My power snatch is better...and an eye opener for my diet.

Hey everyone!  It have been a crazy 2 weeks.  I had an infection, found out that I was allergic to Penicillin, and felt like crap for about 5 straight days.  However I have pushed through it.  I am improving my running.  I have had 2 runs and a CF workout in the last 24 hours.

Last night's run was 5.5 miles and tonights was an easier 3.  This morning WOD was "Randy" 75 power snatches for time.  

I shared the bar with my 6am buddy so we each did 50 power snatches in 9:56.  I was excited to hear the trainer tell me that I had great form on my power snatch.  He even told me to tell my trainer husband that my snatch was better than his.  Now I am not sure if this is true (he has been at this for years.), he did his workout later in the day while I was running.  However, it was really nice to hear that kind of a compliment at 6 in the morning.  The snatch movement for some reason has come easy to me compared with some of the other movements like the clean and jerk. 

On the diet side of things...I have gotten a calorie counter app for my phone.  I track everything that I eat/drink.  It even has a bar code scanner for those foods that I do eat that are packaged.  Surprising to me, there are not very many anymore.  Just my prepackaged almonds and almond milk for protein shakes on most days.  By tracking my foods I have been able to see that I am still very low on my protein intake and high on the carbs due to all the veggies and fruits that I am eating.  It is allowing me to adjust my diet to hopefully help me perform better.  

Now all I need is a few solid weeks of no health issues.  I am hoping that all of the workouts and improvements in my diet will help me to maintain a healthier mind and body.  

Hero WOD at 6am? What am I crazy?!

I wake up, let the dogs out to do their business, grab a bottle of water and fly out the door to get to the 6am class again this morning.  Again, I realize that the class size is much smaller, which I like.  The loading doors opened up as soon as we started into the warm up on this hot summer day.  We focused on a bunch of dynamic stretching before starting.

What I learned for sure today Hero WOD=torture for sure.  These are WODs named after fallen armed forces HEROES!!  This is what I kept thinking to myself while enduring the 25 and a half minutes that it took me to complete it.  

MICHAEL

800m run

50 abmat situps (scaled to 30)

50 back extensions (scaled to 30)

However scaling it did not stop me from having sore abs from all those situps!  Or stop the hamstrings from tightening up this afternoon from the back extensions.  Surprisingly the run was the hardest part for me this morning.  My short legs did not want to propel me forward at all!  However I did take a minute to see the beauty of the morning sunrise through the trees.  

I got home, drank my protein shake~not paleo, but I am horrible at cooking bacon-either undercooked or burnt.  There is no in between!  So I just quite trying.  I only eat it when my husband cooks it, perfect every time!  

So then I was off to work.  Here is my dilemma, I am hitting a wall at about 3pm.  I am so tired and want a nap.  Day 2 of 6am was working I thought until 3pm.  I am going to keep trying the 6am for now and see if my body and internal clock will reset.  Any suggestions?

Morning WOD not a total fail but....

Today was my first attempt at a morning WOD.  It wasn't a total fail, but full of blooper moments.  Let me remind everyone...I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON!  This was obvious to everyone in the class including the trainer when I couldn't stop yawning during the warmup.  I was totally winded after 60 seconds of jumprope because I was yawning nonstop during it.

The workout 5-4-3-2-1 ground to overhead squat and muscle ups (I cannot do this yet.)  So scaled it was dips and the movement of a muscle up on the rings from the ground up.  

Well my addition skills were lacking that early in the morning as well.  By the time the workout started I finally realized that I had 55lbs not 40lbs like the trainer had suggested I use.  Then in the round of 3 on the last rep of overhead squats I actually squatted myself all the way to the floor and had to release the bar behind my head to the floor.  I think I was still sleeping.  Everyone looks and shouts the same question, "Are you ok?"  I get up, dust myself off and answer, "Yep, I can do this!"  I then miraculously complete the workout in 7:47.  

So maybe getting up and working out isn't completely horrible.  The smaller class size was nice, and I got to see an old friend from school that comes in the morning.  

Here's to hoping that my next attempt at a morning WOD goes a little smoother.

I NEED to run.

I am beginning to feel the NEED to run.  I NEED to run to focus.  I NEED to run to clear my head at the end of the day.  I NEED to feel the sweat on my brow.  I NEED to feel my lungs open up and suck in the fresh air.  I NEED to feel my legs pushing off the ground and propel me forward.  I NEED to run!
Now this is a crazy feeling for me.  Just 72 days ago I stepped into a CrossFit gym and thought that I wouldn't make it through my first workout.  Today I ran a 5K as a training run.   This is a pretty drastic change in less than 90 days.  I committed to running a 7.5 mile run, however when I did this I did not consider myself a "runner".  Actually I haven't considered myself a runner until tonight.  I was running in a gentle rain, sucking air into my lungs, listening to the frogs in the canal, and I realized...I am running in the rain!  I would have never ran in the rain!  I thought that was for extreme, fit, healthy people.  I don't currently consider myself any of those terms.  However I do feel like I am on my way to fit and healthy.
Tonight I also had the pleasure of coming home to a grass fed bison steak and cabbage, onion, bacon side dish, my husband is a great paleo chef!  I really think he has a calling in this.  He also made kale chips that made it out of the oven and straight into our bellies.  I finished out the night with a paleo brownie, the base is mashed dates rather than flour.
This has been a great start to the week.  It is now time to keep the momentum going!

Soreness like I just started all over again.

WOW...that WOD yesterday, appropriately dubbed "Evil" by the trainers,  kicked my butt.  My arms, my chest, my quads, my hamstrings, my calves...this list could continue going until I named every body part.  I haven't been this sore since I started in March!  So I decided that it would be a good day to head out for a run.  

What a beautiful night on the Ohio Erie Canal Towpath!  A nice breeze as I ran 3.5 miles.  I did get a new app for my iPhone called Ease into a 10K.  This tells you when to run and when to walk.  So I am beginning to see an increase in my speed and distance since every run is based on 40 minutes if I use this app for about 6 weeks, and then the time will increase along with distant goals.  I needed an easier night and a run to clear my head.  I really think some of my best thoughts and ideas come to me while running.

Beginning tomorrow I am focusing on increasing calcium and iron in the diet.  We shall see if this makes me feel any better.  I have been struggling a little bit with what I think my performance should be and read up on a few fitness sites that those 2 things are vital to performance and most women are deficient in both.   I am hoping that a few days of this will help turn things around for me.  

A little bit of struggle to make me stronger.

Tonight was HARD!!!  I struggled through the warm up and then struggled through the workout which was only 17 minutes long!  Thrusters, burpee box jumps, and clean and jerks.  None of which came very easy to me tonight.  I did however increase my box jumps to 16 inches!  So I guess tonight wasn't a total mess for me.
My wrists are not feeling all that great right now, even after stretching them out several times.  I was encouraged by the trainer (my wonderful husband) that I will begin to increase my wrist flexibility and that they will not feel like this forever.  I hope he is right.
I also noticed in the shower that I have lovely "burpee bruising" on my knees.  I apparently was throwing myself to the ground during this.
So how do I deal with this?  I have started by going back over my blogs and reading about the times that I have felt successful during my workouts.  This has helped me a ton.  I am strong enough to get through these workouts!  I will continue to get stronger everyday!  I will be better for admitting that tonight was a struggle, and I know one day I will be better.
Tomorrow is a new day and a new WOD.  I just pray that it doesn't include burpees!  (I really HATE burpees.)

Looking forward to "date" runs.

Tonight was a 40 minute run with my "running buddy," my cousin Ginger.  I really look forward to our Monday date runs together now.  She tells me stories about her 6 year old son that crack me up and keep me occupied and not so focused on only the run.  He is such a smart little guy.  Our "runs" used to be mostly walking with sprints mixed in.  However now we are running more than walking.  She has become quite the inspiration to me.  It started off with "if I have someone waiting on me then I will run at least once a week."  To "I cannot wait to run and see her this week!"  Ginger and her husband Greg are also my inspiration for participating in the Akron Roadrunner Relay.
This journey I am on so far has been amazing.  I am amazed at how quickly my body has changed and adapted to CrossFit workouts, running, and even my diet.  I still get sore after most workouts, but nothing like the first few days.  I actually enjoy and embrace the soreness and know that my body will be able to handle the next one to come.  I am not really having the diet cravings that I used to have.  I also notice when I have had too much sugar or carbs that day.  I have a hard time unwinding and sleeping that night.
Tomorrow back to CF.  I will remember my gloves, to eat something light and well before the WOD, and wash my makeup off my face!

New running PR

July 4, 2011 I ran in the North Canton YMCA 2 mile run, finishing time 24:40. Today June 3, 2012 I ran a 2 mile for time at the Canal Fulton tow path, finishing time 20:24. New PR (personal record)! I knocked over 4 minutes off my time! I also ran my first mile in under 10 minutes which I have never done before. I must admit I was a little disappointed that I was unable to maintain under a 10 minute mile for the second as well, but soon that day will come for me.
The results are motivating me to continue moving forward. I will continue to become better and faster as long as I can keep myself focused.

Exciting news

Ok so I have the new mobile app for blogger! This means I can take and upload pics easier, blog from anywhere I am, and for those of you following my journey I can blog more often.
Oh and in other exciting news, I am 50 days smoke free! This is one thing that I am so incredibly proud of. So I am now off for a run now. Stay tuned for more!

A little bit of "DIET" talk

So today I wanted to talk a little about "DIET".  This is an area that I have MAJOR room to improve at.  I am dubbed "The Carb Queen" by my husband, even though I went gluten free due to allergies about 6 years ago.  I will find a way to eat salty or sweet, crunchy or soft, carb loaded foods at all times!  So paleo is not really friendly to my carb-loving ways.

However, I have been making small changes and getting away more and more every week from the foods that are toxic to my body and put me in the place 2 months ago of lethargy almost all the time.  I have read that "losing weight" or "fitness" is 10% workout and 90% diet.  I will tell you from my experience, it has made a big difference for my laziness to eat less of the processed crap!

A book that I have read recently, Why We Get Fat, And What To Do About It; by Gary Taubes, goes into what the reason is that we are all gaining weight and why it is so hard to get it off.  I have lost 8 pounds in the 2 months that I have been doing this.  You may think that is not much.  But think about the this:  I am stuffing my face full of bacon, almond butter, olive oil, steaks, almond milk, eggs, and my husband's Thai turkey wraps (I am addicted to these), and I never measure anything.  I eat until I am full.  This is because of WHAT I am eating, NOT how much I am eating.  I encourage anyone to look into this diet if you are struggling with hunger.  I am never hungry!  Our bodies were not intended to live in hunger for prolonged periods.  Don't get me wrong in current society it is difficult to follow Paleo 100% of time.  I have ice cream on a weekly basis and I have my slip ups.  This is why I started by saying I have room for improvement.  We are all a work in progress and I strive to be better every day.

So the picture above is called Paleo Breakfast Bread.  I am not the most comfortable in the kitchen, but this was quick and very easy to make.  I had to eat it as soon as it came out of the oven.  The verdict?....YUM!  It is awesome!  Here's the recipe:

Paleo Breakfast Bread

• ½ cup creamy roasted almond butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon stevia
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, with a hand blender, mix almond butter until creamy
2. Mix in eggs, honey, vanilla and stevia
3. Add salt, baking soda and cinnamon
4. Mix well with hand blender until all ingredients are combined
5. Transfer batter into a well greased 8x8 inch Pyrex baking dish
6. Bake at 325° for 12 to 15 minutes
7. Serve

Serves 4  http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-breakfast-bread/