Monthly Archives: May 2011

Are you a roadrunner?

Did you know we have roadrunners in Central Texas?  Yep, we do.  I learned all about it at the Texas Memorial Museum.

We took Luke and Mads this weekend, and yet again we visited that oh-so-creepy 2nd floor with all of the stuffed creatures put into poses to make them seem sorta real.  Except they’re not.  And it makes you want to hike the greenbelt just to get a glimpse of some real creature.  But I digress.

When I think if roadrunners, I think of this:

Looney Tunes Roadrunner runs on white background

But really, they look like this:

A real roadrunner in the brush

Click on the image if you want to know more about this fascinating creature.

I’ve never seen a live one.  Andy has.  He told me this story about how he was at work one day, talking with some folks, and looked outside to see a roadrunner outside the window.  His building has giant windows — like a big downtown office building — and they reflect the light and seem mirrored from the outside.  The roadrunner had just killed a lizard, and I guess he (or she) could only see himself in the glass, and it stared running up and down along the window, shaking its head and showing off.

It must have been very proud of its catch.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this… but sometimes I do that, too.  Don’t we all sometimes?  We look in the mirror and see ourselves, and when no one’s around, we flex our muscles or smile.   Admit it — you’ve talked to your reflection.

Here’s my embarrassing confession:  Sometimes I steal glances of myself as I’m walking into work in front of the reflective glass just to see how my leg muscles look as I walk in a skirt or my arms look in a blouse.  Lately, I’ve also been kind of obsessed with how my tummy looks. A couple of weeks ago a woman congratulated me on my pregnancy.

Not the birth of my child.  The impending birth of a child.  She thought I was pregnant.  And I was very embarrassed.  So now I’m always sneaking a peak to see if my stupid belly is poking out too far, and I’m trying to hold it in.

SIGH.

Despite assurances from Andy and Jenny that I do not look pregnant,  I’ve been hitting workouts extra hard lately.  Here’s what I’ve done over the holiday weekend.

Friday

Strength:
Shoulder Press 3×3

Results: 55-65-75-1 rep at 70#

Metcon:
5 rounds
20 OH Walking lunge w/ plate (M 45# / W 25#)
20 pushups

This was the WOD at my gym on Friday, and it was really similar to what I had programmed for myself (coincidence!), so I just did they’re WOD (I didn’t feel like doing burpees).

Time: 11:25 RX

Sunday

5K run (easy pace — about 32 minutes)

4 rounds
400m run
15 KB swings (16Kg)
15 KB cleans
15 pushups

Time: 17:34

Ouch!  The downside to KB cleans is that I suck at them and my wrists are really bruised.

Monday

“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Situps

There are SOME people I know that can do double unders all day without blinking.  (Yep — I’m lookin’ at you, Richard.)  Unfortunately, double unders are not a skill I have mastered.  So I tripled the number of singles for each round.

Time: 10:27

More situps, please.  I no longer want a pouchy tummy.  I want to feel good when I have my roadrunner moments.

Swimsuit season is upon us

Where, oh where did the past year go?

It’s only the end of May, but every parent of a school age child (and school kids) knows that the end of school is here!  Summer camps will start up soon.  Vacations.  Lazy days by the pool.

OMG!  The pool?  Holy cow, Batman!  I need a swimsuit!

Duh, duh, duh…. DAHHHHHHHH.

SIGH.  It’s such a pain buying a swimsuit.  But I better head out this weekend to get one if I’m going to spend time with the kids at the pool.  They both have at least one swimsuit to get them through the summer.  Now it’s my turn.

I better lay off the sweets, I guess.

Fortunately I have a little muscle definition, even though my tummy still sticks out.  So at least I have THAT going for me.

See… THIS is why I get my butt out of bed at 4:30am twice a week — so I can wear a swimsuit.

Strength:
Deadlift
2-2-2-2-2-2

Results: 134-145-155-165-175

Felt good!

Met-con:
AMRAP 12 min
6 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (M 95# / W 65#)
9 Pushups (Crossfit games standard)
12 Box jumps

Results: 6 rounds + 6 SDLHP + 9 PU + 9 BJ RX

Almost finished 7 rounds — sooooooo close!

The Return of ‘Nicole’

I wonder when it happened.  When did I stop fretting over upcoming Crossfit WODs and actually start looking forward to them?

It must have happened gradually.  I remember worrying about the WODs.  I remember dreading running during the warmup.  I remember being one of the last in from that warmup run.

Now I’m one of the first.  And WODs don’t worry me anymore.  They’re not pleasant.  But they don’t worry me.  Even those running ones, like “Nicole.”  We revisited Nicole to see how far we’ve come in the past 6 weeks.

“Nicole”
AMRAP 20 minutes
400m run
Max pullups

Results: 5 rounds + nearly all of a run (65 pullups with 3 stretched out purple bands)

I didn’t sleep well the night before, so I was running on fumes.  I had hoped to be in better condition.  Considering how poorly I felt, I did OK.  It wasn’t an improvement, but I did feel stronger on the pull ups.  I must have worked hard, because I got blisters on my hands from the bar.

Now if I could just get rid of those bands and pull up without help… well… that’ll be something.

Kicking Andy’s ass

Since 4pm Sunday, Andy has been telling me how the workout I came up with was brutal and horrible and how it was one of the hardest workout’s he’s ever done.

Something I imagined caused that much pain?  Little ole’ me?

A little perspective: we worked out on Saturday at home, too.  And it was nothing to sneeze at.

Thruster
3-3-3-3-3

Results: 55-65-75-85-80

I got 2 reps at 85, but on the third, my wrists were hurting so much that I just couldn’t manage the load.  80# felt much better

For Time:
Run 800m
30 DB Snatch (25# DB — 15 on each side)
Run 400m
20 DB Snatch
Run 200m
10 DB Snatch

Time: 10:56 @ 25#

We went back and forth over whether to do this one.  It was lightning all around and we wanted to be done fast.  In the end, it never rained on us, and it was pretty fast after all/

On Sunday I wanted to squeeze in a workout before hanging out with some friends.

4 rounds (1 min/45 sec/30 sec/15 sec)
Max reps of:
Wall Ball (6# med ball)
Med ball clean
KB Swings (1 pood or 35#)
Squats
Shoulder Pres (45# bar)
Pushups
Rest

Results: IT WAS REALLY HARD (no reps recorded)

Andy timed me while playing with the kids in the sandbox.  He said it was painful to watch.  It was SOOOO hard.  I didn’t realize it was going to be that hard.  When it was Andy’s turn, he plowed through, but I think it gave him heat exhaustion.  He just lay on the ground — and later on the floor — for a really long time.  He said it was reminiscent of Fight Gone Bad.

Ooops.

Giving it everything you have

I think I finally understand the whole thing about giving every last bit of yourself to a WOD.

I’ve seen lots of people — in class, competitions or in pictures — collapse with exhaustion after a WOD.  They just lay there on the floor, trying to recover.  I think I felt like I needed to do that when I first started, or did I?

If I did, I don’t remember, because after Thursday’s WOD, I really do understand pushing the intensity level of a WOD — not stopping, just pushing yourself to the finish.

5 rounds
12 Burpee to Overhead w/ plate (M 45# / W 25#)
200m run w/plate

To be honest, the workout is a blur.  I remember thinking that the burpees were not as hard as I thought they would be, so I went as fast as I could.

I also remember my bandanna falling off, but I just wanted to finish, so I kept going.  This was tragic, because it was the 5th round and my hip (which is now badly bruised) was too sore for me to hold the plate at my side, so I rested it on my back and did this weird shuffle-run.  The plate aided in pulling the rest of my hair down, so I had hair in my eyes.  between my hair and the angle of my head while the plate was on my back, I felt like I was running blind.  I must have looked a site, too!

Time: 15:20 RX

There was a 15min cutoff, and Jeff said I was the only person who came close to finishing.

Of course, I was panting so hard, I barely understood at the time what that meant.  All I wanted to do was melt into the floor and breathe.  But I had to run to work, so I wrote my time on the board and grabbed my stuff.

I could have used a stretch.  And that floor.  Honestly — it was the first time in a long time I felt like I pushed myself to my limit.  And it felt good.

Upping the ante

I’m skipping my workout tonight.

GASP!

It’s been a tough 3 weeks for weekday workouts.  Tonight I opted to rest and get to bed early, even though I’m awake and dying to spend some time outside.

But I know I have a WOD in the morning and my day starts super early on those days.  It will be another long one, and I’m already sleep deprived.

No sense making it worse.

My quads are protesting the WOD I did yesterday morning.  So are my shoulders.  And I have a nice bruise on my right shoulder and some scrapes on my forearms.  I’m damn proud of those marks, because I feel like I upped the ante a bit and pushed myself.

For Time:
1 Front squat (M 135# / W 95#)
1 Ring Dip
2/2, 3/3, 4/4… 10/10

Time: 13:24 @ 80# and red (middle) band for ring dips

I tried 75# and I knew I could do a little more, so I added another 5# to the bar.  That was good.  It made it really challenging.  On rounds 4 and 5, it was getting heavy.  By round 6, I was working REALLY hard.  And I’m so proud of using the band.  It’s the first time I’ve used one, and it made it a lot harder.  I definitely had most of my weight on my arms.

I was one of the last in my class to finish.  At one point Jeff teased me that I had my “game face on.” I must look pretty serious during the workouts.

Wish someone would snap a photo — it’d be funny to see.

My Fight For Air (and busting out some WODs)

Saturday morning was the Fight For Air Climb.

I felt half-hearted about this event, since I didn’t know anyone else who was doing it and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it.  But two people donated money for me to climb, including one of my best friends, so I kinda felt obligated to follow through.

It was actually chilly Saturday morning, and since there was a whole lot of standing around, it was kind of uncomfortable.  But the people on my team (whom I had never met) were really cool, and it made the time pass by much more quickly. My team (Relentless Boot Camp — which is run by Crossfit Central) led some warmups, and then we managed to get to the front of the line for the climb pretty quickly.  They let groups of 2 and 3 go up about every 2 minutes.  We started from the street level entrance to a stairwell in the Frost Bank Tower in downtown Austin.

I had been nervous that I would need to slow down or stop, but that turned out not to be necessary.  In fact, I was well-prepared for the climb without even training.  I took the first 10 or so flight two steps at a time, then I settled into a fast step-at-a-time climb most of the way — running a flight or two as I went.  I climbed 31 stories — about 60 flights of stairs — to the top.  It felt like it flew by.

I was feeling fine at the top — a little shaky in my legs, but otherwise OK.  At the bottom ( everyone took the elevator down), I felt some burning in my lungs, and I coughed a bit — which was the point.  You’re supposed to understand the challenges of breathing problems.

But when I got to the bottom I also realized I was supposed to pick up a chip timeer.  Which I hadn’t done.  D’oh.  No official time for me.  I could have kicked myself.  It was my first even where the chip was separate from the bib, so I didn’t even think about it.  Sucks.

I know I was done in under 10 minutes.  I estimate it was around 8 minutes.

Did I like this event?  Yes.  It was a little weird and running behind, but otherwise well organized and well planned.  I think I might do it again next year if they offer it.

I still wanted to do a WOD with Andy on Saturday, so we did a retest of on we did back on April 23.  I wrote about it here.  My goal was to beat my previous time, and I ended up blowing it out of the water.

3 rounds
200m Farmer carry (2-25# DBs)
25 Russian swings (1 pood KB)

Time 12:50

We started off the evening with some strength work.

Push Press 3-3-2-2-1

Results: 65-70-75-80-85

There wasn’t anything remarkable about my results — I did the exact same weights as last time.  Maybe next time I’ll do more.

Sunday morning I went for a run with Jenny for the first time in weeks.  It was so nice to be out on the trail again.  We had tons to catch up on, and we started off really strong.  But Jenny’s been sick, we wwe walked halfway around our usual loop.  No matter — the girl gossip time was well worth walking.

After I got home and had breakfast, Andy and I headed out to the backyard for a workout.  It was nice to exercise in some BEAUTFiUL weather.

We started with strength:

Overhead squat
1-1-1-1-1

Results: 50-55-60-65-70

I think that’s a PR for me!

Then we did another retest (it’s been a weekend of testing!).  And yet again — I blew my previous time/score out of the water.

AMRAP 12 min
3 Handstand pushups
6 Power clean (75#)
9 Box jumps

Results: 7 rounds + 3 HSPU + 6 Power cleans (compare to 3-31-11)

Wow — I guess I’m strong, because I certainly am not more rested.  Speaking of rest, I’m already up way too late.  I better get my butt to bed.  G’night!

Shaky arms and a cool shower

About 7am this morning, as I rushed into work (looking like a pack mule with my three bags, keys and travel mug in my hands), I felt my arms shake.

Seriously, they were shaking, and I could not control them.  My muscles were involuntarily twitching, and it felt very weird.  I rushed to my desk and pulled out my breakfast hoping a little sustenance would help.

It did.

What did I do to create such upper body havoc?

Power Clean
5×5

We were on a tight schedule, and despite moving fairly quickly, we only had time to complete 4 sets.  My results were: 65-75-80-85.  I felt my form begin to break down at 85, so I’m not sure how I would have done at 90 or 95.

We followed up our strength session with a met-con that I knew would be a long one.

21-18-15-12-9-6
DB Power Snatch R (M 50# / W 35#)
DB Power Snatch L
Pull ups

I did OK on round 1.  I was moving quickly, and I started to wonder whether I chose a weight that was too light.  But on round 2 I realized that was bull$**t, because I was really starting to wear down.  I was soaked, and my hands were so slippery, I kept having to chalk up.  The pull ups became much harder than they should have been, considering I was using three purple bands.

There was a 15 minute cutoff, so I did not finish.  I made it into the 3rd round with both sides of snatches and 2 pullups.

Class ran late so my friends helped me out by putting my stuff away while I ran out the door.  I miss hanging around for the cool-down stretch.  I was still flushed when I got home, and for the first time I took a cool shower.  It felt amazing!

You should try it!

Cheer up, sleepy ‘Nancy’

Seeing as how it’s nearly 10:30pm and I’ve been up since 4:30am, I should probably get some sleep rather than writing a blog post, but I’ve felt so bad about neglecting my favorite blog lately, that I just had to stop in.

One day I will catch you up on my workouts over the past two weeks.  One day.  Between prepping for work, going to work, spending time with the family and trying to get stuff done around the house, my time has been stretched in just about every direction imaginable.  According to Andy, there are theoretically an infinite number of dimensions.  I think I’ve stretched into every one.

I ate like crap all weekend — Hut’s and Amy’s on Saturday, Chez Zee on Sunday — and I’m still trying to cleanse myself of the sugar high.  Add to that a lack of sleep, and I wasn’t feeling all that alert for class this morning.

“Nancy”
5 rounds
400m run
15 Overhead Squats (M 95# / W 65#)

I’m still working on depth in my squat when I’m holding that weight overhead, so I chose 55# again.  I considered 60#, but after a couple of rounds I was glad for the lighter weight.  It grew increasingly difficult to go as deep as I needed to and balance that bar overhead.

The run was more difficult than it should have been simply because I wasn’t fresh.  With rest I would have felt better.  Still, I pushed myself as hard as I could.  I could feel my face burning when I got back from the runs, and I worked hard to do the squats unbroken.

I screamed time just as Zach was cutting off the workout.

Time: 20:00 @ 55#

We’ll do this one again in 6 weeks or so.  I’m still considering whether I should increase the weight or stay the same and try to go faster.

We shall see.

Now.  Time for sleep.

In flux

I started a new job this week.  This single event has thrown my house into a weird state of transition.  It’s amazing how many things are affected by my returning to work outside the house full time.

As a result, I have been working like mad to adjust to this new state of being.  I’ve managed to fit in workouts, and I’ll blog about them soon, but at the same time, I just need time to get settled.  I mean, seriously — my new job has changed just about everything.  Everyone here is getting used to this change, although I think everyone but me is handling it extremely well.  It’s painfully apparent that I am on the verge of OCD because of how much stress I feel not being in control of where plastic-wear is put away, how the dishwasher is loaded and whether Luke’s mattress pad goes in the dryer.

Yeah.  I actually caught myself feeling stressed out about that stuff.

I skipped my usual Wednesday workout to chill out and sleep.  That’s not going too well.  It’s already 10pm and I’m up super early in the morning.  But all of my things are ready to go so I can run out the door super fast.

Thank goodness I’ve been working on running faster.