Bonus time

Usually the second weekend of the month is reserved for trips to Raleigh to visit the boyfriends parents and to wash Pepsi trucks.

Not this month!

Just to be clear, I enjoy those weekends quite a bit and always leave having had a great weekend. However, I am happy to have a bonus weekend at home with the boyfriend to do whatever we want. And to not leave my sweet pups at home.

Last weekend we ran into some extra time we weren't expecting and didn't really know what to do with so we planned ahead for this weekend. And we're doing two things I'm super excited about.

Numero Uno: Painting!

The spare bedroom in the house will one day become a lounge/reading room. But for that to happen, we have to paint it and get all the stuff we intend to hang off the floor. After this weekend that problem will be solved and all we'll need is a quick trip to IKEA to give the room a purpose.

Back to the painting, I know most people don't enjoy painting. It's a chore. You can pay people to do it for you. I'm not that person. I really enjoy painting, especially when it's going to totally change a space. For example, I painted the kitchen and dining room of my old house within 24 hours of getting the keys. I painting my living room purple on a whim one Sunday afternoon. I up and decided to take down the wallpaper and paint my hallway on weekend for fun. I'm that person. I also painted the boyfriends dining room while in the process of moving in and painted his kitchen a few weeks later.

It's a bit of a combination. I enjoy painting. I'm not afraid of colour. And it's a relatively cheap and easy way to change the look of room. Plus it can be a quick process.

All of that said, we're painting the lounge room this weekend and I cannot wait!

Numero Dos: Date Night

The boyfriend and I don't eat out much. Not because we're recluses, we just both enjoy cooking and can prepare some damn good meals so why go out all the time. Every now and then we do on your own nights which usually mean he cooks something I won't eat and I'll get take out of something tasty like pizza or mexican. But rarely do we go out to eat together.

We actually didn't have our first meal out together until in May when we went to Charleston. We have since gone out a handful of times, but it's still a rare occasion.

All that said, I'm super duper excited to go out Saturday night. Throw on something other than my usual attire. Eat some tasty food. Have an excuse to Eat dessert. Just be out of the normal routine. It's going to be a grand time!

Lazy Sunday

3/25/2013 LP:
Back Squat: 1x2, 115lb, 1x5, 110lb, 3x8, 95lb
Press: 3x6, 45lb
Deadlift, 1x5, 125lb
Double Under Work

Not having a second squat day in the week (usually Saturday) I wasn't feeling as good for last night's squats. I attempted 115 but almost couldn't get up on my second rep so I dropped back to 110. Though I have a fun new game plan to help me get my weights progressing again the next time I get in for a second day. This was also my first day squatting in the new Rogue racks. They're much smaller than the old power racks we had. I also was giving it another shot in my vibrams and I think I need to go back to the chucks. I catch myself pulling forward and my knees coming in slightly in the vibrams. Not what I need to be doing!

All the 2.5 lb plates were taken so I had to stick with the bar for my press but tacked on an extra rep for fun.  It was my last week at the 125 mark for deadlift. It wasn't my best performance, but not bad. I just kind of started it without much thinking. I am looking forward to moving up to 130 again next week.

Brief recap of the weekend:

• Volunteered for the O-Run on Saturday. It rained almost the entire time and was cold. However, watching teams try to get a 65 and 90 lb dummy over a high bar was plenty entertaining! 
• Finally got warm and stayed in to watch Zero Dark Thirty. Very intense! 
• Sunday brunch!!!  (Great substitute, syrup was heavenly)
• Lazy Sunday.  I had on pajamas until almost 2pm. That never happens!
• Hosted family dinner with my folks

Week is fantastic so far and getting better by the day. Woke up to my phone finally getting the 4.2.2 update. Only a four day work week. Trip to NC on Friday so the boyfriend can get his first tattoo. Fun times with his family. Easter lunch with my fam. And the return of spring weather! 

Drop It Like A Squat

3/11/2013 LP:
Back Squat: 1 x 5, 115 lbs, 3 x 7, 95 lbs
Press: 3 x 5, 50 lbs
Deadlift: 1 x 5, 125 lbs

3/12/2013 WOD:
3 RFT
400 m run
21 Kettlebell Swings (26 lb)
12 Push-Ups (knee)
Time: 12:09

Progression on Monday went great after some minor adjustments. The owner of our gym is getting lots of new equipment so some of the old stuff is already out, including two of the four squat racks. Luckily we were able to make it work. I'm really enjoying doing the one heavy set of squats and then the higher rep set at a comfortably heavy weight. I also went up again on the deadlift this week. Only 25 lbs to go!

In the middle of my set of squats I noticed a girl wearing this shirt that I MUST have in my wardrobe. I need it. Badly! I found it online but then spent the better part of my morning designing my own on a few different sites, that I like even better. However, I'm doing a self-experiment of not buying myself anything other than the necessities (food, gas, etc) until May in the hopes that I gain more appreciation for what I already have. I know it's a terrible idea and I should just buy the damn shirt, but I can't bring myself to do it before May 1st. That said, someone can buy it for me before then. Any takers?

I went in last night with every intention of doing the class WOD but I did solo work instead. It was a good WOD, but with warm-ups still happening at 5:30 instead of before plus 5 minutes of double under work and a hang power snatch max effort all before the class ever started, it would have been a late night. With the weather being gorgeous I wanted to incorporate a run so an semi-Helen WOD was suggested. I swapped the pull-ups for push-ups and did the entire workout outside. And it was fantastic! Now if only I hadn't bruised my knee further doing the push-ups. Oh well!

I'm about halfway through the month of going strict paleo and so far things are going pretty well. I'd still steal a cupcake from Sweet from a small child if given the chance, but other than that my cravings are pretty much under control. I've been very diligent with planning every meal ahead (thanks Google docs) and trying to change things up so I'm not getting bored. I'm also using my crockpot more so I don't get tired of having to stand over the stove for every meal. Tonight I'm serving Mirepoix Chicken and it looks super yummy! I've never cooked a whole chicken in the crockpot before so I'm curious to see how it turns out. Fingers crossed it's tasty!

Annie Get Your Gun

3/7/2013 WOD:
Annie
50-40-30-20-10 reps
Double Unders (Singles x 4)
Sit-Ups
Time: 12:42 (PR)

40 second PR! While I want to say it was because of my fancy new jump rope from Rogue, I know that's not totally the case. Whatever the reasoning is I'm perfectly happy with it! I'm very glad I had already decided to do Annie on my own and not the WOD with the class because they were having to do Open 13.1. I didn't sign up for the open for a reason so I won't be doing the WODs. I might want to come up with an alternate plan for the next few Thursdays in case it becomes a pattern.

I hightailed it out of the gym so I could feed my pups, get cleaned up and get a walk in with the boyfriend before meeting two of my ladies for dinner! I had a blast and cannot wait for summer to get her so they're around more. We were the last people in the restaurant when we left. And yay me for completely ignoring the basket of bread on the table. I wanted to eat the entire thing. Grand times!

Squat Heavy Often

3/4/2013 LP:
Back Squat: 1 x 5, 115 lbs;  3 x 7, 95 lbs
Press: 3 x 5, 45 lbs
Deadlift: 1 x 5, 95 lbs; 1 x 5, 120 lbs

The squat is a tricky little beast! This is my third time hitting the 115 mark and each time has been different. The first time it was heavy but I managed and moved on. The second time it was easier and my depth was much lower. And this last time it felt incredibly heavy and I backed off. It is incredibly frustrating!

The boyfriend coach suggested I put 115 off until next week and do a higher rep set at a more comfortable weight. So that's what I did. If you include the set at 115 I did 11 reps more than I usually do on my lift days so I left feeling great about my work. I'm planning on doing the 3 x 7 again on Saturday at 95 lbs to hopefully get me ready for next Monday.

I must have just been off in general because I struggled to get 50 lbs on the press so I backed it up to 45 again. I'm very ready to progress more there but my little arms just aren't having it.

At least I can count on the ol' deadlift. After my warm-up set I knew 120 would still be a breeze and thankfully I was right. I think I'll do one more week at 120 then it's time to move up again. I just decided, right this second, that 150 is my goal. I have zero clue if that's realistic or not. I do know that 135 was my max back in August so I think 150 is a reasonable goal, right?!?

On day five of the paleo challenge and things are going great so far. No real sugar cravings which is very surprising, but I am feeling some withdrawal symptoms. I've only eaten two pineapple since Saturday. Real progress from last time when I consumed nine pineapples in the first seven days. Though overall fruit consumption is still up. Super excited to change things up today and meet my old friend from college for lunch. Hopefully catching up will help me overcome the rage I have toward any and everything at work right now!

30 Day Challenge

2/28/2013 WOD:
2 Person Team, 1 person working at a time
2 min Max Effort Lunges (yards)
2 min Max Effort Toes to Bar
2 min Max Effort Wall Balls (8 lb)
2 min Max Effort Double Unders
2 min Max Effort Handstand Push-ups (Stinkbugs)
2 min Max Effort Power Cleans (45 lb)
Reps: 294

I really enjoyed this workout! A bunch. And it went by sooooo fast. All of a sudden the trainer said, next movement is Power Cleans. How did that happen so fast? I teamed up with one of the 5:30 regulars who still scales things like I do so we made a good team. He pulled his weight when I was lacking (stinkbugs) and I pulled mine when he was tired (power cleans). I loved it and it got me excited to do classes again too!

The absolute best part of the night was that I decided I would go for double unders instead of converting singles. Every one I attempted I got!!! Even with insanely sore calves from practicing on Tuesday. Granted my calves are just as sore today. Must practice more!

The college kid is heading home today for Spring Break. I'm super excited to have her around for a week. Hopefully she'll come up to PDCF for a few workouts too! Even more exciting is that she wants to give Paleo a shot this summer when she's no longer relying on a meal plan. I love it!

Today is Day 1 of the 30 day paleo challenge with my parents. The boyfriend picked up a copy of Primal Blueprint for my parents to read. And my mom is eating it up! So much so that she asked if she can put off starting until Sunday or Monday so she can have a better understanding before she jumps in. I am thrilled with her enthusiasm about this. She's even thinking about coming up to PDCF Saturday morning to see what my workouts are all about and will be joining us at the local market to do some shopping. Her excitement over this has carried over to me. Dealing with sugar withdrawals over the next week will be a breeze knowing they're excited about this new adventure. I hope they've enjoyed it as much as I have, even without my personalization, and stick it out long term.

Double Time

2/26/2013 LP:
Back Squat: 110 lbs
Press: 50 lbs
Deadlift: 120 lbs

Because of a little dog sitting, my lifting day got moved to Tuesday, which I was totally okay with! I can't totally figure it out but 110 lbs for the squat still feels very heavy. Heavier than it did the last time I was making my way to 120. All I can figure is my not so great diet over the weekend didn't help. I'm actually looking forward to starting strict paleo again on Friday to see how it helps with the lifting. Goodbye sugar, hello heavy stuff!

In addition to lifting, I worked on pull-ups before the squat and again after the press. I'm alternating now between negatives and strict banded pull-ups. I've decided I'm done with jumping pull-ups in WODs because they're not really going to help me in the long run.

And then....with some time to kill after the deadlift I decided to take a stab at double unders. Low and behold I got one. Then another. Granted they were never consistent, but I sure as hell got a handful! And I have red whip marks on my arms and legs to prove it. So now in addition to working on pull-ups and push-ups, we'll add double unders to the list. Something I probably should have started working on months ago!

Bridal Season

2/22/2013 WOD:
10 min AMRAP
5 Back Squat (95 lb)
50 Single Unders
5 Push-ups
Rounds: 6

I was well on my way to getting back to my normal schedule but life happens and it didn't quite work out. No hard feelings here! I went in really hoping to work on pull-ups but the rig was being dominated by some high school guys training and our superstars getting ready for the the upcoming Team WOD.

That said I had to come up with another workout on the fly so I searched back through my app and found this one. I wanted to get some squats in so there you go. Best part is that I managed to squeeze in one more full round than I did last time! I just love when that happens!

This week's schedule will be slightly skewed again but I can deal. Back in tonight for some more progressions! Feeling super amped after reading an article on 70's Big about a man who just squatted 905 lbs. Just take that in for a moment. Then watch the video and have your mind blown!

Without much intention the theme of my weekend was girly-ness! Girls night at Mellow Mushroom with my PDCF ladies. Being facebook free got me a last minute invitation but I was happy to go! Then Saturday morning my mom, sister and I left were Charleston bound for her wedding dress fitting! I was really excited because it was the first time I finally got to see her dress in person. She is going to be a beautiful bride! We picked up the college kid and got lunch at Folly Beach. And laughed our asses off! On the ride home my sister was complaining her face hurt from laughing so much. Mega fun day! The girly-ness continued Sunday with her first bridal shower. Great weekend with lots of fun ladies! 

Down and Out

I haven't stepped foot in my gym since Monday night. It doesn't look like I'll be heading back until next Monday. And I'm not happy about it!

Tuesday night in the middle of a normal walk with the boyfriend and his pup, I noticed the outside of my left foot starting to hurt. As the walk and night progressed it got worse. So I stayed off of it Wednesday and by Thursday there was practically no pain. With the pain pretty much gone I thought it was okay to go for pre-Valentine's dinner walk.

I thought wrong!

It wasn't so bad during the walk but by the time I got back home and we started cooking dinner I couldn't barely stand on it. And today I'm having to keep my weight off it again. Of course I had plans to go into PDCF tonight to do a few things on my own but it looks like that's off the table. I hate having to take time off but I'd much rather it heal and be back in there Monday ready to go!

Despite the pain, I had a absolutely fantastic Valentine's day! I didn't eat quite as many heart shaped foods as I had hoped, but it was still wonderful. Easily the best one I've ever had, especially since it was always blown off as a Hallmark holiday in the past. No matter what any girl or woman says she thinks about Valentine's day, she's always secretly hoping to be surprised. And I was, cupcake and all!

Donut PR

The 2013 Krispy Kreme Challenge has come and gone and boy was it fun! As expected, I wasn't prepared for the hilly 5 mile run, though I made it almost to Krispy Kreme before my legs gave out from the hills. And I surpassed my goal of 2 donuts and dominated 3! Thinking back, I should have gone for 4. Next year!

The rest of the weekend in Raleigh was fantastic. Beautiful hike, the turducken feast, an easy morning of washing trucks, and a fun family dinner with my folks. It's nice to get away but always great to come back home. Especially after a busy weekend.

2/11/2013 LP:
Back Squat: 95 lb
Press: 45lb
Deadlift: 115 lb

The race on Saturday left my calves, quads and hammies pretty sore. Then the washing and scrubbing of trucks did a number on my biceps so I went light on the weights. I was ready to finally take on 125 lbs but knew my legs wouldn't have it. Even the first set at 95 lbs was tough. Luckily with each set I was able to get my depth lower and lower. And today I'm feeling pretty lose with most of the soreness gone. I think by tomorrow I'll have made a full recovery!

Stop and smell the sugar!

2/7/2013 WOD:
5 RFT
1 min Handstand Hold (1 round on wall, 4 rounds on tire)
1 min Front Squat max reps (1 round 55 lb, 4 rounds 45 lbs)
2 min rest
Reps: 61

I went into PDCF tonight knowing I had to do the class, not matter how long it was or how many heats we were going to have to run. I wanted to be part of the group again, at least for one night this week. Thankfully the class was on the smaller side and it was a workout I could get excited about too! Another fun surprise was that the boyfriend joined in on the class fun too. He's a lifter so he doesn't frequent the classes much these days. This was only the second time since I've joined that I've seen him in a class.

Simply for lack of trying at this point, I'm not able to kick myself on the the wall for a handstand so I have walk my feet up it. I managed to hold myself up the entire first round which surprised me, though I may have been muttering some profanities under my breath. After practically falling on my face to get off the wall once the first minute was up I decided I needed to move to the tire for safety purposes.

I knew putting 55 lbs on the bar was risky. Not for the squat but because I'd have to clean it first and I knew my arms and shoulders would be mush. I was right! In my first attempt to clean the bar I practically dropped it. Second attempt got it up but it wasn't sitting were it should have been so I could only squeeze out 6 reps. I quickly dropped 10 lbs to a conformable 45 lbs for the remaining rounds. Cleaning was a breeze and I somehow managed to increase reps with each round, not decrease: 12, 13, 15, and 15. Craziness!

Sadly I only was able to get in one day of lifting and one day of CrossFit in this week, but tomorrow morning I'll be waiting at the bell tower at NC State for the start of the Krispy Kreme Challenge. It's a 2.5 mile run to a Krispy Kreme where each runner has a dozen doughnuts waiting on them and then a 2.5 mile run back to the bell tower. To be a challenger and win the race you must eat all 12 before starting the trek back and finish in under an hour. Or you can be like me where my goal is to eat 2 doughnuts. I did the race 2 years ago and it's a blast! My favorite part is smelling the sugar in the air before you can even see Krispy Kreme. It's a glorious smell!

For the boyfriend's family, Krispy Kreme Challenge weekend also coincides with another annual event for them, Turducken! Last time I only ate the chicken and turkey, but this time I'm going crazy. I'm going to have some of the duck too! I'm trying to win over his family even more by bringing buckeye brownies. They're all Ohio State fans so it should be an easy win for me!

Cavemen ate doughnuts and brownies right?

Half Off

2/2/2013 WOD:
"Cindy" (1/2)
10 min AMRAP
5 Pull-ups (jumping)
10 Push-ups (knees)
15 Air Squats
Rounds: 7

I'm pretty sure Cindy will always no matter what kick my ass! We opted to do 10 minutes instead of the 20 minutes with the idea that you go all out the entire time and aren't completely gassed the second 10 minutes struggling with bad form. I kept that in mind throughout it. Kept my rests between reps as short as possible and only when my body wouldn't allow one more unbroken rep. I was shooting for 8 or 9 rounds but missed the mark. I do think it could have been possible except that somewhere around the end of round 2 my left knee had a sharp pain running through it thus caused me to slow my squats down to figure out a comfortable way to complete them. Thankfully the pain was gone shortly after the time ran out.

And because Cindy wasn't torture enough I decided to work on my pull-ups by doing negatives and strict pull-ups with the really small band. My arms and back will thank me tomorrow! Then for a little more agony I thought pushing the prowler at 115 lbs would be a grand idea. 120 yards later my quads were shot.

Had a pretty productive morning around the house and managed to hit up 2 of my 7 stops before lunch! I love my town, but unfortunately we don't have one grocery store/market that meets all of my picky needs. Thus on a weekend like this one, I'll travel to three grocery stores, local market, butcher shop, and Target to get everything I need. While I need more this weekend than usual, hitting up at least two grocery stores, Target and the market are pretty much the norm. It's slightly a bit insane but I make it work. Don't judge me!

Super amped to hit up Sweet with the college kid this afternoon and hangout with her some more over dinner and cards with the boyfriend tonight! Then tomorrow are the big games (Puppy Bowl and Super Bowl) with my fellow cult members the folks at PDCF! Another fun weekend in the books. Life sure is grand!

Options

1/31/2012 WOD:
15 Thrusters (50 lb)
200 m run
20 Thrusters (45 lb)
400 m run
30 Thrusters (35 lb)
800 m run
Time: 18:20

With my recent feelings toward the late start and larger classes I went into PDCF tonight with 3 potential plans for the workout:

1. Do the WOD on the board with the 5:30 class
2. Do a workout from CrossFit.com if the class is too large or the WOD is longer than 20 minutes
3. Do a workout suggested by the boyfriend if class is too large, too long and weather isn't good for plan #2. 

Option 2 is what happened! Class surprisingly was the perfect size and I wanted to participate for that reason alone, but the workout was pushing 20 minutes and they were taking too long to get started. AND....it involved 80 handstand push-ups which means I would have been doing 80 stinkbugs which I loathe with a burning fiery passion! 

Since I'm not the best at programming and tend to focus on a hand full of movements I enjoy I decided to browse the official CrossFit site to see if I could find a WOD that was going to be a challenge, not like something I've done recently, and fun. From the reaction of the trainers last night, I was the only one who thought it would be fun to do! I was through my first 15 thrusters and out the door after a little over a minute. I figured I was on pace to finish about 12-15 minutes. Then came round two of thrusters. My shoulders couldn't tell 5 lbs had been dropped whatsoever. I was struggling to do 5 reps at a time. Then thankfully the 10 lb drop in weight for the final 30 was noticeable. I got through the first 11 straight but then had to start breaking it up again. My wrists and shoulders were screaming! 

All that said I think I want to do it again in a month and see if I can improve my time. It was a great workout and I think thrusters are probably my favorite lift. Clean + squat + push press = fun times! 

I'm super excited to go in Saturday because we're doing Cindy! Well 1/2 Cindy to be specific. 10 minutes instead of the standard 20. Last time I did 14 full rounds so this time I'm shooting for 8 to 9 rounds since I won't have to pace myself as much. If I could get 10 rounds I might cry!

The rest of the weekend should be pretty great too! The college kid is FINALLY coming back home! I haven't seen her in almost a month which is unheard of. And the gym is having a team WOD and Super Bowl party Sunday night which I'm pretty stoked about. Yummy foods, good company, football and fun commercials! For no real reason whatsoever I'm putting my money on the Ravens. The boyfriend and I even have a friendly wager going on to make it even more interesting. Fingers crossed those puppies predicted correctly and I don't have to pay up!

Also if you live under a rock and don't know, the Puppy Bowl is also this Sunday and it's probably one of the most adorable things in the entire world! Animal Planet has had a live feed of locker room activity for the last week for a few of the pups. Do yourself a huge favor and check it out. I've had it on all week and my work place attitude has never been happier! 

Puppy Fever

1/26/2013 WOD:
12 Min AMRAP (1 min work, 1 min rest)
3 Power Cleans (45 lb)
3 Push Press (45 lb)
3 Front Squat (45 lb)
Rounds: 10

One month later and I managed to squeeze out one more full round! I love progress!!!! I did this workout last month with the boyfriend one Saturday morning and we decided we'd repeat it for 3 months as a benchmark. Success! Can't wait to see if I improve again next month or if I up the weight.

Had yet another fantastic weekend! Went into it with no major plans with is always a great way to spend the weekend. Got in another successful puppy play date with my girls and the boyfriend's doggy. They're making a lot of progress and my anxiety level has dropped drastically because of it.

Made the stuffed zucchini on Friday night for dinner and while it wasn't bad it wasn't anything I'm dying to make again. The filling was delicious but the zucchini's were just too soft. I think next time I'll try baking them first then stuffing. The filling would also be delicious stuffed in a pepper. Here's the mix I came up with if you're curious to replicate:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb hot breakfast sausage
• 1 egg
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• S & P
• Top with pepper jack cheese

This weekend also marked the start of scratching items off my bucket list! First up is a monthly list item. I'd like to do one act of kindness each month. Getting hooked on the puppy bowl locker room feed  prompted the thought of doing something with my favorite local organization the Florence Area Humane Society. It was decided that I would go out there, choose a slightly order dog that has been there for a little longer and pay his or her adoption fees. So out I went! I haven't been to the new facility since the big move last year. I wandered around and choose Minnie a black and grey medium sized mix who had been there since October. My only regret is that I didn't leave contact information because I'd love to know when she gets adopted! Guess it's time to start thinking about what to do next month. 

Rinse and repeat

1/19/2013 WOD:
4 RFT
5 Pull-ups (Negatives)
20 yd OH Walking Lunges (10 lb)
5 Push-ups (2 rounds on knees)
20 sit-ups
Time: 11:39

Holy PR batman! I did this workout on my own just a few weeks ago and my time was just over 17 minutes. Granted I didn't really have my 'stations' set-up, but still, I cut a huge amount of time off! It's going to be a benchmark WOD for me for the next two months or so. I'm looking forward to seeing how the negatives help my pull-ups and how my time improves.

This weekend was fantastic! I got one of my pups, the more protective one, together with the boyfriends pup  on Saturday and Sunday for a walk and play-date. I was shocked and thrilled to see her walk right next to him with zero anxiety or aggression just a few steps into the walk. I can't wait for them to be besties! Next weekend we'll bring in my other pup and see how it goes with the three of them. Hopefully my overly protective girl will co-mingle well again.

Not much new on the agenda this weekend. The apple, bacon and onion stuffed pork chops turned out well. Though I think they would be just as good by getting thinner cut chops and spooning the apple mix on top instead of stuffing. Can't see that it would make any difference.

Recovering

1/17/2013 WOD:
5 RFT
250 m row
5 push-ups
15 sit-ups
Time: 13:57

After Monday and my continuing foot issues on top of my lingering/possible second cold, I decided to take Tuesday off. However, come Thursday I still hadn't made a 100% recovery but couldn't sit on my ass anymore so I went in and did my own thing that would keep my off my feet and hopefully keep my head clear too. Success!

I forced myself to do all 25 push-ups off my toes with my arms as close to my body as possible. If I'm going to progress, doing them off my knees with my elbows out isn't going to help me any. I also tried to keep my body in a straight line as much as possible. Given that my core isn't the strongest, my belly/lower back dipped a little but by no means was I doing 'the worm.'

I'm still not sure what this sinus mess is I have going on but I am ready to be rid of it. I can't tell if it's the last bit of my cold I scored on New Years Day or if it's a second cold coming in. Either way it's causing way too much sinus pain and needs to exit my head, stat.

And in other news, I'm glad the weekend is 5 short hours away. After a month, I am FINALLY going to see The Hobbit with my dad. Sickness, holidays, and life in general have gotten in the way, but not any more. We are doing this! Of course when it's finally time to go see it Silver Linings Playbook finally comes to town. Damn you award season! Luckily it will be on DVD by next month. I've already waited since mid-November to see it, what's another month, right?

And in doing things for the first time news, I've made a decision to try to cook one new dish each week. Everything so far has been very successful and I would highly recommend all of them. And reading Timothy Ferris' 4-Hour Chef is only making me want to cook more.  Here are the link if you'd like to give them a try yourself.

• Julia Child inspire Coq Au Vin (Made a second time with petit sirloin and it was just as delicious)
• Pan seared chicken in a balsamic cream sauce (My sauce didn't look quite the same but it was mega tasty. We ate it with purple sweet potatoes and it made for great presentation and a yummy side)
• Ultimate Paleo Chili (I didn't cook this but it sure was great and spicy too)
• Spinach Stuffed Chicken (We doctored this one and cooked the bacon first and stuffed in with rest of the mix and also left out the sour cream. We've done it three times now and the last time was the best. Swap the spinach for caramelized onions, you'll be glad you did)
• Homemade sweet potato fries using melted Kerry Gold to coat instead of coconut oil. (A little less oily and the fries crisped a bit more)

On the menu for tonight and the near future. Expect a full report on both very soon. 

• Bacon and Apple Stuffed Pork Chops (Will be served tonight with a side of sauteed zucchini, onions and peppers)
• Braised French Onion Chicken with Gruyere (On the menu very very soon!)

Footies

1/12/2013 WOD:
8 min AMRAP
Do each movement to fatigue
Walking Lunges
Push-ups (knee)
Reps: 201

1/14/2013 LP:
Back Squat: 110 lbs
Press: 50 lbs
Sprints: 5 x 40 yd

Boy oh boy am I one tired girl! Lunges left my legs and butt sore. Push-ups killed my shoulders and triceps. Thankfully I think tonight's squats and press gave all the sore muscles a good stretch. I also did a few extra hip and hamstring stretches with my warm-up that made a major difference. No hip pain whatsoever during the squats which was fantastic!

I did somehow manage to hurt my foot over the weekend. I'm not exactly sure what caused it but while running errands Saturday afternoon I noticed the outside middle of my left foot was a little sore. As the afternoon and night went on I could hardly put any pressure on it without major pain. I thought it was feeling better yesterday morning but after doing some walking and washing a few trucks I quickly realized it was in my best interest to get off of it. I felt pretty guilty just sitting around while everyone else was hard at work but I really didn't want to do any more damage. I spent last evening barefoot which seemed to help a great deal. Today I just had minor discomfort and decided lifting and sprinting should be okay, however now I'm thinking it was a bad idea. Currently I thinking I'll skip the WOD tomorrow and go vibrams or barefoot the rest of the week to see it if helps speed up the healing process. Fingers crossed it's a minor bruise and will be cured by Thursday.

Other than the foot injury and residual soreness from the workout, my weekend was fantastic. Wonderful weather for January, great weekend with the boyfriends family, amazing night in cooking dinner together Saturday night and catching a movie plus we got to come home to a hopefully soon-to-be-regular weekly family dinner with my family. Oh and I finally got to get the Lululemon pants I had been eyeing for the big Whistler trip. Unfortunately they weren't on sale in the store but I was able to try them on and order them. Thanks mom and dad for the gift card for my birthday!!!

Looking forward, short of the hurt foot, it should be a really great week! Taking on some new-ish responsibilities at work, starting planning for the Mt. Mitchell bucket list hike, hopefully finally getting to see The Hobbit with my dad and of course a good workout here and there.

D.N.F.

1/8/2013 WOD:
4 RFT
75 Sit-ups
50 yd Bear Crawl
400 m run
Time: DNF (1 round complete)

It took me 6 months, but I got my first DNF for a WOD. Thankfully it wasn't for lack of ability or strength, but because I couldn't stop coughing. I came back in after my run, walked right up the the trainer and said I was finished. He was actually happy I was stopped and recognized it was in my best interest to stop. I'll take a rest day today as previously planned and give it another shot tomorrow night. Hopefully by then the gunk in my lungs will be gone!

After Christmas and my birthday I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things as far as eating goes. Most of my meals are still paleo/primal, but I just can't cut the sugar cravings after overdoing it these last few weeks. Hopefully going out of town this weekend and having a good 48 hours without things easily in my reach will get me over the initial hump and back on the road to normalcy. Fingers crossed!

Onward and upward

1/5/2013 WOD:
8 min AMRAP
3 Push-Press (50 lb)
5 KB Slams (26 lb)
Rounds: 8

This was my first almost DNF (did not finish) workout and I still didn't complete all of it. I'm recovering from a cold and thought I was feeling up for it when 2 minutes in my throat was on fire. I opted to continue but got water after every round and took my time. After the AMRAP we were supposed to do a 6 x 25 yd prowler push at 115 lbs but I just knew the cold weather would send me over the edge so I opted to be a cheerleader instead.

As the day went on it just got better and better. The college kid and I did some clearance shopping after the WOD and hung out for the first time in days. I'm so sad she's about to head back to school for another semester! Boyfriend came over for the first of a few surprises to bring me a great plant he had gotten me for my birthday then we took his pup for a long walk. And the night capped off with a birthday dinner that boyfriend totally arranged with my family and friends at my most favorite local pizza place. I knew he had planned dinner but the location was a surprise. Even crazier was that he's pretty strict with his paleo lifestyle so he hadn't had pizza in about two years and hadn't had any sweets or baked goods since August and he indulged in both for my birthday festivities. I had such a great time with everyone and was totally worth the extra sore throat from laughing/coughing so much with everyone. Wonderful way to spend my last night at 28 and to bring in 29.

And a BIG happy birthday to little baby Roma! You're 4 years old now but I have a feeling I'll always call you baby Roma. You were an impulse decision I regretted for a good solid week but life just wouldn't have been the same without you in it. Your big sister Beane and I just can't get enough of your cuddles.

So far 29 is off to a fantastic start (cupcake for breakfast...hello, can't beat that!) and I know this year is just going to continue to get better!

Great programming

1/1/2013 LP:
Back Squat: 100 lb
Press: 45 lb

1/1/2013 WOD:
4 RFT
5 Negative Pull-ups
20 yd OH Walking Lunges (10 lb)
5 push-ups (2 rounds on knees)
20 sit-ups
Time: 17:30

It's nice knowing someone with a key to the gym! I started out 2013 by moving a little weight around and working on a few things I'd like to master sooner than later.

After doing the lighter squat on Saturday I decided to start my progression back a few lbs and spend a few weeks progressing again to my goal weights. I think this will help me ultimately reach my next goal  of 135 and doing it much more comfortably. Next week I'll also be going back up to 50 lbs on the press for a few weeks. I'm enjoying the slower progress on the press and I can really tell I'm benefiting from it.

Knowing I wanted to get in three CF workouts this week and wanted some good rest days, I decided to come up with one on my own to do after I lifted. Already at the gym with the place mostly to yourself, why not take advantage of it, right? I decided to do lower number reps for pull-ups and push-ups and try to focus on getting better at them. I did negative pull-ups, which means I jumped up above the bar and lowered myself slowly. Doing negatives helps strengthen the muscles needed to do proper pull-ups so I'm going to be sneaking them in when possible as my goal for my first pull-up is April. As far as the push-ups I wanted to try to do as many as I could in proper form instead of from my knees. I made it through the first two rounds but couldn't get myself off the ground after that. It's going to take some work to get more proficient at push-ups!

Want to hear a funny story? I came up with my little WOD laying in bed yesterday morning knowing it was things I wanted to focus on. Got that, completely on my own I came up with it having never done anything similar. So at about 10 am a few people showed up at the gym meeting one of our trainers who came in for them even though we were closed. I had finished lifting and was about to go start my WOD just before they got started. It crossed my mind to see what they had on the board to see if I wanted to jump in instead of what I had planned.

Their WOD was the following:
4 RFT
200 m plate run
8 pull-ups
14 yd OH Walking Lunges
20 Push-ups
24 Sit-ups

The numbers might not be quite right, but pretty close. Other than the run and reps it's exactly what I had planned. Same order too! Guess I might be decent at programming, but I won't go sign up to get CrossFit certified just yet.

Just like New Years day, New Years Eve was splendid! Nice quiet night in with a fantastic dinner of brined pork chops, cooked apples, and sauteed veggies. And was even able to see the ball drop even though I've been cable free for well over a year. The magic of the internet is wonderful!

Looking forward to a fantastic 2013 and scratching items off my turning 30 bucket list!