Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Learning new things...

Today's WOD was a clean and jerk workout, my last attempt at doing cleans was not so great, and kind of crushed my CrossFit confidence. So when I saw it written on the board today, I was not super excited. But there is no wimping out in CrossFit, so I knew I had to try even though I wanted to do anything else, anything!

The workout looked like this:
1 clean/jerk in the first minute
2 clean/jerk in minute 2
etc.....

I made it through 6 minutes!! Probably could have done 7 in a row right away, but after minute 6 I dropped the bar and bent one of the bumper plates, and lost some time while coach jumped in to fix it. After resting for a minute I did complete 7 reps in 1 minute. After that my back said no more, so I was smart and I stopped.

It felt so great to get the rythym of the clean motion though! I think with the heavy weight I was doing last time I tried to think about it too much, with the limited time I just had to do it, and I did! :) Woo hoo!!

Turns out that yesterday I had the 2nd highest score for the women on the WOD even though I did 5 extra squats per round. If only I could have followed the directions.... oh well! :)

And Lance makes me laugh....apparently he came across AC's comments that I mentioned in my last blog post, his response (through Twitter of course - Lance is a Twitter fanatic!):

"hey pistolero, there is no "i" in "team". what did I say in March? Lots to learn. Restated."

Lance also made a comment that Alberto really should be focused on thanking the team and not making stupid comments. Yes he's a phenomenal rider, but if he keeps building this reputation he's starting, teams are going to think twice about picking him up.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Seriously Contador??

Does Contador really think that statements like this will help his career, or help make people like him more?

"My relationship with Lance Armstrong is non-existent. Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will." - Contador

I understand they had a strained relationship as they both vied for the yellow jersey, but statements like that are completely unnecessary. Lance is being gracious and stating that the best man won, why can't Contador show a little class and at least just follow Thumper's rule? If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. (Seriously, all you really need to know you can learn from Bambi!)

He's certainly crossing the confidence line over to cocky and arrogant....and he's not gaining any points in my book. Way to go.

Oh yeah, and apparently my brain doesn't work all that well at 5:30 in the morning. The workout that I detailed below...well I apparently decided that it would be better if I did an additional 70 squats just for fun. Apparently it was supposed to be 15 squats per round....not 20. Oh well, my legs will thank me eventually, but probably not tomorrow.

And now I'm back....

I'm back! (I hope!) I'm finally getting back in action after almost a week of nursing the back injury (and by nursing I mean suffering through work and then coming home and laying on the couch unable to move without pain....it was awesome.)

I went out for a run Sunday morning. Perfect day. The run didn't go quite as well as I had hoped, but I guess that's to be expected after not running at all for over a week. Made it through 4 miles, and that's when the back reminded me that maybe I should come back slowly. That idea flew out the window when I went to CrossFit this morning though! I'm feeling good so far, just some general muscle soreness (no injury type soreness), but muscle soreness should be expected after making it through this!!

"Cindy"
AMRAP :20 (as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes)
5 pull-ups (assisted with the band)
10 push-ups (first 6 rounds were all military, after that I did 5 military and 5 "girl push-ups")
20 squats

Score: 14 5/6 - yes I am being that exact. I only made it through half of the squats on the 15th round, but they still needed to count for something!!

So glad to be back and getting back at it. As much as I often wish I could just lay on the couch instead of going out for the workout, it sucks when you aren't given the choice!!

Friday, July 24, 2009

On the DL....

And in this case....DL stands for disabled list. :( Monday's deadlifts made my lower back sore, but I was feeling ok when I tackled the Tuesday back squat WOD. I even felt good enough to throw in a short run and some pull-ups at the end of it. But when I got home, I realized something was wrong! So I have spent the past few days unable to move without pain. So that meant no CrossFit, no running, no riding, no nothing.... I'm going crazy!! Tuesday and Wednesday I was ok with sitting on the couch after work, just because it hurt so much. But as of yesterday and today, I'm just starting to go nuts. I know it's still not healed, there is still some pain there, so I know that I need to continue the rest. I really don't want to take chances with my back, it's kind of important. But I'm really, really hoping that I will wake up feeling fantastic tomorrow morning and can head out for a ride or run. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

Monday, July 20, 2009

2009 ACL Fest schedule!

That's right...the schedule is out! Unfortunately it looks like some tough decisions will have to be made that weekend....I hate that!

WOD and Crowie!!

Ok, first off...today's WOD, what a way to start a new week of CrossFit!!

21-15-9 of:
Deadlift (135#)
Kettle Bell swings (30#)
Wall Ball shots (16#)

Time: 13:15 - and the first person to finish was.....wait for it......ME!!! Woo hoo! There were 4 of us this morning, and the 2 ladies finished 1st and 2nd! Way to go us!

Tonight is the Craig Alexander event put on by my friends at Runner's High n' Tri! I'm super excited, and I'm not even a triathlete. I'm hearing rumors that they will be raffling off some of his stuff so hopefully I come home with something good! :) Should be a fun night...my friend Becki is going with me, and I know that lots of other fun people will be there. Let's just hope I'm not hobbling around like an 80 year old after this morning's work-out!! I plan on taking frequent "walk around so my muscles don't completely tighten up" breaks today at work.

Happy Monday everyone!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Today's WOD....it was awesome!

I needed a good one after yesterday...and I got it! Woo hoo....back to loving CrossFit! :)

WOD (made up on the spot by Coach Jim since the main WOD called for 30 muscle-ups....ha ha, I don't think so)
50 wall ball shots (16# ball)
40 push-ups
30 kettle bell swings
20 waiter's walk lunges (hold the kettle bell above your heaad with one arm - 10 w/ right arm, 10 w/ left arm)
10 box jumps (on our awesome giant tractor tire!)
400m run

Time: 12:01

The 50 wall ball shots right off the bat wore me out! So I was pushing for the entire 12 minutes. I tried to "sprint" the last 100m of the run and got back into the gym and laid out on the floor! So exhausted, but it felt awesome.

I'm on a total CrossFit high this morning! Although it could also have something to do with the delicious conconction that I made afterwards, involving some Starbucks iced coffee and my chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast! Mmmm.... soo good!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

WOD and other stuff...

I apologize that this has basically just become my CrossFit workout journal lately! But I promise that there is other stuff at the end of this post. I just need to write down the CrossFit stuff before I forget! :)

Today was a heavy lift day (uggg) so we did the full CrossFit warm-up.

2:00 min of light cardio (I went out and jogged 400m)
2 rounds of:
10 push-ups
10 sit-ups
10 squats
1o pull-ups
10 dips
10 back extensions
Then: 1 lap of walking lunges

After that we were ready for the real WOD:
Hang Power Cleans 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 (or something like that)

Turns out, I suck at these. My body does not like Olympic lifts. Part of it is the fear of the bar and the weights I'm sure, and part of it is that many of the movements go completely against what your body would naturally do. Leaning backwards, collapsing under the bar, etc... I just can't force myself to do these things yet. So it was a long morning of many unsuccessful attempts, with a few successes thrown in as well. Long story short, my max weight was 70 lbs. I really don't like the heavy lift (or not so heavy in my case) WODs they are definite confidence crushers. Here's hoping for osmething that will boost me back up tomorrow.

Ok, and now for the other stuff I promised. I swear I do things other than CrossFit and running occasionally! :) This past Saturday I went to Brewfest with Colleen and Nick and some of their friends. It was a blast. $30 to get into the tent, and then you had 4 hours to taste as much beer as you wanted. So many delicious choices. A had a few Belgian Whites that I really enjoyed, but my favorite of the entire day was the Blueberry beer from Roundhouse brewery. Absolutely delicious!! It sounded weird at first, but I definitely went back for 2nds and 3rds on that one! So good. I'm going to look for it at Binny's this weekend! :) We also finished off the day with a game. Everyone started at the table then had to run to any brewer, get them to fill your glass, then return to the table and drink your beer, no drinking until you are seated at the table. Last one to finish loses, and the losers had to write their name in the air with their butt. Yes, we're that original. I rocked the first round, and then realized that they were planning on playin gmultiple rounds. Colleen and I excused ourselves from the game at that point, because we wanted to be somewhat coherent to get all of the food back at her house ready afterwards. But watching the game was just as much fun!

Tuesday night was the Arlington Crits a few blocks from my house! Sadly I had to work so I missed all of the earlier races, but the pros didn't start until 6 so I made it home in time for that one. I decided to take Ginger with me, so we walked up into town. It was a great night, with some great racing! My boys from Team Hotel San Jose (an Austin team) definitely showed up and had a great race. Sean from the team took 2nd, and Carlos finished in the points to increase his overall standings. Way to go! Ginger really enjoyed it too. Everyone wanted to pet her and she loved the attention! I was reall surprised how well she did actually, I expected her to get bored of standing around after a while, but she made it through the full 2.5 hours we were up in town and never whined. I'm going to have to start taking her to more stuff like that! :)

And that about sums up the excitement in my life right now. :) Monday is the Craig Alexander event put on by Runner's High n Tri though! Can't wait. I'm not even a triathlete and I'm really excited to hear him speak!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

WOD! (2 days in a row?!?!?)

Yes that's right....2 days in a row of CrossFit! I'm giving it a shot.

Today's WOD was definitely a tough one....

3 rounds of:
1 lap of walking lunges with plate overhead (25#)
20 shoulder press (15#)
20 pull-ups (assisted w/ band)
Run 400m

Time 18:01

Wow...everytime I got to the run portion my arms felt like spaghetti....very odd feeling. They are starting to feel like useless attachments hanging off the side of my body as well! Washing my hair was definitely a very difficult task this morning!!

And yes, I still owe you a recap of the weekend. It's coming! Lots of fun times at Brewfest! :)

Monday, July 13, 2009

I'm in love....

I'm completely head over heels in love.....with this Kings of Leon CD. I can't get enough of it. It has been on constant repeat since I got it on Friday. :)

WOD!

Today's WOD was really 2 CrossFit workouts!

CrossFit Baseline
Row 500m
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
10 pull-ups (mine were assisted with a band)

Time: 5:56 - Everyone's times are recorded on the board for this one, and this time put me pretty well in the middle of the pack for the women, and Coach Jim said that most did the pull-ups assisted. So I'm feeling pretty good after this one.

2nd workout
Thrusters 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Basically I maxed out at 85lb. It sucked. I was so close on the 90lb, just couldn't seem to make it happen. This workout crushed my confidence. Stupid thrusters....

Friday, July 10, 2009

I know it's early....

But can I just state how really freaking awesome and exciting this is???

Today's WOD

Another good one this morning....I'm still super sore from Wednesday's workout and even today's warmup was painful! But I made it through the WOD (and even beat the guy who was also there this morning!)

Row 500m
50 Thrusters (with dumbells, 12 lbs each - coach wanted me to do 15lbs but they were mysteriously missing...hmmm how did that happen? :) )
50 sit-ups
2 laps of Frog Hop Burpees (basically a burpee with a standing long jump aferwards)
Run 400m

Time: 15:53

I am not a burpee fan....especially after rowing and 50 thrusters! So I did everything I could to make those jumps as long as possible!! It was also a little humbling when I was out on the run part and the boot campers came out for their run and went flying past me....but then I thought back to their workouts and remembered that they aren't anywhere near the intensity of CrossFit!

As much as CrossFit hurts and makes me hobble around like an 80 year old sometimes....I love it! Woo hoo!

Tomorrow is Barrington Brew Fest! Can't wait to sample all the delicious beer and finish off the day with a BBQ at Colleen's! Fun day!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

WOD (from Yesterday)

Here are the results from yesterday's CrossFit WOD!

AMRAP :20 (as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes)

4 dips
4 pull-ups (assisted with the band)
4 handstand push-ups
8 kettle bell swings

Score: 14 3/4 rounds

I was definitely feeling the effects of this work-out today! I'm actually amazed at how sore my legs were, when I really only used them for the kettle bell swings, but I guess when you do 112 of them in 20 minutes!!

But the good news of the workout (and the piece that gave me a good feeling of accomplishment) is that I didn't drop the pace. I did 7 rounds in the first 10 minutes and 7 3/4 in the 2nd 10 minutes.

Pulled off a run tonight....maybe more like a "CrossFit shuffle"! :) Can't wait to see what's in store for me at tomorrow's CrossFit session. It's a good thing I go early in the morning so I can't check the workout before I go and wuss out!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

TTT day at the TDF!!

Ok, so I'm slightly excited that the TTT is back!! Love it!! It's a big deal too! Lance moved into 3rd yesterday and Astana could very possibly dominate this stage! Which means there is a chance that Lance could move into yellow today! That would be huge for the TDF!

Contador is probably not happy about this development at all. So I suspect there could be some division within the team today, which is pretty bad timing. They definitely need to work together. But Contador would be stupid to try and sabotage....any time advantage helps him as well!

Honestly, did any of us really believe that Lance could just sit back and work for Contador?? When he saw the opportunity to move up, he took it. I don't blame him at all....if Contador wanted to he could have been moving up towards the front during the stage to give himself that opportunity as well. Just proves how smart Lance is, Contador is an amazing rider, he just doesn't have the race smarts yet.

Come on Astana (and Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-HTC as well!!) :)

Thursday, July 2, 2009

New running shoes!!

So I finally decided to let my friends at Runner's High n' Tri get me into a new pair of running shoes. And of course I couldn't get the ones that were on sale, no, I had to get the other ones. But they're so comfy and pretty dang cool looking too! :)



Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Track Workout and CrossFit WOD

Last night I gave track workouts a try for the first time. Becki was right. They're hard!! They're run through EAD and Cody, the girl that leads them, is a beast (in a good way)!! She's an All American Heptathlete, and holy cow is she strong! Last night's workout was 6-10 400m repeats. I went out too fast on the first 2, and the asthma kicked in and I stopped breathing. Not good. So I slowed it down, and finished out the workout, ended up with 8 400m repeats, and all (besides the first 2 which were at 1:45min) were around 2:00min. So I'm slow, but at least I finished the workout. Still haven't decided if I want to keep up with the track workouts, slowly but surely, or just stick with improving my running endurance. We'll see.

And then I woke up early for CrossFit this morning, my body is definitely sore, but I know it's going to be a weekend of no workouts and lots of eating and drinking with the wedding. So I'm trying to get some quality workouts in beforehand. Today's WOD:

21-15-9 reps of:
Tire jumps (that tire is huge!!)
Wall Ball shots (16lb ball)
GHD Sit-ups

Then:
400m run
15 Burpees

Time: 13:14

Since I'm used to workouts that generally last an hour...this one seemed short. But I was so ready for it to be over after 13 minutes and 14 seconds, it's amazing how quickly you get tired when you raide the intensity and go at it full speed the whole time!