Yes, that is homemade beef osso bucco!!

Home sweet home

A wonderful Saturday with nothing planned at all. Needed a day off from work.
Woke up around 10:30am and ate brunch at Glenn's diner - one of my favourite places in the city! Then hit up West Loop for a WOD. Hip still not 100% so trying to lay off it still. Just gotta keep it straight. Goal is to see a specialist this week.

PR'ed on kipping pullups in a row in warm-up! 8! Yay!

Jerks - skipped due to hip
Press 3-3-3+: 43-48-53(3)
I'm an idiot. I completely forgot that the last set is a max rep set. I've been away from strength for too long...

Modified WOD:
8 minute AMRAP of:
5 ring push ups (on knees)
5 ring rows (1st 2 rounds with no band, then got a thin band)
5 kipping pullups (no band)

5 rounds + 2 pullups

Thanks John for offering me that band for those ring rows!

3x max ring dips w/ thin band: 10-9-6

Also, I warmed up with double unders and ended with some work on HSPUs.

Brunch @ 11am at Glenn's diner: coffee, seafood salad split w/ JJ, crabcake eggs benedict w/ hollandaise on the side. Ate a few bites of the potato pancake (argh so delicious). Also, got tempted by the excellent bread soaked in butter - took a few bites b/c I couldn't help it. Next time I go anywhere, I am asking them NOT to bring me any bread (except maybe if their French croissants).

Snack @ 5pm: handful of beef jerky from Trader Joe's
Dinner @ 7pm: Ahi tuna (from Dirks Fish) ceviche w/ cucumber, tomatoes, coconut milk, and shredded carrots. Salmon burger, als from Dirks Fish.

Saturday night fun!

Omaha day 5

Early start at work today (8am) so once again, despite saying it all week, I won't make it to a 6am WOD at Crossfit Omaha yet again (working too late and eating too late argh). Today I get to go home! Been a long week but almost there.

Breakfast @ 7:30am: Running late so just ate some scrambled eggs (egg-beaters, bleh), 2 breakfast sausages, and half a cup of coffee (bleh). Eggs with ketchup.
Mid-morning snack: a bit of coffee and a banana
Lunch @ 1pm: blackened salmon salad with tomatoes and a basil vinagrette, a cup of smoked gouda and blonde ale soup. Both Upstream brewery favourites. No beer!
Snack @ 6:30pm (on the El): Trio bar
Dinner @ 9pm at Melanthios on Broadway: Grilled octopus, chicken souvlaki dinner with roasted peppers, green beats covered in tomato sauce, and a few bites of pita. DELICIOUS.

So tired from the week, I am going to pass out on the couch!

Omaha day 3 and 4

Nothing much to report other than STILL not making it to Crossfit Omaha for a WOD, working lots, and eating "well".

Day 3:
Breakfast @ 8:30am: omelette with ham, spinach, mushrooms, tomato, green peppers, onion, a bit of weak coffee, 1 grande americano.
Lunch @ 12:30pm: Whole Foods buffet (the client happens to be near the only one in Omaha) - ratatouille, curry chicken, curry fish, some beets, mushrooms, 1 piece of flank steak, 6 oz of lobster bisque
Snack @ 4:30pm: 3/4 of a homemade paleo kit
Dinner @ 8:30pm at Passport: 2 glasses of Conundrum, maybe had 1 glass of red, surf and turf (8oz filet with grilled lobster, veggies, skipped the potatoes), a few bites of someone else's chocolate mousse and creme brulee, 1 decaf cappucino

Day 4:
Breakfast @ 8:30am: omelette with ham, spinach, mushrooms, tomato, green peppers, onion, a bit of weak coffee, 1 americano from the hotel (I'm going back to Starbucks tomorrow).
Lunch @ 1pm: Whole Foods buffet (managed to convince coworkers to go again!) - ratatouille, sauteed broccoli, 3 turkey meatballs, 1 piece of teriyaki chicken, some beets, mushrooms, 6 oz of butternut squash soup, 1 unsweetened Sweet Leaf tea
Snack @ 5pm: 1 Golden Delicious apple
Dinner @ 9pm at V Mertz: some amuse bouche (apple trio - delicious), proscuitto with walnuts and cranberry jello/marmalade, 1 brioche w/ a little bit of butter, bites of other people's small plates (wagyu beef shortrib, pork belly), 8 oz peppersteak with veggies (skipped potatoes), 2 glasses of red wine (Barolo), 1 decaf cappucino, a few bites of creme brulee and some chocolate mousse (popular choices for dessert here in Omaha!).

Omaha day 2

I woke up at 5:10am to my alarm and debated for about 10 minutes as to whether I was going to Crossfit this morning. My hip was hurting even in bed and my wrist felt sore and I just felt really tired since I didn't sleep well. I was so torn but going back to bed for almost two hours won.

Worked all day. Ate better but overate at dinner. It's just so hard when you eat out with a group.

Breakfast @ 8am: omelette with ham, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes, and green pepper. One strip of bacon. One sausage. 1 Grande Americano
Lunch @ 12:30pm: Jimmy Johns #11 (Country Club) Unwich, no mayo. 1 unsweetened iced tea. 5 chips from my coworker.
Snack @ 3pm: 1 Golden Delicious apple
Snack @ 5pm: Trio bar
Dinner @ 7:30pm: Spicy coconut soup, bunch of sashimi (hamachi, ahi, salmon, etc), 2 pieces of specialty roll. Less than 1 pint of Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale.

Man, I am stuffed...

Omaha day 1

8:30am flight... delayed for an hour... greeted with a blasting wind and blowing snow... welcome to Omaha!

Uneventful work-filled day. Not the best nutrition day but I did what I could. Opted for cream/cheese over some sugar-glaze on chicken or potatoes or bread where I could. The place where I ate a wrap/burrito thing today had NO tortilla-less option and there were no plastic forks available to eat it open-faced. And I had no choice over where we were eating... so very sad.

I checked out Crossfit Omaha today but I only stopped by to figure out how to get there. I have high hopes of a WOD in the morning. Anyway, I talked to Ricky, the Level II coach there, and he said they have about 15 girls going to Sectionals, 4-5 of which will do RX WODs regardless of what WOD it is and others will go RX depending on which WOD. My advice to all you girls competing is that if you can do RX but have a ridiculously slow time, you should go for it. Chances are, you'll make it to regionals given the number that has signed up.

That being said, I have made my decision to not compete this year, despite many weeks on the fence. Originally, I was just apprehensive but I am in week 2 of my hip injury and it just isn't feeling better. Getting in and out of the car to drive requires some care. And even if my hip felt better in one week, it definitely won't be ready for heavy weights. I want my hip healed solid before working hard. I'm a little frustrated by this but believe it's the right decision.

Breakfast @ 6am: 2 fried eggs and 2 strips of bacon. A little bit of sunbutter. 1 espresso.
Snack @ 10am: Trio bar
Lunch @ noonish: Burrito/wrap thing with marinated chicken, lettuce, green peppers, salsa, guac. I had no choice but to eat the wrap. I peeled off whatever I could without the thing falling apart.
Snack @ 4pm: bag of almonds
Dinner @ 8pm: 1 cup of tomato basil parmesan soup. 5 (or 6?) butterflied spinach-stuffed shrimp with matchstick squash and carrots. Cream sauce (which I opted over some sweet-glazed protein). 6 oz of beer (three 2oz tasters at Upstream brewery)

Yet another rest day...

I think I might have slept too much today... just felt sleepy the whole day. However, I'm getting less sharp pain and more achy pain in the hip. Good or bad? I have no idea. Either way, it's being iced right now.

Tomorrow I head to Omaha for a week to work. I had high hopes of getting in 3-4 WODs but since I am limited in the movements I can do, I'm not really sure how many times I'm going to go. We'll see. Goal this week is to eat as cleanly as possible.

Breakfast @ 11:30am: homemade chicken cacciatore with sauteed brussel sprouts
Lunch @ 2pm: 6 Tallgrass meatballs, some guac, and spiralled carrots
Dinner @ 7pm: seared scallops, pan-fried smelts, jicama slaw, and Chinese broccoli with a bit of oyster sauce
Snack @ 11pm: 1 apple with sunbutter

Crossfit West Loop!

JJ and I decided to check out Crossfit West Loop today. The space is HUGE and this place will be amazing when it gets well-stocked. I'm sure the piano people upstairs are going to love us.

Today's WOD at CFWL

Back Squat: skipped due to hip
2x max deadhangs: Still don't have one yet but the negatives I worked on felt stronger than before. Try out alt grip next time.
1x max kipping pullups: 4. Felt weak today on these. I have been working on these quite a bit since I can't seem to do much else with the hip. Might think about resting a bit before attempting again.

Alt Metcon: JT (aka upper body killer)
21-15-9 of HSPUs / ring dips / push ups
11:00

HSPUs: pretty much unbroken through first round with 2 ab mats. I probably should have paced this in hindsight but I think I was too excited about doing this with 2 ab mats. When the 2nd round came around, I tried SO hard to stick with the 2 ab mats but my upper body was just so jacked from the ring dips and push ups that every time I went down to the 2 ab mats, my shoulders just refused to push me back up. I tried this 3 times before calling out to Kerry (thanks!) and asking for an additional ab mat. I just couldn't do any more using 2.

Ring dips: used flat clear band. Started with 10. Then sets of 5s. Second and third rounds were sets of 3s and 2s.

Push ups: When I got here the first round, I wanted so bad to do regular push ups but when I got chest to ground, I just couldn't get up. Tried twice before I finally gave in and did them on my knees. Even then they were like sets of 5 in the first round and sets of 2s and 3s in the remaining rounds.

This was probably one of the toughest WODs I have ever done. For all the ring dips / push up reps that I didn't get to lock out, I re-did them. Muscle fatigue was just ridiculous here but happy that I finally got this under my belt. I might be with JohnG on hating this WOD.

After the WOD, I rested a bit and wanted to get some cardio in. Goal at first was do double-unders until I could do 50 in a row. That goal quickly dropped to 20. I want to say I spent about 5 to 6 minutes doing double-unders and never made it to 20. The most I got was 17 before my arms were completely dead.

Breakfast @ 9:30am: 1 fried egg, shrimp with no-salt organic seasoning, sauteed spinach and peppers, crushed almonds, 1 americano

Light lunch #1 @ noonish: homemade chili (with chicken and beef) with pureed rutabaga (yum!)

Post-WOD @ 3:30pm: 1 clementine

Light lunch #2 @ 4:30pm: Chipotle salad (lettuce, chicken, fajita veggies, mild salsa, green salsa, guac)

Dinner @ 8:30pm: Half a slice of garlic bread with spicy marinara and 2 slices of pizza (one bleubird and one margherita) from Santullo's in Wicker Park. 1 Brooklyn Brewery Lager. A few sips of JJ's lo-cal Sprecher root beer.

Snack @ 12am: a few pieces of apple with sunbutter

Was supposed to go to The Bristol but they couldn't accommodate our large party of 9. Turned away from Mindy's Hot Chocolate too. Sad. I am one of the lucky ones and don't normally crave pizza... but if I were to cheat, I'd cheat with Santullo's pizza for sure!

Dealing with frustration

It's been a long week at work and I'm just so happy it's Friday even though I have to work some this weekend. I get to relax and not think about work for maybe a day! YAY!

I was determined to get a WOD in today even though my hip still hurts. It hurt going down stairs which is not good. It's getting better but recovery is just so frickin slow. I just want to do the WODs just like everyone else! I just have to be patient...

WOD:
Bench press 5-5-5+: 56-64-73(5)
- I have not seen ANY improvement with this at all. The last set felt heavy. Barely eeked out that last rep... even Alex thought I wasn't going to make it.

3x max pushups: 16+8+5=29
- Felt a little tingly in left elbow... must be from leaning on it while typing. I also feel stalled on pushup improvement. The 3x max has ranged from 27 to 31 total. Can't seem to get to 20 in the first set without it destroying my next two sets.

Metcon:
21-15-9 SDHP / PP (40% of 1RM Press) + 500m row

Mod Metcon:
21-15-9 Jumping pullups / PP @ 30# + 75 double unders
5:38
- Jumping pullups and PPs were pretty quick and unbroken. My arms were almost dead when I got to that rope and I was impatient with getting on a roll. Even Bryce saw me missing SINGLE unders which is RIDICULOUS. After I got on a roll, I was stringing 5+ together which got me through. Didn't stand up straight enough. Extremely inefficient pullups today.

Breakfast @ 8am: radishes w/ sunbutter, 1 crabcake, 1 hard-boiled egg, some zucchini and yellow squash, 1 espresso
Mid-morning: 1 matcha green tea
Lunch @ noon: pork with green beans (I found it in the freezer... must have made it a while ago) and butternut squash soup
Snack @ 4pm: homemade paleo kit
Dinner @ 8pm: steak with sauteed brussel sprouts, bok choy, and green onions with some celeriac puree

Might have a snack before bed... feeling hungry!

An unintentional mild cheat day

Today was a super long work day. Super. Long. And not having been to the box since Tuesday is driving me crazy.

I have been sleeping lots (8-9 hours) the last couple of days. I think my body has been dying for recovery. I heard Robb Wolf mentioned on one of his podcasts that sometimes, you just need 3 weeks on, 1 week off. I guess I don't feel so bad but I'm dying to work out too. Sadly, my hip is not 100%... I tried to pull my chair in with my leg and I felt some pain.

Today was an unintentional mild cheat day because I did not eat well and not really on purpose. I was cooped up in a team room all day working to meet deadlines. Lunch was pushed back and the smell of other people's foods tempted me to have a bite of this and that because I was too hungry. It could have been worse but I made the best of the situation.

Breakfast @ 8am: 1 crabcake, 1 fried egg, some apple-pear with sunbutter, 1 espresso
Morning snacking from 11am-1pm: nuts and dried cranberries/cherries
Lunch @ 2pm: Panera chicken cobb salad (subbed balsamic dressing, scraped off gorgonzola), cup of "creamy" tomato soup, ate some of the fresh crusty bread (I just couldn't help myself and it was delicious)
Snack @ 5pm: homemade paleo kit
Dinner @ 8pm: Townhouse halibut piccata (subbed broccolini for mashed potatoes), ate two bites of a delicious lemon risotto

I'm wiped. I need to sleep. Hoping to make it to the box to do something tomorrow!

I need new pants!!

I woke up this morning and my traps were KILLING me so much I decided to rest. Might have been from the cleans or handstand negatives but I'm not too sure. I woke up in time to go to the 6am but decided it was smarter to rest... considering the metcon had HSPUs in it. That and my work-induced bum wrist probably wouldn't have liked the HSPUs much either.

My hip flexor is still sore so squat jumps would not have been appropriate. I also seemed to have pulled something else on my right leg... sigh... falling apart...

Instead, I ended up with 9 hours of sleep (as recommended by Robb Wolf) and still felt pretty sore the whole day. I wonder if these nightshades are hurting my recovery. I've been eating a fair amount of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant... which is more than my old diet. I don't really know what's causing this slow recovery or reinjuries. Perhaps I have muscles around joints issues? Does anyone know of a way to prevent that? I remember something about how glucosamine might help but I don't know if it really does.

Anyway, after all that, I put on work pants this morning and they felt baggy. Maybe I really am down another size after all! That means I need to get pants this weekend before I fly to Omaha next week to work at a client site. Being down another size makes me really happy. I bet I'm fitter and stronger than I was in high school (and I did track and badminton in high school)!

Breakfast @ 8:30am: Some sunbutter, 1 banana, 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 espresso
Lunch @ 12:30pm: Ground grass-fed beef with eggplant, yellow squash, tomato, green pepper ratatouille on a bed of spiral cut carrots and zucchini
Snack @ 4:30pm: homemade paleo kit
Dinner @ 7:30pm: Chicken curry with caramelized carrots and eggplant

A little less pain in the hip, a little more pain in the wrist...

I might just be minor-injury-prone or something... can't I go a week without pulling/hurting something? People at work always think they're joking when they ask me "what did you hurt while doing crossfit today"...
Wrist hurts today... either laptop keyboard or handstands maybe. I got an ergonomic keyboard today so hopefully that problem will resolve itself.
Nice to be able to do a WOD today even though I still can't do much with the hip.

This morning, I did yesterday's strength and today's WOD.
Press 5-5-5+: 43-49-56 (9). Felt solid.
15 Handstand negatives: these were kind of fun after you get over falling on your head. Nice to know that I can at least do the negatives on one ab mat.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of HPC @ 63# and Ring dips.
HPCs were fast and felt good. Ring dips were pretty good too. Broke once in each of the 8, 7, 6, and 5 rounds.

Worked on some kipping pullups 5x5.

I'm back on the swing as to whether I should compete at Sectionals or not. I know I'm not training very hard and I don't really have much time to but I would love to just experience that atmosphere. If I can do a WOD un-scaled, great. If not, whatever. I'm not expecting much given the schedule... but then, the idea of competing at Sectionals still scares the hell out of me. Makes me nervous thinking about it. I might be last. I don't know. Think about it some more tomorrow... maybe the answer will just come to me (sleepy passive mode).

Pre WOD (5:30am): muscle milk light
Breakfast (8:30am): 1 of JJ's crabcakes, 1 sunnyside up egg, some veggies (zucchini, squash) with crushed almonds, 1 espresso
Mid-morning snack: handful of almonds and dried cranberries, 1 matcha green tea
Lunch (12:30pm): beef and chicken chili, roasted veggies (carrots, butternut squash, eggplant)
Mid-afternoon snack: handful of almonds and dried cranberries (I forgot paleo kit today)
Dinner (7:30pm): From Townhouse (work meal) - seared ahi tuna (covered in crushed peppercorns and salt), broccolini (I tasted butter)

Hope this fixes my wrist

Cranky at work

This morning, I woke up at 5:15am with the hopes of hitting the 6am class. After trying to roll out of bed, I decided to give my hip one more full rest day. I've at least isolated the movements that aggravate it. For example, lifting leg up hurts it. Squatting slow doesn't. Squatting fast does. So strange.

Throughout the day, I noticed how cranky I was at work. I got annoyed at things more easily and I feel like I complained more than usual... or maybe just more than last week. Getting the WODs done in the morning seems to have a positive effect on my day. I really need to make it tomorrow and do something... anything!

"Busy season" at work is in full swing and I feel like my old "work injuries" are back. I've mentioned my left wrist (which I decided to tape today) but I noticed a soreness in my right shoulder/arm. Like the kind of achiness that people talk about when the weather is changing. That has never bothered me so I'm not sure why it would now.

Also, today, I had one of THE WORST chocolate cravings ever. I asked 4 people at work to see if they had chocolate (dark chocolate to be exact) and thank goodness none of them had any. I resorted to my clementine and then a half hour later, my homemade paleo kit. Amy blogged about it today too and it sounds like the nuts (which contain magnesium) may have done the trick. I listened to Robb Wolf talk about magnesium too but can't remember exactly what the benefits are (re: episode 3).

Getting ready for bed soon so I can start off my day right with that 6am (and then JJ's crabcakes for breakfast... mmm totally can't wait!)

8:30am: 2 over-easy eggs, 2 strips of remaining Costco pre-cooked bacon, black Americano

12pm: Buffet from Market Creations in the Sears Tower. Had steamed sole, some hunan chicken or beef (broccoli, red peppers, celery), thai chicken skewer, more veggies

3pm: clementine to suppress chocolate craving. It didn't work so I drank an entire glass of water.

4pm: homemade paleo kit (this fixed the craving)

7pm: beet and fennel salad with lemon olive oil dressing; seared flank steak

All done!

Paleo kit making

1 week mark of Paleo+

Did not run today since walking down the escalators at Whole Foods on my left leg made my hip flexor hurt. Not sure what that's about so might have to sub stuff for a few days.

Week 1 of Paleo+ challenge has been going well. I am much more conscious of my dairy intake and have cut down on the number of lattes this week (switched to Americano without the milk). Doing the moderate Paleo before the challenge really helped imo since I had already cut pasta, potatoes, bread, and rice out of my diet for a few months now (in that order of weakness... i.e. will cave when it comes to rice first, pasta last).
I was telling a non-crossfitter recently about how if they want to get healthier, just cut out those four things. I felt waaaay better when I cut out pasta. Interestingly enough, growing up on a very Chinese diet, those items were somewhat foreign to my stomach. I remember 4-5 years ago when I started eating bagels, my body actually rejected it... approx 2 hours after eating a bagel, I get super hungry and I get the shakes. I cut those out pretty easily since I didn't like how they made me feel. Pasta was much harder since it was just so convenient. I now marvel at how much pasta I used to be able to consume in a sitting. I haven't looked back since I changed my diet!

Lunch @ 1pm: butternut squash soup, ratatouille with ground grass-fed beef on carrot and zucchini strings

Snack @ 5pm: 1 organic pink lady apple

Dinner @ 6:30pm at Kamehachi: seaweed salad, asparagus beef rolls, chicken yakitori, sashimi deluxe w/ some soy sauce

Felt mildly hungry the whole day... might not have eaten enough calories... might eat some nuts to round out the day.

Argh

Woke up this morning with hip or something near there feeling pain. I must have pulled something coming out the bottom of that last squat yesterday. No workout today I guess. Might try to run since it looks nice out... if it's not too wet and it doesn't hurt hip.
Also other pains: left wrist (stupid work laptop) and right shoulder (I don't know why).

Breakfast: Chili on top of spiral cut purple carrots (which were orange on the inside). Latte (Sunday morning treat to make me forget the pain haha).

No lunch yet... hungry again!

Snatch!

Pretty good Saturday :)
Today's WOD:
Back squats 5-3-1+: 125-142-158(4)
The first set felt heavy but by the time the last set rolled around, I felt pretty good. I think all those 6am workouts makes this 9am workout easier. Although I woke up about the same amount of time before the WOD so I don't know.
Maybe I was just happy to work out with Kerry and Megan again!

4 rounds of 5 power snatches @ 58# (75% of 1RM: 73#) / 10 burpees - 5:11
Felt great after this WOD! Burpees were unbroken! I think I have some sort of mental barrier with burpees. 10 in a row is fine but if you up that to 15 reps, they get broken up. Time to get over that mental hurdle! Snatches felt pretty decent even though I pressed half of it. Loved having Anthony to chase even though I knew I couldn't keep up... just kept thinking that I can't let him lap me again!

Green City Market trip afterwards with Megan, Kerry, and Mo. Bought some cremini mushrooms, beets, carrots, ground elk, and other goodies too. Don't go too late or they run out of stuff. We probably got there around 10:30am.
Tried the chef's demo braised rabbit (braised with apples and apple sauce). Side was pureed parsnips and rutabaga (probably with tons of butter and cream) with some olive oil and microgreens on top. Delicious!

We spent our evening cooking batches of stuff for the week. Here are some pics!
Cooking the carrots and butternut squash soup

Pureeing butternut squash soup with immersion blender

Roasted beets of all colours!


I had high hopes to go work out tomorrow but the hip I tweaked feels a little inflamed and I may have to lay off it. argh.

Pre-WOD: Trio bar
Post-WOD: 3/4 of a clementine (JJ had the other 1/4)

11am ish at Green City market: small coffee (I couldn't resist... put in a little half and half this morning), braised rabbit w/ apples and apple sauce, pureed parsnips and rutabaga (I'm sure there was a ton of butter and cream in there...)

1pm ish lunch at Calypso Cafe: gumbo (I scooped out as much rice as I could!), jerk marinated chicken breast, creole veggies (just ate the green beans), plaintains, light coleslaw (vinagrette, no mayo). Did not order their amazing key lime pie thanks to some serious will power (and the shame of having to post it if I ate it)!

6pm snack at home: sauteed pulled chicken (Costco chicken leftovers) and cremini mushrooms from the market. I made this to take advantage of the freshness and it was delicious! I sprinkled it with Costco no-salt organic seasoning. I highly recommend this seasoning to make your food delicious without having to buy 21 individual spices.


9pm dinner: homemade veal scallopine (dipped in egg and flaxseed meal, pan-fried in olive oil), roasted carrots, eggplant, butternut squash, homemade leek and daikon radish soup.



11:30pm snack: 1/2 glass of grass-fed whole milk

Rest day

Three 6am classes for me this week (I have never woken up this early three days in a row so PR!) so I decided to take a rest day (I slept until 8am).
Developing some wrist issues from my work laptop... I think it's a "re-injury"... need to do something about this so it doesn't get in the way of crossfit.

Breakfast @ 8:30am: 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 banana, Americano (running late)
Mid morning snack: 1 clementine
Lunch @ noonish: JJ's chicken salad
Snack @ 4pm: homemade paleo kit
Dinner @ 8pm: Whole Foods buffet: 1 Swedish meatball, some Kari beef, some beets, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant.

I guess I missed the box today so I dropped by to watch the 6:30pm class go at today's killer WOD. Happy to see everyone I normally work out with! Missed you guys!

(I feel like I had more to say from earlier today but I'm getting kinda sleepy and I don't remember anymore. I think my body is liking this early morning thing and it's making me go to bed!)

Hardest WOD of the week!

This morning was my third 6am class in a row. Feels good to know that I am capable of it but I think I'm due for a rest day! Looking forward to it as I feel pretty tired and sore.
I did Friday's WOD... definitely the hardest WOD of the week.
First time with 44# KBS... first round unbroken and the rest were in sets of 5s.
Box jumps might have been the only place where I could have gone faster. Pretty happy with WB improvement. Need to do some 3x10 20# WBs or something so I can move on to hitting red line with a 14# WB in WODs.

Thinking about competing in Sectionals again... but just not sure. I pulled off one week with 6am classes... but can I do it every week? Just not sure...
This is part of me being me... thinking too much and just hesistant to jump in... anyways...

Pre-WOD: Muscle milk light again.
Breakfast @ 8:30am: Baked salmon (no salt) with sauteed eggplants (lightly w/ olive oil) and pine nuts (see JJ's blog)
Lunch @ 12:30pm: Salmon salad with beet & fennel salad. Lemon/olive oil dressing
Snack @ 4pm: homemade paleo kit
(Edit: I had a pre-dinner snack I didn't need. People at work ordered Big Bowl for dinner. I hesitantly turned it down but they ordered dumplings for everyone and I couldn't control myself and ate THREE chicken dumplings... they were so good...)
Dinner @ 8pm: Turkkey burger salad at The Counter. Toppings include hard-boiled egg, sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, carrot strings, avocado, sundried tomatoes. Sun-dried vinagrette dressing. Grilled veggies. I find their stuff too salty. :(

Ouch

Ripped hands on kipping pullups today... used them for the first time in a WOD and I realized that I never really built up calluses in that spot. Sigh. Hope they don't take too long to heal.

Pre-WOD: Muscle milk light. I really shouldn't be drinking this stuff anymore and I don't normally but some mornings, I just can't put anything solid in my stomach. Just a way to throw down some calories real quick.

Breakfast @ 8:30am: Homemade chili, one hard boiled egg, Americano (black)

Mid-morning snack: handful of almonds, pecans, pistachios, dried cranberries

Lunch @ 12:30pm: Homemade braised short ribs, roasted veggies (peppers, carrots, green beans - I realize they're not paleo... I think we don't have anymore green beans now?)

Snack @ 5pm: homemade paleo kit

Dinner @ 8:30pm: Roasted chicken (leg and wing) from Costco with salad

Crossfit means a lot to me

This morning's 6am WOD just wasn't as bad as I was expecting though we'll see what happens as time wears on. I have to admit that nothing inspires me to get up at 5:15am more than crossfit does (and nothing, so far, has successfully made getting up so early a habit for me). Since I "eased" into crossfit more than 4 months ago (I started at 3x a week), I never thought I could do anything like this. Every day I learn something new, whether it be about a movement, my limits, or my approach to life. The path from effort to reward is much clearer than in many aspects of life and the journey is exciting, pain included.

2K row this morning as part of Paleo+ challenge. 9:14.7 was not a time I was happy with... I had hoped I could at least do sub-9. Oh well, lots to work on, with efficient pulls being a top priority. Must practice.

Pre-WOD: Trio bar
Breakfast (8:30am): Eggs, bacon (eating up what's left), Americano (black). Boy that bacon was salty... never bothered me before (this stuff is working).
Mid-morning snack: Handful of almonds, cashews, and pecans. One chocolate-covered dried cherry (ugh I know I know).
Lunch (noon): homemade "ratatouille" with ground grass-fed beef (see JJ's post for pic)
Snack (4pm): clementine and homemade paleo kit (grass-fed beef jerky, dried fruit w/ no added sugar, nuts)
Dinner (7:30pm): homemade bolognese sauce w/ spaghetti squash and three Tallgrass grass-fed beef meatballs

6am workouts

The next few months are going to be tough for me to get out of work in time for the 7pm class. As a result, I'm making serious effort to switch up my routine and try for 6am workouts. I am a night person and normally can't wake up in the morning. We'll see how long I last doing this.

Interestingly, I happened across this article from the NY Times

Paleo+ Challenge Day 2

Breakfast: banana and black coffee (Americano). I tried to go to 6am but failed as my car was blocked in (long story). Went back to bed and didn't have time to make a real breakfast before work.
10:30am snack: homemade paleo kit
Lunch @ 1pm: Meatballs and green salad with light dressing. Meatballs from Venice Café.
4pm snack: handful of almonds, walnuts, pistachios, dried cranberries and cherries (so hungry!)
7pm dinner: homemade salmon salad with green apples plus beet and fennel salad

Paleo+ Challenge

Paleo+ Challenge

Crossfit Total

Back squat: 175#
Press: 70#
Deadlift: 225#
Total: 470#

2K row: 9:14.7

Starting weight: 126lb

Jan10:
Lunch: Buffet at Lalo's. Fajita beef/chicken, pork in green chile, chicken soup, grilled veggies, omelette, salsa
Snack: homemade paleo kits (grass-fed beef jerky, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia, dried cranberries/blueberries/mango/strawberries)
Dinner: homemade ratatouille (eggplant, green peppers, yellow squash, canned tomatoes) with ground grass-fed beef on half a zucchini and half a carrot (spiral cut); beet/fennel/orange salad with lemon juice and a splash of olive oil. Finishing up some proscuitto (previously bought) as well...

Kipping and more C&J

Kipping pull-up form:


Clean and (split) Jerk @ 95#:

Crossfit London

I worked in London from Jan 3-8, 2010. Most people take some time to visit the local attractions... the first thing I did was check out Crossfit London. I made it there two mornings in a row but once we started working/eating dinner late, I just couldn't get up to go the next morning.

Crossfit Toronto

Over the holidays, I dropped by Crossfit Toronto for a workout. Nice big space and friendly people. Chipper day...

New year!

5th month at Crossfit Chicago now

Rowing form:

- make sure arms straight at catch before pushing out with legs again.
- use back/arms after legs straight from push.

Clean and Jerk @ 78# (4min AMRAP: 12 rounds)

- pulling bar too early... wait until bar position so bar is much closer to body to prevent from falling forward.