Back to The Trails

Hope you had a great weekend! As it is now Tuesday, I'm sure everyone is already looking forward to NEXT weekend!

I worked on Saturday, so my weekend was on Sunday. I spent the morning leisurely eating breakfast and drinking coffee with the pup. Sometimes I forget how nice it is to just take the morning to decompress.

I'd decided that I should probably get some longer runs in before the marathon. Haha, duh! I remember before my last marathon that running trails really helped. Since the Crossfit coach that I usually shadow on Sundays was out of town, I headed down to Lake Youngs in Renton to tackle the 10-mile loop.

The Lake Youngs Trail isn't my favorite, but it's hard to get lost on and there are lots of hills. You are basically running along a fence for 10 miles.

I won't say it was my best run. I needed a bathroom by the end reeeaaaalllyyy badly! But I definitely felt I could have done a lot more after my hour and a half on the trail. And I wasn't too tired at the end of the day, either!

It was definitely a fall morning. Lots of crunchy leaves and fog. I LOVE fall running! Best season in my opinion!

Other than that, Milo and I had several good walks over the weekend.

He found a few friends at the park, both puppy labradoodles, so he was pooped by the end of the weekend. And a pooped Milo means a cuddly Milo. I may or may not have let him on the couch to cuddle. Ooops!

Yesterday was a busy day at work, and once I got done all I wanted to do was curl up at home! I did for about an hour before taking Milo out, and running to Crossfit to shadow one of my coaches.

On the agenda at Crossfit? Deadlifts and L-sits!

It was fun correcting the deadlifts. It's amazing and, quite frankly, fun to be able to see how many variations people's bodies can come up with for one movement. It definitely puts a lot of pressure on the Crossfit coach to catch incorrect form so people don't injury themselves. We had a big class last night, so I'm glad I was there to help.

After lifting, the last 10 minutes of class was an AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of the following:
3 thrusters
6 burpees
9 kettlebell swings

I think it's a general consensus that most everyone hates thrusters and burpees, so this was not a favorite workout. Sure was fun to watch people suffer through and push themselves though!

Cleaning at CrossFit

After a lovely long walk with Milo yesterday, I decided to run over to CrossFit for class. I knew what was on the agenda: cleans!

I actually really like cleans. And if you have no clue what I'm talking about, see this.

The Olympic lifting coach at my gym was teaching class yesterday, so I knew I was going to get some great coaching. 

We started with lots of drills with the PVC pipe and then did 3 sets of 3 heavy hang cleans (instead of taking the bar from the ground, you start with it just above your knees). After a million drills and front squats, my legs were already crying. 

And then we started the workout, which was as follows:

15 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) with partner
5 jump and shrug
5 hang cleans
5 front squats
200 meter run
*Add weight each round
*You go, partner goes

I started with the empty bar, 15 kilograms (33 pounds). I got through four rounds, going up by 5 kilos each round. I ended with 30 kilos (66 pounds).

I think I could have gone up to 35 kilos, but we ran out of time and I was too smoked to try afterwards. The main problem I had in the workout was trying to keep the engagement in my quads on all the front squats. I seem to always want to put the work into my glutes. Which isn't a bad thing. That's just not how front squats are supposed to be done!

After class, I stayed and did a little pulling work.

In the classes I taught on Tuesday, I did a lot of push ups and wanted to give the pulling muscles a chance for the week.

I did 3 rounds of 10 ring rows and 10 kipping pull ups. I really need to work on dead hang pull ups, but I just wasn't feeling it yesterday!

Not sure what's on the agenda today workout-wise. Probably a long walk with Milo and a short run. I'm hoping to get in a 10 mile train run on Sunday, so I'd like to take it a bit easy the next few days.

Happy Friday!

Where Have I Been?!

I pretty much disappeared here on my blog for awhile. I'm sure anyone who was reading was wondering what the heck happened and where I went to!

Honestly, I needed a break. I was dealing with some personal issues and had to step back to figure out what is truly important to me. I've discovered some really important truths about myself in the past year or so, but for the blog, the important thing is that fitness is a passion and force in my life that I continue to love and enjoy talking about!

So I've decided to continue blogging. I will no longer be posting all my workouts and what I do everyday, but I hope to let this be an outlet and a place I can share inspiration, struggles and fitness-related topics and ideas.

Now, what the heck has been going on in the past year for me!?

Firstly, I took a little break from running. I was getting burnt-out and was having trouble remembering why I loved to run in the first place. While I didn't completely stop running, I gave my Garmin a rest and ran by feel. I stopped signing up for races, and if I did, I didn't really have a formal training plan. Despite the heat of the summer (not a fan of running in the heat), I realized that I love longer races -- half marathons and marathons -- but tend to get a little over-zealous training for them, which becomes less than fun. And trying to break a certain time takes joy away from me as well.

So what's my plan?

I recently signed up to run the Seattle Marathon on a whim.

Have I run further than 10 miles in the last few months? Nope! But I think that will be part of the fun. As for a training plan, I hope to get in one 15 mile run and a 20 mile run before the race on December 1st. Other than that, I plan to continue running what I want, when I want. I may or may not even wear my timing chip on race day, just to take away the pressure of performing a certain way.

Several things have also been happening on the Crossfit front.

I also took a little break from Crossfit. After taking classes 5 times a week for a good 8 months, I had again, forgot what I loved about it. I didn't quit all together, but only took classes here and there.

It may come as a surprise, then, that I have become a Level-1 Crossfit Trainer! While I wasn't all gung-ho about Crossfitting for myself, I have always believed that Crossfit is the best way to get in general peak physical shape. I also think there is gold in the community aspect of Crossfit, but that's a talk for another day! Going through the weekend certification course, I completely renewed my love for this sport!

There are so many things to love about it, but for me, my favorite part is the heavy lifting. I was never much of a lifter and knew next to nothing about it, despite being a personal trainer. Now I have a love and passion for heavy back squats and deadlifts!

Along the same lines, Crossfit has taught me that it isn't about what your body looks like, but what it can do. That it's more important for me to beat everyone in a workout than it is to look a certain way. Crossfit box's tend to not have mirrors, so the only comparison is with effort. What an awesome lesson!

Currently, I am shadowing several of my coaches to learn how to become a great instructor. While I already teach classes at work, I don't know a lot about how to recongnize faults and how to correct them in the powerlifting movements. Shadowing has been a great asset to help me learn to spot things!

In completely unrelated news, I have a new love in my life: Milo!

Milo is an English creme golden retriever. He is a little over a year old, so he is still a puppy but full of cuddles.

I adopted my furry buddy at the end of August and we have become fast best buddies! I may be slightly obsessed with him, so he will obviously be making frequent visits to the blog.

I'm still personal training and leading classes at a gym in Seattle, which I have come to love. I'm very lucky that the gym I work at is like a little supportive community, so going to work each day is enjoyable (despite the fact that it's usually 4am).

Thanks for reading! Have a great Wednesday!

Weekend Workouts

Happy Monday to all! I hope everyone had a great weekend. 

I enjoyed some running, per usual. Sunday I even managed to average at 7:59 pace for 4 miles. That's pretty speedy for me! I think Sundays tend to be my speediest day of the week because I tend to run later in the morning, so I'm all woken up and fed, etc. If only I could manage that for every run instead of the 4am slug fest currently happening! 

I didn't make it to Crossfit on Friday (because I wanted to go Sunday), but I did my own shoulder workout. I made a ladder of push ups and shoulder presses and went through it as fast as I could.

I enjoyed this workout, and my shoulders were certainly burning by the end of it! Once you get past the reps of 10, it's all downhill!

My Crossfit class on Sunday was fun. We ended up working on split jerks. Odd name, but it is essentially a shoulder press where you come into a lunge at the end of the movement. We worked sets of 3. My last set was 32 kilograms. 

Our workout was short, but sweet. 

5 rounds of 5 pull ups, 7 burpees, 9 kettlebell swings. I did all the pull ups without a band, and they kept getting better as I went through each round. 

I finished in 5.35. Short and sweet!

Another fun thing this weekend was this quote on one of my tea bags. I am obsessed with tea and have a cup after lunch and dinner almost every day.

I loved this simple phrase. Our entire being working in harmony. 

Ignore my ugly thumbnail and focus on the quote =)

Have a great Monday!

Runs, Squats and Cookies

How is it Thursday already? This week is flying by! I've been MIA on the blog since Monday, but there has been a lot going on!

As usual, I've been running. I've been doing my usual 5 mile loop in the mornings except for yesterday when I met a friend out at Discovery Park for a trail loop. It felt good to get my lungs burning going up the billion stairs there! I always find it to be a miracle when I can get up all of them without stopping. Although it does seem to keep getting easier =)

We ended up with about 4 slower miles. We kept a super relaxed pace, which was nice since I was feeling pretty beat up!

And because I am a crazy person, I got up super early on my day off yesterday to fit in a yoga class at my favorite studio.

I was feeling pretty lethargic for most of the class, so I just took the flows nice and easy. I am still feeling sore from sprinting last Friday (I think sprinting was what did it), and I can't begin to tell you how great pigeon pose felt. Sure, it hurt while I was in it, but wooof! Once I got out, my hips were finally feeling back to normal!

Backtracking a little, Monday afternoon, I did my usual squatting session with my Crossfit coaches. For my 3 sets of 5 backsquats, I went up to 62 kilos, up 2 from the 60 I squatted last week. Since I am training a linear progression, I get to go up by 2 kilos every week. It's going to be fun to have a new PR each week, but I just hope I can hang on and keep squatting heavier!

We did a nice, shorter workout at CrossFit last night. Thank goodness, because I was TIRED!

We went through this twice, and tried to keep the same time for both rounds. I suspected I was going to have a tough time hitting the same pace for the second round through, but I ended up being faster than I was for the first round. Typical. I feel like it usually takes me awhile to warm up, so I need to remember I'm better at 2nd and 3rd rounds than firsts. Such an endurance athlete. Intensity is not my strength. But I suppose I'll keep working at it =)

And finally, I baked some chocolate chip cookies for a co-worker for his birthday. I used to bake ALL THE TIME. I even had a baking blog. But, when I switched it to blogger from self-hosting, all my photos disappeared. Which, of course, ticked me off, so I stopped posting.

Chocolate Chip Cookies for the win!

I loved baking, though, and for whatever reason, when I moved back to Seattle, I stopped. I forgot how much I enjoy it. And seeing people's faces when I bring them goodies is always priceless! =)

Sprinting and Cross-fitting Weekend

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend!

My weekend started on Friday. After I got out of work, I headed to meet a friend at a local track for some sprints.

I was worried how my stomach was going to react, sprinting after a day full of food. It turned out to be fine, though!

We started with 2 warm-up laps around the track, just to get the legs moving. Then we did 6 100-meter sprints. I haven't legitimately sprinted in a veeeery long time, so it was the most bizarrely freeing feeling for me! I learned several things that I need to work on for next time including using my hamstrings to bring my leg up and fire it forward and down, and swinging my arms close to my body.

We finished the few sprints and I was kind of like...that was it?! But holy cow was I sore the next day! Particularly my adductors and my hip flexors. Ouchie!

We had a great Crossfit workout that evening, too. Thank goodness the weather has been good because we have had the chance to run so much lately! After all those months of the dreadful rower, all I can say is thank goodness!

We started the workout with some back squats, and I made sure to take it easy so I didn't tire my legs out too much. I just did single reps and got up to 75 kilos.

Our workout was two rounds of the following:

I wasn't planning to push too hard that day, but ended up starting next to this guy who was in it it win it. Of course, my competitive nature kicked in. I couldn't let him just think he was all that and a bad of potato chips, so I kept up as best I could. I was pretty much right behind him until the second round of pull-ups. I was even using a small band and couldn't do 20 straight through.

I finished the last 300 meter run panting my little face off and came in about 30 seconds behind the other guy. I reaaaallllyyy wanted to smoke him, but it just didn't happen this day. Oh well! I still finished several minutes before everyone else and definitely got in a good workout!

Saturday consisted of a run and Sunday I did another Crossfit workout. Again, more running!

4 rounds:

400 meter run
10 deadlifts (45 kilos)
10 burpees

I smoked this workout as well and came in first this time! Looking back, I probably should have gone heavier on the deadlifts, but I've had such a heavy leg week, I didn't want to wear myself out.

I'm going to lift with my Crossfit coaches again later today. Squat city!

Have a great day!

How Are My Legs Not Dead?

Happy Tuesday!

I lifted again with my a few of my Crossfit trainers yesterday, which was only slightly nutty. Good thing I knew what I was getting myself into this time!

We started with about an hour of warm up drills with the barbell. Some deadlifts and some snatch pulls (just the beginning of the snatch movement). My coach says all the warm-ups are to get our nervous system firing. I tried to think of that every time I snapped my hips forward.

Kapow! Wake up, system!

Then we worked up to 3 sets of 5 back squats. I used 60 kilos. I was told we are following a linear training system. So every week I will add 2 kilos for 3 sets of 5. I guess it's called linear since I'm adding the same amount each week.

After that, we did squats using what I now know is called a safety squat bar.

Safety Squat Bar Source

I feel so silly using this thing, but it really changes the feeling of the squat! Your core definitely has to become more involved! It's nice to have the padding over the back of the bar, though, so it isn't digging into your back.

Again, we super-set sets of 7 safety bar squats with 7 split lunges on each leg. I used 30 pound dumbbells for the split lunges. We did that for 3 rounds.

Holy moly, why do lunges make my legs burn so much?! I loooove it!

And then we headed over to what we are now calling Satan's Tricycle.

This. Thing. Hurts!!!

We did 3 30-second sprint intervals on it and I thought my legs were going to come off! My legs were like Jello afterwards, too. We had to take a walk around the block to flush them out!

I'm really enjoying lifting with my coaches. I'm not sure where it is going, but for now, I am learning so much and maybe my stronger legs will help my running!

This morning I expected to wake up with either lead legs or just super sore legs. And I'm feeling neither! I guess that walk around the block after doing intervals was the ticket, because I'm feeling great today!

My work schedule is a little wonky on Tuesdays, so I took to the treadmill at the gym this morning. I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to play it today, but I knew I was going to have to do some sort of speed workout if I had any hope of staying on the belt.

I ended up doing 800s. Most of them were around a 7:40 min/mile pace. I jogged for a quarter mile between them. I ended up with 5 miles in 40.2 minutes. Felt great to run fast!

I hope your Tuesday if off to a great start!

Scooter Bowling

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

I'll begin on Friday at Crossfit. It was a beautiful day, so I begged our coach to let us run outside. And he obliged!

We started with shoulder presses first, though. 5 sets of 3 presses, adding weight each time. I got to 30 kilos for my final round, but could only get 2 reps in. For the fourth set, we took half of our max to failure (as many rounds as you can do). I dropped down to 15 kilos and did 27 reps. Grrr! Shoulders of steel!

Our workout was:

5 rounds, alternating with partner:

200 meter run

6 pull ups

10 kettlebell swings

I was being wimpy and used a band for the pull ups, but I really should have tried doing them without assistance. I had fun, though, and it felt nice to stretch my legs on such a short run!

Saturday I got in a nice run in the morning before working all day.

And Sunday, funday, started out with a Crossfit workout. One of our friends was going, and he didn't know anyone, so I decided to go so he would have a friend. We ended up doing a workout that I really enjoyed, although it was almost the same thing I had done on Friday. This time, however, no pull ups, and no partner to work with.

5 rounds:

3 cleans

9 kettlebell swings

200 meter run

I really didn't work very hard at all because I knew I was heading out for a run afterwards. I only used 27 kilos for the cleans, and a lighter kettlebell. I still had fun, though!

Afterwards, I headed out with Beth to meet Ultramarathoner Jess at Discovery Park for a short run on the trails.

The run was nothing spectacular, and my stomach was sort of upset the whole time. We finished 4.33 miles in 44 minutes, going super slow and just enjoying hanging out.

Because we are crazy beasts, we headed BACK to the Crossfit gym to fool around. There weren't any classes, so the gym was empty. Of course, that means trouble =)

Beth and I ended up playing scooter bowling, which was great fun!

Beth goes in for the kill!

 We set up foam rollers as "pins" and then hopped on scooters to knock them down.

Bowl me up!

 Haha, SO much fun! I wasn't in the mood to do anything workout related by this point, so after bowling I worked on back hip circles on the pull up bar. Back hip circles are an old gymnastics move and have nothing to do with Crossfit, so if you have no clue what I am talking about, here's a video!

I went to go see Zero Dark Thirty Sunday afternoon as well. Has anyone scene this? What did you think? I enjoyed it a lot, the story was great and the main character's journey was interesting to watch develop. It was definitely a stressful 2 hours though!

Have a great Monday!

Zercher Carry and a Friday Workout

It's back to rain in Seattle! But at least it's a little warmer. I'm not sure if I prefer the rain or the freezing cold. But I've found that people complain either way!

We did some new (to me) things at Crossfit last night.

The first one that kind of blew my mind was called the Zercher Carry.

This obviously isn't me, but you get the general idea. We started with the barbells in a racked position, instead of on the ground. It's just about as hard as you think it is! This was something totally new to just about everyone in the class, which I always enjoy. We all have different strength levels, but no one is more "skilled" than another and we are all sort of figuring it out together.

We also did weighted box jumps last night. Yup, you read that right. We held dumbbells while we jumped on boxes. Um, who does that?! Isn't jumping on the box tough enough?! Haha.

After I got over my initial fear of falling on my face (Coach: Allison, jump on the damn box!), I used 10 pound weights and was able to do sets of 5 fairly easily. Talk about having to be extra explosive. Tough for a white girl who cant jump!

Our workout included the Zercher carry, 5 weighted box jumps and 7 kettlebell goblet squats. We did as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes. I can't say I pushed myself very hard, but I enjoyed working on some of the new exercises.

Before the workout, we did back squats. Since my legs are still toasty from Monday, this was pretty tough for me. We did 5 sets of 8. I made it up to 65 kilos for my final set, but only made it to 6 reps. I am probably going to do legs again next Monday, so hopefully I'll recover fast!

I taught my H.I.I.T. class last night, and really enjoyed the workout.

The workout is 3 different AMRAPS (as many rounds as possible), 6 minutes each. We got through all of them with a 1-2 minute break between.

When I pulled out the white boad with this workout written on it, everyone stood looking at me with their mouths open and shaking their heads. But by the time they finished, they were all smiles and thanking me for kicking their butts. That's what I love about teaching fitness. Showing others how to push themselves past what they thought was possible.

Crossfit Benchmarks

I had a great day off yesterday! Finally. I taught so many extra classes last week, I felt like I was on a never-ending work streak for awhile.

I had grand illusions of sleeping in, but my body naturally woke up around 5:30am. That's just disgusting. I was so frustrated with myself that I laid in bed with my eyes closed for another hour before I finally gave in.  Sigh.

I started my day off with a run around Lake Union with my friend Jess. She is running a 100 mile race in a few weeks, so she is on taper time. We had a great 6 mile run that really flew by! It was sprinkling/showering for most of the run, but I have to say I hardly noticed it. It was good to a) be running in the daylight and b) have a friend to run with. My usual runs at 4 am are conducive to neither option.

We had grand discussions for after her race about doing speed work together. Maybe if I have a friend, I'll actually do it! I refueled after my run with another Picky Bar. This time it was "Lauren's Mega Nuts" flavor. I really love these bars. They are quite delicious. It's still a toss up whether I love these or Lara bars more.

I rallied for my evening Crossfit class.

We started off doing 4 sets of 8 bent over rows. I got up to 30 kilos for my last set, but probably should have used more weight.

Our workout included some benchmark Crossfit ladies! Our box hardly ever does benchmark workouts. While I think I would get bored of them quickly, it's nice to see where you're at sometimes. Case in point, our coach had about 7 or 8 of the ladies on the board for us to choose 2 from, and I think I had only done one of them before!

I chose "Grace" and "Diane" for my two workouts.

Grace is simple enough: 30 clean and jerks. I didn't get up to rx (women = 95 lbs.), but I did do 65 kilos for the entire thing, which was tough for me.

"Diane" is 21-15-9 reps of deadlift and handstand pushups. For the deadlift, I used 55 kilos. And the handstand pushups I did on the wall over some stacked abmats.

After Mondays leg extravaganza, the deadlifts were a bit rough, but I made it through!

I didn't get my times for either, but both were around 8 minutes. My new goal is to get to rx on both of these!

If you do Crossfit, what are your favorite benchmark workouts? I think mine is "Helen" (3 rounds: 400 meter run, 21 kettlebell swings, 12 pullups). I love the running aspect, obviously, and I'm anxious for the day that I can do all the pullups without a band.

Crossfit Fun With My Trainers

Yesterday, I headed over to my Crossfit gym to get my a** handed to me by my trainers. They invited my friend Beth and I to come work out with them for the afternoon.

Not sure about Beth, but I had grand illusions of doing a few squats, some military presses and then rallying for the 4pm class.

That's not exactly what happened!

We started off with squats, yes. But little did I know we were going to do a bagillion! (Yes, bagillion is a legitimate word). We got warmed up with some drills to get our systems firing and then started on back squats.

Oh squat rack, you kick my butt!

My coaches are so knowledgeable. Working with them, watching them and having them critique me, I get so much information. I feel like I should be taking notes! I feel really lucky to have them as teachers and instructors.

When I squat in class, it takes me a million years to figure out the right weights to use and switching them off and on the barbell takes forever. My coaches did it in seconds. It was so fast. I was flabbergasted!

I'm sorry to say I have no idea what the program was we were doing, nor do I remember how much weight I used. The last set for both Beth and I were more difficult for our arms and shoulders than our legs. Holding that dang barbell up on your back is tough work!

All of the squating took us about an hour. I was shocked that time was flying so fast! Oh, but we weren't finished, yet!

Our trainer had us grab dumbells to do split lunges. Split lunges mean you put your back foot on a box, or bench, and do single lunges on one leg. The thought being you can go down even further.

Source

By the third set, I was using 30 pound dumbbells for sets of 7 on each leg! My quads were SHAKING! Beth even did 35 pounds. Um, I guess we haven't been pushing ourselves as hard as we should be during classes?

We superset the lunges with even more squats, using a contraption I can't even remember the name of. It was basically a harness that you held over your shoulders to squat with. Not sure how much weight that was, either (pay attention next time, Allison!), but darn, those sets of 7 were rough!

After all those shenanigans it was "conditioning" time! Oh goodness gracious, I had no idea what I was in for!

Aerodine bike. This ish is CRAZY!

The above "bike" is called an aerodine. There is one at our Crossfit gym, but I had never been on it before yesterday. I figured it was just a regular bike, but OH how I was wrong! We did four 30 second intervals on that thing and I felt like my lungs were going to burst! Aaaaand I loved it, obviously. =)

After the fourth interval, I was so exhausted, but felt awesome! I am definitely going to have to go workout with the dudes more often. They kicked my butt!

Following one of our classes last week, one of our trainers did what is called a back lever. I made him repeat it yesterday so I could get a video of it. He literally looks like superman! Please note the music in the background =)

And with that, I leave you to your Tuesday!

Filling In

Holy exhaustion, what a week!

Every week since New Year's I think I have been complaining about the weeks feeling long, but this week feels like insanity! Everyone at work is sick, so we have been scrounging for covering desk and training shifts and to get fitness classes covered.

Our group fitness classroom. Bring the pain!

I have taught several extra classes this week, which has me feeling fairly run down. I honestly admire instructors who just teach multiple classes every single day. It really takes a lot out of you! Even when you're tired you have to turn on the pep and the cheerleader attitude. Most days that is easy for me, but I have been so tired this week that the extra class hours really felt like a struggle.

Since I have been in teaching mode this week, I thought I'd share the workout I gave to one of my classes this week. I think people enjoyed this because it has the obvious cardio component (box jumps), but mixes in high-rep strength training as well.

Filling you in on the rest of my week:

Wednesday morning, before going in to work to teach a bootcamp class, I managed to get in a 10 mile run. I have some changes on the horizon regarding my running, but I'm sorting through them in my head and will let you know my plans soon! The 10 miles was great until about mile 8, where I started just feeling tired. I made it through, though!

I ran along the Burke Gilman Trail, so it was nice a flat the entire time. I didn't have a pace in mind, so I just ran.

I've had some interesting Crossfit workouts the past few days. Wednesday we did rowing intervals for a variety of time, distance, calories, etc. Essentially we rowed about 250 meters, did 10 thrusters, then rowed again 250 meters. My goal for most of them was to keep the same pace for both rowing segments. I was semi-successful, but I still suffered from positive splits for most rounds. Oh well! Next time!

Thursday at Crossfit was really fun. We got to do some skills that we don't work on everyday. We started with overhead squats, which are a nice change of pace from the usual back squats.

This person looks way to happy doing overhead squats!
Source

Our workout was a 15 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible):

3 snatches
6 toes to bar
9 kettlebell swings

Instead of doing toes to bar (which I generally dislike), I decided to work on "skin the cat". For this move, you hang from the bar and bring your body through your arms, and then back through. After a few tries, I was able to get through by myself, but still needed my coaches help to get myself back over. It was fun trying to get a new skill and not worrying about time or weight. I want more of these workouts!

I hope your Friday goes by quickly and that you have a great weekend!

Music for Motivation

Yesterday started off with 7 glorious miles for me, all before 6 am! Although I run every morning, it's rare for me to get in more than 6 miles. It was so nice to get a long-ish run in to start the week off. I loved every minute of it, after I got out of bed, of course =)

I love getting a running high so early in the day. It just puts me in such a great mood!

I haven't been running with music much, lately, but I ran the entire 7 miles blasting some sweet tunes yesterday. I definitely felt a surge of inspiration during my favorite songs and it got me thinking about music as motivation. It's amazing what a beat or what certain lyrics can do for my workouts.

This year for a holiday gift, my gym gave us all new ipod nano's. At first I wasn't all that enthralled because I already have a very old generation ipod nano, but who doesn't get excited about new electronics?!

I finally busted into my new toy the other day. Oh my goodness, what a difference! There were so many great changes that had been made! I guess I didn't even think about it much, but my ipod is probably about 8 years old. So, duh! Of course it is now a much better product.

I thought I would share some of my current favorite music selections with you. For working out, I am very much a top-40 music lover. I tend to get a lot of flack for this. Especially at my Crossfit box, but I just love the catchy beats!

Thrift Shop - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Scream and Shout - will.i.am
Dancing in the Dark- Dev
Blow - Ke$ha
On the Floor - Jennifer Lopez
Call Your Girlfriend - Robyn
Dancing on my Own - Robyn
S&M - Rihanna
Sexy and I Know It - LMFAO
J'Adore Hardcore - Scooter
We Run the Night - Havana Brown
I Know You Want Me - Pitbull
Bon, Bon - Pitbull
Americano - Lady Gaga
Welcome to the Jungle - Guns and Roses
Devil's Dance Floor - Flogging Molly
On the Dancefloor - David Guetta

I hope that gives you some good music ideas to help with some motivation! Or you can make fun of me. Either works =)

Crossfit last night was another great example of how music can change your mood. I went in kind of feeling in a funk. Nothing in particular was wrong, I just wanted to be off in my own lala world.

Different day. Same Crossfit craziness!

Our workout was in groups of four, as follows:

20 calorie row
20 v-ups
20 box jumps
20 wall ball

We got started and one of the choaches started playing the "Call Me Maybe" station on Pandora. Well, let me tell you. That perked me right up! I started dancing and singing along and immediately my mood was changed! Hooray for music!

Any tunes you think I should be listening to? What are your current favorites?

The Mountain Runners

Last night I got the opportunity to stay up past my bedtime (yawn!) to see a documentary called The Mountain Runners.

The film was shown at a local Trail Shoe store called Seven Hills. And I must say I'm excited to go back and get fitted for some actual trail running shoes soon. Goodness knows I can't continue running trails in my road shoes. I need more stability!

The story is about the first trail, or mountain race that happened on Mount Baker in 1911 and the men who conquered such a feat so long ago. It really was a pretty incredible story. The race included cars, trains, and, of course, running. While nowadays it's incredible to complete ultramarathons, I cant imagine how much more difficult it was back then. Without the help of proper nutrition or gear, the men who completed this race ran up Mount Baker, through snow and terrain that is quite unimaginable. It was a pretty inspiring movie, I must say. If you ever get the chance to see it, I'd recommend it!

Earlier in the day, I went to CrossFit (duh). We ended up deadlifting, which is not my favorite. Again, heavy things scare me. My coach, however, started pushing me, and I was challenged to work with a much higher weight than usual. I don't keep track of my PR's (I know, I know. I really need to start), so I'm not sure if it was a record for me or not. I certainly was proud of myself, however, for pushing past my comfort zone!

Our workout was a short, but sweet one. To get the most out of this workout, you have to push yourself as hard as you can while you are working. If you float through with giving it your all, it's not going to be much of a workout.

We did two 45 second intervals per round, always ending with a weighted sit up. And rested for 30 seconds between rounds.

It has been another long week, so I was happy to have a shorter workout today. Short and intense isn't usually my cup of tea, but today I was grateful for it! And now it is finally Friday! Have a great one!

Yoga Buzz

Yesterday, for the third time in two weeks, I made my way to my yoga mat.

One thing I've noticed recently about myself is that I have a hard time just sitting. I think on the surface, that is pretty obvious, but it's difficult for me to sit and notice how I'm feeling, what I'm thinking, etc. My love of running I think stems from a way to escape and usually my best runs are when I can just be out on the trail, leaving behind my concerns.

Lately yoga has been another outlet for me to do that. Except that instead of focusing on my surroundings and the beauty of the trail, I am concentrating on myself and inwardly focusing.

Yesterday's class was perfect. I am still sore sore from Monday's arm insanity workout (yes, that's what I've officially named it), so I went in to class ready to surrender and go into child's pose if I had to.

The class started out perfectly, with the teacher having us focus on our breathing. Throughout the class, she encouraged us to stay in the moment. Multiple times, she said,

"Just stay here, on your mat, in this room. If your mind wanders, direct your attention back to your breath".

I made this my intention for my practice. I was determined not to think about work, bills, running, lunch, appointments etc. Every time I found myself thinking outside of the room, I shifted my attention back to my breathing and the room.

This was such a great exercise for me, and was surprisingly just as challenging as a 50k or marathon!

Of course, within the first 30 minutes after class ended, several stressful situations popped up. I made the effort to breath and stay present, though, taking my yoga lessons with me to the real world! =)

Am I growing up or what?! Haha!

I got a fun new pose on my mat yesterday too! It's called 8 Angle, and I surprised myself by just going for it!

Source

I watched our instructor made her way into the pose and thought "no way am I going to be able to do that". I went through her sequence to get into the pose, however, and when I managed to actually lift my legs off the floor, I was ecstatic! I wish I could have gotten a picture of it!

Lesson of the day: You are more capable than you think you are!

Switching gears, we had a nice, long workout at Crossfit last night. Most people groan about long workouts, but these are the easiest kind for me. Once I get into a grove I just go!

The star of the show was the power clean. In power cleans, you start with the barbell hanging just above your knees. With a slight bend in the knees and hips back, you jerk yourself forward and throw the barbell up to your shoulders. This is actually one of my favorite barbell movements, and I stuck with 25 kilos for the workout, which was as follows:

40 cleans
40 burpees
40 cleans
40 toes to bar
40 cleans
40 wall ball
40 cleans
40 kettlebell swings
40 cleans
40 candlesticks
40 cleans
400 meter run

We worked with a partner and had to split up the reps into sets of 5 for each exercise. I got to work with my buddy Beth and we rocked it. She actually used 35 kilos for her cleans! We were the second group to finish, well before the 25 minute time cut-off!

New Goal: Press to Handstand

I have a new goal and it is to be able to do a press to handstand. What the heck is a press to handstand, you may ask?

Basically, it is straddling your legs from the floor, up to a full handstand. Little known fact: I was a gymnast in high school, actually the captain of the team my senior year, and this was always a skill I wanted to have but never took the time to get.

Handstands have become the new thing to practice at my Crossfit gym. Seriously, everyone has started working on them. Luckily, I am pretty good at handstands already, so I decided to take it one step further and learn the press to handstand.

I've been talking to a handstand "pro" at the gym (seriously, this guy is amazing!), and he has given me some ideas on how to work towards my goal.

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First, practice my press to headstand. I can do this fairly easily, but I am now working to do several strung together, barely touching my feet to the ground after each press up.

Second, L-sit leg lifts. I'll start by sitting with my legs straight out in front of me.

Engaging and pulling in my abs, I lift my straight legs off the ground and lower. It may sound easy, but it's definitely a lower ab killer!

Third, the stability ball jackknife.

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I start in a plank with my feet and shins on a stability ball. I slowly pull my hips up over my head, ending straight above my shoulders, and then slowly lower back to the plank. These are one of my favorite exercises in general. Such an ab killer!

Lastly, I do a handstand straddle down against a wall. I will do this one trying not to touch the wall, and going as slow as possible.

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So, what did I do with all this?

I made a circuit, of course!

I did this through 4 times and was definitely sweaty by the end! I added the jump rope in just for a little ab rest. I really enjoyed working through this circuit because the strength is so specific! I'm hoping to do this twice a week and hopefully add in some more exercises targeted for press to handstands.

2012 Running Report and Dead Arms

Recovery since the 25k has been going well. I took Sunday off from running and both Monday and today I have been randomly having great, speedy runs!

I credit my speediness to the several treadmill workouts I did last week.

Treadmill happy. The black spot on my
forehead is hair dye. 

I've talked about this before, but I can only run on the treadmill if I do some sort of speed workout. Usually, I will start around 6.5 speed level and keep bumping it up until I'm done. The longest I can usually stand the treadmill is 5 miles. I also like to mix in some fast 800s with a quarter mile recovery between. Sort of like Yasso 800's, but not 10 of them. I'll do anything to keep the boredom at bay on the treadmill!

I got an email from DailyMile the other day (follow me here if you so desire) recapping my 2012 training.

As you can see, I ran 1770 miles and averaged 43 miles per week. I logged a total of 515 workouts (that included Crossfit, yoga, ballet, etc.)! I have nothing really to compare that to, but it sure seems like a lot!

My highest mileage month was October, where I logged 219 miles. I'm pretty happy with all of those stats and will be excited to to see how I stack up next year!

In other news, today my arms are goners. Literally, they hurt just trying to dry my hair! I have no doubt the pain was inflicted last night at Crossfit. We did one of my favorite upper-body workouts.

The workout was called Every Minute on the Minute, or EMOM, as I like to say. Every minute we did pull-ups, push-ups and squats. The first minute, we started at 3 reps of each, the second minute, 4 reps of each. We continued in this fashion for 16 minutes.

When you failed, or didn't finish a round before the minute was up, you rest the remainder of the minute, cut your reps in half, and start again.

I started off doing the pull-ups unassisted, but after 3 rounds of that, I nearly died. That's an exaggeration  obviously, but I did have to pull out a band.

I've also been trying to work on my push-up technique, so I set myself up with an inclined bar that was on a rack. I made sure with each rep to keep my body straight and get my chest all the way down to the bar.

Woo, my arms are smoking today! And I also should mention we did 5 sets of 5 shoulder presses before all of that. Epic stuff!

Have a great Tuesday!