crossfit-a-versary!

I am resolved this week to go climbing on Thursday and to not do crossfit on Wednesday. Which meant Monday or Tuesday for working out. Yesterday I just didn't feel like it, even though it wasn't that horrible a work out. I was convinced that today would be full of burpees as payback, but actually it wasn't that bad.

First we did front squats. I did six squats at 85 pounds - two sets of three. Number three on both of the rounds was a little wobbly. My partner did like 100 pounds, and she was maybe 100 pounds. Hard core.

Today's workout included bear complexes. I saw a youtube of a bear getting into a truck through an opened window a couple days ago. I also read about a bear that mauled someone, and how they were tracking it down to euthanize it. The guy who was mauled didn't do anything, he was just innocently sleeping in his tent, with no food in it. Still, poor bear. That makes me sad.

WOD:
5-4-3-2-1
Bear complex (I did level 1, 45 pounds)
x20 jump rope
My time 9:32

I was the first one done! Probably because I was lifting so little, and everyone else was doing double unders instead of singles. After I finished I did another 150 jumps to make it 1.5 the double under group.

After we did 3 sets of 20 sit ups and 30 hallow rocks. My stomach is going to be killing me tomorrow.

I believe that last week was actually my one year crossfit-a-versary! Of course, I did take a month off for Peru, and a week off for that conference, so I guess it would be next month...

Mt. Moosilauke

Last night I was all "I'm going to get up early tomorrow and hike Owl's Head!" I set my alarm for 6 am, packed my backpack with the maps and all. And, when the alarm went off I hit the snooze bar a few times and decided "I'm doing Moosilauke!" In my defense, Moosilauke was my original plan, I just got side tracked with Owls Head. But, #1 - it was my first solo 4000 footer. #2 - it was pretty hot out today, in the 80's. #3 - I'm not totally convinced that I can do Owl's Head in one day - it's 18.9 miles!

Moosilauke is nicknamed "the Gentle Giant." It's the tenth tallest of the 4000 footers, but apparently the trailhead starts kind of far up on it. Also, it's got a pretty long approach, so the start at least isn't that hard. The top is alpine meadow, my favorite kind of hiking! Total distance, 3.7 miles up, 3.8 down (I did a loop) plus an extra .2 mile because I went up South Peak tool. So, 7.7 miles, about 5-5.5 hours hiking time (just a little slower than book time)

The drive up was about 2.5 hours, but I downloaded a Dan Brown MP3 book, and that made such a difference! I'm never going on a long drive again without books on tape (or, iPad really), I drove almost 5 hours, but it didn't feel like it at all.

The hike starts from the Dartmouth Lodge, which is totally cute! The only thing was they were having some kind of event today, and so I had to part about a half mile from the trail head. I hate it when I have to walk to my hike. The hike started out really gentle uphill, and I thought it was a pretty easy hike for the first hour or so (I remembered to acknowledge crossfit for this - in the hours of the week that I'm not at crossfit, it's so worth it). Eventually the trail got steeper, but it had a lot of switchbacks, so it wasn't one of those NH trails that just goes up the side of the mountain. A little before the top, the "Stomach Alarm" went off, and I had to stop and eat something. I waited until I got above tree line, so there was a nice view. Then I finished the last half mile. Really nice views from the top!

Walking from the peak to South peak was my favorite part of the hike! It was about a mile and all alpine meadow, scrub pine, flowers and a nice view!

On the way down I worked on walking with gravity, not fighting it but using it to help me move faster. It would be a lot easier if there were fewer rocks, that's for sure. I think I'm getting better at it, though. It was fun to try, though my feet started to hurt. There was a stream right by the Dartmouth lodge when I finished, and I stuck my feet in it. So cold! They always have football players take ice baths, I feel like this is the same idea. Although, I couldn't keep my feet in that long, they started to hurt after a minute or two.

On the way home I stopped for a hamburger that was so good.

bunnies

I was all excited today because crossfit was things I can, for the most part, do. And, there was a lot of rowing, which in theory I like. It was so hot in the box, and this was a super cardio workout. Yup, wanted to throw up again.

WOD:
40-30-20-10
row for calories
box jumps (I did step ups)
kettlebell swings (I used the smallest one)
10 ring dips (I used a band)
my time: 22 min 12 sec

After crossfit I went to my garden. We have an infestation of bunnies. One plot that's a raised bed had three bunnies in it. They must have been born there, I don't see how they could have jumped up. It didn't look like it had the best bunny eats, they were just nibbling on squash leaves. I bet they already ate everything bunnies can eat. I put chicken wire around all the plants that I have that bunnies seem to enjoy. Fortunately they don't like tomatoes.

My boss told me today that I'm getting a salary adjustment! (Because I get paid less than I should. Boo.) So, I will be getting a raise, a bonus, and a salary adjustment. :)  No new title, though. Apparently to be assistant director I have to have someone to direct. Sigh. So, first we have to hire someone. I would like to be assistant director, but until then I'll take the cash :)

Saturday I'm going to try solo hiking a 4000 footer!

GI Joe

It's officially summer! So nice that it's light out so late, and that it's warm. I actually had to put my AC in one day, it was so hot.  Today was warm and humid. Of course I thought about not going because it was hot and there was a ton of running, but then I went anyhow. We had a benchmark WOD today:

WOD:
400 Meter sandbag run
20 Overhead squats (I did back squats. Overhead ones hurt my shoulder. I lifted 35 pounds)
20 Toes to bar (I did knees to chest)
200 meter sandbag run
100 rope jumps (meant to be double unders, but...)
200 meter sandbag run
20 toes to bar
20 back squats
400 meter sandbag run
my time: 14:41

WOD 2:
EMOM 10 min
100 meter sprint

The second one was almost harder than the first! It took me about 30 sec for each 100 meters. I was dead last for each round. Of course, 30 sec for 100 meters is an 8 min mile, but I did't run a mile all at once....

Therapy Chicken

The best thing at the conference is the birds! In the exhibit hall there was someone with a therapy chicken. It just sits there in its chicken box and you pet it and it clucks in a happy sort of chicken way. It was really soft and kind of endearing. I have always had a little bit of a chicken phobia, so this was good for me :)  The person who came with the chicken said that she is working to change chicken's reps, "one chicken at a time." I also got a tour of a veterinary school, which was pretty cool. The best part was the raptor center there. They have a huge rescue program for birds of prey, and the birds that can't be sent back into the wild remain for educational purposes. They had several bald eagles, peregrine falcons, owls, and a turkey vulture. So amazing to see them up close!

They had therapy dogs too. I think my boss should get a dog and bring it into work so we could have a therapy dog too.

Yesterday I was feeling gross from all the conference eating, and decided I would make my own WOD in the hotel gym.  I think I did OK.

DIYWOD 1:
Treadmill intervals, 1 min fast, 30 sec rest for 10 min plus warm up and cool down.
top speed: 8:50 min mile! (for a minute and a half)
total distance: 1.38 miles in 15 min
average pace: 10:50 min mile

DIYWOD 2:
30 sit ups on machine
15 thrusters (with two 15 pound hand weights)
20 sit ups
10 thrusters
10 sit ups
5 thrusters
I have no idea how long it took, but I'm guessing 10 min

Then I did some other stretches and such and left.

Today they had a Meet the Dean's fair. I networked! I talked to like 10 medical school admissions deans. And, they were all pretty good conversations :)  There's a poster session going on now, so I'm headed down to look at them - maybe one will spur an idea for my research!

The Seven

I'm not headed off on my trip until tomorrow (so, if you are planning to rob the house, definitely wait until then). I froze my membership at crossfit for when I'm gone. But last night I realized that I froze it as of tomorrow, so today I could still go. Sigh. I really will have a week off now!

Today's WOD had lots of 7's in it, including 7x7 burpees. Yuck.

WOD: 7 rounds
7 pushups (supposed to be handstand pushups, but I did them with a band)
7 thrusters (I lifted 35 pounds)
7 knees to elbows (I did knees in the general direction of my stomach)
7 deadlifts (I lifted 95 pounds)
7 burpees (yuck)
7 kettlebell swings (I used the lightest one)
7 pull ups (I used bands)
My time: 32 min, 5 sec

I modified everything! Although I did probably do 20 real burpees, without stepping back but jumping (then falling on my chest instead of doing a pushup but, whatever). On my last couple of rounds of the band assisted pull ups I actually got the kipping swing going, and was flying up! I might be able to use the second smallest bands next time :)

I liked having all the variety with low reps. Except the burpees. That was painful.

2.11 miles!

Today's WOD involved a lot of running. On the bright side, my tendon doesn't hurt really at all now that it's done. On the other hand, I thought I was going to throw up for part of the workout. It was tough!  Super-in-shape girl led the class, which meant that the warm up was like the workout in many other classes. We started by running 1/3 mile, then did a bunch of other exercises. Like, burpee and then long jump for the length of the gym and back. 

WOD:

1070 meter run

25 sumo deadlifts (I lifted 35 pounds)

25 thrusters

25 wall balls

800 meter run

20 sumo deadlifts

20 thrusters

20 wall balls

600 meter run

15 sumo deadlifts

15 thrusters

15 wall balls

400 meter run

10 sumo deadlifts

10 thrusters

10 wall balls

my time: 35 min 17 sec

Total running distance with the warm up was 2.11 miles.  70 wall balls, 70 thrusters at 35 pounds, and 70 sumo high pulls...  While I was running, I was thinking "I can't believe I used to do this all the time!" But, I think I was running faster than I used to run, though I'm not totally sure because the first run she didn't have the clock going! 

I'm headed to Minneapolis for a conference on Tuesday (don't rob the house while I'm gone, there's nothing of value to take) so I wouldn't be doing crossfit for a whole week. I kept reminding myself of that during the workout.

The Damn Rope Again

Still can't climb it. Nope. No way, no how. Todays WOD had 6 minutes of rope climbing in it. 6 minutes! That's a long time to stand around pretending to climb a rope.

WOD: 3 rounds
2 minutes rope climbs
2 minutes wall balls
2 minutes rowing for calories
2 minutes jumping rope
2 minutes rest

Aside from the rope climbing bit which was just silly, I did 35 wall balls the first round, then 30 the second and third, for a total of 95 wall balls. Which is a lot. Rowing I did 10 calories the first round because I stopped to write down my wall ball number. Rounds 2 and 3 I managed to remember the number 30, and did 15 calories rowing. I increased my jumps on rope jumping, from 120 to 140 to 150!

They have this super in-shape chick teaching the Wednesday class. She's very nice, but expressed great sadness that she never got to climb a rope in elementary school gym class. Yeah, I kinda hate her.

North Kinsman

This weekend was the beginner backpack weekend. Our group was three leaders and 5 hikers.  We stayed at Kinsman Pond Shelter, which is about 1.9 miles past Lonesome Pond Hut. Total hike to get to the shelter was 3.1 miles with 3740 feet of elevation gain. Then, we went to the top of North Kinsman with just day packs.  Total hike miles for Sat was 4.25 miles, then today we went back down.

I think I overpacked a bit, my pack was over 35 pounds, which is a little nuts!  At first I thought that it just wasn't going to work out, but once I got used to the pack it was fine. Thank heaven for all those squats! It took us a long time to get up because one of the hikers (not me!) was really struggling. We had to keep resting, and eventually the leaders carried some of her gear for her. Later, at the camp site I saw that she had things like her driver's license with her! I think maybe she REALLY overpacked.

Backpacking is definitely a mixed bag. Hiking up I was working really hard. When we got to the campsite my legs were feeling a little jelly-like. But once I rested and ate something, I felt a lot better. And it was SO nice at the campsite, away from everything, relaxing, full of nature :)  I was hoping that we would do both North and South Kinsman, so I could peek-bag a little, but no such luck. It was getting a little later by the time we got to the top of North Kinsman, and the head leader wanted to get back to camp in time to cook dinner. I was a little disappointed and a little relieved. I wanted to hit both of the Kinsmans, but at the same time I was pretty tired!

I was thinking, "this is totally cool, I could do this by myself." I mean, there were a lot of people at the hut, and everyone was friendly, so it felt pretty safe. But then around 1 am I heard something rustling around my tent, and I was like "I can't do this myself! It's too scary!!"  So, we'll see.

Channeling my inner bunny

Day 2 in a row of crossfit. Today's WOD was mostly weight lifting and lots of squats. We started with a 10 minute EMOM of squat snatches and then two overhead squats. On the last round I did 50 pounds! I did 45 pounds for 2 rounds, 40 for like 3, and the other 5 or so at 35 pounds. Coach said I was doing them well, and that she was impressed. I think she was being nice, but I'll take it!

WOD: 3 rounds
15 power snatches (I did 35 pounds)
20 thrusters
60 double unders (I did singles)
my time: 12:51

I tried to channel my inner bunny and do double unders, but no dice. I couldn't even do a single double. I'll have to come up with a better image. I was talking to this other woman, and she was wresting with the same dark thoughts that I often have about being last all the time, feeling like she doesn't get any better, and wondering why the heck she does crossfit. Good to know I'm not the only one!

I was thinking about bailing on todays crossfit and going tomorrow, but then I decided that tomorrow would probably be full of burpees, and I was right! 55 Burpee box jumps.  I would so be regretting that decision!

More Running

Today was a runny WOD, so of course we started with a warm-up running. We did 1/3 of a mile for each running section. The first time we all ran out together, and I was pretty psyched because I was only second to last, and in front of a guy! When we got back, though, I noticed that his shoes weren't tied, and I assume that had something to do with his slowness. Anyhow, the warm up run was pretty fast for me. I bet it was a 9 min mile pace. For everyone else it was a slow jug.

For the skill section we did handstand pushups. Or, everyone else did handstand push ups. I did two assisted hand stands against the wall. In the first one I was feeling pretty proud of myself, because I mostly kicked up on my own. Then, on the way down I smacked pretty much the entire top of my head on the wall. Ouch!  I did another one after that, just so I wouldn't be scared of hand stands. I think one of these days I may get the stupid things (not so much the push up, though.)

WOD: 4 rounds
10 hand stand pushups (I did band assisted regular push ups)
12 back squats (I did 55 pounds)
14 pull ups (I did half with a band)
1/3 mile run
rest 2 minutes (I rested less)
my time: 25:50

I have to go again tomorrow, because I know I won't go on Friday, and then I'm away for the weekend. It looks like not too bad a WOD, though. Snatches, thrusters and double unders.

This weekend is the back pack trip with the egg salad sandwich people. Only, it won't be egg salad sandwiches (sadly), it will be some kind of noodle dish with curry. It's 3.1 miles and almost 2000 feet of elevation gain to get to the shelter where we'll be staying. Then the Kinsman's are .4 miles to the north one and another .9 miles to the south one. I hope I can make both of them!