I realize it's going to be a long haul, but I am ready, and I am willing.
Let's do this.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
You did what?!
Am I the only one who looks at what other people are doing (as far as training goes) and thinking, holy crap, I'm soooo behind!!!? I'm beginning to think I shouldn't look at what other people are doing, because all it does is make me feel lazy and crazy.
I'm working out five days a week (at least), I know I'm not really being lazy, but dang, I feel like I'm not doing enough. I feel like I should be stronger, faster, leaner, everything. In time, I know. My impatience is going to get me nowhere except injured or side-lined, so I will do my best with what I have at the moment, and keep moving forward safely.
I've started training with JDP again, to try and get me a little bit more prepared for the Fittest Games. Things are a little different this go around, because we're focusing more on overall strength and mobility, and putting HSPU's and muscle ups on the back burner. Day one was a great confidence booster, because I PR'd on my OHS with 85lbs.! I realize that's not super heavy, but it's 10lbs away from the magical 95lbs, so I'm happy. Day two kicked my ass, or I should say my arms and shoulders. What was supposed to be 3 rounds of max rope climbs in 3 minutes, turned into 2 rounds, because my arms and hands were so smoked from the first 2 rounds that I could barely make a fist! I only made it up 1.5 times the first round, and 1.99 times the second round. I was literally inches away from tapping the beam, but lost my footing and slid down the rope. Bruised thighs and a bruised ego, some rest, and then on to the next thing. Five rounds of L-sits, GHD holds facing up, and facing down. Hold until failure. L-sits had to be modified to what I call G-sits, because my knees were bent. GHD holds facing up were tough, holds facing down were not so bad (thank you posterior chain!!!). We added 10lbs in the second round, 25 in the third, then the 45lb plate for the last 2. Needless to say, my arms were toast when we finished. I felt good though.
JDP gave me homework, which I thought was interesting...go find out what the elite master's level women are doing. What's a good Fran time for an elite female over 40? How much do they deadlift? What are their max rep pullups? etc. You get the picture. Umm, those ladies who rocked it out at last years CrossFit games put in a SUB-5-MINUTE Fran time and the rest were sub-6!!!! Say what?! I couldn't believe it, I have my work cut out for me (and these gals are over 50!!!). The winning max deadlift though, 275lbs, my current PR, so that was some good news. Other things of interest: C2Bar Cindy 10-16 rounds, Double under Helen 7:03-14:56, max thrusters 110-128, Nancy 14:10 for first place. Finally, I have an idea of where I need to be in 4 years, for the 2014 games. JDP said I need to start referring to myself as an "elite master's level athlete", and to believe it when I say it. I told him, I'll get there, at least now I can say it without giggling. Well, almost.... :)
I'm working out five days a week (at least), I know I'm not really being lazy, but dang, I feel like I'm not doing enough. I feel like I should be stronger, faster, leaner, everything. In time, I know. My impatience is going to get me nowhere except injured or side-lined, so I will do my best with what I have at the moment, and keep moving forward safely.
I've started training with JDP again, to try and get me a little bit more prepared for the Fittest Games. Things are a little different this go around, because we're focusing more on overall strength and mobility, and putting HSPU's and muscle ups on the back burner. Day one was a great confidence booster, because I PR'd on my OHS with 85lbs.! I realize that's not super heavy, but it's 10lbs away from the magical 95lbs, so I'm happy. Day two kicked my ass, or I should say my arms and shoulders. What was supposed to be 3 rounds of max rope climbs in 3 minutes, turned into 2 rounds, because my arms and hands were so smoked from the first 2 rounds that I could barely make a fist! I only made it up 1.5 times the first round, and 1.99 times the second round. I was literally inches away from tapping the beam, but lost my footing and slid down the rope. Bruised thighs and a bruised ego, some rest, and then on to the next thing. Five rounds of L-sits, GHD holds facing up, and facing down. Hold until failure. L-sits had to be modified to what I call G-sits, because my knees were bent. GHD holds facing up were tough, holds facing down were not so bad (thank you posterior chain!!!). We added 10lbs in the second round, 25 in the third, then the 45lb plate for the last 2. Needless to say, my arms were toast when we finished. I felt good though.
JDP gave me homework, which I thought was interesting...go find out what the elite master's level women are doing. What's a good Fran time for an elite female over 40? How much do they deadlift? What are their max rep pullups? etc. You get the picture. Umm, those ladies who rocked it out at last years CrossFit games put in a SUB-5-MINUTE Fran time and the rest were sub-6!!!! Say what?! I couldn't believe it, I have my work cut out for me (and these gals are over 50!!!). The winning max deadlift though, 275lbs, my current PR, so that was some good news. Other things of interest: C2Bar Cindy 10-16 rounds, Double under Helen 7:03-14:56, max thrusters 110-128, Nancy 14:10 for first place. Finally, I have an idea of where I need to be in 4 years, for the 2014 games. JDP said I need to start referring to myself as an "elite master's level athlete", and to believe it when I say it. I told him, I'll get there, at least now I can say it without giggling. Well, almost.... :)
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Lord of the rings?
Face it, Lady of the rings sounds kind of lame.
Excitement abounds, though, because my gymnastics rings came in the mail yesterday! Woo hoo! I know I'm going to be cursing them many times in the future, but for now, woo hoo it is.
So if I'm going to get anywhere in the 40+ competitions, I'm going to have to get ridiculously strong. I'm going to need to be able to bang out body weight movements like they're nothing, the handstand push up will have to become handstand push ups, the muscle up will no longer be a dream, but a reality, ring dips will happen, you get the picture. I'm thinking about cutting my Oly lifting down to once a week, and adding an extra day of CrossFit. I need to be a metcon queen. Track workouts, gymnastics, strength training, so much to plan for! I wish I had the time and the money to train more. I would love to have a dedicated coach guiding me through all of this, but I'll do the best I can without one.
I've signed up for the Fittest Games at Central, in February. I went with Intermediate 40+ because I don't have my full HSPU or muscle up at this time, and that was a "requirement" for Elite status. I'm not going to scale anything, even though that's an option. I'm kind of hoping the ladies I competed with in Dallas will make the trip to Austin for this event, because I'd like another chance to WOD with them. I've got 4 weeks to get some serious training under my belt, I'll keep you posted! Wish me luck!
Excitement abounds, though, because my gymnastics rings came in the mail yesterday! Woo hoo! I know I'm going to be cursing them many times in the future, but for now, woo hoo it is.
So if I'm going to get anywhere in the 40+ competitions, I'm going to have to get ridiculously strong. I'm going to need to be able to bang out body weight movements like they're nothing, the handstand push up will have to become handstand push ups, the muscle up will no longer be a dream, but a reality, ring dips will happen, you get the picture. I'm thinking about cutting my Oly lifting down to once a week, and adding an extra day of CrossFit. I need to be a metcon queen. Track workouts, gymnastics, strength training, so much to plan for! I wish I had the time and the money to train more. I would love to have a dedicated coach guiding me through all of this, but I'll do the best I can without one.
I've signed up for the Fittest Games at Central, in February. I went with Intermediate 40+ because I don't have my full HSPU or muscle up at this time, and that was a "requirement" for Elite status. I'm not going to scale anything, even though that's an option. I'm kind of hoping the ladies I competed with in Dallas will make the trip to Austin for this event, because I'd like another chance to WOD with them. I've got 4 weeks to get some serious training under my belt, I'll keep you posted! Wish me luck!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fran
Finally did Fran Rx'd, it's about damn time! Only the second time I've done it period time: 9:40. Boo. Oh well, this just means I'll kill it next time ;o)
Monday, January 3, 2011
2011, already?
I haven't written since December, I need to remedy that this year, and try to keep up with the blogging. Having said that, ACO (back in December) was a blast! I was nervous, excited, worried, every emotion possible it seemed. I'll skip the WOD blow by blow, since it seems like forever since it all happened. Bottom line, I finished 5th. Fifth out of five people, but at least I went out there and competed! I finished all of the WOD's except for the last one (the 80lb sandbag was my undoing), but hey, I tied for first in the second one. Who knew chest to bar pull-ups were my thing? Go figure!
(And hey, where the hell did those arms come from??? Yikes!! I had NO idea they existed! :)
Anyway, all ACO did, was fuel the fire, and make me want to compete again, and I will! I am pleased to report that they have started age-grouping the Master's division for the CrossFit Games, yes, age-grouping. They've also dropped the starting age to 45, so 2014 Games, here I come. This is my 3 year goal. I'm kind of working backwards with the goal setting, but my long-term goals depend on the goals I will set for the short-term (duh, I know). My 1 year goal is to go back to ACO this December, and win my division. I'm still trying to figure out what I need to do in the interim to make that happen. Saying I want to get stronger isn't a goal, so I'm going to figure out the specifics and I'll pass it along soon! I do know a few of the things I'm shooting for, 300+ deadlift, 200+ back squat, HSPU's (no kipping), 95lb OHS, and the ever elusive muscle up. My hamstring is almost back to normal, and I'm going to continue to modify the workouts as needed, until it's back 100%.
I really want to thank everyone who has been so supportive of me. I'm not a twenty-something, or thirty-something, plugging away at this thing I love, called CrossFit. No one has once said to me, "you can't do that," or "you're too old to be doing that," and for this, I am so grateful. Everyone I work out with (past and present), coaches, other clients, and friends, have pushed me to be better, and to expect more out of myself. If it wasn't for all of you, I probably wouldn't have competed in the first place. I look forward to the year ahead, and can't wait to see what happens!
(And hey, where the hell did those arms come from??? Yikes!! I had NO idea they existed! :)
Anyway, all ACO did, was fuel the fire, and make me want to compete again, and I will! I am pleased to report that they have started age-grouping the Master's division for the CrossFit Games, yes, age-grouping. They've also dropped the starting age to 45, so 2014 Games, here I come. This is my 3 year goal. I'm kind of working backwards with the goal setting, but my long-term goals depend on the goals I will set for the short-term (duh, I know). My 1 year goal is to go back to ACO this December, and win my division. I'm still trying to figure out what I need to do in the interim to make that happen. Saying I want to get stronger isn't a goal, so I'm going to figure out the specifics and I'll pass it along soon! I do know a few of the things I'm shooting for, 300+ deadlift, 200+ back squat, HSPU's (no kipping), 95lb OHS, and the ever elusive muscle up. My hamstring is almost back to normal, and I'm going to continue to modify the workouts as needed, until it's back 100%.
I really want to thank everyone who has been so supportive of me. I'm not a twenty-something, or thirty-something, plugging away at this thing I love, called CrossFit. No one has once said to me, "you can't do that," or "you're too old to be doing that," and for this, I am so grateful. Everyone I work out with (past and present), coaches, other clients, and friends, have pushed me to be better, and to expect more out of myself. If it wasn't for all of you, I probably wouldn't have competed in the first place. I look forward to the year ahead, and can't wait to see what happens!
Monday, November 22, 2010
3 weeks until D-Day, are you effing kidding me?
Wow, where has time gone? I can't believe we're only 3 weeks out from ACO, holy crap! If my shoulders will hold up until then, I'm good. I've been feeling the impingement after this last week of workouts, but had 2 rest days in a row over the weekend, and I'm feeling much better today. Lots of overhead stuff, snatch work, and upping the ante during my workouts with JDP.
Sunday I ran my long run on my own, just couldn't get up early and do it with Rogue. We were supposed to do 9 miles that day, and due to my inability to do math whilst running, I ended up doing 10.36! This is a new record for me, woo hoo! After that run, I know I could do 13 no problem, so my fears about that have abated. It was the first time I ran with my dual hydration belt and GU packets. "Eating" on the fly was not very easy, though, because you're breathing gets interrupted. It was doable, I just need to try not to choke to death while I'm running!
Tues 11-16-10
10 min cut off
21-15-9
KB snatch R arm
KB snatch L arm
Pull ups
Finished this one Rx'd (16kg) in 8:58. Felt pretty good throughout, and managed to do all of my snatches unbroken. I'm not feeling as strong on my pull ups as I used to, but managed to break them up into larger chunks instead of 2 or 3 at a time.
Thurs 11-18-10
3 rds/12 min cut off
3 OHS (75#)
9 back squats (75#)
18 burpees
2 shuttle runs
Rx'd weight for females was 105lbs, which to me, was a little too heavy. My max OHS weight is 80lbs, so I went with 75lbs, finished in 8:02. We ended class with a few dead hang contests, first right arm only, then left arm only, then both arms. If you dropped from the bar you had to do bicycle sit ups until the last person came off the bar. I didn't do very well on the one-armed hangs, but won the two-arm hang! :)
I only had one session with JDP this week, and we worked on my handstand holds, strict KB presses, pike position ring dips, and negative pull ups. And of course, we did some mobility work before hand. Things are coming along, I just need to work on my verbiage during workouts. No more "can't", "won't", or "I hate that" allowed. I'm trying to retrain my brain and be positive. The negative thinking is only going to drag me down and have me defeated before I even get started. I'm working on it though. :)
Oly lifting is still coming along. Oleg is pleased with my lifts, and I think my timing has gotten much better. I'm anxious to start trying for PR's on the clean and jerk. Kind of ready to see what I can do. We worked on snatching Friday, nothing too heavy, but they felt good. I skipped Rogue's quality workout on Wednesday, and the long run on Sunday, because I felt my leg needed a break. The hamstring is feeling much better after the rest. I'll do a short run this afternoon to test the waters. I'm running the turkey trot on Thanksgiving, so we'll see how it does then too. I've also made some head way on my double unders, FINALLY!!! I worked on them yesterday, and am at last getting several in a row. I've been worried about these ever since I signed up for ACO. I had visions of myself getting stuck on double unders in the middle of a WOD. Now I've gained some confidence, and I'll continue to work on them up until the competition.
And yes, I am 100%, totally freaking out about competing, but I'm excited, and looking forward to being a part of the action, instead of watching it. Yikes!
Sunday I ran my long run on my own, just couldn't get up early and do it with Rogue. We were supposed to do 9 miles that day, and due to my inability to do math whilst running, I ended up doing 10.36! This is a new record for me, woo hoo! After that run, I know I could do 13 no problem, so my fears about that have abated. It was the first time I ran with my dual hydration belt and GU packets. "Eating" on the fly was not very easy, though, because you're breathing gets interrupted. It was doable, I just need to try not to choke to death while I'm running!
Tues 11-16-10
10 min cut off
21-15-9
KB snatch R arm
KB snatch L arm
Pull ups
Finished this one Rx'd (16kg) in 8:58. Felt pretty good throughout, and managed to do all of my snatches unbroken. I'm not feeling as strong on my pull ups as I used to, but managed to break them up into larger chunks instead of 2 or 3 at a time.
Thurs 11-18-10
3 rds/12 min cut off
3 OHS (75#)
9 back squats (75#)
18 burpees
2 shuttle runs
Rx'd weight for females was 105lbs, which to me, was a little too heavy. My max OHS weight is 80lbs, so I went with 75lbs, finished in 8:02. We ended class with a few dead hang contests, first right arm only, then left arm only, then both arms. If you dropped from the bar you had to do bicycle sit ups until the last person came off the bar. I didn't do very well on the one-armed hangs, but won the two-arm hang! :)
I only had one session with JDP this week, and we worked on my handstand holds, strict KB presses, pike position ring dips, and negative pull ups. And of course, we did some mobility work before hand. Things are coming along, I just need to work on my verbiage during workouts. No more "can't", "won't", or "I hate that" allowed. I'm trying to retrain my brain and be positive. The negative thinking is only going to drag me down and have me defeated before I even get started. I'm working on it though. :)
Oly lifting is still coming along. Oleg is pleased with my lifts, and I think my timing has gotten much better. I'm anxious to start trying for PR's on the clean and jerk. Kind of ready to see what I can do. We worked on snatching Friday, nothing too heavy, but they felt good. I skipped Rogue's quality workout on Wednesday, and the long run on Sunday, because I felt my leg needed a break. The hamstring is feeling much better after the rest. I'll do a short run this afternoon to test the waters. I'm running the turkey trot on Thanksgiving, so we'll see how it does then too. I've also made some head way on my double unders, FINALLY!!! I worked on them yesterday, and am at last getting several in a row. I've been worried about these ever since I signed up for ACO. I had visions of myself getting stuck on double unders in the middle of a WOD. Now I've gained some confidence, and I'll continue to work on them up until the competition.
And yes, I am 100%, totally freaking out about competing, but I'm excited, and looking forward to being a part of the action, instead of watching it. Yikes!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Eat, sleep, run, WOD, lift, repeat.
So the training schedule is beginning to take it's toll on my 41 year old body. I know I'm not "old", per se, but I think I need to do some research on recovery and the aging athlete. I am so sore these days, it has me wondering if I need to be doing something different in order to facilitate better recovery. I'll let you know what I find out. (If you have your 2 cents to share on this subject, or know someone who would like to give me their 2 cents on this subject, please feel free to share. I'd really like to know what people think).
I still have a full schedule of workouts, which is making my Oly lifting coach very unhappy. In a perfect world, Oleg would like to see me do Oly lifting only. I expect nothing less from him, he is, after all, biased towards lifting. When he hears that I did 55 muscle snatches or 50 cleans in a CrossFit WOD, he mumbles something in Russian under his breath, and shakes his head in disbelief. I think I'm going to stop telling him what I've been up to when I'm not lifting. Maybe he'll quit asking since he never likes my answers! Having said that, here's what I've been up to:
Sun 11-7-10 5 mile run with Rogue through Travis Heights. The hills were alive! I'm finding it easier to maintain a decent pace while running uphill, yay progress!
Mon 11-8-10 3.7 mile easy run before lifting. Oly lifting went well this day, lots of energy at the gym, and all of us were cranking out some great lifts. Oleg was happy with all of us. Heavy cleans and muscle snatches, good times.
Tues 11-9-10
7 rounds (20 min cutoff)
5 burpees
10 toes to bar
15 KB swings (20kg...holy shit, yep, I swung a 20kg for the first time)
Wow, when burpees are the "resting" phase of your WOD, something is definitely rotten in Denmark. Toes to bar were not as good as they've been in the past, so they were my slow point. Finished this one in 18:11.
Wed 11-10-10 Started my second week of PT with JDP, working on HSPU's and MU's. The mobility stuff he has me doing is kicking my ass, which is good. Spent a little time on double unders too, and we've come to the conclusion that I need to get more intense when I'm doing these. Actually managed to string about 5 together, again, yay progress!
Then I was off to Rogue for our quality run workout. It was 6 miles total (according to the Garmin watch) but we ran to the track (about 1.75 miles away) then proceeded to do speed work. Run a mile at half marathon pace (which started and ended at the track), shuffle run 100m, the 800m at 10K pace. Repeat. Run back to Rogue. I usually drive down 6th street on my way home, and all I could think about was pizza, Roppolo's (sp?) specifically. I managed to drive past it without stopping.
Thurs 11-11-10
3 rounds (6 min cutoff)
12 deadlifts (135lbs)
25 push-ups
DNF (FML) I made it through 12 push-ups in the last round. Eff me, that's all I could say after this one. I was super stoked about the deadlifts, but not so happy to see them paired with push-ups. I did all the deadlifts unbroken (woot woot!) and then there were push-ups. I tried them with my arms closer to my body this time, and saw improvement in the number I could do before I had to take a rest. BUT, I hit failure in the second round, and ended up doing "sets" of 1 from that point on. Grrr. I had to take a walk after this WOD because I was so frustrated and pissed off. Push-up work has now been added to the schedule. (And by the way, had to do this WOD next to Luke, who did it in 2:02. Are you fucking kidding me? He's not human, I'm pretty sure).
Fri 11-12-10 Oly lifting! Planned on doing snatch work, but because my arms were toast, we ended up doing cleans, and heavy clean pulls from blocks. My pulls are great, now if I could just convince myself to get under the bar, I'd be in business. I'm working on it! Elbows are fast now, so that's improvement!
Sat 11-13-10 More HSPU and MU training with JDP. Had several episodes of the giggles while doing HSPU's, this is contraindicated if you are upside down and trying not to break your neck. MU work was hard! (I know, duh!) Did some of the crazy butt-band muscle ups with JDP assistance, and got the gist of what doing a full muscle up is supposed to feel like. My wrists are sore and bruised today, but I'll take it!
Rest day today, skipped the long run with Rogue. In the end, my hamstring health is a little more important to me right now than sucking it up, and possibly injuring myself, and pushing through 9 miles just to say I did it. I'd rather have a healthy leg, than 9 miles under my belt.
I still have a full schedule of workouts, which is making my Oly lifting coach very unhappy. In a perfect world, Oleg would like to see me do Oly lifting only. I expect nothing less from him, he is, after all, biased towards lifting. When he hears that I did 55 muscle snatches or 50 cleans in a CrossFit WOD, he mumbles something in Russian under his breath, and shakes his head in disbelief. I think I'm going to stop telling him what I've been up to when I'm not lifting. Maybe he'll quit asking since he never likes my answers! Having said that, here's what I've been up to:
Sun 11-7-10 5 mile run with Rogue through Travis Heights. The hills were alive! I'm finding it easier to maintain a decent pace while running uphill, yay progress!
Mon 11-8-10 3.7 mile easy run before lifting. Oly lifting went well this day, lots of energy at the gym, and all of us were cranking out some great lifts. Oleg was happy with all of us. Heavy cleans and muscle snatches, good times.
Tues 11-9-10
7 rounds (20 min cutoff)
5 burpees
10 toes to bar
15 KB swings (20kg...holy shit, yep, I swung a 20kg for the first time)
Wow, when burpees are the "resting" phase of your WOD, something is definitely rotten in Denmark. Toes to bar were not as good as they've been in the past, so they were my slow point. Finished this one in 18:11.
Wed 11-10-10 Started my second week of PT with JDP, working on HSPU's and MU's. The mobility stuff he has me doing is kicking my ass, which is good. Spent a little time on double unders too, and we've come to the conclusion that I need to get more intense when I'm doing these. Actually managed to string about 5 together, again, yay progress!
Then I was off to Rogue for our quality run workout. It was 6 miles total (according to the Garmin watch) but we ran to the track (about 1.75 miles away) then proceeded to do speed work. Run a mile at half marathon pace (which started and ended at the track), shuffle run 100m, the 800m at 10K pace. Repeat. Run back to Rogue. I usually drive down 6th street on my way home, and all I could think about was pizza, Roppolo's (sp?) specifically. I managed to drive past it without stopping.
Thurs 11-11-10
3 rounds (6 min cutoff)
12 deadlifts (135lbs)
25 push-ups
DNF (FML) I made it through 12 push-ups in the last round. Eff me, that's all I could say after this one. I was super stoked about the deadlifts, but not so happy to see them paired with push-ups. I did all the deadlifts unbroken (woot woot!) and then there were push-ups. I tried them with my arms closer to my body this time, and saw improvement in the number I could do before I had to take a rest. BUT, I hit failure in the second round, and ended up doing "sets" of 1 from that point on. Grrr. I had to take a walk after this WOD because I was so frustrated and pissed off. Push-up work has now been added to the schedule. (And by the way, had to do this WOD next to Luke, who did it in 2:02. Are you fucking kidding me? He's not human, I'm pretty sure).
Fri 11-12-10 Oly lifting! Planned on doing snatch work, but because my arms were toast, we ended up doing cleans, and heavy clean pulls from blocks. My pulls are great, now if I could just convince myself to get under the bar, I'd be in business. I'm working on it! Elbows are fast now, so that's improvement!
Sat 11-13-10 More HSPU and MU training with JDP. Had several episodes of the giggles while doing HSPU's, this is contraindicated if you are upside down and trying not to break your neck. MU work was hard! (I know, duh!) Did some of the crazy butt-band muscle ups with JDP assistance, and got the gist of what doing a full muscle up is supposed to feel like. My wrists are sore and bruised today, but I'll take it!
Rest day today, skipped the long run with Rogue. In the end, my hamstring health is a little more important to me right now than sucking it up, and possibly injuring myself, and pushing through 9 miles just to say I did it. I'd rather have a healthy leg, than 9 miles under my belt.
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