Oh Hey There Fran

What's up peak week?

Oh, we're going to end with Fran? OK.

What's that?  I just PR'ed Fran by three minutes?

I see.

For realz: prior Fran times here (10:24, mini band assisted pull ups) and here (9:47 as RX'ed).  Stringing pull ups together makes all the difference in the world.  I still have a lot of room for improvement there - for the set of 21, I strung together 6/5/5 and then 2's and 3's for the last few.  I didn't string together more than 3 at a time during 15 and 9.  Thrusters - unbroken 21 and 9; broke up 15 into 8 and 7.

This has been a REALLY good couple of months for me.

6am class courtesy of PhillyGuy, who pointed out before bed last night that going to the 6am class would let us get an early start on Friday Night Couch Time.  Chose not to try to PR my bench press - did 65x3, 85x1, 95x1, 105x1, 115x1 (real ugly - wasn't tight enough and my left arm lagged way behind), 120x1 easy and fast.  I decided not to attempt 125 and "saved it" (whatever "it" is) for Fran.  6:46 as RX'ed.  Boom.

Weekend plans: Friday Night Couch Time (pork chops on the grill!); field trip to Reading Terminal Market tomorrow morning with a bunch of CFCCers; postponed steak night on Saturday (also with CFCCers); seeing what else I can PR this week (currently going for a record on "time laundry is left unfolded on floor of hallway in front of dryer").

A Very iPhone Christmas

back to work on this post-Christmas Tuesday...

(note: I managed to WAY oversleep, by a good hour, to 7:12. between my scrambling and my husband being kind enough to drop me off at work, I made it in by 8. and then not a SOUL was to be found in the office besides me until at least 8:30. oh well. I gots things to do, you know?)

I hope everyone's holiday weekend was fabulous. Continuing my trend of never using my DSLR anymore, here's how ours went:

Packed up the pups and some gifts into the sleigh to head up to the in-laws' on Saturday morning.



We went to a seriously packed Christmas Eve mass. And PhillyGuy and I MIGHT have sat in a corner on folding chairs and played Words with Friends. MAYBE. After that, it was back to the inlaws' house for Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchanges.



PhillyGuy's awesome aunt and uncle got us this adorable wine and cheese picnic basket. I told him we were going to take it to the dog park.

Same awesome aunt and uncle also got his parents the most ginormous box ever. Cosmo DID NOT trust it. I think he thought there was a great dane in there.



After we did the extended family gift exchange, PhillyGuy and his sister drove his grandparents home (they live a few streets over) and spent a few extra minutes setting up their new TV in their bedroom. It was late at this point - they didn't make it back until almost midnight - and Cosmo, overwhelmed from the excitement, passed the f out in my lap.



(Those are my preferred Christmas pajama pants. I picked them up during my 2L year of law school and they've served me well for the last...ugh, SIX years. They replaced a pair of flannel pants with Christmas trees on them that I had for all of college. I am nothing if not a creature of habit.)

We were up late doing the immediate-family gift exchange - we didn't go to bed until about 1:30am, which is pretty much the latest I've been up in years. Everyone woke up super-slowly on Christmas morning and lazed around. Like Sophie with her braided bully stick.



PhillyGuy's parents were far too generous with us, as always, and we headed home yesterday afternoon with a new crockpot, TWO pieces of Le Creuset cookware, and a new flatscreen for our bedroom (!!!!!!!!).

He set up the new TV while I was at the gym last night, and we spent the rest of the evening in bed playing Words with Friends on our phones watching CSI: Miami on demand with the dogs curled up between us. It was the perfect way to end a weekend.

Fitness-and-health-related recap:

- I managed to avoid going off the rails completely over this holiday. I didn't work out Friday, Saturday or Sunday, which was not ideal - I had planned to do a quick workout at least once over the weekend. I figured 50 burpees for time would be fast, inconspicuous (well, if I did it in the basement, anyway) and require zero equipment...but then, well, I just didn't do it. Oh well.

- I didn't have enough jerky stores to bring some with me. I should have, but in a pinch, I got through with a couple bags of the gas station stuff (which is SO not as good as my favorite buffalo jerky) and a bag of salted cashews. That served as my breakfast and lunch on Saturday (everyone else ate pizza when we got in), and my lunch on Monday on our way home.

- When questioned by PhillyGuy's mom as to whether I was "still watching my carbs," I just told her I wasn't eating gluten anymore. Which is true, though not the whole story. I don't like being scrutinized about my diet, and I don't like to debate stuff like that with other people lest they think I'm scrutinizing them. So, no pizza or pasta or breaded tilapia or broccoli casserole with cream-of-something-soup and a couple sleeves of crushed saltines on top. LOTS of prime rib and roast pork and salad and antipasto. I did eat more cheese than I usually would, but PhillyGuy's uncle always has the hookup with this incredible sharp provolone and I am NOT going to avoid that.

- I DID, however, indulge in some christmas cookies. My usual favorites are the peanut butter ones with the hershey's kiss in the middle - I had two or three of those over the weekend, and frankly would have had more but this batch was a little bit dry. The real crack for me was these hairy ball looking cookies that his mom makes. They're basically like a Larabar, but with rice krispies mixed into the date and nut "dough," and rolled in shredded coconut. She said something about frying them in butter too, but I'm not sure if that was a joke. Regardless...I ate like eight of those. Over three days, I understand that 10 or 12 small-ish cookies is really not that much, in the grand scheme of things, but holy CRAP was I (really, AM I) feeling it.

- Monday afternoon we made it back to Philly in time for me to make the 5:30 class at CFCC. I knew this wasn't going to be my finest performance, but I was feeling so sluggish and blech that I really needed to do SOMETHING.

Back squats, peak of 2: 85-100-120-130-140-150-160. In retrospect, I would have started heavier, made bigger jumps and done fewer sets. 160 was stiiiiiiiiicky through the middle. This doesn't bode super well for my goal of 185 at the total, but we'll see. Metcon was half Mary (15 minute AMRAP of 5 handstand pushups, 10 pistols (5 each leg), 15 pull ups). 5 rounds + 6 SLS, subbing regular pushups, single leg squats to a box (some assisted, some not - "assisting" by grabbing a pole doesn't really "assist" me, so I just kind of suck at these no matter what), light band. My pull ups have improved SO MUCH. I can rep at least 10 with a light band now - this is leaps and bounds better than where I was at the beginning of October.

and now back to work....

Short & Sweet

Making this a quick one - I'm trying to blow through a ton of work today in the hopes of getting out of here early enough to get home, walk my pups and get back to CFCC for some snatch action. (The jokes just write themselves.)

I sort of expected this weekend to be something of a challenge. PhillyGuy and I road tripped it up to visit his parents and grandparents, which - like any visit to an Italian family - typically involves food (and gluten, and sugar, and and and) in excess. Normally, for a weekend like this, while I don't just go balls to the wall and eat everything that's offered to me, I have no compunctions about eating a fresh cider donut or a couple pieces of toast with breakfast or a slice or two of sheet pizza. Not so much this time.

I prepared myself as best I could by packing some necessities into my purse:



Two bags of my favorite buffalo jerky (for snacks and, if necessary, emergency meal replacements...I asked PhillyGuy to get me four, but this is apparently all that was left in the store), jump rope (for travel WOD-ing on the in-laws' back porch), water bottle (for surgically attaching to my hand), food log (for, well, food logging).

Also, my nook (for reading lots of US Weekly and maybe some of the Impressionists). Which has nothing to do with this challenge.

Here are the challenges I expected: lots of donuts, pizza, bread and desserts being offered. Lots of pressure to change my mind after I politely declined said donuts, pizza, bread and/or desserts. Lots of scrutiny about what I was eating or not eating. Lots of questions about what I was doing and why.

Here is what actually happened: true to form, Mama PhillyGuy greeted us with a jug of fresh cider and a dozen or two warm, fresh cider donuts from the Cider Mill down the street. She offered both of us one (or two or ten), and asked me if I'd ever had one warm. Perhaps PhillyGuy gave his parents a heads up, or perhaps they gleaned some stuff from facebook or something, but she wasn't surprised when I told her that I wasn't going to have one.

There were some questions about what I was doing - "is it some kind of cleanse or something?" has been a common one, not just with my inlaws but with almost everyone who's caught wind of it - but thankfully, very little else. There was one point where she literally shoved some kind of caramel apple pie directly under my face, and one incident in the grocery store where she tried to convince me that I could have apple crisp, since she didn't add sugar to her apples, but all in all, it was really nothing.

Which I was completely grateful for. I really, really dislike being scrutinized about my eating, particularly WHILE I'm eating. They were very accommodating - when his dad grilled up some spiedies and locally-made sausages for lunch, Mama PhillyGuy helped me check all of the labels to make sure there was no added sugar or anything else funny in the ingredient lists, and made sure that she was OK to use her regular rice vinegar to dress the salad - but not at all intrusive, and no one tried to get into a debate with me about how whole grains are healthy or whatever.

All in all, the weekend was a non-issue, but it's eye-opening. My takeaways:

- It's amazing just how much ritual is built around food. PhillyGuy and I have discussed numerous times how it's a struggle, particularly for him, to eat well when we visit his parents. It's not just because there is, literally, ALWAYS food available - plates of candy and homemade cookies everywhere at Christmas, everyone you visit putting out a tray of snacks, ranging from antipasto and crackers to home-smoked prosciutto to candied nuts and cheese - when you come hang out with them. It's also because you associate so many things with "coming home" or "family time" or whatever. It's fall, so we always, ALWAYS have cider and cider donuts and usually an apple pie or apple crisp. His parents frequently pick up a sheet pizza to snack on when the kids come visit (like spiedies, it's a Binghamton thing - pizza baked in a sheet pan, topped with american cheese) that we inevitably graze on, hot or cold, for the duration of our stay. We'll go visit his uncle, who might make three varieties of homemade pizza or homemade pasta or both. You don't eat because you're hungry, you eat because it's ritual.

- Not partaking in the ritual feast doesn't stop you from partaking in the important part of the ritual - hanging out with people you love and catching up with them.

- The only time I was a little jealous of the "let's eat whatever" mentality was Saturday night. We were all stuffed from gorging ourselves on spiedies, salad and sausage around 2 or 3 that afternoon, so no one had dinner. Around 8 or 9, people started getting snacky, and one by one, my husband and his parents went into the kitchen and then returned to the living room with big plates of apple pie and whipped cream. I didn't want the actual pie (I'm not a pie fan in general), and I wasn't even hungry OR particularly snacky myself, but I felt a little left out that everyone else was eating and I wasn't. So silly, right?

- PhillyGuy had the bright idea that "he" (read: both of us) would make breakfast for nine people. While cooking this much food in someone else's kitchen is nerve-wracking, this was good because I got to control the menu enough to ensure that there was plenty of food for me. We made two pounds of Whole Foods fresh cut black forest bacon, twenty eggs (some fried, some over easy, the rest scrambled), a few links of kielbasa, and diced sweet potatoes pan-fried in bacon grease with an onion. I had three (small-ish) eggs, a little bit of potato, three slices of bacon and two small slices of kielbasa. Everyone else built out the breakfast with toast, pastries, a variety of cider donuts, juice and fruit - and no one commented on what I was or wasn't eating, which was a relief.

- There is a noticeable difference in the quality of the $5 jumprope I picked up at Target and the jumpropes at the gym. The workout I intended to do involved 50-40-30-20-10 double-unders alternated with overhead squats with the rope, but I couldn't get the rope to move fast enough to do more than one DU at a time. After it took the better part of 5-6 minutes to get to 25 DU's, I said "F this noise" and switched to twice as many singles. Total, this workout took me about 12 minutes, I worked up a nice dripping sweat, and got it all out of the way before my inlaws even woke up. There truly is NO excuse not to work out when you're traveling.

So now I'm back to work and experimenting with portable breakfasts with minimal AM prep time.



Repeat from Friday and one other day last week: shredded smoked pork (from Costco - surprisingly clean ingredients list and I think $8 for three or four pounds) topped with two over-easy eggs. Total prep time of six minutes, including a quick wash of the pan and spatula.

Rest of last week's workouts:

- Friday 10/7 - Lynne redux. 5 rounds of max bench presses and max pull ups. I hadn't done this workout since the first round four weeks ago, before I hurt my shoulder. We were instructed to use the same weight and (if applicable) same band, with the goal being to show progress in the number of reps you could complete. For me, this was 90lbs/average band. The weight felt a LOT heavier than it had the first time, which I chalked up to my shoulder - I was noticeably weaker on my left side, but I was eking out 5 or 6 reps in each round. And then, three rounds in, Liz noticed that I was actually lifting 95 pounds, not 90. So, you know, fail. Can't measure progress with this one, but my rounds were 6/11, 5/11, 4/10, 4/9 and 4/8.

- Sunday 10/9 - travel workout! I put together my own based on the suggested workouts available on the CFCC page. 50-40-30-20-10 DU's alternated with 25-20-15-10-5 OH squats with the rope...except I actually did 25DU's followed by 80-60-40-20 singles due to rope suckage. Still sweated my butt off.

OK, so...so much for a "short" and "quick" post. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

my life, via iPhone

coffee and dogs and laptop and bed...weekend mornings are the best. Sophie's getting scruffy again.

dogs do NOT appreciate being walked in the rain, but they love their sweet coats.

I LOVE DEADLIFTS.

I also love steak. Costco's prime ribeyes beat the CRAP out of DiBruno's though, and for a couple bucks less per pound. Bah.

This is the real reason I got a nook color: I subscribe to US Weekly, but if anyone comes by I can quickly minimize it and pull up, say, something by Jeannette Winterson and be all like "yeah, I read postmodern literature while getting a pedicure. I find that it relaxes me."

Last week's workouts:

Monday: turkish getups. 2-3 each side, 12kg kettlebell; 2-3 each side, 16kg kettlebell; 15lb bar, 2 each side just to see how it felt (TWSS). Metcon: AMRAP 12 minutes, 2 TGU (one on each side), 30ft overhead walking lunges left, 30ft overhead walking lunges right. 3+2TGU; 1 pood kettlebell.

Tuesday: DEADLIFTS!

Thursday: Gymnastics. Front lever and strict handstand pushups. WOW, these are hard. I did a bunch with the assistance of the "average" band and it whooped me. Metcon was like...four thousand handstand pushups and four thousand strict toes-to-bar, which for me are strict hanging leg extensions.

Saturday: more gymnastics. Brutal ring work, various pieces of a muscle-up - working on false grip, ring support, ring dips and the transition. Metcon was 20 rounds of 5 seconds ring support, ring dip, 5 seconds false grip hang. I had a crapload of trouble falling into a false grip to hang - every single time I thought I was going to get it right and every.single.time I looked up to see my hands gripping the rings normally. I used a mini band for assistance and my left thigh is covered in nasty black bruises from where it kept snapping up and hitting me...at least 17 out of 20 rounds.

I had big plans to do hot yoga on Sunday morning, but I was BEAT.UP from the ring work and ended up taking an extra rest day.

Somebody's Getting Stronger

Forget what I said about gymnastics. Deadlifts are my favorite.

Miracle number one: I managed to find knee high socks that fit over my gargantuan calves.

(No, seriously. My calves are a good 16.5" around. Tall boots - much like front squats - are my nemesis, and I was concerned I would need to find plus size knee socks.)

I learned quickly to wear something that covers my legs when I do deadlifts, because otherwise you end up with banged up shins. Hence, the three-for-$20ish deal for colorful tube socks at American Apparel.

Miracle number two:

Oh, what's that? Oh, nothing. JUST A NUMBER IN THE 200'S NEXT TO MY NAME.

For the last handful of weeks, I end up running out of time before I get anywhere near my max, so I hadn't been sure exactly what I was capable of with deadlifts. I know they're my strongest lift, and I know my grip starts to get shaky around 160lbs, but that's it. Tonight, I lucked out. I started higher - 95lbs - and made bigger jumps, so I got up to 215 before I had to stop.

95, 125, 155, 195, 215. YES. 215lbs. I'm stupid excited about this.

(Check out Fran and Josh. Now THAT is some deadlifting.)

(Oh, and that 14? It's because I fell out of the same handstand TWICE in 20 seconds. Fail fail fail.)

Gym Woes

I may have mentioned before that I'm fortunate enough to have a pretty swank HOA-funded gym.

Mirrors to watch your form, nice set of dumbbells, variety of machines, and enough cardio equipment that I typically never have to wait. And it's all pretty new - construction was completed just about a year ago, so everything's all shiny and nice.

Well, except that it turns out there are some structural issues. When people at the gym would slam and/or drop the heavier dumbbells on the floor of the gym, it would apparently cause the floors of the apartments on the third and fourth floors of the building to shake. Which is, of course, a tremendous pain in the ass for those who live there.

So the HOA posted a casual couple of signs saying "Hey, this is a residential building, don't drop the weights because it disturbs residents." And then they sent out an email saying "Hey, this is a residential building...seriously, don't drop the weights." And then they had a plastic engraved sign professionally made to post OVER the dumbbell rack, saying "Don't drop the fucking weights, dumbass." AND put down a thick rubber mat in front of the rack. AND THEN SENT OUT ANOTHER EMAIL.

And apparently, all of that wasn't enough to keep people from dropping and/or slamming the weights. Because one day this week, they were just gone. We got yet another email from the HOA explaining that, well, people just wouldn't stop dropping the weights, and they had no choice but to remove the dumbbells.

This makes me want to punch someone. For me, having a good gym included in the HOA amenities is one of the real benefits to living where I live. I rely pretty heavily on the dumbbells for all of my lifting, since machines tend to feel awkward to me. And seriously, you can't just stop slamming down your weights? I mean, we're not talking olympic competitions here. We don't even have a bar capable of being slammed (only a smith machine) so at best, you're looking at 50lb dumbbells.

Apparently, lots of people were pissed about the loss of the dumbbells, and they resorted to lots of crazy maneuvers. Like, for example, single-handedly converting the assisted pullup/dip machine into, well, a standard pullup bar.

OK, SERIOUSLY? And you don't even bother to clean up after yourself. Psshh.

Thankfully, they've made somewhat of a compromise. The other night, I went for some short cardio, chest & back (really, I just wanted an excuse to listen to the AMAZING new Green Day live album, appropriately titled "Awesome as F**k"), and happily discovered that we had regained limited dumbbell privileges:

Let's not focus on (i) the still-mostly-empty rack or (ii) the fact that we're only responsible enough to use colorful vinyl-covered dumbbells. It doesn't matter to me, because I generally only use the 15's anyway. The few back exercises I did with dumbbells - mostly variations on the bent-over row - I can comfortably do on one of the machines.

But REALLY. See the mats? See the sign? COME ON, PEOPLE. This isn't a college meatmarket gym. Behave yourselves!

I Have Been MIA

yeah. I've been MIA.

This week was full of...stuff. Lots of stuff.

Like this, which greeted me at my desk at 6:22 am on Thursday morning.

I hadn't started my day with a Starbucks latte and bagel in forever. This used to be my daily breakfast - until I moved from center city to G-Ho, where there is no Starbucks. At the time, I was actually concerned about that - I truly did not know where I was going to get my coffee. Answer: if I don't make it at home (see: copious amounts of Via and a reusable cold cup)...



...then I go to Good Karma, on 22nd between Pine and Delancey, or LaVa, at 21st and South. Or any of the other fun, neighborhood-y coffee shops all over this city. How, in god's name, did I manage to live in Philly for so long (like two or three years!) without realizing it? I guess that's what happens when you live in CC proper.

Anyway. That stack of documents is a third of what I had to review this week in time for my 10am meeting Thursday morning. I also had four filings, a bunch of agreements to finish up, and a lunch with new clients out in the 'burbs. It was a nutty week, and left me feeling like something just punched me in the face.



I still managed to hit the gym a few times, for some short speedwork and a bunch of time on the recumbent bike. The entire week, I was just counting the seconds for this:



I'm a casual snowboarder - I've gone a few times a year since college. I'm not anywhere near good, but I'm comfortable on green terrain and easier blues. PhillyGuy has never so much as touched a mountain, but I finally managed to drag him up to Camelback for some lessons and a weekend of fun, easy snowboarding.

We had some much-needed beers at a local brewery right by the mountain.



Why did the bar I worked at in college not do this?

Sometimes You Just

...need a burger.

(sometimes you also need to start remembering to bring your good camera when you go to dinner, but I digress.)

PhillyGuy and I had tentatively planned to go to dinner last night. He had suggested our go-to spot, Resurrection Ale House. We probably end up there once every couple of months, both because of the fantastic beer selection AND because it is conveniently located directly across the street from our house.

Usually I'm excited about at least three or four different dishes on Resurrection's menu, but after reviewing it from work, I was kind of "meh" about it. Not that it sounded bad, but I wasn't getting my usual "OMG I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY THAT" feeling. So I started thinking of alternatives, and for a while, I was torn between Resurrection and Pub & Kitchen.

And then Pub & Kitchen started tweeting about their specials for the night, including a quail with oyster cornbread dressing...and I was done.

Naturally, that's what we started with. We split the quail, which came adorably presented, looking like a Lilliputian roasted chicken...

...and an English onion soup with apples and a rosemary crouton topped with melted cheddar.

(MAN, does that ever look appetizing. FML.)

The other factor that pushed Pub & Kitchen over the edge for me was the fact that I've been craving a juicy, fatty burger ever since we picked out Brickyard in NYC last weekend. Well, Brickyard didn't have a burger on the menu...but Pub & Kitchen has the Churchill burger.

Proprietary blend of meats, bone marrow butter and caramelized onions? Yes, please.

PhillyGuy was also feeling a burger. He stuck with the plain burger topped with cheddar, bacon and a fried egg.

Both were delicious. Usually, I'm all about a variety of toppings, so I was unsure about having just the onions on my burger...but it was just right. The burger itself was flavorful enough to carry itself alone. I tried a bite of PhillyGuy's burger as well, but I'm pretty sure I didn't get all of the toppings in my bite...sad face.

We also split an order of the mac & cheese, but the iPhone pictures were so awful I had to delete them both...which really says something considering the onion soup abomination I posted above. Let's try to describe: orzo wrapped in creamy sauce, studded with bits of short rib, covered in a blanket of...I don't even know what, frankly. For all I know it could have been artificial bacon bits. It was good, but a little underwhelming. The sauce was more creamy than cheesy, and I actually thought it needed salt. But then again, I tend to salt everything, so whatever.

So now I'm hanging in bed with my puppies, getting ready to wake PhillyGuy up so we can hit the gym. He spent all last week with a nasty cold, and I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't catch it. My quads are still a little sore from my 800 repeats the other day, which is always humbling (I used to be able to run a 5K in about 90 seconds to two minutes better than my time for 3 miles without killing myself!), but also makes me happy. I'm thinking it'll be a date with the elliptical and Tony Horton's chest and back this morning, and maybe a nice 5-mile run outside tomorrow...we'll see.

happy weekend!