Yesterday night I didn’t manage to make it to the Team In Training practice – I was just too damned tired. I did, however, make a nice dinner for H and me 😉 What can I say?

Today I met with a business colleague at the Farmer’s Market, and started noodling on my next RVMC article. I am excited about it, and will post it here. It has to do with the fact that doing things that enervate you not only take the time that you are doing them, but the time you are “thinking about” them and that they are “bringing you down,” whereas things that energize you have all sorts of benefits outside of just doing them.

Today also, I found out that Brian and Niamh – my “adopted nephew and nice” – have cross country running meets, and I really would like to go. If I do that, I’m not sure that going to Crossfit this evening is going to work. We’ll see.

Why? What else could I be doing? Funny you should ask . . .

Last night I got the Bright Idea of checking out our public library catalog online, to see if they had any language CDs. My theory is that I could copy the CDs to iTunes, then have them available for car rides, cleaning the house, etc. Not only did I find out that the library had such a thing, but that Tiburon’s library had a whole SECTION of them. I had to go to Mill Valley to pick up some Glutathione and Glutathione Recycler from my nutritionist, and Tiburon is just the next town over, so . . . I packed up my computer, and . . .

Here I am! Right now, I’m sitting in the Tiburon library, downloading language CDs. I left my phone in the car, but I think I am going to go out and get it, to just take a picture. It’s pretty funny. This is what I’m downloading:

In-Flight (Learn Before You Land) CDs – these are single CDs that are designed to be listened to while you are “flying to” whatever the country is that features that language. They do have a small “cheat sheet” of phrases in them, but supposedly each one of the CDs is self-contained (e.g., you don’t have to refer to a book), and they all have the same “chapters”: How to ask directions; How to get places; How to count; etc. The languages I have here are:
*Swedish
*Spanish
*Russian
*Polish
*Turkish
*Korean
*Hungarian
*Thai
*Japanese
*German
*Portuguese
There are others – obviously, just about every language – they just don’t happen to be on the shelves.

I also have 2 Pimsleur “Quick & Simple” ones (4 CDs each) in
*Japanese
*German
*Czech

Then I have “Living Language” in Chinese, Farsi, and both Spanish and French For Travelers (3 CDs for each language – advertised as “No Books Necessary!”); “Learn in your Car” in German; and Berlitz “Rush Hour” CDs in Italian (which looks like 3 CDs).

There was Hebrew, Greek, a few others on the shelves, but they were on audio cassette. The Swedish one just finished copying – time to “pop” the next one in . . .

When R reads this she’s going to think I’m a maniac. LAUGH! Not really – I just realized that I’m in my car, cleaning, cooking, etc. for hours every day. I figure what the heck, if I pick up ONE thing in ONE language that might help us, so much the better!

P.S.: Just went out while the Portuguese CD was copying, got my phone, and took a photo of the “pile,” which I will post at the head of this very silly post 😉

 

So I was able to watch the first episode of The Amazing Race last night.

As I have said to R, my “wish upon a star” goal right now is: (1) to get on TAR and (2) not to finish last. I figure that #2 could actually get us right on to the winning position (laugh!) – but rather than being one of those annoying “WE are SO going to WIN!” people, deciding “never to be last” is a very very good mantra.

So what was the take-away from this particular episode?

READ THE CLUES!

That’s one of those “yeah, duh” things, but right in the first episode we had three teams really blow it because they didn’t read the clues. Starting from the end, a team I think I am going to like (husband/wife ER doctors) wound up taking a cab to the final check-in, though the clue very specifically said to walk. They missed out on first place (and an Express Pass plus an Express Pass to give to another team) because they had to sit it out for 30 minutes.

In my head, I actually thought that if I’d come in “second” and seen them sitting there – and had been told by Phil that they were cooling their jets because they’d actually made it in first, but had mis-read a clue, I would have walked over and given them the other Express Pass right there. It’s supposed to be a “strategic” thing, to give it to someone and make a big political play of it, but frankly, I would have done it right then and there. Not only would it make great theatre (which is of course good), but it would have REALLY surprised them, and they actually seem determined but not too young and not full of themselves – so in some respects, a team that I probably would have liked to have helped out anyway. Obviously R would have to sign on to this decision – but I think it would have been the “right” thing to do, and would have been so dramatically great, that hopefully she would agree. Anyway – that’s what I would have done.

The “oldest couple” are a theatrical duo who play women in a play called something “Bingo.” The one guy is definitely quite heavy-set, which is interesting since all the waiver, etc. that you have to sign specifically states you have to be in like “Top 1%” shape. They came in comfortably in the middle, which was heartening.

So that was one of the “mis-reading” issues. The other one not one but two teams did. The first task (besides getting out of the U.S. and to the country) was paragliding in Chile, with the 2nd team member having to get a taxi and meet them down on the beach (note to self: Start listening to Spanish tapes in the car!) The clue said “Who Wants To Follow The Leader” – and I believe just about everyone who said “I’ll do it” thought that it would be them doing the paragliding. In fact, as the “follower” (per the title of the clue) they were actually “following” their team mate, who was the paraglider.

The next task was basically rowing a huge old boat and getting fish. The clue said that “the person who had done the paragliding” had to do that task. So that meant that….the person who had done the paragliding….had to do….the task.

Two groups got it wrong. Unfortunately, one of the two teams was already slow – they’d had to catch the 2nd plane to Chile, then there was some mix-up with the taxi getting the team mate to pick up her partner at the beach – so they wound up being eliminated way after dark. It was sad, because they’d obviously tried really hard, and just gotten a couple of “wrong turns” that knocked them out of contention. Interestingly, it was a daughter and a father (Indian – he kept telling her that Father Knows Best and that his one wish was that she’d let him arrange her marriage) – and I actually have to wonder whether they stayed within the speed limit, didn’t act crazy, etc. – because of their team “dynamic” with one another. They did wind up too late to the airport to get on the first plane (I think 5 of the 11 teams wound up in that predicament), and then for whatever reason, her taxi took way longer than any other one to get to the beach.

AND ANOTHER THING – DO WHAT YOUR INSTRUCTOR TELLS YOU TO DO.

That was a funny one – the instructors told ALL of the people who were doing the paragliding to run off the edge of the cliff and basically “keep running” until they were well into the air. The one of the “live in the woods, bearded best friends” who did the paragliding got to the edge and just sort of “sat down” imagining that the paraglider would fill with air or … whatever. So he wound up getting himself and the strapped-on instructor dragged down the cliffside, the paraglider collapsing, etc. – DO WHAT YOU’RE TOLD.

OH, AND, DON’T DISMISS YOUR TAXI UNTIL YOU COMPLETELY KNOW YOU WON’T NEED HIM ANY MORE.

There is a team that are calling themselves the “Afghanimals” – young buck Afghani background guys – and they dismissed their taxi, as did the gals that they are calling their “wives” (pretty gross actually – I don’t like it) – who are ice “cleaners” (“Ice girls”) for some hockey team. There is another pair of gals, but they are baseball wives. All 3 of these pairs dismissed their taxis, then the guys called for TWO taxis – for them and “their wives” (but specifically NOT for the baseball wives). BOTH pairs of the women started walking down from the paragliding place, whereas the guys just “waited for the taxis” and were trying to get “their wives” to “wait for the taxis” with them. What happened? Of course! The taxis came up, and both groups of women snagged them – so the guys got all bent out of shape because “the baseball wives” stole “their” taxi. Oh Puh-leeze. Karma’s a b*tch, and if you call for a taxi for only TWO teams, who do you think karma is going to bite in the *ss? (I think actually the guy that they’d asked to call for “two taxis” called for three, because there WAS another taxi coming up the mountain to the paraglider port so the guys DID get a taxi, but it was pretty funny how them trying to “game” the baseball wives bit them IMMEDIATELY in the *ss.)

So who are the teams? Let me see if I can remember. The Indian father/daughter are now gone (he was around 60, I actually think he was an ER doctor as well as the couple who are BOTH ER doctors – she was probably late 20s/30). There are the baseball wives (late 20s) (2), the Afghanimals who are I think cousins (late 20s) (3), the hockey ice girls  from L.A. (is the hockey team the Kings?) (early 20s) (4), two guys who are oil riggers from like Oklahoma, and one of them’s wife is very sick so that’s why he wants the $ (late 20s) (5), the theatre guys (I’d say the heavier one is 60, the skinnier one is 50 – think like Lou Costello and Don Knotts) (6), the ER doctors (early 40s) (7), a couple who used to date but “hate each other” but “can’t get enough of one another” (he thinks she’s a nag, she thinks he’s stupid – she’s beyond annoying) (30s) (8), a either dating or affianced couple from the Boston area (30s) (9), the bearded backwoods guys from Chico (early 30s) (10), a football player duo (the one guy was a football player, he went to a grocery store and told the bagger to “get his big self” into football and they wound up both on the same team – Houston I think – that was a pretty funny story!) (early 30s) (11) oh, oops that would be the father/daughter (I forgot to number them).

In an hour is Crossfit, but the WOD isn’t up on the site. Hmmmm. I’m sore from yesterday, but still REALLY excited I was able to do those “candlesticks.”

On a separate note, I was able, after doing some other errands, to accompany H to the East Bay and order the 4 tons (!!) of stone that we need for the patio area. So that’s done and done 😉

 

I have to remember to get some sort of “counting app” for my computer – every time I go to write a blog post on our “365 days to TAR” I have to go back and physically figure it out from the calendar. Duh. I also have to say right off the bat here that TAR started on Sunday, but I don’t think I will get a chance to watch it until tonight (Monday) earliest – and probably not until H works out of the city. R recommended just pulling it up on my computer and watching from there – so that might be a great way to do it sooner than I can on the actual TV.

Saturday: Day 31 * Sunday: Day 32 * Monday: Day 33

Saturday was our “longest run” for Nike. I went out with the 6:40 a.m. group, and basically took photos – Golden Gate Park is so pretty! I went down into the park and looped back (doing a fartlek training through the sprinklers!), then back down the beach, and I turned around at Lincoln and back. I’ve gotten quite “laissez-faire” about running as you can see – I’m pretty much exhausted by all the marathons I’ve done in the past year, and as I “know I can go the distance” (and I’m not interested in winning any prizes!). I ate a bunch of crap that they had there – bagels and such – though I know I gotta knock that off. Been reading It Starts With Food, which is a super duper book on the whole inflammation, etc. part of gaining weight. Very much what my nutritionist hammers on about 😉

Sunday was the Hero 5K, though I volunteered for it, then went to the Thelen Reunion Picnic. Ate crap (at both) and WAY too much wine (at Thelen) – bad, bad bad. I know better. Woke up Monday morning at like 2:00 a.m. with cotton mouth from not drinking “a glass of water with each glass of wine” – I’m not quite sure what’s the matter with me in that I love the wine – until I don’t.

Monday (today) was Crossfit. The WOD was:

8 RFT
25 Squats – Anthony told me I could scale, so after the first 2 rounds I did 20
200M Run
10 Dead Lift 70/45KG – I did this with the bar one heavier than orange, and then 2 of the lightest plates on it
1 Rope Climb – “scaling” for this was to walk yourself down the rope until you were lying down, then to walk your hands back up, 3x, so you’re using your legs to help you “climb up” with your hands. This is called a “sitting” climb.

I can’t remember my time, though I was a round to a round and a half after everyone else finished – but that was okay because I did it 😉 I know that it was minutes :58 – meaning like I did it in 36:58 – when doing the final “up” on the rope climb all I cared about was that the minutes didn’t tick over!

The warmup was 100 single unders, then 3x 10 wall squats (I did regular), 10 pullups (I did these from the floor, jumping up to the lowest bar – I didn’t get my chin over each time, but I didn’t feel like dragging a box over), 10 “candlestick rolls” (more on that in a second), then 30 seconds “hang” with feet locked, from the rope. I still suck at that. My issue is really that these ropes aren’t “seasoned” so they are very slick – so even though I jump up, my hands slide down. I’ve mastered the 30 second “lock” ONE time so far. I asked H for a rope for a present – yes, I really did! If I can work on the foot lock, plus work on the “seated” rope climb,” I will feel a lot happier. This is one of the few things in the box that I just can’t do – I mean, sure, I can’t do a LOT of things, but they are “scaled” for me. This you can’t scale on. (Similar to holding yourself up on the rings, or doing the toes-to-bar – there just isn’t a “scale” for those.)

The “candlestick rolls” were actually really great. One thing Herbert said to me over the weekend was how much he’s noticing that Crossfit is ALREADY changing his abilities to do things. For example, as I mentioned, he tweaked his back going too heavy on Friday. So, to sit down or reach something, he has to do basically a squat with his back straight – he couldn’t bend from his back. He said that the thing that was so interesting to him was that before doing Crossfit he doesn’t feel that he could have “done that” – sort of “Sumo squatting” for the floor.

That’s how I felt doing these candlestick rolls. When Anthony showed us what they were, I thought “oh, that’s not going to work….” What you do is you stand on the edge of a gymnastics matt, and you squat down with your feet together as far as you “like” basically, then you “fall backwards” onto you back, using your momentum to throw your legs up – so that at the apex of the move your legs are straight up in the air (hence the “candlestick” moniker), then you go back the other way, using the momentum of your legs thrown forward to stand back up on your feet.

HERE is a video of it.

I was POSITIVE that there was no way in the world I’d be able to stand back up. I was also fairly sure I couldn’t get “low enough” in the front squat, so I was envisioning rolling back basically starting from about 1/2 way up in the air (oof!)

Well, I’m here to tell you that NOT ONLY could I do it all, but I did it really just like the guy in the video. I could get my butt all the way down, I could do the roll, and then I could GET BACK UP! Now, I was grunting like a little piglet as I did it (hey, it helps!), but I could DO IT. I really can’t believe it. Since it was 3x around, that means I did 30 of them.

Also on the deadlift, the most I’d ever lifted was the “swirly” dumbbell bar, and no plates. I asked Karen (the very slim blonde gal – she scales, but she’s been doing Crossfit for 3 years) what to use, and she suggested I do the bar that’s one heavier than the orange bar (which is by far heavier than the “swirly” bar which is only 10 lbs.), plus a couple plates. She said when she started she did like 70 lbs. for her deadlift but hurt her back, and so she was down at like 35. I’m not sure how much weight each of the varying bars are – I actually might mention to Bo that it would be great if the “colors” were posted somewhere (like they are for the jump rope lengths) so that it would be easy to pick a bar or a kettlebell. (I’m not exactly clear whether the kettlebell colors and the dumbbell bar colors are the same – e.g., if an “orange” wrapped dumbbell bar and an orange wrapped kettlebell are let’s say both 20 lbs.)

So I was also proud of myself about the deadlift with a “real” bar (not the swirly bar) and “real” plates (albeit they were the lightest ones).

Afterwards, one of the “athletic girls” (Traci) happened to have heard that I had run that past weekend, and mentioned she was bummed she couldn’t run because she was having a hip issue. I mentioned the Supple Leopard book to her and am going to bring it in for her to borrow. Then, Margo, Karen (the slim blonde “scaling” gal) and another gal whose name I don’t know (she looks a lot like Traci) were talking about a business venture they’re going to do with The Cave (fruit leathers) and asked my opinion about a few things – then I asked what “they did in real life” and none was a business/attorney person – I said that’s what I was and they just about fell over, asking it tomorrow I could be in on a meeting with them at 11:00 at The Cave because The Cave was helping sponsor their venture (somehow). I said I couldn’t, unfortunately, but told them to write me so that I could be in the loop. I also said that if The Cave is going to be part of their venture, instead of payment, maybe H and I could get our memberships in lieu of $$. That would be great because then we wouldn’t have to pay taxes on the income, plus we wouldn’t have to pay for Crossfit in post-taxed dollars. We’ll see how that goes – pretty funny/serendipitous! Hopefully they will email.

Now, once again, I have missed yoga class. I feel like I have to stop doing work trade (I think I said that last week), but I was going to tell Gail I had to quit last week and she’d brought me in a book to borrow and stuff and I just felt like I couldn’t do it. Not good – and H is pissed because he wants me to go with him to the East Bay to go and look at some stone for the entry area, and since I can’t do it tomorrow (doctors’ appointments basically all day) and he can’t do it Wednesday, he’s all bent out of shape that “it won’t be for another week.” This is the one thing that frustrates me – when he comes in and says “we have to do X now” but then gets pissed if I have something in my calendar.

I think we’ve made it that after my doctors appointments (which go from 11 to 3) I will text him and then we will meet somewhere and go from there. Not sure what that means in regards to Crossfit tomorrow evening with Bo, but I guess I’ll just bring my clothes with me in the morning.

I’m already feeling tight from the WOD today. I was doing the squats on slightly uneven ground (we set up the deadlifts outside facing the mountain), and I think that’s why one side feels tighter than the other. When I got to about round 5 I realized I was doing that, and went and did the squats in another place. Because I have to hold onto a vertical to do them, I had been doing them on the “lip” of the garage door, so one foot was a small bit higher than the other. I just went and found another spot where both would be on the same “edge” of the lip – but my right side of my lower back isn’t happy. Not bad, just “I can feel it.”

Man, Ibuprofen should purchase stock in Crossfit – or vice versa!!!

POSTSCRIPT: I did find a “count up” calendar timer app (all the ones I could find were “count down”!) – so I installed it on my phone and more importantly my tablet. It’s so funny that there aren’t “apps” for the “computer” per se – probably there are if I had Windows 8, but I don’t. So at least I’ll be able to plug in the date that “Day 1” was, and have it easily accessible on my tablet. Heck, maybe I will do a “count down” one, too 😉 (I have a count down app that I like, which I already use on my tablet and phone, but I am not “counting down” to anything right now so not using it.)

Just came back from Crossfit and HAD to post. I think the main reason I HAD to post is that I had a BLAST today (whilst – ahem – H lifted too heavy and has tweaked his lower back, so I can’t be excited in his presence).

Today was a warmup of 400 m run, then 3x 5 pullups (I did them off a box on the middle bar – a little too high, but I practiced really extending my arms straight like I’m supposed to) + 10 pushups (on the parallel bar for me) + 15 squats (holding vertical bar – man these exhaust me)…then I think it was leg swings and shoulder rolls.

The WOD was:

 

6 RFT
400M Run
12 OHS 45/30k
12 SDHP 45/30k

I did 500m row on 10 (hardest), because I have the long run tomorrow for the Nike Marathon – our last long run before taper. (How did THAT happen! Dang the marathon is in like 2 weeks!); then 12 overhead squats, but I used the red “power band’ instead of a bar, because even the 10 lb bar was too heavy for me to do it, then SDHP is “Sumo Dead Lift High Pull” – I did that first with the 10 pound bar, then that was a little too easy so after 2 rounds I asked Bo to swap it out for the orange bar (not sure how much more that is, but it’s more 😉 )

I did it all in something like 24:44 or 25:44, now I can’t remember.

The idea of using the red “power band” held like a “bar” and pulling it tight is that this works on the mobility/stability of my shoulder. It’s still really hard for me to squat  to any depth at all “unaided.” I got down as far as I could, but it’s not that far. The idea of the overhead squat is you have (ultimately) a barbell in sort of the “crease” of your pelvis, if you’re standing up (as in, lean forward, and it’s between your navel and your pubic bone). You want to have your arms straight the whole time, so you hold the bar as wide as you can but still be able to get it over your head with your arms straight. You go from holding it at that “crease” spot, then up and squat down, so your arms are straight up over your hips, but that puts your hands behind your head (if your hands were in front, gravity would pull the weight down). I’ve done this before but just with PVC pipe – the coolest part is that when you look at someone doing it, it looks like their shoulders should rip off backwards (pleasant…), but that “behind the head, arms straight, palms facing forward” position is VERY stable and fairly comfortable.

The “Sumo Dead Lift High Pull” means that you have your hands close together in the middle of the bar and your feet pretty wide apart. You squat down, keeping your back straight and chest forward (like a Sumo wrestler) and grab the bar with your palms backwards. You lift it up to your chin (so that’s the “high pull” part) and then back all the way down. You’re “helping” with your legs and hips of course. So the idea being that you get it up with the right “tempo” so that you are doing it with your legs mostly.

Because I didn’t have any weight on my bar I didn’t go all the way down to the ground, because everyone else did it with a bar with weight plates in it – meaning they could “grab the bar” about a foot off the ground (if that makes sense – whereas my bar was just flat on the ground). I still had to go down to that “a foot off the ground” level tho – I couldn’t just stop in a high-ish squat – I had to “go Sumo.”

I was really proud of myself asking Bo to get me a heavier bar. I asked him to leave the lighter one there for one round “just in case,” but when I did the round with the heavier one I knew I could finish with it, so I asked him to take it away. That felt good. It’s also important to me that Bo knows I’m not “sandbagging” – especially as so much of this I have to do with something like a PVC pipe or like 5 pounds when everyone else is doing 40 or 50. You never know when you first meet someone if they’re “just trying to get by” or are really going for it. I want it to be clear that, even though I’m lifting a PVC pipe, I’m “going for it.”

All the ‘regulars’ (but Margo – but she was doing the Rx!) finished before me, then I finished before Herbert and the 2 new guys I don’t really know their names yet. The best part was that when Margo was doing her OHS and I was finishing my SDHP, Jimmy and Michael were yelling for us – GO MARGO! and GO SANDY! I loooooooooove that. I loved in the beginning that no one bothered me – and you there are folks that work out there that aren’t part of the “bantering” etc. They come in, do the WOD, and leave, and it’s all good. But once you start playing with the dogs outside, or joking a little with folks, or handing people chalk, or whatever, they realize you “want to” be part of the “gang” and they make you part of the gang. I really like that about this box, because at first I wanted to be invisible (smile), then a few WODs later, I wasn’t in Panic Attack Mode about the whole thing, so I played with the dogs (first dogs…then people LOL) – and now we’re where we are. H doesn’t really talk to anyone, and so they don’t really talk to him – same place I was in in the beginning. Well – not quite true – he talks to the couple guys who are newer than he is. I think that’s a fairly standard “pecking order” thing – I did the same, I didn’t talk to the “super duper fit amazing” athletes there at first, I just stayed out of their way, and talked more with folks finishing or running somewhat close to my time. (Of course they were going Rx and I was scaling, but let’s not quibble over details!)

One gal – the super skinny blonde – said to me today “This is just a new box for you, right? You did Crossfit before?” And I said, no, I’d started whenever I had – couple weeks ago. She said I was a Natural. That made me feel WONDERFUL (I mean, of course it would, right?)

I’ve been using a lacrosse ball to work on the back of my calves as per the “Supple Leopard” book, which is paaaaainful but Bo has been making a point that my ankles and calves (and of course the dang shoulders/knees) are super duper tight and I have to work them EVERY time.

So that’s my check-in.

P.S.: As you can see, Raja fixed the blog so I can insert media – yay! And it is SO MUCH EASIER than it’s ever been. He’s the BEST WordPress guy EVER!

P.P.S.: TAR starts in 2 days!

P.P.P.S.: HERE is a super blog post from a blogger that I read about banishing negative self-talk. I really quite like this one. Take a read.

Tuesday (Day 27), Wednesday (Day 28), Thursday (Day 29)….

I’m having my resident WordPress guru work on my ability to  be able to “add media” and spruce up these posts with photos, but for now I’m stuck with just text and linking out to websites.

Hm. So Tuesday I had a much-needed appointment with my chiropractor, who unjammed my pinkie finger from an ill-caught Crossfit “wall ball” (he’s pretty flexible…maybe I could pack him …), three law-related meetings, then Crossfit with Bo (and Herbert) in The Cave. There was also a “new guy” there – big black dude, probably late 50s, definitely had the “old pro football player” vibe going. I didn’t get his name. (He did ask me at the end how long I’d been doing this, and I told him – he said “And..?” and I said “It still sucks” and he broke out laughing and said “HEY you’re supposed to say ‘it gets easier!’ ” which was pretty funny as I was standing there trying not to puke…)

We did whatever the warmup was, then we were supposed to do:

8 RFT
400M Run
10 Thruster 45/30KG

A “thruster” is when you bring the barbell up to your neck/resting on your shoulders in a squat, then as you come up “out” of the squat, you push the bar up over your head.

I tried to do it with the 10 lb. bar and was unable to. So I picked up the PVC pipe to do it with that – to which H made snarky comments – and then remember what I’d said obviously the LAST time he’d made snarky comments and shut up (smart boy).

Bo told football-guy and H that they would do 25 minutes, as many as they could instead of the 8 RFT. I could do what I wanted. He also gave me 2 5 lb. dumbbells, and I had to put them up at my shoulders while squatting (palms facing in), and then as I came up out of the squat push and press them up over my head (palms still in). I could do that, so that is what I did for “thrusters.”

I wound up doing the whole thing in 25:36, which make me feel good. I think the “boys” did 6 rounds. It was SUPER DUPER windy outside, and so I told H when I passed him on one of the 400s that he had to run the other direction – otherwise when you came down on the “long side” of the building you were pushing hard against the wind. The warmup had included a 800 meter, where I’d been running the “usual” direction and ran smack into that wind and decided that was a BAD idea for the RFT!

Tuesday night after the workout I got the chills and really REALLY felt like crap, also likely to do with a virus I’m dealing with and I didn’t have the meds for (got them Wednesday morning). I took a jug of protein drink to bed, and then H made me chicken soup and rice, the sweetie.

Tuesday late my law school had contacted me that they had had 2 people “bail” (turned out ultimately to be 3!) for a transactional law panel and they were “hoping against hope” I could do it. Luckily, I could, and that also put me in the city to do the Team In Training/Wednesday evening workout. (Funny part of that is that I changed out of my “lawyer duds” before going to the workout but I still had my makeup on, earrings, hair up – I must have had 5 people go “Whoa, what’s the model look, sis?”)

Wednesday morning Crossfit was a bit odd because I drove up and none of the garage doors were open – I thought I’d “missed a memo” – but it was because of the wind. Bo was there, not Anthony.

We did whatever the warmup was (you probably are wondering why I can’t remember, especially because the warmups are always at least 20 minutes and involve things like pushups, etc. It’s because The Cave actually LISTS the actual WODs on their website, but not the warmups. So I can cheat and look at the WODs, but I have to remember the warmups).

Then the WOD was 21 minutes AMRAP

400 m run, 20 box jumps, 50 foot “worm.”

OK so on the box jumps, I did it on the gym mats folded up as I had before, and Bo said that “soon” we were “going to have to get me onto a real box.” Which was a nice thing to say since I suck at practically everything. Margo – one of the gals – commented that I “sure have a lot of race Tshirts that I wear,” and I said well, they give them to you at the end of the race and they’re technical shirts, so pretty much all I have in my closet. She was DUMBFOUNDED (kinda funny) and said – “WAIT, you’ve DONE all those races?!?” And I laughed and said – um, yeah, that’s why I have the shirts…?!?!? I think because I TOTALLY and COMPLETELY SUCK at Crossfit she – and perhaps all the other participants (I’m really the only newbie in the morning) – thought I’d … um… bought them? Anyway I assured her that I was slow, so it’s not like I WON any of these races….

And – The Worm. Lord. What that means is that you start out in “Downward Dog” position (butt up, piked). Then you walk your hands out as far as you can. The super people could walk them out even farther than their heads. (Arms and legs have to stay straight.) I could get mine to “plank” position (straight under my shoulders). Then, you walk your feet up to your hands. Then you walk your hands back out. For 50 feet.

If your ankles, calves and hip flexors are stiff or completely locked (like, for example, mine) you basically are trying to slide your feet little baby inches up towards your hands in the 2nd 1/2. The “arms back out” isn’t so bad – just tiring – but the feet up is AWFUL. (Go ahead, try it. I’ll wait. Just go across the room. No, no worries – I’ll wait….)

My worm sort of looked like this: (a) put my hands on the floor at the line. Walk my hands out until they were under my shoulders – so I’m in “plank” on my palms and the tips of my shoes. (Arms and legs must move separately, and must remain straight.) (b) rest a bit in plank, elbows locked. (c) sweat. (d) stare at floor. (e) pike up to downward dog. (This was essential. Everyone else just started walking their feet forward from their flat-out position. No could do.) (f) slide each foot forward about 4″ at a time, until feet were close enough to hands so that if I went forward any more, I’d have to take my hands off the ground (another no-no). (g) rest a bit. (h) sweat. (i) groan. (j) repeat.

I could see a little evil number like this being in TAR. I wonder how soon – now that CrossFit has become SUCH a big deal internationally – it’s going to be before TAR heads to a CrossFit in, like, Australia. I can totally see it. They did the muscle pose-down, why not something like a worm race? (NOT LIKE I’M SUGGESTING ANYTHING HERE!)

So, how many did I get? Three rounds. It was 20 minutes when I hit the end of the third round, so Margo and I headed out for one more run “before time was up” – she made it in, I got in in 21:12 though Bo let me keep it. (I was just about ready to throw up, that’s for sure – that last run did me in but I needed to do it, because I needed to prove I was “game.” Even the super-duper fit blonde, whose name I still don’t know, who was out on the rower when Margo and I headed back out shouted “Go Margo!” and then “Go Sandy!” which felt WONDERFUL. No one else went out for a final round.)

Everyone else did like 5-6. Yeah, well, so sue me, what can I tell you. Doing that last run was important to me. I also TRIED to catch Margo, and on the backside she literally just sprinted away from me. I didn’t have any more gas in my tank at all.

The thing that this is totally teaching me (besides humility…) is the truth of an old adage. The old adage is that you basically are going to be as “X” as the 10 people you hang out with the most. So you’re going to be as wealthy, as smart, as fit, as “X.” Well, the 10 people I hang out with the most are not that particularly healthy. I mean – H and I both know it – and have “complained” about it – for years. I spend 85% of my time with him – and not only does he hate to exercise, but he hates to “eat right” and all that jazz. Sure, once he gets on a bike, or on a hike, he really does like doing it (same as me), but he HATES to “stay in shape” and will do just about anything to avoid it.

Heck, look at my background! I mean – EVERY year in grammar school I’d try to convince my dad – at some point or another – that I was “too sick” or “too injured” to do gym class and to “write me a doctor’s note.” And I went to a Catholic school – so we’re NOT talking “regular gym and recess” here. It was low level to start. (However, the “main” gym was gymnastics and swimming. And I was SO allergic to those that they would give me panic attacks at the grand old age of like 8. So though the swimming itself was fine, I still cannot dive into a pool, and I can’t even do a rudimentary movement that is gymnastic. Granted I was always 2 heads taller and a lot gawkier/clumsier than the other girls, but to this day anything that smacks of “balancing” or “putting my feet over my head” or my “blood rushing to my head” pushes me into Fear Factor.

ANYWAY – H grew up in Europe and didn’t HAVE gym at all – and all the better for him to be in the library (yeah, that sounds familiar).

So back to that adage. I would have to say of the people that I see regularly, Trish is DEFINITELY in better shape than I am – though mainly because she’s kept training hard since we first met (Lavaman run-up last year), whereas I did my usual “fall off” from training. It’s interesting, because I actually beat her in, when we did Lavaman, because she ran out of gas on the run – but now she’s 10x more fit than I am. (And that there shows to go ya’ that you CAN do it if you just keep at it…) But other than Trish, I don’t think, really, that ANYONE I hang with is even “fit-ish.” Oh – Kat – but she’s a new friend (and it’s her fault I’m in Crossfit.)

And that’s been the problem. Since I’m probably (not meant in ANY sort of bragging way!) the “fittest of the bunch” I’ve kinda started thinking of myself that way.

Until now.

Which, I have to say, is GOOD. I don’t think I REALLY realized JUST how dramatically sucky my fitness was, because I was congratulating myself that Hell, I can run a marathon and touch my toes, and no one AROUND me can do that, and they all think I’m the bomb, so I must be.

Ha Ha Hardee Har Har.

Oh – so the workout today – which I WILL GO TO (she says . . . H just bailed, but he said he’d go tomorrow) is:

15 RFT
100M Run
6 DB Hang Squat Clean 40/25lb
8 V-up

A V-up is a situp where you touch your toes and your hands together, so you sit up in a “V” (so your toes wind up – legs straight – sort of over your stomach – I know you can imagine it… you start from flat). Don’t know what a hang/squat/clean is.

SO, one thing I just realized I’d forgotten is that I DID run with the Team yesterday – but I was exhausted, and I wasn’t really able to do the core workout. And when I got home, which was late, I just dragged my sorry ass up to bed.

And now I’m thinking – I think I might NOT go to Crossfit tonight (in an hour). Why? Because I think that I need to make H a nice dinner tonight, since it’s been since, like, SUNDAY. (Yikes.)

Now, mind you, the housecleaner comes in like 10 minutes – which means I need to clear out. I think I will go for a hike or a run. And bring a podcast to listen to.

Then H and I will go to Crossfit tomorrow morning.

AND ABOUT THE SHOES:
R and I have been going back and forth on email about “packing things.” We both realized we have to bring reading glasses (or we won’t be able to read the directions – classic – we’d be just standing at the pole waiting for someone to read where we have to go <snark>).

Then she was asking about hikers – I really discovered this past weekend that lighter “sneaker/hikers” work – and will be run-able but also give traction, and not be too heavy. Mine are Vasques, and though they do have the potential to make my big toes smash on the front (versus my big hiking boots which are ankle-high so hold my toes “back”), tying the shoelace behind my ankle seemed to help this past weekend. Then I said that I thought we should get some flat black, fold up, ballerina shoes (a la Tieks) and also have a “balls up to nothing” little black dress “just in case” – and then have some Keen’s – like the gals have at the swim pull-out at Ironman Louisville – they give you traction, can go in/out of water, and have a heel and also a toe cover so you can’t “stub your toe” like you can with something like Tiva’s. These (and hiker/sneakers) DO need to be broken in – the Keen’s especially broken in FIRST with socks, THEN in bare feet (if planning to wear in the water).

We also discussed having swim goggles 😉 I said we’d also need at least one special pair of scorpion-plucking gloves between us, but R sent the following email:

Maybe we can use those ballerina flats for picking up scorpions. Fold them in half and use them like tongs.

BEST EMAIL EVER!

I also mentioned that in re hiking sneakers and snow and such, that gaiters would be the best idea in my opinion, R said that she agreed and had been reading this: http://friends.backcountry.net/m_factor/footwear.html

Now I must scurry out of my “was shopping at the farmer’s market then sat down on the couch for the past eight hours on my sorry *ss to wade through email) Jam’s World sundress, get into some walking/jogging/podcast-listening clothing, and jet!

 

Thursday (Day 22); Friday (Day 23); Saturday/Sunday (Days 24/25); Monday (Day 26)

Thursday: On Thursday, we went up to the Mountain Home Inn, where we were staying for our anniversary and my birthday. Unfortunately, it was quite expensive and the physical “plant” of the inn was last refurbished in 1985 (yes, really). H was pretty pissed off. But what are you going to do? It’s a great “launching point” for hiking, etc.

This entire week I have been completely idiotic in my eating. I mean, anniversary/birthday, whatcha gunna do? I haven’t drunk this much wine and champagne in months and months and months. I’m writing this on Monday, and I’m back on track. Well – I mean, after the morning treat of apple pastry and hand-whipped cream hizzoner brought to me, as I lolled in bed trying to get it together after Crossfit this morning. I know, what can I tell you – ??

Thursday, we walked down to Mill Valley from The Mountain Home Inn (TMHI) down the Dipsea stairs. If you don’t know the Dipsea stairs, HERE is a link. TMHI is at Edgewood and Panoramic – so if you look at the photos, just scroll down until you see where it says “Edgewood and Panoramic” and then scroll back up. (We were walking that part of the Dipsea “backwards”). We went to a nice Italian dinner at d’Angelo’s, then we called a cab to take us back to TMHI. We of course wound up with an insane cab driver who talked nonstop about the “Patriarch” Act…he kept turning around in his seat to be “sure” we were listening, so I just made listening noises to keep him from driving off the edge of the curvy crazy road. H thought it was hilarious.

So Friday we were going to take a “short” hike from Muir Woods (about 2 miles or so from The Mountain Home) to Stinson Beach, using the Dipsea Trail (so the idea is to now go to the same link above, and skip over the little bit from where you left off, and pick up where it says “Muir Woods Road – that’s where we started from, heading to the end of the Dipsea). I’m not sure exactly HOW H thought that the whole thing was going to be like three miles, but it was Gilligan’s Island hike. And OMG there were as many stairs as on the “front” side! I had my 2 walking sticks that H had gotten for me, which were awesome – not sure (will need to pay more attention) if I would “need them” during TAR. In the end H was super duper sore not only from the hike but also from the Crossfit from Monday and Tuesday, so he used one of the sticks and I used the other.

I had discovered on the walk down from TMHI to Mill Valley the night before that my left shoe (smaller foot) actually rubs my big toe – think that the shoe has to be a little “too big” on the left side to fit the right. I tied my laces back and around my ankle on the left side to keep the hiking shoes from slipping, which worked fairly well. I also used a bandaid on the blister that had started to come up – NOTE TO SELF – MUST HAVE BANDAIDS!

The “Plan” had been to get to Stinson Beach and eat lunch then hike back, but just as he FINALLY hit town (after commenting that perhaps we should have brought out Passports as “obviously” we had walked to freakin’ Canada) it started to rain. We went to The Sand Dollar and I got a rum and Coke to H’s wine, we split a bunch of stuff including a burger with blue cheese AND bacon AND mushrooms, and H smartly thought to check the bus schedule – 10 minutes later we were on the bus going back to TMHI. Only $2.00 each! That’s one of the bus schedules that is “on the chopping block” H said – basically because it goes from the boondocks to nowhere – but wow we were sure glad it was still running!

So we got back to TMHI and – surprise! – our car was still back at Muir Woods! H was really looking grey – he was super hurting from the Crossfit, where I think he over-exerted himself the 2 days he did it, plus the hike. I told him to take ibuprofin (which he didn’t do – opting for wine instead LOL), and I said I’d go get the car.

Now THIS is a HUGE thing for us. H ALWAYS is the one to do stuff like that. I would have to say in the 14-plus years we have been together, I have done this . . . . um . . . . well, you see. He’s always the one to do it. Which is immensely chivalrous and all that, but he really looked bad and I of course was thinking TAR/push your limits.

So I grabbed my iPod, walking sticks, and headset, and off I went.

The trails were cut off, blah blah – there were some “dramatic” moments (basically I decided to not pay attention to a “trail closed” sign because it was literally the only way to get down the mountain without spending 2x as long going all the way back and around) – but I did it. The funniest part was as I basically “slid” down a closed path to the pavement in Muir Woods – because they’d removed the stairs – a guy and his daughter were looking at a sign, and I surprised them . . . sort of Bond-esque . . . I said to him “Um, which way is out?” and he pointed to the Left – I had NO idea how to get out of Muir Woods, as the paths there turn back on themselves. He thought that was hilarious. He and his daughter were looking at a map, and he said “Where’d you come from?” and I looked and where I’d come from was literally off the map. So I sort of waved in the air over it and said “Um, here.”

My “goal” was to make it down to Muir Woods and get the car and get back in as close to 1/2 hour as I could. So basically what I did was “run/hiking” – I used the sticks almost as you would in cross-country skiing, and ran (yes, in my hiking shoes). So that looked pretty funny to the tourists in Muir Woods, I’m sure. Doing this was great though especially on the (ahem) part of the trail that was closed, because there were roots, divots, etc. and of course it just dropped off to the right. I realized that if I kept my eyes to the path, I wasn’t that bothered by the drop off.

I made it back to TMHI in very good time (pretty doggone close to the 1/2 hour), and the bartender commented on it. H had already set up champagne in our room, so I took a shower and we had that, then we went to dinner up in the dining room.

The next day, we were SUPPOSED to do our long hike – but it was POURING. It had been pouring all night, and the ceiling was basically soaked through in the bathroom of our suite (as in, it’s going to come down soon if they don’t get it fixed). So they brought out buckets – and H and I went somewhere (forget!) and then had late lunch at Piatti’s, which he’d never been to. By then the weather had cleared, which was great. We had a “picnic lunch” of pate, etc. in our room – and I ate WAY WAY too much in celebration of our anniversary/birthday, what can I tell you!

OH, I remember what we did – we went to Joseph Smith’s and did the 1/2 hour hot tub and then an hour long massage each. His masseur basically pointed out how f*cked up his muscles were, and my masseuse and I tried very hard not to dissolve into giggles as H groaned through the hour. His masseur actually MADE him agree to taking a “bolus” of ibuprofen – and between that and the massage he was MUCH MUCH better by the next day. MUCH.

Sunday, Mom and Dad came up and we had breakfast together at TMHI, then went to the Mill Valley Arts Festival. Still eating and drinking way too much. Came back home, and had to laugh as I made my own birthday dinner (Sunday was actually my birthday) of my roast chicken recipe, brussels sprouts, and Japanese sweet potatoes, plus tiramisu (a little one from United – like a “muffin” sized one). We had gone to lunch at The Blue Rock/Left Bank for lunch, which was nice, and it was a GLORIOUS day. The reason I laughed at my dinner was that R had said that she was “not going to allow me” to bring my grandma’s cast iron skillets with me on TAR – and of course, that’s my “secret weapon” for my chicken and sprouts! So that gave me a good grin.

Today the warmup was 100 jumping jacks – which I did 40 of and it hurt my shoulder too much so I quit and did 500 m row. Then it was 3x 10 squats/10 kips/10 pushups – I did the squats of course holding on, but I feel like I’m better, and the pushups on the parallel bars. My shoulder really sucks. The masseuse worked on it HARD and I think she made some progress. I have to make more appointments for that – I have 10 with Kathryn, time to use them.

The WOD was 10 x (200m run, 10 wall balls, 10 kettle bell swings, 10 pullups). Anthony had H do 10 x 7 on all of them – and I told H to do them at the weight I was doing, so that he wouldn’t get wasted like he had been from the week before. I had been doing the “jumping” pullups wrong – I had been doing it from 3 of the biggest plates, I think I have to do it from 2, because I wasn’t “squatting and letting my arms hang off the bar” then using the squat to get me over the bar. I was more “jumping” off the plates to chin over the bar.

I figure that this can be my “birthday WOD” (smile). I think I did it in 36:42. I am going to have to check tomorrow to be sure.

I didn’t get to Red Dragon again today – and I think I have to talk to Gail. It’s just silly for me to continue doing work study when I literally NEVER get to yoga. And I did at least do the “hold” for the JCC – just need to get that signed and back to them.

So that’s my check-in. I was super proud that I was the one to go get the car in Muir Woods – and I felt super proud that I did the WOD today at Rx (meaning, the number you’re supposed to do – though I was scaling). I did the wall balls at 10 lbs (so did H), and the kettle bell swings and 1 up from the 5 lb (I don’t know what the weight is, it’s not written on it, but the tape on it is yellow). I have to remember to use my hips to “pop” the KBS. I was forgetting that. Also now I have to work on the pullup the “right” way.

Time to go do work trade. I have a LOT of stuff that I have to catch up on – now strewn all across the office. Argh.

Did download and send R a copy of a Kindle book on Memory today – so I think that will be useful. Also Raja is nearly done re-vamping this website.