Knees to Elbows?!?

SNPP (behind the neck)

73x5

83x4

93x3

103x2

113x1

WOD
All 2 minute rounds

4 rounds:

100 m shuttle

15 plate sit ups (25#)

(subbed to 7 GHD sit ups for the last 2 rounds)

4 rounds

150 m row

10 T2B, subbed to almost K2E

I liked the rest in each round. That worked well for me. :) Joc is good at pushing us to work nice and hard with these wods. She is giving me lots of practice in getting my breathing under control...

When I was done, Kyle muttered something about knowing my secret. What secret? I have no secrets!! Well, it turns out that he thought that I was indeed able to do the actual K2Es and that I was just sandbagging. No, I can't do them! I know I can't. I've never been able to come even close, so I just pull my legs up and engage those abs. I have been getting better, but nope, can't actually do them. Kyle didn't agree.

So I told Kyle that I would show him that I couldn't do it.

Then I tried it again. I did it. Bummer! Now I'll have to actually do real K2Es. :)

In keeping with my goal to make sure I was eating really well this week, my menu for today-

Breakfast

eggs, Italian sausage, tomatillo salsa, and avocado

Snack, post wod

almonds

Lunch

grilled pork tenderloin with peach salsa

roasted broccoli with caramelized onions

Dinner

grilled hamburger patty with tomato, avocado, and tomatillo salsa

roasted broccoli

Dessert

strawberries and blueberries with coconut milk

plates, sandbags, and tires

Push Press + Push Jerk
53x2
63x2
68x2
73x2
73x2

plus extra work with the bar to work on technique...I definitely have some more mental clarity on a few things, so now I just have to try to make it actually happen. But that is one of the great things about CFWSC-always learning and always being urged to do better.

WOD
6 rounds
2 minutes on/1 minute rest
12 OH plated lunges 25#
100 m sprint
max half moons 25#/tire flips/plate sit ups
Total-99
the breakdown was something close to this:
15-15-28
15-13-13

Honest truth: I pretty much sandbagged the halfmoons. They all felt so heavy. But this was a fun wod, with lots of variety and LOTS of work.

I am very tired now, and I hope to get hours and hours of sleep...

Open Gym Again

Back Squats
I did some extra credit squats today.
208x2x6

Someone asked me after I was done how they felt, and I gave a quick reply of "great" or something equally descriptive. Later on, thought about it a bit more and realized that the first time I did 208 for reps, I was nervous for hours before, I was nervous during, and it was taxing to get through the sets. It is so encouraging to really see the progress when I thought about today, compared to a couple months ago.


25 yd sled sprints x8 with 65#
I was supposed to have 1 minute rest, but I am pretty sure I was given closer to 30 sec.

3x15 GHD sit ups

1x15 GHD Russian Twists 12# ball

One of the fun things about open gym is seeing a variety of people working on a huge variety of things. I love seeing people who are new to open gym, people who have been doing it for awhile, people who have a clear plan, and people who just come in and figure something out. It is great to see someone try Helen for the first time, or try Christine, thinking it was only 1 round. :) Way to finish it anyway, Lolo! You never know who you'll get to see Olympic lifting or who you can just sit around and chat with.

Immediate Goal Setting

2 Position Snatch
1 power snatch + 1 hang snatch

I just did a bunch with 53 and then a bunch with 63. I was highly organized in my approach to this one! :)

WOD
5 rounds
30 lateral jumps
10 cross chops rt. 25#
10 cross chops lt.
7 ring dips (BB)
Time: 7:43

Since I went to the Amundsen goal-setting seminar, I figured I would set an immediate goal for this wod-

1. get the first round of jumps unbroken-done

This was the first time that I have done ring dips in a wod, so I started with the blue band. Next time I will use the green band. I will also have to think about whether I should use a heavier KB for the cross chops, but I'll worry about that one later.

One of my 7 day goals is to refocus on my diet, with proper attention to my protein and carb (specifically vegetable) intake. I find that I can fall into a pattern of eating protein at each meal, but not eating nearly as many veggies as I did back when I carefully paleo-zoned. I am not worried that I am eating too few carbs since I allowed myself fruit for the summer, but I know that I have been missing out on all the goodness that comes with a variety and great volume of vegetables. I have also fallen into the habit of sometimes just eating 2 meals in a day, and then I just get hungry too soon and eat lots and lots of fruit (or sometimes...even chocolate.)

So I took a bit of time this afternoon to shop and then prep somethings ahead.


Roasted Broccoli with Caramelized Onions
The onions elevate roasted broccoli (already pretty fantastic) to a whole new level of vegetable goodness.

1 bag of broccoli florets (from TJs)
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil
butter

Oil a baking sheet lightly. Dump the broccoli on the pan and sprinkle with a bit more olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast this in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt a pat of butter in a skillet, preferably cast iron. If you don't have a cast iron pan, this is a very, very good reason to get one. When the butter is hot, but before it starts to burn, add the onions. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and add some more butter if it needs it. Turn down the heat to med-low and cook the onions until brown and soft, about 20 minutes, stirring as needed to keep them from burning. If they seem to be burning, not slowly browning, you can turn down the heat and/or add a few tablespoons of water.

Many recipes for caramelized onions will call for some type of sugar, but you do not need any at all. As long as you cook them slowly and long enough to really brown, the onions will be sweet on their own.

When both the broccoli and onions are done, toss together and enjoy!

Team WOD

The 10am was a full class, so there was lots of activity and energy to keep everyone moving. On top of that we had a team wod, so there was no rest for the wicked, and thankfully, the righteous don't need any.

Team WOD
8 rounds each
5 burpees
3 push presses 83#

then each person completes:
40 KBS 45#
(broken into 5 rep/round)

then each person:
8 sprints

Time, with Lisette: 15:21

I was admittedly performing a rather loose interpretation of a push press on this one, but I was just going with the idea of shoulder to overhead, anyway. I am a pretty rotten push presser and generally either press the bar or jerk it, so this creative expression of the lift is not surprising.

I also did some canning and cooking and ended up with some wonderful peach salsa, tomatillo salsa, and plum chutney, but I have to find the cable to upload the picture...But fresh salsas are a wonderful paleo addition as they are great on grilled chicken, pork, beef, fish, sausage, and eggs. And they are super easy!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Roast these under the broiler until nice and charred:
about 8 tomatillos, paper skin removed
1 large onion, cut into chunks
2-3 jalapenos
2-3 cloves of garlic

Then cut the stem out of the tomatillos. Toss all of the roasted veggies into the food processor and pulse until it is chopped, but not mush.

Add:
a handful of cilantro
the juice of a lime
salt and pepper

Finish processing and enjoy!

Straight Legs

SLDL
95x5
95x5
115x5
115x5
115x5

I am getting more and more comfortable with these, but we'll see how my legs feel later.

WOD
7 rounds
5 ring pull ups
100 m sprint
8 box jumps-subbed 15 single jumps
Time: 8:44

My sciatic nerve has really been bothering me, and those box jumps were just too painful, so I first tried moving from the 20 inch box to the 16, and then just jumped rope. Other than that, I liked all of this-I like ring pull ups and the 100m run is a great length. :)

Before and after class I was sure spend plenty of time with the piriformis foam roll. That was nice and painful.

Great Coaching

Overhead Squat
53x3
73x3
83x1
93x1
105x1
115x1 (PR)

I got lots and lots of coaching before this PR. Some of the advice was very helpful, some was just advice... :)

WOD
3 rounds
10 DB Thrusters Rt. 25#
10 DB Thrusters Lt.
15 push ups
10 Chinese DB rows Rt.
10 Chinese DB rows Lt.
Time: 7:50

Great WOD. I look forward to a sore upper back. I will admit in writing that yes, I should have used the 30# DB since I kept all the DB movements unbroken. The push ups were hard and not at all unbroken, so I look forward to seeing more improvement there. I suppose that means I have to keep working on them.

Turning Off My Brain

Deadlift
find my 5RM...
I don't have a 5RM, and it was super unsettling to suddenly be back in the world of the unknown. I really like knowing what I am aiming for and what progression I am going to take to get there. Hmmm, is it possible that I am a little, tiny bit of a control-freak?
So here was my shot at this
123x5
173x5
193x3-nice and flat back, felt great
223...knew my upper back was rounding, unlike it did at 193, but wanted to just pull it 5 times because I knew I could, but it was perfect form night, so that was a no-go.
203x5 I am counting this one, even though I took my hands off the bar in the middle.

WOD
1000 m row
50 ball slams 25#
30 pull ups (GB)
Time: 8:54

I set various goals for this one:
1. Keep my row pace under 2:20-done
2. Try to get through the pull ups in 3 sets-I think it took me 4, but I don't remember
3. Try to get through the ball slams in 3 sets-I did it in 2, 25/25

And when I saw who was in my heat:
4. Try to make sure that the one guy in our heat didn't run away with the wod. So this meant that I had to aim for being on the pull up bar before Golden finished.-done, barely

And on top of that, I was able to zone out during the ball slams for the first time ever. It made it so much easier to just stop thinking about anything except moving up and down and counting. I wasn't complaining, wasn't thinking about what hurt, wasn't thinking about why we had to do 50 of them, wasn't thinking about the pull ups still to come. It was odd, but it works!

Tire Flips

Snatch + Overhead Squat
43x1
53x1
58x1
63x1
68x1
73x1

then OHS
73x2
73x2
73x2

WOD
12 tire flips
400 m run
then 5 rounds:
10 push ups
10 GHD sit ups
finish with:
400 m run
12 tire flips

Time: 14:57
When I first saw this wod, these were my thoughts-
-There are so many words, it looks long
-What?!? running 400 meters?!? twice?!? Blech
-Tire flips: cool!
-GHD sit ups, um yeah, more dizziness and sore abs
-What kind of person comes up with this stuff?

Then I had a few more rational thoughts-
-It is only 2 rounds of running, I can do that.
-Maybe the GHD sit ups will be a little easier this time.
-Maybe they won't leave me quite as sore this time.
-Tire flips are cool.

Then I had to do the wod-
-I kept my movement above a walk for the full 800 meters, meaning I didn't stop at the turn around and I did not walk when I got back to the parking lot. No one had to yell at me to run all the way to the box (Sam, Kyle, sound familiar?)
-The tire flips were cool.
-I wasn't as dizzy from the GHD as I was last time.
-I still have to work on my push ups...
-I'll know how much the GHD sit ups will hurt when I am sitting on a plane in two days.

Front Squat
113x5
128x5
138x5
145x5

WOD
AMRAP in 12 Minutes
7 Kettlebell Swings 53#
10 Ball Slams 25#
12 Lateral Jumps
Rounds-8 +7 KBS

What can I say? This was a great wod, with a chance to work on the heavier KBS and time to do my fave-lateral jumps. I was in that wonderful place of feeling like I should move faster, but my legs were just too sore and slow...

I obviously didn't do well with my rest day yesterday, cuz I am way too sore today. Even as I write this, hours later, I am still sore. I don't want to admit to not foam-rolling, or taking enough fish oil, or drinking enough water, or getting enough sleep. All of those reasons place way too much responsibility in my lap.

So I'll blame it on something totally random. It was probably the stress of actually being at the speedway, getting all that mud flung on me, sitting on muddy metal bleachers, and the said bleachers being cold enough to just about literally freeze my bum off. It was fun, but it was like being in another world! And it just really, really seemed like the "right" thing to do was to drink a beer while there. But I can't. I can't ever go to a ball game, or eat Mexican food, or as in last night, watch old beat up 4 cylinder cars race around a little track and drink a beer (gluten-free beer is not very good...) So I ate peanut M&M's. Yep, I did.

They were good. Just so you know.

Really Fast???

First:
10x40 yd sprints

I was super fast on the first one, super fast. :) Then it all went downhill from there, rather rapidly I must say. If I am truly objective, I know that I can see huge improvement in my sprinting. When I got out to the parking lot and looked down at the orange cone, I suddenly remembered some of those days last summer when I would have to run sprints the length of the parking lot. I HATED those sprints because I.could.not.do.them.at.all. And objectively, even though I was still slow tonight, I am much, much faster than last summer.

Second:
3 rounds
10 burpees
10 DB Rows R 35#
10 DB Rows L 35#
Time: 4:33

Third:
3x max weighted plank holds (otherwise know as the Haynes Hold)
1:30 15#, :45 25#, :52 25#
Just so you know, you can't trust Kyle or Melissa when they tell you that they will let you know when you hit 30 sec...

Death by OHS

KB Work

clean

front squat

jerk

snatch

25# and then 35#

Dips

Working on this one...

negatives, and then bands: blue, green, violet, red. It was like a rainbow! But really I was shocked to find how easy they were with the blue and green bands since I haven't worked on these in about forever. I made sure I was dipping nice and low to prepare for that muscle up.

WOD

21-15-9

deadlifts 155#

OHS 63# (85 rx'd)

Time: 12:45

Deadlifts were no problem, but the overhead squats were a struggle, to put it mildly. I started with the rx'd weight, but that was not going to work. I am honestly not sure if my problem is more mental than anything else. I am feeling more and more comfortable with these, but as soon as I start to wobble AT ALL I seem unable to fight hard enough for it.

And I decided that I would be posting a picture of one of my paleo meals each day. :) The grilled chicken is from here.

run, jump, row

Back Squat
208x5
208x5
208x5
208x5
208x5

No misses this time, and no spotter needed either.

WOD, partnered with Deb
6 short shuttle runs (3 each)
then 3 rounds: (done in sets of 5, 15 reps each per round)
30 DB thrusters 25#
30 broad jumps
then row sprints
100m x10 (5 each)
Time: 14:08

Another great partner wod!

Firecracker 5k

I did the 5k this morning, and it was so, so, so much better than last year! Not only did I run more and walk a lot less, I felt a whole lot better doing it. It was pretty horrible even finishing last year, and my knees, hips and shins all hurt. I finished the race and was totally spent.

This year I felt so much more comfortable during the whole race, nothing hurt, I recovered so much faster, and was able to party the rest of the day. I took about 7 minutes off my time (this sounds like a lot, but this is very doable when you have the vast room for improvement that I do!)

Partner Wod

...the sure way to keep everyone moving faster, since no one wants to keep their partner waiting.

Overhead Squat
68x3
73x3
78x3
83x3
88x3

WOD, with Samantha
8 rounds
5 KBS 45#
5 box jumps 20"
8 rounds
5 burpees
5 pull ups (jumping)
8 rounds
5 wall balls
8 rounds
50 m sprint

Total Time: 20:30

This was a great wod-lots of work to do, moving very quickly, short breaks to catch a little bit of breath, and a partner to keep you moving. The whole time, you just keep thinking-it's just 5, I can do 5...but then the 5s keep coming and coming.

Power Clean
83x3
90x3
96x3
103x1x2

Front Squat
138x5
146x5x1
146x4x1 (failed on the last rep)
146x5x1

I let the bar slide right off on the last rep when I dropped my chest. I just didn't fight hard enough to keep the correct position. Even though he didn't see it, Kyle seemed sure that I should have been able to finish the set, so he made me do it again, all 5 reps. I couldn't really argue since I really did give up, I knew he wasn't looking, and I just kind of figured that instead of really fighting to keep that bar in position, I'd just let it roll forward. That obviously didn't really work out very well for me.

WOD
3 rounds
15 ball slams 25#
15 burpees
15 K2B

Time: 10:08
Exhausting to say the least. Getting through the burpees on round three was just a matter of making my self keep going, fighting the urge to just stand there and stare at the floor.