Monthly Archives: February 2013

What’s Going On Around Here…

Not that you all were tapping your toes with worry or anything, but I just wanted to check in and give you an update since I’m usually around here pretty frequently and I’ve been MIA lately.

So hey — Update # 1: I’m not actually dead!

2. The short story is that last Tuesday I was offered a new position at Ye Olde Day Job and I accepted and have been playing Crazy Town Catch Up and doing two jobs at once ever since. It’s a good opportunity for me, and actually one that has been out there in the ether being a “Potential Opportunity” since November of last year. It feels nice, after almost 3 months, to have a finite role laid out. It’s a good situation for me and Garrett and I’m very excited to be doing it. But it does mean that things will probably be changing around here at least in the near near future until I can get back on my feet organization wise. And since it’s the day job and all, I’ve probably said plenty enough about it and just need to shut up now.

3. Well no, I’m going to say one more thing: So you know how it has been 3 months of up in the air? Well I finally got the official news Tuesday afternoon, which is only noteable because I had dropped Garrett off at the airport Tuesday morning at the airport for a 9 day trip to see his parents out at their property. So basically this means that Tuesday night I was toasting in celebration alone. I mean, you can almost hear the sad trombone playing, right? At least the following night my mom came out to my house and we grilled up some steaks and cracked open a bottle of wine and well, her celebrating is a bit more animated than Buster’s. He likes to show his excitement by snoring on the couch, which is adorable and all, but not so festive.

4. Since Garrett is out of town I am totally feeling out of whack and out of routine and OHMYGOD I am just a giant routine nerd. I feel like a really inflexible dolt when I get out of my routines and I’m seriously panicking that I’m going to up and lock my keys in the car again or something because I’m so all over the place. My brain needs a massage.

5. I’ve been working SO MUCH so I’ve hardly worked out, but that’s probably a good thing since Garrett is the main laundry handler at our house and right now the laundry jungle is looking a little, ahem…overgrown. So I’m actually doing myself a favor by not working out. Or that’s what I keep telling myself. πŸ™‚

6. I did manage to workout once last week and then also go to a THREE HOUR lifting seminar on Saturday morning. I learned a ton! It was super fun. But it was also like, 3 hours of doing squats. My legs are a little hurt-y today, you know? Afterward though I hosted a little Ladies Night for my gym gals and I completely used that as an excuse to make up for the lost champagne of Tuesday night.

7. I’m really ready for Garrett to come home and life to get back to normal, but I don’t even know what normal looks like with this new job, etc etc — so I guess I just need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, eh? I hate when I have to take my own advice. πŸ™‚ I have an appointment with a chiropractor Wednesday and my knee is feeling a little bit better so I’m hoping to get back to running this week. Cross your fingers for me would ya?

How the hell are all of YOU? What’s going on in your neck of the woods? Did you watch the Oscars last night? Was it just me or were they….kind of weird?


On Fear, Failure and Feeling Alive

Alive source

I’ve been thinking a lot about my goals lately and how easy it is to feel pulled in so many different directions. Every once in a while I go back and forth between feeling like “Oh no! That’s too much to do” and “My overflowing plate makes me feel amazing!” (And not in a Stress Addiction kind of way, I promise.) Logic says I’d have a better chance at success if I pursued fewer things, right? But here’s the thing about stretching yourself — it means you are CONSTANTLY learning and growing. And to me:

Learning + Growing = Feeling Alive

Right now in my life the to do list is long and the goals are varied. Sure, sometimes I feel a little bit overwhelmed and I’ll admit sometimes I even feel scared. But I think feeling alive doesn’t always mean feeling comfortable, and more importantly feeling uncomfortable doesn’t always mean something needs to change. I came across an excerpt from Brene Brown’s “I Thought It Was Just Me” recently and (as usual) her words brought everything into perspective that had been swimming around in my brain about all of this:

One of the benefits of growth through goal setting is that it is not an all-or-nothing proposition–success or failure is not the only possible outcome…When we set improvement goals and set measurable objectives to meet those goals, we can learn and grow from both missed and met objectives. If our goal is perfection, we will inevitably fail and that failure offers us nothing in terms of learning and change; it only makes us vulnerable to shame.

This brought me so much clarity. Most feelings of fear and overwhelm are triggered by this pursuit of perfection. And it can be so commonplace that it almost becomes subconscious. But pursuit of perfection doesn’t help make us better, it mostly just breeds fear of failure, and if I’ve said once, I’ve said it a million times: FAILURE SHOULDN’T BE FEARED! Failure is one of the most powerful learning tools we have. And as long as I’m learning and growing, I know I’m living.

And what is better than feeling alive?

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Relay Training Recap – Week Three

workout week 3

Well, last week was a bit anticlimactic. My knee is still bugging me…sometimes. GRR. I’m icing the hell out of it and I’ve made an appointment to see someone this week. Maybe I’ll talk more about that afterwards, but just know that this week I kept it easy. I did no running (well..kinda, you’ll see) and scaled my workouts accordingly at the gym.

Monday
Is it weird that Monday is starting to feel like a good rest day? I don’t know, I usually feel completely pumped to get in the gym on Mondays but lately it’s just felt better to ease into the week. Probably because work has been so nuts! We’ll see how that evolves.

Tuesday

STRENGTH

Overhead Squat: 5 x 3 (65, 75, 85, 95, 105 lbs)

METCON

β€œDeath by Clean” (95lbs) — I completed 11 rounds. Bowed out on number 12. OOF!

1 rep in the first minute, 2 reps in the second minute, 3 reps in the third, etc until you cannot complete the required amount of work within the minute.

BUYOUT

4 x 100 m sled pulls (bodyweight)*
*rest as needed between rounds

I actually ended up running 400 m sprints instead of doing sled pulls to test out how my knee felt and OHMYGOD it was NOT GOOD. Ugh. Iced it ALOT afterward. This was the day I decided it was time to involve a professional.

Wednesday
I worked out today because it was something I could scale and didn’t involve running.

STRENGTH

Romanian Deadlift: 3-3-3-3-3 (95, 115, 135, 155, 175)

Hey-O…these were fun and new. So…weird feeling. It’s funny how it’s a similar movement but feels so different. I moved much less weight than I normally deadlift but it felt so HEAVY!

METCON

9-6-3:

Thruster (65 lbs)
Box Jumps (24 in box) I scaled to step ups bc my knee was BUGGING me
Ground Release Push-Ups

Run 800m (I rowed 1000m bc of the knee)

3-6-9:

Power Snatch (65 lbs)
Toes 2 Bar — (scaled to knees to elbows)

I was bummed today that my knee was feeling so crappy so I tried to really be careful of it. It doesn’t hurt AT ALL when I’m doing squatty things, but running and jumping are no-gos. UGH. Going to rest tomorrow. Death by cleans this week really did my upper body good, and now my lower body has had enough. BOO.

Thursday

REST

Friday

Can’t stay away. The Lumberjack 20 called my name. I decided to *try* and run and actually my knee felt fine the whole way through.

20 Deadlifts (185lbs)
Run 400m
20 KB swings (53lbs)
Run 400m
20 Overhead Squats (75lbs)
Run 400m
20 Burpees
Run 400m
20 Pullups (Chest to Bar) – scaled with band
Run 400m
20 Box jumps (20β€³) scaled to step ups for my knee
Run 400m
20 DB Squat Cleans (25lbs each) scaled to 20lbs because SERIOUSLY
Run 400m

Saturday

Weird. I got up today and felt like I had gotten hit by a truck. A lumber truck seems more accurate. πŸ™‚ Rest, ahem.

Sunday

Rest. This week was rough. On my body and my ego. I miss running.

Workout Total: 3
CrossFit Workouts: 3
Running Workouts: 0, except for the 2 miles in Lumberjack 20
Double Days: 0


Fun Things To Read On A Friday

dog
source

Yep. That’s just about how I feel about the fact that it is Friday. I’ve had a long, stressful week that has caused me to dive headfirst into crap food over the last 24 hours and man I’m feeling the effects. I am so ready for a weekend to hang with Garrett and eat some green stuff. Big plans this weekend, obviously. πŸ™‚

Anyway, here’s the highlights of Internet Goodness this week:

*When you are busting your butt in the gym it can be hard not to have an ideal body type in mind. But let’s not forget to keep it real. Here are 17 examples of why you shouldn’t freak out if you look in the mirror and don’t look like a celebrity. They don’t look like themselves EITHER!

*Since we’re making lists, how about 40 Ways To Feel More Alive. I like feeling alive. You know what doesn’t make me feel alive? Pizza. UGH.

*This week bad ass CrossFitter Elizabeth Akinwale made some news talking about CrossFit, Women and Strength. I loved what she had to say. (Also: I love her!)

*I’m totally convinced that Buster tries to talk to us. That dog has things to say! Plus he is so regimented, picks up routines quickly and is just very…ordered for a dog. Sometimes I wish I was better at picking up what he was putting down, you know? I put this book on hold at the library. Have any of you read it?

*Chris Kresser has been writing some AWESOME stuff lately, but I particularly loved this post on Why Eating Only Lean Protein Is A Bad Idea. I feel like “I eat lots of lean protein” is one of those phrases bandied about in that kind of snooty, uppity way when talking about “being healthy” that sort of makes me roll my eyes. So I especially loved this take. EMBRACE THE FAT!

*Well, since I’m already teetering on the line of getting up on a health soapbox, why not just let me get it all out at once, eh? I loved this post about Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss. It reminded of the time someone told me “If you want to lose weight start snorting cocaine. Works every time!” Losing weight is one of those goals that sounds really great in theory, but probably needs to be qualified.

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Clearly I have food and fitness on the mind today. Could it be because I had a serious LACK of that yesterday? Probably. πŸ™‚ You doing anything awesome this weekend?


February Faves

February Faves

What better day than Valentine’s to talk about a mess of stuff that I love? Of course I love all of YOU, but the group photo was too big to fit in this here collage o’crap. Oh wait, I better save the O’apostrophe words for St. Patty’s Day. Scratch that. Anyway, let’s start from the top and go clockwise, shall we?

1. Old Navy Active Padded Cami – So the first thing I want to note is that the pads are removable. THANK GOD. And once they are out, this is an AWESOME workout tank! (Also $12 right now. Score!) Lots of cute patterns and a bunch are even just $11. I read a post this week about how it is much better to have one $60 Lululemon tank top than six cheap Old Navy tank tops. And listen, I totally get that sentiment behind “quality” as a rule, I just…well disagree. Or rather, my ability to do laundry every single day disagrees and I workout a lot (AHEM) and I’m on a budget (DOUBLE AHEM.) So to that end, I say Old Navy stuff is top notch. But someday when I’m rich and my laundry gets done every day I will only have a few, quality tanks and love it. But in the meantime, I’ll love these forever and ever amen. And an honorable mention goes to this adorable tank too. I seriously can’t wait until summer workouts start!

2. Himilayan Pink Salt – I’ve had this salt in my cupboard FOREVER and just never break it out, but after reading a lot about Adrenal Fatigue and colored salts, plus seeing it show up in a few recipes I’ve made has me hooked! Plus, salt crystals are just kind of fancy feeling. I use the kind from Trader Joe’s that come in a grinder, but it’s a fun exotic thing to have on my counter top.

3. Everyone Soap – In my slow evolution toward more natural skincare, I’ve been looking for a bubble bath filled with less crap in it. I picked this up on a whim at Whole Foods, which, sidebar: Impulse Buys at Whole Foods are usually a TERRIBLE idea, because listen, no one needs to spend MORE money than they planned at Whole Foods, right? But it turns out I love this stuff! It smells exactly like one of my favorite Paleo Cookies (Might I recommend you try those immediately?)

4. The Following — I know we just talked about TV yesterday, but I saved this one by itself because I’m really digging it. Sure parts of it are completely unbelievable and contrived, but um, also: KEVIN BACON. Plus it’s just creepy enough, has some literary twists tied in that I like, so I’m in!

5. Miss Mooz Spring 2013 Collection – Listen, I don’t own a single pair of these shoes, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO. Man, they are all just fun and whimsical, but also reasonable enough that you won’t feel like you are wearing a Raver Costume. Check out the Spring 2013 Lookbook. IS IT SPRING YET?

6. Fire in My Belly by Kevin Gillespie – You know, as a self proclaimed Bravo Lover it is probably no surprise that I always have to check out the Top Chef contestant cookbooks. Honestly though, celebrity chef books don’t always move me. I am so abso-freaking-lutely in love with this cookbook though. For one, it is beautiful. It’s not full of glossy photos, instead it full of gorgeous, matte, styled but still “real-life” photos. It’s also one part memoir, which lets you get to know the Celeb Chef behind the scenes. Finally (and this is probably the most important) the recipes are a great combination of things you can see yourself making for everyday and things that would be a bit of a challenge. I like challenge in a cookbook, I just don’t like an ENTIRE cookbook of frou frou things that are going to make me feel like I am all thumbs in the kitchen. I originally got this book at the library and decided I wanted my own copy. That’s the sign of a good book.

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What’s on your Awesome Radar this month?

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4 Recipes / 3 TV Shows / 2 Movies / 1 Book

4 Recipes

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

I’ve discovered some keepers lately and thought I would share the inspiration.

Chicken Marbella sent to me by Bethany (one of my favorite people on the internet!) because she knows I love a good chicken recipe.

Caveman Crunch (AKA PALEO CRACK) passed on my friend Heather. Such a delicious little snack to have on hand. A little bit dangerous, but also incredibly portable.

Green Goddess Cauliflower Rice Tara left this link as a comment on my 5 Things To Do With: Cauliflower post. It’s the bomb! Really easy and creative.

Easy Raspberry Chipotle Sauce I don’t remember how I came across this one, but I’m glad I did. I’m getting really excited for grilling season so I can reinvigorate my grilled chicken thigh obsession.

3 TV Shows

Diptic

Dateline – I am having a Dateline Renaissance (I was a big fan in the Stone (fox) Phillips/Jane Pauley days and I have watched it a lot through the years, but recently the new Datelines have become my favorite part of my weekend ritual. (I blame my coworker Kelly!) I love a good true crime story and they actually do a good job on their Facebook page of teasing the mystery all week so I really enjoy curling up on the couch on Friday nights and decompressing with a mystery. Add this to the reasons why I am becoming a senior citizen, but I DON’T CARE!

Dawson’s Creek – The Venn Diagram overlap of TV that both Garrett and I want to watch is, well…not large. We’ve had fun making our way through old series shows on Netflix together and a few months back I mentioned Dawson’s Creek. He hardly remembered it which shocked me, but when we watched the pilot I realized why: this is kind of a chick show and it came out during Garrett’s high school years when he was doing god knows what, but clearly not getting wrapped up in angsty, over-wrought teen drama. But something about the first episode clicked for both of us: 90s nostalgia, celebrities before they were famous, and yeah…a little bit of the teen angst. And we have been hooked and watching together ever since.

House of Cards – So I’m not actually watching this. Yet. But I am highly intrigued by the idea of a show made specifically by Netflix to be consumed all at once. Media Binging is the future, apparently, and I’m just curious to see what happens with this show from a sociological perspective. Are you watching it?

2 Movies

Queen of Versailles

The Queen of Versailles – This documentary was simultaneously inspiring and Really Effing Depressing all at once. It’s interesting and obnoxious and completely riveting from start to finish.

Pitch Perfect
Pitch Perfect – I asked Garrett if he wanted to watch this with me and he was like “No thanks. Have fun Glee-ing it up on your own. I’ll be killing zombies if you need me.” But after about 15 minutes of overhearing me snort with laughter he got curious. We ended up watching the whole movie together and seriously, it was riot. It’s kind of an oddball genre, part dark humor, part family style comedy, part musical? I mean, labeling it would be a challenge. But it’s hilarious and I highly recommend it.

1 Book

dark places Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Poor Gillian Flynn. Every book she writes from now on is going to have to answer to the question of “Will this scratch the Gone Girl itch?” I mean yes, there are worse questions to be asked than “Will this book be as good as your completely awesome page turning book of Summer 2012?” but I do feel like she set the bar pretty high for creepy, smart thrillers. The good news though, this one totally lived up to it. It was actually written before Gone Girl (along with Sharp Objects, which I liked, but to me wasn’t quite as good as the other two) but honestly if you are into this genre, READ THIS. Time will fly by and you won’t even notice because your nose will be perpetually stuck in the book until it’s finished.

Extra Credit Reading:

**Gillian Flynn talks about the ending of Gone Girl
**Gillian Flynn on how she writes


Post Whole 30 (v1.0 and v2.0) + Why I Will Do Another

Lather Rinse Repeat I really enjoyed this post on Whole 9 about multiple Whole 30s and it got my thoughts churning about my own experience doing multiple Whole 30s and how drastically different my behavior was after each.
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I finished my first Whole 30 on August 30, 2012. Sometimes it was so tough I didn’t want to continue. Other times it just felt like business as usual — don’t mind me I’m just over here eating delicious meat and vegetables. When I finished I wanted to do it FOREVVVVVVVVVVVVVER, but I knew that wasn’t sustainable. It is not a Whole 365, it is never meant to be, and I was not going to continue being so restrictive even though, physically, it felt AMAZING!

I did the reintroduction protocol and I found it so, so useful. I loosened up the reigns and allowed myself a Paleo treat here and there in September because I had spent August really being aware of every morsel I put in my mouth. Then in October I decided to give up caffeine because it became glaringly obvious that it was crutch in my life. Doing that was INCREDIBLY difficult, and honestly I felt far more deprived without coffee than I ever did with out sugar, grains, dairy and legumes. It made me feel really sad actually, and two out of three months filled with very disciplined consumption had me feeling like I deserved a bit of recklessness.

This worked out well because do you know what October was? My Birthday month! Woo hoo! Also? HALLOWEEN MONTH. Do you know what happens when you work in an office during Halloween month? You don’t even feel a little bit guilty about having a “bite sized Snickers” here and there. Especially after you have spent so much time being vigilant about your food and drink. Also especially when you are training to finish a half marathon and running all the damn time. You understand this, yes? I know you do.

But then you start to feel a little bit like shit. So. Much. Sugar rarely makes anyone feel good, so you get back into the swing of things in the beginning of November. But November starts the Holidays, and that’s a whole other story. Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner and you have spent the last 3 years being VERY disciplined about your Holiday Meals as well, so you decide to eat ALL OF THE STUFFING, because why not? It’s only one day, and one day is not going to get the best of you.

But then you get to thinking about the Holidays in general. And WHY MUST WE ALL BE SO REGIMENTED? Can’t we just spend the season enjoying each other and the traditional foods we make and have a Christmas cooking now and then, I mean, COME ON. Don’t be such an uppity asshole with your “Healthy Eating During The Holidays” magazine articles.

Hmmm…maybe you are feeling a little cranky but it’s probably from all of that holiday stress. So much to do! Just grab a quick bite out. Oh look, the office catered lunch, just have the god damn sandwich already. IS IT VACATION YET? Why do we have to travel all over the place during the holidays, GAWD. Why is the gym not open during the weeks when you want to workout the most. UGH. Guess I’ll just sit here and finish the rest of this jar of Trader Joe’s cookie butter on the couch since everything is closed.

And all of a sudden your clothes don’t fit, you have vampire bite acne, you are waging a war on back fat but you are fighting it while puffy, sluggish and constantly dehydrated. And that is what happened after my first Whole 30. It seemed sort of “out of nowhere” when I got to the end of December and was eating cookie butter on my couch, but really there was a very logical progression. And it was one that made me want to go running back to the Whole 30 again.

Another Whole 30? But Wasn’t That The Problem In The First Place?

The black and white nature of the Whole 30 really rubs some people the wrong way. I get this, as I very much subscribe to the philosophy of “You’re Not The Boss of Me.” I understand that taking orders from strangers about what to eat (and more dramatically, what NOT to eat) can seem like the gateway to very disordered eating. But my thoughts lean towards this: The Whole 30 is a tool. It is a temporary exercise. It’s easy to want to give up while you are doing it. It’s easy to look at it and say it will cause disordered eating. But I actually think disordered eating is a bit more complex. And also probably not for this blog post.

But I definitely get the stress around the Whole 30 and all of it’s rules. It *is* a bit stressful. It’s designed to be that way. Not necessarily to cause stress but to offer you a time in your life where you are forced to find solutions. During stressful times you are forced to acquire good survival habits. During the Whole 30, you do the same. When you get back into the real world of having ALL THE FOOD at your disposal, the stressors are STILL THERE. They are just different. But if you’ve completed a Whole 30 you bring all of those survival skills with you. (And bonus, you probably know your body pretty well when you finish.)

Each time we have completed a Whole 30 I’ve added some positive, healthy habits to my life. During our initial attempt I learned to make one breakfast on the weekend that I can eat all week. I had never done that before, but it was NECESSARY for me to succeed at the Whole 30 that first time around. It is a habit that I am still using (and finding immensely helpful) six months later. Win. It was the ONLY anchor I had throughout my Holiday Downward Spiral. ha!

I also discovered that first time around that there are so many other awesome burger/chili toppers than cheese. Prior to August I didn’t think I would EVER be able to give up dairy. Turns out the regularity with which I ate dairy was directly proportional to the regularity with which I ate burgers and chili. Now that I found ALL SORTS of good things to eat with those two meals besides cheese, I’m completely dairy free and not feeling deprived. Win.

So despite completing my first Whole 30 and then letting the pendulum swing all the way to cookie butter, I thought it would be a useful exercise to do again. This time I wanted to build on the good habits that had stuck around and hopefully introduce some new ones. Exciting Beverages to Drink That Are Not Booze is something that I really embraced this second time around. And guess what? It’s sticking and I have *bounced back* with a lot less drinking now that ALL THE BOOZE is available to me.

This second time around I am determined to not swing back so far to the other side. I’m also determined to keep building on my healthy habits. And probably? That will include another Whole 30 at some point. I like it. It works for me. And it feels good. Plus, the goal of a Whole 30 is not to become perfect, it is to become better and more informed. I keep learning about myself which helps with the whole “better” element. Did you find yourself doing a major pendulum swing after your Whole 30? Are you doing anything strategic to help balance that out?


Relay Training Recap- Week Two

Training Graph - Week Two

Monday
Skipped this workout at the gym because I was feeling SO BEAT after work (why? no idea) But I was bummed because it was one of my favorites that hardly ever gets programmed: “Bear Complex”

We’ll talk more about it later because I vowed to do it later on in the week if the opportunity arose and it did!

Tuesday
Hit the gym!

Strength:
Bench Press 5-5-3-3-3
(65, 75, 85, 95, 100 —- hooooo boy were my shoulders sore from Saturday’s Snatches! I felt old and crotchety doing this. Note to self: shoulder mobility, work on it!)

Metcon:

15 Min AMRAP
400m run
10 clapping pushups (I did scaled pushups)
8 Snatches (75lbs)

Completed 3 Rounds

After this workout though my knee was feeling kind of tender. And for no identifiable reason. BOO

Wednesday
My knee HURT this morning. It doesn’t hurt running or squatting or anything like that, but just walking around, it’s just tender right below my kneecap. Dr. Google says I’m dying. Not really. But then again I haven’t really consulted Dr. Google for fear that it will make me crazy. I’m foam rolling the quads/hams and icing like it’s my religion.

Thursday

My plan was to hit the gym, but I had to travel to Sonoma for work all day and by the time I got home it was too late. I could have run but I was BEAT and my knee was a tiny bit sore still. Funny how so much windshield time can make you exhausted but you are only just sitting down.

Friday

STRENGTH
Snatch
3-3-1-1-1 (65, 75, 85, 90, 95)
Snatch Pull
2-2-2-2-2 (95 for all reps)

METCON
Buy In:
50 Double Unders

3 Rounds of
5 HSPU – (scaled)
10 Burpee Pull Ups (scaled to burpess + banded pull ups)
200m run

Buy Out:
100 Double Unders

That was fun. And sort of awful since I hate burpees and pull ups and it took me a few minutes to get my double under rhythm which mean my ass was COVERED in welts afterward. But fun! πŸ™‚

I decided on Friday night that I wanted to try running on my knee. Garrett and I headed out after CrossFit to a hilly street by our house. We did a slow one mile warmup and then did 10 hill repeats up this crappy hill that I can’t even fully run up yet (NEW GOAL! GET UP THE HILL!) It was good practice. And also awful. First double day. πŸ™‚ Knee felt fine running. Afterward, still sore when I walk.

Saturday

I vowed to do Monday’s Bear Complex so I headed in to open gym to get some lifting in. The Bear Complex is fun, but pretty tough. This is what it looks like. A quick synopsis from Mel, since she also wrote about it this week coincidentally:

…it’s a workout made up of 5 rounds of a barbell series (a.k.a., β€œcomplex”) that includes 7 reps of the following:
power clean β€” front squat β€” push press β€” back squat β€” push press

You do that SEVEN times to make up one round β€” and you do five rounds. If you’re doing it as RX’d.

HOLY CRAP that was hard. I did all 5 rounds with a 75lb barbell and my arms were JELLO at the end.

Open gym. Woot! ( that's a fake it til you make it woot. I'm tired.)

Sunday

I had a run on the schedule but my knee (at this point MY GOD DAMN GOOD FOR NOTHING KNEE) was still sore and that started to make me worried. I skipped my run and stayed home and did a cooking wod. πŸ™‚ Also a Kettlebell Century Challenge (aka 100 Kettlebell Swings for time) with our 53 lb kettlebell. That was no slouch of a workout, but I would have rather run.

Workout Total: 4
CrossFit Workouts: 4 (3 in the gym // 1 at home)
Running Workouts: 1
Double Days: 1

And that was the week! Kind of disappointing, but it wasn’t like I was sitting home on the couch, so. Hopefully I’ll figure out what’s going on with my knee and be able to get in some good runs this week.


Weekend Adventures

I seriously need a weekend to recover from my weekend. I am in complete denial that it is Monday. Friday night Garrett and I hit the gym and also did some running stuff. I think I screwed up my knee a bit, but I’ll talk more about that when I finally get my butt around to updating my Week Two Training Report. UGH. I do. not. want. to. hurt. myself. That is numero uno most important.

Anyway, Friday night was mellow, but Saturday morning was Crazy Town! I still might need a pep talk if you’ve got one in ya. It started off nice, I dropped Garrett off for work and did some menu planning while I drank way too much some coffee. It felt super luxurious to just have some time to just relax, get creative with my menu and then I was off to go grocery shopping. I had to go to 3 different stores but I got all my ingredients (how annoying is that, btw?) and I headed home to unload everything.
Meal Planning! It's going to be 69 degrees this week & WE ARE GRILLING!!! #readyforspring
Halfway through unloading Garrett texted me that he was getting off work early and could I come pick him up? Instantly I started going through my mental rolodex of things to do before I left: put all the perishable items in the fridge, feed the dog, and then because Buster always loves a good road trip I wanted to get him in his leash and harness and take him with me to go pick up Garrett.
Road Trip!

I rushed to do all of that, grabbed all of Buster’s things (that dog rolls with a god damn diaper bag, I swear), tried to get him in his harness despite him being UN-COOPERATIVE (too! excited! to! sit! still!) locked up the house and went outside…only to discover that I had only HALF unloaded the groceries. Um, hello? Brain Fart. Garrett had texted me to come pick him up in the middle of doing it and I had gotten distracted by all the house stuff I had to do before leaving. What a dummy! Anyway, the house was locked and the dog was going ape-shit with excitement, so I figured I would just put my purse, phone and all that crap in the car with Buster and then run the groceries into the garage really quickly and stuff the perishables in the outside mini-fridge. I started the car so I could crack a window for the dog, put all my crap down, got him all settled in the front seat, AND THEN I LOCKED THE DOORS AND CLOSED THEM.

WITH EVERYTHING INSIDE.

Oh, you guys, I about had a heart attack. I have never felt that kind of panic. All I could do was just look at my cute little pup stuck in the car, wagging his tail and waiting for me to get in. The window was only cracked a bit so I couldn’t even get my fingers through and I literally had no idea what to do. I considered just breaking the window right then and there, but just kept saying to myself “There has to be a more reasonable solution. THINK, HOLLY, THINK!”

I decided to try and break into my house to get our extra set of car keys (this is like reason 900 we should have a hide-a-key but we don’t…curses!) but the only place that is even remotely-break-in-able wouldn’t budge. I’ve never been so pissed to live in Fort Knox! I was breathing so hard and so panicked and I just had NO IDEA WHAT TO DO. I couldn’t call anyone, couldn’t get in my house…I just felt so helpless! Finally I thought that if I had a wire hanger I could maybe manipulate it through the window crack and manually unlock the door, but of course I don’t have wire hangers just lying about in the yard so I had to find something else. I contemplated ripping a tree branch off our lemon tree, but in a slightly less panicked moment I saw our BBQ tongs and grabbed those.

LUCKILY THEY WORKED! And I exhaled and practically collapsed on the dog, who of course had no idea what was going on and was just like “Hey, yo! Are we going for a ride now, or what???” It’s times like this where I really doubt my readiness to have children. πŸ™‚ After all that morning drama, Saturday afternoon we headed out to a birthday party with friends, which was much more enjoyable! I have to admit though I was missing Buster after such a dramatic morning.

Sunday I got up with tons of energy which was great since I had a run on the schedule, but my knee was bugging me. πŸ™ Since I had so much energy I had the most major cooking marathon I have had this year and prepared all of the following all before noon:

Poached Eggs over Sweet Potato Hash
Indian Turkey Stew
Asian Orange Beef + Cauliflower Rice
Taco Salads (meat in one container, salads prepped in another)
Caveman Crunch
Minestrone Soup
Southwestern Frittata
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Moroccan Dipping Oil
Chimichurri Sauce
Pesto Chicken Thighs

I mean, WHERE IS MY KITCHEN STADIUM MEDAL?

So that took a lot out of me. But the upside? I barely have to cook a thing this entire week. ROCK AND ROLL! πŸ™‚ Obviously I had to spend the rest of Sunday eating dried mango on the couch watching Dawson’s Creek on Netflix, cuddling my dog. It was awesome. But now it is Monday. And seriously…how does that happen so fast?

Buster is getting very emotional over Dawson's Creek

How was YOUR weekend? Have you ever locked your dog/kid/something precious in the car at an inopportune time? Please tell me all about it.


Fun Things To Read On A Friday

Friday
source

Oh I am soooooooooooooooo calm about the fact that we are about to enter the weekend. Nothing on the agenda but running, which leaves A LOT of spare time. If you need me, I’ll be doing WHATEVER THE HELL I PLEASE. (Yeeeeeeeessssssssssss!)

Shall we talk about some fun stuff I read this week? Ok, if you insist.

*A More Balanced Media Diet? I am ALL ABOUT THIS lately.

*But I will always shamelessly love trashy magazines and pop culture, hence the reason I adored this perspective In Defense of Beyonce, Psy and Mariah Carey

*I am getting ready to take on a project that has a pretty hefty price tag, so I’ve been playing this really fun game called “How miserly can I actually be?” This post filled with 56 Things To Do Instead of Spending Money came at the perfect time!

*Have you ever worked really freaking hard for something but still didn’t have success? UGH, that feeling is the pits. But also? That’s life. We don’t always get what we want when we want it. I loved this perspective in this post about Letting Go vs. Giving Up.

*Speaking of things that are the pits: Last year I had to break up with a friend, and let me tell you that was a giant crap sandwich. But it is also one of the best things I’ve ever done and looking back on it, I should have done it YEARS AGO. Had I watched this video, I probably would have.

“The only time you can change someone is when they are in diapers.” (LIGHTBULB!)

*So since we’re talking friends, my friend Cami passed on this awesome book list to me this week (you KNOW I love a good book list) and so many are now on my To-Read List!

*How about some random, useless information for your Friday, eh? How many of those did you know? I am embarrassed to say that if pressed, I could barely come up with half.

*And finally, we need to talk about farts. You know I just threw this one in there to see how many of you are paying attention. πŸ˜‰

*****

Have a great weekend guys! Hope you are doing something fun.

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