I did a double...

Yesterday, on the day before thanksgiving, I did a double workout.  It was the first time I have ever done that, and I wasn't all that sure it was going to happen.  I headed out to the box at 8:45 with my buddy, Faith, so she could kind of get an idea of what CrossFit is all about.  I have been telling her about it since I started, but she wanted to see what it was.

I explained how CrossFit works, about the whiteboards with the WOD written on it, and our times/scores on them.  Then it was time to get started.

WOD:

200 meter run
5 Hand Stand Push Ups (I can't do these yet, so I put my knees on a box, hands on a floor)
10 pull-ups (I still have to use the strongest bands/red)
15 crucifix push ups (the girlie kind, on my knees)
20 Kettlebell swings (26# for me)

Each round was 52 points, I made it through 3 complete rounds, for a total of 156 points.

Afterwards I went home for some laundry and housework to get ready for our trip to barney's hometown for the weekend.  I finally got up the nerve to re-arrange our bedroom, so my 2nd workout involved the moving of our queen-sized bed, a triple dresser with a mirror, a chest of drawers, a double-dresser, 2 night stands and a cedar chest.  Mid-afternoon, I started to notice a discoloration on my thighs and was trying to figure out how I had bruises in straight-lines across my thighs, just above my knees....It appears the modified hand-stand push-ups on the box have left me with some pretty impressive battle-wounds.  See pictures:

Right Leg

Left Leg

Finally, I had decided to do a double workout, and promised my buddy Jeff Krenrich I would do the double, and I'd meet him at the box at 6:30 for a second workout. I also decided to I could almost definitely beat my time from the morning, and I needed to see if I was right. So...it was off to WOD #2 of the day and what amounted to a 3rd workout after the re-arranging of the bedroom furniture.

This time I decided to do 100 meter runs instead of 2, because of the swelling in my ankle and the exhaustion after the furniture changes. This actually worked to my benefit I think, since running isn't my strong-suit. I was able to bet through the entire WOD 3x again, and complete the 4th run, HSPU, Pull-ups and 6 of my crucifix push-ups. My score for my second WOD was 175. It felt really good to get a second workout in, especially since I was going to be away from the box the rest of the weekend. I was right, I could beat my original time.  I knew I had it in me.

Unlike in previous years, I didn't stuff myself to the point of nausea with all of the Thanksgiving goodies. I didn't even eat a piece of pie. I did eat some mashed potatoes, a bit of Sweet Potato Casserole, 2 yeast rolls and a little bit of Turkey.

Tomorrow I'm going to swim some laps in the hotel pool, and Saturday evening when we get home, I'm going to be going for a run, on Sunday too.  I've got to get some serious miles in to get ready for this race

in February at Disney.  I can't get swept again, and I won't allow me to sabotage myself again, as I have always done in the past.  I deserve better.  I deserve to succeed.  I deserve to accomplish what I have set out to do.  

Grace?!?! Um, I need some

Wowie, wow!!

I returned to CrossFit APX tonight, and as a thanks for my absence, I was welcomed back with an ass-kicking pair of WODs that left me in the parking lot puking after the first, and a 3rd time heaving in the midst of the second workout.  Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't believe in vomiting.  I was pregnant 4 times, and could count on 1 hand the number of times I vomited.  I didn't eat chicken for 7-1/2 months while pregnant with Ada because that was what caused me to be sick with her.  With Justin and Henry, it was brushing my teeth, which I did research and found Cinnamon toothpaste to be the cure.  With Ella, it was actually bronchitis, and coughing till my body revolted.  I DO NOT throw up.  It is against everything I believe in.  I once joked with a therapist that diagnosed me as anorexic/bulimic that I couldn't even bulimic and do it right because I binged, but forgot to throw it back up.  That diagnosis has now been amended to be Binge Eating Disorder.  Sometimes I don't eat at all, other times, I can eat 2,000 calories in 1 sitting.  Depends on where I am emotionally.

At any rate...Today's WODs kicked my BOO-TAY!

WOD #1, "Grace"

30 Ground to Overhead, and we were to use a Clean & Split Jerk to accomplish this.  RX for ladies was 95#.  I went with 65, and man-oh-man, was I feeling it.  After the first 10 in 1:18, I was hoping I could finish in under 5 minutes.  It took me 5:18.  One of the members there for the 6:30 workout said he was changing his shoes and all he heard was "shit, F&*%, and barbells hitting the floor".  Not all that lady-like, I know....and all the while I was wearing my Minnie Mouse t-shirt that says, "I look this cute every day."  Um, cute isn't exactly the terminology to describe me during "Grace", and neither is "Grace".

I grabbed a drink of water, and my gag reflex was in full on hyper-sensitivity, because the water hit my throat and it and my lunch came right back up, not once, but twice.  Then it was time to get back in the box and get ready for WOD #2.  I missed the explanation, but we were counted off in 2's because we had so many people and we wouldn't have enough space to do the bar work all at the same time.

WOD #2: (I started at the end of the WOD, so what I'm typing is what I did, while others started somewhere else in the workout.

30 burpees (I modified mine after the first 8 to use the box, because my hip flexor was really smarting and my stomach was not on board for full-on burpees)
20 walking lunges with a 25# plate overhead
30 T2B (I still can't do these, but did curls that were a lot more like Knees-to-Elbows)
30 box jumps (12" box)
30 Push Press (RX for ladies was 45, I did 65 still)  with a quick run to the parking lot after the 20th
15 jumping pull-ups

I finished in 18:09.  Man, it feels good to have completed it, but boy do I HATE to be sick.  I finished over an hour and a half ago, but I'm afraid to eat because I'm afraid it won't stay down.  Not cool!!  I've got my eye on some yogurt, just need to brave it.

What an awesome welcome back WOD.  That just teaches me that staying away means you'll always get your butt kicked when you come back.

Soapbox

Well, you have all probably noticed that I haven't posted about my workouts this week and the very simple reason for that is that I haven't worked out.  I have been fighting migraines all week, and just feeling unmotivated to do anything other than pull the covers up over my head pretending that the world doesn't exist.  Let me explain why.

First, I had such a horribly migraine this weekend, one so bad that I felt like my eyeballs were pulsating in their sockets and I could SEE my heartbeat.  It took me a good couple of days, till late Wednesday afternoon to finally completely get rid of the pain.

Then there have been a lot of my friends going through extremely difficult times.  I needed to step back and re-evaluate where I was myself and what my motivations for things are. I have been privy to the knowledge that a group of people who claim to be friends and Christians are apparently doing all they possibly can to demolish the business and reputation of someone who has done more for me to help me through this journey than I could ever have asked.  The fact is, the viciousness with which they are attacking this person is so offensive and frightening I can't even comprehend it.  It is a personal vendetta taken to the extreme limits of my comprehension.  I will NEVER understand how any self-respecting person could do the things that are being done in this situation.  People who are this hateful, mean and spiteful must really hate themselves to treat someone as genuine and wonderful the way that they are.

Fast forward a few days and I find out that the husband of an online friend in a group of women who have been together for 5 years since we all went through the loss of our babies that were due in May of 2008 has cancer.  This group of women have thrown baby showers for subsequent pregnancies, supported each other through addiction, domestic violence, secondary infertility, infidelity, divorce, dating, children with special needs and re-marriages.  This week we found out that the husband of one of our beloved campers has stage 4 bowel cancer and surgery is not an option.  Tori and Rob have 2 children the ages of my 2 girls, 6 and 4.  Rob has 2 older children from his previous marriage.  I cannot even begin to comprehend how they must be feeling right now, and all I can think is that I don't know how I would be able to function if I were in their shoes.  They are handling this diagnosis with more strength and grace than I can comprehend, and all I can think is how badly I wish I could be there, though I don't know that I would even be able to say ANYTHING or do ANYTHING worth saying or doing, other than offer support.

It hit me as I was wallowing in all of this drama and sadness, that if I don't get off my ass and make a serious change to my lifestyle, it could be my family that is in Tori and her boys' shoes.  It could be my family trying to explain to my kids why mommy had a stroke, or a heart attack, or one of the various other issues that comes along with morbid obesity.  So its time to get it in gear.  It is okay to grieve for my friends and to wish I could help them with everything in my power.  But the biggest thing I can do in honor, respect and tribute of them and their struggles is to make sure that my family doesn't have to walk in the same shoes they are walking in right now.

So, let me take this opportunity to tell Andrea, how much I appreciate your support, knowledge and understanding.  Your journey from bulemia to health and fitness is nothing short of amazing and miraculous.  Being able to talk to someone who has fought the fight that I'm in round 1 of right now makes it easier to put the puzzle together and almost make sense of it all.  You are an inspiration, and a consummate professional.   You treat everyone you encounter with the dignity and respect you would want in return, and it has served you well in your life and career.  You rock socks, I don't care what anyone else thinks, says, feels or posts.

Tori and Rob, I can't begin to comprehend what lies ahead of you and how you are feeling.  Please know that you and your families are in my prayers, and will remain there at all times.  If anyone is ornery enough to kick cancer's ass, it is most definitely, Mr. Contraction.  We love you both.

Princess Krista

Where has my head been?!?!?!

So I have been trying to figure out how to reach my health and fitness goals, and have been busting my ass at CrossFit APX but not seeing the results I really desire.  Well, sometimes I hear this voice, and I will literally look around and wonder who is talking and there is NO ONE there.  Then I realize...Um, God is speaking to you....Start listening!!!

This has happened to me a few times, in my life, most recently today.  I was walking back to my office after grimacing at myself in the ladies' room mirror.  I heard this voice say, "You get out of your body what you put in it."  I walked back into my office and the coffee cup from lunch, and blueberry muffin bag from Dunkin Donuts this morning.  I can't expect my body to operate well if I feed it crap, right?!?!  And working out 3 days a week for 1 hour will certainly not undo the bad I am doing 7 days a week, all freaking day!  I've also been trying to figure out how I can get to my CrossFit workouts, fit in runs, and not lose more time with my kids.  I like my 5:30 workouts at CrossFit, but was thinking I would need to switch to morning workouts.  I have decided that I have a 3-pronged attack I'm going to try. 

1--I am going to start swimming on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at the local gym I belong to.  This should help my cardio and endurance while taking some of the load and strain off of my joints. 

2--I will be running inside on their track on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and doing my long runs on Saturday mornings, either at the American Tobacco Trail or at the lake near my house I just found out is a 2 mile loop.

3--I will continue to do my CrossFit workouts at 5:30 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 

This should help me address the strength and cardio issues without killing me.  The gym opens at 5:00 am, so I just need to force myself out of bed at that unGodly hour to get in an hour of swimming or running before I get ready for work in the morning, while Barney is still home getting ready for work himself.

Then there is the Nutrition part of the attack.  I desperately need   to address this issue, or all of the workouts will be in vain for sure.  I'm going to finish reading my "for fun" book in the next few days, and by December 1st I will have also completed reading The Primal Blueprint.  I was told by my physician that this would be the best food lifestyle for me with my PCOS, so I'm going to educate myself and go with it.

The third part is proper supplementation.  As I mentioned before, I had my BioSig measurements taken by Jared Olson of Next Level Nutrition.  He sent me information on what I needed to do based on those results and blood work that I had done as well.  I have ordered the first 30 days of supplements, but need to go back and read what I am supposed to be taking, which I will begin doing on November 15. 

If I address the workouts, the nutrition and supplementation, I should start to see results.  I need to educate myself, and just like with the workouts, I need to fake it until I make it with nutrition and supplementation.  It isn't going to be an overnight cure, and it will take a while I'm sure.  But I have nothing but time. 

So--45 minute run tonight, up for a swim in the morning.  Hoping that this will help me get my mojo back, and kick-start my metabolism. 

Princess Krista

New WOD

I went back to CrossFit last night and worked out for the first time since my race.  We worked on our planks, and on knees to elbows.  I'm finally starting to get the body mechanics of K2E, it's the strength to hold myself up and hang from the bar to be able to do them.  Holding 257 pounds up and swinging from the bar is hard on your hands.  Incidentally, I tore open 2 calousses last night.

The first Wod was 40 seconds of quick box jumps, then 20 seconds of K2E.  The goal was speed and intensity.  You were supposed to use a smaller box than you are used to, but I already use the smallest box available (12"), so I went with that, and speed wasn't really an option for me.  We didn't count reps on this WOD, the purpose was the speed and athletic movements.  We did 5 rounds of this.

The second WOD was a 400 meter run, then, in what was left of that 3 minute round you were to do as many cleans as possible.  Because I'm still recovering from the Half marathon, my right ankle is still very sore and swollen, and I still have blisters, we went with me doing 200 meters for me, then cleans.  We did 4 rounds of this one.  So I did 200 meters, then 5 cleans in the first round, 1 minute rest, didn't run the second round, but did 6 cleans, 1 minute rest, 200 meters and 5 cleans in the 3rd round 1 minute rest, and 200 meters and 4 cleans in the fourth round.  I was doing 65# cleans, and made it to 20 of them.

My ankle is still sore, so I am now VERY aware of the fact that for the Princess and every training run, I WILL be wearing my ankle brace.  I will also be wearing it during the recovery of about a week or 2 after, every single day.  I will also be icing it regularly after my runs, and after the Princess, I'll be one of those folks walking around with a bag of ice strapped to my ankle.

Today is a 3 mile run/walk for training.  I think I'm going to head over to the high school track here in town, so I know how far I am going and to help with some intervals for running/walking and consistency.  I'm going to try to do the whole 3 miles with a 200 meter jog, 200 meter walk.

Until next time....

Princess Krista

first run/walk after the half

Huge thanks to Emily for coming to meet me for my first run/walk since the half on Sunday.  I did 30 minutes last night, and will be doing 45 minutes to an hour tomorrow.  My blisters are still a bit sore, but everything else felt pretty good.  Weird thing is, my calves never once hurt or felt tight during the half but that was the first thing I felt last night.  I've got to get an interval timer or something though, to make my runs/walks more regular.  Time to kick this training thing in gear, so I can finish the PHM in under 3:30. 

Training Concerns

Okay, so after the race on Sunday, I have a list of things that I KNOW I need to address before February. 

1--I need to figure out nutrition on long runs.  I ate a Cliff Bar at about 6:00 while I was on the way to the race and nothing else until after the race was over, I'd gone back to the hotel and taken a shower, and went to IHOP.  I think this may well have contributed to my dizziness and nausea at the end of the race that had me throw in the towel.

2--I need to get some "wright socks" to wear to prevent blisters, and put vaseline on the bottoms of my feet too.

3--I need to get a GPS watch.  The HRM does nothing but overwhelm me.  The chest strap chaffes and leaves me with scabs all around my chest, and if I had a GPS, I would have known I only had .6 miles left, and wouldn't have asked some stupid cop that was clueless.

4--I need an iFitness belt to carry things in.

5--I need to make a check-list for the morning of the race so I don't forget things like I usually do

6--I will NEVER AGAIN use icy hot

7--I need to find a more effective way of communicating with my friends/loved ones while I"m on the race course.

8--for me, sometimes I need to know just what I'm capable of doing without really preparing or trying, to get an idea of what I might be able to do once I do.  I don't know that I would have had any confidence going into Princess Half Marathon if I hadn't done the race on Sunday.  Now that I know I almost did it w/o training, I'm 100% certain that if I train, I can do what I want to do, and possibly finish between 3:00 and 3:30, which would be AMAZING!!!

9--My value lies in what I believe of myself and tell myself.  I am not defined by what I am told, or what others think of me.  I have to be my own biggest fan, because depending on others to do that for me can be fickle, and frustrating.  I have always depended on others to tell me what I was capable of because I was afraid to believe my own thoughts and fail, so I figured people on the outside looking in had a more realistic perspective of my abilities.  I was wrong.  I KNOW what I can do, and I NEED to do it, regardless of what the doubters in my life try to tell me. 

Keep on dreaming, folks.

Krista