Support

Day 31 - Tuesday, January 31, 2012


So I've mentioned before about the amazing amount of support the ACF/CCP/90 day challenge groups are providing along the way of this "competition." It's so good to see everyone giving advice, encouragement and the occasional kick in the pants when needed. I appreciate everyone's blog posts, blog comments, facebook messages and inspirational photos so much. 


Today the special support shout-out goes to Caleb. This man truly lives and breathes mobility. Creating daily videos with movements specifically geared towards that day's WOD and answering incessant questions about aches and pains, he's a truly invaluable resource.


On another support note ... does anyone have any good suggestions for sports bras? I'm in desperate need of new ones.


Food:
Breakfast - fruit salad, sausage
Lunch - garden salad, tilapia with mango salsa, broccoli
Dinner - meatballs and italian sausage in tomato sauce, caesar salad


Workout:
active recovery/hip mobility

The road to hell ...

Day 30 - Monday, January 30, 2012


... is paved with intentions, right? Well, thus began our dinner tonight. We had planned on having chicken taco salad. John went and got the chicken, the lettuce and an avocado for me and I was so excited for it. We prepared the chicken together and then left it simmering on the stove on low to cook down. We could smell it from the other room, it was mouth watering-ly wonderful. Timer goes off, time to eat! And disaster! It was charcoal! It made made the trip to the flames of best intentioned hell! How could this happen?! We don't have anything else! Time for takeout. I know it's not the best option, but at least I tried. Stella was kind enough to wolf down the sub roll while we weren't looking so even the temptation is gone. I really would have preferred the planned meal, but we did what we could. 


It's funny to think about this being day 30. It's kind of flown by. Thanks to all for the love and support thus far. It's great to be feeling this strong.


Food:
Lunch - Leftover meatza
Snack - orange
Snack - pecans
Dinner - chicken taco salad  the "guts" of a turkey bacon sub (turkey, bacon, lettuce, onions, mustard)
Snack - dark chocolate kisses


Workout:
rest day

Fuel for Athletes

Day 29: Sunday, January 29, 2012


This weekend the Court Club (the building that houses ACF) hosted an Eastern Collegiate Racquetball Conference tournament. The parking lot was full, and so was the building. Dozens of college racquetball players, coaches, fans and supporters lined up watching the matches. I may just be being overly aware due to the 90 day challenge, but I was shocked by what I witnessed this morning.
These collegiate athletes were fueling themselves with garbage. I saw evidence of Fiber One bars, pizza, energy drinks, chips, and artificially sweetened beverages. After I wiped the drool off my chin from the alluring smell of pizza, I took a deep breath and reminded myself of how much better I've been feeling over the last 29 days. Between the reduced inflammation in my stomach, the clearer brighter skin, the lost weight, and the better sleep how could I not cringe when I saw what these athletes were putting in their bodies. This is all aside from the performance improvements I've seen. It's no wonder professional athletes are turning to the paleo lifestyle. 
Someone should tell those racquetball kids. 


Food:
Breakfast - eggs, bacon, orange
Lunch - turkey breast
Dinner - meatza with pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes, peppers, onions


Workout:
Strongman class
I: keg carry warmup (140lb)
II: farmer's walk warmup (110, 160F, 140 each hand)
III: medley: farmer's walk and keg carry (140lb keg, 140 each hand farmers walk)

Grace AND Guts

Day 28 - Saturday, January 28, 2012


Today was just a fantastic day overall. I started it with this yummy concoction. The BEST paleo friendly pancakes I've had yet. No fighting with almond butter and a really fluffy, true-to-pancake experience.
Then, off to GymNasty class which is quickly growing on me. It was definitely tough and my shoulders are going to be shot tomorrow, but it's definitely a good forum to work on skills. I noticed my ring rows are getting a lot stronger, and I'm gradually able to move my feet closer and closer to the wall while keeping the height of the rings the same. So where does the grace come in? Oh yes. During tripod practice, I fell off the freaking box. Yep. I failed trying to push myself up and ended up half-somersaulting, half flailing off the box. Poor Kia. She didn't know what to do with me. I was fine, or course, but it must have been amusing to watch. 
When I got home, I had a message from Jay asking if I wanted to sign up for the Throwdown in a couple weeks. I'd been thinking about it. Debating. Telling myself I'm crazy for even considering it. After this morning's fall off the box, I know I'm crazy. But I'm signed up. A couple other girls and I have a pact where if we do something stupid we'll disguise each other's identity to avoid embarrassment. At least there's a plan in place. Now it'll just be a matter of how I make a fool of myself. But competing is a good challenge, or something, right? And I know there's some saying out there about life beginning at the end of my comfort zone?  This one's gonna take a lot of guts and not the same kind I've been talking about the past few days. Wish me luck!

Food:
Breakfast - coconut pancakes, maple syrup
Lunch - Chili bowl at the Saratoga Clay Arts Center
Dinner - Hellfire (cajun chicken, hot sausage, curry, peppers, onions, tomatoes)


Workout:
Gymnasty Girls - (I think I'm missing something)
I: With a partner, 3 rounds: 45lbs overhead with 10 squat therapy
II: 5 rounds: 8 ring pushups, 3 ring rows (challenging)
III: 10 minutes tripod practice
IV: Accumulate 1 minute false grip time
V: 20-20-20 pushups, hollow rocks, handstand hold
    15-15-30
    10-10-40
    (5:30)

Guts (continued)

Day 27 - Friday, January 27, 2012

Oh boy. While I enjoyed every bite of my cheat meal last night, I'm paying for it today. Sparing any grisly details, my stomach is just not reacting well to the sugar, grains and fat from my food intake. My poor gut is just not happy. Again. For a totally different reason than two days ago.

I took an impulsive day off from work today and enjoyed some extra rest while nursing the upset stomach. While the prospect of attacking the Filthy 50 was intimidating in itself, doing it with an upset stomach didn't seem wise.

Dinner is back on track tonight. Hamburgers with bacon and turnip fries. I'm glad I got the cheat out of my system and was able to start back so easily. This definitely has never been the case before. I blame all those people cheering me on and holding me accountable. That and the fact that Murph will be back from vacation eventually and seeing all of my food again. :)

Finally, I'm working up the guts to sign up for the Tri-State Throwdown event at ACF. I know it's important to step outside my comfort zone. To compete and see what I can do, but I'm truly terrified. What if I do something stupid?! What if I forget how to count like  always happens?! Definitely going to take guts.

Food:

Lunch - Turkey club (minus the bread and mayo), sweet potato fries

Snack - dark chocolate almonds

Dinner - hamburger with bacon, sweet potato and beet chips

Snack - two dark chocolate Hershey kisses

Workout:

none

Hooray for a rest day!

Day 26 - Thursday, January 27, 2012


I'm so happy for a rest day today, although the WOD today looked like one I really would have "liked" and needed. Split jerks are definitely a weakness of mine and something I should work on. My strongman jerks would really benefit from a split jerk. I was also really excited for my first whole cheat meal since the start of this challenge. I'm sure I won't feel the same way tomorrow, but for today a day of takeout and laziness on the couch with my honey is exactly what I need.


Food:
Lunch - turkey breast, pepperoni, mozzarella, almonds
Dinner - first cheat meal! boneless chicken wings and chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream


Workout:
None! First rest day in five days!

Guts

Day 25 - Wednesday, January 25, 2012


After a small amount of courage thanks to Jonesy, I posted my blog on the 90 day challenge site yesterday. Yeah, that long rambling super personal story about all of my weight struggles over the last 15 years out there for everyone to see. Oh my goodness was it traumatic, but it was nice to get some positive feedback and encouragement. I'm glad I got the guts to do it, even though it took some encouragement.
I also had a conversation with a fellow crossfitter about my issue with finishing last. (The not wanting people to cheer for me and yell at me to finish. The wanting to tell them to fuck off, drop the bar and walk out.) I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way.
Finally, I had strongman class (first Wednesday back in forever!) tonight. The first WOD was axle clean and jerks, five heavy rounds of one. These are the WODs PRs are made of. 110? no problem. 115? no problem. 120? that's getting heavy, but it's up. 125? holy shit, I got it up. 130? nope. but certainly doable down the road. I'm pretty sure my previous PR was 115. Also, I think my "normal" jerk PR was lower than 125 as well, making this extra impressive for me. The only problem with the continental is that intermediate step of resting the bar on your belly to flip your hand over before the quick transition to rack position. It gets pretty tender pretty quickly. Rearranging your guts (back to the topic at hand, see how I did that?) in the process. Between that, and the 75 situps yesterday, my guts are cooked!


Food:
Breakfast - ham and cheese omelet
Lunch - leftover chicken stir fry, orange, chocolate covered almonds
Dinner - chicken cobb salad
Snack - almonds, meatballs


Workout:
Strongman at ACF
1-1-1-1-1 Axle Clean and Jerk
PR! 125lbs.
Failed at 130 in fifth round attempt.