Switcharoo

So... I (more like Jeff) switched my blog over to the CrossFit Costa Mesa website. No worries, its still the same ramblings, just in a different spot... and my life is still very sweaty ;)

Here's the new site:

http://crossfitcostamesa.com/category/lindsay/

Have fun for time!

Today was a fun day. I am thankful that I had stuff planned for the day so I wasn't just sitting around. It turned out to be a perfectly gorgeous day in Orange County... not that it's uncommon, but the past couple of weeks have been pretty gloomy, especially in the mornings. The first thing I did today was a low-key CrossFit event at Newport Dunes. It was a workout that included stand up paddle boarding as a way to introduce people to the sport. Jeff and I both did this event last year and we had a lot of fun.

Here was the workout:

2K row
50 kettlebell swings @ 35#
400m run in the sand

400m paddle board
25 water burpees
my time: 19:15

There were probably about 10 of us that did the event today, and I think everyone did pretty awesome. After all of the heats went, I was in first place, but Jeff kindly reminded me that he still beat me! We had to leave early, so I wasn't able to do the final workout. I'm a little bummed that I couldn't finish out the day, but it doesn't really matter.

We had a really good time at the wedding tonight and got to catch up with several old friends from San Diego. The couple that got married have been together since high school like us. It was a good reminder of how lucky we are to have been a part of each others lives for so long. Friday will be our 5 year anniversary. I'm a pretty lucky girl :)

Keep on moving.

I woke up early this morning and ended up reading at Kean for a while. Jeff met me there after CrossFit and we had breakfast together at Haute Cakes... because we love it and because there was almost no food in our house. Last night when I got home from the gym, Jeff had bought me some succulents and a new pot to plant them in. I don't think he could have done anything better. I was thinking yesterday that I wanted to plant something for Janey, to remember her by. It was perfect really. After breakfast this morning, I came home and planted the flowers and thought of her. Although I lost Poopa just over a month ago, and that was hard... this is different. Harder. My mom called me this afternoon before they took Janey off the respirator. She put her phone up to my grandma's ear so I could tell her how much I love her and that I would miss her. I am really thankful that I could say goodbye.

The only real purpose of today's workout was just for me to move. I pushed as hard as I could for where I was at... not my normal for sure, but it still felt challenging and good to do something.

10am:
5 min. SMR, mobility, dynamic
PT: Jobes shoulder circuit #2
Specific warmup: wall squats, squat jump, tuck jump 3x10
10x kb swing @ 35, 10x@44, 10x@53
WORKOUT:
IWT
10x KB Swing @ 53# KB
2:00 minute Step-up/Tuck Jump (20sec Step-up/10sec Tuck Jump)
2:00 minute Rest
3 rounds
15x Goblet Squat @ 44# KB
2:00 minute erg (15sec Hard/15sec "Less Hard")
2:00 minute Rest
3 rounds
Cool Down: easy erg 10 min.

My second workout today was at an event put on by Barbells 4 Boobs at CrossFit Newport Beach. The workout was "Grace", which is 30 Clean and Jerks at 95# for time. Again, I wasn't going for any crazy records tonight... just to support a great cause, and the mother of friends from the gym who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Janey was also a breast cancer survivor, so naturally I thought of her too. I was happy just to finish it, as I went back and forth on whether I even wanted to do it. My time was 5:39... much better than a year ago when it took me over 13 minutes! Another rough day, but God is good.

few words...

Today was not easy. It is amazing how things can change so quickly. I pulled into the gym parking lot this morning, a little later than usual. My dad called me just as I was getting out of my car to tell me that my grandma, Janey had a brain aneurysm this morning and she's not going to make it. I am so sad, I feel sick. I love my grandma so much. She is a big part of who I am... why I say some of the funny things that I do, why I love flowers, why I don't have a tattoo, why I have known the Lord for as long as I can remember. I wouldn't be me without her.

I didn't know what else to do except my workout. There was nothing else I could think to do or place I wanted to go.

Thankfully today is my recovery day. I put in my headphones, and Bon Iver and I went through the motions together. I love you, Janey. Please know how much I love you.

10:30ish:
5 min. SMR, mobility, dynamic
WORKOUT: 2k row at recovery pace (2:41) + 25 TUG's @ 18# KB
3x20 deficit deadlift (standing on a 15kg plate) @ 30% 1RM (89#), rest 3' between
10x3 deadlift @ 30%, 1 min. between
Cool Down: easy 2k at recovery pace

That was a toughie!

I felt good this morning coming into the gym, despite the fact that I am sore all over! I knew the workout would be an IWT (interval weight training), but I was half expecting it to be like last week's... which was a short one. Why I thought this, I don't know, because we have moved into power-endurance... meaning, its going to be longer. Wishful thinking I guess. What I like about IWT's is that they are broken up into segments, so I can more easily focus on one round at a time. The clean and jerks were the most challenging part for me today. Even at 55% of my max... 12 reps is a lot after you've rowed at a pretty fast pace for 3 minutes. Anyway, the whole thing was tough, but I felt really good when I finished... mostly because it hurt badly and I wanted to slow down, but my mind was strong and I resisted getting lazy. Such a good feeling!

10am:
5 min. SMR, mobility, dynamic
1. General warmup: 10min easy erg
2. PT: Jobes shoulder circuit #2
3. Specific warmup: 5x Rack push press @ training bar, 5x Push Press, 5x Rack push jerk, 5x push jerk, 5x rack jerk balance, 5x Jerk balance, 5x split jerk, then Clean practice with light bar (like 35#-45#, then work up to Clean and Jerk 55%)
4. WORKOUT: IWT
3 min. erg @ 2k + 9 (2:00-2:02 pace) (750, 741, 739m)
12x Clean and Jerk @55% (70#) (5-6 touch and go, then 2’s)
3 min. rest
3x through
5 min. rest
3 min. V-Climb @ 125-130 ft/min (383, 383, 383ft... now that's consistency!)
12x OHS @ 65% (75#) (12's)
3 min rest
3x
then...
3x10
pull up
push up
sit up
ring dips (used a thin band... I'm a little out of practice)
GH Rise
goblet squat w/ 35#
Cool Down: easy sled drag 10 min.

My afternoon W.O.D....
4pm:
30/30 Erg @ 2k split, rest rate is 50% 10x
rest 5 min. 2x through

This was also pretty killer. It brought back bad memories of the last time Steve had me do 30/30's on the Erg. I went faster than my actual 2k split (about 1:51). The rest just wasn't long enough and my heart rate was up there. The second set was very uncomfortable. So glad Thursday is recovery day!!!!!!!!!!!!

Strength "Other"

Today was a strength day, but my workout probably didn't look like what you would think of when you think strength. To me at least, it looks like a few sets of heavy squats or deadlifts. Instead, it was different variations of kettle bell carries, as heavy as possible from one end of our parking lot to the other (approx. 75 meters). Here was my morning workout:

9:30am:
5 min. SMR, mobility, dynamic
1. General warmup: 10 min. easy erg with 2-3 hard efforts
2. PT: glute/vmo
3. Specific warmup: none
4. WORKOUT: 75m farmer carry @70#, suitcase carry @70#, 1-arm OH @35#, Crosswalk @53/35#; 1x@ heavy KB's as possible, 1x @ heavy KB's + Sled @ 50lbs
5. Supplemental: 3x10 toes to bar, 3x10 pull ups, 3x10 GH Rise, 300"Ring FLR
6. Cool Down: easy jog/walk

The different carries:
Farmer--holding KB's down by your sides
Suitcase--1 KB down by your side
1-arm OH--1 arm overhead
Crosswalk--1 arm down by your side, 1 arm OH

On all of these, you should keep your shoulders pulled back and your chest up... this becomes very difficult when you are trying to go as heavy as possible. When I do the Farmer carry with 70# in each hand, I'm lugging more than my bodyweight! So yes, this definitely requires physical strength, but these things are always more mental for me. I was slow and felt awkward and looked like a drunk person on some of them, the way I was staggering as the weight would pull me from side to side. There was one point durring one of the overhead carries where Steve told me I gave up a little too early. I don't like this... I don't like stopping because of my mind! If my body fails, fine. I did all I could do. If my mind fails, well then... its just quitting. I pushed a little harder after that, though it may not have looked like it.

Second workout--
6pm: group class
5 Rounds:
10 pull-ups
20 push-ups
200m run
3min rest
time: 23:33

This group workout was fun. I always love working out with everyone :) Our pull-up bars were installed yesterday, and it was fun to put them to use... the 6pm class filled them up too! I felt good on my pull-ups and my runs were fast, but push-ups slowed me down, as usual. My arms are going to be sore tomorrow. I can already feel it!

Nothing to it but to do it!

I felt good this morning... lots of energy. I woke up pretty early and spent 40 minutes or so at Kean Coffee reading. I have done this several times in the last couple of weeks and I really love it. Even though there is more going on there than at my house, I am strangely less distracted. Sometimes I just like to sit and watch people as they come and go on their way to work, or after a workout, or to meet up with a friend. And there is always the same guy sitting in the back corner with his laptop and books open. I am starting to recognize faces and have sat next to the same person 3 times now. Does this make me a regular? :) Anyway, good morning. When I got home, I even made a new playlist on Spotify and danced around my house a bit... really.

My workouts felt good today. The first one was hard. It moved faster than I thought it would. I haven't done GH sit-ups too much and they weren't awful, but definitely take more energy than I was expecting and made me quite dizzy. The wall balls were not so amazing... the heavier ball and higher target were a rough combo. I hoped to keep moving on these, but dropped the ball a few times... literally :(

9:30am:
5 min. SMR, mobility, dynamic
1. General Warmup: easy 10 min. Versaclimber
2. PT: Jobes shoulder circuit #2
3. Specific Warmup: BB Complex 1x @ BB, 1x @ 45#, 1x @ 65#, 6x ea.
Deadlift, BOR, Hang Clean, Front Squat, Press, OHS, Push Up
4. WORKOUT: Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
10 Wall ball shots @ 20 pound ball (9ft. target)
10 GH Sit ups
10 Box jumps @ 24"box
Rounds: 9
5. Supplemental: 4x25 Ab wheel (yes, that's a hundo!), 3x10 Lateral DB rise @15#DB, 3x10 Push Up
6. Cool Down: 10 min. easy erg

Here is my second workout today...
3:30pm:
10x 30"/30” on Versaclimber (this means go hard for 30 seconds, then active recovery for 30 seconds)
rest 5 min, 2x through
Total feet: 1. 1180ish, 2. 1160ish

This was tiring and made me really sweaty. I'm glad I decided to hold off on my shower til tonight. It would have been a shame to waste a shower! I think Steve mentioned eventually working up to 45 minutes of 30/30's... this sounds very very uncomfortable, especially on the Versa, because the "rest" doesn't exactly feel like a rest. Either way, I'm sure I will manage :)

Rest day... and I did.

Today I did not get sweaty at all. This is good news because the shower I took yesterday can last me through tomorrow :)

On a different note, I absolutely love this video and this song. I must have listened to it 12 times today because it makes me happy. How cute is this girl?

Home is wherever I'm with you.

Happy Saturday!

I felt good this morning. This was my last set of 30/90" intervals on the Versaclimber... yea! Although, I think the coming month is 30/30's, so really I don't know if I can get too excited :( Regardless, I pushed hard and was happy with how I did. The group workout was pretty tough. I tried to do as many rounds of thrusters unbroken as I could. I think I did 6 rounds, and after that I would drop the bar around rep 7 or 8. The push-ups were what really slowed me down... no surprise there... I was down to sets of 2.

Really, I only did 2 workouts this morning, but it looks like more...
9am:
20x 30”/90” hard sprints on the Versaclimber (avg. around 92-96 ft/30")
10am:
I just cruised on air diane (Airdyne) for 30 min easy while I waited for the 11am class to start.
11am:Group class
“Coe”
10 rounds:
10 thrusters @65#

10 push-ups
then...
Supplemental: 3x10 (5 ea.) pistol (1-leg squat), split leg Good morning w/ BB, supine pull up (feet on med-ball), corkscrew w/ 15#plate, 3x25 ab wheel

So, I was really wanting to cook today. I am usually at the gym til at least 7 most week nights, so I haven't had a chance to cook anything new in a while... just the same ol' stuff. This afternoon, Jeff and I went grocery shopping together (something he doesn't love to do, but he offered :) and came home and cooked chicken mole together. It was relatively easy (and fun) and turned out great, except the chicken was maybe a little overcooked. Not my fault! I baked it for as long as the recipe said... what's a girl to do?! Click here for the recipe :)

Everyday I'm...

My workout today was harder than I thought it would be... yes, this is a rather common occurrence. I did three 2500 meter repeats on the erg. The first one was hard, but ok... definitely a reality check. During the second one, I had a really hard time catching my breath. I felt like I needed to yawn, but every time I reached in with my arms and my knees came into my chest, I kept getting cut off. It was an awful feeling. The third one was only better because it was the last one and I knew I could make it.

Something I was thinking about (during my recovery rows), is how much I love running. I love that when I get tired and start to slow down, there isn't a number staring me in the face telling me that I am moving slower (even if I know it). On the erg, its right there in my face. I can get a little obsessive over numbers sometimes, so when I see my split time start to creep up, I quickly do what I need to do to get it back down to where it should be. It is very helpful, but can also be annoying. Today was definitely a mental battle. My body could have probably gone a little faster, but mentally this would have been real tough. 2500 meters is a long enough distance to mess with your mind a little bit. I would get down to 2000 meters to go, and think... only 4 more 500's, then immediately think... I still have to row a 2k! I tried to focus on one piece at a time, one stroke at a time, one breath at a time. I think this is key to not giving up.

One of the guys at the gym asked me today how much I thought I had improved in the last year. A lot, I told him. It's kind of a funny thing because the changes have felt pretty gradual, and I see myself every day, so sometimes I forget that much of what I can do now was really difficult or even impossible for me a year ago. I definitely didn't believe in myself as much, and I'm certain that has made a big difference. Every so often Steve makes me look back at my old workout times and max lifts and notes in my workout journal, so that I can see how far I have come. I don't always like doing this, because I tend to be too hard on myself and can usually pick out the flaws, or say "yeah, but...". However, I can't deny the numbers that I am in fact stronger, nor the feeling inside.

Today's workout--
10am:
5 min. SMR, mobility, dynamic
1. General warm up: none
2. PT: Jobes shoulder circuit #1
3. Specific warm up: 10 min. erg 2-3 hard efforts
4. WORKOUT: Cardio - 2500m x3 @ 2k + 9" (2:00-2:02), 1500m recovery between @ recovery pace (2:41ish)
1.) 2:00.8/10:04/ 33spm
2.) 2:02.1/10:10/ 34spm
3.) 2:01.4/10:07/ 34spm
5. Supplemental: 4x 30”/30” push press (hold in OH during "rest" period) (32,28,20,16 reps... dropped on hold once last 2 rounds... better than last time!)
6. Cool Down: 10 min. sled drag @35#