Days to CrossFit Games: 4

Saturday night I went over to my sister’s along with 35 people or so. My stepmom’s entire family, a few from my mom’s family, and my brother-in-law’s parents bombarded her house for several hours. It was my 4th barbecue in less than 2 weeks. Luckily Kim spared us the burgers and fed us Mexican food instead. Mmmm. This photo is my stepmom Gayle’s four kids and their kids plus my mom’s mom on the lower left and my sister and I over there on the right with our boys. Yesterday Todd’s family came over to watch the World Cup finals. We grilled burgers. Hahaha. That makes the 5th! Anyway, Todd and his sister were pretty elite soccer players and I will pretty much watch the finals of any sporting event. But that wasn’t soccer as much as it was 2 hours of sprinting with brief stints of Tae Kwon Do. And to demonstrate the flying chest kick…

On the bright side, none of the players from Spain had to fake any of their injuries. ‘Your Kung Fu is strong, Grasshopper, but not strong enough’. Hiyeee ya!’

Days left to CrossFit Games: 5

The workout yesterday was not a long grueling one and I was not particularly tired doing it, not something I have said about any CrossFit workout. Yet it was the closest I have been to not finishing a workout at all.

The workout:
4 rounds for time:
3 snatches
150m run
7 kipping pull ups

I was not sure what weight to use for the snatches. At Regionals the individual girls had to do several sets of 10 snatches at 95#. For one girl who looked about 100lbs herself, 95# was her max. She could barely even handle the first one. But she did another rep. And then another. And pretty soon the whole crowd was cheering as she battled each rep to finally complete the workout just barely under the allotted time. Since we only had to do 3 reps at a time and my max is around 90# I was inspired to try it. Ugh! The first two went up (barely) but I could not get myself under the bar on that third rep! Each time it took several attempts and on the third round I could not get the last rep at all. I had to remove 5 pounds from the bar just to finish the workout. Very disappointing.

My trainer wants me try to compete with the individuals at the Colorado Open at the end of August. If the workouts are just right for me I have the potential to finish pretty well. Like if we do 21, 15, 9 deadlifts at 155# and double-unders like we did this week I would kick butt. That workout only took me 3:30. Unfortunately my weaknesses are so bad that if just one of them tossed in the mix I could go from great performance to not being able to finish a workout at all.

Oh well. Nothing ventured nothing gained, I suppose. The “demotivator” in the picture cracks me up but I do have a real answer to it. Your best is only your “best” on a given day. So when your best is not good enough you always have the option to set out to make it better than it was on that day. I feel really determined to tackle my weaknesses (in CrossFit but also in life in general). And here they are:

1.  Snatch – Most I can handle in a workout is about 85#.
2.  Overhead Squat – Most I can handle as a 1 rep max is about 85#.
3.  Chest To Bar Kipping Pull Ups – After 3 reps my chest no longer touches.
4.  Handstand Push Ups – I cannot touch my head to the ground and get back up.
5.  Muscle Ups / Dips – I cannot do a muscle up at all and can barely do 2 dips on the rings.

To a lesser degree but still needing help:
1.  Push Ups / Burpees – Both have improved dramatically yet I am still about half as capable as the other two girls on my team.
2.  Clean and jerk – I can get by but its not pretty.
3.  Diet – Obviously better than it has been in the past but my discipline but still needs serious work.

In another workout this week we did 3 rounds of max rep push ups (chest must touch the ground). I did 22, 17, and 12 for a total of 51. Rosanne did 42 on just her first round! I think her total was close to 100. Then there is Sean who did 100 on each of his first two rounds and 80 on his third. That must have taken forever. I am convinced he only decided not to finish all 100 in the last round because he got bored.

Sigh. I have a lot of work to do.

Days left to CrossFit Games: 6

Sorry I have not been keeping up to date with the blog recently. I have spent most days in the garden, working, running errands, and getting ready for the Games in California next week.

I have been thinking a lot about how this year is going so far. It seems to be going great. I set out to accomplish a great deal and I am well on my way. But much of the focus for the first six month has been on losing weight and getting fit which transitioned into a focus almost exclusively on performing well at CrossFit for these competitions. On one hand it is a great thing to decide what you want in life and then dedicate time and effort to achieve what you set out to achieve. But in the grander scheme of life all of my fitness efforts will only be a true success if they are part of the bigger set of accomplishments as opposed to being the thing that distracts me from the rest. I have been so concentrated on the competitions that I am having trouble visualizing the overall set of resolutions and the direction I want them to take me in.

After thinking about it this week I have decided it is okay for now. I still 6 months of this year to get this stuff figured out. Next weekend will be a major milestone and once it is finished I can step back and take a look at the bigger picture and make sure I am not losing my way.

Days left to CrossFit Games: 12

We have been training hard. A week ago on Saturday the team went to Front Range CrossFit for a 2nd practice with other Colorado teams. 50 snatches (115# for girls), 50 hand stand push ups, 50 muscle ups on the rings, plus everyone had to row 2 x 500 meter sprints. I cannot do hand stand push ups or muscle ups so I did the only thing I could, the heavy lifting. Add a couple 500 meter sprints and my legs were so tired they went numb. After that we raced boys against girls flipping huge tractor tires through the parking lot. The girls did very well but the boys beat us even with their heavier tire. Ours was 300 and I think theirs was 500.The next day I decided to go on a hike with Todd and my cousin Andrea. It started out as a nice leisurely 2 mile hike up to Lake Isabelle just 45 minutes from Boulder. But we decided to continue on to see if we could reach Pawnee Pass another 2.25 miles past the lake. Much of the trail was covered in snow and when we reached a field of boulders we lost the trail altogether. After 2 hours of bouldering up the side of the mountain and we got trapped beneath a steep and expansive snow field that we could not traverse. The snow gave out completely with each step and the giant boulders beneath were too unstable. We came within 100 meters of the top of the pass and had to turn back. Had we stayed on the trail it would have been an easy walk for us. Other than that it was a beautiful hike.  See more pics: Hike to Pawnee Pass.Yesterday, inspired by our tire flipping at Front Range, our trusted leader came up with his own much worse workout for us. Teams of 4-5 had to flip 5 tires of sizes ranging from 150 lbs to 800 lbs across the parking lot and then stack them all on top of each other. Then we had to carry nine bags full of sand ranging from 50 lbs to 135 lbs the rest of the way around our very long building. All for time, of course. And naturally the people going to the Games, including myself, were on the team of only 4. It took 3 people just to flip the 800 lb tire. That thing was HEAVY and it was slow going. We definitely could have used another person. We tried to make up for it by carrying multiple sandbags at once. Time: 16:00.As if that wasn’t enough, after the workout a new-ish crossfitter fresh out of the Navy named Sean suggested that a 17 year old soccer player named Ben and I join him for a hike up Bear Peak. Ours was nothing like a leisurely hike. Over the course of the hike the three of us somehow developed an unspoken agreement to push through the 7 mile loop as fast as possible (except for our stop at the summit). We went up the steep side gaining 2400 feet of elevation in well under 2 hours and then ran down the back side as fast as we could manage. We missed a turn and ran further down the mountain than necessary so after all that we had to bushwhack up a steep slope to get back to our cars. Estimated time to complete the hike is 5-7 hours. Our time including our half hour summit and our accidental detour was 3 hrs 30 minutes. My legs have never been so close to complete failure. Totally worth it. What a gorgeous run! The wildflowers are beautiful and the view from the top is outstanding.

Days left to CrossFit Games: 15

My stepmom’s son and his family flew in from Australia to spend a month here. I had the pleasure of meeting them at a barbecue at my dad’s house last Thursday. After feeling so unfocused I still managed to stick to the health food diet that night! The kids, on the other hand, were following a different diet. They played a game where they stood under the deck and caught sundae ingredients in their mouths…

The first victim:

The drop:

The The catch:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

What a riot!

Days left to CrossFit Games: 16

I was feeling a bit unfocused two weekends ago and decided to spend the early mornings on the patio and in the garden instead of on my laptop writing about my day. My weekend break from blogging quickly turned into 10 days. I feel much better now. I think I can spend a little time in the morning doing both. So much to catch up on…

Today’s workout:

500m row for time
Time: 1:55

Squat
Reps  5  5  3  3  1  1  1
1 rep max: 230#

Days left to CrossFit Games: 28

Every year since I bought my house in 2002 I have thought about how nice it would be to grow an herb garden and every year I go without  actually doing it. Last year I even bought the herbs and the pot but never bothered to plant them. For my birthday this year my dad and step mom bought me a tomato planter and herb garden in one. This morning I finally woke up really early and finished planting it. It took me a total of about an hour. Soon I will have fresh tomatoes plus basil to make tomato sauce, cilantro to make pico de gallo, and dill which I like to add to a little light sour cream to put on fish. Why in the world would I have put something so simple off for so long?

Today’s workout: None. Taking the day off.

Days left to CrossFit Games: 29

Before CrossFit, I thought Olympic lifting was for 400 pound Viking-type lumberjacks who inexplicably felt the need to shove a barbell over their head. Not so. This is Gea Johnson. Would you be able to tell by looking at her that she has won 7 Olympic Weightlifting titles? It is not even really her sport. Her real sports were track and field and bobsledding. In track and field she was ranked 2nd place in the world four years in a row behind Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

When you watch someone else it looks like there is not much to it. But it is much more technically difficult than I ever would have imagined. Rosanne pointed out that this is why there are only two Olympic lifts (snatch, clean and jerk) yet some people dedicate their entire careers to them. It also requires a lot more flexibility than I would have guessed. I knew my hamstrings and shoulders were tight but I had no idea how tight until now.

The amazing thing about Olympic lifting is how much it seems to benefit other sports. Doing these lifts require a lot of power so I seem to be getting quicker and I am jumping higher than I was before. And the more the flexibility and strength improves the less shoulder and knee pains I seem to have. Who knew?

Yesterday’s workout:
3 snatch every 2:00 x 8 rounds
Weight used: 80#

80 pounds is pretty close to my 1 rep max. At first I felt unhappy that I cannot do much more than that. It seems to be mostly technical problems that prevent me from doing more. Most of the girls at Regionals could do at least 100# and often more. I figured out, though, that I am happier when I compare me to myself rather than to other girls. I looked back and when we did this workout 3 weeks ago I was only able to do 70#. I made a 10lb jump in 3 weeks!

Today’s workout:
5 x 3 deadlifts at 90%
Weight used: 220#

3 rounds for time of:
10 pull-ups
20 wallballs
30 stick jumps
Time: 8:20

I could not have lifted one more pound in the deadlift for those five sets. I think if someone had set a penny on the barbell I wouldn’t have finished my last rep. That’s what you want out of a workout. Felt great. I wish I could say the same for the 3 round workout. The big bowl of cereal I ate this morning was trying to find its way back out. I stopped twice to tie my shoelaces. I think I need a day off.

Days left to CrossFit Games: 30

I just received a letter from the mother of the kid I sponsor in Honduras. She’s pregnant! That will make four kids! The first thought that involuntarily crossed my mind was why would she sound so excited about having another child when she cannot support the ones she has. The second thought was guilt for being judgmental. For one thing they cannot afford birth control. For the same monthly price they could feed a whole second family anyway. Even if they could afford it they probably would not use it. Families are very Catholic down there. It is likely she believes that when God wants them to stop having children He will make it so.

Now that I got passed all those thoughts I am soooo excited! I really hope they have a healthy baby. I am also keeping my fingers crossed that Alex and his two brothers will finally get a little sister! The minute a trip based in his town is scheduled I am signing up to go back. I really hope it is next year.

Yesterday’s workout:

5 x 3 Jerks @ 80% of 1 rep max

5:00 of kettle bell snatches with 35lbs
Reps result: 121

I didn’t bother with 80% of my known max on the jerks. The most I had even attempted until yesterday was 120# but we had to do that 45 times during one of our workouts. For me it was 1 painful rep at a time. So to do sets of three I started with 110#. By the last two sets I was at 125#, technically 105% of my previously known max. Even though I failed the last rep I didn’t feel bad. I worked as hard as I possibly could have and that is what makes a successful workout.

Having a little bit too much work to do is not something I should complain about. It could be so much worse. It wasn’t nearly as rough as this guy’s day at work was, for example. (He lived, BTW. The bull just got him in the shoulder and probably ended up having a worse day than his injured opponent.) Still, there is a lot to do in not very much time. And right in the middle of discussing it in a conference call the power went out in my area. Luckily it came back on or I would have missed my first deadline at 3:00. My next one is Friday. I have so much to cover by then it is a little stressful but since I probably won’t be able to sleep very well I should be able to meet that one too. Sigh.

Since I couldn’t go to CrossFit in the morning I had to make a tough call and skip volleyball to go in the evening. Because of the upcoming competition I promised myself for at least the next 5 weeks that CrossFit would take the priority. It worked out better for work too because I was home by 6:30 and got a bunch more done in the evening. I miss volleyball already but it will still be there later in the summer. The progress I have made in my workouts went up dramatically after I stopped playing volleyball five times a week so its worth it.

The workout:

30 push presses at 65# (95# for boys)
30 burpees
30 toes to bar
30 wall balls at 10’ target at 14# (20# for boys)
30 calories on the rower

Time: 9:17

I do have feelings of wishing I could do every workout over again. In this case I wasn’t happy with my push presses. I went as fast as I possibly could but sometimes don’t get my arms all the way straight and my head out in front. I should have slowed it down just a few seconds and made sure I was doing them right. I still need to work on depth on the wall balls too. It isn’t good to reinforce bad form. But no need to dwell on it. Just something for me to think about next time around I guess.

Days left to CrossFit Games: 31