Friday, December 30, 2016

Nancy on a Boat

Nancy on a Boat is the winter/rainy day version of Nancy, which I don't think I have done (though I would have to check). It was actually a pretty good WOD for me, lots of rowing!  Coach told me that I should get my legs pretty much straight before using my arms on the rower. Oh! That makes things a little different, better I think.

First we did snatches, 5 rounds of 3. This woman asked me if she could work with me because she was new at crossfit and found snatches to be hard. It was weird being the one who was lifting more and knew what was going on. We started with 35 pounds. Then I went up to 55 pounds, which was really too heavy for me. So I went down to 45 for a couple rounds, and then 50. My technique for 50 was good.  55 was poor, though I did lift it so I counted it when we wrote down our scores.

Nancy on a Boat: 5 rounds
500 meter row
10 overhead squats (I lifted 35 pounds)
my time: 18 min 9 sec

I did level one on Nancy, the regular workout is 15 overhead squats, but I didn't think I could do that for 5 rounds. My last round of 10 was really tough, I was wobbling a lot.

Vacation has been nice, though unfortunately I got a cold and haven't been feeling so great. It did give me an excuse to sit on the couch all day listening to Game of Thrones on my iPad for a couple days. But it led to me only going to crossfit once this week so far - tomorrow is NYE and I'm doing my two hour yoga - 10 pm to midnight, so I don't think crossfit is a good idea.  I did go climbing twice this week though, so that's good.  I also did the Rock Circuit hike to the viewpoint Christmas Day. I decided I couldn't blog about it every time I did the walk. It was pretty much exactly 5 minutes from the MIT observatory site to the viewpoint though, I did want to note that.

After almost 9 years in my place I finally got curtains for my bedroom!  I'm irrationally excited about them. I found ones that I really like at Pier One. Of course they only had two panels in the store, so I had to order the other two online. So, they look kinda silly right now. But, I'm happy with my choice. I was hanging them yesterday, standing on top of my sewing machine table, when I forgot that it only has three legs (ok, didn't think about the fact) and stood on the part with no leg. It tipped over and I fell about 3 feet backwards onto the floor. I wound up with a bump on my hand, at that's it. So, all this exercise is helping my bones to remain strong!!

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Happy Hanukkah!

Once again I got myself in the position of it being Saturday and I had only been to crossfit once this week, so I had to go. The WOD had a mile of running, two 800 meter runs. I wasn't excited about it. Happily, it's rainy and cold out which I felt gave me an excuse to row - surprisingly few people felt that way, most everyone ran. Good for them, but I was happy on my nice dry rower.

First we did core work:
40 sec on, 20 sec off for 3 rounds:
plank up and overs
BB wipers (which involve holding lying on your back, holding a barbell up, and bringing your feet up to the barbell back and forth. Ouch.)
BB Rollouts (like one of those rolling wheel things for abs, but with a barbell. I can't do them well)

WOD:
1000 meter row
then 3 rounds:
20 thrusters (I lifted 35 pounds)
100 jumps (everyone else did 80 doubles)
then:
1000 meter row
my time 21 min, 21 sec

Although I am still far from being able to do double unders on the jumprope, I am happy to say that I did all three sets of 100 single jumps with the jumprope unbroken!

I have been pretty good on the exercise this week- I did yoga on Thursday and climbing yesterday. I've kind of lost some of my zing at climbing because I haven't been going regularly, but I did a 10 at Metrorock yesterday. It took a little while, but I did it!  I was happy - since I won't be hiking as much in the winter, I feel like I can get some of my climbing skill back.

My neighbor upstairs, Slam Chowder, has a kayak and she actually keeps it insider her apartment. Interesting idea. The places are pretty small, but she says it fits fine. Something to think about for after I finish my 4000 footers. Maybe my celebration gift to myself??

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Winter Solstice in the Fells

Winter is coming! To celebrate the solstice I decided on the hike to the view point on Rock Circuit Trail. Of course, I started too late and wound up getting to the trail at 3:25 and so I only had enough time to get to the old MIT observatory. I think it would have taken another 5 minutes to get to the view point. Not far, but that's another 10 minutes, I didn't have my headlamp and, even if I did, I don't think it's a good idea to be in the fells alone after dark. As it was, I finished just as it was getting dark.

It was a good day for a walk in the woods! The weather was crisp and cool, but not too cold. I got to wear my non-winter boots and practice working with gravity. It's a lot easier when it's not a 4000 footer.

I took my car in earlier today. You never know when to believe them about what needs fixing. They told me I needed a new battery and tires, plus assorted other stuff. The tires were the most expensive thing, so I just got the other stuff, reasoning that since winter is coming, I do want a good battery. On the way home I compared my tire treads to a couple other cars and they do in fact look smaller. But, on the other hand, I remember driving a car until I could see the steel in the steel belted tires (in retrospect, not the wisest move.)  Sometimes it's hard being an adult.

Anyhow, 12 days of vacation now!!  Yay!

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Last two WODs combine

Today's WOD was a partner WOD with rowing and sit-ups! I read it and thought "seems familiar!" It was the "cool down" from the last WOD I did plus partner WOD from the one before. Anyhow, it was a good one for me, so I was happy with that.

We started with back squats. We were supposed to hold for two seconds at the bottom, which I did, but it made the whole thing harder. I got up to 125 pounds for two rounds of two! I was pretty happy with myself on that one.  I'll have to look and see if it's a new record or what.

It was a small class today, I guess because we're getting close to the holiday. At the start there were only seven of us, which meant one person was the odd person out on the partner thing (that would be me). I was doing my best fake sadness-while-inside-feeling-happy because really I don't love partner WODS. And then this guy came in like 10 minutes late, so I had a partner after all. Meh.  I was kind of sad about it, but in the end it did push me to do better, especially in the sit-ups.

WOD: partners alternate
Together row 5K
partner not rowing does sit-ups
our time 22 min 5 sec
I did 205 sit ups

My stomach is going to really hurt tomorrow!

Tomorrow is my last day of work until January 3!  I'm working from home, or actually from the car dealer because I have to get my oil changed and such. So, the plan is to get there earlier so that they will hopefully not take too long. I have a few things to do, but not much. And then I'm on vaca!  I don't have a ton of plans, climbing, yoga, hiking, a couple nights out, getting ahead on my reading for the next class. Hopefully it will be fun!

Friday, December 16, 2016

Fran

Today was a benchmark WOD: Fran. I can't remember if I've done it before, will have to check. It's supposed to be killer, in fact coach said that the last time he did it he had a steak and cheese sub for lunch and threw it up after. I don't know, it's short and sweet and though it's hard, so are all of them.

Fran: 21-15-9
Thrusters (I lifted 35 pounds)
Pull ups (I used a green band)
my time: 7 min 20 sec

The guy who owns the gym did the work out at 5 am in 2 min and 9 sec. That's just crazy!  After we finished Fran we had a "gentle and relaxing cool-down to ease the tension in our legs."

Cool down:
750 meter row
50 sit ups
500 meter row
40 sit ups
250 meter row
30 sit ups
untimed, but it took me about 17 minutes

It was really weird to do a long workout without the pressure of a clock. Not everyone did the "cool down" (I have to put it in quotes, because there's an irony to a cool down that's more than twice the length of the workout. Plus, that's not a cool down, Hello!).  It was way more chill than a crossfit workout usually is.  I liked it, but it wasn't as good a workout I have to confess.

Today at work the professor in the office next to me asked me if I was going to the university holiday party. I went though my explanation of how I went to the Provost Office party yesterday, and then I had my mentoring meeting after, so I was partied out. And then I realized that she was on the telephone. Don't you hate it when that happens??

Next week I'm just going to work 2 days and then I have two whole weeks off!  So exciting. I have no plans though, I really need to make some.


Saturday, December 10, 2016

Mt. Kearsage

I decided that I would hike a shorter mountain, not a 4000 footer.  I chose Kearsage because it's supposed to be nice, has an amazing view (it's on the 52 with a view list) and it's not too far to drive too. I was kind of psyched about the fact that I didn't need to get up at 5:20 am for this one, I left my alarm set for the usual time that I get up during the week, about 7:30. I left home around 8:00 and started hiking at 10:00 (with Game of Thrones on my iPad, drives seem so much shorter!) Because it's winter the access road to the parking lot is closed, so it adds about a mile in each direction, really uphill on the way there.

It was so cold out! Fortunately I got a new Marmot down puff jacket with a hood. I also wore my Athleta running pants with the extra lining up front to keep the fronts of your lets warm, another pair of pants, thick wool socks, winter boots, of course my ninja hoodie, and another fleece. Plus heavy gloves. I had fixed my hiking poles sort of, the one that was broken seems to be stuck, but it's at least stuck in the right spot for me to hike. So, I was able to use it! It was a huge pain on the way down because I had it in my backpack and it kept getting caught in trees. Sigh. I may need new ones which is sad since I really liked these poles.

There was about 3 inches of snow on the ground. I forgot how hard that can make winter hiking! Between the extra weight with all the layers (I had another jacket, a hat, another set of gloves, and a turtle fur neck thing in my bag) and going through the snow, it was tough going. It took me about 2.5 hours to get to the top! It was a mile on the access road (which was just as uphill as the mountain) and then 1.7 miles on the mountain. I kept getting really hungry and stopping for a little nibble of my sandwich, which took forever because I had to take off my gloves and backpack, find the sandwich, eat, and then do the reverse. Then warm up my hands. When I finally reached the top it was soooo windy and cold! It was a little funny because there were two picnic tables that had obviously been brought up by helicopter, but I couldn't imagine being able to sit at them and eat. I huddled in the shelter of an old fire tower, next to this noisy generator, and ate what was left of my sandwich. I actually had the place to myself, though as I was leaving a couple other hikers came up. The view was nice. No pix, it was too cold!

The way down was a lot faster. I was so glad my new puff had a hood, I really needed it for the cold as the sun was going down. Puffs are the greatest invention ever!  As I was finishing, in sight of my car, there was a group of kids from one of the boarding schools, with music playing really loud on their iPad, just starting out. So glad that I missed them mostly!  I finished at about 2:30. My feet didn't hurt at all! Love short hikes :)

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Bring a Friend Day

Team WOD today. I wound up partnered with a woman who's like 4 months pregnant, so you would think I wouldn't be slowing her down, but of course that wasn't really the case. She still did hand stand push-ups. WTF? I can't even do a hand stand (ok, I could, I just don't want to.) It was a pretty long WOD, one partner worked at a time, so you actually got a lot of rests, which was good. Because it was also a bit intense.

WOD: 2 rounds
5 minutes
50 calorie row (we broke it up 15 each then 10 each. 15 took me about a minute for most of them)
Hand stand push-ups for remaining time (I did banded pushups)
1 minute rest
5 minutes
50 calorie row
Wall balls
1 minute rest
50 calorie row
pull ups (I used bands)
1 minute rest

Final exams are starting at work, so the semester is winding down. It goes so fast. I finished another one of my classes today. Assuming all goes well with the grade (which given that I currently have 50/50 for a grade so far, I feel like is a given) I now have my elective left and then I start my research classes! I'm trying to decide if I should start research in January and take the elective in the summer (since they don't offer research classes then) or take the elective in January and take the summer off. I did promise myself the summer off so I could go to Africa in August, but now I don't know. American's aren't really that popular abroad as it is, with out a xenophobic racist leading our country....

Monday, December 5, 2016

4000 Footer Fail

I had my first complete and utter fail with a 4000 footer yesterday. I wanted to do the Kinsmans, I was so good, got up at 5:30, out the door and on the road before 6, at the trail at 8 am. I got out of the car and looked at the snow and felt the wind, and was like "I'm not hiking 10 miles by myself in this, that would be stupid." The Kinsmans are right by Cannon, and I was prepared for this outcome. I drove over to Cannon, parked and had an equipment fail! One of my hiking poles wouldn't lock, so I only had one pole!  I got started hiking with my one pole. I was actually just fine for warmth, in fact I was starting to pull off layers. The trail got steep, there was snow (like 2-3 inches) and only two people had gone before me. I walked about 20 minutes. Just wasn't feeling it. I turned around, the was like "you can do it!" Went a little further, and turned around again. My legs were still wobbly from Saturday's crossfit, and I had been feeling headachy on Sat night. I should have just stayed in bed. I decided I would just drive to the Laconia outlets about an hour down and get some shopping in. But when I got there I didn't feel like stopping. I got home at 11:30 and took a 3 hour nap! Total bust. On the plus side, I did get to listen to 4 hours of Game of Thrones. And I didn't hurt myself.  I think the 4000 footers are over until spring.  But, there's still Mt. Major, Monadnock, and others....  It doesn't always have to be a 4000 footer.

Today I was still a bit shaken by my hiking fail yesterday. But, the WOD was all stuff that I don't hate, so I packed my gym bag, "just in case."  After work I was thinking about how sore my legs felt hiking yesterday, and how I am going climbing Wednesday, and want my arms to be fresh. And I decided not to go to Crossfit. But, I would just drive home in the way that was in that direction. 15 minutes later I found myself turning towards the box, and I was like, fine, guess I'll do it. Of course now I'm glad I did!

We started with deadlifts, 4 sets of 5, they were meant to all be at a heavy weight for you. I did 20 deadlifts at 125 pounds. It's lower than I usually do, but that's a lot of deadlifts. Plus, they were all at the heavy weight!

WOD: 21-18-15-12-9
Power snatch (I lifted 35 pounds)
Box jumps (as you must know, I stepped)
Kettle bell swings (I did the lightest weight)
my time 17 min 18 sec

Northeastern is changing the way that it does it's exercise rewards program starting in January. It's going to count steps differently, so that 7000 will no longer be the magic number. I wonder if this will inspire me to do more steps??

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Aerobic Sandwich

Today's WOD was posted with a typo that almost made me skip the thing, but then I decided I had only been once this week, I only went once last week, so I needed to go. Here's what was posted:

WOD:
2000 meter row
then: 4 rounds
7 clean and jerk (I lifted 45 pounds)
21 wall balls
1 mile run

What was missing was the word "then" between 21 wall balls and 1 mile run. So, you actually ran only 1 mile, not 4. That made all the difference! It took me pretty much exactly 10 minutes to row. Then a little more than 10 minutes to finish the 4 rounds of clean and jerks and wall balls. I had a little fail in the mile run. Running a mile is 3 loops. First loop was slow but fine. Second loop I could feel my IT Band cramping up. I stopped at the end of loop 2 to stretch it and was like "I'm done." So, I only ran 2/3 of a mile. I want to do a hike tomorrow, and I didn't want to over do it today. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it! My legs were just feeling like jello.

So last week at work I talked to this alumni who wants to apply to podiatry school. I was trying to be helpful, but I haven't worked with any podiatry students, so I was just doing my best on that one. There's an alum who's graduated from a podiatry program and is doing a residency, and I offered to put them in touch. Then, like a total flake, I sent the wrong student's info to the alum. And, I emailed again and sent the wrong info AGAIN! Dope. I got it right on the third try. For some reason the alumni thought that this was awesome help on my part and emailed my boss about how wonderful and intelligent and helpful I am. Haha! And then my boss sent it to her boss who was all "that's great!" So hopefully they won't fire me when the economy tanks. It was just ironic that all that happened over what was a slightly dubious interaction :)

Oh yes, final thing. As I was leaving for crossfit today there was a woman in a fuzzy pink bathrobe standing on the street corner across the street from my house. I was thinking, "that's a little weird. But, whatever, Somerville." Then it turned out to be my neighbor. Haha, she sent me an embarrassed text explaining...