Brie Fit

I fear I brought this one on myself.

A few weeks ago, we were stretching after a WOD and tossing around ridiculous ideas for workouts.  (My personal favorite was titled “Rob The Place,” in which you simply have to move as much heavy equipment out of the box as quickly as possible.) 

“Hey, we should do 2012 reps to ring in 2012!” I said, chortling.

Little did I know they would listen to me.

Thankfully, we were working in teams of five.  The box was packed today—I’m not sure if it was a function of it being New Year’s Day, or if it was because there was only one class today, but there were probably 35 people packed in!  It was a little nuts.

Anyway, we had 5 minutes to complete as many reps (as a group) of the first couplet of exercises we picked.  Then, we rested and tallied our reps, and did 4 minutes, then 3 minutes for the last 3.

We started with the push presses/lunges set, then moved to the tire slams/paralette jumps, then the squats/KB swings, then the situps/burpees, and finished with the box jumps/push-ups.  (In which I achieved my goal of ten perfect toe push-ups—hooray!)

My team, called E4T (chosen by the lone guy on the team, to represent four estrogens and a testosterone), completed 2286 reps in 18 minutes.  Not too shabby.

Then I went home and had breakfast and lounged at our kitchen island for awhile.  It was a perfect morning!

I know I’m not really a hot oatmeal person, generally, but I’ve really been craving it lately.  I maintain that the packets are the way to go—not instant, but old-fashioned—and mix-ins (peanut butter, raisins, apples), are the way to go.  I don’t like it fluffy and liquidy, I like it sticky (that’s what she said), so consistency is key.

The bulk of the afternoon was spent in a drunken, sleepy haze thanks to my progesterone supplements.  No fun.

The whole acupuncturist diet went well today—no dairy, ate black beans and a hardboiled egg and goji berries and walnuts, nothing cold.  The only fail was a stray York peppermint patty that was in my mouth before I realized I was trying to cut back on sweets.  That one’s going to take some work, for sure.

Anyway, SIGH, it’s back to work tomorrow. It has really been a lovely little weekend relaxing at home—exactly what I needed.

Are you pro- or anti-oatmeal?

I don’t know what’s gotten into me today—I am exhausted and it’s only 7:30!  I even fell asleep on the couch after work, something I haven’t done since I was pregnant. 

It was a cold, rainy morning at CFN.

The WOD was thus:

(Hi Dustin!)

Since that’s kind of messy, it was a three parter:

Part One

• Spend ten minutes finding your deadlift one rep max.  Mine was 165#, which I was excited about until I saw the guys lifting 300+.  Balls to them.

Part Dos

• 55 sit-ups
• 5 pull-ups
• 45 sit-ups
• 10 pull-ups
• 35 sit-ups
• 15 pull-ups
• 25 sit-ups
• 20 pull-ups
• 15 sit-ups
• 25 pull-ups

I finished this one in 12:30.  It was kind of a pain because my back hurt (in a good way) from the deadlifting.

Part Three

Work with a partner; AMRAP shoulder to overhead for 5 minutes.  (Shoulder to overhead just means that you can do a shoulder press, a push press, or any other means necessary to move the bar that way.)  Rx for women was 25#, which we did.  My awesome partner Shannon and I cranked out 166 reps, 96 of which I did.

There were a record-setting five ladies in the morning class today.  Me likey.  Usually it’s a big old sausage fest.

It was a long and boring day at work.  There’s very little going on this week.

After work I napped and had another paper-plate dinner:

Two eggs with some cheese, Canadian bacon, a slice and a half of wheat toast and some homemade cranberry applesauce.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a short day!  The last two years, we’ve been sent home early, and I’m seriously hoping the same happens again this year.

Do you work tomorrow?  What about on Friday?

Today was another day where I felt almost normal, aside from being insanely sore thanks to returning to the box after my too-long CrossFit hiatus.

The only thing that’s thrown me off was a comment Tim and I got yesterday.  Someone who knew about the miscarriage made a comment, and followed it with, “Wait until you have kids!”  I know it was an accident, but it was kind of a punch in the gut.  I have a feeling those are going to happen here and there from now on.

I didn’t go to CrossFit this morning—I was doing some local traveling today and it didn’t really work with my schedule.  There’s no morning class tomorrow, so I might go in the evening, and I WILL go Friday morning.

Tim’s working late tonight so I had a little breakfast for dinner.

We also got this totally sweet care package from my sister.

In case you can’t read the post-its, they say “peanut butter chocolate buckeyes,” “double chocolate peanut butter chip cookies,” and “just in case there’s not enough peanut butter chocolate treats.”  Love her.  There’s WAY too much for just the two of us, so I’ll be sharing with my co-workers.

My mom and sister are actually flying down to help us move (and my mother-in-law is driving up the same weekend).  I can’t wait to see them!  We have lots on the docket…not just moving, but some horrid wallpaper stripping and painting, and Christmas decorating, and shopping.  Three weeks to closing!

In other moving forward news, I purchased 25 cheap pregnancy tests from Amazon today.  This morning, I took one that I already had on hand, and although I’m still pulling up a positive, it’s much fainter than it was a few weeks ago, which is good and means the hormones are fading.  I’m ready to go.

I also purchased an argyle dog bowtie for Milhouse’s official Christmas photo.

Also, I currently want to spend way too much money at Lululemon.  I’m trying to be fiscally responsible since we’re, you know, buying a house, but I really could use a little retail therapy right now.  I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought myself a piece of clothing.  I’m very tempted.

What have you bought lately?

Today was probably the most calm day I’ll have all week.  I get to stay in the same hotel two nights in a row! 

Breakfast was culled from the Starbucks downstairs.  If you can call it that.

Work provided lunch, and it was unfortunately pretty carby and heavy.  My eyes were bigger than my stomach!  I took some Caesar salad, marinara pasta, chicken lasagna, and a breadstick.  The marinara pasta was cold, so I just had the lasagna, salad, and bread.

I had kind of a rough afternoon.  My sinuses are driving me crazy—they are draining so much I feel like I’m choking—but I eventually made it to the hotel gym.   Nothing intense, just a half hour on the elliptical, and I attempted to do my CrossFit box’s WOD I saw online but kind of failed due to lack of kettlebells.  But whatever.  It was a noble effort. 

Since lunch was heavy, I opted for a lighter dinner, and walked there and back—it was about a 15 minute walk each way, so maybe a mile? But with views like this, how can you complain?

Utah is really astonishingly gorgeous, and the people are SO nice.

I had a cup of chicken noodle soup and a spinach salad with various fruits and goat cheese.

And maaaybe a cookie for later.  Maaaybe.

In other news, this is how Tim and I interact when I’m on the road.  God bless Gchat.

Anyway, tomorrow will be another loong day.  I work from 8-2, then head straight to the airport to fly to Arizona that night.  Is it Friday yet?

Where, in your opinion, have you encountered the nicest people ever?  It’s a toss-up between Utah and Iowa for me.

Today was a much better WOD.  I felt good and liked lifting heavy!  

5 rounds of:

• 3 deadlifts (@ 70 lbs)
• 6 power cleans (@ 45 lbs—could have gone up but I was sharing a bar)
• 12 push presses (@ 45 lbs)

Finished in 9:18.  My time would have been faster, but I was rotating weights with two other people so there was a bit of a backup.  It takes a little longer to do 12 presses than it does 3 deadlifts, you know? 

(The kitten was absent today.  I hope it’s okay!)

Then we finished up with a rousing squat tabata from hell (squats for 20 seconds, hold in the “down” squat position for 10 seconds, repeat for 4 minutes), and an ab work tabata.

Anyway!  Then I spent the next eight hours in a car.  My co-worker and I were supposed to take a three hour trip (…a threee hour tooooour), but apparently there were major road closures that meant we couldn’t get where we needed to go without a really long detour which would make us miss the whole point of the trip anyway.

So, we turned around and went home.  I won’t lie, there was McDonald’s for lunch (options are limited in rural northern Missouri—it was that or a questionable “steakhouse” in a 50 mile radius). 

And since I’d planned on being gone, there was nothing thawed for dinner, which means breakfast for dinner! 

(wheat English muffin with egg + white, a strip of bacon and a sprinkle of goat cheese, yogurt with fresh pineapple and granola)

Tim’s finally come around the the gloriousness of BFD.  I fall more in love with him every day.

So.  All in all, not a hugely great day, but…such is life.  I can’t wait for the weekend!  Is it Friday yet?

So, fun morning.

Woke up at 4 am to the sounds of a yelping, whimpering beagle. 

Our poor guy was clearly in pain, so Tim whisked him to the vet as soon as they opened.

Diagnosis: slipped disc-type injury.  He should be fine, but is on muscle relaxers and two different kinds of pain killers.  He seems to be feeling better already.

The funny part is that whenever we pick up Milhouse from the vet, the staff completely fawns over him.  They LOVE him.  He is such a little charmer, and will just stare at them with his big beagle eyes and make them all fall in love.  He had three women scratching his ears and cooing over him.  Mad skills, right there.

I mean, come on.

Anyway, despite the extra early morning, I made it to CrossFit.  I’m super glad tomorrow is a rest day (no Thursday morning classes) because I am sore this week!  My calves, glutes, and hamstrings are especially tight from those 500 lunges on Monday.

Today’s WOD was “Helen”.  3 rounds for time of:

• 400m run
• 21 kettlebell swings (as Rxed, @ 35 lbs)
• 12 pull ups (with the green band and a little helping hop…getting closer to being 100% hop-less, though)

I finished in 9:40:

I really like kettlebell swings.  I think it’s mostly because I really enjoy thrusting my hips forward emphatically.

Like Duff Man.

I also got my nifty CrossFit Northland shirt for becoming a charter member.

It has a fun logo on the side, too.

I got bacon grease on it making dinner, though.

(Breakfast for dinner: 2 eggs with a sprinkle of goat cheese, 2 slices of bacon, 3 pancakes with a tidge of maple syrup.  Heavenly.)

I actually ended up leaving work a little early—I’m not sure if I’m dealing with a cold, or allergies, but I’ve been all stuffed up and coughing a bit.  Hopefully I’m feeling better in the morning.  Gross!

Favorite Simpsons quote/character/episode.  Go.

It’s been a few days since I’ve foodcasted, so to speak, so here goes!

We woke up reasonably early and had breakfast before church.  I’ve been into smoothies lately, so I made one with frozen strawberries, blueberries, peaches, yogurt, and milk, with a Babybel on the side!

After church, I made lunch!

(one egg + one slice bacon + goat cheese on a multi-grain English muff, sliced apple with almond butter + Nutella for dipping)

It’s been chilly and dreary and rainy here today, so we spent most of the afternoon relaxing around the house.  I did several loads of laundry.  Milhouse snoozed.  A lot.

I did manage to make it to Sephora to purchase an eyeliner brush and brush cleaner, and got a 500 point gift filled with skincare samples to try.

And I snacked on some cherries and a square of this Ghirardelli chocolate, which I received from Foodbuzz as part of their Tastemaker program.

This Sea Salt Soiree stuff is off the hook.  Between the two of us, um, this bag is almost gone after just a few days!  I love sweet and savory together and this stuff is delish.

For dinner, I decided to embrace the soup weather:

I found this crockpot creamy chicken with wild rice soup recipe on Pinterest and knew it would be perfect.  I made some homemade whole wheat bread to have on the side, along with a spinach salad.  It hit the spot on such a chilly fall day!

Are you watching the Emmys?  Who are you rooting for?

I think I’m officially converted to morning workouts.  Yes, it’s rough getting out of bed in the morning, and I kind of want to die during the warm-up, but once I’m loosened up and the music gets going, I’m a happy camper.

Plus?  It’s kind of like a dream.  By the time 4 pm rolls around at work, I’m like, “Oh yeaaah…I did that already, sweet.”

Today’s WOD:

AMRAP for 25 minutes:

• 5 pull-ups
• 10 burpees
• 15 box jumps
• 5 tire sledgehammers
• 200m (-ish) sprint run

I completed ALMOST 6 full rounds.  The timer stopped when I was halfway through my final sprint.  So, I’m counting it as 5.8 rounds.

This WOD was pretty killer and I felt like I was running through molasses the whole time.  But, my reps were right up there with everyone else in the class, so I guess I wasn’t quite as slow as I thought.

I am really enjoying the general camaraderie at CrossFit, too.  I feel like I am getting know a lot of the people that work out the same times, and we all joke around and encourage each other and help each other when needed.  It’s cheesy, but we don’t have many friends here in Kansas City, so it’s nice to interact with other people our age, you know?

I was able to have a more leisurely morning since I was on a slightly different work schedule today, which was nice.  I went home, showered, and made a nice smoothie for breakfast—frozen strawberries and blueberries, pineapple, Greek yogurt and a little milk.  With a side of cheese, of course.

Lunch was at the work event and was…sparse.  It was a pretty nasty taco bar.  I had some rice and chicken and chips and salsa, but it was pretty paltry.

Anyway, I worked until about 3:30 and then was done.  Score!

Naturally, I went home and took a short nap.  Ha.

For dinner, I started with a small spinach salad…

…and then we had crockpot shredded beef (cooked a London broil in beef stock with 3 or 4 garlic cloves and a few splashes of soy sauce) and sweet potato fries.

What’s your favorite smoothie combo?

…and with that, Travel Season 2011 is underway.

From right about now through November 18th, I’ll be on the road quite a bit.  September isn’t too bad, but in October, I will hardly see my office (or my house, for that matter) at all!

So.  I had a 6 am flight.  I don’t know why I do this to myself.  It SOUNDS appealing when I book it—early, can sleep on the plane, no travel back-ups to deal with—but when my alarm went off at 4:15 today I was cursing my decision.

Anyway, I slept on my flight from Kansas City to Detroit, and then had breakfast during my two hour layover—egg and cheese on an everything bagel and coffee.

Then I flew from Detroit to Toronto.  I was mad because they didn’t give us cookies.  I LOVE Delta cookies.  Boo.

Anyway, fun fact: this is my first overnight international trip.  We went to Cozumel for a day on our honeymoon, but since we were on a cruise and out on the water, I don’t count it.

So.  Canada charmed me instantly with all the French phrases everywhere.  How quaint!  I took a taxi to my hotel, checked in, and went to a nearby Tim Horton’s for a light lunch.  I’d never been to one, and all my Canadian friends seem to think they’re pretty fantastic. 

I had some mushroom soup , a roll, and yogurt.

(Look!  French!)

I was not blown away, but it was perfectly adequate for a quickie lunch.  Allegedly their bagels and pastries and coffee are the way to go, so I might go back for breakfast tomorrow.

(Also awesome: cost of living in Toronto is crazy high, so I get an awesome per diem.  Woo!)

After lunch, I decided to explore the city a bit on foot.  I walked about a mile to Queen Street and spent the afternoon browsing the shops.

I am pretty sure I’ve found what Tim’s personal heaven looks like:

Toronto is a really pretty city.  It reminds me a lot of Chicago, actually—it’s fairly clean, and the people seem friendly, and there’s a decent amount of greenery about.

Anyway, you know lululemon is my catnip, but I made it out with just one pair of socks (which I legit needed because I forgot my running socks at home):

I had quite a good time wandering the streets of Toronto.  The only thing I disliked is that there are no public bathrooms here!  I wound up having to get a special escort into some drugstore’s bathroom after three other places claimed to not have them.  Yeesh.

Anyway, I got back to the hotel but was super tired from the early morning and walking all afternoon.  But I wanted to get a little more exercise in, so I made up a hotel room workout while watching Say Yes to the Dress.

• 1 minute jump ropes
• 1 minute lunges
• 1 minute squats
• 1 minute sit-ups
• 1 minute push-ups
• Repeat X 4

Total: 20 minutes of a surprisingly good sweat session.  I felt pretty queasy afterwards for some unknown reason.  Yuck.

I then took a much-needed shower and decided to go to dinner solo and sans makeup.

You all know I love my makeup, but I felt great without it tonight so I skipped it.  Just a little lotion and I was ready to go!  It’s been awhile.  I should do this more often.

I had grand plans to explore some great Toronto restaurants, but since I wasn’t feeling great and was tired I just headed to a nearby bar/restaurant combo for an unremarkable dinner.

I had a side salad with oil and balsamic to start:

…and then I enjoyed half of this personal pizza (basil, assorted mushrooms, pepperoni, mozzarella) while reading A Clash of Kings.  (I’m about 90% done—spoil me and die.)

And now, it’s 7:41 local time and I’m in my hotel room planning to doze off to TLC within the next hour or two.  Three days in a row of getting up before 5 am means early bedtime!

Tomorrow morning: long run.  6-7 miles.  Internet, hold me accountable.

Makeup or no makeup?  Why or why not?

Thanks, everyone, for your advice on my running dilemma last night!  Honestly—I was so frustrated with the travel arrangements today I very nearly threw in the towel.  However, I was able to find a reasonably cheap hotel room near the start of the race that is accessible by public transit from the airport, so I’m feeling a little excited at long last.  Let the record reflect: I WILL do a long run on either Thursday or Friday while I’m in Toronto.  I’m not going to hardcore train for this, but I don’t want to make a fool of myself either, so I’m going to go middle of the road.

Anyway.  It was an early CrossFit morning today!  It’s tough getting out of bed, but once I’m there and moving I don’t regret it.  I just need to remember that when the alarm is blaring at 5 am!

Today we started with 4 sets of 5 front squats.  I started with the 45 pound bar, but quickly moved up to 55 pounds for two sets and finished with 65 pounds.  I think I can definitely push this further next time, too! Today’s WOD was:

• 4 box jumps/8 jump squats/12 air squats
• 4 air squats/8 box jumps/12 jump squats
• 4 jump squats/8 air squats/12 box jumps

We did this twice.  My first time around I finished in 2:50; the second was 3:08. 

I had to do five burpees for not being faster the second time around.  Boo.  Anyway, it was fun and my legs are trashed.

Here is unflattering photo proof that I was there, poached from my box’s Facebook page:

(We were stretching.  Not pooping.  Every time we do this stretch I think about birthing babies.  It’s a weird association.)

Anyway, I hightailed it home to shower and prepared for the onslaught of CrossFit hunger with a breakfast cookie. 

(Ingredients: old fashioned oats, peanut butter, chocolate whey protein, milk, a sprinkle of coconut and a few chocolate chips for fun.)

I also brought a hardboiled egg for a morning snack.

I think I got a whole lot of fruits and veggies in at lunch. 

Afternoon snack: a new bar that was delicious.  I just wish Kind bars were kinder to my wallet.

Dinner was slightly decadent, but I was starving to the point of a headache and the shakes by the time I got home.  We had homemade garlic bread, and pasta with Italian sausage and a creamy tomato sauce.  (Jarred.  Mixed a little alfredo with arrabbiata.)

I think it will be an early night for me tonight.  Tomorrow morning it’s back to morning CrossFit and I think Tim might join me!  My legs are tired and I think I need to get it on with the ol’ foam roller.

What’s your favorite kind of pasta?