Wednesday, September 30, 2009

My ACL picks...

Ok, here are my picks so far for ACL this weekend:

Friday:
The Knux
Dr. Dog
Phoenix
Thievery Corporation
Reckless Kelly
Kings of Leon

Saturday:
!!! or Mute Math
Grizzly Bear
Citizen Cope (must you be up against Flogging Molly??)
Bon Iver
Mos Def or The Levon Helm Band (hearing some good things about that one)
The Decemberists/The Scabs/STS9 (ugg...this is going to be an hour of tough decisions)
Ghostland Observatory (yes I pick Ghostland over DMB)

Sunday:
The B-52s
Heartless Bastards
Arctic Monkeys
Passion Pit
Ben Harper and Relentless 7 (sorry Jack White with The Dead Weather)
Girl Talk
Pearl Jam

Hold crap it's going to be a good weekend.

Go check out the full line-up and weigh in on my decisions, input is always welcome!

A long one...

It was a very long day yesterday… Flying to and from Miami, FL in the same day is not so fun I discovered. I also discovered that the Miami airport ranks really high up there on my list of the worst airports! Apparently they are installing a train to take you from one side of the airport to the other, and it is very much needed!! I think they also need to do some training on what should and should not be a carry-on item, and how many carry-ons each person is allowed. I saw all sorts of people walking through the airport with tons of crap! I mean, come on, seriously, who brings a full size body pillow with them on the plane??

There were a few highlights from the flight home as well:

1. A flight attendant and a female passenger got into an argument before take-off. From what I could tell the passenger had a bag on her lap and didn’t want to put it in the overhead. The funny part though is that the flight attendant only spoke English and the passenger only spoke Spanish. They went on like this for a while and the stupid flight attendant just kept getting angry and threatening to turn the plane back to the gate and throw the passenger off, but didn’t even think to ask a plane full of people from Miami if someone could translate…. Pure awesomeness. Finally a guy a row back translated and they got the woman to put her bag up (after about 5 minutes of yelling). But then she continued to complain, in Spanish, to no one in particular. Boy was she mad!

2. There were 2 small twin girls (probably 5 yr olds) sitting behind me. At first they seemed like they may be well behaved as their parents were very calm with them. But then I realized that these 2 never shut up. Seriously! They “talked”/yelled/sang/etc… for the entire 3.5 hour flight. Even when they were watching a movie, they continued to make noise! And the worst part was they had those hippy parents that try to treat their children like adults. And speak to them rationally. “Please lower your voices”, “Now you just spit in my face, do you think that was a good thing to do?” I’m not kidding about that last one, it’s a direct quote. Either these parents are the most patient people on the planet, or they both have completely lost it. Oh, and did I mention the seat kicking??

3. Ahhh landing. (Accompanied by a countdown from the brats behind me) I thought I would finally get away from the blowhorns and get home at a decent time. Nope, we stopped on the tarmac. And waited. And waited some more. Then the captain said that there was a plane in our gate and it would be about 10 minutes. So we waited a little longer. 10 minutes turned to 20, then 30….. As it turns out we spent an extra 40 minute there waiting for our gate. With the 2 behind me still talking their heads off. When they started calling their parents boogers and poo-poo’s, the mom told her 2 “angels” that it was “no longer charming”. No lady, it’s freaking obnoxious is what it is!!

Throughout the flight I really just wanted to turn around and ask the parents to please quiet them down and tell them to not touch the seat. But I knew that it would get twisted and I would be the bad guy. So I quietly tried to ignore it. Secretly wishing I could steal the Bose noise cancelling headphones from my neighbor. (Although I found out at the end of the flight that he could hear them even with the headphones)

Here’s hoping that tomorrow’s flight to Texas will be nothing like that one!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A PR kind of morning....

I love starting the day with new PR's! (although it kind of makes the rest of the say seem uneventful....)

Deadlift 1 rep max = 225lbs!!

CF Baseline: new time - 5:33 (previous 5:56)
500m row
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
10 pull-ups

I don't think anyone can argue the results from CrossFit. I'm definitely getting stronger and that's a very good thing. Now if only my left foot would heal up so I could get back to running, life would be good. The idea of running a half marathon seems kind of silly when I can't make it out for any training runs without lots of pain.

Monday, September 21, 2009

I picked a good one...

This morning we were give a choice for the WOD....and leave it to me to pick a doozie....(yes I just said doozie....deal with it.)

21-15-9
Box Jump
KB Swing (30lb)
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (65lb)

Time: 8:37

I knew after the first set of box jumps that it was going to be rough, and I was right! But it's good practice for Saturday's Fight Gone Bad workout. I think I forgot how brutal FGB is, but after doing the box jumps and SDHP's which are both a part of it, it all started coming back to me. Now the feeling of excitement is turning into a slight sense of fear/dread. Just one of those things that you remember as being awesome, but while you're doing it you realize just how much it hurts. So FGB is now added to my official list of things that I think are awesome but in reality totally suck:

1. Hill repeats on the bike (I still miss our Austin Wednesday night pain sessions!)
2. The Thursday interval ride at the shop
3. FTP testing on the bike
(are you noticing a theme??)
And now #4....
4. Fight Gone Bad!!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Please go away....

Ummm freaking out a little bit, apparently a man who has confessed to armed robbery escaped while being transported, he stole 2 guns and is now running around, possibly within a 2 mile radius of my house. Awesome...

So I'm throwing out a request, please Mr. Scary Armed Robber man, stay away from my house and run to the nearest police station.

Hey, it's worth a shot right??

CrossFit WODs...

Had to get these documented:

Tuesday, Sept. 15

3 rep max on back squat: 145 lbs

Thursday, Sept. 17

"Fran"

21-15-9 of
Thrusters (65#)
Pull-ups

Time: 12:25

Fran was definitely a wake up from my meat hangover from last night's dinner at Weber Grill! My arms weren't quite ready for it after my little break from CrossFit for the Ironman Wisconsin trip, but I'm back! And glad to be there! :)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

My first run event!!

I did it, I finished my very first official running event! All in all it was a great day. I felt very nervous as I got to the start line, but as it turns out there was no reason to be. I knew I could do the run, but for some reason, having a number attached to my Skirt made this scarier than just heading out for a run on my own. I made a mental note to run my own pace and not try to keep up with anyone else, which worked out very well. For a large part of the run I felt like I was running in my own little bubble. Every time I turned a corner I had to check to make sure there were still people behind me, because I felt like I might be that last person out there. I felt really good through the whole thing, so I know I maybe could have pushed it a little harder, but it was great learning experience. Knowing when to push it and when to old back will come with experience!

Feeling good for my next challenge. Half marathon in Indianapolis on Nov. 7!! So glad that my new friend, Katie (My Skirt Sista's real sister) will be there as well. She will be doing the full, but it will ne nice to know someone else out there! So if you find yourself bored on Nov. 7, go to Indianapolis and cheer me on! :)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Brutal....

Wow, this morning's WOD was brutal. And I had to do a way scaled back version, no idea how anyone could make it through as RX'ed. Also, I learned that CrossFit 3 days in a row is rough....back to the 2 days then rest routine next week!

3 rounds of:

100m walking lunges with 20 lb. dumbells in each hand
20 Box jumps (we used the giant tire)
12 dead hang pull-ups

Time: 17:00 (uggg....)

(Now that I typed it out, it doesn't look that bad....trust me, it was, the transition from the lunges to the tire jumps was super sucky!)

This is what it was supposed to look like:

4 rounds of:

100m walking lunges with 30 lb. dumbells
30 Box jumps
20 weighted pull-ups with 30 lbs.

Umm...can you say no freaking way?!?!?

Now it's time to rest and get ready for the big run this weekend. Bring it on!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Go guys go!!

Here are some of the guys from my CrossFit Affiliate. Way to go guys! Although apparently we need some boxes that stack!! :)



"Like jumping up on top the head of a 5th grader" :)

CrossFit WOD

Good one today....

"Helen"

3 rounds of:
Run 400m
21 Kettle Bell swings
12 pull-ups

Time: 12:31

I learned my lesson from the last workout that had KB swings and pull-ups and completely tore my hands up. So I taped the hands today. I really don't understand why taping has to be so complicated. Coach Jim has some grips for sale that I think I may start using. Same idea as the grips gymnasts use for their bar routines, but not as stiff, basically just a piece of leather that covers the hand. Added bonus is that it will help grip the bar and hopefully reduce my need for chalk! So next time a hand tearing WOD comes up, I may give them a shot.

And check me out.....I'm famous! :)

Monday, September 7, 2009

New CrossFit Total Score!!

Need to record CrossFit scores again....since it came in handy today being able to look back on it. 2nd attempt at CrossFit Total today! And I'm seeing the improvement!!

CrossFit Total
1 rep at max weight of:
Deadlift - 200lbs (+25lbs from last time)
Shoulder Press - 80lbs (+15lbs from last time)
Back Squat - 180lbs (+15lbs from last time)
Total Score: 455!!

Good start to my Labor Day! :)

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The SkirtChaser Denver race report!

My trip started on Thursday, and I arrived at the SkirtSports headquarters in Boulder! I have to say, I was pretty excited to be at the center of it all. I arrived and was surprised by nothing; pink walls, Skirts everywhere, and Nicole walking around barefoot! I hung out for a while, ran a very important errand with Nicole (picking up lunch!) and did some warehouse shopping. Oh my goodness….so exciting and completely overwhelming to be surrounded by that many Skirts!! The fall line looks amazing, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more of it. I also snuck a peak at the Spring 2010 line that they were working on, and from what I saw, we should all be prepared to unleash our inner Surfer-Chick! :)

Friday was packet pick-up at a store called Outdoor Divas in Denver. Nothing special to report. Lots of people came, signed up, picked up packets, etc…

Now on to the good stuff… race day!! Absolutely perfect weather!! I started the day off by attempting to go for a run….but there is no air in Denver! Honestly Kristina and Jess, I don’t know how you ladies do it! Way to go! Race day preparations went well. All of the girls got a work-out by hauling all of the metal fences down a block since the rental company was nice enough to drop them in the wrong spot. Those suckers are heavy and really awkward to carry! Where were the boys of Red Rock Co. during all of this?? They were “supervising and organizing”. No worries, the girls Skirted up and got it done! :)

We had a great expo at the race! Some of my favorites… Sherpani (their new line looks great! So colorful and fun!), the guys that brought a tub of Silk Chocolate Milk (honestly, I don’t remember who they were or what they were there for, but that chocolate milk was a life saver!), Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue (who doesn’t love hanging out with cute dogs??) and of course Go Girl (www.go-girl.com seriously, check it out, I couldn’t make this stuff up…).

And then of course the race started. I made sure to get through the crowd of guys before they were “unleashed” and make sure they all knew what they were chasing, the “Chase Me Sticker”! These guys are very grateful that we go through and label the single ones for them! They all made sure they had their single stickers on as well and then were off. But none of them were fast enough….a Skirt crossed the line first….in 17:27!! The Skirts are definitely kicking booty this year!!

After the race we had a great block party. The band was rocking, the Oskar Blues was never ending, and everyone had a great time on a gorgeous Denver evening.

To sum up, I have my highlight and lowlight of the race day!!

Highlight: getting the 2 guys from the radio station to wear Skirts all day! One rocked the pink Uptown Girl and the other had the red Race Collection. And these guys loved them! They wore them all day… Lilly from Skirt made sure to get them on video discussing the “comfort factor”.

Lowlight: Aladdin water bottles…. Ugg… I know all of the participants enjoyed having their water (it was hose water…shhh don’t tell) handed to them in a reusable water bottle at the finish line. But us volunteers sure didn’t enjoy opening the 250ish boxes of water bottles, removing all 1500ish of them from the plastic, unscrewing the tops, filling them all with water and rescrewing the tops back on. Oh and did I mention breaking down all of those stupid cardboard boxes?? But hey, at least I got to keep one! :)