Snow days

(my boss and I singing in the snow)

And the snow keeps falling here in good ole' Utah. There were a whole 5 inches of powdery snow on the ground when I got up this morning. Perfect for snow ball fights, not so good for an archaeological survey. You know what that means? Another short work day for me.
Today's wod: Weighted pull-ups 3-3-3-3-3
I am not sure about the exact weight but I estimate that it was between 8-10 pounds.
I simply filled my back pack with a random selection of stuff and threw it on my back.

Unfortunately I was on unable to get all 3reps off all 5 sets. Shucks.
3-2-3-2-3 (three minutes rest in between).

8am
2 Eggs, hard boiled
4 Bacon slices
1 cucumber, sliced
1 Apple
=3 Zone blocks
12pm
3oz Tuna, canned
1 Grapefruit
9 Almonds
=3 Zone blocks-1 carb block
4pm
2oz Cheese
.5 Apple
1.5 cups Celery
1 Tbs. Peanut butter
=2 Zone blocks+2 fat blocks
8pm
2oz Tuna, canned
3 cups Romaine lettuce
1 Cucumber
.5 Apple
.5 Avocado
=2 Zone blocks

I wonder how long I can survive on tuna and apples?

Murph at the Inn

Work continued this morning but by 9am a huge storm front came in from Northern Utah, forcing us to call it quits early! Whoohoo!

With a whole afternoon to myself, I decided I would take advantage of the free time to get a good workout in. The drug of choice: Murph. I know, I'm pretty pathetic, but lets not forget, there's a snow blizzard outside and even if there wasn't, I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!

Here's how it went down:
2 Mile run
100 Sit-ups (replaced the pull-ups)
200 push-ups
300 Squats
My time 49:00

I did the 2 mile run in the beginning because the snow was coming down and I just wanted to get it over with before the weather got any worse. FYI, it's really hard to see where your going with snow in your eyeballs!
I threw in the sit-ups because I'm feeling a little burnt out on the dead hangs. It would be nice to be able to do kipping, but I'mma wait to check out the school monkey bars when it not snowing. It was great to see an improvement on my push-ups, not once did I have to break them into doubles or singles.

7:20am
2 Eggs, hard boiled
4 Bacon slices
.5 Jicama
1 cup Celery w/ peanut butter
=3 blocks+2 fat blocks

1:00pm
2oz Cheese, crumbled
6 cups romaine lettuce
1 cup Cherry tomatoes
1 Lemon, squeezed
Olive oil, drizzled
1 spoon-full peanut butter
=2 blocks+ 2 fat blocks

***I think I have an obsession with peanut butter, its just too damn good.

50 Super-Burpees for Time

So, while I was out in the 40mph wind in the middle of nowhereville I was thinking of my fellow crossfitters doing FGB! No fair! Oh how I miss you all!
I promised to go home after work and make up an equally gruelling wod for myself. Naturally, at the end of my 10hour day and 5 mile hike in the sand, I felt like doing nothing more than scarfing down some food and watching some crossfit videos....

By 9:00 pm I'd miraculously mustered up enough energy and motivation to do G.I. Jane: 100 super-burpees for time at 50% volume (50 burpee-pull-ups) in 18:00 minutes.
I couldn't really jump to the bar so I finished each burpee with a jump and then completed the move with a dead-hang pull-up.

7:15am
1 cup Plain Yogurt, non-fat
.25 cantaloupe
6 Bacon slices
=3 blocks+2 fat blocks

1:30pm
1 can Tuna
1 Avocado
1 Red Bell pepper, sliced
1.5 cups strawberries
.5 Jicama
=3 Blocks

5:45pm
1 can Herring fillets
1 grapefruit
27 Almonds
=3 Blocks+ alota fat

9:40pm
.5 oz Cheese
1 cup raw Celery
1 Tbs peanut butter
=.5 Block

Total Blocks today: 9.5+27 fat blocks, approx.

3-2-1 Go!

Thankfully today's hike was not nearly as long as yesterday's!
After walking just 7.5 miles, we got back to the hotel with plenty of time for me to take a quick dip in the pool and come up with a mini-wod for myself.

This was my little creation:
How many rounds in 20 minutes of?
1 L Pull-up (max)
8 Handstand push-ups (target= 2 shoes)
20 Jumps to a Chair
5 rounds + 5 HSPU

I set up my Door Gym in my bathroom doorway and although I can't do kipping pull-ups with it, I can do dead hangs, L- Pull-ups and knee-2-elbows. I'm pretty stoked to have at least 1 L pull-up and am hoping to increase that during my time here. HSPU are perfect for wods on the road, I am definitely a fan. However, the jumps to the chair were kinda tough. I had to land extra softly onto the chair and step down to avoid annoying my downstairs neighbors. I'm gonna have to think of a nice replacement for that one. All in all, it was a pretty good start for my first "hotel room wod".

Longest Day Ever!

Nothing could have prepared me for this. Not "Fran" or "Murph" not even "Run 10k".

Today was day one of a 65-mile archaeological survey in southern Utah. This is strictly a work-related trip of course. The survey is basically a long walk/hike along an area that will potentially be stripped of its cultural resources by future construction plans. Our job is to record prehistoric and historic sites before they are destroyed and lost forever.

Normally we spread the work out over the course of a few weeks, knocking off 3-5miles a day, depending on how often we have to stop to record sites. But today was not a typical day, by far.

We set out at about 10 this morning and with no sites in sight we kept on trucking, by 3pm my backpack felt like a small child on my back and I swear my feet were bleeding! Okay, my feet weren't bleeding, but really who could have guessed that walking could be sooo painful? Its just walking after all. I guess I should also explain that we were walking in sand dunes; an absolutely unforgiving terrain! Plus the wind and chilly weather didn't make it any easier! Oh and I ran out of water about a third of the way into the hike.

At the end of the day we had covered 27K!
Aside from being physically demanding it was a huge mental challenge. Off to bed!

Reliable Eyes

I just returned from a fabulous weekend with a bunch of my old college friends. Our annual "Girl's retreat" landed us in breath-taking Yosemite National Park. I had a really nice time catching up with my girlfriends and taking in the spectacular views. A much needed retreat.

Having endured countless drawn-out discussions on food, my friends were fully prepared to accomodate my "special diet" needs while we enjoyed our stay in Yosemite. Being the good friends that they are, they could help giving me grief as they intently watched me prepare my 3 block meals, sans grains of course. The whole no-grains thing didn't go over very smoothly with them either. And I certainly didn't dare bring along my food scale for fear of them labeling me an anorexic and demanding that I seek help for my "eating problem" or something. I know they're just looking out for me and I love them for that. Needless to say, I have gotten really good at eye-balling.

Above is a super helpful key for eyeball measurements when the occasion calls for it.

8am

3oz Chicken Cordon-Bleu

.5 Apple

1.5 cups Squash

1.5 tsp. Organic Peanut Butter

=3 protein/2 carb/5 fat blocks

**I am currently experimenting w/ blocks, tweaking them as needed.

Week 1 off Splenda!

I am really digging Art Devany's Evolutionary Fitness blog. He offers some unique and thoughtful insight on health, fitness and diet.

Last month De Vany’s wrote on a study published by Susan E. Swithers and Terry L. Davidson of Purdue University called A Role for Sweet Taste: Calorie Predictive Relations in Energy Regulation by Rats. Their research suggests that the human body is "thrown off" by the sweet taste of artificial sweeteners, releasing insulin in the same manner it would respond to sugar...Eeek!

Although they taste delightful, artificial sweeteners may not be as sweet and innocent as they appear. The zero calorie substance contains zero calories, making them a hot item among those seeking the sweetness of sugar without the caloric impact. Unfortunately, this is tough to swallow for those of us who are calorie-conscious but have major weakness for sweets.

Tis' the season for a variety of nice lettuce. I am definately taking advatange of this opurtunity to enjoy some delicious and wholesome salads. Its fun to experiment with the ingredients by adding various fruits or nuts to come up with your own tasty little creation. Have fun.

On today's menu:

1 small head of Romaine lettuce, chopped

1 small head of Red leaf lettuce, chopped

3oz Buffalo Sirloin, cut into small strips & served cold

.5 Avocado, sliced

1 Tangerine

1 cup Strawberries, quartered

1 large Lemon, squeezed

Dash of olive oil, optional

(Lettuce-1 carb block, Strawberries-1 carb block, Tangerine-1 carb block, .5 Avocado-3 fat

blocks, Buffalo-3 protien blocks)

Workout: None, Rest day

Yesterday's wod @ Crossfit Oakland:

"Michael"
Three rounds for time of:

Run 800 meters

50 Back Extensions

50 Sit-ups

Time 21:31

Zonalicious!

A nice little 3 blocker.

3oz sliced Turkey

1 small head of Iceberg lettuce, chopped

1 large Cucumber, sliced

1 small Avocado, sliced

1 Tangerine

1-2 Limes

Once you chop up all the ingredients just pile them all up in this order and squeeze the lime juice on top. Its a healthy and fabulous lil' zone lunch that leaves you feeling nice and full. Enjoy.

Ropes O'Glory

Tamara (my idol) climbing the rope

Alright ya'll I apologize for the lack of attention I've been giving my precious blog these days. I've been a bit busy lately. You see, I turned 25 last week and I've been doing a lotta celebratin'!!!! Ya'll know what I mean.

As much as I would love to continue the partying, its time to get down to business.

I jumped right into it at 6am today along side my fellow Crossfitters, with this nasty one from the National Crossfit site:

"Tommy V" - in memory of yet another fallen soldier

For time:

85 pound Thruster, 21 reps (women's weight)

15 ft Rope Climb, 12 ascents

85 pound Thruster, 15 reps

15 ft Rope Climb, 9 ascents

85 pound Thruster, 9 reps

15 ft Rope Climb, 6 ascents

**Scaled down to 70 pound thrusters

Time 1:01:50

This was a first for me in two respects. First time doing more than 65 pound thrusters. I think I probably could have handled another 5 pounds. Next time. Also, the first time I've ever done that many rope climbs in a workout. I felt like I could have gone faster but then I had to slow down and remind myself that I had to complete 27 ascents!

Overall, it was a great workout and a lovely start to my day! Good work 6am-ers, ya'll were lookin' xtra strong this morning!

8:45am

3 Eggs scrambled w/...

2 cups Cauliflower

.5 cup onions

1 head Bok Choy

3Tbs. Avocado

Large coffee w/cream

=3 zone blocks+1 fat block

Give and Take

On Sunday I did “Angie”

100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats
Finished in 37:08
This was a whopping 10 minutes faster than my previous time!

Woo-hoo!

An another note, it took me almost an hour to slogg through “Linda” yesterday, which by the way is my all time favorite Crossfit wod. Its one of those workouts that makes you see stars while you’re doing it and then feeling like a star after you’ve completed it. Okay, so that’s a little cheesy, but you know what I mean.

“Linda”
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
Deadlifts at 1.5x Body Weight
Bench Press at Body Weight
Cleans at ¾ Body Weight

***Since I cannot yet do all of Linda as Rx’d, this is my modified version of “Linda”:
Deadlifts: 143 pounds (1.29 x Body Weight)
Bench press: 85 pounds (just over ¾ Body Weight)
Cleans: 83.5 pounds (Rx’d)
Finished in 57:30

This was brutal and I truly did slogg through this workout 1 rep at a time. I was about 12 minutes slower than my previous time back in November, but this time I increased my total poundage by 22.5 pounds! Not too bad considering all the extra weight. If I stay on track, I hope to be able to do it as Rx’d by the end of the year! Maybe.

5am
Venti Coffee w/ lots of cream
=2 Fat blocks

8am
3oz Chicken
1 Orange
1 sliver of Chocolate cake (Chocolate is my favorite, what can I say?)
9 Almonds
=3 zone blocks+1 unfavorable carb block

12pm
3oz Tuna Salad w/ mayo
1 Cucumber
¼ cup garbanzo & kidney beans
6 cups Romaine lettuce
9 Almonds
=3 zone blocks+1 fat block

Today's wod: "Filthy 50"

Scheduled to do at 5pm at CFO