my times:
Round 1: 3:30
Round 2: 2:03
Round 3: 1:51
Round 4: 1:51
Round 5: 2:03

Since double unders are really hard for me, I'm very happy with these times. I'll keep this practice up and next time the Filthy 50 comes around I'm doing it as Rx the whole way...no single under subs for me! :)

PM: I hit up the C2 rower to work on form and get a little sweaty. Kevin gave me tons of feedback and instruction last Friday, and I was excited to put his pointers into practice.

I rowed 5000 meters for time in 22:36, averaging a 2:24/500 which is not horrible, but after a few sessions I'd like to see a sub 20 on that distance. Worked hard on PULL and wore my ass out. Felt good.

With one week to go, it's time to get back on track with food (not that I've been bad, just eating more maintenance level calories than fat cutting level calories). Had a massive bowl of clams in a cherry tomato & dijon broth that absolutely blew my socks off and I went back for seconds. Rounded that out with a big bowl of strawberries. I am now super full and happy, but think it's unlikely to see the scale drop tomorrow.

Countdown to 30: 8 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4
4/25: 151.6
4/26: 151.8

4/27: 151.6

AM Workout - Spin class.  Regular awesome instructor was out today and a substitute who clearly rode in on the crazy bike led the class.  The sub instructor was extremely fit and motivated (which is to say that she actually kinda scared me...and that doesn't happen very often).  Unfortunately, what motivated her was apparently rage at her daughter who didn't clean the bathroom, her improperly dosed medication, complaints about her from previous classes, etc. etc., all of which was discussed at length and at random.  The class was like 60 minutes of sub instructor's therapy session (another topic she was more than happy to discuss while leading the class) inflicted upon us in between totally ineffective bootcamp-style shouting: "this isn't supposed to be fun!"  Net effect: even though sub instructor is supposedly much tougher than normal instructor, my workout was not nearly as strong because I was really unable to get into into the headspace which allows me to push myself.  Kinda sucked, actually.

PM Workout - After the AM Workout, I really needed to blow off some steam, and besides, I got to work out with Alison again this afternoon!  Yeah!  So we did the Crossfit WOD.  

WOD as rx: 

5 Rounds for Time

95 # Sumo Deadlift High Pull, 21 Reps

21 Ring Dips

Modified:

5 Rounds for Time

65# SDHP, 21 reps (65# is the Rx woman's weight.  Alison worked at 30#, but she might need to move up in weight next time)

21 Bench Dips (my feet were elevated, Alison kept hers on the floor.  I attempted my first round as band-assisted bar dips and totally hated every minute of them.  The bar didn't feel right, the band was awkward, my shoulders hurt in an ominous way, blah blah blah...so from round 2 on I moved to the bench dips.)

Alison: 11:03

Me: 11:13

All in all this workout was bad, but it wasn't, like, insanely bad.  Perhaps I should have been pushing the SDHPs faster.  I felt like I was at 10-minute workout type intensity.  I.e., hard but not all out 1 minute sprint-puke hard and not, wow, this is going to go on for 60 minutes...I better settle in for the suck and think efficient hard like yesterday's Terrible 10.  In other words, I think the intensity was about right.

On the other hand, since both Alison and I had energy for a Crossfit Endurance WOD after the Mainsite WOD, perhaps I am a big fat liar.

Run: 10:20 x 16

10 seconds on, 20 seconds out for 16 rounds. All out.

I set the treadmill at 8% incline and started at 8 MPH.  By round 3 I was up to 8.5; by round 5 or so it was 9.0...over the next several rounds I increased speed to 10 MPH, which is when it started to get hard, and is probably where I should have started.  Now I know.   Incline stayed at 8% the whole time.  I think Alison was around 8 or 9 MPH and maybe 6% grade, but not totally sure. Have to say, this too wasn't that bad, but here I know my intensity really should have been higher in the beginning.  

On the food front, can I just say that it is shockingly easy to eat 2-and-a-half POUNDS of strawberries, melon, pineapple and kiwi if it is all delicious and just sitting in a big bowl in front of you?  I've been easing up quite a bit on calories and have been consuming closer to 2200-2300 calories the past few days.  If I really want to hit 150, I'll need to trim some of those calories, but at the same time, I am seeing such great gains in my fitness, and I can tell I am down at least a percent or two in body fat, I'm working out hard and I'm eating really good stuff, and I feel so great, it's hard to feel guilty over 500 extra calories of cantaloupe & pineapple.  :)

Countdown to 30: 9 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4
4/25: 151.6
4/26: 151.8

Had another great breakfast today, and had to take a pic:


That's sweet potato and apple hash with ginger, curry & almonds. Also had some green beans, just cause I like green beans.

Rest day and lots of food yesterday did me good, and I feel really great today. Just got back from the gym, where I did a series of workouts that took the better part of two hours. I'm confident I will sleep well tonight.

Started with some snatch practice with an empty bar, then did a variation of the Crossfit Mainsite WOD:

Here's the rx workout:

21/15/9 reps for time of:
95# Snatch
Pull-ups

I'm not about to go doing 21 snatches in a row when I'm not really sure I know how to do them properly. So until more technique practice can be done, I did this:

21/15/9 reps for time of:
65# Overhead Squat
Pull-ups

Took 7:15, which was a good 15 seconds more than I would have liked. Intensity wasn't where it should have been, and I lost some time figuring out how to rack jerk the bar up on the OHS.

Then I did some bench work with Nick. I was really happy not to have lost strength in the bench since my strength building phase. I went for 5 x 5 at 95, 100, 105, 110, and 115. 115 is my previous bench PR but I'm not totally confident I got the full 5-reps in when I last pressed 115. So this might be a new 5-rep max. I've never done a 1-rep on bench, but I'd like to try one day.

Then Nick went for a long walk and I thought I might as well do something with the hour of childcare I had left, so I rested a bit and devised my own WOD, which I am calling the Terrible Ten.

Terrible Ten:
Ten rounds for time. Do 10 reps the first round, 9 reps the second, 8 reps the third and so on, decrementing 1 rep per round until 1 rep the 10th round.

135# Squat
18" Box Jump
45# Swing
Chin-ups
27.5# Alternating Renegade Row with Push-up
55# Weighted Lunge (a 27.5# DB per arm, held at sides)
Burpees
Ab-mat Sit-Ups
27.5# Alternating Single Arm Snatch (I originally tried with the 45# DB but almost dropped it on my head so I wimped out on weight)
100# Deadlift

No joke, this took me--are you ready?--50:12. To be fair I dicked around with my phone's timer for 10-20 seconds at the end, trying to stop the closk, so most likely I was actually sub-50, but just barely. It was just really hard. The squats on rounds 3 and 4, when I was doing 8 and 7 reps, were brutal. I really felt the OHS I had done earlier. Once I got down to the 4-rep range things were easier all around, but I was just so fatigued, there was only so fast I could move. I'll put it this way: this was sucky enough that Burpees felt like a break.

Countdown to 30: 11 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4
4/24: 151.4

Doubled up on longer metcons today.

AM was a modification of Michael. Here's the WOD as rx:

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups

I want to know who the hell pissed off coach with some comment about not getting enough back work...the past three days have included: maximal effort deadlifts, 50 back extensions + 50 swings + 50 wall ball, 150 back extensions. My low back is feeling it. Anyway, Michael was the WOD, but for various logistical and gym-layout reasons, combining running with back extensions sorta sucks at my gym. Either I'm fighting my way downstairs to get outside, or I'm fighting my way to the cardio room to run a lame 1/2 mile on a treadmill. Either way there's a few minutes of transit time, so I rearanged a few things in the upstairs weight room and did this instead:

Three rounds for time of:
Row 1000 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 GHD Sit-ups (cause, you know, why not?)

This took me 30:19. I figure really fresh and not all worn out I should be able to could cut 4 or 5 minutes out of it. All in all, it was a pretty disappointing time but I still gave all I had, given the state of my low back and general fatigue. By the end of the last set of GHDs sweat was dripping down my arms and my head felt like it was going to explode. I sat in a corner for several minutes just to let the pounding in my head go down before I could work my way home.

Have to give thanks to Monique, a new Crossfit Level 1 cert'd instructor who started at the gym a few months ago. At round two she threw some serious encouragement my way and got me through the back extensions and GHDs one 5-rep partition at a time. It was really nice to have her support because in some ways that second set was the worst....the pain was just as bad as it was on the final set, but without the knowledge that it would be over soon. Thanks Monique!

Then I went and did work-ish stuff that is in no way related to fitness for several hours (serving at a teacher and staff appreciation barbeque at Bella's school-pretty easy and fun!). After that was over, I brought Bella home, ate an enormous early dinner and took a quick 15 minute power nap to gear up for a PM Crossfit with Kevin Workout.

Kevin devised a really cool workout based on body weight. It's not like anything I've seen before, but it sure made me happy I have lost a few pounds. For purposes of the workout, I assumed I was 152 pounds.

One Round For Time:
Jump Rope: 2 x body weight reps (304 reps)
KB Swing 1 x body weight reps (152 reps)
Row 3 x body weight meters (456 meters)
Lunges 1/2 x body weight per leg (76 lunges per leg)

Total Time: 16:17

After wrapping this up, Kevin layed the fitness wisdom on me with regards to my row, which was apparently all jacked up. He showed me a WAY more effecient technique, and helped me correct some of the flaws in my row. I think with practice this should really cut down my rowing time... I just wish I had known what to do right this morning before I rowed 3000 meters wrong! Thanks Kevin! (Man, it's been the day of the gym trainers really helping me out, hasn't it!)

I've crammed 5 workouts in the past 3 days, and I'm done. Tomorrow it's gardening and reading and playing with my kiddo.

Countdown to 30: 12 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6
4/23: 151.4

After a few days of felling less-than-awesome physically it was nice to feel really on my game yesterday. Sunday & Monday I was just a bit tired, which is unusual compared to how great I've been feeling lately--I attribute it to my monthly hormonal variations and Seattle weather, which has been flipping between gorgeous and crappy all week. Tuesday was a wonderful rest day, and it was really rewarding to come back hard on Wednesday with that PR deadlift.

Today I knew what was in store for me off the Crossfit Mainsite: The Filthy 50! This is one of the first WODs I ever did, and it remains one of my absolute favorites. I think the first time I did the Filthy my time was around 45 minutes. Alison and I went at this one pretty hard. I was hoping for a sub-30.

Here's the Rx Workout, with my subs and notes in parentheses.
50 Box jump, 24 inch box (18" box)
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood (35# gripper plate)
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows (most ended up closer to knees-t0-armpit)
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions (straight back extension station was in use, so I did these on the angled back extension bench. I'm sure my back appreciated the break.)
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball (12# ball, probably 9 foot target)
50 Burpees (broke these up into 10 sets of 5 and seriously powered through them...my best burpee experience yet.)
50 Double unders (I knew at this point that double unders were not possible without a bathroom break, so I subbed out 150 single unders instead. I'll spend some time on double under form in the next week or so until I can figure 'em out.)

Total Time: 25:40. WAY under 30:00! Yeah! Next Time: Sub 25! (Or let's say sub 27 if I'm doing real double unders).

Alison rocked it out with 35 of each activity. Here's her workout, modified because she's new to Crossfit, but still plenty challenging, thank you very much.

35 Box jump, 12" box
35 Jumping pull-ups
35 Kettlebell swings, 15 pound dumbbell
Walking Lunge, 35 steps
35 Ab-mat sit-ups (I think she did these un-anchored, but I'm not positive.)
35 Push press, 20 pounds
35 Back extensions (Straight back extension station.)
35 Wall ball shots, 10 pound ball for first half, then subbed to 8 pound ball, 9 foot target
35 Burpees (A suck-fest no matter how you look at it.)
105 Single unders (Alison geared up and got it done with a 3:1 sub, even though jumping rope is not her favorite. At all.)

Alison's Time To Beat: 26:47 Next time she'll move up in either weight or reps....a few more crossfit workouts and she'll be doing this one as rx. Alison has the right kind of dogged stubbornness that will make her a damn fine crossfitter, should she chose to keep it up. (Dogged stubbornness is a trait I recognize in others because I am so overly endowed with it myself.) She might be in massive amounts of pain and she might be hating life but you just know she's not going to give up. That's so cool. Great job, Alison!

Good workout!

Countdown to 30: 14 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0
4/21: 152.0
4/22: 152.6

Up a hair today after yesterday's feast, but that was pretty easy to see coming, and frankly I'm surprised I didn't see more of a bump this AM. Generally restaurant meals, even super healthy, clean meals such as my husband and I enjoyed last night will cause a substantial upswing in scale weight the next day because of the enormous quantity of salt that's used to make those restaurant meals so delicious.

A half pound increase is really nothing. A really sodium and/or sugar laden meal eaten late in the day can translate to three or five pounds of retained water the next morning. When this happens, it's important to remember that you did not actually really gain 5 pounds (this is where tracking moving averages is reassuring). Drink plenty of water, get back to eating simple, clean food and the hydration thing will work itself out over a day or two.

So this morning I went in for spin class-at the moment the only bike training I'm really getting. 60 minutes, lots of hill work....a great class as usual. In the afternoon before work I went back to the gym for the Crossfit Mainsit WOD: Heavy Deadlifts, 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1

I am super happy with how this workout went:
135 warm up
185 - 205 - 215 (fail, too big a jump, didn't budge) - 205 - 210 (belted from here on out) - 215 - 220 - 225

225 is 10 pounds heavier than my Crossfit Total Deadlift from a week or so ago, so that felt awesome. Also, after my off-day with heavy squats on Monday it just felt good to dial in, focus and PR. Yeah, deadlifts! Kevin says I'm pulling big boy weights now...and thinking about it, 225 is the bar plus 2, 45# plates per side. I was dinking around with 2.5# plates to maneuver up to my PR weight, but if I had arranged it right at the end I would have pulled 4 plates off the ground. That's pretty incredible considering how my deadlift has been my weakest lift, historically. I feel really great about the progress.

Countdown to 30: 16 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0
4/20: 152.0

Yup, holding steady. At this point I have to acknowledge that if my body just stays at 152, then I really can't argue with it. I'm eating well, eating an appropriate amount, training hard and am not willing to lose muscle just to hit a number on a scale. That said, I've still got two weeks to go, so I'm just going to stick to my rhythm here and see where it takes me.

AM Workout was a 60 minute spin class. I enjoy this class very much. The instructor is great. I was somewhat irritated my the chatty kathy's in the back row who talked all through a 15 minute progressive hill. Um, ladies? If you can talk that much, you are not working hard enough. I am usually able to tune out a lot of distraction when I'm working out but today I was a bit more distractable. Still, great class.

PM Workout just kind of didn't happen for me. It was 3 x 5 back squats, so looking at a heavy squat. I thought 185 was totally within reach. 195 was by 1-rep max on the CF Total, so 10 pounds down from that seemed reasonable for a 3-rep max. What can I say, I just didn't have it.

I worked up to 175 without too much problem, loaded up to 185 and failed on rep 2. Tried again, failed. Took the weight back to 175, did 2 more sets at 175. Moved up to 180 for my final set. Failed (loudly!) on rep 3. Kevin front squatted the weight back up for me and made it look like he was setting a baguette on the counter (he is totally, freakishly strong). Reset and failed again, this time on rep 2. Called it a day.

Looking back, 165 is my highest 5-rep thus far on squats, so I don't know why I'm so disappointed with 175 for 3. I just didn't feel strong today. It was like yesterday with the deadlifts: something was just off. The bar didn't feel exactly right, my set-up didn't feel easy. Kevin said I was too far over, that I need to stay more upright. I'm sure he's right...like I said, it just felt a touch off.

So, to do penance for my failed squat set, I took Bella to the track with every intention of running 4 .25-mile intervals: forward, backward, forward, backward. I did a warm up lap with Bella (who is, by the way, one hell of a good runner) then she played while I set off to do my workout.

As I came around the final straightaway and toward the bend that designated lap 2, I saw Bella grab my water bottle and take off down the track. I'm not sure she knew I was almost already back to the starting spot, because when I caught up to her and asked her what she was doing she said, "I was bringing you your water bottle." like she was going to race after me and catch me to hand me my bottle. Such as sweetheart!

I decided right then and there that I had done quite enough working out. I had no energy to finish my sets, I didn't want to be running anyway, and I just felt done. So I took my super cool kid home for dinner and bedtime. :)

Sorry cyberspace, this might be a bit delicate for you, but I'm thinking my monthly cycle might have something to do with my feeling a bit awkward on the heavy lifting the past two days and having really no motivation to push through the malaise today. I started my period today and though I am not normally too affected by my cycle I haven't really tracked how it might affect my athletic performance. Any girls out there notice that they have less motivation/pep/strength for their workouts when they start their periods?

In any event, it's probably a sign that an easy day is in order, which is convenient because tomorrow is my 8 year anniversary and I don't plan on logging a lot of gym time!

Countdown to 30: 17 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0
4/18: 151.8
4/19: 152.0

Well, 152 pounds is quite the comfortable spot for my body, eh?

Started with some bench work and deadlifts. Nick was kind enough to come into the gym with me on his day off (thank's sweetie!), so we did some heavy lifting together. Having him there made it a lot nicer to work on bench press, and I went to failure though I wasn't at my PR weight.

Warmed up, then went for a 5 x 5 at 105#. On the first set I did 6 reps instead of 5, so it bcame 5 x 6. I got my first 4 sets in, and got 4 of 6 reps on my 5th (last) set, but failed on those last two reps.

Nick worked at similar weight, working into my set and getting a feel for form. Nick's more a cardio guy, so throwing weights around is a bit foreign to him, and I don't think he's bench pressed since some sadist of a high school gym teacher made him back in the day, but he did an awesome job and made some really substantial form improvements even over the sets we did together.

Then it was on to deadlifting cause, well, I haven't pulled heavy since the Crossfit Total. I didn't feel 100% on with my deadlifts today. The back room with the lifting cage where I normally do my squats, deadlifts, etc. was occupied so we were in the front weight room (the dumbbell room, as opposed to the barbell room). We had a bar jacked up on 25# plates to get it up to the right height, and I just didn't feel like I had the focus I needed to really nail in my pull.

Nick and I warmed up, then settled in for a 5 x 5 at 145#. I did my first 3 sets at 145#, then moved to 165# for the fourth set and 175# for the fifth set. On the fifth set, I lifted clean 4 times, then had to regrip for the 5th pull. That's what I mean about focus. It just wasn't completely on keeping everything locked in with great form and a clean, efficient pull. Still, now that I think about it 175# for 5 is about where I was when I left of my strength building phase, so maybe that's not so bad after all.

After a brief rest, Nick took off to be the zen master of the slow twitch and went for a long, outside, uphill walk. I set up for a little action with Angie. Don't get all dirty, "Angie" is today's Crossfit Mainsite WOD. And she's kind of a bitch.

For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats

16:03, partitioned into 10 rounds of 10 for each activity. Now real badass types will tell you that partitioning totally destroys the point of this workout. As prescribed, you complete 100 reps of pull-ups before moving on to 100 push-ups, and so on and so forth. But you know what? Bella was in childcare so I could workout, and childcare was only open for another 45 minutes. I highly doubt I could have completed Angie as prescribed in less than 45 minutes, so I did what I had to do to get the work done.

Even broken up into sets of 10, this was brutal, and the push-ups were by far the worst. Coming after bench-to-failure, my push-ups were pretty weak. No full depth. Not even close. I even kicked my feet about a 18" apart towards the end to get some relief. It was wimp central. But, for what it was, I got it done, and in just a hair over 16 minutes.

Countdown to 30: 19 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2
4/16: 152.2
4/17: 152.0

My weight loss progress is slowing, but there is still progress. Slow and steady, and since I'm feeling so damn good recently, there additional motivation beyond the "goal" to keep me focused.

This morning, I did some skill work on hang power cleans after I got some form advice from Awesome Beard and Burpees for Breakfast. Kevin (crossfit coach/badass) walked in to the weight room while I was practicing, so I got his opinion and as usual his advice was invaluable. Basically, it's not a squat clean, so unless I really want to make it harder, 1/4 squat catch position is as deep as it needs to be. Pull needs to be BAM! with elbows coming up to ears and a wide elbow. Then, I need fast elbows around and under the bar. It's a moderate skill--not as easy as a squat but not a snatch either--and I'm thrilled to have the right coaching to help me learn it right.

After skill work (mostly sets of five, worked up to 95#) I took a break for other life stuff, then did the Crossfit Endurance 1 minute ladder WOD:

1 min on, 1 min off, 1 min on, 50 sec off, 1 min on, 40 sec off, 1 min on, 30 sec off, 1 min on 20 sec off, 1 min on, 10 sec off, then go back up the ladder until you finish with 1 min on, 50 sec off, 1 min on.

I started off at 7.3 and finished the last minute strong at 8.0. 1% grade the whole time, felt great.

PM Workout was Crossfit with Kevin...he had up do a Tabata workout with 4 stations....20 seconds on: 10 seconds off for 8 rounds. The stations were Rowing machine (count meters), Double Under Jump Rope (count complete double unders), Sumo Deadlift High Pull @ 65# (count reps) and single leg squats (count reps).

My score looked like this:
Single Leg Squat: 16 (L), 11 (R), 12 (L), 10 (R), 13 (L), 11 (R), 13 (L), 13 (R)
Row: 121, 209, 311, 401, 560, 592, 686, 782
Double Unders: 8, 1, 0 (did 25 single-unders while trying to find a rhythm), 3, 3, 3, 3, 5
Sumo Deadlift High Pull: (Why did I end on these?!) 11, 8, 5, 7, 6, 6, 6, 8

Total Score (if I did my math right) of 964. Smoked me like a hand-rolled cuban, yo.

Countdown to 30: 21 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2
4/14: 152.4
4/15: 153.2

Yesterday was a rest day. Played with the Bella in the park and cleaned the car, but that was about as physical as it got. I've been on a very slight uptick the past two days and while I'm not deeply worried about it, I am aware that I have only three weeks left and there isn't a lot of margin for error.

Today I am heading off to the gym for some crossfittin' as soon as I post this picture of my delish lunch: quinoa pilaf with cherry tomato, kalamata olives, red onion and shrimp. It was fantastic, super easy & a big ol' bowl full of food for only 320 calories.

Update
Afternoon Workout: At the gym I combined the Crossfit Football WOD of 3/13 with today's Main Site WOD, "Helen," and got this:
Front Squat 5 x 5 - 3 sets @ 105; 2 sets @ 115
Push Press 5 x 5 @ 75, 80, 85, 90, 95

Then:
3 Rounds for Time
400 Meter Run (treadmill, 1% grade, 8.0 mph on the first round, 7.0 mph on rounds 2 & 3)
35# Swings, 21 Reps
12 Push-ups (Pull-ups were Rx, and I would have preferred them, but I really don't want to pop the mother of all blood blisters.)
11:17

PM Workout
Blasted out a second mad workout with Alison, who is turning into a total badass. People at the gym were staring at us. Go Alison! We did a weight modified Crossfit Hero workout....tough shiznit.

"DT" Five rounds for time of:
155 pound Deadlift, 12 reps
155 pound Hang power clean, 9 reps
155 pound Push jerk, 6 reps

I did a 70# option, which I have to say was plenty by the end, and Alison (since she is just learning the moves) did 30# and did an awesome job of it.

After I went on and on and on to Alison about the importance of jumping the weight up in the hang power cleans, I got (very kindly) schooled by a fellow crossfitter at the gym with an awesome beard for reverse curling the weight in the hang clean. Damn it! Rip told me every time I did that, Jesus kills a little baby! Awesome Beard gave me some great pointers about keeping my chest open in the jump to get an explosive pull...I'm sure I was hunching over which killed the upward momentum of the weight as I jumped, so this is a great visual for me and I am super excited to practice my hang power cleans now.

Also, Awesome Beard and his crossfitting buddy who eats burpees for breakfast both told me I really needed to get deeper in the catch...and they are totally right. There's something about that motion: it's just a bit scary. I think working on my front squats will give me a lot more confidence in that front catch position. Yippee, I love these tips! That's just another great thing about the crossfit community...the sense of community, and a lot of knowledge to tap into. We really do all want each other to get faster, stronger, more proficient. Anyway, thank you Awesome Beard and Burpee for Breakfast Guy. Get some, go again!

So after our little technique chat/recovery time Alison and I hit up the Crossfit Endurance 90 Second Ladder WOD from 4/14...
90 on / 60 off
90 on/ 45 off
90 on / 30 off
90 on / 15 off - this sucked pretty hard right here
90 on / 30 off
90 on / 45 off
90 on / DONE!

This workout was pretty tough. I think Alison would agree that those last few 90 second sprints felt like they lasted about 10 minutes each. Still, we both pushed through and put in a good showing. I ran most of the WOD at 7.0, bumping up to 7.5 & 8.0 durring the final minute and 30 seconds, respectively. I think next time I should really go for 7.5 the whole time.

I really am loving these intense sprint interval workouts on the treadmill. I feel like I can really feel my form improving and I'm not killing it for long enough for the pose running technique to fall apart on me. It's a good feeling, given my pretty much lifelong hatred of running.

Anyway, quick after workout snack and I'm off to bed! Thanks for the workout Alison!

Countdown to 30: 23 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2
4/13: 152.2

AM Workout: Spin Class...focused on hills. Great class, as usual.

PM Workout: Kept it pretty mellow - I'm showing my friend Alison the Crossfit Ropes and she's just starting out so we did a "Filthy 50" style workout, but scaled in reps & actions. She did great!

18 Box Jumps
18 Push-ups
36 Walking Lunges (18 Left-Right pairs)
18 Sit-Ups
18 Supermans (some guy at the gym jumped onto the back extension station 14 seconds before we were going to talk it, so we modified on the fly)
18 Air Squats
18 Burpees

I came in around 6:30, not particularly pushing it, but still feeling that I'm at the end of a 4-day training cycle. Alison did great, pushing through the suck of those final burpees and came in at 7:16.

I also have to comment on the delish dinner I had tonight. I really wanted....you know...a big dinner. I wanted that sit-down-get-full feeling that you just don't get when eating small meals 6 times a day. But I'm not about to blow my training or goals on crap food, so I put together a fantastic but really clean meal that worked on all levels: clean, yummy, healthy, super easy, family friendly....and did I mention yummy?

We started with a mixed greens salad with strawberries, avocado and red onion and dressed it with a super light apple cider vinaigrette sweetened with dark agave. Nick skipped the avo and added Danish Blue to his salad, which would be excellent as well. Even Bella got in on the salad action, enjoying everything but the vegetables. She basically had a bowl of blue cheese, avocado and strawberries.


Then we had baked herbed Copper River Coho. The salmon was previously frozen and not rich and wonderfully fatty like a king or sockeye, but it was very moist and mild, with good texture and a great price point. I served that with salt-roasted green beans & brown rice and shoved myself away from the table wonderfully full and happy.

Countdown to 30: 24 Days to Go

4/1: 157.0
4/2: 155.0
4/3: 155.2
4/4: 154.6
4/5: 154.8
4/6: 154.2
4/7: 153.2
4/8: 154.8
4/9: 152.6
4/10: 151.2
4/11: 153.2
4/12: 152.2

Moving average is on my side, and despite yesterday (chocolate and port night at my house - oh my!) and tonight (Easter dinner with AWESOME roasted potatoes and leftover mass chocolate dessert) I've been sticking to pretty clean food, in not insane portions. Also have made it to the gym, so I feel pretty good about the program, even if I haven't been doubling up many days like I was my first week back on.

Today I did the mainsite WOD: 30 Muscle Ups for Time. Since I can't do a MU, I had to sub 1:4 and go with 120 pull-ups/120 dips. I sent in a pic that demonstrated how the pull-ups turned out for me....massive blood blister. I went for 20 sets of 6 pull-ups/dips and the blister showed up on set 18 so I gingerly worked through the rest hanging by my findertips and managed not to pop it, so that's good.

I felt good about the kip: until I got pretty fatigued I was holding a better form and not overarching my back. I found it helped to deliberately try to make the reps faster and take the "rest" of the back swing out of it....tightened up my kip a lot. Until about set 16, then everything was hard.

Still, I thought a 12:30-ish finish was pretty good since I haven't done volume pull-ups since the shoulder injury--almost 3 months, I'd guess. And speaking of the shoulder, it held up great!

After the mainsite I rested a few minutes and did the XFit Endurence WOD. I know I'm supposed to break them up, but sometimes there's not time for two gym sessions in one day, yo! So I did the lactate shuffle workout:

5 min run / 2.5 min recover - 7 mph
6 min run / 3 min recover - 7.1 mph
7 min run / done! - 7.1 mph

I notice the XFE stuff is really helping me push my speed up. And much like the kip, on the second round something just happened with the pose and the first several minutes it was like I was a gazelle - I felt like one of those people who looks comfortable running. Thats a very new thing for me. Didn't last past about minute 4, but I held on as long as I could, and got it back for about the first 4 minutes of round 3 too! This was a great workout. Just the right amount of ass kicking....a little leg and a lot mental.