T Minus 9 Days...

Monday:  4 mile run before work

CrossFit: "Cindy" after work

We just did Cindy back early June in which I didn't keep track of my score since I was just coming back from injury, and also didn't do kipping pull ups but used the rings instead.

This time I was back to actual kipping pull ups and I kept track of my rounds:

20 min AMRAP of:

5 x kipping pull ups

10 x push ups

15 x air squats

Total Rounds: 11 full rounds  (55 pull ups, 110 HR pushups and 155 air squats)

Previous scored Cindy was 13 full rounds plus 4 kipping pull ups back in March when I had just begun CrossFit for realz.  :O)

A few times I could only muster 4 pull ups and would jump down and do the final pull up on the rings.  And to make it worse, we were made to use wooden dowels for full extension above and behind our head with each squat to insure proper form since so many people either get sloppy or just plain don't do them right.  Ugh.  But it does help with form thats for sure!

What really did me in was the warm up was 50 burpees!!! and because there were 3 people that showed up late we had to do penalty burpees; 5 for the 1st person, 6 for the 2nd and 7 for the 3rd.  Thankfully no one else showed up late.

After the burpee's we took 15 minutes to figure out our bench press max (for 3 reps), then halved that and did 25 reps.

I didn't remember to bring my gloves and I also didn't realize how wrecked my hands were until I got home and in the shower.  My hands burned so bad it felt like my skin was melting off. 


While my rounds were less than they were back in March, I feel great about the outcome since the warm up about killed my arms!  I honestly didn't know how I was going to be able to pull off that many pull ups and pushups!


On to Tuesday!!!

CrossFit (Benchmark) WOD - Cindy

I didn't think I was going to actually make it to CrossFit since the storm was hitting right around the time for me to leave, but the storm passed through and I decided to go to the 7pm class.

Prior to CrossFit I got in a 40min run with no walking!  It felt terrific!  I also exchanged those God-awful shoes I had gotten on Saturday and wow! what a world of difference!!!  David is the best and I tried about 7 different brands/styles, narrowing it down as we went along until I ended up with the ones I felt the best in and the ones he said looked like I was running my best in.

20min AMRAP of:

5 (kipping) pullups (I still used rings so as not to re-aggravate my healed injury!)

10 pushups

15 air squats


OR if you had a weighted vest (20m/10w), then you did a 10min AMRAP and since I don't own a weight vest, I had 20min's of torture...there are only a couple of people that I know there that actually have spent the $ on a weighted vest.

I did not keep track of my rounds, as I was there to just get the workout in and not worry about exceeding any expectations; plus I knew I wouldn't (or rather shouldn't try) to beat my previous performance with the Cindy WOD.

Last Cindy WOD

How About This? You Do You, and I'll Do Me

All I am going to say is that every 'body' is different.  We all differently respond to food and food types.  We all work differently on the inside.  Some people can't tolerate grains.  Some can't tolerate lactose.  And so forth and so on. 

Just know what YOU respond to whether its food, or whether its a particular form of activity.  If you can eat whatever you want whenever you want, eat 100% carbs, drink alcohol like a fish and not gain an ounce or a pudge, more power to you.

Chances are you are 'skinny fat'.

At some point I need to write a post about some things I have figured out about myself and running these past few years.  I've always known it, but only recently come to fully accept it, and at some point, will admit it. outside of my own head.

What I will tell you now is that running has always made me fat.  UNLESS I was eating Paleo to some degree, whether it was 50/50 or 80/20.  That one time when I was at my leanest and my fastest was in 2010.  

What if you experiment a bit and find out what works best for you instead of listening to someone you've never met tell you what worked for them?  What if you devise a lifestyle that works for you and your life and makes YOU feel and perform better?

I have found a place in paleo that makes me feel good and yet allows me to live a quasi-spartan lifestyle.  I could go the strict paleo route and never eat dairy, potatoes, sugar, coffee, or non-pastured meats again and maybe that will get me an extra year or so added to my life.  But I do prefer and feel better when I am at at least 80% (and still striving for 95%).  :)

But I think I have attained a fairly happy medium where I eat paleo a good bit of the time but I still have room in my life for the occasional french fry, gluten-free baked good, tortilla chip, ice cream or piece of chocolate.  I'm not willing to trade that for the tiny little bit of improvement I might get from being strict paleo.  

Anyway...you want to know something?  I see and know a lot of runners, fast, and slower, that are at some degree of fat.  Whether is their mid-section, or otherwise.  But its there.  And I see it, and so does everyone else.

Not that anyone cares, but most people do. (care what others think and see)

Mean to say?  Probably.  True?  Absolutely.  And I won't apologize for it.

So as the title says:  You do you, and I'll do me.

Trust me, I have a lot to write, it will just come in a later post (or posts).

*******************************************

As Monday wore on, I became more and more sore from the previous days smack down on some Wall Balls.

I was bummed too, because with that and the level of soreness I felt up top, I knew I had to choose running as my sole activity for the day.  Certainly not a horrible choice, but I really would have felt like I could have done both.  The WOD was one that I would have loved to do, and even ended with 5x200m sprints.

Oh well.

So I got in 5.5 miles and while it was rough going at first, rather quickly my muscles in the legs started to simmer down and I ended up with a fairly decent run.  Once I stopped though, I knew it was going to be an ouchy kind of night.  I did get to a rower and just cooled down with a 1000m row. 

So this morning, when I saw the WOD for today, I was ecstatic!  I knew it was going to be hard hard hard, but also fun fun fun!

Sledge Hammers X 30 (I used 8lb weighted sledgehammer)

Tire Flips X 5 (partnered with C)  400lb tractor tire.

WOD:

 "Cindy"

20 Minute

AMRAP

OF

Pull-Ups X 5

Push-Ups X 10

Air Squats X 15

For those that haven't figured it out yet, AMRAP means: As Many Rounds/Reps As Possible

In this case, the time limit is 20 minutes.  Thats a looooong time in CrossFit.  AMRAP's, to me, are a bit more stressful, because you know you are racing the clock, and not so much the people in the room.  Sure you would like to do more rounds/reps than whoever, but to me it just doesn't seem as competitive.

I managed 13 full rounds + 4 extra pull ups before time was called.  The only thing I scaled were the pullups (as I used a ring).  I did full on pushups (130).  No girl pushups today!

By the way, if you have a sledgehammer and a big old tire lying around...this explains how to get your own sledgehammer going!

Skill:

Practice Walking on Hands (boy do I need practice on this!)  I havent done a handstand since high school.  So thats what I practiced.

Tomorrow is a run and CrossFit day!