Had one of those successful workouts today that proves its worth by making you cough every time you try to laugh for the 4 hours immediately following. Which I think should be appropriately called... uh, loughing?
Also I am very aware of just how freakishly sore my lower back is going to be tomorrow. Oh god, it will be bad. Very, very bad. I stepped to the next weight up for my kettlebell today (from 24lbs to 35 lbs), which is something for which it was definitely time. But this was the workout (or rather, the version I did):
75 KettleBell swings
with 5 burpees every minute on the minute (till you finish the KB swings)
1000 meter row
(time: 13:35)
That's a lot of KB swings at a new weight. And riding home (the ride is getting easier, yay!) my lower back started screaming in pain. Tomorrow may suck lots.
And a foot update! Because for no apparent reason I feel that all blog posts are better with photos.
My toe is broken! Totes broken! I got the x-rays to prove it (only because I've never actually broken a bone before and I wanted to be sure). So that means I get to keep on rowing/walking instead of running. Which I don't mind, because I dislike running, but I'm pretty sure that will come back to bite me in the ass when it comes to catching back up to the TM team. Here's a picture of my buddy-tape recovery method (pretty much the only method available for fixing a broken pinky-toe):
The other foot update is that I got a pair of wonderful new shoes on Saturday after our Discovery Park workout. They are utterly adorable and the most comfortable things to ever grace my feet (and that's including all the very nice slippers I've worn over the years). They are called Lemings (Stem is the old brand name, these are apparently a vintage model) and they're barefoot running/exercising shoes. (FYI there's an entirely barefoot running store in Seattle, called Born to Run, and it is awesome.) I can literally roll them up the sole is so flexible. I wore them today at crossfit and they felt great. :D
And now, with my first weekday of spring break (and perhaps the only night I'll have to myself), I am off to do dishes, laundry, make myself some eggs, watch some k-dramas, and learn how to dance like T-ara (yes, pronounced "tiara"). Because holy-hell, I'm so excited for JKPop night in Seattle that I can hardly stand it, and this is the group dance they're encouraging us to learn ^_^
Woot! Been a while since I posted. Here's the summary:
- CrossFit is still awesome.
- I've been eating better/less, mostly*
- Running/hiking on the weekends is also awesome, except when it causes toe injuries!**
* I started counting my calories again, which is a good thing for me - especially as I devised the 12,000 calories a week system, which allows for great leniency on my part. Weeks 1 and 2 went swimmingly. Week 3 has been derailed by free donuts which led to an all day EAT-ALL-THE-CARBS binge. Because if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of an all-or-nothing gal. So I ate all the carbs, then went pretty strict paleo yesterday and back to normal today. I've decided calorie counting is out for this week, and I have to pay the penance on Saturday by doing 100 burpees. Awesome! Calorie-counting will be back next week. I like taking the break though, because then I listen a little more closely to what my body actually wants as opposed to what I think it should have, given the calories I have left in the day/week.
** We've been running trails on Saturdays in prep for tough mudder, which has been awesome (even if I'm still really slow). And then last Sunday I went hiking with a friend to Rattlesnake Ledge, which was a great hike. Uphill 1100 feet in 1.8 miles, and it was snowing for about the last third. We were both in Vibrams, and I was in shorts. Most of the other hikers we saw were decked out in rain/snow gear, and looked at me like I was crazy. I still approve of my hiking outfit - I would have been way too warm otherwise. And I felt like we took it at a good pace. Cody probably could have gone a bit faster, but I was really satisfied. Going down we ran most of the way, which was INCREDIBLY fun. Until that last bit when I smashed my toe on a rock.... pretty obvious hazard of vibrams+downward-running-on-rocky-trail. I'm pretty sure it's just sprained and not broken, but I'm going to the doctor tomorrow a.m. just to be sure (and to get a prescription for massage therapy, as crossfit has impressed upon me how out of whack my right shoulder is).
This is week 3 of (real) CrossFit, and I've managed to go 4 days a week each week. I'd like to shoot for 5 next week, but I'm not going to berate myself if something comes up. I feel like I'm there often enough that I'm seeing really quick improvement, and the coaches seem relatively impressed with my frequency, especially considering I'm so new. Most importantly, I'M GETTING CALLUSES! From weight-lifting. It is awesome, and makes me feel a little like a bad-ass. Even though practically speaking, I really need to be pushing myself more. I did our WOD today with a 35 pound bar.
WOD 3/14/12: 5 rounds of:
10 hang cleans
10 front squats
10 bent-over rows 1 minute rest in-between rounds
But I didn't have too much trouble finishing it though, so I probably should have had 40-45 lbs. I'm learning. The thing I really love most about Stoneway Crossfit is that in EVERY class I've had, there has been at least one coach taking the class - this not only makes me feel like I'm doing something that's actually worthwhile/challenging, but it means that I have someone besides the person leading class to look to for good form and to ask questions of, etc. They're usually great about motivating people, too, as a lot of times we break in to small teams and you'll have a coach on your team who helps get the most out of you. Anyhow, it's awesome.
And today was especially awesome. I'm not exactly sure why, I think it's mostly a combination of things. I finished my last final of the quarter yesterday (YES OMIGOD YES), but the joy/relief didn't really seem to set in till today - that may be most of it. But I just felt really great after the workout - and then I caught the bus back to U-District, and made an impulse decision to get Korean food (instead of walking up to 50th to get an overpriced vegetable juice like I maybe should have).
I couldn't find what I wanted on the english menu, so I told the guy I wanted ddukbokki*** and I apparently didn't fuck up the pronunciation too bad, because he went, "Oh, okay!" Then I sat and looked at my Ancora music (I was headed to rehearsal after eating), and mouthed words/rhythms to the christian rock that was playing on the stereo (this would normally drive me insane, but it didn't bother me today). They brought my food out, sans side-dishes (probably because then saw I was american and so probably wouldn't eat them, which is mostly true, although I usually take a couple of stabs at them). I ate my ddukbokki, and not JUST the rice-cake/fish-cake! I made a very concerted effort to eat the vegetables in the sauce as well (mostly carrots and onions), and I definitely put more away than usual. I'm training myself to eat onions now, and it's going well so far (as long as the pieces don't get too big). Also I had some of the house tea - which is mostly flavored by rice?!? Seems odd, but I really like it.
*** Ddukbokki is DELICIOUS. There's very little to it, and it's usually sold as a street food in Korea. I saw it in a lot of K-dramas, and always thought it looked intriguing. I was really happy when I found out it's pretty common in korean restaurants in america. All it is is sliced rice cake (so rice that's been mashed up and formed into things like solid pasta tubes), fishcake, and vegetables (carrots, onions, and spring onions for the most part) in this really spicy sauce. I like it so much I went out and bought the ingredients to make it, based on the recipe below (although I still haven't found dried anchovies, and the fish cake I found isn't the right kind, and isn't as good). It probably doesn't taste authentic, but it does taste HOT, and I'm pretty sure that's the main point.
Anyway. Dinner was delicious. And afterwards I was still kind of high-as-a-kite, climbing on the scaffolding while waiting for my bus and such. And then my choir rehearsal was really fun, although I'm sure most of the other girls thought I was on crack because I was literally BOUNCING for most of the rehearsal. It's been an awesome day over-all, and especially from 4:30 on. And hopefully the awesome will continue. I'm off to take a shower before bed, so I can get up and go to a morning crossfit class so that I have more time in the afternoon to come home and clean my apartment because I'm having a PARTY tomorrow night! Hurrah! and Huzzah! and Hurray!
