Saturday, July 31, 2010

07-30-10 Friday Week 78

Pinecone-Palooza 2010 -- our 2 year anniversary celebration, complete with tires, dumbbells, medballs, sandbags and bumper plates = good time for everyone!

Tonight was our annual anniversary celebration. We started our gym in the park so we always do a park/outdoor workout to commemorate our humble beginnings. This year was a great turnout and a great time - I am a lucky girl to do what I love for a living. It's everything I ever wanted, and more!

Training Log
8PM (?)
For time:
Start with a stack of stuff--
Big tire, small tire sled loaded w/25#dumbbell, 35# bumper plate, 40# sandbag, 20# dumbbells, 14# med ball -- each item must be moved from start to finish line (approx 30M)--
Toss & Chase the med-ball
Farmer Carry the dumbbells
Anyway transport the sandbag
Overhead Walk the bumper plate
Drag the tire sled
Flip the big tire
At the line perform--
20 in & out burpees
25 DB thrusters
30 med-ball mountain climbers
Return everything to the start and stack it the way you found it.

Time -- 9:20

Almost had a visit from pukie ... managed to keep it down this time. Might need a rest tomorrow... but maybe not.

07-29-10 Thursday Week 78

Training Log
4PM
Back Squat
165 x 3
175 x 3
180 x 3

then...

Partner 4K row (500M intervals)
Lance and I rowed 16:54
(time included transitions...)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

07-28-10 Wednesday Week 78

"Pyramid Double Helen" wod from Day 2, 2010 CrossFit Games. (Photo by Bob Guere)

So so so so so so sooooooo sore. But needed work on what today was. Shoulda worked out yesterday but ran out of hours in the day. Will make up for it by the time the weekend is up.

Training Log
7PM
For time:
200 M Run
25 Situps (unanchored abmat)
400 M Run
25 CTB Pullups
800 M Run
25 Ring Dips
1 Mile Run

Time -- 20:46

Sprinted out of the gate and was in the lead until the set of pullups... Jonathan beat me out the door then Shu passed me on the 800. Need more work on this particular time domain/metcon... thought my feet and head would catch on fire -- when I left the gym at 8PM the temp was around 95.... Probably could have run a little faster but I was starting to stitch, so I didn't push it. I WILL get better at this -- I tanked on it at the Games and it will haunt me if I don't.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

07-26-10 Monday Week 78

Friendly California squirrels. I heart squirrels!!

It is now approximately 5.5 hours post wod and I am already feeling the soreness from today's workout... yowch!!

Training Log
7PM
Traditional tabata rounds of:
Dumbbell Swings (35 lbs)
200 M Run
OH Walking Lunge Steps (35 lb plate)
200 M Run
Push Press (45 lbs)
200 M Run
Double-Unders
(next round of tabatas starts when the last person finishes the run)

Totals --
Swings - 101
Lunges - 90
Push press - 100
Double-unders - 194

I was lucky enough to have Shane coach for me at the 7PM session and also had the benefit of knowing what everyone's numbers for the day were. I busted my ass gunning for the top ones... I felt like I might have a visit from Pukie at the end and it was difficult to lift my iced tea at dinner. Ah, success.

Monday, July 26, 2010

07-25-10 Sunday Week 77

Phil snapped this cool photo of me caught in the act of "hip prep" in the staging area plastered on the jumbo-mega-tron-whatever-thingy.

So, there is a local comp coming up at the end of August at Garage CrossFit called "Survival of the Fittest." It has a pre-requisite, heat-assignment workout to be done ahead of time and the results emailed in ... apparently, your results will be used to put you in a heat with athletes who have similar results. Well, we did that as our workout today. It was short and sweet, which I was glad for since I am sore to the max.

Training Log
12Noon
For max reps (on a running clock):
1 min pullups
1 min situps
1 min pushups
1 min squats
1 min deadlifts (165 lbs)

Totals --
28 pullups
27 situps
24 pushups
46 squats
20 deadlifts

Lame numbers, but I blame soreness. When in doubt, always blame soreness. Glad this was quick, I am more sore today than I was yesterday and I didn't even DO anything yesterday!!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

07-24-10 Saturday Week 77

Deadlift/pistol/double-under workout ... "Sea of Green" in the background!

So, it's Week 77 - 77 weeks since I started training for the 2009 CrossFit Games. 2010 CrossFit Games have come and gone and somehow I'm left more motivated than ever, quite a different place from where I was last year post big-show. Last year I didn't want to talk about CrossFit, think about CrossFit, do any CrossFit for months. I was drained, exhausted and over it all. And now, here I am, one week post-Games and I've already done 3 wods, ripped my hands, am so sore I can barely sneeze, and am chomping at the unicorn bit to go again.

For the past year, I've been able to call myself the 25th Fittest Woman on Earth - and for the next year I will be able to call myself the 28th Fittest Woman on Earth. Last year I shared 25th with Chris Spealler who placed 25th alongside me in 2009. This year I share 28th with James "OPT" Fitzgerald. These two men are both heroes of mine and have really helped give me another perspective as to my standings in the grand scheme of things - I'm honored to be even perceived as in the same league as the two of them.

I'd be lying if I said 28th feels satisfying to me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I didn't make it past the first cut. I'd be lying if I said I was happy that I didn't have to scale that wall with a mountain of sandbags.... I am fucking pissed off that I didn't get to go ninja on that wall!! I'm not disappointed in my performance, I truly did the best I could do in the moment. I'm instead inspired to come home and realize a whole new level. I believe that's why I'm so drawn to CrossFit as my sport... no matter how fit one gets, there's always the next level to reach for. I think challenge and overcoming is my craving and nothing fixes it for me like CrossFit.

I'm sure I'm not alone in the mental replay of events and simultaneously kicking myself for what I should have done instead... I shouldn't have no-repped any muscle-ups because my thumb wasn't flashing forward. I should have eaten breakfast on Saturday morning. I shouldn't have run that 1200 at a 6-minute mile pace and done 50 unbroken swings, should have paced it a little better. I should have put more weight on the bar for my overhead lift - it might have bumped me up a few more spots. I shouldn't have started my final workout with 7 deadlifts that didn't even count because of a false-start. I should have cranked out more pistols... AUGH!! I could make myself crazy! Ultimately, none of those things matter now - they no longer exist and I can't go back and fix them. All I have is right now and what I CAN do is get back in the gym and suck it up and bust my ass -- every damn day. And that's what I'm doing.

Right now, this very minute, I consider myself in training for the 2011 CrossFit Games.

I plan on enlisting the help of the person I now consider to be my coach, CJ Martin, of CrossFit Invictus (click "Sea of Green," above.) The Invictus crew was so completely amazing, I felt so welcome with them. Here at home in Atlanta/Decatur, our members at CrossFit East Decatur are like family; everyone supportive, warm, accepting and giving. It was no different with the Invictus crew and they are everything that CFED is and strives to be. My deepest gratitude goes to CJ, who, had a team competing, an individual competing and a Master competing -- he was there for me every second that I needed him and was at the venue before I arrived and after I left every single day of the competition. Pops and "Krazy K" fed us the most delicious food (thanks to Coach B for sponsoring the delicious flank steak on Saturday night - holy deliciousness, Batman!) Nuno made me listen to Beyonce and helped me shake off my post-bad-wod blues. Sage, Nichole and Michelle were highly entertaining, inspirational and taught me how to REALLY use the word "ah-mazing" to it's full potential. I could go on and on and never be able to really express how much it meant to me to have a home away from home. I only hope to be able to return the favor some day.

Jonathan was my rock all weekend and is every day and I don't think I could make it through comp, or life, without him. Lauren S., Phil W., and Kristine are the best for making the trip all the way to Cali to be part of the support camp - from picture-taking to crazy taco-stand translating, this year's Games was more fun because of them!

I guess that's it for my post-Games wrap-up ... I apologize to my blog fans for not posting for the last 5 weeks, I was just super-busy and something had to give. I've had a lot of people message me or tell me in person that they follow my blog -- lack of comments had me thinking I was writing it to myself. Now that I know peeps are still out there reading, I will do my best to stay on top of it moving forward. Gotta go now, time to 3, 2, 1....