March 2016 Goals

This month was humbling. I wanted to be someone who could accomplish a ton of things and be a ladyboss, but it became apparent that I had too many things on my plate. The quality of my work at my real job suffered. I was constantly tired. I even got so stressed out, I yelled at my dogs. I don't want to be a person who yells at her dogs. Even when one of them refuses to potty outside and the other refuses to stay outside long enough for the first one to consider going potty. I accidentally tazed myself this morning. I was so tired and it was 4 AM and instead of pressing the button that locks Frank's retracting leash, I pressed the button on my taser and I tazed the shit out of my hand. I was so tired that it took me a few moments to even realize where the pain was coming from. It was in that exact moment that I knew I had made the right decision. My first priority is sleeping enough to succeed at my job and to be a good dog momma.

I withdrew from my GMAT class because it became painfully obvious that I am significantly behind in the math content. Once I have become proficient enough in the work that pays my salary, I am going to get myself a math tutor. Veritas Prep told me I can re-enroll without penalty whenever I'm ready. I have also put in my notice at Pure Barre and will only work a few shifts this April. The 4 AM wake up on Wednesday and Thursday was killing me, especially since I produce my best work between 6 and 10 AM. By the time I got home, I couldn't concentrate and frequently needed a nap. I was also late for my shrink every Thursday. I am disappointed that I didn't get to enjoy a free membership. It seemed like I was asked to cover a shift every time I signed up for class - like legit, Hey we see you're signed up to take the 4:45 PM. Can you show up at 4 and leave at 8? I'm a hard worker and I understand that helping to pick up weights is a small sacrifice to make for free class, but I didn't want to get pulled in to cover the desk every time I went near the studio. I have a relatively flexible work schedule that allows me to exercise during a typical work day but that's only because I make up that hour before 9 AM or after 6 PM. It doesn't mean that I'm free to work 4 hours in the middle of the day or that I can drop everything to handle an apparel shipment at 11 AM. If it sounds like I'm pissed, it's because I am. I'm a big fan of the studio and the owners and everyone who works there, but working there isn't the right thing for me anymore. I'm going to buy myself a class pack and go back to being a client.

Life and Wellness goals: FAILED. I didn't sleep enough and I certainly didn't live in the moment because I was miserable and panicking on a regular basis. I got so stressed out that I tried to find things to give up that weren't GMAT or Pure Barre so I told Jenna I needed a break from nutrition coaching. Even thinking about my macros changing made me freak out. The good news is that I'm back on track and have a carb cycling and workout plan set for the month of April.

I'm looking pretty lean but I'm still working on losing more body fat.

CrossFit Open 16.5

One of CrossFit's biggest selling points for me is measurable fitness. You can track your improvements over time and compare performance the same way you can for running, except you get to do things other than race the same distance over and over again. Don't get me wrong - I love running, but racing the same distances slowly turned me a little insane and I started resenting running in general. In CrossFit, we retest workouts to measure our growth and some of those workouts are evil. One such evil workout was 14.5 - a descending ladder of thrusters* and burpees over the bar. We got to do it all over again as 16.5.

*A thruster combines a front squat with a push press. Most people hate them.

Workout 16.5

21-18-15-12-9-6-3:

Thrusters

Burpees

M 95 lb.      F 65 lb.

This is me doing 14.5. I had never done thrusters at 65# before. It was really heavy and I got a lot of no reps. I completed the workout in 20:23, which was actually kind of a good time I learned afterwards. Two years later, I finished the same workout in 14:44. That's 5 minutes and 39 seconds less. It was still a vicious workout, and it should never get any easier because the fitter you get, the faster you go.

Instead of struggling to get three thrusters in a row, I managed to complete the entire workout without a no rep. My coach Eric was my judge and we discussed pacing before my heat. We decided that I should break up the reps as follows: 7-7-7 thrusters & burpees, 6-6-6 thrusters & burpees, 5-5-5 thrusters & burpees, 4-4-4 thrusters 6-6 burpees, 5-4 thrusters 9 burpees, 6 thrusters & burpees, 3 thrusters & burpees.

I would say that the hardest set was the 5-5-5 and I got sloppy on the thrusters. I had to get my head out of my ass, refocus, and was able to complete the remaining thrusters with a lot better form. Once I got through the 12s, I knew I was so close to finishing and had to just get through it. I used my motivational phrases (I like to scream HUNT and MURICA) to knock out the remaining reps.

Today marks the end of the 2016 CrossFit Open. The best CrossFitters will go onto Regionals and compete for a chance at the Games, but most of us end our season today. I'm proud of my performance this year because I got chest 2 bar pull ups for the first time and I proved to myself that I am in fact fitter today than I was in 2014. The Open reveals your weaknesses, affirms your hard work, and best of all - brings the community together for 5 weeks.

CrossFit Open 16.4

If you're wondering what happened to 16.3 - I completed my 10 snatches at 55# and took my Rx score. 2017 will be my year for bar muscle ups.

Workout 16.4

13-min. AMRAP:

55 deadlifts

55 wall-ball shots

55-calorie row

55 handstand push-ups

M 225 lb. / 20-lb. ball

F  155 lb. / 14-lb. ball

I didn't watch the 16.4 announcement because I was drinking margaritas in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. (I don't care what day it is - every celebration should have margaritas.) I did check the workout and decided that I shouldn't stay out past 1 AM. Dare I say that I may actually be adulting?

So Tuesday's WOD was 17 minutes to run a mile followed by an ascending later of body weight deadlifts and burpee box jumps (2,4,6,8...) My mile took 7:04 minutes and I was able to get through the set of 10s plus 3 deadlifts using 145#. This told me that I was going to at least complete the deadlifts in 16.4 because I didn't need to sprint a mile before picking up the barbell. I was most worried about the wallballs because those are not my strength. Women and men all practice with a 10 ft target at CrossFit Identity, but the Open requires women to only hit a 9 ft target, which feels glorious. I didn't receive a single no rep during the 55 wallballs. I did sets of 10, 10, 10, 15, 10. I like to break them up before I start getting sloppy and discouraged. I was happy that I got to the row and I heard from my CFID family's cheers that I was doing well. At that point I was feeling good and knew that I could just churn it out. My coach Eric showed me that you can take the cap off the side of a C2 rower and watch the flywheel nob rotate. It's very relaxing. I finished the row at 11:29 (my official tiebreak score) and had 91 seconds to attempt handstand push-ups. You might remember that I briefly had handstand push-ups before last year's open but I failed to get a single rep during 15.3 and I haven't gotten one since. I wasn't able to lock out during 16.4 but I have a feeling those HSPUs will return shortly.

Overall, I am happy with my score of 165 (11:29 tiebreak.) Could I have gotten a HSPU? Maybe if I had practiced beforehand. I went into the workout with no expectations and only the desire to work hard and consistently for the 13 minutes. Mission accomplished.

CrossFit Open 16.2

I'm a one and done person when it comes to the Open. The only time I can remember redoing a workout was 14.3 because of that little mix-up with unofficial scores. The boyfriend and I flew down to Orlando last Friday for a wedding so I got up to the workout at the 6:30 AM class. I didn't make it through the first round.

Workout 16.2

Beginning on a 4-minute clock, complete as many reps as possible of:

  25 toes-to-bars

  50 double-unders

  15 squat cleans, 135 / 85 lb.

If completed before 4 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:

  25 toes-to-bars

  50 double-unders

  13 squat cleans, 185 / 115 lb.

If completed before 8 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:

  25 toes-to-bars

  50 double-unders

  11 squat cleans, 225 / 145 lb.

If completed before 12 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:

  25 toes-to-bars

  50 double-unders

  9 squat cleans, 275 / 175 lb.

If completed before 16 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:

  25 toes-to-bars

  50 double-unders

  7 squat cleans, 315 / 205 lb.

Stop at 20 minutes.

I knew I could've cycled through the 15 squat cleans at 85#. That isn't that heavy for me, but I was no repped once and missed my last rep right as the clock hit 4 minutes. I had a flight to catch so I just went home. My coach Al even said I should redo the workout.

All weekend I thought about my score and I knew I wanted to do it again, but after the weekend in Orlando, I was tired, still hungover, and just kind of bleh. I showed up for the 6 PM WOD and waffled between doing Jackie with the class or redoing the WOD. I am glad that my coaches Brandon and Bre pushed me to do it again. Bre judged me and it was awesome to have her support.

Two year ago I got my first toes-to-bar during 14.4 and it took me until the time cap. This year I completed two rounds of 25 and was able to get 10 in a row. My doubleunders are actually very good (super proud of the practice I put into these) so my tie-break score is sweet. I did the first 5 squat cleans as singles but I realized I was wasting a lot of time picking up the bar. Bre said she didn't think I was going to make it through the first round until I knocked out 10 reps in a row unbroken. I really like barbell cycling so that's a plus. I came in under the 4 minute time cap, knocked out some TTB as singles, made it through the doubleunders unbroken, and then hit 2 squat cleans at 115# before the 8 minute cap. 

I am proud of myself and very glad I decided to redo. Bre put it really well - if you think you can redo and beat your score by a few reps, don't do it. If you can beat your score by many reps OR one more rep will get you into a whole new round (like mine did), you should definitely redo. Bre also told me that I inspired her by making it through those 10 cleans unbroken, and that made my week because 1. I love Bre 2. She's a really good friend 3. It's pretty fucking awesome to be able to inspire a Regional athlete.

Weight Loss Wednesday 3.2.16 and CrossFit Open 16.1

Yes, I know it is Thursday but yesterday kind of got away from me. I took a half day to get my hair colored and it takes forever, but it's worth it for the color I now have. I took these photos on Tuesday morning and weighed in at 144.6 lbs.

March 2016

vs me a year ago at 145.8

March 2015

vs me in 2012 weighing 144.4 lbs (0.2 lbs less!)

November 2012

My biggest takeaway is that those are the most unflattering shorts ever. I took this photo on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 mere minutes after the first set of photos. These Beyond Yoga crops are much more flattering. Moral of the story - wear clothes that make your body look it's best.

CrossFit and Fearless

I was in Austin last week for the Texas AmeriCorps conference. The conference was informative, the people were pretty great, AND I got to see my bestest friend Jesse, her fantastic fiance Dave, and the star of their family, Rue the mini Aussie!

No business trip is complete without a drop in. Fortunately CrossFit and Fearless was a mile down the road. I dropped in on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. The first night I took an Uber because I wasn't sure where it was and I signed up for the 6:30 PM class. Like many boxes, CrossFit and Fearless is in an industrial park but it was also super close to some apartments. I imagine it's a convenient location. On Wednesday I mentioned that I was going to CrossFit during a break in the conference and it turned out that Jennifer also CrossFits AND she has dropped in at CFHK since she moved to New York from Sydney.

I happen to like the Pukie mural but apparently it's controversial.

I loved training at CrossFit and Fearless. I partnered with Madison both days for strength. She really pushed me and I ended up PRing my push press by 5 lbs. Hello 100! I also hadn't hit 95# since 2014 and before my shoulder and lats started bothering me, so this is a big accomplishment. We had back squats the next day. Madison hit her 1RM (215#) for 2! I was able to get 185# for 1. It's been a long time since I hit a 185# back squat. I was psyched.