Bleh

Ugh, for some reason, I just don't have the energy and motivation I usually do for my graduate work. I'm finishing up the first week's assignments (all 12 of them), and I'm on the very last one, but I just can.not.get.myself.going. I don't want to think about it or sit here and do this last assignment, although it's worth 30% of my grade!!!! Aaagh! What's wrong with me?! I'm almost to the finish line, and I'm petering out. It's not like I'm not giving myself breaks and whatnot--I went to workout four days this week, and I've watched a few movies. No excuses!

Well, since Murph, I felt pretty wrecked, but once Tuesday rolled around, I was more than ready to get back into the box.

TUES: Backsquat 5-5-5-5-5 I ran out of time and had to stop at 142# (I used kg plates), bleh. My 10RM is 145#, so I know I had much more in me. Oh well--I had to share with two others, so I didn't get in my last 5. Then we did an awful met-con--3 rounds of 200m Farmer's Carry (I used 35s) and 25 pull-ups. Chase gave us a 15-minute cut-off, and I could tell by the 15th pull-up that I wasn't going to make the cut-off, so I scaled the reps. Ugh. Had no grip after the FC, and the last round took me an eternity to finish the 200m. Worst WOD yet! Many people got their first hand rips on that one.

WED: Power snatch, heavy double--I got up to 85# (PR), but I just didn't have the right mindset to get 90#. I was happy with this weight, though, because 90# is my 1RM. Then we did "Tailpipe" (ugh!)--for three rounds, with a partner, row 250m and while one partner rows, the other holds 2 KBs in the rack position. I partnered with Erica again, but this time we did it rx'd, with 35# KBs. We did it one second slower (7:27) than when we did it in December with 26s. I was pleased, but I thought I rowed my ass off (my splits were no slower than 1:52), so I was a bit disappointed that our time was not faster.

FRI: Five rounds of this complex--5 deadlifts, 5 hang power cleans, 5 front squats, and 5 push jerks. No regripping or resting allowed. I went in thinking I'd make it no further than 85# because of the hang power cleans, but I managed to finish my last round at 95#! The push jerks were tough--by that time, you're so tired from the other movements, so it's hard to drop under the bar as quickly as you should. Mine were ugly, but they counted. Mel really helped me believe in myself and power through the fatigue. This WOD was very mentally challenging. If I am going to compete, I seriously need to work on my mental game.

SAT: Oh man, today's workout was great--I can already feel the soreness settling into my shoulders and legs. First Sam had us warm-up for thirty good minutes with kettlebell exercises, including one-armed overhead holds, goblet squats, heartbeats (HATE those), and Russian swings. We also did half Turkish get-ups, 25 each arm. Whew, those are tough! I could feel it then and can still feel it. I started with a 26# KB but after six reps, I switched out for a 20# DB. We also did 25 med-ball sit-ups, which I felt more in my shoulders than in my abs! Lots of shoulder and stabilizer muscle work today. After that great warm-up, we did 5 sets of 3 heavy floor presses. Instead of lying on a bench, we lay on the floor and pressed the weight. I worked up to 100#x3! It was very exciting because the last time I did this, I could hardly press 85# on the floor because the ROM is so limited compared to doing it on a bench. It's amazing how strong I've become--I honestly surprise myself sometimes. (Not meaning to sound conceited--just commenting on how I don't realize how much strength I've gained until we do something like that.) Between each set of presses, we did lawnmowers with a KB, 8 reps each arm. It was basically a bent-over row. I used a 26# KB. Again, my shoulders got a major workout today. After that, we worked on our snatch technique--3 reps at a time, focusing on one particular aspect that needed attention. While I could think of numerous aspects I need to work on, I chose my shoulder shrug (poor shoulders!). I just used 65# to work on my technique. Most of my reps felt good. Finally, Sam made us run an 800m time trial. By then, it was very hot, and most of us were pretty tired, but somehow, I ran one second faster than my best time. I sprinted the last 200m. So my new PR for 800m run is 3:24--still not optimal, but I plan on working on my running since I've neglected it since wintertime hit, and the coaches scheduled less running. Overall, it was a kick-ass workout today, and I'm going to really enjoy my rest day tomorrow. Shoulders are shot! OH, AND I got Howard to finally try Kozy--he got the Bowl 'o Doom, and he polished his bowl. Yet another convert, muahahahahahaaa! :)

Okay, now that I have procrastinated to write this post, I gotta get back to my assignment (grumble, grumble).