Pushing The Envelope

Well, actually, I’ve been pushing weights, more than an envelope, but you get my gist, right?

After a restful night of sleep where NOBODY woke up in the middle of the night (Whoot! Whoot!), I woke up at 0500 again for the Oly class.

I wasn’t sure I was gonna make it there as my gas light turned on, on my way to the Box, but I managed to make it and there’s a gas station across the street so my plan was to fill up after class. Worst comes to worst, I knew I would be able to push my car to the station! 😉 BAM!

Today marked my 8th training session in 14 days. I’ve never trained this much in my life! It’s my last week before my month-long vacation comes to an end and my plan was to squeeze as many workouts as I can before I go back to my usual 2-3 sessions/week. I am definitely starting to feel it though and combined with it being my 1st week back on the Whole30 and all the cloudy/rainy weather we’ve had this week, all I want to do is sleep. Unfortunately, I have 2 cuties that have other plans for me:

Every time I tried to nap on the couch, they would come bother me!

Who needs sleep, right?

Anyway, back to Oly class, here’s what we did today:

I wonder if those Forehead Jerks made me look as stupid as they made me feel??? Those were weird!

C&J EMOM X10 @85%

That meant 76.5# for me. Coach Caleb told me I had soft elbows on my jerk during my warm-up to that weight, but apparently, I corrected once I reached my target weight. Maybe I just needed more weight in order to really lock my elbows? I was trying not to pause between the clean and the jerk all while keeping the lift smooth and I was tired by rep 7. I started to take a few breaths in the transition and I was glad when we were done.

OHS 6×2 E3M

I teamed up with Linda who saved my hair crisis this morning. You know the drill: you go to put your hair up and your elastic just breaks in your hand and you realize you don’t have a spare one? Well, Linda gave me one of hers and my life was perfect again! So, we teamed up together and we started low (I’m not strong and Linda is recovering from a back injury.

I knew I could do 65# since I had done that weight for 15.2 during the Open. Looking back, I should have aimed for 70# or 75#, but I’m sore everywhere and my wrists have taken a huge hit with all the freakin’ cleaning I’ve been doing lately. Here were my reps:

40#-45#-50#-55#-60#-65#

My wrists were hurting on the last set, but I felt stable in my core and getting out of the bottom of the squat felt relatively easy. Oh well, my previous number for OHS was 6×3 @60# so I think that’s a new PR for me. I’m amazed I can still have PRs this week as I’m feeling so sore everywhere! I can’t wait for my massage Friday!

I came back home and did some laundry with the hubs (OK, he did most of the laundry while I cleaned and vacuumed the upstairs).

Look Mom! I’m hiding! (Typical Béa on laundry day)

I also did some food prep for the Whole30 since I had nothing but eggs and avocados left (I had thawed some chicken thighs and ground turkey) and I feel better now that I have healthy options in the house.

I managed to close my eyes for about 10 minutes after lunch and I tried to cuddle to the girls on the couch while they watched Frozen (I may have turned the TV on with hopes of napping next to them. Don’t judge!) but they kept poking me, pulling my hair and staring at me. Major fail, but we still watched the movie! 😉

I just have to make it through tomorrow’s class and possibly a last training session with Kathleen on Sunday and then I can go back to slacking off my regular training/work schedule.

 

Gentle reminders

I went to bed last night petrified. I had looked up the WOD for this morning and saw that it was Mini Murph. Yikes! I woke up before my alarm and made sure I fuelled up appropriately for it:

• 1/4 cup ground turkey (Tex Mex seasoned with lime juice)
• 1/2 oz cashews
• 1/2 banana (normally, I don’t do the banana, but this morning, I felt I could use the extra carbs. I’m glad I did this!)

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I hopped in the car and tried to get my head in the game. My butt was still sore from all the lunges on Monday so my head slowly started to tremble with fear. Just e gentle reminder that my butt still needs working on. I tried to keep a cool attitude though. Fake it until you make it kind of attitude!

Bo showed up and then there were two of us dreading the WOD. He also kindly gave me a 2-month supply of multivitamins for free. His wife had extras and he figured: share the love!

Coach AJ showed up and we warmed up. We discussed the WOD and strategy and I chose a plan of attack: 800m run, 10 x (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats), 800m run. That seemed a little more decent than trying to do everything at once. The warm-up had some running in it and that made me dread the WOD even more. Just a gentle reminder that I am not an efficient runner.

We came back inside and set up our pull-up stations. I tried to do a few with just the red band, but seeing as there were 50 to do, I added the purple band as well. I was already tired and the WOD hadn’t even started. Just a gentle reminder that shift work, no matter the amount of sleep you get, wreaks havoc on your body.

3-2-1-GO!

I let everybody pass me easily and held out at the back. I did my 1st 800m run without stopping. It had rained earlier and although it wasn’t raining anymore, the air was cool and it felt good to run in cooler weather.I came back inside and jump don the rig to tackle my 1st set of pull-ups. I pretty much went with little rest for the 1st 5 rounds. I then allowed myself a sip of water and went back to work. I was determined to do all my push-ups RX and as I rested on my 6th set, I inhaled deeply and could smell the very typical rain smell in the air. It calmed me down and I kept going. Rounds 7, 8, 9 and 10 were a struggle. Not so much for the push-ups as I had anticipated, but the pull-ups were slowly doing my head in. I kept staring at the bar and my head was just telling me “Nope! No more!” Thank goodness, Coach AJ and Tracey were there to tell me to get back onto the bar. I listened to them, instead of my head and keep going.

After round 10, I took another sip of water and headed out for the last 800m run. Mark and Gail came out and ran with me. We did the first 400m and I was trying to potentialize on the downhills as much as I could and tried to pick up the spreed. I was struggling. I took of for the last 400m and Mark stayed with me. I felt like telling him to go back inside, I got this (after all, he had done the WOD with a 20# vest on and had finished way before I did), but I’m glad I didn’t. He was chatting me up while I picked up the speed a little more on the downhills. On the last uphill, Mark told me to give ‘er and not save anything. My head was saying I didn’t have anything left. Once again, I listened to Mark and picked up the pace until I was running full speed and made my way back inside. Just a gentle reminder that your head will want to quit before your body does. I looked at the clock: 31:10! I was exhausted, but so proud! I was expecting this to take me an hour! Just a gentle reminder that I am stronger and fitter than I think. When you doubt yourself, trust in the people who believe and support you.

I came back home on such a high! I showered,  dolled myself up and am now ready to spend a day with my entire family. The rain has picked up now and is a gentle reminder of the fall and winter weather slowly approaching.

All dolled up and on a natural high!

 

Rain on my car and Crossfit on my mind!

I still can’t believe how much my fitness has improved in the last few months. I am stronger, physically and mentally and a tad faster too. I am also more confident in what I can achieve and it is empowering to see how much I can get done. Just a gentle reminder to trust your body more than your head. While your head will screw with you, your body will show you how strong you really are.

In other news, French Nanny (from now on, she will be Nanny) is a delight to work with. She has picked up the slack this week when temporary Nanny got sick and she has raised above and beyond the call of duty. She has cleaned up my floors more than I do myself, has done our laundry, even though it wasn’t asked of her and she plays tirelessly with the girls, so much so that they fall asleep before hitting their pillows at night. To top it all off, she woke me up with coffee in bed yesterday afternoon, after my night shift! I told Ben he had some fierce competition: she makes me coffee AND she cleans! Lol! He said she was Mary Freakin’ Poppin! I will make sure to do everything in my power so she doesn’t fly away from us. Just a gentle reminder that there are still good, loving people out there.

Feeling Accomplished

I came home last night and French Nanny had done the laundry, baked a cake and cupcakes with the girls, cleaned the 1st floor, went to the pool with the little ones and played basketball with them. I could get used to that!

I went to bed exhausted and was looking forward to sleeping in until 0600, except our smoke detector chirped twice at 0515 for no reason. Of course, nobody but me work up from he smoke detector… So much for sleeping in!

I went to the 0700 WOD this morning and was surprised to see another 0600-er! Bo had missed the WOD yesterday so he was there to do it today, just like me.

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Skill: Kipping pull-ups practice

As per Coach AJ, if we were using band, she wanted us to do strict pull-ups and work on our swing instead. I tried using the red and purple bands, but had to increase to red and blue since I couldn’t do a single rep. I managed well considering and felt good doing those. Below are my reps:

5-6-7-7-7

WOD: Deadlimp

I had done this one back in May and had used 115# for the DL and had to go down from 35# to 26# for the reverse lunges as well as do step up box because my quads were seizing back then. My goal for today was to use 120# for the DL and 35# for the reverse lunges for all rounds. I had the 26# KB next to me, just in case. Midway through, I had to resort to doing step up boxes again, for fear of face planting on the box. I ploughed through with the reverse lunges and even though I had to break them into 2 sets of 6 for most rounds, I managed all rounds with that 35#KB! I was so happy! It was the 1st time I ever managed a full WOD with weighted lunges at that weight. For some reason, I’m still pretty weak on those and they are a struggle, but I pushed through and managed to finish it all with an average of 45s rest for each intervals!

I came back home and text Kathleen about the WOD. We had been texting back and forth about it last night and she wanted to know how I fared this morning (she had done it yesterday). I love how we can be “juiceheads” together and discuss and strategize over WODs! Strong women unite! I ate myself a lovely breakfast and got to work cleaning the rest of the house that French Nanny didn’t have time to do yesterday. I managed to do that while Ben finished the laundry (Thanks Babe! You rock!) and then got cooking. I am adapting this Beef Stroganoff recipe from The Paleo Mama for my slow cooker. I used ground beef and threw the beef, onions, garlic, mushrooms and seasonings in my InstantPot and sautéd it until the beef was cooked. I then shut off the sauté function, added 1 can coconut milk, 2 tsp of vegetable Better Than Bouillon, about 1-2 tsp of arrowroot powder, and about 2-3 tbsp of tomato paste (I usually freeze my left-overs from the can flat in a ziplock bag and cut whatever I need for recipes. Today, I just threw in whatever I had left in the freezer). Turn on my InstantPot on the slow cooker function on high for 4hrs. While this is stewing and filling the house with lovely comfort-food fragrance, I prepped a cauliflower head into rice and stir-fried my “rice” in the Wok. Now, everything will be ready for me to pack into work tonight when I get up from my nap! I’ll add some frozen kale in my container when I pack it up and that will be perfect, convenient and healthy! I’ll update with a picture once everything is ready to be photographed!

The girls have been absolute angels all morning. They’ve been playing together quietly while I was cleaning and I didn’t have to discipline them once! They sure are growing up!

How Do They Do It?

I woke up and made my way to the Box for the 0600 class this morning. I was sore from my little adventures with Kathleen yesterday (Thanks for the torture! 😉 ) and I could definitely feel a very tender spot in my glutes. I looked up the WOD and was sad to see wallballs in the warm-up and squats in the WOD. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle all that squatting action with such a sore bum. Oh well, better drag that sore bum to the gym anyway.

The warm-up was ok. It was my 1st time doing wallballs in the new space on the rafters and it was an adjustment. I stopped trying after my 7th rep on the 2nd round since everybody was warming up the presses for the skill portion

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Skill: Strict press 5×3 E90s

My weights were all screwed up for this as I was looking at my push press numbers. Yeah, not doing 100# strict press anytime soon! I scaled it back down to the appropriate weight and here’s what I did. I was trying to get to 65#, but it didn’t happen:

55#-60#-65# failed my last rep – 65# failed my last rep – 62#. New PR by 2#! Lol!

WOD: Escalator 2

I was thinking of trying to do the FG1+ with 75#, but I reloaded my bar after the 1st round. It was a lot to clean from the ground and there was no way I would be able to squat that weight for 55 reps total. I lost some precious time removing the plates and settled for 65#. My SDBJ were all done at 20″, although I did a few practice jumps at 24″ and managed 3-4 without any problem. I just didn’t think I could do so after squatting and with exertion and I didn’t want to repeat a fall on my shins, so I settled for 20″. My pull-ups were all done with the red band and around round 7, I realized I could easily get back onto the bar without having to use the box or even the clip on the rig. Woot! Woot! Been waiting 2 years to be able to do assisted pull-ups with a band that offered enough resistance to help me do my reps, but without struggling to get onto the rig. Apparently, the red band or thinner is the one! 🙂 Time was called when just as I was making my way to the bar (pretty sure I was the only one left working) for my squats on the round of 9. We were to add 1 second to the 18:00 time cap for each rep missing. I ended up with 18:39 (missed all my reps for the round of 10 + my 9 squats = 39).

I was pretty bummed about my score as I felt I was totally cheating. It would have taken me much longer to finish my reps, but them’s are the rules and I did like everyone else. It’s only now that I entered my score online that I realize I, in fact, did FG1+ because FG1 was only up to 8 reps and I managed to get almost all of the 9 reps done! Yay! Not too bad after all!

I came back home and was not looking forward to the rest of my day. Ben has been leaving early everyday this week as he’s running his camps and that means I’ve been pulling extra weight with the girls. I was already exhausted from 3 WODs in 3 days and my hands have been sore and sensitive ever since I came back home this morning. I have some subcutaneous blisters from all the erg and pull-ups I’ve done this week and it means I have a hard time making a fist with my hands.

Blisters under the skin. They haven’t “popped” yet, but they are still painful

Ben must have felt something was off, he made me a coffee. The man truly knows the way to my heart. I was sad to see him leave for the day!

I managed to muster enough energy to take the girls to the playground on their scooters (that meant me having to carry both scooters and helmets back, since they refused to ride them home, lovely), make them a decent lunch and I was really hoping to be able to nap during their quiet time. I slept for maybe 15 minutes before they started screaming at one another. Nap time was over and I didn’t feel rested at all. I was sore everywhere and über grumpy. It got me thinking: how do athletes do this, day in and day out? Most of them not only train like beasts, they also need to work in order to make a living and they also have families! I had only done 3 little WODs in 3 days and my body was clearly letting me know it was done. I cannot imagine doing this 5-6 days/ week for 4-6hrs everyday! Hats off to the Games athletes!

I managed to cook some more food to prepare my return to work and I made this delicious paleo / Whole30 compliant Butter Chicken from The Primal Desire. The only modification I made was this one: dump everything in the slow cooker uncooked, set for 6hrs on high and voilà! Delicious Butter Chicken for dinner, served on top of cauliflower rice with some bell pepper.

Mandatory picture because it was delicious!

My lunch bag is packed full of Whole30 foods for tomorrow, my scrubs are out and waiting for me in the bathroom, the house is somewhat clean and I’m just waiting for the girls to be asleep before I can totally relax for the evening. Let’s pray I don’t have to wait too long!

Sorry this post is a bit late, I just didn’t have it in me to blog before now! 😉

When All Else Fails, Just Do One More Rep

I came home yesterday from an absolutely exhausting shift in the NICU. I had been busy all day, missed my dinner break and was very much looking forward to putting my feet up on the couch and devouring my dinner when I got home. The girls were both asleep and I thought I was in the clear for a relaxing evening. I showered and just as I sat with my dinner, BeZU woke up crying, so I delayed (further) my dinner and went to soothe her and give her some water. When she finally calmed back down, I stuffed food in my mouth at light speed. It was 2100 and I had lunch around 1300. Once I was done inhaling my food, I numbed myself with some mindless reality TV until Ben came home. We did our usual 10mins check-in with one another before I went to bed. I slept like a rock, despite the heat wave still in full force (30-32C in our room last night), but just before I went to bed, I looked up the WOD:

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I had vivid dreams of hang power snatches and, in my dream, I could easily do 65#, something I have yet to achieve in real life. In my dream, my reps were fluid and easy and I really nailed it. I woke up and felt like today was gonna be the day I would finally surpass 60#.

Walked in the Box this morning and found beauty in the bare space:

Early morning glory

We did the warm-up and then I had to demo the hang power snatch for everyone. Once that was out of the way, I set up my bar and my weights and got ready to tackle this:

Skill: Hang power snatch + OHS 6×1 E90s

I started with 40# and worked my way up. Once I reached 50#, I could definitely tell that it was getting heavier. I slowly feared my determination to reach 65# wouldn’t be enough for today. I did 60# and although the snatch felt challenging, the OHS felt really good. I loaded my bar with 65# and waited until it was time to go. I picked up the bar, went into the hang position and had a mental blockage. I got back up, reset the bar into the hang position and just lifted it up. I landed it in the power position, but had to do a double jump to stabilize the bar overhead. Once I did, I dipped into the overhead squat and that felt really good. Could it be that after 7 months of being stuck at 60# for any kind of snatch, I had finally broken through that barrier? Just to make sure, I put the bar down, waited a few seconds and re-did one more rep of just the hang power snatch. Surprise, surprise, it wasn’t a fluke because I got the bar back up, landed it in the power position and didn’t have to do a second jump to stabilize it this time around! Woot! Woot! I was one very happy girl!

40#-45#-50#-55#-60#-65# 65#

WOD: Jackita

I teamed up with Tracey and Kelsey for this one and everything that could go wrong pretty much did during this WOD. I set up the red and orange bands for my pull-ups (as well as a box to get myself onto the bar) and was planning on using 55# for the thrusters. Here were my reps:

• Thrusters: 8-6-5
• Pull-ups: 2-11-6

I started on the erg and rowed my 1 minute before going over to the thrusters. they felt good at 55# and I moved over to the rig for the pull-ups. I couldn’t do a strict pull-up with those bands, so I rushed back, switched the orange band for a blue one (the 1st band I could get my hand onto) and managed 2 reps before the minute was up. Not good 😦

I went back on the erg and I was breathing heavily. I went onto the thrusters and although I didn’t get as many reps as I did on my 1st round, it wasn’t too bad either. Back to the pull-up rig where I felt like I was sand-bagging the pull-ups as it was clearly too easy with those two bands. Oh well! That’ll teach me to look up what I did previously on the WOD instead of just winging it!

3rd round on the erg. I was wheezing pretty badly. I don’t know if it was because it was so humid this morning, but I had a sudden onset of asthma and I knew I didn’t have my inhaler with me. My last asthma episode was probably about 2 years ago and, although I have my inhaler in my work purse, it is probably long expired! I was really trying to catch my breath on the thrusters, but it took me a long time, hence the 5 reps. I moved onto the rig and, again, was trying to calm myself down. I know that the more I get into a panic about my asthma, the more I wheeze and the more constricted I get. I was just trying to calm down  and I was happy when it was all done and over with. I regulated my breath as best I could and Tracey helped me with her healing powers. I swear, she’s a unicorn in disguise: magical at Crossfit and in life! 😉 All in all, it was a pretty bad WOD for me and I did poorly compared to the previous time I had done this one, but I kept pushing through no matter what and, really, that’s all I can ask of myself.

I came home and then saw this on Facebook:

Burpee Punishment!

I forgot to put my bands AND my box away after the WOD. 1st time in 2 years that it happens, but I have been a space cadet over the past 2 days, to be honest. CFVC’s policy is a burpee punishment when you forget to put your equipment away. I videoed my punishment and posted it to FB so Coach Caleb would see that I kept my word, and then realized I had done only 28 burpees on the video so I did 2 more in the kitchen. Apparently, not only am I a space cadet, I also cannot count when doing burpees! 😉

I started my day slow and then got into the cleaning and laundry. My energy was dwindling by the time I finished and was glad to sit down for lunch a bit. Now, I can’t wait to go for nap before heading in to work tonight.

Where’s My Tiger Blood At???

We had a busy Father’s Day yesterday, biking downtown to the first Victoria’s Car-Free day in the downtown core. There were tons of vendors out in the streets and the girls were in heaven when they got balloons (purple ones, obviously)! I was also pretty stoked to find myself a second bikini for our upcoming trip and I also found 2nd bathing suits for the girls for the same trip as well as new sandals for Béa (her toes were curling over the sole at the front of her old ones)! Overall, it was a nice sunny day, filled with lots of people and I was glad to come back home for dinner. Let me just say, there’s isn’t much Whole30-approved when you’re out and about in the real world! I came home to cook some hamburgers with my sous-chef (Rina) and I was surprised when she asked for “Maman’s meat” for dinner. Not only did she finish her 1st serving, she asked for seconds! Victory!

I fell asleep on the couch at 2100 last night.  I woke up at 2130 and went to bed, hoping for a full night of deep sleep. Yeah, that didn’t happen. The husband came to bed before I fell asleep and he fell quickly asleep (ahem, snoring, ahem) and then Béatrice was crying because her eczema was itchy and Rina was also awake with a bad dream. I must have fallen asleep around midnight.  SLEEP FAIL!

I woke up early and grumpy for the WOD:

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Skill: Deadlift 10×1 EMOM

We were to use the last weight we had used recently on our 5×5. Mine was 135# and that’s what I used. It felt good and somewhat easy. I felt like I could have gone a little heavier on those.

WOD: Froggy

I was tempted to try this one Rx, but knowing that I had not fueled, hydrated and slept properly yesterday, I went with FG2, with 65# on my bar. I had gone into it with the plan of breaking up my front squats as such, per rounds:

• 8-7-6 (21)
• 6-5-4 (15)
• 5-4 (9)

I stuck to my plan, except on the last round where I did 6-3 before going to the box jumps. Those were slow. I knew I was the last one to work on this, but I was hoping to be closer to the pack. No such luck. I finished at 8:05 and most people were around the 4-6 minutes. I felt discouraged. I sat and mulled on the floor. Mark and I got to talking and he said: “Even though you’re last, you still lapped everyone that stayed on the couch!” I told him this was motivation enough for maybe a year, but at close to 2 years of usually coming in last and so far behind everyone else, I needed something else. He told me to go home and blog about it to get it out of my system. He knows me better than I think he does! 😉

He’s right though. He said you have two options:

• find newer, slower people you can beat
• get faster at it

I guess I’ll just have to get faster at it! 🙂

At the same time, I need to cut myself some slack. I am not Wonder Woman and I can’t do it all. I do make Crossfit a priority because I choose to. Maybe I should have a “deload week” like Kathleen suggested where I cut back on my weights. Maybe it will be easier when Rina is out of school for the summer and the girls don’t have gymnastics either. I have to say, parenting has been a challenge for the past few months and I feel like I need a break. Our little vacation in Cuba cannot come soon enough! It will be nice to not have to clean, cook, do laundry and all that crap for 7 days. I plan on getting some much deserved rest, that’s for sure! For now, I just need to get a nap. Although, I think this will have to wait as I just heard Béatrice fall upstairs…

(…)

Tracey is kind enough to host a Whole30-friendly get-together tonight and I’m seriously wondering if it would be totally inappropriate to show up in my sweat pants. What do you think?

Right, nap first, then reassess! 😉

And that’s why I show up even when not in top shape!

*Tiger blood: As per Whole30:

Days 16-27: Tiger Blood!

You’ve hit the downhill slope of your Whole30 and life is beautiful—which means different things for different people. For some (generally people who came to the program eating well, exercising regularly, and feeling pretty good to begin with), Tiger Blood means someone flipped a switch and turned on the awesome. Energy is through the roof, cravings are under control, clothes are fitting better, workouts are stronger.

For others, this Tiger Blood stage feels more like a real sense of self-efficacy. It doesn’t mean things are perfect (or even easy), but you’re proving to yourself that you can do this, things are getting better, and you’re seeing improvements (small or large) almost daily. Your energy is steadier, you’ve got a firmer handle on the cravings, and you’re experimenting with new, delicious foods.  You may notice that your ability to focus is keener, your body composition is changing, your moods are more stable, you’re stepping up your exercise, or you’re just plain happier these days.

Of course, this may not happen like magic at the halfway point. There are a huge number of factors that influence which benefits you see and when. If you’re one of those folks who has hit the halfway mark and isn’t seeing or feeling the dramatic changes others have reported*, know this: You’re not doing it wrong. If you began the Whole30 with a medical condition, a long and rooted history of unhealthy food habits, or a chronically stressful lifestyle, your “magic” may take longer to appear, and probably won’t be a “light switch” moment. Don’t stress about whether you’re feeling honest-to-goodness “Tiger Blood”—be patient, and be on the lookout for small, gradual improvements to keep

– See more at: http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/#sthash.sHD2loAh.dpuf

Ugliness

I finished work yesterday morning, went to sleep for 4hrs and then got up to take Béatrice to a Dr’s appointment (she has really bad eczema). The doctor told me to keep doing what we’ve been doing for her eczema and referred us to a dermatologist.

I came back home and was über cranky. Lack of sleep will do that to a person sometimes. I had absolutely zero patience and for about an hour or two, I had decided to take a day off Crossfit and not go in this morning. I changed my mind before going to bed, set my alarm and got up at 7am in order to take my time getting ready for the 0900 class. Rina begged to come with and although she was really clingy when I was warming up on my own before class began, she quickly cuddled Hank The Tank (Megan’s dog) on the couch. She didn’t leave his side after that! 😉

Turns out Kathleen was there too as well as Heather, Cindy and Kristin (and more people whom I forget the names, we were 12 in total). Everybody was bubbly and chatty and that gave me a little bit of energy to do this:

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Skill: Back squat 5×5 E90S, build to a heavy 5.

I had done 110# back in April and I set my goal for today to 120# with some expectation to fail at 115#. I reached my goal for today, which means a 10# PR on my 5×5! I’ll take it and that was the only good thing about today’s workout…

WOD: Runny Row Buddy

I think this is probably the one WOD I despised the most so far, even compared to 14.5 or 15.5. Maybe it’s because I was running low on sleep and recovery or because I had given so much to my back squats, but this one was UGLY!

I paired up with Kristin and started us off on the erg for 1000m while she hit the box jumps and the running. My pace wasn’t so bad on this one throughout, between 2:10 and 2:30. I then went onto the box jumps and needed to do 10 step-up ones in order to catch my breath before I was able to do them properly. At least, I kept moving. I then headed on outside for the run. It’s an out-and-back route that dips down before getting uphill just before the turnaround point. That means you dip the slope and have to go back up it just before coming back inside. Yeah, I found this one a lot harder than the one at our previous locations (uphill on the out, downhill on the back). Since I’m such a great runner (ahem, not!), I’ll have to build to it I guess! The second go around was absolutely disgusting for me. My rowing pace was between 2:30 and 2:40 and I wanted to quit after the first 200m (800m to go!) I actually took a break with only 110m to go. I kept having to close my eyes while I rowed and got so disheartened when I saw I had only rowed 100m at a time. Let’s just say Kristin got some decent rest! 😉 I went back to the box and had to do 15 step-ups this time around before I could start jumping the box jumps again. I set outside and was the last one out there. Everybody was lapping me on the way back and I made it to the turnaround point all alone. I was determined to not stop though, as hard as it was. I only stopped when a car was oncoming at the crossroad on my way back, but it was my lovely husband coming to join me so he let me go without me having to actually stop (thanks Hun!)

Kathleen came outside to cheer me on and told me to use my long light legs… I think she might need glasses! I told her I didn’t have any of these and tried to pick up the pace as much as my short thick legs permitted! I came in, looked at the clock and I was done! It’s rare that I’m really irked by a WOD, but this one, I REALLY didn’t like! I’m glad I went, but am now thinking maybe I should have used the rest day after all. One thing’s for sure, I am gonna nap on the couch as soon as I’m done with this post! 😉

I would definitely choose squatting over running ANY DAY!!!

Being Bloated Blows

Notice the nice alliteration in the title?!? Yep! That’s what you get from someone who almost finished her B.A in English Lit! Nice to see those 3 years of university REALLY paid off! Lol!

 

Yep, if you refer to the Whole30 timeline, I’ve hit the bloated stage, right on target! Bleh! My abdomen is already not the smallest to begin with, now I look like a stuffed sausage when I try to fit in my workout pants and shorts. Still, it didn’t deter me from going to the 0600 WOD for this:

Source

Skill: (Hang power clean x2 + Push press/ jerk x2) EMOM x10

I may have been bloated, but dang, I was ready for this fun stuff. My left shoulder and trap have been bugging me lately, but I still wanted to work somewhat hard on theses. I settled for 65#  and did Push jerks all the way and it felt really, really good. I felt like I could have kept going for more rounds when we were done and I managed to correct my landing on the power clean after Coach Caleb gave me tips. I wasn’t landing wider than my beginning stance and felt comfortable correcting that little thing!

WOD: Pulp

There were 14 of us so we split up into two random heats and I was into the 1st one. I decided on FG with the red and orange bands for the pull-ups and made the mental commitment to do all my HRPU Rx. Here’s how it went.

First round of HRPU I did 10, rested and then did sets of 5 to the end. My left shoulder was getting unnerved and I was happy when I was done this round. Onto the rig I went and I split up my reps as such:

4-3-3-3-3-2-2

Those were hard, I won’t lie. Back on the floor I went for my second round of HRPU:

5-5-5-5-5-5

Onto the rig I went. I split up my pull-ups like this:

2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2

I was the last one of my heat to finish (not surprisingly) at 8:44. Not bad. My shoulder was really bugging me by then and I was glad I was done. Ryan killed it doing it the Comp version with the weighted vest and Tracey was simply amazing to watch as she fought for every pull-up Rx. She was doing them with a 2-kip motion and she was out of this world!

I came back home and felt like I had a ton of energy left. I showered, made breakfast for the girls while my other half made me coffee (with Whole30 unsweetened almond milk!) and once everybody was good for breakfast, I made myself this wonderful plate:

That was the perfect breakfast. AS you can see, I had already started to eat it but still wanted to capture all the gorgeous colours of this plate! My breakfast consisted of:

• 2 eggs, over easy
• unsweetened salsa
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• my hubby-made coffee

It was perfect and it hit the spot. I have no problem getting my pre-WOD snack in (usually chicken and a few nuts) in the optimal time range, but I really struggle to get my post-WOD one in on time. It’s usually around 1hr post WOD that I’m able to sit down and get some fuel in my body. Meh! I’m a busy mom/wife and will always make sure the little ones are fed so my hubby can get out the door on time for school drop-off or gymnastics. When they’re older and more autonomous, I’ll work on getting my recovery meal in on time! 🙂

Once I was done with breakfast, I loaded up the dishwasher, finished the laundry and cleaned upstairs. That took 2hrs and then it was time for school pick-up! Phew! I think I will crash when I nap before work tonight!

 

Easter Saturday

I started my weekend with an unexpected night off from work and that made it the best night ever because it meant I could tag along with Ben and the girls for the Easter Egg Hunt he had registered them for!

I woke up early this morning and walked up to the reservoir with my trusted Duke to watch the sun rise above the clouds:

It seemed like the park had put on its Easter colour scheme to celebrate for tomorrow:

Nature does it best! Purple and yellow flowers for Easter

I came back home, cleaned up and made breakfast before we headed on out for the girl Easter Egg Hunt organized by the Rec Centre. Béa called the bunny “the Monster Bunny” so I’m not sure she was impressed with the whole thing, but I think they had fun chasing the few eggs left around:

We then went around to get some dog food and had lunch. When we came back home, it was time for the girls to nap and while Ben was taking care of the lawn and the compost, I finally came around to doing the Burpees and Double Unders workout from StayFitMom. I had to take a few breaks for the rounds of 25 and 20 burpees and I have to admit that the rounds of 50 and 40 DUs took me quite a long time with A LOT of single reps mixed in with even more whipping of the legs/butt/arms/shins in-between. I did, however, manage to string 8 DUs in a row (once) and a few 7 and 6 in a row as well, which is a new PR for me! 🙂

My cheat sheet hanging outside so I wouldn’t lose track of where I was in the WOD.

When all was said and done, it took me 24:17 to finish it all. Here’s what I looked like after:

Yep! I’m pooped!

Now the girls are up, eating candy (bedtime should be fun… NOT) and I have to go wash up before dinnertime. Hop you all have a fun-filled Happy Easter!

 

 

24 Hours

I finished work yesterday morning and had to drop my car off to the garage in order to get my bumper fixed (from the time I got rear-ended 2 weeks ago). I had to wait for a good 30mins for the rental company to come pick me up, drive me to the rental place and sign all the paperwork before driving home in my rental car. I finally get home, have a quick bath and head off to slumberland.

A measly 4hrs later, I wake up. I feel drunk and hungover all at once at 2pm. Add to that my burning sore throat and I know I’m already praying for the girls to go to bed early. I go downstairs to meet up with Nanny. She has agreed to stay until 5pm, to help me out with the girls. ❤ her! She then proceeds to tell me Rina has been complaining of an earache and still has a fever. I wait until she wakes up from her nap and we head on out to the walk-in clinic. We get there at 4:15pm, and the receptionist tells me the doctor won’t be in until 5pm. We sit down and wait. Rina seems to have a burst of energy and I find myself questioning if this is at all necessary. I decide to suck it up and get her ears checked anyway. Good thing too, she has a blaring ear infection. We walk out with a prescription for antibiotics and go get it filled at the nearby drugstore.

Upon arriving back home, Nanny opens with this:

Weird thing. When Béa woke up from her nap, she was bottom naked and I couldn’t find her diaper anywhere. I’ve turned her room upside-down and cannot find it anywhere.

I go upstairs, check her entire room and cannot locate the mysteriously vanished diaper. I do find out that BeZU has wet her bed, so I proceed to change her bedding and put everything in the wash. Nanny helps out with dinner and then takes off for the night. I clean up, wolf down dinner for myself and we all head on upstairs for our communal shower. As I get the girls undressed, here’s what I find:

Case of the mysterious disappearing diaper solved! Béa was wearing it around her waist, under another diaper AND a pair of undies. A girl can never be too safe! We shower, then relax on the couch before I put the girls down for what I hope will be  along night of peaceful sleep.

I come back downstairs, plop myself on the couch and watch The Bachelor while I knit for a little bit. I finally head upstairs to bed at 9:30pm after fighting to keep my eyes open for a good 30 mins. I fall asleep almost instantly. Such a glamorous life! Husband walks in sometime later, kisses me goodnight and we talk a little while before I fall back asleep.

1am, I get woken up by Rina walking in our room: “I can’t sleep Mommy!” Alright, climb in and go back to sleep. She keeps moving around, sniffling and couching… for the next 2 hrs before I’ve reached my limit and send her back to her own bed. I was planning on getting up at 5am to go to my Oly class, but I’m just too darn tired and sick. Ugh. Another Oly class missed. 😦

6:30am, Béa walks in, crying. I pull her into bed where she sits next to my head. After about 30mins, I feel something wet on my pillowcase and on my hand. It’s also on my shoulder. As any mom would do, I smell my hand: it smells like sh**. Literally.

I wake up at once, check Béa’s diaper and she has poop coming out of her back. Great. I pick her up, she’s crying, plop her into the bathtub where I strip her down and hose her down. We both head into the shower for a thorough rub down while Ben strips the bed for the second morning in a row. I forgot to mention BeZU puked mucus in our bed yesterday morning. I had poop on my shoulder. Yuk!

Ben puts everything in the washing machine and we head downstairs for breakfast. It’s still raining and I’m slowly getting angrier. Once breakfast is done, I head back upstairs, clean the bathtub and Ben and I fix our bed. I then do our budget for the month and tally Nanny’s pay cheque. All before 10am. I sure hope this day brightens up. At least, I have Crossfit to look up to tomorrow! The girls are now sitting quietly next to me.