Weekly workout recap – running and squatting and rope climbs, oh my!

Hello!!

Happy Saturday!! 🙂

It’s definitely been a tough week as far as workouts are concerned but I did get some running in so I’m not complaining.

My big news of the week is that I registered for a 10k on November 23rd!

I’m super excited – it’ll be my first race since my injury and I definitely have time to get ready. Plus, it’s local and I don’t have to drive very far to get there! #bonus

I’ve got about one more week of easing back into the running and then, I think I’m going to start back with CrossFit Endurance.

I mean, I’ll still slowly add mileage because that’s the safe thing to do but I won’t necessarily have to run just 3 days a week, taking at least a day break between runs.

I’m totally looking forward to getting back to a set schedule and making gains and improvements. 🙂

Monday

AM run

Wow, that’s so nice to say that!

I had planned on running at least 2 ½ miles. I know I ran over 2 but I don’t know exactly how far because …. My knuckle lights were really dim, I encountered an unknown “something” in the middle of the road in the dark area between street lights and I quietly backed up and went the other direction and, at some point during this event, I hit a button on my Garmin and it stopped recording my run.

I’m not sure the lack of distance really matters because my heart rate increased substantially after I backtracked from the “something” and a bird decided to freak out in a wooded area and, thus, freaked me out! Pretty sure all that adrenaline burned some extra calories. And, I’m pretty sure I looked ridiculous as I was trying to “sneak away” from whatever was in the road (honestly, it could have been a trash can but because my knuckle lights were lacking in power, I’ll never know) while simultaneously trying to get away from the crazy bird in the woods. The only thing that would have been more perfect would be if I’d run through a spider web at some point. Picture that craziness. Yep.

Tuesday

6pm CrossFit

Man, oh man, I did NOT eat enough today.

I felt okay throughout the day but I discovered I was really hungry on the way to CrossFit and my protein bar didn’t quite cut it.

I made it through the warm-up and had to grab a Chia bar from my purse. That’s NOT a good sign.

This is what we had on the schedule today:

It was a really big class – surprising for a Tuesday at 6pm – and my group didn’t make it through all the push jerks. I did 65# (10x) – 75# (10x) – 85# (8x) – 95# (8x) … we didn’t do the 6 – 6.

I finished up the 85# and Coach came over to talk about my form and I realized that I was absolutely STARVING. I mean, I was literally shaking. I grabbed some almonds from my purse and tried not to inhale those.

I never eat at CrossFit and now I’ve just eaten twice?! In less than an hour?! So not good.

I managed the 95# but was thankful we ran out of time because I knew I didn’t have the energy to do more and then try to do the WOD.

For the WOD, I scaled the weight down to 65#. Normally, I would have had that at about 80-85# but I knew my body wasn’t fueled enough for all that. I also grabbed the 12 inch box because I’m still getting back into this jumping business and I knew I’d never make it over a 20 inch box. Not even if I was fueled properly.

I managed 5 rounds (don’t ask me how) and felt like I was going to die the entire time. I was so thankful to be done!

I went home and had 2 bowls of chili (thank goodness for crockpots!!) and made plans to NOT eat too little during the day. I’m not sure what happened. Generally, I make sure to eat enough.

Wednesday

6pm CrossFit

Got to the gym and was signing myself in and one of the Coaches was heading to the grocery store. He asked the other coaches if they needed anything – they said no. He made his way to leave and then came back and asked me if I needed anything. LOL! I told him I ate plenty today so I was all good. I’m glad he asked, though. That was really cool. 🙂

I was sort of looking forward to this workout because it had running but I was also a little nervous about this workout because of the rope climbs and the pistols.

I didn’t realize that I needed to be nervous about the warm-up!

Coach had us do 3 rounds, not for time, of run 200m, 10 leg raises, and 10 kick outs.

Those leg raises. Not toes to bar but leg raises. We basically hung from the pull-up bars with the vertical bar at our back to prevent swinging. Then, we had to lift our legs to parallel with the ground. So NOT easy.

This isn’t exactly it but it’s the closest video representation I could find.

Then, the kick outs. Basically, we got into the bottom of a squat and then we were to alternate legs and kick out to a pistol squat. Coach wanted us to do them without holding on to anything. Yeah, right! I had to hold onto the bar otherwise I would just be sitting. Haha

For the WOD, it was supposed to be a 400m sprint but I just ran. I’m not quite at the point of sprinting yet so I didn’t want to push it. Of course, I was the last one to finish but I don’t care. 🙂 For the pistols, I had to use box assistance because it’s been so long since I’ve done them that I lost the little progress I had made.

Basically like these except I used a 24” box and went into a full pistol. The goal was to not touch the floor.

And then, the rope climbs. Ugh. It’s also been some time since I climbed the ropes – a little hard to do that in a boot. 😉

I completed everything in the first 2 rounds with barely any time to rest. I was definitely the last one climbing. Then, the last 2 rounds, I only managed 1 in the 3^rd round and 1 ½ in the 4^th round. I was trying!

Thursday

I thought briefly about getting up and running but decided against it because of the running last night and tonight’s WOD also had running.

I didn’t want to push it with my foot.

And, I don’t know what it was but my shoulders were SORE from yesterday! I think it was those leg raises combined with the rope climbs. Even woke me up when I shifted in my sleep!

6pm CrossFit

I was actually pretty stoked about this workout!

It’s been a while since I was able to do heavy back squats because of the boot. I was looking forward to throwing on some weight and seeing what I could do!

I warmed up with just the bar (10 squats), then we threw 85# on there. Knocked out 5 of those and got down to business. I was sharing a rack with 2 other people and we were all at different levels so we kept pulling plates off and putting plates on. I did 3 at 105# and then did 3 at 115#. I know I could probably go higher but we ran out of time. I’m cool with 115# though – especially since I was so beat up from yesterday’s WOD.

Then, it was time for the WOD. I was definitely looking forward to the running but not the 200 air squats. Finished in 16:31 on jello legs. 🙂

Friday

REST DAY!!!!!

Saturday

Running!!!

I’m up to 3 miles in my rebuilding so I decided to knock out a 5k.

It felt so good to be out running and my miles got progressively faster – 9:29, 8:58, 8:40.

For some reason, my Garmin didn’t record the run.

This isn’t the first time that it’s failed me and I’m starting to get really frustrated by it. I just don’t get it. It’s not like it’s a new watch and I don’t know how to use it.

And, it’s not like the data bank is full because, once it reaches so many runs recorded, it starts deleting the oldest when you save a new one. There’s no way for me to erase all recorded runs without doing them one by one and I just don’t have the time for that.

Regardless, it was a beautiful morning and I got to watch the sun rise. #winning

 

Talk to me: How was your week of workouts? Did you do anything new or difficult? Did you remember to fuel yourself properly?

– jennifer

Five on Friday – 5 blog posts that are worth reading

Hi there!

Happy Friday!!

(Seriously, I really was. No joke.)

So, I want to share with you a few (or five) blog posts that I’ve read recently that I think are definitely worth adding to your reading list.

PS: I follow some absolutely amazing bloggers!

Being proud of your body is nothing to be ashamed about

Jennifer at Wine to Weightlifting wrote this post a few days ago and I just think it’s brilliant.

All too often, women (and men – I’m not forgetting or glossing over the fact that men deal with this issue too) struggle with body issues.

Part of that comes from fashion magazines and models and people we see in movies and on television – their bodies are portrayed as what is considered “beautiful” and what we all should strive to be. And that’s just impossible for most of us. I mean, for one thing, we don’t have access to personal trainers, personal photographers, airbrushers, etc. And, and least in my case, that’s not my personal career choice.

Go through the grocery store or the Wal-Mart and look at those magazines there by the registers. Articles like “Best and Worst Beach Bodies,”  “baby bump or burrito?”, “You’ll never believe who gained 110 pounds!” fly out at us attempting to draw us in while showing us that the public only likes a perfect body.

And then there are the commercials for this diet system or that miracle fat-absorbing pill. I could go on. It just frustrates me. Because I’ve dealt with those issues.

I’ll be honest – I have a booty. It wasn’t always cool to have a booty. Like back when I was in high school. I got made fun of for it – called “bubble butt” or “BB” (for short). I was super self-conscious about what I wore and where I went and who might be walking somewhere behind me. And you know what? You can’t “diet” a booty away.

I just have to say thank you to Sir Mix-a-Lot and J.Lo. for showing the world that having a booty is NOT a bad thing. 🙂

The Problem I Have With ‘The Pornographication of Fitness’

And speaking of causing body issues, especially in women……

Taylor at Lifting Revolution responds with her take on Tosca Reno’s article “The Pornographication of Fitness Needs to Stop.”

I’ll let you read the original and Taylor’s response. Let me know what you think.

In my opinion, if you came from the fitness model environment and KNOW what it does to the body image of many women and are potentially in a position to make changes to the way women’s bodies are portrayed in magazines, then I think you should do something instead of just talking (slightly hypocritically) about it. Again, my opinion. Your opinion may differ.

Happy Weight Series: Improving Body Confidence

Are you sensing a theme here?

Alex at Delicious Knowledge shares her thoughts on improving body confidence.

Seriously people, we have to stop the “fat” talk.

Fat is something we eat, not something we are.

Choose FOOD, Not Drugs, For Weight Loss

Meet Alysia at Slim Sanity (clever name, isn’t it?!)

And, back to those “quick-fix diet” thingies. Seriously, they don’t work.

Food works. Um, real food, that is. Exercise works. Moderation works. HARD WORK and TIME works.

Okay, okay, okay. I’m off my soap box. This next one is food related but not body image related. If you have kids, you’ll probably appreciate it. If you know anyone with kids, you might appreciate it. If you enjoy eating, you might appreciate it. 🙂

What Registered Dietitians Feed their Kids

I have many friends who say “but he/she’s so picky” when it comes to feeding their kid(s).

Hell, I’m pretty picky at times when it comes to feeding ME.

Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean asked some of her RD friends what THEY feed their kids and got some interesting answers.

I think this information is great, not only for parents trying to navigate the land of convenience and quick dinners and avoid all the processed food choices, but also for ANYONE who’s interesting in making some changes to their diet. I mean, we’re all kids when it comes to trying new things. Maybe we should approach changes in our diets the same way we would approach introducing change to someone who has no control over his/her life. Just a thought. 🙂

 Talk to me: Have you read anything interesting lately? Anything that made you think? Anything that made you change your perception of something?

Learning to eat on the run…..

Hello, hello!

T-minus 2 days until FitBloggin!!!  EEEEEPPP!!!

And I just learned today that one of my faves, Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean, is going to be there on Saturday!

I’m totally going to be that starstruck girl standing there trying to stammer out an intelligent word. #dorkproblems

Got my business cards in the mail yesterday!

They’re plain jane because, well, honestly, they were a last minute thing! I hadn’t even considered needing them and I was emailing Lena about getting stuff ready for FitBloggin and she asked me if I had them. Um, no, cuz I’m a big clueless dork!  So I had to quick order some from VistaPrint. Paid more for the shipping than the actual cards because I had to have them rushed to me! I was totally overwhelmed by all the choices so I took her advice again and just went with the plain ones. Once I’m back and I have time to think, I’ll probably design my own. But, for now, watch out – it’s bizness time!

Oh, wait. Don’t get the wrong idea. FitBloggin isn’t THAT kind of conference.

Aaannnnd, moving on.

So, I’m learning that running a 50k is a little more than just running 5 more miles than a marathon.

I mean, I knew that but still. I have to learn a whole bunch of new things to be successful!

I have to learn how to use and run with a Camelbak (okay, fine, I don’t actually HAVE to run with a Camelbak but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to wear a fuel belt with bottles of water bouncing around my hips for 31 miles – I don’t even like them for 20 milers. Can you say chafing?) and I have to learn how to eat on the run!

And no, by eating on the run, I DON’T mean going through the drive-thru and grabbing a quick burger.

I’m not quite sure how that’s going to go.

The most solid thing I eat now when I go for long runs is the Honey Stinger Waffle.

source

Otherwise, I usually carry Hammer Gels with me because they don’t make me feel like I’m going to vomit.

I’m waiting on some Ignite Naturals Reload Gels to come in so I can try those. I’m really excited because they’re made from real food – figs, brown rice and fruits – instead of artificial stuff like processed sugars and preservatives.

(OH! Don’t forget, if you want to try any Ignite Naturals products, you can get 10% off with this code: IN00344.) 🙂

But, I don’t usually take any of the food that’s offered during races – unless it’s an orange wedge. Love me some orange wedges! – because I’m afraid of it upsetting my tummy.

I know that I’m going to be running slower than I normally would in a marathon – my thoughts right now are trying to keep a 10:00 – 10:30 pace throughout. we’ll see how THAT goes. – so I know that I’ll need more fuel to keep me on my feet and moving that whole time.

According to the race website, the aid stations will be stocked with pb&j squares, fig bars, salty snacks, candy, and fruit.

I’m not sure how my tummy will handle pb&j and salty snacks like pretzels.

But, I’m pretty sure if they offered me some jelly beans or some Swedish Fish, I’d probably be okay with that. #sweettooth

So, I guess I’m going to have to pack some pretzels in a small baggie for my next run. Or maybe some Fig Newtons. And a gallon of water. And someone to carry all my stuff.

Talk to me: If you’re an ultrarunner, what sorts of things do you eat during a run? How long did it take you to figure out what works and what doesn’t? Have you ever rolled up a whole pizza like a burrito and eaten it while running, a la Dean Karnazes? 

– jennifer