Breakfast
- pemmican bar
Pre-WOD
- apple sauce
- 32g (2 scoops) whey protein
Post-WOD
- banana
- endurox (2 scoops) with water
Lunch @ indian food at local family restaurant. Very yummy.
- lamb
- braised vegetables
- mushroom/spinach soup
(I'd have taken a photo, but matt was not having it. I can't say I blame him. All this diet and training tracking is work!)
This is our cat, Turkey. His real name is Toby Fatball, but Matt decided to rename him because he looks a little like a turkey when he sits like this. Clearly, he would be a butterball turkey that is not grassfed, so he won’t be dinner tonight : )
Breakfast:
- 3 egg Turkey Omelet
- 1c cooked mixed color chard
- Handful of mixed nuts
- Clementine
Grace: 30 Clean & Jerks for time @ 95lbs
Grace was a good lesson about mental persistence and working efficiently (get under the bar instead of push pressing them! duh!) I don't remember the exact time, but I know it was sub 8:00 ... ugh. I wanna call a "do over!"
I love working out with Scott, he’s like a kid trapped in a middle-aged man’s body. I always have fun pushing through those workouts with him and he’s so honest in a humourous way. We both start self-deprecating and it’s a barrel of laughs.
Overall, the weight felt like “the right” challenge weight. Not too heavy, not too light. It was heavy enough to make me break the WOD up into 3-4-5’s (and then 2’s after I hit 20 reps).
My goals going forward will be:
- For Clean & Jerks: Get under the bar more aggressively so that I’m not having to push press and use more energy than I need to in order to get the bar overhead.
- Keep my head on. That is, stay focused on the task at hand, push through the pain of fatigue, don’t overthink the movement and just let the body go … and of course, not lose my cool or get upset when my body won’t do what I want it to when I want it to. I get frustrated and even angry with myself when I can’t perform the way I envision myself performing.
Emily was right. I want to get it right. I want to learn it the right way. But I also have to let myself fail or “put that energy into that next rep”. I lose my cool and get turrets syndrome. I have to set my ego aside and be ok with where my body is and work with that. Its really hard for me, though. The anger builds up and that is the release – I feel it helps me push that bar up, string those wall balls, make that extra box jump, pull through that row, or keep doing those burpees when my body is screaming to stop and I can smell the vomit rising.
Always something to work on and that is a good thing. Means I have goals to work towards. Yay!
Good news: I’m up to 136# and about 90% capacity. Recovery is slow, but steady.
Still need to strengthen G/H movements and pulling movements. That would be...
G/H movements:
Pulling/Pressing movements:
Some skill movements like doubleunders will always be a work in progress.
Cleans, jerks, snatches, and push movements are solid (I'm a cross between a yak and a llama, what do you expect?!)
Gymnastics & metcon improving, but may never be my strength. I'm built more like a beast of burden, not a spider monkey. However, that first muscleup is inevitable!
But the food selection here at the school food court is rather limited.
This all I could find that was paleo-compliant ... and then the press wonders why type 2 diabetes in average American teen/young adults is growing at astronomical rates?!?! You should see the culinary garbage they sell here - it's scary
- 1/4c mixed nuts
- 4oz chicken breast
- 4 egg omelette (4 eggs/2 yolks, 1c cooked spinach, herbs)
- Sautéed mushrooms
Spent yesterday pre-superbowl at the police academy with Matty instead of what Mo calls "CFC Church". Very ok, though ... Amy's "Booyah Butter" made up for every moment of pain ... and the 3 slices of the pizza Matt ordered. Yes, I must come clean that I cheated. After 3 weeks of Paleo discipline, I had my Adam & Eve moment. Trust me, I'm feeling very guilty. 40 years in a Hispanic-Catholic family inoculated me into the whole culture of guilt and embracing your inner masochist.
Anyway ...Bench Press 5-3-1+ @ 67.5%/76.5%/85.5%Strength work : 80-95-105(3)
"Freddy's Revenge"
5 rounds for time of:
5 shoulder to overhead (110% of 1RM press)
10 burpees
Freddy was scary, but I managed. Working in the corner helped me focus at the task at hand. Went unbroken on everything and had a steady pace ... I love push jerks cause it's a backpack movement to me, but 6:16 seemed a little fast @ 95lbs? ... maybe I wrote it down wrong?
Well, 110% of my 1RM press of 95lbs would be 105lbs so cutting that 10% (10lbs) off would make a difference. Also, push jerks is on my list of favorite movements (like pushing up ice blocks for a snow shelter or pushing up my backpack over a snow lip during a climb) and being 12lbs underweight helps me get up and down those burpees a LOT faster. If it’s wrong, someone please call me on it because it seems awfully fast no matter how I rationalize it.
Double-under PR day, though. When there's no pressure of a clock, I string them along ... even listened to Bryce answer my question about scaling as I produced that 20 PR ... relaxed, mindlessly mindful, and just doing what needs to be done. Tina and Alex were right. When I over-think things, I am my own worst enemy.
Back Squat 5-3-1+ @ 67.5%/76.5%/85.5%
Although my RX should have been 118-134-149, I didn’t feel like I had enough punch to do the weight today. So Coach helped me scale it down 10% to 108(5) – 120(3) – 135(1)
I had to redo 120lbs thrice before getting to depth and failed my 2nd attempt at 135lbs . . . my legs clearly went to mush while sick. I’ve always struggled with squat movements, but today was a very humbling statement about how much work needs to be done to get back to a 175lb squat. Looks like there is a lot of glut/hamstring work to be done in my immediate future. Oh joy!
But I can’t lie to myself. I am still 10+lbs under my target weight/lean mass. I simply don’t have my full strength or aggression back. I am simply not 100% . . . yet . . . but I’ll get there . . . in fact, I HAVE to get there in 89 days.
Metabolic Conditioning:
- 10 power snatches (75% of 1RM snatch)
- 50 double-unders
- 8 power snatches
- 40 double-unders
- 6 power snatches
- 30 double-unders
- 4 power snatches
- 20 double-unders
- 2 power snatches
- 10 double-unders
I love power cleans, jerks, and snatches. They’re functionally natural to me because it’s like how I pick up a heavy pack or an ice block during a climb. So seeing the snatches was exciting for me. Also, I was excited about the fact that we were doing doubleunders now after I’d strung a new PR of 20 . . .
But alas, while my snatches were solid, unbroken, and steady, my doubleunders were . . . well . . . they did me in. I’m convinced that doubleunders are a perishable skill. I ended up doing singles (3x to compensate) somewhere in the 3rd round and just struggled. A tad disappointed to be sure.
… but man, those snatches felt good. So good, in fact, that my IQ dropped a few points and I did a few extra on round 2 (10 reps instead of 8). I wasn’t so much winded as I was frustrated that I couldn’t string more than 3 doubleunders at a time or go a tad heavier (78# would have been my RX’d weight). So my results were 9:05 with 65lbs. Not top performer, not bottom performer, but just right I guess . . . steady and a little stronger than yesterday.
I’m ok with that. Coach said I looked stronger . . . coming from him and how rare it is to get praise, I’ll definitely take it.
Today is the 3 month mark.
6 months ago when I started CrossFitting, I was nervous about trying a new training program. What I was doing before wasn’t the best, but it was what I knew. Not that I was an exceptional athlete by any means, but it got me this far, right? I’ve climbed some pretty big mountains, dealt with some pretty tough weather, and lived through some pretty nasty situations without too many permanent injuries.
Anyway, It’s not that I was afraid of trying something new, it was that I didn’t want to risk the 9 month window I had to prepare for Denali.
Let’s give some context here. This will be my 4th time on this mountain. This is my 2nd attempt trying to summit it. This time I’ll be 40 with crap feet, crappier knees, and a lot less money… it’s important that I do this on my own steam… no hand holding, no sherpas, no rescue above 14000ft. I am, for all intents and purposes, returning to my dirtbag roots.
There are a few mountains I’ve always wanted to climb: Denali, Huascarán, Cerro Norte, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, and Kangchenjunga. Ideally, I’d have the resources to climb them all, but Denali and Huascaran have a special place for me as they are mountains in the my favorite places on earth: Alaska and La Cordillera Blanca. If I’m able to do an 8000m peak as well, it’d be a great challenge to enjoy. With that said, Denali and Huascarán are on my radar . . . and conceivable within the next 3-5 years.
So I won’t go into all the details about why Denali is such a tough mountain to climb (see below), but I can tell you that the Alaskan Mountain range (next to La Cordillera Blanca, of course) is the most beautiful in the world. It embodies everything that is American – it’s big, it’s expansive, it packs a big frickin punch . . . and it holds so much promise and beauty. If that doesn’t make you want to head NW, I don’t know what will.
I want to return having known I reached the summit and pushed past 18000ft. I want to look down on the range and know I met the challenge. I want to earn that spectacular view. If I get to throw a snowball at matty while we’re up there, that’d be a big bonus :)
Right. Back on track.
I was afraid to try a new training program. But this CrossFit stuff was intriguingly simple and functional . . . it wasn’t all the fine motor stuff that Core Performance had me struggle with. It offered me straightforward, brute strength, hard-charging, core-kicking workout . . . and more. There is a whole community obsessed with it . . . who really get what intensity means . . . who don’t mind my intensity (well, I think they’re really more entertained) . . . who appreciate earning it too.
As of today, I have 90 days left before I leave for the expedition. I’ve had some setbacks, made some progress, made a friend or two, got inspired, and learned a lot. I’m not so much afraid of the training, sacrifice, or pain anymore – maybe more afraid of the disappointment I might have to face if I don’t succeed in honoring those who have supported me so much thus far.
In case you’re interested in learning more about Denali, have a look:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denali
- http://www.summitpost.org/parent/150199/mount-mckinley-denali.html
- 1/2c cherries
- 1/3c blakberries
- 1.5c sauteed spinach with garlic & olive oil
- 1/2 roasted chicken
Mini-Meals throughout the day:
Pre-WOD: 23g whey protein (chocolate) and apple sauce
Post-WOD: 2 scoops endurox
- 2 slices of baked turkey breast (4oz)
- 2 strips of turkey jerky (2oz)
- 3 egg whites
- handful of mixed nuts
