Woot! Beat the Morning, today, BlogLand. That's a big victory for me - got right up, when the alarm went off, rather than hitting the snooze a few times. Running that 5K this weekend really escalated my fire and drive to push this process to new limits. It was the first time in quite a long time that I have wanted to turn around to everyone I walked by and say - LOOK what I DID!! I was proud of myself, and saw a tiny glimpse of the person inside of me that has been trapped for a long time. This was the first major tangible step achieved in this process.
You know how I knew this? I showed people PICTURES - bad, sweaty, poorly composed, unflattering, candid, unposed - PICTURES of me, during the race. My hair is everywhere, I can't even comment on the unflattering tummy bulges, or bad angles, you know the drill..... But I showed them to people. Proudly, and without even really caring. Why? Because all I could see in those pictures was Victory. Victory over 65#, Victory over my self-doubts, Victory over lifelong habits, Victory over pain and hard decisions.... Triumph as I crossed the finish line. WHO CARES what the hell you look like, when you have a picture of you crossing a finish line, and know how much more than JUST a finish line that is?
SO, yes, I hopped right up out of bed this morning, anxious to beat my WOD into the ground.
So, in the wee hours of the morning (... okay, 7am.), looking out my giant windows on the Northeast's crazy "Snowtober" weather, I WOD'd:
- T-handle tabata swings, 25#: 8 sets (roughly 16-17 swings/set)
- DB Thrusters, 22# DBs: 9 sets, 6 reps
- Push ups: 20
A few notes... You may have noticed I haven't Jump roped before the last few workouts. To be honest, I'm still babying my foot a little bit, as it's not 'right' yet. And, YES, I have a doctor's appointment scheduled, as my new-job insurance has finally kicked in. So, yeah, no jump roping. I did stretch and dance around a bit to get myself warmed up. Yes. At 7am, in my workout zone bubble, I was totally rocking out in my living room, with the curtains open, to the steady stream of traffic filing into the high school near my house. Yep. I'm THAT person.
Second, I'm really beginning to appreciate the Tabata concept. 20 seconds of high intensity effort - in this case, t-handle swings - alternating with 10 seconds rest. 10 seconds does not feel like a whole lot, after about 4-5 rounds. I swear to you, BlogLand, for those that have never tried something like this, I am huffing and puffing and sweaty the same amount if I really push the 20 seconds, and ONLY rest for 10 (not 12, not 15) seconds, as much as when I come home from 45 minutes of running. Seriously.
Then, when I put DB Thrusters back to back with that, it makes for one killer, high intensity, get your blood flowing first thing in the morning in a short amount of time, workout. Particularly because, whether you realized it or not, you just finished using your quads, hamstrings, core muscles, arms, etc. in your t-handle swings. Guess what the Thrusters use? I use a similar principle with the Thrusters. I do them in sets of 6 reps, with as little rest in between as I can manage. I will say that after t-handle swings, the last 3-4 Thruster sets do have more of a break in between. And you definitely learn to think of some real motivating thoughts, or words, or SOMEthing, to help get you from that 'down' squatted position, to 'bursting' up and getting that weight over your head. It is in those moments that I thank the Cosmos for my muscular tree-trunk thighs. They're hard to fit in jeans, but I'll be damned if they don't have a lot of hidden reserves that get me up out of those squats just ONE more time...
Then, just for funsies (since I had exactly 3 more minutes left in my allotted workout time, before I had to start getting ready for work), I busted out some push ups. I totally rocked 20 of them in a row, without blinking, before my timer went off. At the beginning of this all, 3 was a challenge. Hang on to those little victories, my friends. They are what gets you through.
On that note, just because I've been rolling over the No Bread plan in my head, today, I have seen bread and carbs everywhere. No joke, I followed a Wonder Bread truck for a good 10 minutes on my way to work today. That never happens. Then, I begun to think about what constituted "carbs" of sorts, and came to the conclusion, that my work is going to be a huge red flag area. Pre-planning to navigate that mindfield is going to be of paramount importance.
Lastly, tomorrow is Run Day! I'm up early to go for a run before work... It'll be my first training run in the last 2 weeks. Foot is feeling okay, and it felt about 90% okay after Saturday's race....so I'm hoping we should be good to go.... Cross your fingers!
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