judging @ the crossfit sectionals 2011

It was fun and helped me get my head back into the box. I got the chance to reconnect with friends and get myself motivated for Denali training. With a year to go and a wedding, a new home, and work in the middle, I need all the motivation I can get! Alison, Donna, and JJ took these photos and were kind enough to share them with me.

 

keeping an eye out for ROM to keep the reps legit	but sometimes it’s painful to take that rep away when it’s not
some people just want us to stay in line	... but sometimes they want a little push
but we support our favorite competitors	and are big fans as well!

Consistency and coming around full circle...

This is a photo of me walking back after Thursday's climbing machine torture...
But I’m working on my consistency, baby! Ali G has been my go-to for partnering on WODs. I just love her! In addition, Abbey and I have been talking about doing an adventure race together as well as her helping me stay disciplined. I also shelved one of my major pursuits so that I can motivate and focus on other priorities.
Sometimes it takes a village, right?!

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Monday 5/2
15 min AMRAP @ 5 rounds + 12 WB
10 Hang Power Cleans (135/95 or 50% of 1RM)
15 Wall Balls (20/14)
20 Lateral Jumps over Bar
… we’ve only got a 14# med ball so i was slow slow slow … and inconsistent. story of my life! ha!
2on-1off seems to be working out a bit better for me and I tracked my schedule for the week … yes, there is a huge difference … but of course you knew that. Getting distracted easily = need more compelling priorities. Got it.
Tuesday 5/3
Jumping “Helen” @ 7:49
3 Rounds of
50 Double-Unders
21 Kettlebell Swings (1 pood)
12 Pull-ups
double-unders felt great, KBS were smooth and unbroken ... but pullups demonstrated once again that if you take time off, you gonna suffa. sucka!
Thursday 5/5
30min on the climbing machine from Dante’s 1st circle of hell ... no heavy pack today as it is my first visit to this torture device in almost a year. I’m glad I checked my ego because this REALLY REALLY HURT!!! You can’t cheat on this thing and there is no escape except actually quitting... you set a pace and just keep going until the timer ends... or you sink to the bottom and you’re done.
Today was a long day. I resigned from my med research project and am going to start interviewing for a job... that’s right I don’t get to say that I’m retired anymore. I’m returning to the old line of work ... I just hope I can return on my terms. Truth be told, I am really scared. But Matt and climbing big mountains are worth any sacrifice. I can’t go back given the arrangement I made now - but I’m happy knowing that I got accepted into 2 medical schools. In the end, I have what it takes and I get to choose my destiny. I am totally ok with letting go of my dream of being the expedition doc even though it took 6 months for my ego to.
Look, I’ve had a lot of success in every pursuit I’ve ever had (chef, engineer, IT exec, climber) at the expense of many relationships and a marriage, so I am TOTALLY ok supporting my 30-year old fiancée’s pursuit of his dreams. It no longer feels like a sacrifice, but rather a different pursuit: putting Matt and our marriage first. Have I told him? No. Does that matter? No. He should never have to question whether our marriage comes first or not. I’ve learned that from past experience the hard way. I digress.
Ashtanga Primary and Secondary series, about 140min of Mysore style love. This is about as rigorous as it gets... so sore yet so gooood! My body was able to open up into full compass and scorpion- something I haven’t been able to do in a really long time.
Friday 5/6
Matt and I went to Southern Busse woods to hike, do some orienteering, and practise some z-pulleys with Cody. It began pouring rain and we got to taste a little inclement weather whilst practising our skills.
Ashtanga Primary series, 90 min Mysore style love. Too sore to do secondary series and probably should have avoided eating more of the 4lb box of Costco brownie bites with Matt. Costco bakery is dangerous.
Saturday 5/7
4 rounds @ 21-19-0-22
500m row
45# push press (strung in 7-10′s, but need to work on better form)
Kept up an ok 2:00-2:10 pace to get about :60 worth of PP in… but I messed up my time/count in round 3 and wasted :30 getting back to the bar… so goose egg for me! BOOO!
OMG... I got so hyper after drinking this new endurox Matt bought for our Post-Wod ... they really helped, but maybe I lower the amount I mix in because I crashed when I got home. Sheesh. And then all the garbage we ate when I woke up ... another 4lb box of Costco brownie bites, 2 pizzas, and a 6pack of red bull ... I’ve never been so wired and hung over. Clearly, I visited the 3rd and 8th circles... I paid for it with the jitters, god-awful headaches, and this weird lethargy all through the rest of the weekend... and Monday night...

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Notes for the week:
The most important things in my life:

• Matt
• Mountaineering
• Medicine

... its THAT simple... in THAT order. Everything I enjoy like crossfit, ice climbing, skiing, wilderness trips, WEMT, cooking, etc... is motivated by at least 1 of those things. In fact, I’ll even argue that medicine is driven by the first 2 (e.g., Treating Matt on the mountain, expedition medicine, or medical science topics related to alpinism).
Having blathered all that, I came up with a few small goals I can work towards those ends right now:

1. I want a stronger range of motion. Just because I am used to carrying heavy loads like a pack mule doesn’t mean that I can move all that weight around very efficiently or with much integrity. This means better squat movements like thrusters, wallballs, back squats, OHS, full cleans, or full snatches. Achieving this goal will mean being able to efficiently build snow camps, dig Matt out quickly if he ever got got buried, or maintain snow walls in higher altitudes regardless of inclement weather. I need to be able to do those things comfortably by late February/early March - approximately 3 months prior to our solo Denali expedition (May 2012). It’s a big goal and a work in progress.
   1. squat movements
   2. shovelling and digging
   3. lifting heavy from the ground
   4. hauling heavy loads over long distances
2. I want to improve my focus and consistency. I can be like a 9-year old with ADHD. I over-analyse things, goof around flapping my gums, or let others manage my attention span. I admit that. It’s not terrible, but I think it will limit my capabilities and opportunities. For my old career and for expeditions, I am focused, hard-working, and successful. But I want this to be my MO ... a way of thinking motivated independently of goals or external influences. I am not convinced that this is something I can just put a deadline on - but more of an evolution. Perhaps a measurement could be how I handle guiding a few smaller climbs (e.g., baker/hood/adams/rainier) in preparation for Denali. These are some of the things I will do:
   1. keep to my calendar and daily task list
   2. limit social media (i.e., facebook) to only 1 hour per day ... instead, more reading, writing, and actual work.
   3. condense priorities to 2 and limit activities towards those ends... wedding and denali training won out... we’ll re-evaluate late 2012.

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out of 10 for this week...
sleep: 4 (matt’s snoring keeps me up and cody’s gas is just awful)
diet: -10 (brownie bites, red bull, and pizza ... really?!)
health: 7 (see above)
recovery: 6 (see above!)
physical energy: 8
mental energy: 6
stress: 8.5 (tough week)

Makeup and Being Right

i ruined my workout today by eating cookies and pizza ... i felt so sick afterwards ... and i have no one to blame but myself. i embarassed myself only able to do 2 legit deadhangs for coach yesterday when i thought i could do more... no prob pulling 4-6 kips, but deadhangs are the real test and i failed miserably. i also couldn't string more than 2 TTBs, which have always been one of my favorite movements ... REALLY?!

i said i'd get off my ass march 1st ... and i did it haphazardly, if at all. working out 2-3 times a week is NOT enough to get back on the wagon.

i need to come clean and call out my own BS.

i look scrawny ... i probably lost most, if not all of the quality muscle weight i worked my ass off for this past year ... and i can grab a handful of flab that did not exist. seriously ... if i'm struggling to C&J a weight that i used to warm up with, then i SHOULD be embarrassed.

with all that said...

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CrossFit Games Open 11.3 (Made up Thu 4/7)

AMRAP 5 minutes @ 12 rounds

Squat clean & Jerk @ 110 #

http://beyondthewhiteboard.com/workout_sessions/1186815

i question my squat depth on some of those reps, to be honest. i also did't feel like i was pushing as hard as i could ... i gamed it too slow (2 per min) and didn't really go for it until the last minute - which was too late. i had another 2-3 left in me and missed the train...! DORK!

ok, i want to do this one again. clean & jerks are one of my favorite movements ad i am TRULY ashamed of how poorly i performed.

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coach said something to me yesterday that stuck ... well, actually, he's said it a few other times too ...

"you overthink things. keep it simple."

he's right... of course he's right... analysis paralysis mixed with laziness ... oh that's makes for a long road ahead ...

so these are the things i'm to do over the next 5 days:

- track what i do and how i've been managing my time from waking to going to bed

- come up with monthly measurements for heavy and long goals

this is going to be tough. why?

i want to make it more detailed. i want to think things through and detail out the plan.

i want to slack off until 6 months before the expedition and do things the way i've done them in the past...

i want to eat like crap and expect my body to perform like it did 10 years ago

but i can't. coach knows and i know that if i'm going to meet my ultimate fitness goal, i need to change things. he made a good point that i think about when i do things, am i doing them towards my ultimate goal?

"when you do something, will it help you achieve that goal?"

to safely climb and return with matt from the denali west buttress route on our unsupported, solo expedition.

given that i'm well on my way to 50 and my climbing days are nearing expiration, i need to change the way i look at fitness and how i treat my body. historically, i treated training as a means to an end as opposed to a lifestyle. that's gotta stop and i can't assume that the body god blessed me with can be taken for granted anymore.

so he's right. of course he's right.

when people ask why some of us at CFC are so loyal and speak so highly of the coaches, it's because of things like this. hard-headed, overthinking goofs like me need people like rudy, bryce, and the gang at CFC to keep us on the right track and help us keep our "GRRR!" on.

let the bloodbath begin.

Naughty naughty monkey

Mr Airdyne, I hate you. Thought I’d put it out there:

:20 ballsout cycling

2:40 rest

5 rollercoaster rounds of cardiac quad ripping @

8-10-10-10-9 cal thingys

Oh yeah, I thought, “This shouldn’t be too tough. I should be ok.”.

Um. No. Not so much. A few of us mused that Rudy MUST have programmed this cause it was yet another jedi-mind trick that messed with our heads (and egos). He and Bryce are not just sadistic, but genius too. I love them. My Quads were cramping all over the place and all I could think around round 3 was, “OMGOMGOMG” mixed in with assorted pain-filled curses. You know, the usual.

I feel like I suffer more during these kinds of workouts because I always trained like, performed as, and am built like like a slow-twitch type gal. Throw a heavy pack on me, point me to camp a few miles up the mountain, and the train has left the station ... like any pack mule in South America, I have been bred to be a porter, not a sprinter ... I have basic coordination and am on the slower end, but I’m strong and steady. So these sprinty, explosive things really mess with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and welcome changes that will allow me to physically perform better, recover faster, or extend my shelf-life. I’m just saying that I’m not used to it - which is to say that change is a great thing and doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is the definition of stupidity. blah blah blah.

Anyway, coach was right. (he usually is... ok fine, he always is.) I have been flip-flopping between CFC and mainsite workouts. Not ideal ... and after so much needless suffering this week and a complete inability to do today’s RX’d WOD ... not good either. The constantly varied mantra is loud and clear - so I have to respect the method to the crossfit madness ... as well as the investments we’ve made into it. I’m going to heed his advice and stick to CFC programming - not only will I be able to enjoy the sadistic creativity alongside my beloved crew whenever I can get in, but the coaches know me, my strengths, and my limitations.

Post-wod brunch with the girls was awesome ... they make every moment of suffering worth it. No drinking for me later, tho. Really bad for the complexion and my other genetic disposition.

I also wanted to eat more, but last night's binge with Matt is still giving me nightmares and I'm still aching from it. I ate only 1 of the 6 cupcakes you see above. I have hidden them and pray Matt doesn’t find them.

Diet: -12

Sleep: 5 (maaaaattttttt!)

Mental energy: 7-8

Physical energy: 8, but sore

Stress: 6ish

Health: 90%

hmm...

5 reps each of deadlift, hang clean, push press, and squat @ 45-45-55-65-75

kept things light to focus on good movement and consistency. didn't feel bad at all.

there was a little knee tracking, over extension of head/back, and droopy elbows ... but i corrected them as i went and kept pretty consistent. last round was funny when i cleaned too low and ended up sitting on the groud ... no worries, though. i leaned forward and pushed through! ha!

video to come shortly...

i love running, but my lungs don’t

suffice to say that my return to CF has been rather lack luster. not that i’m not motivated...i’m more distracted. distracted by school, finances, wedding plans, house renovations, getting my lungs healthy, and taking care of our home together. this is a sign that i need to get my lists back on. i tend to be better when i have easy to access lists, structure, and a regular schedule. having said that...

Run 1600 meters @ 10:27
Rest 3 minutes
Run 1200 meters @ 8:58
Rest 2 minutes
Run 800 meters @ 2:59
Rest 1 minute
Run 400 meters @ 1:38

yeah ... so i didn't pace the first round too good. started too fast and my lungs swelled up like a balloon. given that my normal 5k pace has been about 5:30, this is not too good ... i lost a lot of time stopping to get albuterol in my lungs before moving on. made up for it in later rounds but feeling a bit frustrated. i'm usually pretty good about setting a good pace for myself, but this is another testament to how slacking off affects not just metcon, but strength and pacing/timing as well. lesson learned and can now use frustration energy in future workouts :)

Stress: 5
Strength: 60%
Mental energy: 7
Physical energy: 6
Health: asthma sucks. so running doesn’t feel good ... metcon really suffered during my “hiatus”
Diet: sucks more than asthma. the week after thanksgiving ... yeah ...
Sleep: better. 7-ish hours. matt didn’t elbow me, shout at some gangbanger he was probably arresting in his sleep, or fart on me. blissful peace.

The Known and the Unknown: 90 days left

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 4^th time on this mountain. This is my 2^nd 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

Posted via email from tery's bits and bobs

20100126 Tue WOD: Frustration

I'm going to lay it out right now. I'm so frustrated I can hardly type ...

I get it. I lament the limitations of my age, recovery from illness, financial responsibilities, managing the household, and school ... it's a crap attitude to have, but there it is. Not because I'm a masochist or looking for attention, but because I keep getting reminded everywhere I turn and every time I think I've made a little progress.

It's really hard to keep a stiff upper lip when I struggle to climb easy routes, carrying fractions of my usual hauls, or go faint during a workout that normally charges me up. My body just won't fucking recover fast enough and it's playing with my head and confidence level. Talking with Eileen last week made me feel better knowing I'm not alone and I think of how hard Alma has it too, but it doesn't erase the fact that we struggle with things we have no control over.

It's frustrating and overwhelming. I get all sorts of feedback ... some of it is surprising and helpful, some of it contradicts what others say, some of it is embarrassing or just downright insulting. It's hard to be called ridiculous when you're making a genuine attempt to learn, put the work in, and not ask for special treatment. I'm doing my best to be coachable, but I also think it works both ways. If it weren't for the faith a few patient, understanding folks had in me, I might have given up by now.

You know, I was really looking forward to going to the gymnastics cert ... I was also looking forward to competing at Sectionals too ... but in 103 days, I have a major expedition, a semester of classes to ace, a condo to sell, and a home to take care of. It's hard to be asked why I'm not doing this or going to that, but I can't say I'm committed to Matt and not take care of him after he spent night after night doing the same for me ... I can't say I'm being fiscally responsible when I'm spending money on things I don't immediately need for the expedition ... I can't say I've prioritized school if I miss out on 12 solid hours of studying I really need to do ... it's hard to be open, social, and positive but keep your mouth shut at the same time ... especially when you've got your eyes on a target further than most people are willing to see.

I'm not going to lie. When you get kicked in the pants so many times over so many years, people telling you that you're "not in the top percent", or having to go at things alone ... it gets harder. I want to yell at Matt for eating ice cream in front of me while I weigh, measure, and pick at meals I don't even want to eat. I want to scream every time I need 8 hours of sleep knowing that I won't get it tonight. I want to cry when I can't pick up the damned bar or finish off that deadhang. I want to punch that stupid fucking Resident for "...have you thought about having children? You should really think about that soon given your age.". Sometimes I feel like taking back that ice cream box, sitting on the sofa, and giving up.

I get it. I overthink it. I worry too much. I take on too much. I need to get over it. My mental game is a big issue. I am my own worst enemy. I'm a pain in the ass. I know!

But dammit, I'm really trying. There are only so many hours in the day and I'm struggle just to put on a nice face and keep up.

Alright. Venting is done. I'll adjust my attitude now.

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Strength: Deadlift 3-3-3+ @ 130-150-165 (63%-72%-81%) weak and inconsistent form

Gymnastics:
- Ring dips @ 5-5-5
- Worked on the swing to get me into that muscle-up
- 3 isometric 90-degree pullup holds for :30 each

Metcon 5 rounds @ 3:38
- 7 Hang Squat Cleans @ 45 (60% of max clean would've been 81)
- 7 burpees

... yeah, I realize I needed to go heavier. They felt like heavy airsquats and I went completely unbroken ... even with burpees (which are at the top of my suck list). 35# probably would have added another 3-4 minutes - which might have been more realistic and gainful. It was tough, but I still feel like I cheated myself today. I know I'm ultimately responsible for the mistakes I make and I am learning to filter what coaching is legit and what is out-of-context. Time to move on to tomorrow.