Month: June 2012

Saturday Mornings

“Ever notice how ‘What the hell’ is always the right answer?” ― Marilyn Monroe

Some Saturday mornings you just want to stay home and drink your coffee and sink into the knowing that you just don’t have to go anywhere. This morning in particular the pull to stay home was extra strong. Plus, when you see BURPEES in the WOD, suddenly there are so many other things that you simply must do. Except go to CF. Pushed myself out the door and made it nonetheless. Busy class today. As we set out on part II of the WOD the mumbles and groans could be heard amongst my fellow athletes. The feelings must have been mutual between us.

Warm-Up:

Group Dynamic

WOD:

I. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Power Cleans (135/95)

Pullups

Completed: in 8:33 at 75lbs.

II. For Time:

Run 400m

40 Burpees

Run 400m

Completed. Although I lost count on the Burpees while listening to Caleb talk about how as the oldest sibling in his family he sees it as his personal duty to never let his younger siblings win. I love hearing these stories about other people and their families, how they grew up, how they see the world. How siblings will poke at one another until the very end.

Jerks and Prowlers

WOD:

I. 6 Sets:

Jerk Cluster – 1.1.1.1

Completed: worked up at 65lbs., 75 lbs., 85lbs. Maxed out at 95lbs.

*Rest 4 minutes between sets

II. 5 Intervals:

Prowler Push – 45 sec @ 100% sprint/push effort

Rest Walk 4:15 between attempts

Completed: in the parking lot under the noon sun. Great way to spend the lunch hour.

getting older

Getting old sucks.

What?

I said, getting old SUCKS.

Oh. Couldn’t hear you.

Yesterday I was advised by my Dr. that I should have a Procedure. In the next fail swoop I was sitting before his nurse and signing some papers, scheduling the surgery, and the pre-op appointment. Answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to a long list of questions about allergies, and prior reactions to anesthesia, if any. It’s a day later and I’m still processing.

A bit overwhelming if you ask me.

So I did what any functioning adult under duress would do, I came home after CF tonight and made a tomato, spinach and mozzarella salad, with fresh basil right out of the garden.

Then took a call from my long best BFF, Joe Carr.

So, the thing about the surgery, and growing older: I’m finding it hard to differentiate between which surgeries are necessary, and which are simply not. When do you leave your body alone, and when do you intervene? Because I’m pretty certain prior to 100 years ago, even less, these kind of surgeries were not taking place. Is it because we’re living longer that they are deemed normal, even necessary, to a long healthy life? What’s proactive, vs. preventative, vs. necessary.

The living a fulfilled life part is still solely up to you.

Tonight’s WOD was super technical. Which = Super Fun. Actually think I might nailed a movement in there somewhere. Outside my usual spaghetti arms.

WOD:

I. Clean Grip Deadlift @ 11X1

8 x 3 @ 55% 1RM

*Rest 30 seconds between sets

Completed: @ 115lbs.

II. High Hang Power Snatch – Work up to tough single

III. Hang Power Snatch

Completed: @ 55lbs. Felt good. Once I was able to get the movement, which came and went like my craving for potato chips.

3 x 10 touch-and-go for speed and efficiency

*Rest 90 seconds between sets

IV. 3 Rounds For Time @ 90%:

10 R-Arm Kettlebell Snatch (53/35)

10 L-Arm Kettlebell Snatch (53/35)

15 Toes-to-Bar

Completed: at 24lbs. per arm in 4:33. Could have gone heavier. Scaled to Russian KBs as do not yet know the KB Snatch.

It’s About.

“You are not your job, you’re not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis. You are all singing, all dancing crap of the world.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Warm-Up:

Row 500m

20 Jumping Squats

10 Burpees

Review Squat Clean as a Group

WOD:

I. Build to a tough single on the Squat Clean where you’re fast out of bottom but challenging; speed is key here

Completed: Maxed out at 95lbs. Felt good about this. The form is coming more naturally.

II. 3 Sets:

30 Pullups

Rest 1 minutes

15 Thrusters (115/80)

Rest 3 minutes

Completed: in 15 minutes total. At 55lbs. for the Thrusters. Was thinking should have pushed to Fran weight at 65lbs. This is basically Fran, but broken down differently. Will think through better next time.

There’s something I want to say here, but am not quite clear yet what that might be. It involves people which were once very nice but then grow large egos and start treating others with disregard. You wonder if they know they’ve changed, or worse, care.

It’s about losing site of what might be important to you, in life, in your job, in your family, in your friends. In your life. It’s about how you want to live your life, the people you want to surround yourself with, the coworkers and bosses, and friends, and your shared vision of how you would like things to be. It’s about working as part of a team to bring something to life you all believe, together, passionately about. It’s about finding passion with what you do in your own life. And waking up every day, taking the steps in the direction of that passion, no matter how small, or minute, no matter against whom. It’s about ignoring the voices, inside or outside your own head, that say you simply can’t. That you’re not good enough, that you will never be. It’s about saying good bye when you know it’s right, even though it cuts pretty damn deep and you’re not sure you will ever, truly, recover. You still find the strength, somehow, to say it; Good bye.

Good bye.

It’s about finding that extra push to say Good bye to something that you know no longer makes you happy, or is good for you, or simply just makes you feel bad, no matter how hard you try. It’s about swallowing the pit that says, this is too scary, too unknown, too much of a leap into obscurity, to risk. It’s about risk. It’s about moving ahead despite the fear, and maybe even some sadness, or is that just more fear. It’s about finding the good that makes you happy, and brings joy and good to those around you too. When you’re happy, others are simply happy too. It’s a gift.

That’s all for now. I guess. It’s all I wanted to say. For now. Good Bye.

Strongman Sunday

I lift things up and put them down. Sand bag, keg carry. Prowlers. Tire flips. Keg Press.

Completed: with most awesome partner, Kim.

Then, 2k row, at 8:33.

5K Saturday

Another 5K today. This time the course was flat. Wore my super cool fancy watch. Took me a long time to step up and buy it. There was some guilt, followed by rationalization. Cause I’m all about the gear. So glad I took the plunge because I simply wuv it. It gives me heart rate and pace and time and distance and GPS and 10 wings, medium, extra crispy. Even has a ‘Get me home’ feature, in case you ever get lost, it’ll guide you back home. S’rously.

So why is it, if I love it so much, and check, and re-check it throughout the duration of the run, do I forget to hit ‘Stop’ when the race is over? (And thereby accurately capture all the race data for which I purchased the damn thing initially for anyway…) Excellent question. Maybe I’m just so glad to be crossing the finish line, that everything else simply goes out the mental window. I’m certainly meticulous about hitting start when crossing the ‘Start’ line, because heaven forbid the chip times are inaccurate. But crossing the ‘Finish’ not so much. And sure enough, today, I forgot to stop the timer, so while I wondered around and drank some water and handed in my race chip, the clock was still running. And therefor, my times are inaccurate. C’est la vie.

Feels like I missed an opportunity here. 9:22 minute mile. Not bad, yes. But, I want more. More, I say. Better. Then take a look at my splits:

9:00 minute mile in mile two? Who Am I? Wowee. Fun to see. Then again, please notice mile 4. And all of its 13 minute mile glory. Catching your breath and high-fiving your peeps takes time. As well it should. Word.

off of which bridge

“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” ― Guillaume Apollinaire

Last Friday one of the coaches at ACF rode his bike to the gym and enjoyed it so much declared it, Gas Free Friday, and challenged all the ACF peeps to do the same the following Friday. And because when an ACF coach says, ‘Jump,’ I say, ‘Off of which bridge?’ I rode my bike to work today.

I used to be a pretty avid cyclist. Commuting on my bike every day to work when living in Denver. Denver is a bike friendly city. People are just more aware there of people on bikes. There are more people on bikes so you feel more a part of something. Whereas here, when you are on your bicycle, at least when I am, it feels like people are driving by and thinking, ‘What’s wrong with her.’ Just a vibe I get.

Alas, I’m a little rusty on the getting out the door in the morning to climb on top of my bike and start peddling to work, thing. I was all discombobulated, trying to pack my backpack with just the right things; like shoes for when I get to the office, a change of clothes, my CF wear because in theory I would be biking there after work. And food. I like to bring my own food to work. Salads, specifically. Didn’t exactly foresee how I was going to pack a salad without it all turning to warm salsa before getting to the office. Sunglasses, biking gloves, hairbrush, the list… oh the list, how it continued to grow. But it just doesn’t all fit.

When I made it to work the transition was easy enough. Friday’s are so much more laid back than any other day of the week. If you’re going to bike to work one day a week, this is a good day to do it. No one notices if you’re a little off center, it’s Friday.

Running out of time to continue babbling. Here’s the texted version: ate a Subway ‘veggie’ sub. Bleetch. Seriously? Gross. Got a flat tire on the way to ACF. Was ready to call it a day. A fellow ACF’er drove by. Encouraged me to do the WOD, then offered to change my flat. Thank you Laura! We rocked the WOD. Yay partner WOD’s!

WOD:

I.  With a Partner, 12 Rounds, every minute on the minute, as many reps of the following:

Thrusters (95/65)

Burpees

3 Minute Rest.

Then repeat for 8 more rounds.

Completed: at 55lbs. for Thrusters. Total reps: 71 Thrusters. 60 Burpees.

Laura is an awesome partner. And person. She just has that calm, I’m ready to go to work, helpful, nice, good, way about her. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her. Turns out she also is a former triathatlon-er. People are awesome. If anyone can change a flat tire, she can. And she had all the tools in her car, like bike levers, bike pump. After getting the tire off, she examined the tube and thought maybe it was something to do with my rim. She then gave me and my crippled bike a ride to the bike shop. Whereby they fixed up my rim, and tire, and I was able to peddle, gloriously, all the way home.