week of improvements

After a failed attempt in participating in Murph this past Memorial Day, I wasn't looking forward to doing any WODs this week. Tuesday called for a Snatch Complex of sorts and I was dreading it all day. My wrist was not so pleased with me Monday, how would it be a day later. Well, I have learned to always try at the very least, so I did. I managed to do an entire complex with just the 35# bar, but next could I add more weight? I threw on some 10# plates and went for it. My first attempt was a failure. My hand grip felt weak and I didn't feel like I had much control of the movement, BUT my wrist wasn't what stopped me. So I took a moment and rested before attempting again. Well guess what? I did it, not once, or twice, three times, but four times. Holy shit guys!! Do you know what this means?!?! Shit is getting better, that's what! Now granted it was only 55# but still, only a week or so prior I couldn't even do just the bar. Any sort of Cleans is still a bit iffy, I can't fully extend my wrist in a front rack position so I have to keep with the light weights.

I woke up this morning expecting my wrist to be sore or inflamed but it was not. So there was no way that I'd miss todays WOD either, which was going to push me to my limits I was sure. And it did. I honestly wasn't sure if I would be able to complete the WOD in its entirety or even without modifying the movement. It called for 5 rounds of 27 Double Unders, 20 Hang Cleans, and 15 Shoulder to Overhead. First of all, this sort of WOD taxes your grip, so going all out is a no-no. Secondly, Cleans are still an issue for me and to do that many, could I? I didn't ask Joon for any modifications because I didn't want something to bail to. I wanted to give me all and if I couldn't complete it, well than at least I tried. My grip definitely felt it, I had to break the Hang Cleans in sets of 4, and I did Push Presses and those were no easy feat. Again, I kept the weight light at 55# (prescribed was 65#) and paid close attention to my form. Being ever so careful on my wrist movements. About 3 rounds in I realized I was doing just fine and that I can FINISH this WOD as is. I looked at the time and decided to hustle it and get a time under 16 minutes. And I did!

Tonight I am feeling slightly sore in my upper body, but I feel great. I am delighted to know that after so many months of pain and setbacks, I am improving! It is such a great feeling!!!! I will keep you posted with future successes, hopefully a LOT more will come. Goodnight.

wildwood trail #1

Any of you that read my blog from the very beginning, before I even heard of CrossFit, you may remember how I tried to learn to be a runner. I scoured the internet for advice, bought shoes and supplies, everything I believed that would help me be a runner. At one point I even had a running coach, who to this day I still utilize all of the lessons she taught me. It's been about 6 years now of off and on training, I don't think I classify as a runner but I still try. Most of my running though is done in a CrossFit WOD, which means it's done on the sidewalk or road.

Now that the weather is becoming nicer, Aaron and I decided to start running on the Wildwood Trail again in Forest Park like we've done in past summers. I had no expectations, as I am just looking to restrengthen my ankles and just be consistent in my running. I almost immediately could feel my feet and ankles start yelling at me. Shortly after that my knees expressed their hatred for me too. I only made it 2.5 miles total, walking the majority of the time inward and ran most of the time back to the car. I think my total running mileage was a little over a mile.

I think after a few more running sessions on the trail I will be able to run more, and further. It felt good to on the trail again. I took a few breaks where I stood there and took my headphones off to listen to the birds chirp. I'm so thankful to live in a city with such an abundance of beautiful parks.

yes, yes, i am back

I know I know, it's been almost two months since I've posted anything. There were plenty of times I had something to share but than I never got around to actually sitting down and typing it all down. I let stuff get in the way of my making time to blog. I now have missed thoughts that I will never be able to fall back on. It is what it is and all I can do is move forward.

I am still not in 100% full CrossFit routine again, the right wrist is still rehabbing from my injury back in February. It is better and continues to get better but I am still unable to hold just a 35# bar in the front rack position. It is a very frustrating situation. I am however able to push press again and snatch, but find it hard to do an overhead squat. So I will continue working towards strengthening my wrist.

In tonights class I experienced a boost in my confidence that was much needed. My working out hasn't been as consistent as it use to be. This week was the first week in months I believe that I went in four days straight. I am sore but not enough to not function. I didn't want to miss tonights class, it was Randy. (Randy is a Hero WOD that is 75 Power Snatches for time) The last time I did Randy was a little over a year ago. I RX it back than and got a time of 8:03. I had a goal to beat that time given that my wrist could handle doing 75 Power Cleans. The weight for women is 55#, which is not a very heavy weight to begin with, but with this sort of rep load, it can get heavy pretty quickly. I knew I had something to prove to myself. So when the clock counted down 3-2-1-GO, I Snatched my little heart out, took no breaks other than to tighten the bumper plates to the bar. I managed to shave off :56 seconds from my time. Almost a full minute. This may not seem like a lot of time after a year, but when you factor in that I have lost a lot of workout time to minor setbacks here and there, it is a huge improvement! I am very proud of myself and look forward to smashing my new time later down the road.

I promise to make a better effort in posting more consistently. I hope you all are doing well!