March Motivation?

Posted on March 10, 2016 by HaleyComet

Half the time I feel like I should let this blog die. I mean, was it really alive? Maybe in 2013. Then I vacillate back to that it provides me with motivation & self-accountability. Plus, It can be nice to use it as a journal. So, today there is a post.

My friend Alex has been CRUSHING his runs and is super motivated. See, we joke that we “suck at this” when we run marathons together. He’s a great middle/back-of-the-pack, party buddy. He’s got an ambitious race schedule this year and I can’t be the only one sucking in the back anymore! I love that his motivation is getting me motivated! Not to the point of wanting to do 8mi weekday training runs, BUT, some stuff. And that stuff is usually a little ass-kicking in other ways.

The excitement of seeing my goal of 50 states getting close (hopefully next year!) is another motivator. Of course I don’t like “easy”, big road races. Some of the ones I’ve picked are difficult…*ahem* AZ and NV. Hard! (race reports coming soon)

Finally, Pikes Peak marathon registration is this weekend. The race that was the hardest race I’ve done besides the 100. Harder than 50mi, even the one in the blizzard. Far harder. I said last year that I wouldn’t do it again. No way. Too hard. Took me over a week to feel functional and recovered. (It would help if I had trained) Naturally, this means I’m planning on registering for the Double. Because once up the mountain isn’t enough. Lets do it twice. Half Saturday (all the way to the top), full Sunday (up and down). It’s going to kill me.

The only way it won’t kill me? The only way I can have a CHANCE finishing the full? Training. Hopefully this motivation sticks around. Hopefully it rubs off and I’ll want to keep logging my workouts here.

Crowded for a weekday afternoon!

Tuesday 3/8: Up the Incline, up a little ways past the Incline to where it connects to Barr trail, then down the trail. I usually just go straight down after I finish, but I want to keep doing more miles up (hitting Barr Camp at mile 6) as time permits.

First of many Barr Trail runs. Barr, you will be my friend!

See that dark figure? That was a guy in a wool coat, work slacks, and brand new trail shoes. I suspect that he is in town for work, picked up some shoes are REI, then went to the Incline–to say he did. Typical tourists. Oh, and no water. They never carry water.

3/9: Crossfit. Hour of snatches. Form work, then 20 min of set building, then 3 reps every 30 seconds of power snatch (60lbs). It felt like Tabata snatches and it got hard. I felt very uncoordinated and my form was very off. Oh well, I lifted weight and put it down for most of an hour.

3/10: I wanted to do the Incline again, but I was too busy.
AM: dog park walk, 40min.
mid-day: Tabata run: got my pace down to 7 and some upper 6’s at the end of the sets. And I didn’t feel like I was going to die. Progress!
Tabata Kettlebells: 36lbs. 12 swings per set.

Friday won’t be much of anything. We’re busy all day. This weekend though…I’ll need to find some other dirt to hit since I don’t go anywhere near the Pikes Peak/Incline trails on the weekend. Ciao!

Jan. 1-11.

Posted on January 11, 2016 by HaleyComet

Well, I procrastinated. I’ll condense each day to save the reader from boredom. To really write about my workouts (for myself), I need to not have more than 5 days in a post.

Jan 1!: EPSCAR (El Paso County Search & Rescue) 5k: “rain, snow, or 20 below.”
Huge fans of the search & rescue, saving people from Pikes Peak, the Incline and other areas of the county. And feel sorry for them when saving ill-prepared tourists from tackling our outdoor attractions.

I didn’t feel great about my pace, but then I looked at the elevation profile from my watch.
Screen Shot 2016-01-11 at 2.11.44 PM
2: 30min walk at dog park. Kettlebell: 50 swings, v-ups, presses.
3 & 4: Forgot! Can’t recall, but I *know* I did workout. This is why I need to log…It’s really bothering me that I can’t remember.
Tuesday, Jan 5: CrossFit: 8 rounds: 100m row, 10 squats (w/35lb kb)
Jan 6th : 2mi walk-Garden of the Gods.

Same spot: 1 day difference! Wed walk, Thurs walk.

Jan 7th:1.5mi walk-GoG
Jan 8: Skiing. 3hr. (UGH. Terrible drive through a storm and was really tired. Good snow and no people though.)

9: Yoga: 1hr “active recovery”. It was not as yin as it usually is. Felt hard.
10: 30min walk, dog park. Kettlebell: 50 swings, 20 presses, v-ups, Russian twists.
11: Warmup: airdyne. Workout: Weightlifting (pushpress, front squat), prowler (40kg+heavyassprowler), 20lbs. slamballs.

Push press warmup. It’s hard to get lifting pics when there isn’t anyone to take one!

FOOD! I’m doing Whole30, and I’m not caught up enough to log each thing I eat per day. I’d like to get back to that, but not right now. The first couple days weren’t as hard as I thought, thankfully. Guess I’m used to doing these.
Some notes, new things, & recommendations:
I made my own ghee! It’s not perfect, but my first batch was pretty good. I thought I burned it, but when it cooled, it was a nice buttery color.

1. ghee, 2. furikake (delicious so far), 3. addicting mayo, 4. Grapefruit season!

NomNom Paleo’s spicy tuna cakes are really good-and really easy! I ate on them for 2 days.
Primal Kitchen (from Marks Daily Apple) chipotle lime mayo is better than I expected. I like it better than the regular mayo. (Found at Whole Foods)

1. Eggs w/veggies & tomatillo salsa, 2. spicy tuna cakes w/brussels, kale & spinach, 3. Big tuna salad, 4. carrot & short rib stew

I had seafood 4 days this week. I’ve been craving it lately.

I leave you with this!

2015-2016.

Posted on January 11, 2016 by HaleyComet

Well. I don’t know where to start, it’s been so long.

2015: moved to CO. Bought a house less than a month later (originally unplanned). Did Pikes Peak marathon. Started school a couple weeks later. Fall semester KICKED MY ASS. Didn’t work out. Got ~~fat~~ (ok, how do I strike through here? Oh! Found it.) unhealthy.

Last January I blogged my 2015 “goals”. I didn’t even come close to 365 days of working out. I don’t even know when I quit that, but it was pretty early. Then:
Other goals:
knit at least 5 projects (making my way through my neglected project box)
read 10 books
3-5 new marathon states (Booked: South Dakota, the rest…up in the air)

Reality:
Knitting: 2 projects. I call that pretty decent considering I hadn’t knitted anything since Dec. 14.
Books: more than 17! I have 17 saved on my Goodreads acct, and I know I forgot to put in several. Between driving across the country (Texas) several times to/from CO, I listened to some great audio books as well.
Marathons: 3 (all new states). Whew, just under the wire here. I had planned on 2 more, but new house/K’s work travel cancelled those. I couldn’t leave in the middle of the move (that I mostly did on my own). That’s ok, life things that are more important than races and I’m totally fine with it.

Food/weight/fitness. I fit all the food in my mouth. Gained a bunch of weight. (UGH. Mad at myself but really trying hard to not beat myself up) I know how to fix it. The fall semester was horrible for these things as well. Workouts were very sporadic, until Dec break, I hadn’t been to a CF class since Oct/early Nov. NOT GOOD for my physical and mental being. I was not a happy person. That’s ok….again, other things were more important, but I really suffered.

I did get a 4.0. Whoo! Whew. That will really help later.

So, what else? 2016? This is a HUGE question mark. I’ve feel like I’ve been treading water/flailing for 2 years now. Since the end of 2013 (end of my first 365), I had “finished” losing weight, and finished the 100miler. I don’t do well without goals, purpose, or vision. Being unstable in where we were going to move, not having fitness goals…just doesn’t work for me. So, I guess the good news is I have something to work towards: getting healthy. Again. (Ugh. Why is this a pattern?)

Health/weight: 365 days of doing something active! 2 Whole30’s. ‘Easy’ to tackle with my routine. Just takes time. I hope I can do this no matter what. I’d love to do 4 again this year, but I don’t know if that is feasible, (more on that below) so, 2 is a reasonable expectation.

Running: not too sure. Depends on the year. If things don’t change, I’ll get a couple more states this year. Not sure which ones. If they do, I suspect I’ll actually get more running in.

Challenges: There are several big unknowns/events on the horizon that may or may not happen. If they do, it’ll be big changes. If they don’t, then things continue on mostly the same, which is good too. Routine is good for me and I know I can focus on getting my ass into shape, no matter what happens. This possible change would be huge, and amazing, but I’d really be denying myself if I didn’t enjoy the full experience. We’ll see.
Others:
House projects. We have a 3 page running list and have stalled on some things as they snowball. For example: “lets redo the floors!” Great. No problem. Well, now I hate the fireplace (with a PASSION) and it’s not staying. (Fireplace Dr. appt next week! One step.) So, can’t redo the floor before we do the fireplace. Need a new storage cabinet/island in the kitchen, but should get a new stove first…And on. And on. This will also be easier when I’m working again. So, maybe 1 big project and a couple smaller ones are a reasonable goal.
Reading: I exceeded my goal and don’t anticipate this falling to the wayside. Our library is EXCELLENT and it’s much easier now that it used to be. (LA libraries & education system are awful) So, no set reading goal.
Knitting: 2-3 projects. I feel this is more reasonable.

BLOGGING. I need to keep this blog up. 1 post per week, minimum. Should be reasonable as well. I do well holding myself accountable when I write it down, and it’s “out there” for the world. If my life changes happen, I suspect this will be far more frequent to keep it documented.

Side note: so many people are against resolutions. Sure, it sucks when you fail, but making a conscious effort to change, or work on something, usually leads to good things. “Losing weight” “eat healthy”, those things don’t usually get people anywhere. Specific goals, usually do.
What am I doing to keep up my goals?
1. this blog
2. getting strict with my food again. I know I”m not a moderation person, I shouldn’t try to be.
3. Fitness/goal journal. This is new, but I hope that seeing it on my table every day will keep me accountable. I can ignore the computer and this blog. Harder to ignore the physical book.

Update (post day): I wrote this 5 days ago and never hit ‘publish.’ Oops.

I doubt anyone read all of this, but if you did, I leave you with this.
Apparently, one can’t leave boxes, and boxes, of LaCroix and Pelligrino in the garage when living in Colorado. I pretty much blame my Yankee husband for this as he pointed out we have tons of shelving storage in there AND he should have known that they would have turned into frozen projectiles, as he is from the frozen tundra of Ohio and I am from the south (and have never lived somewhere this cold). Thankfully only the garage lights were broken, and not the windows in my car. Whooops. That was a terrible mess to clean up!

Nothing like trying to clean frozen, exploded, water.

Super sad face.

On running: a plan!

Posted on May 20, 2015 by HaleyComet

So, while I haven’t run more than 2ish miles since I moved here, I’ve got some long races coming up. I really should be in some sort of shape resembling “fit” and not “round and flabby”.
I’ve had to rework my plan for the summer/year since we’re buying this house that needs a lot of our ~~money~~ time to fix up. So, gone are my Montana 50mi and my Wyoming Memorial weekend marathon since they’re too far and have serious time conflicts with K. We just can’t afford to be that far away for that amount of time right now with what needs (or will need) to be done at the house & the logistics of his work travel. (trying to ignore how overwhelming that is)

BUT! Not to worry. I’ve decided to take a whole different direction!
*drumroll*

TRAINING RUNS!

Hold up. Wait.

WHAT?!

Who is this person?

I think I’m lacking oxygen. Not thinking straight. Clearly.
So. I’ve found a couple half marathons that I think will be excellent training runs for Pikes Peak. I’m not in any reasonable shape for Deadwood Marathon in 2 weeks, but that’s ok. I’ll finish and I’m just thinking of it as a training run.

I’m signed up for a trail half next weekend, then considering Leadville Heavy Half in June. Add that to the 10miler in June (and the marathon), the 12k in July, plus Barr Trail 12miler…I should be in some sort of presentable shape at Pikes Peak in August. Whew.

Let’s make this easier to follow:
5/30 Big Mountain half R
6/7 Deadwood Mickelson marathon R
6/14 Garden of the Gods 10miler (Pikes Triple Crown Series) R
6/20 Leadville half (?)
7/4 HuHot half
7/12 Summer Roundup 12k (Pikes TCS) R
8/15 Pikes Peak Marathon R

Whew. Well. That’s something of a plan. And I think K about had a heart attack when I said, “I’m considering these half marathons because I don’t think the marathons at the altitude and terrain is a smart idea right now. The half distance is more conducive to building mileage without killing myself.”

“That looks like fun!”

Posted on May 13, 2015 by HaleyComet

The worst words one can mutter when looking at the CrossFit WOD. Sigh.

So today I was pretty excited about the WOD!
Running: check
Heavy kettlebell swings: check
Double Unders: check

All 3…for 30minutes. At altitude (no, I’m not acclimated yet). Sigh. Wait, I can’t sigh. I can’t breathe.
So the WOD was:

Every 5 minutes for 30 minutes. I averaged about a minute rest at the end of each round: Not. Enough.

In the class, I did fine. I went heavier on the KB (45lbs) than all the other ladies except one. Was really glad I didn’t stick with the 53lb, like I had originally picked up. Whew.
The one faster female (ex track runner) crushed me the first 2 rounds, then she really fell off at the 3…then nowhere close to the front by the last 2 rounds. So, even though I’m not acclimated, TERRIBLY out of shape, overweight…this proves: CrossFitters don’t run.
Now, I don’t either, but I guess I’m damn proud of myself for knowing how to pace, and mentally am tough enough to push it moderately hard for 400-800m (or longer). In my mind…it’s just so short. At least I’m good at something. The bar. It’s low.
Rounds 3 and 4, I was really cursing myself for not knowing where my inhaler is, that I haven’t found a Primary Care Dr yet and haven’t gotten a new Rx. I *NEED* to get that done before my next marathon and before Pikes Peak marathon ramps up.

Running: each round was 2min or under. Not nearly my best, but pretty happy with that for where I’m at right now. If I had to hold an 8min/mi, it would hurt bad. But, it’s coming back.
KB: swings were fine. I could have done 53lbs, but I probably wouldn’t have finished each round in time. So, I judged well.
DU’s: They’re coming back! After a short breathe break after the swings, I was able to string together 15-20 each round. *golf clap*
Finally, Coach was AWESOME today. She was high as a kite on caffiene, waaay too much coffee. It was hilarious. It made the class very fun –but still motivating and she was still respectful, respected, and in charge. The energy was great!

Tomorrow: I’m sure it won’t be so pretty. In fact, it’s a suck-fest. I’m not sure if I’ll do the WOD, maybe only the strength portion (Back squats: whooo, hello ass!) and then the 5k “fun run” in the evening. We’ll see. My point is: not every day is a good day. Even when it it’s horrible and amazing at the same time.

Hope you enjoyed all the memes…I didn’t take any pictures today. Haha.

April 2-first week?

Posted on April 4, 2015 by HaleyComet

I kept procrastinating…didn’t feel like uploading pics, then was busy, then was VERY tired…then having tons of fun…I attempt to catch up…

April 2… Weather was less than pleasant this morning and kind of threw off my day.
Nothing special food wise…
Breakfast: bowl of red curry veggies, 2 pieces of bacon
Lunch: big bowl of brussels/broccoli salad, bowl of curry
Dinner: ugh, I’ve forgotten. I really need to type it up after every meal or take a pic.
RUN: 1mi, 9:34.

April 3: early morning into Denver. I forgot to eat breakfast and used the last of my coffee. I was so worried about getting my stuff together, making bone broth for my travel mug, and getting out the door…I was very ‘off’. I even took salad out of the fridge and left it on the counter. Sigh.
“lunch”: stopped at Mmmm…Paleo for a coffee. Saw they had several Whole30 compliant options and picked up a meat stuff, bacon wrapped date. DELICIOUS. I never would have thought of this. Cheese stuffed, almond stuffed, bacon wrapped…yes. Meat? Never crossed my mind. It was great to have a safe option while I was out all day, since I failed to prepare. If you’re in Denver, I recommend stopping in!

turkey enchilada stuffed date wrapped in bacon…

Dinner: RAVENOUS when I got home. Well, not ‘ravenous’, but I was crashing hard.
Big piece of salmon and salad. Sauteed that sucker in bacon grease and coconut oil and it was so good. Wish I had bought more. Oh well.
RUN: 7p, after dinner settled. I was so tired and hadn’t eaten enough, but I did it. Why bother to change out of your fuzzy house socks? No need!
1mi: 10:27

High fashion running

April 4: CF in the morning, then errands and dog park. Didn’t eat enough–again. Sigh.
We tried Skirted Heifer and it was great! What a good option after CF.
(grass fed beef, egg, jalapenos, avocado, etc)
RUN: 1mi: 10:51, even after a hard CF workout and being out all day!

April 5: BUSY FUN DAY!! ❤
Garden of the Gods, then the dog park, then after a very quick stop at home to drop off the dogs and grab some veggies for me, we went to Pikes Peak. It was 2p-ish and getting late, but we could see the weather up there was so clear that we took advantage of it.
EXHAUSTING day.

avocado, red pepper in lettuce. Gourmet, right?
(not shown: brisket)

K’s first time up Pikes!

April 6: Today wasn’t great. I was really feeling my dehydration and under nutrition from the weekend. It really caught up to me. I felt really horrible all day. Still ate great though!

smoked chicken leg

April 7: My appetite is really suppressed….not getting hungry until lunchtime.
B/L: BIG bowl of roasted veggies and a chicken leg.
red curry, 1/4 sweet potato
Dinner: broccoli brussels salad
I went to an REI Outdoors class: How to Hike 14ers. GREAT teacher (72 years young, climbed all CO’s 14ers TWICE, Denali, Kilamanjaro, Leadville & Hardrock 100, etc etc etc)
However, a Boy Scout Troop was there as part of their plan to hike Pikes in June. Well, these ‘boys’ were probably 13-14ish years old. They were more interested in texting and talking to each other than listening. I was LIVID. The instructor wasn’t a loud talker and didn’t have a mic (which was fine), but I couldn’t hear over their conversations. What made it worse was their leader didn’t make them shut up! I wanted to walk out so badly, but K said I really needed to go to the class as it did provide great tips and insight. Really ruined what should have been a great evening. Effing uncontrolled kids.

Guess I need more coffee. Now I’m in a bad mood thinking about last night!

In summary (if you’ve bothered to read this far):
Whole30 is going great! Haven’t felt the carb withdrawl, anger, ‘flu’, etc that I was expecting! GREAT news. Guess I wasn’t as far off the deep end as I thought (despite what my too-small clothes and scale says). And, we’re having tons of fun!

On a good note, here is a pic of the eclipse from near my house!

Colorado first “real” week: This and That. And a killer climb.

Posted on March 30, 2015 by HaleyComet

Visitor Welcome Center

I’m getting settled in our new home. I love, Love, LOVE it here. Sure, it’s not the big city, but it’s big enough and has everything we need. All the creature comforts: decent restaurants (even Thai and Vietnamese!), Whole Foods, REI, farmers markets, breweries, meat markets, you know, all the things yuppie/hipsters/people without kids need. My mantra all week was, “I can’t believe I live here!”
“Look at the mountains!”
“It’s so pretty, I can’t believe I live here!”
And on, and on, and on…

The view in The Springs!

I have been here a week and have adjusted well, I think. Way better than when I was here looking for a place to live at the beginning of the month. I only had a headache for one day and I only had one morning where I woke up super-early. Otherwise, I’m sleeping to or past 6am. AWESOME.

Saturday I did my first “real” workout. I’d been here less than a week and K strongly advised against it. He wanted to go to Garden of the Gods for an easy jog/walk on their trails. But, when I found out a friend’s boyfriend was going to the Manitou Incline…I couldn’t resist. I knew it would be bad. Nothing about this was a good idea. I negotiated and told him that I’d only make it to the Bailout point (about 3/4 of the way up, where it crosses a trail). <– Check out that video!! I would go as slow as I needed to to make it safely there. I brought my inhaler and we agreed on that plan. He mostly waited for me, would climb ahead, then wait…I’d catch up and he’d ask if I was ok, then he’d go on and repeat. And repeat. Made it to the Bailout and only used my inhaler once. Felt ok since I was going slooooooow. I knew if I felt ok that I’d never quit at the Bailout. He was going to keep going, so of course I did too. And…I made it! Haha.

Not dying.

I was one of the last to finish in our group, but I have to say I felt pretty great. Yes it was really hard, but I really took it easy since I didn’t know how my lungs and head would feel. So at the top we waited for almost 45min for the last guy in our group, took pictures, people watched….people do this in jeans and cowboy boots and flip flops….insane! Very much a mix of locals, people really training (like us), tourists, and families just on a stroll….a 1mile very uphill steep stairclimb stroll. Crazy.

Group photo…Pikes Peak in the background.

The way down the Incline is a 4 mile jaunt down the Barr Trail. This trail goes all the way up to Pikes Peak. It was very groomed (and crowded), but it’s steep enough for an awesome run down. Walking is fine too, but we let it carry us and I ran the whole way down. SUCCESS! Sure, it was high (6500-8500 feet), but I felt great. I’m very pleased that I handled the whole day better than I thought. I’m on the upswing and it’ll only get better!

Sunday I went to the Denver Botanical Garden for the Cactus & Succulent sale with Bridget. It was a really nice break from unpacking and living in amongst boxes. I’m totally into these little plants right now and love that there are so many neat things to do here!

My new project. Any succulent/cacti ideas?! Yes, that’s a desert alligator.

Back to the climb…since I felt like I handled the climb well, I told K Saturday night, “I think I’ll go back and do the Incline 2 more times this week!” *PAUSE* “Well, maybe I should see if I can walk tomorrow.”
Today is Monday and while I am pretty sore, it’s tolerable. Mostly my hips and lower back (bad form!). I’m really glad my quads and calves don’t have any feelings of soreness. I will probably wait until Tuesday-Thursday to go back. No need to push it.

I’m planning on trying out our CrossFit gym this week, and hopefully do the Incline at least once. Otherwise, I’ve been walking in our neighborhood and doing small active things without pushing too hard. Can’t wait to be 100% acclimated!

Even Whole Foods sells a version of “Bulletproof” coffee! So do the local cafes.

Now, hopefully back to a regular blog schedule…

Days 4-7.

Posted on January 25, 2015 by HaleyComet

Top of the parking garage. Nice view before the shit I’m about to write.

Day 4 (Jan 22): Today sucked. Bad. On top of super-stressful and upsetting news in the morning, I took my dogs to the dog park in the afternoon to relax, and to walk. Well, my little guy, Ory, got ATTACKED by a big dog. Trying to kill him. I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t recall a time in my life I’ve actually FREAKED out, yelling, crying, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it….so upsetting and I’ve never felt so helpless. As I cried in my car-before driving home and after the asshole LEFT the park after yelling at me for not ‘helping’ getting his vicious dog off mine (which, btw, he put his hands INTO his dogs mouth to try to release his jaw…and got punctured)…anyway, he left without checking on my dog, me, or giving me his info to pay for the vet bill…I kept thinking to myself, “what is wrong with you, you held guys who had been blown up in Iraq and were strong as a rock, yet you completely LOSE YOUR SHIT in the dog park?” It was one of the most horrific experiences ever.
Absolutely shitty day and I made the decision to (safely) drive home and have some hard cider.
Walk: 20 min.

One of his punctures. 😦

Day 5 (Jan 23): Gosh. I am writing this 2 days later and I cannot remember what I did. I spent the day trying to recover from the day before…UGH. I need to blog every day. Maybe it’ll come back to me…
Treadmill: 40minutes! YES! I blogged and walked on the treadmill. Whew.

Day 6 (Jan 24): 40 min ‘hill’ training. 2 rounds of the stairs, and 2 rounds of the parking garages at the tallest building in the city (not that tall). It’s the only way to get this kind of cross-training since we live at sea level with no hills.
Felt it in my calves!

Concrete stairwell sucks.

Time for the parking garage…

Day 7 (Jan 25): Treadmill walk: 20min.
Kettlebell swings: 50
My calves are sore from the stairs!

End of week 1 thoughts: I didn’t do enough “real” workouts. Day 6 kicked my butt, and there is nothing wrong with walking most days, but I can step it up this coming week. I’m ok with it, I need to ease back into the routine.

After my hard stair run, I treated myself to a strawberry cortado. It was delicious.

8 weeks: Back at the Box.

Posted on October 15, 2014 by HaleyComet

Over the river (Mississippi) and through the swamp…to CrossFit I go…

8 weeks. Just under 8 weeks until I see K again. I’m resting my knee: no trails. Uneven terrain seems to really aggravate it, so I’m being smart and avoiding my favorite place and races. 😦 No races until Nov. 29, and that one will be a week-of decision as it’s local. Officially, no events until Jan. when I have 3 planned. Even those I’ll be ok with cancelling as none of them are new states and don’t require more than a 1 night trip. Since I’m not doing any races, this is a short term goal to focus on. 8 weeks. Of course I’m not going to stop after that.

8 weeks: to kick my own ass.
8 weeks: to eat optimal food.
8 weeks: to MOVE. More.

I’m not going to step on a scale. I did that last week and it wasn’t pleasant. I don’t want, or need, to obsess over a number. I know a range in which I feel great, in which I look pretty good, and can perform pretty decently at CF and running with only half-assed training. But, bodies don’t always respond in the way we like them to, so no scale. If I do the above things, my body -and mind- will change for the better.

The gym is at the base of that big bridge I have to drive over. Big bridges over the Mississippi are a part of daily life here. Thus, the logo. (Sidenote: really not good for my pretty severe GEPHYROPHOBIA. I only have a problem with them over water. I know where it stems from -several incidents/witnessing accidents in childhood. I *HAVE* to cross bridges over water with my windows down and even then I still get a high HR and sweaty palms…also, my mom thinks it’s funny to email me news articles when bridges collapse in water.)
Now that I’ve given myself anxiety for the evening, lets move on. We all have our issues, ok?

Step 1: Workouts.

I FINALLY bit the bullet and paid for a membership. I’ve been dropping in to this box over the past month or two, actually maybe since August. Things kept coming up so I didn’t join: went to Ohio for 2 weeks, then Washington, then my knee hurt, then so on and so on…paid the registration ‘fee’ (covers WODify account and shirt) and did a discounted 6 month contract (with no-fees if we -hopefully- move at some point).

CFDB bag. Vibrams. Minimus. Reebok Oly Lifters. Jump Rope. Cute G WEAR tank.

The WOD:
10rds for time:
21 double-unders
7 ring dips
7 toe-to-bar
7 pistols

I scaled to 5 rounds. Time: 11:24.
I can’t do anything resembling a ring dip anymore without a band. I can’t do more than 1 toe-to-bar and I can almost do one pistol on my left leg only…my damn right knee is really starting to piss me off and it’s making me weak.
So. I’m starting somewhere (the bottom) and it’s really exciting. I’m actually ok with the current state of fitness affairs. At least I can still do a pullup, DU’s, handstands, and Olympic lifts. And I’m sure there is plenty more I can do. I’m not dwelling on what I can’t do anymore, because I know I will do them again. Probably sooner than later. We shall see tomorrow…

Food
Again, something I’m not going to obsess over. When I eat well, I feel great. The end. I don’t want to add pressure to myself and log everything, but if I attempt to, it will help me be more accountable.
Today:
Post WOD: spaghetti squash with ground beef and veggie sauce (leftovers). Bell pepper from the garden.
Lunch/Dinner: chicken salad over veggies, some chicken with sriracha, mayo & ketchup.

Not a food photographer.

Some bone broth

Nutrients.

There you have it.

Lets talk normal stuff.

Posted on September 29, 2014 by HaleyComet

Since I’ve been back from the Blerch, eating through Seattle, & Ohio, I’ve been craving vegetables and fish. Thankfully I stocked up the last time Whole Foods had wild caught salmon on sale. Some things I’ve eaten this week:

mushroom & truffle eggs

Shouldn’t have made the basil pesto look like a log of poo

And another meal of the same

Pesto didn’t turn out much better…

Didn’t even try this time.

Can I have some?

Finally something different

I could live off this.

My knee. Sigh. I’ve rested it a solid week now. Iced it religiously for 5 days, and no-so-religiously for 2-3. Today I tried some intervals (not fast sprints, just decent slower running in between kettlebell movements) and it wasn’t feeling great. Gggrrr. It’s becoming really annoying. It’s not painful enough that I think it’s a major tear or rupture (read: No way I’m going to the Dr), but I’m not used to feeling anything that uncomfortable when I run other than the normal muscle discomfort after 30-50miles. Yes, I know, I know, you can go ahead and hate me. So, what to do? Nothing of course. I think it just needs more rest. Unfortunately, I’ve got a double (2 marathons) this weekend. I should be able to make it through them fine considering I finished the Blerch the day after I fell, but it will probably be slow and less-than-~~fun~~ ideal. K will look at it and give it some sports med/trainer movements and try to narrow down what it may or may not be. Then, we’ll decide what to do. I’m getting around fine and obviously can still physically move/run, so I’m doing the healthy thing and will ignore it a while longer (and rest)!

While resting my knee, I worked my arms, shoulders, and back doing CropFit! Functional fitness, FTW!

This week I’ve completely redone the garden. I needed new dirt and the boxes had become overgrown. Then my wonderful fur children decided they NEEDED to hunt and dig something that had been living in there. My 2 year old rosemary that survived the harsh winter and a week of below-freezing temps (3 days in the 20’s!) was near death. Got that transplanted to a pot and went to work…

Before

Mess.

Dog damage

Fuckers.

During

Out with the old

Moving dirt.

Please let me play in it…PLEASE

Digging asshole

In charge

After
(the middle section isn’t finished, but that won’t be finished for a couple more days. This is close enough to finished)

Before I got this chicken wire fence up, the dogs ran thorough my rows, dug, and dug up 2 cauliflower. My carrot seeds were meticulously planted. I’d worked so hard for 4 days, for it to be destroyed in just a couple minutes. I was furious. Actually, furious doesn’t describe it. But, I’m hopeful. I threw in more seeds, said “fuck it” and the dogs knew they were in trouble. My uncle has carrots and beets sprouting already and when he thins his crops, we’re going to put some of his baby plants in my middle section. So…hopefully between what they didn’t destroy and the transplanting, I’ll have some strong crops. I’m really excited to have a TON of beets. I love them.

Carrots, beets, cauliflower, bok choi, cilantro, chard

Dog proof

After the dog drama, my mom and uncle both praised my extensive work and care to another uncle. I was floored. See, we’re not an overly praising family. (How I ended up independent and not really needy is beyond me.) My uncle is a master gardener and hunter and could (and mostly does) live off the land. He’s impressed and thinks it will do well. And my mom said, “Maybe that agriculture education at Texas A&M wasn’t a waste after all.” Ha. Gig’Em!

haleycomet365

365 days of workouts, Food, and hopefully some fun!

Tag Archives: running