See, I Told You!

Here's Dan, introducing our new track. He's the boss, the coach, the man. I wasn't going to be so crass as to actually write the words, "Dan, the Man" but I guess I just did. The track is the bomb, even if I did stay home to avoid the massive running WOD today. I'll put in my time, I'm sure.

http://vimeo.com/66690437

Follow the link to see the video...

cheers!

Family Accomplishments!

I love this picture of my son doing thrusters. Let me tell you that this kid WORKS when he does a WOD. He lifts heavy, pushes hard, and sweats. At age 11 he is doing 35 lb. thrusters, 55 lb. C&J, and can do 100+ lb deadlifts. I don't know what his actual max is because at his age they are not concerned with max weights, but with overall strength and technique. He is my best WOD buddy, and my greatest supporter. When we work out together I feel I cannot fail--the sound of his voice counting off reps strengthens me and makes me want to make him proud. We are in this together.

Today, Little Sister did not WOD because she is getting over a lingering cough, so I took Matt to CF Kids and he worked his tail off through that WOD of 40 thrusters, 40 box jumps, 40 sit ups, 40 overhead squats, and 40 burpees. While he was working out, I practiced different moves, as the box was essentially empty of classes. I worked on pull-ups, kipping, double-unders... When the WOD was over Coach Evy was helping some of the them work on their rope climbing technique. I have not yet been able to succeed in getting to the red line, so I decided to pull out a rope and give it one more shot. I got my first pull up the rope and without even knowing she had noticed, Evy came and in her very steady, calming voice talked me through the next moves. "You got this...pinch with your feet. Walk your hands up. Knees up. Pinch the rope with your feet. Walk your hands up. You're there just reach up and touch it [the 15' red line]." I heard someone from below say, "Look at Matty!" and I looked over to see him climbing to the blue 20' mark on the rope beside me!

We gave each other a huge hi-five when we came down! It was my first official rope climb, and unbeknownst to me he did it with me, and got his first 20' climb! It was a proud moment for both of us, and one I'll never forget.

CrossFit Woodbridge Has New Toys!

Lately there have been complaints from the businesses that neighbor the box about us running on the driveway that loops around the building. Boo. That meant no more running WODs until we worked out a solution. Boo for many people there, but not from me, as I don't love running. It was arranged, however that we would be permitted to build our own track on the field space in front of the building. Yay! Yesterday the track was finished, complete with a Rogue infinity setup. Yay! Today we christened the track with the first all-outdoor WOD that included running. Yay! (Boo--no more hiding from the run.) We will have to get used to the setup, but I would like to say publicly that it's pretty much the bomb, and if you don't go to CrossFit Woodbridge...well we're having ALL the fun. Better get over there and get your WOD on.

Today's WOD

AMRAP in 15
400 m running
3 burpees
6 pullups
9 wall balls

score: 4 complete rounds

It was hot. I haven't run in a while, so I was extra winded.
It was grassy (everyone had grass sticking to their clothes from doing burpees).
It was hard hitting the target with the sun in your eyes (note to self--buy good sport sunglasses).
It was a  bummer getting hit in the jaw with a medicine ball due to general lack of coordination,  the sun being in my eyes (cue tweeting birds flying around my head).
It was awesome because Dan (CFW owner and friend) was so happy. That made me happy. And proud. I love our box.

Schizophrenic CrossFit

Today was the third day in a row that I went to the box. I am really in a bit of a dilemma. I cannot go on Friday, and that means that I will be four days without a WOD at the box. I know, I know, I could do it at home on my own, and if push comes to shove I will, but it is not the same. I should take tomorrow off and let my body recover, but honestly the desire to go is overwhelming.

Even so, I am sitting here somewhat aggravated at myself. Today's WOD was a ton of dead lifts and I lifted too light. On one hand I have to consider that I lifted heavy yesterday and so I should go a little easier today, and on the other hand I am thinking, "not that easy!" I should have lifted another 20#, and as a result got the hairy eyeball from Wendy, my semi-official weight-watcher. (Not that kind of weight-watcher...I know where you're going with that.) Another friend commented that you can always step up intensity when you lift "too light" but it's better than going too heavy, which will detract from your intensity and drag down the workout. This is true, and I did move faster through my reps and had a good WOD in the end anyway.

So, I did it: 7 rounds for time

7 dead lifts (105#)
7 burpee-over-bar
10 pull-ups

score 15:04

So now I have reached the point where addiction supersedes self-discipline. What is up with this sport? It's the strangest thing I have ever encountered in my life...

Lifting With Your Brain

Today's WOD was the kind that gets me out of bed in the morning. I love "oly" WODS.

20 minutes to find 1RM clean and jerk,
then every 30 seconds for 4 minutes: 2 power cleans @70% of 1RM + 1 jerk

It wasn't really my day to go to CF. I typically go on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but when I saw today's WOD, I wanted to go. I also measured out my week's schedule and realized that I can't go on Friday, anyway. A couple of weeks ago I lifted 95# which was my previous 1RM, and I was determined to get to 100# today. I did that and more, with 105# being my new personal record!

A point about performance that I understand with increasing clarity is this; the execution of every move must begin in my mind. Last night I found myself in phases of lighter sleep, visualizing the perfect clean and jerk. This morning when I woke up, I was thinking about everything I know about the move. Phrases such as "deep breath, keep the bar close, big shrug, throw yourself under the bar..." were running through my mind. As we practiced the moves in class, I made sure to "feel" the weight as I pulled the bar off of the ground, before I added any weight. "Fast elbows..." I would run through the movement dry before stepping to the bar. I tried not to fuss over the bar, but rather make my movement intentional so that when I stepped to the bar it was time to work, not time to fret about if I made it or not. At the moment that I finally grabbed the bar, breathed, and pulled, there wasn't a lot of thought. The thinking part was already done, programmed, settled. Now was the time to execute. It is bizarre how easy I find lifts to be when properly executed. From beginning to end it is as though I can't really understand how I get there, I just do. If I miss a lift or do not lift properly, it is never easy. There is too much thought, lack of form, or too much weight. It usually hurts to do it wrong, but a proper lift never hurts.

105# felt right today. I tried to lift 110#, but was unable to clean it, so I'll save that weight for the next time.

Congratulations to all the others in the class who PR'ed, and Wendy even made it onto the leader board at the box!

Mother's Day WOD

The kids' coach hosted a Mother's Day WOD and brunch for us to do together on Saturday. It was so much fun...well wait, let me qualify that statement. It was fun to do it with the kids. The thrusters and burpees were thrusters and burpees--never exactly fun, though I'll take the latter any day over the former. The WOD, to be completed in teams was 10 thrusters (we used Matt's weight of 35 lbs and Molly used a PVC pipe), 10 pushups, 10 sit-ups with a medicine ball passed between, and 10 burpees, AMPRAP in 20 minutes. It was not exactly difficult, but we ramped up the intensity and I was sweating hard by the end. Poor Molly was having a severe allergy attack and did not feel very well, so she just did the parts she felt well enough to do.

Warming up with Spiderman lunges

Waiting for the warm-up instructions

Getting ready for sit-ups 

Thrusters!

More thrusters!

sweaty, but still handsome

The whole group after the WOD

After all the fun and play, we had a brunch that Coach Evy had prepared for us that even included Mimosas! Yum! The best part about events at CrossFit that include food is that we can eat the food! People are conscious of the fact that many of us opt for a paleo-style, or at least "clean" diet, and they take the time and energy to prepare food for potlucks and occasions rather than picking up a cake at Sam's club. There was salmon and meatballs, deviled eggs and fruit, and the ever-present guacamole!

What no one besides our family could have known was that this Mother's Day was special for me because I shared it with my daughter whose birthday fell on the same day. Maybe I'm just sentimental, but everything we did in honor of her birthday or Mother's Day took on a deeper level of meaning, and I thought constantly about the beautiful treasure with which I have been entrusted in the gift of my daughter and son. When I tucked my girl in last night, she handed me two small gifts. One was a tiny envelope filled with cut-up paper--confetti for a joke! The next was a tiny glass bluebird that she acquired at a yard sale. It is about the size of a marble and smooth glass, but to me it so huge because she knows exactly how much I love bluebirds. My heart is full...

Another Day in the Bag...

This morning I meant it. I called Candace and told her, "I'm not going today." She said she totally understood why...my back was so sore, my arm has been sore for months, I was up late with my daughter who got in big trouble last night, and I was having an allergic reaction in my left eye, which has been causing me to wake with puffy, crusty eyes and a miserable outlook on life.

Typically, I leave for the box at 8:30. At 8:25 I was sitting at my desk with my coffee half-drunk, enjoying my pajamas and the fact that my husband was telecommuting, and 20 minutes after that I am standing in front of the whiteboard at the box wondering how I got there. What is wrong with me? I can't not go! Something must be wrong with my brain when I cannot refuse to go to a place where I sweat, suffer, and endure the biggest aches and pains I have ever had.

Today's WOD:

AMRAP in 12:
3 muscle-ups (6 m-u transitions for scaling)
10 kb swings
25 double-unders or 75 singles

So I stayed, sweated it out, and afterwards worked on my rope-climb skills. I will reach the red line tomorrow. Just need to figure out how to keep my foot j-hooked on the rope.

Been Waiting for This One

Today's WOD:

50 walking lunges
50 push ups
50 double-unders (150 singles)
25 knees to elbow
5 rope climb
50 box jumps
25 overhead squats
25 L pull-ups
50 sit ups

Yup, 5 rope climbs. Seeing as how I had never done even 1, or gone near the ropes in my whole 6 months at CF, I was a tad worried. I have thought about it a lot since starting. When I was a kid, I used to climb a rope that hung in my neighbor's tree almost every day in the summer. It was awesome! HOWEVER I am a tiny bit older and not as light and easy as I was then...

Dan showed us the proper way to hook our feet and stand up on the rope one foot on the other, and hello! I could climb the stinkin' rope! I was so excited not to be an utter failure at a skill the first time trying it for a change! I got within one pull or maybe two from the red line, and made the mistake of looking down. (sigh) I kind of freaked out at how high up I was and wondered how to get down without dying, so I lost my nerve and didn't go the rest of the way up, but at least now I know that I can climb the rope if I want to! I scaled the 5 rope climbs during the WOD (I was just thrilled with my limited success on the warm-up) and genuinely look forward to doing this skill again.

Row, Row, Row your...rowing machine...

Okay--I am NOT a cardio girl. I do not like rowing. Mind you I like rowing better than running, but that is not saying much...

I don't like the scrunched up feeling, I do not like watching the meters tick down and the time tick up, I do not like the burn-y feeling in my hamstrings that I have when I get off the rower, and why in the name of Pete do they always make us do SQUATS when we get done with the rowing?

I swear to you I was having flashbacks to pregnancy when I was rowing today because I could not get a deep breath while I was hunched over on the rower. I figured out after a while how to catch a deeper breath while I was in the fully extended position, but really I needed about five good breaths at once, and I was getting about half of one. Even so, I survived.

Today's WOD:
12 minute cap
2000 m row
AMRAP in time remaining 5 squats, 3 burpees

score: 9:56 / 3 rounds

In honor of today's WOD, my amazingly creative, not to mention poetic (not!) son sang me a new version of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." It goes:

Row, row, row your rowing machine
gently down the box
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Pain is justafigmentofyourimagination.

(smile)

Baseline Check-in

At our box, there is a baseline WOD that everyone does sooner or later. For many it is the WOD you do with a coach when you meet them and they do your intro class. For others of us who come with a friend and get obliterated on the first day, it is one that comes up in the mix from time to time. I first did this WOD a month after I started CF. It is funny to look back on that and think that I found it to be as challenging as I did. I remember it clearly--my friend Justin who is always willing to help spur a teammate on to greater accomplishments was with me all along the way, cheering and pushing me to stay with it. That time I finished in 8:22.

Today we did the WOD after 20 minutes of jerk practice. I clean-and-jerked my PR weight a second time at 95#. I did not realize that was my PR. Going in I thought it had been 90# so I admit that I feel a little disingenuous having written "PR" by my name today since I did not set a new record for myself. If I had known I would have thrown another 5# on the bar. Oh well, confession is good for the soul. Next time I'll remember my WOD book and not leave it sitting on the kitchen table.

After the weightlifting practice we did the WOD which is the following:
500 m row
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 pushups
10 pull-ups

I did the pushups on my knees again because lately I have been struggling with pushups, and for the pull-ups I used a green band, which is a step down from the first time with this WOD. It may be time  to move to the next lighter band. (Justin happened to be there and cheer me through this one, too!)

I remember the sensation the first time I stepped off the rower and started the squats. I was shocked at how badly my legs were burning. I had to keep pausing. The sit-ups were excruciating and I had to stop and breathe, the pushups were tough.

Today I burned through every set of reps without hesitation. I was determined to beat that last time, and I did!

previous score: 8:22
today's score: 5:24

Woot! That is all.