Pain in the...

We did 200m lunges on Friday. It's now Monday night and I still hurt. Much, much respect to whoever can do a whole 400m of lunges. That HURT! The next day we had a team workout that included box jumps. Box jumps shouldn't be that difficult. Uy. I did move up to the 18" box, as previously stated. I'm very excited about that. The 20" box isn't far off. I was also happy with my running this week. We did 4x400m with a 2 minute rest in between. I was with a fast class, so I felt slow, but when I looked back I realized how much I've improved. My total time was 7:23. Awesome! I do need to work on my running so I can hit my goal of a sub-25 minute 5k. I still need to get one in under 30 minutes, but I know I'll be able to do that soon. I even have my eyes set on running the Eugene half-marathon in May. I know I can do this. My eating was way off track this week. Massive amounts of cookies and sugar made my stomach feel pretty awful all week. I do know better. I do. I'm not promising anything for this upcoming week (Christmas!), but I'll try to be mindful. I know I can do better. I'm heading to the beautiful midwest for Christmas. I will do my best with working out. I even get to compare muscles with my nephews! I know my sister has snowshoes and cross-country skis. I will do my best. And tomorrow is a Tabata workout. I know I heard the origin of that word once. In my mind, it means pain.

Success!

The WOD today included box jumps, kettlebell swings, and push-ups. I was ready to use the 12" box, like usual, but Jeremy asked me to try the 18" box. I did and I did for the workout. 30-20-10. It took a lot out of me, but I did it. The kettlebell swings were actually worse. 36 pounds is heavy. Jeez. But that box - I did it. Watch out 20" box - you're next!

Processes

Earlier today I posted on Facebook that I hadn't eaten anything out of a can or box in a long time. A lot of people like this (or they have clicked the 'like' option). It's been much easier than I thought it would be. I don't eat cereal anymore. I don't eat Kashi bars - I even tried one in September and really didn't like it. I don't eat canned soups. I certainly don't eat frozen lunches anymore. It takes more time, yes, but I also feel a hell of a lot better than I did before. Is it more expensive? Probably, but I'm also saving money by not buying cereal or Kashi bars. This is going in a different direction, but it's been on my mind for a long time. So many products are advertised as time saving - food, workouts, news, you name it. You don't have enough time for anything, so let's do what you need to do in as little time as possible. Seriously? How did we get here - and does anyone really want to be here? When you get to the point where you don't have time to take care of yourself, isn't it time to take inventory of your life? Shouldn't you actually take the time to do certain things - like prepare and eat your food or exercise? I know I get busy sometimes. I work two jobs - by choice - and things get piled up. Maybe it's about enjoying the things you need to do. Is eating something that you do mindlessly, or do you enjoy your food? (In Europe, they actually take time to sit and eat - it's nice!) I like going to Crossfit. There are bad days, but for the most part I like going. Maybe that's what people need - to like the things that matter.

Food from Home

I've managed to find one of my favorite Michigan foods that I did not expect to find out here - the Pasty. That's with a soft 'a' - not the other kind of pasty. Basically a pasty is meat and potatoes in a crust. Many miners in Michigan's Upper Peninsula ate pasties because they're easy to carry and they're substantial food. Unfortunately in my world, pasties are not paleo. But I have found a new pasty shop in Eugene - Cousin Jack's Pasty Company. I bought a couple today - I couldn't resist. The good thing about their pasties is that they're about half the size of the ones I used to eat in Michigan and they're made with local ingredients. I'm not going to feel that bad about eating them - they're delicious. I won't eat them every night, but they'll be a good treat once in a while. I haven't been this excited since I found Diet Vernor's in Market of Choice.

Discipline

I just went to Market of Choice to buy some food for the week. Tonight, everything I bought was organic and the meat was raised with food it should naturally eat. I really didn't buy much: carrots, cucumbers, 2 cartons of eggs, chicken, trail mix, salad, gluten free waffles, frozen fruit & veggies, and avocados. The total came to $45.24. All of this should keep me fed for hte next few days. It doesn't seem like it should cost me this much. And this is really just buying for myself; I don't have a family to buy for. It shouldn't cost this much to eat right. I didn't eat right last week. I said I would and I failed. The only thing that gets me, and this sounds soooooo stupid, is the candy jar in my boss's office. I know better. It doesn't make me feel good. But this is beyond paleo and beyond crossfit. With me, as with many people, there's been a lifelong connection between depression and food. It takes a lot of work for me to be happy and a lot of work for me to eat right. I do recognize the importance of both of these things for my well-being and I'll do my best this week. A lot of it comes down to having healthy snacks available at work; I just didn't plan last week. As far as the workouts, ugh. I should have done better with Monday's workout - pull-ups and double unders. Something was in my head again and the pull-ups got to me. I should have had a couple more sets of double unders to increase my reps. I don't know. Tuesday's workout was just brutal. Kettlebell swings, wall balls, and sit ups. I used a 1 pood kettlebell, which is 36 pounds. I felt all of those 36 pounds. I was just angry after that one. It wasn't fun. I wasn't proud. It just hurt. Anyway... Wednesday's workout was difficult for other reasons. It was a combination of cleans, knees to elbows, and box jumps. I became incredibly frustrated during the knees to elbows because I don't have a strong grip and my hands hurt - bad! I've seen pictures of guys ripping up their hands from pull-ups or other bar exercises and I can't do that. I have problems with my platelet count and if I start bleeding, it's bad news. My blood takes a while to clot. I know there are ways to work on grip and I need to do these things if I'm going to improve. It was just really frustrating for me during the workout. I couldn't get past it. Friday night's workout involved a series of 200m runs. I did OK considering I'm not fast and considering we couldn't see a substantial portion of the course. There was some uncertainty involving ice. But I did all right. My back has been hurting a lot for the past couple weeks. It's mainly my upper back and if this keeps up, I'll need to see my chiropractor. I bought one of those foam rollers to help my muscles, and I'll try to consistently use that. I feel like I should be getting better, but I don't feel like I am. We have a test this week with Helen, which we did 8 weeks ago. I know I'll do a lot better this time around. But still, there are areas where I'm not improving. My discipline needs to be practiced and not just talked about. That's a start.

Go Ducks!