The #1 Great Thing About Not Having a Plan

Is that a person (me) can decide at the last minute (today) that while I did indeed pay for this race (a year ago to be honest), and up until now, did plan to go and complete the 10 miles along with 2 of my friends (who also signed up a year ago, but have not trained, and 1 dropped out already)...

I wasn't even upset that it was going to be hotter than hell.  I was going to run/walk the thing, get my medal, hear some awesome music and drink some beer.

It was the reason last night I took the day off, went to a lovely dinner.

It was the reason I was either going to CrossFit or go running on a Friday since I wasn't going to run with KW on Saturday for a change (to rest up for Sunday of course).

But now heavy thunderstorms are predicted for race morning, with high winds and possible hail.

So not having a plan?  Yeah.  Totally works in my favor, because I can, at any time, change my mind.

Which I am doing.  Right now.

Yeah it might not rain.  But then again it might.

And guess who doesn't want to run in the rain when I don't freaking have to?

This girl.

So...

Instead of going to Austin to run a 10 mile race that I wasn't even all that jazzed about (now). (I was a year ago obviously), I am going to still run this evening AND run with Kenyan Way tomorrow too.  And I will run 10 miles anyway.  More if I want to.  Less if I want to too.  In my own city.  And not spend a fortune on gas.  And ... and ... and ...

Then I will go to CrossFit afterwards.  Because I love CrossFit.

CrossFit makes me so happy.  CrossFit makes me much happier than running.

But a place in my life for both...and cycling... Can't forget cycling and swimming!!!

And everybody lives happily ever after.

Amen.

No Regrets? Hell to The Yes I Have Regrets!

I'm sure at some point you've been asked, "What's your biggest regret?" If you're like 90% of people I know, you respond with the typical, "I have no regrets/everything happens for a reason/every mistake has made me who I am today."  Holy bullshit.

If you claim to live a life with no regrets, you are probably in denial, or you haven't fully lived, loved, or taken any chances. You can't tell me you don't regret hurting someone at some point, or not taking a kick ass job when you had the chance, or letting someone you love walk out of your life. To me, regret doesn't mean sitting around and obsessing about what could've or should've been; rather, it's a realization of "I f***ed up." You recognize it, learn from it, grow, and move on. In my opinion, regret is what drives some of us to evolve into better people.

I recently read this article, in which the author, a palliative care nurse, outlines the top regrets expressed by her patients in their final stage of life.

The reasons were similar in that each directly addressed the happiness of the individual. There was no mention of money or material wealth (in fact, many regret working so much); instead, the responses dealt with emotional happiness and the fostering of quality relationships.  The article really made me think: if I found out I had only weeks to live, what would be my biggest regret(s)?

Framing that earlier question about regret within the context of  your final days will likely change the views of all my "No regrets, bitches!!!" friends.

I'm a person who believes time is precious and shouldn't be wasted. I fill my days with activities (mostly work though) but I'm beginning to realize it's not just about the quantity of things I accomplish each day, but the quality of them, as well as the quality of people I choose to share my life with.  And that leads me to my biggest regret: I wish I would've quit more.

You heard me.

I wish I were more of a quitter. I can't tell you the number of times I've stuck with a situation or relationship that is creating drama and pain simply because walking away would be "quitting", aka an admission of failure.  This was the most true with the fiasco that occurred from 2007 to 2011(ish).  I told many many people during that time why I didn't/couldn't just walk away, even telling him at some point, it was because I wanted to 'win'.  Ugh.  Now he (at least up till now) is my biggest regret and mistake.

And boy how I did indeed learn from it.

I look around at people I know and realize that I'm not alone in my behavior.

There seems to be an ever growing abundance of martyrs and individuals willing to go down with the metaphorical ship because damn it, quitting is for losers!

Many times we make excuses for our misery.  We justify that many people have it worse than we do, and I don't disagree; I'm simply asking, is "not terrible" acceptable? 

I'll even go so far as to suggest that relationships and experiences filled with mediocrity and lack of fulfillment can be just as detrimental to your happiness as those which are outwardly negative.  Look at your job.  Your partner.  Your friends. Your neighborhood. 

Is there a reason to stay?  Or maybe, just maybe, are there things in  your life you need to quit?

Please don't take this as me telling you to give up on everything in your life that isn't perfect. 

It's not an implication that problems can't be resolved or that life doesn't have its ups and downs.  But let's face it: when something has run its course, you know it.

Therefore, maybe what we perceive as quitting isn't really quitting at all; it's acceptance. It's finally opening your eyes and acknowledging that you're dragging around dead weight that serves no purpose. 

So many of you (myself included) have eliminated the toxicity from your food supply, but what about from other areas of your life?

If you are focused in on the quality of your nutrition, why are you not so eager to demand quality from all of the other elements that comprise your day?

Simply put, if you are aware of things in your life that serve little value, you should cut them loose and reclaim every precious moment they've been stealing. 

Spend it with the people you love, doing the things that matter.

So friends, I give you permission to quit that which does not add value to your life.  

I hope that someday, you look back and celebrate your risks, forgive your mistakes, and come to the conclusion that your positive experiences far outweigh any regrets.

It's Only Wednesday

'...There's a kink and then a scream,
but it's only in her dream
I look around
and its you, oh oh ohhh
I can't believe it's only Wednesday.
And she can't see that everyone is there
Except for me
I know I don't want to lose this time...'

Since I just got my bike out of the shop (tune up for some upcoming long rides and race/events), I decided to ride to and from Crossfit today.  Its on 2.5 miles each way.  I just hate the traffic especially around the I-10/Shepherd area at that time of day.  Ugh.

Stupid though to drive and waste gas to get there though (I actually ended up with just over 6 miles on the bike as I tried to find a way home that wouldn't make me have to ride back over a high bridge; no such luck)


Warm up:

12 Minutes to Establish

3 Rep Max Strict Weighted Pullups

Now here is where I have made progress.  Well to be honest I have never attempted a strict pull up (no kipping allowed).  So today we were to try them 'weighted'*.  If you can't do an unassisted strict pull up (I cant yet) then you try to do them w the bands.  Now generally I use a green band for my kipping pull ups, but today I started with the red.  Nope.  Not gonna happen.  I could pull myself up about 1/2 way.  So I went to the blue, and I could do them!  Amber (who can do strict pullups with a 15lb KB and NO BAND assist; yeah shes a badass!) said it looked too easy for me, so I tried the red again.  Still a no go.  :(  Next time! 


So I went back to the blue band (so excited!) and then strapped a 10lb KB around me and was able to do 3.  Barely on the 3rd one, but I got the chin up over the bar!


Looks like for now though I will be using the blue and not the green band for my kippings!  Woo to the hoo!  See ya later green band!


Gotta love progress!!!

*you wear a belt that slips through a KB and it hangs down which is weird!

  

WOD:

5 Rounds of:

Sprint 200m

10 KB Swings (70#/45#)

15 Burpees

For time!  18:10

I really thought I miiiight get my first Rx today, but I just couldn't swing 45lb KB.  I barely could swing it once by itself let alone throwing in sprints, burpees and for that many reps and rounds.  I swung 30lbs though and that was hard enough.  When I started CF 2 months ago, I was only swinging 15lbs.  25lbs is my sweet spot, but they wanted us to go as heavy as we could today.

I gotta say the bike ride home was not pleasant.  :) 

Core:

Accumulate 5 Minutes in a Forearm Plank 



Alone Time

I guess I could blame it on the fact that yesterday I stopped with the 'poison' again.  Poison =  Diet Coke.

I have stopped many times but always found my way back to it and its just bad bad bad for you.  HFCS and a host of other chemicals man made into an addictive liquid.

The times I have quit the sauce, I saw a change in my body (less poof and bloat) and I know that it hinders weight loss/fat loss.  That coupled with just the plain fact that its horrid to put it in your body, made my decision to quit.  Again.

Hopefully this time for keepsies.

As yesterday wore on, I was getting more and more irritable (withdrawals) and the last thing I wanted to do was be around people.  

Additionally the CrossFit WOD was intensive on the back with low handle prowlers, back squats and sled pulls.  I don't need to put any of that on my back this week, as I have a race this weekend and I didn't want to put any undue stress on my back.  Pulling and pushing a load heavy sled was not what I needed.  I would have loved to do it, but just not yesterday.

So I decided that I needed a soul cleansing, alone time run instead.  Ran for an hour(ish) and felt much better for it.

This morning when I woke up and looked at the WOD, it was another one that I just wasn't interested in doing.  Squat cleans?  Yes.  Ring dips?  No.  Rope ascents?  No.

So I made up my own CrossFit WOD and hit the gym instead.

Warm up:  30 min run on the treadmill

WOD:  21-15-9 x 2

Kettlebell swings (25lb)

Burpees

Pole Situps

Lat Pull Downs (65lbs)

Explanation:  You do 21 reps of each, then 15 reps of each, then 9 reps of each.  For time.  

Tabata treadmill:  8:34 pace (20 sec on, 10 sec off)  x 8

Repeat 21-15-9

Repeat Tabata treadmill

I took a 3 min rest in between 

Then after resting a bit more, I grabbed the 20 lb bar and proceeded to do 25 squat cleans followed by 50 air squats.

I hadn't worn my watch today, therefore I didn't time myself, but trust me when I tell you it was one hell of a workout if I do say so myself.

Plans are to definitely hit up the 'box' tomorrow, regardless of the WOD.

I felt much better today (day 2 of no Diet Coke), making myself a large iced coffee this morning to take with me to work.  

Coffee good.  Diet Coke bad.  Hoping to see results of quitting the poison in a week or two!

(Lemon) Chicken Orzo Soup

Here in Houston, we have this place called Zoes Kitchen.  It is one of my favorite little places to go for some healthy eats, and there are a few of them scattered around town, 1 really close to where I live. 

I generally get a craving for the same thing:  Hummus plate and a bowl of their Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup.

Additionally, its been kind of a tradition for me (if possible) to have a bowl of it the night before a marathon.  If there is no Zoes, then I will typically find someplace where I can at least get a good chicken noodle/broth kind of soup.  It helps with digestion, so that the next morning I (typically) never have any GI issues when I get up!  Plus its light on my stomach.  I hate eating heavy the night before any distance to be honest, especially the marathon.

I decided that I wanted to try and make it at home so I went online to find a recipe that could get me started.  I settled on this one, but definitely altered it.  Definitely omitting the celery (hate celery).  I also did it mainly in one setting instead of 2 as the recipe calls for; and I used packaged chicken broth (about 1.5 containers).  I had 1/2 container left over in the fridge, added another one, and then followed up for the amounts with added water.  You need 9 cups of liquid.

On Saturday, I roasted a whole chicken (5lbs) using garlic, EVOO and spices.  Then I covered it and let it 'rest' for probably 6 hours or so.  This cools it off and is much easier to debone, AND you don't burn your fingers!

Doesn't look like a whole chicken but believe me it is and there was a ton of meat.   So much so that I didn't even use it all in the soup, but also kept about a cup of it out to use in another meal.

On Sunday evening after returning from the fam's abode for Easter, I got to making the actual soup.  Again I used packaged broth (see above); approximately 1.5 containers plus added water to come up with the required 9 cups.  Honestly I probably ended up with 10 cups.

I also used more like 1.5 cups of orzo as well.  I had bought a package of baby carrots and just chopped them in half and added about 1/2 the bag.

Silver wrapped item = onion (I used the half that I had and finely chopped)
Not pictured is packaged lemon juice ( I didnt want to buy enough lemons to get enough liquid from them for the recipe)

As you can see in the photo below, I also added probably 2 cups of fresh spinach.  I had some in the fridge that needed to be used before it went wilty/bad on me, so dumped that in there too!

I dumped in all the ingredients, including my 2 bay leaves (I keep these in the fridge at all times!).  

Grated the rind off the fresh lemon and added 1/2 cup lemon juice instead of the called for 1/4 cup.  I like it to taste a bit more lemon-y.  I tasted it before adding :)

Brought it all to a boil for 15 min, reduced the heat to medium, and then simmered for about 30 minutes before I added the chicken.

Stir, cover and simmer for an hour.  Really you could get away with 30 min if you wanted to eat right away, but I wasn't having it for dinner and opted to let it simmer for longer period of time.

I plated a bowl of it for photograph only, before pouring it back into the pot!

I am really happy with the way this turned out!  I brought some to work yesterday for lunch and it was sooooooooooo good!

And since it makes a buttload of soup, I packaged some up last night and put in the freezer for future quick grab, thaw, reheat and eat lunches or dinners!

Its pretty close to Paleo, sans the orzo, but since the orzo is so tiny :), I figure its hardly worth mentioning!

Easter Pictures

Brandy and my sister

Buster!

Washer time!

Brandon (nephew) and Chrystal (niece) beginning to get the food going

Getting set up on the back porch for the feast

Just a shot of one of the centerpieces; I just thought it looked pretty :O)

Badminton

Brandon's 'warriors' as he calls them

My plain jane dyed huevos

Chrystals...oops picture is sideways :O)

More badminton...

My haul!  I definitely won the 'pocking' this year!  I had 2 really good eggs that just couldn't be broken!  I will have plenty of breakfasts, snacks, and probably some egg salad too this week!

I was really good this year!  No candy!  No chips and dip!

I had a hamburger (no bun) and a hot dog (no bun), and about 1/2 cup of my macaroni salad that I made.  Took one bite of potato salad (just not a fan of it to begin with), and had some olives, pickles etc as 'side dish'.  I did put some chili on top of the burger and dog, but just a bit.

Oh and I had a beer :O) ... One Mich Light, so no harm, no foul.  Thankfully I was able to leave without my sister realizing that I hadn't had any cake :O)

Later that evening I ate like a bazillion fresh strawberries for dinner :)  Oh they are so good!  Kroger had 3 containers for $5 and I stocked up.  They looked so fresh and were humongous!

KHOU, our local CBS affiliate here in Houston did a story on the CrossFit craze and filmed it at the box that I go to...here is the video for it  (stupid thing wouldn't embed, so sorry about the link out)

They filmed it at one of the morning sessions, and I didn't want to come in late to work to be there for it :O)