CrossFit: Working Around Injuries…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

CrossFit and Injuries

I’m injured.

Again.

No big surprise.

It’s my wrist.

Again.

Same one as before.

I have no idea what I did to it besides push it too hard.  And I’m self-diagnosing.  No official injury, but it’s definitely nowhere near 100%.

I’m taking it easy this week.  Doing nothing overhead.  Nothing that will hyperextend my wrist. No Olympic lifts.  No pull ups.

CrossFit Hero Workout Hansen

 

Staff Sgt Daniel Hansen

The CrossFit Hero Workout Hansen fit the bill today.  It was five rounds of 30 kettlebell swings, 30 burpees, and 30 sit ups.  Named for Marine Staff Sergeant Daniel Hansen who died in Afghanistan, this workout is a sneaky one.  It seems simple at first until you start adding up the reps and the rounds.  Great burner though and one you can do easily from home.

Remember:  just because you’re injured doesn’t mean you don’t do anything.  You do what you can with what’s left.  Same thing applies to life’s tragedies and tragic events and circumstances.  Do your best and forget the rest!

CrossFit: I’m Afraid…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

I’m afraid of failure.

Kruger Rock Trail Estes Park, Colorado

Of heavy weights.

Of falling on my face doing handstand walks.

Of falling on my face doing a ring muscle up.

Of hurting myself to the point I can’t work out.

Of overdoing it.

Of pushing too hard.

Of not pushing hard enough.

Of burn out (which happens quite frequently).

Of indifference,

Apathy,

And stagnation.

Yet, I press on.

What other choice is there?

CrossFit: Granite Games Finish…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

 

Image result for picture ring muscle up
Ring Muscle Ups

“What I need is for ring muscle ups to show up either in a competition or the Granite Games,” I remarked to my daughter.  “Then I’ll have incentive to get one.”

Well, guess what?  They showed up the next week in the Granite Games qualifier as workout #5.

I was excited.  As excited as you can get about muscle ups when you don’t have them and you need them for a competition.  And I had almost gotten one the day before.

However, going into the workout, I was sore from the week and from practicing muscle ups.  My mind was just not there.  It wasn’t my time…

I came in 83rd overall for my age group.

Not bad considering my score on Workout #5 was a big, fat zero since I couldn’t get a ring muscle up.

The last workout with dumbbell thrusters surprised me.  Surprised me because I did better than I thought I was going to do.

I entered the Granite Games on a whim.  No expectations.  Not really caring where I finished or how I did.  Just to do it…

All the workouts were hard.  Some were insane struggles just to keep moving.  But overall I learned a ton.  Had a good time with my fellow box members who took on the challenge along with me.  Progressed mentally more than anything.  Which at this point in my career is where I’m at:  breaking down mental barriers as to what I think I can and can’t do.

Final verdict:  Worth every sweat drop and bruise!

Next year?  Who knows…

CrossFit: Fourth of July Murph…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

CrossFit Hero Workout Murph

Time for my monthly Murph update.  Murph is a CrossFit Heros workout consisting of a

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Pull Ups

mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 sit ups, and 300 air squats and ending with a 1 mile run.

I waited for the 4th of July to do this since it’s our Independence Day and Lieutenant Michael Murphy died for our freedom.

This time I did it strict. And no pressure on me. I wasn’t trying to PR (personal record or beat my previous time). I was just looking for a good workout to celebrate our freedoms.

My time was 45:52.  I wore a vest, but jogged the mile runs for about 11 minute miles.  The pull ups were slower, but overall not bad.

If you’re a CrossFitter, then you know every workout (almost) is for time.  Try doing one not for time some time.  It’s a whole other world…

 

Nutrition: The Care of Your Body…

by crossfitmomm, posted in Nutrition

We all know this is important:  taking care of our body.  But how many of us actually do it?

Yesterday, I saw my chiropractor.  I love my chiropractor.  Ever since Bruck my arms have been whacked.  Sore.  Wrist hurts.  Bruised.  You name it.

My chiropractor fixed my wrist.  It feels SO much better now.  The pain is gone and the range of motion is back.

Last week, I got a massage.  It felt SO good.  Again, range of motion returned.  Knots disappeared.  I felt so much better.

Nutrition.  Lately, I’ve been eating pretty crappy.  So much ice cream and chocolate in the house it’s hard to resist.  I tightened this up last week as well.  Again, I feel SO much better.

Sleep.  I’ve been trying to sleep more.  Going all day on 5 hours of sleep is exhausting.  My body cries!

Taking care of your body involves effort, time, and attention.  But it’s worth it especially as you age.  It’s necessary if you want to continue doing the things you like to do.

You are given one body.  Appreciate it.  Care for it.  Love it.  Be grateful for it.

Without it, you’d be….

Image result for picture of body with no skeleton blob

Running in Colorado: A 5k That Was in Actuality a 5 Mile…

by crossfitmomm, posted in Running

Image result for fraser river winter park co

“I haven’t been to Winter Park in 18 years.  There’s a 5k there this weekend.  Let’s run that one.”

This is what I remember saying to my kids when I was looking for a Fourth of July 5k to run.  I don’t like running a 5k on July 4th per se because they are extremely popular and I prefer smaller races.  Hence, this one up in Winter Park, CO, appealed to me.  And I hadn’t been there in so long I wanted to go.

I signed up my oldest daughter and myself, leaving my other two kids to decide on that day.

After an early morning stop at Starbucks and a two-hour drive, we arrive in Winter Park at 7 am.  At the sign up station, my oldest daughter grabs a race course map and notices at the top it says “5 mile race course.”

Aghast (since I had no intentions of running a 5 mile), I ask the lady.

Sure enough.  The race is a 5 MILE, not a 5k.  My mistake.  I suppose I had 5k in my brain and the rest filled in the gaps.

After debating all of our options for over 30 minutes, we finally decide to run with my other two kids riding bikes since we had planned to mountain bike after the race.

Image result for rendezvous run winter park co photos 2018

My time was good:  38:19.  I beat my daughter by over two minutes.  It was an all downhill course so it was fast.

Scenic?  Somewhat.  We ran the Fraser River Trail (a trail that goes from Winter Park to Fraser, CO) for the first 3 miles or so and then we had to run through the town of Winter Park and finish at Rendezvous.  Passing the McDonald’s in Winter Park was not my idea of scenic.

About 3/4 of a mile from the finish line, my son catches up to me and follows me on his bike, giving me minute-by-minute commentary on how much further I had to go.  The finish was one of those where you could see the tent, but you had to zig-zag around a pond.  At some point, I told my son to stop the commentary, so I could concentrate.

I did not win a prize (I came in 4th for my age group), but my daughter came in first despite the fact I beat her (read hissing-mad here).

Next, we take the shuttle back to Winter Park and unload our bikes to ride the trails.  However, my daughter’s bike seat was twisted and mangled.  Having come all this way, we all wanted to ride.  So my son and her switched off every mile or so in a hilarious attempt to ride a bike with a broken seat.  I spent the whole ride laughing.

Near the end, I decide to take a shortcut back to the truck.  This shortcut was indeed shorter, but it entailed a trail of all uphill where we basically pushed our bikes the majority of the way.

Overall, a very memorable day.  I did well in my race with a 7:40 pace despite the fact no fiber in my body wanted to run 5 miles.  We got in a great, scenic bike ride with plenty of entertainment value–all fueled by donuts the sponsors of the race all but shoved down our throats at every opportunity.

The Rendezvous Run for Independence was great fun, and mountain biking in Winter Park is an amazing experience.

In the future, I will be sure to READ race descriptions closer.  As for next year, I’m unsure if we could top this one!

CrossFit: CrossFit Hero Workout: Bruck

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

It’s been two days since I’ve done this Hero Workout, and I’m still sore as heck!  My entire shoulders all across my back.  My arms.

Four rounds of:  400 m run, 24 back squats at 125 lbs, and 24 push jerks at 95 lbs.

This hero workout is named after US Coast Guard Petty Officer Nathan Bruckenthal who died in 2004 in Iraq after the boat he was in exploded.

I was seeking a workout with some squats and a run and thought this would be easy and fun.

It was far from easy.

95 lb push jerks are heavy for me and you do the math (which I didn’t until afterwards) and I did 96 reps for a total weight moved of 9,120 lbs overhead and for the back squats total weight was 12,000 lbs.

I had never sweated as much as I had in my life as I did doing this workout (of course it has been very hot here in Colorado).  It was dripping in my eyes, coated my stomach and backside and drenched my shorts.

It fit the bill of what I was looking for.  Great workout.  Hard work.  And definitely lived up to a CrossFit hero WOD–tough and memorable–in honor of Officer Bruckenthal.

CrossFit Poems: Moons and Me

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Poems

Sweat beadsImage result for moon and me

Like sparkling diamonds.

Moon shines

Soliciting attention.

Heart rate slows

Thirst appeased.

I’m alive.

Quintessential contentment.

Again and again and again…

Never stopping till life does.

Moving, striving, reaching…

Till all achieved.

But will it ever be?

 

The Granite Games: I’m Unsure Why I’m a Glutton for Punishment…

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

Image result for granite games

The Granite Games.

For some reason, I signed up for this.  I know, I know.  I just bemoaned THIS.

Unsure why.

I don’t care about the results because I’m under no delusion that I’d actually qualify.

I think I just wanted to see how I did amongst my peers.  Currently, for my age group, I’m 33rd (we’ll see how far I fall once all the scores are in).

This is Week 2 of two workouts we have to complete and working out non-stop is beginning to take its toll.  We did Workout #3 on Friday night and Workout #4 today.  It definitely wasn’t my A game today and took everything I had just to keep moving through the reps.

I went home, ate, and napped.  All my pets napped with me.  Then I laid around all day, reading a book to my kids who are under the weather and being overall lazy.

The last week is coming up, and we find out on Wednesday what the last two workouts are.  Then…done!

Just in time for the 4th!

 

 

On the Other Side of Darkness…

by crossfitmomm, posted in Life Lessons and Advice

 

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A recent lunar eclipse at my house

The summer solstice is over.

HOORAY!

Call me a vampire, but I like the dark.

I like the dark in the morning. I like the dark at night. I like the dark all the time.

I like to workout when it’s dark. I like to walk my dog when it’s dark. I like to be out in the dark. I like coming home and it’s dark. I like going to bed and it’s dark.

I like candles. Lots of candles. That light up the dark–but in small patches.

I like the coolness of the dark. I like the quiet of the dark. I like how the dark chases others in.

Ah, darkness…welcome back!