Happy Monday! Let's catch up

It's been too long since I've updated here.  And it's been a little crazy so let me recap it all for you here.

*Bootcamp teaching is going really well.  I taught 3 classes this morning on my own.  Talk about being nervous.  I was very prepared (except for my watch...I have seem to have misplaced this watch.)  And I got great feedback about how my cardio is great and my resistance portions need a little work.

*Crossfit has been on the back burner and I hate it.  I haven't been since Fran.  I like going in the early AM and since I've been teaching so much, it is a little more difficult to get there in time for the 8am class.  This is changing next week though.  I've already booked my classes through the end of August.

*Derby is back in full swing.  We scrimmaged on Wednesday and I jammed at least 6x.  Being off skates for a month was very noticable and I was able to score points and work on my fast feet.  Tonight is endurance night so I'm well prepared for it.

*We had some TN visitors last week which means we were going out to eat to dinner and traveling the state.  We stopped at a few stops along the way:

-We took Joel's cousins white water rafting on class 3 & 4 rapids.  It was a blast.  The water was freezing and I didn't swim too much as I don't like the cold water.  Though going over rapids is adrenaline rushing!
-Monterey for a whale cruise and the aquarium.  MUST check out the aquarium again.  We didn't get enough time there.  The whale cruise was longer than expected as we didn't site any whales in the first 2.5 hours.  So we were out there for 4 hours.  I didn't see any whales.  I got my first bout of sea sickness and was laying down the entire time. 
-Hearst Castle is unbelievable.  We took one tour and I'd love to go back to take another.  The pools were amazing.
-We somehow convinced everyone to go to Pismo Beach and ride the dunebuggies over the sand dunes.  We had 2 4-seaters which are a little different to drive than the 1-seater or 2-seater I've driven before.  Riding in the back was a lot of fun though.
-We finally made it to Carlsbad, the site of their last hotel, and we traveled to LA and San Diego from there.  We went to American Idol LIVE at the Nokia Theatre in LA and I had a blast.  I don't watch American Idol, and I knew none of the winners.  Though I got up and danced to almost every song.  In San Diego, we went to the Safari Park Zoo and got to feed giraffes and a rhino.  It was tons of fun.  We haven't taken any of the photos off of the camera yet but when I do-I'll post them.

In the meantime, I'll post a Color Run photo.  I'll recap this race soon!

Fran

Fran welcomed me back to crossfit this morning.  And boy was it tough. 



Front squat 63.5% x 3, 72.5%x3, 81.5%x3++ (my one rep max is 133lbs on front squat)

"Fran"
21, 15 & 9 reps

Thrusters
Pull-ups


We started with front squats and worked our way through the % there.  Nothing too bad-it felt great to be back.

Fran was, as always, a killer.  I did the rx weight which is 65lbs.  And I used a blue band for the pull ups.  I was exhausted when we finished.  I did it in 8:08.  My last time was 7:36 but with only 53lbs.  My wrist did start to hurt a little into it but I modified my grip each time to not have any pain during the workout.  I can't tell what needs work to actually improve this time but I'll keep working at it.

After crossfit, I went to teach my first programmed half of bootcamp.  I did a HIIT (high intensity interval training) cardio and then the core/stretching piece.  It's our Boxing week, so we did high knees, punches and my favorite-shuttle runs.  As we were jogging over to the restitance section, I heard a bootcamper say "I'm sweating in places I've never sweat before."   That's certainly a great compliment to a coach.

The run that wasn't

I planned all week on my day off I'd embark on an 8 mile run to help me prepare for this half marathon I signed up for on Aug 12.  (Holy shit it's a month away)

Yesterday I mentioned my knee was hurting slightly.  I iced it, took ibuprofen, elevated it, rested it and put tape on it.  I took it easy the rest of the day with studying and a little cleaning.

I slept in til 8:30am this morning and got an extra 30 mins and finally got out of bed at 9am.  I charged my garmin (still hadn't charged it since the 5k in Memphis) and got ready to run.  My knee wasn't at 100% but I knew I could still run slower and get the miles in. 

I was out the door and in the sun and felt great.  I started down the path of the 8 mile route (which is also every other mile route) and my knee was not happy.  I didn't want to turn around and admit defeat.  I decided to turn on the first block and see how I feel a little further down.  I know about 3 different routes that vary in distance depending on which road I take.  I could tell very easily that my knee wouldn't hold up for a 5k.  (Yikes!  I have a 5k on Saturday).  So I told myself I'd run a mile and then head back home.  I made it 1.25 miles before stopping to walk the rest of the block home.  I was upset and frustrated.  And then I realized that I'm protecting myself from further injury by not running those 8 miles.  I came home, put it up and put ice on it.  I've taken some ibuprofen and just resting.

I have some errands to run today and will be back to rest it while studying later today. 

Frustrating!  Though as long as I take it easy, I'm hoping it won't be anything serious.  Until next week, where I'm hoping to run 8 miles at my half marathon pace of 9mins to finally break that 2 hour mark. *crosses my fingers*

Cardio Wednesday

Today was all about cardio.  We teamed up with partners for some partner plank pushups and mountain climbers with resistance bands.  And there was running....with stairs.  I felt great after the 5:30am class and was prepared to teach a great class at 6:30am.  While it was a great class, the bootcampers were catching their breath the entire time-we only had 3 campers.  So I stepped in and did more planks for the partner drills.

And there were lunges.  Lunges with a power skip in between.  And yes squats.  For some reason, I thought that I might lose all the muscle memory from not skating for a month and I'm pretty sure I won't.  We did tons of drills to help with that.

Now I'm off to study for the CPT exam at the end of the month while icing my knee.  It felt a little swollen after 4 days of lunges so I'm resting and icing.

Workout Shopping

The other weekend, I went to Lululemon for a little clothes shopping.  For some, this wouldn't be as exciting but I love their clothes.  Always cute and their pants are super comfy and look good from any angle.

I picked up 3 tops and two pair of crops.

Cropped Wunder Unders

 

Cropped Groove Pants

Run for Your Money Tank

Chase Me Tank

Scoop Me Up Tank

And here I am in the middle wearing this top to run the Stars and Stripes 5k in Memphis.

I do love me some lulu!

Bootcamp, here I come!

Today was my first day of training for me to become a bootcamp coach.  I'm learning how they program the workouts and working out myself.  So that means I workout at the 5:30am class and help coach the 6:30am with the same workout.  I am no morning person, so I tried to be in bed early and was not very successful with 11pm.  And my alarm went off at 4:30am and I was less than thrilled.  Though my friend, Total Zero Redbull was a savior before my workout and right after lunch when I started to crash.

Today we focused on sprint intervals, chest, triceps and quads.  We did tons of push ups.  And squats.  I'm sure I'll be a little sore in the AM.

Since my schedule for training isn't normal and I really like AM crossfit workouts, I'm taking the week off from crossfit.  It would be difficult to get there on time for an 8am class as I barely made it home by that time today.  I'm also working out in 4 out of 5 bootcamp classes this week so I think it's okay.

I start programming half classes next week so I've been thinking of some great workouts to do and easy to explain so I can start learning the campers.

One Rep Max

Today was my first day back to crossfit in over a week.  And to my surprise, it was time to retest some lifts including back squat, press or push press and deadlift. I was a little slow on my back squat as I wanted to warm up prior to getting to the heavier weights so I didn't get to the press or deadlift.

I started crossfit on August 8th of last year and on 8/16/11 I did a back squat of 133#.  That was a big deal for me.  I'd never done any type of lifting and was really impressed with myself.

For whatever reason, I haven't had the opportunity to retest until today.  I knew I could beat this and push myself to something higher.  I was thinking 153# would be my max. To my surprise, I backsquatted 188# today.  It was tough.  My coach made some pointers here and there about the varying range of how low I go and making sure I have a deep breath before actually squatting.

I wish I had gotten to push press as I need to retest that one as last August was the last time I tested.  After crossfit, I headed to bootcamp.  The last one as a camper and not a teacher and it was tough.  I needed it though, a week of vacation including yummy food and drinks had me feeling a little bad about myself.  We did tons of squats, lunges, high knees running and tons of core work.  I couldn't wait to get home to shower.

Stars and Stripes 5k

A 5k in Memphis sounded like a good idea.  We come for an annual July 4th weekend party every year.  I'm training for a half marathon and the 5k seemed perfect to actually get me to run while indulging everyday in good food, good drinks and tons of party games.

As I checked the weather before packing, I got nervous.  No day under 100.  Yikes!

I prepared by running one morning in the heat and about died.  It was hot and humid and I'm not used to that. 

I knew what I was in for.  I knew I wanted to run a sub 28, Joel said I should run a sub 26.  This was going to be a challenge at 7pm after being at the pool all day.  I proceeded to eat a medium sized lunch and lots of water.

Once I got there and realized how hot it was, I knew that I had to overcome the mental obstacles to run at a steady pace.

Waiting at the start, my garmin died.  Yes I was so mad.  I was planning on pacing myself and Joel's sisters for at least the first mile.  I had only used it once since taking it off the charger.  (Might need to look into a new one).  So I opened the Nike app to pace myself.  And then we were off.  I quickly realized that pacing myself with Nike was no longer an option since the new update, it didn't give me my pace, just distance and time elapsed.

I didn't know the neighborhood so I couldn't count on that knowing where I was.  I walked through the water stations after mile marker 1 and right before mile marker 2.  It was so hot I had to walk for one minute to cool off and catch my breath.

I ended up sprinting in once I turned the corner and saw cones.  I think I sprinted too fast as I had to hold my side (side stiches galore) as I crossed the finish line.  I couldn't bring myself to slow on my way in to that finish line.

Time was 28:31 though that wasn't the time chip.  I have another 5k in San Francisco on July 14th and I'm hoping to see that sub 26 minute 5k then.