Chocolate Balls

Rest Day

So I'll talk about food.

I made these a few days ago, inspired by Mark's Daily Apple:

I used-

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup dates

1 tsp coconut oil

some pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes and cocoa powder

You just throw everything in the food processor and blend. When everything is all chopped up and blended, you simply roll the dough into ball. You can leave them plain or roll them in coconut or cocoa powder. Chill them for a bit before serving.

How do they really taste? They are a pretty great little shot of chocolate, and that is what I wanted. There is no way they actually taste like truffles, but they are chocolate. :)

One of the Best Classes Ever

Skill
Bench Press
Warm up and learn the very intricate technique of the bench
45x3
65x3
75x3

Find my 1 rep max
95x1
105x1
120x1
130 fail

I was the only person at the 5pm class, so I got to choose the skill. So many thing to choose from, but since I've only benched once this seemed like a good choice. It's an odd lift :)

WOD
Grace
30 clean and jerks 83#
Time: 3:59

Completing Grace as Rx'd was one of my 2010 goals, and I am just thrilled with my time. The cleans were fine, the jerks were not quite so fine, but that is no surprise. I had absolutely fabulous coaching from Kyle, everything from the little tips before I started, the confidence for me that I could do this quickly, and the insanely intense cheering (along with Golden) that made me know that for some reason I really, really needed to get those last 3 lifts in as fast as I could.

It sure felt like it took a lot longer than 4 minutes, so much so, that by rep 20 I was pretty sure that I was out of contention for the board. I was 100% shocked to see my time. I did feel like I might not be able to ever breath deeply again after the wod, and I think I am just now recovering from the crossfit lung thing, but it was worth it.

A Nice Little WOD

Skill
Jerk
10x1 at 85% 1RM
98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 103, 103

Yep, that is 11, not 10. I had to add some weight for the last one, and then I had to do an extra one to work on getting my head through. Gosh, the things you have to do when someone who knows a lot more is watching you. :)

All in all, this lift is feeling much more comfortable. I just have very stiff shoulders some days...

WOD
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Power Clean 85% 1RM 103#
10, 8, 6, 4, 2 Plyo Pushup
200m Run after each couplet
Time: 11:15

I chose to do the plyo pushups from my knees, hoping to get some more explosiveness. (If I try to push of the ground from a regular pushups, I have a very real fear of a face plant.) My knees are now wishing I had just done regular pushups...In a wod like this, the running really sneaks up on you-the 4th and 5th runs came awfully close together!

Weekly Back Squat

Having a back squat partner goes a long way to keeping me accountable and on track. Since I missed back squat day on Friday, I had to make it up this weekend or our whole system of Vero and I progressing together would have been thrown off and been hard to ever remedy. These are the things that can become very important in CF, you know. So,

Back Squat 5x5
185
185
185
185
185

Got them all done!!

Skill
Power Cleans
63x2
83x2
93x2
103x2
113x2
118x1
Failed on my last 118


As I was telling Joc, I used to be so content to just lift away with my awful form, even when I would get corrected over and over again. It was all I physically knew to do, so I just kept doing it, trying to do something a little different, but happy as a clam to just complete the lift. Now I know that it feels really different when I get it right, so it is far more frustrating to miss. But I am gradually working my way up, becoming more confident and correct with heavier weight a little at a time.


WOD
Partnered with Melissa
4 rounds each person
2 min. each round, 2 min. rest
Row 250 m
max rep thrusters
Thrusters 14/13/13/10


I was worn out on the last round! So worn out that I just. could. not. do. one. more. thruster...

But it was a good workout for me and an all-around great session of the box. This was a tough week for me with some big ups and downs in the gym, lots of stress from work, and lots of nights with less than optimal amounts of sleep.

Monday's workout was fantastic. It was hard, and I finished it well. Tuesday's front squats were great. Tuesday's workout was horrible. I'll admit it now, but I cried when it was over. I think I cried once or twice in my first month, but that was just because every single day was so hard and such a potent reminder of what horrible shape I was in. But that was just the first month.

I'm not totally sure why I cried or why the WOD was so hard for me. I think it was my mental state as I still get pretty freaked out inside when certain types of WODs show up. Anything with 400 m runs still makes me want to sneak out the door, and combos with running and burpees don't leave me much happier. I was freaking out in my mind before the WOD even started, so it was destined to be a lot tougher than it needed to be. I never corrected this and wanted to quit after the first round.

I was out on the second run trying to think of a way I could easily get out of finishing it. By the time I finished the last run and came in to finish my KBS and burpee pull ups, I figured the only way I would be able to get it done was to move down to the 35# KB. I told Kyle that I was going to do that. Kyle told me that I was not going to do that. He came over and pushed me through those 21 swings. That was a really good thing! It all would have been much worse after it was all over if I had not finished what I started. Then I finished the ugliest burpee pull ups imaginable. Then I sat down and realized I had tears in my eyes. What is that about!?! How embarrassing!

Choking myself with the front squat rack

Skill
Front Squat 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
115x3
135x3
145x3
155x3
170x3 PR

So my last 3 rep was 123# on 2/5/10. It still throws me for a loop when I get to a weight on a lift that feels really, truly heavy. I always think that what I am doing is hard, but there seems to be evidence that the 123 wasn't really hard. At 170, I could only finish it if I consented to grunting. I hate the idea of grunting. It is horrible. But I have noticed that I emit sounds now. Scary...

But seriously people, do you trainers not realize how exhausted I get when I lift something heavy?!?

WOD
3 Rounds
200 m run
21 KBS 44#
12 Burpee Pull Ups
Time: 14:05

Contrary to my first instinct and true love, I used the 44# KB. That is an awful number of swings. I like my dear friend, the 35# KB. I really missed it tonight. I even tried to swap out KBs for the third round so I could just knock out those 21 unbroken and get it over with. No such luck. I had to do the hard thing and stick with that 44#, breaking them into sets of 7. Why was it so hard? I don't really know. All I can say is that I finished it.

Just Like Odysseus and Aeneas

What?!? You see if you train at CFWSC, you too can understand the great importance of the Great Books to your workout.

Skill
Power Snatch
33x4
53x2
63x2
73x1
78x1
83x1
88x1 PR

WOD
Part 1
5 rounds
1 min row (aim for 260m each round)
1 min rest
269, 262, 279, 269, 263
Part 2
On the minute for 10 minutes
2 heavy snatches (63, 68, 73)
7 ball slams 25#

There are no words. Well, there are almost no words, but I can generally come up with something to say.

First off, I have to thank my incredible cheering section. They really made it possible to finish that last round above the 260 mark. There is something magical about having Sam, Kyle, Joc, and Greg all yelling at the same time.

Then I must thanks my coach Sam, for programming this horrific wod which I am very proud to have completed. I know him well enough now to know that he isn't actually trying to kill me, even if it feels like it. And quoting from the Aeneid while I am trying to just catch my breath enough to stay standing and finish the wod was that extra boost I needed.

Lastly I must thank Golden for providing the needed inspiration to keep my rear on that seat. Without his inspiring work just yesterday, I know that I would have been on the floor after round 3. I never want Kyle to be that mad at me, ever.

Sunday
Open Gym
I was physically present at the box, but the work accomplished was so unremarkable that I didn't even bother to post yesterday.

Clean and Jerk
45x6
65x4
95x2
105x1
115x1
120 fail, fail fail...