Zombies

I am due for an update...

First off, the Run for Your Lives 5k that advertises itself as a zombie-infested race... is a load of bullshit. The hype surrounding this "race" convinced me to purchase an $80 ticket, and I regret wasting my entire Saturday on it. I had wonderful company for the 6-hour round trip to Massachusetts, thanks to Sam Rajachack! But the actual race itself did not satisfy my zombie-fanaticism or my running enthusiasm. I'll bypass my complaints about the mile-long lines to the bathrooms, the shuttles (aka school buses), the registration tables, and the drop-off area. That's to be expected I guess.

Fast forward to the 1:30 wave... the race started with a steep incline caked with mud and rocks. Everyone slipped and fell. Even for a CrossFitter, the initial hill felt like hell. But at least it felt like a workout! Then a few zombies scattered here and there darted after me. It was fun for a good .25 miles. Lots of running from zombies. I had to be quick and agile, zig-zagging in and out of them.

Then we approached the woods, and for a good 1.5 miles, we had to wade through ankle deep mud. No one ran. We fucking walked. So disappointing :( A 5k that would normally take me 24 minutes, took an hour to complete. I slipped in the mud, scraped up my knees on rocks, swam through a river of mud, and barely saw any zombies until mile 2. Then more mud. I couldn't even see my shoes, and each foot weighed an extra 5 lbs. Finally, the end. A few more tired, overworked zombies lazily motioned for me, as I jogged passed them.

Then all the runners waited in a line to slide down the steep hill from the beginning of the race. A giant tarp lay over the rocks and mud. I just thought.. are you fucking kidding me? If I hadn't wanted the whole thing to be over, I would have been scared. We didn't have an option to walk down an alternate route. You had to slide down. I scraped up my hands, and bruised my ass because of the holes in the tarp. It hurt! One of the girls who went with us actually got her hand trapped in a hole and twisted her arm. At the bottom of the slide, I fell into a huge pool of muddy water, and then had to climb under an electric fence to get out. At that point, I was pissed. It was over, and I still had mud everywhere. I shivered in the 40 degree weather. Soooo cold!!! No showers either. I ended up trying to wipe off the mud with a packet of baby wipes.

I wasn't upset because I was drenched, freezing, and filthy. I was upset because I felt gypped.

Great concept for a 5k but extremely poor execution :(

End of rant.

100% Guaranteed Weight Loss, Probably Hair Loss Too!

Seriously??? This is an advertisement for a product called Almased. I found the ad in a women's magazine that supposedly promotes a healthy lifestyle. Second week and beyond? There won't be a beyond. By the 3rd week, the "bikini plan" dieter will probably find herself in the hospital, hooked up to an IV and a feeding tube. The label on the Almased container advertises a low glycemic index. Really? Glue probably has a low glycemic index too, but I'm not gonna drink that two meals per day to lose weight.

Rx

Exactly one month ago, around the start of the YLA, I started Rxing! I looked back today in my little notebook where I track my WODs, and I kept seeing those two letters pop up every couple of days.
I still can't believe it. I remember looking at the Rx weight from a fresh-out-of-on-ramp perspective. It used to be so BIG and HEAVY and far-reaching in my eyes.

Some days I feel so strong, but other days, I feel like that girl who walked into the box a year and a half ago, the one who could barely lift a 33 lb bar.

Some days I completely surprise myself. I look at the website or the whiteboard and think, how the hell am i gonna finish this workout? let alone at that weight?

I still doubt myself. I step up to the bar, shins touching metal, and I freak for a second. I shake my head and think, you gotta be kidding me! i can't even lift this shit off the ground.

But then I do. And I do it as best I can. And I finish.
I'm still in that early stage though where my inner monologue sounds a little like this...
I don't think I can sustain that weight the whole time. I mean... I guess I'll try it. If I fail, at least I tried. But...I don't know for sure.

It's that kind of doubt where maybe it's a good thing. I don't talk myself out of it. I just go for it. I get it done. But I'm still cautious.

I'm getting out of a few bad (bad for me) habits though.

I used to:
A) only grab a 33 lb bar
B) always grab extra, lighter plates (just in case I needed to drop the weight)

These were my mental buffers. A 33 lb bar sounded a lot more manageable than a 45 lb bar, even though I was doing 2 lbs less than the Rx. Psychologically, it seemed easier to me.
The lighter plates were my safety net. I may not have used them during the workout but just having them there made me feel better.

Today, I went into Fran thinking, I own this bitch. 65 lbs? Ha! I got this.

She humbled me big time. I got the first round done in less than 6 minutes (5:54... sigh). But omg. It hurt. For the second round of Fran, I cut back, not on weight but on reps (18-12-8). It was really rough. I'm glad I stuck with the weight, but it pushed me hard.

Portion Sizes

I feel like I'm becoming more aware of adaquate portion sizes, since the beginning of the YLA. I used to eat a handful of nuts here and a handful of fruit there, not realizing that it all quickly adds up. I can better "eyeball" 1/2 cup or 1 cup of veggies now, but the above image helped a lot with making an association to the measurement. Hope it helps!

Weight & Heart Rate

I had a doctor appointment today for a physical. I've never experienced a physical this in-depth. He performed an EKG test , do I was covered in all these little electrodes on my chest, under my breast (awkward!), on my feet, arms, legs, everywhere.

Conclusion: Everything's normal. The doctor said I have a low resting heart rate, about 45-50 bpm, like an athlete! I felt pretty good being compared to an athlete :)

On to height and weight... In an earlier post I estimated my weight because I haven't stepped on a scale in quite awhile. I guessed 140-145 lbs, which was accurate. I'm 5'4" (didn't know that either) and weigh 145lbs. Sigh. I feel like I've been this weight forever! I'm having the most difficult time losing the 10-15 lbs I would like to lose. 

Why am I stuck here? I'm ready to jump off this damn plateau! I keep thinking, how much more do I need to workout? 6 or 7 days a week instead of 5? Or two WODs per day? Or how much healthier do I need to eat? What else do I cut out of my diet, when I've already eliminated so much already?

I must be overlooking something. 

Tone the Tummy

I got my body fat pinched today... It wasn't as terrible of an experience as I expected; however, my fears have been confirmed. My stomach is the problem area :( I guess I figured that already.

The umbilical number was pretty large in comparison to all of the other  numbers, which were fairly consistent.

Jay said that's where stress is held, but even though my job is stressful, I don't feel like I bring that home with me. And I don't eat away at stress... So why the belly pooch?

I mentioned the glass of vino that I indulge in here and there, and even though Jay said it probably isn't the wine, he still suggested cutting it out for a month as an experiment.

Damn.

No wine for another month? I did that for the Paleo challenge and didn't feel/see a difference. Why'd I have to open my big mouth?

So today I had a 4 oz glass of Chardonnay, and tomorrow I'll have another one - a bittersweet goodbye. And I'll start on this "no alcohol" kick on Feb 1st :) 

For the most part, since the 30- Day Challenge last October, I don't eat carbs - very little fruit, no bread, grains, cereal, pasta, or rice. Mostly just veggies. So I need to figure out what else I should be doing.

I still have to schedule a meeting with Dr. Jaime. Maybe this weekend?

On another note, I'm feeling super strong today. I am happy with my 115lb Power Clean today and my 95lb Push Press. I feel strong! I love days like this.

The Beginning - Insecurities, Imperfections, & Weaknesses

Well, we're several days into the first week of this assessment. So far, so good! I still need to meet with Jay and Dr. Jaime though. I'm a little behind. I got my bloodwork done a few weeks ago, so I guess I'm waiting on those results before scheduling something with the nutritionist. I'm pretty interested to find out what my body needs and how I should really be eating.

• Can I eat more fruit than I thought?
• Should I stick to almond flour?
• Can I add quinoa and brown rice to my diet?
• Is cheese really that bad?
• What about soy?

I participated in the 30-Day Paleo Challenge last year. I ate strictly Paleo and did not cheat at all! But I missed drinking a glass of vino here and there. We'll see how I handle that this time around. I love wine and champagne, but I also know the carbs have a huge, negative effect on me.

So, as I mentioned in my About Me section, I decided not to post my "before" picture. I feel good most days- strong, energetive, healthy! But I just don't want a half-naked picture on here to remind me of my many flaws. I'm not satisfied with how I look right now, and the pictures completely freaked me out. I'm entirely too body-conscious and insecure. I'm not ready to share that with the entire CFM community. Maybe this summer, I'll be ready to post a bikini pic lol

One of my major issues is my stomach. I have this little pooch that won't go away. It's like being 4 weeks pregnant all the time lol I never wear tight shirts or tank tops just because I'm entirely too self-conscious about it. I want to wear sexy, skin-tight shirts one day! Hopefully, I can figure out what I need to do differently to have a flatter stomach. Sit-ups every day?? No wine?? Ugh.

I started a new job recently where I have to attend a lot of business meetings, so I need to step up my work wardrobe. I hate trying clothes on though. It's a chore! And unless I'm at Victoria's Secret, where they have those optical-illusion mirrors that make you look 10 pounds lighter, looking at myself that closely makes me feel terrible. Nothing ever seems to fit right.

Since I started CrossFit, I've lost 2-3 dress sizes, so I don't have much room to complain. I'm a size 6 now. I'm okay with that number... (the fact that I'm even sharing that confidential info is confirmation of that). So yesterday, I tried clothes on for the first time in a looooong time... it wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. I guess for right now, I'll try to enjoy where I am.

I have no idea how much I weigh... I avoid the scale. If I had to guess, it's probably around 140-145 lbs, which sucks. I feel like I've been stuck in that range for awhile - the dreaded plateau. Ideally, I'd like to be 125 or 130 lbs, but I just don't see it happening... Can I even accomplish that? Should I even be concerned with the number? Next week, I have a doctor's appointment for a physical, so I'm sure I'll have to find out my weight. I'm not looking forward to that at all.

*One year from now, I will feel accomplished, if I am comfortable enough to wear shorts and a tank top in public. I was able to do that on my honeymoon last year but only after I starved myself for two weeks. Sooooo... I'd rather do it the right way - eating healthy, eating enough, and working out.

*I will also feel accomplished if I am confident enough to post my "before" picture alongside my "after" picture without shame.

CrossFit Goals:

• 3 dead hang pull-ups
• 10-15 unbroken kipping pull-ups
• 6-8 unbroken dips
• Effortless double-unders
• 10-15 real, unbroken push-ups
• 1 handstand push-up
• Better, lower pistols