The Paleo Challenge ended today, man did 6 weeks fly by! I really can't believe Thanksgiving is here already. I'm so excited to go home for a few days, kick back and chill out.
The challenge was so much more than I thought it would be. This was a huge learning experience for me for nutrition, finding out what works best for me and what commitment really means. I have started to love working out - that in and of itself is something I have never, ever in my life said nor really understood when people would say they loved working out or "needed to workout". Before, to me it was just an unpleasant chore that caused me pain afterward. It wasn't something I was confident about doing. Being committed to going to CFC has made me a believer!! I can now see what happens to my body & mind when I workout on a regular basis and have proper nutrition. I've realized the gains & strides I can make in getting better, when I put consistent effort and focus into it. There are still a million things I need to get better at, but I now know that I can achieve whatever I want. If I put my mind to it, I'm going to get every goal I set. I want to be better and look better - I now understand & know what I need to do to achieve that. I haven't felt this good in a very long time, I sleep so well, have great energy and am in general very excited to hit my fitness goals.
PS - I lost 15lbs during the challenge!!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Holy Handstands!!
My how quickly 2 weeks go by....and THANK YOU TO JAMES P. BOND FOR MY REMINDERS THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN BLOGGING!! I'm sure I can come up with some valid reasons for not keeping this updated. I've been deciding about taking a new job at work, I've been working out consistently, I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal....people know me. I'm very important and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. So there you have it folks, I'm part of the Channel 4 News team with Ron Burgundy. Only 2 sentences of this paragraph are true, choose wisely young padawan.
My love for CrossFit Chicago continues to grow. I actually look forward to going there - this is something that has never happened in my life, looking forward to exercising. I still get completely scared about some of the workouts but I know I'm not going to die and I will get through it. Lately I've noticed that I've been "getting through them" better than I did a month ago. Being able to see and measure my progress has been huge. I've lost 10lbs since the challenge and while I'm excited about this, I think I would've lost more if I had been stricter (more strict?) with it. However, I acknowledge that for me this isn't just a 6-week go, it's a lifestyle change and I have a ways to go still.
We are in the final week of the Paleo Challenge and I have no idea what the team standings are or where my team ranks, but I do know it's been a great experience. I continue to learn more about nutrition and how/what my body reacts to. When I say "react" I'm referring to the scale not reacting in a very friendly weigh...or way! It's been a zig zag of losing weight for 2 weeks, not losing a pound for 2 weeks, dropping a little, etc.. Coach Zack very generously went through my food log for 3 weeks and made notes on what I had been eating/doing. It made a HUGE difference for me. I really think my accountability factor is good in that I was honest with everything I ate and recorded it. But, I am also very generous with my "little cheats" as I call them. I'll sneak them in here and there, or so I thought it was just "here and there" when really it was several times a week, which all add up. I do think taking the fish oil has helped out and I can see a huge difference in my skin especially in the last 5 weeks. It's much clearer and I swear my cheeks have a rosy glow on most days :-)
Finally getting to "Holy Handstands". When I titled this blog Holly's Journey, I meant it would be a journey. Ups and downs, falling & getting up, etc.. One of my first fears at CrossFit occurred in the form of the handstand. I actually thought it was a joke the morning when Rudy told the class to go the wall and kick up into a handstand. I just stood there thinking he wasn't talking to everyone and especially wasn't talking to me. Oh, how wrong I was. Within 5 seconds almost everyone was upside down with their feet in the air & against the wall. Again, I just stood there staring at the wall. Rudy told me that the wall wasn't going to bite & I shouldn't be afraid of it. I laughed and said, I can't do handstands. I knew before the words came out of my mouth that I shouldn't say "I can't" but it flew out of my mouth. Also, I was really, really hoping he'd just go walk around to everyone else and not notice that I wasn't doing a handstand. Next thing I knew I had 2 people on either side of me and I was trying to kick up. I'll spare the gory details, but it wasn't pretty, I felt like a wounded elephant with my legs being lifted but not really moving up and my arms collapsing, etc.. Thankfully no on laughed at me (except of course, I did) and they told me I'd get it, just keep trying. So, for the next couple of months every time we had to do handstands, I'd give it a shot (we don't do them every week, so it took a while & I never practiced on my own). Progress wasn't pretty - it was a mixture of being able to kick up on my own but not really get anywhere, some days staring at the wall and all of a sudden being very afraid of it, one day falling right over and into the bucket of chalk - classic graceful Holly move. Then came this Tuesday morning. Out of the blue and on the 1st attempt I not only got up on my own, but I held it for 15 seconds!! I was so happy that when I came down, I screamed out "I just got up for the first time on my own!!" My 6AM buddies have all born witness to the "not-so-pretties" and cheered & clapped for me. It was THE BEST feeling! I was actually really proud of myself. Next, onto the handstand push ups!!
I'm not going to list out the workouts from the last 2 weeks but only put out that I have been keeping to 4 - 5 days a week. I haven't made CFE this week because of my schedule and only got in 1 last week. I need to re-up my commitment to get that workout in whether I make the class or not. I'm very good about saying I will do it, making it happen has been a little more challenging. I now owe 2 big workouts....
My love for CrossFit Chicago continues to grow. I actually look forward to going there - this is something that has never happened in my life, looking forward to exercising. I still get completely scared about some of the workouts but I know I'm not going to die and I will get through it. Lately I've noticed that I've been "getting through them" better than I did a month ago. Being able to see and measure my progress has been huge. I've lost 10lbs since the challenge and while I'm excited about this, I think I would've lost more if I had been stricter (more strict?) with it. However, I acknowledge that for me this isn't just a 6-week go, it's a lifestyle change and I have a ways to go still.
We are in the final week of the Paleo Challenge and I have no idea what the team standings are or where my team ranks, but I do know it's been a great experience. I continue to learn more about nutrition and how/what my body reacts to. When I say "react" I'm referring to the scale not reacting in a very friendly weigh...or way! It's been a zig zag of losing weight for 2 weeks, not losing a pound for 2 weeks, dropping a little, etc.. Coach Zack very generously went through my food log for 3 weeks and made notes on what I had been eating/doing. It made a HUGE difference for me. I really think my accountability factor is good in that I was honest with everything I ate and recorded it. But, I am also very generous with my "little cheats" as I call them. I'll sneak them in here and there, or so I thought it was just "here and there" when really it was several times a week, which all add up. I do think taking the fish oil has helped out and I can see a huge difference in my skin especially in the last 5 weeks. It's much clearer and I swear my cheeks have a rosy glow on most days :-)
Finally getting to "Holy Handstands". When I titled this blog Holly's Journey, I meant it would be a journey. Ups and downs, falling & getting up, etc.. One of my first fears at CrossFit occurred in the form of the handstand. I actually thought it was a joke the morning when Rudy told the class to go the wall and kick up into a handstand. I just stood there thinking he wasn't talking to everyone and especially wasn't talking to me. Oh, how wrong I was. Within 5 seconds almost everyone was upside down with their feet in the air & against the wall. Again, I just stood there staring at the wall. Rudy told me that the wall wasn't going to bite & I shouldn't be afraid of it. I laughed and said, I can't do handstands. I knew before the words came out of my mouth that I shouldn't say "I can't" but it flew out of my mouth. Also, I was really, really hoping he'd just go walk around to everyone else and not notice that I wasn't doing a handstand. Next thing I knew I had 2 people on either side of me and I was trying to kick up. I'll spare the gory details, but it wasn't pretty, I felt like a wounded elephant with my legs being lifted but not really moving up and my arms collapsing, etc.. Thankfully no on laughed at me (except of course, I did) and they told me I'd get it, just keep trying. So, for the next couple of months every time we had to do handstands, I'd give it a shot (we don't do them every week, so it took a while & I never practiced on my own). Progress wasn't pretty - it was a mixture of being able to kick up on my own but not really get anywhere, some days staring at the wall and all of a sudden being very afraid of it, one day falling right over and into the bucket of chalk - classic graceful Holly move. Then came this Tuesday morning. Out of the blue and on the 1st attempt I not only got up on my own, but I held it for 15 seconds!! I was so happy that when I came down, I screamed out "I just got up for the first time on my own!!" My 6AM buddies have all born witness to the "not-so-pretties" and cheered & clapped for me. It was THE BEST feeling! I was actually really proud of myself. Next, onto the handstand push ups!!
I'm not going to list out the workouts from the last 2 weeks but only put out that I have been keeping to 4 - 5 days a week. I haven't made CFE this week because of my schedule and only got in 1 last week. I need to re-up my commitment to get that workout in whether I make the class or not. I'm very good about saying I will do it, making it happen has been a little more challenging. I now owe 2 big workouts....
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Making progress
Nutrition has been better since my fun-size party on Monday. Ironically, I have finally lost weight this week, I would love to say it was because of the chocolaty goodness but I have to be honest and say it probably was in spite of it. I turned in my 3-week food log to Zack and it was a huge help. I had told him about my frustration of not losing anything for 2 weeks and he did a great assessment on the log. He gave me some suggestions on where I could make substitutes, tweak here and there. On his suggestion I started taking Fish Oil and I think that may have made some of the difference. I had tried fish oil tablets earlier this summer and it lasted for about 10 days. I was fine initially and then I don't know if I psyched myself out or just started thinking about what it was, but around Day 6 I had the worst fish "burps", I couldn't take it after 4 days, it was so gross to me. I found out that Carlson's makes a liquid "Lemon Fish Oil" which incredibly tastes only like Lemon, nothing gross, it's 1 easy teaspoon in the morning and that's it!
Thursday - Endurance
800m Run
15 Push-ups
20 Lunges
750m Row
20 Lunges
15 Push-ups
800m Run
Wednesday:
On the 5th minute for 5 rounds of:
10 Toes-to-bar
400m Run
10 Hang cleans
rds= 4:10, 3:50, 3:50, 3:46, 3:49
Post - 3 minute plank hold (:45, :38; :15)
Tuesday PM
Endurance:
C2 rower- 3×3 min Intervals w/3min Recovery Between Intervals
Hold the highest average pace for all Intervals. (691 meters, 693 meters, 701 meters)
Tuesday AM
5 Rounds for time of: (7:04)
5 Handstand push-ups (did off box)
10 Sumo-deadlift high-pulls (40#)
20 Lunges
Post – 40 Back extensions (2 sets of 20)
Thursday - Endurance
800m Run
15 Push-ups
20 Lunges
750m Row
20 Lunges
15 Push-ups
800m Run
Wednesday:
On the 5th minute for 5 rounds of:
10 Toes-to-bar
400m Run
10 Hang cleans
rds= 4:10, 3:50, 3:50, 3:46, 3:49
Post - 3 minute plank hold (:45, :38; :15)
Tuesday PM
Endurance:
C2 rower- 3×3 min Intervals w/3min Recovery Between Intervals
Hold the highest average pace for all Intervals. (691 meters, 693 meters, 701 meters)
Tuesday AM
5 Rounds for time of: (7:04)
5 Handstand push-ups (did off box)
10 Sumo-deadlift high-pulls (40#)
20 Lunges
Post – 40 Back extensions (2 sets of 20)
Monday, November 1, 2010
A Meltdown of Fun-Size Portions
I feel sick, literally ill right now. I just lost a battle of willpower to a handful of “fun-size” chocolates. What’s so fun about them? Apparently because they are so cute & tiny, ripping them open is fun. I was like a junky, needing to get my fix . The first Milky Way tasted good, so I went for the salty-sweet Reeses’ Peanut Butter cups, then another, then 2 Twix and rounded it out with 2 Almond Joy. “Sometimes you feel like a nut…Sometimes you don't….Almond Joy got nuts, Mounds don't….Almond Joy got real milk chocolate coconut and munchy nuts, too.” .
In retrospect, I should’ve just gone for the booze this weekend. I made it through the weekend, all day Saturday watching football at the bars and didn’t drink or cheat on food – except for the cookies. My friend Stacey’s mom makes the best homemade sugar cookies with frosting. I knew I was getting some Saturday and was excited to have a few. I’d worked out all week and kept to my diet so I was okay with it. The cookies tasted great and I enjoyed all 6 - yes 6 - of them. I kept waiting to feel sick or gross, but I didn’t. I thought I was good and I was happy that was my cheat meal for the week.
However, all day Sunday I was craving sweets. It was like a light switch got flipped and my body just wanted sugar. I don’t have much in the house so the only thing I was able to scrounge up was a mini-bite of chocolate. I did not heed Jonny’s wise advice of removing the candy dish from my desk at work. Instead I put it behind me where I don’t see it most of the day. We are going through a huge round of layoffs and things have been rather stressful/tense for the last month. People come over frequently and dig through it, but I haven’t been interested in the candy bowl, until today. Sugar won out and I had myself a little meltdown right after lunch. I now feel like a slug and I want to go take a nap. I need to stop the crazy train and get back on track. I foresee a lot veggies and protein this week!
In retrospect, I should’ve just gone for the booze this weekend. I made it through the weekend, all day Saturday watching football at the bars and didn’t drink or cheat on food – except for the cookies. My friend Stacey’s mom makes the best homemade sugar cookies with frosting. I knew I was getting some Saturday and was excited to have a few. I’d worked out all week and kept to my diet so I was okay with it. The cookies tasted great and I enjoyed all 6 - yes 6 - of them. I kept waiting to feel sick or gross, but I didn’t. I thought I was good and I was happy that was my cheat meal for the week.
However, all day Sunday I was craving sweets. It was like a light switch got flipped and my body just wanted sugar. I don’t have much in the house so the only thing I was able to scrounge up was a mini-bite of chocolate. I did not heed Jonny’s wise advice of removing the candy dish from my desk at work. Instead I put it behind me where I don’t see it most of the day. We are going through a huge round of layoffs and things have been rather stressful/tense for the last month. People come over frequently and dig through it, but I haven’t been interested in the candy bowl, until today. Sugar won out and I had myself a little meltdown right after lunch. I now feel like a slug and I want to go take a nap. I need to stop the crazy train and get back on track. I foresee a lot veggies and protein this week!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Bloggity Blog Blog...
Blog Slacker week continues on in full force. I am not making excuses that it was a busy week, end of month, blah, blah, blah (even though all of that is true). I think I'm just really annoyed that I've been working out consistently, eating well, not drinking at all and I haven't lost any weight in 10 days. I'm going to go watch college football all day in hopes of lifting my spirits. I'm sure being in sports bars surrounded by booze & fried food is just the remedy I need :-) Go Spartans!!
Wednesday:
4 Rounds for time of: 15:34
400m Run
15 Thrusters (45#)
Thursday:
Friday:
3 Rounds for time of: (6:32)
10 Power cleans (55#)
10 Front squats
10 Jerks
Wednesday:
4 Rounds for time of: 15:34
400m Run
15 Thrusters (45#)
Thursday:
2 Rounds For Time: (2 min. rest between rounds) = 24:12
250m Row
30 KBS (1.5/1 pood)
15 Pull Ups
400m Run
15 Pull Ups
30 KBS (1.5/1 pood)
250m Row
Friday:
3 Rounds for time of: (6:32)
10 Power cleans (55#)
10 Front squats
10 Jerks
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Developing Discipline
For whatever reason, lately I have not felt like blogging, although I'm enjoying reading everyone else's blogs. Maybe I have blog envy, haha. This week I committed to working out 6 days, a big step for me, but I realize I need to be at 5 - 6 times a week to be consistent with weight loss and to get better at CrossFit. It's morning on Monday, Tues, Wed & Friday. Tues & Thurs pm for CFE. I'm already looking forward to the weekend!
I feel like I have been craving sweets/chocolate for almost a week now, yet when I've gone to grab for a piece of dark chocolate or candy I've stopped myself and asked "do I really want this? is it worth it? am I hungry or just bored?" So far, it's worked, I realize that I am doing it more out of habit than really truly wanting it. I'm sure at some point soon, I will really want the piece of chocolate and I'll have it to enjoy. I'll try to remember to savor it versus inhaling it. When I was in Colorado I realized so much of my eating before was just consuming, not appreciating or enjoying it. I was eating just to eat sometimes. Not even really being aware of what I was eating or how poor my nutrition could get. Keeping a food log has been one of the best things for me.
Making the commitment to workout, truly believing in the benefits of it and being aware of how good it is for me to do, has made being disciplined around working out easier for me. I don't second-guess it or give myself excuses on why I can't make it to the gym or do a certain workout. I don't think about it, I just tell myself to go and surprisingly I do. I don't always look forward to it on the drive over, but am so happy once I've done it and feel great afterwards that I know it's worth it. However, I've realized my discipline with food is quite situational. I am very strong and can stay on point, but in certain situations I automatically revert back to my bad habits, almost without thinking. I think it's just habit, that I used to eat more/bad food around certain people or that I would "automatic eat" - eat without thinking around them. This is something I still need to work on and be in better control of.
WODs:
Mon:
5 rounds for time (13:10)
10 burpees
10 box jumps
10 pull-ups
Tues am: (12:17)
30 pull-ups
50 kettleball swings (35#)
1k row
Tues pm:
8 x 2min on rower, 1 min rest between sets
I feel like I have been craving sweets/chocolate for almost a week now, yet when I've gone to grab for a piece of dark chocolate or candy I've stopped myself and asked "do I really want this? is it worth it? am I hungry or just bored?" So far, it's worked, I realize that I am doing it more out of habit than really truly wanting it. I'm sure at some point soon, I will really want the piece of chocolate and I'll have it to enjoy. I'll try to remember to savor it versus inhaling it. When I was in Colorado I realized so much of my eating before was just consuming, not appreciating or enjoying it. I was eating just to eat sometimes. Not even really being aware of what I was eating or how poor my nutrition could get. Keeping a food log has been one of the best things for me.
Making the commitment to workout, truly believing in the benefits of it and being aware of how good it is for me to do, has made being disciplined around working out easier for me. I don't second-guess it or give myself excuses on why I can't make it to the gym or do a certain workout. I don't think about it, I just tell myself to go and surprisingly I do. I don't always look forward to it on the drive over, but am so happy once I've done it and feel great afterwards that I know it's worth it. However, I've realized my discipline with food is quite situational. I am very strong and can stay on point, but in certain situations I automatically revert back to my bad habits, almost without thinking. I think it's just habit, that I used to eat more/bad food around certain people or that I would "automatic eat" - eat without thinking around them. This is something I still need to work on and be in better control of.
WODs:
Mon:
5 rounds for time (13:10)
10 burpees
10 box jumps
10 pull-ups
Tues am: (12:17)
30 pull-ups
50 kettleball swings (35#)
1k row
Tues pm:
8 x 2min on rower, 1 min rest between sets
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Twist on Tuna Salad
I haven't posted very much this week. I sprained my ankle on Wednesday night and haven't been able to workout since then, although today was the first day pain-free so I think I'm good to get back at it starting tomorrow. It actually felt weird not going the last couple of days, I'll take that as a good sign. My nutrition has been solid this week. I went out to dinner Thursday, Friday & Saturday but did well. I had a cheat meal Saturday night at Uncle Julio's, I know it's so bad, but I love the "liquid cheese" aka queso dip. We had been at the Michigan State vs. Northwestern football game Saturday, thankfully Sparty pulled off a victory after a scary 1st half. I have been able to keep to my no drinking so far - 2 weeks with no alcohol. It's been tough a few times, especially with all my friends around and everyone else putting it down. I just keep reminding myself that it will all pay off. So far, so good.
I finally tried a recipe I've been wanting to make for awhile. Costco has great Ahi Tuna and really well priced, so I made this salad with a few modifications (added below) and it was delicious!
Tuna Salad - the Barefoot Contessa
While still hot, cut the tuna in chunks and place it in a large bowl. Add the celery, parsley, scallions and red onion and mix well. Pour the vinaigrette mixture over the tuna and carefully mix.
I finally tried a recipe I've been wanting to make for awhile. Costco has great Ahi Tuna and really well priced, so I made this salad with a few modifications (added below) and it was delicious!
Tuna Salad - the Barefoot Contessa
2 pounds very fresh tuna steak, cut 1-inch thick
4 Tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black, plus extra for sprinkling
2 limes, zest grated
1 teaspoon wasabi powder (I didn't have any, but it tasted great w/o it)
6 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
10 dashes hot sauce (more to taste)
1 to 2 ripe Hass avocados, medium diced
4 Tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black, plus extra for sprinkling
2 limes, zest grated
1 teaspoon wasabi powder (I didn't have any, but it tasted great w/o it)
6 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
10 dashes hot sauce (more to taste)
1 to 2 ripe Hass avocados, medium diced
1 rib celery - thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/4 cup red onion, small diced
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/4 cup red onion, small diced
Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in a very hot saute pan and cook for only 1 minute on each side. Set aside on a platter.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, lime zest, wasabi, lime juice, soy sauce and hot sauce. Add the avocados to the vinaigrette. While still hot, cut the tuna in chunks and place it in a large bowl. Add the celery, parsley, scallions and red onion and mix well. Pour the vinaigrette mixture over the tuna and carefully mix.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Two for Tuesday
Doing the Paleo Challenge has been more fun and motivating than I was expecting. I met both my teammates Suzanne & Kori last night. Everyone at the box is really getting into doing this, sharing recipes, checking in with each other on progress, encouraging, giving advice etc.. It's great. I'm learning so much about nutrition and it makes me want to keep learning more. Understanding what works/doesn't work for you and how food positively or negatively affects your body is empowering. I sincerely wish I had grabbed onto this earlier in life and not spent the last several years struggling with it. However, I fully acknowledge I can't change the past, but I can make an impact for the rest of my life and going forward, be the best that I can be.
Tuesday is a double day. CF in the morning and Endurance class at night. Instead of dreading it, I was looking forward to it. Lately I find myself looking forward to working out and going to the box. This is probably the first time in my life I can say that. I've never really enjoyed working out at a gym, I always loved playing sports & would take playing basketball or any sport for 2 hours over 1 hour at a gym. Even when the alarm goes off at 5:15am, I'm not dreading it.
morning:
3 Rounds for time of
15 Hang power cleans
15 Burpees
I was winded after the 1st round of hang power cleans on this one. The burpees felt sluggish
evening:
10 x 30sec sprints (2 min rest in between)
we did this in the upstairs parking garage. the first half of the sprint was uphill/ramp. Really worked on form, keeping distance consistent. 30 seconds doesn't seem long, but I definitely needed the 2min rest after about round 4.
Nutrition:
nutrition has been really good this week. I feel like the light bulb has gone off/I've made the connection in understanding the reason for eating clean & being consistent. I've been keeping consistent with my food log and I feel so much better and have had really good energy and slept well all week. My sleep has been so on-and-off for the last 2 years, it's amazing to sleep soundly, what a huge difference it makes!
Tuesday is a double day. CF in the morning and Endurance class at night. Instead of dreading it, I was looking forward to it. Lately I find myself looking forward to working out and going to the box. This is probably the first time in my life I can say that. I've never really enjoyed working out at a gym, I always loved playing sports & would take playing basketball or any sport for 2 hours over 1 hour at a gym. Even when the alarm goes off at 5:15am, I'm not dreading it.
morning:
3 Rounds for time of
15 Hang power cleans
15 Burpees
I was winded after the 1st round of hang power cleans on this one. The burpees felt sluggish
evening:
10 x 30sec sprints (2 min rest in between)
we did this in the upstairs parking garage. the first half of the sprint was uphill/ramp. Really worked on form, keeping distance consistent. 30 seconds doesn't seem long, but I definitely needed the 2min rest after about round 4.
Nutrition:
nutrition has been really good this week. I feel like the light bulb has gone off/I've made the connection in understanding the reason for eating clean & being consistent. I've been keeping consistent with my food log and I feel so much better and have had really good energy and slept well all week. My sleep has been so on-and-off for the last 2 years, it's amazing to sleep soundly, what a huge difference it makes!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Making peace with the 5K
This morning I did the Harvest Run 5k at Lake Forest Academy with Bryan & Amy. It was actually a lot of fun. The campus is beautiful & all the trees were in full fall color.
I improved my time by 1 min since the baseline for the Endurance on-ramp program. The best part of today was the realization I had. I wasn't very excited to do the race to begin with and sincerely was nervous when I saw how small this race really was. there were maybe 100 - 125 people there, almost everyone looked like they were in very good shape. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach that it was possible I was going to finish last. I started to get really crabby & pissy about even being there. I hadn't ran in almost 3 weeks and was regretting it. The gun shot went off and everyone took off. Most people were ahead of me, but I started to realize that I felt good. I had my iPod with me, which was nice to have some distraction, plus, I didn't know where in the world I was. I still did a run/walk interval but I felt strong and while I was semi-relieved each time the walk beeped, I didn't feel like I was dying and couldn't take another step. The more I went, the better it was, I saw a few other people run/walking and I was ahead of a couple of them & at the same pace as 1 other person. When I noticed that I wasn't going to be the last one to cross the line, my whole attitude changed and I started to have fun and remembered this wasn't a big deal, everyone else was enjoying themselves....so lighten up Sally and get over yourself already!
The whole atmosphere at a race is just so great to me. I had gone to watch the Urbanathalon yesterday and loved it. That was still on the back of my mind, if I start working harder I can participate & be good in things like that. if you don't know what it is, you have to check it out http://www.menshealthurbanathlon.com - I am doing this on a relay team next year, I was interested in signing up this year but didn't want to slow a team down, so I went down there yesterday to cheer everyone on and see what it was like. What a really cool/fun event. As challenging as it was, all the athletes seemed to love it. The most inspiring part of the day to me was seeing 4 athletes that each had an amputated leg finish the race. They did the same obstacles as everyone else & they looked awesome. People were going nuts cheering for them as they slid over cars, climbed a rope later over a CTA bus and then scaled an 8-foot wall! Talk about not settling with any excuses - it was incredible. A lot of people from CrossFit Chicago participated & 1 of the relay teams won the event! out of 244 teams, they came in first!
I decided to increase my membership at CFC to 4 days a week + the Endurance program. I realize I have to increase my cardio/endurance to get moving on losing more weight. I've been really consistent since Labor Day so I know I'm committed to sticking with it. The more I go, the more I truly enjoy it. I can tell the gains I'm making & I'm so much more comfortable being there.
Nutrition:
this weekend was a little bit of a challenge. We had supper club on Friday night, which I love & we always have really yummy food. The main was spaghetti bolognese, I brought spaghetti squash to sub for my noodles. The rest of the meal was pretty good, it definitely has to be called a cheat meal. Appetizers were stuffed mushrooms and dates wrapped in turkey bacon, filled with goat cheese & walnuts. the sides were veggies so that was good. I had intended to pass on the dessert, it was mini cheesecakes (homemade). I took a nibble and then another & ended up eating the whole thing. Saturday night I went out to dinner, we went to a sushi restaurant (Macku which was excellent!) but didn't get any rolls. Ate a lot of sashimi, a bison salad, cod, etc.. So in reality it wasn't that bad, but in terms of being strict & on the challenge track, it probably wasn't super good. I did weigh myself both Sat & Sun morning and I didn't gain weight, I'll take that.
Tonight, I did a bunch of cooking for the week. I decided to try out some of the paleo recipes a few people had given me & I have to say, they are pretty tasty. I made chili, coconut chicken & what was supposed to be a fritatta but I ran out of eggs, so it was basically seasoned turkey, with mushrooms, broccoli, garlic & sun-dried tomato on a crust. I really enjoyed it.
I improved my time by 1 min since the baseline for the Endurance on-ramp program. The best part of today was the realization I had. I wasn't very excited to do the race to begin with and sincerely was nervous when I saw how small this race really was. there were maybe 100 - 125 people there, almost everyone looked like they were in very good shape. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach that it was possible I was going to finish last. I started to get really crabby & pissy about even being there. I hadn't ran in almost 3 weeks and was regretting it. The gun shot went off and everyone took off. Most people were ahead of me, but I started to realize that I felt good. I had my iPod with me, which was nice to have some distraction, plus, I didn't know where in the world I was. I still did a run/walk interval but I felt strong and while I was semi-relieved each time the walk beeped, I didn't feel like I was dying and couldn't take another step. The more I went, the better it was, I saw a few other people run/walking and I was ahead of a couple of them & at the same pace as 1 other person. When I noticed that I wasn't going to be the last one to cross the line, my whole attitude changed and I started to have fun and remembered this wasn't a big deal, everyone else was enjoying themselves....so lighten up Sally and get over yourself already!
The whole atmosphere at a race is just so great to me. I had gone to watch the Urbanathalon yesterday and loved it. That was still on the back of my mind, if I start working harder I can participate & be good in things like that. if you don't know what it is, you have to check it out http://www.menshealthurbanathlon.com - I am doing this on a relay team next year, I was interested in signing up this year but didn't want to slow a team down, so I went down there yesterday to cheer everyone on and see what it was like. What a really cool/fun event. As challenging as it was, all the athletes seemed to love it. The most inspiring part of the day to me was seeing 4 athletes that each had an amputated leg finish the race. They did the same obstacles as everyone else & they looked awesome. People were going nuts cheering for them as they slid over cars, climbed a rope later over a CTA bus and then scaled an 8-foot wall! Talk about not settling with any excuses - it was incredible. A lot of people from CrossFit Chicago participated & 1 of the relay teams won the event! out of 244 teams, they came in first!
I decided to increase my membership at CFC to 4 days a week + the Endurance program. I realize I have to increase my cardio/endurance to get moving on losing more weight. I've been really consistent since Labor Day so I know I'm committed to sticking with it. The more I go, the more I truly enjoy it. I can tell the gains I'm making & I'm so much more comfortable being there.
Nutrition:
this weekend was a little bit of a challenge. We had supper club on Friday night, which I love & we always have really yummy food. The main was spaghetti bolognese, I brought spaghetti squash to sub for my noodles. The rest of the meal was pretty good, it definitely has to be called a cheat meal. Appetizers were stuffed mushrooms and dates wrapped in turkey bacon, filled with goat cheese & walnuts. the sides were veggies so that was good. I had intended to pass on the dessert, it was mini cheesecakes (homemade). I took a nibble and then another & ended up eating the whole thing. Saturday night I went out to dinner, we went to a sushi restaurant (Macku which was excellent!) but didn't get any rolls. Ate a lot of sashimi, a bison salad, cod, etc.. So in reality it wasn't that bad, but in terms of being strict & on the challenge track, it probably wasn't super good. I did weigh myself both Sat & Sun morning and I didn't gain weight, I'll take that.
Tonight, I did a bunch of cooking for the week. I decided to try out some of the paleo recipes a few people had given me & I have to say, they are pretty tasty. I made chili, coconut chicken & what was supposed to be a fritatta but I ran out of eggs, so it was basically seasoned turkey, with mushrooms, broccoli, garlic & sun-dried tomato on a crust. I really enjoyed it.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Back at it & Body Fat analysis
Today was my first day back at the box and it definitely felt like I'd been off for 1 1/2 weeks. It did feel good to get sweaty & workout though. As part of the challenge everyone has to weigh-in & do a 3 point body fat measurement. Rudy offered to do a full body fat measurement & analysis (10 point pinching), a physical test, and a functional movement screen to the first 20 people who emailed him, I was one of the lucky ones. I will admit, I wasn't looking forward to it. I also had to get on the scale & weigh-in. I was trying to not be depressed about it, but as Rudy very kindly put it, "this is a starting point"....my intention is to make great strides and not look back. I'm going to focus on the improvements I can make in the next 41 days!
Workout:
15-10-5 reps of:
Power Clean (65#)
CTB Pull-up (green band)
Burpees
I will never admit to liking burpees, but as I improve my fitness, these do not suck as bad as they used to. A few months ago, having to do 30 burpees in a workout would sent me running in the other direction, now I don't even think about it.
Nutrition:
ok, I know I publicly pledged my commitment to the Paleo challenge, but I had a little slip up today. I started yesterday (Monday) and was doing well with it. Today I could not resist the candy bowl that is at my desk. For years I have kept a candy bowl and everyone stops by, has a bite, etc.. Most days I don't even think about it nor am I tempted by it, today however, there happened to be some Reese Peanut Butter cups in there....that damn salty-sweet concoction got me! Other than that, I've been good. I made fish twice and some meatloaf; roasted brussel sprouts with onions & turkey bacon (quite tasty) and my new favorite salad - WholeFoods "detox salad". I've only seen this at the Lakeview store, but it is so yummy. It's got broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sunflower seeds & currants with lemons juice & a little agave. I added pepper & garlic powder. I made a big batch and it keeps well, is very tasty & refreshing!
Workout:
15-10-5 reps of:
Power Clean (65#)
CTB Pull-up (green band)
Burpees
I will never admit to liking burpees, but as I improve my fitness, these do not suck as bad as they used to. A few months ago, having to do 30 burpees in a workout would sent me running in the other direction, now I don't even think about it.
Nutrition:
ok, I know I publicly pledged my commitment to the Paleo challenge, but I had a little slip up today. I started yesterday (Monday) and was doing well with it. Today I could not resist the candy bowl that is at my desk. For years I have kept a candy bowl and everyone stops by, has a bite, etc.. Most days I don't even think about it nor am I tempted by it, today however, there happened to be some Reese Peanut Butter cups in there....that damn salty-sweet concoction got me! Other than that, I've been good. I made fish twice and some meatloaf; roasted brussel sprouts with onions & turkey bacon (quite tasty) and my new favorite salad - WholeFoods "detox salad". I've only seen this at the Lakeview store, but it is so yummy. It's got broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sunflower seeds & currants with lemons juice & a little agave. I added pepper & garlic powder. I made a big batch and it keeps well, is very tasty & refreshing!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Ready, Set...Paleo!
The CrossFit Chicago Paleo Challenge has officially begun! This is a 45-day nutrition challenge/contest at the gym based on the Paleo Diet (http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs). There are 2 divisions and you get placed on a team of 3 for extra motivation. I'm doing the weight-loss division (there is also a Performance Division for athletes who want to increase their fitness & workouts). Tomorrow I do my weigh-in & body-fat percentage measurement/analysis....not really looking forward to seeing what the % is....
I'm committing to eating Paleo as much as possible and limiting my alcohol to just a few occasions during the contest. I found some interesting recipes to try and am excited to see how much I can change my body in 45 days. I know I need to increase my workouts, so I will be doing 4 days CF and 1-2 workouts for the Endurance. I have signed up for 3...yes 3 races (5k) between now & Thanksgiving. The first one is this Sunday.
After a week on vacation, lots of wine & Mexican food, my body is ready to get back on track. I went to the grocery store & loaded up on fresh veggies, fish & lean protein. So, here we go!
I'm committing to eating Paleo as much as possible and limiting my alcohol to just a few occasions during the contest. I found some interesting recipes to try and am excited to see how much I can change my body in 45 days. I know I need to increase my workouts, so I will be doing 4 days CF and 1-2 workouts for the Endurance. I have signed up for 3...yes 3 races (5k) between now & Thanksgiving. The first one is this Sunday.
After a week on vacation, lots of wine & Mexican food, my body is ready to get back on track. I went to the grocery store & loaded up on fresh veggies, fish & lean protein. So, here we go!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Rewards & Consequences
I've been in Colorado since Saturday and am so happy being out here. I'm with great friends, the weather has been fantastic, we have sunshine everyday and the view from our balcony is the mountains. Can't really ask for much more.
We've gone hiking a few times and I checked out a local CrossFit gym. This area is filled with active people, it's really inspiring. Pikes Peak is right by where we are staying, there is an extremely intimidating hike called "The Incline" - it's 1 mile (vertical/uphill) hike with 5,000 railroad tiles. You can see the trail aka "the scar". The owner of the CF gym we went to said he has clients come in specifically to train for The Incline...maybe next trip out we'll try it!
Monday night I was talking about the goals I had written down and JMac asked me what I was going to have as my reward for achieving them & consequence for if I didn't. I hadn't thought about it before, so I tried to avoid the answer by saying "I'm just going to be happy with crossing them off my list". She knows me well enough to call my BS and firmly replied by saying "try again....you need a consequence and a reward" I said didn't have one. She gave a great argument for doing it and having something visual to look at to remind you along the way to stay on track. I told her I have my goals taped to my bathroom mirror, I look at them 3-4 times a day - I was fine with that. She had a better idea. She asked me what my biggest fear about myself was and I admitted it was having anyone see me in a sports bra & spandex. After much back and forth, me bursting into tears, it morphed into my consequence. Somehow I agreed to it and accepted the consequence. Even writing this down, I have a nervous stomach about it...However, I acknowledge having a consequence has validity and that I will do everything possible to make sure I hit my goal. I will lose 50lbs by May 30, 2011
So here it is...officially declared that if I have not reached my weight loss goal by Memorial Day 2011, then I will do a walk of shame in my sports bra & spandex shorts on Michigan Ave....I'd rather take a hot iron in my eye.
Nutrition:
I'm on vacation, so I haven't been strict on my diet, but I have to say, it really hasn't been that bad. We're staying at a condo, so we have a kitchen and have cooked in a few nights. However, Saturday night (first night here), we went for Mexican food. Admittedly, I fell face first into the margaritas & queso dip. They were tasty and we were having fun. I semi-justified it with the fact that I was drinking "Skinny Margaritas" - my, my, I think I have found a new drink! It's Silver tequila, lime juice & agave, over ice. Delicious! I also have my eye on the calendar...the Paleo Challenge starts Saturday, so slacker time is over soon.
We've gone hiking a few times and I checked out a local CrossFit gym. This area is filled with active people, it's really inspiring. Pikes Peak is right by where we are staying, there is an extremely intimidating hike called "The Incline" - it's 1 mile (vertical/uphill) hike with 5,000 railroad tiles. You can see the trail aka "the scar". The owner of the CF gym we went to said he has clients come in specifically to train for The Incline...maybe next trip out we'll try it!
So here it is...officially declared that if I have not reached my weight loss goal by Memorial Day 2011, then I will do a walk of shame in my sports bra & spandex shorts on Michigan Ave....I'd rather take a hot iron in my eye.
Nutrition:
I'm on vacation, so I haven't been strict on my diet, but I have to say, it really hasn't been that bad. We're staying at a condo, so we have a kitchen and have cooked in a few nights. However, Saturday night (first night here), we went for Mexican food. Admittedly, I fell face first into the margaritas & queso dip. They were tasty and we were having fun. I semi-justified it with the fact that I was drinking "Skinny Margaritas" - my, my, I think I have found a new drink! It's Silver tequila, lime juice & agave, over ice. Delicious! I also have my eye on the calendar...the Paleo Challenge starts Saturday, so slacker time is over soon.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Vacation now....Paleo Challenge later
I did not get my 5k run in today, I started to beat myself up about it for a few minutes and then realized, I can get it done when I get back, it's not the end of the world. I have it as a "to do" the week I'm back. I am curious to see what the result will be, I definitely feel like I will drop my time a bit, I'm not expecting a 10min mile yet, but I should see an improvement from my 39:38 time. I've also signed up for 3 - yes 3 - upcoming 5k races. The first one is Oct. 17th, Harvest run in Lake Forest, then the Hot Chocolate run on Nov 6 and the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. I think having all of these coming up just about 2 weeks apart will keep me on task of running, intervals and drills.
I am SO excited. I found out this morning that CFC is doing a Team Paleo Challenge from Oct 9 - Nov 23. It's a 45-day nutrition/weight-loss challenge. (focus on the Paleo diet) You are placed in teams of 3 and evaluated on percentage of weight lost. Perfect way to get ready for the holiday season and extra motivation to be doing it in a group, knowing your total score counts
This mornings post had a great quote and a perfect reminder of accountability:
"Just remember, you are choosing everything you put into your body.
Have a reason for everything you do, and you WILL be successful."
I am SO excited. I found out this morning that CFC is doing a Team Paleo Challenge from Oct 9 - Nov 23. It's a 45-day nutrition/weight-loss challenge. (focus on the Paleo diet) You are placed in teams of 3 and evaluated on percentage of weight lost. Perfect way to get ready for the holiday season and extra motivation to be doing it in a group, knowing your total score counts
This mornings post had a great quote and a perfect reminder of accountability:
"Just remember, you are choosing everything you put into your body.
Have a reason for everything you do, and you WILL be successful."
Friday, October 1, 2010
Air Squats & Kettlebells
I have to admit, I'm not in the mood to blog right now. However, my Catholic guilt has crept up and I'm doing it, but it's going to be like mass on a hot summer day - short & sweet. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it CF today, I didn't feel good this morning but made sure I threw my gym bag in the car so I would have it with me. I told myself I had to leave work by 4:30 so I could make to the 5pm class, usually when I do that I end up getting out later, but I got everything done and made it on time. Was very glad I went, it felt great to finish.
Workout:
5 rounds w/ 8min cap
10 kettbell swings (25#)
20 air squats (used wall ball to make sure I got proper depth in squat)
time: 5:07 - wanted sub 5:00
post-workout: 1K row = 4:25. Legs were cashed after this and are still sore.
Workout:
5 rounds w/ 8min cap
10 kettbell swings (25#)
20 air squats (used wall ball to make sure I got proper depth in squat)
time: 5:07 - wanted sub 5:00
post-workout: 1K row = 4:25. Legs were cashed after this and are still sore.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Resting Up
I know when I decided to do this blog that part of my intention of letting people know about it was to keep my honest and on track. This week has proved that it was the correct thing to do. I thought I had done a fairly good job of keeping up, I posted on Sunday and 2 on Tuesday. I got a reminder call Tuesday from Bryan (literally as I as typing) giving me a not so subtle "hey - doesn't look like you've written anything lately", followed by a "what, you told us to keep you honest" (apparently I'm not always as receptive to feedback as I should be -haha!) As well as an email from Liz today reminding me that I needed to write. I was really touched that people noticed and kept me honest. So to my dear friends - thank you very much!
I was supposed to do the 5k run again tonight for the last CFE on-ramp class. I've been fighting a cold all week & today it got me, so I had to cancel. I am leaving Saturday afternoon for a week to go on vacation in Colorado. I really want to get it done before I go, so I'm trying to figure out how to get everything I need done in the next day and a half (packing/laundry/errands, etc...) I have a new rep starting on my team tomorrow, so I can't take the day off. I am excited about going to Colorado. I know we'll get a lot of hiking in as well as I'm planning on checking out a couple of the local boxes out there. I did a Google search and found 5 that seemed to be in the area, so it should be interesting to try out another spot.
Nutrition: my food this week has been really good. I have gotten into the very bad habit of weighing myself almost everyday. I need to stop, because if I don't see a drop (even a slight one) I get annoyed. I've been faithful to the food log and keeping it updated, which helps tremendously.
Ok - I'm exhausted and am heading to bed, pathetically early, but oh well! More later
I was supposed to do the 5k run again tonight for the last CFE on-ramp class. I've been fighting a cold all week & today it got me, so I had to cancel. I am leaving Saturday afternoon for a week to go on vacation in Colorado. I really want to get it done before I go, so I'm trying to figure out how to get everything I need done in the next day and a half (packing/laundry/errands, etc...) I have a new rep starting on my team tomorrow, so I can't take the day off. I am excited about going to Colorado. I know we'll get a lot of hiking in as well as I'm planning on checking out a couple of the local boxes out there. I did a Google search and found 5 that seemed to be in the area, so it should be interesting to try out another spot.
Nutrition: my food this week has been really good. I have gotten into the very bad habit of weighing myself almost everyday. I need to stop, because if I don't see a drop (even a slight one) I get annoyed. I've been faithful to the food log and keeping it updated, which helps tremendously.
Ok - I'm exhausted and am heading to bed, pathetically early, but oh well! More later
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Progression comes and goes
I started off this week feeling really good and energized. Monday's WOD had the ever-loving burpees in them, but I didn't even care, I was just really excited that there wasn't a run involved. Normally when I do burpees, I get 2 or 3 done, then my form just goes out the door, I'm sucking wind trying to breathe and I literally am crawling (not jumping) off the ground. This workout I was able to string more together in a row and had a little (it's all relative) more 'pep in my step'. I was totally wiped out afterward, but also felt really good.
This morning (Tuesday), I had to have a little talking to with myself to get to the box. I don't know what exactly my problem was, I slept ok, not great, but I got about 6 hours of sleep, but I didn't have alot of energy this morning and I was really hungry when I woke up. I knew I didn't have time to eat before going, I had almost convinced myself that I would just go after work and then right to CFE, or I would just go Wednesday am. Then I remembered what my schedule was for this week and realized, I wasn't going to be able to make either of those substitute times, so I had a few sips of cold coffee and walked out the door. I must have sensed there would be a running workout, because when I got there, that was what was on the board. Thankfully there was a 2 minute rest between each round, but this was tougher than I was expecting. I felt sluggish and all over the place on the runs, the pull-ups weren't so bad, but 20 each round was hard. I had to do sets of 10 or 5, I didn't get all 20 in a row.
Monday morning:
for time, reps 21-15-9 of:
Power Clean (@55#)
Burpees
my time = 7:46
Post – 5 min AMRAP of: push-ups. This was really tough! I had to do knee pushups and couldn't believe how fatigued my arms got. I did 20 in a row, then it went downhill from there. At the end I couldn't do more than 2 in a row. Total = 63
Tuesday morning:
MetCon: 19:36
4 Rounds for time of:
20 Pull-ups – green band
400m Run
Rest precisely 2 minutes between rounds
runs were really hard this morning, felt slow/sluggish.
Tuesday night CFCE:
we did mostly drills today, but also the infamous "Death by 10 Meters". It's basically running suicides in a minute. You build up, every minute you add 1 more rep. So 1 min = 1; 2 min = 2, 3min = 3, +++ I finished round 12 and DNF round 13. The guy who got the most tonight completed 18 and just missed 19. as the rounds increase you are essentially sprinting the whole way, not much rest as the clock starts on every minute. This is our last week of the onramp class. We have our 5k run on Thursday so we can see our progression over this month....I'm trying not think about it :-)
This morning (Tuesday), I had to have a little talking to with myself to get to the box. I don't know what exactly my problem was, I slept ok, not great, but I got about 6 hours of sleep, but I didn't have alot of energy this morning and I was really hungry when I woke up. I knew I didn't have time to eat before going, I had almost convinced myself that I would just go after work and then right to CFE, or I would just go Wednesday am. Then I remembered what my schedule was for this week and realized, I wasn't going to be able to make either of those substitute times, so I had a few sips of cold coffee and walked out the door. I must have sensed there would be a running workout, because when I got there, that was what was on the board. Thankfully there was a 2 minute rest between each round, but this was tougher than I was expecting. I felt sluggish and all over the place on the runs, the pull-ups weren't so bad, but 20 each round was hard. I had to do sets of 10 or 5, I didn't get all 20 in a row.
Monday morning:
for time, reps 21-15-9 of:
Power Clean (@55#)
Burpees
my time = 7:46
Post – 5 min AMRAP of: push-ups. This was really tough! I had to do knee pushups and couldn't believe how fatigued my arms got. I did 20 in a row, then it went downhill from there. At the end I couldn't do more than 2 in a row. Total = 63
Tuesday morning:
MetCon: 19:36
4 Rounds for time of:
20 Pull-ups – green band
400m Run
Rest precisely 2 minutes between rounds
runs were really hard this morning, felt slow/sluggish.
Tuesday night CFCE:
we did mostly drills today, but also the infamous "Death by 10 Meters". It's basically running suicides in a minute. You build up, every minute you add 1 more rep. So 1 min = 1; 2 min = 2, 3min = 3, +++ I finished round 12 and DNF round 13. The guy who got the most tonight completed 18 and just missed 19. as the rounds increase you are essentially sprinting the whole way, not much rest as the clock starts on every minute. This is our last week of the onramp class. We have our 5k run on Thursday so we can see our progression over this month....I'm trying not think about it :-)
Glossary of Terms
This is going to be a quick post that I will probably edit as I go along. Since I don't really know who all reads my blog, I forget that not everyone is jiving my lingo.
CF = CrossFit. CrossFit is a constantly varied, high intensity training program, a lot of military, police & fire fighters have adapted this training/conditioning method
CFC = CrossFit Chicago, the best gym in the world - http://www.crossfitchicago.com/
CFCE = CrossFit Chicago Endurance - running program at above mentioned gym
Box = aka CFC or any CrossFit gym, the actual building, it reminds me of an Airplane! quote
You'd better tell the Captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.
A hospital? What is it?
It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now
I digress...back to CFC, etc..
Burpees = the equivalent of an "up & down" from gym class (Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you, Kick your feet back to a pushup position, Immediately return your feet to the squat position. Leap up as high as possible from the squat position) Clearly I copied & pasted the definition from the Internet, my favorite part was "Most athletes will average between 12 and 15 repetitions per 30 seconds" - I strive for the day I can do that many that fast!
Pull Ups = chin ups on a bar
Green Band = the thick elastic band I string over the bar and put my foot in to help lift me up
WOD = workout of the day, - whatever workout the coaches have selected. There are certain specific
MetCon = metabolic conditioning, also called WOD
CrossFit workouts that are named (Cindy, Fran, etc..)
AMRAP = as many reps as possible in a prescribed amount of time
10 Min Cap = workout is intended to be completed within the cap time, otherwise it's technically a DNF (did not finish)
CF = CrossFit. CrossFit is a constantly varied, high intensity training program, a lot of military, police & fire fighters have adapted this training/conditioning method
CFC = CrossFit Chicago, the best gym in the world - http://www.crossfitchicago.com/
CFCE = CrossFit Chicago Endurance - running program at above mentioned gym
Box = aka CFC or any CrossFit gym, the actual building, it reminds me of an Airplane! quote
You'd better tell the Captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.
A hospital? What is it?
It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now
I digress...back to CFC, etc..
Burpees = the equivalent of an "up & down" from gym class (Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you, Kick your feet back to a pushup position, Immediately return your feet to the squat position. Leap up as high as possible from the squat position) Clearly I copied & pasted the definition from the Internet, my favorite part was "Most athletes will average between 12 and 15 repetitions per 30 seconds" - I strive for the day I can do that many that fast!
Pull Ups = chin ups on a bar
Green Band = the thick elastic band I string over the bar and put my foot in to help lift me up
WOD = workout of the day, - whatever workout the coaches have selected. There are certain specific
MetCon = metabolic conditioning, also called WOD
CrossFit workouts that are named (Cindy, Fran, etc..)
AMRAP = as many reps as possible in a prescribed amount of time
10 Min Cap = workout is intended to be completed within the cap time, otherwise it's technically a DNF (did not finish)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday workout - weekend eating
I didn't get around to posting on Friday, so I'm doing it now, but adding in this weekend as well. Friday's workout was tough, I was still really tired from Thursday night's 3x800 intervals and not sleeping well (about 4 hours). I was, of course, less than thrilled to walk into the box & see the WOD had 4 rounds of 400m run. I know better than to complain out-loud or ask for leniency about a workout, however, it had been raining all morning, so I summoned enough courage to ask if we run in the rain...thankfully Bryce offered up subbing a row for the run, I was elated! I was the only one who took the offer, but it made me happy.
my time: 18:46
4 rounds for time of:
400m Run (subbed 500m row)
10 Burpees
10 Pull-ups (green band)
rows were 2:20, 2:22, 2:20; 2:18
burpees – a little better than last time, less crawling
pull-ups – mostly 5/5
Nutrition:
So far I've lost 5lbs since I started my commitment & blogging. I feel like my body has made more changes than the scale says, so I'm not getting consumed with the number right now. I had a pretty decent milestone this weekend. For the last 2 years, the left-hand side of my closet has been filled with clothes that do not fit. It's depressing at times to look at how many nice things that I have that I can't wear. Since it was so cold out, I decided to pick a few things and try them on. Very happily 2 pairs of jeans & 1 pair of dress pants fit now!! It was so fun to put them on and just zip them right up. That was a huge mental victory for me. I already know I physically feel good and can tell a difference from the last 3 weeks, but to have some concrete evidence is nice too.
Going out and being social is a big part of my life. It's always a huge challenge for me to do this and maintain a sense of staying on track. I tend to treat going out to be a celebration, so therefore, I don't really think to much or care about what I order/eat. This weekend was a lot of eating out & I wanted to make sure I stayed focused and didn't go overboard. I had eaten well all week, so Friday night I gave myself as a cheat meal. Food wise it wasn't that bad, but I had 5 drinks. Saturday I met some friends in the late afternoon, we were supposed to go to the putting green at Millennium Park but it was so cold we ended up going to The Gage for 5 hours...I had a great time, but kept Bryce's article in mind and I stayed in control of the situation. I drank club soda w/a lime and tried to pick the healthier options on the menu. Before I would have probably gone in there with the "intention of being good", but given up as soon as everyone else ordered their beers, especially since I was a little hungover still from Friday night. We got a bunch of small plates to share, I chose the Mussels, Tartare of Antelope, pickles & olives. We also got french fries w/curry gravy, cheese fondue, scotch egg & a smoked fish cheese dip. Everything came with grilled garlic bread for dipping. I tried a bite of the fondue & fish dip w/a small bit of bread and had a couple of fries, but left it as just a taste. We made plans to meet up for breakfast this morning at a lovely French bakery/cafe and the corned beef & hash is delicious there. I ended up ordering a mushroom omelet with fruit & a side salad instead of the potatoes. Tonight is dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Chilam Balam (Mexican tapas/small plates). I'm really excited to go and see everyone but I have a plan in mind for what I'll order. For me, what seems to work best is when I have a plan and commit to sticking to it. Now that I've seen some progress, I'm feel like my commitment to myself is getting easier to do. Before, I would very rarely put myself first, now that I am, doing it feels really good.
This week's workout schedule: Monday, Tuesday & Friday morning at CFC, Tues & Thurs night at CF Endurance. This is the last week of the on-ramp class....I can't believe how quickly the month flew by!
my time: 18:46
4 rounds for time of:
400m Run (subbed 500m row)
10 Burpees
10 Pull-ups (green band)
rows were 2:20, 2:22, 2:20; 2:18
burpees – a little better than last time, less crawling
pull-ups – mostly 5/5
Nutrition:
So far I've lost 5lbs since I started my commitment & blogging. I feel like my body has made more changes than the scale says, so I'm not getting consumed with the number right now. I had a pretty decent milestone this weekend. For the last 2 years, the left-hand side of my closet has been filled with clothes that do not fit. It's depressing at times to look at how many nice things that I have that I can't wear. Since it was so cold out, I decided to pick a few things and try them on. Very happily 2 pairs of jeans & 1 pair of dress pants fit now!! It was so fun to put them on and just zip them right up. That was a huge mental victory for me. I already know I physically feel good and can tell a difference from the last 3 weeks, but to have some concrete evidence is nice too.
Going out and being social is a big part of my life. It's always a huge challenge for me to do this and maintain a sense of staying on track. I tend to treat going out to be a celebration, so therefore, I don't really think to much or care about what I order/eat. This weekend was a lot of eating out & I wanted to make sure I stayed focused and didn't go overboard. I had eaten well all week, so Friday night I gave myself as a cheat meal. Food wise it wasn't that bad, but I had 5 drinks. Saturday I met some friends in the late afternoon, we were supposed to go to the putting green at Millennium Park but it was so cold we ended up going to The Gage for 5 hours...I had a great time, but kept Bryce's article in mind and I stayed in control of the situation. I drank club soda w/a lime and tried to pick the healthier options on the menu. Before I would have probably gone in there with the "intention of being good", but given up as soon as everyone else ordered their beers, especially since I was a little hungover still from Friday night. We got a bunch of small plates to share, I chose the Mussels, Tartare of Antelope, pickles & olives. We also got french fries w/curry gravy, cheese fondue, scotch egg & a smoked fish cheese dip. Everything came with grilled garlic bread for dipping. I tried a bite of the fondue & fish dip w/a small bit of bread and had a couple of fries, but left it as just a taste. We made plans to meet up for breakfast this morning at a lovely French bakery/cafe and the corned beef & hash is delicious there. I ended up ordering a mushroom omelet with fruit & a side salad instead of the potatoes. Tonight is dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Chilam Balam (Mexican tapas/small plates). I'm really excited to go and see everyone but I have a plan in mind for what I'll order. For me, what seems to work best is when I have a plan and commit to sticking to it. Now that I've seen some progress, I'm feel like my commitment to myself is getting easier to do. Before, I would very rarely put myself first, now that I am, doing it feels really good.
This week's workout schedule: Monday, Tuesday & Friday morning at CFC, Tues & Thurs night at CF Endurance. This is the last week of the on-ramp class....I can't believe how quickly the month flew by!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
3x800m intervals
Today's workout was 3 x 800m intervals with a 2min rest between. For some reason, I'm always comforted by a workout that has a mandatory rest period in it (haha), I should know better by now, that the workouts with a rest period, are really hard. I wasn't sure really what to expect. Mike had done our splits off of our 5k baseline and the time he told me was 5:40/split. I was fine with that. I had gotten my head around it's only 1.5 miles, not that bad. Intervals make a big difference in developing speed, endurance - I think I'm a bigger fan of the 4x400 distance :-)
Round 1 felt really good, I only walked for 10 seconds, kept my form for a decent chunk of the route. Round 2, started out feeling good and then I got really tired, was slouching, looking down, I walked about 2 blocks total. Mike told me for Round 3 to just slow down, but keep moving. I tried, but just before the turnaround point I started walking for about 20 seconds, then I had to walk 1 block a little bit later. I really recognized tonight, how much of a mental weakness this is for me. Physically I should have been able to run all 3 rounds (slowly). But, I am so programmed to run/walking that when I get breathing really heavy and tired, I've convinced myself that I have to walk. I'm trying hard to not be so disappointed in myself over this. I have to keep practicing and not allowing myself to just stop and walk. On the walk back to the box I was trying to think the last time I ran a mile straight - not stopping. I think it was in high school. I didn't run at all in college, except for intramural basketball games, but that was always stop & go.
not 100% sure, but I think these were my splits.
Round 1 = 4:35
Round 2 = 5:20
Round 3 = 5:35
Nutrition:
I did really well today and yesterday. I kept my calorie total to about 1,300. I've started to try and eat fish 3x a week. I like fish, but don't really know how to cook it well, so I've been experimenting, so far nothing has been that bad/too overcooked. Tuesday I had a minor slip up involving some cheese flavored Combos, but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't disastrous. Interestingly enough though, as much as I enjoyed the salty goodness when it were going down, I felt like garbage about 1 hour later. I was surprised at how much I could really feel a difference.
Round 1 felt really good, I only walked for 10 seconds, kept my form for a decent chunk of the route. Round 2, started out feeling good and then I got really tired, was slouching, looking down, I walked about 2 blocks total. Mike told me for Round 3 to just slow down, but keep moving. I tried, but just before the turnaround point I started walking for about 20 seconds, then I had to walk 1 block a little bit later. I really recognized tonight, how much of a mental weakness this is for me. Physically I should have been able to run all 3 rounds (slowly). But, I am so programmed to run/walking that when I get breathing really heavy and tired, I've convinced myself that I have to walk. I'm trying hard to not be so disappointed in myself over this. I have to keep practicing and not allowing myself to just stop and walk. On the walk back to the box I was trying to think the last time I ran a mile straight - not stopping. I think it was in high school. I didn't run at all in college, except for intramural basketball games, but that was always stop & go.
not 100% sure, but I think these were my splits.
Round 1 = 4:35
Round 2 = 5:20
Round 3 = 5:35
Nutrition:
I did really well today and yesterday. I kept my calorie total to about 1,300. I've started to try and eat fish 3x a week. I like fish, but don't really know how to cook it well, so I've been experimenting, so far nothing has been that bad/too overcooked. Tuesday I had a minor slip up involving some cheese flavored Combos, but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't disastrous. Interestingly enough though, as much as I enjoyed the salty goodness when it were going down, I felt like garbage about 1 hour later. I was surprised at how much I could really feel a difference.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Fight Gone Heavy
Fight Gone Heavy - was heavy! I knew this was going to be a tough one, but the first round of 30 reps was brutal. The wall balls were actually ok, but picking up the bar for the SDHP felt like a load of bricks. I had to break the reps into 5s or 4s even a few 3s and by round 2 & 3 my form was way off, I was just trying to knock the reps out and be done. The row actually felt ok, it was definitely challenging, but I've come to like the row machine. A big leap from the beginning when I used to think I was going to throw up rowing a 250m. There was a guys who's first day at CrossFit was yesterday morning, what a workout to start out on!! I kind of felt bad for him, but he did awesome. He's athletic and looked healthy, but I think, like everyone when they start out, you have no idea what you are up for until your into it. I remember how much I struggled in the beginning, and still do now, but it's different. I realized how far I have come. I laugh at how nervous and scared I was and how just the warm up used to have me wiped out and breathing heavy. My brother Brett was the one who got me into CF and I thought he was exaggerating when he would tell me he could barely make it through warm ups in the beginning.
CFE class last night was good. We did a lot of drills and practiced pacing with a metronome. It was interesting to try and keep your feet going to the pace of the metronome. Rhythm is not one of my strong suits, so I was the big white dork counting out loud to myself in the beginning! Thankfully we were not videotaping this. It made a huge difference using it though, I can feel the difference now of running with good form vs. poor. It doesn't feel "natural" yet, but it is so much more comfortable than what I was doing before. I can focus on the POSE form when we are drilling & doing short distances (200m). Erin challenged us all to make sure we try to incorporate this during out workouts w/runs or when we are out practicing. Definitely need to make an effort on that. I wasn't able to do much form work on Monday's WOD, so I will try to focus on that for Friday's....apparently there are a few 400m runs - oh yippee!
my time: 24:36 (goal was to finish under 25 minutes)
Fight Gone Heavy
30-20-10 reps of:
Wall Ball (12# to 11′ target)
Sumo Deadlift High Pull @65#
Box Jumps (20″) - did step ups
Push Press @65#
Row for calories (10 damper setting)
Nutrition:
After my weekend away, I'm back on track with eating clean. Tuesday was weigh-in day. I think my hopes were up a little too high about what I would lose last week. I knew my exercise had been good & thought that would be enough to compensate for my social activities last week....unfortunately, it was not. I guess I should be happy that I stayed even. I had first weighed in on 9/9, I'm still down 2.2lbs, but I'm not going to reach my 25lbs goal by 12/31 at this pace. I really think I have to cut out alcohol for awhile and see what changes that affects. I had forgotten that I drank 3 nights last week
CFE class last night was good. We did a lot of drills and practiced pacing with a metronome. It was interesting to try and keep your feet going to the pace of the metronome. Rhythm is not one of my strong suits, so I was the big white dork counting out loud to myself in the beginning! Thankfully we were not videotaping this. It made a huge difference using it though, I can feel the difference now of running with good form vs. poor. It doesn't feel "natural" yet, but it is so much more comfortable than what I was doing before. I can focus on the POSE form when we are drilling & doing short distances (200m). Erin challenged us all to make sure we try to incorporate this during out workouts w/runs or when we are out practicing. Definitely need to make an effort on that. I wasn't able to do much form work on Monday's WOD, so I will try to focus on that for Friday's....apparently there are a few 400m runs - oh yippee!
my time: 24:36 (goal was to finish under 25 minutes)
Fight Gone Heavy
30-20-10 reps of:
Wall Ball (12# to 11′ target)
Sumo Deadlift High Pull @65#
Box Jumps (20″) - did step ups
Push Press @65#
Row for calories (10 damper setting)
Nutrition:
After my weekend away, I'm back on track with eating clean. Tuesday was weigh-in day. I think my hopes were up a little too high about what I would lose last week. I knew my exercise had been good & thought that would be enough to compensate for my social activities last week....unfortunately, it was not. I guess I should be happy that I stayed even. I had first weighed in on 9/9, I'm still down 2.2lbs, but I'm not going to reach my 25lbs goal by 12/31 at this pace. I really think I have to cut out alcohol for awhile and see what changes that affects. I had forgotten that I drank 3 nights last week
Monday, September 20, 2010
a case of the Mondays!
I set my workout schedule on Sunday. This week it's Mon, Tue & Friday for CrossFit & Tue/Thurs for Endurance class.
I didn't feel stellar Saturday morning or most of Sunday and I really felt the weekend this morning during the workout. I felt like a total slug. We did Snatch skill/moves and the 45# bar felt like it weighed at least 2x that much. I didn't even put extra weight on it. I'm sure I deserved it, but the darn WOD had 3 runs in it again! C'mon, that was the last thing I wanted to do this morning!! I think I was too tired to stress about it. Unfortunately my double-under skills are not really there, so Zack had me spend 4 minutes each round to get/try and get a good attempt at them. It really helped, I wasn't thinking about the clock ticking, I knew I had 4 minutes to try them and then I was onto the run. The second round was much better than the first. I actually got 11 DUs and most of them were 2 - 3 in a row. I think relaxing is the key for me on this, the less I thought about it and just thought about swinging the rope, the better I got.
For time: (20 min cap) - my time: 18:47
400M Run
25 KB Swings
50 Double-Unders
400M Run
25 KB Swings
50 Double-Unders
400M Run
Saturday, September 18, 2010
5 x 400m = Friday Fun?
I didn't get a chance to post yesterday (Friday), so I'm doing a quick one now. I wanted to post every workout to keep consistent with writing.
I think I jinxed myself on this workout. On Thursday night after the CFE workout, I told Christina that I'd see her tomorrow at the 6am class, then added "I really hope we don't have any runs in the WOD". I checked the website before I went to bed Thursday night and the workout hadn't been posted yet, I told myself I couldn't check again, just show up to the box and deal with it. Sure enough, I walk in, look at the board, saw the workout & I was pissed! I seriously got mad that there was a 5 x 400m run this morning. It's so irrational to get fired up like that, but I couldn't help it, I was mad at the workout for being there! UGHHHH! I was too embarrassed to tell anyone else how mad I was, but I did let it slip to Rudy, as expected, he laughed at me. I know I can't get any better running until I run consistently...but I think I secretly hope that there will be a divine intervention one day and I will just wake up a better runner, hahaha. Until then, I will shut up and run.
Bench Press 5-3-3 @ 75#, 85#, 95#. the last one at 95# was tough, but I got it up
5 Rounds for time of:400m Run
20 Push-ups (did from my knees)
10 Toes-to-bar (couldn't get toes to bar - did more of a high knee pull up)
Time: 21:36 - I was fine with this, I really thought it would take me 25min. I was so happy when this was over, but to be honest with myself, it was not anywhere as horrible as I thought it was going to be. I did get lapped by a couple of the speed demons, I'm thoroughly impressed with fitness level of a few people in our class this morning. I had to walk a bit in rounds 4 & 5, I really need to work on my breathing, I think I'm sapping some of my energy by breathing so heavy/not controlling my breathing.
Nutrition:
I'm going to give myself a C- for Friday. I did really well until dinner time. I had an early breakfast meeting I went to and the meal was preset (sweet rolls/bread, scrambled eggs w/sausage patties & potatoes). I only at the eggs and 1 sausage patty. I had a protein shake for a snack and then a chicken breast & 1 cup of grapes for lunch. I went home for the weekend with some friends to go the to MSU football game. My mom had dinner ready when we got in. I didn't eat much and used an appetizer plate on purpose so I wouldn't overfill my plate. I had a few bites of cheese & crackers, maybe 3 oz pork, a few bites of mom's famous mashed potatoes, some vegetables, 1 very small choc chip cookie. But, I ended up having 2 glasses of wine & 3 beers....we were all sitting around the kitchen table laughing, having hilarious conversations and I just gave in.... I'm really going to watch my food today, I know we're going to some tailgates later on, let's see what happens.
I think I jinxed myself on this workout. On Thursday night after the CFE workout, I told Christina that I'd see her tomorrow at the 6am class, then added "I really hope we don't have any runs in the WOD". I checked the website before I went to bed Thursday night and the workout hadn't been posted yet, I told myself I couldn't check again, just show up to the box and deal with it. Sure enough, I walk in, look at the board, saw the workout & I was pissed! I seriously got mad that there was a 5 x 400m run this morning. It's so irrational to get fired up like that, but I couldn't help it, I was mad at the workout for being there! UGHHHH! I was too embarrassed to tell anyone else how mad I was, but I did let it slip to Rudy, as expected, he laughed at me. I know I can't get any better running until I run consistently...but I think I secretly hope that there will be a divine intervention one day and I will just wake up a better runner, hahaha. Until then, I will shut up and run.
Bench Press 5-3-3 @ 75#, 85#, 95#. the last one at 95# was tough, but I got it up
5 Rounds for time of:400m Run
20 Push-ups (did from my knees)
10 Toes-to-bar (couldn't get toes to bar - did more of a high knee pull up)
Time: 21:36 - I was fine with this, I really thought it would take me 25min. I was so happy when this was over, but to be honest with myself, it was not anywhere as horrible as I thought it was going to be. I did get lapped by a couple of the speed demons, I'm thoroughly impressed with fitness level of a few people in our class this morning. I had to walk a bit in rounds 4 & 5, I really need to work on my breathing, I think I'm sapping some of my energy by breathing so heavy/not controlling my breathing.
Nutrition:
I'm going to give myself a C- for Friday. I did really well until dinner time. I had an early breakfast meeting I went to and the meal was preset (sweet rolls/bread, scrambled eggs w/sausage patties & potatoes). I only at the eggs and 1 sausage patty. I had a protein shake for a snack and then a chicken breast & 1 cup of grapes for lunch. I went home for the weekend with some friends to go the to MSU football game. My mom had dinner ready when we got in. I didn't eat much and used an appetizer plate on purpose so I wouldn't overfill my plate. I had a few bites of cheese & crackers, maybe 3 oz pork, a few bites of mom's famous mashed potatoes, some vegetables, 1 very small choc chip cookie. But, I ended up having 2 glasses of wine & 3 beers....we were all sitting around the kitchen table laughing, having hilarious conversations and I just gave in.... I'm really going to watch my food today, I know we're going to some tailgates later on, let's see what happens.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
4x400 baseline
So it dawned on me yesterday that I needed to stop counting my days "on plan" - I'm making a lifestyle change & commitment, which means, counting is pointless. The intention is to change for good (literally), so I will make up new titles for my posts.
CFE class
4x400meter baseline with 2min rest between reps.
I didn't know this was our workout tonight, so I didn't have a chance to stress about it today - which was a good thing. My hamstrings were so tight yesterday & today from the WOD & POSE drills, so we got a good warm up in. I did get a little nervous when Mike told us what we were doing, but once again, there was nothing I could do about it, so I just shut up & didn't think about it. He had taken our 5k times and put them through a run/pace calculator to give us what our splits should be. Mine was 2:40 (I was actually ok with that). I went last because I knew I was the slowest and didn't want to get frustrated by getting passed. The runs actually felt ok, I noticed a huge difference from Tuesday and even thought I know I wasn't doing full-on POSE I tried to think of 1 thing for each round that I could work out. I really noticed how much I look down when I'm running and that I shuffle my feet instead of picking them up. The awesome part about all of this, was the group. Only 4 runners today (1 guy, 3 girls), the guy was 1 whole minute faster than me and the girls weren't far behind that. But every time I came in for the finish, they were all cheering me on & pushing me to go faster. It was the best feeling. I made it running most of the way. I had to walk for about 10 seconds on the 3rd & 4th lap by the turnaround.
1. 2:32
2. 2:30
3. 2:28
4. 2:25
Nutrition:
I finally went to the "new" WholeFoods store on North Ave. I've heard great things about it but hadn't gotten there yet. I stopped by to pick up dinner on my way home from CFE. This place is incredible, it's huge and they have literally everything. there was even a wine bar in it. I really didn't feel like cooking but wanted to get something healthy. I got some sauteed fish (tilapia & pollock) and a bunch of veggies. Breakfast and lunch were pretty light, I'm starting to count calories now in my food log along with my Protein, Carbs & Fat. I wasn't really aware of how many calories/day I was eating. I'm trying to keep it within 1,300 - 1,500/day.
I'm going home for the MSU/ND football game weekend with some friend this weekend. It will be a little bit more of challenge this weekend to stay on track. I'm giving myself Saturday afternoon/evening as my cheat time. I know we'll be at a few tailgates, etc.. I need to keep the booze to a minimum so I don't blow all the work I did this week. Normally the battle cry is to "Sparty On!" -
CFE class
4x400meter baseline with 2min rest between reps.
I didn't know this was our workout tonight, so I didn't have a chance to stress about it today - which was a good thing. My hamstrings were so tight yesterday & today from the WOD & POSE drills, so we got a good warm up in. I did get a little nervous when Mike told us what we were doing, but once again, there was nothing I could do about it, so I just shut up & didn't think about it. He had taken our 5k times and put them through a run/pace calculator to give us what our splits should be. Mine was 2:40 (I was actually ok with that). I went last because I knew I was the slowest and didn't want to get frustrated by getting passed. The runs actually felt ok, I noticed a huge difference from Tuesday and even thought I know I wasn't doing full-on POSE I tried to think of 1 thing for each round that I could work out. I really noticed how much I look down when I'm running and that I shuffle my feet instead of picking them up. The awesome part about all of this, was the group. Only 4 runners today (1 guy, 3 girls), the guy was 1 whole minute faster than me and the girls weren't far behind that. But every time I came in for the finish, they were all cheering me on & pushing me to go faster. It was the best feeling. I made it running most of the way. I had to walk for about 10 seconds on the 3rd & 4th lap by the turnaround.
1. 2:32
2. 2:30
3. 2:28
4. 2:25
Nutrition:
I finally went to the "new" WholeFoods store on North Ave. I've heard great things about it but hadn't gotten there yet. I stopped by to pick up dinner on my way home from CFE. This place is incredible, it's huge and they have literally everything. there was even a wine bar in it. I really didn't feel like cooking but wanted to get something healthy. I got some sauteed fish (tilapia & pollock) and a bunch of veggies. Breakfast and lunch were pretty light, I'm starting to count calories now in my food log along with my Protein, Carbs & Fat. I wasn't really aware of how many calories/day I was eating. I'm trying to keep it within 1,300 - 1,500/day.
I'm going home for the MSU/ND football game weekend with some friend this weekend. It will be a little bit more of challenge this weekend to stay on track. I'm giving myself Saturday afternoon/evening as my cheat time. I know we'll be at a few tailgates, etc.. I need to keep the booze to a minimum so I don't blow all the work I did this week. Normally the battle cry is to "Sparty On!" -
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Fight Gone Bad
Today's workout was Fight Gone Bad. This was the first workout I did in mid-March when I went back to CFC. I wish I had written down my weights b/c I know I went really light on both the bar & Wall Ball but, I still went up by 10 points.
Total = 249
55# bar
WB = 26, 25, 23 = 74
SDHP= 15, 15, 12 = 42
BJ= 20, 18, 19 = 57
PP= 19, 13, 10 = 42
Row= 9, 12, 13 = 34
My hamstrings are really tight from last nights running drills & this morning's workout. But overall I feel great, my energy is really good.
Nutrition:
I went to a wine tasting tonight at a great little winebar VoLo, one of my favorite spots. I've had this on the calendar for awhile, so I knew that I would drink but did my best to keep it in moderation. I did well "saving up" for tonight. I had a chicken breast for breakfast, a cup of grapes for a snack and a small cup of turkey chili for lunch. Tonight, I probably had 2 glasses of wine in total, which I'm going to say is ok, normally I would go all out & get wasted. I had a few appetizers (2 bacon-wrapped dates, 1 hamburger bite (no bun) and 1 small veggie roll. I made sure to drink a bunch of water in between the tastings and I had a lot of fun.
Total = 249
55# bar
WB = 26, 25, 23 = 74
SDHP= 15, 15, 12 = 42
BJ= 20, 18, 19 = 57
PP= 19, 13, 10 = 42
Row= 9, 12, 13 = 34
My hamstrings are really tight from last nights running drills & this morning's workout. But overall I feel great, my energy is really good.
Nutrition:
I went to a wine tasting tonight at a great little winebar VoLo, one of my favorite spots. I've had this on the calendar for awhile, so I knew that I would drink but did my best to keep it in moderation. I did well "saving up" for tonight. I had a chicken breast for breakfast, a cup of grapes for a snack and a small cup of turkey chili for lunch. Tonight, I probably had 2 glasses of wine in total, which I'm going to say is ok, normally I would go all out & get wasted. I had a few appetizers (2 bacon-wrapped dates, 1 hamburger bite (no bun) and 1 small veggie roll. I made sure to drink a bunch of water in between the tastings and I had a lot of fun.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Week 2 - starts well
Welcome to Week 2! I have to say that I really enjoyed the first week, blogging has been more fun than I thought it would & I like reading what other coaches & CFCers have out there.
This week I decided that I would plan out my workout schedule at the beginning of the week and commit to it. Previously, I would kind of have an idea of what days I could make class, but never really firmed it up and it seems like it was more frequent for me to make 2 classes instead of the 3 I need to be at. I have a busy week, but I picked the days I was going to train on Sunday and sent a text to Christina to let her know I would be there & keep me honest. On Sunday, I re-read Bryce's article on Motivation to Train - the message still hits me hard and sticks with me " Just remember, you are the only person who is in control of your life! If your goal is to improve your performance and your life, you have to take control of the situation." This is what I feel like I have finally done - taken control of the situation.
I'm excited about working out this week, normally I get nervous or scared about going, I told myself this week I was going to show up with a smile, do whatever was on the board & not overthink it. This morning, I showed up and ugghh.....it was another burpee workout. I hate burpees, almost as much as I hate running. I dream of the day that I can say "I love burpees & I'm great at doing them"....one day it will happen! Instead of stressing on it, I just accepted that there wasn't anything I could do to change it, so I didn't think about. I signed up for the 1st round so I could get it over with. It was hard and I got winded almost instantly, it was 21-15-9 front squats & then burpees. the first set was 21 and by #4 I was feeling like an elephant. There was a 10min cap, I wanted to finish in under 8 and I did it in 7:57.
Tonight we had the CFE class - which was once again awesome. I really like going to this, which for me to show up excited for a 7pm class - is a big deal. Mike & Erin are both very good coaches but also make you feel so comfortable with being there/ where you're at now, because they tell you - and I believe them - that you will get better. We watched the video analysis of our running tonight - this one almost broke my heart. It was really tough to watch myself because, A. I had no idea I looked that bad running, B. I sincerely resembled an elephant. I wanted to look away, but I knew I had to see it in order to get better. I was instantly sad & for about 5 minutes had a little pity party for myself, focusing on how shitty I was, worse than everyone else, etc.. We were heading upstairs to work on skills/drills and I had to tell myself to F'off & move on, go get better because nothing was going to change unless I learned how to do it right and worked on it. I was first up the stairs and first in-line to do the drills. We worked for about 20 minutes on POSE running and by the end of it I could already tell a huge difference in my form. It was incredible. It doesn't feel great or natural for me right now, but it will take practice and I know if I work on it, I can do it.
Nutrition:
My food has been good the last 2 days. On Monday I started up again on my food log and that always helps keep me on track a little better. I have eaten out 2 meals already this week & was able to make good choices both times. Yesterday everyone at lunch ordered hamburgers or sandwiches with fries, I got a grilled salmon w/spinach. Today we went for Mexican for lunch, I split a ceviche appetizer & split chicken/shrimp fajitas (just ate the meat & veggies). I cooked fish both nights for dinner. I have noticed that I feel better in the morning working out when I eat fish for dinner.
Still haven't been sleeping well....need to find a way to shut my brain off when I go to bed. I take a Melatonin pill every once in awhile, but I don't want to do that every night + sometimes it makes it hard to get up in the morning.
This week I decided that I would plan out my workout schedule at the beginning of the week and commit to it. Previously, I would kind of have an idea of what days I could make class, but never really firmed it up and it seems like it was more frequent for me to make 2 classes instead of the 3 I need to be at. I have a busy week, but I picked the days I was going to train on Sunday and sent a text to Christina to let her know I would be there & keep me honest. On Sunday, I re-read Bryce's article on Motivation to Train - the message still hits me hard and sticks with me " Just remember, you are the only person who is in control of your life! If your goal is to improve your performance and your life, you have to take control of the situation." This is what I feel like I have finally done - taken control of the situation.
I'm excited about working out this week, normally I get nervous or scared about going, I told myself this week I was going to show up with a smile, do whatever was on the board & not overthink it. This morning, I showed up and ugghh.....it was another burpee workout. I hate burpees, almost as much as I hate running. I dream of the day that I can say "I love burpees & I'm great at doing them"....one day it will happen! Instead of stressing on it, I just accepted that there wasn't anything I could do to change it, so I didn't think about. I signed up for the 1st round so I could get it over with. It was hard and I got winded almost instantly, it was 21-15-9 front squats & then burpees. the first set was 21 and by #4 I was feeling like an elephant. There was a 10min cap, I wanted to finish in under 8 and I did it in 7:57.
Tonight we had the CFE class - which was once again awesome. I really like going to this, which for me to show up excited for a 7pm class - is a big deal. Mike & Erin are both very good coaches but also make you feel so comfortable with being there/ where you're at now, because they tell you - and I believe them - that you will get better. We watched the video analysis of our running tonight - this one almost broke my heart. It was really tough to watch myself because, A. I had no idea I looked that bad running, B. I sincerely resembled an elephant. I wanted to look away, but I knew I had to see it in order to get better. I was instantly sad & for about 5 minutes had a little pity party for myself, focusing on how shitty I was, worse than everyone else, etc.. We were heading upstairs to work on skills/drills and I had to tell myself to F'off & move on, go get better because nothing was going to change unless I learned how to do it right and worked on it. I was first up the stairs and first in-line to do the drills. We worked for about 20 minutes on POSE running and by the end of it I could already tell a huge difference in my form. It was incredible. It doesn't feel great or natural for me right now, but it will take practice and I know if I work on it, I can do it.
Nutrition:
My food has been good the last 2 days. On Monday I started up again on my food log and that always helps keep me on track a little better. I have eaten out 2 meals already this week & was able to make good choices both times. Yesterday everyone at lunch ordered hamburgers or sandwiches with fries, I got a grilled salmon w/spinach. Today we went for Mexican for lunch, I split a ceviche appetizer & split chicken/shrimp fajitas (just ate the meat & veggies). I cooked fish both nights for dinner. I have noticed that I feel better in the morning working out when I eat fish for dinner.
Still haven't been sleeping well....need to find a way to shut my brain off when I go to bed. I take a Melatonin pill every once in awhile, but I don't want to do that every night + sometimes it makes it hard to get up in the morning.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Friday fun
I was so tired Friday morning, I hardly slept Thursday night...just couldn't get my brain to shut off. I had promised Christina I would meet her at the 6am class, so I dragged myself out of bed & went. It's a good thing I taped my goals to my bathroom mirror because typically I'm a big baby about going to CF in the morning if I haven't slept well. The alarm goes off at 5:15am, I feel wiped out and tell myself it's ok to skip, I'll go another morning. I felt better once I got to the box and was really glad I came. The workout felt good, I can already tell a difference about how my body feels. I've worked out more this week (5x) than I have in probably 2 - 3 years. I had the energy to get through the workout and for the first time the pull ups actually felt good. I still use a band, but I was able to get closer on the chest-to-bar than I had before. I'm sore today but will be fine with some stretching and today is a rest day.
MetCon = 5 rounds + 2 PC
10min AMRAP of:
3 Power Clean (85#)
5 chest to bar pull ups (green band)
7 Wall ball (10#) 11′
Nutrition:
Friday night was the monthly supper club dinner with my girlfriends. It's one of my favorite things to do, it's a great group and we always have a good time. There's always a ton of wine and lots of laughs. Last night, I drank club soda & was 'ok' with eating - there was warm brie w/crackers & a yummy greek salad hummus w/pita chips for appetizers, I was really hungry when I got there and chowed a bit on that, but did better with dinner. I had salad, shrimp and a little blue cheese coleslaw, skipped the garlic bread, cheese souffle & dessert, but didn't feel like I was depriving myself. I'm going out to dinner tonight with a couple of friend to celebrate our birthdays, so I wanted to save my cheat meal for that.
MetCon = 5 rounds + 2 PC
10min AMRAP of:
3 Power Clean (85#)
5 chest to bar pull ups (green band)
7 Wall ball (10#) 11′
Nutrition:
Friday night was the monthly supper club dinner with my girlfriends. It's one of my favorite things to do, it's a great group and we always have a good time. There's always a ton of wine and lots of laughs. Last night, I drank club soda & was 'ok' with eating - there was warm brie w/crackers & a yummy greek salad hummus w/pita chips for appetizers, I was really hungry when I got there and chowed a bit on that, but did better with dinner. I had salad, shrimp and a little blue cheese coleslaw, skipped the garlic bread, cheese souffle & dessert, but didn't feel like I was depriving myself. I'm going out to dinner tonight with a couple of friend to celebrate our birthdays, so I wanted to save my cheat meal for that.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Baseline 5k
oh man...it's over with! I spent the majority of today stressing about having to run a 5k today for the CFE class. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it but, when Mike emailed out the entire class schedule, today's listed workout was not the 5k baseline. I was secretly hoping that was true - it was actually the first thing I asked Mike after I said hi. He laughed and said, "the schedule is wrong - the run is on. you'll be fine." I just laughed, I really need to get over myself.
I had a slight moment of panic when he asked everyone about their paces/time. The 3 guys were all in the 21m - 23m range, my heart sank knowing I was going to once again finish last. Luckily for me though, Christina is running a 10k on Saturday, so she volunteered to run with me. I was upfront with her and gave her my disclaimer of "I can't run the whole way yet, so I'm doing intervals 3m run/2m walk" - she still said that was fine. It made such a huge difference to have someone with me, we talked the whole way and I was distracted from focusing on my normal run things - breathing heavy, running heavy, everything on me is jiggling, etc... It actually felt good to do it today, I know my form is way off, because my knees hurt right now, but I really felt energized and good after it was done. My time was 39:38, which for most people is probably shitty, but I was thrilled to be under 40m. I was expecting to finish in 45m. I can't even think of the last time that I ran 1 mile, much less 3.
Continuing on my feeling good, I went out after the workout to meet some friends who were in from out of town. They had all met up earlier at a really fun/cool lounge, so I knew by the time I showed up, everyone would be well on their way. One of the biggest things I struggle with when I go out/eating out is being disciplined. The majority of the time when I got out, I leave good judgment/choices at home. I did fine last night at the Cubs game and decided before I got there tonight that I wasn't going to drink and I'd find something healthy to eat. I did both. I drank a ton of water, because I was legit thirsty and I ordered deviled eggs and spiced nuts (these were the healthiest things - they didn't even have salad or veggies on the menu!). I had a great time with my friends and didn't feel like I was missing out on any fun.
I had a slight moment of panic when he asked everyone about their paces/time. The 3 guys were all in the 21m - 23m range, my heart sank knowing I was going to once again finish last. Luckily for me though, Christina is running a 10k on Saturday, so she volunteered to run with me. I was upfront with her and gave her my disclaimer of "I can't run the whole way yet, so I'm doing intervals 3m run/2m walk" - she still said that was fine. It made such a huge difference to have someone with me, we talked the whole way and I was distracted from focusing on my normal run things - breathing heavy, running heavy, everything on me is jiggling, etc... It actually felt good to do it today, I know my form is way off, because my knees hurt right now, but I really felt energized and good after it was done. My time was 39:38, which for most people is probably shitty, but I was thrilled to be under 40m. I was expecting to finish in 45m. I can't even think of the last time that I ran 1 mile, much less 3.
Continuing on my feeling good, I went out after the workout to meet some friends who were in from out of town. They had all met up earlier at a really fun/cool lounge, so I knew by the time I showed up, everyone would be well on their way. One of the biggest things I struggle with when I go out/eating out is being disciplined. The majority of the time when I got out, I leave good judgment/choices at home. I did fine last night at the Cubs game and decided before I got there tonight that I wasn't going to drink and I'd find something healthy to eat. I did both. I drank a ton of water, because I was legit thirsty and I ordered deviled eggs and spiced nuts (these were the healthiest things - they didn't even have salad or veggies on the menu!). I had a great time with my friends and didn't feel like I was missing out on any fun.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Day 3
Almost forgot to post today! Just got back from the Cubs game - they lost, no surprise, but it was odd to be watching a game in winter clothes....had to bust out my fleece jacket & hat! I was proud of myself for not drinking any beer or eating at the stadium. I know this weekend is going to be busy, I have plans Thursday, Friday & Saturday, so don't need to waste any calories on Old Style light when it's 55 degrees out.
I haven't slept well the last couple of nights and this morning's workout was a lot harder than I was expecting it to be. I was late and had to do 15 burpees. I'm finally over my fear of being late to class...this was my 3rd time being late, at least I wasn't the only one today. I was gassed after the first round and seriously wondering if I was going to make it. I couldn't catch my breath and just felt drained. It got a little better but the burpees were horrendous, I was literally crawling back up on at least 5/round. I couldn't even push/jump/move my body off the ground. The box jumps I was able to get a rhythm to a little bit and did sets of between 5 - 8, KB were unbroken, but the weight was a little light probably. By the time I got to grab a KB the only choices were 15#, 20# and 55+. 20# was really my only option. HSPU were the post-wod, I still am not really stable on the regular handstand so Zack had me work on pike pushups off the 20" box. I finally got my head to the ground 3x on the last set (did 4 sets of 5).
Tomorrow is our baseline 5k run for the CFE on-ramp class. I'm a little nervous about it. I know I can't run the whole thing, but Mike & Erin were so cool yesterday in class. They were great about explaining what we'd be learning (mechanics, gait, form, nutrition, etc..) and made a point to say you have to learn to do it the right way, XYZ are the benefits, then you can worry about getting faster. For the first time in a long time I wasn't intimidated/self-conscious about how crappy I am at running because they told us we're all going to get better and improve - I actually believe them. Erin videoed our running form and we're going to review it tomorrow night.
5 rounds (15 min cap)
10 burpees
15 box jumps (subbed 3x45# plates)
20 KB (20#)
time was 14:15
I haven't slept well the last couple of nights and this morning's workout was a lot harder than I was expecting it to be. I was late and had to do 15 burpees. I'm finally over my fear of being late to class...this was my 3rd time being late, at least I wasn't the only one today. I was gassed after the first round and seriously wondering if I was going to make it. I couldn't catch my breath and just felt drained. It got a little better but the burpees were horrendous, I was literally crawling back up on at least 5/round. I couldn't even push/jump/move my body off the ground. The box jumps I was able to get a rhythm to a little bit and did sets of between 5 - 8, KB were unbroken, but the weight was a little light probably. By the time I got to grab a KB the only choices were 15#, 20# and 55+. 20# was really my only option. HSPU were the post-wod, I still am not really stable on the regular handstand so Zack had me work on pike pushups off the 20" box. I finally got my head to the ground 3x on the last set (did 4 sets of 5).
Tomorrow is our baseline 5k run for the CFE on-ramp class. I'm a little nervous about it. I know I can't run the whole thing, but Mike & Erin were so cool yesterday in class. They were great about explaining what we'd be learning (mechanics, gait, form, nutrition, etc..) and made a point to say you have to learn to do it the right way, XYZ are the benefits, then you can worry about getting faster. For the first time in a long time I wasn't intimidated/self-conscious about how crappy I am at running because they told us we're all going to get better and improve - I actually believe them. Erin videoed our running form and we're going to review it tomorrow night.
5 rounds (15 min cap)
10 burpees
15 box jumps (subbed 3x45# plates)
20 KB (20#)
time was 14:15
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Day 2
I'm going to have to start thinking of better titles - but I figure I can get away with counting the days for a week!
Today's workout was 21-15-9 SDHP & Thrusters (50#) 8min cap - finished in 7:05. After a weekend out of town I was a little nervous. I really thought I was going to throw up after the first round of SDHP and the rest of the work out was pretty broken up. The thrusters were especially hard, couldn't really get into a rhythm. I was glad I finished under the cap, but not especially proud of the performance.
I joined the CFE on-ramp class & am really excited about it. I have such a huge mental block about running (I think I'm too big, I breathe too hard, I get passed by everyone...) I've also finally acknowledged I will never get better at it if I don't even try to do anything about it. Sometimes I'm too good of a talker & need to take my own advice. I actually had to tell one of my reps today "I'm done hearing about what you are going to do, you need to show me". The first class was great, Erin & Mike asked everyone what they wanted to get out of the class/what our goals were. They video taped our gait and will analyze it Thursday at class. We do have to run a 5k baseline on Thursday, I laughed when they told us and said that I better show up early so I can get it done in time. Mike told me I'm not allowed to stress out about it, it's a baseline run, that's all. I'm going to listen to him.
Part of my "action plan" was to set some goals in writing & post them on the bathroom mirror. Last night I wrote down 10 things I want to accomplish by 12/31/2010. I'm going to post the fitness ones
1. lose 25lbs
2. commit to CF - 3x/week and CFE 2x/week
3. commit to consistent healthy nutrition and healthy living
4. run a 5k by Thanksgiving weekend. no more run/walking. (I threw it out to my family to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning - they agreed!)
Today's workout was 21-15-9 SDHP & Thrusters (50#) 8min cap - finished in 7:05. After a weekend out of town I was a little nervous. I really thought I was going to throw up after the first round of SDHP and the rest of the work out was pretty broken up. The thrusters were especially hard, couldn't really get into a rhythm. I was glad I finished under the cap, but not especially proud of the performance.
I joined the CFE on-ramp class & am really excited about it. I have such a huge mental block about running (I think I'm too big, I breathe too hard, I get passed by everyone...) I've also finally acknowledged I will never get better at it if I don't even try to do anything about it. Sometimes I'm too good of a talker & need to take my own advice. I actually had to tell one of my reps today "I'm done hearing about what you are going to do, you need to show me". The first class was great, Erin & Mike asked everyone what they wanted to get out of the class/what our goals were. They video taped our gait and will analyze it Thursday at class. We do have to run a 5k baseline on Thursday, I laughed when they told us and said that I better show up early so I can get it done in time. Mike told me I'm not allowed to stress out about it, it's a baseline run, that's all. I'm going to listen to him.
Part of my "action plan" was to set some goals in writing & post them on the bathroom mirror. Last night I wrote down 10 things I want to accomplish by 12/31/2010. I'm going to post the fitness ones
1. lose 25lbs
2. commit to CF - 3x/week and CFE 2x/week
3. commit to consistent healthy nutrition and healthy living
4. run a 5k by Thanksgiving weekend. no more run/walking. (I threw it out to my family to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning - they agreed!)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Day 1
I've never blogged before and I'm not 100% sure how I feel about putting my feelings out there in public, but who's to say anyone's even going to read this. Whether or not they do, I'm going to do this for me and see how blogging/being accountable works out.
Labor Day weekend is over, I had a great time, but it hit me today that summer once again flew by and the year will be over before I know it. Am I going to once again find myself re-capping the year in December, thinking the same things as the last few years? I didn't achieve what I wanted to, or talked about - but if I'm honest with myself, I didn't really put my best effort into achieving them either.
I sat down and wrote out 10 goals that I want to achieve by 12/31/2010, putting pen to paper is always more effective for me versus just saying it in my head. I've been contemplating a lot lately and I know what I need to do - I just need to commit to doing it. Once again, my commitment issues have raised their ugly head - this time, I will win.
Bryce's article this week really struck a cord. I know that, I feel working out/eating right isn't a challenge for everyone. I get the false sense that people in great shape don't ever struggle with motivation or desire, but I realize that isn't the case. People who maintain good health & physical fitness chose to do so. They make solid and consistent choices about what they put in their mouths and how they treat their bodies. It isn't "easier" for them, they just keep the goal in mind and choose accordingly.
"Just remember, you are the only person who is in control of your life!
If your goal is to improve your performance and your life, you have
to take control of the situation. All the coaches at CrossFit Chicago
want you to succeed, but your are the only one who can initiate that
motivation for change and improvement. If you want something bad
enough, block out the negative influences in your life. Your success
is only dependent on you!"
Labor Day weekend is over, I had a great time, but it hit me today that summer once again flew by and the year will be over before I know it. Am I going to once again find myself re-capping the year in December, thinking the same things as the last few years? I didn't achieve what I wanted to, or talked about - but if I'm honest with myself, I didn't really put my best effort into achieving them either.
I sat down and wrote out 10 goals that I want to achieve by 12/31/2010, putting pen to paper is always more effective for me versus just saying it in my head. I've been contemplating a lot lately and I know what I need to do - I just need to commit to doing it. Once again, my commitment issues have raised their ugly head - this time, I will win.
Bryce's article this week really struck a cord. I know that, I feel working out/eating right isn't a challenge for everyone. I get the false sense that people in great shape don't ever struggle with motivation or desire, but I realize that isn't the case. People who maintain good health & physical fitness chose to do so. They make solid and consistent choices about what they put in their mouths and how they treat their bodies. It isn't "easier" for them, they just keep the goal in mind and choose accordingly.
"Just remember, you are the only person who is in control of your life!
If your goal is to improve your performance and your life, you have
to take control of the situation. All the coaches at CrossFit Chicago
want you to succeed, but your are the only one who can initiate that
motivation for change and improvement. If you want something bad
enough, block out the negative influences in your life. Your success
is only dependent on you!"
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