Happiest Place on Earth

Since I last posted I’ve completed open WOD #1 a second time, went on vacation to Florida for a week where I completed open WOD #2 & I've been back for almost a week so there’s a lot to catch up on!

Saturday - Open WOD #1 redo: well let’s just say I did better the first time…that’s all I have to say about that.

Zach and I after a soaking wet
day at Animal Kingdom

Sunday – flew out to Orlando Florida to visit the Happiest Place on Earth, DISNEY WORLD! : ) Zach and I had a blast and really enjoyed the time together. 

Monday – we made up our own little workout and attempted to CrossFit in the hotel fitness center. We started with front squats on the smith machine. We worked on single reps. I worked up to 75#. This machine really made me feel awkward, like I

wasn't in control of the bar. Never the less I still got in some good strength work. Our metcon was a little sandwich, 400m run, 21-15-9 push press (25# dumbbells) & situps, 400m run. We didn’t have a running clock but I know I kept a good pace on my runs since we were on treadmills, and I whipped through the situps quick. The push presses were a little weak for me today. My shoulder has been sore ever since we’ve been working on the snatch grip (behind the head) push presses at CFF. 

Tuesday – Friday – I took off and enjoyed my vacation with Zach! : ) We walked A LOT each day at the parks.

Saturday – Open WOD #2 @ CrossFit Evolution (Longwood, FL): 15:00 AMRAP: 9 DLs (100#), 12 hand release pushups, and 15 box jumps (20”). I had heard that some of our girls had already done this WOD and were up into 9+ rounds so I was really hoping for at least 8. In my 4^th round of pushups Leo (CFE coach) started discounting my reps left and right. I couldn’t understand what he wanted me to fix and I didn’t understand why he would accept some and not others. Needless to say this was a VERY frustrating feeling. I did at least 24 pushups per round after the 4^th round which obviously slowed me down and quickly fatigued me. After the 15 minutes were over I only ended up getting 6+25 rounds. I was actually proud of my efforts because I know I gave it my all and never let up. Obviously my score is nothing to brag about this week but, I’m glad I didn’t skate by with just subpar movements.

Sunday – we flew home…yup, back to freezing cold weather and more rain, boo! Is it summer yet?

Monday – the strength was OHS I was super proud to PR at 56k. I can handle a heavier squat, I just have a hard time getting the bar up overhead in a comfortable locked out position. It’ll come…I’m sure of it! : ) The WOD was 1,000m row, 21-15-9 handstand pushups, and pullups. I finished my row in just over 4 minutes and then headed to my 25k plate and abmat for HSPUs. These things are SUPER DUPER hard, and trash my shoulders. I went through the reps Rxd, but just barely was able to get the range of motion to touch my head down to the abmat. Another weakness I need to work on. My pullups were also pretty slow since my shoulders weren’t feeling too hot. Overall, not a very good metcon for me, I finished in 14:28.

Tuesday – we worked on the power clean for the strength portion of class. I worked my way up just a kilo over my single rep max (66k). However, I failed at this weight 3 times. Bill and I were trying to figure out a better approach for me to take on the bar. We widened my feet which allows me to drive my knees out, and I tried a winder grip. This was VERY uncomfortable, but I will continue to work on it and hope to see success. The WOD was “death by burpees” you complete one burpee in one minute, two burpees in the next, and so on. I was able to finish 14 rounds plus 10 burpees. This WOD was really tough for me as I am still extremely sore throughout my upper body. My arms really gave out.

Tuesday night CFHQ announced Open WOD #3. It will be a 5:00 AMRAP of clean & jerks at 50k. This weight seems heavy but I am up for the challenge! I am hoping to redeem myself this week! : ) Bring it on!

Wednesday - I decided to go to Warrior Women Wednesday at the fort at 7pm. I’m glad I did. This week has been SUPER stressful and it was nice to let loose a little and enjoy some girl dancing, I mean bonding time. : ) Hannah and Alyson crack me up with their silly moves! We worked on snatch balance for the strength portion of the class. I worked my way up to a new one rep max at 50k! That’s an 8k PR for me. I was stoked. The WOD was 50 hang snatches (full squat at 20k), 500m row, and 50 hang snatches. I decided to scale to B (only 30 hang snatches) since Wednesday's are typically my rest day and I didn't want to overdo it. I completed the wod in 10:06. My quads and hamstrings were burning after that wod! After class I practiced a few clusters on a 50k bar to get a feel for what the Open WOD will be like this weekend. It was definitely hard but I think I've got a good strategy and plan on giving it hell! 

Thursday – the strength today was press. We worked 6 sets of 5 reps. Kirsten and I shared a bar and we completed our reps at 22-25-28-31-34-37. These felt strong throughout the sets; hopefully I can see a new PR next time we work toward a single rep max. The metcon was 21-15-9, ball slams (20), pullups, and situps. I was glad to see a shorter less intense wod on the board as it was my fourth day in a row at the fort. I finished in 6:34. My pullups were definitely my weakness tonight. Due to vacation I hadn’t had much of a chance to continue working on dead hangs. I made sure after class that I did 10 reps of dead hang pullups (blue band – they were rough!), and 15 pushups. I’m hoping if I continue to work these movements my upper body strength will begin to improve.

Heidi and I a couple of years ago...
we've both lost quite a bit of weight since then,
 so I'm excited to see her & get a new
picture together! : ) 

I’m taking tomorrow off to rest this beat up body. Plus, my good friend Heidi is coming into town to visit this weekend so I’ll be hanging out with her! I am super excited to see her and to show her my “grownup life” here in Illinois. This will be her first visit since we’ve graduated college so I’ve got a lot to show her. I can’t wait to take her to the fort, she is going to brave the intro class on Saturday morning and stay to watch me compete in the Open WOD #3.