Strength doesn't come from what you can do...it comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't.

As we say here in the south...Ain't that the truth?  lol   I still smile every time I think of now being able to run 1/4 mile without stopping.  It's so much farther than from when I started.  I still remember when I first purchased my treadmill last year.  I could only run for 30 seconds and that was it.  Then I worked it up to 45 seconds, then 1 minute.  Then I started counting the number of "blocks" on my display screen, being able to only run 4 blocks at a time, then 6, then 8, and trying for 10 but failing.  I took the advice of my son and covered the display and just ran to see how far I could go.  I made it to 11 blocks - happy day - it was my farthest so far.  Then came the day I had my display covered and thought "I'll just run until this song is over" and did...and discovered I ran 17 blocks!  That was 1/4 mile, plus 1 more block.  I have been running all of any 400 meter runs (1/4 mile) prescribed ever since, even making it to 500 meters one day last week.  Awesome feeling!  Why am I going on and on about running?  Yep...it's a run day!  :)

CrossFit Mamas

   5 Rounds:

      7 Pull-ups

      Run 400 meters (1/4 mile)

Brand X

   Walking lunges, 50 feet

   20 Push-ups

   Jump rope, 20 double-unders or 40 single-unders

   15 Knees to elbows

   2 Rope climb, 15 feet or 4 beginner rope climb

   20 Box jumps, 12"-24"

   20 Overhead squats, PVC - 45 lbs

   15 Pull-ups

   20 Sit-ups

I am doing CrossFit Mamas today.  I have to take both Hayley and my mother-in-law to doctor appointments today, so I will probably be a little late on my workout time.  Hopefully everything goes good and I can "get 'er done"!!!  :)

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Just got in...saving!

Being challenged in life is inevitable.  Being defeated is optional.  :)  I will say it takes a lot to make me quit - I'm a stubborn person with a lot of self worth, and believe I can do stuff until proven otherwise.  Sometimes this drives Honey-Buns crazy, but when I show that I can he's pretty impressed - as well as I am!  

I hope you all had a good weekend - I certainly did.  I did not do Friday's workout over the weekend, however.  I became a lazy bum.  I know, I know - but I do so much during the week, that by the time Saturday and Sunday roll around I just don't want to do anything!  Honey-Buns won his race again - yay!!  Then, the rain came in.  It's pretty foggy outside and just "icky" feeling, but at least it's not cold.  

Today's CrossFit Mamas workout is the hero workout, "Schmalls", that I did from Brand X last Tuesday, but without any modifications that Brand X uses.  I'm posting it below, even though I'm not doing it again.  I'm going to do last Friday's workout that I missed because it is a rest day for Brand X.

CrossFit Mamas - hero workout:

   Run 800 meters

   2 rounds of -

      50 Burpees

      40 CrossFit sit-ups

      30 1-legged squats

      20 Kettlebell swings, 15 lbs

      10 Handstand push-ups

   Run 800 meters

Brand X:

   Rest Day

CF Mamas from this past Friday:

   As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes-

      5 Push-ups

      10 CrossFit sit-ups

      15 Squats

For those of you doing "Schmalls", it's a tough workout - good luck!!

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445 Total Reps - I was 5 squats shy of 15 full rounds.  THAT was a tough workout!!  My abs are done!  I started struggling with sit-ups on round 8.  I was able to complete 10 sit-ups each round without stopping, however, it seemed like I got slower and slower going up.  I did not stop at all doing each exercise, but did take two quick water sip breaks.  The hardest part (other than sit-ups) seemed to be getting up out of the floor to do my squats!!  lol

I went ahead and finished the last 5 squats after the timer went off.  It just amazes me to think in just 20 minutes and a couple of seconds, I did 75 push-ups, 150 CrossFit sit-ups, and 225 squats.  Sounds crazy, but I did it!!  Great start to the week!!  :)

No rest is worth anything except the rest that is earned.  I can honestly say I've earned my "rest" weekend this week!  Man, oh man!  WHAT a week!!  I have been so exhausted after working out, but so happy because of my accomplishments this week.  First, I ran 400 meters without stopping, then I did it multiple times, then I ran 500 meters without stopping!  I'm still excited from all of that...can you tell?  I am extremely glad there is no running today, though.  Really...glad.  ;)

As you know, I've been talking about how sore my upper body is this week from either handstand push-ups and wall walk-ups and other stuff that my unawake brain cannot think of right now.  Well, today is a first for me since starting CrossFit...my biceps are sore!!  I think it's just been a hard week on arms and upper body, but all of those wall ball shots yesterday has made my biceps very sore - especially my left one, which is my weaker one!  Wow...haven't seen that happen before.  I'm sure it will go away as the day goes on and I get to moving around more. 

CrossFit Mamas:

   As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes...

      5 Push-ups

      10 CrossFit sit-ups

      15 Squats

Brand X:

   5 rounds...

      7 Muscle-ups

      Run 400 meters

I'm not sure if I'm just super early or what, but there wasn't any modifications posted yet for the Brand X workout.  Even if there were mods posted, I still plan on doing CrossFit Mamas today.  I may or may not do an extra treadmill workout but I do know without a doubt that I will not run!  lol

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Saving this for tomorrow!  I just finished cutting the grass and had to shower to get all of the "icky" and grass and dirt off of me.  I just can't force myself to workout right after taking a shower!  Can't wait to do this one, though!  :)

I should warn you - all this exercise is making me irresistible.  I can only hope!  lol

I am nowhere near as sore today as I was yesterday - YAY!!  But, there's still a little soreness there, but that's okay...I know it will work itself out today.  Yesterday was crazy - I was trying to do trip sheets and make copies and every time I would reach over to the copy machine my upper body would complain!  I mean, really?  Reaching my arms out for something hurts?  Yes...yes, it did.  So I'm glad to see that is not the case this morning...so far, so good.  :)

Today's CrossFit Mamas workout is more running!  I think they're trying to kill me.  I really do!  On the other hand, do you think that is why this week is "flying" by?  Because I'm always running?  Hmmm....something to think about.  lol

CrossFit Mamas:

   3 rounds - 

      Run 800 meters

      50 Wall ball shots w/10 lbs

Brand X:

   Rest Day

Since today is a rest day for Brand X, it looks like I'm a runner today!  Today's Mamas workout is what was on Brand X on Monday, but it is the "Big Dawg" workout, not the "Puppy Dawg".  But that's okay - I'll just do it anyway.  My time might not be the greatest, but I'll do it!!

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25:53 with modifications!  I changed the run segments to 500 meters and I am very proud to say I ran the first round WITHOUT stopping!!  Woo-hoo!!  It took me 4:31 to run it, but I did it and NOOOOOO stopping!!  However, I did have to stop a couple of times during the second round but not because I couldn't breathe, but once because I needed to blow my nose (crazy sinuses!) and twice because my calves were cramping.  I did run the entire second round, just with stops.  On the last round, I ran for 1:30, walked 1:00, ran 1:30, walked 1:00 - I was done with my 500 meters at this point, but ran 100 meters to make it to the one mile mark.  I'm very pleased with the improvement in my breathing while running - now if I could just get the message to my legs!  lol  Total treadmill time was 14:52.

I only have a 4 lb. ball for wall ball shots, so that's what I used.  I told Honey-Buns that wall ball is my favorite exercise, but not when you have to do 50, ESPECIALLY after running and then doing it all again twice more!!

I am exhausted but what a great workout!  :)

Live well.  Love much.  CrossFit often.  That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?  :)

Well, I knew it was too good to be true...I was all excited about not being sore yesterday morning...looks like I'm paying for it today!  My upper body is ridiculously sore - between the pull-ups and the beginner handstand push-ups...OMG, I hurt!!!  I'm blaming the handstand push-ups - Jenni did say they use completely different muscles than regular push-ups and I am now a believer!  lol   Oh, I'm sure the 25 lb. kettlebell swings didn't help much either.  Jeez-Louise!  My butt is sore as well - from running, squatting, and those 25 lb. kettlebell swings!!  I'll just take an aspirin and move on.  :)

CrossFit Mamas:

   Run 1000 meters

   50 Thrusters w/20 lbs

   30 Pull-ups

CrossFit Brand X:

   Overhead squats - 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

I think I'm going to do the CrossFit Brand X workout today.  I had told Honey-Buns last night that I would NOT run today, no matter what!  Running two days in a row killed me.  I just wasn't feeling it yesterday and forced myself to continue - which is a good thing because I did it!  But still...it was not fun.  Brand X is not timed today - you just control your form and add weight each rep, maxing out on the last rep.  Or....at least that's the plan according to them.  I'll give it a shot.  And, I don't know - I may do a bike workout as well.  I'll decide when I get up there, but could really use an easy day today.  How wimpy is that?  It sounds bad even to myself, but it's the truth - I have been very honest in my blogs and don't intend to change now just because it sounds bad.  But man...that sounds bad!  I'll just have to wait and see how I feel this afternoon when I start my workout.  Things can change between now and then.

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Well, things definitely changed!  I am SO sore in my upper body, it's not even funny.  It's gotten worse as the day goes on.  I didn't want to do either workout, but thought if I could not suffer through 7 overhead squats, I definitely had problems.  So, I did.  I "suffered" through 7 overhead squats.  lol  It wasn't too bad - I have to say is the first time I've done overhead squats.  I had t use my dumbbells since I don't have a bar, and it was really awkward.  My left arm especially kept wanting to move forward while I would go down into the squat position.  I had to really focus to keep both arms straight.  It was another catch-22...it kinda hurt to hold my arms like that because of all of my soreness from yesterday's workout, but at the same time the stretch felt kinda good.  The weights I used were:  24 lbs, 24 lbs, 38 lbs, 38 lbs, 44 lbs, 44 lbs, 50 lbs, 50 lbs.  I know I was only supposed to do 7, but was really focusing on getting my form correct with each set of weights and figured one more could not kill nor hurt me!  

I attempted a wall walkup again today, only this time without shoes on.  I didn't my body all the way to the wall, but I did do better than yesterday.  I'll have to keep trying these until I'm able to do them!  No energy or willpower to get on the treadmill.  Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow!

Mr. Owl...How many burpees does it take to make someone throw up?  :)

I have to admit, I'm still on a high from my running progress yesterday AND I can't believe my legs aren't sore?  What's up with that?  I went to bed last night and told Honey-Buns that I was not sore, but I'd bet anything that would mean I wouldn't be able to walk this morning.  But nope...nothing.  Well, just a little twinge, but nothing like they have been.  I'm not complaining...just surprised!

I went to CrossFit Mamas' blog today, but nothing was posted today.  I figured Jenni must have used the wrong date when she was setting up her posts.  I hope that's all it is and nothing serious is going on with her or her family.  Since the Mamas site didn't have anything posted, it looks like I'll be doing the Brand X workout today.  It is a "hero" workout in honor of US Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Justin E. Schmalstieg, 28 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  And yes...it's a run!

Brand X:

  *pups*

      Run 600  meters (.373/mile)

      2 rounds of:

         25 burpees

         20 pull-ups 

         15 squats

         10 Kettlebell swings, 50 lbs

         5 wall walk-ups

      Run 600 meters

This looks intimidating and my first instinct is modify, modify, modify!!  But, I'm not.  I'll never know if I can do this if I don't try it, right?  I even chose this over the easiest modified one they have posted, but it just didn't look challenging enough - like, I know I could have easily done it.  It is called *buttercups*:

   Run 200 meters to 400 meters (your choice)

   30 burpees

   25 pull-ups

   20 squats

   15 kettlebell swings, 17-50 lbs

   10 hand release push-ups

Brand X posts all weights in "kg", so I have to look up the conversions.  I do know, I won't be using 50 lbs for the kettlebell swings because I use a dumbbell for this and my heaviest dumbbell is 25 lbs.  I don't think I've ever used 25 lbs for kettlebell swings, so that will be interesting to see if I can do it.  Also, I've never heard of wall walkups, so I looked up a video and let me just say, wow.  I will attempt those at least and thank goodness there's only 5 per round!  Here's a link to the video I saw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuSYnoxBa58    My big concern with these are face-planting!  lol

Y'all wish me luck!

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36:58 - Awful, awful, awful time!!  But man!  That was a hard workout!  I think I'm probably more proud of running today than I was yesterday because I wanted to stop SO bad and walk, but I refused to give up and do that!  I did modify this just a touch.  ;)

Ran 400 meters
25 Burpees - these killed me today!
20 Pull-ups - 5 attempted, 15 reverse pull-ups using treadmill handles
15 Squats - something I could do WITHOUT modifying!!
10 Kettlebell swings w/25 lbs - it was the heaviest I have
1 Wall walkup attempt - I wasted a good 10 minutes trying, just couldn't do it
5 Beginner Handstand Push-ups using my weight bench
Ran 400 meters
25 Burpees - hocked up a lung!!
20 Pull-ups - 6 attempted, 14 reverse
15 Squats
10 Kettlebell swings w/25 lbs
5 Beginner Handstand Push-ups
Ran 400 meters

I figured since the total running was 1200 meters, I'd split it into three run segments of 400 meters so I wouldn't have to walk at all.  My total treadmill time was 10:45, which wasn't too bad.  If you were to take off the 10 minute wall walkup attempt, I guess my time was okay.

Oh, I can answer for Mr. Owl...it takes 50 burpees to throw up!  lol    :)

I do it as a therapy.  I do it as something to keep me alive.  We all need a little discipline.  Exercise is my discipline.  - This is SO true for me!  I am so glad I came across CrossFit on Pinterest and even more glad that I made the decision to do it.  However, I am more proud that I have stuck with it.  I can see so many improvements with things I could not do when I started.  I know I sometimes sound like a broken record, but it just amazes me the things I can now do and I am very happy that I did not just quit when some things were just too hard.  Take my running for instance.  It's still hard for me to run any type of distance, but when I first started CrossFit, I couldn't even run for 30 seconds.  Yeah...thirty...3-0...thirty seconds.  I can remember when I was so happy I could run 4 blocks on my treadmill without stopping.  Then 6, then 8, and now I can go 1/4 mile.  Granted, I haven't been able to do that more than once in a workout with several 400 meter runs, but I CAN do it once and that is a BIG improvement!!  Why am I talking about running, you ask?  Well, it's a run day!  :)  

I did not do any workouts over the weekend like I had mentioned doing on Friday.  Saturday was out of the question - it's always a crazy day...sleeping in, running errands, and then off to the race track on Saturday nights.  And yes!  Honey-Buns won again this weekend.  The winning monies went to my son for his birthday, which was yesterday.  My baby is 24!  I can't believe it - time goes by way too fast!  Both children were here yesterday to celebrate his birthday and after they all left, I just didn't feel like doing anything and just became a couch potato. 

CrossFit Mamas:

   5 rounds of

      Run 500 meters (.311/mile)

      15 Bench press w/20 lbs

CrossFit Brand X:

*puppies*

   3 rounds of

      Run 400 meters (1/4 mile)

      25 Wall Ball shots w/10-20 lb ball

I am going to do CrossFit Mamas today since it is the harder of the two workouts, so y'all wish me luck with this.  My goal is to run at least the first round without stopping.  I will run as much as I can for the remaining rounds, however, I will NOT run less than 12 blocks for each of those rounds, which leaves 4 blocks of walking each round.  I think I'm not going to focus on my time so much as my running - meaning I will try to start each run as calmly as possible (not out of breath).  I know that will give me a really sucky time, but I think it's better to try to do all of the running if I can.  :)

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37:40...I ran and ran and ran and ran and ran!!!!  SO proud of me!!!  I ran 1/4 mile EVERY round, then walked 100 meters each round!  SO happy right now!!  I had originally planned to run the first round without stopping, and then switch to a walk/run combo on the remaining rounds but I decided to see how many rounds I could run 400 meters without stopping and then walk 100 meters.  Well, I did it round 1, then round 2, then round 3, then 4 and struggled and pushed myself to do the same on round 5.  I rested for a few minutes after bench pressing each round to make sure I could run every 400 meters without slowing to a walk.  I actually just kept walking on the last 100 meters and went over a little bit, but that's okay...I'll take it!  I guess I was still trying to catch my breath.  Anyway, today only called for 2500 meters total, which is 1.55/miles - I actually went 1.57 miles.  Still on cloud nine!!  :)

I bench-pressed more than was prescribed -
   Round 1 - 38 lbs
   Round 2 - 44 lbs
   Round 3 - 44 lbs
   Round 4 - 50 lbs
   Round 5 - 50 lbs

I so did not want to do today's workout, but am very glad I did.  Not only did I do it, but I kicked my goals in the ass today!  :)

Don't forget...you are what you eat.  I need to eat a skinny person!  :)  I thought I'd end the week with a funny, and this one definitely made me laugh!

I am very surprised I am not sore today.  In fact, the only place I am sore is my upper back/shoulders and that's from sunburn!!  Nothing is sore from working out, running, cutting grass, etc.  I was so sore and tired last night - I fell asleep on the couch around 10:00.  Honey-Buns woke me up sometime after 11:00 to go to bed and man-oh-man were my thighs screaming at me!!  But this morning?  Everything is good.

I'm glad I got in another cardio yesterday because today neither workout has cardio!  I will probably do  a programmed workout on my treadmill on Sunday, but I know right now I will do NOTHING tomorrow - just enjoy the day and go to the races tomorrow night!  :)

CrossFit Mamas:

   3 rounds of:

      20 Front squats w/40 lbs

      20 Push-ups

      20 CrossFit sit-ups

      20 Leg lifts

Brand X:

   Dumbbell Clean & Jerk 5-5-5-5-5

My plan is to do both workouts today.  Brand X is not timed today.  You do 5 sets of 5 reps of clean & jerk, with increasing weight each set.  There aren't any demo videos at Brand X, but I found some on YouTube that show using two dumbbells (both hands) at the same time.  One of the members asked if you did these one-handed or two-handed, and another member responded one-handed but I think I'm going to do two-handed.  I have to say, it's going to be weird not pushing myself for time but apparently this is one of the workouts you focus on form and pushing yourself weight-wise.  My goal is to end with 50 pounds since that is the max weight of my dumbbells combined.  Below is what I plan to do on the clean & jerks:

   5 x 31 lbs

   5 x 38 lbs

   5 x 44 lbs

   5 x 50 lbs

   5 x 50 lbs

They will probably laugh at my weights (these are some serious weight-lifting folks!) but it's all I have.  Maybe one day I'll invest in heavier weights, but my goal is not to bulk up, just to tone.  Wish me luck!

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13:05 - I'll take it!  Those leg lifts were killer!!  They slowed me down BIG time!  They also made my sit-ups slower on the second and especially the third rounds!  WOW!  Those hurt!  But, it was a good hurt!  :)

I used 44 lbs on the front squats.  I was impressed, I did all three rounds of 20 without stopping during my squats and sit-ups.  Push-ups are still not my forte.  I made it to 11, then 17, then 20 on the first round.  I made it to 12, then 18, then 20.  On the third round I made it to 12, then all the way to 20 on the shakiest arms ever!  Leg lifts...leg lifts...what to say about those?  On the first round, I could only do 4 or 5 at a time before having to rest.  I forced myself to do 8/8/4 on the second and third rounds.  I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow, but that's okay.  I cannot believe how my heart rate got to going doing leg lifts and the sweat started pouring!  Crazy!!

I did the Brand X workout as well.  I'm glad that wasn't a timed workout, although it really didn't take me long to do them.  I think it was just knowing that I didn't have to rush that made them go so smoothly.  My clean and jerks were done like this:
   5 reps of 24 lbs
   5 reps of 31 lbs
   5 reps of 38 lbs
   5 reps of 44 lbs
  5 (maybe 6) reps of 50 lbs

I lost count during my last set and couldn't remember if I had actually done 4, or just had 4 in my head so I did an extra (or maybe not) one just to be sure.  I had originally planned to do 31 - 38 - 44- 50 - 50, but after seeing how heavy 44 was doing the squats, I thought I'd better not over do it since I'm just a "puppy".  :)

Great week of workouts and I've gotten in three days of cardio so far.  If I workout on Sunday, that will make it four - I'm happy (and tired)!!  Y'all have a good weekend!!

It is not easy, but it is worth it.  Now repeat that every day!  Trust me on this, it IS worth it!!  I know I complain sometimes (especially on run days), but after noticing the things I can now do that I couldn't before is really awesome!  Even yesterday, while cutting grass I did not have to stop and take breaks as often as I did last year.  I could only do 4 "swipes" up and down the hill and I would be SO tired and out of breath - but now?  I made myself stop to drink water so I wouldn't get overheated - no breathing super heavy (not like on the treadmill), no exhaustion, just cutting the grass and getting on with it.  It took me two hours to cut because my weeds (!) were so high and thick in places - especially on the hill that didn't cut last time because my self-propel was broken.  I did repair my self-propel on my mower and trust me, you need that working on the hills that I have!  Of that two hours, probably 30 minutes was pulling weeds out of my flower beds and another 15 or so working on my mower, but I was so hot afterwards!  It was in the 80's here yesterday - beautiful day with enough of a breeze to keep me a little cooled down.  :)

I mentioned yesterday about following the CrossFit Brand X workouts, as well as the CrossFit Mamas site.  I'll be posting both workouts on my blog, but choose which one I want to do.  I'm going to try to choose the harder of the two - I'm really not sure.  I'd love to just cross over to the Brand X but want to make sure that I can do the workouts that they prescribe.  I'm not really sure how many "rest" days they have either.  I love that I have the weekends off at Mamas, so I might still just glance at both.  I still want to include at least three days of some type of cardio per week.  It will just have to be a pick and choose type of deal for now.

CrossFit Mamas:

   15-12-9 reps of:

      Round 1 - Thrusters w/20 lbs

                       Knees to Elbows

      Round 2 - Thrusters w/20 lbs

                       Push-ups

      Round 3 - Thrusters w/20 lbs

                       Pull-ups

CrossFit Brand X:

   Puppies (which is what I am at this site)

      3 rounds of:

         Run 400 meters (1/4 mile)

         20 Squats

I am considered a "puppy" at this site because I'm a newbie.  If you'd like, you can go there and check it out for yourself.  There are several classifications of "athletes" - Big Dawg, Porch, Pack, and Puppies. They do give modifications for women, but from what I have seen so far, it's usually just the amount of weights used that are modified.  If you want to visit them, their web address is:  http://www.crossfitbrandx.com/index.php/forums/viewforum/16/

As I stated earlier, I will be doing the Brand X workout today - it's cardio AND a run, which is what I've been really wanting to work on.  Let's hope my thighs hold up!  lol

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15:38 for the Brand X workout!  Wow!  I'm so happy with my improvement in running - I really, really am!  I ran then entire 400 meters on round 1 (3:38), then squatted, then ran 6 blocks, walked 4 blocks, ran 6 blocks for round 2 (3:56), squatted, and ran 6 blocks, walked 4 blocks, and ran 6 blocks (3:55), then squatted.  Out of the entire 48 blocks of running, I only walked 8 blocks = 1/8 mile!!  AND - no hocking up lungs, not really sucking wind afterwards!  My legs were d-o-n-e or I would have forced myself to run the entire thing.  Definitely next time!  You know how I was worried about my thighs holding up?  Yeah, it was more my calves - ouchie, wowie did they hurt!  I think it's from the tippy-toes pushing the mower uphill, but whatever it was, my calf muscles were tight!  My treadmill time was 11:29, so...that's okay.  My "filler" time included squatting, calf stretches, nose blowing, and water drinking!  I am VERY happy with my running!!  :)  PLUS!  My yard looks great!  

Fit is greater than skinny.  Okay, I'll go with this!  I haven't been skinny in a long while, but I do believe I'd rather be super fit than super skinny anyday.  Especially now that I'm older - to see people who can't walk very far at all as they age is crazy to me.  My mother in law is one of those = she's always sitting around watching t.v. and struggles just to walk to the bathroom.  She used to get up and go all of the time, but has become such a hermit now.  She has a bad back and her doctors all told her to get up and walk around more, and she did for a couple of weeks and felt better so she went right back to what she was doing before (sitting, watching t.v.) and now she's back to where she was.  Only now she says it didn't work, so why bother!  I hope I don't ever get to that point.  I like getting up and doing things and enjoying the outdoors.  I really want to be a healthy/fit person and live to be in my 90's at least.  I'm trying!

I've been lurking around the internet and found myself at CrossFitBrandX.com.  This site has the original CrossFit workouts of the day.  Like I said, I've been lurking and thinking about trying them out. I've started adding a longer cardio workout three times a week to my "Mama" workouts, and have been thinking about doing some of the original CrossFit workouts instead of the scaled down versions.  I looked for today's workout, but it's not posted on their site yet - not a good sign!  My plan is to post both workouts and then choose which one I want to do.  It looks like today I will be doing the "Mama" workout since there isn't one posted yet on the other site.  Maybe it's a rest day?  :)

CrossFit Mamas workout:

   10 rounds of:

      15 Deadlifts w/40-60 lbs

      15 Push-ups

I will also add a pre-programmed treadmill workout today.  This will be my second cardio workout for the week.  However, if we are prescribed running or other cardio (burpees, jump rope) for the remaining days this week, I will still do those.  My goal is to get in at least three cardio days per week, and more is a good thing!  ;)

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Just checked with the other site again, and guess what?  Today is a rest day for them, so CrossFit Mamas it is.  My cardio today is cutting the grass with my push-mower, uphill and down...many, many, many times.  :)
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NOT doing CrossFit today - I think 2 hours of pushing a lawn mower uphill and down is enough of a workout!  :)

Don't 'cha wish your girlfriend could squat like me?  LOVE!!  I want to start off today by saying how disgusted I am with the bombings that happened in Boston yesterday.  Seriously disgusted.  There just are no words to describe everything I'm feeling, except I truly hope they find who did this and make him/her suffer.

My upper body is so sore from  yesterday, but I have a feeling a lot of that soreness is from cleaning out  closets.  I'm sure some of it is from the push-ups as well.  Do you think I'll ever be able to do push-ups and NOT be sore?  lol  My thighs are sore, but I've resigned myself to just living with sore thighs - ha!  It is what it is!!!

Today's workout is 3 rounds of:

   100 feet of walking lunges (approx. 40 steps)

   50 squats

   25 beached whales, I mean - back extensions  ;)

I will do 46 walking lunges per round just to be on the safe side.  I forgot to mention yesterday that I did 46 lunges instead of 45 - come on!  Did you really think I'd do more on one leg than the other?  Ha-ha!  If I don't cut grass/weeds today, I will also do a programmed workout on the treadmill.  Even if I go up and down the stairs a lot cleaning out closets, I will still do cardio of some sort.

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15:06 - WAY better than I thought it would be.  I've noticed that I'm super slow on my first rounds and today was no exception.  I glanced at timer after my first round and it was a tad over 6 minutes and I thought "Jeez!  Get it together!  If I multiply that times 3, my time will SUCK!!"  But, there wasn't too much to worry about 'cause I obviously got it together.  Most folks were doing around 12 minutes, but I'm okay with my 15.  I had to baby my left knee, it got wonky on me doing the last 4 walking lunges on my last round.  Then, when I started the squats, I thought there was no way I was going to finish but it worked itself out and I'm so glad I didn't quit.  It wasn't painful, just felt like a little catch in it.  I hate, hate, hate back extensions!!  I really do.  I did them, but I hated every minute of it!

I did the 5K training run again today.  Just to refresh your memory - run 1 minute, walk 1 minute time 8 rounds.  I finished at 16:00 (of course!) and slowed to a 2.8 walk to finish out my mile.  I did the first 4 rounds at a 2 incline!!  WOOT-WOOT!  That was very hard, but I did it!  My breathing has improved greatly, but it's still just a mental game with me.  My legs were so tired, but I refused to stop during my runs and I did not cut any of them short!  I really wanted to slow way down on the walking segments, but kept them all at 3.0, except for after I finished the 8th round when I was just trying to make it to 1 mile.  VERY happy to say I did NOT hock up a lung at all today - not even during my CrossFit workout!  Such an improvement!!  Makes me happy, happy, happy!

Keep going, you are getting there!  This is so true for me!  I'm still super excited about running 1/4 mile non-stop yesterday!!  Just thinking about it puts a smile on my face.  I just wish I could have done it for round 2 as well, but it's okay - I did it!  I know I can do it, now my next goal is to go farther and do more.  It's awesome to finally accomplish something that I never could do before!!  I'm sore as hell this morning, but I'll be okay.  I know that soreness will go away!  I am secretly (okay, I'm not making it a secret) that there isn't any running in today's workout, though.  I don't think my glutes could take it - and why are THEY so sore anyway?  hmmm......   :)

Today's workout is for time:

   45 Thrusters w/20 lbs

   45 Push-ups

   45 CrossFit sit-ups

   45 Walking lunges (total)

I was just browsing online the other day - I think it was last Thursday - I was looking for demo videos of dumbbell deadlifts.  I came across a video of the CrossFit games, so I watched it - you know, for demo purposes...it had NOTHING to do with Rich Froning or watching him take his shirt off or anything like that.  Nope, strictly for research.  Yeah, that's what it was!  Anyway, it's crazy to see how fast they go during their workouts!  I mean, I know it was a competition and that had a lot to do with it, but we are supposed to go as fast as we can, right?  I did like seeing that they sometimes had to stop as well and then get right back to it.  I sometimes think that's the hardest part of CrossFit - not the stopping, but your first instinct when you stop is saying to yourself "I can't do this anymore", but you overcome that negative instinct (usually) and get right back to it.  I may not be the fastest and beat anyone time-wise, but I beat my negative-self every day I workout and that makes me feel awesome!  Now, back to that video...I mean research.  :)

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9:32 - Not great, not bad - just a tad over what everyone else was doing but I'm okay with it.  I got really low on my thrusters - that's a plus!  Those KILLED my shoulders, by the way.  I started on my push-ups and could only complete 15 because of my sore shoulders.  I rolled over and started on my sit-ups and was able to finish 30 sit-ups.  I then switched back to push-ups and finished those up, then went back and finished my sit-ups.  Since my exercise room is in shambles (lots of stuff in piles), I couldn't do walking lunges - there was no room to walk, so I did regular lunges and those really did KILL my thighs!  lol - I guess you could say it was a KILLER workout!  :)

Great news!  Thanks to the extra cardio stuff I've been doing, I lost two pounds last week!  Woot-woot!  This brings my overall weight loss to 10 pounds!!  I'm hoping they'll start coming off now that I'm increasing the cardio.  Today would have had an added cardio workout, but I've been cleaning out closets getting things ready for baby Addy, which means I moved a lot of stuff down into the basement for storage (3 flights of stairs, plus 4 more).  So many trips up and down!  Then, when I got into the basement, I decided to find the box of stuff from when my kids were born.  I knew my grandmother-in-law had made my daughter some booties when she was born, and I also knew I still had a couple of dresses that she made for her as well.  In order to get to the box, I ended up cleaning out the closet in the basement.  Then I had two piles of stuff - one for selling and one for taking to Goodwill.  Of course, the Goodwill stuff had to all come upstairs and go into the garage to be put into my van.  Needless to say, I was pretty tired before today's workout.  I'm extremely glad I did it, though!

As I'm typing this, I'm seeing on the news about the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  What is wrong with people?  Just a sad, sad situation.  I hope everyone is okay and they find the sicko(s) responsible.
:/

When your legs ache, your body burns, and there's sweat all over - you know you're doing something right.  Don't give up!  This will be my mantra today!  Well, this and "You ran 2 miles on Monday, you can do 1.25 today!"  :)   Yes, I said it - that nasty, nasty word...run.  I knew it was coming, so I'm prepared to do it!  

Today's CrossFit:

   5 Rounds of:

      Run 400 meters (1/4 mile)

      30 Box Jumps w/18" box

      30 Wall Ball Shots w/10# ball

Can't wait to get this one over with!  I don't know about you guys, but I am SO glad it's Friday!!!  We had a lot of rain/storms come through last night, so our pollen count won't be so bad today.  It was 8000+ yesterday!!  You could see the pollen blowing in the air - it was crazy.  Next week is Spring Break for Hayley, so that will be fun!

Y'all wish me luck with today's run.

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Sorry - I had the WORST headache yesterday.  Between the pollen and the PMS, I was in so  much pain yesterday.  If I'm not able to fit this in today, I'll do it tomorrow.  :)

So...someone at CrossFit Mamas asked if we just did this workout, so I looked through my "journal" and sure enough - we did this on March 22nd.  Apparently it took me 59:03 to complete on March 22nd because I didn't walk at all - just ran and stopped for breaks when I was tired.  My total treadmill time then was 15:04.  Well - I chose to do short walking breaks today instead of completely stopping.  My time today was 46:09 (13 minutes faster!) and my total treadmill time was 19:42.  BUT!  Good, awesome, GREAT news!!  I decided to run as long as I could during my first round and told myself I was not stopping until the song on my Ipod was finished and guess what?  I ran 17 blocks!!  That's a quarter of a mile, plus 1 block!  I couldn't believe it!  I came running out of my exercise room to tell Honey-Buns I ran an entire 1/4 mile withOUT stopping!!  So, I would have had a better time if not for my mini celebration, but it's okay!  I was just thrilled with myself!!  :)  I covered up the display every run segment and just ran as long as I could, then I'd walk for a couple of blocks and start running some more.  My running got worse (consecutive blocks running), but my box jumps got better.  Go figure.  I started off doing 6-8 box jumps at a time, then I'd have to stop and breathe a couple of deep breaths up until the third round.  For the third, fourth, and fifth rounds I was doing 10 box jumps at a time before having to stop to catch my breath.  Normally I love wall-ball shots, but today I just wasn't feeling it.  I was so ready for those to be done!  Anyway - I didn't want to workout but made myself because I knew it was a hard workout (for some reason those are the easiest ones to talk yourself out of doing!), but I'm really glad I did it.  :)

Treadmill breakdown:
   Round 1 - ran 16, walked 0 - time 3:37  :)
   Round 2 - ran 11, walked 2, ran 3 - time on treadmil 7:32 (3:55)
   Round 3 - walked 2, ran 6, walked 2, ran 6 - time on treadmill 11:29 (3:57)
   Round 4 - walked 2, ran 8, walked 3, ran 3 - time on treadmill 15:27 (3:58)
   Round 5 - ran 5, walked 3, ran 5, walked 2, ran 1 - time on treadmill 19:42 (4:15)

SO hard!  :)

It's just you against you.  I need to remember this.  Sometimes I get so caught up in what everyone else did and trying to be in that "range" that I forget to be happy that I improved.  I also love praise and admiration - I'm a Leo, it's built in!  lol   I get so frustrated with some people's negativity that I let it affect my mood and I really need to get over that.  I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I'm NOT a negative person.  I'm just not.  I wasn't raised that way - there was always lots of praise in my house.  Pretty much the only negativity I encountered was from siblings - all older, I'm the baby of 6.  Yes, I'm spoiled, but you know what?  I'm almost 48, I ain't changing now!!  There's a reason I don't go to a gym or use a trainer to workout - I don't want to have anyone else in my face telling me things I can tell myself, thank you very much!  I know I can do better, I know I can push harder and some days I do, some days I don't.  Yes, I used a treadmill yesterday...the horror!!  I'm NOT running outside - one, the pollen was ridiculous (pollen count of 4000+ here in Georgia) and two, my face gets SO red whenever I run people would be calling 911 thinking I was having a heart attack or something.   I am not a "pretty" exerciser - I turn red, I sweat, I breathe heavy, my nose runs a lot and I'm constantly blowing it - trust me...it ain't pretty.  So what if I used a treadmill?  I did it and I'm okay with that and I don't care that it was not "RX'd" - I know it wasn't.  MOST of my workouts are NOT!!  Sorry, just a little frustrated and ticked.  I'm working out, I'm okay with my workout and I don't need to be told otherwise. :)

Today's CrossFit:

   21-15-9 reps of

      Deadlifts w/40-60 lbs

      Push-ups*

*Handstand push-ups were prescribed with the main CrossFit workout "Diana".  CF Mamas suggests you can try one per round if you desire, but advises you to be very careful.  I watched a couple of videos from the original CrossFit website last night and they look hard, but kind of fun.  I may try a couple, but not during my timed workout, but afterwards.

I am SO sore from yesterday.  My glutes were beyond crazy-sore last night and still are this morning!!  Looks like an aspirin around the clock kind of day.  I'm glad we're not running today, but I believe I saw tomorrow's workout already.  It's posted on my Blogs I Follow page - it says Friday, but has today's date.  Anyway - we ARE running tomorrow, so I really need to psych myself up about it.  I really don't want to run any more this week, but oh well.  It is what is, and I'll do what I do!  :)

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3:41 compared to 11/30/12 time of 5:32 - 51 seconds faster!!  I used 50 lbs for the deadlifts, which is what  I also used on 11/30/12.  My improvement is in my push-ups - I can do SO many more at a time now without having to stop and stretch it out!  VERY pleased with today's short, quick workout.

I've definitely pulled something on my back right leg - it's not my hamstring, more like in my glutes.  It kills me when I walk and I hope it's better tomorrow!  I was having soreness in my back as well earlier today, but that went away and I didn't feel anything back there while doing deadlifts.

Sorry you all witnessed my little hissy fit this morning.  It was just one of those things that rubbed me the wrong way.  Completely over it right now.  Do you think I'm PMS-ing?  I certainly do!  lol  :)

Zumba?  Bitch, please...I do CrossFit!  :)  Love, love, love this!  Have any of you noticed that people look at you funny when you say you do CrossFit?  I follow a couple of workout sites on Facebook and am always amazed at how everyone acts so snotty when they hear you're doing CrossFit.  You'd think people would be supportive of the fact that at least you are working out and doing something, but I hear (repeatedly) "Oh, that's all about speed and not form" and I tell them no, it's not.  Yes your time is an important part, but I don't do CrossFit to be fast (although I do like the days that my time is inline with everyone else's).  I do it because it's fun and not boring and not the same old, same old.  I actually research the exercises to make sure I am doing them correctly.  I also love CrossFit Mamas because everyone supports you - no matter how sucky your time.  You completed the workout?  Yay!  You ran and walked during that run segment, but maybe ran a little farther than before?  Yay!  You can now do real CrossFit sit-ups and not crunches?  Yay!  I just love that!!  :)  

All of that being said, I am SUPER sore this morning - and not just my thighs.  My shoulders, my back...I think the only places I'm not sore are my hands and feet!  lol  I'm sure the soreness will go away once I get moving around.  This morning I am going to Hayley's special olympics softball game.  It's a beautiful day and Hayley and her friends always make me smile, so I'm really looking forward to this!

When I went to bed last night, I told Honey-Buns "I hope there is no running tomorrow...nor burpees...nor box jumps!  I had planned on NOT doing cardio today, but of course it NEVER works out that way for me!  lol  I'll just suck it up and go.  I really am pleased with my running progress this week and I know it will  not get any better unless I actually run more, so I'm really not complaining.  Really.  I'm not.  ;)

Today's workout is 10 rounds for time:

   100 meter sprint

   Rest 90 seconds

I plan doing this on the treadmill even though someone of CrossFit Mamas said you couldn't.  Actually, she (not Jenni - just another "mama") said shouldn't, but I'm going to.  There are 16 blocks in 400 meters, so I will spring 4 blocks at a time and that should equal 100 meters.  I'm going to run the fastest speed I can (which has been 5.3, but I might actually see if I can go faster).  Jenni said to record your time each round, which I will do but there really shouldn't be a variation on the treadmill, should there?

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Okay - I take it back - there WAS a variation on the treadmill because I was trying to push myself and run faster, so...YAY ME!  Another thing I take back (for today, anyway) - you know that whole "I want to be a runner" thing?  Yeah...'bout that...not so much.  ;)

I am proud of myself - don't get me wrong - I'm just tired of running!  lol  I'm posting my times by rounds along with the speed I sprinted - and I sprinted!  I was running at 5.3 speed, until I got smart and realized I was not going to run any kind of distance in a flat-out run, and yes, 5.3 was a flat-out run for me.  Well, not anymore!  I started at 5.3 and bumped it up to 5.8 on my first round, then thought "why not go for 6.0?"  So, I did, then I hit 6.6 by mistake and even wondered if my treadmill was malfunctioning before I realized what I had done, but by then my 4 blocks (100 meters) was up, so I kept it in that range for the remainder.  VERY happy with that!  I did not take the full 90 second breaks in between until after round 4, then I made sure it was at least 90 seconds.  Sometimes longer.  I wanted to be completely unwinded before starting on the next round.  But they weren't much longer than 90 seconds!

1- 41 @ 5.3 speed, bumped up and ended @ 5.8 speed
2- 37 @ 5.8 speed, bumped up and ended @ 6.0 speed
3- 44 @ 6.0 speed
4- 29 @ 6.6 speed in error, then down to 6.2 speed
5- 32 @ 6.6 speed
6- 34 @ 6.6 speed
7- 30 @ 6.6 speed
8- 40 @ 6.6 speed, then down to 6.4
9- 35 @ 6.2 speed
10-33 @ 6.6 speed

I think the reason for the differences is due to stopping and starting, since I did this on the treadmill.  It doesn't just start and stop all at once, but I made sure each segment was only 4 blocks.  :)

My overall workout time (including the rest periods) was 18:13.  I did not include the rest period after the last round.  I actually rested WAY longer than 90 seconds then!  lol

I really hope we are done for running for the week, but I seriously doubt it.  On my list of blogs that I follow, it shows another CrossFit Mama blog with today's date, but I think that one is meant for tomorrow and also one with Thursday's date.  The one for Thursday is the one I really hope is for Friday because it is 5 rounds of running and box jumping and something else.  AARRGGHH!!  Oh well...I'll suck it up and do it.  I'm pleased with my work this week - for sure!!  :)

I train like a girl.  Try to keep up.  :)  I do train like a girl, but jeez - it's SO hard sometimes!!  I swear Honey-Buns thought I was going to die yesterday after running.  He just kept looking at me and asking me if I was okay.  I have to admit, my face was pretty red and I was dripping sweat like never before while I was working out, so I'm sure it looked pretty gruesome.  But you'd think the big ol' smile on my face was a clue that I was okay!  lol  I forgot to mention this yesterday, but it was actually my legs that I was having trouble with while running - not my breathing!  My legs were SO tired!!  OH!  Also - when I reached the 1 mile mark, I had improved on my time from Saturday by 31 seconds!  I am extremely happy with that!  It took my 16:39 to do 1 mile on Saturday, well, yesterday I reached one mile in 16:08.  VERY happy with that!  Are my legs sore today?  You betcha!!!  I'm really hoping to make it through today's workout (squat cleans).  Looking at everyone's times so far, today is a pretty short workout and I would normally do some cardio on a short day, but I just don't know if my legs will hold up for a treadmill or bike workout.  I'll have to see once I get upstairs.  I'm trying to make sure I do at least 30 minutes of cardio a week - luckily for me yesterday's run counts as one!  I just don't know if I have it in me today.

Today's workout is our Hero Workout in honor of U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Fernando Jorge, who died while training as a Helicopter Rescue Swimmer.

   For time:

      30 CrossFit Sit-ups

      15 Squat Cleans w/20 lbs

      24 CrossFit Sit-ups

      12 Squat Cleans w/20 lbs

      18 CrossFit Sit-ups

      9 Squat Cleans w/20 lbs

      12 CrossFit Sit-ups

      6 Squat Cleans w/20 lbs

      6 CrossFit Sit-ups

      3 Squat Cleans w/20 lbs

I'm not posting the April Challenge - I'm not doing those anymore since I haven't had the desire to do them, so I figured "Why waste my time?"  I put the challenge in a separate blog if you wish to do it - but  I'm not.  Wallsitting is NOT fun!  lol  :)

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8:36 as RX'd, but with 24 lbs instead of 20!!!  I struggled with the first set of sit-ups - both my abs and my back were screaming at me!  I did better with the second set and awesome on the remainders!  Same thing with the hang squat cleans - my thighs yelled at me to change my mind and not work out today, but they got over it once I started the second set.  I really considered not doing a run today because they were hurting so bad, but then they quit hurting and I thought "Dammit, now I have to run!"  lol

I am very proud to say I ran today!  I did like yesterday's workout, where we ran for 1/4 mile and took a short break, then ran 1/4 mile, rested, 1/4 mile, rested, 1/4 and thanked God it was over!  :)  I did the run 1 minute, walk 1 minute thing only for every quarter mile it was run 1 minute, walk 1 minute, run 1 minute, walk 2 blocks, and run the last 2 blocks.  I wanted to end each segment running, so that's what I did.  It worked out that I ran 10 out of 16 blocks per segment - so YAY!!  I also bumped my running up by 1, making me run at 4.3 instead of 4.2.  All walking was done at 3.0 - maybe I'll bump that up one day but I really want to focus on my running parts right now!  VERY happy to say I improved on my time from yesterday - yesterday's 1 mile time was 16:08 - today's was 15:46!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Woot-woot!!

Below are the treadmill times after each segment.  I didn't time my rests, but they were not very long - no longer than yesterday's rest times.

1/4 mile - 3:59
1/2 mile - 7:50
3/4 mile - 11:50
1 mile - 15:46

Y'all congratulate me - my grandchild is a little girl!  I can't wait to meet her in August!!  :)  SO EXCITED!!!!!

It always seems impossible, until it's done.  I'm looking forward to being "done" with today's workout! Yes...it's running.  But, that's okay.  I'm just going to do my best and just plow through it!  :)

I finally had a good night's sleep last night - no waking up with aches and pains!  That's a bonus!  I'm still excited about how I did with my run on Saturday and hope to carry that over into today.  I'm not going to worry too much about beating my run time, just about finishing because I will be running a lot farther today than I did on Saturday.  But, I WILL run and that's the important thing, right?  I am kind of glad to not see any deadlifts or anything like that.  I strained a muscle in my middle back, towards the right side.  Not sure how I did it - I just woke up yesterday and it was super sore.  

Well, Honey-Buns tried to race again on Saturday night, but this time a transformer blew out causing the lights around the track to go out.  The power company came to repair, but said it wouldn't be done until 11:00 p.m.  Our local track is on a curfew of 11:30, and the track officials called off the rest of the races because they knew they couldn't finish them all in 30 minutes.  So, we got to watch one complete race and all but 2 laps of another race.  Honey-Buns did get to hot-lap (warm up), but that was it.  The good thing is we won't have to pay to get in next week because they didn't get in half of the racing.  Always a bright side!  :)  

Today's CrossFit is 8 rounds of:

   Run 400 meters (1/4 mile)

   Rest 90 seconds

I'm not going to worry about the resting 90 seconds part.  My workout will consist of me running as much as I can until I reach 2 miles.  Whenever I can't run, I will walk but my plan is to run a lot more than I walk.  

April's Challenge:

   Wall-sit for 1 minute, 20 seconds

I will probably do the wall-sitting before I run.  I don't see me doing much of anything after running!  Y'all wish me luck!!

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It is D-O-N-E!!!!!!!  WWHHHOOOOOOOOOO-HHHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!  I did it!  :)  My time isn't great, but my pride is immeasurable!!!  I cannot believe I did it and believe me when I say I wanted to quit, but I would NOT!  :)

Total time was 42:28 - Treadmill time was 33:05 - Rest time was 9:23 - Not too bad!

I ran and walked like I said I would, however, I did stop in between "rounds" which I did not plan to do.  For the first mile, I only stopped for one minute in between rounds, but stopped for longer periods in between rounds during my second mile.  Below is a breakdown of my rounds.  FYI - every 400 meters (1/4 mile) has 16 blocks total.

Round 1 - Ran 11 blocks, walked 5 blocks - I ran for as long as I could, then walked the rest.  Time on treadmill at the end of this round - 4:02 - rested 1 minute

Round 2 - Ran 10 blocks, walked 6 blocks - I ran 1 minute, walked 1 minute, ran 1 minute, walked until there was only 2 blocks left and I ran those final 2 blocks.  Time on treadmill at the end of this round - 8:01 - rested 1 minute

Round 3 - Ran 10 blocks, walked 6 blocks - I did the exact same thing on this round as the previous.  Time on treadmill at the end of this round - 12:03 - rested 1 minute

Round 4 - Ran 10 blocks, walked 6 blocks - Again - same as rounds 2 & 3.  Time on treadmill at the end of this round - 16:08 - rested 1 minute

I wanted to stop and not even bother with the second mile, but told myself to do "one more round".

Round 5 - Ran 9 blocks, walked 7 blocks -  I ran 6 blocks, walked 4 blocks, ran 3 blocks, walked 3 blocks.  I was going to run like I have before (8/8, 6/6, 4/4, 2/2) - but could not make it 8 blocks.  Time on treadmill at the end of this round - 20:19 - I rested, but do not have a clue how long.  I really wanted to quit, but I have this weird even/odd anal-ism of mine - I don't like odd numbers (strange, I know), so I decided "one more round" then that's it!

Round 6 - This was a 50/50 round - I ran 4 blocks, walked 4, ran 4, walked 4.  Time on treadmill at the end of this round - 24:34 - I refused to stop after this round because I only had 2 more rounds left!!

Round 7 - Another 50/50 round - exactly the same as above.  Time on treadmill at the end of this round - 28:50 - No way was I stopping after this round!  Started smiling because I was almost done!!!

Round 8 - My FINAL 50/50 round - exactly the same as above but with LOTS more smiling!  Time on treadmill at the end of this round - 33:05

According to my treadmill, I burned 266.3 calories.  THAT'S what is so frustrating - it seems like it should be a LOT more calories burned!  It makes me wonder if it's worth the work that goes in.  I KNOW it is, but still - it should burn a HELL of a lot more calories than that!   lol

Note to self - do not take an aspirin within an hour of working out.  I felt like it was stuck right in the middle of my throat even though I knew it wasn't!  I really did think I was going to throw up because of it!  I just guzzled water during my rests and hoped for the best!!

SO proud of me!  :)  A great start to the week!!

If you think a minute goes by really fast, you've never been on a treadmill.  THIS is my motto!!  lol - I know I've used this before, but damn - it sure does fit me to a tee.  Especially today.  Yes, I ran today!  Yes, I know it's Saturday.  And yes, I am crazy!  lol

I keep saying I'm never going to get better unless I do it, so I forced (yes, I said "forced") myself to get on my treadmill today - even though it is Saturday and I don't normally work out on the weekends unless I missed a day during the week (which I did not do, by the way!).  I know - it surprised the hell out of me, too!!  I decided to try the 5K training thing that I've seen multiple times - I've even tried to do it before, I'm just not consistent with what I consider "extra" workouts!  Anyway - you are supposed to run 1 minute, then walk 1 minute and do that for 8 rounds.  Supposedly, you do this at least 3 times a week until you are comfortable, then add to it.  I tried this before but that was when I was concerned about running speed and I could not do more than 3 or 4 rounds before having to quit.  So, I decided to try it running slower @ 4.2 speed and I did my walking segments at 3.0 speed.  Well...I DID BETTER than before!  I actually made it 6 rounds, but after the 6th round of running I was getting tired and running out of time, so I walked my 1 minute then ran until I hit the 1 mile mark.  16:39 was my time.  I can't wait (okay, I'm lying - I actually CAN wait) until I can try this again and actually do it all 8 rounds.  Sometimes I have just really bad blonde, air-head moments.  Of COURSE I can run longer at a slower pace - what the hell is wrong with me?  I think I get the concept of time, gotta hurry up and get a good time in, that it just never occurred to me to slow down and try to run farther.  Oh well...I get it now and am excited (a teensy, tiny bit) of seeing what I can do from here on out.

Totally forgot to mention - you know those "attempted" pull-ups I did yesterday?  Yeah...they are killing my shoulders today.  I couldn't figure it out (another blonde, air-head moment) - I kept thinking "those thrusters were only 20 pounds, what's wrong with me?".  Then I was like "OH...it could be the reverse pull-ups or the attempted pull-up - I mean those were ONLY my body weight!"  Man...how crazy am I?  I definitely feel like I did something yesterday and I KNOW I definitely did something today!  

Off to run errands (hitting up the liquor store) so I can have a fun night at the dirt-track!  :)

**Update**  Okay, I'm going have to quit posting as soon as I finish my workout, obviously my mind is wack-a-doo!  16 minutes?  That means I completed all 8 rounds and actually ran for 39 seconds longer than I should have!  WHAT is wrong with my brain?????   Well, that makes me even happier!!  :)

We don't do it 'cause it's easy.  We do it 'cause we're worth it.  Truth!  And believe me, I wish it were easy!!  I will admit that maybe (MAYbe) one day a week is easy, but the others are definitely not!  I think that's why I like CrossFit so much.  It does challenge me and it's not the same-old, same-old.  I love, love, love it when I can do something today that I couldn't last week.  If I had a dollar for every time I smile during a workout, I'd a few dollars in my pocket!!  lol - Just to clarify, the smiling comes from either a new accomplishment or improvement, or because the workout is o-v-e-r!  But I do smile while working out.  Crazy, right?

Very proud to say I am not as sore as I thought I would be this morning.  My right knee is a little twinge-y, but hopefully that will work itself out.  I know it's just from all of those deadlifts we did yesterday.  But funny/weird thing - when I got on my treadmill yesterday, it was my left knee that felt a little funny so I'm surprised it's my right knee this morning.  Oh well...who knows.  I'm still excited that I ran for over two minutes yesterday.  I have never, ever ran for that long of time before so that is an improvement.  I was a little disappointed with how far I ran though, but got to thinking...I was running slower so of course I didn't run too much farther.  Sometimes my brain is just wonky.  I've always said I do my best thinking while I'm asleep - it's like I wake up and know the answers to some of the questions/issues/problems from the day before!  :)

Today's CrossFit is the 13.5 Challenge "Mama-style".  Do as many reps as possible in 4 minutes of:

   15 Thrusters w/20 lbs

   15 Pull-ups (assisted as necessary)

If you can complete 3 rounds in less than 4 minutes, extend your time to 8 minutes.  If you have completed 6 rounds in those 8 minutes, then extend your time to 12 minutes.  If 9 rounds completed, extend your time to 16 minutes - 12 rounds/20 minutes, etc.

April Challenge:

   Wall-sit for 50 seconds

I will also do something on the treadmill today - more than likely a programmed workout and I hope to wear my weighted vest again while doing that.  

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75!  That was a tough one - I think because my thighs are already screaming at me!  I went pretty deep on my thrusters, though.  Wow - that sounds dirty, doesn't it?  Ha!  I used 24 lbs for those.  I actually tried to pull-up on the first round of pull-ups.  I did okay - not sure, but I think I've gotten better on those.  At least the first few I was able to "pull-up" off of the ground and see significant bending in my arms.  Don't get me wrong, I was able to get off of the ground on all of them, just not as high as the first ones!  I did reverse pull-ups on the second round and did not get any pull-ups in on my third/final round.  I'm very happy I got three rounds of thrusters in!  :)

I did workout #3 on my treadmill and chose not to wear my weighted vest because my thighs were already letting me know they weren't happy with me today.  Let me tell you, I am SO glad I did not wear that vest today.  OMG!  This was more of an incline workout than #2 was the other day.  Speed varied between 3.0 and 3.5, but on the 3.0 speed I always inclined on 8.  I inclined on 6 and 7 on 3.5 speeds.  The workout just went between those two for the majority of the workout - except for the 4 minute warm-up and the 4 minute cool-down.  Sweating, sweating, sweating!  OH!  And my butt is killing me!!  It is definitely letting me know it did not like climbing those "hills" and doing those thrusts!

Great day of working out today!  Extremely great week of working out!  We're expecting mid to upper 70 degree weather all weekend and through Thursday of next week and I can't wait to enjoy it!  I'm going to a local church's children's consignment sale in the morning with my daughter to see if we can find anything cute for the baby and then off to the race track tomorrow night.  Super excited!  Y'all have a great weekend!!

Just another day at the bar.  :)  Kinda says it all, doesn't it?  Well, I knew it was too good to be true, but my thighs are sore again.  I at least had a couple of days of non-soreness, so I should be good to go!  lol  My shoulders are ridiculously sore today as well.  Whenever I raise my arms, my shoulders are screaming at me to stop!  I am surprised my abs aren't very sore considering how I felt them with every movement I made last night, but that's okay.  I can only take so much soreness.  I did not need any aspirin last night, but I did wake up in the middle of the night with throbbing thighs, but lucky for me I went right back to sleep without having to get up.

Today's CrossFit is for time, 10 rounds of:

   15 Deadlifts w/40-60 lbs

   15 CrossFit sit-ups

April Challenge:

   Wallsit for 40 seconds

I will do something on the treadmill as well.  It all depends on how long it takes me to do today's workout on what exactly I will do - whether it's a pre-programmed workout (which always takes 30 minutes) or just a run/walk combo kinda deal.  I'll figure it out when I go upstairs.  :)

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16:28 as RX'D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was shooting for 15 minutes, but I'm happy with my time.  I was doing really well until the 8th round of deadlifts - those got to me - as well as the 9th and 10th rounds.  I used 50 lbs for the deadlifts (it's the most weight I have).  I thought about dropping it to 44 lbs while doing the 8th round, but told myself to suck it up and get over myself!  My sit-ups were great!  What slowed me down was laying down to do sit-ups after the 8th round of deadlifts and I just kind of laid there to recover!  Same thing with the 9th round of sit-ups - but the I just got with it on the 10th round since it was the last one!  Note to self - NOT a good idea to lay in the floor while doing a tough workout - even if it IS for sit-ups!  I would have made my goal if not for that.  Oh well...I did it...as RX'D!!  Woot-woot!!

I didn't want to get on the "damn" treadmill, but forced myself.  And, let me tell you, it was pretty funny.  I got all tangled up in the mat I lay on for sit-ups, then I got my feet out from under that only to get tangled in the towel I lay down on top of the mat!  I use a towel because my back is so sweaty and it just feels icky to lay on the mat without a towel.  I usually just wear an exercise bra when working out. Oh, and shorts or yoga pants - I do wear pants!  ;)  Anyway, I got on the treadmill and covered up the display and ran at 4.2 speed until I was at my "can't catch my breath, am I turning blue?" point.  I stopped the treadmill and uncovered the display.  I had only ran 12 blocks which in itself isn't too impressive, but then I looked at the time and was EXTREMELY glad to see my time!  Before, when I would run at 5.3 speed, I could only go 8 blocks - so 12 IS an improvement - and it would take me 1:34 to run those 8 blocks at that speed.  Well, I ran for 2:07!  So THAT is a good thing - I ran 33 seconds longer than before!  YAY improvement!  :)  I started walking at 3.0 speed for 2 blocks, then went back to 4.2 speed and ran until I hit 1/4 mile.  My total treadmill time was 3:48.  I'm going to try to get on my treadmill a little bit every day (except the weekends).  I know I've said it before, but I really, really, really mean it this time!  lol

No wall-sitting today.  I was going to.  I even got into the position to do it, but my thighs said "Nope!  No way!"  So, I stood up and let them have their way today.  :)

April Wall-Sit Challenge

I run...I'm slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter, but I run!  Or, at least I try to run!  lol - Today is a run day - yay!  This is me...being positive and happy to run!  I'm smiling as I type this - really...I am.  It's ALL positive thoughts.  I've got this!  :)

Today's CrossFit is for time:

   Run 1000 meters (.621/mile)

   20 Leg lifts

   Run 750 meters (.466/mile)

   40 Knees to Elbows

   Run 500 meters (.311/mile)

   60 Sit-ups

I went ahead and posted today's workout before talking about my thoughts, so everything I say will make sense.  I know - it's worth a shot though, right?  I'm not sweating the running - I'm really not.  It's the knees-to-elbows that have me concerned today.  I admit it...I have girly hands.  Every time I say that, I have this image of Frank and Hanz from Saturday Night Live saying "you have girly hands" in their Arnold Schwarzenegger accent - it cracks me up!  My palms are still sore, but I'm ignoring it.  Which is easy now, but when I start doing knees-to-elbows on the bar, I know they're going to hurt.  I think I might see if I can remove the padding from the bar and see if that helps.  If nothing else, I can at least wear my gloves then - I'm pretty sure they would work, but I'll have to see.  I'm also going to look and see what I can find out about "proper" grip.  Who knows?  Maybe I've been doing that all wrong.  Regardless, I need to get over it.  I don't think it's bothered my so much before because we've never done (at least I haven't) knees-to-elbows so many days in a row before.  And, oh my goodness - were my shoulders and upper back muscles sore?  My upper abs were also sore last night - that was definitely from the knees-to-elbows movement!  I'm so happy with my progress on those!

Y'all wish me luck with my "girly hands"!  

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38:19 - WOW!  Not a happy WOW, just a WOW!  That was intense!  What a workout!!  So, I slowed down my running to 4.5 and was able to run to 10 blocks, then I slowed it down to 4.2 and was able to run 12 blocks, but the more I ran the worse I got!  It wasn't my breathing so much today (thank goodness!) but my calves were killing me.  I think from yesterday's treadmill workout?  The entire workout was inclines of 4, 5, or 6 without going less than that until the 2 minute cool down period.  I did walk some of the run segments today, but ran way over 1/2 the time.  Whenever I did walk, I did it at 3.0 speed so I could drink water, wipe sweat, and blow my nose while walking without having to stop and do all of that.   My total treadmill time was 23:13.  Not great, but it's okay.  I ran.  I ran longer than ever before and I'm happy with that.  :)

I struggled with the leg lifts, but am proud to say I did them in 2 1/2 minutes!  At least that's something positive!

Knees to Elbows were knees to below my boobs - not quite as high as they were yesterday.  My girlie hands are going to have to get over themselves.  They hurt today, but not like yesterday.  They are still red, except for my calluses - they are white, white, white!  Crazy looking hands today!

Sit-ups killed me!  It took me almost 5 minutes to do sit-ups.  I glanced at the timer when I started and it was 33:25.  It was at 38:19 when I finished.  NOT a great time for those at all, but I did them so...yay!

Not sure if you noticed or not, but the Ripped Goddesses put up a different April challenge workout.  I'm glad 'cause I didn't like the one they had - all that running.  Ain't nobody got time for that!  lol  Anyway, April's challenge is Wall-sitting and today's was for 30 seconds.  I did it, but it was the weirdest thing to feel your thighs quivering, then to actually sit and watch them quiver almost made me lose my balance!  I think the only reason I didn't fall was because my back was so sweaty I was sticking to the wall!  lmao  - It was really hard to get up from wall sitting and came really close to just sliding down to the floor, but I pushed and pushed and made it back up!

Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store!!

Excuses...let's hear yours again.  Pretty impressive, huh?  See, there's no reason for me not to be able to do these workouts!

I was so sore/tired/exhausted after working out yesterday, but I took a couple of aspirin and actually feel pretty good this morning.  I love doing what I call "barefoot" workouts - those are workouts where I don't have to wear shoes.  I don't know why it works for me, it just does - even doing box jumps are better without shoes on.  And no, it does not make my feet hurt.  Come to think of it, my feet are about the only thing that doesn't hurt these days!  lol

Today's CrossFit is from challenge 13.4 - do as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:

   3 Hang squat cleans w/20-40 lbs

   3 Knees to Elbows

   6 Hang squat cleans w/20-40 lbs

   6 Knees to Elbows

   9 Hang squat cleans w/20-40 lbs

   9 Knees to Elbows

   12 Hang squat cleans w/20-40 lbs

   12 Knees to Elbows

   *continue on this fashion doing 15/15, 18/18, 21/21, 24/24, etc. until your time is up*

There still hasn't been an April challenge posted yet, but she was supposed to work on one yesterday and I haven't checked this morning to see if it's there, so....I will do a treadmill workout today as well.  I'm thinking about running - I know, crazy thoughts in my head!  I always "think" about running, it's whether or not I follow through that counts.  I've been wondering if I'm giving out of breath because I'm running too fast - yes, I know that sounds silly since just about everyone in the world can run faster than me, but hear me out.  When I run, I usually do it on the fastest setting I can handle - 5.3 lately - but that's like "full out" running for me.  Maybe I should slow it down a little and see how far I can go?  It's worth a try, so I think I'll slow it down to 5.0 and see what happens.  It can't hurt to try, right? 

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79 - NOT great, but my goodness!  My hands are still sore from yesterday's bar work and that made it way harder today to do knees to elbows!  I made it through the 15-rep round of cleans, but only got in 4 knees to elbows that round.  It wouldn't have been too bad if my hands weren't burning and talk about red?  My palms/calluses are R-E-D!

I did pre-programmed workout on my treadmill as well.  I did workout #2 (which I have never been able to do without adjusting the incline) and not only could I do the entire workout WITHOUT adjusting the workout, but I did it while wearing my 8 lb. weighted vest!  WOO-HOO!!!!  Sweating like a mule, but I did it and I could BREATHE!!  lol - that's always important, isn't it?  :)

Another great day in!  OH!  They posted April's workout challenge (I'm not crazy about it either).  Anyway, you are supposed to run 1 mile every Monday-Saturday (Sunday's are rest days), drink 64 oz. of water per day, and cut out sugar completely.  If you slip and eat sugar, then you are to add another mile run to make up for it (but I really think it's for punishment!)  ;)  So, looks like I'm not doing this one!  I will continue to throw in a run every now and then, and to do pre-programmed workouts as well.  :)