Switching Crossfit Gyms

In the beginning on November I switched CrossFit gyms. I was not unhappy with my current gym. I was however currently driving pretty close to 20 miles to get to it. Reason being there wasn't currently one close to my house and if I was going to go directly to work I needed a shower. I really think the gym I went to is the only CrossFit gym East of Seattle with a shower.

A new gym less than a mile from my house and they had a six am class, which meant I had enough time to go to class and get home to still get ready for work. I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision, so I tried a free class.

Their work outs were different from what I was used to. Everyone actually warmed up. They got there and got right to work. After warm up we some group stretching and then we did our daily WOD. In contrast my old gym not everyone warmed up. We also usually did a mini WOD and then our daily WOD.

I was a little worried after that work out. I knew traditional CrossFit had more stretching and mobility work, but I was nervous I wouldn't get as good as a work out. In the end the time savings in the day, savings in gas, and the ability to shower at home won me over.

Now I have been at my new gym for two months. The do a lot more ring work and the mobility work is helping make me stronger. I am more flexible now and less worried about getting injured. I do miss the amount of heavy lifting we did before. The other reason I am less worried about getting injured is all the trainers are really really good. They correct people's form constantly. They'll interrupt you in a WOD if you are doing something wrong. They are all at least crossfit level one certified, if not higher.

So here are some things to look for when switching:

• Make sure they offer a fundamentals/introductory class for newbies. If they don't I'd be worried about getting injured.
• Check out the trainers. What's their background? Are they CrossFit certified?
• Do they limit the number of participants in a class? If not, I would once again be worried about getting injured.
• Read their blog and check out their Facebook page. See what events they hold at the gym and programs they run. If they gym has a strong sense of community it will probably be a good place to be.

I am looking forward to see how my fitness develops with my new gym.

Bad smoothie luck

It being fall, I found a new smoothie recipe that was a healthy version of pumpkin pie. I was all excited for my fall breakfast post cross-fit class. I got the recipe from Our Family Eats. I was a little hesitant because it is so many ingredients for 5:30 in the morning. I knew I needed a couple practice runs. The first time I made it, the smoothie turned out perfect.

I tried to make it again two more times. Both were epic failures. The first morning, I measured the dry ingredients and left them in the blender overnight for a quick morning. I also didn't measure them. I eyeballed the portions. In the morning it somehow all congealed together, so it didn't blend. The next morning I planned to take things back to square one, so I measured everything out that morning. The only thing I did different was add extra ice. Due to that all the oat meal did not blend so my smoothie was a chunky mess. After the last attempt I gave up on my pumpkin smoothie. The first time it really did turn out well, so I do recommend the recipe. It's just too complicated for a poor cook like me.

After having my bad luck with my pumpkin smoothie I went back to just my normal yogurt, banana, frozen berry smoothie with almond milk. That morning instead of almond milk, I grabbed the vanilla creamer and pored 3/4 cup into my smoothie! I dumped as much as I could out into the sink, but my smoothie still tasted pretty gross. After this last experience I'm back to my poor breakfast of cereal (it also helps that I switched cross-fit gyms, more on that later). I think I will switch back to my usual green smoothie. That seemed to work out really well for me.

Rock Climbing

About a month ago now H and I visited Stone Gardens in Bellevue, WA to try out rock climbing. I have always been slightly leery of heights, but rock climbing was always something that interested me. When I was little I loved to climb around on rocks. After my trip to Colorado two years ago, I realized rock climbing is not always as scary as what you see on television. Since then, I've thought I would want to give it a try.

Fast forward to now, H and I plan monthly date nights. I knew trying out rock climbing would be a fun and different thing for us to do together. I booked an hour session with an instructor that included rental gear. The instructor held the rope and H and I took turns going up.

I thought we would start out on a lower height and with a slight incline. Not so. We walked straight over to the four story wall that is straight up and down. My heart started pounding and my hands sweating. Why did I sign up for this, I thought. I wanted to go home. H went up first of course. I watched him fly all the way up to the top. I also watched the nine year old girl on the wall next to us climb up with her dad holding her. Darn nine year olds, they always have to show me up :)

I got on the wall and tried my hardest not to look all the way down while placing my feet. I made it about three quarters the way up before my body just tensed up with nerves and I had the instructor lower us down.

The instructor said we were doing really well so we tried a more difficult holds. I made it all the way up this time and each time after it got easier. We went up a total of four times. As I got tired I tended to cheat and use different holds that were for different courses (well H calls it cheating, I call it using my resources). Both H and I really enjoyed it. I was nice to get a work out while not feeling like we were working out. The only problem is neither of us really have the time to take up a new hobby, nor want to spend the money on another gym membership. However we would love to do it again and maybe I can get H to take climbing 101 so we can learn to hold the rope. I am sorry I do not have pictures. It was an epic fail not to take any. I promise to take some next time.

Injured

Sorry I abandoned my blog for a while. Life just got in the way. Seeing as it is just for fun and I couldn't manage it all, I had to take a break from my blog. It was just too much. I'm back now though.

Since I have had Hailey I have been having issues with my back. I attribute it to the lack of ab strength from being pregnant. When I started doing crossfit I figured it would help out with that. It did, but I could not get caught up. While doing deadlifts just over two weeks ago now I felt that familiar pop feeling and a wave of pain dispurse through my lower back. I debated for a little while on whether or not to tell the trainer or just keep going. Of course silly me, I kept going and finished the work out. By the time I finished and my back started to tighten up I was in a lot of pain. I could barely move. Luckly, I made good time on my way to work so I was able to stop at the store to get some pain meds. It was a very long day at work but I made it.

Fast forward a week and a half later, I was feeling a lot better. I went for two short runs and had no problems. I went back to crossfit. I had no problems during the work out. I kept it light and took my time, but once again when I went to work my back tightened up and I regretted my decision. It took another two days to undo what I did.

Then my husband and I tried rock climbing for the first time (more on this later). I had already rescheduled the session once and I didn't want to move it again. It took four days to undo the pain.

Now I am feeling a lot better. I have also decided though that I need to take the four to six weeks break from lifting and just let it heal. I'm going to go for small runs since that seems not to affect my back. I'll wait another week though.

I really really dislike injuries. I hate having to redo the progress I made, but I know I can make things a lot worse if I don't take a break.

Back up to six miles

I am not sure why I made this a milestone for myself, but being able to run six miles again makes me feel like a real runner. Finally, after two setbacks since having Hailey I can run a straight six miles again.

I didn't do it by following any particular training program. I just followed what I know from training for my other half's. Once I felt strong enough on my three mile runs, I did four mile runs for two weeks. Then I did two weeks of five mile runs. Now I am finally at six. I'll probably do another week or two at six before I try for seven. I have been taking things really slow speed wise. My pace per mile is 11:30 and I will admit I stopped to walk up some hills twice. My three mile pace is finally down in the low ten minute mile range. My goal is to work my way up to an eight mile run on the week ends and then work a little more on speed. As I build distance the speed on the shorter runs will get easier.

Here is what my current weekly work out schedule looks like:

Monday - rest
Tuesday - 3 mile
Wednesday - Crossfit
Thursday - rest
Friday - Crossfit
Saturday - 3 mile
Sunday - long run

I'm using Crossfit for all my speed work, since we do run in there on occasion and it is usually sprints when we do run. Speaking of Crossfit, I got some new work out gear. The first thing I purchased was a much needed new gym bag from Running Warehouse. My old one did not hold all my shower supplies very well. My new one also has a separate zip section for my shoes. I know this is not break through technology, but it is a big deal to me.

I also purchased New Balance minimalist running shoes for Crossfit (from the Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale). I had heard minimalist shoes are great for Crossfit because it allows you to really feel the floor while lifting. I can say after my first day wearing them in the gym, I did notice a difference. I did not feel as stable in my old running sneakers. I haven't run in them yet, so we'll see how that goes.

My new babies

Eating healthy is going okay. Having to get up at 5 or 6:30 in the morning to work out is great motivation to eat well the nights before I have to get up to work out. I do tend to go a little crazy on the nights before a rest day though (vodka anyone?). We also have a ton of smores stuff in the house left from our forth of July BBQ. H doesn't eat it so I feel like I have to.

Green Monster

I had been looking for something to take with me for breakfast after crossfit in the morning, since I refuse to get up at five am to have breakfast before leaving. (For the record I do eat a granola bar and about half a cup of juice before crossfit, my tummy isn't ready for a full meal). I figured a homemade green monster would be the perfect meal. Here's what I put in mine:

2 cups spinach
1 T flaxseed meal
1 banana
1 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
2 cups ice

(make sure to do it in that order to weigh down the spinach so it blends all the way)

Ta Da! Breakfast

I tried blending it the night before and freezing it, but it froze solid and I couldn't drink it until one in the afternoon. I found just getting everything set out the night before saves me enough time that I don't mind blending it in the morning. One of those Blender Bottles they sell at suppliment stores are the perfect container (leave the spriny thing out). The smoothy will start to separate after about an hour or so, so something that is air tight to shake it back up in is beneficial. I have some home grown strawberries to add to it this week. I can't wait!

Kale Chips

First of all, sorry I've been such a slacker. My lack of racing this year has equaled a lack of posting. I'll try to do better.

So I have heard about this magical vegetable call kale. It is supposed to help you live longer, feel better, and it will probably give us the ability to fly as well. I have also heard a lot of people don't like kale because it is bitter and gross. Due to this Kale scares me. I don't want to ruin my beautiful smoothie with a gross bitter vegetable. I had heard from some of my facebook friends that kale is absolutely delicious in chip form. So the next time it popped up in my organic bin I decided to not substitute it out and to give it a try.

Making kale chips is really easy. You take one bunch of kale, cut the ribs out (basically the stuff that is not the green leaf). Then you dress it in olive oil and salt (mix it up in a bowl like it is a salad). Then you lay out the leaves on a baking sheet, like I did in the picture below.

You then bake it on 350 for twenty minutes, until crisp. My first batch turned out only okay. I think part of it was the type of kale I used (see above it is extra veiny) and I thought it would be good to put bacon salt on it (not good, it was/is gross). What I do love is how it crunches and then disappears in my mouth. I can see how it is an addicting snack. I can only describe it similar to popcorn.

I have yet to try kale in my smoothies. I really like my spinach smoothie so I think I am going to stick with that. I'll try to post that recipe next week.

Crossfit

After several months of trying to strengthen my core again on my own and not having much luck, I decided to get serious and start Crossfit. For those who do not know, I would describe Crossfit as a combination of boot camp, circuit training, and Olympic weight lifting. If that does not help just search it on YouTube. It is really hard to describe.

I had heard of Crossfit before, but had not had much interest because it would be so expensive on top of my current gym membership. One of my good friends started going to a Crossfit box. She convinced me to start coming. As soon as Spring came around and I could end my membership at the gym, I signed up.

I've already been really impressed with the Crossfit gym I joined. I really selected that one based on the fact it is the only gym I'm aware of East of Seattle that has a shower at their location. There isn't a box close enough to my house where I could work out and then come home to shower again before work. So I drive to Issaquah twice a week for my WODs (Work Out of the Day). The box I joined also makes new members take a two week beginner class before joining the regular ones to make sure we learn proper form and can keep up.

I have never been to a gym class before where I wasn't if not the best, one of the best in class. In Crossfit I am definitely one of the worst. Even in the introductory class I was towards the bottom. I have already discovered my nemesis are cleans, followed closely by burpies. It took me many reps to get the right form and I am still not even sure.

After just three weeks of doing classes my back already feels better. I am drinking the cool aid for sure. I am no where near up to the times and the weights the regulars are at, but I know I'll get there. I would rather take it slow and escape injury. I look forward to sharing my progress with everyone.

Race Report: Kirkland 5k

My journey to this race was a some what interesting one. I knew I wanted to do a half marathon this year, but I did not want to pay the really high fee to run in Seattle RNR. I decided to sign up for the Kirkland half marathon instead. It was much easier to get to and I could do the 5k instead, if finding time to train was too difficult. I signed up back in December thinking May sounded so far away and a training for a half could be feasible. Well February quickly came around and my regular running schedule was no where close where it needed to be to train for a half, much less one as difficult as Kirkland. The 5k it is.

As it was, the 5k was even difficult to do. For medical reasons I had to take almost 3 weeks off from running. I was nervous to do such a hilly run. When I woke up this morning I really wanted to stay in bed. I contemplated for a second about skipping it, but I had a friend meeting me at the finish. I also had to go for a run anyway, so I might as well run a race. Of course Hailey chose to sleep in until seven, making me miss out on an opportunity to sleep in.

Once I had my coffee my outlook changed, but I was still dreading running up Market Street, which is at least a half mile up hill. Before I knew it I was kissing my husband and kiddo good bye to walk down to the starting line.

Lining up in the race corral I got really excited. It was a beautiful day in Seattle and about 62 degrees at the start of the race. I got a little emotional thinking about how it was Mother's Day and what a cool tradition it would be to run the race every year, thinking one day Hailey might join me. I honestly had to keep my eyes from tearing up.

The race started on time and the first part of the course lead along one of my usual three mile routes, from the Juanita Bay Park to the bridge and up Market Street. I usually do not go all the way up Market though. It was a killer. Many people stopped to walk at that point (I would say this is not very fast race, anyone really serious runs the half. I lined up in the front of the 8 to 10 minute mile group and did not have a lot of people passing me). I slowed down to my distance running pace. I stopped to walk for about 20 yards, but other than that I ran the whole way up. The nice part of making it up, the rest of the run is down hill most of the way back

I really think this is one of the hilliest 5ks around. Maybe only a mile of it is flat and the course really zig zags through the neighborhoods (and a lot of really nice houses). I had a beautiful view of Lake Washington for part of it. It would be so nice to wake up to that every morning.

By the time I hit mile two I was getting pretty tired. We hit the straight away I run on all the time. I struggled to keep motivation to run quickly. Then a mom passed me with a double stroller and an infant who could not be any more than three months old. I felt like a slacker. After I made the turn for the last .4 miles to the finish I was able to kick it up a notch and at the end I sprinted to beat out a guy running just in front of me. I finished with a time of 31:59 and a pace of 10:18 a mile. I'll take it for such a hilly run and that beats out my Valentine's Day Dash bathroom stop time, which was my goal.

All and all,  for a challenging course I recommend this race, probably not for a first 5k, unless walking is an option. For the half finishers, flowers can be ordered to give the finishing moms as they cross the line. Medals are awarded to all the finishers of the half too. Now how sweet is that.

Finally Finished 30 Day Shred

It only took me about five months, but I finally finished 30DS. I wouldn't say I am the best example of how the program is supposed to be done (okay maybe the worst example). I did it once, maybe twice a week. I had experienced multiple illnesses causing me to put things on pause. The rest of the week I ran three to five miles to round out my five work outs a week. I have also lost pretty much no weight. Okay, maybe a pound. I think you'll see more results in my after pictures below. I lost my before pictures. I'm so sad. I suppose the after ones speak for  themselves. Considering I had a baby six months ago my abs look pretty good.

Since I lost my old before pictures we'll use these ones for my before Crossfit pictures, which I am going to start in mid May. Now that I am in better shape I did find 30DS was getting too easy for me. I think it is a great starting point to recovering from injury or getting back into things after being gone for a while like I was. I might do a level three work out again in the future. Now it is time for me to move onto something new though.

Race Season Fail

That's me. Of the eight to ten races I planned to do this year, so far I am doing two (hoping for four to five, but we'll see how it goes). One of those races is a half marathon I signed up for thinking I would have time train for and I was really wrong. Instead I am doing the 5k. Although, half the reason I signed up for it was because I knew if I didn't have time to train I could at least do the 5k instead and not feel like I was wasting a bunch of money. :)

Only until this past three weeks have I really had the energy to start upping my mileage. I just did five miles this past week end and it felt great. I didn't feel guilty for doing it and I still had plenty of energy when I got back home. I'm just slowly adding distance each week and not really worrying about getting faster. I'm sticking with my three mile runs during the week and counting my runs with the jogging stroller as speed training. I am also counting upping my speed on the treadmill that last half mile because I REALLY want to get off the dang thing as speed training too :) ... Any ways, I'll worry about upping those week day runs when I actually start training for a distance race or when I want to have a cheese burger and milk shake.

I'm starting to feel like a runner again and its nice to have that confidence back. It isn't how many races I do, but how I feel that counts.

Goal Update

Sorry I haven't posted very much. In truth I have lacked the motivation to post since I have not been doing anything new.

Since I have transitioned back to work I have been successful in working out in the morning. I have been getting up at 5:45 and going to the gym to run three miles on the dreadmill. I do that two to three days a week. I get up and do 30DS one day a week here at home. Then I have been usually doing one or two runs on the week end outside. All in all, almost every week I work out five days a week.

My pace is around a ten minute mile. It's a little slower when I run outside because we have a lot of hills around here. It is a minute thirty slower when I run with the jogging stroller. I finally made it to four miles this week! I have been feeling guilty leaving Hailey for anything longer than 30 minutes. I try to go out when she goes down for a nap and that way I know I won't miss much. It also helps I am not her only food source anymore.

I am six days into level three on 30DS. I am looking forward to having it complete. My 30DS has turned into a five month shred, but I am curious to post a before and after picture for you guys to see how far my body has come from four weeks post baby. I wouldn't contribute 30DS to the results, but to overall exercise.

Looks like it might be May before I have my next race. For now my goal is to work on getting up my mileage. I am not following a training plan right now just slowly working up increasing my mileage every weeked.

Back to work

Last Tuesday I went back to work full time from being on maternity leave. While that was a big challenge in itself, what is also difficult is still finding the time to get my work outs in.

As I figured out after I had my baby, I can't manage working out for more than 30 minutes at a time. It is just too much to ask for a 60 minute work out right now. I signed up for a half marathon in May (seven months post baby) and I am doing the 5k instead. I just don't have the base up to do the mileage per week I need to train. I'll revisit the idea in the fall. I am at 12 to 15 miles a week right now.

The first week back my goal was to not make myself guilty if I didn't get to the gym or get a run in. I found with the hours I work, I needed to work out in the morning. At night I would get home and it was only an hour or less until Hailey needed to go to bed. I would miss a moment with her entirely if I chose to work out. After bed time I would be too tired to work out. Coming to this conclusion, I had to get up to exercise at 5:45am.

I'm not a morning person at all. I have always worked out at night. Any attempt to work out in the morning was usually an epic failure. The first couple of days back to work I focused on going to bed earlier to help me with the early wake up time. Since Hailey got up at 6am sometimes, adjusting to the early time was a bit easier. By the time I felt ready to work out in the morning, my body was really craving to go running. I told myself if I got up that day to work out I could reward myself with an afternoon coffee. So I got up and ran three miles. It wasn't that bad and I felt so much better knowing it was out of the way. I also had more energy in the morning at work. Coming home and giving Hailey cuddles felt that much better too.

I've only attempted my morning get up twice, but so far it has been pretty easy. After a full month of doing it I plan to reward myself with some new running tights. On those really tough mornings I will do the afternoon coffee. So far maintaining five days a week seems manageable. On cross training days I'm doing 30 Day Shred at home (yes still, that's a whole different blog post).

Race Report: Valentine's Day Dash 2012

This past Saturday was my first post baby race. Green Lake's Valentine's Day Dash has become a new tradition for me, in which I celebrate the start of race season and February's holidays with a fellow February birthday girl. Since I am still working on getting my speed back up to where it was and she hadn't run three miles in who knows how long, we decided not to "race" the dash. It was nice though because we got to focus more on fun.

Valentine's Day Dash has about three thousand race participants and is held at Seattle's famous Green Lake. It is the perfect beginning 5k for someone starting out. The entire course is flat. The crowd is not too large to get lost, but not too small that you lose the fun. It is awesome people watching. People dress up in all sorts of festive outfits.

My Valentine and I have worked out the perfect parking spot, a short five minute walk from the starting line. We got there around 9 am, 30 minutes before the start. There was a quick bathroom pit stop and then we got our race packets. We toured around the booths really quick and then it was time to line up for the start.

Before the start we quickly realized we should have made a bathroom stop before getting in line. It's only a 5k, no big deal right? We can make it. Well after the first mile we quickly realized the race would be much more enjoyable if we stopped at the bathroom. So I was that girl, that I made fun of, who takes a potty stop during a 5k. Now I have answered my question on who really does that.

After our bathroom break, the rest of the race was a breeze. We quickly got back on pace to where we were. My final time was 34:21, with an 11:05 pace. Given the pit stop, I consider it a pretty good time! I also did not almost vomit in the Tunnel of Love this year (thanks Hailey!).

We celebrated our finish with a fruit omelet at Brown Bag in Kirkland. I'm already looking forward to next year. I need to add to my race outfit to make it more festive. Maybe some tacky hear socks?

Too many options, not enough time

I am struggling. I want to focus on running, but I also want to try too many new things. With only about 30 minutes available to work out I can't run and cross train in the same day. I'm struggling to decide and focus.

30 Day Shred - I'm still doing it. I'm on day 9 of level two. Just 12 more work outs and I am done. It is tempting to just bang them out and be in stinky work out clothes all day, but I just don't think I have the energy.

Gravity - I took this class one day a week at my gym before Hailey arrived. It gave me serious core strength and I won't be able to do it once I go back to work because all the class times interfere with my work schedule. I signed up in February to say good bye to it. I'm sad. Maybe I one day I will be able to get the trainer who runs it to do a 7:30 class (or I'll have a different job where I get home earlier).

Stroller Strides - I bought a Groupon for this class that was too good to refuse. I need to do it in February because, once again, the times don't work well with my work schedule. It was so cheap I don't mind only doing one or two classes if that's all the time I have. I worry about Hailey because her attention span is so small. If she is in motion she's fine (most of the time). I guess I will find out. I plan to blog about my experience after I go.

Crossfit - I REALLY want to try crossfit. I think I could get really into it. A friend of mine invited me to go with her, but the facility doesn't have day care. I can go before work but that means I can't run either. Maybe crossfit will replace my once a week Gravity class after I go back. We'll see.

Running - I need to run. I'm obsessed. I can't not do it. I haven't been able to lately because I was sick and due to the snow that refused to melt around here. Half Marathon training starts for me in mid February and it isn't looking realistic. I can barely survive three miles at the moment, let alone anything farther. Hopefully I'll surprise myself in the next to weeks. I really need to start getting more sleep in order to push myself harder. I should talk to Hailey about that :) .

So I'm torn. I'm not focused enough and trying to fit too much in. It's looking like Gravity Wednesday, stroller strides Saturday, and run the rest of the week? I think I have to drop 30 Day Shred until Hailey has a better nap schedule or until after I go back to work. I'm in good enough shape I think I can pick it back up in the middle. I'll make sure to follow up this blog for you guys in mid March.

Snow Day

It is supposed to snow off and on until Wednesday afternoon here in Seattle. I already get stir crazy enough being home with the baby, but now I cannot go out at all. I know there are ways to run outside in the snow, but it snows so infrequently here I do not worry about it. I just go for the treadmill or do a strength training work out at home. Sometimes I even walk the mile to my gym to run there. I choose not to take the baby out in this though.

Really, the best thing to do on a snow day is to enjoy the snow, which is what I am doing today. I will worry about a workout another day.

2011 Year in Review, Resolutions for 2012

I looked back in my blog to see my goals from 2011. Here they are:

1) Run 1,000 miles
This one is a fail, my garmin only logged 581 miles. I probably have 650 miles adding in the treadmill runs I did last winter. Considering I quit running in June, I will count this one as a success because I would have smashed that goal had I not been pregnant.
2) Run my first 5k (it is so weird to think I have never raced one) AND my first sub nine minute pace at it.
This I did do! I actually ran two 5ks in 2011, Seattle's Valentine's Day Dash and the Seahawks 5k. I didn't achieve a sub nine minute pace. Thanks to Hailey being on board there was an unfortunate incident in the tunnel of love that cost me the extra four seconds I needed to make that goal.
3) Run my first full marathon (shooting for Portland in October)
Didn't happen. I was busy waddling down the Sammamish River trail during the Portland Marathon
4) Just be happy and stay healthy with what ever I accomplish
How can this not be true when I popped out a beautiful little baby? :) That I would say is an accomplishment.

I do not really do resolutions, so we'll call these goals for 2012:

1) Run a half marathon - I don't think a full is going to be achievable until Hailey is a little older. I'll settle for a half this year.
2) Run 1200 miles - That is a 100 miles a month, so about 25 miles a week. Right now I am doing about nine, so I am not on pace. I still think I can do it though. Those peak training weeks can make up for it.
3) Lose the baby weight - Currently that is another 9 pounds. I have a weigh in on Friday. I don't think I have made any progress since my last one. If anything I am just gaining back the muscle I lost.

2012 is going to be an awesome year. Good luck to everyone out there.