Days to Colorado CrossFit Open: 3

They finally posted the the Friday workouts from the CrossFit Games in California: http://live.crossfit.com/. The weekend is covered hour by hour. To see brief moments of coverage of our team and an interview of Tim you can select the hours below from the dropdown on that site. Be patient, They take a long time to load and sometimes suddenly stop playing. Might take a few tries.

16-Jul-2010 10:00-11:00
5:12 – 1st workout explained. Tim, Sean, Rosanne, Elizabeth divide the work.
22:25 – Our heat starts
29:38 – Our only footage. A very brief shot of Tim and Elizabeth doing thrusters.

16-Jul-2010 13:00-14:00
26:12 – 2nd workout explained. Tim, Sean, Sid, Rosanne, Elizabeth, Karen.
46:30 – Our heat starts
49:25 – Judges laugh when I fall on my butt trying to do a pistol.
49:54 – Some random girl shows up everyone on pistols.
50:58 – Me on the rower. Rosanne resting. Elizabeth doing pistols.
56:08 – Elizabeth jerks 135 (eventually gets 145).
57:34 – Tim hits a 275 jerk at the end setting the record for the days so far.

16-Jul-2010 14:00-15:00
0:00 – Interview with Tim and the team after Tim set a record on the jerk.

17-Jul-2010 11:00-12:00
3:15 – 3rd workout explained. Sean, Sid, Elizabeth, Karen.
6:00 – Look for the girls in the neon yellow-green sports bras. That is us.
9:10 – Sean is on the 3rd box from the left in our lane in the board shorts. 
10:40 – Elizabeth in the glowing sports bra smokes those 24” box jumps.
Sid was the real hero in this workout even though his heroics did not get coverage. He was the only team member we never had to wait for at any station and he cranked through his last set of lunges at lightening speed landing us just under the 25:00 time limit.

TODAY’S WORKOUT: Day 16
“Grace”
For time:
30 Clean and Jerks at 65#
My time: 2:14

Days to Colorado CrossFit Open: 4

THE WORKOUT: Day 16
2 rounds: 1 min of kettlebell snatches each arm @ at 16k (35 lbs). Ouch. Then for time: 21 reps, 15 reps, 9 reps of: Overhead squats and Burpees. My time: 6:05.

My time today was fine but was tainted by my terrible form. As I grew tired the depth on my overhead squats became questionable, I stopped keeping my arms straight, and the weight went out in front of me making it much more difficult than it would have been otherwise. A good lesson for next time, I suppose. Slow down a little and keep the form in tact and I won’t have to rest as much or have failed reps.

Today’s workout got me thinking about this coming weekend. The workouts will be similar to last year. So I looked at last year’s. I would have done pretty well at one of them, just okay at another, and probably really stink at the third. So I guess it just depends what order they are in whether I have a chance of making it to Sunday.

THE DIET: Day 16
Tonight I made a taco bowl. I started by making fresh pico de gallo with tomatoes from my dad’s garden and a couple jalapenos from ours. So easy and so delicious. My sister and I got this recipe from a Mexican cooking workshop. Mmm.

Pico de gallo:
1 large tomato (or a couple smaller ones)
1 jalapeno
1 clove of garlic
1/4 c red onion (i use less cut really small)
Chopped fresh cilantro
Squeeze of lime
Salt or garlic salt to taste

Make extra to put on steak or chicken later. Mix a few tablespoons into some mashed up avocados for guacamole.

Taco Seasoning for Ground Meats:

1 TBSP Chilli Powder
1 TBSP Cumin
1/2 TBSP Paprika
1 TBSP Onion Powder
2 tsp Oregano
A pinch of red pepper flakes
Combine these with 1 cup of water and set aside. Brown the ground meat and drain. Add the seasoning mix. Stir while maintaining a medium heat until the water is evaporated and the meat still looks moist.

Taco Bowl
All you have to do is put a little shredded lettuce in the bottom of a bowl, the taco meat, the pico, and a little guacamole. A couple clementines for dessert to tame the taste of onion and garlic.

So this doesn’t have to do with anything but last weekend when we returned from our bike ride the neighbor girls had set up a bike wash in the driveway across the alley from ours. They wanted to raise money and donate it to charity. How cute is that?

We slept in today but still managed to get out for a ridiculous ride up Sourdough Trail. It does not have really steep climbs or major technical sections. What made it difficult is the steady uphill climb to 10,200 feet. So much less air up there. Great trail except that it gave me a big middle finger right at the top. Something caught the valve stem on my back tire and broke it right off. When we tried to put the spare tire on, the tip of the valve on the spare broke off too. So after all that work getting up to the top we didn’t get to ride it back down. Had to hitch a ride back to the car. Can’t complain though. The day could have been a lot worse. They were turning people around at the ranger station by Brainard Lake because a guy fell of Pawnee Peak. I heard someone tell the ranger they could still hear somebody screaming when they left their campsite. Sad. Hope he is okay.

Anyway, all that uphill is for the birds. I want to learn how to do this:

One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year was to tackle a health problem. In my case I have a specific one in mind. Anyone who sees me on a regular basis is bound to eventually notice that I get shaky at times for no apparent reason. It is a neurological disease. No known cause and no known cure. Sometimes I am totally fine and other times it acts up. I can take drugs for it but they work by suppressing adrenaline response. Obviously, that is not really an option for me so I choose to just deal. I am frequently asked if I am cold or nervous. The answer is I am always cold and rarely nervous. I also get ‘just relax’ a lot which basically has the same effect as saying ‘don’t think about an elephant’.

In the grand scheme of life it is not really a big deal. On the bright side I get a lot of pent up energy that needs an outlet which makes CrossFit perfect for me. Anyway, doctors give me about 60 more years to live so I guess I better make the best of it. In the meantime if I look uncomfortable don’t worry, I am fine. Crack a few jokes or something. In my case laughter really is the best medicine.

Days to Colorado CrossFit Open: 11

THE WORKOUT: Day 9
At our CrossFit gym, in the past, we have warmed up on our own given a few exercises written on a whiteboard. Our trainer has decided to change things up a bit and it seems like people are excited about it. First of all, we warmed up together as a class which was really nice. Even more importantly, the warm up exercises were different than what we have been doing. The most fun thing about CrossFit is the amazing variety of exercises and the creative ways they are put together to form exceedingly difficult workouts. Why not make the warm up just as interesting? There are just as many options if not more out there. It is another opportunity for a trainer to be creative as well as to remind us why we do CrossFIt instead of just going to the gym.

After the warm up we did a very scheduled chipper which made for a solid hour of hard work. Great workout today.

2:00 of double unders for # of reps followed immediately by
8:00 to max on clean and jerk
Rest 3:00 and then do the following in order for time:
30 deadlifts 225 boys/155 girls
20 box jumps at 24”
30 pull-ups
20 squat cleans 135 boys/85 girls
30 push-ups
20 toes to bar
My double unders: 150
My clean and jerk: 145
My time: 9:22 (or so. need to look again.)

THE DIET: Day 9 – Oven Baked Fish Nuggets and Sweet Potato Fries
I found a recipe for Oven Baked Fish Nuggets in one of my cook books that has you coat chunks of fish in bread crumbs and cornflakes. As an experiment I substituted finely shredded coconut and almond meal from the bins at Whole Foods. Delicious. Here is what I did for this first attempt:

Oven Baked Fish Nuggets:
Thawed out 2 frozen cod fillets, rinsed them, and cut them in chunks
Rolled them one by one in a mixture of:
1/3 C almond meal
1/3 C very finely shredded coconut
Pinches of kosher salt and white pepper
1 T parmesan (optional)*
Baked them on a lightly oiled pan at 375 for 15-20 minutes
Broiled for another minute or two to brown the tops

The two things I would do differently:
1. I would toast the coconut on the stove in a dry pan on medium heat until it just starts to change color so the chunks would come out a more golden brown without worrying about overcooking the fish.

2. The cod chunks were so moist that I attempted to coat them without an agent to keep the stuff on. It worked okay and is do-able. But I have a MISTO that sprays different types of oils in a fine mist that I might try next time with either coconut or olive oil.

Tip: Coat each chunk separately and try to keep your fingers dry so the mixture doesn’t get wet and start clumping up.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Cut a couple potatoes or a butternut squash into fry-sized strips.
(You can also buy them pre-cut which makes these really easy).
Sprinkle on evenly:
1 T cumin (approx)
1 tsp nutmeg or pumpkin spice
Pinch of Kosher salt to taste
Dash of cinnamon**

I put these on a VERY lightly oiled pan in the oven about 10 minutes before the fish nuggets. So they baked at 375 for about 25-30 minutes. Tip: Don’t brush these with oil. They will soak it up and get soggy. I rub on a very slight amount of oil or butter in the last minute or two just to make them bright and shiny.

* Okay, I might get berated by Paleo enthusiasts for the parmesan but I coated two big fillets of fish with only half of that mixture and the only ate a third of that so really the amount was negligible but the added taste was tremendous. But feel free to omit.

** Again, there is no substitute for the Vietnamese cinnamon at Savory Spice. There are a few other types there which are great as well).

Days to Colorado CrossFit Open: 12

THE DIET: Day 8

People seem to shy away from healthy food because of the expense of individual items. Tonight I treated myself to grass-fed bison tenderloin on a bed of sautéed mushrooms. Beef tenderloin at the grocery store is about $25.00 per pound. Outrageous, right? But unless you plan to eat a whole pound of beef by yourself, break it down to the cost of dinner instead of the cost of items per pound. Obviously you can do better by choosing cheaper cuts of meat but splurging a little on one item at dinner from time to time is not nearly as bad as it looks. My salad was cucumber and tomatoes on spinach. Blueberries for dessert. Nothing but water to drink.

Cost of this dinner:
Tenderloin: 25.00 per lb.  4 oz = 6.25
Mushrooms: 1.99 package. Ate half = 1.00
Tomatoes: 1.99 package. Ate a fourth = 0.50
Cucumber: 0.50 each. Ate half = 0.25
Spinach: 2.00 large bin. Tiny handful = 0.25
Blueberries: 2.50 package. Ate a fourth = 0.65
Water = 0.00
Total cost of dinner: $8.90

One margarita at West End Tavern on Saturday:
$8.00 plus a 20% tip = $9.60

THE WORKOUT: Day 8

We woke up early to go mountain biking by Nederland with neighbor Joe this morning. West Magnolia is a very short trail so we thought it might perfect for us this weekend. I am exhausted and Todd is trying to recover from a cold.

The warm up was about a half mile of all downhill. Not a good thing. The other side was extremely steep and rocky. We made it part way but it got so steep we finally had to walk parts of it. After that it was a lot of up and down and winding through the trees. Fun quick trail.

After we got home neither one of us felt very good so we were pretty useless the rest of the day.

Days to Colorado CrossFit Open: 13

THE WORKOUT: Day 7
For today’s workout a small group of us hiked Royal Arch. Most of the trail is in the shade and is surrounded by bright green growth. A few summers ago I made sure that I buy 308 ammo before the trek. I went on that trek before work a couple times a week just as the sun was rising. I saw many more deer than people. I would get to the top in about 45 minutes, enjoy the view by myself for awhile, maybe read a little, and get back down in about 20 minutes. This very peaceful morning workout made it one of my favorite local hikes. Then a kid was almost carried off by a mountain lion nearby and that was the end of sunrise hikes by myself up Royal Arch.

At 10:00am on a Saturday, I was prepared for the trail to be a bit crowded. That was tolerable. I was not, however, prepared to stand in line to see the view at the top. The arch was like a crowded subway, everyone crawling all over each other for a better place to stand. Definitely not the peace and quiet I was used to. Luckily, we had a fun group of people which made the hike still worthwhile.

THE DIET: Day 7
After the hike was the annual Flatirons CrossFit Barbecue. I started off pretty well sticking to the diet. Ate mostly meat and vegetables. Even margaritas there and later at West End Tavern were not too terrible. It was when I got back home and went out for Mexican food that the diet went south. I ordered the chicken tortilla soup which at this place is paleo-friendly. Without tortilla strips and cheese it is basically just chicken, green chilies, tomatoes, and avocado in broth. Very delicious. However, I didn’t stop with the soup this time. i dug into that basket of tortilla chips like it was the last meal of my life. And one stop at 7-Eleven later I found myself enjoying a Kit Kat for dessert. Oh well. No big deal. Back on track tomorrow.

Days to Colorado CrossFit Open: 14

THE WORKOUT: Day 6
Tire flips as many times as possible in 5:00
Tire weight: 350#
My reps: 26  (Beat my last score by 4!)

For time:
75 reps of snatches at 55#
My time: 4:20

THE DIET: Day 6
Today I was really lacking creativity and ended up basically having beef jerky and a large salad for dinner. Boring but also zero work, much like this post. Heh.

Days to Colorado CrossFit Open: 15

You’d think a day off would make me full of energy for the workout today. It was more like working out after a long nap. I felt sluggish mentally. Somehow I managed to fight through feelings of wanting to take a break in the middle of the workout. Still need to straighten out these arms a little better. Also I failed the last push jerk attempt and had to drop the bar and repeat it. So tired.

THE WORKOUT: Day 5
Squat small sets as heavy as possible
Reps: 3 3 2 2 1 1 1
My weights: 185  185  195  205  210
Failed attempts at 215

WOD
Reps: 21  15  9
Row (calories)
Push jerks @ 85
My time: 6:22

THE DIET: Day 5
A friend from CrossFit sent me a recipe that I was dying to try. You can get it here: Recipe for Coconut Curry Mahi Mahi

I made a few additions to the original recipe just to experiment.

1. I could’t find mahi mahi and ended up using halibut. Tip from Amy: Frozen is good enough for this recipe and a lot cheaper than fresh.

2. I added a little broccoli. The ends soak up the juices really well. Cut the florets small and steam them a few minutes first. They take longer to cook than the peppers.

3. I added a little ginger and a little cinnamon to the curry. Specifically I used Vietnamese Saigon Cinnamon from Savory Spice in Boulder. It is outrageously expensive but there is no substitute.

4. I served it with grilled pineapple chunks. Pineapple is so good with coconut curry. If you decide to toss it right in the sauce like I did definitely grill it first or you will get too much pineapple juice in there.

5. Tip 2 from Amy: I used part chicken broth. Coconut milk is fairly high in fat.

Amy, thanks for the great recipe! And thanks to my volleyball-playing friend Ashley for turning me on to the pineapple coconut curry at Spring Thai. Yum!