Week 17 – Is Today Dodgeball Day?

This past week was tough. I was tired, had a bunch of stuff to try and get through this week at home and on top of everything else, my partner (the stabilizing factor in my life) had to leave on a business trip. The last time he left I was attacked by flour, had a cat escape, and a few other odd things. The cats never go out the front door but Fred just decided “Well the tall chap is no longer here and I can’t take it so I must go out into the world and find him” (yes I believe my cat is British). I am still unclear as to why the flour attacked me but that feud has continued from that point forward. So before he left I was told I could not go into the basement for fear a ceiling tile will fall on my head (would not be the first time), food processer is off limits as is open fire (this has been a long standing agreement between him and my mother), and minimal time in the pantry. Of course because of my job I am always finding loop holes and I had to cook dinner. Seeing as how I am only 5’4, on a good day, cooking in my kitchen involves gymnastics. I had decided to try a Mongolian Beef recipe which called for a crock-pot on the top shelf which required a modified muscle up and a dismount. I managed that task pretty well and nothing weird happened like the fridge falling on me so I thought I was good to try to use a knife. All in all, this week was pretty much injury free, dismounts were AWESOME (sure the Russian judge might have given me a 5.7 but hey), and I got to eat all the foods that my partner hates. I did try to cut out candy with a few false starts early in the week but so far, 4 days without candy. I am also on my third week without wheat. I have started this week pretty well as I have my protein packs that taste like Mounds candy bars. The weather here has been horrible (rain almost every day) and it makes me just want to curl up on my sofa with the dog and sleep.

This week in training, well as stated above I was tired all week long. Even when I went to the box I was tired. Friday was a fun day (I felt like I was in middle school and we got to play dodge ball on Friday). We had a challenge of how fast can you row 500 meters and you have 3 tries. Of course I got my best time on the first effort (2:00 flat) but I got close on the third time with 2:03. I did not go to the gym this weekend as we had a baseball game for the boy (first one I have seen him play since he was in high school and he is now a senior). We also got rain free days on Saturday and Sunday so I wanted to spend some time with dog out in the yard. By Thursday and Friday I felt like I had more energy. Today I was tired again but I did not get to sleep until almost 11pm. Here is hoping that this week will be nicer for weather so I can start building out my vegetable garden outdoors instead of in the greenhouse. I also have a few items for the yard where I can use my newly found muscles (maybe push the stone fence back in place and maybe some clean up of the side yard).

Until next time, happy lifting…

Week 16 – Failing is good…

This was a tough week. I am still gluten free and will be decreasing my dairy intake. I have set a challenge for myself, 6 weeks on an altered Paleo diet. I feel better without gluten in my diet and I am hoping that it will make me stronger. I have found that last week I really enjoyed spending time and taking pictures with Coach Keidy and I think I can get better at it but I feel like I am at a good starting point. Here are a few words of encouragement that I hear over and over in my head this week. Surround yourself with great people because they will push you to be great. This was clear when we were running this past week and I see these fighters that I call friends being stronger than me and pushing me to be greater than I think I can be. I see greatness in all my ladies and they push me to be better than I was yesterday. Sometimes I get to return the favor and push them to see the greatness in themselves (you must find your inner Wonder Woman). The second set of words of encouragement is this; if you cannot grow then you cannot become your best and if you are not your best then how can you really be happy. It will be a tough journey to grow, it hurts and it is hard work but if it was easy then everyone would do it. Life is about being uncomfortable with where you are. If you get comfortable you stop growing and you have stopped pushing yourself. Life is about failing. If you are scared of failing you will not become the best you can be. Failing means you pushed yourself to the edge. You become a fighter when you fail and you get up. Fail and then fail again and then again and again. It happens to the best of us. The strongest person I know failed. She failed over and over again but the reason she is so strong is because she got up every time she failed. Think of your Wonder Woman. Guess what, they were where you are right now. They all started. They all failed. I don’t know who they are but I know they failed. When you get up from that failure you learn about yourself. You see what you can do and where you can go, maybe not today but work. Do your assignment. Do your work. In that moment when you no longer fail, that’s the greatest feeling of them all. That’s what success feels like.

Now the work. Ugh, this was a tough week. I tried to give up a few times but I pushed through it and I feel awesome that I finished. I got shin splints which I get at the beginning of any running program but I iced my legs and I got lucky that the workout on Thursday really stretched my legs with the wall balls. I blazed through them because it felt amazing to stretch my legs. I see that I am getting stronger and it feels great. I am so close to a kipping pull-up that it angers me (like Marvin the Martian kind of anger). I will be working on these this weekend again at the regular gym. I am hoping to enter the battle of the sexes at the box to see who is stronger. The workouts this week also included so many burpees with different jumps (burpee star jumps or burpee pull-ups) that it was horrible. I am pretty sure burpees are a torture movement that they use to make prisoners talk. I mean I was willing to tell coach anything she wanted to know.

Until next week, keep up the good work and may the WOD’s be in your favor…

Food Journal Day 6…

Wheat wheat everywhere and not an ounce for me… It is my 6th day without wheat and I have just now gotten to the point where I do not want a donut/cracker/sandwich/burrito. I have found ways to get food at work without having wheat. I almost slipped up when they had Italian Wedding Soup (one of my favorites because it has tiny meatballs and I pretend I am Godzilla) but then I noticed the pasta. Oh you are tricky Italian Wedding Soup. I have gotten to where I cannot eat as much as I did before since I am eating more nutritionally dense food. My belly bloat has gone down some but that will take a while before it is gone. Here is my goal, I want to be down 15 lbs before I give myself a treat (I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!) and I want to work out 6 days a week. I have also started a “How Foodie are you” within my circle of friends to see who can make the best food porn pictures. Watch out people because my partner is going out of town for a few days so it will be a wild food party with brussels sprouts and other cruciferous veggies! Here is my dinner from last night (even the little human that is my daughter enjoyed it):

There will be more to come tomorrow with the WOD’s for this week. Sneak peek: I worked out with The Hulk on Wednesday!