6 months later....

July 24th, really? wow. SUPER blogger right here. 

Ok Life has been fun. and nuts. but mostly fun and awesome! I can't even begin to describe where my crazy little CrossFit life has travelled to. It has been fantastic training these last few months. I started following Invictus CrossFit and manage to do it 3-4 times a week with some supplemental random wods in between. I think I am getting stronger due to all the back squats, front squats, upside down and sideways squats...... you get the point! I learned to butterfly. I did a really horrible set of workouts in two days at an event called the Firebreather that totally trashed me! It was awesome. And I won some money doing it AND I got to do it with two of my favorite CrossFit girls, Sam and Lindsay. 

Im very sad because Lindsay and Ehren are going to be in Australia until April! :( Im so excited they get to travel around Australia and spend time with Ehren's fan (he's from there) but Im going to miss them and training with Lindsay. She has been such an incredible inspiration in my life and is so encouraging and a great example in my life. I did get one great thing out of them moving and his name is Charlie! A CAT! It took some serious convincing to get Bobby onboard but now he LOVES charlie! and Charlie loves him. and me. but mostly Bobby.

Ok so best news of all from these past few months is I got to attend the Level I cert a few weeks ago AND I'm now a trainer at a new CrossFit gym here in Boise, Expedition CrossFit! The owner is incredible and love his ideas! It is so fun opening a gym and getting new people in to try out CrossFit! I love that they keep coming back! Having the ability to train others and share my CrossFit experience and what I have learned from all of the amazing examples in my life is seriously amazing. Plus I get to work with some really great people, Aaron, Emily, Sam, Terry, and John! The CrossFit community in Boise is so strong and full of amazing people and athletes. REALLY looking forward to 2013! The gym, Expedition CrossFit was suppose to officially open on January 1st but we have had so any people want to start now we decided to get rolling now. I train my first official class on Saturday! 

Lots of Fun events coming up this winter! Boise CrossFit is hosting a WOD to raise for for the food bank. ECF is hosting an event to collect toys for the Marine Corp's Toys-4-Tots Program! The Christmas run is also coming up and my friends Jonathan and Maria are hosting an awesome Valentine's day run on February 9th! 

ECF action. Sam, Me, and Emily doing Diane! Got a 6 minute PR on this WOD. Did it in May and my time was over 10 minutes and did it this month and my time was 4:23!

Bobby went to a training camp in Cali this year at CrossFit Invictus! This is Camille Leblanc Bazinet (if you are a CrossFitter and have never heard of her you should probably google her) Brought back a whole bunch of great training tips! Bobby continues to make me a better CrossFitter and person everyday! He helps me be the best that I can be at both, helps me eat healthy, and is the best kind of support any girl could ask for! Love him :)

Pic from Barbells for Boobs this year! Was an awesome event! Raised over $10,000 and so many people were there for the event! Awesome to have so many people from the community in one place! 

Lift.Eat.Run.Floss.Repeat

My forearms have been dead since Fran. It wasn't even that many pull-ups! Last night I did an Invictus workout with the boys. We did 6 three position snatches from the ground, the hang, and the high hang @ 70lbs. They felt really good. I think hang snatches are a good way to get quick under the bar and they feel so solid when you land them. Then we did ring dips with a 2 second hold at the top and strict pull-ups. By the time I made it to the actual workout my arms were toast! The wod we did was:

Row 500m
50 kettlebell swings @ 53lbs
30 pullups (suppose to be chest to bar- yeah right!)
Row 500m (again!)
my time: 13:30

It was tough. I liked the kettlebell swings but 50 @ 53lbs was a lot for me. I literally couldn't even do one chest to bar pull-up so I did regular pull-ups. Bobby made me feel better when he said towards the end of the pull-ups he was doing one at a time. A great workout though!

I know you're getting sick of me saying this BUT Im gonna say it anyway! I AM SO STOKED FOR CANADA! There are a lot of fun things (besides the obvious-lululemon galore and the race!) like Fun. I mean the band FUN. giving a free concert after the race! WHATTT. Im so stoked. It will be a blast with the group of gals Im going with too! They are an amazing bunch of ladies! There is also going to be am and pm yoga on the beach! The race goes all the way around the island and through two bays. It really does look like an unreal course. Im sure my memory card will be filled to the brim with photos but the end.

Here is a little shot of Vancouver. We will be running on the water's edge where the green is most of the way I think.

Last week I managed to squeeze in 24 miles! Im planning running at least that much this week as well. Then starting to cut back next week. Jami M. and I ran a good 9 miles on Saturday and we took some yummy energy gummies with us that were organic and made with honey! They tasted good and didn't glue your mouth shut. I think Im going to grab a few for the race!

Fran.

So I knew at one point and time the WOD Fran would pop up. I know I know Im speaking CrossFit lingo right now. I apologize and I will explain myself soon. But if you are a crossfitter you know how un-fun this wod can be!

It is:
21-15-9
thrusters
pullups

for time.

It looks pretty simple BUT the CrossFit world has turned it into the WOD from hell. Basically do it as fast as you can and you do it like the rest of crossfit world. I went into it with a pretty bad attitude today. The last time I did it I spent more energy being pissed off then actually doing the WOD and have actually skipped the gym the last 2 times it has popped up. So today was the day. I started out super grumpy, it was like my body was resisting me. The only way I can describe it is like a donkey that has sat down in the middle of the road and wont budge no matter how hard you push or pull. Well. After Sam finished with a ridiculous PR and time of 3:13 (boomm!) She came over and started yelling at the donkey and it finally got off its ass and took off. Too bad it was for the round of 9! I broke up the 21 and 15 too much then did the round of 9 unbroken. Dumb! I was happy with my time- 5:23 and now I feel more driven to actually try and get my time under 5! My forearms felt god awful but I didnt dry heave like most peeps usually do and I didn't get the "Fran cough" so I think that means maybe I didnt push hard enough...???? ha! But Im stoked because I think I may be over my Fran phobia!

This past week has been incredible for running! I snuck in a 4 miler, 8 mile trail run, 3 miler, and a 9 mile run! I felt great on most of them and am feeling good for the half. Wednesday I did Hull's Gulch with Sam, Jeanette, Jax, and Red. It was just as hard as I always remembered but I love uphill. Crazy I know but when your booty is tough enough to take it, it is actually fun. The downhill gets me pretty much everytime though. SIDEACHES! I am going to up my agua intake this week so when we do Hull's again next week I may not get one again! It is frustrating to run 4 days a week and STILL manage to get a stitch in your side. WTF.

Saturday I paddleboarded the Boise river. It was so fun! I was super scared at first especially on the rapids. I feel like every rapid is like a class 5 on a paddleboard and people be batshit crazy if they DO take those boards on a giant river with real class 5's! I have absolutley no desire to take it on a river that moves any quicker than the Boise! hhahaha there was a few, no several, times that I fell and if you know me, you know they were probably the most graceful falls you've ever seen ;) On one of the big rapids there was a giant rock that I was suppose to avoid so naturally I paddled like a madman and my board still titanic-ed it's ass right towards it, and the fin caught stuck and my board stayed while I kept moving. BUT I didnt drop my paddle! It was super fun though and I definitely will be going a bunch more this summer! :)

july

So July hit and I suddenly realized how crappy Id been eating and how not serious I was taking the gym. The CrossFit Games were last weekend and me and Bobby were just short of nerding out (we spent only all day Sunday watching them) :) It is the most inspirational and motivating thing for a Crossfitter to watch. You know exactly how shitty it is to do WODs like Fran, Isabelle, and Elizabeth. You know how scary it is to go for a 1RM or run a ton of 400m's. I think thats the best part about the games for the spectators is most people there and watching at home can relate. It is scary to think, this is the reason why we all push and train. The CrossFit games are getting insane though, the competitors and the workouts each year get more and more impressive.

This last week I did mostly the main site workouts but I feel like they were all a good mix. I did "Linda" last wednesday, a whole hell of a lot of wall balls and toes to bar, and a few AMRAPS. It was a great week BUT not nearly as fun as how this week started out :)

Tonight I did weighted strict pull-ups(20#) in Jake's class and weighted pushups(55#). Then I did the Clean ladder from the games! It started at a lot lower weight but was super fun! I feel like it was awesome doing all of those cleans and working up to my 1 RM. I was super warmed up and managed to get a 10lb PR. I cleaned 155! :) Its been a long time coming I feel like and I am almost at my summer goal. I want to be able to clean and jerk 165 by September :)

The fun doesn't stop there. Linds and I did back squats too.
50% X5 -110
75% X3 -160
85% X1 -185
90% X1 -195
95%X1- 210
100%X1- 220 (PR)

I was super stoked to PR by 5lbs on this lift. I got 215 around March or so but I was unable to even squat 210 in April! So happy. Linds did an awesome job today as well on her clean and her back squats!

We finished up with a max set of back squats at 85% (haha I got 4) and 5X5 max set of handstand pushups (7-13-11-7-7)

Bobby and I are back to making all of our lunch and dinner for the week on Sundays :) Its so much more convenient then coming home at 8 or 9 o'clock from the gym and making food. Plus we made my favorite this week- chicken salad! Tonight I ate a brat and steak- I was like jesus. meat city. but I ate it all. I decided if Im going to do crossfit and be serious about it I can't really care if I like Shrek. My body has already changed so much and I think I just have to get use to it.

Only a few weeks until our half marathon! doing 8 in the foothills wednesday then I think 9 this weekend and 10 next! Cant wait its going to be Lululemon heaven AND the ladies Im going with aren't too shabby either ;)

Bar Muscle Ups and Paleo Pancakes

Today I made some pretty bomb Paleo banana pancakes. Did I attempt this yesterday and fail? yes. did I maybe cry a little when I couldn't figure out how to flip the sticky SOB's? maybe. but I was determined this morning when I saw the perfectly ripe bananas sitting on my counter. My secret? Bobbys ginormous grill spatula! It seriously is huge. and it flipped the shit out of those pancakes. I was a happy camper and made 5 paleo banana pancakes and used the organic real maple syrup Bobby bought yesterday on them!

They are super easy to mix(I did not say make, mix)

3 bananas
1/4 cup almond butter
 2 eggs

mix and pour in a pan with some coconut oil. Now when your flipping them you're going to need to have ninja stealth skills and a metal spatula. Flip them quickly and commit to it! Then ENJOY :)

I have been eating pretty strict paleo for real. Last month was a total frisking disaster in the diet category but I am ready to get serious about crossfit and your diet makes all the difference in the world! Sometimes ice cream and cupcakes are just not worth it......baahahaha said no one. ever. no really Im going to try ;)

Got to spend some time with Bobby this weekend finally. We had Saturday and Sunday off together and spent most of the time looking at stuff for our new place. Saturday night I needed a workout to do so I did tabata push ups and squats then Annie which is:

50-40-30-20-10
Double unders
situps
time- 8:07


I had a ridiculous PR on front squat today. I haven't front squat since LAST summer. My previous 1 RM was 145 and today I got 185! :) I cleaned 145lb and attempted 155 twice. Its okay though because my goal is to get 165 by September so I've got time :) I did Invictus tonight with Bobby, Jake, and Sun. The WOD was one of the games woods from next week.

3 rounds:

8 split snatches
7 bar muscle ups
400 m run

I did all of the bar muscle ups. My hands tore. It was pretty easy though other then that. Oh except it smelled like a dead ass when running. There is a fish market down the street from the gym and I feel like something went wrong there today because it has never smelled like that. My eyes and throat were stinging from the stench! Needless to say it smelled like dead ass.

Im feeling pretty good about the half marathon training! Did 7 last weekend and five this weekend. I need to do 8 here in the next few days or at least this weekend! Our ten miler is in two weeks :)

I am stoked for the rest of this year in the gym. Working with the boys has been super inspirational. No girl wants to look like a pansy in front of the boys (especially Sun, if you know him, you know what I mean) and the wods they have been doing are actually fun and structured as far as the strength goes, but not ridiculous like Outlaw. I love Outlaw but I am afraid Im not to that level yet. My shoulders and wrist get trashed from the volume. I think it has def helped me get stronger! I just need to get stronger for the next 3-4 months. Hope to set some goals this fall and get ready for sectionals....AGAIN. hahaha Time goes so fast! Cant believe the games are next weekend! Cant wait to watch all of the amazing athletes in the world kill it! The WODs they have announced so far have been a little strange but you never know until you watch or do it.

I have to give congrats to my boyfriend! He just got a new job AND he started training at the gym last week! So happy for him and he will be a great trainer! AND miss stacie chang got her first muscle up today! I was so impressed! It was basically a STRICT muscle up! and she did it three times! what a bad ass :)

Summer 2012 begins!

Alright people. IT has been a long time since I last posted. This is me. Just now kind of catching up on life. (not really! haha) I thought yay summer is here, I'll have loads of time to blog away about crossfit, running yoga. And its July and I haven't posted a single thing!

Crossfit has been good-ish. SInce regionals I've kind of just been doing main site workouts and not much strength or skills. Now that I've taken a month to eat crappy and not train until my arms want to fall off I think it's time to get serious. Im so excited to train for next year. Regionals this year was unlike any other experience. Last year (2011) I was just scared/nervous/scared to compete and wasn't even sure I could do most of what I needed to. This year I felt way more prepared. I did muscle ups, snatched 105lb (not very much but a big deal to me!), hang power cleaned 135lbs 15 times, and did a shit load of squats and pull-ups, oh and carried dear Lindsay and a 70lb dumbbell 100 feet :) and it was the funnest thing I have ever done. There was blood(lindsays), tears (my own), and rock tape. Seriously in the middle of the first workout which was a chaser, Row 1000 meters, 25 pistols(one legged squats, alternating), and 15 hang cleans at 135lbs, I literally stopped to think, "This is so fun!" and it kept me in high spirits for the entire weekend! We ended up getting 10th place out of 28 teams that were there! It was an awesome experience, we had the greatest group of teammates and supporters! Between the team, Sun, and Sam, and the supporters we had 21 people there from Boise!

So whats been going on besides me eating a shitload of carbs and ice-cream this summer! Serious binge after regionals. But now Im back on track. No cheats for me for a while. It is not hard to eat strict paleo. I either have to do it strict or not at all. There is no middle ground for me :( I do not have much self-control. It is sad, but true. So the girls from the gym and I are running the Sea Wheeze Lululemon half- marathon in Vancouver in August! It is a little over a month a way! Can't wait. We did a 7 mile training run on Sunday. It was so fun. It was Jami M.'s, Stacie's, and Katie's first time running that far! They did awesome. Im so proud! We ran on the greenbelt all the way to Veteran's Park drive from downtown.

Besides that Im just trying to learn how to use my camera, make gourmet cupcakes, and become a pharmacy tech. It has been a great summer even though I have worked 45ish hours a week!  Last week I went paddle boarding for the first time and loved it! The only downfall was the wind! It was blowing like a million miles an hour and there was white caps on the lake. Of course I was the first to fall in. I think next time I will go on a more calm day.

As far as in the crossfit gym, I haven't had any significant pr's. I had a ten pound pr on clean and jerk. 145lbs! :) and front squatted 145lbs 5 times yesterday. I have set goals for clean and jerk, snatch, back squat, dead lift, and shoulder press. I hope to reach them by September! :) I did do Amanda this summer. Which is a benchmark workout 21-15-9 muscle ups, and squat snatch at 95lbs. Although I did the squat snatches at 80lbs I did all of the muslce ups! It took me over 35 minutes and I wanted to cry. It was a good feeling to finish though and I'm excited to do it rxd someday.

Regional Tidbits

Wow! Training has been nuts. Between my 6 classes this semster and spending 2-4 hours at the gym 5 days a week Im starting to feel the crazy impact olympic lifting has on my body. I definitley couldnt keep up this kind of training year round. Im very excited for regionals though. The wods are crazy and I think Im going to have to get a little crazy to do them but I cant wait! I love pushing myself to accomplish new challenges. My team is great too! Everyone- Bobby, Brad, Jay, AM, and Linds have all been working their tails off and working on the movements. Linds and I did the 4th wod(all of the squats) and we have to trade spots 21 times! Holy cow thats a lot of transitions. Rudy has had some great ideas for transitions and strategies though. Casey has been great as well! He has been working with everyone on the movements and has some great input about form, technique, and transitions.

 Today me and the girls practiced the 6th wod. Needless to say it was a bitch. They were smart litttle cookies putting those 2 muscle ups at the end. That shit is hard. haha everything else felt great though! The partner carry is my favorite I think. Wall balls werent bad, even the chin hold wasn't tooo terrible! Surprise surprise! We did tabata style muscle ups. I got one each round for 4 rounds. Couldnt get one afterwards, my arms were shot. Like I said, smaaarrrrt cookies. Cooking up these evil workouts. I feel like when I am getting them Im catching them a lot higher then normal. Someday a muscle up will be no big deal. Until that day Im probably going to continue looking somewhat like a train wreck :)


 I managed to get 15 Hang cleans at 135 this week. SO I know it is possible BUT I need to do them faster. Im going to make myself do 2 at a time everytime I do them now. The bottom line is those SOB's arent going to get any lighter so Im just going to have to remember to have some good form and pick up the bar. Thats the hardest part of crossfit, whether you're grabbing the barbell or getting back on the pullup bar. Its mental! Just pick it up Jamie!!!! (thats what I need you peeps in the stands shouting during this WOD :) Im so incredibly nervous and watching the updates every weekend makes me more nervous but it also gets me super pumped up!!!! Cant wait! 3 more weeks.

Today our favorite blogger from paleOMG.com- Juli Bauer- is going! Cant wait to watch her tear it up! Also there are quite a few awesome guys going. I love watching really competitive regions! There are some incredible athletes in the CrossFit world that keep me going.

Ive been pretty good with paleo. The summer salad is back! :) boom. Its my favorite- Romaine lettuce, avocados, kalamata olives, tomatoes, balsamic and oil, garlic powder, garlic salt, and pepper- BEST SALAD ever. Credit goes to Linda, Bobby's mom, who is an amazing little cook. She has been making some great paleo dishes the last couple of months for Sunday dinners. My favorite by far has been the Mousse she made! Yes Chocolate Mousse that was paleo. I dont care if people think paleo desserts are dumb, sometimes they get me through!

After regionals Im going to just eat clean- mostly paleo because I dont think my body would like grains again or sugar sadly :( but Im not going to be a crazy nazi! I think Im going to have to take a goood long break from CrossFit- maybe 2-3 weeks. Ive been going to a chiropractor because my back has been out, one leg has been longer then the other because my hips are off, and my ribs are all out of place on my sternum and my spine. Weird. Makes for a really uncomfortable position when doing snatches and sleeping at night :/ So Im going to take a break after all of this. I had a massage on wed and it was great but I was feeling pretty exhausted and shitty the next day. Increase the volume and you have to increase the recovery therapy!

Sam and I thought it would be a swell idea to go chill in the Boise River like it was an ice bath. Holy hell was it cold. It was 60 degrees outside and windy. It felt like it was 90 degrees outside after being in that water. Ive never had my elbows hurt so bad! We lasted like a total of 180 seconds-ish! But I did feel better the next day.

Cant wait to get back to being a regular crossfitter! haha and Im also excited to be done with school and have more time to actually train and not be going in twelve thousand directions! :)