Training 1/31/12 Squat clean thruster ladder

Sleep 7p-4a  Took a melatonin around 6:30.  Slept well.
Great energy whole morning.

Training @ 7am

A. back squat @ 20X2; (3 x 3 @ 80%)(4 sets of 3 @ 95%); rest as needed b/t sets - effort based %'s

3x135lbs, 145, 150. 3x165lbs, 165lbs, 170lbs, 175lbs.  The first set at 165 felt hard and so I got nervous & stayed there for a set.  Once it was all over I remembered that I did 5x175 a couple wks ago.  

B. every 30 sec build till you get to an "almost" max at a squat clean thruster - one movement, no pauses

105lbs, 110lbs, 115, 120, 125, 130F.  Pushed away from my face.  Didn't want to end on a miss.  Was probably about a min rest b/f I decided to do it.  You know I was tempted to try 135, but I already broke the rules for the day.  haha 

C. 15 chin ups unbroken - rest 45 sec for as many sets as you can

Goal for myself was 5 sets.  Once I hit 5 I thought, maybe 7?  Ripped my hand on the 6th rep of the 7th round.  Typically my hands will burn a bit before ripping, but I didn't feel any warning here.  
Oh, and I learned how to use YouTube Video Editor!!  

Training 1/29/12 Running

Saturday night 2 glasses red wine, 2 norcal margaritas (we left our cave in the country for a few hrs :))  
Sleep: 10:30/11-6:30

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Too much sitting this morning and felt stiff going into the run.  Spend 8am-after 2pm getting caught up on admin stuff for the business.  This will be the year that Corey & I stop working from Sundays so that we can have a legit day off each week.  I was having internet issues at home today and it made the updates take far longer than normal.  But it got done. 


3pm Headed out to Max Patch for the workout. 
Corey had 60 minutes during which he had to accumulate 40 minutes of running.  There was not a cloud in the sky, but up at the bald it the wind was a bit brisk.  I did a longer warm up to avoid being done well before Corey and freezing the rest of the time. Looked like this: 


5 min walk
25 minutes of run z1/2 2-3 min with walking 1-2 minutes. 
Then I got into the workout: 
30/30 x 30
90% run
50% brisk walk x 30


I took this 90% run to be a sustainable 90% vs an all out 90% which would have deteriorated over time.  Felt strong throughout.  Some sets my brain was just on auto-pilot counting steps (averaged 95-98/30s).  Later sets I worked on some visualization and found myself losing track of time & running upwards of 40/45s a few sets.  


Until these past couple of days when I dug old journals out of the closet I had forgotten just how many years I've existed with this sense of excitement/wonderment towards success yet being so fearful to achieve it at the same time.  I was feeling those positive feelings again while letting go of the negativity that I've been carrying with them.   


What have I been afraid of?  Mostly the expectation that once I achieve a certain level of performance that I will be unable to replicate it.  Another consequence of not simply allowing myself to "be in the moment".  I'm letting go of the past and not worrying about the future.  One day at a time.   


Sunday night sleep in bed 6:45-4am.  Sleep didn't happen fully until after 9p & a sick dog woke me up at 3:30.  


Considering, energy feels good today.  Hamstrings are rather sore today.  Thanks to some good manual work from Dawn they are doing better already! 

Regionals 2011 Being in the Moment

One of my biggest areas of opportunities is practicing being and staying in the moment.  Here are two videos from regionals 2011.  The 21-15-9 deadlift (205lbs), box jumps (24") workout.  It was the first workout of day 2 & I  allowed myself to get all freaked out over the weight.  I put the story in my head, "this is too heavy for me" and rested far too often and for too long. 

Both videos are of the last set of 9.  I'm in the top video & the second of Becky Conzelman (1st in the region).  In my video  ~20s in I put the bar down after 6 reps.  It's besides the point of why I felt the need to put the bar down, but the issue is that I step several steps away from the bar and start looking.  I wish I could report that I'm thinking positive things about myself during this time, but I'm far from it.  I don't have any video from the earlier portion of the workout, but this was the pattern: resting often and looking around. On the contrary Becky puts her bar down after 5 reps but she stays with it & keeps focus on the bar.  She's right back to it to finish the set. 

I've had a handful of solid showings in competitions and when I'm on, I'm ON.  However, other times my stingy voice, "you're not good enough, strong enough, mentally tough enough" wins the battle.  

I think only Corey & Kate know this, but I completely broke down after this workout.  I was in the car with Corey asking him to take me back to the hotel b/c I wanted to quit.  Poor guy.  Trying to tell me to stay in it, but I didn't want to listen.  I was disappointed in myself, as I knew it was not a good effort and I was not excited for the next workout 100 pull-ups, KBS, DUs & OHS despite that it favored my strengths.  Honestly, I wanted to pull out and give someone else a chance to get to the final day.  Why?  I didn't want to do the final workout or specifically I didn't want to do 40 reps of 35lbs DB ground to overhead.  I kept having these visions of the DBs flying everywhere and me being the last one working at that station & I was preoccupied with this thought the majority of the wkend. 

  

So what happened?  We were on the road driving back to the hotel and I got my head right (or at least better) and I went back to the gym.  My showing in the 100s was certainly sub-par, but I chipped my way through it and managed to keep my cool even when the judge started taking KBSs away from me (a common theme for many that wkend).  

I made it into the final day and actually killed the DB ground to overhead portion in my heat moving to the T2B just behind the leaders of that crew.  I should have then continued to knock it out on the 50 T2B and won that heat, but I was not mentally prepared to be in position to do so.  When I'm not prepared I easily fall into moments of self-sabotage.  

I have a story in my head that I regularly "choke" due to some performances in my past.  Kate and others are helping me realize that this is simply just that...a story.  I can continue to relive this scenario or I can acknowledge my bad habits to be prepared to win the battle over my stingy voice when it does try to speak up during times of stress/competition time.  

I feel like I have a new frame of mind going into this season and feel refreshed as a result. 

As Coach says, "Onward & upward!"  

Training 1/28/12 Lots of Snatching!

Sleep 9p-5a Feeling good.

A. OHS - build to a solid 3 - NOT a 3RM
3x88lbs, 98, 110, 120, 125, 130lbs 

B. Snatch - build to a tough single
65x3, 95x2, 99x1, 104x1, 109x1, 114x1, 119F, 119F, 119F. Next time! 

  The 95x2 was a TnG which I have never done before.  It felt solid & I knew it was going to be a good day.  Somehow I missed a vid at 114lbs, but it felt better than 109...less forward movement.  I was a bit intimidated at 119, but my mind is getting stronger by the day.  


C. 90% part B - single every 20 sec for 5 min if you can
I was using the clock the class was on & got confused as to when I should stop.  I ended up missing my 2nd rep, but then hit all others & felt good.  Went a full 6 minutes plus the first rep at the start of the 7th minute.  So this was a total of 18 snatches @ 102lbs with 1 miss.  Felt solid. I used to do workouts similar to this with snatching & C&J typically every 30s at a high percentage of my max.  You could say this is my favorite thing to do...throw heavy weight overhead over & over again.  

Rest Day 1/27/12 "January 2, 1999"

Sleep 10p-4:30a
Good energy despite two days of less than ideal sleep thanks to a little help from the power of Starbucks.

Last night I attended my friend, Jana Kellam's, first workshop "Creating Mindsetopia".  I loved the experience and it was definitely worth a night of less sleep.   There is nothing like the positive vibes of being around great people & acknowledging the power we hold as individuals to create and experience a life of happiness!

Growing up I had visions of greatness for myself, but I remember often feeling like they were simply distant dreams that would never become reality.  I had some incredible people that when I gained the courage to share my BHAGs they encouraged me to believe in myself and go for it!  Thankfully, I still have similar-yet different- people in my life today.

I did some reading today and came across an article about humility and leadership.   One of the last paragraphs particularly resonated with me:

Something interesting happens, too, when we approach situations from a perspective of humility: it opens us up to possibilities, as we choose open-mindedness and curiosity over protecting our point of view. We spend more time in that wonderful space of the beginner's mind, willing to learn from what others have to offer. We move away from pushing into allowing, from insecure to secure, from seeking approval to seeking enlightenment. We forget about being perfect and we enjoy being in the moment. 

Then today I also randomly pulled one of my old training logs out of the closet.  I'm not sure that I've read this particular journal since I wrote the entries.  It was from my junior year in high school.  This was the year my mom and I had a momentous fight over whether I was going to run track or get a job.  She wanted me to start working and save money for college.  I got all pissed off and told her that I was going to earn a college scholarship for running.  She only had the best intentions for me, and honestly I remember thinking I was nuts when I said it, but in a moment of teenage rage I put the idea out into the universe.

To put it into perspective I never even got to run in the league meet my freshmen or sophomore year and two of my teammates/classmates for that matter had run times significantly faster than myself. (only 2 per event get to run varsity in track)  However, it was also the first year I attended Camp Fitch Championship Running Camp.  One of the big things Coach Garcia lectured us about was the power of the mind and how we are no different than anyone else if we only believe in our own abilities.  It lit a fire under my scrawny ass & I spent many hours in my room reading the motivational articles over & over and journaling/visualizing myself achieving my goals.  These goals struck not only excitement, but fear.  A glimpse into my mind from 13 years ago...

Jan 2, 1999 103lbs-feel chunky, but look decent
push-ups 30, 51, 25, 25, 30:161 Sit-ups: 50, 50, 31, 50, 31: 212. 8+glasses H2O Form running: 2 sets of 50 (used to pump my arms as if running with dumbbells in hand...oh my!) 

I am afraid of failure.  I am afraid to push and feel the pain.  I need to feel the joy of accomplishing my goals-expectations-aspirations.  This year I'm determined to overcome that.  Train like an animal & race like an animal.  Prove myself-to me & everyone else-everyone that doubts my abilities & those that have faith in me.  I feel that the two most   important people to do this for are myself & my coach.  As Coach would say, "Nothing to it, but to do it."  9 1/2 hrs sleep 

Ironically, Jana sent out her recent blog post yesterday about "How to deal with fear..." 

Training 1/26/12 Push-ups/Row

Some old school photos from my first CF competition the MidWest Regionals 2009.  This was the final workout.  30 C&J @ 95lbs ~400m run 30 Snatches at 75lbs.  My PR snatch at the time was 82lbs.  I finished dead last in that final by about 7 minutes, but made the 20 minute cut off!  It was an extremely humbling moment.  Yet a time that I fell in love with the community as all were standing around cheering for every lift.


Sleep Was less than ideal last night.  Was in bed at 7:30 but didn't fall asleep until an estimation of 9/930.  I didn't look at the clock during this time except at 8:30 when the phone rang.  After that I went to the guest bedroom as Corey was sleeping a bit too peacefully for me.  I fell asleep at some point only to wake up at 2:30, go back to my bedroom and only slept very lightly at most for the next hour.  I felt OK this morning, but can tell that I'm a bit tired.
The biggest improvement is that in the past when this lack of sleep became an issue I'd get very angry and frustrated & wake up Corey at some point to tell him how ticked off I was for my inability to sleep.  This time I never got stressed out as I have finally acknowledged that some rest & relaxation is better than a night of anger & frustration.

Training @ 7:30am
5 rounds for time:
15 push ups
Row 350 m


Push-ups UB for all rounds.  I would pause at the top to breathe around reps 7/10/12 but never had to put the knees down. Thighs were quite fatigued on the rower.  


Round)Row split/500m pace/overall split
1) 1:25.1/2:01.5/2:00
2) 1:27.7/2:05.2/2:15
3) 1:29.6/2:08.0/2:20
4) 1:30.4/2:09.1/2:25
5) 1:24.2/2:00.2/2:05
S/R for all was 28-30.  
Overall time: 11:05 


Could have definitely pushed more for those middle rounds.  

Training 1/25/12

Sleep 6:45p-4a woke up several times ~11:30, 2ish & 3:30.

Went to bed with a headache last night & it was persisting when I woke up this morning.  I was particularly sensitive to temp changes as it started throbbing when I first got into the shower this morning.  I took an excedrin which did the trick.  I try to avoid painkillers except for that one day of the month, but I think it made my morning far more productive & enjoyable.  Thank you modern medicine.

Training @ 7:30
Felt more motivated today, but being that I've been a bit off the past day or so I went into it a bit conservative.

Part 1:
 4 sets:
1 power clean
5 jerk TnG tough
10 burpees AFAP
rest 2:30

Set 1: 105lbs 33s

Set 2: 110lbs 32s (missed opening my hips on the power clean b/f the first jerk) 

Set 3: 115lbs 33s 

Set 4: 120lbs 32s Felt good! Ties my 5RM PR! 

About 12-15 minutes rest (procrastination) 

Part 2:

4 sets:
5 tough clean grip DL TnG
Airdyne 20 sec max effort
rest 3 min

Set 1: 175lbs 13 cals (no roll over) 

Set 2: 195lbs 8/10 cals

Set 3: 205lbs 7/8 cals

Set 4: 210lbs 7/8 cals 

Well, felt good during first part today and then I went into this section.  Deads felt slow and not super crisp.  AD went well for the first set, but then I didn't have much nor the motivation to drive through.  I'd call it 80-90% effort final 2 sets. Didn't feel like it was a good idea to push too deep. 

About 12-15 minutes rest. 

Part 3

4 sets:
AMRAP muscle ups
30 double unders AFAP
rest 3 min

Set 1 MU:1, DU UB (buddy lee) -I didn't warm up any MUs prior to this. Stupid. 

Set 2 MU: 4, DU 29+1 (Buddy Lee) Obviously should have warmed up 1st set. 

Set 3: MU: 3, DU UB (speed rope) experimenting w/this one.  Just cut the length yesterday & it's shorter than my Buddy Lee.  I have to keep my hands really close to not trip.  Worked for this set. 

Set 4: MU: 2, DU -rope issues.  Well, being that I cut the rope too short I had the handle as far as possible on the end of the line.  I wasn't too sure how long it was going to hold and I think it held for less than 100 total DUs. BUT this was good to show me just how much lighter that rope is than my treasured Buddy Lee.  When I picked up the BL to finish it out it felt like a weighted rope.  Good thing I ordered the multi-pack of the cable speed rope or whatever it's called.  

Regarding the MUs they're feeling fair-good, but straight arms & turn out could still use some work.  Was babying a scab from when I ripped on MU practice last Thursday, but the tape held up well.  I have struggled to MU w/out tape as it is.  

Energy levels felt much better post workout especially relative to yesterday.  (perhaps I would have been OK to dig a little deeper on that AirDyne!  Next time.  :)