The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. –Chinese Proverb

Spartan Shape-Up 2.0, Day 4:

I'm sitting here drinking an abundance of water (so. thirsty), after a wonderful 60 minute massage that the man in my life got me for Valentines day. It was pretty great... it hurt. so. good. Walking in there today, my muscles were a bit stiff and creaky - but it was earned stiffness. Not just the kind you get from sitting around in a chair. Huzzah! This is progress.
Further, I saw this massage lady about 5 weeks ago (Christmas present massage, yes!), and she told me today that she can see that I've gained some muscle and strength - particularly in my quads and hamstrings. GOOD LORD, because there's nothing a T-rex needs more than MORE LEGS.... but, hey, I'll take the gains wherever I can get them. (and more muscle gain=more calorie burn= faster weight loss!)

Allow me to tell you the next chapter in the how-I-got-sore-but-earned-it, this week.

Monday's WOD at Crossfit was awesome, but after some KB swings and deadlifts and such, I'd earned a day off of that sort of thing for a bit of rest. Tuesday was going to be a run day for me, but Life got in the way and it just didn't happen. However, I rallied, and on Tuesday, I found myself back at CrossFit Waterbury for the lunchtime WOD.

(...because this cracks me up.)

A note about lunchtime workouts: I highly recommend them, if you can manage it. I've found that I start my day, get working, and just about the time I need a break, it's lunchtime and I head to my WOD. After that  break and some movement, I feel energized, accomplished and ready to sit back at my desk and tackle the next thing. Good times!

First, we did some Skill Work on Rope Climbs. As many of you know, I have yet to get up an entire rope climb (there was that one time I got halfway up a dry rope, before a workout and not tired...) and it is one of my long-term goals. In theory, I know how to do it - I've watched hundreds of Spartans beast through it, I've watched videos from Navy Seals on the technique, and yet... it eludes me. This is supposed to be a more leg-based activity, if you're doing it correctly, but I've still yet to get it.
Through some patient coaching and demonstration from Robyn, I went for a few solid attempts. Still not there. I can execute the maneuver, but when I go to stand up on my S-hook rope, I slide.
Although, I did learn a new technique for "learning" purposes. Start sitting on a box, put your feet in position, then stand up. This more closely simulates the action you'll be doing when you're actually climbing - bringing your knees up as high as you can, gripping (not pulling) with your hands, and then standing to bring your hips to the rope. I -still- can't really do it.... YET.  You just wait. :-)

Next, we headed on to the WOD:
For Total Working Time:

10 power cleans (55#)
15 Burpee Box Overs
20 OH Walking Lunges (10#)
40 Double Unders or 80 singles
REST 3 Min.
REPEAT
Rest 3 Min.
REPEAT (for a total of 3 rounds). 

So, my total time came in at 23:23, and I was pretty sure the Burpees were going to kill me. Burpee Box Overs, for those that haven't yet experienced this new kind of hell, are ugly.  You do a burpee, stand up, Jump Onto and Over box. That's One. Burpee on the other side of the box.... stand up, jump on box and over.... that's 2.
Fat Chick Syndrome (you've all heard me talk about FCS before?), gets really inflamed during this sort of task. Burpees kill me, cardiovascularly. I'm panting and sweating like I'm about to die (clearly this means I must do more). As such, refusing to quit, I am forced to do them slower. There are points (we've all been there, with The Burpee), where I'm laying on the floor, working on getting up, and start beating myself up over the fact that this would be SO MUCH EASIER if I wasn't the fat kid. Enter FCS. I have spent a lot of the last few years working to change this thought pattern, or at least channel it differently. Now, I get angry and push through. There was a point, during the second round of these burpee box overs, after a particularly sharp pang of FCS, that I pushed a few out quickly and had that dreaded, "am I gonna throw up right now?" moment. Luckily, I moved through that as well.
I guess that's the key to these ugly movements.... JUST. KEEP. MOVING.  It can't go on forever. If you keep chipping away at it, it'll be done. Then, you will feel awesome.
Thankfully, there was an excellent cheering section at CFW for the WOD that kept the positive mojo flowing. Definitely helps!

I was happy that I beasted through the power cleans with some efficiency. I try to remember things like that when I am feeling particularly weak (like while doing burpees). For instance, I might say to myself.... "Hey, so these burpees suck really bad because our spare tire is WAY too big right now... BUT, I owned those power cleans...."  Whatever gets you through, right?

Over Head Walking lunges are not a great favorite of my t-rex self. While the lunges are that bad (although, nothing is that great, after burpees and box jumps...), using my wimpy arms to hold something over my head, arms locked out, is not pretty. However, it had to get done, even if it meant doing two, taking a 3 second break to breathe, and getting back to work.

Here's the moral of the story, BlogLand. It may not be pretty, you may not feel athletic, it may not be as easy as it once was..... but in order to see the results, you have to do the work; as slowly as necessary, as scaled as necessary, as sweaty as necessary.... but you must keep moving.

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to take an easy run to stretch the muscles back out (I'm not sure what is more sore, lingering Crossfit achiness, or the aftermath of a rigorous massage?).... because this weekend is Adventure Weekend with the Man. We're trying SNOWBOARDING!!!! (stay tuned for that update).

‎"We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions." -Aristotle

Spartan Shape Up, Day 283, 284 & 285:

BlogLand, this weekend OWNED my body. And by that, I mean I sweated, grunted, pushed, pulled, climbed, and sweated some more, my way through this weekend. It was AWESOME.
Why no blogging? Well. You will understand when I get to the end of this... Let's just say, I passed out like a dead person by the time I hit my bed on Sunday night.

Day 283, Saturday:

Saturday I was up early and excited and ready to head off to my CrossFit WOD. The morning was particularly cool (VT has been having a weird cold spell?), but nothing my giant super-tough Spartan hoodie couldn't handle. You really get some excellent looks, though, when you're pumping gas with the huge (oversized) hood up on this black sweatshirt, gold aviator sunglasses, spandex capris and innovates. All in black. I must've been quite a sight to see. haha

It seemed that Saturday's WOD would be a CrossFit Hero WOD - "Pheezy":
(for time) 3 Rounds of:
5 Front Squats (50#)
18 Pull Ups (with a big black band)
5 Dead Lifts (95#)
18 Toes to Bar (... or knees to however high I could get them)
5 Push Jerks (50#)
18 Hand Release Push Ups (on my knees)


Okay, so this WOD was okay. It combined some things I'm really horrid at (pull ups), with some things I'm not so bad at (lifting heavy stuff). Although, it was a bit tricky. Saturday classes are big at the gym, usually, particularly this 10:30am spot. Thus, with WOD's that require multiple weighted bars, equipment gets tricky to share. As a result, we had some shared Deadlifts, and you had to use the same bar for your front squats and push jerks. The way this worked for me was that I was deadlifting 95#. I should've gone heavier. The prescribed women's weight for the day was 155#... which I wasn't quite sure if I could handle for the whole workout... so... I elected lighter. 95# was too easy though, in retrospect. WAY too easy. Next time, I will know. I did a 50# bar for the sake of the push jerks (an overhead move), as this is a weaker area for me. Plus, I knew that my upper body strength would be tapped by the other movements.

However. I am happy to report that 50# was still too easy. For real. At the end of the WOD, I could still push that push jerk over my head without severe difficulty. Clearly, it should've been heavier. haha. I'm proud of myself. A couple months ago, I could not have handled a wod like this with a weight over 50#. Now I'm sure it was too light. Go me!

The non-weighted movements were my nemesis in this wod, though. Pull ups are always a struggle. I got through the first 10 in the first round in a row (with the aid of a big, thick, gray ban), and then pretty much had to do sets of 2-3 for the rest of the WOD. It was ugly. I was annoyed. Toes to Bar (or knees to wherever you can get them), was similarly as bad, though slightly better. I found it was not my grip strength here that limited me, but the sheer ability to get my feet up.
You know your WOD has gone horribly wrong when Hand-Release push ups seem like the "break."

I did thoroughly enjoy this WOD, though, and came out a hot, sweaty, smiling mess. Signs of success, I would say!

After CrossFit, I went home, drank a protein shake and made some food. I had to power up... it was then time to go for a hike!

Armed with quite a motley crew of an entourage, my Up-the-Hill running buddy and I led the charge up Spruce Peak. It's a 4.4 mile (roundtrip) hike, with quite a decent elevation gain. In true Spartan Training style, Stacy and I brought our rocks. Grover was happy to leave his station as my front-porch decor and get out for our first rock-walk of the season. Stacy and her new find, "Hurley", would be taking their first stroll, Rock style.

It was good times, BlogLand. I actually had to consciously slow myself down towards the beginning. Walking at a good clip, not wanting to die or thinking I was going to hyperventilate, and being able to pick up/squat and throw my 15-16# rock was quite a feeling. I remember doing this last year... and while it was not "easy" today... it was definitely easier. I was able to keep up a more steady pace, and soldier up that mountain.

Admittedly, we were not able to throw all the way up the mountain, as I had hoped. It did turn into a bit of a rock carry... As it turns out, the cold snap had brought quite a bit of ice and snowy slushiness to the upper regions of the mountain. It is pretty tricky to try and hold your rock with one hand/arm/shoulder and navigate a muddy, slippery, wet, etc. narrow path. I am proud to say that I did not land on my ass at ALL (there was one close call...), and I only put my rock down one time - at the top.

Speaking of the top, it is time to immortalize our fearless crew:

At the top, we stopped for a bit of refreshment... I chowed down some homemade trail mix (nom nom nom, nuts and raisins!), and washed it down with some water and chocolate/PB/Banana protein shake that Stacy pulled out of her bag. EPIC. Let me tell you people, never does a protein shake taste so good, as when you have just completed a crazy crossfit wod, then sweated your ass off heaving a rock up a mountain. So good, protein shake. OM nom nom.

The next task was... down the mountain. Hmm. Yes, BlogLand, I think that in this case, up was actually easier. Slightly bad footing (again, carrying a rock), is a bit easier to manage when you're going up it. You can sort of pull yourself up it with the surrounding trees. DOWN and you're really just trying not to slide on your ass, to your doom.

I think I really want a weight vest, after this. It will be a great way to increase the challenge of hikes, runs, etc. but have a more hands-free experience. Although, in some cases, I suppose that is part of the challenge, right?

I did successfully make it down the mountain, and back into my car, and home the the greatest hot shower ever (remember how I said it was a cold day in VT?!). Sometimes there's really something immensely satisfying as just being tired and standing in the hot water. Ahhh.

Day 284, Sunday:
Despite having a little bit of a later night out last night, I was in no frame of mind to let the workouts slack, with my race so close on the horizon (I can't think about that right now. Hello, Nerves!). It was up early and off to 9am CrossFit. '

The WOD:
6 Rounds for time:
6 Left Arm Kettlebell Snatch
12 Left Arm KB overhead lunges
18 Double Unders
6 Right Arm Kettlebell Snatch
12 Right Arm KB Overhead lunges
18 Double Unders

I am pretty damn happy with my performance on this one, considering I had some pretty hefty upper body exertions yesterday. I did this with a 22# KB, and almost could've gone heavier, I think. The limiting factor was definitely my left arm. I have less strength there, for sure, this showed me.
I also can not (yet) do double unders, so I had to substitute 3x the amount of singles... so... 18 double unders became 54 singles. Yikes.

However, again, I feel like my arms MUST be improving, as I was able to do this one without putting the kettlebell down for extra rests. WAHA! T-Rex arms... you are not long for this world.....

There was nothing too notable about this WOD... somedays, it's just about getting sweaty. Which I did. Quite a lot of. Win!

Today, Day 285:
... was all about resting. I thought about going to CF this morning, but honestly, my body was feeling the recent exertions. I'd done 4 days in a row of solid Wod's, and it was time for a recovery day. Sometimes, you must listen to your body.
I got the official word from the GT today.... I will WOD as normal, but make my last WOD of the week on Wednesday... my only tasks on Thursday and Friday (a travel day), will be to HYDRATE.
.... and try and maintain my sanity for the race day.

With that, I need to go commence resting. My mind has been going like crazy with all this race prep..... it's time to shut it off for the night.

"Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle." -Christian D. Larson

Spartan Shape-Up, Day 269:

Saturday was a CrossFit morning for me. It was a beautiful, 70 degree, sunny morning, and we were doing our very first WOD outside for the season (YAY! Outdoor CrossFit FitPark!). After doing a warm-up of partner med-ball tosses (10#) for a few minutes, we ran a quick 400m to get our bodies working and settled down into our WOD. It looked like one that would not feel good the next day, but one that had me pondering something momentous - I *THINK* I can do this WOD prescribed (which, in the CF world means you're doing the WOD exactly as written, with no modifications). The thought of that was a little frightening, but I thought of a lot of the positive vibes that have been thrown my way lately, and decided to not give into doubt. I COULD do this would as prescribed, or I'd collapse in a puddle of my own sweat, from muscle failure, after trying really hard.

The WOD, as written:
- 50ft of walking lunges, with 30# overhead
- 21 Burpees
Repeat 5 times.

Seems simple enough, right? Let me tell you, BlogLand, 30# isn't a whole lot on a general basis, but have you ever tried to hold that (arms locked out straight) overhead for an extended period of time? Not to mention, when you don't have the longest legs in the world to do lunges with, that means MORE time that you must keep this over head to travel 50ft. I should also mention here that if you have T-Rex Arm Syndrome (as I do), that is the LONGEST 50ft of your life, because -particularly in round 4 and 5 - your arms and shoulders are screaming. Seriously, I think I could hear them.

Nonetheless, I positioned myself next to one of the guys that is a CrossFit animal. "Aja, why would you put yourself next to someone that's going to run circles around you, ON PURPOSE?" you ask? Well, because I have determined that those people are extremely good motivation for me. If I'm dying on burpees (I was), but he's doing burpees like a Burpee Machine, then I push a little harder - not necessarily to "keep up" - but because I can probably just do a little more, if he can do that much. Does that make sense? I'm always stretching to be a little closer to those people, then where is comfortable. Find your Crossfit animal, train next to them. Plus, when he finished 5 whole minutes before me, he did burpees in solidarity with me, as I dug deep to finish up. Yeah, CrossFit community!

Having said that, I totally completed the WOD AS WRITTEN!! I did it with the exact amount of weight, did all the burpees, didn't have to modify the lunges, etc. and was met with a time that I was proud of - just over 17 minutes.
I will not lie, the last 50 feet of lunges felt super heavy... not on my beastly bionic legs, but my shoulders (deltoids, the muscle that makes your shoulder round) felt like they were housing battery acid. I was making all sorts of faces and struggling to keep my wobbly weight plate overhead. But I refused to put it down. I made noise. I had to. It was the patented "I'm having an evil workout" scream/grunt. You know, "Aaaaahhhhrrrrrgghh!!!".  But I made it to the end. (and finished with the slowest, but steady, set of 21 burpees.).

I went to pick up my full Nalgene water bottle after class and my arm shook as I tried to get it to my face. I had a feeling that the next day would suck pretty bad (Embrace the Suck!)...

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ''Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.''” Muhammad Ali

Spartan Shape-Up, Day 179:

WELL. It was a Challenge Day today, BlogLand.

The Challenge: 1/2 Mile of Lunges.

That seems so simple, doesn't it? YEAH. Let's set the scene:

It was 4 degrees at noon today, in Vermont. That's before the windchill (which was BRUTAL). It snowed over the last few days, so there is 4-5 inches of snow on the ground. However, looking out the window, it seemed to be a *beautiful* sunny day. Being an (almost) native Vermonter, though, I know these looks can be deceiving, and I pondered just how many layers I'd need.

I should preface this by saying that I did.not.want. to do lunges today. It is reeeealllly hard to build up steam to spend an extended period of time outside, in arctic weather, performing a specific exercise for an unusual amount of time, knowing that -most likely- I was going to wake up tomorrow feeling stiff and sore.

HOWEVER. I had been issued a challenge (thanks to my GT and co-conspirator Paul. I'm glaring at you both.). Being a competitive sort, and knowing that physically I could probably handle this no problem, there was no way I was going to drop out now, because it was "cold". I wanted to, though. REALLY bad.
I must say though, I had some big external motivators... sort of jokingly, I created a public event on FB about doing the lunge-stravaganza today, and it sort of blew up. LOTS of people were doing it, too... many of them right then, at noon today. My Spartan's had really saddled up and were ready to take on this ridiculous 1/2 mile of lunges, just because I had mentioned it... I would be hugely guilty if I backed out of my OWN challenge. Time to STFU and get my ass in gear.

With some (Much needed! Thank you!) texts from one of my Spartan Chicks, Jessica, who was also suiting up to lunge in the arctic temps in New England, I began donning layers.

Here's what I ended up with, for reference:
- super thin silk base-layer top
- Under Armour Cold Gear tights
- Moving Comfort moisture-wicking top (with hand covers!Yay!)
- Wind pants (sort of)
- Heavy wool socks (warm & dry is essential)
- Turtle fur neck/face gator
- Superduty Spartan Race Sweatshirt (seriously, it's bulletproof)
- Thinsulate mittens

Yeah, THAT is how cold it was. *shiver*

So, off I went, expecting to tackle the high school track that is directly across the street from my house. Only, the revolving gate thing was frozen-shut, and I'm not particularly well-versed in climbing chain-link. Plus, what if I got IN, but after all those lunges, couldn't get my butt back out (really, picture that: Me, in my eskimo gear, stuck halfway up a chain link fence.)? Yeah, no thanks. Plan B! Yes, I briefly thought about heading home, since it was -right there- and oh well, I couldn't do lunges around the track.... But then I got a update text from Jess, and a few other notes from people who'd already begun their lunges, and I trudged on to my alternate location, about 3/4 mile away.

All things considered, the little walk to my new spot was probably good - allowed me to warm up the muscles a little bit, before I put them to work. In no time, I found myself at the Recreation Path, where my running progress first started. Here's what it looked like, today:

What you're looking at there is 4-5 inches of semi-packed snow. That definitely made things a little interesting. But off I went, looking like this (I laughed and thought of myself as the Lunge Ninja):

C'mon, you know I look like some sort of weird ninja there. Admit it. hehehe...

As the arctic wind gusted, off I went... it's JUST a 1/2 mile, right?? .... 1 lunge, 2 lunge, 3 lunge...... I was taking particular care to pay attention to my form (knee not in front of toe, straight up/down, etc.) as my knee has been a bit weird and over this distance, I figured, odds were I could really tweak something. 

.... 75....76...77..... Okay, it was less cold than I thought. Mittens, off. 

...98 ... 99... 100.... Whew. Okay. I must really be getting somewhere! *checks GPS*... WHAT?! *sigh*... 

... 148...149...150. *checks GPS* 150 lunges, for me, equals .10 miles. Oh my. I did some quick math in my head, my soul died a little bit, and I texted Paul to let him know that I hated him for supplying the GT with this grand scheme. He yelled at me to stop counting. haha

On I pressed. Let me tell you, when you're working, it really does make the "brisk" temperatures feel much less brisk. I think I could've actually done without the first silk base layer and been okay. The hood had also come off at this point (making me look less like a serial killer) and I think I had begun to actually break a bit of a sweat. 

298...299...300! YES! HALFWAY. Oh my god. What? I re-checked the GPS. Three hundred lunges was only halfway. Oh My.

Although, I must say, my mind had started to quiet at this point and just focus on the business at hand. Stand. Step. Down, UP. Stand. Step. Down, UP. 

Just past this point, some people came walking their dog down the path toward me. At this point it was single-lane and I didn't want to screw up my distance, so I stopped and stepped off the path to let them go by. Talk about getting a weird look. It's almost as if they'd never seen a sweaty chick, bundled up like a crazy, homeless eskimo, lunging in incredibly cold temperatures. Geesh. Incidentally, for whatever reason, their dog was terrified of me. I think he sensed the Spartan-Crazy that would have me out on a day like this. He was concerned. 

Here's the one problem with stopping, at a time like this. You get cold. FAST. I touched my face, to push my hair out of my eye, and felt the sweat had all turned to ice on my forehead. THAT is a bit disconcerting, let me tell you. I pulled my hood back up, put my mittens back on, and hoped the people would walk by a LITTLE faster, so that I could continue on my trek, that I was only a little over halfway through. 

I pulled the neck gator back up over my nose and mouth (breathing was easier this way!), despite the fact that it had frozen into a shell-shape that it wanted to be in. Back to the lunges. Step. Down, UP. Stand. Step. Down, UP. 

And on, and on, and on. After every 25 or so lunges, I did stop and sort of shake out my legs for about 10 seconds. It felt AMAZING. By this point (somewhere around 450-475 lunges), I had really gotten into a system. I was also leaving really strange tracks in the snow. This is the one thing I really like about the intense workouts I find myself in these days... my brain is quiet. As my legs were starting to tire, I distracted myself by looking around. I live in a BEAUTIFUL state, the snow was scenic, the quiet of just me on the path was refreshing, and everything was peaceful. I felt calm and centered. Sometimes, I think, you must just take the time to stop and look around you, to remind you of all the blessings you have. Yes, it was cold, but I had two functional legs (for now) to carry me through this, I had a warm house to go back to, food to fuel my adventures, and my health.....

Step. Down, UP... Stand. Step. Down, UP. 

At exactly 625 lunges (I admit, after 575, I started checking at every 25), I hit .5 miles of lunges. I stood up, stretched, reveled in my accomplishment... and felt the cold bite at me. OKAY. Time to get back home (If I had been smart, I would've turned around at the halfway mark...). I decided probably the best thing would be a slow jog home; it would stretch out the legs in a different way and allow me to stay warm and keep moving. 

This proved to be slightly more difficult than it sounds, as my legs were slightly uncoordinated at first, and I was navigating a difficult snow-covered path.... But, a slow 1.10 miles home was a nice "cool down". 

I'm not going to lie, as I jogged through the city for the last portion of my way home, I felt a little bit like Rocky - my hood was up, my hands were in mittens.... I swear, I could hear the theme music. hehe

So, how are you fairing tonight, you may ask?

Actually, I'm okay. I'm feeling like my legs are aware that we did something today.... but I don't feel any more sore than I would any other vigorous activity day. Although, I suppose we will see tomorrow. I've been stretching all night to try and prevent this, because I would *really* like to be able to get up tomorrow and walk like a normal human. Plus, word on the street says tomorrow's CrossFit WOD has pistol squats in it.... I'm sure my legs are going to think that's an AWESOME plan, after today.

All things considered, though, I think I could've done a whole mile (Shh. Let's not give the peanut gallery ideas!). I think I may have to revisit this challenge, when it it warmer...

I salute you, TreeTrunk Legs... Perhaps you're good for something, afterall.

On which note, I'm off to do one more round of stretches, a bit more water, and off to sleep. I think I earned it today. 

Dear Legs, Please wake up mostly functional?... Love, Me.