help me help jennifer

So I know in the past I have blogged about various people who have impacted my life in positive ways, Jennifer Burningham is one of them. She is the person responsible for helping me to learn how to run, to push through barriers that I constantly put up (and sometimes still do), and ignited a passion to keep working towards getting fit and healthy. Meeting and working with her I feel was critical in my finding the path that I am currently on. Had she not pushed and inspired me, I don't think I'd be where I am today. So Jennifer, thank you.

With that said, the main reason for this post is because I learned that Jennifer is working towards opening up her own fitness studio. This is something she's contemplated for a very long time and is in a position to take that step. Her goal is to create a space that is totally committed to client success and overall wellbeing without grabbing for money or selling supplements. Her long term goal is to offer training and wellness services on a sliding scale. I think this is a fantastic idea, it gives people access to her that ordinarily would not be able to afford the expensive price tag of a gym and/or personal trainer. To learn a little more about her, visit her site by clicking here.

Jennifer is in the process of trying to raise funds to help with the expenses of opening up a new business. Depending on how much you decide to donate, you will receive a perk. Whether it be a one 30 minute session with her to receiving several sessions and a lifelong discount of 15%. I encourage you to take a peek at her fundraising page: Right Track Health and Fitness. If after reading up on her via her website you find that you may be interested in working with her and/or just want to help a local woman be successful in helping her community get healthy and fit- donate. And as a favor, I ask that you share the link to my posting with your family and friends in the Portland and surrounding areas.

This photo is from Pinterest.

one on one: day three

On the way over to CFST this afternoon a familiar ache began to grow in my stomach. This was not a good sign and I did NOT want to experience the same pain I had only a week ago. I knew I had taken my medicine that was prescribed earlier in the day, so I know that was not the reason for the pain. The last thing I ate was a Luna Bar, this has me wondering if it has anything to do with the stomach pains. Meanwhile, I decided to eat a banana in hopes that it would settle my stomach some. By the time I arrived at the gym there was no trace of discomfort, but I will have to do some research on those Luna Bars. 

My session with Joon today was as expected, brutal. I say this because he pushes me so far out of my comfort zone, the place where I baby past injuries or second guess my abilities. But with the brutal I must add fun because even though I was tired, out of breathe, sweating, and dealing with burning muscles, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This is what Joon had me do today:

Warm-up: 1000m row
Extended Warm-up:
     10 Shoulder Shrugs
     10 Hang Power
     10 OHS
     10 Push Press
     10 GHD Back Extensions (did not do full ROM)

4x: Back Squat 115# 4 reps
      20m Sled Push

2x3: Push Press Strip Set 80#/65#/35#

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1:
     Box Dips
     Ball Slam 15#
     Push-ups (Deficit)

The hardest part of all of these were the 2x3 Push Presses. I started off with 3 reps of 80#, and instead of placing the bar & weights back on the rack I had to keep holding it while Joon and David Mobley (another Stumptown CrossFitter) took some weight off. I than had to do 3 reps of 65# than Joon and David removed more weight, and than 3 reps of 35#. But it didn't end there, once I was done with the 35# Joon and David began adding the weight back on. I had to do two rounds of this and in both round I fatigued out on 1 rep of the 80# being added back. This was quite literally one of the hardest push presses I have ever done. 

Pushing the sled around was fun, something new for me. And the last segment of my session was challenging, worked hard on making sure I kept moving with little to no break. My shoulders were feeling pretty zapped which made me love the break during the ball slams, something I thought I'd never say. My experience with today's session was focusing on working past the tired and not giving up. I so badly want to get passed the point where I second guess my abilities. I know I am on the road to it...

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

eagle creek trail: tunnel falls

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday by going on a hiking trip to Tunnel Falls at Eagle Creek in the Gorge. It is one I have never been on and I wanted to explore a new place. Aaron and I got off to a late start and didn't make it to Eagle Creek until around 1pm. The initial plan was to go all the way to Tunnel Falls, from the trailhead to the Falls would be 6 miles. Because of our late start I told Aaron that we should just go as far as Punch Bowl Falls, which is about 3 or so miles in and reserve the Tunnel Falls for another date. 

The beginning of the hike, as any other hike I do, I am slow and tire easy. I eventually have to use my inhaler and take breather breaks. We did notice however, that the amounts of my breaks have decreased quite a bit since I have started CrossFit. I am much better shape now than I was a year ago. We reached Punch Bowl Falls around 4 or 4:30pm and did not expect it to be as crowded as it was. There were a lot of young people there diving into the water from cliffs, some were sunbathing, and others were just hanging out. We hung out a bit and than finally decided to head back onto the main trail.We sat on a log so that I could rest, we chatted, and took in our surroundings. It was at this point Aaron suggested that we keep going and head for Tunnel Falls. He believed I could make it and we'd be fine. Feeling pretty good, I said sure, and off we went. 

Once we passed the entrance to Punch Bowl Falls the trail became a lot more quieter. We'd only come across people every once in a while and the majority of them were back packers. At some point passed the Punch Bowl Falls I found my stride and didn't require any breaks except for sips of water. The scenery was absolutely glorious, and so quiet. A few times the trail would come out from the protection of trees and we could feel the hot sun beaming down. At some point I became acutely aware that I was running low on water and that I will definitely run out before we made it back to the trailhead. We still pushed forward. Eventually at some point Aaron became concerned that we hadn't reached the falls yet but every time we'd run into another person they'd say it wasn't too much further. I swear everyone was lying to us. 

The trail on Eagle Creek.

The path in general is moderate, some easy spots, and than some areas that slow you down due to lots of lose rocks. It is these rocks that I despise! Knowing full well that I am a magnet for injuries and easy falls I was focusing mostly on my footing as we trekked along. At times I think I don't give myself enough credit, and truly get that I am stronger and fitter. I am more than capable of completing this hike injury free, well serious injuries. We finally decided at some point to stop and rest, snack on bars that we brought with us and I had the last of my water. Aaron is good at rationing his, but I drink so much water in general that rationing wouldn't have done much, especially since taking allergy meds and meds for my tummy cause me to have dry mouth. We chatted and almost decided to turn back when Aaron saw someone and asked once again. Tunnel Falls was right around the corner, so we trekked on. We reached it. What an absolutely beautiful Fall it was. We went through the tunnel behind it and out to the other side and could feel the spray from the rushing water. It felt so good against my sweaty dirty skin. We took a few photos and just stared at the beauty of it. But than the reality of our situation took priority. 

Tunnel Falls

It was now around 6pm, I was completely out of water, and we had 6 miles to hike back. This time I lead the hike and I must've caught my second wind or the drive for cold fresh water was strong because we were making good time. We also realized that we may have to hike the later half in the dark as the sun was heading down behind the mountain. We clearly did not plan this out very well. All went fairly well until we hit the area with rocks again. A couple of times I stepped wrong and rolled my right ankle. At the moment it felt fine, it was probably adrenaline of wanting to get out and get to water. I began to slow down after we reached Punch Bowl Falls but it was a relief to know that we only had about 3 miles left to go. Water was getting closer and the sun was still out. 

When we reached the end I was so happy, water never tasted so good. I was tired, sore, and plenty thirsty. The car ride back into town gave me time to reflect on this experience. I am thankful for it, I do not regret one moment of it. I most certainly will be more prepared next time but glad to have been with Aaron who gave me enough motivation to keep a positive attitude through it all. 

Today I am feeling pretty sore and beat up. I have a massive blister on my right pinky toe, my right ankle feels jacked up, and my right knee feels tight. I'm taking it easy today but if asked to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment!

one on one: day two

Let me begin this posting with an update on my health scare. This past Monday I posted about my Sunday evening trip to the ER with stomach pain. They had figured it wasn't my gallbladder or kidneys causing the pain and figured it was either an ulcer or acid reflux. Little did I know that later that evening I would end up back in the ER with even worse pain than the previous night. This time the doctor ordered an ultrasound to check my gallbladder and surrounding organs. They gave me another GI cocktail which didn't give me the immediate relief as the previous night. It did help reduce my pain to about a 5 but I was still dealing with the waves of pain, as well as nausea and back pain. So my gallbladder, kidney, pancreas, and liver was check out and all of them checked out fine. Still no definite answer but this time I left the ER with an RX for some pain meds. It's now been 4 days since my first ER visit and I can say I have had 3 full days of no pain. I am still taking the meds as I was told to and am trying to get in to see my PCP to get checked further, but I am thankful that I am no longer experiencing that god awful pain anymore.

Because I was still recovering this past Tuesday from Monday nights trip to the ER, I did not make my appointment with Joon for my official "day two" session. So technically this would be my day three, but well I won't really count it! Joon thoroughly kicked my arse today, and it probably wasn't fully intentional but he definitely proved to me how quickly I experience muscle fatigue. We worked on some plyometric movements and strength. Today's session most certainly was hard but felt really good. So here is what we did.

Warm-up: 500m row
Extended Warm-up:
     10 Shoulder Shrugs
     10 Cleans
     10 Strict Presses
     10 GHD Back Extensions (this was intimidating and hard for me- did not do full ROM)

3x: Athletic Burpees x3
      Jumping Lunges x6
      Plyo Side Lunges 20sec

4x4: Front Squat 65#
2x4: Power Clean 65#
3x3x3: Push Jerk 65#

5x for time: 
     100m row (26/23/22/22/21 sec)
     30 sec rest
     Medicine Ball Slams x10
     1 min rest
= 11:08

The GHD back extensions were challenging for me. First I had to get comfortable with the idea of lowering my upper body down and trusting that I wasn't going to fall. Once I got over that, well better at it, I found I couldn't even lower myself down very low before my hamstrings began to yell at me with such force. Those sucked! But the hardest thing I did today was the burpees, lunges, and side lunges routine. I had to keep moving without stopping and this is where I experienced my muscle fatigue. Primarily during the side lunges as I kept going my legs would give out on me and I was struggling lifting them up onto the platform. A couple of times I came close to tripping over myself. It's frustrating to want to push through but your body won't cooperate. I can not wait for the day that I get beyond this quick fatigue and can go for longer. The lifts were comfortable, didn't go super heavy, focused on technique. Front squats have been a challenge for a long time and I am just now getting better at them and increasing weight! And the last part of our time was fun and I worked hard on just pushing through the suck. With every round I improved my time on the 100m row, which I have to admit was unexpected. The medicine ball slams were also a challenge, but I did them and that is all I have to say about that.

I am officially tired and sore. Tomorrow is a holiday and I do not have to work- yay! There is only one WOD tomorrow at CFST but I think I will pass on the WOD and enjoy sleeping in. I'm sure I will be plenty sore tomorrow. :)

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

an ER trip

For the past week and half I have been dealing with some mild stomach aches. They would come and go, I'd notice them more after eating something. I paid attention to my diet but nothing in particular would stick out as the culprit. I didn't take it serious as I thought it really had more to do with what I am eating than anything else, and admittedly my diet in the last two or so weeks hasn't been the best. Than as quickly as the aches came, it was gone. I spent an entire 24 hours with no issues and I thought the problem resolved itself. I couldn't be more wrong though. Come Sunday afternoon while running errands with Aaron I found that old familiar ache resurfacing. Again I began to think about what I ate, hoping something will stick out. While Aaron was trying on some shoes I found myself unable to stand up straight, the pain was getting a bit too intense for me. I sat down and distracted myself with Facebook on my phone. Once we left the store I had no desire to go anywhere else and so Aaron took me home. I figured if I lied down for a bit, drank a little water, it'll pass. I have to say the pain I began to experience was like no other pain I had ever felt in my life. For the next 12 hours I would go through waves of intense pain, each time the wave would hit it would be that much more intense. I opted to sleep on the couch to not disturb Aaron and was holding out for the morning to get in to see my doctor. By 2 am I have had enough and could not take the pain anymore. I was beginning  to fear that it was my gallbladder causing all the discomfort so I decided to go to the ER. Immediately they took my blood pressure, temperature, drew blood, and asked for a urine sample. I was taken back to a room almost right away and the doctor was already there waiting for me as he feared it was my gallbladder as well. After a quick chit chat he decided to rule out something else first, and so I was required to drink the god awful GI Cocktail of Malox with Lidocaine. Now anyone who knows me well know weird I get with texture, so imagine how hard it was for me to swallow something that was slightly chunky. I felt like I was taking a shot of wet snot, seriously! I had to fight not to throw it up and I was forbidden to drink any water. I was greatly frustrated and wanted answers. And to my surprise almost immediately the pain began to subside, along with my tongue and throat beginning to numb out.

So the outcome? Well this instant relief meant it was NOT my gallbladder which was a great news. The doctor asked me a few more questions and we talked about possibilities and where to go from there. What he believed was going on is that the lining of my esophagus and stomach had become irritated. I had begun to feel it mildly and it finally got to a point where it needed attention. The cause is unknown but my bad diet may have not helped it much. The course of action is to take a prescribed medication for two weeks. If my symptoms persist or get worse I am to go back in ASAP, otherwise I need to go see my PCP for a check up in about a week.

I am thankful that it was not something as serious as my gallbladder but somewhat frustrated that it is something that is without a definite explanation of cause or reasoning. I hope my prescribed medication will be the key to healing and being back to my normal self!

Take care of yourselves!