Tag Archives: kettlebells

Whole…day 4-7

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Day 4
AM: Tabata Airdyne (warmup)  + 45min olympic lifting.
Unimpressive numbers, but I can’t remember the last time I had a lifting session. Coach (K) really stressed I need to get back to a lifting routine, even if it’s just twice a week. This was pretty difficult. I think partly because of my change in eating this week, maybe not enough calories yesterday, but the bottom line is I just need to do it more often.
Back Squat: 75, 85, 90
Front Squat: 55, 65, 70
Military Press: 55, 65, 70
Push Press: 65, 75, 80

Don’t judge the light weight.

Food:
M1: (right after lifting weights) spring salad w/carrots & broccoli & tuna. 1/2 sweet potato. 2 pieces of bacon. 1/2 Harry & David pear.
This was a lot of food; I struggled to get it down, but I did it. I felt too weak & a little lightheaded this morning.

Delicious.

Crap…I forgot to log the rest of the day…let me think. Sorry, can’t remember. Damn.

Day 5 (Friday)
AM: 1hr walk, 4mi
20 single arm KB swings- M1: BIG salad: greens, broccoli, carrots, celery, can of tuna, 1.5 pieces bacon crumbled, 1 pickle,1/2 avocado, mustard.
M2 (walk around uptown): lettuce wrap sliders from District (locally sourced meats!). Cold coffee with shot of almond milk: the barista was awesome. She showed me their packages of almond milk (and soy, but, yuck) so I could see what didn’t have added sugar. Great service! I did not even want a donut! Knowing that I “can’t” have something is SOOO much easier than “i really shouldn’t…ok, I’ll have a little bit”…then…”oh, I feel like shit….”

PORK.

Love the vintage benches. And El Paso. ❤

PM: HOT ASS RUN. 2.75mi, 27min/9:50 pace.
Mile 1: 9:54
Mile 2: 9:49
.75: 9:48
“Coach”/K/other half, told me to do an easy run to shake my legs out from lifting yesterday and to keep acclimating myself to the heat. Begrudgingly, I went. And farther than Wednesday. It still felt pretty bad, but I don’t think as bad as Wed, and I went farther. So, there is that.
Post run: 16oz of 10month expired coconut water. I don’t think it was supposed to be yellow, like urine, but it tasted fine. We’ll see how that feels later…

Ooops.

Yes. This is real.

90 degrees, 60% humidity (wow, that’s low), feels like 99.

Day 6 (Sat)
AM: 1hr walk
Big salad for breakfast

In the afternoon we went downtown for K to play volleyball. I browsed around some shops and picked up a couple things from the grocery. After that, the NOLA Jazz Symphony was giving a free concert! We hit that up hoping there would be some food trucks or local food vendors on the same street. No such luck. So, throughout the course of the afternoon I ate a 1/2 bag of grapes from Whole Foods and had some kombucha. Not ideal and not “real” meals, but it wasn’t junk. We got home at 7p (late for me) and I do not eat that late. So, only one real meal for the day, but I never felt overly hungry. Not terrible I guess.

PM: parking garage intervals! 6 story parking garage. We wanted to go 2-3 more times, but the building’s fire alarm went off and we didn’t feel comfortable staying. It was a good hill workout for this below-sea-level city!

I found where the Mercedes dealership stores their extra cars! $$$$$

Day 7 (Sun)
AM: mowing a big lawn. Yes, I’m counting this as a workout. It was hot. I didn’t wear a shirt. It took me 45 solid minutes without any breaks.
Food:
Salad (post mow): greens, broccoli, carrots, tuna, avocado dressing. Whole bell pepper with avocado crack sauce.

More of the same.

Fat. Get in me.

KB swings, SDHP: curry chicken! Slow-cooker meal that is so delicious and easy. I have Danielle to thank for that. I put it on lettuce with cilantro, shredded cabbage and some sriracha sauce.

 

So lost. Thankfully, Danielle called during my crisis.

Best thing I’ve made in a while.

Curry. Who knows the difference? I need to do some research!

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Back home and back on the wagon!

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We’ve been gone for 2 solid weeks seeing the in-laws, friends, and more friends. It wasn’t a terribly exciting trip of sightseeing or gallivanting to exotic places like Zion NP or the Appalachian Trail. Just, “normal” life things of catching up with people we love. Oh yeah, there was a marathon in there, but I’d really like to forget it.
It’s good to be home, we’ve missed the children dogs. I think they’ve missed us.

Thanks for resting on my bladder.

Maybe one day I’ll add all the miles I’ve driven across the country. Or not. I probably don’t want to know. Anyone planning long haul drives, I’m your gal.
Did you know it’s farther from New Orleans to El Paso than it is to Madison, WI? INSANITY.
(this was just the way back! Doesn’t even count driving to TN, OH, around OH, then to WI)

Too far.

So yes, I’ve missed my self-imposed “one blog post per week” rule, but I never had enough down time to sit at the computer for an hour and compose a post. SO. Busy. The whole trip. Sure, I probably *could* have found an hour or two, but the people we were seeing were far more important.

I have no words. ❤

PERFECT squat. We should all be so lucky.

Whole <30? Dunno. We’ll see. I can’t commit to the 30 days this month since I have a marathon smack dab in the middle on June 14. So, I’ll do it until the day before (I can be compliant the day before, but I’ll be traveling and it’s a small town, so no guarantees there will be anything close to what I deem acceptable). I haven’t decided if I’ll do the race Whole30. I’ve done it before, but I’m leaning towards “no” since I want to keep my stomach somewhat able to tolerate race foods. We’ll see. It’ll be a game-week decision.

I spent the day cooking and getting my house/kitchen in order. Roasted a chicken & veggies. Started a broth in the crock pot. Made tom kha gai soup from Paleo Comfort Foods.
Sidenote: I’ve been on a HUGE thai/vietnamese/sushi kick lately. I cannot get enough of it. Even though it’s hot, I could eat pho several days a week–extra jalapenos and basil, please! So, I’m hoping to minimize the cravings for pho and sushi by making paleo-friendly foods with the amazing flavors of the East. Hoping for the best!
Anyone have any recipes they’d like to share? I *NEED* them. Coconut, curry, broth, SPICY. Send it, please!

I’m also doing something “new” this time. I’m doing some sort of body movement/exercise before I eat. Burpees, bodyweight squats, KB swings, etc. Nothing major, just get my blood pumping a little bit.

Day 1:
AM: 1hr power walk
10 burpees: 2 bowls spicy vegetable soup, 3 boiled eggs.
KB push press (10 each arm), 10 squat cleans. Tuna salad. Or tuna on mixed greens. Same thing, right? 2 pieces bacon.
KB swings, cleans, russian twists. Dinner: roast chicken, roast carrots, kimchi. (Love Farmhouse Culture! If you don’t make your own kraut or kimchi, they are the next best thing that can be found in stores.)

Speaking of dogs…they eat just as well – if not better- than I do! Their dinner last night:

Spoiled.

Make the most of this new month! I sure am!

Hello, lover.

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I’ve been a little busy this week. Nothing overwhelming, but I spent too many days goofing off last weekend. I got behind on my school stuff, so the blog took a back seat. The good news is…I did “training runs”! WHOA. This is very unlike me. Who is this? What blog is this?!

Fun stuff:
I got these a while back, but since I’m not doing traditional lifting or CrossFit right now, I haven’t been able to wear them. They’re going back to my ‘real’ home this weekend, since I don’t have a use for them here. Speaking of…1 more month in this misery of the midwest! I really don’t belong here. I’ve come to appreciate some things about this place, but overall, it seems very much a wet blanket. Anyway, in a month, I’ll be back down South. Back to my CF gym. Maybe even some Masters swimming. Back to the land of 70 degrees in the winter.

My shoes! I love them.
(Even better, I got them at cost/wholesale from a dealer friend. Schaawing!)


Heavy weights, I miss you.

Squats, my ass misses you.

My workouts:
304 (Oct 31): Kettlebell & a walk. KB exercises in the living room.
305 (Nov. 1): a REAL run! A “training” run! WHOA.
With Jim and the Pain By Numbers running group! Really good time. I would gladly train if I had people like this to run with regularly. A lot of stopping & some hills as it was through downtown Cincy at 0630. I was told the run was “9:30-10” pace for the first hour, then 10:30-11:30 for second hour. Well, second hour people didn’t show up so we just stayed out with the same group the whole time. The 9:30 pace includes stopping…so our actual running pace was well under 9min/mi and even pushing sub-8 at points. Kicked my ass!
Didn’t help I only had 2 salads and some roast chicken yesterday. Had Chomps at mile 3 and mile 5ish. I really should have eaten more yesterday.
Mile 1: 9:32
Mile 2: 10:13
Mile 3: 9:27
Mile 4: 9:22
Mile 5: 9:43
Mile 6: 10:07 (think this was around Findlay Market)
Mile 7: 9:20
Mile 8: 9: 10
.5: 8:46 (the others left us in their dust at a 6min/mi pace!)
Overall: 9:31min/mi. 8.5mi, 1hr21min.

306 (Nov 2): Walk. 45min30sec. 3.06mi. With Danielle/Deeej/DJ (whatever she likes to be called…Hi D!!!!) Trying to show her the benefit of just WALKING for mental and physical health. A great outlet and gets one out and ACTIVE, while not taxing your body (recovery days!). Also, improves your walking for races! WALKING: does your body good.

307 (Nov 3): 4mi, 36:54, 9:13 pace. I love running for ‘errands’.
Ran to the store and back. I really need to carry at least mace and possibly the gun. Don’t have my CHL for Ohio though…hummm…might be worth the legal risk if I’m getting attacked.
Running to the store, a group of 4 guys (young men, late teens-early 20’s) heckled me from a front yard. I just ignored it. On the way back, they were walking in the road, towards me. I was a mile from home. I crossed to the other side of the road (big rural highway), and they crossed too. *shit* So…I crossed back and they stopped and I just stared back while running. They were smart to not cross again. But, they yelled very disgusting vulgar things as I ran past. It could be so nice and peaceful here without those kinds of assholes.
Mile 1: 9:29
Mile 2: 9:19
Mile 3: 9:08
Mile 4: 8:52

308 (Nov 4): Kettlebell. I didn’t time it, as I did many sets throughout the day. Definitely more than 5, but less than 10min.
swings
snatch
SDHP
v-up’s
russian twists

309 (Nov 5): Kettlebell & Walk.
KB: 5min. one-arm swings, snatch, swings, SDHP
Walk: with Deeeej after lunch.
2.3mi, 31:40, 13:46pace. Walked faster this time. Was really nice to walk briskly after eating.

310 (Nov 6): Stretching/yoga. The day got away from me. I was going to run 5-6mi, but I was doing stuff around the house and my morning turned into afternoon. Then I was going to run in the evening, but it was raining and REALLY dark. So. Living room floor it was!

311 (Nov. 7): Kettlebell. I’ve got class this morning, then drive the rest of the day.
one-arm swings
snatch
v-up
2 turkish get-ups (out of practice!)

So…I’m on the road today. It’s EXACTLY 1 month until CC 100. EEEEK. This is my last big-mileage weekend. If all goes well, I’ll have a tough, mostly self-supported 50k on Sat and a 10miler on Sunday. Possibly 5 more Sunday night, or another 10 Monday morning. We’ll see…best laid plans and all that.
But, my motivation? I get to stuff my face after the 50k. Not just for recovery, but my planned 10-15 the next day. There is an awesome ‘gourmet’ donut shop in Chatt. It actually has a retro feel that is far from fancy. They are successful enough they don’t even have to be open on Sundays! A coffee and donut shop that’s closed on Sunday?! Unheard of! But their old-school cake style donuts with crazy flavors are so good. I’ll be getting a couple flavors there Sat evening to use as my motivation to get those miles in Sunday morning. So there it is: donuts.

Bit the bullet.

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I did it. I signed up for my 100miler.

I had an inkling that I’d probably want to do it back in Feb, after my first 50miler went so well. I kept procrastinating with signing up. Honestly, it scared me. I know I can do a marathon on no training. I can do one at a reasonably ‘hard’ pace for me (probably more like ‘slightly uncomfortable after mile 20’ pace) and still not hurt and resume all activities the next day. Or do another one. And apparently 50miles isn’t a big deal for me either. I’m not fast, but solidly in the middle-of-the-pack. I feel if I do more of them, I’d get a lot better. I like that distance. Harder than a marathon, but not much more training. With my base, I know I can continue doing them without too much effort or harm.

But this one, I’m scared. I’ve done more miles and races this year than I ever have, and I don’t feel ready. Being sick this past week hasn’t helped with my confidence, as I need to be doing big miles RIGHT NOW. The race is 38 days away. Build time is NOW. Ugh. I’ll do what I can this week and part of next, but I have my “A” race next weekend. I’ve been training for that, instead of the 100 as I didn’t know if I’d arrive at this point in the year healthy. Which is a legitimate worry, as I’ve been very sick and sprained my ankle in the past 2 weeks. So, there is that to worry about.

My biggest hesitation is that running this many miles, this often, is that it isn’t exactly healthy. Or, it’s not healthy for me. I would venture out to say that running this many miles, doing 50-100miles several times a year…isn’t healthy for anyone. I think most of us ultra runners realize that. We do it because we’re not right in our head. We like the pain. Not to be ‘healthy.’ We like the suffering. And we like to come out on top of it all.

So, doing 100 goes against my New Years Promise to myself, to be HEALTHY. I’ve been conflicted with this for many months because I know it’s not the most healthy thing to do. However, I am in really great shape right now despite having put on 10lbs in the past 2 months. Again: running this many events/miles isn’t healthy! The calories one must consume to do these and not get injured, over-trained, or sick (ahem), and the inflammation and stress it puts the body…is not conducive to losing (or maintaining for me) weight. I’m carrying so much ‘bloat’ (I call it ‘carb bloat’) from the races, it’s not going down or away, despite eating well during the week. I’m taxing my body and it’s hanging on….BUT. I know how to fix it. After the 100, apparently.

Since this blog is supposed to be about my workouts, here they are:

Day 299: Kettlebell! Whew, the 15lb feels heavy. Definitely not 100% yet. I did this while watching the TeamUSA v. World CrossFit competition online. I. MISS. CROSSFIT. I can’t wait until Dec when I can go back to my gym.

Day 300!: I should have done something special. Bummer. I didn’t realize it was 300 until I was writing this.
I did Kettlebell again. Easing back into it, post-sickness.

Day 301: CHORES! I did some KB today, and I was so amp’d up from watching too many episodes of Breaking Bad that I had to get out and do something destructive. I moved a chopped down tree and all it’s branches from the front driveway area to the backyard next to the fire pit. Then I started a big-ass fire. It was awesome.

Day 302: Kettlebells. Did various sets of swings, SDHP and presses with the KB. I’ve been binging on Breaking Bad and when I get worked up and can’t sit down, I pick up the KB.

Day 303: 2 RUNS!
#1:
Interval run. Since I signed up for the 100 today, I need to get back to running again even if I’m not 100%.
Do a lap down the street, then back to the house for chores/homework.
Haven’t run since Louisville 1.5 weeks ago. Ugh. Hate being sick.
lap 1: .36, 7:39 pace (a little rough)
lap 2: .37, 6:55 (whoa)
lap 3: .37, 7:04 (got heckled by some punks, scared me a bit that they were going to follow me, based on what they said. Wish I had my gun on me, it was that bad.)
lap 4: .36, 6:56 (kinda scared after the last round)

RUN #2, on the track at school. I didn’t want to run in my rural neighborhood, don’t want to see those gross men again.
Mile 1: 8:37
Mile 2: 8:00
.4: 7:45
I kept telling myself to slow down. I said, “Yo! Slow down, yo! Easy pace, b*tch!” (breaking bad, I can’t shake it). I didn’t listen. Still wasn’t a hard effort! I had planned on running about a 9-9:30 pace, but I just went…

Yeah, starting ‘official’ training 38 days out is a great idea, right?
(I kid, I kid, I did 4 marathons in Oct, 1 in Sept & 2 50k’s in Sept. 5 more during the summer. Decent base miles!)

So, time to train up to out-run some gators!

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