Week of 8/22 - 8/28

Monday 8/22

Strength

Overhead Squat: Intermediate 5-5-5-5 @

I focused on the whole squat progression today. Squats in general are tough given my crap knees, hyper-mobility, and glute/ham/core weakness, so I’m going to work on moving well before moving heavy... plus, listening to my knees make that grinding sound is pretty gross.

Workout of the Day

1 min AMRAP on/1 min off for 20 minutes
2 Hang Power Snatch (70#)
3 Box Jumps (20”)
4 Burpees

HPS are definitely better - Matt and Rudy are spot on about my lack of confidence under the bar and full squat movements. Like expedition training, it’s all about getting myself inoculated to the uncomfortable until its familiar enough to be comfortable.

Box and burpees are ok - like many other things, this was more of a mental toughness thing for me. I am physically fit enough to work without break and control my breathing such that I don’t hyperventilate, but I have to work through the mental challenge of pushing through the discomfort and focusing on the plan.

Post-WOD

5 x 10 Strict Pull-ups ... I am slowly getting to my 10 unbroken goal ... I was able to tweak out 4’s and 5’s ... bar at home slips so I need to fix that but pullups are a work in progress

Tuesday 8/23

5k with K$sha, 50cent, David Guetta, and Rage ... they help me move, but nothing like chasing a pack of CFC'ers... :15 improvement from last year's "skinny pete 5k" of 26:36

Saturday 8/27

Workout of the Day

5 rounds @ 9:04

5 HSPU (small band)

10 KBS (1.5p)

30 doubleunders

HSPU were slow, but steady and unbroken. KBS went steady and unbroken too. I almost went totally unbroken, but the 3rd round of doubleunders got me twice. This was a great WOD

Post-WOD

no access to pullup bar in ohio woods, so i worked on my super-suck list of situps, airsquats, and wallballs … 50 each

Week of 8/8: glug glug glug

Did Monday on Tuesday...

T = toughed it out @ 08.09.2011 at 8:28 pm

WOD @ Home

30-20-10 reps of: (5:00 – 9:00 Finish Time)
Wall Balls (14#)
Burpees
Box Jumps (21″)

these 3 movements are on my suck list top 5 … esp wall balls since anything with a squat in it is a PITA… literally.

saw the cap and promised myself I’d finish sub 8 … um … not so much … 8:31 … i was moving along steady until i hit the wall at the end of round 2 (of course) … then it became a dog fight … in mud … this WOD was deceptive, brutal, and rather awesome.

Tanked Wednesday, Made-up on Thursday

T = tanked the diet @ 08.10.2011 at 5:04 pm

oooh…. i ate a snickers, a reeses, a whole whopper meal (bacon, cheese, fries, soda, you name it), 2 ice cream cones, and then a pack of zingers … feel kinda sick now.

I have 51 days until my wedding, 19% body fat, and raging headaches from no coffee/caffeine for the past week… I am dreading the WOD because I am a raging addict now and am having trouble staying “clean”… help.

Front Squat

Intermed – 6×3 @ 73% of 1RM Back Squat (125# ... I know it’s light, don’t judge me! I have work to do!)

I really struggled with the last few on set 6 … my rear is gonna be sore so I’m guessing I did something right… grow baby, grow!

PS: of all the squat movements, i really like front squats … not sure if it’s balance or the elbow thing, but I seem to move better here?

WOD for Time @ home

50 Double-Unders
10 Overhead Squats (55#)
40 Double-Unders
8 OHS
30 Double-Unders
6 OHS
20 Double-Unders
4 OHS
10 Double-Unders
2 OHS

6:34 ... I made a typo on the CFC blog by :10 ... but on the grander scheme of things, this should make no difference given how much work I have to do for the next 9 months.

This was fun. My double-unders have improved enough to makeup for my OHS weaknesses in terms of buying time back (unbroken until the last round) ... the shock was actually feeling strong enough to get OHS to depth without bottoming out each time and remembering all the cues from Kurt and Glenn ... "turn the dinner plates and pull the string up!" ... it's wierd, but it worked, it was tough, and it was (finally) ... legit

OHS still needs a lot of work, but I'm getting there. I liked the front squats. They seem the most comfortable. I hope I start to like them as much as I like double-unders now.

Saturday 8/13

30:30 x 4 of:
Box Jumps (20)
Push-ups (strict)

Rest 5 minutes

30:30 x 4 of:
Row (Cals)
Push Press (55)

Rest 5 minutes

30:30 x 4 of:
Pull-ups
Burpees

Score = Total Reps Completed = 314

T = Take care of this, T  @ 08.13.2011 at 2:38 pm

I glugged through 314 reps … I kinda expected that given how bad diet and undisciplined I’ve been as of late. Box jumps weren’t as steady and consistent as I’d like, pushups kinda died off a little early, pushand burpees just wouldn’t go faster.

Sunday 8/14

Expedition training and rescue tech stuff ... we were actually pretty good today. We moved along - anchors, fixed line ascents, 3:1/6:1 pulleys, heavy hauling, sandbag stuff, and knots ... we’ll start doing everything for time soon as well as with full gear on ... I’m still concerned about my size and the additional weight I’ll be carrying, but all I can do is keep working at it for the next 9 months.

---

Overall this week

• sleep: 7
• health: 6
• recovery: 6
• mental energy: 8
• stress: 8.5 ... hell, give it a 9.5 ... this wedding planning stuff is getting annoying ... really annoying ... really, really annoying ... I had to let the wedding planner go, members of my bridal party can’t help but to create drama, people trying to invite themselves or bring strangers, USPS losing mail, people not RSVP’ing at all, or people telling me what “I need to serve...” at the reception ... seriously, we really should have stuck to our first inclination to run off and get married on the mountain ... I’m starting to completely appreciate Matt’s general apprehension towards social gatherings now ... fucking hell
• physical energy: 6ish ... I’m sure my CRAP diet as of late has a lot to do with my oddball lethargy, “fluffiness”, and general gluggishness as of late 
• diet:  -2  ...  I have a serious junk food addiction. No BS, I’m having trouble controlling myself, I obsess about it, and I sneak off and eat crap that makes me really sick. A few people speculate that it’s “stress eating” ... I’m sure the wedding and deferring school a year while I take consulting gigs has a lot to do with it.

T = Time to MAN UP

Friday & Saturday: FUD

I gotta come clean. I have FUD. This acronym usually means FEAR, UNCERTAINTY, and DOUBT... however, in my case, it’s:

FEAR. UNDISCIPLINED. DISTRACTED.

Matt & I are climbing Denali again. Unsupported. I’ve never climbed high altitude unsupported before. So in order for us to ascend and descend safely, I have to AT LEAST have the same capabilities (if not more) than last year. Having said that, there’s a lot of work to be done.

Fear.

It took Rudy's tough love yesterday during the Snatch/C&J skills test to get me to MAN UP and admit that I can be a total sissy. Sometimes I am afraid of training with Rudy because he sees through my BS like glass and calls it out unfiltered - gotta be willing to hear the blunt truth, grow a pair, and get on with it. The truth ain’t always pretty or nicely packaged.

1. I am scared to lift heavy

I lifted about 30% less than my PRs today ... (85/135? from 110/175)

I can blame being underweight, I can blame poor nutrition, I can blame a lot of things, but the fact is that I am afraid. I have never been afraid of going for all the weight I can ... GO HEAVY OR GO HOME, right?!

Well, I am afraid because I TOTALLY let myself go over the past year and I am lazy (19% body fat @ 132lbs now compared to the 15% body fat @ 155 right before we left for Denali).

I have no one to blame but myself for picking up the all-you-can-eat-cupcake-funyuns-ice-cream-fried-chicken habit that I now have... but the fact is that I got scared to lift less weight that I carry on the mountain... less than when Matt and I go on our little forest jaunts... less than the FRICKIN C&J/Rope Climb WOD I finished a few days prior! If that isn’t a blaring reminder how mental and technique oriented oly lifting is, I don’t know what is.

This just means that I need to lift more, get over myself, and build my confidence. I’m usually the one trying to help others build their confidence and listening to their BS, but the truth is that I’m right there too.

2. I am scared of the work I gotta do

I never had this problem when I first started CrossFitting because I didn’t know better... failing wasn’t a big deal and everything was a new learning experience. “Hey! That’s looks neat, let’s try it!”

I am scared of what is ahead. I had to sacrifice and work so hard to get ready for Denali last year. Eating 3000-5000 calories a day became a job, 2-a-days were emotionally draining, and school sucked out whatever mental energy I had left in me. Thank god I tapered before the expedition.

... 2 years later? I guess it’s the pressure because I “should” know better ... I know what I’m supposed to do after 20+ years of climbing and training. Even CFHQ certified me with a piece of paper saying that I know what I’m supposed to do (well, that’s for another rant) ... but I still have movements I need to correct or I’ve become rusty at them. For example, I now struggle at ALL squat movements ... more than before (and that’s saying something). So Saturday's OHS workout highlighted that.

21-15-9 reps @ 7-something
Overhead Squats (55#)
CTB Pull-ups

OHS were bad. Really bad. So bad that Glenn and I, dropped the weight, ignored the clock and just tried to get them legit. Even Rudy called out how bad it was from the loft... I was really working hard, my body just wouldn’t frickin listen.

It wasn’t the fatigue or the weight. It was being able to get into a good squat. Glenn and Matt are right about “too mobile/too flexible” ... yoga makes me really, really, really flexible ... so much that I bottom out, drop the hips too much, or let my core/back soften out on the descent so that getting back up lacks any power or leverage ... they are right about having to work harder at strengthening those deficits. I also don’t get on my heels enough and use my posterior glute/ham chain... my kinesthetic awareness stinks!

3. I am afraid of failing

I’m still not quite able to talk about everything that happened on the mountain ... nor will I ever be. It’s not the first time I’ve seen or dealt with stuff like this, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve toughened up to it. I just know that in high altitude and/or in a big storm, failure means severe injury or death... given that it’s just me and Matt, I guess the pressure to succeed and avoid failure is higher because this man, for better or worse, IS my life. Talk about finding the “E” in SMARTE goals ...

So fear is a big thorn right now. I know I can deal with it ... I have failed plenty before and know I will in the future ... I just have to be patient, listen, and trust myself ... and the people around me.

UnDisciplined.

Matt argues that I’m soft there because I’ve “outsourced” those good habits and skills to other people. When you have no choice but to be self-sufficient, you develop the skill and habits to be disciplined, efficient, and consistent ... ironic that I’m learning this from someone who I have a decade + of life experience over ... and poetic justice.

My career has been built on my ability to innovate and take risks other people wouldn’t consider. I have been expected to think, live, and breathe outside of the box ... hell, outside of the whole building ... so discipline and consistency will be a work in progress... and a measurable deficit until I am better at it.

Distracted.

Anyone who knows me knows that I‘m like a 12-year old with ADD ... I love everything. I am distracted and want to get my grubby paws on everything. I am foolish enough to think I can multitask ... one would think that after almost half a century, I’d have figured out how to prioritise, focus, and execute efficiently.

... but why do those things when you can have someone do that for you? For over 2 decades, I’d set the agenda, dictate priorities, and let my support circle corral me... I know I’ve blathered about this before, but I can’t emphasise enough how important it is for me to become more self-sufficient and not get distracted.

9 - 14 May: Skinny-fat Chick Alert! Skinny-fat Chick Alert!

Monday 5/9

Back Squat 3×3 @ 85-95-105?
Focused on ROM and getting rid of that wierd tootsie roll thing. ALL squat movements are on the top of my suck list, so I’m keeping it light and easy until I am consistent and more body-movement aware.

I’m not above scaling down if it means I can get it right EVERY time and get stronger... stronger glute/ham ROM is definitely on my list of goals. (note the skinny-fat photo of me on the left ... nice cleavage, but scary tummy pooch! eeesh!)

WOD

5 Rounds @ 7:38 of
1 Squat Snatch
4 Overhead Squats
10 Pull-ups

Went light to meet goal of a sub 8:00, but I  think I wimped out because I never really got out of breath or pushed myself to get more depth on those OHS ... Pullups in 3-4′s and nice easy snatch/OHS. I was half asleep and totally humbled by the wave 2 ladies! When I finally adjust to this schedule, I’m gonna start chasing them!

I also think I was half asleep cause it was my first workout at 6am this year! Yep, getting up every day @ 4:30 is going to be an adjustment, but I did it and I’m psyched! yay! (unfortunately, Matt is NOT a big fan because it impeded on his “morning time”, so we’re gonna have to work something out)

Still feeling the awful effects of my “see food” diet ... I am still paying for that red bull, pizzas, and 4lb box of brownie bites in more ways than 1. Coach Zack, I need you!!!

Tuesday 5/10

A – Muscle-up: skill work. worked on hip-to-ring hallowed kips, ctb, false grip, and ring dip
B – Double-Unders (3 min AMRAP): inconsistent but was able to string ‘em

WOD: 40-30-20-10 reps of

Power Wall Balls (14/10#)
Box Jumps (16″)

Ego checked @ 8:42!

I deserved that :30 penalty for not scaling appropriately! Started with 14# and broke at 15 in round 1 … ditched the b*tch and got a 10#er to get in gear …

Post – 4 x 10 Unbroken Toes-to-bar: 4-8-8-6

Wednesday 5/11

Ashtanga Yoga - primary series. Worked out a few kinks and building my isometric strength back. I wanted to go to CFC today, but I committed to 2:1, I’m sticking to it and letting my ego take a back seat. I’ll see how I feel next week when the Paleo challenge is in full swing...

Thursday 5/12

Worked on DL, presses, and hallows @ CFC and then GHD & deadhangs @ home. Weight not so much important, but getting rid of oddball movement was (e.g., tootsie roll knees, squat wannabe DL, et al). I wanted to makeup Wednesday’s WOD, but I was sore and still nursing my junk food hangover ... also I think I just chickened out... prolly more the latter.

Glutes are gonna be sore for treating my body like an amusement park for all these months. I confess I feel a little deflated being weak and looking scrawny now...

It’s actually scary. Somewhere between getting engaged and the holidays, I became this raging junk food addict alá skinny-fat chick. I look pretty good - but I feel generally crappy, “thick”, and really un-driven. I also let a lot of other things go too, but I’ll leave that for my personal blog... keep calm and carry on ...

Friday 5/13

got up @ 4am to make 7am flight for many, many meetings ... then delayed flight and getting home @ 23:45. i feel like i got robbed by united airlines in more ways than 1

… but i got in 50 situps, 50 pushups, and 10 wannabe HSPUs in a little conference room of the admiral club… not a true wod and in my brooks brothers suit, but better than nothing. I planned to get back to CFC in time and couldn’t get back... my 2:1 goal thrown out the window

food was scarce, but i managed to find a few plain burgers, a wilty airport salad, a banana, starbucks, and a milkshake i’m sure will haunt me tomorrow …

Side note, my glutes aren’t sore ... at all. I thought they “should” be given the work I’ve been doing this week (assuming I did the work right). The truth is, my lower back is a tad sore ... which means my G/H activation needs more work. It’s frustrating.

Saturday 5/14 - Paleo Challenge Day 1... kinda ...

I felt the bacon burger, fries, milkshake, and all the garbage I’ve been eating ... and it showed in my FRAN performance today. Oh yeah, I scaled it. First time ever. Ego checked!

55# @ 8:07 ... oh yeah. It was sad. I added 1:00+ to my prior Fran (7:02) and dropped thruster weight (RX=65#) . . . I’ve become weaker, still underweight, and metcon “gas tank” needs to grow before I am ready. Upside is - what a way to set the bar low for my first day on the paleo challenge! I’m TOTALLY gonna see HUGE gains!

But ... I promised myself that I would get my ROM in order and then work on “performance”. My body is used to carrying heavy weight and I know it will be fierce again pretty soon. The advantage I have this year over last year is that I have a TON more knowledge, body awareness, and skills (thanks to Coaches Bryce, Rudy, Alex, the “old box” gang, and the amazing HQ peeps at all the certs). I’m working! I’m working!

Today I ate:

- handfuls of dried cherries

- handfuls of turkey jerky

- spoonfuls of almond butter

- tuna sashimi (had 2 packages similar to package on left)

- kale salad with shrimp cocktail, onions, and herbs

- coffee (pre-wod), endurox (post-wod), and roughly 2L water (2 nalgenes)

Personal note: I woke up today feeling like a load was taken off my shoulders. I also am proud of myself for starting to open up to others about Diana. I just hope that the few things Matt & I are aiming for go through and our plans can actually carry in... keep calm and carry on ... keep calm and carry on ...

Abbey was supposed to meet me today to work on our ideas for adventure racing, my denali training, and her resume... but she never showed and I have to admit that I was both surprised and disappointed. I always admired her discipline and steadfastness too. Well ... keep calm and carry on ...

---

out of 10 for this week...

sleep: 2 (planning for and doing 6am and 9am WODs are going to be a serious adjustment!)
diet: 4 (not consistent or disciplined, I definitely had a burger binge this week)
health: 6 (see above)
recovery: 8 (very strange! I hit it with integrity and expected to suffer more...)
physical energy: 7
mental energy: 8
stress: 6 (better, but still there)

coming home

Woo! Fun first day back at the CFC box! Sooo luxurious
compared to our gritty home CF garage (and significantly warmer!). Also
didn't realise how much a goof I am until Carlo, Anj and Randy reprised a
few stories ... even Bryce chimed in about how Ben would get me fired up,
how badly I used to run (still kinda do), or how scary my rowing looked.
(embarrassing, but that's CFC love for ya ... I think?) I may be 3 months
out of shape, but I've still come a long way since last year.

Having said that...

Overhead Squat 5-5-5 @ 75-85-90

Metcon @ 5:40
30-20-10 Reps
Deadlift (110)
Wall Ball (12)

Post - BB Step-ups 5-5-5/leg

I put a bigger focus on quality (movement) over quantity (weight) today.
So I went lighter than RX'd because I thought this would be a good
opportunity to "re-baseline". WB felt good overall but the coaches noticed
that the bottom of my DLs were sloppy (turtle back, ugh I soo gotta work
on that). I allowed myself to break once per round and (apprently) only
spewed 2 bad words. The coaches and a few fellow CF'ers were so
disappointed, they called me soft... never a dull moment!

Truth be told, I was just beaming and thrilled to see everyone ... even
had to hug Bryce. Lots of new faces and green shirts. Even walking around
and seeing all the new equipment and cubbies made me get a little mushy
inside.

I read that "CF-Devotees" are a little fanatical in the non-CF media ...
but with all due respect, I suspect these folks have never really enjoyed
the taste of a supportive, tight-knit community like this ... the kind
that welcomes you "home" after being gone for as short a time as 3 months.

Stress: 5
Strength: 70%
Mental energy: 7
Physical energy: 7
Health: asthma still sucks but breathing better today. A lot of congestion
lately, though.
Diet: slightly naughty bunny, but not "awful"
Sleep: 7 hours next to "Mr-I-Shake-The-Walls-Snoring". He's lucky I'm
crazy in love with him and that he's so cute it hurts.

20100315 Training: I'm trying! 50+ days left

Re-read message from Alma (the lady with cancer that I'm climbing Denali
for) and this article on the CrossFit Journal... totally put things into
perspective going into my last 52 days before the expedition.

http://journal.crossfit.com/2008/05/the-hard-routine-by-jason-doug.tpl

Oh yeah, Alex's blog (http://theunbrokenone.blogspot.com) is a great one to
read too. He is, as Tucker would say, poetry in motion when he trains...
although he was the first one to tell me that there's a lot going on in the
head even though the outside says different. He's a great athlete and a
great guy.

Back to business.

Strength: Overhead Squat 5x1
OHS 93# felt good. Wanted to go heavier, but I'd like to correct
inconsistent depth and balance issues first. Knee hurts.

Metcon: 12 min AMRAP
5 burpees
10 pull ups
15 sit ups

yeah so a 30# weighted belt seemed like a good idea at first, but I realised
it was poo after rudy wanted to see my pullups unbroken... the light turned
on and the belt came off ... burpees and situps were steady. Strung pullups
in 4/5's throughout. Ended with 6 rounds, 7 situps if I don't count the one
buggered while taking the belt off.

Post WOD skill - 3 x max handstand push ups with 1 controlled negative at
conclusion of each set (90 sec rest)

Didn't have it in me today to do post WOD - not getting enough sleep,
calories, or mental downtime. We'll try again tomorrow. Good news is that
Coach took a few minutes to help me understand how metcon and body weight
specific movements don't need to integrate with strength. Why put on the
weight belt for pull-ups when I can't do 10 at a time unbroken? I might be
able to do the burpees and situps unbroken, but it seems I need to get
unbroken overall ... not 2/3 of the way. He also showed me some interesting
endurance drills to do that were movement-specific for my sport (aka pulling
lots of weight up for 8 hrs, digging/building snow shelters,
crevasse/rescue, storm work, and vertical climbing). It was a productive,
but tiring day.

Sleep: 7hrs
Mental Energy: 7
Physical Energy: 7
Stress: 4 (significantly lower now that my condo is closing!!!)
Diet: not enough protein, need to remember to pack more food for the day.
It's so hard to prep so much food every day.

Posted via email from Tery's Denali 2010 Training

2009 12 25: Christmas WOD

this was actually done on Christmas day at a local gym matt and I found while visiting my family in Atlanta. I forgot to post it given our travel back to Chicago and being sick he past 10 days. As you can see from the results,

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still plugging away on training. overall, I'm recovering, but it's slow and delaying my progress. I lost almost 15lbs and am not happy about it given that it was quality weight - my isometric work is easier (because I'm lighter), but metabolic conditioning and strength has been set back for sure.

Squats 75%/85%/95% @ 125-140-160(3)
Still feeling weak but glad I was able to do the work and push through

Metcon @ 7:15
- 5 overhead squats (#65)
- 10 Pull ups (pink)

Round 1 @ 0:53.3 all unbroken
Round 2 @ 1:32.5 OHS unbroken, broke pull-ups 5-5
Round 3 @ 1:29.1 OHS unbroken, broke pull-ups 5-5
Round 4 @ 1:46.4 OHS unbroken, broke pull-ups 3-3-4
Round 5 @ 1:35.9 OHS unbroken, broke pull-ups 5-5

i simultaneously love and hate having my boyfriend spot me through
metcon - i think i did 5 extra OHS because he wouldn't count OHS reps he
thought were less than good