Big Things?

Ugh.  I just...ugh.

I'm having a little bit of food fatigue, I think.  Since starting Operation: Get Strong Without Getting Fat, I've been cramming in the protein, aiming for 120-150g per day.  There have been a couple of days where I just wasn't focused and barely got in 100 or 110, but generally it's been doable.

And then yesterday.  It's peak week, and I'm geeked out about, well, peaking.  Back squats on Monday went really well - I've hit my June 30 goal over a month ahead of schedule.  I even PR'd my strict press by 2 little pounds (well, technically by a kilogram - so 2.2ish pounds - but whatever).  And I cannot WAIT to deadlift on Friday.  BUT.

That meant that yesterday, I had to set a reminder in my outlook calendar to tell me to eat at 4:30 pm.  Last Friday's 1.5-hours-from-eggs-to-Fran semi-disaster has made it clear that I need at least two solid hours between a meal and training.  And my lunch was a little light on the protein, since I had a practice group meeting and the best I could get was a salad with MAYBE four measly ounces of chicken (tasty, but so little!).  So...CHRIST.  There I was, at my desk, shoveling down eight ounces of tuna and trying to get it all in before 4:30 so I could train at 6:30.

So, it's not super glamorous.  But it's working.  And I do like eating a couple squares of chocolate before hitting the gym - that's kind of fun.  And I'm pleasantly surprised that adding in a bit more sugar, in the form of fruit a few days a week, plus all this protein and pre-training chocolate, has actually left me the tiniest bit leaner in addition to super-strong.  (Have you ever had berries with flaked coconut and a little bit of heavy cream?  And maybe some 85 or 90% dark chocolate shaved over it with a microplane zester?  CHRIST ON A CRACKER that's delicious.)

But I kind of wish I was this cat just for a minute.

I've also started logging my training at the CrossFit mainsite boards, here: Chrissey's CFCC Log

Saturday May 26: 4x750m row with 3:00 recovery.  Score is slowest interval.  3:07, 3:11, 3:13, 3:14.  A little inconsistent, but more annoyed that my last interval was also my slowest - I started out too fast (at a 1:50/500m pace) and just died somewhere in the middle.  I am getting substantially better at rowing but am still so far from being good at it.  Went rock climbing later in the day with some gym friends - and WOW.  I would be much better at that if my forearm strength was JUST a little bit better. 

Sunday May 27: Memorial Day Murph. 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 air squats, 1 mile run.  In theory, I wanted to do the entire thing - but I wanted to PR my back squat on Monday, so I did half Murph...sort of.  Amber and I both ran the first mile and then split the pull ups, push ups and squats.  Mile run was about 8 minutes - 7:17 on the gym timer, but it was a little behind.  I did 11 full rounds of Cindy (5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats) plus half of the pushups and squats for a twelfth round.  We finished everything in 28:45 - I got a little caught up in stuff and almost went out for the second mile, but reminded myself that I needed to squat heavy the next day.

Monday May 28: ...and I'm glad I reined it in with Murph.  Back squat, peak of 1.  115x3 -145x3 - 170x2 - 185x1 - 200x1 - 210x1 (PR) - 215x1 (PR, but not counting it - I JUST got to parallel).  Next goal a legit 215 and then 225?

Tuesday May 29: strict press, peak of 1.  55x3 - 65x2 - 75x1 - 80x1 - 87x1 (PR).  87 got stuck around my forehead but I forced myself to get my head through and what do you know - that shit went RIGHT up.  Maybe I have 90 in me, maybe I don't.  This is one of my weaker spots.  Metcon: 60yd shuttle run, score is fastest attempt. Rounded to the nearest second, I did 16-16-15-16-16-16.  Hard to say how consistent I am because we can't measure any more accurately than a second, which is kind of a large increment for such a short run, but I'm happy with it.  Turning around is SO AWKWARD.

Wednesday May 30: some kipping pull up practice followed by strict pronated chest-to-bar pullups for a peak of 1.  I tried out the new pullup bar - it's a little more painful on your hands, but MAN is it easier to grip.  I was easily stringing together sets of 4 or 5 kipping pullups before losing my rhythm - which is real progress for me.  Did maybe 5 or 6 sets, then onto strength.  Light + mini band - light band - light + 5lbs - light + 10lbs - mini band only - mini band + 5lbs.  I think I have a bodyweight chest-to-bar in me.

Metcon was a mini-chipper.  For time, 50 double unders, 40 american kettlebell swings (1.5/1pood), 30 burpees, 20 pull ups, 10 handstand pushups.  11:56, as RXed - WOOF.  I wasted a LOT of time on the DUs, taking my first 25 or so in really small sets and tripping over the rope a bunch, before hitting a better rhythm for the last 25.  Kettlebell swings and burpees unbroken (can you "break up" burpees?  I didn't go fast, but didn't rest at all).  Pull ups finished in 5 sets.  And then I hit the HSPUs at about 8 minutes in - my first 5 or so were REALLY tough.  It was my first time using full ROM in a metcon (one abmat with plates on either side), and I didn't realize how much harder these would be when I was fatigued.  Once I worked out my hand placement, the last 5 felt much stronger, but still - those suckers took me four minutes.  Um and also:

OH HAY PALM RIP.

Seasonal

I am definitely on another breakfast kick.



I missed fruit and yogurt. Lots. I get stuck in a carb-obsessed groove every now and again, when I can't fathom why in god's name I would ever CHOOSE to eat fruit and yogurt when I could have a doughy bagel.

And then something happens, like, oh, I don't know...not being able to fit into my pants because I've coupled the carb-obsession with slacking at the gym AND eating more than a few handfuls of chocolate chips while doing my holiday baking.

And then one day, I force myself to walk PAST the bagel bin and straight to the cooler and grab a Fage 0 and some fruit salad. (Okay, in an ideal world, I would be packing myself a little tupperware full of fruit and Fage from home, but I decided I'd rather spend Sunday watching Annie Hall from bed than go grocery shopping, so I'm out of just about everything except for broccoli and frozen chicken.) And I die a little inside at that exact moment, but then once I get up to my office and dig in, I'm like - "FRUIT AND YOGURT! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?"

I will say I never waver from my iced coffee obsession, though.



Last night there was a weird crowd at the gym. It's been blissfully empty for the past week or so - it's as if everyone in my development decided to resolve to avoid the gym instead of attack it. It's been nice - no waiting for a treadmill, not feeling guilty if I decide to do more than 30 minutes of running or whatever. Last night, I hopped on the bike for 25 minutes on the "random" program, followed by P90X shoulders and arms.

And it was just me, a random cardio queen who is ALWAYS there and spends hours on either the bike or the elliptical, and two muscle-y dudes. I'm not one to feel awkward at the gym, but something about these two guys gave off a major creep factor. The one guy parked himself less than a foot away from the rack of dumbbells that I use, which meant I had to interact with him in order to change up my weights or whatever. The other guy alternated between doing sets of bicep curls (my favorite kind, where they use momentum and flick their hips in order to lift weights their biceps are not capable of lifting) and using an unoccupied machine to stretch his hamstrings. The entire time, the two of them were talking to each other, and I couldn't shake the feeling they were talking about me. It wasn't helping matters that I kept catching Uncomfortably-Close-to-Dumbbells dude in my peripheral vision with his head facing towards me. I couldn't hear a word since I had my headphones in, and I did my best to tune the world out and focus on lifting...but eeeesh. It was just weird and I kept obsessing over whether I was doing something wrong, or did they think I was a January-only-gym-bunny, or...GAH.

I hate crap like that. I NEVER worry about that kind of thing, and I (clearly) love to people-watch at the gym, too...I don't know why last night was so weird. Oh well.

I don't know about you guys, but this is turning into the longest week EVER. I cannot believe it's only Thursday. Do any of you have a three-day weekend? I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to take Monday off and I'm thrilled to pieces about it.