Progress

It’s all progress… second full day at home and I’m starting to feel like me at times 👍 After the anesthetic and so many antibiotics my healthy gut is not so healthy 😕 grumbling loudly pretty much all the time and grumpy with anything I consume. Pacing myself with Ketones, bone broth and collagen to try and do some damage control. And sleeping LOTS. I did get out of the house yesterday for an exciting small lap around Walmart and today to go and hang out at the gym with a good book while my girl did the WOD. Both of which required a nap afterwards, but it felt good to get a change of scenery and some fresh (snowy 😖) Ontario air. For the most part, I’ve claimed my corner of the couch and am just spending time relaxing and recovering with the best “nurse” I could ask for ❤️ I added some Amped Ketones back into the mix this morning again after favouring the one with the probiotics and prebiotics for the last few days to help my gut.  The Amped helps my brain work better though, so I’ll be back to sharing helping people find their version of BETTER very soon too 😊

 

Recalculating route…

So, I’ve spent the last week trying to draft in my mind the post I was going to write about why I was NOT doing the Open this year. There were, and still are, a few BIG factors that led me to that decision, although even to myself they just felt like excuses. Trying to reduce the amount of stress in my life is a big one, which I know a lot of people can relate to. Here’s the new part – this is the first time I would compete without the symptoms I’ve carried around for years. Without the foggy brain. Without the nerve pain in my legs. Without numbness or coordination issues. Without incredible fatigue! From the outside that probably sounds AMAZING, but for me it felt like I was about to sign up for my first Open all over again and with less understanding of how my body was going to react. With everyone watching. Don’t get me wrong, I’m over the moon excited with the transformation I’ve experienced in my brain and body since I started drinking ketones nearly a year ago, but it’s still a process and always will be. The fears and challenges I had in other years (like 17.1 with all those burpee box jump overs when I had no feeling in my legs) are GONE, but I’m still working to learn how the new and improved version of myself works 🙂 I learned the hard way last weekend that dehydrated and mineral depleted was bad news for me going into a sweat fest of a workout. Noted, and I won’t make that mistake again 😉 Anyways, as I’m sure you could guess from the picture, yesterday I stepped out of my comfort zone and joined the party. 18.2 was challenging, but without the added stress of my old systems. I’m getting used to the feeling of being a better version of me. I feel almost “normal” 😁 (keep your comments to yourself on that one 🤪) and I look forward to continuing the process and helping others do the same. #bestself #bebetter #pruviteveryday #dontgiveuponyou #intheopen #ketones #ketoOS #doublevisionphotography82 #multiplesclerosis #autoimmune

where did 2017 go?

I spend so much time one social media these days that I never seem to get the chance to write blog entries. Life is good! Except I made the mistake of drinking a double dose of ketones at work yesterday, both of which were caffeinated so I’ve been WIDE awake since like 2am. Anyone want to join me for a run kind of awake. It’s been so long I can’t remember where I left off!

2017 has been a good one for me after a rocky start. Career realignment when I stepped down to part time at sport chek and started working with my dad. Still not entirely sure if that is going to live up to all the dreams we had for it, but it still has potential in my mind.

Got engaged to the most amazing girl 😍

Found success for myself personally with drinking ketones. 😁 I have way better and more consistent energy. 😁My brain fog is no longer a challenge I face daily. The inflammation I can physically see has improved big time, which makes me believe the systemic inflammation has improved as well. I’m in a really good mood like all the time. 😁Oh! And I’ve lost nearly 20lbs 😁 Have you heard of ketones? If not, watch this!!! Or drop me a comment or whatever.  katemcdowell.experienceketo.com

 

 

Just got back from vacationing in Florida again.  Timing and coincidence could not hav worked out better for this round! Festivus Games happened for the second time for us while we were away! At first I was bummed cause I thought we were going to have to sell our spot when we decided to go away but I was able to switch our location so we could complete in Bradenton. Then right after we finished our last WOD we jumped in the car and drove 3 hours to Orlando. Yup. Right after finishing 4 WODs. No more explanation is likely needed than getting out of the car was a stiff situation.

Any-who… made it just in time to get to the stadium for the National Women’s Soccer League championship game where Amanda’s team (Portland) won! 😁 That was our insanely crazy day and the rest of the trip was beach walks, sunshine, and just enjoying each other’s company. My mom is still not really talking to me cause I didn’t invite her to join us to watch the sunset on our last night there, but happy Kate doesn’t stress over stuff as much. As my sister said when I told her – “yeah! I totally invite my roommates on dates when me and my boyfriend!”  Well put Claire 😉

 

Work in progress

I have so much I want to write about that I don’t even know where to begin… a friend who was researching MS for her thesis a few years ago told me that many people with MS have a difficult time putting thoughts in “order”. Probably not the only thing that can cause this, but definitely something I’ve struggled with. But this post isn’t about that… this one is about food and health mostly and things that relate. I’ll try to keep on track 😉

Finally got in to see the new doctor on Friday.  Finally a doctor who was very thorough and ordered all the tests needed to figure out what’s going on.  Vainity plays a part for sure, but I also question WHY things are the way they are out of interest.  WHY when I exercise regularly and eat very clean am I still struggling with my weight? WHY with the same exercise routine and healthier eating than previously have I GAINED 45lbs in the last 5 years? “It’s probably muscle!” Is the lamest excuse I’ve heard over and over. Yes, I’ve definitely put on some muscle when going from a ball hockey 3x a week runner who lifted moderate weights from time to time to a crossfit junkie, but that really doesn’t explain the body fat %!! Wii Fit would tell me I’m obese again and get itself tossed off the balcony.

So the new doctor order so much blood work that the ladies at the clinic didn’t know what to do with themselves.  Best part was he went through it ALL with me and explained all the red highlights on my results.  My iron, vitamin D, B12, testosterone and cortisol are lower than he’d like to see.  My thyroid is fucky and my adrenals are waving the white flag. I take 5000IU of vitamin D religiously every day!  Increase it he said.  Also gave other recommendations to add/increase other vitamins/minerals and gave me prescriptions for T3 and DHEA.

Next he looked at the sample day of my diet that I sent him.  There was a bunch of red highlights here too! 😮 “You say you follow a ketogenic diet? There’s a LOT of sugar here” he said.  What?!? In fairness to myself, the sample day I sent him was two months ago and a lot has changed since then, but I was still shocked to hear that!! I could be causing my weight because I eat a little tomato sauce, some snap peas and a few baby carrots once or twice a week, and onions.  Not the onions!!!  The rest could go but the onions stay.  Besides, I’ve decided I’m going to try the supplements and the prescriptions before altering my diet any further.  If I change everything all at once, how do I know what works?  (Still fuming a bit… I sit beside my girl as she munches on a bag of chocolate things each night but I’m overweight cause I put onions in the BBQ veggie mix. Pffft)

I mentioned that a lot has changed since I sent my sample day to the doc.  I March of this year Amanda and I gave the exogenous ketones a try and were disappointed with our lack of success. We decided to give them another go and things have been better this time around. For me I think it all started when Jen addded me to the 60 hour fast group on Facebook.  I had tried the fast before but didn’t make it all the way through. This time I wasn’t entirely into it from the start either! Made it 20 hours and ate a little something which I initially saw as throwing in the towel, but actually shifted my mindset somehow! After that I completed the 60 hours and have since followed the intermittent fasting which a ketogenic diet is intended to accompany. I wake up, drink coffee with MTC oil, drink my ketones (slowly), and LOTS of water. When I’m hungry, I eat. During the week when I work all day and head to the box shortly after, there are days I don’t chew anything until 7:30-8pm.  Others I eat lunch and dinner.  I still don’t know what is the right method for ME, but it’s all a work in progress really… and in the first 10 days I lost 10lb! I haven’t been able to shed ANYTHING in forever, so it feels like something is going right.

Follow thru

So, I’m making myself commit and actually publish a post.  I have 3-4 drafts just sitting in limbo cause they feel too unfinished to share.  I don’t know if it’s actually a case of the post being incomplete, or a feeling that the thoughts aren’t settled or resolved in my mind.  Probably the later.

I wish this ^^^ held some truth for me.  I guess it probably could if I could stick to the nutrition part all the time… When I’m dealing with sadness, I find running helps.  So in January I’ll be running a LOT.  Might kill 2 birds with 1 stone. It hit me yesterday that Yuko and I have about 6 weeks left together.  I won’t be sad now 🙂 I’ll live in the moment and just love him ❤

I’ve mentioned before, I need rules.  Signed up for the next round of Whole Life Challenge yesterday which starts in January.  My good intentions to keep the ball rolling after the last one fell apart a bit.  The whole “2 indulgences per week” piece has gone to hell in a hand basket.  Not entirely my fault when there’s Christmas cookies and stuff.  Plus I work so much this time of year that it’s hard to take the time to really food prep and eat good meals.  Coach Dave asked this morning what people had for dinner last night.  He called me out and I dodged that bullet sloppily.  Truth of the matter – I made a batch of my banana balls which I had planned to bring as a snack today and maybe tomorrow.  Then I started decorating my Christmas tree.  The banana things are gone and I only put like 8 ornaments on my tree before sending a message to my mom asking if I could hire her to decorate it for me.  Felt guilty about the banana balls, so decided they were dinner.  Hence I didn’t answer Dave’s question cause what was I to say?  I had a banana, a whole cup of oats, a tbsp. of peanut butter and a scoop of protein powder?  So tasty, but on the don’t-ever-make-again list.  Not a veggie in sight there.  😦  Sigh…

Lol

I’m so tired…. Last Thursday I had to come in to Henry’s in the morning for a meaningless conference call , then to Sport Chek for 5 hours of shoe box wrestling, then back to Henry’s to set-up the store for Friday.  Crammed in 5ish hours of sleep, then headed to the box to squeeze in a quick WOD before the really insanity began.  Yes, I could have done without the pre-14 hour work day WOD, but my workout bud somewhat talked me into going and then bailed last-minute.  Anyways, Friday was insane.  Saturday, Sunday and Monday were pretty non-stop too.  Moral of this rant, I’ve consumed so much coffee in the last 5 days that I think I’ve become immune to it.  Still tastes great, but doesn’t pick me up at ALL anymore haha!  I need a nap.

1 step forward, 10 steps back

About 10 days ago I headed out for my morning run at the favourite trail with wonder pup.  It had been a week of tough workouts mixed with a few other trips to the same spot for the same purpose.  This was one of the hardest runs so far.  My head was battling a few other wars as we trotted along, but the biggest one had to do with my decision to join in on a group Whole Life Challenge at the box.  I was intrigued when the idea was first thrown out there, but not completely sold even after I had coughed up the $$ and registered.  I figured, what have I got to lose?  It was when I logged my starting measurements that my commitment was LOCKED IN.  When the hell did I get so FAT??  And more so, how did I let it happen??  I’ve been down this road before.  I’ve been along the path of getting rid of clothing that no longer fit, but last time I was getting rid of stuff that was too big.  Recently I realized it was time to get rid of the skinny clothes I will never again fit in to.  Not that I want to be a stick, but everyone wants to look good naked.

I took my frame of mind as the reason for my run struggles.  There was a point on one particularly gnarly uphill where my legs screamed “I hate you.” but were quickly silenced with “I hate YOU more!”.  That was Saturday.  By Monday I could hardly walk.  If you’ve been around a little while, I’ve complained about my hip before.  I’m coming to the realization that when it comes to any sort of war you fight with your own body, sometimes having the last word is not a win at all.  I’ve pushed on and scaled WODs to be able to keep exercising, but the hip is still angry.  It finally came to the point yesterday where Coach Sharon asked me to make a deal with her to only mobilize and work on accessory stuff until at least Thurs.  Give the hip some time to recover.  I know she’s right, but my head needs crossfit.  I was happy with the compromise that at least still allowed my to go to the box.  Today I spent an unbearable amount of time on the Airdyne.  Sally, as Dave calls her, and I might become friends over the next week or so.  She’s a dirty b*tch and I feel like I could barf pretty much every time I get off, but she’s also the only form of cardio that doesn’t require hip extension.

Bla, bla… boo-hoo…

Exciting bit!  Last week I did Cindy as Rx for my first time!!  Completed 11 rounds + 5 pull-ups!!  My lats and chest hurt for days.  It was awesome.

A little R & R

Ok, more like a lot! Rest can turn into rest-less in excess. Unless you’re new here, you should know how well (noooo) I deal with ONE rest day… But we were in paradise 🙂 so I’m not really complaining.  Just might be looking to shake things up a bit next time around.

My mom and I have always believed that we travel well together.  Both non-drinkers and not huge into the party all night scene.  We both enjoy exercising while on vacation, walking on the beach and falling into a routine of early morning coffees and lunch at the beach BBQ.  Yet the last few years I’ve felt like there was an incompatibility that I just couldn’t put my finger on.  I think this time around it came to me…  I think everyone goes on vacation with a specific purpose or goal.  And I think it’s deeper than just the general “I like adventure!” or “I just want to relax” cause while we both went into each of the trips we’ve taken together preaching a common goal of relaxation. Yet there were smaller intricacies that were just not satisfied.  I realized this year what my mom’s entire trip motivation is, and got a clearer understanding of my own by recognizing what it isn’t!

My mom is a sun worshiper.  That is ALL that’s on her mind while on vacation.  Comments such as “I just want to sizzle and fry!” or “When the sun’s out, I don’t want to go for lunch/to the beach/for a walk/(insert anything that doesn’t involve laying on a pool chair cooking yourself)” were frequently dropped.  A sun worshiper’s MAIN goal while on vacation is to come back tanned the darkest shade humanly possible.  And it’s never enough.  While I DO enjoy the sunshine, and got myself caught up in two enjoyable books while away, I’m not sure I fall into the sun worshiper category.

The joke for years has been – Better finish that book before the trip is over!  Cause I’m not likely to touch it again until the next vacation. It’s sad, but true.  Took me two years to finish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo… It’s as if vacation is the only time when my mind can detach enough from the 100s of other things that swim around in there in everyday life to focus on reading.  So as the days wore on, and the pool chair boredom grew, these moments became more and more frequent.

My MAIN goal for my vacationing is – a memorable vacation.  I like to come back and have lots of great memories 🙂  Don’t get me wrong, there are a few!  Haha!  Like… one of the bartenders from the swim up bar asked me to marry him.  A few times.  Poor guy… I didn’t have the heart to tell him he was barking way up the wrong tree.  He wanted me to stay in the Dominican with him and the minute I got off the plane in Toronto and heard we were forecast to have -30 degree wind chill for much of the weekend, I considered getting right back on!  One thing I’ve always wanted to do since I was pretty young was go horseback riding along the beach.  It almost happened this year! There was a place within walking distance from the resort where we could have joined a group, but I without boring you with the details, it didn’t happen.  Next time it WILL!

Anyways… Before I fall into my old habits of leaving a post in the draft phase eternally, I’ll just share a few picks that speak for themselves. Riu Bachata, Puerto Plata was amazing 🙂  I’d recommend it to anyone and hope to get back there again one day.

Mmmmm…. Coffee 🙂

 

Last note – entirely random useless fact… If you’re a chocolate covered almond fan, good for you. I’m not. I think they taste like dirt. Anyways, ever bit one in half just enough that the chocolate pulls off the almond?  Those are some ugly looking nuts! I’m not talking occasionally either, it seems to be a common occurrence. The reject nuts become your beloved treat. Someone one day must have said “what am I to do with the gnarly looking almonds that no one will want to eat? I know!! I’ll dress them up all fancy with a chocolate coat!”  Don’t judge a book by its chocolate cover? I will, thank you!  You’re not fooling me.  Chocolate covered dirt.

all over the show

Fri. Sept. 19:

Crossfit = expect the unexpected.  When life throws you a kettlebell(s) do you:

a) RUN!!!   OR     b) clean the b*tch and SQUAT

21-15-9 Reps of:
Front Squats **   2x #25 DB
Lateral Barbell Burpees
*50 Double-Unders after each round, ** 2x kettlebells or dumbbells

Time – 11:27

Coach SHARON is BACK!!!  😀

Not to offend the awesome coaching styles of Dave, but Friday coffee WOD belongs to the ladies.  And typically one token male.  Although today there was a fairly even mix and a lot of attempted WOD-hijacking.  Anyways, this WOD was good in a love-hate sort of way.  Although, what WOD isn’t I guess?  As in, I loved it once it was over, but had many moments of hating it through the 11+ minutes it took me to complete.  I don’t blame for my own suck, but today I’m torn whether to point a finger at allergies, or DK who may have shared his cold.  The front squats were a whole new challenge using dumbbells instead of a bar, but the suck came when doing the lateral jumping burpee crap.  My lungs weren’t working like they should.  As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t seem to breathe properly.  Annoying.  The double unders I think weren’t an entire write off.  In conversation with a friend later I joked about how my doc still refuses to just cut off my leg.  This being the same leg that has given me nerve pain problems for years.  “That might really impede your double unders.” she commented.  But truth be told, it might actually be easier!  It’s typically my “lazy” right leg that catches the rope.  And trips me when running.  And causes the box jump fails.  Etc, etc, etc…  but I guess rope climbs would be pretty tough.  And having to pistol-squat ALL forms of squats.

Oh look!  It happened again.  I’m becoming the queen of the random tangents.  Thankfully when it happens in text form, I can back-track and remember what I was originally talking about.  Although, I’m not alone.  Somehow Coach Dave’s question about “how are the bathrooms?” this morning received my comment about needing more shower hooks, which turned into girls being more bathroom-private than guys, which lead to a group rant about how all privacy concerns go out the window the more wrinkly (and OLD) you become and eventually it seems to be a free-for-all to flaunt EVERYTHING in public change rooms without a care in the world while the younger generations hurry about their business feeling totally uncomfortable.  A part of me can’t wait to get to the point where I just don’t care anymore.  It was a pretty humorous group chat session, non-the-less.

Know the commercials – this is your brain on drugs?

Well, this completely disorganized pile of ramblings is my brain without nuts.  I’m still fighting that battle, although today I’m winning.  At least that’s my story…  I wrote up another big pile of chaos yesterday but it had so many loose ends that I never did hit publish.  I was tired.  Like, I think I made it to 9:00 before going to bed but I’m not entirely sure.

Well, I figure I need to at least post some of what I wrote yesterday cause there’s WOD details (“data” Coach Dave calls it) that I’ll appreciate later.

———————————————————————————————

Thurs. Sept. 18 7:30am

Game plan as of yesterday afternoon – 6am WOD today. Game plan as of 10:30pm yesterday – 7:30am WOD today. It’s my “day off” (well, from Henry’s anyways. Oh, the beauty of choice!)

3 Rounds of:
30- Calorie Row/Sally 😉
30- Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
30- Box Jumps (24/20)

Time – 15:27 Rx

Crossfit is not just about Rx’ing a WOD. It’s not just about hitting killer PRs. Every person takes something different away from the experience, but there IS something for everyone. Today, during the kettlebells in round 2, I hit that dark moment that happens sometimes during a “thinking” WOD. The moment where you find yourself at a crossroads between just giving up (some days it’s really tempting!) or fighting through the suck and coming out stronger than your mind thought you could.  Work has put me in a similar place lately on more than one occasion, and the grit I’ve gained from my hours at the box has helped get out of that dark place too.

——————————————————————————————————-

3 months down, 2 months to go. I’m referring to my double-store situation and I am now at the point where I will admit I’m counting the days. Last week I had a few rough days of coming to the realization that there was just way too much on my plate. Between losing staff heading back to school (from an already bare-bones crew), the need to recruit, interview and hire for both stores, inventory prep and employee review deadlines, I was kind of overwhelmed. I’m usually pretty good at taking everything in stride, but new things kept popping up and I felt as though I was drowning a little. Employee reviews were due last Monday. I’ve drafted them, but only had one meeting. Inventory is held company-wide on the same day, so I have 2 stores to prep at the same time and get to attend the physical count first in Waterloo at 8:00am, then in Cambridge at 5:00pm. All I can say is that I’m praying we get good Wizards!! (counters) I had the posting placed two weeks ago for the part-time positions in Waterloo and Cambridge. *crickets chirping*… I’ve yet to receive 1 resume. Anyways, this sums up the back ground noise in my mind over the last 14 ish days. Might explain why I’ve actually been kinda grumpy? Totally not my style… Also might explain why my super powers haven’t been at full capacity. The morning WOD can be considered an example, although I wasn’t totally useless…

Tues. Sept. 16 6:00am

7 rounds, On the 3:00 Minutes:
400m Run/Row or “Saly” run
12- Toes to Bar sit-ups

100 wallballs w/ a partner #8

Ok, I did a few toes 2 bar in the warm-up which felt good. Then in round 1 all I could manage was knees 2 elbows?? And barely got them within the 3 minute mark, so I switched to sit-ups. I felt like my battery was fully charged when we began, but drained SUPER quick?! Arg. Then for the wallballs, I grabbed a #12 and a #8 for my partner, but Coach Dave said NO. 1 wallball per pair. Boo 😦 I decided to use the top target to at least get a little extra out of the super-light ball.

sit down, this could take a while

I haven’t posted in 6 whole days.  I’m not even sure what happened.  Where did they go?  A little recap is needed. I’ve had some perfectly useless shtuff to ramble about this week too!  Like my utter disgruntalment over the fact that I need new running shoes for the every day sorta thing. Yet while I work in a store that sells running shoes and even get a pretty sweet staff price, I can’t find anything of interest. Why??  Cause every single pair of women’s shoes has to be pink it seems. Some are all pink, some dark pink with lighter pink accents, some an acceptable blue or grey but ruined with a pink soul. That’s right, I used the wrong sole/soul. It wasn’t an accident. There is nowhere for even a little PINK shoe bit in my world…  sorry, it just doesn’t belong.  Doesn’t mean I don’t like other obnoxious colours 😀 I have one pair of kicks that are bright orange and purple.  Oh… And women’s workout tops suck too. Not everyone wants to go to the gym in a flirty gaping v-neck that just barely covers any chest.  Wouldn’t want to head to an AMRAP of squat cleans in one of those. Wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. Get it together Under Armor. Can you tell I worked at Chek recently?  Haha. And spent 3 of my 5 hours hanging clothes.  I’ve learned my lesson. Will never complain about a 5 skid shipment again!  At least being busy makes the time go quick!

Nutrition has been pretty squeaky clean this week.  After eating some garbage last Saturday and feeling like a pile of dirt after, I haven’t had much interest in doing that again any time soon.  Did complete my Friday WOD while catching the occasional waft of bacon from the breakfast belonging to one of the girls who hung around after working out at 6 for Firday coffee.  After that, I had to toss a few slices in with my morning egg whites and sweet potato.  Couldn’t help it.

Ok, WOD recap:

Saturday April 26:

The Ontario Police Memorial Foundation fundraiser WOD day.

Partner WOD.  Run to be completed together, then AMRAP – 1 partner working at a time:

0:00-10:00

run 1 mile, AMRAP box jumps

10:01-22:00

run 1 mile, AMRAP burpee, jump on weight plate

22:01-36:00

run 1 mile, AMRAP wallballs #14

I’ve decided these are fun 🙂  Was not super-excited going into it cause I figured the burpees would suck large after the running, but they weren’t that bad.  And it was a chance to rekindle my romance with the wallballs.  We still seem to be riding on a “love” phase.  The box didn’t eat my shins either.  Other than the hurricane strength cold-ass winds on the first half, the up-hill half, of each run portion… this wasn’t so bad at all.  Post-WOD D wanted to lift some heavy sh*t.  I’m generally game for that suggestion, but when it was decided we would work on snatches, I was soon left in her dust.  HOWEVER…  I did make it to #70 with much better form than I’ve brought to the table recently.  Then the tiny little 2 1/2lb plates brought it to #75 and all progress went to hell in a hand basket.  I will keep working on that one.  Possibly forever.

Friday April 25:

“Power Clean and Muscle up Mashup”
OTM for 5 Minutes: 10 unbroken Power Cleans #135/#95   #55
Rest 1 minute
OTM for 5 Minutes: 5 unbroken Muscle ups/10 unbroken Pushups
Rest 1 minute
OTM for 5 Minutes: 7 unbroken Power Cleans #185/#125   #65
Rest 1 minute
OTM for 5 Minutes: 5 unbroken Muscle ups/10 unbroken Pushups
Rest 1 minute
OTM for 5 Minutes: 5 unbroken Power Cleans #205/#145   #75
Rest 1 minute
OTM for 5 Minutes: 5 unbroken Muscle ups/10 unbroken Pushups
Rest 1 minute
OTM for 5 Minutes: 3 unbroken Power Cleans #225/#155   #85
Rest 1 minute
OTM for 5 Minutes: 5 unbroken Muscle ups/10 unbroken Pushups
Rest 1 minute

Coach Sharon added a nice little twist at the beginning of this one.  “There will be NO dropping to your knees during push-ups!”  😮  The only scaling option was to use a box instead.  Again, 😮  With only a minute per round, while I considered going to grab a box and haul it back to my little station a few times, I talked myself out of it.  200 strict pull-ups later, and a few near face-plants… my arms were SPENT.  While I was less than “all smiles” through this 47 minutes of crazy, I really did like this one.  This kind of WOD is exactly what I need.  Just last week we had a WOD that included working up to a heavy 1 rep power clean.  For that one I succeeded (after failing a few times) at #95, but today I managed 5 rounds of 3 reps unbroken @ #85.  Say what?!  Take the emphasis off the load and my mind is able to get past it and just keep moving…  I’m just a special kind of backwards sometimes.

Wednesday April 23:

“Diane”
21-15-9:
Deadlifts, #225/#155    #145   <—- bulged disc?  Don’t think so!
Handstand Pushups    #35
OR
“Squatting Elizabeth”
21-15-9:
Squat Cleans, #135/#95    #55
Ring Dips

As usual, “OR” was a lie.  Coach Dave had a little ramble about “choice” being a powerful thing or something along those lines.  Today the choice was not one, or the other, the choice was one, or both.  Of course, I went for both.  Even on a day that was not my usual morning workout, and after I was heckled during the warm-up to stop yawning.  Tired?  Suck it up buttercup.

Result – Diane 7:40  Elizabeth 7:30  (both are potentially not exact…)

A note on the bulged disc theory.  Physio just seemed to cause more harm than good!  I’m back to the massage torture treatments and feeling awesome again.  Other than the stupid leg/foot pain, but the box vet feels that if my problem were at all related to a disc issue, I would not be able to complete 1 145lb deadlift, let alone 45.  Plus I saw my family doc and he refered to an MRI we did when I started having the leg pain that showed no evidence of any disc/spine issues.  Back to the drawing board, or more so back to life as I’ve known it for some time.  AND back to lifting heavy sh*t 😀

the right choice

Happy Earth Hour 😀  I’m blogging on my iPad by candle light in this hour of darkness.  That counts, right?  With a keyboard that doesn’t light up, it’s easier said than done!

I had an interesting dream a few sleeps ago.  Pretty rare for me to even remember my dreams, but this one I wont forget.  I won a lot of money.  Awesome, right??  BUT I was in a wheelchair.  Not so awesome.  I was going on a trip somewhere tropical, but the vivid memory part starts when I got to the airport and requested the special assistance of a wonderful little Scottish lady from my past.  Someone who really held a special place in my heart… I needed her “help” getting to my flight, but I mostly wanted to give her a card I had brought telling her I missed her.  And containing a cheque for a million dollars.  Told you it was strange.  When I woke up, I wasn’t upset I didn’t have copious amounts of $$ to throw around, but I was damn grateful to not be in a wheelchair!  I took it as a good little reminder to appreciate life.  And Mum, if I win the lottery you’re on my list 😉

For this first time of the Open competition, I passed up the opportunity to do my workout on Friday.  Since the Thursday before 14.4, my hip has been hurting.  Not much out there that involves your hips more than thrusters.  LOTS of thrusters.

Burpees suck??  No…chilling on the couch with ice packed on your HIP sucks.  Everyday it’s getting better though 🙂  Monday, I’ll be ready.  Then just burpees will suck, and thrusters too.

When I woke up Friday morning I was walking around without a limp for the first time in more than a week.  14.5 called my name and I was very tempted.  Went to the box at 3:00 like normal but with the intention to just cheer and take pictures.  Watching athletes dead on the floor after completing this little monster of a WOD I was even MORE tempted.  I mentioned that to Coach Dave.  He got this little smirk on his face and responded something along the lines of “That’s cause you’re crazy.  It’s something we all have in common.”  True story.  That being said, I made a smart choice I think.  I’m waiting till Monday.  Not enjoying the wait though… more time to think!

“Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same” – The Frey

Side note – yesterday my nutritional commitment went out the window.  I ate a normal breakfast, munched a few raw veggies during the day, then when hunger hit full force around 4 all hell broke loose.  Also drank too much coffee and pretty much no water.  Then between a protein bar, dried cranberries, walnuts, a tbsp (more like 3) of chocolate cream cheese, an unmeasured amount of coconut butter (not all at once! But spread over the remainder of the day)  I felt guilty and my stomach hated me.  Great combo.  I did throw out the chocolate cream cheese, or the 3 tbsp would have been even worse.  Good thing it was on sale.  😦  So here’s my public declaration:

Starting April 1 2014, I am committed to a 30 day sugar detox.  I will empty my apartment of anything containing added sugar (so long cranberries and walnuts!) with the hope that after 30 days I will have no desire to see them again.  I was doing really well with this in January.  Then I went on vacation and allowed myself some “treats” and have not recovered since.  I’m DONE.  The wheelchair dream keeps poking at me and I realize that crossfit is a part of what has helped me fight back against MS, but the nutritional component needs to be there too.