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!

Days to Colorado CrossFit Open: 16

THE WORKOUT: Day 4: NONE
I forced myself to take a full day off yesterday. All day I fought the urge to go for a run, do push ups, anything. But I made it through the day. No CrossFit, no volleyball, no mountain biking, nothing. I hated it. But I know it is necessary. I used to love rest days. Now a day off feels like a missed chance for a major breakthrough. I know I need them though so finally taking one was an accomplishment.

THE DIET: Day 4
I went to my cousin Andrea’s new apartment to have dinner with her, her roommate Brooke and their friend Kenny who turned out to be way more disciplined than I am with the health food stuff. The guy had lost over 70 pounds since high school! Always inspiring to hear a good success story. Since they were all eating healthy too it was easy to stick to the plan.

Our dinner: Rotisserie chicken and Mediterranean salad.

For this salad: Romaine lettuce, Broccoli,Tomatoes, Avocado, Olives Feta cheese (not allowed by Paleo so I just didn’t take any). I ate my salad with just salt and pepper. Plenty flavorful with all that stuff in it. For protein we ate rotisserie chicken (without the skin, of course). For dessert I ate a peach.

I had been missing the taste of ice cream all day but when we decided to go sit in the hot tub and I was able to borrow Andrea’s bikini (she’s 19) I suddenly I forgot all about the sweets. Bring on the salad!