Back from Vacay

After spending July 4 in DC and VA with Kason (highlight of my summer!) and some time with family in OH, it was time to hit the box hard. BTW, fireworks in the nation's capital were the most spectacular ones I've ever seen, but one would expect nothing less from such a venue.

I did get a few running/sprinting workouts in with my brother while in OH--we ran 3 miles and did half burpee Cindy one day and 10 100m sprints with other movements (pushups, burpees, broad jumps, backward running, etc.) mixed in another day. It was fun to have a workout partner.

7/13: I ran 2 miles, did 25 HSPU with 1 abmat and 100 situps. The running didn't bother me as much as it used to, so some progress there. I'm happy about the progress in HSPU, as well. I didn't time myself. Just wanted to get myself moving since I'd been gone for so long. 

7/16: Cindy - it's been well over a year since I did this WOD, and the other choice was Nate. I thought about doing Nate with jumping MUs but decided I wanted a whole-body workout after returning. Ugh! I got in 12 rounds + 1 pullup. I bled on the bar on that extra pullup so stopped, plus there were 5 seconds left on the clock. Considering the best I've done while crossfitting full-time was 11 rounds and I've been gone for two weeks, I wasn't too upset with my results. The pushups posed the biggest challenge, as usual. So the past three days have been rather painful in my lat/delt area. I could barely move today!

7/17: Back to Outlaw. I did 7 sets of 2 high hang snatches with Mel. I didn't have it in me to do more than 45+kg for my sets. :/ Then my clean percentages were rather poor, and I had to stop at 65kgx3. The metcon was 3 rounds of 10 thrusters (I used 65# instead of 95#), 50 DUs, 1 min rest, 1 min max effort of burpees, rest 1 min. I got in 40 burpees total. I've had rather low blood pressure lately and didn't want to push it too hard on those. The thrusters sucked the most, as expected. I don't think I could get a respectable Fran time if I were to do it.

7/18: More high hang snatches but at 40kg today. I could hardly move today since it's the 2nd day after Cindy. I'm glad I went in and worked out, though. Not moving makes it worse! After the snatches I did 4 sets of 7 bench press at 65#, 75, and 80 (x2 sets). It was fun to do that after such a long time! Then the metcon was 100 DUs 10 wall ball shots 75 DUs 20 wall ball shots 50 DUs 30 wall ball shots 25 DUs and 40 wall ball shots. I did the first 50 DUs unbroken (PR) and used a 14# ball. My finish time was 12:35. The DUs weren't hard except having to relax after being gassed by the wall ball shots was a challenge. I HATE wall ball shots!!! They wear me out. Squatting with weight isn't hard for me. It's the conditioning part that still gets me. Will continue to work on it! 

Updates

I know it's been a long while since I last posted. May's meet came and went, and while I did PR in all areas, I wasn't happy with my performance. I snatched 57, CJd 74 (cleaned 76 just fine), and totaled 131. I didn't sit in a full snatch so my 60 attempt was way out front, and the 76 jerk was not straight up and down like it should have been. After the meet, I realized that a) I didn't feel confident about my body composition, b) my body wasn't responding as well to the training I had experienced for the past year, and c) my knee wasn't getting any better with all the stress I'd been putting on it. So I've refocused my goals to a) go down a weight class (effectively, losing 10#), b) let my knee heal, and c) reassess my fitness goals at the end of the summer. If I can't effectively compete at 58kg, then I will stay a light 63kg. I am down to 61kg from doing the Outlaw Crossfit training for the past two weeks. I had to take a 2-3 week break due to having to travel to Ohio for my grandma's funeral, as well as moving to Irving. Working out in this Texas summer heat has helped me shed weight, as well. I'm enjoying/hating the new training, plus I get to train with Mel more often at CF Deep.

I can still snatch 58 with no problem, as well as clean 73 for multiples without a hitch. It's gratifying that I haven't lost too much despite not training at Spoon. I went two Sundays ago to see Larry, Tom, and Freedom since it's been over a month since I last went there. It was nice to see them and to lift with kilo plates. Deep has one set of kilo plates but all the rest is #s. Ugh. I'm getting used to the conversions, though. Basically, I've discovered that my running conditioning has gone down the pooper, but that's understandable since all I've been doing is anabolic training the past year. Also, my pullups have regressed. I used to be able to do multiples of strict pullups with a weighted vest. Now I'm lucky to get multiples at bodyweight. It's cool that I have more to work on, though. I like the challenge. I did a full headstand pushup without an ab mat last Wednesday. :) I can do 9-10 with 1 ab mat. Progress is progress. I'm eager to get down to 58kg and see where my lifting is for the October meet.

Tonight I did this WOD despite being scared of the running and box jumps:

3 rounds of 5 deadlift (135#) and 12 kettlebell swings (35#)
run 800m
3 rounds of 5 power cleans (85#) and 12 box jumps (20" box)

I finished in 11:20. Everything was done rx'd. I'm happy to see that I'm slowly getting it back. :) I remember when I first started crossfit, and bodyweight deadlifts in a WOD were haaaard. They felt like nothing tonight because of all the Olympic lifting training. It's such an eye-opener!

Time to go pack for my visit to VA and OH. It'll be hard to be away for that long from the gym, but I'm shooting to get in at least 4-5 workouts. It'll be hotel WODs mostly as the crossfit gym in Lancaster seems to have gone under.

P.S. I got a new job in Irving ISD!!!! The hellacious year I had is behind me. I'm ready to move forward!

Lifting Updates

Quite a bit has happened since the State Meet! I competed in Dutch Lowy's first annual Black Box Lifting Meet in late February. It was a fun time! I hit 56kg in Snatch and 72kg in CJ. I had the 75 jerked, but my foot got stuck on the very sticky platform and I lost the barbell from overhead. :( Cleaning the 75 was a PR. I placed 2nd to Candice Ruiz, who kicked my tush with 65(?)kg Snatch and 80kg CJ. She could have competed in Nationals if she'd wanted to with that total, I think. But she was training for the Crossfit Games. Then I PRd on my Clean last month, jumping from 75kg to 78kg. I need to hit 80kg on CJ to qualify for American Open.

More recently, I PRd my Snatch and Clean and Jerk (and total) in training. Three weeks ago, I did 20s with Mel on both lifts. The goal to 20s is to get 15 reps with increasing percentages followed by 5 bonus reps, ideally hitting a PR. On Snatch I did 1) 5 singles at 50, 2) 5 singles at 52, and 3) 5 singles at 54. Then I hit 56, 58 (PR), and 60 (PR). Then on CJ I did 1) 5 singles at 63, 2) 5 singles at 66, and 3) 5 singles at 69. Then I hit 71, 73, and 75 (PR). Those 20s take a lot of energy and focus, but I like doing them when I'm going for a PR. The 15 reps before the PR attempts serve as quite a good warmup! My new training total is 135kg, a 10kg improvement from the February meet.

The video above shows my most recent PR--82kg (180#) jerk. My old PR was 75kg. :) These kinds of high points keep me motivated to stay focused and determined for the meet next month. If I can qualify for American Open at the May 19th Lock and Load meet in Van Alstyne, I can shift my focus onto improving my total to qualify for Nationals. I love training and the feeling I get from pushing my body and mind to the max. My coach just told me tonight that he feels fortunate to be able to train me. What an awesome compliment! American Open, here I come!!!!

Texas State Meet

Last Saturday, my 31st birthday, was the Texas State Weightlifting Championships in Alvin, TX. I drove down on Friday evening (what a boring drive! Next year I'm definitely going to fly!) and slept until about 9:15 the next morning. I'd been hovering between 62.7 and 63.2 all week, so I was worried about weigh-in. Thanks to Bobby and Richard's advice, I weighed in at exactly 63kg. I'm thinking about going Zone/Paleo so that weigh-in is the least of my worries on a meet day. Weigh-in was at 2 p.m. with the Open Women's session at 4.

I was seriously nervous about my snatch because only recently have I finally gotten the hang of finishing my first pull. In and since the Copperhead in October, I kept cutting off my first pull, making me cut off my 2nd pull, which ultimately resulted in a miss. I successfully hit 54kg two weeks before the State Meet, which was a 1kg training PR, and I clung to that mental state/remembrance as tightly as I could for the meet. I started at 50, which was easy of course, and then 54 was easy, as well. Richard had me try 57kg, which I should have made. I was too excited from making 54 and started the lift out all wrong--on my toes without rocking back onto my heels. I feel confident that I will have 57 very soon. I'm likely going to compete in Dutch Lowy's Black Box meet next month. With a 4kg meet PR from October, I was feeling rather awesome! Then I had to settle down for the Clean and Jerk.

Warm-ups felt easy, and I opened with 68--already 8kg over my opener in October. I didn't clean 68 as solidly as I would have liked, and my jerk was okay. Teammates said it looked fine. Richard reminded me not to worry about how the lifts feel but whether I make them. Then I hit 71kg--clean was so easy and I put extra drive behind the jerk. I can clean 73kg rather easily and have jerked 75kg in training, so I thought I should be able to C&J 74kg just fine. Well, the clean felt awesome, but I lost focus on the jerk and bailed it behind me. As I was catching my breath at the top of the clean, I thought about my breathing too much, so my dip was way too shallow. I'm going to really work on my jerk for the February meet. Can't complain about a 6kg C&J meet PR, though! Both PRs brought my meet total to 125kg, a 10kg gain from October. Happy birthday to me! Jed was so sweet and got me a birthday cake (with my name on it and everything!) and 3 and 1 candles. Everyone sang to me, and I made a wish. :)

Overall, I'm quite excited about how I did, although I'll admit I keep playing the 74kg jerk over in my head and regretting my miss. It makes me determined, though, to make it the next meet! :) Stay tuned...

Copperhead Invitational

Last Saturday was the Copperhead Invitational Lifting Meet in Van Alstyne (same place as the May meet), and I suppose I should be happy with my gains. I started training at Spoon in early July. Comparing the meet in May total to the one last weekend, I've gained 10kg in my meet snatch and 6kg in my meet C&J. Not entirely satisfied with those numbers by themselves because I know I can snatch 52-55 and C&J 68-70 easily enough. I know my mental game was off for the meet, plus Richard was out of town and not there coaching us. In order to qualify for the American Open, I need to snatch 57-60kg and C&J 80-83kg by early December. Realistically, that's not enough time for me mentally. My fellow lifters tell me I'm plenty strong enough to do those weights, but it's my mind and attitude that keep holding me back. Am I bummed about that? No, because I haven't really left the beginner lifter phase yet with only three months' training under my belt. I believe my goals should be to keep improving and competing in local meets as often as I can so that when I compete in the Copperhead next October, I'll make the Open and Nationals easily. My job right now has been eating away at my focus and mental acuity. I am definitely working on fixing that.

Testing Day

Last Saturday was testing day for Mel and me. I didn't feel as loose and flexible as I usually do, so I went into my snatch test somewhat doubting my abilities. I power snatched 50 (ugh!) and missed my first attempt at 51. After a few moments of mental focus, I made 51, albeit unprettily. Mel put on 1 more kg for me to attempt 52, but try as I might, I just ralphed it twice. I was so mad! It didn't feel heavy at all, but I couldn't figure out what was stopping me from pulling myself under the bar. Mel got 62, a 2kg PR, and I know she had more in the tank, but that was her 12th rep, so it was time to stop there. We rested for 15 minutes before moving on to clean and jerks. My first triples at 45 were pretty ugly--again, I felt too tight and limited somewhere but couldn't pinpoint where. But once I was up to 55, I felt more warmed up. 60 felt easy, as did 65 (new PR). I successfully cleaned 68 but chickened out on the jerk!!! My right arm was already locked out, but my left one wouldn't do what it knows to do. Then I made two more attempts but couldn't clean it again, so Richard had me stop. Mel cleaned 75 (PR) three times but couldn't lock out the jerk. She's gotten so strong getting out of the bottom now! She'll be hitting 80+ soon. It was really awesome working with her and witnessing her strength.

I finally figured out later that my ankles were the issue holding me back on the snatch, so Richard made me do a 10-minute squat hold, as well as pushed on my knees to stretch my ankles. I have to do the squat hold everyday, plus I sat for 2 minutes with 35kg and then 50kg resting on my legs while sitting in a squat on Sunday. OW!!!! It'll be worth the pain, though, if it means I can snatch 55+. Richard wants me to start at 45, go to 50, and make 52 my last attempt at the meet. On C&J I'm going to do 60, 65, and 68. My goal for the meet is to make every one of my attempts. I'll power snatch if I have to!!! But I HATE the way power snatches and cleans look. They're so unnatural looking and just plain ugly. I have until January to make 142 total, which means at least 60kg snatch and 80-something C&J. Eeeek!!!! Nationals are in March at the Arnold Expo in Columbus!! That freaks me out AND excites me so much! I'm going to put my all into it and see how January goes. I'm actually pretty stoked about the gains I've made since starting my training with Richard--I've gained 11kg in the snatch and 9-10kg in the C&J from the May meet. Looking forward to more gains!!!! Oh, and I'm so excited--Richard finally put me on 3/6s for squats! No more 4/8s for now, woohoooo!!!! The heaviest I went on those was 83kg. I'm going to do 85kg for 3/6s tomorrow and go from there.

Finally 50

Went to Spoon today after work not really expecting much in terms of my snatch and 4/8s. First two sets at 35kg felt wobbly and quite inflexible. It takes me quite a few warm-up sets to feel really comfortable sitting at the bottom of the snatch. I worked in with Christina while she did her snatches and cleans. After one set of triples at 40, Richard told me to go to 45. I had planned to do two sets at 40 but figured coach knows best. Admittedly, I started feeling insecure about it because I was nearing my PR I set two Sundays ago--46kg. I just went and did my best at 45, and I guess I did them so well that Richard decided to "reward" me and put on 2.5s. So I started getting really nervous about snatching 50 because a) that'd be a 4kg PR and b) it would be for triples. I got two "good" reps in at 46 the last time, so I felt doubt nudging me. Christina told me I could do it, so I chalked up and made the first attempt, but it was quite ugly (power instead of full movement). So I did it again and still did a power snatch because I was too afraid to relax my hips so I could sit at the bottom. Jose gave me great advice for my third rep, and I nailed it and sat easily at the bottom. I wished I'd videoed that rep!!!!! Anyway, that's a really nice PR for me, and I'm going to make 55 either my second or third attempt at the competition next month. It's so close!!! I squatted my 4/8s with 75 for two sets, just to warm up mentally as well as physically, and then Richard made me go to 80. I must say I felt a lot stronger and more confident finally at that weight. Last time I used it, I tweaked my calf awfully and had to put up with it for several weeks. I'm loving the PRs I'm getting, but I don't want to lose focus for the meet. I'm not going in to it thinking about winning my weight class. I would like to PR and have new percentages to train with for the next meet. Perhaps that's not the right attitude to have, but I've missed too many sessions to feel confident/capable of beating Christina. She has 75kg on clean easily, and I'm almost there to 68. I'm thinking we'll be closer on snatch, but we'll see.