Talk to me Goose

My post today is very brief. 

Have an interview tomorrow for a job I am very interested in!  Yay!  I have been preparing (reading up on the company, practicing answers for the typical interview questions).  I feel prepared, I feel ready.  Just thought I’d throw this out there incase anyone has any last minute tips. 

Wish me Luck!

So I love Crossfit.  I think one of the reasons I love it, is because I’m pretty good at it.  I like doing stuff I’m good at.  I like being the one of the girls at our gym that people look at and think “Wow, she’s bad ass!”  I like being one of the girls with the fastest times and the heaviest loads (makes sense, I’m a competitive person).  But I do know/realize that I am not good at everything, and that other people are better (sometimes a lot better) than me at things.  I’m ok with that.  But on days when a WOD has movements/skills that I truly suck at, it’s a very humbling experience.  And it’s hard for me to not get frustrated. 

So today’s WOD (Workout Of the Day)

for time (with 20min cap)
50 Abmat Situps
50 Double Unders
50 Abmat Situps
50 Walking Lunges
50 Abmat Situps
50 Burpees
50 Abmat Situps

Well guess what one of my number one things on my sucklist is… Abmat Situps!
So trying to be postive I say to Coach Kris, “Yay!”  He knows I am silently cursing him in my head. 

3-2-1-Go.
*20situps in and I’m dying!  “It’s ok, it’s ok.”  Think positively I tell myself!  “I’ll make it up on the double unders - I’m good at those.”  Finally get to 50 situps and guess what:
*DOUBLE UNDER fail today.  Couldn’t get my rhythm down.  DAMNIT! Finally finish and
*Back to situps and this round is EVEN harder(of course!).  at 19, I want to quit.  “I’ve been sick, I could use that as an excuse and just stop. I could say my head is hurting.”  These are the thoughts I am having while everyone is starting their walking lunges and I am at 23-24-25. Ugh! -What kind of “giver upper” am I to be thinking these thoughts! 
Finally I make it through the second 50 and I’m off to do my 50 walking lunges. 
*While lunging I realize re-realize that, Yes I SUCK at abmat situps, but need to handle this humbling experience, and not think about the best way/excuse to just stop.  I am NOT a quitter!!!!!!!! 
*3rd set of situps.  “just think 5 sets of 10, 5 sets of 10, Do ten, take a couple seconds rest, do 10 take a couple seconds rest, etc”  DONE.  Those felt easier than the last round.  Positive attitude helps!
*Burpees…haven’t done these in a while, but I can do this.  I can do this.  Tough!  Very Tough.  But after stringing some good numbers together and some rests, DONE!
*”18:36! Less than a minute and a half to do 50 situps?!?!  NO WAY!  Ok, just get as many I as I can.  I can do this!  1-2-3-4-5, REST, 6-7-8-etc, REST, 11-12-etc, REST, 19-20 (I hear Coach Kris counting down the seconds 5, 4, 3,) 21-22 (2,1, STOP!)

DEAD!  BUT WOW, I wasn’t too far from finishing!  Maybe if I hadn’t spent the second set of abmat situps concentrating so much energy on negative thoughts I would have finished!

So, this post is a reminder for next time.  Next time when something comes up and I find myself behind the rest of the class, feeling like I “totally suck,”  I need to push those thoughts out right away and think positive and think up my plan in my head, how I’m gonna get through this tough WOD (and humbling experience) and not focus on the fact that I am way behind everyone else, or that my time is gonna suck, or anything else, except my plan on how to get the work done!

Today I tried to relive my youth by playing some Laser Tag!!  I didn’t expect to get a workout out of it - But what do you know, I was breathing hard and sweaty when I was done.  Lots of fun.  If you have a LASER TAG place in your area, I highly recommend grabbing a friend or two and playing a few games! 

I think I might have to organize a CROSSFIT 310 social event to Laser Tag soon!

I just love TABATA don’t you?!?! RT @Crossfit310 Tabata double-unders at 915am. http://twitvid.com/YSGAN #crossfit #crossfit310

15 years and 15lbs ago…
I could run a mile in 5 minutes and 16 seconds.  A 5:16 mile! 

It was an awesome feeling.  I was 15 years old.  I competed on the Track team at my high school. 
My sophomore year I was ranked 4th throughout the season in our league(composed of 8 high schools in the area).  At the league finals track meet I placed 2nd!  I was on cloud nine.  So exciting!  At the CIF Southern Section I placed 4th in my division! 

My junior and senior years were plagued with injuries and I never ran below 5:20s again.  Devastating to me because that year the league champion ran a 5:28.  I could have smoked her with my time from the year before!  In college I competed in the 1500m (100m shorter than a mile) and was able to earn a PR at that distance of 4:57 which my coach told me was about equivalent to a 5:17 mile…
After college I was “sick of running” and took a LONG time off.  Since then I have run off and on, but never got back into running competitively. 

Well today at Crossfit I see on the board “Run 1 Mile for time.”  Everytime I see this I cringe.  Not because I hate running (like everyone else who is cringing),  but because I remember how fast I used to be.  And I always think:  “15 years and 15lbs ago…” 

But after thinking that today and reflecting on it, I realize:
Yes 15 years and 15lbs ago, I ran a 5:16mile.  I was 15, I had the body of a little girl.  I was training EVERYDAY specifically to run that distance.  Am I doing that now, NO!  I don’t have the desire to train/run like that everyday. 

So now I think, “15 years and 15lbs later…”

I CAN Deadlift 230lbs
I CAN do 20 strict pushups unbroken
I CAN do 7 strict pullups unbroken
I CAN etc…

Was I able to do any of that in my 15year old body?  HECK NO! 

PRETTY AWESOME.  :)

So, the weather here in Southern California over the past 6-8 weeks has been a rollercoaster of up and down temps/humidities/pressures etc which has wreaked havoc on my sinuses.  A sinus infection, 2 courses of antibiotics, a steroid pack, a prescription nasal spray, a decongestant, a humidifier, Emergen-C, Zicam, and many neti-pot treatments later, I finally feel that I am feeling better and wake up this morning with a “scratchy” throat.  Seriously WTF?!?!

Conclusion =  Immune System FAIL!

So I have decided that my immune system needs a serious boost and have decided that taking my vitamins on “the days I remember to” is no longer an option.  So I went to TARGET and bought one of those “old people” 7 day pill reminder cases, a really big one to hold all the vitamins/supplements I have decided(after doing a little research) I need to start taking.

Vitamin D:  currently taking two 5000UI pills per day
http://crossfitnewport.com/2010/11/live-healthier-and-perform-better-with-more-vitamin-d/

Calcium:  two 600mg pills per day
I don’t drink milk and want to be sure as female I am getting enough calcium to keep my bones strong.  My friendly associate at Lindberg recommended 1200mg per day

Multi-Vitamin:  One ‘n’ Only Women’s Formula.  I make sure that my multi-V is based in whole foods vs a synthetic multi-vitamin (like Centrum or One a Day).  I learned from a friend that your body absorbs the nutrients from vitamins based in whole foods better.  So I made the switch

Fish Oil:  three 1000mg pills per day
Now I haven’t done much research on what type/brand is best.  And I have this whole big bottle from Costco, so I’m sticking to that for now.

I am really hoping that by taking these vitamins consistently improves my immune system (well the multi, and the vitamin D for that) and overall health (all of them for that).  The key is I just have to be consistent and see how I feel over the first few weeks after doing this.

Also I want to talk to some fellow crossfitters and health conscious people and see if there is anything I’m missing. Any Tumblrs have any suggestions?

Up late last night watching my DVR and reading a SOOKIE STACKHOUSE novel.  Slept in late and still in my pj’s wrapped up in a blanket (it’s 60degrees in So. Cal, I’m close to freezing… spoiled, I know).

Spent a few hours scouring the internet for AWESOME/motivational Crossfit videos, and other health/fitness related articles to share with my crossfit310 and tumblr peeps. I like doing this on Sundays to get me pumped up for the week!  It puts all kinds of positive thoughts into my head about how I’m going to train and eat for the week! 

EDIT:  @Christinadoeslife I am reading the 5th book:  DEAD AS A DOORNAIL.  It’s good, but I LOVED the 4th book DEAD TO THE WORLD so much!  I don’t know if any of the other books will top it!

RT @Crossfit310 got questions about eating paleo, so do these people. check out questions & answers #FF @PaleoHacks #paleo #crossfit

Today’s Post at Crossfit310.com

New Balance Minimus, Vibram Five Fingers, Nike Free, Kigo, Vivo Barefoot, all shoes you might have heard of through the crossfit community.

The link below is the first article Crossfit310 coach Kris shared with me back in 2008 when I (as a runner) was wearing $300+ custom made orthotics (I was told I needed them to correct arch and achilles tendon pain) to our personal training sessions.

http://www.unshod.org/pfbc/pfrossi2.htm (warning:  it’s a long one)

There are tons of articles and info online about this topic.  Google “barefoot running” and/or “minimalist shoes” if you want more info.

Just remember, if you are thinking of making the switch from your “regular” running/crosstraining/walking shoes to something more minimal take it slow (i.e. don’t go out for a long run right away, don’t wear them to walk around in all day), ease into the transition and let your feet get used to having less support. Or else you might end up doing more short term harm than long term good.

Q.  What shoes do you currently wear to train in? run in? walk around all day in?  Have you considered moving to a more minimalist shoe if you are not in one already?
 

A.  I wear Nike Free v4 5.0  But it took me a long time to adjust to them from my super supportive orthotics.  Also, I don’t run as much as I used to.  If I am going to run for a mile or two I will wear my Nike Frees.  If I am going longer than that I go back to my Nike Air Structure Triax.  My hope/goal is that one day I will be able to use the Nike Free for all my running.  

So Recently I was asked to help maintain the website for the Crossfit gym that I go to.  At first I was just posting WODs and maybe a cool video or two, but now I am starting to venture out a bit more and talk about other health/fitness related stuff.  So I am definitely not an expert on nutrition… far from it.  And I don’t want to plagiarize anyone else’s work, so I am more just pointing our Crossfitters to interesting articles and stuff.  Here is my post for today:

SUGAR

Sugar Sugar! It is so sweet and we love it so!
But wait, it’s bad for us and we should limit our sugar intake!  Most of us know this, but do you really know why?

MDA = Mark’s Daily Apple (one of my favorite sites for primal/paleo info) tells us:
-Sugar promotes fat storage and weight gain.
-Sugar decreases your body’s production of leptin, a hormone critical for appetite regulation.
-Sugar intake over time spurs insulin resistance, subsequent Type II diabetes and the entire host of related health issues like nerve damage and cardiovascular disease.
the list goes on… check it out and other info on sugar at MDA’s “The Definitive Guide To Sugar” click here

Ok, So now we know sugar is bad! And that we should limit our consumption. So why is it so hard to cut out the sugar? Well studies have shown that “over time our brains actually become addicted to the natural opioids that are triggered by sugar consumption.”

The following article explains this and gives 20 Tips to Curb Sugar Cravings and Kick the Addiction. Now I don’t know about all 20 tips and haven’t done research on them myself, but I truly believe that #1, 2, 4 and some of the others are pretty solid. Take a look and see what you think.  Also I have personally found that the longer I stay away from sugar, the less I crave it.
read the article 20 Tips to Curb Sugar Cravings and Kick the Addiction:  click here
What are some things you do to curb your sugar cravings?
post answers and other thoughts to the comments section.
http://www.crossfit310.com/2010/11/18/thursday-101119/

SO…my question to you tumblrs is how do you curb your sugar cravings?

foam roller - ugh! my muscles are sore!
Warm up:
Jumping Jacks - 25
Shoulder Rolls
Mt.Climbers - 20
Squats - 20
Pushups - 20
Abmat Situps - 10

Strength/Skill Work:  Inverted Burpees
what the heck is an inverted Burpee?!?!  
except we did the last part against the wall (the wall being like a spotter)

WOD:
got to do a modified WOD today!  YAY!  Better than no WOD!  

My modified WOD:
4 Rounds of:
15 Abmat Situps
rest 1minute
15 Kettle Bell Swings (44lb)
rest one minute
took about 15minutes.  Felt tired, but good to be moooooving! finally! 

everyone else did 7 rounds of:  5 Burpees, 10 Toes To Bar, 15 Kettle Swings.   

roll

warmup:

run 400m
——————
2x:
Pushups 10
Premove
Double Unders 20
Squat 10
premove
——————
row 300m

Strength/Skill Work:
THRUSTERS:
5 x 35, 45, 55, 60, 65

WOD:
no wod for me since I still can’t breathe quite right = clogged sinuses
The rest of the class was doing a 2 x 5min AMRAP of 7Cleans, 7 Pushups, 7 Cleans, 7 Squats (with 2min rest in between the 2)

instead:
BACK SQUATS [w/Liz (also sick) and Tania (shoulder pain)]
5 x 75, 95, 105, 115, 120

FELT GOOD TO BE BACK in the gym with a positive attitude!

I have been sick off and on for 6 weeks.  Major sinus issues and it seems I have been going to Crossfit and sitting there sulking because I can’t do everything.  So starting tomorrow instead of sulking and focusing on the things I can’t do because I’m not feeling well, I am going to focus on the things I can do and DO THEM!  I’m in need of some motivation.  Time to watch my “girls are strong” video from Crossfit 310.  As a side note;  The video is kind of old.  We really need a new one since we have so many more AWESOME ladies at the 310 now, and there have been so many more accomplishments since the video was made.