the rope climbs just sneak up on ya!

some of the rope climbs from this weekend's WOD

followed by clean & jerks ... oh man, after watchingi REALLY need to work on initiating with a neutral spine ... didn't keep abs or lower back engaged and lost a lot of power in my cleans ... ended up doing that rep (and a few others) with my back instead of my hips ... by the last 2 rounds, it was too heavy for me to "cheat" it up there, so ...

... ironic how i thought the rope climbs would be easier than the C&J ... oooh, i was so wrong! unknown and unknowable indeed. ha!

I fought the rope... and the rope won.

Hi! I’m Tery, your neighborhood dorkness monster! My ego got blasted to hell today! Wow! I was so excited about yesterday’s rope climb/C&J games WOD that I did it with matt today … I was thinking, “oh yeah, the C&J will be tough, but I got this”. Uhhhh... NOT SO MUCH.

 

 

 

 

 

• 15 foot Rope climb, 5 ascents
• 115 pound Clean and jerk, 5 reps
• 15 foot Rope climb, 4 ascents
• 125 pound Clean and jerk, 4 reps
• 15 foot Rope climb, 3 ascents
• 135 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
• 15 foot Rope climb, 2 ascents
• 145 pound Clean and jerk, 2 reps
• 15 foot Rope climb, 1 ascent
• 155 pound Clean and jerk, 1 rep

I fought the rope and the rope won ... but I finished ... and definitely NOT sub 7:00 ... in fact, we might multiply that time ... yeah, it was brutal. It wasn’t so much that I was gassed, it’s that I’m really frickin SLOW and it's HARDER than it looks!

Yeah, so my grip also fatigued around round 2... so of course, the timer just ticked away while I stared at the rope going up and struggled to move faster going down. Then I failed the last C&J and finally got it on the 3rd attempt... talk about an ego squasher!

So Matt and I had a good laugh, did our best, and moved onto expedition training... we’re working on knots, rescue systems, and climbing techniques... THIS, I got ;)

big girls need love too

Too big

(around 165-175lbs, post baby)

Yeah. This is what happens when I took too much time off from climbing and getting outdoors. This is just fat.

Too skinny

(around 120-125lbs, post expedition)

This is what I usually look like after a big climb. The altitude, elements, and hard work tends to take a lot out of you. This is also what happens when I don’t eat enough (or eat enough of the right foods). This is what I call skinny fat.

Too funny

... he he he ... sorry ... I digress ... blame it on Ali G :)

4/2011	5/2011	7/2011

Getting there

(around 130-135lbs, early training)

Re-setting and building baseline for body weight strength, endurance, and recovery. Getting myself mentally disciplined for the tough road of training ahead. I’ll spend time detoxing my body, putting weight back on, more more efficiently, and breaking bad habits (there are many!). I’m not quite there, but it’s a good start. The photo of me in the red top on the far right was taken today.

Just right

(around 150-155, pre-expedition)

Last 3-5 months before the expedition. I have the muscle weight and a good layer of fat for those long, hard climbing days. I can usually lift a lot more, can maintain heavy work capacity for longer periods, and recover more efficiently. Diet is super strict, calories are really high (4000-4500cal per day), and there’s no room or inclination for food cheating. These aren’t the most accurate photos of me pre-expedition, but they’re the closest ones I could find.

Denali 2010 Team

Matt (220), Me (155), Jetze (235), Matt (210), Dustin (210), Mark (215)

Laurens (220), Franz (230)

Pack weights: 55lbs

Sled Weight: 80lbs

For Denali 2012, it’ll just be Matt and Me... with an estimated 25-30% increase in weight because we don’t have a larger team to spread out the burden of group gear.

a lil sumin’ sumin’

ok, maybe working out while still recovering from my cold isn’t the smartest thing to do, but I am addicted to the adrenaline rush and the post-wod endorphin release ... so I drank lots of fluids (with my delicious watermelon BCAAs), ate a big breakfast, and walked into our CF garage out back with Cody and Matt ... now that Big Bunny agreed to take the “CF-Nazism” down a few notches, I’m beginning to really enjoy our “family workouts” more.

Also kinda torn because I really like CFC programming

3 rounds @12:48

• 10 box jumps (21”)
• 10 HPSU (thin band, no wall)
• 10 pullups
• 10 squats
• 10 pushups
• 10 TTB

ouch... didn’t look tough, but it was (180 reps?!). What a way to brush away the cobwebs by getting the blood moving.

.. so if there’s 1 thing I could improve overall, it would be speed and staying tough in ROM.

I went pretty unbroken on everything, I was just slow ... box jumps and TTB are perfect examples of things that I could improve. This WOD capitalised on many of my weakest movements, so this was good.

WODs I forgot to Post... Duuuhhh... sooo behind

7/05 Filthy 50

For time:
50 Box jump (21”)
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings (1pood)
50 steps Walking Lunge
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press (45#)
50 Back extensions
50 Wall balls (#14)
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

OMG, I love chippers… my first filthy 50 and it was delightfully awful.

did this @ home: subbed KTE with TTB… pretty broken up but v-short breaks … I really couldn’t scale too much ... had to go 45# bar, 1 pood KB and 14# ball because that’s all we’ve got @ home... I’m a dork because I actually got through the first 25 pullups before I realised that they were jumping .... gonna be sore…

my goal was sub 30:00 … 29:34 … YEAH BABY!!!

7/8 Ouch

Favorite quote of the day: “Definitely love the crackhouse feel to this box…”

I don’t know WTF I did to my knees this week, but they’re still swollen and “aching” … prolly didn’t help that I worked out this week too.

So yesterday and today … RICE RICE RICE… I miss my box.

7/12

A1 10x10yd Farmers Carry (135/95 or 40% of 1RM DL)
B1 Skin-the-cat
C1 Turkish Get-Up 10x per arm

10min AMRAP
Walking Lunges (from bar to wall)
5 CTB Pull-ups
Walking Lunges (from wall to bar)
5 Wall Climbs

Post-WOD: 4×15 Back Extensions

oh yeah … as I was updating BTWB, I noticed I forgot to add this … 4 rounds, 2 pullups … V-V-Awkward/Awful looking wall climbs … getting arms and legs to work concurrently was a challenge!

7/13 Makeup

Strength

Press: Advanced 5×2 @ 92% (85# rounded from 87.4)

Was ok until i failed in my last press … started rising on my toes a little so i know i wasn’t keeping body tight and my heels pressed

Workout of the Day

CFC Home WOD @ 19:59!!!    (woo! just under my goal of 20:00 and within the 25 Min Cap)

• 18 Deadlift (70#)
• 400 M Run
• 15 Front Squat (70#)
• 400m Run
• 12 Power Cleans (70#)
• 400m Run
• 9 Cleans (70#)
• 400m Run
• 6 Power Snatch (70#)
• 400m Run
• 3 Snatch (70#)
• 400m Run

doh, housebound again, but i managed to get in WOD in @ home and work on presses 5×2 @ 85. Was ok until i failed in my last press … started rising on my toes a little so i know i wasn’t keeping body tight and my heels pressed.

Wed WOD 19:59 @ 70# (yay! made my sub 20min goal)

7/15

Deadlift @ 135-150-135-135
Intermediate 4×3 @ 86%

form over function ... today was another non-good lifting day. sore, lazy core, and feeling weak from days prior.

5 Rounds, each for time: (3:00 Cap/ Round)
10 Pull-ups (Vested if possible)
15 Clapping Push-ups (Vested if possible)
20 SDHP (95#/65#)
Rest the exact amount of time it took you to finish the round.

2:14 and 3:00 ... I buggered this up by resting for 1:00 when I lost track of my heat delay ... Jason and I finished around 23:something

oooph … SDHP fun … bouncing pushup thingys not so much … fun WOD though! Jason and Ali rule :)

7/16 “Daniel”

For time @ 21:47
50 Pull-ups
400m Run
21 Thrusters (95/75)
800m Run
21 Thrusters
400m Run
50 Pull-ups

OMG! I totally KA-RUSHED this WOD! Pullups totally unbroken, thrusters light and easy, I lapped Matt at least twice during the runs…

... and then I woke up … with a TERRIBLE hangover from last night. Some people drink … but me? Bacon cheeseburger and fries… it was a delish treat as Kori and I talked about allergies, babies, and biochem (don’t judge, Bryce!). Birthdaypalooza was AWESOME.

No matter, I envisioned Skins telling me to HTFU and then finished Daniel @ 21:47 w/ 65# … in this gawsh-awful heat. I wanna go back to bed.

Oh yeah, just got back from canoeing (can this count as Post-WOD?) and expedition-specific stuff (3:1 z-pulley, self-arrest, 200# recovery, and sandbag throwing). Matt has no compassion for my cheat-meal hangover.

Monday! Monday! Monday!

Strength: 5×2 Back Squat @ 92%

My knees got banged up from expedition skill work this weekend … so I mentally did back squats with my ice packs on them ... pretty swollen

Metcon for time @ home  11:41
50-40-30-20-10 (12 Min Cap)

• Kettlebell swings (1.5/1.0)
• Sit-ups

KBS went unbroken and steady … situps were unbroken too but SLOW as mud … my ego says “yeah, I got this” until right around 30′s … then SPLAT! HIT THE WALL!

not too much else to report other than that we have been REALLY busy here @ home with wedding stuff

Check!

These are photos of us in Talkeetna, Alaska last year. Most guide services require validation and review of all rescue skills prior to leaving for the expedition for safety and liability. Some types of climbers get insulted by it, but for us, no worries ... I think it was a fun activity to do together, we both believe that one can never practise rescue skills enough, and it was encouraging for us to demonstrate that we make a great team right before getting on the mountain :)

WOD? Check!

10 min AMRAP @ 5 rounds, 2 burpees
• 5 Burpees
• 10 Pull-ups
• 15 Power Wall Balls (14#)
  Ok, Drywall may call these "AIDS workouts", but they're helping me HTFU ... and (although I love you, Jimmy, and Derek's programming too), Bryce's programming helps me (and many others) put up some damned good numbers. I didn't see the girls there doing 10lb weighted deadhangs with us when I visited you at your box. Just sayin'. :)

Deadlift and Squat practise? Check!

DL: 5x6 @ 60% (165#) ... Matt played coach and shook his head a lot (equivalent to Bryce rolling his eyes, I think). What started out as Intermediate 4×4 @ 79% ended up being what you see above ... I struggled with unbroken multiples... pick up the bar, short rest at top, deep breath, tap down, then explode back up at tempo as fluid movements. Apparently, I have no problem keeping good form with singles, but my back kept initiating poorly when trying to string multiples... regardless of the weight (I even had a hard time practising them at 80#!). I can “feel” when I get it right, but it’s not consistent. I guess this movement is a skill I need to work on - it’s frustrating because my body just won’t do what I tell it to do. Old dog, new tricks?

Fixed line ascent and knots? Check!

Matt and I got our expedition training plan settled. We’ve been working on keeping our technical skills solid and making adjustments because we’re going unsupported and alone. Luckily, ascending fixed lines and practising knots isn’t a skill we have to worry too much about. Although time consuming and can wear the body down, we just do them, check them off, and move on. Cody had fun barking at us while we climbed about 20ft up the tree.

3:1 rescue pulley system? Check!

Practised getting loaded sandbags out in the forest preserve. The heat was exhausting, but we managed. Some interesting lessons learned and adjustments to be made since it’s just us 2 and there won’t be a 3rd on our rope to help make setting up initial anchors easier ... we’re still working out how we can stabilise an anchors to hold 200lbs from a self-arrest position before attempting to set up the pulley system. It’s possible, but our rescue system is going to have to be adjusted.

Time for yummy dinner. Finally.

Keeping it paleo ... but I definitely need to get more calories in (averaging about 2700 per day). I start feeling weak, lethargic, and light-headed when I go more than 2 hours. I wonder if there’s something wrong with my metabolism...?

Long day. Given how behind we are on wedding stuff and the project proposals I’ve been bidding on during the week, I wish there were more hours in it for us to be more productive ... I would be happy with an even 30. We should speak with Mrs O’Hara about this.

Getting ready for the day

Breakfast is my favorite meal ... even @ 0540 ... nothing like good fuel to get your engines started

Avocado and broccolini were gone before I remembered to photograph. Yum. My appetite is there ... but its still slow to digest

I know what I'm supposed to eat and when. I've invested enough time and energy to know better. Its about choices. Some days I make foolish choices, some days I am wise about it. I know I have to work hard to earn those moments of triumph ... no matter how big or small.

<blathering begins>

With that said, I acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses ... and let myself be human. There will be days when I'm weak, and some strong. No sense creating more mental drama because of a bad day ... I have to approach training over longer periods of time, not hours or days ... but weeks and months... just like how we climb big mountains

The challenge is consistency and discipline... and not whining about it... or complaining... or making excuses. Just stay consistent and let the minutia go when I can.

Still, I'm not convinced that I'm focused enough. Wedding and career stuff have been BIG distractions... its tough juggling so many big things and maintaining my relationships.

... ok, I'll add balance to my list of values to continually work on... along with squats or a 5x deadlift string...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting down on myself. Writing all this down helps me process my thoughts and commit.

<blathering ends>

eyes dotted, T’s crossed, and the little promises

This is a photo of me having sushi ... kinda like my birthday sushi fun fest on Friday ... talk about junk food hangover the next day!
Suz’s comment the other day highlighted it best, “it’s funny, those little promises you make to yourself”. She’s spot on. I’ve noticed that Crossfitters have their little unspoken “code” of badassness.
Going lighter? Then must go unbroken. Going RX? Only if they are good reps. Going to break? Then only for 5 seconds.

... the things we rationalise in our heads to let ourselves be human
So I thought, “yeah, your digestive tract played hard, so make it up to yourself ... old school!”. Do a 2-a-day this week!

SURE. Just try it, how bad can it be if you rest at least 4 hours in between?! Just eat more ... you’re in pretty good shape, right?! how bad can it be?!

um. really bad. really really really really bad. Oh boy, I think I’m gonna be sore on Thursday... I can tell and I totally see the foolishness of my ways. BCAA’s and yoga, don’t fail me now! Bad ego! Bad! Bad!

Made up Monday’s workout:

filthy 50 @ 29:34

• 50 box jump
• 50 pullups
• 50 lunges
• 50 TTB
• 50 push press @ 45#
• 50 back extensions
• 50 wall balls @14#
• 50 burpees
• 50 double-unders

OMG, I love chippers… my first filthy 50 and it was delightfully awful.

Idid this @ home: subbed KTE with TTB… pretty broken up but v-short breaks … had to go 45# bar and 14# ball because that’s all we’ve got @ home.
goal was sub 30:00 … 29:34 … YEAH BABY!!!

Saturday’s workout:

150 kb swings (10 min cap)

Every break = 5x 2-for-1 wall balls
LOVE LOVE LOVE KBS ... HATE HATE HATE WB ... 6:02

i hate WB so much that i REFUSED to let that thing go... nothing lighter than 1 pood at home, so
if broken means putting the KB on the ground, then i went unbroken.
um. no post or pre-wod ... not a chance.

---

Notes: eating enough solid food throughout the day made the difference ... 4 solid meals of at least 25g protein and several snack sessions got me through today... that and hearing matt tell me that he didn’t want to climb with me if I was going to whine and make excuses.

I know myself well enough that I don’t come out of the gates with guns blazing or always have eyes dotted and T’s crossed ... in fact, I usually need a red hot poker shoved up to get me going ... but once I do, I can keep going ... and going ... so we’ll see how I feel. I’ll just try to work out tomorrow and see how it goes...